The (001)-oriented (Mn,Fe)2(P,Si)/epoxy composites were fabricated via magnetic field-assisted dynamic self-assembly. These textured composites demonstrate remarkable adaptability for diverse applications that require either substantial coefficients (alpha l) of negative thermal expansion (NTE) or broad NTE temperature windows (Delta TNTE). A two-dimensional NTE with a colossal alpha l of-144.37 x 10-6 K-1 is realized between 280 and 360 K in the composite displaying a first-order phase transition (FOPT). The Delta TNTE can be significantly extended to 190 K (120-310K) in the composite exhibiting a second-order phase transition (SOPT), while preserving a large alpha l of-23.89 x 10-6 K-1. Besides that, anisotropic MCE is observed in the textured composites. The FOPT composite exhibits a maximum entropy change of 7.18 Jkg-1 K-1 under a magnetic field of 1 T applied perpendicular to the texture direction, which is 34 % higher than the parallel field configuration. Consequently, our study demonstrates that grain-orientation engineering can be effectively employed to explore NTE and achieve anisotropic magnetocaloric properties.

Flexible conductive electrodes used for wearable electrophysiological sensing are frequently limited by interfacial instability arising from insufficient intercomponent interaction and elastic mismatch under repeated mechanical deformation. In this study, a soft-chitosan interfacial system was introduced into styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) composite electrodes to enhance structural integrity and electrical stability during tensile loading. Glycerol and Tween 80 were employed to maintain chitosan chains in a soft and deformable state, allowing the interfacial layer to penetrate the porous SEBS substrate through capillary action and form rivet-like anchoring structures. Simultaneously, hydrogen bonding and electrostatic attraction between the interfacial layer and the PEDOT conductive layer established effective interfacial coupling. Benefiting from this cooperative interface design, the resulting composite electrode exhibited stable conductivity retention under large tensile strain and cyclic stretching conditions. In addition, the electrode enabled reliable electromyographic (EMG) signal monitoring of the forearm and masseter muscles with stable waveform acquisition during motion. These results demonstrate the potential of the developed electrode for wearable electrophysiological sensing applications. This work provides an interfacial engineering strategy for stretchable conductive electrodes requiring stable electrical performance under mechanical deformation.

The search for high-performance magnetic refrigeration materials to promote the application of magnetic refrigeration technology to replace the traditional gas compression refrigeration is an urgent requirement. In this work, Gd5B2C5 compound with tetragonal structure (P4/ncc; space group No. 130) was synthesized and its crystal structure, magnetism, magnetocaloric effects were systematically investigated. It undergoes a secondorder magnetic phase transition from ferromagnetic to paramagnetic around approximately 132 K. The maximum magnetic entropy change and refrigeration capacity of Gd5B2C5 compound are 4.5 J & sdot;kg- 1 K- 1, 219.2 J & sdot;kg- 1, 8.9 J & sdot;kg- 1 K- 1 and 713.8 J & sdot;kg- 1 under varying magnetic fields of 0-2 T and 0-5 T. It is worth mentioning that the half-peak width of the maximum magnetic entropy change is as high as 110.5 K under a varying magnetic field of 0-5 T, which will benefit the wide temperature span required for refrigeration. The present results indicate that Gd5B2C5 compound is a suitable candidate for practical applications in magnetic refrigeration technology.

Composite piezoelectric fibers provide a promising route toward flexible electromechanical devices, yet their engineering performance is often limited by the mechanically fragile inorganic-organic interface. In BaTiO3/poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) fibrous membranes, elastic mismatch, weak interfacial adhesion, and nanoparticle aggregation impede stress transfer from the polymer matrix to the piezoelectric ceramic phase, thereby restricting force-to-electricity conversion. Here, we report an anchor-chain interfacial architecture to reinforce this rigid-flexible interface. A polydopamine (PDA) layer serves as an inner anchoring unit on the BaTiO3 surface, while grafted polyethylene glycol (PEG) chains provide steric stabilization and promote topological entanglement with the PLLA matrix. This cooperative interface improves nanoparticle dispersion, and enhances interfacial bonding strength. Consequently, the BaTiO3@PDA@PEG/PLLA membrane exhibits markedly enhanced nanoscale and macroscale piezoelectric responses compared with unmodified BaTiO3/PLLA and BaTiO3@PDA/PLLA membranes. As a device-level demonstration, a 2 & times; 2 tactile sensor array fabricated from the reinforced fibrous membrane distinguishes tapping, touching, and stroking stimuli through characteristic voltage outputs and spatiotemporal signal patterns. This work provides an engineering-oriented interfacial reinforcement strategy for improving the structural and electromechanical performance of inorganic-organic composite piezoelectric fibers.

