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Materials, Volume 10, Issue 3

2017 March - 108 articles

Cover Story: From diapers to agricultural use, from drug release to self-healing concrete, superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) can be used in a plethora of applications. The present review covers SAP applications in concrete for self-sealing and -healing of cracks, increasing the freeze/thaw resistance and providing internal curing. The remaining challenges and potential solutions for SAP application in concrete have been addressed using both natural and synthetic SAPs. View the paper
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Articles (108)

  • Article
  • Open Access
8 Citations
4,984 Views
9 Pages

Development of AlN and TiB2 Composites with Nb2O5, Y2O3 and ZrO2 as Sintering Aids

  • José C. González,
  • Miguel Á. Rodríguez,
  • Ignacio A. Figueroa,
  • María-Elena Villafuerte-Castrejón and
  • Gerardo C. Díaz

22 March 2017

The synthesis of AlN and TiB2 by spark plasma sintering (SPS) and the effect of Nb2O5, Y2O3 and ZrO2 additions on the mechanical properties and densification of the produced composites is reported and discussed. After the SPS process, dense AlN and T...

  • Article
  • Open Access
20 Citations
5,092 Views
14 Pages

Study of the Corrosion Resistance of Austenitic Stainless Steels during Conversion of Waste to Biofuel

  • Marina Cabrini,
  • Sergio Lorenzi,
  • Tommaso Pastore,
  • Simone Pellegrini,
  • Mauro Burattini and
  • Roberta Miglio

22 March 2017

The paper deals with the corrosion behavior of stainless steels as candidate materials for biofuel production plants by liquefaction process of the sorted organic fraction of municipal solid waste. Corrosion tests were carried out on AISI 316L and AI...

  • Article
  • Open Access
9 Citations
7,813 Views
19 Pages

Integration of Electrodeposited Ni-Fe in MEMS with Low-Temperature Deposition and Etch Processes

  • Giuseppe Schiavone,
  • Jeremy Murray,
  • Richard Perry,
  • Andrew R. Mount,
  • Marc P. Y. Desmulliez and
  • Anthony J. Walton

22 March 2017

This article presents a set of low-temperature deposition and etching processes for the integration of electrochemically deposited Ni-Fe alloys in complex magnetic microelectromechanical systems, as Ni-Fe is known to suffer from detrimental stress de...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
5,720 Views
20 Pages

22 March 2017

This paper deals with the influence of selected methods (mechanical and pneumatic) as well as various factors (wood species, moisture content, veneer shape, punch diameter, laminating foil thickness, holding method, plasticizing) on 3D molding of ven...

  • Article
  • Open Access
13 Citations
6,564 Views
7 Pages

22 March 2017

A metal–insulator–metal structure resistive switching device based on H0.5Z0.5O2 (HZO) thin film deposited by pulse laser deposition (PLD) has been investigated for resistive random access memory (RRAM) applications. The devices demonstrated bistable...

  • Article
  • Open Access
6 Citations
5,804 Views
9 Pages

Negative Temperature Dependence of Recrystallized Grain Size: Formulation and Experimental Confirmation on Copper

  • Mohamed Elmasry,
  • Fan Liu,
  • Yao Jiang,
  • Ze Ning Mao,
  • Ying Liu and
  • Jing Tao Wang

21 March 2017

The catalyzing effect on nucleation of recrystallization from existing grains resulting from previous lower temperature deformation is analyzed, analogous to the size effect of foreign nucleus in heterogeneous nucleation. Analytical formulation of th...

  • Article
  • Open Access
24 Citations
6,242 Views
17 Pages

Towards Highly Performing and Stable PtNi Catalysts in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells for Automotive Application

  • Sabrina C. Zignani,
  • Vincenzo Baglio,
  • David Sebastián,
  • Ada Saccà,
  • Irene Gatto and
  • Antonino S. Aricò

21 March 2017

In order to help the introduction on the automotive market of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs), it is mandatory to develop highly performing and stable catalysts. The main objective of this work is to investigate PtNi/C catalysts in a PEFC unde...

