Low-oxygen rare earth steels.

Rare earth (RE) addition to steels to produce RE steels has been widely applied when aiming to improve steel properties. However, RE steels have exhibited extremely variable mechanical performances, which has become a bottleneck in the past few decades for their production, utilization and related study. Here in this work, we discovered that the property variation of RE steels stems from the presence of oxygen-based inclusions. We proposed a dual low-oxygen technology, and keeping low levels of oxygen content in steel melts and particularly in the raw RE materials, which have long been ignored, to achieve impressively stable and favourable RE effects. The fatigue life is greatly improved by only parts-per-million-level RE addition, with a 40-fold improvement for the tension-compression fatigue life and a 40% enhancement of the rolling contact fatigue life. We find that RE appears to act by lowering the carbon diffusion rate and by retarding ferrite nucleation at the austenite grain boundaries. Our study reveals that only under very low-oxygen conditions can RE perform a vital role in purifying, modifying and micro-alloying steels, to improve the performance of RE steels.

Underlying Topological Dirac Nodal Line Mechanism of the Anomalously Large Electron-Phonon Coupling Strength on a Be (0001) Surface.

Beryllium has recently been discovered to harbor a Dirac nodal line (DNL) in its bulk phase and the DNL-induced nontrivial surface states (DNSSs) on its (0001) surface, rationalizing several already-existing historic puzzles [Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 096401 (2016)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.117.096401]. However, to date the underlying mechanism as to why its (0001) surface exhibits an anomalously large electron-phonon coupling effect (λ_{e-ph}^{s}≈1.0) remains unresolved. Here, by means of first-principles calculations, we show that the coupling of the DNSSs with the phononic states mainly contributes to its novel surface e-ph enhancement. Besides the fact that the experimentally observed λ_{e-ph}^{s} and the main Eliashberg coupling function (ECF) peaks are reproduced well in our current calculations, we decompose the ECF α^{2}F(k,q;v) and the e-ph coupling strength λ(k,q;v) as a function of each electron momentum (k), each phonon momentum (q), and each phonon mode (v), evidencing the robust connection between the DNSSs and both α^{2}F(k,q;v) and λ(k,q;v). The results reveal the strong e-ph coupling between the DNSSs and the phonon modes, which contributes over 80% of the λ_{e-ph}^{s} coefficient on the Be (0001) surface. It highlights that the anomalously large e-ph coefficient on the Be (0001) surface can be attributed to the presence of its DNL-induced DNSSs, clarifying the long-debated mechanism.

Dirac Node Lines in Pure Alkali Earth Metals.

Beryllium is a simple alkali earth metal, but has been the target of intensive studies for decades because of its unusual electron behavior at surfaces. The puzzling aspects include (i) severe deviations from the description of the nearly free-electron picture, (ii) an anomalously large electron-phonon coupling effect, and (iii) giant Friedel oscillations. The underlying origins for such anomalous surface electron behavior have been under active debate, but with no consensus. Here, by means of first-principles calculations, we discover that this pure metal system, surprisingly, harbors the Dirac node line (DNL) that in turn helps to rationalize many of the existing puzzles. The DNL is featured by a closed line consisting of linear band crossings, and its induced topological surface band agrees well with previous photoemission spectroscopy observations on the Be (0001) surface. We further reveal that each of the elemental alkali earth metals of Mg, Ca, and Sr also harbors the DNL and speculate that the fascinating topological property of the DNL might naturally exist in other elemental metals as well.

Stable compositions and structures in the Na-Bi system.

