Effects of Unidirection/Bidirection Torsional Thermomechanical Processes on Grain Boundary Characteristics and Plasticity of Pure Nickel

The “torsion and annealing” grain boundary modification of pure nickel wires with different diameters was carried out in this paper. The effects of torsional cycles as well as unidirectional/bidirectional torsion methods on grain boundary characteristic distribution and plasticity were investigated. The fraction of special boundaries, grain boundary characteristic distributions and grain orientations of samples with different torsion parameters were detected by electron backscatter diffraction. Hardness measurement was conducted to characterize the plasticity. Then, the relationship between micro grain boundary characteristics and macro plasticity was explored. It was found that the special boundaries, especially Σ3 boundaries, are increased after torsion and annealing and effectively broke the random boundary network. The bidirectional torsion with small torsional circulation unit was the most conducive way to improve the fraction of special boundaries. The experiments also showed that there was a good linear correlation between the fraction of special boundaries and hardness. The plasticization mechanism was that plenty of grains with Σ3 boundaries, [001] orientations and small Taylor factor were generated in the thermomechanical processes. Meanwhile, the special boundaries broke the random boundary network. Therefore, the material was able to achieve greater plastic deformation. Moreover, the mechanism of torsion and annealing on the plasticity of pure nickel was illustrated, which provides theoretical guidance for the pre-plasticization of nickel workpieces.

High-Performance Mg3Sb2-xBix Thermoelectrics: Progress and Perspective

Since the first successful implementation of n-type doping, low-cost Mg3Sb2-xBix alloys have been rapidly developed as excellent thermoelectric materials in recent years. An average figure of merit zT above unity over the temperature range 300–700 K makes this new system become a promising alternative to the commercially used n-type Bi2Te3-xSex alloys for either refrigeration or low-grade heat power generation near room temperature. In this review, with the structure-property-application relationship as the mainline, we first discuss how the crystallographic, electronic, and phononic structures lay the foundation of the high thermoelectric performance. Then, optimization strategies, including the physical aspects of band engineering with Sb/Bi alloying and carrier scattering mechanism with grain boundary modification and the chemical aspects of Mg defects and aliovalent doping, are extensively reviewed. Mainstream directions targeting the improvement of zT near room temperature are outlined. Finally, device applications and related engineering issues are discussed. We hope this review could help to promote the understanding and future developments of low-cost Mg3Sb2-xBix alloys for practical thermoelectric applications.

Improvement of electrodeposited Sb2Se3 thin film photoelectroactivity by cobalt grain boundary modification

Cobalt-modified Sb2Se3 showed improved photoelectrochemical properties towards the HER and initial photocorrosion stability, which were associated with grain-boundary inversion.