Research Progress Of Materials Research Articles

Leveraging experimental and computational tools for advancing carbon capture adsorbents research.

CO2 emissions have been steadily increasing and have been a major contributor for climate change compelling nations to take decisive action fast. The average global temperature could reach 1.5°C by 2035 which could cause a significant impact on the environment, if the emissions are left unchecked. Several strategies have been explored of which carbon capture is considered the most suitable for faster deployment. Among different carbon capture solutions, adsorption is considered both practical and sustainable for scale-up. But the development of adsorbents that can exhibit satisfactory performance is typically done through the experimental approach. This hit and trial method is costly and time consuming and often success is not guaranteed. Machine learning (ML) and other computational tools offer an alternate to this approach and is accessible to everyone. Often, the research towards materials focuses on maximizing its performance under simulated conditions. The aim of this study is to present a holistic view on progress in material research for carbon capture and the various tools available in this regard. Thus, in this review, we first present a context on the workflow for carbon capture material development before providing various machine learning and computational tools available to support researchers at each stage of the process. The most popular application of ML models is for predicting material performance and recommends that ML approaches can be utilized wherever possible so that experimentations can be focused on the later stages of the research and development.

Photopolymerized 3D Printing Materials for Optical Elements

AbstractThe optical element is a key part of manufacturing optoelectronic systems, which can realize functions such as imaging, spectroscopy, image transmission, filtering, and more. The design and manufacture of optical elements is a key issue that restricts its development, and the traditional optical component preparation method is less capable of preparing optical elements with complex structures and multiple materials. As a mature advanced manufacturing technology, photopolymerization 3D printing technology has the advantages of high printing precision and small layer thickness, which plays an important role in the preparation of optical elements. This review paper briefly provides a concise overview of the benefits and applications of photopolymerization 3D printing technology in optical element preparation The development overview and research progress of materials used for the preparation of optical elements by photopolymerization 3D printing are discussed. Finally, it summarizes the current limitations, challenges, future development prospects, and potential applications in the realm of optical element manufacturing.

Shapelet-based orientation and defect identification method for nanostructured surface imaging

Structure-property relations are of fundamental importance for continued progress in materials research. Determining these relationships for nanomaterials introduces additional challenges, especially when nanostructure is present, either through self-assembly or nano-lithographic processes. Recent advances have been made for quantification of nanostructured surfaces, for which many robust experimental imaging methods exist. One promising approach is based on the use of shapelet functions for image analysis, which may be used as a reduced basis for surface pattern structure resulting from a broad range of phenomena (e.g. self-assembly). These shapelet-based methods enable automated quantification of nanostructured images, guided by the user/researcher, providing pixel-level information of local order without requiring detailed knowledge of order symmetries. In this work, enhancements to the existing shapelet-based response distance method are developed which enable further analysis of local order, including quantification of local orientation and identification of topological defects. The presented shapelet-based methods are applied to a representative set of images of self-assembled surfaces from experimental characterization techniques including scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. These methods are shown to be complementary in implementation and, importantly, provide researchers with a robust and generalized computational approach to comprehensively quantify nanostructure order, including local orientation and boundaries within well-aligned grains.

Recent advances in photothermal materials for solar-driven crude oil adsorption

Abstract In recent years, the adsorption method is usually adopted in the actual treatment of crude oil spills. However, the high viscosity of crude oils prevents them from diffusing into the internal pores of the adsorbent, resulting in ineffective oil capture. Photothermal materials can reduce the viscosity of crude oil by in situ heating through the photothermal conversion effect, making it easier for crude oil to occupy the internal pores of the adsorbent. At present, the review of the application of photothermal materials in the field of crude oil adsorption is still blank. This review focuses on the application of novel photothermal conversion materials in the field of crude oil adsorption and their performance comparison. Among the photothermal conversion materials used in the field of crude oil adsorption, some are commercial sponges with high porosity and photothermal coating, while others are self-assembled three-dimensional porous structures of materials with inherent photothermal properties. This review mainly introduces the types and research progress of materials with good photothermal effect at home and abroad in recent years and summarizes some new research ideas and materials that can be applied to photothermal conversion.

Tailoring Materials with Specific Wettability in Biomedical Engineering.

As a fundamental feature of solid surfaces, wettability is playing an increasingly important role in our daily life. Benefitting from the inspiration of biological paradigms and the development in manufacturing technology, numerous wettability materials with elaborately designed surface topology and chemical compositions have been fabricated. Based on these advances, wettability materials have found broad technological implications in various fields ranging from academy, industry, agriculture to biomedical engineering. Among them, the practical applications of wettability materials in biomedical‐related fields are receiving remarkable researches during the past decades because of the increasing attention to healthcare. In this review, the research progress of materials with specific wettability is discussed. After briefly introducing the underlying mechanisms, the fabrication strategies of artificial materials with specific wettability are described. The emphasis is put on the application progress of wettability biomaterials in biomedical engineering. The prospects for the future trend of wettability materials are also presented.

