Role of Crystal Seed in Aluminum Hydroxide Crystallization from Ammonia System with Added NH_(4)Al(SO_(4))_(2)·12H_(2)O

A method to promote aluminum hydroxide crystal growth through pickling Al(OH)_(3)as seed in the ammonia system was proposed to overcome these defects.The experimental results show that,under the conditions of pickling time of 15 min,the acid concentration of 10%,the addition of 70 g/L pickling-Al(OH)_(3)seed,and the coarse granular Al(OH)_(3)products(d0.5=85.667)can be obtained.The characterization results show that the phase of the product is gibbsite,consistent with the seed.Moreover,the steps and ledges can be formed on pickling Al(OH)_(3)seed surface under the ammonia system,effectively promoting crystal growth.During crystal growth,the roughness of the crystal surface was first increased and then decreased,and the lamellar structure was deposited on the crystal seed surface.The final particles are approximately round,the surface is compact and dense.The growth of the product is surface reaction controlled.In addition,the content of the AlO_(6)unit is increased and contributed to Al(OH)_(3)crystal growth.

Recent Developments in the Crystallization Process： Toward the Pharmaceutical Industry

Crystallization is one of the oldest separation and purification unit operations, and has recently contributed to significant improvements in producing higher-value products with specific properties and in building efficient manufacturing processes. In this paper, we review recent developments in crystal engineering and crystallization process design and control in the pharmaceutical industry. We systematically summarize recent methods for understanding and developing new types of crystals such as co-crystals, polymorphs, and solvates, and include several milestones such as the launch of the first co-crystal drug, Entresto （No- vartis）, and the continuous manufacture of Orkambi （Vertex）. Conventional batch and continuous processes, which are becoming increasingly mature, are being coupled with various control strategies and the recently developed crystallizers are thus adapting to the needs of the pharmaceutical industry. The development of crystallization process design and control has led to the appearance of several new and innovative crystal- lizer geometries for continuous operation and improved performance. This paper also reviews major recent orogress in the area of process analytical technology.

A simulation study of microstructure evolution during solidification process of liquid metal Ni

A molecular dynamics simulation study has been performed for the microstructure evolution in a liquid metal Ni system during crystallization process at two cooling rates by adopting the embedded atom method （EAM） model potential. The bond-type index method of Honeycutt-Andersen （HA） and a new cluster-type index method （CTIM-2） have been used to detect and analyse the microstructures in this system. It is demonstrated that the cooling rate plays a critical role in the microstructure evolution： below the crystallization temperature Tc, the effects of cooling rate are very remarkable and can be fully displayed. At different cooling rates of 2.0 × 10^13 K·s^-1 and 1.0 × 10^12 K·s^-1, two different kinds of crystal structures are obtained in the system. The first one is the coexistence of the hcp （expressed by （12 0 0 0 6 6） in CTIM-2） and the fcc （12 0 0 0 12 0） basic clusters consisting of 1421 and 1422 bond-types, and the hcp basic cluster becomes the dominant one with decreasing temperature, the second one is mainly the fcc （12 0 0 0 12 0） basic clusters consisting of 1421 bond-type, and their crystallization temperatures Tc would be 1073 and 1173 K, respectively.

Effects of process parameters on morphology and distribution of externally solidified crystals in microstructure of magnesium alloy die castings

During the cold-chamber high pressure die casting(HPDC) process, samples were produced to investigate the microstructure characteristics of AM60B magnesium alloy. Special attention was paid to the effects of process parameters on the morphology and distribution of externally solidified crystals(ESCs) in the microstructure of magnesium alloy die castings, such as slow shot phase plunger velocity, delay time of pouring and fast shot phase plunger velocity. On the basis of metallographic observation and quantitative statistics, it is concluded that a lower slow shot phase plunger velocity and a longer delay time of pouring both lead to an increment of the size and percentage of the ESCs, due to the fact that a longer holding time of the melt in the shot sleeve will cause a more severe loss of the superheat. The impingement of the melt flow on the ESCs is more intensive with a higher fast shot phase plunger velocity, in such case the ESCs reveal a more granular and roundish morphology and are dispersed throughout the cross section of the castings. Based on analysis of the filling and solidification processes of the melt during the HPDC process, reasonable explanations were proposed in terms of the nucleation, growth, remelting and fragmentation of the ESCs to interpret the effects of process parameters on the morphology and distribution of the ESCs in the microstructure of magnesium alloy die castings.

Preparation of LiTi_2(PO_4)_3 by the Sol-gel Method and Investigation of Its Formation Process

In this study,a novel solgel method has been developed to prepare LiTi2(PO4)3 lithium ion conductor as monophase at relatively low temperature(600).According to the XRD and IR analysis,the asprepared sample remained an amorphous state up to 500.The activation energy was calculated to be 252 kJ/mol according to the modified Kissinger equation.

