Correlative spatter and vapour depression dynamics during laser powder bed fusion of an Al-Fe-Zr alloy

Spatter during laser powder bed fusion(LPBF)can induce surface defects,impacting the fatigue performance of the fabricated components.Here,we reveal and explain the links between vapour depression shape and spatter dynamics during LPBF of an Al-Fe-Zr aluminium alloy using high-speed synchrotron x-ray imaging.We quantify the number,trajectory angle,velocity,and kinetic energy of the spatter as a function of vapour depression zone/keyhole morphology under industry-relevant processing conditions.The depression zone/keyhole morphology was found to influence the spatter ejection angle in keyhole versus conduction melting modes:(i)the vapour-pressure driven plume in conduction mode with a quasi-semi-circular depression zone leads to backward spatter whereas;and(ii)the keyhole rear wall redirects the gas/vapour flow to cause vertical spatter ejection and rear rim droplet spatter.Increasing the opening of the keyhole or vapour depression zone can reduce entrainment of solid spatter.We discover a spatter-induced cavity mechanism in which small spatter particles are accelerated towards the powder bed after laser-spatter interaction,inducing powder denudation and cavities on the printed surface.By quantifying these laser-spatter interactions,we suggest a printing strategy for minimising defects and improving the surface quality of LPBF parts.

Recent advances in non-thermal plasma(NTP)catalysis towards C1 chemistry

C1 chemistrymainly involves the catalytic transformation of C1molecules(i.e.,CO,CO2,CH4 and CH3OH),which usually encounters thermodynamic and/or kinetic limitations.To address these limitations,non-thermal plasma(NTP)activated heterogeneous catalysis offers a number of advantages,such as relatively mild reaction conditions and energy efficiency,in comparison to the conventional thermal catalysis.This review presents the state-of-the-art for the application of NTP-catalysis towards C1 chemistry,including the CO2 hydrogenation,reforming of CH4 and CH3OH,and water-gas shift(WGS)reaction.In the hybrid NTP-catalyst system,the plasma-catalyst interactions aremultifaceted.Accordingly,this reviewalso includes a brief discussion on the fundamental research into themechanisms of NTP activated catalytic C1 chemistry,such as the advanced characterisation methods(e.g.,in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy,DRIFTS),temperatureprogrammed plasma surface reaction(TPPSR),kinetic studies.Finally,prospects for the future research on the development of tailor-made catalysts for NTP-catalysis systems(which will enable the further understanding of its mechanism)and the translation of the hybrid technique to practical applications of catalytic C1 chemistry are discussed.

Renewable hydrogen production from steam reforming of glycerol(SRG)over ceria-modified Y-alumina supported Ni catalyst

Excess crude glycerol derived as a by-product from biodiesel industry prompts the need to valorise glycerol to value-added chemicals.In this context,catalytic steam reforming of glycerol(SRG) was proposed as a promising and sustainable alternative for producing renewable hydrogen(H2).Herein,the development of nickel(Ni) supported on ceria-modified mesoporous γ-alumina(γ-Al2 O3) catalysts and their applications in catalytic SRG(at550-750℃ atmospheric pressure and weight hourly space velocity,WHSV,of 44,122 ml·g^-1·h^-1(STP)) is presented.Properties of the developed catalysts were characterised using many technique s.The findings show that ceria modification improved Ni dispersion on γ-Al2 O3 catalyst support with highly active small Ni particles,which led to a remarkable catalytic performance with the total glycerol conversion(ca.99%),glycerol conversion into gaseous products(ca.77%) and H2 yield(ca.62%).The formation rate for H2 production(14.4 ×10^(-5)mol·s^-1·g^-1, TOF(H2)=3412 s^-1) was significantly improved with the Ni@12 Ce-Al2 O3 catalyst,representing nearly a 2-fold increase compared with that of the conventional Ni@AI2 O3 catalyst.In addition,the developed catalyst also exhibited comparatively high stability(for 12 h) and coke resistance ability.

