Featured
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| Open AccessMechanically derived short-range order and its impact on the multi-principal-element alloys
Unlike diffusion-mediated chemical short-range orders (SROs) in multi-principal element alloys, diffusionless SROs and their impact on alloys have been elusive. Here, the authors show the formation of strain-induced SROs by crystalline lattice defects, upon external loading at 77 K.
- Jae Bok Seol
- , Won-Seok Ko
- & Hyoung Seop Kim
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Article
| Open AccessUltrahigh-temperature melt printing of multi-principal element alloys
Multi-principal element alloy (MPEA) 3D printing is challenging due to the tradeoff between achieving high-temperature and sufficient heating zone. Here, the authors report an ultrahigh-temperature melt printing method that can achieve rapid melting and uniform elemental mixing for MPEA fabrication.
- Xizheng Wang
- , Yunhao Zhao
- & Liangbing Hu
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Article
| Open AccessData-driven electron-diffraction approach reveals local short-range ordering in CrCoNi with ordering effects
Non-random chemical mixings that are intrinsic to medium- and high-entropy alloys are difficult to detect and quantify. Here the authors perform a diffraction data-mining analysis, revealing nanoclusters of short-range orders in a CrCoNi alloy, and their impacts on chemical homogeneity and dislocations slip.
- Haw-Wen Hsiao
- , Rui Feng
- & Jian-Min Zuo
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Article
| Open AccessSurface melting of a colloidal glass
The melting process in glasses is not fully understood. Experiments with colloidal glasses now show that during melting, a liquid film develops at the surface, below which a region forms with highly mobile particles. This surface glassy layer reflects the properties of the surface and the underlying bulk material.
- Li Tian
- & Clemens Bechinger
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Article
| Open AccessProlonged in situ self-healing in structural composites via thermo-reversible entanglement
Synthetic materials that can repeatedly self-repair, akin to biological systems, are vital to meeting the 21st century’s infrastructural demands. Here, authors develop fiber-reinforced composites with rapid and prolonged in situ self-healing while also preserving structural integrity.
- Alexander D. Snyder
- , Zachary J. Phillips
- & Jason F. Patrick
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Article
| Open AccessRevealing the pulse-induced electroplasticity by decoupling electron wind force
The origin of the degradation of nanodevices under electrical pulses still remains unknown. Here, Li et al. reveal the mechanism of direct electron-dislocation interaction by decoupling the electron wind force using in situ electropulsing, providing atomistic insight into the electroplasticity.
- Xing Li
- , Qi Zhu
- & Ze Zhang
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Article
| Open AccessA biomimetic laminated strategy enabled strain-interference free and durable flexible thermistor electronics
Flexible thermistor epidermal electronics is desired to continuously monitor skin temperature in medical applications. Hao et al. report a nacre mimetic laminated strategy to fabricate thermistors with large mechanical durability for high-fidelity temperature discrimination without signal distortion.
- Sanwei Hao
- , Qingjin Fu
- & Jun Yang
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Article
| Open AccessSeismic events miss important kinematically governed grain scale mechanisms during shear failure of porous rock
Sound and Vision: In-situ synchrotron x-ray imaging with simultaneous acoustic monitoring captures grain scale damage mechanisms and unlocks the relationship between seismic and aseismic processes during catastrophic failure of porous rock.
- Alexis Cartwright-Taylor
- , Maria-Daphne Mangriotis
- & Oxana V. Magdysyuk
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Article
| Open AccessHigh strength and damage-tolerance in echinoderm stereom as a natural bicontinuous ceramic cellular solid
Engineering ceramic foams are often limited for non-structural usages due to their brittleness. Here the authors elucidate the structural design strategies of echinoderm stereo as a biological ceramic cellular solid for achieving simultaneous high strength and damage tolerance.
- Ting Yang
- , Zian Jia
- & Ling Li
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Article
| Open AccessHierarchical nano-martensite-engineered a low-cost ultra-strong and ductile titanium alloy
It is challenging to obtain Ti alloys with ultrafine microstructure owing to the low thermal stability of crystallographic boundaries. Here the authors demonstrate a chemical boundary-based strategy to produce a hierarchical Ti alloy with nano-martensites that has excellent strength and ductility.
