Influence of SiO2 in SiCp on the microstructure and impact strength of Al/SiCp composites fabricated by pressureless infiltration

The effect of SiO₂ in SiC_p and the following processing parameters on the microstructure and impact strength of Al/SiC_p composites fabricated by pressureless infiltration was investigated: Mg content in the aluminum alloy, SiC particle size, and holding time. Preforms of SiC_p in the form of rectangular bars (10 × 1 × 1 cm) were infiltrated at 1150°C in an argon→nitrogen atmosphere for 45 and 60 min by utilizing two aluminum alloys (Al-6 Mg-11 Si and Al-9 Mg-11 Si, wt.%). The results obtained show that the presence of SiO₂ in SiC affects the microstructure and impact strength of the composites significantly. When Al₄C₃ is formed, the impact strength decreases. However, a high proportion of SiC to SiO₂ limits the formation of the unwanted Al₄C₃ phase in the composites. Also, a higher content of Mg in the Al alloy lowers the residual porosity and, consequently, increases the composite strength. The impact strength grows with decrease in SiC particle size and increases considerably when the residual porosity is less than 1%. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 401–418, May–June, 2006.     

硼砂与氯化铵合成hBN反应机理的研究

 研究了以硼砂、氯化铵为原料在氨气气氛下合成hBN 的反应机理。指出氯化铵在反应中的主要作用是与硼砂反应形成可阻止硼砂颗粒团聚的高熔点膜层；而氨气的主要作用就是提供大量参与反应的NH₃分子，增加了反应几率；新生成的hBN则进一步隔离高度熔融的硼砂团粒，防止玻璃相的生成。     

Investigation of chemical decomposition of CCl4 on TiO2 near room temperature

Dissociative adsorption of CCl₄ on TiO₂ at 35 °C has been studied by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electron spin resonance. CCl₄ decompose to form CO, CO₂, and CO₃ on the surface, at such a low temperature, in which CO₂ formation is not from CO oxidation on TiO₂, but CO₃ can be produced by CO and CO₂ adsorption. The Cl generated from CCl₄ decomposition is left on the surface and bonded to titanium ions. Mineralization of CCl₄ on TiO₂ involves the lattice oxygens. Thermodynamical driving force and possible reaction routes for CO and CO₂ formation in the CCl₄ decomposition on TiO₂ are discussed.     

Dielectric and conduction mechanism studies of PVA-orthophosphoric acid polymer electrolyte

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based proton conducting polymer electrolytes have been prepared by the solution cast technique. The conductivity is observed to increase from 10⁻⁹ to 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹ as a result of orthophosphoric acid (H₃PO₄) addition. The plot of conductivity vs temperature shows that a phase transition occurred at 343 K in the sample PVA-33 wt% H₃PO₄. The β-relaxation peak is observed at 313 K. The glass transition temperature of PVA-33 wt% H₃PO₄ is 343 K. Orthophosphoric acid seems to play a dual role, i.e., as a proton source and as a plasticizer. The ac conductivity σ _ac = Aω ^s was also calculated in the temperature range from 303 to 353 K. The conduction mechanism was inferred by plotting the graph of s vs T from which the conduction mechanism for sample PVA-17 wt% H₃PO₄ was inferred to occur by way of the overlapping large polaron tunneling (OLPT) model and the conduction mechanism for the sample PVA-33 wt% H₃PO₄ by way of the correlated barrier height (CBH) model.