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Optimizing mechanical performance is crucial for the practical utilization of stimuli-responsive polymers, while complex viscous and elastic behavior hinders a deep understanding of functional polymers under external field excitation. Here, we demonstrate the in situ dynamic and static mechanical responses under electric stimuli of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) above glass transition temperature (Tg) by applying a direct current electric field vertically to the mechanical loading. The results show that the electro-mechanical response of PMMA is directly correlated to chain relaxation modes with different length scales: for local segments, polarization provides resistance for molecular motion, manifested by enhanced moduli, increased transient viscosity, and a wider linear viscoelastic range, whereas in a larger spatial range, polarization-induced conformation change causes faster relaxation, reduced elastic modulus, and a lowered modulus plateau. Moreover, flow viscosity is reduced because of weaker friction between chain segments under polarization. Our results suggest effective strategies for precisely tuning the viscoelastic behavior of polymers above Tg through electric stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the recent progress in the development of high-mobility polymer semiconductors with various functionalities. These semiconductors have advantages such as easy solution processing, large-area manufacturing, mechanical strength, and flexibility. The article focuses on the integration of high mobility with stretchability, strong luminescence, photolithography patterning, and efficient thermoelectric conversion. The challenges and future directions in this field are also discussed. The research is supported by various funding sources. [Extracted from the article]

It is highly demanded to understand the confinement effect on nanoconfined polymers. Recent studies reported a strong perturbation of local dynamics and substantial alteration of glass transition temperature Tg at nanoscale. However, how confinement affects the mechanical properties of polymers is not fully understood. Here, we show that the modulus of thin polymer films could be remarkedly altered through a polymer–polymer interface. The modulus of a thin polystyrene (PS) film next to a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was determined from the PS–PDMS bilayer bulging test. A series of experiments show that the modulus of PS can be increased up to 37%, when the modulus of the neighboring PDMS varies from 1.04 to 4.88 MPa. The results demonstrate a strong sensitivity of mechanical properties of thin polymers to the hard/soft environment, which we attribute to the change of high-mobility layer by the polymer–polymer interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilisation of plants directly as quantifiable natural sensors is proposed. A case study measuring surface wettability of Aucuba japonica, or Japanese Laurel, plants using a novel smartphone field interrogator is demonstrated. This plant has been naturalised globally from Asia. Top-down contact angle measurements map wettability on-site and characterise a range of properties impacting plant health, such as aging, solar and UV exposure, and pollution. Leaves at an early age or in the shadow of trees are found to be hydrophobic with contact angle θ ~ 99°, while more mature leaves under sunlight are hydrophilic with θ ~ 79°. Direct UVA irradiation at λ = 365 nm is shown to accelerate aging, changing contact angle of one leaf from slightly hydrophobic at θ ~ 91° to be hydrophilic with θ ~ 87° after 30 min. Leaves growing beside a road with heavy traffic are observed to be substantially hydrophilic, as low as θ ~ 47°, arising from increased wettability with particulate accumulation on the leaf surface. Away from the road, the contact angle increases as high as θ ~ 96°. The results demonstrate that contact angle measurements using a portable diagnostic IoT edge device can be taken into the field for environmental detection, pollution assessment and more. Using an Internet connected smartphone combined with a plant sensor allows multiple measurements at multiple locations together in real-time, potentially enabling tracking of parameter change anywhere where plants are present or introduced. This hybrid integration of widely distributed living organic systems with the Internet marks the beginning of a new bionic Internet-of-things (b-IoT). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the synthesis and dynamic covalent chemistry (DCvC) of an A1/A2-dimercapto-functionalized pillar[5]arene (Di-SH-P5). The introduction of thiol moieties into this macrocyclic host makes it an effective building block for making a dynamic combinatorial library (DCL), giving rise to a set of cyclic trimers with intriguing host–guest properties as the dominant constituents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review article offers an in-depth analysis of cooperative motion planning and control in aerial-ground autonomous systems, emphasizing their methods and applications. It explores the integration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), focusing on their synchronized planning and control mechanisms that enable efficient task execution in various settings, such as disaster response, environmental monitoring, and urban surveillance. The article addresses the motion planning strategies, and control mechanisms, while also highlighting the challenges and future trends in this domain. It serves as a comprehensive resource, shedding light on both the potentials and limitations of these systems, thereby providing valuable insights for researchers and practitioners in the field of autonomous systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites exhibit superior optoelectrical properties and have been widely used in photodetectors. Perovskite photodetectors with excellent detectivity have great potential for developing artificial photonic synapses which can merge data transmission and storage. They are highly desired for next generation neuromorphic computing. The recent progress of perovskite photodetectors and their application in artificial photonic synapses are summarized in this review. Firstly, the key performance parameters of photodetectors are briefly introduced. Secondly, the recent research progress of photodetectors including photoconductors, photodiodes, and phototransistors is summarized. Finally, the applications of perovskite photodetectors in artificial photonic synapses in recent years are highlighted. All these demonstrate the great potential of perovskite photonic synapses for the development of artificial intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene p–n junctions hold great potential in the fields of electronic and optoelectronic devices. Here, we develop a scheme of the in situ growth of an epitaxial graphene (EG) lateral p–n junction on a semi-insulating SiC (0001) substrate with periodic boron ion implantation, and utilizing the advantages of EG, SiC, and p–n junctions in a two-terminal device at the same time, a high-performance UV-enhanced self-powered photodetector is prepared based on an EG p–n junction with a maximum Fermi level difference of about 210 mV. Moreover, when a 325-nm laser locally irradiates the p-terminal of the device, its responsivity is about six times higher than when the laser locally irradiates the n-terminal. This indicates that EG on SiC with a p-type modulated subsurface is conducive to designing efficient UV photodetectors in which SiC serves as the gain medium. All of these characteristics facilitate the growth of EG p–n junctions on a wafer scale and the fabrication of EG p–n junctions for optoelectronic and electronic devices using standard semiconductor synthesis procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graph convolutional neural networks have been successfully applied to collaborative filtering to capture high-quality user-item representations. Despite their remarkable performance, there