Kesterite Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe) absorbers are considered promising alternatives to commercial thin film technologies including CdTe and Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) owing to the earth abundance and non-toxicity of their constituents. However, to be competitive with the existing technologies, the photovoltaic performance of CZTSSe solar cells needs to be improved beyond the current record conversion efficiency of 12.6%. In this study, nanoscale elemental mapping using Auger nanoprobe microscopy (NanoAuger) and nano secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) are used to provide a clear picture of the compositional variations between the grains and grain boundaries in Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 kesterite thin films. NanoAuger measurements revealed that the top surfaces of the grains are coated with a Zn-rich (Zn,Sn)Ox layer. While thick oxide layers were observed at the grain boundaries, their chemical compositions were found to be closer to SnOx. NanoSIMS elemental maps confirmed the presence of excess oxygen deeper within the grain boundary grooves, as a result of air annealing of the CZTSSe films.

The NaLa(MoO4)2:Yb3+/Er3+ phosphor is synthesized through hydrothermal method with the further calcinations. The intense green upconversion (UC) emission is observed when it is excited by 980 nm pump power. Then we investigate the mechanism of UC emission based on the power dependent upconversion luminescence (UCL) spectra. Temperature sensing performance based on the Stark levels (2H11/2/4S3/2) of Er3+ is estimated through investigating temperature-dependent UCL spectra from 298 K to 573 K. And the maximum value of sensor sensitivity based on FIR is approximately 0.00474 K−1. Moreover, the variations of UCL intensities from 2H11/2/4S3/2 → 4I15/2 transitions have been monitored with increasing pump power, which suggests that the pump energy can be absorbed by sample and heat it. In addition, the internal temperature of materials can be estimated by FIR technique. All the experimental results indicate that the phosphor has good potential in optical temperature sensing and optical heating.

A series of novel KLaSr3−x(PO4)3F:xEu2+ phosphors were synthesized for the first time. The crystal structure, photoluminescence properties, concentration quenching, decay analysis, and the temperature dependent luminescence properties were investigated in detail. The unit cell parameters for KLaSr3(PO4)3F were estimated to be a = 9.8997 Å, c = 7.4075 Å, and V = 628.7 Å3. The photoluminescence excitation spectrum of KLaSr3(PO4)3F:Eu2+ shows a broad band from 225 nm to 450 nm with a maximum at about 320 nm. KLaSr3−x(PO4)3F:xEu2+ phosphors exhibit a wide emission band ranging from 425 to 550 nm. KLaSr3(PO4)3F:Eu2+ phosphors exhibit good thermal stability up to 423 K. KLaSr3(PO4)3F:Eu2+ was fabricated with commercial green (Ba,Sr)SiO4:Eu2+ and red CaAlSiN3:Eu2+ phosphors to obtain a white-light-emitting diode. All the results demonstrate that KLaSr3(PO4)3F:Eu2+ are promising blue phosphors for white-light ultraviolet light-emitting diode applications.

In this study, a system of triple liquid phases was developed using Li2CO3, Na2CO3, and K2CO3 to improve the densification of the akermanite scaffolds fabricated by selective laser sintering (SLS). The system formed a ternary liquid phase (Li2CO3–Na2CO3–K2CO3) at 399 °C, a binary liquid phase (Na2CO3–K2CO3) at 695 °C, and a unitary liquid phase (K2CO3) at 891 °C during sintering process. The effects of the liquid phases on the sinterability and mechanical properties of the scaffolds were investigated. The fracture toughness and compressive strength is increased by 43 and 152% with liquid phases increasing from 0 to 4 wt%, respectively. This was explained that liquid phases enhanced densification via improving diffusion kinetics and inducing particle rearrangement. In addition, the scaffolds maintained favorable hydroxyapatite (HA) formation ability and cell proliferation ability, which was proved by simulated body fluid (SBF) test and microculture tetrazolium test (MTT), respectively.

