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It is widely recognized that macrophage cholesterol efflux mediated by the ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) constitutes the initial and rate-limiting step of reverse cholesterol transport (RCT), displaying a negative correlation with the development of atherosclerosis. Although the transcriptional regulation of ABCA1 has been extensively studied in previous research, the impact of post-translational regulation on its expression remains to be elucidated. In this study, we report an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) agonist called ((2R,3S,4R,5R)-3,4-dihydroxy-5-(6-((3-hydroxyphenyl) amino)-9H-purin-9-yl) tetrahydrofuran-2-yl) methyl dihydrogen phosphate (MP), which enhances ABCA1 expression through post-translational regulation rather than transcriptional regulation. By integrating the findings of multiple experiments, it is confirmed that MP directly binds to AMPK with a moderate binding affinity, subsequently triggering its allosteric activation. Further investigations conducted on macrophages unveil a novel mechanism through which MP modulates ABCA1 expression. Specifically, MP downregulates the Cav1.2 channel to obstruct the influx of extracellular Ca2+, thereby diminishing intracellular Ca2+ levels, suppressing calcium-activated calpain activity, and reducing the interaction strength between calpain and ABCA1. This cascade of events culminates in the deceleration of calpain-mediated degradation of ABCA1. In conclusion, MP emerges as a potentially promising candidate compound for developing agents aimed at enhancing ABCA1 stability and boosting cellular cholesterol efflux and RCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Die elektrochemische Protonenspeicherung spielt eine wesentliche Rolle bei der Entwicklung von hochleistungsfähigen Energiespeichern der nächsten Generation, z. B. von wasserbasierten Batterien. Zweidimensionale konjugierte kovalente organische Gerüstverbindungen (2D c‐COFs) sind vielversprechende Elektrodenmaterialien, aber ihre Protonen‐ und Metallionen‐Insertionsmechanismen sind nach wie vor schwer zu beschreiben, die Protonenspeicherung in COFs ist kaum erforscht. Hier stellen wir ein auf Perinon‐basiertes Poly(benzimidazobenzophenanthrolin) (BBL)‐Leiter‐2D c‐COF zur schnellen Protonenspeicherung sowohl in einem milden wässrigen Zn‐Ionen‐Elektrolyt als auch in einer starken Säure vor. Wir zeigen, dass die entladenen C−O− Gruppen aufgrund der beträchtlichen π‐Delokalisierung in Perinon eine weitgehend reduzierte Basizität aufweisen, was dem 2D c‐COF eine besondere Affinität zu Protonen verleiht sowie in schneller Kinetik resultiert. Dadurch weist unsere 2D c‐COF‐Elektrode eine herausragende Ratenfähigkeit bis 200 A g−1 (über 2500 C) auf und übertrifft damit bisherige konjugierten Polymere, COFs und metallorganischen Gerüstverbindungen. Unsere Arbeit ist das erste Beispiel für reine Protonenspeicherung in COFs und unterstreicht das große Potenzial von konjugierten 2D‐BBL‐Leiterer‐Polymeren für zukünftige energetische Anwendungen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrochemical proton storage plays an essential role in designing next‐generation high‐rate energy storage devices, e.g., aqueous batteries. Two‐dimensional conjugated covalent organic frameworks (2D c‐COFs) are promising electrode materials, but their competitive proton and metal‐ion insertion mechanisms remain elusive, and proton storage in COFs is rarely explored. Here, we report a perinone‐based poly(benzimidazobenzophenanthroline) (BBL)‐ladder‐type 2D c‐COF for fast proton storage in both a mild aqueous Zn‐ion electrolyte and strong acid. We unveil that the discharged C−O− groups exhibit largely reduced basicity due to the considerable π‐delocalization in perinone, thus affording the 2D c‐COF a unique affinity for protons with fast kinetics. As a consequence, the 2D c‐COF electrode presents an outstanding rate capability of up to 200 A g−1 (over 2500 C), surpassing the state‐of‐the‐art conjugated polymers, COFs, and metal–organic frameworks. Our work reports the first example of pure proton storage among COFs and highlights the great potential of BBL‐ladder‐type 2D conjugated polymers in future energy devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The working electronic devices and batteries generate a lot of heat, if this heats not release quickly, it will not only have a great impact on the performance of the devices, but also cause certain safety hazards. The passive thermal management based on organic phase change materials (PCMs) stands out due to its excellent temperature regulation capability as well as the buffer protection capability for device overload. In view of these, a series of flexible EVA/EG@PW (EE@P) phase change composites (PCCs) with high thermal conductivity are prepared by efficiently constructing porous skeletons and thermal conductive pathways through sacrificial template method, and introducing paraffin wax (PW) by simple vacuum impregnation technique. The PCC exhibits high thermal conductivity (2.6 W m−1 K−1), high enthalpy (153.5 J g−1), and good flexibility. In addition, the PCC possesses excellent cycling stability and thermal stability. In practical application, the PCC shows good temperature control ability for LED and shows great potential application in the field of thermal management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The velocity fluctuation affects the safe operation of the heat exchanger when the particles flow through the heat exchanger. The particle flow model of heat exchanger is established based on the discrete element method to investigate the correlation between surface roughness and particle velocity fluctuation. Many studies have used static friction coefficients to characterize the particle roughness. The particle velocity fluctuation in heat exchanger is analyzed, and the effects of the static friction coefficient on the particle velocity fluctuation are studied. The results showed that when the particles flow stably, the force chain structure between the particles is a process of breaking and rapidly reconstructing. This force characteristic of the particles causes the constant fluctuation of the particle velocity, which fluctuation frequency varies from 0.05 Hz to 0.08 Hz. The velocity fluctuations of the particles located at the top of the heat exchanger are particularly violent. The direction of the force chain distribution gradually moves horizontally with the increase of the static friction coefficient, and the velocity fluctuation in the vertical orientation becomes more intense. The amplitude of velocity fluctuation increases from 0.6 × 10−3 m/s to 1.3 × 10−3 m/s. The results are helpful to understand the dynamic behavior of particle in heat exchanger during flow and provide the basis for subsequent improvements. [Display omitted] • The transient characteristics of particle flow was studied. • The effects of static friction coefficient on velocity fluctuation were studied. • The effects of static friction coefficient on the force chain were studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A serial of liquid ethylene–propylene–diene rubber (EPDM) with 5-ethylidene-2-norbornene (ENB) contents of 2.0–6.5 mol% were synthesized by using VOCl 3 based catalysts. The obtained polymers have much low molecular weight with M n = 4530–10180 g/mol (PDI = 3.5–7.1), consequently, these EPDMs without solvent have excellent flowability with the viscosity of 2198∼7460 mPa s at 25 °C. And the glass transition