Microstructural evolution of AZ31 magnesium alloy subjected to sliding friction treatment

Microstructural evolution and grain refinement mechanism in AZ31 magnesium alloy subjected to sliding friction treatment were investigated by means of transmission electron microscopy. The process of grain refinement was found to involve the following stages: (I) coarse grains were divided into fine twin plates through mechanical twinning; then the twin plates were transformed to lamellae with the accumulation of residual dislocations at the twin boundaries; (II) the lamellae were separated into subgrains with increasing grain boundary misorientation and evolution of high angle boundaries into random boundaries by continuous dynamic recrystallisation (cDRX); (III) the formation of nanograins. The mechanisms for the final stage, the formation of nanograins, can be classified into three types: (i) cDRX; (ii) discontinuous dynamic recrystallisation (dDRX); (iii) a combined mechanism of prior shear-band and subsequent dDRX. Stored strain energy plays an important role in determining deformation mechanisms during plastic deformation.     

Concave Pt-Cu-Fe ternary nanocubes:One-pot synthesis and their electrocatalytic activity of methanol and formic acid oxidation

Concave nanostructures may be developed to improve the specific mass activity of a catalyst for formic acid and methanol electro-oxidation. In this work, we report the elctrocatalytic oxidation of methanol and formic acid in acid medium over concave Pt-Cu-Fe ternary nanocubes (NCs), obtained by the galvanic exchange of Pt and Fe on Cu NCs. The concave Pt-Cu-Fe NCs exhibited improved electrooxidation performance contrasted to Pt-Cu NCs and purchased commercial Pt/C as demonstrated by their improved durability, lower onset potential, and more preferable anti-poisoning properties. These properties are believed to originate from the tailored concave structure of the catalyst and possible synergetic effects among the components of the Pt-Cu-Fe NCs.     

The study of phase,microstructure, and magnetocaloric properties in LaFe11.6*xSi1.4B0.1 alloys

The effect of Fe on the phase and magnetocaloric property of LaFe_11.6*xSi_1.4B_0.1 alloys with x = 1.0–1.4 have been studied. The results show that the excess of Fe will make the α-Fe phases increase, but the easy corrosion LaFeSi phase reduces in LaFe_11.6*xSi_1.4B_0.1 alloys. All LaFe_11.6*xSi_1.4B_0.1 alloys keep the first-order magnetic phase transition. The saturation magnetizations of LaFe_11.6*xSi_1.4B_0.1 alloys with x > 1 are much higher than LaFe_11.6Si_1.4B_0.1 alloy under 2T magnetic field. This results in the maximum isothermal magnetic entropy changes, and the relative cooling power of LaFe_11.6*xSi_1.4B_0.1 alloys is bigger than for LaFe_11.6Si_1.4B_0.1 alloys.     

Effect of Y_2O_3 content in the pack mixtures on microstructure and oxidation resistance of B–Y modified silicide coating

B–Y modified silicide coatings were prepared on Nb–Si based alloy by pack cementation at 1300 ℃ for 10 h. The effect of Y_2O_3 content in the pack mixtures on microstructure and oxidation resistance of the coatings was investigated. The results show that the four coatings have similar structures, which possess a(Nb,X)Si_2 outer layer and a(Nb,X)_5Si_3 transitional layer. Y_2O_3 content in the pack mixtures has an obvious effect on the Si content in the coating. The mass gains of the coatings prepared with 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 wt% Y_2O_3 in pack mixtures are 2.33, 1.96, 2.05 and 2.86 mg/cm~2 after oxidation at 1250 ℃ for 100 h, respectively. The coating prepared with 1 wt% Y_2O_3 exhibits the best oxidation resistance due to the formation of a dense glass-like borosilicate scale.     

Atomic-scale segregation behavior of Sn/Ti and O at Σ3[11¯0](111) grain boundary in niobium

First-principle calculation was performed to illustrate the atomic arrangement and segregation behavior of Sn/Ti and O in View the MathML source grain boundary, and the interaction of oxygen interstitials with Sn/Ti atoms on the grain boundary was studied. The analyses on the segregation energies and geometric positions, and the electron densities show that Sn, Ti and O atoms segregate at the Σ3 grain boundary. And the preferred segregation sites of the impurities at View the MathML source were determined. When Sn segregates at grain boundary plane, the O atom prefers to the bulk-like site and shows no segregation tendency at grain boundary, whereas the segregated Ti atom can slightly enhance oxygen segregation at the grain boundary.     

