Effect of inert components (Y2O3, Al2O3, and Ga2O3) on the chemistimulating effect of the Sb2O3 activator of GaAs thermal oxidation

Chemistimilated thermal oxidation of gallium arsenide was studied using Sb₂O₃ activator oxide in compositions with Ga₂O₃, Al₂O₃, and Y₂O₃ inert components. For Sb₂O₃-Y₂O₃ compositions, the thickness of the resulting oxide layer on GaAs was found to be a linear function of composition over the enter range of the compositions. For antimony oxide compositions with Ga₂O₃ and Al₂O₃ inert components, nonadditivities were observed near the component ordinates. For the Sb₂O₃-Ga₂O₃ system, the chemistimulating efficiency noticeably weakened at low concentrations of the inert component. The linear trend observed for this system within 0–60 mol % Sb₂O₃ is additively determined by the oxide layer thickness on GaAs in the presence of Sb₂O₃ and in the absence of activator. In the presence of inert Al₂O₃, the chemistimulating effect was enhanced near the Al₂O₃ ordinate and the resulting function was nonadditive with respect to the thicknesses reached in the presence of the individual components.     

Determination of aluminium in bulk coal samples by neutron activation analysis

The determination of Al₂O₃, in bulk coal samples to an accuracy of about 0.2% Al₂O₃ has been achieved by means of a thermal-neutron activation technique based on the reaction ²⁷Al(n,γ)²⁸Al. In the analysed samples, which had widely different compositions, the Al₂O₃ concentrations ranged from 1 to 11% and the ash contents from 7 to 40%. Al₂O₃ concentrations measured by x-ray fluorescence showed a linear relationship with both the 1.78-MeV γ-ray count following the decay of ²⁸Al and the thermal-neutron count near the samples during irradiation. The linear relationship, which was obtained by regression analysis of the experimental data, determined the Al₂O₃concentrations with a standard deviation of 0.24% Al₂O₃. The particle sizes in the samples ranged from —0.5 to —40 mm, the moisture contents ranged from 1 to 6%, and the sample weights ranged from 8 to 11 kg. However, inclusion of these parameters in the regression analysis did not significantly improve the results for Al₂O₃.     

Al2O3/K2O-containing non-stoichiometric lithium disilicate-based glasses

The crystallisation kinetics of experimental glasses in 3 different systems: (A) Li₂O–SiO₂, (B) Li₂O–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ and (C) Li₂O–K₂O–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ were studied under non-isothermal conditions. The DTA results revealed a stronger tendency to crystallisation of binary compositions in comparison to the ternary and quaternary compositions comprising Al₂O₃ and K₂O which present the lower crystallisation, i.e. the crystallisation propensity follows the trend A > B > C. The devitrification process in the Li₂O–SiO₂ and Li₂O–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ systems began earlier and the rate was higher in comparison to that of glasses in the quaternary Li₂O–K₂O–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ system. Thus, addition of Al₂O₃ and K₂O to glasses of Li₂O–SiO₂ system was demonstrated to promote glass stability against crystallisation. However, the activation energy for crystallisation was shown to depend also on the SiO₂/Li₂O ratio with the binary system showing a decreasing trend with increasing SiO₂/Li₂O ratio, while the opposite tendency was being observed for compositions with added Al₂O₃ and K₂O.     

Densification mechanisms of alumina,aluminosilicates and aluminoborosilicates gels,glasses and ceramics

The thermal evolution of gels, glasses and ceramics of various more or less refractory compositions (Al₂O₃, 3Al₂O₃2SiO₂, 7Al₂O₃3SiO₂, Al₂O₃2SiO₂, Al₂O₃2SiO₂0.7B₂O₃, Al₂O₃2SiO₂2B₂O₃, Al₂O₃2SiO₂6B₂ O₃) have been studied by dilatometry, DTA, and helium density measurements. Comparison is made for materials prepared by rapid (powder) or by very slow gelation (optically clear monoliths). The influence of atmosphere sintering (air, H₂, vacuum) is reported. Densification and kinetic laws are discussed.Also at LASIR, CNRS, 2 rue Henry Dunant, 94320 Thiais, France.     

