Planetary Ball Milling Process Research Articles

Rationalization of planetary ball milling process of boehmite γ-AlOOH: Towards operating conditions dependent transition alumina phase diagram

To obtain catalytic porous supports with original properties, including alumina crystallographic phase, textural and acidity properties, the mecanosynthesis was investigated using the planetary ball milling process on commercial boehmite. Different combinations of milling parameters were explored to study the alumina phase transition. To rationalize all operating parameters, the energy transferred from the balls was estimated using a collision model. In the present work, boehmite transforms to χ-Al2O3, and then to α-Al2O3. All the tuned parameters can be condensed into only two independent variables that drive the alumina phase transition: the shock energy and the number of shocks. As a result, an alumina phase diagram has been established, highlighting the stability zones of boehmite, χ-Al2O3, and α-Al2O3. Additionally, the water vapor pressure induced by the dehydration of boehmite was also a key parameter to follow during milling. It could lead to boehmite reformation or the formation of tohdite and κ`-Al2O3 polymorphs.

Modeling the particle size of nanomaterials synthesized in a planetary ball mill

Planetary ball milling (PBM) synthesis of nanoparticles involves conducting several trials to obtain the desired size. Mathematical modeling of the PBM process is a tool to tackle the issue of PBM synthesis. In this study, a conceptual model was proposed by integrating the kinematics of the PBM process along with the breakage mechanism of a material to determine particle size at different milling parameters and hence be able to select appropriate milling parameters for PBM synthesis. The conceptual model was tested for hydroxyapatite, zeolite and fly ash material. The conceptual model successfully simulated the size-reduction mechanism in PBM and predicted the particle size of the tested material with good accuracy. The most sensitive milling parameters were found to be the milling speed followed by the vial volume, milling time, and ball to powder ratio. The material properties input parameters were observed to be less sensitive than the milling parameters. The PBM model may be used as a prediction tool for determining the appropriate milling parameters needed in synthesizing any nanomaterial by knowing the material properties.

The effect of supplementing the calcium phosphate cement containing poloxamer 407 on cellular activities.

Calcium phosphate cement (CPC) is generally used for bone repair and augmentation. Poloxamers are tri-block copolymers that are used as surfactants but have applications in drug and antibiotic delivery. However, their biological effects on bone regeneration systems remain unelucidated. Here, we aimed to understand how supplementing the prototype CPC with poloxamer would impact cellular activity and its function as a bone-grafting material. A novel CPC, modified beta-tricalcium phosphate (mβ-TCP) powder, was developed through a planetary ball-milling process using a beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP). The mβ-TCP dissolves rapidly and accelerates hydroxyapatite precipitation; successfully shortening the cement setting time and enhancing the strength. Furthermore, the addition of poloxamer 407 to mβ-TCP could reduce the risk of leakage from bone defects and improve fracture toughness while maintaining mechanical properties. In this study, the poloxamer addition effects (0.05 and 0.1 g/mL) on the cellular activities of MC3T3-E1 cells cultured in vitro were investigated. The cell viability of mβ-TCP containing poloxamer 407 was similar to that of mβ-TCP. All specimens showed effective cell attachment and healthy polygonal extension of the cytoplasm firmly attached to hydroxyapatite (HA) crystals. Therefore, even with the addition of poloxamer to mβ-TCP, it does not have a negative effect to osteoblast growth. These data demonstrated that the addition of poloxamer 407 to mβ-TCP might be considered a potential therapeutic application for the repair and regeneration of bone defects.

