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[Display omitted] Compressibility of zinc-manganese oxide (Zn-MnO 2) batteries is an essential element of modern flexible electronics. Hydrogel electrolytes with superior elasticity and compressibility are highly demand to guarantee a stable energy output of the flexible Zn-MnO 2 battery. Herein, a highly compressible hydrogel electrolyte was developed by introducing soybean protein isolate nanoparticles (SPI) into covalently cross-linked polyacrylamide (PAAM) polymer networks. The SPI/PAAM hydrogel electrolyte for Zn-MnO 2 battery possessed outstanding reversible compressibility due to the aggregation of SPI nanoparticles on the PAAM chains through the weak electrostatic interaction, which could dissipate energy effectively. Consequently, the Zn-MnO 2 battery based on the compressible hydrogel electrolyte displayed a decent specific capacity (299.3 mA h g−1) and desirable capacity retention rate (78.2%) after 500 charge/discharge cycles. Notably, the device could maintain stable power output under 96% compress strain and light the bulb even under severe mechanical stimulation like being-bent and hammered. It's believed that the compressible Zn-MnO 2 batteries hold enormous potential as the energy storage devices in the field of flexible wearable electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A universal strategy to solve interfacial detachment of solid EDLCs. • Significantly reduced interfacial impedance. • Optimizing solvated structures of Hybrid ILs. • Excellent cycling stability of EDLCs at high temperature. The growing application domain of energy storage devices (ESDs) is leading research to temperature tolerant supercapacitors. To realize reliable and safe devices, high modulus solid electrolytes are favored by most researchers. However, the inferior infiltrating ability of such electrolytes usually results in poor electrochemical performances of the ESDs. Herein, we adopted a hierarchical optimization strategy to address the aforementioned interfacial issues. Continuous ionic percolation throughout the hierarchical pores of the 3D electrode was formed by in-situ introducing an ionogel buffer layer. Benefiting from this, the rate of ions diffusing within electrodes was increased by 5 times. Furthermore, the kinetics of ions entering into nanopores was improved via introducing small size ions into ionic liquids (ILs) and adjusting the solvated structures. Both the capacity and rate performance of the electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs) were improved. Additionally, the buffer layer exhibited sufficient thermostability to cooperate with poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK)-based solid electrolyte. Consequently, the EDLCs exhibited excellent cycling stability (79% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles) at 120 °C and delivered a maximum energy density of 46.9 Wh kg−1 with a power density of 926.9 W kg−1. Our strategy is believed to be effective to cooperate with various solid electrolyte systems and offer a general design principle for durable and high performance EDLCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A controllable, general, and simple alkaline etching strategy was used to synthesize deformable hollow mesoporous organosilica nanocapsules (DMONs), in which multiple organic moieties were homogeneously incorporated into the framework. Deformable materials have garnered widespread attention in biomedical applications. Herein, a controllable, general, and simple alkaline etching strategy was used to synthesize deformable hollow mesoporous organosilica nanocapsules (DMONs), in which multiple organic moieties were homogeneously incorporated into the framework. DMONs with double-, triple-, and even quadruple-hybridized frameworks were prepared by the selective introduction of organosilica precursors in accordance with the chemical homology principle through a surfactant-directed sol–gel procedure and a subsequent etching process in alkaline solution. The triple-hybridized DMONs possessed uniform and controllable diameters (100–330 nm), and large hollow cavities (50–270 nm). Liquid cell electron microscopy images demonstrated that the DMONs were deformable in solution. Elemental mapping images suggested that the organic components were homogeneous distribution within the entire DMONs framework. Statistical analysis of cell proliferation assays showed that breast cancer MCF-7 viability exceeded 85% when the cells are incubated with the triple-hybridized DMONs (800 μg mL−1) for 24 h. Histological assessments of main organs indicated no tissue injury or necrosis after intravenous injection of the DMONs 7 days (5 mg kg−1 body weight). Quantitative analysis indicated that the cellular uptake of the DMONs was 6-fold higher than that of their hard counterparts when the number of nanoparticles added was 1.25 × 104, and similar results were found for 4 