Solid-state spreading of oxides: Morphology and conductivity of In2O3-based films

Spontaneous solid-state spreading of In₂O₃ over the surface of ceramic and single crystal substrates of Al₂O₃, ZrO₂(0.08Y₂O₃), Y₃Al₅O₁₂ and YAlO₃ at 1380 and 1500 °C has been investigated. The films structure, element and phase composition were studied by means of XRD and SEM/EDS. The phase compositions of all films correspond to that of powder In₂O₃. The most films are dense with monolithic “film/substrate” interface. AC-conductivity in the range 25–250 °C is reported. Depending on the substrate material, the films demonstrate a whole set of conductivity types (semi-conductive, metallic) and wide range of magnitudes (more than 3 orders).Thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of oxide spreading and subsequent crystallization on the surface of primary border film are discussed. It is shown, in particular, that the solid-state spreading is facilitated in systems with high chemical affinity (mutual solubility, formation of intermediate interface compounds). In the case of eutectic-type systems, heteroepitaxy of diffusant at substrate surface results in formation of dense films.     

Scanning force microscopy and amplitude versus distance measurements on single‐crystal oxide surfaces

Dynamic mode imaging and investigations on amplitude versus distance measurements were carried out on surfaces of single‐crystal; SrTiO₃, Al₂O₃ and LaAlO₃. Experiments were performed to optimize the imaging parameters for surfaces having varying elastic properties. The dependence of the amplitude–distance curve on different materials and the amplitude of oscillation was investigated. For SrTiO₃, a low‐drive amplitude provided the linear region necessary for imaging. A large amplitude of oscillation, however, created dips in the amplitude–distance curves, presumably due to complications in the tip dynamics such as bifurcation, period doubling, etc. In the case of Al₂O₃ and LaAlO₃, amplitude–distance curves were characterized by oscillations for lower tip sample separations and step‐like discontinuities in the stiff region. The magnitude of the oscillations and discontinuities was found to decrease with amplitude and eventually could be eliminated. Thus, for these samples a large amplitude of the cantilever provided the linear region required for imaging. It was observed also that two different surfaces of Al₂O₃ (c‐cut and r‐cut) yield totally different amplitude–distance curves consistent with their standard differences. The results indicate the complex behaviour of amplitude–distance curves, which not only vary from one sample to another but from one surface to another for a given sample. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Crystallization in the SiO2-Al2O3 System from Amorphous Powders

The crystallization of amorphous chemically homogeneous powders in the SiO₂.Al₂O₃ system has been studied by differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. Up to 1300°C only one exotherm has been observed. Only mullite crystallizes for compositions ≤69 mol% Al₂O₃ and spinel for those ≤80%. The crystallizations into mullite and spinel are sharp and exothermic, with an enthalpy of 250–300 J/g. The chemical composition of the crystallized mullite regularly increases from 68 to 76 mol% Al₂O₃ with increasing bulk composition from 60 to 75 mol% Al₂O₃.     

Crystal-chemistry of mullite-type aluminoborates Al18B4O33 and Al5BO9: A stoichiometry puzzle

Orthorhombic Al₂O₃-rich aluminoborate is an important ceramic material for which two slightly different compositions have been assumed: Al₅BO₉ (5Al₂O₃:B₂O₃) and Al₁₈B₄O₃₃ (9Al₂O₃:2B₂O₃). The formula Al₁₈B₄O₃₃ (=Al_4.91B_1.09O₉) was derived from results of chemical analyses when crystal structure data were not yet available. Subsequent structural investigations indicated Al₅BO₉ composition. Nevertheless, Al₁₈B₄O₃₃ was still accepted as the correct stoichiometry assuming that additional B replaces 9% Al.Powder samples of both compositions and ones with excess boron were prepared by solid state reactions between α-Al₂O₃ and B₂O₃/H₃BO₃ at temperatures above 1100 °C and single-crystals were grown from flux at 1100 and 1550 °C. Products were investigated by single-crystal and powder XRD, ¹¹B and ²⁷Al solid-state MAS-NMR, Raman and FTIR spectroscopy as well as Laser-ablation ICP-MS. No indication of the predicted 9% B→Al substitution was found. LA ICP-MS indicated 12.36(27) wt% B₂O₃ corresponding to Al_4.97B_1.03O₉. Hence, the suggested Al₁₈B₄O₃₃ stoichiometry can be excluded for all synthesized samples. A very low amount of Al vacancies at a five-fold coordinated site are likely, charge balanced by an additional nearby three-fold coordinated B site. All evidences indicate that the title compound should be reported as Al_5−xB_1+xO₉ with x<0.038(6), which is close to Al₅BO₉.     

