Monolithic robust hybrid sponge with enhanced light adsorption and ultrafast photothermal heating rate for rapid oil cleaning.

It remains a significant challenge to develop a photothermal adsorbent with a heating response as fast as a joule-heating adsorbent and simultaneously possessing excellent mechanical stability and reusability for rapid oil cleaning. Here, we report a novel monolithic design to fabricate a photothermal hybrid sponge for rapid oil cleaning by integrating graphite interlayer compounds as photothermal units into the three-dimensional photothermal network of carbon nanotubes. This unique monolithic design enabled the hybrid sponge to present excellent photothermal performance: firstly, the superhydrophobic hybrid sponge has low thermal resistance resulting from the defectless surface; secondly, the photothermal units were weaved in the photothermal network, preventing detachment in the cycling and providing ultrafast photothermal heating rate.

Defect-Enhanced Electromagnetic Wave Absorption Property of Hierarchical Graphite Capsules@Helical Carbon Nanotube Hybrid Nanocomposites.

Development of high-performance materials for electromagnetic wave absorption has attracted extensive interest, but it still remains a huge challenge especially in reducing density and lowering filler loading. Herein, a hierarchical all-carbon nanostructure is rationally designed as follows: the defect-rich hollow graphite capsules (GCs) controlled by the size/density of ZnO templates are synthesized on the surface of helical carbon nanotubes (HCNTs) to form a hybrid nanocomposite, denoted as GCs@HCNTs. As a result, the GCs@HCNTs demonstrate a strong and wide absorption performance with a very low filler loading of 10 wt %.

Hybridization-Induced Polarization of Graphene Sheets by Intercalation-Polymerized Polyaniline toward High Performance of Microwave Absorption.

An intercalation polymerization is applied to regulate the hybridizing structures of polyaniline@graphene (PANI@GE). Polarization of GE sheets is realized, which is attributed to the hybridization by the in situ intercalation-polymerized PANI molecules. The polarizing effect on GE is confirmed by characterizations and density functional theory calculations, and the results indicate that distinct p-π and π-π interactions exist between the PANI molecules and the GE sheets.

Intercalation Polymerization Approach for Preparing Graphene/Polymer Composites.

The rapid development of society has promoted increasing demand for various polymer materials. A large variety of efforts have been applied in order for graphene strengthened polymer composites to satisfy different requirements. Graphene/polymer composites synthesized by traditional strategies display some striking defects, like weak interfacial interaction and agglomeration of graphene, leading to poor improvement in performance.