Mechanical, electrical, and thermal expansion properties of carbon nanotube-based silver and silver–palladium alloy composites

The mechanical, electrical, and thermal expansion properties of carbon nanotube（CNT）-based silver and silver–palladium（10：1, w/w） alloy nanocomposites are reported. To tailor the properties of silver, CNTs were incorporated into a silver matrix by a modified molecular level-mixing process. CNTs interact weakly with silver because of their non-reactive nature and lack of mutual solubility. Therefore, palladium was utilized as an alloying element to improve interfacial adhesion. Comparative microstructural characterizations and property evaluations of the nanocomposites were performed. The structural characterizations revealed that decorated type-CNTs were dispersed, embedded, and anchored into the silver matrix. The experimental results indicated that the modification of the silver and silver–palladium nanocomposite with CNT resulted in increases in the hardness and Young＇s modulus along with concomitant decreases in the electrical conductivity and the coefficient of thermal expansion（CTE）. The hardness and Young＇s modulus of the nanocomposites were increased by 30%？40% whereas the CTE was decreased to 50%-60% of the CTE of silver. The significantly improved CTE and the mechanical properties of the CNT-reinforced silver and silver–palladium nanocomposites are correlated with the intriguing properties of CNTs and with good interfacial adhesion between the CNTs and silver as a result of the fabrication process and the contact action of palladium as an alloying element.

Effect of CF and RPP on the Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Smart Aggregate

By using redispersible polymer powder（RPP） and carbon fiber（CF） to adjust the flexibility and electrical properties of the smart aggregate, a new kind of smart aggregate with Z type structure was proposed. The study shows that Z type aggregate is more sensitive to the feedback of external force than the prism aggregate in the same loading environment, and it indicates that Z type aggregate is more suitable for the research and application of concrete health monitoring. Although the incorporation of RPP would cause the compressive strength of the aggregates and the elastic modulus of hardened cement mortar to reduce slightly within the dosage of RPP by 2.25% because of the polymer film formed in the internal system, this would improve the deformability of the aggregates. In the early loading stage（in the first 60 seconds）, the intelligent concrete specimens implanted with Z type smart aggregate do not show higher sensitivity as expected, although the resistance change rate changes a little bit more, the overall of it is still in balance. Adding RPP could improve the flexibility of smart aggregates exactly, and it plays an active role in prolonging the life of the smart aggregates. By implanting Z type aggregates the damage and failure of the concrete structure could be predicted accurately in this study. The results of this paper will help to promote further research and application of intelligent concrete.

ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF POLYANILINE FILMS——EFFECT OF NEUTRAL SALTS ADDED DURING POLYMERIZATION

The electrical and mechanical properties of polyaniline (PANI) films synthesized by the presence of the selected neutral salts in the polymerization were measured as a function of the properties and the concentration of the selected neutral salts, and the protonation state. It was found that both the electrical and mechanical properties of PANI films were enhanced by adding neutral salts in the polymerization. The adding of the neutral salts in the polymerization resulted in extended conformation of polymer chain and increasing of molecular weight of PANI, which may be the reasons why the electrical and mechanical properties of PANI films were improved by the presence of neutral salts in the polymerization. (Author abstract) 11 Refs.

Multifunctional A356 alloy/PKSAnp composites:Microstructure and mechanical properties

Mechanical properties and microstructure of multifunctional composites produced with palm kernel shell ash nano particle(PKSAnp)-A356 alloy composites was studied.The composites were produced using Double layer feeding stir casting method(DLF-SCM) by adding 1 wt%-4 wt.% PKSAnp.The microstructure,density,electrical and mechanical properties were determined.The results shows that there was a uniform distribution of the PKSAnp in A356 alloy.The mismatch at the interface between the PKSAnp and A356 alloy was 4.26%.Improvement of 30.47%,41.91%,49.52%,40.90% and 65.09% were obtained for hardness values,tensile,yield strength,%elongation and impact energy at 4 wt% PKASnp.The work has established that the developed composites can be used for multifunctional applications where combination of toughness and strength is vital.

STUDY ON THE STRUCTURE, ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES AND CONDUCTION MECHANISM 0F THE MULTICRYSTAL MULTIPHASE MATERIAL Li_2MO_2-xWxO_6

The conductivity of non-crystalline fast ionic conductor for B_2O_3-Li_2O-LiCl-Al_2O_3 system is studiedin this paper. The glass structure of this system is discussed by means of infrared spectrum and X-ray fluorescence analysis, and the effects of LiCl and A1_2O_3 on the conductivity of Li^+ in the system are studied as well. Adding Li_2O to the system gives rise to transfer from [BO_3] triangular units to [BO_4] tetrahedral. When Li_2O content exceeds 30mol%, the main group of the glass is the diborate group with more [BO_4] tetrahedra. The adding of LiCl has no obvious influence on the glass structure, and LiCl is under a state dissociated by network, but with the increase of LiCl, the increase of conductivity is obvious. By adding A1_2O_3, the glass can be formed when the room-temperature is cooling down,the conductivity decreases while the conductive activatory energy increases for the glass. The experiment shows that conductivity in the room-temperature is σ= 6.2×10^(-6)Ω^(-1)cm^(-1), when at 300℃, the σ=6.8×10^(-3)Ω^(-1)cm^(-1). The conductive activatory energy computed is 0.6～1.0eV.

