ALBERT

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zhi-Hu Wang, Hong-Wei He, Guo-Sai Liu, Xu Yan, Xin Ning, Yun-Ze Long〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In conventional electrospinning (e-spinning) process, the curing mechanism can be attributed to the volatilization of solvent or the melt cooling of the jets, which were merely physical processes. To develop novel e-spinning curing mechanism, we propose a conjugate e-spinning one, in which the e-spinning precursors, solution A containing some active monomers, oxidant and solution B containing reductant, are loaded into two different syringes connected with opposite high voltage supplier, respectively. The opposite charged jets attract each other and then meet when flying from spinneret tip to collector. The redox reaction occurs when two jets meet and radicals are produced in situ which can initiate polymerization of active monomers. Then the conjugate jets solidify into fibers under reaction curing mechanism. The new method may give a new approach to produce composite functional fibers.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉Two solutions containing oxidant and reductant, respectively are electrospun into fibers via a conjugate electrospinning process under a reaction curing mechanism.〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19309954-ga1.jpg" width="271" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 253〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ji Soo Yu, Sung Hun Kim, Minh Tan Man, Hong Seok Lee〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉We have successfully demonstrated the colloidal hot-injection process to easily obtain the Mn-doped ZnSe quantum dots (QDs) with a size of about 4–5 nm, and 〈em〉d〈/em〉-spacing is 0.31 nm, corresponding to the (1 1 1) lattice plane of ZnSe. Experimental results show that UV–vis absorption and fluorescence spectra were recorded to elucidate the role of Mn〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 ions substituted into ZnSe, which resulted in the carrier transfer of luminescent sites by a small amount of Mn〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 dopant. The small size of the Mn-doped ZnSe QDs offers intriguing opportunities for their application in photonic, bioimaging, and spintronics devices.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19309905-ga1.jpg" width="298" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Mohamad Fahrul Radzi Hanifah, Juhana Jaafar, M.H.D. Othman, A.F. Ismail, M.A. Rahman, Norhaniza Yusof, Farhana Aziz〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Nanocluster-like Pt nanoparticles/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite catalyst (NC-PtNPs/RGO) was synthesized through a novel one-step process of chemical reduction-assisted hydrothermal reaction by using formic acid as reducing agent. The crystallinity, morphology and composition of the NC-PtNPs/RGO catalysts were extensively characterized. The as-prepared NC-PtNPs/RGO catalysts exhibited higher electro-catalytic activity towards methanol oxidation than carbon black (CB)/PtNPs catalyst and could be ascribed to the high dispersion of NC-Pt NPs with large electrochemical surface area, release more exposure of active sites by NC-PtNPs structure and synergy effect of RGO.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 253〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zhenhua Wang, Yi Liu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Σ3 boundaries improve the intergranular corrosion resistance of high nitrogen austenitic stainless steels. However, the regeneration of these boundaries is, unfortunately, accompanied by significant grain coarsening. 18Mn18Cr0.5N and 18Mn18Cr0.6N steels were thermo-mechanically processed and the corresponding microstructures were evaluated. Formation mechanisms were proposed for Σ1 boundaries in different R-Σ3-Σ1-type junctions. These boundaries formed during grain growth accompanying Σ3 formation and reaction. After 30% cold tension and cyclic heating between 500 °C and 1100 °C, numerous Σ1 boundaries were formed and disrupted the high angle grain boundary network efficiently. Moreover, a small grain size was maintained. Σ1 boundaries have significant application potential in grain boundary engineering.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Rui Wang, Dongdong Gu, Lixia Xi, Kaijie Lin, Meng Guo, Hongmei Zhang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Selective laser melting (SLM), as a rapidly developed layer-by-layer 3D printing technology, has been demonstrated that it can be used for additive manufacturing of multi-materials. In this work, TiB〈sub〉2〈/sub〉/Ti6Al4V multi-materials were manufactured by SLM. The results showed that interfacial microstructures consisting of un-melted TiB〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 powders, columnar TiB crystals, and acicular TiB crystals were formed in the molten pool. Meanwhile, a variation nanohardness was developed with chemical compositions at the interfacial regions, owing to an in-situ reaction of Ti and TiB〈sub〉2〈/sub〉. The first-principle calculations were used to reveal the axial growth of TiB crystals as well as the different hardness of this system.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19310006-ga1.jpg" width="346" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 253〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Siyao Xie, Ruidi Li, Linjun Tang, Tiechui Yuan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The diffusion behavior of Al in FeCoCrNiMo〈sub〉x〈/sub〉 high-entropy alloys (HEAs) at temperatures ranging from 773 to 873 K with and without pulse current was studied in this paper. The diffusion coefficients 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si2.svg"〉〈mi〉D〈/mi〉〈/math〉 was determined based on the Fick’s law and corresponding pre-exponential factor 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si3.svg"〉〈msub〉〈mi〉D〈/mi〉〈mn〉0〈/mn〉〈/msub〉〈/math〉, as well as activation energy 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si4.svg"〉〈msub〉〈mi〉Q〈/mi〉〈mi〉D〈/mi〉〈/msub〉〈/math〉. It was found that the 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si2.svg"〉〈mi〉D〈/mi〉〈/math〉 under pulse current dramatically increased about hundreds of times in contrast with that without current. In addition, the 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si3.svg"〉〈msub〉〈mi〉D〈/mi〉〈mn〉0〈/mn〉〈/msub〉〈/math〉 and 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si4.svg"〉〈msub〉〈mi〉Q〈/mi〉〈mi〉D〈/mi〉〈/msub〉〈/math〉 were determined to reduce from 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si5.svg"〉〈mrow〉〈msubsup〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉1.369〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mo〉-〈/mo〉〈mn〉0.324〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mo〉+〈/mo〉〈mn〉0.424〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈/msubsup〉〈mo〉×〈/mo〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉10〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mo〉-〈/mo〉〈mn〉13〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉 to 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si17.svg"〉〈mrow〉〈msubsup〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉5.016〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mo〉-〈/mo〉〈mn〉1.984〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mo〉+〈/mo〉〈mn〉3.284〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈/msubsup〉〈mo〉×〈/mo〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉10〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mo〉-〈/mo〉〈mn〉15〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉 m〈sup〉2〈/sup〉/s, and from 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si6.svg"〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉39.7〈/mn〉〈mo〉±〈/mo〉〈mn〉1.8〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉 to 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si18.svg"〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉21.6〈/mn〉〈mo〉±〈/mo〉〈mn〉3.4〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉 kJ/mol respectively with the Mo contents increasing from Mo〈sub〉0〈/sub〉 to Mo〈sub〉0.2〈/sub〉 without pulse current. The introduction of pulse current into the diffusion couples dramatically promoted the 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si3.svg"〉〈msub〉〈mi〉D〈/mi〉〈mn〉0〈/mn〉〈/msub〉〈/math〉 at all the diffusion couples. However, the pulse current was ascertained to obviously increase the 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si4.svg"〉〈msub〉〈mi〉Q〈/mi〉〈mi〉D〈/mi〉〈/msub〉〈/math〉 in contrast to that of diffusion couples without pulse current.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19309899-ga1.jpg" width="271" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): C.Q. Zhang, W. Liu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The Al〈sub〉3〈/sub〉Ti intermetallic compound (IMC) layer growth kinetics at Al-Ti interface was investigated. Surprisingly an abnormal effect of temperature was observed with a thicker IMC layer formed at lower annealing temperature due to the much faster Al〈sub〉3〈/sub〉Ti grain coarsening at a higher temperature, the IMC layer growth at 630 °C became slower than that at 600 °C after a certain annealing time. The quantitative influence of grain size on effective diffusion coefficient was analysed. Calculations showed that the lattice diffusion makes little contribution to the effective diffusion coefficient. Grain boundary diffusion, therefore, dominates for all the annealing conditions studied.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 253〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Camila Machado de Oliveira, Thuani Gesser Müller, Rafael Alves André, Elen Machado de Oliveira, Elis Machado de Oliveira, Michael Peterson, Fabiano Raupp-Pereira〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Pyrite is part of the tailings from coal mining and presents a great valorization potential technological, economic and environmental in the production of nanoparticles. In this work, pyrite from coal mining was subjected to high-energy milling and the particle size reduction, electrical and optical properties were evaluated. With the milling parameters used, the apparent size of the crystallites was reduced from 34.7 nm to 23.8 nm, resulting in highly unstable particles and charge carriers with low mobility. Due to this instability, submicron particles were observed, in the range of 300–500 nm, with a hydrodynamic diameter of 1257 ± 36 nm. The processed pyrite showed good visible light absorption and an indirect band gap of 1.51 eV.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 253〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zunyu Ke, Changbo Yi, Lei Zhang, ZhengYuan He, Jun Tan, YeHua Jiang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The Ti-13Nb-13Zr-10Cu alloy as new biomedical material was prepared by Ar-arc melting. The microstructure characteristics, mechanical properties and antibacterial properties of Ti-13Nb-13Zr-10Cu alloy after heat treatment were studied. Results show that the Ti-13Nb-13Zr-10Cu alloy is mainly composed of 〈em〉β〈/em〉-Ti, 〈em〉α〈/em〉-Ti, and some Cu-containing phases, 〈em〉e.g.〈/em〉 CuZr, Ti〈sub〉2〈/sub〉Cu, and Cu〈sub〉10〈/sub〉Zr〈sub〉7〈/sub〉. With the addition of Cu, the 〈em〉α〈/em〉-Ti phase significantly decreased, and some Cu-containing phases appeared in the form of reticular structure, which was mainly consisted of Cu, Zr and Ti elements. The CuZr and Ti〈sub〉2〈/sub〉Cu phases in the reticular structure were identified by TEM. Compared with CP-Ti and Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy, the elastic modulus of Ti-13Nb-13Zr-10Cu alloy was significantly reduced to 66 GPa, but its yield strength and compressive strength still retained at high levels. The Ti-13Nb-13Zr-10Cu alloy after 24 h of culture with 〈em〉S. aureus〈/em〉 exhibits an enhanced antibacterial activity.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 253〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Liman Zhao, Zechuan Yang, Yanchun Li, Tongfei Shi, Danfeng Pei, Fan Li〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Biomimetic glycopolymers poly(dopamine methacrylamide-〈em〉co〈/em〉-lactobionamidoethyl methacrylate) (PDMA〈em〉-co-〈/em〉PLAMA) based ligand was synthesized, used to effectively reduce the gold ions and anchored on the surface of gold nanoparticles to prepare the glycopolymers modified gold nanoparticles (Gly@AuNPs). The Gly@AuNPs were prepared and stabilized in one step, which did not require classical thiol-containing polymer to stabilize AuNPs. The Gly@AuNPs were found to be highly stable at high salt concentrations (500 mM NaCl) and different pH conditions over a long time. These stable Gly@AuNPs could provide useful information in applications of targeted cancer imaging and photothermal therapy.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X1930970X-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 253〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yuhua Chen, Huaibo Deng, Hao Liu, Timing Zhang, Shuhan Li, Shanlin Wang, Chao Chen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study used an unconventional friction melt-bonded spot welding (FMSW) to improve the mechanical performance of dissimilar Ti/Al joints. The temperature, microstructure, and mechanical properties were investigated. Results showed that FMSW was a suitable method to form nanoscale Al〈sub〉3〈/sub〉Ti at Ti/Al interface. The maximum tensile shear load of joints reached 18.2 kN.