Effects of aluminium content on the molecular structure and properties of polyaluminocarbosilane for SiC fibre fabrication

Polyaluminocarbosilane (PACS) is an important precursor for silicon carbide (SiC) fibres and ceramics. Much work has focused on the sintering effect of elemental Al, and it was found to increase density and inhibit grain growth during the pyrolysis of the SiC_xO_y phase at high temperatures. In addition to the sintering effect, Al may also affect the detailed molecular structure and the related properties of the precursor. In this work, PACS with different Al contents are prepared by a high-pressure method. The structural forms of the component elements are quantitatively determined by ¹H NMR, ²⁹Si NMR, DEPT, ²⁷Al MAS NMR and elemental analysis, and a method of determining the relative branching degree of PACS is proposed. It is found that increasing the Al content in the precursor leads to an increase in the weight percentage of the SiC₃O, CH₂ and CH groups, while the content of the SiC₄ groups remains almost unchanged, which consequently causes a rise in the relative branching degree of the molecular structure. The rheological properties of the precursors are investigated on a monofilament spinning device. It is found that the apparent viscosity rises, and the spinnability of the precursor weakens, with increasing Al content, while the non-Newtonian index becomes larger, indicating a decrease in the pseudo-plasticity of the precursor. In addition, the ceramic yield becomes higher, which is definitely correlated to the more branched and ring molecular structures.     

磁控溅射镀CrAlSiN涂层的抗高温水蒸气氧化性能

目的 提高锆合金包壳管的事故容错能力.方法 采用磁控溅射法,在锆基底上沉积CrAlSi和CrAlSiN两种涂层,表征了涂层的结构形貌、机械性能和抗高温水蒸气氧化行为等.结果 CrAlSi涂层呈致密的柱状晶结构.CrAlSiN涂层结构致密,晶粒尺寸小,接近非晶质地.CrAlSiN涂层与Zr基底之间的结合力(～46 N)高于CrAlSi涂层与Zr基底之间的结合力(～27 N),2种涂层的硬度大约为Zr基底硬度的3～4倍,表现出良好的机械性能.同时,这2种涂层均较大幅度提高Zr基底的抗高温水蒸气氧化能力.经1000℃水蒸气氧化15 min后,4.3μm厚的CrAlSi涂层使Zr(O)层的厚度减少了～67％,而4.6μm厚的CrAlSiN涂层则抑制了Zr(O)层的形成.14μm厚的CrAlSiN涂层使Zr基底在1200℃高温水蒸气中保持未氧化状态大于60 min.结论 磁控溅射制备的CrAlSi涂层和CrAlSiN涂层均能有效地抑制Zr合金的高温水蒸气氧化,且后者的防护效果更佳.     

Role of dual SiOx: H based buffer at the p/i interface on the performance of single junction microcrystalline solar cells

In p-i-n structure a-Si solar cell a buffer layer with proper characteristics plays important role in improving the p/i interface of the cell, reducing mismatch of band gaps and number of recombination centres. However for p-i-n structure microcrystalline ( µc-Si: H) cell which has much less light induced degradation than a-Si:H cell, not much work has been done on development of proper buffer layer and its application to µc-Si:H cell. In this paper we have reported the development of two intrinsic oxide based microcrystalline layer having different characteristics for use as buffer layers at the p/i interface of µc-Si:H cell. Previously SiO_x:H buffer layer has been used at the p/i interface which showed positive effects. To explore the possibility of improving the performance of p-i-n structure µc-Si:H cell further we have thought it interesting to use two buffer layers with different characteristics at the p/i interface. The two buffer layers have been characterized in detail and applied at the p/i interface of the µc-Si:H cell with positive effects on all the PV parameters mainly improves the open circuit voltage (V_oc) and enhances short circuit current (I_sc). The maximum initial efficiency obtained is 8.97% with dual buffer which is 6.7% higher than that obtained by using conventional single buffer layer at the p/i interface. Stabilized efficiency of the cell with dual buffer is found to be ~9.5% higher than that with single buffer after 600 h of light soakings.     

Crystal structures and mechanical properties of M (Mg,Sr, Ba,La)xCa1−xB6 solid solution: A first principles study

First-principles calculations are performed in this work to study the effects of M (M=Mg, Sr, Ba, La) substitution in CaB₆. Both electronic structure and mechanical properties are examined. The current results indicate that the substitution of Ca by M atoms causes the lattice constants to scale linearly with the variation of x. The shear moduli of M_xCa_1−xB₆ are found to be related to the valence d-electron Mulliken charges in the lattice. The hardnesses of M (M=Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, La)B₆ and their solid solution are calculated by analyzing the overlap populations of the B–B bonds in the solid solution system.     

Galvanic corrosion of carbon steel coupled to antimony

Galvanic corrosion of carbon steel coupled to antimony was studied in aerated and N₂-purged electrolytes at ambient and 60 °C temperatures. Free corrosion potential of antimony and carbon steel shifts to more active values with increasing temperature and N₂ purging of the electrolyte. Under all experimental conditions, antimony remains less electronegative than carbon steels. Aeration and temperature affect potentiodynamic behaviour of both materials. As a consequence, the corrosion current for the antimony–carbon steel couple increases with increasing temperature and with aeration. There was a good agreement between the corrosion currents obtained through the Evans’ experiment and super-imposed potentiodynamic scans.     

