Onset Crystallization Temperature Research Articles

Modulation of structure and mechanical properties in metallic glass composites reinforced with B2 phase by microalloying

This study investigated the impact of Ta on the structure and properties of Zr46Cu46Al4Ti4)100-xTax (x = 0, 1, 1.5, 2 at%) bulk metallic glass composites (BMGCs). The addition of Ta led to a gradual increase in the glass transition temperature, while the crystallization onset temperature remained nearly constant. This resulted in a decrease in the supercooled liquid phase region and a reduction in the glass-forming ability (GFA). The room temperature uniaxial compression tests revealed that the addition of Ta initially increased the plasticity of the alloys, followed by a subsequent decrease. The alloy with 1.5 at% Ta exhibited superior properties, including the highest fracture strength (2033 MPa) and plasticity (8.1 %). The Vickers hardness tests revealed that the addition of Ta led to an increase of the hardness in the glass matrix region of alloys from 512.8 HV to 550.9 HV. In conclusion, a moderate amount of Ta element can enhance both the fracture strength and plasticity of Zr-based BMGCs, as well as improve the hardness of the alloy glass matrix.

Photoelectric Characteristics of the Heterojunction n-GaAs-p-(GaAs)1-x-y(Ge2)x(ZnSe)y

The photoelectric properties of n-GaAs – p-(GaAs)1–x–y(Ge2)x(ZnSe)y heterostructures have been investigated both in photodiode and photovoltaic modes. It has been revealed that the spectral dependence of the photocurrent covers a wide range of energy intervals, ranging from 1.07 eV to 3 eV. It has been demonstrated that as the temperature of the crystallization onset (Toc) increases, the peaks of the spectral dependencies of the photoelectromotive force (photo-EMF) shift towards shorter wavelengths. It has been observed that as the crystallization onset temperature (Toc) of the solid solution layer (GaAs)1–x–y(Ge2)x(ZnSe)y increases, the lifetime of photo carriers increases from 10-7 s at Toc=650°C to 5·10-5 s at Toc=730°C. It is demonstrated that the peaks of the intrinsic photoluminescence band shift towards shorter wavelengths with an increase in the temperature of the crystallization onset. Additionally, the study of the intrinsic spectral region of photoluminescence in samples across the thickness of the epitaxial layer confirms the variability of the obtained structures.

Prolonged release from lipid nanoemulsions by modification of drug lipophilicity

In addition to the solubilization of poorly water-soluble, highly lipophilic drugs, lipid nanoemulsions bear potential for drug targeting approaches. This requires that the drug remains within the emulsion droplets until they reach the site of action. Since drug release is rather controlled by the lipophilicity of the drug than by the formulation, this study systematically investigated the influence of drug lipophilicity on the course of drug transfer in (physiological) acceptor media. An increase in drug lipophilicity, according to ClogD/P values, was achieved by the formation of lipophilic prodrugs of 5-phenylanthranilic acid – a potential pathoblocker. The range of substances was supplemented by orlistat, lumefantrine and cholesteryl acetate as model drugs. Drug transfer from supercooled trimyristin nanodroplets was determined via differential scanning calorimetry by monitoring their onset crystallization temperature, which decreases linearly with increasing drug content. Release of the model (pro)drugs ranged from burst to hardly any release in the order of the ClogD/P values. Except for cholesteryl acetate, the results were in line with the lipophilicity of the model (pro)drugs estimated by their retention times on a reversed-phase HPLC column under isocratic conditions. An approximate prediction of drug release kinetics was, thus, possible by logP calculations and, to a limited extent, also by reversed-phase HPLC. A further finding was the increased drug loading capacity of the lipid nanoemulsion for lipophilic prodrugs, if the structural changes of the parent compound were accompanied by a lower melting point.

Stable chalcogenide Ge–Sb–Te heterostructures with minimal Ge segregation

Matching of various chalcogenide films shows the advantage of delivering multilayer heterostructures whose physical properties can be tuned with respect to the ones of the constituent single films. In this work, (Ge–Sb–Te)-based heterostructures were deposited by radio frequency sputtering on Si(100) substrates and annealed up to 400 °C. The as-deposited and annealed samples were studied by means of X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, scanning transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The heterostructures, combining thermally stable thin layers (i. e. Ge-rich Ge5.5Sb2Te5, Ge) and films exhibiting fast switching dynamics (i. e. Sb2Te3), show, on the one side, higher crystallization-onset temperatures than the standard Ge2Sb2Te5 alloy and, on the other side, none to minimal Ge-segregation.

