One-pot Synthesis of Hierarchical Flower-like WS_(2) Microspheres as Anode Materials for Lithium-ion Batteries

3D hierarchical flowerlike WS_(2) microspheres were synthesized through a facile one-pot hydrothermal route.The as-synthesized samples were characterized by powder X-ray powder diffraction (XRD),energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS),scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman.SEM images of the samples reveal that the hierarchical flowerlike WS_(2) microspheres with diameters of about 3-5μm are composed of a number of curled nanosheets.Electrochemical tests such as charge/discharge,cyclic voltammetry,cycle life and rate performance were carried out on the WS_(2) sample.As an anode material for lithium-ion batteries,hierarchical flowerlike WS_(2) microspheres show excellent electrochemical performance.At a current density of100 mA·g^(-1),a high specific capacity of 647.8 mA·h·g^(-1) was achieved after 120 discharge/charge cycles.The excellent electrochemical performance of WS_(2) as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries can be attributed to its special 3D hierarchical structure.

Grain boundary engineering for enhancing intergranular damage resistance of ferritic/martensitic steel P92

Ferritic/martensitic(F/M)steel is widely used as a structural material in thermal and nuclear power plants.However,it is susceptible to intergranular damage,which is a critical issue,under service conditions.In this study,to improve the resistance to intergranular damage of F/M steel,a thermomechanical process(TMP)was employed to achieve a grain boundary engineering(GBE)microstructure in F/M steel P92.The TMP,including cold-rolling thickness reduction of 6%,9%,and 12%,followed by austenitization at 1323 K for 40 min and tempering at 1053 K for 45 min,was applied to the as-received(AR)P92 steel.The prior austenite grain(PAG)size,prior austenite grain boundary character distribution(GBCD),and connectivity of prior austenite grain boundaries(PAGBs)were investigated.Compared to the AR specimen,the PAG size did not change significantly.The fraction of coincident site lattice boundaries(CSLBs,3≤Σ≤29)and Σ3^(n) boundaries along PAGBs decreased with increasing reduction ratio because the recrystallization fraction increased with increasing reduction ratio.The PAGB connectivity of the 6%deformed specimen slightly deteriorated compared with that of the AR specimen.Moreover,potentiodynamic polarization studies revealed that the intergranular damage resistance of the studied steel could be improved by increasing the fraction of CSLBs along the PAGBs,indicating that the TMP,which involves low deformation,could enhance the intergranular damage resistance.

Properties and Hydration Mechanism of Cementitious Materials Prepared from Calcined Coal Gangue

The preparation of cementitious materials by replacing part of the cement with activated coal gangue is of great significance to the cement industry in terms of carbon reduction and coal-based solid waste utilization.For this paper,cementitious material was prepared by firing activated coal gangue under suspension conditions and batching it with limestone powder using Inner Mongolia coal gangue as raw material.The optimal ratio was determined by testing the strength changes of the cementitious material at 3,7,and 28 days of hydration,and the hydration process and mechanism were explored by combining the pore structure,heat of hydration,chemical composition,phase composition,and microscopic morphological characteristics of the hydration products.The results showed that the active materials formulated from activated gangue and limestone powder can be used to prepare cementitious materials with good performance at the level of 30%–50%replacement of cement.The optimal ratio was 30%replacement of cement,and the mass ratio of calcined gangue to limestone powder was 2:1.The 3 days compressive strength of this ratio was 28.8 MPa,which was only slightly lower than that of cement.However,the 28 days compressive strength of samples reached 67.5 MPa,which was much higher than that of the reference cement.In the hydration of this cementitious material,not only does the activated coal gangue react with the Ca(OH)_(2)formed by hydration to form C–S–H gel,but CaCO3 also participates in the reaction to form a new phase of carbon aluminate,and the two effects together promote the development of the later strength of the samples.This paper can provide a reference for carbon reduction in the cement production process and comprehensive utilization of coal gangue.

Preparation of Flower-like Copper Foam Supported Co_(3)O_(4) Electrocatalyst and Its Hydrogen Evolution Performance

Flower-like copper foam Co_(3)O_(4) catalysts(Co_(3)O_(4)/CF) were prepared by hydrothermal method.The crystalline structure and microscopic morphology of the prepared samples were characterized by using X-ray diffractometer(XRD) and scanning electron microscope(SEM),and the electrochemical properties were investigated by an electrochemical workstation.The experimental results show that the Co_(3)O_(4) catalysts are successfully prepared on the foamed copper support by hydrothermal method,and the material’s morphology is mainly flower cluster.When the current density is 10 mA·cm^(-2),the overpotential value of the Co_(3)O_(4)/CF catalyst is 141 mV,lower than that of blank support.The electrochemical impedance(EIS) spectrum shows that the R_(ct )value of the Co_(3)O_(4)/CF catalyst decreases,and the Coulomb curves of double-layer show that the electrochemically active area of the Co_(3)O_(4)/CF catalyst efficiently increases compared with that of the blank support.Therefore,the as-obtained Co_(3)O_(4)/CF catalyst exhibits a good hydrogen evolution rate,showing great applicability potential in the catalytic electrolysis of water for hydrogen production.

