Substitutional Solution Research Articles

Effect of Ti/Ta ratio on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Hf20Mo15Nb25Ta20-xTi20+x refractory high-entropy alloys

The limited deformation capacity at room temperature remains a significant challenge in refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs). In this study, the fine-grained Hf20Mo15Nb25Ta20-xTi20+x (x = 0, 5, 10, 15) alloys were prepared by mechanical alloying and subsequent spark plasma sintering (SPS), based on precise component regulation. The impact of altering the Ti/Ta ratio (R, R = (20+x)/(20-x)) on the pre-alloyed powders and the as-sintered alloys were investigated. An increase in R-value led to larger powder particle sizes and lower powder yields, which was attributed to the improvement in the plasticity of the pre-alloyed powders. After SPS sintering, the as-sintered alloys were comprised of two BCC solid solution matrices and nanoscale precipitated phases. As the R-value increases, the stability of the microstructure decreases slightly, while the yield strength shows a slight improvement, and the plastic strain experiences a relatively significant enhancement. The as-sintered Hf20Mo15Nb25Ta20-xTi20+x alloys all exhibited an excellent balance of strength and plasticity. Theoretical calculations revealed that the yield strength of the alloys was the result of the combined effect of several strengthening mechanisms, predominantly substitutional solid solution strengthening. Furthermore, a systematic discussion was conducted on the reasons for the improvement in the plasticity of the as-sintered alloys. This study presents an effective approach to enhancing the room temperature deformation capacity of RHEAs, thereby facilitating their broader application.

More about the BaO(BaCO3)–Lu2O3–CuO system

The phase diagram of the BaO(BaCO3)–Lu2O3–CuO system was built at 900 °C. It comprises of 8 single-phase, 15 two-phase, and 8 three-phase regions. The boundary oxide systems Lu2O3–CuO and BaO–CuO contain the phases Lu2Cu2O5 (structure type Ho2Cu2O5, Pearson symbol oP36, space group Pna21, a = 10.702(1), b = 3.412(1), c = 12.360(1) Å, RB = 0.076) and Ba44Cu45O90 (own structure type, cI400, Im-3m, a = 18.294(3) Å, RB = 0.114), whereas in the Lu2O3–BaO(BaCO3) system the oxide-carbonate Ba3Lu2[CO3]O5 (Ba3Yb2[CO3]O5, tP26, P4/mmm, a = 4.322(1), c = 11.862(2) Å, RB = 0.107) was identified under the conditions of the experiment. Two quaternary oxides were observed. The structure of BaLu2CuO5 was confirmed (BaY2CuO5, oP36, Pnma), whereas the structure of the phase with approximate composition Ba3LuCu2O6.5 still needs to be established. The electrochemical properties of BaLu2CuO5 as cathode material in Li-ion batteries were investigated. The existence of a (in part) substitutional solid solution BaLu2CuO5:Li was confirmed by the decrease of the unit-cell volume (−0.11 %). No traces of the formation of a phase with YBCO-type structure were detected at 900 °C.

Assessment of salt-free electrodialysis metathesis: A novel process for brine management in brackish water desalination using monovalent selective ion exchange membranes

Since reverse osmosis (RO) is often limited to a water recovery of 70–85 %, implementing a secondary process like electrodialysis metathesis (EDM) to treat concentrate can increase system water recovery. This study explores salt-free electrodialysis metathesis (SF-EDM) as an alternative to conventional EDM to investigate its performance in the zero discharge desalination (ZDD) process. SF-EDM utilizes monovalent-selective ion exchange membranes, eliminating the need for sodium chloride (NaCl) as a substitution solution. This approach generates one diluate stream and two highly soluble concentrate streams enriched in calcium and sulfate, respectively. In this article, a series of lab-scale tests based on synthetic and real RO concentrate were performed to investigate how SF-EDM performs operating at high water recovery with a feedwater with high scaling potential. We critically analyze the performance in terms of salinity reduction, selectivity, and energy consumption. Results of the study show that without the addition of NaCl, the process was able to selectively separate sulfate and calcium into two concentrate streams achieve a salinity reduction of 93 % and a total system water recovery (RO and SF-EDM) of 90 %. A technoeconomic analysis found SF-EDM to be 80 % of the cost of conventional EDM making it a competitive technology for brackish water RO concentrate management.