  • Article
  • Open Access
14 Citations
4,699 Views
18 Pages

21 March 2017

The hot deformation behavior of a high carbon carbide-free bainitic steel was studied through isothermal compression tests that were performed on a Gleeble-1500D thermal mechanical simulator at temperatures of 1223–1423 K and strain rates of 0.01–5 s...

  • Communication
  • Open Access
50 Citations
9,197 Views
7 Pages

High Performance Complementary Circuits Based on p-SnO and n-IGZO Thin-Film Transistors

  • Jiawei Zhang,
  • Jia Yang,
  • Yunpeng Li,
  • Joshua Wilson,
  • Xiaochen Ma,
  • Qian Xin and
  • Aimin Song

21 March 2017

Oxide semiconductors are regarded as promising materials for large-area and/or flexible electronics. In this work, a ring oscillator based on n-type indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (IGZO) and p-type tin monoxide (SnO) is presented. The IGZO thin-film trans...

  • Article
  • Open Access
37 Citations
6,076 Views
13 Pages

The Effect of Thickness of Resorbable Bacterial Cellulose Membrane on Guided Bone Regeneration

  • You-Jin Lee,
  • Sung-Jun An,
  • Eun-Bin Bae,
  • Hui-Jeong Gwon,
  • Jong-Seok Park,
  • Sung In Jeong,
  • Young-Chan Jeon,
  • So-Hyoun Lee,
  • Youn-Mook Lim and
  • Jung-Bo Huh

21 March 2017

This study introduces the effect of the thickness of a bacterial cellulose membrane by comparing the bone regeneration effect on rat skulls when using a collagen membrane and different thicknesses of resorbable bacterial cellulose membranes for guide...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
4,975 Views
10 Pages

20 March 2017

Solvent-free copolymerization of epoxides derived from fatty esters of waste cooking oil with phthalic anhydride using (salen)CrIIICl as catalyst and n-Bu4NCl/DMAP (tetrabutylammonium chloride/4-(dimethylamino)pyridine) as co-catalysts was carried ou...

  • Article
  • Open Access
37 Citations
7,378 Views
16 Pages

Experimental Study on the Fire Properties of Nitrocellulose with Different Structures

  • Ruichao Wei,
  • Yaping He,
  • Jiahao Liu,
  • Yu He,
  • Wenzhong Mi,
  • Richard Yuen and
  • Jian Wang

20 March 2017

In order to ensure the safety of inflammable and explosive chemical substance such as nitrocellulose (NC) mixtures in the process of handing, storage, and usage, it is necessary to obtain the fire properties of NC with different exterior structures....

  • Article
  • Open Access
28 Citations
7,703 Views
10 Pages

VO2 Thermochromic Films on Quartz Glass Substrate Grown by RF-Plasma-Assisted Oxide Molecular Beam Epitaxy

  • Dong Zhang,
  • Hong-Jun Sun,
  • Min-Huan Wang,
  • Li-Hua Miao,
  • Hong-Zhu Liu,
  • Yu-Zhi Zhang and
  • Ji-Ming Bian

19 March 2017

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) thermochromic thin films with various thicknesses were grown on quartz glass substrates by radio frequency (RF)-plasma assisted oxide molecular beam epitaxy (O-MBE). The crystal structure, morphology and chemical stoichiometry...

  • Article
  • Open Access
13 Citations
6,347 Views
13 Pages

Two 8-Hydroxyquinolinate Based Supramolecular Coordination Compounds: Synthesis, Structures and Spectral Properties

  • Chengfeng Zhu,
  • Yunfei Wang,
  • Qingqing Mao,
  • Fang Li,
  • Yougui Li and
  • Changle Chen

18 March 2017

Two new Cr(III) complexes based on 2-substituted 8-hydroxyquinoline ligands, namely [Cr(L1)3] (1), (HL1=(E)-2-[2-(4-nitro-phenyl)-vinyl]-8-hydroxy-quinoline) and [Cr(L2)3] (2), (HL2=(E)-2-[2-(4-chloro-phenyl)vinyl]-8-hydroxy-quinoline), were prepared...

