Ceramic Dental Molds for the Precision Casting of Titanium and Titanium Alloys: I, Relationship between Particle-Size Distribution of Aggregates and Mold Expansion

A new ceramic dental mold can cast excellent Ti restoratives by controlling expansion due to the oxidation of additive metal particles. The packing structure of the metal and aggregate particles in the mold can be considered a function of the size distribution of the aggregate grains. An investigation of the expansion mechanism reveals three different relationships of void fraction versus linear thermal expansion for the molds at the high temperature under which oxidation of the metal particles occurs. Room-temperature casting, favorable for making high-quality Ti restoratives, can also be achieved by precisely controlling both the amount of additive metal powder and the compositional distribution of aggregate grain sizes in the mold.     

Preparation and mesostructure control of highly ordered zirconia particles having crystalline walls

Mesostructured zirconia particles having monoclinic-type crystalline walls were prepared using a low-temperature crystallization technique. Crystalline zirconia particles with highly-ordered mesostructures were obtained through the sol–gel process of zirconium sulfate tetrahydrate at 333 K in the presence of molecular self-assemblies of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) or mixtures of CTAB and anionic molecules such as sodium dodecyl sulfate and sodium p-toluenesulfonate. Variations in the molar ratios of CTAB and the chemical species of anionic molecules led to the variations in the periods of highly-ordered zirconia having crystalline walls. Calcination of the mesostructured zirconia particles prepared using templates consisting solely of CTAB yielded crystalline mesoporous zirconia particles.     

Mechano-electrochemistry of a passive surface using an in situ micro-indentation test

Depassivation–repassivation of iron surfaces in boric–borate solutions were investigated by using the micro-indentation test. A pair of current peaks due to repair of the passive film following rupture of the film were observed during a series of indenter drives, i.e., loading and unloading of the indenter. The shape of the current peak depended on environmental conditions (conductivity and pH of the solution) and substrate conditions (mechanical processing history, alloyed element) as well as indentation conditions (repetition, maximum depth, and maximum load). Plastic deformation of the surface was accompanied by surface depassivation, while no depassivation occurred during the elastic deformation, indicating that the passive film on iron has a ductile property. The solution conditions did not affect the scale of depassivation but affected the rate of repassivation. Dislocations in the substrate made surface depassivation difficult but enhanced reactivity during the repassivation. The test also revealed that type-312L stainless steel has high corrosion resistance in a concentrated NaCl solution.     

Gas permeation properties of a composite membrane filled with poly(ethylene oxide) into a porous membrane

The permeability coefficients of O₂, N₂, and CO₂ gases at 25°C were examined for composite membranes that were prepared by filling poly(ethylene oxide)(PEO) with different molecular weights into a porous membrane. The permeability coefficients of O₂, N₂, and CO₂ were 2 × 10⁻¹⁰ – 4 × 10⁻¹⁰, 5 × 10⁻¹¹ – 9.5 × 10⁻¹¹, and 6 × 10⁻¹⁰ – 1 × 10⁻⁹ (cm³ STPcm/cm² s cmHg), respectively. The higher permeability coefficients of CO₂ are explained in terms of high solubility of CO₂ in filled PEO. The permeability coefficient of CO₂ was affected by the degree of crystallinity of PEO in the composite. On the other hand, there was little effect of crystallinity on O₂ and N₂ permeability coefficients. Some probable relationships between selectivities of O₂ to N₂ and CO₂ to N₂ and the degree of crystallinity of PEO were observed. The CO₂ gas permeability coefficients of the composite membrane for PEO50000 (M_w = 5 × 10⁴) showed a marked change due to melting or crystallization of PEO. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 73: 2733–2738, 1999     

Disorders and oxygen vacancies in p-type Sn2B2O7 (B = Nb,Ta): Role of the B-site element

Sn₂Nb_2−xTa_xO₇ (x = 0.0–2.0) with pyrochlore structure is a promising material for p-type oxide semiconductors. A systematic study of its Nb/Ta ratio indicated that the hole–generation efficiency of the Nb end (Sn₂Nb₂O₇) was an order of magnitude lower than that of the Ta end (Sn₂Ta₂O₇). Although this occurs due to differences in oxygen-vacancy formation, the origins of the hole–generation efficiencies remain unclear due to limited information on local and global crystal-structure disorders in pyrochlore Sn₂Nb₂O₇ and Sn₂Ta₂O₇. In this study, the crystal structures of Sn₂B₂O₇ (B = Nb, Ta), composed of BO₆ octahedra and Sn₄O tetrahedra, were investigated using X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. A detailed investigation of the local and global crystal structures indicated a larger amount of disorder in the Sn₄O tetrahedra in Sn₂Nb₂O₇ compared to Sn₂Ta₂O₇; disorder in the BO₆ octahedra occurred only in Sn₂Ta₂O₇. This study indicates that an appropriate selection of the B-site element is vital for suppressing defect and disorder formation in Sn₄O tetrahedra and subsequently improving the hole–carrier–generation efficiency.     

Rheological properties of ethylene ionomer neutralized with binary metal cation

The roles of ionic bonding in molten ethylene ionomers without ionic aggregates were rheologically characterized in linear regions under shear. We have measured melt viscosities of ethylene-methacrylic acid (EMAA) ionomers by means of dynamic shear experiment. The samples used in this study were binary mixtures selected from Na, Mg and Zn salts of EMAA (MAA=5.4 mol%). The dynamic shear properties revealed that the time-material superposition is applicable to these ionomer blends in a temperature range from 140 to 200 °C. It was also found that these binary mixtures unexpectedly give decreases of zero shear viscosities obtained from a time-material superposition, if the cations were selected from different metal groups such as alkali, alkaline earth and transition metals. This behavior can be explained by the acid-cation exchange mechanism.     

Self-aligned fabrication of single crystal diamond gated field emitter array

This paper describes a self-aligned fabrication process for diamond gated field emitter array (FEA). Utilizing the non-conformal coverage sputtering conditions of silicon oxide, an interesting “sphere on cone” structure is formed on diamond nano tip array, which is the key point of gate hole opening process. This structure causes shadowing at certain regions of side-wall during Ti / Au gate metal deposition. Removal of “sphere” by wet etching leads to the successful fabrication of a single crystalline diamond gated FEA. Scanning electron microscope observations reveal the fabrication of a uniform emitter array with tip radius of curvature (20 nm) and gate hole (1.4 μm). We also confirmed that no noticeable physical damage exists on tip. In field emission characteristics of the fabricated single crystal diamond gated FEA, gate voltage control of field emission current is realized.