Studies on non-cyanide alkaline zinc electrolytes

An alkaline non-cyanide zinc plating solution consisting of 10 g/l zinc oxide, 90 g/l sodium hydroxide and 1.5 g/l gelatine was prepared . Using this solution, a smooth, uniform and fine-grained semi-bright deposit was obtained on mild steel sheets over a wide range of current density and pH at 303 K. The plating bath had about 63% current efficiency and 25% throwing power at 303 K and at pH 10. Caffeine and vanillin additions to this bath gave bright zinc deposits. Received: 30 January 1998 / Accepted: 15 May 1998     

First Example of a Modular Porphyrinoid Assembly Capable of Stabilizing Different Metal Ions in a Single Molecular Scaffold

We report the synthesis and characterization of porphyrin–corrole–porphyrin (Por‐Cor‐Por) hybrids directly linked at the meso–meso positions for the first time. The stability and solubility of the trimer are carefully balanced by adding electron‐withdrawing substituents to the corrole ring and sterically bulky groups on the porphyrins. The new hybrids are capable of stabilizing more than one metal ion in a single molecular scaffold. The versatility of the triad has been demonstrated by successfully stabilizing homo‐ (Ni) and heterotrinuclear (Ni‐Cu‐Ni) coordination motifs. The solid‐state structure of the NiPor‐CuCor‐PorNi hybrid was revealed by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction studies. The Ni^II porphyrins are significantly ruffled and tilted by 83° from the plane of corrole. The robustness of the synthesized hybrids was reflected in the electrochemical investigations and the redox behaviour of the hybrids show that the oxidation processes are mostly corrole‐centred. In particular it is worth noting that the Por‐Cor‐Por hybrid can further be manipulated due to the presence of substituent‐free meso‐positions on both the terminals.     

Effect of Molybdenum (Mo) Addition on Phase Composition,Microstructure, and Mechanical Properties of Pre-Alloyed Ti6Al4V Using Spark Plasma Sintering Technique

The effect of molybdenum additions on the phases, microstructures, and mechanical properties of pre-alloyed Ti6Al4V was studied through the spark plasma sintering technique. Ti6Al4V-xMo (where x = 0, 2, 4, 6 wt.% of Mo) alloys were developed, and the sintered compacts were characterized in terms of their phase composition, microstructure, and mechanical properties. The results show that the equiaxed primary alpha and Widmänstatten (alpha + beta) microstructure in pre-alloyed Ti6Al4V is transformed into a duplex and globular model with the increasing content of Mo from 0 to 6%. The changing pattern of the microstructure of the sample strongly influences the properties of the material. The solid solution hardening element such as Mo enhances mechanical properties such as yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, ductility, and hardness compared with the pre-alloyed Ti6Al4V alloy.     

Preparation and Exploration on the Electrochemical Behavior of Nickel Oxide Nanoparticles Coated Bacterial Nanowires

The controlled synthesis of nickel oxide nanoparticle (NiO NPs) were synthesized by homogeneous precipitation method and have been characterized using UV–visible spectrophotometer, fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscope, scanning electron microscope and high resolution-transmission electron microscope. The synthesized NiO NPs was spherical in shape with an average size ranged between 3 and 5 nm. Subsequently, synthesis of NiO NPs coated on a bacterial nanowires (BNWs) film pre-cast on a glassy carbon electrode surface and the morphology and nature of the prepared composite was characterized using HR-TEM. The electro-chemical behavior of NiO NPs coated bacterial nanowires (NiO NPs-BNWs) was observed using cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis. Highly comparable electrochemical conductivity of NiO NPs-BNWs was observed in this study. The BNWs sample exhibited a polarization resistance (Rp) to be 4457 Ω and the NiO NPs-BNWs sample exhibited polarization resistance (Rp) about 2270.4 Ω. The BNWs exhibited a CPE-T value to be 6.26 µF cm^?2 and the NiO NPs-BNWs sample exhibited CPE-T to be 9.32 µF cm^?2. The enhancement of peak currents is ascribed to the short heterogeneous electron transfer among the NiO NPs-BNWs. The defined nanolayer provides a novel platform for the next generation electrochemical applications.     

Effect of Microwave and Conventional Modes of Heating on Sintering Behavior,Microstructural Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Al-Cu-Mn Alloys

In this research, we intended to examine the effect of heating mode on the densification, microstructure, mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance of sintered aluminum alloys. The compacts were sintered in conventional (radiation-heated) and microwave (2.45 GHz, multimode) sintering furnaces followed by aging. Detailed analysis of the final sintered aluminum alloys was done using optical and scanning electron microscopes. The observations revealed that the microwave sintered sample has a relatively finer microstructure compared to its conventionally sintered counterparts. The experimental results also show that microwave sintered alloy has the best mechanical properties over conventionally sintered compacts. Similarly, the microwave sintered samples showed better corrosion resistance than conventionally sintered ones.