The II International Materials Symposium is a scientific forum which discusses advances in the science and technology of materials, and is organized by the Portuguese Materials Society. The II International Materials Symposium followed a series of bi-annual national and international conferences that began 20 years ago and has became, since 2001, an international forum where scientists, engineers and technologists working in the fields of Materials Science and Engineering discuss their recent results and exchange ideas and information.

Table of Contents:
Preface Advances in Electrochromic Materials and Devices Physical Properties of Sputtered ITO and WO3 Thin Films ZnO:Ga Thin Films Produced by RF Sputtering at Room Temperature: Effect of the Power Density Effect of Thermal Treatment on the Properties of Sol-Gel Derived Al-Doped ZnO Thin Films KrF Laser CVD of Chromium Oxide by Photodissociation of Cr(CO)6 Deposition of SiO2 and SiO2:Ge Films for Optical Applications in a Matrix Distributed Electron Cyclotron Resonance Reactor Structural and Dielectric Characteristics of Ba2MeWO6 (Me=Mg, Ni, Zn) Double Perovskites Microstructure and Electrical Properties of SrBi2Ta2O9 Ceramics Processed by Templated Grain Growth Structural and Dielectric Properties of Mg-Doped Strontium Titanate Ceramics: Dependence on the Materials Processing La(Mg1/2Ti1/2)O3 – Based Materials for Microwave Applications Lead Zirconate Titanate Thin Films Prepared with Different Types of Seeds: A Comparison Study The Use of Thin Silicon Films in Flat Panel Displays Improvement of Field-Effect Mobilities in TFTs: Surface Plasma Treatments Vs Stack Dielectric Structures Sputtering Preparation of Silicon Nitride Thin Films for Gate Dielectric Applications MIS Photodiodes of Polymorphous Silicon Deposited at Higher Growth Rates by 27.12 MHz PECVD Discharge Characterization of Polymorphous Silicon Thin Film and Solar Cells Stacked a-SiC:H Optical Transducers: the Influence of the Sensing Material Dynamic Characterization of Large Area Image Sensing Structures Based on a-SiC:H High Sensitive Image Sensors Based on a Tandem Laser Scanned Photodiode Effect of Annealing on Gold Rectifying Contacts in Amorphous Silicon Composition, Structure and Optical Characteristics of Polymorphous Silicon Films Deposited by PECVD at 27.12 MHz Batch Processing Method to Deposit a-Si:H Films by PECVD Influence of the Rapid Thermal Annealing on the Properties of Thin a-Si Films Role of Substrate on the Growth Process of Polycrystalline Silicon Thin Films by Low-Pressure Chemical Vapour Deposition Spiral Inductors on Silicon for Wireless Communications Silicon Etching in CF4/O2 and SF6 Atmospheres Optimisation of a Home-Made RIE System - Effect of SF6 Plasma on the Properties of Partially Etched a-Si:H Films Optical and Morphological Properties of Annealed PbS Thin Films Obtained from a Chemical Solution. Absolute Scale Reciprocal Space Mapping on X-Ray Diffractometers Incorporating a Position Sensitive Detector: Application to III-Nitride Semiconductors Recent Advances in Spintronics. Half-Metal Ferromagnets: Their Role in Spintronics An Approach to the Magnetic Disaccommodation in Nd Doped Yttrium Iron Garnets Magnetocaloric Effect in Manganites: Ferromagnetism and Charge-Ordering Effects Study of Giant Magnetoimpedance in Amorphous Wires by Means of the Complex Impedance Phase Analysis Donor/Acceptor Substituted Oligothiophenes: Synthesis, Spectroscopic and Electrochemical Properties Structure of Cellular Cordierite Foams Aqueous Tape Casting of Low-k Cordierite Substrate: The Influence of Glass Content Crushing Behaviour of Cellular Cordierite Foams Fabrication of Cellular Cordierite Foams Thermal Expansion Behaviour of P2O5-Doped Sol-Gel-Derived Cordierite Synthesis and Characterization of SrBi2Nb2O9 Powders Prepared by a New Chemical Method Combustion Synthesis Ternary Carbide Ti2AlC1-x Powders Characterization of Glassy Phase at the Surface of Alumina Ceramics Substrate and its Effect on Laser Cutting Thermal Cycling Life of Plasma Sprayed Alumina Coating on Cast Irons Effect of Nitrogen Pressure and Additives on Combustion Synthesis of Rod-Like Yttrium α-SiAlON Crystals Effect of Magnetic Field