Researchers at the State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication under the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics (LICP), Chinese Academy of Sciences have received three Chinese invention patents for their preparation techniques of high performance materials.

The large-scaled bulk nanostructured Fe-C alloy addressed in the first patent, titled A Preparation Method of Large-scaled Bulk Nanostructured Fe-C Alloys, is developed using Fe₂O₃, Al and carbon powders as raw materials. The nanostructured Fe-C alloy exhibits excellent mechanical properties with its bending strength of 1500-1800 MPa, compressive yield strength of 1300 MPa, and strain of 20%.

According to the researchers, the nano-scaled strengthening technique has the advantages of low energy consumption, short processing time and low cost. Compared with alloy strengthening method, it not only significantly improves the strength of metal materials but also reduces the use of noble metals and rare metals.

The invention involved in the second patent A Preparation Method of Ni-Al Intermetallic Compound-Based High Temperature Self-Lubricating Composite Materials is a kind of Ni-Al intermetallics-based high temperature self-lubricating composite materials obtained through powder metallurgy technology. According to the patent description, the materials show excellent continuous self-lubricity, wear resistance and mechanical property from room temperature to 1000℃.

The third patent A Preparation Method of Bulk Fe-B Soft Magnetic Materials covers the production of bulk Fe-B soft magnetic materials with superior soft magnetic and mechanical properties by the combustion synthesis melt technique, which has expanded the ways to prepare nano-materials with excellent soft magnetic properties.

With the advantages of high magnetic permeability and magnetic induction, low coercivity and magnetic loss, the Fe-B soft magnetic materials produced can be applied to micro controller units, electrical motors, transformers, magnetic recorders and magnetic heads.

The patents are No. ZL200710307293.8, No. ZL200710307296.1, and No. ZL200610105326.6, received on August 11, 18 and September 1 of this year respectively.