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Effects of B4C addition on the microstructure and magnetic properties of FePt and FePt-C thin films have been studied. A high coercivity of 2.11 T with good squareness is achieved by B4C addition. By analyzing the mechanism and different isolation effects of B4C and C as segregants, a double-layer approach has been developed and a coercivity of 1.96 T is achieved with column-like FePt grains. The grain size and the size distribution are not deteriorated substantially compared with the single-layer case. These results indicate that addition of B4C as segregant is beneficial for the modification of microstructure and magnetic properties.

The melt-spinning technique was used to synthesize the Mg20Ni6M4 (M=Co, Cu) alloys with nanocrystalline and amorphous structure. The microstructures of the as-spun alloys were characterized by XRD and TEM. The electrochemical hydrogen storage properties of the alloys were measured. The results show that the as-spun (M=Cu) alloys hold an entire nanocrystalline structure, whereas the as-spun (M=Co) alloys display a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure, confirming that the substitution of Co for Ni facilitates the glass formation in the Mg2Ni-type alloy. The discharge capacity and high rate discharge ability (HRD) of the alloys notably augment with the rising of the spinning rate. The action of the melt spinning on the cycle stability of the alloys is associated with the substitution element. For the (M=Co) alloy, the melt spinning exerts a dramatically positive impact, whereas for the (M=Cu) alloy, its impact is negative.

The melt-spinning technique is used to fabricate the Mg20Ni9M1 (M=Cu, Co) alloys with nanocrystalline and amorphous structure. The microstructures of the as-spun alloys were characterized by XRD and TEM. The electrochemical hydrogen storage properties of the alloys were measured. The results show that the as-spun (M=Cu) alloys hold an entire nanocrystalline structure and small amount of amorphous phase is visible on the grain boundaries of the as-spun (M=Co) alloy. The discharge capacity and high rate discharge ability (HRD) of the alloys visibly grow with the rising of the spinning rate. The action of the melt spinning on the cycle stability of the alloys is associated with substitution element. For M=Cu, the capacity retaining rate (SN) evidently falls with the growing of the spinning rate; whereas for M=Co, it first declines and then augments.

The melt spinning technology was used to prepare the Mg2Ni0.6M0.4 (M=Cu, Co) hydrogen storage alloys in order to obtain a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure. The microstructures of the alloys were characterized by XRD, TEM. The effects of the melt spinning on the electrochemical and gaseous hydrogen storage capacities of the alloys were investigated. The results indicate that the as-spun (M=Cu) alloys hold an entire nanocrystalline structure even if a limited spinning rate is applied, while the as-spun (M=Co) alloys display a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure and the amount of the amorphous phase grows evidently with the rising of the spinning rate, suggesting that the substitution of Co for Ni facilitates the glass formation in the Mg2Ni-type alloy. The melt spinning enhances the electrochemical and gaseous hydrogen storage capacities of the alloys dramatically. Simultaneously, it ameliorates the hydriding kinetics of the alloys substantially. As the spinning rate grows from 0 (As-cast was defined as the spinning rate of 0 m/s) to 30 m/s, the discharge capacity increases from 53.3 to 140.4 mAh/g for the (M=Cu) alloy and from 113.3% to 402.5% for the (M=Co) alloy; the gaseous hydrogen desorption capacity ( ) in 100 min augments from 2.29% to 2.87% for the (M=Cu) alloy and from 2.42% to 3.08% for the (M=Co) alloy.

The poor electrochemical cycle stability of Re-Mg-Ni system A2B7-type electrode alloys has limited their practical application as the negative electrode materials of Ni-MH battery. In order to improve the electrochemical cycle stability of the La-Mg-Ni system A2B7-type electrode alloys, the partial substitution of Zr for La has been performed. The La0.75-xZrxMg0.25Ni3.2Co0.2Al0.1 (x = 0–0.2) electrode alloys were fabricated by casting and melt-spinning. The microstructures and the electrochemical cycle stability and kinetics of the alloys were investigated. The structure characterized by XRD, SEM and HRTEM reveals that the as-cast and spun alloys have a multiphase structure, composing of two main phases (La, Mg)2Ni7 and LaNi5 as well as a residual phase LaNi2. The as-spun Zr-free alloy displays an entire nanocrystalline structure, but a like amorphous structure is detected in the as-spun alloy substituted by Zr, suggesting that the substitution of Zr for La facilitates the formation of an amorphous structure. The electrochemical measurement indicates that both the substitution of Zr for La and the melt spinning remarkably ameliorate electrochemical cycle stability of the alloys. Furthermore, the high rate discharge ability (HRD), the electrochemical impedance spectrum (EIS) and the potential-step measurements all indicate that both of the melt spinning and the Zr substitution bring on a notable decline of the electrochemical kinetics of the alloys.

