Characterization, preparation, and reuse of metallic powders for laser powder bed fusion: a review

Laser powder bed fusion(L-PBF) has attracted significant attention in both the industry and academic fields since its inception, providing unprecedented advantages to fabricate complex-shaped metallic components. The printing quality and performance of L-PBF alloys are infuenced by numerous variables consisting of feedstock powders, manufacturing process,and post-treatment. As the starting materials, metallic powders play a critical role in infuencing the fabrication cost, printing consistency, and properties. Given their deterministic roles, the present review aims to retrospect the recent progress on metallic powders for L-PBF including characterization, preparation, and reuse. The powder characterization mainly serves for printing consistency while powder preparation and reuse are introduced to reduce the fabrication costs.Various powder characterization and preparation methods are presented in the beginning by analyzing the measurement principles, advantages, and limitations. Subsequently, the effect of powder reuse on the powder characteristics and mechanical performance of L-PBF parts is analyzed, focusing on steels, nickel-based superalloys, titanium and titanium alloys, and aluminum alloys. The evolution trends of powders and L-PBF parts vary depending on specific alloy systems, which makes the proposal of a unified reuse protocol infeasible. Finally,perspectives are presented to cater to the increased applications of L-PBF technologies for future investigations. The present state-of-the-art work can pave the way for the broad industrial applications of L-PBF by enhancing printing consistency and reducing the total costs from the perspective of powders.

Hydrothermal preparation and persistence characteristics of nanosized phosphor SrS:Eu^(2+),Dy^(3+)

Nanosized long-persistent phosphors SrS：Eu^2＋, Dy^3＋ were prepared by the hydrothermal method.The samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and charge-coupled device spectrometry.The persistence characteristic was studied using the decay curves.The results showed that the emission intensity decreased sharply with temperature increasing, although the particle size increased.The S2-vacancies caused by oxidization served as shallow traps, and Dy3＋ served as deep traps in SrS：Eu^2＋, Dy^3＋.The afterglow intensity of SrS：Eu^2＋, Dy^3＋ was higher than that of SrS：Eu2＋ prepared at the same temperature.However, the minimization span of initial afterglow with temperature for the former sample was larger than that for the latter.Binary-doped phosphor decayed more slowly than the singly doped one.The afterglow of SrS：Eu^2＋, Dy^3＋ decayed more quickly with the increase of sintering temperature.

Effects of site preparation methods on soil physical properties and outplanting success of coniferous seedlings in boreal forests

This study assessed the effect of patch scarification and mounding on the physical properties of the root layer and the success of tree planting in various types of forests.This study was conducted on 12 forest sites in taiga forests of the European part of Russia.A total of 54 plots were set up to assess seedling survival;root collar diameter,height,and heigh increment were measured for 240 seedlings to assess growth.In the rooting layer,240 soil samples were taken to determine physical properties.The study showed that soil treatment methods had no effect on bulk density and total porosity in Cladina sites.However,reduced soil moisture was noted,particularly in mounds,resulting in increased aeration.In Myrtillus sites,there were increased bulk density,reduced soil moisture,and total porosity in the mounds.Mounding treatment in Polytrichum sites resulted in reduced soil moisture and increased aeration porosity.In the Myrtillus and Polytrichum sites,patch scarification had no effects on physical properties.In Polytrichum sites,survival rates,heights,and heigh increments of bareroot Norway spruce seedlings in mounds were higher than in patches;however,the same did not apply to diameter.In Cladina and Myrtillus sites,there was no difference in growth for bareroot and containerised seedlings with different soil treatments.Growing conditions and soil types should be considered when applying different soil treatment methods to ensure high survival rates and successful seedling growth.

