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Mg alloys are considered the most promising engineering materials because of their unique properties. However, the uncontrolled corrosion rate of these alloys limits their applications. Therefore, in this study, a micro-arc oxidation layer was used as a transition layer to “directly” grow a zinc-based metal-organic framework (MOF) composite coating on the surface of a Mg alloy (AZ91D). Herein, the two zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) coatings with different morphologies were separately prepared by homologous metal oxide induction and a one-step in-situ growth method. The superhydrophobic composite coating showed strong hydrophobicity and self-cleaning properties, which could prevent the penetration of water and corrosive ions (Cl−) into the surface of AZ91D. Electrochemical tests demonstrated that the super-hydrophobic composite coatings greatly enhanced the corrosion resistance of AZ91D, and the corrosion current density decreased from 10−5 to 10−9 A/cm2. These results indicate that the ZIF-8 coatings are beneficial for improving the hydrophobicity and enhancing the corrosion resistance of Mg alloys. Therefore, MOF composite coatings provide a new strategy that can be used to prepare multifunctional anticorrosion coatings on metal substrates.

In this work, a novel bamboo-like carbon nanotubes@Sn4P3@carbon (BLCNTs@Sn4P3@C) coaxial nanotubes are designed and prepared using a newly developed hydrothermal method followed by a phophidation process. The prepared Sn4P3 nanoparticles are uniformly coated and wrapped on the one-dimensional (1D) bamboo-like CNTs, which is covered by a uniform carbon layer to form a sandwich-like structure with Sn4P3 in between. The inner CNT and outer carbon can effectively maintain the structural stability and serve as the good electron conductors. Additionally, the outer carbon coating layer can effectively keep BLCNTs@Sn4P3@C nanotubes separate each other, preventing aggregation of Sn4P3 during charge/discharge when this material is used as anode for sodium ion batteries. The anode of BLCNTs@Sn4P3@C shows excellent reversible capacity and a long cycling of over 2000 cycles. The unique design of coaxial nanotubes is greatly beneficial to the electrochemical performance of Sn4P3 for sodium ion storage.

The present work illustrates a novel approach for the maskless and resistless fabrication of nanopatterned metal layers on Si substrates, based on the combination of nanomechanical surface modification techniques (such as nanoindentation and nanoscratching) and electrodeposition. Single crystal (1 0 0) n -doped Si substrates were first cleaned from native oxide. Nanoindentation and nanoscratching were then used to locally change the substrate microstructure and create regions with reduced electrical conductivity. The substrates were finally mounted as cathode electrodes in a three-electrode electrochemical cell to potentiostatically deposit a Ni layer. Electrodeposition was prevented in regions with modified microstructure, enabling the formation of a patterned Ni layer. The fabrication of several patterns including continuous Ni lines of 200 nm width and several microns length was obtained.

A modified technique for the growth of silicon carbide from silicon by the method of self-consistent substitution of atoms is proposed, which makes it possible to increase the achievable thickness of the formed silicon carbide layer by about an order of magnitude. The technique includes an additional step before the growth process: the surface of the silicon substrate is being saturated with vacancies by annealing in vacuum at T = 1350 ℃ for ~ 30 min. This leads to a change in the mechanism of mass transfer from the interstitial to the vacancy one when silicon atoms are being substituted by carbon atoms. As a result, not only the thickness of the silicon carbide layer increases, but also the separation of silicon carbide from the silicon substrate occurs if the thickness of the SiC layer surpasses 400 nm.

Hydroxyl terminated poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS-HT) is used as an electrolyte additive in electrolyte systems containing 1 M LiPF6 in EC:DMC (ratios 1:9; 3:7; 4:6 and 1:1 v/v) to enhance the cycle performance of lithium-ion batteries. Adding a small amount of PDMS-HT to the standard LIB electrolyte leads to improved specific capacity as well as improved capacity retention over prolonged cycles. There is also a slight increase in Li+ ion conductivity when PDMS-HT is added. Also, the PDMS-HT additive allows the formation of a more stable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer that enables the LIB cells to be cycled for longer cycles with minimal capacity fading. This combination of improved ionic conductivity and stable SEI layer formation due to the PDMS-HT additive, makes it an excellent candidate for an electrolyte additive for lithium ion batteries.

Ruthner powder is a by-product of the steel hot-rolling process. This study introduces a new application area for this waste material by investigating its activity for the oxygen evolution reaction. Ruthner powder with the α-Fe2O3 phase structure was deposited on the carbon paper substrates using the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) process to fabricate the electrodes. The effect of the concentration of cetrimonium bromide ([CTAB]) and the Ruthner powder ([RP]) in the EPD cell on the morphology and activity of the electrodes were investigated by SEM, LSV, and EIS techniques. The results revealed the formation of a homogenous layer on the carbon paper when [CTAB] and [RP] were respectively 0.4 g.l−1 and 0.2 g.l−1. The obtained electrode showed the best activity among all fabricated electrodes. In particular, its onset overpotential and overpotential at a current density of 10 mA.cm−2 were respectively 85% and 25% lower than those of bare carbon electrodes.

Silicon-based nanosheets (SNS) were synthesised via a mild (60 °C) and time-saving (8 h) modified topochemical method. Then, Cu3(BTC)2 and SNS@Cu3(BTC)2 were successfully synthesised by microwave irradiation, and their characteristics and hydrogen storage performance were analysed by multiple techniques. The accordion-like SNS exhibited void spaces, a unique low buckled structure, and ultrathin, almost transparent, loosely stacked layers with a high specific surface area (362 m2/g). After in-situ synthesis with Cu3(BTC)2, the SNS compound achieved a high specific surface area (1526 m2/g), outstanding hydrogen storage performance (5.6 wt%), and a desirable hydrogen diffusion coefficient (10−7). Thus, SNS doping improved the hydrogen storage performance of Cu3(BTC)2 by 64% through electron transfer reactions with Cu enabled by the unique composite nanostructure of SNS@Cu3(BTC)2. This study presents a promising method of synthesising SNS and porous composite materials for hydrogen storage.

