To thoroughly study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on scientific and technological innovation and basic research, and to actively implement and deepen the reform implementation plan of National Natural Science Foundation of China, the inorganic nonmetallic materials of the department of engineering and materials science piloted a series of reform measures on original projects. This paper deeply analyzes the applications and funding status of projects in the category of “Encourage exploration and highlight originality” on inorganic nonmetallic materials from 2019 to 2022 and in the original discovery program from 2020 to 2022. The innovative reform measures and initial results achieved are also introduced. Finally, based on the characteristics of the discipline and the connotation of the original project, some suggestions and thoughts are proposed to further optimize the funding mechanism and to continuously stimulate the original innovation.

CO2 solidified carbonate material is defined as a calcium carbonate-based composite material with a rapid strength obtained via the carbonation reaction of carbonatable binders with CO2 under normal conditions. In this paper, the mechanical properties and product composition of the CO2 solidified carbonate materials with Fe doping, chitosan inducing and curing regime designing were investigated as γ-C2S was used as a carbonatable binder. The results show that the enhancing strategies have a conflicting connection with one another. The Fe-γ-C2S group with chitosan inducing (i.e., 200 MPa after 24 h curing) and the chitosan induced γ-C2S group with long curing time (i.e., 230 MPa after 7 d curing) have a high strength. The crystalline form of calcium carbonate in γ-C2S group is mainly aragonite, while the calcium carbonate in Fe-γ-C2S group is calcite. The product composition of the CO2 solidified carbonate material is another crucial factor influencing the strength. The CO2 solidified carbonate material with an ultra-high strength has a structural feature, i.e., chitosan connects two phases (silica gel and calcium carbonate), and calcite exists inside in the calcium carbonate layer and aragonite outside. The presence of calcite can provide the strength at early curing stage, while aragonite occupies the main pore space on the outside, providing a diffusion channel for CO2 at the later curing stage.

Geopolymer has attracted attention for the process features of energy saving, reduced carbon emissions and excellent properties. In this paper, we proposed a concept of phase engineering for geopolymer, and demonstrated the utilization of calcined layered double hydroxides (CLDHs). The effects of microstructure and property in slag-based geopolymer were analyzed. The rehydration reaction and nucleation mechanism of CLDH were revealed by high-energy X-ray synchrotron radiation, pair distribution function calculation, transmission electron microscopy and other characterization techniques, thus improving the short-distance order of the gel and the crystal-to-binder ratio. For the macroscopic properties, the mechanical strength and water retention of geopolymer with CLDH are improved, and the chemical shrinkage and dry shrinkage of geopolymer are decreased. Incorporation of CLDH as a technical approach to improve the microstructure of geopolymer can remedy the performance defects of geopolymer, and is thus an effective approach for manufacturing high-performance geopolymer products.

This paper was to clarify the impact of coarse aggregate from printing to aging on 3D printed concrete. The mix design of 3D printed concrete containing coarse aggregate was conducted at a mass ratio of cement paste to aggregate (P/A) based on a continuous and discontinuous grading of coarse aggregate. The buildability, basic mechanical properties, and drying shrinkage properties were tested. The results show that the lower the P/A value is, the higher the maximum buildable height of 3D printed concrete containing coarse aggregate will be, improving the mechanical and drying shrinkage resistance. The excessive proportion of coarse aggregate with large particle sizes affects the constructability and mechanical properties but has a positive effect on reducing the drying shrinkage of concrete when using discontinuous coarse aggregate gradation. Also, the effectiveness of 3D printed concrete containing coarse aggregate in reducing carbon emissions during the production and manufacturing phase was investigated and compared with that of 3D printed mortar and conventional cast methods. Using coarse aggregate in 3D printing concrete technology can effectively reduce carbon emissions during the production stage of concrete raw materials, and it is still necessary to further reduce the use of cement materials. The advantages of 3D printing concrete technology in carbon reduction mainly depend on modeless construction and labor reduction characteristics. Compared to the conventional cast method, 3D printing concrete technology can reduce carbon emissions by 36.5% during production.

