Enhanced Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Cardanol Epoxy/Clay-Based Nanocomposite through Girard's Reagent.

The green and environmentally friendly cardanol epoxy resin has a bright application prospect, but its insufficient thermal/mechanical properties seriously hinder its application. Adding nanoclay to polymer matrix is an effective method to enhance the thermal/mechanical properties of material, but the dispersion and compatibility of nanoclay in epoxy resin remain to be solved. In this work, active Girard's reagent clay (PG-clay) and non-active Girard's reagent clay (NG-clay) were prepared by using acethydrazide trimethylammonium chloride (Girard's reagent) as the modifier, and cardanol epoxy resin/G-clay nanocomposites were synthesized by the "clay slurry composite method".

Roughness-Mediated SI-FeCRP for Polymer Brush Engineering toward Superior Drag Reduction.

Surface-initiated iron(0)-mediated controlled radical polymerization (SI-FeCRP) with low toxicity and excellent biocompatibility is promising for the fabrication of biofunctional polymer coatings. However, the development of Fe(0)-based catalysts remains limited by the lower dissociation activity of the Fe(0) surface in comparison to Cu(0). Here, we found that, by simply polishing the Fe(0) plate surface with sandpaper, the poly(methacryloyloxy)ethyl trimethylammonium chloride brush growth rate has been increased significantly to 3.

Construction of Layer-Blocked Covalent Organic Framework Heterogenous Films via Surface-Initiated Polycondensations with Strongly Enhanced Photocatalytic Properties.

Imine-linked covalent organic frameworks (COFs) usually show high crystallinity and porosity, while vinyl-linked COFs have excellent semiconducting properties and stability. Therefore, achieving the advantages of imine- and vinyl-linkages in a single COF material is highly interesting but remains challenging. Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of a layer-blocked COF (LB-COF) heterogeneous film that is composed of imine- and vinyl-linkages through two successive surface-initiated polycondensations.

Grafting of Poly(ionic liquid) Brushes through Fe-Mediated Surface-Initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization for Marine Antifouling.

Surface-tethered poly(ionic liquid) brushes have attracted considerable attention in widespread fields, from bioengineering to marine antifouling. However, their applications have been constrained due to the poor polymerization efficiency and sophisticated operation process. In this work, we efficiently synthesized the poly(ionic liquid) brushes with unparalleled speed (up to 98 nm h) through Fe-mediated surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (Fe SI-ATRP) while consuming only microliter of monomer solution under ambient conditions.

Galvanic-Replacement-Assisted Synthesis of Nanostructured Silver-Surface for SERS Characterization of Two-Dimensional Polymers.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy is a powerful technology in trace analysis. However, the wide applications of SERS in practice are limited by the expensive substrate materials and the complicated preparation processes. Here we report a simple and economical galvanic-replacement-assisted synthesis route to prepare Ag nanoparticles on Cu(0) foil (nanoAg@Cu), which can be directly used as SERS substrate.

Construction of Thiadiazole-Bridged sp-Carbon-Conjugated Covalent Organic Frameworks with Diminished Excitation Binding Energy Toward Superior Photocatalysis.

Sp-carbon-conjugated covalent organic frameworks (spc-COFs) have emerged as promising platforms for phototo-chemical energy conversion due to their tailorable optoelectronic properties, in-plane π-conjugations, and robust structures. However, the development of spc-COFs in photocatalysis is still highly hindered by their limited linkage chemistry. Herein, we report a novel thiadiazole-bridged spc-COF (spc-COF-ST) synthesized by thiadiazole-mediated aldol-type polycondensation.

Surface-Initiated Zerovalent Metal-Mediated Controlled Radical Polymerization (SI-MtCRP) for Brush Engineering.

ConspectusThe surface-tethered polymer brush has become a powerful approach to tailoring the chemical and physical properties of surfaces and interfaces and revealed broad application prospects in widespread fields such as self-cleaning, surface lubrication, and antibiofouling. Access to these diverse functional polymer brushes is highly dependent on versatile and powerful surface-initiated controlled radical polymerization (SI-CRP) strategies. However, conventional SI-CRP typically requires oxygen exclusion, large amounts of catalysts and monomer solution, and a long reaction time, making it time-consuming and sophisticated.

Ice-Inspired Polymeric Slippery Surface with Excellent Smoothness, Stability, and Antifouling Properties.