In this work, the microstructure of titania coating fabricated on the surface of hydrostatically extruded titanium grade 4 with the use of the micro-arc oxidation method was studied. The surface topography and microstructure investigations performed with atomic force microscopy and scanning and transmission electron microscopy revealed that, by using an Na2HPO4 electrolyte, a well-adherent porous coating is produced on the top surface and side walls of the extruded rod. The distribution of chemical elements was analyzed by using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The chemical elements dissolved in the electrolyte i.e. (Na, P and O) incorporated into the coating. Sodium locates preferentially in the outer part of the coating, while phosphorus and oxygen are distributed throughout the whole coating. The most relevant finding shows that a grain refinement caused by a hydrostatic extrusion provoked an increase in density of high-angle grain boundaries (HAGB), which in turn secured the formation of a continuous amorphous layer close to the substrate. The presence of this layer compensates for the effect of anisotropic substrate, producing a comparable and homogenous microstructure with a large number of micropores.

There is keen interest in using Ti alloys as lightweight structural materials for aerospace and automotive industries. However, a long-standing problem for these materials is their poor oxidation resistance. Herein, we designed and fabricated a Ti5Si3 reinforced Ti-4(wt.%)Mo composite with two-scale network architecture by low energy milling and spark plasma sintering. It displays superior oxidation resistance at 800°C owing to the in-situ formation of a multi-component surface layer. This oxide layer has a dense grain size gradient structure that consists of an outer TiO2 layer and an inner SiO2-padding-TiO2 layer, which has remarkable oxidation resistance and thermal stability. Furthermore, it was revealed that the hitherto unknown interaction between Ti5Si3 reinforcement and nitrogen during oxidation would contribute to the formation of a TiN nano-twin interface layer, which accommodates the thermal mismatch strain between the oxide layer and matrix. This, along with high adhesion, confers excellent thermal cycling life with no cracking or spallation during long-term oxidation. In this regard, the secure operating temperature of this new composite can be increased to 800°C, which provides a design pathway for a new family of Ti matrix composites for high-temperature applications.

Aqueous zinc anodes have attracted the attention of many researchers owing to their high safety, low cost, and high theoretical specific capacity. However, its practical application is severely limited by the dendrite growth on zinc anode. Herein, we develop an intrinsically zincophobic barium-titanate protective layer with a porous structure to suppress the zinc dendrite formation by homogenizing the ion distribution on the anode surface, increasing the nucleation sites, and limiting the irregular zinc growth. Based on these synergistic effects, the coated zinc anode can exhibit long cycle life (840 h at 0.5 mA/cm2 for 0.5 mAh/cm2) and low voltage hysteresis (36 mV). This work can provide a feasible direction for the design of intrinsically zincophobic coating materials to uniformize the zinc stripping and plating.

With the ever-growing application of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), their fast-charging technology has attracted great interests of scientists. However, growth of lithium dendrites during fast charge of the batteries with high energy density may pose great threats to the operation and cause serious safety issues. Herein, we prepared a functional separator with an ultra-thin (20 nm) layer of Au nanoparticles deposited by evaporation coating method which could regulate growth direction and morphology of the lithium dendrites, owing to nearly zero overpotential of lithium meal nucleation on lithiated Au. Once the Li dendrites are about to form on the graphite anode during fast charging (or lithiation), they plate predominantly on the Au deposited separator rather than on the graphite. Such selective deposition does not compromise the electrochemical performance of batteries under normal cycling. More importantly, it enables the better cycling stability of batteries at fast charge condition. The Li/Graphite cells with Au nanoparticles coated separator could cycle stably with a high areal capacity retention of 90.5% over 95 cycles at the current density of 0.72 mA cm−2. The functional separator provides an effective strategy to adjust lithium plating position at fast charge to ensure high safety of batteries without a compromise on the energy density of LIBs.

Anode-free batteries (AFBs) have the potential of ultra-high energy density, but lithium dendrite has largely hindered their practical applications. In this work, an in-situ grown gradient solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer on pre-designed micro-hole-grid (MHG) Cu reservoir is proposed to guide uniform lithium deposition and propagation, by which the electrode interface is stabilized and the surface stress is considerably decreased endowing the AFBs with outstanding areal capacity and cycling performance. The gradient SEI is confirmed by cryogenic-transmission electron microscopy (Cryo-TEM) and XPS to be composed of (1) an elastic organic top layer to hinder non-Li species migration and withstand volume fluctuation, and (2) a lithophilic LiCl-rich bottom layer to render the rapid lithium supply. Operando electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) shows a dynamic Li deposition, unambiguously demonstrating a dendrites-free behavior. As a result, the full cells of a gradient SEI modified Cu reservoir paired with a LiFePO4 cathode exhibit high capacity of 95 mAh g–1 and Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 99.5% after 100 cycles, much better than the control cells with planar current collectors (1.6 mAh g–1, 2.6%). These findings are enlightening in engineering better interphases for high energy and safe rechargeable lithium metal batteries.

Layered Ni-rich oxide is a promising cathode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) of high energy density, yet its poor electrochemical stability induced by electrode-electrolyte interfacial degradation has still needed to be addressed. Surface coating is one of the powerful techniques to tackle this issue, nevertheless, it has been extensively used on particle but not electrode regarding a larger area of protection. Herein, we have covered a nano-scaled layer of lithium phosphorus oxynitride (LiPON) on the electrode level of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM) surface and found lower impedance, longer cycle life, and better safety for treated battery. Most notably, such an NCM-LiPON based 1.3 Ah pouch cell delivers an energy density of 364.4 Wh kg−1 (based on positive and negative materials), along with the retention of 80.0% over 745 cycles at 0.5 C-rate, which is 1.3 times longer than the bare one. This results from modification of both superficial cathode-electrolyte interphase (CEI) and structure stabilization of general particle surface, therefore, role of conformal coating upon electrode surface should be highlighted.

The densification process, microstructure evolution, and final optical quality of the transparent MgO⋅nAl2O3 (n = 1.1 and 1.5) ceramics pre-sintered in air and under vacuum were investigated for the effects of pre-sintering atmosphere. The samples pre-sintered in air exhibited uniform microstructure, which was easier to obtain high optical quality at lower HIP temperatures. However, non-cubic precipitates appeared in the samples with a high Al2O3/MgO ratio after HIP treatment, resulting in the deterioration of transmittance. For the samples pre-sintered under vacuum, a large-grain layer was formed on the sample surface due to accelerated MgO volatilization. However, non-cubic precipitates did not appear due to the generation of oxygen vacancies. The mechanisms of formation of the large-grain layer, non-cubic precipitates were discussed from the viewpoint of MgO vaporization, Al2O3/MgO molar ratio, and oxygen vacancy.