An investigation on surface tensions of Pb-free solder materials

Surface tensions of some Pb-free solder systems such as Ag–Bi–Sn with cross-sections Ag/Bi = 1/1, Ag/Bi = 1/2, Ag/Bi = 2/1, In–Sn–Zn with cross-sections Sn/In = 1/1, Sn/In = 1/3 and (Ag₇Cu₃)_100?x Sn_x with cross-section Ag/Cu = 7/3 are calculated from the sub-binary surface tension data using the models, such as the Muggianu, Kohler, Toop models, Butler’s equation and Chou’s General Solution Model (GSM) at 873, 923 and 1073 K, respectively. The surface tension of In–Sn–Zn increases wavily with increasing amount of Zn and it is found that the best models are the GSM for both cross-sections in question while GSM becomes the best model for (Ag₇Cu₃)_100?x Sn_x alloy in the whole experimental range. Moreover, the surface tension of (Ag₇Cu₃)_100?x Sn_x decreases slightly with increasing amount of Sn. The Muggianu, Butler and Butler models are determined as the best models for the cross-sections in the order given above for entire measurement range, respectively, and the surface tension of Ag–Bi–Sn decreases slightly with an increasing amount of Bi and Ag but increases with increasing Sn in liquid alloys.     

Microstructures and soft magnetic properties of Fe80P20-xSix (x = 4.5–6.5) amorphous ribbons

Fe-based amorphous ribbons with excellent soft magnetic properties and mechanical properties were prepared in the Fe–Si–P ternary system. Enhanced soft magnetic properties could be achieved through annealing treatment of the ribbons for 1 h at 325 °C, which is far below the glass transition temperatures (462–474 °C). Icosahedral medium-range ordering with a size range of around 2 nm occurred throughout the amorphous matrix during the low-temperature annealing treatment. The annealed ribbons exhibited improved magnetic saturation of over 185 emu/g while maintaining good mechanical flexibility. During icosahedral ordering, the distance between the Fe atoms and the coordination number within the amorphous ribbon can be optimised for achieving high magnetic saturation. However, nanocrystallisation of the SiP and Fe₂P transition phases embedded within the amorphous matrix occurred after the annealing treatment for 1 h at 385 °C, which caused deterioration of the soft magnetic properties and mechanical flexibility of the ribbons. Therefore, the combination of high magnetic saturation and mechanical flexibility of the amorphous ribbons could be optimised through low-temperature annealing treatment without any nanocrystallisation.     

Spectral probing of carrier traps in Si–Ge alloy nanocrystals

Photogenerated carriers in Si–Ge alloy nanocrystals (NCs) prepared by co‐sputtering method were investigated by mean of transient induced absorption. The carrier relaxation features multiple components, with three decay life times of τ ≈ 600 fs, 12 ps, and 15 ns, established for Si_0.2Ge_0.8 alloy NCs of a mean crystal size of 9 nm and standard deviation of 3 nm. Deep carrier traps, identified at the boundary between the NCs and the SiO₂ host with the ionization energy of about 1 eV, are characterized by a long‐range Coulombic potential. These are responsible for rapid depletion of free carrier population within a few picoseconds after the excitation, which explains the low emissivity of the investigated materials, and also sheds light on the generally low luminescence of Si/Ge and Ge NCs. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

First-principles study of fundamental properties and electronic structure of alloys

We have performed first-principles calculations using full-potential augmented-plane-wave method to investigate the fundamental properties of the Cd_1–xZn_xTe alloys. The composition dependence of the lattice constant and the bulk modulus have been estimated from total energy calculations. By means of the analytical fitting the band structures in the vicinity of the Brillouin center a complete set of effective electron- and hole-masses have also been derived. In order to further understand the effects of the chemical bonding on the above macroscopic properties we then studied the relaxation behaviors and the changes of the electronic states upon alloying for x=0.25 system. The results presented here yield a general understanding of the fundamental properties for the Cd_1–xZn_xTe crystals studies.