At P = 1 atm, the only stable compounds in the Na-Bi binary system are Na3Bi and NaBi, which have recently been discovered to exhibit intriguing electronic behaviour as a 3D topological Dirac semimetal and a topological metal, respectively. By means of first-principles calculations coupled with evolutionary structural searches, we have systematically investigated the phase stabilities, the crystal structures and the corresponding electronic properties of the binary Na-Bi system. At ambient pressure, our calculations have reproduced well the experimentally observed compositions and structures of Na3Bi and NaBi. At high pressures, we have found that Na3Bi is transformed from the ground-state hexagonal hP24 phase to a cubic cF16 phase above 0.8 GPa, confirming previous experiments, and then to a conventional band-insulating oC16 phase above 118 GPa. The cubic cF16 phase would exhibit novel topological band ordering similar to that in HgTe. The topological metal NaBi has also been found to undergo a structural phase transition from the ambient tetragonal tP2 to a cubic cP2 structure above 36 GPa. Four compounds never before reported, Na6Bi, Na4Bi, Na2Bi and NaBi2, with new compositions, have been predicted to be experimentally synthesizable over a wide range of pressures starting at 142.5 GPa, 105 GPa, 38 GPa and 171 GPa, respectively. Moreover, a common charge transfer from Na to Bi has been observed for all compounds, but substantial interstitial charge localization in Na atomic cages has been noticed only in two compounds, Na6Bi and Na4Bi, and may be associated with close-packed Na environments.

Variable-composition structural optimization and experimental verification of MnB3 and MnB4.

In combination with variable-composition evolutionary algorithm calculations and first-principles calculations, we have systematically searched for all the stable compounds and their crystal structures in the extensively investigated binary Mn-B system. Our results have uncovered four viable ground-state compounds, with Mn2B, MnB, and MnB4, and previously never reported MnB3 and two metastable compounds, MnB2 and Mn3B4. Our calculations demonstrate that the early characterized mC10 structure of MnB4 showed dynamic instability with large imaginary phonon frequencies and, instead, a new mP20 structure is predicted to be stable both dynamically and thermodynamically, with a considerable energy gain and no imaginary phonon frequencies. The new MnB3 compound crystallizes in the monoclinic mC16 structure which lies 3.2 meV per atom below the MnB (oP8) ↔ MnB4 (mP20) tie-line at T = 0 K. Furthermore, these proposed phases have been verified by our annealed samples after arc-melting synthesis and corresponding powder XRD measurements.

Robust Chiral Metal-Organic Framework Coatings for Self-Activating and Sustainable Biofouling Mitigation.

Surface coatings are designed to mitigate pervasive biofouling herald, a new era of surface protection in complex biological environments. However, existing strategies are plagued by persistent and recurrent biofilm attachment, despite the use of bactericidal agents. Herein, a chiral metal-organic framework (MOF)-based coating with conformal microstructures to enable a new anti-biofouling mode that involves spontaneous biofilm disassembly followed by bacterial eradication is developed. A facile and universal metal-polyphenol network (MPN) is designed to robustly anchor the MOF nanoarmor of biocidal Cu2+ ions and anti-biofilm d-amino acid ligands to a variety of substrates across different material categories and surface topologies. Incorporating a diverse array of chiral amino acids endows the resultant coatings with widespread signals for biofilm dispersal, facilitating copper-catalyzed chemodynamic reactions and inherent mechano-bactericidal activities. This synergistic mechanism yields unprecedented anti-biofouling efficacy elucidated by RNA-sequencing transcriptomics analysis, enhancing broad-spectrum antibacterial activities, preventing biofilm formation, and destroying mature biofilms. Additionally, the chelation-directed amorphous/crystalline coatings can activate photoluminescent properties to inhibit the settlement of microalgae biofilms. This study provides a distinctive perspective on chirality-enhanced antimicrobial behaviors and pioneers a rational pathway toward developing next-generation anti-biofouling coatings for diverse applications.

Families of superhard crystalline carbon allotropes constructed via cold compression of graphite and nanotubes.

We report a general scheme to systematically construct two classes of structural families of superhard sp(3) carbon allotropes of cold-compressed graphite through the topological analysis of odd 5+7 or even 4+8 membered carbon rings stemmed from the stacking of zigzag and armchair chains. Our results show that the previously proposed M, bct-C(4), W and Z allotropes belong to our currently proposed families and that depending on the topological arrangement of the native carbon rings numerous other members are found that can help us understand the structural phase transformation of cold-compressed graphite and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). In particular, we predict the existence of two simple allotropes, R and P carbon, which match well the experimental x-ray diffraction patterns of cold-compressed graphite and CNTs, respectively, display a transparent wide-gap insulator ground state and possess a large Vickers hardness comparable to diamond.

