The authors design six alumina hybrid structures consisting of stretching-dominated plates and different space-filling lattices comprised of hollow tubes and perform finite element simulations to study mechanical and failure behaviors of such hybrid structures. The authors investigate the effects of three geometrical parameters on the stiffness and failure of these hybrid structures and further compare their advantages and disadvantages. The authors find that the failure modes of these hybrid structures can be tuned by altering cell unit type and geometrical parameters. Among these hybrid structures, the ones with effective support from the lattice unit cells in the stretching direction exhibit better specific stiffness and strength. By varying the lattice and plate thickness, the authors find that the relations between stiffness/failure strength and density follow a power law. When intrinsic material failure occurs, the power law exponent is 1; when buckling failure arises, the power law exponent is 3. However, by varying tube thickness, their relations follow unusual power relations with the exponent changing from nearly 0 to nearly infinity. In addition, the hybrid structures also exhibit defect insensitivity. This study shows that such hybrid structures are able to greatly expand the design space of architectured cellular materials for engineering applications.

Na–Se batteries are promising energy storage systems for grid and transportation applications, due to the high volumetric energy density and relatively low cost. However, the development of Na–Se batteries has been hindered by the shuttle effect originating from polyselenide dissolution from the Se cathode. Herein, we reported the utilization of nanoscale Al2O3 surface coating by atomic layer deposition (ALD) to protect a microporous carbon/Se (MPC/Se) cathode and reduce polyselenide dissolution. Compared with the pristine MPC/Se, Al2O3-coated MPC/Se cathode exhibited improved discharge capacity, cycling stability, and rate capability in Na–Se batteries. Post-cycling analysis disclosed that Al2O3 coating on MPC/Se cathode effectively suppressed the polyselenide dissolution, facilitated the formation of thin and stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layers, and reduced charge transfer resistance, thus improving the overall performance of Na–Se batteries. This work suggests the effectiveness of interface control by ALD in enabling high-performance Na–Se batteries and might shed light on the development of new-generation Li/Na/K-chalcogenide batteries.

Multifunctional nanoparticles are an emerging area of research, impacting numerous fields ranging from biomedical applications to energy. While initial core–shell structures consisted of similar materials, such as Au–Ag or CdTe–CdSe nanoparticles, recent work has expanded this line of investigation to include particles of dissimilar materials. However, there are several challenges when synthesizing dissimilar material systems. In this work, a method for doping the shell of an Au–ZnO nanosphere is demonstrated. Several metal dopants are investigated, including Cu, Ce, Er, Nd, Tm, and Yb. The ZnO shell is nucleated on the gold nanosphere core via an ascorbic acid–assisted growth, and the dopant is intercalated uniformly into the shell during the self-assembly phase of the shell formation. The doping and polycrystalline shell are confirmed using a series of qualitative and quantitative methods. This multi-material nanoparticle synthesis strategy opens the door for future applications in sensing, photocatalysis, and bioimaging.

Rational construction of Z-scheme photocatalysts and exploration of the Z-scheme charge transfer mechanism have drawn much attention in the field of CO2 reduction because of its great potential to alleviate energy crisis and environmental problems. In this study, a series of Z-scheme CdS/BiOI composites were constructed by depositing CdS nanoparticles on the surface of BiOI nanosheets. The synthesized materials were characterized comprehensively, and their photoreduction CO2 activities were evaluated. The results show that the composites exhibit higher photoreduction CO2 activity under visible light irradiation (λ > 400 nm) than pure CdS and BiOI. The yields of CO and CH4 for the optimal composite after 3 h irradiation are 3.32 and 0.54 μmol/g, respectively. The improved photocatalytic activity is attributed to Z-scheme transfer mode of the photogenerated charges in the composites. The mechanism of CO2 reduction is proposed and verified experimentally.

In this article, we review some of the recent developments in instrumentation and methods that have led to the rise of cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) in the life sciences community, and consider how researchers in the materials community might benefit from these advances. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is compared with scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) for cryogenic imaging in both biological and materials science applications. We discuss the developments in detector technologies that have in part powered the development of cryo-EM and anticipate exciting areas for productive overlap between life science and materials science cryo-EM applications.

Electron microscopy is uniquely suited for atomic-resolution imaging of heterogeneous and complex materials, where composition, physical, and electronic structure need to be analyzed simultaneously. Historically, the technique has demonstrated optimal performance at room temperature, since practical aspects such as vibration, drift, and contamination limit exploration at extreme temperature regimes. Conversely, quantum materials that exhibit exotic physical properties directly tied to the quantum mechanical nature of electrons are best studied (and often only exist) at extremely low temperatures. As a result, emergent phenomena, such as superconductivity, are typically studied using scanning probe-based techniques that can provide exquisite structural and electronic characterization, but are necessarily limited to surfaces. In this article, we focus not on the various methods that have been used to examine quantum materials at extremely low temperatures, but on what could be accomplished in the field of quantum materials if the power of electron microscopy to provide structural analysis at the atomic scale was extended to extremely low temperatures.

Microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) is a cryo-electron microscopy technique that utilizes three-dimensional nano- and microcrystals for high-resolution structure determination. These extremely small crystals are several orders of magnitude smaller than what is used in conventional x-ray diffraction experiments. MicroED is capable of providing high-quality data from samples that would otherwise be considered useless for diffraction measurements. Since its initial implementation, MicroED has been used in the fields of structural biology, chemistry, and materials science. In this article, we provide an overview of the MicroED methodology as well as examples of how MicroED in cryo-electron microscopy has been used for structure determination of a variety of samples.

New cryogenic characterization techniques for exploring the nanoscale structure and chemistry of intact solid–liquid interfaces have recently been developed. These techniques provide high-resolution information about buried interfaces from large samples or devices that cannot be obtained by other means. These advancements were enabled by the development of instrumentation for cryogenic focused ion beam liftout, which allows intact solid–liquid interfaces to be extracted from large samples and thinned to electron-transparent thicknesses for characterization by cryogenic scanning transmission electron microscopy or atom probe tomography. Future implementation of these techniques will complement current strides in imaging of materials in fluid environments by in situ liquid-phase electron microscopy, providing a more complete understanding of the morphology, surface chemistry, and dynamic processes that occur at solid–liquid interfaces.