Yttrium aluminum garnet (Y_3A_(l5)O_(12)) nanopowders synthesized by the chemical method

The homogeneously dispersed, less agglomerated YAG nanopowders are synthesized by the citrate-gel method followed by low-temperature self-propagating combustion reaction, using Y2O3, Al(NO3)3?9H2O and citric acid as starting materials. This method effectively solves the problems caused by solid-state reaction at high temperature and the hard ag-glomerates brought by the chemical precipitation method. The powders are characterized by TG-DTA, XRD, FT-IR and TEM respectively. The experiments show that the forming temperature of YAG crystal phase is 850°C and the pseudo-YAG crystalline appears during the calcination and transforms to pure YAG at 1050°C. The powders with sizes less than 50 nm are observed by TEM micrography, which is consistent with the result calculated by Scherrer's formula. The powders consist of single grains.

Raman Spectroscopic Study of Silicon Nanopowders

Vibrational properties of silicon nanopowders are discussed with reference to Raman spectroscopic measurements. The powders were produced in a low pressure rf plasma from the cluster induced agglomeration of positive ions formed during the dissociation of silane. Influence of thermal treatment and the crystallization phenomena of the powder were studied. Raman spectroscopic measurements reveal size quantization effects for the particles as well as the existence of partially ordered regions in the apparently amorphous primary particles. The crystalline and amorphous volume fraction in the material were calculated from the relative spectraI intensities. The results obtained in these experiments are consistent with the observations from recent high resolution transmission electron microscopy studies of these powders

Intense up-conversion emissions of yb3＋/Dy3＋ co-doped A12O3 nanopowders prepared by non-aqueous sol-gel method＊

yb3＋/Dy3＋ co-doped A1203 nanopowders have been prepared by the non-aqueous sol-gel method and their up- conversion photoluminescence spectra are measured under excitation by a 980-nm semiconductor laser. The results show that there are comparatively abundant spectra of up-conversion emissions centered at 378, 408, 527 and 543, and 663 nm, corresponding to 4C9/2→ 6H13/2, 4C9/2→ 6Hll/2, 4115/2 → 6H13/2, and 4F9/2 →6Hll/2 transitions of Dy3＋, respectively. Two-photon and three-photon processes are involved in ultraviolet, violet, green, and red up-conversion emissions. The energy transition between Yb3＋ and Dy3＋ is discussed.

Novel Salt-Assisted Combustion Synthesis of High Surface Area Ceria Nanopowders by An Ethylene Glycol-Nitrate Combustion Process

A novel salt-assisted combustion process with ethylene glycol as a fuel and nitrate as an oxidant to synthesize high surface area celia nanopowders was reported. The effects of various tunable conditions, such as fuel-to-oxidant ratio, type of salts, and amount of added salts, on the characteristics of the as-prepared powders were investigated by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and BET surface area measurement. A mechanism scheme was proposed to illustrate the possible formation processes of well-dispersed ceria nanoparticles in the salt-assisted combustion synthesis. It was verified that the simple introduction of leachable inert inorganic salts as an excellent agglomeration inhibitor into the redox mixture precursor leads to the formation of well-dispersed ceria particles with particle size in the range of 4 ～6 nm and a drastic increase in the surface area. The presence of KCl results in an over ten-fold increment in specific surface area from 14.10 m^2·g^-1 for the produced ceria powders via the conventional combustion synthesis process to 156.74 m^2·g^-1 for the product by the salt-assisted combustion synthesis process at the same molar ratio of ethylene glycol-nitrate.

Characterization of YSZ Ceramic Nanopowders Synthesized at Different Temperatures via Polyacrylamide Gel Method

