Synthesis of polycrystalline Yb:Gd3Ga5O12 nanopowders by homogeneous precipitation method

The Ytterbium doped gadolinium gallium garnet [Yb³⁺:Gd₃Ga₅O₁₂, Yb:GGG] precursor powders were synthesized via homogeneous precipitation method using Yb₂O₃, Ga₂O₃, Gd₂O₃ and ammonium bicarbonate [NH₄HCO₃] as precipitator, and ammonium sulfate [(NH₄)₂SO₄] as additive. The evolution of phase composition and micro-structure of the powders were characterized by — TG DTA, XRD, IR, and TEM. The results indicate that all precursor powders completely transform to Yb:GGG phase by calcining at 900 °C for 8 h, the resultant powders are well dispersed and have smaller particle size approximately 80 nm owing to the electrostatic effect.     

Effects of Excess Barium on the Structure and Electrical Properties of (Ba,Ca)TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> Piezoelectric Ceramics with High Mechanical Quality Factors

Manganese-doped Ba_0.925Ca_0.075TiO₃ lead-free piezoelectric ceramics (abbreviated as BCT) with high mechanical quality factor were synthesized by conventional solid-state reaction method. The effects of excess Ba on the crystal structure, microstructure, and electrical properties of the ceramics were systematically investigated. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectra revealed that Ca²⁺ ions were pushed from Ba sites to Ti sites of BCT when 1.5 mol% extra Ba²⁺ ions were added after sintering. The grain size of the ceramics was decreased by adding extra Ba²⁺ ions. The mechanical quality factor and resistivity of the ceramics decreased dramatically when the excess Ba was more than 1.5 mol%. High piezoelectric coefficients ( d₃₃ = 150–190 pC/N ) and high mechanical quality factors ( Q_m = 1 000–1 200 ) were obtained in the ceramics when the excess of Ba was between 0.5 mol% and 1 mol%. These results indicated that the properties of BCT ceramics could be tailored by adjusting the content of Ba.     

合成高活性Y2O3和Al2O3超细粉及Nd：YAG透明陶瓷

分别以Y（NO3）3和氨水、NH4Al（SO4）2.12H2O和碳酸氢铵为原料,采用化学沉淀法与碳酸铝铵分解法合成了高活性、平均粒径分别为39 nm和95 nm的Y2O3和Al2O3超细粉体.以Y2O3,Al2O3超细粉和商用Nd2O3粉体为原料,采用固相反应法,经1 700℃真空烧结15 h,制备了Nd：YAG透明陶瓷.含x（Nd）=1%的YAG陶瓷在可见光区最大透光率约为53%.对YAG陶瓷的烧结过程和显微组织研究表明,Nd的引入明显地促进了陶瓷的烧结,同时晶粒得到细化.     

增强增韧氧化铝陶瓷电连接器的制备

以氧化铝陶瓷作为基质材料,通过向氧化铝材料中添加纳米氧化铝粉,同时添加α型氧化铝板晶颗粒来改善氧化铝陶瓷的力学性能．试样在1650℃温度下烧成,并加入La2O3、MgO等氧化物降低烧成温度．试验表明：添加纳米氧化铝粉和α型氧化铝板晶颗粒后,材料的强度和韧性得到明显提高．     

Coprecipitation preparation and voltage sensitive characteristics of doped ZnO varistor

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Effect of Heat Treatment on Crystallization of Nd:YAG Ceramics

(Nd0.01 Y0.99 )3 Al5 O12 nano-sized powders were synthesized by low temperature combustion (LCS),using Nd2 O3 ,Y2 O3 ,Al(NO3)3 ·9H 2 O,ammonia water and citric acid as starting materials.The powders were characterized by TG-DTA,XRD,FT-IR,ICP and TEM,respectively.The grain sizes were calculated by the Scherrer’s formula using the full width at half maximum(FWHM)of YAG(420)crystal plane diffraction lines. The study focused on crystallization of ceramics at different heat treatment temperatures.The experimental results show that crystallizing temperature of YAG is 850℃,and the intermediate crystal phase YAP,appearing during heat treatment,transforms to YAG cubic crystal phase at the temperature of 1 050℃.The particle size of the powders synthesized by LCS is nano-sized.With the temperature increasing,the mean grain sizes raise,the stand deviations keep almost at the value of 2.0 and the lattice parameters decrease.The grains mainly grow by grain boundary diffusion.The lattice parameter expansion is caused by an increase of the repulsive dipolar interactions on surfaces of crystallites.     