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 253〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ting Zhang, Qing Fan, Xiaoli Ma, Wen Wang, Kuaishe Wang, Pingquan Shen, Junlin Yang, Liqiang Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The strengthening effect of laser remelting on Ti-35Nb-2Ta-3Zr alloy was studied in this study. The surface of the material changed from an equiaxed crystal to a needle-like structure after laser remelting. Dislocations and ω phases were observed during the process, and the orientation relationship between ω phase and β matrix was identified as [11 0]β//〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si1.svg"〉〈mrow〉〈mo stretchy="false"〉[〈/mo〉〈mn〉11〈/mn〉〈mover〉〈mn〉2〈/mn〉〈mo〉-〈/mo〉〈/mover〉〈mn〉0〈/mn〉〈mo stretchy="false"〉]〈/mo〉〈mi mathvariant="normal"〉ω〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉. The microhardness of the laser-remelted alloy increased significantly.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hang Yin, Dafeng Hu, Xuemin Geng, Hu Liu, Yanfen Wan, Zhanhu Guo, Peng Yang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉We demonstrate heterogeneous integration of 2D self-assembled films of Au nanoparticles (NPs) and 2D MoS〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 monolayer. The Au NPs film has a compact, long-range-ordered structure, with its particles exhibiting a narrow size distribution. In addition, large-area coverage was achieved between the two components. Photoluminescence (PL) quenching was observed after the attachment of Au NPs film onto MoS〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 monolayer, which was attributed to electron transfer and shielding of light by Au NPs film. This work broadens our understanding of PL properties in such 2D hybrids.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Haijuan Zhan, Na Zhang, Dan Wu, Zhiqiang Wu, Shuxian Bi, Baojun Ma, Wanyi Liu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉β-SiC was synthesized with coal and sodium silicate as the raw materials via a novel microwave sintering method. The uniform heating and short production cycle makes the microwave sintering process more energy efficient. The structure and property of the prepared samples were characterized using XRD, FT-IR, XPS, TEM and HRTEM techniques. The size of nano-scaled β-SiC range from 70 to 300 nm in diameter and can be achieved 75.7% in the silicon carbide products under the condition of 1600 °C × 60 min with microwave controlling.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Tao Tao, Guangyao Li, Yanli He, Pengzheng Duan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Carbon nanotubes/graphene/nickel (CNT-G-Ni) fluffy spheres were synthesized using renewable carbon sources. Carbon-encapsulated nickel nanoparticles (CENNs) were prepared by hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of potato starch and nickel nitrate, and then followed by catalytic graphitization at 900 °C. The prepared GENNs were cracked at 700 °C in biogas, during which graphene shells over GENNs were peeled off and formed graphene nanoplatelets, and simultaneously multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were formed over nickel particles and in-situ integrated into graphene nanoplatelets to obtain CNT-G-Ni fluffy spheres. The prepared 3D nanocomposite was investigated for the removal of organic solvent from water and its adsorption capacity above 110 g/g.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Fuxiang Wei, Wei Liu, Xuping Zhang, Xin Liu, Yanwei Sui, Jiqiu Qi〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study, due to the large cavity structure of the metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), Au@ZIF-67 was synthesized by loading nanoscale Au nanoparticles (NPs) into Co based zeolite imidazole framework (ZIF-67). Subsequently, Au@ZIF-67 was calcined to produce Au NPs loading Co〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 hollow nanocages (Au@Co〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉). The small size Au NPs were distributed on the wall of Co〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 hollow nanocages. The final product in a polyhedral morphology formed hollow nanocages. The unique structure could provide a high specific surface area. As an electrode material of supercapacitors, the Au@Co〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 electrode with polyhedral morphology showed a specific capacity of 763 F·g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at a current density of 1 A g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 in 2.0 M KOH electrolyte. In addition, the specific capacitance retention rate was 83.7% at a current density of 10 A g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 after 5000 cycles. These results indicate that Au@Co〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 electrodes with polyhedral morphology have very wide application prospects in supercapacitors.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Baoe Li, Zhenghao Sun, Yan Zhao, Zisheng Zhang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Lithium-sulfur batteries were considered as a new generation of high energy density batteries, but their commercialization was limited by volume expansion, the low conductivity of sulfur and shuttle effect. To overcome these issues, we developed a three-dimensional carbon nanotube/Fe〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 microspheres via spray drying and calcination as sulfur host materials (S/CNT/Fe〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉). In this three-dimensional microsphere structure, interwoven CNT backbone offers a robust conductive network with sufficient space for loading sulfur, and the polar Fe〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 nanoparticles can enhance chemical adsorption of polysulfide. Benefiting from these advantages, the S/CNT/Fe〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 cathode exhibit high initial discharge capacity (1270 mAh g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at 0.2 C), superior rate performance (602 mAh g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at 3 C), and long cyclic stability (only 0.084% capacity decay per cycle for 300 cycles at 1 C).〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Quande Che, Yujie He, Qian Ma, Junpeng Wang, Gang Wang, Yuanna Zhu, Ruixia Shi, Ping Yang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper reports a nanoflakes-assembled 3D flower-like nickel hydroxidenitrate (NiNH) and its application in water oxidation. It is demonstrated for the first time that the NiNH is an efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalyst in alkaline solution. Specifically, it can drive a current density of 10 mA cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉 at a fairly low overpotential of 280 mV and a correspondent small Tafel slope of 39.6 mV dec〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. The impressive OER catalytic activity of the as-prepared NiNH can be ascribed to its favorable 3D hierachical microstructure. The present research not only provide us a prospective and cost-effective electrocatalyst for water splitting but also affords us an inspiration for designing effective transition-metal based electocatalysts through microstructure regulation.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jia Zhou, Qingan Zhang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this work, the hydrogen absorption and desorption properties of a melt-spun Mg〈sub〉86〈/sub〉Pr〈sub〉3〈/sub〉Al〈sub〉11〈/sub〉 alloy were studied using a Sieverts-type apparatus. It was found that the melt-spun Mg〈sub〉86〈/sub〉Pr〈sub〉3〈/sub〉Al〈sub〉11〈/sub〉 alloy exhibits an enhanced cycle durability of hydrogen absorption and desorption. After fifty hydrogen absorption and desorption cycles at 300 °C, the capacity retention rate is about 97% and the hydrogen sorption kinetics undertakes only a slight degradation, which is related to the existence of PrAl〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 and Pr〈sub〉3〈/sub〉Al〈sub〉11〈/sub〉 phases in the melt-spun Mg〈sub〉86〈/sub〉Pr〈sub〉3〈/sub〉Al〈sub〉11〈/sub〉 alloy.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Meihua Fang, Jinpeng Lv〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Passive thermal control coatings (TCCS) have been widely used to tune the thermal equilibrium of spacecraft. However, the performance of such coatings undergoes serious degradation due to the intensive UV absorption and the radiation damage of the pigments. We developed a Zn〈sub〉2〈/sub〉SiO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 pigment with a solar absorptance (α〈sub〉s〈/sub〉) as low as 0.078, which shows a distinctly high reflectance in the whole solar-radiation spectrum, especially in the high energy UV wavebands. Furthermore, after performing proton irradiation, the α〈sub〉s〈/sub〉 of ZnO, ZnTiO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 pigments increase from 0.153 and 0.101 to 0.277 and 0.521, respectively, while Zn〈sub〉2〈/sub〉SiO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 rises to 0.212, which exhibits remarkable radiation resistance. We evidenced that Zn〈sub〉2〈/sub〉SiO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 pigments will not only significantly boost the performance of thermal control coatings but also be beneficial for UV shielding applications.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉The as-developed Zn〈sub〉2〈/sub〉SiO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 pigments show ∼95% reflectivity in solar UV wavebands. The α〈sub〉s〈/sub〉 of ZnSi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 only degrades to 0.212 after performing proton irradiation with a 10-year GEO dose.〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X1931153X-ga1.jpg" width="272" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ye Tian, Xiangchao Pang, Bin Tang, Xing Cheng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Nanoimprint, an important nanofabrication technology, is widely adopted to produce the microstructure. In this study, nanoindentation was employed to quantitatively characterize the elastic modulus of nanoimprinted poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) under different conditions, with the purpose to investigate the mechanical property of the nanoimprinted microstructure suffered the ultra-high local stress and temperature. It is indicated that the elastic modulus of samples increases with the increasing the residual stress and the nanoimprint temperature. Moreover, the optical birefringence method was performed to investigate the distribution of residual stress on the microstructure. It was shown that high elastic modulus region also exhibited high residual stress. Therefore, we suggested that the temperature during the embossing process should be rigorously considered in nanoimprint process to obtain a mechanical homogeneity of imprinted structures.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hairui Huang, Zhijie Zhang, Shaoke Guo, Kun Cheng, Jiayue Xu, Na Zhang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉) photocatalyst has a promising application prospect in solving environment problems and energy crisis. In order to improve the photocatalytic activity of g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉, a novel TCNAQ/g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 organic hybrid photocatalyst was designed by introducing 11,11,12,12-tetracyanonaphtho-1,4-quinodimethane (TCNAQ) as an electron acceptor. Due to the interfacial charge-transfer transitions between g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 donor and TCNAQ acceptor, separation and migration of photo-induced charge carriers were promoted, while their recombination was prohibited, which led to enhanced photocatalytic performance in pollutant degradation. This work provides a strategy to produce efficient hybrid photocatalysts with high light-to-current conversions due to the interfacial charge-transfer transitions, which have potential applications in light-to-energy conversions.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hangshuai Jin, Liwei Zhang, Yongxiu Song, Lei Liu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The modulation of peptide based nanostructure and the mechanical property is of significance in various areas, such as in biomaterial science, tissue engineering, etc. However, how to regulate the peptide based nanostructure from 1D to 2D and the mechanical property is rarely to explore. Herein, we constructed amphiphilic-like peptide (KFAK) to form nanostructure from 1D fibril to 2D sheet, and the nanomechanical properties changed during the modulation. The peptide based fibril was much stiffer than the peptide based nanosheet.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Weiteng Kong, Ke Zhao, Chunxia Gao, Peizhi Zhu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Layered carbonated hydroxyapatite (LCHA) was prepared by hydrothermal method under high concentration of carbonate ions. The crystallinity and chemical structure of synthesized LCHA with novel layer by layer structure was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The biocompatibility and bioactivity of synthesized LCHA were determined by CCK-8 and Live/Dead staining assay. The experimental results show that synthesized LCHA with layer by layer structure has good biocompatibility and can promote cell growth.