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CeO2/g-C3N4 photocatalysts have attracted tremendous attention in the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants. The design and construction of highly active CeO2/g-C3N4 photocatalysts without harsh conditions is still challenged. Herein, highly dispersed CeO2–x nanoparticles with rich oxygen vacancies were successfully precipitated on the surface of g-C3N4 under mild conditions. The fabricated CeO2–x/g-C3N4 exhibits remarkable activity and stability for photocatalytic degradation of MO pollutant. The optimal rate constant of MO degradation over CeO2–x/g-C3N4 is about 0.031 min–1, which is three times higher than that of g-C3N4. A negligible activity decrease is observed after three cycling runs. The enhanced catalytic performance can be ascribed to the excellent dispersion of CeO2–x with rich oxygen vacancies that benefit O2 adsorption and visible light absorption. In addition, the proper band alignment between CeO2–x and g-C3N4 is conducive to the highly efficient separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs.

Microfluidic devices have become a powerful tool for chemical and biologic applications. To control different functional parts on the microchip, valve plays a key role in the device. In conventional methods, physio-mechanical valves are usually used on microfluidic chip. Herein, we reported a chemo-mechanical switchable valve on microfluidic chip by using a thermally responsive block copolymer. The wettability changes of capillary with copolymer modification on inner surface were investigated to verify the function as a valve. Capillaries with modification of poly-(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-hexafluoroisopropyl acrylate) (P(NIPAAm-co-HFIPA)) with a 20% HFIPA was demonstrated capable of control aqueous solution stop or go through. Then short capillaries with copolymer modification were integrated in microchannels as valves. With the temperature changing around lower critical solution temperature (LCST), the integrated chemo-mechanical switchable valve exhibited excellent “OPEN–CLOSE’’ behavior for microflow control. After optimization of the block copolymer sequences and molar ratio, a switching time as low as 20 s was achieved. The developed micro valve was demonstrated effective for flow control on microchip.

Transition metal phosphides (TMPs) have been considered as cheap alternatives of precious metal platinum for electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In the past decades, many reports have indicated that the engineering of heterointerfaces between different components could efficiently enhance the activity of HER catalysts. Here, we report a facile method to construct Ni12P5–Ni2P heterostructure by using a low temperature phosphorization strategy. The obtained Ni12P5–Ni2P heterostructure shows high activity toward HER with an overpotential value of 166 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 60 mV dec−1 in 0.5 M H2SO4. Compared with pure Ni2P and Ni12P5, the Ni12P5–Ni2P heterostructure has more active sites and faster HER kinetics due to the presence of the interfaces between Ni12P5 and Ni2P. Furthermore, we used the obtained Ni12P5–Ni2P as cathodic catalyst and IrO2/Ti as anodic material to set up a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer which shows good stability after 120 h continuous constant current electrolysis at 200 mA cm−2. This work demonstrates the positive effect of heterostructure for HER catalysts and provides a feasible strategy for constructing earth-abundant electrocatalysts.

High volatility would lead to a highly flammable hazard, explosion danger, low regeneration efficiency and air pollution. Eutectic solvents (ESs) are assumed to be nonvolatile; however, the assumption is not correct. Here, we, for the first time, find that superbase-derived ESs are highly volatile. Even at room temperature (i.e., 25 °C) and atmospheric pressure, the mass loss of ESs could reach as high as 43.5% after 20 h of exposure. Superbase-derived ESs are promising solvents for CO2 capture, and they are also highly volatile after CO2 capture. We found that typical ethylene glycol : 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (EG : DBU (4 : 1)) has a three-stage volatilizing mechanism. EG and DBU volatilize first by breaking weak hydrogen-bonding interactions (1st stage), followed by the destruction of strong hydrogen-bonding interactions (2nd stage), and finally by destroying much stronger hydrogen-bonding interactions (3rd stage). This work presents a new horizon that ESs and their mixture with CO2 are highly volatile, which is helpful for mitigating laboratory explosion, combustion hazards, air pollution and designing new types of ESs with negligible volatility.

Bi2WO6 photocatalyst possesses great photocatalytic properties, modification with Ag, Ag2O, and Ag3PO4 further improve its photocatalytic activity. Photocatalyst utilized as suspended powders in wastewater treatment imposes restrictions for practical application. Therefore, the design and fabrication of photocatalyst film with high efficiency and stability are crucial for practical application. In this study, polyethylene glycol (PEG) modified AP-BWO (A: Ag, Ag2O; P: Ag3PO4; BWO: Bi2WO6) photocatalyst film coated on glass substrate was firstly synthesized with excellent photocatalytic activity and stability. Bi2WO6based films were modified with different PEG molecular weight, dosage and coating layers, followed by characteristic analysis (SEM, TEM, XPS, UVvis, PL, and photocurrent density) and photodegradation test. Photodegradation showed that 2-layered of 12 g L−1 PEG2000 modified AP-BWO film exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity. XPS and TEM indicated that PEG2000-AP-BWO film was fabricated successfully. SEM and UV–vis denoted the photocatalyst film showed small particle size and strong visible-light absorption. Furthermore, PL and photocurrent density confirmed its low recombination and fast charge separation of electronhole pairs. The photocatalytic films showed high activity and stability in both 10-cycle repeatability experiments and tandem-type photocatalytic recycle system. Therefore, PEG2000-AP-BWO film with enhanced photocatalytic performance and stability was a promising alternative for wastewater treatment.

Poplar wood flour wood-plastic composites (WPCs) prepared with high-density polyethylene and modified with different amounts of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) were created. The influence of EVA content on the surface properties and weathering characteristics after ultraviolet (UV) treatment was investigated. The results showed that WPCs treated with EVA had improved thermal stability, and the surface polarity was reduced. The addition of EVA slowed the fading of the WPCs, and the color difference was the smallest when the EVA content was 5%. Both the bending strength and the modulus of elasticity (MOE) of the WPCs decreased after the UV treatment. However, when the EVA content was 5%, the bending strength retention ratio and MOE retention ratio were greatest. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the addition of EVA reduced the amount of pores and gaps on the fractured surfaces of the WPCs. The comprehensive performance of the WPC anti-weathering properties was greatest when the EVA level was 5%.