are still limitations that hinder further improvement of recommender systems. Most existing recommendation systems utilize implicit feedback data for model training, but such data inevitably contains adversarial interaction noise. The conventional graph-based collaborative filtering method fails to effectively filter out this noise, and instead amplifies its impact, resulting in degraded model performance. To address this issue, we propose a robustness-enhanced collaborative filtering graph neural network model that does not rely on explicit noise filtering. Our approach involves simulating user-item interactions that do not exist in practice as adversarial interaction noise using random noise. To mitigate the impact of this noise in hidden feedback, we replace them with randomly selected partial nodes based on the principle of mutual information maximization. Our model has been extensively experimented on three public datasets (MovieLens-1 M, Yelp, and Ta-feng) and achieves performance improvements of about 5%, 10%, and 14%, respectively, compared to the state-of-the-art baseline model. In particular, in model robustness experiments, our model achieves significant performance improvements of about 13% and 17% in Yelp and Ta-feng. A comprehensive experimental study shows that our proposed method is reasonably effective and interpretable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ballast derived from different parent rocks were reinforced with CR. • Degradation of ballast subjected to various impact loads was measured. • The big dataset was employed to train and test the machine learning models. • Parent rock type was the most influential parameter based on ML models. Parent rock strength and crumb rubber modification are two critical mechanical parameters that significantly decide the ballast layer degradation subjected to train dynamic loading. Using machine learning to predict ballast degradation considering these two parameters is helpful for deciding ballasted track maintenance cycle. In the current study, the ballast degradation process data (variables: parent rock types, loading types, ballast gradations and compositions of crumb rubber-ballast mixture) were used to train machine learning models. The drop-weight impact loading tests were performed to simulate different train dynamic loadings. Two well-established machine learning models, i.e., random forest (RF) and support vector regression (SVR) were trained and verified, to more effectively assess the importance of these variables. The results from the validated machine learning models confirm that the parent rock type is the most influential parameter, followed by the loading type (applied stress level), to control and predict the degradation of the ballast-CR mixture. The experimental assessment reveals that although the incorporation of CR suppresses degradation across all characterized rock types, the improvement in performance of the ballast-CR specimen against degradation is more noticeable for high-strength parent rock subjected to a considerable stress level. Meanwhile, this positive influence is also observed for ballast of weaker strength when the applied stress level is low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Realizing the reliable modulation of the carrier type and density in graphene is a challenging task, especially for epitaxial graphene (EG) grown in situ on SiC via thermal decomposition. In this process, doping is seldom adopted for substrate pretreatment, and the residual carriers in EG are determined by the properties of the SiC substrate and the random defects in EG. Here, we demonstrate a simple and effective technique for hole doping in EG on the Si-face of SiC (0001) implanted with boron ions. P-type EG with a carrier concentration of approximately 1–2 × 1012 cm−2 and a room-temperature mobility of 100–300 cm2/V s was achieved at the boron ion dose of approximately 1 × 1015 cm−2 at a centroid depth of approximately 140 nm from the SiC surface. These transport properties are comparable with the data reported for unintentionally doped P-type EG on the Si-face of SiC [Tedesco et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 122102 (2009)], for which the Hall device size was 40 times smaller compared to our device. The formation of P-type EG on the Si-face of SiC (0001) in this study was attributed to the synergetic effects of boron doping in EG and the transfer of electrons from EG into SiC. The detailed mechanisms are studied and discussed in this paper. The method demonstrated herein can be universally applied to downshift the Fermi level of EG on SiC, regardless of the crystallization orientation or polytype. The developed method is also compatible with modern semiconductor procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Quantified assessment of individual ballast degradation based on 3D particle images. • Illustration of ballast breakage type and quantified using surface area change. • Improvements in ballast surface texture quantification with 3D particle images. • Reuse of waste rubber in railway engineering (ballast layer). Higher speed, more freight and frequent maintenance increase ballast degradation and reduce the ballast lifespan. To reduce ballast degradation, crumb rubber used as buffering aggregates in ballast bed is relatively unexplored and needs more studies, because using it has the advantage of reusing the waster rubber and absorbing the noises. The effects of crumb rubber (CR) size and percentage on ballast degradation reduction is studied in this paper, and the optimal CR size and percentage are proposed. Three CR size ranges are utilised, i.e., 3 ∼ 5 mm, 10 ∼ 15 mm and 20 ∼ 25 mm, and the percentages are 0, 10, 20 and 30% by weight. Three kinds of ballast material with two size ranges are utilised. The deteriorated ballast particles were generated using Los Angeles Abrasion (LAA) tests, and the ballast degradation was evaluated with the 3D image analysis. The results indicate that ballast abrasion can be alleviated by adding the CR, while the CR has few influences on the ballast breakage. When CR size is close to ballast particle size, the effects of degradation reduction are not obvious. The corner and edge loss are the main types of ballast abrasion, although different ballast materials significantly influence the abrasion type and degree. Most importantly, the image analysis method is proved to have the ability to present ballast degradation process and has great potential for further degradation-related studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Biogenic Pd NPs were synthesized over the support of 3D porous KIT-6 to form Pd/kit-CeO 2 catalysts. • With the 0.5Pd/kit-CeO 2 , the T 90% of benzene oxidation was significantly reduced to 187 °C. • The Pd/kit-CeO 2 catalyst was strongly resistant to the deactivation by CO 2 and water vapor. • The synergetic interaction of Pd NPs and the support led to the catalytic activity of Pd/kit-CeO 2. • DFT calculation validated the catalytic mechanisms of Pd/kit-CeO 2 for benzene oxidation. Abstract Pd nanoparticles (NPs)-based catalysts were synthesized, characterized and used to catalyze the oxidation of volatile organic compound (VOC) pollutants. A biogenic method was employed to synthesize Pd NPs with tunable sizes by using Cacumen platycladi (CP) leaf extract as a reducing agent. The Pd NPs were then anchored over a support which was made from KIT-6-templated three-dimensionally ordered mesoporous (3DOM) CeO 2 (i.e., kit-CeO 2) to form xPd/kit-CeO 2 catalysts with various Pd loadings (x denotes Pd loading, wt%). The physicochemical properties such as morphology, structure and elemental distribution of the xPd/kit-CeO 2 catalysts and the support were comprehensively characterized. The BET surface areas of the support and catalysts varied in the range of 105–109 m2/g. In the benzene oxidation catalyzed by 0.5Pd/kit-CeO 2 , the temperature required for 90% benzene conversion was significantly reduced to 187 °C, compared with the published results. Furthermore, the 0.5Pd/kit-CeO 2 showed stable catalytic activity after