Prediction of the thermal conductivity of Mg–Al–La alloys by CALPHAD method

Mg-Al alloys have excellent strength and ductility but relatively low thermal conductivity due to Al addition.The accurate prediction of thermal conductivity is a prerequisite for designing Mg-Al alloys with high thermal conductivity.Thus,databases for predicting temperature-and composition-dependent thermal conductivities must be established.In this study,Mg-Al-La alloys with different contents of Al2La,Al3La,and Al11La3phases and solid solubility of Al in the α-Mg phase were designed.The influence of the second phase(s) and Al solid solubility on thermal conductivity was investigated.Experimental results revealed a second phase transformation from Al_(2)La to Al_(3)La and further to Al_(11)La_(3)with the increasing Al content at a constant La amount.The degree of the negative effect of the second phase(s) on thermal diffusivity followed the sequence of Al2La>Al3La>Al_(11)La_(3).Compared with the second phase,an increase in the solid solubility of Al in α-Mg remarkably reduced the thermal conductivity.On the basis of the experimental data,a database of the reciprocal thermal diffusivity of the Mg-Al-La system was established by calculation of the phase diagram (CALPHAD)method.With a standard error of±1.2 W/(m·K),the predicted results were in good agreement with the experimental data.The established database can be used to design Mg-Al alloys with high thermal conductivity and provide valuable guidance for expanding their application prospects.

Development and characterization of 3D-printed electroconductive pHEMA-co-MAA NP-laden hydrogels for tissue engineering

Tissue engineering(TE)continues to be widely explored as a potential solution to meet critical clinical needs for diseased tissue replacement and tissue regeneration.In this study,we developed a poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid)(pHEMA-co-MAA)based hydrogel loaded with newly synthesized conductive poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene)(PEDOT)and polypyrrole(PPy)nanoparticles(NPs),and subsequently processed these hydrogels into tissue engineered constructs via three-dimensional(3D)printing.The presence of the NPs was critical as they altered the rheological properties during printing.However,all samples exhibited suitable shear thinning properties,allowing for the development of an optimized processing window for 3D printing.Samples were 3D printed into pre-determined disk-shaped configurations of 2 and 10 mm in height and diameter,respectively.We observed that the NPs disrupted the gel crosslinking efficiencies,leading to shorter degradation times and compressive mechanical properties ranging between 450 and 550 kPa.The conductivity of the printed hydrogels increased along with the NP concentration to(5.10±0.37)×10^(−7)S/cm.In vitro studies with cortical astrocyte cell cultures demonstrated that exposure to the pHEMA-co-MAA NP hydrogels yielded high cellular viability and proliferation rates.Finally,hydrogel antimicrobial studies with staphylococcus epidermidis bacteria revealed that the developed hydrogels affected bacterial growth.Taken together,these materials show promise for various TE strategies.

Tuning the electronic conductance of REH_(x)(RE=Nd,Ce,Pr)by structural deformation

Hydride ion(H-)conductors have drawn much attention due to their potential applications in hydrideion-based devices.Rare earth metal hydrides(REH_(x))have fast H-conduction which,unfortunately,is accompanied by detrimental electron conduction preventing their application as ion conductors.Here,REH_(x)(RE=Nd,Ce,and Pr)with varied grain sizes,rich grain boundaries,and defects have been prepared by ball milling and subsequent sintering.The electronic conductivity of the ball-milled REH_(x)samples can be reduced by 2-4 orders of magnitude compared with the non-ball-milled samples.The relationship of electron conduction and miscrostructures in REH_(x)is studied and discussed based on experimental data and previously-proposed classical and quantum theories.The H-conductivity of all REH_(x)is about 10^(-4)to 10^(-3)S cm^(-1)at room temperature,showing promise for the development of H-conductors and their applications in clean energy storage and conversion.

