Out-of-plane pressure and electron doping inducing phase and magnetic transitions in GeC/CrS2/GeC van der Waals heterostructure.

Out-of-plane pressure and electron doping can affect interlayer interactions in van der Waals materials, modifying their crystal structure and physical and chemical properties. In this study, we used magnetic monolayer 1T/1T'-CrS2 and high symmetry 2D-honeycomb material GeC to construct a GeC/CrS2/GeC triple layered van der Waals heterostructure (vdWH). Based on density functional theory calculations, we found that applying out-of-plane strain and doping with electrons could induce a 1T'-to-1T phase transition and consequently the ferromagnetic (FM)-to-antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition in the CrS2 layer. Such a phase and magnetic transition arises from the pressure and electron-induced interlayer interaction enhancement. The electron doping can effectively decrease the critical compressive stress from ∼4.3 GPa (charge neutrality) to ∼664 MPa (Q = 9 × 10-3 e- per atom) for the FM-to-AFM transition. These properties could be used to fabricate and program the 2D lateral FM/AFM heterostructures for artificial controlled spin texture and miniaturized spintronic devices.

Superior Thermal Conductivity of Graphene Film/Cu-Zr Alloy Composites for Thermal Management Applications.

As the power density of electronic devices continuously increases, there is a growing demand to improve the heat conduction performance of thermal management materials for addressing heat dissipation issues. Single-/few-layer graphene is a promising candidate as a filler of a metal matrix due to its extremely high thermal conductivity (k); however, the well-arranged assembly of 2D-component graphene with a high volume fraction remains challenging. Herein, we integrated a novel graphene-based macroscopic material of graphene film (GF) into a Cu matrix by infiltrating molten Zr-microalloyed Cu into a spirally folded and upright-standing GFs skeleton. The microstructure of the GF/Cu composites was regulated by an interface modification strategy. The GF/Cu composites with a spirally layered microstructure exhibit a superior k of 820 W/m K in the axial direction, much higher than that of Cu-matrix composites reinforced with graphene nanosheets (generally <500 W/m K) and twice that of Cu. The thermal transfer mechanisms were investigated by experiments and theoretical calculations. The results reveal that the excellent performance is attributed to the construction of high-heat conduction channels and a positive coordinating effect at the Zr-modified GF/Cu interface. Meanwhile, the relation between interfacial microstructure and heat transfer is established in the composites using interfacial thermal resistance as a bridge. This work yields in-depth insight into the heat conduction mechanism in highly oriented structures and provides a promising solution for the thermal management issues of high-power electronics.

Designing of Efficient Bifunctional ORR/OER Pt Single-Atom Catalysts Based on O-Terminated MXenes by First-Principles Calculations.

MXenes have been used as substrate materials for single-atom catalysts (SACs) due to their unique two-dimensional (2D) structure, high surface area, and high electronic conductivity. Oxygen is the primary terminating group of MXenes; however, all of the reported Pt SACs till now are fabricated with F-terminated MXenes. According to the first-principles calculations of this work, the failure of using O-terminated MXenes as substrates is due to the low charge density around Pt and C, which weakens the catalytic activity of Pt. By adjusting the electronic structure of M2C using a second submetal with a lower work function than M, 18 potential bifunctional Pt SACs are constructed based on O-terminated bimetal MXenes. After further consideration of some important practical application factors such as overpotential, solvation effect, and reaction barriers, only four of them, i.e., Cr2Nb2C3O2-VO-Pt, Cr2Ta2C3O2-VO-Pt, Cr2NbC2O2-VO-Pt, and Cr2TaC2O2-VO-Pt, are screened as bifunctional oxygen reduction reaction/oxygen evolution reaction (ORR/OER) catalysts. All of these screened SACs are originated from Cr-based MXenes, implying the significance of Cr-based MXenes in designing bifunctional Pt SACs.

[Research progress on the biological properties of the surface nanocrystals of typical medical metal materials].

Biomedical metal materials have always been a major biomedical material with a large and wide range of clinical use due to their excellent properties such as high strength and toughness, fatigue resistance, easy forming, and corrosion resistance. They are also the preferred implant material for hard tissues (bones and teeth that need to withstand higher loads) and interventional stents. And nano-medical metal materials have better corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. This article focuses on the changes and improvements in the properties of several typical medical metal materials surfaces after nanocrystallization, and discusses the current problems and development prospects of nano-medical metal materials.

Electrochemical Corrosion Behavior and Mechanical Properties of Nanocrystalline Ti⁻6Al⁻4V Alloy Induced by Sliding Friction Treatment.

