Freestanding nanowires have ultrahigh elastic strain limits (4 to 7%) and yield strengths, but exploiting their intrinsic mechanical properties in bulk composites has proven to be difficult. We exploited the intrinsic mechanical properties of nanowires in a phase-transforming matrix based on the concept of elastic and transformation strain matching. By engineering the microstructure and residual stress to couple the true elasticity of Nb nanowires with the pseudoelasticity of a NiTi shape-memory alloy, we developed an in situ composite that possesses a large quasi-linear elastic strain of over 6%, a low Young's modulus of ~28 gigapascals, and a high yield strength of ~1.65 gigapascals. Our elastic strain-matching approach allows the exceptional mechanical properties of nanowires to be exploited in bulk materials.

The bending Young's modulus of ZnO nanobelts was measured by performing three-point bending tests directly on individual nanobelts with an atomic force microscope (AFM). The surface-to-volume ratio has no effect on the bending Young's modulus of the ZnO nanobelts for surface-to-volume ratios ranging from 0.017 to 0.035 nm(2) nm(-3), with a belt size of 50-140 nm in thickness and 270-700 nm in width. The bending Young's modulus was measured to be 38.2 +/- 1.8 GPa, which is about 20% higher than the nanoindentation Young's modulus of 31.1 +/- 1.3 GPa. The ZnO nanobelts exhibit brittle fracture failure in bending but some plastic deformation in indentation.

The relationship between ISO 14001 certification and corporate environmental performance has become an important research topic in recent years. Based on the internalization process of ISO 14001 (the process that consolidates and embeds a firm's beliefs, attitudes, and values into its management and employees), this paper examines how internalization can impact on the corporate environmental performance. It is found that the internalization process of ISO 14001 serves an important role in mediating the relationship between ISO 14001 certification and environmental performance. The results also reveal that the internal motivation is the main driving force of internalizing ISO 14001. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

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Nacre is an ultratough natural nanocomposite found in mollusc shells. It consists of hard aragonite nanocrystals and a soft biopolymer matrix. Apart from maintaining the integrity of nacre's brick‐and‐mortar nanoarchitecture, the biopolymer plays a critical role in the strengthening and toughening of nacre. By directly probing the biopolymer strands using atomic force microscopy, it is revealed that the biopolymer in nacre has the capability to strengthen itself during deformation. This remarkable deformation–strengthening mechanism contributes significantly to the ultrahigh toughness of nacre, and can be explained by a coiled‐spring model. The findings explain the mystery of nacre's toughening mechanisms, provide additional design guidelines for developing biomimetic nanomaterials, and lay a constitutive foundation for modeling the deformation behavior of nacre.