Flame-retardant ammonium polyphosphate/MXene decorated carbon foam materials as polysulfide traps for fire-safe and stable lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur(Li-S)batteries are one of the most promising modern-day energy supply systems because of their high theoretical energy density and low cost.However,the development of high-energy density Li-S batteries with high loading of flammable sulfur faces the challenges of electrochemical performance degradation owing to the shuttle effect and safety issues related to fire or explosion accidents.In this work,we report a three-dimensional(3D)conductive nitrogen-doped carbon foam supported electrostatic self-assembled MXene-ammonium polyphosphate(NCF-MXene-APP)layer as a heat-resistant,thermally-insulated,flame-retardant,and freestanding host for Li-S batteries with a facile and costeffective synthesis method.Consequently,through the use of NCF-MXene-APP hosts that strongly anchor polysulfides,the Li-S batteries demonstrate outstanding electrochemical properties,including a high initial discharge capacity of 1191.6 mA h g^(-1),excellent rate capacity of 755.0 mA h g^(-1)at 1 C,and long-term cycling stability with an extremely low-capacity decay rate of 0.12%per cycle at 2 C.More importantly,these batteries can continue to operate reliably under high temperature or flame attack conditions.Thus,this study provides valuable insights into the design of safe high-performance Li-S batteries.

Highly Efficient Broadband Achromatic Microlens Design Based on Low-Dispersion Materials

Metalenses with achromatic performance offer a new opportunity for high-quality imaging with an ultracompact configuration;however,they suffer from complex fabrication processes and low focusing efficiency.In this study,we propose an efficient design method for achromatic microlenses on a wavelength scale using materials with low dispersion,an adequately designed convex surface,and a thickness profile distribution.By taking into account the absolute chromatic aberration,relative focal length shift(FLS),and numerical aperture(NA),microlens with a certain focal length can be realized through our realized map of geometric features.Accordingly,the designed achromatic microlenses with low-dispersion fused silica were fabricated using a focused ion beam,and precise surface profiles were obtained.The fabricated microlenses exhibited a high average focusing efficiency of 65%at visible wavelengths of 410-680 nm and excellent achromatic capability via white light imaging.Moreover,the design exhibited the advantages of being polarization-insensitive and near-diffraction-limited.These results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed achromatic microlens design approach,which expands the prospects of miniaturized optics such as virtual and augmented reality,ultracompact microscopes,and biological endoscopy.

Flexural strength of zirconia/stainless steel functionally graded materials

Zirconia/stainless steel (ZrO2/SUS316L) functionally graded materials (FGMs) were fabricated by tape casting and laminating. Microstructures of FGMs were observed by optical microscope. Fracture behavior of FGMs in different loading modes and influences of different gradient changes on flexural strength were investigated. The results show that ZrO2/ SUS316L FGMs with graded components at interlayers are obtained after they are sintered in vacuum and pressureless condition at 1 350 ℃. TheⅠ?Ⅱ mixed mode crack creates in composite layer and grows to both sides zigzag while loading on ZrO2 layer. Flexural strengths are 496.4,421.7 and 387.5 MPa when gradient changes are 10%,15% and 20%,but flexural strengths of the corresponding fracture layers are 387.1,334.6 and 282.3 MPa since cracks of FGMs are affected by three-dimensional stress,respectively. The cracks are generated in ZrO2 layer and extend to SUS316L layer while loading is added on SUS316L layer,flexural strength does not change with the graded components and keeps consistent basically.

Effect of Surfactant/Silica and Hydrothermal Time on the Specific Surface Area of Mesoporous Materials from Coal-Measure Kaolin

Mesoporous materials with the highest surface area were synthesized by hydrothermal treatment from coal-measure kaolin using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide（CTAB）as template.The effect of several factors on surface area of products also had been discussed.The products were characterized by FT- IR,HRTEM and N 2 adsorption and desorption isotherm plot methods.There was typical structure as Si-O,Si- OH and Si-O-Si of mesoporous materials in the framework of synthesized materials;the pore size distributions of the products showed a sharp peak at 3.82 nm.The effect of hydrothermal treatment time and the amount of template on the specific surface area of mesoporous materials was important,when the Surf/Si=0.135,and hydrothermal time=12 h,and the surface area of the product reached up to 1 070 m2/g,which was higher than other products.

