Mechanical Behavior and Reliability of Engineering Ceramics

Poly(amino acids) and polypeptides have the potential to contribute significantly to a biomass-based and sustainable society, due to their biomass origin, functionality, and unique physical properties. To realize amino acid-based polymers as eco-friendly alternatives for petroleum materials, the synthesis of poly(amino acid)s/polypeptides through an environmentally friendly process is needed. In this focus review, the author summarizes the recent progress of chemo-enzymatic polymerization, which is a green and atom-economical reaction that provides new insight into the design of materials from polypeptides. Additionally, polypeptides can be designed to serve as functional and structural materials. The use of peptides as carriers of nucleic acids for delivery into target cells and organelles is one important application of such functional materials. Studies on polypeptides as structural materials are also reviewed. Poly(amino acids) and polypeptides have the potential to contribute significantly to a biomass-based and sustainable society, due to their biomass origin, functionality, and unique physical properties. The recent progress of chemo-enzymatic syntheses of polypeptides as well as studies on peptides and silks as functional and structural materials is reviewed.

Functionality development as a survival strategy for fine ceramics

PurposeFused deposition modeling enables multiscale structure control. However, most of this structural space is unexplored. Specifically, the impact of biomimetic porous structures on the mechanical behavior and reliability of common thermoplastics are unclear. In this work, porous structures inspired by the multifunctional crab exoskeleton were 3D-printed with different raster orientations, including fully rotating rasters similar to Bouligand structures found in biological materials. Tensile tests and simulations were performed to observe the stochastic behavior of fracture properties and to reveal the underlying origins of mechanical reliability in biomimetic porous systems.Design/methodology/approachTensile tests were performed on 3D-printed porous structures with four different rasters. These rasters were biomimetic Bouligand, semi-Bouligand, 00 raster and 45°/−45° raster. In addition, two different sets were manufactured to observe the impact of contours on the mechanical behavior. A total of 137 tensile tests were performed. A total of 88 finite element simulations were executed using Abaqus built-in Hashin damage initiation criterion and energy-based damage evolution law. Weibull analyses were performed to quantify the stochastic properties.FindingsBiomimetic Bouligand structure is effective in increasing fracture strength. Average fracture strength of the Bouligand structure was 33% higher compared to the default 45°/−45° and 10% higher compared to 00 rasters. Variations in strength were lower in Bouligand structure compared to the default 45°/−45° raster. However, 00 raster had the highest Weibull modulus m = 54 compared to Bouligand m = 25 and 45°/−45° m = 17. Simulations showed that Bouligand structure is effective in increasing the mechanical reliability through local damage accumulation around the holes. The simulated Weibull modulus of the Bouligand structure was 40 compared to the moduli of other rasters that ranged from 18 to 25.Practical implicationsThe mechanical reliability of porous Bouligand structures is higher compared to other rasters, which makes the biomimetic structure a better choice for industrial applications. Contours decrease the strength and strain at failure for 3D-printed porous structures. Bouligand structures with rotating raster orientations increased strength and strain at failure when contours are present in the porous structure.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study showing the effects of biomimetic raster orientations on the mechanical behavior and the effects of contours on the tensile fracture properties of 3D-printed porous acrylonitrile butadiene styrene using tensile tests and fracture simulations. This is the first study applying composite fracture model to anisotropic porous 3D-printed polymers.

Bioinspiration Across All Length Scales of Materials.

An underwater vehicle for deep-sea operation should be as light as possible; therefore, development of premium structural materials such as titanium alloy, glass, and carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) for external pressure hulls has been ongoing. Engineering ceramics is one of the candidate materials, and the study of engineering ceramics has been underway for many years; however practical applications have been limited.The main purpose of this study is to establish the methodology of fabrication of ceramics pressure hulls for deep-sea submergence services. As the first step, prototypes of the spherical shells were fabricated from engineering ceramics, and their local radii of curvatures and wall thickness were precisely measured. In addition to these measurements, the strain on hemispheres and their collapse strength were measured by pressure tests in order to evaluate the relationship between spherical irregularities and collapse strength. The strength-to-weight ratios of fabricated pressure hulls were significantly higher than that of syntactic foam for deep-sea operations, therefore it is expected that engineering ceramics can be among the promising structural materials for lightening of an underwater vehicle's body.

