Continuous strengthening and ultrahigh strength are realized in Ni with extremely fine twin thickness.

Lithium-ion sieve (LIS)-based adsorption technology offers a promising solution for seawater lithium extraction, as it overcomes the challenge posed by the high Na⁺/Li⁺ ratio. However, its broader application is hindered by the performance degradation and dissolution loss of LISs after granulation, as well as the low Li⁺ concentration in seawater. Herein, we propose an Albizia julibrissin-inspired adsorption-responsive photothermal ion pump (APIP) for enhanced and reversible Li⁺ extraction from seawater. The APIP integrates an interpenetrating network hydrogel with confined hydrogen manganese oxide (HMO) via an innovative in-situ crosslinking and ion-exchange strategy, ensuring the uniform distribution of HMO. The specific adsorption-responsive swelling behaviour of APIP exposes more adsorption sites, resulting in a high Li⁺ extraction capacity of 34 mg g^-1 HMO, even surpassing HMO powders. Moreover, the low free water characteristics and the selective chelation of the polymer chain on Mn²⁺ effectively mitigate Mn dissolution. Under solar irradiation, the Li⁺ extraction kinetics of the APIP increased by a remarkable 2.9-fold owing to the evaporative convection and photothermal effects. Collectively, APIP overcomes the application key limitations of powdered LISs, and opens new avenues for seawater utilization and the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Nanocrystalline metallic materials have the merit of high strength but usually suffer from poor ductility and rapid grain coarsening, limiting their practical application. Here, we introduce a core-shell nanostructure in a multicomponent alloy to address these challenges simultaneously, achieving a high tensile strength of 2.65 GPa, a large uniform elongation of 17%, and a high thermal stability of 1173 K. Our strategy relies on an ordered superlattice structure that excels in dislocation accumulation, encased by a ≈3 nm disordered face-centered-cubic nanolayer acting as dislocation sources. The ordered superlattice with high anti-phase boundary energy retards dislocation motions, promoting their interaction and storage within the nanograins. The disordered interfacial nanolayer promotes dislocation emission and effectively accommodates the plastic strain at grain boundaries, preventing intergranular cracking. Consequently, the order-disorder core-shell nanostructure exhibits enhanced work-hardening capability and large ductility. Moreover, such core-shell nanostructure exhibits high coarsening resistance at elevated temperatures, enabling it high thermal stability. Such a design strategy holds promise for developing high-performance materials.