Synergistic effect of LixSi/Li3N artificial interface and 3D framework for enabling Dendrite-free, long-life lithium metal anodes.

Lithium metal is highly favored as an ideal anode material in future high-capacity lithium batteries due to its appealing properties. Nevertheless, the implementation of lithium metal batteries (LMBs) is severely plagued by challenges such as instable solid electrolyte interface (SEI), uncontrolled growth of dendrite, and severe volume expansion. Herein, to address the aforementioned issues, an artificial SEI layer is fabricated, which is comprised of LixSi alloy and Li3N. The in-situ generated LixSi/Li3N interface is formed on the carbon fiber (denoted as CF/LixSi/Li3N) through a spontaneous reaction between molten Li and Si3N4. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that LixSi alloy has low ion diffusion energy barrier, which facilitates the low nucleation overpotential of Li+ and enables homogeneous lithium deposition. Li3N can further promote the rapid Li+ transport due to the excellent Li+ conductivity. In addition, the reserved 3D space effectively mitigates the volume change along cycling procedure. Owing to the synergistic effect of the LixSi/Li3N protective layer and the 3D structure, the composite anode shows higher cycling stability with a lifetime of more than 3000 cycles at 1 mA cm-2. Furthermore, matched with commercial LiFePO4 (LFP) and LiNi5Co2Mn3O2 (NCM523) cathodes, the full cells also exhibit impressive electrochemical properties. This work introduces an ingenious approach for constructing stable lithium metal anodes and effective lithium metal batteries.

Copper-Based Metal-Organic Framework Induces NO Generation for Synergistic Tumor Therapy and Antimetastasis Activity.

The interaction between platelets and circulating tumor cells (CTCs) contributes to distal tumor metastasis by protecting CTCs from immunological assault and shear stress, which can be disrupted by nitric oxide (NO) through inhibiting platelet-mediated adhesion. To eradicate primitive tumors and inhibit CTC-based pulmonary metastasis, a novel biomimetic nanomedicine (mCuMNO) is designed by encapsulating Cu+ -responsive S-nitrosoglutathione as a NO donor into a copper-based metal-organic framework (CuM). This work discovers that mCuMNO can target tumor regions and deplete local glutathione (GSH) to reduce Cu2+ to Cu+ , followed by triggering NO release and hydroxyl radicals (·OH) production, thereby interrupting platelet/CTC interplay and contributing to chemodynamic therapy. Detailed studies demonstrate that mCuMNO exhibits high efficiency and safety in tumor therapy and antimetastasis activity, sheding new light on the development of CuM-based tumor synthetic therapy.

Synthesis and Characterization of Crosslinked Castor Oil-Based Polyurethane Nanocomposites Based on Novel Silane-Modified Isocyanate and Their Potential Application in Heat Insulating Coating.

An isocyanate with trimethoxysilane groups at the side chains (IPDI-M) was synthesized via an addition between the mercaptopropyl trimethoxysilane groups (MPTMS) and IPDI tripolymer (IPDI-T). Then, silane grafted isocyanate as the functional hard segment, castor oil as the soft segment, poly (ethylene adipate) diol (PEA) as the chain extender, and MPTMS as an end-capping reagent were applied to form a series of organosilicon hybrid bio-based polyurethane (CPUSi). The effect of the IPDI-M contents on the thermal stability, mechanical properties, and surface properties of the resulting product was systematically investigated. Profit from the Si-O-Si crosslinked structures formed from MPTMS curing, the tensile strength, and Young's modulus of the resulting products increased from 9.5 MPa to 22.3 Mpa and 4.05 Mpa to 81.59 Mpa, respectively, whereas the elongation at break decreased from 342% to 101%. The glass transition temperature, thermal stability, transparency, hydrophobicity, and chemical resistance were remarkably strengthened for the obtained organosilicon-modified polyurethane with the increasing MPTMS content. At the end of the work, the thermal insulation coating that was based on CPUSi and ATO can effectively block near-infrared rays, and the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the film reached 15.1 °C.

Rational design of a supramolecular hydrogel with customizable pH-responsiveness on the basis of pH-induced ionization/protonation transition of BSA.

