We synthesized centimeter-sized Weyl semimetal layered PtBi ₂ crystals, which indicate that the hydrogen evolution activity of the synthesized Weyl semimetal crystals significantly exceeds that of commercial Pt/C catalysts.

The rapid growth of rutile TiO₂ single crystals through a laser floating zone (LFZ) method was demonstrated. LFZ has a higher power density, which is suitable for the growth of TiO₂ crystals with a high melting point. By optimizing the crystal growth parameters, including the growth rate, gas atmosphere, and rotation rate, the crystals could achieve their largest size of φ 9 mm × 25 mm, with a growth cycle of 12 h, and no cracks appeared. The properties of the obtained crystals were close to those of the crystals grown using other schemes, with a whole transmission range of 0.41–6.56 μm, thermal expansion coefficient of 9.92 × 10⁻⁶/K, and laser damage threshold of 1.44 GW/cm². The achieved results indicated that the crystals have high quality and good integrity when grown using LFZ and also imply a new choice for the rapid growth of rutile TiO₂ single crystals.

Facing the demand of high-power laser development, a high-quality magneto-optical crystal with a high Verdet constant and a high thermal conductivity is needed. Herein, an effective Faraday rotation based on a TbYO₃ single crystal with a strong magneto-optical effect, grown by the laser floating zone method, is demonstrated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The TbYO₃ crystal has the Verdet constant which is 2.16 times (106 rad·m⁻¹ T⁻¹) higher than that of the TGG crystal (49 rad·m⁻¹ T⁻¹) at 880 nm. Additionally, the TbYO₃ crystal also has a thermal conductivity of 11.8 W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹ and a laser-induced damage threshold of 1.59 GW·cm⁻². These advantages can allow the TbYO₃ crystal to be an attractive magneto-optical material.