Regain Strain-Hardening in High-Strength Metals by Nanofiller Incorporation at Grain Boundaries.

Grain refinement to the nano/ultrafine-grained regime can make metals several times stronger, but this process is usually accompanied by a dramatic loss of ductility. Such strength-ductility trade-off originates from a lack of strain-hardening capacity in tiny grains. Here, we present a strategy to regain the strain-hardening ability of high-strength metals by incorporation of extrinsic nanofillers at grain boundaries.

High content reduced graphene oxide reinforced copper with a bioinspired nano-laminated structure and large recoverable deformation ability.

By using CuO/graphene-oxide/CuO sandwich-like nanosheets as the building blocks, bulk nacre-inspired copper matrix nano-laminated composite reinforced by molecular-level dispersed and ordered reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with content as high as ∼45 vol% was fabricated via a combined process of assembly, reduction and consolidation. Thanks to nanoconfinement effect, reinforcing effect, as well as architecture effect, the nanocomposite shows increased specific strength and at least one order of magnitude greater recoverable deformation ability as compared with monolithic Cu matrix.

Construction of a novel hierarchical structured NH₄-Co-Ni phosphate toward an ultrastable aqueous hybrid capacitor.

Aqueous hybrid capacitors (HCs) suffer from sacrificed power density and long cycle life due to the insufficient electric conductivity and poor chemical stability of the battery-type electrode material. Herein, we report a novel NH4-Co-Ni phosphate with a stable hierarchical structure combining ultrathin nanopieces and single crystal microplatelets in one system, which allows for a synergistic integration of two microstructures with different length scales and different energy storage mechanisms. The microplatelets with a stable single crystal structure store charge through the intercalation of hydroxyl ions, while the ultrathin nanopieces store charge through surface redox reaction providing enhanced specific capacitance.

Hybridized Phosphate with Ultrathin Nanoslices and Single Crystal Microplatelets for High Performance Supercapacitors.

A novel hybridized phosphate is developed through a mild hydrothermal method to construct high performance asymmetric supercapacitor. Single layered (Ni,Co)3(PO4)2·8H2O nanoslices (∼1 nm) and single crystal (NH4)(Ni,Co)PO4·0.67H2O microplatelets are obtained through a template sacrificial method and dissolution recrystallization approach respectively in one step.

Nickel Cobalt Hydroxide @Reduced Graphene Oxide Hybrid Nanolayers for High Performance Asymmetric Supercapacitors with Remarkable Cycling Stability.

Nanolayered structures present significantly enhanced electrochemical performance by facilitating the surface-dependent electrochemical reaction processes for supercapacitors, which, however, causes capacitance fade upon cycling due to their poor chemical stability. In this work, we report a simple and effective approach to develop a stable, high performance electrode material by integrating 2D transition metal hydroxide and reduced graphene oxide sheets at nanometer scale. Specifically, a hybrid nanolayer of Ni-Co hydroxide @reduced graphene oxide (Ni,Co-OH/rGO) with an average thickness of 1.

Enhanced Mechanical Properties of Graphene (Reduced Graphene Oxide)/Aluminum Composites with a Bioinspired Nanolaminated Structure.

Bulk graphene (reduced graphene oxide)-reinforced Al matrix composites with a bioinspired nanolaminated microstructure were fabricated via a composite powder assembly approach. Compared with the unreinforced Al matrix, these composites were shown to possess significantly improved stiffness and tensile strength, and a similar or even slightly higher total elongation. These observations were interpreted by the facilitated load transfer between graphene and the Al matrix, and the extrinsic toughening effect as a result of the nanolaminated microstructure.

Graphene-and-Copper Artificial Nacre Fabricated by a Preform Impregnation Process: Bioinspired Strategy for Strengthening-Toughening of Metal Matrix Composite.

Metals can be strengthened by adding hard reinforcements, but such strategy usually compromises ductility and toughness. Natural nacre consists of hard and soft phases organized in a regular "brick-and-mortar" structure and exhibits a superior combination of mechanical strength and toughness, which is an attractive model for strengthening and toughening artificial composites, but such bioinspired metal matrix composite has yet to be made. Here we prepared nacre-like reduced graphene oxide (RGrO) reinforced Cu matrix composite based on a preform impregnation process, by which two-dimensional RGrO was used as "brick" and inserted into "□-and-mortar" ordered porous Cu preform (the symbol "□" means the absence of "brick"), followed by compacting.

