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State-of-the-Art Materials Science in Belgium 2017

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2018) | Viewed by 105157

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Prof. Dr. Dirk Poelman

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Lumilab, Department of Solid State Sciences, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S1, B-9000 Gent, Belgium
Interests: lighting, vision, and luminescence, displays; thin film optics; photocatalysis; medical imaging; structural characterization
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Dear colleagues,

Belgium is a small country. The days of minerals and ores from the former colony Congo have long passed by, and the last coal mine was closed 25 years ago. So, Belgium has hardly any physical resources which can be exploited in materials research and development, or industry. This drawback is compensated by focussing on highly technological fields of research, not requiring vast amounts of raw materials. This approach includes the development of new analytical methods for the characterization of materials, research into new advanced functional materials as well as finding new industrial processes utilizing existing materials.

This special issue aims at collecting an overview of materials research activities in Belgium. Research topics include, but are not limited to:

Methods for the synthesis of new materials in powder, bulk or thin film form.
Surface modification or functionalization of materials.
Optical, electrical, mechanical or magnetic properties of materials.
New methods for materials characterization.
Material degradation and protection.
Applications of advanced functional materials.
Technologies for separation and recycling.

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit manuscripts on the subject “State-of-the-Art Materials Science in Belgium” for this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, as well as comprehensive reviews are welcome. Please feel free contact me as guest editor in case of further questions.

Prof. Dr. Dirk Poelman
Guest Editor

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Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

synthesis; characterization
coatings; functional materials
degradation; protection; recycling; circular economy

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Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 4309 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Introducing Obliquely Perforated Phononic Plates for Enhanced Bandgap Efficiency

by Saeid Hedayatrasa, Mathias Kersemans, Kazem Abhary and Wim Van Paepegem

Materials 2018, 11(8), 1309; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11081309 - 28 Jul 2018

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3492

Abstract

Porous phononic crystal plates (PhPs) that are produced by perpendicular perforation of a uniform plate have well-known characteristics in selective manipulation (filtration, resonation, and steering) of guided wave modes. This paper introduces novel designs of porous PhPs made by an oblique perforation angle. Such obliquely perforated PhPs (OPhPs) have a non-uniform through-the-thickness cross section, which strongly affects their interaction with various wave mode types and therefore their corresponding phononic properties. Modal band analysis is performed in unit-cell scale and variation of phononic bandgaps with respect to the perforation angle is studied within the first 10 modal branches. Unit-cells with arbitrary perforation profile as well as unit-cells with optimized topology for maximized bandgap of fundamental modes are investigated. It is observed that the oblique perforation has promising effects in enhancing the unidirectional and/or omnidirectional bandgap efficiency, depending on the topology and perforation angle of OPhP. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Materials Science in Belgium 2017)

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13 pages, 6285 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Thickness Characterization Toolbox for Transparent Protective Coatings on Polymer Substrates

by Matthias Van Zele, Jonathan Watté, Jan Hasselmeyer, Hannes Rijckaert, Yannick Vercammen, Steven Verstuyft, Davy Deduytsche, Damien P. Debecker, Claude Poleunis, Isabel Van Driessche and Klaartje De Buysser

Materials 2018, 11(7), 1101; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11071101 - 28 Jun 2018

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4770

Abstract

The thickness characterization of transparent protective coatings on functional, transparent materials is often problematic. In this paper, a toolbox to determine the thicknesses of a transparent coating on functional window films is presented. The toolbox consists of a combination of secondary ion mass spectrometry and profilometry and can be transferred to other transparent polymeric materials. A coating was deposited on designed model samples, which were characterized with cross-sectional views in transmission and in scanning/transmission electron microscopy and ellipsometry. The toolbox was then used to assess the thicknesses of the protective coatings on the pilot-scale window films. This coating was synthesized using straightforward sol-gel alkoxide chemistry. The kinetics of the condensation are studied in order to obtain a precursor that allows fast drying and complete condensation after simple heat treatment. The shelf life of this precursor solution was investigated in order to verify its accordance to industrial requirements. Deposition was performed successfully at low temperatures below 100 °C, which makes deposition on polymeric foils possible. By using roll-to-roll coating, the findings of this paper are easily transferrable to industrial scale. The coating was tested for scratch resistance and adhesion. Values for the emissivity (ε) of the films were recorded to justify the use of the films obtained as infrared reflective window films. In this work, it is shown that the toolbox measures similar thicknesses to those measured by electron microscopy and can be used to set a required thickness for protective coatings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Materials Science in Belgium 2017)

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13 pages, 3417 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pair Distribution Function Analysis of ZrO₂ Nanocrystals and Insights in the Formation of ZrO₂-YBa₂Cu₃O₇ Nanocomposites

by Hannes Rijckaert, Jonathan De Roo, Matthias Van Zele, Soham Banerjee, Hannu Huhtinen, Petriina Paturi, Jan Bennewitz, Simon J. L. Billinge, Michael Bäcker, Klaartje De Buysser and Isabel Van Driessche

