Additive manufacturing of eco-friendly building insulation materials by recycling pulp and paper.

Thermal insulation materials by recycling pulp and paper wastes play an important role in environmental sustainability of green buildings. As society is pursuing the goal of zero carbon emissions, it is highly desirable to use eco-friendly materials and manufacturing technologies for building insulation envelopes. Here we report additive manufacturing of flexible and hydrophobic insulation composites from recycled cellulose-based fibers and silica aerogel.

Transparent thermal insulation ceramic aerogel materials for solar thermal conversion.

Thermal management in energy-efficient solar thermal energy conversion and transparent windows requires advanced materials with low thermal conductivity and high transparency, such as transparent silica aerogel materials. However, the large scatter domains in porous silica materials would deteriorate their optical transparency. Herein, we report transparent silica aerogels by controlling hydrolyzation and meanwhile silylation modification to enhance the integrity of the microstructure under ambient pressure drying.

Manufacturing silica aerogel and cryogel through ambient pressure and freeze drying.

Achieving a mesoporous structure in superinsulation materials is pivotal for guaranteeing a harmonious relationship between low thermal conductivity, high porosity, and low density. Herein, we report silica-based cryogel and aerogel materials by implementing freeze-drying and ambient-pressure-drying processes respectively. The obtained freeze-dried cryogels yield thermal conductivity of 23 mW m K, with specific surface area of 369.

Nanoengineering Porous Silica for Thermal Management.

Thermal insulation of solid materials originates from the nanoscale porous architectures to regulate thermal management in energy-critical applications from energy-efficient buildings to heat-sensitive energy devices. Here, we show nanoengineering of porous silica materials to control the architecture transition from mesoporous to nanocage networks. A low thermal conductivity of such a porous silica network is achieved at 0.

Printing Air-Stable High- Molecular Magnet with Tunable Magnetic Interaction.

High- molecular magnets have amassed much promise; however, the long-standing obstacle for its practical applications is the inaccessibility of high-temperature molecular magnets showing dynamic and nonvolatile magnetization control. In addition, its functional durability is prone to degradation in oxygen and heat. Here, we introduce a rapid prototyping and stabilizing strategy for high (360 K) molecular magnets with precise spatial control in geometry.

Laser-Induced Cooperative Transition in Molecular Electronic Crystal.

The competing and non-equilibrium phase transitions, involving dynamic tunability of cooperative electronic and magnetic states in strongly correlated materials, show great promise in quantum sensing and information technology. To date, the stabilization of transient states is still in the preliminary stage, particularly with respect to molecular electronic solids. Here, a dynamic and cooperative phase in potassium-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (K-TCNQ) with the control of pulsed electromagnetic excitation is demonstrated.

Hierarchical Structural Engineering of Ultrahigh-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene.

Nature has inspired the design of next-generation lightweight architectured structural materials, for example, nacre-bearing extreme impact and paw-pad absorbing energy. Here, a bioinspired functional gradient structure, consisting of an impact-resistant hard layer and an energy-absorbing ductile layer, is applied to additively manufacture ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). Its crystalline graded and directionally solidified structure enables superior impact resistance.

An All-Ceramic, Anisotropic, and Flexible Aerogel Insulation Material.

To exploit the high-temperature superinsulation potential of anisotropic thermal management materials, the incorporation of ceramic aerogel into the aligned structural networks is indispensable. However, the long-standing obstacle to exploring ultralight superinsulation ceramic aerogels is the inaccessibility of its mechanical elasticity, stability, and anisotropic thermal insulation. In this study, we report a recoverable, flexible ceramic fiber-aerogel composite with anisotropic lamellar structure, where the interfacial cross-linking between ceramic fiber and aerogel is important in its superinsulation performance.

Correlation at two-dimensional charge-transfer FeSe interface.

The charge transfer and spin coupling effects are explored at the interface of two-dimensional (2D) superconducting FeSe nanosheets and molecular photochromic potassium-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (KTCNQ). Light-induced conductivity in 2D FeSe nanosheets is enhanced by the electron doping from KTCNQ by the destabilized spin-Peierls phase through their interface. Furthermore, the spin coupling at the interface of FeSe and KTCNQ shifts the dimerization transition temperature of KTCNQ.

Strongly Correlated Aromatic Molecular Conductor.

Strongly correlated electronic molecules open the way for strong coupling between charge, spin, and lattice degrees of freedom to enable interdisciplinary fields, such as molecular electronic switches and plasmonics, spintronics, information storage, and superconducting circuits. However, despite exciting computational predictions and promising advantages to prepare flexible geometries, the electron correlation effect in molecules has been elusive. Here, the electron correlation effects of molecular plasmonic films are reported to uncover their coupling of charge, spin, lattice, and orbital for the switchable metal-to-insulator transition under external stimuli, at which the simultaneous transition occurs from the paramagnetic, electrical, and thermal conducting state to the diamagnetic, electrical, and thermal insulating state.

Alkali-Metal-Intercalated Percolation Network Regulates Self-Assembled Electronic Aromatic Molecules.

In the continuously growing field of correlated electronic molecular crystals, there is significant interest in addressing alkali-metal-intercalated aromatic hydrocarbons, in which the possibility of high-temperature superconductivity emerges. However, searching for superconducting aromatic molecular crystals remains elusive due to their small shielding fraction volume. To exploit this potential, a design principle for percolation networks of technologically important film geometry is indispensable.