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jun Liao, Keding Li, Yong Zhang, Lin Zhang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The pure praseodymium oxide aerogel with ultra-low density (about 10.7 mg/cm〈sup〉3〈/sup〉) was prepared by using solution-freeze-drying-calcination method for the first time. The results of BET, SEM and TEM indicated that the pure praseodymium oxide aerogel belonged to the mesoporous material, which showed a typical three-dimensional porous structure. The results of TG/DSC showed that the praseodymium oxide aerogel could decrease the ammonium perchlorate decomposition temperature by 54.7 °C and enhance the heat production from 121.3 J/g to 838.5 J/g. The maximum adsorption amounts of praseodymium oxide aerogel reached 251.1 mg/g for uranium. This method provides a new strategy for preparation of low density metal oxide aerogels.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19310948-ga1.jpg" width="239" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Juyun Kim, Byoungnam Park〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉We, for the first time, report fabrication of additive-free black phosphorous (BP) Li-ion battery without conductive agents and binders in which BP nanoflakes in solution are deposited using electrophoretic deposition (EPD). Addition of NaOH in pure 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) solution containing BP nanoflakes facilitates the formation of smaller BP nanoflakes from bulk crystals allowing for the use as a battery anode. A remarkable increase in the initial discharging capacity from 91 to 954 mAh/g through simple treatments including the addition of NaOH followed by thermal annealing results from initiation of the multistep reactions associated with the formation of LiP, Li〈sub〉2〈/sub〉P, and Li〈sub〉3〈/sub〉P.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Mostafa M. Sayed, Hamouda M. Mousa, M.R. El-Aassar, Nehal M. El-Deeb, Nouby M Ghazaly, Montasser M. Dewidar, Abdalla Abdal-hay〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A biodegradable polyvinyl alcohol/silk fibroin (PVA/SF) nanofibrous heart patch with unique tensile properties was fabricated by an electrospinning technique based on a water-solvent system. The fabricated heart patches were exposed to 2% Glutaraldehyde vapor to provide a cross-linkage and tune the degradation behavior. Numerous characterizations of the modified PVA/SF patches such as surface morphology, chemical bonding, mechanical behavior, biodegradation, and biological assessment of the crosslinked PVA/SF patches were performed. It was found that pronounced and interconnected PVA/SF composite fibrous patches had an average nanofiber diameter of 228 ± 49 nm. In addition, incorporation of SF into PVA nanofibers enhanced the mechanical properties (i.e. tensile strength and tensile modulus) and tuning the degradation rate of the PVA/SF patch. Human cardiac fibroblast cells (HCFC) were cultured on the cross-linked composite patches and the results showed good cell proliferation and attachment on the patches bio-interface.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19311255-ga1.jpg" width="406" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Violetta Andreyachshenko〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The evolution of the aluminum alloy of the A3xx Al-Si-Mn-Fe series in the equal-channel angular pressing with back pressure with the strain of 0.75 per cycle has been carried out. After preliminary annealing dispersed inclusions of three types have been observed in the alloy: rod-like particles, planar-shaped rounded forms, and silicon particles. Two parallel grain refining schemes have been detected that ensure grinding the grains to the size of about 1 μm and smaller than 150 nm after the 1.5 degree of deformation. Three cycles of deformation lead to the appearance of small cracks in the sample, the destruction of the sample occurs at the total strain of 3.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19311140-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sunjay Murali, Sreejith P. Madhusudanan, Amit K. Pathak, P.M. Jayasankar, Sudip K. Batabyal〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Organometallic halide perovskite as Methyl Ammonium Lead iodide (MAPbI〈sub〉3〈/sub〉) is the basis of current focus of solar energy materials research. Here we report acetophenone assisted pure phase MAPbI〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 powder crystals synthesis for fabrication of inexpensive self-powered photodetector. The as fabricated photodetector ascertain, response time of 200 ms with detectivity ∼8.2 × 10〈sup〉11〈/sup〉 jones at zero bias voltage and the SNR ∼4 × 10〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 under white light illumination intensity (19 mW/cm〈sup〉2〈/sup〉). Wt% variation of MAPbI〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 reveals that 20 wt% of the perovskite crystals in carbon matrix is better candidate for a compatible photodetector.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): YiDi Gao, JianPing Zhou, Yan Zhang, DaQian Sun, HongMei Li〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this work, TA2/Q235 was used as an composite interlayer to prevent the formation of these brittle Ti-Fe intermetallics when joining TC4 Ti alloy to 304 stainless steel (SS). The TA2/Q235 composite interlayer was prepared by explosive welding. The laser was focused on the TC4-TA2 interface, which joined the TC4 and TA2 by fusion welding. At TC4-TA2 interface, a weld zone was formed due to the mixing of molten TC4 and TA2. The laser was focused on the Q235-304 SS interface, a weld zone was formed due to the mixing of molten Q235 and 304 SS. Composite interlayer TA2/Q235 was used to prevent the formation of Ti-Fe intermetallics during welding and improve microstructure and properties of the Ti alloy-SS joint. The joint fractured at the TA2/Q235 explosive welding interface with the maximum tensile strength of 548 MPa.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jing Li, Jianzhong Zhou, Aixin Feng, Xuliang Tian, Yu Huang, Shu Huang, Xiankai Meng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study, the effects of cryogenic laser peening (CLP) on mechanical properties and damping capacity of pure titanium (Ti) were explored. The experimental results showed that CLP improved the tensile properties and in-depth microhardness of pure Ti, while the compressive residual stress was introduced in the surface layer. Meanwhile, the damping ratio was also increased after CLP process. The synergistic strengthening effect of CLP could effectively accelerate the formation of deformation twin, which contributed to the simultaneous improvement in mechanical properties and damping capacity of pure Ti.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Junming Luo, Yuhai Chen, Linwei Zhang, Deping Lu, Jilin Xu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The modified layers were prepared on the GR2 titanium by plasma-pulsed detonation technology (PPD) in the compressed air (Air), argon (Ar) and nitrogen (N2) atmospheres, respectively. We observed that the modified layer was composed of TiN, TiN〈sub〉0.3〈/sub〉, Ti〈sub〉x〈/sub〉O〈sub〉y〈/sub〉 and Ti phases. The second phase strengthening, the fine grain strengthening and the dislocations strengthening are the main reasons for the improvement of wear resistance. Compared with the substrate, all modified layers have lower friction coefficient and better wear resistance. The wear volumes of three kinds of modified layers decrease by about 97%, 72% and 95%, respectively.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19311334-ga1.jpg" width="364" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): R. Senthil Kumar, T. Sarathi, K.K. Venkataraman, Amitava Bhattacharyya〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study, for the first time we report the combined impact of electrospinning, carbon nanofiber (CNF) addition and electrical poling in the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymer on its beta phase transition and enhancement of piezoelectric effect. CNF (0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75% and 1% (w/w)) dispersed PVDF electrospun nanofibers were characterized for their morphology, functional group and electrical properties using SEM, FTIR, Raman, XRD and impedance analyzer. The developed nanofibers showed promising results in beta phase transition and 0.5% (w/w) CNF filled PVDF nanofibers were found to possess high beta phase crystals compared to other studied samples. After 30 V/μm electrical polling at 30 °C for 6 h, piezoelectric property of 0.5% (w/w) CNF based nanocomposite nanofiber showed highest open circuit voltage and short circuit current (5.8 ± 0.17 V and 1.2 ± 0.1 µA, respectively, at 35 µm compression). In future, these matrices can be used for development of affordable and nontoxic energy converters in biomedical wearable sensors.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19311309-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): J. Wang, J. Zheng, S.T. Wang, J. Sun, Y.M. Guo, H. Wang, S.G. Huang, Y.D. Li, C.C. Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Organic dye contaminants are becoming a worldwide challenge for water resources due to their non-natural degradation, highly toxic and carcinogenic. In this work, the molecular ferroelectric material (MV)[BiI〈sub〉3〈/sub〉Cl〈sub〉2〈/sub〉] synthesized by the solvothermal method was first applied to the adsorption of organic dye contaminants. Interestingly, the adsorption capacity of the (MV)[BiI〈sub〉3〈/sub〉Cl〈sub〉2〈/sub〉] powder was found to reach a high value of 793 and 10,476 mg g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 for fluorescein sodium and Congo red, respectively. The adsorption process can be well described by the Langmuir model. It was argued that the electrostatic attraction, hydrogen bonding and π-π interaction might play a major role in the adsorption process.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jingxuan Wang, Qu Zhou, Zhaorui Lu, Zhijie Wei, Wen Zeng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Herein, we successfully prepared the Nickel oxide (NiO) nanomaterials with the structure of two-dimensional (2D) honeycomb-like nanoplates assembled by nanosheet arrays through the hydrothermal synthesis. In addition, the growth mechanism of this unusual nanostructure was proposed. Surprisingly, such NiO nanoplates exhibits superior gas-sensing properties to CO, which is mainly attributed to the hollow structure produced by the arrangement of nanosheets, contributing not only enough gases diffusion pathways but sufficient reaction sites during the gas sensing processes.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉The two-dimensional (2D) honeycomb-like nanoplates assembled by nanosheet arrays were synthesized using one-step hydrothermal method and the growth mechanism of this nanostructure was proposed. The sensor based on as-prepared NiO exhibits superior gas-sensing properties to CO. The results verified that the hollow structure of 2D nanoplates could enhance the gas sensing performance by providing sufficient gas diffusion pathways and reaction sites in the gas-sensitive process.〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19311383-ga1.jpg" width="302" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): S.F. Chen, H.W. Song, S.H. Zhang, M. Cheng, M.G. Lee〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A novel severe plastic deformation process (SPD), namely an equal channel angular bending (ECAB), was proposed and successfully applied to thin Mg-3Al-1Zn sheets. Results of microstructure characterization indicate that simultaneous activation of multiple types of twins can be introduced by ECAB, which can refine the grain and efficiently weaken the basal texture. Moreover, the dominant twin types in ECAB are found to be closely related to the imposed deformation paths of ECAB, and profuse extension twinning can be activated under cross shear deformation. After appropriate annealing, the tensile ductility under cross shear deformation is improved with a relative increase of 60.5% to original sheets.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19311292-ga1.jpg" width="343" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Vini Singh〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Array based strategies on disposable screen printed electrodes (SPE) for detecting disease-specific biomarkers with high specificity and sensitivity are being explored as potential clinical diagnostic tools. Herein, we report the design of an electrochemical array with quantum dot (QD) decorated multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) framework to perform the direct detection of multiple picomolar concentrations of insulin, an important biomarker for diagnosing diabetes, in physiological buffer.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Feng Mei Bai, Xin Ye, Hong Yan Zhang, Hong Wei Zhou, Meng Song, Ya Xin Sun, Yi Zhu He〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this work, a nanotwinned structure of a two-phase titanium (TC21) alloy was prepared via the martensitic phase transformation method. The TC21 alloy forms initially a single phase β when the temperature reaches 1050 °C. Then, it transitions into an orthorhombic martensite (α″) material when quenched in water. After tempering at 500 °C, the martensite transforms into a high-density nanotwinned α phase material. The hardness of the nanotwinned alloy is 25% higher than that of the TC21 raw material.