To address the challenges of capacity fading and poor electronic conductivity of hard carbons as anode in Li-ion batteries (LIBs), we report here the catalytic graphitization of resorcinol–formaldehyde xerogel (RFX)-derived hard carbon via a single-step synthesis by incorporating two transition metal catalysts (Co and Ni) with different loadings (5 and 10%) at a modest temperature of 1100 °C. Loading of both the catalysts affects the extent of graphitization and other physiochemical properties that have a direct influence on the anodic performance of as graphitized RFX-derived hard carbon. A 10% Ni catalyst in RFX-derived carbon induces the highest degree of graphitization of 81.4% along with partial amorphous carbon and nickel phases. This improved crystallinity was conducive enough to facilitate rapid electron and Li-ion transfer while the amorphous carbon phase contributed to higher specific capacity, resulting in overall best anodic performance as ever reported for RFX-derived carbon. A specific capacity of 578 mAh/g obtained after 210 cycles at 0.2 C with coulombic efficiency greater than 99% confirms the potential of graphitized RFX-derived carbon as an anode for high-performance LIBs.

Additive manufacturing has enabled the development of lightweight lattice structures, which are widely used in orthopedic implant, aerospace and filtration fields. The traditional method of optimizing part build orientation has been unable to meet the demand for lightweight lattice parts. This paper proposes a novel method to obtain an optimum build orientation for lightweight lattice parts based on selective laser melting by considering two factors at a time, namely processability of lattice structures and the surface quality of functional features. First, the overhang structure area model for the evaluation of the processability of lattice structures is established; then, mesh segmentation and feature level classification of the lightweight part frame are carried out. On this basis, the adaptive feature roughness model for the evaluation of the surface quality of functional features is established; finally, a multicriteria genetic algorithm is used to solve the build orientation optimization problem of lightweight lattice parts to obtain a Pareto optimal set.

HfO2–Sm3TaO7 ceramics are prepared through a solid-state reaction method. The X-ray diffraction and structural refinement show that the phase structures of HfO2–Sm3TaO7 ceramics are an ordered orthorhombic phase and the space groups are belonging to Ccmm. The degree of the structural disorder increases with increasing HfO2 content. The solid solution mechanism reveals that Hf4+ exists in the form of interstitial ions that cause crystal expansion when the doping content is less than 4 mol%. When the doping concentration of HfO2 ≥ 4 mol%, the Hf4+ ions can substitute an equal number of Sm3+ and Ta5+ ions. The phase transition of Sm3TaO7 ceramics is removed with increasing HfO2 content, and the 8 mol% HfO2–Sm3TaO7 ceramics have a high thermal expansion coefficient of 10.2 × 10−6 K−1 at 1200 °C. The 2 mol% HfO2–Sm3TaO7 ceramics have the lowest thermal conductivity (1.03 W/m K at 900 °C), which is lower than previous research of the 7–8 YSZ. The outstanding thermophysical properties of HfO2–Sm3TaO7 ceramics indicate that they are potential thermal-barrier coating materials.

Iron carbide (Fe1−xCx) thin films were successfully grown by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) using bis(N,N′-di-tert-butylacetamidinato)iron(II) as a precursor and H2 plasma as a reactant. Smooth and pure Fe1−xCx thin films were obtained by the PEALD process in a layer-by-layer film growth fashion, and the x in the nominal formula of Fe1−xCx is approximately 0.26. For the wide PEALD temperature window from 80 to 210 °C, a saturated film growth rate of 0.04 nm/cycle was achieved. X-ray diffraction and transition electron microscope measurements show that the films grown at deposition temperature 80–170 °C are amorphous; however, at 210 °C, the crystal structure of Fe7C3 is formed. The conformality and resistivity of the deposited films have also been studied. At last, the PEALD Fe1−xCx on carbon cloth shows excellent electrocatalytic performance for hydrogen evolution.

The strain rate sensitivity (m) of (Ni0.92Zr0.08)100−xAlx (0 ≤ x ≤ 4 at.%) eutectic with varying average lamellae thickness (λw) in the range of 39–275 nm has been investigated in the strain rate range of 8 × 10−5 and 8 × 10−3 s−1 at room temperature. The microstructure of the nano-/ultrafine eutectic composites (NECs) is comprised of alternate lamellae of fcc γ-Ni and Ni5Zr along with 20–31 vol% γ-Ni dendritic phase. The m value of all the investigated NECs lies between 0.0080 and 0.0102, whereas the activation volume (V*) has been estimated to be between 29.7b3 and 49.8b3. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy studies confirm the dislocation-mediated plastic flow including dislocation–lamellae interaction, and their pile-up at the interface, which result in the narrow variation of m for a wide range of λw due to its interlocked lamellar microstructure. A mathematical model has been developed to correlate the m with λw for the experimented NECs with wide microstructure length scale and solute content.

