Suppression of chromium depletion and sensitization in austenitic stainless steel by surface mechanical attrition treatment

The effects of surface nanocrystallization via surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) on degree of sensitization (DOS) of an austenitic stainless steel were investigated by means of double loop electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation (DLEPR) test. The treated sample with grain size about 10 nm showed very low degree of sensitization value which can be considered as the non-sensitized material. This is mainly due to the formation of twin boundaries in the microstructure of the SMATed sample which weren't susceptible to carbide precipitation because of their regular and coherent atomic structure and extreme low grain boundary energy as compared with those of other grain boundaries.     

A Preconcentration Procedure for Determination of Ultra-Trace Mercury (II) in Environmental Samples Employing Continuous-Flow Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

New functionalized magnetic nanoparticles as solid-phase sorbent were prepared and investigated for extraction of ultra-trace amounts of mercury from environmental samples. The Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles functionalized with dithizone were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy confirmed the size of nanoparticles. Effects of several factors on the extraction procedure were investigated. The optimized conditions were established to be 80 mg of polymer, 8.5 for solution pH, 5 min for adsorption time, 5 min for desorption time, 2 mL for HCl (0.1 mol L^?1)/ thiourea 0.05 % as the eluent, 500 mL for breakthrough volume, and without addition of salt. Under the optimal conditions, the limit of detection, maximum capacity, and preconcentration factor were 0.05 ng mL^?1, 0.557 mmol g^?1, and 250, respectively. Limit of quantification was in the range of 0.2–2 ng mL^?1 for various matrices. Accuracy and precision of the method were about ±2.0 and below 11.1 %, respectively. Finally, the present method has been successfully applied to mercury determination in table salt, green tea, vegetables, toothpaste, and water samples. The mercury content found in the real samples was from 0.6 to 15.74 ng mL^?1 without addition of mercury.     

Fabrication and Properties of a Gel-Cast Dense Silicon Carbide Body

Silicon - In this research, the effect of different parameters on the behavior of suspension rheology, as well as the physical and mechanical properties of green and sintered SiC bodies, were...