Fe2O3 nanoparticles dispersed unsaturated polyester resin based nanocomposites: effect of gamma radiation on mechanical properties

ABSTRACT

In this work, unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) matrix based nanocomposite was fabricated using synthesized Fe₂O₃ nanoparticle as reinforcement and methyl ethyl ketone peroxide as curing agent by solution casting method. The Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles were synthesized using the sol–gel method and the formation of nanoparticle was confirmed by X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscope, Energy dispersive spectrometry analysis. Interactions between metal oxide nanoparticles and polymer molecules in fabricated nanocomposite were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer analysis. Pure UPR and Fe₂O₃/UPR composite were irradiated with various gamma radiation doses (0–15?kGy). At the 0?kGy (without radiation), the nanoparticles loaded composite showed better mechanical properties (increased in tensile strength and Young’s modulus and decreased in elongation) compared to that of pure UPR sheet. At the 5?kGy radiation dose, the tensile strength and Young’s modulus were further increased; whereas, the elongation was decreased in both samples.     

基于纳米压痕法的多孔硅硬度及杨氏模量与微观结构关系研究

采用电化学腐蚀制备多孔硅，利用场致发射扫描式电子显微镜(field emission scanning electron microscope，FESEM)观测多孔硅的二维微观形貌，利用Nano Indenter XP中的纳米轮廓扫描仪组件(nano profilometry, NP)得到其三维拓扑分析图像，分析了微观结构差异的原因并讨论了多孔硅内部微观结构对其机械性能的影响；利用MTS Nano Indenter XP纳米压入测量仪器，研究了多孔硅的显微硬度和杨氏模量随压入深度的变化规律，比较了不同孔隙率多孔硅的机械性能差别.实验结果测得40mA/cm²，60mA/cm²，80mA/cm²和100mA/cm²四个不同腐蚀电流密度条件下制备多孔硅样品的孔隙率在60%—80%范围内，孔隙率随着腐蚀电流密度的增加而增大；在氢氟酸(HF)浓度为20%的条件下制备出多孔硅样品的厚度在40μm—50μm范围内；测得多孔硅的平均硬度、平均杨氏模量分别在0.478GPa—1.171GPa和10.912GPa—17.15GPa范围内，并且其数值随腐蚀电流密度的增加而减小，在纳米硬度范围内随压入深度的增加而减小，在显微硬度范围内其数值保持相对恒定，分析了样品表面、厚度、微观结构，及环境对其机械性能的影响，得到了多孔硅力学性能随其微观尺度形貌的变化规律. 关键词： 多孔硅 微观结构 硬度 杨氏模量     

Boron–Carbon Nanocomposites Fabricated at High Pressures and Temperatures

Interaction of amorphous boron and C₆₀ fullerite is analyzed at pressures of 2.0 and 7.7. GPa and temperatures of 600–1800°C. Effect of pressure and temperature on the material structure is studied, temperatures for synthesis of boron carbide and diamond are found, and the sequence of transformations of the carbon component is determined. Ultrasonic method is used to measure elastic moduli of the samples, and the dependences of the moduli on the structure are analyzed. It is demonstrated that the boron–carbon nanocomposite synthesized at relatively low pressure (2.0 GPa) and temperature (about 1000°C) exhibits high elastic parameters (bulk modulus, B ≈ 75.3–84.0 GPa; Young modulus, E ≈ 108–119 GPa; and shear modulus, G ≈ 43–47 GPa at a density of about 2.2 g/cm³). The results can be used for development of novel nanocomposite materials.     

First-principles investigation of the equation of state and elastic properties of perovskite-type SrW(O,N)<Subscript>3</Subscript> under hydrostatic pressures up to 139 GPa

Pressure dependence of the structural and elastic properties of perovskite-type cubic SrWO_2.05N_0.95 was studied using firstprinciples density functional theory (DFT) utilizing the plane wave pseudopotential and the exchange-correlation functionals within the generalized gradient approximation. The estimated bulk modulus and its pressure derivative values from the P ? V data fitted to the third-order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state were close to the data obtained from the independent elastic constants. Based on the generalized Born stability criteria, SrWO_2.05N_0.95 is mechanically stable up to 139 GPa. The influence of hydrostatic pressure (0 to 139 GPa) on the bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young’s modulus, Pugh’s modulus ratio, Poisson’s ratio, Vickers hardness, sound velocities, Debye temperature, Debye-Grüneisen parameter, minimum thermal conductivity and elastic anisotropy of SrWO_2.05N_0.95 was particularly studied in detail. It was found that SrWO_2.05N_0.95 is a ductile and hard solid with large bulk, shear and Young’s modulus and displays an extraordinary low thermal conductivity. Since there are not any experimental or theoretical data available for comparison the results of the present study have revealed an important fundamental information about the elastic properties of perovskite-type cubic SrWO_2.05N_0.95 for future experimental studies.     

