Materials Letters: XPub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-09-08DOI: 10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100257
Azkar Saeed Ahmad , Zhuoyang Yu , Sizhe Wang , Tong Weng , Wenting Lu , Baihong Sun , Jiewu Song , Qian Zhang , Martin Kunz , Bihan Wang , Elissaios Stavrou
{"title":"High pressure synthesis and structural study of AuGa2 intermetallic compound","authors":"Azkar Saeed Ahmad , Zhuoyang Yu , Sizhe Wang , Tong Weng , Wenting Lu , Baihong Sun , Jiewu Song , Qian Zhang , Martin Kunz , Bihan Wang , Elissaios Stavrou","doi":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100257","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100257","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We report the synthesis of the AuGa<sub>2</sub> intermetallic compound, using a direct reaction of the relevant elements at room temperature and at very low pressure. The pressure needed for the synthesis is ≈ 0.1 GPa, that is at the lower limit of modern large volume presses, routinely used to synthesize other commercially available materials. This study presents a new method of synthesizing AuGa<sub>2</sub>, which is much more cost efficient and environmentally friendly than the previously used high-temperature synthesis techniques, and will open new possibilities of synthesizing other intermetallic compounds using high-pressure athermal techniques.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18245,"journal":{"name":"Materials Letters: X","volume":"26 ","pages":"Article 100257"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145060074","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Materials Letters: XPub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-10-13DOI: 10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100258
Jigneshkumar Thakkar , Nishant Pandya
{"title":"Pigmented epoxy polyamine self-healing coating based on polyurea-calcined fly ash-linseed oil (PU-CFA-oil) microcapsule","authors":"Jigneshkumar Thakkar , Nishant Pandya","doi":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100258","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100258","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A self-healing pigmented coating incorporating polyurea microcapsules with linseed oil and calcined fly ash was synthesized, characterized through various analytical techniques, and tested across four formulations, with the Microcapsule 4.35 wt% (MC435) variant exhibiting marked enhancements in abrasion resistance and hydrophobicity, while the Microcapsule 8.70 wt% (MC870) formulation showed decreased abrasion resistance despite notable improvements in contact angle and self-healing properties.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18245,"journal":{"name":"Materials Letters: X","volume":"26 ","pages":"Article 100258"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145319465","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A novel method to fabricate elastin/collagen fiber composites: Proof of concept","authors":"Kosuke Shinokawa , Ayae Sugawara-Narutaki , Jeonghyun Kim , Takeo Matsumoto , Eijiro Maeda","doi":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100255","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100255","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Collagen and elastin are the main fibrous proteins of load-bearing soft tissues, conferring extensibility and strength upon those tissues through their interactions. However, to date, only a few techniques have been developed to fabricate fiber composites made from these proteins. Here we present an original method of fabricating fibrous composites of collagen and elastin and characterize their mechanical behavior. Soluble elastin was electrospun to form a sheet of elastin fibers, which was rolled and submerged in an acidic solution of collagen to permit collagen infiltration. The construct was incubated at 37 °C for 1 h so that collagen fibers self-assembled into the elastin fiber network, forming an elastin/collagen fiber composite. Simultaneous application of static mechanical loading and a chemical cross-linker, genipin, to the construct for an additional 24 h was also performed for fiber alignment. SEM observation revealed that elastin and collagen fibers were well integrated, although effects of mechanical loading to align those fibers were not observed. These elastin/collagen fiber composites possessed mechanical properties between those of collagen and elastin. Tensile properties benefited from collagen, whereas viscoelastic properties were derived from elastin. This method can be applied to development of artificial replacements of load-bearing soft tissues, such as tendon and meniscus.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18245,"journal":{"name":"Materials Letters: X","volume":"26 ","pages":"Article 100255"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145019062","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Materials Letters: XPub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-05-31DOI: 10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100245
Y Austernaud , M Novelli , T.H. Kauffmann , P Bocher , T Grosdidier
