A mixture of elemental Co50Si50 powders was subjected to mechanical alloying (MA) at room temperature to prepare a CoSi thermoelectric compound. Consolidation of the Co50Si50 mechanically alloyed powders was performed in a spark plasma sintering (SPS) machine using graphite dies up to 800 °C and 1,000 °C under 50 MPa. We have revealed that a nanocrystalline CoSi thermoelectric compound can be produced from a mixture of elemental Co50Si50 powders by mechanical alloying after 20 hours. The average grain size estimated from a Hall plot of the CoSi intermetallic compound prepared after 40 hours of MA was 65 nm. The degree of shrinkage of the consolidated samples during SPS became significant at about 450 °C. All of the compact bodies had a high relative density of more than 94 % with a metallic glare on the surface. X-ray diffraction data showed that the SPS compact produced by sintering mechanically alloyed powders for 40-hours up to 800 °C consisted of only nanocrystalline CoSi with a grain size of 110 nm.

We investigate the austenite stability in nanocrystalline Fe-7%Mn-X%Mo (X = 0, 1, and 2) alloys fabricated by spark plasma sintering. Mo is known as a ferrite stabilizing element, whereas Mn is an austenite stabilizing element, and many studies have focused on the effect of Mn addition on austenite stability. Herein, the volume fraction of austenite in nanocrystalline Fe-7%Mn alloys with different Mo contents is measured using X-ray diffraction. Using a disk compressive test, austenite in Fe–Mn–Mo alloys is confirmed to transform into strain-induced martensite during plastic deformation by a disk d. The variation in austenite stability in response to the addition of Mo is quantitatively evaluated by comparing the k-parameters of the kinetic equation for the strain-induced martensite transformation.

In this study, a nanocrystalline FeNiCrMoMnSiC alloy was fabricated, and its austenite stability, microstructure, and mechanical properties were investigated. A sintered FeNiCrMoMnSiC alloy sample with nanosized crystal was obtained by high-energy ball milling and spark plasma sintering. The sintering behavior was investigated by measuring the displacement according to the temperature of the sintered body. Through microstructural analysis, it was confirmed that a compact sintered body with few pores was produced, and cementite was formed. The stability of the austenite phase in the sintered samples was evaluated by X-ray diffraction analysis and electron backscatter diffraction. Results revealed a measured value of 51.6% and that the alloy had seven times more austenite stability than AISI 4340 wrought steel. The hardness of the sintered alloy was 60.4 HRC, which was up to 2.4 times higher than that of wrought steel.

We investigate the effect of phosphorous content on the microstructure and magnetic properties of Fe83.2Si5.33-0.33xB10.67-0.67xPxCu0.8 (x = 1–4 at.%) nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloys. The simultaneous addition of Cu and P to nanocrystalline alloys reportedly decreases the nanocrystalline size significantly, to 10–20 nm. In the P-containing nanocrystalline alloy, P atoms are distributed in an amorphous residual matrix, which suppresses grain growth, increases permeability, and decreases coercivity. In this study, nanocrystalline ribbons with a composition of Fe83.2Si5.33-0.33xB10.67- 0.67xPxCu0.8 (x = 1–4 at.%) are fabricated by rapid quenching melt-spinning and thermal annealing. It is demonstrated that the addition of a small amount of P to the alloy improves the glass-forming ability and increases the resistance to undesirable Fex(B,P) crystallization. Among the alloys investigated in this work, an Fe83.2Si5B10P1Cu0.8 nanocrystalline ribbon annealed at 460oC exhibits excellent soft-magnetic properties including low coercivity, low core loss, and high saturation magnetization. The uniform nanocrystallization of the Fe83.2Si5B10P1Cu0.8 alloy is confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis.