temperature as low as −85.9 °C was achieved. Impressively, these liquid EPDMs can be cured at 25 °C after 5 days. NMR analysis suggested that ethyl trichloroacetate acted as activator to chlorinate V(II) species to V(III), but also acted as polymer modifier to provide a chlorinated EPDM, which appeared to be essential for liquid EPDMs curing at low temperature. The dynamic water contact angle results demonstrated that the EPDMs had excellent wettability properties and surface properties. Thus, this work provided a facile way for one-pot synthesis of liquid EPDM containing functional group for curing at room temperature. [Display omitted] • Liquid EPDM without solvent has ultra-low-viscosity was synthesized. • This liquid EPDM has ability to cure at low temperature. • This liquid EPDM has excellent wettability properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to meet the high demand for joining ceramic/superalloy composite structure in extreme environments, a novel high-temperature resistant adhesion technique was developed for joining ZrO 2 and Inconel 625 by applying an aluminum phosphate emulsion/zirconium sol based adhesive. With increasing temperature, a series of reactions occurred in adhesive, and its high-temperature bonding was attributed to the formation of a composite structure containing various ceramics and intermetallics. The adhesive after RT curing could find direct applications in extreme environments, and provide bonding strength no less than 2.5 MPa in the temperature range of RT-1100 °C. The bonding strength was higher than 4 MPa in the temperature range of 800–1000 °C, which was further attributed to the formation of an effective CTE-gradient relationship among ZrO 2 , adhesive and Inconel 625, as well as the interfacial reactions between the two substrates. The work broadened the application of adhesion technique and brought new ideas for joining dissimilar engineering materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the high demand for ceramic/superalloy composite structural components in various fields, an advanced high-temperature adhesion technique was firstly developed by preparing a novel inorganic/organic hybrid adhesive suitable for ZrO 2 and TC4. Chemical bonding started to work at ∼600°C, and became the crucial bonding mechanism at elevated temperatures. The formation of ZrSiO 4 and Ti 5 Si 3 at the interfaces of two substrates not only increased the interfacial connection strength, but also formed two gradient layers with a size of ∼2 μm to effectively alleviate the difference of composition and performance between the adhesive and substrates. In the temperature range of 500–900°C, the matching degree of CTE among ZrO 2 , adhesive and TC4 is higher, and the maximum difference does not exceed 3×10-6 K-1. Meanwhile, the formation of a composite structure containing various ceramics (ZrO 2 , SiC and ZrB 2) and intermetallics (Ni–Si, Al–Ni), and the improvement of structural compactness of adhesive from 500 to 900°C greatly improved the bonding strength to the maximum value of 31.4 MPa at 900°C. Also, the adhesive pretreated at 900°C showed good thermal cycling resistance, and the strength was still higher than 15 MPa after 50 cycles. For cured adhesive, when used directly in an extreme environment, it can provide bonding strength not less than 5 MPa in the whole temperature range, indicating that the adhesive possessed potential emergency repair convenience. This work significantly broadened the application of high-temperature-resistant adhesion technology in the connection of dissimilar ceramics and alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To facilitate the repairing and connecting processes for titanium superalloys, an advanced high-temperature resistant adhesive that can be converted to a composite of intermetallics and ceramics was prepared by modifying aluminum phosphate-based adhesive with various additives. The composition evolution of the adhesive, the structure changes in the bonding layer, the reaction process at interfaces and the fracture mode of joints are comprehensively studied to explore the bonding mechanism. The results showed that the chemical bonding based on the formation of TiSi and Ti 5 Si 4 started to work at 600 °C, and became the crucial bonding mechanism at higher temperatures. A diffusion reaction layer with size up to 6 μm effectively alleviated the difference of composition and performance between alloy substrate and adhesive. From RT to 900 °C, the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of adhesive matched well with that of alloy substrates, and the difference of their CTE was always lower than 2 × 10−6 k−1. The bonding strength reached ~16 MPa after pre-treatment at 900 °C without pressure, and remained over 13 MPa within the common operating temperature range (400–600 °C) of TC4 alloys. Without any pre-treatment, the adhesive could still provide above 5 MPa in range of RT-600 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2D conjugated metal–organic frameworks (2D c‐MOFs) are emerging as electroactive materials for chemiresistive sensors, but selective sensing with fast response/recovery is a challenge. Phthalocyanine‐based Ni2[MPc(NH)8] 2D c‐MOF films are presented as active layers for polarity‐selective chemiresisitors toward water and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Surface‐hydrophobic modification by grafting aliphatic alkyl chains on 2D c‐MOF films decreases diffused analytes into the MOF backbone, resulting in a considerably accelerated recovery progress (from ca. 50 to ca. 10 s) during humidity sensing. Toward VOCs, the sensors deliver a polarity‐selective response among alcohols but no signal for low‐polarity aprotic hydrocarbons. The octadecyltrimethoxysilane‐modified Ni2[MPc(NH)8] based sensor displays high‐performance methanol sensing with fast response (36 s)/recovery (13 s) and a detection limit as low as 10 ppm, surpassing reported room‐temperature chemiresistors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2D conjugated metal–organic frameworks (2D c‐MOFs) are emerging as electroactive materials for chemiresistive sensors, but selective sensing with fast response/recovery is a challenge. Phthalocyanine‐based Ni2[MPc(NH)8] 2D c‐MOF films are presented as active layers for polarity‐selective chemiresisitors toward water and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Surface‐hydrophobic modification by grafting aliphatic alkyl chains on 2D c‐MOF films decreases diffused analytes into the MOF backbone, resulting in a considerably accelerated recovery progress (from ca. 50 to ca. 10 s) during humidity sensing. Toward VOCs, the sensors deliver a polarity‐selective response among alcohols but no signal for low‐polarity aprotic hydrocarbons. The octadecyltrimethoxysilane‐modified Ni2[MPc(NH)8] based sensor displays high‐performance methanol sensing with fast response (36 s)/recovery (13 s) and a detection limit as low as 10 ppm, surpassing reported room‐temperature chemiresistors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 21st century has seen a reinvention of how modern electronics impact our daily lives; silicon-electronics and organic electronics are currently at the core of modern electronics. Recent advances have demonstrated that conductive metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), as another unique class of electronic materials, are emerging to provide additional possibility for multifunctional electronic devices that brings us "MOFtronics". Typically, two-dimensional conjugated MOFs (2D c-MOFs) are