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X1931122X-ga1.jpg" width="421" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xiaofeng Liao, Hongqiang Li, Xuejun Lai, Wanjuan Chen, Xingrong Zeng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Superhydrophobic materials with special functions such as electrical conductivity, magnetism and self-repairing have attracted considerable attention. Herein, a superhydrophobic conductive polydimethylsiloxane@silver nanowires (PDMS@AgNWs) cotton fabric was fabricated via a simple dipping-thermal curing method. Owing to the combination of rough structure constructed by AgNWs and the covered low-surface-energy PDMS, the as-fabricated cotton fabric exhibited superhydrophobicity with a high water contact angle (WCA) of 156°, and the separation efficiency for oil-water mixture reached 95.6%. Importantly, taking advantage of the excellent conductivity and electrothermal conversion performance, the functional cotton fabric was successfully applied in the fields of quick deicing under low temperature and piezoresistive sensing for human motion. Our findings stand out as a new tool to prepare functional superhydrophobic materials with electrical conductivity and electrothermal effect for various potential applications.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19311267-ga1.jpg" width="368" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): S. Huang, B.B. Wu, Z.Q. Wang, Y.S. Yu, C.S. Wang, L. Yan, X.C. Li, C.J. Shang, R.D.K. Misra〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Two high strength low alloy steels with different carbon content were studied to elucidate the effect of carbon content on hardenability in terms of crystallography. The hardness reduction from 2 to 50 mm distance from the surface in end-quenched steels of 0.09C and 0.12C was 8.0 and 3.2 HRC, respectively, which implied higher hardenability of 0.12C steel than 0.09C. At low cooling rate, the microstructure of 0.09C and 0.12C steel was granular and lath bainite, respectively, and the density of high angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) of 0.12C steel was significantly greater than 0.09C. Carbon improved the hardenability by optimizing the variant selection to increase the density of high angle grain boundary (HAGB).〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): S.M. Naga, H.F. El-Maghraby, M. Awaad, F. Kern, R. Gadow, A.M. Hassan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The present study aims to prepare cerium hexaaluminate (CeAl〈sub〉11〈/sub〉O〈sub〉18〈/sub〉) via a sol-gel technique and to study the effect of the phase composition and microstructure on its mechanical properties. The samples were hot pressed at 1550 °C under a pressure of 40 MPa for 2 h. The apparent porosity and the relative density of the sintered samples were evaluated as well as their phase composition and microstructure. The results indicated that the only phase present in the densified bodies was the pure CeAl〈sub〉11〈/sub〉O〈sub〉18〈/sub〉 phase. The microstructure investigations indicated the presence of both cerium hexaaluminate and cerium monoaluminate (CeAlO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉) remnants. Both the Vickers hardness and bending strength of the sintered bodies were lower than those of pure alumina; however, the fracture toughness of the sintered bodies was high.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Rhushikesh Godbole, Sadia Ameen, Umesh T. Nakate, M. Shaheer Akhtar, Hyung-Shik Shin〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A quick and efficient approach was employed for the growth of nanocrystalline tungsten oxide (WO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉) thin films using one-step hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) method at low temperature. In a typical experiment, the parent material tungsten (W) was subjected to oxidation, gasification and its subsequent condensation to obtain the uniform deposition of WO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 thin film on silicon substrate at significantly low temperature of ∼200 °C. Prepared WO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 thin film possessed the cauliflower nanostructure (WCNs) with typical monoclinic WO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 crystal structure. Prepared WCNs thin films were applied for the detection of hydrogen (H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉) gas at 100 ppm. H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 response increased with rise in temperature and the maximum response of ∼87% was obtained at the optimized temperature of ∼250 °C with response time 180 s.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Meng Guan, Yuhua Wang, Yongxian Huang, Xin Liu, Xiangchen Meng, Yuming Xie, Junchen Li〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Weld thinning has been an inherent issue of friction stir welding, which is detrimental to the joint integrity and mechanical properties especially for thin structures. In this paper, a novel method named non-weld-thinning friction stir welding was proposed. The welding tool contained an inner shoulder and an outer shoulder, and it was adjustable to control the protrusion of inner shoulder relative to outer shoulder. The outer shoulder could accumulate and refill the overflowing materials to eliminate weld thinning. The ultimate tensile strength reached 91% of base metal, which indicated that non-weld-thinning friction stir welding had the feasible and potential to realize high quality joint without weld thinning.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Elena V. Bobruk, Zarema A. Safargalina, Oleg V. Golubev, Danil Baykov, Vil U. Kazykhanov〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study the ultrafine-grained aluminum alloy 6061 of the Al-Mg-Si system with a grain size of 350 nm and a regulated distribution of the secondary hardening phase Mg〈sub〉2〈/sub〉Si, processed by equal-channel angular pressing in parallel channels (ECAP-PC), was investigated. Under tensile stress at 160⋯250 °C, this ultrafine-grained structure gives rise to signs of superplastic behavior at lower temperature with a total elongation of 240%, the parameter of strain rate sensitivity (〈em〉m〈/em〉) equals to 0.31. The forming behavior of ultrafine-grained alloy 6061 at room temperature was studied by Eriksen test method, which is a simulation of cold sheet stamping.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Qinghua Yang, Limei Xu, Shiting Luo, Meifeng Chen, Xiaolang Wang, Lin Ma〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A one-pot hydrothermal followed by annealing route has been developed to prepare ZnS/C microspheres which are comprised of ZnS nanoparticles incorporated with 〈em〉in-situ〈/em〉 gluconate-derived carbon. The robust hybrid structure greatly enhances the stability and conductivity of composites. As a result, the great enhancement in electrochemical Li-storage of ZnS/C can be achieved due to the desirable structural features as well as capacitive contribution.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉SEM image and cycling performance of ZnS/C microspheres.〈/p〉 〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X1931081X-ga1.jpg" width="251" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Anas Lataifeh, Heinz-Bernhard Kraatz〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉We report a facile method to modify the surface of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by peptide dendrimers terminated with carboxylic acid (COOH) groups. This conjugate displays a tendency to self-assemble along the path of cationic poly-〈em〉L〈/em〉-lysine (PLL) supramolecule. The resulting “neckless” superstructure is confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM).〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19310808-ga1.jpg" width="266" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Quang Duc Truong, Thanh Son Le, Thu H. Hoa〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Crystalline ultrathin TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanowires with oriented configurations are promising for high-performance energy storage and conversion devices. In this work, we use hierarchical microspheres constructed from radially oriented single-crystalline TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanowires as electrode materials for reversible Mg-ion intercalation. The obtained mesoporous TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanowires deliver a capacity of 118 mA h g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at 20 mA/g current rate. The ultra small size of TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanocrystalline is beneficial for reaction kinetics, enhance the bulk intercalation of Mg ions, which remarkably increases storage capacity of TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉. The discharge capacity over 100 cycles remains 105.2 mA h g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, demonstrating the superiority of this material structure and its potential in magnesium ion batteries.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X1931095X-ga1.jpg" width="267" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Lu Qi, An Xie, Tianjiang Chen, Jie Han, Lei Yu, Ming Zhang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A novel emulsion polymerization-extraction method was developed to synthesize polyanilines (PANIs). Compared with reported works, this method could prepare the xylene solution of PANIs directly with significantly enhanced concentration (24.08–64.50 g/L in this work vs. 3.83 g/L in reference), facilitating the preparation of uniform PANIs/poly(styrene-ethylene-butadienestyrene) (SEBS) mixtures to make the PANIs/SEBS conductive films. The as-prepared PANIs/SEBS films possessed as good conductivities as the reference reports (4.9 × 10〈sup〉−5〈/sup〉–9.3 × 10〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉 S/cm in this work vs. 10〈sup〉−5〈/sup〉–10〈sup〉−4〈/sup〉 S/cm in reference), and might be widely applied as flexible conductive materials in fabrication of some critical components (e.g. wearable devices) in electronic industry.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19310985-ga1.jpg" width="433" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yu Wang, Fangyu Gan, Kanghua Chen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The use of rare metals as current collectors in aluminum-ion batteries is an urgent problem to be solved, so there are significant interests in the development of light-weight and high-efficiency materials as current collector. Herein, we report a polyvinyl-alcohol/graphene composite film as current collector in aluminum-ion batteries which synthesized by a simple solution method. The film containing 20 wt% graphene demonstrates high electrical conductivity up to 164S·cm〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 with ∼30 μm in thicknesses and 2.8 mg cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉 in areal density. According to the electrochemical measurements, a reversible capacity of 89 mAh g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 is obtained at a rate of 1C in aluminum-graphite battery.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19309528-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xuehua Zhang, Yongqing Zhao, Weidong Zeng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The hot deformation behavior of Ti-6Al-4V alloy was investigated by isothermal compression tests carried out in the 1083–1173 K temperature range and 0.01–10 s〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 strain rate regime. The effect of temperature and strain rate on the flow stress of this alloy was evaluated, and, the constitutive equation was obtained, which could well predict the flow stress. Furthermore, the microstructure evolution was investigated, it was also found that the elongated primary α and secondary α grains became equiaxed through suitable treatment, where the deformation mechanism was dynamic recrystallization.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Seyedeh Marjan Bararpour, Hamed Jamshidi Aval, Roohollah Jamaati〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The present study for the first time demonstrates that friction surfacing can be applied as a process of mechanical alloying. The Zn powder was added to the coating through insertion of the hole in the consumable AA5083 rod. Zn dissolution and production of a solid solution during friction surfacing confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The results showed a solid solution, which was formed during friction surfacing and decomposed due to artificial aging, resulting in the formation of AlMg〈sub〉4〈/sub〉Zn〈sub〉11〈/sub〉 precipitates. Moreover, abnormal grain growth was observed in the coating after solid solution and aging treatment.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19310997-ga1.jpg" width="296" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Peng Peng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The influence of radial convection on the microstructure development has been investigated in directionally solidified Sn-36at.%Ni peritectic alloys at a constant growth velocity with different sample diameters. Since the rejected Sn is denser than Ni, there existed no axial convection in directionally solidified Sn-36at.%Ni peritectic alloys, however, the radial convection still influenced the microstructures. It was demonstrated through the dendrite tip radius R that the diffusive growth condition could be obtained in this alloy when the sample diameter was reduced to 1 mm. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the radial convection could obviously promote the peritectic transformation process in Sn-Ni peritectic alloy.