Thermodynamic evaluation of viscosity in In–Zn and Sn–Zn liquid alloys

A theoretical formalism that links thermodynamic properties to transport properties has been used to study the viscosity of Sn–Zn and In–Zn liquid alloys at various temperatures. The formalism was successful at describing the thermodynamic properties of these alloys and showed a better estimation of the viscosity of the Sn–Zn alloy than that of the In–Zn alloy.     

The density and surface tension of In–Sn and Cu–In–Sn alloys

Abstract  

The density and surface tension of binary In–Sn and ternary Cu–In–Sn alloys have been measured by a sessile-drop method. Decrease of the density and of the surface tension was observed with rising temperature. With increased Sn content in the alloys, the density increased while the surface tension reduced slightly. Addition of Cu could significantly increase the density and surface tension in the Cu–In–Sn system. The surface tension of the Cu–In–Sn alloys was also calculated by means of Butler’s equation, and compared with experimental values, showing good agreement.     

Synthesis and characterization of Sibunit-supported Pd–Ga,Pd–Zn,and Pd–Ag catalysts for liquid-phase acetylene hydrogenation

Pd/Sibunit and Pd–M/Sibunit (M = Ga, Zn, or Ag) catalysts have been synthesized, and their catalytic properties in liquid-phase acetylene hydrogenation have been investigated. Doping of the palladium catalyst with a metal M leads to the formation of the Pd₂Ga, PdZn, or Pd_0.46Ag_0.54 bimetallic compound. The bimetallic particles are much smaller (1.6–2.0 nm) than the monometallic palladium particles (4.0 nm). Doping with zinc raises the ethylene selectivity by 25% without affecting the activity of the catalyst. Specific features of the effect of each of the dopants on palladium are reported.     

Hydrogen evolution reaction on Sn, In, and Sn–In alloys in carboxylic acids

The cathodic behavior of tin, indium, and tin–indium alloys in 0.5-M solutions of oxalic, malic, and citric acids has been investigated using potentiodynamic techniques at temperature range of 30–60 °C. The results showed that the corrosion rate (I _corr) is higher at lower indium percent (0.5% In) and starts to decrease gradually as increase of the In percent up to 5% In (although it is still higher than that of pure tin and lower than that of indium at 5% In) in all examined acids. The positive shift in corrosion potential with simultaneous increase in corrosion rate can be explained on the basis of the depolarizing action of β-InSn₄ phase compared with pure tin. The negative shift in the corrosion potential with much higher corrosion rate in case of alloys IV and V (10% and 20% In, respectively) can be ascribed to the formation of γ-In₃Sn phase which leads to the increase in the anodic to cathodic area ratio. The corrosion of the two investigated metals and their alloys is affected by the formation of soluble complex species with organic acid anions. The aggressiveness of the studied metals and their alloys decreases in the following order of the organic acids employed oxalic > malic > citric acid. The observed activation energy values support that the tested electrodes exhibit higher corrosion rates in oxalic acid solution than the corresponding values in the other investigated acids. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy photographs elucidated the types of phases formed in the prepared alloys. The presence of a definite amount of indium in tin alloy improves the hardness.     

DSC analysis of Cu–Zn–Sn shape memory alloy fabricated via electrodeposition route

Cu–Zn–Sn shape memory alloy strips with composition range of 13.70–46.30 mass% Sn were fabricated by electrodepositing Sn on a shim brass surface and then subsequently annealed at a constant temperature of 400 °C for 120 min under flowing nitrogen. Subjecting the Sn-plated strips to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis revealed that the austenitic start (A _s) temperature was essentially constant at 225 °C while the martensite start (M _s) temperature was consistently within the 221.5–222 °C interval. Austenite to martensite phase transformation showed two distinct peaks on the DSC thermogram which can be attributed to the non-homogeneity of the bulk Cu–Zn–Sn ternary alloy. The latent heats of cooling and heating were found to increase with the mass% Sn plated on the shim brass. Effect of annealing temperature was also investigated wherein strips with an essentially constant composition of 26 mass% Sn were annealed at a temperature range of 350–420 °C for 120 min under flowing nitrogen. Varying the annealing temperature has no significant effect on the transformation temperatures of the ternary alloy.     

