High cycling performance Si/CNTs@C composite material prepared by spray–drying method

The anode material Si/CNTs@C composite is prepared by a spray–drying combined pyrolysis technology. The as–prepared material is characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, and electrochemical measurements. The composite is composed of nano–Si, CNTs, flake graphite, and amorphous glucose–pyrolyzed carbon, and CNTs provides a good wrapping effect to buffer the volume change of silicon. The composite as anode for LIB shows good electrochemical performance. In the voltage range of 2.00–0.01 V, it delivers initial charge capacity of 630.5 at 100 mA g^?1, and 85.14 % of initial capacity is retained even after 50 cycles. The CV and AC impedance analysis indicate that the prepared composite separately shows good electrode stability and low charge- transfer impedance R _ct. The results indicate that the Si/CNTs@C composite is a potential alternative to graphite for high energy–density lithium–ion batteries.

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Graphical abstract The anode material Si/CNTs@C composite is prepared by a spray–drying combined pyrolysis technology.

     

Properties of Fe–Ga based powders prepared by mechanical alloying

Alloys of Fe–Ga with starting compositions of 17, 19, 21, 23, and 25 at% Ga and Fe₈₁Ga₁₇Z₂ (Z=Si, Sn) have been prepared by mechanical alloying. Samples were milled in a SPEX Model 8000 mill with a ball to sample weight ratio of about 4:1. Phase formation as a function of milling time has been investigated for the 19 at% Ga sample and suggests that milling times of 12 h produce fully alloyed samples. Alloys have been studied by electron microprobe, X-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometery and ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer effect spectroscopy. Fully milled powders have measured compositions of Fe_100−xGa_x with x=15.7, 17.0, 19.0, 22.4, and 24.0 and Fe_83.1Ga_15.2Z_1.7 (for both Z=Si and Sn). X-ray diffraction showed the presence of a disordered bcc phase with no indication of an ordered D0₃ phase. However, the latter is difficult to observe with X-ray diffraction because of the low intensity of the fcc superlattice peaks. A bimodal Fe hyperfine field distribution as obtained from Mössbauer effect spectra indicated the presence of two discrete Fe environments. The results suggested a lower degree of Ga clustering than has been previously observed in Fe–Ga alloys, of similar composition, prepared by melt spinning. The microstructure is similar to that of Fe–Ga thin films prepared by combinatorial sputtering. Some samples have also been studied after annealing at 800 °C for 8 h. No changes were observed in X-ray diffraction patterns after annealing. However, Mössbauer effect studies show the formation of D0₃ and L1₂ order in annealed samples analogous to the phases observed in melt spun ribbons of similar composition.     

Homogeneous Cu–Fe supersaturated solid solutions prepared by severe plastic deformation

A Cu–Fe nanocomposite containing 50 nm thick iron filaments dispersed in a copper matrix was processed by torsion under high pressure at various strain rates and temperatures. The resulting nanostructures were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, atom probe tomography (APT) and Mössbauer spectrometry. It is shown that α-Fe filaments are dissolved during severe plastic deformation leading to the formation of a homogeneous supersaturated solid solution of about 12 at% Fe in fcc Cu. The dissolution rate is proportional to the total plastic strain but is not very sensitive to strain rate. Similar results were found for samples processed at liquid nitrogen temperature. APT data revealed asymmetric composition gradients resulting from deformation-induced intermixing. On the basis of these experimental data, the formation of the supersaturated solid solutions is discussed.     

Magnetic properties of Fe–Pt thick-film magnets prepared by RF sputtering

Thick films of L1₀ ordered Fe–Pt alloy magnet with a high maximum energy product were prepared by using a three-dimensional sputtering apparatus. With decreasing the Ar pressure from 3 to 0.6 Pa, the films annealed at 600 °C underwent a gradual phase transformation from the disordered FCC phase to the ordered FCT one. With further decreasing the pressure to 0.43 Pa, the disordered phase appeared again. The values of _Hc$H_{\mathrm{c}}$ and (_BH)max$({\mathrm{BH})}_{\max }$ were maximized to be approximately 399 kA/m and 90 kJ/m³ at 0.6 Pa of Ar pressure, respectively. While varying the input power at a stable pressure of 0.6 Pa, the as-deposited samples were dominated by the disordered phase at the applied power of 100 W RF, and the heat treatment resulted in a change to such L1₀ ordered phase. At input power higher than 120 W, both the as-deposited and annealing samples were ordered to the hard L1₀ FCT phase, and high _Hc$H_{\mathrm{c}}$ and (_BH)max$({\mathrm{BH})}_{\max }$ values of about 446 kA/m and 124 kJ/m³, respectively, were obtained on the sample deposited at the input power of 180 W.     

