Characterization of thermally stable gamma alumina fibres biomimicking sisal

Mesoporous gamma alumina fibres of high surface area, stable up to 1000 °C, were synthesized by bioreplica technique using sisal fibres as templates. Alumina formation during pyrolysis and calcination of fibres infiltrated with aluminium chloride solution has been studied, paying special attention to the interaction between the precursor and sisal fibres, using several experimental techniques…

CdSe@ZnS nanocomposites prepared by a mechanochemical route: No release of Cd2+ ions and negligible in vitro cytotoxicity

CdSe@ZnS nanocomposites have been prepared by a two-step solid state mechanochemical synthesis. CdSe prepared from Cd and Se elements in the first step was mixed with zinc acetate and sodium sulphide in the second step of milling to prepare a CdSe@ZnS nanocomposite. In the third step, the obtained nanocomposite was coated with l-cysteine to prepare…

Effect of tantalum content on the microstructure and mechanical behavior of cermets based on (TixTa1−x)(C0.5N0.5) solid solutions

Titanium–tantalum carbonitride, (Ti, Ta)(C, N), based cermets with different Ti and Ta contents were prepared using a mechanically induced self-sustaining reaction and then densified using a pressureless sintering process. Complete microstructural and mechanical characterizations were performed on the materials, which revealed that the size of the carbonitride ceramic particle was significantly reduced when the Ta…

Bio-inspired mechanochemical synthesis of semiconductor nanomaterial using eggshell membrane

Eggshell membrane and lead acetate were successfully used as precursors for the mechanochemical synthesis of lead sulphide nanocrystals with crystallite sizes ∼8 nm. XRD, specific surface area measurements, SEM and EDX were used to characterise the synthesised material. The mechanochemical synthesis follows three-step mechanism. The “fish-like” grains with sizes around 30 μm were obtained.

Mechanochemical synthesis of ZrB2–SiC–ZrC nanocomposite powder by metallothermic reduction of zircon

Aluminium and magnesium were used in the M/ZrSiO4/B2O3/C (M = Al, Mg) system to induce a mechanically induced self-sustaining reaction (MSR). Aluminium was not able to reduce the system to the desired products, and the system became amorphous after 10 h milling. However, nanocomposite powder of ZrB2–SiC–ZrC was in situ synthesized by the magnesiothermic reduction…

Arsenic sorption by nanocrystalline magnetite: An example of environmentally promising interface with geosphere

In this paper, the sorption of arsenic onto nanocrystalline magnetite mineral Fe3O4 was studied in a model system. Nanocrystalline magnetite was produced by mechanical activation in a planetary ball mill from natural microcrystalline magnetite. As a consequence of milling, the specific surface area increased from 0.1 m2/g to 11.9 m2/g and the surface site concentration…

Formation mechanism of ZrB2–Al2O3 nanocomposite powder by mechanically induced self-sustaining reaction

ZrB2–Al2O3 nanocomposite powder was produced by aluminothermic reduction in Al/ZrO2/B2O3 system. In this research, high energy ball milling was used to produce the necessary conditions to induce a mechanically induced self-sustaining reaction. The ignition time of the composite formation was found to be about 13 min. The synthesis mechanism in this system was investigated by…

Reversible reactions of Ni and Pd hydroxo pincer complexes [( iPrPCP)M-OH] with CO2: Solid-state study of the decarboxylation of the monomeric bicarbonate complexes [(i PrPCP)M-OCOOH] (M = Ni, Pd)

Monomeric Ni and Pd hydroxides stabilized by the iPrPCP pincer ligand react with CO2 to give labile terminal bicarbonate complexes that readily lose CO2 and water to give binuclear carbonate complexes. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has been used to monitor the decomposition of both bicarcabonates in the solid state. When the carbonate complexes are heated…

Evidence of nanograin cluster coalescence in spark plasma sintered α-Al2O3

The aim of this study is to elucidate the coarsening kinetics involved during densification of fine-grained pure α-alumina by spark plasma sintering. Low temperature and short dwell time sintering conditions were used to preserve the nanocrystalline structure of the starting commercial powder (about 50 nm). Notwithstanding the above, submicron grain coarsened microstructures have been developed.…