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A series of hollow carbon nanospheres embedded with MRI agents γ-Fe2O3 and GdPO4 nanoparticles (Fe–Gd/HCS), were prepared and applied to in vitro/vivo evaluation with well defined sizes of ∼100 nm, ∼200 nm, ∼300 nm, respectively.

Nitric oxide is critical for eliminating infection and promoting regeneration in diabetic wounds. However, clinical uses of nitric oxide are limited by its high activity and lack of specificity in targeting infections. Herein, we develop an intelligent nitric oxide nanogenerator comprising isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN)-coated copper sulfide (CuS)/calcium carbonate (CaCO

Improvement of the low-cost transition metal electrocatalyst used in sluggish oxygen evolution reaction is a significant but challenging problem. In this study, ultrafine Fe-modulated Ni nanoparticles embedded in a porous Ni-doped carbon matrix were produced by the pyrolysis of zirconium metal-organic-frameworks, in which 2,2′-bipyridine-5,5′-dicarboxylate operating as a ligand can coordinate with Ni2+ and Fe3+. This strategy allows formation of Fe-modulated Ni nanoparticles with a uniform dimension of about 2 nm which can be ascribed to the spatial blocking effect of ZrO2. This unique catalyst displays an efficient oxygen evolution reaction electro-catalytic activity with a low overpotential of 372 mV at 10 mA·cm−2 and a small Tafel slope of 84.4 mV·dec−1 in alkaline media. More importantly, it shows superior durability and structural stability after 43 h in a chronoamperometry test. Meanwhile, it shows excellent cycling stability during 4000 cyclic voltammetry cycles. This research offers a new insight into the construction of uniform nanoscale transition metals and their alloys as highly efficient and durable electrocatalysts.

Nano-immunotherapy has been recognized as a highly promising strategy for cancer treatment in recent decades, which combines nanotechnology and immunotherapy to combat against tumors. Hybrid nanomaterials consisting of at least two constituents with distinct compositions and properties, usually organic and inorganic, have been engineered with integrated functions and enormous potential in boosting cancer immunotherapy. This review provides a summary of hybrid nanomaterials reported for cancer immunotherapy, including nanoscale metal-organic frameworks, metal-phenolic networks, mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles, metallofullerene nanomaterials, polymer-lipid, and biomacromolecule-based hybrid nanomaterials. The combination of immunotherapy with chemotherapy, chemodynamic therapy, radiotherapy, radiodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, photodynamic therapy, and sonodynamic therapy based on hybrid nanomaterials is also discussed. Finally, the current challenges and the prospects for designing hybrid nanomaterials and their application in cancer immunotherapy are outlined.

Immunomodulation has made remarkable progress in fighting infectious disease and cancer. Conventionally, immunomodulation largely relies on chemical/biochemical agents, which, unfortunately, suffer from sever off-target adverse effects. Recent insights into nano-bio interactions suggest that nanomaterials can directly participate in immunomodulation. A range of physical and chemical cues at the nano-bio interface have been harnessed to regulate diverse immuno-signaling for disease control and treatment. In this Minireview, we summarize recent studies on the physical and chemical cues enabled by intrinsic nanomaterials to trigger immunological signaling. First, we discuss physical cues mediated by surface topography, hydrophobicity, charge, and heat at the nano-bio interface for immunomodulation. Then, various nanomaterials enabled chemical cues, such as metal species and oxidative species are outlined. Finally, our perspectives on challenges and possible future directions are provided.

