Article
Chemistry, Physical
Maxime J. Bergman, Clara Garcia-Astrain, Nathan Fuchs, Kalpana Manne, Pavel Yazhgur, Luis S. Froufe-Perez, Luis M. Liz-Marzan, Frank Scheffold
Summary: Macroporous materials with controlled pore sizes are of high interest due to their low weight and unique properties. This study reports the use of flexible microgel colloids decorated with silica nanoparticles as templates for macroporous foams, resulting in lightweight pure silica structures with well-defined cellular or network topology.
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Siddharth Gurung, Francesco Gucci, Gareth Cairns, Iva Chianella, Glenn J. T. Leighton
Summary: This review presents the current trends in synthesizing hollow silica nanospheres using hard and soft templates, highlighting the need for improvements in surface charge, surface modification, sol-gel parameters, and the interaction between silica and templates. Control over the physical structure of the nanospheres is crucial for their extensive use in various fields.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Shuo Liu, Chaochao Dun, Jilun Wei, Lu An, Shenqiang Ren, Jeffrey J. Urban, Mark T. Swihart
Summary: Hollow-structured materials, such as hollow silica nanoshells, have shown promise in thermal insulation due to their ability to interrupt heat transport pathways. In this study, two low-cost methods, gas-phase and liquid-phase synthesis routes, were used to fabricate hollow silica nanoshells. Both methods resulted in amorphous hollow silica with low thermal conductivity, small particle size, thin shell, and low density. Furthermore, hollow silica-fiberglass composite ceramics were successfully fabricated using high shear mechanical mixing, providing robust mechanical elasticity and fire-retardancy while maintaining low thermal conductivity.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Nargish Parvin, Dhananjaya Merum, Tapas Kumar Mandal, Sang W. Joo
Summary: In this study, multishelled hollow structures (HoMSs) with different shell numbers, thicknesses, pore sizes, surface areas, and void sizes were successfully synthesized using carbon microspheres as a hard template and two different strategies: two-step strategy (TsS) and one-step strategy (OsS). The ZnO@TiO2 HoMSSs synthesized by OsS (triple shelled) exhibited excellent potassium storage capacity, rate capability, reversibility, and cyclic life in aqueous alkaline batteries, thanks to the thinner shell, larger pore size, high surface area, and bigger voids that provided a distinctive buffering zone for charge-discharge and improved the structural stability and cycling stability during the OH- intercalation/de-intercalation process.
JOURNAL OF ENERGY STORAGE
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Fraz Saeed Butt, Allana Lewis, Riccardo Rea, Nurul A. Mazlan, Ting Chen, Norbert Radacsi, Enzo Mangano, Xianfeng Fan, Yaohao Yang, Shuiqing Yang, Yi Huang
Summary: Global warming is a pressing environmental issue, mainly caused by carbon dioxide (CO2). Various technologies, such as adsorption, cryogenic separation, and sequestration, have been developed for CO2 separation and storage/utilization. Among these, carbon capture using nano-adsorbents shows promise due to their excellent CO2 separation and storage performance. In this study, a facile synthesis method was developed for selective CO2 separation and storage using ZIF-8 hollow nanospheres. The optimized hollow ZIF-8 nanospheres exhibited remarkable CO2 adsorption capability, good CO2 storage capacity, and excellent cyclic adsorption/desorption performance. These findings are important for the development of nanomaterials for future CO2 capture technologies.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Mingzhe Nie, Chao Huang, Xuemin Du
Summary: Color-tunable soft actuators, which can change shape and color, have great potential for applications in soft robotics and biomedical devices. The recent advances in their color-change mechanisms and applications have been summarized in this review, along with existing challenges and future perspectives.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Guangchao Wan, Yanbing Tang, Kevin T. Turner, Teng Zhang, Wanliang Shan
Summary: This study introduces a novel method to achieve tunable adhesion using low pressure by inducing sidewall buckling in soft hollow pillars (SHPs). The results show that the dry adhesion of these SHPs can be changed by more than two orders of magnitude using low activating pressure. The study also demonstrates the selective manipulation of different objects using an array of SHPs.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Jason William Grunberger, Hamidreza Ghandehari
Summary: Silica nanoparticles (SNPs) have versatile synthetic methods and tunable physicochemical properties, making them promising for biomedical applications. In this study, hollow mesoporous SNPs (HMSNPs) with different layer compositions were fabricated, and their degradation profiles were characterized in simulated body fluid. The results showed that the composition and number of layers influenced degradation rates, with particles containing more disulfide bridges being more responsive to enzymatic degradation. These findings suggest the potential utility of layer-by-layer HMSNPs for controlled drug delivery.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Mohammed A. Al-Khafaji, Aniko Gaal, Balint Jezso, Judith Mihaly, Dorota Bartczak, Heidi Goenaga-Infante, Zoltan Varga
Summary: This study presents a facile method for preparing monodisperse porous-hollow silica particles with uniform spherical shape and well-tuned shell thickness. The presence of BTEE is found to be crucial for achieving a well-defined shell structure. The synthesis process was characterized using various experimental techniques.
