(Zr₅₃Al_11.6Ni_11.7Cu_23.7)_1-x(Fe_77.1C_22.9)_x (x=0-2.2, at.%) bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) were prepared by copper mold suction casting method. Their glass forming ability and physical and chemical properties were systematically investigated. The glass forming ability is firstly improved with increasing x, and then decreased when x exceeds 0.44 at.%. Both glass transition temperature and crystallization temperature are increased, while the supercooled liquid region is narrowed, with Fe-C micro-alloying. The hardness, yielding and fracture strength, and plasticity firstly increase and then decrease when x reaches up to 1.32 at.%. The plasticity of the BMG (x=1.32 at.%) is six times that of the Fe-free and C-free BMG. In addition, by the Fe-C micro-alloying, the corrosion potential is slightly decreased, while the corrosion current density increases. The pitting corrosion becomes increasingly serious with the increase of Fe and C content.

A SiC/ZrSiO₄-SiO₂ (SZS) coating was successfully fabricated on the carbon/carbon (C/C) composites by pack cementation, slurry painting and sintering to improve the anti-oxidation property and thermal shock resistance. The anti-oxidation properties under different oxygen partial pressures (OPP) and thermal shock resistance of the SZS coating were investigated. The results show that the SZS coated sample under low OPP, corresponding to the ambient air, during isothermal oxidation was 0.54% in mass gain after 111 h oxidation at 1500 °C and less than 0.03% in mass loss after 50 h oxidation in high OPP, corresponding to the air flow rate of 36 L/h. Additionally, the residual compressive strengths (RCS) of the SZS coated samples after oxidation for 50 h in high OPP and 80 h in low OPP remain about 70% and 72.5% of those of original C/C samples, respectively. Moreover, the mass loss of SZS coated samples subjected to the thermal cycle from 1500 °C in high OPP to boiling water for 30 times was merely 1.61%.

A new hydrometallurgical route for separation and recovery of Cu from Cu-As-bearing copper electro- refining black slime was developed. The proposed process comprised oxidation acid leaching of Cu-As-bearing slime and selective sulfide precipitation of Cu from the leachate. The effects of various process parameters on the leaching and precipitation of Cu and As were investigated. At the first stage, Cu extraction of 95.2% and As extraction of 97.6% were obtained at 80 °C after 4 h with initial H₂SO₄ concentration of 1.0 mol/L and liquid-to-solid ratio of 10 mL/g. In addition, the leaching kinetics of Cu and As was successfully reproduced by the Avrami model, and the apparent activation energies were found to be 33.6 and 35.1 kJ/mol for the Cu and As leaching reaction, respectively, suggesting a combination of chemical reaction and diffusion control. During the selective sulfide precipitation, about 99.4% Cu was recovered as CuS, while only 0.1% As was precipitated under the optimal conditions using sulfide-to-copper ratio of 2.4:1, time of 1.5 h and temperature of 25 °C.

The microstructure and creep behavior of C/Y₂O₃ synergistically micro-alloyed high-Al and low-Al TiAl alloys prepared by induction skull melting (ISM) technology were investigated by advanced electron microscopy. Microstructure analysis shows that Y₂O₃ particles are dispersed in both alloys; element C is dissolved in low-Al alloys as solid solution, while it exists as Ti₂AlC particles within lamellae in high-Al alloys. Additionally, high-density nanotwins are generated in high-Al alloys. Creep data show that C/Y₂O₃ micro-alloying significantly enhances creep resistance of TiAl alloys. This benefits from the dispersion strengthening of Y₂O₃ particles, precipitation hardening of dynamically precipitated Ti₃AlC particles and lamellar stabilization caused by dissolved C atoms or Ti₂AlC particles. This strategy causes a more significant improvement on creep resistance of high-Al TiAl alloys, which is attributed to extra twin strengthening effect. At 775-850 °C, these alloys fracture in mixed ductile-brittle mode, but the fracture characteristics change with the increase of temperature.

The microstructural characteristics, mechanical properties and creep resistance of Mg-(8%-12%)Zn-(2%-6%)Al alloys were investigated to get a better overall understanding of these series alloys. The results indicate that the microstructure of the alloys ZA82, ZA102 and ZA122 with the mass ratio of Zn to Al of 4-6 is mainly composed of α-Mg matrix and two different morphologies of precipitates (block τ-Mg₃₂(Al, Zn)₄₉ and dense lamellar e-Mg₅₁Zn₂₀), the alloys ZA84, ZA104 and ZA124 with the mass ratio of 2-3 contain α-Mg matrix and only block τ phases, and the alloys ZA86, ZA106 and ZA126 with the mass ratio of 1-2 consist of α-Mg matrix, block τ precipitates, lamellar f-Al₂Mg₅Zn₂ eutectics and flocculent β-Mg₁₇Al₁₂ compounds. The alloys studied with the mass ratio of Zn to Al of 2-3 exhibit high creep resistance, and the alloy ZA124 with the continuous network of τ precipitating along grain boundaries shows the highest creep resistance.

