1,720,974 research outputs found
Factors controlling segregation tendency of solute Ti, Ag and Ta into different symmetrical tilt grain boundaries of tungsten: First-principles and experimental study
No full textIn previous reports, experimental studies have shown that both thermal stability and strength can be controlled by grain boundary (GB) segregation. In this study, we investigate the segregation behavior of solute (Ti, Ag and Ta) atoms to low/high-angle symmetric tilt grain boundaries (STGBs) of W using density functional theory (DFT) calculations and supported by TEM experiments. We found no segregation preference for Ti or Ta at low-angle STGBs; however, they exhibit a slight segregation tendency to the core of high-angle STGBs. In contrast, Ag is more prone to segregate in and all around the GB plane. We estimated the mechanical and electronic contributions to solution energy and found that the electronic contribution is dominant. Furthermore, the role of d−valence electrons of solute and W atoms, was analyzed using the local density of states (PDOS). We found that substantial d−valence electrons hybridization in the case of Ta plays an important role in stabilizing W-Ta bonds, while the anisotropic nature of W-Ti bond contributes to stabilize surrounding W atoms. Charge transfer analysis revealed that Ti and Ta lose electrons to W atoms. Contrary to the electronegativity rule, Ag atoms gain charge from neighboring W atoms and excellent s−s hybridization may explain the increased GB segregation of Ag atoms.</p
Nanotribological investigation of sliding properties of transition metal dichalcogenide thin film coatings
No full textTransition metal dichalcogenide (TMD)-based coatings are known for their low friction performance, which is attributed to the formation of a tribolayer consisting almost exclusively of pure well-ordered TMD. However, the formation of such a tribolayer and its wear track coverage is still unknown. In this study, we employed surface mapping and nanotribological techniques to study the properties of the wear tracks of composite W-S-C coatings. Our analysis revealed that the as-deposited coating consisted of two phases, with significantly different nanoscale frictional properties. We attributed the phases to nanocrystalline WS2 (low friction) and amorphous solution of carbon and WS2 (high friction). The two phases wear at different rates, especially at lower loads, where we observed faster depletion of nanocrystalline WS2. In the wear track, sparse flat WS2 flakes were identified, suggesting that the recrystallization of the WS2 phase occurs only at the spots where the contact pressure is the highest
Structure, mechanical and tribological properties of Mo-S-N solid lubricant coatings
No full text Solid lubricant coatings deposited by plasma-assisted deposition techniques represent modern way to reduce the coefficient of friction in lubricant-free sliding contacts. Molybdenum disulphide (MoS2 ) is perhaps the most known and applied solid lubricant coating; however, its use is strictly limited by low hardness and environmental sensitivity. To improve mechanical and tribological properties, we doped MoS2 coating with nitrogen. Mo-S-N self-lubricant films were deposited by pulsed d. c. High Target Utilisation Sputtering (HiTUS) in reactive atmosphere. The effect of deposition conditions on chemical composition, structure and mechanical properties of MoSx and Mo-S-N coatings was studied; films with the most promising properties have been selected for tribological testing. MoSx film with the elemental composition sulphur to molybdenum (S/Mo ratio) 1.6 exhibited the coefficients of friction (COFs) in humid air 0.17 and 0.07 for loads 2 and 15 N, respectively. Mo-S-N films were prepared with nitrogen content in a range of 11 to 50 at., whereas S/Mo ratio varied from 1.35 to 0.4. Mo-S-N films were amorphous or nanostructured with nanograins of molybdenum disulphide. Hardness increased with N content up to 14 GPa for film with the highest content of nitrogen. Friction behaviour in humid air was evaluated using a ball-on-disk tribometer. Globally, the doping with N resulted in hardness in Mo–S–N films one order of magnitude higher and wear rate two orders of magnitude lower than in an undoped one, keeping the friction coefficient at the same level or even lower. These coatings showed remarkable friction coefficients in humid air from 0.28 to 0.05 with loads from 2 to 15 N, respectively. The excellent friction properties were attributed to the formation of a thin molybdenum disulphide tribofilm at the sliding interface. HiTUS represents a very promising way of producing thin films on the thermally sensitive substrates (e.g. bearing steel) with desired properties. </p
Mechanical properties and microstructural stability of CuTa/Cu composite coatings
