Carbon Encapsulation of High Entropy Alloy Nanoparticles with Extraordinary Coercivity and Saturation at Room Temperature

Owing to their unique properties and technological potential, high entropy alloys (HEAs) have become the subject of great interest in the materials science community. HEAs consist of more than four principle elements in equimolar ratio so their configurational entropy is intrinsically greater than one-principle element based. The increasing surface energy and chemical tendency toward clustering of like atoms at low dimension, however, make production of HEA-nanoparticles (HEA-NPs) extremely difficult. A facile production of HEA-NPs inside carbon nanotubes and nanoparticles is demonstrated in this work. Electron microscopic and elemental analyses confirm encapsulated to be solution phase; some embrace carbides and form multidomains with chemical composition ranging from quaternary to quinary phase. Multidomains and nonmagnetic centers create hardening thus promoting coercivity significantly at room temperature. Alloying induces electron redistribution into high spin states, accounting for observed high saturation. Configurational entropy of encapsulated HEA-NPs lies on a range comparable with bulk.     

Sonication-Assisted Synthesis of Bimetallic Hg/Pd Alloy Nanoparticles for Catalytic Reduction of Nitrophenol and its Derivatives

In this article, we report a facile approach for the synthesis of an inexpensive catalyst of bimetallic Hg/Pd alloys comprising nanoparticles with various structures using a unique ultrasonic reaction that is conducted without the use of any reducing agent. The nanoparticles of Hg/Pd alloys (HgPd and Hg₂Pd₅) were achieved for the first time by sonicating an aqueous solution of Palladium (II) nitrate with metallic liquid mercury, as evidenced by XRD. EDS further confirmed the presence of Pd and Hg elements in the alloy. The surface morphology and structure of the nanoparticles have been systematically investigated by HRSEM, HRTEM and SAED pattern. In order to explore the catalytic activity of the as-synthesized nanoalloys, the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol and a few other nitrophenol derivatives were investigated. Excellent catalytic activity was obtained for Hg/Pd (1:1) alloy, and the rate constant for the reduction of 4-NP with Hg/Pd at room temperature was found to be 58.4 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹, which is possibly the highest ever reported. The catalyst exhibited superior stability and reusability when compared with those reported in the literature for other catalysts based on noble metals.     

Instantaneous work hardening behaviour of two-phase tungsten heavy alloys: a phenomenological approach

ABSTRACT

The present work describes a phenomenological approach to explain the instantaneous behaviour of tungsten heavy alloys (WHAs) in heat-treated and swaged conditions. The strengths and elongation values of heat-treated materials are lower and higher than those of the swaged samples respectively. The heat-treated materials exhibit two slopes in true stress–true plastic strain curves and follow the Ludwigson constitutive equation. On the other hand, swaged materials display a single slope and adhere to typical Swift constitutive equation. The latter reflect the presence of pre-strain in the materials due to swaging deformation. The fracture surfaces in heat-treated materials consist of W-W decohesion along with matrix rupture and W-cleavage, while swaged samples consist of mainly W-cleavage. Both the materials display three typical stages (I, II and III) of work hardening. The second derivatives of true stress–true plastic strain curves of these alloys exhibit a perfect parabola although the nature of true stress–true strain as well as true stress–true plastic strain curves is quite different in heat-treated and swaged materials. This has been observed for the first time in WHAs consisting of matrix and W-grains. The shape of the parabola is simple and easy to fit. The fitting parameters of parabolas have been successfully employed to explain the flow behaviour of a large number of tungsten heavy alloys having two-phase microstructure in different processing conditions.     

Metamorphic InAs(Sb)/InGaAs/InAlAs nanoheterostructures grown on GaAs for efficient mid-IR emitters

High-efficiency semiconductor lasers and light-emitting diodes operating in the 3–5?μm mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectral range are currently of great demand for a wide variety of applications, in particular, gas sensing, noninvasive medical tests, IR spectroscopy etc. III-V compounds with a lattice constant of about 6.1?Å are traditionally used for this spectral range. The attractive idea to fabricate such emitters on GaAs substrates by using In(Ga,Al)As compounds is restricted by either the minimum operating wavelength of ～8?μm in case of pseudomorphic AlGaAs-based quantum cascade lasers or requires utilization of thick metamorphic In_xAl_1-xAs buffer layers (MBLs) playing a key role in reducing the density of threading dislocations (TDs) in an active region, which otherwise result in a strong decay of the quantum efficiency of such mid-IR emitters. In this review we present the results of careful investigations of employing the convex-graded In_xAl_1-xAs MBLs for fabrication by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs (001) substrates of In(Ga,Al)As heterostructures with a combined type-II/type-I InSb/InAs/InGaAs quantum well (QW) for efficient mid-IR emitters (3–3.6?μm). The issues of strain relaxation, elastic stress balance, efficiency of radiative and non-radiative recombination at T?=?10–300?K are discussed in relation to molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth conditions and designs of the structures. A wide complex of techniques including in-situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction, atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning and transmission electron microscopies, X-ray diffractometry, reciprocal space mapping, selective area electron diffraction, as well as photoluminescence (PL) and Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy was used to study in detail structural and optical properties of the metamorphic QW structures. Optimization of the growth conditions (the substrate temperature, the As₄/III ratio) and elastic strain profiles governed by variation of an inverse step in the In content profile between the MBL and the InAlAs virtual substrate results in decrease in the TD density (down to 3?×?10⁷ cm^?2), increase of the thickness of the low-TD-density near-surface MBL region to 250–300?nm, the extremely low surface roughness with the RMS value of 1.6–2.4?nm, measured by AFM, as well as rather high 3.5?μm-PL intensity at temperatures up to 300?K in such structures. The obtained results indicate that the metamorphic InSb/In(Ga,Al)As QW heterostructures of proper design, grown under the optimum MBE conditions, are very promising for fabricating the efficient mid-IR emitters on a GaAs platform.     