Densification, phase composition, microstructure and properties of spark plasma sintered La0.6Ce0.3Pr0.1B6 bulks

This paper studied the densification, phase composition, microstructure and properties of polycrystalline La0.6Ce0.3Pr0.1B6 bulks prepared by SPS. The dense specimen (98.9 % in relative density) with the average grain size of 15.46 μm has been determined to be a CsCl-type single-phase substitutional solid solution without any impurities or other secondary phases. The homogenous elemental distributions of La, Ce and Pr have been confirmed by both microscale and nanoscale. The room temperature (RT) Vickers hardness (Hv), indentation fracture toughness (KIC) and flexure strength of the dense specimen have been measured to be 23.0 GPa, 2.04 MPa m1/2 and 305.1 MPa, respectively. The Berkovich hardness (HB) and elastic modulus (E) of the dense specimen have been measured to be 30.0 GPa and 376.0 GPa, respectively, by nanoindentation tests at a maximum load of 40 mN. In comparison with the polycrystalline LaB6 bulk, the lower work function Φ of 2.64 eV evaluated by UPS and the larger thermionic emission current densities measured at the same operating condition suggest that the polycrystalline La0.6Ce0.3Pr0.1B6 bulk is a superior-performance thermionic cathode material.

Investigation on the microstructure and high-temperature properties of AlN coating through oxygen addition

This study meticulously examines how oxygen incorporation alters the microstructure, mechanical, and high-temperature properties of AlN coating prepared via cathodic arc deposition. Substitution of nitrogen by oxygen in the AlN lattice leads to the formation of Al(OxN1-x)y metastable solid solutions from wurtzite Al(O)N structure to cubic AlO(N) structure, culminating in a full conversion to γ-Al2O3 with increased oxygen content. This substitutive solid solution induces solid solution strengthening and grain refinement effect, thereby escalating hardness from ∼18.5 GPa for AlN to ∼23.9 GPa for Al(O0.18N0.82)1.09. Despite an observed tendency towards enhanced thermal decomposition of oxynitride coatings upon annealing, the occurrence of α-Al2O3 oxide phase significantly preserves the mechanical integrity at elevated temperatures, outperforming pure AlN coating. Notably, the strategic alteration by minimal oxygen incorporation facilitates the formation of an Al-rich oxide layer, which exhibits superior anti-oxidative characteristics. After oxidation at 1100 °C for 10 h, the Al(O0.10N0.90)1.03 with an oxide layer of ∼1.2 μm exhibits remarkable oxidation resistance.

Excitation energy transfer in gadolinium tantalum niobates activated with Eu3+ and Tb3+

Series of gadolinium tantalum niobates activated with Eu3+ and Tb3+ ((Gd1-y-zEuyTbz)NbxTa1-xO4 (x = 0, 0.3, 1; y = 0.6; z = 0.06; 0.15; 0.3)) were obtained for the first time. The formation of substitutional solid solutions was demonstrated. The obtained ceramic solid solutions had a monoclinic structure with I2/a space group. Electron probe microanalysis, photoluminescence (PL) and cathodoluminescence (CL) were used for studies of gadolinium tantalates and tantalum niobates series activated with Eu3++Tb3+. CL and PL spectra, concentration dependences of CL intensity and decay times, as well as excitation spectra for 5D0-7F2 Eu3+ and 5D4-7F5 Tb3+ bands were analyzed. It was shown for the first time that both energy transfer from Tb3+ to Eu3+ ions, and a reverse process – energy transfer from Eu3+ to Tb3+ ions are observed. This reverse process led to a decrease in CL intensity and decay times of europium bands in the presence of terbium 3+ in these materials. Presumably this phenomenon is influenced by anti-Stokes luminescence. This is confirmed by the dependences of anti-Stokes luminescence probability on temperature and excitation density.