To modify the stable thermodynamics and poor kinetics of magnesium hydride (MgH₂) for solid-state hydrogen storage, MIL-100(Fe) was in situ fabricated on the surfaces of TiO₂ nano-sheets (NS) by a self-assembly method, and the prepared TiO₂ NS@MIL-100(Fe) presents an excellent catalytic effect on MgH₂. The MgH₂+ 7wt.%TiO₂ NS@MIL-100(Fe) composite can release hydrogen at 200 °C, achieving a decrease of 150 °C compared to pure MgH₂. Besides, the activation energy of dehydrogenation is decreased to 70.62 kJ/mol and 4 wt.% H₂ can be desorbed within 20 min at a low temperature of 235 °C. Under conditions of 100 °C and 3 MPa, MgH₂+7wt.%TiO₂ NS@MIL-100(Fe) absorbs 5 wt.% of H₂ in 10 min. Surprisingly, 6.62 wt.% reversible capacity is maintained after 50 cycles. The modification mechanism is confirmed that the presence of oxygen vacancies and the synergistic effect of multivalent titanium in TiO₂ NS@MIL-100(Fe) greatly enhance the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of MgH₂.

The effects of additives (polyethylene glycol (PEG), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)) and WC nano-powder on the microstructure, relative density, hardness and electrical conductivity of electroplated WC-Cu composite were investigated. The preparation mechanism was also studied. The microstructure of samples was analyzed by XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM and HRTEM. The synergistic effect of PEG and SDS made the WC-Cu composite more compact during the electroplating process. The hardness of WC-Cu composites increased with the increase in WC content, while the electrical conductivity decreased with the increase in WC content. The density of samples tended to increase initially and then decreased with increase in the additive content. When the electroplating solution contained 10 g/L WC nano- powder, 0.2 g/L PEG and 0.1 g/L SDS, the WC-Cu composite exhibited hardness of HV 221 and electric conductivity of 53.7 MS/m. Therefore, the results suggest that WC-Cu composite with excellent properties can be obtained by optimizing the content of additives and WC particles.

The effects of interrupted aging on mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of 7A75 aluminum alloy extruded bar were investigated through various analyses, including electrical conductivity, mechanical properties, local corrosion properties, and slow strain rate tensile stress corrosion tests. Microstructure characterization techniques such as metallographic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were also employed. The results indicate that the tensile strength of the alloy produced by T6I6 aging is similar to that produced by T6I4 aging, and it even exceeds 700 MPa. Furthermore, the yield strength increases by 52.7 MPa, reaching 654.8 MPa after T6I6 aging treatment. The maximum depths of intergranular corrosion (IGC) and exfoliation corrosion (EXCO) decrease from 116.3 and 468.5 μm to 89.5 and 324.3 μm, respectively. The stress corrosion factor also decreases from 2.1% to 1.6%. These findings suggest that the alloy treated with T6I6 aging exhibits both high strength and excellent stress corrosion cracking resistance. Similarly, when the alloy is treated with T6I4, T6I6 and T6I7 aging, the sizes of grain boundary precipitates (GBPs) are found to be 5.2, 18.4, and 32.8 nm, respectively. The sizes of matrix precipitates are 4.8, 5.7 and 15.7 nm, respectively. The atomic fractions of Zn in GBPs are 9.92 at.%, 8.23 at.% and 6.87 at.%, respectively, while the atomic fractions of Mg are 12.66 at.%, 8.43 at.% and 7.00 at.%, respectively. Additionally, the atomic fractions of Cu are 1.83 at.%, 2.47 at.% and 3.41 at.%, respectively.

The thermodynamics in zinc hydrometallurgical process was studied using a chemical equilibrium modeling code (GEMS) to predict the zinc solubility and construct the species distribution and predominance diagrams for the Zn(II)-NH₃-H₂O and Zn(II)-NH₃-Cl^--H₂O system. The zinc solubilities in ammoniacal solutions were also measured with equilibrium experiments, which agree well with the predicted values. The distribution and predominance diagrams show that ammine and hydroxyl ammine complexes are the main aqueous Zn species,  is predominant in weak alkaline solution for both Zn(II)-NH₃-H₂O and Zn(II)-NH₃-Cl^--H₂O systems. In Zn(II)-NH₃-Cl^--H₂O system, the ternary complexes containing ammonia and chloride increase the zinc solubility in neutral solution. There are three zinc compounds, Zn(OH)₂, Zn(OH)_1.6Cl_0.4 and Zn(NH₃)₂Cl₂, on which the zinc solubility depends, according to the total ammonia, chloride and zinc concentration. These thermodynamic diagrams show the effects of ammonia, chloride and zinc concentration on the zinc solubility, which can provide thermodynamic references for the zinc hydrometallurgy.