动态压缩下Zr基非晶合金失效释能机理

为研究Zr 基非晶合金动态压缩条件下的失效释能机理,采用力学试验机、霍普金森杆、高速摄影、差示扫描量热分析(differential scanning calorimetry, DSC)、扫描电镜(scanning electron microscope, SEM)等,得到了材料应力应变曲线、高速摄影图像、失效式样微观形貌及DSC 曲线,根据实验数据计算了材料的晶化激活能,并拟合了材料的JH-2(Johnson-Holmquist Ⅱ)模型,对材料动态失效过程进行有限元数值模拟。实验结果表明,压缩条件下材料为脆性断裂,断口处观察到典型的脉状纹样及液滴状结构,材料失效过程伴随着释能现象;数值模拟结果表明,材料裂纹局部的瞬时内能大于材料晶化激活能。动态压缩下材料的失效释能机理即为材料破碎释放储存的弹性势能,并导致材料局部晶化释能,释能强度与应变率成正相关。     

计及相变微结构演化的形状记忆合金本构描述

基于对NiTi形状记忆合金的实验观察及有限元分析,考虑两相间的应变不协调关系,采用应变修正法建立了计及片层状微结构的本构模型,本模型考虑了两相间的相互约束,及其约束随微结构演化的变化规律.研究了NiTi形状记忆合金微圆管在拉伸和扭转下的响应特性.计算结果与实验结果的对比表明所建本构模型较好地描述了伪弹性响应尤其是较好地描述了拉伸实验过程中的应力跌落现象.     

Assessing the biocompatibility of NiTi shape memory alloys used for medical applications

The present paper reviews aspects related to the biocompatibility of NiTi shape memory alloys used for medical applications. These smart metallic materials, which are characterised by outstanding mechanical properties, have been gaining increasing importance over the last two decades in many minimal invasive surgery and diagnostic applications, as well as for other uses, such as in orthodontic appliances. Due to the presence of high amounts of Ni, the cytotoxicity of such alloys is under scrutiny. In this review paper we analyse work published on the biocompatibility of NiTi alloys, considering aspects related to: (1) corrosion properties and the different methods used to test them, as well as specimen surface states; (2) biocompatibility tests in vitro and in vivo; (3) the release of Ni ions. It is shown that NiTi shape memory alloys are generally characterised by good corrosion properties, in most cases superior to those of conventional stainless steel or Co–Cr–Mo-based biomedical materials. The majority of biocompatibility studies suggest that these alloys have low cytotoxicity (both in vitro and in vivo) as well as low genotoxicity. The release of Ni ions depends on the surface state and the surface chemistry. Smooth surfaces with well-controlled structures and chemistries of the outermost protective TiO₂ layer lead to negligible release of Ni ions, with concentrations below the normal human daily intake.     

La2O3对钛合金表面镍基喷焊涂层组织和性能的影响

采用火焰喷焊技术在钛合金基体上制备了不加La2O3和加4％(质量分数)La2O3两种镍基涂层，分析了它们的显微组织、合金元素的扩散、显微硬度以及耐磨性能。结果表明：La2O3的加人，改善了涂层合金的流动性和显微组织的均匀性，并使涂层与基体的熔合更加明显，结合性能得到进一步提高；虽然一定程度上减弱了基体Ti元素对喷焊层的强化作用，使表层显微硬度略有下降，但磨损失重却较未加La2O3的喷焊涂层下降了20％。     

稀土在中国高新材料研制开发中的应用

我国在稀土资源和稀土原料的生产方面都居世界领先地位，近年来稀土高新材料的研制与开发也取得重大进展。本文概述了我国在稀土高新材料开发与研究方面的成果，指出今后应把稀土应用基础研究、中重稀土的应用研究和稀土在能源领域的应用研究作为重点进一步开展工作。     

i氨合成催化剂的研究进展*

高稳定性、高活性、低成本的氨合成催化剂的研究已成为新的研究热点。本文从载体的制备和改性方法、钌活性组分还原与负载、助剂的机理及其作用等方面简要地介绍了氧化物负载钌催化剂的最新研究进展,此外,结合密度泛函理论的计算和实验研究成果,介绍了合金型催化剂特别是熔铁型合金催化剂、氮化物金属合金体系及负载型多金属氨合成催化剂的研究现状,指出了氧化物负载钌催化剂及合金型催化剂研究存在的一些问题并展望了氨合成催化剂的发展前景。