The crystallographic texture, orientation relationships, coherency stress, and thermal stability of sputter-deposited Ni/Ni3Al multilayered thin films were studied as a function of bilayer period (Λ) as well as processing parameters such as substrate type, deposition temperature, and prebake conditions. Deposition onto oxidized Si or single-crystal Cu(001), NaCl(001), or KBr(001) substrates near room temperature produces multilayers with a [111] crystallographic texture along the Ni/Ni3Al interface normal and a disordered face-centered cubic structure for the Ni3Al phase. In contrast, deposition at 673 K onto NaCl(001) or KBr(001) substrates that are prebaked in vacuum at 693 K produces a chemically ordered L12 structure for the Ni3Al phase and (001) epitaxial growth. X-ray diffraction measurements of (001) multilayers with equal volume fraction of Ni and Ni3Al reveals a transition from a nearly incoherent state at Λ=40 nm to a semicoherent one at Λ 40 nm. Remarkably, (001) multilayers were observed to solutionize at 1373 K, which is approximately 100 K below that predicted by the Ni–Al phase diagram.

To develop an effective process for the recovery of precious metals from scrap, we investigated a new platinum extraction process using alloy formation by magnesium vapor and successive leaching with an aqueous solution. Pure platinum plates were reacted with magnesium vapor at constant temperatures ranging between 873 and 1173 K for 3 h, and Mg–Pt alloy samples were synthesized. The obtained Mg–Pt alloy was then dissolved in aqua regia or in an aqueous HCl solution at room temperature. Platinum was recovered from the leaching solution by conventional precipitation technique, and the platinum obtained by each process was analyzed chemically. It was found that 94% of the platinum was recovered by this process. After Mg vapor treatment, 100% of the platinum was dissolved when kept in aqua regia for 1 h, whereas only 25% of untreated pure platinum was dissolved when kept in aqua regia for 4 h.

Micropatterning of Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) thin films with line features as small as 350 nm was demonstrated through capillary molding of organometallic solutions within the continuous channels of an elastomeric mold. Despite the large stresses that develop during the evaporation of the solvent, pyrolysis of the organics, and the densification and crystallization of the inorganic gel, the patterned crystalline PZT films were crack-free and mechanically robust. Flawless regions as large as 1 cm2 were obtained. The cross-sectional shape of the patterned PZT lines was trapezoidlike. Single perovskite PZT grains that formed during annealing at 600–700 °C completely filled the cross-sectional area of the patterned lines. Lead acetate, zirconium propoxide, and titanium isopropoxide were used as the starting materials. Substrates used included silver tape, stainless steel plate, silicon wafer, and platinum-coated silicon wafer.

A novel Ag/mica compressive seal was thermally cycled between 100 °C and 800 °C in air to evaluate its stability. The novel Ag/mica compressive seal was composed of a naturally cleaved Muscovite mica sheet and two thin silver layers, and was reported in a previous study to have very low leak rates at 800 °C. In the present study, we examined the thermal cycle stability of the Ag/mica-based compressive seals pressed between mating couples with large and small mismatch in thermal expansion. For comparison, thermal cycling also was conducted on plain mica as well as plain silver only. In addition, the results were compared with published data of a similar mica seal using glass instead of Ag as the interlayers. For mating materials of large mismatch in thermal expansion coefficient (CTE; Inconel/alumina), the Ag/mica seal showed lower leak rates than the plain mica. For mating materials of small mismatch in CTE (SS430/alumina), the leak rates were similar for both the Ag/mica and the plain mica seal. Scanning electron microscopy was used to characterize the microstructure of the mica after thermal cycling. Microcracks, fragmentation, and wear-particle formation were observed on the mica and were correlated to the leak behavior. Overall, the novel Ag/mica seals present good thermal cycle stability for solid-oxide fuel cells, although the leak rates were greater than the corresponding mica seals with glass interlayers.

The mechanical behavior at high temperatures of three hot gunning refractory mixtures used for coke oven repair was studied. The materials were characterized by chemical, mineralogical, granulometric, and microscopic analyses, exhibiting differences in composition and particle size distributions of both aggregates and bonding phases. The hot adhesion of the mixtures to silica bricks was determined using torsional forces, and the interphase between them was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Thermal expansion up to 1200 °C and creep under compressive load (172 kPa at 1200 °C, 3 h) were carried out on prisms prepared by ramming and sintering (1200 °C, 1 h). The creep strain–time data are well fitted using constitutive equations. The mixtures showed differences in both hot adhesion and thermal expansion–creep tests: the material based on calcium aluminates exhibited poorer properties than those based on calcium silicate. The results are explainded taking into consideration the characteristics of both aggregates and bonding phases.

