Current and further trajectories in designing functional materials for solid oxide electrochemical cells:A review of other reviews

Complex oxides are an important class of materials with enormous potential for electrochemical appli-cations.Depending on their composition and structure,such complex oxides can exhibit either a single conductivity(oxygen-ionic or protonic,or n-type,or p-type electronic)or a combination thereof gener-ating distinct dual-conducting or even triple-conducting materials.These properties enable their use as diverse functional materials for solid oxide fuel cells,solid oxide electrolysis cells,permeable membranes,and gas sensors.The literature review shows that the field of solid oxide materials and related electro-chemical cells has a significant level of research engagement,with over 8,000 publications published since 2020.The manual analysis of such a large volume of material is challenging.However,by examining the review articles,it is possible to identify key patterns,recent achievements,prospects,and remaining obstacles.To perform such an analysis,the present article provides,for the first time,a comprehensive summary of previous review publications that have been published since 2020,with a special focus on solid oxide materials and electrochemical systems.Thus,this study provides an important reference for researchers specializing in the fields of solid state ionics,high-temperature electrochemistry,and energyconversiontechnologies.

Review on the Fabrication of Surface Functional Structures for Enhancing Bioactivity of Titanium and Titanium Alloy Implants

Titanium and its alloys have been widely applied in many biomedical fields because of its excellent mechanical properties,corrosion resistance and good biocompatibility.However,problems such as rejection,shedding and infection will occur after titanium alloy implantation due to the low biological activity of titanium alloy surface.The structures with specific functions,which can enhance osseointegration and antibacterial properties,are fabricated on the surface of titanium implants to improve the biological activity between the titanium implants and human tissues.This paper presents a comprehensive review of recent developments and applications of surface functional structure in titanium and titanium alloy implants.The applications of surface functional structure on different titanium and titanium alloy implants are introduced,and their manufacturing technologies are summarized and compared.Furthermore,the fabrication of various surface functional structures used for titanium and titanium alloy implants is reviewed and analyzed in detail.Finally,the challenges affecting the development of surface functional structures applied in titanium and titanium alloy implants are outlined,and recommendations for future research are presented.

Micro-nano-fabrication of green functional materials by multiphase microfluidics for environmental and energy applications

Multiphase microfluidic has emerged as a powerful platform to produce novel materials with tailor-designed functionalities,as microfluidic fabrication provides precise controls over the size,component,and structure of resultant materials.Recently,functional materials with well-defined micro-/nanostructures fabricated by microfluidics find important applications as environmental and energy materials.This review first illustrated in detail how different structures or shapes of droplet and jet templates are formed by typical configurations of microfluidic channel networks and multiphase flow systems.Subsequently,recent progresses on several representative energy and environmental applications,such as water purification,water collecting and energy storage,were overviewed.Finally,it is envisioned that integrating microfluidics and other novel materials will play increasing important role in contributing environmental remediation and energy storage in near future.

Alternative Strategy for Development of Dielectric Calcium Copper Titanate‑Based Electrolytes for Low‑Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

The development of low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells(LT-SOFCs)is of significant importance for realizing the widespread application of SOFCs.This has stimulated a substantial materials research effort in developing high oxide-ion conductivity in the electrolyte layer of SOFCs.In this context,for the first time,a dielectric material,CaCu_(3)Ti_(4)O_(12)(CCTO)is designed for LT-SOFCs electrolyte application in this study.Both individual CCTO and its heterostructure materials with a p-type Ni_(0.8)Co_(0.15)Al_(0.05)LiO_(2−δ)(NCAL)semiconductor are evaluated as alternative electrolytes in LT-SOFC at 450–550℃.The single cell with the individual CCTO electrolyte exhibits a power output of approximately 263 mW cm^(-2) and an open-circuit voltage(OCV)of 0.95 V at 550℃,while the cell with the CCTO–NCAL heterostructure electrolyte capably delivers an improved power output of approximately 605 mW cm^(-2) along with a higher OCV over 1.0 V,which indicates the introduction of high hole-conducting NCAL into the CCTO could enhance the cell performance rather than inducing any potential short-circuiting risk.It is found that these promising outcomes are due to the interplay of the dielectric material,its structure,and overall properties that led to improve electrochemical mechanism in CCTO–NCAL.Furthermore,density functional theory calculations provide the detailed information about the electronic and structural properties of the CCTO and NCAL and their heterostructure CCTO–NCAL.Our study thus provides a new approach for developing new advanced electrolytes for LT-SOFCs.