All-solid-state lithium batteries (ASSLBs) employ high-capacity lithium (Li) metal as the anode and exhibit a higher energy density than that of conventional Li-ion batteries. However, the problems arose from the Li dendrites induce severely parasitic reaction between Li and electrolytes, leading to low coulombic efficiency (CE) and poor cyclic stability. Herein, a poly(vinylidene-co-hexafluoropropylene)/lithium nitrate (PVDF-HFP/LiNO3, marked as PFH/LN) artificial layer is employed to modified Li and achieve high CE ASSLBs with polyethylene oxide-Li6.4La3Zr1.4Ta0.6O12 (PEO-LLZTO) electrolyte. LN serves as a functionalized additive to facilitate the formation of a robust solid electrolyte interface (SEI), efficiently suppressing the formation of Li dendrites. Additionally, LN as a “binder” effectively links PFH with Li, providing good contact. PFH possesses high mechanical strength and moderate flexibility, which can not only physically inhibit the growth of Li dendrites, but also maintain the structural integrity of artificial layer over long-term cycles. Finally, Li/Li cells with such artificial layer demonstrate ultralong cycle life of 1800 and 1000 h under 0.2 and 0.4 mA cm–1, respectively. Furtherly, high CE can be achieved when applied in both LiFePO4 full cells and Li-Cu half cells. This work offers a facile and efficient strategy to greatly promote CE in PEO-based ASSLBs.

This study has been initiated to form a silver (Ag)-incorporated titanium oxide (TiO2) outermost layer over a medical-grade 316L stainless steel by subsequent applications of cold spray (CS) and thermal oxidation (TO) processes. X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy examination and Raman analysis revealed that TO at 600°C for 60 h in the air formed a 3 μm thick exterior layer composed of the rutile form of titanium oxide and metallic silver over the CS coating fabricated by depositing a mixture of 87 wt.% titanium (Ti), 8 wt.% aluminium (Al) and 5 wt.% silver powder. This exterior layer exhibited superior bioactivity and wear resistance along with a sufficient antibacterial activity, which can further be improved by adjusting the distribution and/or content of silver in its structure.

Lithium (Li) metal is an attractive anode material with high capacity (3860 mAh g−1) and low potential (−3.04 V vs. standard hydrogen electrode) that shows highly promising for applications requiring high energy density. However, the low electrochemical potential of Li metal makes it extremely reactive and inevitably forming a native oxidized layer in the ambient environment and repeatedly being consumed when exposed to liquid electrolytes. It is therefore beneficial to replace the poorly controlled native passivation layer with a tailored artificial SEI to improve interface management between Li and electrolyte and enhance the stability of Li metal battery. Here, we use an integrated glovebox-atomic layer deposition (ALD)- X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) setup to in-situ investigating the pristine Li surface and the surface composition after Ar, H2, O2, N2 and NH3 plasma treatment processes. We find that the pristine Li foil is naturally being covered with a native oxidized layer, which is mainly composed of LiOH, Li2O and Li2CO3. These investigated plasmas can efficiently remove the oxidized layer from the Li metal surface, in which metallic Li surface is obtained after Ar or H2 plasma treatments, where Ar plasma is more efficient. While O2 plasma treatment produces a Li2O layer, and N2 or NH3 plasma treatment leads to a Li3N (including a certain amount of LiON) layer on the Li surface. When employing the representative metallic Li (by Ar plasma treatment), Li2O layer coated Li (by O2 plasma treatment) and Li3N layer coated Li (by N2 plasma treatment) foils as electrodes in symmetric Li metal batteries, the Li3N coated Li electrode exhibits much higher stability than that of metallic and Li2O layer coated Li foils. Improved electrochemical performance has also been achieved in LiMn2O4 (LMO)||Li full cells using Li anode with Li3N protective coating layer. Our work reveals the detailed process of surface engineering of Li metal anodes with plasma treatments by in vacuo XPS, which may also be extended to other gas-treatment or plasma-treatment for stabilization of high energy density Li metal anodes and other metal-based anodes.

In this study, the effect of the addition of vanadium (V) on the densification, microstructure, and wear behavior of borosintered powder metallurgy steels was investigated. Ball-milled powders containing 0, 1, 5 and 10 wt.% V were cold-compacted under 200 MPa pressure and then subjected to borosintering at 1100°C for 2 h in ambient air. The characterization of the boride layers formed after borosintering was conducted by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, microhardness tests, nanoindentation, surface roughness measurements, and ball-on-disk-type wear tests. Wear testing was carried out under 10 N load for a total sliding distance of 250 m in ambient air and in a 3.5% sodium chloride (NaCl) solution. While the thickness of the boride layer decreased with increasing V content, its hardness and modulus of elasticity also increased, owing to the formation of additional vanadium boride (VB) and vanadium carbide (V2C) phases. Wear resistance increased with increasing V content, and the samples tested in 3.5% NaCl displayed lower coefficients of friction and higher wear resistance compared to the samples tested in ambient air. Reduced wear in 3.5% NaCl was attributed to the cooling and lubricant effects provided by the 3.5% NaCl solution.

Metallic lithium (Li) is known to consider a critical role in next-generation rechargeable batteries. However, the uncontrolled growth of Li dendrites result in low Coulombic efficiency and safety issues in applications of Li metal batteries. High capacity and stable dense deposits of lithium metal are of great significant for high energy density battery. Herein, we propose a suitable degree of substitution for Carboxymethylcellulose Lithium (CMC-Li) as an artificial SEI layer, which has a high ionic transference number (0.66), high Young's modulus (24.6 GPa) and good lithiophilicity, then it can adapt to the volume changes of the lithium anode, enable superdense lithium deposits on Cu collector. The metallic lithium anode with CMC-Li films (CMC-Li@Li) delivers excellent cycling performance in the symmetrical cell at a large current density of 10 mA cm−2 and an areal capacity of 10 mAh cm−2 for almost 300 h. Moreover, the CMC-Li@Li||NCM613 full cell (N/P=2) delivers an initial specific capacity of 165 mAh g−1 with a high retention of 80% after 200 cycles.

