Double-Network Polymer Electrolytes with Ionic Liquids for Lithium Metal Batteries.

Solid-state polymer electrolytes have become promising candidates for high-energy-density lithium metal batteries (LMBs). However, they suffer from low ionic conductivities at room temperature. In this work, two types of composite polymer electrolytes based on a double-network polymer, an ionic liquid (IL) of 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide (PyrTFSI) or 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis((trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl) imide (EmimTFSI), and bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonamide lithium salt (LiTFSI) were prepared by a facile one-pot method.

A hierarchical system of covalent and dual non-covalent crosslinks promotes the toughness and self-healing properties of polymer hydrogels.

While it is challenging to simultaneously achieve both high mechanical performance and self-healing ability within one polymer hydrogel network, we, herein, synthesized a novel class of hydrogels based on a combination of chemical and dual non-covalent crosslinks micellar polymerization of 3-isocyanatomethyl-3,5,5-trimethylcyclohexyl isocyanate, end-capped by 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (IPDI-HEMA), with acrylamide (AM). The prepared hydrogels were demonstrated to possess a tensile elongation at a break of at least 1900%, a fracture energy of 138.4 kJ m, and remarkable self-healing behaviors (, a strong self-healing ability achieved at ambient temperature without the need for any stimulus or healing agent).

Highly tough and rapid self-healing dual-physical crosslinking poly(DMAA--AM) hydrogel.

Introducing double physical crosslinking reagents (, a hydrophobic monomer micelle and the LAPONITE® XLG nano-clay) into the copolymerization reaction of hydrophilic monomers of ,-dimethylacrylamide (DMAA) and acrylamide (AM) is reported here by a thermally induced free-radical polymerization method, resulting in a highly tough and rapid self-healing dual-physical crosslinking poly(DMAA--AM) hydrogel. The mechanical and self-healing properties can be finely tuned by varying the weight ratio of nanoclay to DMAA. The tensile strength and elongation at break of the resulting nanocomposite hydrogel can be modulated in the range of 7.

Structure and Oxidation Effects on Conformation and Thermoresponsiveness of the OEGylated Poly(glutamic acid)-Bearing Side-Chain Thioether Linkers.

A series of side-chain thioether-linked OEGylated poly(glutamic acid) (PGAs) have been synthesized by "thiol-ene" synthetic methodology, where both the oligo-ethylene glycol (OEG) length and the hydrophobic linkers at the side chains are varied to learn how these structural features affect the secondary structure and thermoresponsive behaviors in water. Before side-chain oxidation, the structural factors affecting the α-helicity include the backbone length, the OEG length, and the hydrophobic linkers' length at the side chains; however, the OEG length plays the most crucial role among these factors because longer OEG around the peripheral side chains can stop water penetration into the backbone to disturb the intramolecular H bonds, which finally allows stabilizing the α-helix; after the oxidation, the polypeptides show increased α-helicity because of the enhanced hydrophilicity. More interestingly, a rare oxidation-induced conformation transition from the ordered β-sheet to the ordered α-helix can be achieved.

Porous Organic Polymers with Thiourea Linkages (POP-TUs): Effective and Recyclable Organocatalysts for the Michael Reaction.

As novel porous organic polymers with thiourea linkages, s were successfully synthesized with tris(4-aminophenyl) amine (TAA) and 1,4-phenylene diisothiocyanate (PDT) under different conditions. The as-synthesized s possess distinctly different morphological characteristics and can effectively catalyze the Michael reaction of -β-nitrostyrenes to diethyl malonate. Particularly, the -catalyzed Michael reaction can proceed smoothly even using an ultralow catalyst dosage of 0.

Preparation and Properties of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/Polyethylene Glycol (PEG)-Based Amphiphilic Polyurethane Elastomers.

Amphiphilic polyurethane elastomers (APUE) were synthesized using a two-step polyaddition reaction based on the hydroxyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) soft segments with the molecular weights ('s) of 2000 and 1000, respectively. The effects of the PDMS/PEG contents on the properties and structures of the APUE were investigated. It was found that the APUE possessed high elongation, moderate tensile strength, and good thermal properties.

Self-healing zwitterionic sulfobetaine nanocomposite hydrogels with good mechanical properties.

The development of zwitterionic hydrogels possessing both excellent self-healing and mechanical properties is of great significance. Herein, a class of zwitterionic sulfobetaine nanocomposite hydrogels was prepared by UV-initiated copolymerisation of zwitterionic sulfobetaine monomer ,-dimethyl--(3-methacrylamidopropyl)--(3-sulfopropyl) ammonium betaine (DMAPMAPS) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) in the presence of exfoliated clay platelets uniformly dispersed in an aqueous medium. The effects of the hydrogel compositions, including the DMAPMAPS/HEMA mass ratio and the amount of clay, on the self-healing behaviors and mechanical properties of the nanocomposite hydrogels were investigated.

