Due to their exceptional anti-adsorption efficacy against a variety of contaminants, superhydrophobic materials have received extensive interest. However, the most of them continue to suffer from mechanical fragility and low chemical stability, which severely restrict their practical applicability. Here, hierarchical structure of polymer/inorganic nanocomposites (HSMP NCPs) with dual crosslinking and low surface energy are designed and prepared by UV-induced polymerization strategy. Owing to the existence of crosslinking structure reduces the deformation and swelling caused by the interaction between poly(dimethysiloxane) (PDMS) and organic solvents, while the strong adhesion to substrate. The hybrid NCPs exhibit excellent superhydrophobicity and mechanical durability after 630 cycles sandpaper scratch and 1000 cycles bending. In addition, the NCPs also possessed high chemical stability under various thermal/solvent environments. Meanwhile, with the excellent flexibility and their remarkable gap between water and oil wettability, the oil/water separation studies of HSMP NCPs demonstrated over 95% separation efficiency after 50 cycles. Crucially, the produced NCPs exhibited remarkable anti-fouling properties, making them difficult to pollute in exposure conditions, which is crucial for sustainable applications.
Imidazolium (Im), quaternary ammonium (Qa), and 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane-1,4-diium (DABCO-diium) cation-based small molecule cationic compounds and their corresponding side-chain/main-chain cationic polymers were synthesized.
The aim of this study was to investigate the roles of keratin 4 (KRT4) gene in the development of human white sponge nevus (WSN).Transgenic mice were created using the microinjection method with pcDNA3.1 vectors expressing KRT4 wild-type (WT) gene and E520K mutation. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western blotting were used to identify the genotype of transgenic founders and their filial generations. Expression of KRT4 in mouse oral mucosa was characterized by immunohistochemistry (IHC), and the whole epithelium layer of transgenic mice was observed using transmission electron microscope (TEM).The positive rate of KRT4 transgenic mice in F1 generation was 45.5%. Expression level of KRT4 protein was significantly higher in 2-month-old transgenic mice than WT mice. Furthermore, all the epithelial lamina of 3-month-old transgenic mice showed reduced staining of KRT4. The surface and spinous layers were full of hyalocytes and bubble cells, which are similar to the clinical symptoms of WSN. For the ultrastructure, both tonofilaments and Odland bodies increased.Our study indicated the mutated KRT4 gene may play important roles in the pathogenesis of WSN.
Abstract The development of aqueous metal‐ion batteries has attracted great attention due to their relatively low cost and high safety levels. However, their practical applications are hindered by the ease at which their aqueous electrolytes freeze. Inspired by the antifreezing properties of salts and alcohol cryoprotective agents, a “two‐in‐one” cryoprotective agent, hydroxyl‐functionalized poly(ionic liquid) (PIL‐OH)‐based hydrogel electrolyte for aqueous lithium‐ion batteries (ALIBs) is developed. The synergy of both ionic hydration and hydrogen bond interactions between the PIL‐OH and water molecules impairs the hydrogen‐bond networks of water and depresses the freezing point of water below −80 °C. Benefiting from exceptional ultralow temperature tolerance, the prepared PIL‐OH hydrogel exhibits a highly enhanced low temperature adaptability and a high ionic conductivity of 0.08 mS cm −1 at −80 °C. The PIL‐OH hydrogel‐based flexible ALIBs exhibit high flexible durability and good cycling stability with 93% capacity retention over 200 cycles at −80 °C. The PIL‐OH hydrogel report herein opens up new opportunities for practical applications of wearable and flexible aqueous batteries at ultralow temperature environments, such as the North and South Poles.