The magnetic chiral soliton lattice (CSL) is a topological spin texture with remarkable stability, arising from the competition between monoaxial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction and Heisenberg exchange interaction. In this study, we introduce Fe substitution into the prototypical CSL system Cr1/3NbS2, which effectively reduces its in-plane magnetic anisotropy. Notably, both the chiral helical order and the CSL state persist in the (Cr1xFex)1/3NbS2 compound at x = 0.13, exhibiting a stripe period of approximately 72 nm at zero magnetic field. Combined with atomistic spin model simulations, we suggest that the enlarged period of magnetic stripes, compared to pristine Cr1/3NbS2, can originate from the DM change or reduced magnetic anisotropy. This work elucidates the important role of magnetic anisotropy in determining the CSL state.

To advance clean and environmentally friendly refrigeration technologies, magnetic refrigeration has attracted considerable attention due to its potential to replace traditional vapor-compression systems, and it has consequently become a major research focus in the refrigeration field. MnCoGe-based alloys have attracted considerable attention as promising candidates for magnetic refrigeration materials. This study investigates the magnetostructural transition behavior of MnCoGeSix alloys. Si incorporation effectively tunes the magnetostructural transition temperature toward lower temperatures, enabling strong coupling between the magnetic and structural transitions. As a result, the maximum entropy change of the MnCoGeSi0.04 alloy was 26.7 J & sdot;kg- 1 & sdot;K- 1 at 283 K under the field variation of 0-5 T. This enhanced magnetocaloric effect originates from the first-order magnetostructural transition. However, the transition is associated with a noticeable thermal hysteresis, which may limit the reversible magnetocaloric performance. These results provide insight into compositional tuning of MnCoGe based alloys while highlighting both their potential and the remaining challenges for room temperature magnetic refrigeration.

Materials possessing zero thermal expansion (ZTE) can resist thermal shock, making them highly valuable in precision instruments. Here we propose to simultaneously achieve ultrawide ZTE and optimized mechanical properties in the negative thermal expansion (NTE) Er2Fe17 ferrimagnet by boron microalloying. By introducing excess boron, the NTE 2:14:1 phase and the positive thermal expansion (PTE) alpha-Fe gradually precipitate in the 2:17 matrix. The NTE of the 2:14:1 and 2:17 phases over different temperature ranges and the PTE of the alpha-Fe phase are mutually compensated, resulting in a wide axial ZTE (alpha l =-1.1 & times; 10-6 K-1, 120-300 K; alpha l = 2.2 & times; 10-6 K-1, 300-520 K). Meanwhile, boron microalloying brings about finely-dispersed alpha-Fe and significantly reduces the grain size. Through grain refinement and precipitation, a high compressive stress of 1051 MPa is achieved, overcoming the intrinsic brittleness of the Er2Fe17 compound. Our work provides a feasible method for designing high-performance NTE/ZTE materials. (c) 2025 Chinese Society of Rare Earths. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The bilayer nickelate superconductor La3Ni2O7 undergoes a density wave transition near 150 K that has attracted intensive scrutiny, yet its microscopic origin remains elusive. Here we report polarization-resolved electronic Raman scattering measurements on high-quality single crystals of La3Ni2O7. Below 150 K, we observe a pronounced, symmetry-dependent redistribution of spectral weight in B1g and B2g channels, consistent with the formation of spin-density-wave (SDW) gaps. Quantitative analysis reveals momentum-selective SDW gap amplitudes, with intermediate-to-strong coupling near X/Y points of the Brillouin zone and weaker coupling along the diagonal direction, indicating an unconventional SDW driven by anisotropic electronic correlations. Our results establish the electronic character of the SDW in La3Ni2O7, and provide a microscopic foundation for understanding the emergence of high-temperature superconductivity under pressure in nickelates.