  • Article
  • Open Access
51 Citations
6,599 Views
12 Pages

Biodegradation Resistance and Bioactivity of Hydroxyapatite Enhanced Mg-Zn Composites via Selective Laser Melting

  • Cijun Shuai,
  • Yuanzhuo Zhou,
  • Youwen Yang,
  • Pei Feng,
  • Long Liu,
  • Chongxian He,
  • Mingchun Zhao,
  • Sheng Yang,
  • Chengde Gao and
  • Ping Wu

17 March 2017

Mg-Zn alloys have attracted great attention as implant biomaterials due to their biodegradability and biomechanical compatibility. However, their clinical application was limited due to the too rapid degradation. In the study, hydroxyapatite (HA) was...

  • Article
  • Open Access
20 Citations
5,689 Views
21 Pages

17 March 2017

Hybrid sol-gel coatings, named U(X):TEOS, based on ureasilicate matrices (U(X)) enriched with tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), were synthesized. The influence of TEOS addition was studied on both the structure of the hybrid sol-gel films as well as on the e...

  • Article
  • Open Access
7 Citations
6,921 Views
15 Pages

17 March 2017

Recent interest in optimizing composition and synthesis conditions of functional crystals, and the further exploration of new possible candidates for tunable solid-state lasers, has led to significant research on compounds in this family MIMIII(MVIO4...

  • Article
  • Open Access
70 Citations
9,749 Views
10 Pages

Fabrication of Cellulose Nanofiber/AlOOH Aerogel for Flame Retardant and Thermal Insulation

  • Bitao Fan,
  • Shujun Chen,
  • Qiufang Yao,
  • Qingfeng Sun and
  • Chunde Jin

17 March 2017

Cellulose nanofiber/AlOOH aerogel for flame retardant and thermal insulation was successfully prepared through a hydrothermal method. Their flame retardant and thermal insulation properties were investigated. The morphology image of the cellulose nan...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
7,422 Views
16 Pages

New Developments in Cathodoluminescence Spectroscopy for the Study of Luminescent Materials

  • Daniel den Engelsen,
  • George R. Fern,
  • Paul G. Harris,
  • Terry G. Ireland and
  • Jack Silver

17 March 2017

Herein, we describe three advanced techniques for cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy that have recently been developed in our laboratories. The first is a new method to accurately determine the CL-efficiency of thin layers of phosphor powders. Whe...

  • Article
  • Open Access
22 Citations
8,997 Views
24 Pages

16 March 2017

The mechanical behavior of single crystalline, micro-sized copper is investigated in the context of cantilever beam bending experiments. Particular focus is on the role of geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs) during bending-dominated load cond...

  • Article
  • Open Access
8 Citations
5,500 Views
11 Pages

16 March 2017

Severe surface roughening during the hydroforming of aluminum alloy parts can produce surface defects that severely restrict their application in the automobile and aerospace industry. To understand the relation between strain, grain size and surface...

  • Feature Paper
  • Article
  • Open Access
18 Citations
6,446 Views
13 Pages

Analysis of Historic Copper Patinas. Influence of Inclusions on Patina Uniformity

  • Tingru Chang,
  • Inger Odnevall Wallinder,
  • Daniel De la Fuente,
  • Belen Chico,
  • Manuel Morcillo,
  • Jean-Marie Welter and
  • Christofer Leygraf

16 March 2017

The morphology and elemental composition of cross sections of eight historic copper materials have been explored. The materials were taken from copper roofs installed in different middle and northern European environments from the 16th to the 19th ce...

  • Article
  • Open Access
15 Citations
4,879 Views
13 Pages

16 March 2017

The aim of this study was to analyze the long-term color stability of eight self-adhesive composite resin cements (SACRCs) after storage in diverse media for up to one year. 480 discs (diameter: 12 mm/thickness: 1.0 ± 0.05 mm) were fabricated (n = 60...