Phase thermal stability and mechanical properties analyses of(Cr,Fe,V)–(Ta,W)multiple-based elemental system using a compositional gradient film

High-entropy alloys(HEAs)generally possess complex component combinations and abnormal properties.The traditional methods of investigating these alloys are becoming increasingly inefficient because of the unpredictable phase transformation and the combination of many constituents.The development of compositionally complex materials such as HEAs requires high-throughput experimental methods,which involves preparing many samples in a short time.Here we apply the high-throughput method to investigate the phase evolution and mechanical properties of novel HEA film with the compositional gradient of(Cr,Fe,V)-(Ta,W).First,we deposited the compositional gradient film by co-sputtering.Second,the mechanical properties and thermal stability of the(Cr0.33Fe0.33V0.33)x(Ta0.5W0.5)100−x(x=13-82)multiplebased-elemental(MBE)alloys were investigated.After the deposited wafer was annealed at 600℃for 0.5 h,the initial amorphous phase was transformed into a body-centered cubic(bcc)structure phase when x=33.Oxides were observed on the film surface when x was 72 and 82.Finally,the highest hardness of as-deposited films was found when x=18,and the maximum hardness of annealed films was found when x=33.

Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of selective laser melted Ti-6Al-4V induced by annealing treatment

Ti-6Al-4V specimens were fabricated by selective laser melting(SLM)to study the effect of thermal treatment on the phase transformation,elemental diffusion,microstructure,and mechanical properties.The results show that vanadium enriches around the boundary ofαphases with increasing annealing temperature to 973 K,andα′phases transform intoα+βat 973 K.The typicalα′martensite microstructure transforms to fine-scale equiaxed microstructure at 973 K and the equiaxed microstructure significantly coarsens with increasing annealing temperature to 1273 K.The SLM Ti-6Al-4V alloy annealed at 973 K exhibits a well-balanced combination of strength and ductility((1305±25)MPa and(37±3)%,respectively).

Stability and Neimark-Sacker bifurcation analysis of a food-limited population model with a time delay

In this paper,a kind of discrete delay food-limited model obtained by the Euler method is investigated,where the discrete delay τ is regarded as a parameter.By analyzing the associated characteristic equation,the linear stability of this model is studied.It is shown that Neimark-Sacker bifurcation occurs when τ crosses certain critical values.The explicit formulae which determine the stability,direction,and other properties of bifurcating periodic solution are derived by means of the theory of center manifold and normal form.Finally,numerical simulations are performed to verify the analytical results.

Advances and challenges of methanol-tolerant oxygen reduction reaction electrocatalysts for the direct methanol fuel cell

Methanol cross-over effects from the anode to the cathode are important parameters for reducing catalytic performance in direct methanol fuel cells.A promising candidate catalyst for the cathode in direct methanol fuel cells must have excellent activity toward oxygen reduction reaction and resistance to methanol oxidation reaction.This review focuses on the methanol tolerant noble metal-based electrocatalysts,including platinum and palladium-based alloys,noble metal–carbon based composites,transition metal-based catalysts,carbon-based metal catalysts,and metal-free catalysts.The understanding of the correlation between the activity and the synthesis method,electrolyte environment and stability issues are highlighted.For the transition metal-based catalyst,their activity,stability and methanol tolerance in direct methanol fuel cells and comparisons with those of platinum are particularly discussed.Finally,strategies to enhance the methanol tolerance and hinder the generation of mixed potential in direct methanol fuel cells are also presented.This review provides a perspective for future developments for the scientist in selecting suitable methanol tolerate catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction and designing high-performance practical direct methanol fuel cells.