Prediction of Wear Characteristics for Al-MnO2 Nanocomposites using Artificial Neural Network (ANN)

An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model was developed to investigate the impact of various ball milling parameters on the wear characteristics of Al-MnO2 nanocomposites. The process involved the synthesis of nano-sized particles through a high-energy planetary ball milling process, followed by the fabrication of nanocomposites using the stir casting method. The synthesized nanoparticles are characterized using X-Ray diffraction (XRD), and the nanocomposites are examined through scanning electron microscopy. To evaluate the wear behavior of the nanocomposites, a pin-on-disc test is conducted, generating a data set used for training the ANN model. The primary objective was to predict the wear rate of the synthesized Al-MnO2 nanocomposites using the ANN. Upon comparing the ANN's predictions with actual experimental results, it became evident that a well-trained ANN model proved to be a highly effective tool for estimating the wear rate of Al-MnO2 nanocomposites.

Electrochemical Determination of Ascorbic Acid by Mechanically Alloyed Super Duplex Stainless Steel Powders

SAF-2507 super duplex stainless steel powders (SDSS) were prepared using a high-energy planetary ball milling process. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows peak broadening after 20 h of ball milling and revealed a phase transformation resulting in a two-phase alloy mixture containing nearly equal amounts of ferrite (α) and austenite (γ). After 20 h of ball milling the particle size was reduced to ~201 nm. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs showed small-size irregular grains with an average particle size ranging from 5–7 µm. The high-resolution transmission microscope (HRTEM) analysis confirmed the presence of nanocrystalline particles with sizes ranging from 10 to 50 nm. The presence of ferrite phase is visible in the corresponding diffraction pattern as well. In this paper, we have discussed the electrochemical sensor application of mechanically alloyed nano-structured duplex stainless steel powders. The fabricated 4 mg duplex stainless steel modified carbon paste electrode (SDSS-MCPE) has shown excellent current sensitivity in comparison with 2, 6, 8, and 10 mg SDSS-MCPEs during the detection of ascorbic acid (AA) in a phosphate buffer solution with a pH of 6.8. The calculated electrode active surface area of SDSS-MCPE was found to be almost two times larger than the surface area of the bare carbon paste electrode (BCPE). The limit of detection (LD) and limit of quantification (LQ) were found to be 0.206 × 10−8 M and 0.688 × 10−8 M, respectively, for the fabricated 4 mg SDSS-MCPE.

Continuous and Intermittent Planetary Ball Milling Effects on the Alloying of a Bismuth Antimony Telluride Powder Mixture

This study investigates the effects of continuous and in-steps mechanical alloying of a bismuth antimony telluride powder mixture (Bi0.4Sb1.6Te3.0) via the mechanical planetary ball milling (PBM) process as a function of milling time and powder mixture amount. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the phase, composition, and morphology of the alloy. The alloyed powder with the optimum PBM conditions was then hot pressed (HP), and its thermoelectric properties were further investigated. The results on the alloying of the powder mixture showed that due to the high agglomeration tendency of BST during the PBM process, a significant deviation occurs in the development of a single-phase state over time when the powder mixture is milled continuously and in-steps. ’In-steps’ refers to the procedure of interrupting the PBM process and detaching the agglomerated powder adhering to the inner walls of the vessel. This task was repeated every hour and a half of the PBM process for a total of 12 h, and the results were compared with those of the 12 h continuous PBM process of the same mixture. In addition, the procedure was repeated with different amounts of mixture (100 g and 150 g) to determine the most efficient method of producing the material as a function of time. As for the thermoelectric profile of the powder, the data showed results in direct agreement with those in the literature.

Influence of the filling ratio of vial in chemical surface and physicochemical properties of ZnO nanoparticles obtained by planetary ball milling process