Thermodynamics and vacuum distillation studies of liquid Al–Ga and In–Sn alloys

Activities of components in liquid Al–Ga and In–Sn alloys, the separation coefficients and vapour–liquid phase equilibrium in vacuum distillation were predicted using the molecular interaction volume model as a function of the activity coefficients. The results indicated that both Al and In are preferentially volatilised into vapour phase while Ga and Sn remain in residue. Similarly, we found that both the mass fraction and the content of Al and In in vapour phase increase as distillation temperature increases such that when the content of Al is 0.005985 wt% and In is 0.004141 wt% in vapour phase, respectively, in liquid phase, it was 70 wt% at T = 1073 K for both. The calculated values of activity and activity coefficients at various temperatures are presented. Comparison of the predicted values with experimental data indicates good agreement, thus verifying from statistical thermodynamics viewpoint that the model is stable and reliable.     

Phase equilibria in the Sn–As–Ge and Sn–As–P systems

T–x diagrams of polythermal GeAs–SnAs, GeAs–Sn₄As₃ sections of the Sn–As–Ge system and Sn₄P₃–Sn₄As₃ section of the Sn–As–P system were constructed using the results of X-ray powder diffraction and differential thermal analyses. It was found that the section GeAs–Sn₄As₃ is not quasi-binary due to realization of four-phase peritectic transformation L + SnAs ? GeAs + Sn₄As₃ at the temperature of 834 K. The quasi-binary section GeAs–SnAs represents a phase diagram of the eutectic type with the following coordinates of eutectic reaction: temperature of the eutectic point is 840 K, and composition is 20 mol% GeAs. In the Sn–As–P system, the existence of the solid-solution range indicated as (Sn₄As₃) _x (Sn₄P₃)_1?x  was defined. The polythermal section Sn₄P₃–Sn₄As₃ is not quasi-binary due to the fact that in the composition range with a high content of tin arsenide discussed section intersects the peritectic part of the three-phase volume (L + SnAs + α) of the ternary diagram.     

Highly efficient In–Sn alloy catalysts for electrochemical reduction of CO2 to formate

Gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs), including GDE-In_0.90Sn_0.10, GDE-In_0.47Sn_0.53 and GDE-In_0.22Sn_0.78, were prepared by electrodeposition of In–Sn alloys on carbon fiber paper, and then used to explore the electroreduction of CO₂ to formate in aqueous solution. Compared with commercial indium or Sn foil catalysts, the GDE-In_0.90Sn_0.10 electrode in particular is shown to have excellent catalytic performance towards electroreduction of CO₂ to formate, with a high Faradaic efficiency (~ 92%). More importantly, the catalytic activity of GDE-In_0.90Sn_0.10 remained reasonably stable over a 22-hour period of electrolysis, and a relatively high electrolytic current density (15 mA cm^− 2) was obtained in an aqueous medium, demonstrating its potential for electrochemical reduction of CO₂ to formate.     

Calorimetric studies of Ag–Sn–Cu dental amalgam alloy powders and their amalgams

The methods of directed crystallization and thermal analysis were used to construct the section Cu_0.19Fe_0.33S_0.48–Cu_0.31Fe_0.23S_0.46 of the liquid–solid diagram of the Cu–Fe–S system. Pyrrhotite solid solution (Fe, Cu)S_1±δ (Poss) and nonstoichiometric isocubanite Cu_1.1Fe_2.0S_3.0 (Icb*) form from melt (L) successively. Isocubanite forms at 970 °C by peritectic reaction L + Poss → Icb*. At 930 °C, peritectic reaction L + Icb* → Iss proceeds with formation of intermediate solid solution with average composition Cu_1.0Fe_1.2S_2.0 (Iss). On the basis of the results from this paper and earlier published works, we built a fragment of liquidus surface for the Cu–Fe–S system in the crystallization field of nonstoichiometric isocubanite and stoichiometric isocubanite CuFe₂S₃ (Icb).     