Adenine nucleotide translocase 1 (ANT1), involved in exchanging ATP and ADP across the mitochondrial inner membrane, is downregulated in mouse brains with Parkinsonian variations. To further explore the role of ANT1 in neuronal cells, an intensive investigation was conducted by introducing overexpressed ANT1 and ANT1 mutant at Asn177 into neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells treated with MPP+. Consequently, ANT1 was found to be involved in maintaining mitochondrial functions by attenuating ROS levels and ameliorating a long-lasting mPTPs opening and aberrant mitochondrial membrane potential (△Ψm) induced by MPP+. RNA-Seq analysis revealed that the processes including respiration, mitochondrial transporting, mitochondrial organization and apoptosis were highly facilitated in response to ANT1 supplement under MPP+ treatment. Additionally, ANT1 enrichment promoted a clearance of the damaged cells via activating the DDIT3-CytC-related pathway and resulted in an intensified structure of actin microfilaments. However, ANT1 mutant served as a causative factor, since it led to mitochondrial dysfunction via promoting a long-lasting mPTPs opening, inactivating DDIT3-CytC-related pathway and strongly impairing actin microfilaments. These observations are helpful to improve the understanding of the role of ANT1 in regulating mitochondrial functions in neuronal cells and to explore a potential therapeutic implication of ANT1 for Parkinson's disease as a promising target.

The evolution of magnetic interactions, critical properties and magnetocaloric effects of off-stoichiometric roomtemperature van der Waals Fe3-xGaTe2 are systematically investigated. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the ferromagnetic exchange interactions between different Fe atoms play an important role in magnetic couplings and the change of Curie temperature TC. Moreover, the Fe vacancy in different sites can also significantly affect the TC. For Fe2.72GaTe2.01 single crystal, the critical exponents beta of 0.474(3) and gamma of 1.018(9) with TC at 336.7 K are obtained by the modified Arrott plot, whereas the critical exponent delta of 2.72(1) is yielded from a critical isotherm analysis at TC. The results of these critical exponents indicate that off-stoichiometric Fe2.72GaTe2.01 shows an approximate mean-field critical behavior. Furthermore, the exchange interaction distance decays as J approximate to r-4.53 proving the long-range ferromagnetism. In addition, the single crystal exhibits an anisotropic magnetocaloric behavior. The maximal value of the magnetic entropy change Delta Sm reaches -1.7 (-1.0) J kg-1K-1 for a magnetic field change of 50 kOe in H//c axis (H//ab plane). Based on the field dependent Delta Sm, the calculated critical exponent n is less than 2 at around TC, confirming a second-order type of the magnetic transition and reliability of the obtained critical exponents.

In this work, a large cryogenic magnetocaloric effect was achieved in laves-phase Ho1-xDyxAl2 (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1) compounds with MgCu2-type cubic structure (space group Fd3m). The Ho1-xDyxAl2 compounds undergo the second order magnetic transition. The maximum magnetic entropy changes with the mu 0 Delta H = 5 T of the Ho1-xDyxAl2 bulks are 27.5, 25.2, 22.2, 20.8, and 19.8 J kg- 1 K- 1 respectively. The spherical particles of Ho1- xDyxAl2 were prepared by electrode induction melting gas atomization (EIGA). The gas-atomized particles exhibit high sphericity. Additionally, the Curie temperature and the order of magnetic phase transition of the spherical particles are consistent with those of bulk counterparts. The maximum magnetic entropy with mu 0 Delta H = 5 T of Ho0.5Dy0.5Al2 spherical particles reaches 17.20 J kg- 1 K- 1. The excellent magnetocaloric properties of the bulks and spherical particles facilitate the production of magnetic refrigerants needed for developing magnetic refrigerators operating within the liquid hydrogen temperature range.