a novel class of layer-stacked MOFs with in-plane extended π-conjugation that exhibit unique properties such as intrinsic porosity, crystallinity, stability, and electrical conductivity as well as tailorable band gaps. Benefiting from their unique features and high conductivity, 2D c-MOFs have displayed great potential for multiple high-performance (opto)electronic, magnetic, and energy devices. In this review article, we introduce the chemical and synthetic methodologies of 2D c-MOFs, intrinsic influences on their electronic structures and charge transport properties, as well as multifunctional applications of this class of materials for MOFtronics and potential power sources for MOFtronics. We highlight the benefits and limitations of thus-far developed 2D c-MOFs from synthesis to function and offer our perspectives in regard to the challenges to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heat-resistant adhesion technique for C f /C composites was greatly improved through in situ growing SiC nanowires in a preceramic resin-based adhesive (NWsP). The introduction of ferrocene growth catalyst not only increased the strength and toughness of adhesive but also modified the interfacial connection effect between adhesive and carbon fibers. Under the synergy of bridging, stress-bearing, crack blocking and deflection, the room-temperature bonding strength of NWsP-adhesive after calcination at 1300 °C was increased to 20.2 MPa, while its high-temperature bonding strength at 1300 °C still kept above 15 MPa, and the relevant load-displacement curves showed up approximate yielding stages and dentate fracture modes. Besides, NWsP-adhesive could be directly used in extreme environments after curing without preheating, and its high-temperature bonding strength at 1300 °C reached 12.5 MPa, which brought great convenience to emergency repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2D conjugated metal‐organic frameworks (2D c‐MOFs) are emerging as a novel class of conductive redox‐active materials for electrochemical energy storage. However, developing 2D c‐MOFs as flexible thin‐film electrodes have been largely limited, due to the lack of capability of solution‐processing and integration into nanodevices arising from the rigid powder samples by solvothermal synthesis. Here, the synthesis of phthalocyanine‐based 2D c‐MOF (Ni2[CuPc(NH)8]) nanosheets through ball milling mechanical exfoliation method are reported. The nanosheets feature with average lateral size of ≈160 nm and mean thickness of ≈7 nm (≈10 layers), and exhibit high crystallinity and chemical stability as well as a p‐type semiconducting behavior with mobility of ≈1.5 cm2 V−1 s−1 at room temperature. Benefiting from the ultrathin feature, the nanosheets allow high utilization of active sites and facile solution‐processability. Thus, micro‐supercapacitor (MSC) devices are fabricated mixing Ni2[CuPc(NH)8] nanosheets with exfoliated graphene, which display outstanding cycling stability and a high areal capacitance up to 18.9 mF cm−2; the performance surpasses most of the reported conducting polymers‐based and 2D materials‐based MSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bulk amorphous Al 2 O 3 –ZrO 2 –Y 2 O 3 samples are fabricated by hot pressing and heat treated at 750–950 °C to adjust the free volume and crystallinity degrees, and the cooperative effects of free volume and nanocrystallite on plasticity are explored. With increasing heat treatment temperature, the free volume decreases monotonically, and the nanocrystallization initiates above 800 °C. Under compression at 500 °C, the plastic strain is in linear correlation to the free volume for fully amorphous samples or amorphous/nanocrystalline composites, respectively. The larger free volume concentration is beneficial to the formation and propagation of shear bands, and achieves to larger plasticity. Although the amorphous/nanocrystalline composites have lower free volume, they display better plasticity than the fully amorphous samples, attributed to the microstress concentration at the interfaces between nanocrystalline and amorphous matrix. Due to the coexistence of tiny nanocrystallite and sufficient free volume, the sample heat treated at 850 °C exhibits the best plasticity with strain of 9.9%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heat resistant buoyancy materials were fabricated by the molding method using the aluminum dihydric phosphate as the matrix and hollow glass microspheres as the filler, respectively. In order to improve the waterproof performance of the buoyancy, two strategies, adding the B 4 C additives and introducing the silica-based coatings, were adopted. The study showed that the samples with the B 4 C content of 10 wt% possessed the optimal comprehensive performance, such as low density (0.540 g/cm3) and low water absorption (29.6%). The effect of the coating types and coating times on the density, water absorption, compressive strength and specific strength of the buoyancy materials were also studied. After 4 times of coating, the density and the compressive strength of the sample increased to 0.62 g/cm3 and 6.0 MPa, respectively; the water absorption of the samples greatly decreased to 10%. Besides, all samples exhibited significant pseudoductility. The buoyancy materials with the above superior properties can be potentially used in the deep see fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Inverse design scheme by directly reshaping silicon waveguide for mode conversions is presented. • TE0-to-TE1 and TE1-to-TE2 mode conversions are achieved in 6 μm-long functional region. • The design process for TE0-to-TE1 mode converter only needs around 20 iterations. • The mode purity and insertion loss of the proposed mode converters are comparable and satisfactory. Compact photonic devices for mode manipulation in silicon waveguide are of importance as fundamental building blocks in on-chip photonic integrated circuits. In this paper, we present a heuristic inverse design scheme based on directly reshaping the silicon waveguide for TE-polarized mode conversions. No additional complicated internal nanoscale structures are introduced to the waveguide. The boundary deformations of the 6 μm-long functional region are described by Bernstein polynomials and the optimal design is searched and determined by the gradient-based method of moving asymptotes. The TE0-to-TE1 (TE1-to-TE2) mode converter can be efficiently obtained after 19 (52) iterations from a straight waveguide. Quasi-3D simulations show the high mode purity (>0.99) at center wavelength of 1550 nm, while the lowest mode purity keeps higher than 0.97 within the operational bandwidth of 60 nm for all designs. Relatively high transmission efficiency is maintained as well. 3D simulations with SOI configuration validate the functionality and the satisfactory performances. For both 340 nm and 220 nm waveguide thicknesses, the conversion efficiencies respectively keep higher than 0.98 and 0.90 for TE0-to-TE1 and TE1-to-TE2 mode converters at center wavelength. By simply cascading the two proposed mode converters, reciprocal TE0-to-TE2 mode conversion can be achieved. Moreover, we demonstrate the robustness of proposed designs by adding ± 10 nm geometric deviations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The feature of "curing at low temperature, directly used in extreme conditions" made the adhesion technique more suitable for engineering application. The superalloy was successfully bonded at high temperatures by a multi-components modified, phenix-silicone-based