Synthesis and Properties of Rubidium Salts of Phosphotungstic Acid

The work is devoted to the study of the influence of synthesis conditions on the properties of water-insoluble rubidium salts of phosphotungstic acid (PTA). Such heteropoly compounds have a wide range of applications, including in the field of electrocatalysts and solid electrolytes for various electrochemical devices. The acid salts of PTA with high activity of acid sites on the particle surface are of particular interest. It is known that the properties of water-insoluble PTA salts strongly depend on synthesis conditions, such as the ratio of reagents, temperature, concentrations, and other parameters. The work examines the influence of the ratio and concentration of reagents on the sizes of crystallites and agglomerates, specific surface area (SSA), porosity, water content, and ionic conductivity of the synthesized PTA salts. The SSA value of the obtained samples varied in the range of 84–123 m2 g−1, and the ionic conductivity was 13–90 mS cm−1 at room temperature and 75% RH. An increase in the acid concentration and the degree of proton substitution led to an increase in SSA, accompanied by an increase in particle sizes without changing the size of crystallites. The results of the work may be useful for the development of new materials based on the obtained salts in many fields, including hydrogen energy

Spark Plasma Sintering of WC-Based 10wt%Co Hard Alloy: A Study of Sintering Kinetics and Solid-Phase Processes

The paper describes the method for producing WC-10wt%Co hard alloy with 99.6% of the theoretical density and a Vickers hardness of ~1400 HV 0.5. Experimental data on densification dynamics, phase composition, morphology, mechanical properties, and grain size distribution of WC-10%wtCo using spark plasma sintering (SPS) within the range of 1000–1200 °C are presented. The high quality of the product is provided by the advanced method of high-speed powder mixture SPS-consolidation at achieving a high degree of densification with minimal calculated grain growth at 1200 °C