Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials最新文献

Conventional hydrogel dressings often fail to simultaneously achieve adhesivity, rapid self-healing, and structural adaptability required for dynamic and irregular wound environments. Here, we report the fabrication of a dual-crosslinked nanocellulose hydrogel via a gradient temperature-controlled strategy, which confers tissue adhesion, tunable porosity, and rapid self-repair. In this process, cellulose nanofibers (CNF) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were dissolved at 90 °C, gelatin was introduced at 70 °C, and reversible borate ester crosslinking was induced at 37 °C, enabling controlled assembly and uniform network formation. The resulting hydrogel exhibited exceptional mechanical performance, with stretchability exceeding 1000% strain and ultrafast self-healing within 8 s at 37 °C. It also showed intrinsic antibacterial activity, achieving an 84.3% inhibition rate against Staphylococcus aureus. Mechanistic studies revealed that the stepwise assembly stabilized CNF/PVA hydrogen-bonded frameworks and facilitated energy dissipation via dynamic borate bond reconfiguration, thereby underpinning the multifunctional properties. In vivo, the hydrogel accelerated wound closure (95.8% at day 14 vs. 84.4% for gauze) and enhanced collagen deposition. Furthermore, it conformed seamlessly to irregular anatomical sites such as joints, minimized secondary tissue damage, and maintained reliable adhesion strength (4.38 kPa). This design thus establishes a rational paradigm for developing next-generation, multifunctional hydrogel dressings for precision wound care.

Despite the promising potential of emulsions as oral delivery vehicles, challenges such as insufficient interfacial stability, poor encapsulation efficiency, and limited mucosal adhesion still hinder their effectiveness in delivering lipophilic bioactives. In this study, we developed a high internal phase Pickering emulsion (HIPPE) system stabilized by zein–tannic acid–β-glucan (ZTB) ternary complex particles to enhance the oral delivery of β-carotene. The incorporation of β-glucan markedly improved the droplet size uniformity, interfacial protein adsorption, and storage and digestion stability of HIPPEs. The optimized ZTB_− 0.6-stabilized HIPPEs achieved a high encapsulation efficiency of ~ 88.77%, β-carotene retention of ~85.57% after 28 days of storage at 4 °C, and bioaccessibility of ~ 24.10% during in vitro digestion. Rheological tests confirmed desirable shear-thinning and thixotropic properties, suitable for 3D food printing. Furthermore, in vivo evaluations using a DSS-induced murine colitis model revealed that β-carotene-loaded ZTB-HIPPEs exerted multifaceted therapeutic effects: they effectively mitigated colonic inflammatory responses, bolstered the endogenous antioxidant capacity, and contributed to the restoration of intestinal barrier integrity. These findings highlight the potential of ZTB-stabilized HIPPEs as a multifunctional platform for targeted nutrient delivery and intestinal health improvement.

Graphical Abstract

The convergence of pyroelectric (PE) and magnetoelectric (ME) technologies presents a transformative opportunity for advancing key areas of our increasingly digitized society, ranging from next-generation sensors and spintronic voltage control to highly efficient energy harvesting systems. In this study, we explore the synergistic effects of combining P(VDF-TrFE) piezopolymer with Ni–Mn–Ga magnetic shape memory alloy fillers. Our experimental results reveal a 2.5-fold increase in the PE coefficient due to the cubic-tetragonal phase transition of Ni–Mn–Ga particles, dramatically enhancing the intrinsic properties of the piezopolymer. Theoretical modeling confirms that this increase is driven by the mechanical stress imparted by the phase transition within the composite material. Moreover, the ME response under cyclic temperature variation (from 298 to 328 K) demonstrates an unprecedented leap, with the ME coefficient surging from 4.3 V cm^‒1Oe^‒1 to 20 V cm^‒1Oe^‒1 during narrow 2 K intervals, attributed to phase transitions in the Ni–Mn–Ga filler. Remarkably, even the lowest observed ME coefficient exceeds by two orders of magnitude the maximum reported for similar P(VDF-TrFE)-based composites, signaling a breakthrough in polymer-based ME materials. These findings open new horizons for future technological innovation, where the manipulation of structural phase transitions in composite materials can unlock extraordinary advancements in multifunctional devices. The significant leap in PE and ME performance underscores the potential for disruptive applications in energy, sensing, and spintronics.

Graphical abstract

Reliable brazing of C/C-SiC composites to stainless steel is hindered by severe residual stresses and uncontrolled interfacial reactions. Here, we introduce a CuMnCr/Mo/Cu multilayer interface that aims to simultaneously regulates stress distribution and interfacial chemistry. Cr from the CuMnCr layer preferentially reacts with C/C-SiC, forming a Cr₇C₃ + Cr₃Si reaction layer, while Fe and Cr from stainless steel diffuse into Cu to produce a (Cu, Fe, Cr) solid solution. The Mo interlayer mainly acts as both a diffusion barrier and a compliant stress absorber, isolating reaction zones and concentrating part of the residual stress within itself. Finite-element simulations confirm that this design reduces peak Mises stress from 684 MPa to 444 MPa. At an optimized brazing temperature of 980 °C, the joint achieves a shear strength of 32.2 MPa, corresponding to 57.5% of the intrinsic strength of C/C-SiC. Thermodynamic, kinetic, and first-principles analyses suggest that Cr plays a dominant role in interfacial bonding, whereas Mo contributes to the redistribution of residual stress and mitigation of brittle fracture. Overall, this multilayer strategy provides mechanistic insight into how Cr-driven interfacial control can be combined with Mo-assisted stress management to design reliable C/C-SiC-metal joints, while the long-term service behavior and extension to other composite/steel combinations remain to be clarified in future work.

Magnetic-electro coupling composites are highly effective for electromagnetic wave absorption. However, the specific impact of different configurations on their absorption characteristics and mechanisms, particularly in the X-band, remains unclear. In this study, composite foams combining Carbonyl iron flakes (CIF) and Carbon nanotubes (CNT) within a Polystyrene (PS) matrix were constructed by one-step physical constraint foaming technology. Two distinct configurations were designed: blended (CIF/CNT) and layered (CIF-CNT). The content of CIF and CNT was remained at 50 wt.% and 6 wt.%, respectively, with a constant thickness of 2.0 mm. The blended CIF/CNT foam demonstrates a superior effective absorption bandwidth of 3.22 GHz in the relatively high-frequency region, surpassing the 2.72 GHz achieved by the layered CIF-CNT foam. Conversely, the layered CIF-CNT foam exhibits a stronger absorption intensity in the relatively low-frequency region, achieving a with a minimum reflection loss of -33.08 dB compared to -20.14 dB for the blended foam. Mechanism analysis reveals that the blended configuration optimizes impedance matching, whereas the layered configuration enhances interfacial polarization. Consequently, this work provides a significant reference to design magnetic-electro coupling composites to meet requirements of frequency selection absorption characteristics.