The gradient cemented carbonitrides with brittle cubic phases containing Ti removed in the surface layers were prepared in this paper. The microstructure, composition distribution, fracture morphology, and transverse rupture strength of these materials were investigated systematically. It is found that the difference between the maximum and the nominal cobalt content augments in the gradient layer, the lattice parameter of (Ti,W)C rises in the bulk inside the gradient border, and the (Ti,W)C cubic phases are refined in the inner bulk as the nitrogen is increased. Besides, the area fraction of WC in the gradient layer is higher than in the bulk, but it decreases remarkably close to the gradient border. The improvement of transverse rupture strength stability depends on thickening of gradient layers, and additionally the transgranular fracture of (Ti, W)C cubic phase can be hardly found in the gradient layer.

Machinable mica glass ceramics were synthesized by sintering method. The crystal phase was characterized using x-ray diffraction, showing that the main crystal phase was fluorophlogopite. Mechanical properties were measured at different temperatures. The results demonstrated that bending strength and fracture toughness increased 28% and 24% when temperature decreased from 300 to 77 K, respectively. Compressive strength also increased at cryogenic temperatures, but a higher value was obtained at 195 K. According to scanning electron microscope observation, the extraction of mica platelets was observed at 77 K, which may be the toughening mechanism of machinable mica glass ceramics.

Supercapacitor has received intense interest due to its high-charge/discharge rate and high-power density. C/Fe2O3 layer with different C/Fe ratios were synthesized by a solution-based approach for supercapacitor application. The influence of synthesis conditions on their electrochemical performances was investigated. Cobalt was added into C/Fe2O3 and significant improved its performance. The optimal C/Fe2O3 sample gives a high specific capacitance of 85.3 F/g and the addition of Co3O4 further increase the capacitance of obtained C/Fe2O3/Co3O4 to 144.4 F/g at 5 A/g. This work demonstrates an efficient supercapacitor application of low-cost metal oxides and facile solution-based synthesis approach.

Controlling the interactions of light with matter is crucial for the success and scalability of materials-processing applications. When ultrashort pulsed lasers are used, the optimal interplay between the laser and the material parameters enable highly precise and controllable fabrication, allowing structuring down to the nanometer scale. Besides this, a unique aspect for many applications is the possibility of material modifications at multiple length scales, leading to complex micro- and nanoscale architectures, while adding a new dimension to optimization of the structures. As a result, femtosecond laser micro-/nanoprocessing offers unique capabilities for three-dimensional, material-independent modification, opening new opportunities for innovation and exploitation in the materials industry. This article focuses on the implementation of ultrashort pulsed laser-based micro- and nanofabrication methodologies for the realization of structures relevant to biomimetic, fluidic, and biological applications. The wealth of possibilities and the number of new approaches for obtaining complex high-resolution features at the micro- and nanoscales are demonstrated.

Silver nanowire-based contacts represent one of the major new directions in transparent contacts for opto-electronic devices with the added advantage that they can have Indium-Tin-Oxide-like properties at substantially reduced processing temperatures and without the use of vacuum-based processing. However, nanowires alone often do not adhere well to the substrate or other film interfaces; even after a relatively high-temperature anneal and unencapsulated nanowires show environmental degradation at high temperature and humidity. Here we report on the development of ZnO/Ag-nanowire composites that have sheet resistance below 10 Ω/sq and >90% transmittance from a solution-based process with process temperatures below 200 °C. These films have significant applications potential in photovoltaics and displays.

Femtosecond laser direct writing (FsLDW) in transparent materials is a laser-based precise three-dimensional (3D) micro/nanofabrication method that has shown great potential for applications. The advantages of FsLDW originate in the nonlinear nature of absorption in the multiphoton absorption process. Over the past few years, transparent material micro/nanofabrication using FsLDW has seen several developments in materials and applications. Specifically, two-photon polymerization has been widely used as a precision direct-writing process for fabrication of polymeric 3D micro/nanostructures; internal/surface ablation of polymer 3D structures based on multiphoton absorption has been demonstrated and developed as a promising subtractive manufacturing technique; and femtosecond laser multiphoton modification in glass has been intensively studied for refractive-index change and generation of nanogratings and microvoids. This article describes the latest research on FsLDW in polymers and glasses with specific applications for large-dimension fabrication, microelectromechanical systems, microphotonics, and microfluidics.

