The structural phase stability and electronic properties of the Ti–Al intermetallic compounds were investigated by means of density-functional theory (DFT) calculations in a generalized gradient approximation. Through comparison of the calculated formation energies of the parent and product phases, an in-depth theoretical understanding of the deformation-induced γ ↔ α2 phase transitions observed previously in TiAl alloys was achieved. The formation energy plays an important role in evaluating the feasibility of these phase transformations during plastic deformation of TiAl alloys. In addition, the density of states (DOS) was also calculated and used to analyze the stability of Ti–Al intermetallic compounds. The reasons for the absence of the deformation-induced (DI)-α2 and DI-γ (L12) phases in underformed TiAl alloys were analyzed.

The effects of Al incorporation and post-deposition annealing on the structural properties of C-Al-N thin films prepared by reactive unbalanced dc-magnetron sputtering were investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). XPS studies demonstrated the presence of abundant Al-N bonds in addition to C-C and N-C bonds. At low incorporations of Al and N, the films were found to be essentially amorphous. By Raman and HRTEM, the formation of ∼5 nm fullerene-like carbon nitride (FL-CNx) nanostructures in an amorphous (C, CNx) matrix was evidenced with increasing Al content in the films. Crystalline improvement of FL-CNx nanostructures was seen, as well as the precipitation of ∼3–4 nm face centered cubic (fcc-) AlN nanograins by thermal annealing at 500 °C or above. Through these improvements, C-Al-N nanocomposite thin films were achieved. The effects of the incorporated Al and annealing on stabilizing fcc-AlN nanograins and FL-CNx nanostructures are elucidated and explained through the use of thermodynamic considerations.

We report on the fabrication and tunneling characteristics of pulsed-laser deposited LaSrMnO (LSMO)/PbZrTiO(PZT)/LSMO/SrTiO3 magnetic tunnel junctions. The trilayer films show magnetic onset at about 360 K with ferromagnetic hysteresis and uniaxial magnetic behavior at room temperature. The microscopic studies show that the effective barrier thickness is reduced due to the presence of defects in the barrier region. Tunneling magnetoresistance measurements were performed on several samples. Our results suggest that the asymmetric deformation of the barrier potential profile induced by the ferroelectric polarization of PZT influences the tunneling characteristics and can be used for electrically controlled readout in quantum computing schemes.

Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses of small indentations in copper single crystals exhibit only slight changes of the crystal orientation in the surroundings of the imprints. Far-reaching dislocations might be the reason for these small misorientation changes. Using EBSD and TEM technique, this work makes an attempt to visualize the far-propagating dislocations by introducing a twin boundary in the vicinity of small indentations. Because dislocations piled up at the twin boundary produce a misorientation gradient, the otherwise far-propagating dislocations can be detected.

In this study, the dense polycrystalline Ti2AlC was synthesized by self-propagating high-temperature combustion synthesis with the pseudo–hot isostatic pressing process (SHS/PHIP). The resultant phase purity is highly dependent on the mol ratio of raw powders. The Ti2AlC was densified by applying pressure after the SHS reaction. The resultant sample mainly contains typical plate-like nonstoichiometric Ti2AlCx (x = 0.69) with grain size of ∼6 µm. The sample shows the Vickers hardness of 5.5 GPa, highest flexural strength of 431 MPa, compressive strength of 1033 MPa, and fracture toughness of 6.5 MPa·m1/2. No indentation cracks in Ti2AlCx were observed, indicative of a damage material nature. The reaction mechanism for the formation of SHS/PHIP-derived Ti2AlC is also discussed based on differential thermal analysis and x-ray diffraction results.

The MBS (mung bean sprouts) vegetal system, with its high penetrability, high selectivity, and space restriction, was explored to control nanocrystal synthesis. We found that the inside and outside of MBS have different structures and ion transformation properties. Two nanocrystals with distinct morphology, the nanorod and the nanosphere, were grown on the outer surface and the inner stem wall of MBS, respectively. The two XWO4 (X = Ca,Sr,Ba) nanocrystals were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). The FTIR spectra of nanoproducts were different from bulk products due to the nano-size effect. A presumable mechanism was also determined. This work benefits the application of nanotungstates.