Enhanced conductivity and weakened magnetism in Pb-doped Sr_(2)IrO_(4)

Group IV element Pb has been selected as the dopant to dope at the Sr site of Sr_(2)IrO_(4). It is exciting to find that the single-phase crystal structure could be maintained with a high Pb doping level of up to x=0.3 in Sr_(2-x)Pb_(x)IrO_(4). The mapping data obtained from energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analyses give solid evidence that the Pb ions are uniformly distributed in the Sr_(2)IrO_(4) matrix. The incorporation of Pb leads to a moderate depression of the canted antiferromagnetic ordering state. The electrical conductivity could be greatly enhanced when the Pb doping content is higher than x=0.2.The present results give a fresh material base to explore new physics in doped Sr_(2)IrO_(4) systems.

Evolution of Superconducting-Transition Temperature with Superfluid Density and Conductivity in Pressurized Cuprate Superconductors

What factors fundamentally determine the value of superconducting transition temperature Tc in high temperature superconductors has been the subject of intense debate.Following the establishment of an empirical law known as Homes'law,there is a growing consensus in the community that the Tc value of the cuprate superconductors is closely linked to the superfluid density(ρ_(s))of its ground state and the conductivity(σ)of its normal state.However,all the data supporting this empirical law(ρ_(s)=AσT_(c))have been obtained from the ambientpressure superconductors.In this study,we present the first high-pressure results about the connection of the quantities of ρ_(s) and σ with T_(c),through the studies on the Bi_(1.74)Pb_(0.38)Sr_(1.88)CuO_(6+δ)and Bi_(2)Sr_(2)CaCu_(2)O_(8+δ),in which the value of their high-pressure resistivity(ρ=1/σ)is achieved by adopting our newly established method,while the quantity ofρs is extracted using Homes'law.We highlight that the Tc values are strongly linked to the joint response factors of magnetic field and electric field,i.e.,ρ_(s) and σ,respectively,implying that the physics determining T_(c) is governed by the intrinsic electromagnetic fields of the system.

A Modification of LiMn2O4 by Ionic Conductive Agent and Electronic Conductive Agent Coating

Carbon was used as electronic conductive agent, and metasilicic acid lithium (Li2SiO3) as ionic conductive agent, the two factors were investigated cooperatively. We evaluated their effect by using spherical spinel LiMn2O4 which prepared ourselves as cathode material. Then Li2SiO3/carbon surface coating on LiMn2O4 (LMO/C/LSO) which Li2SiO3 inside and carbon/Li2SiO3 coated LiMn2O4 (LMO/LSO/C) were prepared, All of materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electrochemical test;spherical LiMn2O4 was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM);and coated materials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). While uncoated spinel LiMn2O4 maintained 72% of capacity in 60 cycles by the rate of 0.2C, and LMO/LSO/C showed the best electrochemical performance, 89% of the initial capacity remained after 75 cycles at 0.2C. Furthermore, the rate performance of LMO/LSO/C also improved obviously, about 30 mAh·g-1 of capacity attained at the rate of 5C, higher than LMO/C/LSO and bare LiMn2O4.

Thermal conductivity of GeTe crystals based on machine learning potentials

GeTe has attracted extensive research interest for thermoelectric applications.In this paper,we first train a neuroevolution potential(NEP)based on a dataset constructed by ab initio molecular dynamics,with the Gaussian approximation potential(GAP)as a reference.The phonon density of states is then calculated by two machine learning potentials and compared with density functional theory results,with the GAP potential having higher accuracy.Next,the thermal conductivity of a GeTe crystal at 300 K is calculated by the equilibrium molecular dynamics method using both machine learning potentials,and both of them are in good agreement with the experimental results;however,the calculation speed when using the NEP potential is about 500 times faster than when using the GAP potential.Finally,the lattice thermal conductivity in the range of 300 K-600 K is calculated using the NEP potential.The lattice thermal conductivity decreases as the temperature increases due to the phonon anharmonic effect.This study provides a theoretical tool for the study of the thermal conductivity of GeTe.