Solvothermal synthesis and adsorption performance of layered boehmite using aluminum chloride and high-alumina fly ash

High alumina fly ash(FAHAl)is a kind of bulk solid waste unique to China,whose availability of high-value aluminum and the threat to the environment makes its high-value utilization urgent.In this work,the alumina containing leaching solution obtained from Na_(2)CO_(3) roasting and HCl leaching of FAHAl was used as the mother liquor to prepare layered boehmite in situ.The preparation process with AlCl_(3) as the raw material was also compared.The formation process and mechanism of boehmite,the choice of solvent,along with the adsorption capability of Congo red were analyzed by X-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscopy,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method and adsorption experiments.Results showed that during the preparation of layered boehmite,the precursor Al(OH)_(3) from the reaction of Al^(3+) and OH-is transformed into boehmiteγ-AlOOH.The existence of ethanol is beneficial to regulate and promote the growth of boehmite crystal effectively.When water and ethanol are mixed with a volume ratio of 2:1 and used as the solvent,the maximum specific surface area of the boehmite is obtained at 135.7 m^(2)·g^(-1),and 99.16%of Congo red can be absorbed after 10 min when AlCl3 is used as a raw material.As purified leaching solution is used as the mother liquid,the crystallinity of boehmite decreases slightly when the pH value decreases from 12.5 to 11.When pH is 11,the removal efficiency of Congo red reaches a maximum of 72.25%.This process not only achieves the extraction of aluminum and high-value utilization of FAHAl but also provides a thought to prepare layered boehmite with adsorption properties.

Progress in preparation of AlN-reinforced magnesium matrix composites:A review

As a ceramic material,AlN has very good thermophysical and mechanical properties.In addition,AlN is an effective refining agent for Mg alloys because it has a lattice constant similar to that of Mg.Therefore,AlN is an ideal reinforcement for magnesium matrix composites(MMCs),and is attracting increasing attention.This review addresses the development of preparation technologies for AlN-reinforced Mg matrix composites.The mainstream preparation techniques include stir casting,melt infiltration,powder metallurgy,and in-situ methods.In addition,the advantages and disadvantages of these techniques are analyzed in depth,and it is pointed out that the next direction for the preparation of high-performance AlN-reinforced MMCs is less aluminization and multiple technologies integration.

Preparation and Thermal Stability of AlMoON Based Solar Selective Absorption Coating

AlMoON based solar selective absorption coatings were deposited on stainless steel substrate by magnetron sputtering.The coatings included infrared reflection layer Mo,absorption layer AlMoN,absorption layer AlMoON and antireflection layer AlMoO from bottom to top.The surface of the deposited coatings is flat without obvious defects.The absorptivity and emissivity are 0.896 and 0.09,respectively,and the quality factor is 9.96.After heat treatment at 500℃-36 h,the surface roughness of the coating increases,a small number of cracks and other defects appear,and the broken part is still attached to the coating surface.A certain degree of element diffusion occurs in the coatings,resulting in the decline of the optical properties of the coatings.The absorptivity and emissivity are 0.883 and 0.131,respectively,the quality factor is 7.06,and the PC value is 0.0335.The coatings do not fail under this condition and have certain thermal stability.

The preparation and properties of N-doped carbon materials and their use for sodium storage

Defect engineering by heteroatom doping gives carbon materials some new characteristics such as a different electronic structure and a high electrochemical activity,making them suitable for high-performance applications.N-doping has been widely investigated because of its similar atom radius to carbon,high electronegativity as well as many different configurations.We summarize the preparation methods and properties of N-doped carbon materials,and discuss their possible use in sodium ion storage.The relationships between N content/configuration and crystallinity,electronic conductivity,wettability,chemical reactivity as well as sodium ion storage performance are discussed.

Preparation of single atom catalysts for high sensitive gas sensing

Single atom catalysts(SACs)have garnered significant attention in the field of catalysis over the past decade due to their exceptional atom utilization efficiency and distinct physical and chemical properties.For the semiconductor-based electrical gas sensor,the core is the catalysis process of target gas molecules on the sensitive materials.In this context,the SACs offer great potential for highly sensitive and selective gas sensing,however,only some of the bubbles come to the surface.To facilitate practical applications,we present a comprehensive review of the preparation strategies for SACs,with a focus on overcoming the challenges of aggregation and low loading.Extensive research efforts have been devoted to investigating the gas sensing mechanism,exploring sensitive materials,optimizing device structures,and refining signal post-processing techniques.Finally,the challenges and future perspectives on the SACs based gas sensing are presented.

