Generating micro/nanostructures on magnesium alloy surface using ultraprecision diamond surface texturing process

The lightness and high strength-to-weight ratio of the magnesium alloy have attracted more interest in various applications.However,micro/nanostructure generation on their surfaces remains a challenge due to the flammability and ignition.Motivated by this,this study proposed a machining process,named the ultraprecision diamond surface texturing process,to machine the micro/nanostructures on magnesium alloy surfaces.Experimental results showed the various microstructures and sawtooth-shaped nanostructures were successfully generated on the AZ31B magnesium alloy surfaces,demonstrating the effectiveness of this proposed machining process.Furthermore,sawtooth-shaped nanostructures had the function of inducing the optical effect and generating different colors on workpiece surfaces.The colorful letter and colorful flower image were clearly viewed on magnesium alloy surfaces.The corresponding cutting force,chip morphology,and tool wear were systematically investigated to understand the machining mechanism of micro/nanostructures on magnesium alloy surfaces.The proposed machining process can further improve the performances of the magnesium alloy and extend its functions to other fields,such as optics.

Strongly coupled N-doped carbon/Fe3O4/N-doped carbon hierarchical micro/nanostructures for enhanced lithium storage performance

A strong interface coupling is of vital importance to develop metal oxide/carbon nanocomposite anodes for next-generation lithium ion batteries.Herein,a rational N-doped carb on riveting strategy is designed to boost the lithium storage performance of Fe3O4/N-doped carbon tubular structures.Poly pyrrole(PPy)has been used as the precursor for N-doped carbon.N-doped carbon-riveted Fe3O4/N-doped carbon(N-C@Fe3O4@N-C)nanocomposites were obtained by pyrolysis of PPy-coated FeOOH@PPy nanotubes in Ar atmosphere.When tested as an anode for LIBs,the N-C@Fe3O4@N-C displays a high reversible discharge capacity of 675.8 mA h g-1 after 100 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g-1 and very good rate capability(470 mA h g_1 at 2 A g-1),which significantly surpasses the performance of Fe3O4@N-C.TEM analysis reveals that after battery cycling the FeOx particles detached from the carbon fibers for Fe3O4@N-C,while for N-C@Fe3O4@N-C the FeOx particles were still trapped in the carbon matrix,thus preserving good electrical contact.Consequently,the superior performance of N-C@Fe3C)4@N-C is attributed to the synergistic effect between Fe3O4 and N-doped carbon combined with the unique structure properties of the nanocomposites.The strategy reported in this work is expected to be applicable for designing other electrode materials for LIBs.

Laser Synthesis and Microfabrication of Micro/ Nanostructured Materials Toward Energy Conversion and Storage

Nanomaterials are known to exhibit a number of interesting physical and chemical properties for various applications,including energy conversion and storage,nanoscale electronics,sensors and actuators,photonics devices and even for biomedical purposes.In the past decade,laser as a synthetic technique and laser as a microfabrication technique facilitated nanomaterial preparation and nanostructure construction,including the laser processing-induced carbon and non-carbon nanomaterials,hierarchical structure construction,patterning,heteroatom doping,sputtering etching,and so on.The laser-induced nanomaterials and nanostructures have extended broad applications in electronic devices,such as light–thermal conversion,batteries,supercapacitors,sensor devices,actuators and electrocatalytic electrodes.Here,the recent developments in the laser synthesis of carbon-based and non-carbon-based nanomaterials are comprehensively summarized.An extensive overview on laser-enabled electronic devices for various applications is depicted.With the rapid progress made in the research on nanomaterial preparation through laser synthesis and laser microfabrication technologies,laser synthesis and microfabrication toward energy conversion and storage will undergo fast development.

A review of the techniques for the mold manufacturing of micro/nanostructures for precision glass molding

Micro/nanostructured components play an important role in micro-optics and optical engineering,tribology and surface engineering,and biological and biomedical engineering,among other fields.Precision glass molding technology is the most efficient method of manufacturing micro/nanostructured glass components,the premise of which is meld manufacturing with complementary micro/nanostructures.Numerous mold manufacturing methods have been developed to fabricate extremely small and high-quality micro/nanostructures to satisfy the demands of functional micro/nanostructured glass components for various applications.Moreover,the service performance of the mold should also be carefully considered.This paper reviews a variety of technologies for manufacturing micro/nanostructured molds.The authors begin with an introduction of the extreme requirements of mold materials.The following section provides a detailed survey of the existing micro/nanostructured mold manufacturing techniques and their corresponding mold materials,including nonmechanical and mechanical methods.This paper concludes with a detailed discussion of the authors recent research on nickel-phosphorus(Ni-P)mold manufacturing and its service performance.

