Conducting thin films were prepared by entrapping water-suspended polyaniline into a silica matrix by a sol-gel route. Without metal oxide, the conductivity of the film decreased after heat treatment. However, in the presence of metal oxides such as TiO2 and Al2O3, the conductivity increased after heat treatment at 85 °C and reached 17 Scm−1 The conductivity of the film depended on the kinds and amounts of metal oxides and the temperature of heat treatment.

The plastic displacements around Knoop indentations made in hard titanium/aluminum multilayered films on soft aluminum alloy substrates have been studied. Indentations were cross-sectioned and imaged using focused-ion-beam (FIB) milling and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The FIB milling method has the advantage of removing material in a localized region without producing mechanical damage to the specimen. The micrographs of the cross-sectioned indentations indicate that most of the plastic deformation around the indentation is dominated by the soft aluminum substrate. There is a very small change in the multilayered film thickness around the indentation—less than 10%. The plastic deformation of the thin film resembles a membrane being deflected by a localized pressure gradient across the membrane. Stress-induced voids are also observed in the multilayered film, especially in the area around the indentation apex. The density and the size of the voids increase with indentation depth. Indentation sink-in effects are observed in all of the indentations inspected. Based on the experimental results, the amount of sink-in of the hard film–soft substrate composite is larger than the bulk substrate and film alone. This is confirmed by the finite element analyses conducted in this work.

We have used x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy to examine the characteristics of oxides on two types of quasicrystalline Al–Cu–Fe samples. One type was formed by consolidation of powders, resulting in multiple grains with random surface orientations. The other was a single grain, oriented to expose a fivefold surface. Both were oxidized to saturation in a variety of environments at room temperature. We measured the elemental constituents that oxidized, the extent of oxygen-induced Al segregation, and the depth of the oxide. Under the conditions of our experiments, there was little, if any, significant difference between the two types of samples. Hence, surface orientation and bulk microstructure played little or no role on the final state of the oxide under these conditions.

The effect of carbon black content on the mechanical and electrical properties of carbon-black-filled poly(vinylpyrrolidone) composites was determined. Experimental data show a drop in modulus when the volume of carbon black exceeds 25%, coincident with pore formation documented by scanning electron microscopy. This behavior is consistent with surpassing the critical pigment volume concentration. Electrical conductivity, however, does not show a discontinuous change in behavior at 25 vol% carbon black and continues to increase through a carbon black loading of 35 vol%. A qualitative model of microstructural evolution is presented to explain the observed differences in electrical and mechanical behavior.

The intercalation reaction of ε-caprolactam anion (ε–CL-) into hydrotalcite heated up to 500 °C to expel in its double hydroxide gallery and also that of ε-caprolactam cation (ε–CL+) into mica were successfully performed in their aqueous solutions. The intercalation reaction of ε–CL- into 500 °C heated hydrotalcite was completed within 1 h at 60 °C, and the resultant intercalation compound had the interlayer spacing of 0.77 nm. The intercalation of ε–CL+ into mica, on the other hand, proceeded rather slowly in two steps, which was due to the presence of two species, Na+ and hydrated Na+ in the mica gallery, and gave the intercalation compound with the interlayer spacing of 1.47 nm.

A simple superposition solution for a point-loaded elastic plate on a soft substrate is proposed. The solution considers a “drumhead” being elastically bent into a compliant substrate that is viscoelastic-plastic. With simplifying assumptions it is found that the drumhead and substrate support loads proportional to δ1/2 and δ3/2, respectively, where δ is the vertical point displacement. At fixed displacement, relaxation proceeds at high loads, but if sufficiently unloaded, recovery or increased load results with time. Qualitative verification of the time-dependent drumhead solution is shown by relaxation and recovery data on polycarbonate covered by polysiloxane, composite or diamondlike carbon (DLC) coatings, and films.

Deformation in metallic glasses is generally considered to arise from flow in localized shear bands, where adiabatic heating is thought to reduce glass viscosity. Evidence has been inferred from the veined fracture surfaces and molten droplets reported for metallic glasses. In this work, the detailed spatially resolved surface temperature increase and subsequent dissipation associated with crack tip plasticity in a Zr–Ti–Ni–Cu–Be bulk metallic glass is characterized for the first time. Maximum temperatures of up to 54.2 K were estimated from a heat conduction model and shown to be in excellent agreement with a nonhardening plasticity model for the heat generated by a propagating crack. Local cooling was also observed and shown to be consistent with thermoelastic effects.

