Preventing formation of intermetallic compounds in ultrasonic-assisted Sn soldering of Mg/Al alloys through pre-plating a Ni coating layer on the Mg substrate

Magnesium and aluminum alloys are widely used in various industries because of their excellent properties,and their reliable connection may increase application of materials.Intermetallic compounds(IMCs)affect the joint performance of Mg/Al.In this study,AZ31 Mg alloy with/without a nickel(Ni)coating layer and 6061 Al alloy were joined by ultrasonic-assisted soldering with Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu(SAC)filler.The effects of the Ni coating layer on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg/Al joints were systematically investigated.The Ni coating layer had a significant effect on formation of the Mg_(2)Sn IMC and the mechanical properties of Mg/Al joints.The blocky Mg_(2)Sn IMC formed in the Mg/SAC/Al joints without a Ni coating layer.The content of the Mg_(2)Sn IMC increased with increasing soldering temperature,but the joint strength decreased.The joint without a Ni coating layer fractured at the blocky Mg_(2)Sn IMC in the solder,and the maximum shear strength was 32.2 MPa.By pre-plating Ni on the Mg substrate,formation of the blocky Mg_(2)Sn IMC was inhibited in the soldering temperature range 240–280℃and the joint strength increased.However,when the soldering temperature increased to 310℃,the blocky Mg_(2)Sn IMC precipitated again in the solder.Transmission electron microscopy showed that some nano-sized Mg_(2)Sn IMC and the(Cu,Ni)_(6)Sn_(5)phase formed in the Mg(Ni)/SAC/Al joint soldered at 280℃,indicating that the Ni coating layer could no longer prevent diffusion of Mg into the solder when the soldering temperature was higher than 280℃.The maximum shear strength of the Mg(Ni)/SAC/Al joint was 58.2 MPa for a soldering temperature of 280℃,which was 80.7%higher than that of the Mg/SAC/Al joint,and the joint was broken at the Mg(Ni)/SAC interface.Pre-plating Ni is a feasible way to inhibit formation of IMCs when joining dissimilar metals.

Droplet transfer behavior of the stainless steel coated electrode with double-layer coating

In this paper, the droplet transfer behavior of the stainless steel coated electrode with double layer coating is researched by means of those experimental methods, such as high speed camera, collecting droplet in water, surfacing on the steel plate et al. The results show that the droplet transfer indexes of coated electrode are mainly controlled by the size of droplet, which affects the transfer behavior of droplet. The distribution characteristic of the droplet size of the electrode affects the numerical relationship among droplet transfer indexes. The metallurgical process of the coated electrode with double layer coating is carried out continuously in different zones. The main reason for the coated electrode with double layer coating gaining excellent usability quality is that the droplets realize the 'quasi flux wall guided transfer pattern'.

Fabrication of IBAD-MgO and PLD-CeO2 Layers for YBCO Coated Conductors

MgO thin films with different textures are fabricated by the ion beam assisted （IBAD） method on the Y2O3/Al2O3 buffered C276 tape. Then a CaO2 layer is directly grown on the IBAD-MgO film by the pulsed laser deposition （PLD） method. Effects of lBAD-MgO texture, substrata temperature and thickness on the grain alignment of the CeO2 layer are investigated. Film characterization is performed by x-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. It is found that the orientation and texture degree of the CaO2 layer are very sensitive to the IBAD-MgO texture. By optimizing the IBAD-MgO texture, CeO2 has pure （002） orientation and excellent biaxial texture deposited in a broad substrata temperature range. In addition, the PLD-CeO2 layer has a thickness effect. Under the optimized experimental condition, the PLD-CeO2 layer has a high in-plane texture of △φ = 2.9° and a smooth surface with an rms surface roughness of less than 2nm. The critical current density Jc of a 0.4μm-thick YBCO film deposited on the CeO2 layer is 6.25 × 106 A/cm2 at 77K and a self-field.