Experimental studies have shown capacity loss and impedance rise on the surfaces of cathode particles during (dis)charging in lithium-ion batteries. However, there are surprisingly few studies focusing on the cathode–electrolyte interface. The current study uses multiphysics finite element models to understand fluid–structure interactions in a half-cell battery system. Effects of C-rate, particle sizes, lithiation, and phase transformation of the cathode at the interface are investigated. Results demonstrate that doubling the particle size results in larger available lithium intercalation areas, giving rise to increased tension 1.40 times and compression 1.82 times at the interface. Moreover, higher C-rate with high lithium-ion concentration gradient results in higher mechanical stresses at the interface. These coupling factors are strongly related to the experimentally observed battery degradation. Our simulations demonstrate that both electrode and electrolyte have pronounced effects when investigating mechanical stresses at the electrode–electrolyte interface.

A novel, simple, quick, and economic method has been developed to etch samples for characterizing the structural aspects of carbonized pitch alone and in baked anodes. Hot air is used to etch the polished carbonized pitch surface for creating its topography; followed by the characterization of the structure using scanning electron microscope. Hot air preferentially etches the carbonized pitch, which make the differentiation of carbonized pitch from the calcined coke particles possible in baked anode. After etching, lamellar parallel cracks are created and fine granular mosaics are observed on the surfaces of carbonized pitch. The structural composition in baked anode differs visibly from the pure carbonized pitch baked under the same conditions. This may be due to the effect of fine coke particles in anode on the formation of structure during baking. The etching technique permits the determination of the internal structure of carbonized pitch and its interface with coke in anode.

Pr2−xCexCuO4+δ thin films were grown hetero-epitaxially on (001) SrTiO3 substrates using ozone-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. High-quality epilayers with a cerium concentrations of x = 0.15 were grown and characterized electrically, structurally, and by magnetization measurements. The Pr2−xCexCuO4+δ films were found to maintain the tetragonal Nd2CuO4 (T′) crystal structure with a linear dependence of lattice constant on the Ce concentration. The superconductivity of the Pr2−xCexCuO4+δ films was maintained up to x ≈ 0.23 with a Tc up to 12.6 K. For x < 0.15, control of the oxygen concentration δ by annealing is crucial for the induction of superconductivity in Pr2−xCexCuO4+δ and this still holds for x > 0.20. We show that the electron mean free path length $\ell$ may be significantly enhanced by optimizing those annealing conditions. Moreover, the enhancement of $\ell$ leads to a reduction of the upper critical field, suggesting that superconductivity of Pr2−xCexCuO4+δ is to be considered in the clean limit.

Growth of unexpected phases from a composite target of BiFeO3:BiMnO3 and/or BiFeO3:BiCrO3 has been explored using pulsed laser deposition. The Bi2FeMnO6 tetragonal phase can be grown directly on SrTiO3 (STO) substrate, while two phases (S1 and S2) were found to grow on LaAlO3 (LAO) substrates with narrow growth windows. However, introducing a thin CeO2 buffer layer effectively broadens the growth window for the pure S1 phase, regardless of the substrate. Moreover, we discovered two new phases (X1 and X2) when growing on STO substrates using a BiFeO3:BiCrO3 target. Pure X2 phase can be obtained on CeO2-buffered STO and LAO substrates. This work demonstrates that some unexpected phases can be stabilized in a thin film form by using composite perovskite BiRO3 (R = Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) targets. Furthermore, it also indicates that CeO2 can serve as a general template for the growth of bismuth compounds with potential room-temperature multiferroicity.

Statistical distribution of grid indentation data measured in multiphase materials can be significantly affected by the presence of an interface between adjacent materials. The influence of an interface on the distribution of measured indentation moduli was therefore characterized in model metal–metal, ceramic–ceramic, and metal-ceramic composites. The change of properties near the interface was simulated by finite element method and experimentally verified by indentation in proximity of the boundary between two phases with distinctly different mechanical properties varying the depth of penetration and the distance from the interface. Subsequently, the conditional probability of measuring near the interface was quantified by beta distribution function with parameters dependent on the size of the volume/area affected by the presence of the interface. Using this approach, the intrinsic properties of the individual materials were successfully extracted from the experimental grid indentation data.

