Effect of potential difference between nano-Al_(2)O_(3)whisker and Mg matrix on the dispersion of Mg composites

The potential difference between positive and negative ions was utilized to improve the homogenized dispersion of nanoscale Al_(2)O_(3) whiskers in Mg matrix composites.The Mg powders were decorated with sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate(C_(18)H_(29)NaO_(3)S,SDBS)and were introduced to the cathode group on their surface.The Al_(2)O_(3) whiskers were modified by the cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide(C_(19)H_(42)BrN,CTAB)and were featured in the anode group.The suitable contents of CTAB and SDBS,the application atmosphere,and the type of solvents were investigated.Dispersion results showed that adding 2wt%SDBS into Mg powders and adding 2wt%CTAB into Al_(2)O_(3) whiskers pro-moted the formation of more uniformly mixed composite powders,compared to those of conventional ball milling via scanning electron micro-scopy(SEM)analysis.Meanwhile,the calculated results derived from first-principle calculations also demonstrated the stronger cohesion between Al_(2)O_(3) whisker reinforcements and Mg matrix than undecorated composite powders.After preparation by powder metallurgy,the mor-phology,grain size,hardness,and standard deviation coefficient of composites were analyzed to evaluate the dispersed efficiency.The results indicated that the modification of homogenized dispersed Al_(2)O_(3) whiskers in composites contributed to the refinement of 26%in grain size and the improvement of 20%in hardness compared with pure Mg,and the reduction of 32.5%in the standard deviation coefficient of hardness compared with the ball-milling sample.

Charge Engineering of Mo2C@Defect-Rich N-Doped Carbon Nanosheets for Efficient Electrocatalytic H2 Evolution

Charge engineering of carbon materials with many defects shows great potential in electrocatalysis,and molybdenum carbide(Mo2C)is one of the noble-metal-free electrocatalysts with the most potential.Herein,we study the Mo2C on pyridinic nitrogen-doped defective carbon sheets(MoNCs)as catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction.Theoretical calculations imply that the introduction of Mo2C produces a graphene wave structure,which in some senses behaves like N doping to form localized charges.Being an active electrocatalyst,MoNCs demonstrate a Tafel slope as low as 60.6 mV dec-1 and high durability of up to 10 h in acidic media.Besides charge engineering,plentiful defects and hierarchical morphology also contribute to good performance.This work underlines the importance of charge engineering to boost catalytic performance.

Synthesis and characterization of high entropy(TiVNbTaM)_(2)AlC(M=Zr,Hf)ceramics

The high-entropy design of MAX phases is expected to confer superior properties,but its study was hindered by the complex synthesis method and limited purity of samples.In this work,two noteworthy types of high-entropy MAX phase structural ceramics,high-entropy(TiVNbTaM)_(2)AlC(M=Zr,Hf),were designed and prepared by the in-situ synthesis using spark plasma sintering(SPS).The microstructure and lattice parameters of sintered samples were determined.Compared with the single-component MAX phases,the highly pure high-entropy(TiVNbTaZr)_(2)AlC sample had good physical and mechanical properties,including electrical conductivity of 0.96×106Ω^(-1)·m^(-1),thermal expansion coefficient of 3.65×10^(-6) K^(-1),thermal conductivity of 8.98 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1),Vickers hardness of 9.80 GPa,flexural strength of 507 MPa,fracture toughness of 5.62 MPa·m^(1/2),and compressive strength of 1364 MPa,which exhibited the remarkable hardening-strengthening effect.

Hot forging Nb_(4)AlC_(3)ceramics with enhanced properties

Textured Nb_(4)AlC_(3)ceramics were rapidly and efficiently prepared by hot forging through spark plasma sintering(SPS).The longitudinal compression ratio of textured Nb_(4)AlC_(3)ceramics was−78.3%,and the lateral expansion ratio was 32.1%.The grains grew preferentially along the direction perpendicular to the c-axis,forming the texture microstructure.The Lotgering orientation factor f(00l)was calculated to be 0.63.The thermal conductivity of textured Nb_(4)AlC_(3)ceramics along the c-axis direction(11.23 W·m^(−1)·K^(−1))(25℃)was lower than that of untextured ceramics(13.75 W·m^(−1)·K^(−1))(25℃).The electrical conductivity perpendicular to the c-axis direction reached 4.37×10^(6) S·m^(−1)at room temperature.The ordered layered grains increased the resistance of crack propagation,resulting in a higher fracture toughness parallel to the c-axis direction(9.41 MPa·m^(1/2)),which was higher than that of untextured ceramics(6.88 MPa·m1/2).The Vickers hardness tested at 10 N on the texture top surface(7.18 GPa)was higher than that on the texture side surface(6.45 GPa).

Factors influencing synthesis and properties of MAX phases

MAX phases are a member of ternary carbide and nitride,with a layered crystal structure and a mixed nature of chemical bonds(covalent-ionic-metallic)that promote MAX phases embracing both ceramic and metal characteristics.As a result,MAX phase ceramics emerge with remarkable properties unique from other traditional ceramics.In this review,we focus on alternate processing approaches for MAX phases that are cost-effective and energy-saving.The MAX phase purity,formation of other unwanted phases,microstructure,and properties are influenced by many parameters during processing.Therefore,we highlight the effect of numerous factors,which alternately diminish the efficiency and performance of materials.Here,the impact of several parameters,such as starting materials,stoichiometric composition,temperature,pressure,particle size,porosity,microstructure,mechanical alloying,mechanical activation,ion irradiation,and doping,are summarized to reveal their influence on the synthesis and properties of MAX phases.The potential applications of MAX phases are considered for their development on a commercial scale toward the industry.

