Performance of MgB2 superconducting wire fabricated with non-identical Mg particles

Core densification in superconducting wire is highly desirable for obtaining high performance superconducting wires. Since voids hinder current flow in the superconducting core and they directly affect electrical property. In this study, we proposed a magnesium powder blending to regulate the porous properties. Our study delved deeper into the relationship between various particle parameters (such as particle size and distribution), impurities (MgO and Mg(OH)2), superconducting transition temperature, and current carrying capacity for MgB2 superconducting wires. We found a significant correlation between these factors and the porous properties. In particular, the blending of raw powders having spherical shape enables tuning of morphological structures and crystallinities inside cores of the power-in-tube processed MgB2 wires, resulting in superior superconducting properties. Our finding provides in-depth insights of methodological approaches towards more widespread use of superconducting materials and their applications

Source Data.xlsx

The source data includes many topographies obtained in scanning tunneling microscope.</p

Superaerophobic/Superhydrophilic Multidimensional Electrode System for High-Current-Density Water Electrolysis

Water electrolysis is emerging as a promising renewable-energy technology for the green production of hydrogen, which is a representative and reliable clean energy source. From economical and industrial perspectives, the development of earth-abundant non-noble metal-based and bifunctional catalysts, which can simultaneously exhibit high catalytic activities and stabilities for both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), is critical; however, to date, these types of catalysts have not been constructed, particularly, for high-current-density water electrolysis at the industrial level. This study developed a heterostructured zero-dimensional (0D)–one-dimensional (1D) PrBa0.5Sr0.5Co1.5Fe0.5O5+δ (PBSCF)-Ni3S2 as a self-supported catalytic electrode via interface and morphology engineering. This unique heterodimensional nanostructure of the PBSCF-Ni3S2 system demonstrates superaerophobic/superhydrophilic features and maximizes the exposure of the highly active heterointerface, endowing the PBSCF-Ni3S2 electrode with outstanding electrocatalytic performances in both HER and OER and exceptional operational stability during the overall water electrolysis at high current densities (500 h at 500 mA cm–2). This study provides important insights into the development of catalytic electrodes for efficient and stable large-scale hydrogen production systems

Engineering the Local Atomic Configuration in 2H TMDs for Efficient Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

The introduction of heteroatoms is a widely employed strategy for electrocatalysis of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). This approach activates the inactive basal plane, effectively boosting the intrinsic catalytic activity. However, the effect of atomic configurations incorporated within the TMDs’ lattice on catalytic activity is not thoroughly understood owing to the lack of controllable synthetic approaches for highly doped TMDs. In this study, we demonstrate a facile approach to realizing heavily doped MoS2 with a high doping concentration above 16% via intermediate-reaction-mediated chemical vapor deposition. As the V doping concentration increased, the incorporated V atoms coalesced in a manner that enabled both the basal plane activation and electrical conductivity enhancement of MoS2. This accelerated the kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) through the reduced Gibbs free energy of hydrogen adsorption, as evidenced by experimental and theoretical analyses. Consequently, the coalesced V-doped MoS2 exhibited superior HER performance, with an overpotential of 100 mV at 10 mA cm–2, surpassing the pristine and single-atom-doped counterparts. This study provides an intriguing pathway for engineering the atomic doping configuration of TMDs to develop efficient 2D nanomaterial-based electrocatalysts