To enhance the corrosion resistance of an aluminum (Al) 6082 alloy, our research used electroless deposition to coat a trio sequence of Zn-Cu-Sn layers: zinc, copper and tin. To isolate the reactions and micro-mechanisms in the tin coating, the Zn-Cu layering parameters of time, temperature, and bath concentration were held constant while varying those during the Sn electroless deposition. Microstructures and layer thicknesses of the coated samples were studied using both optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Local chemical compositions were analyzed using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Tin deposition on the Cu layer starts with a displacement reaction formed by the nucleation of discontinuous bulges that gradually grow into inhomogeneous crowns. During Sn deposition, surface Cu consumption and bath composition varies hindering access to displacement reactants, thus curtailing the significance of displacement. However, deposition continues via reduction and disproportionation directly tied to the solution. Peak layer quality was deposited at a temperature of 45 oC with a 1.5 times concentration for 1200 sec. Anti-corrosion behavior of the Sn-coated sample was examined by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) to detect notable enhancement.

Lithium (Li) metal batteries have received extensive research focusing on the dendrite growth issue on account of the high chemical activity of Li anode. While, thermal safety, as one of the important security concerns facing the further application, gets little attention. Here, the high-performance polyimide film is successfully developed to enhance the safety margin based on the excellent mechanical strength and heat resistance corresponding to the traditional separator. And, the polyimide film with the MoS2 coating made by spraying method as the composite separator can not only improve the wettability to the electrolyte, but also in-situ form an artificial layer with the low nucleation barrier for the Li ions. When used in both the coin cell and the pouch cell, all achieve the outstanding cycling stability and the coulombic efficiency. Specially, the in-situ Li ions nucleation behaviors are investigated by optical microscopy in the capillary cell. The electric field intensity at the Li anode surface is also simulated by COMSOL Multiphysics to further elucidate the effect of the coating.

Perovskite functional ceramics have been widely applied for thermal protection owing to their unique physical properties. However, formation of oxygen vacancies under external stimuli usually limits their performance in practical applications. Therefore, the mechanism of the effect of oxygen vacancy on the layer structure of perovskite La0.9Sr0.1TiO3+δ was investigated by experiments and first-principles simulations. The experimental results showed that the lattice distortion occurred in oxygen-deficient environment to give a longer c-axis, along with a significant adjustment in the modes of A/B–O bond vibration, resulting in lower reflectivity. Advanced transmission electron microscopy studies revealed that oxygen vacancies induced localized atomic rearrangements via [TiO6] layer movements to adapt to the lattice distortion. This eventually restructured a part of the layer interfaces by expanding the overlapping projection of atoms in the c-axial direction. The specific transformation process was described as a compendious process, while geometric phase analysis effectively clarified how oxygen vacancies can inhibit reflectivity on the layer structure. Thus, this study provides effective approaches for researching the effects of oxygen vacancy on the physical properties of orthorhombic layer perovskite structures, which may facilitate the development of perovskite-based functional devices.

Metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) thin films are promising sensing layer for integration in gas sensor devices for detecting toxic and harmful molecules. Herein, tungsten oxide (WO3) thin films are deposited on interdigital electrodes by vacuum thermal evaporation to realize batch fabrication of high-performance gas sensors. Subsequent annealing at different temperatures allows for regulation of the concentration of oxygen vacancies in the WO3 films, which has been found to exert a great influence on the sensor properties. In addition, the surface structure of WO3 films is also highly dependent on the annealing temperature. Gas sensing investigations show that the WO3 sensor annealed at 500 °C possesses the best sensing properties for detecting triethylamine (TEA) including very high response, good selectivity, fast response, and low limit of detection (63 ppb). The excellent sensor performances are attributed to the enhanced adsorption of oxidative oxygen species due to the presence of abundant oxygen vacancies. The scalable fabrication of WO3 thin film gas sensors and the oxygen vacancy engineering strategy proposed herein may shed some light to developing high performance environmental sensors.

Carbonaceous deposits formed in fuel-film cooling act as a thermally insulating barrier, but the mechanisms for their formation at the high enthalpies and pressures of rocket engines are not well studied. Various spectroscopic techniques were used to investigate the microscopic chemical and physical structure of carbonaceous deposits formed in a small-scale H2O2-kerosene rocket combustor. Where possible, spectra were measured as a function of axial distance from the fuel-film injector to identify changes in deposit structure as the fuel-film boundary layer vaporized and mixed with the hot core flow. Two carbon layers were found, a tenacious dense layer beneath a porous soot layer. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry was used to determine condensable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations in the dense and soot deposits. Raman spectroscopy measured planar coherence length and other indicators of structural order while x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy determined carbon hybridization, surface oxidation, and deposit impurities. All three of these spectroscopy techniques showed independent signs of the dense layer forming via heterogeneous condensation of heavy PAHs, whereas the soot layer deposited via thermophoresis.

Surface quality and dimensional accuracy of titanium components produced by investment casting are limited by the conventional dip-coating procedure of the lost-wax process. This study presents a novel approach with spraying and centrifugation as alternative coating technologies. Aiming at improved surface quality, calcium zirconate slips and coatings based on alginate gelation were developed. Scanning electron microscopy and computed tomography revealed a homogeneous spray coating. The alginate-based spray coating was used for producing functionally graded calcium zirconate shell molds. These molds exhibited a fine-grained microstructure with pores in the lower μ m range. Applying an intermediate layer between the fine-grained spray coating and the coarse-grained dip-coating layers as well as the alternating application of dip-coating layers prevented cracking. The characteristic microstructure showed a bridging zone and a homogeneous distribution of coarse grain across the diameter. Ti6Al4V cast parts with no presence of an alpha case layer were obtained.

