Co-based Amorphous/Nanocrystalline Composite Coatings Deposited by Arc Ion Plating

Cobalt-based amorphous/nanocrystalline composite coatings have been grown by arc ion plating together with a specimen cooling system. With decreasing substrate temperature, the coatings undergo significant structure evolution. The degree of crystallization first decreases and subsequently increases as confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The cluster size first decreases and then remains constant as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. The effect of substrate temperature on the evolution of the structure has been studied as a result of a competition between nucleation thermodynamics and kinetics of crystalline growth. With decreasing the substrate temperature, the microhardness and the critical load of the composite coatings firstly increased, and then remained almost constant. And the saturation magnetization revealed the opposite trend over the same range. The essence of these phenomena was ascribed to the microstructural variations caused by the decrease of the substrate temperature.

Macroporous Directed and Interconnected Carbon Architectures Endow Amorphous Silicon Nanodots as Low‑Strain and Fast‑Charging Anode for Lithium‑Ion Batteries

Fabricating low-strain and fast-charging silicon-carbon composite anodes is highly desired but remains a huge challenge for lithium-ion batteries.Herein,we report a unique silicon-carbon composite fabricated by uniformly dis-persing amorphous Si nanodots(SiNDs)in carbon nanospheres(SiNDs/C)that are welded on the wall of the macroporous carbon framework(MPCF)by vertical graphene(VG),labeled as MPCF@VG@SiNDs/C.The high dispersity and amor-phous features of ultrasmall SiNDs(~0.7 nm),the flexible and directed electron/Li+transport channels of VG,and the MPCF impart the MPCF@VG@SiNDs/C more lithium storage sites,rapid Li+transport path,and unique low-strain property during Li+storage.Consequently,the MPCF@VG@SiNDs/C exhibits high cycle stability(1301.4 mAh g^(-1) at 1 A g^(-1) after 1000 cycles without apparent decay)and high rate capacity(910.3 mAh g^(-1),20 A g^(-1))in half cells based on industrial electrode standards.The assembled pouch full cell delivers a high energy density(1694.0 Wh L^(-1);602.8 Wh kg^(-1))and an excellent fast-charging capability(498.5 Wh kg^(-1),charging for 16.8 min at 3 C).This study opens new possibilities for preparing advanced silicon-carbon com-posite anodes for practical applications.

Progress and prospects of Mg-based amorphous alloys in azo dye wastewater treatment

Mg-based amorphous alloys exhibit efficient catalytic performance and excellent biocompatibility with a promising application probability,specifically in the field of azo dye wastewater degradation.However,the problems like difficulty in preparation and poor cycling stability need to be solved.At present,Mg-based amorphous alloys applied in wastewater degradation are available in powder and ribbon.The amorphous alloy powder fabricated by ball milling has a high specific surface area,and its reactivity is thousands of times better than that of gas atomized alloy powder.But the development is limited due to the high energy consumption,difficult and costly process of powder recycling.The single roller melt-spinning method is a new manufacturing process of amorphous alloy ribbon.Compared to amorphous powder,the specific surface area of amorphous ribbon is relatively lower,therefore,it is necessary to carry out surface modification to enhance it.Dealloying is a way that can form a pore structure on the surface of the amorphous alloys,increasing the specific surface area and providing more reactive sites,which all contribute to the catalytic performance.Exploring the optimal conditions for Mg-based amorphous alloys in wastewater degradation by adjusting amorphous alloy composition,choosing suitable method to preparation and surface modification,reducing cost,expanding the pH range will advance the steps to put Mg-based amorphous alloys in industrial environments into practice.

Anelasticity to plasticity transition in a model two-dimensional amorphous solid

Anelasticity, as an intrinsic property of amorphous solids, plays a significant role in understanding their relaxation and deformation mechanism. However, due to the lack of long-range order in amorphous solids, the structural origin of anelasticity and its distinction from plasticity remain elusive. In this work, using frozen matrix method, we study the transition from anelasticity to plasticity in a two-dimensional model glass. Three distinct mechanical behaviors, namely,elasticity, anelasticity, and plasticity, are identified with control parameters in the amorphous solid. Through the study of finite size effects on these mechanical behaviors, it is revealed that anelasticity can be distinguished from plasticity.Anelasticity serves as an intrinsic bridge connecting the elasticity and plasticity of amorphous solids. Additionally, it is observed that anelastic events are localized, while plastic events are subextensive. The transition from anelasticity to plasticity is found to resemble the entanglement of long-range interactions between element excitations. This study sheds light on the fundamental nature of anelasticity as a key property of element excitations in amorphous solids.