- Chongle Zhang
- , Xiangyun Bao
- & Jun Sun
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Article
| Open AccessThe influence of alloying on slip intermittency and the implications for dwell fatigue in titanium
It is important to understand dwell fatigue that has been implicated in several uncontained jet engine failures. Here the authors observe stress bursts due to slip intermittency in a Ti alloy using synchrotron x-ray diffraction microscopy to understand the roles of precipitates and trace oxygen.
- Felicity F. Worsnop
- , Rachel E. Lim
- & David Dye
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Article
| Open AccessObservation of boundary induced chiral anomaly bulk states and their transport properties
Bulk and edge modes and their relation in topological materials is something researchers have been tried to harness for various applications. Here the authors provide a method to achieve chiral anomaly bulk states by applying boundary conditions to a topologically trivial crystal.
- Mudi Wang
- , Qiyun Ma
- & C. T. Chan
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Article
| Open AccessMigration of solidification grain boundaries and prediction
Solidification grain boundary migration (SGBM) occurs in metals and alloys manufactured by casting, welding, or 3D printing, and it affects material properties, but its mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, the authors show how SGBM can be predicted in various alloys under different conditions.
- Hongmei Liu
- , Shenglu Lu
- & Ma Qian
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Article
| Open AccessInhibiting weld cracking in high-strength aluminium alloys
Fusion welding of 7000 series aluminum alloy is plagued by cracking from a fine equiaxed zone (FQZ). Here, the authors quantify key softening mechanisms, show the damage accumulation sequence, and propose a hybrid laser/arc welding strategy to mitigate the FQZ and increase weld strength and toughness.
- Yanan Hu
- , Shengchuan Wu
- & Philip J. Withers
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Article
| Open AccessTowards development of a high-strength stainless Mg alloy with Al-assisted growth of passive film
High-strength Mg alloys are often sought-after for automotive and aerospace applications, but they have an inferior corrosion resistance. Here, the authors develop a Mg-11Y-1Al (wt. %) alloy that shows both significantly improved mechanical properties and corrosion resistance.
- Qingchun Zhu
- , Yangxin Li
- & Xiaoqin Zeng
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Article
| Open AccessCement substitution with secondary materials can reduce annual global CO2 emissions by up to 1.3 gigatons
In this paper we report the maximum potential for cement substitution with secondary materials to reduce CO2 emissions globally (1.3 Gt CO2-eq. in 2018) and on a country-by-country basis.
- Izhar Hussain Shah
- , Sabbie A. Miller
- & Rupert J. Myers
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Article
| Open AccessContinuously processing waste lignin into high-value carbon nanotube fibers
Towards high-value utilization of biomass materials, authors demonstrate continuous preparation of high-performance carbon nanotube fibers using lignin as carbon source by solvent dispersion, high-temperature pyrolysis, catalytic synthesis, and assembly.
- Fuyao Liu
- , Qianqian Wang
- & Meifang Zhu
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Article
| Open AccessNon-Hookean large elastic deformation in bulk crystalline metals
Engineering metals often suffer from a small elastic deformation with a linear stress-strain relationship obeying Hooke’s law. Here the authors observe a large nonlinear tensile elastic deformation with a strain of >4.3% in a bulk Cu alloy that offers potential for elastic strain engineering.
- Sheng Xu
- , Takumi Odaira
- & Ryosuke Kainuma
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Article
| Open AccessHighly reinforced and degradable lignocellulose biocomposites by polymerization of new polyester oligomers
Cellulose biocomposites from nanocellulose or plant fibers with polymer matrix are often not degradable and suffer from insufficient mechanical properties to replace established materials. Here, the authors demonstrate the fabrication of hydrolytically degradable polymers through in-situ polymerization of new functionally balanced oligomers within high-content lignocellulose reinforcement networks.
- Erfan Oliaei
- , Peter Olsén
- & Lars A. Berglund
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Article
| Open AccessA nanodispersion-in-nanograins strategy for ultra-strong, ductile and stable metal nanocomposites
High-strength nanocrystalline materials come at the expense of tensile ductility, thermal stability, and electrical conductivity. Here the authors report a nanodispersion-in-nanograins strategy where ultra-nano-carbon was used to concurrently achieve above four mutually exclusive properties.