The rapid, discriminative, and portable detection of highly toxic chemical warfare agents is extremely important for response to public security emergencies but remains a challenge. One plausible solution involves the integration of porous molecular traps onto a photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensor. Here, a fast and facile protocol is developed to fabricate sub-1 nm AgNPs encapsulated hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF) nanocomposite materials through an in situ photoreduction and subsequent encapsulation process. Compared to traditional semiconductors and selected metal-organic frameworks (MOF) materials, these AgNPs@HOFs show significantly enhanced photocurrent. Most importantly, the portable PEC device based on AgNPs@HOF-101 can selectively recognize 13 different mustard gas simulants, including 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES), based on synergistic size-exclusion and specific recognition. The extremely low detection limit for CEES (15.8 nmol L

Porous materials bearing stepwise-controlled pore-shape change that are capable of executing sophisticated tasks are of considerable interest due to their fascinating features. In this work, we present a (3,4,6)-connected metal–organic framework built of 1D hinge-like zig–zag chain and tritopic ligand, formulated as (H3O)2[Zn3(dmtrz)2(tipa)2]·4H2O (MAC-20, Hdmtrz = 3,5-dimethyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole, H3tipa = 5-(2H-tetrazol-5-yl)isophthalic acid). By regulating the hinge angle and hydrogen bond interaction of 1D chain and tritopic ligand precisely, we realize a unique two-step pore-shape change in MAC-20 structure, which reveals that 1D chain and tritopic ligands have a synergistic effect on the structural transformation. Furthermore, the MAC-20 structure executes the sequential adsorption of indigo blue (ID) and sudan-I (SD-I) stepwise-controlled by trimethylamine and N,N-dimethylformamide, which offers the potential to exploit the flexible MOFs for smart multi-step stimuli-responsive applications.

Integrating magnetic resonance (MR) and photoacoustic (PA) contrast agents into porous nanomaterials is a favorable way for screening of potential theranostic nanomedicines. Hollow carbon nanospheres (HCSs) dotted with GdPO4 and γ-Fe2O3 (Gd-Fe) nanoparticles are therefore prepared and studied in this work. The resultant Gd-Fe/HCSs possess a size of ∼100 nm with a cavity of ∼80 nm and a shell thickness of ∼10 nm, where the magnetic Gd-Fe nanoparticles are dotted. Owing to the synergistic effects, the Gd-Fe/HCSs give 2.5 times enhanced PA signals as compared with HCSs as well as the inherited MR imaging properties from Gd-Fe nanoparticles. In vivo MR and PA imaging of the liver in mice are consequently evaluated and validated. Furthermore, taking the tunable particle size, hollow cavity, shell thickness, and dotted amounts of nanoparticles into consideration, our studies here provide a useful structural model for the synergistic integration of MR and PA imaging in HCSs.

Tumor cells are rich in antigens, which provide a reliable antigen library for the design of personalized vaccines. However, an effective tumor vaccine vector that can efficiently deliver antigens to lymphoid organs to stimulate strong CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocyte immune response is still lacking. Here we designed a dual-antigen delivery system based on hepatitis B virus core antigen virus-like particles (HBc VLPs). We first confirmed that different antigen-loaded HBc VLP monomers could be assembled into nanoparticles (hybrid VLPs). Hybrid VLPs could slightly enhance bone marrow-derived dendritic cell maturation in vitro. Strikingly, hybrid VLPs could generate antigen-specific antitumor immunity and innate immunity in vivo which could significantly inhibit tumor growth or metastatic formation in a subcutaneous tumor or lung metastatic tumor model, respectively. Moreover, dual-epitope vaccination generated enhanced T-cell responses that potently inhibited tumor growth and metastatic formation. Together, this study provides a new powerful concept for cancer immunotherapy and suggests a novel design for VLP-based personalized nanomedicine.

Domain switching in ferroelectrics is at the heart of many functionalities, and the visualization of switching pathway is the key to understand the fundamental properties and to promote the applications of high-performance ferroelectrics. Here, we directly documented the multi-step domain switching in [110]-oriented 0.67Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.33PbTiO3 (PMN-0.33 P T) single crystals under a cycling electric field with the help of in situ polarized light microscopy. Based on the characteristic domain configuration analysis, we demonstrated that the 180° switching process was consisted of multi-step 60° switching. Such a multi-step 60° switching pathway resulted in a large negative strain and an internal electric field, which contributes to a large polarization fatigue rate under the alternating electric field. Our works may provide a window to study the domain switching process and its effect on polarization fatigue in relaxor-ferroelectric single crystals.

