Effect of substituting cerium-rich mischmetal with lanthanum on microstructure and mechanical properties of die-cast Mg-Al-RE alloys

Die-cast Mg-4Al-4RE-0.4Mn (RE = Ce-rich mischmetal) and Mg-4Al-4La-0.4Mn magnesium alloys were prepared successfully and their microstructure, tensile and creep properties have been investigated. The results show that two binary Al-RE phases, Al11RE3 and Al2RE, are formed along grain boundaries in Mg-4Al-4RE-0.4Mn alloy, while the phase compositions of Mg-4Al-4La-0.4Mn alloy mainly consist of alpha-Mg phase and Al11La3 phase. And in Mg-4Al-4La-0.4Mn alloy the Al11La3 phase occupies a large grain boundary area and grows with complicated morphologies, which is characterized by scanning electron microscopy in detail. Changing the rare earth content of the alloy from Ce-rich mischmetal to lanthanum gives a further improvement in the tensile and creep properties, and the later could be attributed to the better thermal stability of Al11La3 phase in Mg-4Al-4La-0.4Mn alloy than that of Al11RE3 phase in Mg-4Al-4RE-0.4Mn alloy.

Microstructures, mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of high-pressure die-cast Mg-4Al-0.4Mn-xPr (x=1, 2, 4, 6) alloys

Mg-4Al-0.4Mn-xPr (x = 1, 2, 4 and 6 wt.%) magnesium alloys were prepared successfully by the high-pressure die-casting technique. The microstructures, mechanical properties, corrosion behavior as well as strengthening mechanism were investigated. The die-cast alloys were mainly composed of small equiaxed dendrites and the matrix. The fine rigid skin region was related to the high cooling rate and the aggregation of alloying elements, such as Pr. With the Pr content increasing, the alpha-Mg grain sizes were reduced gradually and the amounts of the Al2Pr phase and All, Pr-3 phase which mainly concentrated along the grain boundaries were increased and the relative volume ratio of above two phases was changed. Considering the performance-price ratio, the Pr content added around 4 wt.% was suitable to obtain the optimal mechanical properties which can keep well until 200 degrees C as well as good corrosion resistance. The outstanding mechanical properties were mainly attributed to the rigid casting surface layer, grain refinement, grain boundary strengthening obtained by an amount of precipitates as well as solid solution strengthening.

Microstructure, tensile properties, and creep behavior of high-pressure die-cast Mg-4Al-4RE-0.4Mn (RE = La, Ce) alloys

High-pressure die-cast (HPDC) Mg-4Al-4RE-0.4Mn (RE = La, Ce) magnesium alloys were prepared and their microstructures, tensile properties, and creep behavior have been investigated in detail. The results show that two binary Al-Ce phases, Al11Ce3 and Al2Ce, are formed mainly along grain boundaries in Mg-4Al-4Ce-0.4Mn alloy, while the phase composition of Mg-4Al-4La-0.4Mn alloy contains only alpha-Mg and Al11La3. The Al11La3 phase comprises large coverage of the grain boundary region and complicated morphologies. Compared with Al11Ce3 phase, the higher volume fraction and better thermal stability of Al11La3 have resulted in better-fortified grain boundaries of the Mg-4Al-4La-0.4Mn alloy. Thus higher tensile strength and creep resistance could be obtained in Mg-4Al-4La-0.4Mn alloy in comparison with that of Mg-4Al-4Ce-0.4Mn. Results of the theoretical calculation that the stability of Al11La3 is the highest among four Al-RE intermetallic compounds supports the experimental results further.

Conducting probe atomic force microscopy investigation of anisotropic charge transport in solution cast PBD single crystals induced by an external field

2-(4-Biphenylyl)-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxdiazole (PBD) is a good electron-transporting material and can form single crystals from solution. In this work, solution cast PBD single crystals with different crystallographic axes (b, c) perpendicular to the Au/S substrates in large area are achieved by controlling the rate of solvent evaporation in the presence and absence of external electrostatic field, respectively. The orientation of these single crystals on Au/S substrate was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Conducting probe atomic force microscopy (CP-AFM) was used to measure the charge transport characteristics of PBD single crystals grown on Au/S substrates. Transport was measured perpendicular to the substrate between the CP-AFM tip and the Au/S substrate. The electron mobility of 3 x 10(-3) cm(2)/(V s) for PBD single crystal along crystallographic b-axis is determined. And the electron mobility of PBD single crystal along the c-axis is about 2 orders of magnitude higher than that along the b-axis due to the anisotropic charge transport at the low voltage region.