In vitro bio-corrosion behaviors of biodegradable AZ31B magnesium alloy under static stresses of different forms and magnitudes

Biomedical degradable materials would be subjected to different degrees and forms of static stress after being implanted in the human body.In this work,the biocorrosion behaviors of AZ31B magnesium alloy under different stress forms with different magnitudes(20~150MPa)were studied.It was found that the corrosion behaviors at stressed conditions were severer than those at unstressed conditions and corrosion rates were obviously accelerated.The biocorrosion behaviors are more sensitive to the effects of tensile loads than to compressive loads.A biocorrosion numerical model on the degradation process of Mg alloy under static loads was established.The corrosion current density(i_(corr))of Mg alloy and the applied static stress(σ)matches a linear relationship of ln i_(corr)~σwell during the early stage(within 24 hrs)while deviated gradually in the latter period of corrosion.This work could provide a guidance and theoretical reference for further researches on the biocorrosion behaviors and practical clinical applications of the biomedical materials subjected to physiological loads.

Effect of the capsule on deformation and densification behavior of nickel-based superalloy compact during hot isostatic pressing

The Shima yield criterion used in finite element analysis for nickel-based superalloy powder compact during hot isostatic pressing(HIP) was modified through uniaxial compression experiments. The influence of cylindrical capsule characteristics on FGH4096M superalloy powder compact deformation and densification behavior during HIP was investigated through simulations and experiments. Results revealed the simulation shrinkage prediction fitted well with the experimental shrinkage including a maximum shrinkage error of 1.5%. It was shown that the axial shrinkage was 1.7% higher than radial shrinkage for a cylindrical capsule with the size of ∮50 mm × 100 mm due to the force arm difference along the axial and radial direction of the capsule. The stress deviated from the isostatic state in the capsule led to the uneven shrinkage and non-uniform densification of the powder compact. The ratio of the maximum radial displacement to axial displacement increased from0.47 to 0.75 with the capsule thickness increasing from 2 to 4 mm. The pressure transmission is related to the capsule thickness, the capsule material performance, and physical parameters in the HIP process.

Prediction of impedance responses of protonic ceramic cells using artificial neural network tuned with the distribution of relaxation times

A deep-learning-based framework is proposed to predict the impedance response and underlying electrochemical behavior of the reversible protonic ceramic cell(PCC) across a wide variety of different operating conditions.Electrochemical impedance spectra(EIS) of PCCs were first acquired under a variety of opera ting conditions to provide a dataset containing 36 sets of EIS spectra for the model.An artificial neural network(ANN) was then trained to model the relationship between the cell operating condition and EIS response.Finally,ANN model-predicted EIS spectra were analyzed by the distribution of relaxation times(DRT) and compared to DRT spectra obtained from the experimental EIS data,enabling an assessment of the accumulative errors from the predicted EIS data vs the predicted DRT.We show that in certain cases,although the R^(2)of the predicted EIS curve may be> 0.98,the R^(2)of the predicted DRT may be as low as~0.3.This can lead to an inaccurate ANN prediction of the underlying time-resolved electrochemical response,although the apparent accuracy as evaluated from the EIS prediction may seem acceptable.After adjustment of the parameters of the ANN framework,the average R^(2)of the DRTs derived from the predicted EIS can be improved to 0.9667.Thus,we demonstrate that a properly tuned ANN model can be used as an effective tool to predict not only the EIS,but also the DRT of complex electrochemical systems.

Feasibility of measuring moisture content of green sand by a low frequency multiprobe detector based on dielectric characteristics

Green sand is a mixture of silica sand,bentonite,water and coal powder,and other additives.Moisture content is an important index to characterize the properties of green sand.Based on the dielectric characteristics of green sand and transmission line theory,a method for rapidly measuring the moisture content of green sand by means of a low frequency multiprobe detector was proposed.A system was constructed,where six detectors with different arrangements and probes were designed.The experimental results showed that the voltage difference of transmission line increases with the increasing frequency before 29 MHz while decreases after 35 MHz.A voltage difference platform occurs in the range of 29-35 MHz,which is suitable for measuring the moisture content due to its insensitivity to frequency.The electric field intensity gradually decreases with the increase of the probe depth,and the intensity of central probe is always greater than that of the edge probe.When the distance of the probe away from the sand sample surface is 80 mm,the electric field intensity of the edge probe is found to be very weak.The optimal excitation frequency for measuring the moisture content of green sand is 29-33 MHz.The optimal detector is the one with one center probe and three edge probes,and their lengths are 80 mm and 60 mm,respectively.The distance between the center and edge probes is 25 mm,and the diameter of probes is 5 mm.Taking the voltage difference of transmission line,bentonite content,coal powder content and compactability as parameters of the input layer,and the moisture content as a parameter of the output layer,a three-layer BP artificial neural network model for predicting the moisture content of green sand was constructed according to the experimental results at 33 MHz.The prediction error of the model is not higher than 3.3% when the moisture content of green sand is within the range of 3wt.%-7wt.%.

