Search

In this study, a chloride-assisted boro/carbothermal reduction method was employed to prepare HfB 2 whiskers, aiming to address the challenges associated with large-scale preparation of HfB 2 whiskers and the development of high-temperature resistant electromagnetic wave absorbing materials. When the precursors were mechanically stirred, the resulting mixture underwent calcination at 1450 °C for 3 h, leading to the formation of single-phase HfB 2 whiskers. The as-synthesized HfB 2 whiskers showed exceptional resistance to oxidation at temperatures up to 700 °C. The microwave absorption performance and mechanism of the HfB 2 whiskers/paraffin composite were also investigated. The results revealed that the composite achieved a minimum reflection loss of −41.29 dB when the HfB 2 whiskers content reached 80 wt%, while the widest effective absorption bandwidth of the composite reached 3.6 GHz when the HfB 2 whiskers content increased to 82.5 wt%. This work presents a novel candidate for high-temperature resistant materials used in absorbing electromagnetic wave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a chloride-assisted boro/carbothermal reduction method was employed to prepare HfB 2 whiskers, aiming to address the challenges associated with large-scale preparation of HfB 2 whiskers and the development of high-temperature resistant electromagnetic wave absorbing materials. When the precursors were mechanically stirred, the resulting mixture underwent calcination at 1450 °C for 3 h, leading to the formation of single-phase HfB 2 whiskers. The as-synthesized HfB 2 whiskers showed exceptional resistance to oxidation at temperatures up to 700 °C. The microwave absorption performance and mechanism of the HfB 2 whiskers/paraffin composite were also investigated. The results revealed that the composite achieved a minimum reflection loss of −41.29 dB when the HfB 2 whiskers content reached 80 wt%, while the widest effective absorption bandwidth of the composite reached 3.6 GHz when the HfB 2 whiskers content increased to 82.5 wt%. This work presents a novel candidate for high-temperature resistant materials used in absorbing electromagnetic wave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with common monoanionic high entropy ceramics, polyanionic high entropy ceramics, with better performance, are more difficult to prepare. Since transition metal carbides have high hardness and transition metal nitrides have good toughness, it is hoped that high entropy carbonitride ceramics can combine the advantages of the two. In this paper, a series of novel (Ti 0.25 Nb 0.25 Hf 0.25 Ta 0.25)C x N 1–x (x = 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, and 0.7) high entropy ceramics were successfully synthesized for the first time using spark plasma sintering at 1850 °C with metal carbides and metal nitrides as raw materials. The phase evolution, microstructure, hardness and fracture toughness of high carbonitride entropy ceramics were investigated. X-ray diffraction indicates the ceramics with the single-phase face-centered cubic structure were successfully prepared. It was found that the high entropy ceramics sintered at 1850 °C with four cationic components have excellent performance on fracture toughness (KIC = 7.1746 MPa m1/2). With the increase of carbide proportion, the hardness of the ceramics increased, but the fracture toughness and bending strength decreased slightly. And it was found that the differences of grain size and porosity content were the main reasons for the mechanical properties difference. The excellent hardness properties, good bending strength and outstanding fracture toughness of the high entropy ceramics provide the possibility for the application of high entropy ceramics in aerospace and other applications requiring high performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the increasingly severe electromagnetic (EM) wave pollution requires high-performance EM wave absorbing materials. Multi-principal-element materials are acknowledged as promising for broadening the applications owing to their tunable chemistries and structures in many fields, including as EM wave absorbers. Herein, we prepared a high-entropy MXene, (Mo 0.25 Cr 0.25 Ti 0.25 V 0.25) 3 C 2 T x. Furthermore, multi-principal-element (Mo 0.25 Cr 0.25 Ti 0.25 V 0.25) 3 C 2 T x /FeCoNi and (Mo 0.25 Cr 0.25 Ti 0.25 V 0.25) 3 C 2 T x /FeCoNiCu composites were synthesized via an in-situ hydrothermal process by combining high-entropy MXene with medium-entropy magnetic alloys. In contrast with the relatively narrow effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of (Mo 0.25 Cr 0.25 Ti 0.25 V 0.25) 3 C 2 T x MXene (2.56 GHz), (Mo 0.25 Cr 0.25 Ti 0.25 V 0.25) 3 C 2 T x /FeCoNi composite with 50 wt% MXene can attain an optimum EAB of 4.88 GHz with the matching thickness of only 1.73 mm. As for (Mo 0.25 