Papers by Author: Yukiya Hakuta

Abstract: Boehmite nanoparticles with different shapes and lengths were used in the preparation of the boehmite films and coatings, and as the fillers for an organic polymer. Then, it was investigated how the shapes and lengths of the particles reflected the characteristics of the films, coatings and fillers. The films were prepared by casting an aqueous sol of the nanoparticles on a Teflon-lined plate, drying and peeling. The coatings were fabricated on porous alumina tubes or graphite sheets by dipping the substrates into a sol of the nanoparticles. The boehmite-polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) composite films, in which the nanoparticles are fillers, were prepared by casting a mixture of a boehmite nanoparticle sol and PVA. The films, coatings and composites were characterized by TEM, TG-DTA, gas permeability, pore size distribution and thermal expansion measurements. In the films, fibrous particles with aspect ratios over 50 aggregated in parallel to each other to form slit-like micropores, on the other hand, plate- and rod-like particles with aspect ratios below 10 randomly aggregated to form meso pores. Corresponding to this, for the coatings on porous alumina tubes and graphite sheets, the fibrous particles gave much low gas permeability and high thermostability, respectively, compared with the plate-like and rod-like particles. For the boehmite-PVA composite films, the fibrous particles gave lower thermal expansion than the plate-like and rod-like particles.

Abstract: We report preparation of Tb3+ or Eu3+ doped zirconia nanoparticles by sub- and supercritical hydrothermal reaction and luminescence properties. Experiments were performed by a flow-type hydrothermal reaction system. We investigated the effect of the reaction temperature on crystal structure, particle size and photo-, electro-luminescence properties. Reaction temperature was varied in the ranges of 150 to 400 C and reaction pressure was fixed to 30MPa. Characteristics of the products were performed by XRD, TEM, SEM-EDS and PL, EL measurements. The product transformed from amorphous zirconium hydroxide to tetragonal ZrO2 with an increase in the reaction temperature, regardless of the doped ion species. The ZrO2:Eu particles obtained at 400C were spherical with around 5 nm in diameter. ZrO2:Eu nanoparticles obtained under supercritical water condision showed typical photoluminescence spectra of f-f transition of Eu3+; however ZrO2:Tb nanoparticle obtained under the same condition showed no photoluminescence. Furthermore, the ZrO2:Eu nanoparticles obtained at 400 C showed high electroluminescence properties at electric field of 350V and 1kHz.