Minimizing Carbon Content with Three-in-One Functionalized Nano Conductive Ceramics:Toward More Practical and Safer S Cathodes of Li-S Cells

Using porous carbon hosts in cathodes of Li-S cells can disperse S actives and offset their poor electrical conductivity.However,such reservoirs would in turn absorb excess electrolyte solvents to S-unfilled regions,causing the electrolyte overconsumption,specific energy decline,and even safety hazards for battery devices.To build better cathodes,we propose to substitute carbons by In-doped SnO_(2)(ITO)nano ceramics that own three-in-one functionalities:1)using conductive ITO enables minimizing the total carbon content to an extremely low mass ratio(~3%)in cathodes,elevating the electrode tap density and averting the electrolyte overuse;2)polar ITO nanoclusters can serve as robust anchors toward Li polysulfide(LiPS)by electrostatic adsorption or chemical bond interactions;3)they offer catalysis centers for liquid–solid phase conversions of S-based actives.Also,such ceramics are intrinsically nonflammable,preventing S cathodes away from thermal runaway or explosion.These merits entail our configured cathodes with high tap density(1.54 g cm^(−3)),less electrolyte usage,good security for flame retardance,and decent Li-storage behaviors.With lean and LiNO_(3)-free electrolyte,packed full cells exhibit excellent redox kinetics,suppressed LiPS shuttling,and excellent cyclability.This may trigger great research enthusiasm in rational design of low-carbon and safer S cathodes.

Influence of Metal Additives on the Electrical Conductivities of the Oxide Ceramics as an Electrode Material

The electrical conductivities are reported for various oxide ceramics and cermets at 1000°C.Adding metal can greatly enhance the electrical condnctivities of the oxide materials.The conductivity of the ceramic added with metal depends on:(1)the conductivity σ_o of the oxides;(2)the content of metal additives;(3)the dispersion of the metal phase among oxide phase.The conductivity of the metal added does not affect the con- ductivity of the metal-containing ceramic.Although the metal-containing ceramic has much higher conductivi- ty than oxide ceramic,the change rate of their conductivities with temperature is similar and is controlled by E_g of the oxide.

A Novel Approach for the Effective Thermal Conductivity of Porous Ceramics

A new approach in combination of the effective medium theory with the equivalent unit in numerical simulation was developed to study the effective thermal conductivity of porous ceramics. The finite element method was used to simulate the heat transfer process which enables to acquire accurate results through highly complicated modeling and intensive computation. An alternative approach to mesh the material into small cells was also presented. The effective medium theory accounts for the effective thermal conductivity of cells while the equivalent unit is subsequently applied in numerical simulation to analyze the effective thermal conductivity of the porous ceramics. A new expression for the effective thermal conductivity, allowing for some structure factors such as volume fraction of pores and thermal conductivity, was put forward, and the results of its application was proved to be close to those of the mathematical simulation.

Phase, magnetism and thermal conductivity of glass ceramics from iron ore tailings

In order to develop the applications of ore tailings, the glass ceramics were prepared by using a conventional melting-quenching-sintering process. The phase component, microstructures, magnetic properties and thermal conductivities of the prepared glass ceramics were investigated by using X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometer and thermophysical properties tester, respectively. The results show that orthorhombic olivine-type phase and triclinic sunstone-type phase formed when the glass was annealed at 700 oC, the concentration of olivine-type and sunstone-type phases decreased, the spinel-type cubic phase occurred and the amount increased when the annealing temperatures increased. The magnetic properties from the cubic spinel ferrites were detected in the glass ceramics, and the related saturation magnetization increased with the annealing temperature increasing. The porous glass ceramics with magnetic property showed much lower thermal conductivity, compared with the non-magnetic porous glass-ceramic and the dense glass-ceramics.

Physical meaning of conductivity spectra for ZnO ceramics

With the help of broadband dielectric spectroscopy in a wide temperature and frequency range, the conductivity spectra of ZnO polycrystalline ceramics are measured and the direct-current-like （DC-like） conductivity and relaxation polarization conductivity are observed successively along the frequency axis. According to the classical Debye theory and Cole-Cole equation, the physical meanings of the two conductivities are discussed. It is found that the DC-like conductivity corresponds to electron transportation over the Schottky barrier at the grainboundary. The relaxation polarization conductivity corresponds to electronic trap relaxation of intrinsic point defects （zinc interstitial and oxygen vacancy）. When in the high frequency region, the relaxation conductivity obeys the universal law with the index n equal to the index a in the Cole-Cole equation as an indictor of disorder degree.