Effect of pre-annealing treatment temperature on compactibility of gas-atomized Al-27%Si alloy powders was investigated. Microstructure and hardness of the annealed powders were characterized. Pre-annealing results in decreasing Al matrix hardness, dissolving of needle-like eutectic Si phase, precipitation and growth of supersaturated Si atoms, and spheroidisation of primary Si phase. Compactibility of the alloy powders is gradually improved with increasing the annealing temperature to 400 °C. However, it decreases when the temperature is above 400 °C owing to the existence of Si-Si phase clusters and the densely distributed Si particles. A maximum relative density of 96.1% is obtained after annealing at 400 °C for 4 h. In addition, the deviation of compactibility among the pre-annealed powders reaches a maximum at a pressure of 175 MPa. Therefore, a proper pre-annealing treatment can significantly enhance the cold compactibility of gas-atomized Al-Si alloy powders.

The impact of Fe content on the microstructures and mechanical properties of an ultra-high strength aluminum alloy, namely, Al-10.50Zn-2.35Mg-1.25Cu-0.12Cr-0.1Mn-0.1Zr-0.1Ti, was investigated. It is found that the increase of Fe content leads to a notable rise in the volume fraction of microscale secondary phases, including (Cu,Fe,Mn,Cr)Al₇, σ phase (composed of Al, Zn, Mg, and Cu elements), and Al₃(Zr,Ti). The formation of these secondary phases results in the depletion of certain phase-forming elements, thereby significantly reducing the quantity of strengthening phases. Fe imposes minimal impact on tensile strength, but it can significantly alter the elongation (δ). For instance, the average elongation of the alloy with 0.18 wt.% Fe (δ=4.5%) is less than half that of the alloy with Fe less than 0.1 wt.% (δ=9.9%-10.9%). The reduction in elongation is attributed to the combined effects of the formation of coarse secondary phases and the diminished quantity of strengthening phases around these coarse phases.

A novel Sb₂O₃/Sb₂S₃/FeOOH photoanode was fabricated via a simple solution impregnation method along with chemical bath deposition and post-sulfidation. The X-ray diffractometry, Raman measurement, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy show that the Sb₂O₃/Sb₂S₃/FeOOH thin films are successfully prepared. SEM-EDS analyses reveal that the surface of Sb₂O₃/Sb₂S₃ thin films becomes rough after the immersion in the FeCl₃ solution. The optimized impregnation time is found to be 8 h. The FeOOH co-catalyst loaded Sb₂O₃/Sb₂S₃ electrode exhibits an enhanced photocurrent density of 0.45 mA/cm² at 1.23 V versus RHE under simulated 1 sun, which is approximately 1.41 times compared to the photocurrent density of the unloaded one. Through the further tests of UV-Vis spectroscopy, the electrochemical impedance spectra, and the PEC measurements, the enhancement can result from the increased light-harvesting ability, the decreased interface transmission impedance, and the remarkably enhanced carrier injection efficiency.

From a life cycle perspective, the material flow analysis is utilized to investigate the lithium material flows in international trade from 2000 to 2019. The results reveal that at the global level, the total volume of lithium trade grew rapidly, reaching 121116 t in 2019. Lithium trade was dominated by lithium minerals, lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide rather than final lithium products, indicating an immaturity in global lithium industry. At the intercontinental level, Asia’s import trade and Oceania’s export trade led the world, accounting for 81.22% and 39.68%, respectively. At the national level, China, Japan and Korea became the main importers, while Chile and Australia were the main exporters. In addition, China’s trade volume far exceeded that of the United States. China’s exports were dominated by lithium-ion batteries, while the United States mainly imported lithium-ion batteries, proving that the development of China’s lithium industry was relatively faster.

TA1 P-Ti/AA6061 composite plate was produced by oxidizing the surface of the titanium plate and adopting a cold roll bonding process. The results revealed that the oxide film (Ti₆O) prepared on the surface of TA1 pure titanium was easy to crack during the cold roll bonding, thereby promoting the formation of an effective mechanical interlock at the interface, which can effectively reduce the minimum reduction rate of the composite plates produced by cold rolling of titanium and aluminium plates. Moreover, the composite plate subjected to oxidation treatment exhibited high shear strength, particularly at a 43% reduction rate, achieving a commendable value of 117 MPa. Based on oxidation treatment and different reduction rates, the annealed composite plates at temperatures of 400, 450, and 500 °C displayed favorable resistance to interface delamination, highlighting their remarkable strength-plasticity compatibility as evidenced by a maximum elongation of 31.845%.

