Iranian Journal of Materials science and Engineering
Volume:13 Issue: 1, Mar 2016

The epoxy coatings containing multi-walled carbon nanotube/ poly ortho aminophenol nanocomposite were prepared and used as anticorrosive coatings. The nanocomposites with different contents of carbon nanotube were synthesized in a solution of sodium dodecyl sulfate and ammonium peroxy disulfate as a surfactant and an oxidant, respectively. The morphology and structural properties were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy methods. The mean size of nanocomposite particles was 20-35 nm determined by scanning electron microscopy. The epoxy coatings containing the nanocomposites were applied over mild steel panels and their corrosion performance was investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization measurements in a 3.5 % sodium chloride solution. The results showed that epoxy coatings consisting of nanocomposite with 1 wt.% multi-walled carbon nanotube exhibited higher anticorrosive properties than other prepared coatings of different carbon nanotube contents, which could be due to the strong interaction between the mild steel surface and the conjugated nanocomposite.

The micro layers micaceous iron oxide and nano-TiO 2 were incorporated into the epoxy resin by mechanical mixing and sonication process. Optical micrographs showed that the number and diameter size of nanoparticle agglomerates were decreased by sonication. The structure and composition of the nanocomposite was determined using transmission electron microscopy which showed the presence of dispersed nano-TiO 2 in the polymer matrix. The anticorrosive properties of the synthesized nano-composites coating were investigated using salt spray, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and polarization measurement. The EIS results showed that coating resistance increased by addition of micaceous iron oxide micro layers and nano-TiO 2 particles to the epoxy coatings. It was observed that higher corrosion protection of nanocomposite coatings obtained by the addition of 3 %wt micaceous iron oxide and 4%wt nano-TiO 2 into epoxy resin.

Nano-sized NiFe2O4 powders were synthesized by sol–gel auto-combustion method using pH values from 7 to 9 in the sol. The effect of pH variations on complexing behavior of the species in the sol has been explained. Changes in phase constituents, microstructure and magnetic properties by changes in pH values were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and vibration sample magnetometer (VSM) techniques. Changes in pH value from 7 to 9 changes the amounts of NiFe2O4, FeNi3 and α-Fe2O3 phases. Calculated mean crystallite sizes are in the range of 44 to 51nm. FESEM micrographs revealed that increasing the pH value to 9 causes formation of coarse particles with higher crystallinity. Saturation magnetization was increased from 36.96emu/g to 39.35emu/g by increasing pH value from 7 to 8 which is the result of increased FeNi3 content. Using higher pH values in the sol reduces the Ms value.

The mechanical characterization of short E- glass fiber reinforced, graphite and sintered bronze filled epoxy composite was carried out in this study. The aim of the present study was to develop tribological engineering material. In this study the flexural strength, theoretical and experimental density, Hardness and Impact strength of composites was investigated experimentally. The results showed that the increased percentage of graphite (10 to 15%Vol) and Eglass fiber (10 to 15%Vol) enhanced flexural strength (149 MPa) of the composite and the maximum flexural modulus (13.3 GPa and 13.1 GPa) was obtained for composite C2 and C5 respectively. Maximum hardness (84 on L scale) and impact energy (90 Joule) was obtained for the composite C6 with increased percentage of glass fiber and graphite filler. The metallurgical electron microscopic images were discussed to interpret the effect of graphite and sintered bronze on mechanical characterization of composite.

Surface smoothness of ceramic glazes is always an important characteristic of ceramic glazes as a point of surface engineering studies. Surface roughness affects chemical resistivity, glossiness and stainabiliy of glazes. In fact, less surface roughness improves cleanability of the surface by the least usage amount of detergents. In this investigation, surface topography of two common opaque glazes, zirconia and titania-based, has been investigated. Crystallinity of the surface has been studied from SEM images, and comparison of EDS elemental results with phase analysis results of XRD. Surface roughness profile measured by Marsurf M300, shows that titania-based glaze is almost 24% percentage more smooth than zirconia based glaze. Surface smoothness is in relation with crystallinity of glaze surface, crystal type and crystal distribution in amorphous matrix phase.

