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Supramolecular reversible adhesives have garnered significant attention due to their potential applications in various fields. These adhesives exhibit remarkable properties such as reversible adhesion, self–healing, and high flexibility. This concept aims to present a comprehensive overview of the current research progress in developing supramolecular reversible adhesives. Firstly, the fundamentals of supramolecular chemistry and the principles underlying the design and synthesis of reversible adhesive systems are discussed. Next, the concept focuses on characterizing the reversible adhesion strength of supramolecular adhesive systems that have been developed. The adhesion performance of supramolecular reversible adhesives is summarized, highlighting their unique characteristics and promising applications. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives in the field of supramolecular reversible adhesives are discussed. The comprehensive overview provided in this concept aims to inspire further research and innovation in this exciting field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer‐based magnetic particles have been widely used for the separation of biological samples including nucleic acids, proteins, virus, and cells. Existing magnetic particles are almost prepared by coating polymers on magnetic nanoparticles (NPs). However, this strategy usually encounters the problem of poor magnetic NPs loading capacity. Here, a series of nanofractal magnetic particles (nanoFMPs) synthesized by a strategy of mediator monomer regulated emulsion interfacial polymerization is presented, which allows effective magnetic NPs loading and show efficient nucleic acid separation performance. The mediator monomers facilitate the dispersion of magnetic NPs in internal phase to achieve higher loading, and the hydrophilic monomers use electrostatic interactions to form surface nanofractal structures with functional groups. Compared with magnetic particles without nanofractal structure, nanoFMPs exhibit a higher nucleic acid extraction capability. This strategy offers an effective and versatile way for the synthesis of nanoFMPs toward efficient separation in various fields from clinical diagnosis to food safety and environmental monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the drawstring structure in daily life, here we report the development of a drawstring‐mimetic supramolecular complex at the molecular scale. This complex consists of a rigid figure‐of‐eight macrocyclic host molecule and a flexible linear guest molecule which could interact through three‐point non‐covalent binding to form a highly selective and efficient host‐guest assembly. The complex not only resembles the drawstring structure, but also mimics the properties of a drawstring with regard to deformations under external forces. The supramolecular drawstring can be utilized as an interlocked crosslinker for poly(methyl acrylate), and the corresponding polymer samples exhibit comprehensive enhancement of macroscopic mechanical performance including stiffness, strength, and toughness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The self‐assembly of block copolymers (BCPs) within emulsion droplets is a flexible strategy for the preparation of polymer particles. This strategy permits the fine‐tuning of shapes, internal structures, and surface nanostructures of the polymer particles, thus allowing many applications. Although some literature has reviewed the BCP preparation via self‐assembly within a droplet, a comprehensive summary including in‐depth understanding, controllable preparation, and application is lacked. In this review, we systematically delve into the multiple mechanisms that drive BCP self‐assembly within emulsion droplets, such as commensurability effects for minimizing total free energy, interfacial instability, organized spontaneous emulsification, phase separation of multiple components, and entropy effects between BCPs and nanoparticles. Additionally, a strategy combining selective cross‐linking and disassembly can further generate Janus particles featuring unique structures. Next, various applications across multiple disciplines are discussed, including drug delivery, display, biomedical imaging, macromolecular separation, and fuel cells. Finally, we present an overview of the current challenges and future directions for BCP emulsion self‐assembly, covering mechanism investigation, molecular design, stability control, and application exploration. We anticipate deeper understanding, more varieties, enhanced performance, and broader applications can be achieved with BCP emulsion self‐assembly after addressing the challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Droplet arrays show great significance in biosensing and biodetection because of low sample consumption and easy operation. However, inevitable water evaporation in open environment severely limits their applications in time‐consuming reactions. Herein, inspired by the unique water retention features of leaves, it is demonstrated that an open droplet array on patterned organohydrogel surface with water evaporating replenishment (POWER) for ultrawide time‐range biosensing, which integrated hydrophilic hydrogel domains and hydrophobic organogel background. The