Fiber materials are highly desirable for wearable electronics that are expected to be flexible and stretchable. Compared with rigid and planar electronic devices, fiber-based wearable electronics provide significant advantages in terms of flexibility, stretchability and breathability, and they are considered as the pioneers in the new generation of soft wearables. The convergence of textile science, electronic engineering and nanotechnology has made it feasible to build electronic functions on fibers and maintain them during wear. Over the last few years, fiber-shaped wearable electronics with desired designability and integration features have been intensively explored and developed. As an indispensable part and cornerstone of flexible wearable devices, fibers are of great significance. Herein, the research progress of advanced fiber materials is reviewed, which mainly includes various material preparations, fabrication technologies and representative studies on different wearable applications. Finally, key challenges and future directions of fiber materials and wearable electronics are examined along with an analysis of possible solutions. Graphical abstract
Nanotechnology has revealed the science of the nanoscale. The global challenge that will follow is to build up functional materials with the knowledge of nanoscale phenomena. This task is carried out by nanoarchitectonics as a post-nanotechnology concept. The goal of nanoarchitectonics is to build functional material systems by architecting atoms, molecules, and nanomaterials as building blocks. Fundamentally, all materials are made of atoms and molecules. Therefore, nanoarchitectonics, which architects materials from atoms and molecules, can be a universal way to create all materials. It may be said to be the method for everything in material science. From atoms and molecules, which are basic units, to living cells, which are complex systems, are all components of nanoarchitectonics. This paper presents recent examples of nanoarchitectonics research at various size levels, from the atomic to the cellular level, specifically, (i) atomistic nanoarchitectonics, (ii) molecular nanoarchitectonics, (iii) supramolecular nanoarchitectonics, (iv) inorganic nanoarchitectonics, (v) biomolecular nanoarchitectonics, (vi) cell-mimic nanoarchitectonics, and (vii) cell-based nanoarchitectonics. The possibility of nanoarchitectonics, method for everything in materials science, as an integrative challenge will then be explored.
Owing to the rapid developments to improve the accuracy and efficiency of both experimental and computational investigative methodologies, the massive amounts of data generated have led the field of materials science into the fourth paradigm of data‐driven scientific research. This transition requires the development of authoritative and up‐to‐date frameworks for data‐driven approaches for material innovation. A critical discussion on the current advances in the data‐driven discovery of materials with a focus on frameworks, machine‐learning algorithms, material‐specific databases, descriptors, and targeted applications in the field of inorganic materials is presented. Frameworks for rationalizing data‐driven material innovation are described, and a critical review of essential subdisciplines is presented, including: i) advanced data‐intensive strategies and machine‐learning algorithms; ii) material databases and related tools and platforms for data generation and management; iii) commonly used molecular descriptors used in data‐driven processes. Furthermore, an in‐depth discussion on the broad applications of material innovation, such as energy conversion and storage, environmental decontamination, flexible electronics, optoelectronics, superconductors, metallic glasses, and magnetic materials, is provided. Finally, how these subdisciplines (with insights into the synergy of materials science, computational tools, and mathematics) support data‐driven paradigms is outlined, and the opportunities and challenges in data‐driven material innovation are highlighted.
Abstract Interactions between dislocations and grain boundaries play a major role in controlling the strength and ductility of structural materials. Experimentally, assessing and probing geometric and stress-based criteria at the local level for dislocation transmission through grain boundaries remains challenging. Therefore, there have been many efforts to systematically generate datasets of dislocation-grain boundary interactions (DGI) via computational models such as molecular dynamics simulations. So far, most DGI datasets have focused only on the subset of nominal minimum-energy grain boundary structures, which limits their applicability, especially to materials processed far from equilibrium. We present a comprehensive database of dislocation-grain boundary interactions for edge, screw, and 60° mixed dislocation with 330 <110> and 257 <112> symmetric tilt grain boundaries (total of 587) in FCC Cu consisting of 73 minimum-energy grain boundary structures and 514 metastable structures. The dataset contains the outcomes for 5234 unique interactions for various dislocation types, grain boundary structures, and applied shear stresses.
