Rapid and Controllable Preparation of Multifunctional Lignin-Based Eutectogels for the Design of High-Performance Flexible Sensors.

Currently, there is a limited amount of research on PEDOT:LS (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):sulfonated lignin)-based hydrogels. While the addition of PEDOT:LS can enhance the conductivity of the gel, it unavoidably disrupts the gel network and negatively affects its mechanical properties. The preparation process and freezing resistance of the hydrogels also pose significant challenges for their practical applications. In this study, we have developed a novel self-catalytic system, PEDOT:LS-Fe3+, for the rapid fabrication of conductive hydrogels. These hydrogels are further transformed into eutectogels by immersing them in a deep eutectic solvent. Compared with conventional hydrogels, the eutectogels exhibit improved elongation, mechanical strength, and resistance to freezing. Specifically, the eutectogels containing 2 wt % PEDOT:LS as conductive fillers and catalysts demonstrate exceptional stretchability (∼460%), self-adhesion (∼14.6 kPa on paper), UV-blocking capability (∼99.9%), and ionic conductivity (∼1.2 mS cm-1) even at extremely low temperatures (-60 °C). Moreover, the eutectogels exhibit high stability and sensitivity in flexible sensing, successfully detecting various human motions. This study presents a novel approach for the rapid preparation of the hydrogels by utilizing lignin in the conductive PEDOT polymerization process and forming a self-catalytic system with metal ions. These advancements make the eutectogels a promising candidate material for flexible wearable electronics.

Asymmetric Multienergy-Coupled Radiative Warming Textiles for Personal Thermal-Moisture Management.

In order to address the requirements for warmth and energy conservation in cold climates, the development of personal thermal management textiles that regulate local human thermal comfort has emerged as a promising solution in recent times. Nevertheless, existing warming textile strategies often rely on a singular energy source, exhibit inadequate air/moisture permeability, and lack adaptability to dynamic and intricate climate variations. Herein, a novel multienergy-coupled radiative warming Janus textile has been effectively designed and fabricated via screen printing and foam finishing. Taking advantage of the synergistic effects of directional water transport capability of polyester-covered cotton (with a directional water-transport index of R = 577.5%), high mid-infrared radiant reflection (at 60%), electrothermal conversion of copper coating (with a sheet resistance of 0.01 Ω sq-1), and strong solar absorption of the nanoporous structure TA@APTES@Fe(III)@CNT (TAFC) coating (at 98.5%), the Janus fabric exhibits exceptional performance in expelling out one-way sweat/moisture (R = 329.3%) and solar heating (86.9 °C)/Joule heating (226.4 °C at 3.0 V)/heat retention (2.4 °C higher than that of cotton fabric). Furthermore, the fabric is also provided with exceptional mechanical, washing, flame-retardant, and antibacterial performance. This research holds the potential to revolutionize the development and production of warming textiles by incorporating desirable sweat/moisture permeability and multienergy-coupled heating.

Designing Non-Fluorinated Superhydrophobic Fabrics with Durable Stability and Photocatalytic Functionality.

The ability of a superhydrophobic fabric to stay dry and clean has aroused great interest in daily life. Especially, the development of an eco-friendly non-fluorinated water-repellent textile has become a hot topic in recent years. We present a green strategy to achieve self-cleaning textile by in situ deposition of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles on cotton with subsequent polydimethylsiloxane modification. The prepared cotton fabric exhibits superior water repellency with a water contact angle of 157°. Meanwhile, this superhydrophobic surface can easily be ruined by oil contaminants and then exhibit a decreased water contact angle of 0°. However, the oil-contaminated surface can recover its water repellency after being irradiated. After six cycles of contamination using oleic acid and successive photodegradation, the fabric surface remains superhydrophobic. The obtained superhydrophobic surface does not adversely affect the fabric's strength and air permeability. Therefore, the developed superhydrophobic cotton fabrics have the potential to be used in a variety of industrial scenarios and in daily life.