Kinetic-boosted CO_(2) electroreduction to formate via synergistic electric-thermal field on hierarchical bismuth with amorphous layer

Electrocatalytic converting CO_(2) into chemical products has emerged as a promising approach to achieving carbon neutrality.Herein,we report a bismuth-based catalyst with high curvature terminal and amorphous layer which fabricated via two-step electrodeposition achieves stable formate output in a wide voltage window of 600 mV.The Faraday efficiency(FE) of formate reached up to 99.4% at-0.8 V vs.RHE and it remained constant for more than 92 h at-15 mA cm^(-2).More intriguingly,FE formate of95.4% can be realized at a current density of industrial grade(-667.7 mA cm^(-2)) in flow cell.The special structure promoted CO_(2) adsorption and reduced its activation energy and enhanced the electric-thermal field and K^(+) enrichment which accelerated the reaction kinetics.In situ spectroscopy and theoretical calculation further confirmed that the introduction of amorphous structure is beneficial to adsorpting CO_(2)and stabling*OCHO intermediate.This work provides special insights to fabricate efficient electrocatalysts by means of structural and crystal engineering and makes efforts to realize the industrialization of bismuth-based catalysts.

Research of caged dynamics of clusters center atoms in Pd_(82)Si_(18) amorphous alloy

To date,there is still a lack of a comprehensive explanation for caged dynamics which is regarded as one of the intricate dynamic behaviors in amorphous alloys.This study focuses on Pd_(82)Si_(18)as the research object to further elucidate the underlying mechanism of caged dynamics from multiple perspectives,including the cage's lifetime,atomic local environment,and atomic potential energy.The results reveal that Si atoms exhibit a pronounced cage effect due to the hindrance of Pd atoms,resulting in an anomalous peak in the non-Gaussian parameters.An in-depth investigation was conducted on the caged dynamics differences between fast and slow Si atoms.In comparison to fast Si atoms,slow Si atoms were surrounded by more Pd atoms and occupied lower potential energy states,resulting in smaller diffusion displacements for the slow Si atoms.Concurrently,slow Si atoms tend to be in the centers of smaller clusters with coordination numbers of 9 and 10.During the isothermal relaxation process,clusters with coordination numbers 9 and 10 have longer lifetimes,suggesting that the escape of slow Si atoms from their cages is more challenging.The findings mentioned above hold significant implications for understanding the caged dynamics.

Microstructure evolution of Ti_(48)Zr_(27)Cu_(6)Nb_(5)Be_(14)amorphous alloy after semi-solid isothermal treatment

The as-cast amorphous Ti_(48)Zr_(27)Cu_(6)Nb_(5)Be_(14)composites,comprising in situ formedβ-Ti ductile crystalline precipitates,were prepared by water cooled copper mold suction casting.Then,the semi-solid composites were obtained after the as-cast composites were treated by semi-solid isothermal treatment.The microstructure evolution and kinetics of the composites were examined.Results show that the microstructures of both the as-cast and semi-solid composites comprise ofβ-Ti crystal phases and amorphous matrix phases.Before and after treatment,the crystals evolve from fine granular or fine dendritic crystals to coarse crystals.As the treatment temperature increasing or the time prolonging,the average crystal size gradually increases and the surface morphology of the crystals gradually becomes regular.By studying the microstructural evolution and dynamics during the isothermal treatment process,it is found that the final morphology ofβ-Ti crystals is influenced by the isothermal treatment temperature and time(t),and theβ-Ti evolution rate increases with an increase in treatment temperature.In addition,a linear relationship was observed between the size of cubicβ-Ti crystals(D^(3))and t;the growth kinetics factor K is 3.8μm^(3)·s^(-1).As the K value closes to 4μm^(3)·s^(-1),it is inferred the morphology evolution ofβ-Ti crystals is a coarsening behavior controlled by the diffusion of solute elements.

Preparation of Al-based Amorphous/Nanocrystalline Composite Coating on Mg-based Alloys Precipitated by Arc Spraying Process

The Al-based amorphous and nanocrystalline composite coatings with the composition of Al-Ni-Y-Co and Al-Ni-Mm-Fe were prepared on AZ91 Mg-based alloys by high velocity arc spraying technique(HVAS).The structure character of the coatings indicates that coatings contain the mixture of amorphous phases and crystalline and there are both less than 2%porosity.The electrochemical tests of the coatings and the substrate were studied.The coatings show the passivation ability during polarization,but AZ91 Mg-based alloys show little passivation.The corrosion current density of the coatings is lower than that of AZ91 Mg-based alloys.The results show that the coatings have an excellent corrosion resistance for AZ91 Mg-based alloys in 5 wt%NaCl solution.

