Metal-based Materials Research Articles

Understanding the phenomenon of capacity increasing along cycles: In the case of an ultralong-life and high-rate SnSe-Mo-C anode for lithium storage

A good cycling stability is a prerequisite for the application of metal-based materials in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, an abnormal increase in capacity is often observed, which has rarely been focused on in many studies. In our SnSe-Mo-C composite anode, a high reversible capacity of 737.4 mAh g−1 remained after 5000 cycles at 5 A g−1 between 0.01 and 3.0 V versus Li/Li+. However, a continuous capacity increase occurred in the initial cycles, with 1086.9 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles and 1216.9 mAh g−1 after 1500 cycles, respectively. Further studies revealed that the electrolyte decomposed at high potentials (2.5–3.0 V) and provided additional capacities. The cut-off voltage and electrolyte filling were controlled, which eliminated the impact of electrolyte decomposition, prevented rapid capacity decay, and provided a stable cycling performance for SnSe-Mo-C anodes in LIBs. This work shows that the composite anode is promising for lithium storage and the findings provide new insights into understanding and controlling the phenomenon of capacity increase with cycling in metal-based anode materials.

Tribological Properties of Laminate Composite Brake Material for High-Speed Trains

In this article, a laminate composite brake material was prepared by powder metallurgy techniques and proposed for use in the high-speed train braking system. The pad was a double-layer structure composed of prefabricated tribofilm (PTF, oxide-based materials) and metal-based materials. The friction and wear behaviors of the novel friction material with different thicknesses of PTF layer against steel rotor disc were investigated using a TM-I type braking dynamometer under initial braking speeds (IBS) of 50–350 km/h. It was found that the PTF pad exhibited stable friction behavior and wear rate in a large range of IBS (50–250 km/h), meeting the requirements of high-speed trains. During braking, the friction film formed on the worn surface was closely related to the friction and wear behavior. The PTF promoted the formation of a protective friction film, which provided a larger and flatter surface than that of metal-based materials. A relatively stable friction behavior and wear rate were maintained when the worn surface was covered with friction film.

Handgrip Automotive Prototype of Polypropylene Reinforced Benzoyl Treated Kenaf and Sugar Palm Fibers: A Facile Flexural Strength and Hardness Studies

Combining two or more different types of fibers within a polymer matrix is defined as hybrid composites. The requirements for an impressive hybrid composites include compatible weight ratio, good compressive strength, low-cost production and ease of fabrication. Moreover, hybrid composites provide a combination of remarkable mechanical properties including tensile modulus, compression, impact strength, flexural and hardness, which are comparable with the metal-based product materials. Recently, hybrid composites have been established due to their remarkable performance and efficiency. This study presents a facile analysis of polypropylene (PP) reinforced benzoyl treated kenaf and sugar palm fibers for handgrip prototype application. The materials were further analyzed for their materials molding modeling, and facile mechanical behavior including flexural strength, flexural modulus, Rockwell hardness (HRF), and also weight reduction percentage test. Hybrid composite T-SP7K3 shows higher flexural strength and flexural modulus compared to the ABS (Perodua Axia) at 339.5 MPa and 17.19 MPa, respectively. In addition, the HRF testing shows a higher value of hybrid composite (at 92.96 N/mm2) compared with the ABS handgrip with. Furthermore, the weight reduction percentage also recorded hybrid composite T-SP7K3 with the highest value at 22.7%.

NiX2 (X = S, Se, and Te) Monolayers: Promising Anodes in Li/Na-Ion Batteries and Superconductors

Based on the density functional theory calculations, we report the stability, electron structure, and potential applications in single-layer (SL) NiX2 (X = S, Se, and Te) that show high thermal, dynamical, and mechanical stability and possess ultralow isotropic Young’s modulus. Moreover, these NiS2, NiSe2, and NiTe2 monolayers have high energy storage capacities of 874, 496, and 342 mA h g–1 and low diffusion energy barriers of 0.23/0.24/0.27 and 0.12/0.13/0.12 eV when used as anodes in lithium-ion batteries and sodium-ion batteries, respectively. SL NiS2 and NiSe2 show semiconducting traits in their freestanding crystals. Specifically, the 2D NiTe2 monolayer is determined to be an intrinsic superconductor with a transition temperature (Tc) of ∼2.24 K. The Tc can be improved to 5.48 K when subjected to an in-plane compressive strain of 6%. These results enrich the family of transition metal-based 2D materials with multifunctionality and facilitate further experimental efforts toward next-generation nanodevices.