Oxygen-rich hierarchical porous carbon derived from artemia cyst shells with superior electrochemical performance.

In this study, three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical porous carbon with abundant functional groups is produced through a very simple low-cost carbonization of Artemia cyst shells. The unique hierarchical porous structure of this material, combining large numbers of micropores and macropores, as well as reasonable amount of mesopores, is proven favorable to capacitive behavior. The abundant oxygen functional groups from the natural carbon precursor contribute stable pseudocapacitance.

High-Tc ferromagnetic semiconductor-like behavior and unusual electrical properties in compounds with a 2×2×2 superstructure of the half-Heusler phase.

Heusler phases, including the full- and half-Heusler families, represent an outstanding class of multifunctional materials on account of their great tunability in compositions, valence electron counts (VEC), and properties. Here we demonstrate a systematic design of a series of new compounds with a 2×2×2 superstructure of the half-Heusler unit cell in X-Y-Z (X=Fe, Ru, Co, Rh, Ir; Y=Zn, Mn; Z=Sn, Sb) systems. Their structures were solved by using both powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and also directly observed by using high-angle annular dark-field imaging in a scanning transmission electron microscope (HAADF-STEM).

Planar symmetry incompatibility in Ru-Sn-Zn pseudo-decagonal approximants composed of novel pentagonal antiprisms.

Two new ternary compounds in the Ru-Sn-Zn system were synthesized by conventional high-temperature reactions, and their crystal structures were analyzed by means of the single crystal X-ray diffraction: Ru(2)Sn(2)Zn(3) (orthorhombic, Pnma, Pearson symbol oP28, a = 8.2219(16), b = 4.1925(8), c = 13.

Complex alloys containing double-Mackay clusters and (Sb(1-δ)Zn(δ))(24) snub cubes filled with highly disordered zinc aggregates: synthesis, structures, and physical properties of ruthenium zinc antimonides.

A series of cluster-based ruthenium zinc antimonides with a large unit cell were obtained. Their structures were solved by the single crystal X-ray diffraction methods. They crystallize in the cubic space group of Fm3̅c (No.

Ru9Zn7Sb8: a structure with a 2 × 2 × 2 supercell of the half-Heusler phase.

The title compound Ru(9)Zn(7)Sb(8) was synthesized via a high-temperature reaction from the elements in a stoichiometric ratio, and its structure was solved by a single-crystal X-ray diffraction method. The structure [cubic, space group Fm3m, Pearson symbol cF96, a = 11.9062(14) Å (293 K), and Z = 4] adopts a unique 2a(hh) × 2a(hh) × 2a(hh) supercell of a normal half-Heusler phase and shows abnormal features of atomic coordination against the Pauling rule.

Interpenetrating icosahedra chains based zinc-rich ternary phases Ru4.0Sn2.9Zn11.6 and Ru3.0Sb0.97Zn11.0: synthesis, structures and physical properties.

Substituting of Ru with Sn and Sb in the phase RuZn(3) led to two new zinc-rich ternary compounds: Ru(4)Sn(2.9)Zn(11.6) (SnRZ: Monoclinic, C2/m, Pearson symbol oC46-delta, a = 6.

A borogermanate with three-dimensional open-framework layers.

A layered borogermanate with three-dimensional microporosity within the layers, K(4)[B(8)Ge(2)O(17)(OH)(2)] (monoclinic, space group: C2/c; a=12.095(2), b=6.7979(14), c=19.

NH4[BGe3O8]: a new borogermanate framework made of infinite-chain building blocks.

A new microporous borogermanate NH4[BGe3O8] has been synthesized by a molten boric acid flux method with "reagent" quantities of water in which GeO2, ethylenediamine, H2O, and H3BO3 (5:8:14:25) were heated together at 513 K for 4 days. The structure consists of {Ge6O18}n chains, further linked together via BO4 tetrahedra, forming a three-dimensional open framework with intersecting channel systems including one-dimensional 10-membered-ring (MR) channels. Interestingly, the infinite chains {Ge6O18}n as building blocks, built of alternating 4- and 6-MRs made of vertex-sharing GeO4 tetrahedra, construct the borogermanate framework.