Magnesium slag is a solid waste from the refining process of magnesium metal, facing problems such as low activity and poor volumetric stability. In this study, a CO2 sequestration fiberboard (CFB) was prepared with magnesium slag and pulp fiber as the raw materials, and the effects of autoclaving curing, carbonation curing and carbonation-autoclaving sequential curing on the properties of CFB and the interfacial microstructure between magnesium slag and pulp fibers were systematically investigated. The results show that the CFB after only autoclaving curing had poor volumetric stability and flexural strength of 4.5 MPa. While the flexural strength and CO2 uptake of CFB reached 17.3 MPa and 14.4% respectively after 8 hours of carbonation curing. Moreover, the flexural strength of CFB can be further increased to 20.2 MPa by carbonation-autoclaving sequential curing. The microstructure and nanoindentation results show that calcium carbonate crystals, including aragonite and calcite, together with C-S-H filled the pores and enhanced the interfacial micromechanical properties between the pulp fiber and the hardened paste, which is the main reason for the high flexural strength of CFB after carbonation-autoclave curing.

Promoting the low carbon emission of silicate material manufacturing is of great significance to achieve the overall strategic goal of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. In this paper, the application of hydrogen energy on a flat glass furnace was investigated by a numerical simulation method. The effect of natural gas/hydrogen hybrid fuel on the temperature/velocity fields and the composition of flue gas was analyzed to comprehensively evaluate the feasibility of hydrogen utilization in glass furnace. The results show that the combustion of natural gas/hydrogen hybrid fuel can ensure the temperature stability of glass furnace. Compared to natural gas, the burning rate of natural gas/hydrogen hybrid fuel is improved, and the heat release of fuel combustion is more concentrated. As the proportion of hydrogen increases to 20% or above, the flame length significantly shortens, and the residence time of flue gas at glass furnace increases. In the furnace with a hydrogen proportion of 40%, the total flue gas is reduced by 4.13%, and the CO2 emission is reduced by 12.50%, while the emission NOx concentration is increased from 1 093 mg·Nm-3 (dry with 8%O2) to 1 282 mg·Nm-3 (dry with 8%O2). A further investigation on combustion system design, refractory erosion and other aspects is proposed to solve the problems of hydrogen application in large glass furnace and promote the utilization of hydrogen energy in silicate materials manufacturing.

The limited capacity and long charging time of graphite-based anodes for lithium-ion batteries cannot meet ever-growing demands. Developing anodes with a high capacity and a fast charging ability becomes a hotspot of the present research. Herein, an N-doped porous hard carbon (N-HC) was prepared via dehydration reaction of sucrose and sulfuric acid and subsequent annealing in NH3/Ar. The diffusion coefficient of Li+ in N-HC reaches 9.0×10?傆b8 cm2·s?傆b1 due to the rich ultra-micropore structure (i.e., pore size < 0.75 nm) and the large interlayer spacing (i.e., 0.39 nm) in N-HC. The capacity of N-HC remains 704.0 mA·h·g-1 or 269.2 mA·h·g-1 after 680 or 1 400 cycles at 0.27 C or 2.7 C (1 C=370 mA·g?傆b1). The N-HC electrode can meet the requirement of fast charging lithium-ion battery, while the initial Coulomb efficiency needs to be improved.

Thermoelectric materials can realize the direct conversion between heat energy and electric energy. BaBi2Se4 becomes a potential thermoelectric material because of its low thermal conductivity and good electrical conductivity. In this paper, BaBi2Se4 was selected as a research object, and the phase composition, thermal and electronic properties were investigated. The results show that all the samples exhibit N-type semiconductor conductivity characteristics. Te-alloying can inhibit Bi2Se3 impurities in the samples and decrease the carrier concentration, thus optimizing the electronic transport performance. Also, the lattice thermal conductivity is low due to the complex crystal structure. These results indicate that BaBi2Se4 is a potential thermoelectric material.

The interference mechanism of H2S impurity on the CO2 adsorption performance of solid amine adsorbents is still lack of comprehensive research. An aluminum-based solid amine adsorbent (PEI@Al2O3) was prepared with Al2O3 as a support to load polyethyleneimine (PEI), and the influence of H2S on the CO2 adsorption capacity, adsorption rate and cyclic adsorption performance of the adsorbent was investigated. The results show that the competitive adsorption occurs when H2S and CO2 coexist due to H2S and CO2 simultaneously grabbed the active sites of amine groups on the adsorbent. However, the adsorption competitiveness of CO2 is larger than that of H2S under the simulated biogas condition (i.e., 40% CO2+59.5% CH4+0.5% H2S), thus inhibiting H2S adsorption. Furthermore, the optimal adsorption temperature of CO2 and H2S is inconsistent, and the CO2 adsorption capacity and cyclic stability of PEI@Al2O3 are not disturbed by H2S at the optimal adsorption temperature of CO2.

