Water-soluble CuS nanocrystals and nanorods were prepared by reacting copper acetate with thioacetamide in the presence of different surfactants and capping agents. The size of the nanocrystals varied from 3–20 nm depending on the reaction parameters such as concentration, temperature, solvent and the capping agents. The formation of nanocrystals was studied by using UV-visible absorption spectroscopy.

A gel was formed when a aqueous solution of Mg(NO₃)₂, NbF₅ and citric acid in stoichiometric ratio was heated on a water bath. No precipitation was observed at acidic pH and gellation was complete with evaporation of the solvent. This gel on decomposition at 750°C produced nanocrystallites of ternary oxide, Mg₄Nb₂O₉ (M4N2). The phase contents and lattice parameters were studied by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) at various temperatures. Particle size and morphology were studied by transmission electron spectroscopy (TEM). For comparison, M4N2 powders were also prepared by conventional ceramic route at 900°C.

Photoconductivity of thermally evaporated ZnTe thin films was studied at different elevated temperatures. A gap type cell configuration with Al electrodes on glass substrates was used. The conductivity was found to obey two distinct conduction mechanisms within the region of applied fields. At low fields the photoconduction is ohmic and at high fields it is of Poole–Frenkel type. With increase of ambient temperatures, the Poole–Frenkel conductivity regions were found to extend to lower fields. The temperature dependence of dark conductivity also was found to be of similar nature.

Zinc telluride thin films have been grown at room temperature and higher temperature substrates by thermal evaporation technique in a vacuum of 10^-6 torr. A main peak in the photocurrent is observed at 781 nm (1.58 eV) with two lower amplitude peaks on the lower wavelength side and one on higher wavelength side. The evaluated thermal activation energy is found to correspond well with the main spectral peak. From these studies it can be inferred that temperatures up to 453 K is still in the extrinsic conductivity region of the studied ZnTe thin films.

The III–V semiconductors are of great importance due to their applications in various electro-optic devices. The Al–Sb thin film was deposited on glass substrate by thermal evaporation method at a pressure of 10^-5 torr. The samples were annealed for 3 h at different constant temperatures in a vacuum chamber at a pressure of 10^-5 torr. The electrical resistance vs temperature studies show phase transformation from metallic to semiconducting. The observed positive thermoelectric power indicates that Al–Sb thin films are 𝑝-type in nature. The Rutherford back scattering analysis and optical band gap measurements also indicate that the interdiffusion concentration varies with temperature.

Chemical method has been used to prepare cadmium sulphide by using cadmium, hydrochloric acid and H₂S. The reflection spectra of covered and uncovered sintered films of CdS have been recorded by ‘Hitachi spectrophotometer’ over the wavelength range 300–700 nm. The energy band gaps of these films have been calculated from reflection spectra. It is found that the energy band gap of both films is same as 2.41 eV. It is indicated that energy band gap of these films does not change. This value of band gap is in good agreement with the value reported by other workers. The measurement of photocurrent has also been carried out using Keithley High Resistance meter/ Electrometer. This film shows the high photosensitivity and high photocurrent decay. Thus so obtained films are suitable for fabrication of photo detectors and solar cells.

The structural behaviour of SnS under pressure has been investigated by first principle density functional calculations of the total energy by the TB–LMTO approach. We find that SnS undergoes a structural phase transition from orthorhombic type to monoclinic type structure around 17 GPa which is in good agreement with the recent experimental study. In addition, the ground state properties are computed and compared with the available results.

By using wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) technique, we have characterized the epitaxial Al_1–𝑥In_𝑥N films (thickness, 150 nm) with 0 < 𝑥 < 1 grown by plasma source molecular beam epitaxy on sapphire (0001) at the low substrate temperature of 375°C, by computing the crystallite size in these samples. We observe that the crystallite size decreases with increase in the concentration of indium and that the band gap in these samples has a direct correlation with the crystallite size.

Polycrystalline ceramic samples of sodium bismuth titanate with simultaneous doping at A and B sites have been studied for the influence of these dopants on the electrical conduction mechanism. A.C. conductivity measurements were done on the prepared sample in a wide range of frequency and temperature. These studies revealed that the conduction in the sample arises due to hopping of bound charges. Four-term power law is used to characterize the frequency dependence of a.c. conductivity. From the temperature dependence of the exponents, the a.c. conduction in the samples is explained.

