Polyoxometalates-Modulated Hydrophilic-Hydrophobic Composite Interfacial Material for Efficient Solar Water Evaporation and Salt Harvesting in High-Salinity Brine

Solar vapor generation(SVC)represents a promising technique for seawater desalination to alleviate the global water crisis and energy shortage.One of its main bottleneck problems is that the evaporation efficiency and stability are limited by salt crystallization under high-salinity brines.Herein,we demonstrate that the 3D porous melamine-foam(MF)wrapped by a type of self-assembling composite materials based on reduced polyoxometalates(i.e.heteropoly blue,HPB),oleic acid(OA),and polypyrrole(PPy)(labeled with MF@HPB-PPy_(n)-OA)can serve as efficient and stable SVC material at high salinity.Structural characterizations of MF@HPB-PPy_(n)-OA indicate that both hydrophilic region of HPBs and hydrophobic region of OA co-exist on the surface of composite materials,optimizing the hydrophilic and hydrophobic interfaces of the SVC materials,and fully exerting its functionality for ultrahigh water-evaporation and anti-salt fouling.The optimal MF@HPB-PPy_(10)-OA operates continuously and stably for over 100 h in 10wt%brine.Furthermore,MF@HPB-PPy_(10)-OA accomplishes complete salt-water separation of 10wt%brine with 3.3kgm^(-2)h^(-1)under 1-sun irradiation,yielding salt harvesting efficiency of 96.5%,which belongs to the record high of high-salinity systems reported so far and is close to achieving zero liquid discharge.Moreover,the low cost of MF@HPB-PPy_(10)-OA(2.56$m^(-2))suggests its potential application in the practical SVC technique.

Effect of microalloying on wettability and interface characteristics of Zr-based bulk metallic glasses with W substrate

The infiltration casting method is widely employed for the preparation of ex-situ composite materials.However,the production of composite materials using this method must necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the wettability and interface characteristics between the reinforcing phase and the bulk metallic glasses(BMGs).This work optimized the composition of Zr-based BMGs through microalloying methods,resulting in a new set of Zr-based BMGs with excellent glass-forming ability.Wetting experiments between the Zr-based BMGs melts and W substrates were conducted using the traditional sessile drop method,and the interfaces were characterized utilizing a scanning electron microscope(SEM)equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDS).The work demonstrates that the microalloying method substantially enhances the wettability of the Zr-based BMGs melt.Additionally,the incorporation of Nb element impedes the formation of W-Zr phases,but the introduction of Nb element does not alter the extent of interdiffusion between the constituent elements of the amorphous matrix and W element,indicating that the influence of Nb element on the diffusion of individual elements is minute.

Emerging low-density polyethylene/paraffin wax/aluminum composite as a form-stable phase change thermal interface material

Thermal interface materials(TIMs) play a vital role in the thermal management of electronic devices and can significantly reduce thermal contact resistance(TCR). The TCR between the solid–liquid contact surface is much smaller than that of the solid–solid contact surface, but conventional solid–liquid phase change materials are likely to cause serious leakage. Therefore, this work has prepared a new formstable phase change thermal interface material. Through the melt blending of paraffin wax(PW) and low-density polyethylene(LDPE), the stability is improved and it has an excellent coating effect on PW. The addition of aluminum(Al) powder improves the low thermal conductivity of PW/LDPE, and the addition of 15wt% Al powder improves the thermal conductivity of the internal structure of the matrix by 67%. In addition, the influence of the addition of Al powder on the internal structure, thermal properties, and phase change behavior of the PW/LDPE matrix was systematically studied. The results confirmed that the addition of Al powder improved the thermal conductivity of the material without a significant impact on other properties, and the thermal conductivity increased with the increase of Al addition. Therefore, morphologically stable PW/LDPE/Al is an important development direction for TIMs.