T1 cells. Furthermore, doxorubicin (DOX) loaded triple-hybridized DMONs with a loading efficiency of 16.9 wt%, produced a strong killing effect on tumor cells. Overall, DMONs with various incorporated organic functional groups could serve as novel nanoplatforms for drug delivery in biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Abstract The synthesis of a nanocomposite gel polymer electrolytes (NGPEs) using Li+-functionalized SPEEK (SPEEK(Li)) nanofiber membrane as a matrix, cross-linked PVA as a gelled agent and LiClO 4 as an electrolytic salt for electric double layer capacitors (EDLCs) were reported in this work. Compared with conventional PVA based gel electrolyte, the "SO 3 −Li+" functional groups and the pores structure of the SPEEK(Li) nanofiber membrane improves the ionic conductivity as well as mechanical stability, which made the prepared NGPEs exhibited a high ionic conductivity of 8.9 × 10−3 S cm−1 at ambient temperature and a large voltage stability window range from 0 to 2.0 V. The fabricated symmetric EDLCs showed a specific capacitance of 146.96 F g−1 at a current density of 0.5 A g−1, with a maximum energy density of 18.26 W h kg−1. Meanwhile, the EDLCs showed outstanding cyclical stability of 98% specific capacitance retention after 3000 cycles GCD testing, all of these results indicated that the NGPEs should be appropriate to EDLCs and next-generation energy storage systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We present a simple sequential imprinting lithography method to fabricate micro/nanoscale hierarchical structures. This method involves hot embossing and capillary force lithography with two stamps of different microscales, which avoids using nanoscale stamps. By varying the experimental conditions in the capillary force lithography process, the morphology of the resulting structures can be controlled. This method may provide a facile and low-cost route for fabricating large area patterns of hierarchical structures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Flexible superhydrophobic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films with silver bowl-like array structure are fabricated based on the thermal evaporation with sphere monolayer as templates and the modification of 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecanethiol on silver surface. The silver microbowl arrays were composed of silver nanoparticles with an average diameter size of ca. 10nm. The polymer films exhibit excellent stability and remarkable superhydrophobicity with a high water contact angle (CA) of about 163° and a low sliding angle (SA) of less than 3°. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The self-assembly of two complementary components, 5-(4-N-methyl-N-dodecylaminobenzylidene)-2,4,6-(1H,3H)-pyrimidi-netrione (1) and 4-amino-2,6-didodecylamino-1,3,5-triazine (2) was found to result in the formation of a hollow supramolecular nanotube with about 6 nm in diameter and hundreds of nanometers in length as observed directly by transmission electron microscope (TEM). X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that a periodical layered structure with a d spacing of 0.49 nm in the nanotube exists. If staining treatment were employed in TEM observations, the self-assembly was found to show a supercoil structure about 300 nm in diameter. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] Highly efficient harvesting, transfer, and storage of solar energy are of great significance for the sustainability of society Herein, we report the design and synthesis of conjugated microporous polymers hollow spheres (CMPs-HS) coated by graphene (GCMPs-HS) and compounded with the phase change material (PCM) octadecanol (GCMPs@ODA) for efficient solar photothermal conversion. The as-synthesized CMPs-HS shows a high specific surface (519.95 m2 g−1 and 309.26 m2 g−1), good thermostability, and lower thermal conductivity (0.33 W m-2h−1). By coating graphene, the light absorption remained about 90% in the visible light range, which allows light harvest for photothermal conversion. Taking the GCMPs-HS as a functional layer for the solar steam generation (SSG) system, a high evaporation efficiency of near 90% is obtained. After inhaling octadecanol, GCMPs@ODA are prepared and their latent heats are measured to about 217.4 J g−1 and 224.6 J g−1. Under 1 sun irradiation, the photothermal conversion efficiencies of GCMPs@ODA are measured to be 87.15% and 85.83%, the above merits applied in different conditions are superior to photothermal conversion materials reported in the literature. Thus, among the above merits, the fabricated materials are the competitive candidate which shows the great potential in the efficient application of solar energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybridization has become a powerful toolbox for developing ultrafiltration membranes with superior properties. However, it remains challenging to give