The thick films and devices of PMN-based relaxor ferroelectric have attracted considerable attentions because they have excellent electric properties. In this paper, the research progress and trend of PMN-based thick films are summarized with emphases on screen printing, composite Sol-Gel, tape-casting, electrophoretic deposition and hydrothermal method. On the other hand, relatively slow progress was achieved in theoretical studies aimed in explaining the relaxor ferroelectric properties and the relaxor mechanism of the PMN-based thick film. Therefore, future works should involve in the low-temperature fabricating process, the physical mechanism and the new devices, which can be applied to new-type lead-free relaxor ferroelectric thick films with excellent properties.

Aluminum oxynitride (AlON) powders were firstly prepared by carbothermal reduction and nitridation processing with g-Al₂O₃ as starting material and carbon black (C) as a reducing agent and then AlON transparent ceramics were fabricated by gas-pressure sintering technique under nitrogen atmosphere. The effects of reactive temperature, holding time, and C content on the resultant phase compositions were investigated systematically by XRD. The microstructure of AlON transparent ceramics was observed by EPMA. The experimental results indicate that the CTRN processing for AlON formation is thermodynamically controlled and both reactive temperature and holding time are crucial to the reactive progress. The CTRN reaction begins at 1300℃ and finishes at 1700℃ with most of AlON and a trace of AlN. The AlN content further decreases with increasing reactive temperature while AlN phase can not disappear even at 1750℃ for 4h. With the as-prepared AlON powders as starting materials, AlON transparent ceramics can be fabricated by gas-pressure sintering technique at 1950℃ for 6h. The fabricated AlON transparent ceramics presents uniform microstructure with an average grains size of 50 mm.

The character of the domain structures in Ba_1-xSr_xTiO₃(x=0.7, 0.4, 0.1) ceramics prepared by the solid-state reaction was investigated by piezoresponse force microscope (PFM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The PFM results indicate that the domains are induced in paraelectric phase Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃ under 10V dc voltage applied between the tip and the bottom electrode. However, no domain appears in paraelectric phase Ba_0.3Sr_0.7TiO₃ under the same external voltage. The polarization reversal occurs in Ba_0.9Sr_0.1TiO₃ after application of 12V and –12V dc bias voltage. Furthermore, the TEM images show that no domain is found in Ba_0.6Sr_0.4TiO₃, while the herringbone domain structure is found in Ba_0.9Sr_0.1TiO₃. The mechanism of nonlinear dielectric properties of paraelectric phase Ba_1-xSr_xTiO₃ ceramic is also discussed.

K_0.5Na_0.5NbO₃(KNN) nanotube arrays were synthesized by Sol-Gel processing with anodic aluminum oxide templates, using Nb(OC₂H₅)₅, CH₃COOK and CH₃COONa as the starting materials and 2-methoxyethanol (2-MOE) as solution. The precursor gel was analyzed by thermogravimetric–differential thermal analysis. The phase, morphology and microstructure of KNN nanotube arrays were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope(SEM) and transmission electron microscope(TEM), respectively. The as-prepared samples are monoclinic phase perovskite structure with the outer-diameter of about 200 nm and wall thickness of about 20 nm. Polarization-electricfield (P-E) response curves of KNN nanotube arrays show that the remanent polarization (Pr) and the coercive electricfield (Ec) are about 1.86  µC/cm² and 0.68kV/cm, respectively.

A novel PZT piezoelectric ceramics with high d₃₁ (-480pC/N) and T_c (280℃) was developed to shape a long strip of piezoelectric ceramic bimorph element (PCBE), with 0.3 mm in thickness, 1.0 mm in width and three lengths (3.5, 4.0, 4.5 mm), which were assembled to the cantilever structure anchoring a Preamplifier, and were implanted totally into tympanic cavity of cat ear to analyze their ability of picking up acoustic signal. This study explores that the PCBEs have high efficient acoustic-electric performance. They can pick up 20-20000Hz acoustic signal with an approximate flat frequency curve when they are implanted the tympanic cavity of cat. The maximal output of -13.16 dB Volt p-p value (@1.5kHz, 0dB input) is picked up by the 4.5mm PCBE. This validates that PCBE might be totally implanted into tympanic cavity of cat ear as a piezoelectric microphone.