Traditional contact lenses bring convenience for ophthalmic drug delivery. However, either as contact lenses or as drug carriers, traditional materials have still some drawbacks in the field. Therefore, a transparent film was designed and investigated for the application of therapeutic contact lenses. Chitosan (CS)/graphene oxide (GO) composite film and CS film were fabricated with acceptable transparent and tensile properties by simple casting flow method. Although swelling ratio of CS/GO composite film was higher than that of CS film with significant difference, both formed films had suitable swelling ratio for contact lens application. Both CS/GO composite film and CS film exhibited typical CS infrared characteristic peaks. CS/GO composite film had significant greater breaking strength than CS film, but its elongation at break was a little lower than CS film. Either CS/GO composite film or CS film exhibited good hydrophilic property with a contact angle of around 20 degree. Ofloxacin as a model drug was loaded into films by adsorption diffusion method. Loaded drug amount in CS/GO composite film was a little larger than that in CS film, but without significant difference. The drug release behaviors from CS/GO composite film or CS film were investigated and revealed that the loaded drug could be controlled to release in the first hour. Two kinds of cells were used to evaluate the biocompatibility of films by in vitro method. It was found that both CS/GO composite film and CS film could support human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) growth. But for human epidermal fibroblasts (HSF) cells, CS/GO composite film could promote HSF cells growth and proliferation much better than CS film.

The large volume and weak environmental adaptability of fiber optical frequency combs (OFCs) have become the main obstacles for their applications in various fields. To address these issues, in this study, we present a compact, low-cost f-to-2f interferometer and fiber actuator with a large tuning range and a high control bandwidth for a 200-MHz OFC that is based on a 1.5-μm all-polarization-maintaining fiber mode-locked laser. By employing customized fiber-coupled gradient index lenses, our f-to-2f interferometer is encapsulated in a miniature tube with a diameter of only 4 mm and a length of 40 mm, which substantially reduces the optical section size of the frequency comb as compared to conventional devices. The carrier envelope offset beat with a signal-to-noise ratio of 40 dB is detected in a resolution bandwidth of 360 kHz. In addition, a laboratory-made piezoelectric transducer-driven mechanical actuator for repetition rate regulation exhibited a large tuning range of 106 kHz (corresponding to an effective temperature drift of 53 °C) and a high control bandwidth of approximately 1 kHz. This resulted in a robust repetition rate locking with an Allan deviation of 330 μHz at a gate time of 1 s and a residual integrated timing jitter of 418 fs [3 Hz to 1 MHz] when referenced to a hydrogen maser. Along with reducing the size and improving the environmental adaptability of the OFC, our design can also decrease the power consumption of the system significantly. Our findings provide a new direction to the development of OFCs for various applications.

The application of azobenzene (AZO) as a kind of photo-switch is restricted by its excitation source, i.e., UV light. Hence, visible light-driven azobenzene-based photo-switching is needed and has been designed in the work. In order to forecast the optimal triggered wavelength, the electrostatic potential, theoretical UV-vis spectra, as well as the energy gap for focused structures was calculated to describe the energy and orbit status of the molecules by DFT. According to the theoretical optimization results, m-Methyl Red (m-MR) containing copolymer was successfully synthesized as a visible light-driven photo-switch. Further, for performance evaluation, the efficiency and effectiveness of different excitation wavelengths was firstly evaluated for the copolymer using m-MR and m-Methyl Red acrylic anhydride (m-MRAA) as the controls. Compared with m-MR and m-MRAA, the copolymer exhibited outstanding characteristics as a photo-switch according to its response–recovery behavior. At the same time, blue light proved to be the most efficient excitation light source. Moreover, the equilibrium response time and recovery time showed some dependence on the excitation wavelength. Secondly, the influence of the light intensity on the isomerization transition was investigated. A relatively low light density could lead to a relatively low degree of the final cis form and needed more equilibrium time for trans to cis transformation but showed little effect on the recovery process. Thirdly, repeatable on/off irradiation was used to evaluate the fatigue resistance of the copolymer. Good fatigue resistance without photobleaching was verified from the results. Fourthly, the influence of the solvent on visible light-driven isomerization was also evaluated. Finally, the synthesized copolymer still had the characteristic of a pH indicator with a critical point at pH 5.0 and exhibited an obvious fluorescent characteristic.

We demonstrate the generation of dark solitons (DSs) in erbium-doped fiber (EDF) laser based on black phosphorus nanoparticles (BPNPs) for the first time. The side-polished fiber deposited with BPNPs is embedded into the laser to enhance the birefringence and nonlinearity of the laser cavity. In the paper, the saturable absorption property of BPNPs with an optical modulation depth of 5.7% and a saturable intensity of 21.7 MW/cm2 are experimentally illustrated. After inserting the BPNPs saturable absorber (SA) into EDF laser, the DSs with repetition rate of 14.68 MHz are obtained at a pump power of 90 mW. Our results prove that the BPNPs are the promising candidate materials for generating DSs in EDF laser.

We report a passively Q-switched all-fiber Yb-doped laser using the structure of step-index multimode fiber and graded-index fiber (SIMF-GIMF) as a new saturable absorber (SA) based on the nonlinear multimode interference (NL-MMI). Through bending the SA to a certain state, we obtain a stable Q-switched laser operation with the shortest pulse duration of 4.37 μs and a corresponding repetition rate of 147.6 kHz with center at 1,039 nm. The maximum average output power and single pulse energy are recorded to be 2.409 mW and 16.3 nJ, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this paper confirms experimentally for the first time Q-switched laser operation based on SIMF-GIMF SA in all-fiber lasers. In addition, we also observed unstable Q-switched mode-locking operation. All-fiber lasers based on SIMF-GIMF SA are attractive for practical applications and undergo no damage and performance degradation with time.

Among numerous metal complexes, transition metal (Ru, Co, Cu, and Fe)-based complexes exhibit rich structure types, outstanding stability and interesting properties. Advances in these transition metal complex-based molecular catalysts since 2000 can be briefly summarized from two aspects: catalyst selection and application for photocatalytic H2 evolution.

An adaptable direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method that settles the challenge of coexistence of agglomeration and rebound as a consequence of inter-particle collisions was developed to simulate acoustic agglomeration of solid particles. The method was validated against experimental data under a range of operational conditions. Based on this, the evolution of particle size distribution, agglomeration efficiency and agglomeration behavior with time was numerically investigated. The effect of restitution coefficient on the performance of acoustic agglomeration was also examined. The results show that the occurrence of acoustic agglomeration yields a significant decrease in the number concentration of small particles and a small increase in the number concentration of large particles. Moreover, a worse performance of acoustic agglomeration at a higher restitution coefficient is observed. This study demonstrated the power of the proposed method in simulating the acoustic agglomeration and provided a fundamental approach for investigating the dispersed gas-solid two-phase flows.

