Synthesis and physical properties of mixed Co3O4/CoO nanorods by microwave hydrothermal technique

A mixture of crystalline Co₃O₄/CoO nanorods with non-uniform dense distribution has been successfully synthesized by microwave hydrothermal technique. The synthesized nanorods have been characterized by several techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The results showed that the as synthesized specimens contained mixed crystalline Co₃O₄/CoO nanorods with an average length of around 80 nm and an average diameter of 42 nm. UV–Vis spectrum of the nanorods exhibited a strong UV emission. The band energy gap of the product was 1.79 eV which lies between the energy gap of CoO and that for Co₃O₄. The obtained carrier concentration is of the order 4.32 × 10²⁷ m⁻³ and the dielectric constant is found to be 4.89. The electrical conductivity increases with increasing temperature and behaves as a semiconducting material with an activation energy of a bout 0.26 eV. This makes the as synthesized mixed Co₃O₄/CoO nanorods very useful for supercapacitor devices application. Magnetic hysteresis loops at room temperature of the as synthesized mixed oxides (Co₃O₄/CoO) nanorods exhibit typical soft magnetic behavior.     

Effects of the substrate and oxygen partial pressure on the microstructures and optical properties of Ti-doped ZnO thin films

Ti-doped ZnO (ZnO:Ti) thin films were deposited on the glass and Si substrates using radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering. The effects of substrate on the microstructures and optical properties of ZnO:Ti thin films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and a fluorescence spectrophotometer. The structural analyses of the films indicated that they were polycrystalline and had a hexagonal wurtzite structure on different substrates. When ZnO:Ti thin film was deposited on Si substrate, the film had a c-axis preferred orientation, while preferred orientation of ZnO:Ti thin film deposited on glass substrate changed towards (1 0 0). Finally, we discussed the influence of the oxygen partial pressures on the structural and optical properties of glass-substrate ZnO:Ti thin films. At a high ratio of O₂:Ar of 18:10 sccm, the intensity of (0 0 2) diffraction peak was stronger than that of (1 0 0) diffraction peak, which indicated that preferred orientation changed with the increase of O₂:Ar ratios. The average optical transmittance with over 93% in the visible range was obtained independent of the O₂:Ar ratio. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra measured at room temperature revealed four main emission peaks located at 428, 444, 476 and 527 nm. Intense blue-green luminescence was obtained from the sample deposited at a ratio of O₂:Ar of 14:10 sccm. The results showed that the oxygen partial pressures had an important influence for PL spectra and the origin of these emissions was discussed.     

Origin of anisotropy for the HDDR Nd13.5Fe79.5B7 magnetic powders

For the HDDR Nd_13.5Fe_79.5B₇ magnetic powders, effects of disproportionation time and hydrogen pressure on the anisotropy were studied during the slow desorption stage. Studies showed that shorter disproportionation times caused the magnetic powders displaying higher anisotropy. With increasing disproportionation times, the degree of crystallographic alignment decreased. This in turn caused a drop in remanence and anisotropic character. Longer disporportionation times have also been correlated to a change in disproportionated microstructure from lamella to columnar. XRD (X-Ray Diffraction) studies showed that except NdH₂,α-Fe and Fe₂B, no other phases were included in the disproportionation mixture. This elucidated that the strong anisotropy is only related to a lamella disproportionation microstructure, which corresponds to a short disproportionation times. The lamella disproportionation microstructure may remain or inherit the alignment of original Nd₂Fe₁₄B grain, and may also be related to the alignment of the newly formed Nd₂Fe₁₄B grain. Thus, the anisotropic formation mechanism of ternary magnetic powders accords with “anisotropy-mediating phase” model. If the disproportionation mixture were carried out an optimum hydrogen pressure treatment during the HDDR process, the degree of crystallographic alignment can be further enhanced.     