The melt-spinning technique is applied to the preparation of the nanocrystalline and amorphous Mg2Ni-type alloys with nominal compositions of Mg20Ni10-xMnx (x=0, 1, 2, 3, 4). The microstructures of the as-cast and spun alloys were characterized by XRD and HRTEM. The electrochemical performances of the as-spun alloys are measured by an automatic galvanostatic system. The results show that the as-spun Mg20Ni10 alloy displays an entire nanocrystalline structure, whereas the as-spun Mg20Ni6Mn4 alloy exhibits a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure, confirming that the substitution of Mn for Ni facilitates the glass formation in the Mg2Ni-type alloy. And the amorphization degree of the as-spun alloys substituted by Mn increases with the growing of the spinning rate. The substitution of Mn for Ni and the melt spinning ameliorate electrochemical hydrogen storage characteristics of the alloys substantially. The electrochemical discharge capacity and cycle stability of the alloys are considerably enhanced by increasing the amount of Mn substitution and the spinning rate. The high rate discharge ability (HRD) of the alloys first augments and then falls with the growing of the Mn content and the spinning rate.

In order to obtain a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure in the Mg2Ni-type alloy, the melt spinning was applied to fabricate the Mg20Ni7M3 (M=Co, Cu) hydrogen storage alloys. The microstructures of the alloys were characterized by XRD, SEM and HRTEM. The effects of the melt spinning on the gaseous and electrochemical hydrogen storage kinetics of the alloys were investigated. The results indicate that the as-spun (M=Co) alloys display a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure as spinning rate grows to 20 m/s, while the as-spun (M=Cu) alloys hold an entire nanocrystalline structure even if a limited spinning rate is applied, suggesting that the substitution of Co for Ni facilitates the glass formation in the Mg2Ni-type alloy. The melt spinning remarkably ameliorates the gaseous hydriding and dehydriding kinetics of the alloys. The hydrogen absorption ratio ( ) and hydrogen desorption ratio ( ) are enhanced from 81.9% to 94.7% and from 34.9% to 57.3% for the (M=Co) alloy, and from 57.2% to 92.8% and from 21.6% to 49.6% for the (M=Cu) alloy by raising spinning rate from 0 (as-cast was defined as the spinning rate of 0 m/s) to 30 m/s. Furthermore, the high rate discharge ability (HRD), the limiting current density (IL) and the hydrogen diffusion coefficient (D) of the alloys notably increase with the growing of the spinning rate.

The RE-Mg-Ni-based A2B7-type La0.75−xPrxMg0.25Ni3.2Co0.2Al0.1 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) electrode alloys were synthesized by melt spinning technology. The impacts of the melt spinning and the substitution of Pr for La on the microstructures and electrochemical characteristics of the alloys were investigated in detail. The results reveal that the as-cast and spun alloys have a multiphase structure, containing two main phases (La, Mg)2Ni7 and LaNi5 as well as a residual phase LaNi2. The melt spinning results in a notable grain refinement of the alloys without altering the phase structure of the alloys. The discharge capacity of the (x=0.1) alloy first mounts up and then falls with rising the spinning rate. And the as-spun (10 m/s) alloy yields the maximum discharge capacity with the variation of Pr content. Furthermore, the measurements of the electrochemical hydrogen storage kinetics reveal that the high rate discharge ability (HRD), the hydrogen diffusion coefficient (D) and the limiting current density (IL) of the alloys first increases then decreases with rising the spinning rate and the amount of Pr substitution.

