材料科学
Non-Arrhenius grain growth has been observed in a range of polycrystalline materials; however, its fundamental mechanisms, particularly whether the process is thermally activated or exhibits anti-thermally activation, remain controversial.…
While diffusion in crystalline solids is quantitatively understood through defect-mediated atomic hops, no comparable quantitative framework exists for glasses. In these systems, the origin of large diffusion activation energies remains…
The formation of technologically valuable nanocarbon structures under extreme conditions, such as those produced during high-explosive detonations, remains poorly understood but holds significant potential for the development of controlled…
Ferroelectric materials with switchable spontaneous polarization underpin non-volatile memories, transistors, sensors, and emerging neuromorphic chips. Their performance and stability are governed by polarization dynamics and domain…
The ductile-to-brittle transition (DBT) in body-centred cubic systems is a central design constraint for cryogenic structures. Performing parametric studies to enhance the understanding on DBT using fully coupled thermomechanical continuum…
Refractory body-centered cubic (BCC) metals and alloys are of extraordinary importance in modern technological and structural applications. However, their wider adoption in science and technology is severely restricted by low-temperature…
High-entropy alloys (HEAs) combine compositional disorder with exceptional functional tunability, yet their inherently high-density limits use in lightweight systems. Here, we introduce entropy-architected nanowire metamaterials, a class of…
Europium-doped gallium nitride (GaN:Eu) is a promising platform for classical and quantum optoelectronic applications. When grown using organometallic vapor-phase epitaxy, the dominant red emission from Eu exhibits an inhomogeneous…
Complex concentrated alloys with intrinsic chemical heterogeneity are promising candidates for nuclear applications, where local chemical order can strongly influence defect evolution under irradiation. Grain boundaries also contribute to…
Quasi-brittle plastic yielding is a salient feature of well-annealed glassy materials. Here we show that the same behavior is characteristic of perfect crystals after they experience mechanically driven elastic instability leading to…
Accurate determination of crystal structures is central to materials science, underpinning the understanding of composition-structure-property relationships and the discovery of new materials. Powder X-ray diffraction is a key technique in…
The theory of the intrinsic Hall effect, both linear and nonlinear, is rooted in a geometry which is defined in the Bloch-vector parameter space; the formal expressions are mostly derived from semiclassical concepts. When disorder and…
Efficient exploration of the vast chemical space is a fundamental challenge in materials design and discovery, particularly for designing functional inorganic crystalline materials with targeted properties. Diffusion-based generative models…
Directional solidification of water-based solutions has emerged as a versatile technique for templating hierarchical porous materials. However, the underlying mechanisms of pattern formation remain incompletely understood. In this work, we…
Directional solidification of water-based solutions has emerged as a versatile technique to template hierarchical porous materials, but this nonequilibrium process remains incompletely understood. Here we use phase-field simulations to shed…
Materials for extreme environments require high strength yet ductile to tolerate catastrophic damage. Face-centered cubic (FCC) metals are typically ductile under stress, but single-crystal FCC iridium exhibits intrinsically brittle,…
This investigation employed microwave whispering gallery mode (WGM) analysis to characterize the dielectric properties of a cylindrical, single-crystal sample of calcium tungstate (CaWO$_4$). Through investigation of…
Crystal structures can be viewed as assemblies of space-filling polyhedra, which play a critical role in determining material properties such as ionic conductivity and dielectric constant. However, most conventional crystal structure…
Modelling has become a third distinct line of scientific enquiry, alongside experiments and theory. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations serve to interpret, predict and guide experiments and to test and develop theories. A major limiting…
Gallium oxide is a wide-bandgap semiconductor which has been steadily growing in popularity due to its ultra-wide bandgap, suitability for harsh environments and distinctive opto-electrical properties. Notable applications include deep-UV…