Synthesized polypeptide is attracting an increased interests due to its excellent biological characteristic and adjustable chemical properties in bio-related fields. But polypeptide itself has no switching properties, which is harmful to the development of its application as a control component. Herein, light-responsive poly(γ-benzyl-L-glutamate)s (PBLGs) is synthesized by a one-step NCA method using p-aminoazobenzene (m-AZO) and p-diaminoazobenzene (m-DAZO) as initiators. PBLGs exhibit amorphous characteristics with obvious Tg transition, which are 14°C for PBLG1 and 21°C for PBLG2. In order to forecast the structure-property information of PBLGs, theoretical UV-vis spectra as well as the energy gap between HOMO and LUMO is calculated by DFT calculation. Experimental results of UV-vis spectra exhibit similar characteristics to those of theorical UV-vis spectra except for the 40–50 nm red-shifting of absorbance peak. Furthermore, the absorbance intensities of PBLGs have a good linear relationship with their concentration, but their linearity range depending on concentration is completely different. Then, trans–cis transition under a different excitation source and cis–trans recovery in a dark environment are tracked in real-time by UV-vis spectra to evaluate the light response performances. It is found that UV light is the only effective excitation source for PBLG1, and blue light is another effective excitation source for PBLG2 besides UV light. Furthermore, the addition of alcohol and water as cosolvents has little effect on trans→cis transition in UV-light-excited systems, but it shortens recovery time of the cis→trans process in a dark environment. By contrast, the detectable isomerization process becomes unclear with the addition of alcohol in blue-light-excited system. Furthermore, either alcohol or water in solvents accelerate both the trans→cis and cis→trans process in a blue-light-excited system.

The photoisomerization of azobenzene (AZO) makes it a potential type of photoswitch for the field of chemical engineering. However, the lack of stability and photobleaching characteristics of reversible photoisomerization have restricted further application of AZO as a photoswitch. Therefore, we have designed two polymers containing the AZO domain as macromolecular photoswitches and investigated their switching performance. The hydrophilic monomers hydroxyethyl methylacrylate (HEMA) and N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (NVP) were chosen to copolymerize with the AZO monomer to form HEMA-AZO copolymer and HEMA-NVP-AZO terpolymer. The domain content was calculated by integration of the peaks in the 1H NMR spectrum. Real-time UV spectra of polymer solutions upon UV light irradiation confirmed quick and successful trans-to-cis transition for the AZO domain. In reverse, the operable and controllable recovery processes upon white light were also verified by real-time UV spectra. Furthermore, repeated irradiation by UV light and white light for 20 times was used to check their fatigue resistance and recyclability. Importantly, recovery behaviors for the two polymers could be adjusted by solvent property, environment temperature, and light intensity. Higher environment temperature or higher light intensity resulted in shortened recovery time. The influence of solvent was only slightly different for the two polymers. Nanoassemblies, which were formed by HEMA-NVP-AZO terpolymer and poly(β-cyclodextrin)/poly(α-cyclodextrin), exhibited similar controllable switching performance to the pure polymer. In brief, the effectiveness and efficiency of the polymers as photoswitches have been confirmed by results in this work.

The setup of nonlinear pulse compression with hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (HC-PCF) is demonstrated. In our experiment, the HC-PCF is just put in the air with no extra gas fill. The spectrum is effectively broadened to more than 60 nm by delivering the ultrashort laser in the HC-PCF and compressing the pulse with Gires–Tournois interferometer-type dispersion mirrors. The initial pulse duration of 279 fs has been shortened to 36 fs with $20\mu \text{J}$ of pulse energy, which corresponds to a peak power of about 556 MW. To our best knowledge, it is the highest peak power obtained from the solid-state laser at the wavelength around $1~\mu \text{m}$ by using Kagome-type HC-PCF without extra gas fill. With precise dispersion compensation and higher input pulse energy, even shorter pulse width and higher peak power can be obtained.

A hybrid high energy femtosecond laser system based on Yb:YAG single crystal fiber amplifier is experimentally studied. Due to the low nonlinearity and high gain of the Yb:YAG single crystal fiber, laser pulses with high energy of 146 μJ at the repetition of 100KHz are obtained. The beam quality of 1.233 in the horizontal direction and 1.239 in the vertical direction is detected. After compression, pulses with the duration of 859 fs and energy as high as 63.5 μJ are achieved at 100 kHz repetition rate in a compact size, this compact and simple laser system will find various applications in ultrafast laser micro-machining.

The requirements for anti-permeation, anti-infection and antifouling when treating a malicious wound bed raise new challenges for wound dressing. The present study used N,N-dimethylformamide to treat poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) in order to obtain a dressing impregnated with in situ generated nano-silver particles (NS) via an immersion phase inversion method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that the film was characterized by a two-layer asymmetric structure with different pore sizes (top layer: ∼0.4 μm; bottom layer: ∼1.8 μm). The moisture permeability test indicated that the film had an optimal water vapor transmission rate (WVTR: ∼2500 g m−2 per day). TEM images revealed the successful formation of spherical NS, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) demonstrated the integration of PVDF and NS (i.e., PVDF/NS). Correspondingly, the water contact angle measurements confirmed increased membrane surface hydrophobicity after NS integration. The inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectrometry showed that the PVDF/NS displayed a continuous and safe release of silver ions. Moreover, in vitro experiments indicated that PVDF/NS films possessed satisfactory anti-permeation, antibacterial and antifouling activities against A. baumannii and E. coli bacteria, while they exhibited no obvious cytotoxicity toward mammalian HaCaT cells. Finally, the in vivo results showed that the nanoporous top layer of film could serve as a physical barrier to prevent bacterial penetration, whereas the microporous bottom layer could efficiently prevent bacterial infection caused by biofouling, leading to fast re-epithelialization via the enhancement of keratinocyte proliferation. Collectively, the results show that the PVDF/NS25 film has a promising application in wound treatment, especially for wounds infected by multi-drug-resistant bacteria such as A. baumannii.

We demonstrate a hundred micro-Joules level femtosecond laser system based on a compact and simple two-stage Yb:YAG single crystal fiber chirped pulse amplification system which delivers compressed power of 15.57 W, pulse width of 715 fs. The different amplification performance with different input seed power is experimentally studied. A maximum direct amplified power output of 44 W at 100 kHz is obtained for an input seed power of 12 W. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest average power of femtosecond laser based on single crystal fiber at hundred micro-Joules energy level.

