Flexible Highly Thermally Conductive PCM Film Prepared by Centrifugal Electrospinning for Wearable Thermal Management.

Personal thermal management materials integrated with phase-change materials have significant potential to satisfy human thermal comfort needs and save energy through the efficient storage and utilization of thermal energy. However, conventional organic phase-change materials in a solid state suffer from rigidity, low thermal conductivity, and leakage, making their application challenging. In this work, polyethylene glycol (PEG) was chosen as the phase-change material to provide the energy storage density, polyethylene oxide (PEO) was chosen to provide the backbone structure of the three-dimensional polymer network and cross-linked with the PEG to provide flexibility, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were used to improve the mechanical and thermal conductivity of the material.

High-Efficiency Ce Activated Orthorhombic Lanthanide Silicate Blue Phosphors for Plant Growth Lighting.

Plant growth can be controlled and freed from natural environmental interference through indoor plant cultivation. Artificial light sources with better quality are required to promote indoor plant growth. In this study, we used a simple high-temperature solid-state reaction to synthesize high-efficiency Ce-activated NaGdSiO (NGSO) phosphors.

Eu-activated MgAlSiON: a novel oxonitridoalumosilicate blue phosphor for white LEDs.

Recently, blue-emitting phosphors have attracted great interest due to their application in full-spectrum white light illumination. In this paper, a novel blue-emitting MgAlSiON:Eu phosphor was successfully synthesized through the solid-state reaction method in a reducing atmosphere. Under the excitation of near-ultraviolet (n-UV) light, the MgAlSiON:0.

Tungsten-Based Nanocatalysts: Research Progress and Future Prospects.

The high price of noble metal resources limits its commercial application and stimulates the potential for developing new catalysts that can replace noble metal catalysts. Tungsten-based catalysts have become the most important substitutes for noble metal catalysts because of their rich resources, friendly environment, rich valence and better adsorption enthalpy. However, some challenges still hinder the development of tungsten-based catalysts, such as limited catalytic activity, instability, difficult recovery, and so on.

Simultaneous Spectral Tuning and Thermal Stability Adjustment in CaZnGaLa(PO):Eu Phosphors.

The modifications of local structure in solid solution are a crucial step to regulate the photoluminescence properties of rare-earth ion-based phosphors. However, the structural diversity of host matrices and the uncertain occupation of activators make it challenging to obtain phosphors with both high stability and tailored emission. Herein, We synthesized a series of β-Ca(PO)-type CaZnGaLa(PO):Eu solid solution phosphors by design.

Synthesis and Applications of SAPO-34 Molecular Sieves.

Silicoaluminophosphate zeolite (SAPO-34) has been attracting increasing attention due to its excellent form selection and controllability in the chemical industry, as well as being one of the best industrial catalysts for methanol-to-olefin (MTO) reaction conversion. However, as a microporous molecular sieve, SAPO-34 easily generates carbon deposition and rapidly becomes inactivated. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the crystal size of the zeolite or to introduce secondary macropores into the zeolite crystal to form a hierarchical structure in order to improve the catalytic effect.

Synthesis and characterization of metal-organic framework/biomass-derived CoSe/C@C hierarchical structures with excellent sodium storage performance.

Metal selenide has attracted much attention for use in rechargeable batteries due to its excellent conductivity and considerable capacity. However, it is still necessary to achieve a long cycle life and excellent Na+ storage performance to enable its practical application. Volume expansion and poor stability of selenide during operation also hinder its industrial applications.

Scalable aesthetic transparent wood for energy efficient buildings.

Nowadays, energy-saving building materials are important for reducing indoor energy consumption by enabling better thermal insulation, promoting effective sunlight harvesting and offering comfortable indoor lighting. Here, we demonstrate a novel scalable aesthetic transparent wood (called aesthetic wood hereafter) with combined aesthetic features (e.g.

Lignin-Based Direct Ink Printed Structural Scaffolds.

3D printing of lignocellulosic biomass (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin) has attracted increasing attention by using this abundant, sustainable, and ecofriendly material. While cellulose can be easily tailored into a highly viscous ink for 3D printing, after solvent evaporation, the final printed structures become highly porous, fragile, and easily fall apart in water due to its hydrophilic nature. Lignin, another crucial component of natural lignocellulose, has not yet been reported for ink printing due to its unfavorable rheological behavior.

Rapid Processing of Whole Bamboo with Exposed, Aligned Nanofibrils toward a High-Performance Structural Material.

Lightweight structural materials are critical in construction and automobile applications. In past centuries, there has been great success in developing strong structural materials, such as steels, concrete, and petroleum-based composites, most of which, however, are either too heavy, high cost, or nonrenewable. Biosourced composites are attractive alternatives to conventional structural materials, especially when high mechanical strength is presented.

A Strong, Tough, and Scalable Structural Material from Fast-Growing Bamboo.

Lightweight structural materials with high strength are desirable for advanced applications in transportation, construction, automotive, and aerospace. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants with a peak growth rate up to 100 cm per day. Here, a simple and effective top-down approach is designed for processing natural bamboo into a lightweight yet strong bulk structural material with a record high tensile strength of ≈1 GPa and toughness of 9.

Clear Wood toward High-Performance Building Materials.

Developing advanced building materials with both excellent thermal insulating and optical properties to replace common glass (thermal conductivity of ∼1 W m K) is highly desirable for energy-efficient applications. The recent development of transparent wood suggests a promising building material with many advantages, including high optical transmittance, tunable optical haze, and excellent thermal insulation. However, previous transparent wood materials generally have a high haze (typically greater than 40%), which is a major obstacle for their practical application in the replacement of glass.

Identification of dual luminescence centers from a single site in a novel blue-pumped CaScGeO:Ce phosphor.

The luminescence spectra of some trivalent rare-earth ions in a garnet host present interesting multisite structures; however, their mechanism is still not fully understood. In this study, for the first time, we directly observed two luminescence centers of Ce3+ at a single site in a novel garnet Ca3Sc2Ge3O12 phosphor. The spectral characteristics of the two luminescence centers were clearly identified using site-selective and time-resolved spectroscopy.

A radiative cooling structural material.

Reducing human reliance on energy-inefficient cooling methods such as air conditioning would have a large impact on the global energy landscape. By a process of complete delignification and densification of wood, we developed a structural material with a mechanical strength of 404.3 megapascals, more than eight times that of natural wood.

A High-Performance Self-Regenerating Solar Evaporator for Continuous Water Desalination.

Emerging solar desalination by interfacial evaporation shows great potential in response to global water scarcity because of its high solar-to-vapor efficiency, low environmental impact, and off-grid capability. However, solute accumulation at the heating interface has severely impacted the performance and long-term stability of current solar evaporation systems. Here, a self-regenerating solar evaporator featuring excellent antifouling properties using a rationally designed artificial channel-array in a natural wood substrate is reported.

Cellulose ionic conductors with high differential thermal voltage for low-grade heat harvesting.

Converting low-grade heat into useful electricity requires a technology that is efficient and cost effective. Here, we demonstrate a cellulosic membrane that relies on sub-nanoscale confinement of ions in oxidized and aligned cellulose molecular chains to enhance selective diffusion under a thermal gradient. After infiltrating electrolyte into the cellulosic membrane and applying an axial temperature gradient, the ionic conductor exhibits a thermal gradient ratio (analogous to the Seebeck coefficient in thermoelectrics) of 24 mV K-more than twice the highest value reported until now.