Recent studies of amorphous solid materials have revealed the possibility that more than one distinct amorphous phase may be formed from the same substance. In analogy with the phenomenon of crystalline polymorphism, this behavior has been termed “amorphous polymorphism”. We review the experimental manifestation of amorphous polymorphism, especially in tetrahedrally coordinated materials such a...

Relaxation processes associated with the glass transition in nonferroelectric and ferroelectric polyamide (PA) 11 are investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, and dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS) in order to obtain information about the molecular mobility within the amorphous phase. In particular, the effects of melt quenching, cold drawin...

EXAFS can be used to characterise the phase of an amorphous calcified deposit mixed with a crystalline phase which does not contain calcium. In such a mixture, the amorphous phase may not be detectable by X-ray diffraction. This application of EXAFS is illustrated by the characterisation of the calcium phosphate deposited in association with struvite in encrusted urinary catheters.

The tubulization process of amorphous carbon nanopillars was observed in situ by transmis-sion electron microscopy. Amorphous carbon nanopillars were transformed into graphitic tubules by annealing at 650-900 degrees C in the presence of iron nanoparticles. A molten catalyst nanoparticle penetrated an amorphous carbon nanopillar, dissolving it, and leaving a graphite track behind. An iron nanop...

in this study, nickel-phosphorus coating was prepared by electrodeposition technique on the 304 stainless steel substrate. the effects of current density, phosphorous acid concentration, time and ph on the phosphorous content was investigated using taguchi method. a uniform amorphous-nanocrystalline structure (ni-12%p) was obtained. sem, eds, tem and xrd were used in order to study the surface ...

We fabricated C-doped (1.5 wt.%) In3Sb1Te2 (CIST) thin films with amorphous phase (a-CIST) using a sputter method. Two electrical-phase-changes at 250 and 275 °C were observed in the sheet resistance measurement. In order to understand the origin of these electrical-phase-changes, all samples were characterized by XRD, TEM, and HRXPS with synchrotron radiation. In a-CIST, only weak Sb-C bonding...

A non-diffracting surface layer exists at any boundary of a crystal and can comprise a mass fraction of several percent in a finely divided solid. This has led to the long-standing issue of amorphous content in standards for quantitative phase analysis (QPA). NIST standard reference material (SRM) 676a is a corundum (α-Al(2)O(3)) powder, certified with respect to phase purity for use as an inte...

We propose a method to predict the value of the external strain where a generic amorphous solid will fail by a plastic response (i.e., an irreversible deformation), solely on the basis of measurements of the nonlinear elastic moduli. While usually considered fundamentally different, with the elastic properties describing reversible phenomena and plastic failure epitomizing irreversible behavior...