Cr 0.25 Ti 0.25 V 0.25) 3 C 2 T x /FeCoNiCu composites, both the absorption efficiency and absorption bandwidth are significantly enhanced. The combination of multi-principal-component strategy and composite construction endows the composites with synergistic dielectric and magnetic losses, optimized impedance matching as well as enhanced attenuation ability, thus improving EM wave absorption performances. In addition, radar cross section (RCS) simulation confirms that the prepared composites have broad application prospects as radar stealth materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The TiB 2 fibers were prepared by a chloride-assisted carbothermic method accompanied with the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism. The influences of TiO 2 , B 2 O 3 , C 12 H 22 O 11 , and calcination temperature on the yield of TiB 2 fibers were investigated. In addition, the effects of TiB 2 fibers content on the electromagnetic (EM) parameters and microwave absorption (MA) properties of TiB 2 fibers/paraffin composite was studied in detail. The TiB 2 fibers/paraffin composite showed excellent microwave absorption performance, with an optimized reflection loss (RL) of −46.63 dB at 14 GHz and a thickness of 1.5 mm. Moreover, it exhibited a broad effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) (RL < −10 dB) of 3.9 GHz, ranging from 12 to 15.9 GHz. TiB 2 fibers exhibit promising potential as materials for high-temperature applications in the field of MA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent years, MXenes (2D transition metal carbides, carbon nitrides and nitrides) and its precursor MAX phases have been widely investigated in electrochemical research. In this research, we successfully prepared a core-shell structured compound——Ti 3 C 2 @Ti 2 SnC/CNFs (MXene@TSC/C) as an anode material for lithium ion battery via electrospinning method. Results showed that this type of compound has a specific capacity of 288.9 mAh·g−1 at the current density of 0.4 A g−1 after 300 cycles, accompany with a retention rate of capacity of 105.4% in the rate performance test. These performances were benefit from the core-shell structured CNFs and Ti 3 C 2 MXenes. This work supported a novel way to improve the electrochemical property of MXene and MAX phases, which was expected to further explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sol-gel method was employed for the synthesis of new High-entropy boride (HEB) powders, (Hf 0.2 Nb 0.2 Cr 0.2 Ta 0.2 Mo 0.2)B 2 , with nanoscale. The as-synthesized powders were obtained at a relatively low temperature of 1650 °C, and had small average particle size of 62.09 nm. X-ray diffraction confirmed that the (Hf 0.2 Nb 0.2 Cr 0.2 Ta 0.2 Mo 0.2)B 2 powders were hexagonal single-phase without any oxide impurities. In particular, electrochemical performance of the (Hf 0.2 Nb 0.2 Cr 0.2 Ta 0.2 Mo 0.2)B 2 powders with multiphase and high-entropy single phase were investigated using a three-electrode system. The improved electrochemical performance of the HEB powders is realized, with 27% higher in specific capacitance compared to the powders with multiphase. The HEB powders electrode exhibits a high capacitance retention of 97.03% after 5000 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composition and synthesis approach of high entropy ceramics have significant influences on their microstructures and mechanical properties. A new (Hf 0.2 Zr 0.2 Ta 0.2 V 0.2 Nb 0.2)B 2 high entropy diboride ceramic with excellent mechanical properties was successfully prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at a relatively "low temperature" (1800 °C) in this work. The effects of two mixing strategies, grinding and ball milling, on the solid solubility of the calcined powders were studied. Furthermore, the effects of these two mixing strategies on the phase and morphology of the calcined powders and the mechanical properties of the SPS sintered ceramics were analyzed. Experimental results indicated that, compared with a single solid solution phase within the high entropy boride powders obtained by ball milling, incomplete solid-solution presented in the high entropy boride powders obtained using grinding treatment. It promoted the solid-state diffusion and in-situ reaction of the diborides in the ceramics during the sintering process, thereby improving the densification and the hardness of the high entropy diboride ceramics. By grinding treatment, (Hf 0.2 Zr 0.2 Ta 0.2 V 0.2 Nb 0.2)B 2 high entropy ceramic with a relative density of 94% and a hardness of up to 25.34 ± 1.5 GPa at an indentation load of 9.8 N was obtained at 1800 °C. This work not only expanded the family of high-entropy diboride ceramics but also proved the advantage of grinding treatment in preparation of high entropy diboride ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their