X ray absorption spectroscopy investigation of phase transition in Ge,GaAs and GaP

Abstract

The phase transitions of GaAs, GaP and Ge under pressure have been investigated by x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). At the onset of the transition the Debye-Waller factor increases and the x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) is progressively modified. A mixing of the low and high pressure phase can be determined by XAS as well as amorphization of the sample on pressure release.     

Microstructures in High-Tc Bi-based Superconductors

Microstructures of high-Tc Bi-based superconductors in a disk form and a tape form sheathed by Ag are examined by SEM and TEM. The disk specimens were prepared by the sol-gel method and are compact with few cavities. Bi-2212 or Bi-2223 grains grow with short heating times leading to rapid increases in magnetization. However, magnetization drops with further heating due to the formation of 2201 areas in the 2212 matrix or 2212 areas in the 2223 matrix together with the amorphization within the matrix. In the tape specimens prepared by conventional powder processing methods, thin plate-like grains grow large with some cavities among them. The Jc increases together with the grain growth and then drops slowly as the amorphization of the grains occurs.     

Microstructure and surface wear resistance in rapidly quenched Fe–Cr–B alloy spray coatings

Fe–Cr–B alloy coatings were fabricated by thermal spraying and investigated in this research as to its wear-resistance and friction properties. The Fe–Cr–B spray-coated layers exhibited much higher wear resistance and significantly low friction coefficient in comparison with those of Fe–Cr base tool steel. The present paper reports that the presence of amorphous surface film formed during the sliding wear will be the main cause of noticeably improved friction properties and wear resistance. It was also observed that the Fe–Cr solid solution phase with supersaturated B and Si was the phase contributing to the crystalline-to-amorphous transition induced by sliding wear. These results imply the possible application of the present alloy coatings to the lubricant-free sliding systems in which the use of organic lubricants is limited or prohibited.     

正磷酸铝高压下相变的分子动力学模拟

在300K、-20GPa至40GPa范围内,对正磷酸铝系统进行了定温定压分子动力学模拟.随着压力不断增加,正磷酸铝中的磷氧四面体基本不变,只是各向同性稍有压缩 ;铝氧四面体变得越来越畸变,但铝对氧的配位数仍保持4.所计算的晶胞压缩率与现有实验数据符合良好,晶格常数a比c减少得更厉害.在 20GPa处发生了一级相变,对径向分布函数分析的结果表明,这主要是铝氧四面体中氧 氧位置发生滑移的结果.从高压下回到零压,模拟表明又回复到原来的晶体结构.在 -15GPa下,晶体结构崩溃.对所得结果进行了讨论.     

Behaviors of Zn_2GeO_4 under high pressure and high temperature

The structural stability of Zn_2GeO_4 was investigated by in-situ synchrotron radiation angle dispersive x-ray diffraction. The pressure-induced amorphization is observed up to 10 GPa at room temperature. The high-pressure and hightemperature sintering experiments and the Raman spectrum measurement firstly were performed to suggest that the amorphization is caused by insufficient thermal energy and tilting Zn–O–Ge and Ge–O–Ge bond angles with increasing pressure,respectively. The calculated bulk modulus of Zn_2GeO_4 is 117.8 GPa from the pressure-volume data. In general, insights into the mechanical behavior and structure evolution of Zn_2GeO_4 will shed light on the micro-mechanism of the materials variation under high pressure and high temperature.     

The Influence of Temperature and Viscosity of Polyethylene Glycol on the Rate of Microwave-Induced In Situ Amorphization of Celecoxib