Growth of high quality polycrystalline InGaO thin films by spray pyrolysis for coplanar thin-film transistors on polyimide substrate

The current mobile devices are moving towards flexible electronics. Introducing crystalline oxide semiconductors on flexible substrates is important to satisfy the requirements of high-resolution displays on flexible substrates. This study investigates the low-cost, as-grown polycrystalline (Poly) InGaO thin film transistor by spray pyrolysis on polyimide (PI) substrate. Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GI-XRD) measurements demonstrate that In0.8Ga0.2O, In0.7Ga0.3O, and In0.5Ga0.5O compositions exhibit crystallization on-set temperatures of ∼330, ∼350, and ∼415°C, respectively. Poly-In0.7Ga0.3O thin film with lower oxygen-vacancy (∼15 %) and less than 5 % O-H group could be achieved at the substrate temperature of 370°C. The hysteresis-free device performance with an average saturation mobility of 43.73 cm2V−1s−1 has been obtained using the poly-In0.7Ga0.3O with optimized N2O plasma treatment on the poly-oxide thin film. The TFTs show remarkable stability under humid environments and various stress conditions such as positive bias temperature, negative bias temperature, and mechanical stresses. In addition, the 96-stage gate shift register made of poly-In0.7Ga0.3O TFTs by spray pyrolysis exhibits the rising and falling times of less than 820 ns. Therefore, the poly-In0.7Ga0.3O TFTs by spray pyrolysis could be used for high-resolution, cost-effective, flexible active-matrix light-emitting displays.

Influence of ZnO and Pr6O11 incorporation on the structural, thermal, optical, mechanical, and magnetic properties of calcium lithium borate glasses

A new glass of calcium lithium borate with the chemical formula (62.75-x)B2O3 + 20CaO + 0.25Pr6O11 + 17Li2O + xZnO, where x = 0, 2.5, 5, 10, 20 (mol%) have been prepared by conventional melt-quenching process. The amorphous character has been confirmed by the very short-range ordering structural matrices demonstrated through X-ray diffraction.The Raman spectra of the prepared glass revealed an enhancement of host lattice distortions. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) estimated the glass transition temperature (Tg), the onset temperature of crystallization (Tc), and the melting temperature (Tm). The glass transition decreased from 441 °C to 431 °C with increasing ZnO content up to 10 mol%. The criteria of glass samples up to 10 % ZnO have higher strength, rigidity and higher level of thermal stability. The physical quantities as density, molar volume, inter-atomic distance, polaron radius, packing density, and oxygen packing density were calculated. The glass density increases while the molar volume decreases with ZnO content. The optical properties of glasses were investigated using UV–Vis spectrophotometer. The addition of ZnO enhances the light absorption in UV–Vis. The results of the calculated direct and indirect optical band gaps decrease from 3.663 eV to 3.233 eV for and from 3.167 eV to 2.648 eV for direct and indirect transitions respectively with the increment of ZnO addition. Additionally, the dispersion energy and static refractive index clearly increase while the oscillator energy declines. The Makishima-Mackenzie’s (M−M) method was employed to ascertain mechanical parameters, including elastic moduli, and Poisson’s ratio. The study revealed an enhancement to the mechanical properties as the content of ZnO increased. Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) was used to investigate the magnetic properties of the prepared glass and all samples exhibited a ferromagnetic behavior. The incorporation of ZnO act as glass modifier controlling their physical, optical and mechanical properties making the investigated glasses suitable for various applications.

Plastic quasicrystal-containing alloys prepared by annealing pseudo-high entropy Zr70–75(Al, Ni, Cu, Ag)25–30 glassy alloys