Influence of ion bombardment on growth and properties of PLD created DLC films

A hybrid PLD system with ion bombardment of films was developed. Growing DLC films were modified during the laser deposition (10 J?cm^?2) by argon ions with energy in the range from 40 eV to 210 eV and cathode current of 0.15 A and 0.5 A. The content of sp² “graphitic” and sp³ “diamond” bonds was measured using XPS. Sp³ bonds changed from 60 % to 81 %. We found the highest sp³ content for energy of 40 eV. Hardness (and reduced Young’s modulus) were determined by nanoindentation and reached 49 GPa (277 GPa). Film adhesion was studied using the scratch test and was up to 14 N for titanium substrates. Relations among deposition conditions and measured properties are presented.     

Ab initio investigation of the pressure influence on elastic properties of the GaS layered compound

From first principles, in the pressure range of 0–20 GPa, taking into account the structural phase transition at 3 GPa, all independent elastic constants of GaS compound have been calculated. From obtained data, the pressure dependences of the velocities of propagation of elastic waves in different symmetry directions have been determined. The values of averaged elastic moduli, Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio and their pressure dependence have also been calculated..     

Size dependence of the mechanical properties of ZnO nanobelts

The Young's modulus of ZnO nanobelts was measured using an atomic force microscope following the modulated nanoindentation method. The nanobelts have a rectangular cross-section, with width-to-thickness ratios ranging 1–10 and lengths up to a few millimetres. The Young's modulus of two nanobelts with width-to-thickness ratio of 2.2 and 1.3 was measured at 55 and 108?GPa, respectively, indicating a size dependence of the elastic properties of the nanobelts.     

Influence of germanium incorporation on the structural and electrical properties of boron-doped ultrathin poly-Si1−x Ge x films deposited by chemical vapour deposition

A few properties of polycrystalline silicon germanium (poly-Si_1?x Ge _x ) films can be tailored by modulating the germanium incorporation. In this paper, the structural, mechanical and electrical properties of heavily doped ultrathin (~100 nm) poly-Si_1?x Ge _x films (0.84 ≤ x ≤ 0.88) fabricated by low-pressure chemical vapour deposition were investigated. For a boron concentration of ~2.2 × 10²¹ atoms/cm³, a slight increase of germanium fraction significantly enhances the deposition rate, crystallinity and Hall mobility while having negligible influence on the Young’s modulus and hardness. The grain size increases from ~6 to ~12 nm while the grain structure becomes more columnar. In addition, the resistivity decreases from 7.4 to 1.1 m Ω cm with a corresponding increase in the Hall mobility from ~0.9 to ~4.2 cm² V^?1 s^?1. However, the Young’s modulus (~101 GPa) and hardness (~8.8 GPa) are virtually unaffected within the range of germanium fraction explored. In practice, poly-SiGe layer having low resistivity, high modulus, high mobility and low surface roughness can be successfully applied for resonators, biosensors and nanoswitches among others.     

Physical and mechanical properties of C60 under high pressures and high temperatures