X射线衍射研究纳米材料微结构的一些进展

本文在简单评叙过去常用于金属材料中晶粒(嵌镶块)大小和微观应变的X射线衍射线形分析方法(分离微晶—微应变二重宽化效应的Fourier分析、方差分析和近似函数三种方法)之后,介绍了作者及合作者近年来发展和建立的分离微晶—微应变、微晶—层错、微应变—层错二重宽化效应和分离微晶—微应力—层错三重宽化效应的一般理论、最小二乘方法和计算程序系列。然后把这些方法用于评价各种典型纳米材料微结构的研究。它们包括:(1)贮氢合金MmB5;(2)面心立方结构纳米NiO的分析,获得微结构参数与热分解温度的关系;(3)体心立方结构的V-Ti基合金在吸放氢过程中的结构变化;(4)用来研究镍氢电池活化前后正极-βNi(OH)2的微结构时,对一般方法作简化,从而了解了-βNi(OH)2在镍氢电池中充放电过程和电池循环过程中的行为;(5)六方纳米ZnO的微结构研究和添加Ca、Sr和混合稀土的Mg-Al合金中的微结构研究;(6)还用于六方(2H-)石墨堆垛无序度的测定。实际应用发现,对不同的纳米材料合理应用分离X射线衍射多重宽化效应的一般理论和方法显得十分重要。实际应用还发现,所提出的分离多重宽化效应的方法,能用于评价和研究纳米材料及其在使用过程微结构的变化,从而把材料性能与微结构参数联系起来,建立性能与结构之间的关系,并已获得不少有益结果。     

激光冲击对E690高强钢激光熔覆修复微观组织的影响

为研究激光冲击对E690高强钢激光熔覆修复层微观组织的影响,选用专用金属粉末对E690高强钢试样预制凹坑进行激光熔覆修复,并使用脉冲激光对激光熔覆层进行冲击强化处理,同时采用扫描电镜、透射电镜和X射线应力分析仪分别对激光冲击前后激光熔覆层的微观组织和表面残余应力进行检测。结果表明:激光熔覆修复后,激光熔覆层组织为等轴晶,熔覆层与E690高强钢基体之间冶金结合良好,其表面残余应力为均匀分布的压应力。经激光冲击后,激光熔覆层截面晶粒得到细化,并观察到大量的形变孪晶,互相平行的孪晶界分割熔覆层粗大晶粒,在激光熔覆层的晶粒细化过程中发挥着重要作用;试样表层位错在{110}滑移面上发生交滑移,在晶界周围形成了位错缠结。经激光冲击后,激光熔覆层冲击区域表面残余压应力数值相较于冲击前提升了1.1倍。     

Structural characterization of geomaterial foams — Thermal behavior

The structural evolution of in-situ inorganic foam based on sodium or/and potassium is investigated. The synthesis of foam based on an alkaline polysialate, is achieved at slightly elevated temperature by the alkaline activation of raw minerals and industrial waste. The structural evolution is studied through differential thermal analysis/thermogravimetric analysis (DTA-TGA) coupled with mass spectrometry, in-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ²⁹Si, ²⁷Al magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MAS-NMR). The role of alkali cations is observed, and they are shown to have a significant effect on structure changes with temperature, leading to the onset of a crystalline phase in potassium-based foam. Shifts of MDI reflect the competition that takes place during heating between the evolution of the zeolite phase and the amorphization of the material.     

Error Estimate of Data Dependence for Discontinuous Operators by New Iteration Process with Convergence Analysis

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a new discontinuous operator and investigate the existence and uniqueness of fixed points for the operators in complete metric spaces. We also provide rate of convergence and data dependency of S-iterative scheme for a fixed point of the discontinuous operators in Banach spaces. Moreover, we prove the estimation Collage theorems and compare error estimate between data dependency and Collage theorems. Numerical examples are provided to support our results.     

Effects of RF profile on precision of quantitative T2 mapping using dual-echo steady-state acquisition

The dual echo steady-state (DESS) sequence has been shown successful in achieving fast T2 mapping with good precision. Under-estimation of T2, however, becomes increasingly prominent as the flip angle decreases. In 3D DESS imaging, therefore, the derived T2 values would become a function of the slice location in the presence of non-ideal slice profile of the excitation RF pulse. Furthermore, the pattern of slice-dependent variation in T2 estimates is dependent on the RF pulse waveform. Multi-slice 2D DESS imaging provides better inter-slice consistency, but the signal intensity is subject to integrated effects of within-slice distribution of the actual flip angle. Consequently, T2 measured using 2D DESS is prone to inaccuracy even at the designated flip angle of 90°. In this study, both phantom and human experiments demonstrate the above phenomena in good agreement with model prediction.     

Broadband dispersion compensation of conventional single mode fibers using microstructure optical fibers

This paper presents a microstructure optical fiber for dispersion compensation in a wide range of wavelengths. The finite-element method with perfectly matched absorbing layers boundary condition is used to investigate the guiding properties. The designed novel dispersion compensating fiber shows that it is possible to obtain a larger negative dispersion coefficient of about −130 to −360 ps/(nm km), better dispersion slope compensation, better compensation ratio, and lower confinement losses less than 10⁻² dB/km in the entire telecommunication (1400–1600 nm) band by using a modest number of design parameters and very simple cladding design.