We previously demonstrated that TiOx/Al2O3 nanolaminates (TAO NL) exhibit abnormally high-dielectric constant k (800–1000), due to Maxwell–Wagner polarization, via charge accumulation at insulating Al2O3/semiconducting TiOx interfaces. Here, we report TAO NL dielectric properties related to TiOx phase change in TiOx (0.9 nm)/Al2O3 (0.1 nm) NL. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy shows amorphous TiOx phase change to crystalline anatase TiO2 due to free-energy minimization. The phase change induce reduction in leakage current and dielectric loss (J = 10−2 to 10−4 A/cm2, tan δ = 10 to 10−1), still with k ~ 600 up to MHz, compared to amorphous TAO NLs.

Amorphous polymers are among the most common materials used in adhesives, and a clear understanding of the effects of molecular scale features on macroscopic responses is necessary to design new, better performing adhesives. While many features have been investigated, including effects of molecular weight, inclusion of filler materials, and some effects of crosslinking, much of the understanding of the adhesive response remains empirical. Specifically, choosing the appropriate combination of polymer properties that optimize the work required to debond is still a challenge and the interplay between mechanical and chemical properties of polymers at interfaces is largely unknown. Here, we perform molecular dynamics simulations on a simple coarse-grained polymer model to directly investigate the role of crosslinking in determining the adhesive response of amorphous polymers at the molecular level. We find that crosslinking has a dramatic effect on the mechanical properties even at relatively low crosslink densities, and that crosslinking alone can be effective for optimizing the adhesive response of amorphous polymer adhesives. We observe a clear transition from cohesive to adhesive failure as the crosslink density is increased which coincides with the optimal toughening in the films. Furthermore, we find that our model captures the key molecular scale deformation mechanisms that control the adhesive response. For low crosslink densities, increased crosslinking improves the adhesive response by inhibiting chain sliding and allowing the structures to achieve large deformations, but as the crosslink density is increased further, the adhesive response is diminished due to reduced overall deformability. Our results provide simple but important insights into how crosslinking in amorphous polymer adhesives can be used to tune the mechanical response and ultimately to optimize adhesive performance for various applications.

P-type Cu1.8+x Se (x = 0, 0.16, 0.20) compounds were synthesized by mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering technique. A 100% enhancement of the Seebeck coefficient was achieved in the whole temperature interval for x = 0.16 and x = 0.20 bulks compared with that of the x = 0 bulk. The thermal conductivity was all below 1.6 W m−1 K−1 in the whole temperature interval for x = 0.16 and x = 0.20 bulks, showing a pronounced reduction compared with that of the x = 0 bulk. The lowest thermal conductivity 0.69 W m−1 K−1 was achieved in the x = 0.16 sample at 773 K, whereby a maximum ZT value of 1.23 was obtained, revealing that optimizing Cu content in Cu1.8+x Se system is an effective method to improve the thermoelectric (TE) merit and indicating a great potential for TE application along with their nontoxicity and low cost.

Self-assembled vertical heteroepitaxial nanostructures (VHN) in the complex oxide field have fascinated scientists for decades because they provide degrees of freedom to explore in condensed matter physics and design-coupled multifunctionlities. Recently, of particular interest is the perovskite-spinel-based VHN, covering a wide spectrum of promising applications. In this review, fabrication of VHN, their growth mechanism, control, and resulting novel multifunctionalities are discussed thoroughly, providing researchers a comprehensive blueprint to construct promising VHN. Following the fabrication section, the state-of-the-art design concepts for multifunctionalities are proposed and reviewed by suitable examples. By summarizing the outlook of this field, we are excitedly expecting this field to rise with significant contributions ranging from scientific value to practical applications in the foreseeable future.

It is widely accepted that oxygen will severely deteriorate the glass-forming ability (GFA) of an alloy. In this work, we report that the GFA of a Fe76Si9B10P5 glassy alloy can be significantly improved (the critical diameter for fully glass formation is increased from 1 to 3 mm) under oxygen casting atmosphere. Furthermore, the pressure of oxygen atmosphere gives an obvious enhancement in the critical diameter of Fe76Si9B10P5 glassy alloy. A dependence of GFA on casting atmosphere species (argon, nitrogen, air, and oxygen) is also observed for this glassy alloy, and its critical diameter is 1, 1.5, 2.5, and 3 mm, respectively. In addition, the Fe-based glassy alloy exhibits excellent soft magnetic properties regardless of the applied casting atmosphere. The mechanism for such an unusual oxygen effect on the GFA of Fe76Si9B10P5 glassy alloy is attributed to the reduced nucleation rate caused by the enhancement of surface tension of the alloy melt.

The structure and phase transition behavior of monoclinic phase of the morphotropic phase boundary composition Pb(Sc1/2Nb1/2)O3]0.58 –[PbTiO3]0.42 (PSN–42PT) in lead scandium niobate–lead titanate (PSN–PT) system have been investigated by in situ high-temperature polarized light microscopy (PLM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. Temperature-dependent powder XRD studies of PSN–42PT indicated monoclinic structure at 25 °C and cubic structure at 400 °C. It is observed that the room temperature monoclinic structure transforms to cubic structure through an intermediate tetragonal structure. The temperature-induced domain changes at the phase transition are investigated on (001) face of unpoled PSN–42PT crystal while heating as well as cooling the crystal on hot stage of the PLM. Under crossed polar condition, the striplike polar domains observed at lower temperature vanish gradually with increasing temperature. In the vicinity of ferroelectric transition temperature, the mesosize domains that appeared in the variable temperature PLM images are in accordance with the monoclinic–tetragonal–cubic transition sequence concluded by in situ high-temperature XRD studies. The domain rotation corresponding to the structural transformation sequence is concluded for the first time in the PSN–42PT.

