Hydrophobically Associated Hydrogel for High Sensitivity and Resolution of an Interdigital Electrode Pressure Sensor.

Hydrogel-based flexible strain sensors have been known for their excellent ability to convert different motions of humans into electrical signals, thus enabling real-time monitoring of various human health parameters. In this work, a composite hydrogel with hydrophobic association and hybrid cross-linking was fabricated by using polyacrylamide (PAm), surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), lauryl methacrylate (LMA), and polypyrrole (PPy). The dynamic dissociation-conjugation among LMA, SDS, and PPy could dissipate energy to improve the toughness of hydrogels. The SDS/PPy/LMPAm composite hydrogel with a toughness of 1.44 MJ/m3, tensile fracture stress of 345 kPa, tensile strain of 1021%, and electrical conductivity of 0.57 S/m was obtained. Furthermore, an interdigital electrode flexible pressure sensor was designed to replace the bipolar electrode flexible pressure sensor, which greatly improved the sensitivity and resolution of the pressure sensor. The SDS/PPy/LMPAm composite hydrogel-based interdigital electrode flexible pressure sensor showed extraordinary stability and identified different hand gestures as well as monitored the pulse signal of humans. Moreover, the characteristic systolic and diastolic peaks were clearly observed. The pulse frequency (65 times/min) and the radial artery augmentation index (0.57) were calculated, which are very important in evaluating the arterial vessel wall and function of human arteries.

Synergistic Effects of Interfacial Energy Level Regulation and Stress Relaxation via a Buried Interface for Highly Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells.

An electron-transport layer with appropriate energy alignment and enhanced charge transfer is critical for perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In addition, interface stress and lattice distortion are inevitable during the crystallization process of perovskite. Herein, IT-4F is introduced into PSCs at the buried SnO2 and perovskite interface, which assists in releasing the residual stress in the perovskite layer. Meanwhile, the work function of SnO2/IT-4F is lower than that of SnO2, which facilitates charge transfer from perovskite to ETL and consequently leads to a significant improvement in the power conversion efficiency (PCE) to 23.73%. The VOC obtained is as high as 1.17 V, corresponding to a low voltage deficit of 0.38 V for a 1.55 eV bandgap. Consequently, the device based on IT-4F maintains 94% of the initial PCE over 2700 h when stored in N2 and retains 87% of the initial PCE after operation for 1000 h.

A Ratiometric Probe Based on Carbon Dots and Calcein & Eu3+ for the Fluorescent Detection of Sodium Tripolyphosphate.

Sodium tripolyphosphate, a food additive, is applied broadly in food industry. However, excessive accumulation of sodium tripolyphosphate can result in electrolyte abnormality of the body. Therefore, it is of great importance to investigate an effective method for the detection of sodium tripolyphosphate. In this work, nitrogen-doped carbon dots (NCDs) with constant fluorescence were fabricated using a domestic microwave oven. A ratiometric fluorescent probe was constructed in which NCDs were as internal standard, calcein & Eu3+ were as the detection signal. The fluorescence of calcein at 515 nm was quenched by Eu3+, whereas the emission peak of NCDs at 446 nm was almost unchanged. Additionally, the fluorescence of calcein was recovered because of the strong interaction of sodium tripolyphosphate and Eu3+. The linear range for sodium tripolyphosphate was 0.5-6 µmol/L with detection limit of 0.12 µmol/L. Furthermore, the ratiometric fluorescent probe was applied for sodium tripolyphosphate detection in real milk samples.

Fabrication of sodium alginate-melamine@ZIF-67 composite hydrogel and its adsorption application for Pb(II) in wastewater.

A low-cost and environmental-friendly sodium alginate-melamine@zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (SA-ME@ZIF-67) adsorbent was fabricated by chemical grafting and in situ growth for the removal of lead ions in wastewater. Firstly, melamine (ME) was grafted onto sodium alginate (SA) by amide reaction, and then SA-ME was dropped into a solution of calcium chloride to form hydrogel bead, and ZIF-67 was grown on the SA-ME hydrogel bead by the in situ growth method. The SA-ME@ZIF-67 adsorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The SA-ME@ZIF-67 adsorbent was used to effectively adsorb Pb(II) from aqueous solutions. The initial concentrations of lead ions, adsorbent dose, initial pH of lead ion solution, temperature, and adsorption time for the material were optimized. The adsorption isotherms and kinetics fitted to Langmuir isotherm model (R2 = 0.9281, 0.9420, and 0.9623 at the temperatures of 288.15 K, 298.15 K, and 308.15 K, respectively) and pseudo-second-order kinetic model (R2 = 0.9901) respectively. According to the Langmuir model at 308.15 K, the maximum adsorption capacity of the adsorbent for Pb(II) was 634.99 mg/g. The recycling application of the adsorbent was possible as it was easily collected and reused after five adsorption-regeneration cycles. In addition, the Pb(II) in real wastewater samples has been efficiently removed using the fabricated hydrogel. The results showed that the SA-ME@ZIF-67 adsorbent had high adsorption capacity, removal efficiency, and easy recyclability for Pb(II).