The production of nanoparticles (Np) is an important sector in current technological development. Processes such as high‐energy grinding are among the most promising because of their high efficiency and low energy cost. In this sense, the filling ratio of vial (FRV) is one of the most interesting and poorly studied process variables that can optimize the production of Np on a large scale. In the present work, dry ZnO Np are produced, with different FRV values (40%, 38%, 23%, and 10%), as well as wet samples. The results show that the variation of the FRV allows to generate an energetic increase of the grinding, modifying the morphology, the particle size, and the surface area of the ZnO powders, without generating structural or chemical changes. The X‐ray diffraction (XRD) results show the presence of the zincite phase (hexagonal) with a variation in crystallinity depending on the FRV, which is due to the deformation of the Np during the process. The XPS results showed a slight chemical shift (variation in binding energy) as a function of grinding because of the activation shown by deformation. UV–VIS analyses showed a marked increase in the magnitude of absorbed intensity for all analyzed samples compared with the commercial powder. These results confirm that FRV is a sensitive parameter in the process of obtaining ZnO Np by the planetary mill technique, which allows efficient control of its characteristics for a given application.

Sintesis dan Karakterisasi Fe₂TiO₅ dari Besi Oksida dan Titanium Dioksida dengan Metode Planetary Ball-Mill

The method of solid hydrogen storage through integration in metal hydride compounds is a new, promising method. This research has succeeded in synthesizing and characterizing the metal hydride alloy Fe-Ti system through a planetary ball-mill process. Based on the XRF analysis, it was found that the composition of Fe oxide content reached 56.22% while Ti oxide reached 43.78%. The FTIR study showed absorption at wavenumbers of 900 cm-1 and 500 cm-1. Both are typical absorptions for Ti-O and Fe-O groups, suggesting that the synthesized sample was successful. It can be seen from the XRD data that some of the diffractogram peaks of the resulting Fe-Ti compound match the peaks of the Fe2TiO5 and TiO2 compounds obtained from the Powder Diffraction File (PDF) database number 00-003-0374. After the refinement was performed, information was obtained that the synthesis of Fe-Ti alloy material using the planetary ball mill technique produced Fe2TiO5.

Mechanochemical debromination of waste printed circuit boards with marble sludge in a planetary ball milling process.

An effective management of waste printed circuit board (WCB) recycling presents significant advantages of an economic, social, and environmental nature. This is particularly the case when a suitable valorisation is made of the non-metallic parts of the WCBs, well known for their "hidden" toxicological risks. Such benefits motivate research on techniques that could contribute to mitigating their adverse socio-environmental impacts. In this work, waste printed circuit boards (WCBs) containing tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) as a brominated flame retardant (BFR) underwent debromination using a mechanochemical treatment (MCT) and marble sludge, another recoverable waste, as well as pure CaO as additives. All runs in this work were performed at an intermediate rotation speed of 450rpm, using additive/WCB mass ratios (Rm) of 4:1 and 8:1, ball to powder ratios (BPR) of 20:1 and 50:1, treatment times from 2.5h to 10h, two WCB sizes (powder and 0.84mm) and marble sludge, from original to precalcined conditioning. Stainless steel jars and balls were used to verify the effect of each parameter on the system and to seek an optimum process. Complete debromination of 0.84mm WCBs was achieved at 450rpm, using a Rm of 8:1, a BPR of 50:1, a residence time of 10h (more than 95% in only 5h), and a precalcined marble sludge as additive. The results revealed that when using a Rm of 4:1 instead of 8:1, more waste could be effectively treated, per batch with a lesser need for additives, at the expense of a slightly lower level of debromination efficiency. In the same way, an appropriate apparent ball diameter (with respect to the volume of the used jar) should be carefully studied in relation to WCB size in order to achieve a beneficial total amount of energy transfer during milling.

High energy ball milling – An advanced processing route for effective development of Titanium Aluminide intermetallic alloy through mechanical alloying

Mechanical alloying is traditionally being used for developing novel alloys, which are difficult to prepare by conventional manufacturing routes, through solid state diffusion. It offers unique feature of extended solid solubility resulting in the formation of non-equilibrium immiscible phases that have huge potential in aerospace and defense applications. However, the development of intermetallic class of materials has always been a challenge. Titanium Aluminide, possessing various advantageous properties, has got limited practical usage owing to the difficulty in development. The current research focuses on developing Titanium Aluminide intermetallic material (TiAl) from elemental Aluminumand Titanium powders using high energy planetary ball milling process. The centrifugal force combined with high gravitational counterforce resulted in the formation of intermetallic phase with near stoichiometric ratio. The developed TiAl was subjected to various microstructural and morphological analysis to understand the mechanism of phase formation during the milling process. Results reveal new dimensions for developing intermetallic alloys for various advanced engineering applications.