Efficient Catalysts Based on Substitutional Solid Solutions and Palladium Intermetallic Compounds for the Selective Hydrogenation of Acetylene to Ethylene

Efficient Catalysts Based on Substitutional Solid Solutions and Palladium Intermetallic Compounds for the Selective Hydrogenation of Acetylene to Ethylene

Phase composition and microstructure of intermetallic alloys obtained using electron-beam additive manufacturing

The paper investigates the microstructure and phase composition of nickel- and aluminum-based intermetallic alloys obtained using two-wire electron-beam additive manufacturing (EBAM). Relevance of the research is related to the widespread use of intermetallic alloys based on nickel and aluminum (mainly Ni3Al) in various high-temperature applications and the need to use modern production methods when creating machine parts and mechanisms from these alloys. Using EBAM, the billets from intermetallic alloys with different ratios of the content of main components were obtained. Change in concentrations of the basic elements was carried out varying the ratio of feed rates of nickel and aluminum wires during additive manufacturing in the range from 1:1 to 3:1, respectively. The results of microscopic studies of the obtained alloys showed that, regardless of nickel content, the obtained alloys are characterized by a large–crystalline structure with grain sizes in the range of 100 – 300 μm for alloys with a component ratio of 1:1 and 150 – 400 μm for alloys with a component ratio of 2:1 and 3:1. At the same time, the alloy with an equal content of base components is characterized by more uniform grain and microstructure compared to those with high content of Ni. By changing the concentration ratio of the components, phase composition of the resulting billet can be purposefully controlled. In the case of an “equiatomic” content of the base components in the alloy, a NiAl-based compound with a small phase content based on the intermetallides Ni3Al5 and Ni3Al is formed. At high concent­rations of nickel, the intermetallic Ni3Al phase is formed, and at a component ratio of 3:1, structure of the resulting billet consists mainly of Ni3Al phase and the γ solid substitutional solution based on nickel. The paper demonstrates the possibility of direct production of intermetallic alloys with a given phase composition during electron-beam additive manufacturing.

Assessment of structural performance, materials efficiency, and environmental impact of multi-story hybrid timber structures in high seismic zone

Advancements in wooden manufacture and the inherent sustainable merits of timber have stimulated studies on high-rise wooden structures and their structural performances. Considering the height restrictions of timber structures in Taiwan, two types of hybrid structure systems, reinforced concrete (RC) structure mixed with timber components, were proposed as substitution solutions to explore their feasibility and environmental impact in high seismic zones. A fifteen-story RC structure was adopted as the benchmark building, and building weight, material substitution efficiency, and embodied carbon were thus compared with the proposed hybrid timber structures after determining wind and seismic impacts. The results showed that structure system Type 1, which replaced original RC slabs and RC walls with timber, weighs only 61.3 % of the RC structure, reducing seismic forces by 38.7 % and base shear by 30.6 %, while inter-story drift ratio was smaller than that of RC structure; meanwhile, Type 2, which maintained the original RC service core and replaced timber structure for rest of the area, was only 44.5 % of the structural weight of RC structure, with a reduction of 36.4 % in seismic forces and 21.1 % in base shear. Furthermore, Type 1 featured reduced embodied carbon of 34.8 % and 35.4 % respectively using imported and domestically produced timber, while Type 2 features reductions of 47.4 % and 49.3 % respectively. The study indicated that the RC-timber hybrid structure system not only has significant structural performance in the face of the challenges of high seismic zones but also offers new solutions in terms of environmental sustainability.

