2ZrO2·P2O5 powder, which is not synthesized by solid reaction method, was successfully synthesized through PVA solution method. In this process, the firing temperature and the PVA content strongly affected the crystallization behavior and final particle size. A stable α-phase 2ZrO2·P2O5 was synthesized at a firing temperature of 1200 oC and holding time of 4 h. β-phase 2ZrO2·P2O5 was observed, with un-reacted ZrO2 phases, for firing temperatures lower than 1200 oC. In terms of the PVA content effect, the powder prepared with a PVA mixing ratio of 12:1 showed stable α-phase 2ZrO2·P2O5; however, the β-phase was found to co-exist at relatively higher PVA content. The synthesized α-phase 2ZrO2·P2O5 powder showed an average particle size of 100~250 nm and an average thermal expansion coefficient of −2.5 × 10−6/oC in the range of room temp. ~800 oC.
This present study deals with the effect of micro-alloying elements and transformation temperature on the correlation of microstructure and tensile properties of low-carbon steels with ferrite-pearlite microstructure. Six kinds of lowcarbon steel specimens were fabricated by adding micro-alloying elements of Nb, Ti and V, and by varying isothermal transformation temperature. Ferrite grain size of the specimens containing mirco-alloying elements was smaller than that of the Base specimens because of pinning effect by the precipitates of carbonitrides at austenite grain boundaries. The pearlite interlamellar spacing and cementite thickness decreased with decreasing transformation temperature, while the pearlite volume fraction was hardly affected by micro-alloying elements and transformation temperature. The room-temperature tensile test results showed that the yield strength increased mostly with decreasing ferrite grain size and elongation was slightly improved as the ferrite grain size and pearlite interlamellar spacing decreased. All the specimens exhibited a discontinuous yielding behavior and the yield point elongation of the Nb4 and TiNbV specimens containing micro-alloying elements was larger than that of the Base specimens, presumably due to repetitive pinning and release of dislocation by the fine precipitates of carbonitrides.
Carbon nanofiber (CNF) is used as an electrode material for electrical double layer capacitors (EDLCs), and is being consistently researched to improve its electrochemical performance. However, CNF still faces important challenges due to the low mesopore volume, leading to a poor high-rate performance. In the present study, we prepared the unique architecture of the activated mesoporous CNF with a high specific surface area and high mesopore volume, which were successfully synthesized using PMMA as a pore-forming agent and the KOH activation. The activated mesoporous CNF was found to exhibit the high specific surface area of 703 m2 g−1, total pore volume of 0.51 cm3 g−1, average pore diameter of 2.9 nm, and high mesopore volume of 35.2 %. The activated mesoporous CNF also indicated the high specific capacitance of 143 F g−1, high-rate performance, high energy density of 17.9-13.0Wh kg−1, and excellent cycling stability. Therefore, this unique architecture with a high specific surface area and high mesopore volume provides profitable synergistic effects in terms of the increased electrical double-layer area and favorable ion diffusion at a high current density. Consequently, the activated mesoporous CNF is a promising candidate as an electrode material for high-performance EDLCs.
In this study, (3,4-epoxycyclohexane)methyl 3,4-epoxycyclohexylcarboxylate acrylate was synthesized by reacting (3,4-epoxycyclohexane)methyl 3,4-epoxycyclohexylcarboxylate with acrylic acid to minimize hardening shrinkage and to improve heat resistance, which are known as disadvantages of photopolymers for 3D printing application. Urethane acrylate was synthesized by reacting 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamino alcohol, 2-hexylethyl acrylate, and isophorone diisocyanate in order to improve the mechanical properties without deteriorating the heat resistance. The physical properties before and after the synthesis of the acrylate and the mechanical properties when the urethane acrylate was applied were investigated. The reaction progress of the composite was examined by FTIR and 13C NMR. The heat deflection temperature, flexural strength, and surface hardness of the molding were measured. The curing behavior by Photo-DSC ultraviolet irradiation was also examined.