Enhancement of Active Anticorrosion via Ce-doped Zn-Al Layered Double Hydroxides Embedded in Sol-Gel Coatings on Aluminum Alloy

Ce-doped Zn-Al layered double hydroxide（LDH） nanocontainer was synthesized by a co-precipitation method. X-ray diffraction（XRD）, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy（FT-IR）, scanning electron microscopy（SEM） and transmission electron microscopy（TEM） methods were used for the characterization of the LDH nanocontainer. The anticorrosion activity of the LDH powders embedded in a hybrid sol-gel coating on aluminum alloy 2024 was investigated by electrochemical impendence spectroscopy（EIS）. The results showed that Ce（III） ions were successfully incorporated into LDHs layers. The sol-gel coating modified with Ce-doped Zn-Al LDHs exhibited higher anticorrosion behavior compared with both unmodified and Ce-undoped LDHs containing coatings, which proved the applicability of Ce-doped LDHs in delaying coating degradation and their potential application as nanocontainers of corrosion inhibitors in self-healing coatings.

Saint-Venant torsion analysis of bars with rectangular cross-section and effective coating layers

This paper investigates the torsion analysis of coated bars with a rectangular cross-section. Two opposite faces of a bar are coated by two isotropie layers with different materials of the original substrate that are perfectly bonded to the bar. With the Saint- Venant torsion theory, the governing equation of the problem in terms of the warping function is established and solved using the finite Fourier cosine transform. The state of stress on the cross-section, warping of the cross-section, and torsional rigidity of the bar are evaluated. Effects of thickness of the coating layers and material properties on these quantities are investigated. A set of graphs are provided that can be used to determine the coating thicknesses and material properties so as to keep the maximum von Mises stress on the cross-section below an allowable value for effective use of the coating layer.

Depolarization of Li-rich Mn-based oxide via electrochemically active Prussian blue interface providing superior rate capability

The high-rate cyclability of Li-rich Mn-based oxide(LMO)is highly limited by the electrochemical polarization resulting from the slow kinetic of the Li2MnO3 phase.Herein,the Prussian blue(PB)coating layer with specific redox potential is introduced as a functionalized interface to overcome the side effect and the escaping of O on the surface of LMO,especially its poor rate capability.In detail,the PB layer can restrict the large polarization of LMO by sharing overloaded current at a high rate due to the synchronous redox of PB and LMO.Consequently,an enhanced high rate performance with capacity retention of 87.8%over 300 cycles is obtained,which is superior to 50.5%of the pristine electrode.Such strategies on the high-rate cyclability of Li-rich Mn-based oxide compatible with good low-rate performances may attract great attention for pursuing durable performances.

Acoustic reflection of rib-stiffened double plates coated with a viscoelastic layer

To predict sound-absorbing performance of anechoic materials,the acoustic reflection problem of a viscoelastic layer backed with periodically rib-stiffened infinite double plates is studied in this paper.The reason why structural theories of plates are not applicable to viscoelastic plates is explained through comparing dispersion and attenuation curves of flexural waves with those of Lamb waves.As a result,（visco-）elastic theory is adopted to deal with（visco-）elastic plates,and ribs are treated by structural theories of plates.The coupling between ribs and plates are solved by Hull＇s method,and solution of the reflected field is obtained.The accuracy of present method is validated by comparing with the results by the structural theories of plates.The influence of a backing on the acoustic reflection of the viscoelatic layer is analyzed by computing reflection coefficients.Performances of different viscoelastic materials are evaluated by the average reflection coefficients.The computational results show that,influence of a backing on the acoustic reflection cannot be suppressed by the viscoelastic materials in low frequencies.The resonance is determined by the coupling of the fluid layer and the double plates.And ribs,which are coupled with the double plates,mainly reduce the acoustic reflection.

Uptake and Speciation of Inorganic Arsenic with Cellulose Fibre Coated with Yttrium Hydroxide Layer as a Novel Green Sorbent

