The authors demonstrate how the size and structure of the cavity of hollow charged microgels may be controlled by varying pH and ionic strength. Hollow charged microgels based on N-isopropylacrylamide with ionizable co-monomers (itaconic acid) combine advanced structure with enhanced responsiveness to external stimuli. Structural advantages accrue from the increased surface area provided by the extra internal surface. Extreme sensitivity to pH and ionic strength due to ionizable moieties in the polymer network differentiates these soft colloidal particles from their uncharged counterparts, which sustain a hollow structure only at cross-link densities sufficiently high that stimuli sensitivity is reduced. Using small-angle neutron and light scattering, increased swelling of the network in the charged state accompanied by an expanded internal cavity is observed. Upon addition of salt, the external fuzziness of the microgel surface diminishes while the internal fuzziness grows. These structural changes are interpreted via Poisson-Boltzmann theory in the cell model.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/marc.201900422 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Mountain Bridge and Tunnel Engineering, College of Civil Engineering, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing, 400074, China.
The lining cavities in tunnels have strong concealment and pose significant risks, seriously affecting tunnel operational safety. Therefore, it is necessary to develop efficient and high-precision detection techniques for tunnel lining cavities. In this study, concrete slabs with different parameter cavities were selected as the research object, and experiments on remote detection using Laser Doppler Vibrometry were conducted.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
January 2025
Department of Chemistry, New Cornerstone Science Institute, Institute of Biomimetic Materials & Chemistry, Anhui Engineering Laboratory of Biomimetic Materials, Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China.
The overall structural integrity plays a vital role in the unique performance of living organisms, but the integral synchronous preparation of different multiscale architectures remains challenging. Inspired by the cuttlebone's rigid cavity-wall structure with excellent energy absorption, we develop a robust hierarchical predesigned hydrogel assembly strategy to integrally synchronously assemble multiple organic and inorganic micro-nano building blocks to different structures. The two types of predesigned hydrogels, combined with hydrogen, covalent bonding, and electrostatic interactions, are layer-by-layer assembled into brick-and-mortar structures and close-packed rigid micro hollow structures in a cuttlebone-inspired structural material, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSmall Methods
December 2024
Nanchang Key Laboratory of Photoelectric Conversion and Energy Storage Materials, College of Science, Nanchang Institute of Technology, Nanchang, 330099, P. R. China.
Constructing a hollow structure inside zeolite is very helpful for improving its performance. Unlike the conventional alkaline etching technique usually operated at high temperature (typically 170 °C) and high pressure (autogenerated in autoclave), here, it is discovered that zeolite MFI nano-box can be achieved under mild etching conditions of atmospheric pressure and low temperature of 80 °C, making it very attractive for energy conservation and practical applications. A hollow-structure formation mechanism of protection-dissolution etching is demonstrated by characterizing MFI crystals obtained under different etching time, temperature, and etchant concentration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn ultra-narrow-linewidth laser is a core device in fields such as optical atomic clocks, quantum communications, and microwave photonic oscillators. This paper reports an ultra-narrow-linewidth self-injection locked semiconductor laser, which is realized through optical feedback from a high-Q (258 million) Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity constructed with three mirrors, generating an output power of 12 mW. Employing a delay self-heterodyne method based on a signal source analyzer, the phase noise of the laser is -129 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset frequency, with an intrinsic linewidth of 3 mHz.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Colloid Interface Sci
December 2024
Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, 103 Wenhua Road, Shenyang, Liaoning Province 110016, PR China. Electronic address:
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has witnessed remarkable progress in recent years owing to its specific properties. Given that the antioxidation system of tumor microenvironment (TME) adversely affects treatment outcomes, powerful TME modulators can significantly resolve the limitation of PDT. Herein, we developed a PEG-modified Cu-doped hollow mesoporous carbon nanozyme (CHC-PEG) and loaded insoluble photosensitizer IR780 into its pores and cavities to construct the multifunctional nano-system IR780/CHCP.
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