Nano-sized yttria (Y2O3) powders were synthesized by a polymer solution route using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as an organic carrier. The PVA polymer affected the dispersion of yttrium ions in precursor sol. In this study, three kinds of PVA polymer (different molecular weight) were applied for synthesis of yttria powder. The PVA type as well as calcination temperature had a strongly influence on the particle morphology. Single crystal nano wire particles were observed at the temperature of polymer burn out range and the size was dependent on the PVA type. The stable, fully crystallized yttria powder was obtained through the calcination at 800°C for 1 h. The yttria powder prepared with the high weight PVA (MW: 153,000) revealed a particle size of 30 nm with a surface area of 18.8 m2/g.

The present study, aims to investigate the effect of minor Zr and Nb alloying on soft magnetic and electrical properties of Fe86(ZrxNb1-x)7B6Cu1 (x = 1, 0.75, 0.5, 0.25) alloys. The investigated alloys were prepared through the melt spinning process. Within the examined compositional range (Nb up to 5.25at%, respectively), the soft magnetic properties and electrical resistivity of the alloys continuously increase with increasing Nb content. However increasing the Nb content further decreases such properties. We could confirm the influence of ratio of Zr and Nb on grain growth and crystallization fraction during crystallization by using the soft magnetic properties and electrical properties.

This paper reviews research at the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Poznań University of Technology, on the synthesis of nanocrystalline hydride electrode materials. Nanocrystalline materials have been synthesized by mechanical alloying (MA) followed by annealing. Examples of the mate2-, LaNi5 and Mg2Ni-type phases. Details on the process used and the enhancement of properties due to the nanoscale structures are presented. The synthesized alloys were used as negative electrode materials for Ni-MH battery. The properties of hydrogen host materials can be modi?ed substantially by alloying to obtain the desired storage characteristics. For example, it was found that the respective replacement of Fe in TiFe by Ni and/or by Cr, Co, Mo improved not only the discharge capacity but also the cycle life of these electrodes. The hydrogen storage properties of nanocrystalline ZrV2- and LaNi5-type powders prepared by mechanical alloying and annealing show no big di?erence with those of melt casting (polycrystalline) alloys. On the other hand, a partial substitution of Mg by Mn orAl in Mg2Ni alloy leads to an increase in discharge capacity, at room temperature. Furthermore, the e?ect of the nickel and graphite coating on the structure of some nanocrystalline alloys and the electrodes characteristics were investigated. In the case of Mg2Ni-type alloy mechanical coating with graphite e?ectively reduced the degradation rate of the studied electrode materials. The combination of a nanocrystalline TiFe-, ZrV2- and LaNi5-type hydride electrodes and a nickel positive electrode to form a Ni-MH battery, has been successful.

In the present study, the corrosion behaviors of amorphous-nanocrystalline Ni50Ti50 shape memory alloy with different crystallite sizes were investigated. The Ni50Ti50 homogenized specimens were hot rolled and annealed at 950°C. Thereafter, the nanocrystalline Ni50Ti50 specimens with different crystalline sizes in the range of 40-350 nm were prepared by cold rolling and annealing at temperature range of 400 to 900oC. The corrosion resistance of Ni50Ti50 specimen with coarse grain size has significantly increased after cold rolling as a result of the formation of amorphous-nanocrystalline structure. The amorphous and nanocrystalline (with the crystallite size of about 40 nm) Ni50Ti50 samples exhibited the best corrosion resistance in the 5% HCl electrolyte with the corrosion potential and corrosion current density of about –197 mV and 2.34×10–6 A/cm2, respectively. This effect can be attributed to the higher density of crystalline defects in amorphous and nanocrystalline structures to quickly form protective films on the surface.

A nanocrystalline Ti alloy powder was fabricated using cryomilling. The grain size and lattice strain evolution during cryomilling were quantitatively analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) based on the Scherrer equation, Williamson-Hall (W-H) plotting method, and size-strain (S-S) method assuming uniform deformation. Other physical parameters including stress and strain have been calculated. The average crystallite size and the lattice strain evaluated from XRD analysis are in good agreement with the result of transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

A nanocrystalline Ti alloy powder was fabricated using cryomilling. The grain size and lattice strain evolution during cryomilling were quantitatively analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) based on the Scherrer equation, Williamson-Hall (W-H) plotting method, and size-strain (S-S) method assuming uniform deformation. Other physical parameters including stress and strain have been calculated. The average crystallite size and the lattice strain evaluated from XRD analysis are in good agreement with the result of transmission electron microscopy (TEM).