Silane additives have attracted recent attention as novel electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries due to their high thermal stability, low flammability, non-toxicity, high conductivity and high decomposition voltage. The role and mechanism of Si—O and Si—N structure in silane electrolyte additives were mainly reviewed. In addition, the further research trends and application prospects of silane additives were also prospected.

CoMn₂O₄ nanoparticles on reduced graphene oxide (CoMn₂O₄/rGO) composites with different graphene contents were synthesized in situ by a coprecipitation method. The effect of graphene content on the morphology, microstructure and electrochemical properties of CoMn₂O₄/rGO materials was investigated. The results show that CoMn₂O₄ nanoparticles are deposited on the surface of graphene nanosheets. The distribution of CoMn₂O₄ nanoparticles on the surface of rGO is gradually uniform, and the particle aggregation disappears as graphene content increases. CoMn₂O₄/rGO exhibits a great specific surface area and an excellent electrochemistry. The optimum capacitance performance of CoMn₂O₄/rGO20 (20% rGO, in mass fraction) can be obtained, and the specific capacitance is 1 420 F/g at 1 A/g. CoMn₂O₄/rGO30 (30% rGO, in mass fraction) has the optimum cyclic stability. The specific capacitance retention rate of CoMn₂O₄/rGO30 is 94% at 5 A/g, while that of CoMn₂O₄ is 78%, after 2 000 cycles of charges and discharges.

The homogeneous Ca(Mg_1/3Ta_2/3)O₃ (CMT), CaTiO₃ (CT) dielectric thin films and heterogeneous CMT/CT films with different stacking sequences and different mole ratios of CMT and CT were deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si(100) substrates by a Pechini method, respectively. The results show that the hetero-layered CMT/CT films with CT film as the first layer have single perovskite phase. However, a secondary phase diffraction peaks appear in the hetero-layered CMT/CT films with CMT film as the first layer. Meanwhile, the CT peak gradually weakens and finally disappears with increasing CMT mole ratio in the hetero-layered CMT/CT films with CT film as the first layer, indicating CT favored the CMT forming perovskite phase. The dielectric property characterizations show that the dielectric constant is highly dependent upon the mole ratio of CMT in hetero-layered CMT/CT films. However, the dielectric loss is not only dependent on the mole ratio of CMT, but also the interface number of CMT/CT thin films. The optimized dielectric constant and loss were found to be 56 and 0.038 under the mole ratio of 1∶1 for CMT to CT, respectively.

The threading dislocation density (TDD) in Si-based Ge films prepared via the epitaxial growth is rather high due to 4.2% lattice mismatch between Si and Ge, leading to a large dark current of the device. However, the low-temperature Ge/Si wafer bonding can lower the TDD in Ge film by restraining the propagation of the misfit dislocations, exhibiting an enormous potential in the fabrication of high-quality large-misfit film. The oxide layer at Ge/Si bonded interface produced via hydrophilic reaction could affect the performance of Ge/Si heterojunction. In this work, a carrier non-local quantum tunneling model was proposed at Ge/Si bonded interface based on the carrier basic equation. The effect of the oxide layer thickness (d_O) at Ge/Si bonded interface on the dark current, total current, spectrum response, and bandwidth was investigated and the influencing mechanism of heterojunction performance was clarified by the introduction of the semi-classical approximate solution. It is indicated that the carrier blocking effect of the oxide layer becomes serious as the d_O increases, leading to the decrease of the dark current, total current, and spectrum response. In addition, the d_O in Ge layer decreases due to the increase of the electric field in the oxide layer, leading to the decrease of the carrier velocity and the high-frequency characteristic. In order to ensure the excellent photoelectric property of Ge/Si heterojunction, the d_O should be limited to be <0.50 nm.

High-temperature electrolysis via a solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) is considered as one of the most potential energy conversion and storage technologies due to its high energy conversion efficiency, modularization and easy assembly, and flexible application. Methane-assisted SOEC mode, which combines the state-of-the-art SOEC system with partial oxidation of methane (POM) reaction, was used to effectively reduce the energy consumption and produce a high-quality synthesized gas (i.e., a mixture of CO and H₂). This novel SOEC mode can utilize different energy networks including electricity, heat and gas, which can efficiently and flexibly transform different energies and realize the optimal utilization of energies and resources. This review represented recent developments on methane-assisted SOEC mode. The thermodynamic parameters, the Nernst potential, electrochemical performance, products compositions as well as energy structure and efficiency of methane-assisted SOEC mode were summarized. In addition, the research status of the electrode system for methane-assisted SOEC mode was also reviewed, and the future prospects of methane-assisted SOEC mode were discussed.