Low-cycle fatigue performance and damage sequence investigation of I-shaped steel braced systems and braced frames

Simulations of 12 braced systems (I-shaped steel (Q355B) brace with the gusset plate connection) and 5 braced frames (single diagonal) are conducted. The results show that the low-cycle fatigue life of the braced system and the braced frame is determined by the minimum value of the fatigue life between the gusset plate connection and the brace. For the gusset plate connection, small value of clearance distance and large value of loading amplitude lead to small fatigue life. The ability for ductility property and energy dissipation of the braced system is optimal when the fatigue life of the gusset plate connection and brace is similar. The critical plane method (LZH model) and ductile damage method are applied to predict the fatigue life and investigate the fatigue damage of the specimens. These two methods have good applicability not only on fatigue life prediction but also the damage sequence of each component (including the gusset plate connection and the brace). Based on experimental data from related literature, fatigue parameters that are used in life prediction methods of steel Q355B (including the base metal and welding material) are calibrated.

Promoting CO2 electroreduction on boron-doped diamond electrodes: Challenges and trends

CO2 electroreduction (eCO2R) into fuel products is a promising technology to mitigate the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and store renewable energy. The main metal-based electrocatalysts widely employed in CO2 reduction are characterized by high overpotentials, low stability, and unsatisfactory selectivity. As a result, a growing interest in the use of boron-doped diamond (BDD)-based electrocatalysts have been observed due to its excellent properties. This review sheds light on the techniques applied toward the eCO2R on BDD surface and the effects of the operational conditions. Particular emphasis will be given on recent advances made in the quest for enhancing the performance of BDD in eCO2R through its modification with defects insertion or functionalization with metal-based materials. The review will also present a brief overview of the challenges and directions of future research with respect to the development of different electrochemical systems for eCO2R on BDD electrodes.

Stent Wear Analysis for Percutaneous Coronary Interventions

The given paper deals with the issue of materials used in the treatment of heart attacks. In more de-tail it focuses on individual types of stents and their specific properties. The article describes selected groups of biocompatible metal-based materials. Our attention is mainly paid to magnesium alloys. The introduction explains the concept of biocompa-tibility and the distribution of materials accord-ing to their biological tolerance. In the experiment, we performed an ana-lysis of the chemical com-position of individual metal stents and focused on examining their wear resistance. Since it is too difficult to imitate human body environment, we opted for corrosion test for the experiment. Stents were exposed to the given concentration of the solution and temperature. The time period during which the stents were in solution was also important. In the final part, we focused on the microscopic evaluation of the surface.

MOF etching-induced Co-doped hollow carbon nitride catalyst for efficient removal of antibiotic contaminants by enhanced perxymonosulfate activation

The low surface area, low porosity, weak charge transport, and metal species loss of conventional metal-based carbon materials are the main defects limiting their environmental application. In this study, a metal–organic framework (MOF)-supported Co-doped hollow carbon nitride (ZCCN) catalyst was constructed by etching zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67). Excellent visible light capture and electron transfer performance of the catalyst were revealed, and 99% tetracycline (TC) degradation and 65.9% peroxymonosulfate (PMS) decomposition were achieved within 40 min. Efficient separation and transport of photogenerated electrons are the key to PMS activation and TC degradation. Meanwhile, the preserved skeleton structure of ZIF-67 and the triazine rings of carbon nitride endowed the catalyst with enhanced stability and lessened Co leaching. Density functional theory (DFT) was applied to investigate the internal effect of PMS activation on Co sites. The reduced toxicity of the intermediates revealed the potential of the ZCCN/PMS system on eliminating environmental risks caused by TC. This study provides new insights into the design of stable MOF-derived metal-based heterogeneous catalysts.

Novel microporous organic-inorganic hybrid metal phosphonates as electrocatalysts towards water oxidation reaction

In recent years, the development of electrochemical water oxidation requires an efficacious heterogeneous electrocatalyst to improve the high catalytic activity. Herein, newly designed three transition metal-based phosphonate materials i.e., cobalt phosphonate (CoEDA), nickel phosphonate (NiEDA), and nickel-cobalt phosphonate (NiCoEDA), were synthesized using etidronic acid (1-Hydroxyethane 1,1-diphosphonic acid) as the organophosphorus source under hydrothermal reaction condition at pH 6.5. Among these materials, CoEDA exhibits a high surface area with a proper microporous channel, one of the key parameters for showing excellent electrocatalytic activity towards oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with a lower overpotential (318 mV) and Tafel slope (70.1 mV dec−1). The superior catalytic activity towards OER can be correlated with the presence of the organic-inorganic hybrid material containing Co-O-P bond and the formation of highly electroactive cobalt oxyhydroxide (CoOOH) species onto the pore wall of the microporous channel. Besides, as-synthesized CoEDA catalyst displays outstanding catalytic stability for 25 h with a change in current density of only 6%.

