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In addition to cold drawing, the process of annealing is also essential in the preparation of Mg-4.7 wt%Gd (G4.7) alloy wires. The effect of annealing treatment on the recrystallized microstructure and texture of cold-drawn G4.7 wires was investigated. The results demonstrate that the uniformity and regularity of the recrystallized grains, as well as the annealing texture, impact the follow-up cold drawing performance. When the as-drawn G4.7 wires were annealed at 375 °C, the recrystallized grains were refined, accompanied by uniformity and regularity. Accordingly, the G4.7 wire had a good subsequent drawing deformability, with a maximum accumulative true strain (ATS) of 144%. Additionally, the evolution of the microstructure was consistent with the evolution of the texture. While annealing at a lower temperature (325 °C), the {0002} basal texture of the G4.7 wire was weak, forming the main texture component <10 1 ¯ 0>//DD (the drawing direction). With the increase in temperature, the basal texture was gradually strengthened and the texture component transformed from <10 1 ¯ 0>//DD to a recrystallized texture based on <11 2 ¯ 0>//DD. Even under high-temperature annealing, the G4.7 wire was still affected by the cold-drawn deformation texture and could not fully recover to the as-extruded texture, thus causing a decrease in the subsequent drawing performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural color materials based on periodic micro and nano structures present unique color rendering mechanism and optical properties, and have a wide range of applications in display, packaging, sensing and other fields. However, it is still facing the problems of constructing large area, good consistency and low cost periodic structures. In this paper, the structural color film was prepared by annealing treatment on a periodic template. The effects of coating time, annealing time and annealing process on the optical properties of the sample such as hue and saturation were analyzed. It was confirmed that the sample with 300 nm polystyrene microsphere template presented orange yellow with incident angle of 30° before annealing, then turned to be light pink under 800 °C for 120 min annealing process and orange red under 800 °C for 180 min in air. Additionally, the sample with 420 nm polystyrene microsphere template showed cyan before annealing, and yellow-green under 800 °C for 120 min annealing treatment and orange-yellow under 800 °C for 180 min. The periodicity of the annealed gold microspheres was still limited by the template period with different diameters. Morever, when the coating and annealing time were the same, the higher the annealing temperature was, the higher the saturation get. Under the same coating time and annealing temperature, the saturation was higher with short annealing time, and the hue blue-shifted as the incident angle increased from 15° to 45°. While fixing the annealing time and temperature, the saturation increased gradually as the coating time increasing from 10S to 40S, and the color of the sample red-shifted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The interaction between organic photoelectric molecules leads to the formation of a certain aggregation structure, which plays a pivotal role in the charge transport at the intermolecular interface. In view of this, we investigated the mechanism and law of intermolecular interaction by detecting the self-assembled behaviors between organic photoelectric molecules at the interface by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). In this work, the structural transformations of tetraphenylethylene acids (H4ETTCs) on graphite surface induced by temperature and triazine derivatives (zcy-19, zcy-27, and zcy-38 molecules) were studied by STM technology and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. At room temperature, zcy-19 and H4ETTC molecules formed a small range of ordered co-assembled nanostructure, while for zcy-27 or zcy-38 molecules, no co-assembled nanostructures were observed and only their own self-assembled structures existed on graphite surface, individually. In the thermal annealing trials, the original co-assembled H4ETTC/zcy-19 structure disappeared, and only zcy-19 and H4ETTC self-assembled in separate domains. Nevertheless, new well-ordered H4ETTC/zcy-27 or H4ETTC/zcy-38 co-assembled structures appeared at different annealing temperatures, respectively. Combined with DFT calculations, we further analyzed the mechanism of such structural transformations by triazine derivatives and temperature. Results reveal that triazine derivatives could interact with H4ETTC by N-H...O and O-H...N hydrogen bondings, and whether temperature or zcy series compounds could achieve successful regulation of H4ETTC assembly behavior is closely associated with the conjugated skeleton length of zcy series compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the mechanism of crack formation in VIM, ESR, and VAR of GH4151 alloy ingots is discussed. The cracks in VIM ingots are hot tearing, mainly caused by severe segregation of elements such as Nb, Ti, and Al in VIM electrodes, which promotes the precipitation of (γ+γ′) eutectic and Laves phases and thus leads to the formation of hot tearing. On the other hand, cracks in ESR and VAR ingots are cold cracks caused by the uneven distribution of γ′ phases. The temperature range for the precipitation of (γ+γ′) eutectic phases is 1160°C–1148 °C, while that for γ′ phases is 1137°C–1072 °C. At temperatures below 884 °C, the uneven precipitation of γ′ phases results in a maximum internal stress of 1096 MPa at room temperature. Based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, to avoid large internal stresses caused by the precipitation of γ′ phase, the ingot should be removed from the water-cooled crystallizer within 57 min. Annealing is an effective measure to improve the quality of electrodes. After annealing treatment, the γ′ phase in the alloy transforms from short rod-shaped to square-shaped, and the decomposition of Laves phase promotes the precipitation of μ phase and σ phase from the matrix, improving the mechanical properties of the alloy.

Magnesium alloys, as the lightest structural alloys, provide the possibility of solving environmental problems by improving energy efficiency. Developing and maintaining nanocrystalline matrix is a huge challenge, and the key to achieving ultra-high strength. The nanocrystalline Ti/AZ61 composite prepared by hot pressing was annealed, and its microstructural evolution was characterized via SEM, XRD, and TEM, including the changes in magnesium matrix, Ti dispersions, and nano-scale precipitates. The density and mechanical properties of annealed composites were tested and analyzed. After annealing treatment at 623 K for 80 h, the average grain size of nanocrystalline Ti/AZ61 composites was 102 nm. 97% of Ti dispersions were submicron sized, and Ti3Al precipitates remained nanometer-sized. Ti dispersions and Ti3Al precipitates were uniformly distributed in the magnesium matrix. Compared with hot pressed composites, the crack that originated from the prior particle boundary (PPB) was restrained for annealed composites. The improved density and PPB bonding strength of annealed Ti/AZ61 composites had a positive impact on strength and plasticity. After annealing treatment for 40 h, the density increased from ∼2.041 g/cm3 to 2.066 g/cm3. The hardness, yield strength, and FFS were 146 HV, 493 MPa, and 5.6%, respectively, with corresponding increasing rates of 7%, 12%, and 65%, respectively.