intriguing properties, boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) with large lateral size and high crystallinity have great promise for many applications. However, the quantitative exfoliation of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) into good quality BNNSs still remains a key challenge. Herein, we report a scalable method to exfoliate BNNSs in ionic liquids (ILs) via shear-assisted thermal treatment. Few-layer BNNSs with well-preserved structural integrity are successfully prepared by this method. The synergistic effects of strong physical adsorption and intercalation of IL molecules, chemical interactions between hydrogen fluoride (HF) and h-BN, activation energy provided by heat treatment, and shear forces generated by repetitive stirring effect contribute to the exfoliation of BNNSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Core-shell hierarchical structured composites have demonstrated great advantages in numerous energy storage devices. In particular, structured composites with rationally structural components and controllable morphology are the most effective in enhancing electrochemical properties. In this work, MnO 2 @NiCo 2 O 4 @Ti 3 SiC 2 /CC (carbon cloth) core-shell hierarchical structured composites were designed and successfully synthesized via electrospinning followed by a two-step hydrothermal reaction. The Ti 3 SiC 2 /CC nanofibers and core-shell nanoarrays were able to improve the specific capacitance and cycling stability. In the three-electrode system, the specific capacitance of MnO 2 @NiCo 2 O 4 @Ti 3 SiC 2 /CC was observed as 1938.2 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g, while the rate capability retention was observed as 81.7% between 1 and 10 A/g. Furthermore, a superior cycling stability was observed following 5000 cycles with a specific capacitance retention rate of 55.4%. Employing MnO 2 @NiCo 2 O 4 @Ti 3 SiC 2 /CC as the all solid-state supercapacitor positive electrode exhibited a high energy density of 58.0 W h/kg at the power density of 800 W/kg. Results demonstrate the potential of the MnO 2 @NiCo 2 O 4 @Ti 3 SiC 2 /CC as an electrode material with phenomenal electrochemical properties for supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs)/magnesium oxide (MgO) composites were prepared via hot pressing. Mechanical properties of MgO ceramics were improved obviously in virtue of adding BNNSs. The bending strength of the 1 wt% BNNSs/MgO composite increased by about 85% than that of the monolithic MgO. The fracture toughness increased by 34% with the addition of 1.5 wt% BNNSs. Microstructural analyzes have shown that the toughening mechanisms are combinations of the pull-out and bridging of BNNSs, crack deflection, and crack bypassing mechanisms. The addition of a small amount of BNNSs don't destroy the excellent dielectric properties of composites. The dielectric constant of the sample doped with 1 wt% BNNSs was about 9.5 in the whole X-band and the vast majority of P-band, and the loss tangent was less than 5 × 10−3 in 10–15.8 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Graphene oxide (GO) is one of the most important ceramic-toughening candidates due to its outstanding physical and chemical properties. In this paper, nacre-like alumina ceramics reinforced with GO have been prepared by freeze casting followed by hot pressing. The experimental results showed that a laminated structure with homogeneous distribution of GO was obtained in the composites. Microstructural analysis, relative densities, flexural strength and fracture toughness of the samples were investigated to reveal the effect of GO. Higher flexural strength and fracture toughness (~380 MPa and ~7.5 MPa m1/2, respectively) were achieved and the multiple length-scale toughening mechanisms of composites contributed to the improved mechanical properties. The results show that it is a promising method to enhance the mechanical properties of nacre-like alumina by the addition of GO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Bimetallic carbides with high activity and stability are promising potential materials for energy-storage application. However, the researches about Fe 2 MoC as electrode material on supercapacitors are comparatively weak, and the processing methods of Fe 2 MoC were also relatively few. Herein, a simple hydrothermal method, combining with carbothermic treatment at 900 °C, is explored to fabricate molybdenum iron carbon (Fe 2 MoC) successfully. Chitosan is not only a carbon source, but also a chelating agent to form bimetallic carbide rather than two separated monometallic carbide during the high-temperature treatment. Fe 2 MoC nanoparticles possessing large specific surface, high activity, stability and small resistance were the promising candidate for electrode material. Systematic electrochemical characterizations