Nanocomposite Cr–Si–N films were prepared on to Ti–6Al–4V substrates by a novel duplex surface treatment technique. Coatings consisting of a Cr3Si surface layer were deposited using a double cathode glow plasma and subsequent surface plasma nitriding. The surface topography, chemical composition, and microstructure of these treated alloys were analyzed by a variety of surface characterization techniques. The resulting Cr–Si–N films consisted of nanocrystallite CrN grains embedded in amorphous SiNx phase. Nanoindentation tests showed that with increasing nitrogen partial pressure the hardness of the Cr–Si–N films increased and the elastic modulus decreased. Wear experiments showed that the Cr–Si–N films produced at a nitrogen partial pressure of 4.5Pa and 800 °C possessed the lowest wear rate and friction coefficient. Moreover, electrochemical measurements in 5 wt% HCl solution indicated that the Cr–Si–N films acted as an effective barrier against acid attack on the alloys.

We report on in situ stress relaxation behavior of vanadium dioxide thin films across the thermally driven metal–insulator transition (MIT) and size effects. Although the residual stress follows an inverse relationship with film thickness, the metal–insulator phase transition-induced stress varies nonmonotonically with increase in film thickness and grain size. Maximum transformation stress of −447 MPa is observed across the MIT for ∼170-nm-thick film with an average grain size of ∼70 nm. The interplay between constraint effects and nanostructure leads to nontrivial stress relaxation trends and provides insights into design of phase transition materials for switching devices.

Tribological behavior of alumina-particle-reinforced aluminum composites made by powder metallurgy process has been investigated. The nanocomposite containing 15 vol% of Al2O3 nanoparticles exhibits excellent wear resistance by showing significantly low wear rate and abrasive wear mode. The wear rate of the nanocomposite is even lower than stainless steel. We have also demonstrated that such excellent wear resistance only occurred in the composite reinforced with the high volume fraction of nanosized reinforcing particles. The results were discussed in terms of the microstructure of the nanocomposite.

We investigate the collective effect of a high volume fraction of ∑3 twin boundaries on the response of nanotwinned Cu to high dose He implantation near room temperature and find that they do not curtail the formation of vacancy and interstitial clusters. This result is rationalized through atomistic modeling, which shows that point defects at these boundaries have nearly identical properties to those in pure fcc Cu.

Bulk production of iron nanowire inside carbon nanotubes (CNTs) from iron phthalocyanine (FePc) polymer under 800 °C is presented for the first time. The bis-phthalonitrile was firstly reacted with iron nanoparticles to produce iron phthalonitrile oligomer, and heat treatments made the formation of CNTs occurred during the carbonization process of FePc polymer at ambient pressure in nitro atmosphere under 800 °C. The iron nanowire inside carbon tubes from the metal Pc polymer possessed excellent electromagnetic loss and magnetic loss properties.

The influences of temperature, cone height, and apex angle on the tensile and compressive behaviors of open-tip carbon nanocones (CNCs) under axial strains were examined. The tensile failure strain and failure load of the CNC were found to decline evidently as the system temperature increases. The average failure strain decreases with the growth in the cone height. Concerning compressive behaviors, the critical strain and critical load of the CNC reduce manifestly with the increase in the system temperature and the apex angle. As the cone height grows, the critical strain decreases evidently but the critical load has no obvious change. The buckling mode does not have much variation when the temperature increases. It displays a more distorted buckling pattern with the growth in the cone height and transfers from an axisymmetric pattern to an unsymmetrical and more warped pattern when the apex angle expands.

We report controlled modifications in the semiconductor-to-metal transition characteristics of VO2 single-crystal thin films induced by swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiation with varying ion fluences. At very high energies of ions (200 MeV Au), the electronic stopping (∼2009 eV/Å) dominates over nuclear stopping (∼16 eV/Å). Under these extreme electronic excitation conditions caused by electronic stopping and the passage of SHIs through the entire thickness of the film, creation of certain unique type of defects and disordered regions occurs. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, infrared transmission spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and electrical measurements were performed to investigate the characteristics and role of these defects on structural, optical, and electrical properties of VO2 thin films. XPS and electrical resistivity measurements suggest that the ion irradiation induces localized defect states that appear to correlate well with the creation of disordered regions in the VO2 thin films. The high-energy heavy-ion irradiation changes the transition characteristics drastically from a first-order to a second-order transition (electronic—Mott type). The low-temperature conductance data for these ion-irradiated films fit well with the quasiamorphous model for resistivity of VO2, where ion irradiation is believed to create mid-bandgap defect states.