Interface-induced topological phase and doping-modulated bandgap of two-dimensioanl graphene-like networks

Biphenylene is a new topological material that has attracted much attention recently.By amplifying its size of unit cell,we construct a series of planar structures as homogeneous carbon allotropes in the form of polyphenylene networks.We first use the low-energy effective model to prove the topological three periodicity for these allotropes.Then,through first-principles calculations,we show that the topological phase has the Dirac point.As the size of per unit cell increases,the influence of the quaternary rings decreases,leading to a reduction in the anisotropy of the system,and the Dirac cone undergoes a transition from type II to type I.We confirm that there are two kinds of non-trivial topological phases with gapless and gapped bulk dispersion.Furthermore,we add a built-in electric field to the gapless system by doping with B and N atoms,which opens a gap for the bulk dispersion.Finally,by manipulating the built-in electric field,the dispersion relations of the edge modes will be transformed into a linear type.These findings provide a hopeful approach for designing the topological carbon-based materials with controllable properties of edge states.

Phase field calculation of interface mobility in a ternary alloy

A novel approach based on the quantitative phase field model was proposed to calculate the interface mobility and applied to the α/β interface of a ternary Ti-6Al-4V alloy.Phase field simulations indicate that the higher interface mobility leads to the faster transformation rate,but only a unique value of interface mobility matches the diffusion equation under the diffusion-controlled condition.By comparing the transformation kinetics from phase field simulations with that from classical diffusion equation,the interface mobility at different temperatures can be obtained.The results show that the calculated interface mobility increases with increasing temperature and accords with Arrhenius equation very well.

Revealing the atomic mechanism of diamond–iron interfacial reaction

Diamond,with ultrahigh hardness,high wear resistance,high thermal conductivity,and so forth,has attracted worldwide attention.However,researchers found emergent reactions at the interfaces between diamond and ferrous materials,which significantly affects the performance of diamond-based devices.Herein,combing experiments and theoretical calculations,taking diamond–iron(Fe)interface as a prototype,the counter-diffusion mechanism of Fe/carbon atoms has been established.Surprisingly,it is identified that Fe and diamond first form a coherent interface,and then Fe atoms diffuse into diamond and prefer the carbon vacancies sites.Meanwhile,the relaxed carbon atoms diffuse into the Fe lattice,forming Fe_(3)C.Moreover,graphite is observed at the Fe_(3)C surface when Fe_(3)C is over-saturated by carbon atoms.The present findings are expected to offer new insights into the atomic mechanism for diamondferrous material's interfacial reactions,benefiting diamond-based device applications.

Paraelectric-ferroelectric interface dynamics induced by latent heat transfer and irreversibility of ferroelectric phase transitions

The temperature gradients that arise in the paraelectric-ferroelectric interface dynamics induced by the latent heat transfer are studied from the point of view that a ferroelectric phase transition is a stationary, thermal-electric coupled transport process. The local entropy production is derived for a ferroelectric phase transition system from the Gibbs equation. Three types of regions in the system are described well by using the Onsager relations and the principle of minimum entropy production. The theoretical results coincides with the experimental ones.

Structure and Migration Characteristic of Heterointerfaces During the Phase Transformation from L1_2 to DO_(22) Phase

Based on the microscopic phase-field model, the structure and migration characteristic of ordered domain interfaces formed between DO22 and L12 phase are investigated, and the atomistic mechanism of phase transformation from L12 （Ni3Al） to DO22 （Ni3V） in Ni75AlxV25-x alloys are explored, using the simulated microstructure evolution pictures and the occupation probability evolution of alloy elements at the interface. The results show that five kinds of heterointerfaces are formed between DO22 and L12 phase and four of them can migrate during the phase transformation from L12 to DO22 except the interface （002）D//（001）L. The structure of interface （100）D//（200）L and interface （100）D//（200）L·^1/2[001] remain the same before and after migration, while the interface （002）D//（002）L is formed after the migration of interface （002）D//（002）L·^1/2[100] and vice versa. These two kinds of interface appear alternatively. The jump and substitute of atoms selects the optimization way to induce the migration of interface during the phase transformation, and the number of atoms needing to jump during the migration is the least among all of the possible atom jump modes.

