Conformation-Induced Ion Transport "Channels" in Artificial Polymer Solid Electrolyte Interphase for Aqueous Zn-Metal Batteries.

Artificial polymer solid electrolyte interphases (SEIs) are crucial for inhibiting side reactions and regulating Zn flux in aqueous Zn-metal batteries, where tuning the affinities and bond types between Zn and functional groups is considered the most effective strategy. However, the underlying determinant-polymer conformation control-is often overlooked. In this work, it is discovered that a high exposure degree of zincophilic sites is the prerequisite for establishing interaction.

Planar chiral orange-red TADF materials with AIE properties for efficient circularly polarized OLEDs.

Two planar chiral thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters featuring aggregation-induced emission characteristics were disclosed. Non-doped organic light-emitting diodes based on these emitters show external quantum efficiencies of 8.1% and 8.

Titanium-Polyoxometalate Crosslinked Metallo-Supramolecular Polymer as Artificial Interfacial Layer for Highly Persistent and Low-Temperature Tolerant Lithium Metal Batteries.

The uncontrolled lithium (Li) dendrite growth and fragile native solid electrolyte interphase formation have severely hindered the practical development of Li metal batteries. Herein, a coordinatively cross-linked metallo-supramolecular polymer as anodic interfacial protective layer (MSP-IPL) is developed by utilizing titanium(IV)-polyoxometalates (Ti-POMs) as hexatopic linkers to bridge organic and inorganic moieties. The constructed MSP-IPL possesses high electrochemical stability, superior ion-transfer ability, and good air stability.

A Hexagonal Bipyramidal Uranyl(V) Single-Ion Magnet Showing Finger-Type Photoluminescence.

The occurrence of uranyl(V) compounds in nuclear fuel cycles and radioactive waste necessitates a deep understanding of the electronic structure of these 5f species. Characteristic properties of pentavalent uranium can include single-molecule magnet (SMM) behavior and finger-like luminescence. However, both properties have not previously been observed in the same uranyl(V) complex.

Efficient Ammonia Electrosynthesis from Pure Nitrate Reduction via Tuning Bimetallic Sites in Redox-Active Covalent Organic Frameworks.

Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction (NITRR) represents a promising approach for ammonia synthesis, but existing application has been constrained by the complex proton-coupled electron transfer and the sluggish kinetics induced by various intermediates. Herein, we synthesized a series of metalized covalent organic frameworks: NiTP-MTAPP MCOFs (M = 2H, Co, Cu, and Fe), based on dual redox-active centers: thiophene-substituted Ni-bis(dithiolene) ligand-Ni[CS(CHSCHO)] and metallic porphyrin. Through regulating the adsorption and desorption of species at the catalytic sites, we have identified the optimal NITRR electrocatalyst: NiTP-CoTAPP MCOF, which achieved the highest faradaic efficiency (FE) of approximately 85.

An Ultra-Thin Stretchable Electrode Based on High-Resilient Polyurethane Crosslinked with La-Complexes.

Stretchable electronic skins with multifunctional sensing capabilities are of great importance in smart healthcare, wearable display electronics, intelligent robots, and human-machine interfaces. Thermoplastic elastomers play a pivotal role as soft substrate in the field of stretchable electronics. However, the dynamic interactions of common thermoplastic elastomers often result in high hysteresis and fatigue damage, limiting their performance and durability.

Mechanically Adaptive Materials Based on Dynamic Chemical Bonds.

Adaptiveness is an important feature for biological creatures to survive and interact with variable environments. Mechanically adaptive polymers (MAPs), which have been developed recently inspired by this adaptive nature, can regulate their mechanical properties in response to external stimuli or environmental changes. Specifically, MAPs based on dynamic chemical bonds have been synthesized and reported as an emerging material because of the intrinsic self-adaptability, outstanding mechanical properties and durable applications.

A bio-inspired microwave wireless system for constituting passive and maintenance-free IoT networks.

With the rapid expansion of wireless networks, the deployment and long-term maintenance of distributed microwave terminals have become increasingly challenging. To address these issues, we present a bio-inspired microwave system to constitute passive and maintenance-free wireless networks. Drawing inspiration from vertebrate skeletons and skins, we employ stimuli-responsive polymer with tunable stiffness to support and protect sensitive electromagnetic structures, and synthesize self-healable skin-like polymer for system encapsulation.

