Chemical and physical studies of metallic alloy-based old Indian coins with LIBS coupled with multivariate analysis

The present work aims to demonstrate the capabilities of Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy(LIBS)coupled with a multivariate technique for rapid quantification and classification of old Indian coins made of various alloys.Thirteen old Indian coins in different years of circulation,(1922–1986)were selected for the study.The concentrations were determined by Calibration free LIBS(CF-LIBS)method.The concentration of cuprum(Cu)is negligible,and aluminum(Al)is maximum in the first five coins,and vice-versa in the remaining eight coins.Two different multivariate methods,Principal Component Analysis(PCA)and Soft Independent Modelling of Class Analogy(SIMCA)have been used to classify and identify the coins.PCA classified all thirteen samples into four main alloy categories.The discernment of unknown samples to their probable class membership of alloy was performed using SIMCA.The surface hardness(Brinell hardness number)is linearly correlated with the plasma temperature and LIBS intensity ratios.The sample surface of the first and fifth coin belongs to Al-alloy,having the least surface hardness,and it became harder for Cu–Ni alloy,Ni-brass alloy,and bronze alloy.The hardness of the surface is more for bronze sample twelve.It is also observed that the plasma temperature increases monotonically with the Brinell hardness number.This analysis provides valuable information on fabrication methodology and explains large diversification in the elementary composition of old coins.

Liquid metal in prohibiting polysulfides shuttling in metal sulfides anode for sodium-ion batteries

Metal sulfides are a class of promising anode materials for sodium-ion batteries(SIBs)owing to their high theoretical specific capacity.Nevertheless,the reactant products(polysulfides)could dissolve into electrolyte,shuttle across separator,and react with sodium anode,leading to severe capacity loss and safety concerns.Herein,for the first time,gallium(Ga)-based liquid metal(LM)alloy is incorporated with MoS_(2)nanosheets to work as an anode in SIBs.The electron-rich,ultrahigh electrical conductivity,and self-healing properties of LM endow the heterostructured MoS_(2)-LM with highly improved conductivity and electrode integrity.Moreover,LM is demonstrated to have excellent capability for the adsorption of polysulfides(e.g.,Na_(2)S,Na_(2)S_(6),and S_(8))and subsequent catalytic conversion of Na_(2)S.Consequently,the MoS_(2)-LM electrode exhibits superior ion diffusion kinetics and long cycling performance in SIBs and even in lithium/potassium-ion battery(LIB/PIB)systems,far better than those electrodes with conventional binders(polyvinylidene difluoride(PVDF)and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose(CMC)).This work provides a unique material design concept based on Ga-based liquid metal alloy for metal sulfide anodes in rechargeable battery systems and beyond.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of new Mg-Zn-Y-Zr alloys with high castability and ignition resistance

Complex studies of new Mg-Zn-Y-Zr system alloys have been carried out.The content range for the formation of the two-phase structure MgSS(Mg solid solution)+LPSO(long-period stacking ordered)in alloys of the Mg-Zn-Y-Zr system was determined by thermodynamic calculations.The effect of heat treatment regimes on microstructure,mechanical,and corrosion properties was invest-igated.The fluidity,hot tearing tendency,and ignition temperature of the alloys were determined.The best combination of castability,mechanical,and corrosion properties was found for the Mg-2.4Zn-4Y-0.8Zr alloy.The alloys studied are superior to their industrial counterparts in terms of technological properties,while maintain high corrosion and mechanical properties.The increased level of pro-perties is achieved by a suitable heat treatment regime that provides a complete transformation of the 18R to 14H modification of the LPSO phase.

Potential Application of Entangled Porous Titanium Alloy Metal Rubber in Artificial Lumbar Disc Prostheses

Entangled Porous Titanium Alloy Metal Rubber(EPTA-MR)was used as a nucleus pulposus material in the design of non-fusion intervertebral disc prosthesis for the first time.A novel artificial lumbar intervertebral disc prosthesis was designed by reconstructing the lumbar model with reverse engineering technology,and the biomechanical behavior of the prosthesis was simulated under varied working conditions.The nucleus pulposus size was determined by the actual size of human prosthesis.EPTA-MR samples with different densities were prepared by medical titanium alloy wire experimental studies were conducted on static stiffness,damping energy consumption,and fatigue life.The results indicated that the static stiffness of EPTA-MR could reach approximately 1500 N mm and its loss factor remained higher than 0.2,and the variation range was relatively small,with excellent vibration damping capacity and bearing capacity.Among them,the overall performance of EPTA-MR with a density of 2.5 g em 3 was closer to that of the physiologic intervertebral disc.A macro experiment of five million fatigue vibration tests combined with microstructure observation exhibited a wear rate of only 0.9396 g-MC with no noticeable change in the internal micro-morphology.Therefore,the EPTA-MR has a broad application prospect as the nucleus pulposus material of artificial intervertebral disc prosthesis.