Tuning the Polarity of a Fibrous Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene)-Based Support for Efficient Water Electrolysis.

Water electrolysis under alkaline conditions is of interest due to the applicability of non-precious metal-based materials for electrocatalysts. However, the successful design and synthesis of earth-abundant and efficient catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) remain a significant challenge. This work presents cost-effective and straightforward ways to improve the OER activity under alkaline conditions by activating the catalyst–support and reactant–support interaction. Micro/nano-sized fibrous poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-HFP) was synthesized via simple and scalable electrospinning and subsequently coated with Cu by electroless deposition to obtain the electrocatalyst with a large specific surface area, enhanced mass transport, and high catalyst utilization. Scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction confirmed the successful synthesis of the series of Cu/PVdF-HFP fibrous catalysts with varied ferroelectric polarizability of the PVdF-HFP support in the order of stretch-anneal > anneal > stretch > without pre-treatment of the catalyst. The best OER activity was confirmed for the Cu/PVdF-HFP catalyst with stretch and annealed treatment among the catalysts tested, suggesting that both the reaction kinetics and energetics of stretch-annealed Cu/PVdF-HFP catalysts were optimal for the OER. The electron delocalization between Cu and PVdF-HFP substrates (electron transfer from Cu to the negatively charged (δ–eff) PVdF-HFP region at the Cu|PVdF-HFP interface) and the enhanced transport of reactive hydroxide species and/or the increase in the local pH by positively charged (δ+eff) PVdF-HFP region concertedly accelerate the OER activity. The overall activity for the prototype water electrolyzer increased 10-fold with stretch-anneal treatment compared to the one without pre-treatment, highlighting the effect of tuning the catalyst–support and reactant–support interaction on improving the efficiency of the water electrolysis.

Unraveling the Interfacial Polarization Effect between Pd and Polymeric Carbon Nitride toward Efficient CO2 Electroreduction to CO.

The efficient electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) to carbon monoxide (CO) using renewable energy is an effective route to pursue carbon neutrality. Optimizing the binding energy of CO on palladium (Pd) metal-based materials used in this process is to make sure the timely desorption of CO from their active sites is critical. Tuning the electronic structure of the Pd center is an effective strategy to optimize its catalytic performance. Herein, we rationally design Pd nanoparticles (NPs)/polymeric carbon nitride (CN) (Pd/CN) composite, which alters the electronic structure of Pd by introducing the interfacial polarization effect to accelerate CO desorption and improve CO selectivity of Pd catalyst. The optimized Pd/CN exhibits a CO Faradaic efficiency of 92.7% at -0.9 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode in CO2-saturated 0.1 M KHCO3 solution. Experimental investigations and theoretical calculations jointly confirm that the enhanced CO selectivity and stability originate from the electron transfer at the Pd/CN interface, and the weakened *CO adsorption on the palladium hydride surface.

Enhancing microbial electrocatalysis of metal-based bioanode by thermal oxidation of carbon black filler

Metal-based materials, like stainless steel (SS), have been proved to be a promising bioelectrodes and current collectors for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). The microbial electrocatalysis performance of these metal electrodes could be greatly enhanced by surface modification, e.g. reactive bonding nanocarbon. Herein, we report the enhancement of microbial electrocatalysis of metal-based bioanode by thermal oxidation of the nanocarbon conductive filler, carbon black (CB). Oxidation of CB by thermal treatment at 400 and 500 °C in air (denoted as CB-400, CB-500) only led to slightly increase of oxygen content, from 4.34% in pristine CB to 5.54% in CB-500, while by thermal treatment at 110 °C in nitric (denoted as CB-N) led to a great increase of oxygen content to 9.58%. Microbial electrocatalysis results revealed that though the CB-N had the highest oxygen content, the bioanode it modified did not bring improvement of microbial electrocatalytic performance; while the bioanode modified by CB-500 led to an approximately 20% current density increase comparing to that modified by pristine CB. The quinone oxygen-containing functional groups of the CB-500 filler resulted by thermal treatment were found to be crucial for the enhancement of microbial electrocatalysis of the bioanode, because they could act as mediators to enhance the mediated electron transfer. This study provided an effective strategy for enhancing the microbial electrocatalysis of CB/SS composite bioanode by the appropriate oxidation of CB.

Strontium Functionalization of Biomaterials for Bone Tissue Engineering Purposes: A Biological Point of View.