In this study, thin films of Cerium Oxide CeO2 were fabricated using the sol–gel technique and deposited onto a glass substrate. The annealing process was carried out at various temperatures ranging from 200 to 600 °C to investigate the structural, morphological, and optical properties of the films and their interrelations. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns revealed the crystalline nature of the prepared films, with film quality exhibiting enhancement with increasing annealing temperature. The average crystallite size, dislocation density, microstrain, and lattice constant were determined from XRD patterns. Higher annealing temperatures were found to increase the crystallite size values from 4.71 to 15.33 nm and decrease the dislocation density and microstrain of the unit cell. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images illustrated the uniformity of the films, presenting a spheroid shape. Optical properties such as transmittance, absorbance, reflectance, the direct band gap, extinction coefficients, the refractive index, and optical conductivity were assessed using optical measurements. The direct optical band gap of the CeO2 film was observed to decrease from 3.99 to 3.75 eV with increasing film thickness. Using the Wemple and DiDomenico (WDD) single-oscillator model, dispersion energy parameters were calculated based on the refractive index. The nonlinear optical properties of the CeO2 thin films were evaluated using these dispersion energy parameters. The improvement of optical parameters holds significance in standardizing CeO2 thin films for various optoelectronic applications.

The influence of annealing treatment on the mechanical properties and interfacial characteristics of a TA1/Al5083 bimetal composite was investigated in this research. The bimetal composite plates were prepared by explosive welding and annealing at temperatures ranging from 400 to 550 °C at intervals of 50 °C for 3 h. Uniaxial tensile and shear tests were employed to study the influence of the annealing treatments. Uniaxial tensile tests indicate that the tensile strength and elongation display a tendency to first improve and then decrease with increasing annealing temperature. No obvious necking phenomenon is observed in the composite sheet annealed at 400 and 450 °C, and extremely short cracks appear in the interfacial transition zone, while localized necking and delamination phenomena are found to occur in the composite sheet annealed at 500 and 550 °C. The ultimate tensile strength and elongation of specimens annealed at 450 and 500 °C is improved, while specimens annealed at 550 °C show a serious deterioration in elongation. In addition, shear tests demonstrate that the shear strength first improves and then decreases with increasing annealing temperature. On the basis of a finite element method (FEM) simulation, a cohesive zone model is validated to reveal the interfacial characteristics. The research results obtained in this work provide a direction for further investigation and design of bimetal or laminated composite components for application in industrial fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of annealing treatment on microstructure, mechanical and damping properties of as-rolled ZK60 magnesium alloy sheets were examined and analyzed. The as-rolled alloy annealed at 340 °C for 1 h undergoes static recrystallization and exhibits the best combination of mechanical properties, with UTS of 333 MPa, YS of 268 MPa and El of 19%. With the strain amplitude below 4 × 10–4, the damping mechanism of the as-studied alloys can be explained by the Granato–Lüker (G–L) theory. With the strain amplitude higher than 4 × 10–4, the occurrence of micro-yield phenomenon and dislocation multiplication make the damping behavior of the alloy no longer explainable by G–L theory. The growth in damping becomes faster for all the alloys when the strain amplitude exceeds 4 × 10–4, and the alloy annealed at 340 °C for 1 h exhibits the highest damping capacity with the strain amplitude higher than 5 × 10–4 as a result of the activation of more non-basal slip systems, which will consume more elastic vibration energy and thus improve the damping capacity of the alloy. This provides a theoretical basis for the development of high-strength and high-damping magnesium alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co40Fe40B10Dy10 thin films, with thicknesses varying between 10 nm and 50 nm, were grown on a Si(100) substrate. Subsequently, they underwent a 1 h annealing process in an Ar atmosphere at temperatures of 100 °C, 200 °C, and 300 °C. The oxide characteristic peaks of Dy2O3(440), Co2O3(422), and Co2O3(511) were revealed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The low-frequency alternating current magnetic susceptibility (χac) decreases with frequency. Due to thickness and the anisotropy of the magnetic crystal, the maximum χac and saturation magnetization values rise with thicknesses and annealing temperatures. As the thickness and heat treatment temperature rise, the values for resistivity and sheet resistance tend to fall. The results of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and magnetic force microscopy (MFM) show that average roughness (Ra) lowers as the annealing temperature increases, and the distribution of strip-like magnetic domain becomes more visible. As thickness and annealing temperature increase, there is a corresponding rise in surface energy. Nano-indentation testing shows that hardness initially decreases from 10 nm to 40 nm, followed by an increase at 50 nm. Notably, annealing at 300 °C leads to a significant hardening effect, marking the highest level of hardness observed. Young's modulus increased as thicknesses and annealing temperatures increased. The magnetic, electric, and adhesive characteristics of CoFeBDy films are highly dependent on surface roughness at various annealing temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphological evolution and swelling were observed in the zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) layer on a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor treated with annealing. The morphology affects the swelling during analyte injection. The swelling effect can shorten the QCM sensor recovery time. The ZnPc layer was deposited on the surface of the polystyrene/QCM by evaporation technique. The annealing process was conducted for 1 h at 3 temperature variations: 100, 150, and 220 °C. The swelling experiments were carried out by injecting PBS and Tris-HCl solution into the layer. The surface morphology characterization of ZnPc was observed using an SEM/EDX before and after swelling. The morphological evolution from the network into fibers change to disentangled of the ZnPc molecular chain and broke into a shorter fiber. The diffractogram revealed a monoclinic phase for the samples annealed at 100 and 150 °C. On the other hand, the sample annealed at 220 °C showed a triclinic phase. The formation of ZnPc crystal confirms the disordering structure leading to the morphology change. Further, the ZnPc fibers swell after the injection of PBS and Tris-HCl. Tris-HCl injection at high temperature annealing (220 °C) resulted in fiber tattering. Investigations on diffusion mechanisms were conducted by measuring the change in frequency. The ionic strength of the solutions controlled the diffusion. The PBS diffuses faster than the Tris-HCl into the ZnPc layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 0.05 mm-thick 304 stainless steel foil was annealed within the temperature range from 950℃-1100℃ for 10 minutes to obtain different microstructures. And micro-deep drawing experiments of stainless steel foils with different tissue structures were conducted to obtain relevant material forming properties influenced by dimensional effects. On this basis, the influence of the microstructure characteristics on the forming performance of 304 stainless steel foil and the quality of the cup formed by using