The influence of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) on Ba dissolution from the BaTiO3-aqueous solution interface was investigated. Incongruent dissolution of Ba impacts the colloidal stability, microstructure, and electrical properties of BaTiO3 and related perovskite dielectric materials used in the manufacture of ceramic capacitors. The solubility characteristics of BaTiO3 were influenced significantly by the presence of PAA and PVA. PAA, which forms weak monodentate complexes with Ba2+, acted as both a passivating and a sequestering agent, depending on pH. Both PAA and PVA provided some degree of passivation in the acidic pH region. Above pH 8, where BaTiO3 solubility decreases sharply, PVA had a moderate passivating effect, whereas solubility was enhanced by PAA with a positive linear dependence on concentration. The adsorptive and electrokinetic behavior of colloidal BaTiO3 with respect to PAA and PVA are correlated with the observed passivating and sequestering properties of these polymers.

Using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), we have studied the thermally activated hydrolysis of aluminum nitride admixed into Al2O3 aqueous suspensions. We paid special attention to the formation of aluminum hydroxide and its role in binding the host ceramic particles into a stiff solid matrix. The water–proton NMR spin-spin relaxation time (T2) was continuously measured as a function of the time of the AlN hydrolysis in the host Al2O3 ceramic suspension. T2 was found to correlate with an increasing fraction of bound water at the surface of the formed hydrogel and so provided us with information about the gel-surface growth during the hydrolysis process. These results are in good agreement with the observed time- and composition-related increases in high-frequency impedance for the analyzed suspensions.

Nanoindentation testing has been used to measure the hardness and elastic modulus of Ag3Sn, Cu6Sn5, and Cu3Sn intermetallics, as well as Sn–Ag–Cu solder and pure Sn and Cu. The intermetallics were fabricated by solid-state annealing of diffusion couples prepared from a substrate (Cu or Ag) and a solder material (Sn or Sn–Ag–Cu solder), providing geometries and length scales as close as possible to a real solder joint. Nanoindentation results for the intermetallics, representing penetration depths of 20–220 nm and loads from 0.7 to 9.5 mN, reveal elastic/plastic deformation without evidence of fracture. Measured hardness values of Cu6Sn5 (6.5 ± 0.3 GPa) and Cu3Sn (6.2 ± 0.4 GPa) indicate a potential for brittle behavior, while Ag3Sn (2.9 ± 0.2 GPa) appears much softer and ductile. Using a bulk Cu6Sn5 sample, Vickers hardness testing revealed an indentation size effect for this compound, with a hardness of 4.3 GPa measured at a load of 9.8 N. An energy balance model is used to explain the dependence of hardness with load or depth, where the observation of an increasing amount of fracture with applied load is identified as the primary mechanism. This result explains discrepancies between nanoindentation and Vickers results previously reported.

A multistep technique has been developed for the generation of metallic/alloy nanoparticles coated with amorphous silica. As a proof of concept, an inert-gas blown-arc geometry was used to create nanoparticles from a bulk nickel source, and silica coating formation was accomplished via tetraethyloxysilane (TEOS) decomposition over the nanoparticles in an adjacent chemical vapor deposition chamber. The composite particles exhibit resistance to hydrochloric acid attack over extended times, thereby confirming the protective nature of the silica coating, and magnetic measurements indicate a superparamagnetic transition temperature of 41 K. TEOS flow rate was found to have a profound effect on particle morphology, and individually coated dispersed particles were observed for the intermediate flow rate studied. These results, combined with the well-established field of silica functionalization, offer the possibility that a variety of industrially significant coated magnetic nanostructures may be synthesized with this versatile approach.

A technique based on synchrotron radiation was developed that allows for rapid structural and chemical characterization of ternary alloys over a wide range of composition. The technique was applied to isothermal sections of the Cr–Fe–Ni system grown on Al2O3(0001) sapphire substrates by sequential deposition of layers of graded.thickness followed by annealing to interdiffuse the elements. A film spanning the Cr–Fe–Ni ternary system was measured in 4 h at a resolution of 2 at.% by rastering the sample under a focused beam of synchrotron radiation while simultaneously measuring the diffraction pattern with a charge-coupled device detector to determine crystallographic phases, texture, and lattice parameters and also measuring the x-ray fluorescence with an energy-dispersive detector to determine elemental composition. Maps of phase composition and lattice parameter as a function of composition for several annealing treatments were found to be consistent with equilibrium values. The technique will be useful in combinatorial materials design.