Materials 2018, 11(7), 1066; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11071066 - 23 Jun 2018

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 5569

Abstract

The formation of superconducting nanocomposites from preformed nanocrystals is still not well understood. Here, we examine the case of ZrO₂ nanocrystals in a YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x matrix. First we analyzed the preformed ZrO₂ nanocrystals via atomic pair distribution function analysis and found that the nanocrystals have a distorted tetragonal crystal structure. Second, we investigated the influence of various surface ligands attached to the ZrO₂ nanocrystals on the distribution of metal ions in the pyrolyzed matrix via secondary ion mass spectroscopy technique. The choice of stabilizing ligand is crucial in order to obtain good superconducting nanocomposite films with vortex pinning. Short, carboxylate based ligands lead to poor superconducting properties due to the inhomogeneity of metal content in the pyrolyzed matrix. Counter-intuitively, a phosphonate ligand with long chains does not disturb the growth of YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x. Even more surprisingly, bisphosphonate polymeric ligands provide good colloidal stability in solution but do not prevent coagulation in the final film, resulting in poor pinning. These results thus shed light on the various stages of the superconducting nanocomposite formation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Materials Science in Belgium 2017)

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25 pages, 12858 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Understanding the Interaction between a Steel Microstructure and Hydrogen

by Tom Depover, Aurélie Laureys, Diana Pérez Escobar, Emilie Van den Eeckhout, Elien Wallaert and Kim Verbeken

Materials 2018, 11(5), 698; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11050698 - 28 Apr 2018

Cited by 36 | Viewed by 6086

Abstract

The present work provides an overview of the work on the interaction between hydrogen (H) and the steel’s microstructure. Different techniques are used to evaluate the H-induced damage phenomena. The impact of H charging on multiphase high-strength steels, i.e., high-strength low-alloy (HSLA), transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) and dual phase (DP) is first studied. The highest hydrogen embrittlement resistance is obtained for HSLA steel due to the presence of Ti- and Nb-based precipitates. Generic Fe-C lab-cast alloys consisting of a single phase, i.e., ferrite, bainite, pearlite or martensite, and with carbon contents of approximately 0, 0.2 and 0.4 wt %, are further considered to simplify the microstructure. Finally, the addition of carbides is investigated in lab-cast Fe-C-X alloys by adding a ternary carbide forming element to the Fe-C alloys. To understand the H/material interaction, a comparison of the available H trapping sites, the H pick-up level and the H diffusivity with the H-induced mechanical degradation or H-induced cracking is correlated with a thorough microstructural analysis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Materials Science in Belgium 2017)

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20 pages, 34347 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Highly Efficient Low-Temperature N-Doped TiO₂ Catalysts for Visible Light Photocatalytic Applications

by Julien G. Mahy, Vincent Cerfontaine, Dirk Poelman, François Devred, Eric M. Gaigneaux, Benoît Heinrichs and Stéphanie D. Lambert

Materials 2018, 11(4), 584; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11040584 - 10 Apr 2018

Cited by 51 | Viewed by 6252

Abstract

In this paper, TiO₂ prepared with an aqueous sol-gel synthesis by peptization process is doped with nitrogen precursor to extend its activity towards the visible region. Three N-precursors are used: urea, ethylenediamine and triethylamine. Different molar N/Ti ratios are tested and the synthesis is adapted for each dopant. For urea- and trimethylamine-doped samples, anatase-brookite TiO₂ nanoparticles of 6–8 nm are formed, with a specific surface area between 200 and 275 m²·g⁻¹. In ethylenediamine-doped samples, the formation of rutile phase is observed, and TiO₂ nanoparticles of 6–8 nm with a specific surface area between 185 and 240 m²·g⁻¹ are obtained. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and diffuse reflectance measurements show the incorporation of nitrogen in TiO₂ materials through Ti–O–N bonds allowing light absorption in the visible region. Photocatalytic tests on the remediation of water polluted with p-nitrophenol show a marked improvement for all doped catalysts under visible light. The optimum doping, taking into account cost, activity and ease of synthesis, is up-scaled to a volume of 5 L and compared to commercial Degussa P25 material. This up-scaled sample shows similar properties compared to the lab-scale sample, i.e., a photoactivity 4 times higher than commercial P25. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Materials Science in Belgium 2017)

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14 pages, 3653 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

LaAlO₃:Mn⁴⁺ as Near-Infrared Emitting Persistent Luminescence Phosphor for Medical Imaging: A Charge Compensation Study

by Jiaren Du, Olivier Q. De Clercq, Katleen Korthout and Dirk Poelman

Materials 2017, 10(12), 1422; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma10121422 - 12 Dec 2017

