The thermal expansion coefficient of LaCo1−xFexO3 averaging between 25 and 1000 °C decreased linearly with the Fe content, x. The thermal expansion of LaCo1−xNixO3 decreased with increasing the Ni content, but those for x = 0.67 and 1.0 were almost identical at 1000 °C due to the transition of the crystal system of LaNiO3. The behavior of thermal expansion was interpreted in terms of the formation enthalpy of the perovskites and the bond length between a B-site cation and an oxide anion. LaCo0.67Ni0.33O3, which has the electrical conductivity of 4 × 102 S/cm, could be a good candidate for the air electrode material.

Monolithic nanocomposite aerogels of two aluminosilicate compositions have been prepared and characterized by different techniques. The results show that high surface area and mesoporosity can be preserved in the above nanocomposite aerogels by heating at 1000 °C, unlike the single component aerogels. The presence of alumina as a second phase prevented their densification which resulted in surface areas on the order of 500–600 m2/g and mesopores of about 5–6 nm in diameter after heat treatment at 1000 °C. These novel nanocomposite aerogels are expected to find applications at high-temperatures in separations, insulation, catalysis, etc.

The oxidation of two α–Si3N4 powders has been studied using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Bremsstrahlung-excited Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). These two powders had comparable specific surface areas but were produced by different methods. The powders were oxidized by heating in air at temperatures between 850° and 1000 °C. The oxide thickness for each heating time and temperature was determined both from the relative O 1s and N 1s peak intensities and from the relative SiO2 and Si3N4 Si KLL peak intensities. In each case, the oxide thickness calculated from the XPS data was systematically higher than those determined from the AES data. This difference may be due to uncertainties in the data analysis procedures. The oxidation of each powder followed a linear rate law for these temperatures. On one of the powders, the XPS data showed evidence of oxynitride formation. Analysis with thermal decomposition mass spectroscopy also showed that much more hydrogen was evolved from this particular powder, particularly at temperatures >700 °C. These differences in bulk impurity levels are believed to be responsible for the differences in the activation energies for oxidation which were measured to be 104 ± 22 kJ/mol and 62 ± 4 kJ/mol for these two powders.

Microwave-hydrothermal processing has so far been used only to dissolve inorganic solids for chemical analysis. We report herein the use of microwave-hydrothermal processing to synthesize various ceramic powders in binary and polynary systems. We describe the synthesis of some electroceramic powders such as BaTiO3, SrTiO3, Sr0.5Ba0.5TiO3, PbTiO3, BaZrO3, SrZrO3, Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3, and pyrochlore phases with the Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 and Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 compositions by this novel microwave-hydrothermal processing technique.

The roles of additives (MnO2, SiO2, and CdO) in controlling microstructural development and piezoelectric properties of Pb(Ni1/3Nb2/3)O3– PbTiO3–PbZrO3(PNN–PT–PZ) ceramics were systematically examined. The addition of SiO2 (<1 wt. %) to the pseudoternary PNN–PT-PZ system enhances densification, but suppresses grain growth significantly. On the other hand, the presence of MnO2 expedites the rate of grain growth without increasing the rate of densification appreciably. The observed difference in the grain-growth behavior was discussed in terms of the viscosity of liquid phase formed during sintering and the diffusion-controlled process for the solute-atoms transport. The rapid increase in the mechanical quality factor (Qm) and the decrease in the relative dielectric permittivity (∊r) and d33 for the MnO2-doped specimens indicate the formation of oxygen vacancies by the dissolution of Mn-atoms into the B-sites of perovskite structure. On the contrary, the presence of CdO (2 mol %) remarkably increases ∊r and d33 of PNN–PT–PZ ceramics.