Experiment investigation and thermodynamic assessment of the ternary Ti–Mo-Hf system

Based on experimental data measured by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), isothermal sections of Ti–Mo-Hf system at 800 °C and 1000 °C were constructed. Four and three three-phase regions were derived in the isothermal sections at 800 and 1000 °C, respectively. In addition, a new ternary compound named τ was discovered. The maximum solubilities of the three elements, Ti, Mo and Hf in τ were measured at 800 °C and 1000 °C. At the same time, the solid solubilities of Ti in HfMo2_C15 and Mo in Hcp were also obtained. According to the measured experimental data, the Ti–Mo-Hf system was optimized using the CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagrams) method. The solution phases, liquid, Bcc and Hcp, were treated as substitutional solution, while the intermetallic compounds were modeled using sublattice models. HfMo2_C15 was treated as (Hf, Mo, Ti)1(Hf, Mo, Ti)2. The ternary phase τ was considered as a stoichiometric compound and its thermodynamic modeling was defined as (Ti)3(Mo)3(Hf)14. The calculated results showed good agreement with the experimental phase equilibrium data, leading to the derivation of a set of self-consistent thermodynamic parameters for the Ti–Mo-Hf system.

Data-Driven Material Exploration of High Conductive Fluorides By Multi-Element Substitution

Barium fluoride (BaF2) has a fluorite-type structure and is attracting high attention as a solid electrolyte material for fluoride ion batteries that can be used under high voltage. Previous research has reported that the ionic conductivity increases by 4 to 5 orders of magnitude by partially replacing Ba in BaF2 with La. This indicates that elemental substitution is effective in improving the ionic conductivity of BaF2. However, single element substitution only explore much limited experimental space in elements, so that it should be difficult to discover innovative conductive compositions. By replacing various elements at the same time, the experimental space can be largely expanded and the possibility of finding the optimal composition increases. But, the combination numbers of multi-element substituted compositions are much over 10000, and exhaustive exploration of them is unrealistic. Therefore, we aimed to efficiently search for multi-element substitution compositions with high conductivity by creating a material-conductivity correlated exploring system under data-driven approach using large number of fluoride material database. The purpose of this research was to discover solid solution compositions in the multi-element substituted fluorides and understanding of the relationship between substitutional elements and solid solution formation.Approximately 20 types of multi-element substitution composition candidates were initially picked up using the D-optimal design (Dopt). The target compositions were synthesized to collect their XRD data. Next, we extracted the "number of peaks" from the XRD data as a feature values to express the degree of solid solution in the sample. Furthermore, we made a regression model with the element types and addition ratios as explanatory variables and the "number of peaks" as the objective variable. Using the regression model, approximately 20 candidate were predicted to form solid solution, in which we called as data-driven design of experiments (DOE) approach. Finally, the materials were actually prepared according to the proposal in DOE. The identification results were projected using the principal component analysis (PCA) to draw the material space.The obtained material space shows the number of peaks in the samples prepared using DOE decreased compared to those using Dopt. In detail, the Dopt-derived sample had 41.83 peaks, while the DOE-derived sample had 19.65 peaks on average. This result indicates that we were able to efficiently find preferable compositions that are advantageous for solid solution formation by using the data-driven method.In the presentation, we will also report the high-throughput composition exploration, their conductivities, and also development of virtual X-ray diffraction simulation system for over 10,000 kinds of multi-substituted composition of the fluorides. Acknowledgement s This research was partially supported by Knowledge Hub Aichi, the GIMRT Program of the Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University (Proposal No. 202303-CRKKE-0048).

Efficient determination of free energies of non-ideal solid solutions via hybrid Monte Carlo simulations

Predicting the phase diagram of solid solutions is crucial for understanding their physical behavior under various conditions and at different compositions. However, conventional sampling methods face challenges in efficiently addressing configurational and vibrational disorder for substitutional solid solutions. Additionally, a persistent obstacle has been the lack of a robust theoretical approach for determining the free energy of interstitial solid solutions characterized by the fluid-like diffusion of interstitial species. The method presented in this paper overcomes both hurdles by coupling thermodynamic integration with hybrid Monte Carlo algorithms. We validate the accuracy of the method by computing the free energies of iron alloys described by a Lennard-Jones potential. We also showcase its efficiency by determining the phase diagram of the MgO-CaO system, described by a machine-learning interatomic potential. The high efficiencies achieved with this method pave the way to the determination of the free energies of solid solutions with ab initio accuracy.