Combined Effects of Citric Acid and Ascorbic Acid Used As Low-Temperature Surface Modifiers to Enhance the Cyclability of Si Anode in an Li-Ion Battery

Abstract We successfully achieved surface modification of Si at a low temperature (150 °C) by using citric acid and ascorbic acid as surface modifiers and enhanced the electrochemical performance of a Si-based anode. A simple planetary ball-milling process followed by heat treatment over a range of temperatures (150–500 °C) was used to carry out the surface modification. This important investigation confirmed that the heat treatment temperature significantly affected the molecular structure in the modification layer, and its thickness led to a higher discharge capacity for low-temperature-modified Si compared to that in other series of high-temperature-annealed samples. Among all the surface-modified Si samples, the electrochemical performance using the M-Si 150 °C as the anode material achieved an excellent capacity of 1787 mAh g−1 after 100 charge/discharge cycles with a 75.8% retention. The same device delivered excellent rate capability, with a capacity of ∼1012 mAh g−1 (1 C) and 593 mAh g−1 (2 C) at the high-current rate. The capacity regained to ∼2012 mAh g−1 with the reversal of the current rate to 0.1 C, with a very high retention of 103%, indicating significantly enhanced strength of the modified Si anode in a lithium-ion battery.

Effects of zirconia additives on β-tricalcium-phosphate cement for high strength and high injectability

Injectable calcium phosphate cements (CPCs) exhibit many advantages as bone substitution materials. However, the strength of injectable CPCs after setting are often insufficient. In our previous studies, mechano-chemically modification of β-tricalcium phosphate cement powder through a planetary ball-milling process exhibited simultaneous improvement in the strength and injectability of CPC. Two plausible effects of this process are: changes in the CPC powder properties and zirconia abrasion powder contamination from the milling pot and balls. The objective of the present study is to separately evaluate these two effects on the strength and injectability of CPCs.The calculated injectability of the cement paste with and without the addition of zirconia powder were higher than 65% at 6 h after mixing. These values were much higher than that of the CPC paste without mechano-chemically modification, and similar to that of CPC with zirconia abrasion powder contamination. By contrast, the compression strength of the set CPC with zirconia powder additives were higher than that without the addition, and similar to that of CPC with zirconia abrasion powder contamination. These results suggest that the changes in the CPC powder properties due to mechano-chemically modification mainly affected the injectability of the CPC paste, and the zirconia abrasion powder contamination of the CPC powder affected the strength of the set CPC.

Application of nitrogen-rich porous organic polymer for the solid-phase synthesis of 2-amino-4H-benzo[b]pyran scaffolds using ball milling process.

This paper presents the efficient synthesis of 2-amino-4H-benzo[b]pyrans using mesoporous poly-melamine-formaldehyde as a polymeric heterogeneous catalyst. According to the principals of green chemistry, the reaction was performed by the planetary ball milling process at ambient and neat conditions. The heterogeneous catalyst could be reused up to five runs with no reducing of catalytic efficiency. A variety of substituted 2-amino-4H-benzo[b]pyrans were obtained in good to excellent yields under eco-friendly conditions. Other advantages of the current methodology include short reaction time, wide substrate-scope, and use of a metal-free polymeric catalyst. Also, the current method avoids the use of hazardous reagents and solvents, tedious workup and multi-step purification. This work revealed that porous organic polymers containing Lewis base sites having acceptor-donner hydrogen bonding functional groups, and high porosity could play a vital role in the promotion of the one-pot multicomponent reactions in the solid-phase synthesis.

