Surface chemistry of nanoscale Fe_3O_4 dispersed in magnetic fluids

The interaction between stabilizers and nanoparticles is one of the important factors to prepare stable magnetic fluids. The magnetic nano-size Fe3O4 core with single domain and the average grain size around 8-12 nm were prepared by chemical precipitation method. The O/Fe molar ratio of the particle surface was measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The heat effects of stabilizers ad- sorption on nanoparticles were measured by solution calorimetry. The excess amount of oxygen was possibly the result of the hydroxygen formed on the surface of the nanoparticles. The heat effects showed that compounds containing carboxyl groups can be adsorbed chemically on magnetite by forming chemical bonds. The other stabilizers involving NH-groups, such as polyethylene-imine, can be adsorbed physically. The exothermic value is about half of the former case.     

Al3Ti1B1RE细化剂对罐用铝材的细化效果及稀土的作用

采用XRD，OM，SEM，EDAX等探讨了一种新型Al3Ti1B1RE中间合金细化剂对罐用铝材的细化效果及RE的作用。结果表明，该细化剂对罐用铝材的细化效果优于进口和国产Al3Ti1B，且具有长效性，达6h后仍未见明显衰退，明显提高了该材料的强度和塑性；其细化效果及稳定性好的主要原因是：RE可降低铝液的表面能，增加铝液对细化核心(如TiAl3，TiB2)的润湿性，既充分发挥了异质形核作用，又防止了TiB2聚集沉淀倾向；RE也极易在结晶前沿富集造成成分过冷，阻碍了α-Al晶粒生长，并促进其在细化核心上形核；此外RE还兼有一定的净化、细化和变质作用，尤其是净化作用提高了该细化剂的冶金质量。     

Correction procedure for the electron microprobe analysis of porous materials

A correction method is proposed for the quantitative determination of stoichiometric ratios in porous materials by electron microprobe analysis. Analysis of this kind of material is complicated by an imperfect surface that can only be improved to some extent. The correction is based on a linear dependence (different for each element) of the analyses on a sum of weight concentrations of oxides. With this correction it is possible to use analyses affected by the imperfection of the surface with much better confidence compared to common normalisation. An example is presented for a series of ceramic superconductors Bi_2.1(SrCa)_2.9Cu₂O₈₊.     

Study of transition metal oxide doped LaGaO3 as electrode materials for LSGM-based solid oxide fuel cells

Transition metal oxide doped lanthanum gallates, La_0.9Sr_0.1Ga_0.8M_0.2O₃ (where M=Co, Mn, Cr, Fe, or V), are studied as mixed ionic-electronic conductors (MIECs) for electrode applications. The electrochemical properties of these materials in air and in H₂ are characterized using impedance spectroscopy, open cell voltage measurement, and gas permeation measurement. Three single cells based on La_0.9Sr_0.1Ga_0.8 Mg_0.2O₃ (LSGM) electrolyte (1.13 to 1.65 mm thick) but with different electrode materials are studied under identical conditions to characterize the effectiveness of the lanthanum gallate-based MIECs for electrode applications. At 800 °C, a single cell using La_0.9Sr_0.1- Ga_0.8Co_0.2O₃ as the cathode and La_0.9Sr_0.1Ga_0.8Mn_0.2O₃ as the anode shows a maximum power density of 88 mW/cm², which is better than that of a cell using Pt as both electrodes (20 mW/cm²) and that of a cell using La_0.6Sr_0.4CoO₃ (LSC) as the cathode and CeO₂-Ni as the anode (61 mW/cm²) under identical conditions. The performance of LSGM-based fuel cells with MIEC electrodes may be further improved by reducing the electrolyte thickness and by optimizing the microstructures of the electrodes through processing. Received: 9 January 1998 / Accepted: 1 May 1998     

单一稀土Ce, La和混合稀土在工业纯铝中的作用

通过对比实验的方法，研究了稀土Ce，La和混合稀土对工业纯铝组织、电性能和机械性能的影响。结果表明：单一稀土La，Ce可降低工业纯铝的电阻率，提高工业纯铝的导电性，其中La的效果优于Ce．而混合稀土对电阻率几乎无影响；La，Ce和混合稀土均能减小工业纯铝的晶粒度，在其加入量为0．1％后细化效果明显，当其含量大于0．5％后细化效果趋于平缓，其中Ce的效果最佳，La次之，混合稀土最弱；单一稀土La，Ce在一定含量时可提高工业纯铝的σb6和δ，Ce的作用强于La，混合稀土对σb和δ的影响不明显。     