Transparent and flexible chitosan-based membranes containing antibacterial drugs were prepared through a casting/solvent evaporation method from suspension of chitosan floccule. To enhance mechanical properties, glycerin was incorporated into the floccule suspension to conjugate chitosan as a plasticizer. The mechanism of membrane formation is attributed to inter- and intro-hydrogen bonding between chitosan and glycerol molecules. The results showed that incorporation of glycerol has a significant influence on the properties of the chitosan membranes. With the increase of glycerol content, the tensile strength, swelling rate, water vapor permeability and wettability of membranes were significantly improved. In vitro enzymatic degradation revealed that the chitosan membrane had long-term stability regardless of the glycerol content. To enhance antibacterial properties, tetracycline hydrochloride (TH) and silver sulfadiazine (AgSD), representing the water-soluble and water-insoluble drug models, were integrated into the membranes, respectively. The results of controlled-release efficacy and inhibition zone indicate that the glycerol toughened chitosan membranes containing drugs have a promising future in treatment of bacterial infection as wound dressing.

To evaluate the effects of biomass pre-pyrolysis and pyrolysis temperature on magnetic biochar (MB) properties, MB composites were fabricated from rattan sawdust (RS) and rattan charcoal (RC) through simple iron salt impregnation and subsequent pyrolysis under different temperatures (600–900 °C). Characterization analysis revealed that pyrolysis procedure greatly affects the physicochemical properties of final products. Magnetite dominates the crystal phases of the MB pyrolyzed at 600–800 °C and the Fe (III) species in MBS (MB from RS) are easier to be reduced into wustite. Raising the pyrolysis temperature to 900 °C or increasing the molar ratio of Fe2+–Fe3+ are effective ways to promote the formation of α-iron for both MBS and MBC (MB from RC). Although the MBS yield is lower than that of MBC, the magnetic media in MBS dispersed more uniform on the surface of the biochar matrix. The saturation magnetization decreased from 600 to 800 °C and increased afterward from 800 to 900 °C for MBS, which raised continuously for MBC.

Layered-layered type xLi2MnO3·(1−x)LiMnO2 (x = 0.91, 0.78, 0.67, 0.54, 0.42, and 0.32) nanorods with a diameter of 100–200 nm and length of 400–1000 nm are prepared through a pyrolysis reduction process of monoclinic Li2MnO3 (m-Li2MnO3) nanorods. All the synthesized xLi2MnO3·(1−x)LiMnO2 nanorods exhibit the main characteristic diffraction peaks of m-Li2MnO3 in addition to some weak peaks attributable to m-LiMnO2 especially for those composites with x

TiO 2 photocatalyst film recently has been utilized as the potential candidate for the wastewater treatment, due to its high stability and low toxicity. In order to further increase the photocatalytic ability and stability, different molecular weight of polyethylene glycol (PEG) were used to modify TiO 2 structure to synthesize porous thin film used in the developed Photocatalytic-Ultrasonic system in this work. The results showed that PEG2000 modified TiO 2 calcinated under 450 °C for 2 h exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity, attributed to the smallest crystallite size and optimal particle size. Over 95.0% of rhodamine B (Rh B) was photocatalytically degraded by optimized PEG 2000 -TiO 2 film after 60 min of UV irradiation, while only about 50.8% of Rh B was decolored over pure TiO 2 film. Furthermore, optimized PEG 2000 -TiO 2 film was used in a circular Photocatalytic-Ultrasonic system, and the obtained synergy (0.6519) of sonophotocatalysis indicated its extremely high efficiency for Rh B degradation. In this Photocatalytic-Ultrasonic system, larger amount of PEG 2000 -TiO 2 coated glass beads, stronger ultrasonic power and longer experimental time could result to higher degradation efficiency of Rh B. In addition, repetitive experiments showed that about 97.2% of Rh B were still degraded in the fifth experiment by sonophotocatalysis using PEG 2000 -TiO 2 film. Therefore, PEG 2000 -TiO 2 film used in Photocatalytic-Ultrasonic system has promising potential for wastewater treatment, due to its excellent photocatalytic activity and high stability.

Fe3O4/carbon nanotubes (Fe3O4/CNTs) nanocomposites were prepared by polylol high-temperature decomposition of the precursor ferric chloride and CNTs in liquid triethylene glycol. After surface modification with hexanediamine, folate was covalently linked to the amine group of magnetic Fe3O4/CNTs nanocomposites. The products were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometry. Then Fe3O4/CNTs were used as a dual-drug carrier to co-delivery of the hydrophilic drug epirubicin hydrochloride and hydrophobic drug paclitaxel. The results indicated that the Fe3O4/CNTs had a favorable release property for epirubicin and paclitaxel, and thus had potential application in tumor-targeted combination chemotherapy.

An antibacterial and biodegradable composite hydrogel dressing integrated with microspheres is developed for drug delivery and wound healing. The mechanism of gelation is attributed to the Schiff-base reaction between aldehyde and amino groups of oxidized alginate (OAlg) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS). To enhance antibacterial and mechanical properties, tetracycline hydrochloride (TH) loaded gelatin microspheres (GMs) were fabricated by an emulsion cross-linking method, followed by integrating into the OAlg-CMCS hydrogel to produce a composite gel dressing. In vitro gelation time, swelling, degradation, compressive modulus and rheological properties of the gel dressing were investigated as the function of microsphere ratios. With increasing ratios of microspheres from 10 to 40mg/mL, the composite dressing manifested shorter gelation time and lower swelling ratios, as well as higher mechanical strength. Comparing to other formulations, the gel dressing with 30mg/mL microspheres showed more suitable stabilities and mechanical properties for wound healing. Also, in vitro drug release results showed that the loaded TH could be sustained release from the composite gel dressing by contrast with pure hydrogels and microspheres. Furthermore, powerful bacteria growth inhibition effects against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus suggested that the composite gel dressing, especially the one with 30mg/mL GMs containing TH, has a promising future in treatment of bacterial infection.