ZrO₂-3mol% Y₂O₃ coating was deposited by air plasma spraying using reconstituted nanosize particles. The microstructure was examined by SEM and TEM. The thermal conductivity was calculated based on the specific heat and thermal diffusivity detected by DSC and laser flash method. The results show that the thermal barrier zirconia coating with thermal conductivity ranging from 0.63-0.80 W/(m·K) is obtained. This can be attributed to the homogeneous distribution of micro-size pores and amounts of micro-cracks with average length of about 10 μm, to which heat flow is nearly perpendicular. The phase transition of t to m can result in the change of thermophysical properties. The grain growth and the decrease of porosity lead to increase of thermal conductiviy of as-sprayed coating.

High quality water-soluble semiconductor CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) were prepared by a phase transfer method, in which amphiphilic oligomers (polymaleic acid n-hexadecanol alcohol ester, PMAH) was used as surface coating agents. The as-prepared aqueous QDs were high fluorescent and extremely stable. To form the composite emulsion, different concentration of water-soluble CdSe/ZnS QDs was dispersed in PAA emulsion. The polymer-CdSe/ZnS QDs composite thin film was then fabricated using the composite emulsion with a spin-coating method. The obtained CdSe/ZnS QDs composite thin film was transparent under sun light and had bright red light under the irradiation of UV light. The composite thin film was also characterized with X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. The photoluminescence (PL) property and tolerance to UV light of the thin film were also characterized in dark circumstances. The PL intensity of the film showed increment with the increase of layer number and the concentration of CdSe/ZnS QDs within each film. Furthermore, the composite film retained its high quantum yield (QY) with only 5% QY lost after UV irradiation for 800 h.

Core-shell gap structure of Zn-ZnO nanomaterials consisted of Zn sphere core and ZnO nanorods shell was synthesized by low-temperature water-bath process using oleic acid-ethanol (OA-ALKY) as assistant. The sizes of the products depended on the diameter of Zn spheres and the ZnO nanorods which formed on the shell grew along the [001] direction with a diameter of 80-150nm. Changing the reaction conditions could get different core-shell structures. Besides, these structures were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscope (FT-IR), consequently the growth mechanism of the structures were proposed. The result indicates that adding oleic acid and ethanol mixture plays an important role in forming gap space of the core-shell structure, and the size of ZnO nanorods of the shell can be controlled by magnetic stirring.

Co-N co-doped ZnO thin films were fabricated on quartz and Si(100) substrates using a technique of electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) N₂O plasma-enhanced pulsed laser deposition and studied the influence of N dopant on the electric and magnetic properties of Co doped ZnO thin films. The thin films deposited at 700℃ and N₂O pressure of 15Pa had magnetism at room temperature. The samples were tested by XRD, SEM, XPS, Hall testing and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry. The results indicate that the configuration of the thin films is a completely c-axis orientation without any Co or N related phases. Co atoms and N atoms substitute Zn and O sites respectively in the form of Co_Zn and N_O in the thin films. Hall testing and SQUID results indicate that Co-N co-doped thin films are p type with lower carrier concentration and higher magnetization than those of the Co doped ZnO thin films. The N dopant changes the conduction type and gives rise to the increasing of magnetization of Co doped ZnO thin films.

Nanoplate-shaped ZnO thin film was achieved by the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis technique, using polar (0001) tourmaline wafers as the growing substrates. The as-prepared nanoplates were cross-linked and upright- standing. XRD and Raman tests revealed the hexagonal structure of wurtzite. The electron probe microanalysis and M?ssbauer spectroscope were utilized to explore the chemical composition and the fine structures of Fe ions in tourmaline substrates. The plate-like growth of ZnO nanocrystals are related to the surface electric field effect of tourmaline crystals. With the variation of Fe ions contents, valence states and occupation characters, the ratio of thickness to diameter of the ZnO nanoplates decreases with the increase of the intrinsic dipole moments along the c axis and the strengthening of surface electric field effect in tourmaline crystals.

