The tensile behaviours of [111]-oriented SiC nanowires with various microstructures are investigated by using molecular dynamics simulations. The results revealed the influence of microstructures on the brittleness and plasticity of SiC nanowires. Plastic deformation is mainly induced by the anti-parallel sliding of 3C grains along an intergranular amorphous film parallel to the (111) plane and inclined at an angle of 19.47 • with respect to the nanowire axis. Our study suggests that the wide dispersion of mechanical properties of SiC nanowires observed in experiments might be attributed to their diverse microstructures.

An atom-economical method for radical (phenylsulfonyl)difluoromethylation of isocyanides with PhSOCFH under transition-metal-free conditions has been developed. A PhSOCF radical is generated through the oxidation of PhSOCF after the deprotonation of PhSOCFH in one pot. The reaction exhibits excellent functional-group tolerance and the resulting products can be further modified with the removal of a PhSO group to give other CF-containing compounds.

In this study, synergy between graphene platelets (GnPs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in improving lap shear strength and electrical conductivity of epoxy composite adhesives is demonstrated. Adding two-dimensional GnPs with one-dimensional CNTs into epoxy matrix helped to form global three-dimensional network of both GnPs and CNTs, which provide large contact surface area between the fillers and the matrix. This has been evidenced by comparing the mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of epoxy/GnP, epoxy/CNT, and epoxy/GnP-CNT composites. Scanning electron microscopic images of lap shear fracture surfaces of the composite adhesives showed that GnP-CNT hybrid nanofillers demonstrated better interaction to the epoxy matrix than individual GnP and CNT. The lap shear strength of epoxy/GnP-CNT composite adhesive was 89% higher than that of the neat epoxy adhesive, compared with only 44 and 30% increase in the case of epoxy/GnP and epoxy/CNT composite adhesives, respectively. Electrical percolation threshold of epoxy/GnP-CNT composite adhesive is recorded at 0.41 vol %, which is lower than epoxy/GnP composite adhesive (0.58 vol %) and epoxy/CNT composite adhesive (0.53 vol %), respectively.

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A pentacoordinate bis(difluoromethyl)silicate anion, [Me3 Si(CF2 H)2 ](-) , is observed for the first time by the activation of Me3 SiCF2 H with a nucleophilic alkali-metal salt and 18-crown-6. Further study on its reactivity by tuning the countercation effect led to the discovery and development of an efficient, catalytic nucleophilic difluoromethylation of enolizable ketones with Me3 SiCF2 H by using a combination of CsF and 18-crown-6 as the initiation system. Mechanistic investigations demonstrate that [(18-crown-6)Cs](+) [Me3 Si(CF2 H)2 ](-) is a key intermediate in this catalytic reaction.

Decarboxylation strategy has been emerging as a powerful tool for the synthesis of fluorine-containing organic compounds that play important roles in various fields such as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and materials science.

The diameter (D) dependence of fracture strains in [0001]-oriented single crystalline ZnO nanowires (NWs) with D ranging from 18 to 114 nm is experimentally revealed via in situ uniaxial tension and is well understood based on an analytical model developed by combining molecular dynamics simulations with fracture mechanics theories. We show that the scattered fracture strains are dominated by the effective quantities of atomic vacancies, and their lower bound follows a power-form scaling law, resembling the Griffith-type behavior of single critical defects with diameter-dependent sizes, when D is larger than a critical D C . In addition, theoretical strength is expected in NWs with D < D C . Our studies provide a simple, but basic, understanding for the size effect of strengths in single crystalline NWs.

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