• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.202-207
• /
• 2009

Nanocomposite formation of metal-metal oxide systems by mechanical alloying (MA) has been investigated at room temperature. The systems we chose are the $Fe_3O_4$-M (M = AI, Ti), where pure metals are used as reducing agent. It is found that $Fe/Al_2O_3$ and $Fe/TiO_2$ nanocomposite powders in which $Al_2O_3$ and $TiO_2$ are dispersed in ${\alpha}$-Fe matrix with nano-sized grains are obtained by MA of $Fe_3O_4$ with Al and Ti for 25 and 75 hours, respectively. It is suggested that the shorter MA time for the nanocomposite formation in $Fe/Al_2O_3$ is due to a large negative heat associated with the chemical reduction of magnetite by aluminum. X-ray diffraction results show that the average grain size of ${\alpha}$-Fe in $Fe/TiO_2$ nanocomposite powders is in the range of 30 nm. The change in magnetic properties also reflects the details of the solid-state reduction of magnetite by pure metals during MA.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.32 no.11
• /
• pp.458-465
• /
• 2022

Interest in the use of semiconductor-based photocatalyst materials for the degradation of organic pollutants in a liquid phase has grown, due to their excellent performance and response to the light source. Herein, we fabricated a NiO-SiC-TiO₂ ternary structured photocatalyst which had reduced bandgap energy, with strong activation under UV-light irradiation. The synthesized samples were examined using XRD, SEM, EDX, TEM, DRS, EIS techniques and photocurrent measurement. The results confirmed that the two types of metal oxides were well bonded to the SiC fiber surface. The junction of the new photocatalyst exhibited a large number of photoexcited electrons and holes. The holes tended to oxidize the water and form a hydroxyl radical, which promoted the decomposition of methylene blue. The close contact between the 2D SiC fiber and metal oxide semiconductors expanded the scope of absorption wavelength, and enhanced the usability of the ternary photocatalyst for the degradation of methylene blue. Among three synthesized samples, the NiO-SiC-TiO₂ showed the best photocatalytic effect, and was considered to have excellent photoelectron transfer due to the synergy effect between the metal oxide and SiC.

• Advances in materials Research
• /
• v.1 no.3
• /
• pp.169-182
• /
• 2012

In this paper the intrinsic influence of micron-sized nickel particle reinforcements on microstructure, micro-hardness tensile properties and tensile fracture behavior of nano-alumina particle reinforced magnesium alloy AZ31 composite is presented and discussed. The unreinforced magnesium alloy (AZ31) and the reinforced nanocomposite counterpart (AZ31/1.5 vol.% $Al_2O_3$/1.5 vol.% Ni] were manufactured by solidification processing followed by hot extrusion. The elastic modulus and yield strength of the nickel particle-reinforced magnesium alloy nano-composite was higher than both the unreinforced magnesium alloy and the unreinforced magnesium alloy nanocomposite (AZ31/1.5 vol.% $Al_2O_3$). The ultimate tensile strength of the nickel particle reinforced composite was noticeably lower than both the unreinforced nano-composite and the monolithic alloy (AZ31). The ductility, quantified by elongation-to-failure, of the reinforced nanocomposite was noticeably higher than both the unreinforced nano-composite and the monolithic alloy. Tensile fracture behavior of this novel material was essentially normal to the far-field stress axis and revealed microscopic features reminiscent of the occurrence of locally ductile failure mechanisms at the fine microscopic level.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.119-125
• /
• 2019