A novel adsorbent was developed by coating yttrium hydroxide precipitate layer on cellulose fibre. This material takes up ca. 98% of 5 μg·L 1 As（Ⅲ） and As（V） at low pH （pH〈7）, while a favorable selectivity for As（V） was achieved within pH 11--12. In practice, a mini-column packed with Y（OH）3 precipitate layer coated cellulose fibre particles was incorporated into a sequential injection system for selective uptake of arsenate at pH 11.5. The retained arsenate was afterwards recovered with 50μL of 0.8 mol.L l NaOH solution as eluent, followed by hydride generation in a reaction medium of 2.0 mol·L-1 HCl and 1.0% NaBH4 solution （W/V, in 0.5% NaOH） after pre-reduction of arsenate to arsenite by KI-ascorbic acid （5%, W/V）, with detection by atomic fluorescence spec- trometry. Total inorganic arsenic was quantitatively taken up at pH 6.0 by following the same procedure and arsenic speciation was performed by difference. With a sample volume of 1.0 mL, an enrichment factor of 16.4 was derived with a detection limit of 17 ng.L-1 within a linear range of 0.05--2.0μg.L ]. A relative standard deviation （RSD） of 2.6% （0.5 μg·L-1, n= 11） was achieved. The procedure was validated by analyzing arsenic in a certified refer- ence material GBW 09101 （human hair）, and speciation process requires no organic solvents, thus Y（OH）3 coated of inorganic arsenic in natural water samples. The entire cellulose fibre provides a green adsorbent.

Preparation of Ni/PZT Core-shell Nanoparticles and Their Electromagnetic Properties

The Ni nanoparticles coated with Pb（Zr,Ti）O3（PZT） were synthesized by a sol-gel method and in situ reaction. And their structure, oxidation resistance, and electromagnetic properties were investigated. The X-ray diffraction patterns（XRD） exhibited that a small amount of impure phase characterized to Ni（OH）2 was detected from the ammonia-treated Ni nanoparticles and the ammonia-treated Ni nanoparticles coated with PZT. After being pre-treated with aqueous ammonia, the PZT coating layer was more uniform and about 10 nm in thickness. The oxidation resistance of the ammonia-treated Ni nanoparticles coated with PZT, compared with that of the non-treated ones, was improved by about 66 ℃. The PZT shell layer prepared by in-situ reaction can greatly reduce the dielectric constant and improve the natural resonance loss at high frequency, so as to obtain the optimal impedance matching performance of the electromagnetic wave transmission.

High-frequency field intensity along focal point of a long metallic parabolic reflector coated by a magnetized plasma layer using oblique incidence

Theoretical analysis of the electromagnetic field distribution in the focal region of a long metallic parabolic reflector that has its surface covered with a magnetized plasma layer is derived. The incident wave is considered to be with a general oblique incidence for both parallel and perpendicular polarizations. The electromagnetic field intensity expressions along the focal region are obtained accurately using Maslov＇s method. The effects of plasma thickness on the reflected and transmitted field distributions are investigated. The effects of other physi- cal parameters such as the angle of incidence and the plasma and cyclotron frequencies on the transmitted field- intensity distribution along the focal region are also studied. The results obtained by Maslov＇s method and Kirchhoff＇s approximation are found to be in a good agreement.

Adhesion Improvement of Zirconium Coating on Polyurethane Modified by Plasmas

In order to improve the adhesion of the middle frequency magnetic sputtered zirconium coating on a polyurethane film,an anode layer source was used to pretreat the polyurethane film with nitrogen and oxygen ions.SEMs and AFM roughness profiles of treated samples and the contrast groups were obtained.Besides,XPS survey spectrums and high resolution spectrums were also investigated.The adhesion test revealed that ion bombardment could improve the adhesion to the polyurethane coating substrate.A better etching result of oxygen ions versus nitrogen predicts a higher bonding strength of zirconium coating on polyurethane and,indeed,the highest bonding strengths are for oxygen ion bombardment upto 13.3 MPa.As demonstrated in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,the oxygen ion also helps to introduce more active groups,and,therefore,it achieves a high value of adhesion strength.

Designing metal sulfide-based cathodes and separators for suppressing polysulfide shuttling in lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur(Li-S)batteries,known for their high energy density,are attracting extensive research interest as a promising next-generation energy storage technology.However,their widespread use has been hampered by certain issues,including the dissolution and migration of polysulfides,along with sluggish redox kinetics.Metal sulfides present a promising solution to these obstacles regarding their high electrical conductivity,strong chemical adsorption with polysulfides,and remarkable electrocatalytic capabilities for polysulfide conversion.In this review,the recent progress on the utilization of metal sulfide for suppressing polysulfide shuttling in Li-S batteries is systematically summarized,with a special focus on sulfur hosts and functional separators.The critical roles of metal sulfides in realizing high-performing Li-S batteries have been comprehensively discussed by correlating the materials’structure and electrochemical performances.Moreover,the remaining issues/challenges and future perspectives are highlighted.By offering a detailed understanding of the crucial roles of metal sulfides,this review dedicates to contributing valuable knowledge for the pursuit of high-efficiency Li-S batteries based on metal sulfides.