Electron irradiation-enhanced core/shell organization of Al(Cr,Fe, Mn)Si dispersoids in Al–Mg–Si alloys

The age hardening 6061-T6 aluminium alloy has been chosen as structural material for the core vessel of the material testing Jules Horowitz nuclear reactor. The alloy contains incoherent Al(Cr, Fe, Mn)Si dispersoids whose characterization by energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM) analysis shows a core/shell organization tendency where the core is (Mn, Fe) rich, and the shell is Cr rich. The present work studies the stability of this organization under irradiation. TEM characterization on the same particles, before and after 1 MeV electron irradiation, reveals that the core/shell organization is enhanced after irradiation. It is proposed that the high level of point defects, created by irradiation, ensures a radiation-enhanced diffusion process favourable to the unmixing forces between (Fe, Mn) and Cr. Shell formation may result in the low-energy interface segregation of Cr atoms within the (Fe, Mn) system combined with the unmixing of Cr, Fe and Mn components.     

Effects of N2 and glow discharge on growth behaviours of carbon nanotubes prepared by the hot filament chemical vapour deposition method

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are prepared by the hot filament chemical vapour deposition method using CH4 and H2 as reaction gases, and the growth behaviours are investigated by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results indicate that the CNTs prepared in the absence of N2 or glow discharge are bent; however, they are in an aligned state after introducing N2 into the chamber or forming glow discharge under a negative biased voltage. The results also indicate that the CNTs are of a bamboo-like structure when N2 is intruded as a reaction gas and the alignment degree of the CNTs grown under glow discharge is higher than that grown in N2. This illustrates that the nitric environment and glow discharge play important roles in the growth of CNTs. Combining with the theory related to alloy thermodynamics and collisions, we have analysed the growth mechanism of the CNTs in nitric environment and glow discharge.     

Magnetic properties of Co–Si alloy clusters

We have investigated the electronic structure and the magnetic properties of Co–Si alloy clusters using ab initio spin-polarized density functional calculations. The possible CoSi₂, CoSi, and Co₂Si phase clusters with oblique hexagon prism, icosahedron, and cuboctahedron structures are introduced. The CoSi phase cluster with icosahedron structure has the largest binding energy and amount of charge transfer. We found that HOMO-LUMO gap, magnetic moment, and spin polarization for the Co–Si alloy clusters with icosahedron structure increase with Co concentration. The Si atoms in the CoSi phase with icosahedron structure have negative magnetic moment.     

The composition-dependent mechanical properties of Ge/Si core–shell nanowires

The Stillinger–Weber potential is used to study the composition-dependent Young's modulus for Ge-core/Si-shell and Si-core/Ge-shell nanowires. Here, the composition is defined as a ratio of the number of atoms of the core to the number of atoms of a core–shell nanowire. For each concerned Ge-core/Si-shell nanowire with a specified diameter, we find that its Young's modulus increases to a maximal value and then decreases as the composition increases. Whereas Young's modulus of the Si-core/Ge-shell nanowires increase nonlinearly in a wide compositional range. Our calculations reveal that these observed trends of Young's modulus of core–shell nanowires are essentially attributed to the different components of the cores and the shells, as well as the different strains in the interfaces between the cores and the shells.     

Yb–Er doped composite fiber with silicate clad and phosphate core prepared by stack-and-draw method

We report on a single-clad fiber with heavily Yb–Er-doped phosphate core and silicate clad. The calculated core NA is ~0.11. The diffusion is slight between the core and clad due to the small drawing temperature contrast between the phosphate and silicate glass. A strong ASE was obtained with central wavelength of 1534 nm.     