Piezoelectric energy harvesting technology is attracting attention, as it can be used to convert more accessible mechanical energy resources to periodic electricity. Recent developments in the field of piezoelectric energy harvesters (PEHs) are associated with nanocomposites made from inorganic piezoelectric nanomaterials and organic elastomers. Here, we used the $BaTiO_3$ nanoparticles and piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) polymeric matrix to fabricate the nanocomposites-based PEH to improve the output performance of PEHs. The piezoelectric nanocomposite is produced by dispersing the inorganic piezo-ceramic nanoparticles inside an organic piezo-polymer and subsequently spin-coat it onto a metal plate. The fabricated organic-inorganic piezoelectric nanocomposite-based PEH harvested the output voltage of ~1.5 V and current signals of ~90 nA under repeated mechanical pushings: these values are compared to those of energy devices made from non-piezoelectric polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomers and supported by a multiphysics simulation software.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
• /
• 2006.05a
• /
• pp.123-126
• /
• 2006

In this study, bottom-up type powder processing and top-down type SPD (severe plastic deformation) approaches were combined in order to achieve full density of carbon nanotube (CNT)/metal matrix composites with superior mechanical properties by improved particle bonding and least grain growth, which were considered as a bottle neck of the bottom-up method using the conventional powder metallurgy of compaction and sintering. ECAP (equal channel angular pressing), the most promising method in SPD, was used for the CNT/Cu powder consolidation. The powder ECAP processing with 1, 2, 4 and 8 route C passes was conducted at room temperature.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.19 no.12
• /
• pp.637-643
• /
• 2009

In this study, we analyzed the effect of silicon oxynitride matrix on the optical properties of Au nanoparticles dispersed on composite film and explored the effectiveness of the silicon in fine tuning the refractive index of the composite film for applications in optical waveguide devices. The atomic fraction of nitrogen in $SiO_xN_y$ films was controlled by varying the relative flow ratio of nitrogen gas in reactive sputtering and was evaluated optically using an effective medium theory with Bruggeman geometry consisting of a random mixture between $SiO_2$ and $Si_3N_4$. The Au nanoparticles were embedded in the $SiO_xN_y$ matrix by employing the alternating deposition technique and clearly showed an absorption peak due to the excitation of surface plasmon. With increasing nitrogen atomic fraction in the matrix, the surface plasmon resonance wavelength shifted to a longer wavelength (a red-shift) with an enhanced resonance absorption. These characteristics were interpreted using the Maxwell-Garnett effective medium theory. The formation of a guided mode in a slab waveguide consisting of 3 $\mu$m thick Au:$SiO_xN_y$ nanocomposite film was confirmed at the telecommunication wavelength of 1550 nm by prism coupler method and compared with the case of using $SiO_2$ matrix. The use of $SiO_xN_y$ matrix provides an effective way of controlling the mode confinement while maintaining or even enhancing the surface plasmon resonance properties.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
• /
• 1996.11a
• /
• pp.6-6
• /
• 1996

Ceramic based nanocomposite, in which nano-sized ceramics and metals were dispersed within matrix grains and/or at grain boundaries, were successfully fabricated in the ceramic/cerarnic and ceramic/metal composite systems such as $Al_2O_3$/SiC, $Al_2O_3$/$Si_3N_4$, MgO/SiC, mullite/SiC, $Si_3N_4/SiC, $Si_3N_4$/B, $Al_2O_3$/W, $Al_2O_3$/Mo, $Al_2O_3$/Ni and $ZrO_2$/Mo systems. In these systems, the ceramiclceramic composites were fabricated from homogeneously mixed powders, powders with thin coatings of the second phases and amorphous precursor composite powders by usual powder metallurgical methods. The ceramiclmetal nanocomposites were prepared by combination of H2 reduction of metal oxides in the early stage of sinterings and usual powder metallurgical processes. The transmission electron microscopic observation for the $Al_2O_3$/SiC nanocomposite indicated that the second phases less than 70nm were mainly located within matrix grains and the larger particles were dispersed at the grain boundaries. The similar observation was also identified for other cerarnic/ceramic and ceramiclmetal nanocornposites. The striking findings in these nanocomposites were that mechanical properties were significantly improved by the nano-sized dispersion from 5 to 10 vol% even at high temperatures. For example, the improvement in hcture strength by 2 to 5 times and in creep resistance by 2 to 4 orders was observed not only for the ceramidceramic nanocomposites but also for the ceramiclmetal nanocomposites with only 5~01%se cond phase. The newly developed silicon nitride/boron nitride nanocomposites, in which nano-sized hexagonal BN particulates with low Young's modulus and fracture strength were dispersed mainly within matrix grains, gave also the strong improvement in fracture strength and thermal shock fracture resistance. In presentation, the process-rnicro/nanostructure-properties relationship will be presented in detail. The special emphasis will be placed on the understanding of the roles of nano-sized dispersions on mechanical properties.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.9 no.6
• /
• pp.381-393
• /
• 2002