In order to have a better understanding on the corrosion mechanisms of bulk two-phase Ag-25Cu (at.%) alloys with different microstructures, two bulk nanocrystalline Ag-25Cu alloys and one coarse grained counterpart were prepared by liquid phase reduction (LPR), mechanical alloying (MA) and powder metallurgy (PM) methods, respectively. Their corrosion behavior was investigated comparatively using electrochemical methods in NaCl aqueous solution. Results show that the microstructure of the coarse grained PMAg-25Cu alloy is extremely inhomogeneous. On the contrary, compared with PMAg-25Cu alloy, the microstructures of the nanocrystalline LPRAg-25Cu and MAAg-25Cu alloys are more homogeneous, especially for LPRAg-25Cu alloy. The corrosion rate of MAAg-25Cu alloy is higher than that of PMAg-25Cu alloy, but lower than that of LPRAg-25Cu alloy. Furthermore, the passive films formed by three Ag-25Cu alloys exhibit n-type semiconducting properties. The passive current density of LPRAg-25Cu alloy is lower than that of PMAg-25Cu alloy, but higher that of MAAg-25Cu alloy.

The development of efficient nonprecious bifunctional electrocatalysts for water electrolysis is crucial to enhance the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). A self-supporting, multiscale porous NiFeZn/NiZn-Ni catalyst with a triple interface heterojunction on nickel foam (NF) (NiFeZn/NiZn-Ni/NF) was in-situ fabricated using an electroplating-annealing-etching strategy. The unique multi- interface engineering and three-dimensional porous scaffold significantly modify the mass transport and electron interaction, resulting in superior bifunctional electrocatalytic performance for water splitting. The NiFeZn/NiZn-Ni/NF catalyst demonstrates low overpotentials of 187 mV for HER and 320 mV for OER at a current density of 600 mA/cm2, along with high durability over 150 h in alkaline solution. Furthermore, an electrolytic cell assembled with NiFeZn/NiZn-Ni/NF as both the cathode and anode achieves the current densities of 600 and 1000 mA/cm² at cell voltages of 1.796 and 1.901 V, respectively, maintaining the high stability at 50 mA/cm² for over 100 h. These findings highlight the potential of NiFeZn/NiZn-Ni/NF as a cost-effective and highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting.

A specific revised HFCVD apparatus and a novel process combining HFCVD and polishing technique were presented to deposit the micro- and nano-crystalline multilayered ultra-smooth diamond (USCD) film on the interior-hole surface of WC-Co drawing dies with aperture ranging from d1.0 mm to 60 mm. Characterization results indicate that the surface roughness values (R_a) in the entry zone, drawing zone and bearing zone of as-fabricated USCD coated drawing die were measured as low as 25.7, 23.3 and 25.5 nm, respectively. Furthermore, the friction properties of USCD films were examined in both dry sliding and water-lubricating conditions, and the results show that the USCD film presents much superior friction properties. Its friction coefficients against ball-bearing steel, copper and silicon nitride balls (d4 mm), is always lower than that of microcrystalline diamond (MCD) or WC-Co sample, regardless of the lubricating condition. Meanwhile, it still presents competitive wear resistance with the MCD films. Finally, the working lifetime and performance of as-fabricated USCD coated drawing dies were examined under producing low-carbon steel pipes in dry-sliding and water-lubricating conditions. Under the water-lubricating drawing condition, its production significantly increases by about 20 times compared with the conventional WC-Co drawing dies.

Following Bessembinder and Seguins, trading volume is separated into expected and unexpected components. Meanwhile, realized volatility is divided into continuous and discontinuous jump components. We make the empirical research to investigate the relationship between trading volume components and various realized volatility using 1 min high frequency data of Shanghai copper and aluminum futures. Moreover, the asymmetry of volatility-volume relationship is investigated. The results show that there is strong positive correlation between volatility and trading volume when realized volatility and its continuous component are considered. The relationship between trading volume and discontinuous jump component is ambiguous. The expected and unexpected trading volumes have positive influence on volatility. Furthermore, the unexpected trading volume, which is caused by arrival of new information, has a larger influence on price volatility. The findings also show that an asymmetric volatility-volume relationship indeed exists, which can be interpreted by the fact that trading volume has more explanatory power in positive realized semi-variance than negative realized semi-variance. The influence of positive trading volume shock on volatility is larger than that of negative trading volume shock, which reflects strong arbitrage in Chinese copper and aluminum futures markets.