micro-drawing was studied, and its mechanism was discussed. It can be seen from the results that the stainless steel foil annealed at 950℃ exhibits poor forming performance, and the wrinkle phenomenon of the deep-drawn cup is obvious. At the annealing temperature of 1050℃, the quality of the deep drawing cup is significantly improved. When the annealing temperature reaches 1100℃, with the increase of the annealing temperature, the crystal grains size increase sharply, and the coarse-grain effect causes the uneven plastic deformation effect to be obvious. Besides, the drawing quality is obviously deteriorated. The observation of the microstructure of the deep drawing cup shows that the forming effect of the drawing cup is poor due to the rolling defects and the coarse grain effect. The 304 stainless steel drawing cup annealed at 1050℃ enjoys the best forming effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amorphous boron nitride (aBN) materials have similar density to crystalline phases and retain many unique electronic properties, valuable chemical inertness and high thermal stability characteristics. However, the current research on aBN materials has mainly focused on the synthesis and electrical properties of ultrathin aBN films. In this study, we developed a post-annealing assisted femtosecond laser deposition route towards stoichiometric, continuous, and multifunctional aBN films with thickness values of ∼1 μm. A series of boron nitride films were deposited on silicon wafers using a 1030 nm, 300 fs laser with a pulse energy of ∼1 mJ and a high repetition rate of 2 kHz to ablate a hexagonal boron nitride target. The deposited films were then annealed at 900 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere. The structures and chemical compositions of these obtained films were analysed by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Fourier transform infrared and nano-scratch tests were performed to measure the infrared optical and frictional properties of the adhered films. An infrared thermal imager was used to investigate the heat-dissipation performance of these films. The results indicate the components of the aBN film are further purified, the number of large heterogeneous particles is effectively reduced, and the surface becomes smooth after post-annealing treatment. This improvement promotes the transfer of heat flux and increases the transmittance in the mid-infrared light band. The significant effect mechanisms of the post-annealing treatment on the enhancement of the composition and multifunctional properties of aBN films prepared by the femtosecond pulsed laser were provided. The uniform coverage of the aBN films on the substrates, as well as the mid-infrared optical transparency and the protective performance are highly valuable and practical for infrared window protection applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing low-cost semiconductor photoanode toward efficient and stable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is highly desirable for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Herein, nanoparticulate titanium dioxide (TiO 2) electrodes were prepared using Degussa P25 powders by spin-coating method. The effects of annealing conditions on the PEC performance of the nanoparticulate TiO 2 photoanode was systematically investigated including temperature, annealing time and atmosphere. The results demonstrate that the TiO 2 /fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates (FTO/TiO 2) electrode annealed at argon (Ar) atmosphere under 450 °C shows the highest PEC performance. The photocurrent density of FTO/TiO 2 annealed in Ar for only 0.5 h reached to 120 μA/cm2 at 0.3 V vs. Hg/HgO which is about 10 times higher than that of the unannealed one. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results show the thermal treatment can produce oxygen vacancies on the surface of TiO 2 which reduce the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and expanding the visible light absorption by introducing defective energy levels. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) approves that appropriate annealing treatment can effectively enhance the electron conductivity resulting in low charge transfer resistance. All these factors contribute to improving the PEC activity of TiO 2 photoanode. [Display omitted] • Photocurrent density of FTO/TiO 2 -450 °C Ar increases 10 times over the unannealed. • Thermal annealing improves transfer path of photogenerated electrons to substrate. • Oxygen vacancies on surface expand light absorption and reduce recombination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, Co40Fe40B10Dy10 thin films were deposited using a direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering technique. The films were deposited on glass substrates with thicknesses of 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 nm, and heat-treated in a vacuum annealing furnace at 100, 200, and 300 °C. Various instruments were used to examine and analyze the effects of roughness on the magnetic, adhesive, and mechanical properties. From the low frequency alternating current magnetic susceptibility (χac) results, the optimum resonance frequency is 50 Hz, and the maximum χac value tends to increase with the increase in the thicknesses and annealing temperatures. The maximum χac value is 0.18 at a film thickness of 50 nm and an annealing temperature of 300 °C. From the four-point probe, it is found that the resistivity and sheet resistance values decrease with the increase in film deposition thicknesses and higher annealing temperatures. From the magnetic force microscopy (MFM), the stripe-like magnetic domain distribution is more obvious with the increase in annealing temperature. According to the contact angle data, at the same annealing temperature, the contact angle decreases as the thickness increases due to changes in surface morphology. The maximal surface energy value at 300 °C is 34.71 mJ/mm2. The transmittance decreases with increasing film thickness, while the absorption intensity is inversely proportional to the transmittance, implying that the thickness effect suppresses the photon signal. Smoother roughness has less domain pinning, more carrier conductivity, and less light scattering, resulting in superior magnetic, electrical, adhesive, and optical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructure, phase composition, hardness, and tensile properties of the Ti-48Al-2Cr-5Nb alloy have been systematically investigated using laser additive manufacturing technology. Results indicate that both the as-deposited and annealed microstructures contain both the α2 (Ti3Al) and γ (TiAl) phases. As the annealing temperature increased, the structure changed significantly from a large block structure to a fine equiaxed structure and finally to a large lamellar structure. Nevertheless, the amount and distribution of precipitation of α2 phase are obviously different, especially during the annealing at 1260 °C, where the fine α2 phases are evenly distributed on the γ phase matrix. The hardness value of the as-deposited sample is the highest, with a HV value of 484 at the room temperature, while the hardness value of the annealed sample at 1260 °C is the smallest, with a HV value of 344. An annealed sample at 1260 °C exhibits the highest tensile strength and elongation at room temperature, with values of 598 MPa and 2.1%, respectively. These values are increased by 1.15 times and 1.4 times compared to the as-deposited sample (519 MPa, 1.5%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, annealing treatment was performed on the Cu/Al corrugated clad sheets fabricated by the corrugated cold roll bonding (CCRB) process. Interface microstructure evolution, interface phase development, intermetallic compound (IMC) growth kinetics, interface bonding strength, and electrical resistivity at various positions of the Cu/Al corrugated clad sheet were investigated under different annealing conditions. The IMC layers (CuAl2, Cu9Al4 and CuAl) with uneven thickness were formed at the Cu/Al corrugated interface during the annealing process. Interface defects caused by shear deformation can effectively reduce the growth activation energies of IMC sub-layer at positions I (back waist), III (front waist), and IV (trough). On the contrary, the interface brittle layers and overlayer can slightly increase the activation energy at position II (peak). The sequence of growth activation energies for IMC sub-layer was QCuAl