Nature has provided many ways to derive various functional materials with highly-ordered hierarchical structures and superb attributes from the sophisticated biological processes. Inspired by natural biomineralisation process, it has led to the emergence of four “bioinspired” strategies, i.e., bio-structure mimicking, bio-function anchoring, bio-templating and bio-assembling, to construct nanostructured materials with remarkable biomimetic properties. In this chapter, we will highlight the development of bioinspired approaches involving biomolecules and elucidate their roles in directing the bottom-up synthesis and programmable assembly of functional nanostructured materials. Their recent applications in diagnostics and therapeutic delivery will also be discussed. Finally, we will conclude this chapter with the challenges and future outlook of these bioinspired nanomaterials for the advanced biomedical applications such as theranostics.

The growing demand for advanced functional materials has led to the development of various additive manufacturing techniques (AM), with vat photopolymerization (VP) emerging as a key technology. VP is a versatile light‐based AM technique for producing complex 3D structures from a wide range of functional materials. VP material diversity stems from its compatibility with various monomers, oligomers, solvents, and fillers, enabling for the fabrication of materials with tailored properties. This article systematically examines recent advancements in VP fabrication and analyzes strategies for incorporating functional elements into 3D‐printed material structures. We investigate the spectrum of functionalities achieved in novel materials by categorizing design into four main groups: The use of functional additives, the molecular design of the photopolymerizable system, post‐processing procedures, and functional structural architectures. Specifically, we analyze recent reports on novel functional materials in the field of VP, such as conductive, energy‐storing, optical, high‐performance, stimuli‐responsive, self‐healing, shape‐memory, recyclable, bioengineering, and biomedical materials. The article also discusses characterization methods required for the fabrication of state‐of‐the‐art materials. We conclude by underscoring the immense versatility of VP for fabricating functional and multifunctional materials, and its potential for future advancements in applications such as energy, medicine, robotics, and physical AI.

Trends of bioderived carbonaceous materials for futuristic biomedical applications

Innovative investigations, discoveries and recent patents regarding superelastic shape memory alloy (SMA), a novel material, are briefly discussed in this review paper. Known as a functional material, SMA can recover large strains in two ways: shape memory effect (SME) and pseudoelasticity. SME is by virtue of temperature induced martensitic transformation while pseudoelasticity (also called superelasticity) happens because of stress induced martensitic transformation (SIMT). SMA is one of the most widely used functional materials in many adaptive structures, as well as in medical and biomedical applications. Because of SME, SMA can be mainly used for active control of adaptive structures. On the other hand, having pseudoelasticity SMA can be used for passive damping of a vibrating structure. Superelastic SMA is also widely used for applications like: antenna of portable phones, headband of headphones, in the ballpoint pens and eyeglass frames etc. This study will focus mainly on pseudoelasticity of SMA and its potential characteristics. Keywords: Shape memory alloy, stress induced martensitic transformation, pseudoelasticity (superelasticity), nonlinear stress-strain curves, tension-compression asymmetry

Energy is one of the critical issues that directly impact the economy, the environment, and the security of human beings. All energy technologies require materials; therefore, the types and amounts of materials consumed vary widely. While materials science and engineering are only one aspect of the response to the energy challenges, it primarily has a crucial part to play in creating the advanced energy systems. In the past, it has contributed significantly to advances in the safe, reliable, and efficient use of energy and available natural resources. Now materials research is being performed from structural materials, functional materials to high photon energies, which can offer promising solutions to achieve accessible, renewable, and sustainable energy pathways for the future. Particularly, the growing importance of environmental issues is such that energy generation, conservation, storage, and security of supply will continue to be major drivers for materials technology. Sustainable energy production and use are needed while at the same time meeting socioeconomic and environmental targets: The high priority of energy makes it important to sustain research, development, and modeling of materials for energy applications; the knowledge-base of high-integrity structural and functional materials should be recovered, captured, and developed for future power generation; transferable material solutions and methods across the complete energy portfolio should be examined to attain maximum efficiency and competitive advantages. With the advent of nanomaterials and innovative multifunctional materials, materials science and engineering is expected to play an increasing role in sustainable technologies for energy generation, storage, and distribution, as well as efficient utilization of future energy. Principal areas of advanced materials development include but not limited to sustainable structural and functional materials for fossil power, solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, biofuels, ocean energy and hydropower, nuclear power, as well as advanced energy-harvesting technologies. This chapter will introduce fundamentals and basic design guidelines of advanced energy systems with accompany of materials solutions and environmental compliance of energy materials.

