Electron microscope observations of iron-catalyzed gasification of graphite

Author(s):  
A. Szirmae ◽  
V.U.S. Rao ◽  
R.M. Fisher

A well known catalytic effect of transition metals and particularly iron in contack with carbonaceous carbon exposed to oxidizing or hydrogenating atmospheres (02, CO-CO2, H2-H2O) has been investigated by scanning and high voltage transmission electron microscopy in a program aimed at determining the fundamental mechanisms of the gasification reactions. Samples of polycrystalline planchets and single crystal flakes of graphite were reacted at temperatures from 650°to 1100°C in “wet” and “dry” hydrogen . Quantitative electron microscope observations were supplemented by weight loss measurements and continuous gas chromatograph analysis of the CO and CH4, produced. Prior to exposure to the reacting gases, small particles of metallic iron are formed on the surface of single crystal graphite flakes or pressed carbon planchets by vacuum deposition of thin films ranging from 1 Å to 2000 Å in thickness.

1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 3169-3174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reiko Murao ◽  
Masae Kikuchi ◽  
Kiyoto Fukuoka ◽  
Eiji Aoyagi ◽  
Toshiyuki Atou ◽  
...  

Shock compression experiments on powder mixtures of niobium metal and quartz were conducted for the pressure range of 30–40 GPa by a 25-mm single-stage propellant gun. Chemical reaction occurred above 35 GPa, and products were found to be mainly so-called “Cu3Au-type” Nb3Si, which contained a small amount of oxygen. Microtextures of the specimen were examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. A field-emission transmission electron microscope was used for energy-dispersive x-ray analysis of microtextures in small particles found in the SiO2 matrix, and various species with different Nb/Si ratio and oxygen content were shown to be produced through the nonequilibrium process of shock compression.


1990 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 1605-1611 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Golden ◽  
H. Isotalo ◽  
M. Lanham ◽  
J. Mayer ◽  
F. F. Lange ◽  
...  

Superconducting YBaCuO thin films have been fabricated on single-crystal MgO by the spray-pyrolysis of nitrate precursors. The effects on the superconductive behavior of processing parameters such as time and temperature of heat treatment and film thickness were investigated. The superconductive behavior was found to be strongly dependent on film thickness. Films of thickness 1 μm were found to have a Tc of 67 K while thinner films showed appreciably degraded properties. Transmission electron microscopy studies have shown that the heat treatments necessary for the formation of the superconductive phase (for example, 950 °C for 30 min) also cause a substantial degree of film-substrate interdiffusion. Diffusion distances for Cu in the MgO substrate and Mg in the film were found to be sufficient to explain the degradation of the superconductive behavior in films of thickness 0.5 μm and 0.2 μm. From the concentration profiles obtained by EDS analysis diffusion coefficients at 950 °C for Mg into the YBaCuO thin film and for Cu into the MgO substrate were evaluated as 3 × 10−19 m2/s and 1 × 10−17 m2/s, respectively.


Author(s):  
S. E. Bronisz ◽  
Dana L. Douglass

Thin films of thoria, either cleaved from air-fired material or vacuum deposited on polished copper substrates, were examined by transmission electron microscopy. As prepared, the two types of samples were considerably different, but after being heated in the electron microscope they were closely similar.The cleaved samples were obtained by means of extraction replication of fracture surfaces of polycrystalline thoria. The thin flakes ranged from about 0.1 to 20 μm in diameter. Most of them were single crystals exhibiting the diffraction effects expected of crystalline materials and containing many long dislocations. Upon heating with the unapertured electron beam the dislocations disappeared, the crystals became more electron transparent, and the striated microstructure shown in Fig. 1 developed. The orientations of most of the cleaved crystals were equally divided among ﹛110﹜, ﹛111﹜, and ﹛112﹜. The striae were usually parallel to <110> or <135>.


1996 ◽  
Vol 03 (01) ◽  
pp. 1191-1194 ◽  
Author(s):  
MASASHI ARITA ◽  
ISAO NISHIDA

Crystal defects of A15 small particles in tungsten thin films were studied by means of transmission electron microscopy. Defects found in nanoscale crystals were analyzed to have special structure containing the Zr4Al3-type structure unit.


1985 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. R. Zheng ◽  
L. S. Hung ◽  
J. W. Mayer

ABSTRACTInteractions of evaporated Ni and Si thin films were investigated by a combination of backseat tering spectrometry and transmission electron microscopy. The presence of amorphous Si has no significant effects on Ni2Si and NiSi formation, but it drastically lowers the formation temperature of NiSi. Experiments with evaporated thin markers established that Ni is the dominant diffusing species in the growth of the three suicides. The stability of NiSi was examined by sequential evaporation of Ni34Si66 and Ni50Si50 thin films both on Si(100) and on evaporated Si substrates. The results showed that NiSi2 grows at the expence of NiSi when the stucture is in contact with evaporated Si, while it dissociates into NiSi and Si when in contact with single crystal Si.


Author(s):  
Carl Nail

Abstract Elementally characterizing intermetallic compounds (IMCs) to identify phases has routinely required relatively expensive transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. A study was done characterizing IMCs using less expensive energydispersive x-ray (EDX) spectroscopy tools to investigate it as a practical alternative to TEM. The study found that EDX line scanning can differentiate phases by tracking changes in count rate as the electron beam of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) passes from one phase to another.


1987 ◽  
Vol 99 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. A. Tietz ◽  
B. C. De Cooman ◽  
C. B. Carter ◽  
D. K. Lathrop ◽  
S. E. Russek ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe microstructure of thin films of the high Tc superconductor YBa2Cu3O7−x deposited on SrTiO3 and Y-stabilized cubic-zirconia (YSZ) single-crystal substrates has been characterized by transmission electron microscopy. Films on both substrates were polycrystalline. On {001 }-oriented SrTiO3, the grains are oriented with <110> normal to the substrate surface. On the same orientation of YSZ, two microstructures are observed: one in which grains have their c-axes normal to the substrate surface, the other in which grains have the a- (or b-) axis normal to the substrate surface. Both of these microstructures contain special grain boundaries. Annealing of ion-milled TEM specimens is presented as a means of removing ion-beam damage.


Author(s):  
E. U. Lee ◽  
P. A. Garner ◽  
J. S. Owens

Evidence for ordering (1-6) of interstitial impurities (O and C) has been obtained in b.c.c. metals, such as niobium and tantalum. In this paper we report the atomic and microstructural changes in an oxygenated c.p.h. metal (alpha titanium) as observed by transmission electron microscopy and diffraction.Oxygen was introduced into zone-refined iodide titanium sheets of 0.005 in. thickness in an atmosphere of oxygen and argon at 650°C, homogenized at 800°C and furnace-cooled in argon. Subsequently, thin foils were prepared by electrolytic polishing and examined in a JEM-7 electron microscope, operated at 100 KV.


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