A glassy (G) phase was formed for Zr-rich Zr70–75(Al, Ni, Cu, Ag)25–30 (atomic percent, at.%) melt-spun alloy ribbons. These glassy alloys exhibit the glass transition, followed by a supercooled liquid region and then three-stage crystallization. The glass transition temperature and the onset temperature for the first-stage crystallization (Tx1) decrease from 630 to 668 K, respectively for the 70Zr alloy to 619 and 652 K, respectively for the 75Zr alloy. The first-stage exothermic peak is due to the precipitation of an icosahedral quasicrystal (IQ) phase. The IQ particle size decreases from 10 nm to 6 nm with increasing Zr content from 70 at.% to 74 at.%. The [G + IQ] phases change to Zr2Ni + Zr2(Cu, Ag) phases after the second exothermic peak and then Zr2Ni + Zr2(Cu, Ag) + Zr5Al3 phases after the third stage. It is noticed that the as-spun glassy alloy ribbons as well as the annealed [G + IQ] phase ribbons exhibit good bending plasticity. Furthermore, the 70Zr thicker ribbons also exhibit high tensile fracture strength of 1090–1187 MPa and plastic elongation of 0.17 %–0.42 %. The fracture mode is similar to that of ordinary bulk metallic glasses. The Vickers hardness (Hv) is 480 for 70Zr alloy and decreases to 436 for 75Zr alloy. The precipitation of IQ phase causes a significant increase in Hv to about 554. The formations of glassy alloys with high Zr contents of 70 at.%–75 at.% by melt spinning as well as the [G + IQ] phase alloys with good bending plasticity by annealing hold promise for the creation of a new type of engineering material, transcending mere academic novelty.

Study of the amorphous and crystalline states in Ge(Te1-xSex) thick films (x = 0, 0.50) by in situ temperature-dependent structural analyses

As-deposited and unencapsulated GeTe1-xSex (x = 0, 0.5) 3-μm-thick amorphous films on Si(001) were obtained via the thermal co-evaporation technique. The crystallization and the structure of these phase change materials were examined using in situ temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction (XRD) and grazing-incidence fluorescence X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) in isochronal annealing conditions under nitrogen flow. The results show that the onset temperature of crystallization is highly sensitive to the substitution of the Te atoms by the Se ones and that the rhombohedral structure, with the space group R3m, is the one that crystallized for both samples without Ge or Te rejection. Moreover, the local order around the Ge and Se atoms, probed by Ge and Se K-edge XANES analyses, presents clear modifications from the amorphous state to the crystalline one expecting a Ge four-fold and a Se two-fold coordination in the amorphous state, with an increase of the local disorder with the Se substitution (x = 0.5).

Influence of nano-CuO modification on crystallization behavior and surface characteristics of P2O5 containing Li2O-ZnO-B2O3-SiO2 glass-ceramics

This paper investigates the impact of nano-CuO addition on the crystallization process and surface properties of phosphate containing lithium zinc borosilicate glass-ceramic coatings. A comprehensive analysis was performed using diverse thermal, structural, and morphological techniques such as hot stage microscope, differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy. Thermal analysis revealed a glass transition temperature of 478.5 °C and a crystallization onset temperature of 595.6 °C. The coefficient of thermal expansion was measured to be 8.94 × 10−6.°C−1. Viscosity measurements indicated a significant decrease in viscosity with increasing temperature, following the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann equation. Kinetic studies revealed an activation energy of 11.36 kJ/mol for the crystallization process, suggesting potential kinetic hindrance for the reference glass-ceramic coating. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses confirmed the formation of a crystalline phases of Li2ZnSiO4 and Li3PO4 at crystallization temperatures above 750 °C. Nano-CuO addition was found to promote crystal formation and increase the inter-crystal spacing according to the SEM analysis. Optical microscopy and 3D surface analysis revealed that nano-CuO addition refined surface texture and reduced the surface roughness of the glass-ceramic coatings at varying crystallization temperatures of 750, 800 and 850 °C. Moreover, contact angle measurements indicated that nano-CuO addition decreased the wetting angle of the coatings around 62 %, suggesting improved hydrophilicity. The findings suggest that nano-CuO addition can enhance the crystallization kinetics and improve the surface quality and hydrophilicity of glass-ceramic coatings.

Reducing part deformation of isotactic polypropylene specimens fabricated with powder bed fusion technique through controlling crystallization behaviors

AbstractSerious shrinkage and warpage are obstacles to the development of ideal isotactic polypropylene (iPP) materials for polymer‐based powder bed fusion (PBF) technique. In this work, the variations of the dimensional accuracy of the PBF‐printed iPP parts were investigated with various printing parameter and nucleating agent. The iPP parts printed at a scanning speed of 700 mm/s exhibit smaller extents of shrinkage and curling than those at lower speeds, due to a lower degree of crystallinity. Interestingly, iPP blended with the α‐ or β‐nucleating agent demonstrates more serious part deformation with respect to neat iPP. Especially, α‐nucleating agent tends to trigger the most severe curling under the investigated printing parameters. Based on X‐ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results, both neat iPP and α‐iPP parts crystallize into α‐crystal, while β‐iPP parts display the coexistence of β‐ and α‐crystals. And, the difference of the crystallinity is less than 3% in three specimens. This suggests that both crystallinity and crystalline structure are not the main reasons for the shrinkage and warpage in this case. Instead, the severe part deformation of the α‐iPP parts is assigned to the narrower sintering window as well as the higher onset crystallization temperature of α‐iPP, which hinder relaxation of residual stresses. This work provides insights into the part deformation mechanism for PBF‐processed polymer materials.

