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The influence of the cellulose substrate on the electrochemical performance of supercapacitor electrode materials made of polypyrrole (PPy) and cellulose is investigated. Composites were synthesized by chemical polymerization of pyrrole on dispersed fibers of cellulose from Cladophora algae and dispersed wood cellulose-based commercial filter papers, respectively, as well as on Cladophora cellulose and filter paper sheets. The resulting composites, which were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and elemental analysis, were found to exhibit specific charge capacities proportional to the PPy content of the composites. The highest specific capacity (i.e., 171 C/g composite or 274 C/g PPy) was obtained for composites made from dispersed Cladophora cellulose fibers. The higher specific capacities for the Cladophora cellulose composites can be explained by the fact that the Cladophora cellulose fibers were significantly thinner than the wood cellulose fibers. While the PPy was mainly situated on the surface of the Cladophora cellulose fibers, a significant part of the PPy was found to be present within the wood fibers of the filter paper-based composites. The latter can be ascribed to a higher accessibility of the aqueous pyrrole solution to the wood-based fibers as compared to the highly crystalline algae based cellulose fibers. The present results clearly show that the choice of the cellulose substrate is important when designing electrode materials for inexpensive, flexible and environmentally friendly paper-based energy storage devices.

The potential of graphene as a solid lubricant in sliding Ag-based electrical contacts has been investigated. Graphene was easily and quickly deposited by evaporating a few droplets of a commercial graphene solution in air. The addition of graphene reduced the friction coefficient in an Ag/Ag contact with a factor of similar to 10. The lubricating effect was maintained for more than 150,000 cycles in a pin-on-disk test at 1 N. A reduction in friction coefficient was also observed with other counter surfaces such as steel and W but the life time was strongly dependent on the materials combination. Ag/Ag contacts exhibited a significantly longer life time than steel/Ag and W/Ag contacts. The trend was explained by an increased affinity for metal-carbon bond formation.

The surface chemistry and dispersion in poly(lactic-acid) of microfibrillated wood and microfibrillated lignocellulose prepared from untreated and partially delignified beech were compared with conventional microfibrillated cellulose produced from bleached pulp. High heterogeneity in fibril morphology and bulk chemical composition was observed. Also surface chemistry of the fibrils was highly variable, but not clearly correlated with bulk chemistry. Composite solution-cast films of poly(lactic-acid) reinforced with 1 % fibrils were produced by adding fibrils dried from solvent into a polymer solution. Highly variable dispersion of fibrils correlated with varying mechanical performance was observed. Correlations were obtained between surface chemistry of fibrils as revealed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and adhesion force microscopy on the one hand and the tensile performance of the fibril-reinforced polymer composites on the other hand. Overall, certain variants of fibrillated material with residual lignin and hemicellulose content showed reduced surface polarity, improved dispersion in poly(lactic-acid) and improved reinforcement efficiency compared to conventional MFC produced from bleached pulp.

The paper deals with characteristics of a wide range of ternary and quaternary metal nitrides (M = Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb or Ta) of various compositions obtained by ab initio calculations. We focus on the formation energies (E form), bulk moduli (B), shear moduli (G) and a difference of B and G from the weighted average of B and G of binary metal nitrides (∆B and ∆G). We show numerous monotonous dependencies, and identify exceptions to them. For elastic moduli of M1M2N we find that ∆B decreases (down to −19 GPa) and ∆G increases (up to 20 GPa) with increasing difference between atomic radii of M1 and M2. In parallel, low ∆B and high ∆G correspond to high E form and |E form|, respectively. E form of M1M2N increases with increasing difference between atomic radii and electronegativities of M1 and M2. The lowest E form values were observed for Ta-containing compositions, and the difference between E form of TaM1M2N and M1M2N is more significant for lower atomic radius and higher electronegativity of M1 and M2. Overall, we present trends which allow one to use fundamental arguments (such as atomic radii and electronegativities) to understand and predict which compositions form (nano)composites, which compositions form (stable) solid solutions, and which materials exhibit enhanced elastic moduli. The phenomena shown can be tested experimentally, and examined for even wider range of materials.

Fifty years ago, in a series of classic creep experiments conducted at the University of California in Berkeley, Harper and Dorn obtained unique experimental data revealing the possibility of a new and heretofore unrecognized flow process occurring in pure aluminum when tested at low stresses and at temperatures very close to the melting temperature. This flow mechanism, subsequently designated Harper–Dorn creep, has been the center of much argument and speculation in the ensuing years. The present paper looks back over the last half-century and charts the various developments in attempts to obtain a more detailed understanding of whether Harper–Dorn creep is (or is not) a viable creep process. Examples are presented for both metals and non-metals. It is concluded that, although it appears Harper–Dorn creep may occur only under restricted conditions associated with high purity materials and low initial dislocation densities, nevertheless there is good evidence supporting the validity of this creep mechanism as a viable and unique flow process.