Thermodynamically Induced Interfacial Condensation for Efficient Fog Harvesting.

Fog harvesting is a sustainable approach to dealing with the global freshwater crisis. A range of strategies in microstructure design and wettability remodeling for fog management are clearly explained. However, the influence of thermodynamic endothermic and exothermic processes on fog harvesting is rarely explored. Here, a thermodynamically induced interfacial condensation-enhanced fog-harvesting fabric (AWF-6) is developed that also incorporates asymmetric geometry and surface chemistry. By coupling the high thermal conductivity interface supported by boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS), the Laplace pressure difference generated by nanoneedles, and the wettability gradient constructed by stearic acid (STA), the fabric achieves a water collection rate (WCR) of 1538.4 mg h cm-2 , which is the maximum value in state-of-the-art cotton-based fog harvesting devices (FHDs). Furthermore, the potential application of AWF-6 in agricultural irrigation is demonstrated. This study shows a thermodynamic proposal for building next-generation fibrous FHDs.

Fabrication of Hydrophobic Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Membranes with Manipulated Micromorphology and Enhanced Strength.

In this work, an ethanol/water/glycerol ternary coagulation bath system was used to fabricate a hydrophobic PVDF membrane, which will have a considerable impact on the micromorphology. This change will further affect the performance of the membrane. After introducing glycerol into the coagulation bath, the precipitation process was finely regulated. The obtained results implied that glycerol could inhibit solid-liquid separation and promoted liquid-liquid separation. A pleasant discovery was that the mechanical properties of the membrane were improved because of the more fibrous polymers formed by liquid-liquid separation. Besides, a more uniform pore size can be achieved. A fascinating symmetrical interconnected fibrous and spherulitic structure was depicted by membranes fabricated with a coagulation bath consisting of 6% water, 34% ethanol, and 60% glycerol. This membrane had a high water contact angle of 146.6° and a small mean pore size of 0.46 µm. Enhanced tensile strength and elongation at break evidenced that the membrane enjoyed good robustness and flexibility. This facile approach provided the possibility to prepare membranes with tailored pore size and the required strength.

Construction of a Reciprocal-Supporting Phenol-amine@CuNW Network for Antisedimentation Conductive Ink.

Homogeneously dispersed copper nanowire (CuNW) materials are the basis for practical applications in many types of electronic devices. At present, the dispersion of CuNWs in water is achieved through polymeric spatial site resistance effects primarily and the electrostatic dispersion mechanism in a few. However, the electrical conductivity of CuNWs could be weakened by the excessive addition of polymers; therefore, it is difficult to maintain a stable dispersion enduringly for surface charge modifiers. Based on the coagulation mechanism of colloids, a novel antisedimentation mechanism is refined by this work. Directed by this mechanism, a stable reciprocal-supporting antisedimentation conductive CuNW ink was achieved enduringly and a uniform conductive coating (1.81-5.65 Ω·sq-1) was successfully manufactured. The tannic acid-polyethylene imine (TA-PEI) could support copper nanowires to maintain a stable height of 61.4% after 15 days best, while CuNWs in other systems would settle completely in one day. Meanwhile, the TA-PEI composite cluster antisedimentation network not only provided massive spatial potential resistance for CuNWs but also modified the surface charge of CuNWs. CuNWs were dispersed stably in this phenol-amine@CuNW network. Furthermore, the CuNWs were crosslinked more tightly with each other relying on the vigorous adhesive properties of TA-PEI. With this antisedimentation mechanism and simple treatment process, CuNW ink will be utilized in more applications.

Asymmetrical Emissivity and Wettability in Stitching Treble Weave Metafabric for Synchronous Personal Thermal-Moisture Management.

