Amorphous TiO2 shells: an Essential Elastic Buffer Layer for High-Performance Self-Healing Eutectic GaSn Nano-Droplet Room-Temperature Liquid Metal Battery.

Gallium-based alloy liquid metal batteries currently face limitations such as volume expansion, unstable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) film and substantial capacity decay. In this study, amorphous titanium dioxide is used to coat eutectic GaSn nanodroplets (eGaSn NDs) to construct the core-shell structure of eGaSn@TiO2 nanodroplets (eGaSn@TiO2 NDs). The amorphous TiO2 shell (~6.5 nm) formed a stable SEI film, alleviated the volume expansion, and provided electron/ion transport channels to achieve excellent cycling performance and high specific capacity. The resulting eGaSn@TiO2 NDs exhibited high capacities of 580, 540, 515, 485, 456 and 426 mAh g-1 at 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2 and 5 C, respectively. No significant decay was observed after more than 500 cycles with a capacity of 455 mAh g-1 at 1 C. In situ X-ray diffraction (in situ XRD) was used to explore the lithiation mechanism of the eGaSn negative electrode during discharge. This study elucidates the design of advanced liquid alloy-based negative electrode materials for high-performance liquid metal batteries (LMBs).

Flexible stretchable low-energy X-ray (30-80 keV) radiation shielding material: Low-melting-point Ga1In1Sn7Bi1 alloy/thermoplastic polyurethane composite.

A highly flexible stretchable thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) composite loaded with a low-melting-point Ga1In1Sn7Bi1 multiprincipal element alloy (LMPEA) was prepared, and its radiation shielding performance was evaluated. The fluid characteristic of LMPEA and the flexibility of TPU enable good interface compatibility. Ga1In1Sn7Bi1 LMPEA consists of two eutectic structures, and the liquid gallium-rich phases are distributed at the boundary of the InBi intermetallic compound and Sn solid solution. In the low-photon energy range of 30-80 keV, LMPEA has a theoretical specific lead equivalent of 0.803 mmPb/mm and a theoretical weight reduction of 17.27% compared with lead. To evaluate the photon attenuation capability for the LMPEA/TPU composites, the Phy-X procedure and Monte Carlo simulations were used to determine the shielding parameters, such as the mass attenuation coefficient, linear attenuation coefficient, half-value layer, tenth-value layer, mean free path, effective atomic number, and fast neutron removal cross section. The attenuation performance test of X-ray protective materials measured the actual lead equivalent. At the same thickness, the LMPEA/TPU composite (66.667, 50.000 wt% LMPEA loading) has a higher measured lead equivalent than the in-service medical shielding materials, which meets the lead equivalent requirements of X-ray protective clothing. LMPEA/TPU composites are nontoxic, lightweight, and have excellent low-energy X-ray shielding ability, offering great potential for application in medical wearable materials.

A novel dealloying strategy for fabricating nanoporous Ag via ζ'-AgGa alloy.

A mild strategy for fabricating nanoporous silver (np-Ag) pieces was reported via preparation of Ag-Ga alloys in relatively low temperature and subsequent electrochemical dealloying in nitric acid (HNO3) aqueous solution. After selectively etching Ga out of the Ag-Ga alloy, a typical three-dimensional (3D) bicontinuous nanoporous structure with a pore size of ∼67.21-159.33 nm was observed. A series of studies have shown that the addition of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) results in minimum pore size. The coarsen exponent (n) is 1.61, and the activation energy was calculated to be 27.04 kJ mol-1. Theζ'-AgGa alloy prepared at low temperature can be used as the precursor for the preparation of fine np-Ags, and this method provides a new strategy for the industrial production of dealloyed np-Ag.