Recent developments in nanocrystalline and nanocomposite rare earth-transition metal magnets are reviewed and emphasis is placed on research work at IFW Dresden. Principal synthesis methods include high energy ball milling, melt spinning, mold casting and hydrogen assisted methods such as reactive milling and hydrogenation-disproportionation-desorption-recombination. These techniques are applied to NdFeB-, PrFeB- and SmCo-type systems with the aim to produce high remanence magnets with high coercivity. Concepts of maximizing the energy density in nanostructured magnets by either inducing a texture via anisotropic HDDR or hot deformation or enhancing the remanence via magnetic exchange coupling are evaluated. With respect to high temperature applications melt spun $Sm(Co_{0.74}Fe_{0.1}Cu_{0.12}Zr_{0.04})_{7.5}$ ribbons were prepared, which showed coercivities of up to 0.53 T at 50$0^{\circ}C$. Partially amorphous $Nd_{60}Fe_xCo_{30-x}Al_{10}(0{\leq}x{\leq}30)$ alloys were prepared by copper mold casting. The effect of transition metal content on the glass-forming ability and the magnetic properties was investigated. The $Nd_{60}Co_{30}Al_{10}$ alloy exhibits an amorphous structure shown by the corresponding diffraction pattern. A small substitution of Co by 2.5 at.% Fe results In the formation of Fe-rich crystallites embedded in the Nd-rich amorphous matrix. The Fe-rich crystallites show hard magnetic behaviour at room temperature with a coercivity value of about 0.4 T, relatively low saturation magnetization and a Curie temperature of 500 K.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.53 no.5
• /
• pp.469-477
• /
• 2016

The application of nanomaterials for electrodes of intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) is introduced. In conventional SOFCs, the operating temperature is higher than 1073 K, and so application of nanomaterials is not suitable because of the high degradation rate that results from sintering, aggregation, or reactions. However, by allowing a decrease of the operating temperature, nanomaterials are attracting much interest. In this review, nanocomposite films with columnar morphology, called double columnar or vertically aligned nanocomposites and prepared by pulsed laser ablation method, are introduced. For anodes, metal nano particles prepared by exsolution from perovskite lattice are also applied. By using dissolution and exsolution into and from the perovskite matrix, performed by changing $P_{O2}$ in the gas phase at each interval, recovery of the power density can be achieved by keeping the metal particle size small. Therefore, it is expected that the application of nanomaterials will become more popular in future SOFC development.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.33 no.10
• /
• pp.3218-3224
• /
• 2012

Uniform and well dispersed metal sulfide semiconductor nanoparticles incorporated into matrices of alginate biopolymer are prepared by using a facile in situ method. The reaction was accomplished by impregnation of alginate with divalent metal ions followed by reaction with thioacetamide. XRD analysis showed that the nanoparticles incorporated in the polymer matrix were of cubic structure with the average particle diameter of 1.8 to 4.8 nm. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy images indicated that the particles were well dispersed and distributed uniformly in the matrices of alginate polymer. FT-IR spectra confirmed the presence of alginate in the nanocomposite. The crystalline nature and thermal stability of the alginate polymer was found to be influenced by the nature of the divalent metal ions used for the synthesis. The proposed method is considered to be a simple and greener approach for large scale synthesis of uniform sized nanoparticles.