Inverted to normal phase transition in solution-cast polystyrene-poly(methyl methacrylate) block copolymer thin films

We have investigated the inverted phase formation and the transition from inverted to normal phase for a cylinder-forming polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) diblock copolymer in solution-cast films with thickness about 300 nm during the process of the solution concentrating by slow solvent evaporation. The cast solvent is 1, 1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (Tetra-CE), a good solvent for both blocks but having preferential affinity for the minority PMMA block. During such solution concentrating process, the phase behavior was examined by freeze-drying the samples at different evaporation time, corresponding to at different block copolymer concentrations, phi. As phi increases from similar to 0.1 % (nu/nu), the phase structure evolved from the disordered sphere phase (DS), consisting of random arranged spheres with the majority PS block as I core and the minority PMMA block as a corona, to ordered inverted phases including inverted spheres (IS), inverted cylinders (IC), and inverted hexagonally perforated lamellae (IHPL) with the minority PMMA block comprising the continuum phase, and then to the lamellar (LAM) phase with alternate layers of the two blocks, and finally to the normal cylinder (NC) phase with the majority PS block comprising the continuum phase. The solvent nature and the copolymer solution concentration are shown to be mainly responsible for the inverted phase formation and the phase transition process.

Crystallization and phase behavior of crystalline syndiotactic 1,2-polybutadiene/isotactic polypropylene blends in solution-cast thin films

Crystallization and phase behavior in solution-cast thin films of crystalline syndiotactic 1,2-polybutadiene (s-1,2-PB) and isotactic polypropylene (i-PP) blends have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) techniques. Thin films of pure s-1,2-PB consist of parallel lamellae with the c-axis perpendicular to the film plane and the lateral scale in micrometer size, while those of i-PP are composed of cross-hatched and single-crystal-like lamellae. For the blends, TEM and AFM observations show that with addition of i-PP, the s-1,2-PB long lamellae become bended and i-PP itself tends to form dispersed convex regions oil a continuous s-1,2-PB phase even when i-PP is the predominant component, which indicates a strong phase separation between the two polymers during film formation. FESEM micrographs of both lower and upper surfaces of the films reveal that the s-1,2-PB lamellae pass through i-PPconvex regions from the bottom, i.e. the dispersed i-PP regions lie on the continuous s-1,2-PB phase. The structural development is attributed to an interplay of crystallization and phase separation of the blends in the film forming process.

Microstructures and properties of melt-spun and as-cast Mg-20Gd binary alloy

Mg-20Gd(%, mass fraction) samples were prepared using melt-spinning and copper mold casting techniques. Microstructures and properties of the Mg-20Gd were investigated. Results show that the melt-spun ribbon is mainly composed of supersaturated alpha-Mg solid solution phase and the as-east ingot mainly contains alpha-Mg solid solution and Mg5Gd phase. The differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) curve of the ribbon exhibits a small exothermic peak in the temperature range from 630 to 680 K, which indicates that the ribbon contains a metastable phase (amorphous). Tensile strength at room temperature of the melt-spun ribbon and as-cast specimen are 308 and 254 MPa, respectively. The elongations of the two samples are less than 2%. The fracture surfaces demonstrate that the fracture mode of the as-cast Mg-20Gd is a typical cleavage fracture and that of the melt-spun sample is a combination of brittle fracture and ductile fracture.

Study on the origin of inverted phase in drying solution-cast block copolymer films

In a previous study, we reported observation of the novel inverted phase (the minority blocks comprising the continuum phase) in kinetically controlled phase separating solution-cast poly(styrene-b-butadiene-b-styrene) (SBS) triblock copolymer films [Zhang et al. Macromolecules 2000, 33, 9561-7]. In this study, we adopt the same approach to investigate the formation of inverted phase in a series of solution-cast poly(styrene-b-butadiene) (SB) asymmetric diblock copolymers having nearly equal polystyrene (PS) weight fraction (about 30 wt %) but different molecular weights. The microstructure of the solution-cast block copolymer films resulting from different solvent evaporation rates, R, was inspected, from which the kinetically frozen-in phase structures at qualitatively different block copolymer concentrations and correspondingly different effective interaction parameter, chieff, can be deduced. Our result shows that there is a threshold molecular weight or range of molecular weight below which the unusual inverted phase is accessible by controlling the solvent evaporation rate. In comparing the present result with that of our previous study on the SBS triblock copolymer, we find that the formation of the inverted phase has little bearing on the chain architecture. We performed numerical calculations for the free energy of block copolymer cylinders and found that the normal phase is always preferred irrespective of the interaction parameter and molecular weight, which suggests the formation of the inverted phase to have a kinetic origin.

