Understanding the thermodynamic stability of materials plays an essential role in their applications. The high-temperature oxide melt solution calorimetry is a reliable method developed to experimentally measure formation enthalpy. Until now, it has been mostly used for the characterization of oxide materials. We introduce modifications in the experimental technique which makes it suitable for a wide range of non-oxide compounds. The modified methodology was used to measure the heat effects associated with the oxidative dissolution of almost all p-elements of groups III, IV, V, and VI and verified by calculating the standard enthalpies of formation of the corresponding oxides at 298 K. The results presented serve as a compelling database for pure p-elements, which will provide a very straightforward way of calculating the formation enthalpies of non-oxide systems based on high-temperature calorimetric experiments.

Continued progress in artificial intelligence (AI) and associated demonstrations of superhuman performance have raised the expectation that AI can revolutionize scientific discovery in general and materials science specifically. We illustrate the success of machine learning (ML) algorithms in tasks ranging from machine vision to game playing and describe how existing algorithms can also be impactful in materials science, while noting key limitations for accelerating materials discovery. Issues of data scarcity and the combinatorial nature of materials spaces, which limit application of ML techniques in materials science, can be overcome by exploiting the rich scientific knowledge from physics and chemistry using additional AI techniques such as reasoning, planning, and knowledge representation. The integration of these techniques in materials-intelligent systems will enable AI governance of the scientific method and autonomous scientific discovery.

Two α-alumina + YSZ samples were prepared by sintering for 3 h one at 1500 °C and the other at 1700 °C. The samples were then converted to Na-β″-alumina + YSZ by vapor phase conversion. Characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in addition to dimensional geometrical changes reveal the evolution of slight anisotropy in these samples during conversion. This results in an electrical conductivity anisotropy factor of about 5.5 and 1.8 for samples sintered at 1500 °C and 1700 °C, respectively. In all samples, the higher ionic conductivity was measured across the sample thickness as opposed to parallel to the disc faces. The ionic conductivity measurements show the conductivity of about 0.15 S/cm and 0.07 S/cm at 300 °C for samples sintered at 1500 °C and 1700 °C, respectively. The larger anisotropy in samples sintered at 1500 °C is explained by the higher aspect ratio of grains in this sample and by different Na concentrations.

Nanoporous metallic foams with high surface area and novel functional behavior are positioned to stimulate new multifunctional and metamaterial applications. However, there are fundamental challenges in achieving uniform nanopores and tailorable morphology. Emerging templating methods offer a wide range of applicable metallic species while enhancing control of pore morphology, uniformity, and interconnectivity. Here, a critical review of nanoporous metal fabrication is presented, with focus on templating methods utilizing nanoporous polymeric templates. Metals are introduced into percolative nanochannels of sacrificial templates by deposition, and subsequent removal of templates yields ordered nanoporous metals. We introduce approaches for preparing nanoporous templates, including utilizing block copolymer self-assembly that yields periodic gyroid networks. While metallization of templates by electrodeposition has been demonstrated, electroless deposition permits uniform deposition by many metallic species and infiltration of narrow pores. Examples of nanoporous metals with uniform pore sizes below 50 nm fabricated by templating methods are examined.

Starting in 2007, a portable, hand-held X-ray fluorescence spectrometer was used to elementally analyze and determine the geological source of obsidian artifacts in the Mediterranean, effectively replacing the instruments used in my previous research studies - INAA, LA-ICP-MS, ED-XRF and an electron microprobe with WDS. Approximately 400 geological obsidian samples from the Mediterranean area, and 8500 obsidian artifacts from prehistoric sites in Italy, France, Croatia, Malta, Tunisia, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Israel, and Egypt have been analyzed non-destructively by pXRF. Overall, the pXRF can distinguish all of the individual sources, based on the composition of Fe and trace elements Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, and Nb, as well as assign most artifacts to specific subsources and thus addressing archaeological research hypotheses about trade and exchange in many different time periods.

X-ray beam-induced damage in nanoscale metal islands was investigated. Monolayer-high Ni islands were prepared on a Cu(111) substrate. High brilliance X-rays with photon energies between 8.45 and 8.85 keV illuminated the sample for about 11 hours. In order to track changes in the morphology of the islands, the synchrotron X-ray scanning tunneling microscopy (SX-STM) technique was utilized. The result shows that X-ray illumination onto Ni islands does not induce noticeable damage. The study demonstrates that local beam-induced changes can be studied using SX-STM.

In our increasingly digitized and safety conscious society, we tend to shield our children form real contact with the material world and tend to steer them increasingly to only virtual experiences. Appliances are not repaired but replaced. So are materials used in everyday life. As a consequence, we cannot assume experiences with materials which were a given in the past. In this article, we will concentrate on both K-12 and Undergraduate education with examples of the necessity of consciously encountering “materials” in our increasingly digital society, and how students can be taught to realize the properties and necessity of consciously encountering materials. We will draw our examples from the lack of that experience students bring to undergraduate research, and how that deficiency can be remedied.

