Controlled Molecular Arrangement of Cinnamic Acid in Layered Double Hydroxide through pi-pi Interaction for Controlled Release.

Cinnamic acid (CA) was successfully incorporated into Zn-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) through coprecipitation. The CA moiety was stabilized in the interlayer space through not only electrostatic interaction but also intermolecular π-π interaction. It was noteworthy that the CA arrangement was fairly independent of the charge density of LDH, showing the important role of the layer-CA and CA-CA interactions in molecular stabilization.

Time-Dependent Controlled Release of Ferulic Acid from Surface-Modified Hollow Nanoporous Silica Particles.

Release of ferulic acid from surface-functionalized hollow nanoporous silica particles (HNSPs) was investigated in deionized water (DI water) and in ethanol. The host material, an HNSP, was synthesized in the presence of polymer and surfactant templates, and the pore as well as the surface were modified with either pentyltriethoxysilane (PTS) or octyltriethoxysilane (OTS) through silane coupling reactions. The inner hollow space occupied a volume of ~45% of the whole HNSP with a 2.

Plasma-Induced Oxygen Vacancies in N-Doped Hollow NiCoPBA Nanocages Derived from Prussian Blue Analogue for Efficient OER in Alkaline Media.

Although water splitting is a promising method to produce clean hydrogen energy, it requires efficient and low-cost catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). This study focused on plasma treatment's significance of surface oxygen vacancies in improving OER electrocatalytic activity. For this, we directly grew hollow NiCoPBA nanocages using a Prussian blue analogue (PBA) on nickel foam (NF).

Hybridization of Layered Titanium Oxides and Covalent Organic Nanosheets into Hollow Spheres for High-Performance Sodium-Ion Batteries with Boosted Electrical/Ionic Conductivity and Ultralong Cycle Life.

While development of a sodium-ion battery (SIB) cathode has been approached by various routes, research on compatible anodes for advanced SIB systems has not been sufficiently addressed. The anode materials based on titanium oxide typically show low electrical performances in SIB systems primarily due to their low electrical/ionic conductivity. Thus, in this work, layered titanium oxides were hybridized with covalent organic nanosheets (CONs), which exhibited excellent electrical conductivity, to be used as anodes in SIBs.

Synergistic approach to simultaneously improve response and humidity-independence of metal-oxide gas sensors.

The chemiresistive response of metal-oxide gas sensors depends on ambient conditions. Humidity is a strongly influential parameter and causes large deviations in signals and, consequently, an inaccurate detection of target gases. Developing sensors unaffected by humidity, as documented by extensive works of research, comes at the cost of response - a significant drop in sensor response inevitably accompanies an increase in humidity-independence.

Versatile Pendant Polymer for Selective Charge Carrier Transport via Controlling the Supramolecular Self-Assembly.

Invited for this month's cover is the group of Jin Kuen Park and Dong Hwan Wang at two different universities in South Korea. The image shows how the supramolecular interaction between pendant polymers can play a role in controlling the electronic properties in perovskite-based electronics such as solar cells and photodetectors. The Full Paper itself is available at 10.

Versatile Pendant Polymer for Selective Charge Carrier Transport via Controlling the Supramolecular Self-Assembly.

Polyvinyl carbazole (P0)-based pendant polymers were synthesized by modifying carbazole motifs with pyrene derivatives (P1 and P4) to manipulate the bandgap and frontier orbital energy levels. To establish the electronic properties of pendant polymers according to structural differences, the polymers were utilized as additional hole transport layers in planar-type perovskite solar cells and organic photovoltaic cells. When P4 with thiophene-pyrene pendant was used as hole transport layer, all device parameters, except open-circuit voltage, were significantly improved in comparison with P0 and P1 (conjugated with t-butyl pyrene derivatives).

Two-Dimensional Organic/Inorganic Hybrid Nanosheet Electrodes for Enhanced Electrical Conductivity toward Stable and High-Performance Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Invited for this month's cover are the groups of Jae-Min Oh, Jin Kuen Park, and Seung-Min Paek at three different universities in South Korea. The image shows how the supramolecular interaction between two different two-dimensional materials can control the electrical storage properties for a sodium-ion battery. The Full Paper itself is available at 10.

Two-Dimensional Organic/Inorganic Hybrid Nanosheet Electrodes for Enhanced Electrical Conductivity toward Stable and High-Performance Sodium-Ion Batteries.

To investigate the effect of electrical conductivity on the energy-storage characteristics of anode materials in sodium-ion batteries, covalent organic nanosheets (CONs) are hybridized with highly conductive graphene nanosheets (GNs) via two different optimized synthesis routes, that is, reflux and solvothermal methods. The reflux-synthesized hybrid shows a well-overlapped 2D structure, whereas the solvothermally prepared hybrid forms a segregated phase in which the contact area between the CONs and GNs is reduced. These two hybrids synthesized by facile methods are fully characterized, and the results reveal that their energy-storage properties can be significantly improved by enhancing the electrical conductivity via the formation of a well-overlapped structure between CONs and GNs.

