We investigate the austenite stability in nanocrystalline Fe-7%Mn-X%Mo (X = 0, 1, and 2) alloys fabricated by spark plasma sintering. Mo is known as a ferrite stabilizing element, whereas Mn is an austenite stabilizing element, and many studies have focused on the effect of Mn addition on austenite stability. Herein, the volume fraction of austenite in nanocrystalline Fe-7%Mn alloys with different Mo contents is measured using X-ray diffraction. Using a disk compressive test, austenite in Fe–Mn–Mo alloys is confirmed to transform into strain-induced martensite during plastic deformation by a disk d. The variation in austenite stability in response to the addition of Mo is quantitatively evaluated by comparing the k-parameters of the kinetic equation for the strain-induced martensite transformation.
In this study, a nanocrystalline FeNiCrMoMnSiC alloy was fabricated, and its austenite stability, microstructure, and mechanical properties were investigated. A sintered FeNiCrMoMnSiC alloy sample with nanosized crystal was obtained by high-energy ball milling and spark plasma sintering. The sintering behavior was investigated by measuring the displacement according to the temperature of the sintered body. Through microstructural analysis, it was confirmed that a compact sintered body with few pores was produced, and cementite was formed. The stability of the austenite phase in the sintered samples was evaluated by X-ray diffraction analysis and electron backscatter diffraction. Results revealed a measured value of 51.6% and that the alloy had seven times more austenite stability than AISI 4340 wrought steel. The hardness of the sintered alloy was 60.4 HRC, which was up to 2.4 times higher than that of wrought steel.
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In this study, the layered structures of immiscible Fe and Cu metals were employed to investigate the interface evolution through solid-state mixing. The pure Fe and Cu powders were cold-consolidated by high-pressure torsion (HPT) to fabricate a layered Cu-Fe-Cu structure. The microstructural evolutions and flow of immiscible Fe and Cu metals were investigated following different iterations of HPT processing. The results indicate that the HPTprocessed sample following four iterations showed a sharp chemical boundary between the Fe and Cu layers. In addition, the Cu powders exhibited perfect consolidation through HPT processing. However, the Fe layer contained many microcracks. After 20 iterations of HPT, the shear strain generated by HPT produced interface instability, which caused the initial layered structure to disappear.
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The effect of sintering conditions on the austenite stability and strain-induced martensitic transformation of nanocrystalline FeCrC alloy is investigated. Nanocrystalline FeCrC alloys are successfully fabricated by spark plasma sintering with an extremely short densification time to obtain the theoretical density value and prevent grain growth. The nanocrystallite size in the sintered alloys contributes to increased austenite stability. The phase fraction of the FeCrC sintered alloy before and after deformation according to the sintering holding time is measured using X-ray diffraction and electron backscatter diffraction analysis. During compressive deformation, the volume fraction of strain-induced martensite resulting from austenite decomposition is increased. The transformation kinetics of the strain-induced martensite is evaluated using an empirical equation considering the austenite stability factor. The hardness of the S0W and S10W samples increase to 62.4-67.5 and 58.9-63.4 HRC before and after deformation. The hardness results confirmed that the mechanical properties are improved owing to the effects of grain refinement and strain-induced martensitic transformation in the nanocrystalline FeCrC alloy.
Ni–Cr–Al metal-foam-supported catalysts for steam methane reforming (SMR) are manufactured by applying a catalytic Ni/Al2O3 sol–gel coating to powder alloyed metallic foam. The structure, microstructure, mechanical stability, and hydrogen yield efficiency of the obtained catalysts are evaluated. The structural and microstructural characteristics show that the catalyst is well coated on the open-pore Ni–Cr–Al foam without cracks or spallation. The measured compressive yield strengths are 2–3 MPa at room temperature and 1.5–2.2 MPa at 750°C regardless of sample size. The specimens exhibit a weight loss of up to 9–10% at elevated temperature owing to the spallation of the Ni/Al2O3 catalyst. However, the metal-foam-supported catalyst appears to have higher mechanical stability than ceramic pellet catalysts. In SMR simulations tests, a methane conversion ratio of up to 96% is obtained with a high hydrogen yield efficiency of 82%.
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In the present study, we investigated the austenite stability of a sintered Fe-based nanocrystalline alloy. The volume fraction of austenite was measured based on the X-ray diffraction data of sintered Fe-based nanocrystalline alloys, which were prepared by high-energy ball milling and spark plasma sintering. The sintered alloy samples showed a higher volume fraction of austenite at room temperature as compared to the equilibrium volume fraction of austenite obtained using thermodynamic calculations, which resulted from the nanosized crystalline structure of the sintered alloy. It was proved that the austenite stability of the sintered Fe-based alloy increased with a rise in the amount of austenite stabilizing elements such as Mn, Ni, and C; however, it increased more effectively with a decrease in the actual grain size. Furthermore, we proposed a new equation to predict the martensite starting temperature for sintered Fe-based alloys.
It is necessary to fabricate uniformly dispersed nanoscale catalyst materials with high activity and long-term stability for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells with excellent electrochemical characteristics of the oxygen reduction reaction and hydrogen oxidation reaction. Platinum is known as the best noble metal catalyst for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells because of its excellent catalytic activity. However, given that Pt is expensive, considerable efforts have been made to reduce the amount of Pt loading for both anode and cathode catalysts. Meanwhile, the atomic layer deposition (ALD) method shows excellent uniformity and precise particle size controllability over the three-dimensional structure. The research progress on noble metal ALD, such as Pt, Ru, Pd, and various metal alloys, is presented in this review. ALD technology enables the development of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells with excellent reactivity and durability.
