The nitrides of most of the group IVb-Vb-VIb transition metals (TiN, ZrN, HfN, VN, NbN, TaN,
MoN, WN) constitute the unique category of conductive ceramics. Having substantial …

Over the past decades, enormous effort has been dedicated to enhancing the hardness of
refractory ceramic materials. Typically, however, an increase in hardness is accompanied by …

The use of thin films to enhance the physical and chemical properties of materials is
ubiquitous in today's world. Examples are shown in Fig. 1: copper metallization layers for …

First-principles calculations are employed to determine the mechanical properties of rock-
salt structure binary and ternary transition metal nitrides, carbides, and carbonitrides from …

Sustainable and energy-efficient ammonia production requires facile nitrogen reduction for
hydrogen preservation and inorganic fertilizers. A nitrogen reduction apparatus with optimal …

Through superlattice (SL) architectures, the hardness as well as the fracture toughness of
ceramic thin films can be enhanced. The hardness-related SL effect is reasonably well …

Obtaining high hardness combined with enhanced toughness represents one of the current
challenges in material design of hard ceramic protective coatings. In this work, we combine …

First-principles methods are employed to determine the structural, mechanical, and
thermodynamic reasons for the experimentally reported cubic WN phase. The defect-free …

The low intrinsic fracture toughness of transition metal nitride thin films critically restrains
their applicability as protective coatings. We therefore investigate the Ti 1-x W x N y system …

Refractory transition-metal diborides exhibit inherent hardness. However, this is not always
sufficient to prevent failure in applications involving high mechanical and thermal stress …