Challenges and Solutions for the Additive Manufacturing of H) Biodegradable Magnesium Implants

Due to their capability of fabricating geometrically complex structures,additive manufacturing(AM)techniques have provided unprecedented opportunities to produce biodegradable metallic implants—especially using Mg alloys,which exhibit appropriate mechanical properties and outstanding biocompatibility.However,many challenges hinder the fabrication of AM-processed biodegradable Mg-based implants,such as the difficulty of Mg powder preparation,powder splash,and crack formation during the AM process.In the present work,the challenges of AM-processed Mg components are analyzed and solutions to these challenges are proposed.A novel Mg-based alloy(Mg-Nd-Zn-Zr alloy,JDBM)powder with a smooth surface and good roundness was first synthesized successfully,and the AM parameters for Mg-based alloys were optimized.Based on the optimized parameters,porous JDBM scaffolds with three different architectures(biomimetic,diamond,and gyroid)were then fabricated by selective laser melting(SLM),and their mechanical properties and degradation behavior were evaluated.Finally,the gyroid scaffolds with the best performance were selected for dicalcium phosphate dihydrate(DCPD)coating treatment,which greatly suppressed the degradation rate and increased the cytocompatibility,indicating a promising prospect for clinical application as bone tissue engineering scaffolds.

Atomically Dispersed Transition Metal-Nitrogen-Carbon Bifunctional Oxygen Electrocatalysts for Zinc-Air Batteries:Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

Rechargeable zinc-air batteries(ZABs)are currently receiving extensive attention because of their extremely high theoretical specific energy density,low manufacturing costs,and environmental friendliness.Exploring bifunctional catalysts with high activity and stability to overcome sluggish kinetics of oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction is critical for the development of rechargeable ZABs.Atomically dispersed metal-nitrogen-carbon(M-N-C)catalysts possessing prominent advantages of high metal atom utilization and electrocatalytic activity are promising candidates to promote oxygen electrocatalysis.In this work,general principles for designing atomically dispersed M-N-C are reviewed.Then,strategies aiming at enhancing the bifunctional catalytic activity and stability are presented.Finally,the challenges and perspectives of M-N-C bifunctional oxygen catalysts for ZABs are outlined.It is expected that this review will provide insights into the targeted optimization of atomically dispersed M-N-C catalysts in rechargeable ZABs.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of as-cast Mg-8Li-xZn-yGd(x=1,2,3,4;y=1,2) alloys

The as-cast Mg-8 Li-xZn-yGd(x=1 2, 3,4;y=1,2;wt.%)alloys were prepared in a vacuum induction furnace and their microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. The results show that the increase of Zn content results in the volume fraction of W-phase(Mg3 Zn3 Gd2) increasing while that of Mg3 Gd phase decreasing. The strength of Mg-8 Li-xZn-1 Gd alloys is improved with the increase of Zn content,which is ascribed to the second phase strengthening of fine strip-like W-phase and the solid solution strengthening of Zn element.For Mg-8 Li-4 Zn-yGd alloys,the increase of Gd content leads to the appearance of coarse and discontinuous net-like W-phase, which decreases the strength. The Mg-8 Li-4 Zn-1 Gd alloy exhibits an optimum comprehensive performance with the yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and elongation of 154.7 MPa, 197.0 MPa and 12.4%, respectively. In addition,the aging behavior of the typical alloys was also investigated.

Fabrication of ultra-high strength magnesium alloys over 540 MPa with low alloying concentration by double continuously extrusion

We prepare a new type of patented biodegradable biomedical Mg-Nd-Zn-Zr(JDBM)alloy system and impose double continuously extrusion(DCE)processing.The lowest processing temperature is 250℃for JDBM-2.1Nd and 310℃for JDBM-2.8Nd,which increases with the Nd concentration.The highest yield strength of 541 MPa is achieved in JDBM-2.1 Nd samples when extruded at 250℃and the elongation is about 3.7%.Moreover,the alloy with a lower alloying element content can reach a higher yield strength while that with a higher alloying element content can reach a larger elongation after DCE processing.However,when extruded under the same conditions,the alloy with a higher alloying contents exhibits better tensile properties.