Products of lithium interaction with nanostructured oxides SnO2-TiO2 and mechanism of charge-discharge of electrodes in a lithium-ion battery

Products of lithium interaction with thin-film nanostructured SnO₂-TiO₂ (ST) oxides are studied with the aid of x-ray diffraction analysis and Moessbauer spectroscopy on the ¹¹⁹Sn nuclei. Electrochemical properties of a series of the ST electrodes with different concentrations of TiO₂ varied from 0 to 20 mol % are also examined. It is concluded that the specific feature of the charge-discharge mechanism of the ST electrodes is a significant participation of oxygen in reversible reactions during insertion and extraction of lithium as compared with an alloying mechanism of operation of tin-containing anodes. The leading role in this is played by titanium oxide. Remaining stable towards reduction by lithium, it facilitates the holding of the neighboring layers of SnO₂ in a nanodisperse state and in an oxidized state. The effect of a decrease in the capacity degradation in modified TiO₂ electrodes, which is discovered in this work, is attributed to the hampering of the growth of nanocrystallites of β-Sn by interlayers of tin and titanium oxides mentioned above.     

Hexagonal Ferrites from Melts and Aqueous Solutions,Magnetic Recording Materials

Owing to their particular crystallographic properties, ferrimagnetic hexagonal ferrites exhibit a far greater coercive force than the conventional magnetic pigments. They therefore appear to be suitable for use in magnetic information storage procedures, some of which are novel and are at the development stage. Thus, magnetic tapes of high coercive force containing barium ferrite could be used as master tapes for copying magnetic information or for producing forgery-proof magnetic cards, if magnetic heads having high-order write fields were successfully developed. Moreover, platelet-like ferrite pigments in which the preferred direction of magnetic orientation is perpendicular to the plane of the platelet are of great interest for perpendicular magnetic recording. In this progress report, the crystal structures, magnetic characteristics of hexagonal ferrites, and chemical processes for their production are discussed. In particular, reactions in salt melts or under hydrothermal conditions produce finely divided pigments whose particles have a pronounced hexagonal, plate-like habit, a narrow particle size distribution, and advantageous magnetic properties. The magnetic properties of the pigments crystallized from salt melts may be adjusted by cation exchange.     

CePO_4/Ce-ZrO_2可加工陶瓷性能与断裂机制研究

以Ce ZrO2为基体,通过复合不同加入量的第二相CePO4颗粒,研究了陶瓷材料力学性能的变化,并借助加载能谱仪(EDS)的扫描电子显微镜(SEM)对材料弯曲断口及压痕裂纹扩展方式进行分析。当CePO4加入量为25%时,虽然材料力学性能有一定下降,但已经能用WC刀具进行加工。材料的弯曲断口显示,CePO4在两相体系中的断裂呈层片状形式;加入CePO4后,由于两相之间弱结合界面的存在,压痕裂纹扩展形式发生明显变化,由连续扩展机制过渡为不连续扩展。由这两种机制形成的材料断裂过程是阶段性的,在实际中可以用作材料最终破坏前的预报。     

Comparison of micro- and mesoporous inorganic materials in the uptake and release of the drug model fluorescein and its analogues

The uptake of the three species of the drug model fluorescein (fluorescein sodium salt (FNa), fluorescein free acid (F), and fluorescein diacetate (FDA)) by zeolite NaX and the mesoporous zeotype MCM-41 was investigated as well as their release rates into solutions at pH 7 and pH 4.5. UV/Vis analysis was carried out at a wavelength of 490 nm. Uptakes of the sodium salt of 9 % for zeolite X and 14 % for MCM suggest little penetration of the pores. The use of ethanol as the loading solvent for F resulted in little uptake for both zeolitic materials due to the successful competition of the ethanol for binding sites. Use of acetone (weaker proton acceptor) as loading solvent significantly improved the uptake of F to 17 % and 12 % for zeolite X and MCM, respectively, whilst the uptake of FDA in acetone increased still further to 22 % and 17 % for zeolite X and MCM, respectively. Generally there was a large initial release of the fluorescein analogues from the surface of the zeolites with very little further increase over time. The prescence of an esterase enzyme in the release medium of FDA tripled the release from MCM to 15 % but left the release from zeolite X unaffected at 6 %. The results obtained show that uptake of fluorescein and its analogues is dependent on the loading solvent used, the amount released is influenced by not only the solvent but the pH and the presence of enzymes in the release medium.