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xiaojing Xu, Qiang Mao, Ze Jiang, Tabie Vitus, Tianci Zhang, Weijie Jia, Chengyu Zhu, Hao Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The aluminum alloy extrusion materials were treated by multi-stage solution aging, and the microstructure and mechanical properties were characterized and tested. The results show that with the increase in solid solution temperature and time, the strength shows a trend of increasing first and then decreasing, and reaches a maximum value in G3. Under the conditions of 450 °C × 2 h + 460 °C × 2 h + 470 °C × 2 h in solid solution process and 121 °C × 5 h + 133 °C × 16 h in the aging process, the aluminum alloy has excellent comprehensive properties, with a strength of 828.0 MPa and elongation of 8.1%.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Nanthini Amirthalingam, Thenmuhil Deivarajan, Manohar Paramasivam〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Hydroxyapatite was prepared by mechano chemical method using dolomite as a calcium source for the first time, and the effect of temperature from 950 °C to 1250 °C was studied. The prepared powder was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis which confirmed formed of HAp by 950 °C and its decomposition to form other phases like β-TCP and monetite above 1050 °C. Thermal analysis by TGA, Morphology and composition analysis by SEM-EDX, loss on ignition and hardness were also measured.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Kai Xu, Xiaohong Chen, Honglei Zhou, Liming Bi, Shaoli Fu, Wei Li, Xinkuan Liu, Fengcang Ma, Ke Zhang, Ping Liu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉CNTs/Cu-Al〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 composite powders were successfully synthesized by 〈em〉in situ〈/em〉 CVD using Cu-Al〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 composite powders obtained by internal oxidation of Cu-Al alloy powders. The multi-walled CNTs are obtained without agglomeration and stand on the surface of the composite powders. One end of the CNTs is well bound to matrix. The Cu nanoparticle was the catalyst for the growth of CNTs on the composite powders and Al〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 on the surface of the Cu-Al〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 powder plays a key role in the growth process.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hisham Aboulfadl, Frank Mücklich〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The microstructure properties of reactive multilayers play a key role in their chemical reactions. Ru/Al multilayers are investigated in as-deposited and annealed conditions using atom probe tomography to probe the interdiffusion and early phase formation. Performing atom probe analysis was accompanied with difficulties stemming from weak adhesion of the bi-layers and reconstruction artifacts. Nonetheless, it was possible to obtain valuable qualitative information concerning diffusion kinetics. Asymmetric interdiffusion during deposition is found. Grain boundary diffusion is shown to have a major contribution on enhancing mass-transport across the layers as well as on the nucleation and growth of the RuAl〈sub〉6〈/sub〉 intermetallic phase.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Tian Chen, Fangzhou Lu, Kai Xiang, Yanni Wang, Liwen Deng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study, we prepared a host-guest (H-G) complex containing graphene (Gp) by utilizing the H-G supramolecular force of cyclodextrin (Cd) and azobenzene (Ab). Then we synthesized a conductive composite (CC) by using Gp-Cd-Ab H-G complex. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) of CC confirmed the presence of H-G supramolecular assemblies. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) showed CC had smaller bulk resistance. The tensile curves showed CC had larger Young’s modulus. CC had the properties of conductive and mechanical self-healing. CC also showed strain sensing performance. Thus the composite showed potential application in healable soft sensor.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 254〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yang Wang, Zhihao Rong, Xincun Tang, Shan Cao, Xi Chen, Wei Dang, Liping Wu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Leaching liquid of smelting dust was used as the As(∨) source. Common octahedral-shaped scorodite and large spindle-shaped scorodite were synthesized. Through the analysis, the high concentration H〈sup〉+〈/sup〉 can inhibit the forming and growth of (1 1 1) and (2 0 0) lattice planes. The particles aggregated together and assessed during the ageing process. The large high crystallinity spindle-shaped scorodite was formed at last. TCLP tests at pH 4.93 and leaching tests were carried out in alkaline solutions with pH of 9.30. Large spindle-shaped scorodite materials have better stability than the common octahedral-shaped scorodite.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ruiyu Han, Jing Ma, Chaoju Yang, Tong Cui, Wenjiao Liu, Shusong Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this work, nitrogen-doped carbon nanocages were prepared for uric acid detection, which exhibits three dimensional hollow nanostructures with large specific surface area of 565 m〈sup〉2〈/sup〉 g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 and unique heteroatomic property. The as-synthesized nitrogen-doped carbon nanocages show high selectivity and sensitivity for uric acid detection accompanied with excellent stability. The developed electrochemical analysis for facile determination of uric acid shown a wide linear range of 0–1.0 mM, with the detection limit of 2.07 × 10〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉 μM (S/N = 3). Moreover, this strategy was successfully used for uric acid detection in human serum and urine samples and demonstrated satisfied recoveries. The result in the present work suggests that nitrogen-doped carbon nanocages hold great potential to use as superior electrochemical sensors for uric acid determination.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): S.O. Rogachev, V.M. Khatkevich, S.A. Nikulin, M.V. Ignateva, A.A. Gromov〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A comparative analysis of the thermal stability of the steel/vanadium alloy hybrid material and its components (steel type AISI 439 and V–10Ti–5Cr alloy) obtained by high-pressure torsion (HPT) at 20 and 400 °C was carried out. It has been established that the steel/vanadium alloy hybrid obtained by HPT at 20 °C has a higher thermal stability up to a temperature of 700 °C compared to the hybrid obtained by HPT at 400 °C and with hybrid components (steel and vanadium alloy) after HPT at 20 and 400 °C, the thermal stability of which does not exceed 400–450 °C.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): HuJun Xu, ChaoHong He, LiangLiang Lin, Jie Shen, ShaoMing Shang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A conceptually new method based on plasma-electrochemical technique is demonstrated for the one-step synthesis of carbon supported Pt nanoparticles. Ethanol and chloroplatinic acid aqueous solution were used as the carbon and platinum sources, respectively, without involving any extra chemicals. Results showed that crystalline Pt nanoparticles as well as amorphous nanocarbons could be simultaneously generated to form Pt/C nanocomposites under the plasma impact, where the Pt content can be tuned by regulating the chloroplatinic acid concentration. Moreover, the formation mechanisms of the C and Pt/C nanocomposites in the studied system were discussed. The demonstrated simple, unique, one-pot and environmentally-benign process should bring interest in this emerging nanofabrication technique.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19311474-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xin Li, Jin Zhang, Wanling Shen, Shutao Xu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉MIL-53(Cr) is a well-known and important metal-organic framework material. However, the long synthesis time of MIL-53(Cr) restricts its applications. Herein, we report a facile method to kinetically modulate the crystallization route and decrease the synthesis time of 72 to only 8 h by simply increasing the usage of HF.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19311346-ga1.jpg" width="423" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Francisco W.A. Bezerra, Lillian M.U.D. Fechine, Karen P.S. Lopes, Anderson F. de Sousa, Gerlan O. do Nascimento, Hilmara H. de S. Amaral, Luzia K.A.M. Leal, Maria T.S. Trevisan, Maria E.N.P. Ribeiro, Nágila M.P.S. Ricardo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Mangiferin-loaded F127/PEG micellar systems were evaluated regarding the effect of PEG addition at different molecular weights, where the system with best mangiferin solubility response (0.5 wt% of PEG in 1 wt% F127 aqueous solution) was chosen to be a potential drug delivery system (DDS), which solubilized 7.92 mg dL〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 of mangiferin. Subsequently, the chosen mangiferin-loaded DDS was evaluated in regard the inhibition of enzyme α-glucosidase, which showed a more effective inhibition, around 95.42%, when compared to the standard acarbose (92.59%) and to the free-form mangiferin (90.42%). The same micellar system was also evaluated for its cytotoxicity, where no significative values of LDH activity was observed. No study has been done yet with both mangiferin and DDSs regarding 〈em〉in vitro〈/em〉 α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. This work proposes a “new” alternative towards diabetes treatment.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19311371-ga1.jpg" width="294" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Gregory Gerstein, Franz Körkemeyer, Andrej Dalinger, Stefan Zaefferer, Hans Jürgen Maier〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Electroplasticity has been explained by increased glide due to electron dislocation interactions and thermal effects. However, current pulse treatment of AZ 31 at 0.7 kA mm〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 within the elastic regime caused significant twinning, occurring in thin bands in the interior of grains. This is inconsistent with a purely dislocation based explanation of electroplasticity, which predicts a suppression of twinning as a strain accommodation mechanism. The presence of unexpected twinning offers insights on the relative contributions of dislocation mediated mechanisms and contributions from Joule heating to the overall effect.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19311310-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 255〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Haoran Cai, Xiaolong Li, Geng Li, Hanchun Xia, Peijia Wang, Peiheng Sun, Jiajie Huang, Liang Wang, Yefeng Yang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Honeycomb-like nickel-manganese sulfide (NMS) composite nanosheets have been grown on carbon cloth. The optimized NMS composite exhibits a high specific capacity of 205 mAh g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at 2 mA cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉 with good rate capability of 78% at 20 mA cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉. The hybrid supercapacitor based on NMS composite obtains a maximum energy density of 27.3 Wh kg〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at a power density of 505.2 W kg〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 with excellent cycling stability of 75.3% over 6000 cycles at 8 mA cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19311206-ga1.jpg" width="297" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 247〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Go M. Russell, Hiroshi Masai, Jun Terao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉An oxygen-sensitive gel material containing platinum-acetylide was successfully synthesized using covalent linkages between the isocyanate groups on the platinum-acetylide crosslinker and the hydroxyl groups on commodity polymers. It was shown that the elasticity of the gel could be tailored by changing the amount of the crosslinker. Under nitrogen, the gel provided a phosphorescence at 539 nm, which was noteworthy in that the gel material displayed phosphorescent emission without fluorescence. In contrast, changing the surrounding environment of the gel to air decreased the phosphorescent intensity ratio by 94.0%. Our study demonstrated that the platinum-acetylide crosslinker provided a high oxygen sensitivity to the gel materials composed of commodity polymers.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19305233-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 247〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Andrey Mochugovskiy, Natalia Tabachkova, Anastasia Mikhaylovskaya〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study analyzes the precipitation phenomenon in the Al-3%Mg-1%Mn alloy and shows that low-temperature annealing at 360 °C enables the decomposition of an as-cast Mn-enriched supersaturated solid solution and precipitation of the quasicrystalline icosahedral phase. Icosahedrons are predominantly formed heterogeneously on the dislocations and dislocation walls. Precipitates with quasicrystalline structure contain Al and Mn, free of Si, and their size varies in a range of 17–71 nm. The Ashby-Brown contrast and the ordered positions of the precipitate and matrix reflections in the SAED and in high-resolution TEM images suggest partial coherency of the quasicrystalline precipitates and aluminum matrix.