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Multi‐stimuli‐responsive materials have received widespread attention in the field of adaptive materials due to their ability to adapt to changes in the environment. However, fabricating multiple stimuli into a single component crystal still remains challenging. In this study, a polymorphic elasto‐plastic Schiff‐based crystal displaying morphology‐dependent photomechanical motions is designed and investigated. Both Form I and Form II of it exhibit dual plasticity and elasto‐plasticity along different facets, which is attributed to the slidable separating layers. Moreover, Form I retains its elastic bending ability even after being plastically twisted, owing to the well‐maintained strong π–π interactions, whereas Form II can not twist without fractures. In addition, the photomechanical motions of Form I including jumping, twisting to bending are realized by adjusting the crystal morphologies, while Form II is lacking in response to ultraviolet light irradiation. Theoretical calculation analysis reveals that lattice deformation induced by photoisomerization of Form I is the driving forces for crystal motions. Furthermore, reversible luminescence switching behaviors are realized in Form I and Form II upon acid‐base fumigation as well as heating. The synergistic multi‐stimuli‐responsive mode based on heat, acid, and solvent stimuli provides an alternative path for multi‐mode information encryption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photothermal superhydrophobic coatings hold great promise in addressing the limitations of conventional superhydrophobic anti‐icing coatings. However, developing such coatings with excellent impalement resistance, mechanical robustness and weather resistance remains a significant challenge. Here, we report facile preparation of robust photothermal superhydrophobic coatings with all the above advantages. The coatings were prepared by spraying a dispersion consisting of fluorinated silica nanoparticles, a silicone‐modified polyester adhesive and photothermal carbon black nanoparticles onto Al alloy plates followed by thermal curing. Thermal curing caused migration of perfluorodecyl polysiloxane from within the coatings to the surface, effectively maintaining a low surface energy despite the presence of the adhesive. Therefore, combined with the hierarchical micro‐/nanostructure, dense yet rough nanostructure, adhesion of the adhesive and chemically inert components, the coatings exhibited remarkable superhydrophobicity, impalement resistance, mechanical robustness and weather resistance. Furthermore, the coatings demonstrated excellent photothermal effect even in the −10 °C, 80 % relative humidity and weak sunlight (0.2 sun) environment. Consequently, the coatings showed excellent passive anti‐icing and active de‐icing performance. Moreover, the coatings have good generalizability and scalability. We are confident that this study will accelerate the practical implementation of photothermal superhydrophobic coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder distinguished by a swift cognitive deterioration accompanied by distinctive pathological hallmarks such as extracellular Aβ (β‐amyloid) peptides, neuronal neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), sustained neuroinflammation, and synaptic degeneration. The elevated frequency of AD cases and its proclivity to manifest at a younger age present a pressing challenge in the quest for novel therapeutic interventions. Numerous investigations have substantiated the involvement of C/EBPβ in the progression of AD pathology, thus indicating its potential as a therapeutic target for AD treatment. Aims: Several studies have demonstrated an elevation in the expression level of C/EBPβ among individuals afflicted with AD. Consequently, this review predominantly delves into the association between C/EBPβ expression and the pathological progression of Alzheimer's disease, elucidating its underlying molecular mechanism, and pointing out the possibility that C/EBPβ can be a new therapeutic target for AD. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed across multiple databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, and so on, utilizing predetermined keywords and MeSH terms, without temporal constraints. The inclusion criteria encompassed diverse study designs, such as experimental, case–control, and cohort studies, restricted to publications in the English language, while conference abstracts and unpublished sources were excluded. Results: Overexpression of C/EBPβ exacerbates the pathological features of AD, primarily by promoting neuroinflammation and mediating the transcriptional regulation of key molecular pathways, including δ‐secretase, apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4), acidic leucine‐rich nuclear phosphoprotein‐32A (ANP32A), transient receptor potential channel 1 (TRPC1), and Forkhead BoxO (FOXO). Discussion: The correlation between overexpression of C/EBPβ and the pathological development of AD, along with its molecular mechanisms, is evident. Investigating the pathways through which C/EBPβ regulates the development of AD reveals numerous multiple vicious cycle pathways exacerbating the pathological progression of the disease. Furthermore, the exacerbation of pathological progression due to C/EBPβ overexpression and its molecular mechanism is not limited to AD but also extends to other neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease (PD), and multiple sclerosis (MS). Conclusion: The overexpression of C/EBPβ accelerates the irreversible progression of AD pathophysiology. Additionally, C/EBPβ plays a crucial role in mediating multiple pathways linked to AD pathology, some of which engender vicious cycles, leading to the establishment of feedback mechanisms. To sum up, targeting C/EBPβ could hold promise as a therapeutic strategy not only for AD but also for other degenerative diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, solar absorbers have received widespread attention, however, large‐scale preparation is difficult to achieve for many absorbers, and the raw materials are expensive. Halloysite (HNTs) and palygorskite (PAL) have the advantage of abundant reserves and low prices. Herein, solar absorbers with bilayer and porous features are prepared from mixed clays of HNTs and PAL; further studies focused on the solar–thermal conversion efficiency of the absorbers. The mixed clays are gelated by aqueous polymerization of acrylamide and N, N′‐methylene bisacrylamide, then the surface of the gel is carbonized to obtain the double‐layer solar absorbers (F‐HNTs/PAL). The F‐HNTs/PAL shows excellent thermal stability with a weight‐loss ratio of 13% at 1,000 °C, good mechanical properties with a compressed strength of up to 200 KPa at 80% strain, abundant porosity with an adsorption pore volume of 0.057 cm3 g−1, and low thermal conductivity (0.206 W m−1 K−1). Under 1 sun illumination, the F‐HNTs/PAL has a higher vapor rate of 1.215 kg m−2 h−1 that equals 84% solar‐to‐vapor efficiency, which is much more than 57% of F‐HNTs prepared by the same methods, but the F‐HNTs/PAL shows unique thermal stability and mechanical property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple method for the fabrication of the double‐layer and salt‐resistant evaporator consists of a porous structure polymethyl methacrylate/polypyrrole (PMMA/PPy) photothermal membrane as the top layer and plant fiber‐wrapped expanded polyethylene (EPE) foam as the insulating bottom layer is demonstrated for the first time for efficient solar‐driven interfacial evaporation. For the fabrication of the porous PMMA/PPy membranes, a straightforward and affordable breath figure approach is used. Owing to its porous structure with low tortuosity and large pore size, excellent insulation of the EPE sponge, and the strong light absorption of PPy coating, the as‐prepared PMMA/PPy evaporator exhibits a stable photothermal conversion efficiency of 95.3%, corresponding to a high evaporation rate of 1.65 kg m−2 h−1, and outstanding salt resistance performance in 15%wt NaCl solution (evaporation rate of 1.54 kg m−2 h−1), under 1 sun irradiation, thus showing great potential for practical desalination application by combination with its simple, cost‐efficient, and easily scale‐up fabrication process. More importantly, the findings herein may also provide a versatile method for the design of novel photothermal materials with large pores using various polymers as substrates without limitation by shape or size only via a simple and "green" breath figure approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superamphiphobic coatings have wide application prospects in various fields, but suffer from low mechanical robustness. Although some strategies have been reported to solve the issue, it is still challenging for large‐scale preparation of robust superamphiphobic coatings via facile approaches. Here, a universal preparation method of mechanically robust superamphiphobic coatings by spraying a suspension containing silica nanoparticles decorated with perfluorodecyl polysiloxane and adhesive microparticles on various substrates have been reported. Phase separation of the adhesive avoids embedding of the nanoparticles in the adhesive by forming the nanoparticles@microparticles structure and meanwhile generates a reentrant tri‐tier hierachical micro‐/micro‐/nanostructure. Phase separation determines micromorphology, chemical composition, superamphiphobicity, and mechanical robustness of the coatings. Consequently, the coatings show excellent static and dynamic superamphiphobicity. Moreover, the coatings show excellent mechanical robustness because of the combined effects of the self‐similar structure, protective micro‐skeleton, and adhesive. Furthermore, scalable preparation of the suspension and the superamphiphobic coatings have been achieved. The coatings can significantly delay the water freezing time and thus show good passive anti‐icing performance on the 1000 kV high‐voltage transmission tower. It is believed that the robust superamphiphobic coatings have great application potential, as the method is simple and scalable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, with the continuous improvement of domestic fire safety requirements, the development of materials with better thermal insulation and flame retardant performance is of great significance to modern building energy conservation. Herein, hollow glass microspheres (HGM) modified polyurethane sponge (PU‐HGM) with enhanced flame retardancy is prepared by dipping HGM onto PU sponge through polydimethylsiloxane. The PU‐HGM sponge exhibits porous network structure with rich micron sized pores, as well as the HGM with closed hollow spherical structure endow the prepared PU‐HGM better thermal insulation performance, and the thermal conductivity is 0.050 W m−1 K−1. Besides, the PU‐HGM maintains excellent elasticity of PU sponge, and