High-nickel cathode materials are one of the most promising candidates for lithium-ion batteries with superior comprehensive performance. These materials can achieve higher energy density than conventional lithium cobalt oxide, and have lower cost and high environmental benignity. To reduce the cost further to meet the growing energy demand, the development of cobalt-free high-nickel cathode materials becomes one of research challengess. This review discussed the feasibility of cobalt removal and the key challenges for cobalt-free high-nickel cathodes. The modification strategies were summarized based on recent related studies. In addition, the future research direction of cobalt-free high-nickel cathodes was also proposed.

In recent years, energy crisis and environmental pollution problem have accelerated the rapid development of energy storage field. One-dimensional nanomaterials, especially nanowire materials possess unique electron and ion transport properties due to their high length-diameter ratio, which are promising in the application of energy storage devices. In this review, the research progress of nanowire materials based on the research achievements of our group and the cutting-edge research progress in China and abroad will be summarized from three aspects, including the structural design and synthesis of nanowire materials, the application of nanowire materials in batteries and nanowire micro- and nano-devices. Finally, an outlook on the future exploration and development of electrochemical energy storage materials and devices based on nanowires will be offered as a conclusion.

As a typical light-absorber, the three-dimensional (3D) metal halide perovskite materials exhibit superior optoelectronic properties (i.e., the low binding energy, long carrier lifetime and diffusion length, and high defect tolerance). The 3D perovskite-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) show the excellent photoelectric conversion efficiency. However, its sensitivity to light, heat, and humidity as well as other environment factors restrict its practical application. Compared with three-dimensional perovskite, two-dimensional (2D) perovskites with high exciton binding energy and stable chemical properties enhance the long-term stability of devices. Combined with 2D perovskite, 3D/2D multi-dimensional perovskite cells can deliver a superior stability without a sacrificing efficiency. This review summarized the crystal structure and stability of 2D perovskite, and highlighted the research advances about the preparation technology and stability of 3D/2D multi-dimensional perovskite materials and relative photovoltaic devices. In addition, the further improvement of efficiency and stability of 3D/2D multidimensional PSCs was also prospected, thus providing a guidance for the commercialization of perovskite photovoltaic.

All-inorganic halide double perovskites are a class of environmental-friendly lead-free materials with the superior photoelectric properties and stabilities. These materials exhibit a great potential in solar cell applications, detectors and light-emitting diodes. This review mainly represented the crystal structures and photoelectric properties of all-inorganic halide double perovskites as well as their synthesis methods and applications. Meanwhile, This paper summarized the scientific bottlenecks of these inorganic materials and their corresponding devices, thus providing insightful guidelines for further improvement of their properties suitable for optoelectronic devices.

Perovskite solar cells have a great potential for commercialization due to their advantages of high power conversion efficiency and low cost of manufacturing. However, it is necessary for industrial applications of PSCs to scale up perovskite photovoltaic modules with high efficiency and stability, and the key factor is to scale up high-quality perovskite films. Printing is one of the cheapest and environmental-friendly mass production technologies, and it is also the main technical approach widely used for large-area perovskite fabrication. This review summarized the characteristics and mechanisms of six types of printing methods for the deposition of perovskite films (i.e., blade-coating, slot-die coating, inject-printing, and etc.). The influencing factors and controlling strategies were analyzed. This review provided a reference for the future research and application of large-scale perovskite photovoltaics.

The sodium metal anode as an ideal candidate material beyond lithium-ion battery technology has a high theoretical specific capacity (i.e., 1 165 mA·h·g-1), a low redox potential (i.e., -2.71 V vs. standard hydrogen electrode), and low cost. However, the practical application of sodium metal anode involves sodium dendrite growth and infinite volume expansion, leading to a low Coulombic efficiency and a short cycle life, and affecting its development. Recent work have dedicated much effort to solving these problems. This review represented some effective strategies in enhancing the cycling stability of sodium metal anodes, i.e., reducing the local current density of sodium metal electrodes, increasing sodium nucleation sites, and creating appropriate pores in current collectors to alleviate volume expansion. This review also discussed the main problems of sodium metal anodes and summarized the modification strategies of current collectors of electrodeposited sodium metal anodes, i.e., three-dimensional current collector design, doping or defect engineering, introduction of crystal seeds, and buffer layer modification. In addition, the future development aspects of high-safety and high-energy-density sodium metal batteries were also prospected.