Starch nanoparticles (SNPs) have unique attributes that make them suitable for specific applications. In this study, we assessed the optimum conditions for the fabrication of SNPs from the rice starches of low- (TCSG2) and medium-amylose rice lines (TK11) using pullulanase debranching combined with annealing treatment and evaluated their physicochemical and digestion properties. The highest crystalline SNP percent recoveries of 15.1 and 11.7% were obtained from TK11 and TCSG2, respectively, under the following debranching conditions: 540–630 NPUN/g, pH 5.0, 60 °C, and 12 h. The percent recovery of the crystalline SNPs by the combined modification of the debranching and the annealing treatment with an extended annealing incubation prepared from TK11 and TCSG2 was significantly increased to 25.7 and 23.8%, respectively. The modified starches from TK11 had better percent recovery of the crystalline SNPs than those from TCSG2. They exhibited a higher weight-average molecular weight (Mw) and a broader/bimodal molecular weight distribution with a higher polydispersity (PDI) (Mw = 92.76–92.69 kDa; PDI = 4.4) than those from TCSG2 (Mw = 7.13–7.15 kDa; PDI = 1.7). Compared to the native counterparts, the color analyses showed that the modified starches from TK11 and TCSG2 exhibited decreased brightness (L*)/whiteness index (WI) values with marked color difference values (∆E) ranging between 6.32 and 9.39 and 10.67 and 11.32, respectively, presumably due to the protein corona formed on the surface of SNPs which induced the browning reaction during the treatments. The pasting properties revealed that the modified starches displayed restricted swelling power with extremely low pasting viscosities, reflecting that they were highly thermally stable. The modified starches, especially those treated with an extended annealing incubation, exhibited marked decreases in the rate and extent of digestion and estimated glycemic index due to the honeycomb-like agglomerates comprising an assembly of densely packed SNPs. The results could provide helpful information for the preparation and characterization of the crystalline SNPs for potential applications such as emulsion stabilizers for Pickering emulsion and health-promoting ingredients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The gradually decreasing S/Se ratio represented that the gradient band gap structure exist within a certain depth range. • Local S/Se ratio variation was achieved via single-step annealing, by sputtering from different quaternary targets. • The V oc of the gradient band gap CZTSSe solar cell increased, without significant variation of the overall band gap. • The annealing atmosphere would strongly affect the reaction at the back contact interface and the cells' properties. • Earlier forming MoS 2 would suppress the high formation rate MoSe 2 generating and reduce the overall Mo(S,Se) 2 thickness. CZTSSe is a thin-film solar cell absorber material with long-time application potential, but its development is limited as its severe open-circuit voltage(V oc) deficit. To further improve the V oc , gradient band gap structure of absorber is expected to achieve this aim without large change of its overall band gap. In this work, a stack structure precursor was deposited by sputtering from quaternary ceramic targets. The top gradient band gap CZTSSe was achieved by annealing the precursor under pure Se or S/Se mix atmosphere. The effects of the atmosphere and the layers-stack precursor structure on the film properties and device performance were studied. Compared with selenization process, sulfo-selenization could effectively suppressed the severe reaction at the back contact interface. It would reduce Mo(S,Se) 2 and secondary phases formation and improve solar cell efficiency. The V oc of the double-layers precursor solar cell successfully improved under both atmospheres as expected, representing this method could be a feasible direction to solve the large V oc,def problem. However, for higher efficiency sulfo-selenization cells, the V oc improvement in stack precursor samples did not bring obvious increase of efficiency due to the deterioration of fill factor, indicating that further optimization of device electrical properties should be applied in future study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanograin Fe(Al) solid solution alloy coating was firstly produced through cold-spraying technology using mechanically alloyed powder. Then, the above-mentioned coating was annealed at different temperatures to explore its influence on the phase constitution, microstructure, microhardness and dry sliding wear property of the coatings. Results exhibited that an FeAl phase appeared in the coatings after 500 °C treatment and remained stable with increasing annealing temperature. The annealing temperature had a considerable effect on the microstructure, microhardness and wear behavior of the FeAl coating. The existing laminated structure in the as-sprayed coating gradually faded away with increasing temperature and finally obtained a dense coating microstructure with no particle interface when annealed above 950 °C. Nanograin began to evidently grow at temperatures over 800 °C. The microhardness of the FeAl coating stayed at 400 Hv0.1 at temperatures below 800 °C, then it quickly dropped to 300 Hv0.1 at 950 °C and remained nearly unchangeable up to 1100 °C. The dry sliding wear mechanism of the FeAl coating annealed at low temperatures below 700 °C was mainly delamination of the oxide layer and showed a high wear rate within the order of magnitude range of 10−4, whereas FeAl coatings annealed at high temperatures above 950 °C were worn by microploughing and little oxidation and exhibited very low wear rates within the order of magnitude range of 10−6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic study was conducted on the impact of annealing treatments on the microstructure and properties of cold-rolled Ti50Ni47Fe3 alloys using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, electron backscattered diffraction, and an electronic universal testing machine. It was found that, during low-temperature annealing (400 °C and 500 °C), the annealing time had no significant effect on the microstructure or properties of the Ti50Ni47Fe3 alloy. Only elongation (δ) increased with the increase in the annealing time, and the grain orientation of the Ti50Ni47Fe3 alloy was //RD (rolling direction). When annealing at medium–high temperature (600 °C), as the annealing time increased, recrystallization and grain growth processes occurred, resulting in a continuous decrease in strength and an increase in δ. Meanwhile, it was found that the grain orientation of the cold-rolled Ti50Ni47Fe3 alloy changed from //RD during the recovery and recrystallization processes to //RD after the grain growth process. The orientation distribution function cross-section φ2 = 45° results indicate that the texture was mainly distributed along the γ orientation line (φ1 = 0~90°, Φ = 54.7°, φ2 = 45°). When annealed at 400 °C and 500 °C, the texture of the Ti50Ni47Fe3 alloys was (111)[uvw]. When the annealing treatment was 600 °C for 120 min, a (110)[uvw] texture occurred. Additionally, ductile fracture occurred in all specimens, and the crack origin was located on one side of the fracture surface, with obvious “Y”-shaped propagation. This article studied annealing treatments of cold-rolled Ti50Ni47Fe3 alloys, providing corresponding theoretical guidance for subsequent production applications.

