Photothermal Conversion Porous Organic Polymers: Design, Synthesis, and Applications

Self-Generating Zwitterionic Polyurethane Foam for Solar-Driven Water Evaporation in Complex Environments

Solar-driven water evaporation has attracted increasing attention as an environmentally friendly method of water purification/desalination. However, the presence of biofouling and oil-fouling agents in natural water induces channel plugging and significantly decreases its efficiency. In this study, a self-generating zwitterionic polyurethane foam (ZPF) is fabricated by grafting a silylated hydrolysis-induced zwitterionic telomer (Si-HIZ), further spraying TiN/PDMS on the top as a solar evaporation device. The TiN/PDMS serves as a photothermal converter, and the ZPF serves as a water pump. The foam exhibits excellent evaporation performance, with a water evaporation rate of 1.51 kg m-2 h-1 and a photothermal conversion efficiency of 98.56%. When used underwater, the foam forms a hydration layer that effectively inhibits biofilm formation in the channels, allowing solar-driven water evaporation to occur normally after cocultivating in a bacterial suspension (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas sp.) for 4 days. Moreover, it exhibits good anti-oil-fouling performance (underwater-oil contact angle = 151°) and resists 20 wt % NaCl solutions in solar-driven water evaporation. These results demonstrate that hydrolysis-induced zwitterionic polymers are promising materials for designing water purification/desalination devices, introducing new avenues for applications in complex environments.

Constructing a Broad-Pore-Domain Structure of Adsorbents for Acteoside Adsorption

Acteoside (ACT) is an important medicinal component, but its content is scarce. To obtain higher purity of ACT, the adsorption method was used to purify it. In this study, a broad-pore-domain hyper-crosslinked polymer (BHP-Kae) was prepared to adsorb ACT from Cistanche tubulosa, which is a medicinal plant. BHP-Kae-3 possessed a unique broad-pore-domain structure. This structure reduced the transfer resistance of ACT and facilitated the rapid diffusion of ACT into BHP-Kae-3, increasing the adsorption capacity. In addition, the surface and pore channels of BHP-Kae-3 contained abundant functional groups (-OH, C=O), which provided a large number of adsorption sites and facilitated ACT adsorption, thereby improving selectivity. The experimental results showed that BHP-Kae-3 exhibited a good adsorption capacity for ACT; the adsorption capacity was 105.12 mg/g, and the selectivity was 3.41. This study demonstrates the potential for efficient separation of natural products using broad-pore-domain adsorbents.

State-of-the-Art Synthesis of Porous Polymer Materials and Their Several Fantastic Biomedical Applications: a Review

Porous polymers, including hydrogels, covalent organic frameworks (COFs), and hyper crosslinked polymers (HCPs), have become essential in biomedical research for their tunable pore architectures, large surface areas, and functional versatility. This review provides a comprehensive overview of their classification and updated synthesis mechanisms, such as 3D printing, electrospinning, and molecular imprinting. Their pivotal roles in drug delivery, tissue engineering, wound healing, and photodynamic/photothermal therapies, focusing on how pore size, distribution, and architecture impact drug release, cellular interactions, and therapeutic outcomes, are explored. Key challenges, including biocompatibility, mechanical strength, controlled degradation, and scalability, are critically assessed alongside emerging strategies to enhance clinical potential. Finally, recent challenges and future perspectives, emphasizing the broader biomedical applications of porous polymers, are addressed. This work provides valuable insights for advancing next-generation biomedical innovations through these materials.

Two-Dimensional MXenes: Innovative Materials for Efficient Thermal Management and Safety Solutions

MXenes, a class of 2-dimensional transition metal carbides and nitrides, have garnered important attention due to their remarkable electrical and thermal conductivity, high photothermal conversion efficiency, and multifunctionality. This review explores the potential of MXene materials in various thermal applications, including thermal energy storage, heat dissipation in electronic devices, and the mitigation of electromagnetic interference in wearable technologies. Recent advancements in MXene composites, such as MXene/bacterial cellulose aerogel films and MXene/polymer composites, have demonstrated enhanced performance in phase change thermal storage and electromagnetic interference shielding, underscoring their versatility and effectiveness. Although notable progress has been made, challenges remain, including the need for a deeper understanding of photothermal conversion mechanisms, improvements in mechanical properties, exploration of diverse MXene types, and the development of sustainable synthesis methods. This paper discusses these aspects and outlines future research directions, emphasizing the growing importance of MXenes in addressing energy efficiency, health, and safety concerns in modern applications.

Non-cationic hyper-crosslinked ionic polymers with hierarchically ordered porous structures: facile synthesis and applications for highly efficient CO2 capture and conversion

Hyper-crosslinked porous ionic polymers (HCPIPs) have garnered significant attention due to their unique ionic properties and high specific surface areas. However, the limited variety of monomers, low ionic density, and difficulty in functionalization restrict their development. Herein, a series of functionalized non-cationic HCPIPs with high ionic density are designed and directly synthesized via an innovative and straightforward approach - anion (and cation) hyper-crosslinking of tetraphenylborate-based ionic liquids (ILs). These HCPIPs offer controllable hydroxyl group content (0-2.40 mmol g-1), high IL content (1.20-1.78 mmol g-1), and large specific surface area (636-729 m2 g-1) with hierarchically ordered porous structures. These HCPIPs demonstrate exceptional CO2 adsorption capacities and CO2/N2 adsorption selectivities, reaching up to 2.68-3.01 mmol g-1 and 166-237, respectively, at 273 K and 1 bar. Furthermore, these ionic porous materials serve as highly efficient heterogeneous catalysts for CO2 cycloaddition to epoxides under mild conditions (1 bar CO2, 60-80 °C, 12-24 h). Notably, the CO2 adsorption performances and catalytic activities of these HCPIPs are regulated by the hydroxyl groups within their structures, with enhancements observed as the number of hydroxyl groups increases. This work presents a facile and widely applicable method for constructing high-performance and task-specific HCPIPs.