Carbon fibers were treated with siloxane spin-on-glass and reaction bonded silicon oxycarbide coatings. The spin-on-glass (SOG) coatings were prepared by pyrolyzing solutions of polymethylsilsesquioxane (PMSO), polydimethoxysilane (PDSO), and poly(ethoxysilane)ethyltitanate copolymer (ESET). Since the flexibility of the coatings was found to be dependent on the concentration of the siloxane solution, only those of PMSO and PDSO below 1.25% were determined to be suitable for fiber coatings, and an alternative approach to the formation of a pliable silicon-based ceramic coating on the fibers was developed. Carbon fiber tows were impregnated by ethanolic solutions of organosilicon chlorides and fired at temperatures up to 900 °C to form a flexible reaction bonded silicon oxycarbide (RB–SiOC) coatings. Uncoated, SOG coated, and RB–SiOC coated carbon fibers were embedded in aluminum metal at 1000 °C. While both silica-based coatings protected the carbon surface, no wetting was observed, leading to fiber pull-out. When the coated fibers were treated with a mixture of Ti and B prior to immersion into the molten aluminum, complete wetting of the fibers occurred. In the presence of molten aluminum, the Ti/B coating enabled the exothermic formation of TiB2 and titanium aluminides, which facilitate wetting. This reaction is termed ASPIRE (Aluminum Self-Propagating Interfacial Reaction) and in combination with silicon-based ceramic coatings provides a scientific approach to the formation of stable carbon fiber/aluminum metal-matrix composites. The coated fibers and composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) analysis, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

Fe and Co metals were incorporated into a Ti and C mixture with a molar ratio of 1.0 over the range of 0 to 40 wt. % to study their effect on TiC combustion synthesis. The addition brought about the grain size decrease, change of grain shape (angular to spherical), and different distribution (agglomerated to isolated) of TiC grains. Both Fe and Co additives were distributed around TiC grains and served as a binder. It was observed that reaction between Ti and C was kinetically more favorable than any other reactions in the Ti–C–Fe or Ti–C–Co system. Based on the activation energy from an Arrhenius plot of In[(1−w)1/2u/Tc] vs 1/Tc, which was obtained by combustion temperature and wave velocity measurements, the reaction mechanism in combustion synthesis of TiC with the addition of 20 wt. % Fe and Co was suggested.

Fracture toughness of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) was evaluated with indentation cracks. The cracks were developed by indenting in a liquid acetone environment, as suggested by previous researchers. Due to the inconsistency in crack configurations with varying indentation loads and to the negligible residual stress from indentation, the application of the indentation strength method was limited in evaluating fracture toughness of PMMA. The semielliptical crack approximation, however, particularly at a low indentation load of 9.8 N, resulted in reasonable agreement with the value determined by three conventional fracture toughness testings using the compact tension (CT), double cantilever beam (DCB), and single edge notched beam (SENB) specimens. Measurements at other indentation load typically were in poor agreement with conventional methods due to poorly developed crack configurations.

PMDA-ODA polyimide thin films can be formed by vapor co-deposition of the precursor molecules PMDA (pyromellitic dianhydride) and ODA (4, 4′-oxydianiline) if the resulting polyamic acid film is heated to a 473 to 573 K cure step. We have used laser Raman spectroscopy to study how dose composition, dose rate, and substrate temperature influence the properties of the resulting polyimide films. We find that only doses with excess PMDA produce high quality films. Doses with 1 : 1 stoichiometry or excess ODA produce thermally unstable films that contain imine bonds; these films decompose below 575 K. Dosing onto substrates below 315 K produces the polyamic acid precursor of polyimide. At higher substrate temperatures, films with high defect densities or decomposed films are produced. The equilibrium vapor pressures of ODA and PMDA are reported.

A perturbation method is used to confirm that the elastic contact stiffness associated with a flat-ended punch indenting a layered medium is insensitive to the cross-section shape of the punch as long as the shape does not differ too much from a circle. This result supports the practice of modeling nonaxisymmetric indenters such as Vickers or Berkovich indenters as an axisymmetric flat-ended cylindrical punch.

Carbon nanofibers (sometimes known as carbon filaments) can be produced in a relative large scale by the catalytic decomposition of certain hydrocarbons on small metal particles. The diameter of the nanofibers is governed by that of the catalyst particles responsible for their growth. By careful manipulation of various parameters it is possible to generate carbon nanofibers in assorted conformations and at the same time also control the degree of their crystalline order. This paper is a review of the recent advances made in the development of these nanostructures, with emphasis both on the fundamental aspects surrounding the growth of the material and a discussion of the key factors which enable one to control their chemical and physical properties. Attention is also given to some of the possible applications of the nanostructures which center around the unique blend of properties exhibited by the material.

“Chemical vapor infiltration of SiC with microwave heating” [J. Mater. Res. 8, 1057 (1993)]