Highly flexible and ultrathin electromagnetic-interference-shielding film with a sandwich structure based on PTFE@Cu and Ni@PVDF nanocomposite materials

Light and flexible electromagnetic-interference-shielding materials are of great significance to control electromagnetic pollution and protect the human body and other nearby equipment or systems. In this study, a film of polytetrafluoroethylene wrapped with copper (PTFE@Cu) was prepared by depositing Cu using electroless plating on the surface of a microporous PTFE film modified by dopamine. A Ni@PVDF membrane was fabricated by casting a suspension of Ni nanochains in PVDF. The two kinds of films were hot-pressed into an ultrathin and efficient electromagnetic-shielding film with a sandwich structure. PTFE and PVDF provided high flexibility to the composite film, while the metal-wrapped polymer fiber structure gave the film an excellent electromagnetic-shielding efficiency, and the Ni nanochains and laminated hot-pressing process further enhanced the shielding ability of the film. Through these combined effects, the conductivity of the composite film reached 1117.57 S cm⁻¹ while the thickness was only about 80 μm, and the average shielding efficiency in the X-band range was as high as 57.16 dB with absorption accounting for about 67.2% of the total shielding. At the same time, the composite film had high strength and flexibility, and the tensile strength could reach 43.49 MPa. Even after bending 1000 times, the conductivity could still be maintained at 174.55 S cm⁻¹, while the average shielding effectiveness in the X-band range was retained at 44.29 dB. The film has great latent applications in flexible devices and portable wearable intelligent devices.

Light and flexible electromagnetic-interference-shielding materials are of great significance to control electromagnetic pollution and protect the human body and other nearby equipment or systems.

Fabrication of Highly Conductive Silver-Coated Aluminum Microspheres Based on Poly(catechol/polyamine) Surface Modification

A novel and cost-effective method for the fabrication of highly conductive Al/Ag core-shell structured microspheres was proposed and investigated. The oxidative co-deposition of catechol and polyamine was firstly performed to modify the surface of the aluminum microsphere. Then, a two-step electroless plating was conducted to fabricate the Al/Ag microspheres. During the first step of the electroless plating process, the surface of the aluminum microsphere was deposited with silver nanoparticle seeds using n-octylamine and ethylene glycol. Then, during the second step of the electroless plating process, silver particles grew evenly to form a compact silver shell on the surface of aluminum via a silver mirror reaction. According to the scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray results, a compact and continuous silver layer was successfully generated on the surface of the aluminum. The valence of the sliver on the surface of the aluminum was confirmed to be zero, based on the X-ray photoelectron spectrometer and X-ray diffractometer analyses. As a result, the as-prepared Al/Ag microspheres exhibited a high conductivity of 10,000 S/cm. The Al/Ag/MVQ composite demonstrated low electrical resistivity of 0.0039 Ω·cm and great electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness at more than 70 dB against the X-band, and this result suggests that the as-prepared composite is a promising conductive and electromagnetic shielding material.

Dynamic monitoring and regulation of pentachlorophenol photodegradation process by chemiluminescence and TiO2/PDA

Pentachlorophenol (PCP), a highly toxic halogenated aromatic compound, and its direct photolysis or TiO₂ photocatalysis may generate toxic intermediates and induce secondary pollution in the environment. It is urgently needed to design a strategy to inhibit the toxic intermediates in the photodegradation of PCP. To achieve this, polydopamine (PDA), a non-toxic substance, modified TiO₂ (P25/PDA) nanoparticles were synthesized and used to improve the PCP photodegradation process. The dynamic tracking of toxic intermediates tetrachloro-1,4-benzoquinone (TCBQ) and trichlorohydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone (OH-TrCBQ) produced in the PCP photodegradation process were obtained by continuous flow chemiluminescence. Combined with reactive oxygen species (ROS) measurements, P25/PDA could approximatively depress 70 % TCBQ and 40 % OH-TrCBQ generation through the regulation of ROS especially the generation of a fairly large amount of H₂O₂ (about 30 μM) and O₂^- (about 20 μM) on the surface of the P25/PDA. The toxicity evaluation showed that the photodegradation of PCP by P25/PDA was a safer and green approach. Therefore, it was instructive to inhibit the formation of highly toxic intermediates in the photodegradation of environmental contaminants by regulating the ROS generated on the surface of the photocatalysts.