In this study, an α-Fe2O3 (hematite) coated porcelain plate was sintered in a temperature range from 1100 oC to 1250 oC using ferrous sulfate. The specimens were investigated by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and UV-visible spectrophotometer. It was confirmed that α-Fe2O3 (hematite) was densely fused to the surface at several tens of μm, the α-Fe2O3 (hematite) was in the form of thin platelet and polyhedra, and no other compounds appeared in the sintering process. In the specimen coated with α-Fe2O3 (hematite), the reflectance spectra show a red absorption band of 560-650 nm. The L* value decreased from 53.18 to 46.94 with the firing temperature. The values of a* and b* were at 19.03 and 15.25 at 1100 oC and gradually decreased with increasing temperature; these values decreased rapidly at 1250 oC to 11.54 and 7.98, respectively. It is considered that the new phases are formed by the phase transition of the porcelain plate (clay), and thus the a* and b* values are greatly influenced.
Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) and wet etching are employed in existing texturing processes to fabricate solar cells. Laser etching is used for particular purposes such as selective etching for grooves. However, such processes require a higher level of cost and longer processing time and those factors affect the unit cost of each process of fabricating solar cells. As a way to reduce the unit cost of this process of making solar cells, an atmospheric plasma source will be employed in this study for the texturing of crystalline silicon wafers. In this study, we produced the atmospheric plasma source and examined its basic properties. Then, using the prepared atmospheric plasma source, we performed the texturing process of crystalline silicon wafers. The results obtained from texturing processes employing the atmospheric plasma source and employing RIE were examined and compared with each other. The average reflectance of the specimens obtained from the atmospheric plasma texturing process was 7.88 %, while that of specimens obtained from the texturing process employing RIE was 8.04 %. Surface morphologies of textured wafers were examined and measured through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and similar shapes of reactive ion etched wafers were found. The Power Conversion Efficiencies (PCE) of the solar cells manufactured through each process were 16.97 % (atmospheric plasma texturing) and 16.29% (RIE texturing).
The effect of electron beam (EB) irradiation on the electrical properties of Zn-Sn-O (ZTO) thin films fabricated using a sol-gel process was investigated. As the EB dose increased, the saturation mobility of ZTO thin film transistors (TFTs) was found to slightly decrease, and the subthreshold swing and on/off ratio degenerated. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of the O 1s core level showed that the relative area of oxygen vacancies (VO) increased from 10.35 to 12.56 % as the EB dose increased from 0 to 7.5 × 1016 electrons/cm2. Also, spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis showed that the optical band gap varied from 3.53 to 3.96 eV with increasing EB dose. From the results of the electrical property and XPS analyses of the ZTO TFTs, it was found that the electrical characteristic of the ZTO thin films changed from semiconductor to conductor with increasing EB dose. It is thought that the electrical property change is due to the formation of defect sites like oxygen vacancies.
Various morphologies of copper oxide (CuO) have been considered to be of both fundamental and practical importance in the field of electronic materials. In this study, using Cu (0.1 μm and 7 μm) particles, flake-type CuO particles were grown via a wet oxidation method for 5min and 60min at 75 oC. Using the prepared CuO, AlN, and silicone base as reagents, thermal interface material (TIM) compounds were synthesized using a high speed paste mixer. The properties of the thermal compounds prepared using the CuO particles were observed by thermal conductivity and breakdown voltage measurement. Most importantly, the volume of thermal compounds created using CuO particles grown from 0.1 μm Cu particles increased by 192.5% and 125 % depending on the growth time. The composition of CuO was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis; cross sections of the grown CuO particles were observed using focused ion beam (FIB), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and energy dispersive analysis by X-ray (EDAX). In addition, the thermal compound dispersion of the Cu and Al elements were observed by X-ray elemental mapping.
Through density functional theory calculations, to provide insight into the origins of the catalytic activity of Au nanoparticles (NPs) toward oxidation reactions, we have scrutinized the oxygen adsorption chemistry of 9 types of small unsupported Au NPs of around 1 nm in size (Au13, Au19, Au20, Au25, Au38, and Au55) looking at several factors (size, shape, and coordination number). We found that these NPs, except for the icosahedral Au13, do not strongly bind to O2 molecules. Energetically most feasible O2 adsorption that potentially provides high CO oxidation activity is observed in the icosahedral Au13, our smallest Au NP. In spite of the chemical inertness of bulk Au, the structural fluxionality of such very small Au NP enables strong O2 adsorption. Our results can support recent experimental findings that the exceptional catalytic activity of Au NPs comes from very small Au species consisting of around 10 atoms each.