Construction of hydrangea-like Bi2WO6/BiOCl composite for high-performance photocatalyst

Microstructure design and construction of heterojunction are the major strategies for enhancing the photocatalytic activity of semiconductors. Herein, Bi2WO6 flower spheres are synthesized and acted as porous templates for depositing...

Functionally Graded Non-Periodic Cellular Structure Design and Optimization

Topological tailoring of materials at a micro-scale can achieve a diverse range of exotic physical and mechanical properties that are not usually found in nature. Modification of material properties through customizing the structural pattern paves an avenue for novel functional products design. This paper explores a non-periodic microstructure design framework for functional parts design with high-strength and lightweight. To address the geometric frustration problem commonly found in non-periodic microstructure designing, we employ a smooth transition layer to connect distinct structural patterns and thus achieve functional gradation among adjacent microstructures. The concept of spatial control points is introduced for the interpolation of this transition layer. To achieve a high-strength macro-structural performance for designing functional parts, we formulate the control points as the design variables and encapsulate them into a macro-structural design optimization problem. Given that our objective function involves expensive finite element (FE) simulations, a Bayesian optimization scheme is exploited to address the computational challenge brought by the FE simulation. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed design framework can yield both functionally graded lightweight structures and high-strength macro-mechanical performance for the designing parts. The compatibility issue of non-periodic microstructure design is well-addressed. Comparative studies reveal that the proposed framework is robust and can achieve superior mechanical performance to design functional parts with spatially varying properties.

Extreme mechanical anisotropy in diamond with preferentially oriented nanotwin bundles

Mechanical properties of covalent materials can be greatly enhanced with strategy of nanostructuring. For example, the nanotwinned diamond with an isotropic microstructure of interweaved nanotwins and interlocked nanograins shows unprecedented isotropic mechanical properties. How the anisotropic microstructure would impact on the mechanical properties of diamond has not been fully investigated. Here, we report the synthesis of diamond from superaligned multiwalled carbon nanotube films under high pressure and high temperature. Structural characterization reveals preferentially oriented diamond nanotwin bundles with an average twin thickness of ca. 2.9 nm, inherited from the directional nanotubes. This diamond exhibits extreme mechanical anisotropy correlated with its microstructure (e.g., the average Knoop hardness values measured with the major axis of the indenter perpendicular and parallel to nanotwin bundles are 233 ± 8 and 129 ± 9 GPa, respectively). Molecular dynamics simulation reveals that, in the direction perpendicular to the nanotwin bundles, the dense twin boundaries significantly hinder the motion of dislocations under indentation, while such a resistance is much weaker in the direction along the nanotwin bundles. Current work verifies the hardening effect in diamond via nanostructuring. In addition, the mechanical properties can be further tuned (anisotropy) with microstructure design and modification.

Composition Optimization and Microstructure Design in MOFs-Derived Magnetic Carbon-Based Microwave Absorbers: A Review

Magnetic carbon-based composites are the most attractive candidates for electromagnetic (EM) absorption because they can terminate the propagation of surplus EM waves in space by interacting with both electric and magnetic branches. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have demonstrated their great potential as sacrificing precursors of magnetic metals/carbon composites, because they provide a good platform to achieve high dispersion of magnetic nanoparticles in carbon matrix. Nevertheless, the chemical composition and microstructure of these composites are always highly dependent on their precursors and cannot promise an optimal EM state favorable for EM absorption, which more or less discount the superiority of MOFs-derived strategy. It is hence of great importance to develop some accompanied methods that can regulate EM properties of MOFs-derived magnetic carbon-based composites effectively. This review comprehensively introduces recent advancements on EM absorption enhancement in MOFs-derived magnetic carbon-based composites and some available strategies therein. In addition, some challenges and prospects are also proposed to indicate the pending issues on performance breakthrough and mechanism exploration in the related field.