MRS Communications最新文献

This paper presents a groundbreaking strategy for optimizing composite laminate structures by integrating finite element modeling with a specialized multi-layer neural network. The neural network is trained on precise ground truth data obtained from rigorous finite element simulations, allowing it to discern intricate correlations among layer orientations, boundary conditions, and optimized designs. Tailored to the nuances of laminar composite optimization, the developed neural network emerges as a potent predictive tool, providing deep insights into the intricate interdependencies of design parameters. The study's findings hold immense promise for advancing materials design and structural engineering, highlighting the transformative potential of combining computational intelligence with traditional modeling approaches.

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Hybrids of carbon nanotube and metals have been regarded as promising candidate for flexible circuit, where thermal stability of nanograined metals is a challenging issue. In this study, we find thermal stability of Cu layer in CNT–Cu hybrids can be improved by coating Al₂O₃ layer. As for CNT–Cu hybrids, Cu nanograins are agglomerated during 673 K annealing. In contrast, the agglomeration of CNT–Cu hybrids can be suppressed after coating Al₂O₃ layer, and exhibit a thickness-dependent thermal stability after annealing at higher temperature. The underlying mechanism might be the compressive stress applied by Al₂O₃ coatings and inhibited diffusion along Cu/Al₂O₃ interfaces.

To address the issue of limited bone repair efficacy, a novel biomimetic HA/GT-OSA composite was synthesized through crosslinking gelatin (GT) with oxidized sodium alginate (OSA) for encapsulating hydroxyapatite (HA). The physicochemical properties of the composite were assessed using SEM, XRD, and FT-IR analyses. The biodegradability and biocompatibility of the HA/GT-OSA were confirmed via simulated body fluid (SBF) degradation testing and toxicity evaluation. Moreover, the HA/GT-OSA composites showed excellent bone regeneration performance in the SD rats intracranial bone repair, highlighting their immense potential for treating irregular bone defects and facilitating minimally invasive surgical implantation.

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Heteroatom doping of graphitic carbon is of high interest for tuning its physicochemical properties. Aluminum is commonly reported as a high-interest dopant, but few synthetic strategies have been reported owing to the low equilibrium solubility of Al within graphite. Herein we report several strategies to achieve metastable aluminum-substituted turbostratic graphitic carbon materials with aluminum contents up to ~ 0.5 at%, via co-pyrolysis of two molecular precursors between 800 and 1100°C. The resulting materials exhibit turbostratic graphitic structure and a previously unreported aluminum environment detectable by X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), a likely signature of trigonal planar or puckered AlC₃-type sites.

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Since the advent of Organic Electrochemical Transistors (OECTs) back in the 80s, research focus has shifted from understanding the working mechanism and expanding the materials library to finding new applications and building larger integrated circuits. Given the strong dependency of these devices’ performance on their geometrical dimensions and considering the increasing need for larger scale and low cost fabrication, research on novel processing methods is paramount. Here, we review the most common processing techniques used for OECT fabrication, starting from classic methods such as spin coating and electropolymerization to more recent and complex ones like orthogonal lithography and 3D printing. We also provide a brief outlook on how these techniques are enabling integrated circuits and large scale circuitry in general.

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Two-dimensional metals have gained great attention in recent years. However, most of these metals possess relatively strong chemical bonding in three directions; therefore, it is difficult to synthesize 2D metals. In this paper, we prepared 2D and thin- film copper materials via magnetron sputtering. 2D and thin-film copper are formed due to the accumulation of strain and stress associated with different coefficients of thermal expansion for the metal and substrate. SEM and AFM studies suggest that the minimum thickness of a freestanding single layer is approximately 1 nm, with lateral dimensions up to a few millimeters.

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In this work, we investigate additively manufactured composites with populations of coarse and fine glass microspheres that are functionalized using silane coupling agents to explore how and why different functionalization of the fine and coarse fractions leads to vastly different mechanics. Combining strong interfaces on fine particles with weak interfaces on coarse particles leads to enhancements in elongation to break and toughness, whereas combining two types of strong interfaces leads to enhancement in elongation to break and reduction or maintenance of other measured tensile properties. These results can inform future work in tailoring mechanics of highly filled additively manufactured composites.

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Spin coating is a quick and inexpensive method to create nanometer-thick thin films of various polymers on solid substrates. Since the film thickness determines the mechanical, optical, and degradation properties of the coating, it is essential to develop a simple method to predict thickness based on other manipulatable factors. In this study, a three-dimensional manifold simultaneously relating initial solution concentration, film thickness, and monodisperse bulk molecular weight is developed utilizing curve-fit machine learning on a dataset of spin coated polystyrene samples. Given values for any two of the three factors, the manifold presents an accurate corresponding value for the unknown.

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Cold sintering is an emerging technology that significantly reduces sintering temperatures by approximately an order of magnitude, down to about 100–200°C. This reduction of processing temperature enables the co-sintering and integration of dissimilar materials, such as ceramics and polymers, into unprecedented composites, where the low-energy consumption densification provides an opportunity for recycling. Here, we cold sintered barium titanate (BaTiO₃)-polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) ceramic-polymer composites, demonstrating that nano-sized PTFE polymer powders facilitate co-sintering and enable the recycling of ceramic composites. This approach offers an opportunity for reusing and re-processing ceramic components, thereby promoting sustainability through waste reduction and energy savings.

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