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Laszlo Takacs
Research InterestsNew materials and new methods to prepare them are essential to virtually all aspects of technological development. More powerful computers require high quality semiconductor and magnetic storage media; new high temperature alloys and ceramics are the key to increase the efficiency of car and airplane engines. Many desirable properties are achieved by the application of metastable materials like metallic glasses and nanocrystalline materials. Our current research interest is the application of high energy ball
milling, a process called mechanical alloying or mechanochemical synthesis,
to the preparation of novel materials. The unique feature of this process is
that grain refinement, alloying, and chemical reactions take place at room
temperature under far-from-equilibrium conditions. Investigations are under
way to prepare nanocomposites for structural and magnetic applications.
Typical systems consist of 10 nm iron particles in alumina or TaC particles
in a TaNi alloy matrix. We are also developing models to describe the mechanism of the ball
milling process. This is a challenging task due to the complex combination of
mechanical, chemical, thermal, and transport processes. We are especially
interested in highly exothermic reactions where ball milling can initiate a
self propagating thermal reaction. Mechanochemical reactions between a metal
oxide and a more reactive metal and combination reactions to form carbides,
borides, and sulfides are investigated. Our main experimental methods are
X-ray diffraction, thermal measurements, and magnetic characterization. Selected PublicationsA. Toraoyan and L. Takacs, “Mechanochemical Reactions at the Interface
Between a Metal Plate and Oxide Powders,” Journal of Materials Science 39 (2004) 5491-5496. L. Takacs, “M. Carey Lea, the Father of Mechanochemistry,” Bulletin of
the History of Chemistry 28
(2003) 26-34. L. Takacs, “Self-Sustaining Reactions Induced by Ball Milling,” Progress
in Materials Science 47
(2002) 355-414. A. Bakhshai, V. Soika, M. A. Susol, and L. Takacs, “Mechanochemical
Reactions in the Sn-Zn-S System: Further Studies,” Journal of Solid State
Chemistry 153 (2000)
371-380. L. Takacs, R. C. Reno, and M. Pardavi-Horvath, "Mechanochemical
Transformations in the Zn-Magnetite System," Hyperfine Interactions 112 (1998) 247-250. Physics
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