Designing Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) Polystyrene Sulfonate/Graphene Oxide/Graphene Nanosheet/Polyethylene Glycol Phase-Change Composites with Superior Thermal Management for Photo-thermoelectric Generators.

Recently, growing interest in self-powered devices has led to the invention of new energy conversion devices. Photo-thermoelectric generators (PTEGs) have rapidly developed for their ability to harvest both light and thermal energy, but these devices are overly dependent on the continuity of energy input and cannot sustain output in an emergency situation. In the current study, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS)/graphene oxide (GO)/graphene nanosheets (GNPs)/polyethylene glycol (PEG) phase-change composites (PCCs) were prepared with freeze-drying and vacuum-filling processes to acquire materials suitable for imparting energy storage characteristics to PTEGs.

Biomimetic Polylactic Acid Electrospun Fibers Grafted with Polyethyleneimine for Highly Efficient Methyl Orange and Cr(VI) Removal.

The rapid growth of industrialization has resulted in the release of large quantities of pollutants into the environment, especially dyes and heavy metals, which are environmentally hazardous for humans and animals. It is considered as the most promising and environmentally friendly route to develop green materials by using the green modification method, which has no negative impact on the environment. In this work, the green material of polylactic acid (PLA) was used as the substrate material, and a novel modification method of polydopamine (PDA)-assisted polyethyleneimine (PEI) grafting was developed.

Constructing A/B-Side Heterogeneous Asynchronous Structure with AgSe Layers and Bushy-like PPy toward High-Performance Flexible Photo-Thermoelectric Generators.

The enthusiasm for environmental energy harvesting has triggered a boom in research on photo-thermoelectric generators (PTEGs), and the relevant applications are mainly focused on self-energy supply sensors owing to the limitations of their output performances. For this purpose, high-output hierarchical heterogeneous PTEGs were constructed by assembling separately optimized thermoelectric (TE) and photothermal (PT) layers. The pressure and temperature conditions of AgSe films during the pressing process were first explored, and the sample with the optimal performance and least defects was selected as the TE layer.

Chitosan-assisted MOFs dispersion via covalent bonding interaction toward highly efficient removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater.

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have been considered to be robust adsorbent for the removing heavy metal ions from wastewater due to their unique properties such as large active sites, high specific surface area and high porosity, etc., however, their practical engineering application faces the problem of serious agglomeration. In this work, a new strategy of chitosan (CS) assisting MOF dispersion was proposed to develop the new generation of MOF-based adsorbents, namely, CS grafted UiO-66-NH composite materials (CGUNCM).

Freely switchable super-hydrophobicity and super-hydrophilicity of sponge-like poly(vinylidene fluoride) porous fibers for highly efficient oil/water separation.

Highly efficient oil/water separation ability is a prerequisite for the actual application of the membranes in oily sewage treatment, which is closely related to the surface feature and the porous structure of the membranes. In this work, the electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) porous fibers were firstly fabricated through blend-electrospinning with poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) and then treating in distilled water. The results showed that the fibers exhibited the sponge-like porous structure, and a few PVP was reserved in the fibers due to the relatively good interaction between PVDF and PVP.

Polydopamine-assisted polyethylenimine grafting melamine foam and the application in wastewater purification.

Melamine foam (MF) is a widely used commercial product and exhibits wide applications in many fields ranging from building, transportation to daily chemical product. Recent researches confirm that the special three-dimensional (3D) framework structure of MF can be an ideal substrate to prepare functional materials. In this work, the water-soluble polyethylenimine (PEI) was grafted onto the framework of MF to develop the water purification material toward heavy metal ions removal.

Hierarchical pore structure based on cellulose nanofiber/melamine composite foam with enhanced sound absorption performance.

For the preparation of high-performance sound absorption materials, the fabrication of hierarchical pore structure has proven to be an effective way. Herein, cellulose nanofiber (CNF) and melamine foam (MF) were combined by an environmentally friendly method for the first time, which endowed the final composite foam with both macropores and mesopores. The hierarchical pore structure was constructed by cyclic freezing-thawing, which enhanced the multiple reflections and micro-vibration of the sound waves, resulting in an obvious improvement in sound absorption performance.

Electrospun stereocomplex polylactide porous fibers toward highly efficient oil/water separation.

The urgent needs for water protection are not only developing the highly efficient wastewater treatment technologies but also designing the eco-friendly materials. In this work, the eco-friendly composite fibers composed of poly(L-lactide) (PLLA), poly(D-lactide) (PDLA) and maghemite nanoparticles γ-FeO nanoparticles were fabricated through electrospinning technology. Through regulating the processing parameters and introducing additional annealing treatment, nanoscale porous structure and the stereocomplex crystallites (SCs) are simultaneously constructed in the composite electrospun fibers.

Achieving high performance poly(vinylidene fluoride) dielectric composites polymerization of polypyrrole nanoparticles on hydroxylated BaTiO particles.

Polymer dielectric composites have widespread applications in many fields ranging from energy storage, microelectronic devices, and sensors to power driven systems, and attract much attention of researchers. However, it is still challenging to prepare advanced polymer dielectric composites with a high dielectric constant ('), low dielectric loss (tan ) and simultaneously high breakdown strength ( ). In this work, conductive polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles were synthesized in a reaction system containing the common barium titanate (BaTiO, BT) or hydroxylated BaTiO (BTOH) particles, and then the PPy@BT and PPy@BTOH composite particles were incorporated into poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) to prepare the composites.