Influence of different annealing process on the giant magneto-impedance (GMI) effect in soft magnetic alloy films of (Fe₈₈Zr₇B₅)_0.96Cu_0.04, which were prepared by radio frequency (RF) sputtering, was studied. It is obtained that both natural and current annealing can reduce the longitudinal GMI ratio. And the longitudinal GMI ratio of the annealed films increases with the increase of annealing current, and reaches a maximum value of 17% at 800mA, while the sensitivity increase to 7%(kA/m)^-1 at such annealing current (800mA). In addition, influence of the magnetic field annealing on GMI effect is discussed. It is found that both the longitudinal and transverse GMI ratios of the films after magnetic field annealed increase at different temperatures. There exists a critical temperature (250℃), at which the longitudinal GMI ration presents a single-peak with a value of 17.5%, while the transverse one presents a double-peak with a value of 17.8% at ±0.4kA/m.

A graphene material was prepared by arc discharge method, and its pore structures and electrochemical capacitive properties were studied. The graphene presents developed and open mesopore structure, and its specific surface area and mesopore ratio are 77.8 m²/g and 74.7%, respectively. The electrochemical capacitor using graphene as electrode materials, has a capacitance of 12.9 F/g. Its cyclic voltammograms show rectangular shape even under a high scan rate of 200 mV/s, and the specific frequency f0 on the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is as high as 18.5 Hz, exhibiting excellent rate capability.

Nanocomposite oxides materials (SnO₂-CuO) as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries were synthesized via precipitation method. The crystalline structure and the electrochemical performance of as-synthesized samples were investigated. The results show that the nanocomposite oxides materials are SnO₂-CuO nanocomposites with diameter of about 90nm. The SnO2-CuO nanocomposites exhibit excellent electrochemical performance. After charge-discharged from 30 times to 50 times, the discharge capacity decreases from 254.4 mAh/g to 241.1 mAh/g, and the capacity retention is about 95%.

Novel Fe₃Al composites strengthened and toughened by 1vol%, 3vol%, 5vol% and 7vol% multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS). X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were carried out to determine the phase composition, and to analyze the microstructure and crack propagation of the composites. Fracture toughness and compressive yield strength were determined at room temperature. Then, the strengthening and toughening mechanism of MWNTs in the composites were discussed. Experimental results show MWNTs keep perfect structure intact in the composite. The fracture toughness and compressive yield strength of composite with 3vol% MWNTs reach the maximum values of 40 MPa·m^1/2 and 3175 MPa, respectively. The bridging effect on cracks and pullout of MWNTs are possible strengthening and toughening mechanisms.

The samples of Pr_2-xSr_xCoO_4+δ (x=0.8, 1.0, 1.2) as cathode material for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC) were synthesized by solid-state reaction. Crystal structure, thermal expansion, electrical conductivity and electrochemical properties were investigated by XRD, SEM, dilatometry, DC four-probe method, AC impedance and cyclic voltammetry (CV) techniques, respectively. The XRD results showed all the samples obtained as a single K₂NiF₄-structural phase, there were no chemical reaction occurred between the Pr_0.08Sr_1.2CoO_4+δ electrode and the Sm_0.2Ce_0.8O_1.9 (SDC) electrolyte at 1100℃ in air. The thermal expansion coefficients (TECs) increased with Sr content increasing. The electrical conductivity of the specimens was over 100S/cm at 800℃. The polarization resistance decreased with the increasing of Sr content. Pr_0.8Sr_1.2O_4+δ had the optimum value of 0.29Ω·cm² at 700℃ in air.