In order to obtain a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure in the Mg2Ni-type alloy, the Ni in Mg2Ni alloy has been partially substituted by M (M=Co, Cu), and the melt spinning has been used to fabricate the Mg20Ni10-xMx (M=Co, Cu; x=0-4) hydrogen storage alloys. The microstructures of the alloys were characterized by XRD, SEM and HRTEM. The effects of substituting Ni with M (M=Co, Cu) on the gaseous and electrochemical hydrogen storage kinetics of the as-spun alloys were investigated. The results indicate that the as-spun (M=Co) alloys display a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure, while the as-spun (M=Cu) alloys hold an entire nanocrystalline structure, suggesting that the substitution of Co for Ni facilitates the glass formation in the Mg2Ni-type alloy. The substitution of M (M=Co, Cu) for Ni exerts a trifling impact on the hydriding kinetics of the alloys, but it renders a marked enhancement of dehydriding capacity and kinetics. Furthermore, the measurements of the high rate discharge ability (HRD) and the hydrogen diffusion coefficient (D) as well as the electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) of the alloys exhibit that the electrochemical kinetics of the as-spun (30 m/s) alloys is significantly ameliorated by substituting Ni with M (M=Co, Cu).

It was well known that the Mg2Ni-type alloy with a nanocrystalline/amorphous structure possesses superior hydrogen storage kinetics. In order to obtain a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure, the melt spinning was applied to prepare the Mg2Ni-type Mg20Ni6M4 (M=Cu, Co) hydrogen storage alloys. The microstructures of the as-cast and spun alloys were characterized by XRD, SEM and HRTEM. The gaseous hydriding and dehydriding kinetics of the alloys was measured. The results show that the as-spun (M=Co) alloys display a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure as spinning rate approaches to 20 m/s, while the as-spun (M=Cu) alloys hold an entire nanocrystalline structure whatever spinning rate is, suggesting that the substitution of Co for Ni facilitates the glass formation in the Mg2Ni-type alloy. The melt spinning markedly improves the gaseous hydrogen storage kinetics of the alloys. As the spinning rate grows from 0 (as-cast was defined as the spinning rate of 0 m/s) to 30 m/s, the hydrogen absorption saturation ratio ( ) is enhanced from 57.7% to 91.4% for the (M=Cu) alloy and from 77.1% to 93.5% for the (M=Co) alloy. And hydrogen desorption ratio ( ) is raised from 28.7% to 59.0% for the (M=Cu) alloy and from 54.5% to 70.2% for the (M=Co) alloy, respectively.

It has come to light that the Mg2Ni-type alloy with a nanocrystalline/amorphous structure possesses superior hydrogen storage kinetics. The Mg2Ni-type Mg20Ni10-xMx (M=Cu, Co; x=0, 4) hydrogen storage alloys were synthesized by a melt-spinning technique. The microstructures of the as-cast and spun alloys were characterized by XRD, SEM and HRTEM. The gaseous and electrochemical hydrogen storage kinetics of the alloys was measured. The results show that whatever spinning rate the as-spun (M=Cu) alloys hold an entire nanocrystalline structure. As spinning rate approaches to 20 m/s, the as-spun (M=Co) alloys display a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure, confirming that the substitution of Co for Ni facilitates the glass formation in the Mg2Ni-type alloy. Furthermore, such substitution results in the formation of secondary phases Mg2Cu and MgCo2 instead of changing the major phase of Mg2Ni. The melt spinning markedly improves the gaseous and electrochemical hydrogen storage kinetics of the alloys. The hydrogen absorption ratio (R5a ), hydrogen desorption ratio (R20d ) and the high rate discharge ability (HRD) notably mount up with the growing of the spinning rate.

Mg2Ni-type Mg20Ni10-xMx (M=Cu, Co; x=0, 1, 2, 3, 4) electrode alloys with nanocrystalline and amorphous structure were synthesized by melt-spinning technique. The microstructures of the as-spun alloys were characterized by XRD, SEM and HRTEM. The electrochemical hydrogen storage properties of the experimental alloys were measured. The obtained results show that the as-spun (M=Cu) alloys hold an entire nanocrystalline structure, whereas the as-spun (M=Co) alloys display a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure, confirming that the substitution of Co for Ni facilitates the glass formation in the Mg2Ni-type alloy. Furthermore, such substitution results in the formation of secondary phases Mg2Cu and MgCo2 instead of changing the major phase of Mg2Ni. The substitution of M (M=Cu, Co) for Ni markedly improves the electrochemical performances of the alloys, involving the discharge capacity and the cycle stability as well as the high rate discharge ability.