Phosphate glasses having composition, 40Na₂O–10BaO–𝑥B₂O₃–(50–𝑥)P₂O₅, where 𝑥 = 0–20 mol% were prepared using conventional melt quench technique. Density of these glasses was measured using Archimedes principle. Microhardness (MH) was measured by Vicker’s indentation technique. Structural studies were carried out using IR spectroscopy and ³¹P and ¹¹B MAS NMR. Density was found to vary between 2.62 and 2.77 g/cc. MH was found to increase with the increase in boron content. ³¹P MAS NMR spectra showed the presence of middle 𝑄² groups and end 𝑄¹ and 𝑄⁰ groups with P–O–B linkages. FTIR studies showed the presence of BO₃ and BO₄ structural units along with the depolymerization of phosphate chains in conformity with ³¹P MAS NMR. ¹¹B NMR spectra showed increase in BO₄ structural units with increasing boron content. The increase in MH with B₂O₃ content is due to the increase of P–O–B linkages and BO₄ structural units as observed from MAS NMR studies resulting in a more rigid borophosphate glass networks.

The hybrid of liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) fibres and glass fibres (GF) provide a combination of modulus and toughness to semi-crystalline linear-low-density-polyethylene (LLDPE). LCP and GF fibres reinforced composites were studied using two-body abrasion tester under different applied loads. Two sets of fibre reinforced LLDPE, 10 and 20 vol%, were investigated. The contents of LCP and glass fibres were varied as 25, 50, 75 and 100 vol% of overall volume of fibres in LLDPE. The effect of replacing glass fibre with LCP fibre on wear is reported. Wear loss increased with the applied loads and glass fibre contents in LLDPE. The replacements of glass fibres with LCP fibres improved abrasive wear resistance of composite. The composite containing 20 vol% of glass fibres in LLDPE showed the specific wear rate nearly double to that of LCP fibre reinforced LLDPE. Incorporation of LCP fibre improved wear resistance of glass fibre reinforced LLDPE. Worn surfaces were studied using SEM. Glass fibres were broken in small debris and removed easily whereas LCP fibres yielded to fibrillation during abrasive action. The overall wear rate was governed by the composition and test conditions.

Cadmium doped lead–borate glasses were prepared from the melts in appropriate proportions of PbO₂, H₃BO₃ and (15–40 mol%) CdO mixture in the temperature range 700–950°C. The infrared spectra of the glasses in the range 400–4000 cm^-1 show their structures. No boroxol ring formation was observed in the structure of these glasses. Furthermore, doped cadmium atoms were not seen in tetrahedral coordination. But the conversion of three-fold to four-fold coordination of boron atoms in the structure of glasses was observed.

Microstructures and properties of weldable quality low-alloy fire resistant structural steels (YS: 287–415 MPa) and TMT rebar (YS: 624 MPa) have been investigated. The study showed that it is possible to obtain two-thirds of room temperature yield stress at 600°C with 0.20–0.25% Mo and 0.30–0.55% Cr in low carbon hot rolled structural steel. Microalloying the Cr–Mo steel by niobium or vanadium singly or in combination resulted in higher guaranteed elevated temperature yield stress (250–280 MPa). The final rolling temperature should be maintained above austenite recrystallization stop temperature (∼ 900° C) to minimize dislocation hardening. In a quenched and self-tempered 600 MPa class TMT reinforcement bar steel (YS: 624 MPa), low chromium (0.55%) addition produced the requisite yield stress at 600°C. The low-alloy fire resistant steel will have superior thermal conductivity up to 600°C (> 30 W/m.k) compared to more concentrated alloys.