A solid solution of lead magnesium niobate (PMN), a relaxor ferroelectric, with lead zirconate (PZ), an antiferroelectric, gives rise to a system that behaves like a relaxor ferroelectric for lower concentrations of PZ, and like a normal ferroelectric above 50% substitution by PZ. This paper reports the heat-capacity behavior of (1 – x)PMN–xPZ for the composition range x = 0.30 to 0.95 and temperature range 300–600 K. It was observed that, although the atomic structure of the material is basically crystalline throughout, with sharp x-ray diffraction peaks, the crossover from normal–ferroelectric behavior to relaxor–ferroelectric behavior (on decreasing x) is accompanied by a matching crossover from crystalline behavior to glassy behavior, as exhibited in the heat-capacity plots. In other words, the heat-capacity curves for the relaxor compositions bear resemblance to those observed for canonical or conventional glasses, with the glass-transition temperature and the continuous step in specific heat changing gradually as a function of the composition parameter x. However, not all properties match those for canonical glasses. For example, soaking for 24 h at a temperature or 10 to 20 K below the mean glass-transition temperature does not raise the specific heat to a value nearly equal to the value in the unfrozen state. Similarly, the glass-transition temperature (for 0.7PMN–0.3PZ) increases, though only marginally (from 337 K to 343 K), when the rate of heating across the transition is increased by a factor of 50 (from 0.1 K per minute to 5 K per min.). Further, the temperature interval ΔT over which most of the glass transition occurs in the relaxor ferroelectric is typically as large as 30–40 K, compared to only about 10 K for canonical glasses.

The elastic response of atmospheric plasma-sprayed coatings was investigated using Vickers and spherical indenter geometries. In both cases a strong dependency of the stiffness on the applied load (indentation depth) was observed. The stiffness of the coatings decreased with increasing load for a Vickers indenter, whereas it increased for a spherical indenter. This contrary behavior was related to the relative crack density in the deformed volume and to the stress dependence of the stiffness due to crack closure. The effect of annealing on the stiffness was quantified for both tip geometries. The heat treatment yielded additional information on the relationship between the indentation data and the microstructural defects. From the results it was concluded that the stiffness measured using a sharp indenter and small load reflected the elastic behavior of single spraying splats. With the relatively large spherical indenter, the average global stiffness of the thermal barrier coating was measured even at small loads. From the data obtained using the spherical indenter, a compressive stress–strain curve was suggested. Furthermore, values of the apparent crack density and yield strength were determined from the indentation tests.

Contact-induced radial cracking in ceramic coatings on compliant substrates was analyzed recently. Radial cracks initiate at the coating/substrate interface beneath the contact where maximum flexural tension occurs, and an analytical expression for the onset of radial cracking in monolayer coatings was formulated on the basis of the classical solution for flexing plates on elastic foundation. In the present study, the analytical expression was derived for the case of ceramic bilayer coatings on compliant substrates, which have significant applications in the structure of dental crowns. It was found that the analytical solution for bilayer-coating/substrate systems can be obtained from that of monolayer-coating/substrate systems by replacing the neutral surface position and the flexural rigidity of monolayer coating with those of bilayer coating. The predicted critical loads for initiating radial cracking were found to be in good agreement with existing measurements and finite element results for glass/alumina, glass/glass-ceramic, and glass/Y2O3-stabilized ZrO2 polycrystal bilayers on polycarbonate substrates. Limitations of the present analysis are discussed.

Piezoelectric properties k33 and d33 of 0.67 Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.33 PbTiO3 single crystals grown by a modified Bridgman method were measured in the temperature range of 20–150 °C. Recoverability of the properties after the samples were heated to 110 °C, above the ferroelectric–ferroelectric (F–F) phase transition temperature of the composition, was found. From 20 to approximately 80 °C, k33 increases slightly, while d33 is almost doubled. Between approximately 90 and 100 °C, k33 decreases sharply to roughly a level of PZT-5 ceramics and d33 decreases to about 700 pC/N. They increase again with further increase of temperature; at 140 °C they attain 0.74 and approximately 1300 pC/N, respectively, and then decrease quickly and approach zero at about 150 °C. When heating to 110 °C followed by cooling to room temperature, the property decay is small. After more than one dozen heating–cooling cycles, k33 and d33 tend to be stable at 0.89 and approximately 1220 pC/N, respectively. The results might be helpful for device design and applications of PMN–PT single crystals.