hydrogel domains on the surface can supply water to the pinned droplets through capillary channels formed in the nether organohydrogel bulk. The organogel background can inhibit water evaporation like the wax coating of leaves. Such a unique bioinspired design enables ultrawide time‐range biosensing in open environment from a few minutes to more than five hours involving a variety of analytes such as ions, small molecules, and macromolecules. The POWER provides a feasible and open biosensing platform for ultrawide time‐range reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive exudate secreted from diabetic wounds often results in skin overhydration, severe infections, and secondary damage upon dressing changes. However, conventional wound dressings are difficult to synchronously realize the non‐maceration of wound sites and rapid exudate transport due to their random porous structure. Herein, a self‐pumping Janus hydrogel with aligned channels (JHA) composed of hydrophilic poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogel layer and hydrophobic polyurethane (PU)/graphene oxide (GO)/polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) layer is designed to rapidly export exudate and accelerate diabetic wound healing. In the design, the ice‐templating process endows the hydrophilic hydrogel layer with superior liquid transport ability and mechanical strength due to the formation of aligned channel structure. The hydrophobic layer with controlled thickness functions as an effective barrier to prevent exudate from wetting the skin surface. Experiments in diabetic rat model show that JHA can significantly promote re‐epithelialization and collagen deposition, shorten the inflammation phase, and accelerate wound healing. This unique JHA dressing may have great potential for real‐life usage in clinical patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strong adhesion of hydrogels on solids plays an important role in stable working for various practical applications. However, current hydrogel adhesion suffers from poor interfacial bonding with solid surfaces. Here, we propose a general superwetting‐assisted interfacial polymerization (SAIP) strategy to robustly anchor hydrogels onto solids by forming high‐density interfacial covalent bonds. The key of our strategy is to make the initiator fully contact solid surfaces via a superwetting way for enhancing the interfacial grafting efficiency. The designed anchored hydrogels show strong bulk failure with a high breaking strength of ≈1.37 MPa, different from weak interfacial failure that occurs in traditional strategies. The strong interfacial adhesion greatly enhances the stability of hydrogels against swelling destruction. This work opens up new inspirations for designing strongly anchored hydrogels from an interfacial chemistry perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented which expresses the views on recent advancements in biomimetic materials, showcasing contributions from prominent scientists in the field through a curated Special Issue titled "Advances in Biomimetic Materials". Topics include the development of bio-based and biodegradable mineral plastics, fabrication strategies for macroporous materials inspired by natural hierarchical structures, and the design and applications of bioinspired surfaces and materials.

To avoid disastrous consequences from ice deposition, solar anti‐icing surfaces (SASs) have performed the potential of anti‐icing application because of their excellent photothermal de‐icing effect in the daytime. However, the deposition of ice still cannot be prevented due to the lack of solar energy at cold night, inevitably requiring extra energy consumption such as electrical heating. In this work, a bio‐inspired anti‐icing material (BAM) is presented, showing an energy‐saving design for sustainable ice repellency. By integrating a phase change microcapsule (PCM) layer with a superhydrophobic photothermal (SPT) layer, the BAM can delay icing for more than 8 h at cold night without any external energy. Different from traditional SASs, the PCM layer can store energy in the daytime and release heat energy for keeping temperature up freezing point at night. In addition, the SPT layer displays excellent solar‐to‐heat conversion for sufficient energy and robust self‐cleaning property for avoiding the blockage of sunlight from the contaminants or molten water, thereby resulting in the excellent icing delay. Therefore, this design can be developed and utilized for sustainable ice repellent applications such as power transmission, building infrastructure, and transportation networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wet adhesion has widespread applications in the fields of wearable electronics, medical devices and intelligent robots. In nature, many organisms have evolved with unique wet adhesion properties to adapt to complex habitats and climb in wet environments without falling. Tree frogs, as crawling masters in tropical rain forests, are representative of wet adhesion and give novel inspirations to design artificial wet adhesive materials by mimicking their specialised hexagonal structures and/or mucus composition. In this review, we first overview the research progress of tree frog toe pads from the perspective of toe pad structure and adhesion