Abstract In this study, we developed a superstrong and reversible adhesive, which can possess a high bonding strength in the “adhesive” state and detach with the application of heating. An ionic crystal (IC) gel, in which an IC was immobilized within a soft‐polymer matrix, were synthesized via in situ photo‐crosslinking of a precursor solution composed of N, N‐dimethyl acrylamide (DMAA) and a melted IC. The obtained IC gel is homogenous and transparent at melt point. When cooled to the phase transition temperature of the IC, the gel turns into the adhesive with the adhesion strength of 5.82 MPa (on glasses), due to the excellent wetting of melted gel and a thin layer of crystalline IC with high cohesive strength formed on the substrates. The synergistic effects between IC, polymer networks and substrates were investigated by solid state 1 H NMR and molecular dynamics simulation. Such an adhesive layer is reversable and can be detached by heating and subsequent re‐adhesion via cooling. This study proposed the new design of removable adhesives, which can be used in dynamic and complex environments.
Patches have been widely used in medical and healthcare, motion detection, and other fields. Patches are required to possess strong adhesive forces to keep them effectively adhered to the skin during use and to be removed from the skin with relative ease after usage. Moreover, a large number of bacteria will proliferate at the interface between the patch and the skin, when the patch is used for lengthy durations, which is harmful to human health. Hence, there is an increasing demand for patches with combined switchable adhesions and excellent antibacterial performances. Inspired by the natural adhesive performance of snail slime in wet (liquid) and dry (solid) states, smart Ga liquid metal nanodroplet-based polymer patch (GxPP, x = 10, 30, 50) with switchable adhesion properties were prepared by incorporating polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) into polydopamine (PDA)-modified Ga nanodroplets (PDA-Ga). Since the melting point of Ga is 29.8 °C, solid Ga melts to the liquid state at temperatures above 29.8 °C, and this significantly decreases the modulus of GxPP, resulting in significantly decreased adhesive strength of GxPP. The adhesion of G30PP decreased from 40.4 to 22.1 kPa. In addition to this obvious change in the adhesion properties of GxPP, the unique antibacterial performances of Ga imparted GxPP with excellent antibacterial effects. Compared with the PDMS, the antibacterial rates of G30PP against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were 98 and 99%, respectively. The excellent antibacterial performance and smart switchable adhesion properties of GxPP revealed its high application prospects in the field of wearable flexible skin electronics.
It is highly challenging to separate stabilized water/oil emulsions with sizes below 20 μm. Here, we propose a simple and scalable process via the in situ grafting of ZIF-8 nanoparticles and a poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) onto a commercial cotton cloth (CC) fabric. Switchable wettability between superhydrophilicity/underwater superoleophobicity and superhydrophobicity/superoleophilicity was easily realized via the anion exchange of the PIL. ZIF-8 nanoparticles effectively improved the superhydrophilicity and superolelphilicity of ZIF-8@PIL-grafted cotton cloth (CC-ZIF-PIL), while also performing the dual functions of the separation of oil-in-water (O/W) and water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions. Accordingly, effective water/oil emulsion separation with a high efficiency (η > 99%), selectivity, stability, and durability was obtained using the CC-ZIF-PIL. These features indicate that CC-ZIF-PIL has promising application in switchable water/oil emulsion separation devices.
An effective solution to scalable exfoliation of large lateral sized antimonene nanosheets is developed. Flexible photodetectors based on hybrid structure of surface modified few layer antimonene exhibited excellent performance.
Here, a strategy for the preparation of adjustable imidazolium-type ionic liquid (IL)-based carbon quantum dots (CQDs) was reported. The effect of chemical structure, including carbon chain length of the N-substitution and the type of anion, on the amphiphilicity of CQDs was systematically investigated. It was found that the hydrophobicity of CQDs can be increased with the increase of carbon chain length for substitution at the N3 position. Moreover, the amphiphilicity of CQDs was also switched by changing the hydrophilic anions to hydrophobic anions. Due to adjustable amphiphilicity, the hydrophilic and hydrophobic CQDs were used for the preparation of fluorescent hydrogels and organogels, respectively. The fluorescent CQD-doped gels showed light- and force-dual stimuli responsiveness, which provides more secure information encryption than traditional single encryption inks.
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