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We studied factors contributing to the initiation of fracture and failure of a zirconia ceramic femoral head. The materials retrieved during a revision total hip replacement were submitted to either visual, stereomicroscopic and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) or SEM and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. X-ray diffraction was performed in order to investigate the extent of tetragonal to monoclinic phase transition. Histological examination was performed on the periprosthetic tissues. The results showed that failure was due to the propagation during clinical use of defects which may have been introduced into the material during the processing of the ceramic, rather than those intrinsic to zirconia. The literature relating to previous failures of zirconia components is reviewed.

One-phase, one-pot synthesis of Ag(0) nanoparticles capped with alkanethiolate molecules has been optimized to easily achieve a pure product in quantitative yield. We report the synthesis of dodecanethiolate-capped silver particles and the chemophysical, structural, and morphologic characterization performed by way of UV-vis, (1)H NMR, and X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopies, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and X-ray absorption fine structure analysis (XFAS), electron diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM). Depending on the molar ratio of the reagents (dodecylthiosulphate/Ag(+)), the mean Ag(0) particle size D(XRD) is tuned from 4 to 3 nm with a narrow size distribution. The particles are highly soluble, very stable in organic solvents (hexane, toluene, dichloromethane, etc.), and resistant to oxidation; the hexane solution after one year at room temperature does not show any precipitation or formation of oxidation byproducts.

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Highly conductive and transparent NiO x films can be very useful as buffer layers for the optimization of the p-type contacts of optoelectronic devices. Thin NiO x films were fabricated by reactive radio frequency (RF) sputtering at room temperature starting from a Ni target. A systematic study of the influence of oxygen partial pressure, RF power and sputtering gas pressure on the films' properties was carried out. The structural, microstructural, optical and electrical properties were affected differently by the sputtering parameters. Resistivity decreased by increasing the oxygen partial pressure and the sputtering total pressure and by decreasing the RF power, while transmittance increased by decreasing the oxygen partial pressure and by increasing the RF power and sputtering pressure. Minimum resistivity of 1.6×10 −2 Ωcm and a visible transmittance of 40% were achieved for a film grown in a pure oxygen atmosphere, while a higher transmittance of 54% and a resistivity of ρ=1.1×10 −1 Ωcm were obtained for a film grown at 30% oxygen partial pressure. The trends of transmittance and resistivity as a function of the oxygen pressure during the sputtering process can be explained in terms of the amount of Ni 3+ defects deduced by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. The full interpretation of the other results is less straightforward and highlights the relevance of the samples' structural properties.