Stabilizing nickel sulfide nanoparticles with an ultrathin carbon layer for improved cycling performance in sodium ion batteries

Nanostructured metal sulfides are potential electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries; however, they typically suffer from very poor cycling stability due to large volume changes and dissolution of discharge products. Herein we propose a rational material design strategy for sulfide-based materials to address these problems. Taking nickel sulfide （NiSx） as an example, we demonstrated that its electrochemical performance can be dramatically improved by confining the NiSx nanoparticles in a percolating conductive carbon nanotube network, and stabilizing them with an ultrathin carbon coating layer. The carbon layer serves as a physical barrier to alleviate the effects of both the volume change and dissolution of active materials. The hybrid material exhibited a large reversible specific capacity of 〉500 mAh/g and excellent cycling stability over 200 cycles. Given the traditionally problematic nature of NiSx as a battery anode material, we believe that the observed high performance reported here reflects the effectiveness of our material design strategy.

Constructing a biomimetic robust bi-layered hydrophilic lubrication coating on surface of silicone elastomer

Silicone elastomers-based materials have been extensively involved in the field of biomedical devices,while their use is extremely restricted due to the poor surface lubricity and inherent hydrophobicity.This paper describes a novel strategy for generating a robust layered soft matter lubrication coating on the surface of the polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)silicone elastomer,by entangling thick polyzwitterionic polyelectrolyte brush of poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate)(PSBMA)into the sub-surface of the initiator-embedded stiff hydrogel coating layer of P(AAm-co-AA-co-HEMA-Br)/Fe,to achieve a unified low friction and high load-bearing properties.Meanwhile,the stiff hydrogel layer with controllable thickness is covalently anchored on the surface of PDMS by adding iron powder to provide catalytic sites through surface catalytically initiated radical polymerization(SCIRP)method and provides high load-bearing capacity,while the topmost brush/hydrogel composite layer is highly effective for aqueous lubrication.Their synergy effects are capable of attaining low friction coefficient(COFs)under wide range of loaded condition in water environment with steel ball as sliding pair.Furthermore,the influence of mechanical modulus of the stiff hydrogel layer on the lubrication performance of layered coating is investigated,for which the COF is the lowest only when the modulus of the stiff hydrogel layer well matches the PDMS substrate.Surprisingly,the COF of the modified PDMS could remain low friction(COF<0.05)stably after encountering 50,000 sliding cycles under 10 N load.Finally,the surface wear characterizations prove the robustness of the layered lubricating coating.This work provides a new route for engineering lubricious silicon elastomer with low friction,high load-bearing capacity,and considerable durability.

Tubes with coated and sintered porous surface for highly efficient heat exchangers

Surface modification is a direct and effective way to enhance the efficiency of heat exchangers. Surface modification by forming a microporous coated layer can greatly enhance the boiling heat transfer and thus achieve a high performance. In this paper, we systematically investigate the boiling behavior on a plain surface with/ without sintered microporous coatings of copper powder. The results demonstrated that the sintered surface has a better performance in nucleate boiling due to the increased nucleation sites. The superheat degree is lower and the bubble departure diameter is larger for the sintered surface than for the plain surface, so the heat can be carried away more efficiently on the sintered surface. In addition, the heat transfer capacity on the sintered surface depends on both the powder size and the coating thickness for a high flux tube. The optimum heat transfer capacity can be obtained when the thickness of the microporous coating layer is 3-5 times of the sintered powder diameter. As a result, the heat transfer coefficient tube can be up to 3 times higher for the tube with a sintered surface than that with a plain surface, showing a pronounced enhancement in heat transfer and a high potential in chemical engineering industry application.

