Publications by authors named "Zhiyou Wei"

Covalent polymer networks find wide utility in diverse engineering applications owing to their desirable stiffness and resilience. However, the rigid covalent chemical structure between crosslinking points imposes limitations on enhancing their toughness. Although the incorporation of sacrificial chemical bonds has shown promise in improving toughness through energy dissipation, composite networks struggle to maintain both rapid recovery and stiffness.

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Loops are prevalent topological structures in cross-linked polymer networks, resulting from the folding of polymer chains back onto themselves. Traditionally, they have been considered as defects that compromise the mechanical properties of the network, leading to extensive efforts in synthesis to prevent their formation. In this study, we introduce the inclusion of cyclic dibenzo-24-crown-8 (DB24C8) moieties within the polymer network strands to form CCNs, and surprisingly, these loops enhance the mechanical performances of the network, leading to tough elastomers.

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The structures of magnesium chloride dimer-water clusters, (MgCl2)2(H2O)n-/0, were investigated with size-selected anion photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical calculations to understand the dissolution of magnesium chloride in water. The most stable structures were confirmed by comparing vertical detachment energies (VDEs) with the experimental measurements. A dramatic drop of VDE at n = 3 has been observed in the experiment, which is in accordance with the structural change of (MgCl2)2(H2O)n-.

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The structures and bonding properties of several lithium polysulfide clusters LiS ( = 3-5) and LiS were investigated by size-selected anion photoelectron spectroscopy coupled with quantum chemistry calculations. The vertical detachment energies of LiS, LiS, and LiS were estimated to be 2.17 ± 0.

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Hypothesis: Although a raspberry-like configuration has been long observed in biological processes (e.g., the intimate association between Cajal bodies and B-snurposomes), studies on this morphology are very limited.

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The conformations of 1,7DSU and its stepwise solvation by up to 5 water molecules were explored using supersonic-jet Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy with the supplement of theoretical calculations. Experimentally, the rotational spectra of the most stable structures of the monomer, monohydrate and dihydrate were observed and assigned. The characteristics of the stability and intermolecular interaction topologies of the 1,7DSU monomer and its hydrated clusters were obtained by CREST conformational sampling followed by B3LYP-D3(BJ)/def2-TZVP geometrical optimizations and MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ single-point energy calculations.

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We studied (NaSCN)(HO) clusters in the gas phase using size-selected anion photoelectron spectroscopy. The photoelectron spectra and vertical detachment energies of (NaSCN)(HO) (n = 0-5) were obtained in the experiment. The structures of (NaSCN)(HO) up to n = 7 were investigated with density functional theory calculations.

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To understand the microsolvation of alkaline-earth dihalides in water and provide information about the dependence of solvation processes on different halides, we investigated CaBr(HO), CaI(HO), and CaF(HO) ( = 0-6) clusters using size-selected anion photoelectron spectroscopy and conducted theoretical calculations on these clusters and their neutrals. The results are compared with those of CaCl(HO) clusters reported previously. It is found that the vertical detachment energies (VDEs) of CaCl(HO), CaBr(HO), and CaI(HO) show a similar trend with increasing cluster size, while the VDEs of CaF(HO) show a different trend.

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In order to understand the hydration processes of BaCl, we investigated BaCl(HO) (n = 0-5) clusters using size-selected anion photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical calculations. The structures of neutral BaCl(HO) clusters up to n = 8 were also investigated by theoretical calculations. It is found that in BaCl(HO) , the Ba-Cl distances increase very slowly with the cluster size.

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We studied NaSCN(HO) clusters in the gas phase using size-selected anion photoelectron spectroscopy. Vertical detachment energies (VDEs) of NaSCN(HO) ( = 0-6) clusters were obtained in the experiment. Structures of NaSCN(HO) ( = 0-6) clusters and their corresponding neutral counterparts were investigated by theoretical calculations.

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Thermally activated delayed-fluorescent (TADF) materials are anticipated to overcome triplet-related losses towards electrically driven organic lasers. Thus far, contributions from triplets to lasing have not yet been experimentally demonstrated owing to the limited knowledge about the excited-state processes. Herein, we experimentally achieve reverse intersystem crossing (RISC)-boosted lasing in organic microspheres with uniformly dispersed TADF emitters.

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The structural and electronic properties of Cu3O3- and Cu3O4- were investigated using mass-selected anion photoelectron spectroscopy in combination with density functional theoretical calculations. The vertical detachment energies of Cu3O3- and Cu3O4- were measured to be 3.48 ± 0.

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