The corrosion performance of type 2101 lean duplex stainless steel (LDSS) after different solution annealing heat treatments is investigated. The austenite to ferrite phase ratios and morphologies are correlated to their localised corrosion responses, with the application of bipolar electrochemistry providing access to pit nucleation and growth kinetics. The propagation of pitting corrosion via selective dissolution of the ferrite phase is observed, pointing towards a direct effect of ferrite morphology on pit shape. The corrosion behaviour of solution heat treatments are compared and ranked, providing information for improving and optimising the corrosion resistance of LDSS 2101 microstructures.

The crystallinity properties of perovskite influence their optoelectrical performance in solar cell applications. We optimized the grain shape and crystallinity of perovskite film by annealing treatment from 130 to 170 °C under high humidity (relative humidity of 70%). We found that the grain size, grain interface, and grain morphology of the perovskite are optimized when the sample was annealed at 150 °C for 1 h in the air. At this condition, the perovskite film is composed of 250 nm crystalline shape grain and compact inter-grain structure with an invincible grain interface. Perovskite solar cells device analysis indicated that the device fabricated using the samples annealed at 150 °C produced the highest power conversion efficiency, namely 17.77%. The open circuit voltage (Voc), short-circuit current density (Jsc), and fill factor (FF) of the device are as high as 1.05 V, 22.27 mA/cm2, and 0.76, respectively. Optoelectrical dynamic analysis using transient photoluminescence and electrochemical impedance spectroscopies reveals that (i) carrier lifetime in the champion device can be up to 25 ns, which is almost double the carrier lifetime of the sample annealed at 130 °C. (ii) The interfacial charge transfer resistance is low in the champion device, i.e., ~20 Ω, which has a crystalline grain morphology, enabling active photocurrent extraction. Perovskite's behavior under annealing treatment in high humidity conditions can be a guide for the industrialization of perovskite solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of isolated and/or combined enzymatic and annealing treatments on the technological properties of black rice starch. The modification is carried out through an annealing process at 50 °C for 24 h, followed by the process of enzymatic modification by the action of transglucosidase (25 kU mL−1). Enzymatic hydrolysis with transglucosidase is improved as a result of the annealing action, which resulted in 7.6%. The size and shape of the starch granules are not modified by the thermoenzymatic treatments, only agglomeration of the granules in native starch modified with transglucosidase. The annealing treatment promotes a 20.60% reduction in crystallinity and a change in the type of lens from type A to Vh. Modified starch shows higher thermal and mechanical resistance when compared to native starch. The results contribute to a better understanding of the combination of annealing in enzymatic modification with transglucosidase for black rice starch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last decades have seen a huge growth in the investigation of intermetallic compounds at the interfaces of laminated composites due to their useful features. In this research, effects of the formation of intermetallic compounds on tensile properties and wear resistance of Ni/Ti composites produced by cross-accumulative roll bonding (CARB) process have been examined at different annealing times and temperatures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images demonstrated that the layers were well bonded together, but Ni layers experienced instabilities in light of plastic deformation. The EBSD results showed lamellar structure and crystallographic texture on Ti and Ni layers during plastic deformation. According to X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS) analyses, NiTi2 and NiTi were present in all annealed samples. The thickness of intermetallic compounds grew with an increase in annealing temperature and time. However, this growth led to a decrease in tensile strength while the values of elongation fluctuated. Based on the results of the wear test, the composite became more resistant to wear when the thickness of intermetallic layers increased. The surfaces of these layers with less roughness and lower coefficients of friction facilitated the movement of steel pin on samples during the wear test. Furthermore, wear mechanisms of adhesion, abrasion, and delamination were observed, and they were more noticeable at higher loads and lower annealing temperatures and times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plain carbon steels of five different carbon contents up to eutectoid composition have been provided with the conventional full annealing treatment. Qualitative and quantitative studies of the microstructure are carried out using optical microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy techniques. Even under similar cooling rate pertaining to the full annealing treatment (furnace cooling); microstructural modifications of individual microconstituents are feasible with varying chemistry (carbon content) of plain carbon steel. The refinement of microstructure for both proeutectoid α‐ferrite and pearlite is found to be accentuated with increasing carbon content of annealed steels till eutectoid composition. Hall‐Petch type relationship explains adequately the relationship between hardness and the size of the microconstituent both in terms of the grain size of proeutectoid α‐ferrite and the interlamellar spacing of pearlite. Henceforth an empirical relationship is developed for the first time taking into account the rule of mixture to correlate overall hardness, carbon content, grain size of proeutectoid α‐ferrite and interlamellar spacing of pearlite. The empirical relationship originated thereby is found to closely match the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Sputtered CIGS films at various deposition and annealing temperatures were studied. • Annealed CIGS thin films improved crystallization and surface strain reductions. • Annealed CIGS thin films improve carrier concentration, mobility, and