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| Open AccessAn organic proton cage that is ultra-resistant to hydroxide-promoted degradation
Organic cations are typically unstable under low-humidity, alkaline conditions. Here, the authors report an organic cation featuring a proton protected within a cage that can withstand vapor-phase alkaline conditions.
- Chase L. Radford
- , Torben Saatkamp
- & Steven Holdcroft
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Article
| Open AccessRedefined ion association constants have consequences for calcium phosphate nucleation and biomineralization
While clusters in calcium orthophosphate nucleation have long been known, their speciation and mechanistic pathways to hydroxyapatite remain debated. Here the authors report a revision of ion association in the calcium phosphate system and explore the consequences thereof on the early stages of phase separation.
- David P. McDonogh
- , Julian D. Gale
- & Denis Gebauer
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Article
| Open AccessIntelligent perceptual textiles based on ionic-conductive and strong silk fibers
Perception plays a pivotal role in advancing future intelligent textiles. Here, the authors develop smart perceptual textiles using natural-derived ionic-conductive silk fibers. These textiles can electrically detect external hazards and precisely pinpointing human touch, making them suitable for smart protective clothing and soft human-machine interfaces.
- Haojie Lu
- , Yong Zhang
- & Yingying Zhang
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Article
| Open AccessRapid room-temperature phosphorescence chiral recognition of natural amino acids
Chiral recognition of amino acids with luminescence, despite its advantages, is usually slow and lacks generality. Here, the authors demonstrate that L-phenylalanine derived benzamide can manifest the structural difference between the natural, left-handed amino acid and its right-handed counterpart via the difference in room-temperature phosphorescence, irrespective of the specific chemical structure.
- Xiaoyu Chen
- , Renlong Zhu
- & Guoqing Zhang
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Article
| Open AccessOrbital hybridization of donor and acceptor to enhance the conductivity of mixed-stack complexes
Mixed-stack complexes consisting of alternating donors and acceptors typically show low electrical conductivity. Here, the authors improved the conductivity by hybridizing the frontier orbitals of the donor and acceptor at the neutral–ionic boundary.
- Tomoko Fujino
- , Ryohei Kameyama
- & Hatsumi Mori
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Article
| Open AccessBioadhesive interface for marine sensors on diverse soft fragile species
It is useful to be able to equip marine animals with sensors, but it can be challenging to attach these to soft marine organisms. Here, the authors use an adhesive hydrogel to achieve rapid attachment of sensors to marine life including jellyfish, squid and lobster.
- Camilo Duque Londono
- , Seth F. Cones
- & Xuanhe Zhao
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Article
| Open AccessUnconventional mechanical and thermal behaviours of MOF CALF-20
CALF-20 MOF is considered a benchmark sorbent for industrial scale CO2 capture. Here authors use machine-learning potential simulations to show that CALF-20 exhibits anomalous structural responses to temperature and strain stimuli, with potential applications in mechanical/thermal sensing.
- Dong Fan
- , Supriyo Naskar
- & Guillaume Maurin
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Article
| Open Access3D printable strong and tough composite organo-hydrogels inspired by natural hierarchical composite design principles
The preparation of composite hydrogels can allow for mechanical properties to be enhanced, and hierarchical structures can be effective. Here, the authors report improved mechanical properties by the addition of ceramic platelets to an organohydrogel in direct ink writing.
- Quyang Liu
- , Xinyu Dong
- & Wei Zhai
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| Open AccessDouble-walled Al-based MOF with large microporous specific surface area for trace benzene adsorption
Trace benzene poses a risk to the health and safety of humans, resulting in a challenging task. Here authors synthesise double-walled Al-based MOF ZJU-520(Al) with trace benzene adsorption (5.98 mmol g–1) and excellent benzene/cyclohexane separation ability.
- Laigang Hu
- , Wenhao Wu
- & Kun Yang
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Article
| Open AccessA facile one step route that introduces functionality to polymer powders for laser sintering
Polyamide-12 is the main polymer employed to produce 3D objects by laser sintering constraining the functionality of the items produced. Here, the authors report a clean and scalable approach for the functionalization of polyamide-12 particles, yielding materials that can be printed using commercial apparatus.