Microwaved-induced in situ amorphization of a drug in a polymer has been suggested to follow a dissolution process, with the drug dissolving into the mobile polymer at temperatures above the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the polymer. Thus, based on the Noyes–Whitney and the Stoke–Einstein equations, the temperature and the viscosity are expected to directly impact the rate and degree of drug amorphization. By investigating two different viscosity grades of polyethylene glycol (PEG), i.e., PEG 3000 and PEG 4000, and controlling the temperature of the microwave oven, it was possible to study the influence of both, temperature and viscosity, on the in situ amorphization of the model drug celecoxib (CCX) during exposure to microwave radiation. In this study, compacts containing 30 wt% CCX, 69 wt% PEG 3000 or PEG 4000 and 1 wt% lubricant (magnesium stearate) were exposed to microwave radiation at (i) a target temperature, or (ii) a target viscosity. It was found that at the target temperature, compacts containing PEG 3000 displayed a faster rate of amorphization as compared to compacts containing PEG 4000, due to the lower viscosity of PEG 3000 compared to PEG 4000. Furthermore, at the target viscosity, which was achieved by setting different temperatures for compacts containing PEG 3000 and PEG 4000, respectively, the compacts containing PEG 3000 displayed a slower rate of amorphization, due to a lower target temperature, than compacts containing PEG 4000. In conclusion, with lower viscosity of the polymer, at temperatures above its T_g, and with higher temperatures, both increasing the diffusion coefficient of the drug into the polymer, the rate of amorphization was increased allowing a faster in situ amorphization during exposure to microwave radiation. Hereby, the theory that the microwave-induced in situ amorphization process can be described as a dissolution process of the drug into the polymer, at temperatures above the T_g, is further strengthened.     

Formation of Fe-Nb-X (X=Zr, Ti) amorphous alloys from pure metal elements by mechanical alloying

Fe-based amorphous powders of Fe₅₆Nb₆Zr₃₈ and Fe₆₀Nb₆Ti₃₄ based on binary eutectic were prepared by mechanical alloying starting from mixtures of pure metal powders. The amorphization behavior and thermal stability were examined by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Results show that Fe₅₆Nb₆Zr₃₈ alloy has a better glass forming ability and a relatively lower thermal stability comparing with Fe₆₀Nb₆Ti₃₄ alloy. The prepared amorphous powders have homogeneous element distribution and no obvious contaminants coming from mechanical alloying. The synthesized amorphous powders offer the potential for consolidation to full density with desirable mechanical properties through the powder metallurgy methods.     

Pressure‐induced structural transformations in In2‐xYx(MoO4)3 systems

In this work, we report results of high‐pressure Raman experiments (P < 8 GPa) on In_2‐xY_xMo₃O₁₂ for x = 0.0 and 0.5. A crystalline to crystalline structural phase transition and pressure‐induced amorphization (PIA) have been identified. The structural phase transition takes place at 1.5 and 1.0 GPa for In₂(MoO₄)₃ and In_1.5Y_0.5(MoO₄)₃, respectively, resulting in the change of structure from monoclinic P2₁/a to a more denser structure. The PIA started at 5 and 3.4 GPa for In₂Mo₃O₁₂ and In_1.5Y_0.5Mo₃O₁₂, respectively. The amorphization process takes place in two stages in the case of In_1.5Y_0.5Mo₃O₁₂ phase, while for In₂Mo₃O₁₂, it is not complete until the pressure is as high as 7 GPa. Our results also suggest that with increase of ionic size of the A³⁺ ions, the octahedral distortion increases and consequently larger local structural disorder is introduced in the A₂(MoO₄)₃ system, where A is a trivalent ion (In, Y³⁺, Sc³⁺, Fe³⁺, etc.). Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self-radiation damage and recovery in Pu-doped zircon

Abstract

The effects of self-radiation damage due to alpha decay was studied as a function of cumulative decay events in synthetic zircon doped with ²³⁸Pu. The density of the Pu-doped zircon decreased exponentially with dose to a value corresponding to a density change of 14.2% at saturation. The initially crystalline material became fully X-ray amorphous at a dose of 6.7 × 10¹⁸ alpha decays/g. Isochronal annealing indicated that recovery associated with recrystallization of amorphous zircon occurs in two stages, with estimated activation energies of 5.1 ± 0.2 and 6.6 ± 0.3 eV. These results are in good agreement with behavior observed in studies of self-radiation damage over geologic time in natural zircons.     

Amorphization of the quenched high pressure phases in Zn-Sb and Cd-Sb systems

Abstract

Solid state amorphization and crystallization of the quenched high pressure phases (h.p.p.) in Zn-Sb and Cd-Sb systems were studied by scanning calorimetry and dilatometry.