Though problems on a precise and concise evaluation method of strength behaviors of ceramics still remain open, extensive studies by many investigators have revealed the extremely low fracture toughness of engineering ceramics such as silicon nitride and silicon carbide. However, on the other hand, these engineering ceramics have several excellent properties; high compression strength, high strength at elevated temperatures and high wear resistance. Such opposite aspects in their mechanical properties must be taken into account when we intend to apply these creamics as a structural material. Furthermore, in order to establish the design concept for the application of engineering ceramics, the whole strength characteristics must be systematized by compiling the strength data covering mechano chemical reactions in aggressive environments and further the dynamic response to transientally varying load such as impact load.The aim of the present study was to clarify the impact strength characteristics of representative engineering ceramics at high temperatures. For this purpose, the impact fracture strengths of silicon nitride and silicon carbide at high temperatures upto 1300°C were investigated by using an impact 3-point bending load device. The results indicate that the sintered silicon nitride has excellent high temperature impact strength, i.e., the degradation of fracture strength at high temperatures is less under impact load than under static load. The impact strengths of two types silicon carbides were also described.

We are pleased to introduce this Special Issue of Advanced Materials, which showcases the exciting and innovative work carried out at the Tianjin Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (CICCSE). Cushioned in the center of Tianjin—the fourth largest city in China—the CICCSE is a joint research center hosted by Tianjin University (TJU) and Nankai University (NKU). TJU is recognized as the first modern higher education institution in China, established in 1895 as Imperial Tientsin University and later Peiyang University. In 1951, upon restructuring, the University was re-named Tianjin University and has since become one of the largest multidisciplinary engineering universities in China. Coincidentally, this year TJU will be celebrating her 120th anniversary. NKU was founded as a private institution in 1919 by prominent educators Zhang Boling and Yan Fansun and is one of the most prestigious universities in China. The CICCSE serves as the nationwide home for collaborative research in materials science and engineering, chemical science and engineering, physics, and other related disciplines. The establishment of the CICCSE was initialized by the two universities in 2011 and was formally approved and financially supported (ca. $8M per year) by the Ministry of Education on April 4th, 2013. The CICCSE is constructed with the combination of the core disciplines of chemistry of Nankai University and chemical engineering and materials science of Tianjin University. The Institute of Process Engineering of Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Sinopec Group, and the Tianjin Bohai Chemical Group are also core members of the CICCSE. The Center's missions are to discover and characterize new materials that involve the interactions with light, electricity, and heat at the molecular scale, and to scale up the synthetic processes based on the successful employment of unit operations and chemical-engineering fundamentals for efficient conversion of energy and resources for the national steady growth of economy. The goals of the CICCSE are also to provide opportunities for young researchers to develop the skills needed to excel in a global research environment; and to integrate materials/chemical research experiences with an awareness of environmental, health, and energy issues into the undergraduate and graduate curricula. The Center's research program is highly cross-disciplinary and is organized into five platforms including: i) catalytic materials and processes for efficient conversion of syngas and CO2; ii) photoelectric conversion and energy-storage science and technology; iii) design, synthesis, and applications of artificial biomaterials; iv) the structural effect of functional materials; and v) invention and conversion of chiral materials. These platforms currently contain 32 teams with around 200 faculty and staff members and approximately 1700 graduate students; each team has extensive expertise in materials/chemical synthesis, characterization, theoretical modeling, and device design and fabrication. These collaborative teams also comprise joint faculty members from multiple institutions including Tsinghua University, Peking University, the University of Science and Technology of China, Lanzhou University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, etc. This special issue contains 2 Progress Reports, 4 Reviews, and 9 Research News articles. These contributions indicate that the materials research is deeply embedded in the majority of Science and Engineering Departments throughout the campus of TJU and NKU. The authors are primarily from the School of Chemical Engineering and Technology (TJU), the School of Chemistry (NKU), the School of Materials Science and Engineering (TJU), the College of Sciences (TJU), and the School of Physics (NKU). Particularly, a young generation of investigators has also emerged, who inherit the ideals and goals of the center. In the area of supramolecular materials, Prof. Yu Liu and co-workers present the construction and functions of cyclodextrin-based one-dimensional supramolecular strands and their secondary assemblies. Prof. Wen-Ping Hu and his group