- Eduards Krumins
- , Liam A. Crawford
- & Steven M. Howdle
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Article
| Open AccessPrecision ion separation via self-assembled channels
Selective nanofiltration membranes with accurate molecular sieving offer a solution to recover rare metals and other valuable elements from brines but this demands the development of membranes with precise sub-nanometer pores surpassing those available today. Here, the authors report a scalable approach for membrane fabrication in which functionalized macrocycles are seamlessly oriented via supramolecular interactions during the interfacial polycondensation on a polyacrylonitrile support layer.
- Shanshan Hong
- , Maria Di Vincenzo
- & Suzana P. Nunes
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Article
| Open AccessBeyond nothingness in the formation and functional relevance of voids in polymer films
Voids are known to impact the properties of materials, but the nanovoids also present are less well understood than macroscopic voids. Here, the authors utilise 3D imaging and graph theory to study nanovoid formation and impact on material properties.
- Falon C. Kalutantirige
- , Jinlong He
- & Qian Chen
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Article
| Open AccessHighly robust supramolecular polymer networks crosslinked by a tiny amount of metallacycles
Supramolecular polymeric materials have exhibited attractive features such as self-healing, reversibility and stimuli-responsiveness but because of the weak bonding nature of most noncovalent interactions, constructing supramolecular polymer materials with high robustness remains challenging. Here, the authors describe the construction of highly robust stimuli-responsive supramolecular polymer networks by using only a tiny amount of metallacycles as the supramolecular crosslinkers.
- Lang He
- , Yu Jiang
- & Shijun Li
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Article
| Open AccessEnabling robust blue circularly polarized organic afterglow through self-confining isolated chiral chromophore
The preparation of systems that give blue circularly polarised organic afterglow is desirable but challenging. Here, the authors confine a chiral chromophore within a polymer matrix to limit non-radiative transitions and give blue circularly polarised organic afterglow.
- Mingjian Zeng
- , Weiguang Wang
- & Wei Huang
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Article
| Open AccessVapor-induced phase-separation-enabled versatile direct ink writing
The extrusion-based three-dimensional printing of polymers, metals, and composites requires elevated temperatures and may lead to diverse undesirable defects on printed parts. Here, the authors develop a vapor-induced phase separation printing technique to construct polymeric, metallic, and composite parts by using a polymer as a binder.
- Marc Sole-Gras
- , Bing Ren
- & Yong Huang
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Article
| Open AccessFine-tuning the pore environment of ultramicroporous three-dimensional covalent organic frameworks for efficient one-step ethylene purification
The construction of three-dimensional covalent organic frameworks for gas separation is challenging due to the similar physicochemical properties of the gas mixture. Here, the authors report functional three-dimensional covalent organic frameworks by fine-tunning the pore environment with pyridine units to achieve effective separation of ethane from ethylene.
- Yang Xie
- , Wenjing Wang
- & Cheng Wang
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Article
| Open AccessSlow magnetic relaxation in a europium(II) complex
This study introduces a Eu(II) single molecule magnet that exhibits slow magnetic relaxation at low temperatures. These results highlight the importance of the lanthanide ion’s crystal field in unlocking the magnet-like properties of Eu(II).
- Dylan Errulat
- , Katie L. M. Harriman
- & Muralee Murugesu
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Article
| Open AccessTumor-activated in situ synthesis of single-atom catalysts for O2-independent photodynamic therapy based on water-splitting
The utility of single-atom catalysts (SACs) for photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been limited by tumor hypoxia and side effects on normal tissues. Here the authors address these issues by developing an approach of tumor microenvironment-activated in situ synthesis of SACs for tumor-specific water-based PDT.
- Yiyan Yin
- , Xiyang Ge
- & Na Na
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| Open AccessArtificial kagome lattices of Shockley surface states patterned by halogen hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks
By utilizing the templating effect of a halogen hydrogen-bonded organic framework, the authors show that the Shockley surface states of coinage metals can be patterned into artificial kagome lattices with high tunability.
- Ruoting Yin
- , Xiang Zhu
- & Bing Wang
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| Open AccessLong lifetimes white afterglow in slightly crosslinked polymer systems
It is challenging to achieve multicolor long-lived room temperature phosphorescence in intrinsic polymers, especially for white afterglow. Here, the authors report a strategy to obtain pure white afterglow micro-crosslinked polymers by covalently coupling different conjugated chromophores with precursors through a simple and rapid one-pot reaction.