The LaH₂ and PrH₂ nanopowders were prepared by hydrogen arc plasma method, and then dense    single-phase polycrystalline La_0.4Pr_0.6B₆ bulks were reactively fabricated starting from mixture of synthesized LaH₂, PrH₂ nanopowders and boron powders by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The influence of SPS sintering temperature on the microstructure and properties was investigated. Thermionic emission measurement of the sample sintered at 1400℃ and 40MPa was performed. It is shown that the pure phase La_0.4Pr_0.6B₆ bulk can be easily fabricated by SPS when the sintering temperature is higher than 1350℃ and the density of the material increases with increasing temperature. The largest values of densities, Vickers hardness and bend strengths reach 4.82g/cm³, 19.14GPa and 225.13MPa, respectively. The largest emission current density of the cathode heated at 1873K is 30.65A/cm2. The work function at absolute zero is calculated to be 2.165eV by Richardson line method, and then the average value of effective work functions of the cathode at different temperatures are calculated to be 2.84eV.

Cubic boron nitride thin films were prepared by inductively-coupled plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (ICP-CVD). The influences of base pressure and oxygen concentration on the content of oxygen impurity for cubic boron nitride film deposition were investigated. It was found that approximately 2% of oxygen impurity can still be detected in cubic boron nitride films even under a base pressure of up to 1×10^-5Pa. Moreover, a new infrared (IR) absorption peak near 1230-1280 cm^-1 was detected by Lorentzian-type curve fitting when the oxygen impurity content reached more than 3 at%. O1s core-level X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements confirmed the existence of B-O bond in boron nitride films. Therefore, this new peak could be attributed to the antisymmetric B-O stretching vibration of the trigonal BO₃ group. Moreover, the intensity of this new peak was found to increase with oxygen impurity concentration linearly. Thus the oxygen impurity content in cubic boron nitride films could be evaluated quasi-quantitatively from the intensity of this new IR absorption peak.

N-doped nanosized TiO₂ powders were directly synthesized by a low temperature hydrothermal method with tetrabutyl titanate as Ti resource and urea as nitrogen resource, and then immobilized on nickel foam substrates. N-doped TiO₂ powders were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, UV-Vis and XPS. The photocatalytic decomposition property of N-doped nanosized TiO₂ to formaldehyde under visible light was investigated. The result shows that nitrogen is incorporated into the TiO₂ lattice, so the lattice constants of TiO₂ increase (a and c). Nitrogen partially substitutes for oxygen and titanium in the TiO2 lattice. The chemical statuses of N can be assigned to Ti?N?Ti and O-N-O in the TiO₂ lattice. N-doped TiO₂ may be described as Ti_1-yO_2-xN_x+y-TiO_2-xN_x with its absorbing boundary wavelength red shifting to 600nm. N-doped nanosized TiO₂ powders can be uniformly dispersed on nickel foam substrates, showing a high photocatalytic decomposition activity to formaldehyde under visible light.

A new organic-inorganic hybrid microporous membrane was prepared via Sol-Gel method with bridged silsesquioxane (1, 2-bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane, BTESE) as a precursor. Macroporous α-Al₂O₃ disk supported mesopo- rous γ-Al₂O₃ layer was used as support. Defect-free hybrid silica membrane was deposited on such support by using a stable nano-sized sol and subsequently calcining in pure nitrogen atmosphere. The hybrid SiO₂ membrane as well as the powder was characterized by TG/DSC, BET and gas permeation. The hybrid silica membranes exhibit molecular sieve properties for small gases like He, CO₂, O₂, N₂, CH₄, and SF₆  with helium permeance in the range of (1.0-3.5)´10^-7mol/(m²·s·Pa)(at 200℃, 0.3MPa). Considering the membrane calcined at 500℃, it is found that the permselectivity of the He (0.255nm) with respect to CO₂ (0.33nm) is 47, which is much higher than the corresponding Knudsen value (He/CO₂=3.3). Effect of calcination temperature on hydrothermal stability of those microporous membranes was studied in detail. Results show that the performances of hybrid SiO₂ membranes calcined at 450℃, 500℃ and 550℃ deteriorate under a H₂O partial pressure of 200, 500 and 1000kPa, respectively.