Aluminum matrix composites (AMCs), reinforced with novel pre-synthesized Al/CuFe multi-layered core- shell particles, were fabricated by different consolidation techniques to investigate their effect on microstructure and mechanical properties. To synthesize multi-layered Al/CuFe core-shell particles, Cu and Fe layers were deposited on Al powder particles by galvanic replacement and electroless plating method, respectively. The core-shell powder and sintered compacts were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), pycnometer, microhardness and compression tests. The results revealed that a higher extent of interfacial reactions, due to the transformation of the deposited layer into intermetallic phases in spark plasma sintered composite, resulted in high relative density (99.26%), microhardness (165 HV_0.3) and strength (572 MPa). Further, the presence of un-transformed Cu in the shell structure of hot-pressed composite resulted in the highest fracture strain (20.4%). The obtained results provide stronger implications for tailoring the microstructure of AMCs through selecting appropriate sintering paths to control mechanical properties.

Laser surface cladding with Al-Si powders was applied to a Mg-6Zn-1Ca magnesium alloy to improve its surface properties. The microstructure, phase components and chemical compositions of the laser-clad layer were analyzed by using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). The results show that the clad layer mainly consists of α-Mg, Mg2Si dendrites, Mg17Al12 and Al3Mg2 phases. Owing to the formation of Mg2Si, Mg17Al12 and Al3Mg2 intermetallic compounds in the melted region and grain refinement, the microhardness of the clad layer (HV0.025 310) is about 5 times higher than that of the substrate (HV0.025 54). Besides, corrosion tests in the NaCl (3.5%, mass fraction) water solution show that the corrosion potential is increased from -1574.6 mV for the untreated sample to -128.7 mV for the laser-clad sample, while the corrosion current density is reduced from 170.1 to 6.7 μA/cm2. These results reveal that improved corrosion resistance and increased hardness of the Mg-6Zn-1Ca alloy can be both achieved after laser cladding with Al-Si powders.

The interaction between molten Na₂CO₃-NaCl salt and Sb and the solubility of Sb in molten salt were investigated in the temperature range of 700-1000 °C. The results show that the dissolution equilibrium of Sb in molten salt can be achieved in 3 h, and the amount of Sb dissolved in the melt decreases as the viscosity decreases. The solubility limits in an eutectic mixture were determined as 5.42%, 2.42%, 0.75% and 0.68% at 700, 800, 900 and 1000 °C, respectively. A high temperature and appropriate content of NaCl will decrease the dissolution of Sb. The insoluble Sb was collected at the bottom of molten salt. The Sb dissolved on the surface of the molten salt is easily oxidized, whereas the Sb dissolved inside the molten salt is randomly distributed in terms of the form of metal Sb.

Hot compression tests of 2050 Al-Li alloy were performed in the deformation temperature range of 340-500 °C and strain rate range of 0.001-10 s-1 to investigate the hot deformation behavior of the alloy. The effects of friction and temperature difference on flow stress were analyzed and the flow curves were corrected. Based on the dynamic material model, processing map at a strain of 0.5 was established. The grain structure of the compressed samples was observed using optical microscopy. The results show that friction and temperature variation during the hot compression have significant influences on flow stress. The optimum processing domains are in the temperature range from 370 to 430 °C with the strain rate range from 0.01 to 0.001 s-1, and in the temperature range from 440 to 500 °C with the strain rate range from 0.3 to 0.01 s-1; the flow instable region is located at high strain rates (3-10 s-1) in the entire temperature range. Dynamic recovery (DRV) and dynamic recrystallization (DRX) are the main deformation mechanisms of the 2050 alloy in the stable domains, whereas the alloy exhibits flow localization in the instable region.

Additive manufacturing (AM) technology has emerged as a viable solution for manufacturing complex- shaped WC−Co cemented carbide products, thereby expanding their applications in industries such as resource mining, equipment manufacturing, and electronic information. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the progress of AM technology in WC−Co cemented carbides. The fundamental principles and classification of AM techniques are introduced, followed by a categorization and evaluation of the AM techniques for WC−Co cemented carbides. These techniques are classified as either direct AM technology (DAM) or indirect AM technology (IDAM), depending on their inclusion of post-processes like de-binding and sintering. Through an analysis of microstructure features, the most suitable AM route for WC−Co cemented carbide products with controllable microstructure is identified as the indirect AM technology, such as binder jet printing (BJP), which integrates AM with conventional powder metallurgy.