Tetragonal zirconia (T-ZrO2) ceramic nanopowders stabilized with 3 mol% Y2O3 were synthesized via polyacrylamide gel method, using ZrOCl2?8H2O and Y(NO3)3?6H2O as raw materials. The effect of temperature on phase composition and morphology of YSZ nanopowders and sintering behavior of YSZ ceramics was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Vickers hardness tester. The aging-resistance of YSZ ceramics was measured by means of aging experiments. The results demonstrated that the phase composition of YSZ ceramic nanopowders had no obvious change and it was composed of T-ZrO2. Particle size of well-dispersed YSZ ceramic nanopowders increased from 17 to 35 nm with increasing calcining temperature from 600 to 800 ℃. There was noticeable negative correlation between calcining temperature and the relative density of YSZ ceramic at the same sintering temperature. The aging experiments showed that water vapor facilitated tetragonal to monoclinic phase transformation, and the sample that had smaller grain size exhibited better aging-resistance. It can be concluded that when the calcining temperature is 600 ℃ and sintering temperature is 1550 ℃, the relative density and hardness of YSZ ceramic arrive at the peak of 96.64% and 11.135 GPa respectively, and it has less microcracks and excellent aging-resistance.

Synthesis of Vanadium Carbide Nanopowders via Mechanical Alloying and Microwave Heating Methods

A simple and fast method of preparation of vanadium carbide(V_8 C_7) nanopowders using mechanical alloying assisted microwave heating method was demonstrated. The micron-sized V_2O_5 and nano-sized carbon black were used as starting materials. The as-prepared powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry(TG-DSC), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) techniques. The experimental results show that the V_8C_7 powders can be obtained by microwave heating at 1 100 ℃ for 1 h(34 wt% C). The synthesized powders show good dispersion and are mainly composed of spherical or near-spherical particles with a mean diameter of about 30 nm. The XPS spectra show that the surface of the specimen mainly consists of V, C, and O three species elements.

Preparation of Y_2O_3 Nanopowders by Sol-Gel Method

Using the inexpensive inorganic salts as the starting materials,pure yttria nanopowders were prepared by sol-gel method. The primary particles are spherical and about 60 nm in diameter with a narrow size distribution. Moderate sulfate ions used as additive were the key to the formation of precursor and the preparation of spherical Y_2O_3 nanopowders. Transformation of the precursor was investigated during the calcining. The influence of calcination temperature on size and purity of production was analyzed. The results show that higher temperature is beneficial to the preparation of pure and complete crystallization of yttria powders under the condition of not making particles excessively grow.

Exploring the Microstructure of YBCO Nanopowders

High temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7–x (YBCO) nanopowders were successfully prepared by a citrate pyrolysis technique. The phase formation and microstructure of the nanopowders were studied. The microstructure analysis shows that the obtained YBCO powders have very fine grains with a size around several tens of nanometers. The superfine morphology reveals that the thermal agglomeration of the particles decreases with decreasing the annealing temperature and shortening the annealing time. In addition, the complete phase formation of YBCO depends upon the annealing temperature and the annealing time as well. So far, these nanopowders have been used to fabricate the melt-textured YBCO bulk materials.

Production of metallic nanopowders(Mg,Al)by solar carbothermal reduction of their oxides at low pressure

The carbothermal reduction of MgO and Al_(2)O_(3) in argon flow at low pressure allows to lower the onset temperature of metal vapor formation.Thermodynamic calculations indicate that metal formation begins at 1400 and 1700 K for a primary vacuum(1000 Pa),respectively,for Mg and Al.In the experimental section,concentrated solar energy was used for the process heating in order to favor energy savings.The products of the reaction between MgO or Al_(2)O_(3) and 2 varieties of carbon(graphite,carbon black)in flowing argon atmosphere at a total pressure of around 1000 to 1600 Pa were studied using X-ray diffraction,and microstructure observations revealed the formation of metallic nanopowders with some by-products.Metallic conversions close to 45 wt%and 52 wt%,respectively,for Mg and Al,were obtained.The low conversion yield of the carbothermal reduction of MgO can be attributed to a backward reaction reforming MgO powder and to a sintering process between oxide particles at high temperature.Aluminum production challenge is to avoid formation of undesired by-products:Al_(2)O,Al_(4)C_(3) and Al-oxycarbides.Advantages and weaknesses of the used process are described and some improvements are proposed to increase metallic yields.