The CaCO3 coated corundum aggregates were prepared by impregnating tabular corundum aggregates with sizes of 1–5 mm in calcium hydrogen citrate solution and heat treatment at 430 °C, which were also used in Al2O3–MgO castables. The effects of Ca2+/Cit3− mole ratio in precursor solution on coating characteristics of CaCO3 coated corundum aggregates as well as the effects of CaCO3 coatings on properties and microstructure of castables were investigated. It is found that the thickness and continuity of CaCO3 coating is increased and the size of CaCO3 particles in coatings decreases first and then increases as Ca2+/Cit3− mole ratio is decreased. High-temperature properties of castables are improved by in-situ formation of calcium hexaaluminate (CA6) layer at aggregate/matrix interface after sintering at 1600 °C. The Al2O3–MgO castables exhibit the best thermal shock resistance when Ca2+/Cit3− mole ratio is 1/3. It is contributed by deflections of cracks and consumptions of fracture energy in a continuous platelet CA6 layer with thickness of 10 μm, which is in-situ formed through reaction between Al2O3 and CaO derived from CaCO3 coatings. The present investigation provides a novel approach to enhance thermal shock resistance of the Al2O3–MgO castables.

Binary transition metal oxides, especially vanadate metal oxides, are highly desirable for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) anode materials due to their low-budget and high theoretical lithium storage capacity. However, low conductivity and poor cycle stability caused by volume changes during charge and discharge limit their grid-scale applications. Herein, a novel spinel MnV2O4 double-layer hollow sandwich nanosheets enclosed in N-doped porous carbon layer (MnV2O4/NC) was efficiently synthesized in 5 min by microwave-assisted and in-situ pyrolysis the coated polydopamine. MnV2O4/NC shows the superior performance as anode for LIBs with a specific capacities of 760 mA h g−1 at 1000 mA g−1 and outstanding of cycling stability with a specific capacities of 525.5 mA h g−1 after 1000 cycles even at 5000 mA g−1, respectively, which due to its unique double-layer hollow sandwich microstructure, mixed lithium storage mechanism and in-situ coating of nitrogen-doped carbon layer.

Nickel oxyhydroxide (NiOOH) is regarded as one of the promising cocatalysts to enhance the catalytic performance of photoanodes but suffers from serious interfacial charge-carrier recombination at the photoanode||NiOOH interface. In this work, surface-engineered BiVO4 photoanodes are fabricated by sandwiching an oxygen vacancy (Ovac) interlayer between BiVO4 and NiOOH. The surface Ovac interlayer is introduced on BiVO4 by a chemical reduction treatment using a mild reducing agent, sodium hypophosphite. The induced Ovac can alleviate the interfacial charge-carrier recombination at the BiVO4||NiOOH junction, resulting in efficient charge separation and transfer efficiencies, while an outer NiOOH layer is coated to prevent the Ovac layer from degradation. As a result, the as-prepared NiOOH-P-BiVO4 photoanode exhibits a high photocurrent density of 3.2 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE under the irradiation of 100 mW/cm2 AM 1.5G simulated sunlight, in comparison to those of bare BiVO4, P-BiVO4, and NiOOH-BiVO4 photoanodes (1.1, 2.1 and 2.3 mA cm−2, respectively). In addition to the superior photoactivity, the 5-h amperometric measurements illustrate improved stability of the surface-engineered NiOOH-P-BiVO4 photoanode. Our work showcases the feasibility of combining cocatalysts with Ovac, for improved photoactivity and stability of photoelectrodes.

The development of solid-state lithium-metal batteries (SSLMBs) is severely constrained by the poor physical and (electro)chemical stability of the interface between solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) and lithium (Li) metal anode. Here, a flexible rGO film with uniformly distributed ZnO is in situ constructed at the interface between NASICON-type Li1.5Al0.5Ge0.5(PO4)3 (LAGP) and Li metal anode. Such a buffer layer realizes a good interfacial contact, and prevents the side reaction between the Li metal anode and LAGP. As a result, the symmetric cells with the designed structure present a high critical current density of 3.0 mA cm˗2 and stable cycling for over 800 h at 0.15 mA cm˗2. In addition, LiFePO4 (LFP)/Li full batteries deliver excellent capacity retention and long cycling performance.

The surface layer on pure TA2 titanium was manufactured using boriding and aluminizing two-step methods. High-temperature oxidation experiments were carried out at 600 °C, 700 °C, and 800 °C for 100 h. Microstructure characterization of the surface layer was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). After 1050°C-4 h boriding and 1050°C-4 h aluminizing, the composite layer from the surface to the matrix consists of a TiB2 layer, TiB whisker + Al3Ti layer, Al3Ti layer, and diffusion layer. The Al3Ti layer could effectively protect the matrix, and thus, the borided and aluminized pure titanium shows excellent high-temperature oxidation resistance.

In advantages of their high capacity and high operating voltage, the nickel (Ni)-rich layered transition metal oxide cathode materials (LiNixCoyMnzO2 (NCMxyz, x + y + z = 1, x ≥ 0.5) and LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA)) have been arousing great interests to improve the energy density of LIBs. However, these Ni-rich cathodes always suffer from rapid capacity degradation induced by unstable cathode-electrolyte interphase (CEI) layer and destruction of bulk crystal structure. Therefore, varied electrode/electrolyte interface engineering strategies (such as electrolyte formulation, material coating or doping) have been developed for Ni-rich cathodes protection. Among them, developing electrolyte functional additives has been proven to be a simple, effective, and economic method to improve the cycling stability of Ni-rich cathodes. This is achieved by removing unfavorable species (such as HF, H2O) or constructing a stable and protective CEI layer against unfavorable reactive species (such as HF, H2O). Herein, this review mainly introduces the varied classes of electrolyte functional additives and their working mechanism for interfacial engineering of Ni-rich cathodes. Especially, key favorable species for stabilizing CEI layer are summarized. More importantly, we put forward perspectives for screening and customizing ideal functional additives for high performance Ni-rich cathodes based LIBs.