Government shutdowns hamper progress in materials research

Government shutdowns hamper progress in materials research

Spin transport and spin torque in antiferromagnetic devices

Ferromagnets are key materials for sensing and memory applications. In contrast, antiferromagnets, which represent the more common form of magnetically ordered materials, have found less practical application beyond their use for establishing reference magnetic orientations via exchange bias. This might change in the future due to the recent progress in materials research and discoveries of antiferromagnetic spintronic phenomena suitable for device applications. Experimental demonstration of the electrical switching and detection of the Neel order open a route towards memory devices based on antiferromagnets. Apart from the radiation and magnetic-field hardness, memory cells fabricated from antiferromagnets can be inherently multilevel, which could be used for neuromorphic computing. Switching speeds attainable in antiferromagnets far exceed those of ferromagnetic and semiconductor memory technologies. Here, we review the recent progress in electronic spin-transport and spin-torque phenomena in antiferromagnets that are dominantly of the relativistic quantum-mechanical origin. We discuss their utility in pure antiferromagnetic or hybrid ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic memory devices. As part of a focus on antiferromagnetic spintronics, this Review considers the role of spin transport and spin torque in potential antiferromagnetic memory devices.

Research progress of materials and devices for room-temperature Na-ion batteries

Among various electrochemical energy storage technologies, room-temperature Na-ion batteries (NIBs) are regarded as ideal candidates in large-scale energy storage field due to advantages of abundant resources and low material cost in addition to their characteristics of high energy density and long cycle life. Since 2011, the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOP-Chinese Academy of Sciences) has devoted to developing the cost-effective and environmental-safe NIBs, and attained many original achievements in the research of cathode, anode and electrolyte materials, and also developed Na-ion pouch cells with capacities of 1 Ah. For instance, the highly reversible Cu2+/Cu3+ redox was discovered for the first time and the low cost Na-Cu-Fe-Mn-O layered oxide cathodes have been designed accordingly; the anthracite-derived carbon anodes have been exploited via a simple one-step carbonization process with a high performance-to-price ratio; a new type of NaFSI sodium salt was first used in the non-aqueous carbonate electrolyte to significantly improve the performance of electrode materials, etc. This review summarizes the important progress and breakthroughs achieved in IOP-Chinese Academy of Sciences for materials and devices of NIBs. We hope that these contributions conduce to realizing the industrialization of NIBs.

Research progress of materials and technology for electrochemical energy storage

Research progress of materials and technology for electrochemical energy storage

The design evolution of interbody cages in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion: a systematic review.

BackgroundAnterior cervical discectomy with fusion is a common surgical procedure for patients experiencing pain and/or neurological deficits due to cervical spondylosis. Although iliac crest bone graft remains the gold standard today, the associated morbidity has inspired the search for alternatives, including allograft, synthetic and factor/cell-based grafts; and has further led to a focus on cage fusion technology. Compared to their graft counterparts, cage interbody implants have enhanced biomechanical properties, with designs constantly improving to maximise biocompatibility and osseointegration. We present a systematic review examining the historical progress of implant designs and performance, as well as an update on the currently available designs, and the potential future of cervical interbody implants.MethodsWe performed a systematic review using the keywords “cervical fusion implant design”, with no limits on year of publication. Databases used were PubMed, Medline, Embase and Cochrane. In addition, the search was extended to the reference lists of selected articles.Results180 articles were reviewed and 64 articles were eligible for inclusion. Exclusion criteria were based around study design, implant information and patient cohorts. The evolution of cage implant design has been shaped by improved understanding of ideal anatomy, progress in materials research and continuing experimentation of structural design. Originally, designs varied primarily in their choice of structure, however long-term studies have displayed the overall advantages of non-threaded, wedge shaped cages in complementing healthy anatomical profiles, and thus focus has shifted to refining material utilisation and streamlining anterior fixation.ConclusionsEvolution of design has been dramatic over the past decades; however an ideal cage design has yet to be realised. Current research is focusing on the promotion of osseointegration through bioactiviation of surface materials, as well as streamlining anterior fixation with the introduction of integrated screws and zero profile designs. Future designs will benefit from a combination of these advances in order to achieve ideal disc heights, cervical alignments and fusions.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12891-015-0546-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Negative thermal expansion materials: technological key for control of thermal expansion

Most materials expand upon heating. However, although rare, some materials contract upon heating. Such negative thermal expansion (NTE) materials have enormous industrial merit because they can control the thermal expansion of materials. Recent progress in materials research enables us to obtain materials exhibiting negative coefficients of linear thermal expansion over −30 ppm K−1. Such giant NTE is opening a new phase of control of thermal expansion in composites. Specifically examining practical aspects, this review briefly summarizes materials and mechanisms of NTE as well as composites containing NTE materials, based mainly on activities of the last decade.