Electrocatalytic oxidation of dopamine by ferrocene in lipid film cast on a glassy carbon electrode

The ferrocene-lipid film electrode was successfully prepared by means of casting the solution of ferrocene and lipid in chloroform onto a glassy carbon (GC) electrode surface. Ferrocene saved in the biological membrane gave a couple of quasi-reversible peaks of cyclic voltammogram. The electrode displays a preferential electrocatalytic oxidation of dopamine (DA). The effect of electroccatalytic oxidation of DA depends on the solution pH and the negative charge lipid is in favor of catalytic oxidation of DA. The characteristic was employed for separating the electrochemical responses of DA and ascorbic acid (AA). The electrode was assessed for the voltammetric differentiation of DA and AA. The measurement of DA can be achieved with differential pulse voltammetry in the, presence of high concentration of AA. The catalytic peak current was proportional to the concentration of DA in the range of 1 x 10(-4)-3 x 10(-3) mol/L.

Electrocatalytic oxidation of ascorbic acid by ferrocene in lipid film cast on a glassy carbon electrode

A ferrocene-dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) film electrode was prepared by casting the solution of ferrocene and DMPC in chloroform onto a glassy carbon electrode surface. Ferrocene retained in the biological membrane gave a couple of irreversible peaks of cyclic voltammogram. The electrode exhibited good electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of ascorbic acid (H(2)A) in phosphate buffer (pH 6.64) with an anodic peak potential of +340 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl). The anodic current was directly proportional to the square root of the scan rate below 150 mV s(-1). The influence of the pH value was investigated and it was observed that pH 6.64 was the suitable value to the anodic peak potential and current. The thickness of the film and the interference of uric acid were also studied. The electrode can be used to determine H(2)A in the presence of equimolar uric acid. The catalytic peak current increased linearly with the concentration of H(2)A in the range of 1 X 10(-4)-5 X 10(-3) mol L-1.

Electrocatalytic oxidation of ascorbic acid by norepinephrine embedded in lipid cast film at glassy carbon electrode

A stable lipid cast film was made by casting a lipid in chloroform onto a glassy carbon electrode. We imbedded a new mediator norepinephrine into this lipid cast film, which was considered as a biological membrane model. Through electro catalytic oxidation of ascorbic acid by this system, the anodic overpotential was reduced by about 250 mV compared with that obtained at a bare glassy carbon electrode. The electrochemical behavior of norepinephrine in the cast film was controlled by diffusion. The obtained diffusion coefficient of ascorbic acid was 1.87 x 10(-5) cm 2 s(-1). The catalytic current increased linearly with the concentration of ascorbic acid in the range from 0.5 to 10 mM. Using cyclic voltammetry, we obtained two peaks for ascorbic acid and uric acid in the same solution. The separation between the two peaks is about 147 mV. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oxidation of NADH by dopamine incorporated in lipid film cast onto a glassy carbon electrode

Stable lipid film was made by casting lipid in chloroform onto a glassy carbon electrode. This model of a biological membrane was used to investigate the oxidation of dihydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) by dopamine. After this electrode had been immersed in dopamine solution for 10 h, it was found that some dopamine had been incorporated in the film. The cyclic voltammogram was obtained for the oxidation of 2.0 X 10(-3) mol 1(-1) NADH with dopamine incorporated in the films. All electrochemical experiments were performed in 0.005 mol 1(-1) phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) containing 0.1 mol 1(-1) NaCl without oxygen. The oxidation current increased gradually with successive sweeps and reached steady state. It was a different phenomenon from previous results. The anodic overpotential was reduced by about 130 mV compared with that obtained at a bare glassy carbon electrode. The diffusion coefficient for 2.0 X 10(-3) mol 1(-1) NADH was 6.7 X 10(-6) cm(2) s(-1). (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

STUDIES ON MORPHOLOGY OF SOLUTION-CAST FILMS OF IPP/APP BLENDS

Morphologies of solution-cast films of iPP/aPP blends have been studied by means of electron microscopy and X-ray scattering techniques. Microscopic observation showed that solution-cast film of iPP consists of two kinds of structural regions, cross-hatched and lath-liked structures. The addition of small amount of aPP (less than or equal to 30%) into iPP did not change iPP's characteristic crystallization behavior. It is noticed that when the content of aPP in its blend was over 80%, iPP formed a very loosely woven-like network composed of very long lamellae with wide-angle lamellar branchings. The X-ray data showed that aPP did not cocrystallize with iPP.

EPITAXIAL CRYSTALLIZATION OF HIGH-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE ON POLYPROPYLENE IN SOLUTION-CAST FILMS

Epitaxial crystallization of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) on isotactic polypropylene (iPP) in solution-cast films has been investigated by electron microscopy. The specimen-tilt technique of electron microscopy has been used to study the structural relationship between HDPE and iPP crystals. HDPE exhibits different crystalline morphologies in the two basic types of iPP spherulite textures, cross-hatched and lathlike regions. In the former, the crystallographic c axis of HDPE lamellae is in the film plane, while in the latter, the c axis of HDPE crystallites is at an angle of about 50-degrees with the normal of the film. In both structural regions of iPP, however, the contact planes of epitaxial growth are (0 1 0) for iPP and (1 0 0) for HDPE.