The physical and mechanical properties of a C₆₀ fullerene sample have been investigated under high pressure–high temperature conditions using a designer Diamond Anvil Cell. Electrical resistance measurements show evidence of C₆₀ cage collapse at 20 GPa, which leads to the formation of an insulating phase at higher pressure. Energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXD) data indicated that the characteristic fcc reflections gradually decrease in intensity and eventually disappear above 28 GPa. A C₆₀ sample was laser-heated at a pressure of 35 GPa to a temperature of 1910±100 K and, subsequently, decompressed to ambient conditions. The photoluminescence spectra and the Raman spectrum of the pressure–temperature-treated sample were measured at a low temperature of 80 K. Raman peak at 1322.3 cm^?1 with full-width half-maximum of 2.9 cm^?1 was observed from the sample, which is attributed to the hexagonal diamond phase in the sample. The room temperature photoluminescence spectra showed a symmetric emission band centered in the red spectral range with a peak at 690 nm. The structural analysis of the pressure–temperature-processed C₆₀ sample using EDXD method showed strong internal structure orientation and a phase close to hexagonal diamond. Mechanical properties such as hardness and Young’s modulus were measured by nanoindentation technique and the values were found to be 90±7 and 1215±50 GPa, respectively and these values are characteristic of sp³-bonded carbon materials.     

Effect of native oxides on the elasticity of a silicon nano-scale beam

Native oxide is usually formed during the fabrication of silicon beams. A model is developed to describe the effect of native oxide on the elastic modulus of the silicon nano-beam based on the semi-continuum method. The model predicts that Young’s modulus of the nano-beam with native oxide increases as the nano-beam thickness decreases while it exhibits opposite behavior without native oxide. Native oxide dominates the beam with its scaling down to several nanometers. Young’s moduli are in the range from 123 GPa to 190 GPa when the thickness is several nanometers, and they approach the bulk value when the thickness is greater than about 500nm.     

Nanoindentation study of Cu52Zr37Ti8In3 bulk metallic glass

In this paper, Cu₅₂Zr₃₇Ti₈In₃ bulk metallic glass has been studied by nanoindentation. Three different ways for nanoindentation tests were employed. Load-control nanoindentation was used to investigate the effect of the loading rate on the hardness and Young’s modulus. Young’s modulus of the specimen shows a loading rate dependence. The constant-load indentation creep measurement was performed. The creep data were fitted with the generalized Kelvin model, and the compliance spectrum and retardation spectrum were derived. Furthermore, the storage compliance and loss compliance were also discussed. For characterizing the change of the hardness and Young’s modulus with increasing indentation depth, depth-control nanoindentation analysis was conducted. The results show that both the hardness and Young’s modulus decrease with nanoindentation depth.     

Recovery of Young’s modulus upon annealing of nanostructured niobium produced through severe plastic deformation

The effect of temperature (in the range 20–500°C) on the Young’s modulus of nanostructured niobium with Ta impurity content <0.5 wt % and that of O₂ < 0.1 wt % and with a mean grain size of ?200 nm is studied. The transformation of polycrystalline niobium into a nanostructured state is performed through severe plastic deformation by equal-channel angular pressing. The Young’s modulus is found to increase in two stages as the temperature of isothermal annealing is gradually increased. The mechanisms of recovery of the elastic modulus upon annealing of the nanostructured niobium are discussed in the context of the modern concepts of the defect structure of deformed metals.     

Surface topography,nano-mechanics and secondary structure of wheat gluten pretreated by alternate dual-frequency ultrasound and the correlation to enzymolysis

The effects of alternate dual-frequency ultrasound (ADFU) pretreatment on the degree of hydrolysis (DH) of wheat gluten (WG) and angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity were investigated in this research. The surface topography, nano-mechanics and secondary structure of WG were also determined using atomic force microscope (AFM) and circular dichroism (CD). The correlations of ACE inhibitory activity and DH with surface topography, nano-mechanics and secondary structure of WG were determined using Pearson’s correlation analysis. The results showed that with an increase in either pretreatment duration or power, the ACE inhibitory activity of the hydrolysate also increases, reaching maximum at 10 min and 150 W/L, respectively, and then decreases thereafter. Similarly, AFM analysis showed that as the pretreatment duration or power increases, the surface roughness also increase and again a decrease occurs thereafter. As the pretreatment duration or power increased, the Young’s modulus and adhesion of WG also increased and then declined. Young’s modulus and adhesions average values were compared with ACE inhibitory activity reversely. The result of the CD spectra analysis exhibited losses in the relative percentage of α-helix of WG. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that the average values of Young’s modulus and the relative percentage of α-helix correlated with ACE inhibitory activity of the hydrolysates linearly and significantly (P < 0.05); the relative percentage of β-sheet correlated linearly with DH of WG significantly (P < 0.05). In conclusion, ADFU pretreatment is an efficient method in proteolysis due to its physical and chemical effect on the Young’s modulus, α-helix and β-sheet of WG.     