The poor electrochemical cycle stability of RE–Mg–Ni system A2B7-type electrode alloys have limited their practical application as the negative electrode materials of Ni–MH battery. In order to improve the electrochemical cycle stability of the La–Mg–Ni system A2B7-type electrode alloys, the partial substitution of Pr for La has been performed. The La0.75−xPrxMg0.25Ni3.2Co0.2Al0.1 (x = 0–0.4) electrode alloys were fabricated by casting and melt-spinning. The microstructures and electrochemical cycle stability of the as-cast and spun alloys were investigated by XRD, SEM and HRTEM. The results show that the as-cast and spun alloys have a multiphase structure, consisting of two main phases (La, Mg)2Ni7 and LaNi5 as well as a residual phase LaNi2. The substitution of Pr for La brings on a notable grain refinement of the as-cast alloys instead of altering the phase structure of the alloys. The electrochemical measurement indicates that the cycle stability of the alloy remarkably grows with increasing both Pr content and spinning rate. The substitution of Pr for La and the melt spinning significantly ameliorate electrochemical cycle stability of the alloys. The capacity retaining rate (S100) of the as-spun (15 m/s) alloys at 100th charging/discharging cycle is enhanced from 72.38% to 90.33% by increasing Pr content from 0 to 0.4. And that of the Pr0.3 alloy is increased from 78.11% to 92.32% by growing spinning rate from 0 (as-cast was defined as the spinning rate of 0 m/s) to 20 m/s.

The nanocrystalline and amorphous Mg2Ni-type Mg20-xLaxNi10 (x = 0, 2, 4, 6) hydrogen storage alloys were prepared by melt-spinning technology. The microstructures and hydrogen storage performances of the alloys were characterized. The results show that no amorphous phase is detected in the as-spun La-free alloy, but the as-spun alloys substituted by La hold a major amorphous phase, confirming that the substitution of La for Mg increases the glass forming ability of the Mg2Ni-type alloy. Melt-spinning remarkably improves the hydrogen storage performances of the alloys. When the spinning rate increases from 0 (As-cast was defined as spinning rate of 0 m/s) to 30 m/s, the hydrogen absorption capacity of the alloy (x = 2) at 200°C and 1.5 MPa in 10 min rises from 1.26 to 2.60 wt%, and its electrochemical discharge capacity grows from 197.2 to 406.5 mAh/g at a current density of 20 mA/g.

The electrode alloys (Mg1-xZrx)2Ni (x = 0, 0.3) were prepared by mechanical alloying (MA). Mg in the alloy was partially substituted by Zr in order to improve the electrochemical hydrogen storage characteristics of the Mg2Ni-type alloy. The effects of substituting Mg with Zr as well as milling duration on the microstructures and electrochemical performances of the alloys were investigated in detail. The results showed that the substitution of Zr facilitates the formation of amorphous Mg2Ni-type phase. The electrochemical measurement indicated that the substitution of Zr significantly enhances the discharge capacity and cycle stability of the alloys, and it markedly improved the discharge potential characteristic of the alloys. For a fixed alloy, the electrochemical performances, including the cycle stability and the discharge voltage characteristic as well as discharge capacity, of the alloys were markedly improved with prolonging of the ball-milling duration.

InGaN/GaN multi-quantum well structure with Mg-doped p-type GaN was grown by low-pressure metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy. After rapid-thermal-annealing at 700 and 900 degrees C, both the red-shift and the blue-shift of the photoluminescence (PL) peak, the decreased and the enhancement of the PL intensity were observed. The transmission electron microscopic images showed that InGaN multi-quantum-dots-like (MQD-like) structures with dimensions less than 5×10nm were formed in InGaN wells. The changes of PL spectra could be tentatively attributed to the competition between the red-shift mechanism of the quantum-confined Stark effect and the blue-shift mechanism of the quantum size effect due to MQD-like structures.