Porous high-entropy rare-earth phosphate(REPO_(4),RE=La,Sm,Eu,Ce,Pr and Gd)ceramics with excellent thermal insulation performance via pore structure tailoring

Thermal insulation materials play an increasingly important role in protecting mechanical parts functioning at high temperatures.In this study,a new porous high-entropy(La_(1/6)Ce_(1/6)Pr_(1/6)Sm_(1/6)Eu_(1/6)Gd_(1/6))PO_(4)(HE(6RE_(1/6))PO_(4))ceramics was prepared by combining the high-entropy method with the pore-forming agent method and the effect of different starch contents(0–60vol%)on this ceramic properties was systematically investigated.The results show that the porous HE(6RE_(1/6))PO_(4)ceramics with 60vol%starch exhibit the lowest thermal conductivity of 0.061 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1)at room temperature and good pore structure stability with a linear shrinkage of approximately1.67%.Moreover,the effect of large regular spherical pores(>10μm)on its thermal insulation performance was discussed,and an optimal thermal conductivity prediction model was screened.The superior properties of the prepared porous HE(6RE_(1/6))PO_(4)ceramics allow them to be promising insulation materials in the future.

A Valence Electron Structure Criterion of Ionic Conductivity of Sr- and Mg-doped LaGaO_3 Ceramics

The valence electron structures of Sr- and Mg-doped LaGaO3 ceramics with different compositions were calculated by Empirical Electron Theory of Solids and Molecules （EET）. A criterion for the ionic conductivity was proposed, i.e. the 1/（nAnB） increases with increasing the ionic conductivity when x or y〈20% （in molar fraction）.

Study on Conductivity of Ceramics LaFe_(1 - x) Ni_xO_(3-δ)

The LaFe 1-x Ni x O 3-δ serial ceramics were prepared by standard solid phase reaction method. Two arm electric bridge principal and four electrode method were adopted to measure the resistivity. The results indicate that LaFe 1-x Ni x O 3-δ ceramics are of metallic state conductivity when x varies from 0 6 to 0 8. There are oxygen vacancies and conductive electrons in the ceramics, which results in highly mixed conductivity of electrons and oxygen ions. The amount of oxygen vacancies depends on the sintering techniques, so the proper increase of sintering temperature can decrease the room temperature resistivity. A phase transition is found at around 120 K in the low temperature experiment.

Conductivity of CeO_2 Modified SrTiO_3 Ceramics

The CeO2 modified SrTiO3 ceramics were prepared by conventional ceramic process. The SrTiO3 matrix and CeO2 additive were combined in following system:SrTiO3 +x(CeO2·TiO2), where x is the weight percent , of which x (wt%)=2,5, 10, 15, 20,25, and 30. The samples were sintered at 1400℃ for an hour in air. The Ce element in SrTiO3 ceramics is used as an impurity donor. The scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis and X-ray diffractive examination of SrTiO3 ceramics containing CeO2 indicated that there exists a Ce2O3 secondary phase (viz. glass phase) and it had solid solution solubility for impurities which decrease the semiconductive property of SrTiO3 ceramics , and weaken the oxidation of the surface of grain and thus increase the conductivity of the grains. The semiconducting ceramics process lightly distorted cubic structure at room temperature. This paper mainly gives a study of the conductivity of CeO2 modified SrTiO3 ceramics.

Local thermal conductivity of polycrystalline AlN ceramics measured by scanning thermal microscopy and complementary scanning electron microscopy techniques

The local thermal conductivity of polycrystalline aluminum nitride （A1N） ceramics is measured and imaged by using a scanning thermal microscope （SThM） and complementary scanning electron microscope （SEM） based techniques at room temperature. The quantitative thermal conductivity for the A1N sample is gained by using a SThM with a spatial resolution of sub-micrometer scale through using the 3w method. A thermal conductivity of 308 W/m-K within grains corresponding to that of high-purity single crystal A1N is obtained. The slight differences in thermal conduction between the adjacent grains are found to result from crystallographic misorientations, as demonstrated in the electron backscattered diffraction. A much lower thermal conductivity at the grain boundary is due to impurities and defects enriched in these sites, as indicated by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.

Study on the Conductivity of BaPbO_3-Nd_2O_3 System Ceramics

In this paper, the conductivities of BaPbO 3 and BaPbO 3-Nd 2O 3 system ceramics are studied. The experimental results show that the charge carriers in this system ceramics are donor electrons captured in oxygen vacancies. The conductivity and the PTC characteristics of the BaPbO 3-Nd 2O 3 ceramics are obviously different from those of pure BaPbO ceramics.

Studies and Properties of Ceramics with High Thermal Conductivity

The sintering technology of the AlN ceramics power were discussed. It is discussed that the compound sintering aids is consistent with the enhancement of the the thermal conductivity of AlN ceramics, and sintering technics is helped to the improvement of density. It is analyzed how to sinter machinable AlN ceramics with high thermal conductivity. And the microstructure of compound ceramics based on AlN was studied.