Highly Elastic, Sensitive, Stretchable, and Skin-Inspired Conductive Sodium Alginate/Polyacrylamide/Gallium Composite Hydrogel with Toughness as a Flexible Strain Sensor.

As a classic flexible material, hydrogels show great potential in wearable electronic devices. The application of strain sensors prepared using them in human health monitoring and humanoid robotics is developing rapidly. However, it is still a challenge to fabricate a high-toughness, large-tensile-deformation, strain-sensitive. and human-skin-fit hydrogel with the integration of excellent mechanical properties and high electrical conductivity. In this study, a flexible sensor using a highly strain-sensitive skin-like hydrogel with acrylamide and sodium alginate was designed using liquid metallic gallium as a "reactive" conductive filler. The sensor had a low elastic modulus (30 kPa) similar to that of skin, a high-toughness (2.25 MJ m-3), self-stiffness, a large tensile deformation (1400%), recoverability, and excellent fatigue resistance. Moreover, the addition of gallium might enhance the electrical conductivity (1.9 S m-1) of the hydrogel while maintaining high transparency, and the flexible sensor device constructed from it showed high sensitivity to strain (gauge factor = 4.08) and pressure (gauge factor = 0.455 kPa-1). As a result, the hydrogel sensor could monitor various human motions, including large-scale joint bending and tiny facial expression, breathing, voice recognition, and handwriting. Furthermore, it might even be used for human-computer communication.

Fabrication of in situ ZIF-67 grown on alginate hydrogels and its application for enhancing Cu (II) adsorption from aqueous solutions.

Synthesizing high uniform metal-organic frameworks grown on natural biomass such as sodium alginate (ALG), which can efficiently remove metal ions from aqueous solution, is a challenging project. A simple and eco-friendly method of preparing ALG@ZIF-67 hydrogels by in situ synthesis of ZIF-67 onto ALG hydrogels was established. Combining the virtues of ALG with abundant hydroxyl and carboxyl groups and ZIF-67 with excellent porous structure, the obtained ALG@ZIF-67 hydrogels have excellent adsorption for Cu2+ (153.63 mg/g), which was much higher than that of pure ALG hydrogels (111.79 mg/g). The methodology showed that the adsorption process was in accord with the Langmuir isotherm adsorption model (R2 = 0.9972) and pseudo-second-order kinetic model (R2 = 0.9822). The thermodynamic experiments demonstrated that Cu (II) was absorbed by hydrogel with an endothermic and spontaneous process. The competitive adsorption experiment results of ALG@ZIF-67 hydrogel indicated that the absorption capacity of Cu (II) was higher than that of Cd (II), Ni (II), Zn (II) and Mn (II). Moreover, the ALG@ZIF-67 hydrogels still had excellent reusability after five adsorption-desorption cycles. The results indicated that the ALG@ZIF-67 hydrogels had the advantages of low cost, easy preparation, and environment friendly.

In situ synthesis of fluorescent polydopamine polymer dots based on Fenton reaction for a multi-sensing platform.

The development of fluorescent nanosensors has attracted extensive research interest owing to their superior optoelectronic properties. However, current fluorescent nanoprobes generally involve complicated synthesis processes, background signal disturbance, and limited analyte detection. In this work, a facile and time-saving synthetic strategy for the preparation of green emitting polydopamine polymer dots (PDA-PDs) from dopamine via Fenton reaction at room temperature was proposed for the first time. The obtained PDA-PDs possessed excellent luminescence properties, with a long-wavelength emission of 522 nm, a large Stokes shift of 142 nm, and good photostability against ionic strength and UV irradiation. The formation mechanism of fluorescent PDA-PDs is as follows: in the presence of Fe2+ and H2O2, dopamine could rapidly undergo oxidation to its quinone derivatives and further polymerize to synthesize the fluorescent PDA-PDs with the acceleration of hydroxyl radicals produced from the Fenton reaction. Thus, a versatile turn-on fluorescence sensing method was developed for the detection of multi-analytes (including Fe2+, dopamine, H2O2, and glucose) based on monitoring the intrinsic fluorescence signal of the in situ formation of PDA-PDs. This sensing method could be efficiently applied for the detection of Fe2+, dopamine, and glucose in real human serum samples. Moreover, a three-input AND molecular logic gate based on this sensing platform was designed with the fluorescence signal of PDA-PDs as the gate. Finally, the proposed PDA-PDs could have immense broad prospects in nanomaterials and biosensors.

