All-solution processing of large-area organic electronics requires multiple steps of patterning and stacking of various device components. Here, we report the fabrication of highly integrated arrays of polymer thin-film transistors and logic gates entirely through a series of solution processes. The fabrication is done using a three-dimensional crosslinker in tetrahedral geometry containing four photocrosslinkable azide moieties, referred to as 4Bx. 4Bx can be mixed with a variety of solution-processable electronic materials (polymer semiconductors, polymer insulators, and metal nanoparticles) and generate crosslinked network under exposure to UV. Fully crosslinked network film can be formed even at an unprecedentedly small loading, which enables preserving the inherent electrical and structural characteristics of host material. Because the crosslinked electronic component layers are strongly resistant to chemical solvents, micropatterning the layers at high resolution as well as stacking the layers on top of each other by series of solution processing steps is possible.

Type I kerogen was isolated from Green River Shale and characterized using SEM, TGA, DSC, and nitrogen adsorption. The swelling behavior of this kerogen with decane was analyzed using traditional test-tube swelling experiment and Dynamic Light Scattering. The TGA and DSC were used to analyze the thermodynamic behavior of decane that was sorbed in the kerogen and show that kerogen suppresses the boiling point of decane due to the effect of confinement. However, the suppression is larger when oil (a multicomponent mixture) was used, possibly due to the combined effect of differential uptake of components by kerogen (kerogen prefers and sorbs polars and aromatics more than saturates, leading to splitting of oil into a sorbed and a free phase) and confinement in nano pores. Test-tube swelling, TGA, and DSC experiments were also performed on pyridine(polar-aromatic)-swelled kerogen. The combined and individual contributions from the two effects (the effect of confinement and differential uptake of hydrocarbon components) on properties of liquid in contact with kerogen, are studied in this work. Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations revealed the variation in the swelling of type II kerogen in the presence of same amount of different liquids (differential swelling of kerogen).Kerogen is a complex heterogeneous carbonaceous material, and it is the precursor of oil and gas found in the sub-surface. It is the polymeric material formed by the biogeochemical alteration of detrital and dissolved organic matter that was deposited together with inorganic sediment, and it is the primary source of oil and gas accumulations throughout the world. Kerogen is a key component of shale rocks and plays a key role in the storage and recovery of hydrocarbons from them. Current techniques for the recovery of hydrocarbons from shales leave over 80% of hydrocarbons in the subsurface 1 . Kerogen is the fraction of the organic matter in buried sediments that is insoluble in common solvents. Although kerogen does not dissolve in organic solvents, like insoluble synthetic polymers such as elastomers and other porous materials 2 , it sorbs and is swollen by them. Kerogen is usually classified into four types based on the depositional environment, the biological source of the organic matter from which it was derived and its elemental composition, particularly the H/C and O/C ratios. Type I (predominantly lacustrine) and type II (predominantly marine) kerogens have high H/C and low O/C ratios, and they are capable of generating oil and gas as progressive burial in the subsurface increases their temperature and pressure. Type III (predominately terrestrial) humic kerogen has lower H/C and higher O/C ratios than types I and II. It generates natural gas but little or no oil. Type IV kerogen is the recalcitrant organic matter that has been pyrolyzed, oxidized and/or recycled. It has the lowest H/C and highest O/C ratios of any type of kerogen, and it cannot generate significant amounts of oil or gas. A fifth class, type IIS, sulfur-rich type II kerogen,...

The self-healing properties and ionic sensing capabilities of the human skin offer inspiring groundwork for the designs of stretchable iontronic skins. However, from electronic to ionic mechanosensitive skins, simultaneously achieving autonomously superior self-healing properties, superior elasticity, and effective control of ion dynamics in a homogeneous system is rarely feasible. Here, we report a Cl-functionalized iontronic pressure sensitive material (CLiPS), designed via the introduction of Cl-functionalized groups into a polyurethane matrix, which realizes an ultrafast, autonomous self-healing speed (4.3 µm/min), high self-healing efficiency (91% within 60 min), and mechanosensitive piezo-ionic dynamics. This strategy promotes both an excellent elastic recovery (100%) and effective control of ion dynamics because the Cl groups trap the ions in the system via ion-dipole interactions, resulting in excellent pressure sensitivity (7.36 kPa−1) for tactile sensors. The skin-like sensor responds to pressure variations, demonstrating its potential for touch modulation in future wearable electronics and human–machine interfaces.

No abstract

For the past 30 years, thin-film membrane composites have been the state-of-the-art technology for reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration, and gas separation. However, traditional membrane casting techniques, such as phase inversion and interfacial polymerization, limit the types of material that are used for the membrane separation layer. Here, we describe a novel thin-film liftoff (T-FLO) technique that enables the fabrication of thin-film composite membranes with new materials for desalination, organic solvent nanofiltration, and gas separation. The active layer is cast separately from the porous support layer, allowing for the tuning of the thickness and chemistry of the active layer. A fiber-reinforced, epoxy-based resin is then cured on top of the active layer to form a covalently bound support layer. Upon submersion in water, the cured membrane lifts off from the substrate to produce a robust, freestanding, asymmetric membrane composite. We demonstrate the fabrication of three novel T-FLO membranes for chlorine-tolerant reverse osmosis, organic solvent nanofiltration, and gas separation. The isolable nature of support and active-layer formation paves the way for the discovery of the transport and selectivity properties of new polymeric materials. This work introduces the foundation for T-FLO membranes and enables exciting new materials to be implemented as the active layers of thin-film membranes, including high-performance polymers, two-dimensional materials, and metal–organic frameworks.