Growth characteristics of amorphous-layer-free nanocrystalline silicon films fabricated by very high frequency PECVD at 250 ℃

Amorphous-layer-free nanocrystalline silicon films were prepared by a very high frequency plasma enhanced chem-ical vapor deposition （PECVD） technique using hydrogen-diluted Sill4 at 250 ℃. The dependence of the crystallinity of the film on the hydrogen dilution ratio and the film thickness was investigated. Raman spectra show that the thickness of the initial amorphous incubation layer on silicon oxide gradually decreases with increasing hydrogen dilution ratio. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals that the initial amorphous incubation layer can be completely eliminated at a hydrogen dilution ratio of 98%, which is lower than that needed for the growth of amorphous-layer-free nanocrystalline silicon using an excitation frequency of 13.56 MHz. More studies on the microstructure evolution of the initial amorphous incubation layer with hydrogen dilution ratios were performed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. It is suggested that the high hydrogen dilution, as well as the higher plasma excitation frequency, plays an important role in the formation of amorphous-layer-free nanocrystalline silicon films.

Electrochemical Hydrogen Storage Performance of the Nanocrystalline and Amorphous Pr-Mg-Ni-based Alloys Synthesized by Mechanical Milling

The PrMg12-type composite alloy of PrMg_(11)Ni + x wt% Ni (x=100,200) with an amorphous and nanocrystalline microstructure were synthesized through the mechanical milling.Effects of milling duration and Ni content on the microstructures and electrochemical hydrogen storage performances of the ball-milled alloys were methodically studied.The ball-milled alloys obtain the optimum discharge capacities at the first cycle.Increasing Ni content dramatically enhances the electrochemical property of alloys.Milling time varying may obviously impact the electrochemical performance of these alloys.The discharge capacities show a significant upward trend with milling duration prolonging,but milling for a longer time more than 40 h induces a slight decrease in the discharge capacity of the x=200 alloy.As milling duration increases,the cycle stability clearly lowers,while it first declines and then augments under the same condition for the x=200 alloy.The high-rate discharge abilities of the ball-milled alloys show the optimum values with milling time varying.

Anisotropic Magnetoresistance Effect in Amorphous and Nanocrystalline Fe(Cu,Nb)-Si-B Alloys

The magnetoresistance effect and magnetic properties in amorphous and nanocrystalline Fe(Cu, Nb)-Si-B ribbons have been investigated, it was observed that the anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) of nanocrystalline alloy is much smaller than that of amorphous alloy, Indicating that the anisotropy of nanocrystalline alloy becomes smaller after crystallizing, and the smallest AMR is coincident with the excellent soft magnetic characteristics. It is believed that the smaller magnetic crystalline anisotropy is the origin of the excellent soft magnetic characteristics of nanocrystalline alloy.

Magnetothermal Analysis of Nanocrystallization of Amorphous and Relaxations of Nanocrystalline Materials

For a few years it has been realized that nanocrystalline phases can be formed during crystallization of amorphous alloys annealed isothermally below the crystallization temperature of usual heating experiments. Data of this transformation monitored by the measurement of magnetic susceptibility are presented. A method using a magnetic balance with electronic stabilisation and combined computer facilities is applied. Constant heating and cooling rates as well as isothermal heat treatments are used. Magnetic measurements are able to detect the onset of the transformation of amorphous NI-P alloys much earlier than was possible with differential scanning calorimetry. The transformation kinetics can be analyzed by means of the Avrami plot based on the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami equation. The kinetics of solid state reactions in the nanostructured material can be investigated similarly. Formation of a Ni-phase in a nanostructured Hf-Ni alloy could be detected in a very early stage, where calorimetric methods are not sensitive. Segregation phenomena could be detected from the experiments even after long time. The sensitivity of the applied method is not dependent on the heating rate as the sensitivity of scanning calorimetry is.

Curie Temperature of the Intergranular Amorphous Phase in Nanocrystalline Fe_(89)Zr_7B_4 Alloy

The FeZrB amorphous alloys for simulating the intergranular amorphous phase in the nanocrystalline Fe 89 Zr 7B 4 soft magnetic materials were obtained by mechanical alloying of a mixture of elemental Fe, Zr and B powders for 25 h. It is shown that the Curie temperature of the simulated intergranular phase alloy is much lower than that of the intergranular phase with the same chemical composition in the nanocrystalline Fe 89 Zr 7B 4 alloy. The possible mechanism is mainly due to the strong ferromagnetic exchange force among the nanocrystalline α Fe grains.