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19305269-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 27 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): TianHua Chen, ZhiLin Liu, ZhangSheng Liu, XueYu Tao, HeLiang Fan, LiTong Guo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A novel 2D/3D NiS/Ni〈sub〉3〈/sub〉S〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 composite was fabricated by a one-pot hydrothermal process, in which 3D hierarchical microspheres were anchored in or covered by the interconnected 2D nanosheets. The composites exhibited a high specific capacitance of 1796 F g〈sup〉-1〈/sup〉 and good capacitance retention of 80.5% at a current density of 1A g〈sup〉-1〈/sup〉 after 1000 charge-discharge cycles. Our results indicate that the interconnected 2D/3D NiS/Ni〈sub〉3〈/sub〉S〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 composites can be a promising electrode material for supercapacitor.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 247〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yu Liu, Min Sun, Guowu Tang, Guoquan Qian, Wangwang Liu, Zhenguo Shi, Wenming Zhu, Qi Qian, Shanhui Xu, Zhongmin Yang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Multimaterial fibers which integrate novel materials and/or structures into fiber configuration aim at developing multiple functionalities and high performance. Here, we demonstrate a kind of multimaterial fibers with crystalline GeSe core and K9 glass cladding by the molten core drawing method. The as-drawn fibers undergo a change in electrical conductivity when externally illuminated by an 808 nm HeNe laser. Furthermore, the Seebeck coefficient of the fibers is comparable with bulk GeSe, while the resistance is 3–4 magnitude lower than that. The results show that the GeSe core fibers have promising applications in optical switch and thermoelectric conversion field.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 247〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Kwangwon Seo, Ki-Ho Nam, Sangrae Lee, Haksoo Han〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Due to rise in demand for mobile devices, development of complex stacked packaging technology such as multi-chip package, capable of both small size and high volume, are in high interest. As residual stress of individual chips increases, the degree of bending rises leading to more difficulty in package assembly process and decreased reliability of the final package product. To overcome this, deeper understanding of the thermal history and thermal behavior between the polymer film and substrates are needed. In this work, residual stress-temperature profiles of thermally stable polyimide/organically-modified layered silicate (PI/OLS) nanocomposite systems on Si wafer were investigated 〈em〉in situ〈/em〉 during imidization and cooling process. This study provides systematic approach from the perspective of substrate design for multi-stacked semiconductor package.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 247〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xie Li, Hui Wang, Tingting Wang, Lin Wang, Xufeng Liu, Xiaodong Zhu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this paper, NaYF〈sub〉4〈/sub〉:Yb, Er nanoparticles (NPs) were coated with hydrophilic- polystyrene (HPS) by in situ polymerization. The morphologies, structures, as well as hydrophilic stabilities of the NaYF〈sub〉4〈/sub〉: Yb, Er NPs and the NaYF〈sub〉4〈/sub〉: Yb, Er /HPS NPs composite were characterized by Transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and up-conversion photoluminescence spectrometry. TEM results shows that the HPS-encapsulated NaYF〈sub〉4〈/sub〉:Yb, Er NPs are well dispersed and spherical in shape in water phase, the size of spherical particles was estimated to be 140 nm, FT-IR and TGA results revealed that these NPs were coated with HPS. Meanwhile, Fluorescence tests showed that after HPS coated, the fluorescent position and intensity of NPs did not changed significantly. Settlement test results revealed that HPS coated NaYF〈sub〉4〈/sub〉:Yb, Er NPs had more dispersion and stability than uncoated ones in aqueous system.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19305063-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 25 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Nghi Thi-Phuong Nguyen, Long Vuong-Hoang Nguyen, Nhi Tra Thanh, Vo Van Toi, Tran Ngoc Quyen, Phong A. Tran, Thi-Hiep Nguyen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study aims to investigate the effect of chitosan and gelatin as a stabilizer of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and on their application designs. Ag NPs hydrogels was synthesized and stabilized by capping agents (chitosan and gelatin). Then, Ag NPs membrane was prepared by coating Ag NPs hydrogel on PCL fibrils. Optical and microscopic observation as well as structural properties were studied to compare two stabilizers. Antimicrobial testing was done on both Ag NPs hydrogels and membranes. The results suggest that gelatin provides better stabilizing activity and superior antimicrobial potency in membrane form while chitosan exhibits better antibacterial inhibition in hydrogel form.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 247〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Shidong Song, Yiwei He, Yanli Ruan, Ningyi Jiang, Bowen Cheng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A loofah sponge-derived 3D carbon matrix (LSC) with large specific surface area and high conductivity is prepared via a simple chemical activation and calcination process. The characterization analyses reveal that plentiful pyrrolic N groups exist in LSC, which can provide strong affinity for polysulfides species through a coordinate-like Li-N interaction, and thereby effectively alleviate the shuttle effect and the capacity decay. The Li-S cell with S/LSC cathode delivers a high initial discharge capacity of 1392 mAh g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 and a retention discharge capacity of 848 mAh g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 after 100 cycles at 0.1 C. The results demonstrate that the loofah sponge can be a highly efficient and cost-effective biochar for the cathode of Li-S batteries.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19305014-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 247〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): G.I. Gunarani, Aditya B. Raman, J. Dilip Kumar, Sravani Natarajan, Gautham B. Jegadeesan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study, we present a facile method for synthesizing biogenic B-Fe and B-NiFe nanoparticles using 〈em〉Terminalia bellirica〈/em〉 extract. GC–MS analysis of the extract showed that n-hexadecanoic acid (24%) and octadecanoic acid (13.5%) were the predominant biomolecules. The as-synthesized B-Fe and B-NiFe nanoparticles were characterized using UV–Vis, FE-SEM with EDS, TEM, DLS based particle size analysis, and XRD. The surface morphology of the biogenic nanoparticles was compared to chemically synthesized Fe (C-Fe) and NiFe (C-NiFe) nanoparticles. FE-SEM and TEM images indicated that particles were nanosized, however agglomeration was observed in aqueous medium. Particle sizes using DLS method followed the order: B-Ni-Fe 〉 B-Fe 〉 C-Fe 〉 C-NiFe. Fe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 and NiFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 were the predominant crystal phases in the biogenic and chemogenic nanoparticles. The biogenic Fe and NiFe nanoparticles showed higher adsorptive capacity for Cr (VI), and faster rate kinetics for methylene blue degradation in a catalyst – peroxygen assisted oxidation process, when compared to the chemogenic nanoparticles.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 247〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Kui Xu, Kaiyong Cai〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉To further improve the hemocompatibility of titanium (Ti) biomaterials, a bioactive coating was prepared by self-assembly of phase-transited lysozyme (PTL) and heparin (Hep). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and water contact angle (WCA) measurement systematically confirmed the successful preparation of PTL/Hep coating on pure Ti surfaces. Blood compatibility assays showed that the platelet-repellent effect of the coating was significantly better than that of pure Ti surfaces. Also, the coating significantly extended the blood clotting time to 40.8 min. Besides, the hemolysis rate of PTL/Hep coated Ti substrates was only 0.39 ± 0.13%. These results confirmed the exceedingly excellent blood-compatibility of Ti surfaces modified by the self-assembled PTL/Hep coating.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19305105-ga1.jpg" width="248" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 247〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jieyan Yuan, Wenjia Song, Hao Zhang, Xin Zhou, Shujuan Dong, Jianing Jiang, Longhui Deng, Xueqiang Cao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A series of TaO〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉-doped ZrO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 (〈em〉1-x〈/em〉)ZrO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉-〈em〉x〈/em〉TaO〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 (〈em〉x〈/em〉 = 0.08, 0.15, 0.2 and 0.28) ceramics were synthesized by solid state reaction at 1600 °C for 20 h. XRD results reveal that no tetragonal ZrO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 phase forms in the TaO〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉–ZrO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 system. Instead, a mixture of monoclinic ZrO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 (〈em〉m〈/em〉-ZrO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉) and orthorhombic TaZr〈sub〉2.75〈/sub〉O〈sub〉8〈/sub〉 can be detected for (〈em〉1-x〈/em〉)ZrO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉-〈em〉x〈/em〉TaO〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 ceramic within compositions 〈em〉x〈/em〉 ≤ 0.2. As the doping content increases, the content of 〈em〉m〈/em〉-ZrO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 decreases and the final product in the composition of 0.72ZrO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉-0.28TaO〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 is primarily composed of TaZr〈sub〉2.75〈/sub〉O〈sub〉8〈/sub〉. Microstructure together with the thermophysical and mechanical properties of TaZr〈sub〉2.75〈/sub〉O〈sub〉8〈/sub〉 ceramic were investigated for possible applications as thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). The thermal conductivity with a minimum value of 1.65 W/m·K at 800 °C for TaZr〈sub〉2.75〈/sub〉O〈sub〉8〈/sub〉 ceramic is ∼30% lower than that of dense YSZ and the dense ceramic also has a moderate average thermal expansion coefficient (TEC), about 9.14 × 10〈sup〉−6〈/sup〉 K〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 from room temperature (RT) to 1300 °C. Besides, TaZr〈sub〉2.75〈/sub〉O〈sub〉8〈/sub〉 exhibits a high microhardness (11.85 ± 0.42 GPa) and fracture toughness (3.15 MPa·m〈sup〉1/2〈/sup〉). These preliminary results indicate that TaZr〈sub〉2.75〈/sub〉O〈sub〉8〈/sub〉 can be used as an alternative material for the ceramic layer in TBCs system with respect to its superior thermal and mechanical properties.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 247〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Alexander M. Laptev, Hao Zheng, Martin Bram, Martin Finsterbusch, Olivier Guillon〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉High-pressure field assisted sintering (FAST/SPS) of half-cell for all-solid-state Li batteries was proposed and tested. The half-cell included the layer of lithium lanthanum zirconate (LLZO) electrolyte and the layer of mixed cathode. The mixed cathode consisted of lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) used as energy storage material and LLZO used as ionic conductor. A tool made of TZM molybdenum alloy was used to apply a high pressure of 440 MPa during FAST/SPS at a temperature of 675 °C ensuring stability of materials. An average relative density of sintered half-cell was around of 95%. The half-cell was assembled with a lithium anode and electrochemically tested. The results were compared with the performance of a half-cell sintered in an established graphite tool at the same temperature but under a lower pressure of 50 MPa and with a lower density (around of 78%). The battery with half-cell sintered at high pressure showed two-fold larger surface storage capacity. Further optimization of materials and processing is in progress.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19305099-ga1.jpg" width="273" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 239〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Lixian Yin, Xiaoyong Tian, Zhentao Shang, Dichen Li〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉An ultra-broadband electromagnetic (EM) absorber composed of composite metamaterials was designed, fabricated and characterized. Polylactic-acid/reduced graphene oxide (PLA/RGO) composites with different amounts of RGO were prepared as a primary material collection. To provide good impedance matching and efficient wave attenuation, the multilayer absorbers were designed with a gradient index (GRIN) of characteristic impedance by manipulating the RGO content and the geometric parameters of the unit cell. The absorbers with different numbers of layers were fabricated by a material extrusion process, and then the reflection loss (RL) of the prepared samples was measured. Results showed that the methodology for designing a metamaterial absorber with gradient impedance and fabricating through a 3D printing process was effective in producing ultra-broadband absorbers. The seven-layer absorber achieved an absorption above 90% in a broad bandwidth of 4.5–40 GHz. This work could provide inspiration for upgrading the performance of some conventional absorbing composites through a rational design of the composite proportion and structure.