Room Temperature Synthesis of Vertically Aligned Amorphous Ultrathin NiCo-LDH Nanosheets Bifunctional Flexible Supercapacitor Electrodes

Developing a simple scalable method to fabricate electrodes with high capacity and wide voltage range is desired for the real use of electrochemical supercapacitors.Herein,we synthesized amorphous NiCo-LDH nanosheets vertically aligned on activated carbon cloth substrate,which was in situ transformed from Co-metal-organic framework materials nano-columns by a simple ion exchange process at room temperature.Due to the amorphous and vertically aligned ultrathin structure of NiCo-LDH,the NiCo-LDH/activated carbon cloth composites present high areal capacities of 3770 and 1480 mF cm^(-2)as cathode and anode at 2 mA cm^(-2),and 79.5%and 80%capacity have been preserved at 50 mA cm^(-2).In the meantime,they all showed excellent cycling performance with negligible change after>10000 cycles.By fabricating them into an asymmetric supercapacitor,the device achieves high energy densities(5.61 mWh cm^(-2)and 0.352 mW cm^(-3)).This work provides an innovative strategy for simplifying the design of supercapacitors as well as providing a new understanding of improving the rate capabilities/cycling stability of NiCo-LDH materials.

Stability and Hopf Bifurcation Analysis on a Numerical Discretization of the Distributed Delay Equation

A kind of discrete logistic model with distributed delays obtained by the Euler method is investigated,where the discrete delay Τ is regarded as a parameter.By analyzing the associated characteristic equation,it is found that the stability of the positive equilibrium and Hopf occurs when Τ crosses some critical value.Then the explicit formulae which determine the stability,direction and other properties of the bifurcating periodic solution are derived by using the theory of normal form and center manifold.Finally,numerical simulations are performed to verify and illustrate the analytical results.

Mechanical Design and Kinematic Simulation of Automated Assembly System for Relay

By means of Solid Works, three-dimensional model of automated assembly system was established, and kinematic simulation based on Solid Works Motion of assembly process for relay was performed. The simulation results proved the feasibility of mechanical design. Eventually, the productivity was estimated based on simulation analysis. The mechanical design provided a solution with high reference value to practical design of automated assembly system for relay.

Review on current development of polybenzimidazole membrane for lithium battery

With the rapid development of portable technology,lithium batteries have emerged as potential candidates for high-performance energy storage systems owing to their high energy density and cycling stability.Among the key components of a lithium battery system,the separator plays a critical role as it directly influences the battery performance benchmark(cycling performance and safety).However,traditional polyolefin separators(polypropylene/polyethylene)are unable to meet the demands of highperformance and safer battery systems due to their poor electrolyte compatibility,thermal runaways,and ultimate growth of dendrites.In contrast,membranes fabricated using polybenzimidazole(PBI)exhibit excellent electrolyte wettability and outstanding thermal dimensional stability,thus holding great potential as separators for high-performance and high-safety batteries.In this paper,we present a comprehensive review of the general requirements for separators,synthesis technology for separators,and research trends focusing PBI membranes in lithium batteries to alleviate the current commercial challenges faced by conventional polyolefin separators.In addition,we discuss the future development direction for PBI battery separators by considering various factors such as production cost,ecological footprint,preparation technology,and battery component compatibility.By exploring these perspectives,we aim to promote the continued application and exploration of PBI-based materials to advance lithium battery technology.

Lightweight and High-Performance Microwave Absorber Based on 2D WS2-RGO Heterostructures

Two-dimensional(2D)nanomaterials are categorized as a new class of microwave absorption(MA)materials owing to their high specific surface area and peculiar electronic properties.In this study,2D WS2-reduced graphene oxide(WS2-rGO)heterostructure nanosheets were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal process;moreover,their dielectric and MA properties were reported for the first time.Remarkably,the maximum reflection loss(RL)of the sample-wax composites containing 40 wt% WS2-rGO was-41.5 dB at a thickness of 2.7 mm;furthermore,the bandwidth where RL<-10 dB can reach up to 13.62 GHz(4.38-18 GHz).Synergistic mechanisms derived from the interfacial dielectric coupling and multiple-interface scattering after hybridization of WS2 with rGO were discussed to explain the drastically enhanced microwave absorption performance.The results indicate these lightweight WS2-rGO nanosheets to be potential materials for practical electromagnetic wave-absorbing applications.