A highly stable insertion type V1-xTixP solid solution as an anode material for high-rate lithium-ion batteries

As electric vehicles (EVs) grow in popularity, the demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) simultaneously grows, and the fast-charging capability is becoming increasingly important. However, it is generally believed that graphite anode still suffers from a poor rate capability for fast-charging applications, and other insertion-type oxide anodes with a high rate capability exhibit too high Li+-ion insertion/extraction potential, which cannot meet a requirement for high energy density anodes. In this work, the hexagonal structure of V1-xTixP (x = 0.0, 0.25, and 1.0) phases were introduced as insertion-type anode materials for LIBs with a low reaction potential of Li+-ion insertion/extraction. The crystal structure and the corresponding electrochemical reaction mechanism of insertion-type anodes of TiP, VP, and MoP were compared. A facile strategy forming a substitutional solid solution is suggested to improve the electrochemical properties of anode materials by combining the end members among insertion-type VP, TiP, and MoP as forming V1-xTixP and V1-xMoxP compounds. V1-xTixP (x = 0.25) electrode, substituting V atoms with Ti atoms in VP structure, shows excellent long-term cycle stability at 1 A/g with a cycle retention of 87.7 % during 2500 cycles, delivering a two times higher capacity of 211.1 mAh g−1 compared to that of the commercial graphite electrode.

Effect of the Mn and Cr contents on the oxidation and creep resistance at 1100°C of cast cantor–based HEAs

Cast High Entropy Alloys (HEAs) derived from the Cantor’s composition may represent alternative substitutional solutions to the superalloys which are constituted for more than half of the critical elements nickel and cobalt. Recently, MC–alloyed HEAs constituted by a Cantor’s type matrix associated to an efficient interdendritic network of MC carbides, have demonstrated promising creep resistance at elevated temperatures. Regrettably, they also show poor high temperature oxidation resistance. This bad oxidation behavior is possibly due to the deleterious effect of manganese and to a too low content in chromium. New alloys were elaborated and tested in oxidation at 1100°C with thermogravimetry follow–up and metallographic characterisation, and their creep behavior was controlled. With less Mn and more Cr than the original alloys, these new alloys demonstrated significant progress in oxidation resistance. These changes in chemical compositions did not modify their creep resistances which were globally maintained, for the carbide-free alloy as well as for the MC-containing ones. These Mn-decreased and Cr-increased MC-containing alloys can be considered as low-cost alternative to polycrystalline Ni or Co-based superalloys for working in moderate conditions of corrosive fluids and applied mechanical stresses.

Effect of sintering temperature on microstructure and mechanical properties of MoNbVTa0.5Cr high-entropy alloys fabricated by powder metallurgy method

To address the challenges posed by the high density and low plasticity at room temperature of traditional refractory high entropy alloys (RHEAs), the MoNbVTa0.5Cr RHEA was synthesized through a combination of mechanical alloying (MA) and spark plasma sintering (SPS) techniques. The effects of different sintering temperatures on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the alloy were systematically studied. The MoNbVTa0.5Cr RHEA milled up to 60 h was found to have a metastable dual-phase containing a major BCC (a = 3.1474 Å) and Nb-Ta (a = 3.3058 Å) phase. The sintered MoNbVTa0.5Cr RHEA was composed of BCC phase and a small amount of Ta2VO6 at different sintering temperatures. There were a lot of edge dislocations in the BCC matrix near the BCC/Ta2VO6 interface. With the increase of sintering temperature, the grain size of sintered MoNbVTa0.5Cr RHEA gradually increased, while the mechanical properties gradually decreased with the increase of sintering temperature. When the sintering temperature was 1500 °C, the grain size of the alloy was 2.33 μm, the yield strength was 2783 MPa, the compressive strength was 3346 MPa, and the fracture strain was 20.45 %, showing the best comprehensive properties. And the density of MoNbVTa0.5Cr RHEA was 9.11 g·cm−3 and 26 % lower than that of WNbMoTaV RHEA. The specific yield strength of MoNbVTa0.5Cr RHEA prepared in this research was 295.28 kPa·m3·kg−1, which was superior to most RHEAs reported so far. This sintered MoNbVTa0.5Cr RHEA showed an excellent room temperature compression performance, which can be attributed to the co-existence of BCC phase along with the minor Ta2VO6 phases. The high yield strength of MoNbVTa0.5Cr RHEA was mainly attributed to the substitutional solid solution strengthening of metal atoms, the interstitial solid solution strengthening of O atoms and the grain boundary strengthening of ultrafine grains, with contributions to yield strength of 41 %, 28 %, and 24 %, respectively.