Developing customizable pH-responsiveness for supramolecular hydrogels is of great significance and has drawn tremendous attention. Through systematic simulation analysis, we formulated a simple supramolecular hydrogel (i.e., poly(AAm-co-NaSS)/BSA on the basis of electrostatic interaction between the sulfonate groups of poly(AAm-co-NaSS) and the protonated side groups of BSA, and proposed a novel pH-responsive mode for it: changing the internal electric charge composition of the hydrogel through pH-induced ionization/protonation transition of BSA, thereby regulating the structural stability/shrinkage/extension of the supramolecular network. On basis of this theory, the pH-responsiveness of the poly(AAm-co-NaSS)/BSA hydrogel, in principle, could be pre-designed by adjusting the initial BSA/NaSS ratio. In this regard, we fabricated a poly(AAm-co-NaSS)/BSA hydrogel prototype with a BSA/NaSS ratio of 1/57 and investigated its rheological/swelling/disassembling behavior under different pH conditions (1.7, 4.7, 7.7, 10.7, and 13.7). In addition, we also prepared two capecitabine-loaded poly(AAm-co-NaSS)/BSA hydrogel prototypes with BSA/NaSS ratios of 1/57 and 1/102 respectively at pH 4.0, and compared their drug release behavior in SGF and SIF. Finally, the experimental results fitted well with our theoretical expectations, which testified the rationality of our assumption. Thus, we believed that the poly(AAm-co-NaSS)/BSA supramolecular hydrogel could find diverse applications in the future.

Adhesion loss mechanism based on carboxymethyl cellulose-filled hydrocolloid dressings in physiological wounds environment.

Adhesion loss of hydrocolloid wound dressings is ubiquitous clinical problem, which seriously reduces the therapeutic efficiency and patient experience. In order to address this problem, the clarification on adhesion loss mechanism and the development of effective alternatives of commercial hydrocolloid dressings are urgent and inevitable. Herein, adhesion loss mechanism of hydrocolloid dressings was investigated using sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-filled hydrocolloid dressings exposing to physiological environment as model. The adhesion mechanism and contact angle tests were combined to obtain surface energy of dressings. The results indicated that the dissolution, swelling and exudation of CMC occurred successively (concentration reached 1.607 g/L after 10 h). The effused CMC led to the dramatic increase in surface energy (from 14.5-80.7 mN/m) and adhesion loss appeared. This work explored the origin of adhesion loss of hydrocolloid wound dressings and might promote the designing of hydrocolloid dressings with both excellent humidity control and sustained self-adhesiveness.

Preparation and Characterization of Polyurethanes with Cross-Linked Siloxane in the Side Chain by Sol-Gel Reactions.

A series of novel polyurethanes containing cross-linked siloxane in the side chain (SPU) were successfully synthesized through a sol-gel process. The SPU was composed of 0%-20% N-(n-butyl)-3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (HDI-T) modified hexamethylene diisocynate homopolymer. The effects of HDI-T content on both the structure and properties of SPU were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), mechanical properties tests, gel content test, water contact angle measurement and water absorption test. FT-IR, XPS and XRD results confirmed the successful incorporation of HDI-T onto polyurethanes and the formation of Si-O-Si. The surface roughness and the Si content of SPU enhanced with the increase of HDI-T content. Both crystallization and melting temperature shifted to a lower point after the incorporation of HDI-T. The hydrophobicity, tensile strength, Young's modulus and pencil hardness overall increased with the increasing of HDI-T content, whereas the thermal stability and the elongation at break of SPU slightly decreased.

Effects of Poly(cyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate) on Microstructures, Crystallization Behavior and Properties of the Poly(ester ether) Elastomers.

To understand the role of molecular structure on the crystallization behavior of copolyester in thermoplastic poly(ether ester) elastomers (TPEEs), series of poly(butylene-co-1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate) (P(BT-co-CT))-b-poly(tetramethylene glycol) (PTMG) are synthesized through molten polycondensation process. The effects of poly(cyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate) (PCT) content on the copolymer are investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), ¹H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), gel permeation chromatographs (GPC), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), mechanical, and visible light transmittance tests. FT-IR and NMR results confirm the incorporation of PCT onto the copolymer. WAXD and DSC indicate that the crystalline structure of the copolymers changed from α-PBT lattice to trans-PCT lattice when the molar fraction of PCT (MPCT) is above 30%, while both crystallization and melting temperatures reach the minima. An increase in MPCT led to an increase in the number sequence length of PCT, the thermal stability and the visible light transmittance of the copolymer, but to a slight decrease in tensile strength and elastic modulus.