Electrochemical and structural characterization of sputter-deposited Mg–Nb and Mg–Nb–Al–Zn alloy films

Nanocrystalline Mg–Nb and Mg–Nb–Al–Zn alloy films were deposited by dc magnetron sputtering on glass and quartz substrates in a wide range of niobium concentrations from 6 to 80 at.%. Structural, electrochemical and corrosion properties of the films were studied by X-ray diffraction, dc voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance. Development of body-centred cubic Nb structure in the Mg–Nb alloy matrix yielded the effects of lattice contraction, grain refining and electrochemical passivity. The measurements showed high corrosion resistance of the films in alkaline solutions when niobium content was one third or more. An increased corrosion resistance was achieved by introducing minor amounts of Al (ca. 2 at.%). In particular, such Al effect was pronounced at lower Nb concentrations (20 to 30 at.%). Semiconductor properties of spontaneously formed oxide on Mg–Nb alloy were studied by Mott–Schottky plots, which indicated highly doped n-type oxide structures on Mg–Nb surface. The paper fills some gap in understanding of niobium–magnesium systems, which show potential for applications in hydrogen storage, switchable mirrors and corrosion protection.     

Predicting the formation enthalpies of Cd–Ga–In–Sn–Zn liquid alloys by the limiting partial enthalpies

The formation enthalpies of Cd–Ga–Sn, In–Sn–Zn, Cd–Ga–In–Sn, Ga–In–Sn–Zn and Cd–Ga–In–Sn–Zn liquid alloys are calculated by molecular interaction volume model (MIVM), which only using the limiting partial enthalpies of binary systems and the coordination numbers of the constituent elements in liquid alloys. The predicted values are compared with the experimental data and the values calculated using Hoch–Arpshofen model, which indicate that the model is reliable and convenient.     

Syntheses and molecular structures of four inorganic–organic hybrid compounds from N-containing aromatic bases and perchlorometallates of Zn,Cu, Sn,and Fe

Four organic–inorganic crystals, [(HL1)₂(ZnCl₄)]·H₂O (1) (L1?=?2-methylquinoline), [(HL1)₂(CuCl₄)] (2), [(HL2)₂SnCl₆] (3) (L2?=?6-bromobenzo[d]thiazol-2-amine), and [(HL3)FeCl₄] (4) (L3?=?5,7-dimethyl-1,8-naphthyridine-2-amine), derived from N-containing aromatic Brønsted bases and metal(II) chlorides (zinc(II) chloride, copper(II) chloride dihydrate, tin(II) chloride dihydrate, and iron(III) chloride hexahydrate) were prepared at room temperature and characterized by IR, X-ray structure analysis, elemental analysis, and TG analysis. The crystals are built up by perchlorometallates (Zn, Cu, Sn, and Fe) associated with organic cations through multiple non-covalent associations. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that 1 and 2 have 3-D network structures built from hydrogen bonds between the cations and chlorometallates. Water molecules play an important role in structure extension in 1. Anhydrous 3 and 4 produced from 2-aminoheterocyclic derivatives display 2-D sheet structures. Arrangements of anions and cations are dominated by shape and size of cations, and also by the different structures of the chlorometallates as well as non-bonding interactions in the crystal structures. Except for 1, the other compounds are thermally stable below 240°C.     