on the Crystallization Behaviour of Fe Containing Pb and Ba Borate Glasses Crystallization of a Borosilicate Glass during Sintering Studied by Dilatometry and XRD Analysis Effect of Different Oxide Additives on Colloidal Processing and Sintering of Alumina The Use of Electrophoretic Deposition for the Fabrication of Ceramic Matrix Composites Complete Densification of Si3N4 – SiC Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC's) by a Pressureless Sintering Route Porosity Assessment of β-Spodumene/Glass Matrix Composites by Small Angle Neutron Scattering Torsion of Cork under Compression Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of Fe40Al/TiC Composites with Low Content of Intermetallic Strengthening in a Copper Based Nanocomposite Bentonite Clays from Paraíba State, Brazil: Effects of Na and Mg Compounds in the Rheology of the Dispersions Recent Developments in the Powder Metallurgy Processing of Steels Processing Effects on the Characteristics of the In-Situ Formed Al3Ni Reinforcement in a PM Al Matrix Study of Transformations in a Cu-9Ni-6Sn Alloy by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) Tungsten Carbide Powder Inserts in Ductile Iron Evolution of the Recrystallization Texture in an IF Steel Contact Fatigue Behaviour of Artificially Indented Austempered Ductile Iron Discs Microstructural Plastic Behaviour of AISI 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel Thermal Behaviour of Nanostructured Intermetallics Synthesized by Mechanical Alloying and Coated with Metallic Elements Soft Annealing of High Chromium White Cast Iron Study of Sintering Variables of Tungsten Carbide Particles Sputter-Deposited with Stainless Steel Defects Formation in Friction Stir Welding of Aluminium Alloys In-Phase Multiaxial Fatigue Analysis of Tubular AlMgSi Welded Specimens Effect of the Bi Content on the Mechanical Properties of a Sn-Zn-Al-Bi Solder Alloy Effect of Cooling Rate on the Microstructure and Hardness of Austenitic Stainless Steel Welds Corrosion Resistance of Two Ternary Mg88Ti5Si7 and Mg60Ti10Si30 Alloys Synthesised by Mechanical Alloying Characterization of Glassy Phase at the Surface of Alumina Ceramics Substrate and its Effect on Laser Cutting In Situ XRD Study of the Graphite Surface Layer Formation during Thermal Cycling of Cast Iron Cyclic Deformation Behaviour of Copper Polycrystals Pre-Strained in Tension Microstructure and Thermo-Mechanical Properties of NiTi Shape Memory Alloys In-Situ GIXRD Characterization of the Crystallization of Ni-Ti Sputtered Thin Films Effect of Thermal Cycling on the Transformation Temperatures of a Ni-Ti Shape Memory Alloy Preparation of Porous Hydroxyapatite Particles to Be Used as Drug Delivery Systems Production of Porous Hydroxyapatite with Potential for Controlled Drug Delivery Influence of Characteristics of the Starting Hydroxyapatite Powders and of Deagglomeration Procedure, on Rheological Behaviour of HA Suspensions Effect of the Enzyme Concentration on the DIRECT Coagulation Casting of Hydroxyapatite-Alumina Bodies Medical Applications of Bonelike® in Maxillofacial Surgery Bonelike®/PLGA Hybrid Materials for Bone Regeneration: In Vivo Evaluation Effect of Human Serum Proteins on Pure Hydroxyapatite and Silicon Substituted Hydroxyapatatite: AFM and SEM Studies Network Connectivity and Bio-Mineralization of 0.45SiO2–(0.45-x)MgO–xK2O–0.1(3CaO:P2O5) Glasses Synthesis and Characterization of Amorphous Silica Modified with Organic Ligands Mechanical Characterization of Dental Restorative Composite Materials Protein Adsorption Effect on In Vitro Acellular Biodegradation of CaO-P2O5 Glass Ceramics Early Steps of Orthophosphate Crystallisation in a Ca-Mg-K Phosphosilicate Glass Frit Bioinspired Macromolecular Actuators A Piezoelectric Pseudo-Composite Polymer Film for the Detection of Proteins Novel Bioresorbable Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and PLGA/Bioglass ® Composite Tubular Foam Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications Capacitance Response of Polysiloxane Films with Interdigital Electrodes to Volatile Organic Compounds Hydrophilic – Hydrophobic Polymers Based on Poly(L-lactide) and Poly(2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate) Enzymatic