Influence of Al addition on the microstructure and properties of Fe25Co25Ni25(Si0.3B0.7)25 high entropy metallic glass

This research work was focused on the development of a new series of high entropy metallic glasses (HE-MGs) combined with higher thermal stability, acceptable soft magnetic property, microhardness and good corrosion resistance by adding various Al content (1–8 at.%) on the basis of Fe25Co25Ni25(Si0·3B0.7)25 high entropy metallic glass using single-roller melt-spinning approach. It is found that the proper addition of Al can efficiently improve the anti-corrosion performance of high entropy metallic glasses, in particular, the corrosion current density is decreased from 7.61 μA/cm2 and 9.26 μA/cm2 for the 1 at.% and 2 at.% Al-added alloys to 5.11 μA/cm2 for the 5 at.% Al-added alloy. However, the improvement of Al content could deteriorate the soft magnetic property and thermal stability of HE-MGs. The saturation magnetization flux density and onset crystallization temperature reduce from 0.85 T to 766.15 K for the 1 at.% Al-added alloy to 0.53 T and 736.75 K for the 8 at.% Al-added alloy. Besides, the Vickers’ microhardness of all investigated alloy ribbons can reach 1124 HV0.2 or above. Therefore, this kind of senary new-type HE-MGs can be used as a promising magnetic shielding metal material with high hardness, superior thermal stability and good anti-corrosion performance for the surface protection of key component in harsh marine corrosive environment.

Developing polypropylene copolymer powder with a wide sintering window for laser powder bed fusion via extrusion and in-blend annealing

Converting cheap resins like polypropylene (PP) copolymer into near-spherical powder materials with a wide sintering window (SW) is highly desired for broadening the feedstock palette for laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/P). Herein, a novel “melt extrusion-in blend annealing” strategy was proposed to achieve this aim, which involved dispersing the copolymer into a water-soluble matrix and then annealing the blend at temperatures near the melting point of the copolymer for a certain time. Spherical PP copolymer powders with largely widened SW (>30ºC) were obtained after removing the matrix. Two advantageous effects of in-blend annealing were identified. The first one was the elevation in the onset melting temperature due to crystal perfection. Another one was the decline in the onset crystallization temperature, which was suggested to relate to the migration of heterogeneous nuclei out of copolymer particles but required further verification. The obtained powder with optimized SW was fabricated into parts with low warpage at the cost of a slightly inferior mechanical performance possibly related to material degradation and changes in the crystal structure. The strategy proposed offers a promising prospect for developing new powders with optimized processing features for PBF-LB/P from commercially available resins.

Effects of feeding whole-cracked rapeseeds, nitrate, and 3-nitrooxypropanol on composition and functional properties of the milk fat fraction from Danish Holstein cows

The aim of this study was to determine the individual and combined effects of supplementing fat (FAT), nitrate (NITRATE) and 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP) on compositional and functional properties of milk fat. An 8 × 8 incomplete Latin square design was conducted with 48 lactating Danish Holstein cows over 6 periods of 21 d each. Eight diets were 2 × 2 × 2 factorially arranged: FAT (30 or 63 g crude fat/kg DM), NITRATE (0 or 10 g nitrate/kg DM), and 3-NOP (0 or 80 mg 3-NOP/kg DM) and cows were fed ad libitum. Milk samples were analyzed for general composition, fatty acids (FA) and thermal properties of milk fat. Milk fat content was decreased by FAT and NITRATE and increased by 3-NOP. The changes in FA composition were mainly driven by the FAT × 3-NOP interaction. FAT shifted milk FA composition toward lower content of saturated FA (SFA) and greater contents of mono- and poly-unsaturated FA (MUFA and PUFA), whereas these effects of FAT were smaller in combination with 3-NOP. However, 3-NOP had no effects on SFA, MUFA and PUFA in low fat diets. FAT lowered solid fat content in milk fat because of decreased SFA content. The onset crystallization temperature of milk fat was decreased by 3-NOP when supplemented in low fat diets. According to the FAT × 3-NOP interaction, supplementation of fat without 3-NOP shifted peak temperature of low melting fraction of milk fat toward low temperature as a result of decreased proportion of C16:0, and increased proportions of C18:1 cis-9, C18:1 trans-11, C18:2 cis-9, and CLA cis-9,trans-11. In conclusion, no additive effects were observed among FAT, NITRATE and 3-NOP on chemical and thermal properties of milk fat and fat supplementation largely changed milk FA composition and in turn affected the thermal properties of milk fat.

