Heat-treatment influence on Ni–Fe–Cu–Mo nanocrystalline alloy obtained by mechanical alloying

The 77Ni14Fe5Cu4Mo (wt%) powders have been obtained by dry mechanical alloying of elemental powders in a planetary mill under argon atmosphere for milling durations ranging from 2 to 28?h. The alloy formation is obtained after 12?C16?h of milling, as shown by the X-ray diffraction and magnetic studies. The crystallite mean size is 13?±?2?nm after 28?h of milling. An optimal heat-treatment temperature was chosen after the analysis of the DSC signals. and the samples were heated at 350?°C for different durations ranging from 0.5 to 4?h. The heat treatment was continued to enhance the alloy formation and to eliminate the internal stresses induced during the milling process. The evolution of the phases amount during the heat treatment was calculated from the X-ray patterns using the Rietveld procedure.     

Comparative rheological study of ionic semi-IPN composite hydrogels based on polyacrylamide and dextran sulphate and of polyacrylamide hydrogels

Ionic semi-interpenetrating polymer networks composite hydrogels were synthesized by free-radical polymerization using dextran sulphate (DxS), acrylamide as monomer and N,N′-methylene(bis)acrylamide as cross-linking agent. The viscoelastic properties of these composite hydrogels were investigated by oscillatory shear measurements under small deformation conditions comparative with those of polyacrylamide gels. Changes of the rheological properties of composite hydrogels have been studied in terms of polymerization temperature, cross-linker ratio, initial monomer concentration and molar mass of DxS. The results showed that the stability of the composite hydrogels obtained at room temperature (22?°C) was relatively low because the storage modulus (G′) was only eight times higher than the loss modulus (G″), while for those obtained by cryopolymerization (?18?°C), the stability was improved, the G′ values being about 30 times higher than those of G″. This behaviour indicated that, by conducting the synthesis of hydrogels below the freezing point of the reaction solutions, an enhancement of the hydrogels elasticity was achieved. The network parameters, i.e. the average molecular weight between two cross-links and the cross-link density of the composite hydrogels prepared at ?18?°C, were estimated from rheological data.