{"title":"Surface contamination induced by warm severe surface peening using 100C6 steel and ZrO2 shots","authors":"Y Austernaud , M Novelli , T.H. Kauffmann , P Bocher , T Grosdidier","doi":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100245","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100245","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The sample surface contamination induced during Surface Mechanical Attrition Treatment (SMAT) was studied after peening treatments carried out with 100C6 steel and ZrO<sub>2</sub> zirconia shots at room temperature, 523 K, and 773 K. All constituting parts of the treatment device (sonotrode, chamber, shots) contributed to sample surface contamination. Increasing the SMAT temperature led to a higher surface contamination with bigger contaminant debris as well as sample surface oxidation. In particular, several ZrO<sub>2</sub> shots were fragmented at 773 K due to a phase transformation embrittlement under warm condition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18245,"journal":{"name":"Materials Letters: X","volume":"26 ","pages":"Article 100245"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144212677","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Materials Letters: XPub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-08-14DOI: 10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100254
M.T. Normuradov , I.R. Bekpulatov , V.V. Klechkovskaya , Kim Ki Buem , B.D. Igamov , M.S. Lukasov , Gunel Imanova , E.A. Kerimov , Sh.A. Zeynalov
{"title":"Formation of Mn4Si7 thin films by solid-phase ion-plasma method and improvement of their thermoelectric and electrophysical properties","authors":"M.T. Normuradov , I.R. Bekpulatov , V.V. Klechkovskaya , Kim Ki Buem , B.D. Igamov , M.S. Lukasov , Gunel Imanova , E.A. Kerimov , Sh.A. Zeynalov","doi":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100254","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100254","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this study, Mn<sub>4</sub>Si<sub>7</sub> thermoelectric thin films were deposited on Si(111) and SiO<sub>2</sub>/Si(111) substrates via magnetron sputtering, and their microstructural as well as electrical temperature-dependent properties were thoroughly investigated. The as-deposited films at room temperature exhibited an amorphous structure, which underwent a phase transition to a polycrystalline state upon annealing at 800 K. This annealing process resulted in a significant reduction of surface defects and the formation of a continuous film composed of nanocrystallites with dimensions in the range of 50–100 nm. The presence of the SiO<sub>2</sub> dielectric layer on the substrate induced distinct variations in the film’s microstructure and density, which in turn affected its electrical resistivity and thermoelectric performance. The enhancement of thermoelectric properties observed during the amorphous-to-crystalline phase transition is attributed to the selective scattering mechanism of charge carriers at nanocluster boundaries. These findings provide a critical foundation for achieving high-performance Mn<sub>4</sub>Si<sub>7</sub>-based thermoelectric thin films and expand their potential applications in thermoelectric devices, paving the way for the development of next-generation energy conversion materials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18245,"journal":{"name":"Materials Letters: X","volume":"26 ","pages":"Article 100254"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144842808","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Materials Letters: XPub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-06-06DOI: 10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100247
Jurij Urbančič , Huanhuan Shi , Ali Shaygan Nia , Egon Pavlica
{"title":"Corrigendum to “Semiconducting polymer-MXene blends with improved charge carrier mobilities and their application in field-effect transistors” [Mater. Lett: X 25 (2025) 100244]","authors":"Jurij Urbančič , Huanhuan Shi , Ali Shaygan Nia , Egon Pavlica","doi":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100247","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100247","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18245,"journal":{"name":"Materials Letters: X","volume":"26 ","pages":"Article 100247"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145733490","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Materials Letters: XPub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-07-18DOI: 10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100250
Hossein Pourrahmani , Thomas B. Ferriday , Raha Razmara , Hossein Madi , Jan Van herle
{"title":"Advanced imaging of gas diffusion layers: A comparison between focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy and X-ray computed tomography","authors":"Hossein Pourrahmani , Thomas B. Ferriday , Raha Razmara , Hossein Madi , Jan Van herle","doi":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100250","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100250","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With the advances in clean technologies, the role of fuel cells and batteries is becoming increasingly vital. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are known to be the best candidates for low-temperature and portable operations, such as hydrogen cars. The efficiency and longevity of these fuel cells can be feasible through detailed microstructural analysis. In this regard, advanced imaging techniques are being used to visualize the structure of the different layers of PEMFCs including the membrane, catalyst layer, and gas diffusion layer. This study’s focus and novelty is to compare the focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy and X-ray Computed Tomography scanning for the microstructural imaging of the GDL.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18245,"journal":{"name":"Materials Letters: X","volume":"26 ","pages":"Article 100250"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144670660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Materials Letters: XPub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-09-10DOI: 10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100256