Application of face centred cubic TiB powder as conductive filler for electrically conductive adhesives

Face centred cubic（FCC） TiB ceramic powder synthesized by Ti-boronizing method was used as conductive filler to make ceramic electrically conductive adhesives（ECAs） with the polymer matrix.Electrically conductive properties of the ceramic ECAs were studied.The bulk electrical resistivity varied with the powder content of the FCC-TiB in ECAs.The FCC-TiB filled ECAs also showed the percolation behavior that usually occurred for the metal-filled ECAs,the percolation threshold was located at the content of 60%FCC-TiB.A minimum value of 0.1 Ω·cm was obtained at a content of 75%FCC-TiB.In order to check the reliability of mechanical property,tensile test was done to measure the shear strength,and the shear strength dropped with increasing the content of FCC-TiB powders.It is about 12.26 MPa at the content of 70%TiB powders.The Cu filled ECAs were also prepared for comparison.The properties of the oxidation resistance of the two ECAs were evaluated.The results show that the ceramic ECAs have excellent oxidation resistance and better stability compared with the Cu filled ECAs.

Influential Factors on Electromagnetic Properties of Selected 3D Reticulated Ceramics

3D reticulated ceramics (3DRCs) with the composition containing SrFe12O19-SiC-TiO2 were prepared by a replication process with polyurethane sponges as the template in ceramic slurry. The electrical conductivity, dielectric and magnetic parameters of 3D reticulated ceramics (3DRCs) were measured with changes in cell size of the sponges, contents in the slurry and sintering temperature in this paper. Discussions about the influential factors of those parameters were focused on their electrical conductivity. The experimental results indicated that the electrical conductivity of 3DRCs raised with the increase of cell size, SiC/SrO 6Fe2O3 with weight ratio and sintering temperature. X-ray diffractions and SEM were used to investigate the relationship between electrical conductivity and sintering temperature. Deoxidizing reactions of SrO 6Fe2O3 caused the increasing electrical conductivity. The real part of permittivity (ε') and imaginary part of permeability (μ') raised with the increase of electrical conductivity (σ). The imaginary part of permittivity (ε') has a maximum at 10o S/cm with the increase of a, and the real part of permeability (μ') changes slightly with the increase of a. When a is at the range of 10-4 S/cm to 10o S/cm (a semi conductive state), both the imagine part of permittivity and permeability raises with increasing a, therefore, the 3DRCs present their high electromagnetic loss properties.

ANALYSIS OF DAMAGE NEAR A CONDUCTING CRACK IN A PIEZOELECTRIC CERAMIC

The finite element formulation for analyzing static damage near a conducting crack in a thin piezoelectric plate is established from the virtual work principle of piezoelectricity.The damage fields under various mechanical and electrical loads are calculated carefully by using an effective iterative procedure.The numerical results show that all the damage fields around a crack tip are fan-shaped and the electric field applied has great influence on the mechanical damage, which is related to the piezoelectric properties.

Electric characteristics of Nd_2O_3 doped BaTiO_3 ceramics

Nd2O3 doped BaTiO3ceramics（the additive content was respectively 0.001, 0.002, 0.003, 0.005, 0.01 molar ratio）were prepared by Sol-Gel method to study their dielectric characteristics and electric conductivities through X-ray photoelectron spectrum （XPS）. The results showed that the dielectric characteristics of Nd2O3 doped BaTiO3 ceramics were improved by doping. When Nd2O3 content was 0.003 mol, the results were even better, the dielectric constant was increased, the dielectric loss was decreased, the Curie-temperature （Tc） was 110 ℃, and the frequency characteristic was also good. The resistivity of Nd2O3 doped BaTiO3 ceramics was lower than that of pure BaTiO3 ceramics, when Nd2O3 content was 0.001 mol,the resistivity was （2.364×）108 Ω·m, the smallest. The grain resistance of Nd2O3 doped BaTiO3 ceramics exhibited NTC effect, but the grain boundary resistance showed PTC effect, and the grain boundary resistance was larger than that of the grain resistance, so the PTC effect originated from the grain boundary. The analysis of the element binding energy through X-ray photoelectron spectrum were indicated that the quantivalence of Ba2+and Ti4+in Nd2O3 doped BaTiO3 ceramics was variable, and resulted in the improvement of the conductibility of BaTiO3 ceramics.