being used for 150 h in on-stream reaction. Besides, density functional theory calculation indicated that the synergetic effects of Pd NPs and the kit-CeO 2 support would facilitate the activation of benzene adsorbed on Pd NPs prior to oxidation. The catalytic performance of 0.5Pd/kit-CeO 2 correlated well with the features of CP leaf extract, high Pd0 concentration, abundant oxygen adspecies, low temperature reducibility, and strong interactions between Pd NPs and kit-CeO 2 support. The biogenic method is better than the chemical method to synthesize Pd NPs with higher catalytic activity while the kit-CeO 2 is better than the commercial CeO 2 and KIT-6-templated transition metal oxides (e.g., Fe 2 O 3 and Co 3 O 4) as a supporting material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) have received significant interest due to potential applications from low-cost active circuit to wearable health care devices. Organic semiconductors as one of the key components in OFETs have drawn great attentions during last decades. Among them, antiaromatic and quinoidal materials have become the most intensively studied semiconductors. Therefore, this review describes the chemical structures and efficiency characteristics of π-conjugated materials through antiaromaticity and quinoid strategy for OFETs. In addition, rational designs and synthetic methods for these materials will be summarized, and a practical guideline for accelerating the development of high-performance semiconducting materials and devices will be provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ballast track is the most widely used track for the railway transport, and ballast bed plays a significant role to provide resistances during train operation. Generally, the ballast bed consists of crushed stones. To achieve the mitigation of ballast degradation, the first priority is to describe the degradation development and to study its effect factors. The influence of ballast morphology (particle size and shape) on ballast degradation is examined here using the Los Angeles Abrasion (LAA) test in combination with 3-D image analysis. LAA tests are used to obtain the deteriorated ballast. Then, based on the 3-D images, the changes of ballast particles after the tests were analysed. To quantify the ballast degradation (abrasion and breakage), the Abrasion Depth based on the analysis of 3-D images were proposed, while ballast breakage was estimated using the broken particles ratio. The results have shown that ballast degradation is directly related to the ballast morphology. The proposed image-based procedure can effectively be applied to assess ballast degradation. The results can be used for ballast material standardization, modelling of ballast degradation process and maintenance cycle prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reveal the origin of modulus anomaly over a wide temperature range (about 240 K) observed in Mn 0.70 Fe 0.25 Cu 0.05 alloy, a phase-field model considering antiferromagnetic (AF) transition with doping Fe was established, in which the average modulus is considered as a functional of order parameter. Simulation reveals that the pining effect by doping Fe leads to the increase of low spin non-collinear AF domain walls (LS), meanwhile, the LS domain walls gradually evolve to high spin collinear AF domains (HS) with lowering temperature, accompanying the growth of HS domains and the decrease of modulus, and vice versa. Such a dynamic antiferromagnetic domain size (DAFDZ) effect gives rise to modulus anomaly, while the proper volume ratio of LS and HS is a crucial factor for the wide temperature range of modulus anomaly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar cells made of lead perovskite crystals have attracted much attention for their high performance, but far less attention as a subject of crystal engineering. Here, we report that citric acid (CA) and chloride anion, working together, modulate crystal growth of CH3NH3PbI3, producing sub-mm-sized cuboid crystalsa morphology more suitable for close packing in a thin film than the commonly observed elongated dodecahedral morphology. By using a 15 wt % CA-doped precursor solution, we formed a single layer of large, flat, and oriented cuboid crystals with minimum crystal domain boundaries and maximum contact with neighboring layers, and fabricated an archetypal inverted-structured device of 4 mm2 area, which showed, reproducibly and with little hysteresis, 16.75% power conversion efficiency (PCE), 26% higher than the PCE obtained for a polycrystalline film made without CA doping. Under weaker irradiation of a 1 cm2 device, the PCE improved from 14.52% (one sun) to 20.4% (0.087 suns). Under illumination with white light emitting diode, a 10 wt % CA-doped device showed PCE of 28.1%, suggesting an advantage of PVK-SCs for indoor applications. Further studies on crystal growth modulation will be beneficial for manufacturing efficient and stable lead perovskite solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A risk evolution analysis model is newly developed to investigate the ship collision risk in pilotage process, which attracts little attention in the existing literature. • A Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) and Dynamic Bayesian Network (DBN) are combined to investigate process risk of high dynamic and uncertain features. • Various objective (AIS) and subjective datasets are used to quantify the DBN network based on hybrid uncertainty methods. • The temporal risk inference is conducted to reveal the risk evolution law in ship pilotage operations process. The risks involved in ship pilotage operations are characterized by random, uncertain and complex features. To reveal the spatiotemporal evolution of ship collision risks in the pilotage operations process, a risk evolution analysis model is developed in this paper by the combination of a Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) and Dynamic Bayesian Network (DBN). First, based on the analysis results of the functional resonance mechanism of a ship pilotage system, the relevant collision risk influencing factors (RIFs) and their coupling relationships are identified. Second, the DBN is quantified by the employment of various uncertainty treatment methods including the Dempster-Shafer evidence theory for the configuration of the prior probabilities and a Markov model for the dynamic factors' transition probability calculation. Finally, using the temporal observation data, the temporal risk inference is conducted to reveal the risk evolution law in a ship pilotage operations process. The findings show that the evolution of collision risk in ship pilotage is significantly sensitive to regional locations, resulting in a "U" curve shaped by the action of functional resonance. "Inadequate human look-out" is among the most influential factors, and hence targeted risk control strategies should be formulated to ensure the safety of ship pilotage operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer field-effect transistors (PFETs) are promising candidates for future electronics due to easy and inexpensive fabrication. Poly{[ N , N ′-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-naphthalene-1,4,5,8-bis(dicarboximide)-2,6-diyl]-alt-5,5′-(2,2′-bithiophene) [P(NDI2OD-T2)] based PFET devices with poly (methyl 2-methylpropenoate) (PMMA) as dielectric were fabricated successfully and it was found that the charge transporting behaviors were greatly impacted by the molecular weight of PMMA. Both hole and electron mobilities were improved simultaneously with increasing molecular weight of PMMA. In addition, similar result was also obtained in the PFETs based on a semiconductor, poly{[ N , N ′-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-1,4,5,8-naphthalenediimide-2,6-diyl-alt-5,5′-di(thiophen-2-yl)-2,2′-(E)-2-(2-(thiophen-2-yl)vinyl)thiophene]}. Furthermore, the corresponding complementary-like inverters with PMMA displayed a gain value of 100. We studied the interface between the semiconducting and dielectric layers and found that the low trap density with