As the largest consumer of coal energy, coal-fired power plants emit large amounts of PbCl2 each year, which is of wide concern due to its high toxicity, global migration, and accumulation. Unburned carbon is considered a promising adsorbent for effective PbCl2 removal. However, there is a problem that the current unburned carbon model cannot show the structure of carbon defects on the actual unburned carbon surface. Therefore, it is important to construct defective unburned carbon models with practical significance. In addition, the adsorption mechanism of PbCl2 by an unburned model is not studied deeply enough and the reaction mechanism is not clear yet. This has seriously affected the development of effective adsorbents. To reveal the adsorption mechanism of PbCl2 on unburned carbon, the adsorption mechanism of PbCl2 on defective unburned carbon surfaces was analyzed by using the density flooding theory to investigate the adsorption process of PbCl2 on different unburned carbon models. This will provide theoretical guidance for the design and development of adsorbents for the removal of PbCl2 from coal-fired power plants.

Advanced antibacterial methods are urgently needed to deal with possible infectious diseases. As promising alternatives to antibiotics, enzyme-mimic nanocatalysts face bottlenecks of low activities and indistinct catalytic mechanisms, which seriously restrict their development for anti-infection treatment. Herein, metastable copper sulfide (Cu2-xS) nanozymes with diversiform sizes and compositions were selected to adjust the electronic structure for enhancing enzyme-mimic activities. The as-synthesized large and thin nanoplates (L/TN nanoplates), with the stoichiometric ratio of Cu1.25S, were proven to possess the optimal peroxidase (POD)-mimic activity. Using quantum mechanics, it was theoretically revealed that the sulfur vacancies could alter the electronic structure of copper active sites and thus reduce the reaction energy barrier of H2O2 to·OH to promote the POD-mimic performance. Moreover, through enhanced enzyme-mimic activities, L/TN nanoplates achieved efficient depletion of glutathione and ascorbic acid for improving antibacterial performances. Further, synergizing with the NIR irradiation, the satisfactory destruction capability for bacteria and biofilm was achieved for L/TN nanoplates under an inflammatory level of hydrogen peroxide (50 μM). Altogether, this work provides a deeper understanding of geometrical and electronic properties-dependent antibacterial performance, and paves the way toward precise compositions and structures engineering of nanozymes.

Hierarchically ordered porous materials with tailored and inter-connected macro-, meso-, and micro-pores would facilitate the heterogeneous adsorption and catalysis processes for a wide range of applications but remain a challenge for synthetic chemists. Here, a general and efficient strategy for the synthesis of inverse opal metal-organic frameworks (IO MOFs) with a tunable size of macro-, meso-, and micro-pores is reported. The strategy is based on the step-wise template formation, precursor infiltration, solvo-thermal reaction, and chemical etching. As a proof of the general applicability of this strategy, a series of inverse opal zirconium-based MOFs with intrinsic micro- and/or meso-pores, including UiO-66, MOF-808, NU-1200, NU-1000 and PCN-777, and tunable macropores (1 µm, 2 µm, 3 µm, 5 µm, and 10 µm), have been prepared with outstanding yields. These IO MOFs demonstrate significantly enhanced absorption rates and faster initial hydrolysis rates for organophosphorus (OPs) aggregates compared to those of the pristine MOFs. This work paves the way for the further development of hierarchically ordered MOFs for advanced applications.

