Scalable Photochromic Film for Solar Heat and Daylight Management.

The adaptive control of sunlight through photochromic smart windows could have a huge impact on the energy efficiency and daylight comfort in buildings. However, the fabrication of inorganic nanoparticle and polymer composite photochromic films with a high contrast ratio and high transparency/low haze remains a challenge. Here, a solution method is presented for the in situ growth of copper-doped tungsten trioxide nanoparticles in polymethyl methacrylate, which allows a low-cost preparation of photochromic films with a high luminous transparency (luminous transmittance T = 91%) and scalability (30 × 350 cm ).

Self-Stacked 3D Anisotropic BNNS Network Guided by -Aramid Nanofibers for Highly Thermal Conductive Dielectric Nanocomposites.

The enhancement of the heat-dissipation property of polymer-based composites is of great practical interest in modern electronics. Recently, the construction of a three-dimensional (3D) thermal pathway network structure for composites has become an attractive way. However, for most reported high thermal conductive composites, excellent properties are achieved at a high filler loading and the building of a 3D network structure usually requires complex steps, which greatly restrict the large-scale preparation and application of high thermal conductive polymer-based materials.

SnTe thermoelectric materials with low lattice thermal conductivity synthesized by a self-propagating method under a high-gravity field.

The conventional fabrication methods (for example, melting and powder metallurgy) of bulk thermoelectric materials are time- and energy-consuming, which restrict their large-scale application. In this work, ultra-fast self-propagating synthesis under a high-gravity field was used to prepare SnTe bulks, which shortened the synthesis time from several days to a few seconds. The grain growth was suppressed and some small pores were reserved in the matrix during the ultra-fast solidification process.

Combustion Synthesis of Gr/-BN Composites and Its Passive Heat Dissipation Application.

To enhance the infrared radiation efficiency and the heat transfer performance simultaneously, graphene (Gr) was synthesized on hexagonal boron nitride (-BN) to prepare Gr/-BN composites by a scalable combustion synthesis in CO atmosphere using Mg as sacrificial solder. The synthesized Gr/-BN composites were added in polydimethylsiloxane polymer to prepare composite coatings, which show an infrared emissivity greater than 0.95 and a through-plane thermal conductivity up to 2.

Integration of negative, zero and positive linear thermal expansion makes borate optical crystals light transmission temperature-independent.

Negative and zero thermal expansion (NTE and ZTE) materials are widely adopted to eliminate the harmful effect from the "heat expansion and cool contraction" effect and frequently embrace novel fundamental physicochemical mechanisms. To date, the manipulation of NTE and ZTE materials has mainly been realized by chemical component regulation. Here, we propose another method by making use of the anisotropy of thermal expansion in noncubic single crystals, with maximal tunability from the integration of linear NTE, ZTE and positive thermal expansion (PTE).

Photothermal Dual Passively Driven Liquid Crystal Smart Window.

Photochromic or thermochromic liquid crystal (LC) smart windows have attracted wide attention due to their spontaneous transmittance modulation under different environments. There remains a challenge for the LC smart windows that can be modulated with light and temperature simultaneously owing to the difficulty in selecting photothermal molecules. Herein, we selected a photothermal molecule, isobutyl-substituted diimmonium borate (IDI), which shows excellent characteristics of a photothermal material used in smart windows, such as transparency in the visible light range with a slight brown color, good compatibility with the LC system, and excellent photothermal effect compared with common photothermal materials.

Bone tumors effective therapy through functionalized hydrogels: current developments and future expectations.

Primary bone tumors especially, sarcomas affect adolescents the most because it originates from osteoblasts cells responsible for bone growth. Chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation therapy are the most often used clinical treatments. Regrettably, surgical resection frequently fails to entirely eradicate the tumor, which is the primary cause of metastasis and postoperative recurrence, leading to a high death rate.

The role of long non-coding RNAs and circular RNAs in bone regeneration: Modulating miRNAs function.

Although bone is a self-healing organ and is able to repair and restore most fractures, large bone fractures, about 10%, are not repairable. Bone grafting, as a gold standard, and bone tissue engineering using biomaterials, growth factors, and stem cells have been developed to restore large bone defects. Since bone regeneration is a complex and multiple-step process and the majority of the human genome, about 98%, is composed of the non-protein-coding regions, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) play essential roles in bone regeneration.

Correlation of Tunable CoSi Tetrahedron with the Superconducting Properties of LaCoSi.