higher-molecular-weight PMMA attributes to high mobilities of electrons and holes. This work provides a new way to fabricate high-performance PFETs and to improve performance of the complementary circuits through studying the effects of polymeric gate dielectrics, compared to the conventional view of semiconducting materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Summary and comparison of ballast standards in different countries. • Promising future ballast technologies are discussed. • Ballast qualification considering different material types and local geologies. The properties of railway ballast material are affected by the local geologies and climatic environments from which the parent rock is sourced. These factors can make it challenging to select the most appropriate material for railway applications. To address this issue, this paper first reviews the means of ballast selection in complex environments across the world. The selection criteria for ballast materials are compared and test methods for ballast quality quantification are summarised. Next, ballast parent rock types and the implications of mining approaches are discussed, before analysing ballast morphology with respect to ballast size and shape. Then ballast petrography is reviewed with a focus on the effect of mineral composition on performance. Finally, some promising future ballast technologies are discussed with a focus on environmental performance. These include recycled ballast, asphaltic materials, steel slag and ballast gluing. The review shows that regarding ballast selection means and criteria, the number and type of quantitative indicators varies greatly between countries. In particular there are divergences in test methods and quantitative indicators for ballast quality considering material types and local geologies. Suggested future research directions are proposed, such as the effect of tamping and dynamic track stabilisation on ballast properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for applications, such as coatings, separation filters, and electronic packaging, has greatly driven the research of polymer films. At nanometer scale, mechanical properties of thin polymer films can significantly deviate from bulk. Despite outstanding progresses, there still lack deep discussions on nonlinear viscoelastic–viscoplastic response and their interactions under nanoconfinement. In this work, by conducting measurements via the bubble inflation method and modelling using Schapery and Perzyna equations, we demonstrate nonlinear viscoelastic–viscoplastic properties of freely standing thin polystyrene (PS) films. The results show the unchanged glassy compliance and the rubbery stiffening phenomenon for thin PS films, where the lower rubbery plateau in rubbery stiffening may originate from the induced molecular orientation by plastic deformation. With decreasing film thickness, viscosity and yield stress in viscoplasticity increase in an exponential and a linear trend, respectively, indicating the significant role of nanoconfinement effect on viscoplastic properties. These findings may reveal that there are many properties from linear viscoelasticity to nonlinear viscoelasticity–viscoplasticity that need to be explored and unveiled for sufficient understanding of the nanoconfinement effect on altering mechanical behavior of polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead (II) perovskite (PV, e.g., CH3NH3PbI3–xClx) with 3 wt% polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) produces an ≈90 nm film containing a PVP–PV composite consisting of ≈15‐nm‐sized PV nanocrystals. Solar cells using 3 wt% PVP–PV have several advantages over a device using nondoped PV, which include an increase in transparency, stability of the film, efficiency, and reproducibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intrinsically stretchable organic optoelectronic devices have been demonstrated for board applications such as tissue-like patches, medical prosthetic apparatus, biomimetic visual system and interactive soft robots. However, there are huge barriers to implementing high-performance intrinsically stretchable organic optoelectronic devices and integrated circuits. In this perspective, a brief overview of recent advances in several significant intrinsically stretchable organic optoelectronic devices and arrays is provided. Furthermore, the overlooked challenges and our viewpoint on the future development of intrinsically stretchable organic optoelectronic technologies are emphasized. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive Summary: 2D covalent organic framework (2D‐COF), a modular three‐dimensional material, is easily influenced by the component module. The assembly of different functionalized modules gives 2D‐COF unique performance. The modular structure not only allows for customization but also allows for variety, which gives 2D‐COF a wide range of functions. Hence, many building blocks with catalytic, ligand, semiconductor, luminescent, and redox centers are integrated into the COF scaffold. The connection and assembly of such modules determine the nature of the final block material. The intra‐layer connections of the modules form a monolayer mesh chemical structure, and the subsequent stacking of the monolayer mesh structure produces the final crystalline porous material—2D‐COF. This review describes in detail the potential of COF materials as optoelectronic materials and our understanding of optoelectronic processes, starting from monolayer reticulation chemistry to final 3D stacked structures, thus establishing a new paradigm for the rational design of well‐defined novel 2D‐COF optoelectronic materials and devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Six diverse railway lines were inspected by the GPR, proving the GPR application feasibility for diverse railway line conditions. • Accuracy of the GPR-based fouling index is correlated with sieving-based fouling index. • By comparing the sensitivity of different indicators, the suitable GPR signal processing means is obtained. • Fouling composition is proved as a decisive factor for GPR-based fouling level evaluation, especially the iron ore. Ballast layer condition should be more regularly and accurately inspected to ensure safe train operation; however, traditional inspection methods cannot sufficiently fulfil this task. This paper presents a method of ground penetrating radar (GPR) application to reflect ballast layer fouling levels under diverse field conditions (annual gross passing load, cleaning and renewal year, fouling composition and transportation type). The results show that the GPR-based inspection method can assess the ballast layer fouling level with a 1–7% difference from the traditional sieving results. Fouling composition (especially metal materials) has a great effect on the GPR signals, thus affecting the inspection accuracy of ballast layer fouling level. Developing diverse GPR-based fouling indicators (by distinguishing different GPR signal features) can improve the GPR inspection applicability to the diverse field conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, ZnCoO x catalysts were prepared using in situ pyrolysis of ZnCo bimetallic zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), which were rationally designed on the basis of a metal ion doping strategy. The derived Zn 0.05 CoO x with proper doping of Zn (Zn/Co molar ratio of 0.05) exhibited superior catalytic activity and durability towards catalytic elimination of different volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including benzene, toluene and cyclohexane under simulated real-exhaust conditions. Both Brønsted and Lewis acid sites were beneficial for cyclohexane degradation, whereas only Lewis acid sites were responsible for eliminations of benzene and toluene. In addition, the effect of chemical structures of VOCs on their catalytic elimination over Zn 0.05 CoO x was explored. Compared to benzene and toluene, cyclohexane molecule was more easily eliminated, attributed to strong adsorption onto catalyst and special chemical structure of