mechanism. Then, wet adhesive materials inspired by tree frog toe pads are systematically summarised from (i) the typical polymers, (ii) the preparation approaches, (iii) the adhesion test methods and (iv) the typical artificial adhesion surfaces. Third, various applications of bioinspired wet adhesive surfaces are highlighted. Finally, we present future challenges and opportunities to develop tree frog‐inspired wet adhesive materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface adhesion has a great contradiction in high strength and good reversibility given their mutually exclusive requirements of fixed crosslinked networks and dynamic chain motion. Herein, we demonstrate a supramolecular organoplatinum(II) adhesive system regulated by intermolecular PtII⋅⋅⋅PtII interactions that can simultaneously achieve high‐strength and excellent reversible adhesion to various substrates. Upon alternating temperature, the assembly of suitably substituted organoplatinum(II) molecules can switch between well‐ordered and disordered states via tuning PtII⋅⋅⋅PtII interactions, resulting in stable reversible adhesion even after 100 cycles with a robust strength of ≈1.25 MPa and a large on‐off ratio of ≈25. Along with the switch of PtII⋅⋅⋅PtII contacts, the surface adhesion of organoplatinum(II) adhesives can be monitored by their changes in electrical signals. This study will open up new inspirations for developing high‐performance reversible adhesives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomolecule separation plays a vital role in downstream applications ranging from omics research, structure analysis, and drug purification to clinical diagnosis. Among all existing materials and technologies towards biomolecule separation, nanoporous materials take the leading place. To achieve efficient biomolecule separation, the interface of nanoporous materials is always modified with a monolayer containing specific functional groups. However, the monolayer modification strategy still encounters bottlenecks due to extremely low abundance of target biomolecules, strong interference from high‐abundance background biomolecules, similar characteristics of compounds, unspecific adsorption, et al. Recently, several emerging nanoporous materials, which are prepared without the monolayer modification process, have been reported for high‐efficient, high‐specific, and rapid biomolecule separation. In this review, the authors summarize the emerging nanoporous materials for biomolecule separation, mainly focusing on the design principle and separation performance that are different from classical nanoporous materials. First, the classic design strategy of monolayer modification is discussed and the recent progress with this aspect is introduced. Then, emerging nanoporous materials beyond monolayer modification are introduced. At last, future developments, challenges, and great promise of biomolecule separation nanoporous materials are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoparticle aggregation for constructing functional materials has shown enormous advantages in various applications. Most efforts focused on ordered nanoparticle aggregation for specific functions but were often limited to irreversible aggregation processes due to the thermodynamic equilibrium. Herein, we report a reversible disordered aggregation of SiO2‐PNIPAAm nanoparticles (SPNPs) through thermo‐responsive jamming, obtaining smart liquid–solid switchable materials. The smart materials can display a switch between liquid‐like state and solid‐like state responding to a temperature change. This unique macroscopic behavior originates from the reversible disordered aggregation modulated by temperature‐dependent hydrophobic interactions among the SPNPs. Notably, the materials at the solid‐like state show anti‐impact properties and can withstand the impact of a steel sphere with a speed of 328 cm s−1. We envision that this finding offers inspiration to design smart liquid–solid switchable materials for impact protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A controllable and regiodivergent N‐allylation reaction involving readily available O‐alkyl hydroxamates derived from natural α‐amino acids has been developed, allowing regiospecific access to α/β‐dipeptides containing α‐unsaturated β‐amino acids moieties in moderate to good yields. The regioselectivity could be conveniently switched by alternation of the catalysts and solvents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For studying the cocrystal cell structure and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of CL‐20/DNDA5 (2,4‐dinitro‐2,4‐dinitropentane), cocrystal construction is predicted on ten kinds of space group of crystal cell. MD simulations are performed at the temperatures of 203, 223, 253, 273, 303, and 323 K. The results show that the cell parameters belonging to P21/C are similar to those of CL‐20/DNDA5 cocrystals which are prepared in the lab. With the decrease of temperature, the energy decreases by about 17.7 kcal mol–1 for every 1 K decrease on average. The radial distribution function shows that the main driving force for the formation of CL‐20/DNDA5 cocrystal is mainly the hydrogen bond formed by H provided by CL‐20 and O provided by DNDA5, the van der Waals force and other hydrogen bonds play an auxiliary role. The