Effect of Cu Co-doping on the magnetism of Zn0.95Co0.05O films

Zn_0.95?x Co_0.05Cu _x O (atomic ratio, x = 0?C8%) thin films are fabricated on Si(111) substrate by reactive magnetron sputtering method. Detailed characterizations indicate that the doped Cu ions substitute the Zn²⁺ ions in ZnO lattice. The doped Cu ions are in +1 and +2 mixture valent state. The ferromagnetism of the Zn_0.95?x Co_0.05Cu _x O film increases gradually with the increase of the Cu⁺ ion concentration till x = 6%, but decreases for higher Cu concentration. Experimental results indicate that the increase of ferromagnetism is not owing to the magnetic contribution of Cu⁺ ions themselves, but owing to the enhancement of magnetic interaction between Co²⁺ ions, which suggests that p-type doping of Cu⁺ ions plays an important role in mediating the ferromagnetic coupling between Co ions.     

Microstructure and hardness of Ni-xSi alloys

The microstructure and hardness of conventionally solidified Ni-xSi (x = 21.4%, 22%, 24%, 26%) alloys were investigated. The solidification microstructures of different Ni-Si alloys were observed by optical microscope (OM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the phase composition was indentified under the help of energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The macro- and micro-hardness of the Ni-Si alloys at room temperature were also examined. The experimental results indicated that both the microstructure and hardness closely depended on the Si content. Due to the vast formation of primary ??-Ni₃₁Si₁₂ phase, the hardness of Ni-26.0%Si alloy was significantly improved compared with that of Ni-21.4%Si eutectic alloy. However, the fracture toughness was greatly weakened simultaneously. The (?? ₁-Ni₃Si+??-Ni₃₁Si₁₂) lamellar eutectoid structure formed in the primary ??-Ni₃₁Si₁₂ phase exhibited better ductility than single ??-Ni₃₁Si₁₂ phase at the cost of relatively small hardness reduction.     

Electronic structures and magneto-transport properties of co-based Heusler alloy based magneto-resistance junctions

A direct link between band structure and the ballistic transport property of full-Heusler alloys based Co₂ YZ/Al/Co₂ YZ trilayers (Y = Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn and Fe; Z = Al, Si and Ge) has been studied by firstprinciples calculations. It is found that the transport efficiency is determined primarily by three factors related to band structure: the shape of the band crossing Fermi energy E _F, the distance d of the two intersection points of Co₂ YZ and Al at E _F, and the absolute maximum of the energy lying in the E _F-crossing band, |E_max|. The transmission coefficient distribution patterns imply that the affected factor of magneto-resistance (MR) ratio is attributed to the band features around E _F. In general, an intuitively illustrated diagram is proposed to clarify the relationship between the probability of electron transition and the current magnitude.     

Research on reduction of Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> by biomass sawdust

The research on biomass reduction of Fe₂O₃ was carried out by using sawdust as reductant. The direct reducing agents in the biomass magnetization process were determined by comparing various biomass pyrolysis products with the reduction degree (divalent iron content in total iron), reduction temperature range and valence change of Fe₂O₃ in the reduction process. The microstructure variation of Fe₂O₃ at different stages was also analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Nonisothermal thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was applied to explore the thermal reduction process. The results show that the direct reducing substances in the biomass reaction with Fe₂O₃ are H₂ and bio-oil, and the reduction process can be divided into two steps: biomass pyrolyzing to release H₂ and bio-oil, and reductive volatiles reacting with Fe₂O₃. The two steps are relatively independent. The kinetic of the reduction reaction follows a first-order reaction kinetic model, with 88.99 kJ/mol activation energy and 9.55 × 10⁸ min^?1 frequency factor.     

