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Electron beam melting (EBM), as an excellent Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology, enables the printing of Ti-6Al-4 V alloy for a wide range of applications such as aerospace and biomechanical industries. It improves functionality and integrity of components and negates complexities in assembly processes. However, due to the poor surface and sub-surface integrity represented by the rough surface finish and low dimensional accuracy, achieving a favorable surface condition is quite challenging. Therefore, post processing becomes essential for these electron beam melted (EBM-ed) Ti-6Al-4 V alloys. Being the most common technique to improve such parts, milling of Ti-6Al-4 V alloy is very challenging and resulting tool wear issues, due to its unique material properties. Thus, this paper presents a comprehensive study on the surface integrity of EBM-ed Ti-6Al-4 V parts processed by precision grinding and electropolishing, aiming to qualitatively and quantitatively clarify the interrelation between process parameters and processed surface quality. The surface and subsurface characteristics such as profile accuracy, surface roughness, microstructure, defective layer and residual stress before and after post processing were compared and evaluated. The results show that by precision grinding, the profile accuracy was improved from over 300 µm PV to 7 µm PV, while surface roughness (Ra) was reduced from 30 µm to about 2 µm. The layer with partially melt particles was removed, but introduced a deformed subsurface layer with more residual stress. Then by applying electropolishing, the residual stress was released and the deformed layer was removed. In addition, Ra was further reduced to 0.65 µm. The research can serve as a reference for the integration of post machining processes with AM.

There has been limited studies on corrosion behaviour of post-processed Electron Beam Melted (EBM) Ti6Al4V, given that the factors affecting corrosion resistance of AM Ti6Al4V remain unclear. This paper proposes using heat treatment method to improve the pitting corrosion resistance of EBM Ti6Al4V. Different treatment profiles alter the microstructure of EBM Ti6Al4V. A clear trend is observed between microhardness and α lath width. As-printed EBM Ti6Al4V exhibits an inferior pitting potential, while heat treatment provided a significant improvement in the corrosion resistance. This study finds that the β phase fraction is a better indicator than the α lath width for pitting corrosion resistance. Solution air-cooled & ageing heat treated EBM Ti6Al4V exhibits good mechanical and corrosion properties, and even performs better than commercial cast Ti6Al4V.

Additive manufacturing (AM) technology enables a new way for fabricating components with complex internal surfaces. Selective laser melting (SLM), being one of the most common AM techniques, is able to fabricate complex geometries with superior material properties. However, due to the poor surface quality, the fabricated internal surfaces cannot meet the specifications for some real applications. To achieve the required internal surface condition, post-polishing process is essential. As one of the most prominent processes for finishing inaccessible surfaces with a wide range of materials, abrasive flow machining (AFM) shows great potential to polish AM internal surfaces. Hence, this paper presents an analytical and experimental study on the internal surface quality improvement of SLM Inconel 718 by AFM, aiming to verify the feasibility of AFM on internal surface quality improvement. The surface evolution process was modeled, and the effects of process parameters on surface and subsurface quality were evaluated. The results show that good surface roughness was obtained at the medium conditions of high viscosity, large particle size, low extrusion pressure, and low temperature. The surface morphology was greatly affected by the medium particle size which showed consistency with the surface evolution model that small abrasive particles are unable to overcome the width and depth of the valleys, resulting in the formation of craters. The partially melt layer was effectively removed, and no subsurface damage was induced.

Several metallurgical issues arise during melting and solidification-based additive manufacturing (AM) methods which limit their use to only a few alloys. This study shows how capillarity-driven bridging can serve as a new and rapid tool of assembling powder particles into 3D structures providing the least metallurgical complexity. According to the established conceptual framework, in-situ binding agent can be derived autogenously from selective interactions of a liquid solvent with superficial layer of powder particles to form in-situ solid interparticle bridges which enables AM at ambient conditions. Magnesium (Mg) is the most difficult engineering metal to handle in all 3D AM processes in view of its intrinsic properties. Supported by transmission and scanning electron microscopies together with Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectroscopy, the introduced 3D printing concept is readily accomplished for Mg alloys by conversion of MgO film, inevitably existing on the outermost layer of Mg powder, into interparticle bridges. In the absence of pyrolysis-adapted sintering profile, these bridges fully decompose during the following sintering step which result in functional Mg parts with chemical composition same as the starting Mg powder with zero contamination, according to chemical and thermal analysis results. The introduced capillary-mediated binding of particles is simple and generic that could be extended to additively manufacture other metals, ceramics and found applications in other traditional ex-situ binder-based processes.