We numerically simulated the current density distribution in electrically nonlinear varistor material containing geometrically simple inclusion defects. Nonconductive spheres and disks, which resemble inclusion shapes observed in chemically prepared varistor material, were investigated. Current densities near perfectly conductive spheres and rods were also computed to gain insight into observed electrical degradation phenomena. These defects were assumed to be much larger than the characteristic size of the zinc oxide (ZnO) grain structure, and our computational method treated the varistor material as electrically isotropic. Results showed strong, localized concentrations of current with either perfectly conductive or nonconductive inclusions, and a dependence on the density of the conductive defects. The small spatial extent of strong current intensification may help to explain the stepwise electrical degradation we have observed when a failing ZnO varistor is subjected to high-power electrical pulses.

Silicon nitride–tungsten (Si3N4–W) composites were fabricated by reduction of tungsten boride under hot-press sintering in a nitrogen atmosphere. The fabricated composite consisted of mainly β–Si3N4 and W. The Si3N4 matrix grains were composed of an elongated and bimodal structure similar to conventional Si3N4. The mechanical properties of the composites in terms of fracture toughness and strength were almost the same as those of a monolithic Si3N4 produced under the same sintering conditions. The sliding wear properties of the composites were evaluated using a ball-on-disk machine under unlubricated sliding conditions against a commercial Si3N4 ceramic ball. The tungsten (W) content had a significant effect on the composite wear properties. In particular, for a composite disk with a W content of 8 vol% the specific wear rate of the opposing ball was decreased around ten times compared to the monolithic Si3N4. The composites had higher wear resistance compared with the conventional silicon nitride, which was attributed to the formation of debris consisting of W, Si, and O. The debris restricted the adhesion of the two surfaces.

Thermoset acrylic–melamine resins are widely used for automobile exterior coatings. These materials are formulated by reacting an acrylic polyol with an alkylated melamine. Because the reactions are reversible, acrylic–melamine coatings tend to hydrolyze during exposures in moist environments. During hydrolysis, water in the coating film is consumed. To keep the moisture content in the film in equilibrium, water must be transported from regions of high water concentration to regions of low water concentration. An approach based on Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis of the coating degradation fitted to a transport model is presented to estimate the diffusion coefficients and velocities of water transport during the hydrolysis of an acrylic–melamine coating exposed to different relative humidities (RHs). Theoretical prediction agreed well with the experimental FTIR data of coating hydrolytic degradation. Generally, both the diffusion coefficient and velocity of water transport in the coating increased with increasing RH. Since water transport resulting from the hydrolysis reactions is a very slow and complex process, the approach presented here provides a viable means for obtaining valuable data for quantitative analyses of coating hydrolytic degradation at different RHs.

Based on a structure model of mixture of phases, the crystal structure analysis of (Ba1−xLax)[Mg(1+x)/3Nb(2−x)/3]O3 (BLMN) (x = 0.9 and 1.0) by Rietveld refinements was carried out. The pure La(Mg2/3Nb1/3)O3 (LMN) and BLMN (x=0.9) actually consist of a two-phase mixture rather a single phase. One is Fm-3m, which is cubic and 1:1 ordered and the other is P21/n, which is monoclinic and has both 1:1 ordering and the antiphase and inphase tilting of oxygen octahedra with a−a−c+. The weight fraction of the Fm-3m phase is 17.5% at x=0.9 and further decreases to 7.5% in pure LMN. Meanwhile, that of the P21/n phase is 82.5% at x =0.9 and further increases to 92.5% in pure LMN. The I4/m phase, which is present as a minor phase from x=0.3 to 0.7, disappeared when x≥0.9. The abrupt change of the x-ray diffraction pattern at x=0.9 is caused by a change of major phase from Fm-3m to P21/n phase in the matrix.

Nanocrystal-(Ti, Al)Nx/amorphous-SiNy composite films were prepared in a codeposition process under different substrate bias voltages. The effects of substrate bias voltage on the deposition rate, composition, microstructure, and mechanical properties of nanocomposite films were investigated. Results indicated that the films with bias voltages caused resputtering due to the bombardment of high-energy ions on film surface. The resputtering effect had substantial influence on deposition rate, surface morphology, and composition of films. The films with (220) preferred orientation were also observed as the applied substrate bias voltages exceeded 50 V. As the substrate bias voltage increased, the nanocrystallite size increased, lattice strain raised, and the hardness decreased.

We processed coarse-grained Ti and equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) processed ultrafine-grained (UFG) Ti into 20-μm-thick Ti foils by cold rolling and intermediate annealing. The foils produced from rolling the UFG Ti exhibit a homogeneous nanostructure, while foils produced from rolling the coarse-grained Ti exhibit heterogeneous structures with a mixture of nanostructured regions and coarse-grained regions. The former foils also have higher strength and ductility and exhibit uniform deformation over a larger strain range at room temperature than the latter ones. This work demonstrated the advantage and viability of producing nanostructured Ti foil by rolling ECAP-processed UFG Ti stock.