Structure and physicomechanical properties of NbN-based protective nanocomposite coatings: A review

This review summarizes the present-day achievements in the study of the structure and properties of protective nanocomposite coatings based on NbN, NbAlN, and NbSiN prepared by a variety of modern deposition techniques. It is shown that a change in deposition parameters has a significant effect on the phase composition of the coatings. Depending on the magnitude of negative potential on the substrate, the pressure of nitrogen or a nitrogen–argon mixture in the chamber, and the substrate temperature, it is possible to obtain coatings containing different phases, such as NbN and SiN_x (Si₃N₄), AlN, and NbAl₂N. It is found that, in the case of formation of the ε-NbN phase, the coatings become very hard; their hardness achieves values on the order of 53 GPa. At the same time, they remain thermally stable at temperatures of up to 600°C, chemically inert, and resistant to wear. The effect of the nanograin size, the volume fraction of boundaries and interfaces, and the point defect concentration on the physicomechanical properties of these coatings is described. Niobium nitride-based coatings can be used in superconducting systems and single-photon detectors; they are capable of operating under the action of strong magnetic fields of up to 20 T; they can be used in integrated logic circuits and applied as protective coatings of machine parts, edges of cutting tools, etc.     

Phase equilibria at the solidus surface of the equilibrium diagram of ternary systems of technetium with carbon and d-transition metals of groups III–VII

Translated from Poroshkovaya Metallurgiya, No. 11(323), pp. 46–52, November, 1989.     

Preferential interactions of fluorescent probe Prodan with cholesterol

The fluorescent probe Prodan has been widely used as a probe of model and biological membranes. Its fluorescent maxima in phospholipid bilayers vary as a function of phase state, with maxima at 485 for the liquid crystal Lalpha, 435 nm for the gel L'beta, and 507 nm for the interdigitated gel LbetaI phase, with excitation at 359 nm. These spectral changes have been used for the detection of phase changes among these phases. In the present study, the fluorescent properties and partition coefficients of Prodan in model membranes of phosphatidylcholines and phosphatidylethanols have been studied as a function of lipid phase state and cholesterol content. It is shown that the Prodan spectrum in the presence of cholesterol no longer reflects the known phase state of the lipid; in each phase state, the presence of cholesterol leads to a spectrum with the maximum at 435 nm, characteristic of the noninterdigitated gel phase. The partition coefficient of Prodan into these lipids also varies with the phase state, giving values of 0.35 x 10(4) in the interdigitated gel, 1.8 x 10(4) in the noninterdigitated gel, and 7. 6 x 10(4) in the liquid crystal phase. In the presence of cholesterol these partition coefficients are increased to 13 x 10(4) for the liquid crystal and the gel phase, and 5.1 x 10(4) in the presence of 100 mg/ml ethanol. These results suggest that Prodan has preferential interactions with cholesterol, and is thus not a randomly distributed fluorescent reporter probe in membranes containing cholesterol. These results suggest that Prodan should be used only with great caution in complex lipid mixtures, particularly biological membranes.     

The Cr−Re phase diagram

The phase diagram for the Cr−Re system has been derived from published data in conjunction with measurements on alloys cast and annealed at subsolidus temperatures (XRD, metallography, microprobe analysis, and measurement of the temperature for the onset of melting by the Pirani—Alterthum method). The phase equilibria at solidus temperatures have been determined from studies on alloys annealed at those temperatures. Phase homogeneity regions on the solidus have been identified: for (Cr) up to 43 at.% Re, for the σ phase −50–72 at.%Re, and for (Re) up to 17 at.%Cr; temperatures have also been determined for the invariant equilibria L+σ ⇆ (Cr) at 2150±15°C and L+(Re)⇆σ at 2335±15°C. Institute for Problems of Materials Science, Ukraine National Academy of Sciences, Kiev. Translated from Poroshkovaya Metallurgiya, Nos. 3–4(406), pp. 65–71, March–April, 1999.     

Phase equilibria in the nickel corner of the Mo-Ni-B system at temperatures close to melting

The Mo-Ni-B alloys prepared by arc-melting are examined in as-cast and annealed states using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with electron probe microanalysis, and differential thermal analysis. The temperatures of invariant equilibria are refined. The projections of liquidus and solidus surfaces are plotted for the Ni-rich region.