To address the challenges of impedance mismatch and limited absorption bandwidth in ferrite-based microwave absorbers, a one-step oxygen-deficient sintering process was employed to fabricate Zn0.35Ni0.65Fe2O4/Ni-Cu multiphase composites. This approach effectively regulates Cu2+ substitution for Ni2+/Zn2+ in the ferrite lattice while modifying the Ostwald ripening process, synergistically enhancing dielectric and magnetic losses. The pure Zn0.35Ni0.65Fe2O4 exhibits a broad low-frequency absorption of 5.6 GHz (3.4-9.0 GHz, covering the entire Cband). Notably, the Zn0.35Ni0.65Fe2O4/Ni-Cu composite achieves a remarkable minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of -35 dB along with an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 4.7 GHz. Consequently, this work provides both a facile synthesis methodology and mechanistic insights for designing high-performance electromagnetic materials with multiband operability.

Infectious mandibular bone defects present significant clinical challenges due to the complex pathological microenvironment, risk of persistent bacterial colonization, and insufficient bone regeneration. Poly (ether ketone) (PEEK) is considered a promising alternative to metallic implants owing to its bone-mimetic mechanical properties; however, its intrinsic hydrophobicity and bioinertness hinder osseointegration and functional recovery. Here, a bifunctional 3D-printed porous PEEK scaffold coated with an alginate hydrogel encapsulating magnesium-aloe emodin (MgAe) nanosheets (AP@MgAe) was developed to achieve simultaneous antibacterial and osteogenic functions. MgAe nanosheets were synthesized via metal-quinone coordination-driven self-assembly, enabling the co-delivery of bioactive Mg2+ and aloe emodin in a pH-responsive and sustained-release manner within the hydrogel coating. In vitro, AP@MgAe scaffolds exhibited potent antibacterial activity against S. aureus, excellent cytocompatibility, and enhanced osteogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). In vivo, AP@MgAe scaffolds effectively suppressed infection, attenuated inflammation, and promoted bone formation and osseointegration in a rat model of infectious mandibular bone defects. Collectively, this work introduces a novel metal-quinone framework-integrated 3D-printed PEEK platform, offering a clinically promising, antibiotic-free, and bifunctional strategy for treating infection-associated bone defects.

Recently, the promising multi-component magnetocaloric materials (Mc-MCMs) are found to have a tunable giant magnetocaloric effect (GMCE) near room-temperature and manifest fruitful functionalities like multicaloric effects, which are candidates for solid-state caloric applications. Introducing vacancy defects is found to be an efficient method to optimize its GMCE property. However, the responsible mechanism and especially the characteristics of the atomic vacancies are far from being elucidated. Here, we produce direct-solidified MnCoNiGeSi-based Mc-MCMs which exhibit the distinct shift in transition temperature (Tt) upon introducing Mn/Ni vacancies. It is found that Tt decreased significantly in the Mn vacancy materials and increased in the Ni vacancy materials. The first-order transition is maintained and the strength of the magnetic entropy change (Delta sm) was unchanged without degradation. For the Mn vacancy sample the decreased Mn-Mn atomic distance and strengthened covalent bonding can stabilize the high-temperature hexagonal phase, while for the Ni vacancy sample the decreased interatomic distances among different pairs (Mn-Ge, Mn-Mn and Mn-Ni) promote the stabilization of the low-temperature orthorhombic phase. Additionally, the introduced vacancy defects have directly been observed through HAADF-STEM. Positron annihilation results clarified the mono-vacancy nature for these vacancies, and indicate that the Ni positions around the Ni vacancies could partially be occupied by Mn atoms. Our study reveals that introducing atomic vacancy defects can effectively regulate the magnetocaloric properties and provide important fundamental insights into defect engineering of Mc-MCMs.

NaZn13-type La(Fe,Al)(13)-based alloys demonstrate tunable isotropic negative/zero thermal expansion (NTE/ZTE) through aluminum content variation, yet their practical implementation remains constrained by inherent brittleness. In this work, we demonstrate simultaneous achievement of wide ZTE and enhanced mechanical properties in Fe-rich LaFe11.2+xAl1.8 dual-phase alloys via solid-state reaction synthesis. Progressive Fe enrichment promotes increased precipitation of alpha-Fe(Al) phases within the NaZn13-type matrix, effectively suppressing NTE behavior of the matrix below the magnetic ordering temperature. The LaFe19.2Al1.8 composition achieves full NTE compensation, exhibiting a wide ZTE window (110-220 K) with near-zero thermal expansion coefficient (alpha(l) = 0.9 ppm/K). Crucially, the finely dispersed alpha-Fe(Al) precipitates induce precipitation strengthening, elevating the tensile strength to 263 MPa in ZTE-optimized composition that significantly improves mechanical processability.