cyclohexane. The obtained results can provide new strategy for rational design of highly efficient catalytic materials for eliminating VOCs. Rational design and fabrication of ZIFs-derived metal oxide catalysts for efficient elimination of various VOCs in real world environment. [Display omitted] • Zn-doped CoO x catalyst is fabricated by in situ pyrolysis of ZnCo bimetallic ZIFs. • The ZIFs-derived catalyst shows superior catalytic performance for VOC elimination. • The acid sites have an important influence on catalytic elimination of typical VOCs. • VOC chemical structure on their catalytic elimination efficiency has been explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Coupled DEM-FDM-MBD model to study train-track-subgrade dynamic responses. • Crumb rubber (or tire-derived aggregates) effects on train-track-subgrade dynamic responses. • Crumb rubber size effects on the train-track-subgrade dynamic responses presented by ballast friction energy dissipation. Crumb rubber (CR) has been proposed to apply in the ballast or sub-ballast layer for ballast degradation mitigation and vibration (noise) reduction. The CR can change the ballast layer stiffness, which can affect the train-track-subgrade dynamic performance and cause travel comfort and safety issues. Towards this, this study aims at confirming 1) how much the CR application can affect the dynamic performance of train and ballast layer; 2) to what extent the CR-ballast layer can distribute the train loadings to reduce subgrade surface stress. To achieve this aim, a whole train-track-subgrade system model was built by coupling multibody dynamics (MD), discrete element method (DEM) and finite difference method (FDM). The MD was used to build the train, including one vehicle body, two bogies and four wheelsets. The DEM was used to build the ballasted track, including rail, sleepers and ballast layer. The FDM was used to build the subgrade. Using the coupled model, the dynamic performance of train and track were studied, including the vehicle body acceleration, wheel-rail force, rail dynamical bending moment, sleeper acceleration, sleeper displacement and ballast acceleration. In addition, the energy dissipation of the ballast bed was also presented. For the subgrade, the subgrade surface acceleration and surface stress were measured and analysed. In the model, different CR size and percentage were considered. Results show that using the CR in ballast layer can increase the accelerations of sleeper, rail and train. But it can decrease the ballast degradation, subgrade surface acceleration and subgrade surface stress. CR helps consume train loading energy, reducing the energy that has to be consumed by ballast friction. Small size CR (8–22.4 mm) has greater influence on dynamic performance of the whole train-track-subgrade system than big size CR (9.5–63 mm). In summary, 10% percentage of CR-ballast mixture is recommended, and for CR size it is difficult to give a recommendation. Small size CR increase ballast acceleration more than big size CR, but small size CR are better at improving sleeper displacement, subgrade stress and ballast bed stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) emulsion polymerization is becoming an important technique to synthesize the latex of block copolymers. A previous study showed that in the synthesis of polystyrene- b-poly(butyl acrylate)- b-polystyrene triblock copolymer via RAFT emulsion polymerization using amphiphilic oligo(acrylic acid-styrene) macroRAFT as surfactant and mediator, the molecular weight distribution could be much broadened to PDI higher than 2. In this study, an in-depth investigation was performed to decrease PDI. It was found that long-chain branches could be formed in the synthesis of triblock block copolymer, leading to the appearance of a higher molecular weight shoulder in the GPC curve of the final product. The lower neutralization degree of acrylic acid (AA) units on the macroRAFT and shorter AA chains would help to suppress the formation the long-chain branches, leading to PDI around 1.5. It is evidenced that the successful suppression is due to the promotion of radical entry as a result of decreased interfacial transport impedance. It is also evidenced that the presence of styrene during the polymerization of butyl acrylate could promote the formation of long chain branches. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015, 53, 1464-1473 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The mechanical properties of linear and V-shaped compositional gradient copolymer of styrene and n-butyl acrylate with composition of around 55 wt % styrene were investigated by comparing with their block copolymer counterparts. Compared with their block copolymer counterparts, the gradient copolymers showed lower elastic modulus, much larger elongation at break, and similar ultimate tensile strength at room temperature. This performance could be ascribed to that the local moduli continuously change from the hardest nanodomains to the softest nanodomains in the gradient copolymer, which alleviates the stress concentration during tensile test. Compared with the V-shaped gradient (VG) copolymer, the linear gradient copolymer showed much higher elastic modulus but lower elongation at break. The mechanical properties of the gradient copolymers were more sensitive to the change in temperature from 9 °C to 75 °C. With recovery temperature increased from 10 °C to 60 °C, the strain recovery of VG copolymer would change steadily from 40% to 99%. However, the elastic recovery of linear and triblock copolymer was poor even at 60 °C. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015, 53, 860-868 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Two furan-flanked polymers poly{3,6-difuran-2-yl-2,5-di(2-octyldodecyl)-pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione-alt-thienylenevinylene} (PDVFs), with a highly π-extended diketopyrrolopyrrole backbone, are developed for solution-processed high-performance polymer field-effect transistors (FETs). Atomic force microscopy and grazing incidence X-ray scattering analyses indicate that PDVF-8 and PDVF-10 films exhibit a similar nodular morphology with the ultrasmall lamellar distances of 16.84 and 18.98 Å, respectively. When compared with the reported polymers with the same alkyl substitutes, this is the smallest d-spacing value observed to date. This closed lamellar crystallinity facilitates charge carrier transport. Therefore, polymer thin-film transistors fabricated from as-spun PDVF-8 films exhibit a high hole mobility exceeding 1.0 cm2 V−1 s−1 with a current on/off ratio above 106. After annealing treatment at 100 °C in air, the highest hole mobility of PDVF-8-based FETs was significantly improved to 1.90 cm2 V−1 s−1, which is among the highest values of the reported FET devices fabricated from polymer thin films based on this mild annealing temperature. In contrast, long alkyl-substituted PDVF-10 exhibited a relatively low hole mobility of 1.65 cm2 V−1 s−1 mainly resulting from low molecular weight. This work demonstrated that PDVFs would be promising semiconductors for developing cost-effective and large-scale production of flexible organic electronics. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014, 52, 1970-1977 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bottom-gate bottom-contact (BGBC) organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) based on N,N′-ditridecyl perylene diimide exhibit electron mobility as high as 3.54 cm2 V-1 s-1 in nitrogen, higher than that (1 cm2 V-1 s-1) of bottom-gate top-contact devices. The better performance of BGBC configuration in N2 is attributed to lower contact resistance, which is further reduced by thermal annealing. After thermally annealing the BGBC OTFTs at 180 °C, electron mobility as high as 3.5 cm2 V-1 s-1, current on/off ratio of 106 and threshold voltage of 9 V are achieved in air, and the mobility retains above 1 cm2 V-1 s-1 after storage for two months in air. Thermal treatment enhanced crystalline grains, reduced grain boundaries, and suppressed the adsorption of H2O and O2, leading to excellent performance in air. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the synthesis of two noveldonor–acceptor copolymerspoly{[N, N′-bis(alkyl)-1,4,5,8-naphthalenediimide-2,6-diyl-alt-5,5′-di(thiophen-2-yl)-2,2′-(E)-2-(2-(thiophen-2-yl)vinyl)thiophene]} (PNVTs) based onnaphthalenediimide (NDI) acceptor and (E)-2-(2-(thiophen-2-yl)vinyl)thiophenedonor. The incorporations of vinyl linkages into polymer backbonesmaintain the energy levels of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitsat −3.90 eV, therefore facilitating the electron injection.Moreover, the energy levels of the highest occupied molecular orbitsincrease from −5.82 to −5.61 eV, successfully decreasingthe hole injection barrier. Atomic force microscopy measurements indicatethat PNVTs thin films exhibit larger polycrystalline grains comparedwith that of poly{[N, N′-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-1,4,5,8-naphthalenediimide-2,6-diyl]-alt- 5,5′-(2,2′-bithiophene)}[P(NDI2OD-T2)], consistent with the stronger π–πstacking measured by grazing incidenceX-ray scatting. To optimize devices performance, field-effect transistors(FETs) with three devices configurations have been investigated. Theresults indicate that the electron mobility of the vinyl-containingPNVTs exhibit about 3–5 times higher than that of P(NDI2OD-T2).Additionally, the vinyl-linkages in PNVTs remarkably enhance ambipolartransport of their top-gate FETs, obtaining high hole and electronmobilities of 0.30 and 1.57 cm2V–1s–1, respectively, which are among the highest valuesreported to date for the NDI-based polymers. Most importantly, ambipolarinverters have been realized in ambient, exhibiting a high gain of155. These results provide important progresses in solution-processedambipolar polymeric FETs and complementary-like inverters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Correction for 'Perovskite photodetectors and their application in artificial photonic synapses' by Xin Huang et al., Chem. Commun., 2021, DOI: 10.1039/d1cc04447h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we successfully designed and synthesized a novel phenanthro[1,10,9,8- c,d,e,f,g]carbazole ( PCZ)-based copolymer poly[ N-(2-octyldodecyl)-4,8-phenanthro[1,10,9,8- c,d,e,f,g]carbazole- alt-2,5-dihexadecyl-3,6-di(thiophen-2-yl)pyrrolo[3,4- c]pyrrole-1,4(2 H,5 H)-dione] ( PPDPP) with an extended π-conjugation along the vertical orientation of polymer main chain. This polymer exhibited excellent solubility in common solvent and high thermal stability, owning good properties for solution-processed field-effect transistors (FETs). Besides, absorption spectra demonstrated that annealing PPDPP thin films led to obviously red-shifted maxima, indicating the formations of aggregation or orderly π-π stacking in their solid-state films. X-ray diffraction measurements indicated the crystallinity of PPDPP thin films was enhanced after high temperature annealing, which was favorable for charge transport. The solution-processed PPDPP-based FET devices were fabricated with a bottom-gate/bottom-contact geometry. A high hole mobility of up to 0.30 cm2/Vs and a current on/off ratio above 105 had been demonstrated. These results indicated that the copolymers constructed by this kind of ladder-type cores could be promising organic semiconductors for high-performance FET applications. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For nearly the past two decades, significant effort has been devoted to pursuing an understanding of the glass transition temperature and associated dynamics of polymers confined to the nanoscale. Without question, we know more about the glassy properties of confined polymers today than we knew two decades ago or even a decade ago. Much of our understanding has been obtained via studies on thin polymer films, as they are facile to process and are of substantial technological importance. Nevertheless, studies on polymers confined to other geometries are becoming increasingly more important as we pursue questions difficult to address using thin films and as technology demands the use of confined polymers beyond thin films. In this feature article, we highlight the impact of nanoscale confinement on the glassy properties of polymer nanoparticles. Although the emphasis is placed on contributions from our work, a discussion of the related literature is also presented. Our aim is to elucidate commonalities or fundamental differences in the deviations of glassy properties from the bulk for polymers confined to different geometries. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2013 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As recently illustrated, nanostructured glassy polymer films with exceptional thermal and kinetic stability can be formed via Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (MAPLE) (Guo et al. in Nat. Mater. 11:337, ). Relative to the standard poly(methyl methacrylate) glass formed on cooling at standard rates, glasses prepared by MAPLE can be 40 % less dense and have a 40 K higher glass transition temperature ( T). Furthermore, the kinetic stability in the glassy state can be enhanced by 2 orders-of-magnitude. Here, we examine the stability of the structured morphology. We show that nanostructured glasses may be formed even when the substrate is held at temperatures greater than the polymer T during deposition. In addition, we discuss the origin of the enhanced stability and the mechanism of nanostructured film formation within the framework of the Zhigilei model. Finally, we compare the nanostructured morphology to the surface morphology of other MAPLE-deposited films in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we report the synthesis and characterizationoftwo new D-A-D molecules (E)-5,5′-bis(5-(benzo[b]thiophen-2-yl)thiophen-2-yl)-1,1′-bis(2-ethyl-hexyl)-[3,3′-bipyrrolylidene]-2,2′(1H,1′H)-dione (BTBPD) and (E)-5,5′-bis- (5-(benzo[b]furan-2-yl)thiophen-2-yl)-1,1′-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-[3,3′-bipyrrolylidene]-2,2′(1H,1′H)-dione (BFBPD). They entail bipyrrolylidene-2,2′(1H,1′H)-dione (BPD, known as Pechmann dye) as theelectron-accepting core that is flanked by two benzo[b]thiophene moieties and two benzo[b]furan moieties,respectively. Crystal structures of BTBPDand BFBPDprovide solid evidence for the intermolecular donor–acceptor(D-A) interactions, which are favorable for improving charge transportperformance. Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) were preparedbased on thin films of BTBPDand BFBPDthroughsolution-processed technique. OFETs of BTBPDexhibitrelatively high hole mobility up to 1.4 cm2V–1s–1with high on/off ratio up to 106. In comparison, the hole mobility of OFETs with BFBPD(0.14 cm2V–1s–1) is relatively low, because of the poor thin-film morphology andlow molecular ordering, even after annealing. Thin-film morphologicaland XRD studies were carried out to understand the variation of holemobilities after annealing at different temperatures. The presentstudies clearly demonstrate the potentials of BPDthatis planar and polar as the electron-acceptor moiety to build D-A moleculesfor organic semiconductors with good performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The authors report on low operation voltage memory cells based on heterojunction ambipolar organic transistors with polymer gate electret (PGE). The introduction of the N,N′-dioctyl perylene diimide/pentacene heterojunction into the memory OFETs with PGE successfully lowered the memory cells’ reading, writing and erasing programmed voltages (reading voltage of 2V, writing and erasing programmed voltages of 10V). Meanwhile, the memory devices showed reproducible and durable memory behavior in more than 500 cycles’ testing. The built-in electric field-effect at heterojunction surface should efficiently reduce operation voltage of the memory devices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Owing to the kinetic nature of the glass transition, the ability to significantly alter the properties of amorphous solids by the typical routes to the vitreous state is