Ice is omnipresent in our daily life and possesses intrinsic slipperiness as a result of the formation of a quasi-liquid layer. Thus, the functional surfaces inspired by ice show great prospects in widespread fields from surface lubrication to antifouling coatings. Herein, we report an ice-inspired polymeric slippery surface (II-PSS) constructed by a self-lubricating liquid layer and a densely surface-grafted polymer brush.

Engineering of Graphdiyne-Based Functional Coatings for the Protection of Arbitrary Shapes of Copper Substrates.

Copper-based materials are very important for many application fields from marine industry to energy management and electronic devices. For most of these applications, the copper objects require long-term contact to a wet and salty environment, which leads to serious corrosion of copper. In this work, we report a thin graphdiyne layer directly grown on arbitrary shapes of copper objects at mild conditions, which could function as a protective coating for the copper substrates in artificial seawater with corrosion inhibition efficiency of ∼99.

Tinware-Inspired Aerobic Surface-Initiated Controlled Radical Polymerization (SI-SnCRP) for Biocompatible Surface Engineering.

Surface anchored polymer brushes prepared by surface-initiated controlled radical polymerization (SI-CRP) have raised considerable interest in biomaterials and bioengineering. However, undesired residues of noxious transition metal catalysts critically restrain their widespread biomedical applications. Herein, we present a robust and biocompatible surface-initiated controlled radical polymerization catalyzed by a Sn(0) sheet (SI-SnCRP) under ambient conditions.

Galvanic-Replacement-Assisted Surface-Initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization for Functional Polymer Brush Engineering.

Here we present a facile and robust strategy, namely, galvanic-replacement-assisted surface-initiated Cu(0)-mediated atom transfer radical polymerization (gr-SI-CuATRP, or gr-SI-CuCRP) for polymer brush engineering under ambient conditions. In gr-SI-CuATRP, highly active and nanostructured Cu(0) surfaces are obtained by a simple galvanic replacement on zinc/aluminum surfaces in dilute Cu solution. Polymer brush growth rate is extremely high (up to ∼904 nm in 30 min polymerization); meanwhile, both nano Cu(0) surfaces and Cu solution can be reused multiple times without losing grafting efficiency.

Seawater-Boosting Surface-Initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization for Functional Polymer Brush Engineering.

Iron-mediated surface-initiated reversible deactivation radical polymerization (Fe SI-RDRP) is an appealing approach to produce robust polymer surfaces with low toxicity and biocompatibility, while its application has been limited so far due to the poor activity of iron-based catalysts. Herein, we show that the iron(0)-mediated surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (Fe SI-ATRP) could be significantly enhanced by simply using seawater as reaction media. In comparison, there was no polymer brush formation in deionized water.

Drop/bubble transportation and controllable manipulation on patterned slippery lubricant infused surfaces with tunable wettability.

Directional transportation and manipulation of liquid droplets, which are of great significance for science and technologies, are mainly dependent on special surface wettability. Inspired by the carnivorous nepenthes, we fabricate a paraffin infused hybrid porous hydroxyapatite nanowires/carbon nanofibers film (PIHPHCF). The inorganic hydroxyapatite nanowires (HAPNWs) firmly intertwine with the carbon nanofibers (CNTs) to form a three-dimensional porous network after the self-assembly process.

A hybrid bioinspired fiber trichome with special wettability for water collection, friction reduction and self-cleaning.

Inspired by biological surfaces, we designed a magnetic fiber trichome based on the surface properties of caterpillars and earthworms. The caterpillar-inspired fiber trichome possesses a cooperative superhydrophilic-superhydrophobic-slippery lubricant-infused porous surface with gradient wettability and shows excellent fog harvesting behavior due to the driving force of the gradient wettability fiber similar to caterpillar spines. The earthworm-inspired fiber trichome exhibits excellent friction reduction and antiwear properties under harsh oil-bathed friction conditions, and it moves rapidly in mud under magnetic stimulation because of the self-lubricating transfer film formed between friction contact surfaces.

A robust and stretchable superhydrophobic PDMS/PVDF@KNFs membrane for oil/water separation and flame retardancy.

The wide application of superhydrophobic membranes has been limited due to their complicated preparation technology and weak durability. Inspired by the mechanical flexibility of nanofibrous biomaterials, nanofibrils have been successfully generated from Kevlar, which is one of the strongest synthetic fibers, by appropriate hydrothermal treatment. In this study, a robust superhydrophobic PDMS/PVDF@KNFs membrane is prepared via a simple one-step process and subsequent curing without combination with inorganic fillers.