A novel method, bath smelting process, was developed to treat molybdenite concentrate aiming at the existing problems of traditional process. To understand the dissolving behavior of MoS₂ in white matte, the binary phase diagram of Cu₂S-Mo₂S was measured by the cooling curve method. The result shows that this system is a simple binary eutectic with a eutectic temperature of (1117.0±3.0) °C and a eutectic composition of (1.70±0.20)% MoS₂ in mass fraction. When the MoS₂ addition exceeds 4.48%, MoS₂ and Cu₂S can form the ternary compound containing CuMo₂S₃ or Cu₂Mo₆S₈. In the temperature range of copper smelting, 1200-1300 °C, molybdenite can dissolve in the cuprous sulfide. At 1200 °C, the solubility of molybdenite can reach 14.8%.

The leaching kinetics of zinc silicate in ammonium chloride solution was investigated. The effects of stirring speed (150-400 r/min), leaching temperature (95-108 °C), particle size of zinc silicate (61-150 μm) and the concentration of ammonium chloride (3.5-5.5 mol/L) on leaching rate of zinc were studied. The results show that decreasing the particle size of zinc silicate and increasing the leaching temperature and concentration of ammonium chloride can obviously enhance the leaching rate of zinc. Among the kinetic models of the porous solids tested, the grain model with porous diffusion control can well describe the zinc leaching kinetics. The apparent activation energy of the leaching reaction is 161.26 kJ/mol and the reaction order with respect to ammonium chloride is 3.5.

The development of low-energy consumption and environmentally friendly electrodeposition of metal/alloy films or coatings is presently one of the primary topics for the research community. For this purpose, deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are valued as electrolytes for their advantages of low operating temperature and wide electrochemical windows. At present, there is large amount of literature on this emerging field, but there are no specialized reviews of these studies. Here, after a brief introduction of DESs’ concept and history, we comprehensively reviewed the lastest progress on the metal/alloy electrodeposition in DESs. Additionally, we discussed the key influence factors of the electrodeposition process and analyzed the corresponding mechanisms. Based on these, we emphasized the importance of the establishment of predictive models for dealing with the challenges in large-scale applications.

Multi-wall carbon nanotubes reinforced Mg-14Li-1Al composite (MWCNTs/Mg-14Li-1Al) was prepared by the processes of electrophoretic deposition, friction stir processing, and cold rolling. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the composite were investigated. The results show that, the microhardness of the composite is up to HV 84.4, which is 91.38% higher than that of the as-cast matrix alloy (HV 44.1). The yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the composite are 259 and 313 MPa, which are 135.45% and 115.86% higher than those of the as-cast matrix alloy, respectively, and a high specific strength of 221.98 kN·m/kg is obtained. In the composite, the MWCNTs serve as nucleation particles during the friction stir processing and cold rolling, causing dynamic recrystallization and grain refinement. Furthermore, MWCNTs hinder the movement of dislocations and transfer the load from the matrix alloy, thus improving the strength.

The effects of Si content on the microstructure and yield strength of Al-(1.44-12.40)Si-0.7Mg (wt.%) alloy sheets under the T4 condition were systematically studied via laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), DSC, TEM and tensile tests. The results show that the recrystallization grain of the alloy sheets becomes more refined with an increase in Si content. When the Si content increases from 1.44 to 12.4 wt.%, the grain size of the alloy sheets decreases from approximately 47 to 10 μm. Further, with an increase in Si content, the volume fraction of the GP zones in the matrix increases slightly. Based on the existing model, a yield strength model for alloy sheets was proposed. The predicted results are in good agreement with the actual experimental results and reveal the strengthening mechanisms of the Al-(1.44-12.40)Si-0.7Mg alloy sheets under the T4 condition and how they are influenced by the Si content.

Particle erosion induced by foreign object damage (FOD) is an important factor that restricts the working life of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). A dense α-Al₂O₃ overlay was prepared by magnetron sputtering and vacuum treatment on the surface of 7YSZ TBCs sprayed by plasma spray-physical vapor deposition (PS-PVD) to improve the erosion resistance of the TBCs. The FOD behavior of the TBCs was systematically studied and the interface of α-Al₂O₃/c-ZrO₂ was investigated by first principles calculations. The experimental results show that the erosion rates of the PS-PVD, atmospheric plasma spraying (APS), and electron beam-physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) TBCs were 324, 248, and 139 μg/g, respectively, while the erosion rate of the Al₂O₃-modified PS-PVD TBCs was reduced to 199 μg/g. In addition, the highest interface adhesive energy of 3.88 J/m² observed in the top configuration model of Al₂O₃/ZrO₂-O is much higher than that of ZrO₂/Ni (2.011 J/m²), which results in improved interface bonding performance.

