Preparation of Ti-Ni Porous Alloys and Its Hydrogen Isotope Effects

Ti-Ni porous alloy was made from titanium and nickel powder mixture in equiatomic composition by combustion synthesis technique （self-propagation high temperature synthesis）. The result analyzed by SEM and XRD shows that the alloy possesses high porosity （50%～70%）, and mainly consists of TiNi phase as well as rare Ti2Ni and TiNi3 transition phase. Then it was activated, cracked and used as sorbent for hydrogen isotope separation. Through experiment investigation, it was discovered that the alloy is able to absorb hydrogen in very large quantities in the lattice thereof, but deuterium only very slightly or not at all, at temperatures up to 623 K, especially at temperatures from about 323 to 423 K. According to this characteristic, the Ti-Ni porous alloys may replace noble metal palladium（Pd） as used for hydrogen isotope separation and purification. Study illustrated that the technology would have a promising engineering application, such as being used for reprocessing Tokamak exhaust gases and producing high purity deuterium.

Recent progress in self-repairing coatings for corrosion protection on magnesium alloys and perspective of porous solids as novel carrier and barrier

Featuring low density and high specific strength, magnesium(Mg) alloys have attracted wide interests in the fields of portable devices and automotive industry. However, the active chemical and electrochemical properties make them susceptible to corrosion in humid, seawater, soil,and chemical medium. Various strategies have revealed certain merits of protecting Mg alloys. Therein, engineering self-repairing coatings is considered as an effective strategy, because they can enable the timely repair for damaged areas, which brings about long-term protection for Mg alloys. In this review, self-repairing coatings on Mg alloys are summarized from two aspects, namely shape restoring coatings and function restoring coatings. Shape restoring coatings benefit for swelling, shrinking, or reassociating reversible chemical bonds to return to the original state and morphology when coatings broken;function self-repairing coatings depend on the release of inhibitors to generate new passive layers on the damaged areas. With the advancement of coating research and to fulfill the demanding requirements of applications, it is an inevitable trend to develop coatings that can integrate multiple functions(such as stimulus response, self-repairing, corrosion warning,and so on). As a novel carrier and barrier, porous solids, especially covalent organic frameworks(COFs), have been respected as the future development of self-repairing coatings on Mg alloys, due to their unique, diverse structures and adjustable functions.

Pore structure and mechanical properties of directionally solidi ed porous aluminum alloys

Porous aluminum alloys produced by the metal-gas eutectic method or GASAR process need to be performed under a certain pressure of hydrogen, and to carry over melt to a tailor-made apparatus that ensures directional solidif ication. Hydrogen is driven out of the melt, and then the quasi-cylindrical pores normal to the solidif ication front are usually formed. In the research, the effects of processing parameters(saturation pressure, solidif ication pressure, temperature, and holding time) on the pore structure and porosity of porous aluminum alloys were analyzed. The mechanical properties of Al-Mg alloys were studied by the compressive tests, and the advantages of the porous structure were indicated. By using the GASAR method, pure aluminum, Al-3wt.%Mg, Al-6wt.%Mg and Al-35wt.%Mg alloys with oriented pores have been successfully produced under processing conditions of varying gas pressure, and the relationship between the f inal pore structure and the solidif ication pressure, as well as the inf luences of Mg quantity on the pore size, porosity and mechanical properties of AlMg alloy were investigated. The results show that a higher pressure of solidif ication tends to yield smaller pores in aluminum and its alloys. In the case of Al-Mg alloys, it was proved that with the increasing of Mg amount, the mechanical properties of the alloys sharply deteriorate. However, since Al-3%Mg and Al-6wt.%Mg alloys are ductile metals, their porous samples have greater compressive strength than that of the dense samples due to the existence of pores. It gives the opportunity to use them in industry at the same conditions as dense alloys with savings in weight and material consumption.