Effect of carbon nanotube concentration on cooling behaviors of oil-based nanofluids during the immersion quenching

Oil-based nanofluids including 0.75%—1.75%(mass fraction) carbon nanotubes(CNTs) without any surfactants have been synthesized by a two-step process. The probes machined from 45~# steel with 22 mm diameter and 50 mm length are quenched in the as-synthesized CNT nanofluids for testing the cooling behaviors of the nanofluids. The laser diffraction particle size analyzer, scanning electronic microscope(SEM), X-ray diffractometer and transmission electron microscope(TEM) are used to characterize the quality and distribution of CNTs in the nanofluids. The wettability and viscosity of 30~# oil and oil-based CNT nanofluids are measured by a goniometer at 15℃ and a rotational type viscometer at 40℃, respectively. The results show that the cooling efficiency of the oil-based CNT nanofluids is better than that of 30~# oil. Moreover, the cooling rate of the naonofluids increases with the further increase of the CNT concentration. When the mass fraction of CNTs increases to 1.75%, the cooling rate of the naonofluids reaches a maximum at 760℃ and it is increased by 77.8% as compared to that of base oil. The improved cooling rate of oil by CNTs is mainly due to the uniform distribution and excellent thermal conductivity of CNTs.     

First-principle investigation of the structural stability and electronic property of precipitates on the Cu-rich side of Cu-Ni-Si alloys

The energetic and electronic structures of precipitates on the Cu-rich side of Cu-Ni-Si alloys were investigated by using the first-principle calculations based on plane-wave pseudopotential method. The negative formation heats and the cohesive energies of these precipitates were estimated with electronic structure calculations, and their structural stability was also analyzed. The results show that δ-Ni₂Si, γ-Ni₅Si₂ and β-Ni₃Si precipitates all have great alloying ability and structural stability, which, after comparing their density of states (DOS), is found attributed to the pseudogap effect near the Fermi level (E _F) and strong hybridization between the Ni-3d and Si-3p states. Compared with the other two precipitates, the δ-Ni₂Si precipitate has the greatest structural stability, which is resulted from its lower DOS at E _F and the main bonding peaks slightly moving to the low energy region.     

Threshold signature scheme with threshold verification based on multivariate linear polynomial

Secret sharing schemes are multi-party protocols related to key establishment. They also facilitate distributed trust or shared control for critical activities (e.g., signing corporate cheques and opening bank vaults), by gating the critical action on cooperation from t(t ∈ Z ⁺) of n(n ∈ Z ⁺) users. A (t, n) threshold scheme (t < n) is a method by which a trusted party computes secret shares Γ _i (1 ⩽ i ⩽ n) from an initial secret Γ ₀ and securely distributes Γ _i to user. Any t or more users who pool their shares may easily recover Γ ₀, but any group knowing only t−1 or fewer shares may not. By the ElGamal public key cryptophytes and the Schnorr’s signature scheme, this paper proposes a new (t, n) threshold signature scheme with (k,m) (k,m ∈ Z ⁺) threshold verification based on the multivariate linear polynomial.     

Monte Carlo simulation of electron swarms parameters in c-C4F8/CF4 gas mixtures

The swarm parametes for c-C₄F₈/CF₄ mixtures, including the density-normalized effective ionization coefficient, drift velocity and mean energy were calculated using Monte-Carlo method with the null collision technique. The overall density-reduced electric field strength could be varied between 150 and 500 Td, while the c-C₄F₈ content in gas mixtures is varied in the range of 0–100%. The value of the density-normalized effective ionization coefficient shows a strong dependence on the c-C₄F₈ content, becoming more electronegative as the content of c-C₄F₈ is increased. The drift velocity of c-C₄F₈/CF₄ mixtures is more affected by CF₄. The calculated limiting field strength for c-C₄F₈/CF₄ mixtures is higher than that of SF₆/CF₄. Foundation item: the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 50777041)     

Phase transitions relating to the pozzolanic activity of electrolytic manganese residue during calcination