The size modulation of hollow carbon nanospheres (HCSs) has attracted great interest in the contexts of cellular uptake, drug delivery and bioimaging. In this study, a facile fabrication method was specifically used to minimize all influencing factors except for the particle size. A series of nanoparticles of hollow carbon nanospheres embedded with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) nanoagent γ-Fe

In situ incorporating versatile magnetic iron nanoparticles into ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) by means of synthetic methodology for functional integration is a great challenge. Inspired by the phenomenon of uniovular twins in nature, a homometallic [Fe9(μ3-O)4(O3PPh)3(O2CCMe3)13] ({Fe9P3}) cluster was synthesized and used as the ovulum to in situ produce dual-Fe nanoparticle (γ-Fe2O3 and Fe(PO3)3)-functionalized OMC (dual-Fe/OMC). In vitro magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies showed a longitudinal relaxation (r1) and transverse relaxation (r2) of 9.74 and 26.59 mM−1 s−1 with a r2/r1 ratio of 2.73 at 0.5 T. The MRI performances were further examined by mouse model with a subcutaneous HeLa tumor. In addition, the low cytotoxicity, considerable loading capacity and delivery of doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) were also studied in vitro. These results demonstrate the feasibility of the concept of uniovular twins in the one-pot preparation of dual-Fe/OMC for functional integration.

A series of isostructural lanthanide phosphonocarboxylate frameworks {(H3O)3[Ln7(pbpdc)6(DMF)4(H2O)3]·4H2O}n (named LnPCF, Ln = Tb, Eu and Gd, H4pbpdc = 4′-phosphono-[1,1′-biphenyl]-3,5-dicarboxylic acid) were solvothermally synthesized and characterized by the single crystal X-ray diffraction technique. By combining lanthanide cations with a phosphonocarboxylate ligand, a heptametallic lanthanide phosphonate [Ln7(PO3)6(COO)12] core was obtained. This core exhibited as a rare highly 18-connected node and was linked by the 3-connected pbpdc4− ligand, forming a (3,18)-connected framework with a novel topology of {43}6{438·676·839}. This LnPCF structure is an ideal platform for accommodating various lanthanide ions. The TbPCF and EuPCF show efficient luminescence emission due to the “antenna effect” and incorporating Gd3+ into the TbPCF results in a drastic luminescence enhancement. Fine colour tuning between green and red can be easily achieved in bimetallic TbxGd1−xPCFs. More significantly, upon combining a few percent of Nd3+ and Gd3+ with Tb3+, the resulting trimetallic Tb0.4Gd0.5Nd0.1PCF shows dual emissions of both visible and near-infrared light.

Nonhealing wounds have become a major healthcare burden worldwide. Chronic wound healing is universally hampered by the presence of bacterial infections that form biofilms. Therefore, in this study, a novel nanoliquid dressing based on a mild photothermal heating strategy was designed to provide safe healing of biofilm-infected wounds. Dilute nitric acid (HNO3) solution was employed to induce a redox process triggered by copper sulfide (CuS) nanoplates in the nanoliquid dressing. This redox process was further promoted by the mild photothermal effect (≤47.5 °C) that generated a sufficient amount of reactive oxygen species, resulting in less thermal injury to normal tissues. Correspondingly, with the safe concentration of CuS nanoplates (0.4 mg/mL), excellent bactericidal efficiencies up to 98.3 and 99.3% against ampicillin-resistant Escherichia coli (Ampr E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) were achieved, respectively. Moreover, the nanoliquid dressing exhibited a near-infrared enhanced destructive effect on mature biofilms. According to in vivo wound healing experiments in mice, the nanoliquid dressing increased the healing rate and reduced the inflammatory response. This study provides a novel insight into treating the biofilm-infected chronic wounds in the "post-antibiotic era".

Developing functional porous carbon is greatly desired for the capture of N-glycans from complex bio-samples. In this work, ferronickel graphene-based porous carbon composites (FeNi-G/PC-T, T = carbonization temperature) are facilely prepared and are characterized by the synergistic integration of magnetic separation, porosity and polar interaction. Studies of capture of N-linked glycans reveal that FeNi-G/PC-800 shows a remarkable performance to enrich N-linked glycans from standard bio-samples and real human serum, resulting in the successful profiling of 48 N-linked glycans in 5 μL human serum. Structure-property relationship studies further demonstrate that the synergistically integrated FeNi nanoparticles and graphene-based porous carbon in FeNi-G/PC-800 should play a key role in the capture performance.

