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CO2 capture and storage have been regarded as promising concepts to reduce anthropogenic CO2 emissions. However, the high cost, inferior adsorption capacity, and higher effective activation temperature of traditional sorbents limit their practical application in efficient CO2 capture. Here, a C‐S‐H@ZIF‐8 (C‐S‐Z) sorbent is fabricated by in situ growth of the ZIF‐8 shell on the C‐S‐H (calcium‐silicate‐hydrate) surface for ultra‐high CO2 adsorption and storage. Among the C‐S‐Z, the outer ZIF‐8 shell acts as a transport channel that promotes CO2 absorption toward the underlying C‐S‐H substrate for accelerated carbonation while preventing nitrogen and water from reaching the interior C‐S‐H. As a consequence, C‐S‐Z possesses the merits of ample pyrrolic nitrogen, porous structure, and ultra‐high surface area (577.18 m2 g−1), that contribute to an ultra‐high CO2 capture capacity, reaching 293.6 mg g−1. DFT calculations show a high CO2 adsorption energy and the mineral carbonation is dominant by the adsorption process. In particular, the advantages of the outstanding adsorption capacity, low cost, and high CO2 selectivity make this C‐S‐H‐based sorbent hold great potential in the practical application for direct air CO2 capture and storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photoreversible color‐switching materials, which can reversibly change color in response to external light stimuli, have attracted increasing attention for their applications in time‐sensitive information storage and optical data storage fields. But most of the related materials are dyes or redox compounds with ultraviolet as the light source, dramatically limiting the cycling stability during discoloration processes. To address this problem, a near‐infrared (NIR)‐responsive rewritable paper via doping layered Co‐metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) into the stable polyvinylidene fluoride matrix is reported for the first time. Layered Co‐MOF shows a rapid color‐switching characteristic between orange and black blue upon NIR illumination on/off because of the interlayer spacing changes. Benefiting from the soft network structures of the matrix, Co‐MOF can be homogeneously distributed to deliver an outstanding reversibility performance, including rapid response, coloration in a short period, and decoloration within about 3 min in ambient air. The fabrication of new photoreversible color switching system holds great potential in communication security, which offers a viable pathway to achieve ink‐free photoreversible printing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humidity visualization is of significant importance across both the living systems and the industrial processes, which remains a huge challenge. Herein, for the first time, a hydrophilic sponge, which is composed of rigid gel and super hygroscopic material, has been demonstrated capable of all‐weather humidity visualization in a portable, convenient, economical, and in situ manner. This promising aspect is attributed to the effective all‐weather humidity capture and various color display as a response to the humidity capture capacity, of the super hygroscopic material; as well as the rapid humidity transport and excellent humidity storage ability provided by the porous rigid gel. As a consequence, combined with a smartphone, the invisible information on the environment's relative humidity levels, on the one hand, can be correlated qualitatively with the specific color display of the sponge; on the other hand, it can be correlated quantitatively with the specific color intensity, providing a pretty good smart model for humidity visualization in various complex environments. The present humidity visualization technology may open up a new avenue for the development of novel humidity sensors with a wide range of practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]