No full textIn this study, the structure and mechanical properties of as-deposited and 823.15 K annealed CuTa coatings were studied with the purpose to evaluate the microstructural and mechanical thermal stability as a function of the Ta content. CuTa coatings with a Ta content from 0 to 100% were prepared by magnetron co-sputtering. Their structure and mechanical properties were characterized by grazing angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and nanoindentation. The XRD results show that a Ta-rich CuTa glass metal is formed in the coatings with 15–67 at.% Ta along with nanocrystalline Cu and such microstructure was retained after vacuum annealing at 823.15 K. TEM analyses of selected samples showed the formation of crystalline Cu islands in an amorphous CuTa matrix in both as-deposited and annealed coatings. The coatings presented a 3D distribution of Cu nanocrystals within an amorphous CuTa matrix which might reduce the brittleness of the glassy CuTa matrix. A significant increase in hardness values from 0.9 GPa for pure Cu to 11.9 GPa for the sample with 98 at.% Ta is observed. It has been shown that the composite coatings preserved the microstructure and were mechanically stable after vacuum annealing.</p
Fabrication of nanocrystalline supersaturated W–Al alloys with enhanced thermal stability and high sinterability
No full textIn this work, nanocrystalline W–Al alloys (up to 20 at.% of Al) were produced by high energy ball milling and powder microstructural evolution was investigated as a function of milling time. It was found that, regardless of the composition, alloys crystallite size progressively decreases and stabilizes around a value of about 10–15 nm after 70–100 h of mechanical treatment. The aluminum dissolution into the bcc W lattice was confirmed by DSC, SEM, and TEM. The formation of intermetallic compounds was detected neither during ball milling nor after thermal treatments up to 1450 °C. Sintering behavior of mechanically alloyed W–Al alloys was tested under pressureless conditions, and a significant improvement in terms of sinterability with respect to pure W was observed. Along with favoring the sintering process, the addition of Al also resulted in a notable enhancement of the coarsening resistance. Indeed, the analysis of ball-milled pure tungsten after thermal treatment at 1450 °C provided an estimated average crystallite size of about 2 μm, while W80Al20 and W90Al10 alloys retained an average crystallite size of about 70 nm and 60 nm, respectively. Although further work is required to optimize sintering conditions for achieving full density samples, the retaining of the nanostructure marks a significant advancement in the field of W-based alloys.</p
Synthesis and structural properties of Mo-S-N sputtered coatings
No full textTransition-metal-dichalcogenide coatings provide low friction because of characteristic low shear strength along the basal plane of the lamellar structure; however, the material can easily degrade through exfoliation and poor adhesion to the metallic substrates. In this work, an innovative approach was employed to improve the coating's adhesion. A secondary plasma source was used during deposition to generate an additional charged particle flux which was directed to the growing film independently of the magnetron cathode. Therefore, Mo-S-N solid lubricant films were deposited by DCMS from a single molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) target in a reactive atmosphere. Nitrogen was introduced during the deposition with increasing partial pressures, resulting in a high N2 content in the doped films (37 at. %). The variation in incident ion energy and flux of energetic species bombarding the growing film allows for the control of the S/Mo ratio through selective re-sputtering of sulphur from the film. The S/Mo ratio was progressively increased in the range of 1.2–1.8, resulting in a gradient from a metallic layer to the lubricious sulphide. Combining the ion bombardment with nitrogen incorporation, the cohesive critical load (Lc1) reached 38 N, 10 times more when compared to pure MoS2 coating. Observation using HRTEM revealed an amorphous structure and strong bonding with the substrate. </p
Elucidating the role of TiCl<sub>4</sub>post-treatment on percolation of TiO<sub>2</sub>electron transport layer in perovskite solar cells