Crystallization Process of Superlattice-Like Sb/SiO_2 Thin Films for Phase Change Memory Application

After compositing with SiO_2 layers, it is shown that superlattice-like Sb/SiO_2 thin films have higher crystallization temperature（~240°C）, larger crystallization activation energy（6.22 e V）, and better data retention ability（189°C for 10 y）. The crystallization of Sb in superlattice-like Sb/SiO_2 thin films is restrained by the multilayer interfaces. The reversible resistance transition can be achieved by an electric pulse as short as 8 ns for the Sb（3 nm）/SiO_2（7 nm）-based phase change memory cell. A lower operation power consumption of 0.09 m W and a good endurance of 3.0 × 10~6 cycles are achieved. In addition, the superlattice-like Sb（3 nm）/SiO_2（7 nm） thin film shows a low thermal conductivity of 0.13 W/（m·K）.

Magnetization Reversal Process of Single Crystal a-Fe Containing a Nonmagnetic Particle

The magnetization reversal process and hysteresis loops in a single crystal α-iron with nonmagnetic particles are simulated in this work based on the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. The evolutions of the magnetic domain morphology are studied, and our analyses show that the magnetization reversal process is affected by the interaction between the moving domain wall and the existing nonmagnetic particles. This interaction strongly depends on the size of the particles, and it is found that particles with a particular size contribute the most to magnetic hardening.

Multi-site anchoring of single-molecule for efficient and stable perovskite solar cells with lead shielding

The emergence of perovskite solar cells(PSCs) has greatly promoted the progress of photovoltaic technologies.The rapid development of PSCs has been driven by the advances in optimizing perovskite films and their adjacent interfaces.However,the polycrystalline perovskite layers in most highly efficient PSCs still contain various defects that greatly limit photovoltaic performance and stability of the devices.Herein,we introduce a multifunctional additive ethylene diamine tetra methylene phosphonic sodium(EDTMPS) with multiple anchor points into the precursor of perovskite to improve the efficiency and stability of PSCs and provide in-situ protection of lead leakage.The addition of EDTMPS acts as a crystal growth controller and passivation agent for perovskite films,thereby slowing down the crystallization rate of the film and obtaining high-quality perovskite films.Our study also provides an insight into how the modifier modulate the interfacial energy level arrangement as well as affect transfer of charge carriers and their recombination under photoinduced excitation.As a result,the power conversion efficiency(PCE) of single subcell with a working area of 0.255 cm^(2) increases significantly from 20.03% to 23.37%.Moreover,we obtained a PCE of 19.16% for the 25 cm^(2) module.Importantly,the unencapsulated EDTMP-modified PSCs exhibit better operational and thermal stability,as well as in-situ absorption of leaked lead ions.

Synthesis of FER zeolite with piperidine as structure-directing agent and its catalytic application

The synthesis of ferrierite(FER)zeolite using piperidine as an organic structure‐directing agent was investigated.X‐ray diffraction,X‐ray fluorescence,N2‐adsorption,and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the crystal phases,textural properties,and particle morphologies of the zeolite samples.The crystallization behavior of the FER zeolite was found to be directly related to crystallization temperature.At150?C,pure FER phase was observed throughout crystallization.At160–170?C,MWW phase appeared first and gradually transformed into FER phase over time,indicating that the FER phase was thermodynamically favored.In the piperidine‐Na2O‐H2O synthetic system,alkalinity proved to be the crucial factor determining the size and textural properties of FER zeolite.Furthermore,the obtained FER samples exhibited good catalytic performance in the skeletal isomerization of1‐butene.

Relationship between solid/liquid interface and crystal orientation for pure magnesium solidified in fashion of cellular crystal

The relationship between the solid/liquid interface and the crystal orientation for pure magnesium,which grows in fashion of cellular crystal in unidirectional solidification,was investigated.The results show that the energy of the solid/liquid interface is the lowest during cellular crystal growth of pure magnesium;and the solid/liquid interface is covered by the basal face{0001}and by the crystal face made up of three atoms located at the orientation{0001}0100and two atoms located at the inner of magnesium crystal cell.The strongest bond is formed in the direction of 61.9°viating from the growth direction,and the second strong bond is formed in the directions of 8.5°d 47.7°espectively,deviating from the growth direction.The angle between the basal face{0001} and the growth direction is 61.9°he theoretical analysis results are basically consistent with the experimental results from SUSUMU et al.

