Phase‐Junction Electrocatalysts towards Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Media

To ensure sustainable hydrogen production by water electrolysis, robust, earth‐abundant, and high‐efficient electrocatalysts are required. Constructing a hybrid system could lead to further improvement in electrocatalytic activity. Interface engineering in composite catalysts is thus critical to determine the performance, and the phase‐junction interface should improve the catalytic activity. Here, we show that nickel diphosphide phase junction (c‐NiP₂/m‐NiP₂) is an effective electrocatalyst for hydrogen production in alkaline media. The overpotential (at 10 mA cm^?2) for NiP₂‐650 (c/m) in alkaline media could be significantly reduced by 26 % and 96 % compared with c‐NiP₂ and m‐NiP₂, respectively. The enhancement of catalytic activity should be attributed to the strong water dissociation ability and the rearrangement of electrons around the phase junction, which markedly improved the Volmer step and benefited the reduction process of adsorbed protons.     

Microstructure and properties of silicon carbide whisker reinforced zirconium diboride ultra-high temperature ceramics

Hot-pressed zirconium diboride (ZrB₂) matrix composites containing 0–30 vol% silicon carbide (SiC) whiskers have been investigated to determine the effect of composition (i.e. amount of SiC whiskers) on the microstructure, mechanical properties and thermal properties. With increasing SiC whisker volume contents, the flexural strength and fracture toughness of the composites were improved compared to those of monolithic ZrB₂. Flexural strength increased from 629 MPa for pure ZrB₂ to 767 MPa for ZrB₂–30 vol%SiCw. Likewise, fracture toughness ranged from 5.4 to 7.1 MPa m^1/2 over the same composition range. Specific heat capacity increased with SiC whisker addition, while thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity decreased slightly with the increase of SiC whisker content.     

Coupled thermal/mechanical analysis for the fracture of functionally graded materials under transient thermal loading

A comprehensive treatment of fracture of functionally graded materials (FGMs) is provided. It is assumed that the material properties depend only on the coordinate perpendicular to the crack surfaces and vary continuously along the crack faces. By using a laminated composite plate model to simulate the material non-homogeneity, an algorithm for solving the system based on Laplace transform and Fourier transform techniques is presented. Unlike earlier studies that considered certain assumed property distributions and a single crack problem, the current investigation studies multiple crack problem in the FGMs with arbitrarily varying material properties. Transient thermal stresses are presented. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos 10102004 and 19902003).     

含夹杂和微裂纹复合材料的损伤演化和分析

利用细观力学的Ｅｓｈｅｌｂｙ和Ｍｏｒｉ－Ｔａｎａｋａ理论，考虑纤维和微裂纹之间的相互作用，研究了定向分布微裂纹的演化规律及其对材料力学性能的影响，分析了纤维体积份数，弹性系数、微裂纹密度，纤维不同取向与基体开裂强度之间的变化关系，并给出了许多有意义的结论。     

General coupled solution of anisotropic piezoelectric materials with an elliptic inclusion

In this investigation, the Stroh formalism is used to develop a general solution for an infinite, anisotropic piezoelectric medium with an elliptic inclusion. The coupled elastic and electric fields both inside the inclusion and on the interface of the inclusion and matrix are given. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China     

Reconstruction of Solid Electrolyte Interphase with SrI2 Reactivates Dead Li for Durable Anode-Free Li-Metal Batteries

Without excess Li, anode-free Li-metal batteries (AFLMBs) have been proposed as the most likely solution to realizing highly-safe and cost-effective Li-metal batteries. Nevertheless, short cyclic life puzzles conventional AFLMBs due to anodic dead Li accumulation with a local current concentration induced by irreversible electrolyte depletion, insufficient active Li reservoir and slow Li⁺ transfer at the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). Herein, SrI₂ is introduced into carbon paper (CP) current collector to effectively suppress dead Li through synergistic mechanisms including reversible I⁻/I₃⁻ redox reaction to reactivate dead Li, dielectric SEI surface with SrF₂ and LiF to prevent electrolyte decomposition and highly ionic conductive (3.488 mS cm⁻¹) inner layer of SEI with abundant LiI to enable efficient Li⁺ transfer inside. With the SrI₂-modified current collector, the NCM532/CP cell delivers unprecedented cyclic performances with a capacity of 129.2 mAh g⁻¹ after 200 cycles.     

Characterization of large‐sized Nd:YAG single crystals grown by horizontal directional solidification

Nd³⁺‐doped Y₃Al₅O₁₂ single crystals have been grown by the horizontal directional solidification (HDS) method in different thermal zone. The Grashof (G_r), Prandtl (P_r), Marangoni (M_a) and Rayleigh (R_a) numbers of melt in HDS system have been discussed for our experimental system to understand the mechanism of melt flow patterns and concentration gradient of dopant. The concentration gradient of Nd³⁺ ions was explained with melt flow processes during crystal growth in different thermal zone, and results indicated that high growth temperature will be helpful for uniformity of dopant in HDS‐grown single crystal. The main microscopic growth defects such as bubbles and irregular inclusions in HDS‐grown Nd:YAG crystals were observed, and the causes were discussed as well. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

高超声速飞行器两类典型防热材料的性能表征与评价

针对高超声速飞行器翼前缘用超高温陶瓷材料及机身大面积金属热防护结构材料在高温环境下的力学响应分析与评价方法进行了全面的回顾和总结.综述了大面积金属热防护系统在传热、静力学、热力耦合性能、疲劳性能及抗冲击性能等方面国内外的研究进展;以及超高温陶瓷材料在热冲击、增韧机制、抗氧化性能等方面评价与表征技术,并结合国内研究状况展望了今后的发展方向.      

Discussion on electromagnetic crack face boundary conditions for the fracture mechanics of magneto-electro-elastic materials

This paper discusses electromagnetic boundary conditions on crack faces in magneto- electroelastic materials, where piezoelectric, piezomagnetic and magnetoelectric effects are coupled. A notch of finite thickness in these materials is also addressed. Four idealized electromagnetic boundary conditions assumed for the crack-faces are separately investigated, i.e. (a) electrically and magnetically impermeable (crack-face), (b) electrically impermeable and magnetically permeable, (c) electrically permeable and magnetically impermeable, and (d) electrically and magnetically permeable. The influence of the notch thickness on important parameters, such as the field intensity factors, the energy release rate at the notch tips and the electromagnetic fields inside the notch, are studied and the results are obtained in closed-form. Results under different idealized electromagnetic boundary conditions on the crack-face are compared, and the applicability of these idealized assumptions is discussed.The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10102004) The English text was polished by Yunming Chen.