A commercial bentonite (primarily smectite) from Fischer Scientific Company (F bentonite) and a natural bentonite from Peru (P bentonite) were used in the preparation of pillared clays with polyoxymetal cations of Al that were subsequently modified with Ce and La. Several Al/metal ratios (5 and 9) were used to investigate the effects on the thermal and hydrothermal stability of these synthetic clays. The structure of these materials was studied by X-ray diffraction. Isotherms were determined by N2 adsorption. Thermal stability was determined using thermogravimetric (TG) measurements and ara-monia-TPD (temperature programmed desorption) was used to obtain acidity data. These materials exhibited basal spacings from 16 to 20 Å, with surface areas from 239 to 347 m2g−1, with microporosity contributing from 50 to 80% of the total surface area. Pillared clays prepared from F bentonite generally showed larger basal spacings and surface areas than those prepared from P bentonite. Pillared clays modified with Ce or La did not show any apparent structural changes relative to the Al-pillared clays. Pillared clays modified with Ce and La had similar acid properties as Al-pillared clays. In contrast, the thermal and hydrothermal stabilities of these materials were greater than Al-pillared clays. However, Ce-pillared clay appears to be more effective than La-pillared clay in delaying the dehydroxylation of pillared clays with increasing temperature. The intercalation of Ce and La into Al-pillared clays improved the thermal stability, which may increase the utility of these materials as catalysts.

Recently, low-density steels have received increased attention as promising alternatives for automotive applications of the next generation of Advanced High-Strength Steels (AHSS), considering that vehicle´s weight decrease has been the subject of intense interest. It is well-known that the addition of rare earth metals (REM) has a remarkable effect on shape control and the modification of inclusions. Also, REM additions affect the grain size refinement as well as the tendency to form oxides and sulfides. The aim of this research work was to determine the effect of REM (Ce, La) addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the Fe-30Mn-8Al-1.8C low-density steel in as-cast condition. In order to clarify the REM effect on the Fe-Mn-Al-C system, non-microalloyed (LD-NM) and REM microalloyed (LD-REM) specimens were examined in detail by means of light optical and scanning electron microscopy for microstructural characterization. In the same way, the primary and secondary phases founded in the studied steels were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Meanwhile, in order to evaluate the mechanical properties, ten microhardness measurements were carried out on the overall bulk by the Vickers hardness testing. In general, the results showed a dendritic refinement effect due to the addition of REM to low-density steel. REM acted as effective inoculants agents which reduced the primary and secondary arm spacing. Also, the strong segregation tendency at the grain boundaries in the liquid phase was limited. XRD profiles revealed the presence of austenite, ferrite, κ and DO3 phases. Low density steel microalloyed with REM showed a moderate increase in hardness compared to the non-microalloyed steel in the as-cast condition.

We show that alloying with rare earth metals (REMs) can dramatically improve the machineability of a range of titanium alloys, even though the REM is not incorporated in the alloy matrix. The mechanism for this is that under cutting, shear bands are formed within which the nano-precipitates of REM are shear mixed. This lowers the melting point such that the mechanism of deformation changes from dislocation mechanism to localised amorphisation and shear softening. The material then fractures along the thin, amorphous shear-band. Outside the shear band, the REM remains as precipitates. The new alloys have similar mechanical properties and biocompatibility to conventional materials.

The thermodynamic La–Sr–Mn–Cr–O oxide database is obtained as an extension of thermodynamic descriptions of oxide subsystems using the calculation of phase diagrams approach. Concepts of the thermodynamic modeling of solid oxide phases are discussed. Gibbs energy functions of SrCrO4, Sr2.67Cr2O8, Sr2CrO4, and SrCr2O4 are presented, and thermodynamic model parameters of La–Sr–Mn–Chromite perovskite are given. Experimental solid solubilities and nonstoichiometries in La1−xSrxCrO3−δ and LaMn1−xCrxO3−δ are reproduced by the model. The presented oxide database can be used for applied computational thermodynamics of traditional lanthanum manganite cathode with Cr-impurities. It represents the fundament for extensions to higher orders, aiming on thermodynamic calculations in noble symmetric solid oxide fuel cells.