Article
Polymer Science
Liangxiao Tan, Bien Tan
Summary: A self-templating strategy was proposed for the fabrication of monodisperse microporous hollow capsules, which allows control over particle size and hollow cavity. These capsules are expected to be excellent adsorbents for gas storage and efficient capture of iodine. Furthermore, functionalization of the capsules can be easily achieved using this strategy, enhancing their performance for 4NP reduction after immobilizing gold nanoparticles.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
H. Meng, X. Yang, Y. Wang, C. Wang, W. Ye, F. Ma, T. Han, J. Qi, C. Wang
Summary: This study developed a soft actuation material with ultra-high strain, fluorescence changes, self-healing, and shape memory performance through a simple method. By using welding, actuators with three-dimensional reconfiguration and medium temperature reprocessing were achieved. These flexible actuators with multiple functions that can be triggered by a single switch have significant value in soft robots and flexible electronic skins.
MATERIALS TODAY CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Mariia Ivanchenko, Hao Jing
Summary: The study focused on the influence of plasmonic coupling effects between different components in Au NRs@Cu2-xSe nanostructures on their characteristics. Anisotropic Au@Cu2-xSe hetero-nanostructures with well-controlled design and optical properties were obtained, resulting in the superimposition of LSPR bands of gold and copper selenide in the NIR region, leading to superior photocatalytic properties of the nanostructures.
NANOSCALE ADVANCES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Mengli Liu, Fang Huang, Chin-Te Hung, Liwei Wang, Wei Bi, Yupu Liu, Wei Li
Summary: In this study, mesoporous silica coatings (MSCs) with vertical and size-tunable mesochannels were fabricated on various metal substrates via a nano-interfacial oriented assembly approach. MSCs on titanium substrates showed excellent drug adsorption and sustained release abilities, and achieved a higher antibacterial rate compared to bare titanium.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zuobing Xiao, Heqing Bao, Shuhan Jia, Yutian Bao, Yunwei Niu, Xingran Kou
Summary: In this study, a novel organic hollow mesoporous silica system was designed using n-octyltrimethoxysilane (OTMS) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as silicon sources, with high loading capacity and excellent adsorption characteristics. Sandalwood essential oil (SEO) was successfully loaded into the nanoparticle cavities, forming Pickering emulsion, with a content of up to 40% (w/w). This developed system serves as a stable carrier for dispersing SEO in water, overcoming the limitations of poor water solubility and volatility of sandalwood essential oil, and offering a promising alternative to microplastics in the cosmetics and personal care industry.
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Jeongwon Lee, Jaehee Kim, Sungwoo Park, Donghyun Hwang, Sungwook Yang
Summary: This article presents a novel robotic palm with a dual-layered structure designed to yield high surface conformity and controllable rigidity for enhanced grasping performance. The robotic palm comprises a vacuum chamber and an air chamber for stiffness adjustment and deformation control without tactile sensors or visual feedback. The performance of the dual-layered jamming mechanism is characterized by shape adaptability and stiffness controllability, resulting in increased contact surface areas and adjustable stiffness for different vacuum pressures.
IEEE-ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS
(2021)