The effect of sintering conditions on the austenite stability and strain-induced martensitic transformation of nanocrystalline FeCrC alloy is investigated. Nanocrystalline FeCrC alloys are successfully fabricated by spark plasma sintering with an extremely short densification time to obtain the theoretical density value and prevent grain growth. The nanocrystallite size in the sintered alloys contributes to increased austenite stability. The phase fraction of the FeCrC sintered alloy before and after deformation according to the sintering holding time is measured using X-ray diffraction and electron backscatter diffraction analysis. During compressive deformation, the volume fraction of strain-induced martensite resulting from austenite decomposition is increased. The transformation kinetics of the strain-induced martensite is evaluated using an empirical equation considering the austenite stability factor. The hardness of the S0W and S10W samples increase to 62.4-67.5 and 58.9-63.4 HRC before and after deformation. The hardness results confirmed that the mechanical properties are improved owing to the effects of grain refinement and strain-induced martensitic transformation in the nanocrystalline FeCrC alloy.

In the present study, we have investigated the effect of sintering process conditions on the stability of the austenite phase in the nanocrystalline Fe-5wt.%Mn-0.2wt.%C alloy. The stability and volume fraction of the austenite phase are the key factors that determine the mechanical properties of FeMnC alloys, because strain-induced austenitemartensite transformation occurs under the application of an external stress at room temperature. Nanocrystalline Fe- 5wt.%Mn-0.2wt.%C samples are fabricated using the spark plasma sintering method. The stability of the austenite phase in the sintered samples is evaluated by X-ray diffraction analysis and hardness test. The volume fraction of austenite at room temperature increases as the sample is held for 10 min at the sintering temperature, because of carbon diffusion in austenite. Moreover, water quenching effectively prevents the formation of cementite during cooling, resulting in a higher volume fraction of austenite. Furthermore, it is found that the hardness is influenced by both the austenite carbon content and volume fraction.

This study reports an environment-friendly synthetic strategy to process nickel oxide nanocrystals. A mesoporous nickel oxide nanostructure was synthesized using an environmentally benign biomimetic method. We used a natural rambutan peel waste resource as a raw material to ligate nickel ions to form nickel-ellagate complexes. The direct decomposition of the obtained complexes at 700 oC, 900 oC and 1100 oC in a static air atmosphere resulted in mesoporous nickel oxide nanostructures. The formation of columnar mesoporous NiO with a concentric stacked doughnuts architecture was purely dependent on the suitable direct decomposition temperature at 1100 oC when the synthesis was carried out. The prepared NiO nanocrystals were coated on cotton fabric and their antibacterial activity was also analyzed. The NiO nanoparticle-treated cotton fabric exhibited good antibacterial and wash durability performance.

In this study, an environment-friendly synthetic strategy to process zinc oxide nanocrystals is reported. The biosynthesis method used in this study is simple and cost-effective, with reduced solvent waste via the use of fruit peel extract as a natural ligation agent. The formation of ZnO nanocrystals using a rambutan peel extract was observed in this study. Rambutan peels has the ability to ligate zinc ions as a natural ligation agent, resulting in ZnO nanochain formation due to the presence of an extended polyphenolic system over the whole incubation period. Via transmission electron microscopy, successful formation of zinc oxide nanochains was confirmed. TEM observation revealed that the bioinspired ZnO nanocrystals were spherical and/or hexagonal particles with sizes between 50 and 100 nm.

Light scattering enhancement is widely used to enhance the optical absorption efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells. In this work, we systematically analyzed the effects of spherical voids distributed as light-scattering centers in photoanode films made of an assembly of zinc oxide nanoparticles. Spherical voids in electrode films were formed using a sacrificial template of polystyrene (PS) spheres. The diameter and volume concentration of these spheres was varied to optimize the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells. The effects of film thickness on this efficiency was also examined. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was performed to study electron transport in the electrodes. The highest power conversion efficiency of 4.07 % was observed with 12μm film thickness. This relatively low optimum thickness of the electrode film is due to the enhanced light absorption caused by the light scattering centers of voids distributed in the film.