The structural, electrical and thermodynamic properties of a La–Ni–Si [La = 28.9%, Ni = 67.5%, Si = 3.6%] alloy have been investigated. Powder XRD results show that the lattice constants and unit cell volume of the alloy increase after hydrogen storage. It was also found that the resistance of the alloy increased with dissolved hydrogen concentration. Hydrogen absorption pressure composition isotherms have also been investigated which show the presence of two single 𝛼 and 𝛽 regions and one mixed (𝛼 + 𝛽) phase. The thermodynamic parameters viz. the relative partial molar enthalpy (𝛥 𝐻) and relative partial molar entropy (𝛥 𝑆) of dissolved hydrogen, are found to be in the range 8–18 kJ (mol H)^-1 and 25–63 JK^-1 (mol H)^-1. From the dependence of 𝛥 𝐻 on the hydrogen concentration, 𝑋, the different phases [𝛼, 𝛼+ 𝛽, 𝛽] and phase boundaries of the alloy-𝐻 system are identified. Thermal conductivity and diffusivity of La–Ni–Si and its hydride have been measured at room temperature by using TPS technique. Thermal conductivity was found to decrease due to absorbed hydrogen in the alloy.

The influence of Ce_0.68Zr_0.32O₂ solid solution on properties of 𝛾-alumina based washcoat on FeCrAl foils was investigated. FeCrAl foils were pretreated at 950°C in air for 10 h before coating washcoat. Different amounts of Ce_0.68Zr_0.32O₂ solid solution were added into ã-alumina-based slurries. The properties of washcoats were measured by ultrasonic vibration and thermal shock test, SEM, BET and XRD. The results show that the addition of Ce_0.68Zr_0.32O₂ solid solution into slurries can improve 𝛾-Al₂O₃-based washcoat adhesion on FeCrAl foils. The more the Ce_0.68Zr_0.32O₂ solid solution added into slurries, the higher was the specific surface area of aged samples. XRD characterization proved that ceria–zirconia solid solution can inhibit the transformation of 𝛾-Al₂O₃ crystal into others at 1050°C for 20 h.

Conducting polymer composites of polypyrrole/yttrium oxide (PPy/Y₂O₃) were synthesized by in situ polymerization of pyrrole with Y₂O₃ using FeCl₃ as an oxidant. The Y₂O₃ is varied in five different weight percentages of PPy in PPy/Y₂O₃ composites. The synthesized polymer composites are characterized by infrared and X-ray diffraction techniques. The surface morphology of the composite is studied by scanning electron microscopy. The glass transition temperature of the polymer and its composite is discussed by DSC. Electrical conductivity of the compressed pellets depends on the concentration of Y₂O₃ in PPy. The frequency dependent a.c. conductivity reveals that the Y₂O₃ concentration in PPy is responsible for the variation of conductivity of the composites. Frequency dependent dielectric constant at room temperature for different composites are due to interfacial space charge (Maxwell Wagner) polarization leading to the large value of dielectric constant. Frequency dependent dielectric loss, as well as variation of dielectric loss as a function of mass percentage of Y₂O₃ is also presented and discussed.

Effect of filler addition and temperature on the stick–slip transition in high density polyethylene melt was studied. Results showed that shear stresses corresponding to stick–slip transition increases with the addition of filler. Increase in temperature also increases the shear stresses for stick–slip transition. The features of the flow curves of composites and that of unfilled system remain identical. Filler addition lowers the shear rate at which the transition occurs. The composite extrudate did not show characteristic extrudate distortions associated with the unfilled polymer.

Natural rubber/isora fibre composites were cured at various temperatures. The solvent swelling characteristics of natural rubber composites containing both untreated and alkali treated fibres were investigated in aromatic and aliphatic solvents like toluene, and 𝑛-hexane. The diffusion experiments were conducted by the sorption gravimetric method. The restrictions on elastomer swelling exerted by isora fibre as well as the anisotropy of swelling of the composite have been confirmed by this study. Composite cured at 100°C shows the lowest percentage swelling. The uptake of aromatic solvent is higher than that of aliphatic solvent for the composites cured at all temperatures. The effect of fibre loading on the swelling behaviour of the composite was also investigated in oils like petrol, diesel, lubricating oil etc. The % swelling index and swelling coefficient of the composite were found to decrease with increase in fibre loading. This is due to the increased hindrance exerted by the fibres at higher fibre loadings and also due to the good fibre–rubber interactions. Maximum uptake of solvent was observed with petrol followed by diesel and then lubricating oil. The presence of bonding agent in the composites restrict the swelling considerably due to the strong interfacial adhesion. At a fixed fibre loading, the alkali treated fibre composite showed lower percentage swelling compared to the untreated one.