Infinium Metals Inc., Natick, Mass., has received a grant from ARPA-E and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to commercialize its Pure Oxygen Anode technology. The process is said to enable three to five times higher production output per footprint than conventional processes, with virtually no emissions. It reduces cost by cutting in half the energy required and by eliminating the need for consumable graphite anodes.
Monash University, Australia, announces that a research team has discovered that adding 0.37% arsenic to magnesium reduces the corrosion rate significantly. Mass loss following seven days of immersion in 0.1M NaCl was 1.75 x 10-4 g/cm3/day for pure magnesium, but only 0.5 x10-4 g/cm3/day for Mg-0.37wt.% As. The addition of very low levels of arsenic to magnesium retards the corrosion reaction by effectively ‘poisoning’ the reaction before it completes.
Researchers at Cambridge University, England, announce that they have designed a class of iron alloys in which a high density of strong interfaces can be created by heat treatment alone. In this nanostructure-controlled high-strength bainitic steel, the thickness of bainitic ferrite platelets is controlled between 20 and 50 nm. Nanostructured super bainitic steel achieves the extremely high strength of 2.5 GPa by heating at 200°C for ten days.
Wall Colmonoy, Madison Heights, Mich., announces its turnkey roller coating solution, an automated, cost-effective brazing paste application process for large-tolerance non-flat surfaces such as those on catalytic converters. The R&D department works directly with customers to develop the right customized paste, a blend of Nicrobraz filler metal powders mixed with gel S’ Binder , for specific applications.
A team at the University of California, Riverside, has developed a novel way to build a zinc oxide nano-island on silicon. It eliminates the need for a second element called a selector, which is often a diode. The device is based on the principles of resistive memory, which can be used to create memory cells that are smaller, operate at a higher speed, and offer more storage capacity than flash memory cells, the current industry standard.