AgBr/ZnO composite photocatalyst was prepared by a simple one-step hydrothermal method. The composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The effect of AgBr/ZnO system synthesis on the photocatalytic properties of the materials was analyzed. The photocatalytic activity of the composite catalyst was investigated with rhodamine B solution as a target pollutant. The results show that an optimum AgBr/ZnO-2 composite with a molar ratio of AgBr to ZnO of 1∶5 has a degradation rate of rhodamine B of 98.98% for 60 min under visible light irradiation. Compared to ZnO, the photocatalytic activity is improved and the degradation rate constant is increased by 11.08 times. Compared to commercial TiO₂(P25), the degradation rate constant is increased by 10.14 times. That is mainly since AgBr/ZnO has a lower electron-hole recombination ratio than ZnO, and the optical absorption band edge of the composite catalyst is red-shifted, thereby enhancing the absorption of visible light.

β-phase high thermal conductivity silicon nitride ceramics were prepared by sintering at 1 900 ℃ for 2 h using silicon nitride (α-phase≥95%, particle size 0.5 μm) as a raw material, and MgO-Y₂O₃ as a composite sintering aid. The effects of sintering aid content and ratio on the densification process, thermal conductivity, mechanical properties and microstructure of silicon nitride ceramics were discussed. The results show that when the addition amount of sintering aid is 5% MgO+4% Y₂O₃, the thermal conductivity, bending strength, fracture toughness of the sample sintered in air at 1 890 ℃ for 2 h can reach 85.96 W·m^-1·K^-1, 873 MPa and 8.39 MPa·m^1/2, respectively. In the sintering process, Y₂O₃ reacts with Si₃N₄ to form a compound fixed at the grain boundary, which plays a role in purifying the silicon nitride lattice and improves the thermal conductivity of the sintered sample. Excessive MgO and Y₂O₃ will form compounds during the sintering process and remain at the grain boundary, which will reduce the mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of the material.

Flash sintering is a new type of electric field/current assisted sintering technology developed in recent years, which can densify ceramic materials in very short time at low temperatures. Although flash sintering has been demonstrated in many ceramic materials, there is no consensus on the sintering mechanism. In this paper, several main sintering mechanisms have been reviewed, including Joule heating, defect generation, electrochemical reaction, etc. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of various mechanisms are discussed based on the reported works. Finally, the research direction of the flash sintering mechanism is proposed.

A preparation method of ceramic direct ink writing based on solvent evaporation was proposed, and the process parameters to change the solvent evaporation rate of ceramic slurry in the printing process were adjusted. For zirconia ceramic, a zirconia ceramic slurry with a high solid loading was prepared, and the rheological properties and printability of zirconia ceramic slurries with different solid loadings were analyzed. The results show that zirconia ceramic slurries with 54%-58% (volume fraction) solid loadings can be used to form a ceramic body without deformation or collapse by changing the solvent evaporation rate. Based on the preparation and characterization of ceramic tooth and cuboid samples, it is verified that this method can prepare some complex-shaped ceramic parts with a high strength.

In view of the support problem of slurry based ceramic additive preparation, a novel method of selective laser curing of frozen slurry was proposed. Water glass was used as a binder to prepare ceramic slurry, the whole slurry layer was frozen by cryoplate in order to establish a solid support, the dehydration effect of water glass heated was used to fix ceramic particles, and the frozen support materials were melted in water. The effects of solid content, laser power, scanning speed and scanning distance on the size and morphology of curing line, surface and body were investigated. A green body with a compressive strength of 29.4 MPa, a bending strength of 2.53 MPa, and a thin-wall structure with the thickness of 130 µm and span of 60 mm was prepared. This proposed method has the characteristics of high efficiency of solid support establishment and removal, and the processed thin-wall and cantilever structure is not easy to deform, thus having a promising application potential in the field of rapid casting.