  • Article
  • Open Access
15 Citations
6,019 Views
7 Pages

Novel PEFC Application for Deuterium Isotope Separation

  • Hisayoshi Matsushima,
  • Ryota Ogawa,
  • Shota Shibuya and
  • Mikito Ueda

16 March 2017

The use of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) with a Nafion membrane for isotopic separation of deuterium (D) was investigated. Mass analysis at the cathode side indicated that D diffused through the membrane and participated in an isotope exchan...

  • Article
  • Open Access
14 Citations
7,098 Views
15 Pages

16 March 2017

In this paper, YF3:Ho3+@TiO2 core-shell nanomaterials were prepared by hydrolysis of tetra-n-butyl titanate (TBOT) using polyvinylpyrrolidone K-30 (PVP) as the coupling agent. Characterization methods including X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission e...

  • Feature Paper
  • Article
  • Open Access
24 Citations
5,978 Views
11 Pages

Improvement of Fracture Toughness in Epoxy Nanocomposites through Chemical Hybridization of Carbon Nanotubes and Alumina

  • Muhammad Razlan Zakaria,
  • Muhammad Helmi Abdul Kudus,
  • Hazizan Md. Akil and
  • Mohd Hafiz Zamri

16 March 2017

The current study investigated the effect of adding a carbon nanotube–alumina (CNT–Al2O3) hybrid on the fracture toughness of epoxy nanocomposites. The CNT–Al2O3 hybrid was synthesised by growing CNTs on Al2O3 particles via the chemical vapour deposi...

  • Article
  • Open Access
31 Citations
6,549 Views
14 Pages

Xylan-Modified-Based Hydrogels with Temperature/pH Dual Sensitivity and Controllable Drug Delivery Behavior

  • Wei-Qing Kong,
  • Cun-Dian Gao,
  • Shu-Feng Hu,
  • Jun-Li Ren,
  • Li-Hong Zhao and
  • Run-Cang Sun

16 March 2017

Among the natural macromolecules potentially used as the scaffold material in hydrogels, xylan has aroused great interest in many fields because of its biocompatibility, low toxicity, and biodegradability. In this work, new pH and thermoresponsive hy...

  • Article
  • Open Access
133 Citations
12,402 Views
16 Pages

Process Parameter Optimization of Extrusion-Based 3D Metal Printing Utilizing PW–LDPE–SA Binder System

  • Luquan Ren,
  • Xueli Zhou,
  • Zhengyi Song,
  • Che Zhao,
  • Qingping Liu,
  • Jingze Xue and
  • Xiujuan Li

16 March 2017

Recently, with a broadening range of available materials and alteration of feeding processes, several extrusion-based 3D printing processes for metal materials have been developed. An emerging process is applicable for the fabrication of metal parts...

  • Article
  • Open Access
19 Citations
6,128 Views
13 Pages

15 March 2017

Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior of Ni-free duplex stainless steels containing N and C (Febalance-19Cr-8Mn-0.25C-(0.03, 0.21)N, in wt %) was investigated by using a slow strain rate test (SSRT) in air and aqueous NaCl solution with different...

  • Article
  • Open Access
25 Citations
5,813 Views
16 Pages

15 March 2017

Effects of laser shock processing (LSP) on the cavitation erosion resistance of laser weldments were investigated by optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations, roughness tester, micro hardness tester, and X-ray diffract...

  • Article
  • Open Access
62 Citations
8,110 Views
15 Pages

Vibration Damping Analysis of Lightweight Structures in Machine Tools

  • Francesco Aggogeri,
  • Alberto Borboni,
  • Angelo Merlo,
  • Nicola Pellegrini and
  • Raffaele Ricatto

15 March 2017

The dynamic behaviour of a machine tool (MT) directly influences the machining performance. The adoption of lightweight structures may reduce the effects of undesired vibrations and increase the workpiece quality. This paper aims to present and compa...

  • Feature Paper
  • Article
  • Open Access
91 Citations
7,727 Views
19 Pages

15 March 2017

For mass production of structural composites, use of different textile patterns, custom preforming, room temperature cure high performance polymers and simplistic manufacturing approaches are desired. Woven fabrics are widely used for infusion proces...