full play to the utility of nanofillers because of poor bonding strength between polymers and inorganic nanomaterials. Herein, hydroxyapatite nanotubes (HANTs) were modified via bio-inspired polydopamine (PDA) and polyethylenimine (PEI) co-deposition. Meanwhile, polysulfone with carboxylation degree of 30% (PSF-COOH-30%) was synthesized by nucleophilic substitution reaction and employed as the membrane matrix. The results showed that when 0.3 wt% HANTs@PDA/PEI was incorporated, the pure water flux of the hybrid membrane achieved about 3.2 times that of the unfilled membrane and the rejection rate of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and humic acid (HA) remained 94.5% and 97.8%, respectively. Meanwhile, the flux recovery ratio for BSA and HA solutions (1 g/L) reached 90.8% and 93.7%, respectively. Specifically, the superiority of UF performance benefited from the synergistic effect of both the carboxylated polymer and the nanofiller. On one hand, the incorporation of HANTs@PDA/PEI promoted the formation of more porous membrane structure and improved the hydrophilicity of the membrane. On the other hand, due to the existence of COOH, the electrostatic repulsion between the membranes and contaminants enhanced the fouling resistance for BSA and HA. Conspicuously, the ease and versatility of co-deposition provide new ideas in the construction of nanohybrid and the favorable improvement renders that appropriate combination of polymer and additive is an effective way for developing future ultrafiltration membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Tumor targeting near-infrared fluorescence and magnetic resonance dual-modality imaging probes are prepared by connecting functional molecules on thioether-bridged mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles via click reaction. Abstract In this work, near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) and magnetic resonance (MR) dual-modality imaging probes are prepared by conjugating maleimide derivative cyanine dye (Mal-Cy5.5), gadolinium‐diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA), and RGD peptide (Mal-PEG2-RGD) on thioether-bridged mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (MONs) via click reaction. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, zeta potentials, UV–vis spectra, and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrum confirm the successful modifications of the functional molecules on the MONs. The prepared MON-Gd-Cy5.5-RGD probes shows excellent NIRF and MR imaging properties, and the relaxivity rate (r1) is measured up to 2.85 mM−1 s −1. In addition, the MON-Gd-Cy5.5-RGD probes show excellent in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility. Confocal laser scanning microscopy and flow cytometry demonstrate that the MON-Gd-Cy5.5-RGD can efficiently target to MDA-MB-231 tumor cells. Additionally, ex vivo NIFR and in vivo MR imaging demonstrate that the MON-Gd-Cy5.5-RGD probes can accumulate in tumor and improve the signals of tumor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The site-selective deposition of organic molecules onto template structures to create ordered micro/nanoscale arrangements has drawn more and more attention because of the broad possibility, for example, application in organic electronic devices. Here we present a molecular dynamics study toward the selective deposition of organic molecules 3(5)-(9-anthryl) pyrazole (ANP), perylene and sexiphenyl (6P) onto template structures made of the phospholipid l-α-dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) in alternating liquid expanded (LE) and liquid condensed (LC) states. The simulation results indicate, first of all, that the molecules immerge into both LE and LC phases instead of staying on top of them. Furthermore, the simulations replicate the empirically observed higher diffusion constants of the organic molecules on LE phase compared to LC phase of the underlying DPPC layer. Additionally, we propose a possible mechanism for the diffusion barrier between LE/LC phase needed to explain the experimental findings of the selective deposition. Altogether, this study supports the notions suggested by the experiments on the causes of the selective deposition while giving a deeper insight into the molecular processes involved. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An efficient fabrication technique for large area periodic metallic split-ring arrays has been demonstrated by the combination of tilted nanoimprint lithography and nanotransfer imprinting. The feature size of the split-rings can be adjusted by varying the key geometry parameters of the original imprinting mold. Due to the flexible nature of PDMS molds, these arrays can be patterned on curved surfaces. The molds for nanoimprint lithography and nanotransfer imprinting can be used multiple times without a loss of fidelity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]