The optimum glass formers in ternary La-TM-Al (TM = Co, Ni, Cu) alloys were pinpointed at alloys La69Co17Al14, La66Ni19Al15, and La66Cu20Al14, exhibiting critical sizes for full glass formation of 16, 12, and 5 mm, respectively. Cobalt is found to be the most favorable element for glass formation in La-based alloys. The optimum alloys in La-TM-Al show close composition but significantly different glass-forming ability (GFA). The mechanism of distinct effect of TM elements remains unclear, even discussed based on current GFA-related criteria and indicators.

The physical and electrical properties of La2O3 with and without an Al2O3 capping layer deposited by remote plasma atomic layer deposition were investigated. The electrical properties of the La2O3 films degraded due to the formation of lanthanum hydroxide after being exposed to air. The results of x-ray photoemission spectroscopy showed that the quantity of OH groups absorbed increased after exposure to air. For La2O3 with an Al2O3 capping layer, however, the electrical properties of the film did not change substantially because the capping layer effectively suppressed the formation of lanthanum hydroxide. The capacitance of the La2O3 decreased more than 30% after exposure to air, while La2O3 with an Al2O3 capping layer decreased by only about 4%. The VFB value of the La2O3 with an Al2O3 capping layer was near zero, and the hysteresis was about 120 mV. The leakage current densities of the film were maintained below 5 × 10−7 A/cm2 up to −15 MV/cm and the effective breakdown field was about −23.5 MV/cm.

The compositional dependence of glass formation and thermal and elastic properties was clarified for the ternary La–Al–Co bulk glass-forming system. The existing linear correlation between La concentration and characteristic temperatures, i.e., the glass transition temperature Tg and the onset temperature of crystallization Tx, as well as the elastic moduli in this system can give a useful guideline for the chemical design of desirable bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) with tunable physical properties in advance. The relationship between Tg and elastic constants for the La–Al–Co BMGs can be quantitatively described using a microscopic model proposed by T. Egami.

The phonon distribution of hydrogen storage α-LaNi5H with 4h, 6m, 12n, and 12o interstitial hydrogen was calculated by using first-principles potential surfaces with a 2×2×2 supercell model in order to investigate structural and thermodynamic properties. Frequency shifts due to the phonon contribution from the internal energies of 12n < 6m < 12o < 4h appeared in specific modes originating from interstitial hydrogen and in the upper-edge modes with nickel-lattice motion. The thermodynamic stability of 12n interstitial hydrogen in α-LaNi5H due to the wide XZ storage space can be explained by its phonon amplitudes and the charge density around nickel-bonded hydrogen.

The physical and electrical characteristics of La2O3 and LaAlO3 films, deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and using a new La formamidinate precursor (La-FAMD), were investigated. The La-FAMD precursor has superior thermal stability and is also the most volatile La source available today. The vapor pressure of La-FAMD, maintained at 100 ºC, is approximately 60 times higher than the commercial available source La-THD (THD = tetramethylheptanedionato).

The electrical properties of Al/LaAlO3/GaAs metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors were investigated. A thick arsenic (As2) capping layer was used to protect the GaAs from oxidation and contamination during the air exposure that occurred between the deposition of the GaAs and LaAlO3 layers in different molecular-beam epitaxy systems. Amorphous LaAlO3 was deposited on c(4×4)- and (2×4)-reconstructed (100) GaAs surfaces. Post dielectric deposition annealing was found to improve the capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics by eliminating frequency dispersion in the depletion and weak inversion regimes and diminished the bi-directional C-V hysteresis to 210 mV. Reasonably low gate leakage current was maintained after annealing.

A single step co-firing process for fabricating solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) requires refractory electrodes to prevent excessive sintering of the electrode while facilitating full-density sintering of the electrolyte. Single cell current-potential curves and impedance measurements indicate that the majority of the performance losses occur in the cathode and are due to activation polarization. A-site deficient calcium and cerium doped lanthanum ferrite cathode powders were synthesized and investigated as possible refractory cathode materials with low activation polarization losses. Four-probe conductivity measurements indicated that all compositions were suitable as cathodes. However, reactivity with YSZ reduced the conductivity by as much as two orders of magnitude, too low for use as a cathode. These refractory cathode compositions could be effective if a suitable barrier layer is applied to prevent reaction with YSZ. Experiments will investigate the applicability of a doped-ceria barrier layer to prevent reaction between the lanthanum ferrite cathode layer and the YSZ electrolyte layer.