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The Journal of Materials Science awards the annual Robert W. Cahn Prize to recognize the best paper published in the journal each year. The winner of the 2023 Cahn Prize is a research paper titled "Molecular modelling of graphene nanoribbons on the effect of porosity and oxidation on the mechanical and thermal properties." The paper presents molecular simulation models of graphene nanoribbons and examines the impact of porosity and oxidation on their mechanical and thermal conductivity properties. The paper is well-written and provides valuable insights for researchers in this field. Two other papers were selected as runners-up for the prize. All the monthly finalists for the Cahn Prize can be downloaded for free on the journal's website. [Extracted from the article]

Professor Grimes summarizes the winning paper and the two runners-up:"Machine learning is certainly of great current interest to address the multivariable materials design challenge. 10.1007/s10853-022-07499-9 5 Wang Z, Lai A, Schuh CA, Radovitzky R. Phase transformation and incompatibility at grain boundaries in zirconia-based shape memory ceramics: a micromechanics-based simulation study. The winner of the 2022 Robert W. Cahn Best Paper award is "Machine learning guided alloy design of high-temperature NiTiHf shape memory alloys" by Udesh M.H.U. Kankanamge, Johannes Reiner, Xingjun Ma, Santiago Corujeira Gallo, and Wei Xu. [Extracted from the article]

Of course, the paper complements the SEM imaging, which is intrinsic to the FIB, with imaging and diffraction in the TEM. The paper does also have a SharedIt link like all articles in JMS (https://rdcu.be/cWW0L) so it can be widely and immediately shared with readers; all papers published in JMS are free-to-read using the SharedIt link from the moment they appear online with their permanent DOI. The cover for the November 2022 issues of the Journal of Materials Science comes from the paper by Tunes et al. which appeared in issue #35 from September 2022 [[1]]. [Extracted from the article]

In-situ formation and integration of graphene into MoS2 interlayer spacing: expansion of interlayer spacing for superior hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic and alkaline electrolyte. The paper was handled by our Editor Mark Bissett and is entitled "In-situ formation and integration of graphene into MoS SB 2 sb interlayer spacing: expansion of interlayer spacing for superior hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic and alkaline electrolyte"; it is part of our "Energy materials" Topical Collection. The cover for the December 2022 issues of the Journal of Materials Science comes from the paper by Bui et al., which appeared in issue #40 from October 2022 [[1]]. [Extracted from the article]

High-entropy borides are deemed robust candidates because of their complex combination of entropy-driven, multi-component disordered solid solutions. They are particularly remarkable for their unique single-crystal structures and significant bandgap. This structural adaptability positions them uniquely among materials, setting them apart from conventional transition metal diborides. Researchers have been fascinated by the appeal of high-entropy borides for a long time, driven by the groundbreaking idea of 'High entropy ceramics'. Nevertheless, the lack of thorough review papers in this field has hindered the progress of creating strong and durable high-entropy borides. This paper proposes adopting a collaborative strategy to properly negotiate this unexplored region. This perspective covers the up-to-date research on successfully synthesized high-entropy boride complexes. It examines compositional strategies, historical backgrounds, structural complexity, fabrication methods, mechanical, thermal, and oxidation properties, as well as emergent properties with potential uses, pathways, and future possibilities. This attempt challenges materials science traditions by introducing novel materials with superior performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advent of several tools and web engines trained for finding journal articles out of billions of research papers on millions of topics in different databases with a high degree of generalizability, it often leads to a loss of specificity. Scientific pursuits need a tool to extract data from selected resources for performing domain-specific tasks. Current algorithms and generalized tools lack specificity and are challenged by errors in analysing data from a bundle of specific documents selected eclectically. Current work addresses the need for such a tool, which focuses on specificity based on users' input keywords and phrases to find relevant information from bundles of articles from the web. Reseractor is based on a customized algorithm, Whitespace, in synergy with output from open-access tools for document image analysis and focused domain data extraction using NLP. The current tool is designed for the material science domain with the features of adopting various generalized and scientific corpora as layers. It is tested on two sets of different bundles of papers and gives an accuracy of 81.12% along with a recall of 78.38% and a precision of 84.06%. Owing to the simple and direct applicability of algorithms, users from other domains can directly use their corpora in algorithms and remodel the tool for their purpose. Current work fulfills the need for domain-specific experimental data extraction stored in organized and structured databases for upcoming computational researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Journal of Materials Science is known for publishing papers on polymer materials. The journal has several editors who specialize in polymers, including Chris Cornelius, Steve Eichhorn, Jamie C. Grunlan, Dale Huber, Maude Jimenez, Greg Rutledge, Jean-François Gohy, and Mohammad Naraghi. These editors handle papers on a wide range of topics related to polymers, including composites, materials for the life sciences, coatings, electronic materials, chemical routes to materials, and ceramics. Each editor has their own area of expertise and has made significant contributions to the field. The journal is a valuable resource for researchers interested in polymeric materials and related topics. [Extracted from the article]