Electrolytic manganese residue（EMR） is generated from electrolytic manganese metal（EMM） industry, and its disposal is currently a serious problem in China.The EMR were calcined in the interval 100—900℃to enhance their pozzolanic activity and characterized by the differential thermal analysis-thermogravimetry（TGDTA）, X-ray diffraction（XRD）,infra-red（IR） and chemical analysis techniques with the aim to correlate phase transitions and structural features with the pozzolanic activity of calcined EMR.Prom the phase analysis and compressive strength results,it is found that the EMR calcined within 700—800℃had the best pozzolanic activity due to the decomposition of poorly-crystallized CaSO₄ under the reducing ambient created by the decomposition of（NH₄）₂SO₄.The appearance of reactive CaO mainly contributes to the good pozzolanic activity of EMR calcined within 700—800℃.The crystallinity of Mn₃CO₄ increases leading an unfavourable effect on the pozzolanic behaviour of EMR calcined at 900℃.The developed pozzolanic material containing 30%（mass fraction） EMR possesses compressive strength properties at a level similar to 42.5^# normal Portland cement,in the range of 41.5—50.5 MPa.Besides,leaching results show that EMR blend cement pastes have excellent effect on the solidification of heavy metals.     

Effect of oxygen content on structural and optical properties of single Cu2O film by reactive magnetron sputtering method

Cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) thin films have been deposited on glass substrate by reactive magnetron sputtering method using Cu target and argon oxygen gas atmosphere. Effect of oxygen flow rate on structural and optical properties of thin films has been discussed. The results of X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry and atomic force micrograph indicated that the condition window for single Cu₂O phase was about 3.8 to 4.4 cm³/min, and the optimum oxygen flow rate was 4.2 cm³/min. The optical band gap E _g of Cu₂O film was determined by using the data of transmittance versus wavelength, and slightly decreased from 2.46 to 2.40 eV with the increase of oxygen flow rate from 3.8 to 4.4 cm³/min. The Cu₂O film formed at the oxygen flow rate of 4.2 cm³/min had an optical band gap of 2.43 eV.     

Microstructure of hot-dip galvanized Zn-Al-Mg alloy coating

The microstructure of hot-dip galvanized Zn-11%Al-3%Mg-0.2%Si alloy coating was studied in this article. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the coating is composed by Zn, Al and MgZn₂ phase. Optical microscope (OM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations showed the coating is occupied by snowflake-like dendrite, double hexagonal organization and eutectic. The coating backbone was the dendrite considered to be a phase of hexagonal close-packed (HCP) structure judging form its morphology according to the crystal growth way in the coating. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) researches on the dendrite suggested that an intermediate Zn-Al phase was formed at high temperature, then decomposed into a type of Zn-Al granular eutectoid after cooling down to room temperature, while the eutectoid Zn and Al had a certain crystallographic relationship. The coating solidification process and the grain crystal structure were discussed.     

Preparation of benzene adsorption materials using waste activated alumina

A new type of benzene adsorption material was prepared by using the airtight heat treatment method. This method can directly transform the organic impurities of the activated alumina waste into carbon with adsorption capability. The microstructure and carbon content of materials were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET (Brunauer Emmett Teller) surface area analysis and elemental analysis. The influences of heat treatment temperature on the properties of the composite materials were discussed. The benzene adsorption capability of the material was investigated. The experimental results show that the optimal heat treatment process condition is airtight heating at 400°C for 2 h. The resulting sample has carbon mass fraction of 3.57%, specific surface area of 234.70m²/g, pore volume of 0.41m³/g, and average pore size of 6.59 nm. The samples show excellent benzene adsorption capability with an adsorption rate of 21.80%.     

Microscopic structure and property of double-electrode gas metal arc welding of AZ31B magnesium alloy

This paper focuses on the research on double-electrode gas metal arc welding(DE-GMAW) of AZ31 B magnesium alloy sheet with 2 mm thickness. During the welding process, stable hybrid arc of metal inert gas(MIG) and tungsten inert gas(TIG) is employed as welding heat source. Optical and electron microscopes are used to observe the microstructures of the weld joint. X-ray diffraction(XRD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS) are employed to identify the components in fusion zone. Microhardness is also tested. When the MIG current is 80 A, the perfect weld joint is obtained, though figures of fish scales are observed in all joints in the research. The fusion zone is formed by dendrites, where β-Mg17(Al, Zn)12is dispersed. The hardness in fusion zone and heat affected zone(HAZ) is lower than that in base metal(BM). The average Vickers hardness of fusion zone and HAZ is about 58 and 56 respectively, while the Vickers hardness of BM is about 63.     