Aluminum matrix composites reinforced by molybdenum-coated carbon nanotubes

To extend the application of carbon nanotubes （CNTs） and explore novel aluminum matrix composites,CNTs were coated by molybdenum layers using metal organic chemical vapor deposition,and then Mo-coated CNT （Mo-CNT）/Al composites were prepared by the combination processes of powder mixing and spark plasma sintering.The influences of powder mixing and Mo-CNT content on the mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of the composites were investigated.The results show that magnetic stirring is better than mechanical milling for mixing the Mo-CNTs and Al powders.The electrical conductivity of the composites decreases with increasing Mo-CNT content.When the Mo-CNT content is 0.5wt%,the tensile strength and hardness of Mo-CNT/Al reach their maximum values.The tensile strength of 0.5wt% Mo-CNT/Al increases by 29.9%,while the electrical conductivity only decreases by 7.1%,relative to sintered pure Al.The phase analysis of Mo-CNT/Al composites reveals that there is no formation of Al carbide in the composites.

Influence of Rare Earth(Ce and La) Addition on the Performance of Al-3.0 wt%Mg Alloy

The influences of rare earth elements（cerium and lanthanum） on the microstructure and phases of Al-3.0 wt%Mg alloys used for electromagnetic shielding wire were characterized by scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, energy-dispersive spectroscopy（EDS）, X-ray diffraction（XRD） and differential scanning calorimetry（DSC）. The mechanical properties and electrical resistivity were also investigated. The results indicated that a certain content of rare earth could improve the purification of the aluminum molten, enhance the strength, and reduce the electrical resistivity of Al-3.0 wt%Mg alloys. The strength reached the top value when RE content was 0.3 wt% while the alloy with 0.2 wt% RE addition had the smallest electrical resistivity. The elongation varied little when RE addition was no more than 0.2 wt%. But the excessive addition of rare earth would be harmful to the microstructure and properties of Al-3.0 wt%Mg alloys.

Performance improvement of continuous carbon nanotube fibers by acid treatment

Continuous CNT fibers have been directly fabricated in a speed of 50 m/h-400 m/h,based on an improved chemical vapor deposition method.As-prepared fibers are further post-treated by acid.According to the SEM images and Raman spectra,the acid treatment results in the compaction and surface modification of the CNTs in fibers,which are beneficial for the electron and load transfer.Compared to the HNO3 treatment,HClSO_3 or H_2SO_4 treatment is more effective for the improvement of the fibers＇ properties.After HCISO_3 treatment for 2 h,the fibers＇ strength and electrical conductivity reach up to-2 GPa and-4.3 MS/m,which are promoted by-200%and almost one order of magnitude than those without acid treatment,respectively.The load-bearing status of the CNT fibers are analyzed based on the downshifts of the G＇ band and the strain transfer factor of the fibers under tension.The results reveal that acid treatment could greatly enhance the load transfer and inter-bundle strength.With the HCISO3 treatment,the strain transfer factor is enhanced from-3.9%to-53.6%.

Effect of Ti additions on microstructure and mechanical properties of Cu-Cr-Zr alloy

Ti additions in Cu–Cr–Zr alloys are useful for achieving high mechanical properties.In this work,the influence of Ti contents(0.25 wt%,0.6 wt%,and 1.02 wt%)on the microstructure,mechanical,and electrical properties of Cu–Cr–Zr alloys has been investigated experimentally,along with thermodynamic and kinetic calculations.The electrical conductivity decreased but the hardness/strength increased with increasing Ti content.The lower electrical conductivity is due to increased electron scattering through the solution of more Ti atoms in the Cu matrix.As for the higher hardness/strength,it is mainly owing to higher dislocation density and finer FCC-Cr precipitates.Furthermore,a model considering the size distributions of precipitates is adopted to calculate precipitation strengthening quantitatively.The calculated yield strengths are consistent with the experimental ones for the alloys.The thermodynamic and kinetic calculations reveal that increasing Ti content can facilitate the nucleation of FCC-Cr but enhance its activation energy,hence hindering the growth process.The present work study can provide an effective strategy for producing copper alloys with expected performance.

