Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are indispensable for the thermal protection system of the hypersonic vehicles. However, the intrinsic brittleness of ceramic matrix limits atom motion, restricting their mechanical stability and ablation resistance. Phase transformation toughening offers an effective solution to overcome such brittleness. Recently, organic-inorganic hybrid infiltration strategy is proposed to construct ZrC nanoparticle reinforced C/C-ZrC-SiC composites. The introduced nanoparticles trigger 3C→6H-SiC polytypic transformation and ZrO₂ martensitic transformation, which synergistically realize matrix strengthening and toughening, and anti-ablation performance. The optimized composite achieves a flexural strength of 207.5 MPa, fracture toughness of 7.12 MPa·m^1/2 and low linear ablation rate of 0.15 μm·s⁻¹ at ultrahigh temperature.

Traditional Ti₃C₂T_x MXene rich in -F terminals suffers from poor hydrogen evolution activity. Researchers from Northwestern Polytechnical University and collaborators developed a n-butyllithium-induced strategy to realize controllable conversion from -F to -O terminals and revealed the working mechanism of different terminals. The optimized Pt/Ti₃C₂T_x and MoS₂/Ti₃C₂T_x catalysts achieve greatly enhanced HER performance. This facile terminal regulation method paves the way for low-cost, high-efficiency MXene-based catalysts toward large-scale green hydrogen production.

Luminescence saturation and severe thermal accumulation remain major challenges for high-brightness laser lighting. To address these issues, a novel PiGF@ZS color converter with a ZrO₂ microsphere-embedded reflector was developed to recycle unabsorbed blue light and enhance heat dissipation simultaneously. Benefiting from the synergistic opto-thermal design, the optimized converter achieved a high luminous efficacy of 240.5 lm/W and a maximum luminous flux of 3782 lm under 25 W laser excitation. Moreover, the surface temperature was reduced to 54.6 ℃ under 3 W excitation with a 5 mm spot diameter. This work provides a low-cost and high-efficiency strategy for next-generation laser lighting, projection displays, and high-power illumination applications.

High-performance piezoceramics are urgently needed for precision actuation, but conventional lead-based materials face environmental restrictions. The BiFeO₃‑BaTiO₃ (BF-BT) lead-free system offers high Curie temperature yet suffers from large leakage current and poor process stability. A team led by Prof. Bo-Ping Zhang at University of Science and Technology Beijing developed a one-step sintering method to fabricate 0.7BiFeO₃‑0.3BaTiO₃ ceramics, achieving a d₃₃ of 201 pC/N, a high-field d₃₃* of 1021 pm/V, a large strain of ~0.38%, and a Curie temperature of 501 °C. Through precise Fe non-stoichiometry defect engineering, the study reveals the temperature-dependent leakage conduction mechanisms in the BF-BT system and the synergistic role of internal bias fields on strain behavior, providing insights into defect–property relationships for lead-free piezoceramics.

The escalating complexity of the electromagnetic environment calls for advanced electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption materials capable of efficient multi-frequency attenuation. Silicon carbide (SiC) is a promising dielectric candidate but is hindered by intrinsic impedance mismatch and limited polarization loss. Herein, we report a novel ternary heterostructure absorber consisting of SiC nanowires synergistically coupled with dual rare-earth silicides (Ce₅Si₄ and Pr₅Si₄), fabricated via a combined magnesiothermic/carbothermal reduction process using an MFI-type zeolite precursor. This unique architecture creates an intricate porous network featuring abundant multiple heterogeneous interfaces (SiC/Ce₅Si₄, SiC/Pr₅Si₄, and Ce₅Si₄/Pr₅Si₄). The simultaneous incorporation of Ce and Pr optimizes the complex permittivity for impedance matching and induces intense multi-interface polarization relaxation. Consequently, the designed composite achieves efficient and strong EMW absorption performance in the C-band (4.30 GHz), X-band (8.24 GHz), and Ku-band (16.51 GHz), demonstrating remarkable multi-frequency points absorption performance. Radar cross-section (RCS) simulations further demonstrate its significant stealth capability, highlighting the potential of dual rare-earth synergistic engineering. This work provides a pioneering strategy for designing high-performance, multi-frequency SiC-based absorbers through the construction of ternary rare-earth silicide heterostructures.