Infrared microscopy was applied to observe the internal structure of alumina powder compact, which was made transparent with an immersion liquid. It provided clear images of nonuniformity in the structure for a specimen as thick as 1 mm. Two types of nonuniformity found in this paper are the large pores made from the pores in powder granules and the low-density region forming network structure, which was formed by the presence of a binder. The minimum size of nonuniformity detected in a structure is under 20 μm.

Superconducting films of the Bi–Sr–Ca–Cu–O family of oxides were prepared by electrodeposition of the constituent metals followed by an oxidative thermal treatment. The influence of water, stirring of the electrolyte, cleaning of the substrate, and deposition time on the quality of the films were studied. Before the thermal treatment, the electrodeposited films consisted of a mixture of different metals and carbonates of the constituent elements. The oxidation of the metallic phases and the decomposition of the carbonates occurred in the ranges 260–280 °C and 400–470 °C, respectively. The final oxides were obtained after an oxidative thermal treatment at 800 °C. Lower temperatures were not sufficient for the preparation of the superconducting oxide films. The prepared Bi-2201 films consisted of a mixture of two phases with different strontium, bismuth, and oxygen contents. The Bi-2212 films were composed of platelike particles with a preference to orientate along the (001) direction. These films showed critical temperatures up to 92 K and critical current densities up to 15,000 A/cm2 (at 77 K and zero field) when the films were pressed before the thermal treatment.

Stability of fullerenes C60 under hydrothermal conditions (200–800 °C, 100 MPa, 20 min–168 h) has been investigated. The reaction products have been characterized by Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction. The fullerenes were stable up to 500 °C, but they decomposed immediately at 800 ±C into amorphous carbon. In the transition region between 600 and 750 °C, longer times and higher temperatures of the hydrothermal treatment favored decomposition of C60 with the formation of amorphous carbon. Addition of nickel to the C60–H2OO system neither suppressed hydrothermal decomposition of C60 nor induced formation of other phases, except of the amorphous carbon.

The crystallization temperature of yttria-doped tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Y-TZP) amorphous precursors can be lowered 150 °C below that currently used (≥500 °C), if “seeding assisted chemical coprecipitation” is used. Completely crystallized Y-TZP nanocrystalline powder was obtained by calcining at 350 °C in air; the Y-TZP precursors seeded with 10 wt% of nanometric (∼8 nm) Y-TZP particles. The seed particles enhanced both the nucleation and the crystallization rates at lower temperatures. From such a powder, 99% dense and nanostructured (grain size, <90 n m) Y-TZP bodies can be prepared by sintering below 1050 °C.

An in situ method has been developed to produce a Ni alloy composite coating reinforced by in situ reacted and gradiently distributed TiC particles by one-step laser cladding. The dispersed, ultrafine TiC particles in the coating are observed. Most of TiC particles, evidently with a gradient distribution, are uniformly distributed within interdendritic regions due to the trapping effect of advanced solid–liquid interface. The TiC/γ–Ni interface is clean and free from deleterious surface reactions. The microhardness of the coating also has a gradient variation, with the highest value being 1250 Hv 0.2.

The internal stress and internal friction of electrodeposited multilayered Cu–Ni(100) thin films were investigated as a function of temperature by a sensitive vibrating membrane technique. Each membrane was in a state of biaxial stress (approaching the yield strength) resulting from contributions of the growth stress in the as-deposited film and from the thermal stress as the membrane was heated. The measured internal friction of these stressed multilayered films was enhanced by over an order of magnitude compared to the predicted value of classic damping related to the modulus defect when the effect of the internal stress was taken into account.

A 59% Sc–41% Ti deformation-processed metal-metal composite was produced by rolling to a true strain of 2.3 at 873 K followed by cold rolling to a total true strain of 3.6. Rolling reduced the original eutectoid microstructure to lamellae of α–Sc and α–Ti with average lamellar thicknesses of 150 nm (Sc) and 120 nm (Ti). The cold-rolled material had an ultimate tensile strength of 942 MPa and a specific strength of 259 J/g. The Sc matrix was oriented with the 〈0001〉 tilted 22° from the sheet normal direction toward the rolling direction, an unusual texture for an HCP metal with a low c/a ratio, which suggests Sc may deform primarily by basal slip.

