Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xin Huang, Jinlong Zhu, Binghui Ge, Frauke Gerdes, Christian Klinke, Zhongwu Wang
Summary: This study investigates the crystallization and growth of anisotropic nanocrystals into distinct superlattices in real time, providing kinetic details and designer parameters for the scale-up fabrication of functional materials. By studying the assembly of octahedral PbS NC blocks, the researchers found that NCs preferentially self-assembled into an orientation-disordered face-centered cubic superlattice, which later transformed into a body-centered cubic superlattice with single NC-orientational ordering across individual domains. Such insights and defined parameters allowed for the scalable fabrication of large/single bcc supercrystals with coherent ordering of NC translation and atomic plane orientation.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chunfa Lin, Wenwen Wu, Yuqiang Han, Jiaxu Liu, Mengqiao Zhang, Qianying Wang, Xiang Li
Summary: Precipitation and growth of intermetallic phases during thermal processing are important for the formation and evolution of heterogeneous microstructure of Ti-Al intermetallic based alloys, but their understanding is still inadequate. In this study, we investigated the nucleation and growth behaviors of Ti-Al inter-metallic compounds in Ti/TiAl3 diffusion couple through high temperature annealing. Our experimental results revealed the sequential phase transformations and the formation of distinct single-phase layers at the Ti/TiAl3 interface. Both interfacial reaction and volume diffusion were observed to contribute to the growth of intermetallic layers. Additionally, preliminary determination of the hardness and elastic modulus of the intermetallic compounds was conducted to provide guidance for the design of high-performance Ti-Al intermetallic based alloys.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Sebastian Ohman, Olivier Donzel-Gargand, Mats Boman, Tobias Torndahl
Summary: Understanding crystallization and its controlling mechanisms is crucial for improving the design of inorganic materials. In this study, in situ heating in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) was used to investigate the crystallization phenomena in an Al-Ti-O system. The results indicate that crystallization occurs through a two-step process, with initial formation of numerous smaller crystals followed by rapid growth. The study also reveals the polymorphic nature of the amorphous-to-crystalline transformation and the preferential growth into larger crystals, suggesting a diffusionless mechanism.
CRYSTAL GROWTH & DESIGN
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Edward L. Pang, Gregory B. Olson, Christopher A. Schuh
Summary: The study systematically investigates the thermal hysteresis in ZrO2-CeO2 shape-memory ceramics, revealing the impact of CeO2 content on hysteresis through calorimetry measurements and in situ X-ray diffraction analysis. The findings provide insights into the controlling factors of hysteresis in SMCs and clarify previous contradictory reports in the literature.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Masahiro Kanno, Yutaka Tsuboi, Shigeki Matsuo, Yoshihisa Suzuki
Summary: In this study, the activation energy of kink incorporation and the vibrational frequency of particles on the growth interface of colloidal crystals with attractive interactions were successfully estimated using two different approaches. The results showed that the method of direct observation of particle movements was more accurate than the Arrhenius plot method. This study quantitatively estimated the activation energy of kink incorporation and the vibrational frequency of particles on the growth interface, which contributes significantly to the understanding of crystal growth mechanisms.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Xirong Bao, Jun'an Wang
Summary: The study found that the addition of lanthanum delays the bainite transformation and increases the required activation energy, while also promoting nucleation at the beginning but delaying growth, resulting in decreased transformation rate and prolonged transformation time.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Chenxiao Wang, Zhennan Huang, Yong Ding, Minghao Xie, Miaofang Chi, Younan Xia
Summary: This study presents a method for the facet-controlled synthesis of nanocrystals with an ultrathin shell made of a nearly equimolar RuRhPdPt quaternary alloy, showing greatly enhanced activity toward ethanol oxidation. The core-shell nanocubes demonstrate good thermal and electrochemical stability in terms of both geometrical shape and elemental composition, making them a promising candidate for various thermal and electrochemical reactions. The synthetic approach can potentially be extended to fabricate multimetallic catalysts with enhanced activities.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Shuqun Chen, Jinshu Wang, Ronghai Wu, Zheng Wang, Yangzhong Li, Yiwen Lu, Wenyuan Zhou, Peng Hu, Hongyi Li
Summary: This study investigates the structural properties of the metastable phase beta-W in tungsten films, provides insights into its nucleation and growth mechanisms, and elucidates its phase transformation behavior as the film thickness increases.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hongwei Guo, Yibo Gao, Shuai Liu, Longxing Chi, Rongyue Li, Yun Bai, Relva C. Buchanan, Yuxuan Gong
Summary: In this study, the crystallization kinetics of SiO2-TiO2-BaO (STB) system glasses were investigated using Kissinger and Augis-Bennett equations along with characterization methods such as XRD, DSC, SEM, IR, and Raman. The crystallization of Ba2TiSi2O8 was observed with an activation energy of 207.64 kJ/mol. The surface nucleation mechanism in one-dimensional space was indicated by the average crystallization index of n=1.14. Glass microspheres (GMSs) made from the STB glasses showed prone to crystallization, leading to a decrease in brightness. Adjusting the spheroidization time from 2 to 0.8 seconds increased the brightness from 52 to 63 cd*1 x-1 m-2. The higher BaO content in STB glasses facilitated surface nucleation.