adhesive, through forming various ceramics and intermetallics. The intermetallization process not only modified the thermal expansibility of adhesive, but also improved the compositional continuity and reaction extent around bonding interface. With the heating temperature increasing from 500 °C to 1000 °C, various high-temperature-resistant phases in turn generated in adhesive, and the chemical reactions on interfaces became more and more intense. Eventually, the room temperature shear strength of joints calcined at 700 °C reached the maximum value of 28.3 MPa, and the high temperature strength was still up to 18.4 MPa at 800 °C. Moreover, after 6 thermal cycles, the residual strength for joints calcined at 700 °C almost remained ∼13 MPa. The exclusive adhesive absolutely facilitated the repair and connection of engineering superalloy. Image 1 • The convenient use is "one-time connection at room-temperature, valid to 1000 °C without post-processing". • The CTE of adhesive is matched well with superalloys. • The reaction transition layer greatly guaranteed the bonding performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Mullite whiskers were successfully synthesized in situ in a pre-ceramic silicone resin adhesive by using AlF 3 as a catalytic initiator. Through a V S reaction mechanism, a small number of short and thin mullite whiskers formed at 900 °C, gradually grew into needle-like whiskers at 1300 °C, and finally became long wires at 1500 °C. Combined with the formation of high-temperature-resistant ceramics, the strength and the fracture toughness of the whisker-grown adhesive was greatly improved after calcination at 1300 °C and increased by 90.6% and 109%, respectively. The bonding strength of the joint calcined at 1300 °C was enhanced to a maximum of 49 MPa, and a characteristic clear zigzag waveform appeared in the load-displacement curve that was attributed to the synergy of the whisker drawing, pull-out, and bridging mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Mullite whiskers were successfully in-situ synthesized in phosphate-based adhesive by taking Si and Al(OH) 3 as reaction sources and AlF 3 as the catalytic initiator. After calcination at 1300 °C, both strength and toughness of whisker-growth adhesive got greatly improved, which were increased by 75% and 156%, respectively. The bonding strength was enhanced to 23.8 MPa, which was close to some hot preceramic polymer-based adhesives. An approximate yield stage appeared on its corresponding loading-curve, showing unprecedented toughness and high damage capacity. In addition, the residual rate of bonding strength still maintained 63% after 20 thermal cycles (room temperature-1300 °C). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A modified superalloy-used heat-resistant adhesive, which can cure at room temperature and provide excellent bonding effect in a wide temperature range from RT to 1000 °C, was prepared from silicone resin as matrix, and Ni, Al, B 4 C, low-temperature-melting glass powder as additives. After pre-calcination, the bonding strength of adhesive reached 30.1 MPa after 700°C-calcination and maintained above 15.7 MPa during the whole heating process as the mixture of Ni-based intermetallics, heat-resistant ceramic generated and high viscosity glass generated in the adhesive. Without pre-calcination, the bonding strength still kept above 10.5 MPa during test from RT to 900 °C and decreased to 4.3 MPa at 1000 °C. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • This adhesive provides excellent bonding strength from room temperature to 1000 °C for superalloys joining. • The bonding effect of adhesive at high temperatures is estimated by high-temperature shear test. • The practical use is "one-time joining at room temperature, valid to 1000 °C without post-processing". • This adhesive can be used not only for the manufacture of superalloy components but also for the repair of broken parts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The lower-strength defect of inorganic phosphate adhesive had been definitely improved by self-generating multiple high-temperature resistant phases. Compared to our previous product, the best bonding performance of this novel adhesive for mullite was increased by 270%, which was close to some popular preceramic polymer-based adhesives. The apparent shear strength at room temperature was up to 33.1 MPa after calcination at 900 °C, while the high-temperature strength researched 23.3 MPa at 900 °C and maintained above 17 MPa from 700° to 1200 °C. The reinforced effect of adhesive owed to the introduction of various Cu-based intermetallics, the premature generation of Al 4 B 2 O 18 at 900 °C, and the structure optimizing through the oxidization of Si and B 4 C. Besides, the novel adhesive displayed good resistance to thermal-shock, especially for air-cooling test. After 15 thermal cycles in air, the residual strength of 1300 °C-calcined joints was still above 13 MPa (~40%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Collagens from tilapia skin were extracted and proved as type I collagen. • Yield of PSC are higher than ASC, opposite for thermal denaturation temperature. • Tilapia collagen microfiber matrix scaffolds with thermal stability were developed. • Tilapia collagen microfiber matrix scaffolds could accelerate skin wound healing rapidly and effectively in the rat model. Abstract Aquatic origin collagen (Aqua-collagen) has been pursued as an alternative to mammalian origins. Acid-soluble collagen (ASC) and pepsin-soluble collagen (PSC) were successfully extracted from the skin of tilapia with the yield about 19–20% (basis of lyophilized dry weight), and examined for their physico-functional and structural properties. Both ASC and PSC containing α 1 , α 2 chains were characterized to be type I collagen and had lower denaturation temperature compared to mammalian origins. PSC (low telopeptides collagen) was selected for biomedical scaffolds construction due to its low immunogenicity. SEM analysis of fish collagen scaffolds showed a wide range of pore size distribution, high porosity, and high surface area-to-volume ratios. The tilapia collagen microfiber matrix scaffolds were grafted beneath the dorsal skin in 96 mice towards tissue regeneration, with bovine collagen microfiber matrix scaffolds (Avitene™ UltraFoam™ sponge) serving as control. Biocompatibility evaluation in the dorsal tissue showed that implanted scaffolds degraded completely after 20 days with no pathological inflammatory tissue responses. These findings indicated that aqua-collagens microfiber matrix scaffolds were highly biocompatible in nature, exploring its feasibility for the development of scaffolds in tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogels prepared by conventional methods show poor performance in many aspects. Many double network (DN) hydrogels prepared by crosslinking agents have disadvantages such as toxicity. In this work, we prepared novel DN hydrogels with fish-originated collagen (Col) and poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), in which self-assembly of collagen and self-crosslinking of PVA were achieved. Infrared spectra indicated the existence of double network with chemical interactions between Col and PVA. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns showed that characteristic peak of freeze-thaw PVA in DN hydrogel was retained. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images before and after degradation and swelling property tests indicated that the morphology of the hydrogel was a compact meshwork, which is consistent with the high water-retention rate. The degradation rate of the DN hydrogels was controlled by the ratio of Col and PVA. Compared with a pure collagen hydrogels, the stress of DN hydrogels was greatly enhanced from 6 to 33 kPa at a strain of 40%. This study indicates that DN hydrogels prepared by Col and PVA are an ideal biomaterial for tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel heat-resistant phosphate-based adhesive for bonding superalloys was developed from phosphates as matrix, and B 4 C, Si as well as low temperature melting Zn-B-Al-Si-R glass as fillers. It can cure at room temperature (RT) and provide no less than 5 MPa in a wider temperature range of RT-1000 °C. The addition of these fillers boosted the thermal expansion of adhesive, improved the structure of bonding area, and provided reactant sources for heat-resistant components. After calcination at 1000 °C, the bonding strength reached the maximum of 7.8 MPa as more heat-resistant ceramics and high-temperature melting glass generated in adhesive, and deeper chemical reactions happen on interface. This novel adhesive greatly facilitated the repair of superalloys, especially for non-weight-bearing superalloy slices or flakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A room temperature curable heat-resistant adhesive with broad working temperature range was prepared through organic and inorganic modification. The preceramic polymethylsiloxane showed low bonding strength for silicon carbide from 400 °C to 600 °C because of the decomposition of polymer network. So the modification with epoxy resin was used to generate strong blending and copolymerization network which decomposed at higher temperature over 500 °C. The ceramization of active fillers and preceramic polymer compensated the bonding strength with rising temperature, thus eliminating the weak stage from 400 °C to 600 °C. The modification with fillers greatly improved its bonding strength at high temperature over 1000 °C. Consequently, the modified adhesive exhibited outstanding bonding strength tested at room temperature between 9.29 ± 0.56 MPa and 37.28 ± 1.33 MPa after heat-treatment from 25 °C to 1500 °C and the bonding strength directly tested at the temperature from 25 °C to 800 °C over 8.21 ± 0.40 MPa. The adhesive shows the potential to extend the application for engineering ceramic joining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The brittle-to-ductile transition (BDT) in nanoscale multi-element metallic glasses (MGs) has been shown to strongly depend on the element composition and sample aspect ratio. However, the inherent microstructural evolution at the atomic level that leads to such BDT, in particular, the impact from the population and distribution of the full icosahedral clusters, has been largely unexplored. In this paper, we systematically probe the inherent shear band and icosahedral cluster evolutions of Cu x Zr 100- x ( x = 25, 50 and 75) MGs under different aspect ratios using molecular dynamics simulations. During tensile loading, the initial full icosahedra with local fivefold high-symmetry in Cu x Zr 100- x MGs gradually transform into low-symmetry ones before reaching the maximum stress, which leads to the stress softening. Upon further tensile loading, high-symmetry full icosahedra gradually rejuvenate from low-symmetry ones far away from the shear bands (SBs), accompanied by irreversible atomic rearrangements near the SBs, both resulting in the limited plasticity of MGs. We attribute the observed BDT behavior upon decreasing the aspect ratio primarily to the slower rejuvenation or reformation rates of major full icosahedra. This study provides fundamental guidance for the optimal design of the composition, aspect ratio, and size of MGs for structural materials with high strength and ductility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water-glass-based pastes show good prospect for high-temperature applications, but they are subject to substantial dry-shrinkage. Silicon and aluminum powders were added to prevent the dry-shrinkage. The influence of them on compressive strength, bonding strength and volume of the pastes was discussed. SEM, XRD, and TG/ DSC were employed to study the influencing mechanisms. The results show that Si and Al effectively prevented the dry-shrinkage; Al improved compressive strength and bonding strength, while Si was bad for bonding strength. When Al dosage was 6%, the pastes presented mild expansion of 1.05%, the compressive strength increased by 8.9%, and the bonding strength by 33.4%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous alumina ceramics with inter-locked plate-like structure were successfully fabricated by the tert -butyl alcohol-based gel-casting method. The effects of Al/Si mole ratio on the structure and properties of the obtained products were investigated. The formation process of the inter-locked structure was analyzed. The products fabricated with the one-step method, in which the growth of plate-like alumina and the formation of the inter-locked structure were combined together, exhibited a high porosity of 76.21%, a compressive strength of 0.525 MPa and a low thermal conductivity of 0.495 W/mK, while the products fabricated by the two-step method after sintered at 1500 °C using the grinded powders after 700 °C heat-treatment as the starting materials possessed a relatively high compressive strength of 4.80 MPa. The obtained porous alumina ceramics were promising flexible insulant materials for the application in high-temperature field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy-related functionality and performance of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites, such as methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3), highly depend on their thermal transport behavior. Using equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, it is discovered that the thermal conductivities of MAPbI3 under different phases (cubic, tetragonal, and orthorhombic) are less than 1 W m−1 K−1, and as low as 0.31 W m−1 K−1 at room temperature. Such ultralow thermal conductivity can be attributed to the small phonon group velocities due to their low elastic stiffness, in addition to their short phonon lifetimes (<100 ps) and mean-free-paths (<10 nm) due to the enhanced phonon-phonon scattering from highly-overlapped phonon branches. The anisotropy in thermal conductivity at lower temperatures is found to associate with preferential orientations of organic CH3NH3+ cations. Among all atomistic interactions, electrostatic interactions dominate thermal conductivities in ionic MAPbI3 crystals. Furthermore, thermal conductivities of general hybrid perovskites MABX3 (B = Pb, Sn; X = I, Br) have been qualitatively estimated and found that Sn- or Br-based perovskites possess higher thermal conductivities than Pb- or I-based ones due to their much higher elastic stiffness. This study inspires optimal selections and rational designs of ionic components for hybrid perovskites with desired thermal conductivity for thermally-stable photovoltaic or highly-efficient thermoelectric energy harvesting/conversion applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • An inorganic amorphous aluminum phosphate emulsion was applied as intumescent coating matrix. • The addition of B 4 C effectively improve the porous structure and increase the ablation resistance. • The backside temperature was controlled below 140℃ in 1 h, 33.4 % lower than blank coating. • The smoke density was only 64.73 %, 36.3 % lower than