High Rate and Low-Temperature Stable Lithium Metal Batteries Enabled by Lithiophilic 3D Cu-CuSn Porous Framework.

Lithium (Li) metal is regarded as the "Holy Grail" of anodes for high-energy rechargeable lithium batteries by virtue of its ultrahigh theoretical specific capacity and the lowest redox potential. However, the Li dendrite impedes the practical application of Li metal anodes. Herein, lithiophilic three-dimensional Cu-CuSn porous framework (3D Cu-CuSn) was fabricated by a vapor phase dealloying strategy via the difference in saturated vapor pressure between different metals and the Kirkendall effect.

Achieving High Strength and High Conductivity of Cu-6 wt%Ag Sheets by Controlling the Aging Cooling Rate.

In this paper, Cu-6 wt%Ag alloy sheets were prepared using vacuum induction melting, heat treatment, and cold working rolling. We investigated the influence of the aging cooling rate on the microstructure and properties of Cu-6 wt%Ag alloy sheets. By reducing the cooling rate of the aging treatment, the mechanical properties of the cold-rolled Cu-6 wt%Ag alloy sheets were improved.

The Application of Stimuli-Sensitive Actuators Based on Graphene Materials.

Graphene-based materials that can spontaneously response to external stimulations have triggered rapidly increasing research interest for developing smart devices due to their excellent electrical, mechanical and thermal properties. The specific behaviors as bending, curling, and swing are benefit for designing and fabricating the smart actuation system. In this minireview, we overview and summarize some of the recent advancements of stimuli-responsive actuators based on graphene materials.

Growth of Black Phosphorus Nanobelts and Microbelts.

Black phosphorus nanobelts are fabricated with a one-step solid-liquid-solid reaction method under ambient pressure, where red phosphorus is used as the precursor instead of white phosphorus. The thickness of the as-fabricated nanobelts ranges from micrometers to tens of nanometers as studied by scanning electron microscopy. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction indicate that the nanobelts have the composition and the structure of black phosphorus, transmission electron microscopy reveals a typical layered structure stacked along the b-axis, and scanning transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis demonstrates the doping of bismuth into the black phosphorus structure.

Virtual substrate method for nanomaterials characterization.

Characterization techniques available for bulk or thin-film solid-state materials have been extended to substrate-supported nanomaterials, but generally non-quantitatively. This is because the nanomaterial signals are inevitably buried in the signals from the underlying substrate in common reflection-configuration techniques. Here, we propose a virtual substrate method, inspired by the four-point probe technique for resistance measurement as well as the chop-nod method in infrared astronomy, to characterize nanomaterials without the influence of underlying substrate signals from four interrelated measurements.

Achievement of practical level critical current densities in Ba₁-xKxFe₂As₂/Ag tapes by conventional cold mechanical deformation.

The recently discovered iron-based superconductors are potential candidates for high-field magnet applications. However, the critical current densities (J(c)) of iron-based superconducting wires remain far below the level needed for practical applications. Here, we show that the transport Jc of Ba₁-xKxFe₂As₂/Ag tapes is significantly enhanced by the combination process of cold flat rolling and uniaxial pressing.

High critical current density and low anisotropy in textured Sr₁-xKxFe₂As₂ tapes for high field applications.

From the application point of view, large critical current densities J(c) (H) for superconducting wires are required, preferably for magnetic fields higher than 5 T. Here we show that strong c-axis textured Sr(1-x)K(x)Fe(2)As(2) tapes with nearly isotropic transport J(c) were fabricated by an ex-situ powder-in-tube (PIT) process. At 4.