Laser-assisted exfoliation of TiCT.

As an emerging two-dimensional material, MXene has shown a wide range of applications, which has triggered the demand for efficient exfoliation of nanoflakes with large size and specific surface area. Here, we took advantage of the efficient photo-thermal conversion of TiCT and employed 532 nm continuous wave laser irradiation to assist the traditional ultrasonic exfoliation, with no need for complex equipment and an expensive femtosecond or picosecond laser. This approach greatly improves the exfoliation efficiency, increases the size, uniformity and specific surface area of the TiCT nanoflakes, and reduces energy consumption as well.

Layered MXene/Aramid Composite Film for a Soft and Sensitive Pressure Sensor.

In recent years, the two-dimensional material MXene has shown great advantages in the field of wearable electronics and pressure sensors. Toward advanced applications, achieving a conformal pressure sensor with ultrathin thickness and great flexibility through a simple preparation principle, while maintaining its high sensitivity and wide detection range, is still a key challenge for the development of high-performance pressure sensors. Herein, we proposed an optimized mild LiF/HCl etching scheme and successfully achieved a high-concentration (>25 mg/mL) preparation of few-layer TiCT MXene.

Gulf War agents pyridostigmine bromide and permethrin cause hypersensitive nociception that is restored after vagus nerve stimulation.

Gulf war illness (GWI) is a chronic multi-symptom disease that afflicts 25-33% of troops that were deployed in the 1990-1991 Gulf War. GWI symptoms include cognitive, behavioral and emotional deficits, as well as migraines and pain. It is possible that exposure to Gulf War agents and prophylactics contributed to the reported symptomology.

High performance strain sensor based on buckypaper for full-range detection of human motions.

A high-performance strain sensor based on buckypaper has been fabricated and studied. The sensor with an ultrahigh gauge factor of 20 216 can detect a maximum and a minimum strain range of 75% and 0.1%, respectively.

Revealing the linear relationship between electrical, thermal, mechanical and structural properties of carbon nanocoils.

The special helical morphologies and polycrystalline-amorphous internal structures differ carbon nanocoils (CNCs) from carbon nanotubes or carbon nanofibers, but bring difficulties in illuminating the correlations between physical and structural properties. In this paper, we measure the electrical conductivity (σ), thermal diffusivity (α) and Young's modulus (E) of single CNCs at the same time, using a transient electrothermal technique and an electromechanical vibration technique. Based on the statistical results of 8 single CNC samples, a linear correlation between the three parameters is uncovered, expressed as σ = 0.

A flexible, ultra-sensitive strain sensor based on carbon nanocoil network fabricated by an electrophoretic method.

An ultra-sensitive strain sensor has been fabricated and studied, whose sensing medium is a network structure composed of plenty of carbon nanocoils (CNCs) and deposited between two gold electrodes via electrophoresis. The sensor owns a gauge factor close to 10 000 for tensile strain. A high stability and reproducibility of more than 5000 cycles and a fast response time of approximately 50 ms have been achieved.

Thermal Diffusivity of a Single Carbon Nanocoil: Uncovering the Correlation with Temperature and Domain Size.

The helical geometries and polycrystalline-amorphous structure of carbon nanocoils (CNCs), an exotic class of low-dimensional carbon nanostructures, distinguish them from carbon nanotubes and graphene. These distinct structures result in very different energy transport from that in carbon nanotubes and graphene, leading to important roles in applications as wave absorbers, near-infrared sensors, and nanoelectromechanical sensors. Here we report a systematic study of the thermal diffusivity (α) and conductivity (κ) of CNCs from 290 to 10 K and uncover their property-structure aspects.