Investigation on the formation mechanism of ordered carbide (FeMn)<Subscript>3</Subscript>AlC in the Al added twinning-induced plasticity steels

The spinodal composition zone in Al added Fe-Mn-Al-C twinning-induced plasticity（TWIP） steels can be determined by contents of Al and C and aging temperature together, based on the thermodynamic analysis. Precipitation of ordered（FeMn）₃AlC carbide by the mechanism of spinodal decomposition occurs in the C-rich and Al-rich zone with low aging temperature. Increase of aging temperature shrinks spinodal composition zone to the high Al and C contents. As a result, the precipitation of（FeMn）₃AlC carbide alters from spinodal decomposition to classical nucleation-growth manner gradually. Further calculation indicates that the diffusion of Al can play a key role in determining the growth rate of（FeMn）₃AlC carbide at high aging temperature.     

Quantitative phase analysis of the calcium silicate slag as the residue of extracting alumina from high-alumina fly ash

Calcium silicate slag is the residue of process of pre-desilication alkali lime sintering applied in the high-alumina fly ash to extract the alumina. The quantitative phase analysis (QPA) of the calcium silicate slag has been performed by the Rietveld method based on the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) with the aid of noncommercial software GSAS-EXPGUI. A known weight of crystalline internal standard (10% CaF₂) was added to the calcium silicate slag to calculate the fraction of amorphous phase and other crystalline phases on an absolute basis. Besides, the calcium silicate slag was characterized by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and thermo gravimetric (TG) differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to test the QPA results and investigate its other characters. Finally, the results show that the amorphous fraction is 17.5% (hereinafter, the percentages refer to the mass fraction), and the major crystalline phases detected in the calcium silicate slag consist of 23.5% Beta-Ca2SiO₄, 10.0% bredigite, 10.3% Ca₃Al₂O₆ (C₃A) and 21.6% CaCO₃.     

Effect of LaNiO3 interlayer on the dielectric properties of Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 thin film on Si substrate

In this study, (100)-oriented growth of Ba_0.5Sr_0.5TiO₃ (BST) /LaNiO₃ (LNO) stacks was obtained on Pt(111)/SiO₂/Si substrates by r.f. magnetron sputtering. The orientation of the subsequently deposited Ba_0.5Sr_0.5TiO₃ thin film was strongly affected by the LNO under layer, and the BST thin film deposited on the (100)LNO-coated Si substrate was also found to have a significant (100)-oriented texture. Effects of LNO interlayer on the dielectric properties of BST thin films were investigated. As a result, the tunability of BST thin film was greatly improved with the insertion of (100)-oriented LNO under layer with proper thickness. Foundation item: the National Key Lab of Nano/Micro Fabrication Technology (No. 9140C 790310060C79) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 60701012)     

Dry milling of the ultra-high-strength steel 30CrMnSiNi2A with coated carbide inserts

The ultra-high-strength steel (UHSS) plays an important role in the mechanical industry because of their special performances. The machinability of 30CrMnSiNi2A steel was studied in dry milling with two different coated tools in the present work. This paper introduced that 30CrMnSiNi2A steel was a kind of difficult-to-machine materials. The results showed that the cutting force components of feed direction and cutting width direction, i.e. F x and F y , increased slightly with increasing the cutting speed and feed rate. The values of axial force component F z were much larger than F x and F y , and increased obviously with increasing the milling speed. The workpiece surface had the minimum roughness at the cutting speed of 150 m/min. The physical vapor deposition (PVD) coated ((Ti, Al)N-TiN) insert was more suitable for machining 30CrMnSiNi2A steel than the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) coated (Ti(C, N)-Al 2 O 3 ) insert. Moreover, the main failure modes of PVD-coated insert were micro-chipping and coating spalling. The wear modes of CVD-coated insert were ploughing, coating spalling, and cratering. The serious adhesive wear and the abrasion with some adhesion were the main wear mechanism of PVD- and CVD-coated inserts, respectively.     