Over 2000 micro-X-Ray Fluorescence (μ-XRF) measurements of iron gall inks were collected at the General Archive of the Nation in Mexico (Archivo General de la Nación, AGN). The portable X-Ray system SANDRA permitted detection of common elements present in all iron gall inks (e.g. Ca, Fe, S, etc.) as well as characteristic traces and impurities (e.g. Cu, Ni, Zn, Pb, etc). The documents in the data set originate from all over Mexico and are dated between the 16th and 19th centuries. All manuscripts were well preserved.

Extensive statistical processing of the relative X-Ray intensities revealed common features in groups of documents with the same provenance. Among the findings, there is a progressive trend to complex mixtures from the beginning of the 16th century to the 17th. A reverse trend was observed for the following century. Zinc, lead and seldom arsenic, chromium and mercury seem characteristic for northern areas whereas manganese seems common to the vast majority of studied inks.

As a general concern in conservation research, special attention was addressed to copper, as it is known to have additive effects to the degradation of cellulose. This metal seems fairly common to Mexican inks, especially during 18th century.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first examination taken to such a large number of inks. This study contributes to the more-focused development of suitable treatments that tailor specific needs, since they are to be based on of ink’s composition. It sets a precedent for the study of these inks in the Americas and allows conservators and historians to gain further insight into the history of their usage in Mexico.

The high sensitivity of electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) for detecting light elements at the nanoscale makes it a valuable technique for application to biological systems. In particular, EELS provides quantitative information about elemental distributions within subcellular compartments, specific atoms bound to individual macromolecular assemblies, and the composition of bionanoparticles. EELS data can be acquired either in the fixed beam energy-filtered transmission electron microscope (EFTEM) or in the scanning transmission electron microscope, and recent progress in the development of both approaches has greatly expanded the range of applications for EELS analysis. Near single atom sensitivity is now achievable for certain elements bound to isolated macromolecules, and it becomes possible to obtain three-dimensional compositional distributions from sectioned cells through EFTEM tomography.

X-ray elemental mapping and X-ray spectrum imaging are powerful microanalytical tools. However, their scope is often limited spatially by the raster area of a scanning electron microscope or microprobe. Limited sampling size becomes a significant issue when large area (>10 cm2), heterogeneous materials such as concrete samples or others must be examined. In such specimens, macro-scale structures, inclusions, and concentration gradients are often of interest, yet microbeam methods are insufficient or at least inefficient for analyzing them. Such requirements largely exclude the samples of interest presented in this article from electron probe microanalysis. Micro X-ray fluorescence–X-ray spectrum imaging (μXRF-XSI) provides a solution to the problem of macro-scale X-ray imaging through an X-ray excitation source, which can be used to analyze a variety of large specimens without many of the limitations found in electron-excitation sources. Using a mid-sized beam coupled with an X-ray excitation source has a number of advantages, such as the ability to work at atmospheric pressure and lower limits of detection owing to the absence of electron-induced bremsstrahlung. μXRF-XSI also acts as a complement, where applicable, to electron microbeam X-ray output, highlighting areas of interest for follow-up microanalysis at a finer length scale.

The late Neolithic monument complex at Avebury, Wiltshire, continues to elicit much curiosity and attention. However, with excavation unlikely to occur in the near future, new and non-destructive means of exploring the monument complex are required. Although a number of such investigations have been undertaken, to date no concerted effort has been made to consolidate the results within a single framework. The opening stages of such a project, involving innovative research using GIS and Virtual-Reality technologies within an explicitly theoretical interpretative agenda, are described here.

Many materials science concepts can be developed into animated, interactive spreadsheets to create engaging discovery learning tools. These Excel spreadsheets do not require programming expertise. Learning how to create and use these didactically useful spreadsheets is simple and new examples can be quickly created by teachers.

Cr, Mn, Co, Ni and Cu of 5 at % s added BiFeO3 films were fabricated by chemical solution deposition on 111-textured Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si(100) substrates. Only the diffraction peaks attributed to BiFeO3 structure could obtain except the Ni and Cr additions. The BiFeO3 films became almost amorphous by adding Ni, and non ferroelectric Bi7CrO12.5 phase was formed by adding Cr. AFM images indicated the surface morphology of the films was drastically changed by the additives. The leakage current was reduced by adding Mn, Cu and Co, although the electric coercive field increased in the case of Co addition. Therefore, it could be concluded that Mn and Cu additives improved not only the leakage current properties but also the ferroelectric properties in the course of CSD process. It should be noted that this is the first report showing the improvement of ferroelectricity of BiFeO3 films by adding Cu.