Most methods used for strengthening metallic materials, such as thermal-mechanical treatment, will sacrifice the ductility. A novel technology, electric pulsing treatment (EPT), is applied to break this trade-off, which produces an Al–Mg–Si alloy with superior ductility and higher strength within only 560 ms. Systematic electron microscopy characterization and finite element simulation reveal that EPT promotes the formation of clusters Mg₂(Si,Cu)₃ and sub-grain boundaries. The results of quantitative calculation indicate that the dislocation entanglement is delayed due to the existence of clusters and longer dislocation glide distance, so that ultimate strength is fully improved. Moreover, the superior ductility is mainly governed by sub-grains which lead to higher mobile dislocation density, appearance of new crystal orientations, and prevention of crack propagation. Thereupon, this interesting finding paves the way in developing the Al–Mg–Si alloy with higher mechanical properties efficiently.

Damage to carbon nanotubes (CNTs) during the fabrication process of CNT reinforced composites has great influence on their mechanical properties. In this study, the 2014 Al with powder sizes of 20, 9 and 5 μm was selected to study the effect of initial particle size on the damage to carbon nanotubes (CNTs) during ball milling. The result shows that for CNTs in the ball milled CNT/Al (with powder size of 20 and 9 μm) mixtures, the intensity ratio of the D band and the G band (ID/IG) first increased and then reached a plateau, mainly because most of the CNTs are embedded, to a certain extent, in the aluminum powder after milling, which could protect the CNTs from damage during further milling. While for CNTs in the ball milled CNT/Al (with powder size of 5 μm) mixture, the ID/IG ratio continues to climb from 1.31 to 2.33 with time, indicating continuous damage to the CNTs occurs during the milling. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis demonstrates that the chemical instability increased with an increase in the damage level of CNTs, resulting in the formation of aluminum carbide (Al₄C₃) at a lower temperature before the melting of aluminum, which is detrimental to their mechanical properties.

In situ Mg₂Si–Al composites were prepared by using gravity casting and semi-solid extrusion. After P modification, the primary Mg₂Si transformed to polygonal blocks. Extraction tests showed that the Mg₂Si crystals had octahedral and tetrakaidekahedral morphologies. The semi-solid microstructure of the double-spheroidized α-Al matrix and reinforced-phase Mg₂Si was successfully obtained by using semi-solid extrusion. Extraction tests showed that the Mg₂Si crystals had a spherical morphology. Dry sliding wear behaviors of in situ Mg₂Si–Al composites fabricated by using gravity casting and semi-solid extrusion with isothermal heat treatment holding times of 50, 60, and 160 min against 45 steel, under conditions of different sliding speeds and loads, were investigated. The worn surfaces were analyzed using SEM and EDS techniques. The results showed that Mg₂Si–Al composites fabricated by using semi-solid extrusion were superior in terms of wear resistance to Mg₂Si–Al composites fabricated by using gravity casting, because the former had uniformly distributed spherical reinforced phase particles of Mg₂Si with weaker stress concentration around the particles, delaying the generation and expansion of cracks. The Mg₂Si particles were not easily detached from the matrix, and once they fell off, the Mg₂Si particles only served as spherical abrasive grains, with relatively small cutting and wear properties for the composite material. It was found that the Mg₂Si/Al composite fabricated by using semi-solid extrusion with an isothermal heat treatment holding time of 60 min had the best wear resistance. The failure mechanisms of Mg₂Si/Al composites were found to be mainly adhesive wear and abrasive wear.

A polyoxometalate-based metal–organic complex with the ability to treat pollutants in water was obtained under hydrothermal conditions, namely [Ni(H₂L)(HL)₂](PMo₁₂O₄₀)·3H₃O·4H₂O (1) (H₂L = 4,4′-(1H,1′H-[2,2′-biimidazole]-1,1′-diyl)dibenzoicacid). Structural analysis reveals that the [Ni(H₂L)(HL)₂] units are interconnected into a 2D layer via hydrogen bonds between adjacent carboxyl groups and water molecules of crystallization. [PMo₁₂O₄₀]³⁻ anions are embedded within the larger pores of the layer and are connected to the adjacent layers through hydrogen bonds, ultimately expanding the structure into a 3D supramolecular architecture. The intermolecular interactions were studied via Hirshfeld surface (HS) analysis. Electrochemical performance tests reveal that 1 exhibits electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation and reduction of diverse pollutants in water, including NO₂⁻, Cr(VI), BrO₃⁻, Fe(III), and ascorbic acid (AA). Additionally, it can also serve as an amperometric sensor for the detection of BrO₃⁻ and Cr(VI). Photocatalytic studies reveal that compound 1 functions as a bifunctional photocatalyst, which not only achieves efficient degradation of organic dyes but also demonstrates remarkable reduction efficiency for toxic Cr(VI). Compound 1 demonstrates significant potential for practical water remediation applications.