shows strong mechanical strength, the stress of PU‐HGM sponge was as high as 882 kPa at 70% strain after 3 cycles. More importantly, compared with pure PU sponge, the PU‐HGM shows excellent flame retardancy. It keeps its original shape after combustion, and no obvious flame was observed on the surface of PU‐HGM sponge. Thus, combined with its high mechanical strength, low material cost, simple and scalable preparation method, the as‐prepared PU‐HGM sponge shows great potential for application in the field of heat insulation and flame retardant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is important in the development of renewable energy devices, to produce novel and non‐precious metal catalysts with high electrocatalytic activity to reduce the consumption of non‐renewable platinum (Pt) catalyst. In this work, we developed N‐doped and Fe/N dual‐doped porous carbons as catalysts for ORR simply by high‐temperature pyrolysis of porphyrin‐based conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs). By combination of heteroatom doping, highly porous structure and tubular morphology, the as‐prepared carbon samples exhibited high electrocatalytic activity with 4‐electron transfer mechanism, nearly close to the commercial Pt/C catalyst. In particular, among these samples, the Fe/N‐CMP‐1000 displayed a higher onset potential (0.95 eV), positive half‐wave potential (0.85 eV) and limiting current density value (5.1 mA cm−2) as well as good durability and better methanol tolerance contrasting with Pt/C catalyst, suggesting that the as‐prepared metal‐free catalysts from porphyrin‐based CMPs show great potential for ORR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploration of high‐performance electrocatalysts is significant to improve the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) speed in electrochemical systems. Here, the creation of novel non‐precious metal catalysts via knitting hypercrosslinked polymer (TPP‐HCP‐1) based on porphyrin as the building block which contains both mesopore and catalytic sites, is demonstrated. Interestingly, the TPP‐HCP can be converted into a nitrogen‐doped porous carbon skeleton through pyrolyzing the hybrid at 900 °C, which possesses an excellent ORR electrochemical performance in alkaline medium, with a more positive onset potential of 0.96 V (vs reversible hydrogen electrode, the same in the following), half‐wave potential of 0.85 V, and higher diffusion limiting current density of 4.00 mA cm−2. Moreover, it also exhibits much higher stability, comparable selectivity, and better methanol tolerance than the commercial Pt/C. Making good use of their high ORR activity and easy fabrication makes it possible to use low‐cost FeCl3 as both catalysts for HCP precursors and metal dopant for the porphyrin‐based hypercrosslinked polymer (TPP‐HCP‐1), thus the obtained TPP‐HCP‐1 may offer novel ideation to construct non‐precious metal catalysts for practical electrocatalytic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of phase change materials (PCMs) composites with high light‐to‐thermal energy conversion efficiency is of great importance for solar energy storage. Herein, the preparation of novel PCMs composites by incorporation of fatty amines (FAs) into the carbon membranes (CMs) with aligned nanochannels network is first reported, which is obtained by employing an anodic alumina oxidation membrane as sacrificing template and using polypyrrole and asphalt as carbon precursor via a simple carbonization treatment. The carbonized membranes possess abundant porosity and aligned nanochannels, which is beneficial to harvest solar light combined with their carbon in nature. In addition, organic PCMs, i.e. 1‐Hexadecanamine (HDA, ΔH = 311.1 kJ/kg) and 1‐Aminoheptadecane (AHD, ΔH = 293.0 kJ/kg) can be spontaneously loaded into the nanochannels of CMs by the capillary action and surface tension. The fabricated FAs/CMs composites present an enhanced thermal conductivity ranging from 0.291 to 0.525 W m−1 K−1. Compared to pure FAs, the thermal conductivities of the PCMs composites are 144.8–357.1% higher than that of the control. Meanwhile, the as‐synthesized FAs/CMs composites also exhibit a remarkable high photothermal energy storage efficiency of up to 93.8%, which is one of the highest values reported to date, making them promising candidates for a broad range of applications in solar energy harvesting, conversion, and storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar steam generation (SSG) offers a clean and sustainable way to produce freshwater from seawater or polluted water by harvesting solar energy. However, it remains a great challenge to integrate all the desired functions in a single evaporation system by using low‐cost materials and simple methods. Herein, we report the design and fabrication of a novel inorganic solar steam evaporator (PPy‐HGMAM) through binding the building block of hollow glass microspheres (HGM) and pore‐forming material of melamine sponge (MS) with interconnection network structure by aluminum dihydrogen phosphate adhesive followed by coating of polypyrrole (PPy) as light absorption layer for efficient SSG. With the merits of high porosity, low thermal conductivity both in the wet (0.107 W m−1 k−1) and dry (0.056 W m−1 k−1) states, super‐hydrophilicity, and strong light absorption (92%), the as‐prepared porous PPy‐HGMAM shows high energy conversion efficiency (92.9%) and evaporation rate (1.56 kg m−2 h−1) under 1 sun (1 kW m−2) illumination, as well as excellent salt‐resistance performance. Combined with its high mechanical strength, self‐floating ability, environment‐friendly, and low cost, along with simple and scalable preparation method, our inorganic PPy‐HGMAM evaporator may hold the great potential for practical large‐scale application in SSG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The published evidences on the correlations of toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) and TLR9 gene polymorphisms and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) were conflicting. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether TLR4 and TLR9 gene polymorphisms conferred susceptibility to AS through a meta‐analysis approach. Methods: Databases of PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CNKI and Wanfang were retrieved for relevant publications up to 20 June 2020. Study quality was assessed based on Newcastle‐Ottawa scale (NOS). Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were used to judge the associations. Results: Totally, 13 articles with 3,055 AS cases and 4,238 controls were incorporated into this meta‐analysis, and four most widely reported polymorphisms (TLR4‐rs4986790, TLR4‐rs4986791, TLR9‐rs55704465 and TLR9‐rs187084) were analysed. All included studies were in high quality. The pooled data did not support any significant association between the four studied polymorphisms and AS susceptibility. Conclusions: The present meta‐analysis suggests there is no significant association between TLR4‐rs4986790, TLR4‐rs4986791, TLR9‐rs55704465 and TLR9‐rs187084 polymorphisms and AS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of photothermal materials with ideal salt tolerance has been a major subject for efficient solar desalination. Herein, a novel photothermal material based on porous ionic polymers (PIPs) nanowires is synthesized by Sonogashira‐Hagihara cross‐coupling reaction using ionic salt and alkynylbenzene as building blocks. The PIPs nanowires monolith shows abundant porosity with low density, leading a superior thermal insulation. The intrinsic superhydrophilicity of PIPs nanowires endows it with desired water transportation ability. By facile spraying Chinese carbon‐ink on the PIPs nanowires monolith, its light absorption can be enhanced to be 90%. Based on these merits, the PIPs nanowires based photothermal materials show high solar energy conversion efficiency (81% under 1 sun irradiation). More interestingly, its inherently ionic framework can result in an ion–ion interaction between the external ions in water and ionic groups in PIPs framework, thus leading to excellent desalination ability by combing its unique superhydrophilicity, for example, no salt accumulation is observed after 6 h duration at 1 sun irradiation. Compared with the existing salt‐resistant photothermal materials, the method takes the advantage of the intrinsically ionic feature of PIPs without using any artificial process, thus may open a new way for design and fabrication of high‐performance salt‐rejection photothermal materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The findings regarding association of endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1) gene polymorphisms and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) susceptibility are inconsistent. Our aim is to appraise and merge the existing evidence on the relationship of rs27044 and rs30187 polymorphisms in ERAP1 gene and susceptibility to AS. Methods: Electronic databases of PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Wanfang, and CNKI were retrieved for relevant publications. The search was conducted from inception to 10 June, 2019. Studies on the association of rs27044 and rs30187 polymorphisms and risk of AS were included. Quality evaluation was carried out using Newcastle‐Ottawa Scale (NOS). Summary odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated to appraise the associations under allelic and genotypic models. Results: In total, 26 case‐control studies with 31 cohorts containing 17 223 AS patients and 36 915 controls were eligible for this meta‐analysis. According to NOS, each study received ≥ 5 scores. The pooled data indicated that rs27044 and rs30187 polymorphisms were significantly associated with AS susceptibility in the overall population: rs27044, G versus C, OR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.16‐1.33, P<.001; rs30187, T versus C, OR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.17‐1.33, P<.001. When stratified by ethnicity, rs27044 appeared to be significantly correlated with AS in both Asians and Caucasians. For rs30187, despite positive association being observed under the allelic model in both Asians and Caucasians, the findings of genotypic comparisons supported the association only existed in Caucasians but not Asians. Conclusion: This study suggests that rs27044 and rs30187 polymorphisms are significantly associated with increased risk of AS, especially in Caucasians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar steam generation by photothermal materials has recently emerged as a new and feasible approach to effectively harvest solar energy in a variety of applications. This work reports an efficient heat localization material based on the renewable cellulose acetate cigarette filters and a reduced graphene oxide coating (RGO‐CF) as the light‐to‐heat conversion layer for solar steam generation. RGO‐CF possessed an aligned structure with superhydrophilic nature, lower thermal conductivity (0.0733 Wm−1 K−1), and broad light adsorption (≈100 %). These characteristics enable rapid water transportation and excellent light‐to‐heat conversion by the resulting RGO‐CF with an energy conversion efficiency of 94 % under stimulated solar illumination (1 kW m−2), which demonstrates that RGO‐CF is a promising photothermal conversion material for solar steam generation. Such strategy for preparation of photothermal materials not only reduces the fabrication cost but also provides a fundamental guidance for the practical application of renewable polymer resources from used cigarette filters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar steam generation is a promising strategy for harvesting solar energy for diverse applications such as desalination and wastewater treatment. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of polypyrrole modified sugarcane (PPy‐SC) as efficient photothermal material for solar steam generation. The PPy‐SC possesses various close‐packed open channels in horizontal plane and super hydrophilic wettability which is beneficial for rapid transportation of water molecules. In combination with its abundant porosity (47%), low apparent density (80 mg cm−3), low thermal conductivity (0.042 W m−1 K−1), and broad light absorption (90%). The prepared PPy‐SC exhibits a high evaporation rate of 1.59 kg m−2 h−1 and conversion efficiency of 90.6%, under 1 sun irradiation. In addition, the PPy‐SC also shows good performance in desalination. With the merits of low‐cost, eco‐friendly, simple fabrication process, high solar energy conversion efficiency, the PPy‐SC shows great potential as an efficient photothermal material for solar steam generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spongy carbon soot (s‐CS) was prepared and used as novel host material of the form‐stable composite phase change materials (PCMs). The s‐CS was constructed by the interconnected and compact large agglomerates of the soot particles with an average size of 25–60 nm. The average pore diameter of the s‐CS was measured to be 15.3 nm. Owing to capillary forces of s‐CS, n‐carboxylic acids can be easily absorbed into the pores and stay stable without leakage. The PCMs/s‐CS composite present a high heat storage capacity between 83.42 J g−1 and 99.63 J g−1, corresponding to the mass fraction of n‐carboxylic acids between 50.10% and 53.20%. The effects of the supporting material on thermal stability and thermal conductivity of composites were investigated by means of thermogravimetry and flash thermal conductivity testing. The PCM/spongy CS composites exhibit excellent thermal stability and durability, and may have great potential for renewable energy saving applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: As we are experiencing the progressive aging of our population, risk management of geriatric orthopedic patients is extremely important. The present study was carried out to identify independent predictors of surgical site infection and to better define the threshold value of serum albumin on postoperative wound infection in older patients. Methods: This retrospective multicenter study was carried out from January 2015 to June in 2017. A total of 3378 older patients (aged ≥60 years) were enrolled. We extracted the patients' demographics, characteristics of disease, treatment‐related variables and indexes of laboratory examination. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was carried out to find the optimum cut‐off value for serum albumin. Univariate and multivariate logistic analysis models were carried out, respectively, to determine independent predictors of surgical site infection. Results: A total of 123 patients developed wound infection in the present study. Surgical site infection prolonged hospitalization of patients by a mean of 14.2 days. The overall incidence was 3.64%, with 0.47% for deep infection and 3.16% for superficial infection. Independent predictors of surgical site infection identified by multivariate analysis were traumatic injury (odds ratio 12.42, 95% CI 6.80–22.12; P = 0.000), serum albumin <32.6 g/L (odds ratio 2.54, 95% CI 1.22–5.29; P = 0.013) and American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status index class 3 or higher (odds ratio 2.14, 95% CI = 1.24–3.69; P = 0.006). Conclusions: We recommend that surgeons evaluate the nutritional status of older patients and optimize the perioperative strategy of supplementary nutrition support to reduce the risk of postoperative wound infection. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 213–217. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar steam generation is a highly promising technology for harvesting solar energy and desalination. Here, a new solar steam generation system is introduced based on a surface‐modified polyurethane sponge with bilayered structures for efficient solar steam generation. The top layer, coated with polydimethylsiloxane‐modified graphite powder, serves as light‐to‐heat conversion layer with a broad optical absorption, whereas the lower part of the sponge acts as a thermal insulator with a low thermal conductivity in the wet state (0.13882 W m−1 K−1). In addition, the strong hydrophobic wettability of the top layer (water contact angle: 148°) enables self‐floating behavior on water, which is beneficial for practical applications. The results show that compared with a silver‐nanoparticle‐doped sponge and an acid‐etched sponge doped with silver nanoparticles