The magnetic properties,thermal stability and microstructure of Nd–Fe–B/Ga sintered magnets prepared by blending method

The effect of gallium added by blending method on the magnetic properties, thermal stability and microstructure of Nd_16.5Dy_16.0Fe_53.45Co_13.0B_1.05 (wt%) sintered magnets was investigated. The experimental results show that an appropriate Ga addition can markedly increase the coercivity, reduce the irreversible loss and slightly enhance the remanence. For instance, by adding 0.5 wt% Ga, the coercivity is increased from 1232 to 1819 kA/m; the irreversible loss after being exposed at 200°C for 0.5 h is reduced from above 33% to below 5%. Microstructure analyses show that the grain boundaries of the magnets with and without Ga addition are substantially different. The grain boundaries of the Ga-free magnet are meandrous. On the other hand, most of the boundaries of Ga-containing magnets are straight and smooth. These characteristics can be explained by the appearance of new phases during sintering process.     

Reduced-temperature ordering of FePt nanoparticle assembled films by Fe30Pt70/Fe3O4 core/shell structure

In this paper, Fe30Pt70/Fe3O4 core/shell nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical routine and the layered polyethylenimine （PEI）-Fe30Pt70/Fe3O4 structure was constructed by molecule-mediated self-assembly technique. The dimension of core/shell structured nanoparticles was that of 4nm core and 2 nm shell. After annealing under a flow of forming gas （50%Ar2＋30%H2） for 1 h at or above 400℃, the iron oxide shell was reduced to Fe and diffused to Pt-rieh core, which leaded to the formation of L1. phase FePt at low temperature. The x-ray diffraction results and magnetic properties measurement showed that the chemical ordering temperature of Fe30Pt70/Fe3O4 core/shell nanoparticles assembly can be reduced to as low as 400℃. The sample annealed at 400℃ showed the eoereivity of 4KOe with the applied field of 1.5T. The core/shell structure was suggested to be an effective way to reduce the ordering temperature obviously.[第一段]     

High-efficiency core–shell solar cell array from Si wafer

High-efficiency micro core–shell solar cell (μ-CSSC) arrays are fabricated from Si wafer by using traditional lithography and phosphorus diffusion. The p–n junction depth is around 450 nm, indicating that it forms core–shell structure in micropillars by using phosphorus diffusion. The μ-CSSC arrays have high minority carrier lifetime of 23 μs and long diffusion length of ～150 μm. The best power efficiency of the μ-CSSC reaches to 9.2%. It is a convenient method for fabricating Si μ-CSSC arrays in wafer scale for future applications.     

Magnetic properties of high-Bs Fe–Cu–Si–B nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloys

In the present study, the magnetic properties and microstructures of newly developed Fe–Cu–Si–B alloys prepared by annealing the melt-spun ribbon have been studied. The average size and number density of nanocrystalline grains were about 20 nm and 10²³–10²⁴ m⁻³, respectively. The saturation magnetic flux density B_s for the present alloy is more than 1.8 T, that is about 10% larger than that of Fe-based amorphous alloys. Moreover, core loss P of the present alloy is about half of that of Si-steel up to B=1.7 T.     

Structural asymmetry in liquid Fe–Si alloys

The thermodynamic properties and microscopic structure of liquid Fe–Si alloys at 1873 K were studied by using the regular associated solution model. The model was utilized to determine the complex concentration in a regular associated solution of Fe, Si and Fe₂Si. The complex concentration was then used to calculate the integral excess free energy of mixing, activity, concentration fluctuations in the long-wavelength limit, S_CC (0), and the Warren–Cowley short-range parameter α ₁. The analysis suggests that heterocoordination leading to the formation of complex Fe₂Si is likely to exist in the liquid and is of a strongly interacting nature. The theoretical analysis reveals that the alloy is more ordered towards the Fe-rich region. The observed asymmetry in the properties of mixing of Fe–Si alloys in the molten state is successfully explained on the basis of the regular associated solution model.     

Aromaticity of planar Si6 rings in silicon–lithium clusters

Ipsocentric calculations of current density at the B3LYP/6-311++G(2d,2p) level show that the planar Si₆ ring supports a diatropic π ring current of about half the strength of the equivalent π current in benzene, both in the presumed global optimum geometry of Si₆Li₆ and in geometries occupying higher-energy local minima, corroborating the attribution of aromaticity to this silicon analogue of benzene.     

