Bacterial contamination and the escalating crisis of antibiotic resistance represent pressing global public health threats, with approximately 4.95 million deaths linked to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in 2019 and projections estimating up to 10 million annual fatalities by 2050. As third-generation antimicrobial materials, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as promising alternatives to conventional agents, leveraging their unique attributes such as high specific surface areas, tunable porosity, and controlled metal ion release kinetics. This review provides a systematic analysis of the foundational principles and core antibacterial mechanisms of MOFs, which include the sustained release of metal ions (e.g., Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺), the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and synergistic effects with encapsulated functional molecules. We highlight how these mechanisms underpin their efficacy across a range of applications. Rather than offering an exhaustive list of synthesis methods and metal compositions, this review focuses on clarifying structure–function relationships that enable MOF-based materials to outperform conventional antimicrobials. Their potential is particularly evident in several key areas: wound dressings and medical coatings that enhance tissue regeneration and prevent infections; targeted nanotherapeutics against drug-resistant bacteria; and functional coatings for food preservation and water disinfection. Despite existing challenges, including gaps in clinical translation, limited efficacy in complex multi-species infections, and incomplete mechanistic understanding, MOFs hold significant promise to revolutionize antimicrobial therapy. Through interdisciplinary optimization and advancements in translational research, MOFs are poised to drive a paradigm shift from “passive defense” to “active ecological regulation”, offering a critical solution to mitigate the global AMR crisis.

As an emerging energy-saving approach, bio-inspired drag reduction technology has become a key research direction for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This study introduces the latest research progress on bio-inspired microstructured surfaces in the field of underwater drag reduction, focusing on analyzing the drag reduction mechanism, preparation process, and application effect of the three major technological paths; namely, bio-inspired non-smooth surfaces, bio-inspired superhydrophobic surfaces, and bio-inspired modified coatings. Bio-inspired non-smooth surfaces can significantly reduce the wall shear stress by regulating the flow characteristics of the turbulent boundary layer through microstructure design. Bio-inspired superhydrophobic surfaces form stable gas–liquid interfaces through the construction of micro-nanostructures and reduce frictional resistance by utilizing the slip boundary effect. Bio-inspired modified coatings, on the other hand, realize the synergistic function of drag reduction and antifouling through targeted chemical modification of materials and design of micro-nanostructures. Although these technologies have made significant progress in drag reduction performance, their engineering applications still face bottlenecks such as manufacturing process complexity, gas layer stability, and durability. Future research should focus on the analysis of drag reduction mechanisms and optimization of material properties under multi-physical field coupling conditions, the development of efficient and low-cost manufacturing processes, and the enhancement of surface stability and adaptability through dynamic self-healing coatings and smart response materials. It is hoped that the latest research status of bio-inspired drag reduction technology reviewed in this study provides a theoretical basis and technical reference for the sustainable development and energy-saving design of ships and underwater vehicles.

Ice accretion on critical transportation infrastructure presents serious operational risks and economic challenges, highlighting the need for sustainable anti-icing solutions. This study develops a strong PDMS-based composite coating on aluminum by incorporating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon powder, effectively merging passive superhydrophobicity with photothermal capabilities. We systematically assess how different ratios of CNTs to carbon powder (3:1, 1:1, 1:3) influence surface morphology, wettability, anti-icing performance, mechanical durability, and corrosion resistance. The morphological analysis shows the formation of hierarchical micro/nano-structures, with the optimal 1:3 ratio (designated as P13) resulting in dense, porous agglomerates of intertwined CNTs and carbon powder. P13 demonstrates high-performing superhydrophobicity, with a contact angle of 139.7° and a sliding angle of 9.4°, alongside a significantly extended freezing delay of 180 s at −20 °C. This performance is attributed to reduced water–surface interaction and inhibited ice nucleation. Mechanical abrasion tests indicate remarkable durability, as P13 retains a contact angle of 132.5° and consistent anti-icing properties after enduring 100 abrasion cycles. Electrochemical analysis reveals exceptional corrosion resistance, particularly for P13, which achieves a notable 99.66% corrosion inhibition efficiency by creating a highly tortuous diffusion barrier that protects against corrosive agents. This multifunctional coating effectively utilizes the photothermal properties of CNTs, the affordability of carbon powder, the low surface energy of PDMS, and the thermal conductivity of aluminum, presenting a robust and high-performance solution for anti-icing applications in challenging environments.

Marine biofouling is a major problem that contributes to the failure of man-made marine structures. Conventional marine antifouling coatings that release heavy metal ions for antimicrobial purposes are no longer in line with today’s environmental issues. In this paper, a layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembled marine antifouling coating based on an addition reaction between polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and phenols to anchor pyrogallic (PG) with an antimicrobial effect on stainless steel surfaces is presented. For this purpose, three phenolics were selected, and their antifouling effects were compared. Field emission scanning electron microscopy, contact angle measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis (FTIR) were used to thoroughly characterize the LBLPGs, and the results showed superior homogeneity of the coatings with no significant delamination. Simulated marine antifouling and friction tests showed that the coating inhibited Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Escherichia coli (E. coli), and Phaeodactylum tricornutum (P. tricornutum) by more than 90% and reduced the friction coefficient of the stainless steel surface from 0.38 to 0.24, demonstrating superior antifouling and friction resistance effects.

During centralizer hydroforming, internal pressure and axial feed critically influence the forming outcome. Insufficient feed causes excessive thinning and cracking, while excessive feed causes thickening and wrinkling. Achieving uniform wall thickness necessitates careful design of the pressure and feed curves. Using max/min wall thickness as objectives and key control points on these curves as variables, the study integrated Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II), Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO), Neighborhood Cultivation Genetic Algorithm (NCGA), and Archive-based Micro Genetic Algorithm (AMGA) with LS-DYNA to automatically optimize loading paths. The results demonstrate the following: ① NSGA-II, NCGA, and AMGA successfully generated optimized paths; ② NSGA-II and AMGA produced larger sets of higher-quality Pareto solutions; ③ AMGA required more iterations for satisfactory Pareto sets; ④ MOPSO exhibited a tendency towards premature convergence, yielding inferior results; ⑤ Multi-objective optimization efficiently generated diverse Pareto solutions, expanding the design space for process design.

The hydroforming performance of trailing arms is governed by the coupled effects of feed parameters, pressure schedules and frictional characteristics. Improper parameter matching readily induces typical forming defects such as wrinkling, cracking and uneven wall thickness. To address this issue, a multi-objective optimization method for hydroforming is proposed in this study. Taking the maximum wall thickness, minimum wall thickness and die-to-workpiece gap of the tubular blank as optimization objectives, and the internal pressure and right-side axial feed velocity as design variables, an integrated numerical simulation framework combining the Archive-based Micro Genetic Algorithm (AMGA) and LS-DYNA is established to analyze the hydroforming process. By adaptively adjusting the key control points of internal pressure and axial feed loading curves, the developed method expands the solution space and realizes the automatic optimization of loading paths. The results reveal that the maximum wall thickness reduction rate of the tubular component is reduced from 20.4% to 14.8%. Meanwhile, the wall thickness uniformity is improved and forming defects are effectively suppressed while the thickening rate remains stable. Moreover, multiple sets of Pareto optimal solutions can be obtained in a single calculation. This work provides new insight into the process optimization for forming similar structural components.