A new physical model of plastic deformation in nanocrystalline (NC) materials with finest grains (whose grain size is 2–4 nm) is suggested and theoretically described. The model represents the effect of the finest grains located at triple junctions on the fracture toughness of NC materials in the case that there are multiple dislocations pile-up at grain boundaries (GBs). The maximum number n of the pile-up dislocations is determined by both the capacity of dislocations emitting associated with the crack propagation and the capacity of dislocations pile-up due to the existence of the finest grains. The calculation indicates that the parameter n increases with increment of the grain size and decreases with the finest grain size increasing. The results theoretically reveal that the triple junctions with finest grains can significantly improve the fracture toughness of NC materials compared with the normal triple junctions in wide ranges of their structural parameters.

The present study describes magnetic interactions in (Zn1–x Cox )Ga2O4 (x = 0.05, 0.10, and 0.20) particles dependant on Co atoms in both tetrahedral and octahedral sites. The effects of substituted Co atoms to magnetic character are analyzed using Curie–Weiss law. The ferromagnetic character is found dominant in (Zn1–x Cox )Ga2O4 semiconductors for x values lower than 0.10; in addition, a specific hysteresis with 139 ± 50 Oe coercivity is observed for 5% Co-doped ZnGa2O4. The high Co amount in tetrahedral site increased the number of antiferromagnetic couplings and the hysteresis at 300 K disappeared for (Zn0.80Co0.20)Ga2O4 particles. Furthermore, the Co+3 ions in the octahedral site decreased µeff values, per Co amounts, in the range of 4.89 ± 0.01 µB/Co to 4.44 ± 0.02 µB/Co, because of enhancing paramagnetic behaviors.

Using detailed information on the spectrum of shear transformation dynamics previously obtained from low-strain, quasi-static anelastic relaxation in a metallic glass, the corresponding response to a cyclic force is calculated, and prevailing analysis approaches are evaluated. It is shown that the time–temperature superposition principle does not resolve the distribution of activation energies for shear transformations. The distribution of shear transformation zone sizes explains the microscopic mechanisms of both slow (α) and fast (β) relaxations, and the fact that the former are irreversible. These results suggest the need to re-evaluate past interpretations of dynamic behavior of glasses.

Nearly dense and almost single-phase bulk (Cr1–x Vx )2AlC (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0) ceramics were successfully fabricated by in situ hot-pressing method using Cr, V, Al, and C powders as raw materials. A possible synthesis mechanism was proposed to explain the formation of (Cr1–x Vx )2AlC solid solutions. The lattice parameters, microstructure, and mechanical properties of the (Cr1–x Vx )2AlC ceramics were investigated in detail. The results indicated that the lattice parameters increased with the substitution of Cr by V and the aspect ratio of the grain changed from 1.4 to 3.2. The dependence of the mechanical properties on the V content was a single-peak type. The (Cr0.5V0.5)2AlC ceramic possessed the optimal mechanical performance and its Vickers hardness, flexural strength, and fracture toughness reached the maximum values of 5.18 GPa, 402 MPa, 5.91 MPa m1/2, respectively, due to the solid solution effect. The energy-consuming mechanisms of the material were also discussed.

A novel thermosensitive core/shell microgel with carbon microspheres (CMSs) cores was prepared by three steps. First, oxidized-carbon microspheres were obtained by mixed-acid oxidization. Second, the silane agent of 3-(trimethoxysilyl)-propyl methacrylate was used to functionalize the oxidized-carbon microspheres so as to generate the vinyl groups on the microspheres. Thereafter, the as-synthesized particles were used as seeds in the precipitation polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide to introduce a thermosensitive polymer microgel shell onto the surfaces of the silanized-CMSs in the presence of an initiator and a crosslinker. The morphology and thermosensitive properties of the composite microspheres were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, and dynamic light scattering. Results indicate that the thickness of polymer layer could be adjusted by the crosslinking agent's concentration. The composite microgels had a low critical solution temperature at about 30 °C and exhibited strong thermosensitivity. The controlled release of a drug molecule (a model drug, acetosalicylic acid) was also investigated.

Fe–Mn–Pd alloys are promising candidates as biodegradable material for use in temporary implant applications. In this study, the hardening phase of Fe-rich martensitic alloys containing 1, 3, and 6 wt.% Pd and a fixed Mn content of 10 wt.% was investigated. All of these alloys show considerable age-hardening upon isothermal aging at 500 °C, exhibiting a behavior characteristic of maraging steels. Atom probe tomography (APT) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements were performed to characterize the composition and crystallography of nanometer-sized precipitates forming in the overaged region of the Fe–Mn–Pd alloys. The precipitates consist mainly of Mn and Pd and the peaks of the intermetallic particles observed in the XRD spectra can be ascribed to the face-centered tetragonal β1-MnPd phase. The precipitation sequence for Fe–Mn–Pd is revealed to be similar to that reported for Fe–Mn–Ni and Fe–Mn–Pt maraging steels.