CRYSTAL GROWTH & DESIGN
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Gabriella Jager, Janos J. Toman, Laura Juhasz, Zoltan Erdelyi, Csaba Cserhati, Gergo Vecsei
Summary: In this study, we used scanning electron microscopy in transmission mode and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction to investigate the solid-state reaction between crystalline ZnO and amorphous Al2O3 layers. We found a two-stage phase growth of the ZnAl2O4 product layer, with the formation of flat, pancake-like islands during the first stage and planar growth during the second stage. We concluded that this solid-state reaction is controlled by grain boundary and interface diffusion, rather than interface reaction control observed between crystalline parent phases.
SCRIPTA MATERIALIA
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Angshuman Podder, Kenneth S. Coley, Andre B. Phillion
Summary: A first principles-based multi-oxide inclusion (MOI) kinetic model is proposed to predict the transient evolution of oxide inclusion composition in secondary steelmaking processes. The model takes into account the thermodynamics and kinetics of different stoichiometric oxide inclusions, providing information about individual oxide particles rather than average inclusion composition. When coupled with a steel-slag model, the predictions of the MOI model show good agreement with experimental measurements, demonstrating the linkages between inclusion precipitation sequence and compositional variables.
METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS B-PROCESS METALLURGY AND MATERIALS PROCESSING SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Alessio Zandona, Emmanuel Veron, Gundula Helsch, Aurelien Canizares, Joachim Deubener, Mathieu Allix, Cecile Genevois
Summary: This study provides new insights into the crystallization mechanism of gel-derived SiO2-TiO2 glasses, with the first direct observation of subcritical nuclei by in situ high-temperature TEM. It confirms the crucial role of medium-range compositional fluctuations and Ostwald's rule of stages in crystal nucleation in undercooled melts and glasses.
CRYSTAL GROWTH & DESIGN
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Vladimir A. Isaev, Olga V. Grishenkova, Alexander V. Kosov, Olga L. Semerikova, Yuriy Zaikov
Summary: This study explores the processes of nucleation and growth in thin films obtained by electrodeposition on foreign substrates, analyzing the theoretical aspects of electrochemical phase formation under different conditions and proposing a model to determine key parameters that affect the results.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Yuxin Song, Junya Tanaka, Yasuo Narumi, Masayuki Hagiwara, Takashi Fukuda, Tomoyuki Kakeshita, Masaaki Sugiyama, Tomoyuki Terai
Summary: The incubation time of magnetic field-induced martensitic transformation in an Fe-24.8Ni-3.7Mn alloy has been investigated. Different types of martensitic transformations, including isothermal and athermal transformations, were observed under varying magnetic field conditions. The application of maximum field affected the onset of the martensitic transformation process.
MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alexander E. S. Van Driessche, Nani Van Gerven, Rick R. M. Joosten, Wai Li Ling, Maria Bacia, Nico Sommerdijk, Mike Sleutel
Summary: The study utilized cryo-transmission electron microscopy to map the self-assembly route of protein crystals at high nucleation rates, revealing the importance of interactions between crystalline nuclei and the impact of oriented attachment on the protein crystallization process.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Y. Liu, K. Zweiacker, C. Liu, J. T. McKeown, J. M. K. Wiezorek
Summary: The evolution of rapid solidification microstructure and solidification interface velocity of hypereutectic Al-20at.%Cu alloy after laser melting has been studied experimentally. It was found that the formation of microstructure was dominated by eutectic, alpha-cell, and banded morphology grains, and the growth modes changed with increasing interface velocity.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Bharat Gwalani, Julian Escobar, Miao Song, Jonova Thomas, Joshua Silverstein, Andrew Chihpin Chuang, Dileep Singh, Michael P. Brady, Yukinori Yamamoto, Thomas R. Watkins, Arun Devaraj
Summary: Castable alumina forming austenitic alloys exhibit superior creep life and oxidation resistance at high temperatures. This study reveals the mechanism behind the enhanced creep performance of these alloys by suppressing primary carbide formation and offers a promising alloy design strategy for high-temperature applications.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jian Song, Qi Zhang, Songsong Yao, Kunming Yang, Houyu Ma, Jiamiao Ni, Boan Zhong, Yue Liu, Jian Wang, Tongxiang Fan
Summary: Recent studies have shown that achieving an atomically flat surface for metals can greatly improve their oxidation resistance and enhance their electronic-optical applications. Researchers have explored the use of graphene as a covering layer to achieve atomically flat surfaces. They found that high-temperature deposited graphene on copper surfaces formed mono-atomic steps, while annealed copper and transferred graphene on copper interfaces formed multi-atomic steps.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jennifer A. Glerum, Jon-Erik Mogonye, David C. Dunand
Summary: Elemental powders of Al, Ti, Sc, and Zr are blended and processed via laser powder-bed fusion to create binary and ternary alloys. The microstructural analysis and mechanical testing show that the addition of Ti results in the formation of primary precipitates, while the addition of Sc and Zr leads to the formation of fine grain bands. The Al-0.25Ti-0.25Zr alloy exhibits comparable strain rates to Al-0.5Zr at low stresses, but significantly higher strain rates at higher stresses during compressive creep testing. Finite element modeling suggests that the connectivity of coarse and fine grain regions is a critical factor affecting the creep resistance of the alloys.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
P. Jannotti, B. C. Hornbuckle, J. T. Lloyd, N. Lorenzo, M. Aniska, T. L. Luckenbaugh, A. J. Roberts, A. Giri, K. A. Darling
Summary: This work characterizes the thermo-mechanical behavior of bulk nanocrystalline Cu-Ta alloys under extreme conditions. The experiments reveal that the alloys exhibit unique mechanical properties, behaving differently from conventional nanocrystalline Cu. They do not undergo grain coarsening during extrusion and exhibit behavior similar to coarse-grained Cu.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Yiqing Wei, Jingwei Li, Daliang Zhang, Bin Zhang, Zizhen Zhou, Guang Han, Guoyu Wang, Carmelo Prestipino, Pierric Lemoine, Emmanuel Guilmeau, Xu Lu, Xiaoyuan Zhou
Summary: This study proposes a new strategy to modify microstructure by phase regulation, which can simultaneously enhance carrier mobility and reduce lattice thermal conductivity. The addition of Cu in layered SnSe2 induces a phase transition that leads to increased grain size and reduced stacking fault density, resulting in improved carrier mobility and lower lattice thermal conductivity.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jia Chen, Zhengyu Zhang, Eitan Hershkovitz, Jonathan Poplawsky, Raja Shekar Bhupal Dandu, Chang-Yu Hung, Wenbo Wang, Yi Yao, Lin Li, Hongliang Xin, Honggyu Kim, Wenjun Cai
Summary: In this study, the structural origin of the pH-dependent repassivation mechanisms in multi-principal element alloys (MPEA) was investigated using surface characterization and computational simulations. It was found that selective oxidation in acidic to neutral solutions leads to enhanced nickel enrichment on the surface, resulting in reduced repassivation capability and corrosion resistance.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
X. Y. Xu, C. P. Huang, H. Y. Wang, Y. Z. Li, M. X. Huang