Lithium (Li) metal is considered as the "Holy Grail" anode material for next-generation high-energy density battery system due to its high theoretical capacity and lowest reduction potential. However, the practical application of Li metal anodes (LMAs) is still impeded due to its intrinsic issues, including the uncontrolled Li dendrites growth, unstable solid-electrolyte interface (SEI), and the accumulation of “dead Li”. The fluorinated materials can stabilize the Li/electrolyte interface, lead to the uniform Li flux and suppress the growth of Li dendrites, thus becoming one of the research hotspots for LMAs. This review summarized recent progress of the fluorinated inorganic materials on constructing Li metal plated skeletons, developing artificial SEI film, introducing electrolyte additives and employing solid-state electrolytes. The rational design and mechanism of these reported fluorinated inorganic materials for stabilizing LMAs were represented. In addition, we also prospected the future research aspects.

Some environment-friendly and renewable energies are used since the existing problems for energy shortage and environmental pollution are needed to be solved. Hydrogen energy is one of widely used secondary energies with a rich source and low carbon emission, which can be used as a complement to electric/thermal energy, forming a modern energy supply system with a diversified complementary integration. However, hydrogen technology started late in China, and some key materials of water electrolyzers and fuel cells in the hydrogen-electricity energy conversion devices are imported, which is urgent to complete the domestic substitution. Inorganic nonmetallic materials feature a high chemical/electrochemical stability, high strength, and high-temperature resistance. This review represented research progress and highlights in catalysts/supports, ion exchange membranes, carbon-based diffusion layers, graphite bipolar plates, and hydrogen-electricity energy conversion devices. In addition, some problems in the development of novel materials for hydrogen/electric energy conversion were also given, and the future research directions were prospected.

In this paper, the modification of photocatalytic materials or the development of novel photocatalytic materials from four aspects of light absorption, carrier separation, surface reaction and all-weather photocatalysis in this laboratory was summarized, and the applications of photocatalytic materials in organic pollutant degradation, photocatalytic hydrogen and oxygen production and tail gas treatment were discussed. The mechanism of photocatalytic activity enhancement was analyzed based on the energy band theory. In addition, the future development direction of photocatalytic materials was also prospected.

Carbon-based materials is considered as the most effective candidate for noble metal oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts. Among them, graphdiyne as a new type of carbon allotrope is composed by both sp and sp2 hybrid carbon atoms and a two-dimensional network structure with a single atomic layer thickness. Therefore, graphdiyne-based materials exhibit a greater intrinsic electrochemical activity due to the inherent conductivity and stability. This review represented the latest progress and achievements on the synthesis of various graphdiyne-based materials and their composites used in the ORR catalysis, and analyzed the advantages of graphdiyne-based carbon materials in the oxygen reduction catalysis from the perspective of electronic structure and catalytic activity. In addition, the prospects and challenges of graphdiyne-based carbon materials in the ORR catalysis were also summarized, thus providing some future research aspects for the design and synthesis of high-quality graphdiyne-based inorganic nonmetal ORR catalysts.

Two-dimensional (2D) material powders are featured with large specific surface areas, ample catalytically active sites, high solution processibilities, and widely tunable microstructures, showing some tremendous application prospects in various fields, such as energies, electronics, catalysis, and environments, etc. Low-cost and batch production of high-quality 2D material powders with tunable microstructures is the vital prerequisite for developing their large-scale applications. This review summarized the research progresses on diatomite-templated syntheses of 2D material powders (e.g., graphene, graphidiyne, transition metal nitrides, and transition metal dichalcogenides powders), and introduced the advances in the applications of as-prepared 2D material powders in energy-storage devices, printed electronics, electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reactions, and wastewater treatments, etc. In addition, some problems and challenges in diatomite-templated syntheses of 2D material powders were represented, and their potential application directions were also discussed.

Microcapsules, as a new type of material, have attracted extensive attention due to their designability, easy dispersion in the matrix, ability to prolong the durability of the core material, and self-healing intelligence. This review provided a detailed introduction to the design and preparation of self-healing microcapsules, and summarized the physical and chemical repair mechanisms of microcapsules. The research progress on self-healing microcapsules in concrete was represented. The challenges and future development directions of microcapsules in core-shell preparation, cement-matrix relationship, and repair effect evaluation were analyzed. This review could provide a reference for the future production and application of microcapsules in concrete.

