TY - JOUR A1 - Zhao, H. A1 - Chakraborty, Poulami A1 - Ponge, D. A1 - Hickel, Tilmann A1 - Sun, B. A1 - Wu, C.-H. A1 - Gault, B. A1 - Raabe, D. T1 - Hydrogen trapping and embrittlement in high-strength Al alloys N2 - Ever more stringent regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from transportation motivate efforts to revisit materials used for vehicles. High-strength aluminium alloys often used in aircrafts could help reduce the weight of automobiles, but are susceptible to environmental degradation. Hydrogen ‘embrittlement’ is often indicated as the main culprit; however, the exact mechanisms underpinning failure are not precisely known: atomic-scale analysis of H inside an alloy remains a challenge, and this prevents deploying alloy design strategies to enhance the durability of the materials. Here we performed near-atomic-scale analysis of H trapped in second-phase particles and at grain boundaries in a high-strength 7xxx Al alloy. We used these observations to guide atomistic ab initio calculations, which show that the co-segregation of alloying elements and H favours grain boundary decohesion, and the strong partitioning of H into the second-phase particles removes solute H from the matrix, hence preventing H embrittlement. Our insights further advance the mechanistic understanding of H-assisted embrittlement in Al alloys, emphasizing the role of H traps in minimizing cracking and guiding new alloy design. KW - Atomistic models KW - Hydrogen KW - Metals and alloys KW - Mechanical properties PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-543631 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04343-z SN - 1476-4687 VL - 602 IS - 7897 SP - 437 EP - 441 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London AN - OPUS4-54363 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hachet, G. A1 - Wei, S. A1 - Tehranchi, Ali A1 - Dong, X. A1 - Lestang, J. A1 - Zhang, A. A1 - Sun, B. A1 - Zaefferer, S. A1 - Gault, B. A1 - Ponge, D. A1 - Raabe, D. ED - Tehranchi, Ali T1 - Protection of metal interfaces against hydrogen-assisted cracking N2 - Enabling a hydrogen economy requires the development of materials resistant to hydrogen embrittlement (HE). More than 100 years of research have led to several mechanisms and models describing how hydrogen interacts with lattice defects and leads to mechanical property degradation. However, solutions to protect materials from hydrogen are still scarce. Here, we investigate the role of interstitial solutes in protecting critical crystalline defects sensitive to hydrogen. Ab initio calculations show that boron and carbon in solid solutions at grain boundaries can efficiently prevent hydrogen segregation. We then realized this interface protection concept on martensitic steel, a material strongly prone to HE, by doping the most sensitive interfaces with different concentrations of boron and carbon. These segregations, in addition to stress relaxations, critically reduce the hydrogen ingress by half, leading to an unprecedented resistance against HE. This tailored interstitial segregation strategy can be extended to other metallic materials susceptible to hydrogen-induced interfacial failure. KW - Hydrogen embrittlement KW - interstitial PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-650881 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67310-6 SN - 2041-1723 VL - 16 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC AN - OPUS4-65088 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhuang, Yiling A1 - Haderlein, Stefan B. A1 - Lutze, Holger V. A1 - Sun, Chen A1 - Fink, Friedrich A1 - Paul, Andrea A1 - Spahr, Stephanie T1 - Persulfate activation by biochar for trace organic contaminant removal from urban stormwater N2 - Persistent and mobile trace organic contaminants (TrOCs) in urban stormwater are difficult to remove through sedimentation- or sorption-based treatment and pose a risk to aquatic ecosystems and drinking water supplies. We demonstrate that the chemical oxidant peroxydisulfate (PDS) can be activated by shrimp shell biochar at pH 7 to form reactive species that selectively react with widespread stormwater contaminants. Of 11 TrOCs tested, oxidative transformation was observed for 1,3-diphenylguanidine, 2-hydroxybenzothiazole, 1H-benzotriazole, 5-methyl-benzotriazole, and diuron during water treatment with biochar and