Local thermal conductivity of inhomogeneous nano-fluidic films:A density functional theory perspective

Combining the mean field Pozhar-Gubbins(PG)theory and the weighted density approximation,a novel method for local thermal conductivity of inhomogeneous fluids is proposed.The correlation effect that is beyond the mean field treatment is taken into account by the simulation-based empirical correlations.The application of this method to confined argon in slit pore shows that its prediction agrees well with the simulation results,and that it performs better than the original PG theory as well as the local averaged density model(LADM).In its further application to the nano-fluidic films,the influences of fluid parameters and pore parameters on the thermal conductivity are calculated and investigated.It is found that both the local thermal conductivity and the overall thermal conductivity can be significantly modulated by these parameters.Specifically,in the supercritical states,the thermal conductivity of the confined fluid shows positive correlation to the bulk density as well as the temperature.However,when the bulk density is small,the thermal conductivity exhibits a decrease-increase transition as the temperature is increased.This is also the case in which the temperature is low.In fact,the decrease-increase transition in both the small-bulk-density and low-temperature cases arises from the capillary condensation in the pore.Furthermore,smaller pore width and/or stronger adsorption potential can raise the critical temperature for condensation,and then are beneficial to the enhancement of the thermal conductivity.These modulation behaviors of the local thermal conductivity lead immediately to the significant difference of the overall thermal conductivity in different phase regions.

Highly Thermoconductive,Strong Graphene‑Based Composite Films by Eliminating Nanosheets Wrinkles

Graphene-based thermally conductive composites have been proposed as effective thermal management materials for cooling high-power electronic devices.However,when flexible graphene nanosheets are assembled into macroscopic thermally conductive composites,capillary forces induce shrinkage of graphene nanosheets to form wrinkles during solution-based spontaneous drying,which greatly reduces the thermal conductivity of the composites.Herein,graphene nanosheets/aramid nanofiber(GNS/ANF)composite films with high thermal conductivity were prepared by in-plane stretching of GNS/ANF composite hydrogel networks with hydrogen bonds andπ-πinteractions.The in-plane mechanical stretching eliminates graphene nanosheets wrinkles by suppressing inward shrinkage due to capillary forces during drying and achieves a high in-plane orientation of graphene nanosheets,thereby creating a fast in-plane heat transfer channel.The composite films(GNS/ANF-60 wt%)with eliminated graphene nanosheets wrinkles showed a significant increase in thermal conductivity(146 W m^(−1)K^(−1))and tensile strength(207 MPa).The combination of these excellent properties enables the GNS/ANF composite films to be effectively used for cooling flexible LED chips and smartphones,showing promising applications in the thermal management of high-power electronic devices.

Boron nitride silicone rubber composite foam with low dielectric and high thermal conductivity

Silicone rubber(SR)is widely used in the field of electronic packaging because of its low dielectric properties.In this work,the porosity of the SR was improved,and the dielectric constant of the SR foam was reduced by adding expanded microspheres(EM).Then,the thermal conductivity of the system was improved by combining the modified boron nitride(f-BN).The results showed that after the f-BN was added,the dielectric constant and dielectric loss were much lower than those of pure SR.Micron-sized modified boron nitride(f-mBN)improved the dielectric and thermal conductivity of the SR foam better than that of nano-sized modified boron nitride(f-nBN),but f-nBN improved the volume resistivity,tensile strength,and thermal stability of the SR better than f-mBN.When the mass ratio of f-mBN and fnBN is 2:1,the thermal conductivity of the SR foam reaches the maximum value of 0.808 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1),which is 6.5 times that before the addition.The heat release rate and fire growth index are the lowest,and the improvement in flame retardancy is mainly attributed to the high thermal stability and physical barrier of f-BN.

Spatiotemporal variations of sand hydraulic conductivity by microbial application methods

The spatiotemporal distributions of microbes in soil by different methods could affect the efficacy of the microbes to reduce the soil hydraulic conductivity.In this study,the specimens of bio-mediated sands were prepared using three different methods,i.e.injecting,mixing,and pouring a given microbial so-lution onto compacted sand specimens.The hydraulic conductivity was measured by constant-head tests,while any soil microstructural changes due to addition of the microbes were observed by scan-ning electron microscope(SEM)and mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP)tests.The amount of dextran concentration produced by microbes in each type of specimen was quantified by a refractometer.Results show that dextran production increased exponentially after 5-7 d of microbial settling with the supply of culture medium.The injection and mixing methods resulted in a similar amount and uniform dis-tribution of dextran in the specimens.The pouring method,however,produced a nonuniform distri-bution,with a higher concentration near the specimen surface.As the supply of culture medium discontinued,the dextran content near the surface produced by the pouring method decreased dramatically due to high competition for nutrients with foreign colonies.Average dextran concentration was negatively and correlated with hydraulic conductivity of bio-mediated soils exponentially,due to the clogging of large soil pores by dextran.The hydraulic conductivity of the injection and mixing cases did not change significantly when the supply of culture medium was absent.