Surfactant-aided hydrothermal preparation of La(2-x)Sr_xCuO_4 single crystallites and their catalytic performance on methane combustion

Perovskite-like oxide La2-xSrxCuO4 （x = 0, 1） single crystallites with microrod-like morphologies and tetragonal crystal structures were prepared hydrothermally at 240 ℃ with poly（ethylene glycol） （PEG） or hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide （CTAB） as a surfactant and after calcination at 850 ℃. The physicochemical properties of the materials were characterized by means of XRD, BET, SEM, TEM/SAED （selected-area electron diffraction）, XPS and H2-TPR techniques. It is found that doping Sr2＋ to La2CuO4 lattice enhanced the catalytic activity for methane combustion and the LaSrCuO4 catalyst derived from PEG is the best among the tested ones. It is concluded that factors, such as adsorbed oxygen species concentration, reducibility and surface area, determined the catalytic performance of such single-crystalline materials.

Microfluidic preparation of surfactant-free ultrafine DAAF with tunable particle size for insensitive initiator explosives

High purity and ultrafine DAAF(u-DAAF)is an emerging insensitive charge in initiators.Although there are many ways to obtain u-DAAF,developing a preparation method with stable operation,accurate control,good quality consistency,equipment miniaturization,and minimum manpower is an inevitable requirement to adapt to the current social technology development trend.Here reported is the microfluidic preparation of u-DAAF with tunable particle size by a passive swirling microreactor.Under the guidance of recrystallization growth kinetics and mixing behavior of fluids in the swirling microreactor,the key parameters(liquid flow rate,explosive concentration and crystallization temperature)were screened and optimized through screening experiments.Under the condition that no surfactant is added and only experimental parameters are controlled,the particle size of recrystallized DAAF can be adjusted from 98 nm to 785 nm,and the corresponding specific surface area is 8.45 m^(2)·g^(-1)to 1.33 m^(2)·g^(-1).In addition,the preparation method has good batch stability,high yield(90.8%-92.6%)and high purity(99.0%-99.4%),indicating a high practical application potential.Electric explosion derived flyer initiation tests demonstrate that the u-DAAF shows an initiation sensitivity much lower than that of the raw DAAF,and comparable to that of the refined DAAF by conventional spraying crystallization method.This study provides an efficient method to fabricate u-DAAF with narrow particle size distribution and high reproducibility as well as a theoretical reference for fabrication of other ultrafine explosives.

Insight into demand-driven preparation of single-atomic mediators for lithium–sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur(Li-S) batteries have attracted considerable attention as one of the most appealing energy storage systems.Strenuous efforts have been devoted to tackling the tremendous challenges,mainly pertaining to the severe shuttle effect,sluggish redox kinetics and lithium dendritic growth.Single-atomic mediators as promising candidates exhibit impressive performance in addressing these intractable issues.Related research often utilizes a trial-and-error approach,proposing solutions to fabricate single-atomic materials with diversified features.However,comprehensive review articles especially targeting demand-driven preparation are still in a nascent stage.Inspired by these considerations,this review summarizes the design of single-atomic mediators based on the application case-studies in LiS batteries and other metal-sulfur systems.Emerging preparation routes represented by chemical vapor deposition technology are introduced in a demand-oriented classification.Finally,future research directions are proposed to foster the advancement of single-atomic mediators in Li-S realm.