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 239〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zhikuo Tao, Shiqi Liu, Henan Fang, Lin Chen, Jiangwei Chen, Xiangqian Xiu, Rong Zhang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Magnetic and transport properties of iron nitride compounds are closely related to the ratio of Fe:N. In this letter, we report a successful growth of pure single-phase N-rich iron nitride (〈em〉ε〈/em〉-Fe〈sub〉2–3〈/sub〉N and 〈em〉γ〈/em〉″-FeN) films on Al〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉. 〈em〉ε〈/em〉-Fe〈sub〉2–3〈/sub〉N shows a ferromagnetic behavior while 〈em〉γ〈/em〉″-FeN shows a nonmagnetic behavior. Same with other N-poor iron nitrides, 〈em〉ε〈/em〉-Fe〈sub〉2–3〈/sub〉N presents metallic transport nature. In particular, weak localization in quantum interference effects (QIEs) and spin-dependent scattering phenomena are observed in 〈em〉ε〈/em〉-Fe〈sub〉2–3〈/sub〉N. Different with other known iron nitrides, 〈em〉γ〈/em〉″-FeN shows semiconductor-like transport property. These findings offer great opportunities for designing magnetoelectronic devices based on iron nitride compounds.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 239〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yingbin Wang, Wenjuan Miao, Xingyang He, Xiangguo Li, Yan Xiong〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This work aims at preparing a novel form-stable composite phase change material (FSPCM), by loading stearic–capric acid (SA–CA) in porous nanoceramics which are employed as the supporting materials. The morphology and microstructure, chemical compatibility, thermal properties and thermal stability are analyzed. The results indicate that the prepared FSPCM freezes at 24.56 °C with latent heat capacity of 73.92 J/g and melts at 22.50 °C with latent heat capacity of 76.40 J/g. The as-prepared composite is demonstrated to reveal good physicochemistry stability and an acceptable absorption ratio. Moreover, the thermal conductivity of FSPCM is nearly 7 times higher than that of pristine PCM.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 April 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 240〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ying Wang, Hongbin Yu, Ying Lu, Jiao Qu, Suiyi Zhu, Mingxin Huo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A nano-composite comprised of Ti〈sup〉3+〈/sup〉-doped TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanotubes (TNTs) and Ag〈sub〉3〈/sub〉PO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 quantum dots was synthesized by a two-step method. With NaBH〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 as a reducing agent, Ti〈sup〉3+〈/sup〉 was introduced into TNTs. This significantly enhanced the adsorption capability and the absorption of visible light of TNTs, resulting in a better photocatalytic performance. Ag〈sub〉3〈/sub〉PO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 quantum dots depositing on TNTs were synthesized via a precipitation method. By using this nano-composite as the photocatalyst, tetracycline (a typical model pollutant) could be degraded efficiently under visible light, and 90% of tetracycline was removed in 8 min. The rapid degradation of tetracycline might be attributed to both the introduction of Ti〈sup〉3+〈/sup〉 and the highly efficient separation of electrons and holes resulted from the photocatalytic mechanism of “Z” scheme.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 239〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Qiong Tian, Nan Wu, Bing Wang, Yingde Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Hollow silicon carbide (HSiC) fibers are promising candidate of catalysts carriers, wave-absorbing materials and thermal insulation composite materials. In this work, as-spun polystyrene@polycarbosilane core-shell fibers were firstly fabricated by single-nozzle electrospinning technology. Then, HSiC fibers were successfully obtained after pre-oxidation and pyrolysis. The obtained HSiC fiber mat displayed excellent thermal insulation performance with effective extinction coefficient (〈em〉e〈/em〉〈sup〉*〈/sup〉) of 2350 m〈sup〉2〈/sup〉·kg〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 and low thermal conductivity of 104.9 mW·(m·K)〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at 800 °C, which were better than those of solid SiC fiber mat.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 April 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 240〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Fayyaz Muhammad, Hong Hu, Hongguang Xu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Terfenol-D is a magnetostrictive material well known for its large magnetostriction and high magnetic flux density which makes it suitable for a wide range of sensing and actuation applications. This paper is based on experimental study performed to analyze the magnetoelastic vibrations produced within Terfenol-D when exposed to low strength time varying magnetic fields ranging between 60 Hz and 1 KHz. The vibrations produced within Terfenol D due to time varying magnetic fields were observed using a high-speed laser vibrometer. The results obtained demonstrate excellent response of Terfenol-D and validate its feasibility for using this material in magnetoelastic devices for low frequency and low strength time varying magnetic fields measurements associated with various engineering and scientific applications.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 April 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 240〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Y. Wu, Y.F. Yuan, F. Chen, M. Zhu, G.C. Cai, S.M. Yin, J.L. Yang, S.Y. Guo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Through a facile chemical route, TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanosphere with the size of around 230 nm is assembled by TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanocrystalline (about 10 nm) and possess abundant mesopores throughout the entire nanosphere, forming TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanocrystalline-assembled mesoporous nanosphere. The small size of TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanocrystalline and large specific surface area (153 m〈sup〉2〈/sup〉 g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉) of the mesoporous nanosphere significantly boost reaction kinetics of TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, and enhance the bulk intercalation and the interfacial storage, which remarkably increases lithium storage capacity of TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉. Average discharge capacity over 100 cycles at 1 C reaches 219.2 mAh g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, demonstrating the superiority of this material structure and its potential in lithium ion batteries.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 May 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 242〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Kosho Akatsuka, Atsuo Yasumori, Kei Maeda〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Metastable CaAl〈sub〉2〈/sub〉Si〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉8〈/sub〉 crystalline phase was obtained 〈em〉via〈/em〉 heat treatment of CaO–Al〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉–SiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 glass with metallic molybdenum particles as nucleating agents. Its crystal structure was determined by aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (Cs-STEM), Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Although the hexagonal structure was observed by Cs-STEM and Raman spectroscopy, Rietveld analysis revealed that a triclinic structure with space group 〈em〉P〈/em〉1 provided the best description of the crystal structure. The most appropriate lattice parameters were 〈em〉a〈/em〉 = 5.1163(5) Å, 〈em〉b〈/em〉 = 5.1155(5) Å, 〈em〉c〈/em〉 = 15.0031(15) Å, 〈em〉α〈/em〉 = 91.319(3)°, 〈em〉β〈/em〉 = 88.172(3)°, and 〈em〉γ〈/em〉 = 120.279(3)°. The 〈em〉c〈/em〉-axis layers composing the hexagonal plane were slightly distorted a few degrees from their arrangement in the hexagonal CaAl〈sub〉2〈/sub〉Si〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉8〈/sub〉 crystal.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 239〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Tianpeng Yu, Kaili Sun, Kaihang Wang, Zunhang Lv, Xin Liu, Guixue Wang, Guangwen Xie〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this paper, we report a method that the transition element nickel is doped into the interstitial position of CdZnS (CZS) nanoparticles for their photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity boosting. It is demonstrated that CdZnNiS nanocrystalline materials (with 0.5 wt% of Ni) could achieve the highest photocatalytic H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉-evolution activity of 25.4 mmol·g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉·h〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 in sulfide and sulfite solution under visible light which value is 1.16 times higher than that of Pt modified CdZnS particles (with 3 wt% of Pt). This work evidences the possibility of substitution of noble metal cocatalyst by adding a suitable inexpensive Ni to achieve high-efficient visible light driven water splitting hydrogen production.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 April 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 240〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): S.V. Chekmazov, A.A. Smirnov, A.S. Ksenz, S.I. Bozhko, A.M. Ionov, S.G. Protasova, A.A. Kapustin, O.Yu. Vilkov, E.A. Levchenko〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Defects in crystal structure of layered material can modify the surface states. Ion bombardment is a simple way to introduce defects into a crystal lattice in the surface region. Comprehensive scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), and photoemission studies are presented to uncover the impact of ion etching and thermal annealing on the atomic and electronic structure of Sb(1 1 1) surface. We reveal the unusual behavior of the Sb(1 1 1) surface after Ar〈sup〉+〈/sup〉 sputtering at 300 K (RT). The 3 nm-sized terraces formed even after a prolonged ion bombardment are established by LEED. Also, an increase in density of states (DOS) at the Fermi edge is detected for the etched Sb(1 1 1) surface due to the ruptured covalent bonds (CBs).〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 April 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 240〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): S. Siamak P. Haghshenas, Ali Nemati, A. Simchi, Choong-Un Kim〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉ZnO/graphene oxide core-shell nanoparticles (ZGNPs) were prepared by via in-situ chemical synthesis and electrolysis. This report addresses the disagreement in the photocatalytic and photoluminescence behavior in this system. XRD, Raman, HRTEM, PL and UV–Vis were able to confirm ZnO nanoparticles and core-shell structures formation at various temperatures. A little shift was observed in Raman for ZGNPs after conjugating. PL showed a few peaks that were not related to the graphene, which depends on the synthesis route and defects. After conjugating between ZnO and Graphene, two mechanisms are suggested. The first is band structure modification in the boundary of core and shell. The second one is diffusion of functional group in GO as a dopant on ZnO surface.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 239〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yuki Sugiura, Kunio Ishikawa〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Octacalcium phosphate (OCP) blocks are attractive as bone substitutes because of their excellent biocompatibility. They can be fabricated from precursor ceramic blocks via a compositional conversion process. Herein, high-purity OCP blocks were fabricated through a dissolution–precipitation reaction from precursor blocks of dicalcium hydrogen phosphate dihydrate (DCPD) immersed in a 1.00-mol/L basic phosphate solution of disodium hydrogen phosphate (NaAP; pH ∼ 9) at 70 °C for 2 days. The results showed that they were completely converted to OCP blocks comprising interlocking ribbon-like crystals while maintaining their shape. The diametral tensile strength of the obtained OCP blocks was ∼6 MPa, which was significantly higher than that of OCP blocks fabricated from calcium sulfate as the precursor.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 239〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): M. Krasnowski〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Amorphous Al〈sub〉60〈/sub〉Fe〈sub〉20〈/sub〉Ti〈sub〉20〈/sub〉 and Al〈sub〉65〈/sub〉Fe〈sub〉18〈/sub〉Ti〈sub〉12〈/sub〉Ni〈sub〉5〈/sub〉 alloys were produced by mechanical alloying. Thermal behaviour examinations revealed that the crystallisation onset temperatures are 557 °C and 539 °C for the Al〈sub〉60〈/sub〉Fe〈sub〉20〈/sub〉Ti〈sub〉20〈/sub〉 and the Al〈sub〉65〈/sub〉Fe〈sub〉18〈/sub〉Ti〈sub〉12〈/sub〉Ni〈sub〉5〈/sub〉 alloy respectively. The crystallisation products were nanocrystalline τ〈sub〉2〈/sub〉-type phases. The mechanically alloyed powders were consolidated at temperatures ensuring maintaining amorphous structure and at 1000 °C. After consolidation at 1000 °C the samples consisted of nanocrystalline τ〈sub〉2〈/sub〉-type phases and Al〈sub〉5〈/sub〉Fe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 phase. The hardness of the amorphous and nanocrystalline Al〈sub〉60〈/sub〉Fe〈sub〉20〈/sub〉Ti〈sub〉20〈/sub〉 alloy is 8.04 GPa and 9.37 GPa respectively, whereas that of the amorphous and nanocrystalline Al〈sub〉65〈/sub〉Fe〈sub〉18〈/sub〉Ti〈sub〉12〈/sub〉Ni〈sub〉5〈/sub〉 alloy is 7.69 GPa and 8.79 GPa respectively. The density of the amorphous and nanocrystalline Al〈sub〉60〈/sub〉Fe〈sub〉20〈/sub〉Ti〈sub〉20〈/sub〉 alloy is 4.113 g/cm〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 and 4.20 g/cm〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 respectively, while that of the amorphous and nanocrystalline Al〈sub〉65〈/sub〉Fe〈sub〉18〈/sub〉Ti〈sub〉12〈/sub〉Ni〈sub〉5〈/sub〉 alloy is 4.111 g/cm〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 and 4.278 g/cm〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 respectively. The hardness of the produced low-density materials is relatively high. To the best of our knowledge, such materials were produced for the first time.