We report a robust and rigid etb-type metal–organic framework, in which its pore surface is decorated with flexible ethoxyl groups. It shows unprecedentedly selective adsorption of acetone (ETN value of 0.355, kinetic diameter of 4.6 A) over methanol (ETN value of 0.762, kinetic diameter of 3.6 A) for their azeotropic mixture.

Developing feasible ways to achieve tunable gate-opening pressure (Pgo) while minimizing the side effects on the adsorption capacity and enthalpy is greatly desired for flexible MOFs. In this work, we focused on solving this issue by cobalt substitution. We showed the successful modulation of the energy required for the reversible transformation of a soft paddle-wheel so that the whole framework presented a substitution-dependent Pgo for CO2 adsorption.

There is great interest in integration of paramagnetic gadolinium compounds and superparamagnetic iron oxide-based nanoparticles into ordered mesoporous carbon spheres (OMCSs) as a combined platform for T

Urban Black and Odorous Water (BOW) has become an environmental problem in many cities in China. The use of satellite remote sensing technology to identify BOW is still in its infancy, and there are many problems that need further solutions. In order to monitor BOW by satellite, between 2016 and 2017, the reflectance of remote sensing and some other parameters of 173 samples were collected from multiple field water experiments first. The samples were located at the major BOW in the urban areas of four Chinese cities, and the differences in remote sensing reflectance of severe BOW (SBOW), moderate BOW (MBOW), and general water (GW) were analyzed. Based on field measurements of spectral data, six remote sensing classification or identification models of BOW were compared in terms of their correct identification rate and reliability. The results show that compared with the GW in the study area, the urban BOW has the lowest reflectance. The peaks and valleys were not obvious in the visible band, especially the remote sensing reflectance of heavy BOW, which fluctuated very little in the visible band. Compared with the other five models, the H Index model had the best identification correctness and reliability.

A functional composite adsorbent of copper sulfide (CuS) loaded on the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was successfully synthesized and used for gaseous elemental mercury (Hg0) removal. The mercury removal performance and mechanism over CuS/MWCNTs was systematically studied based on a series of experimental characterizations and density functional theory calculations. The prepared CuS/MWCNTs showed excellent elemental mercury removal ability, and the best adsorption efficiency was achieved when the loading ratio was 10% and the reaction temperature was 70℃, with an average mercury removal efficiency of 85.8% in 2 h. SO2, NO, and H2O played an inhibitory role on the mercury removal over CuS/MWCNTs. Whereas, O2 had a certain promoting effect on Hg0 removal. The TPD desorption curves and XPS analysis results showed that the Hg0 in the flue gas was attached to the adsorbent surface in the form of HgS. Density functional theory analysis showed that Hg0 was physically adsorbed in the MWCNTs, which explains low Hg0 removal efficiency of pure MWCNTs. While the chemisorption mechanism dominated the strong Hg0 adsorption on CuS surface, accompanied by the formation of oxidized HgS, which was consistent with the experimental results. Combined with the macro and micro methods, this work provides an insight into the adsorption and oxidation mechanism of elemental mercury over the CuS/MWCNTs sorbent, which can guide further sorbent designs with targeted active sites and functional groups.

