From Silver Nanoflakes to Silver Nanonets: An Effective Trade-Off between Conductivity and Stretchability of Flexible Electrodes

Material Nanoarchitectonics of Functional Polymers and Inorganic Nanomaterials for Smart Supercapacitors

Smart supercapacitors are a promising energy storage solution due to their high power density, long cycle life, and low-maintenance requirements. Functional polymers (FPs) and inorganic nanomaterials are used in smart supercapacitors because of the favorable mechanical properties (flexibility and stretchability) of FPs and the energy storage properties of inorganic materials. The complementary properties of these materials facilitate commercial applications of smart supercapacitors in flexible smart wearables, displays, and self-generation, as well as energy storage. Here, an overview of strategies for the development of suitable materials for smart supercapacitors is presented, based on recent literature reports. A range of synthetic techniques are discussed and it is concluded that a combination of organic and inorganic hybrid materials is the best option for realizing smart supercapacitors. This perspective facilitates new strategies for the synthesis of hybrid materials, and the development of material technologies for smart energy storage applications.

Mechanical Properties of Nanoporous Metallic Ultrathin Films: A Paradigmatic Case

Nanoporous ultrathin films, constituted by a slab less than 100 nm thick and a certain void volume fraction provided by nanopores, are emerging as a new class of systems with a wide range of possible applications, including electrochemistry, energy storage, gas sensing and supercapacitors. The film porosity and morphology strongly affect nanoporous films mechanical properties, the knowledge of which is fundamental for designing films for specific applications. To unveil the relationships among the morphology, structure and mechanical response, a comprehensive and non-destructive investigation of a model system was sought. In this review, we examined the paradigmatic case of a nanoporous, granular, metallic ultrathin film with comprehensive bottom-up and top-down approaches, both experimentals and theoreticals. The granular film was made of Ag nanoparticles deposited by gas-phase synthesis, thus providing a solvent-free and ultrapure nanoporous system at room temperature. The results, bearing generality beyond the specific model system, are discussed for several applications specific to the morphological and mechanical properties of the investigated films, including bendable electronics, membrane separation and nanofluidic sensing.

Fabrication of gelatin microspheres containing ammonium hydrogen carbonate for the tunable release of herbicide

The major challenge in utilizing pesticides lies in identifying the precise application that would improve the efficiency of these pesticides and decline their environmental and health hazards at the same time. Such application requires the development of specific formulations that enable controlled, stimuli-responsive release of the pesticides. Gelatin is a relatively cheap material characterized by temperature-sensitivity and abundant amino acid groups, which makes it suitable for the storage and controlled release of pesticides. In this study, gelatin microspheres were prepared by emulsion and cross-linking, then they were loaded with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid sodium (2,4-D Na) as a model herbicide. To achieve temperature-tunable release of 2,4-D Na from the microspheres, NH₄HCO₃ was added to the formulations at different concentrations. The prepared formulations were characterized by SEM, FTIR, and size distribution analyzes, and their drug loading capacities were determined. Based on bioassay experiments, the 2,4-D Na-NH₄HCO₃-loaded gelatin microspheres can effectively control the spread of dicotyledonous weeds. Therefore, the strategy proposed herein can be used to develop novel, effective herbicide formulations.