Developing textiles with passive thermal management is an effective strategy to maintain the human body healthy as well as decrease energy consumption. Personal thermal management (PTM) textiles with engineered constituent element and fabric structure have been developed, however the comfortability and robustness of these textiles remains a challenge due to the complexity of passive thermal-moisture management. Here a metafabric with asymmetrical stitching treble weave based on woven structure design and yarn functionalization is developed, in which the thermal radiation regulation and moisture-wicking can be achieved simultaneously throughout the dual-mode metafabric due to its optically regulated property, multi-branched through-porous structure and surface wetting difference. With simply flipping, the metafabric enables high solar reflectivity (87.6%) and IR emissivity (94%) in the cooling mode, and a low IR emissivity of 41.3% in the heating mode. When overheating and sweating, the cooling capacity reaches to ≈9 °C owing to the synergistic effect of radiation and evaporation. Moreover, the tensile strengths of the metafabric are 46.18 MPa (warp direction) and 37.59 MPa (weft direction), respectively. This work provides a facile strategy to fabricate multi-functional integrated metafabrics with much flexibility and thus has great potential for thermal management applications and sustainable energy.

Complete System to Generate Clean Water from a Contaminated Water Body by a Handmade Flower-like Light Absorber.

The utilization of solar energy to make human lives better has been one of the primary and green approaches adopted by ordinary people and researchers for decades. This approach has recently gained a lot of attention as a way to tackle clean water scarcity in remote areas. Costly components, complex manufacturing procedures with rarely available equipment, and a surface to condense water vapors are challenges in the way of its application in the required areas. Here, we propose a complete system to solve this problem with a handmade light absorber and a superhydrophilic surface (antifogging) to get vapors back to collect clean water. Our handmade flower-like light absorber stitched by crochet work, the single stitch method, was able to get a decent evaporation rate of 1.75 kg/m2·h in pure water and slightly lower rates of 1.62 and 1.65 kg/m2·h with brine and pond water, respectively. Still, our proposed superhydrophilic coated surface can collect ∼37% more water than the pristine surface. This system has a huge potential for use in rural areas because of multiple key advantages, such as simple technology, readily available low-cost raw materials, and easy fabrication.

The fabrication of flexible wearable electrodes based on a carbon nanotubes/nickel/nickelous hydroxide ternary composite by facile single-side printing technology.

A new material design strategy is developed to prepare high-performance flexible electrochemical electrodes. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and nickel/nickelous hydroxide (Ni/Ni(OH)2) are compounded through a chemical plating method and hydrothermal process. A single-side printing method is used to combine the active material and a flexible cotton substrate. The interfinger microstructure of the textile electrode can greatly facilitate charge/ion transfer at the electrode-electrolyte interface. One side of the fabric, which is untreated, could directly contact with human skin, providing a comfortable and user-friendly surface. With the CNTs/Ni/Ni(OH)2 ternary composite as a positive electrode and CNTs as a negative electrode, we assembled an in-plane asymmetrical micro-supercapacitor device (SF-NPCs). Thanks to a synergistic effect, SF-NPCs displays a high energy density of 0.29 W h cm-2 at a power density of 7.2 W cm-2. The operating window is extended to 1.5 V, and the device displays good potential for applications in the field of smart textiles.

New type of borneol-based fluorine-free superhydrophobic antibacterial polymeric coating.

A new type of superhydrophobic borneol-based polymeric coating has been prepared. The chemical composition of the polymer particles was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which showed that the polymer did not contain fluorine, which can effectively avoid the cytotoxic risk of fluorine. By dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, and static contact angle measurement, the contact angle of the prepared coating gradually increased with increasing diameter of the polymer particles, and a superhydrophobic coating surface was finally obtained. Interestingly, after dissolving the superhydrophobic sample with tetrahydrofuran and making it a normal hydrophobic sample, the antiadhesion performance for E. coli was greatly reduced, and it could not effectively prevent E. coli adhesion. In addition, a long-term antiadhesion study of bacteria was performed. The superhydrophobic borneol-based polymer coating showed long-term resistance to E. coli adhesion. Therefore, the excellent antibacterial properties and cell compatibility mean that this series of polymer materials has great potential in the field of biomedicine.