It is known that as the FeAs tetrahedron in the Fe-based superconductor is close to the regular tetrahedron, critical temperature () can be greatly increased. Recently, a Co-based superconductor of LaCoSi (4 K) with "111" structure was found. In this work, we improve the of LaCoSi through structural regulation.

Superconductivity in Co-Layered LaCoSi.

It is known that few Co-based superconducting compounds have been found compared with their Fe- or Ni-based counterparts. In this study, we have found superconductivity of 4 K in the LaCoSi compound for the first time. The combined analysis of neutron and synchrotron X-ray powder diffractions reveals that LaCoSi exhibits an isostructure with the known Fe-based LiFeAs superconductor, which is the first "111" Co-based superconductor.

Monitoring Strain Response of Epoxy Resin during Curing and Cooling Using an Embedded Strain Gauge.

The present work describes the monitoring system of the real-time strain response on the curing process of epoxy resin from the initial point of curing to the end, and the change in strain during temperature changes. A simple mould was designed to embed the strain gauge, thermometer, and quartz standard sample into the epoxy resin, so that the strain and the temperature were simultaneously measured and recorded. A cryogenic-grade epoxy resin was tested and the Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) was used to analyse the curing process.

Highly Compressible, Thermally Conductive, yet Electrically Insulating Fluorinated Graphene Aerogel.

Carbon-based aerogels have drawn substantial attention for a wide scope of applications. However, the high intrinsic electrical conductivity limits their potential thermal management application in electronic packaging materials. Herein, a highly compressible, thermally conductive, yet electrically insulating fluorinated graphene aerogel (FGA) is developed through a hydrofluoric acid-assisted hydrothermal process.

Achieving High Performances of Ultra-Low Thermal Expansion and High Thermal Conductivity in 0.5PbTiO-0.5(BiLa)FeO@Cu Core-Shell Composite.

Achieving high performances of ultra-low thermal expansion (ULTE) and high thermal conductivity remains challenging, due to the strong phonon/electron-lattice coupling in ULTE materials. In this study, the challenge has been solved via the construction of the core-shell structure in 0.5PbTiO-0.

Nanotechnology Assisted Targeted Drug Delivery for Bone Disorders: Potentials and Clinical Perspectives.

Nanotechnology and its allied modalities have brought revolution in tissue engineering and bone healing. The research on translating the findings of the basic and preclinical research into clinical practice is ongoing. Advances in the synthesis and design of nanomaterials along with advances in genomics and proteomics, and tissue engineering have opened a bright future for bone healing and orthopedic technology.

Self-Assembled Boron Nitride Nanotube Reinforced Graphene Oxide Aerogels for Dielectric Nanocomposites with High Thermal Management Capability.

Thermally conductive polymeric composites are highly promising in current energy devices such as light-emitting diodes, integrated circuits, and solar cells to achieve appropriate thermal management. However, the introduction of traditional thermoconductive fillers into a polymer usually results in low thermal conductivity enhancement. Here, an ideal dielectric epoxy nanocomposite with ultrahigh thermal conductivity is successfully fabricated using three-dimensional interconnected boron nitride nanotube reinforced graphene oxide nanosheet (3D-BNNT-GONS) aerogels as fillers.

Optimization of Boron Nitride Sphere Loading in Epoxy: Enhanced Thermal Conductivity and Excellent Electrical Insulation.

Thermally conductive but electrically insulating materials are highly desirable for thermal management applications in electrical encapsulation and future energy fields, for instance, superconducting magnet insulation in nuclear fusion systems. However, the traditional approaches usually suffer from inefficient and anisotropic enhancement of thermal conductivity or deterioration of electrical insulating property. In this study, using boron nitride sphere (BNS) agglomerated by boron nitride (BN) sheets as fillers, we fabricate a series of epoxy/BNS composites by a new approach, namely gravity-mix, and realize the controllable BNS loading fractions in the wide range of 5-40 wt%.

Dual-Functional Supernanoparticles with Microwave Dynamic Therapy and Microwave Thermal Therapy.

The cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by photoactivated sensitizers have been well explored in tumor therapy for nearly half a century, which is known as photodynamic therapy (PDT). The poor light penetration depth severely hinders PDT as a primary or adjuvant therapy for clinical indication. Whereas microwaves (MWs) are advantageous for deep penetration depth, the MW energy is considerably lower than that required for the activation of any species to induce ROS generation.

Multifunctional and flexible ZrO-coated EGaIn nanoparticles for photothermal therapy.

