Microgels are soft colloids that show responsive behavior and are easy to functionalize for applications. They are considered key components for future smart colloidal material systems. However, so far microgel systems have almost exclusively been studied in classical responsive switching settings using external triggers, while internally organized, autonomous control mechanisms as found in supramolecular chemistry and DNA nanotechnology relying on fuel-driven out-of-equilibrium concepts have not been implemented into microgel systems. Here, we introduce chemically fueled transient volume phase transitions (VPTs) for poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) microgels, where the collapsed hydrophobic state can be programmed using the fuel concentration in a cyclic reaction network. We discuss details of the system behavior as a function of pH and fuel amount, unravel kinetically trapped regions and showcase transient encapsulation and time-programmed release as a first application.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.202014417 | DOI Listing |
Adv Mater
January 2025
Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou, 515063, P. R. China.
Photocatalytic conversion of CO and HO into high-value-added C2 fuels remains a tough challenge, mainly due to the insufficient concentration of photogenerated electrons for the instability of C1 intermediates, which often tend to desorb easily and disable to form C─C bonds. In this work, photoreduction of CO-to-CH is successfully achieved by introducing adjacent C, N dual-vacancy sites within the heptazine rings of ultrathin g-CN, which results in the opening of two neighboring heptazine rings and forms a distinctive dipole-limited domain field (DLDF) structure. In situ X-ray photoelectron spectra and in situ fourier transform infrared spectra provide direct evidence of the rapid accumulation and transformation of C1 intermediates, especially CO and CHO, within the DLDF.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSmall
January 2025
Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India.
Growing global population, escalating energy consumption, and climate change threaten future energy security. Fossil fuel combustion, primarily coal, oil, and natural gas, exacerbates the greenhouse effect driving global warming through CO emissions. To address such issues, research is focused on converting CO into valuable fuels and chemicals, which aims to reduce noxious CO and simultaneously bridge the gap between energy demands and sustainable supply.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBioresour Technol
December 2024
Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Aarhus University, Hangøvej 2, Aarhus 8200, Denmark; WATEC - Center for Water Technology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, Aarhus 8000, Denmark. Electronic address:
This study provides a techno-economic analysis (TEA) of biocrude production via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), focusing on decentralized HTL plants integrated within wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) of typical sizes (0.1 to 1.0 million population equivalents, PE).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Agric Food Chem
January 2025
Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China.
Cellulose, as the most abundant and cheap renewable resource in nature, is of great importance for its utilization. An enzymatic cellulose solution, mainly containing cellobiose and glucose, was utilized to produce astragalin instead of cellobiose in the recombinant strains. However, the crystalline structure of cellulose affects the production of cellobiose, resulting in a low astragalin yield.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Omega
December 2024
Western Australia School of Mines, Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, 26 Dick Perry Avenues, Kensington, 6151 WA, Australia.
The continuous use of fossil fuels has a huge impact on climate change because they release CO, which is a major greenhouse gas that causes 70-75% of global warming. Shale reserves could be used to store CO to lower greenhouse gas emissions. This could happen mostly through adsorbed gas, which can make up about 85% of all shale gas.
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