Effect of metallic phase species on the corrosion resistance of 17M/(10NiO-NiFe_2O_4) cermet inert anode of aluminum electrolysis

NiFe2O4-based cermet inert anodes with metallic phase compositions of Cu, Ni and 85Cu15Ni were prepared by cold pressing-sintering. Their corrosion resistance was also investigated in Na3 AIF6-Al2O3 melts. The resuits show that the metallic phase species in cermets have no effect on the concentration of impurities in bath during electrolysis, the total steady-state concentration of impurities is almost the same, i.e. between 4.12 × 10^-4- 4.80 × 10^-4. There exists metal preferential corrosion for the cermet inert anode with metal Ni as metallic phase. For NiFe2 O4-based cermets, the cermet with metal Cu as metallic phase exhibits better corrosion resistance than the others.

Experimental Research of Electronic Devices Thermal Control Using Metallic Phase Change Materials

A Phase-change thermal control unit( PTCU) filled with metallic phase change material( PCM) Bismuth alloy for electric devices thermal protection was developed and investigated experimentally. The PTCU filled with PCM was designed and manufactured. Resistance heating components( RCHs) produced 1 W,3 W, 5 W,7W,and 10 W for simulating heat generation of electronic devices. At various heating power levels,the performance of PTCU were tested during heating period and one duty cycle period. The experimental results show that the PTCU delays RCH reaching the maximum operating temperature. Also,a numerical model was developed to enable interpretation of experimental results and to perform parametric studies. The results confirmed that the PTCU is suitable for electric devices thermal control.

Synthesis,Structure and Bonding Feature of New Metallic Zintl Phases RE_3Cu_3Sb_4(RE= Nd ,Sm ,Tb , Dy , Ho)

RE 3Cu 3Sb 4(RE=Nd, Sm, Tb, Dy, Ho) was synthesized by arc melting method and their crystal structures were characterized by powder X ray method. The compounds crystallize in cubic system, Y 3Au 3Sb 4 type, space group I43d (No.220), Pearson code cI40. The unit cell parameters are: Nd 3Cu 3Sb 4: a =0 96749(1) nm, V =0 90561(3) nm 3; Sm 3Cu 3Sb 4: a =0 96145(1) nm, V =0 88875(3) nm 3; Tb 3Cu 3Sb 4: a =0 95362(1) nm, V =0 86721(3) nm 3; Dy 3Cu 3Sb 4: a =0 95088(1) nm, V =0 85975(3) nm 3; Ho 3Cu 3Sb 4: a =0 9488(2) nm, V =0 8541(5) nm 3; Z =4. The structures are characterized by covalent bonded Cu Sb tetrahedra which form three dimensional networks by sharing corners. The rare earth atoms are distributed in the cages. The formula with the charge balance can be written as RE 3+ 3Cu 1+ 3Sb 3- 4 which are metallic Zintl phases having the weak metallic conductivity. The bonds have typical transitional features. General atomic coordination environment rules are followed. The unit cell parameters show the lanthanide contraction.

Metallic few-layered 1T-VS_(2)nanosheets for enhanced sodium storage

Metallic few-layered 1T phase vanadium disulfide nanosheets have been employed for boosting sodium ion batteries.It can deliver a capacity of 241 mAh∙g^(−1)at 100 mA∙g^(−1)after 200 cycles.Such long-term stability is attributed to the facile ion diffusion and electron transport resulting from the well-designed two-dimensional(2D)electron-electron correlations among V atoms in the 1T phase and optimized in-planar electric transport.Our results highlight the phase engineering into electrode design for energy storage.

Combined powder metallurgy routes to improve thermal and mechanical response of Al−Sn composite phase change materials

Powder metallurgy processes are suitable to produce form-stable solid−liquid phase change materials from miscibility gap alloys.They allow to obtain a composite metallic material with good dispersion of low-melting active phase particles in a high-melting passive matrix,preventing leakage of the particles during phase transition and,therefore,increasing the stability of thermal response.Also,the matrix provides structural properties.The aim of this work is to combine conventional powder mixing techniques(simple mixing and ball milling)to improve active phase isolation and mechanical properties of an Al−Sn alloy.As matter of fact,ball milling of Sn powder allows to reduce hardness difference with Al powder;moreover,ball milling of the two powders together results in fine microstructure with improved mechanical properties.In addition,different routes applied showed that thermal response depends on the microstructure and,in particular,on the particle size of the active phase.In more detail,coarse active phase particles provide a fast heat release with small undercooling,while small particles solidify more slowly in a wide range of temperature.On the other hand,melting and,consequently,heat storage are independent of the particle size of the active phase.This potentially allows to“tailor”the thermal response by producing alloys with suitable microstructure.

