Epitaxial films of sodium potassium tantalate (Na0.5K0.5TaO3, NKT) and sodium potassium niobate (Na0.5K0.5NbO3, NKN) were grown on single-crystal lanthanum aluminate (LAO) (100) (indexed as a pseudo-cubic unit cell) substrates via an all-alkoxide solution (methoxyethoxide complexes in 2-methoxyethanol) deposition route for the first time. X-ray diffraction studies indicated that the onset of crystallization in powders formed from hydrolyzed gel samples was 550 °C. 13C nuclear magnetic resonance studies of solutions of methoxyethoxide complexes indicated that mixed-metal species were formed, consistent with the low crystallization temperatures observed. Thermal gravimetric analysis with simultaneous mass spectrometry showed the facile loss of the ligand (methoxyethoxide) at temperatures below 400 °C. Crystalline films were obtained at temperatures as low as 650 °C when annealed in air. θ-2θ x-ray diffraction patterns revealed that the films possessed c-axis alignment in that only (h00) reflections were observed. Pole-figures about the NKT or NKN (220) reflection indicated a single in-plane, cube-on-cube epitaxy. The quality of the films was estimated via ω (out-of-plane) and φ (in-plane) scans and full-widths at half-maximum (FWHMs) were found to be reasonably narrow (∼1°), considering the lattice mismatch between the films and the substrate.

Eu2+-doped Li2SrSiO4 phosphors were prepared by two different synthesis processes, the Pechini sol-gel route and solid-state reaction (SSR) method. Their morphology, crystal structure, and luminescence properties have been characterized. Li2SrSiO4:Eu2+ phosphors show broad and intensive excitation in the range of 390–480 nm and emit yellow-orange light extending from 500 to 700 nm. The luminescence efficiency of Li2SrSiO4: Eu2+ phosphors synthesized through the Pechini route is much better than that of phosphors prepared by solid-state reaction method. The application of phosphors from the Pechini route in white light emitting diodes (LEDs) has been investigated. The Commission Internationale de L’Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity coordinates and the correlated color temperature of these white LEDs have been calculated; they are comparable to corresponding values of commercial Y3Al5O12:Ce3+ converted white LEDs.

A closed-loop approach is adopted to implement strain rate control during the bulge test. Due to the difficulty of measuring strains directly, the technique is based on the conversion of displacement measurements to the corresponding strains using the plane-strain formulation. The necessary temporal evolution of the midpoint displacement of a rectangular diaphragm is derived under the condition of constant strain rate and is imposed as a control criterion. The technique is demonstrated on 500-nm-thick Au diaphragms by applying strain rates ranging from 2 × 10−6 to 2 × 10−4 s–1. By measuring the corresponding yield strength values, a strain rate sensitivity of 0.11 is obtained, which is close to what was previously reported on similar specimens using the microbending test.

Reactions of molten Sn–xCu (x = 0.05 to 1.0) alloys with Te substrate at 250 °C were investigated. A dosage of 0.1 wt% Cu in Sn is found to be effective in suppressing the vigorous Sn/Te reaction by forming a thin CuTe at the solder/Te interface. The CuTe morphology changes from irregular clusters into a layered structure with increasing Cu content in Sn. With the same reaction time, the CuTe thickness increases proportionally to the square root of Cu content in Sn–Cu alloys, suggesting a diffusion-controlled growth for CuTe.

Li2M(WO4)2 (M = Co and Ni) were synthesized by a conventional solid-state reaction method and characterized by powder x-ray diffraction, Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) measurement, ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) diffuse reflectance spectra, Raman spectroscopy, and photocatalytic evaluation measurements. Photocatalytic water splitting results showed that Li2M(WO4)2 (M = Co and Ni) exhibited abilities for H2 evolution with Pt cocatalyst from an aqueous methanol solution and for O2 evolution from an aqueous AgNO3 solution under UV light irradiation. Theoretical calculation, absorbance analysis, and photocatalytic H2 evolution experiment revealed that the position of W 5d level shifted to the negative side with respect to the reduced potential of H+/H2. The photocatalytic H2 evolution over Li2M(WO4)2 is discussed from the view of crystal and electronic structure point.