Catalytic Combustion of Lean Methane Assisted by Electric Field over Pd/Co<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> Catalysts at Low Temperature

A series of Pd/Co₃O₄ catalysts were prepared by Self-Propagating High-Temperature Synthesis (SHS) method in this study, and electric field was applied for catalytic combustion of lean methane over Pd/Co₃O₄ catalysts at low temperature. When electric field was applied, the catalytic combustion performance of Pd/Co₃O₄ catalysts was greatly improved, and the application of electric field could reduce the load of active element Pd to some extent while maintaining the same efficiency. Based on experimental tests and the analysis results of X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), H₂-temperature-programmed reduction (H₂-TPR) and in-situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (in-situ DRIFTS), the mechanism of catalytic oxidation of CH₄ over Pd/Co₃O₄ catalysts in electric field was proposed. The catalytic combustion of CH₄ occurs only when the temperature is higher than 250 °C normally, but when electric field was applied, the whole process of CH₄ oxidation was promoted significantly and the reaction temperature was reduced. Electric field could promote the reduction of the support Co₃O₄ to release the lattice oxygen, resulting in the increase of PdO_x and the surface chemisorbed oxygen, which could provide more active sites for the low-temperature oxidation of CH₄. Furthermore, electric field could accelerate the dehydroxylation of CoOOH to further enhance the activity of the catalysts.     

Fabrication and compressive properties of expanded polystyrene foamed concrete: Experimental research and modeling

As the construction of high-rise building becomes popular,improvement and innovation are required to expand the product line of lightweight concrete.In this paper,two ways of fabricating lightweight concrete were combined to make a new kind of super lightweight concrete.Normal aggregate is replaced with expanded polystyrene(EPS) granule,while foam is introduced to facilitate fabrication process.As a result,super lightweight concrete denoted as EPS foamed concrete is fabricated,whose bulk density is less than 500kg/m~3.Compressive properties of EPS foamed concrete with bulk density 300—500 kg/m~3 were investigated by stress-strain curve. It’s demonstrated that the compressive strength ranges from 0.7 to 2.5 MPa,which is higher than that of similar products.Furthermore,low elastic module and high residual to ultimate strength ratio ensure its excellent deformation and energy absorption capacity.At last,numerical analysis was performed to interpret the inherent variation of elastic modulus and failure mechanism of this material.The results show that EPS foamed concrete is a kind of super lightweight,easy to fabricate material with excellent compressive property and profound utilization potential.     

Improvement the electrochemical performance of Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2 electrode with AlF3 added

Layered solid solution material Li_1.2Ni_0.2Mn_0.6O₂ is synthesized and the AlF₃ is added to improve the electrochemical performance. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that the Li_1.2Ni_0.2Mn_0.6O₂ samples exhibit layered characteristics. The AlF₃ additive is detected by transmission electron microscope (TEM) technology. The electrochemical tests show that Li_1.2Ni_0.2Mn_0.6O₂ electrode with AlF₃ added delivers better discharge capacity (240mA· h/g), first coulomb efficiency 79.2%, cyclic performance (capacity retention ratio of 100.6% after 50 cycles), and rate capacity (68mA · h/g at 10 capacity (C)) than the pristine sample. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results show that the charge transfer resistance of Li_1.2Ni_0.2Mn_0.6O₂ electrode with AlF₃ added increases slower than that of pristine Li_1.2Ni_0.2Mn_0.6O₂ after cycling, which is responsible for better cyclic and rate performance.