First-principles study of structural,elastic, electronic and thermodynamic properties of topological insulator Bi2Se3 under pressure

The structural, elastic, electronic and thermodynamic properties of the rhombohedral topological insulator Bi₂Se₃ are investigated by the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) with the Wu–Cohen (WC) exchange-correlation functional. The calculated lattice constants agree well with the available experimental and other theoretical data. Our GGA calculations indicate that Bi₂Se₃ is a 3D topological insulator with a band gap of 0.287 eV, which are well consistent with the experimental value of 0.3 eV. The pressure dependence of the elastic constants C_ij, bulk modulus B, shear modulus G, Young’s modulus E, and Poisson’s ratio σ of Bi₂Se₃ are also obtained successfully. The bulk modulus obtained from elastic constants is 53.5 GPa, which agrees well with the experimental value of 53 GPa. We also investigate the shear sound velocity V_S, longitudinal sound velocity V_L, and Debye temperature Θ_E from our elastic constants, as well as the thermodynamic properties from quasi-harmonic Debye model. We obtain that the heat capacity C_v and the thermal expansion coefficient α at 0 GPa and 300 K are 120.78 J mol^?1 K^?1 and 4.70 × 10^?5 K^?1, respectively.     

Finite-element modeling of stresses and strains in a diamond anvil cell device: case of a diamond-coated rhenium gasket

The stresses and strains in a diamond anvil cell device were investigated using a finite-element code NIKE2D for the case of an ultra-hard composite gasket material. The pressure distribution in a diamond-coated rhenium gasket was measured by the energy dispersive diffraction technique to 213 GPa and compared with the finite-element modeling results. We examine various models for the mechanical properties of diamond-coated rhenium gasket as well as for diamond failure for shear stresses exceeding 100 GPa. The elastic and plastic properties of gasket were varied such that a good agreement between the experimentally measured pressure distribution and the computational pressure profiles were obtained. As a result, we obtained the effective Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, yield stress for indented gasket, linear hardening modulus, and hardening parameter value for this layered ultra-hard composite gasket material. Future diamond design strategies for attainment of extreme high pressures using ultra-hard gasket materials are also discussed.     

Erratum to: Superconductivity and spin fluctuations

Based on structure prediction method, the machine learning method is used instead of the density functional theory (DFT) method to predict the material properties, thereby accelerating the material search process. In this paper, we established a data set of carbon materials by high-throughput calculation with available carbon structures obtained from the Samara Carbon Allotrope Database. We then trained a machine learning (ML) model that specifically predicts the elastic modulus (bulk modulus, shear modulus, and the Young’s modulus) and confirmed that the accuracy is better than that of AFLOW-ML in predicting the elastic modulus of a carbon allotrope. We further combined our ML model with the CALYPSO code to search for new carbon structures with a high Young’s modulus. A new carbon allotrope not included in the Samara Carbon Allotrope Database, named Cmcm-C24, which exhibits a hardness greater than 80 GPa, was firstly revealed. The Cmcm-C24 phase was identified as a semiconductor with a direct bandgap. The structural stability, elastic modulus, and electronic properties of the new carbon allotrope were systematically studied, and the obtained results demonstrate the feasibility of ML methods accelerating the material search process.

     

Elasticity and inelasticity of silicon nitride/boron nitride fibrous monoliths

A study is reported on the effect of temperature and elastic vibration amplitude on Young’s modulus E and internal friction in Si₃N₄ and BN ceramic samples and Si₃N₄/BN monoliths obtained by hot pressing of BN-coated Si₃N₄ fibers. The fibers were arranged along, across, or both along and across the specimen axis. The E measurements were carried out under thermal cycling within the 20–600°C range. It was found that high-modulus silicon-nitride specimens possess a high thermal stability; the E(T) dependences obtained under heating and cooling coincide well with one another. The low-modulus BN ceramic exhibits a considerable hysteresis, thus indicating evolution of the defect structure under the action of thermoelastic (internal) stresses. Monoliths demonstrate a qualitatively similar behavior (with hysteresis). This behavior of the elastic modulus is possible under microplastic deformation initiated by internal stresses. The presence of microplastic shear in all the materials studied is supported by the character of the amplitude dependences of internal friction and the Young’s modulus. The experimental data obtained are discussed in terms of a model in which the temperature dependences of the elastic modulus and their features are accounted for by both microplastic deformation and nonlinear lattice-atom vibrations, which depend on internal stresses.     