energy gap. • The bulk carrier density of all the CIGS films ranges between 1014 and 1017 cm−3. This study presents a method to improve Cu(In 1−x Ga x)Se 2 (CIGS) absorber layer performance through an annealing technique that enhances the quality of as-deposited CIGS films. CIGS films were deposited on soda-lime glass substrates using RF magnetron sputtering at 300 °C, 400 °C, and 500 °C, followed by annealing at 500 °C for 30 min. By annealing, the crystal structure of the CIGS films is aligned, and surface strain is minimized. It can significantly boost the films' crystallinity, crystallite sizes, carrier concentration, mobility, and energy gap. The highest temperatures enhanced crystallinity due to larger crystallite size, resulting in lower resistivity. The properties improvements are crucial for optimizing CIGS absorber layer performance. Complete CIGS solar cell at 300 °C yield V oc = 253 mV, J sc = 1.78 mA/cm2, and efficiency = 0.15 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thin-wall titanium welded pipe has important applications in the fields of new energy vehicles, aerospace, and heat exchangers, the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance after high-frequency induction welding are rarely studied. To improve the comprehensive performance of thin-walled titanium welded pipe, a heat process and the performance optimization mechanism were studied in this paper. In addition, we systematically explored the influence of heat treatment conditions on the microstructure, mechanical performance, and dissolution behavior of the welded pipe through various methods, including tensile tests, immersion tests, and electrochemical tests. The results indicated that heat treatment primarily regulates the quantity and distribution of martensitic phases, acicular structures, and serrated structures in the welded joints, thereby impacting the mechanical performance of the welded pipe. By following high-temperature annealing at 800 °C for 0.5 h, with a heating rate of 5 °C/min, the acicular and serrated structures in the welded joints completely disappeared, forming an annealed equiaxed structure consistent with the base material. Subsequent furnace cooling reduced internal thermal stresses within the grains, resulting in relatively smooth grain boundaries, reduced small-sized grains, and a more uniform distribution of grain sizes, ultimately eliminating the residual stresses. Consequently, the welded pipe exhibited outstanding comprehensive performance, including ultimate tensile strength, Vickers hardness, and fracture elongation of 439.2 MPa, 178.3 HV, and 18 %, respectively. Notably, under room temperature, after immersion in a 3.5 % sodium chloride solution for 28 days, there was no significant change in the sample's mass. Therefore, the properties of thin-walled titanium welded pipe can be improved by annealing process, and it provides strong support and reliable evidence for its application in related fields. [Display omitted] • The welded thin-wall titanium tube was treated by a traditional annealing process, and remarkable results were obtained. • The microstructure and mechanical performance of welded pipe were researched by annealing processing to reveal its potential. • The corrosion test shows that the thin-walled welded pipe has good corrosion resistance after annealing treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel layered heterogeneous microstructure, exhibiting a multiscale distribution of grain sizes and structural features, including nanocrystalline (NC), nanotwins (NT), nanoscale precipitates (NP), submicron crystalline (SC) and microcrystalline (MC), was successfully fabricated within the Cu-1Cr-0.1Zr alloy via solid solution (SS) treatment, aging treatment (AT), cold rolling (CR), and annealing treatment. The heterogeneous microstructure of the Cu-1Cr-0.1Zr alloy exhibits excellent strength, ductility, and electrical conductivity, mainly due to the synergistic effects between multi-scale grains formed during deformation, leading to significant hetero-deformation induced (HDI) stress and the Bauschinger effect, which simultaneously improves strength and ductility. Interestingly, annealing treatment to form recrystallized grain, SC and MC can improve electrical conductivity. This study provides an effective way to achieve synergistic effects between significant strength, good ductility, and remarkable electrical conductivity in copper alloys. • A novel layered heterogeneous microstructure Cu-Cr-Zr alloy with a multi-scale grain distribution was successfully. • An optimum combination of tensile strength (695 MPa), electrical conductivity (71.2 % IACS) and elongation to failure (12.7 %) was successfully obtained. • The enhancement mechanism of heterogeneous microstructure was discussed. • The heterogeneous microstructure design strategy has the potential to be applied to many other metals and alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the effects of annealing temperature on the microstructure, martensitic transformation and mechanical properties of Ti–V–Al-Gd shape memory alloys were investigated. The results revealed that the phase constituents were dependent on annealing temperatures. The coexistence of the α'´ martensite phase, β phase, hard α second phase and ω phase was found in Ti–V–Al-Gd shape memory alloy annealed at 650 °C. With increasing annealing temperature, the amount of β phase and α second phase gradually decreased. Meanwhile, the grain size of the Ti–V–Al-Gd shape memory alloy increased continuously with increasing annealing temperature. Merely α'´→β reverse martensitic transformation was found in all annealed Ti–V–Al-Gd shape memory alloys, regardless of the annealing temperature. The evolution of the martensitic transformation temperatures can be attributed to the compressive effect of the chemical composition, grain size and type and number of second phases. In addition, the yield strength gradually decreased owing to the coarsening of the grain size and reduction in the amount of the α phase, whereas the elongation became superior in Ti–V–Al-Gd shape memory alloy annealed at higher annealing temperatures due to the elimination of dislocations and defects. In proportion, the strain recovery characteristics gradually decreased as the annealing temperature increased from 700 °C to 800 °C.