The poly-2-hyroxyethyl methacrylate (PHEMA)/clay nanocomposite was synthesized by in situ atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) from initiator moieties immobilized within the silicate galleries of the clay particles. To produce organically modified montmorillonite (MMT) that has ATRP initiator moiety, a new catalyst that consists of quaternary ammonium salt moiety and an initiator moiety was synthesized. This initiator was intercalated into the interlayer spacing of the MMT. The polymerization reaction was carried out in a mixed solvent system consisting of methyl ethyl ketone and 1-propanol at 50 °C, using the initiator that has been already synthesized with a copper bromide catalyst. The 2, 2′-bipyridyl (bpy) complex was used as ligand. The products were characterized via Fourier transform infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR, 12C NMR), transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry.

We investigated the polishing rate and selectivity of nitrogen-doped Ge2Sb2Te5 (NGST) to SiO2 film for different abrasive materials (colloidal silica, fumed silica, and ceria abrasives). They both were strongly dependant on abrasive material properties. The polishing rate of nitrogen-doped NGST decreased in the order ceria, fumed silica, and colloidal silica abrasives, which was determined by abrasive material properties, such as abrasive hardness, crystal structure, and primary and secondary abrasive sizes. In addition, the polishing rate slope of NGST film was not significantly different for different abrasive materials, indicating that the polishing of NGST film is mechanical dominant polishing. In contrast, the polishing rate slope of SiO2 film decreased in the order ceria, fumed silica, and colloidal silica abrasives, indicating that the polishing of SiO2 film is chemical dominant polishing. Furthermore, the difference in polishing rate slopes between NGST and SiO2 film gave a polishing rate selectivity of NGST to SiO2 film higher than 100:1 with colloidal silica abrasive.

Oligomerically modified reactive montmorillonite clay was used in the preparation of aramid-layered silicate nanocomposites. The dispersion behavior of organoclay was monitored in the aramid matrix synthesized from 4-aminophenylsulfone and isophthaloyl chloride in dimethylacetamide. These polyamide chains were end-capped with carbonyl chloride groups to interact chemically with oligomerically modified layered silicate. Thin composite films containing 2 to 20 wt% of organoclay were probed for x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), mechanical testing, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and water absorption measurements. XRD and TEM results described the distribution level of clay platelets and morphology of hybrid materials. Mechanical measurements revealed that modulus and strength improved up to 6 wt% clay loading, while toughness of nanocomposites increased with the addition of 2 wt% clay content in the matrix. The elongation showed a decreasing trend with increasing clay content in the hybrids. Thermal-decomposition temperatures of the nanocomposites were in the range 225 to 450 °C. The glass-transition temperature increased up to 12 wt% addition of organoclay in the matrix relative to pristine aramid depicting interfacial interactions among the phases. Water absorption of the nanocomposites reduced with augmenting organoclay loading, indicating decreased permeability.

The oxidation behavior of Zr2[Al(Si)]4C5 and Zr3[Al(Si)]4C6 in air has been investigated. The oxidation kinetics of bulk Zr2[Al(Si)]4C5 and Zr3[Al(Si)]4C6 at 900–1300 °C generally follow a parabolic law at a very short initial stage and then a linear law for a long period with the activation energy of 237.9 and 226.8 kJ/mol, respectively. The oxide scales have a duplex structure, consisting of mainly an outer porous layer of ZrO2, Al2O3, and aluminosilicate/mullite, and a thin inner compact layer of these oxides plus remaining carbon. The oxidation resistance of Zr2[Al(Si)]4C5 and Zr3[Al(Si)]4C6 has been improved compared with Zr2Al3C4, and is much better than ZrC due to larger fraction of protective oxidation products, Al2O3 and aluminosilicate/mullite.