Design,preparation,application of advanced array structured materials and their action mechanism analyses for high performance lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur battery(LSB)has brought much attention and concern because of high theoretical specific capacity and energy density as one of main competitors for next-generation energy storage systems.The widely commercial application and development of LSB is mainly hindered by serious“shuttle effect”of lithium polysulfides(Li PSs),slow reaction kinetics,notorious lithium dendrites,etc.In various structures of LSB materials,array structured materials,possessing the composition of ordered micro units with the same or similar characteristics of each unit,present excellent application potential for various secondary cells due to some merits such as immobilization of active substances,high specific surface area,appropriate pore sizes,easy modification of functional material surface,accommodated huge volume change,enough facilitated transportation for electrons/lithium ions,and special functional groups strongly adsorbing Li PSs.Thus many novel array structured materials are applied to battery for tackling thorny problems mentioned above.In this review,recent progresses and developments on array structured materials applied in LSBs including preparation ways,collaborative structural designs based on array structures,and action mechanism analyses in improving electrochemical performance and safety are summarized.Meanwhile,we also have detailed discussion for array structured materials in LSBs and constructed the structure-function relationships between array structured materials and battery performances.Lastly,some directions and prospects about preparation ways,functional modifications,and practical applications of array structured materials in LSBs are generalized.We hope the review can attract more researchers'attention and bring more studying on array structured materials for other secondary batteries including LSB.

On-spot preparation of EDTA solution for the treatment of band keratopathy:a case report

Dear Editor,We report a case of band keratopathy who experienced several ocular surgeries,secondary uveitis and glaucoma which eventually led to severe band keratopathy.We use commonly-used vacuum blood collection tubes with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid dipotassium salt(EDTA-K2)to prepare chelation solution on-spot to remove the calcium deposits on the corneal surface.It is proved to be relatively safety,efficacy,cost-effective.

High performance CuO-CeO_2 catalysts for selective oxidation of CO in excess hydrogen:Effect of hydrothermal preparation conditions

High performance CuO-CeO2 catalysts for selective oxidation of CO in excess hydrogen were prepared by a hydrothermal method under different preparation conditions and evaluated for catalytic activities and selectivities. By changing the ^nCTAB/^nCe ratio and hydrothermal aging time, the catalytic activity of the CuO-CeO2 catalysts increased and the operating temperature window, in which the CO conversion was higher than 99%, was widened. XRD results showed no peaks of CuOx species and Cu-Ce-O solid solution were observed. On the other hand, Cu＋ species in the CuO-CeO2 catalysts, which was associated with a strong interaction between copper oxide clusters and cerium oxide and could be favorable for improving the selective oxidation performance of CO in excess H2, were detected by H2-TPR and XPS techniques.

Preparation of high purity vanadium nitride by magnesiothermic reduction of V2O3 followed by nitriding in N2 atmosphere

High purity vanadium nitride(VN)powders were prepared via a two-step process using vanadium trioxide(V2 O3)as the raw material.The V2 O3 was firstly reduced at 873 K in Ar atmosphere via magnesiothermic reduction reaction to get the mixture of V and MgO,and then the products were further nitrided at 1473 K in N2 atmosphere.Finally,the as-prepared samples were acid-leached to obtain pure VN powders.X-ray diffractometry and field-emission scanning electron microscopy were used to analyze the phase transition and morphological evolution of the samples.The results reveal that the overall morphology of the obtained VN powder retains the morphology of the initial V2 O3 powders.After removing MgO by acidic leaching,the porous VN particles can be obtained,with the oxygen content of 0.178 wt.%.Compared with the traditional methods,high purity VN powders with a small amount of oxygen and no carbon can be obtained.

Evaluating bacterial contamination and surgical site infection risks in intracorporeal anastomosis: Role of bowel preparation

We recently read the study by Kayano et al on intracorporeal anastomosis(IA)for colon cancer,which assessed bacterial contamination and medium-term onco-logical outcomes and affirmed that IA is analogous to extracorporeal anastomosis in reducing intraperitoneal bacterial risk and achieving similar oncological results.Our commentary addresses gaps,particularly concerning bowel preparation and surgical site infections(SSIs),and highlights the need for comprehensive details on the bowel preparation methods that are currently employed,including mecha-nical bowel preparation,oral antibiotics(OA),their combination,and specific OA types.We emphasize the necessity for further analyses that investigate these me-thods and their correlation with SSI rates,to enhance clinical protocol guidance and optimize surgical outcomes.Such meticulous analyses are essential for refi-ning strategies to effectively mitigate SSI risk in colorectal surgeries.