In this study, the magnetic properties of Fe39.8Co19.92Mn20.52Cr14.77Si5 multi-principal element alloy in both bulk and thin films were studied. X-ray diffraction measurements show coexisting face centered cubic (FCC) and hexagonal close packed phases in the bulk and the 500 nm thin films, while only FCC phase is observed in the 65 nm thin film. A four orders of magnitude increase in the magnetic moment is observed for 65 nm thin film compared with the bulk sample. Evolution of magnetization as a function of temperature and applied magnetic field shows multiple magnetic transitions. A paramagnetic to spin glass transition is detected at TS ∼ 390 K for all samples. Further cooling results in a spin glass to ferromagnetic (FM) transition, and the transition temperature, TF, is dependent on the film thickness. Higher saturation magnetization and transition temperature observed for the thin film samples indicate the stabilization of FM ordering due to thickness confinement.

The negative regulation effect of tumor microenvironment (TME) greatly compromised the efficacy of various cancer treatments, especially cancer immunotherapy. As a result, it is generally recognized that remodeling of TME along with the treatment is a promising way to realize satisfactory cancer therapy. Here, in our study, a drug delivery system (DDS) composed cancer cell membrane (CCM) vehicle loaded mitoxantrone (Mit) and sorafenib (Sfn) was proposed with the aim to combine TME regulation and chemotherapy-induced immunotherapy in one platform. Our results confirmed that after treating with this DDS, the Mit induced immunogenic cell death (ICD) could be augmented by Sfn-based TME regulation to realize effective cancer immunotherapy. The Sfn was shown to downregulate of the regulatory T cells (Treg) level while activating the effector T cells of TME. The synergetic TME regulation along with cancer immunotherapy might be a promising way for advanced cancer treatment.

Additively manufactured parts produced via laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) have limitations in their applications due to post-processing requirements caused by high surface roughness. The characteristics of side-skin surfaces are generally assumed to be dominated by adhered powder particles. This work aims to analyze and interpret the effects of LPBF processing parameters on side-skin surfaces. As such, this work has two sections to investigate the effect of (i) core and (ii) border LPBF parameters on side-skin surface roughness for Ti–6Al–4V. The findings show that there is a robust correlation between both core and border LPBF parameters on side-skin surface morphologies. In terms of core LPBF parameters, an interaction between laser power and beam velocity is shown to influence side-skin surface roughness, resulting in Sa values in the range of 11–26 μm. Additionally, a preliminary investigation into the effect of melting mode phenomena at the border leads to a possibility of obtaining Sa values of <10 μm, with reduced effects of adhered and partially fused powder.

Understanding the thermodynamic stability of materials plays an essential role in their applications. The high-temperature oxide melt solution calorimetry is a reliable method developed to experimentally measure formation enthalpy. Until now, it has been mostly used for the characterization of oxide materials. We introduce modifications in the experimental technique which makes it suitable for a wide range of non-oxide compounds. The modified methodology was used to measure the heat effects associated with the oxidative dissolution of almost all p-elements of groups III, IV, V, and VI and verified by calculating the standard enthalpies of formation of the corresponding oxides at 298 K. The results presented serve as a compelling database for pure p-elements, which will provide a very straightforward way of calculating the formation enthalpies of non-oxide systems based on high-temperature calorimetric experiments.

We have synthesized off-stoichiometric Ni40Cu10Mn35Ti15 all-d-metal Heusler alloy with a B2 cubic crystal structure by an arc melting process and investigated its structural, magnetic, electronic, thermal, and mechanical properties under the influence of a single-step thermal annealing. The compound exhibits an antiferromagnetic ordering accompanied by thermal hysteresis indicating a first-order magneto-structural transition. Curie–Weiss molecular field analysis reveals the presence of ferromagnetic interactions competing with long-range antiferromagnetic ordering. Thermal annealing leads to the appearance of a heat capacity sharp peak around antiferromagnetic transition. Electrical resistivity measurements display abrupt changes close to the magneto-structural transition revealing the strong coupling among spin, lattice, and charge degrees of freedom characteristic of a martensitic transition (MT). We have also evaluated its mechanical properties from microhardness measurements, and the results indicate that this alloy exhibits ductile behavior. The occurrence of MT associated with improved ductility is an essential combination for technological application as shape-memory alloys.

Developing low-cost and high-performance hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts is essential for the development of hydrogen energy. While transition metal sulfides are reported as promising HER electrocatalysts, their performance still requires further improvement for practical application. In this work, we report a strategy to construct NiSx@MoS2 heterostructures with a well-defined interface structure by growing NiSx nanoclusters on MoS2 nanosheets through atomic layer deposition (ALD). NiSx@MoS2 heterostructures exhibit strongly enhanced HER activity with lower overpotential and faster reaction dynamic compared to MoS2 and NiSx single phases. The enhanced performance is attributed to improved adsorption of the reaction intermediates and the facilitated charge transfer process near the MoS2/NiSx interfaces. Besides high activity, NiSx@MoS2 heterostructures also exhibit high stability in alkaline media. The methodology and knowledge in this work can guide the rational design of high-performance electrocatalysts through hetero-interface engineering.