A nanograined (NG) layer with an average grain size of less than 100 nm has been successfully prepared on a Ti⁻6Al⁻4V sheet surface by sliding friction treatment (SFT). The electrochemical corrosion/passive behavior and mechanical properties of an NG Ti⁻6Al⁻4V sheet were examined in this study. A bi-layer passive film that consisted of an outer TiO2-rich layer and an inner Al2O3-rich layer was formed on either an NG or coarse-grained (CG) surface. The improved corrosion was mainly caused by the enhanced stability and thickness of the passive layer. Tensile experiments were carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties at ambient temperature. The NG Ti⁻6Al⁻4V sample exhibited the high yield strength (956 MPa) with a moderate elongation of 8%. These superior comprehensive properties demonstrated its potential as a biomedical material.

Microstructure and Corrosion Behavior of Composite Coating on Pure Mg Acquired by Sliding Friction Treatment and Micro-Arc Oxidation.

For the purpose of detecting the influence of grain structure of a Mg matrix on the microstructure and corrosion resistance of micro-arc oxidation (MAO) coating, prior to MAO processing, sliding friction treatment (SFT) was adopted to generate a fine-grained (FG) layer on coarse-grained (CG) pure Mg surface. It showed that the FG layer had superior corrosion resistance, as compared to the CG matrix, owing to the grain refinement; furthermore, it successfully survived after MAO treatment. Thus, an excellent FG-MAO coating was gained by combining SFT and MAO. The surface morphology and element composition of FG-MAO and CG-MAO samples did not show significant changes. However, the FG layer favorably facilitated the formation of an excellent MAO coating, which possessed a superior bonding property and greater thickness. Consequently, the modified FG-MAO sample possessed enhanced corrosion resistance, since a lower hydrogen evolution rate, a larger impedance modulus and a lower corrosion current were observed on the FG-MAO sample.

Manipulating the degradation behavior and biocompatibility of Mg alloy through a two-step treatment combining sliding friction treatment and micro-arc oxidation.

Manipulating the degradation rate of biomedical Mg alloys has always been a challenge. In this study, a two-step treatment including sliding friction treatment (SFT) and micro-arc oxidation (MAO) was adopted to acquire a unique Mg-based architecture containing three typical layers comprising a MAO coating/nanocrystalline (NC) layer/coarse-grained (CG) matrix. It was found that the modified topmost MAO coating possessed enhanced corrosion resistance, cytocompatibility and hemocompatibility. The intermediate NC layer sandwiched between the coating and CG matrix was an ideal transition layer capable of avoiding degradation rate upsurge caused by coating breakdown; meanwhile, it provided an effective reinforcing effect on the overall mechanical strength. More importantly, the corrosion resistance of these layers was ranked in the order: MAO coating > NC layer > CG matrix. This kind of gradually increasing corrosion rate of the three layers with depth renders the two-step treatment a promising approach to design Mg-based implants possessing controllable degradation rates.

Electrochemical corrosion behavior and elasticity properties of Ti-6Al-xFe alloys for biomedical applications.

The present study is to investigate the microstructural characteristics, electrochemical corrosion behavior and elasticity properties of Ti-6Al-xFe alloys with Fe addition for biomedical application, and Ti-6Al-4V alloy with two-phase (α+ß) microstructure is also studied as a comparison. Microstructural characterization reveals that the phase and crystal structure are sensitive to the Fe content. Ti-6Al alloy displays feather-like hexagonal α phase, and Ti-6Al-1Fe exhibits coarse lath structure of hexagonal α phase and a small amount of ß phase. Ti-6Al-2Fe and Ti-6Al-4Fe alloys are dominated by elongated, equiaxed α phase and retained ß phase, but the size of α phase particle in Ti-6Al-4Fe alloy is much smaller than that in Ti-6Al-2Fe alloy. The corrosion resistance of these alloys is determined in SBF solution at 37 °C. It is found that the alloys spontaneously form a passive oxide film on their surface after immersion for 500 s, and then they are stable for polarizations up to 0 VSCE. In comparison with Ti-6Al and Ti-6Al-4V alloys, Ti-6Al-xFe alloys exhibit better corrosion resistance with lower anodic current densities, larger polarization resistances and higher open-circuit potentials. The passive layers show stable characteristics, and the wide frequency ranges displaying capacitive characteristics occur for high iron contents. Elasticity experiments are performed to evaluate the elasticity property at room temperature. Ti-6Al-4Fe alloy has the lowest Young's modulus (112 GPa) and exhibits the highest strength/modulus ratios as large as 8.6, which is similar to that of c.p. Ti (8.5). These characteristics of Ti-6Al-xFe alloys form the basis of a great potential to be used as biomedical implantation materials.