Evaluation of mechanical properties of biodegradable coconut shell/rice husk Powder polymer composites for light weight applications

The technological fashion concerning waste utilization and cost reduction in industrial processing has been certainly attracted to the use of natural fiber composites in present as well as the future of engineering. This research work has been carried out to investigate the potential uses of bio-degradable wastage from the environmental plant-based fiber-reinforced composites. In this concern, the renewable natural materials are collected and the machining process such as a planetary ball milling process is carried out for attaining a homogeneous size distribution of reinforcement materials. A diverse volume fraction of combinations is carried out in the preparation of composite materials comprising of renewable natural materials. The manufacturing of composite materials is carried out with the volume fraction of 40%, 30%, 20% reinforcement material of Coconut Shell Powder (CSP), Rice Husk Powder (RHP) and 60%, 70%, 80% matrix material of Vinyl Ester (VE) and Super Vinyl Ester (SVE). Manufacturing is carried out by using the hand layup method. Mechanical Properties such as tensile strength and flexural strength has been evaluated for the manufactured composites to establish the possibility of using it as a new material for engineering application. In this framework, the scope of the composite materials market is projected to develop at a promising compound annual growth rate of 12.94 percent during the forecast period of 2015 to 2020 to reach USD 11.26 billion by 2020. Composite materials made of natural biodegradable materials are making rapid inroads into India’s traditional markets for building materials, households, and automobile parts (load free areas).

Green and Solid-Phase Synthesis of New Dihydro-[1,2,4]Triazolo[1,5-a]Pyrimidine Scaffolds by Using Poly-Melamine-Formaldehyde as a Nitrogen-Rich Porous Organocatalyst

This work presents a new catalytic application of porous poly-melamine-formaldehyde (mPMF) for the efficient synthesis of new dihydro-[1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines. According to the principals of green chemistry, the reaction was performed by the planetary ball milling process at ambient and neat conditions. The heterogeneous catalyst could be reused up to five runs with no reducing of catalytic efficiency. A variety of substituted dihydro-[1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines were obtained in good to excellent yields under eco-friendly conditions. This work revealed that bifunctional porous organic polymers (POPs) containing base sites and acceptor-donner hydrogen bonding groups, as well as high porosity could play a vital role in the promotion of the one-pot multicomponent reactions in the solid phase. The main merits of the current methodology include short reaction time, wide substrate-scope, and use of a metal-free heterogeneous organocatalyst, simple work-up process.

A Novel Alumina-Magnesium oxide- Reduced Graphene Composite: Synthesis and Characterizations

A novel new alumina-magnesium oxide with reinforced of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite materials have been synthesized by using a horizontal high energy planetary ball milling process. The composite has very high density, improved mechanical properties, retaining strength under higher temperatures, and high thermal conductivity. Al2O3-MgO-RGO composites can be used as a novel material for many industrial applications. The effect of RGO in the combination of Al2O3 and MgO have a potential scope in several demanding fields, including automobile, aerospace, defenses, sports, electronics, bio-medical, and other industrial purposes. The prepared composites have been studied by Xray diffraction (XRD), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), micro Raman spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscope, Automatic density meter, Particle size analyzer.

Surface grafted agents with various molecular lengths and photochemically active benzophenone moieties.