- Zan Li
- , Yin Zhang
- & Y. Morris Wang
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Article
| Open AccessDislocation exhaustion and ultra-hardening of nanograined metals by phase transformation at grain boundaries
Strengthening of metals by grain refinement is limited by the inverse Hall-Petch effect. Here, the authors show nanograined metals can be strengthened by exhausting lattice dislocations via triggering of phase transformation at grain boundaries, instead of further grain refinement.
- Shangshu Wu
- , Zongde Kou
- & Tao Feng
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Article
| Open AccessGrain boundary structural transformation induced by co-segregation of aliovalent dopants
The effect of aliovalent doping on grain boundary is not yet fully understood at the atomic level. Here, the authors report grain boundary structural transformation in α-Al2O3 is induced by co-segregation of multiple dopants using atomic-resolution electron microscopy and theoretical calculations.
- Toshihiro Futazuka
- , Ryo Ishikawa
- & Yuichi Ikuhara
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Article
| Open AccessOn the origin of elasticity and heat conduction anisotropy of liquid crystal elastomers at gigahertz frequencies
Elastic anisotropy of liquid crystals elastomers is typically measured at low frequencies for the applications such as soft robotics, actuators, and origami. Here the authors study the elastic anisotropy of LCE using Brillouin light spectroscopy at gigahertz frequencies such as radio frequencies or 5 G cellular networks.
- Yu Cang
- , Jiaqi Liu
- & George Fytas
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Article
| Open AccessAchieving thermally stable nanoparticles in chemically complex alloys via controllable sluggish lattice diffusion
Nanoparticle strengthening provides a crucial basis for developing high-performance materials, which often fails to work due to poor thermal stability. Here, the authors achieve thermally stable nanoparticles at 800~1000 °C in chemically complex alloys via controllable sluggish lattice diffusion.
- Bo Xiao
- , Junhua Luan
- & Tao Yang
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Article
| Open AccessThe origin of jerky dislocation motion in high-entropy alloys
Dislocations in high-entropy alloys encounter pinning during glide resulting in jerky motion. Here the authors demonstrate that the density of high local Peierls force is proportional to the critical stress required for their glide and mobility.
- Daniel Utt
- , Subin Lee
- & Karsten Albe
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Article
| Open AccessPhase-selective recrystallization makes eutectic high-entropy alloys ultra-ductile
The ever most widely used eutectic alloys often suffer from limited ductility. Here the authors propose a distinctive concept of phase-selective recrystallization to significantly improve their ductility and strength and pave the way for new applications of the widespread eutectic alloys.
- Qingfeng Wu
- , Feng He
- & Jincheng Wang
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Article
| Open AccessDesigning against phase and property heterogeneities in additively manufactured titanium alloys
Additively manufactured Ti alloys exhibit spatially dependent microstructures and mechanical properties owing to the intrinsic thermal cycling. Here the authors develop new Ti alloys with uniform mechanical properties through a rational alloy design.
- Jingqi Zhang
- , Yingang Liu
- & Ming-Xing Zhang
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Article
| Open AccessSuperelastic graphene aerogel-based metamaterials
Graphene aerogels are highly porous and have very low density; despite this they also exhibit high mechanical strength. Here the authors present a laser-engraving strategy for producing graphene meta-aerogels with different configurations and properties.
- Mingmao Wu
- , Hongya Geng
- & Liangti Qu
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Article
| Open AccessUltra-compact MXene fibers by continuous and controllable synergy of interfacial interactions and thermal drawing-induced stresses
Forming compact layered nanostructures is key to achieving continuous MXene fibers with electrical and mechanical properties. Here, authors demonstrate ultra-compact high-performance MXene fibers via a controllable synergy of interfacial interactions and thermal drawing-induced stresses.