In the present study, we have investigated the effect of sintering process conditions on the stability of the austenite phase in the nanocrystalline Fe-5wt.%Mn-0.2wt.%C alloy. The stability and volume fraction of the austenite phase are the key factors that determine the mechanical properties of FeMnC alloys, because strain-induced austenitemartensite transformation occurs under the application of an external stress at room temperature. Nanocrystalline Fe-5wt.%Mn-0.2wt.%C samples are fabricated using the spark plasma sintering method. The stability of the austenite phase in the sintered samples is evaluated by X-ray diffraction analysis and hardness test. The volume fraction of austenite at room temperature increases as the sample is held for 10 min at the sintering temperature, because of carbon diffusion in austenite. Moreover, water quenching effectively prevents the formation of cementite during cooling, resulting in a higher volume fraction of austenite. Furthermore, it is found that the hardness is influenced by both the austenite carbon content and volume fraction.
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Most commercially available detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs) require further processing to qualify for use in biomedical applications, as they often contain many impurities and exhibit poor dispersibility in aqueous media. In this work, DNDs are modified to improve purity and impart a high colloidal stability to the particles. The dispersive and adsorption properties of modified DNDs are evaluated in terms of the suitability of DNDs as carriers for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in transdermal delivery. The study of adsorption on strongly positively and strongly negatively charged DNDs showed their high loading capacity for NSAIDs, and a pronounced relationship between the drugs and the particles’ charges. Experiments on long-term desorption carried out with DND/NSAID complexes indicate that the nanoparticles exert a sustained effect on the drug release process.
The improvement of dispersion stability for the primary polishing slurry in a CMP process is achieved to prevent defects produced by agglomeration of the slurry. The dispersion properties are analyzed according to the physical characteristics of each silica sol sample. Further, the difference in the dispersion stability is confirmed as the surfactant content. The dispersibility results measured by Zeta potential suggest that the dispersion properties depend on the content and size of the abrasive in the primary polishing slurry. Moreover, the optimum ratio for high dispersion stability is confirmed as the addition content of the surfactant. Based on the aforementioned results, the long-term stability of each slurry is analyzed. Turbiscan analysis demonstrates that the agglomeration occurs depending on the increasing amount of surfactant. As a result, we demonstrate that the increased particle size and the decreased content of silica improve the dispersion stability and long-term stability.
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In the present study, we investigate the effects of milling time and the addition of a process control agent (PCA) on the austenite stability of a nanocrystalline Fe-7%Mn alloy by XRD analysis and micrograph observation. Nanocrystalline Fe-7%Mn alloys samples are successfully fabricated by spark plasma sintering. The crystallite size of ball-milled powder and the volume fraction of austenite in the sintered sample are calculated using XRD analysis. Changes in the shape and structure of alloyed powder according to milling conditions are observed through FE-SEM. It is found that the crystallite size is reduced with increasing milling time and amount of PCA addition due to the variation in the balance between the cold-welding and fracturing processes. As a result, the austenite stability increased, resulting in an exceptionally high volume fraction of austenite retained at room temperature.
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Solder paste is widely used as a conductive adhesive in the electronics industry. In this paper, nano and microsized mixed lead-free solder powder (Sn-Ag-Cu) is used to manufacture solder paste. The purpose of this paper is to improve the storage stability using different types of solvents that are used in fabricating the solder paste. If a solvent of sole acetate is used, the nano sized solder powder and organic acid react and form a Sn-Ag-Cu malonate. These formed malonates create fatty acid soaps. The fatty acid soaps absorb the solvents and while the viscosity of the solder paste rises, the storage stability and reliability decrease. When ethylene glycol, a dihydric alcohol, is used the fatty acid soaps and ethylene glycol react, preventing the further creation of the fatty acid soaps. The prevention of gelation results in an improvement in the solder paste storage ability.
We have investigated the washing method of as-synthesized CdSe/ZnS core/shell structure quantum dots (QDs) and the effective surface passivation method of the washed QDs using PMMA. The quantum yield (QY%) of assynthesized QDs decreases with time, from 79.3% to 21.1%, owing to surface reaction with residual organics. The decreased QY% is restored to the QY% of as-synthesized QDs by washing. However, the QY% of washed QDs also decreases with time, owing to the absence of surface passivation layer. On the other hand, the PMMA-treated QDs maintained a relatively higher QY% after washing than that of the washed QDs that were kept in toluene solution for 30 days. Formation of the PMMA coating layer on CdSe/ZnS QD surface is confirmed by HR-TEM and FT-IR. It is found that the PMMA surface coating, when combined with washing, is useful to be applied in the storage of QDs, owing to its long-term stability.
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This study reports a simple way of fabricating the porous Cu with unidirectional pore channels by freeze drying camphene slurry with Cu oxide coated Cu powders. The coated powders were prepared by calcination of ballmilled powder mixture of Cu and Cu-nitrate. Improved dispersion stability of camphene slurry could be achieved using the Cu oxide coated Cu powders instead of pure Cu powders. Pores in the frozen specimen at -25°C were generated by sublimation of the camphene during drying in air, and the green bodies were sintered at 750°C for 1 h in H2 atmosphere. XRD analysis revealed that the coated layer of Cu oxide was completely converted to Cu phase without any reaction phases by hydrogen heat treatment. The porous Cu specimen prepared from pure Cu powders showed partly large pores with unidirectional pore channels, but most of pores were randomly distributed. In contrast, large and aligned parallel pores to the camphene growth direction were clearly observed in the sample using Cu oxide coated Cu powders. Pore formation behavior depending on the initial powders was discussed based on the degree of powder rearrangement and dispersion stability in slurry.
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