Effects of heat treatment on the properties of powder injection molded AlN ceramics

The effects of two different heat-treatment atmospheres,nitrogen atmosphere and reducing nitrogen atmosphere with carbon,on the properties of Y2O3-doped aluminum nitride（AlN） ceramics were investigated.The AlN powder as a raw material was synthesized by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis（SHS） and compacts were fabricated by employing powder injection molding technique.The polymer-wax binder consisted of 60 wt.% paraffin wax（PW）,35 wt.% polypropylene（PP）,and 5 wt.% stearic acid（SA）.After the removal of binder,specimens were sintered at 1850°С in nitrogen atmosphere under atmospheric pressure.To improve the thermal conductivity,sintered samples were reheated.The result reveals that the heat-treatment atmosphere has significant effect on the properties and secondary phase of AlN ceramics.The thermal conductivity and density of AlN ceramics reheated in nitrogen gas are 180 W·m^-1·K^-1 and 3.28 g·cm^-3 and the secondary phase is yttrium aluminate.For the sample reheated in reducing nitrogen atmosphere with carbon,the thermal conductivity and density are 173 W·m^-1·K^-1 and 3.23 g·cm^-3,respectively,and the secondary phase is YN.

Preparation and characterization of ceramic materials with low thermal conductivity and high strength using high-calcium fly ash

High calcium-fly ash(HCFA)collected from the Mae Moh electricity generating plant in Thailand was utilized as a raw material for ceramic production.The main compositions of HCFA characterized by X-ray fluorescence mainly consisted of 28.55wt%SiO_(2),16.06wt%Al_(2)O_(3),23.40wt%CaO,and 17.03wt%Fe_(2)O_(3).Due to high proportion of calcareous and ferruginous contents,HCFA was used for replacing the potash feldspar in amounts of 10wt%-40wt%.The influence of substituting high-calcium fly ash(0-40wt%)and sintering temperatures(1000-1200℃)on physical,mechanical,and thermal properties of ceramic-based materials was investigated.The results showed that the in-corporation of HCFA in appropriate amounts could enhance the densification and the strength as well as reduce the thermal conductivity of ceramic samples.High proportion of calcareous and ferruginous constituents in fly ash promoted the vitrification behavior of ceramic samples.As a result,the densification was enhanced by liquid phase formation at optimum fly ash content and sintering temperature.In addition,these components also facilitated a more abundant mullite formation and consequently improved flexural strength of the ceramic samples.The op-timum ceramic properties were achieved with adding fly ash content between 10wt%-30wt%sintered at 1150-1200℃.At 1200℃,the max-imum flexural strength of ceramic-FA samples with adding fly ash 10wt%-30wt%(PSW-FA(10)-(30))was obtained in the range of 92.25-94.71 MPa when the water absorption reached almost zero(0.03%).In terms of thermal insulation materials,the increase in fly ash addi-tion had a positively effect on the thermal conductivity,due to the higher levels of porosity created by gas evolving from the inorganic decom-position reactions inside the ceramic-FA samples.The addition of 20wt%-40wt%high-calcium fly ash in ceramic samples sintered at 1150℃reduced the thermal conductivity to 14.78%-49.25%,while maintaining acceptable flexural strength values(~45.67-87.62 MPa).Based on these promising mechanical and thermal characteristics,it is feasible to utilize this high-calcium fly ash as an alternative raw material in clay compositions for manufacturing of ceramic tiles.

EFFECTS OF STATIC ELECTRIC FIELD ON THE FRACTURE BEHAVIOR OF PIEZOELECTRIC CERAMICS

The paper gives an overview on experimental observations of the failure behavior of electrically insulating and conducting cracks in piezoelectric ce- ramics.The experiments include the indentation fracture test,the bending test on smooth samples,and the fracture test on pre-notched(or pre-cracked)compact ten- sion samples.For electrically insulating cracks,the experimental results show a com- plicated fracture behavior under electrical and mechanical loading.Fracture data are much scattered when a static electric field is applied.A statistically based frac- ture criterion is required.For electrically conducting cracks,the experimental results demonstrate that static electric fields can fracture poled and depoled lead zirconate titanate ceramics and that the concepts of fracture mechanics can be used to mea- sure the electrical fracture toughness.Furthermore,the electrical fracture toughness is much higher than the mechanical fracture toughness.The highly electrical fracture toughness arises from the greater energy dissipation around the conductive crack tip under purely electric loading,which is impossible under mechanical loading in the brittle ceramics.

Characteristic Analysis of the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell with Proton Conducting Ceramic Electrolyte

An electrolyte model for the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with proton conducting perovskite electrolyte is developed in this study, in which four types of charge carriers including proton, oxygen vacancy (oxide ion), free electron and electron hole are taken into consideration. The electrochemical process within the SOFC with hydrogen as the fuel is theoretically analyzed. With the present model, the effects of some parameters, such as the thickness of electrolyte, operating temperature and gas composition, on the ionic transport (or gas permeation) through the electrolyte and the electrical performance, i.e., the electromotive force (EMF) and internal resistance of the cell, are investigated in detail. The theoretical results are tested partly by comparing with the experimental data obtained from SrCe0.95M0.05O3-α, (M=Yb, Y) cells.