Artículos SCI

This work reports on the use of micro-Raman spectroscopy for the characterization of materials used for producing the polychrome in cultural heritage artifacts from southern Spain. The micro-Raman technique was applied for the characterization of several types of artworks or for cross-sections from these works, which were produced along different historical epochs. This technique was demonstrated to be valuable for the characterization of compounds, which were all detected within the artworks studied. The identification of all of these compounds by micro-Raman was confirmed by other complementary techniques, such as micro-X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.

A unique combination of high-energy ball-milling, annealing, and spark-plasma sintering has been used to process superhard B4C ceramics with ultrafine-grained, dense microstructures from commercially available powders, without sintering additives. It was found that the ultrafine powder prepared by high-energy ball-milling is hardly at all sinterable, but that B2O3 removal by gentle annealing in Ar provides the desired sinterability. A parametric study was also conducted to elucidate the role of the temperature (1600–1800 °C), time (1–9 min), and heating ramp (100 or 200 °C/min) in the densification and grain growth, and thus to identify optimal spark-plasma sintering conditions (i.e., 1700 °C for 3 min with 100 °C/min) to densify completely (>98.5%) the B4C ceramics with retention of ultrafine grains (∼370 nm). Super-high hardness of ∼38 GPa without relevant loss of toughness (∼3 MPa m1/2) was thus achieved, attributable to the smaller grain size and to the transgranular fracture mode of the B4C ceramics.