- Tianzhu Zhou
- , Yangzhe Yu
- & Lei Wei
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Article
| Open AccessThermodynamics-guided alloy and process design for additive manufacturing
Production defects prevent many industrially important materials from being adopted by metal additive manufacturing. Here, the authors propose a universal thermodynamics-guided alloy design approach to assist the discovery of crack-free materials.
- Zhongji Sun
- , Yan Ma
- & Dierk Raabe
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Article
| Open AccessRevisiting stress-corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement in 7xxx-Al alloys at the near-atomic-scale
High-strength Al alloys are sensitive to stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement that limit their applications. Here the authors examine them at near-atomic scale using advanced microscopy and reveal hydrogen at dislocations and grain boundaries, and subsequent microstructural changes.
- Martí López Freixes
- , Xuyang Zhou
- & Baptiste Gault
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Article
| Open AccessIn situ atomic-scale observation of dislocation climb and grain boundary evolution in nanostructured metal
Dislocation climb is crucial to plasticity and creep of materials. Here, the authors report real-time atomic-scale observations of grain boundary dislocation climb in nanostructured Au at room temperature. The dislocation climb occurs by reconstruction of two atomic columns in the dislocation core.
- Shufen Chu
- , Pan Liu
- & Mingwei Chen
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Article
| Open AccessAtomic-scale insights on hydrogen trapping and exclusion at incoherent interfaces of nanoprecipitates in martensitic steels
By trapping hydrogen, nanoprecipitates can mitigate the hydrogen embrittlement of high strength steels. Here, the authors report direct evidences on the structural and chemical features underlying distinct hydrogen-trapping behaviors at the incoherent interfaces of precipitates and steel matrix.
- Binglu Zhang
- , Qisi Zhu
- & Lijie Qiao
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Article
| Open AccessCompositional dependence of the fragility in metallic glass forming liquids
In metallic liquids, the fragility is difficult to predict and measure. Here, the authors present the film inflation method, which reveals large fragility variations across Mg–Cu–Y, and introduce the crystallization complexity as additional contribution to glass forming ability.
- Sebastian A. Kube
- , Sungwoo Sohn
- & Jan Schroers
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Article
| Open AccessHigh stress twinning in a compositionally complex steel of very high stacking fault energy
Mechanical twinning is difficult to trigger in face centered cubic alloys with high stacking fault energies (SFEs) under standard tensile loading. Here, the authors report high stress twinning in a bulk compositionally complex steel of very high SFE, enhancing the material’s mechanical performance.
- Zhangwei Wang
- , Wenjun Lu
- & Zhiming Li
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Article
| Open AccessFreezing solute atoms in nanograined aluminum alloys via high-density vacancies
Low-temperature decomposition and insufficient plastic deformability are bottlenecks that limit the practical applications of nanograined Al alloys. Here the authors utilize a high density vacancies in combination with Sc microalloying to stabilize nanograined Al-Cu alloys.
- Shenghua Wu
- , Hanne S. Soreide
- & Jun Sun
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Article
| Open AccessAllotropy in ultra high strength materials
Here the authors propose a crystal thermodynamics framework describing the tensor stress induced phase transformations in solids based on nonlinear elasticity and first principles calculations. The proposed approach enables balanced design of high-strength, high-ductility materials.
- A. S. L. Subrahmanyam Pattamatta
- & David J. Srolovitz
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Article
| Open AccessLiquid crystals of neat boron nitride nanotubes and their assembly into ordered macroscopic materials
Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTS) have only been shown to dissolve in chlorosulfonic acid (CSA) at low concentrations. Here the authors successfully demonstrate the formation of liquid crystals of BNNTs in CSA that can be used to produce macroscopically aligned neat fibers of BNNTs.
- Cedric J. Simonsen Ginestra
- , Cecilia Martínez-Jiménez
- & Matteo Pasquali
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Article
| Open AccessOn the damage tolerance of 3-D printed Mg-Ti interpenetrating-phase composites with bioinspired architectures
Bioinspired architectures are desired to achieve improved mechanical properties, but challenging to achieve in metallic systems. Here the authors fabricate a Mg-Ti interpenetrating phase composite with brick-and-mortar, Bouligand, and crossed-lamellar architectures by pressureless infiltrating method.