Yue Ding , Tianling Yu , Min He , Yichen Hao , Yaning Wang , Xidong Hao
{"title":"Yttria stabilized-Zirconia based sub-ppb level acetone sensor with LaBaSn2O5+δ sensing electrode","authors":"Yue Ding , Tianling Yu , Min He , Yichen Hao , Yaning Wang , Xidong Hao","doi":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100256","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100256","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>For the efficient diagnosis of diabetes via exhaled breath analysis, electrochemical acetone sensors based on mixed potential were fabricated using yttria-stabilized zirconia as the solid electrolyte and LaBaSn<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub>+δ as the sensing electrode (SE) material. To optimize the sensing property, we varied the sintering temperature to modify the electrocatalytic activity of LaBaSn<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub>+δ. Results show that LaBaSn<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub>+δ SE sintered at 800 °C exhibited the highest response of −31 mV when exposed to 100 ppm acetone. The detection limit reached as low as 100 ppb, and a sensitivity of −17 mV/decade was achieved across the acetone concentration range of 2–100 ppm. Additionally, the sensor exhibited excellent selectivity, repeatability, and long-term stability. The excellent sensing performance indicates that the developed acetone sensor can be used for the noninvasive diagnosis of diabetes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18245,"journal":{"name":"Materials Letters: X","volume":"26 ","pages":"Article 100256"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145044647","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Synergetic enhancement of strength and ductility by heterogeneous architecture in interpenetrating copper and graphene‑copper composite","authors":"Shanquan Deng, Yuyin He, Meihua Bian, Junwei Zhu, Xingsen Zhang, Heng Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100260","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100260","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Metal matrix composites exhibit an obvious decrease in ductility and toughness as strength increases. Inspired by the heterostructure characteristics of biological materials, this study designs a coarse-grained/ultrafine-grained heterostructure. A copper foam/graphene‑copper (Gr-Cu) heterostructure composite is fabricated using a mixing and hot-pressing sintering process. During tensile deformation, the strain gradient introduced by the hetero-deformation between the coarse-grained copper foam and the ultrafine-grained Gr-Cu microregions enhances dislocation storage capacity. Additionally, the coarse-grained region mitigates stress concentration and blunts and deflects crack propagation. The tensile strength of the sintered heterostructure composite reaches 347.5 MPa, with an elongation of 7 %, representing a 54 % and 45 % improvement over the Gr-Cu composite, respectively, thus achieving a synergistic enhancement of strength and toughness.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18245,"journal":{"name":"Materials Letters: X","volume":"26 ","pages":"Article 100260"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145465141","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Materials Letters: XPub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-08-04DOI: 10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100251
Qian Yu , Yuliang Zhao , Feiyu Zhao
{"title":"Effect of austenitizing temperature on microstructure and mechanical properties of medium carbon spring steel","authors":"Qian Yu , Yuliang Zhao , Feiyu Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100251","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mlblux.2025.100251","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The influence of austenitizing temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of medium carbon spring steel was systematically studied. Microstructural characterization showed that decreasing the austenitizing temperature from 900 °C to 860 °C effectively refined prior austenite grains from 8.8 μm to 5.3 μm, reduced martensite block thickness from 0.9 μm to 0.7 μm, and increased the fraction of high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) from 70 % to 76 %. Crystallographic variant analysis revealed increased boundary densities for V1&V2, V1&V3(V5), V1&V4, and V1&V6 pairs in the 860 °C sample with refined PAGS, along with elevated frequencies of V1&V3(V5) and V1&V6 pairs classified as HAGBs, consistent with the K-S orientation relationship. These results demonstrate that reducing the austenitizing temperature from 900 °C to 860 °C significantly affects martensite block size, HAGB fraction, and crystallographic variant pairs, leading to enchanced yield strength from 1563 MPa to 1648 MPa and total elongation from 9.3 % to 9.7 %.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18245,"journal":{"name":"Materials Letters: X","volume":"26 ","pages":"Article 100251"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144767242","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}