We report on an approach for laser surface nitriding of Ti6Al4V alloy coupled with an applied stress field. A surprising finding was that, with increasing the applied stress levels, the decreased residual stress, the nitrogen concentration near the surface, and the surface microhardness of the nitrided layer were associated with the increased friction coefficient. Across the depth of the nitrided layer, the hardness, the elastic modulus, and the wear resistance (H/E) measured by nanoindentation decreased gradually and were ascribed to the gradient of nitrogen concentration in the melt zone.

Despite many investigations on the corrosion behavior of NiTi shape memory alloys (SMAs) in various simulated physiological solutions by electrochemical measurements, few have reported detailed information on the corrosion products. In the present study, the structure and composition of the corrosion products on NiTi SMAs immersed in a 0.9% NaCl physiological solution are systematically investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It is found that attack by Cl− results in nickel being released into the solution and decrease in the local nickel concentration at the pitting sites. The remaining Ti reacts with dissolved oxygen from the solution to form titanium oxides. After long-term immersion, the corrosion product layer expands over the entire surface and XPS reveals that the layer is composed of TiO2, Ti2O3, and TiO with relatively depleted Ni. The growth rate of the corrosion product layer decreases with immersion time, and the corrosion product layer is believed to impede further corrosion and improve the biocompatibility of NiTi alloy in a physiological environment. It is found that the release rate of nickel is related to the surface structure of the corrosion product layer and immersion time. A corrosion mechanism is proposed to explain the observed results.

The kinetics of intermetallic compound (IMC) layer and Cu dissolution at Sn1.5Cu/Cu interface under high magnetic field was experimentally examined. It is found that the IMC layer growth is controlled by flux-driven ripening process. The high magnetic field promotes the growth of IMC layer, retards the dissolution of Cu substrate, and decreases the content of Cu solute at the liquid–IMC interface front. Based on the experimental results, it is considered that the magnetization induced by magnetic field promotes the ripening process for IMC layer growth. The Lorentz force dampening the convection and magnetization decreasing the Cu solubility limit can retard the Cu dissolution and change the solute distribution at the liquid–IMC interface front.

On the basis of the Fe84.3C4.6Cr4.3Mo4.6V2.2 high-speed tool steel, manufactured under relatively high cooling rates and highly pure conditions, a further improvement of the mechanical characteristics by slight modification of the alloy composition was attempted. For this, the alloy Fe88.9Cr4.3V2.2C4.6 was generated by elimination of Mo. By applying special preparation conditions, a microstructure composed of martensite, retained austenite, and a fine network of special carbides was obtained already in the as-cast state. This material exhibits extremely high compression strength of over 5000 MPa combined with large compression strain of more than 25% due to deformation-induced martensite formation. With this alloy a new composition of transformation-induced plasticity-assisted steels was found, which shows an extreme mechanical loading capacity.

In this work, we propose a simple approach for designing plastic bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) by exploiting the ductility of intermetallic compounds involved in the BMG-forming system. Its validity was examined by investigating a series of quaternary Cu-Zr-Y-Al alloys along the composition tie-line between Cu42Zr44.4Y3.6Al10 (Y1) and the B2 CuZr phase, expressed as (Cu0.5Zr0.5)x(M)100-x (M = Zr0.15Y0.225Al0.625, 84≤x≤93). When tuning the composition towards the CuZr, the glass-forming ability of alloys is dramatically degraded, showing a reduction of critical diameter Dc for BMG formation from 16 mm at x = 84 (Y1) to 2 mm at x = 93. As the composition of BMGs shifts to the CuZr terminal, the shear modulus μ of the BMGs decreases, whereas the Poisson's ratio ν increases. With respect to the Y1 BMG, compressive plasticity and toughness of the Y2 BMG (x = 92, Dc = 4 mm) with a higher concentration of the CuZr are improved, which is consistent with its lower μ and higher ν values.

The synthesis of single crystalline rectangular silver bar using polyacrylamide (PAM) and silver nitrate (AgNO3) by a hydrothermal process is reported. PAM has been used to create a reducing atmosphere as well as nucleation sites to produce silver seeds along the PAM chain. Several silver nanostructures viz. nanoparticles, growth of silver nanowires, and finally a single crystalline silver nanobar with a square cross section and of several microns in length, depending upon maturity and temperature of the hydrosol, are synthesized. At relatively lower temperatures (above 380 K) and higher pressure amide group of PAM is hydrolyzed with the liberation of ammonia (NH3), which produces a reducing atmosphere. As a result, the degraded PAM chain acts as nucleation sites to produce the assembly of silver nanocrystals along the chain. As the hydrosol becomes more and more mature, a directional growth of silver nanocrystals, called a mesocrystal, is formed. This mesocrystal is converted into single crystals due to fusion of higher energy surfaces (100) of nanocrystals to minimize the total surface energy. This growth process is completed with the formation of a single crystalline rectangular silver bar with a square cross section due to the growth of silver along the [110] direction.

SnTe is the most common compound formed at the bismuth telluride/metal soldered junction of thermoelectric modules. It affects the mechanical and electrical properties of the soldered junction. In the study we investigate the growth of SnTe compound during reaction between molten Sn–3.5Ag solder and tellurium at 250 °C. We found that the growth of SnTe is suppressed by Ag–Te bilayer compounds that block further reaction between liquid Sn and Te. With increasing reaction time, the SnTe morphology becomes rough as a result of coarsening of SnTe grains. The growth of SnTe grains follows the conservative ripening kinetics with the mean particle size proportional to one-third power of reaction time.

In this study, we report low temperature x-ray diffraction studies combined with electrical resistance measurements on single crystals of iron-based layered superconductor FeSe to a temperature of 10 K and a pressure of 44 GPa. The low temperature high pressure x-ray diffraction studies were performed using a synchrotron source and superconductivity at high pressure was studied using designer diamond anvils. At ambient temperature, the FeSe sample shows a phase transformation from a PbO-type tetragonal phase to a NiAs-type hexagonal phase at 10 ± 2 GPa. On cooling, a structural distortion from a PbO-type tetragonal phase to an orthorhombic Cmma phase is observed below 100 K. At a low temperature of 10 K, compression of the orthorhombic Cmma phase results in a gradual transformation to an amorphous phase above 15 GPa. The transformation to the amorphous phase is completed by 40 GPa at 10 K. A loss of superconductivity is observed in the amorphous phase and a dramatic change in the temperature behavior of electrical resistance indicates formation of a semiconducting state at high pressures and low temperatures. The formation of the amorphous phase is attributed to a kinetic hindrance to the growth of a hexagonal NiAs phase under high pressures and low temperatures.

A dual-phase (DP) Ni–66.7%Co alloy with an average grain size of 16 nm was fabricated by electrodeposition. It exhibited an ultimate tensile strength of 1800–2080 MPa, together with an elongation to failure of 10–15% at room temperature. The remarkable ductility of this DP alloy with critical scale grains was attributed to its sustained high rate of strain hardening. Its fracture surface showed an unexpected deeply dimpled structure similar to that of coarse-grained ductile materials, which also witnesses the improved ductility.