This review provides an exploration of various catalytic pyrolysis techniques for bio-oil production, focusing on the effects of different pyrolysis methods (slow, fast, and flash pyrolysis) on bio-oil yield and composition. The review also discusses key factors influencing bio-oil production, including feedstock composition (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin), and the role of catalytic materials in enhancing yield and product selectivity. Three primary classes of catalysts—zeolites, carbonaceous materials, and metal oxides—are thoroughly examined, with a discussion on the differences between bulk catalysts and nanocatalysts. The paper highlights how these catalysts influence the formation of bio-oil components such as phenols, hydrocarbons, and oxygenated compounds. Furthermore, this review discusses recent advancements in catalyst design and modifications to optimize bio-oil production. This review provides the latest advancements in catalytic pyrolysis, emphasizing the correlation between catalyst properties and the resulting products. It aims to offer valuable insights into the future potential of catalytic pyrolysis for efficient biomass conversion and sustainable biofuel production.

The transition to sustainable energy storage solutions has driven significant interest in supercapacitors, which offer high power density, rapid charge–discharge capabilities, and exceptional cycle stability. Biomass-derived carbon nanomaterials have emerged as compelling candidates for supercapacitor electrodes due to their renewable origins, environmental compatibility, and cost-effectiveness. This study explores recent advancements in tailoring structural properties, for example in preparation methods and activation, which are essential for efficient charge storage and rapid ion transport. Attention is given to the dimensional configurations—spanning 0D to 3D structures—and their impact on electrochemical behaviors. This review outlines the challenges faced in scaling up and optimizing these materials for practical applications, alongside an outlook on future research directions. By bridging the gap between material design and application demands, this work contributes to advancing sustainable supercapacitor technologies for a greener energy future.

In this research, a high-boron-content composite material with both neutron and γ rays shielding properties was developed by an optimized design and manufacture. It consists of 304 stainless steel as the matrix and spherical boron carbide (B₄C) particles as the functional particles. The content of B₄C is 24.68 wt%, and the particles’ radius is 1.53 mm. The density of the newly designed material is 5.17 g·cm⁻³, about 68.02% of that of traditional borated stainless steel containing 1.7 wt% boron, while its neutrons shielding performance is much better. Firstly, focusing on shielding properties and material density, the content and the size of B₄C were optimized by the Genetic Algorithm (GA) program combined with the MCNP program. Then, some samples of the material were manufactured by the infiltration casting technique according to the optimized results. The actual density of the samples was 5.21 g cm⁻³. In addition, the neutron and γ rays shielding performance of the samples and borated stainless steel containing 1.7 wt% boron was tested by using an ²⁴¹Am–Be neutron source and ⁶⁰Co and ¹³⁷Cs γ rays sources, respectively, and the results were compared. It can be concluded that the new designed material could be used as a material for nuclear power plants or spent-fuel storage and transportation containers with high requirements for mobility.

The polymer-matrix nuclear radiation shielding material is an important component of nuclear power plants. However, its mechanical properties and shielding performance gradually deteriorate due to the long-term synergy of nuclear radiation and thermal effects, which brings hidden dangers to the safe operation of the device. Based on this problem, this article makes a comprehensive review. First, the degradation of mechanical properties and shielding performance of polymer-matrix nuclear radiation materials in service is briefly described. Then, the research methods adopted by scholars to study the change law of properties and performance are introduced, and the main existing difficulties encountered by the study are summarized. Finally, the physical mechanism of the change of material properties is explained in detail, and a reference approach to solving the problem is proposed.

Steel matrix syntactic foam is a promising lightweight and energy absorbing material. In this study, an infiltration casting technology is developed to prepare syntactic foams, which brings in alumina hollow spheres with an average size of around 3.97 mm to make the pores and enhance the properties of the foams. During the process, melt flow along with heat transfer during the infiltration is investigated. The study shows that melt flow and velocity distribution of molten steel are significantly unstable; the critical solid fraction of the steel is 0.67; and the alumina ceramic mould in which the foams are prepared must be preheated to at least 1000°C to prevent incomplete infiltration. Finally, the microstructure of syntactic foams is studied.

Particle-reinforced composites are widely applied as nuclear radiation shielding materials for their excellent comprehensive properties. The work aimed to calculate the influence of the functional reinforced particles spatial arrangement on the neutron shielding performance of composites and attempted to explain the influence mechanism by investigating the neutron flux distribution in the materials. Firstly, four suitable physical models were established based on the Monte Carlo Particle Transport Program (MCNP) and mathematical software MATLAB, namely the RSA (Random Sequential Adsorption) Model with particles random arrangement and FCC Model, BCC Model and Staggered Arrangement Model (SA Model) with particle periodic arrangements. Later, based on these four physical models, the neutron transmittance of two kinds of typical B₄C reinforced composites, 316 stainless steel matrix composite and polyethylene matrix composite, were calculated under different energy neutrons sources (0.0253 eV, 50 eV, 50 keV, fission spectrum, ²⁴¹Am-Be spectrum and 14.1 MeV) and the neutron flux distribution in the 316 stainless steel composite was also analyzed under 0.0253 eV neutron and fission neutron sources. The results indicated that the spatial arrangement of B₄C has an impact on the neutrons shielding performance of the composite and the influence changes with neutron energy and B₄C content. It can be concluded that the RSA model and the periodic arrangement models can be used in different calculation cases in the future.