Transparent conductive oxides and amorphous oxide semiconductors are important materials for many modern technologies. Here, we explore the ternary indium zinc tin oxide (IZTO) using combinatorial synthesis and spatially resolved characterization. The electrical conductivity, work function, absorption onset, mechanical hardness, and elastic modulus of the optically transparent (>85%) amorphous IZTO thin films were found to be in the range of 10–2415 S/cm, 4.6–5.3 eV, 3.20–3.34 eV, 9.0–10.8 GPa, and 111–132 GPa, respectively, depending on the cation composition and the deposition conditions. This study enables control of IZTO performance over a broad range of cation compositions.

Short pulse laser irradiation has the ability to bring a material into a state of strong electronic, thermal, phase, and mechanical nonequilibrium and trigger a sequence of structural transformations leading to the generation of complex multiscale surface morphologies, unusual metastable phases, and microstructures that cannot be produced by any other means. In this article, we provide an overview of recent advancements and existing challenges in the understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of short pulse laser interaction with materials, including the material response to strong electronic excitation, ultrafast redistribution and partitioning of the deposited laser energy, the peculiarities of phase transformations occurring under conditions of strong superheating/undercooling, as well as laser-induced generation of crystal defects and modification of surface microstructure.

Industrial ultrafast lasers are a key component of many new industrial manufacturing processes. The virtually athermal nature of the laser–matter interaction process enables high-quality material processing for many different materials with feature size reaching into the nanometer scale. Advances in laser average power and beam-delivery technology have significantly improved the throughput and productivity of real-life industrial and medical applications. In this article, we present key examples of laser processing, including drilling, cutting, and surface processing. In particular, we describe how ultrafast lasers can improve vision in patients, extend battery lifetime, improve the efficiency of solar cells and infrared detectors, or be applied in the printing or microelectronics industries. These examples demonstrate how further developments rely on a combination of laser technology, beam handling and delivery, and laser–matter interaction processes.

Ultrafast laser synthesis and processing of materials is a burgeoning field that is still in its infancy. This article and the theme articles in this issue review recent developments in the fundamental physics of ultrafast laser–solid interactions as well as the state of our understanding of ultrafast laser-driven surface morphology, modification of transparent media, 3D photo-polymerization and additive fabrication, spallation of graphene, and biological interactions. Also reviewed is the current state of emerging commercial high average power lasers, central to the widespread adoption of ultrafast laser synthesis and processing of materials. It is remarkable that ultrafast lasers with 20 to 600 femtosecond pulse duration can have such a dramatic impact on materials. As we learn more about the fundamental mechanisms that drive the ultrafast laser-material response, even more applications are anticipated to emerge. This revolutionary approach to materials synthesis and processing has already spawned several commercial technologies and promises to create many more in the near future.

The influence of hydrostatic compression on the charge transport properties of an excellent 2,6-diphenylanthracene (2,6-DPA) semiconducting single crystal was investigated up to 10 GPa by performing density-functional calculations together with the tight binding approximation. In this pressure region the lattice constants a, b and c decrease by up to 0.948 Å (5.23%), 1.30 Å (17.26%), and 0.711 Å (11.34%), respectively, while the monoclinic angle β increases by 3.4°. The unit-cell volume decreases by increasing pressure, and the volume decreases by 30.5% at 10 GPa. In comparison, the C–C and C–H intermolecular distances within and between the herringbone layers reduced by 16–19% and 16–24%, respectively, in the same pressure ranges. The results indicate that under high pressure, the molecular planes of the crystal become more and more parallel to each other due to molecular rearrangement in the 2,6-DPA crystal. The band gap decreases with increasing pressure due to decreasing intermolecular separation between neighboring molecules. Finally, the results indicate an improvement of the hole mobility of 2,6-DPA single crystals under hydrostatic pressure.