Effect of hydrogen content on the high-temperature compressive deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of TC17 alloy

Thermo-hydrogen process (THP) has been an important research direction of the titanium alloy heat treatment process. However, the effect of THP on the thermal deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of TC17 alloy during hot compression has not been investigated. In this study, a series of isothermal compression experiments were carried out on hydrogenated TC17 alloy specimens in the temperature range covering the α+β phase region and β phase region of TC17 alloys with different hydrogen contents, to investigate the effect of hydrogen on the high-temperature flow behavior and microstructure evolution. The results show that the primary α phase of the hydrogenated TC17 alloy is significantly reduced. Observing the XRD pattern, the substitutional solution effect of hydrogen causes the β phase lattice to expand, resulting in a shift of the β phase toward a small angle as the hydrogen content increases. The flow stress shows a tendency to decrease and then increase with increasing hydrogen content. This is attributed to the softening effect of hydrogen on the α phase and the hardening effect on the β phase. This also leads to the deformation activation energy showing the same trend. When the hydrogen content increases to 0.4 wt%, the activation energy decreases to the lowest point by about 24 %. Finally, the appropriate hydrogen concentration can effectively reduce the destabilization region in the hot working map and expand the processing window of TC17 alloy.

Product Ecodesign: An Application of Bio-Based Materials in the Personal Care Packaging Industry

AbstractThe increasing amount of plastic materials produced and their persistence in the natural environment after the use stage makes them highly critical from the environmental viewpoint and human health and much efforts are being made to find valid alternatives worldwide. This is particularly true for the packaging industry where the use of plastics is more intense and products often have a very short useful life. Ecodesign is a recognized approach capable of proposing effective solutions to reduce the impact of plastic materials, including their replacement with alternative ones. In this view, bioplastics have been recognized as a new generation of materials characterized by a potential lower environmental burden, along their life cycle, including the end-of-life phase. The same cannot yet be said for their technological and production performance, both at an industrial level and the use phase, especially for durable products.This article refers to the personal care industry and aims at exploring, in the Circular Economy framework, the Ecodesign of a personal care plastic dispenser. In this specific sector, the use of bio-based materials is still very limited and in an early stage, differently, from other industries (e.g. agri-food) where, instead, the applications are much more widespread. In particular, a material substitution solution drew on bio-based materials has been adopted in respect of conventional polypropylene and polyethylene. The technological performances of such bio-based materials have been evaluated through laboratory, production and use tests; the results obtained highlight that they are reaching levels comparable to conventional plastics. The regulatory, environmental and economic implications of their potential use at an industrial level are also discussed.

Structure and mechanical properties of TiAlTaN thin films deposited by dcMS, HiPIMS, and hybrid dcMS/HiPIMS