The uniaxial and biaxial compressive responses of Zr57Nb5Al10Cu15.4Ni12.6–W composite were investigated over a range of strain rates (∼10−3 to 103 s−1) using an Instron universal testing machine (∼10−3 to 10° s−1), drop-weight tower (∼200 s−1), and split Hopkinson pressure bar (103 s−1). The temperature dependence of the mechanical behavior was investigated at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 600 °C using the instrumented drop-weight testing apparatus, mounted with an inductive heating device. The deformed and fractured specimens were examined using optical and scanning electron microscopy. Stopped experiments were used to investigate deformation and failure mechanisms at specified strain intervals in both the drop weight and split Hopkinson bar tests. These stopped specimens were also subsequently examined using optical and scanning electron microscopy to observe shear band and crack formation and development after increasingly more strain. The overall results showed an increase in yield strength with strain rate and a decrease in failure strength, plasticity, and hardening with strain rate. Comparison of uniaxial and biaxial loading showed strong susceptibility to shear failure since the additional 10% shear stress caused failure at much lower strains in all cases. Results also showed a decrease in flow stress and plasticity with increased temperature. Also notable was the anomalous behavior at 450 °C, which lies between the Tg and Tx and is in a temperature regime where homogeneous flow, as opposed to heterogeneous deformation by shear banding, is the dominant mechanism in the bulk metallic glass.

Successful growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays on copper substrate by thermal chemical vapor deposition is reported in this paper. The effects of Ti, Ni, and Ni–Cr intermediate layers have been studied to eliminate cracking of the copper surface during the synthesis of CNTs. It was found that these intermediate layers play a critical role in achieving vertical alignment of CNTs on copper substrates. The effects of other reaction parameters such as flow rate of ethylene, concentration of water vapor, and deposition temperature have also been studied. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and micro-Raman spectroscopy were used to evaluate the quality and nature of the CNT formed.

Large-scale, well-aligned, and oriented ZnS nanorod arrays were fabricated by a novel and original template-free hydrothermal method. The ZnS nanorods were grown on the pulse-plating Zn nanocrystallines along a certain Zn crystalline direction. It was found that reaction factors such as hydrothermal reaction time, zinc source, and sulfide source concentration in the precursor solution, the acid–base property of the precursor solution, and the substrate where ZnS nanorod arrays were grown greatly influence the morphology of the final products. The growth mechanism of ZnS nanorod arrays was also studied. Pulse-plating Zn nanocrystallines were found to be essential for the growth of ZnS nanorod arrays. These ZnS nanorod arrays could be theoretically fabricated on almost any raw base plate as long as Zn nanocrystallines could be pulse-plated on it. Therefore, the as-synthesized ZnS nanorod array might be one of the promising candidates for field-emission or sensitive nanomaterials in the future.

Recently, there is a growing interest in two-dimensional (2D) plane indentation as an imprinting method for creating nanostructures. There is also a strong interest in using 2D flat-ended, wedge, and cylindrical indenters for characterizing mechanical properties of materials. In either case the knowledge of load versus displacement of the indenter is important. However, there has been some confusion about the load–displacement relationships for 2D indentation in the literature. Concerning this confusion on the relationship between the indentation load and the indentation depth for 2D elastic indentations, the symmetric indentation of an elastic half-space is studied. Parameters are introduced in determining the semianalytical relation between the indentation load and the indentation depth for flat-ended indenters and in determining the dependence of the indentation depth on the contact size for non-flat-ended indenters. The indentation load is proportional to the indentation depth for the indentation by flat-ended indenters and is a parabolic function of the indentation depth to the first order of approximation for non-flat-ended indenters including the wedge and cylindrical indenters.

We report deposition and tribological studies of a chemisorbed UHMWPE (ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene) film on an Si surface. UHMWPE molecules containing carboxyl and hydroxyl chemical groups were chemisorbed onto an Si surface using an intermediate GPTMS SAM (glycidoxypropyltrimethoxy silane self-assembled monolayer) layer. The carboxyl and hydroxyl groups of UHMWPE molecules react with the terminal epoxy groups of GPTMS SAM during chemisorption. The resultant film (∼1.4 µm thick) has shown low coefficient of friction (∼0.1) and high wear life (exceeding 100,000 cycles) in a sliding test against a 4 mm diameter Si3N4 ball at a normal load of 0.3 N and a sliding velocity of 0.042 m/s measured on a micro-tribometer. In contrast, bare Si or GPTMS SAM modified Si has shown a higher coefficient of friction and failed within a few tens of sliding cycles. The high wear durability of the chemisorbed polymer film is attributed to the excellent adhesion of the UHMWPE film with the substrate due to chemisorption and to the good lubrication properties of UHMWPE molecules. This wear resistant film has potential applications in micro-electro-mechanical systems made of Si.