Effects of Mg content on pore structure and electrochemical corrosion behaviors of porous Al-Mg alloys

Porous Al-Mg alloys with different nominal compositions were successfully fabricated via elemental powder reactive synthesis, and the phase composition, pore structure, and corrosion resistance were characterized with X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscope and electrochemical analyzer. The volume expansion ratio, open porosity and corrosion resistance in 3.5%(mass fraction) Na Cl aqueous solution of the alloys increase at first and then decrease with the increase of Mg content. The maxima of volume expansion ratio and open porosity are 18.3% and 28.1% for the porous Al-56%Mg(mass fraction) alloy, while there is the best corrosion resistance for the porous Al-37.5% Mg(mass fraction) alloy. The pore formation mechanism can be explained by Kirkendall effect, and the corrosion resistance can be mainly affected by the phase composition for the porous Al-Mg alloys. They would be of the potential application for filtration in the chloride environment.

PtZn nanoparticles supported on porous nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers as highly stable electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

The oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)electrocatalytic activity of Pt-based catalysts can be significantly improved by supporting Pt and its alloy nanoparticles(NPs)on a porous carbon support with large surface area.However,such catalysts are often obtained by constructing porous carbon support followed by depositing Pt and its alloy NPs inside the pores,in which the migration and agglomeration of Pt NPs are inevitable under harsh operating conditions owing to the relatively weak interaction between NPs and carbon support.Here we develop a facile electrospinning strategy to in-situ prepare small-sized PtZn NPs supported on porous nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers.Electrochemical results demonstrate that the as-prepared PtZn alloy catalyst exhibits excellent initial ORR activity with a half-wave potential(E_(1/2))of 0.911 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode(vs.RHE)and enhanced durability with only decreasing 11 mV after 30,000 potential cycles,compared to a more significant drop of 24 mV in E_(1/2)of Pt/C catalysts(after 10,000 potential cycling).Such a desirable performance is ascribed to the created triple-phase reaction boundary assisted by the evaporation of Zn and strengthened interaction between nanoparticles and the carbon support,inhibiting the migration and aggregation of NPs during the ORR.

SIMULATION OF LIQUID ALUMINIUM INFILTRATION IN POROUS MEDIUM

Based on the principle of infiltration mechanics in porous medium, high Reynolds number infiltration of liquid aluminum in porous medium has been investigated. Combined with the test results of hydraulic simulation, the mathematical model of the high Reynolds number infiltration of liquid aluminum in porous medium has been established, and it is found that infiltration is characterized by its second order nonlinear. The calculated results based on the model are in good agreement with those of the hydraulic simulation and the aluminum alloy infiltration. The way of high speed infiltration under medium pressure has been put forward to fabricate porous aluminum alloy with thin holes of 0.4mm diameter.

Ultrafine nano-scale Cu_(2)Sb alloy confined in three-dimensional porous carbon as an anode for sodium-ion and potassium-ion batteries

Ultrafine nano-scale Cu2Sb alloy confined in a three-dimensional porous carbon was synthesized using NaCl template-assisted vacuum freeze-drying followed by high-temperature sintering and was evaluated as an anode for sodium-ion batteries(SIBs)and potassium-ion batteries(PIBs).The alloy exerts excellent cycling durability(the capacity can be maintained at 328.3 mA·h·g^(-1) after 100 cycles for SIBs and 260 mA·h·g^(-1) for PIBs)and rate capability(199 mA·h·g^(-1) at 5 A·g^(-1) for SIBs and 148 mA·h·g^(-1) at 5 A·g^(-1) for PIBs)because of the smooth electron transport path,fast Na/K ion diffusion rate,and restricted volume changes from the synergistic effect of three-dimensional porous carbon networks and the ultrafine bimetallic nanoalloy.This study provides an ingenious design route and a simple preparation method toward exploring a high-property electrode for K-ion and Na-ion batteries,and it also introduces broad application prospects for other electrochemical applications.

A magnetic field strategy to porous Pt-Ni nanoparticles with predominant (111) facets for enhanced electrocatalytic oxygen reduction

For the first time, we developed porous Pt-Ni alloying nanoparticles with predominant(111) facets under intense magnetic fields. Electrochemical analysis revealed that the Pt-Ni alloying nanoparticles obtained at 2 Tesla exhibited a superior catalytic activity and durability for oxygen reduction reaction. This work demonstrated that the imposition of intense magnetic field could be considered as a new approach for developing efficient alloying electrocatalysts with preferential facets.