Laser-induced luminescence associated with surface hydroxide groups in Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>

Laser-induced luminescence of OH_s groups for undoped Al₂O₃ oxides of various phase compositions was excited by pulsed nitrogen laser radiation at 337.1 nm. The luminescence band at 500–650 nm assigned to hydroxide groups of Al₂O₃, actually, consists of several lines at 500–515, 553, 567, 577, 607, and 633 nm; these constituent bands can be assigned to various types of OH_s surface groups. In the low-temperature phases of the γ→δ→θ-Al₂O₃ series, excitation at a wavelength of 337.1 nm gave rise to a characteristic luminescence band associated with surface hydroxide groups of Al₂O₃ that appeared at 770 nm.     

锂离子电池正极材料LiNi0.5Co0.4Al0.1O2的合成与性能

采用高温固相法制备了锂离子电池正极材料LiNi_0.5Co_0.4Al_0.1O₂。采用X射线衍射(XRD)、傅里叶红外光谱(FTIR)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)对材料的结构及表观形貌进行分析。通过恒电流充放电以及循环伏安法进行了电化学性能测试。测试结果表明,充放电电压在3~4.5 V之间,在0.2C倍率下首次放电比容量达到159.9 mAh·g^-1,经50次循环充放电后放电容量为142.6 mAh·g^-1,表现出良好的电化学性能。     

Microstructural, mechanical and electrical properties of alumina-doped cubic zirconia (c-ZrO2)

The effect of Al₂O₃ content on microstructure, hardness, fracture toughness and electrical conductivity behaviours of c-ZrO₂ ceramics was investigated using high-purity commercial powder of 8 mol% yttria-stabilised c-ZrO₂ doped with up to 10 wt.% Al₂O₃. XRD results showed that the c-ZrO₂ specimens doped up to 0.3 wt.% Al₂O₃ revealed no Al₂O₃ peaks, indicating that Al₂O₃ was completely solubilised in the c-ZrO₂ matrix. However, when >0.3 wt.% Al₂O₃ was added, Al₂O₃ peaks started to appear, showing that overdoped Al₂O₃ was not solubilised in the c-ZrO₂ matrix. The introduction of Al₂O₃ significantly enhanced the hardness and fracture toughness of c-ZrO₂. The hardness and fracture toughness increased with increasing Al₂O₃ content. The maximum hardness and fracture toughness values reached 1,459?±?8 kg/mm² and 2.41?±?0.02 MPa/m^1/2, respectively, with the addition of 10 wt.% Al₂O₃, while these values were 1,314?±?11 kg/mm² and 1.5 ?±?0.03 MPa/m^1/2 for undoped c-ZrO₂. The increase of hardness and fracture toughness can be attributed to smaller grain size, the increment of Young’s modulus of Al₂O₃-doped c-ZrO₂ and different expansion coefficients of c-ZrO₂ and Al₂O₃ grains. The electrical conductivity of the specimens was measured using a frequency response analyzer in the frequency range of 5–13 MHz and in the temperature range of 300–800 °C. It was seen that electrical conductivity slightly increased with increasing Al₂O₃ content up to 1 wt.%, and further increase in Al₂O₃ led to a decreased in the conductivity.     

锂离子电池正极材料LiNi0.5Co0.4Al0.1O2的合成与性能

采用高温固相法制备了锂离子电池正极材料LiNi_0.5Co_0.4Al_0.1O₂,采用X射线衍射(XRD)、傅里叶红外光谱(FTIR)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)对材料的结构及表观形貌进行分析。通过恒电流充放电以及循环伏安法进行了电化学性能测试。测试结果表明,充放电电压在3~4.5V之间,在0.2C倍率下首次放电比容量达到159.9mAh·g^-1,经50次循环充放电后放电容量为142.6mAh·g^-1,表现出良好的电化学性能。     

Ethylcyclopentane ring opening reaction over PtGe/Al2O3 catalysts prepared by controlled surface reaction