Electroreduction of α-glucose on CNT/graphite electrode modified by Zn and Zn–Fe alloy

Electroreduction of -glucose to form sorbitol on Zn/CNTs and Zn alloy/CNTs electrodes has been investigated in this paper. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) used in this paper are grown directly on graphite disks by chemical vapor deposition. Zn and Zn alloy are electrodeposited on the activated CNTs/graphite electrode by pulse galvanostatic method. The micrographs of Zn/CNTs and Zn alloy/CNTs electrodes are characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the current efficiency of -glucose reduction on CNTs electrodes is much better than that on flat Zn electrodes. The order of the current efficiency on different electrodes is as follows: Zn/CNT (0.58) Zn–Fe/CNT (0.57)>Zn–Ni/CNT (0.43) Zn/graphite (0.42)>Zn (0.40). It indicates that CNTs have good potential application in electrosynthesis. Additionally, effects of some operating parameters, such as pH, temperature and -glucose concentration, on the current efficiency of -glucose reduction are also discussed.     

Electrical resistivity feature of Cu–Sn–(Bi) alloy melts

The temperature dependence of electrical resistivity of Cu–Sn alloys, along with Cu–Sn–Bi alloys, has been investigated in a wide temperature range using the DC four-probe technique. Evidently abnormal changes are observed on ρ–T curves of these alloys. The result reveals that the irreversible and reversible changes on these ρ–Tcurves indicate the existence of the metastable microinhomogeneous structure and microheterogeneous structure (including some short range orders) of the Cu–Sn and Cu–Sn–Bi alloy melts, respectively. Furthermore, the addition of Bi increases the metastable microheterogeneity in the first heating process of Cu–Sn melts.     

Phase transition temperatures of Sn–Zn–Al system and their comparison with calculated phase diagrams

The Sn?CZn?CAl system was studied in connection with the possible substitution of lead-based solders for temperatures up to 350?°C. Ternary alloys with up to 3?wt% of aluminium were prepared. The investigated alloys lie close to the monovariant line (eutectic valley) of the Sn?CZn?CAl system. The temperatures of phase transitions of six binary Sn?CZn reference alloys and fourteen ternary Sn?CZn?CAl alloys using DTA method were investigated in this paper. DTA experiments were performed at the heating/cooling rate of?4?°C?min^?1 using Setaram SETSYS 18_TM experimental equipment. The temperatures of phase transitions in the ternary Sn?CZn?CAl system were obtained, namely, the temperature of ternary eutectic reaction T _E1 (197.7?±?0.7?°C), temperature of ternary transition reaction T _U1 (278.6?±?0.7?°C), temperatures of liquidus and other transition temperatures for studied alloys. Temperatures obtained during DTA heating runs were used as authoritative. DTA curves obtained during cooling enabled realising better differentiation of the obtained overlapped heat effects (peaks) during heating. Theoretical isopleths of the Sn?CZn?CAl phase diagram were calculated using the Thermocalc software and MP0602 thermodynamic database. Experimental data were compared with the calculated temperatures, and a good agreement was obtained.     

Fabrication and electrochemical properties of the Sn–Ni–P alloy rods array electrode for lithium-ion batteries

A new ternary Sn–Ni–P alloy rods array electrode for lithium-ion batteries is synthesized by electrodeposition with a Cu nanorods array structured foil as current collector. The Cu nanorods array foil is fabricated by heat treatment and electrochemical reduction of Cu(OH)₂ nanorods film, which is grown directly on Cu substrate through an oxidation method. The Sn–Ni–P alloy rods array electrode is mainly composed of pure Sn, Ni₃Sn₄ and Ni–P phases. The electrochemical experimental results illustrate that the Sn–Ni–P alloy rods array electrode has high reversible capacity and excellent coulombic efficiency, with an initial discharge capacity and charge capacity of 785.0 mAh g^?1 and 567.8 mAh g^?1, respectively. After the 100th discharge–charge cycling, capacity retention is 94.2% with a value of 534.8 mAh g^?1. The electrode also performs with an excellent rate capacity.     

Influence of Sr addition on microstructure of the hypereutectic Zn–Al–Cu alloy

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The purpose of the presented work is to answer the questions: how does the addition of strontium to the Zn–8Al–1Cu alloy crystallisation...