Electocbemical Process of Ti-Ni Alloy Electrodes by Cyclic Voltammetry

The electrochemical process of Ti-Ni alloy electrode was studied by using cyclic voltammetry. Thehydrogen-absorbing electrode could be approximately regarded as a reversible hydrogen elecrede. The con-trolling steps of the discharging process varying with the anodic overpotentials were investigated and the effectofelecrode constituent modification or Zr adulteation on the electrochemical behavior was also studied.

Pore structure of porous Mg-1Mn-xZn alloy fabricated by metal–gas eutectic unidirectional solidification

Lotus-type porous Mg-1 wt.% Mn-xZn(x = 0 wt.%, 1 wt.% and 2 wt.%) alloys were fabricated by metal–gas eutectic unidirectional solidification(the Gasar method). Effects of Zn addition and the fabrication process on the porosity, pore diameter and microstructure of the porous Mg alloys were investigated. Zn addition from 0 wt.% to 1 wt.% and 2 wt.% to the Mg-1 wt.% Mn alloy decreased the porosity from41.2% to 36.9% and 35.8%, respectively, with the same preparation processing. In the lotus-type porous Mg-1 wt.%Mn-1 wt.%Zn alloy, the porosities and average pore diameters changed with hydrogen pressures from 0.1 to 0.6 MPa. Conical areas that were rich in elemental Zn existed below the directional pores, and precipitates were also found in conical areas. Homogeneous directional pores existed in the lower portion of the ingot, and coarser directional pores and finer non-directional pores formed in the upper part. A theoretical model of the change in porosity with hydrogen pressure agreed well with the calculated porosities in the steady bubble growing area. The compressive strength of Mg-1 wt.Mn-Zn alloys can be increased by around 20 MPa through rising Zinc content from 1 wt.% to 2 wt.%, which basically linearly decline with the increasing of porosity. This work provides the basis for Gasar Mg-Zn-Mn alloy synthesis in biological applications and shows that the Gasar process is a promising method to fabricate Mg-Zn-Mn alloys with directional pores and a controllable pore structure.

A Positron Study of Hysteresis Temperature in Ti-Ni Alloy

For Ti-Ni alloy it is exceedingly difficult to prepare an element that has a desired and defined hysteresis temperature for its preparing process is not pedect at present. Because the mechanism of transformation in Ti-Ni has not been fully clarified, it is far more exceedingly difficult to explain the hysteresis temperature only by using the traditional metal physics techniques., But positron annihilation seems to be a suitable method for it. The positron annihilation measurements showthat the hysteresis temperature may be controlled mainly by the relative fraction of the defectscontained in a two-way shape memory element.

Facile Synthesis of Porous SnSb Alloy Anode for Li-Ion Battery

Sn/Sb based alloy anodes have attracted considerable interest as electrodes for next-generation high performance Li-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to their high theoretical capacities. And fabricate porous structure is an effective way to improve materials’ cycling performance. Here, we developed nanoporous SnSb alloy ribbon (NP-SnSb) through a melt-spinning/chemical-etching process and took it as electrode of LIB directly. Being of self-supported and binder free, the NP-SnSb shows a total outperformance over its nonporous counterparts both in cycling performance and kinetic characteristic. Besides, considering the melt-spinning/chemical-etching synthetic process is high-through-put and simple, the ribbon kind of alloy anodes have strong potential application for LIBs research.

Improved stability of superelasticity and elastocaloric effect in Ti-Ni alloys by suppressing Lüders-like deformation under tensile load

Functional stability of superelasticity is crucial for practical applications of shape memory alloys.It is degraded by a Lüders-like deformation with elevated local stress concentration under tensile load.By increasing the degree of solute supersaturation and applying appropriate thermomechanical treatments,a Ti-Ni alloy with nanocrystallinity and dispersed nanoprecipitates is obtained.In contrast to conventional Ti-Ni alloys,the superelasticity in the target alloy is accompanied by homogeneous deformation due to the sluggish stress-induced martensitic transformation.The alloy thus shows a fully recoverable strain of 6%under tensile stress over 1 GPa and a large adiabatic temperature decrease of 13.1 K under tensile strain of 4.5%at room temperature.Moreover,both superelasticity and elastocaloric effect exhibit negligible degradation in response to applied strain of 4%during cycling.We attribute the improved functional stability to low dislocation activity resulting from the suppression of localized deformation and the combined strengthening effect of nanocrystalline structure and nanoprecipitates.Thus,the design of such a microstructure enabling homogeneous deformation provides a recipe for stable superelasticity and elastocaloric effect.