Unveiling the effect of amino acids on the crystallization pathways of methylammonium lead iodide perovskites

Multifunctional additives are widely used to improve crystallization and to passivate defects in perovskite solar cells. The roles of these additives are usually related to the various functional groups contained in such additives. Here, we introduce a serious of analogues of amino acids into methylammonium lead iodide perovskites and find they play different roles in the crystallization process despite the fact that these additives share exactly the same terminal groups, namely one amino group and one carboxyl group. The corresponding crystallization pathways are established for the first time via monitoring the time-resolved phase formation and transformation. We find that avoiding the rapid formation of perovskites from precursor solution can facilitate the uniform nucleation and growth of perovskite crystals with enhanced crystallinity and reduced defects. Further, we find the different crystallization behaviors probably arise from the inherent structural characteristic of these additives, leading to different interactions in the precursors. This study unveils the effects of amino acids on the liquid–solid crystallization process and helps better understand the role of multifunctional additives beyond their functional groups.

Magnetic properties and crystallization kinetics of Zn_(0.5) Ni_(0.5) Fe_2O_4

Precursor of nanocrystalline Zno.sNio.sFe2O4 was obtained by grinding mixture of ZnSO4.7H2O, NiSO4.6H2O, FeSO4.7H2O, and Na2CO3.10H2O under the condition of suffactant polyethylene glycol （PEG）-400 being present at room temperature, washing the mixture with water to remove soluble inorganic salts and drying it at 373 K. The spinel Zn0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4 was obtained via calcining precursor above 773 K. The precursor and its calcined products were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry （DSC）, Fourier transform infrared （FF-IR）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, and vibrating sample magnetometer （VSM）. The result showed that Zn0.sNio.sFe204 obtained at 1073 K had a saturation magnetization of 74 A.mLkg-1. Kinetics of the crystallization process of Zn0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4 was studied using DSC technique, and kinetic parameters were determined by Kissinger equation and Moynihan et al. equation. The value of the activation energy associated with the crystallization process of Zr0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4 is 220.89 kJ-mol-1. The average value of the Avrami exponent, n, is equal to 1.59±0.13, which suggests that crystallization process of Zn0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4 is the random nucleation and growth of nuclei reaction.

Ammonia removal from low-strength municipal wastewater by powdered resin combined with simultaneous recovery as struvite

Low-strength municipal wastewater is considered to be a recoverable nutrient resource with economic and environmental benefits.Thus,various technologies for nutrient removal and recovery have been developed.In this paper,powdered ion exchange resin was employed for ammonia removal and recovery from imitated low-strength municipal wastewater.The effects of various working conditions(powdered resin dosage,initial concentration,and pH value)were studied in batch experiments to investigate the feasibility of the approach and to achieve performance optimization.The maximum adsorption capacity determined by the Langmuir model was 44.39 mg/g,which is comparable to traditional ion exchange resin.Further,the effects of co-existing cations(Ca^(2+),Mg^(2+),K^(+))were studied.Based on the above experiments,recovery of ammonia as struvite was successfully achieved by a proposed two-stage crystallization process coupled with a powdered resin ion exchange process.Scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and X-ray diffractometry(XRD)results revealed that struvite crystals were successfully gained in alkaline conditions(pH=10).This research demonstrates that a powdered resin and two-stage crystallization process provide an innovative and promising means for highly efficient and easy recovery from low-strength municipal wastewater.

Electron transport layer driven to improve the open-circuit voltage of CH_3NH_3PbI_3 planar perovskite solar cells

Suitable electron transport layers are essential for high performance planar perovskite heterojunction solar cells. Here, we use ZnO electron transport layer sputtered under oxygen-rich atmosphere at room temperature to decrease the hydroxide and then suppress decomposition of perovskite films. The perovskite films with improved crystallinity and morphology are achieved. Besides, on the ZnO substrate fabricated at oxygen-rich atmosphere, open-circuit voltage of the CH_3NH_3PbI_3-based perovskite solar cells increased by 0.13 V.A high open-circuit voltage of 1.16 V provides a good prospect for the perovskite-based tandem solar cells. The ZnO sputtered at room temperature can be easily fabricated industrially on a large scale, therefore, compatible to flexible and tandem devices. Those properties make the sputtered ZnO films promising as electron transport materials for perovskite solar cells.

Measurement, modelling, and closed-loop control of crystal shape distribution： Literature review and future perspectives

Crystal morphology is known to be of great importance to the end-use properties of crystal products, and to affect down-stream processing such as filtration and drying. However, it has been previously regarded as too challenging to achieve automatic closed-loop control. Previous work has focused on controlling the crystal size distribution, where the size of a crystal is often defined as the diameter of a sphere that has the same volume as the crystal. This paper reviews the new advances in morphological population balance models for modelling and simulating the crystal shape distribution （CShD）, measuring and estimating crystal facet growth kinetics, and two- and three-dimensional imaging for on-line characterisation of the crystal morphology and CShD. A framework is presented that integrates the various components to achieve the ultimate objective of model-based closed-loop control of the CShD. The knowledge gaps and challenges that require further research are also identified.