Sintering and dielectric properties of fine-grained BaTiO3 ceramics

A new sintering method, spark plasma sintering (SPS), is described for the sintering of fine-grained BaTiO₃ ceramics. Dense ceramics with fine grain size of near 170 run are obtained using SPS at low temperature of 900°C without holding time. The dielectric measurements of various grain size specimens show that the dielectric constants decrease with the reduce of grain size, and diffuse phase transition showed in the dielectric-temperature spectra. The variation in dielectric properties with grain size is explained.     

Effect of nucleating agent on the crystallization of tailings glass ceramics prepared by one-time sintering

Glass ceramics was made by the one-time sintering method using the main raw material of iron tailings. On the basis of quaternary system of CaO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂, using DTA, XRD and SEM, the effects of different nucleating agents and mixing amounts as well as heat treatment on the crystallization of tailings glass ceramics were studied. The experimental results show that, nucleating agent and heat treatment are two necessary conditions for one-time sintering preparation of tailings glass ceramics namely, only adding nucleating agent or experiencing heat treatment, the quaternary system can not crystallize. The composite nucleating agent consisting of Cr₂O₃ and TiO₂ can further lead to the crystallization of the CaO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ quaternary system at the lower temperature, with the major phase of diopside. In the range of mass content, 0%–4%, crystal intensity and crystal content grow. But when mass content is more than 4%, the crystal size will become coarser and the crystal distribution will be less regular. Different heat treatment regimes do not change the composition of the crystalline major phase in the glass ceramics crystallization of CaO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ system. In the range of 30–60 minutes, with the extension of nucleation and crystallization, crystallization degree enhanced, but if the holding time surpasses 60 minutes, the crystallization is worse. Funded by The National Key Technology R & D Program of China for the 11^th Five-Year Plan(2006BAJ04A04)     

Effect of sintering additives on properties of Si3N4-BN composites fabricated via die pressing and precursor infiltration and pyrolysis route

The Si3N4-BN composites have been prepared via die pressing and precursor infiltration and pyrolysis route using borazine as precursor, and the effect of sintering additives on properties of the composites has been investigated. After sintering additives are adopted, the α to β phase transition of Si3N4 and the mechanical properties of the composites at both room temperature and high temperature are all increased with small extent. When using Y2O3+Al2O3 as additives, the phase transition of Si3N4 and the mechanical properties of the composites have better results. The β-Si3N4 content is 17.47%. The fl exural strength, elastic modulus and fracture toughness of the composites are 188.74 MPa, 84.34 GPa and 2.96 MPa?m1/2, respectively. After exposed at 1 000 ℃ in the air for 15 min, the fl exural strength of the composites is 154.62 MPa with a residual ratio of 81.92%. The elongated β-Si3N4 grains appear in all composites with different sintering additives. Relatively more rod like β-Si3N4 grains can be observed in composites with Y2O3+Al2O3 as additives, making it to possess better mechanical properties.     

Effect of additives on the sintering of amorphous nano-sized silicon nitride powders

Amorphous nano-sized silicon nitride powders were sintered by liquid phase sintering. The influences of the additives of Y₂O₃ and Al₂O₃ prepared by two different ways, the polyacrylamide gel method and the precipitation method, were investigated. The grain sizes of the additives prepared by the first method were finer than those of prepared by the latter method. When sintered at the same temperature, 1700°C, the average grain size of the silicon nitride is 0.3 μm for the sample with the former additives, which is much finer than the one with the latter additives. The density of additives prepared by precipitation method is clearly lower than those of prepared by polyacrylamide gel method. Funded by the National Postdoctoral Foundation of China(No.20060400787)     

Mechanisms of composite agglomeration of fluoric iron concentrate

The effect of composite agglomeration process (CAP) on fluoric iron concentrates sintering was investigated. The yield and quality of the sinter are greatly improved when using CAP assisted with heat airflow and enhancing magnesium oxide (MgO) contents. For conventional sintering of fluoric iron concentrate, due to lower viscosity of binding phase and higher fluidity of liquid phase, the sinter is formed with large thin-walled holes and the strength of the sinter is deteriorated consequently. The novel process forms composite agglomerate in which acid pellets are embedded in basic sinter. The pellets are solid with interconnecting crystals of hematite (Fe₂O₃) and magnetic (Fe₃O₄). For basic sintering, after adding MgO, the viscosity of the melting phase increases and the fluidity decreases; and calcium and aluminum silico-ferrites and magnesium ferrite are formed with perfect crystals and good sintering microstructure.     