Nearly monodisperse Ag nanoparticles capped with octadecylamine were prepared by direct thermal decomposition of silver nitrate in octadecylamine. Then the “oriented attachment” assembly process of these monodisperse nanoparticles was exhibited by exchanging the organic capping ligands, and Ag short nanorods capped with dodecanethiol could be obtained as a result. The composition of Ag was analyzed by x-ray diffraction, and the morphological change from nanoparticle to short-nanorod was examined by transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, we also propose a probable mechanism for this transformation process.

Experiments were performed on a (100) copper single crystal to examine the influences that small displacement oscillations used in continuous stiffness measurement techniques have on hardness and elastic-modulus measurements in nanoindentation experiments. For the commonly used 2-nm oscillation, significant errors were observed in the measured properties, especially the hardness, at penetration depths as large as 100 nm. The errors originate from the large amount of dynamic unloading that occurs in materials like copper that have high contact stiffness resulting from their high modulus-to-hardness ratios. A simple model for the loading and unloading behavior of an elastic–plastic material is presented that quantitatively describes the errors and can be used to partially correct for them. By correcting the data in accordance with model and performing measurements at smaller displacement oscillation amplitudes, the errors can be reduced. The observations have important implications for the interpretation of the indentation size effect.

Amorphous silica shells, used for functionalization of inorganic nanoparticles in bioapplications, were coated on chemically synthesized NaYF4:Yb,Er upconversion fluorescent nanoparticles via a reverse microemulsion method by using dual surfactants of polyoxyethylene (5) nonylphenylether and 1-hexanol, and tetraethyl orthosilicate as precursor. NaYF4:Yb,Er nanoparticles were equiaxed with a particle size of 11.1 ± 1.3 nm. The thickness of silica shell was ∼8 nm. NaYF4:Yb,Er/silica core/shell nanoparticles were well dispersed in solvents such as ethanol and deionized water. The emission intensities of NaYF4:Yb,Er/silica core/shell nanoparticles remained the same as that of uncoated nanoparticles after surface functionalization with an amine group using (3-aminopropyl)-trimethoxysilan. Silica, although providing a good barrier to the nonradiative relaxation between the upconversion nanoparticles and the environments, did not enhance the emission intensity of upconversion nanoparticles. To increase the emission intensity of NaYF4:Yb,Er/silica core/shell nanoparticles, an undoped NaYF4 shell (∼3-nm thick) was deposited on the upconversion nanoparticles before the silica coating. The total emission intensity of NaYF4:Yb,Er/NaYF4/silica core/shell/shell nanoparticles increased by 15 times compared to that without the intermediate NaYF4 shell. The critical shell thickness of NaYF4 was ∼3 nm, beyond which no further emission intensity enhancement was observed.

Sol-gel-derived biocompatible titanium oxide–cerium oxide (TiO2–CeO2) nanocomposite film was deposited onto indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass substrate by the dip-coating method. This nanobiocomposite film has been characterized using x-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, atomic force microscope, and electrochemical techniques, respectively. The particle size of the TiO2–CeO2 nanobiocomposite film was found to be 23 nm. The urea biosensor fabricated by immobilizing mixed enzyme [urease (Urs) and glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH)] on this nanobiocomposite showed a response time of 10 s, sensitivity as 0.9165 μAcm−2mM−1, detection limit of 0.166 μM, and negligible effect due to interferants uric acid, cholesterol, glucose, and ascorbic acid. The value of Michaelis–Menten constant (Km) estimated using Lineweaver–Burke plot as 4.8 mM indicated enhancement in the affinity and/or activity of enzyme attached to their nanobiocomposite. This bioelectrode retained 95% of enzyme activity after 6 months at 4 °C.

Zirconium tungstate (ZrW2O8) is a unique ceramic material characterized by isotropic negative thermal expansion behavior over a wide temperature range. Incorporation of ZrW2O8 is expected to improve the dimensional stability of polymers by reducing the overall coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). In this work, the thermal and dynamic mechanical properties of a bisphenol E cyanate ester reinforced with various loadings of ZrW2O8 are examined. Thermomechanical analysis indicates that the incorporation of ZrW2O8 results in a decrease in CTE at temperatures above and below the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the neat resin. The dynamic storage moduli of the composites reinforced with ZrW2O8 are found to increase with increasing filler loading. Furthermore, the various phase behaviors exhibited by ZrW2O8 are also examined by differential scanning calorimetry measurements.

