Ultrafast Joule heating : Synthesis-structure-property relationships and sustainable application

Abstract

Ultrafast Joule heating (UJH) has emerged as a cutting-edge technology for synthesizing advanced functional materials (AFMS), representing a burgeoning field of research with significant scientific and industrial implications. By leveraging ultrafast kinetics (millisecond-to-second timescales), ultrahigh temperatures (up to 4000 K), and electric field effects, UJH addresses inherent limitations of conventional methods that often yield materials with compromised properties. Thus, UJH-synthesized AFMS exhibit enhanced multifunctional performance across diverse application domains, particularly in environmental catalysis. In addition, these UJH features, including cost-effectiveness and environmental friendliness, can bring enormous advantages to material synthesis, engineering and sustainable application. However, the substantial untapped potential of UJH technology is confronted by grand challenges from the complexity of mechanistic explanation and the comprehensive evaluation about production, utilization, and disposal. These obstacles impede systematic probing and mechanism comprehension, essential for large-scale applications. Therefore, through a multidisciplinary view of the latest advancements in synthesis, characterization, and applications, this review critically decodes the synthesis-structure-property relationships of AFMS, including carbonaceous materials, high-entropy materials, and metal-carbon composites. Recent advances in UJH scale-up methodologies and associated life cycle assessment are presented. Conclusively, the paper provides directions for future research to identify the critical challenges of UJH in sustainable development and large-scale applications.