The role of melt cooling rate on the interface between 18R and Mg matrix in Mg_(97)Zn_(1)Y_(2) alloys

The role of melt cooling rate on the interface morphology and dislocation configuration between 18R long-period stacking ordered(LPSO)structure and Mg matrix in Mg_(97)Zn_(1)Y_(2)(at.%)alloys was investigated by atomic-scale HAADF-STEM imaging.The 18R/Mg interface is step-like both in the near-equilibrium alloy and non-equilibrium alloy.Lower cooling rate makes the step size more regular and larger.Only 54R structure can be observed at the interface in the near-equilibrium alloy,and the dislocations are highly ordered.54R and 54R′structure sandwiched by b1 and b2+b3 dislocation arrays,and new dislocation configuration can be detected at the interface in the non-equilibrium alloy,but the dislocations are less ordered.18R/Mg interface containing 54R or 54R′in equilibrium width,parallel to the(010)plane,should be most stable based on elastic calculation.The segregation of solute atoms and its strong interaction with dislocations dominate the LPSO/Mg interface via diffusion-displacive transformation.

Effects of grinding-induced grain boundary and interfaces on electrical transportation and structure phase transition in ZnSe under high pressure

Interface and scale effects are the two most important factors which strongly affect the structure and the properties of nano-/micro-crystals under pressure.We conduct an experiment under high pressure in situ alternating current impedance to elucidate the effects of interface on the structure and electrical transport behavior of two Zn Se samples with different sizes obtained by physical grinding.The results show that（i） two different-sized Zn Se samples undergo the same phase transitions from zinc blend to cinnabar-type phase and then to rock salt phase;（ii） the structural transition pressure of the859-nm Zn Se sample is higher than that of the sample of 478 nm,which indicates the strong scale effect.The pressure induced boundary resistance change is obtained by fitting the impedance spectrum,which shows that the boundary conduction dominates the electrical transport behavior of Zn Se in the whole experimental pressure range.By comparing the impedance spectra of two different-sized Zn Se samples at high pressure,we find that the resistance of the 478-nm Zn Se sample is lower than that of the 859-nm sample,which illustrates that the sample with smaller particle size has more defects which are due to physical grinding.

Effects of additives on the phase transformation, occurrence state, and the interface of the Ti component in Ti-bearing blast furnace slag

The influences of additives on the phase transformation, occurrence state, and the interface of the Ti component in Ti-bearing blast furnace slag were investigated. After oxidation, most of the Ti component in the slag was enriched into the perovskite phase, which served as the Ti-rich phase during the crystallization process. The phase transformation, occurrence state, and the interface of the Ti component were observed to be affected by the addition of different types of agents. During the oxidation process, titanaugite and Ti-rich diopside phases gradually transformed into non-Ti phases（anorthite： CaMgSi2O6 and CaAl2Si2O8） in the form of dendrites or columns, which were observed to be distributed at the surface of the perovskite phase. Several more cracks appeared along the grain boundaries of the perovskite phase after the addition of P2O5, facilitating the liberation of the perovskite phase. Composite additives combining both an acid and a base, such as CaO ＋ CaF2 or P2O5 ＋ CaF2, were used. We observed that the disadvantages of using single additives were successfully overcome.

Facile construction of a multilayered interface for a durable lithium‐rich cathode

Layered lithium-rich manganese-based oxide(LRMO)has the limitation of inevitable evolution of lattice oxygen release and layered structure transformation.Herein,a multilayer reconstruction strategy is applied to LRMO via facile pyrolysis of potassium Prussian blue.The multilayer interface is visually observed using an atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscope and a high-resolution transmission electron microscope.Combined with the electrochemical characterization,the redox of lattice oxygen is suppressed during the initial charging.In situ X-ray diffraction and the high-resolution transmission electron microscope demonstrate that the suppressed evolution of lattice oxygen eliminates the variation in the unit cell parameters during initial(de)lithiation,which further prevents lattice distortion during long cycling.As a result,the initial Coulombic efficiency of the modified LRMO is up to 87.31%,and the rate capacity and long-term cycle stability also improved considerably.In this work,a facile surface reconstruction strategy is used to suppress vigorous anionic redox,which is expected to stimulate material design in high-performance lithium ion batteries.