Degradation of Starch Based Thermoplastic Compounds Used in Protheses Swelling and Tribological Properties of Poly (HEMA) Hydrogels Miscanthus x Giganteus: Contribution to a Sustainable Agriculture of a Future/Present - Oriented Biomaterial Electrical Charge Injection/Ejection and Transport at Moderate Fields in Low-Density Polyethylene The Influence of Water on Direct Current Conductivity of Cork Isothermal and Non-Isothermal DC Measurements to Analyze Space Charge Behavior in Polyamide 11 Spectrophotometric and Electrokinetic Characterization of Dye Sorption on PA 6 Correlation between High Power Proton T2 NMR Relaxation and Macroscopic Viscoelastic Properties TGA as a Tool for Studying the Thermal Stability of Polymeric Materials Comparative Study, by Optical Techniques of the Interface Polymer/Steel in Replication Conditions Residual Strength in Adhesive Joints with a Natural Fibber Reinforcement Interface Layer PP/LCP Blends: Influence of the LCP Content on the Mechanical, Rheological and Morphological Properties Effect of Experimental Conditions on the Grafting of Maleic Anhydride onto Polyethylene in Extruders Electrochemical Synthesis of Polythiophene Coatings on Zinc and a Zinc Alloy in Organic Media Polypyrrole Coated Galvanized Steel by Electrochemical Polymerization in Aqueous Electrolytic Medium Performances of Paint Systems Proposed for Atmospheres with very High Corrosivity Category Production of a Copper- Iron Carbide Nanocomposite Via Mechanical Alloying Process Development of γ-TiAl Based Alloys and their Consolidation Fretting Wear of Sputtered W-Si-N Coatings against Steel Behaviour of Nanocomposite Coatings of W-S-N/C System under Pin-on-Disk Testing Nucleation and Crystallization of Titania Nanoparticles in Silica Titania Planar Waveguides: a Study by Low Frequency Raman Scattering Novel Microporous and Layered Luminescent Lanthanide Silicates Growth of Polymorphous/Nanocrystalline Silicon Films Deposited by PECVD at 13.56 MHz Effect of Dopants on the Dynamic of Powder Formation and the Properties of Polymorphous Silicon Thin Films Structural Characterization and Luminescence of Ge/Si Quantum Dots Active Nanocrystals in Erbium-Doped Silica-Titania Sol-Gel Films Mechanical Properties of Nanostructured Ceramic Materials Hydrothermal Fabrication of Rod-Like Rutile Nano-Particles Activated Sintering of TiC–TiB2 SHS–Powders Nanosized Photonics and Magnetism in Organic-Inorganic Hybrids Preparation of New Materials Containing Diazoalcene Molybdenum Complexes in Pillared Clays Preparation and Characterization of Polymer Nanoparticles for Hybrid Silica-Latex Aerogel Foams Thermal Conductivity and Thermal Stability of Zirconia and Hafnia Based Thermal Barrier Coatings by EB-PVD for High Temperature Applications Zirconium Oxide Modified Sulfonated Poly (Ether Ether Ketone) Membranes for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Applications The Influence of Reducing Agents in the Performance of the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Preparation and Characterization of a Novel Polymer Electrolyte Based on Lithium Hexafluoroarsenate Dielectric Breakdown Statistics of Polyethylene for Progressively-Censored Data Turning of CFRC Composites Using Si3N4 and Thin CVD Diamond Coated Si3N4 Tools Cutting of Free Standing CVD Diamond Films by Optical Fibre Guided Nd:YAG Laser New Multilayer Coatings for Secondary Wood Products Cutting Near-Surface Studies on Low-Energy Ion Irradiated Ni Using a Positron Beam Deposition of Titania Washcoat Membranes on Stainless Steel Plates through Sol-Gel Method Effect of Quaternary Ammonium Hydroxides on the Stabilisation of Al2O3 Aqueous Suspensions Contribution of the Phase-Matrix Interface to the Behaviour of Aluminium Filled Epoxies Interfacial Reactions, Thermodynamics and Kinetics in Doped Aluminosilicate Ceramics/Liquid Al-Alloy Contacting Systems Tensile Testing and Dislocation Glide in Liquid Foams Effects of Triple Grain Junctions on Equilibrium Boundary Angles and Grain Growth Kinetics Characterization of TiAl Alloys by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Ellipsometry to Access Structural Information of Electroactive Polymer