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AbstractManaging, processing, and sharing research data and experimental context produced on modern scientific instrumentation all present challenges to the materials research community. To address these issues, two MaRDA Working Groups on FAIR Data in Materials Microscopy Metadata and Materials Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) convened and generated recommended best practices regarding data handling in the materials research community. Overall, the Microscopy Metadata Group recommends (1) instruments should capture comprehensive metadata about operators, specimens/samples, instrument conditions, and data formation; and (2) microscopy data and metadata should use standardized vocabularies and community standard identifiers. The LIMS Group produced the following guides and recommendations: (1) a cost and benefit comparison when implementing LIMS; (2) summaries of prerequisite requirements, capabilities, and roles of LIMS stakeholders; and (3) a review of metadata schemas and information-storage best practices in LIMS. Together, the groups hope these recommendations will accelerate breakthrough scientific discoveries via FAIR data. Impact statementWith the deluge of data produced in today’s materials research laboratories, it is critical that researchers stay abreast of developments in modern research data management, particularly as it relates to the international effort to make data more FAIR – findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. Most crucially, being able to responsibly share research data is a foundational means to increase progress on the materials research problems of high importance to science and society. Operational data management and accessibility are pivotal in accelerating innovation in materials science and engineering and to address mounting challenges facing our world, but the materials research community generally lags behind its cognate disciplines in these areas. To address this issue, the Materials Research Coordination Network (MaRCN) convened two working groups comprised of experts from across the materials data landscape in order to make recommendations to the community related to improvements in materials microscopy metadata standards and the use of Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) in materials research. This manuscript contains a set of recommendations from the working groups and reflects the culmination of their 18-month efforts, with the hope of promoting discussion and reflection within the broader materials research community in these areas. Graphical abstract 

Binary kagome compounds TmXn (T = Mn, Fe, Co; X = Sn, Ge; m:n = 3:1, 3:2, 1:1) have garnered recent interest owing to the presence of both topological band crossings and flatbands arising from the geometry of the metal-site kagome lattice. To exploit these electronic features for potential applications in spintronics, the growth of high-quality heterostructures is required. Here, we report the synthesis of Fe/FeSn and Co/FeSn bilayers on Al2O3 substrates using molecular beam epitaxy to realize heterointerfaces between elemental ferromagnetic metals and antiferromagnetic kagome metals. Structural characterization using high-resolution x-ray diffraction, reflection high-energy electron diffraction, and electron microscopy reveals that the FeSn films are flat and epitaxial. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy was used to confirm the stoichiometric window where the FeSn phase is stabilized, while transport and magnetometry measurements were conducted to verify metallicity and magnetic ordering in the films. Exchange bias was observed, confirming the presence of antiferromagnetic order in the FeSn layers, paving the way for future studies of magnetism in kagome heterostructures and potential integration of these materials into devices. 

The use of nanoporous metals as catalysts has attracted significant interest in recent years. Their high‐curvature, nanoscale ligaments provide not only high surface area but also a high density of undercoordinated step edge and kink sites. However, their long‐term stability, especially at higher temperatures, is often limited by thermal coarsening and the associated loss of surface area. Herein, it is demonstrated that the nanoscale morphology of nanoporous Cu can be regenerated by applying oxidation/reduction cycles at 250 °C. Specifically, the morphological evolution and H₂dissociation activity of hierarchical nanoporous Cu catalysts doped with Ti during structural rearrangement triggered by oxidative and reductive atmospheres at elevated temperatures are studied. In addition to coarsening of the structure at elevated temperatures, oxidation at 400 °C causes an expansion of the ligaments. Subsequent reduction at 400 °C leads to the formation of particles and a drop in the H₂dissociation activity compared the fresh catalyst. However, performing the redox cycle at 250 °C reverses coarsening and boosts the H₂dissociation activity for the hydrogen–deuterium (H₂–D₂) reaction. Herein, the possibility to reverse coarsening is demonstrated, thereby mitigating the loss of activity frequently observed in nanoporous catalysts. 

Abstract The manipulation of carbon nitride (CN) structures is one main avenue to enhance the activity of CN‐based photocatalysts. Increasing the efficiency of photocatalytic heterogeneous materials is a critical step toward the realistic implementation of sustainable schemes for organic synthesis. However, limited knowledge of the structure/activity relationship in relation to subtle structural variations prevents a fully rational design of new photocatalytic materials, limiting practical applications. Here, the CN structure is engineered by means of a microwave treatment, and the structure of the material is shaped around its suitable functionality for Ni dual photocatalysis, with a resulting boosting of the reaction efficiency toward many CX (X = N, S, O) couplings. The combination of advanced characterization techniques and first‐principle simulations reveals that this enhanced reactivity is due to the formation of carbon vacancies that evolve into triazole and imine N species able to suitably bind Ni complexes and harness highly efficient dual catalysis. The cost‐effective microwave treatment proposed here appears as a versatile and sustainable approach to the design of CN‐based photocatalysts for a wide range of industrially relevant organic synthetic reactions.