- Qingao Chen
- , Lunjun Qu
- & Chaolong Yang
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Article
| Open AccessDiffusion-rate sieving of propylene and propane mixtures in a cooperatively dynamic porous crystal
Porous coordination polymers (PCPs) are commonly used in gas separation processes but developing PCPs that work at high temperatures and feature both high uptake capacity and selectivity remains challenging. Here, the authors report diffusion-rate sieving of propylene/propane at 300 K by constructing a PCP whose global and local dynamics cooperatively govern the adsorption process via gate opening for propylene and diffusion regulation for propane.
- Yan Su
- , Ken-ichi Otake
- & Cheng Gu
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| Open AccessA Janus carbaporphyrin pseudo-dimer
Carbaporphyrin dimers, known for their interesting photophysical properties and application in metal-organic chemistry, generally contain two identical subunits. Here, the authors highlight the benefits that can accrue from breaking the inherent symmetry of carbaporphyrin dimers and details a new approach to creating heterobimetallic complexes.
- Haodan He
- , Jiyeon Lee
- & Xian-Sheng Ke
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Article
| Open AccessCrosslinking-induced patterning of MOFs by direct photo- and electron-beam lithography
Precise and scalable patterning is essential for the use of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in solid-state electronics and photonics. Here, the authors report on resistance-free, direct photo- and electron-beam lithography of MOF films using crosslinking chemistry.
- Xiaoli Tian
- , Fu Li
- & Jinghong Li
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Article
| Open AccessAggregation induced emission dynamic chiral europium(III) complexes with excellent circularly polarized luminescence and smart sensors
Chiral luminescent materials are of increasing interest in various applications, but achieving a desirable balance of properties can be challenging. Here, the authors report the development of Eu-based complexes with chiral luminescence and aggregation induced emission.
- Yun-Lan Li
- , Hai-Ling Wang
- & Hua-Hong Zou
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Article
| Open AccessMolecular insight into the initial hydration of tricalcium aluminate
The hydration of tricalcium aluminate is an important initial step in the structural build-up of Portland cement. Here the authors use ab initio and accelerated dynamics to describe the reactions and dynamics of this process at the molecular level.
- Xing Ming
- , Wen Si
- & Zongjin Li
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Article
| Open AccessFlash healing of laser-induced graphene
Laser-induced graphene (LIG) can be obtained via a practically convenient approach, but its amorphous characteristics limit its applications. Here, the authors report a flash Joule heating strategy to improve the crystalline quality and conductivity of LIG, leading to strain sensors with enhanced sensitivity.
- Le Cheng
- , Chi Shun Yeung
- & Ruquan Ye
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Article
| Open AccessHighly efficient multi-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence material toward a BT.2020 deep-blue emitter
The realization of a BT.2020 blue emitter is challenging due to the spectral redshift associated with π-extension. Here, the authors report a multi-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitter, exhibiting ultrapure deep-blue narrow emission and CIEy ≤ 0.05 exceeding 20% efficiency.
- Junki Ochi
- , Yuki Yamasaki
- & Takuji Hatakeyama
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Article
| Open AccessBiomimetic NIR-II fluorescent proteins created from chemogenic protein-seeking dyes for multicolor deep-tissue bioimaging
Near-infrared-I/II fluorescent proteins (NIR-I/II FPs) are crucial for in vivo imaging, but their availability is still scarce. Here, the authors make use of protein-seeking NIR-II dyes as chromophores, which covalently bind to tag proteins and thus creating biomimetic NIR-II FPs.
- Jiajun Xu
- , Ningning Zhu
- & Shoujun Zhu
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| Open AccessPhoto-modulated activation of organic bases enabling microencapsulation and on-demand reactivity
Oil-water emulsion techniques can be used for encapsulation of chemicals and control of reactivity, but is challenging for highly reactive materials such as acids and bases. Here, the authors report the encapsulation of bases by masking of reactivity with photo-removable protecting groups.
- Wenle Li
- , Xiaocun Lu
- & Nancy R. Sottos
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Article
| Open AccessCatalytic polymer self-cleavage for CO2 generation before combustion empowers materials with fire safety
Overcoming this challenge of fire hazards by carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen rich materials remains challenging. Here, the authors demonstarte that catalytic polymer auto-pyrolysis before combustion releases CO2, equipping the material with fire retardant properties.