Theoretical investigations of half-metallic ferromagnetism in new Half-Heusler YCrSb and YMnSb alloys using first-principle calculations

Structural,electronic,and magnetic properties of new predicted half-Heusler YCrSb and YMnSb compounds within the ordered MgAgAs Clb-type structure are investigated by employing first-principal calculations based on density functional theory.Through the calculated total energies of three possible atomic placements,we find the most stable structures regarding YCrSb and YMnSb materials,where Y,Cr(Mn),and Sb atoms occupy the(0.5,0.5,0.5),(0.25,0.25,0.25),and(0,0,0) positions,respectively.Furthermore,structural properties are explored for the non-magnetic and ferromagnetic and anti-ferromagnetic states and it is found that both materials prefer ferromagnetic states.The electronic band structure shows that YCrSb has a direct band gap of 0.78 eV while YMnSb has an indirect band gap of 0.40 eV in the majority spin channel.Our findings show that YCrSb and YMnSb materials exhibit half-metallic characteristics at their optimized lattice constants of 6.67 and 6.56 ,respectively.The half-metallicities associated with YCrSb and YMnSb are found to be robust under large in-plane strains which make them potential contenders for spintronic applications.

Mechanical and ballistic properties of powder metal 7039 aluminium alloy joined by friction stir welding

7039 Al alloy plates which were used as armor materials were produced by powder metallurgy method. The prepared mixed powders were pressed and plated by extrusion process. These plates, after being subjected to T6 heat treatment, were joined double-sided by friction stir welding method. Microstructure and microhardness of the welded plate were investigated. It was determined that the finest grain structure and the lowest hardness value occurred in the stir zone as 2-6 mm and HV 80.9, respectively. In order to determine the ballistic properties of welded plates, 7.62 mm armor piercing projectiles were shot to the base metal（BM）, heat affected zone（HAZ）, and thermomechanically affected zone＋stir zone（TMAZ＋SZ）. Ballistic limits（v_（50）） of these zones were determined. The ballistic limits of the BM, TMAZ＋SZ, and HAZ of the plate were approximately 14.7%, 15.3%, and 17.9% lower than that of the standard plate at the same thickness, respectively. It was determined that the armor piercing projectiles created petaling and ductile hole enlargement failure types at the armor plate. Ballistic and mechanical results can be enhanced by hot-cold rolling mills after extrusion and particle reinforcement.

Magnetism of Metals, Alloys and of Clusters of Transition Metal Atoms

A condition for local moment formation in metals derived by Stoddart and March (Ann. Phys. NY 1972 64, 174) is first used to discuss the ferromagnetism of body-centred-cubic Fe. A less detailed discussion is also added on Ni and Co. This leads into a treatment of the non- linear response of such 3d ferromagnets to dilute substitutional impurities. Antiferromagnets responding to local changes in the exchange field caused by such impurities are also studied, Mn in Cr being one such system discussed. The paper concludes with a brief summary of clusters of transition metal atoms, with most attention devoted to Cr and to Mn.

Wettability of Monocrystalline Silicon Carbide by Molten Metals and Binary Metal－Silicon Alloys

The wettability of monocrystalline silicon carbide by liquid metals (Au , Ge, Ag , Sn and Cu) and binarymetal-silicon (Ag-Si and Sn-Si) alloys was investigated between their melting points and 1430℃ with the ses-sile drop method in argon with an extremely low oxygen partial pressure. For Au and Ge on SiC, the contactangles exhibited a weak temperature dependence. Under the same experimental conditions, however, complexwetting behaviours were observed for Ag , Sn and Cu on SiC , which could be attributed to the chemical reactivi-ties between the metals and the ceramic.Additional experirnents were also performed for binary Ag-Si and Sn-Si alloys on the same SiC substratesunder the same experimental conditions. The obtained coiitact angle isotherms for the two binary alloy/SiC sys-tems were discussed and interpreted by using a statistical thermedynamics mixlel.

Screening-Dependent Study of Superconductivity in 3d-Transition Metals Binary Alloys Superconductors

In the present article, we report the screening-dependent study of the superconducting state parameters （SSPs）, viz. electron-phonon coupling strength A, Coulomb pseudopotential μ^＊, transition temperature TC, isotope effect exponent a, and effective interaction strength No V of 3d-band transition metals binary alloys superconductors have been made extensively in the present work using a model potential formalism and employing the pseudo-alloy-atom （PAA） model for the first time. Five local field correction functions proposed by Hartree （H）, Taylor （T）, Ichimaru-Utsumi （IU）, Farid et al. （F） and Sarkar et al. （S） are used in the present investigation to study the screening influence on the aforesaid properties. The present results of the SSPs obtained from H-screening are found in qualitative agreement with the available experimental data wherever exist.