With extensive investigations involving liquid metals (LMs), Ga-based LMs have attracted increasing attention from biomedical researchers because of their good biocompatibility, ideal fluidity, and high thermal conductivity. LMs employed in cancer treatment suffer from high surface tension, thereby yielding unstable nanoparticles (NPs). Here, ZrO2 is coated onto LM NPs to form a stable core-shell nanostructure.

Negative Thermal Expansion in (Hf,Ti)Fe Induced by the Ferromagnetic and Antiferromagnetic Phase Coexistence.

Negative thermal expansion (NTE) is an intriguing physical phenomenon that can be used in the applications of thermal expansion adjustment of materials. In this study, we report a NTE compound of (Hf,Ti)Fe, while both end members of HfFe and TiFe show positive thermal expansion. The results reveal that phase coexistence is detected in the whole NTE zone, in which one phase is ferromagnetic (FM), while the other is antiferromagnetic (AFM).

A tumor treatment strategy based on biodegradable BSA@ZIF-8 for simultaneously ablating tumors and inhibiting infection.

Studies have shown a clear correlation between cancer incidence and infection, and cancer treatment can also trigger infection so as to lead to an inflammatory response. In this case, we have designed a new tumor treatment strategy based on biodegradable BSA@ZIF-8 for simultaneously ablating tumors and inhibiting infection. This biodegradable ZIF contains abundant porous structures, showing increased absorption of ions and inelastic collisions.

The Anisotropic Thermal Expansion of Non-linear Optical Crystal BaAlBOF Below Room Temperature.

Thermal expansion is a crucial factor for the performance of laser devices, since the induced thermal stress by laser irradiation would strongly affect the optical beam quality. For BaAlBOF (BABF), a good non-linear optical (NLO) crystal, due to the highly anisotropic thermal expansion its practical applications are strongly affected by the "tearing" stress with the presence of local overheating area around the laser spot. Recently, the strategy to place the optical crystals in low-temperature environment to alleviate the influence of the thermal effect has been proposed.

Nanoengineering of nanorattles for tumor treatment by CT imaging-guided simultaneous enhanced microwave thermal therapy and managing inflammation.

Usually the tumor thermal therapy is accompanied with inflammatory reactions, which in turn promote tumor growth and metastasis meanwhile. Herein, we prepared novel trifunctional PEG-IL/ZrO-Ag@SiO nanorattles, which can be used for CT imaging-guided simultaneous tumor microwave thermal therapy and resistance to bacterial infection. Under the microwave irradiation, the nanorattles present excellent microwave thermal properties.

Thermal Expansion and Magnetostriction Measurements at Cryogenic Temperature Using the Strain Gauge Method.

Thermal expansion and magnetostriction, the strain responses of a material to temperature and a magnetic field, especially properties at low temperature, are extremely useful to study electronic and phononic properties, phase transitions, quantum criticality, and other interesting phenomena in cryogenic engineering and materials science. However, traditional dilatometers cannot provide magnetic field and ultra-low temperature (<77 K) environment easily. This paper describes the design and test results of thermal expansion and magnetostriction at cryogenic temperature using the strain gauge method based on a Physical Properties Measurements System (PPMS).

Biocompatible and biodegradable zeolitic imidazolate framework/polydopamine nanocarriers for dual stimulus triggered tumor thermo-chemotherapy.

Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) have attracted great interest as pH-sensitive drug carrier because of high drug loading and intrinsic biodegradability. In this work, a biocompatible NIR and pH-responsive drug delivery nanoplatform based on ZIFs (PDA-PCM@ZIF-8/DOX) is synthesized for in vivo cancer therapy. The biocompatibility of ZIFs is greatly improved by polydopamine (PDA) modifying and proved by cytotoxicity and in vivo acute toxicity evaluation.

Renal-clearable quaternary chalcogenide nanocrystal for photoacoustic/magnetic resonance imaging guided tumor photothermal therapy.

Ultrasmall CuZnSnS (CZTS) nanocrystals with high near infrared (NIR) photothermal conversion abilities and peroxidase-mimic properties are synthesized and functionalized with bovine serum albumin (BSA) for rapid clearance multifunctional theranostic platform. Due to the presence of Cu (I) of CZTS@BSA, HO could be decomposed to produce highly reactive oxygen species (ROS), catalyzed by intrinsic peroxidase like activity of CZTS. The CZTS@BSA possesses high NIR absorption and excellent photoacoustic (PA) imaging abilities.