A soft, ultra-tough and multifunctional artificial muscle for volumetric muscle loss treatment.

The escalating prevalence of skeletal muscle disorders highlights the critical need for innovative treatments for severe injuries such as volumetric muscle loss. Traditional treatments, such as autologous transplants, are constrained by limited availability and current scaffolds often fail to meet complex clinical needs. This study introduces a new approach to volumetric muscle loss treatment by using a shape-memory polymer (SMP) based on block copolymers of perfluoropolyether and polycaprolactone diol.

Metal-Organic Coordination Enhanced Metallopolymer Electrolytes for Wide-Temperature Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries.

The practical application of polymer electrolytes is seriously hindered by the inferior Li ionic conductivity, low Li transference number (t), and poor interfacial stability. Herein, a structurally novel metallopolymer is designed and synthesized by exploiting a molybdenum (Mo) paddle-wheel complex as a tetratopic linker to bridge organic and inorganic moieties at molecular level. The prepared metallopolymer possesses combined merits of outstanding mechanical and thermal stability, as well as a low glass transition temperature (T <-50 °C).

An Ultrahigh-Modulus Hydrogel Electrolyte for Dendrite-Free Zinc Ion Batteries.

Quasi-solid-state aqueous zinc ion batteries suffer from anodic zinc dendrite growth during plating/stripping processes, impeding their commercial application. The inhibition of zinc dendrites by high-modulus electrolytes has been proven to be effective. However, hydrogel electrolytes are difficult to achieve high modulus owing to their inherent high water contents.

Proposal for a New Method for Evaluating Polymer-Modified Bitumen Fatigue and Self-Restoration Performances Considering the Whole Damage Characteristic Curve.

Fatigue performance and self-repairing activity of asphalt binders are two properties that highly influence the fatigue cracking response of asphalt pavement. There are still numerous gaps in knowledge to fill linked with these two characteristics. For instance, current parameters fail to accommodate these two bitumen phenomena fully.

Smart bistable coordination complexes.

Smart molecules have attracted increasing attention due to their transformative role in creating the next generation of smart structures and devices. Smart bistable coordination complexes are a class of functional complexes which have two stable states that can be reversibly switched in response to external stimuli. Such bistable molecules play a vital role in various applications, such as sensors, data storage, spintronics, smart windows, optical switches, information encryption and decryption, displays, actuators, etc.

Tetraborated Intrinsically Axial Chiral Multi-resonance Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Materials.

Chiral multi-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence (CP-MR-TADF) materials hold promise for circularly polarized organic light-emitting diodes (CP-OLEDs) and 3D displays. Herein, we present two pairs of tetraborated intrinsically axial CP-MR-TADF materials, R/S-BDBF-BOH and R/S-BDBT-BOH, with conjugation-extended bidibenzo[b,d]furan and bidibenzo[b,d]thiophene as chiral sources, which effectively participate in the distribution of the frontier molecular orbitals. Due to the heavy-atom effect, sulfur atoms are introduced to accelerate the reverse intersystem crossing process and increase the efficiency of molecules.

Mechanically Robust, Durable, and Multifunctional Hyper-Crosslinked Elastomer Based on Metal-Organic-Cluster Crosslinker: The Role of Topological Structure.

Polymer materials formed by conventional metal-ligand bonds have very low branch functionality, the crosslinker of such polymer usually consists of 2-4 polymer chains and a single metal ion. Thus, these materials are weak, soft, humidity-sensitive, and unable to withstand their shape under long-term service. In this work, a new hyperbranched metal-organic cluster (MOC) crosslinker containing up to 16 vinyl groups is prepared by a straightforward coordination reaction.

A Self-Healing Optoacoustic Patch with High Damage Threshold and Conversion Efficiency for Biomedical Applications.