Microstructural and electrical properties of Gd-doped CeO2 (GDC; Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95) thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition as an electrolyte in solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) were investigated. The GDC thin films were prepared on various substrates including single-crystal yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and magnesium oxide (MgO) substrates. The GDC thin-film electrolytes with different grain sizes and grain morphologies were prepared by varying the deposition parameters, such as substrate temperature, oxygen partial pressure, target repetition rate, and laser ablation energy. The microstructural properties of these films were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Alternating-current (AC) and direct-current (DC) electrical measurements through in-plane method show that the electrical property of the GDC thin film strongly depends on grain size, e.g., the total conductivity of the films deposited at 700 °C (7.3 × 10−3 S/cm) is about 20 times higher than the ones deposited at room temperature (3.6 × 10−4 S/cm) at the measurement temperature of 600 °C.

After some background discussion, this review will focus on some recent developments in the areas of theoretical studies of semiconductor electronic structure, photovoltaics, semiconducting boron nitride nanotubes, and the search for modified semiconductors and insulators with higher superconducting transition temperatures. The background discussion covers the evolution of studies of solids, which changed dramatically after the development of quantum theory. These conceptual changes resulted in methods for calculating properties of materials and theoretical frameworks for interpreting experimental measurements. In some cases, the theoretical approaches have been successful in predicting new materials and new properties. As stated above, a few examples will be given to illustrate the development of this field.

Nanocrystalline silicon thin films were fabricated using a vacuum arc discharge technique. These thin films can be deposited on plastic substrates effectively when cooled by a cryogenic substrate holder. We used single crystal silicon wafers as both the electrodes to ignite the vacuum arc and the silicon ion source to deposit thin films. This resulted in nanocrystalline silicon clusters embedded in the amorphous silicon matrix. This thin film has highly crystalline volume (≈87%), which enhanced the absorption in wide range of wavelengths. Without ion implantation, the in situ doping of p- or n-type thin films can also be achieved. This thin film deposition process has its potential for fabricating thin film transistors and photovoltaic cells on plastic substrates at fairly low production costs.

Impedance spectroscopy studies were conducted on amorphous tantalum oxide thin films prepared using pulsed-DC reactive sputtering, which were post-annealed to crystallize the films. X-ray diffraction results showed that crystallization to Ta2O5 β phase occurs for samples annealed above 650 °C, with a crystallite size of ∼40 nm. The film microstructure was studied by electron microscopy, and remnants of the columnar amorphous microstructure were found in the polycrystalline films. Complex impedance analyses revealed significant differences in dielectric behavior between the amorphous and crystalline films. Lumped circuit models were conducted on the films using resistors, capacitors, and constant phase elements. Amorphous films exhibited a single relaxation with Arrhenius activation energy of 1.1–1.3 eV. Crystallized films exhibited two relaxations with activation energies equal to 1.1 ± 0.08 and 0.6 ± 0.03 eV. The relative permittivity of the bulk crystalline grain in tantalum oxide films is close to the established permittivity of the β phase (εr = 40) of Ta2O5.

The structural features of wood were replicated in silica on all levels of hierarchy from the macroscopic to the nanoscopic level of the cellulose elementary fibrils. This was achieved by a series of processing steps on spruce wood templates. Sodium chlorite was used to partially remove the lignin matrix from the wood cell walls, exposing the cellulose fibrils. These were optionally functionalized with maleic acid anhydride to stabilize the fibrillar structure and reduce the shrinkage of the template. Repeated infiltration with tetraethyl orthosilicate in ethanol deposited silica on the fibrils. Calcination at 500 °C removed the rest of the organic template by oxidation and resulted in the fusion of the deposited material into a positive silica replica. Small-angle x-ray scattering evidenced fibrillar structures parallel to the original cellulose fibrils at length scales in the order of 10 nm, suggesting the successful nanoscopic replication of the cellulose fibrils and their orientation.

A dislocation-density grain–boundary (GB) interaction scheme for face-centered cubic bicrystals with three coincident site lattice boundaries was developed to account for the interrelated dislocation-density interactions of GB emission, absorption, and transmission. The proposed GB scheme was coupled to a dislocation-density multiple-slip crystalline plasticity formulation and specialized finite-element algorithms to account for behavior on the microstructural scale. A conservation law for dislocation densities was also used to balance dislocation-density absorption, transmission, and emission within the GB region. The predictions indicated that GB absorption increases are due to increases in immobile dislocation densities in high-angle GBs without coplanar slip planes and collinear slip directions, such as Σ17b. Low-angle GBs with coplanar slip planes and collinear slip directions are characterized by high transmission rates and insignificant GB dislocation-density accumulations. GB processes such as emission, absorption, and transmission are directly related to microstructural behavior and can be potentially controlled for desired material response.