- Wei Luo
- , Ming-Jun Chen
- & Hai-Bo Zhao
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Article
| Open AccessEngineering the pore environment of antiparallel stacked covalent organic frameworks for capture of iodine pollutants
Radioiodine capture from nuclear fuel waste and contaminated water sources is of environmental importance but technically challenging. Here, the authors report covalent organic frameworks with antiparallel eclipsed stacked structures with dynamic adsorption performance for iodine pollutants under various conditions.
- Yinghui Xie
- , Qiuyu Rong
- & Xiangke Wang
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Article
| Open AccessQuantifying the interfacial triboelectricity in inorganic-organic composite mechanoluminescent materials
Mechanoluminescence enables sensing applications of mechanical stimuli. Here, the authors reveal the importance of interfacial triboelectricity to this phenomenon in inorganic-organic composite materials.
- Xin Pan
- , Yixi Zhuang
- & Rong-Jun Xie
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Article
| Open AccessDeveloping a machine learning model for accurate nucleoside hydrogels prediction based on descriptors
Supramolecular nucleoside-based hydrogels have potential in biomedical applications, but there is no model to predict what nucleoside derivatives will form hydrogels. Here, the authors report a machine learning model to predict the ability of nucleoside derivatives to form hydrogels.
- Weiqi Li
- , Yinghui Wen
- & Hang Zhao
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| Open AccessSelective sorting of hexane isomers by anion-functionalized metal-organic frameworks with optimal energy regulation
Balancing the separation selectivity and regeneration energy of alkane isomers is a daunting challenge. Here the authors utilize flexible host-guest interactions to maximize the gas-framework interactions while achieving potential energy storage to set new benchmarks for alkane isomer separation.
- Qingju Wang
- , Lifeng Yang
- & Huabin Xing
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Article
| Open AccessStrategies for high-temperature methyl iodide capture in azolate-based metal-organic frameworks
Efficient capture of methyl iodide (CH3I) from high-temperature nuclear off-gas is quite challenging. Here, the authors present two innovative and efficient strategies to adsorb CH3I at high temperatures in an azolate-based metal-organic framework.
- Tingting Pan
- , Kaijie Yang
- & Yu Han
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Article
| Open AccessNucleic-acid-base photofunctional cocrystal for information security and antimicrobial applications
Cocrystal engineering is a promising strategy for constructing multifunctional materials. Here, the authors describe nucleic-acid-base cocrystal systems with different colors of phosphorescence from their monomeric counterparts and high-temperature phosphorescence with antimicrobial effects and data encryption applications.
- Wenqing Xu
- , Guanheng Huang
- & David Lee Phillips
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Article
| Open AccessUltra-photostable small-molecule dyes facilitate near-infrared biophotonics
Near-infrared small molecule dyes are attractive in biophotonics, but generally rely on expanded aromatic structures to achieve this redshift. Here the authors report the use of a ground state antiaromatic strategy for 14 aminofluorene dyes, and their use in imaging kidney injury.
- Kui Yan
- , Zhubin Hu
- & Fan Zhang
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Article
| Open AccessStructurally diverse macrocycle co-crystals for solid-state luminescence modulation
Organic co-crystals are useful in the fabrication of functional materials, but it is challenging to achieve structural diversity of co-crystals. Here, the authors report nine sets of macrocycle cocrystals with diverse structures and stoichiometric ratios giving different luminescence properties.
- Bin Li
- , Lingling Liu
- & Chunju Li
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Article
| Open AccessSub-8 nm networked cage nanofilm with tunable nanofluidic channels for adaptive sieving
Drawing inspiration from biological cell membranes, here, the authors create sub-8 nm membranes with adaptive nanofluidic channels, mimicking the cell membrane properties, by interconnecting 0D nanoporous molecules at the oil/water interface.
- Si-Hua Liu
- , Jun-Hao Zhou
- & Jian-Ke Sun
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Article
| Open AccessEncoding ordered structural complexity to covalent organic frameworks
Starting from simple building blocks with specific molecular packing geometries, here, the authors synthesized structurally complex covalent organic framework COF-305 with nine different stereoisomers of its constituents showing specific sequences on topologically equivalent sites.