In the past two decades, humidity actuators have received extensive attention from researchers due to their merits of simple stimulation, no pollution, programmable actuation behaviour, and simple structure. However, in order to perform more complex and difficult tasks, it is indispensable to enhance the response speed of the humidity actuators. Therefore, we mainly discuss the influence of materials and structure on the response speed of the actuators in this paper. In this review, the materials of the actuators include inorganic materials, polymers, biomaterials, hybrid materials, and structural materials. According to the structures, the actuators can be divided into monolayer film and multilayer film types. In addition, the applications of humidity-driven actuators in humidity detection, soft robot, self-power and medical equipment are introduced, providing a reference for the large-scale application of humidity actuators. Finally, this review also considers the practical challenges faced by humidity-driven actuators, summarizes how these challenges affect the potential applications of the actuators, and prospects for the future development trend of the actuators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Journal of Materials Science has released a special issue dedicated to lightweight materials in China. This issue features 21 papers covering a range of topics, including the design, synthesis, characterization, and applications of lightweight materials. The papers explore various materials such as aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, titanium alloys, and composites. The quest for lightweight materials is driven by the need for energy efficiency, sustainability, and improved performance in industries such as aerospace, automotive, and construction. The journal hopes that this special issue will inspire and inform researchers and engineers in the field of lightweight materials. [Extracted from the article]

Functional nanocomposite materials are hybrid systems combining nanoscale fillers with a matrix, resulting in enhanced properties such as mechanical strength, thermal stability, and electrical conductivity. These materials are highly versatile, finding applications across a broad range of fields, including aerospace for lightweight, strong components, electronics for flexible and high-performance devices, healthcare for targeted drug delivery and tissue engineering, and environmental sectors for water purification and pollutant sensing. Their tunable properties make them ideal for addressing emerging challenges in various industries. This special issue entitled as ‘‘Functional Nanocomposite Materials’’ of Journal of Materials Science is a remarkable collection of invited and contributed papers on this topic, showcasing outstanding recent research results in this field.Graphical abstract: Functional nanocomposite materials are hybrid systems combining nanoscale fillers with a matrix, resulting in enhanced properties such as mechanical strength, thermal stability, and electrical conductivity. These materials are highly versatile, finding applications across a broad range of fields, including aerospace for lightweight, strong components, electronics for flexible and high-performance devices, healthcare for targeted drug delivery and tissue engineering, and environmental sectors for water purification and pollutant sensing. Their tunable properties make them ideal for addressing emerging challenges in various industries. This special issue entitled as ‘‘Functional Nanocomposite Materials’’ of Journal of Materials Science is a remarkable collection of invited and contributed papers on this topic, showcasing outstanding recent research results in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Journal of Materials Science has a strong focus on publishing papers related to metals. The journal's editors have extensive experience and expertise in the field of metals, with some of them having authored highly cited publications. One of the editors, Megumi Kawasaki, is a renowned researcher in the field of bulk nanostructured materials and holds positions at Oregon State University and Osaka Metropolitan University. Another editor, Philip Nash, is a Professor Emeritus at the Illinois Institute of Technology and has made significant contributions to the field of physical and process metallurgy. Sophie Primig, a professor at UNSW Sydney, specializes in structure-property relationships in structural metallic materials, particularly aerospace alloys. Zhao Shen, a professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, focuses on the design of corrosion-resistant alloys and coatings. Naiqin Zhao, a professor at Tianjin University, has expertise in the fabrication and characterization of alloys and composites. The Journal of Materials Science provides a platform for researchers in the field of metals to share their findings and contribute to the advancement of the field. [Extracted from the article]