Films Effect of Substrate Preparation Conditions on the Morphology of Polypyrrole Coatings on Copper - an AFM Study Spectral Imaging for Visualization of Distribution of Nd3+ Ions in CaTaO6 Fibre Minimum Surface Energy of Self-Assembled Two-Dimensional Cells of Equal Area Statistical Evaluation of the Adequacy of a Mixture of Two Weibull Distributions to Model Strength and Fracture-Strain of Carbon Fibres Examples of Model Validation for Foundry Processes Virtual Prototyping An Investigation of the Influence of Strength Mis-Matching and HAZ Width on the Fracture Behaviour of Welds with Cracks in the WM/HAZ Interface Confrontation of Two Solidification Simulation Software to a Particular Use into Foundry Industry Numerical Simulation of Ultramicrohardness Tests in Thin Films The Use of Thermal Analysis Techniques into the Prediction of Shape Factor of Graphite Observations Concerning Relaxation Parameters for Polarisation Decay and their Distributions in the Range of Glass Transition Reference Experimental Tests to be Used to Validate Numerical Results in Sheet Metal Forming Influence of the Mechanical Microtwinning on the Plastic Behaviour of the AISI 304 Stainless Steel Work Hardening Models and the Numerical Simulation of the Deep Drawing Process Large Deformation Processes on AA1050-O Aluminium at Elevated Temperatures Influence of Metal/Mold Heat Transfer Coefficient on the Inverse Macrosegregation Profile of an Al - 6.2wt% Cu Alloy Unidirectionally Solidified Springback Evaluation with Several Phenomenological Yield Criteria Numerical Analysis on the Effects of the Friction Coefficient on the Deep Drawing of a Rail Mathematical Models for Particulate Filled and Milled Fibre Reinforced Composites Modelling Interface-Controlled Strength of Short-Fibre and Particulate Reinforced Composites Computing Structural and Transport Properties of C/C Composites from 3D Tomographic Images. Effect of Melt Viscosity on the Ejection Force in Injection Moulds Creep Behaviour of Viscoelastic Polymer Materials Modelling of the Grafting of Maleic Anhydride onto Polyethylene in an Extruder Optimising Comfort during Wool and Blended Fabrics Design Study of Pilling Formation in Wool and Blended Fabrics Using the Optical Profile Analysis The Knitting Thread's Stretch at the Float Stitch with Elasticity of Elongation Only The Paper and its Unsuspected Dimensions Fibrous Reinforcements for Composite Materials: Producing and Modelling Microscopical Examination: The Impact of Different Ionising Radiation Doses over Protective Clothing Used in the Operating Theatre Tensile Properties and Fracture of Viscose Yarn under High Speed Impact Free Formaldehyde Determination Using HPLC Mechanical Behaviour of Cork-Modified Polymer Concrete Fracture Energy of Polymer Concrete Reinforced with Short Carbon and Glass Fibers The Effect of Holding Pressure on the Shrinkage and Birefringence of Injection Moulded Polypropylene Plates Preparation of Mullite Whiskers from Kaolinite Using CuSO4 as Fluxing Agent Manufacture of Ceramic Products Using Inertized Aluminum Sludges Microstructural Characterization and Properties of a Glass and a Glass-Ceramic Made from Municipal Incinerator Bottom Ash Effect of TiO2 on the Crystallization of Fly-Ash Based Glass-Ceramics Rapid Prototyping and Rapid Tooling Applied in Product Development of Ceramic Components Leaching of Brasses in Long-Term Direct Contact with Water Morphology of Copper Coatings Electroplated in an Ultrasonic Field The Influence of Flame Retardant Agents in the Fire Performance of SMC Use of Composite Materials to Renovate a Steel Water Pipe Powder Metallurgy: A Major Partner of the Sustainable Development The Role of Low Temperature on Mechanical and Fatigue Properties of Different Alloys Mathematical Description of the Composition Distribution of Comminuted Polyphase Materials Tribocorrosion Studies in Centrifugally Cast Al-Matrix SiCp-reinforced Functionally Graded Composites Corrosion / Protection in Interface Equipment of Telecomunication Systems Joining Ti-47Al-2Cr-2Nb with a Ti-Ni Braze Alloy Effect of Oxygen Doping on the Structure and Photoluminescence of PVD AlN(Er) Thin Films Manufacture of a Fin-Box Made by RTM