Abstract At advanced phases of atherosclerosis, the rupture and thrombogenesis of vulnerable plaques emerge as primary triggers for acute cardiovascular events and fatalities. Pathogenic infection such as periodontitis-associated Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) has been suspected of increasing the risks of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, but its relationship with atherosclerotic plaque destabilization remains elusive. Here we demonstrated that the level of Pg-positive clusters positively correlated with the ratio of necrotic core area to total atherosclerotic plaque area in human clinical samples, which indicates plaque instability. In rabbits and Apoe −/− mice, Pg promoted atherosclerotic plaque necrosis and aggravated plaque instability by triggering oxidative stress, which led to macrophage necroptosis. This process was accompanied by the decreased protein level of forkhead box O3 (FOXO3) in macrophages. The mechanistic dissection showed that Pg lipopolysaccharide (LPS) evoked macrophage oxidative stress via the TLR4 signaling pathway, which subsequently activated MAPK/ERK-mediated FOXO3 phosphorylation and following degradation. While the gingipains, a class of proteases produced by Pg, could effectively hydrolyze FOXO3 in the cytoplasm of macrophages. Both of them decreased the nuclear level of FOXO3, followed by the release of histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) from the macrophage scavenger receptor 1 (Msr1) promoter, thus promoting Msr1 transcription. This enhanced MSR1-mediated lipid uptake further amplified oxidative stress-induced necroptosis in lipid-laden macrophages. In summary, Pg exacerbates macrophage oxidative stress-dependent necroptosis, thus enlarges the atherosclerotic plaque necrotic core and ultimately promotes plaque destabilization.
Abstract Long-persistent luminescence (LPL) materials have applications from safety signage to bioimaging; however, existing organic LPL (OLPL) systems do not align with human scotopic vision, which is sensitive to blue light. We present a strategy to blueshift the emissions in binary OLPL systems by upconverting the charge-transfer (CT) to a locally excited (LE) singlet state. Through rigorous steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy and wavelength-resolved thermoluminescence measurements, we provide the direct experimental evidence for this upconversion in OLPL systems featuring small energy offsets between the lowest-energy CT and LE singlet states. These systems exhibited strong room temperature LPL, particularly when extrinsic electron traps are added. Importantly, the developed OLPL system achieved Class A (ISO 17398) LPL, matching well with human scotopic vision. The findings not only elucidate the role of small energy offsets in modulating LPL but also provide potential avenues for enhancing the efficiency and applicability of OLPL materials.
Abstract Employing electrochemistry for the selective functionalization of liquid alkanes allows for sustainable and efficient production of high-value chemicals. However, the large potentials required for C(sp 3)-H bond functionalization and low water solubility of such alkanes make it challenging. Here we discover that a Pt/IrO x electrocatalyst with optimized Cl binding energy enables selective generation of Cl free radicals for C-H chlorination of alkanes. For instance, we achieve monochlorination of cyclohexane with a current up to 5 A, Faradaic efficiency (FE) up to 95% and stable performance over 100 h in aqueous KCl electrolyte. We further demonstrate that our system can directly utilize concentrated seawater derived from a solar evaporation reverse osmosis process, achieving a FE of 93.8% towards chlorocyclohexane at a current of 1 A. By coupling to a photovoltaic module, we showcase solar-driven production of chlorocyclohexane using concentrated seawater in a membrane electrode assembly cell without any external bias. Our findings constitute a sustainable pathway towards renewable energy driven chemicals manufacture using abundant feedstock at industrially relevant rates.
In bainitic steels, enhancing strength often comes at the expense of ductility. In this paper, a medium-carbon multiphase bainitic steel was produced through intercritical annealing (IA) at various temperatures, followed by isothermal bainite transformation (IBT) at 300 °C, and its microstructural evolution and mechanical properties were systematically investigated. The final microstructure primarily consists of intercritical ferrite, bainite, retained austenite (RA) and fresh martensite. During IA, acicular and globular morphologies of reverted austenite were observed, with acicular austenite exhibiting a near Kurdjumov–Sachs orientation relationship with intercritical ferrite. Higher IA temperatures shorten the incubation and completion times of bainite transformation through two synergistic mechanisms. First, the increased volume fraction of acicular austenite promotes bainite nucleation by lowering the energy barrier. Second, elevated IA temperatures enhance C and Mn diffusion, accelerating the growth of reverted austenite, increasing its size, and reducing the C and Mn concentrations at austenite/ferrite interfaces. These effects alleviate the C/Mn-induced retardation of bainite transformation and accelerate the bainite formation. Moreover, higher IA temperatures lead to a higher bainite fraction and a reduced intercritical ferrite content, both of which contribute to improvements in yield and tensile strength. Higher IA temperatures also increase the RA volume fraction after IBT, enhancing the transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) effect by promoting austenite-to-martensite transformation. The increased bainite content improves the stress shielding effect on adjacent RA, promoting the mechanical stability of RA. These combined effects are believed to be mainly responsible for the enhanced tensile strength and ductility of the steel.
