Advances in Rational Design and Materials of High‐Performance Stretchable Electromechanical Sensors

Stretchable and wearable sensor technology has attracted significant interests and created high technological impact on portable healthcare and smart human–machine interfaces. Wearable electromechanical systems are an important part of this technology that has recently witnessed tremendous progress toward high‐performance devices for commercialization. Over the past few years, great attention has been paid to simultaneously enhance the sensitivity and stretchability of the electromechanical sensors toward high sensitivity, ultra‐stretchability, low power consumption or self‐power functionalities, miniaturisation as well as simplicity in design and fabrication. This work presents state‐of‐the‐art advanced materials and rational designs of electromechanical sensors for wearable applications. Advances in various sensing concepts and structural designs for intrinsic stretchable conductive materials as well as advanced rational platforms are discussed. In addition, the practical applications and challenges in the development of stretchable electromechanical sensors are briefly mentioned and highlighted.     

Mass Cytometry and Single‐Cell RNA‐seq Profiling of the Heterogeneity in Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Interacting with Silver Nanoparticles

Understanding the interactions between nanoparticles (NPs) and human immune cells is necessary for justifying their utilization in consumer products and biomedical applications. However, conventional assays may be insufficient in describing the complexity and heterogeneity of cell–NP interactions. Herein, mass cytometry and single‐cell RNA‐sequencing (scRNA‐seq) are complementarily used to investigate the heterogeneous interactions between silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and primary immune cells. Mass cytometry reveals the heterogeneous biodistribution of the positively charged polyethylenimine‐coated AgNPs in various cell types and finds that monocytes and B cells have higher association with the AgNPs than other populations. scRNA‐seq data of these two cell types demonstrate that each type has distinct responses to AgNP treatment: NRF2‐mediated oxidative stress is confined to B cells, whereas monocytes show Fcγ‐mediated phagocytosis. Besides the between‐population heterogeneity, analysis of single‐cell dose–response relationships further reveals within‐population diversity for the B cells and naïve CD4⁺ T cells. Distinct subsets having different levels of cellular responses with respect to their cellular AgNP doses are found. This study demonstrates that the complementary use of mass cytometry and scRNA‐seq is helpful for gaining in‐depth knowledge on the heterogeneous interactions between immune cells and NPs and can be incorporated into future toxicity assessments of nanomaterials.     

Chemical‐to‐Electricity Carbon: Water Device

The ability to release, as electrical energy, potential energy stored at the water:carbon interface is attractive, since water is abundant and available. However, many previous reports of such energy converters rely on either flowing water or specially designed ionic aqueous solutions. These requirements restrict practical application, particularly in environments with quiescent water. Here, a carbon‐based chemical‐to‐electricity device that transfers the chemical energy to electrical form when coming into contact with quiescent deionized water is reported. The device is built using carbon nanotube yarns, oxygen content of which is modulated using oxygen plasma‐treatment. When immersed in water, the device discharges electricity with a power density that exceeds 700 mW m^?2, one order of magnitude higher than the best previously published result. X‐ray absorption and density functional theory studies support a mechanism of operation that relies on the polarization of sp² hybridized carbon atoms. The devices are incorporated into a flexible fabric for powering personal electronic devices.     

Perovskite Nanoparticle Composite Films by Size Exclusion Lithography

Perovskite nanoparticle composite films with capability of high‐resolution patterning (≥2 µm) and excellent resistance to various aqueous and organic solvents are prepared by in situ photosynthesis of acrylate polymers and formamidinium lead halide (FAPbX₃) nanoparticles. Both positive‐ and negative‐tone patterns of FAPbX₃ nanoparticles are created by controlling the size exclusive flow of nanoparticles in polymer networks. The position of nanoparticles is spatially controlled in both lateral and vertical directions. The composite films show high photoluminescence quantum yield (up to 44%) and broad color tunability in visible region (λ_peak = 465–630 nm).     

2D Metal Oxyhalide‐Derived Catalysts for Efficient CO2 Electroreduction

Electrochemical reduction of CO₂ is a compelling route to store renewable electricity in the form of carbon‐based fuels. Efficient electrochemical reduction of CO₂ requires catalysts that combine high activity, high selectivity, and low overpotential. Extensive surface reconstruction of metal catalysts under high productivity operating conditions (high current densities, reducing potentials, and variable pH) renders the realization of tailored catalysts that maximize the exposure of the most favorable facets, the number of active sites, and the oxidation state all the more challenging. Earth‐abundant transition metals such as tin, bismuth, and lead have been proven stable and product‐specific, but exhibit limited partial current densities. Here, a strategy that employs bismuth oxyhalides as a template from which 2D bismuth‐based catalysts are derived is reported. The BiOBr‐templated catalyst exhibits a preferential exposure of highly active Bi () facets. Thereby, the CO₂ reduction reaction selectivity is increased to over 90% Faradaic efficiency and simultaneously stable current densities of up to 200 mA cm^?2 are achieved—more than a twofold increase in the production of the energy‐storage liquid formic acid compared to previous best Bi catalysts.     

Surface molecular doping of all-inorganic perovskite using zethrenes molecules

Nano Research - We present an optical and photoelectron spectroscopic study to elucidate the interfacial electronic properties of organic-inorganic semiconductor heterojunctions formed in a...     

Microwave synthesis and voltammetric simultaneous determination of paracetamol and caffeine using an MOF-199-based electrode

In the present paper, the microwave synthesis of MOF-199 and its application as an electrode modifier for the simultaneous voltammetric determination of paracetamol (PAR) and caffeine (CAF) were demonstrated. The obtained materials were characterised by X-ray diffraction, a scanning electron microscope (SEM), nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms and thermal gravity. The microwave (MW) synthesis of MOF-199 has been compared to its conventional hydrothermal synthesis. It is found that by using the MW synthesis, MOF-199 can be obtained in a much shorter synthesis time with improved yield and textural properties. The electrode modified by MOF-199 was used in order to develop an electroanalytical method that can be used to simultaneously quantify PAR and CAF. The kinetic parameters of the electrode reaction process were also investigated. This proposed method was successfully employed for the simultaneous detection of PAR and CAF in pharmaceutical formulations using the standard addition method and the obtained results compared with the results determined by means of HPLC were found to be statistically similar.