Influence of ZnO addition and milling process on structure and conductivity of BaCe0.2Zr0.7Y0.1O3-δ ceramics

Precursor powders for BaCe0.2Zr0.7Y0.1O3-?(BCZY27) ceramics were synthesized by a modified Pechinimethod and calcined at 900?C for 12 h. The calcined BCZY27 powders were milled in eccentric and in high energy mill with the addition of 2 and 4mol% ZnO as sintering aid. The effects of milling and sintering aids on the sinterability and electrical conductivity were studied. The linear shrinkage in thermomechanical analyses started at 1050?C for the BCZY27 with 4mol% ZnO processed in eccentric mill. Theoretical density above of 90%TD was obtained for the BCZY27 milled with 4mol% ZnO and sintered at 1400?C for 4h. X-ray diffraction analysis of the BCZY27 ceramics sintered at 1400?C confirmed the presence of BaCe0.2Zr0.7Y0.1O3-? and Y0.4Ce0.6O1.8 phases. The incorporation of Zn into perovskite lattice leads to the secondary phase formation. SEM and EDS analyses confirmed the presence of Y0.4Ce0.6O1.8 phase. The sintering was assisted by BaO-ZnO eutectic, which was reflected by the increase of activation energy values for grain boundary conduction. The milling processing did not affect the conductivity properties. The obtained BCZY27 dense sample has conductivity of 7.60 ? 10?3 S/cm at 500?C.

(Ti,Cr)C-Based Cermets with Varied Nicr Binder Content via Elemental SHS for Perspective Cutting Tools

The effects of granulation of reactive mixtures Ti-Cr-C and Ti-Cr-C-Ni on the combustion temperature and velocity, as well as phase composition and mechanical properties (crushing ability) of combustion products, were studied. Granulation was associated with a 1.5-fold increase in combustion velocity, caused by a nearly 10-fold increase in gas permeability. Secondary reactions between TiC, Cr7C3, and molten Ni led to the formation of (Ti,Cr)C FCC solid solution and Ni2.88Cr1.12 intermetallics. After the combustion of Ti-Cr-C-Ni mixtures, prolonged fluorescence was registered, suggesting the exothermic nature of secondary phase formation reactions. The introduction of the nickel binder decreased the content of Cr in the solid solution (Ti,Cr)C owing to the formation of the Ni2.88Cr1.12 phase. To prevent the Cr depletion from the carbide solid solution, Ni-20%Cr binder was added to the granulated 80%(Ti + C)/20%(3Cr + 2C) mixture. Combustion of granulated mixture yielded brittle porous sinter cake, which was easy to crush and mill, whereas the combustion products from the powdered mixtures were more ductile and harder to crush.

Influence of Transition Metal Charge Compensation Species on Phase Assemblage in Zirconolite Ceramics for Pu Immobilisation

ABSTRACTImmobilisation of Pu in a zirconolite matrix (CaZrTi2O7) is a viable pathway to disposition. A-site substitution, in which Pu4+ is accommodated into the Ca2+ site in zirconolite, coupled with sufficient trivalent M3+/Ti4+ substitution (where M3+ = Fe, Al, Cr), has been systematically evaluated using Ce4+ as a structural analogue for Pu4+. A broadly similar phase assemblage of zirconolite-2M and minor perovskite was observed when targeting low levels of Ce incorporation. As the targeted Ce fraction was elevated, secondary phase formation was influenced by choice of M3+ species. Co-incorporation of Ce/Fe resulted in the stabilisation of a minor Ce-containing perovskite phase at high wasteloading, whereas considerable phase segregation was observed for Cr3+ incorporation. The most favourable substitution approach appeared to be achieved with the use of Al3+, as no perovskite or free CeO2 was observed. However, high temperature treatments of Al containing specimens resulted in the formation of a secondary Ce-containing hibonite phase.

Study of obtaining thin films of CeO2 doped with 2 and 4 mol% of europium, terbium and thulium by spin coating: photocatalytic properties

In this study, thin films of Eu3+, Tb3+ and Tm3+ doped CeO2 in the proportions of 2 and 4 mol% were obtained by spin coating and calcined at 700 °C. The films were characterized by XRD, SEM, AFM and UV-vis techniques. The photocatalytic activity of the thin films was measured by the degradation of the methylene blue (MB) dye. The thin films were submitted to 4 photocatalytic cycles to analyze the capacity to be reused. XRD patterns showed no secondary phase formation, where all characteristic peaks were related to CeO2. SEM micrographs indicated that doping at 4 mol% promoted the reduction in the thickness and surface porosity of the thin films. AFM images indicated the increase in surface roughness with rare earths doping. Doping with Eu3+, Tb3+ and Tm3+ increased the degradation of the methylene blue dye by at least 15% for thin films doped at 4 mol%. The reuse tests indicated that the photocatalytic activity remained practically constant even with the application of four consecutive cycles.