Research on the structural properties of silicon crystal nucleation during solidification has been the subject of numerous classic studies in condensed matter physics and material science. The approach to structural properties of Si crystal nucleation adopted for this paper is based on molecular dynamics simulation at the cooling rate of 1010 K/s. Using the entropy of largest standard cluster and the pair distribution function, it is able to obtain microstructural evolution characteristics. The pleomorphism properties and distribution of Si crystal nucleation was presented by the visualization method. The systematic evolution diagram illustrates the competitive growth between cubic diamond and hexagonal diamond structures which shows that the crystal nucleus easily forms and then grow during a short period of time at the initial crystallization stage. The orientation characteristics after crystal nucleation in space are systematically analyzed and it is found that the nucleation and orientation of crystals are weakly dependent, that is, the orientations of crystals are homogeneous and random. In addition, the visualization results show that various twins exist in the system, including coherent twins, rotating twins and some torsional twins, which improve the structural stability to a certain degree. This study further explores crystal nucleation on the atomic scale and it is hoped that this research will contribute to expanding the understanding of the orientation distribution and crystallization behavior of amorphous silicon during the growth process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The search for carbon allotropes with exotic electrical and mechanical properties is one of frontier topics in materials science. In this work, we proposed a carbon allotrope, namely moC12, with unexpected one-dimensional metallicity, superconductivity and mechanical anisotropy via first-principles calculations. This novel carbon allotrope contains 12 atoms in its unit cell with interatomic connections via sp2–sp3 hybridization, forming a three-dimensional spatial sandwich panel anisotropic structure. The dynamic and mechanical stability of the new structure in the ambient state is demonstrated. The one-dimensional conductivity originates from the one-dimensional conductive channel constituted between the sp2-hybridized atoms, while in other directions this conductive channel is interrupted by the residual sp3-hybridized carbon atoms. Moreover, moC12 is superconductive, with a superconducting critical temperature of 2.14 K. The unique three-dimensional spatial sandwich panel anisotropic structure endows moC12 with excellent toughness and also exhibits intense mechanical anisotropy including elasticity and tensile stress–strain. The distinctive conductive and mechanical natures make moC12 a potential material for probe in the direction measuring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of cost-effective coatings with exceptional corrosion resistance is an ongoing challenge in the field of materials science. Among the promising coatings, zinc–nickel (Zn–Ni) coatings have shown great potential, especially when produced using economical electroplating technology. However, achieving optimal performance while minimizing coating thickness remains a complex task. In this study, the behavior of the responses was investigated according to the coating standards and levels, focusing on eight variables including temperature, time, cathodic current density, nickel concentration, substrate hardness, roughness, cathode–anode distance, and magnetic stirring speed. Four responses were investigated: coating thickness, roughness, microhardness, and corrosion rate with potentiodynamic polarization, using two design of experiments (DOE) methods: Plackett–Burman design (12 runs) and response surface methodology with Box–Behnken design (15 runs). The results show the degree of influence of each variable on the responses and their contribution to changing the responses. Additionally, response surfaces have been determined and it is shown that large response values can be achieved with small thicknesses. The morphological study using SEM, EDX, and XRD techniques revealed that the deposition conditions play an important role in the surface morphology. Some samples showed microcracks, while others had small grain size and were free of cracks and pores. Overall, this study provides new insights into the improvement of Zn–Ni coatings with exceptional corrosion resistance and cost-effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Powder X-ray diffraction analysis is a critical component of materials characterization methodologies. Discerning characteristic Bragg intensity peaks and assigning them to known crystalline phases is the first qualitative step of evaluating diffraction spectra. Subsequent to phase identification, Rietveld refinement may be employed to extract the abundance of quantitative, material-specific parameters hidden within powder data. These characterization procedures are yet time-consuming and inhibit efficiency in materials science workflows. The ever-increasing popularity and propulsion of data science techniques has provided an obvious solution on the course toward materials analysis automation. Deep learning has become a prime focus for predicting crystallographic parameters and features from X-ray spectra. However, the infeasibility of curating large, well-labeled experimental datasets means that one must resort to a large number of theoretic simulations for powder data augmentation to effectively train deep models. Herein, we are interested in conventional supervised learning algorithms in lieu of deep learning for multi-label crystalline phase identification and quantitative phase analysis for a biomedical application. First, models were trained using very limited experimental data. Further, we incorporated simulated XRD data to assess model generalizability as well as the efficacy of simulation-based training for predictive analysis in a real-world X-ray diffraction application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of multifunctional hydrogels remains a grand challenge in material science, biomedicine, and other high-tech fields. Herein, we report a new method to use cucurbit[7] (CB[7]) as a cross-linking agent with biocompatible agarose (AG) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) forming an interpenetrating network structure by hydrogen bond way, and then doping the low-toxic carbon quantum dots (CQDs) into the hydrogel obtain multifunctional hydrogels (CQDs/PVA/AG/CB[7]). Due to a large number of hydrogen bonds and a few microcrystalline regions, the hydrogel exhibits excellent mechanical properties, and the CQDs also improve the elastic modulus of the hydrogels by 78%. CB[7] as the mobile phase makes the hydrogel a self-healing ability. The CQDs doped into the hydrogel not only solve their aggregation but also make the hydrogel be stronger fluorescence than that of CQDs. This work provides a well-guided approach for rationally designing and developing other multifunctional hydrogels. Luminescent and self-healing hydrogels with low toxicity and excellent mechanical properties are significant for drug delivery, biological imaging, and biosensor. Carbon quantum dots and cucurbituril joining hands to construct multifunctional luminescence hydrogels are reported to achieve excellent biocompatibility, outstanding self-healing, and mechanical properties. This work offers a new way to design biomedical engineering materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the structural, thermodynamic, electronic, and optical properties of the β-BeO phase of ZnO under negative pressure calculated via first-principles method. We analyzed the phase transition by the local density approximation, and we find that the structural phase transition from wurtzite B4 to metastable β-BeO phase occurred at − 10.2 GPa. We used the Debye model to calculate the thermodynamic properties. The results show that the bulk modulus decreases with increasing temperature or decreasing pressure whereas the heat capacity and thermal expansion coefficient increase with increasing temperature or decreasing pressure. We employed the hybrid functional (Becke-Lee-Young-Parr exchange–correlation functional) method to predict the electronic and optical properties. The band structure calculations confirmed that the β-BeO phase possesses an indirect wider band gap than that of B4 phase. Redshift in band gap energy and optical properties are observed with decreasing pressure. The dielectric function ε1(ω) calculations validate that the β-BeO phase exhibits metallic behaviour at around 16.3 eV, whereas optical constants exploration has confirmed its transparent nature. The present study proves that the β-BeO phase ZnO may be potentially applicable in next-generation electronics. Additionally, it is helpful in material sciences to understand and examine the surrounding pressure during a variety of mineral formation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work demonstrates the viability of using a plasma-focused ion beam (PFIB) as a new platform to carry out radiation effects studies in solids. While materials subjected to irradiation in either nuclear reactors or energetic particle accelerators experience limitations with respect to inaccuracies in both flux measurements and lack of precise control of irradiation areas, we demonstrate a new irradiation technique that allows the exposure of a single specimen in multiple areas, at multiple doses, and in site-specific dependencies - all with flux variations on the order of only 1%. This versatile technique also allows materials to be exposed to significantly higher irradiation dose rates than conventional accelerators. To validate the new methodology, we selected the classical example of ion-beam-induced amorphization of pure single-crystal Si. By pioneering the use of the PFIB for radiation effects studies in materials science, we were able to exploit, in both micro- and nanometer-sized detail, the differences in electron image contrast arising from crystalline versus amorphous solid-state phases in classical semiconductors subjected to irradiation, thus providing new insights on amorphization mechanisms. This methodology opens new research frontiers at the fringe of materials science with promising applications beyond the scope of materials at extremes such as in nanopatterning, nanodevices and nanoarchitectonics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