The alkalinity of the pore liquid in hardened cement paste or concrete is important for the long-term evaluation of alkali-silica reaction (ASR) expansion and corrosion prevention of steel bar in steel reinforced structures among others. It influences the reactivity of supplementary cementitious materials as well. This paper focuses on the alkali binding in hydrated slag cement paste and a method for predicting the alkali concentrations in the pore solution is developed. The hydration of slag cement is simulated with a computer-based model CEMHYD3D. The amount of alkalis released by the cement hydration, quantities of hydration products, and volume of the pore solution are calculated from the model outputs. A large set of experimental results reported in different literatures are used to derive the alkali-binding capacities of the hydration products and practical models are proposed based on the computation results. It was found that the hydrotalcite-like phase is a major binder of alkalis in hydrated slag cement paste, and the C–S–H has weaker alkali-binding capacity than the C–S–H in hydrated Portland cement paste. The method for predicting the alkali concentrations in the pore solution of hydrated slag cement paste is used to investigate the effects of different factors on the alkalinity of pore solution in hydrated slag cement paste.

The aim of this study was to investigate the thermal behaviour of cement-asbestos wastes and to determine whether it is possible to use them in the production of building ceramics, e.g. clinker bricks. In the first part of the research, the process of cement-asbestos thermal decomposition was studied. This asbestos material contained the chrysotile and crocidolite variety of asbestos. The results of this study allowed to determine the lowest temperature of thermal treatment that provides asbestos detoxification. The second part of the paper presents the results of a preliminary study on using previously calcined cement-asbestos wastes as an additive to ceramic masses typical for clinker bricks. Green compacts containing various amounts of cement-asbestos wastes were sintered and then ceramic properties were determined. The results of the study indicate that calcined asbestos-containing materials can be used as one of the secondary raw materials in the production of clinker ceramics.

Equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) is an effective fabrication process for obtaining ultrafine-grained materials. This paper examines the development of homogeneity in materials processed by ECAP with emphasis on samples of pure aluminum and an Al-6061 alloy processed by ECAP for up to 8 passes at room temperature. The Vickers microhardness was recorded on the polished cross-sectional planes of each as-pressed billet and the results are plotted in the form of contour maps to provide a pictorial depiction of the hardness distributions throughout the cross-sections. The factors influencing the homogeneity are examined, including the die corner angle within the ECAP die and the number of imposed passes. It is shown that good homogeneity may be achieved through ECAP processing when the number of passes in ECAP is reasonably high.

The authors would like acknowledge the financial support received from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [EP/K015540/1] and the European Coal and Steel Community [RFCR-CT-2011-00004]. Ag and Ag-based pseudo-alloys were evaluated in terms of application as metal brazes for the use in a hybrid direct carbon fuel cell stack. This paper reports on a series of wetting experiments on systems of pure Ag as well as Ag–Cu–Ti and Ag–Cu–Ni pseudo-alloys in contact with the widely used austenitic stainless steel SS316L, the ferritic steels Crofer22APU and Croffer22H and with polycrystalline partially stabilized zirconia (TZ-3Y) for the determination of the interfacial properties of the above systems. Pure Ag in air showed poor wettability (θ >90°) with all substrates. The Ag–Cu–Ti pseudo-alloy in vacuum (P = 2.5 x 10-3 mbar) showed improved wettability, with θ = 40°. for the steels and θ =50°. for the TZ-3Y substrates. The Ag–Cu–Ni pseudo-alloy in air showed excellent wetting properties (θ

This paper reviews the fundamental concepts and the terminology of wetting. In particular, it focuses on high temperature wetting phenomena of primary interest to materials scientists. We have chosen to split this review into two sections: one related to macroscopic (continuum) definitions and the other to a microscopic (or atomistic) approach, where the role of chemistry and structure of interfaces and free surfaces on wetting phenomena are addressed. A great deal of attention has been placed on thermodynamics. This allows clarification of many important features, including the state of equilibrium between phases, the kinetics of equilibration, triple lines, hysteresis, adsorption (segregation) and the concept of complexions, intergranular films, prewetting, bulk phase transitions versus “interface transitions”, liquid versus solid wetting, and wetting versus dewetting., Seventh Framework Programme (European Commission) (Grant FP7-NMP-2009-CSA-23348-MACAN)

Severe plastic deformation (SPD) of titanium creates an ultrafine-grained (UFG) microstructure which results in significantly enhanced mechanical properties, including increasing the high cycle fatigue strength. This work addresses the challenge of maintaining the high level of properties as SPD processing techniques are evolved from methods suitable for producing laboratory scale samples to methods suitable for commercial scale production of titanium semi-products. Various ways to optimize the strength and fatigue endurance limit in long-length Grade 4 titanium rod processed by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) with subsequent thermal mechanical treatments are considered in this paper. Low-temperature annealing of rods is found to increase the fatigue limit, simultaneously enhancing UFG titanium strength and ductility. The UFG structure in titanium provides an optimum combination of properties when its microstructure includes mostly equiaxed grains with high-angle boundaries, the volume fraction of which is no less than 50%.