Comparative study of β-Si3N4 powders prepared by SHS sintered by spark plasma sintering and hot pressing

β-Si3N4 powders prepared by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) with additions of Y2O3 and Al2O3 were sintered by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The densification, microstructure, and mechanical properties of Si3N4 ceramics prepared using this method were compared with those obtained by hot pressing process. Well densified Si3N4 ceramics with finer and homo- geneous microstructure and better mechanical properties were obtained in the case of the SPS technique at 200°C lower than that of hot pressing. The microhardness is 15.72 GPa, the bending strength is 716.46 MPa, and the fracture toughness is 7.03 MPa?m1/2.     

Microstructure and properties of cement foams prepared by magnesium oxychloride cement

Microstructural features including pore size distribution, cell walls and phase compositions of magnesium oxychloride cement foams (MOCF) with various MgO powders and water mixture ratios were studied. Their influences on compressive strength, water absorption and resistance of MOCF were also discussed in detail. The experimental results indicated that moderate and slight excess MgO powders (MgO/MgCl₂ molar ratios from 5.1 to 7) were beneficial to the formation of excellent microstructure of MOCF, but increasing water contents (H₂O/MgO mass ratios from 0.9 to 1.29) might result in opposite conclusions. The microstructure of MOCF produced with moderate and slight excess MgO powders could enhance the compressive strength, while serious excess MgO powders addition (MgO/MgCl₂ molar ratios = 9) would destroy the cell wall structures, and therefore decrease the strength of the system. Although MOCF produced with excess MgO powders could decrease the water absorption, its softening coefficient was lower than that of the material produced with moderate MgO powders. This might be due to the instability of phase 5, the volume expansion and cracking of cell walls as immersed the sample into water.     

Infrared-to-green upconversion properties of Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ co-doped TeO2-TiO2-K2O glasses upon excitation with 976 nm lasers diode

The energy transfer and upconversion of Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ co-doped TeO2-TiO2-K2O glasses upon excitation with 976 nm lasers diode were studied. The tellurite glasses were prepared by conventional melting methods. Their optical properties and sensitization upconversion spectra were performed. The dependence of green upconversion lu- minescence intensity on the mole ratio of Yb^3＋ to Er^3＋ and Er^3＋ concentration were discussed in detail. When the mole ratio of Yb^3＋ to Er^3＋ is 25/1 and Er^3＋ concentration is 0.1% （mole fraction）, or when the mole ratio of Yb^3＋ to Er^3＋ is 10/1 and Er^3＋ concentration is 0.15 %, the optimal upconversion luminescence intensity is obtained. The obtained glasses can be one of the potential candidates for lasers-diode pumping microchip solid-state lasers.     

Solid Solution Characteristics of Pb（B1/3Nb2/3）O3-bascd Composite Ceramics

The solid solution characteristics of Pb（B1/3Nb2/3）O3-based （B=Zn^2＋, Mg^2＋, Ni^2＋） composite ceramics prepared by two-phase mixed-sintering method were developed based on dielectric measurements. Results show that there are double dielectric peaks for PZN-based composite ceramic, implying two phases coexist. However single dielectric peak was presented in PMN- and PNN-based composite ceramics, respectively. It is indicated that obvious solid solution reaction exists during the sintering process of these two systems. The effects of B-site ion difference on the solid solution characteristics were discussed by crystal chemistry. SEM was employed to investigated the microstructures of composite ceramics. The influences of solid solution reaction on grain growth were discussed.     

Effects of nucleating additives on crystallization and properties of CaO-B2O3-SiO2 glass-ceramics

ZrO₂, TiO₂ and P₂O₅ were doped in CaO-B₂O₃-SiO₂ glass-ceramics as nucleating additives. Effects of different nucleating additives on the phase separation and crystalline behaviors were investigated by using gradient temperature furnace, DTA and XRD. Then, sintering process of the glass-ceramics was investigated by testing sintering shrinkage, dielectric constant and loss. The experimental results shows that the glass-ceramics doped with nucleating additives represents higher crystallization, with ZrO₂ as an exceptional effective dopant to promote the precipitation of wollastonite crystal. Finally, ZrO₂ containing glass-ceramics was chosen to study the influence of sintering temperature and soaking time with the help of X-ray diffraction analysis and density measurement. The glass-ceramics can be well consolidated at 850 °C for 10 min, with low dielectric constant (5.87) and loss (3.21 × 10⁻⁴), which is desirable for LTCC application.     