A thin intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide ((i) a-SiCx:H) layer with a wide band gap attracts attention as an alternative passivation layer instead of intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon ((i) a-Si:H) for heterojunction photovoltaic applications. The optical band gap of (i) a-SiCx:H can be widened up to 2.24eV. An increase in the optical band gap makes this layer appropriate as the window material by reducing the parasitic absorption. However, the deposition regime should be investigated to understand the incorporation of carbon. The influence of several deposition parameters such as precursor gasses flow rates and plasma power density on the (i) a-SiCx:H layers were investigated in optical, electrical, and elemental aspects. Relatively high interface trap densities were detected related to carbon piling up at the interface. An increase in the amount of C in the interface affected the passivation quality and fixed charge density of the layer. The ratio of secondary ion intensities measured by time of flight-secondary ion mass spectroscopy presents general hydrogen filling of possible dangling bonds and the bonding preferentiality between the silicon or carbon atoms. The passivation quality of the (i) a-SiCx:H layer partially enhanced by stack layer deposition of (i) a-Si:H/(i) a-SiCx:H resulting effective lifetime above 100 μs.

Ti(C,N)-based cermets with a surface graded layer were obtained by nitrogen sintering under different nitrogen pressures at temperatures from 1300 to 1400 °C. The influence of nitrogen pressure in the range of 50–250 mbar on microstructure and mechanical performance of cermets were then systematically investigated and it was found that coarser solid solution grains formed at the surface of the cemets after sintering the Ti-rich and Ni-poor graded layer. Furthermore, tending with increasing nitrogen pressure, the overall grain sizes and surface region of the cermets became finer, and the surface graded layer thickness increased (the thickest graded layer was 194 μm). The formation of the graded layer and the increase in the thickness of the graded layer were all attributed to the high nitrogen activity on the surface during sintering. Moreover, nitrogen sintering allowed the Ti(C,N)-based cermets to increase the surface hardness of the cermets with a lesser reduction in strength. The maximum surface hardness and TRS (Transverse Rupture Strength) value of cermets after nitrogen sintering was about 14 GPa following a nitrogen pressure of 150 mbar, and 2267 MPa following nitrogen pressure of 100 mbar.

The optimization of thickness and surface roughness of the TiO2 layer as an efficient electron transporting layer (ETL) plays a significant role on the performance improvement of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In the present investigation, TiO2 pastes synthesized with various concentrations under hydrothermal conditions were utilized to deposit the TiO2 films of tunable porosities as the ETLs of PSCs. Also, the PSCs were fabricated with a structure of FTO/block-TiO2 (b-TiO2)/m-TiO2/CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3)/CuInS2 (CIS)/carbon as a low-cost architecture. Moreover, the effect of the TiO2 paste concentration was studied on the performances of PSCs under fully ambient conditions. The optimal TiO2 layer was constructed with 20 wt% TiO2 paste concentration, which resulted in the formation of a hole‐free, smooth, and compact ETL layer. The champion perovskite solar cell fabricated with the 20 wt% TiO2 paste concentration showed the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 13.09% (JSC = 20.80 mA cm−2, VOC = 0.98 V and FF = 0.64) but the champion PSC device made with the 10 wt% TiO2 paste exhibited the lowest PCE = 8.05% (JSC = 19.83 mA cm−2, VOC = 0.91 V and FF = 0.45). These results illustrated that the optimal 20 wt% TiO2 paste caused ∼163% enhancement in the PCE of the device. Consequently, it could be suggested for application in fabrication of cost-effective and large scale PSCs.

Thick cladding of copper is required for diverse applications, however, only a handful of processes can be used for bulk material cladding. This study has been undertaken to suggest a better alternative method for cladding thick layer of copper on aluminium substrate. Cladding of 3 mm thick layer of copper on 6 mm thick aluminium substrate has been successfully performed using friction stir welding process (FSW). Detailed microscopic study, XRD and microhardness evaluation of the samples proved the quality of clad layer. Interestingly even after three FSW passes no substrate material could reach near the top of clad layer.

The effects of three antioxidants (AlB2–Al–Al2O3 composite powders and Al and Al/Si composite powders) on the oxidation resistance of low-carbon magnesia-carbon refractories were investigated. First, thermodynamic calculations were performed to analyze the product compositions of the oxidized zone of low-carbon magnesia-carbon refractories with three antioxidants. Then, the oxidation zones were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy spectrum analysis. The results show that the thickness of the decarburization layer of low-carbon magnesia-carbon bricks with Al powder, Al/Si composite powders and AlB2–Al–Al2O3 composite powders is 28.33 mm, 25.34 mm and 12.00 mm, respectively, which implies that the AlB2–Al–Al2O3 composite powder was the most effective antioxidant. The reason is that the Mg3B2O6 phase is formed in the products of the oxidation zone, and its melting point is 1360 °C. Therefore, it melts at 1400 °C and shows excellent oxidation resistance by filling the pores and blocking the oxygen channel. The products of the oxidation zone with Al and Al/Si composite powders were MgAl2O4 and Mg2SiO4 with high melting points, and that of the oxidation zone with Al powder was MgAl2O4. These products are still solid particles at 1400 C. The oxygen channel has a weaker blocking effect than the melt, so the oxidation resistance of Al/Si composite powders and Al powders is weaker.

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) because of its high theoretical capacity. But its rapid capacity decay due to poor conductivity, structure pulverization, and polysulfide dissolution presents challenges for practical applications. In this work, an innovative cationic surfactant templating route to one-step synthesizing epitaxial few-layer MoS2@N-doped carbon (EF-MoS2@NC) core–shell hollow structures is developed via an electrostatic interaction S+X−I+ pathway. Compared with general hard-template strategies, the soft-template method proposed here is simplified, avoiding the cumbersome coating and template removal process. The internal hollow space and outer NC protective layer can accommodate the large volumetric expansion of MoS2 and preserve the structural integrity of the electrode preventing polysulphide dissolution. When evaluated as anode materials for LIBs, the core–shell EF-MoS2@NC hollow spheres achieve a high discharge capacity of 928 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.1 A g−1. More importantly, a reversible capacity of 829 mA h g−1 could be obtained at 1.0 A g−1 after 1000 cycles, which demonstrates good stability.