Effects of Sr addition on microstructure, mechanical properties and in vitro degradation behavior of as-extruded Zn-Sr binary alloys

The microstructures,mechanical properties and in vitro degradation behavior of as-extruded pure Zn and Zn-x Sr(x=0.1,0.4,0.8 wt.%)alloys were investigated systematically.For the microstructure and mechanical properties,Sr Zn13 phase was newly formed due to the addition of 0.1 wt.%Sr,improving the yield strength,ultimate tensile strength and elongation from(85.33±2.86)MPa,(106.00±1.41)MPa and(15.37±0.57)%for pure Zn to(107.67±2.05)MPa,(115.67±2.52)MPa and(20.80±2.19)%for Zn-0.1Sr,respectively.However,further increase of Sr content led to the deterioration of the mechanical properties due to the stress concentration and cracks initiation caused by the coarsening Sr Zn13 particles during tensile tests.For in vitro degradation,since micro galvanic corrosion was enhanced owing to the formation of the inhomogeneously distributed Sr Zn13 phase,the corrosion mode became non-uniform.Corrosion rate is gradually increased with the addition of Sr,which is increased from(11.45±2.02)μm/a(a=year)for pure Zn to(32.59±3.40)μm/a for Zn-0.8Sr.To sum up,the as-extruded Zn-0.1Sr alloy exhibited the best combination of mechanical properties and degradation behavior.

Silver Nanowires Contained Nanofluids with Enhanced Optical Absorption and Thermal Transportation Properties

Two kinds of silver nanowires(100 nm in diameter, 20 μm and 100 μm in length) are prepared. The thermo-physical characteristics, viscosity, and photothermal conversion performance of the silver nanowires(AgNWs)contained ethylene glycol nanofluids are investigated in detail. It is found that thermal conductivity of 100 μm AgNWs contained nanofluids is higher than that of 20 μm AgNWs with the same diameters of 100 nm. Viscosity test shows that the nanofluid is a Newtonian fluid, and the longer silver nanowires, the greater viscosity. In addition, photothermal conversion efficiency of silver nanowires contained nanofluid is studied. We can observe that the 100 μm AgNWs contained nanofluid has a higher photothermal conversion efficiency than that containing 20 μm AgNWs. Moreover, we find that there is a certain correlation between heat transfer and photothermal conversion of nanofluid. It demonstrates that the high heat transfer property of nanofluid will benefit for its photothermal conversion efficiency and the mechanism is proposed. This work provides a new idea to improve photothermal conversion efficiency. We can choose materials with high thermal conductivity and strong light absorption ability to enhance the photothermal conversion performance of nanofluids.

Bio-inspired design of hierarchical FeP nanostructure arrays for the hydrogen evolution reaction

Hierarchical FeP nanoarray films composed of FeP nanopetals were successfully synthesized via a bio-inspired hydrothermal route followed by phosphorization. Glycerol as a crystal growth modifier, plays a significant role in controlling the morphology and structure of the FeO（OH） precursor during the biomineralization process, while the following transfer and pseudomorphic transformation of the FeO（OH） film successfully give rise to the FeP array film. The as-prepared FeP film electrodes exhibit excellent hydrogen evolution reaction （HER） performance over a wide pH range. Theoretical calculations reveal that the mixed P/Fe termination in the FeP film is responsible for the high catalytic activity of the nanostructured electrodes. This new insight will promote further explorations of efficient metal phosphoride-based catalysts for the HER. More importantly, this study bridges the gap between biological and inorganic self-assembling nanosystems and may open up a new avenue for the preparation of functional nanostructures with application in energy devices.

An approach to prepare uniform graphene oxide/aluminum composite powders by simple electrostatic interaction in water/alcohol solution

The homogenous dispersion of graphene in Al powders is a key challenge that limits the development of graphene-reinforced metal matrix composites with high performance.Here,uniform distribution of graphene oxide(GO)coated on flake Al powders were obtained by a simply stirring and ultrasonic treatment in the water/alcohol solution.The effect of water volume content on the formation of GO/Al composite powders was investigated.The results showed that GO adsorbed with synchronous reduction on the surface of Al powders,but when the water content was higher than 80%in the solution,Al powders were totally changed into Al(OH)3.With optimizing the water content of 60%in the solution,reduced GO was homogenously coated onto the surface of flake Al powders.The formation mechanism can be ascribed to the balance control between the liquid/solid interaction and the hydrolysis reaction.