SrTiO3 was investigated as an alternate seed material to grow Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3 (PMN–PT) ferroelectric single crystals by seeded polycrystal conversion. Fully dense polycrystalline samples of PMN–32 mol% PT doped with 3 vol% excess PbO were top-seeded with (111) SrTiO3 substrates. Annealing for 10 h at 1150 °C resulted in growth of PMN–32PT single crystals with sizes on the order of several millimeters. Orientation imaging microscopy confirmed that the grown crystal exhibited the same crystallographic orientation as that of the SrTiO3 seed. Elemental distributions analyzed using energy dispersive spectroscopy indicated that interdiffusi on of the relevant elements was negligible.

Ti–Zr alloy thin films of 20–60 nm in thickness were evaporated on Pt-coated silicon wafers. The films exhibited a layered Ti–Zr depth distribution. The films were then treated hydrothermally in 0.25 M Ba(OH)2 at 150 and 200 °C for 4–8 h. Films treated at 150 °C did not exhibit reflections from the Ba(TixZr1−x)O3 perovskite structure by x-ray diffraction, although a slight barium content was detected by x-ray photoelectron spectrometry. On the other hand, the films treated hydrothermally at 200 °C revealed reflections corresponding to perovskite Ba(TixZr1−x)O3. These films exhibited a homogeneous titanium and zirconium depth distribution, as shown by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Auger depth profiles, proving that either titanium or zirconium ions diffuse during the hydrothemal treatment. The initial Ti–Zr film was completely consumed during the hydrothermal process, leading to a film of homogeneous composition (Ba, Ti, and Zr) up to the interface with the platinum layer.

Powdered samples of oxygen-deficient YBa2Cu3Oy were annealed in various atmospheres at 880 and 300 °C to study the relations of structural anomaly, phase transition, and oxygen content. It was found that the structural anomaly in the c axis is reversible during oxygenation and deoxygenation. The change of the c axis arose from the electrical repulsion among Ba and Cu cations as oxygen was removed or refilled. The anomaly in the c axis occurred when the oxygen was further removed or refilled to a critical value, at which structural relaxation and electrical repulsion changed greatly. The phase transition is attributed to the anomalous change in the c axis, and the mechanism is proposed and discussed in this paper.

Large-sized β–Si3N4 crystals up to 10 mm in length and 0.3 mm in diameter with low impurity concentration are successfully grown from silicon melt in a nitrogen atmosphere. By controlling the concentration of impurities in the silicon melt, a new kind of β–Si3N4 crystal, that is, a transparent coloring one with an absorption edge around a wavelength of 520 nm, is obtained.

We systematically studied the temperature and time dependence of phase formation of HgBa2Can−1CunO2(n+1)+δ [Hg-12(n − 1)n, n = 1, 2, 3, 4] superconductors by a single step firing method. All samples were synthesized from high-purity HgO, BaO, CaO, and CuO in a sealed quartz tube. The phase formation of Hg-12(n − 1)n was examined by both x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and dc susceptibility measurement. A single-phase HgBa2CuO4+δ (Hg-1201) was obtained in a relatively wide temperature range (600–850 °C), while single-phase HgBa2CaCu2O6+8 (Hg-1212) and HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+δ (Hg-1223) were obtained only in narrow temperature and time ranges for the synthesis. The optimum temperatures for Hg-1212 and Hg-1223 were found to be 665 and 710 °C, respectively, when the sintering time was fixed for about 50 h. The HgBa2Ca3Cu4O10+δ (Hg-1234) phase was obtained as a mixture with Hg-1223.

We have used the interfacial force microscope to perform nanoindentations on Au single-crystal surfaces. We have observed two distinct regimes of plastic deformation, which are distinguished by the magnitude of discontinuities in load relaxation. At lower stresses, relaxation occurs in small deviations from elastic behavior, while at the higher stresses they take the form of large load drops, often resulting in complete relaxation of the applied load. These major events create a relatively wide plastic zone that subsequently deepens more rapidly than it widens. We discuss these findings in terms of contrasting models of dislocation processes in the two regimes.