have verified the Fe 2 MoC (chitosan as carbon source) possesses a specific capacitance (97.7 F/g at a current density of 0.5 A/g), high rate capability (97.0% capacitance retention from 0.5 to 10 A/g) and cycling stability (83.9% capacitance retention after 1000 cycles) in 1 M KOH. In addition, it offers the energy density of 6.74 Wh/kg at a power density of 21 kW/kg. In view of the low-cost and excellent performance, Fe 2 MoC will hold great promise in energy-storage field for supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Well-dispersed boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) reinforced fused silica composites were successfully fabricated by surface modification assisted flocculation method. Surface modification can enhance the performance of flocculation process. BNNSs were homogeneously mixed with fused silica through the electrostatic interaction between hydroxylated BNNSs with negative charge and amino-modified fused silica with positive charge. The BNNSs can act as excellent nanofillers for enhancing the mechanical properties of fused silica composites. Approximately 74% and 48% increases in flexure strength and fracture toughness can be achieved for the 1.5 wt% BNNSs/fused silica composite, respectively. The toughening mechanisms were analyzed by microstructural characterization, especially for pull-out mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, BNNSs/Al 2 O 3 composite powder was prepared by in-situ reaction using borate nitridation method and BNNSs/Al 2 O 3 composite ceramics were prepared by hot-pressing sintering. This method achieves uniform mixing of BNNSs and Al 2 O 3 ceramic matrix and reduces the introduction of impurities in the processing process. The BNNSs/Al 2 O 3 composite ceramics have excellent bending strength (549.4 MPa), fracture toughness (5.18 MPa m1/2) and hardness (21.3 GPa). The high hardness of composite ceramics is attributed to high grain boundary strength and density. The reinforcing mechanisms of ceramics include BNNSs pull-out, BNNSs bridging, crack deflection as well as the transgranular fracture and intergranular fracture of Al 2 O 3 matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uniformly dispersed boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) reinforced silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4) composites were prepared by surface modification assisted flocculation combined with SPS sintering. In order to improve the dispersibility of the BNNSs in the composites, the liquid phase stripped BNNSs are surface functionalized by a two-step covalently modification. The amino-modified BNNSs (NH 2 -BNNSs) and Si 3 N 4 powders have opposite surface potential, mixed evenly by electrostatic interaction during flocculation. The results showed that mechanical properties of Si 3 N 4 composites were obviously enhanced by adding NH 2 -BNNSs. The fracture toughness and bending strength of Si 3 N 4 composites added 0.75 wt% NH 2 -BNNSs were increased by 34% and 28%, respectively, compared with monolithic Si 3 N 4. Toughening mechanisms are synergistic action of the torn, pull-out or bridging of BNNSs and crack deflection mechanisms with microstructural analyzes. The dielectric properties of the Si 3 N 4 ceramics are also improved after the addition of NH 2 -BNNSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) with relatively low dielectric constant and excellent mechanical strength were employed for fabrication of BNNSs/fused silica (FS) composites. High-temperature mechanical behavior and microstructural evolution of the composites were investigated. The addition of BNNSs can improve the mechanical properties of FS efficiently, and the reinforcement from BNNSs can be preserved during the high temperature service. The flexural strength of BNNSs/FS composites exhibited anomalous gains at certain high temperature range, which can be explained by the softening of FS matrix, the heal of defect tips, and the reinforcement from BNNSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to deal with the brittleness of ceramic materials is always one of the hot topics in the field of materials science. Design of layered ceramics with textured structure is one of the effective methods to improve their fracture toughness. The introduction of additives as interlayer phases can balance fracture toughness and flexural strength. However, the research about addition of interlayer phases and their mechanisms in the layered ceramics is still limited. In this work, nacre-like alumina ceramics were successfully fabricated by freeze casting followed by hot pressing. Silicon nitride was incorporated as the interlayer phase, and the effect on the mechanical properties of the nacre-like alumina was investigated. The addition of silicon nitride was beneficial to improvement of interlayer bonding between the alumina layers due to