  • Article
  • Open Access
11 Citations
5,991 Views
8 Pages

15 March 2017

In this study, high energy conversion efficient dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were successfully fabricated by attaching a double anti-reflection (AR) layer, which is composed of a subwavelength moth-eye structured polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)...

  • Article
  • Open Access
16 Citations
9,530 Views
12 Pages

In Situ Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles on Wool Powder and Their Catalytic Application

  • Bin Tang,
  • Xu Zhou,
  • Tian Zeng,
  • Xia Lin,
  • Ji Zhou,
  • Yong Ye and
  • Xungai Wang

15 March 2017

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were synthesized in situ on wool powder (WP) under heating conditions. Wool powder not only reduced Au ions to AuNPs, but also provided a support for as-synthesized AuNPs. WPs were treated under different concentrations of...

  • Article
  • Open Access
46 Citations
10,317 Views
12 Pages

Cytotoxicity of Light-Cured Dental Materials according to Different Sample Preparation Methods

  • Myung-Jin Lee,
  • Mi-Joo Kim,
  • Jae-Sung Kwon,
  • Sang-Bae Lee and
  • Kwang-Mahn Kim

14 March 2017

Dental light-cured resins can undergo different degrees of polymerization when applied in vivo. When polymerization is incomplete, toxic monomers may be released into the oral cavity. The present study assessed the cytotoxicity of different materials...

  • Article
  • Open Access
6 Citations
4,301 Views
11 Pages

Effect of Native Defects on Transport Properties in Non-Stoichiometric CoSb3

  • Paula R. Realyvázquez-Guevara,
  • Francisco J. Rivera-Gómez,
  • Alejandro Faudoa-Arzate,
  •  María E. Botello-Zubiate,
  • Renee J. Sáenz-Hernández,
  • Carlos R. Santillán-Rodríguez and
  • José A. Matutes-Aquino

14 March 2017

The effect of native defects originated by a non-stoichiometric variation of composition in CoSb3 on I-V curves and Hall effect was investigated. Hysteretic and a non-linear behavior of the  I-V curves at cryogenic temperatures were observed; the non...

  • Article
  • Open Access
46 Citations
8,811 Views
18 Pages

Investigation of Quasi-Static Indentation Response of Inkjet Printed Sandwich Structures under Various Indenter Geometries

  • Vishwesh Dikshit,
  • Arun Prasanth Nagalingam,
  • Yee Ling Yap,
  • Swee Leong Sing,
  • Wai Yee Yeong and
  • Jun Wei

14 March 2017

The objective of this investigation was to determine the quasi-static indentation response and failure mode in three-dimensional (3D) printed trapezoidal core structures, and to characterize the energy absorbed by the structures. In this work, the tr...

  • Article
  • Open Access
42 Citations
5,592 Views
10 Pages

14 March 2017

Fucoidan, an anionic, sulfated polysaccharide from brown seaweed, is known to exhibit antitumor and immunomodulatory functions. To develop an immune protection and chemotherapeutic agent, fucoidan-cisplatin nanoparticles (FCNPs) were designed. FCNPs...

  • Article
  • Open Access
24 Citations
5,803 Views
18 Pages

Improvement of Sludge Dewaterability by Ultrasound-Initiated Cationic Polyacrylamide with Microblock Structure: The Role of Surface-Active Monomers

  • Chuanliang Zhao,
  • Huaili Zheng,
  • Li Feng,
  • Yili Wang,
  • Yongzhi Liu,
  • Bingzhi Liu and
  • Badradine Zakaria Djibrine

13 March 2017

Cationic polyacrylamides have been employed widely to improve sludge dewatering performance, but the cationic units are randomly distributed in the molecular chain, which restricts the further enhancement of dewaterability. Common template technology...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
4,304 Views
9 Pages

13 March 2017

A multiphase nanostructured ZrCu-base bulk alloy which showed a unique microstructure consisting of sub-micrometer scale Zr2Cu solid solution, nano-sized twinned plate-like ZrCu martensite (ZrCu (M)), and retained ZrCu (B2) austenite was fabricated b...