Oxygen vacancies (VO) often exist in wide-bandgap metal oxide semiconductors (MOSs) as deep-level defects and undermine the reliability of various optoelectronic devices based on MOSs. Conventional methods to passivate VO defects, such as high-temperature annealing or plasma treatment, can compromise device performance. This work demonstrates that passivation of VO defects in aluminum-doped ZnO (AZO) nanoparticles can be realized through low-temperature annealing (350 °C) in an NF3 atmosphere. After the NF3 annealing, the longitudinal optical phonon scattering mode in Raman spectroscopy, the visible light emission intensity in photoluminescence spectroscopy, and the oxygen deficiency-related peak in x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy decrease simultaneously, indicating the passivation of VO defects in AZO nanoparticles. As a result, AZO nanoparticles show higher visible light reflectance and better stability of electrical conductivity owing to the suppression of deep-level light absorption and gas molecule adsorption. This work also offers insights into the passivation mechanism of VO defects in MOSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxygen vacancies (VO) often exist in wide-bandgap metal oxide semiconductors (MOSs) as deep-level defects and undermine the reliability of various optoelectronic devices based on MOSs. Conventional methods to passivate VO defects, such as high-temperature annealing or plasma treatment, can compromise device performance. This work demonstrates that passivation of VO defects in aluminum-doped ZnO (AZO) nanoparticles can be realized through low-temperature annealing (350 °C) in an NF3 atmosphere. After the NF3 annealing, the longitudinal optical phonon scattering mode in Raman spectroscopy, the visible light emission intensity in photoluminescence spectroscopy, and the oxygen deficiency-related peak in x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy decrease simultaneously, indicating the passivation of VO defects in AZO nanoparticles. As a result, AZO nanoparticles show higher visible light reflectance and better stability of electrical conductivity owing to the suppression of deep-level light absorption and gas molecule adsorption. This work also offers insights into the passivation mechanism of VO defects in MOSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a combination of cold rolling (CR) and annealing treatment is used to investigate the evolution of the microstructure and mechanical properties of CoFeNiMnV high‐entropy alloys (HEAs) fabricated by powder plasma arc additive manufacturing (PPA‐AM). The deposited CoFeNiMnV HEAs exhibit a face‐centered cubic (FCC) structure with a small amount of σ phase precipitation. After 50% CR, the microstructure of CoFeNiMnV HEAs is severely deformed along the rolling direction, and the grain size is obviously refined. Therefore, the hardness and strength of the alloy are significantly improved. The rolled CoFeNiMnV HEAs are annealed at 500, 700 and 900 °C, for 60 min. The results show that annealing at 500 °C has little effect on the microstructure and dislocation density of the alloy, and the alloy still maintains high strength and hardness. With increasing of annealing temperature to 700 and 900 °C, the dislocation density of the CoFeNiMnV HEAs is significantly reduced. Meanwhile the σ phase is gradually dissolved, and the recrystallized grains and annealing twins are significantly coarsened. The analysis suggests that it decreases the strength of the CoFeNiMnV HEAs, but increases the elongation. CoFeNiMnV HEAs annealed at 700 °C for 60 min after CR exhibit an excellent high strength–toughness combination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ni-B binary coating and Ni-B-W ternary coating were successfully prepared on titanium alloy (TC4) substrates by electroless plating to improve the hardness and wear resistance, followed by annealing treatment for better mechanical properties and tribological properties. The morphology, composition, microstructure, mechanical properties, and tribological behaviors of the coatings were characterized. Both as-plated coatings were amorphous, while the composition and morphology of the Ni-B-W coating differed from those of the Ni-B coating. Additionally, the Ni-B-W coating had better mechanical and tribological properties with a more considerable hardness (13.5 GPa), a minor friction coefficient (0.42), and a lower wear rate (0.10 × 10−7 cm3/(N·m)). After annealing, both coatings were crystalline. In parallel to the as-plated coating, the annealed coatings showed larger hardness values because of the formation of hard phases. Moreover, the crystalline grain of the coatings grew as the annealing temperature rose from 350 °C to 650 °C. Accordingly, the coatings showed a minor hardness value, a major friction coefficient, and severe wear under the same conditions. Above all, the Ni-B-W coating annealed at 350 °C showed the best performance, with an average grain size of 26.3 nm, hardness of 15.9 GPa, friction coefficient of 0.34, and wear rate of 0.09 × 10−7 cm3/(N·m). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SiC whisker (SiC w)/Si 3 N 4 ceramics were prepared via selective laser sintering (SLS) and precursor infiltration pyrolysis (PIP) to achieve good electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption performance. The as-pyrolyzed composite ceramics were annealed at 1200–1600 °C in a N 2 atmosphere. The microstructural variation, phase evolution, and EMW-absorbing properties of the SiC w /Si 3 N 4 ceramics were subsequently studied. SiC whiskers were generated in the composite ceramics during pyrolysis, and their content increased as a function of the annealing temperature. An increase in the SiC w content of the annealed samples improved the reflection loss of the composite ceramics. The absorption properties of the SiC w /Si 3 N 4 ceramics first degraded and then improved with increasing annealing temperature. Among all the samples tested, the composite ceramics annealed at 1600 °C showed the optimal EMW absorption performance in the range of 2–18 GHz due to the lower content of free carbon and higher content of SiC w. The ceramics annealed at 1600 °C exhibited a superior absorption loss of −14.1 dB and an effective absorption bandwidth of 2.16 GHz. These results demonstrate that the EMW-absorbing performance of the SiC w /Si 3 N 4 ceramics was significantly improved after annealing at 1600 °C. Thus, SiC w /Si 3 N 4 composite parts with complex shapes were successfully manufactured by combining the SLS and PIP processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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NiAl/Cr3C2-NiCr and NiCr/Cr3C2-NiCr gradient coatings were sprayed on mold copper plate (CuCrZr) by high-velocity air-fuel spraying technology. The effects of annealing treatment on the performance of sprayed coatings were investigated systematically. The results showed that the corrosion and wear resistance of the coating is increased first and then decreased with the increase of temperature. Annealing treatment caused the precipitation of secondary carbides and led to the variation of hardness and wear resistance, which have weak relationship with the bond layers. With annealing temperature rising, the adhesion strength of NiCr/Cr3C2-NiCr coatings gradually increased but NiAl/Cr3C2-NiCr coatings decreased, which is closely linked to the diffusion behavior at the interfaces. Moreover, the change in anti-corrosion properties of the coating is also related to the bond layers, and the coating with NiCr bond layer shows better corrosion resistance. The weak bonding of Cr3C2-NiCr and NiAl and the reaction between Ni and Al led to the increase of the corrosion rate to some extent. After annealing at 600 °C, the coating got the highest hardness as well as the best wear and corrosion resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal oxide semiconductor material has great potential to act as window layer in p–n heterojunction solar cell thin film owing to low production cost and significant properties in photovoltaic mechanism. In this work, n-TiO2/ZnO bilayer thin film was effectively constructed by means of sol-gel spin coating technique in an effort to diminish the electron-hole recombination rate from single-layered thin film. Annealing time is one of the important parameters in the fabrication process and was varied to study the impact of annealing treatment towards the thin film characteristics as window layer. It was found that the optimum parameter for the n-TiO2/ZnO bilayer was 500 °C with an annealing time of 2 h. High crystallinity of the n-(101)-TiO2/(002)-ZnO bilayer thin film was obtained, which consists of anatase and a hexagonal wurtzite structure, respectively. Orientation of (002)-ZnO is essential for deposition with the (111) Cu2O-absorbing layer due to a low different lattice mismatch between these two interfaces. The homogenous morphology of n-TiO2/ZnO bilayer was observed with a compact and dense layer. The improvement of transmittance has also been achieved in a range of 60%–80%, which indicated that the incident light can penetrate throughout the thin film directly. In addition, a p-Cu2O absorbing layer was successfully fabricated on top of n-TiO2/ZnO bilayer thin film to form a p-n junction in order to visualize significant electrical rectification properties. The existence of p-Cu2O was confirmed by a (111)-peak orientation and triangular shape in structural and morphological properties, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of Sc-microalloying and Y2O3 nano-particles on the microstructure and mechanical properties of as-cast Al-5.5Si alloy is studied by means of optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, hardness test and tensile test. The influence of annealing treatment on the microstructure and properties of the Al-Si alloys is also investigated as well. The results show that the addition of Sc and Y2O3 nano-particles could significantly improve the mechanical property of the Al-Si alloy. The ultimate tensile strength and yield strength of Al-Si-Sc/Y2O3 alloy are improved by around 45 and 71%, respectively, when compared to that of the Al-Si alloy. The effect of the nanosized particles (precipitated and added) on strengthening and deformation of Al-Si alloy is analyzed and discussed in detail. The results of annealing treatment indicate that the change in mechanical property of the Al-Si-Sc alloy during annealing treatment is mainly associated with the precipitation of the secondary Si phase.

