On the infiltration behavior of Al, Al-Li, and Mg meltas through SiC p bed

Aluminum, Al-Li(8090), and Mg matrix composites with uniform distributions of SiC _p reinforcement have been prepared by the vacuum infiltration technique. The infiltration kinetics have been found to increase in the order of Al, Al-Li, and Mg. The Al-Li alloy and Mg as matrix materials have shown improved wettability with SiC _p in comparison to Al, leading to enhanced infiltration kinetics and reduced reinforcement degradation in the former cases. The infiltration kinetics are insensitive to preheat temperature beyond a critical temperature, which is close to the melting point of the matrix. A marginal improvement in infiltration kinetics could be obtained with Cu and Ni coating on SiC and on its dynamic oxidation. The improvement is significant at a higher preheat temperature of SiC. The Vickers hardness, measured on the SiC particles, has been shown to be an index of the strength of the interface between the matrix and reinforcement in the composite.     

A two-step method for synthesis of micron sized nanoporous silver powder and ZnO nanoparticles

Micron-sized nanoporous silver powder with pore size of ～100–160 nm and specific surface area of ～4.7–5.5 m²/g was synthesized from three mechanically alloyed Ag-Zn powders (composition: 25, 50 and 75 at.% Zn). Dealloying was carried out at free corrosion conditions in NaOH, HCl and AgNO₃ solutions. Both partial and complete dealloying were obtained by suitable choice of electrolyte and time of exposure. Zn in the solution after dealloying was recovered in the form of ZnO nanoparticles with particle size of 55.7 ± 18 nm. The effect of composition and electrolyte on the degree of dealloying was also studied.     

Enhanced photovoltaic performance of a dye sensitized solar cell with Cu/N Co-doped TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticles

Pure and Copper/Nitrogen (Cu/N)-codoped TiO₂ photoanodes with various Cu concentrations are prepared via sol–gel route for the photoanode application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). All the prepared samples are characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), UV–Vis spectroscopy (UV–VIS) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). Addition of suitable amount of Cu and N content in TiO₂ can alter its optical and electrical properties by extending absorption in the visible region and band gap reduction. The results show that some of the Ti sites are replaced by Cu atoms while O sites are occupied by N atoms. Upon adequate addition of Cu/N could lead to smaller particle size, higher specific surface area, increased dye adsorption and retarded charge carrier recombination. A significant improvement in the power conversion efficiency is observed in case of optimized 0.3 mol% Cu/N-doped TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) based DSSC. This optimized 0.3 mol% Cu/N-doped photoanode accomplished a best power conversion efficiency of 11.70% with a short circuit current density of 23.41 mA cm^?2 which is 41% higher than that of the pure TiO₂ photoanode based DSSC (6.82%).     

Nanoindentation studies on amorphous, nanoquasicrystalline and nanocrystalline Zr8oPt2o and Zr75Pd25 alloys

Nanoindentation studies on rapidly solidified Zr80Pt20 and Zr75Pd25 binary alloys with nanocrystalline, nanoquasicrystalline, and amorphous microstructures are reported. The results indicate that the hardness and elastic modulus are the highest for a mixture of amorphous and nanoquasicrystalline state among the various microstructures studied. Nanoquasicrystalline phase has high hardness and elastic modulus in comparison to amorphous and nanocrystalline phases. The hardness to modulus ratio is close to 0.1 in both the alloys, irrespective of the phase/phase mixture studied indicating that the bonding in these alloys is of covalent nature. In Zr80Pt20, all the phases/phase mixtures have higher hardness and modulus in comparison to similar microstructures in Zr75Pd25 due to higher bond energies caused by more negative heat of mixing in the former case.     

High-pressure synthesis of ethyl benzoate from chloro- and bromobenzene

When chlorobenzene was reacted with ethyl alcohol and carbon monoxide under pressure, the conversions of chlorobenzene to ethyl benzoate and benzoic acid under optimum reaction conditions were 31.3% and 30.1% respectively, with nickel naphthenate supported on silica gel (Ni:SiO₂ = 50:50) as the best catalyst. When bromobenzene was used instead of chlorobenzene, the best catalyst was found to be nickel iodide supported on silica gel (Ni:SiO₂ = 50:50), and the above conversions were 74.7% and 25.1% respectively under optimum reaction conditions.