Summary: The limited slip systems of magnesium (Mg) and its alloys hinder their wide applications. By conducting tensile straining experiments, researchers discovered a rate-dependent transition in the dislocation mechanisms of Mg alloys. At high strain rates, glissile dislocations dominate, while easy-glide dislocations dominate at low strain rates. Abundant glissile dislocations do not necessarily improve ductility.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
M. S. Szczerba, M. J. Szczerba
Summary: Inverse temperature dependences of the detwinning stress were observed in face-centered cubic deformation twins in Cu-8at.%Al alloy. The detwinning stress increased with temperature when the pi detwinning mode was involved, but decreased when the pi/3 mode was involved. The dual effect of temperature on the detwinning stress was due to the reduction of internal stresses pre-existing within the deformation twins. The complete reduction of internal stresses at about 530 degrees C led to the equivalence of the critical stresses of different detwinning modes and a decrease in the yield stress anisotropy of the twin/matrix structure.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Taowen Dong, Tingting Qin, Wei Zhang, Yaowen Zhang, Zhuoran Feng, Yuxiang Gao, Zhongyu Pan, Zixiang Xia, Yan Wang, Chunming Yang, Peng Wang, Weitao Zheng
Summary: The interaction between the electrode and the electric double layer (EDL) significantly influences the energy storage mechanism. By studying the popular alpha-Fe2O3 electrode and the EDL interaction, we find that the energy storage mechanism of the electrode can be controlled by modulating the EDL.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Matthew R. Barnett, Jun Wang, Sitarama R. Kada, Alban de Vaucorbeil, Andrew Stevenson, Marc Fivel, Peter A. Lynch
Summary: The elastic-plastic transition in magnesium alloy Mg-4.5Zn exhibits bursts of deformation, which are characterized by sudden changes in grain orientation. These bursts occur in a coordinated manner among nearby grains, with the highest burst rate observed at the onset of full plasticity. The most significant burst events are associated with twinning, supported by the observation of twinned structures using electron microscopy. The bursts are often preceded and followed by a stasis in peak movement, indicating a certain "birth size" for twins upon formation and subsequent growth at a later stage.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Vaidehi Menon, Sambit Das, Vikram Gavini, Liang Qi
Summary: Understanding solute segregation thermodynamics is crucial for investigating grain boundary properties. The spectral approach and thermodynamic integration methods can be used to predict solute segregation behavior at grain boundaries and compare with experimental observations, thus aiding in alloy design and performance control.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Feiyu Qin, Lei Hu, Yingcai Zhu, Yuki Sakai, Shogo Kawaguchi, Akihiko Machida, Tetsu Watanuki, Yue-Wen Fang, Jun Sun, Xiangdong Ding, Masaki Azuma
Summary: This study reports on the negative and zero thermal expansion properties of Cd2Re2O7 and Cd1.95Ni0.05Re2O7 materials, along with their ultra-low thermal conductivity. Through investigations of their structures and phonon calculations, the synergistic effect of local structure distortion and soft phonons is revealed as the key to achieving these distinctive properties.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Thomas Beerli, Christian C. Roth, Dirk Mohr
Summary: A novel testing system for miniature specimens is designed to characterize the plastic response of materials for which conventional full-size specimens cannot be extracted. The system has an automated operation process, which reduces the damage to specimens caused by manual handling and improves the stability of the test results. The experiments show that the miniature specimens extracted from stainless steel and aluminum have high reproducibility, and the results are consistent with those of conventional-sized specimens. A correction procedure is provided to consider the influence of surface roughness and heat-affected zone caused by wire EDM.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Rani Mary Joy, Paulius Pobedinskas, Nina Baule, Shengyuan Bai, Daen Jannis, Nicolas Gauquelin, Marie-Amandine Pinault-Thaury, Francois Jomard, Kamatchi Jothiramalingam Sankaran, Rozita Rouzbahani, Fernando Lloret, Derese Desta, Jan D'Haen, Johan Verbeeck, Michael Frank Becker, Ken Haenen
Summary: This study investigates the influence of film microstructure and composition on the Young's modulus and residual stress in nanocrystalline diamond thin films. The results provide insights into the mechanical properties and intrinsic stress sources of these films, and demonstrate the potential for producing high-quality nanocrystalline diamond films under certain conditions.