Dielectric control of porous polydimethylsiloxane elastomers with Au nanoparticles for enhancing the output performance of triboelectric nanogenerators

Taking advantage of the triboelectrification effect and electrostatic induction, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) provide a simple and efficient path to convert environmental mechanical energy into electric energy. Since the generation of surface charges and their density on triboelectric materials are the key factors in determining TENG performance, many efforts have been undertaken to engineer the structures and chemistry of triboelectric materials. Among others, dielectric control of triboelectric materials is an emerging approach because the dielectric constant is intimately correlated with the capacitance of materials. In this regard, we prepared porous polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composites decorated with Au nanoparticles (NPs), which was designed to engineer the compressibility and dielectric constant of PDMS elastomer. To this end, a polydopamine layer was synthesized on the PDMS surface to facilitate the homogeneous deposition of Au NPs. Unlike untreated PDMS sponges, Au NPs were efficiently coated onto polydopamine-treated PDMS sponges to increase the dielectric constant. When the resulting porous NP-PDMS composites were assembled into TENG devices, the electrical output of the TENGs initially improved but decreased with the amount of Au NPs. This trade-off relationship has been discussed in terms of charge generation on the air surface and pores of NP-PDMS composites based on a recent experimental model.

Facile solvothermal preparation of Fe3O4–Ag nanocomposite with excellent catalytic performance

Functional nanocomposites demonstrate excellent comprehensive properties and outstanding characteristics for numerous applications. Magnetic nanocomposites are an important type of composite materials, due to their applications in optics, medicine and catalysis. In this report, a new Fe₃O₄-loaded silver (Fe₃O₄–Ag) nanocomposite has been successfully synthesized via a simple solvothermal method and in situ growth of silver nanowires. The silver nanowires were prepared via the reduction of silver vanadate with the addition of uniformly dispersed Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles. Structural and morphological characterizations of the obtained Fe₃O₄–Ag nanocomposite were carried out using many characterization methods. As a new composite catalyst, the synthesized magnetic Fe₃O₄–Ag nanocomposite displayed a high utilization rate of catalytically active sites in catalytic reaction medium and showed good separation and recovery using an external magnetic field. The facile preparation and good catalytic performance of this Fe₃O₄–Ag nanocomposite material demonstrate its potential applications in catalytic treatment and composite materials.

A new Fe₃O₄–Ag nanocomposite was prepared via solvothermal method, demonstrating potential application in catalytic degradation of wastewater treatment and composite materials.

Multifunctional Surface Modification of Nanodiamonds Based on Dopamine Polymerization

Surface functionalization of nanodiamonds (NDs), which is of great interest in advanced material and therapeutic applications, requires the immobilization of functional species, such as nucleic acids, bioprobes, drugs, and metal nanoparticles, onto NDs' surfaces to form stable nanoconjugates. However, it is still challenging to modify the surface of NDs due to the complexity of their surface chemistry and the low density of each functional group on the surfaces of NDs. In this work, we demonstrate a general applicable surface functionalization approach for the preparation of ND-based core-shell nanoconjugates using dopamine polymerization. By taking advantage of the universal adhesion and versatile reactivity of polydopamine, we have effectively conjugated DNA and silver nanoparticles onto NDs. Moreover, the catalytic activity of ND-supported silver nanoparticle was characterized by the reduction of 4-nitrophenol, and the addressability of NDs was tested through DNA hybridization that formed satellite ND-gold nanorod conjugation. This simple and robust method we have presented may significantly improve the capability for attaching various functionalities onto NDs and open up new platforms for applications of NDs.