Platinum-germanium catalysts supported on a non-acidic Al₂O₃ have been prepared by adding Ge in amounts corresponding nominally to 1/8 (PtGe1/8/Al₂O₃); 1/2 (PtGe1/2/Al₂O₃); 1 (PtGe1/Al₂O₃) and 2 (PtGe2/Al₂O₃) monolayers by controlled surface reaction of Ge(n-C₄H₉)₄ to Pt/Al₂O₃. These catalysts were characterized by electron microscopy (TEM), FTIR of CO adsorption and H₂ chemisorption. The ring opening of ethylcyclopentane (ECP) was studied as a test reaction between 543 and 633 K. PtGe1/8/Al₂O₃ catalyst produced the most ring opening products (ROP) in the whole temperature range. A good agreement with statistical values of ROP was observed at low temperature, but at higher temperature, the opening became selective, producing mostly heptane. Bimetallic catalysts PtGe1/Al₂O₃ and PtGe2/Al₂O₃ led to a nonselective hydrogenolysis, similar to the monometallic platinum catalyst Pt/Al₂O₃. The catalysts PtGe1/Al₂O₃ and PtGe2/Al₂O₃ produced ROP with the lowest selectivity; instead, much aromatics and fragments were formed, in increasing amounts above 600 K.     

High-temperature X-ray diffraction and specific heat studies on GdAlO3, Gd3Al5O12 and Gd4Al2O9

Gadolinium aluminates, GdAlO₃, Gd₃Al₅O₁₂ and Gd₄Al₂O₉ were synthesized by the solution combustion method. Very fine particles in the nanoparticle range of ∼10-20 nm could be prepared by this method as evidenced by surface area measurement by multipoint BET method. Thermal studies on these compounds were carried out using high-temperature X-ray diffraction (HT-XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods. The thermal expansion coefficients of GdAlO₃, Gd₃Al₅O₁₂ and Gd₄Al₂O₉ were calculated from the lattice parameter data and specific heats were calculated from DSC data. The lattice parameters of GdAlO₃ and Gd₃Al₅O₁₂ were found to increase linearly with temperature whereas Gd₄Al₂O₉ did not show a linear trend. The specific heats of these compounds show an increasing trend with increase in aluminum atom fraction. Based on the thermodynamic data available in the literature and the specific heat data obtained in this study, oxygen potential diagram was constructed at 1000 K.     

Study of ceramic pigments based on cobalt doped Y2O3–Al2O3 system

Ceramic pigments based on Y₂O₃–Al₂O₃ system doped by cobalt as a colourant agent were synthesized by solid-state reaction at temperatures up to 1,400 °C. The reactivity of initial mixtures of components was improved by the mineralizer LiF and the mechanical activation in a planetary ball mill. The temperature region of the product formation was followed by the method of thermal analysis. The effect of the synthetic method on the phase composition of the products was studied by X-ray diffraction analysis. Studied pigment-application properties of the product include the measurement of optical properties in the visible region of light and particle size distribution. The simple solid-state reaction led to the formation of turquoise samples that contain mainly blue CoAl₂O₄ spinel and next to it also YAlO₃ perovskite and Y₃Al₅O₁₂ garnet phases. The mineralizer LiF promotes the formation of yttrium aluminium double oxides of sandy-yellow to grey–brown colour hue, although the samples also contain small amount of blue CoAl spinel phase. Intensive milling process did not results in CoAl spinel phase and the samples contain yttrium aluminium perovskite and cobalt oxide. Evaluation of Kubelka–Munk absorption as a function of the pigment concentration was found that hiding is complete by adding of 5 mass% of pigment to the ceramic glaze. Resulting colour hue of all pigment applications into ceramic glaze is blue. The size of particles lies in the range of 7–26 μm.     