TiO2-based thin films have been intensively studied in recent years to develop efficient photocatalyst films to degrade refractory organics and inactivate bacteria for wastewater treatment. In the present work, P/Ag/Ag2O/Ag3PO4/TiO2 composite films on the inner-surface of glass tube were successfully prepared via sol-gel approach. P/Ag/Ag2O/Ag3PO4/TiO2 composite films with 3 coating layers, synthesized at 400°C for 2h, showed the optimal photocatalytic performance for rhodamine B (Rh B) degradation. The results indicated that degradation ratio of Rh B by P/Ag/Ag2O/Ag3PO4/TiO2 composite film reached 99.9% after 60min under simulated solar light, while just 67.9% of Rh B was degraded by pure TiO2 film. Moreover, repeatability experiments indicated that even after five recycling runs, the photodegradation ratio of Rh B over composite film maintained at 99.9%, demonstrating its high stability. Photocatalytic inactivation of E. coli with initial concentration of 107CFU/mL also showed around 100% of sterilization ratio under simulated solar light irradiation in 5min by the composite film. The radical trapping experiments implied that the major active species of P/Ag/Ag2O/Ag3PO4/TiO2 composite films were photo-generated holes and O2- radicals. The proposed photocatalytic mechanism shows that the transfer of photo-induced electrons and holes may reduce the recombination efficiency of electron-hole pairs and potential photodecomposition of composite film, resulting in enhanced photocatalytic ability of P/Ag/Ag2O/Ag3PO4/TiO2 composite films.

Removal of toxic aniline from wastewater is of great importance in industrial manufacture. Traditional electrochemical methods encounter obstacles such as high energy consumption in mineralization and severe electrode passivation in electro-polymerization. In this paper, we report a practical electro-polymerization method by using Ti/Sb–SnO2/PbO2 anode to treat high concentration aniline wastewater. The cyclic voltammetric experiment was conducted and the problem of electrode passivation was solved by increasing the electrode potential. In the experiments of treating aniline wastewater, the produced solid polymer can separate from water rather than sticking to electrode surface. Elemental analysis shows that oxygen is incorporated in the polymer. Experiments were conducted under different conditions, including current density, pH and initial concentration of aniline and Na2SO4. The electro-polymerization route accounts for nearly 50% contribution in the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD). Our electro-polymerization method gives an apparent current efficiency (ACE) of 232.15% and an energy consumption (Ep) of 0.008658 kWh g−1COD−1 when half of COD is removed at a current density of 15 mA cm−2, pH of 7.0, initial aniline concentration of 1.2 g L−1 and Na2SO4 concentration of 4 g L.−1

Light-responsive materials have attracted increasing interest in recent years on account of their adjustable on-off properties upon specific light. In consideration of reversible isomerization transition for azobenzene (AZO), it was designed as a light-responsive domain for nanoparticles in this research. At the same time, the interaction between AZO domain and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) domain was designed as a driving force to assemble nanoparticles, which was fabricated by two polymers containing AZO domain and β-CD domain, respectively. The formed nanoparticles were confirmed by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) results and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) images. An obvious two-phase structure was formed in which the outer layer of nanoparticles was composed of PCD polymer, as verified by 1HNMR spectroscopy. The efficient and effective light response of the nanoparticles, including quick responsive time, controllable and gradual recovered process and good fatigue resistance, was confirmed by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The size of the nanoparticle could be adjusted by polymer ratio and light irradiation, which was ascribed to its light-response property. Nanoparticles had irreversibly pH dependent characteristics. In order to explore its application as a nanocarrier, drug loading and in vitro release profile in different environment were investigated through control of stimuli including light or pH value. Folic acid (FA), as a kind of target fluorescent molecule with specific protein-binding property, was functionalized onto nanoparticles for precise delivery for anticancer drugs. Preliminary in vitro cell culture results confirmed efficient and effective curative effect for the nanocarrier on MCF-7 cells.

Azobenzene (AZO) has attracted increasing interest due to its reversible structural change upon a light stimulus. However, poor fatigue durability and the photobleaching phenomenon restricts its further application. Herein, the AZO domain as a pendent group, was incorporated into copolymers, which was synthesized by radical copolymerization in the research. Structure-properties of synthesized copolymer can be adjusted by monomer ratios. Emphatically, responsive properties of copolymer in different solutions were investigated. In the DMSO solution, copolymer exhibited effective structural change, stable rapid responsive time (1 min) upon UV light at room temperature, stable relative acceptable recovery time (100 min) upon white light at room temperature, and good fatigue resistance property. In an aqueous solution, even more controllable responsive properties and fatigue resistance properties for copolymer were verified by results. More pervasively, the recovery process could be controlled by light density and temperature. In order to clarify reasons for the difference between the AZO molecule and the AZO domain of copolymer, energy barrier or interactions between single atoms or even structural units was calculated using the density functional theory (DFT). Furthermore, the status of copolymer was characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Finally, copolymer was further functionalized with bioactive protein (concanavalin, ConA) to reduce the cytotoxicity of the AZO molecule.

Light-emitting electrochemical cell of bithiazole-based material was fabricated by solution processing rendered high external quantum efficiency over 12.8% and luminance of 1.8 104 cd m−2.

In cancer therapy, combined utilization of anticancer drug and photosensitizer attracts increasing interest due to enhanced curative effects and reduced side effects. Since the drug delivery system is an effective method to enhance curative effects, drug carriers for codelivery of the two abovementioned molecules are essentially important for chemophotodynamic therapy. Based on the foundation, a nanocarrier with pH-responsive and targeted properties was designed, prepared, and researched in the work. A pH-sensitive nanoparticle was fabricated by acetylated β-cyclodextrin (Ac-β-CD) using oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion technique. During the fabrication processing, a functional emulgator (gelation-folic acid ester (G-FA)) with a biorecognition domain was absorbed onto the surface of the nanoparticle, which endowed a nanoparticle-targeted property. The nanoparticle exhibited a coarse surface, pH-responsive property, and similar fluorescence characteristic as G-FA. The cell endocytosis profile revealed that equilibrium endocytosis could be reached after being cocultured with 1.0 mg/mL nanoparticle for 8 h. Furthermore, camptothecin (CPT) as an anticancer drug and phthalocyanine (PcZn) as a photosensitizer were encapsulated into the nanoparticle during the fabrication processing. The nanoparticle enhanced the fluorescence effects of PcZn on water solution, and CPT encapsulation proportion was slightly influenced by initial CPT concentration. The pH value influenced the PcZn fluorescence behavior and CPT release behavior of the nanoparticle. In vitro cytoviability evaluation confirmed the therapeutic effect of the nanocarrier on HEP2 cells. Finally, the results of preliminary in vivo evaluation revealed that the reported nanocarrier in the research could inhibit cancer development with little effects on the body weight of mice.