One-pot synthesis of 2,2'-dipicolylamine derived highly photoluminescent nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots for Fe3+ detection and fingermark detection.

The novel nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) with high fluorescence quantum yield of 23.2% were successfully prepared via a simple hydrothermal reaction with citric acid and 2,2'-dipicolylamine. The as-prepared blue fluorescent N-CQDs had excellent water dispersibility, and showed pH and excitation-dependent emission behaviors. Noticeably, owing to the strong interaction between the residual 2,2'-dipicolylamine group on the surface of N-CQDs and Fe3+, the N-CQDs could be used as a turn off fluorescence probe for Fe3+ sensing through an electron transfer process. Moreover, the photoluminescent N-CQDs/poly(vinyl alcohol) film was further applied for latent fingermark imaging.

Video Monitoring Application of CMOS 4T-PPD-APS Under γ-ray Radiation.

In this paper, we discuss the potential use of four transistor active pixel sensor (4T-APS) as a video monitor at a nuclear accident site with a high level of γ radiation. The resistance and radiation responses to γ radiation were investigated by radiation experiments using 137Cs and 60Co γ-ray sources. The radiation resistance of 4T-APS was studied by testing the mean and the maximum dark current of the sensors after irradiation. A random spatial distribution of radiation response events was observed upon analyzing these events on the video images in a given time during irradiation. The background dependence of the 4T-APS was also studied by comparing the grayscale incremental value of the images with different color and grayscale backgrounds: the radiation response events were obvious on the images with a background having a smaller grayscale value or a deeper color. Finally, the color saturation and resolution of the images were tested using a vector oscilloscope and a test card. When the total ionizing dose was less than or equal to the damage threshold, no significant performance deterioration of 4T-APS was observed in an environment with sufficient light.

Supramolecular template-directed synthesis of perfect phenelenediimino-bridged ladderlike polyphenylsiloxanes.

A template synthesis of the soluble, high molecular weight (Mw), and perfect p-phenylenediimino (p-PDA)-bridged ladderlike polyphenylsiloxane (PLPS) is reported. First, N,N'-bis(phenyldichlorosilyl)-p-PDA monomers were self-assembled into a perfect ladder superstructure (LS) by concerted interaction of aromatic pi-pi stacking and hydrogen bonding. Then the LS underwent a novel stoichiometric hydrolysis/dehydrochlorination-condensation reaction instead of the usual hydrolysis/dehydration-condensation reaction, leading to the PLPS. The perfect ladder structures of both the PLPS and, in particular, the unstable supramolecular LS were confirmed as follows. 1) There are two Bragg peaks in solid and/or solution X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra representing the ladder width (w) and ladder thickness (t); these peaks were consistent with those calculated by molecular simulation. 2) Both the PLPS and LS have extremely sharp absorption peaks with small half-peak widths (Delta(1/2) < 0.3 ppm) in 29Si NMR spectra, suggesting the presence of the perfect ladder structure for PLPS and LS. 3) Moreover, no noticeable absorption peaks for the Si-OH and NH2 groups were observed in FT-IR and 29Si NMR spectra, indicating that the Si-N bond of the [triple bond]Si-NH-C6H4-NH-Si[triple bond] ladder rung of PLPS and LS is not cleaved. 4) Both PLPS and LS show similar emission peaks (in fluorescence spectroscopy) attributed to the excimer formed by face-to face pi-pi stacking of phenyl groups along the ladder chain rather than a branched direction. 5) Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements indicate a high glass temperature (Tg = 176.4 degrees C) for PLPS. As circumstantial evidence, this result further indicates very high stiffness of PLPSs ladder backbone as compared with flexible single-chain polyphenylmethylsiloxane with a low Tg = -69.4 degrees C.