formation of sialon phase, leading to increase of flexural strength but decease of fracture toughness. When the content of silicon nitride was 3.3 wt%, flexural strength and fracture toughness of the sample was 468 MPa and 6.2 MPa m1/2, respectively. Compared with the sample without silicon nitride, the flexural strength was enhanced significantly. Additionally, both flexural strength and fracture toughness were improved as compared the sample without any additives. This work can provide available references for design and fabrication of high-strength and high-toughness ceramics by properly tuning the layer structure and interlayer phase composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructure and mechanical properties of (Hf 0.2 Nb 0.2 Ta 0.2 Ti 0.2 Zr 0.2)B 2 high-entropy boride (HEB) were first predicted by first-principles calculations combined with virtual crystal approximation (VCA). The results verified the suitability of VCA scheme in HEB studying. Besides, single-phase (Hf 0.2 Nb 0.2 Ta 0.2 Ti 0.2 Zr 0.2)B 2 ceramics were successfully fabricated using boro/carbothermal reduction (BCTR) method and subsequent spark plasma sintering (SPS); furthermore, the effects of different amounts of B 4 C on microstructure and mechanical properties were evaluated. Due to the addition of B 4 C and C, all samples formed single-phase solid solutions after SPS. When the excess amount of B 4 C increased to 5 wt%, the sample with fine grains exhibited superior comprehensive properties with the hardness of 18.1 ± 1.0 GPa, flexural strength of 376 ± 25 MPa, and fracture toughness of 4.70 ± 0.27 MPa m1/2. Nonetheless, 10 wt% excess of B 4 C coarsened the grains and decreased the strength of the ceramic. Moreover, the nanohardness (34.5–36.9 GPa) and Young's modulus (519–571 GPa) values with different B 4 C contents just showed a slight difference and were within ranges commonly observed in high-entropy diboride ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synergic effect of graphene oxide (GO) and silicon nitride whisker (Si 3 N 4 w) on the mechanical properties of nacre-like alumina was investigated in this study. A comprehensive analysis on the composites, including microstructure, relative densities, flexural strength and fracture toughness, was carried out. The experimental results showed that, GO promoted the fracture toughness of the composites, but reduced the flexural strength slightly; while adding a certain amount of Si 3 N 4 w improved both flexural strength and fracture toughness. With the incorporation of GO and Si 3 N 4 w, the highest flexural strength reached 520 MPa and the fracture toughness reached 9.59 MPa m1/2. Microstructure observation revealed that the enhanced mechanical properties were ascribed to the synergistic toughening mechanisms induced by the nacre-like structure of alumina, GO pull-out, Si 3 N 4 w pinning and pull-out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) have attracted increasing attention in the field of two-dimensional materials. In the paper, the BNNSs/alumina composites were fabricated by a flocculation method and hot pressing. It is found that the BNNSs were dispersed uniformly in the alumina matrix by the flocculation technique via pH adjustment. The experimental results showed that with the increasing BNNSs content, the density of the composites decreased. Compared with the monolithic alumina, bending strength of the composite with 1.0 wt% BNNSs was increased by 58.6%; while the fracture toughness was increased slightly. The addition of BNNSs changed the fracture pattern, refined the grains of composites and inhibited abnormal grain growth, which contributed to the improvement of mechanical properties of the composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facile, low-cost, and room-temperature UV-ozone (UVO) assisted solution process was employed to prepare zirconium oxide (ZrO x ) films with high dielectric properties. ZrO x films were deposited by a simple spin-coating of zirconium acetylacetonate (ZrAcAc) precursor in the environment-friendly solvent of ethanol. The smooth and amorphous ZrO x films by UVO exhibit average visible transmittances over 90% and energy bandgap of 5.7 eV. Low leakage current of 6.0 × 10 −8 A/cm 2 at 3 MV/cm and high dielectric constant of 13 (100 Hz) were achieved for ZrO x dielectrics at the nearly room temperature. Moreover, a fully room-temperature solution-processed oxide thin films transistor (TFT) with UVO assisted ZrO x dielectric films achieved acceptable performances, such as a low operating voltage of 3 V, high carrier mobility of 1.65 cm 2 V −1 s −1 , and on/off current ratio about 10 4 –10 5 . Our work indicates that simple room-temperature UVO is highly potential for low-temperature, solution-processed and high-performance oxide films and devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]