Microscopic phase-field simulation of ordered domain interfaces formed between DO_(22) phases along [100] direction

Ordered domain interfaces formed between DO22 (Ni3V) phases along [100] direction during the precipitation process of Ni75AlxV25-x alloys were simulated by using the microscopic phase-field model. The atomic structure, migration process, and compositions of interfaces were investigated. It is found that there are four kinds of stable ordered domain interfaces formed between DO22 phases along [100] direction and all of them can migrate. During the migration of interfaces, the jump of atoms shows site selectivity behaviors and each stable interface forms a distinctive transition interface. The atom jump selects the optimist way to induce the migration of interface, and the atomic structures of interfaces retain the same before and after the migration. The alloy elements have different preferences of segregation or depletion at different interfaces. At all the four kinds of interfaces, Ni and Al segregate but V depletes. The degrees of segregation and depletion are also different at different interfaces.

The growth ofβphase in Mg-Gd-Y-Ni alloy by experimental and first-principles study

The paper reports on the atomic investigation aboutβphase in Mg_(96)Gd_(2)Y_(1)Ni_(1) alloy by using the first-principles study and the high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscope(HAADF-STEM)corrected by atomic Cs.By using HAADF-STEM,the rectangularβphases were observed in the underage and peak aging stages in Mg_(96)Gd_(2)Y_(1)Ni_(1) alloy.Theβphase could be precipitated from the previously precipitatedβphase,and theβphase grew in steps when it was precipitated.A special transition structure of three atomic layer thicknesses was first observed at the edge of theβphase and the structure of this interface is probably as theβ/Mg_(1) interface for the analysis of thermodynamic characterization and electronic characterization.Theβ'phase and theβ_(H) structure were precipitated only at the edge of the length directions of theβphase.Theβ'phase continues to grow into aβphase directly without the formation ofβ_(1) phase,resulting in an increase in the length of theβphase,which is discovered for the first time.

Effects of temperature gradient on the interface microstructure and diffusion of diffusion couples:Phase-field simulation

The temporal interface microstructures and diffusions in the diffusion couples with the mutual interactions of the temperature gradient, concentration difference and initial aging time of the alloys are studied by phase-field simulation, and the diffusion couples are produced by the initial aged spinodal alloys with different compositions. Temporal composition evolution and volume fraction of the separated phase indicate the element diffusion direction through the interface under the temperature gradient. The increased temperature gradient induces a wide single-phase region on two sides of the interface.The uphill diffusion proceeds through the interface, no matter whether the diffusion direction is up or down with respect to the temperature gradient. For an alloy with short initial aging time, phase transformation accompanying the interdiffusion results in the straight interface with the single-phase regions on both sides. Compared with the temperature gradient,composition difference of diffusion couple and initial aging time of the alloy show greater effects on diffusion and interface microstructure.

Phase-stable wide-bandgap perovskites enabled by suppressed ion migration

Wide-bandgap(>1.7 eV)perovskites suffer from severe light-induced phase segregation due to high bromine content,causing irreversible damage to devices stability.However,the strategies of suppressing photoinduced phase segregation and related mechanisms have not been fully disclosed.Here,we report a new passivation agent 4-aminotetrahydrothiopyran hydrochloride(4-ATpHCl)with multifunctional groups for the interface treatment of a 1.77-eV wide-bandgap perovskite film.4-ATpH^(+)impeded halogen ion migration by anchoring on the perovskite surface,leading to the inhibition of phase segregation and thus the passivation of defects,which is ascribed to the interaction of 4-ATpH^(+)with perovskite and the formation of low-dimensional perovskites.Finally,the champion device achieved an efficiency of 19.32%with an open-circuit voltage(V_(OC))of 1.314 V and a fill factor of 83.32%.Moreover,4-ATpHCl modified device exhibited significant improved stability as compared with control one.The target device maintained 80%of its initial efficiency after 519 h of maximum power output(MPP)tracking under 1 sun illumination,however,the control device showed a rapid decrease in efficiency after 267 h.Finally,an efficiency of 27.38%of the champion 4-terminal all-perovskite tandem solar cell was achieved by mechanically stacking this wide-bandgap top subcell with a 1.25-eV low-bandgap perovskite bottom subcell.