Preliminary study on the tribology of an organic-molecule-coated touch panel display surface

The use of touch panel displays has been increasing due to the popularity of tablet PCs and smart phones. In order to protect the touch panel surface from scratches, contaminants from fingerprints and skin oils and so on, anti-contamination coating is necessary.One of the ways to protect the surface is to cover it with a thin and dense organic molecular layer. At the present time, the primary requirement for the coating is fingerprint-resistance or easy removal of contaminants. An adsorbed molecular layer of PFPE-derivatives is currently used for this purpose, in order to reduce the surface energy of the surface. Since the current major concern of panel makers is anti-fingerprint performance, degradation of the molecular layer by both tribological and environmental conditions is a major issue for the development of the coatings.Given the current priorities, however, tribological research into such subjects as the touch feeling of the panel and the friction characteristic has not been conducted. The touch feeling and its relation to the operation are very important but very difficult to study because it is very hard to express the touch feeling numerically. As a preliminary study, several different coated surfaces were prepared and their friction coefficients were measured by rubbing with a finger or a steel or glass ball to clarify the tribological characteristics of the surface.An Si wafer and a glass plate were used in this study as models of the solid substrate of a display. They were coated with an adsorbed organic molecular layer of two PFPE-derivatives with different molecular structures named Type-F and Type-D or several reference molecular layers, such as OTS-SAM and FDTE-SAM. In addition to the tribological data, degradation by UV irradiation was also examined to compare the performance. The results are discussed from the tribological and chemical points of view.     

Effect of electrode structure on performance of Si anode in Li-ion batteries: Si particle size and conductive additive

The effects of Si particle size and the amount of carbon-based conductive additive (CA) on the performance of a Si anode in a Li-ion battery are investigated by adopting combinations of two different Si particle sizes (20 and 3 μm on average) and CA contents (15 and 30 wt.%), respectively. The CA contains graphitic flakes and nano-sized carbon black. Cyclic voltammetry, charge–discharge tests, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction establish that the CA content has a profound effect on the cycle-life and irreversible capacity of the Si anode. The former increases, while the latter decreases significantly with increasing CA content. Reducing the particle size of Si, on the other hand, facilitates the alloying/de-alloying kinetics. For instance a cycle-life of over 50 cycles with >96% capacity retention at a charge capacity of 600 mAh per g-Si has been demonstrated by adopting of 30 wt.% CA and 3 μm Si particles.     

Microstructure and flexural strength of C/HfC-ZrC-SiC composites prepared by reactive melt infiltration method

C/HfC-ZrC-SiC composites were fabricated via reactive melt infiltration (RMI) of the mixed HfSi₂ and ZrSi₂ alloys. The microstructure, infiltration behavior of the hybrid silicide alloys infiltrating C/C composites, and flexural strength of C/HfC-ZrC-SiC composites was studied. Inside composites, there were more Hf-rich (Hf, Zr)C phases distributed in the exterior region, while more SiC and Zr-rich (Zr, Hf)Si₂ in the interior region. There was compositional segregation in (Hf, Zr)C, with the HfC content decreasing from the exterior region to interior region. The RMI process was performed at different temperatures to investigate the structural evolution, and a model for the reactive melt infiltration of the mixed HfSi₂ and ZrSi₂ alloys into C/C composites was established. Compared with C/HfC-SiC and C/ZrC-SiC prepared by same process, C/HfC-ZrC-SiC had the highest flexural strength of 247Mpa and 213Mpa after oxidation at 1200 ℃ for 15 min. Both the unoxidized and oxidized samples presented a pseudo-plastic fracture behavior.     

Copper bonding silicon nitride substrate using atmosphere plasma spray

Silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) is an excellent engineering ceramic with high strength, fracture toughness, wear resistance, and good chemical and thermal stability. Recently, the enhanced thermal conductivity enables Si₃N₄ to have potential application prospects in the electronic and orthopedic fields. Metal bonding with Si₃N₄ is often the key to these applications. Here we report a facile approach for the titanium-activated Cu bonding on Si₃N₄ substrates using an atmosphere plasma spray (APS) process. With X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) observation, it was shown that the interaction between the pre-bonded Ti (by APS) on Si₃N₄ promoted the adhesion and high bonding strength of APS Cu on Si₃N₄. The interfacial structure and phases were characterized, and tensile strength, electrical resistivity, thermal conductivity, and residual stress of Cu bonded Si₃N₄ were measured accordingly. The APS deposited Cu layer is dense, has a high purity, and is joined firmly with Ti pre-bonded Si₃N₄ substrate. The maximum tensile strength between Cu and Si₃N₄ is as high as 89.4 MPa. The Si₃N₄ substrate bonded with highly dense Cu demonstrates a low surface resistivity of 8.72 × 10⁻⁴ Ω∙mm, and high thermal conductivity of 98.12 W/m·K, which shows potential applications in electronic devices.