Effects of amine, amine salt and amide on the behaviour of carbon dioxide absorption into calcium hydroxide suspension to precipitate calcium carbonate.

The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption and calcium ion (Ca2+) concentration besides the pH of aqueous solution were observed during the CO2 absorption to precipitate calcium carbonate (CaCO3) from calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2). A reaction rate-limiting effect of an amount of CO2 absorption without any organic additives in the early stage of the precipitation was observed, which was attributed to an interruption effect of bicarbonate ion (HCO3(-)) on the precipitation of CaCO3. The improvement for the reaction rate was achieved not only by amine additives but also by neutral additives such as epsilon-caprolactam or amine salt. When the hexamethylene diamine was dissolved in the solution, successive change of crystal forms of CaCO3 aragonite to calcite in aqueous suspensions, confirmed by Ca2+ concentration change and X-ray diffraction, was concluded that a local environment around the amine group in aqueous solution and an interaction of the diamine with precipitated CaCO3 particles were important factors for these reactions.

Lead-free piezoceramics.

Lead has recently been expelled from many commercial applications and materials (for example, from solder, glass and pottery glaze) owing to concerns regarding its toxicity. Lead zirconium titanate (PZT) ceramics are high-performance piezoelectric materials, which are widely used in sensors, actuators and other electronic devices; they contain more than 60 weight per cent lead. Although there has been a concerted effort to develop lead-free piezoelectric ceramics, no effective alternative to PZT has yet been found. Here we report a lead-free piezoelectric ceramic with an electric-field-induced strain comparable to typical actuator-grade PZT. We achieved this through the combination of the discovery of a morphotropic phase boundary in an alkaline niobate-based perovskite solid solution, and the development of a processing route leading to highly <001> textured polycrystals. The ceramic exhibits a piezoelectric constant d33 (the induced charge per unit force applied in the same direction) of above 300 picocoulombs per newton (pC N(-1)), and texturing the material leads to a peak d33 of 416 pC N(-1). The textured material also exhibits temperature-independent field-induced strain characteristics.

Ultrahigh-quality silicon carbide single crystals.

Silicon carbide (SiC) has a range of useful physical, mechanical and electronic properties that make it a promising material for next-generation electronic devices. Careful consideration of the thermal conditions in which SiC [0001] is grown has resulted in improvements in crystal diameter and quality: the quantity of macroscopic defects such as hollow core dislocations (micropipes), inclusions, small-angle boundaries and long-range lattice warp has been reduced. But some macroscopic defects (about 1-10 cm(-2)) and a large density of elementary dislocations (approximately 10(4) cm(-2)), such as edge, basal plane and screw dislocations, remain within the crystal, and have so far prevented the realization of high-efficiency, reliable electronic devices in SiC (refs 12-16). Here we report a method, inspired by the dislocation structure of SiC grown perpendicular to the c-axis (a-face growth), to reduce the number of dislocations in SiC single crystals by two to three orders of magnitude, rendering them virtually dislocation-free. These substrates will promote the development of high-power SiC devices and reduce energy losses of the resulting electrical systems.