Prediction of fish body’s passive visco-elastic properties and related muscle mechanical performance in vivo during steady swimming

For attaining the optimized locomotory performance of swimming fishes,both the passive visco-elastic properties of the fish body and the mechanical behavior of the active muscles should coordinate with the fish body’s undulatory motion pattern.However,it is difficult to directly measure the visco-elastic constitutive relation and the muscular mechanical performance in vivo.In the present paper,a new approach based on the continuous beam model for steady swimming fish is proposed to predict the fish body’s visco-elastic properties and the related muscle mechanical behavior in vivo.Given the lateral travelling-wave-like movement as the input condition,the required muscle force and the energy consumption are functions of the fish body’s visco-elastic parameters,i.e.the Young’s modulus E and the viscosity coefficient in the Kelvin model.After investigating the variations of the propagating speed of the required muscle force with the fish body’s visco-elastic parameters,we analyze the impacts of the visco-elastic properties on the energy efficiencies,including the energy utilization ratios of each element of the kinematic chain in fish swimming and the overall efficiency.Under the constraints of reasonable wave speed of muscle activation and the physiological feasibility,the optimal design of the passive visco-elastic properties can be predicted aiming at maximizing the overall efficiency.The analysis is based on the small-amplitude steady swimming of the carangiform swimmer,with typical Reynolds number varying from 2.5×104to 2.5×105,and the present results show that the non-dimensional Young’s modulus is 112±34,and the non-dimensional viscosity coefficient is 13 approximately.In the present estimated ranges,the overall efficiency of the swimming fish is insensitive to the viscosity,and its magnitude is about 0.11±0.02,in the predicted range given by previous study.     

Degradable Bioelastomers Prepared by a Facile Melt Polycondensation of Citric Acid and Polycaprolactone-diol

Citrate-based bioelastomers have great potentials in various biomedical fields. An appropriate selection of diol monomers could tune their properties to fulfill different application requirements. Herein, polycaprolacone diol (PCL-diol) was selected as the diol monomer to fabricate poly(caprolactone-diol citrate) (PCC) degradable bioelastomers by a one pot melt polycondensation coupled with subsequent thermosetting or post-polymerization. The catalyst-free polycondensation reaction was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (¹HNMR) spectroscopy. The properties of the PCC elastomers were explored by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), uniaxial tension tests, dynamics mechanical analysis (DMA), water-contact angle and in-vitro degradation measurements. The results showed that the molar ratio of monomers and thermosetting conditions had significant effects on the ultimate properties of the PCC elastomer. By regulating monomer ratio and thermosetting temperature the crosslink density ranged from 32?±?6?mol/m³ to 292?±?18?mol/m³, the tensile strength ranged from 171?±?28?KPa to 977?±?112?KPa, Young’s modulus ranged from 252?±?36?KPa to 1737?±?212?KPa, ultimate elongation ranged from 70?±?9% to 260?±?32%, the static-water-contact-angle was in the range of 65.4?±?1.8?～?91.0?±?0.9° and the weight loss of the PCC elastomer in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) (pH =7.4) was in the range of 30?～?100?wt% after 8?weeks degradation. An elastic and compressible, porous scaffold was fabricated via a salt leaching method, which has potential use in soft tissue grafts.     

Mechanical anisotropy and thermoacoustic properties of SnO2 under high pressures: an ab initio approach

The effects of hydrostatic pressures on the electronic, thermoacoustic and elastic anisotropies of SnO₂ in the rutile structure is analyzed up to 18 GPa. It is found that the polycrystalline bulk modulus B increases from 227 to 312 GPa between 0 and 18 GPa while the Young and shear moduli slightly decrease with pressures. The resulting polycrystalline ductility increases with pressures. The speed of the sound for longitudinal waves increases with pressure, while the transverse polarizations and the Debye temperature decrease. Large crystal anisotropy for the shear planes {001} between ? 110? and ? 010? directions under pressures, associated with the phase transition to the Cl₂Ca, is found.