Strontium (Sr) is a trace element taken with nutrition and found in bone in close connection to native hydroxyapatite. Sr is involved in a dual mechanism of coupling the stimulation of bone formation with the inhibition of bone resorption, as reported in the literature. Interest in studying Sr has increased in the last decades due to the development of strontium ranelate (SrRan), an orally active agent acting as an anti-osteoporosis drug. However, the use of SrRan was subjected to some limitations starting from 2014 due to its negative side effects on the cardiac safety of patients. In this scenario, an interesting perspective for the administration of Sr is the introduction of Sr ions in biomaterials for bone tissue engineering (BTE) applications. This strategy has attracted attention thanks to its positive effects on bone formation, alongside the reduction of osteoclast activity, proven by in vitro and in vivo studies. The purpose of this review is to go through the classes of biomaterials most commonly used in BTE and functionalized with Sr, i.e., calcium phosphate ceramics, bioactive glasses, metal-based materials, and polymers. The works discussed in this review were selected as representative for each type of the above-mentioned categories, and the biological evaluation in vitro and/or in vivo was the main criterion for selection. The encouraging results collected from the in vitro and in vivo biological evaluations are outlined to highlight the potential applications of materials’ functionalization with Sr as an osteopromoting dopant in BTE.

Superlattice in a Ru Superstructure for Enhancing Hydrogen Evolution.

Superlattices are attracting extensive attention due to their unique properties. Nevertheless, the observations of superlattices are limited to those layered structures with weak interlayered interactions, and the effect of the superlattice in metal-based nanostructures on catalysis is unexplored yet. We here report a facile wet-chemical method for synthesizing two-dimensional Ru multilayered nanosheets (Ru MNSs) with a superlattice. Characterizations reveal that the superlattice is formed by stacking Ru layers with twisted angles from 2° to 30°. Owing to the strong synergy between the adjacent layers, Ru MNSs can serve as an efficient catalyst for the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Theoretical calculations reveal that the superlattice can induce the strain effect, which leads to lattice contraction and weak *H adsorption ability, as a result of improved HER performance. This work sheds new light on the utilization of the superlattice on enhancing catalysis in metal-based materials.

Self-Supported Transition Metal-Based Nanoarrays for Efficient Energy Storage.

Rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors are currently considered as promising electrochemical energy storage (EES) systems to address the energy and environment issues. Self-supported transition metal (Ni, Co, Mn, Mo, Cu, V)-based materials are promising electrodes for EES devices, which offer highly efficient charge transfer kinetics. This review summarizes the latest development of transition metal-based materials with self-supported structures for EES systems. Special focus has been taken on the synthetic methods, the selection of substrates, architectures and chemical compositions of different self-supported nanoarrays in energy storage systems. Finally, the challenges and opportunities of these materials for future development in this field are briefly discussed. We believe that the advancement in self-supported electrode materials would pave the way towards next-generation EES.

Synthesis, Characterization, and Supercapacitor Performance of a Mixed-Phase Mn-Doped MoS2 Nanoflower.

The fascinating features of 2D nanomaterials for various applications have prompted increasing research into single and few-layer metal dichalcogenides nanosheets using improved nanofabrication and characterization techniques. MoS2 has recently been intensively examined among layered metal dichalcogenides and other diverse transition metal-based materials, that have previously been studied in various applications. In this research, we report mixed-phase Mn-doped MoS2 nanoflowers for supercapacitor performance studies. The confirmation of the successfully prepared Mn-doped MoS2 nanoflowers was characterized by XRD, SEM-EDS, RAMAN, and BET research techniques. The mixed-phase of the as-synthesized electrode material was confirmed by the structural changes observed in the XRD and RAMAN studies. The surface area from the BET measurement was calculated to be 46.0628 m2/g, and the adsorption average pore size of the electrode material was 11.26607 nm. The electrochemical performance of the Mn-doped MoS2 electrode material showed a pseudo-capacitive behavior, with a specific capacitance of 70.37 Fg−1, and with a corresponding energy density of 3.14 Whkg−1 and a power density of 4346.35 Wkg−1. The performance of this metal-doped MoS2-based supercapacitor device can be attributed to its mixed phase, which requires further optimization in future works.

