Qingqiang Meng

Domain switching toughening in a LiTaO3 dispersed Al2O3 ceramic composite

Abstract Coexisting LiTaO3/Al2O3 ceramic composite was hot pressed at 1573 K. The highest values of flexural strength and fracture toughness reached 492.9 MPa and 5.3 MPaxa0m1/2, respectively, for the composite containing 15 vol.% LiTaO3. Domain switching which was clearly discerned near the crack tip in LiTaO3 grains is suggested as a new toughening mechanism in structural ceramics.

Construction of 2D-composite HCa2Nb3O10/CaNb2O6 heterostructured photocatalysts with enhanced hydrogen production performance

Semiconductor 2D-composite heterostructures are of great interest in water splitting due to their unique structure. In this work, we design and synthesize 2D-composite HCa2Nb3O10/CaNb2O6 (HCNO/CNO) heterostructured nanosheets for the first time through sintering with a subsequent ion-exchange procedure. The achievement of such a 2D-composite nanostructure is attributed to the similar crystalline structure and intercalation–exfoliation of the layered bulk by employing tetra-n-butylammonium hydroxide (TBA+OH−). Furthermore, the 2D-composite structure contributes to increasing the interfacial contact area and lattice mismatch occurring in the heterostructure. Benefiting from the construction of a heterostructure and the unique structure characteristics, the as-prepared 2D-composite HCNO/CNO nanosheets exhibit rapid photoinduced charge carrier separation and transfer, leading to significantly enhanced photo-electrochemical current response as well as photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

Novel formation of Bi@BiFe-glycolate hollow spheres and their conversion into Bi2O3/BiFeO3 composite hollow spheres with enhanced activity and durability in visible photocatalysis

In recent years, materials with extraordinary hollow structures have been widely studied because of their enormous potential in many research fields such as in advanced energy conversion and storage. The design and synthesis of an innovative hollow structure via a facile method is the key to enhance the performance of advanced energy materials in various applications. In this study, we report novel hollow passion fruit-like Bi@BiFe-glycolate microspheres (3.5 μm), which are constructed using BiFe-glycolate nanosheets and Bi nanospheres. They are designed and synthesized via a facile one-pot solvothermal method, and a mechanism of “spit and swallow” process is presented to describe the reaction. Moreover, the Bi2O3/BiFeO3 photocatalyst obtained by annealing the Bi@BiFe-glycolate precursors under an air atmosphere exhibits enhanced photocatalytic activity and cycling stability under visible light irradiation due to its special morphology and band structure. The photocatalyst can also be recycled conveniently owing to its magnetic properties. In general, this study focuses on both nanomaterial synthetic methods and photocatalytic performance improvement.