Effect of adaptive nanocrystalline behaviors on the cavitation erosion performance of Cu47.5Zr45.1Al7.4 bulk metallic glass

Amorphous alloys have attracted much attention in the field of cavitation erosion (CE) due to their good comprehensive properties. However, due to the special amorphous structures that are difficult to characterize, their micro-response behaviors and damage mechanisms during the CE process have not been well elucidated. In this paper, advanced techniques including focused ion beam (FIB) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used to comparatively study the microstructure evolution and volume loss rules of Cu47.5Zr45.1Al7.4 and Zr41.2Ti13.8Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5 bulk metallic glasses (BMG) under the action of cavitation load and cavitation heat to reveal their CE mechanisms. The results showed that the absence of small atoms in Cu47.5Zr45.1Al7.4 led to a large free volume, thereby compromising its hardness, modulus, and yield strength. However, this also made it more susceptible to shear banding, which in turn enhanced its energy absorption capabilities. Although Cu47.5Zr45.1Al7.4 had a higher glass transition temperature (Tg) and onset temperature of crystallization (Tx), as well as a wider supercooled liquid phase region (ΔTx), its exothermic peak was obviously pronounced and the transformation temperature range was significantly narrower. Therefore, it is more likely to adaptively form Cu-rich nanocrystals under the action of cavitation heat. Additionally, the larger free volume in the shear band was conducive to the diffusion of atoms and the occurrence of adaptive nanocrystallization behaviors in Cu47.5Zr45.1Al7.4. These nanocrystals were able to effectively force crack deflection, thereby dissipating impact energy and delaying the fatigue spallation of the material. Consequently, Cu47.5Zr45.1Al7.4 exhibited a far longer incubation period and a noticeably lower cumulative volume loss.

Preparation and crystallization behavior of sensitive thermochromic microencapsulated phase change materials

A novel sensitive thermo-chromic microcapsules with inorganic/organic nanoparticles-embedded composite shell was designed and synthesized, and the thermal properties, thermo-chromic performance, crystallization behavior of ethyl myristate (EM) in confined spaces were studied in this paper. As the reaction proceeded, the aminated silica (NH2-SiO2) nanoparticles modified outer shell in the aqueous phase and isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) in the oil phase gradually self-assembled at the inner interface, leading to the formation of an inorganic/organic polymers composite shell. The effect of NH2-SiO2 nanoparticles content on the crystallization behavior, microstructure, morphology, and phase-change properties as well as the thermal stability of MPCMs were investigated in detail. Interestingly, the covalent attachment of NH2-SiO2 nanoparticles on the capsules surface offered long-term chemical stability compared to that of conventional physical adsorption. The NH2-SiO2 nanoparticles were found distributed uniformly on the surface of MPCMs, and the onset crystallization temperature of MPCMs increased by 7.3 °C with NH2-SiO2 nanoparticles addition of 15% content, which counteracts the super-cooling phenomenon. Microcapsule temperature change optical microscopy and non-isothermal crystallization kinetics revealed that the crystallization of RS-MPCMs were homogeneous as well. RS-MPCMs have significant potential in green energy applications due to their latent heat storage, thermal stability, thermal conductivity, leakage prevention, and mechanical properties.

Influence of metalloid element B on the microstructure and performances of novel FeCoNiVB high-entropy amorphous alloys

The influence of metalloid element B content on the microstructure, microhardness, thermal stability and anti-corrosion properties of (Fe1/4Co1/4Ni1/4V1/4)100-xBx (x = 16 ∼ 32 at.%) high-entropy amorphous alloys was studied systematacially. Results showed that the investigated alloy ribbons owned fully glassy nature. The average microhardness and crystallization onset temperature of these glassy ribbons were over 958 HV0.2 and 757 K, respectively. The self-corrosion potentials of samples were −0.541 ∼ −0.484 V and the most positive potential could reach −0.484 V for the Fe20Co20Ni20V20B20 alloy ribbons. Besides, this equiatomic specimen also owned the smallest corrosion current density of 5.87 × 10−6 A/cm2 and the largest polarization resistance of 9635.7 Ω·cm2. The experimental characterization analysis of alloy ribbons’ immersion tests further proved the credibility of measurement results. Therefore, it is indicated that the equiatomic FeCoNiVB high-entropy amorphous alloy possesses the best corrosion resistance in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution among studied samples and this alloy can be also viewed as a potential functional protective material combined with the anti-corrosion performance, wear resistance and thermal stability.

