Electrochemically Controlled Hydrogels with Electrotunable Permeability and Uniaxial Actuation.

The unique properties of hydrogels enable the design of life-like soft intelligent systems. However, stimuli-responsive hydrogels still suffer from limited actuation control. Direct electronic control of electronically conductive hydrogels can solve this challenge and allow direct integration with modern electronic systems.

Polymeric, Cost-Effective, Dopant-Free Hole Transport Materials for Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has skyrocketed in the past decade to an unprecedented level due to their outstanding photoelectric properties and facile processability. However, the utilization of expensive hole transport materials (HTMs) and the inevitable instability instigated by the deliquescent dopants represent major concerns hindering further commercialization. Here, a series of low-cost, conjugated polymers are designed and applied as dopant-free HTMs in PSCs, featuring tuned energy levels, good temperature and humidity resistivity, and excellent photoelectric properties.

Enhancing strength and toughness of cellulose nanofibril network structures with an adhesive peptide.

The mechanical properties of cellulose nanofibrils network structure are essential for their applications in functional materials. In this work, an adhesive peptide consisting of just 11 amino acid residues with a hydrophobic core sequence of FLIVI (F - phenylalanine, L - leucine, I - isoleucine, V - valine) flanked by three lysine (K) residues was adsorbed to 2,2,6,6-Tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy radical (TEMPO) oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (TO-CNF). Composite films were prepared by solution casting from water suspensions of TO-CNF adsorbed with the adhesive peptide.

Nanostructured Wood Hybrids for Fire-Retardancy Prepared by Clay Impregnation into the Cell Wall.

Eco-friendly materials need "green" fire-retardancy treatments, which offer opportunity for new wood nanotechnologies. Balsa wood (Ochroma pyramidale) was delignified to form a hierarchically structured and nanoporous scaffold mainly composed of cellulose nanofibrils. This nanocellulosic wood scaffold was impregnated with colloidal montmorillonite clay to form a nanostructured wood hybrid with high flame-retardancy.

Understanding the Dispersive Action of Nanocellulose for Carbon Nanomaterials.

This work aims at understanding the excellent ability of nanocelluloses to disperse carbon nanomaterials (CNs) in aqueous media to form long-term stable colloidal dispersions without the need for chemical functionalization of the CNs or the use of surfactant. These dispersions are useful for composites with high CN content when seeking water-based, efficient, and green pathways for their preparation. To establish a comprehensive understanding of such dispersion mechanism, colloidal characterization of the dispersions has been combined with surface adhesion measurements using colloidal probe atomic force microscopy (AFM) in aqueous media.

Highly conducting, strong nanocomposites based on nanocellulose-assisted aqueous dispersions of single-wall carbon nanotubes.

It is challenging to obtain high-quality dispersions of single-wall nanotubes (SWNTs) in composite matrix materials, in order to reach the full potential of mechanical and electronic properties. The most widely used matrix materials are polymers, and the route to achieving high quality dispersions of SWNT is mainly chemical functionalization of the SWNT. This leads to increased cost, a loss of strength and lower conductivity.