No full textThe ideal electron transport layer of a high performance perovskite solar cell should have good optical transparency, high electron mobility, and an energy level alignment well-matched with the perovskite material. In this work, we investigate the role of TiCl4 post-treatment of the mesoporous TiO2 electron transport layer by varying the concentration of TiCl4 and characterizing optical and electrical properties, charge carrier dynamics, and photovoltaic performance of mesoscopic CH3NH3PbI3 solar cells. It is found that the TiCl4 treatment provides an additional interconnection between the TiO2 particles, leading to better percolation as evident from high resolution cross-section images and chemical maps. This enhances effective electron mobility in the material as well as significantly reduces average sub-bandgap absorption due to defects and electronic disorder determined by photothermal deflection spectroscopy. Moreover, improvement of interfacial contact due to a smoother surface contributes to more efficient charge extraction and suppressed charge recombination and reduced hysteresis. As a result, the optimized device based on TiCl4 post-treated mesoporous TiO2 achieved the highest conversion efficiency of 17.4% compared with 14.1% for the device with pristine mesoporous TiO2.</p
The fabrication of high strength Zr/Nb nanocomposites using high-pressure torsion
Full text linkNanocomposites of Zr/Nb with exceptionally high hardness were fabricated successfully through the high-pressure torsion (HPT) processing of prepacked Nb/Zr/Nb sandwich samples at ambient temperature. The initial layers of Nb and Zr became fragmented during HPT processing with the formation of many fine-scale intermixed Zr/Nb layers. The intermixing of these Zr/Nb layers increased both with increasing HPT revolutions from 10 to 100 and with increasing radial positions on the disks. The Vickers microhardness, Hv, increased with increasing revolutions and with radial position reaching a maximum of ~700 Hv at the edge of the 100 turns sample. Exceptional grain refinement to the range of ~20 to 40 nm and the occurrence of twinning were associated with the HPT-processed Zr/Nb composites after 100 turns. These results suggest a potential route for fabricating high strength bulk Zr/Nb nanocomposites
Deformation-controlled design of metallic nanocomposites
No full textAchieving the theoretical strength of a metallic alloy material is a demanding task that usually requires utilizing one or more of the well-established routes: (1) Decreasing the grain size to stop or slow down the dislocation mobility, (2) adding external barriers to dislocation pathways, (3) altering the crystal structure, or (4) combining two of the previous discrete strategies, that is, implementing crystal seeds into an amorphous matrix. Each of the outlined methods has clear limitations; hence, further improvements are required. We present a unique approach that envelops all the different strength-building strategies together with a new phenomenon–phase transition. We simulated the plastic deformation of a Zr–Nb nanolayered alloy using molecular dynamics and ab initio methods and observed the transition of Zr from hexagonal close-packed to face-centered cubic and then to body-centered cubic during compression. The alloy, which was prepared by magnetron sputtering, exhibited near-theoretical hardness (10.8 GPa) and the predicted transition of the Zr structure was confirmed. Therefore, we have identified a new route for improving the hardness of metallic alloys
An insight on the MoS2 tribo-film formation to determine the friction performance of Mo-S-N sputtered coatings
No full textAmorphous Mo-S-N coatings are known to provide excellent tribological properties in diverse environments due to easy sliding under the influence of MoS2 tribo-films. However, the role of nitrogen incorporation, the formation mechanism of MoS2 tribo-film at the sliding interface and the changes in the friction behaviour under different environments are not fully understood. In this study, an amorphous coating with 30 at. % N was deposited in a semi-industrial reactive direct current magnetron sputtering (DCMS) system, using a single MoS2 target in combination with a secondary plasma source. The coating was predicted to have either a Mo-S-N phase with N filling some of the S sites or a MoS2(N2) structure where the gas molecules prevent the formation of a crystalline lamellar structure. Tribological studies performed in vacuum and ambient air resulted in steady-state COF values of 0.03 and 0.15, respectively. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analysis performed on the wear-tracks revealed that the low coefficient of friction (COF) in vacuum was attributed to the formation of a thick and continuous lamellar tribo-film with a low amount of nitrogen. Contrarily, in ambient air, the surface oxidation disturbed the formation of a continuous MoS2 tribo-film from the amorphous coatings, leading to an increase in the COF and wear rate. This study shows through indirect measurements of the chemical composition of the as-deposited coating and wear debris that nitrogen is stored in gaseous form (N2) within the amorphous matrix and is released from the contact during sliding.</p
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