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 239〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xiaohua Huang, Renqing Guo, Yan Lin, Jianbo Wu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In order to overcome the shortcomings of ZnO-based anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, the electrode is designed as a nanostructure of interconnected nickel nanowall-supported ZnO film. The introduction of Ni increases the consumption of Li〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O during the first charge process due to the conversion reaction between Ni and Li〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O, and thus increases the initial coulombic efficiency. Interconnected Ni nanowalls work as a three-dimensional skeleton to enhance the strength of the film and the mechanical/electrical contact with the substrate, and thus improve the cycling and rate performance. The electrochemical performance of this ZnO/Ni composite is enhanced compared to pure ZnO and many other ZnO-based anode materials, confirming that the electrode structure design is effective.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 239〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Meng Sun, Xianping Wang, Weibin Jiang, Hui Wang, Yunxia Gao, Ting Hao, Tao Zhang, Li Wang, Qianfeng Fang, Changsong Liu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The internal friction (IF) method combined with high resolution XRD was used to systematically study the correlation between thermal history and high-temperature order–disorder phase transition in Fe–18Ga alloy. In the first and second heating processes, results show that the IF peak (〈em〉P〈sub〉tr〈/sub〉〈/em〉) position related to order–disorder phase transition is independent of thermal history, but thermal history has a significant effect on the peak height. With the number of thermal cycles increasing, the peak height of 〈em〉P〈sub〉tr〈/sub〉〈/em〉 become more pronounced. Combined with high resolution XRD results, the mechanism of this phenomenon is mainly due to the fact that more D0〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 phase is formed as the number of cycles increases. Furthermore, the elimination of internal dislocation in the Fe–18Ga alloy will also contribute to the formation of the 〈em〉P〈sub〉tr〈/sub〉〈/em〉 peak.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 March 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 239〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sema Ebrahimi, Aidin Bordbar-Khiabani, Benyamin Yarmand〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉rGO/SiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 composite coating was successfully prepared by plasma electrolyte oxidation (PEO) process on monocrystalline silicon (mc-Si) substrate. Investigating the effect of rGO incorporation into the SiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 coating revealed that the addition of rGO leads to a significant increase in the photo-trapping ability due to the high specific surface area and excellent electron transfer efficiency. The PL intensity of the composite sample was found to decrease, which signified the suspension of the electron-hole pairs’ recombination. As a result, the photocurrent gain of the composite coating enhanced about 5.5 times. Likewise, the time-response switching featured an over two-fold increase for the rGO/SiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 coating, impressively.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X18320548-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 December 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 257〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): V. Nikulkina, A. Rodin, B. Bokstein〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Sn grain boundary diffusion (GBD) in dilute (up to 2% at Sn) Cu-based alloys was investigated in the temperature range from 560 to 650 °C by the EPMA method. 3-layer samples Cu/Cu-Sn alloy/Cu were prepared. Experimental values of the triple product P = sδD〈sub〉b〈/sub〉 were obtained in the frame of Fisher-Gibbs model: P = 10〈sup〉−13〈/sup〉·exp(−89 kJ/mol/RT) m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉s〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. The effective activation energy comprises approximately 0.5 from the bulk value. In the chosen temperature range the path of the bulk diffusion was equal about 10 μm and the path of GBD (Fisher length) varied in the range 20–30 μm. The accelerated GBD was observed only for the part of investigated GBs.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 December 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 256〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hasan Subhi, Zulfa Ajeerah Zulkifli, Siti Syazwani Mohamad-Noor, Asma Abdullah Nurul〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The antibacterial activity of gypsum-based chitosan (Gyp-CHT) biomaterial prepared for pulp capping application was evaluated with four concentrations of chitosan (10%, 5%, 2.5%, and 0% w/v CHT solutions – Gyp-CHT) against 〈em〉Streptococcus mutans〈/em〉. Test biomaterials were characterized by examining their surface morphology, chemical compositions and functional groups. The inhibition of bacterial growth was screened by agar diffusion test (ADT), direct contact test (DCT), biofilm formation assay and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results indicated higher antibacterial performance when tested with 2.5%CHT, 5%CHT and 10%CHT-containing biomaterials compare to Gyp-0%CHT, and the antibacterial effect was directly proportional to CHT concentration. SEM images showed a significant reduction of bacterial distribution on days 4 and 7 compare to day 1. Whereas, Gyp alone has conflicting antibacterial effects with significant less inhibitory effects. In conclusion, the experimental Gyp-CHT exhibits antibacterial effects when prepared in combination of CHT and significantly inhibits 〈em〉S. mutans’s〈/em〉 growth, distribution and biofilm formation.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19312765-ga1.jpg" width="500" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 December 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 256〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Kai Lv, Chengwu Shi, Yang Yang, Haoyu Fu, Fuling Guo, Qi Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The Sb〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 seed layer was deposited on the TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 compact layer by repeated step-by-step spin-coating 6.67 mM SbCl〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 solution in methanol and 10 mM Na〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S solution in methanol/water (v/v, 95/5) to induce the non-aqueous chemical bath deposition of the Sb〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 thin film. The precursor solution of 40 mM SbCl〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 and 80 mM thioacetamide in DMF was pretreated at 100 °C for 120 min to prevent the dissolution of the Sb〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 seed layer. The Sb〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 thin film with the thickness of 80 nm was successfully grown on the Sb〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 seed layer at 120 °C for 80 min using the pretreated precursor solution of SbCl〈sub〉3〈/sub〉-thioacetamide complex in DMF. The corresponding solar cells with the architecture of FTO/TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 compact layer/Sb〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 thin film/〈em〉spiro〈/em〉-OMeTAD/Au achieved an open-circuit voltage of 0.60 V, a short-circuit photocurrent density of 11.15 mA·cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉, a fill factor of 0.40 and a photoelectric conversion efficiency of 2.70%. The non-aqueous chemical bath deposition using SbCl〈sub〉3〈/sub〉-thioacetamide complex solution in DMF can provide a new approach for the preparation of the Sb〈sub〉2〈/sub〉S〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 thin film.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0167577X19312662-ga1.jpg" width="497" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 December 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 256〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): A.M. Glezer, D.V. Louzguine-Luzgin, I.A. Khriplivets, R.V. Sundeev, D.V. Gunderov, A.I. Bazlov, Yu.S. Pogozhev〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The effect of the degree of room-temperature plastic deformation by high-pressure torsion on the tendency to plastic flow in the Zr〈sub〉60〈/sub〉Cu〈sub〉18.5〈/sub〉Nb〈sub〉2〈/sub〉Ni〈sub〉7.5〈/sub〉Al〈sub〉10〈/sub〉Ti〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 and Zr〈sub〉52.5〈/sub〉Cu〈sub〉17.9〈/sub〉Ni〈sub〉14.6〈/sub〉Al〈sub〉10〈/sub〉Ti〈sub〉5〈/sub〉 bulk amorphous alloys has been studied by Vickers microindentation and precision measurements of the relative height of the “pileup” at the base of the indent. Three stages of the dependence of plasticity on the number of full revolutions of the moving anvil upon high pressure torsion of the alloys have been established.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 December 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 256〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): V.T. Nguyen, T.H. Li, S.M. Song, Y.C. Liao, P.H. Tsai, P.C. Wong, V.C. Nguyen, J.S.C. Jang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A series of porous toxic-element-free TiZr-based bulk metallic glass foams (BMGFs) with porosities ranging from 2.0% to 38.9% were fabricated by hot-pressing method. The results indicated that the BMGFs with pore sizes of 100–300 μm exhibit relatively good mechanical properties, Young’s moduli ranging from 5.8 to 56.4 GPa and compressive strength from 33 to 979 MPa which well match the properties of human bone. In in vitro tests, the TiZr-based BMGFs with porosities of 12.7% and 34.8% showed non-cytotoxicity and high extracellular calcium deposition. Owing to the excellent combination of suitable porosities, consistent mechanical properties, and high biocompatibility, the TiZr-based BMGFs are promising candidates for use in bio-implant applications from the viewpoints of avoiding stress shielding and bio-unfriendly symptoms in the human body.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 December 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 256〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Umer Mehmood, Nayab Abdul Karim, Hafiza Fizza Zahid, Tahira Asif, Muhammad Younas〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The objective of this work is to fabricate the efficient and Pt-free DSSCs. Nanocomposites of PANi/graphene have been synthesized via in-situ polymerization of aniline in the graphene acidic dispersion. The morphology and the distribution of particles in composites have been analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The electrochemical performance of PANi/Graphene nanocomposites has been investigated by Tafel test. Results found here show that the graphene/polyaniline composites as catalyst materials show an outstanding electrochemical activity in DSSCs. Under optimal conditions, DSSC with PANi/Graphene shows the power-conversion-efficiency (PCE) of 7.45%, which is slightly lower than that of Pt-based DSSC (7.63%) fabricated under similar conditions.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 December 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Materials Letters, Volume 256〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Abdul Hannan Zahid, Mengyun Zheng, Maoyuan Peng, Qiaofeng Han〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉By adding bismuth subacetate (CH〈sub〉3〈/sub〉COO(BiO), BiOAc) to bismuth citrate with optimal molar ratio of 1:3 and calcining at 350 °C in air, the resulted nanoparticle-based hollow spherical β-Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 (H-β-Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉) exhibited greatly enhanced photocatalytic activity in comparison with nanosheet-based spherical β-Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 (S-β-Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉) obtained from pure bismuth citrate. The degradation efficiency of rhodamine B (RhB) and malachite green (MG) was increased from 54.0% and 53.1% of S-β-Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 to 91.2% and 94.6% of H-β-Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 within 3 h of visible light irradiation, respectively. The improved photocatalytic performance of H-β-Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 could be attributed to the enhanced light absorption and charge migration efficiency due to the presence of residual carbon and metal Bi, as well as higher surface area of hollow microstructure.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