A Study of the Replacement of Materials in Smart Card

Gold, nickel and copper are usually used in connector of the smart card. Since Au is expensive and Ni is an allergenic material, simulated (CES) and bibliographical work is carried out in order to replace the Au and Ni layer in smart card connectors without sacrificing reliability. During the work, mechanical and electrical properties, corrosion resistance, cost, toxicity and process compatibility of the samples have been taken into consideration. Cu alloying with Zn or Sn, Cr and stainless steel were selected for electrodeposition process. Secondly, carbides (WC, TiC, ZrC), Ti, TiN, borides (TiB2) and silicide (MoSi2) are considered as a vapour deposited materials and some Cu alloying with Al, N or Mg also considered via ion implantation processes. But, vapour deposition and implantation are high energy processes compared to the electrodeposition process, which is expensive. Therefore, electrodeposited materials such as, Cu alloys (Brass or bronze), Cr and stainless steel could be considered as promising candidate to replace the Au and Ni layer in smart card connectors.

A high-strength,ductile Al-0.35Sc-0.2Zr alloy with good electrical conductivity strengthened by coherent nanosized-precipitates

Ductility and electrical conductivity of metallic materials are inversely correlated with their strength,resulting in a difficulty of optimizing all three simultaneously. We design an Al-Sc-Zr-based alloy using semisolid extrusion to yield a good trade-off between strength and ductility along with excellent electrical conductivity. The Al-0.35Sc-0.2Zr wire with a diameter of 3 mm exhibited the best combined properties： a tensile strength of 210 ± 2 MPa, elongation of 7.6% ± 0.5%, and an electrical conductivity of 34.9 ± 0.05 MS/m. The average particle size of nanosized Al3（Sc, Zr） precipitates increased from 6.5 ± 0.5 nm to 25.0 ± 0.5 nm as the aging time increased from 1 h to 96 h at 380 °C, accompanied by the corresponding volume fraction variation from（6.2 ± 0.1） × 10^（-4） to（3.7 ± 0.1） × 10^（-3）. As proved by transmission electron microscopy observation, the high strength originates from the effective blockage of dislocation motion by numerous nanosized Al3（Sc, Zr） precipitates whilst both electrical conductivity and ductility remain at a high level due to the coherent precipitates possessing an extremely low electrical resistivity.

Electrical transport and current properties of rare-earth dysprosium Schottky electrode on p-type GaN at various annealing temperatures

The electrical and current transport properties of rapidly annealed Dy/p-GaN SBD are probed by I-V and C-V techniques. The estimated barrier heights（BH） of as-deposited and 200 ℃ annealed SBDs are 0.80 eV（I-V）/0.93 eV（C-V） and 0.87 eV（I-V）/1.03 eV（C-V）. However, the BH rises to 0.99 eV（I-V）/1.18 eV（C-V）and then slightly deceases to 0.92 eV（I-V）/1.03 eV（C-V） after annealing at 300 ℃ and 400 ℃. The utmost BH is attained after annealing at 300 ℃ and thus the optimum annealing for SBD is 300 ℃. By applying Cheung＇s functions, the series resistance of the SBD is estimated. The BHs estimated by I-V, Cheung＇s and ΨS-V plot are closely matched; hence the techniques used here are consistency and validity. The interface state density of the as-deposited and annealed contacts are calculated and we found that the NSS decreases up to 300 ℃ annealing and then slightly increases after annealing at 400 ℃. Analysis indicates that ohmic and space charge limited conduction mechanisms are found at low and higher voltages in forward-bias irrespective of annealing temperatures. Our experimental results demonstrate that the Poole-Frenkel emission is leading under the reverse bias of Dy/p-GaN SBD at all annealing temperatures.

Precipitation Behavior of Cu-1.9Be-0.3Ni-0.15Co Alloy During Aging

In this paper,the evolutions of microstructure and mechanical properties of Cu-l.9Be-0.3Ni-0.15Co alloy were studied.The alloys in the condition of the solution treated（soft state） and 37% cold rolled（hard state） were aged at 320 ℃for different time,respectively.The mechanical properties,electrical conductivity and microstructure of the alloy aged for different time were analyzed.Additionally,the precipitation kinetics of Cu-1.9Be-0.3Ni-0.15Co alloys was investigated.X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy results reveal that both continuous precipitation and discontinuous precipitation existed in the hard-state Cu-l.9Be-0.3Ni-0.15Co alloy during the whole aging process;the sequence of continuous precipitation is G.P.zone →γ″→γ′→γ.Furthermore,the precipitation transformation mechanism of softstate alloy is homogeneous nucleation,while hard-state alloy shows the heterogeneous nucleation（interface nucleation）with the nucleation rate of both states decaying rapidly to zero during aging at 320 ℃.