In order to further enhance the Ni/Ce 0.8Gd0.2O2-δ (Ni/GDC20) cermet anodic performance for low temperature solid oxide fuel cell (LT-SOFC), a study was conducted on the nanostructuring of NiO/GDC composite by only once wet-infiltration of rhodium chloride precursor. By using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis, the effect of only one drop of Rh-infiltrating solution on the anodic polarization resistance was examined using symmetric Ni–GDC20|GDC20|Pt electrolyte-supported cell at 400-600 °C. Nanostructural evolution before and after H 2 reduction at 600 °C and also after anodic performance test was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques in comparison to the anode itself. Despite the fine distribution of Rh-infiltrated nanoparticles having average particle size of 11.7 nm, the results showed ineffectiveness and inability of the Rh nanoparticles to succeed in decreasing of anodic polarization resistance for H 2 oxidation reaction in LT-SOFC.

The study of amino acid based nonlinear optical (NLO) materials with optimum physical properties is an important area due to their practical applications such as optical communication, optical computing, optical information processing, optical disk data storage, laser fusion reactions, laser remote sensing, colour display, medical diagnostics, etc. Also, microelectronic industries require crystals which possess low dielectric constant at higher frequency. Keeping this in view, attempts have been made to grow nonlinear optical crystals and study their optical, electrical and mechanical properties. Nonlinear optical single crystals of dichloro-diglycine zinc II have been grown by slow evaporation method. The grown crystals were characterized using single crystal X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-VIS-NIR spectrum, thermal, mechanical and dielectric studies. The results of characterization studies have been discussed in detail to understand their properties. The grown crystals have better thermal stability and sufficient mechanical strength. They are capable of inducing polarization due to dielectric behaviour when powerful laser beam is incident on them. The various characterization studies suggest that the grown crystals are promising materials for optoelectronic and nonlinear optical applications.

An actuator is a device that converts input energy into mechanical energy. According to various types of input energy, various actuators have been advanced. Displacement in the electromagnetic, hydraulic and pneumatic actuators achieve by moving a piston via electromagnetic force or pressure, however the piezoelectric actuator (piezoceramic plates) displace directly. Therefore, accuracy and speed in the piezoelectric device are higher than other types of actuators. In the present work, the high-field electromechanical response of high-quality (1−x)(Bi 0.5Na0.5)TiO3–x(Bi0.5K0.5)TiO3 samples abbreviated to BNKTx with x = 0.18, 0.20, 0.22 and 0.24 ceramic materials across its MPB was investigated. The piezoelectrics and actuation characteristics were characterized. Ourresults indicate that x = 0.20, indeed, constitutes the best choice for the MPB composition in the system. Maximum of remanent polarization (37.5 μC cm−2) was obtained for x=0.20. High-field electromechanical responses were also obtained for BNKT0.20 samples. This material exhibited giant field induced strains of 0.13% under 1 kV mm -1 at room temperature.

Al2O3/TiC composites are used as cutting tools for machining gray cast iron and steels. The addition of iron improves the toughness of Al2O3/TiC composites. Ilmenite, aluminum and graphite can be used to produce in-situ Al2O3/TiC–Fe composites. However, the formation mechanism and reaction sequences of this system are not clear enough. Therefore, the present research is designed to determine the reactions mechanism of the first step of reactions that may be occurred between raw materials. In this research, pure ilmenite was synthesized to eliminate the effects of impurities available in the natural ilmenite in the system. The milled and pressed samples, prepared from the synthesized ilmenite, aluminum and graphite mixture with a molar ratio of 1:2:1, were heat treated at 720°C for 48h. In addition, two samples one containing ilmenite and aluminum with a molar ratio of 1:2 and ilmenite and graphite with a molar ratio of 1:1 were heat treated at 720°C for 48h. The final products were analyzed with XRD. It was found that at 720°C, aluminum reacts with FeTiO3, forming Fe, TiO2 and Al2O3. Since the aluminum content used in the mixture was more than the stoichiometry for reaction of ilmenite and aluminum, some unreacted aluminum remains. Therefore, the residual aluminum reacts with the reduced Fe to form Fe2Al5.