Influence of flux additives on iron ore oxidized pellets

Six additives, i.e., limestone, lime, magnesite, magnesia, dolomite and light-burned-dolomite, were added for investigating their influences on the pellet quality. For green balls, adding lime and light-burned-dolomite makes the wet drop strength decrease firstly, and then increase with further increase of additive dosage. Ca(OH)₂ affects the bentonite properties at the beginning, but the binding property of Ca(OH)₂ will be main when the dosage is higher. The other four additives decrease the drop strength for their disadvantageous physical properties. For preheated pellets, no mater what kind of additive is added, the compressive strength will be decreased because of unmineralized additives. For roasted pellets, calcium additives can form binding phase of calcium-ferrite, and suitable liquid phase will improve recrystallization of hematite, but excessive liquid will destroy the structure of pellets, so the compressive strength of pellet increases firstly and then drops. When adding magnesium additives, the strength will be decreased because of the oxidation of magnetite retarded by MgO.     

The Influence of Yttrium Isopropoxide on the Mechanical Properties of SiCw-reinforced AlN Ceramics

By using self-made metal-alkoxide yttrium isopropoxide as a sintering additive and disperser of whisker, the SiC whisker reinforced AlN ceramics was prepared. Its apparent density is 99.5 percent of the theoretical density; its flexural strength and fracture toughness are 681 MPa and 5.21 MPa·m^1/2 respectively. Comparing the result with that by applying Y₂O₃ powder as a sintering additive, the flexural strength is increased by 25% and the fracture toughness is increased by 33%. The dispersity of whisker by increased yttrium isopropoxide is significantly better than that by Triton X-100. CHEN Yong-xi: Born in 1945     

硝酸盐热分解法制备Nd:YAG透明激光陶瓷

以Al(NO₃)₃9H₂O,Y(NO₃)₆H₂O和Nd₂O₃为原料,采用硝酸盐热分解法在1000℃左右合成了单相Nd:YAG陶瓷超细粉体．加入0.5％的正硅酸乙酯作为烧结添加剂后,前驱粉料经1500℃~1700℃真空热压烧结5h得到具有一定透明度的掺钕钇铝石榴石多晶陶瓷．采用X射线衍射仪(XRD)及扫描电子显微镜(SEM)等测试手段对Nd:YAG陶瓷材料进行了测试,结果表明当焙烧温度为1000℃时,前驱粉体可以直接得到YAG立方晶相,没有YAM和YAP等中间相生成,煅烧所得的粉末颗粒细小均匀,呈椭球状,颗粒尺寸为200~250nm,且分散性较好．真空烧结后的陶瓷晶粒尺寸在2~4μm,并且随着烧结温度的提高,Nd:YAG陶瓷的晶粒增大,晶形发育完整,气孔减少,晶粒内部和晶界的化学组成基本相同．所制备的Nd:YAG透明陶瓷在可见光区最大透光率为47％,在红外光区的透光率接近56％．     

Effect of MnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> on properties of SiC-mullite composite ceramics for solar sensible thermal storage

For improving the properties of SiC-mullite composite ceramics used for solar sensible thermal storage, MnO₂ was introduced as sintering additive when preparing. The composite ceramics were synthesized by using SiC, andalusite, α-Al₂O₃ as the starting materials with non-contact graphite-buried sintering method. Phase composition and microstructure of the composites were investigated by XRD and SEM, and the effect of MnO₂ on the properties of SiC composites was studied. Results indicated that samples SM1 with 0.2 wt% MnO₂ addition achieved the optimum properties: bending strength of 70.96 MPa, heat capacity of 1.02 J·(g·K)^-1, thermal conductivity of 9.05 W·(m·K)^-1. Proper addition of MnO₂ was found to weaken the volume effect of the composites and improve the thermal shock resistance with an increased rate of 27.84% for bending strength after 30 cycles of thermal shock (air cooling from 1 100 °C to RT).