introduce surfactant-assisted self-assembly of supramolecular porphyrin with 1D structures. In the area of carbon-based materials, Prof. Yongsheng Chen leads the discussion of graphene-based materials for lithium-ion hybrid supercapacitors. Prof. Xiaobin Fan and co-workers overview graphene-based binder-free electrodes for high-performance energy storage. Prof. Quan-Hong Yang and co-workers discuss the synthesis and ion transport properties of 2D porous carbons. Prof. Naiqin Zhao and co-workers demonstrate the employment of in situ synthesis of carbon nanotubes and graphene-reinforced composites for structural materials and electrochemical applications. A number of papers are also presented regarding advances in porous materials. Prof. Xianhe Bu and co-workers summarize recent advances and applications of flexible metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). Prof. Xun Wang and co-workers provide an introduction of well-defined MOF hollow nanostructures for gas-phase catalytic reactions. Prof. Zhongyi Jiang and co-workers report on the recent development of nanostructured ion-exchange membranes for fuel cells. In the field of photoelectric conversion and energy-storage materials, Prof. Jun Chen and co-workers discuss a number of functional cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries. Prof. Shizhang Qiao and co-workers describe the fundamentality and functionality regarding the engineering of advanced electrocatalysts for energy conversion. Prof. Ji-Jun Zou and co-workers review the utilization of tungsten oxides for photocatalysis, electrochemistry, and phototherapy applications. Prof. Jinlong Gong and co-workers provide mechanistic understandings of the plasmonic enhancement effect for solar water splitting. In the field of metallic materials, Prof. Xiwen Du and co-workers introduce the synthesis, characterization, and applications of freestanding ultrathin metallic nanosheets. Prof. Jianguo Tian and co-workers discuss the emergent functionality and controllability in few-layer metasurfaces. The Guest Editors would like to thank all the authors for their excellent contributions and the referees for their dedication and responsibility. We are indebted to Prof. Jiannian Yao (the Director of CICCSE) and Prof. Yaqing Feng (the Deputy Director of CICCSE), as well as other administrative members of staff for their constant encouragement and support. We are also happy to acknowledge Dr. Peter Gregory, Dr. Duoduo Liang, and Dr. Yan Li for their great support, excellent suggestions, and kind cooperation. Our gratitude also goes to the whole editorial team of Advanced Materials for their enthusiastic pushing forward and professional editing. We want to express appreciation for the efforts of our colleagues at the TJU and NKU, who involve the production of this special issue. Funding and support for this issue has been provided through the CICCSE, the School of Chemical Engineering and Technology at TJU, and the College of Chemistry at NKU. Jinlong Gong is a professor in the School of Chemical Engineering and Technology at Tianjin University and a Principle Investigator at CICCSE. He obtained his B.Sc. degree at Tianjin University and his Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin under the direction of Buddie Mullins. Upon the completion of postdoctoral training with Professor George M. Whitesides at Harvard University, he joined the faculty of Tianjin University. His research interests in catalytic materials include conversions of green energy, novel utilization of carbon oxides, and synthesis and applications of optoelectronic materials. Jun Chen is a professor in the College of Chemistry at Nankai University and a Principle Investigator at CICCSE. He obtained his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from Nankai University in 1989 and 1992, respectively, and his Ph.D. from Wollongong University (Australia) in 1999. He held the NEDO fellowship at the National Institute of AIST Kansai Center (Japan) from 1999 to 2002. He was appointed as the chair professor of energy-materials chemistry at Nankai University in 2002, the outstanding young scientist from NSFC in 2003, the Cheung Kong Scholar from Ministry of Education in 2005, the chief scientist of the National Nano Key Science Research from Ministry of Science & Technology in 2010. His research expertise is energy-storage and conversion with batteries, fuel cells, and solar cells. Naiqin Zhao is a professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Tianjin University and the Director of the Tianjin Key Laboratory of Composite and Functional Materials. She obtained her B.Sc. and Ph.D. at Tianjin University. She was a visiting scholar at Illinois Institute of Technology and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; and a visiting professor at Tohoku University and Vanderbilt University. Her research interests focus on phase transformation and properties of alloys and composites, and the synthesis and characteristics of the carbon nanophase and its composites. Yu Liu is a professor in the College of Chemistry at Nankai University and a Principle Investigator at CICCSE. He graduated from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1977, and received his Ph.D. from the Himeji Institute of Technology, Japan, in 1991. Then, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics. In 1993, he moved to Nankai University as a full professor. He is the chairman of the Asian and Oceanian Cyclodextrin League, a member of the International Cyclodextrin Advisory Committee, and a specially-appointed professor of “Cheung Kong Scholars Programme of China”. His research interests focus on organic supramolecular chemistry.