Bacterial Cellulose/Zwitterionic Dual-network Porous Gel Polymer Electrolytes with High Ionic Conductivity

Bacterial cellulose(BC)was innovatively combined with zwitterionic copolymer acrylamide and sulfobetaine methacrylic acid ester[P(AM-co-SBMA)]to build a dual-network porous structure gel polymer electrolytes(GPEs)with high ionic conductivity.The dual network structure BC/P(AM-co-SBMA)gels were formed by a simple one-step polymerization method.The results show that ionic conductivity of BC/P(AM-co-SBMA)GPEs at the room temperature are 3.2×10^(-2) S/cm@1 M H_(2)SO_(4),4.5×10^(-2) S/cm@4 M KOH,and 3.6×10^(-2) S/cm@1 M NaCl,respectively.Using active carbon(AC)as the electrodes,BC/P(AM-co-SBMA)GPEs as both separator and electrolyte matrix,and 4 M KOH as the electrolyte,a symmetric solid supercapacitors(SSC)(AC-GPE-KOH)was assembled and testified.The specific capacitance of AC electrode is 173 F/g and remains 95.0%of the initial value after 5000 cycles and 86.2%after 10,000 cycles.

Supposition of graphene stacks to estimate the contact resistance and conductivity of nanocomposites

In this study,the effects of stacked nanosheets and the surrounding interphase zone on the resistance of the contact region between nanosheets and the tunneling conductivity of samples are evaluated with developed equations superior to those previously reported.The contact resistance and nanocomposite conductivity are modeled by several influencing factors,including stack properties,interphase depth,tunneling size,and contact diameter.The developed model's accuracy is verified through numerous experimental measurements.To further validate the models and establish correlations between parameters,the effects of all the variables on contact resistance and nanocomposite conductivity are analyzed.Notably,the contact resistance is primarily dependent on the polymer tunnel resistivity,contact area,and tunneling size.The dimensions of the graphene nanosheets significantly influence the conductivity,which ranges from 0 S/m to90 S/m.An increased number of nanosheets in stacks and a larger gap between them enhance the nanocomposite's conductivity.Furthermore,the thicker interphase and smaller tunneling size can lead to higher sample conductivity due to their optimistic effects on the percolation threshold and network efficacy.

Recent advancements in thermal conductivity of magnesium alloys

As highly integrated circuits continue to advance,accompanied by a growing demand for energy efficiency and weight reduction,materials are confronted with mounting challenges pertaining to thermal conductivity and lightweight properties.By virtue of numerous intrinsic mechanisms,as a result,the thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of the Mg alloys are often inversely related,which becomes a bottleneck limiting the application of Mg alloys.Based on several effective modification methods to improve the thermal conductivity of Mg alloys,this paper describes the law of how they affect the mechanical properties,and clearly indicates that peak aging treatment is one of the best ways to simultaneously enhance an alloy's thermal conductivity and mechanical properties.As the most frequently used Mg alloy,cast alloys exhibit substantial potential for achieving high thermal conductivity.Moreover,recent reports indicate that hot deformation can significantly improve the mechanical properties while maintaining,and potentially slightly enhancing,the alloy's thermal conductivity.This presents a meaningful way to develop Mg alloys for applications in the field of small-volume heat dissipation components that require high strength.This comprehensive review begins by outlining standard testing and prediction methods,followed by the theoretical models used to predict thermal conductivity,and then explores the primary influencing factors affecting thermal conductivity.The review summarizes the current development status of Mg alloys,focusing on the quest for alloys that offer both high thermal conductivity and high strength.It concludes by providing insights into forthcoming prospects and challenges within this field.