Cited by 72 | Viewed by 8959

Abstract

Mn⁴⁺-activated phosphors are emerging as a novel class of deep red/near-infrared emitting persistent luminescence materials for medical imaging as a promising alternative to Cr³⁺-doped nanomaterials. Currently, it remains a challenge to improve the afterglow and photoluminescence properties of these phosphors through a traditional high-temperature solid-state reaction method in air. Herein we propose a charge compensation strategy for enhancing the photoluminescence and afterglow performance of Mn⁴⁺-activated LaAlO₃ phosphors. LaAlO₃:Mn⁴⁺ (LAO:Mn⁴⁺) was synthesized by high-temperature solid-state reaction in air. The charge compensation strategies for LaAlO₃:Mn⁴⁺ phosphors were systematically discussed. Interestingly, Cl⁻/Na⁺/Ca²⁺/Sr²⁺/Ba²⁺/Ge⁴⁺ co-dopants were all found to be beneficial for enhancing LaAlO₃:Mn⁴⁺ luminescence and afterglow intensity. This strategy shows great promise and opens up new avenues for the exploration of more promising near-infrared emitting long persistent phosphors for medical imaging. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Materials Science in Belgium 2017)

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Review

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23 pages, 4490 KiB

Open AccessReview

Recent Advances in Transmission Electron Microscopy for Materials Science at the EMAT Lab of the University of Antwerp

by Giulio Guzzinati, Thomas Altantzis, Maria Batuk, Annick De Backer, Gunnar Lumbeeck, Vahid Samaee, Dmitry Batuk, Hosni Idrissi, Joke Hadermann, Sandra Van Aert, Dominique Schryvers, Johan Verbeeck and Sara Bals

Materials 2018, 11(8), 1304; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11081304 - 28 Jul 2018

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 8590

Abstract

The rapid progress in materials science that enables the design of materials down to the nanoscale also demands characterization techniques able to analyze the materials down to the same scale, such as transmission electron microscopy. As Belgium’s foremost electron microscopy group, among the largest in the world, EMAT is continuously contributing to the development of TEM techniques, such as high-resolution imaging, diffraction, electron tomography, and spectroscopies, with an emphasis on quantification and reproducibility, as well as employing TEM methodology at the highest level to solve real-world materials science problems. The lab’s recent contributions are presented here together with specific case studies in order to highlight the usefulness of TEM to the advancement of materials science. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Materials Science in Belgium 2017)

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32 pages, 13727 KiB

Open AccessReview

Advanced Chemical Looping Materials for CO₂ Utilization: A Review

by Jiawei Hu, Vladimir V. Galvita, Hilde Poelman and Guy B. Marin

Materials 2018, 11(7), 1187; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11071187 - 10 Jul 2018

Cited by 110 | Viewed by 10174

Abstract

Combining chemical looping with a traditional fuel conversion process yields a promising technology for low-CO₂-emission energy production. Bridged by the cyclic transformation of a looping material (CO₂ carrier or oxygen carrier), a chemical looping process is divided into two spatially or temporally separated half-cycles. Firstly, the oxygen carrier material is reduced by fuel, producing power or chemicals. Then, the material is regenerated by an oxidizer. In chemical looping combustion, a separation-ready CO₂ stream is produced, which significantly improves the CO₂ capture efficiency. In chemical looping reforming, CO₂ can be used as an oxidizer, resulting in a novel approach for efficient CO₂ utilization through reduction to CO. Recently, the novel process of catalyst-assisted chemical looping was proposed, aiming at maximized CO₂ utilization via the achievement of deep reduction of the oxygen carrier in the first half-cycle. It makes use of a bifunctional looping material that combines both catalytic function for efficient fuel conversion and oxygen storage function for redox cycling. For all of these chemical looping technologies, the choice of looping materials is crucial for their industrial application. Therefore, current research is focused on the development of a suitable looping material, which is required to have high redox activity and stability, and good economic and environmental performance. In this review, a series of commonly used metal oxide-based materials are firstly compared as looping material from an industrial-application perspective. The recent advances in the enhancement of the activity and stability of looping materials are discussed. The focus then proceeds to new findings in the development of the bifunctional looping materials employed in the emerging catalyst-assisted chemical looping technology. Among these, the design of core-shell structured Ni-Fe bifunctional nanomaterials shows great potential for catalyst-assisted chemical looping. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Materials Science in Belgium 2017)

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51 pages, 11060 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Spray-Drying of Electrode Materials for Lithium- and Sodium-Ion Batteries

by Benedicte Vertruyen, Nicolas Eshraghi, Caroline Piffet, Jerome Bodart, Abdelfattah Mahmoud and Frederic Boschini

Materials 2018, 11(7), 1076; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11071076 - 25 Jun 2018

