The oxidation mechanism of nanoaluminum particles, nominally employed as fuel component, is still an unsettled problem, because of the complex nature of thermomechanical properties of the oxide shell surrounding the elemental core. Although mechanical breakage of the alumina shell upon or after melting of aluminum core has been thought to play a key role in the combustion of aluminum nanoparticles, there has been little direct evidence. In this study, the microstructural behaviors of Al core and alumina shell lattices were investigated with increasing temperatures. Three in situ techniques, high-temperature X-ray diffraction analysis, hot-stage transmission electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy for heat-treated samples, were employed to probe the thermal behaviors of aluminum and alumina lattices before and after melting of the aluminum core. High-temperature X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that nano aluminum lattice was initially expanded under tension at room temperature, and then when heated passed through a zero-strain state at ∼300 °C. Upon further heating above the bulk melting temperature of aluminum, the aluminum lattice expanded under almost no constraint. This interesting observation, which is contrary to almost all of the previous results and models, was ascribed to the inhomogeneous (localized) crystalline phase transformation of amorphous alumina. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and in situ hot-stage transmission electron microscopy evidenced localized phase transformation accompanied by a significant shell thickening, presumably resulting from diffusion processes of Al cations and O anions, which is to absorb the pressure built in aluminum core, by creating a more ductile shell.

Metallic copper nanoparticles are produced by spray pyrolysis of copper nitrates with an addition of ethanol as cosolvent at 600 degrees C. Depending on the synthesis temperature, two interesting reaction pathways are found: below 525 degrees C, approximately 10% of hollow Cu(2)O parent particles are oxidized to CuO and then reduced to Cu, but at higher temperature, the remaining Cu(2)O takes a direct path to Cu, accompanied by a morphology change. These interesting reaction regimes are discussed in the aspects of phase-transformation kinetics, gas-phase and solid-phase thermodynamics, force balance, and their possible influences on structural instability. Experimental observations are fairly consistent with the predictions by the present models.

ZnO quantum dots dispersed in a silica matrix were synthesized from a TEOS:Zn(NO(3))(2) solution by a one-step aerosol-gel method. It was demonstrated that the molar concentration ratio of Zn to Si (Zn/Si) in the aqueous solution was an efficient parameter with which to control the size, the degree of agglomeration, and the microstructure of ZnO quantum dots (QDs) in the SiO(2) matrix. When Zn/Si ≤ 0.5, unaggregated quantum dots as small as 2 nm were distributed preferentially inside SiO(2) spheres. When Zn/Si ≥ 1.0, however, ZnO QDs of ∼7 nm were agglomerated and reached the SiO(2) surface. When decreasing the ratio of the Zn/Si, a blue shift in the band gap of ZnO was observed from the UV/Visible absorption spectra, representing the quantum size effect. The photoluminescence emission spectra at room temperature denoted two wide peaks of deep-level defect-related emissions at 2.2-2.8 eV. When decreasing Zn/Si, the first peak at ∼2.3 eV was blue-shifted in keeping with the decrease in the size of the QDs. Interestingly, the second visible peak at 2.8 eV disappeared in the surface-exposed ZnO QDs when Zn/Si ≥ 1.0.

Computational fluid dynamics simulations incorporating supersonic turbulent gas flow models and a droplet breakup model are performed to study supersonic gas atomization for producing micron-sized metal powder particles. Generally such atomization occurs in two stages: a primary breakup and a secondary breakup. Since the final droplet size is primarily determined by the secondary breakup, parent droplets of certain sizes (1 to 5 mm) typically resulting from the primary breakup are released at the corner of the nozzle and undergo the secondary breakup. A comparison of flow patterns with and without the introduction of a liquid melt clearly indicates that the mass loading effect is quite significant as a result of the gas-droplet interactions. The flow pattern change reasonably explains why the final droplets have a bimodal mass size distribution. The transient size changes of the droplets are well described by the behavior of the Weber number. The present results based on the 1 mm parent droplets best fit previous experimental results. Moreover, the effects of inlet gas pressure and temperature are investigated in an attempt to further reduce droplet size.

Bertepatan dengan Hari Metrologi Dunia pada tanggal 20 Mei 2019, CGPM menetapkan redefinisi satuan besaran massa yang sebelumnya berdasarkan massa dari artefak International Prototype of Kilogram menjadi sebuah definisi berdasarkan konstanta Planck h = 6,626x10-34 kg m2s-1. Perubahan tersebut direalisasikan dengan Neraca Watt yang dapat memberikan hubungan antara massa, arus listrik, dan konstanta Planck. Pada alat tersebut dilakukan dua tahap percobaan yaitu mode weighing dan mode moving. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menentukan secara sederhana hubungan massa dan arus melalui satu tahap percobaan menggunakan prototipe neraca yang dimodifikasi dengan solenoid linear pada salah satu lengannya sebagai penyeimbangnya. Besarnya arus diatur oleh modul XL4015 dan diukur oleh sensor ACS712 untuk diolah oleh mikrokontroler dan ditampilkan pada layar LCD. Hasil dari pengujian didapatkan nilai arus pada rentang 0,23 A ? 1,06 A dibutuhkan untuk menyeimbangkan muatan mulai dari 0 gram hingga 335 gram. Linearitas dan kepresisian hubungan arus dan massa yang didapat sangat baik yaitu nilai koefisien determinasi 0,99; persen presisi 80,3-94,4%; dan RSD 0,34-1,2%. Dengan demikian, prototipe ini dapat digunakan sebagai representasi Neraca Watt secara sederhana dalam menyatakan kesebandingan massa dan arus listrik.