The photoinduced formation of thin film structures from a Ti-alkoxide precursor (OPy)2Ti(TAP)2, where OPy = OC6H6N, TAP = OC6H2[CH2N(CH3)2]3-2,4,6, was demonstrated via direct deposition from a pyridine-based solution and by optical illumination of a solid-state spin-coated thin film of the compound. Photopatterned physical relief structures were produced using both of these deposition methods and feature sizes as small as ∼1 μm were readily achieved. Surface investigations of the material’s nanostructure revealed that films photo-deposited from solution exhibited nanometer-scale surface roughness with evenly distributed surface porosity (∼10 nm sized pores) while films produced through the illumination of spin-coated thin films exhibited, in comparison, a reduction in surface roughness. Vibrational spectra were compared with the results of quantum chemical computations (density-functional theory) of potential photoproducts in an attempt to identify and distinguish the dominant structural groups resulting from the optical processing of each precursor form (i.e., solution versus solid-state). It was determined that ultraviolet irradiation for both thin-film formation techniques resulted in a disruption of the ligand groups, facilitating the initiation of hydrolysis and condensation reactions in the films.

Conventionally, mean grain size is considered the most critical microstructural parameter in determining the mechanical behavior of pure metals. By systematically controlling the distribution of grain orientations in aluminum films, we show that microstructural heterogeneity alone induces large variation in the mechanical behavior of nanocrystalline metal films. Aluminum films with relatively homogeneous microstructure (all grains with identical out-of-plane orientation) show substantially less early Bauschinger effect compared to films with heterogeneous microstructure, irrespective of film thickness or grain size. On the other hand, the films with homogeneous microstructure show relatively higher yield stresses. A direct correspondence is found between the nonuniformity of plastic deformation and early Bauschinger effect, which confirms the critical role of microstructural heterogeneity.

Spinning carbon nanotube (CNT) thread directly from 4–6 mm long aligned carbon nanotube arrays is reported here. The strength of carbon nanotube thread was improved by optimizing the chemical vapor deposition parameters for growing long aligned carbon nanotube arrays. The morphological and structural characterization of CNT arrays and threads were studied by Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. After optimization of growth parameters threads were spun with diameters between 10 and 70 μm. We have achieved thread strength of about 280 MPa.

Controlled bottom-up assembly of nanocylinders (e.g., nanotubes, nanorods, nanowires) into large area aligned arrays is widely recognized as a key obstacle impeding application development. Processing of lyotropic liquid crystal phases is a promising route for overcoming this obstacle, but nanocylinder liquid crystalline science is a nascent field that tends to be fractionated based on material type. This review explores the common challenges and achievements of nanocylinder liquid crystal research by focusing on three types of systems: (i) carbon nanotubes, (ii) inorganic nanocylinders, and (iii) cellulose nanocrystals.

Development of phase composition in one-component, three-phase systems containing a liquid phase (melt) and two polymorphic solids has been discussed. Two types of polymorphic systems have been analyzed: enantiotropic systems composed of three thermodynamically stable phases and monotropic systems with two stable and one metastable phase. Detailed relations between transition rates, molecular characteristics, and external conditions have been derived. Simulation of isothermal crystallization of a model system has been performed and discussed.

Magnetoelectric (ME) effect has been studied in bi-rectangular structure made up of epoxy-bonded negative/positive magnetostrictive and piezoelectric flakes. The ME effect is affected by negative and positive magnetostrictive flakes. The ME voltage coefficient at resonance frequency shows a nearly constant plateau behavior with the bias magnetic field increased from 1 to 3.5 kOe. There is no interface between magnetostrictive and piezoelectric flakes required to achieve ME coupling, which provides a new choice to make ME devices.

Interfacial reaction and microstructure evolution in a Zr2Al3C4 reinforced Cu composite were studied by x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Decomposition of Zr2Al3C4 was triggered by the deintercalation of Al atoms. In the initial reaction stage, depletion of Al occurred locally. ZrC and Cu platelets as well as thin twinned ZrC slices were observed inside the Zr2Al3C4 grains. In the later reaction stage, all Al atoms depleted from Zr2Al3C4 and were dissolute into the Cu matrix. The final reaction products were a Cu–Al solid solution, ZrC0.5, and highly disordered graphite, which resulted in large volume shrinkage. These experimental results provided a baseline for controlling interfacial reaction and microstructure development in Cu/Zr2Al3C4-based particle-reinforced Cu composites for optimized mechanical and electrical properties.