PDS. Laboratory batch experiments conducted with street runoff and a synthetic water showed that the water matrix, containing up to 7.5 mg L-1 dissolved organic carbon and 100 mM chloride, had a minor effect on the formation of reactive species and contaminant transformation. Using a set of scavengers and probe compounds, we provide evidence for singlet oxygen (1O2) as the predominant reactive species in the biochar/PDS system, which is in agreement with the selectivity of the process to oxidize electron-rich organic contaminants. The results of our study inform new strategies for stormwater treatment using heterogeneous oxidation processes for the abatement of persistent and mobile organic contaminants. KW - Stormwater treatment KW - Oxidation processes KW - Pyrogenic carbon PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-637952 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2025.123921 SN - 0043-1354 VL - 284 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-63795 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Syed, F. W. A1 - Saikia, Ujjal A1 - Sun, B. A1 - Kiranbabu, S. A1 - Tehranchi, Ali A1 - Hickel, Tilmann A1 - Zaefferer, S. A1 - Ponge, D. T1 - Interfacial segregation of carbon atoms: the competition between grain boundaries and phase boundaries N2 - The microstructure of a two-phase medium manganese steel is decorated by interfaces whose character is defined by crystallography and the misorientation between adjacent grains, which in turn influences elemental segregation and shapes the resulting decorations. This study investigates how adjacent grain and phase boundaries impact a boundary’s segregation behavior, with a focus on the competition for carbon (C) enrichment in a laminated ferrite (α)- austenite (γ) microstructure subjected to a series of heat treatments. It was found that semicoherent α-γ Kurdjumov-Sachs (KS) phase boundaries show less carbon segregation than general γ grain boundaries. Furthermore, when a γ grain boundary is present at a junction with the phase boundaries, it acts as an extracting agent for C. DFT calculations support these observations, demonstrating that carbon segregation is energetically more favorable at the γ grain boundary compared to the α/γ phase boundary, due to the more negative segregation energy at the former. KW - Defects PY - 2025 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2025.116842 SN - 1359-6462 VL - 268 SP - 1 EP - 6 PB - Elsevier Inc. AN - OPUS4-63840 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bugel, S. A1 - Hahnel, M. A1 - Kunde, T. A1 - de Sousa Amadeu, Nader A1 - Sun, Y. A1 - Spieß, A. A1 - Beglau, T. H. Y. A1 - Janiak, C. A1 - Schmidt, B. M. T1 - Synthesis and Characterization of a Crystalline Imine-Based Covalent Organic Framework with Triazine Node and Biphenyl Linker and Its Fluorinated Derivate for CO2/CH4 Separation N2 - A catalyst-free Schiff base reaction was applied to synthesize two imine-linked covalent organic frameworks (COFs). The condensation reaction of 1,3,5-tris-(4-aminophenyl)triazine (TAPT) with 4,4′-biphenyldicarboxaldehyde led to the structure of HHU-COF-1 (HHU = Heinrich-Heine University). The fluorinated analog HHU-COF-2 was obtained with 2,2′,3,3′,5,5′,6,6′-octafluoro-4,4′-biphenyldicarboxaldehyde. Solid-state NMR, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and elemental analysis confirmed the successful formation of the two network structures. The crystalline materials are characterized by high Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface areas of 2352 m2/g for HHU-COF-1 and 1356 m2/g for HHU-COF-2. The products of a larger-scale synthesis were applied to prepare mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) with the polymer Matrimid. CO2/CH4 permeation tests revealed a moderate increase in CO2 permeability at constant selectivity for HHU-COF-1 as a dispersed phase, whereas application of the fluorinated COF led to a CO2/CH4 selectivity increase from 42 for the pure Matrimid membrane to 51 for 8 wt% of HHU-COF-2 and a permeability increase from 6.8 to 13.0 Barrer for the 24 wt% MMM. KW - MOF KW - Filter PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-547632 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15082807 SN - 1996-1944 VL - 15 IS - 8 SP - 1 EP - 18 PB - MDPI AN - OPUS4-54763 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -