Tuning structure and mechanical properties of Ta-C coatings by N-alloying and vacancy population.

Tailoring mechanical properties of transition metal carbides by substituting carbon with nitrogen atoms is a highly interesting approach, as thereby the bonding state changes towards a more metallic like character and thus ductility can be increased. Based on ab initio calculations we could prove experimentally, that up to a nitrogen content of about 68% on the non-metallic sublattice, Ta-C-N crystals prevail a face centered cubic structure for sputter deposited thin films. The cubic structure is partly stabilized by non-metallic as well as Ta vacancies - the latter are decisive for nitrogen rich compositions. With increasing nitrogen content, the originally super-hard fcc-TaC0.71 thin films soften from 40 GPa to 26 GPa for TaC0.33N0.67, accompanied by a decrease of the indentation modulus. With increasing nitrogen on the non-metallic sublattice (hence, decreasing C) the damage tolerance of Ta-C based coatings increases, when characterized after the Pugh and Pettifor criteria. Consequently, varying the non-metallic sublattice population allows for an effective tuning and designing of intrinsic coating properties.

Hard and crack resistant carbon supersaturated refractory nanostructured multicomponent coatings.

The combination of ceramic hardness with high crack resistance is a major challenge in the design of protective thin films. High entropy alloys have shown in earlier studies promising mechanical properties with a potential use as thin film materials. In this study, we show that small amounts of carbon in magnetron-sputtered multicomponent CrNbTaTiW films can lead to a significant increase in hardness. The film properties were strongly dependent on the metal composition and the most promising results were observed for TaW-rich films. They crystallised in a bcc structure with a strong (110) texture and coherent grain boundaries. It was possible to deposit films with 8 at.% C in a supersaturated solid-solution into the bcc structure without carbide formation. A major effect of carbon was a significant grain refinement, reducing the column diameter from approximately 35 to 10 nm. This resulted in an increase in hardness from 14.7 to 19.1 GPa while the reduced E-modulus stayed constant at 322 GPa. The carbon-containing films exhibited extremely little plastic deformation around the indent and no cracks were observed. These results show that supersaturation of carbon into high entropy films can be a promising concept to combine superior hardness with high crack resistance.

[T-cell kinetics and course of humoral immune response following subcutaneous immunization with tetanus toxoid fluid vaccine]. / T-Zellkinetik und Verlauf der Humoralen Immunantwort nach subkutaner Immunisierung mit Tetanustoxoid-Fluid-Impfstoff.

Revaccinations with tetanus toxoid fluid vaccine were performed including different groups of volunteers (aged, diabetics, rheumatics). The kinetics of T-cells were demonstrated by rosette technique in a period of 63 days after revaccination. The content of tetanus antitoxin was estimated by the mouse standard neutralization test. T-cell kinetics were different in the investigated groups, probably influenced by age, illness, therapy etc. Only those patients among the aged who were in bad health showed a relatively low humoral booster reaction.