Methanol oxidation over shell-core MOx/Fe2O3（M = Mo, V, Nb） catalysts

We present a comparison of Mo, V and Nb oxides as shell materials atop haematite cores used for selective methanol oxidation. While Mo and V both yield high selectivity to formaldehyde, Nb does not. Very different reactivity patterns are seen for Nb, which mainly shows dehydrogenation (to CO) and dehydration (to DME), indicating the lack of a complete shell, while Raman spectroscopy shows that the Mo and V formation process is not followed by NbOx. We suggest this is due to the large differences in mobility within the solid materials during formation, NbOx requiring significantly higher (and deleterious) calcination temperatures to allow sufficient mobility for shell completion.

Monitoring dynamics of defects and single Fe atoms in N-functionalized few-layer graphene by in situ temperature programmed scanning transmission electron microscopy

In this study,we aim to contribute an understanding of the pathway of formation of Fe species during top-down synthesis of dispersed Fe on N-functionalized few layer graphene,widely used in electrocatalysis.We use X-ray absorption spectroscopy to determine the electronic structure and coordination geometry of the Fe species and in situ high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy combined with atomic resolved electron energy loss spectroscopy to localize these,identify their chemical configuration and monitor their dynamics during thermal annealing.We show the high mobility of peripheral Fe atoms,first diffusing rapidly at the trims of the graphene layers and at temperatures as high as 573 K,diffusing from the edge planes towards in-plane locations of the graphene layers forming three-,four-coordinated metal sites and more complexes polynuclear Fe species.This process occurs via bond C-C breaking which partially reduces the extension of the graphene domains.However,the vast majority of Fe is segregated as a metal phase.This dynamic interconversion depends on the structural details of the surrounding graphitic environment in which these are formed as well as the Fe loading.N species appear stabilizing isolated and polynuclear Fe species even at temperatures as high as 873 K.The significance of our results lies on the fact that single Fe atoms in graphene are highly mobile and therefore a structural description of the electroactive sites as such is insufficient and more complex species might be more relevant,especially in the case of multielectron transfer reactions.Here we provide the experimental evidence of the formation of these polynuclear Fe-N sites and their structural characteristics.

Corrigendum to“Monitoring dynamics of defects and single Fe atoms in N-functionalized few-layer graphene by in situ temperature programmed scanning transmission electron microscopy”[JECHEM 64(2022)520-530]

The authors regret that the word“trim/trims”has been wrongly used in the overall text,and instead the correct word“edge/edges”should have been used.The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.

A Workflow Demonstrator for Processing Catalysis Research Data

The UK Catalysis Hub(UKCH)is designing a virtual research environment to support data processing and analysis,the Catalysis Research Workbench(CRW).The development of this platform requires identifying the processing and analysis needs of the UKCH members and mapping them to potential solutions.This paper presents a proposal for a demonstrator to analyse the use of scientific workflows for large scale data processing.The demonstrator provides a concrete target to promote further discussion of the processing and analysis needs of the UKCH community.In this paper,we will discuss the main requirements for data processing elicited and the proposed adaptations that will be incorporated in the design of the CRW and how to integrate the proposed solutions with existing practices of the UKCH.The demonstrator has been used in discussion with researchers and in presentations to the UKCH community,generating increased interest and motivating furtherdevelopment.

A deep convolutional neural network for real-time full profile analysis of big powder diffraction data

We present Parameter Quantification Network(PQ-Net),a regression deep convolutional neural network providing quantitative analysis of powder X-ray diffraction patterns from multi-phase systems.The network is tested against simulated and experimental datasets of increasing complexity with the last one being an X-ray diffraction computed tomography dataset of a multi-phase Ni-Pd/CeO_(2)-ZrO_(2)/Al_(2)O_(3) catalytic material system consisting of ca.20,000 diffraction patterns.It is shown that the network predicts accurate scale factor,lattice parameter and crystallite size maps for all phases,which are comparable to those obtained through full profile analysis using the Rietveld method,also providing a reliable uncertainty measure on the results.The main advantage of PQNet is its ability to yield these results orders of magnitude faster showing its potential as a tool for real-time diffraction data analysis during in situ/operando experiments.