Fengxiang Qin

Bioactive titanate nanomesh layer on the Ti-based bulk metallic glass by hydrothermal–electrochemical technique

Titanate nanomesh layers were fabricated on Ti-based bulk metallic glass (BMG) to induce bioactivity in the form of apatite-forming ability. Titanate nanomesh layers were prepared by hydrothermal-electrochemical treatment at 90 degrees C for 2 h, with an aqueous solution of NaOH as an electrolyte. A constant electric current of 0.5 mA cm(-2) was applied between the BMG substrate and a Pt electrode acting as the anode and cathode, respectively. A nanomesh layer, consisting of nanowires (approximately 20 nm in diameter) formed on the BMG. An immersion test in simulated body fluid for 12 days revealed that the titanate nanomesh layer on the BMG promoted the growth of bone-like hydroxyapatite.

Ni- and Be-free Zr-based bulk metallic glasses with high glass-forming ability and unusual plasticity.

We developed Ni- and Be-free Zr(45+x)Cu(40-x)Al₇Pd₅Nb₃ bulk metallic glasses with large glass-forming ability and unusual plasticity. The alloys have large critical diameters (larger than 10 mm) in a wide composition range (x=0-20). The Zr₅₀Cu₃₅Al₇Pd₅Nb₃ and Zr₅₅Cu₃₀Al₇Pd₅Nb₃ alloys exhibit the largest critical diameter (between 18 and 20 mm). The Zr(45+x)Cu(40-x)Al₇Pd₅Nb₃ bulk metallic glasses also have large plastic elongation in wide composition range (x=10-17). The Zr₆₂Cu₂₃Al₇Pd₅Nb₃ bulk metallic glass exhibits significant plasticity (over 20% of plastic elongation). With increasing Zr content, the compressive strength decreases except for the Zr₆₇Cu₁₈Al₇Pd₅Nb₃ alloy. The fragility parameters were calculated to evaluate the glass-forming ability and plasticity. The fragility exhibits more sensitive correlation with plasticity than glass-forming ability. The ZrCuAlPdNb bulk metallic glasses have high crystallization activation energies of above 300 kJ/mol. The ZrCuAlPdNb bulk metallic glasses are favorable for application to biomaterials.

Structural Inheritance and Redox Performance of Nanoporous Electrodes from Nanocrystalline Fe85.2B10-14P0-4Cu0.8 Alloys

Nanoporous electrodes have been fabricated by selectively dissolving the less noble α-Fe crystalline phase from nanocrystalline Fe85.2B14–xPxCu0.8 alloys (x= 0, 2, 4 at.%). The preferential dissolution is triggered by the weaker electrochemical stability of α-Fe nanocrystals than amorphous phase. The final nanoporous structure is mainly composed of amorphous residual phase and minor undissolved α-Fe crystals and can be predicted from initial microstructure of nanocrystalline precursor alloys. The structural inheritance is proved by the similarity of the size and outlines between nanopores formed after dealloying in 0.1 M H2SO4 and α-Fe nanocrystals precipitated after annealing of amorphous Fe85.2B14−xPxCu0.8 (x = 0, 2, 4 at.%) alloys. The Redox peak current density of the nanoporous electrodes obtained from nanocrystalline Fe85.2B10P4Cu0.8 alloys is more than one order higher than those of Fe plate electrode and its counterpart nanocrystalline alloys due to the large surface area and nearly-amorphous nature of ligaments.

Effects of Minor Si Addition on Glass Formation and Thermal Stability of Ni Free Ti-Based Bulk Metallic Glass

The effects of small amounts of Si on the glass-forming ability, thermal stability and mechanical property of a TiZrCuPdSn bulk metallic glass were investigated. The addition of Si caused the decrease of glass-forming ability and the increase of the supercooled liquid (SCL) region. With 2 at.% Si addition, a significant SCL region of 80 K was obtained, which indicated high thermal stability of the glassy alloy and was in favor of secondary working by viscous flow deformation. With increasing Si content, the plasticity decreased.

Ti-Based Bulk Metallic Glasses for Biomedical Applications

Biomedical materials can improve the life quality of a number of people each year. The range of applications includes such as joint and limb replacements, artificial arteries and skin, contact lenses, and dentures. So far the accepted biomaterials include metals, ceramics and polymers. The metallic biomaterials mainly contain stainless steel, Co-Cr alloys, Titanium and Ti-6Al-4V. Recently, bulk metallic glasses as novel materials have been rapidly developed for the past two decades in Mg-, Ln-, Zr-, Fe-, Ti-, Pd-, Cu-, Ni-based alloy systems because of their unique physical, chemical, magnetic and mechanical properties compared with conventional crystalline alloys. Metallic glass formation is achieved by avoiding nucleation and growth of crystalline phases when cooling the alloy from the molten liquid. Therefore, the different atomic configurations induced significantly different characteristic features such as high strength, good corrosion resistance and excellent electromagnetic properties, which are from their crystalline counterparts. Among different bulk metallic glasses, Ti-based bulk metallic glasses are expected to be applied as biomedical materials due to high strength, high elastic limit, low Young’s modulus, excellent corrosion resistance and good bioactivity of Ti element. Many Ti-based metallic glasses have been developed in Ti-Cu-Ni, Ti-Cu-Ni-Co, Ti-Cu-Ni-Zr, Ti-Cu-Ni-Zr-Sn, Ti-CuNi-Sn-B-Si, Ti-Cu-Ni-Sn-Be, Ti-Cu-Ni-Zr-Be, Ti-Cu-Ni-Zr-Hf-Si and Ti-Cu-Ni-Zr-Nb (Ta) alloys, based on the Inoue’s three empirical rules (Inoue, 1995) i.e., 1) multi-component consisting of more than three elements, 2) significant atomic size mismatches above 12% among the main three elements, and 3) negative heats of mixing among the main elements.

