Under ambient conditions, the only known valence state of calcium ions is +2, and the corresponding crystals with calcium ions are insulating and nonferromagnetic. Here, using cryo-electron microscopy, we report direct observation of two-dimensional (2D) CaCl crystals on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) membranes, in which the calcium ions are only monovalent (i.e. +1). Remarkably, metallic rather than insulating properties are displayed by those CaCl crystals. More interestingly, room-temperature ferromagnetism, graphene–CaCl heterojunction, coexistence of piezoelectricity-like property and metallicity, as well as the distinct hydrogen storage and release capability of the CaCl crystals in rGO membranes are experimentally demonstrated. We note that such CaCl crystals are obtained by simply incubating rGO membranes in salt solutions below the saturated concentration, under ambient conditions. Theoretical studies suggest that the formation of those abnormal crystals is attributed to the strong cation-π interactions of the Ca cations with the aromatic rings in the graphene surfaces. The findings highlight the realistic potential applications of such abnormal CaCl material with unusual electronic properties in designing novel transistors and magnetic devices, hydrogen storage, catalyzers, high-performance conducting electrodes and sensors, with a size down to atomic scale.

We experimentally demonstrate the formation of salt aggregations with unexpectedly high concentration inside multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) soaked only in dilute salt solution sand even in solutions containing only traces of salts. This finding suggests the blocking of fluid across CNTs by the salt aggregations when CNTs are soaked in a dilute salt solution with the concentration of seawater or even lower, which may open new avenues for the development of novel CNT-based desalination techniques. The high salt accumulation of CNTs also provides a new CNT-based strategy for the collection or extraction of noble metal salts in solutions containing traces of noble metal salts. Theoretical analyses reveal that this high salt accumulation inside CNTs can be mainly attributed to the strong hydrated cation-$\pi$ interactions of hydrated cations and $\pi$ electrons in the aromatic rings of CNTs.

The microstructural evolution of a Zr-Al-Cu-Ni metallic glass induced by irradiation with Ar ions was investigated. Under ion irradiation, the Cu- and Ni-enriched nanostructures (diameter of 30–50 nm) consisted of crystalline and amorphous structures were formed. Further, Cu- and Ni-depleted nanostructures with diameters of 5–20 nm were also observed. The formation of these nanostructures can be ascribed to the migration of Cu and Ni atoms in the irradiated metallic glass.