Study of Thermodynamics of Liquid Noble-Metals Alloys Through a Pseudopotential Theory

The Gibbs-Bogoliubov （GB） inequality is applied to investigate the thermodynamic properties of some equiatomic noble metal alloys in liquid phase such as Au-Cu, Ag-Cu, and Ag-Au using well recognized pseudopotential formalism. For description of the structure, well known Percus-Yevick （PY） hard sphere model is used as a reference system. By applying a variation method the best hard core diameters have been found which correspond to minimum free energy. With this procedure the thermodynamic properties such as entropy and heat of mixing have been computed. The influence of local field correction function viz; Hartree （H）, Taylor （T）, lehimaru-Utsumi （IU）, Farid et al. （F）, and Sarkar et al. （S） is also investigated. The computed results of the excess entropy compares favourably in the case of liquid alloys while the agreement with experiment is poor in the case of heats of mixing. This may be due to the sensitivity of the heats of mixing with the potential parameters and the dielectric function.

Density Assessment of Different Metals and Alloys by Gamma-Ray Transmission Technique via Using Co-60 Radioactive Source

In this study, density measurements were observed by using gamma transmission technique. Co-60 gamma emitter was used as gamma radioisotope source. Regarding the gamma-ray transmission method, initial radiation intensity （I0） and radiation intensity （I） determined experimentally and [I/I0] rates were calculated and then density of materials could be determined by using Beer-Lambert Equation. Experimental application performed on widespread industrial metals or metal alloys e.g. lead, copper and steel, brass. With this study, it is shown that gamma transmission technique can be used for density measurements.

Study on the Effect of Dental Metal Alloys on the Histamine Liberation of Blood Basophiles in Vitro

Biomaterials for restoration or replacement of diseased tissues may have any origin.The major characteristic for biomaterials is biocompatibility.All biomaterials,used in medicine (dentistry,in particular),interreact with the organism tissues.And the changes occur both in the materials and the organism tissues.It is considered that there are no "inert biomaterials." The number of allergic diseases and complications is constantly growing all over the world,taking an important place in the structure of infectious and noninfectious pathology[1].Pollen,household,epidermal,and food-borne allergens,and haptens are the most frequent sources of sensibilization.

Extending the Lifetime of Copper-beryllium Alloys as Plastic Injection High-end Needle Valve Mold Nozzle Tips Through a Heat-treatment-based Microstructure Optimization Approach

The relationship between the microstructure and the practical performance of two different copper-beryllium alloys including their lifetime has been investigated.Herein,two valves made of two different alloys with very similar compositions and the same heat treatment methods were investigated by various standard techniques including metallography,X-ray diffraction,chemical composition,microhardness,and thermal conductivity measurements.Although both alloys experienced the same heat-treatment processes,they revealed different thermal and mechanical properties due to the minor difference in their chemical composition.The alloy providing a longer lifetime (40%more) as the tip had a higher thermal conductivity of 280.3 W(m·K)^(-1) (about two times that of the other alloy).Regarding the metallography images and the measured thermal conductivity values of the alloys,the extended lifetime of the nozzle with the optimum performance is ascribed to its biphasic microstructure and the minor grain boundaries and interfacial thermal resistance.And important difference in the chemical composition was investigated in this study.

ON-LINE ELECTROLYTIC DISSOLUTION OF SOLID METAL SAMPLE AND DETERMINATION OF COPPER IN ALLOY BY AAS

On-line dissolution of solid metal sample can be carried out by electrolysis under the control of flow injection analyzer(FIA),and the dissolved sample can be transferred to atomic spectrometer for the direct analysis.The hyphenated technique of FIA on-line electrolytic dissolution of alloy and atomic absorption spectrometer(AAS)detection is developed.The research is focused on the effects of electrolyte composition and electrolysis parameters on the sample dissolving,as well as the quantitative analysis of Cu in Al alloy samples.

Ternary alloy and metal oxides embedded in yolk–shell polyhedrons as bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst

To improve the efficiency of oxygen electrolysis,exploiting bifunctional electrocatalysts with excellent activity and stability is extremely important due to the four-electron transfer dynamics of oxygen evolution reaction(OER)and oxygen reduction reaction(ORR).Herein,a series of yolk-shell hollow polyhedrons(YHPs)embedded with NiCoFe ternary alloy and metal oxides,which are named YHP-x(x=1,2,3,4),were reported.By controlled etching multi-layered zeolitic imidazolate frameworks and following pyrolytic integration,YHPs are endowed with mass transfer tunnels,accessible inner active sites,and good electrical conductivity.Due to the synergetic effect of the alloy,metal oxides and the yolk-shell structure,YHP-1 exhibits excellent ORR performance with a half-wave potential of 0.79 V and YHP-2 displays superior OER performance with a low overpotential of 257 mV at 10 mA cm−2.The strategy described in this work can be extended to a number of hollow/yolk-shell electrocatalysts for water splitting and metal–air batteries.