Hirshfeld surface analysis shows that the contribution of the CL‐20/DNDA5 O···H to the contact point at Hirshfeld surface is 4.5% higher than that of CL‐20 and the nitro of DNDA5 has the stronger electron donating ability. The morphology of cocrystal growth shows that both the simulated ideal crystal morphology and the single crystal prepared by the experiment belong to prismatic crystal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are emerging as a new source of biomarkers in liquid biopsy because of their wide presence in most body fluids and their ability to load cargoes from disease‐related cells. Owing to the crucial role of EVs in disease diagnosis and treatment, significant efforts have been made to isolate, detect, and analyze EVs with high efficiency. A recent overview of advanced EV detection nanotechnologies is discussed here. First, several key challenges in EV‐based liquid biopsies are introduced. Then, the related pivotal advances in nanotechnologies for EV isolation based on physical features, chemical affinity, and the combination of nanostructures and chemical affinity are summarized. Next, a summary of high‐sensitivity sensors for EV detection and advanced approaches for single EV detection are provided. Later, EV analysis is introduced in practical clinical scenarios, and the application of machine learning in this field is highlighted. Finally, future opportunities for the development of next‐generation nanotechnologies for EV detection are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The leakage of offshore crude oil and the discharge of industrial oily wastewater always bring great harm to human health and ecological environment. To solve these problems, advanced interfacial materials for oil–water separation have attracted wide attentions. However, most of these materials still have several disadvantages including complicated preparation process, low separation efficiency, and easy damage. Herein, a nacre‐inspired biomineralized mesh (NBM) with underwater superoleophobicity shows scalable and robust oil–water separation with high efficiency. Through the combination of dip coating and biomineralization, the NBM is readily scalable fabrication. Similar chemical components and micro‐nanostructures to the natural nacre endow the NBM with good mechanical properties. Furthermore, the NBM can resist to sand impingement and knife scratch along high efficiency of oil–water separation (≈99.9%) even after repeated use for 50 times, which may come from its high hardness and Young's modulus. Therefore, this study provides new insights for the scalable development of oil–water separation materials with high efficiency and robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Al–graphite dual‐ion batteries (AGDIBs) represent a compelling battery concept for large‐scale stationary storage of electricity in view of their safety, low cost, long cycling life, and high energy efficiency (80–90 %). However, at present, the deployment of AGDIBs is intrinsically limited by their low cell‐level energy density as a result of the non‐rocking‐chair operation principle and, consequently, the need for large quantities of acidic chloroaluminate ionic liquid (IL) anolytes as a reservoir of Al2Cl7− ions required for AGDIB operation. Thus far, AGDIBs have commonly employed IL anolytes with moderate acidity (AlCl3/Lewis base molar ratio of 1.3), which corresponds to charge‐storage anolyte capacity of ca. 19 mAh g−1, eventually resulting in low cell‐level energy densities of 20–30 Wh kg−1. In this work, we present an AGDIB utilizing an AlCl3‐saturated IL anolyte, containing an excess of AlCl3 powder for maintaining constant acidity during operation, leading to a theoretical capacity of 52 mAh g−1. The resultant AGDIB possesses an energy density of 59.1 Wh kg−1, along with a high energy efficiency of 85 % and an average discharge voltage of 1.71 V. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic liquid environment of live cells makes it necessary to consider the surface wettability when designing biomaterials and related devices. Especially superwettability, as the extreme state of wettability, has become a unique platform for regulating cell behaviors elaborately including adhesion, spreading, proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis, which elicits the promising applications on biomedicine and advanced biodevices. In this review, the controlling cell adhesion on superwettable engineering surfaces is summarized. Next, the related bioapplications utilizing the surface superwettability are recapitulated, including reversible surface wettability for cell capture/adhesion, superwettability‐based patterns for cell arrays/aggregations construction, superwettability for antiplatelet adhesion, and superwettable surfaces as antimicrobial materials. Several design concepts are concluded on the emerging bioapplications of superwettable surface. Although so many efforts have been made for revealing the mechanism of cell functions on the superwettable surface, the complexity and variability between superwettable surface and liquid environment in physiological activities of organisms still requires impeccable theories, and the remaining unclear mechanisms of superwettability for biological systems are also discussed. As an outlook, the surface superwettability