A facile and green route to fabricate fiber-reinforced membrane for removing oil from water and extracting water under slick oil.

Except the good separation performance, the membranes used for oil-water mixture separation should be fabricated with as little wastewater produced as possible. Thus, we proposed a green tactic--water vapor induced phase inversion to prepare the high-strength and superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic nonwoven fabric-based cotton/PA6/PAN membranes which is based on the polymer/solvent/nonsolvent ternary system analysis. Differing from adding additives in polymer solution or coagulation bath, above proposed strategy has an "subtractive effect" with the advantages of constructing three-dimensional porous structure and greatly reducing the organic wastewater produced during preparation process. Moreover, the obtained cotton/PA6/PAN membranes exhibited unexpected performances for separating oil-in-water emulsions. An ultrahigh permeation flux of up to 478,000 L m-2 h-1 bar-1 with a separation efficiency of > 99.9% was obtained under the driving pressure of 1.6 KPa, which was one order of magnitude higher than the conventional separation membranes with similar properties. In addition, it is surprising that the cotton/PA6/PAN membranes can also extract water from the slick oil/water immiscible mixture. Therefore, it is expected that the cotton/PA6/PAN membranes can be used in practical oily wastewater purification.

High-Performance Laminated Fabric with Enhanced Photothermal Conversion and Joule Heating Effect for Personal Thermal Management.

Multifunctional wearable heaters have attracted much attention owing to their efficient application in personal thermal management. Inspired by the polar bear's thermal management, a laminated fabric with enhanced photothermal conversion, mid-infrared reflection, thermal insulation, and electrical heating performance was developed in this work, which was made of CNT/cellulose aerogel layers, cotton fabrics, and copper nanowire (CuNW)-based conductive network (CNN) layers. The CNN layer made up of highly conductive CuNWs not only exhibits better conductivity to realize the Joule heating effect but also possesses a human mid-infrared reflection property. Moreover, the other side of the cotton fabric was laminated with CNT/cellulose aerogel, which enables the fabric to have a good photothermal conversion ability and thermal insulation performance. The temperature of the laminated fabric could reach to 70 °C within 80 s under 1.8 V; it requires more than 500 s to return to room temperature (28.7 °C). When the light intensity was adjusted to 1000 W/m2, the temperature of the laminated fabric was about 74.0 °C after lighting for 280 s. Our work provides a new approach to improving the performance and energy-saving of personal thermal management fabrics.

Synthesis of zinc sulfide/copper sulfide/porous carbonized cotton nanocomposites for flexible supercapacitor and recyclable photocatalysis with high performance.

The composite material composed of zinc sulfide, copper sulfide and porous carbon is prepared in this study, exhibiting excellent performances in the field of supercapacitor electrode and photocatalysts. In the degradation process of organic pollutants, zinc sulfide/copper sulfide with heterostructure effectively reduce the recombination rate of photo-generated electron-hole pairs. And the porous carbon substrate can not only accelerate the separation of photo-carriers but also provide numerous active sites. Furthermore, the sample can be easily separated after decomposing the organic pollutants. As a supercapacitor electrode, the combination of zinc sulfide/copper sulfide with large pseudo-capacitance and porous carbon material with excellent double-layercapacitance results in superior electrochemical performances. The composite electrode shows a high specific capacitance of 1925 mF cm-2/0.53 mAh cm-2 at 4 mA cm-2. And the symmetric flexible supercapacitor based on the composite electrode achieves an outstanding energy density (0.39 Wh cm-2 at the power density of 4.32 W cm-2). Therefore, the zinc sulfide/copper sulfide/porous carbonized cotton nanocomposites (pCZCS) prepared herein exhibit dual functions of photocatalysts with high efficiency as well as energy storage materials with high energy density, which is interesting and important for expanding the practical applications in cross fields.

Flame-Retardant Performance of Transparent and Tensile-Strength-Enhanced Epoxy Resins.