Compared with traditional piezoelectric ultrasonic devices, optoacoustic devices have unique advantages such as a simple preparation process, anti-electromagnetic interference, and wireless long-distance power supply. However, current optoacoustic devices remain limited due to a low damage threshold and energy conversion efficiency, which seriously hinder their widespread applications. In this study, using a self-healing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS, Fe-Hpdca-PDMS) and carbon nanotube composite, a flexible optoacoustic patch is developed, which possesses the self-healing capability at room temperature, and can even recover from damage induced by cutting or laser irradiation.

A Dual-Responsive Liquid Crystal Elastomer for Multi-Level Encryption and Transient Information Display.

Information security has gained increasing attention in the past decade, leading to the development of advanced materials for anti-counterfeiting, encryption and instantaneous information display. However, it remains challenging to achieve high information security with simple encryption procedures and low-energy stimuli. Herein, a series of strain/temperature-responsive liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are developed to achieve dual-modal, multi-level information encryption and real-time, rewritable transient information display.

Coordination-Modulated Metal Tetrathiafulvalene Octacarboxylate Frameworks for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes.

Modulation of the ligands and coordination environment of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has been an effective and relatively unexplored avenue for improving the anode performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In this study, three MOFs are synthesized, namely, M (o-TTFOB)(bpm) (H O) (where M is Mn, Zn, and Cd; o-H TTFOB is ortho-tetrathiafulvalene octabenzoate; and bpm is 2,2'-bipyrimidine), based on a new ligand o-H TTFOB with two adjacent carboxylates on one phenyl, which allows us to establish the impact of metal coordination on the performance of these MOFs as anode materials in LIBs. Mn-o-TTFOB and Zn-o-TTFOB, with two more uncoordinated oxygen atoms from o-TTFOB , show higher reversible specific capacities of 1249 mAh g and 1288 mAh g under 200 mA g after full activation.

Tough, Reprocessable, and Recyclable Dynamic Covalent Polymers with Ultrastable Long-Lived Room-Temperature Phosphorescence.

Room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) polymers, whose emission can persist for a long period after photoexcitation, are of great importance for practical applications. Herein, dynamic covalent boronic ester linkages with internal B-N coordination are incorporated into a commercial epoxy matrix. The reversible dissociation of B-N bonds upon loading provides an efficient energy dissipation pathway for the epoxy network, while the rigid epoxy matrix can inhibit the quenching of triplet excitons in boronic esters.

Binuclear Cu complex catalysis enabling Li-CO battery with a high discharge voltage above 3.0 V.

Li-CO batteries possess exceptional advantages in using greenhouse gases to provide electrical energy. However, these batteries following LiCO-product route usually deliver low output voltage (<2.5 V) and energy efficiency.

A variable-stiffness and healable pneumatic actuator.

Pneumatic-powered actuators are receiving increasing attention due to their widespread applications. However, their inherent low stiffness makes them incompetent in tasks requiring high load capacity or high force output. On the other hand, soft pneumatic actuators are susceptible to damage caused by over-pressuring or punctures by sharp objects.

Stretchable and self-healable spoof plasmonic meta-waveguide for wearable wireless communication system.

Microwave transmission lines in wearable systems are easily damaged after frequent mechanical deformation, posing a severe threat to wireless communication. Here, we report a new strategy to achieve stretchable microwave transmission lines with superior reliability and durability by integrating a self-healable elastomer with serpentine-geometry plasmonic meta-waveguide to support the spoof surface plasmon polariton (SSPP). After mechanical damage, the self-healable elastomer can autonomously repair itself to maintain the electromagnetic performance and mechanical strength.

Immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a DNA vaccine inducing optimal expression of the SARS-CoV-2 S gene in hACE2 mice.

The wide spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has significantly threatened public health. Human herd immunity induced by vaccination is essential to fight the epidemic. Therefore, highly immunogenic and safe vaccines are necessary to control SARS-CoV-2, whose S protein is the antigenic determinant responsible for eliciting antibodies that prevent viral entry and fusion.

Universal Self-Healing Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Polymer Crosslinked Predominantly by Physical Entanglements.

Harsh conditions are inevitable for long-term use of self-healing polymers. However, the majority of reported self-healing materials cannot remain stable under harsh conditions due to the presence of vulnerable dynamic crosslinking sites. Herein, a universal self-healing poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) polymer is reported.