Gaseous toluene, one of the volatile organic compounds, has aroused wide concerns in China due to its growing emissions and harmfulness. Herein, novel manganese decorated UIO-66 catalysts (Mn/UIO-66) were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis and applied to the vaporized hydrogen peroxide system for toluene removal. TEM, BET, XRD, ICP, and XPS were used to analyze the chemical and physical characteristics of Mn/UIO-66. A toluene removal efficiency of 82% with the 3-Mn/UIO-66 catalyst in the vaporized hydrogen peroxide system could achieved. The effects of different reaction conditions (reaction temperature, hydrogen peroxide concentration, and initial toluene concentration) on toluene removal were determined. The yield of hydroxyl radical in the Mn/UIO-66 catalyst combined with the hydrogen peroxide system was positively correlated with the Mn decorated ratio. Results suggested that the catalytic performance is related not only to the yield of hydroxyl radical but also to the catalyst specific surface. The intermediate products during toluene removal were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS), and the possible reaction pathway of toluene removal was proposed.

Radial electric (E)-field induced periodic polarization rotation from orthorhombic (O) to MC-type monoclinic (MC) phase in Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.34PbTiO3 (PMN-0.34 PT) single crystals has been studied by in situ polarized light microscope. The piezoelectric coefficient ( d 33 ∗ ) and dielectric permittivity ( e 33 T / e 0 ) were 1800 pm/V and 5100, respectively, for [100]-oriented MC samples, almost three times of those in [011]-oriented O phase crystals. The domain structure evolution from 1O to 4MC was confirmed based on the optical extinction rules and permissible domain configurations. Moreover, the phase transition sequences of [100]- and [011]-poled PMN-0.34 PT crystals were MC—Tetragonal (T)—Cubic (C) and O—T—C upon heating, respectively. Our findings suggest that the phase stability of this crystals is associated with the orientation of applied field and radial E-field can serve as a general strategy to get fundamental insights into large piezoelectric activity and anisotropic phase stability in ferroelectric single crystals.

The electrocaloric effect (ECE) of Mn doped Pb(In 1/2 Nb 1/2 )O 3 -Pb(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 -PbTiO 3 (PIN-PMN-PT:Mn) single crystals with particular emphasis on the impact of crystallographic orientations and phase transitions were investigated systematically. Orientation-dependent phase transitions have been demonstrated by the dielectric and strain behaviors. Intriguingly, the negative ECE of – 0.02 °C and – 0.002 °C were obtained firstly in [001]-oriented PIN-PMN-PT:Mn crystals near the rhombohedral→tetragonal phase transformation and in [011]-oriented crystals near the rhombohedral→orthorhombic phase transformation, respectively. However, only the positive ECE was found in [111]-oriented crystals near the tetragonal→rhombohedral phase transition. Additionally, the maximum ECE temperature changes calculated in [001]-, [011]- and [111]-oriented crystals were 0.33 °C, 0.46 °C and 0.38 °C, respectively. Our results suggest that the negative ECE is attributed to electric field-induced phase transitions, whose critical field decreases with the increase of temperature. The phase transition-mediated coexistence of positive and negative effects in the relaxor-ferroelectric single crystals is beneficial to enhance the efficiency of the solid-state cooling devices.

Cracks repairing of superalloy is very important to the aerospace industry. Most of the crack repairing studies have the same “crack width” which is quite different from the taper-shaped crack in reality. In this study tapered slots with maximum 200 μm width were artificially made by femtosecond laser in small plates of IN738LC superalloy to imitate service cracks. The “cracks” were repaired by diffusion brazing with a mixed filler alloy at 1100 °C for 24 h and followed by homogenization at temperatures of 1160 °C (HT-1), 1180 °C (HT-2) and 1190 °C (HT-3). With increasing homogenization temperature and time, the volume faction of borides in diffusion affected zone (DAZ) decreased. During the homogenization with HT-3, most of the borides in the DAZ of the joint dissolved, merely a small quantity of others coarsened by Ostwald ripening. In order of the processes as-bonded, HT-1, HT-2 and HT-3, the chemical composition of the isothermal solidification zones (ISZs) gradually came close to that of the base metal and the hardness of the ISZs increased, while the hardness of the DAZs decreased. A uniform bonded joint could be obtained with HT-3, and the shear strength of the joint reached up to approximately 95% of the base metal. The corresponding fracture path and fractography of the samples were observed to explain the mechanism of strength evolution.