- Mingyang Zhang
- , Ning Zhao
- & Robert O. Ritchie
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Article
| Open AccessLattice-mismatch-free growth of organic heterostructure nanowires from cocrystals to alloys
The large-scale synthesis of organic heterostructure nanowires is challenging. Here, the authors report the synthesis of organic triblock nanowires via a lattice mismatch-free strategy.
- Qiang Lv
- , Xue-Dong Wang
- & Liang-Sheng Liao
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Article
| Open AccessGiant energy-storage density with ultrahigh efficiency in lead-free relaxors via high-entropy design
Dielectric ceramics are widely used in advanced high/pulsed power capacitors. Here, the authors propose a high-entropy strategy to design “local polymorphic distortion” in lead-free ceramics, achieving high energy storage performance.
- Liang Chen
- , Shiqing Deng
- & Jun Chen
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Article
| Open AccessHierarchical tensile structures with ultralow mechanical dissipation
Low dissipation of fundamental mode is a determinant factor in nanomechanical resonator design. Here the authors realize soft clamping for the fundamental mode in a nanomechanical tensile structure achieving low loss, low mass, and low resonance frequency that render it a perfect force sensor.
- M. J. Bereyhi
- , A. Beccari
- & N. J. Engelsen
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessIs configurational entropy the main stabilizing term in rock-salt Mg0.2Co0.2Ni0.2Cu0.2Zn0.2O high entropy oxide?
- Martina Fracchia
- , Mauro Coduri
- & Umberto Anselmi Tamburini
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Article
| Open AccessThe interplay between vapour, liquid, and solid phases in laser powder bed fusion
Complexities of laser-material interactions pose a challenge to minimize defects in additively manufactured metal parts. Here the authors visualize all phases of matter simultaneously to expand understanding of the interactions and show atmospheric information can characterize process stability.
- I. Bitharas
- , N. Parab
- & A. J. Moore
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Article
| Open AccessUltra-dense dislocations stabilized in high entropy oxide ceramics
Dislocation engineering is important for designing structural materials. Here the authors demonstrate that a high-entropy oxide ceramic with a high density of edge dislocations can be stabilized by increasing the compositional complexity, resulting in enhanced fracture toughness.
- Yi Han
- , Xiangyang Liu
- & Chunlei Wan
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Article
| Open AccessAnomalous size effect on yield strength enabled by compositional heterogeneity in high-entropy alloy nanoparticles
Compositional heterogeneity in high-entropy alloys (HEAs) has gained lots of attention, but its relation with the properties remains vague. Here the authors report an anomalous size effect on strength by the compositional heterogeneity, which provides new insights in its connection to properties.
- Jingyuan Yan
- , Sheng Yin
- & Qian Yu
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Article
| Open AccessTailored modular assembly derived self-healing polythioureas with largely tunable properties covering plastics, elastomers and fibers
Intrinsic self-healing polymers attract increasing attention but often suffer from a narrow self-healing temperature range and unsatisfactory mechanical performance. Here, the authors use click chemistry to develop a library of catalyst-free reversible polythioureas and demonstrate that the self-healing temperature and mechanical properties can be adjusted by controlling the flexibility and the steric environment.
- Yan Mei Li
- , Ze Ping Zhang
- & Ming Qiu Zhang
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Article
| Open AccessAtomistic mechanism of phase transformation between topologically close-packed complex intermetallics
It is challenging to study how topologically close-packed phases (TCPs) transform between one phase to another. Here the authors use atomic-resolved tools to look at the transformation between μ and P phases, revealing an intrinsic link between seemingly unrelated TCP configurations.
- Huixin Jin
- , Jianxin Zhang
- & Xiaodong Han
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Article
| Open AccessA sustainable ultra-high strength Fe18Mn3Ti maraging steel through controlled solute segregation and α-Mn nanoprecipitation
Recent demands to design alloys in a more sustainable way have discouraged the use of critical elements that are rare. Here the authors demonstrate a segregation-based strategy to produce a sustainable steel, Fe18Mn3Ti, without critical elements while achieving ultrahigh-strength.
- A. Kwiatkowski da Silva
- , I. R. Souza Filho
- & D. Raabe