Medium-range structural order in amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 phase change material

The crystallization rate is an important factor for the application of phase change materials as memory devices, which, thus, motivates a strong interest in the underlying crystallization processes. We analyzed the crystallization kinetics of as-deposited amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 by differential scanning calorimetry, revealing that the thermal treatment below the crystallization onset temperature effectively enhances the crystallization rate compared to the as-deposited samples. Variable resolution fluctuation electron microscopy was carried out to characterize the corresponding amorphous structure of the as-deposited films and the differently annealed states regarding their medium-range order (MRO). As a result, relatively large MRO correlation lengths in the range of 3–4 nm were observed, whereas the MRO volume fraction doubled after longer annealing treatments, demonstrating the importance of MRO and MRO tuning for optimizing the properties of amorphous phase change materials. The increased volume fraction of the MRO seems to also favor an increased nanoindentation hardness.

Nanocrystallization Behaviour of Amorphous Co<sub>67</sub>Fe<sub>4</sub>Cr<sub>7</sub>Si<sub>8</sub>B<sub>14</sub> Alloy

The investigation addresses the structure of a Co-based alloy and its magnetic properties. The major applications of these materials are in the development of different sensors, which require materials with high permeability. The structure evolution processes need to be explored to clarify the main parameters determining the time-temperature stability. In the present paper, a nanocrystallization behavior of Co67Fe4Cr7Si8B14 amorphous alloy manufactured in the form of a ribbon was studied using X-ray diffraction and sample vibromagnetometry methods. The structure evolution induced by the 30min isothermal annealing at a temperature range of 450 - 700 °C was studied by the X-ray diffraction method, and crystallization with hcp-Co, fcc-Co, and Co2B nanophases was revealed depending on the annealing temperature. According to thermomagnetic measurements, the nanocrystallization process corresponds to a three-stage crystallization model. The crystallization onset temperature of the amorphous alloy was observed to be to equal540 °C. The Curie point and saturation magnetization of the as-quenched alloy were defined as 305 °C and 76 Am2/kg, respectively.

Achieving tailorable nano-crystallization in a fully amorphous Zr50Cu42Al8 alloy

In this work, Zr50Cu42Al8 alloy was rapidly quenched into as-cast rod with nano-glass microstructure and fully amorphous as-spun ribbon, respectively. The different microstructure between the as-cast rod and as-spun ribbon results in the different glass transition, crystallization temperatures and their kinetics. The continuous heating transition (CHT) curves of the as-cast rod and as-spun ribbon derived from their heating rate dependence of onset crystallization temperature imply that the partial nano-crystallization stabilizes the amorphous remainders in the Zr50Cu42Al8 rod when annealed below ∼ 757 K, and give rise to the possibility to obtain nano-crystallization by annealing the fully amorphous ribbons within the temperature interval between the two CHT curves. It is as expected that the ribbons annealed at 730 K for 678 second and at 720 K for 3644 second respectively show similar microstructure and thermal properties to the as-cast rod. The results provide a valid way to achieve tailorable nano-crystallization in the fully amorphous alloys.

Physico-chemical, sensory and oxidative quality of butter from cows fed 3-nitrooxypropanol

This study aims to investigate the effects of supplementing 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP) to the diet of dairy cows on physico-chemical and sensory properties, as well as oxidative stability of butter. Forty-eight Danish Holstein cows were randomly assigned to control diets or 3-NOP supplemented diets at 60 mg 3-NOP kg−1 feed DM. Compared to control butter, 3-NOP butter had higher proportions of short- and medium-chain fatty acids (FAs) and lower solid fat content, onset crystallization and offset melting temperatures. Sensory analysis revealed minor differences between 3-NOP and control butter, while peroxide values of 3-NOP butter was lower than control butter during storage of 12 weeks. In conclusion, the alterations in FA composition by 3-NOP led to minor changes in physical properties but improved oxidative stability of butter without major changes in sensory characteristics.