Corrosion behavior of amorphous/nanocrystalline Al-Cr-Fe film deposited by double glow plasmas technique

In order to improve the corrosion resistance of AZ31 magnesium alloy,the amorphous/nanocrystal Al-Cr-Fe film has been successfully prepared on AZ31 magnesium alloy by double glow plasma tech-nology.The amorphous/nanocrystalline consists of two different regions,i.e.,an amorphous layer on outmost surface and an underlying lamellar nanocrystalline layer with a grain size of less than 10 nm.The corrosion behavior of amorphous/nanocrystalline Al-Cr-Fe film in 3.5% NaCl solution is investi-gated using an electrochemical polarization measurement.Compared with the AZ31 magnesium alloy,the amorphous/nanocrystalline Al-Cr-Fe film exhibits more positive corrosion potentials and lower corrosion current densities than that of AZ31 magnesium alloy.XPS measurement reveals that the passive film formed on the Al-Cr-Fe film after the anodic polarization tests is strongly enriched in Cr2O3,Fe2O3 and Al2O3 at outer surface of the film and in the inner layer consists of Cr2O3,FeO and Al2O3.

Highly Improved Electrochemical Performances of the Nanocrystalline and Amorphous Mg_2Ni-type Alloys by Substituting Ni with M (M=Cu,Co,Mn)

The element Ni in the Mg2Ni alloy is partially substituted by M（M = Cu, Co, Mn） in order to ameliorate the electrochemical hydrogen storage performances of Mg2Ni-type electrode alloys. The nanocrystalline and amorphous Mg20Ni10-xMx（M = None, Cu, Co, Mn; x = 0-4） alloys were prepared by melt spinning. The effects of the M（M = Cu, Co, Mn） content on the structures and electrochemical hydrogen storage characteristics of the as-cast and spun alloys were comparatively studied. The analyses by XRD, SEM and HRTEM reveal that all the as-cast alloys have a major phase of Mg2Ni but the M（M = Co, Mn） substitution brings on the formation of some secondary phases, MgCo2 and Mg for the（M = Co） alloy, and Mn Ni and Mg for the（M = Mn） alloy. Besides, the as-spun（M = None, Cu） alloys display an entirely nanocrystalline structure, whereas the as-spun（M = Co, Mn） alloys hold a nanocrystalline/amorphous structure, suggesting that the substitution of M（M = Co, Mn） for Ni facilitates the glass formation in the Mg2Ni-type alloys. The electrochemical measurements indicate that the variation of M（M = Cu, Co, Mn） content engenders an obvious effect on the electrochemical performances of the as-cast and spun alloys. To be specific, the cyclic stabilities of the alloys augment monotonously with increasing M（M = Cu, Co, Mn） content, and the capacity retaining rate（S20） is in an order of（M = Cu） 〉（M = Co） 〉（M = Mn） 〉（M = None） for x≤1 but changes to（M = Co） 〉（M = Mn） 〉（M = Cu） 〉（M = None） for x≥2. The discharge capacities of the as-cast and spun alloys always grow with the rising of M（M = Co, Mn） content but first mount up and then go down with increasing M（M = Cu） content. Whatever the M content is, the discharge capacities are in sequence：（M = Co） 〉（M = Mn） 〉（M = Cu） 〉（M = None）. The high rate discharge abilities（HRDs） of all the alloys grow clearly with rising M（M = Cu, Co） content except for（M = Mn） alloy, whose HRD has a maximum value with varying M（M = Mn） content. Furthermore, for the as-cast alloys, the HRD is in order of（M = Co） 〉（M = Mn） 〉（M = Cu） 〉（M = None）, while for the as-spun（20 m·s^-1） alloys, it changes from（M = Co） 〉（M = Mn） 〉（M = Cu） 〉（M = None） for x = 1 to（M = Cu） 〉（M = Co） 〉（M = None） 〉（M = Mn） for x = 4.

Preparation and Properties of FeZrB Amorphous-Nanocrystalline Soft Magnetic Alloy

Fe68Zr20B12 amorphous alloy was prepared by mechanical alloying（MA） method and annealed at different temperatures. Microstructures and magnetic properties of Fe68Zr20B12 alloys as-milled and annealed at 693, 843, 943 and 993 K were studied. The raw powders（Fe, Zr, B） formed b. c. c. α-Fe solid solution at early stages of MA and then transformed into amorphous alloy. Grain size（D） of Fe68Zr20B12 alloys increases with increasing annealing temperature and keeps at nanometer level. The specific saturation magnetization（σs） increases with increasing annealing temperature from 300 K to 943 K, and then decreases with annealing temperature at 993 K because of the precipitation of Fe3B.