A binary Mg-6Zn biodegradable alloy was solution treated to evaluate the effects of resulting microstructure changes on the alloy’s degradation rate and mechanisms in-vitro. The treatment was conducted at 350 °C for 6-48 h. Optical and scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to analyze the as-cast and treated samples. Immersion and electrochemical tests were performed in simulated body fluid at 37 °C to assess the samples corrosion resistance. To confirm the results of the corrosion tests, pH measurement was carried out. It is found that over 24 h solution treatment dissolves intermetallic phases in matrix and produces an almost single phase microstructure. Decreasing the intermetallic phases results in lower cathode/anode region ratios and lowers corrosion rates. The results of the electrochemical and mass loss tests reveal that extended solution treatment improves the corrosion resistance of the alloy. The results also show that solution at 350 °C for 24 h enhances the corrosion resistance of the as-cast alloy more than 60%. In addition, decreasing intermetallic phases in the microstructure accompanied a lower pH rise reduced corrosion rate. Solution treatment is suggested as a corrosion improving process for the application of Mg-Zn alloys as biodegradable implant materials.

A new unified constitutive model was developed to predict the two-stage creep-aging (TSCA) behavior of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys. The particular bimodal precipitation feature was analyzed and modeled by considering the primary micro-variables evolution at different temperatures and their interaction. The dislocation density was incorporated into the model to capture the effect of creep deformation on precipitation. Quantitative transmission electron microscopy and experimental data obtained from a previous study were used to calibrate the model. Subsequently, the developed constitutive model was implemented in the finite element (FE) software ABAQUS via the user subroutines for TSCA process simulation and the springback prediction of an integral panel. A TSCA test was performed. The result shows that the maximum radius deviation between the formed plate and the simulation results is less than 0.4 mm, thus validating the effectiveness of the developed constitutive model and FE model.

The effects of temperature, ammonia concentration and ammonium carbonate concentration on the dissolving behavior of ammonium paratungstate were studied in (NH₄)₂CO₃-NH₃？H₂O-H₂O system. The results show that rising temperature, prolonging duration, increasing ammonia concentration and decreasing ammonium carbonate concentration favor dissolving of ammonium paratungstate at temperature below 90 °C, while the WO₃ concentration decreases after a certain time at temperature above 100 °C. Furthermore, the undissolved tungsten exists in the form of either APT·4H₂O below 90 °C or pyrochlore-type tungsten trioxide above 100 °C. In dissolving process, the ammonium paratungstate dissolves into paratungstate ions followed by partially converting to tungstate ion, resulting in the coexistence of the both ions. This study may provide a new idea to exploit a novel technique for manufacturing ammonium paratungstate and pyrochlore-type tungsten trioxide.

The corrosion behavior of the Cu-Ti alloys with different Ti contents in 3.5% (mass fraction) NaCl solution was investigated using electrochemical measurements, immersion tests, mass loss measurements and SEM observation. The results show that Ti dissolved in the Cu matrix changes the corrosion process of the alloys. Pure Cu sample exhibits a typical active–passive- transpassive corrosion behavior. The anodic polarization current densities of the Cu-Ti alloys steadily increase with increasing applied potential, indicating that active dissolution of copper proceeds due to the potential difference in the galvanic coupling of Cu and Ti. The increase of Ti content decreases the corrosion resistance of the Cu-Ti alloys.

The semisolid slurry of the 6061 wrought aluminum alloy was prepared by the self-inoculation method (SIM). The effects of the isothermal holding parameters on microstructures of rheo-diecastings were investigated, and the solidification behavior of 6061 wrought aluminum alloy during the rheo-diecasting process was analyzed using OM, SEM, EDS and EBSD. The results indicate that the isothermal holding process during slurry preparation has great effect on primary α(Al) particles (α1), but has little effect on the microstructure of secondary solidification in the process of thin-walled rheo-diecasting. Nucleation is expected to take place in the entire remaining liquid when the remaining liquid fills the die cavity, and the secondary solidification particles (α2) are formed after the process of stable growth, unstable growth and merging. The solute concentration of remaining liquid is higher than that of the original alloy due to the existence of α1 particles, hence the contents of Mg and Si in α2 particles are higher than those in α1 particles.

The phase diagram of ZrO₂-CaO-TiO₂ system was essential for the development of photocatalytic materials and refractory materials. In this work, the ZrO₂-CaO-TiO₂ system was accessed by using the CALPHAD method. The substitutional solution models were used to describe liquid and solid solution phases, the sub-lattice models were used to describe ternary compounds, and then the thermodynamic parameters were obtained by the least square method combined with literature experiment results. The acquired thermodynamic parameters were used to calculate the isothermal sections of the ZrO₂-CaO-TiO₂ system at 1473 and 1673 K.There existed a good agreement between experimental and predicted phase relationships, the experimental points which were inconsistent with calculated results may be attributed to experimental errors and the sluggish kinetics of cations for ZrO₂-based materials. In order to further verify the validity of the database, the thermodynamic parameters were also used to simulate the thermodynamic properties (specific heat capacity, enthalpy, and entropy) of CaZrTi₂O₇ within 5% errors. Good consistency demonstrated that the present thermodynamic database was self-consistent and credible.