J Mater Sci, 1-15 13 Coutinho YA, Kunwar A and Moelans N (2022) Phase-field approach to simulate BCC-B2 phase separation in the AlnCrFe2Ni2 medium-entropy alloy. J Mater Sci, 1-13 14 Siddique AB and Khraishi TA (2022) Multi-scale modeling of solute atom strengthening using 3D discrete dislocation dynamics. [Extracted from the article]

In recent years, nanomaterials have aroused extensive research interest in the world's material science community. Electrospinning has the advantages of wide range of available raw materials, simple process, small fiber diameter and high porosity. Electrospinning as a nanomaterial preparation technology with obvious advantages has been studied, such as its influencing parameters, physical models and computer simulation. In this review, the influencing parameters, simulation and models of electrospinning technology are summarized. In addition, the progresses in applications of the technology in biomedicine, energy and catalysis are reported. This technology has many applications in many fields, such as electrospun polymers in various aspects of biomedical engineering. The latest achievements in recent years are summarized, and the existing problems and development trends are analyzed and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enhancement of photocatalytic efficacy in the field of materials science is a pivotal objective, particularly in the case of titanium dioxide (TiO2). In this study, a chemical top-down methodology was employed, involving a sequential treatment of submicron-sized anatase-type TiO2 with sodium hydroxide and an acid solution. This approach successfully yielded nanosized particles of both anatase and rutile-type TiO2, exhibiting diverse sizes and well-defined morphologies. Through this treatment, the obtained TiO2 transitioned to nanosized particles, resulting in a substantial increase in the specific surface area. The use of an aqueous sulfuric acid solution for acid treatment led to the production of anatase-type TiO2 nanoparticles with the smallest particle size and highest specific surface area. The sulfuric-acid-treated TiO2 nanoparticles, distinguished by their increased specific surface area, exhibited an acetaldehyde decomposition capability that was four times greater than that of raw TiO2. Consequently, it is feasible to convert cost-effective TiO2, commonly used in pigments and various industrial applications, into TiO2 with superior photocatalytic activity through a straightforward treatment following a chemical top-down approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]