The family of graphene has attracted increasing attention on account of their large specific surface area and good mechanical properties in the biomedical field. However, some characteristics like targeted delivery property and drug delivery capacity could not satisfy the need of a drug carrier. Herein, a graphene oxide (GO) nanocarrier was designed by modification of a folic acid (FA) derivative and a β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) derivative in order to improve two properties, respectively. In the first step, reactive or crosslinkable FA and aldehydic β-CD (β-CD-CHO) were designed and synthesized for further modification. In the second step, synthesized functional molecules were coupled onto GO sheets one by one to obtain the GO nanocarrier. IR spectra and XRD results were used to identify the chemical and structural information before and after modification for the GO nanocarrier. The final GO nanocarrier exhibited a typical thin wrinkled sheet morphology of the GO sheet without any influence by two functional molecules. Finally, in vitro evaluation was used to clarify the drug loading and controlling capacity of the nanocarrier as a drug delivery system. The results revealed that the GO nanocarrier had a better CPT loading capacity and showed better controllability for CPT release.

Gene transfection has broad applications in bioengineering and biomedical fields. Although many gene carrier materials and transfection methods have been developed, it remains unclear how cell morphology including cell spreading and elongation affects gene transfection. In this study, human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were cultured on micropatterns and transfected with cationic pAcGFP1-N1 plasmid complexes. The relationship between the cell morphology of hMSCs and gene transfection was investigated using micropatterning techniques. Spreading and elongation of hMSCs were precisely controlled by micropatterned surfaces. The results showed that well-spread and elongated hMSCs had high transfection efficiency. Analysis of the uptake of exogenous genes and DNA synthesis activity indicated that the well-spread and elongated cell morphology promoted gene transfection through enhanced uptake of the cationic complexes and accelerated DNA synthesis. The results should provide useful information for understanding of cell morphology on gene transfection and development of efficient gene transfection methods.

We demonstrate an all-fiber mode locked laser based on hybrid structure of multimode fiber saturable absorber (SA) that can realize both conventional soliton and stretched-pulse states. Stable 16.44 MHz conventional soliton pulses are achieved by injecting 80 mW threshold pump power. By increasing the incident pump power to 420 mW, the laser evolves from soliton operation into stretched-pulse mode locking state. 310 fs stretched-pulse are obtained with the same repetition rate as the soliton pulses. The center wavelength and its 3 dB spectrum bandwidth are 1603 nm and 14.2 nm, respectively. For the first time, we experimentally confirm transition between conventional soliton and stretched-pulse in 1.5 μm mode-locked fiber laser by introducing multimode optical fiber SA. Moreover, the maximum single pulse energy of nearly 1 nJ is achieved. Such all-fiber mode-locked lasers based on hybrid structure of multimode fiber are attractive for practical applications without damage and the limitation of life time.

Background Developing an ideal wound dressing that meets the multiple demands of good biocompatibility, an appropriate porous structure, superior mechanical property and excellent antibacterial activity against drug-resistant bacteria is highly desirable for clinical wound care. Biocompatible thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) membranes are promising candidates as a scaffold; however, their lack of a suitable porous structure and antibacterial activity has limited their application. Antibiotics are generally used for preventing bacterial infections, but the global emergence of drug-resistant bacteria continues to cause social concerns. Results Consequently, we prepared a flexible dressing based on a TPU membrane with a specific porous structure and then modified it with a biomimetic polydopamine coating to prepare in situ a nano-silver (NS)-based composite via a facile and eco-friendly approach. SEM images showed that the TPU/NS membranes were characterized by an ideal porous structure (pore size: ~ 85 μm, porosity: ~ 65%) that was decorated with nano-silver particles. ATR-FITR and XRD spectroscopy further confirmed the stepwise deposition of polydopamine and nano-silver. Water contact angle measurement indicated improved surface hydrophilicity after coating with polydopamine. Tensile testing demonstrated that the TPU/NS membranes had an acceptable mechanical strength and excellent flexibility. Subsequently, bacterial suspension assay, plate counting methods and Live/Dead staining assays demonstrated that the optimized TPU/NS2.5 membranes possessed excellent antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa, E. coli, S. aureus and MRSA bacteria, while CCK8 testing, SEM observations and cell apoptosis assays demonstrated that they had no measurable cytotoxicity toward mammalian cells. Moreover, a steady and safe silver-releasing profile recorded by ICP-MS confirmed these results. Finally, by using a bacteria-infected (MRSA or P. aeruginosa) murine wound model, we found that TPU/NS2.5 membranes could prevent in vivo bacterial infections and promote wound healing via accelerating the re-epithelialization process, and these membranes had no obvious toxicity toward normal tissues. Conclusion Based on these results, the TPU/NS2.5 nanocomposite has great potential for the management of wounds, particularly for wounds caused by drug-resistant bacteria.

The nanomechanics of cells have been proven to play important roles in regulating cell behaviors. However, conventional measurement of cell nanomechanics that is processed on uniform surfaces lacks the control of cell morphology, which is reported to significantly influence the cell nanomechanics. This study prepares the micropatterned surfaces using photolithographic micropatterning of photoreactive poly(vinyl alcohol) on cell-culture polystyrene plates to provide controllable and reproducible cell morphology. The nanomechanics of osteoblasts (NHOst), mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and osteosarcoma cell line (MG-63) are compared on micropatterns. Cell stiffness increases with increase of spreading area due to the ordering of cytoskeleton. Disrupting F-actin assembly reduces cell stiffness. Meanwhile, cell spreading area influences the expression of phosphoezrin that affects cell surface roughness. Rough membrane is accompanied with high non-specific adhesion force and migration rate. The influence of spreading area on cancer cell nanomechanics is not as evident as that of normal cells indicating cancer cells behave less dependently on their microenvironment compared to normal cells. The findings of this study suggest that the nanomechanical differences between normal and cancer cells can be used as a biomarker to enhance the diagnosis of cancers. The use of micropatterns should be very useful to compare the nanomechanics of cells.