Self-healing Ga-based liquid metal/alloy anodes for rechargeable batteries

With the rapid development of electronics,electric vehicles,and grid energy storage stations,higher requirements have been put forward for advanced secondary batteries.Liquid metal/alloy electrodes have been considered as a promising development direction to achieve excellent electrochemical performance in metal-ion batteries,due to their specific advantages including the excellent electrode kinetics and self-healing ability against microstructural electrode damage.For conventional liquid batteries,high temperatures are needed to keep electrode liquid and ensure the high conductivity of molten salt electrolytes,which also brings the corrosion and safety issues.Ga-based metal/alloys,which can be operated at or near room temperature,are potential candidates to circumvent the above problems.In this review,the properties and advantages of Ga-based metal/alloys are summarized.Then,Ga-based liquid metal/alloys as anodes in various metal-ion batteries are reviewed in terms of their self-healing ability,battery configurations,working mechanisms,and so on.Furthermore,some views on the future development of Ga-based electrodes in batteries are provided.

Structure and Magnetic Properties of Fe1-xCx Solid Solution Prepared by Mechanical Alloying

Supersaturated solid solutions Fe1-xCx （0≤x≤0.9 ） of wide composition range have been prepared by mechanical alloying process. Nanocrystalline phase was formed for 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.67 and a large grain phase for 0.75 ≤ x ≤ 0.9. The large fraction of graphite volume puts off formation of nanocrystalline phase for high carbon content. In the large grain phase, magnetization follows simple magnetic dilution, and eoereivity He is mainly due to dissolution of carbon at grain boundaries. In the nanocrystalline phase the alloying effect of carbon is revealed by a distinct reduction of average magnetic moment. The increasing lattice constant with increasing carbon content is observed for x ≤ 0.5, suggesting that the high carbon concentration may enhance diffusion of carbon into the Fe lattice. It shows a discontinuity in the Hc variation with a grain size D of nanocrystalline phase. For small grain D below the critical value, Hc increases with D. For a large grain D, Hc decreases with increasing D. The solubility limit of carbon in a-Fe extended by nanocry- stalline phase formation is discussed.

Liquid−liquid structure transition in metallic melt and its impact on solidification:A review

Understanding the nature of liquid structures and properties has always been a hot field in condensed matter physics and metallic materials science.The liquid is not homogeneous and the local structures inside change discontinuously with temperature,pressure,etc.The liquid will experience liquid−liquid structure transition under a certain condition.Liquid−liquid structure transition widely exists in many metals and alloys and plays an important role in the final microstructure and the properties of the solid alloys.This work provides a comprehensive review on this unique structure transition in the metallic liquid together with the recent progress of its impact on the following microstructure and properties after solidification.These effects are discussed by integrating them into different experimental results and theoretical considerations.The application of liquid−liquid structure transition as a strategy to tailor the properties of metals and alloys is proven to be practical and efficient.

Sustainable solid-state synthesis of uniformly distributed PdAg alloy nanoparticles for electrocatalytic hydrogen oxidation and evolution

New sustainable syntheses based on solid-state strategies have sparked enormous attention and provided novel routes for the synthesis of supported metallic alloy nanocatalysts(SMACs).Despite considerable recent progress in this field,most of the developed methods suffer from either complex operations or poorly controlled morphology,which seriously limits their practical applications.Here,we have developed a sustainable strategy for the synthesis of PdAg alloy nanoparticles(NPs)with an ultrafine size and good dispersion on various carbon matrices by directly grinding the precursors in an agate mortar at room temperature.Interestingly,no solvents or organic reagents are used in the synthesis procedure.This simple and green synthesis procedure provides alloy NPs with clean surfaces and thus an abundance of accessible active sites.Based on the combination of this property and the synergistic and alloy effects between Pd and Ag atoms,which endow the NPs with high intrinsic activity,the PdAg/C samples exhibit excellent activities as electrocatalysts for both the hydrogen oxidation and evolution reactions(HOR and HER)in a basic medium.Pd9Ag1/C showed the highest activity in the HOR with the largest j0,m value of 26.5 A g Pd^–1 and j0,s value of 0.033 mA cmPd^–2,as well as in the HER,with the lowest overpotential of 68 mV at 10 mA cm^–2.As this synthetic method can be easily adapted to other systems,the present scalable solid-state strategy may open opportunity for the general synthesis of a wide range of well-defined SMACs for diverse applications.