The quaternary Ti1-x-yAlxTayN system exhibits superior thin film properties compared to Ti1-xAlxN. Apart from the Ta content, the sputtering method has a crucial effect on the structural and mechanical properties. High power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) produces denser thin films with improved hardness compared to direct current magnetron sputtering (dcMS), but at lower deposition rates. However, a hybrid dcMS/HiPIMS process combines the advantages of dcMS and HiPIMS and is, therefore, a suitable method to synthetize Ti1-x-yAlxTayN thin films. To analyze the effect of the sputtering technique on the structural and mechanical properties, Ti1-x-yAlxTayN is sputtered from TiAlTa compound targets with Ta fractions up to 0.2 by dcMS, HiPIMS, and dcMS/HiPIMS.The Ta metal fraction within Ti1-x-yAlxTayN steadily increased up to y ≈ 0.25, while the Al content notably decreased at higher Ta levels. This reduction was most pronounced in HiPIMS, resulting in an order of decreasing Al content as dcMS, dcMS/HiPIMS, and HiPIMS. All thin films exhibit a Ti1-x-yAlxTayN substitutional solid solution with a linearly increasing lattice parameter corresponding to higher Ta contents. At similar Ta contents, HiPIMS-Ti1-x-yAlxTayN and dcMS/HiPIMS-Ti1-x-yAlxTayN show larger out-of-plane lattice parameters compared to dcMS/HiPIMS-Ti1-x-yAlxTayN, indicating elevated compressive stresses within the thin films. The Ti1-x-yAlxTayN thin films show a column-like structure, with HiPIMS promoting the formation of a denser morphology with less columns. The HiPIMS-Ti1-x-yAlxTayN with H = 41 GPa and dcMS/HiPIMS-Ti1-x-yAlxTayN with H = 40 GPa achieve their peak hardness at a lower Ta metal fraction of y ≈ 0.12–0.13, in contrast to dcMS-Ti1-x-yAlxTayN, which reaches H = 38 GPa at y ≈ 0.25. The shift to lower Ta contents for the maximum hardness in HiPIMS-Ti1-x-yAlxTayN and dcMS/HiPIMS-Ti1-x-yAlxTayN is due to higher compressive stresses and smaller crystallite sizes in these films at low Ta metal fractions. The H/E and H3/E2 ratios of the HiPIMS-Ti1-x-yAlxTayN and dcMS/HiPIMS-Ti1-x-yAlxTayN exhibited a similar trend of increasing values, reaching a maximum, and then decreasing with higher Ta content. Consequently, the hybrid dcMS/HiPIMS process produces Ti1-x-yAlxTayN thin films with mechanical properties comparable to pure HiPIMS, making it a suitable sputtering method for the synthesis of Ti1-x-yAlxTayN.

Сhemical synthesis of solid solutions of mercury sulfide-selenide films in the presence of sodium tartrate

Solid solutions films of mercury sulfide-selenide (HgS1–xSex) were synthesized on glass substrates by the chemical bath deposition method. Theoretical calculations of the boundary conditions for the HgS and HgSe formation in the mercury-tartrate-thiourea-selenosulfate system were made. The boundary conditions of HgS1–xSex were defined by the overlap area between the constructed HgS and HgSe formation zones. The X-ray diffraction and elemental analysis showed that the obtained films are single-phase and consist of HgS1–xSex substitutional solid solutions in zincblende modification. The effect of Na2SeSO3 concentration on the degree of S-Se substitution, as well as on the optical and morphological properties of HgS1–xSex films, was investigated.

Formation of Corrosion‐Resistant Nitride Coatings Based on Ti–Al–Cr–Fe–Ni High‐Entropy Alloy

The purpose of the work is to study the features of the phase and structure formation of coatings (Ti–Al–Cr–Fe–Ni)N formed by vacuum arc deposition and to study the influence of technological parameters of the deposition process on their corrosive properties. It is established that on the basis of the selected elements, it is possible to form a high‐entropy compound in the form of a solid solution. The structure of nitride coatings based on high‐entropy compounds formed by vacuum arc deposition is studied. It is established that the phase composition of coatings largely depends on the ratio of titanium and aluminum, which is determined by the technological parameters of deposition. An analysis of the results of the electrochemical behavior of coatings (Al,Ti,Fe,Cr,Ni)N shows that an increase in the corrosion resistance of these coatings is due to the synergistic effect of the formation of a solid substitution solution with a dense nanoscale structure and an increased relative aluminum content in them.