A material with superhydrophobic and anti-ice/de-icing properties, which has a micro-/nanostructured surface, is produced by a straightforward method. This material comprises a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microstructure with ZnO nanohairs and shows excellent water and ice repellency even at low temperatures (-20 °C) and relatively high humidity (90%) for over three months. These results are expected to be helpful for designing smart, non-wetting materials that can be adapted to low-temperature environments for the development of anti-icing systems.

Polymers possess special dimension-dependent processing flexibility which is always absent in inorganic materials. Traditional inorganic nanowires own similar dimensions to polymers, but usually lack near-molecular diameters and the related properties. Here we report that inorganic nanowires with sub1 nm diameter and microscale length can be electrospinningly processed into superstructures including smooth fibers and large-area mat by tuning the viscosity and surface tension of the colloidal nanowires solution. These superstructures have shown both flexible texture and excellent mechanical properties (712.5 MPa for tensile strength, 10.3 GPa for elastic modulus) while retaining properties arising from inorganic components.

The discovery of 2D layered MoSi 2 N 4 and WSi 2 N 4 without knowing their 3D parents by chemical vapor deposition in 2020 has stimulated extensive studies of 2D MA 2 Z 4 system due to its structural complexity and diversity as well as versatile and intriguing properties. Here, a comprehensive overview on the state-of-the-art progress of this 2D MA 2 Z 4 family is presented. Starting by describing the unique sandwich structural characteristics of the emerging monolayer MA 2 Z 4 , their versatile properties including mechanics, piezoelectricity, thermal transport, electronics, optics/optoelectronics, and magnetism is summarized and anatomized. The property tunability via strain engineering, surface functionalization and layered strategy is also elaborated. Theoretical and experimental attempts or advances in applying 2D MA 2 Z 4 to transistors, photocatalysts, batteries and gas sensors are then reviewed to show its prospective applications over a vast territory. New opportunities are further discussed and prospects are suggested for this emerging 2D family. The overview is anticipated to guide the further understanding and exploration on 2D MA 2 Z 4 .

Temperature-dependent magnetic properties of Nd2Fe14B permanent magnets, i.e., saturation magnetization Ms(T ), effective magnetic anisotropy constants K eff i (T ) (i = 1, 2, 3), domain wall width δw(T ), and exchange stiffness constant Ae(T ), are calculated by using ab-initio informed atomistic spin model simulations. We construct the atomistic spin model Hamiltonian for Nd2Fe14B by using the Heisenberg exchange of Fe−Fe and Fe−Nd atomic pairs, the uniaxial single-ion anisotropy of Fe atoms, and the crystal-field energy of Nd ions which is approximately expanded into an energy formula featured by second, fourth, and sixth-order phenomenological anisotropy constants. After applying a temperature rescaling strategy, we show that the calculated Curie temperature, spin-reorientation phenomenon, Ms(T ), δw(T ), and K eff i (T ) agree well with the experimental results. Ae(T ) is estimated through a general continuum description of the domain wall profile by mapping atomistic magnetic moments to the macroscopic magnetization. Ae is found to decrease more slowly than K eff 1 with increasing temperature, and approximately scale with normalized magnetization as Ae(T ) ∼ m 1.2 . Especially, the possible domain wall configurations at temperatures below the spin-reorientation temperature and the associated δw and Ae are identified. This work provokes a scale bridge between ab-initio calculations and temperature-dependent micromagnetic simulations of Nd-Fe-B permanent magnets.

In situ bending tests and dynamic modeling simulations are for the first time revealing the mechanical behavior of copper nanowires (NW) with radially grown fivefold twin structures on the atomic scale. Combining the simulations with the experimental results it is shown that both the twin boundaries (TBs) and the twin center act as dislocation sources. TB migration and L-locks are readily observed in these types of radially grown fivefold-twin structures.