α-Fe₂O₃ fusiform nanorods were prepared by a simple hydrothermal method employing the mixture of FeCl₃·6H₂O and urea as raw materials. The samples were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV–DRS). Its visible-light photocatalytic performances were evaluated by photocatalytic decolorization methylene blue (MB) in visible light irradiation. It was found that pure phase α-Fe₂O₃ nanorods with a length of about 125 nm and a diameter of 50 nm were successfully synthesized. The photocatalytic decolorization of MB results indicated that α-Fe₂O₃ nanorods showed higher photocatalytic activity than that of commercial Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles—these are attributed to its unique three-dimensional structure and lower electron-hole recombination rate.

In this work, a high quality thin-walled aluminum alloy casting with large thickness mutation and thin-walled parts accounting for 70% was manufactured by vacuum differential pressure casting. The influence of pouring temperatures on casting defects of the shell casting was investigated by numerical simulation software ProCAST and detection of the testing casting. The results indicated that the mobility of the molten metal was improved with pouring temperature increased from 680 to 750°C. In addition, as pouring temperature increased, the shrinkage of liquid metal in solidification process increased, which could lead to porosity shrinkage defects. The filling results were not good when the pouring temperature was set between 680 and 720°C. Meanwhile, the feeding channels were blocked during the solidification except using pouring temperature of 740°C. The optimized pouring temperature was chosen for 740°C according to the numerical simulation results. The fluorescence detection, X-ray detection, mechanical performance testing and metallographic observation results showed that the casting with fine microstructure and comprehensive mechanical properties could meet the aviation standards and be applied in aircraft engine.

Ta-Si-N (10 nm)/Ti (20 nm) bilayer film has been designed with the purpose of using as diffusion barrier in copper interconnection. Ta-Si-N/Ti bilayer diffusion barriers were deposited on the substrate of n-type (100) silicon wafer using radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering, followed by in situ deposition of copper. To investigate the thermal stability of the Ta-Si-N/Ti diffusion barriers, annealing was subsequently conducted in N₂ gas for 60 min and annealing temperatures were chosen at 600°C, 650°C, 700°C, 750°C, and 800°C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that Ta-Si-N layer grown on the Ti layer exhibited an amorphous phase. The results indicated that Ta-Si-N/Ti film can prevent copper diffusion at 750°C. After annealing at 750°C, the production of Ti-Si layer can effectively decrease contact resistance between barrier and silicon.