There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

Mechanical alloying (MA) is a solid-state powder processng technique involving repeated welding, fracturing, and rewelding of powder particles in a high-energy ball mill. Originally developed to produce oxide-dispersion strengthened (ODS) nickel- and iron-base superalloys for applications in the aerospace industry, MA has now been shown to be capable of synthesizing a variety of equilibrium and non-equilibrium alloy phases starting from blended elemental or prealloyed powders. The non-equilibrium phases synthesized include supersaturated solid solutions, metastable crystalline and quasicrystalline phases, nanostructures, and amorphous alloys. Recent advances in these areas and also on disordering of ordered intermetallics and mechanochemical synthesis of materials have been critically reviewed after discussing the process and process variables involved in MA. The often vexing problem of powder contamination has been analyzed and methods have been suggested to avoid/minimize it. The present understanding of the modeling of the MA process has also been discussed. The present and potential applications of MA are described. Wherever possible, comparisons have been made on the product phases obtained by MA with those of rapid solidification processing, another non-equilibrium processing technique.

Mechanical Alloying And Milling

The aim of this critical review is to provide a broad but digestible overview of mechanochemical synthesis, i.e. reactions conducted by grinding solid reactants together with no or minimal solvent. Although mechanochemistry has historically been a sideline approach to synthesis it may soon move into the mainstream because it is increasingly apparent that it can be practical, and even advantageous, and because of the opportunities it provides for developing more sustainable methods. Concentrating on recent advances, this article covers industrial aspects, inorganic materials, organic synthesis, cocrystallisation, pharmaceutical aspects, metal complexes (including metal–organic frameworks), supramolecular aspects and characterization methods. The historical development, mechanistic aspects, limitations and opportunities are also discussed (314 references).

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Mechanochemistry: opportunities for new and cleaner synthesis

Recent advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology radically changed the way we diagnose, treat, and prevent various diseases in all aspects of human life. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are one of the most vital and fascinating nanomaterials among several metallic nanoparticles that are involved in biomedical applications. AgNPs play an important role in nanoscience and nanotechnology, particularly in nanomedicine. Although several noble metals have been used for various purposes, AgNPs have been focused on potential applications in cancer diagnosis and therapy. In this review, we discuss the synthesis of AgNPs using physical, chemical, and biological methods. We also discuss the properties of AgNPs and methods for their characterization. More importantly, we extensively discuss the multifunctional bio-applications of AgNPs; for example, as antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic, and anti-cancer agents, and the mechanism of the anti-cancer activity of AgNPs. In addition, we discuss therapeutic approaches and challenges for cancer therapy using AgNPs. Finally, we conclude by discussing the future perspective of AgNPs.

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Silver Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization, Properties, Applications, and Therapeutic Approaches

The aim of this review article on recent developments of mechanochemistry (nowadays established as a part of chemistry) is to provide a comprehensive overview of advances achieved in the field of atomistic processes, phase transformations, simple and multicomponent nanosystems and peculiarities of mechanochemical reactions. Industrial aspects with successful penetration into fields like materials engineering, heterogeneous catalysis and extractive metallurgy are also reviewed. The hallmarks of mechanochemistry include influencing reactivity of solids by the presence of solid-state defects, interphases and relaxation phenomena, enabling processes to take place under non-equilibrium conditions, creating a well-crystallized core of nanoparticles with disordered near-surface shell regions and performing simple dry time-convenient one-step syntheses. Underlying these hallmarks are technological consequences like preparing new nanomaterials with the desired properties or producing these materials in a reproducible way with high yield and under simple and easy operating conditions. The last but not least hallmark is enabling work under environmentally friendly and essentially waste-free conditions (822 references).

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Hallmarks of mechanochemistry: From nanoparticles to technology

Fabrication and evaluation of mechanical and tribological properties of boron carbide reinforced aluminum matrix nanocomposites

A new approach was used to produce Al–10%Al2O3 surface nanocomposite on Al2024 substrate. This novel approach involved air plasma spraying of Al–10%Al2O3 powder to produce Al–10%Al2O3 coating on substrate. The coated material was then subjected to friction stir processing (FSP) to distribute Al2O3 particles into the substrate. Microstructure and mechanical properties of samples were investigated by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), micro-hardness and wear measurements. As a result, it was found that the Al2O3 particles were distributed uniformly inside the substrate with an average penetration depth of about 600 μm. The surface nanocomposites produced in this way had excellent bonding with the substrate. The micro-hardness of the surface nanocomposite was ∼230 Hv, much higher than ∼90 Hv for Al2024 substrate. The surface nanocomposites also exhibited lower friction coefficient and wear rate. It was found that the addition of Al2O3 nanoparticles to the Al2024 matrix alloy affect the mechanism of wear.

A novel approach for development of surface nanocomposite by friction stir processing

A novel technique for development of A356/Al2O3 surface nanocomposite by friction stir processing

Tribological properties of Al6061–Al2O3 nanocomposite prepared by milling and hot pressing

Ni and Al elemental powder mixtures with composition Ni75Al25 were mechanically alloyed in a planetary ball mill under different conditions. The structural changes of powder particles were studied by X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Mechanical alloying (MA) first resulted in a Ni(Al) solid solution which transformed to the disordered Ni3Al intermetallic compound with nanocrystalline structure on further milling. The rate of this transformation was found to be dependent on milling variables such as rotation speed of mill and ball-to-powder weight ratio.

Mohammad Hossein Enayati

Papers

Fabrication and evaluation of mechanical and tribological properties of boron carbide reinforced aluminum matrix nanocomposites

A novel approach for development of surface nanocomposite by friction stir processing

A novel technique for development of A356/Al2O3 surface nanocomposite by friction stir processing

Tribological properties of Al6061–Al2O3 nanocomposite prepared by milling and hot pressing

The effect of milling parameters on the synthesis of Ni3Al intermetallic compound by mechanical alloying