- Lei Wei
- , Xinyue Hai
- & Yingbo Zhao
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Article
| Open AccessLight and matter co-confined multi-photon lithography
Mask-free multi-photon lithography allows the straightforward fabrication of nanostructures, but high precision and good resolution can be challenging to achieve. Here, the authors report a combination of photo-inhibition and chemical quenchers for improved lithography performance.
- Lingling Guan
- , Chun Cao
- & Xu Liu
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Article
| Open AccessPhotooxidation triggered ultralong afterglow in carbon nanodots
Biocompatible afterglow materials have potential in imaging applications, but are challenging to prepare. Here the authors report the development of carbon nanodots with near-infrared afterglow, and demonstrate their use in imaging for tumour resection.
- Guang-Song Zheng
- , Cheng-Long Shen
- & Chong-Xin Shan
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Article
| Open AccessBiobased and biodegradable films exhibiting circularly polarized room temperature phosphorescence
Sustainable materials with circularly polarized room-temperature phosphorescence are desirable but challenging to design. Here, the authors report the development of thin films, based on cellulose nanocrystals and lignosulfonate, with circularly polarised room temperature phosphorescence.
- Mengnan Cao
- , Yiran Ren
- & Zhijun Chen
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Article
| Open AccessDouble charge flips of polyamide membrane by ionic liquid-decoupled bulk and interfacial diffusion for on-demand nanofiltration
Currently polyamide membranes fabricated by interfacial polymerization are limited by inherently negative charge as well as narrow charge tailoring window restricting the application of these membranes. Here, the authors report a facile ionic liquid-decoupled bulk/interfacial diffusion strategy to fabricate polyamide membranes which can transform on-demand from inherently negative to highly positive and near-neutral charge.
- Bian-Bian Guo
- , Chang Liu
- & Zhi-Kang Xu
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Article
| Open Access3D printing by stereolithography using thermal initiators
Common stereolithography-based 3D printing relies on photopolymerization using photoinitiators. Here, the authors replace the conventional photoinitiators with low-cost, widely used thermal initiators to achieve 3D-printed objects.
- Doron Kam
- , Omri Rulf
- & Shlomo Magdassi
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Article
| Open AccessMolecular sieving of iso-butene from C4 olefins with simultaneous high 1,3-butadiene and n-butene uptakes
The efficient separation of iso-butene, an important raw material in chemical industry, remains challenging due to similar molecular properties of C4 olefins. Here, the authors report a sulfate-pillared adsorbent for the molecular sieving of iso-C4H8 from C4H6 and n-C4H8 with good benchmark uptake ratios and Henry’s selectivities.
- Junhui Liu
- , Hanting Xiong
- & Jun Wang
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Article
| Open AccessComplete separation of benzene-cyclohexene-cyclohexane mixtures via temperature-dependent molecular sieving by a flexible chain-like coordination polymer
The separation and purification of C6 cyclic hydrocarbons by thermal distillation is an energy intensive process which may be replaced by alternative energy-efficient adsorptive techniques. Here, the authors report a chain-like coordination polymer which facilitates complete separation of benzene, cyclohexene, and cyclohexane via an ideal molecular sieving mechanism.
- Feng Xie
- , Lihang Chen
- & Jing Li
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Article
| Open AccessStabilization of N6 and N8 anionic units and 2D polynitrogen layers in high-pressure scandium polynitrides
The authors discover high-pressure Sc2N6, Sc2N8, and ScN5 polynitrides, synthesized at high pressure and temperature conditions, featuring a unique nitrogen catenation and previously unknown N66− anions, N86− anions and anionic corrugated 2D-polynitrogen layers.
- Andrey Aslandukov
- , Alena Aslandukova
- & Leonid Dubrovinsky
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Article
| Open AccessTuning polymer-backbone coplanarity and conformational order to achieve high-performance printed all-polymer solar cells
All-polymer solar cells comprising both polymeric donors and acceptors offer better morphological and mechanical stability, and a broader processing window for printing. Here, the authors report a polymer acceptor based on bithiazole linker with more coplanar and ordered molecular conformation.
- Yilei Wu
- , Yue Yuan
- & Zhenan Bao