The effects of laser shock peening (LSP) on the impact wear behavior of Ti-6Al-4V alloys were investigated by a homemade impact wear test rig. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the peened samples were studied. During the impact wear test, the energy absorption, impact force, wear contact time and wear mechanism of all the test samples were investigated in terms of the influence of the impact kinetic energy. The results showed that microhardness, elastic modulus and residual compressive stress of the treated samples were markedly improved. The wear resistances of both treated samples were highly improved after LSP, and a higher pulse energy corresponded to a more obvious effect. Besides, the wear in all test samples involved a combination of abrasive and oxidation wear and fatigue spalling.

To explain the precipitation mechanism of χ phase in Co-based superalloys, the microstructural evolution of Co-Ti-Mo superalloys subjected to aging was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results show that the needle-like χ phase is mainly composed of D0₁₉-Co₃(Ti,Mo), which is transformed from L1₂-γ′ phase, and a specific orientation relationship exists between them. χ phase is nucleated through the shearing of γ′ phase due to the influence of stacking fault. The crystal orientation relationship between L1₂ and D0₁₉ can be confirmed as {111}_L12//{0001}_D019, and á112？ _L12//á1 00？ _D019. The growth of D0₁₉-χ phase depends on the diffusions of Ti and Mo, and consumes a large number of elements. This progress leads to the appearance of γ′ precipitation depletion zone (PDZ) around D0₁₉-χ phase. The addition of Ni improves the stability of L1₂-γ′ phase and the mechanical properties of Co-based superalloys.

A physics-based temperature-dependent yield strength model without fitting parameters was developed for single-phase FCC high-entropy alloys. The model considered the temperature dependence of lattice friction stress, solid solution strengthening, grain boundary strengthening, dislocation strengthening, and their evolution with temperature to the overall yield strength. The results show that a quantitative relationship between temperature, material parameters, and yield strength was successfully captured by the model. This model can predict the yield strength at different temperatures only by using the easily available material parameters at room temperature. The accuracy of model was well verified by 17 sets of available experimental data over a wide temperature range (4.2-1273 K). Moreover, the contribution of different strengthening mechanisms to the yield strength was quantitatively analyzed and discussed from 4.2 to 1273 K, and some suggestions for improving the temperature-dependent yield strength were put forward.

Compression tests were performed on the Mg-6Zn-0.5Ce (wt.%) alloy using a Gleeble-1500 thermo- mechanical simulator testing system at temperatures of 250, 300, 350 °C and strain rates of 0.001, 0.01, 0.1 s^-1. The microstructure and texture evolution of the Mg-6Zn-0.5Ce alloy during hot compression were investigated by optical microscopy (OM) and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD). The results showed that Zener-Hollomon parameters obtained from the deformation processes had a significant effect on the dynamic recrystallization and texture of the Mg-6Zn-0.5Ce alloy. The fraction of undynamically recrystallized (unDRXed) regions increased, and the dynamically recrystallized (DRXed) grain size decreased with increasing the Zener-Hollomon parameters. The texture intensity of the DRXed regions was weaker compared with that in the unDRXed regions, which resulted in a sharper texture intensity in the samples deformed with higher Zener-Hollomon parameters. The increase in recrystallized texture intensity was related to preferred grain growth.

To avoid high crack sensitivity of TiB-Ti composite coating during laser cladding process, network-like structure composite coating was fabricated with laser in-situ technique on titanium alloy using 5 μm TiB₂ powder as the cladding material. The microstructure, phase structure and properties of the coatings were analyzed by SEM, XRD, EPMA, TEM, hardness tester and fretting wear meter. It was observed that the outer ring of the network-like structure was mainly TiB strengthening phase, while the inner ring was α-Ti grain, and the interface between TiB and Ti matrix was very clean and had a consistent orientation relationship. The hardness of the cladding layer with network-like structure gradually decreased from the surface toward the interface, but the average hardness was nearly two times that of the substrate. In the fretting wear test, it was found that the wear resistance of the cladding layer with network-like structure was larger than that of the substrate under low load (40 N). The results revealed that the hardness and fretting wear resistance of the titanium-based composite coating could be improved by the introduction of network-like structure.