Direct fabrication of flexible tensile sensors enabled by polariton energy transfer based on graphene nanosheet films

A fundamental problem in the direct manufacturing of flexible devices is the low melting temperature of flexible substrates,which hinders the development of flexible electronics.Proposed here is an electron-cyclotron-resonance sputtering system that can batch-fabricate devices directly on flexible substrates under a low temperature by virtue of the polariton energy transfer between the plasma and the material.Flexible graphene nanosheet-embedded carbon(F-GNEC)films are manufactured directly on polyimide,polyethylene terephthalate,and polydimethylsiloxane,and how the substrate bias(electron energy),microwave power(plasma flux and energy),and magnetic field(electron flux)affect the nanostructure of the F-GNEC films is investigated,indicating that electron energy and flux contribute to the formation of standing graphene nanosheets in the film.The films have good uniformity of distribution in a large size(17 mm×17 mm),and tensile and angle sensors with a high gauge factor(0.92)and fast response(50 ms)for a machine hand are obtained by virtue of the unique nanostructure of the F-GNEC film.This work sheds light on the quantum manufacturing of carbon sensors and its applications for intelligent machine hands and virtual-reality technology.

Resilient Time-Varying Formation-Tracking of Multi-UAV Systems Against Composite Attacks: A Two-Layered Framework

This paper studies the countermeasure design problems of distributed resilient time-varying formation-tracking control for multi-UAV systems with single-way communications against composite attacks,including denial-of-services(DoS)attacks,false-data injection attacks,camouflage attacks,and actuation attacks(AAs).Inspired by the concept of digital twin,a new two-layered protocol equipped with a safe and private twin layer(TL)is proposed,which decouples the above problems into the defense scheme against DoS attacks on the TL and the defense scheme against AAs on the cyber-physical layer.First,a topologyrepairing strategy against frequency-constrained DoS attacks is implemented via a Zeno-free event-triggered estimation scheme,which saves communication resources considerably.The upper bound of the reaction time needed to launch the repaired topology after the occurrence of DoS attacks is calculated.Second,a decentralized adaptive and chattering-relief controller against potentially unbounded AAs is designed.Moreover,this novel adaptive controller can achieve uniformly ultimately bounded convergence,whose error bound can be given explicitly.The practicability and validity of this new two-layered protocol are shown via a simulation example and a UAV swarm experiment equipped with both Ultra-WideBand and WiFi communication channels.

Dealloying of an amorphous TiCuRu alloy results in a nanostructured electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

Development of an electrocatalyst that is cheap and has good properties to replace conventional noble metals is important for H_(2) applications.In this study,dealloying of an amorphous Ti_(37)Cu_(60)Ru_(3) alloy was performed to prepare a freestanding nanostructured hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)catalyst.The effect of dealloying and addition of Ru to TiCu alloys on the microstructure and HER properties under alkaline conditions was investigated.3 at.%Ru addition in Ti_(40)Cu_(60) decreases the overpotential to reach a current density of 10mA cm^(-2) and Tafel slope of the dealloyed samples to 35 and 34mV dec−1.The improvement of electrocatalytic properties was attributed to the formation of a nanostructure and the modification of the electronic structure of the catalyst.First-principles calculations based on density function theory indicate that Ru decreases the Gibbs free energy of water dissociation.This work presents a method to prepare an efficient electrocatalyst via dealloying of amorphous alloys.

