During sintering of Ni-electrode multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), the Ni electrode often becomes discontinuous because of its lower sintering temperature relative to that of BaTiO3. In an attempt to retard the sintering of Ni, we introduced passivation of the Ni powder. To find the optimal passivation conditions, a thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was conducted in air. After passivation at 250oC for 11 h in air, a nickel oxide shell with a thickness of 4- 5 nm was formed on nickel nanoparticles of 180 nm size. As anticipated, densification of the compacts of the passivated Ni/NiO core-shell powder was retarded: the starting temperature of densification increased from ~400oC to ~600oC in a 97N2-3H2 (vol %) atmosphere. Grain growth was also retarded during sintering at temperatures of 750 and 1000oC. When the sintering atmosphere was changed from wet 99.93N2-0.07H2 to wet 99.98N2-0.02H2, the average grain size decreased at the same sintering temperature. The conductivity of the passivated powder sample sintered at 1150oC for 8 h in wet 99.93N2-0.07H2 was measured to be 3.9 × 104 S/cm, which is comparable with that, 4.6 × 104 S/ cm, of the Ni powder compact without passivation. These results demonstrate that passivation of Ni is a viable means of retarding sintering of a Ni electrode and hence improving its continuity in the fabrication of BaTiO3-based multi-layer ceramic capacitors.
In this study, the synthesis of nickel nanoparticles and copper nanospheres for the potential applications of MLCC electrode materials has been studied by plasma arc evaporation method. The change in the broad distribution of the size of nickel and copper nanopowders is successfully controlled by manifesting proper mixture of gas ambiance for plasma generation in the size range of 20 to 200 nm in diameter. The factors affecting the mean diameter of the nanopowder was studied by changing the composition of reactive gases, indicating that nitrogen enhances the formation of larger particles compared to hydrogen gas. The morphologies and particle sizes of the metal nanoparticles were observed by SEM, and ultrathin oxide layers on the powder surface generated during passivation step have been confirmed using TEM. The metallic FCC structure of the nanoparticles was confirmed using powder X-ray diffraction method.
Microstructural and mechanical properties of Ni-YSZ fabricated using SPS processing have been investigated at various sintering temperatures. Our study shows samples to be applied as a SOFC anode have the proper porosity of 40% and high hardness when processed at 1100ºC. These results are comparable to the values obtained at 100- 200ºC higher sintering temperature reported by others. This result is important because when the fabrication processes are performed above 1100ºC, the mechanical property starts to decrease drastically. This is caused by the fast grain coarsening at the higher temperature, which initiates a mismatch between thermal expansion coefficients of Ni and YSZ and induces cracks as well.
In this study, analysis on the oxidation behavior was conducted by a series of high-temperature oxidation tests at both 800oC, 900oC and 1000 in the air with sintered STS 316L. The weight gain of each oxidized specimen was measured, the oxidized surface morphologies and composition of oxidation layer were analyzed with Scanning Electron Microscope-Energy Dispersive x-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), finally, the phase change and composition of the oxidized specimen were shown by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). As a result, the weight gain increased sharply at 1000oC when oxidation test was conducted for 210 hours. Also, a plentiful of pores were observed in the surface oxidation layers at 900oC for 210 hours. In addition, the following conclusions on oxidation behavior of sintered STS 316L can be obtained: Cr2O3 can be formed on pores by influxing oxygen through open-pores, (Fe0.6Cr0.4)2O3 can be generated on the inner oxidation layer, and Fe2O3 was on the outer oxidation layer. Also, NiFe2O4 could be precipitated if the oxidation time was kept longer.
Fe foam with above 90% porosity and 2 millimeter pore size was successfully fabricated by a slurry coating process. In this study, the binder contents were controlled to produce the Fe foam with different pore size, strut thickness and porosity. Firstly, the slurry was prepared by uniform mixing with Fe powders, distilled water and polyvinyl alcohol(PVA) as initial materials. After slurry coating on the polyurethane(PU) foam the sample was dried at 80oC. The PVA and PU foams were then removed by heating at 700oC for 3 hours. The debinded samples were subsequently sintered at 1250oC with holding time of 3 hours under hydrogen atmosphere. The three dimensional geometries of the obtained Fe foams with open cell structure were investigated using X-ray micro CT(computed tomography) as well as the pore morphology, size and phase.
Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) coatings are fabricated via suspension plasma spray (SPS) for thermal barrier applications. Three different suspension sets are prepared by using a planetary mill as well as ball mill in order to examine the effect of starting suspension on the phase evolution and the microstructure of SPS prepared coatings. In the case of planetary-milled commercial YSZ powder, a deposited thick coating turns out to have a dense, vertically-cracked microstructure. In addition, a dense YSZ coating with fully developed phase can be obtained via suspension plasma spray with suspension from planetary-milled mixture of Y2O3 and ZrO2.
Lanthanum/gadolinium zirconate coatings are deposited via suspension plasma spray with suspensions fabricated by a planetary mill and compared with hot-pressed samples via solid-state reaction. With increase in processing time of the planetary mill, the mean size and BET surface area change rapidly in the case of lanthanum oxide powder. By using suspensions of planetary-milled mixture between lanthanum or gadolinium oxide and nano zirconia, dense thick coatings with fully-developed pyrochlore phases are obtained. The possibilities of these SPS-prepared coatings for TBC application are also discussed.
4 mol% Yttria-stabilized zirconia (4YSZ) coatings with 200 μm thick are fabricated by Electron Beam Physical Vapor Deposition (EB-PVD) for thermal barrier coating (TBC). 150 μm of NiCrAlY based bond coat is prepared by conventional APS (Air Plasma Spray) method on the NiCrCoAl alloy substrate before deposition of top coating. 4 mol% YSZ top coating shows typical tetragonal phase and columnar structure due to vapor phase deposition process. The adhesion strength of coating is measured about 40 MPa. There is no delamination or cracking of coatings after thermal cyclic fatigue and shock test at 850oC.
This research presents a preparation method of dental components by metal injection molding process (MIM process) using titanium scrap. About 20 μm sized spherical titanium powders for MIM process were successfully prepared by a novel dehydrogenation and spheroidization method using in-situ radio frequency thermal plasma treatment. The effects of MIM process parameters on the mechanical and biological properties of dental components were investigated and the optimum condition was obtained. After sintering at 1250oC for 1 hour in vacuum, the hardness and the tensile strength of MIMed titanium components were 289 Hv and 584 MPa, respectively. Prepared titanium dental components were not cytotoxic and they showed a good cell proliferation property.
The most general photocatalyst, TiO2 and WO3, are acknowledged to be ineffective in range of visible light. Therefore, many efforts have been directed at improving their activity such as: band-gap narrowing with non-metal element doping and making composites with high specific surface area to effectively separate electrons and holes. In this paper, the method was introduced to prepare a photo-active catalyst to visible irradiation by making a mixture with TiO2 and WO3. In the TiO2-WO3 composite, WO3 absorbs visible light creating excited electrons and holes while some of the excited electrons move to TiO2 and the holes remain in WO3. This charge separation reduces electron-hole recombination resulting in an enhancement of photocatalytic activity. Added Ag plays the role of electron acceptor, retarding the recombination rate of excited electrons and holes. In making a mixture of TiO2-WO3 composite, the mixing route affects the photocatalytic activity. The planetary ball-mill method is more effective than magnetic stirring route, owing to a more effective dispersion of aggregated powders. The volume ratio of TiO2(4) and WO3(6) shows the most effective photocatalytic activity in the range of visible light in the view point of effective separation of electrons and holes.
In the present work, physicochemical treatments were introduced for de-aggregation and stable dispersion of detonation nanodiamonds (DND) in polar solvents. The DNDs in water exhibited a particle size of 138 nm and high dispersion stability without particular treatment. However, the DNDs in ethanol were severely aggregated to several micrometers in size and showed poor dispersion stability with time. To break down aggregates of DNDs and enhance the dispersion stability of them in ethanol, mechanical force and chemical surfactant were introduced as functions of zirconia ball size, kind of surfactant and amount of surfactant added. From the analyses of average particle size and Turbiscan results, it was suggested that the size of DNDs in ethanol can be reduced by only mechanical force; however, the DNDs were re-aggregated due to high surface activity. The long-term dispersion stability can be achieved by applying mechanical force to break down the aggregates of DNDs and by preventing re-aggregation of them using proper surfactant.