Highly porous and fully crystalline mullite fiber compacts were fabricated by uniaxial hot pressing of stacked short-fiber mats without binders or sintering aids. The special feature of this new fabrication method is the use of MAFTEC® organic bound mat (OBM) type fiber mats consisting of semicrystalline “MLS-2” short fibers. In contrast to conventional polycrystalline mullite fibers, semicrystalline MLS-2 fibers consist of amorphous silica and nanoscale transitional alumina. Due to this special microstructure, MLS-2 fibers are less prone to fiber breakage upon shear load and therefore can well withstand pressure-assisted consolidation. Hot pressing of stacked OBM to highly porous fiber compacts is facilitated by the thermally driven softening of amorphous silica above 900 °C; favorable deformation and consolidation rates are achieved above 1050 °C. Above 1250 °C the mullite is crystallized at the expense of amorphous silica and simultaneously both deformation and consolidation comes to an end. Obtained MAFTEC OBM-derived fiber compacts consist only of crystalline mullites, and therefore mechanical properties are favorably retained at high temperatures.

{001} facets dominant TiO2 nanosheets have attracted intensive attention in the photocatalytic field, due to their undercoordinated Ti5c centers, higher surface energy, and photocatalytic activity than those of any other low-energy facet. However, a fluorine-rich (001) surface is controversial to the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanocrystals. We have removed the surface F atoms bonding with Ti by hydrogenation method successfully, and found that {001} facets dominant TiO2 nanosheets without the terminated F atoms showed dramatic enhancement in the photocatalytic activity. Moreover, the clean (001) surface was more in favor of the deposition of PdO than the fluorine-rich surface, and the amorphous structure from the hydrogenation is beneficial to the reduction of PdCl4 2− to Pd nanoparticles. The PdO attached on {001} facets and the amorphous structure promoted the separation of charge carriers, and Pd nanoparticles transferred plasmonic-induced electrons to the conduction band of hydrogenated TiO2 under simulated solar irradiation. Thus, a significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity of Pd–H–TiO2 is achieved on degrading organic environmental pollution, due to the synergy of palladium species and hydrogenation on {001} facets exposed TiO2.

In this work, we reported the growth of cadmium-free Ag-doped Zn–In–S nanocrystals (NCs) with effective photoluminescence (PL) via a hot-injection strategy. The effects of the nucleation temperatures, reaction times, and Ag-doping concentrations on the PL properties of Ag-doped Zn–In–S NCs were investigated systematically. The as-synthesized NCs exhibit color-tunable PL emissions covering a broad visible range of 472–585 nm. After being passivated by a protective ZnS shell, the PL quantum yield (QY) of the resultant NCs was greatly improved up to 33%. With the increase of the Ag-doping level, the PL is significantly intensified due to the improved concentration of Ag ions which provides more holes to recombine with electrons from the bottom of the conduction band. This also makes the emission via the dopant energy level become a powerful, competitive advantage for the NCs with higher Ag-doping levels, resulting in a longer lifetime and higher PL QY. These results suggest that tailoring the Ag-doping level can be a powerful strategy to control the optical properties of Ag-doped Zn–In–S NCs.

Mg–3Al–Zn alloy with the addition of Al and Si as a eutectic alloy was subjected to conventional hot rolling. The corresponding mechanical properties, microstructure evolution, and dynamic recrystallization mechanism were investigated by optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), and tensile tests. The experimental results indicated that the Mg–3(Al–Si)–Zn alloy had a microstructure refinement, thus rendering an enhanced mechanical properties in comparison with the Mg–3Al–Zn alloy. The refined Mg2Si particles could act as potential nucleation sites for recrystallization in as-rolled Mg–3(Al–Si)–Zn alloy sheets, which resulted in more completely recrystallized regions through particle stimulated nucleation and a weakened basal texture compared to Mg–3Al–Zn alloy. The improvement in the tensile strength of the as-rolled Mg–3(Al–Si)–Zn alloy can be attributed to grain refinement and second phase strengthening caused by the refined Mg2Si particles.

A living electrode construct that enables integration of cells within bionic devices has been developed. The layered construct uses a combination of non-degradable conductive hydrogel and degradable biosynthetic hydrogel to support cell encapsulation at device surfaces. In this study, the material system is designed and analyzed to understand the impact of the cell carrying component on electrode characteristics. The cell carrying layer is shown to provide a soft interface that supports extracellular matrix development within the electrode while not significantly reducing the charge transfer characteristics. The living layer was shown to degrade over 21 days with minimal swelling upon implantation.

Mesenchymal stem cell behavior can be regulated through mechanical signaling, either by dynamic loading or through biomaterial properties. We developed intrinsically responsive tissue engineering scaffolds that can dynamically load cells. Porous collagen- and alginate-based scaffolds were functionalized with iron oxide to produce magnetically active scaffolds. Reversible deformations in response to magnetic stimulation of up to 50% were recorded by tuning the material properties. Cells could attach to these scaffolds and magnetically induced compressive deformation did not adversely affect viability or cause cell release. This platform should have broad application in the mechanical stimulation of cells for tissue engineering applications.