Components with complex internal surfaces are increasingly important for gas and fluid flow applications in aerospace and automotive industries. Recently, as an emerging manufacturing technology, three-dimensional (3D) additive manufacturing (AM) technology enables one-step fabrication of these complex internal surfaces. Although 3D AM technology eliminates the need for complex assembly process, due to the poor surface and sub-surface integrity, achieving a favourable surface condition is challenging. Therefore, a post-polishing process is essential for these 3D AM complex internal surfaces. This paper presents a novel rotating-vibrating magnetic abrasive polishing method to finish a kind of complex internal surface which has a double-layered tube structure made by selective laser melting (SLM) of Inconel 718. The principle of the method was illustrated and the material removal process was modelled. The feasibility of the method was verified and the surface evolution mechanism under different motions was revealed. The effects of process parameters on material removal and surface quality were evaluated quantitatively. The results showed that material was uniformly removed from both of the external surface of inner tube and internal surface of outer tube. The uneven surface caused by partially melt powders during SLM process was smoothed and the surface roughness was reduced from about 7 μm Ra to less than 1 μm Ra. Relatively higher material removal efficiency and lower surface roughness were obtained through combining rotation and vibration motions. The surface quality was improved representing by the increase of surface nanohardness and release of residual stress after polishing. There was no subsurface deformation and damage observed so that a damage-free surface was obtained.

The electrochemical corrosion behavior of laser aided additive manufactured (LAAMed) CoCrNi medium entropy alloys (MEAs) with different oxide inclusion level was investigated in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution. Different from the 316 L stainless steel, no pitting appeared on the LAAMed CoCrNi within the test regime used in this study. The LAAMed sample with a higher oxide inclusion level demonstrated lower corrosion current density and higher charge transfer resistance, implying a more compact passive film. After holding in the solution at 0.2 VSCE for 30 mins, the passive films formed on the LAAMed CoCrNi MEAs have similar thickness and dominant constituent (i.e. Cr2O3 and Cr(OH)3). More oxides in the LAAMed CoCrNi MEA could facilitate the formation of a compact passive film, which leads to superior corrosion resistance.

High-yield preparation of solution-processed ultrathin 2D metal oxide/sulfide hybrid nanosheets, i.e. TixTa1-xSyOz (x=0.71, 0.49, 0.30), was reported via our developed electrochemical Li-intercalation method using TixTa1-xS2 layered bulk crystals as precursors. The obtained TixTa1-xSyOz nanosheets are composed of amorphous metal oxide and metal sulfide components containing a few crystalline TixTa1-xS2 domains. The Ti0.71Ta0.29SyOz nanosheet exhibits strong absorbance at the near-infrared regime, giving large extinction coefficient of 54.1 Lg-1cm-1 at 808 nm and high photothermal conversion efficiency of 39.2%. After modification with lipoic acid-conjugated polyethylene glycol, the Ti0.71Ta0.29SyOz nanosheet shows good photostability, enhanced physiological stability and negligible cytotoxicity under applied dosage, and then used as a highly efficient photothermal agent for photothermal treatment of cancer cells, including the Sk-mel-28 and HeLa, under 808 nm-laser irradiation.

Subwavelength gratings have been of great interest recently due to their ability to eliminate multiple orders. However, high index contrast ( &Delta, n &sim, 3 ) is typically achieved using metals or high-index dielectrics surrounded by vacuum in order to maintain good optical selectivity. Here, we theoretically propose and experimentally realize a selective subwavelength grating using an index contrast of &Delta, 1.2 without vacuum. Despite its low index contrast, our simulation and experiments show that good optical selectivity is achieved using the same physics as subwavelength gratings made of high-index contrast. Such polymer-based encapsulated gratings are easier to scale up for use in large-area applications such as photovoltaics and lighting.

Phase engineering is arising as an attractive strategy to tune the properties and functionalities of nanomaterials. In particular, amorphous/crystalline heterophase nanostructures have exhibited some intriguing properties. Herein, the one-pot wet-chemical synthesis of two types of amorphous/crystalline heterophase PdCu nanosheets is reported, in which one is amorphous phase-dominant and the other one is crystalline phase-dominant. Then the aging process of the synthesized PdCu nanosheets is studied, during which their crystallinity increases, accompanied by changes in some physicochemical properties. As a proof-of-concept application, their aging effect on catalytic hydrogenation of 4-nitrostyrene is investigated. As a result, the amorphous phase-dominant nanosheets initially show excellent chemoselectivity. After aging for 14 days, their catalytic activity is higher than that of crystalline phase-dominant nanosheets. This work demonstrates the intriguing properties of heterophase nanostructures, providing a new platform for future studies on the regulation of functionalities and applications of nanomaterials by phase engineering.

