Fabrication of nanograined silicon by high-pressure torsion

This paper describes fabrication of Si nanograins through allotropic phase transformation by concurrent application of high pressure and intense straining using high-pressure torsion (HPT). Single-crystalline Si(100) wafers were processed by HPT under a pressure of 24 GPa at room temperature. X-ray diffraction and Raman analysis revealed that the HPT-processed samples were composed of metastable Si-III and Si-XII phases and amorphous phases in addition to the original diamond-cubic Si-I phase. It was found that nanograins formed because the Si-I diamond phase had transformed to high-pressure phases (Si-II, Si-XI, and Si-V) having metallic nature, and it then became easier to generate a high density of dislocations to form grain boundaries. The high-pressure phases were further transformed to the Si-XII and Si-III phases via the Si-II phase upon unloading and they existed as metastable phases at ambient pressure. Subsequent annealing at 873 K gave rise to reverse transformation to Si-I but with nanograin sizes. Although no appreciable photoluminescence (PL) peak was observed from the HPT-processed sample, a broad PL peak centered around 600 nm was detected from the annealed sample due to quantum confinement in the Si-I nanograins.     

Donor–acceptor-structured 1,4-diazatriphenylene derivatives exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence: design and synthesis,photophysical properties and OLED characteristics

A new series of luminescent 1,4-diazatriphenylene (ATP) derivatives with various peripheral donor units, including phenoxazine, 9,9-dimethylacridane and 3-(diphenylamino)carbazole, is synthesized and characterized as thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters. The influence of the donor substituents on the electronic and photophysical properties of the materials is investigated by theoretical calculations and experimental spectroscopic measurements. These ATP-based molecules with donor–acceptor–donor (D–A–D) structures can reduce the singlet–triplet energy gap (0.04–0.26 eV) upon chemical modification of the ATP core, and thus exhibit obvious TADF characteristics in solution and doped thin films. As a demonstration of the potential of these materials, organic light-emitting diodes containing the D–A–D-structured ATP derivatives as emitters are fabricated and tested. External electroluminescence quantum efficiencies above 12% and 8% for green- and sky-blue-emitting devices, respectively, are achieved.     

Preparation of Alumina Fiber-Reinforced Aluminum by Squeeze Casting and Their Machinability

Alumina fiber-reinforced aluminum alloy composites were prepared by squeeze casting, and the effect of the reinforcement on the machinability of the alloy was investigated. Two kinds of short alumina fibers, which have the same fiber size but different hardness, were used. Preform in which the fibers were in a random arrangement was formed with SiO₂ binder, and then was infiltrated with the alloy melt to prepare the composite. The fiber–matrix interfacial bond via the binder is sufficient and no reaction product was detected. The cutting force of the alloy was reduced by the fiber-reinforcement. The lower the hardness of the fiber in the composite, the lower the cutting force of the composite. The roughness of the machined surface was drastically decreased by the reinforcement. Observation of the chip formed on the machined surface indicated that the fiber suppressed the formation of the built-up-edge, and this fact would lead to the reduction in the surface roughness by the reinforcement. The chips were shortened by the reinforcement. The difference in hardness of the alumina fiber hardly affected the roughness and the chip morphology. The hardness of the fiber has a strong effect to decrease the tool life.     

Control of the coating layer thickness of TiO2–SiO2 core–shell hybrid particles by liquid phase deposition

This paper describes control of the coating layer thickness and the crystallite size of the core–shell hybrid particles by controlling the process parameter. The core–shell hybrid particles were prepared using liquid phase deposition (LPD). We confirmed that the homogeneous coating was attained from the result of the zeta potential and the transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation. Furthermore, the coating layer microstructure was estimated using Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method. The obtained coating layer of titania was estimated using the band gap energy. Results indicate that the blue shift of the band gap energy signifies that the physical property of the hybrid particles was controlled by the coating layer thickness and the crystallite size, which are determined by the processing parameters.     

Influence of different feeding systems on the growth performance and muscle development of Japanese Black steers

This study investigated the growth performance and gene expression for muscle development between grass hay-fed (GH) and concentrate-fed (CT) steers. Daily gain and energy intake during the fattening period of the GH group were lower than those of the CT group. Analysis of C/EBPα, PPARγ2, myosin heavy chain (MHC), and myostatin gene expressions was performed by real-time PCR. Expressions of C/EBPα and myostatin in semitendinosus and longissimus lumborum (LL) muscles were higher in the CT group than in the GH group at the end of fattening. In LL muscle, MHC expression at the end of fattening was greater in the GH group than in the CT group. These results suggest that regulation of adipogenesis and myogenesis by the expression of genes involved in muscle development might have occurred in the skeletal muscle of the GH group by the feeding of grass hay and/or because of the low energy intakes.     

New Class of High-<Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis><Subscript>C</Subscript> Diluted Ferromagnetic Semiconductors Based on CaO without Transition Metal Elements

We propose new-type ferromagnetic semiconductors based on CaO and K₂S without any transition metal elements. These materials show transparent and half-metallic ferromagnetism if the deep-impurity-band width (W) induced by doping of C, N, Si, or Ge impurities, and the electron-correlation energy (U) satisfy the Stoner’s condition of highly correlated electron system (U>W). Based on our first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that these materials satisfy the Stoner’s condition, and could be new candidates for transparent and half-metallic DMSs.     

Preparation and dielectric properties of polycrystalline films with dense nano-structured BaTiO3 by chemical vapor deposition using inductively coupled plasma

To clarify the dielectric properties of BaTiO₃ with nanometer size region, it is necessary to fabricate the dense structure composed of BaTiO₃ nanoparticles. In the present study, BaTiO₃ nanoparticles were directly deposited on Pt/Al₂O₃/SiO₂/Si substrate by introducing Ba(DPM)₂ and Ti(OiPr)₄ into an inductively coupled plasma (ICP). The optimal condition for preparing dense structure of BaTiO₃ nanoparticles was investigated by changing the substrate temperature. Single phase BaTiO₃ of perovskite structure was obtained at the substrate temperatures between 773 and 1173 K. The dense structure of BaTiO₃ nanoparticles with particle sizes of about 30 nm was successfully obtained at the substrate temperature of 773 K. At the substrate temperature>873 K, the deposited nanoparticles sintered to be the columnar structure. The ε_r and tan δ of the BaTiO₃ nanoparticles were estimated to be 285 and 6.6%, respectively (1 kHz and 100 mV). The phase of the BaTiO₃ nanoparticles were found to be paraelectric by the measurement of C-V curves. The breakdown field of the dense structure of BaTiO₃ nanoparticles was estimated to be 649 kV/cm according to I-V curves. These features are favorable for applying the structure to the dielectric layer of multilayer capacitors.