Progress of Materials Science in Space Technology in China(2020-2022)

In this paper,the main research work and related reports of materials science research in China’s space technology field during 2020-2022 are summarized.This paper covers Materials Sciences in Space Environment,Materials Sciences for Space Environment,Materials Behavior in Space Environment and Space experimental hardware for material investigation.With the rapid development of China’s space industry,more scientists will be involved in materials science,space technology and earth science researches.In the future,a series of disciplines such as space science,machinery,artificial intelligence,digital twin and big data will be further integrated with materials science,and space materials will also usher in new development opportunities.

Fatigue crack propagation of 7050 aluminum alloy FSW joints after surface peening

The surface composite modification of the 7050 aluminum alloy friction stir-welded joints was performed by shot peening(SP)/multiple rotation rolling(MRR)and MRR/SP,and the fatigue performance of the nugget zone(NZ)was investigated.The results demonstrated that the fatigue life of SP/MRR samples is longer than that of MRR/SP.On the plane 150μm below the surface.The grains with high angle grain boundary account for 71.5%and 34.3%for MRR/SP and SP/MRR samples,respectively.The crack propagation path of the MRR/SP is transgranular and intergranular,and it is intergranular for the MRR/SP.Multitudinous fatigue striations and some voids appeared at the fracture during the stable crack propagation stage.However,fatigue striations for SP/MRR are with smaller spacing,fewer holes,and smaller size under SP/MRR compared with fatigue fracture of MRR/SP.The differences in fatigue properties and fracture characteristics of the NZ are related to the microstructure after the two combined surface modifications.

Structural Properties and Energy Analysis of Zr_(x)Cu_(90-x)Al_(10)Ternary Metallic Glasses

Classical molecular dynamics(MD)were conducted to study the structure and energy distribution of Zr_(x)Cu_(90-x)Al_(10)(x=20,30,40,50,60,70)ternary alloys.When the Zr composition is 30%,the glass transition temperature reaches the maximum value and the Zr_(30)Cu_(60)Al_(10)owns high glass forming ability(GFA).Analysis of the short⁃range structure shows that there are more low⁃energy Zr⁃centered polyhedron with high coordination number(CN)and Cu and Al⁃centered coordination polyhedron with CN=12 in Zr_(30)Cu_(60_Al_(10)alloy.As the medium⁃range structure is concerned,Zr_(30)Cu_(60_Al_(10)alloy has the largest number of coordination polyhedron connection sharing three atoms and connection in this way presenting the lowest energy.These low⁃energy and stable short and medium⁃range structures contribute to the high GFA of Zr_(30)Cu_(60_Al_(10).

Seamless Stitching of Redox Windows to Enable High-Voltage Resilient Solid Sodium Ion Batteries

While sulfide solid electrolytes such as Na_(11)Sn_(2)PS_(12)can allow fast transport of Na+ions,their utilization in solid sodium ion batteries is rather unsuccessful since they are not electrochemically compatible to both high-voltage cathodes and sodium metal anode.In this work,we devise an effective approach toward realizing solid sodium ion batteries,using the Na_(11)Sn_(2)PS_(12)electrolyte and slurry-coated NASICON-type Na_(3)MnTi(PO_(4))_(3)@C as high-voltage cathode,highly beneficial for low processing cost and high content/loading of active cathode matter.We report that through significantly improved integrity of electrolyte-cathode interface,such solid sodium ion batteries can deliver outstanding cycling and rate performance,with a charge voltage resilience up to 4.1 V,a high cathode discharge capacity of 128.7 mAh g^(-1)against the Na_(3)MnTi(PO_(4))_(3)@C in cathode is achieved at 0.05 C,and capacity retention ratio of 82%with a rate of 0.1 C is realized after prolonged cycling at room temperature.Besides,we demonstrate that such a solid sodium ion battery can even perform at a sub-zero Celsius temperature of-10℃,when the conventional control cell using liquid electrolyte completely fail to function.This work is to offer a dependable avenue in engineering next generation of safe solid ion batteries based on highly sustainable and much cheaper material resources.