Injectable and biodegradable alginate-based composite gel scaffolds doubly integrated with hydroxyapatite (HAp) and gelatin microspheres (GMs) were cross-linked via in situ release of calcium cations. As triggers of calcium cations, CaCO3 and glucono-D-lactone (GDL) were fixed as a mass ratio of 1:1 to control pH value ranging from 6.8 to 7.2 during gelation. Synchronously, tetracycline hydrochloride (TH) was encapsulated into GMs to enhance bioactivity of composite gel scaffolds. The effects of HAp and GMs on characteristics of gel scaffolds, including pH value, gelation time, mechanical properties, swelling ratio, degradation behavior and drug release, were investigated. The results showed that HAp and GMs successfully improved mechanical properties of gel scaffolds at strain from 0.1 to 0.5, which stabilized the gel network and decreased weight loss, as well as swelling ratio and gelation time. TH could be released from this composite gel scaffold into the local microenvironment in a controlled fashion by the organic/inorganic hybrid of hydrogel network. Our results demonstrate that the HAp and GMs doubly integrated alginate-based gel scaffolds, especially the one with 6% (w/v) HAp and 5% (w/v) GMs, have suitable physical performance and bioactive properties, thus provide a potential opportunity to be used for bone tissue engineering. The potential application of this gel scaffold in bone tissue engineering was confirmed by encapsulation behavior of osteoblasts. In combination with TH, the gel scaffold exhibited beneficial effects on osteoblast activity, which suggested a promising future for local treatment of pathologies involving bone loss.

This study focused on the preparation and characterization of magnetic fluorescent microspheres (MFMs) for delivery of kaempferol. Magnetic microspheres were prepared by miniemulsion polymerization in the presence of Fe3O4 ferrofluids and kaempferol, and then, the microspheres were modified with amino-functionalized graphene quantum dots through chemically bonding. The properties of as-obtained MFMs were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectrum, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and vibration sample magnetometry and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. It was found that the superparamagnetic microspheres had ultrafine size (below 120 nm), high saturation magnetization of 32.48 emu/g, and significant fluorescence. Then, MFMs were used as a carrier to delivery of kaempferol, and the results indicated that they had a favourable release property for kaempferol. Finally, by incorporating the MFMs with Hela cells, they could efficiently induce inhibitory effect on Hela...

PbO2 nanowires that were approximately 200 nm in diameter were obtained by template electrodeposition using an anodic aluminum oxide membrane. A proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolyzer with an anode made of this PbO2 nanowire, a cathode made of carbon supported platinum, and Nafion®-117 membrane operating at a current density of 1.5 A cm−2, an ozone current efficiency of 20% was achieved, and did not attenuate significantly during a 30-day period.

We present a new high-efficiency divided chirp-pulse amplification (DCPA) system based on an actively controlled quasi-all-fiber structure. As a proof-of-principle experiment, a two-channel amplification system composed of single-mode ytterbium doped fiber is constructed. The experimental results show that the degree of linear polarization of similar to 93% is maintained after recombination and the system efficiency is up to similar to 95%. In addition, the beam quality (M-2 factor) is around 1.2. Moreover, the system can operate stably for a long time without performance degradation. Compared with the traditional spatial DCPA, this system exhibits some advantages, such as improved spatial adjustment, high stability, compact size, and low cost. It is demonstrated that this work paves the way to design a quasi-all-fiber high-performance pulsed laser system. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Fe3O4/FeO/Fe nanoparticles coated with amorphous carbon are prepared via a facile and scalable in situ-reduction solid synthesis route as high-performance anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The amorphous carbon coating is produced by carbonization of glucose in the precursor, leading to partial reduction of Fe3+ in situ and a tight intermolecular contact between Fe3O4/FeO/Fe nanoparticles and the carbon layer. The formation of Fe in the composite dramatically increases the conductivity of the electrode, making a significant contribution to the enhancement of electrochemical performance. When used as anode materials in lithium ion batteries, the as-prepared Fe3O4/FeO/Fe/C composite shows super high rate capability (685, 545, and 407 mA h g−1 at 2, 5, and 10C, respectively, 1C = 1 A g−1) and excellent cycling performance (900 mA h g−1 after 500 cycles at 1C).

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) is an appropriate material for wound dressings, and has been processed into a variety of forms to match the structural and morphological features required by current clinical demands. The aim of the present work was to manufacture biomimetic porous membranes composed of TPU and investigate the effects on wound healing. The hierarchical thermoplastic polyurethane porous membrane (HTPM) were prepared using a novel, simple and tunable method that combines immersion precipitation with particle leaching. Physical testing indicated that the HTPM possess is more favorable mechanical properties than conventional products, and the inner membrane structure is more similar to that of natural skin. Meanwhile, the HTPM exerted no adverse effects on fibroblast viability and proliferation by a Cell Counting Kit-8 assay. Furthermore, the histological and Western blot results indicated that wound re-epithelialization, granulation tissue formation and angiogenesis were enhanced when skin defects were covered with the HTPM, which significantly accelerated wound healing. These results demonstrated that the bilayer HTPM have therapeutic promise as wound dressings.

According to previous reports, low pH-triggered nanoparticles were considered to be excellent carriers for anticancer drug delivery, for the reason that they could trigger encapsulated drug release at mild acid environment of tumor. Herein, an acid-sensitiveβ-cyclodextrin derivative, namely, acetalated-β-cyclodextrin (Ac-β-CD), was synthesized by acetonation and fabricated to nanoparticles through single oil-in-water (o/w) emulsion technique. At the same time, camptothecin (CPT), a hydrophobic anticancer drug, was encapsulated into Ac-β-CD nanoparticles in the process of nanoparticle fabrication. Formed nanoparticles exhibited nearly spherical structure with diameter of209±40 nm. The drug release behavior of nanoparticles displayed pH dependent changes due to hydrolysis of Ac-β-CD. In order to overcome the disadvantages of nanoparticle and broaden its application, injectable hydrogels with Ac-β-CD nanoparticles were designed and prepared by simple mixture of nanoparticles solution and graphene oxide (GO) solution in this work. The injectable property was confirmed by short gelation time and good mobility of two precursors. Hydrogels were characterized by dynamic mechanical test and SEM, which also reflected some structural features. Moreover, all hydrogels underwent a reversible sol-gel transition in alkaline environment. Finally, the results ofin vitrodrug release profile indicated that hydrogel could control drug release or bind drug inside depending on the pH value of released medium.

A two-color visible frequency comb system based on a 1.5-μm all-polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber femtosecond laser was developed. This configuration relies on the implementation of three amplifiers, seeded by a single master oscillator. With the repetition rate (fr) of the oscillator locked to a reference frequency of 200 MHz, the output of the first amplifier was used to generate the feedback signal and achieve simultaneous phase lock of the carrier envelop offset frequency (fceo). The remaining two independently configurable amplifiers followed by highly nonlinear fibers and MgO-doped periodically poled lithium niobite crystals were used to produce visible comb lights at 543 and 633 nm (in air), respectively. By referencing to a hydrogen maser, the Allan deviations of fr and fceo at a gate time of 1 s are 438 μHz and 63 mHz, respectively. The spectral bandwidths of the 543- and 633-nm comb lights are 0.157 and 0.174 nm, respectively, and the single-mode powers of these comb lights are higher than 1 μW. The multiple-branch all-PM fiber-based visible frequency comb system exhibiting a narrow spectrum and a high single-mode power will facilitate the development of optical clocks and wavelength standard calibrations.