Direct Oxidation of Methane to Methanol Over Cu-Based Catalyst in an AC Dielectric Barrier Discharge

In this paper, the conversion of methane to methanol on CuO/Al₂O₃ and Mo–CuO/Al₂O₃ catalysts in a plasma reactor was tested. A comparison between catalytic and plasma-catalytic systems had been made in tested temperature range of 50–300°C. Experimental results showed that plasma-catalytic system demonstrated a much better methane conversion than catalytic system in tested temperature range and Mo–CuO/Al₂O₃ revealed a higher catalytic activity than CuO/Al₂O₃ for methanol synthesis. Furthermore, an Arrhenius plot was made in order to deduce the mechanism of plasma activation, which revealed that the presence of plasma decreased the activation energy for both catalysts. In the case of Mo-CuO/Al₂O₃ catalyst, the enhanced activity for methanol synthesis was assumed due to the oxygen vacancies on Mo–CuO/Al₂O₃ catalyst, which can utilize plasma-induced species to improve the catalytic efficiency.     

ChemInform Abstract: Glass Formation Range,Acid Resistivity,and Surface Charge Density of ZnO-B2O3-SiO2 Passivation Glass Containing Al2O3.

The glass formation range in the title system increases after 5% Al₂O₃ addition and then decreases with increasing Al₂O₃ content.     

Evolution thermique des zeolites synthetiques de type “4 A”

The DTA curves of fourteen samples of “4 A” zeolites, taken at various times during a synthesis where the ratio SiO₂/Al₂O₃ was chosen to be smaller than the theoretical value “two”, exhibit either two or three exothermic peaks between 800 and 1000°. The third peak which appears between 900 and 1000°, is associated with the carnegieite-nepheline transformation. It occurs with a frequency which varies in an apparently random way as a function of the crystallization time during the synthesis. On the basis of the results of Berger and Yakoblev, the presence or the absence of the third exothermic peak has been attributed to the heterogeneity of the sample compositions. Small deviations around the value “1.85”, arbitrarily chosen for the ratio SiO₂/Al₂O₃, have large effects on the kinetics of nepheline formation betwen 900 and 1000°.     

Fabrication of inorganic alumina particles at nanoscale by a pulsed laser ablation technique in liquid and exploring their protein binding,anticancer and antipathogenic activities

The interaction of nanoparticles with biological systems can provide useful information about their therapeutic applications. The aluminum nanoparticles (Al₂O₃ NPs) were synthesized by laser ablation technique and well-characterized by different methods. Fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, and molecular docking studies were employed to evaluate the effect of Al₂O₃ NPs on the protein structure. Growth inhibitory and apoptotic effects of the Al₂O₃ NPs against K562 cancer cells and lymphocyte cells were assessed using [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] (MTT), flow cytometry, and real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. The antipathogenic activity of Al₂O₃ NPs against a diverse range of Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens was explored through a disk diffusion method. The characterization techniques determined that the Al₂O₃ NPs were successfully synthesized in the nanoscales. Intrinsic, 1-anilino-8-naphthalenesulfonate (ANS) and acrylamide fluorescence spectroscopy studies disclosed that Al₂O₃ NPs can partially change the tertiary structure of human serum albumin (HSA), whereas CD spectroscopy investigation depicted that the secondary structure of HSA remained intact. Molecular docking investigation also manifest that the Al₂O₃ nano-clusters preferably bind to electrostatic residues. Al₂O₃ NPs exhibited promising and selective anticancer features through reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, apoptosis induction, and elevation of Bax/Bcl-2 mRNA ratio. Furthermore, the Al₂O₃ NP showed a remarkable antibacterial activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens. In conclusion, it may be suggested that the synthesized Al₂O₃ NPs can be integrated in the development of anticancer and antipathogenic agents.     

Verres du systeme La2S3La2O3Ga2O3Ga2S3

The extent of the glass forming region is described as a function of the composition and of the cooling speed. The shape of this region is explained from the previously described La₂S₃La₂O₃Ga₂O₃Ga₂S₃ phase diagram. Glasses are obtained after relatively slow cooling (5°/min), in a definite region of compositions, which coincides with a relatively large concentration of ternary invariants. The thermal properties (transition temperatures and crystallization temperatures) were measured by DTA. For a relatively large region of compositions, glasses return to the equilibrium conditions with intermediate formation of the La_3.33Ga₆S₁₂O₂ metastable crystalline phase. An approach to the structure of the glasses is made by comparison with the crystal structures of the numerous ternary and quaternary crystalline compounds observed in the system, and by the comparison of the Raman spectra. It appears that these gallium oxysulfide glasses have many structural analogies with germanium sulfide glasses.