Diffusion behavior of helium in titanium and the effect of grain boundaries revealed by molecular dynamics simulation

The microstructures of titanium（Ti）, an attractive tritium（T） storage material, will affect the evolution process of the retained helium（He）. Understanding the diffusion behavior of He at the atomic scale is crucial for the mechanism of material degradation. The novel diffusion behavior of He has been reported by molecular dynamics（MD） simulation for the bulk hcp-Ti system and the system with grain boundary（GB）. It is observed that the diffusion of He in the bulk hcp-Ti is significantly anisotropic（the diffusion coefficient of the [0001] direction is higher than that of the basal plane）,as represented by the different migration energies. Different from convention, the GB accelerates the diffusion of He in one direction but not in the other. It is observed that a twin boundary（TB） can serve as an effective trapped region for He.The TB accelerates diffusion of He in the direction perpendicular to the twinning direction（TD）, while it decelerates the diffusion in the TD. This finding is attributable to the change of diffusion path caused by the distortion of the local favorable site for He and the change of its number in the TB region.

Novel Au nanoparticles-inlaid titanium paper for PEM water electrolysis with enhanced interfacial electrical conductivity

Proton-exchange membrane water electrolysis(PEM WE)is a particularly promising technology for renewable hydrogen produc-tion.However,the excessive passivation of the gas diffusion layer(GDL)will seriously affect the high surface-contact resistance and result in energy losses.Thus,a mechanism for improving the conductivity and interface stability of the GDL is an urgent issue.In this work,we have prepared a hydrophilic and corrosion resistant conductive composite protective coating.The polydopamine(PDA)film on the Ti surface,which was obtained via the solution oxidation method,ensured that neither micropores nor pinholes existed in the final hybrid coatings.In-situ reduced gold nanoparticles(AuNPs)improved the conductivity to achieve the desired interfacial contact resistance and further enhanced the corrosion resistance.The surface composition of the treated samples was investigated using scanning electron microscopy(SEM),transmis-sion electron microscopy(TEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD),and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR).The results indicated that the optimized reaction conditions included a pH value of 3 of HAuCl_(4) solution with PDA deposition(48 h)on papers and revealed the lowest con-tact resistance(0.5 mΩ·cm^(2))and corrosion resistance(0.001μA·cm^(−2))in a 0.5 M H_(2)SO_(4)+2 ppm F−solution(1.7 V vs.RHE)among all the modified specimens,where RHE represents reversible hydrogen electrode.These findings indicated that the Au-PDA coating is very appropriate for the modification of Ti GDLs in PEM WE systems.

Atomic layer deposition of ultrathin layered TiO_2 on Pt/C cathode catalyst for extended durability in polymer electrolyte fuel cells

This study shows the preparation of a TiO2 coated Pt/C（TiO2/Pt/C） by atomic layer deposition（ALD）,and the examination of the possibility for TiO2/Pt/C to be used as a durable cathode catalyst in polymer electrolyte fuel cells（PEFCs）. Cyclic voltammetry results revealed that TiO2/Pt/C catalyst which has 2 nm protective layer showed similar activity for the oxygen reduction reaction compared to Pt/C catalysts and they also had good durability. TiO2/Pt/C prepared by 10 ALD cycles degraded 70% after 2000 Accelerated degradation test, while Pt/C corroded 92% in the same conditions. TiO2 ultrathin layer by ALD is able to achieve a good balance between the durability and activity, leading to TiO2/Pt/C as a promising cathode catalyst for PEFCs. The mechanism of the TiO2 protective layer used to prevent the degradation of Pt/C is discussed.

Anisotropic Porous Ti6Al4V Alloys Fabricated by Diffusion Bonding:Adaption of Compressive Behavior to Cortical Bone Implant Applications

In this work, porous Ti6Al4V alloys with 30%-70% porosity for biomedical applications were fabricated by diffusion bonding of alloy meshes. Pore structure was characterized by Micro-CT and SEM. Compressive behavior in the out-of-plane direction and biocompatibility with cortical bone were studied. The results reveal that the fabricated porous Ti6Al4V alloys possess anisotropic structure with square pores in the in-plane direction and elongated pores in the out-of-plane direction. The average pore size of porous Ti6Al4V alloys with 30%-70% porosity is in the range of 240-360 Bin. By tailoring diffusion bonding temperature, aspect ratio of alloy meshes and porosity, porous Ti6Al4V alloys with different compressive properties can be obtained, for instance, Young＇s modulus and yield stress in the ranges of 4-40 GPa and 70-500 MPa, respectively. Yield stress of porous Ti6Al4V alloys fabricated by diffusion bonding is close to that of alloys fabricated by rapid prototyping, hut higher than that of fabricated by powder sintering and space-holder method. Diffusion bonding temperature has some effects on the yield stress of porous Ti6Al4V alloys, but has a minor effect on the Young＇s modulus. The relationship between compressive properties and relative density conforms well to the Gibson-Ashby model. The Young＇s modulus is linear with the aspect ratio, while the yield stress is linear with the square of aspect ratio of alloy meshes. Porous Ti6Al4V alloys with 60%-70% porosity have potential for cortical bone implant applications.

Preparation of TiAl alloy powder by high-energy ball milling and diffusion reaction at low temperature

In this paper, TiAl alloy powders were prepared successfully by high-energy ball milling and diffusion reaction in vacuum at low temperature. The titanium powder, aluminum powder, and titanium hydride powder were used as raw materials. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, X-ray diffraction（XRD）, field-emission scanning electron microscopy（FESEM）, and differential thermal analysis（DTA）. The results show that the alloy powders with the main intermetallic compounds of TiAl are obtained using Ti-Al powders and TiH2-Al powders after heated for 2 h at 500 ℃,3 h at 600 ℃,and 3 h at 750 ℃,respectively.The average grain sizes of alloy powder are about 45 and20 μm with irregular shape, respectively. The prepared TiAl alloy powders are relatively pure, and the average quality content of oxygen in the alloy powders is0.33 wt%. The forming process of alloy powder contains both the diffusion reaction of Ti and Al,which gives priority to the diffusion reaction of aluminum.