Study Analisis Elemen Tetrahedron dan Hexahedron Plat Tulang Material Magnesium AZ31B dengan Finite Element Method (FEM)

Metallic-based materials are commonly used as bone plates as well as orthopedic implants, due to their mechanical properties. This study aims to perform a finite element analysis based on three-point bending test data according to the ASTM F382-99 standard. The dimensions of bone plate material was 120 mm x 14 mm x 5 mm (length x width x thickness) with 6 and 10 screw holes. The load given to the plate analysis was 986.89 N with element size of 0.55 mm. The hexahedron elements have the total number of 62,179 elements for 6 holes and 62,960 elements for 10 holes. The total number of elements of the tetrahedron were 63,609 elements for 6 holes and 64,822 elements for 10 holes. Also, finite element analysis for plates with 6 holes and 10 holes using hexahedron elements yielded a total deformation of 6.1963 mm and 6.7852 mm, respectively. Furthermore, the tetrahedron element for plates with 6 holes and 10 holes resulted in a total deformation of 6.1762 mm and 6.7651 mm, respectively. Based on the above data, it can be concluded that the finite element analysis calculation for bone plate using hexahedron elements is more accurate when compare to the tetrahedrons.

Construction of Bi-component CoNi nanosheet coated TiO2 nanotube arrays for photocatalysis-assisted poisoning tolerance toward methanol oxidation reaction

Transition metal-based materials are an excellent alternative high cost Pt and Pt-group metals as the anode material in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). However, similar to Pt-based anode, these catalysts can also be poisoned by the by-product intermediates produced by methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). In this study, CoNi bi-component nanosheets were anchored onto the wall of spaced TiO2 nanotube arrays (TiO2 @CoNi) using a hydrothermal modification strategy and acted as a nonprecious metal electrocatalyst for MOR. Importantly, benefitting from the construction of the p-n heterojunction, the photogenerated electron-hole pairs can be effective separated. The holes are utilized for the decomposition of intermediate species adsorbed on the catalyst surface, thus releasing the occupied active sites. The as-formed TiO2 @CoNi hybrid displays remarkably improved intermediate-poisoning resistance ability and elevated electrocatalytic stability for MOR with the assistance of solar-light irradiation. This study provides an innovative strategy to design catalysts with tolerance for poisoning intermediates in MOR application, thus slowing down the drop of catalyst activity.

Atomic ruthenium stabilized on vacancy-rich boron nitride for selective hydrogenation of esters

Constructing and taming metal–support interaction of atoms and/or clusters has emerged as a promising protocol to maximize the catalytic performance of noble metal-based materials. Here, we report atomic ruthenium (Ru) with the oxidized state immobilized on defect-rich hexagonal boron nitride (d-BN) nanosheets and the essential interfacial electronic effect on Ru deduced from B- and N-vacancies for superior selective hydrogenation of esters. Experimental results indicate that strong electronic interplay exists between vacancies and atomic Ru species. Unlike defect-free commercial hexagonal BN (h-BN), d-BN can highly stabilize the active Ru species in atomic scale with oxidation state, and the obtained Ru/d-BN significantly increases the catalytic activity and durability. Specifically, the turnover frequency of Ru/d-BN is more than one order of magnitude higher than that of the conventional optimized Ag/SiO2 catalyst for the selective hydrogenation of dimethyl oxalate to methyl glycol. Systematic characterizations show that the Ru on B- and N-vacancies, and the defective BN serves as electron acceptor. The findings demonstrate the overall electronic effect on the electron-rich feature of Ru on d-BN, such that the electronic metal–support interactions cause the Ru species to favor the adsorption and selective scission of C–O bonds in esters, revealing a highly efficient hydrogenation catalysis.

Concept for the reduction of non-value-adding operations in Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF)

In additive manufacturing with metallic base material, Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) is an industrially established technology for tool-free production of complex and individualized components and products by applying material layer by layer. In addition to in-processing, the L-PBF process chain consists of several other process steps in pre- and post-processing. A holistic view of the additive manufacturing process chain shows that many process steps currently involve non-value-adding (NVA) operations and that there is generally great potential for reducing throughput times and costs. Due to the great importance of efficiency in industrial manufacturing process chains, this paper proposes a concept for analyzing the L-PBF process chain and deriving measures to eliminate NVA operations and increase the efficiency of value-adding (VA) operations. First, this paper presents a methodology for identifying VA and NVA operations that encompasses the entire chain. After the process mapping, the process steps are divided into sub-tasks to subsequently analyze them with regard to the level of automation. This analysis is the basis for selecting the appropriate automation strategy and optimizing the individual process steps by applying automation-aligned lean production methods to increase the proportion of VA operations. The potential for a significant increase in the productivity of the additive manufacturing process chain is demonstrated through systematic analysis and requirements-based optimization of the level of automation. The approach is structured in an adaptive manner so that, beyond the possibilities of lean production and automation, other optimization alternatives from further disciplines, such as digitization and networking, can be integrated.