Trends of Parallel Microstructure and Magnetic Properties Evolution in Co0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4

The present paper reports on an effort to expose and scientifically explain the microstructure–magnetic properties relationship as they evolve with increasing sintering temperature. Mechanical alloying was used to prepare cobalt–zinc ferrite nanoparticles with sintering temperature from 800 to 1,350 °C with 50 °C increment. The microstructure of the samples was observed using a field emission scanning electron microscope, and the magnetic parameters, such as the real permeability and loss factor, were measured at room temperature in the frequency range from 10 MHz to 1.0 GHz using an Agilent 4291B impedance/material analyzer. The B–H hysteresis of the samples was investigated using a MATS-2010SD Static Hysteresisgraph. From the results, the real permeability and loss factor were observed to increase up to 1,250 °C. These increases corresponded to increases in grain size and are mainly due to easier domain wall movement. However, due to zinc loss, \(\mu ^{\prime }\) and \(\mu ^{\prime \prime }\) as well as the saturation induction decreased from 1,300 to 1,350 °C. The coercivity increased up to 850 °C and decreased with increasing temperature. This increasing-to-decreasing coercivity trend corresponded well with the single- to multi-domain grain size transition marked by critical grain size at about 0.13 μm.     

Carbosilisiothermic Reduction of Rutile to Produce Nano-Sized Particles of TiC and Its Composite with SiO2

Ceramic nanoparticles of TiC were successfully synthesized in a matrix of SiO₂ by high-energy ball milling with subsequent heat treatment. The milling procedure includes milling of a mixture of TiO₂, Si, and graphite powders at ambient temperature in an inert gas (Ar) atmosphere. The structural evaluation of powder particles has been accomplished by XRD, TEM, SEM, EDX, and DSC. XRD results suggest that the TiC-SiO₂ nonocomposite was produced after 10 hours of mechanical activation with subsequent heat treatment at 1473 K (1200 °C) for 7 minutes. TEM images reveal that the TiC and SiO₂ crystallites are <14 and 12 nm in size, respectively. The fracture toughness, and Vickers hardness values of the TiC-SiO₂ nanocomposite are measured to be 3.82 MPa m^1/2 and 19.9 GPa, respectively. Dimethylsulfoxide is used to eliminate SiO₂ from the final products.     

Magnetic properties of Ni–Co doped barium strontium hexaferrite

A series of Ni–Co substituted barium strontium hexaferrite materials, Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Ni _x Co _x Fe_12–2x O₁₉ (x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 mol%) was synthesized by the sol–gel method. X-ray diffraction analysis has shown that the Ni–Co substitutions maintain in a single hexagonal magnetoplumbite phase. The room temperature magnetic properties and the cation site preferences of Ni–Co substituted ferrite were investigated by VSM. Substitutions led to decrease in coercivity while saturation magnetization remains the almost same. It indicates that the saturation magnetization (52.81–59.8 Am²/kg) and coercivity (69.83–804.97 Oe) of barium strontium hexaferrite samples can be varied over a very wide range by an appropriate amount of Ni–Co doping contents.     

Wurtzite ZnSe quantum dots: synthesis, characterization and PL properties

A facile method for synthesis of monodispersed, starch-capped ZnSe nanoparticles at room temperature is being reported. The nanoparticles exhibited strong quantum confinement effect with respect to the bulk ZnSe. The transmission electron microscopy image indicated that the particles were well dispersed and spherical in shape. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the ZnSe nanoparticles were of the wurtzite structure, with average particle diameter of about 3.6 nm. The Fourier transform infrared spectrum confirmed the presence of starch as passivating agent.     

Magnetic Phase-Transition Dependence on Nano-to-Micron Grain-Size Microstructural Changes of Mechanically Alloyed and Sintered Ni0.6Zn0.4Fe2 O 4

The microstructure evolution in several polycrystalline Ni_0.6Zn_0.4Fe₂O₄ samples as a result of a sintering scheme was studied in detail, in parallel with the changes in their magnetic properties. The Ni_0.6Zn_0.4Fe₂O₄ toroidal sample was prepared via mechanical alloying and subsequent molding; the sample with nanometer-sized compacted powder was repeatedly sintered from 600 to 1200 °C with an increment of 25 °C. An integrated analysis of phase, microstructural and hysteresis data pointed to existence of three distinct shape-differentiated groups of B–H hysteresis loops which belong to samples with weak, moderate and strong magnetism (Idza in Mater. Res. Bull. 47:1345–1352, 2012), respectively. The real permeability, μ′, and loss factor, μ″, increased with grain size which increased due to increase in sintering temperature and these two magnetic properties also seem to belong to three value-differentiated groups corresponding to the same temperature ranges found for the B–H groupings. These groupings are tentatively explained using Snoek’s Law.     

Electrodeposition of aluminum on needle cathode using AlCl3/urea molten salts at low-temperature and its application to hydrogen generation

The electrodeposition of aluminum(Al) was studied using two electrolyte solutions, such as anhydrous AlCl_3-urea and hydrated AlCl_3·6 H_2 O-urea. A systematic examination using cell voltages 1.0–2.0 V was carried out at temperatures((50–100) ± 2) °C. A needle-shaped cathode was employed for the deposition of aluminum. A dendrite and particulate microstructure of Al were observed on the needle-shaped cathode. An improved condition for the manufacturing of small sizes and high purity of aluminum deposits was obtained. Pure Al with a current efficiency(yield) of 84%–99% was obtained from those of non-aqueous electrolytes and only of 8.6%–9.3% from those of hydrated electrolytes. The electrical conductivities of electrolytes remained considerable at((50–100)± 2) °C. The improved aluminum powders were used for the reaction with water. The aluminum reacts with water at room temperature, producing pure H_2 with 100% yield. The electrodeposited aluminum metal can be used as an excellent energy carrier.     

Synthesis of ZrC Nanoparticles in the ZrO_2–Mg–C–Fe System Through Mechanically Activated Self-Propagating High-Temperature Synthesis

ZrC nanoparticles in the matrix of Fe were produced by the mechanically activated self-propagating hightemperature method using ZrO2/C/Mg/Fe powder mixtures. The effects of milling time, Fe content, and combustion temperature as well as the formation route for synthesizing ZrC powder particles were studied. The samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, and DTA. The XRD results revealed that, after 18 h of mechanical activation, ZrO2/ZC/Mg/Fe reacted with the self-propagating combustion(SHS) mode at 870 °C producing the ZrC–Fe nanocomposite. It was also found that both mechanical activation and Fe content played key roles in the ZrC synthesis temperature. With a Fe content of(5–40) wt%, the SHS reaction proceeded favorably and both the ZrC formation temperature and the adiabatic temperature(Tad) decreased. The Mg O content was removed from the final products using a leaching test process by dissolving in hydrochloric and acetic acids.     

Influence of Zn–Nb on the Magnetic Properties of Barium Hexaferrite

In the present study, BaFe_12?2x Zn _x Nb _x O₁₉ (x=0. 2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8) hexaferrites were prepared by the sol-gel technique and subsequent thermal treatment. The crystal structure, grain size, and magnetic properties were studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution scanning electron microscope (HR-SEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the barium hexaferrite with small substitutions still maintained a hexagonal magneto-plumbite phase. It was found that the mean size of the grains increased with increasing substitution. The saturation magnetization increased slightly with increasing x, which was attributed to different preferential site occupation of Zn–Nb at low and high concentration ranges. The coercivity decreased with increasing x. Structural and magnetic characterizations of these ferrites provide significant information about their reactive physical properties.     

Studies on Sodium Lignosulfonate Depolymerization Over Al2O3 Supported Catalysts Loaded with Metals and Metal Oxides in a Continuous Flow Reactor

The aim of this work was to study the how various heterogeneous catalysts perform upon lignosulfonate decomposition reactions. The main target of the study was to obtain extractable phenolic compounds as potential renewable chemicals for the production of fuel components and chemicals. The nature of the heterogeneous catalyst was found to have a great impact on the obtained product yields and the composition of the product mixture. Initially, a nickel–tungsten on alumina (NiW/Al₂O₃) reference catalyst was applied upon screening the influence of catalyst particle size and various reaction parameters. Significantly increasing product yields with decreasing catalyst particle size indicated that the lignosulfonate transformation takes place on the external catalyst surface due to large macromolecular structure of the feedstock. The contact time (space time velocity) and catalyst particle size were the most important factors influencing the selectivity profiles towards various products as well as the yields observed. The highest conversion to phenolics was obtained over in-house-prepared NiO/Al₂O₃ and NiMo/Al₂O₃ catalysts with various NiO and MoO₃ loadings.