Anticorrosion Coatings from Poly(Aniline-co-2-Ethylaniline) Micro/Nanostructures

PANI copolymer micro/nanostructures with different surface wettability were obtained from the chemical oxidation copolymerization of aniline(Ani)with 2-ethyl aniline(EA)at diverse[EA]/[Ani+EA]molar ratios,by employing ammonium persulfate as an oxidant.The results revealed that the poly(aniline-co-2-ethyl aniline)(PANI-EA)copolymer micro/nanostructures exhibited satisfactory anticorrosion performance for carbon steel,and the corrosion protection efficiency increased with the increase of water repellent property.Poly(2-ethyl aniline)(PEA)showed the largest contact angle(CA=145°)and show the best corrosion protection for the carbon steel(h=87.29%).It is found that the superior anticorrosion property of PEA is attributed to its high hydrophobicity,low conductivity and low porosity.

Simple Fabrication of Hierarchical Micro/Nanostructure Superhydrophobic Surface with Stable and Superior Anticorrosion Silicon Steel via Laser Marking Treatment

To improve the weak corrosion resistance of silicon steel to acid solution and alkaline solution with high temperature,a stable hierarchical micro/nanostructure superhydrophobic surface with myriad irregular micro-scale hump and sheet-like nanostructure was successfully prepared on silicon steel by a simple,efficient and facile operation in large-area laser marking treatment.The morphology,composition,wettability of the as-prepared surface were studied.The superhydrophobic performance of the surface was investigated as well.Additionally,the corrosion resistance of the superhydrophobic surface to acidic solutions at room temperature and alkaline solutions at high temperature (80 ℃) was carefully explored.The corrosion resistance mechanism was clarified.Moreover,considering the practical application of the surface in the future,the hardness of the hierarchical micro/nanostructure superhydrophobic surface was studied.The experimental results indicate that the hierarchical micro/nanostructure surface with texture spacing of 100 μm treated at laser scanning speed of 100 mms/ presents superior superhydrophobicity after decreasing surface energy.The contact angle can be as high as 156.6°.Additionally,the superhydrophobic surface provide superior and stable anticorrosive protection for silicon steel in various corrosive environments.More importantly,the prepared structure of the surface shows high hardness,which ensures that the surface of the superhydrophobic surface cannot be destroyed easily.The surface is able to maintain great superhydrophobic performance when it suffers from slight impacting and abrasion.

Superhydrophobic Micro/Nanostructured Copper Mesh with Self-Cleaning Property for E ective Oil/Water Separation

In this work, a simple method was carried out to successfully fabricate superoleophilic and superhydrophobic N-dodecyltrimethoxysilane@tungsten trioxide coated copper mesh. The as-fabricated copper mesh displayed prominent superoleophilicity and superhydrophobicity with a huge water contact angle about 154.39° and oil contact angle near 0° Moreover, the coated copper mesh showed high separation efficiency approximately 99.3%, and huge water flux about 9962.3 L·h^-1·m-2, which could be used to separate various organic solvents/ water mixtures. Furthermore, the coated copper mesh showed favorable stability that the separation efficiency remained above 90% after 10 separation cycles. Benefiting from the excellent photocatalytic degradation ability of tungsten trioxide, the coated copper mesh possessed the self-cleaning capacity. Therefore, the mesh contaminated with lubricating oil could regain superhydrophobic property, and this property of self-cleaning permitted that the fabricated copper mesh could be repeatedly used for oil and water separation.

Hierarchically Micro/Nanostructured Current Collectors Induced by Ultrafast Femtosecond Laser Strategy for High-Performance Lithium-ion Batteries