Three cadmium phosphonate coordinated polymers, namely as [Cd5(ptz)3(SO4)2(5H2O)]·6H2O (Cdptz-1), [Cd3(ptz)2(Cl)2(4H2O)]·2H2O (Cdptz-2) and [Cd4(ptz)2(SO4)(Cl)(OH)H2O]·H2O (Cdptz-3) have been hydrothermally synthesized using 4-(1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)phenylphosphonic acid (H2ptz) as ligand. Single crystal X-ray analyses revealed Cdptz-2 as layered structure and Cdptz-1,3 as pillar-layered structures with Cl- or SO42- as bridging anions. Due to the weak bonding between metal and anions, Cdptz-1 and 2 can reversibly convert into each other by simple immersing in the corresponding solution at room temperature. While the transformations between Cdptz-1,2 and Cdptz-3 can only happen under hydrothermal condition. The causes for the transformation involve the metal-ligand bond breaking/formation, replacement of anions and enhancement/decrement of the network dimensionality.

(Pb,La)(Zr,Sn,Ti)O3 (PLZST) tetragonal antiferroeletric single crystals have been grown by conventional flux method. Phase structure, domain evolution, electric field-induced strain and energy storage properties of the as-grown PLZST crystals with [100] crystallographic orientation have been investigated systematically. A large electric field-induced strain up to 0.76% at 110 °C and a giant memory strain of 0.51% at 100 °C have been realized in the PLZST crystals. This field-induced strain has a nonlinear relationship with the square polarization, which simultaneously stems from the quadratic and higher order electrostrictions. Furthermore, a good thermal stability of energy storage performance with the recoverable energy variation less than 5% in a wide temperature window (105 °C) has been achieved. The combination of high strain and good thermal stability of energy storage wound make the PLZST crystals one of the most important candidates for high temperature electromechanical coupling and high reliability energy-storage devices.

Two phenylethynylplatinum(II) terpyridine (PEPtTPY)-derived polymers PtP1 and PtP2 have been prepared from the coupling reactions of two PEPtTPY-incorporated dialdehydes and an oligo(ethylene glycol)-derived diacylhydrazine which form hydrazone bonds quantitatively. Phosphorescence and absorption studies revealed that in binary MeCN and DMSO the PEPtTPY units of both polymers undergo intramolecular Pt⋯Pt interaction and π–π stacking to induce the backbones of the polymers to form pleated conformations. Adding LiClO4 or NaClO4 further stabilizes the two polymeric pleated foldamers by electrostatically binding the oligo(ethylene glycol) chains to induce the chains to fold.

Two-dimensional tungstenite (WS2) has great potential to efficiently control gaseous Hg0 release, because of its wide surface area and the high affinity between mercury and sulfur in WS2. The mercury species adsorption and conversion mechanism over raw and defective WS2(0 0 1) surface was investigated on the basis of density functional theory (DFT). The results show that Sdefect site on the WS2 surface exhibits more outstanding ability than Stop site to strongly adsorb Hg0. The oxidizing mercury species (HgO, HgS, HgCl and HgBr) are much easier to be adsorbed by WS2 than elemental mercury, with higher adsorption energy (from −76.09 to −182.59 kJ/mol). The reaction path in the formation of HgS includes a two-step process on S-WS2: Hg0 → HgS(ads) → HgS. In the first reaction step, the energy barrier of surface reaction between elemental mercury and defective S-WS2 is just 4.02 kJ/mol. The second desorption step is an endothermic process and the rate-determining step. The verifying experiment show that WS2 has excellent mercury removal ability at low reaction temperatures under different kinds of flue gas environment. In the whole, WS2 is one of most promising sorbent materials, which can be used for the efficient control of gaseous mercury.