Characteristics, Mechanism and Criterion of Channel Segregation in NbTi Alloy via Numerical Simulations and Experimental Characterizations.

Channel segregation (CS) is the most typical defect during solidification of NbTi alloy. Based on numerical simulation and experimental characterizations, we deeply elucidated its characteristics, formation mechanism, effecting factor and prediction criterion. According to acid etching, industrial X-ray transmission imaging, 3D X-ray microtomography and chemical analysis, it was found that in a casing ingot, by He cooling, finer grain size, weaker segregation and slighter CS can be obtained compared with air-cooled ingot. The simulation results of macrosegregation show that CS is caused by the strong natural convection in the mushy zone triggered by the thermo-solutal gradient. Its formation can be divided into two stages including channel initiation and growth. In addition, due to the stronger cooling effect of the He treatment, the interdendritic flow velocity becomes smaller, consequently lowering the positive segregation and CS and improving the global homogenization of the final ingot. Finally, to predict the formation of CS, the Rayleigh number model was proposed and its critical value was found to be 15 in NbTi alloy for the first time. When it is lower than the threshold, CS disappears. It provides an effective tool to evaluate and optimize the solidification parameters to fabricate the homogenized NbTi ingot in engineering practice.

Computation and data driven discovery of topological phononic materials.

The discovery of topological quantum states marks a new chapter in both condensed matter physics and materials sciences. By analogy to spin electronic system, topological concepts have been extended into phonons, boosting the birth of topological phononics (TPs). Here, we present a high-throughput screening and data-driven approach to compute and evaluate TPs among over 10,000 real materials. We have discovered 5014 TP materials and grouped them into two main classes of Weyl and nodal-line (ring) TPs. We have clarified the physical mechanism for the occurrence of single Weyl, high degenerate Weyl, individual nodal-line (ring), nodal-link, nodal-chain, and nodal-net TPs in various materials and their mutual correlations. Among the phononic systems, we have predicted the hourglass nodal net TPs in TeO3, as well as the clean and single type-I Weyl TPs between the acoustic and optical branches in half-Heusler LiCaAs. In addition, we found that different types of TPs can coexist in many materials (such as ScZn). Their potential applications and experimental detections have been discussed. This work substantially increases the amount of TP materials, which enables an in-depth investigation of their structure-property relations and opens new avenues for future device design related to TPs.

New family of three-dimensional topological insulators with antiperovskite structure.

All known topological insulators are crystallographically related to either the noncentrosymmetric zinc-blende HgTe-type family or to the hexagonal centrosymmetric Bi2Se3 one. Through first-principles calculations, here we show evidence that under a proper uniaxial strain cubic ternary centrosymmetric antiperovskite compounds (M3N)Bi (M=Ca, Sr, and Ba) are three-dimensional topological insulators. This proposed family of materials is chemically inert and the lattice structure is well matched to important semiconductors, which provides a rich platform to easily integrate with electronic devices.

Improvement of Strength-Toughness-Hardness Balance in Large Cross-Section 718H Pre-Hardened Mold Steel.

The strength-toughness combination and hardness uniformity in large cross-section 718H pre-hardened mold steel from a 20 ton ingot were investigated with three different heat treatments for industrial applications. The different microstructures, including tempered martensite, lower bainite, and retained austenite, were obtained at equivalent hardness. The microstructures were characterized by using metallographic observations, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD). The mechanical properties were compared by tensile, Charpy U-notch impact and hardness uniformity tests at room temperature. The results showed that the test steels after normalizing-quenching-tempering (N-QT) possessed the best strength-toughness combination and hardness uniformity compared with the conventional quenched-tempered (QT) steel. In addition, the test steel after austempering-tempering (A-T) demonstrated the worse hardness uniformity and lower yield strength while possessing relatively higher elongation (17%) compared with the samples after N-QT (14.5%) treatments. The better ductility of A-T steel mainly depended on the amount and morphology of retained austenite and thermal/deformation-induced twined martensite. This work elucidates the mechanisms of microstructure evolution during heat treatments and will highly improve the strength-toughness-hardness trade-off in large cross-section steels.