Commercial Cu and Al current collectors for lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)possess high electrical conductivity,suitable chemical and electrochemical stability.However,the relatively flat surface of traditional current collectors causes weak bonding strength and poor electrochemical contact between current collectors and electrode materials,resulting in potential detachment of active materials and rapid capacity degradation during extended cycling.Here,we report an ultrafast femtosecond laser strategy to manufacture hierarchical micro/nanostructures on commercial Al and Cu foils as current collectors for high-performance LIBs.The hierarchically micro/nanostructured current collectors(HMNCCs)with high surface area and roughness offer strong adhesion to active materials,fast electronic delivery of entire electrodes,significantly improving reversible capacities and cyclic stability of HMNCCs based LIBs.Consequently,LiNi_(0.5)Co_(0.2)Mn_(0.3)O_(2)(NCM523)cathode with Al HMNCC generated a high reversible capacity after 200 cycles(25%higher than that of cathode with Al CC).Besides,graphite anode with Cu HMNCC also maintained prominent reversible capacity even after 600 cycles.Moreover,the full cell assembled by graphite anode with Cu HMNCC and NCM523 cathode with Al HMNCC achieved high reversible capacity and remarkable cycling stability under industrial-grade mass loading.This study provides promising candidate for achieving high-performance LIBs current collectors.

Bioinspired micro/nanostructured surfaces prepared by femtosecond laser direct writing for multi-functional applications

manufacturing of biomimetic micro/nanostructures due to its specific advantages including high precision,simplicity,and compatibility for diverse materials in comparison with other methods(e.g.ion etching,sol-gel process,chemical vapor deposition,template method,and self-assembly).These biomimetic micro/nanostructured surfaces are of significant interest for academic and industrial research due to their wide range of potential applications,including self-cleaning surfaces,oil-water separation,and fog collection.This review presents the inherent relationship between natural organisms,fabrication methods,micro/nanostructures and their potential applications.Thereafter,we throw a list of current fabrication strategies so as to highlight the advantages of FLDW in manufacturing bioinspired microstructured surfaces.Subsequently,we summarize a variety of typical bioinspired designs(e.g.lotus leaf,pitcher plant,rice leaf,butterfly wings,etc)for diverse multifunctional micro/nanostructures through extreme femtosecond laser processing technology.Based on the principle of interfacial chemistry and geometrical optics,we discuss the potential applications of these functional micro/nanostructures and assess the underlying challenges and opportunities in the extreme fabrication of bioinspired micro/nanostructures by FLDW.This review concludes with a follow up and an outlook of femtosecond laser processing in biomimetic domains.

Icephobic performance on the aluminum foil-based micro-/nanostructured surface

The research of superhydrophobic materials has attracted many researchers＇ attention due to its application value and prospects.In order to expand the serviceable range,people have investigated various superhydrophobic materials.The simple and easy preparation method has become the focus for superhydrophobic materials.In this paper,we present a program for preparing a rough surface on an aluminum foil,which possesses excellent hydrophobic properties after the treatment with low surface energy materials at high vacuum.The resulting contact angle is larger than 160° and the droplet cannot freeze on the surface above-10 ℃.Meanwhile,the modified aluminum foil with the thickness of less than 100 μm can be used as an ideal flexible applied material for superhydrophobicity/anti-icing.

One-pot Synthesis of Hollow Octahedral Cu_2O Nanostructures at Room Temperature

Homogeneous hollow Cu20 octahedral nanostructures have been fabricated by a facile onepot reduction reaction at roomtemperature. The microscope analysis revealed that the edges of as-prepared hollow structures were around 200 nm with a wall thickness of about 20 nm. To investigate the influence factors and formation mechanism of the hollow octahedral structure, samples subjected to different reaction conditions were studies. The results showed that the morphology and structures of Cu20 particles were greatly affected by the concentration of pH value of the reaction environment and the reaction time. Ostwald ripening process is orooosed to exolain the growth mechanism of the hollow octahedral nanostructures.

Fabrication of Ordered Micro/Nanostructures Using Probe‑Based Force‑Controlled Micromachining System

This paper presents a probe-based force-controlled nanoindentation method to fabricate ordered micro/nanostructures.Both the experimental and finite element simulation approaches are employed to investigate the influence of the interval between the adjacent indentations and the rotation angle of the probe on the formed micro/nanostructures.The non-contacting part between indenter and the sample material and the height of the material pile-up are two competing factors to determine the depth relationship between the adjacent indentations.For the one array indentations,nanostructures with good depth consistency and periodicity can be formed after the depth of the indentation becoming stable,and the variation of the rotation angle results in the large difference between the morphology of the formed nanostructures at the bottom of the one array indentation.In addition,for the indentation arrays,the nanostructures with good consistency and periodicity of the shape and depth can be generated with the spacing greater than 1μm.Finally,Raman tests are also carried out based on the obtained ordered micro/nanostructures with Rhodamine probe molecule.The indentation arrays with a smaller spacing lead to better the enhancement effect of the substrate,which has the potential applications in the fields of biological or chemical molecular detection.