Since the success of monolayer graphene exfoliation, two-dimensional (2D) materials have been extensively studied due to their unique structures and unprecedented properties. Among these fascinating studies, the most predominant focus has been on their atomic structures, defects, and mechanical behaviors and properties, which serve as the basis for the practical applications of 2D materials. In this review, we first highlight the atomic structures of various 2D materials and the structural and energy features of some common defects. We then summarize the recent advances made in experimental, computational, and theoretical studies on the mechanical properties and behaviors of 2D materials. We mainly emphasized the underlying deformation and fracture mechanisms and the influences of various defects on mechanical behaviors and properties, which boost the emergence and development of topological design and defect engineering. We also further introduce the piezoelectric and flexoelectric behaviors of specific 2D materials to address the coupling between mechanical and electronic properties in 2D materials and the interactions between 2D crystals and substrates or between different 2D monolayers in heterostructures. Finally, we provide a perspective and outlook for future studies on the mechanical behaviors and properties of 2D materials.

Erythrocytes are the most abundant cells in the blood. As the results of long‐term natural selection, their specific biconcave discoid morphology and cellular composition are responsible for gaining excellent biological performance. Inspired by the intrinsic features of erythrocytes, various artificial biomaterials emerge and find broad prospects in biomedical applications such as therapeutic delivery, bioimaging, and tissue engineering. Here, a comprehensive review from the fabrication to the applications of erythrocyte‐inspired functional materials is given. After summarizing the biomaterials mimicking the biological functions of erythrocytes, the synthesis strategies of particles with erythrocyte‐inspired morphologies are presented. The emphasis is on practical biomedical applications of these bioinspired functional materials. The perspectives for the future possibilities of the advanced erythrocyte‐inspired biomaterials are also discussed. It is hoped that the summary of existing studies can inspire researchers to develop novel biomaterials; thus, accelerating the progress of these biomaterials toward clinical biomedical applications.

Metal-organic Frameworks (MOF) are a new class of functional crystalline materials with the large nanopores and open frame structures. The controlled nanoporous structures attract for various applications such as gas sorption, catalysis, biomedical applications, and transport materials for electronic and photophysical devices. For the large demands on preparing the advanced functional materials based on the MOF, the functionalization of the MOF has been attracted significant attention for controlling the environments of the nanopores in the past decade. Among them, the most fruitful approach is post-synthetic modification (PSM) of the MOF.The PSM is defined as the modification of the organic ligands in the frameworks of the MOF by chemical reactions, especially organic reactions, after the formation of the MOF as crystalline materials. In this review, we focus the PSM of the MOF by copper(I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) and the related reactions that have many advantages such as diverse substrates, mild conditions, high yields, high 1,4-regio-selectivity, and high orthogonality for other organic reactions, and wide availability of the media. Furthermore, we discuss the control of the functions of the MOF and the preparation of the functional composites based on the MOF by the CuAAC of the MOF. Therefore, this review includes the following four topics: the exploration of CuAAC reaction for PSM in MOF, the development of other click reactions for PSM, the function-oriented PSM by CuAAC reaction, and networking and biocongujation of MOF.