Surface doping manipulation of the insulating ground states in Ta_(2)Pd_(3)Te_(5) and Ta_(2)Ni_(3)Te_(5)

Manipulating emergent quantum phenomena is a key issue for understanding the underlying physics and contributing to possible applications.Here we study the evolution of insulating ground states of Ta_(2)Pu_(3)Te_(5) and Ta_(2)Ni_(3)Te_(5) under in-situ surface potassium deposition via angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy.Our results confirm the excitonic insulator character of Ta_(2)d_(3)Te_(5).Upon surface doping,the size of its global gap decreases obviously.After a deposition time of more than 7 min,the potassium atoms induce a metal-insulator phase transition and make the system recover to a normal state.In contrast,our results show that the isostructural compound Ta_(2)Ni_(3)Te_(5) is a conventional insulator.The size of its global gap decreases upon surface doping,but persists positive throughout the doping process.Our results not only confirm the excitonic origin of the band gap in Ta_(2)Pd_(3)Te_(5),but also offer an effective method for designing functional quantum devices in the future.

Calculation of Interaction Parameters from Immiscible Phase Diagram of Alkali Metal or Alkali Earth Metal-Halide System by Means of Subregular Solution Model

In this paper, the interaction parameters in the subregular solution model, λ1 and λ2, are regarded as a linear function of temperature, T. Therefore, the molar excess Gibbs energy of A-B binary system may be reexpressed as follows:Gm^E=xAxB[(λ11+λ12T)+(λ21+λ22T)xB]The calculation of the model parameters, λ11, λ12, λ21and λ22, was carried out numerically from the phase diagrams for 11 alkali metal-alkali halide or alkali earth metal-halide systems. In addition, artificial neural network trained by known data has been used to predict the values of these model parameters. The predicted results are in good agreement with the .calculated ones. The applicability of the subregular solution model to the alkali metal-alkali halide or alkali earth metal-halide systems were tested by comparing the available experimental composition along the boundary of miscibility gap with the calculated ones which were obtained by using genetic algorithm. The good agreement between the calculated and experimental results across the entire liquidus is valid evidence in support of the model.

Pressure-Induced Metallization and Electrical Phase Diagram for Polycrystalline CaB_6 under High Pressure and Low Temperature

The electrical properties of polycrystaltine CaB6 are revealed by in-situ resistance measurements under high pressure and low temperature. Due to the existence of grain boundaries, polycrystalline CaB6 behaves with semiconducting transport properties, which is different from the semimetallic CaB6 single crystals. The temperaturedependent resistance measurement results show that before the structural phase transition at 12.3 GPa the high pressure first induces the metallization at 6.5 GPa for CAB6. Moreover, the phase diagram for CaB6 is drawn based on the investigated electric conducting properties and at least three different conducting phases are found even at moderate high pressure and low temperature, indicating that the electric nature of CaB6 is very sensitive to the environment.

Phase Evolution and Magnetic Studies of La and Refractory Metals Co-substituted α-Fe/R_2Fe_(14)B-type Nanocomposites

Phase evolution and magnetic properties of (Nd_o.95La_0.05)9.5-11Febal.M_2B10.5. where M=Cr, Ti, Nb, V, Mo, Zr, Hf, Ta, Mn or W, melt spun ribbons have been investigated. Almost all the alloy ribbons. except for(Nd_0.95La_0.05)_9.5Fe_78M_2B_10.5(M=Mo and Mn),consist merely two magnetic phases, namely α-Fe and R_2Fe_14B, which display a better combination of _iH_c and magnetic energy product. Remanence (Br) and coercivity (i_H_c) values in the range of 8.0 to 9.1 kG and 9.5 to 18.9 kOe. respectively, can be achieved. Among compositions studied, the Ti and W-substitutions were found to be most effective in increasing the Br and i_H_c, respectively. For a fixed refractory metal substitution, namely, M=C_r, Ti or Nb, an increase in the total rare earth concentration resulted in nanocomposites of small grain sizes and a high volume fraction of the R_2Fe_14B phase, leading to an increase in the magnetic properties.