Surface modification treatments, such as the plasma nitriding improve the tribological properties of AISI 420 stainless steel; however, the corrosion resistance is deteriorated. The DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) coatings were not only having a low friction coefficient but also good wear and corrosion resistance. In this work, both the corrosion behavior and the adhesion of the DLC hard coating, deposited on nitrided and non-nitrided AISI 420 stainless steel substrates, were studied. The coatings were characterized by means of EDS and Raman. In addition, nitrided layer microstructure and the coatings were analyzed by SEM-FIB and XRD. Corrosion behavior was evaluated by the salt spray fog test and cyclic potentiodynamic polarization tests in NaCl solution. The adhesion was assessed using Rockwell indentation and scratch tests. The a-C:H film and nitrided layer thicknesses were about 2.5 μm and 11 μm respectively. The nitrided layer improved adhesion in both tests. The coated AISI 420 stainless steel proved to have excellent atmospheric corrosion resistance and a passive behavior over 1 V (versus SCE) in the electrochemical tests. The adhesion and the corrosion performance were improved when the coating was deposited after the plasma nitriding treatment.

The effects of boron and zirconium contents from 0 to 0.049 wt% on the casting fluidity, as-cast microstructure and mechanical properties of IN718C superalloy are systematically investigated. The results show that as the B or Zr content increases, the fluidity firstly increases and then decreases. The optimum fluidity is obtained at the pouring temperature of 1470 °C when the content of B is 0.0059 wt% or Zr is 0.042 wt%, respectively. The addition of Zr can lead to the formation of blocky laves phase, but B has no influence on microstructure morphology. Furthermore, the addition of B or Zr can effectively improve the tensile and stress life properties as well as casting fluidity of IN718C superalloy. As compared with IN718C master alloys, the tensile strength can increase 6.2–8.6% and stress life can be improved by 1.3 times when B content is 0.0059 wt%. In addition, when the alloy contains 0.042 wt% Zr, the tensile strength can increase 5.6–7% and stress life can increase 1.076 times than that of the master alloy.

Hot compression tests of a hot isostatically pressed (HIPed) Ni based powder metallurgy (P/M) superalloy were carried out under various combinations of temperatures and strain rates. To bridge the relationship between stresses and strain rates, constitutive equations were established based on a hyperbolic sine Arrhenius equation, which yielded predicted stresses under the test conditions. It was found that the predict values fit the experimental values with good accuracy. Processing maps of the alloy under the test conditions were established; and the corresponding microstructures after test were examined to elaborate the workability of the alloy. It revealed that surface cracks occurred when strain was higher than 0.25, which initiated at the prior powder boundaries (PPBs) and propagated along the boundaries. The optimum hot working parameters for the alloy were proposed to beat the strain rate of 0.014 s−1 and 1075 °C.

The electric field-assisted extrusion process is applied in Zr–45Ti–5Al–3V alloy. A transition from phase α to phase β is observed at various zones during the extrusion, and a complete transition is achieved by the considerable shear deformation. When subjected to the electric field-assisted extrusion, the continuous dynamic recrystallization is significant at the edges and the major shear deformation zones, and the equiaxed phase β grain structure is refined to a size of 250–300 µm. In addition, the phase β grains contain a minor amount of large residual lath-shaped phase α structures. The edges and the major shear deformation zones form a cubic texture along the {100}〈001〉 direction with a slightly weak polarity, while the polarity of the texture at the center is strong. The extrusion is found to decrease the edge strength from 1580 MPa to 1185 MPa and to increase the elongation up to 7.2%.

The high-frequency vibration technology was introduced to relieve the quenched residual stress in the Cr12MoV steel based on the high-frequency vibration system that mainly consisted of an electromagnetic vibrator and an amplitude boost unit. The high-frequency vibratory stress relief (VSR) experiments were conducted to study the effectiveness of the high-frequency vibration technology. In addition, the high-frequency vibration plasticity model was developed based on the thermal activation theory to reveal the mechanism of the high-frequency VSR. The results show that the high-frequency VSR has good effects on eliminating residual stress, while the surface hardness for the Cr12MoV steel remains almost the same. Moreover, there are no changes in the grain size of the Cr12MoV steel during the high-frequency VSR, while the dislocation density for the Cr12MoV steel during the high-frequency VSR decreases by 27.21%. The decrease of dislocation density in the Cr12MoV steel is the essence of residual stress relaxation. The findings confirm the significant effects of high-frequency vibration on metal plasticity and provide a basis to understand the underlying mechanism of the high-frequency VSR.

