Building of lightweight Nb_(2)CT_(x) MXene@Co nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheet arrays@carbon fiber aerogels for high-efficiency electromagnetic wave absorption in X and Ku bands inspired by sea cucumber

The problems of electromagnetic wave(EMW)pollution in X and Ku bands(8–18 GHz)are becoming more and more serious.Therefore,it is urgent to design EMW absorbing materials with high-efficiency such as thin thickness,lightweight,wide bandwidth and strong EMW absorption.Inspired by the biomorph of sea cucumber,Nb_(2)CT_(x) MXene@Co nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheet arrays@carbon fiber aerogels(Nb_(2)CT_(x)@Co-NC@CFA,Nb_(2)CT_(x)=niobium carbide)were constructed by self-assembly,in-situ chemical deposition and subsequent pyrolysis.The carbon fiber aerogel,as the basic skeleton of sea cucumber,forms lightweight three-dimensional interconnected conductive network,enhances the dielectric loss and extends the multiple reflection and absorption paths of EMW.As the tentacles of sea cucumber surface,Nb_(2)CT_(x) MXene and Co nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheet arrays exist rich heterogeneous interfaces,which play an important role in improving EMW polarization loss and optimizing impedance matching.The minimum reflection loss(RLmin)of Nb_(2)CT_(x)@Co-NC@CFA reaches−54.7 dB at 9.84 GHz(2.36 mm)with a low filling ratio of 10 wt.%and the effective absorption bandwidth(EAB)of Nb_(2)CT_(x)@Co-NC@CFA reaches 2.96 GHz(8.48–11.44 GHz)with 2.36 mm and 5.2 GHz(12.8–18 GHz)with 1.6 mm,covering most of X and Ku bands by adjusting thickness.The radar cross section(RCS)value of Nb_(2)CT_(x)@Co-NC@CFA is 26.64 dB·m^(2),which is lower than that of the perfect electrical conductor(PEC),indicating that Nb_(2)CT_(x)@Co-NC@CFA can effectively decrease the probability of the target being detected by the radar detector.This work provides ideas for design and development of EMW absorbing materials with high-efficiency EMW absorption in X and Ku bands.

Pressure-induced growth of coralloid-like FeF_(2) nanocrystals to enable high-performance conversion cathode

Fluoride ferrous(FeF_(2))is viewed as a promising conversion cathode material for next-generation lithiumion batteries(LIBs)due to its high theoretical specific capacity and low cost.Unfortunately,issues such as poor intrinsic conductivity,iron dissolution,and phase separation hinder the application of FeF_(2)in highenergy cathodes.Here,a pressure-induced morphology control method is designed to prepare coralloidlike FeF_(2)nanocrystals with nitrogen-rich carbon coating(c-FeF_(2)@NC).The coralloid-like interconnected crystal structure of c-FeF_(2)@NC contributes to reducing interfacial resistance and enhancing the topotactic transformation during the conversion reaction,and the nitrogen-rich carbon(NC)coating can enhance interfacial stability and kinetic performance.When used as a conversion cathode for LIBs,c-FeF_(2)@NC exhibits a high initial reversible capacity of 503.57 mA h g^(-1)and excellent cycling stability of497.61 m A h g^(-1)with a low capacity decay of 1.19%over 50 cycles at 0.1 A/g.Even at 1 A/g,a stable capacity of 263.78 mA h g^(-1)can still be retained after 200 cycles.The capability of c-FeF_(2)@NC as a conversion cathode for sodium-ion batteries(SIBs)was also evaluated to expand its field of application.Furthermore,two kinds of full batteries have been assembled by employing c-FeF_(2)@NC as cathodes and quantitative limited-Li(LLi)and pre-lithiated reduced graphene oxide(PGO)as anodes,respectively,to envisage the feasibility of practical applications of conversion materials.

Improvement of mechanical properties and investigation of strengthening mechanisms on the Ti_(3)AlC_(2) ceramic with nanosized WC addition

Ti_(3)AlC_(2) (TAC) has great potential for use as an ablation material in aerospace applications due to its great oxidation/ablation resistance, but its high-temperature strength and thermal shock resistance still have much room for simultaneous improvement under fast temperature variation conditions. Herein, we used Ti_(3)AlC_(2) and WC powders as raw materials and successfully fabricated textured (Ti,W)_(3)AlC_(2) ceramic with small amounts of TiC and Al_(2)O_(3), and room temperature mechanical properties such as flexural strength (1146±46.9 MPa), fracture toughness (11.78±0.44 MPa·m^(1/2)), and hardness (5.81±0.11 GPa) at 5 wt% WC addition were achieved. The high-temperature strength of the ceramic was significantly improved, and better thermal shock resistance from 298 to 1173 K was simultaneously acquired together with the regulation of the elastic modulus, thermal conductivity, and thermal expansion coefficient, providing (Ti,W)_(3)AlC_(2) with more possibilities for fast-temperature variation applications. Strengthening and toughening mechanisms were proposed. Scanning transmission electron microscopy high-angle annular dark-field imaging (STEM-HADDF) showed that W randomly replaced the Ti1 and Ti2 sites of Ti_(3)AlC_(2), providing a good reference for establishing crystal models, and further density functional theory (DFT) calculations based on these models indicated a higher fracture energy of (Ti,W)_(3)AlC_(2) along different crystal planes, providing superior resistance to transgranular fracture;a lower mismatch degree of (Ti,W)_(3)AlC_(2)/Al_(2)O_(3) resulted in stronger interface bonding, resulting in greater resistance to intergranular fracture as well as more balanced stress distributions at different interfaces.