CdSe and CdS0.25Se0.75 thin films were grown by the Chemical Bath Deposition technique at different temperatures (50-90°C) and deposition times (5-180 min). Both kinds of films are polycrystalline, constituted by nanostructured clusters of particles. CdSe films consist in a mixture of cubic and hexagonal phases (4-8 nm crystal size), whereas only the hexagonal phase is observed in the CdS0.25Se0.75 ones (6±1 nm crystal size). A decrease on the CdSe films density was observed due to the sulfur introduction into the crystal lattice. The composition of the ternary films is affected by both temperature and deposition time. The Band gap values (Eg) are affected by temperature, atomic composition and deposition time, decreasing from 2.09 to 1.93 eV, showing a quantum confinement effect mainly in the CdSe films. The films thickness, ranging from 30 to 600 nm, increases as a function of temperature and deposition time. Photoluminiscence signal is improved after thermal treatment, evidenced by the radiative broad bands observed at 1.84 and 2.20 eV.

The combined processes; rapid solidification, addition of Cu3P compound and heat treatments to improve the mechanical properties of the hypereutectic Al-13Si, Al-20Si and Al-20Si-1.5Fe-0.7Mn alloys (in wt. %) was studied. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the microstructures. The mechanical properties were evaluated by tensile tests. It was found that the cooling rate (20-50°C/s) used to solidify the alloys plus the addition of Cu3P compound favored the formation of fine primary Si and the transformation of the Al/Si eutectic from acicular to semi-transformed morphology. The spheroidization of the Al/Si eutectic after heat treatment caused an increase in the elongation (%) compared with the as-cast alloys. Al-13Si alloy showed the highest UTS and elongation (%) values, reaching values up to 215 MPa and 9.6%, respectively. On the other hand, the Al-20Si-1.5Fe-0.7Mn alloy showed the lowest UTS (180MPa) and elongation (3.4%) values. The formation of the Fe-intermetallic compounds caused a negative effect on the mechanical properties of the Al-20Si-1.5Fe-0.7Mn alloy.