Oxidation mechanism of T91 steel in liquid lead-bismuth eutectic: with consideration of internal oxidation.

Clarification of the microscopic events that occur during oxidation is of great importance for understanding and consequently controlling the oxidation process. In this study the oxidation product formed on T91 ferritic/martensitic steel in oxygen saturated liquid lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) at 823 K was characterized at the nanoscale using focused-ion beam and transmission electron microscope. An internal oxidation zone (IOZ) under the duplex oxide scale has been confirmed and characterized systematically. Through the microscopic characterization of the IOZ and the inner oxide layer, the micron-scale and nano-scale diffusion of Cr during the oxidation in LBE has been determined for the first time. The micron-scale diffusion of Cr ensures the continuous advancement of IOZ and inner oxide layer, and nano-scale diffusion of Cr gives rise to the typical appearance of the IOZ. Finally, a refined oxidation mechanism including the internal oxidation and the transformation of IOZ to inner oxide layer is proposed based on the discussion. The proposed oxidation mechanism succeeds in bridging the gap between the existing models and experimental observations.

Association between Toll-Like Receptor 4 and Occurrence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Susceptible to Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Northeast China.

The purpose of this study is to explore why type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients are susceptible to pulmonary tuberculosis through detection of serum Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), an important immune-related receptor, especially in terms of content and TLR4 gene polymorphism. Patients with T2DM complicated by pulmonary tuberculosis (T2DMTB) were selected as the case group and T2DM patients without tuberculosis were selected as the control group. Forty patients in each group were randomly selected and their serum TLR4 levels were detected and compared. Determination of six sites of TLR4 gene polymorphism was carried out in 238 T2DMTB patients and 310 patients with T2DM, and results showed that the serum TLR4 content of the T2DMTB group was significantly lower than that of the T2DM group (p < 0.05). The six sites of TLR4 gene polymorphism did not show significant associations with T2DMTB risk. No statistically significant differences in genotype distributions were observed between T2DMTB patients and patients with T2DM when studied using the recessive and dominant genetic models. How two diseases with contradictory nutritional statuses can occur in the same person is difficult to explain from environmental factors perspective alone. Future research should study the causes of T2DMTB from the perspective of genetics.

Prediction of novel stable compounds in the Mg-Si-O system under exoplanet pressures.

The Mg-Si-O system is the major Earth and rocky planet-forming system. Here, through quantum variable-composition evolutionary structure explorations, we have discovered several unexpected stable binary and ternary compounds in the Mg-Si-O system. Besides the well-known SiO2 phases, we have found two extraordinary silicon oxides, SiO3 and SiO, which become stable at pressures above 0.51 TPa and 1.89 TPa, respectively. In the Mg-O system, we have found one new compound, MgO3, which becomes stable at 0.89 TPa. We find that not only the (MgO)x · (SiO2)y compounds, but also two (MgO3)x · (SiO3)y compounds, MgSi3O12 and MgSiO6, have stability fields above 2.41 TPa and 2.95 TPa, respectively. The highly oxidized MgSi3O12 can form in deep mantles of mega-Earths with masses above 20 M⊕ (M⊕:Earth's mass). Furthermore, the dissociation pathways of pPv-MgSiO3 are also clarified, and found to be different at low and high temperatures. The low-temperature pathway is MgSiO3 ⇒ Mg2SiO4 + MgSi2O5 ⇒ SiO2 + Mg2SiO4 ⇒ MgO + SiO2, while the high-temperature pathway is MgSiO3 ⇒ Mg2SiO4 + MgSi2O5 ⇒ MgO + MgSi2O5 ⇒ MgO + SiO2. Present results are relevant for models of the internal structure of giant exoplanets, and for understanding the high-pressure behavior of materials.