Zr_(2)SeB and Hf_(2)SeB:Two new MAB phase compounds with the Cr_(2)AlC-type MAX phase(211 phase)crystal structures

The ternary or quaternary layered compounds called MAB phases are frequently mentioned recently together with the well-known MAX phases.However,MAB phases are generally referred to layered transition metal borides,while MAX phases are layered transition metal carbides and nitrides with different types of crystal structure although they share the common nano-laminated structure characteristics.In order to prove that MAB phases can share the same type of crystal structure with MAX phases and extend the composition window of MAX phases from carbides and nitrides to borides,two new MAB phase compounds Zr_(2)SeB and Hf_(2)SeB with the Cr_(2)AlC-type MAX phase(211 phase)crystal structure were discovered by a combination of first-principles calculations and experimental verification in this work.First-principles calculations predicted the stability and lattice parameters of the two new MAB phase compounds Zr_(2)SeB and Hf_(2)SeB.Then they were successfully synthesized by using a thermal explosion method in a spark plasma sintering(SPS)furnace.The crystal structures of Zr_(2)SeB and Hf_(2)SeB were determined by a combination of the X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM).The lattice parameters of Zr_(2)SeB and Hf_(2)SeB are a=3.64398Å,c=12.63223Åand a=3.52280Å,c=12.47804Å,respectively.And the atomic positions are M at 4f(1/3,2/3,0.60288[Zr]or 0.59889[Hf]),Se at 2c(1/3,2/3,1/4),and B at 2a(0,0,0).And the atomic stacking sequences follow those of the Cr_(2)AlC-type MAX phases.This work opens up the composition window for the MAB phases and MAX phases and will trigger the interests of material scientists and physicists to explore new compounds and properties in this new family of materials.

Synthesis and property characterization of ternary laminar Zr_(2)SB ceramic

In this paper,Zr_(2)SB ceramic with purity of 82.95 wt%(containing 8.96 wt%ZrB_(2)and 8.09 wt%zirconium)and high relative density(99.03%)was successfully synthesized from ZrH_(2),sublimated sulfur,and boron powders by spark plasma sintering(SPS)at 1300℃.The reaction process,microstructure,and physical and mechanical properties of Zr_(2)SB ceramic were systematically studied.The results show that the optimum molar ratio to synthesize Zr_(2)SB is n(ZrH_(2)):n(S):n(B)=1.4:1.6:0.7.The average grain size of Zr_(2)SB is 12.46μm in length and 5.12μm in width,and the mean grain sizes of ZrB2 and zirconium impurities are about 300 nm.In terms of physical properties,the measured thermal expansion coefficient(TEC)is 7.64×10^(-6) K^(-1) from room temperature to 1200℃,and the thermal capacity and thermal conductivity at room temperature are 0.39 J·g^(-1)·K^(-1)and 12.01 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1),respectively.The room temperature electrical conductivity of Zr_(2)SB ceramic is measured to be 1.74×10^(6)Ω^(-1)·m^(-1).In terms of mechanical properties,Vickers hardness is 9.86±0.63 GPa under 200 N load,and the measured flexural strength,fracture toughness,and compressive strength are 269±12.7 MPa,3.94±0.63 MPa·m1/2,and 2166.74±291.34 MPa,respectively.

Analysis on phase information of polarized radar in monitoring vegetation

T-matrix method was employed to analyze the relation between the co-polarization phase difference of back scattering of vegetation and its geometrical and physical parameters, and the effect from the frequency and the incident angle of radar based on this kind of relation. The results showed that the phase difference is affected by the geometrical parameters (such as the shape, the growth state of wattle and leafage etc.) and the physical parameters (such as the real part and the imaginary part of the dielectric constant etc.) in different ways. In addition, the frequency and the incident angle of radar have heavy effect on the results. All of these are significant in assorting crop and monitoring vegetation.

The effects of prey lipid on female mating and reproduction of a wolf spider

As predators,the macronutrients spiders extract from their prey play important roles in their mating and reproduction.Previous studies of macronutrients on spider mating and reproduction focus on protein,the potential impact of prey lipid content on spider mating and reproduction remains largely unexplored.Here,we tested the influence of prey varying in lipid content on female mating,sexual cannibalism,reproduction,and offspring fitness in the wolf spider Pardosa pseudoannulata.We acquired 2 groups of fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster that differed significantly in lipid but not protein content by supplementing cultural media with a high or low dose of sucrose on which the fruit flies were reared(HL:high lipid and LL:low lipid).Subadult(i.e.,1 molt before adult)female spiders that fed HL flies matured with significantly higher lipid content than those fed LL flies.We found that the mated females fed with HL flies significantly shortened pre-oviposition time and resulted in a significantly higher fecundity.However,there was no significant difference in female spiders varying in lipid content on other behaviors and traits,including the latency to courtship,courtship duration,mating,copulation duration,sexual cannibalism,offspring body size,and survival.Hence,our results suggest that the lipid content of prey may be a limiting factor for female reproduction,but not for other behavioral traits in the wolf spiders P.pseudoannulata.