Conventional technology for the purification of organic solvents requires massive energy consumption, and to reduce such expending calls for efficient filtration membranes capable of high retention of large molecular solutes and high permeance for solvents. Herein, we report a surface-initiated polymerization strategy through C-C coupling reactions for preparing conjugated microporous polymer (CMP) membranes. The backbone of the membranes consists of all-rigid conjugated systems and shows high resistance to organic solvents. We show that 42-nm-thick CMP membranes supported on polyacrylonitrile substrates provide excellent retention of solutes and broad-spectrum nanofiltration in both non-polar hexane and polar methanol, the permeance for which reaches 32 and 22 l m h bar, respectively. Both experiments and simulations suggest that the performance of CMP membranes originates from substantially open and interconnected voids formed in the highly rigid networks.

To dramatically stabilize the nanostructure of Sn and achieve ultrahigh reversibility of conversion reactions in lithiated SnO , a series of SnO -transition metal-graphite ternary nanocomposites are produced by ball milling, demonstrating high initial Coulombic efficiencies up to 88.6%, high reversible capacity (>700 mAh g at 2 A g ), and ultralong cycling life (90.3% of capacity retention after 1300 cycles).

Cytosolic delivery is the major challenge that limits the clinical translation of siRNA-based therapeutics. Although thousands of polymers have been developed for siRNA delivery, the efficiency–toxicity correlation is unsatisfactory. Here, we report a facile strategy to fabricate core–shell-structured nanoparticles with robust siRNA delivery efficiency. The nanoparticle is prepared by entropy-driven complexation of siRNA with a green tea catechin to yield a negatively charged core, followed by coating low-molecular-weight polymers to form the shell. This supramolecular strategy facilitates the polymers condensing siRNA into uniform nanoparticles. The nanoparticle specifically down-regulates target genes in vitro and in vivo, and efficiently attenuates chronic intestinal inflammation in an inflammatory bowel disease model. Notably, the highly efficient nanoparticles are applicable for various polymers with different topologies and chemical compositions, providing a versatile technique to break down the efficiency–toxicity correlation of cationic polymers. The proposed strategy in this study permits the development of a promising platform for polymer-mediated siRNA delivery.

Introducing structural distortion to semiconductors can dramatically modify their electronic structures, resulting in efficient separation of electron-hole pairs and achieving high photocatalytic activity of catalysts. Herein, we systematically studied the role that structural distortion played in the photocatalytic process by taking graphitic-C3N4 (g-C3N4) as an example, where the structural distortion can be introduced by elemental doping and heat treatment. Through the controllable structural distortion engineering, the photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4 can be significantly improved, which benefits from the effective separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, showing intriguing structural distortion-dependent photocatalytic activity. This study not only offers a new insight into the in-depth understanding of the effect of structural distortion on the photoreactivity of catalysts, but also provides a new pathway for designing advanced photocatalysts.

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Biocompatibility of HEAs in the TiZrHfNbTa system in which all the constituents are non-toxic and allergy-free was scrutinized systematically, and novel biomechanical materials with a unique combination of low modulus (57 GPa, almost half that of conventional biomedical titanium alloys), good mechanical biocompatibility and low magnetic susceptibility (1.71 × 10 −6 cm 3 g −1 , similar to that of pure Zr) were successfully developed. Moreover, the underlying mechanisms responsible for phase formation and promising properties were explored. This work not only offers a series of novel bio-metallic materials with prominent properties for practical applications, but also shed light on understanding of phase formation and strengthening of HEAs in general. IMPACT STATEMENT Several biocompatible TiZrHfNbTa HEAs with prominent properties for practical applications were developed and the relevant alloy design principles were revealed.