Ethanol-Mediated 2D Growth of Cu2O Nanoarchitectures on Nanoporous Cu Templates in Anhydrous Ethanol

Two types of cupric oxide (Cu2O) nanoarchitectures (nanobelts and nanopetal networks) have been achieved via immersion nanoporous copper (NPC) templates in anhydrous ethanol. NPC templates with different defect densities have been prepared by dealloying amorphous Ti60Cu40 ribbons in a mixture solution of hydrofluoric acid and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) with different ratios of HF/PVP. Both a water molecule reactant acting as OH− reservoir and the ethanol molecule serving as stabilizing or capping reagent for inhibiting the random growth of Cu2Oplayed a role of the formation of 2-dimensional Cu2O nanoarchitectures. Cu2O nanobelts are preferred to form in anhydrous ethanol on the NPC templates from Ti60Cu40 ribbons dealloying in the solution with low HF concentration and small addition of PVP; and Cu2O nanopetals are tended to grow in anhydrous ethanol from the NPC templates from Ti60Cu40 ribbons dealloying in the solution with high HF concentration and large addition of PVP. With increasing the immersion time in anhydrous ethanol, Cu2O nanopetals united together to create porous networks about 300 nm in thickness. The defect sites (i.e., twin boundary) on nanoporous Cu ligaments preferentially served as nucleation sites for Cu2O nanocrystals, and the higher defect density leads to the formation of uniform Cu2O layer. Synergistic effect of initial microstructure of NPC templates and stabilizing agent of ethanol molecule results in different Cu2O nanoarchitectures.

Nanoporous Copper Dealloyed from a Nanocrystallized Ticu Alloy

Nanoporous copper (NPC) was fabricated through dealloying nanocrystallized TiSubscript text50Cu50 ribbon alloy under a free immersion condition in HF solutioSubscript textns at 25 °C. Multimodal nanoporous structure was formed due to the presence of Ti3Cu4 phase, which was co-precipitated with Ti2Cu during the heat treatment at T = 400 °C (Italic textTSubscript textg Italic textT Subscript textx). The presence of multiphases in tItalic texthe starting material caused the different behavior in the evolution of nanoporosity. In 0.03 mol/L HF solution, the bimodal nanoporous copper with a pore size of 54 nm and 184 nm was obtained in different regions where the composition differed. The ligament scale lengths in two regions were confirmed to be 54 nm and 203 nm, respectively. In 0.13 mol/L HF solution, the difference in the pore size and phase separation became weak, accompanying with the evolution of larger pores and smaller ligaments. The residue after dealloying was confirmed to be fcc Cu, indicated by the presence of Cu (111), (200), (220) and (311) in XRD patterns and TEM selective area diffraction pattern. The microstructure of the starting materials for dealloying, such as intermetallic phases, played a key role in the formation of the final multimodal nanoporous structure.

Facile Fabrication of Cu2O Nanobelts in Ethanol on Nanoporous Cu and Their Photodegradation of Methyl Orange

Thin cupric oxide (Cu2O) nanobelts with width of few tens of nanometers to few hundreds of nanometers were fabricated in anhydrous ethanol on nanoporous copper templates that was prepared via dealloying amorphous Ti40Cu60 ribbons in hydrofluoric acid solutions at 348 K. The Cu2O octahedral particles preferentially form in the water, and nanobelts readily undergo the growth along the lengthwise and widthwise in the anhydrous ethanol. The ethanol molecules serve as stabilizing or capping reagents, and play a key role of the formation of two-dimensional Cu2O nanobelts. Cu atoms at weak sites (i.e., twin boundary) on the nanoporous Cu ligaments are ionized to form Cu2+ cations, and then react with OH− to form Cu2O and H2O. The two-dimensional growth of Cu2O nanostructure is preferred in anhydrous ethanol due to the suppression of random growth of Cu2O nanoarchitectures by ethanol. Cu2O nanobelts have superior photodegradation performance of methyl orange, three times higher than nanoporous Cu.

Ti-Based Bulk Metallic Glass Composites Produced by Spark Plasma Sintering

Using gas-atomized Ti-based metallic glassy powder, or the mixed powder blended with hydroxyapatite (HA) powder, we produced Ti-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) and the composites with high strength and satisfying large size requirements by a spark plasma sintering (SPS) process. The Ti-based BMGs and the composites with excellent properties and without toxic elements make it possible to apply as biomedical materials.

Effect of Minor Addition Ta on the Thermal Stability and Corrosion Resistance of Ti-Zr-Cu-Pd Bulk Metallic Glasses

In this research, the effect of Ta addition on the formation, thermal stability and corrosion behavior of Ti-Zr-Cu-Pd bulk metallic glasses were investigated. The results revealed with minor addition of Ta, higher corrosion resistance and compressive strength as well as large plastic deformation were achieved. Minor addition Ta is effective for the formation of more protectively passive film during the process of anodic polarization. In addition, proper volume fraction nanoparticle with small size is responsible for the large plastic deformation of the as-cast Ti-based bulk metallic glasses with 1% Ta addition.