Rational design of stretchable and conductive hydrogel binder for highly reversible SiP2 anode

The emerging SiP2with large capacity and suitable plateau is proposed to be the alternative anode for Li-ion batteries.However,typical SiP2still suffers from serious volume expansion and structural destruction,resulting in much Li-consumption and capacity fading.Herein,a novel stretchable and conductive Li-PAA@PEDOT:PSS binder is rationally designed to improve the cyclability and reversibility of SiP2.Interestingly,such Li-PAA@PEDOT:PSS hydrogel enables a better accommodation of volume expansion than PVDF binder(e.g.5.94% vs.68.73% of expansivity).More specially,the SiP2electrode with LiPAA@PEDOT:PSS binder is surprisingly found to enable unexpected structural recombination and selfhealing Li-storage processes,endowing itself with a high initial Coulombic efficiency(ICE) up to 93.8%,much higher than PVDF binder(ICE=70.7%) as well.Such unusual phenomena are investigated in detail for Li-PAA@PEDOT:PSS,and the possible mechanism shows that its Li-PAA component enables to prevent the pulverization of SiP2nanoparticles while the PEDOT:PSS greatly bridges fast electronic connection for the whole electrode.Consequently,after being further composited with carbon matrix,the SiP2/C with LiPAA@PEDOT:PSS hydrogel exhibits high reversibility(ICE> 93%),superior cyclability(>450 cycles),and rate capability(1520 mAh/g at 2000 mA/g) for LIBs.This highly stretchable and conductive binder design can be easily extended to other alloying materials toward advanced energy storage.

Predicting microseismic,acoustic emission and electromagnetic radiation data using neural networks

Microseism,acoustic emission and electromagnetic radiation(M-A-E)data are usually used for predicting rockburst hazards.However,it is a great challenge to realize the prediction of M-A-E data.In this study,with the aid of a deep learning algorithm,a new method for the prediction of M-A-E data is proposed.In this method,an M-A-E data prediction model is built based on a variety of neural networks after analyzing numerous M-A-E data,and then the M-A-E data can be predicted.The predicted results are highly correlated with the real data collected in the field.Through field verification,the deep learning-based prediction method of M-A-E data provides quantitative prediction data for rockburst monitoring.

Activating d^(10)electronic configuration to regulate p-band centers as efficient active sites for solar energy conversion into H_(2)by surface atomic arrangement

Relationship between the activity for photocatalytic H_(2)O overall splitting(HOS)and the electron occupancy on d orbits of the active component in photocatalysts shows volcanic diagram,and specially the d^(10)electronic configuration in valley bottom exhibits inert activity,which seriously fetters the development of catalytic materials with great potentials.Herein,In d^(10)electronic configuration of In_(2)O_(3)was activated by phosphorus atoms replacing its lattice oxygen to regulate the collocation of the ascended In 5p-band(Inɛ5p)and descended O 2p-band(Oɛ2p)centers as efficient active sites for chemisorption to*OH and*H during forward HOS,respectively,along with a declined In 4d-band center(Inɛ4d)to inhibit its backward reaction.A stable STH efficiency of 2.23%under AM 1.5 G irradiation at 65°C has been obtained over the activated d^(10)electronic configuration with a lowered activation energy for H_(2)evolution,verified by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy,in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy and theoretical calculations of dynamics.These findings devote to activating d^(10)electronic configuration for resolving the reaction energy barrier and dynamical bottleneck of forward HOS,which expands the exploration of high-efficiency catalytic materials.

Porous high-entropy rare-earth phosphate(REPO_(4),RE=La,Sm,Eu,Ce,Pr and Gd)ceramics with excellent thermal insulation performance via pore structure tailoring

Thermal insulation materials play an increasingly important role in protecting mechanical parts functioning at high temperatures.In this study,a new porous high-entropy(La_(1/6)Ce_(1/6)Pr_(1/6)Sm_(1/6)Eu_(1/6)Gd_(1/6))PO_(4)(HE(6RE_(1/6))PO_(4))ceramics was prepared by combining the high-entropy method with the pore-forming agent method and the effect of different starch contents(0–60vol%)on this ceramic properties was systematically investigated.The results show that the porous HE(6RE_(1/6))PO_(4)ceramics with 60vol%starch exhibit the lowest thermal conductivity of 0.061 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1)at room temperature and good pore structure stability with a linear shrinkage of approximately1.67%.Moreover,the effect of large regular spherical pores(>10μm)on its thermal insulation performance was discussed,and an optimal thermal conductivity prediction model was screened.The superior properties of the prepared porous HE(6RE_(1/6))PO_(4)ceramics allow them to be promising insulation materials in the future.