Facile Synthesis of 3D Porous Flower-like ZnO Micro/nanostructure Films and Their Photocatalytic Performance

3D porous flower-like ZnO micro/nanostructure films grown on Ti substrates are synthesized via a very facile electrodeposition technique followed by heat treatment process. The ZnO architecture is assembled with ultra thin sheets, which consist of numbers of nanoparticles and pores, and the size of the nanoparticles can be controlled by adjusting the electrodepo- sition time or calcination temperature. It is worth noting that this synthetic method can provide an effective route for other porous metal oxide nanostructure films. Moreover, the photocatalytic performance shows the porous ZnO is an ideal photocatalyst.

Extrusion behavior of micro-nanostructured Al-18%Si alloy powders

The extrusion of Al-Si alloy powders with different particle sizes allows manufacture of different products with unique microstructures and therefore with unique mechanical properties. The effects of powder size on the extrusion behavior and process defect of Al-18%Si alloy were studied by means of microscopy (optical, scanning electron) and density determination. The main objective of the work is to demonstrate the influence of the powder material characteristics on final density and quality of bar. The results show that the bigger the powder particles, the better the performance of cold compacting. The surface of alloy bar extruded from big particles has good quality without cracking. While the smaller the powder particles, the higher the density and the better the microstructure and mechanical properties. For practice application, the mixed powders are better than single powder.

Underwater persistent bubble-assisted femtosecond laser ablation for hierarchical micro/nanostructuring

In this study,we demonstrate a technique termed underwater persistent bubble assisted femtosecond laser ablation in liquids(UPB-fs-LAL)that can greatly expand the boundaries of surface micro/nanostructuring through laser ablation because of its capability to create concentric circular macrostructures with millimeter-scale tails on silicon substrates.Long-tailed macrostructures are composed of layered fan-shaped(central angles of 45°–141°)hierarchical micro/nanostructures,which are produced by fan-shaped beams refracted at the mobile bubble interface(.50°light tilt,referred to as the vertical incident direction)during UPB-fs-LAL line-by-line scanning.Marangoni flow generated during UPB-fs-LAL induces bubble movements.Fast scanning(e.g.1mms−1)allows a long bubble movement(as long as 2mm),while slow scanning(e.g.0.1mms−1)prevents bubble movements.When persistent bubbles grow considerably(e.g.hundreds of microns in diameter)due to incubation effects,they become sticky and can cause both gas-phase and liquidphase laser ablation in the central and peripheral regions of the persistent bubbles.This generates low/high/ultrahigh spatial frequency laser-induced periodic surface structures(LSFLs/HSFLs/UHSFLs)with periods of 550–900,100–200,40–100 nm,which produce complex hierarchical surface structures.A period of 40 nm,less than 1/25th of the laser wavelength(1030 nm),is the finest laser-induced periodic surface structures(LIPSS)ever created on silicon.The NIR-MIR reflectance/transmittance of fan-shaped hierarchical structures obtained by UPB-fs-LAL at a small line interval(5μm versus 10μm)is extremely low,due to both their extremely high light trapping capacity and absorbance characteristics,which are results of the structures’additional layers and much finer HSFLs.In the absence of persistent bubbles,only grooves covered with HSFLs with periods larger than 100 nm are produced,illustrating the unique attenuation abilities of laser properties(e.g.repetition rate,energy,incident angle,etc)by persistent bubbles with different curvatures.This research represents a straightforward and cost-effective approach to diversifying the achievable hierarchical micro/nanostructures for a multitude of applications.

Nanostructured Ternary Metal Tungstate-Based Photocatalysts for Environmental Purification and Solar Water Splitting:A Review

Visible-light-responsive ternary metal tungstate(MWO_4) photocatalysts are being increasingly investigated for energy conversion and environmental purification applications owing to their striking features, including low cost,eco-friendliness, and high stability under acidic and oxidative conditions. However, rapid recombination of photoinduced electron–hole pairs and a narrow light response range to the solar spectrum lead to low photocatalytic activity of MWO_4-based materials, thus significantly hampering their wide usage in practice. To enable their widespread practical usage, significant efforts have been devoted, by developing new concepts and innovative strategies. In this review, we aim to provide an integrated overview of the fundamentals and recent progress of MWO_4-based photocatalysts. Furthermore, different strategies, including morphological control, surface modification, heteroatom doping, and heterojunction fabrication, which are employed to promote the photocatalyticactivities of MWO_4-based materials, are systematically summarized and discussed. Finally, existing challenges and a future perspective are also provided to shed light on the development of highly efficient MWO_4-based photocatalysts.