Growth of a-Plane GaN Films on r-Plane Sapphire by Combining Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy with the Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy

Hydride vapor phase epitaxy （HVPE） is utilized to grow nonpolar a-plane GaN layers on r-plane sapphire templates prepared by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy （MOVPE）. The surface morphology and microstructures of the samples are characterized by atomic force microscopy. The full width at half maximum （FWHM） of the HVPE sample shows a W-shape and that of the MOVPE sample shows an M-shape plane with the degree of 0 in the high-resolution x-ray diffraction （HRXRD） results. The surface morphology attributes to this significant anisotropic. HRXRD reveals that there is a significant reduction in the FWHM, both on-axis and off-axis for HVPE GaN are compared with the MOVPE template. The decrease of the FWHM of E2 （high） Raman scat tering spectra further indicates the improvement of crystal quality after HVPE. By comparing the results of secondary- ion-mass spectroscope and photoluminescence spectrum of the samples grown by HVPE and MOVPE, we propose that C-involved defects are originally responsible for the yellow luminescence.

Infrared Nano-Imaging of Electronic Phase across the Metal–Insulator Transition of NdNiO_(3) Films

NdNiO_(3) is a typical correlated material with temperature-driven metal–insulator transition. Resolving the local electronic phase is crucial in understanding the driving mechanism behind the phase transition. Here we present a nano-infrared study of the metal–insulator transition in NdNiO_(3) films by a cryogenic scanning near-field optical microscope. The NdNiO_(3) films undergo a continuous transition without phase coexistence. The nano-infrared signal shows significant temperature dependence and a hysteresis loop. Stripe-like modulation of the optical conductivity is formed in the films and can be attributed to the epitaxial strain. These results provide valuable evidence to understand the coupled electronic and structural transformations in NdNiO_(3) films at the nano-scale.

Coal-based reduction mechanism of low-grade laterite ore

A low-grade nickel laterite ore was reduced at different reduction temperatures. The morphology of metallic particles was investigated by scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and energy dispersive spectroscopy （EDS）. Experimental results indicate that the metallic nickel and iron gradually assemble and grow into larger spherical particles with increasing temperature and prolonging time. After reduction, the nickel laterite ore obviously changes into two parts of Fe-Ni metallic particles and slag matrix. An obvious relationship is found between the reduction of iron magnesium olivine and its crystal chemical properties. The nickel and iron oxides are reduced to metallic by reductant, and the lattice of olivine is destroyed. The entire reduction process is comprised of oxide reduction and metallic phase growth.

Effects of InGaN barriers with low indium content on internal quantum efficiency of blue InGaN multiple quantum wells

Blue In0.2Ga0.8N multiple quantum wells （MQWs） with InxGa1-xN （x = 0.01 - 0.04） barriers are grown by metal organic vapour phase epitaxy. The internal quantum efficiencies （IQEs） of these MQWs are studied in a way of temperature-dependent photoluminescenee spectra. Furthermore, a 2-channel Arrhenius model is used to analyse the nonradiative recombination centres （NRCs）. It is found that by adopting the InGaN barrier beneath the lowest well, it is possible to reduce the strain hence the NRCs in InGaN MQWs. By optimizing the thickness and the indium content of the InGaN barriers, the IQEs of InGaN/InGaN MQWs can be increased by about 2.5 times compared with conventional InGaN/GaN MQWs. On the other hand, the incorporation of indium atoms into the intermediate barriers between adjacent wells does not improve IQE obviously. In addition, the indium content of the intermediate barriers should match with that of the lowest barrier to avoid relaxation.

Migration characterization of Ga and In adatoms on dielectric surface in selective MOVPE

Migration characterizations of Ga and In adatoms on the dielectric surface in selective metal organic vapor phase epitaxy （MOVPE） were investigated. In the typical MOVPE environment, the selectivity of growth is preserved for GaN, and the growth rate of GaN micro-pyramids is sensitive to the period of the patterned SiO2 mask. A surface migration induced model was adopted to figure out the effective migration length of Ga adatoms on the dielectric surface. Different from the growth of GaN, the selective area growth of InGaN on the patterned template would induce the deposition of InGaN polycrystalline particles on the patterned Si02 mask with a long period. It was demonstrated with a scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectroscopy that the In adatoms exhibit a shorter migration length on the dielectric surface.

Effects of CaO and Na2CO3 on the Reduction of High Silicon Iron Ores

The effects of CaO and Na2CO3 on the reduction of high silicon iron ores at 1 250 ℃ were studied. The experimental results showed that the metallization rate was significantly hindered by the addition of CaO and Na2CO3, particularly at the early stage of roasting, compared to the rate without additives. In the absence of additives, iron oxides were quickly reduced to metallic iron, and fayalite was difficult to form. When CaO and Na2CO3 were added, the low reducible iron-containing silicate compounds formed and melted, subsequently retarding the metallization process. The inhibition of Na2CO3 was more noticeable than that of CaO, and higher Na2CO3 doses resulted in stronger inhibition of the increased metallization rate. However, when Na2CO3 was added prior to CaO, the liquid phase formed, which facilitated the growth of the metallic phase. To reinforce the separation of the metallic phase and slag, an appropriate amount of liquid phase generated during the reduction is necessary. It was shown that when 10% CaO and 10% Na2CO3 were added, a high metallization rate and larger metallic iron particles were obtained, thus further decreasing the required Na2CO3 dosage.