1D nanomaterials feature distinct physical properties owing to their characteristic anisotropy and size‐induced quantization; yet, creating an ordered ensemble of the nanomaterials is nontrivial, marking it as a grand challenge in materials science. Herein, the spontaneous alignment of a model 1D nanomaterial, boron nitride nanotube (BNNT), into a highly ordered multidomain film is presented. A conventional, benchtop gravity filtration is employed, during which thickening of the BNNT dispersion leads to a formation of the liquid crystal (LC) phase that is readily isolatable. The spontaneity of the phase separation excludes notoriously persisting synthetic impurities to a degree >99%, from ≈50% of the initial material purity. The LC‐based thin film features an aligned multidomain with an exceptionally low angular deviation of <2.5° and a domain size of >50 μm. A piezoelectric nanogenerator based on the thin film records a 1000‐fold increase in the piezocurrent compared to its random analog. This work demonstrates the first example of the spontaneous alignment of an unconventional nanotube system and the realization of the macroscopic properties therefrom, which can be readily expanded to 1D materials in general.
Magnesium hydride (MgH2) is an exceptional material for hydrogen storage, but its high desorption temperature and slow kinetics limit its applicability. In this study, the hydrogen storage performance of MgH2 was enhanced using highly dispersed Ni-nanoparticle–doped hollow spherical vanadium nitride (Ni/VN), which was synthesized via a solvothermal process. The MgH2 system doped with the synthesized Ni/VN exhibited an outstanding hydrogen-storage capability. Specifically, 5.6 wt.% of H2 was released within 1 h at a relatively low temperature of 513 K, whereas 6.4 wt.% of H2 was released within 180 s at 598 K, followed by an almost complete dehydrogenation after 10 min at 598 K. At 423 K, the developed material absorbed ∼6.0 wt.% of H2 within 5 min. The activation energy for dehydrogenation was determined to be 78.07 ± 2.91 kJ·mol−1, which was considerably lower than that of MgH2 produced by ball milling (120.89 ± 5.74 kJ·mol−1), corresponding to a reduction of 35.4%. It was deduced that the formation of Mg2Ni/Mg2NiH4 (hydrogen pump) through the reaction of Ni nanoparticles during dehydrogenation/hydrogenation facilitated hydrogen transport and synergistically catalyzed hydrogen absorption and desorption by MgH2, improving its hydrogen storage capability. These findings offer novel perspectives for the utilization of MgH2 in large-scale applications.
Abstract Optical encryption technologies based on room-temperature light-emitting materials are of considerable interest. Herein, we present three-dimensional (3D) printable dual-light-emitting materials for high-performance optical pattern encryption. These are based on fluorescent perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) embedded in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) designed for phosphorescent host-guest interactions. Notably, perovskite-containing MOFs emit a highly efficient blue phosphorescence, and perovskite NCs embedded in the MOFs emit characteristic green or red fluorescence under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Such dual-light-emitting MOFs with independent fluorescence and phosphorescence emissions are employed in pochoir pattern encryption, wherein actual information with transient phosphorescence is efficiently concealed behind fake information with fluorescence under UV exposure. Moreover, a 3D cubic skeleton is developed with the dual-light-emitting MOF powder dispersed in 3D-printable polymer filaments for 3D dual-pattern encryption. This article outlines a universal principle for developing MOF-based room-temperature multi-light-emitting materials and a strategy for multidimensional information encryption with enhanced capacity and security.