Homologues of benzophenone silane, a covalently graftable, photochemically active surface functionalizing agent, are investigated as surface functionalization agents for both small particles and planar substrates. In these homologues, a chlorosilane functional group and a photochemically active benzophenone oxo moiety are separated with an aliphatic spacer of varying length. The species obtained are first investigated by surface grafting on substrates (Si wafers, glass plates, and indium tin oxide coated glass plates). Si wafer samples are investigated with ellipsometry clearly indicating monolayer formation. The monolayer thickness can be controlled by the size of the aliphatic spacer group and also by the doping concentration of the solution used in the spin-casting step. The functionalized surfaces are further investigated by measuring the contact angle of a suitable organic fluid, a nematic liquid crystal. Photo exposure of these samples results in a drastically varied contact angle: The surface grafted species are still photochemically active and photo exposure leads to the addition of a nearby organic molecule (from the liquid crystalline phase) to each activated surface agent molecule. The synthesized species are then investigated as (covalently binding) surfactants in the wet planetary ball milling process aimed to fabricate solid-liquid dispersions (of Fe doped lithium niobate particles). It was found that the use of species with higher molecular length results in dispersions of small particles, functionalized with photochemically active surface agents. Indeed, they show better performance than conventional surfactants.

Silicon-graphene composite synthesis: Microstructural, spectroscopic and electrical conductivity characterizations

In this research work, we explored an idea to successfully prepare Si-graphene (0.5–1.5 wt%) composites by an uniquely in-house designed planetary ball milling process. XRD of Si-graphene composites show major peak of Si (1 1 1) and C(0 0 2). With increasing addition of graphene, intensity of C(0 0 2) peak is found to be increased in the composites. Raman spectra show peaks of Si along with different peaks of carbon such as D, G and 2D peaks. Micro Raman and TEM characterizations indicate that graphene in the Si-graphene (1–1.5 wt%) composite is developed in bi-layer form. HRTEM of typical Si-graphene (1 wt%) composite confirms the formation of composite between graphene and silicon. XPS spectra of de-convoluted high resolution C 1s and Si 2p further confirm the formation of Si-graphene composites. XPS spectra of composites show that more amount of Si is converted into composite with graphene along with also presence of only free Si. When graphene (0.5–1.5 wt%) is added to Si, it is observed that the specific surface area is improved significantly from 87 to 304 m2 g−1. In this work, it is found that the typical Si-graphene (1 wt%) composite exhibits 11% more electrical conductivity than pure Si.

Fabrication and characterization of $$\hbox {YCa}_{2}\hbox {Cu}_{3}\hbox {O}_{7}$$ superconductors using natural $$(\hbox {CaCO}_{3})$$ nanoparticles extracted from Sepia pharaonis

In this Paper, $$\hbox {YCa}_{2}\hbox {Cu}_{3}\hbox {O}_{7}$$ superconductor composites were fabricated with biocompatible carbonate calcium nanoparticles. The effect of the biocompatible nanoparticle on YBCO superconductor properties were investigated. For this purpose, planetary ball milling process used to produce $$\hbox {CaCO}_{3}$$ nanoparticles from cuttlebone (Sepia pharaonis) of the Persian Gulf. Then, samples of superconductor composite with the natural carbonate calcium were fabricated. The samples were prepared by solid state reaction method with mixing, calcination and sintering process. The samples were characterized and studied using dynamic light scattering technique, Meissner effect test, XRD analysis and FESEM imaging. The critical current density ($$J_\mathrm{C}$$) and oxygen content of samples were measured by traditional four-probes method and iodometric titration method, respectively. The superconducting transition temperatures and $$J_\mathrm{C}$$ were determined 90.2 K and 28.4 $$\hbox {A}/\hbox {cm}^{2}$$ by four-probe method measurements, respectively. The results showed a significant enhancement of the superconducting $$J_\mathrm{C}$$ due to using the natural $$\hbox {CaCO}_{3}$$ nanoparticles in the samples.

Effect of particulate fillers on creep behaviour of epoxy composites

In presented research work, high energy planetary ball milling process was employed to prepare different types of organic and inorganic particles by dry pulverization. The agricultural fibrous waste (i.e. Agave Americana, cornhusk, jute) was utilized to prepare organic particulate fillers whereas the wastes of basalt, carbon, glass and fly ash were utilized to prepare inorganic particles. The particles were then incorporated at 3 wt% loading into epoxy resin, and their properties were investigated for improvement in dynamic mechanical and creep behavior of epoxy composites.