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Anisotropic liquid metal (LM)–elastomer composites were fabricated by employing a sedimentation technique. The composite exhibits a remarkable electric anisotropy, heat transport anisotropy and mechanical anisotropy while being frozen. This composite can also be a shape morphing material to develop reconfigurable electronic circuits. This study opens up a powerful strategy for the design of LM–elastomer composites in responsive actuation, thermal regulation, and reconfigurable electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we propose the state and activation mechanisms able to realize the unification of an input signal and addressable sequential execution. Furthermore, a DNA sequential logic circuit (SLC) model was designed and applied in constructing a DNA register that for the first time realizes the generalized storage of identical input molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it is a promising approach for drinkable water production, solar desalination suffers from salt deposition, which reduces light absorption. This study presents a self-driven salt-resistant material, black gold nanoparticles-deposited sponge (BDS), for high-efficiency, salt-free and durable solar desalination. It utilizes the strong water absorption of melamine resin sponges, in which concentrated and dilute solutions exchange freely, driven by gravity and capillary forces. As such, the concentration of salt solution in the sponge cannot reach saturation to generate salt during solar evaporation. BDS can maintain an efficiency of 90% for 11 hours under 10 sun (10 kW m−2) and demonstrates a fresh water production rate of 12.74 kg m−2 h−1 with no visible salt deposition. Under natural sunlight, BDS maintains an efficiency of 80% for at least 4 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the application of redundant modules in the molecular cascade circuit, which can help trace the results of each logic gate. This provides a basis for finding the error position and judging the final circuit result to improve the circuit and the reliability of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the differential information of four homologous oligonucleotides, two domain-based encoders have been constructed with the molecular information as the input. Based on the one-to-one correspondence between the input and output, SNVs can be identified and their sites can be located at the domain level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel bifunctional organic sponge photocatalyst can enable the efficient coupling of tertiary amines with ketones in water. The asymmetric transformation can be also achieved by using this sponge photocatalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) comprised of B(C6F5)3 and 1,2,2,6,6-pentamethylpiperidine (PMP) can efficiently catalyze Z-selective hydrophosphonylation of terminal ynones with a Z/E selectivity of up to 20 : 1. Mechanistic studies suggest that the trans arrangement of the phosphite nucleophilic attack and hydrogen bond formation on the alkyne moiety is responsible for the observed Z-selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desalination utilizing solar energy is an effective way to mitigate the crisis of water shortage, but its large-scale application in production has been largely limited by the low evaporation efficiency. Here, we report a plate thermal reduction (PTR) method for rapid preparation of plasmonic-active filter paper (PP) as the photothermal material with broadband solar absorption over 92%. By imitating the spontaneous water circulation mechanism of plants, we designed a high-efficiency bionic solar evaporation and desalination system. Air with excellent low thermal conductivity was used as the thermal insulation material. Because of the enhanced localized heating effect, the system features a high solar evaporation efficiency of up to 89% under 10 kW m−2. Furthermore, under natural sunlight, the bionic system has a drinkable freshwater production rate of 0.97 kg m−2 h−1 under about 0.9 kW m−2 with the highest evaporation efficiency of 79% for one day. With simple material preparation and efficient and stable performance, the bionic system is ideal for large-scale production to tackle energy, water resource and environmental issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly stretchable and tough Ca-alginate/polyacrylamide hydrogels were “frozen” and folded into program-controlled shapes by exposing them to an Fe3+ ion aqueous solution. The elastic modulus of the as-made tough gels increased either in bulk or locally up to 2.90 MPa, while the toughness remained within the range from 8.18 to 4.41 kJ m−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a simple and reliable approach for high-resolution patterning of liquid metals onto elastomeric substrates and their applications in flexible and wearable electronics. In this method, the liquid metal eutectic gallium indium (EGaIn) alloy was first dispensed into an air plasma-treated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate through a reversibly sealed PDMS microchannel. The liquid metal-filled substrate was then placed on a cold plate, where the liquid metal was solidified. Finally, defect-free patterns were obtained by directly peeling off the PDMS microchannel on a hot plate while the liquid metal started to melt. The as-made liquid metal patterns exhibited excellent electrical and mechanical performance. As a proof of concept, the as-made flexible patterns of liquid metals were applied as flexible electrical conductors, capacitive sensors, and touch keyboards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The successfully developed polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS, a green and highly transparent polymer material) sponge photocatalyst can catalyze cross-dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) of tertiary amines and various nucleophiles with high efficiency and reusability under visible light irradiation. Through an easy-to-build continuous flow reactor, the sponge photocatalytic reaction can be facilely scaled up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid metal sponges were developed by loading liquid metals (GaInSn) into elastomer sponges. The elasticity of 3D-interconnected networks and the fluidic nature of liquid metals led to the formation of all-soft structures for electrical conductors with high electrical conductivity and mechanical flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein we propose a hybridization chain reaction based kinetics competition strategy able to recognize the combination/sequence of input signals. Further, a DNA priority encoder and a keypad lock were constructed. This strategy allowed us to develop a one-pot assay that can automatically and smartly respond to multiple inputs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Correction for 'Bifunctional organic sponge photocatalyst for efficient cross-dehydrogenative coupling of tertiary amines to ketones' by Teng Zhang et al., Chem. Commun., 2017, 53, 12536–12539. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple, toehold-mediated two-way input DNA machine has been developed. Utilizing symmetric and asymmetric protector sequences, INH, XOR logic gates and a half-subtractor are designed based on this two-way structure.

A simple, rapid colorimetry for DNA detection based on non-aggregated gold nanoparticles and magnetic beads has been developed with high selectivity and sensitivity., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2012)