Flexible, Transparent and Conductive Metal Mesh Films with Ultra‑High FoM for Stretchable Heating and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

Despite the growing demand for transparent conductive films in smart and wearable electronics for electromagnetic interference(EMI)shielding,achieving a flexible EMI shielding film,while maintaining a high transmittance remains a significant challenge.Herein,a flexible,transparent,and conductive copper(Cu)metal mesh film for EMI shielding is fabricated by self-forming crackle template method and electroplating technique.The Cu mesh film shows an ultra-low sheet resistance(0.18Ω□^(-1)),high transmittance(85.8%@550 nm),and ultra-high figure of merit(>13,000).It also has satisfactory stretchability and mechanical stability,with a resistance increases of only 1.3%after 1,000 bending cycles.As a stretchable heater(ε>30%),the saturation temperature of the film can reach over 110°C within 60 s at 1.00 V applied voltage.Moreover,the metal mesh film exhibits outstanding average EMI shielding effectiveness of 40.4 dB in the X-band at the thickness of 2.5μm.As a demonstration,it is used as a transparent window for shielding the wireless communication electromagnetic waves.Therefore,the flexible and transparent conductive Cu mesh film proposed in this work provides a promising candidate for the next-generation EMI shielding applications.

Overcoming the Na-ion conductivity bottleneck for the cost-competitive chloride solid electrolytes

Chloride solid electrolytes possess multiple advantages for the construction of safe,energy-dense allsolid-state sodium batteries,but presently the chlorides with sufficiently high cost-competitiveness for commercialization almost all exhibit low Na-ion conductivities of around 10^(-5)S cm^(-1)or lower.Here,we report a chloride solid electrolyte,Na_(2.7)ZFCl_(5.3)O_(0.7),which reaches a Na-ion conductivity of 2.29×10^(-4)S cm^(-1)at 25℃without involving overly expensive raw materials such as rare-earth chlorides or Na_(2)S.In addition to the efficient ion transport,Na_(2.7)ZrCl_(5.3)O_(0.7)also shows an excellent deformability surpassing that of the widely studied Na_(3)PS_(4),Na_(3)SbS_(4),and Na_(2)ZrCl_(6)solid electrolytes.The combination of these advantages allows the all-solid-state cell based on Na_(2.7)ZrCl_(5.3)O_(0.7)and NaCrO_(2)to realize stable room-temperature cycling at a much higher specific current than those based on other non-viscoelastic chloride solid electrolytes in literature(120 mA g^(-1)vs.12-55 mA g^(-1));after 100 cycles at such a high rate,the Na_(2.7)ZFCl_(5.3)O_(0.7)-based cell can still deliver a discharge capacity of 80 mAh g^(-1)at25℃.

Unraveling the Fundamental Mechanism of Interface Conductive Network Influence on the Fast‑Charging Performance of SiO‑Based Anode for Lithium‑Ion Batteries

Progress in the fast charging of high-capacity silicon monoxide(SiO)-based anode is currently hindered by insufficient conductivity and notable volume expansion.The construction of an interface conductive network effectively addresses the aforementioned problems;however,the impact of its quality on lithium-ion transfer and structure durability is yet to be explored.Herein,the influence of an interface conductive network on ionic transport and mechanical stability under fast charging is explored for the first time.2D modeling simulation and Cryo-transmission electron microscopy precisely reveal the mitigation of interface polarization owing to a higher fraction of conductive inorganic species formation in bilayer solid electrolyte interphase is mainly responsible for a linear decrease in ionic diffusion energy barrier.Furthermore,atomic force microscopy and Raman shift exhibit substantial stress dissipation generated by a complete conductive network,which is critical to the linear reduction of electrode residual stress.This study provides insights into the rational design of optimized interface SiO-based anodes with reinforced fast-charging performance.