The massive generation of concrete wastes occupies land resources and causes environmental pollutions. Recycling concrete wastes back to the construction industry can relieve pressures caused by shortages of natural resources, and solve some environmental problems. This review represented the research progress on the key technologies of re-utilizing recycled coarse aggregates (RCAs), recycled concrete fines (RCFs), and recycled concrete powders (RCPs), mainly including the strengthening and modification of RCAs and RCFs through accelerated carbonation, the direct re-activation of RCPs, and its value-added applications. The mechanisms and practical application both were discussed, and the results indicated that the full utilization of concrete wastes could reduce the consumption of river sand, natural gravels, limestone and clay and sequestrate CO2, thus promoting the carbon neutrality.

Limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) has attracted much attention as a low-carbon cementitious material. The economic and ecological benefits of cementitious materials are greatly improved by partially replacing Portland cement with calcined clay, limestone powder and gypsum. This review summarized the latest research progress in this field from the aspects of hydration, microstructure and properties, production and substitution of raw materials, application prospects, and carbon emissions, and explored the key issues restricting the application and development of LC3 system in China (i.e., regional differences in clay-based raw materials, bleaching/calcination process, availability of alternative silica-alumina raw materials, etc.). The improvement of the hydrothermal kinetic model and the long-term performance of LC3-based concrete materials/structures were discussed.

Low-calcium clinker minerals (i.e., ye'elimite, belite and ternesite) have lower calcium content, reduced firing temperature, and decreased CO2 emission, compared to alite. The development of clinkers primarily composed of these low-calcium minerals represents a significant direction for the sustainable, low-carbon evolution of cementitious materials. This review represented the hydration and performance development of ye’elimite, belite and ternesite, the hydration and performance development of calcium sulfoaluminate cement and belite-ye’elimite-ferrite cement, as well as the preparation, hydration and performance optimization of belite-ye’elimite-ternesite, respectively, with both low-calcium minerals as major minerals. Meanwhile, the effect of gypsum on the low-calcium cement was discussed due to its crucial influence in the hydration of cement clinker. This review could provide a reference for the synthesis of low-calcium clinkers primarily using ye'elimite, belite and ternesite.

With the substantial development of photoelectric technologies, some transparent materials with the better performances as information transmission media are required. Transparent polycrystalline ceramics are widely used as missile fairings, lamp envelopes of high-pressure sodium lamps, transparent armors, gain medium for lasers, and laser-driven white lightings due to their excellent mechanical, thermal, optical and electrical properties. Various sintering technologies are employed to prepare transparency ceramics, such as high-vacuum sintering, hot-pressing sintering, hot isostatic pressing sintering and spark plasma sintering. However, their complex preparation process and the resultant high cost greatly restrict their actual applications. The full crystallization of the mother glass induced by heat-treating at crystallization temperatures was proposed to obtain transparent ceramics, which had attracted much attention due to its relatively simple, time-saving, and low-cost. This review summarized recent progress and potential applications on transparent ceramics prepared by a glass-crystallization method.

Dynamic dimming glazing can adjust the luminous flux of the target spectral band selectively according to the climate change，thus having a good capability for light and heat management, which has attracted increasing attention in building energy conservation. Dynamic dimming glazing for multi-band (i.e., visible light, near-infrared light, and long-wave infrared light) modulation has a greater energy-saving potential due to its more efficient spectral utilization. This review mainly represented the multi-band modulation of the dynamic dimming glazing. The effect of spectral modulation on energy efficiency was discussed, and the related technologies for multi-band modulation were demonstrated. Meanwhile, some challenges in the industrialization of this energy-efficient glazing were analyzed. In addition, the future development trends were also described in accordance with the recent cutting-edge technologies.

Alkali-activated materials (ACMs) and supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) are two important alternative binders to reduce cement consumption. The dissolution reactivity of the precursors of ACMs and SCMs, such as fly ash, is an important property to further understand the performance of both materials. This review represented the existing knowledge of the aluminosilicate dissolution theory in geology, mineralogy and zeolite material. The reaction order and activation energy are two important parameters used to characterize the reactivity of a material. In addition, the influences of temperature, alkali concentration and milling on the dissolution kinetics of fly ash and metakaolin were also reviewed.