RSA 905, a rapidly solidified aluminum alloy, has been widely utilized in optical, automotive, and aerospace industries owing to its superior mechanical properties such as hardness and strength compared to conventional aluminum alloys. However, the surface finishing of RSA 905 to achieve submicron surface roughness is quite challenging and was rarely addressed. This paper presents an experimental and analytical study on magnetic field-assisted finishing (MFAF) of RSA 905 through a systematic investigation on surface integrity in relation to the MFAF process parameters. The effect of abrasive and polishing speed conditions on material removal and surface roughness was quantitatively investigated. The surface and subsurface quality were evaluated by optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations, residual stress measurement, surface microhardness and tribology test. The results show that relatively high material removal and low surface roughness were obtained under conditions using the SiC abrasive with a grit size of 12 µm at polishing speed of 400 rpm or using the Al₂O₃ abrasive with a grit size of 5 µm at polishing speed of 800 rpm. Heat melt layer caused by wire electrical discharge machining (EDM) during the sample preparation was removed by MFAF without inducing new subsurface damage. The MFAF process also helps release the surface residual stress and improve the tribological performance although the surface microhardness was slightly reduced.

Native tissues and/or organs possess complex hierarchical porous structures that confer highly-specific cellular functions. Despite advances in fabrication processes, it is still very challenging to emulate the hierarchical porous collagen architecture found in most native tissues. Hence, the ability to recreate such hierarchical porous structures would result in biomimetic tissue-engineered constructs. Here, a single-step drop-on-demand (DOD) bioprinting strategy is proposed to fabricate hierarchical porous collagen-based hydrogels. Printable macromolecule-based bio-inks (polyvinylpyrrolidone, PVP) have been developed and printed in a DOD manner to manipulate the porosity within the multi-layered collagen-based hydrogels by altering the collagen fibrillogenesis process. The experimental results have indicated that hierarchical porous collagen structures could be achieved by controlling the number of macromolecule-based bio-ink droplets printed on each printed collagen layer. This facile single-step bioprinting process could be useful for the structural design of collagen-based hydrogels for various tissue engineering applications. Accepted version

In a recent study, we have shown that the mixtures of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets and Pluronic F-127 (PLU) polymers (GO-PLU) exhibit superior antimicrobial activity compared to GO alone on physiologically naive bacteria challenged with hypoosmotic stress, particularly on Gram-negative species. Further, we have more recently demonstrated that the antibacterial activity of GO (alone) is significantly lower against physiologically mature bacteria. As inhibiting mature pathogens is important for practical biomedical applications, in this work, we studied the antibacterial performance of GO-PLU nanodispersions on mature Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) harvested at stationary phase. Colony counting and turbidimetric results showed that the antibacterial behavior of GO-PLU mixtures on mature bacteria displays a complex behavior showing dependence on both the environmental salinity and PLU concentration. At high osmolarity (i.e. low osmotic drop), PLU acts merely as an osmoprotectant rather than a synergistic killing agent in a concentration-dependent manner. At a higher level of osmotic drop, lower concentrations of PLU make almost no or a slight improvement in the antibacterial activity of GO, suggesting a competition in between the counteracting factors. Further tests using Escherichia coli (E. coli) have shown that the effect of GO-PLU on stationary-phase bacteria is also species(/strain)-specific. We expect these observations to pave the way for designing GO-based broad-spectrum disinfectant formulations, with the aid of suitable polymeric stabilizers. Given the high molecular weight polymers exist naturally in the ecological niches, the insights gained by current findings may also help to better understand the environmental fate of nanocarbons.

Although two-dimensional (2D) metal oxide/sulfide hybrid nanostructures have been synthesized, the facile preparation of ultrathin 2D nanosheets in high yield still remains a challenge. Herein, we report the first high-yield preparation of solution-processed ultrathin 2D metal oxide/sulfide hybrid nanosheets, that is, Ti

Nanostructured transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are proven to be efficient and robust earth-abundant electrocatalysts to potentially replace precious platinum-based catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, the catalytic efficiency of reported TMD catalysts is still limited by their low-density active sites, low conductivity, and/or uncleaned surface. Herein, a general and facile method is reported for high-yield, large-scale production of water-dispersed, ultrasmall-sized, high-percentage 1T-phase, single-layer TMD nanodots with high-density active edge sites and clean surface, including MoS2 , WS2 , MoSe2 , Mo0.5 W0.5 S2 , and MoSSe, which exhibit much enhanced electrochemical HER performances as compared to their corresponding nanosheets. Impressively, the obtained MoSSe nanodots achieve a low overpotential of -140 mV at current density of 10 mA cm-2 , a Tafel slope of 40 mV dec-1 , and excellent long-term durability. The experimental and theoretical results suggest that the excellent catalytic activity of MoSSe nanodots is attributed to the high-density active edge sites, high-percentage metallic 1T phase, alloying effect and basal-plane Se-vacancy. This work provides a universal and effective way toward the synthesis of TMD nanostructures with abundant active sites for electrocatalysis, which can also be used for other applications such as batteries, sensors, and bioimaging. MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore)