Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials最新文献

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an epithelial malignancy with a poor prognosis that is usually advanced at the time of diagnosis. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), with its safety and reproducibility, offers significant potential for advanced NPC treatment, though its efficacy is hindered by the hypoxic tumor microenvironment and continuous oxygen depletion during therapy. This study presents a versatile nanoformulation (CGP) co-loaded with chlorin e6 (Ce6) and genistein (Gen) within peptide dendritic nanogel (PDN) for enhanced NPC treatment. The positively charged CGP is efficiently internalized by NPC cells, followed by glutathione (GSH)-responsive degradation, releasing Ce6 and Gen. The released Gen reduces intracellular oxygen consumption and tumor metastability by inhibiting the HIF-1 signaling pathway, thereby efficiently boosting PDT efficacy. In vitro and in vivo studies confirmed that the combination of Gen and PDT effectively eliminates tumors and inhibits metastasis. Multi-omics analysis (RNA sequencing and targeted energy metabolomics) revealed that CGP suppresses HIF-1α, GLUT1, and VEGFA expression, downregulating the HIF-1 pathway and reducing anaerobic glycolysis, thereby successfully remodeling the hypoxia-associated tumor microenvironment. This study demonstrates that the Gen-PDT combination is a versatile approach capable of enhancing PDT efficacy and holds promise for NPC management.

The growing demand for biodegradable conductive composites is driven by the need to mitigate electronic waste and advance bioelectronics for healthcare applications. Self-assembled peptide composites, particularly diphenylalanine (FF) derivatives, represent a promising class of materials for such electronics due to their inherent biodegradability and ease of hybridization with functional materials. However, the integration of ionic species with these peptides is often limited by the disruption of non-covalent interactions between FF derivatives. In this study, we developed biodegradable, ionic thermoelectric composites by co-assembling Fmoc-FF with deep eutectic solvents (DESs) composed of choline chloride (ChCl) and ethylene glycol (EG). Spectroscopic analyses revealed that Fmoc-FF formed eutectogels through π-π interactions between Fmoc groups, resulting in a highly porous colloidal network. The Fmoc-FF eutectogels exhibited an ionic conductivity of up to 47.5 mS·cm⁻¹ and a Seebeck coefficient of 7.39 mV·K⁻¹, making them suitable for heat harvesting. Additionally, they were entirely degraded within 48 h under proteolytic conditions, confirming their biodegradability. The eutectogels also displayed self-healing and shear-thinning behaviors, highlighting compatibility with additive manufacturing techniques for device integration.

Graphical Abstract

High protection performance and intelligence are gradually becoming indispensable key factors with the ever-improving personal protective equipment. However, protective material that can not only resist but also percept full type of impacts is an urgent need due to complex combat scenarios. This work reports an intelligent leather/shear stiffening gel (SSG)/Kevlar-shear thickening fluid (STF)/non-woven fabric (LSKSN) composite, which exhibits superior and comprehensive impact resistance performance in needle puncture, knife puncture, ballistic impact, and blunt impact. Especially, the LSKSN composite not only improves the puncture resistance performance by 71% but also still maintains a large resistance after being punctured. Moreover, the LSKSN composite possesses a high limit penetrated velocity of 159 m s⁻¹ and can dissipate a high impact energy of 24.6 J, causing the bulletproof to be improved by 22%. Due to the excellent force-buffering performance and rate-dependent energy dissipation characteristics in wide-impact energy, the maximum energy dissipation rate of the LSKSN composite reaches 95%. Simultaneously, the further developed electronic LSKSN (E-LSKSN) composite shows outstanding perceptual capability, which is sensitive to various impacts and can accurately identify the impact types through different resistance changes (10–8000%) and response times (0.1–100 ms). Finally, based on the bending sensing and impact sensing properties of the E-LSKSN composite, a wireless signal transmission system is constructed to monitor the safety and movement status of the human body in real-time, which demonstrates this LSKSN composite possesses high potential in the next generation of intelligent protective equipment.

Graphical Abstract

Lithium-oxygen batteries (LOBs) have received intense attention due to their ultra-high energy density. However, the major impediments of LOBs, including poor cycle stability, sluggish reaction kinetics, and high overpotentials, are mainly derived from unreliable cathode catalysts. Unfortunately, most of the batteries only exhibit satisfactory performance at room temperature conditions; finding better catalysts that work in sub-ambient temperatures remains a challenge. In this study, a scheelite ZnMoO₄ catalyst was reported which can stably work over 580 cycles at room temperature and 297 cycles at sub-ambient temperatures (10 °C). The experimental and theoretical investigation demonstrated that the oxygen vacancies cause structural rearrangement to form pentahedrons in the scheelite structure, which is conducive to surface metal ion exposure, strong adsorption ability, and high electron transfer efficiency, which is beneficial to stabilize the LiO₂ and the surface formation route of Li₂O₂. This work provides a novel strategy for the design of cathode catalysts for LOBs at a wide range of temperatures.

Marine environmentally friendly antifouling materials are emerging as a viable and promising alternative to the conventional toxic antifouling agents. Within this field, the exploration of natural antifouling substances has become a significant research focus, representing an auspicious avenue for innovation in eco-friendly technologies. In this study, we delve into the development of eco-friendly antifouling coatings through a novel chemical modification process. By incorporating natural antifouling agents onto an acrylic acid substrate through a grafting process, we have successfully synthesized three distinct varieties of natural antifouling coatings: isobornyl acrylate polymer (IBAP), acrylate indole polymer (AIP), and indole isobornyl co-modified acrylate polymer (IAA-IBOMA). Through meticulous surface characterization, structural analysis, and a comprehensive suite of antifouling performance tests, our findings indicate that these coatings exhibit superior antifouling properties. Notably, the IAA-IBOMA coating demonstrated exceptional anti-adhesion effects. The specific inhibition rates against E. coli, S. aureus, and Pseudoalteromonas aeruginosa were impressive, achieving 93.5%, 92.8%, and 95.7%, respectively. Moreover, the anti-mussel selective adhesion inhibition rate was found to be 93.3%. Furthermore, environmental toxicity assessments have validated the eco-friendly and stable nature of the IAA-IBOMA coating. These results underscore the potential of these natural product-based coatings as sustainable solutions for the marine industry. This work offers valuable insights and holds significant implications for guiding the future development of environmentally friendly antifouling coatings, steering the industry towards a more sustainable and eco-conscious direction.

Catalysts that effectively degrade organic pollutants and exhibit bactericidal properties are highly up-and-compromising for water treatment applications. To overcome the inherent limitation that the rapid recombination of the photogenerated carriers and to extend the practical utility of Bi₂WO₆, a flower-like structure of 7 wt.% Er³⁺-doped Bi₂WO₆ (Er_7%-Bi₂WO₆) capable of oxygen vacancy and crystal defect was synthesized using a straightforward hydrothermal method. Under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm), the Er_7%-Bi₂WO₆ achieved a Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation efficiency of 92% within 80 min, significantly surpassing that of pristine Bi₂WO₆. The kinetic rate constant of Er_7%-Bi₂WO₆ was determined to be 0.0288 min⁻¹, which is 5.9 times higher than the 0.0049 min⁻¹ observed for Bi₂WO₆. Additionally, the bactericidal rate against Escherichia coli after 120 min of visible light exposure was 93.9%, nearly twice that of Bi₂WO₆ at 49.8%. Density functional theory calculations and experimental results confirmed that doping with Er³⁺ introduced lower band gap and more photogenerated carriers, enhanced visible light absorption, and ultimately improved the photocatalytic performance. Electron paramagnetic resonance and radical trapping experiments identified h⁺ and ·O₂⁻ as the primary active species generated during the photocatalytic process of Er_7%-Bi₂WO₆. The RhB removal rate remained above 90% after five degradation cycles, and the treatment efficacy on actual water samples was 76%. This study highlights the potential of Er-doped Bi₂WO₆ to enhance both photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and bactericidal performance, thereby expanding the application scope of Bi₂WO₆ in water treatment.

Graphical Abstract

With the rapid advancement of wearable smart devices, there is an increasing demand for intelligent flexible strain sensors. However, to date, traditional metallic or inorganic semiconductor strain sensors exhibit poor stretchability and sensitivity, limiting their applications in this field. Flexible elastomer-based smart sensing materials (FESSM) offer several advantages, including lightweight design and quantifiable production capabilities. These FESSM have garnered significant attention for their potential applications in robotic electronic skins and intelligent homecare systems. The materials and structural design of FESSM are continually being optimized to facilitate the development of high-performance flexible electronics. This article reviews the latest advancements in the design concepts of materials and structures for FESSM. It examines the preparation methods for various elastic substrates, such as polyurethane fibers and polydimethylsiloxane films, and explores the design of their micro-nano structures, as well as the appropriate use of conductive fillers. This review aims to provide insights and strategies for the design of high-performance FESSM.

Graphical abstract

The hot press sintering and heat treatment processes each play a crucial role in influencing the interface between the fibers and the matrix alloy; therefore, this work evaluated the interfacial evolution between carbon fibers and the matrix alloy in SiC_p-C_f/Al composites under sintered and heat-treated conditions. 5SiC_p-5C_f/ZL109 hybrid-reinforced aluminum matrix composites were prepared by hot pressing sintering and T6 heat treatment to investigate their microstructure and properties. The analysis revealed that the SiC_p and C_f were uniformly distributed in the matrix alloy, and after heat treatment, Ni diffused and the Al₃Ni phase on the surface of the carbon fiber transformed into a jagged one. The mechanical interlock between the carbon fiber and the matrix alloy was formed by the jagged Al₃Ni phase, which improved the interface bonding between the carbon fiber and the matrix alloy. The yield strength and the tensile strength of the heat-treated 5SiC_p-5C_f/ZL109 hybrid-reinforced aluminum matrix composites reached 324 MPa and 343 MPa, respectively, 93.3% and 55.5% higher than those of the matrix alloy.

To obtain environment-friendly and renewable hydrogen energy, research is being actively conducted towards lowering the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) energy barrier through various modifications to the surface of a transition metal bimetal electrochemical catalyst. Herein, we report the development of highly N-doped carbon shell-encapsulated cobalt iron nano cube (CoFe@HNCS) through fine-tuning of the nitrogen-doping content in the carbon shell. The pyridinic N-rich N-doped carbon shell, achieved by adding melamine through electrostatic interactions, improves conductivity, increases active sites, and optimizes Gibbs free energy for hydrogen adsorption. In alkaline HER performance, the optimized CoFe@HNC20 exhibits a lower overpotential (98.2 mV) than CoFe@NCS (133.2 mV) at 10 mA cm⁻². Furthermore, CoFe@HNCS20 as cathode catalyst in anion exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolyzer also shows low cell voltage of 1.808 V to achieve the current density of 0.5 A cm⁻². The expansion of the application to combine solar cells and AEM electrolyzer suggests the possibility of a hydrogen ecosystem.