Topological metal of NaBi with ultralow lattice thermal conductivity and electron-phonon superconductivity.

By means of first-principles and ab initio tight-binding calculations, we found that the compound of NaBi is a three-dimensional non-trivial topological metal. Its topological feature can be confirmed by the presence of band inversion, the derived effective Z2 invariant and the non-trivial surface states with the presence of Dirac cones. Interestingly, our calculations further demonstrated that NaBi exhibits the uniquely combined properties between the electron-phonon coupling superconductivity in nice agreement with recent experimental measurements and the obviously anisotropic but extremely low thermal conductivity. The spin-orbit coupling effects greatly affect those properties. NaBi may provide a rich platform to study the relationship among metal, topology, superconductivity and thermal conductivity.

Computational materials discovery: the case of the W-B system.

By means of variable-compositional evolutionary algorithms, in combination with first-principles calculations, the compositions, structures and mechanical properties of the W-B system have been theoretically investigated. As well as confirming the experimental observations (including their crystal structures) for the four known compounds W2B, WB, WB2 and WB3, the new stable compound W8B7 and two nearly stable compounds, W2B3 and WB4, have also been predicted in the ground state. The elastic properties and estimated Vickers hardnesses of all these borides have been systematically derived. The results show that, among these borides, hP6-WB2 exhibits the largest ultra-incompressibility along the c axis, with the highest C33 value (953 GPa, comparable with that of the most incompressible diamond). hP16-WB3 exhibits the highest hardness of 36.9 GPa, in good agreement with the experimentally measured data from 28.1 to 43.3 GPa, close to the superhard threshold, and oC8-WB shows the highest bulk modulus of about 350 GPa. The new stable compound W8B7 crystallizes in the monoclinic mP15 phase, with infinite zigzag B chains running parallel to the W-atom layers, resulting in a relatively high estimated hardness of 19.6 GPa. The anisotropic Young's modulus E and torsion shear modulus G(t) have been derived for both oC8-WB and hP16-WB3. The current state of research and the historic inconsistency of the W-B system are briefly summarized, in particular clarifying the fact that the previous experimentally attributed hP20-WB4 is in fact the defect-containing hP16-WB3.

Inclusion flotation-driven channel segregation in solidifying steels.

Channel segregation, which is featured by the strip-like shape with compositional variation in cast materials due to density contrast-induced flow during solidification, frequently causes the severe destruction of homogeneity and some fatal damage. An investigation of its mechanism sheds light on the understanding and control of the channel segregation formation in solidifying metals, such as steels. Until now, it still remains controversial what composes the density contrasts and, to what extent, how it affects channel segregation. Here we discover a new force of inclusion flotation that drives the occurrence of channel segregation. It originates from oxide-based inclusions (Al2O3/MnS) and their sufficient volume fraction-driven flotation becomes stronger than the traditionally recognized inter-dendritic thermosolutal buoyancy, inducing the destabilization of the mushy zone and dominating the formation of channels. This study uncovers the mystery of oxygen in steels, extends the classical macro-segregation theory and highlights a significant technological breakthrough to control macrosegregation.

Extra-electron induced covalent strengthening and generalization of intrinsic ductile-to-brittle criterion.

Traditional strengthening ways, such as strain, precipitation, and solid-solution, come into effect by pinning the motion of dislocation. Here, through first-principles calculations we report on an extra-electron induced covalent strengthening mechanism, which alters chemical bonding upon the introduction of extra-valence electrons in the matrix of parent materials. It is responsible for the brittle and high-strength properties of Al(12)W-type compounds featured by the typical fivefold icosahedral cages, which are common for quasicrystals and bulk metallic glasses (BMGs). In combination with this mechanism, we generalize ductile-to-brittle criterion in a universal hyperbolic form by integrating the classical Pettifor's Cauchy pressure with Pugh's modulus ratio for a wide variety of materials with cubic lattices. This study provides compelling evidence to correlate Pugh's modulus ratio with hardness of materials and may have implication for understanding the intrinsic brittleness of quasicrystals and BMGs.