The effective utilization of steel slag, a byproduct produced in large quantities from the steel refining process, is an important issue. Because steel slag contains abundant mineral components, the effects of steel slag on soil bacterial biomass and plant mineral uptake were analyzed in this study. The soil pH increased in proportion to the amount of steel slag added. A lower concentration (0.2% to 1%) of steel slag addition did not change the bacterial biomass. However, a higher concentration of steel slag (above 1%) had a negative effect on bacterial biomass. A lower amount of steel slag (0.2% to 1%) addition in soil leads to increased mineral (Ca, Mg, and Fe) uptake and plant growth in Brassica rapa var. periviridis and Spinacia oleracea L. However, mineral uptake by the plants decreased when a large amount of steel slag (above 1%) was added to the soil. Low concentrations of steel slag (0.2% to 1%) in soil had positive effects on plant growth, mineral uptake of plants, and bacterial biomass.
Mechanical properties of friction stir welding (FSW) butt joint are affected by back surface defect. The back surface defect is as un-welded zone that is often remained unstirred by tool. FSW from both surfaces can eliminate the back surface defect basically. Furthermore, the residual stress after welding can be lowered than in single pass FSW by using smaller tool. Mechanical properties of magnesium alloy butt joint made by FSW from both surfaces of surface were compared with that of ordinary single pass welding. It was found that the tensile strength and fatigue life were improved and the tensile residual stress at back surface of single pass FSW changed to compressive stress.
We have fabricated flexible organic thin film transistors with liquid crystalline organic semiconductor, 2‐decyl‐7‐phenyl‐benzothienobenzothiophene (Ph‐BTBT‐10), which is suitable for flexible transistor material because the polycrystalline thin films can be easily fabricated at about 100 °C or lower by solution process. 25 μm thick polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film and photosensitive resin poly(vinyl cinnamate) (PVCi) are used as flexible substrate and gate insulator, respectively. The PVCi gate insulator layer is crosslinked by UV light and the crosslinking reaction increases solvent resistance of PVCi gate insulator. Uniform Ph‐BTBT‐10 polycrystalline thin films are fabricated on the PVCi gate insulator and the crystallinity and electrical characteristics of Ph‐BTBT‐10 are not damaged by PVCi gate insulator. The entire process is performed below 130 °C considering the heat resistance temperature of the PET film. The fabricated transistors show the mobility of 0.24±0.084 cm2V−1s−1 and threshold voltage of 0.57±0.38 V.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Organic thin‐film transistors (OTFTs) can be fabricated via a wet process and have exceptionally high flexibility. Therefore, production using the roll‐to‐roll (RtoR) method is expected. We succeeded in developing a new OTFT wet fabrication process adaptable to the RtoR process. Utilizing the electroless plating method for wiring formation, all materials can be formed in a wet process and can be patterned using the photolithography process. In addition, we succeeded in fabricating OTFT on an A4‐type flexible substrate using RtoR direct imaging exposure system.
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