Grain size influence on the flexibility and luminous intensity of inorganic CaTiO3:Pr3+ crystal nanofibers

Traditional inorganic materials exhibit rigidity owing to the lack of polymer chains in polymer materials or atom slipping in metals. However, nanometerization has been recently proposed for the conversion of inorganic oxide materials into flexible materials. Herein, the flexible inorganic luminescent material, CaTiO₃:0.2%Pr³⁺, was synthesized through electrospinning, and the macroscopic flexibility of pure inorganic CaTiO₃:0.2%Pr³⁺ was achieved. The flexible membrane was characterized via X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and photoluminescence analyses. The grain size was analyzed at various calcination temperatures via SEM, and the results suggested that the increase in the calcination temperature resulted in the growth of crystal grains. Studies have reported that the growth of crystal grains is beneficial for improving the luminescence performance; however, to obtain better flexibility, smaller crystal grains are required. This study provides an important reference for the design of flexible inorganic materials.     

Structure and electrical properties of Ca2+-doped (Na0.47Bi0.47Ba0.06)TiO3 lead-free piezoelectric ceramics

The lead-free piezoelectric ceramics (Na_.47Bi_.47Ba_.06)_1-xCa_xTiO₃ (x?=?0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.05, and 0.08, abbreviated as BNBTC/0, BNBTC/1, BNBTC/2, BNBTC/3, BNBTC/5, and BNBTC/8, respectively) were obtained using the solid-state reaction method. The structure, electric conductivity, and dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties of the Ca²⁺-doped (Na_.47Bi_.47Ba_.06)TiO₃ ceramics were thoroughly investigated. The ceramics sintered at 1200?°C exhibit dense microstructures, having relative densities higher than 96%. The X-ray diffraction results demonstrate that all ceramics have a pure perovskite structure. The mean grain sizes of the ceramics are related to the Ca²⁺ quantity. A small quantity of Ca²⁺ ions (x?≤?0.03) improves the piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties of the samples. The dielectric behavior of the samples is sensitive to the Ca²⁺ content and electric poling. The results demonstrate that the electrical properties of the (Na_.47Bi_.47Ba_.06)TiO₃ lead-free ceramics can be well tuned by varying the Ca²⁺ quantity.     

Calorimetric study of ytterbium orthovanadate YbVO4 polycrystalline ceramics

The heat capacity of ytterbium orthovanadate was first measured by adiabatic calorimetry in the temperature range T?=?12.28–344.06?K. No obvious anomalies were observed on the curve obtained. The values of standard thermodynamic functions in the temperature range T?=?0–400 K were calculated. Based on low-temperature calorimetry data obtained, previously published data on the high-temperature heat capacity of ytterbium orthovanadate were corrected. The anomalous contribution to heat capacity for YbVO₄ was compared with the data known for YbPO₄.     

Distribution of carbon contamination in MgAl2O4 spinel occurring during spark-plasma-sintering (SPS) processing: I – Effect of heating rate and post-annealing

Carbon contamination from the carbon paper/dies during spark-plasma-sintering (SPS) processing was examined in the MgAl₂O₄ spinel. The carbon contamination sensitively changes with the heating rate during the SPS processing. At the high heating rate of 100 °C/min, the carbon contamination having organized structures occurred over almost the entire area from the surface to deep inside the SPSed spinel disk. In contrast, at the slow heating rate of 10 °C/min, the carbon contamination having disordered structures occurred only around the surface area. The carbon phases transform into high pressure CO/CO₂ gases by post-annealing in air and lead to pore formation along the grain junctions. The pore formation significantly occurs at the high heating rate due to the large amount of the contaminant carbon phases. This suggests that if once the carbon contamination was formed in the materials, it is very difficult to remove the carbon phases from the materials.     

Microstructures and mechanical properties of B4C-TiB2-SiC composites fabricated by ball milling and hot pressing

B₄C-TiB₂-SiC composites were fabricated via hot pressing using ball milled B₄C, TiB₂, and SiC powder mixtures as the starting materials. The impact of ball milling on the densification behaviors, mechanical properties, and microstructures of the ceramic composites were investigated. The results showed that the refinement of the powder mixtures and the removal of the oxide impurities played an important role in the improvement of densification and properties. Moreover, the formation of the liquid phases during the sintering was deemed beneficial for densification. The typical values of relative density, hardness, bending strength, and fracture toughness of the composites reached 99.20%, 32.84?GPa, 858?MPa and 8.21?MPa?m^1/2, respectively. Crack deflection, crack bridging, crack branching, and microcracking were considered to be the potential toughening mechanisms in the composites. Furthermore, numerous nano-sized intergranular/intragranular phases and twin structures were observed in the B₄C-TiB₂-SiC composite.     

Hierarchical micro-nanostructured albite-based glass-ceramic for high dielectric strength insulators

A novel glass-ceramic material based on albite type Na-rich feldspar has been synthesized by conventional ceramic process. High crystallinity, >94%?Vol.% is obtained by fast sintering which allows energy saving processing. Albite is the main crystalline phase and tetragonal SiO₂ is a secondary phase. Electrical properties were examined by complex impedance, DC measurements, and dielectric breakdown test. Dielectric characterization shows a non-Debye type dielectric behavior with low dielectric constant, 4.6 at 1?MHz, low dielectric losses, (～10^?3 at 1?MHz, and a large dielectric strength, ～60?kV/mm), that it is the largest value reported in ceramic insulators. Those dielectric properties are attained by the low glassy phase content in the samples and their unique micro-nanostructure. All these properties make this novel material a very promising candidate in the market of ceramic electrical insulator, highlighting for high-voltage applications.     

Self-repair of structural and functional composites with intrinsically self-healing polymer matrices: A review

Self-healing is a smart and promising way to make materials more reliable and longer lasting. In the case of structural or functional composites based on a polymer matrix, very often mechanical damage in the polymer matrix or debonding at the matrix–filler interface is responsible for the decrease in intended properties. This review describes the healing behavior in structural and functional polymer composites with a so-called intrinsically self-healing polymer as the continuous matrix. A clear similarity in the healing of structural and functional properties is demonstrated which can ultimately lead to the design of polymer composites that autonomously restore multiple properties using the same self-healing mechanism.     

Microwave dielectric properties of SrLa[Ga1−x(Mg0.5Ti0.5)x]O4 and SrLa[Ga1−x(Zn0.5Ti0.5)x]O4 (x = 0.2-0.8) ceramics

SrLa[Ga_1−x(R_0.5Ti_0.5)_x]O₄ (R = Mg, Zn) ceramics were prepared by a standard solid state sintering method. The single-phase ceramics with K₂NiF₄-type layered perovskite structure and I4/mmm space group were obtained, indicating that SrLa(R_0.5Ti_0.5) and SrLaGaO₄ can form the unlimited solid solutions. With increasing x for R = Mg and Zn, ε_r increases monotonously, the Qf value first increases and then decreases, while τ_f increases from a negative to a positive value. The optimized microwave dielectric properties were obtained as following: ε_r = 23.3, Qf = 89 400 GHz, τ_f = −0.8 ppm/°C for SrLa[Ga_0.6(Mg_0.5Ti_0.5)_0.4]O₄ and ε_r = 23.3, Qf = 76 200 GHz, τ_f = 0.2 ppm/°C for SrLa[Ga_0.7(Zn_0.5Ti_0.5)_0.3]O₄, indicating that the present solid solution ceramics are the promising candidates as microwave resonator materials for the telecommunication applications.