Homogeneous distributed natural pyrite-derived composite induced by modified graphite as high-performance lithium-ion batteries anode

Natural minerals-based energy materials have attracted enormous attention because of the advantages of good materials consistency,high production,environmental friendliness,and low cost.The uniform distribution of grains can effectively inhibit the aggregation of active materials,improving lithium storage performance.In this work,natural graphite is modified by polyvinylpyrrolidone to obtain modified graphite with reduced size and better dispersion.Natural pyrite composite polyvinylpyrrolidone-modified graphite(pyrite/PG)material with uniform particle distribution is obtained by the ball milling process.The subsequent calcination process converts pyrite/PG into Fe_(1-x)Scompounded with polyvinylpyrrolidone-modified graphite(Fe_(1-x)S/PG).The homogeneous grain distributions of active material can facilitate the faster transfer of electrons and promote the efficient utilization of active materials.The as-prepared Fe_(1-x)S/PG electrode exhibits a remarkably reversible specific capacity of 613.0 mAh·g^(-1)at 0.2 A·g^(-1)after 80 cycles and an excellent rate capability of 523.0 mAh·g^(-1)at 5 A·g^(-1).Even at a higher current density of 10 A·g^(-1),it can deliver a specific capacity of 348.0 mAh·g^(-1).Moreover,the dominant pseudocapacitance in redox reactions accounts for the impressive rate and cycling stability.This work provides a low-cost and facile method to fabricate natural mineral-based anode materials and apprise readers about the impact of uniform particle distribution on lithium storage performance.

Al-50 wt%Si Alloy by Spark Plasma Sintering(SPS)for Electronic Packaging Materials

A hypereutectic Al-50 wt%Si alloy for electronic packaging was prepared by spark plasma sintering(SPS)technology using gas-atomized Al-50 wt%Si powder.The effect of sintering parameters on alloy phase composition,microstructure,thermal performance and the tensile strength at different temperatures was investigated.The experimental results show that the alloy can obey the diffraction peaks of silicon and aluminum without other peaks appearing.The primary silicon in the prepared alloy can be evenly distributed in the aluminum matrix.The coefficient of thermal expansion(CTE)and thermal conductivity(TC)of the alloy will improve with the increase of sintering temperature,but they will decrease after sintering for a long time,which is caused by the large difference of coefficient of thermal expansion between silicon and aluminum.The tensile properties of the alloy at room temperature will increase with the increase of sintering temperature,but higher test temperatures will inhibit the tensile properties except the elongation.The morphology and fracture mode of the tensile fracture are also analyzed to determine the good bonding strength of the alloy.

Influence of heat treatment on microstructure and electrochemical behaviors of Mg-Zn binary alloys prepared by gas-phase alloying technique

Mg-Zn binary alloys fabricated by the gas-phase alloying technique under vacuum condition were investigated in the state of initial state and after heat treatment for the microstructure and electrochemical behaviors.Different from the traditional Mg-Zn alloys preparation methods,alloys prepared by gas-phase alloying have a large number of intermetallic compounds,such as MgZn,Mg7Zn3 and MgZn2.After solution treatment,the boundary of the eutectic disappeared and the size ofα-Mg increased from 100μm to 150μm.At the same time,the value of the resistance of charge transfer increased,which indicates that the resistance of the charge transfer and the corrosion resistance of the alloys increased.After artificial aging treatment,the distribution ofα-Mg was more uniform and its size was reduced to about 50μm,and there was new eutectic structure formed.The newly formed eutectic structure forms galvanic cells with the alloy matrix,which makes the corrosion resistance of the alloy weaken.

Formation and wear behaviors of in-situ Al3Ti/Al composites using aluminum and titanium fibers under electromagnetic induction heating

Under various electromagnetic induction heating powers,different Al3Ti/Al composites were fabricated by in-situ synthesis method from aluminum and titanium fibers.Microstructures and particles distribution of the composites were examined by XRD,SEM and EDS.The results show that no other intermetallic compounds beside Al3Ti can be in-situ synthesized.Around the titanium fibers,the reaction zones and diffusion zones can be obviously found.Due to the stirring of the electromagnetic function,the formation of the micro-cracks inside the reaction zone was conducive to the peeling off of the Al3Ti particles,and ensures the continuous reaction between liquid aluminum and titanium fibers,as well as the diffusion of Al3Ti particles.At the same time,there were secondary splits of Al3Ti particles located in diffusion zones.Two-body abrasion test shows that with the increase of induction heating power,the wear rates of the composites reduced and the number of grooves decreased.

Effect of holding time on microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-40 wt.%Si alloys fabricated by combination of gas atomization and spark plasma sintering

Hypereutectic Al-40 wt.%Si alloys were fabricated by the combination of gas atomization and spark plasma sintering(SPS) technology. The effects of holding time(15-60 min) on phase composition, microstructure, density,mechanical properties of Al-Si alloys were investigated by XRD, SEM, a hydrostatic balance, an automatic micro hardness tester and a universal tensile testing machine. The results showed that homogenous distribution of ultrafine primary Si and high density of alloys can be obtained at holding time of 30 min. Compared with primary Si(3.7 μm)fabricated by gas atomization, the average size increased from 5.17 to 7.72 μm with the increase of holding time during SPS process. Overall, the relative density, maximum tensile strength and Vickers hardness of 94.9%, 205 MPa and HV;196.86 were achieved at holding time of 30 min, respectively. In addition, all the diffraction peaks were corresponded to α-Al or β-Si and no other phase can be detected. Finally, the densification process of SPS was also discussed.