Preparation and characterization of protein-resistant hydrogels for soft contact lens applications via radical copolymerization involving a zwitterionic sulfobetaine comonomer.

We aimed to introduce hydrophilic sulfobetaine-type zwitterionic groups to macromolecular chains of copolymers to construct novel copolymer hydrogels with anti-protein-fouling performance that could be used as soft contact lens (SCL) materials. Using hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), N-vinyl pyrrolidinone (NVP) and sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA) as comonomers, several copolymer hydrogels with different SBMA contents, poly(HEMA-NVP-SBMA), are synthesized via radical copolymerization in an aqueous phase. Surface chemistry, structural morphologies, water contact angle (WCA), equilibrium water content (EWC), visible light transmittance and tensile mechanical properties are investigated.

Improved Performance by SiO Hollow Nanospheres for Silver Nanowire-Based Flexible Transparent Conductive Films.

Flexible transparent conductive films (TCFs) have attracted tremendous interest thanks to the rapid development of portable/flexible/wearable electronics. TCFs on the basis of silver nanowires (AgNWs) with excellent performance are becoming an efficient alternative to replace the brittle transparent metal oxide. In this study, a promising method was developed by introducing SiO hollow nanospheres (SiO-HNSs) into the film to significantly improve the performance of AgNW-based TCFs.

Preparation, anti-biofouling and drag-reduction properties of a biomimetic shark skin surface.

Shark skin surfaces show non-smoothness characteristics due to the presence of a riblet structure. In this study, biomimetic shark skin was prepared by using the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-embedded elastomeric stamping (PEES) method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the surface microstructure and fine structure of shark skin and biomimetic shark skin.

An intermolecular quadruple hydrogen-bonding strategy to fabricate self-healing and highly deformable polyurethane hydrogels.

The development of hydrogels possessing both excellent self-healing and mechanical properties in hydrogel science due to their tight relationship with the many potential application scopes is of great significance. Herein, a novel class of polyurethane (PU) hydrogels with intermolecular quadruple hydrogen-bonding interactions were designed and fabricated by the copolymerization of poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate end-capped urethane ether prepolymer (PU-PEGMA) with 2-(3-(6-methyl-4-oxo-1,4-dihydropyrimidin-2-yl)ureido)ethyl methacrylate (SCMHBMA) bearing the 2-ureido-4-pyrimidone (UPy) unit. The effects of the SCMHBMA content on the self-healing behaviors and mechanical properties of the PU hydrogels were investigated.

[Discovery of topiramate's new functions based on medicinal property combinations and study on its mechanism].

Objective: To study topiramate's new functions according to the medicinal property combinations, in order to apply the traditional Chinese medicinal theory in discovering new purposes of old drugs.

Method: According to New Traditional Chinese Medicinal Families--Chemical Traditional Chinese Medicines, the authors found out topiramate's property. Then based on the therapeutic principle of diabetes, hypertension, epilepsy and lung cancer, as well as the relations of efficacies and medicinal property combinations, they summarized the corresponding medicinal property combination modes, compared topiramate's medicinal property combination mode with corresponding medicinal property combination modes of these diseases, and predict topiramate's new functions.

A new method for producing "Lotus Effect" on a biomimetic shark skin.

Nature has long been an important source of inspiration for mankind to develop artificial ways to mimic the remarkable properties of biological systems. In this work, a new method was explored to fabricate a superhydrophobic dual-biomimetic surface comprising both the shark-skin surface morphology and the lotus leaf-like hierarchical micro/nano-structures. The biomimetic surface possessing shark-skin pattern microstructure was first fabricated by microreplication of shark-skin surface based on PDMS; and then it was treated by flame to form hierarchical micro/nano-structures that can produce lotus effect.

Click chemistry: a route to designing and preparing pseudo-biospecific immunoadsorbent for IgG adsorption.

L-histidine is a promising alternative to expensive protein ligands for the adsorption of IgG due to its high selectivity, no toxicity and low cost; while click chemistry can improve the reaction selectivity between the ligands and the support matrix under mild reaction conditions. Thus, using L-histidine as a ligand and original sepharose gel as a support, a novel immunoadsorbent possessing pseudo-biospecific affinity for IgG from human plasma, Sep-triazole-His, was designed and prepared according to the principle of Click-reaction between alkyne and azide functional groups; while both sepharose-based control samples Sep-His and Sep-PA were prepared by a conventional method using L-histidine and protein A as a ligand, respectively. The ligand density and IgG adsorption performance of Sep-triazole-His from human plasma were measured and evaluated.