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We investigated formation of carbon nanofibers grown by chemical deposition (CVD) method using an acetylenehydrogen mixture on the surface of micron-sized aluminum powder particles. To obtain uniform distribution of the carbon nanostructures on the particles we deposited nickel catalyst on the surface by spraying from the aqueous solution of nickel nitrate. It was found that increasing the time of the synthesis lowers the rate of growth of carbon nanostructures due to the deactivation of the catalyst. The Raman spectroscopy measurements confirm the presence of disordered carbon corresponding to CNFs in the specimen. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed the presence of aluminum carbide in the hot pressed samples. An aluminum composite material prepared using 1 wt.% CNFs obtained by uniaxial cold pressing and sintering showed 30 % increase in the hardness compared to pure aluminum, whereas the composites prepared by hot pressing showed 80 % increase in the hardness. Composite materials have satisfactory ductility. Thus, the aluminum based material reinforced with carbon nanostructures should be appropriate for creating high-strength and light compacts for aerospace and automotive applications and power engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major problem challenging specialists in present-day materials sciences is the development of compact, cheap to fabricate heat sinks for electronic devices, primarily for computer processors, semiconductor lasers, high-power microchips, and electronics components. The materials currently used for heat sinks of such devices are aluminum and copper, with thermal conductivities of about 250 W/(m·K) and 400 W/(m·K), respectively. Significantly, the thermal expansion coefficient of metals differs markedly from those of the materials employed in semiconductor electronics (mostly silicon); one should add here the low electrical resistivity metals possess. By contrast, natural single-crystal diamond is known to feature the highest thermal conductivity of all the bulk materials studied thus far, as high as 2,200 W/(m·K). Needless to say, it cannot be applied in heat removal technology because of high cost. Recently, SiC- and AlN-based ceramics have started enjoying wide use as heat sink materials; the thermal conductivity of such composites, however, is inferior to that of metals by nearly a factor two. This prompts a challenging scientific problem to develop diamond-based composites with thermal characteristics superior to those of aluminum and copper, adjustable thermal expansion coefficient, low electrical conductivity and a moderate cost, below that of the natural single-crystal diamond. The present review addresses this problem and appraises the results reached by now in studying the possibility of developing composites in diamond-containing systems with a view of obtaining materials with a high thermal conductivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The content of nitrogen-vacancy (NV−) colour centres in the nanodiamonds (DNDs) produced during the detonation of nitrogen-containing explosives was found to be 1.1 ± 0.3 ppm. This value is impressive for nanodiamonds of size < 10 nm with intentionally created NV− centres. The concentration was estimated from the electron paramagnetic resonance as determined from the integrated intensity of the g = 4.27 line. This line is related with "forbidden" ∆ms = 2 transitions between the Zeeman levels of a NV− centre's ground triplet state. Confocal fluorescence microscopy enables detection of the red photoluminescence (PL) of the NV− colour centres in nanoscale DND aggregates formed from the 5-nm nanoparticles. Subwavelength emitters consisting of NV− with sizes a few times smaller than the diffraction-limited spot are clearly distinguished. We have further observed an abrupt drop in the PL intensity when mixing and anti-crossing of the ground and excited states spin levels in NV− occurs under an applied external magnetic field. This effect is a unique quantum feature of NV− centres, which cannot be observed for other visible domain light-emitting colour centres in a diamond lattice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An overview of research on the synthesis of manganese titanates is presented. The xerogel of Mn–Ti–O–C–H composition was synthesized from manganese acetate and titanium tetrabutylate via liquid-phase method using organic solvents. The calcination of xerogel in air at 450 °C and 700 °C yielded manganese titanate precursors in the form of a nanostructured mixture of Mn 2 O 3 and TiO 2. Annealing at 1000 °C, manganese metatitanate MnTiO 3 was obtained. Reference experiments with initial reagents included, separately, thermal decomposition of Mn(CH 3 COO) 2 ×4H 2 O and the product of Ti(OC 4 H 9) 4 hydrolysis. The composition, structure, and properties of the products were studied using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, elemental analysis, diffuse reflectance IR Fourier spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, and by measuring specific surface area. The data presented by these different techniques are basically consistent with each other (with an increase in the annealing temperature, an increase in globule size and decrease in specific surface area are observed; structuring occurs within the long- and short-range order; the size of the crystallites does not exceed that of the globules; elemental composition correlates with phase composition; the endothermic character of the reaction of MnTiO 3 formation at 900 °C is confirmed by a thermodynamic calculation). Nevertheless, some unexpected effects were revealed (based on the FTIR diffuse reflection spectra, mixed oxide Mn–Ti–O is formed in the surface layer of particles already at 450 °C and 700 °C; etc.). Application of the proposed technique for modifying Al 2 O 3 powders, with the aim of implementing low-temperature sintering of corundum ceramics, is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]