Cited by 47 | Viewed by 13757

Abstract

The performance of electrode materials in lithium-ion (Li-ion), sodium-ion (Na-ion) and related batteries depends not only on their chemical composition but also on their microstructure. The choice of a synthesis method is therefore of paramount importance. Amongst the wide variety of synthesis or shaping routes reported for an ever-increasing panel of compositions, spray-drying stands out as a versatile tool offering demonstrated potential for up-scaling to industrial quantities. In this review, we provide an overview of the rapidly increasing literature including both spray-drying of solutions and spray-drying of suspensions. We focus, in particular, on the chemical aspects of the formulation of the solution/suspension to be spray-dried. We also consider the post-processing of the spray-dried precursors and the resulting morphologies of granules. The review references more than 300 publications in tables where entries are listed based on final compound composition, starting materials, sources of carbon etc. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Materials Science in Belgium 2017)

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27 pages, 29804 KiB

Open AccessReview

Fe-Based Nano-Materials in Catalysis

by Stavros Alexandros Theofanidis, Vladimir V. Galvita, Christos Konstantopoulos, Hilde Poelman and Guy B. Marin

Materials 2018, 11(5), 831; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11050831 - 17 May 2018

Cited by 46 | Viewed by 6699

Abstract

The role of iron in view of its further utilization in chemical processes is presented, based on current knowledge of its properties. The addition of iron to a catalyst provides redox functionality, enhancing its resistance to carbon deposition. FeO_x species can be formed in the presence of an oxidizing agent, such as CO₂, H₂O or O₂, during reaction, which can further react via a redox mechanism with the carbon deposits. This can be exploited in the synthesis of active and stable catalysts for several processes, such as syngas and chemicals production, catalytic oxidation in exhaust converters, etc. Iron is considered an important promoter or co-catalyst, due to its high availability and low toxicity that can enhance the overall catalytic performance. However, its operation is more subtle and diverse than first sight reveals. Hence, iron and its oxides start to become a hot topic for more scientists and their findings are most promising. The scope of this article is to provide a review on iron/iron-oxide containing catalytic systems, including experimental and theoretical evidence, highlighting their properties mainly in view of syngas production, chemical looping, methane decomposition for carbon nanotubes production and propane dehydrogenation, over the last decade. The main focus goes to Fe-containing nano-alloys and specifically to the Fe–Ni nano-alloy, which is a very versatile material. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Materials Science in Belgium 2017)

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26 pages, 29479 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Luminescent Lanthanide MOFs: A Unique Platform for Chemical Sensing

by Shu-Na Zhao, Guangbo Wang, Dirk Poelman and Pascal Van Der Voort

Materials 2018, 11(4), 572; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11040572 - 7 Apr 2018

Cited by 190 | Viewed by 13840

Abstract

In recent years, lanthanide metal–organic frameworks (LnMOFs) have developed to be an interesting subclass of MOFs. The combination of the characteristic luminescent properties of Ln ions with the intriguing topological structures of MOFs opens up promising possibilities for the design of LnMOF-based chemical sensors. In this review, we present the most recent developments of LnMOFs as chemical sensors by briefly introducing the general luminescence features of LnMOFs, followed by a comprehensive investigation of the applications of LnMOF sensors for cations, anions, small molecules, nitroaromatic explosives, gases, vapors, pH, and temperature, as well as biomolecules. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Materials Science in Belgium 2017)

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30 pages, 2419 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

The Use of Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Ash in Various Building Materials: A Belgian Point of View

by Aneeta Mary Joseph, Ruben Snellings, Philip Van den Heede, Stijn Matthys and Nele De Belie

Materials 2018, 11(1), 141; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11010141 - 16 Jan 2018

Cited by 223 | Viewed by 15674

Abstract

Huge amounts of waste are being generated, and even though the incineration process reduces the mass and volume of waste to a large extent, massive amounts of residues still remain. On average, out of 1.3 billion tons of municipal solid wastes generated per year, around 130 and 2.1 million tons are incinerated in the world and in Belgium, respectively. Around 400 kT of bottom ash residues are generated in Flanders, out of which only 102 kT are utilized here, and the rest is exported or landfilled due to non-conformity to environmental regulations. Landfilling makes the valuable resources in the residues unavailable and results in more primary raw materials being used, increasing mining and related hazards. Identifying and employing the right pre-treatment technique for the highest value application is the key to attaining a circular economy. We reviewed the present pre-treatment and utilization scenarios in Belgium, and the advancements in research around the world for realization of maximum utilization are reported in this paper. Uses of the material in the cement industry as a binder and cement raw meal replacement are identified as possible effective utilization options for large quantities of bottom ash. Pre-treatment techniques that could facilitate this use are also discussed. With all the research evidence available, there is now a need for combined efforts from incineration and the cement industry for technical and economic optimization of the process flow. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Materials Science in Belgium 2017)

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