A recent study conducted by the Anhui University of Technology has proposed new measures for the oxidation protection of tungsten alloys in nuclear fusion applications. As a plasma guide material (PFM), tungsten is persistently used in nuclear fusion reactors. However, it has poor oxidation resistance at high temperatures. When a reactor de-cooling accident occurs, tungsten is rapidly oxidized and volatilized due to air entering the vacuum chamber, which may cause a catastrophic nuclear leakage accident.

Researchers at the University of California have conducted a study on the effect of tungstate on nitrate reduction in Pyrobaculum aerophilum, a hyperthermophilic archaeon that can respire both at low levels of oxygen and anaerobically with nitrate as the electron acceptor. Under anaerobic growth conditions, nitrate is reduced to molecular nitrogen via the denitrification pathway.

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, describes ways to improve tungsten ductility. It is generally accepted that pure tungsten and tungsten alloys with minor alloy additions are brittle at room temperature and have high ductile-to-brittle transition temperatures (DBTT). Improving the ductility of tungsten is important in generating the range of tungsten manufacturing and applications.

A study conducted by researchers at Daegu Catholic University in South Korea introduces advanced methods that combine chemical vapor transport (CVT) with quenching effects to create molybdenum oxide nanoparticle aggregates arrays consisting of fine nanoparticles (NPs) in a layered structure, grown vertically on individual carbon fibers of a carbon fiber paper (CFP) substrate.