Unified Interpretations of Two Kinds of Needle-Shaped Precipitates Using Transmission Electron Microscopy and Small-Angle Neutron Scattering in Aged Al-Mg2Si(-Cu) Alloys.

This study investigates the nanostructural properties of pseudo-binary Al-1.0Mg2Si (mass%) alloys with and without 0.5Cu using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). The TEM results show that both alloys exhibit extra electron diffraction spots related to MgSiMg second clusters at peak-aged conditions. High-resolution TEM images have revealed that the second cluster exists as a needle-shaped precipitate that is shorter and thicker than the ß″ phase. We found that the second cluster, which we referred to as the R phase in this paper, is more likely to form partially along the longitudinal axis of a random-type precipitate. Thus, the atomic arrangement in the random-type precipitate is not completely random. SANS is used to quantify the size and volume fraction of the observed needle-shaped precipitates since the R phase is difficult to observe with TEM. The R phase forms even in the Cu-free alloy, but the volume fraction is low, and the growth and formation are retarded near the peak-aged conditions. Undoubtedly, the Cu addition has the effect of stabilizing the growth of the R phase and also promoting its formation. Therefore, the R phase also contributes to the increase in hardness at both under- and peak-aged conditions in the Cu-containing alloy in addition to the strengthening ß″ phases.

Evolution of 3D nanoporosity and morphology in selectively dealloying ternary Au55Cu25Si20 metallic glass ribbon with enhanced alcohol electro-oxidation performance.

Current fabrication methods of nanoporous gold (NPG) mainly rely on dealloying Ag-Au binary crystalline precursors, typically Ag65Au35, with the "dealloying threshold" or "parting limit" above 55 at%. Here we report a simple chemical dealloying process, through selective dissolution of one element from a Au55Cu25Si20 metallic glass ribbon with low 'parting limit', and a novel peculiar three-dimensional 'cone shaped protrusion' nanoporous structure which has never been reported before. In this structure, a metastable gold silicide formed in the initial dealloying stage was decomposed into gold nanoparticles and amorphous SiOx in the later coarsening stage. Our finding provides insights into the underlying relationship between 'parting limit' and atomic level structure of metallic glass. Comprehensive discussions on the porosity evolution stages as well as the correlation between the porous 'cone shaped protrusion' development and potential energy landscape are made in this report. The fabricated 3D NPG also exhibited excellent electro-oxidation catalytic ability attributed to the high density of low-coordinated atomic sites provided by the gold particle inside of 'cone shaped protrusion'.

Coassembly-Directed Fabrication of an Exfoliated Form of Alternating Multilayers Composed of a Self-assembled Organoplatinum(II) Complex-Fullerene Dyad.

The self-assembly of covalently linked dyad 1a of cyclometalated organoplatinum(II) complex and fullerene afforded alternating multilayers of electron-rich and -deficient molecular components. On the other hand, the coassembly of 1a with organoplatinum(II) complex 2 having no fullerene moiety gave an exfoliated form of the multilayers, by inhibiting the interdigitation of organoplatinum(II) complex moieties of 1a. The coassembled 1a/2 transports both of the photogenerated holes and electrons, while the self-assembled 1a allows only the transportation of electrons under the same conditions.

Metal-doped magnetite thin films.

This paper investigates magnetite (Fe3O4) thin film containing a small amount of a metal element. The films are prepared by rf sputtering with a composite target of ceramic iron oxide with metal chips. Low-temperature magnetization of magnetite containing 5.3%Ge reveals that the film contains some magnetically weak coupling grains. The metal element Mg reduces both hematite (alpha-Fe2O3) and magnetite, resulting in single-phase wüstite (Fe1-xO). In contrast, adding Ge selectively reduces hematite, while magnetite remains unreactive. According to the free energy of reaction, the element Ge is able to reduce hematite only, whereas the element Mg is capable of reducing both hematite and magnetite. This property is in good agreement with the experiment results.

Change in local environment upon quasicrystallization of Zr-Cu glassy alloys by addition of Pd and Pt.

The effects of Pd and Pt, which are known quasicrystal (QC)-forming elements, on the local atomic structure in Zr(70)Cu(30) glassy alloys are investigated. A QC phase precipitates from a glassy phase above a certain temperature by a cooperative-like motion of icosahedral clusters. Quasicrystallization is accompanied by a significant change in the local environment around the Zr atoms and a slight change around the noble metal. However, the local environment around the Cu atoms remains almost the same during QC formation. It is suggested that two types of icosahedral polyhedra exist in the glassy state: one has a relatively perfect icosahedral structure formed around the Zr atoms. The other is in a distorted state around the Cu atoms. We speculate that the medium-range order (i.e. QC nucleus) has a Zr-centered icosahedral cluster as its core, and the QC grows via aggregation of possible clusters in the initial stage. Pd or Pt atoms stabilize and/or connect individual Zr-centered icosahedral clusters, facilitating the formation of the nucleus and growth of the QC phase.

Mesoporous silica nanotubes hybrid membranes for functional nanofiltration.

The development of nanofiltration systems would greatly assist in the production of well-defined particles and biomolecules with unique properties. We report a direct, simple synthesis of hexagonal silica nanotubes (NTs), which vertically aligned inside anodic alumina membranes (AAM) by means of a direct templating method of microemulsion phases with cationic surfactants. The direct approach was used as soft templates for predicting ordered assemblies of surfactant/silica composites through strong interactions within AAM pockets. Thus, densely packed NTs were successfully formed in the entirety of the AAM channels. These silica NTs were coated with layers of organic moieties to create a powerful technique for the ultrafine filtration. The resulting modified-silica NTs were chemically robust and showed affinity toward the transport of small molecular particles. The rigid silica NTs inside AAM channels had a pore diameter of

Wavelength dispersion of nonlinear dielectric function of Cu nanoparticle materials.

The wavelength dispersions of third-order nonlinear optical response for Cu nanoparticle materials have been experimentally evaluated from transient spectra measured with the pump-probe method. The evaluated dispersions were analyzed on hot electron contribution using the Maxwell-Garnett approximation with the Drude model for intraband transition and first principles calculation for interband transition. The wavelength dispersion didn't directly reflect the dispersion of a local electric field factor. The interband transition term in hot electron contribution strongly dominated the dispersion around the surface Plasmon resonance by Fermi smearing. Intrinsic interband contribution to the nonlinearity was suggested from the analysis. Particle-size and host-medium dependence of the nonlinearity were also simulated.