We predict a possible phase transition of ZnO from wurtzite to zinc blende structure using first-principles molecular-dynamics simulations. By calculating the Gibbs free energies of the two phases as a function of temperature and hydrostatic pressure, we show that their energy difference decreases continuously with increasing temperature and pressure, and the vibrational entropy plays an important role on the location of the phase transition point. At 300 K, the phase transition is expected to occur at a pressure lower than 30 GPa with an activation energy barrier of 0.386 eV/atom. The transition path was also simulated, along which the system goes through a transient face-centered orthorhombic structure to overcome the energy barrier. Our theory results may be valuable for stabilizating the zinc blende ZnO in experiment.

Microstructure evolution of YBa2Cu3O7−y (YBCO) films during the two heat-treatments in the advanced trifluoroacetates metalorganic deposition (TFA-MOD) process has been investigated by means of transmission electron microscopy. In the calcination process, precursor films including nanopores were formed through the shrinkage of the film after a remarkable increase of the thickness due to the thermal decomposition of metalorganic salts in the starting solution. During the crystallization process, the densification and shrinkage of the film occurred after agglomeration of nanopores and coarsening of unreacted phase particles such as Y2Cu2O5, CuO, and Ba–O–F in the precursor films. The YBCO films were then epitaxially grown with the remaining unreacted phase particles in the film, finally pores were generated again by a reaction of these unreacted particles to form YBCO accompanied by the volume reduction. It is important to control the densification of precursor films and coarsening of the unreacted phase particles in the crystallization process, to fabricate YBCO final films with fine crystallinity and high critical current values.

Previous work on YBa2Cu3O7−x (YBCO) + BaSnO3 (BSO) films with a single composition showed significant critical current density (Jc) improvements at higher fields but lowered Jc in low fields. A detailed study on BSO concentrations provided here demonstrates that significant Jc enhancement can occur even up to 20 mol% BSO inclusion, where typical particulate inclusions in these concentrations degrade the YBCO performance. YBCO + BSO films were processed on (100) LaAlO3 substrates using premixed targets of YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) with additions of 2, 4, 10, and 20 mol% BSO. The critical transition temperature Tc of the films remained high (>87 K), even with large amounts (20 mol%) of BSO. YBCO + BSO films showed a gradual increase in Jc at high fields as the amount of BSO was increased. More than an order of magnitude increase in Jc was measured in YBCO + BSO samples as compared to regular YBCO at 4 T. YBCO + 10 mol% BSO films showed overall improvement at all the field ranges while YBCO + 20 mol% BSO was better only at high fields. Transmission electron microscopy revealed the presence of ∼7–8-nm-diameter BSO nanocolumns, the density of which increased with increasing BSO content correlating well with the observed improvements in Jc.

Polarity effect on the interfacial reactions from high-density electric currents was investigated in a solder interconnect with a large disparity in the effective charge between the solder constituents. A reverse polarity effect was found where the intermetallic compound layer at the cathode grew significantly thicker than that at the anode under electric loading. Such an abnormal polarity effect was shown to result from electromigrations of Sn and Zn along opposite directions as dictated by the disparity in their effective charges. As Sn migrated to the anode under electron wind force, the resulting back stress drove Zn atoms to drift to the cathode. A kinetic analysis of the Zn mass transport explained the differential growth of the intermetallic compounds at the two electrodes, in good agreement with the experimental data.

The lattice parameters of magnesium solid-solution alloys with lithium, indium, and/or zinc have been determined via x-ray diffraction (XRD). Li decreased the axial ratio (c/a) of Mg from 1.624 to 1.6068 within 0–16 at.% Li. Indium increased the c/a of Mg to 1.6261 with increasing In toward 3.3 at.% while Zn showed no effect on c/a in the 0.2–0.7 at.% range. The effects were explained by electron overlap through the first Brillouin zone and by Vegard’s Law. A relationship was determined between electron concentration (e/a) and c/a as c/a = −15.6(e/a)2 + 60(e/a) − 55.8.