that of blank coating. • After combustion, the thickness of coating expanded about 5.8 times. In response to high environmental requirements, an incombustible inorganic intumescent flame retardant coating was prepared from amorphous aluminum phosphate emulsion as the matrix, with boron carbide as the modifier. The influence of boron carbide (B 4 C)on the fire resistance performance and physic-chemical properties of coatings were studied by means of large panel combustion method, smoke density test, Fourier transformed infra-red analysis (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), specific surface area (BET method) and pore size analysis. With the addition of 0.75 wt% B 4 C, the backside temperature of APB3 coating (aluminum phosphate-based coating modified with 0.75 wt% B 4 C) after an hour was only 140 ℃, 33.4 % lower than that of blank APB0 coating. And the smoke density (Ds) of APB3 was only 64.73 %, 36.3 % lower than that of blank APB0. The foaming expansion caused by decomposition reactions, the structural improvement caused by boron carbide oxidation, and the formation of ablative resistant ceramics and glass were the main reasons for excellent flame retardant and thermal insulation performance. Remarkably, the melting B 2 O 3 generated from the oxidation of B 4 C could repair cracks, modify pore structure, improve the integrity of closed pores, increase the specific surface area of porous structure, and promote the formation of borosilicate glass. Due to the structural integrity of the outermost coating surface caused by the oxidation of B 4 C and the construction of borosilicate glass, much gas was shielded inside the coating, making the coating more eco-friendly. Besides, APB3 coating has good water resistance. After immersion in water for 360 h, the reduction rate of fire resistance performance of the coating was only 17.1 %. This work provides theoretical guidance for broadening the types of intumescent coatings and promotes the development of inorganic green coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermodynamic stability and energy loss (kinetic overpotential) of amorphous Si (a -Si) anodes during electrochemical cycling are investigated by intensive free energy analysis based on molecular dynamics simulations. We first demonstrate the trade-off between energy loss and specific capacity that the enhancement of maximum Li concentration (specific capacity) is compensated with the increase of kinetic overpotential. The effects of external pressure and reaction rate on the formation enthalpy and kinetic overpotential of a -Si anodes are also explored. We find that both effects destabilize amorphous Li-Si (a -Li x Si) phases with raised formation enthalpies, and result in the increased kinetic overpotential of a -Si anodes during electrochemical cycling. Our thermodynamic analysis predicts the constant value of overpotential, due to the neglect of ohmic contribution and possible formation of intermediate crystalline Li x Si phases. These computational results provide a better understanding of the amorphization effect on the energy loss of alloying-type anodes. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Correction for 'Two-dimensional conjugated metal–organic frameworks (2D c-MOFs): chemistry and function for MOFtronics' by Mingchao Wang et al., Chem. Soc. Rev., 2021, 50, 2764–2793, DOI: 10.1039/D0CS01160F. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Layered materials such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are actively pursued as promising candidates for Mg-ion batteries. However, the sluggish kinetics of Mg intercalation caused by strong binding interactions remains an on-going challenge for layered electrodes. Here using first-principles calculations, we investigate the thermodynamic and electrochemical performance of MoS 2 as a prototypical example of layered TMD cathodes with controllable interlayer spacing. Our calculations demonstrate that at equilibrium spacing (∼6 Å), the intercalation of Mg ions results in the H - to T -phase transformation of MoS 2 at the critical Mg concentration of ∼0.22. For higher concentrations, the H -phase of magnesiated MoS 2 is metastable and can co-exist with the T -phase one up to the maximum Mg concentration of 0.5. Enlarging interlayer spacing (from equilibrium 6 Å to 8 Å) significantly boosts Mg diffusivities-, and can enhance the specific capacity from 155 to 225 mAhg−1 with the maximum Mg concentration of 0.75. While the weakened binding interaction between Mg and expanded MoS 2 layers reduces electrode voltages, the key findings obtained from this work provide crucial insights into an optimal balance between enhanced capacity/kinetics and reduced voltage window for the practical application of layer-expanded cathodes for Mg-ion batteries. [Display omitted] • Electrochemical behavior of layered MoS 2 upon Mg intercalation is investigated. • The H - to T -phase transition of layered MoS 2 is caused by gradual magnesiation. • The trade-off between capacity and voltages is analyzed at the atomic level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strengthening and toughening effect of SiCw and CNTs for a heat-resistant polymer-based adhesive is respectively compared at first. SiCw and CNTs show similarly optimum strengthening performance when their content in the resin is 0.75 wt% and 0.3 wt%, respectively, while the toughening performance provided by 0.75 wt% SiCw is obviously better than that provided by 0.3 wt% CNTs. For 0.75 wt% SiCw-added adhesive, SiCw shows various strengthening and toughening effect after the adhesive is calcined at different temperatures, attributing to the variation of adhesive's composition and structure in the heating process. After calcination at 1300 °C, the strengthening and toughening rate of the adhesive during the room-temperature test is up to 22.6% and 36.9%, respectively. Also, for 1300 °C-calcined adhesive, SiCw still provides sound reinforcing effect during the high-temperature test when the temperature is not above 700 °C. However, SiCw almost loses its strengthening and toughening effect when the testing temperature is above 700 °C as newly-formed borosilicate glass melts in adhesive at the temperature above 700 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A modified polymer adhesive characterized by “one-time connection at low-temperature without post-treatment” was developed for joining mullite ceramic. Without pre-calcination, the bonding strength of cured adhesive maintained above 6.5 MPa during the whole heating process and even reached 24.8 MPa at 1300 °C. After pre-calcination at 1300 °C, the adhesive obtained the optimum bonding performance as much more heat-resistant ceramics and high-temperature melting glass generated in adhesive. Its bonding strength kept about 45 MPa during test from RT to 700 °C, while the value decreased to 28.5 MPa at 1300 °C because of the melting of newly-formed glass. With increasing thermal-cycling times at 1300 °C, the value could maintain at about 35.2 MPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A modified heat-resistant polymer adhesive, which can be applied under both aerobic and anaerobic environments, was developed to bond various ceramics and composites. After curing process, as-received joints do not need subsequent processing and can keep appropriate strength within the whole heat-treatment processes. With increasing temperature, a series of reactions occurred at bonding area, thus influencing the adhesive’s performance and successively dividing the bonding mechanism