A two-step approach to synthesis of Co（OH）2/γ-NiOOH/ reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite for high performance supercapacitors

A two-step approach was reported to fabricate cobaltous hydroxide/y- nickel oxide hydroxide/reduced graphene oxide （Co（OH）217-NiOOHIRGO） nanocompo- sites on nickel foam by combining the reduction of graphene oxide with the help of refux condensation and the subsequent hydrothermal of Co（OH）2 on RGO. The microstructural, surface morphology and electrochemical properties of the Co（OH）2/γ-NiOOH/RGO nanocomposite were investigated. The results showed that the surface of the first-step fabricated γ-NiOOH/RGO nanocomposites was uniformly coated by Co（OH）2 nanoflakes with lateral size of tens of nm and thickness of several nm. Co（OH）2/γ-NiOOHIRGO nanocomposite demonstrated a high specific capacitance （745 mF/cm= at 0.5 mAJcm2） and a cycling stability of 69.8% after 1000 cycles at 30 mV/cm2· γ-NiOOH/RGO//Co（OH）2/γ- NiOOH/RGO asymmetric supercapacitor was assembled, and maximum gravimetric energy density of 57.3 W.h/kg and power density of 66.1 kW/kg were achieved. The synergistic effect between the highly conductive graphene and the nanoflake Co（OH）2 structure was responsible for the high electrochemical performance of the hybrid electrode. It is expected that this research could offer a simple method to prepare graphene-based electrode materials.

Preparation and CO2 adsorption properties of porous carbon by hydrothermal carbonization of tree leaves

Porous carbon materials were prepared by hydrothermal carbonization(HTC) and KOH activation of camphor leaves and camellia leaves. The morphology, pore structure, chemical properties and CO2 capture ability of the porous carbon prepared from the two leaves were compared. The effect of HTC temperature on the structure and CO2 adsorption properties was especially investigated. It was found that HTC temperature had a major effect on the structure of the product and the ability to capture CO2. The porous carbon materials prepared from camellia leaves at the HTC temperature of 240℃ had the highest proportion of microporous structure, the largest specific surface area(up to 1823.77m^2/g) and the maximum CO2 adsorption capacity of 8.30mmol/g at 25℃ under 0.4 MPa. For all prepared porous carbons, simulation results of isothermal adsorption model showed that Langmuir isotherm model described the adsorption equilibrium data better than Freundlich isotherm model. For porous carbons prepared from camphor leaves, pseudo-first order kinetic model was well fitted with the experimental data. However,for porous carbons prepared from camellia leaves, both pseudo-first and pseudo-second order kinetics model adsorption behaviors were present. The porous carbon materials prepared from tree leaves provided a feasible option for CO2 capture with low cost, environmental friendship and high capture capability.

Addressing the strength-ductility trade-off in a cast Al-Li-Cu alloy—Synergistic effect of Sc-alloying and optimized artificial ageing scheme

A dramatic improvement of strength and ductility of cast Al-2.5Li-1.5Cu-1Zn-0.5Mg-0.15 Zr alloy was obtained by the collaboration of Sc-alloying and optimized ageing scheme.Joint and independent influence of Sc-alloying and different ageing temperatures were investigated.The results revealed that a substantial increase was realized in the hardness of Sc-containing alloy,and the ageing response time was only influenced by ageing temperature.Coarse and heterogeneousδ'(Al_(3)Li),wideδ'-precipitation free zones(δ'-PFZs),and a large amount of T_(1)(Al_(2)CuLi)precipitates were observed in Sc-containing alloy aged at 175℃,which resulted in superior yield strength and poor elongation.The Sc-containing alloy obtained an excellent combination of ductility(elongation=8.2%)and tensile strength(ultimate strength=565 MPa)suffered to 150℃ ageing for 64 h.The increase in the elongation was mainly due to the combined effect of grain refining,much finerδ',and extremely narrowδ'-PFZs(<10 nm),while the higher strength was mainly attributed to the formation of Al_(3)(Sc,Zr,Li)composite particles and a large amount of S'(Al_(2)CuMg)phase.However,the enhancement of the different ageing temperature(150℃ and 175℃)on the mechanical properties of the alloys without Sc addition was not obvious.

Preparation and optical properties of three-dimensional navel-like Bi_2WO_6 hierarchical microspheres

Three-dimensional(3D) navel-like Bi_2WO_6(BWO) hierarchical microspheres(HMSs) were successfully prepared using a simple hydrothermal method. The as-obtained BWO samples were characterized by a variety of techniques. XRD result indicated that the as-synthesized samples were well-crystallized orthorhombic phase Bi_2WO_6 structure. SEM observations revealed that the hierarchical microspheres with an average diameter of 2 μm were built from several dozen of nanosheets. UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectrum study revealed that the obtained BWO sample had band gap energy of about 3.3 eV.Photoluminescence(PL) result showed that the sample had weak emission intensity. The BET specific surface area of the BWO sample was about 35.40 m^2/g. The photocatalytic efficiency of the as-obtained BWO was evaluated by the degradation of norfloxacin(NOR) antibiotic. The result showed an about 67%NOR degradation in 8 h.