the graphite‐modified sponge (GS) exhibits the highest evaporation efficiency of 73.3 % under 1 kW m2 irradiation, which is 2.6 times that of pure water and far higher than that of untreated polyurethane sponge (36.0 %). The GS shows excellent stability, and its evaporation efficiency remains unchanged even after immersion in water for one month. Based on its cost‐efficient, simple, and scalable manufacturing process, excellent mechanical stability, and high recyclability, the GS shows great potential as an efficient photothermal material for a wide range of large‐scale applications such as solar steam generation, light absorption, heat localization, and seawater desalination. It's getting steamy: Surface‐modified polyurethane sponges with bilayered structures are used for efficient solar steam generation. They have a great potential for a wide range of large‐scale applications because of their cost‐efficient, simple, and scalable manufacturing process, excellent mechanical stability, and high recyclability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The demand for the safe and efficient capture and storage of radioactive iodine is growing worldwide especially after the Fukushima accident. Herein, porous graphene materials, which were prepared by reduction of graphene oxide followed by chemical activation, are proposed for removal and storage of iodine. The effect of activation on the structure and porosity of the porous graphene was characterized. Owing to its high accessible space for iodine uptake, an iodine vapor adsorption capacity of 4110 mg g−1 was achieved, which is the highest value for solid carbon‐based adsorbents up to now. Quite different from that of adsorption of iodine vapor, the adsorption of iodine from solvent solution is less affected by the porosity of porous graphene. The adsorption kinetic data can be well represented by the pseudo‐second‐order model and the equilibrium data can be defined well to the Langmuir isotherm. These findings may offer not only a simple and efficient new approach for trapping harmful and radioactive iodine species by carbon materials, but also provide fundamental insight into the structure‐activity relationship of graphene materials for iodine adsorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) are usually formed as rigid π‐conjugated networks and insoluble in common solutions which in turn have limitations in molding or process for applications due to its unprocessability. In this work, a series of CMPs containing thiophene‐moieties (SCMPs) are obtained by dibromothiophene with carbon branched chain and ethynylbenzene monomers. The solubility of the SCMPs would be significantly improved by tuning the length of alkyl chains in alkyl‐substituted dibromothiophene monomers. SCMPs products bearing different alkyl‐substituted dibromothiophene moiety exhibit an interesting transition from insolubility to solubility in most common organic solvents, which would greatly improve its processability. Taking advantage of its solubility, freestanding SCMPs films and flexible and transparent UV resistant PDMS films based on SCMPs coatings can be easily fabricated by simple coating methods. These finding may provide a possibility for future design and fabrication of soluble and processable CMPs by rational design and tuning alkyl‐substituted aromatic monomers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Graphene (Gr) and poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) modified polyurethane (PU) sponges with enhanced flame-retardant properties were prepared by the direct dip coating of Gr and ionic liquid (IL) monomers onto a PU sponge followed by the polymerization of IL monomers under thermal initiation. With a content of 1.5% Gr in IL, the limiting oxygen index (LOI) of PU-PIL-Gr was 26.1%, whereas the neat PU sponge showed an LOI of only 17.9%. The horizontal flame test results indicate that PIL-Gr prevented horizontal flame spread and eliminated melt dripping. Compared with that of the neat PU sponge, the peak heat release rate of PU-PIL-Gr decreased about 22.0%. These improvements on flame retardancy might have been due to a hybrid flame retardant originating from Gr (which acted as carbon source) and PIL (which contained the flame-retardant elements) in the PU sponge and the formation of protective layers, which isolated the oxygen and heat more effectively. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 45477. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3D polypyrrole (3D-PPy) monolith is prepared by a simple chemical oxidation of pyrrole monomer using FeCl3 as an oxidant. The as-prepared PPy monolith exhibits an abundant porosity and with a mesopore size of about 9.1 nm in diameter. Taking advantage of its mesoprous feature as well as the unique chemical composition, the 3D-PPy is employed as the porous medium for adsorption and removal of radioactive iodine from environment. A high iodine adsorption capacity of 1.6 g g−1 for 3D-PPy is obtained which is competing with that of those reported porous organic polymers. Besides, the adsorption kinetics and adsorption thermodynamic experiments show that the adsorption is dominated by the pseudosecond-order kinetics and Langmuir models. Considering its simple and low cost-effective preparing method, unique monolithic porous as well as π-π conjugated chemical structure, the resulted 3D-PPy may be found useful applications for removal of radioactive iodine to address environmental issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superabsorbent hydrogel nanocomposites (SHN) with semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) are synthesized by the polymerization of acrylamide monomer in a polyethylene glycol aqueous solution in the presence of the octadecylamine (ODA)-modified graphene oxide (GO-ODA) nanosheets. The hydrogel composites are characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal gravity analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The water absorbency of the resulting SHN in distilled water and saline solutions are measured. The results show that doping GO-ODA nanosheets into hydrogel semi-IPN would enhance both their salt resistance and water retention. Using a simple freezing-dry method, porous SHN with macroscopically interconnected pores is prepared, which exhibits excellent separation ability for removal of trace water from oils. Based on their better water absorbency, salt resistance, and excellent oil/water separation ability, the resulting SHN has great potentials in a wide range of applications, for example, oil dehydration, absorption, and separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The N-containing conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) are synthesized by 2,5-dibromopyrazine or its isomeric pyridazine monomer and 1,3,5-triethynylbenzene via the Pd(0)/Cu(I)-catalyzed Sonogashira-Hagihara cross-coupling polycondensation. The resulting CMPs exhibit diverse porosity and morphology, which reveals macroscopically porous 3D networks for BQCMP-1, agglomerated and amorphous structure for DQCMP-1, arising from the variation of isomeric monomer. In addition, metal ions adsorption capacity of Zn(II), Cr(VI), Ni(II) have been investigated due to the good porosity of CMPs. Compared with Zn(II) and Cr(VI), the adsorption capacity of Ni(II) for BQCMP-1 and DQCMP-1 is maximal, which is 272 mg g−1 and 559 mg g−1. Our study may provide a useful guidance to manipulate CMPs by varying the constitution of isomeric monomer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nitrogen-containing conjugated microporous polymers (NCMPs) are synthesized by palladium-catalyzed Sonogashira-Hagihara crosscoupling condensation of 1,3,5-triethynylbenzene and bis(4-bromophenyl)amine. The resulting NCMP sample exhibits good chemical and thermal stability due to its rigid structure. The choice of reaction solvents has a major influence on the porosity of NCMPs. The high specific surface areas of 945 m2 g−1 and 593 m2 g−1 are obtained for NCMP-I and NCMP-III using toluene and 1,4-dioxane as solvent. Taking advantage of the good porous characters and the chemistry of amine groups, the NCMP-I and NCMP-III show superior adsorption performance for CO2 and metal ions. The adsorption capacity of NCMP-I and NCMP-III for Ni (II) is measured to be 384 mg g−1 and 362 mg g−1. Given these excellent metal ions uptake, ease of preparation, and good physiochemical stability, the as-synthesized NCMP samples show great potential in CO2 uptake and removal of metal ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superwetting membranes or porous absorbent materials have recently attracted considerable interest from both commercial and academic communities due to their excellent performance for separation or selective absorption of organic compounds and oils from water, which shows great potential for addressing environmental issues. Herein, the first example of engineering a commercially available stainless-steel grid based on the assembly of graphene for the fabrication of superwetting mesh films (SMFs) is reported. An excellent surface wettability of the SMFs, which exhibit a unique adhesion force to liquids, is observed; this makes it possible to transfer small quantities of liquid samples to perform microsample analysis. A three-dimensional SMF shows unprecedented performance in the separation, transportation, and selective absorption of organic compounds or oils from water. The performance is considerably improved in comparison to traditional separation/absorption technologies and may useful for a wide range of applications such as purification, water treatment, or oil-spill cleanup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly porous activated carbon with a large surface area and pore volume was synthesized by KOH activation using commercially available activated carbon as a precursor. By modification with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), highly porous activated carbon showed superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 163.6°. The changes in wettability of PDMS- treated highly porous activated carbon were attributed to the deposition of a low-surface-energy silicon coating onto activated carbon (confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), which had microporous characteristics (confirmed by XRD, SEM, and TEM analyses). Using an easy dip-coating method, superhydrophobic activated carbon-coated sponges were also fabricated; those exhibited excellent absorption selectivity for the removal of a wide range of organics and oils from water, and also recyclability, thus showing great potential as efficient absorbents for the large-scale removal of organic contaminants or oil spills from water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel and environmentally friendly attapulgite‐based aerogel with a three‐dimensional fibrillary network structure was prepared by incorporation of nanometer‐sized natural clay crystals, in