  • Article
  • Open Access
6 Citations
9,670 Views
14 Pages

13 March 2017

A recent trend in bridge construction has been the optimization of the cost-to-performance ratio. The most effective way to optimize the cost-to-performance ratio is to maximize the efficiency of the superstructure. Currently, many bridge engineers a...

  • Review
  • Open Access
73 Citations
11,942 Views
23 Pages

Solutions for Critical Raw Materials under Extreme Conditions: A Review

  • Maria Luisa Grilli,
  • Tiziano Bellezze,
  • Ernst Gamsjäger,
  • Antonio Rinaldi,
  • Pavel Novak,
  • Sebastian Balos,
  • Radu Robert Piticescu and
  • Maria Letizia Ruello

13 March 2017

In Europe, many technologies with high socio-economic benefits face materials requirements that are often affected by demand-supply disruption. This paper offers an overview of critical raw materials in high value alloys and metal-matrix composites u...

  • Article
  • Open Access
34 Citations
5,971 Views
17 Pages

13 March 2017

The surfaces of poplar wood fibers were modified using high-temperature hot air (HTHA) treatment and silane coupling agent. The single factor test was then used to investigate the performances (e.g., the change of functional groups, polarity, cellulo...

  • Article
  • Open Access
21 Citations
4,789 Views
9 Pages

Microstructure Evolution of TiC Particles In Situ, Synthesized by Laser Cladding

  • Yanhui Liu,
  • Jieqiong Ding,
  • Weicheng Qu,
  • Yu Su and
  • Zhishui Yu

11 March 2017

In this paper, a TiC reinforcement metal matrix composite coating is produced using nickel and graphite mixing powder on the surface ofTi-6Al-4V alloy by laser radiation. The microstructure of the coatings is investigated by XRD, SEM and EDS. Results...

  • Article
  • Open Access
14 Citations
4,092 Views
15 Pages

The Influence of the Composition of Ru100−xAlx (x = 50, 55, 60, 67) Thin Films on Their Thermal Stability

  • Marietta Seifert,
  • Gayatri K. Rane,
  • Steffen Oswald,
  • Siegfried B. Menzel and
  • Thomas Gemming

10 March 2017

RuAl thin films possess a high potential as a high temperature stable metallization for surface acoustic wave devices. During the annealing process of the Ru-Al films, Al 2 O 3 is formed at the surface of the films even under high vacu...

  • Article
  • Open Access
32 Citations
4,809 Views
13 Pages

10 March 2017

In this study, AZ91 magnesium alloy rods were used to investigate the effects of torsion deformation on microstructure and subsequent aging behavior. Extruded AZ91 rod has a uniform microstructure and typical fiber texture. Torsion deformation can ge...

  • Feature Paper
  • Article
  • Open Access
23 Citations
7,224 Views
12 Pages

Laser Cladding of Ultra-Thin Nickel-Based Superalloy Sheets

  • Tobias Gabriel,
  • Daniel Rommel,
  • Florian Scherm,
  • Marek Gorywoda and
  • Uwe Glatzel

10 March 2017

Laser cladding is a well-established process to apply coatings on metals. However, on substrates considerably thinner than 1 mm it is only rarely described in the literature. In this work 200 µm thin sheets of nickel-based superalloy 718 are coated w...

  • Review
  • Open Access
80 Citations
8,621 Views
21 Pages

10 March 2017

Recently, self-healing technologies have emerged as a promising approach to extend the service life of social infrastructure in the field of concrete construction. However, current evaluations of the self-healing technologies developed for cementitio...

  • Feature Paper
  • Article
  • Open Access
26 Citations
8,706 Views
12 Pages

Strain Effect on Electronic Structure and Work Function in α-Fe2O3 Films

  • Li Chen,
  • Changmin Shi,
  • Xiaolong Li,
  • Zhishan Mi,
  • Dongchao Wang,
  • Hongmei Liu and
  • Lijie Qiao

9 March 2017

We investigate the electronic structure and work function modulation of α-Fe2O3 films by strain based on the density functional method. We find that the band gap of clean α-Fe2O3 films is a function of the strain and is influenced significantly by th...

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Materials - ISSN 1996-1944