Defect and Diffusion Forum

Description: Current water-treatment technologies require considerable energy consumption. Thus, closely linked to the problem of water shortage is the impending energy crisis. Therefore, intensive research is being aimed at developing water purification processes that are based upon using renewable energy, such as solar energy, rather than energy generated using fossil fuels. There has been an accumulation of reports on the development of photocatalysts, which enable water purification using solar energy as the only driving force. Such photocatalysts, based upon oxide semiconductors, permit the conversion of solar energy into the chemical energy that is required for the oxidation of toxic organic compounds in water. The most promising photocatalyst is titanium dioxide, TiO2, and its solid solutions. The research on TiO2 photocatalysis is multidisciplinary, and progress in this area requires the application of concepts of catalysis and photocatalysis as well as concepts of solid-state chemistry.

Description: This eleventh volume in the series covering the latest results in the field includes abstracts of papers which have appeared since the publication of Annual Retrospective X (Volumes 280-281). As well as the 589 ceramics abstracts, the issue includes original papers on all of the major material groups, and theory: “Positron Annihilation in Ion-Implanted ZnO” (A.D.Acharya, G.Singh and S.B.Shrivastava), “Optical Characteristics of Tungsten Oxide Thin Films Prepared by Sputtering Technique” (S.A.Aly), “Research on Magnetization Mechanism of Nano-Magnetic Fluid” (J.Li and D.Li), “Clustering of Arsenic Atoms in Silicon during Low-Temperature Annealing” (O.Velichko and O.Burunova), “Effect of Current Density on Composition and Microstructure of Si Diffusion Layer by Electrodeposition” (H.Yang, Y.Zhang, Y.Li, G.Tang and K.Jia), “Positron Annihilation & Micro-Hardness Measurement of 6063 and 6066 with Compromise with Ingot Al” (M.A.Abdel-Rahman, A.Al-deen and E.A.Badawi), “Stress-Induced Migration and Trapping of Hydrogen in AISI403 Steel” (G.P.Tiwari, V.D.Alur and E.Ramadasan), “Electromigration Force on a Proton with a Bound State” (A.Lodder).

Description: Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters BCI (WoS).
This first volume, in a new series covering entirely general results in the fields of defects and diffusion, includes abstracts of papers which appeared between the beginning of 2008 and the end of October 2009 (journal availability permitting).

Description: This eleventh volume in the series covering the latest results in the field includes abstracts of papers which appeared between the publication of Annual Retrospective X (Volume 278) and the end of August 2009 (journal availability permitting).

Description: Diffusion is always central to many scientific and technological fields. From the recognition of Fick´s laws, up to the present day, there have been very important diffusion-based contributions made to fields such as biology, nanosciences, chemistry, physics, etc.
Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters CPCI-S (WoS)

Description: It is well-known, even at the most elementary level of scientific knowledge, that free surfaces have properties which make them differ from the underlying bulk material. In the case of liquids, it is common knowledge - even among laymen - that the liquid surface acts as though it were a distinct skin-like material. At a slightly more advanced level, it is known that the liquid surface will seek to minimize its total surface energy by minimizing its surface area; thereby affecting its local vapor-pressure and adsorption behavior. In the case of solids too, it has long been known that different crystallographic surfaces have different surface energies and that this can decide which surfaces ‘survive’ during crystal growth, and govern how solids - especially small particles - respond to prolonged annealing.
However, although it was perhaps theoretically ‘obvious’, it is only relatively recently (since the 1950s) that it has come to be realized that solid surfaces will seek to minimize their total surface energy not only by minimizing their area, but also by changing their local surface structure. This process has come to be known as surface reconstruction. Study of this phenomenon has exploded in interest in recent years, partly because of the ever-increasing sophistication of the experimental techniques available for examining surfaces in the required detail, and partly because of the importance of the phenomenon in such fields as catalysis and layered (epitaxial) construction of semiconducting devices.

Description: The goal of this special volume was to provide a unique opportunity to exchange information, present the latest results and to review relevant issues in contemporary diffusion research.
Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters CPCI-S (WoS).

Description: This eleventh volume in the series covering the latest results in the field includes abstracts of papers which have appeared since the publication of Annual Retrospective X (Volume 272). As well as the 295 metals abstracts, the issue includes – in line with the new editorial policy of including original papers on all of the major material groups: “Structural and Electron-Hopping Studies of Pr- and Nd-Substituted La2/3Ba1/3MnO3 Manganites” (H.Abdullah and S.A.Halim), “Recrystallization Annealing of Cold-Rolled 9Cr-1Mo Ferritic Steel Containing Silicon” (M.N.Mungole, M.Surender, R.Balasubramaniam and S.Bhargava), “Quantitative Concept for Morphological Stability Analysis of Solid/Liquid Interface in Rapid Solidification of Dilute Binary Alloys” (M.Draissia), “Studies of the Spin Hamiltonian Parameters for NiX2 and CdX2:Ni2+ (X = Cl, Br) (Z.H.Zhang, S.Y.Wu, X.F.Wang and Y.X.Hu).

Description: This tenth volume in the series covering the latest results in the field includes abstracts of papers which have appeared since the publication of Annual Retrospective IX (Volume 268).

Description: Given that the basic purpose of all research in materials science and technology is to tailor the properties of materials to suit specific applications, phase transformations are the natural key to the fine-tuning of the structural, mechanical and corrosion properties. A basic understanding of the kinetics and mechanisms of phase transformation is therefore of vital importance. Apart from a few cases involving crystallographic martensitic transformations, all phase transformations are mediated by diffusion. Thus, proper control and understanding of the process of diffusion during nucleation, growth, oxidation, sintering, etc are essential for optimising the properties of materials to meet specific needs.