ZnCl2-assisted Synthesis of ZnSe Polycrystal

A chemical-assisted element direct-reaction method is developed to synthesize ZnSe compound semiconductor material at a relatively low temperature (～1000 C). ZnSe polycrystal was obtained in the closed-tube systems with Zn-Se, Zn-Se-Zn(NH3)2Cl2, Zn-Se-NH4Cl and Zn-Se-ZnCl2. The as-synthesized samples were tested by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and analyzed by thermodynamic numerical method. The results demonstrate that the synthesis efficiency is higher than 99.96% for Zn-Se-ZnCl2 system at around 1000 C for 3 weeks. It also exhibits that not only temperature, but also low apparent ratio of volume and surface area of the source materials and higher ZnCl2 content are required to achieve high synthesis efficiency. A SeCl transporting reaction synthesis process is proposed based on the thermodynamic analysis.     

Influence of precursor Bi/Fe ion concentration on hydrothermal synthesis of BiFeO3 crystallites

In this study we investigated the effect of precursor Bi³⁺/Fe³⁺ ion concentration on the hydrothermal synthesis of BiFeO₃ crystallites. It is demonstrated that the phase-purity and morphology of the products is highly dependent on the metal ion concentration. Phase-pure BiFeO₃ crystals can be prepared at the Bi³⁺/Fe³⁺ ion concentration ranging from 0.025 to 0.0625 M. The samples prepared at n(Bi³⁺/Fe³⁺)=0.025, 0.0375, 0.05, and 0.0625 M, are composed, respectively, of cuboid-like particles (100–200 nm), regular spherical agglomerates (30–40 μm) made up of irregular grains with size about several hundred nanometers, irregular flower-like clusters formed from irregular grains of several hundred nanometers in size, and octahedron-shaped particles (500–600 nm). These samples have a similar bandgap energy of 2.20 eV and exhibit a typical antiferromagnetic behavior at room temperature.     

Quantification of losses in thin-film polycrystalline solar cells

Comparison of measured solar-cell parameters with calculations for ideal cells is a powerful tool to assist fundamental understanding and to focus on the most effective fabrication procedures. The emphasis here will be on quantitative separation of individual loss mechanisms in polycrystalline thin-film cells based on CdTe, CuInSe₂ (CIS), and related alloys such as CuIn_1−xGa_xSe₂ (CIGS). Several techniques to facilitate separation of losses are described.     

Role of electronic energy loss on defect production and interface stability: Comparison between ceramic materials and high-entropy alloys

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) and some complex alloys exhibit desirable properties and significant structural stability in harsh environments, including possible applications in advanced reactors. Energetic ion irradiation is often used as a surrogate for neutron irradiation; however, the impact of ion electronic energy deposition and dissipation is often neglected. Moreover, differences in recoil energy spectrum and density of cascade events on damage evolution must also be considered. In many chemically complex alloys, the mean free path of electrons is reduced significantly, thus their decreased thermal conductivity and slow dissipation of localized radiation energy can have noticeable effects on displacement cascade evolution that is greatly different from metals with high thermal conductivity. In this work, nanocrystalline HEAs of Ni₂₀Fe₂₀Co₂₀Cr₂₀Cu₂₀ and nonequiatomic (NiFeCoCr)₉₇Cu₃, both having much lower room-temperature thermal conductivity than pure Ni or Fe, are chosen as model HEAs to reveal the role that electronic energy loss during ion irradiation has in complex alloys. The response of nanocrystalline HEAs is investigated under irradiation at room temperature using MeV Ni and Au ions that have different ratios of electronic energy to damage energy, which is the energy dissipated in displacing atoms. Different from previously reported amorphization of nanocrystalline SiC, experimental results on these HEAs show that, similar to the process in nanocrystalline oxide materials, both inelastic thermal spikes via electron–phonon coupling and elastic thermal spikes via collisions among atomic nuclei contribute to the overall grain growth. The growth follows a power law dependence with the total deposited ion energy, and the derived value of the power-exponent suggests that the irradiation-induced instability at and near grain boundaries leads to local rapid atomic rearrangements and consequently grain growth. The high power-exponent value can be attributed to the sluggish diffusion and delayed defect evolution arising from the chemical complexity intrinsic to HEAs. This work calls attention to quantified fundamental understanding of radiation damage processes beyond that of simplified displacement events, especially in simulating neutron environments.     

High purity biodegradable magnesium coating for implant application

This paper describes efforts to create high purity Mg coating by Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) technique that is appropriate for implant applications and to improve the interaction between the implant and the biological environment. The in vitro and in vivo tests conducted with Mg coatings that consist of grains with controlled size demonstrated promising properties in terms of lower corrosion and acceptable foreign body reaction which makes them prospective as biodegradable metallic materials.     

Initial Stage of Condensation of C60 Films on Semiconducting Substrates of Different Chemical Nature

Abstract

Conditions of growing C₆₀ films deposited from the gas‐dynamic vapor flow on different substrates [layered GaSe substrates with inactive surface, A^IIB^VI (CdS, CdSe) crystals, silicon substrates of (1 1 1) orientations, porous Si substrate] are studied. The condensate structure and growth mechanisms for different substrate are compared. It is shown that the high‐quality epitaxial films of the fullerenes can be prepared by using GaSe layered crystals as substrates.     

Effects of mechanical activation on the structural changes and microstructural characteristics of the components of ferruginous quartzite beneficiation tailings

The effects of mechanical activation in a planetary mill on the structural changes and microstructural characteristics of the components of ferruginous quartzite beneficiation tailings generated by wet magnetic separation process were studied using X-ray and laser diffraction methods. The results revealed the relationship between variations in the mean particle size of activated powders and the milling time. The crystallite size, microstrain, lattice parameters and unit cell volumes were determined for different milling times in powder samples of quartz, hematite, dolomite, and magnetite from the beneficiation tailings. The main trends in the variation of the crystallite size of quartz, hematite, dolomite, and magnetite as a function mean particle size of powder samples were revealed. Changes in the particle shape as a function of the activation time was also investigated.     

Development of structural hierarchy during uniaxial drawing of PEEK/PEI blends from amorphous precursors

When poly(ether ether ketone)/poly(ether imide) (PEEK/PEI) blends are drawn in their rubbery region, prior to the critical draw ratio, they remain amorphous. Subsequent to the onset of strain hardening, the stress rises rapidly as a result of strain-induced crystallization of the chains highly oriented in the direction of strain. It is during this stage of deformation process that a highly structured physical network is formed where oriented crystallites act as nodes in the network structure. The wide angle X-ray scattering data indicate that chains in these ‘nodes’ are highly oriented and the three dimensional crystalline lattice is not well established due to poor axial registry of these highly oriented chains. This is evidenced by the absence of off-equatorial peaks. During this period, the effectiveness of drawing arises from the existence of the tie chains aligned in the direction of draw and forming the net between the crystallites. PEI, though a stiff and bulky chain, is found to delay the oriented crystallization rate of PEEK, but has little effect on its crystalline orientation in the composition range investigated.