into four modes: resin physical bonding, glass physical bonding, ceramic physical bonding and chemical bonding. The maximum strength of mullite joints could reach 33 MPa after heating at 1300 °C in air, while those of SiC and C/C joints were just 26 MPa and 13 MPa at 1100 °C in Ar, respectively. The finite-element and fracture analysis of these joints indicated that the failure of mullite and SiC joints only occurred at bonding layer, while that of C/C joints occurred at both bonding layer and interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two‐dimensional conjugated metal–organic frameworks (2D c‐MOFs) are emerging as a unique class of electronic materials. However, 2D c‐MOFs with band gaps in the Vis‐NIR and high charge carrier mobility are rare. Most of the reported conducting 2D c‐MOFs are metallic (i.e. gapless), which largely limits their use in logic devices. Herein, we design a phenanthrotriphenylene‐based, D2h‐symmetric π‐extended ligand (OHPTP), and synthesize the first rhombic 2D c‐MOF single crystals (Cu2(OHPTP)). The continuous rotation electron diffraction (cRED) analysis unveils the orthorhombic crystal structure at the atomic level with a unique slipped AA stacking. The Cu2(OHPTP) is a p‐type semiconductor with an indirect band gap of ≈0.50 eV and exhibits high electrical conductivity of 0.10 S cm−1 and high charge carrier mobility of ≈10.0 cm2 V−1 s−1. Theoretical calculations underline the predominant role of the out‐of‐plane charge transport in this semiquinone‐based 2D c‐MOF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zweidimensionale konjugierte metallorganische Gerüstverbindungen (2D c‐MOFs) gehören zu einer einzigartigen Gruppe elektronischer Materialien. 2D c‐MOFs mit Bandlücken im sichtbaren oder nahen IR‐Bereich und hohen Ladungsträger‐mobilitäten sind jedoch rar. Die meisten literaturbekannten halbleitenden 2D c‐MOFs sind metallisch, was ihre Verwendung in logischen Bauelementen stark einschränkt. Im Folgenden konzipieren wir einen Phenanthrotriphenylen basierten, D2h‐symmetrischen, π‐konjugierten Liganden (OHPTP) und synthetisieren die ersten rhombischen 2D c‐MOF Einkristalle (Cu2(OHPTP)). Kontinuierliche Rotations‐Elektronendiffraktometrie (cRED) belegt die orthorhombische Kristallstruktur mit versschobene AA‐Schichtung auf atomarer Ebene. Cu2(OHPTP) ist ein p‐Typ Halbleiter mit einer indirekten Bandlücke von ≈0.50 eV, einer hohen elektrischen Leitfähigkeit von 0.10 S cm−1 und einer hohen Ladungsträgermobilität von ≈10.0 cm2 V−1 s−1. Theoretische Berechnungen unterstreichen die dominierende Rolle des Ladungstransports zwischen den Schichten in diesem Semichinon verknüpften 2D c‐MOF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon/carbon( C/ C) composites were bonded with a phosphate adhesive prepared from H3 PO4 (orthophosphoric acid) and Al( OH)3 as the matrix and Si and Cu O as the inorganic fillers. The mechanical properties were tested at room temperature after the bonded specimens were treated from RT to 1500°C. The results showed that the addition of Cu O could greatly improve the adhesive's mechanical properties due to the formation of Cun Si (copper silicides). The shear strength of bonded specimens could be up to 8.2 MPa without heat treatment and remain above 2 MPa within the whole heat-treatment temperature range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A SiC whisker reinforced phosphate adhesive was developed for bonding carbon/carbon composites. A kind of spine-like SiCw with a large specific surface area was synthesized at first and then was chosen as the reinforcement phase. It was found that the mechanical performance of adhesive was promoted by the appropriate amount (1 wt.%) of SiCw within the whole heat-treatment temperature range, while the excessive whisker content caused a side effect. With the temperature increasing, the variation of composition and structure of adhesive was closely related to the reinforcing effect of whiskers at different temperatures. Moreover, the reinforcement effect from 900 °C to 1500 °C was better than that below 900 °C. At 1300 °C, the fracture displacement could be extended by 100%, which was attributed to the influence of both spine-like SiCw and the newly-formed slender SiCw. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rectangular cross-section ceramic helical spring of yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Y-TZP) was prepared by the gel-casting process. Both the compressive curves and comprehension rebound curves were tested at room temperature and high temperature. The results showed that springs obeyed Hooke׳s Law at room temperature, as the compression resilience ratio of the samples was nearly 100% under the condition of spring׳s security and no damping loss occurred during the process. Besides, mechanical failures of springs occurred under loads around 128 N with the deformation of 10%. With increasing test temperature the maximum load-carrying capacity of the spring decreased, while the maximum deformation increased. Besides, the load–compression curve showed a yield step when the test temperature was above 800 °C. At elastic stage of spring under high temperature, the compression resilience ratio was also nearly 100%; however, the anelastic effect took place and energy loss increased with the increase in test temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal transport in graphene–polymer nanocomposite is complicated and has not been well understood. The interfacial thermal transport between graphene nanofiller and polymer matrix is expected to play a key role in controlling the overall thermal performance of graphene–polymer nanocomposite. In this work, we investigated the thermal transport across graphene–polymer interfaces functionalized with end-grafted polymer chains using molecular dynamics simulations. The effects of grafting density, chain length and initial morphology on the interfacial thermal transport were systematically investigated. It was found that end-grafted polymer chains could significantly enhance interfacial thermal transport and the underlying mechanism was considered to be the enhanced vibration coupling between graphene and polymer. In addition, a theoretical model based on effective medium theory was established to predict the thermal conductivity in graphene–polymer nanocomposites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biowaste fractions in municipal solid waste (MSW) are the main odor sources in landfill and cause widespread complaints from residents. The ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) generation processes were simulated and compared between four typical biowaste fractions individually and combined in the mixed MSW. Food waste was found to be the main contributor to odor emission in mixed MSW, with H2S generation potential of 48.4 μg kg−1and NH3generation potential of 4742 μg kg−1. Fruit waste was another source for NH3generation, with 3933 μg kg−1NH3generation potential. Meanwhile, nitrogen (N) was released in a faster way than sulfur (S) in waste, since 31% and 46% of total NH3and H2S were generated in the first 90 days after disposal, with 1811 and 72 μg kg−1, and more emphasis should be placed in this initial period. Implications: Monitoring of odor generation from biowastes in MSW on a laboratory scale showed that food waste is the main source for NH3 and H2S generation, whereas waste fruit is another main contributor for NH3 released. Generally, N was released in a faster way than S from mixed-waste landfilling. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Metabolic inflammation is a crucial factor in the pathogenesis of obesity and promotes related complications. Accumulating evidence has indicated that regulating intestinal integrity and the gut microbiota may be new treatment strategies for metabolic inflammation and obesity. Cordycepin has been reported to improve obesity, but the mechanism is not yet clear. Here, we showed that cordycepin considerably alleviated systemic inflammation while reducing body weight gain and metabolic disorders in Western diet (WD)-fed mice. Further investigations showed that cordycepin significantly ameliorated WD-induced damage to the intestinal barrier and decreased the leakage of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) into the blood in mice by suppressing intestinal inflammation, oxidative stress damage, and decreasing intestinal epithelial cell apoptosis and pyroptosis. In addition, by using metagenomic sequencing, we found that cordycepin could also regulate the homeostasis of intestinal flora, including selectively increasing the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila and reducing the production of fecal LPS. Besides, we demonstrated that the intestinal flora partially mediated the beneficial effects of cordycepin on improving intestinal barrier function, and obesity-related symptoms in WD-fed mice by a fecal microbiota transplantation experiment. Hence, our findings provided new insights into the role of cordycepin in improving metabolic inflammation and obesity from the perspective of regulating the intestinal barrier function and intestinal flora, and further provided data support for the utility of cordycepin in the treatment of obesity and its complications. [Display omitted] • Cordycepin ameliorated metabolic inflammation in WD-fed mice. • Cordycepin enhanced intestinal barrier integrity and reduced the leakage of LPS. • Cordycepin significantly increased the abundance of A.muciniphila in WD-fed mice. • The fecal bacteria modulated by cordycepin can improve gut integrity and obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peer feedback has been widely used in English as a foreign language (EFL) writing classes, but its effect is highly variable and its quality and validity are often questioned by students as well as teachers. This research aims to explore the effects of teacher intervention on student use of different types of peer feedback and on their self-revision of writing texts. The study employed a quasi-experimental design with two experimental groups receiving either the teacher’s direct correction for erroneous peer feedback or indication of inaccurate peer feedback with symbols and a control group receiving no teacher intervention on peer feedback. One hundred and ten non-English major graduate students in three parallel writing classes participated in the study. The study lasted for one and a half months, during which the participants completed two essays, conducted peer feedback, and revised their essay drafts based on the peer feedback received. The adoption rates and accurate revision rates of different types of peer feedback as well as self-correction rates for the three groups were compared and analysed. It was found that the two groups with teacher intervention made significantly more accurate revisions in the subsequent revised essays higher than the control group. Additionally, the adoption rate and accurate revision rate of direct correction were significantly higher than the other two types of feedback. These results have implications for incorporating peer feedback in EFL writing class and for future peer feedback research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alloying-type anodes exhibit the solid-state amorphization during charging/discharging cycles. The mechanical and electrochemical properties of amorphous reaction phases have been widely explored recently. However, there is still lack of understanding of the underlying mircostructure-property relation in the delithiation behavior of alloying anodes. Here we perform molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the microstructure effect on the chemo-mechanical properties of amorphous Si (a -Si) anodes upon delithiation. It is indicated that stress-free delithiation without sufficient structural relaxation leads to the gradual accumulation of structural disorder (the increase of excess energy) in amorphous Li-Si systems (a -Li x Si). The creation of structural disorder during delithiation not only facilitates the plastic deformation of a -Li x Si at lower stress, but also thermodynamically destabilizes a -Li x Si associated with the drop of open-cell potentials. While upon constrained delithiation, the initial value of excess energy and reaction stress both contribute to the increase of structural disorder during delithiation process. Based on the stress-dependent chemical-potential model, the tensile stress increases open-cell potentials, and reduces the Li chemical potential which weakens the driving force for delithiation. As a result, the structural disorder and tensile reaction stress may cause the undesirable capacity fading of a -Si anodes, and is detrimental to the battery performance. [Display omitted] • The delithiation behavior of amorphous Si anodes is simulated by MD simulations. • The structural disorder in amorphous Si is quantified by excess energy. • The effect of structural disorder on the chemo-mechanical properties is explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research leading to the results published in this manuscript was also supported by the project CALIPSOplus under Grant Agreement 730872 from the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation HORIZON 2020. This corrigendum corrects an omission from the Acknowledgement section. Corrigendum: Surface-Modified Phthalocyanine-Based Two-Dimensional Conjugated Metal-Organic Framework Films for Polarity-Selective Chemiresistive Sensing. [Extracted from the article]

Berichtigung: Surface-Modified Phthalocyanine-Based Two-Dimensional Conjugated Metal-Organic Framework Films for Polarity-Selective Chemiresistive Sensing This corrigendum corrects an omission from the Acknowledgement section. The research leading to the results published in this manuscript was also supported by the project CALIPSOplus under Grant Agreement 730872 from the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation HORIZON 2020. [Extracted from the article]

Exploring thermal transport in graphene–polymer nanocomposite is significant to its applications with better thermal properties. Interfacial thermal conductance between graphene and polymer matrix plays a critical role in the improvement of thermal conductivity of graphene–polymer nanocomposite. Unfortunately, it is still challenging to understand the interfacial thermal transport between graphene nanofiller and polymer matrix at small material length scale. To this end, using nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations, we investigate the interfacial thermal conductance of graphene–polyethylene (PE) nanocomposite. The influence of functionalization with hydrocarbon chains on the interfacial thermal conductance of graphene–polymer nanocomposites was studied, taking into account the effects of model size and thermal conductivity of graphene. An analytical model is also used to calculate the thermal conductivity of nanocomposite. The results are considered to contribute to the development of new graphene–polymer nanocomposites with tailored thermal properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]