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Dear Colleagues,

Refractory metals refer to a class of metals that possess high melting points with extraordinary resistance to heat and wear, and the primary members are tungsten, molybdenum, niobium, tantalum, rhenium, hafnium, and chromium. Their applications are vital to virtually every major industry, including aerospace, chemical and petroleum engineering, electrical and electronics, etc. Recently, research work has also revealed that refractory-metal-based compounds demonstrate exceptional functionality in photoelectrical and electrochemical processes, thus rendering them potential candidates for novel applications of energy conversion and storage materials, such as solar energy utilization, catalysis, and Li-ion-based batteries.

Research on refractory metals and related compounds has been well developed for the last several decades due to the new applications that have emerged with critical requirements for material properties, addressing novel synthesis and fabrication strategies to precisely control microstructures, and in turn promoting the theoretical and technological development of design and preparation of functionalized, or even multifunctionalized materials. Thus, the knowledge gained from the latest achievement will be a promising new opportunity to design advanced materials with superior performance for various applications.

Therefore, in this Special Issue, we would like to invite researchers to contribute original research work as well as review articles that involve (but are not limited to) the fundamental theory of refractory metals and related compounds; material synthesis, fabrication, manufacture, and processing; structure and property adjustment; and applications of materials in various fields. We are particularly interested in work that can provide new insights or stimulate novels idea to further promote research in this field.

Prof. Dr. Jinshu Wang
Guest Editor

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Keywords

refractory metals and related compounds
theoretical calculation
material synthesis
mechanical properties
battery
photocatalysis
photochemistry
water splitting

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

Study on the Densification of Osmium by Experiment and First Principle Calculations

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Materials 2022, 15(22), 8011; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15228011 - 13 Nov 2022

Viewed by 479

Abstract

The sintering of osmium is critical for the preparation of raw material targets for film coating, which is the main application area of osmium. In order to get a better understanding of the intrinsic mechanism of densification of osmium, a serial study on the sintering behavior of osmium has been made in this study. By the master sintering curve (MSC) and constant heating rate (CHR) method, the sintering activation energy of nanosized osmium is evaluated to be about 340 kJ/mol, which is higher than most other metals. The density–functional theory calculation indicates the higher energy barrier of the surface atom and vacancy migration and lacking migration tunnel of inner point vacancies. For example, the diffusion of osmium atoms on the surface of particles is mainly limited by Os (1010), which has an energy barrier as high as 1.14 eV, that is higher than the W atom on W (110) of 0.99 eV. The vacancy migration energy barrier inside osmium’s grains is higher than 3.0 eV, while that of W is only 1.7 eV. This means that it is more difficult for osmium to achieve a high density compared with W, which is consistent with the experimental results. Accordingly, the proposed strategy provides a new opportunity to design a sintering process for target fabrication with excellent properties for various applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Refractory Metals and Related Compounds)

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Figure 1

Open AccessArticle

Efficient Recycling Blast Furnace Slag by Constructing Ti-Embedded Layered Double Hydroxide as Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalyst

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Materials 2022, 15(4), 1514; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15041514 - 17 Feb 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 879

Abstract

In this work, a strategy of heat treatment-precipitation has been developed to recycle Ti-containing metallurgical solid waste by forming Ti-embedded MgAl layered double hydroxide (TMA-LDH). This facile and simple route is featured by the dedicated utilization of the composition of slag with high overall recovery efficiency. Importantly, as-obtained product exhibits visible light response distinctly different from that of pristine MA-LDH ascribed to the Fe doping inherited from initial slag. Its mesoporous nanostructure also provides more microchannels for mass and carrier transfer. As such, excellent photocatalytic activity towards degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride is achieved, and 88% removal could be obtained in 60 min. Furthermore, 44% increase in efficiency than that of Ti-excluded LDH also indicates the synergistically promoting effect of Ti incorporation. Mechanism investigation suggests that Ti incorporation regulates the electronic structure of pristine LDH with more active sites, and favors the formation of radicals with improved oxidative ability for photocatalysis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Refractory Metals and Related Compounds)

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