Construction of bio-functional Mg/HA composite layered coating for orthopedic application

Magnesium was considered as a revolutionary biodegradable implant material for orthopedic application. Concerning the weakness of intrinsic strength and corrosion behavior, a novel strategy of Mg/metal hybrid system was proposed for extension of orthopedic application, especially at load-bearing site. In this work, an Mg and HA composite layered coating was constructed on titanium by means of chemical conversion and vapor deposition. The HA transition interlayer was introduced to enhance the bonding between Mg film and Ti substrate. Compared with the bare Mg coating, the Mg/HA coating presented good interface bonding, which avoided the occurrence of Mg film peeling off from the substrate. The Mg/HA coating showed a uniform degradation and kept integrity after immersion of 14 d. The Mg ions release by degradation played a crucial role in osteopromotion and antibacterial effect. Incubation of MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts with the Mg/HA coating showed significant promotion on osteogenic differentiation according to ALP activity and Alizarin Red staining assays. Meanwhile the degradation of Mg exhibited strong suppression of bacteria proliferation. It was believed that this novel Mg/HA composite layered coating could be potentially applied in further development of bio-functional hybrid orthopedic implants.

Green corrosion inhibitors intercalated Mg:Al layered double hydroxide coatings to protect Mg alloy

Mg alloy was protected with Mg:Al layered double hydroxide(LDH)coating intercalated with three green corrosion inhibitors(sodium benzoate,3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and 8-hydroxyquinoline).The in-situ hydrothermal approach was adopted to intercalate corrosion inhibitors into Mg:Al LDH coating.The intercalated Mg:Al LDH coating was successfully acquired,and the crystalline structure of Mg:Al LDH coating was verified with X-ray diffraction(XRD).The organic functional groups of corrosion inhibitors were identified with the help of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS).The compact and uniform morphology was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM).The electrochemical measurement revealed better corrosion resistance of corrosion inhibitorintercalated Mg:Al LDH coatings as compared to that of pristine Mg alloy.The corrosion protection mechanism of corrosion inhibitors was described and unearthed the corrosion inhibitor with the best performance.

A WEDGE DISCLINATION DIPOLE INTERACTING WITH A COATED CYLINDRICAL INHOMOGENEITY

A three-phase composite cylinder model is utilized to study the interaction of a wedge disclination dipole with a coated cylindrical inhomogeneity. The explicit expression of the force acting on the wedge disclination dipole is calculated. The motilities and the equilibrium po- sitions of the disclination dipole near the coated inhomogeneity are discussed for various material combinations, relative thicknesses of the coating layer and the features of the disclination dipole. The results show that the material properties of the coating layer have a major part to play in alteringi the strengthening effect or toughening effect produced by the coated inhomogeneity.

Coating highly lithiophilic Zn on Cu foil for high-performance lithium metal batteries

Lithium metal batteries(LMBs) are ideal candidates for next-generation high energy density energy storage systems.However,uncontrollable growth of Li dendrites due to uneven Li plating has restricted the practical application of the Li metal anode.Here,we develop a highly lithiophilic Zn coating on commercial Cu foil as a substrate for Li metal anode to settle above issues.We find that the lithiophilic nature of Zn can facilitate homogeneous nucleation and deposition of Li on Cu current collector surface.In addition,the uniform Zn coating can not only decrease the nucleation overpotential but also regulate the electric field distribution.Benefiting from the coated Zn layer,the designed anode for half-cell and full-cell tests shows better electrochemical performances compared with the untreated Cu foil.This work provides a simple and effective way to enable a promising dendrite-free lithium metal anode for large-scale industrial applications.

In situ selective laser gas nitriding for composite TiN/Ti-6Al-4V fabrication via laser powder bed fusion

Laser-assisted gas nitriding of selective Ti-6Al-4V surfaces has been achieved during laser powder bed fusion fabrication by exchanging the argon build gas environment with nitrogen.Systematic variation of processing parameters allowed microdendritic Ti N surface coatings to be formed having thicknesses ranging from a few tens of microns to several hundred microns,with TiN dendrite microstructure volume fractions ranging from 0.6 to 0.75;and corresponding Vickers microindentation hardness values ranging from^7.5 GPa–9.5 GPa.Embedded TiN hard layers ranging from 50μm to 150μm thick were also fabricated in the laser-beam additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V alloy producing prototype,hybrid,planar composites having alternating,ductile Ti-6Al-4V layers with a hardness of^4.5 GPa and a stiff,TiN layer with a hardness of^8.5 GPa.The results demonstrate prospects for fabricating novel,additively manufactured components having selective,hard,wear and corrosion resistant coatings along with periodic,planar or complex metal matrix composite regimes exhibiting superior toughness and related mechanical properties.