Finely crafted quasi-core-shell gadolinium/layered double hydroxide hybrids for switching on/off bimodal CT/MRI contrasting nanodiagnostic platforms.

We successfully synthesized a size-controlled hybrid of layered double hydroxide (LDH) platelets and Gd(OH) nanorods through the reverse micelle method. Under controlled synthetic conditions, the hybrid was developed to a quasi-core-shell structure, where the Gd(OH) nanorods were covered by the LDH platelet assembly, and this was investigated by X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The zeta potential measurement for the hybrid revealed that Gd(OH) was surrounded by LDH moieties.

Facile Synthetic Route To Prepare Ultrathin Silver Nanosheets by Reducing Silver Thiolates in Interlayer Surface of Layered Double Hydroxides.

Silver metal nanostructures have gained much interest, due to their utility in various fields, based on their unique properties at nanosize. Tremendous research efforts have been made to establish synthetic methods to manipulate their shape and size. The most challenging synthesis in silver nanostructures has been known as a plate-like shape having a few nanometers size thickness and high aspect ratio.

Covalent Organic Nanosheets as Effective Sodium-Ion Storage Materials.

Herein, we study the structure-dependent energy storage performance of network polymers (covalent organic nanosheets, CONs) prepared by Stille cross-coupling under conventional reflux and solvothermal conditions, showing that the specific surface area and self-assembled morphology of CONs could be effectively controlled by a careful choice of the synthetic route and monomer combination. The Na-ion storage capacity of the above nanosheets could be increased by enhancing their charge-carrier conductivity via enforcement of polymer backbone planarity or by increasing their specific surface area while maintaining backbone constitution. Comparison of anodes fabricated using six CONs showed that the electrode based on CON-16 exhibited the best cycling performance and rate capability, retaining a reversible discharge capacity of ∼250 mA h/g after 30 cycles at a current density of 100 mA/g.

Covalent organic nanosheets for effective charge transport layers in planar-type perovskite solar cells.

Herein, solvent-treated bandgap-tunable covalent organic nanosheets (CONs) were prepared via the Stille cross-coupling reaction. These materials are considered useful as interlayers in photovoltaic devices upon the alignment of energy levels between other components. Among various types of solar cells, according to the organic-interlayer study, inverted planar perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are mostly demanded to effectively transport and collect charge carriers due to their high performance.

A novel synthesis of an Fe/Fe layered double hydroxide ('green rust') via controlled electron transfer with a conducting polymer.

This report examines the influence of a conducting polymer on the crystal growth of labile green rust (GR) through hybridization with polypyrrole. All hybrids used in this study were prepared via one-pot co-precipitation at neutral pH, with specific stoichiometric ratios among all chemical species. The role of the conducting polymer and the effective stoichiometric ratio were demonstrated to facilitate the crystal growth of GR.

Long-term stable polymer solar cells with significantly reduced burn-in loss.

The inferior long-term stability of polymer-based solar cells needs to be overcome for their commercialization to be viable. In particular, an abrupt decrease in performance during initial device operation, the so-called 'burn-in' loss, has been a major contributor to the short lifetime of polymer solar cells, fundamentally impeding polymer-based photovoltaic technology. In this study, we demonstrate polymer solar cells with significantly improved lifetime, in which an initial burn-in loss is substantially reduced.

Controlling polarity of organic bulk heterojunction field-effect transistors via solvent additives.

The effect of additives such as 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO) and 1-chloronaphthalene (CN) on the electronic structures, charge transport and phase separation of small-molecule-based bulk heterojunction (BHJ) films was investigated. Charge transport properties of the BHJ layers significantly changed via the introduction of additives, even though the molecular energy levels remained unchanged. X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPM) images show the distribution of each phase of the blend films upon the use of additives.

The effect of biodegradable gelatin microspheres on the neuroprotective effects of high mobility group box 1 A box in the postischemic brain.

High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a family of endogenous molecules that is released by necrotic cells and causes neuronal damages by triggering inflammatory processes. In the cerebral ischemic brain, sustained and regulated suppression of HMGB1 has been emerged as a therapeutic means to grant neuroprotection. HMGB1 consists of two HMG boxes (A and B) and an acidic C-terminal tail, and the A box peptide antagonistically competes with HMGB1 for its receptors.

Controlled release of donepezil intercalated in smectite clays.

The inorganic-organic hybrid for a drug delivery system was successfully realized by intercalating donepezil molecules into smectite clays (laponite XLG, saponite, and montmorillonite). According to the powder XRD patterns, TG profiles, and FT-IR spectra, it was confirmed that donepezil molecules were well stabilized in the interlayer space of clay via mono or double layer stacking. The adsorption amount and molecular structure of donepezil appeared to depend on the cation exchange capacity of the clay, which in turn, tailored the drug release patterns.