Azobenzene, a photo switcher, has attracted increasing interest due to its structural response to photo stimulus in the field of information science and chemical sensing in the recent decades. However, limited water solubility and cytotoxicity restrained their applications in the biomedical field. In research, HA-AZO has been designed as a water soluble photo switcher in biomedical application. Synthesized HA-AZO had good water-solubility and a stable π-π* transition absorbance peak trans-isomer. With exposure to UV, transformation from trans-isomer to cis-isomer of HA-AZO could be realized according to UV spectra. Reversely, trans-isomer could be gradually recovered from cis-isomer in the dark. Simultaneously, quick response and slow recovery could be detected in the process of structural change. Moreover, repeated illumination was further used to detect the antifatigue property of HA-AZO, which showed no sign of fatigue during 20 circles. The influence of pH value on UV spectrum for HA-AZO was investigated in the work. Importantly, in acid solution, HA-AZO no longer showed any photoresponsive property. Additionally, the status of HA-AZO under the effect of UV light was investigated by DLS results and TEM image. Finally, in vitro cytotoxicity evaluations were performed to show the effects of photoresponsive macromolecule on cells.

Transparent and flexible alginate-based membranes containing antibacterial drugs were prepared by a casting/solvent evaporation method from alginate solution mixed with chitosan floccule (CSF) and oxidized sodium alginate (OAlg). To improve the properties of the membranes, CSF and OAlg were added to the alginate solution in different ratios. The mechanism of membrane formation is attributed to two aspects: Schiff-base cross-linking between CSF and OAlg; ion cross-linking between sodium alginate and CaCl2. The results showed that the incorporation of CSF and OAlg had a significant effect on the properties of the alginate membrane. With the change in the ratio between CSF and OAlg, the tensile strength, swelling rate, water vapor permeability, wettability and degradation stability of the membranes were significantly changed. In order to enhance the anti-bacterial properties, clindamycin (DA) and silver sulfadiazine (AgSD), which represent water-soluble and water-insoluble drug models, were integrated into the membrane, respectively. The results of controlled release effects and inhibition zones indicate that the alginate membranes containing drugs have a promising future in treatment of bacterial infection as wound dressing.

In order to broaden the abilities of injectable hydrogel scaffolds, a self-healing chitosan/alginate hydrogel encapsulated with magnetic gelatin microspheres (MGMs) was prepared for anti-cancer drug delivery and soft tissue engineering. The hydrogel was formulated by cross-linking carboxyethyl chitosan (CEC) and oxidized alginate (OAlg) via the Schiff-base reaction. To strengthen the mechanical and biological capabilities of hydrogel, MGMs containing 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) were prepared by an emulsion cross-linking method. In vitro gelation time, swelling ratio, degradation, compressive modulus and rheological behaviors were tested to monitor the effect of MGMs on the CEC-OAlg hydrogel. With a concentration of 30 mg/mL MGMs, the composite hydrogel provided with the suitable performance and showed excellent self-healing ability under physiological condition. Moreover, this composite hydrogel showed the sustained in vitro drug release compared with control MGMs and CEC-OAlg hydrogel. Our results demonstrated that this magnetic and self-healing CEC-OAlg hydrogel scaffold encapsulated MGMs containing 5-Fu was expected to be a platform for drug delivery and soft tissue engineering.

The focus of nanoparticle research is on exploring its application in all kinds of field. Among these, multifunctional nanoparticle attracts increasing interest due to its fittest property and adjustable property. Herein, a multifunctional and multistage nanoparticle considering the advantage of both nanogel and pH-responsive property has been designed and synthesized in the research. The composite nanoparticle was obtained by in situ processing and polymerization technique using acetylated β-cyclodextrin and gelatin as materials. Gelatin was first encapsulated into Ac-β-CD nanoparticle in order to investigate optimal fabrication conditions of W/O/W technique. The results showed that the nanoparticle had monodisperse characteristic and coarse spherical morphology, which was influenced by factors such as PVA concentration and water/oil ratio. In further step, two-phase composite nanoparticle could be obtained by combined W/O/W technique and in situ polymerization using optimal preparative parameters of W/O/W technique. Two-phase structure could be confirmed by TEM images and DLS results. Fabrication temperature had no effect on the diameters of composite nanoparticle, but influenced the encapsulated efficiency of nanogel. Finally, composite nanoparticle showed quick pH response property at mild acid medium and no obvious cytotoxicity.

Toward fabricating a novel multifunctional wound dressing material, we incorporated a series of contents of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets into polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix to prepare the rGO-PDMS composite membrane and be used for wound dressing. The pore structure, dispersion of rGO, physical properties, water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), cytotoxicity and antibacterial activity were studied. Finally, the effect of the rGO-PDMS composite membrane on wound healing was investigated on a murine full-thickness skin wound model. The rGO-PDMS composite membrane exhibited bionic performance (ordered pore structure and suitable WVTR), improved mechanical properties, good compatibility and effective antibacterial activity. In vivo experiment indicated that the rGO-PDMS composite membrane could accelerate wound healing via enhancement of the re-epithelialization and granulation tissue formation. These findings suggest that rGO doping PDMS uniquely resulted in a multifunctional material for potential use in wound dressing.

Layered xLi2MnO3·(1 − x)LiMnO2 (x = 0.57, 0.48, and 0.44) nanoplates are firstly prepared by pyrolysis reducing the electrochemically inactive monoclinic Li2MnO3 nanoplates, which is synthesized via a solid-state reaction by using home-made MnO2 nanoplates as self-template. The obtained xLi2MnO3·(1 − x)LiMnO2 nanoplates have a diameter of ∼200 nm and thickness of ∼60 nm with high crystallinity and the transition metal layers parallel to the plate’s radial direction. Although these xLi2MnO3·(1 − x)LiMnO2 nanoplates cause a longer Li+ diffusion distance, and then a lower reversible capacity as compared to the nanoparticle-like counterpart, the nanoplate-like morphology of these xLi2MnO3·(1 − x)LiMnO2 (especially with x