Regulating interfacial chemistry and kinetic behaviors of F/Mo co-doping Ni-rich layered oxide cathode for long-cycling lithium-ion batteries over-20°C-60°C

Ni-rich layered oxide cathodes have shown promise for high-energy lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)but are usually limited to mild environments because of their rapid performance degradation under extreme temperature conditions(below0°C and above 50 °C).Here,we report the design of F/Mo co-doped LiNi_(0.8)Co_(0.1)Mn_(0.1)O_(2)(FMNCM)cathode for high-performance LIBs from-20 to 60°C.F^(-) doping with high electronegativity into the cathode surface is found to enhance the stability of surface lattice structure and protect the interface from side reactions with the electrolyte by generating a LiF-rich surface layer.Concurrently,the Mo^(6+) doping suppresses phase transition,which blocks Li^(+)/Ni^(2+) mixing,and stabilizes lithium-ion diffusion pathway.Remarkably,the FMNCM cathode demonstrates excellent cycling stability at a high cutoff voltage of 4.4 V,even at 60°C,maintaining 90.6%capacity retention at 3 C after 150 cycles.Additionally,at temperatures as low as-20°C,it retains 77.1%of its room temperature capacity,achieving an impressive 97.5%capacity retention after 500 cycles.Such stable operation under wide temperatures has been further validated in practical Ah-level pouch-cells.This study sheds light on both fundamental mechanisms and practical implications for the design of advanced cathode materials for wide-temperature LIBs,presenting a promising path towards high-energy and long-cycling LIBs with temperatureadaptability.

Effect of Si on 1Cr18Ni11Nb/TiO interface and investigation of TiO based cermet binder phase

The effect of trace amount of active element Si on the wetting and interface characteristics of 1Cr18Ni11Nb/TiO was investigated. Based on the results, a new binder phase for TiO based cermets imitated gold materials was developed, and the related mechanisms were studied. The results indicated that there was small wet-ability of the 1Cr18Ni11Nb alloy on TiO, and the interface binding strength of 1Cr18Ni11Nb/TiO was low. 1.5%Si in 1Cr18Ni11Nb could not only make the alloy wet TiO, but also lead to mutual dissolving near the interface, forming high interface binding strength and matching with the thermal expansion coefficient of TiO.

PHASE INTERFACE SEGREGATION OF Mg IN A Ni-BASE SUPERALLOY IN100

The segregation of Mg to phase interfaces in a nickel base superalloy IN 100 has been investi- gated using EPT(Electron Microprobe Technique).AES(Auger Electron Spectroscopy) and EDS analyses on thin TEM film.The results show that Mg segregates to the phase inter- faces of MC/γ and γ′/γ.The segregation concentration and layer thickness of Mg on MC/γ phase interface are larger than that on γ′/γ phase interface.Mg is not only a grain boundary segregation element,but also a phase interface segregation one.

PHASE SEPARATION AND MICROVOID FORMATION AT PHASE INTERFACES OF HYDROPHOBIC-HYDROPHILIC POLYMER BLENDS DURING WET PROCESSING

In this paper,morphological structure,thermodynamic compatibility and relationship be-tween porosities and blend ratios of the wet coagulated PU/PVA sheets were studied by meansof observation of scanning electronic micrographies,tests of dynamic mechanical properties,moisture regain and vapor permeability.Furthermore,the formation of microvoids at interfacesof separated phases was discussed and a microvoid formation mechanism at phase interfaces ofhydrophobic-hydrophilic blends was suggested and compared with that ofhydrophobic-hydrophobic blends.