Dissimilar joints of advanced 9Cr/CrMoV have been successfully welded by narrow gap submerged arc welding using multi-layer and multi-pass techniques. The objective of our study is to establish the correlation between impact toughness and microstructural characteristics of the welded joints. Impact toughness tests were conducted in a wide range of temperature from −60 °C to 80 °C for different regions in the dissimilar joints. The fracture appearance transition temperature of base metal of 9Cr, CrMoV and weld metal were tested as 23 °C, −9 °C and −2 °C respectively, which all satisfied the service requirement. Optical microscope and scanning electron microscope revealed that weld metal and base metal of CrMoV comprised martensite and bainite while 9Cr was composed of lath martensite. The low toughness in the latter region arose from large grains with excessive carbide precipitates. Nonuniform microstructure in the heat-affected zone of 9Cr side caused different crack propagation paths and subsequently led to large variations of absorbed energy. When crack propagates along carbon-enriched zone in heat affected zone, the absorbed energy was 48 J. With crack deviating far from carbon-enriched zone, the absorbed energy increased to 147 J. Examination on fracture surfaces revealed the typical brittle fracture appearance in 9Cr and inter-granular fracture mode in heat-affected zone of 9Cr side when crack propagated along carbon-enriched zone.

The effect of nitrogen gas addition in Ar-based double-layer shielding gas on the impact toughness of welded ultra-ferritic stainless steel during an autogenous gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process was investigated. The nitrogen behavior was proposed. The microstructure, mechanical properties, and fracture surface morphology of the weld metals have been evaluated. More equiaxed crystals, refined grain, narrow HAZ width, and increased microhardness were produced with nitrogen addition. Experimental findings indicated that nitrogen diffused into HAZ and dissolved into weld pool. The solute distribution was changed thus bringing significant constitutional supercooling and decreased temperature gradient of weld pool, which contributed to fine microstructure. Impact toughness at room temperature was enhanced from 2J to 9J (welds), 5J–13J (HAZ). Ductile fracture zone was produced about 0.3–0.5 mm thickness distance from the weld surface. A significant increased impact toughness of weld metal was due to the refinement of microstructure and element addition.

In this paper, Fe–B amorphous submicrometer particles with a size of 180 nm were synthesized by liquid phase reduction method. The as-synthesized Fe–B amorphous submicrometer particles were annealed at 400, 500, and 600 °C, respectively. The effect of annealing temperature on structure, magnetic properties, and microwave absorption properties of Fe–B submicrometer particles was investigated. Results show that the as-synthesized Fe–B amorphous submicrometer particles were crystallized into Fe2B phase when the annealing temperature was 479 °C. The microwave absorption properties of Fe–B submicrometer particles were dependent on annealing temperature, the paraffin composites containing 60 wt% Fe–B submicrometer particles annealed at 500 °C showed a minimal reflection loss (RL) as low as −43.16 dB at 3.12 GHz with a thickness of 5.1 mm, and the effective microwave absorption (RL < −20 dB) was obtained in a wide frequency range of 2.28–10.48 GHz by adjusting the thickness from 1.8 to 6 mm, indicating excellent electromagnetic absorption properties.

The effects of Cu content on the microstructure, mechanical property, and hot tearing susceptibility of die casting Al–22Si–0.4Mg alloy have been investigated. Different Cu contents (1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 wt%) were added in Al–22Si–0.4Mg alloy. In the as-cast microstructure, the amount, volume fraction, and average size of Al2Cu phase increase with more Cu addition. The morphology of grain boundary white Al2Cu phase turns from particle to lump. The UTS (ultimate tensile strength) of Al–22Si–xCu–0.4Mg alloy improves with Cu added, which is mainly caused by the strengthening effect of intergranular Al2Cu. The hot tearing susceptibility apparently rises with Cu content increased, which is due to longer quaternary eutectic reaction time, larger amount of residual intergranular Cu-rich liquid film spreading out over α-Al grain boundary, and higher quaternary eutectic reaction temperature. Considering both the mechanical property and hot tearing susceptibility, optimal Cu content for die casting Al–22Si–0.4Mg alloy found in this paper is 2.5 wt%.