this case attapulgite (ATP), into degradable poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), cotton cellulose nanowhisker, and melamine using only a simple blending method and subsequently a freeze‐drying process. The ATP‐based aerogel exhibits an abundant porosity with an average mesopore size of 8.0 nm in diameter. Compared to fragile and rigid inorganic aerogels, the as‐prepared aerogel shows good flexibility and mechanical strength with a compressive strength of 9.65 × 104 Pa and 10.19 × 104 Pa at 20% and 40% of compressive strain, respectively. The limiting oxygen index (LOI) and vertical flame tests show that the resulting aerogel possesses excellent flame retardancy, with an LOI of 59.5%. Microcalorimetry test results show that the total heat release of the aerogel is as low as 5.1 KJ/g. Also, the sample shows a better thermal insulation property, with a thermal conductivity of about 0.045 W m−1 K−1 in air. Taking advantage of a simple and environmentally friendly fabrication, abundant natural clay resources, easy scalability, nearly no pollution emission in the process, and cost‐efficient production, the ATP‐based aerogel has great potential as ideal flame retardant and thermal insulation materials for many applications such as modern building construction or energy‐efficient coatings. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47849. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar steam generation based on photothermal materials has emerged as a green and efficient technology for a broad variety of applications, such as solar energy harvesting, desalination, power generation, wastewater treatment, and so on. Herein, the fabrication of a kind of a novel photothermal material that is prepared by simple coating of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) onto commercial hollow polyester fibers (HPFs) for efficient solar steam generation is reported. The as‐resulted rGO‐wrapped HPFs possess a porous structure, low thermal conductivity (0.042 W m−1 k−1), and broad light absorption (85%), which satisfies the criterion for construction of ideal photothermal materials. As expected, a high solar‐thermal efficiency of ≈81% is obtained at 1 kW m−2 irradiation, showing great potential for practical applications based on high solar energy conversion efficiency and a simple and, in particular, scalable manufacturing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar steam generation has been proven to be one of the most efficient approaches for harvesting solar energy for diverse applications such as distillation, desalination, and production of freshwater. Here, the synthesis of monolithic carbon aerogels by facile carbonization of conjugated microporous polymer nanotubes as efficient solar steam generators is reported. The monolithic carbon‐aerogel networks consist of randomly aggregated hollow‐carbon‐nanotubes (HCNTs) with 100–250 nm in diameter and a length of up to several micrometers to form a hierarchically nanoporous network structure. Treatment of the HCNTs aerogels with an ammonium peroxydisulfate/sulfuric acid solution endows their superhydrophilic wettability which is beneficial for rapid transportation of water molecules. In combination with their abundant porosity (92%) with open channel structure, low apparent density (57 mg cm−3), high specific surface area (826 m2 g−1), low thermal conductivity (0.192 W m−1 K−1), and broad light absorption (99%), an exceptionally high conversion efficiency of 86.8% is achieved under 1 sun irradiation, showing great potential as an efficient photothermal material for solar steam generation. The findings may provide a new opportunity for tailored design and creation of new carbon‐aerogels‐based photothermal materials with adjustable structure, tunable porosity, simple fabrication process, and high solar energy conversion efficiency for solar steam generation. Hollow carbon‐nanotube aerogels with superhydrophilic porous structure, low apparent density, broad light absorption and low thermal conductivity are reported by one‐pot pyrolysis of conjugated microporous polymers nanotubes, which shows a high solar steam generation efficiency of up to 86.8%. The findings of this investigation may open a new route to fabricate carbon‐aerogel materials for solar energy harvesting applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we report the synthesis of crosslinked polyacrylamide‐hydrogel‐coated iron oxide (Fe3O4–PAM) magnetic nanoparticles as a kind of novel and efficient solvent‐dehydrating agent. With the use of commercially available toluene (containing trace water at 168–173 ppm) as a model organic solvent, an excellent dehydration performance of Fe3O4–PAM was observed; trace water as low as 48 ppm was efficiently removed, and this desiccant could compete with respect to the dehydration efficiency with common sodium treatments. To our knowledge, this is the first example of the application of such water‐swollen hydrogel‐coated Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles for the efficient removal of trace water in solvents. Also, the Fe3O4–PAM magnetic nanoparticles could be easily separated from the solvents after the dehydration treatment; thus, they possess a great advantage over traditional organic solvent dry methods and may find a variety of applications, for example, in oil dehydration and organic solvent drying. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46869. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]