Synthesis of Polycrystalline Yb:Gd_3Ga_5O_(12) Nanopowders by Homogeneous Precipitation Method

The Ytterbium doped gadolinium gallium garnet [Yb3＋：Gd3Ga5O12, Yb：GGG] precursor powders were synthesized via homogeneous precipitation method using Yb2O3, Ga2O3, Gd2O3 and ammonium bicarbonate [NH4HCO3] as precipitator, and ammonium sulfate [（NH4）2SO4] as additive. The evolution of phase composition and micro-structure of the powders were characterized by TG- DTA, XRD, IR, and TEM. The results indicate that all precursor powders completely transform to Yb：GGG phase by calcining at 900 ℃ for 8 h, the resultant powders are well dispersed and have smaller particle size approximately 80 nm owing to the electrostatic effect.

Effect of Surface Modification on Behaviors of Cerium Oxide Nanopowders

Study was made on the effect of surface modification on the behaviors of cerium oxide nanopowders.A surfactant-sodium dodecyl sulfate（C12H25SO4Na）was used to modify the surface of CeO2 powder particles.The unmodified and modified CeO2 powders were characterized by using a powder comprehensive characteristic tester,laser particle size analyzer,specific surface area tester,X-ray diffraction tester,and a scanning electron microscope.The testing and analysis results showed that C12H25SO4Na surface modification might increase the flowability and dispersity,and decrease the specific surface area and agglomeration of CeO2 powders.The mechanism of the surface modification of CeO2 powder particles was also discussed.

PARTICLE SIZE AND MICROSTRUCTURE OF Ni NANOPOWDERS PREPARED BY ANODIC ARC PLASMA

Pure Ni nanopowders were successfully prepared by the method of anodic arc disch arged plasma with homemade experimental apparatus. The particle size, mircostruc ture and morphology of the particles by this process were characterized via X-ra y powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the corre sponding selected area electron diffraction (SAED); The specific surface area an d pore parameters were investigated by multi-point full analysis of nitrogen ads orption-desorption isotherms at 77K by Brunauer- Emmett-Teller (BET) surface are a analyzer; The chemical composition were determined by X-ray energy dispersive spectrometry (XEDS) equipped in SEM and element analyze instrument. The experime nt results indicate that the samples by this method with high purity,the crystal structure of the particles is as same as the bulk material, is fcc structure, w ith average particle sizes about 47nm, ranging from 20 to 70nm, and distributed uniformly in spherical chain shapes, the specific surface areavis 14.23m2/g, po re volume of pore is 0.09cm3/g and average pore diameter is 23nm.

MICROSTRUCTURE AND PREPARATION OF Ni,Al AND Fe NANOPOWDERS

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A new sol-gel process for preparing Ba(Mg_(1/3)Nb_(2/3))O_3 nanopowders

Commercially available niobium (V) oxide [Nb2O5], with barium acetate [Ba(CH3COO)2] and magnesium acetate [Mg(CH3COO)2-4H2O] was used as the starting material in the sol-gel process for preparing Ba(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (BMN) nanopowders. At first, Nb2O5 reacted with melting sodium hydroxide and transformed into dispersible oxide. The resulting glassy substance after cooling was dispersed and washed several times in distilled water to remove the Na+ ions. The as-prepared colloidal Nb2O5-nH2O was subsequently mixed with acetic solution of barium acetate and magnesium acetate according to the required molar proportions and followed by gelation. The ultrafine BMN powders were finally obtained after heat-treating the gel at 820℃for 1 h, and the as-sintered nanoceramics revealed a high relative density of 98.2%, and a high microwave Q-factor, of 10397 at 1.45GHz.

A new sol-gel process for preparing Ba(Mg_(1/3)Nb_(2/3))O_3 nanopowders

Commercially available niobium (V) oxide [Nb_2O_5], with barium acetate[Ba(CH_3COO)_2] and magnesium acetate [Mg(CH_3COO)_2·4H_2O] was used as the starting material inthe sol-gel process for preparing Ba(Mg_(1/3)Nb_(2/3))O_3 (BMN) nanopowders. At first, Nb_2O_5reacted with melting sodium hydroxide and transformed into dispersible oxide. The resulting glassysubstance after cooling was dispersed and washed several times in distilled water to remove the Na^+ions. The as-prepared colloidal Nb_2O_5·nH_2O was subsequently mixed with acetic solution ofbarium acetate and magnesium acetate according to the required molar proportions and followed bygelation. The ultrafine BMN powders were finally obtained after heat-treating the gel at 820℃ for 1h, and the as-sintered nanoceramics revealed a high relative density of 98.2%, and a high microwaveQ-factor, of 10397 at 1,45GHz.

