Progress in Materials Science最新文献

Color is a property directly discernible by our eyes, making it perceptually conspicuous. Changes in color, whether achromatic (from white to black) or chromatic (from colorless to colored or between different colors), are easily detectable by people with normal vision or through simple spectrophotometric instruments. The categorization of chromogenic systems reveals various mechanisms of chromism. Applications photochromic, thermochromic, and electrochromic materials have been extensively discussed, including their behavior, mechanisms, and limitations. In the landscape of future energy storage systems, the significance of chromisms transcends conventional boundaries, promising transformative impacts on energy efficiency, management strategies, and sustainability. Chromic materials, endowed with their dynamic color-changing attributes, emerge as catalysts for innovation across diverse applications such as batteries, supercapacitors, and smart windows. This review aspires to offer a comprehensive exposition on the intrinsic chromism phenomena within energy storage systems. Commencing with a succinct overview of chromism phenomena and their nuanced formation mechanisms, the narrative seamlessly transitions to an exhaustive scrutiny of recent strides. This exploration encompasses a thorough examination of the components, intricate structures, and diverse properties characterizing chromism phenomena.

Thermal conductivity is critical to the stable operation, service life and reliability of electronic equipment. Solving thermal management problems in electronic devices requires the development of composites with high thermal conductivity. The interface between the filler and the matrix is formed due to the addition of the thermal conductive filler. The presence of interfaces greatly affects the heat transfer of composites. Therefore, it is a challenge to effectively control interface behavior and reduce interface thermal resistance. This review describes the mechanism of heat conduction and the theory of thermal conductivity of composites, and analyzes in depth the effect of interfacial thermal resistance on phonon heat transfer. The importance of improving the thermal conductivity of composites based on interfacial regulation strategies is illustrated from three aspects: non-directional structure design of fillers, co-doping of fillers and multi-layer structure design. Combined with the current research status, this review also describes the multifunctionality of thermally conductive composites. It is hoped that this review will provide some guidance for the study of polymer-based thermally conductive composites.

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) have been widely employed in many engineering fields due to their unique functional properties, such as super-elasticity, elastocaloric effect, and shape memory effect. Besides the experimental observation, the phase field approach is a mainstream and significant research tool and has played an increasingly prominent role in predicting the functional properties and fracture behavior of SMAs and revealing correspondent physical mechanisms. In this work, the phase field models of SMAs are first introduced, including the models of thermally induced SMAs addressing a) the fundamental framework for the martensite transformation and considering some influence factors; b) precipitation behavior; c) fracture behavior; and those of magnetically induced SMAs. Then, the state-of-the-art of phase field simulations on the thermally induced SMAs are systematically reviewed by concerning the martensite transformation, functional properties, and fracture behavior, and those on the magnetically induced SMAs are also reviewed by considering the magnetic-field-induced strain and mechanical-field- and magnetic-field-induced shape memory effect. Finally, the future research directions of the phase field modeling of SMAs are prospected.

Organic room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials have garnered extensive attention owing to their long-lived excited states, low cost, good processability, and promising applications in domains such as anti-counterfeiting and information encryption, afterglow displays, biological imaging, and sensing. However, most current organic RTP materials are derived from artificial phosphors and petroleum-based polymers, hindering their practical applications owing to issues such as complicated synthesis and purification procedures, poor colour tunability, and lack of renewability and sustainability. Fortunately, the conversion of natural polysaccharides to RTP materials can address the issues. In this review, we summarize the recent advancements in natural polysaccharide-based RTP materials, including their design principles, underlying mechanisms, advanced luminescence characteristics, and potential applications. Special emphasis is placed on representative natural polysaccharide-based RTP systems exhibiting remarkable properties rarely observed in artificial phosphors. The discussion also focuses on intrinsic structure–performance relationships and outlines key challenges and perspectives for future development in this intriguing field. Overall, this review aims to detail guidelines and provide inspiration for the development of eco-friendly polysaccharide-based RTP materials, shedding new light on the high-value utilization of natural polysaccharides.