Adiabatic demagnetization refrigerators (ADR) are being widely used in space exploration projects and frontier scientific research fields. During the design process of ADR, the assumption of a uniform magnetic field is often used to determine the amount of magnetocaloric material and to predict the cooling capacity. However, the actual magnetic field produced by a superconducting magnet is usually non-uniform, and the non-uniformity inside the salt pill results in reduced cooling capacity. To investigate the impact of magnetic field non- uniformity on the performance of an ADR system by changing the length of the salt pill, a simulation model that incorporates both the superconducting magnet and salt pill is established. The model is verified by experiment with cooling power of 0.76 mW@1 K. Performance of the ADR with different cooling powers, different working temperatures and different pre-cooling temperatures are compared and analyzed. When the maximum magnetic flux density is 4 T, the cooling power is 0.7 mW, the initial temperature is 2.68 K and the working temperature is 1 K, the largest net cooling capacity of 5.39 J can be achieved corresponding to the length ratio of 1.1.

Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) demonstrates significant potential as an electromagnetic wave (EM) absorbent due to its tunable dielectric properties, yet its practical performance is constrained by excessive conductivity and insufficient magnetic loss. To address these limitations, we developed a core–shell Ni@NiO/rGO heterojunction architecture through magnetic component hybridization. This design enables synergistic enhancement of magnetic-dielectric loss mechanisms by optimizing multi-domain magnetic resonance and impedance matching. The resulting aerogel achieves exceptional EM absorption performance with a strong reflection loss (RLmin) of − 49.39 dB at 2.5 mm thickness and an ultra-wide effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 8.02 GHz at 3.0 mm. Through systematic investigation, we quantitatively established a critical microstructure-property linkage between calcination time and electromagnetic parameters. Finally, this work presents a heterocomponent magnetic synergy strategy that advances the development of high-performance and broadband rGO-based EM absorbers.

As one of the core components of a magnetic refrigerator, magnetic refrigeration materials are expected to have not only a considerable magnetocaloric effect but also excellent thermal conductivity. The poor thermal conductivity of many competitive oxide-based magnetic refrigerants, exemplified by EuTiO3-based compounds, acts as a major limitation to their practical application. Therefore, improving the thermal conductivity of magnetic refrigeration materials has become a research emphasis of magnetic refrigeration in recent years. In this work, a series of EuTiO3 (ETO)/Cu composites with different copper additives was prepared using a solid-phase reaction method by introducing appropriate amounts of copper powder. The influence of the introduction of copper on the phase composition, microstructure, thermal conductivity, and magnetocaloric effect of the composites was systematically investigated. Unexpectedly, the thermal conductivity of the composites is enhanced by up to 260% due to copper addition, accompanied by only a 5% decrease in magnetic entropy change and refrigerating capacity. Copper additive forms localized thermal conductive networks and promotes the densification process, resulting in significantly enhanced thermal conductivity of the composites. This work demonstrates the feasibility of improving the thermal conductivity of oxide-based magnetic refrigeration materials by introducing highly thermally conductive substances.

Zero thermal expansion (ZTE) alloys show great potential for high-precision instruments due to their thermal stability and metallic properties. In this study, we revisit the ferromagnetic MnB alloy, which exhibits a significant axial negative thermal expansion (NTE) during its magnetic transition. By employing isostructural alloying, the Co-doped Mn1-xCoxB retains the orthorhombic structure, while the NTE gradually weakens, leading to the single-phase ZTE along longitudinal direction with a linear thermal expansion coefficient of −3.9 × 10−7 K−1 for the Mn0.6Co0.4B composition. Additionally, the alloy demonstrates an ultrawide ZTE of 8.1 × 10−7 K−1 along the transverse direction. Direct experimental evidence indicates that the weakening of magnetoelastic coupling and microscopic lattice orientation contribute to the formation of this unique anisotropic ZTE. Furthermore, density functional theory calculation shows that when introducing Co atom, the weak Co–Co interaction and decrease in Mn–Co interaction simultaneously bring about a decrease in the Curie temperature and the correlated working temperature range for thermal expansion.