A microstructure diagram for known bounds in conductivity

Two important analytical means—theoretical bounds and homogenization techniques—have gained increasing attention and led to substantial progress in material research. Nevertheless, there is a lack of relating material microstructures to an entire theoretical bound and exploring the possibility of generating multiple microstructures for each property value. This paper aims to provide a microstructure diagram in relation to “bound B” constructed by translation and Weiner bounds. The inverse homogenization technique is used to seek for the optimal phase distribution within a base cell model to make the effective conductivity approach the “bound B” in two- or three-phase material cases. The design shows that the “bound B” is exactly attainable for two-phase composites even with single-length-scale microstructures. Although the multiphase translations bounds are well known to be asymptotically attainable on some parts, they still appear too roomy to be attained by single-length-scale composites. Our results showed a certain improvement in the attainability of single-length-scale structural composites when compared with new bounds established by [V. Nesi: Proc. R. Soc. Edinburgh Sect. A125, 1219 (1995)], [V. Cherkaev: Variational Methods for Structural Optimization (Springer Verlag, New York, 2000)], and (N. Albin et al.: Proc. R. Soc. London Ser. A463, 2031 (2007)]. Applicability of the translation bounds to the composites with high-contrast conductivities of phase compositions is also studied in this paper. Finally, we explore the multiple solutions to the optimal microstructures and categorize them into three classes in line with their topological resemblance, namely, spatially identical, unidirectionally identical, and bidirectionally different solutions.

Limitations of current techniques for the evaluation of the biohazards and biocompatibility of new candidate materials.

AbstractThe reasons for the limitations of current techniques for the evaluation of the biohazards and biocompatibility of new candidate materials may be summarized as follows: (1) There is no agreement on how these materials are to be standardized interms of chemical, physical, mechanical, or biological criteria; (2) basic bioengineering data, needed to serve as specifications for reconstruction materials, are lacking for mosttissues in the body; (3) there is a lack of agreement as to what constitutes a valid biological test and its interpretation(s) (4) many in vitro and in vivo tests in animals have limited predictability for humans; (5) there has been an overemphasis on studies of the effect of materials on the biological environment at the expense of bioengineering and biodegration studies; (6) except in cases of obvious problems, there has been relatively little follow‐up of the large numbers of patients receiving implanted materials. Little effort has been exerted to exploit this important opportunity to obtain human data: (i) By registering each implant material; (ii) by collecting data on performance; (iii) by collecting data on local or systemic side effects; (iv) by collecting data on biodegradation; (v) by obtaining biopsy or autopsy material whenever possible; and (vi) by examining implants following removal. The limitations of current techniques for the evaluation of new materials are due not so much to the lack of availability of potential test approaches as to a lack of willingness to select, adopt, and actually conduct comparative, objective tests of high predictive value for human patient response. In fact, the confusing array of test approaches and the lack of coordination and completeness of testing efforts has become one of the key factors limiting further progress in materials research, making it difficult for materials scientists and engineers to determine whether their product is likely to be of use in human patients, whether its performance is better or worse than similar products already developed, and hence its potential value as a marketable product. It is proposed that a systematic approach to the development of safe and suitable implant materials focus on three areas of investigation, namely: (1) Matching of the engineering properties of the materials and finished devices with those of the corresponding human tissues; (2) Properties of the implant materials which might exert an effect on the biological system; and (3) properties of the biological environment which might have an effect on the material. To date research on the biocompatibility and biohazards of materials has focused almost entirely on the second area of investigation to the exclusion of the other two. It can be expected that greater attention to the bioengineering specifications of living tissues, and the effects of the biological environment on materials will result in safer materials, exhibiting a closer correspondence to the tissues they are intended to replace. Also greater future emphasis on follow‐up human patient material can be expected to substantially advance the knowledge necessary for the development of new implant materials.

A New Technology for Magnetic Audio and Video Transducers

The Hall effect as a concept is quite old. Until very recently it has been restricted to usage as a laboratory tool. Recently progress in materials research reached a point where the Hall effect could be used in limited applications such as gaussmeters. Most recently the Hall effect has been incorporated in an integrated circuit. This new type of Hall effect device has opened the possibility of broad new areas of applications. This paper discusses some of the areas where digital Hall effect IC's have been used and discusses some preliminary work and potential applications for a linear Hall effect integrated circuit.