In this study, a flame-retardant additive with 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) groups denoted DSD was successfully synthesized from DOPO, 4,4'-diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DDS), and salicylaldehyde. The chemical structure of DSD was characterized by FTIR-ATR, NMR, and elemental analysis. DSD was used as an amine curing agent, and the transparent, tensile strength-enhanced epoxy resins named EP-DSD were prepared via thermal curing reactions among the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA), 4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM), and DSD. The flame-retardancy of composites was studied by the limiting oxygen index (LOI) and UL-94 test. The LOI values of EP-DSD composites increased from 30.7% for a content of 3 wt % to 35.4% for a content of 9 wt %. When the content of DSD reached 6 wt %, a V-0 rating under the UL-94 vertical test was achieved. SEM photographs of char residues after the UL-94 test indicate that an intumescent and tight char layer with a porous structure inside was formed. The TGA results revealed that EP-DSD thermosets decomposed ahead of time. The graphitization degree of the residual chars was also investigated by laser Raman spectroscopy. The measurement of tensile strength at breaking point shows that the loading of DSD increases the tensile strength of epoxy thermosets. Py-GC/MS analysis shows the presence of phosphorus fragments released during EP-DSD thermal decomposition, which could act as free radical inhibitors in the gas phase. Owing to the promotion of the formation of intumescent and compact char residues in the condensed phase and nonflammable phosphorus fragments formed from the decomposition of DOPO groups, EP-DSD composites displayed obvious flame-retardancy.

Hierarchical Ni(OH)2/Cu(OH)2 interwoven nanosheets in situ grown on Ni-Cu-P alloy plated cotton fabric for flexible high-performance energy storage.

Flexible energy storage electrodes with high conductivity and capacity are crucial for wearable electronic clothes. Herein, a flexible hierarchical Ni(OH)2/Cu(OH)2 interwoven nanosheets in situ coated on Ni-Cu-P alloy plated cotton fabric textile (NCO/CF), which displays perfect conductive and electrochemical performance, is prepared by electroless deposition and electrochemical oxidation method. While the Ni-Cu-P alloy layer coated on the fabric effectively contributes to excellent mechanical performance and electro-conductivity of the as-prepared NCO/CF electrode, the hierarchical Ni(OH)2/Cu(OH)2 interwoven nanosheets in the oxidation layer effectively lead to a high energy storage performance with a specific areal capacity of 4.7 C cm-2 at a current density of 2 mA cm-2. When the power density of the two-electrode system based on NCO/CF and the carbon cloth (CC) is 2.4 mW cm-2, the energy density is 1.38 mW h cm-2. Furthermore, the flexible solid-state energy storage f-NCO/CF//CC is assembled in a self-powered system and supplies continuous power for electronic devices, demonstrating that NCO/CF is promising to be applied in various energy storage devices to power portable and wearable devices in the future.

Clinical and histopathologic features of sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide deficiency in pediatric patients.

Until now, the recognition of sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP) deficiency has been mainly based on sporadic case reports. It was previously believed to be mildly symptomatic and resulting in mild liver dysfunction. However, to our knowledge, there have been no reports about the histopathologic and ultrastructural pathologic characteristics of the disease. The aim of the study was to analyze the clinical, histopathologic and ultrastructural pathologic characteristics of NTCP deficiency in 13 pediatric patients.From August 2012 to October 2018, this retrospective study conducted in the Department of Pediatrics of Tongji Hospital, China analyzed the data of 13 NTCP deficient patients with an SLC10A1 gene mutation. Except for NTCP deficiency, no other liver diseases were present in the patients, which was determined by both a genetic testing panel for jaundice and by reviewing medical records. The laboratory results, imaging, histopathologic, and ultrastructural pathologic information were recorded for analysis.The serum level of total bile acid was high in all 13 patients. All patients had adequate growth and development. Eight of the patients (8/13) presented with visible jaundice and 12 (12/13) were found to have hyperbilirubinemia. A needle liver biopsy was performed in 11 cases, which revealed slightly chronic inflammation in all 11 patients. One of the patients (1/13) was found to be suffering from gallstones.The data showed that although NTCP deficiency was often asymptomatic, some of the patients showed obvious clinical expressions, such as jaundice. Among the 13 pediatric patients with NTCP deficiency, both the biochemical and histopathologic features were similar to those of mild hepatocellular jaundice. In addition, it was determined that the clinical features in the patient with gallstones may have been caused by NTCP deficiency.