Enhancing laccase stability and activity for dyes decolorization using ZIF-8@MWCNT nanocomposite

The continuous use of chemical dyes in various industries,and their discharge into industrial effluents,results in severe problems to human life and water pollution.Laccases have the ability to decolorize dyes and toxic chemicals in industrial effluents as green biocatalysts.Their possible industrial applications have been limited by poor reusability,low stability,and loss of free laccase action.In this research,lac-case was immobilized on zeolitic imidazolate framework coated multi-walled carbon nanotubes(Laccase@ZIF-8@MWCNTs)via metal affinity adsorption to develop an easy separable and stable enzyme.The optimum reaction conditions for immobilized laccase are at a pH of 3.0 and a temperature of 60℃.The immobilized laccase was enhanced in storage and thermal stability.The results indicated that Laccase@ZIF-8@MWCNTs still maintained 68%of its original activity after 10 times of repeated use.Most importantly,the biocatalytic system was applied for decolorization of different dyes(20 mg·L^(-1))without a mediator,and up to 97.4%for Eriochrome black T and 95.6%Acid red 88 was achieved in 25 min.Biocatalysts with these properties may be used in a variety of environmental and industrial applications.

Evaluation of the biodegradation product layer on Mg-1Zn alloy during dynamical strain

Magnesium(Mg)alloys are attractive biodegradable implant materials.The degradation products on Mg alloys play a critical role in the stability of the interface between implant and surrounding tissue.In the present study,the effects of dynamic deformation on the interface layer of biomedical Mg-1Zn alloy were investigated using the constant extension rate tensile tests(CERT)coupled with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS).The deformation of the Mg-1Zn alloy had an adverse influence on the impedance of the surface degradation layer formed in simulated body fluid that only containing inorganic compounds.However,the surface degradation layer with improved corrosion resistance was obtained for the strained samples tested in protein-containing simulated body fluid.The spontaneous or enhanced adsorption of protein into the degradation product led to a flexible and stable hybrid anti-corrosive layer.A relationship between the dynamic deformation of Mg alloy and the impendence of the degradation layer was established,which demonstrates the necessity for in situ characterisation of the evolution of the surface layer under dynamic condition.

A mixed-coordination electron trapping-enabled high-precision touch-sensitive screen for wearable devices

Touch-sensitive screens are crucial components of wearable devices.Materials such as reduced graphene oxide(rGO),carbon nanotubes(CNTs),and graphene offer promising solutions for flexible touch-sensitive screens.However,when stacked with flexible substrates to form multilayered capacitive touching sensors,these materials often suffer from substrate delamination in response to deformation;this is due to the materials having different Young’s modulus values.Delamination results in failure to offer accurate touch screen recognition.In this work,we demonstrate an induced charge-based mutual capacitive touching sensor capable of high-precision touch sensing.This is enabled by electron trapping and polarization effects related to mixed-coordinated bonding between copper nanoparticles and vertically grown graphene nanosheets.Here,we used an electron cyclotron resonance system to directly fabricate graphene-metal nanofilms(GMNFs)using carbon and copper,which are firmly adhered to flexible substrates.After being subjected to 3000 bending actions,we observed almost no change in touch sensitivity.The screen interaction system,which has a signal-to-noise ratio of 41.16 dB and resolution of 650 dpi,was tested using a handwritten Chinese character recognition trial and achieved an accuracy of 94.82%.Taken together,these results show the promise of touch-sensitive screens that use directly fabricated GMNFs for wearable devices.

Effect of Room Temperature Ultrasonic Vibration Compression on the Microstructure Evolution and Mechanical Properties of AZ91 Alloy

To investigate the potential of direct ultrasonic vibration on improving the performance of magnesium alloys,this study first employed the ultrasonic vibration compression(UVC)on the solid solution treated AZ91 alloy,and explored its microstructure evolution and mechanical properties under UVC.Within only two seconds,the UVC alloys showed large deformation strains of 34.8–54.4%,and sudden increase of sample temperature to 243℃.Microstructure characterizations proved that UVC promoted the formation of abundant shear bands,fine grains,and the bimodal distribution of Mg17Al12 precipitates consisting of submicron particles located within the shear bands and nano-sized ones within the matrix.Owing to the unique microstructure,the micro-hardness(and nano-hardness)value of UVC alloy was increased by 37.7%(35%)when compared with the solution-treated alloy.Moreover,the nano-modulus of the developed AZ91 alloy was also significantly increased to 62 GPa by statistical nanoindentation tests,which could be ascribed to increased Mg_(17)Al_(12) precipitates and decreased c/a value to some extent.In general,this work provides a new insight into the design and preparation of high-performance magnesium alloys by UVC at room temperature.