Facile synthesis of high-entropy zirconate nanopowders and their sintering behaviors

The challenge in synthesizing high-entropy ceramic(HEC)nanopowders is to suppress severe grain coarsening and particle agglomeration,which occur at elevated temperatures.This challenge could be addressed by the polyacrylamide gel method.In this work,single-phase high-entropy(Lao.2Ndo.2Smo.2Gdo.2 Ybo.2)2Zr2O7 and(Lao.2Ndo.2Yo.2Euo.2Gdo.2)2Zr2O7 nanopowders without agglomeration were successfully synthesized using the polyacrylamide gel method for the first time.The results showed that phase composition,particle size,and agglomeration degree of the nanopowders were greatly influenced by the molar ratio of acrylamide(AM)/Zr and calcination temperature.These as-synthesized high-entropy zirconate(HEZ)nanopowders could be sintered into fully dense ceramics at 1500 C for 2 h.These HEZ nanopowders showed a phase transformation from a defect-fluorite phase to a pyrochlore phase with the increase of sintering temperature.Additionally,two-step sintering of these nanopowders was conducted,and the HEZ ceramics with fine grains were prepared.The polyacrylamide gel method is simple and easily operated,which is a facile approach of producing the HEC nanopowders with excellent sinterability.

Synthesis and microwave absorbing properties of La-doped Sr-hexaferrite nanopowders via sol-gel auto-combustion method

La-doped Sr-hexaferrite（Sr（1-x）LaxFe（12）O（19））（x=0.05,0.10,0.15,0.20） nanopowders with particle size ranging from 80 to 110 nm were successfully synthesized by sol-gel auto-combustion. The phase formation temperature increases, while the particle size decreases as the Ladoping content goes up. The partial substitution of Sr^（2＋） by La^（3＋） results in the suppression effects on the growth-up of the crystallites and the enhancement of the electron hopping between Fe^（3＋） with different valences, which leads to the improvement in the dielectric loss and magnetic loss.Therefore, both the microwave absorbing abilities and absorbing frequency ranges are tuned by La-doping. The synthesized Sr-hexaferrite nanopowders with doping element content of 0.10 demonstrate the fine broad microwave absorbing properties.

Effect of synthesis conditions and surrounding medium on luminescence properties of YVO_4:Eu^(3+) nanopowders

Nanocrystalline yttrium vanadate doped with europium ions powders were synthesized via sol-gel method based on decomposition of metal-polymer complex. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that samples had pure tetragonal phase without any impurities. Scanning electron microscopy and static light scattering technique were used to study morphology and size of prepared nanoparticles. Average diameter of the nanoparticles was about 40 nm. The changes in structural and luminescence properties were observed as a function of the first and second calcination temperature. The optimal conditions for synthesis of nanoparticles were determined as Т1=500℃, t1=1 h; Т2=950 ℃, t2=1.5 h. The effect of different media surrounding the nanoparticles on their luminescence properties and lifetime was investigated and discussed in terms of effective refractive index. It was found that the observed lifetime of YVO4：Eu^3＋ 5 at.% nanophosphor was decreased from 0.64 ms in air（nmed=1） to 0.45 ms in chalcogenide glass As39S61（nmed=2.39）.

Enhancing the Antibacterial Efficiency of ZnO Nanopowders Synthesized by Combustion Method Through Ag+Fe Co-doping

（Ag ＋ Fe）-doped ZnO nanopowders have been synthesized using combustion method. Ag doping level was kept as 2 at.%, and Fe doping level was varied from 3 to 6 at,%, and the structural, optical, surface morphological, and antibacterial properties have been investigated. The structural studies show that ZnO/（Ag 4-Fe） nanopowders have hexagonal wurtzite structure with a preferential orientation along the （101） plane. The FE-SEM images indicate that there is a gradual decrease in the grain size with the increase in the doping level of Fe, and the TEM images are correlated well with FE-SEM images. The XPS profile clearly confirms the presence of expected elemental composition. Photolumi- nescence studies reveal the presence of extrinsic defects in the material. Antibacterial activity of Ag- and Fe-doped ZnO nanopowders against Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio Cholerae, and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria was also investigated.