Self-assembly of coumarin molecules on plasma electrolyzed layer for optimizing the electrochemical performance of AZ31 Mg alloy

A novel inorganic-organic layer with outstanding corrosion resistance in a 3.5wt.% NaCl solution was fabricated by taking advantage of the unique interactions between coumarin (COM) molecules and the porous layer formed on Mg alloy. To achieve this aim, the AZ31 Mg alloy coated via microarc oxidation (MAO) coating was placed in an ethanolic solution of COM for 6 and 12 h at 25 ℃. By reducing the surface area exposed to the corrosive species, the donor-acceptor complexes produced by the particular interactions between the COM and MAO surface would successfully prevent the corrosion of Mg alloy substrate. The MAO layer would provide the ideal sites for the charge-transfer-induced physical and chemical locking, leading to uneven organic layer nucleation and crystal growth with a thatch-like structure. To evaluate the formation mechanism of such hybrid composites and highlight the key bonding modes between the COM and MAO, theoretical simulations were conducted.

Development of Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surface on AZ31 Mg Alloys for Corrosion Protection

The relatively poor corrosion resistance remarkably limits the wide applications of Mg alloys in practice,although they possess many attractive properties,like low density,high specific strength,and good biocompatibility.The formation of a protective coating can effectively suppress the corrosion.In this work,a slippery liquid-infused porous surface(SLIPS),with good surface hydrophobicity,stability,and self-healing property,was formed on AZ31 Mg alloys.The development of SLIPS requires suitable porous micro/nanostructures.Layered double hydroxide(LDH),with effective corrosion resistance for Mg alloys,was a good candidate to accommodate the liquid lubricant.Especially,different temperatures were applied to in situ form MgAl-LDH on AZ31 Mg alloys.The results showed that the temperature of 120℃was the best condition for the SLIPS to provide good corrosion protection for Mg alloys,with the lowest corrosion current density of 3.19×10^(-9)A cm^(−2).In addition,the SLIPS performed well in the long-term immersion test and abrasion test.The AZ31 Mg alloys with superior corrosion resistance and good mechanical and chemical stability can be extensively applied in areas of automotive,electronics,and aerospace.

In Situ Reaction Fabrication of a Mixed-Ion/Electron-Conducting Skeleton Toward Stable Lithium Metal Anodes

Lithium metal batteries are emerging as a strong candidate in the future energy storage market due to its extremely high energy density.However,the uncontrollable lithium dendrites and volume change of lithium metal anodes severely hinder its application.In this work,the porous Cu skeleton modified with Cu_(6)Sn_(5)layer is prepared via dealloying brass foil following a facile electroless process.The porous Cu skeleton with large specific surface area and high electronic conductivity effectively reduces the local current density.The Cu_(6)Sn_(5)can react with lithium during the discharge process to form lithiophilic Li_(7)Sn_(2)in situ to promote Li-ions transport and reduce the nucleation energy barrier of lithium to guide the uniform lithium deposition.Therefore,more than 300 cycles at 1 mA cm^(−2)are achieved in the half-cell with an average Coulombic efficiency of 97.5%.The symmetric cell shows a superior cycle life of more than 1000 h at 1 mA cm^(−2)with a small average hysteresis voltage of 16 mV.When coupled with LiFePO_(4)cathode,the full cell also maintains excellent cycling and rate performance.