Pb1−x Fe x films prepared by vapor condensation

ZF, LF and TF SR experiments with antiferromagnetic (AF) ceramical samples La_2–x Sr _x CuO_4–y have been performed in the temperature range 10–300 K. Zero field muon spin polarization functions obtained below the Neel temperature clearly show a nonzero initial precession phase-–0.35 rad. We propose an explanation based on existence of the dynamical magnetic fields on the muon.We thank Drs. A.G. Chistov and A.M. Brjazkalo from RSC Kurchatov Institute for the preparation the #2 La₂CuO_4–y sample.     

Nanocomposite Ni–TiN coatings prepared by ultrasonic electrodeposition

Nanocomposite Ni–TiN coatings were prepared by ultrasonic electrodeposition and the effects of ultrasonication on the coatings were studied. X-ray diffraction analysis was utilized to detect the crystalline and amorphous characteristics of the composite coatings. The surface morphology and metallurgical structure were observed by scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and scanning probe microscopy. The results showed that ultrasonication had great effects on TiN nanoparticles in composite coatings. The moderate ultrasonication conduced to homogeneous dispersion of TiN particles in the coatings. Moreover, the TiN nanoparticles that entered and homogeneously dispersed in the composite coating led to an increase in the number of nuclei for nucleation of nickel grains and inhibition of grain growth. Therefore, the introduction of ultrasonication and TiN nanoparticles resulted in the formation of smaller nickel grains. The average grain diameter of TiN particles was ∼33 nm, while Ni grains measured approximately 53 nm.     

Co–CoO nanoparticles prepared by reactive gas-phase aggregation

The technique of gas-phase aggregation has been used to prepare partially oxidized Co nanoparticles films by allowing a controlled flow of oxygen gas into the aggregation zone. This method differs from those previously reported, that is, the passivation of a beam of preformed particles in a secondary chamber and the conventional (low Ar pressure) reactive sputtering of Co to produce Co–CoO composite films. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the mean size of the particles is about 6 nm. For sufficiently high oxygen pressures, the nanoparticles films become super-paramagnetic at room temperature. X-ray diffraction patterns display reflections corresponding to fcc Co and fcc CoO phases, with an increasing dominance of the latter upon increasing the oxygen pressure in the aggregation zone, which is consistent with the observed reduction in saturation magnetization. The cluster films assembled with particles grown under oxygen in the condensation zone exhibit exchange-bias fields (about 8 kOe at 20 K) systematically higher than those measured for Co–CoO core-shell nanoparticles prepared by oxidizing preformed particles in the deposition chamber, which we attribute, in the light of results from annealing experiments, to a higher ferromagnetic–antiferromagnetic (Co–CoO) interface density.     

ICEMS study of isothermal oxidation of Fe–Mn–Al–C–Cr–Si–Mo, Fe–Mn–Al–C–Cr–Si and Fe–9Cr–1Mo alloys

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the isothermal behavior of Fe–27.3Mn–7.6Al–C–6.5Cr–0.25Si–0.88Mo (Mo(0)) and Fe–27.3Mn–7.6Al–1.0C–6.5Cr–0.25Si (Mo(1)) alloys and compare it against Fe–9Cr–1Mo (FCR) commercial alloy. The experiments were carried out at 600°C, 700°C, 750°C and 850°C, each one during 72 h in static air. The oxidation kinetics was measured as a function of time using a Thermogravimetry analyzer (TGA). The structure and composition of the oxide scale were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Integral Conversion Electron Mössbauer Spectroscopy (CEMS). The TGA results show that at all oxidation temperatures the sample FCR exhibit the lowest kinetic corrosion and the lowest weight gain, whereas Mo(0) the highest. By CEMS technique it were found a broad magnetic sextet, which has been fit by one hyperfine field distribution with mean hyperfine field characteristic to ferritic/martensite phase, one Fe^3?+? doublet and one singlet for the Mo(0) and Mo(1) alloys. Samples oxidized at highest temperatures exhibit a strong paramagnetic line, probably due that the Cr or Mn oxides may be enriched on the surface. Then, the magnetic phase can be converted partially into austenite phase at highest temperatures.