A MOVPE method for improving InGaN growth quality by pre-introducing TMIn

We propose a metal organic vapor phase epitaxy(MOVPE) method of pre-introducing TMIn during the growth of uGa N to improve the subsequent growth of In Ga N and discuss the impact of this method in detail. Monitoring the MOVPE by the interference curve generated by the laser incident on the film surface, we found that this method avoided the problem of the excessive In Ga N growth rate. Further x-ray diffraction(XRD), photoluminescence(PL), and atomic force microscope(AFM) tests showed that the quality of In Ga N is improved. It is inferred that by introducing TMIn in advance, the indium atom can replace the gallium atom in the reactor walls, delivery pipes, and other corners. Hence the auto-incorporation of gallium can be reduced when In Ga N is grown, so as to improve the material quality.

Effects of metal binder on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al2O3-based micro-nanocomposite ceramic tool material

The Al_2O_3-（W,Ti）C composites with Ni and Mo additions varying from 0vol% to 12vol% were prepared via hot pressing sintering under 30 MPa. The microstructure was investigated via X-ray diffraction（XRD） and scanning electron microscopy（SEM） equipped with energy dispersive spectrometry（EDS）. Mechanical properties such as flexural strength, fracture toughness, and Vickers hardness were also measured. Results show that the main phases A12O3 and（W,Ti）C were detected by XRD. Compound Mo Ni also existed in sintered nanocomposites. The fracture modes of the nanocomposites were both intergranular and transgranular fractures. The plastic deformation of metal particles and crack bridging were the main toughening mechanisms. The maximum flexural strength and fracture toughness were obtained for 9vol% and 12vol% additions of Ni and Mo, respectively. The hardness of the composites reduced gradually with increasing content of metals Ni and Mo.

Direct TEM Observation of Phase Separation and Crystallization in Cu_(45)Zr_(45)Ag_(10)Metallic Glass

The structural evolution of Cu_（45）Zr_（45）Ag_（10） metallic glass was investigated by in situ transmission electron microscopy heating experiments. The relationship between phase separation and crystallization was elucidated. Nucleation and growth-controlled nanoscale phase separation at early stage were seen to impede nanocrystallization, while a coarser phase separation via aggregation of Ag-rich nanospheres was found to promote the precipitation of Cu-rich nanocrystals.Coupling of composition and dynamics heterogeneities was supposed to play a key role during phase separation preceding crystallization.

Controlling phase transition in WSe_(2) towards ideal n-type transistor

Two-dimensional(2D)transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDs)have been rapidly established as promising building blocks for versatile atomic scale circuits and multifunctional devices.However,the high contact resistance in TMDs based transistors seriously hinders their applications in complementary electronics.In this work,we show that an Ohmic homojunction n-type tungsten diselenide(WSe_(2))transistor is realized through spatially controlling cesium(Cs)doping region near the contacts.We find that the remarkable electron doping effect of Cs stimulates a semiconductor to metal(2H to 1T')phase transition in WSe_(2),and hence the formation of 2H-1T’hetero-phase contact.Our method significantly optimizes the WSe_(2) transport behavior with a perfect low subthreshold swing of-61 mV/dec and ultrahigh current on/off ratio exceeding-10^(9).Meanwhile,the electron mobility is enhanced by nearly 50 times.We elucidate that the ideal n-type behavior originates from the negligible Schottky barrier height of~19 meV and low contact resistance of-0.9Ωk·μm in the 2H-1T’homojunction device.Moreover,based on the Ohmic hetero-phase configuration,a WSe_(2) inverter is achieved with a high gain of~270 and low power consumption of-28 pW.Our findings envision Cs functionalization as an effective method to realize ideal Ohmic contact in 2D WSe_(2) transistors towards high performance complementary electronic devices.

Response time improvement of AlGaN photoconductive detectors by adjusting crystal-nuclei coalescence process in metal organic vapor phase epitaxy

AlGaN photoconductive ultraviolet detectors are fabricated to study their time response characteristics. Persistent photoconductivity, a deterring factor for the detector response time, is found to be strongly related to the grain boundary density in AlGaN epilayers. By improving the crystal-nuclei coalescence process in metal organic vapor phase epitaxy, the grain-boundary density can be reduced, resulting in an-order-of-magnitude decrease in response time.