In this study, nanocrystalline Cu-Ni bulk materials with various compositions were cold compacted by a shock compaction method using a single-stage gas gun system. Since the oxide layers on powder surface disturbs bonding between powder particles during the shock compaction process, each nanopowder was hydrogen-reduced to remove the oxide layers. X-ray peak analysis shows that hydrogen reduction successfully removed the oxide layers from the nano powders. For the shock compaction process, mixed powder samples with various compositions were prepared using a roller mixer. After the shock compaction process, the density of specimens increased up to 95% of the relative density. Longitudinal cross-sections of the shock compacted specimen demonstrates that a boundary between two powders are clearly distinguished and agglomerated powder particles remained in the compacted bulk. Internal crack tended to decrease with an increase in volumetric ratio of nano Cu powders in compacted bulk, showing that nano Cu powders has a higher coherency than nano Ni powders. On the other hand, hardness results are dominated by volume fraction of the nano Ni powder. The crystalline size of the shock compacted bulk materials was greatly reduced from the initial powder crystalline size since the shock wave severely deformed the powders.

In this study, nanocrystalline nickel powders were cold compacted by a dynamic compaction method usinga single-stage gas gun system. A bending test was conducted to measure the bonding strengths of the compacted regionsand microstructures of the specimen were analyzed using a scanning electron microscopy. The specimen was separatedinto two parts by a horizontal crack after compaction. Density test shows that the powder compaction occurred only inthe upper part of the specimen. Brittle fracture was occurred during the bending test of the compact sample. Dispersionof shock energy due to spalling highly affected the bonding status of the nanocrystalline nickel powder.

Nanocrystalline powder could be synthesized by solid-state reaction using the mixture which was prepared by a high energy milling process in a bead mill for and nanocrystalline powders mixture. Effect of the milling time on the powder characteristic of the synthesized powder was investigated. Nanocrystalline with a particle size of 50 nm was obtained at . High tetragonal powder with a tetragonality(=c/a) of 1.009 and a specific surface area of was acquired after heat-treatment at for 2 h. High energy ball milling was effective in decreasing the reaction temperature and increasing the tetragonality.

The potential application of ultrafine cerium oxide (ceria, ) as an oxygen gas sensor has been investigated. Ceria was synthesized by a thermochemical process: first, a precursor powder was prepared by spray drying cerium-nitrate solution. Heat treatment in air was then performed to evaporate the volatile components in the precursor, thereby forming nanostructured having a size of approximately 20 nm and specific surface area of 100 . After sintering with loosely compacted samples, hydrogen-reduction heat treatment was performed at 773K to increase the degree of non-stoichiometry, x, in . In this manner, the electrical conductivity and oxygen-response ability could be enhanced by increasing the number of oxygen vacancies. After the hydrogen reduction at 773K, was obtained with nearly the same initial crystalline size and surface. The response time measured at room temperature was extremely short at 4 s as compared to 14 s for normally sintered . We believe that this hydrogen-reduced ceria can perform capably as a high-performance oxygen sensor with good response abilities even at room temperature.

Electromagnetic wave energies are consumed in the form of thermal energy, which is mainly caused by magnetic loss, dielectric loss and conductive loss. In this study, CNT was added to the nanocrystalline soft magnetic materials inducing a high magnetic loss, in order to improve the dielectric loss of the EM wave absorption sheet. Generally, the aspect ratio and the dispersion state of CNT can be changed by the pre-ball milling process, which affects the absorbing properties. After the various ball-milling processes, 1wt% of CNTs were mixed with the nanocrystalline base powder, and then further processed to make EM absorption sheets. As a result, the addition of CNT to Fe-based nanocrystalline materials improved the absorption properties. However, the increase of ball-milling time for more than 1h was not desirable for the powder mixture, because the ballmilling caused the shortening of CNT length and the agglomeration of the CNT flakes.

