Graphene is often described as a wonder material. It is strong, electrically conductive, thermally efficient, and remarkably versatile.

Dispersibility may be a useful tool for simulating the spread and hygienic control of allergenic food powders. Researchers recommend that producers add powders from as low a position as possible to re...

Our work achieves an efficiency breakthrough in MWCNTs/Si solar cells by screening high-quality pristine MWCNTs without any separation or purification processes. This breakthrough is mainly attributed to the excellent dispersibility of Nafion and the excellent hole transport property of MWCNTs:Nafion film containing charge transfer doping, passivation, and conductivity. These studies provide a feasible route for high-performance MWCNTs/Si devices. ABSTRACT Carbon nanotubes/Si (CNTs/Si) solar cells have emerged as promising photovoltaic devices due to their high performance and relatively simple fabrication processes. Multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs) in solar cells exhibit better cost-effectiveness owing to the broader processing tolerance of MWCNTs synthesis. However, their efficiency previously reached only 12.49%, which has often been attributed to the higher defect density and inferior quality of MWCNTs compared with single-walled CNTs. In this study, by selecting high-quality pristine MWCNTs synthesized via floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition, we achieved a champion efficiency of 22.74% for MWCNTs:Nafion/Si solar cells. This breakthrough stems from the finding that while both the inner and outer parts of MWCNTs sponge can be uniformly dispersed when mixed with Nafion, the inner MWCNTs ink exhibits better stability than the outer MWCNTs ink due to amorphous carbon and copper impurities in the outer MWCNTs. The synergy between Nafion and the inner MWCNTs results in a high-work-function MWCNTs:Nafion film and a defect-passivated Si surface, leading to favorable band alignment, excellent carrier-selective transport properties, and consequently high device performance. This work challenges the conventional view that the higher defect density in MWCNTs inherently limits device performance and provides new insights for developing low-cost, high-efficiency carbon-based/Si solar cells.

Scaling device area is essential for perovskite tandem solar cells, yet non-uniform SAM distribution at the bottom interface remains a key limiting factor. To mitigate this, we leveraged molecular twisting within the SAM skeleton to boost its substrate dispersibility, thereby achieving enhanced performance in large-area perovskite solar cells.

Two-dimensional (2D) polyaramids (2DPAs) have recently emerged as a class of organic 2D nanomaterials exhibiting high mechanical strength and gas barrier properties. However, their characterization remains challenging due to their hybrid molecular structure, combining features of conventional 2D inorganic materials with those of organic polymers, which results in limited solvent dispersibility. Herein, we elucidate how thermal degradation, monitored by thermogravimetric analysis coupled with mass spectroscopy (TGA-MS), can provide chemical insights into the end group and discoidal molecular structure of 2DPAs. We find that distinct thermogravimetric loss regimes correlate with the ratio of aromatic-to-end group proton peak integrations from 1H NMR, referred to as the r value. This informs the end group chemical composition, which can be linked to a consistent set of mechanistic steps for thermal degradation. For instance, isopropyl-ester-terminated 2DPA-1 decomposes first through a six-centered intermediate formed from the intramolecular methyl hydrogen interaction with the carbonyl, yielding 1-propene after cleavage of the C–O bond, consistent with mass spectrometry. Kinetic parameters, including activation energies, are determined using the Coats–Redfern method from TGA data, with values spanning 11.8 to 63.6 kJ/mol. The analysis is extended to ethyl-ester- and carboxyl-terminated 2DPA-1 for comparison. This study establishes the utility of TGA and TGA-MS as versatile characterization tools for 2D polyaramids with distinct terminal groups, allowing measurement and therefore control of nanoplatelet functionalization and molecular weight.

Journal of Zoology, EarlyView.

Cocoa powder isn’t just “chocolate flavor”—its chemistry changes how your batter hydrates, spreads, rises, and browns, especially depending on whether you’re using natural or Dutch cocoa. Learn the cocoa powder science behind moisture control, dispersibility, and pH-sensitive leavening so your cakes, brownies, and cookies come out consistently better every time.

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A wearable VOC sensor array is developed using extrusion printing of surface-functionalized sensing materials-based inks. Surface-modified PDMS enhances humidity resistance and VOC sensitivity, and improves the dispersibility in PDMS liquid matrix for high-quality inks. The extrusion-printed sensor array exhibits satisfactory mechanical stability and efficient VOC-profiling ability. The wearable sensor demonstrates its practicality in non-invasive detection of wheat scab. Abstract Wearable sensors hold immense potential for real-time and non-destructive sensing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), requiring both efficient sensing performance and robust mechanical properties. However, conventional colorimetric sensor arrays, acting as artificial olfactory systems for highly selective VOC profiling, often fail to meet these requirements simultaneously. Here, a high-performance wearable sensor array for VOC visual detection is proposed by extrusion printing of hybrid inks containing surface-functionalized sensing materials. Surface-modified hydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) improves the humidity resistance and VOC sensitivity of PDMS-coated dye/metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) composites. It also enhances their dispersion within liquid PDMS matrix, thereby promoting the hybrid liquid as high-quality extrusion-printing inks. The inks enable direct and precise printing on diverse substrates, forming a uniform and high particle-loading (70 wt%) film. The printed film on a flexible PDMS substrate demonstrates satisfactory flexibility and stretchability while retaining excellent sensing performance from dye/MOFs@PDMS particles. Further, the printed sensor array exhibits enhanced sensitivity to sub-ppm VOC levels, remarkable resistance to high relative humidity (RH) of 90%, and the differentiation ability for eight distinct VOCs. Finally, the wearable sensor proves practical by in situ monitoring of wheat scab-related VOC biomarkers. This study presents a versatile strategy for designing effective wearable gas sensors with widespread applications.