Estimation of the anisotropy of hydraulic conductivity through 3D fracture networks using the directional geological entropy

With an extension of the geological entropy concept in porous media,the approach called directional entrogram is applied to link hydraulic behavior to the anisotropy of the 3D fracture networks.A metric called directional entropic scale is used to measure the anisotropy of spatial order in different directions.Compared with the traditional connectivity indexes based on the statistics of fracture geometry,the directional entropic scale is capable to quantify the anisotropy of connectivity and hydraulic conductivity in heterogeneous 3D fracture networks.According to the numerical analysis of directional entrogram and fluid flow in a number of the 3D fracture networks,the hydraulic conductivities and entropic scales in different directions both increase with spatial order(i.e.,trace length decreasing and spacing increasing)and are independent of the dip angle.As a result,the nonlinear correlation between the hydraulic conductivities and entropic scales from different directions can be unified as quadratic polynomial function,which can shed light on the anisotropic effect of spatial order and global entropy on the heterogeneous hydraulic behaviors.

Extrusion 3D printing of carbon nanotube-assembled carbon aerogel nanocomposites with high electrical conductivity

Carbon nanotubes(CNTs)with high aspect ratio and excellent electrical conduction offer huge functional improvements for current carbon aerogels.However,there remains a major challenge for achieving the on-demand shaping of carbon aerogels with tailored micro-nano structural textures and geometric features.Herein,a facile extrusion 3D printing strategy has been proposed for fabricating CNT-assembled carbon(CNT/C)aerogel nanocomposites through the extrusion printing of pseudoplastic carbomer-based inks,in which the stable dispersion of CNT nanofibers has been achieved relying on the high viscosity of carbomer microgels.After extrusion printing,the chemical solidification through polymerizing RF sols enables 3D-printed aerogel nanocomposites to display high shape fidelity in macroscopic geometries.Benefiting from the micro-nano scale assembly of CNT nanofiber networks and carbon nanoparticle networks in composite phases,3D-printed CNT/C aerogels exhibit enhanced mechanical strength(fracture strength,0.79 MPa)and typical porous structure characteristics,including low density(0.220 g cm^(-3)),high surface area(298.4 m^(2)g^(-1)),and concentrated pore diameter distribution(~32.8nm).More importantly,CNT nanofibers provide an efficient electron transport pathway,imparting 3D-printed CNT/C aerogel composites with a high electrical conductivity of 1.49 S cm^(-1).Our work would offer feasible guidelines for the design and fabrication of shape-dominated functional materials by additive manufacturing.

Pressure transient characteristics of non-uniform conductivity fractured wells in viscoelasticity polymer flooding based on oil-water two-phase flow

Polymer flooding in fractured wells has been extensively applied in oilfields to enhance oil recovery.In contrast to water,polymer solution exhibits non-Newtonian and nonlinear behavior such as effects of shear thinning and shear thickening,polymer convection,diffusion,adsorption retention,inaccessible pore volume and reduced effective permeability.Meanwhile,the flux density and fracture conductivity along the hydraulic fracture are generally non-uniform due to the effects of pressure distribution,formation damage,and proppant breakage.In this paper,we present an oil-water two-phase flow model that captures these complex non-Newtonian and nonlinear behavior,and non-uniform fracture characteristics in fractured polymer flooding.The hydraulic fracture is firstly divided into two parts:high-conductivity fracture near the wellbore and low-conductivity fracture in the far-wellbore section.A hybrid grid system,including perpendicular bisection(PEBI)and Cartesian grid,is applied to discrete the partial differential flow equations,and the local grid refinement method is applied in the near-wellbore region to accurately calculate the pressure distribution and shear rate of polymer solution.The combination of polymer behavior characterizations and numerical flow simulations are applied,resulting in the calculation for the distribution of water saturation,polymer concentration and reservoir pressure.Compared with the polymer flooding well with uniform fracture conductivity,this non-uniform fracture conductivity model exhibits the larger pressure difference,and the shorter bilinear flow period due to the decrease of fracture flow ability in the far-wellbore section.The field case of the fall-off test demonstrates that the proposed method characterizes fracture characteristics more accurately,and yields fracture half-lengths that better match engineering reality,enabling a quantitative segmented characterization of the near-wellbore section with high fracture conductivity and the far-wellbore section with low fracture conductivity.The novelty of this paper is the analysis of pressure performances caused by the fracture dynamics and polymer rheology,as well as an analysis method that derives formation and fracture parameters based on the pressure and its derivative curves.