restricted. For instance, an order of magnitude change in the cooling rate merely modifies the value of the glass transition temperature (Tg) by a few degrees. Here we show that matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) can be used to form ultrastable and nanostructured glassy polymer films which, relative to the standard poly(methyl methacrylate) glass formed on cooling at standard rates, are 40% less dense, have a 40?K higher Tg, and exhibit a two orders of magnitude enhancement in kinetic stability at high temperatures. The unique set of properties of MAPLE-deposited glasses may make them attractive in technologies where weight and stability are central design issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The long-term viscoelastic behavior of polymeric materials used below the glass transition temperature (T g) is greatly affected by physical aging. In contrast to isothermal physical aging, long-term response under nonisothermal history has received far less attention. This paper reports experimental results and analytical methods of long-term creep behavior of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) subjected to complex thermal histories in a temperature range below T g. To characterize the effects of aging, creep tests were performed using a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA). Besides the long-term data, short-term creep tests in identical thermal conditions were also analyzed; these were utilized with effective time theory to predict long-term response under both isothermal and nonisothermal temperature histories. The long-term compliance after a series of temperature changes was predicted by the effective time theory using the KAHR-a te model to obtain nonisothermal physical aging shift factors. Comparison of theoretical predictions with experimental data shows good agreement for various thermal histories. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Dithienothiophene-phenylene cooligomers with n-hexyloxy or n-dodecyloxy substituents have been synthesized and compared to the previously reported unsubstituted parent compound. The effect of substituents on the thermal, electronic, optical, thin film structure and field-effect transistor (OFET) properties was investigated. Structural phase transitions from highly-ordered nanocrystalline to liquid crystalline were observed at 241 and 213 °C for n-hexyloxy- and n-dodecyloxy-substituted compounds respectively, different from the parent compound. For the alkoxy-substituted compounds, the absorption spectra in thin film blue shift 50 nm, while the fluorescence spectra in thin film red shift 88–100 nm compared to those in solution. The OFET devices based on the alkoxy-substituted compounds exhibit mobilities as high as ca 0.02 cm2V−1s−1 and their performance is sensitive to the alkoxy substituents and substrate temperatures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Overview of tamping to ballasted track. • Included plenty of the published studies on tamping to ballast layer. • Presented cutting-edge techniques or methods for ballasted track maintenance. • Explained state-of-art methods for ballasted track inspection. Railway ballast beds bear cyclic loadings from vehicles and deteriorate due to ballast particle degradation (breakage and abrasion), ballast pockets (subgrade defects), fouling (or contamination) and plastic deformation of the beds. Ballast bed deterioration changes the ballast track geometry, which leads to uncomfortable rides, exacerbates wheel-rail interactions and, most importantly, causes safety issues (e.g., derailment). To align the track geometry, tamping is the most widely used means of filling ballast-sleeper gaps and homogenizing ballast beds. Although many studies have been performed on tamping, some necessary research gaps still need to be addressed. To stress the research gaps, tamping studies are critically reviewed in this paper, and the tamping mechanisms, challenges and proposed solutions are introduced and discussed. This review aims to 1) help researchers discover important research directions related to tamping, 2) propose means for tamping methodology improvement/development, and 3) provide advice for developing novel railway track maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was applied for DEM model calibration on mesoscopic level. • Ballast rheology (movements) of one ballast bed cross section is presented and analysed. • Lateral resistance of ballast bed to sleeper is studied from the perspective of ballast rheology. Ballast rheology is a phenomenon that describes movements of ballast particles due to the discrete nature, which eventually leads to the ballast bed fluid deformation after a long-time service. In most cases, ballast rheology is the main reason of track irregularity that leads to some track defects, e.g., hanging sleeper and mud spots. Therefore, it is significant to confirm the ballast rheology mechanism, which not only benefits for alleviating track defects, prolonging track service and providing safe transportation, but also provides an innovated means for accurately calibrating the discrete element method (DEM) models. Towards this aim, the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is utilised to study ballast rheology through measuring ballast particle displacements in the single sleeper push test (SSPT). The ballast rheology results are compared with those from the DEM SSPT model, through which the DEM model is calibrated. Results show that the PIV is an effective technical means for ballast rheology study and DEM model calibration. This study is helpful for the researchers to build more precise DEM models, further providing theoretical methodology for ballast track construction and innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photo‐triggered shape morphing structures can be found in myriads of areas. Utilizing light as a switch can effectively control and regulate the precise deformation of structures. However, the integration of photo‐switching functions in shape‐morphing structures with complex geometries remains a challenge. Here, photoswitchable digital light processing based 4D printing high‐resolution and highly complex geometries, based on UV curable WO2.9 nanoparticle doped shape memory polymer nanocomposites is reported, which are highly deformable (stretchability up to ≈1000% at rubbery state) and fatigue resistant (repeatedly loaded >1200 times at ambient temperature). The presence of just trace WO2.9 nanoparticles (<0.20 wt.‰) contributes to the controlled photothermal property of nanocomposite via selective absorption of light, which enables reversibly photoswitchable (>50 times), spatial and remote control of 4D printing shape morphing structures. These findings offer a promising approach to expanding the applications of photo‐triggered shape‐morphing structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic thin films play a ubiquitous role in microelectronic devices and especially hold great promise for flexible electronics, energy conversion and storage, and biomedical applications. Their characterizations, including ultra‐thin, large‐scale dimensions, stretchability, and conformal ability to curved or 3D structures, present new challenges for thin film fabrication based on the solution method. Electrospray deposition emerges as a feasible method for fabricating large‐area, flexible, and curved films. It offers many advantages such as material adaptability, controlled atomization, tunable film morphology, and shape retention on complex substrates. These advantages make it a key method for fabricating high‐performance films on large‐area, 3D surfaces. This work presents a comprehensive review of the mechanisms, processes, applications, and equipment of electrospray deposition. First, the fundamental principles of electrospray deposition are introduced, focusing on the mechanisms and scaling laws of liquid atomization. Moreover, the control methods for electrospray modes, structures, and film morphology are discussed. These advanced control methods pave the way for the fabrication of smart