Introducing artificial interface layer is a cost-effective strategy to inhibit parasitic reactions and dendritic growth on the zinc anode. However, boosting cation transfer while blocking anions and active water molecules through the interface layer is still a formidable challenge at current stage. Here, a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) based multi-functional interface layer is fabricated to prevent active water molecules reaching the deposition sites while increasing the cation concentration at the interface based on the coordinative self-concentration mechanism and electrokinetic effects, thus effectively inhibiting parasitic reactions and dendrite growth. Specifically, a super-saturated interfacial electrolyte layer is formed in the ZIF-11 layer because a large amount of water and large solvated molecule are removed in advance, eventually inhibiting the generation of hydrogen and basic zinc sulfate. Simultaneously, a thin electric double layer on the wall of the channel inside the interface layer can be formed due to the intense adsorption of zinc ions by the abundant zincophilic nitrogen-containing functional groups in the interface layer, leading to smooth electrokinetic surface conduction and stable deionization shock in the channel. These electrokinetic effects will jointly guide the distribution of zinc ions, thereby forming a uniform shock electrodeposition on the anode surface. Accordingly, the ZIF-11@Cu-Zn based symmetric cells can operate stably for 1800 hours, nearly 18 times longer than that of Cu-Zn based symmetric cells at 0.5 mA cm−2. And the ZIF-11@Cu-Zn based aqueous Zn-ions hybrid supercapacitors (AC||ZIF-11@Cu-Zn ZHCs) exhibit a reversible capacity of 58.6 mA h g−1 and the capacity retention is about 96.23 % after 5000 cycles. Moreover, AC||ZIF-11@Cu-Zn ZHCs can still run effectively for 5,000 cycles even paired with the cathode with commercial-grade loading of 23.3 mg cm−2.

The corrosion resistance of the Cathode Electro-deposition (CED) production line’s conveyor chain can be improved by performing electroplating with zinc metal on the alloy steel. The zinc coating over the steel conveyor chain link is better suitable for the Pre-treatment (PT) and CED line. The PT and CED line is naturally both acidic and high temperature at the same time and both enhance the rate of corrosion over any material. The process of zinc coating over the alloy steel used in the conveyor chain link enhances the rust inhibition property without altering the hardness. This is made possible through the sub-micron thickness addition of zinc over the base metal. Corrosion test was conducted in 3.5% NaCl solution according to ASTM STD G1 03 and the results of two specimens (I pin and chain link) were observed and reported. The corrosion rate was greatly improved by the sub-micron thickness of the zinc layer added on the conveyor chain link. The weight loss rate for 5 weeks test time reduced from 2.41% to 0.73% after zinc coated. Weight loss of new zinc coated material improved by 1.67% from the existing chain link material. The corrosion rate of the chain-link improved by 71% from the existing chain link. The results presented in the paper can contribute to the body of knowledge of corrosion behaviour of metals in acidic and temperature environment, which in turn enable more accurate prediction of failures of CED line conveyor chains.

In this work, the high temperature friction mechanism of the tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) film was elucidated. The multilayer ta-C film with alternating hard and soft sub-layers exhibited a low friction coefficient of 0.14 at 400 °C before a sudden failure occurred at 4600 cycles. The wear failure was attributed to the gradual consumption of the ta-C film at the contact region. The design of a hard or soft top layer effectively regulated the high temperature friction properties of the multilayer ta-C. The addition of a hard top layer contributed to a low friction coefficient (0.11) and a minor wear rate (4.0 × 10−7 mm3/(N m)), while a soft top layer deteriorated the lubrication effect. It was proposed that the passivation of dangling bonds at the sliding interface dominated the low-friction mechanism of the ta-C film at high temperature, while the friction induced graphitization and the formation of sp2-rich carbonaceous transfer layer triggered C C inter-film bonding, resulting in serious adhesion force and lubrication failure. Moreover, the multilayer ta-C film with hard top layer obtained excellent friction performance within 500 °C, while the high temperature induced oxidation and volatilization of carbon atoms led to the wear failure at 600 °C.

LiCoO2 with a cut-off voltage of 4.6 V (versus Li/Li+) could increase by about 28% of energy density compared with the commercial 4.45 V LiCoO2 cathode. However, severe issues such as oxygen evolution and dramatic phase transition strangle the practical application of 4.6 V LiCoO2. We herein develop a one-step wet chemical coating method at room temperature to stabilize the interface of LiCoO2 under high voltage. Through the treatment of LiCoO2 particles by LiAlH4 solution, the oxygen framework of the surface was reconstructed forming a composite coating layer which is featured a morphology with an inside-out transition structure from order to disorder. Benifited from the Al-containing composite layer, an excellent cycling performance has been obtained on the treated commerical samples, delivering a capacity retention of 70.4% even after 1000 cycles. The key to the improvement of electrochemical performance is to restrain the loss of lattice oxygen which is further elucidated by the results from differential electrochemical mass spectroscopy (DEMS). The interface evolution in different depths was carefully investigated delineating the relationship between the fluorated interface and the enhanced performance. Since the introduction of aluminum hydroxide, it facilitates the capture of F− bringing the interface layer from oxide to more stable fluoride during the cycling. Combining with the first principles calculation results, the aluminum coating surface suppresses the evolution of surfacial oxygen confirmed by oxygen release energy, and the optimized models infer that the fluorinated layer can obviously stabilize the interface structure of LiCoO2. This study provides a direct coating method which confers a notable improvement on cycling stability of LiCoO2 under high voltage and enables the implementation of high energy storage applications.

Antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) is a promising light absorber material for solar cells because of its superior photovoltaic properties. However, the current performance of the Sb2Se3 solar cell is much lower than its theoretical value (∼32%) due to its low open-circuit voltage (VOC). In this paper, we have demonstrated inorganic vanadium oxides (VOx) as a hole transport layer (HTL) for Sb2Se3 solar cells to enhance efficiency through the VOC improvement. Here, a solution-processed VOx through the decomposition of the triisopropoxyvanadium (V) oxide is deposited on the Sb2Se3 absorber layer prepared by close-spaced sublimation (CSS). With VOx HTL, the built-in voltage (Vbi) is significantly increased, leading to improved VOC for the Sb2Se3 solar cell devices. As a result, the efficiency of the device increases from an average efficiency of 5.5% to 6.3% with the VOx.

Solid oxide fuel cells are promising renewable energy devices due to their high efficiency and fuel flexibility. As they operate at a higher temperature than other fuel cells, ceramic materials, such as perovskite-based La0.6Sr0.4CoO3 and La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3, can be used as electrodes to replace expensive noble metals. However, when the corresponding electrode and yttria-stabilized zirconia electrolyte are sintered together, SrZrO3 produced from a side reaction acts as an insulator and deteriorates the performance of the fuel cell. Thus, the dense functional layer of a ceria-based material should be introduced between the electrode and the electrolyte to suppress the formation of secondary phases. However, in the conventional cell manufacturing process, it is challenging to manufacture a dense functional layer under constrained sintering conditions. In this study, we develop a method for fabricating a dense gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC) functional layer, even under constrained sintering conditions, by using a sacrificial bismuth oxide, Bi2O3, sintering aid layer above the GDC layer. As thermal sintering progresses at 1000–1200 °C, the Bi2O3 sintering aid layer is sublimated, leaving only the pure GDC functional layer. The fabricated dense GDC functional layer characterized by various analysis methods shows improved solid oxide fuel cell performance.

Silicon (Si) is capable of delivering a high theoretical specific capacity as anode in Li ion batteries (LIBs), but suffers from remarkable volume expansion, poor electrical conductivity and unstable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) film. Carbon coating is a facile and effective method to improve the electrochemical stability of Si anode. However, the electrode behavior performance of Si@C anode will be affected by the different thickness of carbon coating layer. Here, core-shell nanostructured Si@C materials with various thickness of carbon coating (around 2–30 layers) are prepared via the chemical vapor deposition with different deposition times. Especially, the Si@C composite with 2–3 carbon coating layers exhibits an outstanding electrical conductivity and strong mechanical strength, which is in favor of buffering the dramatic volume expansion of Si nanoparticles during the repeated lithiation/delithiation processes. As the anode material, the Si@C electrode exhibits a high capacity (3019 mA h g−1 at 0.2 A g−1), excellent rate capability (1647 mA h g−1 at 5 A g−1) and long-term cycling stability. Moreover, the excellent durability is also delivered by the full pouch-cell fabricated with Si@C anode and Ni0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode. The huge volume expansion and unstable SEI film can be effectively alleviated by the suitable carbon coating layers.

In this work, we report high-performance amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) with atomic layer deposited Al₂O₃ dielectric processed at a minimal temperature of 189.6 °C via microwave annealing (MWA). The a-IGZO TFT with MWA exhibits an improvement of 57% in subthreshold swing (SS) compared with the unannealed device; meanwhile, it retains high field-effect mobility of up to 29.2 cm²/(V · s) and large switching ratio of >10⁸. Moreover, the SS of the device was further reduced through a two-step MWA treatment. It is believed that MWA treatment effectively reduces the density of trap states associated with oxygen vacancies, promotes the formation of lattice oxygen, and thus improves the quality of IGZO film. MWA with low thermal budget shows great potential in applications of the back-end of line (BEOL)-compatible oxide devices.

Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) is a prevalent material with superior thermo-chemical stability and excellent optoelectronic properties for solar cell applications. In thin film form, CIGS could be a potentially economical and building integrated photovoltaic adaptable substitute to Silicon solar cells, solving humanity's extensive energy demands. To be economically sustainable, CIGS thin film processing must be abridged and affordable. We explored a low-cost, simplified wet chemical nano-ink method to make the CIGS thin film absorber layer comprising precursor thin film preparation by spraying CIGS nano-ink and subsequent post-treatment using Selenium vapor under Nitrogen atmosphere at a temperature of 550 °C. The spray-casted nanocrystalline layers were selenized at a low pressure of 1 Torr or 1 atm Nitrogen utilizing elemental pallets of Selenium as a source of Se vapor. The impact of Selenization pressure on the structure, morphology, composition, and electronic conductivity of selenized CIGS thin films absorber is investigated in this study, as well as the device performance associated with the processing parameters.

Over the years, polymer-metal nanocomposites have been extensively investigated due to their potential ability to produce materials with novel mechanical, electronic, optical and magnetic properties for technological applications. In the current paper, we present the studies on cobalt (Co) nanoparticles embedded polyethylene terephthalate (PET) by ion beam sputtering technique. Co nanoparticle layer (10 nm thick) was deposited onto PET substrate by ion beam sputtering. Grazing incidence x-ray diffraction results reveal that the Co is present in the metallic form in the FCC phase. MOKE studies reveal the anisotropic behavior of PET/Co nanocomposite film. The results are discussed in the paper.

Magnesium’s lightweight property made it an intriguing element as a component in automobiles and aerospace, as well as its biodegradability to be used in orthopaedic. However, magnesium is prone to corrosion that limits its application. To fully utilize magnesium, corrosion protection methods should be established. Various techniques have been used to protect magnesium and its alloys from corrosion, including coating. Coating provides a barrier to prevent corrosive electrolytes from reacting with magnesium substrates and initiate Mg dissolution. This study reviewed several surface coating methods used for Mg alloys, such as chemical conversion coating, anodizing, plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO), organic coating, cold spraying, and layered double hydroxide (LDHs). The composite coatings, for example, combined PEO-hybrid sol–gel coating, provide dense barrier, thus better corrosion protection performance than conventional single PEO layer. The newer advanced self-healing coatings which incorporate inhibitors into the layer, either directly added or within carriers, are considered in this study.

The rational design of highly efficient, economical and environment-friendly electrocatalysts is currently an important goal of research on renewable energy conversion and storage. Herein, a facile metod was developed to construct two-dimensional composites, which consist of exfoliated CoPS3 nanosheets grafted onto defective N-doped carbon (DNC) derived from spent tea leaves. The CoPS3@DNC composites demonstrate remarkable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance in an alkaline medium, with an overpotential of 297 mV at 10 mA cm− 2 and a small Tafel slope of 51.8 mV dec−1, which is better than that of commercial IrO2 catalysts. Our experimental evidence reveals that the enhanced OER performance of this hybrid catalyst can be attributed to the interfacial effect of exfoliated CoPS3 and N-doped carbon defects (electron transfer from the CoPS3 layer to DNC). This work suggests a promising interface engineering technique for developing highly efficient and non-precious OER catalysts based on layered transition-metal trichalcogenides.