A superhydrophobic surface was obtained by using g-aminopropyltriethoxylsilane (KH550) as a linker from organic-inorganic self-assemble process. By utilizing silane with amine functional group and Si-hydroxy functional group, bionic superhydrophobic surfaces with hierarchical microsphere/nanofiber structures were prepared on metal surfaces. The corrosion behavior of the composite film was investigated by electrochemicial impedance spectroscope (EIS). The maximal contact angle for water on the composite film is about 152°. Scanning electron microscope (SEM). Test result shows that the lotus-like film has microsphere/nanofiber hierarchical structure. The surface of the film forms a composite framework which plays an essential role in trapping air between the solid substrate and the liquid droplets to get high contact angle and low roll angle. Electrochemical corrosion measurements results indicate that the composite film has excellent corrosion protection for mild steel. The corrosion current of mild steel is nearly 1´10⁴ times than that of the sample coated with the composite film, while the corrosion impedance increases dramatically. It suggests that the superdrophobic film has good corrosion resistance.

Two types of hydroxyapatite (HA) ceramic particles were respectively fabricated by conventional and microwave sintering processes. The conventionally sintered HA was abbreviated as HACS, and the microwave sintered one was HAMS. The phase compositions, surface morphologies and zeta potentials of both particles were respectively analyzed with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and zetasizer. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) and lysozyme (LSZ) were selected as models to study their adsorption behaviors on HACS and HAMS. Results confirm that both HA particles crystallize completely, but HACS has larger crystal grain size than HAMS. Although both HACS and HAMS show negative surface zeta potentials in phosphate buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.4), the former has higher absolute value than the latter. Besides, both HA particles exhibit different adsorption ability for BSA and LSZ, and HACS adsorbs fewer BSA but more LSZ than HAMS. The microwave sintering can be a good method to produce nano-HA ceramics with excellent bioactivity.

With low-modulus alloys of Ti35Nb and Ti35Nb15Zr as the anodization substrates, amorphous TiO₂ nanotube arrays doped by Nb and Zr elements were fabricated through a surface anodization method. The wettability and in vitro bioactivity of the doped TiO₂ nanotubes and undoped nanotubes were investigated. Experimental results indicated that the existence of Nb and Zr elements in the anodic oxides could refine the diameter of the nanotubes and help to grow longer nanotubes. All of the as-anodized nanotubes demonstrated a hydrophobic behavior, which was different from those of the metallic substrate surface. The wettability of the TiO₂-based nanotubes varied with the type of the substrate or dopant element. The doping with Nb element could improve the wetting behavior of the TiO₂ nanotubes. And simultaneous doping with Nb and Zr elements could have more significant improvement in the wetting behavior. After immersion in simulated body fluids (SBF) the doped TiO₂ nanotubes could induce a quick apatite formation. The Nb/Zr doped nanotubes presented quicker apatite formation rate than the Ti-Nb-O nanotubes did at the initial immersion stage. The above findings make it possible to further control or modify the wettability toward either hydrophobic or hydrophilic surfaces, and explore related biological properties of the doped nanotubes.

The salt-assisted combustion method was applied in synthesis of Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles by using Fe(NO₃)₃·9H₂O, polyethylene glycol (PEG2000) and KCl as oxidant, fuel and salt, respectively. The products were characterized by HRTEM, XRD, LRS and N₂ adsorption. It is found that the crystal phase (including α-Fe₂O₃, γ-Fe₂O₃ and the mixed phases of α-Fe₂O₃ and γ-Fe₂O₃) of Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles can be adjusted by changing the KCl/NO^3- molar ratio. Addition of soluble inert KCl in the redox mixture solution for combustion synthesis results in the formation of well-dispersed γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles and a drastic increase in the specific surface area from 21.96 to 102.35 m²/g. A mechanism was proposed to illustrate the possible formation process of different crystal phase nanoparticles with different character.