is just beginning to demonstrate its great potential in biology, offering great opportunities in tissue engineering, implantable devices, biosensors, drug‐screening, and cancer diagnostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interfacial polymerization, where a chemical reaction is confined at the liquid–liquid or liquid–air interface, exhibits a strong advantage for the controllable fabrication of films, capsules, and fibers for use as separation membranes and electrode materials. Recent developments in technology and polymer chemistry have brought new vigor to interfacial polymerization. Here, we consider the history of interfacial polymerization in terms of the polymerization types: interfacial polycondensation, interfacial polyaddition, interfacial oxidative polymerization, interfacial polycoordination, interfacial supramolecular polymerization, and some others. The accordingly emerging functional materials are highlighted, as well as the challenges and opportunities brought by new technologies for interfacial polymerization. Interfacial polymerization will no doubt keep on developing and producing a series of fascinating functional materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The energy problem has been a matter of some concern worldwide over the past 20 years. On the opposite side of energy production, energy loss is another crucial problem of current energy due to the low efficiency of heat transfer from scale deposition. However, less attention has been paid on the further development of advanced antiscaling interfacial materials, which may provide promising ways to save energy by reducing scale fouling. Herein, the development of antiscaling strategies is summarized from the basic theories and fabrication methods to antiscaling interfacial materials with potential applications. First, the mechanism of scale formation and the corresponding effect on thermal conductivity are introduced. Second, the typical fabrication approaches of antiscaling interfacial materials are briefly described. Finally, the performance, potential applications, future challenges, and opportunities of the advanced antiscaling interfacial materials are comprehensively discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B Back Cover b : The cover image is based on the Review Article I Building block copolymer particles via self-assembly within a droplet i by Zhang et al. This review systematically delves into the multiple mechanisms that drive BCP self-assembly within emulsion droplets, discusses various applications of BCP particles across multiple disciplines, and presents an overview of the current challenges and future directions for BCP emulsion self-assembly. The self-assembly of block copolymers within emulsion droplets is a flexible strategy for the preparation of polymer particles. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract: The separation of microsized oil droplets from water is strongly required by the environmental protection and petroleum industry. However, the separation of microsized oil droplets from water is often ignored. Herein, magnetic Janus particles are reported with a convex hydrophilic surface/concave oleophilic surface by emulsion interfacial polymerization and selective surface assembly, realizing the rapid and efficient separation of microscaled tiny oil droplets from water. These magnetic Janus particles exhibit significant abilities to separate microscaled oil droplets from water, which usually occurs within 120 s with a separation efficiency >99%. Theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that these magnetic Janus particles can capture tiny oil droplets to make them coalesce into larger ones during the process of separation. Further studies reveal that these Janus particles can self‐assemble and closely pack onto the interface of larger oil droplets, acting as surfactants to stabilize them. Moreover, the shape effect of the Janus particle is demonstrated on the coalescence of the oil droplets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the search for low‐cost and large‐scale stationary storage of electricity, nonaqueous aluminum chloride‐graphite batteries (AlCl3‐GBs) have received much attention due to the high natural abundances of their primary constituents, facile manufacturing, and high energy densities. Much research has focused on the judicious selection of graphite cathode materials, leading to the most notable recent advances in the performance of AlCl3‐GBs. However, the major obstacle to commercializing this technology is the lack of oxidatively stable, inexpensive current collectors that can operate in chloroaluminate ionic liquids and are composed of earth‐abundant elements. This study presents the use of titanium nitride (TiN) as a compelling material for this purpose. Flexible current collectors can be fabricated by coating TiN on stainless steel or flexible polyimide substrates by low‐cost, rapid, scalable methods such as magnetron sputtering. When these current collectors are used in AlCl3‐GB coin or pouch cells, stable cathodic operation is observed at voltages of up to 2.5 V versus Al3+/Al. Furthermore, these batteries have a high coulombic efficiency of 99.5%, power density of 4500 W kg−1, and cyclability of at least 500 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]