Transition metal multilayers are prime candidates for high reflectivity soft x-ray multilayer mirrors. In particular, Cr/Sc multilayers in the amorphous state have proven to give the highest reflectivity in the water window. We have investigated the influence of impurities N and O as residual gas elements on the growth, structure, and optical performance of Cr/Sc multilayers deposited in high vacuum conditions by a dual cathode direct current magnetron sputter deposition. Multilayer structures with the modulation periods in the range of 0.9–4.5 nm and Cr layer to bilayer thickness ratios in the range of 0.17–0.83 were deposited with an intentionally raised base pressure (pB), ranging from 2 × 10−7 to 2 × 10−5 Torr. Compositional depth profiles were obtained by elastic recoil detection analysis and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, while the structural investigations of the multilayers were carried out using hard x-ray reflectivity and transmission electron microscopy. By investigating stacked multilayers, i.e., several multilayers with different designs of the modulation periods, stacked on top of each other in the samples, we have been able to conclude that both N and O are incorporated preferentially in the interior of the Sc layers. At pB ≤ 2 × 10−6 Torr, typically <3 at.% of N and <1.5 at.% of O was found, which did not influence the amorphous nanostructure of the layers. Multilayers deposited with a high pB ∼2 × 10−5 Torr, a N content as high as ∼37 at.% was measured by elastic recoil detection analysis. These multilayers mainly consist of understoichiometric face-centered cubic CrNx/ScNy nanocrystalline layers, which could be grown as thin at 0.3 nm and is explained by a stabilizing effect on the ScNy layers during growth. It is also shown that by adding a background pressure of as little as 5 × 10−6 Torr of pure N2 the soft x-ray reflectivity (λ = 3.11 nm) can be enhanced by more than 100% by N incorporation into the multilayer structures, whereas pure O2 at the same background pressure had no effect.

Two types of novel bicrystalline ZnO nanowires have been synthesized by a thermal evaporation method. The morphology and microstructure of the nanowires have been extensively investigated. One type of the nanowires has agg twin boundary extending down its entire length with twinning plane and the zone axis. The other type is those nanowires with twin crystal-single crystal junction. The twin defects in the Sn-Zn alloy droplets in the initial growth process are proposed for interpreting the growth of these two kinds of bicrystalline nanowires.

Bismuth-doped (Ba1−xCax)TiO3 ceramics (x = 0.10, Bi-BCT) were prepared by a conventional solid-state reaction technique. An abnormal double-like hysteresis polarization–electric (P–E) loop was observed at room temperature for aged Bi-BCT. Raman scattering gives critical evidence for the formation of O2− vacancies in Bi-BCT. The change from the single P–E loops in the fresh samples to the double loops in the aged samples excludes the existence of a ferroelectric–antiferroelectric transition in Bi-BCT. A reversible domain switching mechanism resulting from a symmetry-conforming short-range ordering of point defects gives a reasonable explanation for the naturally age-induced double-like P–E loops in Bi-BCT.

In2Se3, Cu2Se, and CuInSe2 thin films have been successfully fabricated using novel metal organic decomposition (MOD) precursors and atmospheric pressure-based deposition and processing. The phase evolution of the binary (In-Se and Cu-Se) and ternary (Cu-In-Se) MOD precursor films was examined during processing to evaluate the nature of the phase and composition changes. The In-Se binary precursor exhibits two specific phase regimes: (i) a cubic-InxSey phase at processing temperatures between 300 and 400 °C and (ii) the γ-In2Se3 phase for films annealed above 450 °C. Both phases exhibit a composition of 40 at.% indium and 60 at.% selenium. The binary Cu-Se precursor films show more diverse phase behavior, and within a narrow temperature processing range a number of Cu-Se phases, including CuSe2, CuSe, and Cu2Se, can be produced and stabilized. The ternary Cu-In-Se precursor can be used to produce relatively dense CuInSe2 films at temperatures between 300 and 500 °C. Layering the binary precursors together has provided an approach to producing CuInSe2 thin films; however, the morphology of the layered binary structure exhibits a significant degree of porosity. An alternative method of layering was explored where the Cu-Se binary was layered on top of an existing indium-gallium-selenide layer and processed. This method produced highly dense and large-grained (>3 µm) CuInSe2 thin films. This has significant potential as a manufacturable route to CIGS-based solar cells.