Low-Cost and High-Efficiency Solar-Driven Vapor Generation Using a 3D Dyed Cotton Towel.

Solar-driven vapor generation is a promising method to mitigate freshwater shortage and water contamination. However, most of the current highly efficient solar evaporators suffer from low robustness, tedious preparation procedures, and high cost. In this study, an easy-to-manufacture, low-cost, and high-reliability solar-driven evaporator is designed using a black cotton towel with a hollow conical shape. The reactive dye molecules diffuse into the cotton and form strong covalent bonds with the fiber after dyeing, which firmly fixes light-absorbing materials on the substrate. The looped pile structure of towels and hierarchical structure of yarns enable the evaporator enlarged surface area. The hollow conical shape of the cotton towel can effectively suppress the heat loss to the environment without compromising light absorption. The 3D vapor generator exhibits an evaporation rate of 1.40 and 1.27 kg m-2 h-1 for pure water and saline water, respectively. Meanwhile, this towel-based solar-driven evaporator exhibits a promising antifouling property as well as superior reusability and provides a reliable pathway in dealing with realistic waters, such as seawater and dyeing sewage. Therefore, the low-cost, solar-driven water evaporation system offers a complementary approach for high-efficiency vapor generation and water purification in practical application.

A New Smart Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Sensor Based on pH-Responsive Polyacryloyl Hydrazine Capped Ag Nanoparticles.

A novel pH-responsive Ag@polyacryloyl hydrazide (Ag@PAH) nanoparticle for the first time as a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate was prepared without reducing agent and end-capping reagent. Ag@PAH nanoparticles exhibited an excellent tunable detecting performance in the range from pH = 4 to pH = 9. This is explained that the swelling-shrinking behavior of responsive PAH can control the distance between Ag NPs and the target molecules under external pH stimuli, resulting in the tunable LSPR and further controlled SERS. Furthermore, Ag@PAH nanoparticles possessed an ultra-sensitive detecting ability and the detection limit of Rhodamine 6G reduced to 10-12 M. These advantages qualified Ag@PAH NP as a promising smart SERS substrate in the field of trace analysis and sensors.

Wearable Solid-State Supercapacitors Operating at High Working Voltage with a Flexible Nanocomposite Electrode.

The proposed approach for fabricating ultralight self-sustained electrodes facilitates the structural integration of highly flexible carbon nanofibers, amino-modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes (AM-MWNT), and MnO2 nanoflakes for potential use in wearable supercapacitors. Because of the higher orientation of AM-MWNT and the sublimation of terephthalic acid (PTA) in the carbonization process, freestanding electrodes could be realized with high porosity and flexibility and could possess remarkable electrochemical properties without using polymer substrates. Wearable symmetric solid-state supercapacitors were further assembled using a LiCl/PVA gel electrolyte, which exhibit a maximum energy density of 44.57 Wh/kg (at a power density of 337.1 W/kg) and a power density of 13330 W/kg (at an energy density of 19.64 Wh/kg) with a working voltage as high as 1.8 V. Due to the combination of several favorable traits such as flexibility, high energy density, and excellent electrochemical cyclability, the presently developed wearable supercapacitors with wide potential windows are expected to be useful for new kinds of portable electric devices.

Facile fabrication of freestanding three-dimensional composites for supercapacitors.

A facile and highly efficient method for the fabrication of free-standing three-dimensional (3D) composites with different morphologies was designed by the combination of the electrospinning method and hydrothermal reaction. The controlled hierarchical nanoarrays showed excellent electrochemical performance for their potential use as supercapacitor electrodes.