Effects of discharge parameters on the micro-hollow cathode sustained glow discharge

The effects of parameters such as pressure,first anode radius,and the cavity diameter on the micro-hollow cathode sustained glow discharge are investigated by using a two-dimensional self-consistent fluid model in pure argon.The results indicate that the three parameters influence the discharge in the regions inside and outside of the cavity.Under a fixed voltage on each electrode,a larger volume of high density plasma can be produced in the region between the first and the second anodes by selecting the appropriate pressure,the higher first anode,and the appropriate cavity diameter.As the pressure increases,the electron density inside the hollow cathode,the high density plasma volume between the first anode and second anodes,and the radial electric field in the cathode cavity initially increase and subsequently decrease.As the cavity diameter increases,the high-density plasma volume between the first and second anodes initially increases and subsequently decreases;whereas the electron density inside the hollow cathode decreases.As the first anode radius increases,the electron density increases both inside and outside of the cavity.Moreover,the increase of the electron density is more obvious in the microcathode sustained region than in the micro cavity region.The results reveal that the discharge inside the cavity interacts with that outside the cavity.The strong hollow cathode effect and the high-density plasma inside the cavity favor the formation of a sustained discharge between the first anode and the second anodes.Results also show that the radial boundary conditions exert a considerably weaker influence on the discharge except for a little change in the region close to the radial boundary.

Preparation of micro-nano hollow multiphase ceramic microspheres containing MnFe_2O_4 absorbent by self-reactive quenching method

Fe–Fe2O3–MnO2–sucrose–epoxy resin and O2 as reaction system and feed gas,separately,were used to prepare micro-nano hollow multiphase ceramic microspheres containing MnFe2O4absorbent by self-reactive quenching method which is integrated with flame jet,selfpropagating high-temperature synthesis(SHS),and rapidly solidification.The morphologies and phase compositions of hollow microspheres were studied by scanning electron microscope(SEM),transmission electron microscope(TEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD),and energy dispersive spectroscopy.The results show that the quenching products are regular spherical substantially with hollow structure,particle size is between few hundreds nanometers and 5 lm.Phase compositions are diphase of Fe3O4,Mn3O4,and MnFe2O4,and the spinel soft magnetic ferrite MnFe2O4 with microwave magnetic properties is in majority.Collisions with each other,burst as well as‘‘refinement’’of agglomerate powders in flame field may be the main reasons for the formation of micro-nano hollow multiphase ceramic microspheres containing MnFeOabsorbent.

Cylindrical Micro-hollow Cathode Discharge at Atmospheric Pressure

The mechanism of micro-hollow cathode discharge at atmospheric pressure is investigated through simulations using two-dimensional fluid model combined with a transport model for metastable atoms.In the simulations,electric potential,electric field,particle density,and mean electron energy of the discharge are calculated.The results show that the two characteristic regions of the discharge,i.e.cathode drop and negative glow can be distinguished in the simulation.The cathode drop is characterized by strong electric field and high mean electron energy,while quasi-neutral plasma of high density and exists in the negative glow.The peak value of electron density can reach the order of 1017cm-3.The electron temperature varies from several eV to tens of eV.The influence of cathode dimension on the discharge characteristics is also investigated.

An amorphous manganese iron oxide hollow nanocube cathode for aqueous zinc ion batteries

Aqueous zinc ion batteries(ZIBs) are attracting considerable attentions for practical energy storage because of their low cost and high safety.Nevertheless,the traditional manganese oxide cathode materials suffer from the low intrinsic electronic conductivity,sluggish ions diffusion kinetics,and structural collapse,hindering their large-scale application.Herein,we successfully developed a latent amorphous Mn_(1.8)Fe_(1.2)O_(4) hollow nanocube(a-H-MnFeO) cathode material derived from Prussian blue analogue precursor.The amorphous nature endows the cathode with lower diffusion barrier and narrower band gap compared with crystalline counterpart,resulting in the superior Zn^(2+) ions and electrons transport kinetics.Hollow structure can furnish abundant surface sites and suppress the structural collapse during the repeated charge/discharge processes.By virtue of the multiple advantageous features,the a-H-MnFeO cathode exhibits exceptional electrochemical performance,in terms of high capacity,excellent rate capability,and prolonged cycle life.This strategy will pave the way for the structural design of emerging cathode materials.