FeCo alloy catalysts promoting polysulfide conversion for advanced lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium sulfur batteries(LSBs)draw extensive interest because of the ultra-high capacity and low material cost.However,the sluggish lithium polysulfides(LIPSs)conversion processes are detrimental to cycle stability and rate capability,inhibiting the commercial application of LSBs.Here we present the well-designed Fe Co alloy catalysts anchored on porous carbon(FeCo-C)as sulfur host to improve the electrochemical performance by accelerating the conversion reactions.The FeCo alloy demonstrates high catalytic effect and strong adsorption capability of LIPSs,in which potential polarization can be greatly decreased and"shuttle effects"can be largely avoided.As a result,the obtained S/Fe Co-C composites show an initial specific capacity of 791.9 m Ah g^-1 at a large current density of 2 C and maintain 502.5 mAh g^-1 even after 500 cycles.Moreover,720 m Ah g^-1(corresponding to 70%retention)can be achieved after 100 cycles at 0.2 C with a high sulfur content of 80 wt%,enabling high sulfur utilization.This work not only provides a new insight to investigate the conversion kinetics of Li PSs,but also opens up a new avenue for advanced lithium sulfur batteries.

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 μm. 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 and70–500 MPa, respectively. Yield stress of porous Ti6Al4V alloys fabricated by diffusion bonding is close to that of alloys fabricated by rapid prototyping, but 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.

Extrusion-based additive manufacturing of Mg-Zn alloy scaffolds

Porous biodegradable Mg and its alloys are considered to have a great potential to serve as ideal bone substitutes.The recent progress in additive manufacturing(AM) has prompted its application to fabricate Mg scaffolds with geometrically ordered porous structures.Extrusionbased AM,followed by debinding and sintering,has been recently demonstrated as a powerful approach to fabricating such Mg scaffolds,which can avoid some crucial problems encountered when applying powder bed fusion AM techniques.However,such pure Mg scaffolds exhibit a too high rate of in vitro biodegradation.In the present research,alloying through a pre-alloyed Mg-Zn powder was ultilized to enhance the corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of AM geometrically ordered Mg-Zn scaffolds simultaneously.The in vitro biodegradation behavior,mechanical properties,and electrochemical response of the fabricated Mg-Zn scaffolds were evaluated.Moreover,the response of preosteoblasts to these scaffolds was systematically evaluated and compared with their response to pure Mg scaffolds.The Mg-Zn scaffolds with a porosity of 50.3% and strut density of 93.1% were composed of the Mg matrix and MgZn2second phase particles.The in vitro biodegradation rate of the Mg-Zn scaffolds decreased by 81% at day 1,as compared to pure Mg scaffolds.Over 28 days of static immersion in modified simulated body fluid,the corrosion rate of the Mg-Zn scaffolds decreased from 2.3± 0.9 mm/y to 0.7±0.1 mm/y.The yield strength and Young’s modulus of the Mg-Zn scaffolds were about 3 times as high as those of pure Mg scaffolds and remained within the range of those of trabecular bone throughout the biodegradation tests.Indirect culture of MC3T3-E1 preosteoblasts in Mg-Zn extracts indicated favorable cytocompatibility.In direct cell culture,some cells could spread and form filopodia on the surface of the Mg-Zn scaffolds.Overall,this study demonstrates the great potential of the extrusion-based AM Mg-Zn scaffolds to be further developed as biodegradable bone-substituting biomaterials.

Porous carbon polyhedrons coupled with bimetallic CoNi alloys for frequency selective wave absorption at ultralow filler loading

Combining suitable microstructure and dielectric-magnetic synergy effect is conducive to achieve lightweight,broadband,and high-efficiency microwave absorbing materials within low filler loading.Herein,porous carbon polyhedrons coupled with bimetallic CoNi alloys were synthesized by using metalorganic frameworks(MOFs)as a template and subsequent pyrolysis treatment.Electromagnetic analysis indicated that the existence of metal Ni element could influence the wave attenuation capacity effectively,resulting in frequency selective wave absorption performance.Additionally,the pyrolysis temperature was also closely related to wave absorption intensity.The Co_(2)Ni_(1)/C/PVDF composites calcined at 800℃ possessed outstanding wave absorption performance at an ultra-low filler loading of 5 wt%.The minimum reflection loss value achieved-52 dB(10.8 GHz)under the matched thickness of 3 mm.Moreover,the broadest effective absorption bandwidth(RL<-10 dB)reached 6.2 dB(11.8-18 GHz)for Co/C-800/PVDF composites when the thickness turned into 2 mm.The remarkable wave attenuation ability was mainly ascribed to magnetic and dielectric loss,impedance matching as well as porous structure effect.