Lightweight, Flexible, and Thermal Insulating Carbon/SiO@CNTs Composite Aerogel for High-Efficiency Microwave Absorption.

A complex electromagnetic environment is a formidable challenge in national defense areas. Microwave-absorbing materials are considered as a strategy to tackle this challenge. In this work, lightweight, flexible, and thermal insulating Carbon/SiO@CNTs (CSC) aerogel is successfully prepared coupled with outstanding microwave absorbing performance, through freeze-drying and high-temperature annealing techniques.

Study on the non-enzymatic browning of lotus rhizome juice during sterilization mediated by 1,2-dicarboxyl and heterocyclic compounds.

Background: Lotus rhizome juice (LRJ) is susceptible to the Maillard reaction (MR) and caramelization, which tend to cause a reduction in quality and lower consumer acceptance of the product. 1,2-Dicarbonyl compounds (DCs) and heterocyclic compounds have attracted increasing attention as key intermediates responsible for the formation of brown pigments during MR and caramelization. However, little is known about the effects of these two types of compounds on brown pigments in LRJ during sterilization.

Twin-Structured Graphene Metamaterials with Anomalous Mechanical Properties.

Typically, solid materials exhibit transverse contraction in response to stretching in the orthogonal direction and transverse expansion under compression conditions. However, when flexible graphene nanosheets are assembled into a 3D porous architecture, the orientation-arrangement-delivered directional deformation of micro-nanosheets may induce anomalous mechanical properties. In this study, a 3D hierarchical graphene metamaterial (GTM) with twin-structured morphologies is assembled by manipulating the temperature gradient for ice growth during in situ freeze-casting procedures.

Recent Progress in Graphene/Polymer Nanocomposites.

Nanocomposites, multiphase solid materials with at least one nanoscaled component, have been attracting ever-increasing attention because of their unique properties. Graphene is an ideal filler for high-performance multifunctional nanocomposites in light of its superior mechanical, electrical, thermal, and optical properties. However, the 2D nature of graphene usually gives rise to highly anisotropic features, which brings new opportunities to tailor nanocomposites by making full use of its excellent in-plane properties.

Anisotropic Electromagnetic Absorption of Aligned TiCT MXene/Gelatin Nanocomposite Aerogels.

Assembling TiCT MXene nanosheets into three-dimensional (3D) architecture with controllable alignment is of great importance for electromagnetic wave absorption (EMA) application. However, it is a great challenge to realize it due to the weak van der Waals interconnection between MXene nanosheets. Herein, we propose to introduce gelatin molecules as a "chemical glue" to fabricate the 3D Mxene@gelatin (M@G) nanocomposite aerogel using a unidirectional freeze casting method.

Ultrabroad Band Microwave Absorption of Carbonized Waxberry with Hierarchical Structure.

Developing microwave absorption materials with broadband and lightweight characters is of great significance. However, it is still a great challenge for carbonized biomass without loading magnetic particles to cover the broad microwave frequency. Herein, it is proposed to carbonize freeze-dried waxberry to make full use of its natural hierarchical gradient structure to target the ultrabroad band microwave absorption.

Artificial muscle with reversible and controllable deformation based on stiffness-variable carbon nanotube spring-like nanocomposite yarn.

Carbon nanotube yarn actuators are in great demand for flexible devices or intelligent applications. Artificial muscles based on carbon nanotube yarn have achieved great progress over past decades. However, uncontrollable, small deformations and relatively slow deformation recovery are still great challenges for carbon nanotube yarn artificial muscles.

Superflexible Interconnected Graphene Network Nanocomposites for High-Performance Electromagnetic Interference Shielding.

Graphene-enhanced polymer matrix nanocomposites are attracting ever increasing attention in the electromagnetic (EM) interference (EMI) shielding field because of their improved electrical property. Normally, the graphene is introduced into the matrix by chemical functionalization strategy. Unfortunately, the electrical conductivity of the nanocomposite is weak because the graphene nanosheets are not interconnected.

Superlight, Mechanically Flexible, Thermally Superinsulating, and Antifrosting Anisotropic Nanocomposite Foam Based on Hierarchical Graphene Oxide Assembly.

Lightweight, high-performance, thermally insulating, and antifrosting porous materials are in increasing demand to improve energy efficiency in many fields, such as aerospace and wearable devices. However, traditional thermally insulating materials (porous ceramics, polymer-based sponges) could not simultaneously meet these demands. Here, we propose a hierarchical assembly strategy for producing nanocomposite foams with lightweight, mechanically flexible, superinsulating, and antifrosting properties.

Electrically and thermally conductive underwater acoustically absorptive graphene/rubber nanocomposites for multifunctional applications.

Graphene is ideal filler in nanocomposites due to its unique mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. However, it is challenging to uniformly distribute the large fraction of graphene fillers into a polymer matrix because graphene is not easily functionalized. We report a novel method to introduce a large fraction of graphene into a styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) matrix.

Stiff, Thermally Stable and Highly Anisotropic Wood-Derived Carbon Composite Monoliths for Electromagnetic Interference Shielding.

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials for electronic devices in aviation and aerospace not only need lightweight and high shielding effectiveness, but also should withstand harsh environments. Traditional EMI shielding materials often show heavy weight, poor thermal stability, short lifetime, poor tolerance to chemicals, and are hard-to-manufacture. Searching for high-efficiency EMI shielding materials overcoming the above weaknesses is still a great challenge.

Characterization of the transcriptome of Achromobacter sp. HZ01 with the outstanding hydrocarbon-degrading ability.

Microbial remediation has become one of the most important strategies for eliminating petroleum pollutants. Revealing the transcript maps of microorganisms with the hydrocarbon-degrading ability contributes to enhance the degradation of hydrocarbons and further improve the effectiveness of bioremediation. In this study, we characterized the transcriptome of hydrocarbon-degrading Achromobacter sp.