In situ observation of the electrically induced crack growth and domain-structure evolution is carried out for [100]- and [101]-oriented 72%Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–28% PbTiO3 (PMN–PT 72/28) ferroelectric single crystals under static (poling) and alternating electric fields. On the same poling electric field, domains are in the stable engineered domain state where four equivalent polarization variants coexist for [100]-oriented single crystal, while parallel lines representing the 71° domain boundaries appear for [101]-oriented one. Under the same cyclic electric field, the [100]-oriented single crystal shows much higher crack propagation resistance than that of a [101]-oriented crystal. Apart from the material aspects, such as crystallographic fracture anisotropy and non-180° domain boundary structure, crack boundary condition plays an important role in determining the crack propagation behavior.

Ultrafine eutectic-like microstructures of various rare earth (RE) oxide-Al2O3 systems were formed by use of amorphous phases. This new method uses a low migration rate in the amorphous phases. Mixtures of RE oxide (RE: Yb, Dy, Er, Ho, Gd, Sm, Eu) and Al2O3 powders with the eutectic compositions were melted and quenched rapidly to form the amorphous phases. A heat treatment of the amorphous phases of various eutectic systems at 1000 and 1300 °C, for 30 min, formed RE aluminum garnet (RE3Al5O12)/Al2O3 phases or RE aluminum perovskite (REAlO3)/Al2O3 phases. Scanning electron microscopy observation of these materials heat-treated at 1300 °C showed eutectic-like microstructures, in which crystals of eutectic component were entangled with each other. Furthermore, the microstructures were much finer than those of materials generally prepared from eutectic melts. In this study, it was confirmed that this method is useful for the formation of ultrafine eutectic-like microstructures for many eutectic systems.

We report the catalyst-free synthesis of ZnO nanobranches on Si nanowires using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The formation of single-crystalline ZnO nanobranches on Si nanowire backbones has been confirmed by lattice resolved transmission electron microscopy. Depending on the growth parameters, especially the growth temperature, the morphology and size of the ZnO nanobranches evolved from nanothorn-shaped (at 350 °C) to nanoneedle-shaped structures (at 500 °C). When the growth temperature was further increased to 800 °C, thin ZnO nanowire branches grew out of the Si nanowire backbones coated with thin ZnO shells, whereas no ZnO branch was formed on bare Si nanowires due to limited nucleation. The growth behavior was further exploited to fabricate ZnO/Si nanowire networks by growing the ZnO nanowires selectively on laterally aligned Si–ZnO core-shell nanowire arrays. In addition, cathodoluminescent properties of ZnO nanobranches on Si nanowire backbones are discussed with respect to position and size.

Commercial Zr44Ti11Cu10Ni10Be25 bulk metallic glass (Vitreloy 1b) disk was subjected to extreme plastic deformation by high-pressure torsion at room temperature. Two-dimensional mapping by high-intensity synchrotron x-ray diffraction in the plane of the shear deformation reveals no evidence of nanocrystallization; however, average effective volume changes as a function of the deformation can be evaluated.

Size-controlled spinel iron oxide (SIO) nanoparticle/organic hybrid was synthesized in situ from iron (III) allylacetylacetonate (IAA) at around 80 °C. The formation of SIO particles chemically bound with organics was confirmed by infrared and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The sizes of SIO nanoparticles in the hybrids were monodispersed and ranged from 7 to 23 nm under controlled hydrolysis conditions. The hybrid including SIO particles of 7.3 nm was superparamagnetic, whereas those dispersed with particles above 11 nm were ferrimagnetic. The specific absorption rate (SAR) value was dependent upon the magnetic properties of the hybrid at 100 Oe. The SAR was 15.2 W g−1 in a 230 kHz alternating magnetic field and 100 Oe when the crystallite size of SIO particle in the hybrid was 16 nm. The temperatures of agars dispersed with hybrid powders of 5 and 8 mg ml−1 reached the optimum temperature (42 °C) for 17 and 8 min, respectively. The increase in temperature was controlled in terms of the strength of magnetic field. The simulation of heat transfer in the agar phantom model revealed that the suitable temperature distribution for therapy was attained from 15 to 20 min at 230 kHz and 100 Oe.