The process quality of material and device can be evaluated by the electrical performance. In this paper, the multi-layer MoS2 material and nickel (Ni) metal were used as channel and electrodes of FET device, which can be fabricated by the electron beam lithography and evaporation processes. The morphology, structure, component and spectral characteristic of multilayer MoS2 material and device were characterized by optical microscope, Raman spectrometer and scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the fabrication feasibility was also discussed. Meanwhile, the electronic performance of device was tested and analyzed by probe table and semiconductor parameter analyzer, and the influence of annealing treatment can also be explored. The contact resistance of device decreases after annealing, current switching ratio increase by one order of magnitude, output characteristic curve shows linear, and the electrical performance can also be improved, which can provide the research guidance for the electronic device based on multilayer MoS2 material.

The microstructure, phase composition, hardness, and tensile properties of the Ti-48Al-2Cr-5Nb alloy have been systematically investigated using laser additive manufacturing technology. Results indicate that both the as-deposited and annealed microstructures contain both the α2 (Ti3Al) and γ (TiAl) phases. As the annealing temperature increased, the structure changed significantly from a large block structure to a fine equiaxed structure and finally to a large lamellar structure. Nevertheless, the amount and distribution of precipitation of α2 phase are obviously different, especially during the annealing at 1260 °C, where the fine α2 phases are evenly distributed on the γ phase matrix. The hardness value of the as-deposited sample is the highest, with a HV value of 484 at the room temperature, while the hardness value of the annealed sample at 1260 °C is the smallest, with a HV value of 344. An annealed sample at 1260 °C exhibits the highest tensile strength and elongation at room temperature, with values of 598 MPa and 2.1%, respectively. These values are increased by 1.15 times and 1.4 times compared to the as-deposited sample (519 MPa, 1.5%).

High-performance polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) is highly desirable for a plethora of engineering applications. The incorporation of conductive carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into PEEK can impart electrical conductivity to the otherwise non-conductive matrix, which can further expand the application realm for PEEK composites. However, a number of physical properties, which are central to the functionalities of the composite, are affected by the complex interplay of the crystallinity and presence of the nanofillers, such as CNTs. It is therefore of paramount importance to conduct an in-depth investigation to identify the process that optimizes the mechanical and electrical performance. In this work, PEEK/CNTs composites with different carbon nanotubes (CNTs) content ranging from 0.5 to 10.0 wt% are prepared by a parallel twin-screw extruder. The effects of CNTs content and annealing treatment on the crystallization behavior, mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of the PEEK/CNTs composites are investigated in detail. A non-isothermal crystallization kinetics test reveals a substantial loss in the composites' crystallinity with the increased CNTs content. On the other hand, mechanical tests show that with 5.0 wt% CNTs content, the tensile strength reaches a maximum at 118.2 MPa, which amounts to a rise of 30.3% compared with the neat PEEK sample after annealing treatment. However, additional annealing treatment decreases the electrical conductivity as well as EMI shielding performance. Such a decrease is mainly attributed to the relatively small crystal size of PEEK, which excludes the conductive fillers to the boundaries and disrupts the otherwise conductive networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Cu/MnO2/SnO2 conductive glass doped with a fluorine (referred to as FTO) interlayer sandwich structure resistive switching memory device was prepared by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering and vacuum evaporation. The prepared Cu/MnO2/FTO device shows nonvolatile bipolar resistive switching behavior. The effect of annealing temperature on resistance switch characteristics was studied. The experimental results show that the resistive switching behavior of MnO2 films is affected by annealing temperature; in particular, after annealing at 700 K, the resistive switching performance is more stable. The carrier conduction behavior of the high-resistance state and low-resistance state has been studied. The resistive switching behavior of Cu/MnO2/FTO devices is analyzed in the terms of formation and dissipation of filaments under an electric field of an oxygen vacancy conductive path combined with Cu conductive filaments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The cathode material LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 has drawn considerable attention for the high‐voltage discharge platform, high power density, and environmental friendliness. However, Mn3+ inside the material leads to the generation of Ni‐O impurities, which contributes to a 4.1 V voltage platform in the charge‐discharge process. To overcome this phenomenon, spinel LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 was prepared by a high‐temperature solid‐phase method in this article, and samples were annealed after that. Impacts of annealing treatment on properties of LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 were studied and an effective annealing treatment method was proposed. The charge and discharge test shows that the sample treated by annealing at 600°C for 8 h has the highest capacity (121 mAh/g) and the best cycle capacity retention rate (93.4%). XPS tests showed that the treatment by the annealing process significantly reduced the Mn3+ in the material and eliminated the 4.1 V voltage plateau, which indicates the best annealing process is treating at 600°C for 8 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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