Hydrothermal preparation and crystal habit of X-zeolite powder

The preparation of X-zeolite powder was investigated in hydrothermal system, the crystal growth process of X-zeolite in hydrothermal condition was characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and infrared ray. The results show that X-zeolite powder with uniform granularity and intact crystal shape can be obtained in hydrothermal system of acid-treated stellerite KG-*5CD*2KG-*9NaOHKG-*5CD*2KG-*9NaAl（OH）4KG-*5CD*2KG-*9H2O; the crystallite size is in the range of 2CD*23μm. The best reaction time of hydrothermal preparation is 6h. The formation phases of X-zeolite crystal are as follows: dissolution of feedstocks → formation of [SiO4] 4- and [AlO4] 5- tetrahedron, many-membered ring, β cage → formation of crystal nucleus and nano-particle → aggregation growth of nano-particle → coalescence growth of crystallite. The crystal habits of X-zeolite are intimately related with crystallization orientation of β cage in crystal and with its coupling stability on every crystal face family.

Optimization of Preparation of Oregano Oil Microspheres by Box-Behnken Response Surface Methodology

[Objectives]To optimize the formulation and preparation of oregano oil microspheres by Box-Behnken response surface methodology.[Methods]Chitosan was used as the carrier material to prepare oregano oil microspheres by emulsion crosslinking method.The encapsulation efficiency,drug loading and ID 50 were used as the evaluation indicators,and the comprehensive score(OD)obtained by"coefficient of variation-AHP comprehensive weighting method"was used as the final evaluation indicator.The formulation design and preparation process were optimized by single factor experiment and Box-Behnken response surface methodology,and the optimal process parameters were determined.[Results]The optimal formulation and preparation process parameters of oregano oil microspheres were as follows:the ratio of oregano oil to chitosan was 2∶1,the emulsifying speed of double emulsion was 200 r/min,the amount of emulsifier in the colostrum was 4%,and the volume of curing agent was 1.0 mL.The average encapsulation efficiency was 45.33%±1.32%,the average drug loading was 30.59%±2.45%,and the median diameter(ID 50)was 52.596μm±0.023%.[Conclusions]The encapsulation efficiency,drug loading and ID 50 of oregano oil chitosan microspheres prepared by emulsion crosslinking method met the requirements.The drug-loaded microsphere not only can be used as a preparation finished product for direct application,but also be used as a product intermediate to lay a foundation for the research and development of subsequent dosage forms.

Solvothermal Preparation of Mn_3O_4 Nanoparticles and Effect of Temperature on Particle Size

Hausmannite Mn3O4 nanoparticles were successfully prepared via a facile one-step solvothermal route with Mn（CH3COO）2·4H2O as manganese source in the mixed solvent of acetone and water.Powder X-ray diffraction（XRD）,Fourier transform infrared（FTIR） spectrometry and transmission electron microscopy（TEM） were used to characterize Mn3O4 nanoparticles.It was found that the particle size could be tailored by varying the synthesis temperature.On the whole,the particle size becomes larger with the rising of solvothermal reaction temperature.But there is no linear relation between them.According to the different temperatures（60―140 °C）,the average particle size is from about 9 nm to 15 nm.Magnetic properties of Mn3O4 samples prepared at 60,100 and 140 °C were studied via a superconducting quantum interference device（SQUID）,respectively.

Hydrothermal Preparation and White-Light-Controlled Resistive Switching Behavior of BaWO_4 Nanospheres

In this work, BaWO4 nanospheres were successfully prepared by hydrothermal process. The bipolar resistive switching behavior of Ag/BaWO4/FTO device is observed. Moreover, this resistive switching behavior can be modulated by white light. The device can maintain superior stability in the dark and under white-light illumination. This study is useful for developing the light-controlled nonvolatile memory devices.