The electromagnetic wave absorption sheets were fabricated by mixing of nanocrystalline soft magnetic powder, charcoal powder and polymer based binder. The complex permittivity, complex permeability, and scattering parameter have been measured using a network analyzer in the frequency range of 10 MHz10 GHz. The results showed that complex permittivity of sheets was largely dependent on the frequency and the amount of charcoal powder : The permittivity was improved up to 100 MHz, however the value was decreased above 1 GHz. The power loss of electromagnetic wave absorption data showed almost the same tendency as the results of complex permittivity. However, the complex permeability was not largely affected by the frequency, and the values were decreased with the addition of charcoal powder. Based on the results, it can be summarized that the addition of charcoal powder was very effective to improve the EM wave absorption in the frequency range of 10 MHz1 GHz.

In order to increase the magnetic loss for electromagnetic(EM) wave absorption, the soft magnetic (at%) alloy strip was used as the basic material in this study. The melt-spun strip was pulverized using an attrition mill, and the pulverized flake-shaped powder was crystallized at for 1h to obtain the optimum grain size. The Fe-based powder was mixed with 2 wt% , wt% carbon black, and polymer-based binders for the improvement of electromagnetic wave absorption properties. The mixture powders were tape-cast and dried to form the absorption sheets. After drying at for 1h, the sheets of 0.5 mm in thickness were made by rolling at , and cut into toroidal shape to measure the absorption properties of samples. The characteristics including permittivity, permeability and power loss were measured using a Network Analyzer(N5230A). Consequently, the properties of electromagnetic wave absorber were improved with the addition of both and carbon black powder, which was caused by the increased dielectric loss of the additive powders.

The electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption properties of the nanocrystalline powder mixed with 5 to 20 vol% of Ni-Zn ferrites has been investigated in a frequency range from 100MHz to 10GHz. Amorphous ribbons prepared by a planar flow casting process were pulverized and milled after annealing at 425 for 1 hour. The powder was mixed with a ferrite powder at various volume ratios to tape-cast into a 1.0mm thick sheet. Results showed that the EM wave absorption sheet with Ni-Zn ferrite powder reduced complex permittivity due to low dielectric constant of ferrite compared with nanocrystalline powder, while that with 5 vol% of ferrite showed relatively higher imaginary part of permeability. The sheet mixed with 5 vol% ferrite powder showed the best electromagnetic wave absorption properties at high frequency ranges, which resulted from the increased imaginary part of permeability due to reduced eddy current.

The amorphous (at%) alloy strip was pulverized using a jet mill and an attrition mill to get flake-shaped powder. The flake powder was mixed with dielectric powder and its dispersant to increase the permittivity. The powders covered with dielectric powders and its dispersant were mixed with a binder and a solvent and then tape-cast to form sheets. The absorbing properties of the sheets were measured to investigate the roles of the dielectric powder and its dispersant. The results showed that the addition of powders and its dispersant improved the absorbing properties of the sheets noticeably. The powder sheet mixed with 5 wt% of powder and 1 wt% of dispersant showed the best electromagnetic wave absorption rate because of the increase of the permittivity and the electrical resistance

The electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption properties with a variation of crystallization annealing temperature have been investigated in a sheet-type absorber using the alloy powder. With increasing the annealing temperature the complex permeability (), permittivity () and power absorption changed. The EM wave absorber shows the maximum permeability and permittivity after the annealing at for 1 hour, and its calculated power absorption is above 80% of input power in the frequency range over 1.5 GHz.

The oxidation of nanocrystalline powder has been conducted to investigate its influence on the electromagnetic wave absorption characteristics of the soft magnetic material. Oxidation occurred primarily on the surface of nanocrystals. Oxidation reduced the real part of complex permeability due to the reduction of the relative volume of the powder, which otherwise contributes to the permeability. Oxidation reduced the absorption efficiency of the sheet at frequencies over 1GHz, indicating that the relative contribution of skin depth increments to the absorption was not significant. The pulverization and milling process lowered the optimum crystallization temperature of the material by because of the internal energy accumulated during the fragmentation and powder thinning processes.