Effect of melt spinning on gaseous hydrogen storage characteristics of nanocrystalline and amorphous Nd-added Mg_2Ni-type alloys

Nanocrystalline and amorphous Mg-Nd-Ni-Cu quaternary alloys with a composition of(Mg_(24)Ni_(10)Cu_2)_(100-x)Nd_x(x=0, 5, 10, 15, 20) were prepared by melt spinning technology and their structures as well as gaseous hydrogen storage characteristics were investigated. The XRD, TEM and SEM linked with EDS detections reveal that the as-spun Nd-free alloy holds an entire nanocrystalline structure but a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure for the as-spun Nd-added alloy, implying that the addition of Nd facilitates the glass forming in the Mg_2Ni-type alloy. Furthermore, the degree of amorphization of the as-spun Nd-added alloy and thermal stability of the amorphous structure clearly increase with the spinning rate rising. The melt spinning ameliorates the hydriding and dehydriding kinetics of the alloys dramatically. Specially, the rising of the spinning rate from 0(the as-cast was defined as the spinning rate of 0 m/s) to 40 m/s brings on the hydrogen absorption saturation ratio(R_5~a)(a ratio of the hydrogen absorption quantity in 5 min to the saturated hydrogen absorption capacity) increasing from 36.9% to 91.5% and the hydrogen desorption ratio(R_(1 0)~d)(a ratio of the hydrogen desorption quantity in 10 min to the saturated hydrogen absorption capacity) rising from 16.4% to 47.7% for the(x=10) alloy, respectively.

Amorphous-Nanocrystalline Transition in Silicon Thin Films Obtained by Argon Diluted Silane PECVD

The Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) method is widely used compared to other methods to deposit hydrogenated silicon Si:H. In this work, a systematic variation of deposition parameters was done to study the sensitivities and the effects of these parameters on the intrinsic layer material properties. Samples were deposited with 13.56 MHZ PECVD through decomposition of silane diluted with argon. Undoped samples depositions were made in this experiment in order to obtain the transition from the amorphous to nanocrystalline phase materials. The substrate temperature was fixed at 200oC. The influence of depositions parameters on the optical proprieties of the thin films was studied by UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy. The structural evolution was also studied by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The structural evolution studies show that beyond 200 W radio frequency power value, we observed an amorphous-nanocrystalline transition, with an increase in crystalline fraction by increasing RF power and working pressure. The deposition rates are found in the range 6 - 10 /s. A correlation between structural and optical properties has been found and discussed.

Hot-press sintering of MA Fe-based nanocrystalline/amorphous soft magnetic powder

Microstructures and magnetic properties of Fe84Nb7B9,Fe80Ti8B 12 and Fe32Ni36（Nb/V）7Si8B17 powders and their bulk alloys prepared by mechanical alloying（MA） method and hot-press sintering were studied. The results show that: 1) After MA for 20 h,nanocrystalline bcc singl e phase supersaturated solid solution forms in Fe84-Nb7B9 and Fe8 0Ti8B12 alloys,amorphous structure forms in Fe32Ni36Nb7 Si8B17 alloy,duplex microstructure composed of nanocrystalline γ- （FeNi） supersaturated solid solution and trace content of Fe2B phase forms in Fe32Ni36-V7Si8B17 alloy. 2) The decomposition process of supersaturated solid solution phases in Fe84Nb7B9 and Fe80Ti8B 12 alloys happens at 710780 ℃,crystallization reaction in Fe （32）Ni36Nb7Si8B17 alloy happens at 530 ℃（the temperature of peak value） and residual amorphous crystallized further happens at 760 ℃ （the temperature of peak value）,phase decomposition process of supersaturated solid solution at 780 ℃ （the temperature of peak value） and crystallization reaction at 431 ℃ （the temperature of peak value） happens in Fe32Ni36V7S i8B17 alloy. 3) under 900 ℃,30 MPa,（0.5 h） hot-press sintering conditions,bulk alloys with high relative density（94.7%95.8%） can be ob tained. Except that the grain size of Fe84Nb7B9 bulk alloy is large,s uperfine grains （grain size 50200 nm） are obtained in other alloys. Exc ept that single phase microstructure is obtained in Fe80Ti8B12 bul k alloy,multi-phase microstructures are obtained in other alloys. 4) The magne tic properties of Fe80Ti8B12bulk alloy（Bs=1.74 T,Hc= 4.35 kA/m） are significantly superior to those of other bulk alloys,which is r elated to the different phases of nanocrystalline or amorphous powder formed dur ing hot-press sintering process and grain size.