skins, wearable devices, and energy conversion and storage components. Finally, this work introduces three types of electrospray deposition manufacturing equipment to illustrate the advantages of electrospray deposition for large‐area, and 3D surface manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterocycle‐linked phthalocyanine‐based COFs with close‐packed π–π conjugated structures are a kind of material with intrinsic electrical conductivity, and they are considered to be candidates for photoelectrical devices. Previous studies have revealed their applications for energy storage, gas sensors, and field‐effect transistors. However, their potential application in photodetector is still not fully studied. The main difficulty is preparing high‐quality films. In our study, we found that our newly designed benzimidazole‐linked Cu (II)‐phthalocyanine‐based COFs (BICuPc‐COFs) film can hardly formed with a regular aerobic oxidation method. Therefore, we developed a transfer dehydrogenation method with N‐benzylideneaniline (BA) as a mild reagent. With this in hand, we successfully prepared a family of high crystalline BICuPc‐COFs powders and films. Furthermore, both of these new BICuPc‐COFs films showed high electrical conductivity (0.022–0.218 S/m), higher than most of the reported COFs materials. Due to the broad absorption and high conductivity of BICuPc‐COFs, synaptic devices with small source‐drain voltage (VDS=1 V) were fabricated with response light from visible to near‐infrared. Based on these findings, we expect this study will provide a new perspective for the application of conducting heterocycle‐linked COFs in synaptic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterocycle‐linked phthalocyanine‐based COFs with close‐packed π–π conjugated structures are a kind of material with intrinsic electrical conductivity, and they are considered to be candidates for photoelectrical devices. Previous studies have revealed their applications for energy storage, gas sensors, and field‐effect transistors. However, their potential application in photodetector is still not fully studied. The main difficulty is preparing high‐quality films. In our study, we found that our newly designed benzimidazole‐linked Cu (II)‐phthalocyanine‐based COFs (BICuPc‐COFs) film can hardly formed with a regular aerobic oxidation method. Therefore, we developed a transfer dehydrogenation method with N‐benzylideneaniline (BA) as a mild reagent. With this in hand, we successfully prepared a family of high crystalline BICuPc‐COFs powders and films. Furthermore, both of these new BICuPc‐COFs films showed high electrical conductivity (0.022–0.218 S/m), higher than most of the reported COFs materials. Due to the broad absorption and high conductivity of BICuPc‐COFs, synaptic devices with small source‐drain voltage (VDS=1 V) were fabricated with response light from visible to near‐infrared. Based on these findings, we expect this study will provide a new perspective for the application of conducting heterocycle‐linked COFs in synaptic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Selection of various nanoparticle catalysts is analyzed on the basis of VOC sorts. • The catalyst performance metric is unified for comparison among different studies. • VOC oxidation mechanisms based on experimental and theoretical data are summarized. • Integrating thermocatalysis with photocatalysis for VOC elimination is emphasized. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with the properties of volatility, toxicity and diffusivity pose a serious threat to human health and eco-environment. Catalytic oxidation technology has been considered as a highly efficient option for the treatment of VOCs. This review systematically summarizes the recent processes and advances on catalytic elimination of VOCs over nanoparticles catalysts. Firstly, catalytic performances of catalysts for VOC degradation are evaluated and compared on the basis of unified performance metrics. Secondly, catalytic mechanisms of VOC oxidation, based on experimental and theoretical studies, are systematically introduced. Then, catalytic reactors employed in VOC elimination processes are summarized. In particular, photothermocatalysis by integrating (thermo)catalysis with photocatalysis is also elucidated. Lastly, the perspectives to the scientific issues and challenges faced, as well as the future outlooks are proposed. Collectively, this review will provide theoretical and experimental foundation for rational fabrication and application of nanoparticles catalysts toward VOC elimination in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• DART-Q-Orbitrap MS was applied for the rapid analysis of Schisandra species. • The ionization gas and the gas temperature for DART-MS analysis were optimized. • Schisandra chinensis and Schisandra sphenanthera can be discriminated based on the DART-MS data. • Eight lignans were selected as the marker compounds for the discrimination. Direct analysis in real time ionization source coupled with quadrupole orbitrap mass spectrometry (DART-Q-Orbitrap MS) was applied to analyze the Schisandra chinensis (S. chinensis) and Schisandra sphenanthera (S. sphenanthera) samples. The experimental condition including the ionization gas and gas temperature were optimized to obtain the best performance. The DART-MS analysis was operated using helium at 250 °C. The partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was conducted based on the DART-MS data to explore the differences between S. chinensis and S. sphenanthera samples. The clear separation between groups was observed in the PLS-DA score plot, indicating the chemome diversity of these two samples. Then 8 compounds that contribute most to the sample classification were selected and annotated, and the intensity change tendency of these compounds was similar to that obtained by the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Besides, these two species can also be discriminated by examining the existence of the compound anwulignan at m/z 328.1656 in this study. Our results show that DART-MS is a powerful analytical tool with the merit of rapid analysis speed, easy to handle, low consumption of organic solvent, and has the great potential for rapid detection and discrimination of S. chinensis and S. sphenanthera. It is expected that the established method could provide a rapid, reliable method for the quality assessment of Schisandra species, and expand this method to the analysis of other herbal medicines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micro (mi)RNAs serve crucial roles in cancer development although little is known about their cellular mechanisms in the pathogenesis of melanoma. The present study explored the regulatory roles of miR-18a-5p in melanoma cell proliferation, apoptosis and autophagy, in addition to its target gene in melanoma cells. miRNA and ephrin receptor A7 (EPHA7) mRNA were analyzed by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. Cell Counting Kit-8 and colony formation assays were performed to examine the cell proliferation rate. Hoechst staining and flow cytometry were performed to investigate cell apoptosis. Western blotting was used to estimate the abundance of proteins. Dual-Luciferase reporter assay verified the binding of miRNA with target gene sequences. Melanoma tissues and cell lines exhibited markedly elevated miR-18a-5p expression. miR-18a-5p inhibitor inhibited proliferation rates, and triggered apoptosis and autophagy marker protein expression in WM266-4 and A375 cells. It also negatively regulated EPHA7 expression in WM266-4 and A375 cells by directly binding at the 3′-untranslated region of EPHA7. miR-18a-5p mimics reversed the EPHA7 overexpression-induced suppression of proliferation, and the EPHA7 overexpression-induced promotion of apoptosis and autophagy. miR-18a-5p triggered proliferation of melanoma cells and inhibited apoptosis and autophagy by directly targeting and inhibiting EPHA7 expression. Thus, the present study aided our understanding of miRNA-mediated melanoma pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]