Although intermolecular charge transport is known to occur via π–π stacking, the influence of π–π stacking on the mechanical properties of polymers has received little attention compared with other dynamic noncovalent interactions. Herein, we demonstrate a method to enhance stretchability via lowering crystallinity and increasing π–π stacking of thiophene-based random copolymer chains, which causes π–π stacking-induced polymer networks to form within the fully conjugated semiconducting polymer matrix. The polymer networks contain coiled amorphous chains that aid energy dissipation when the polymer film is subjected to strain; furthermore, the π–π stacking prevents the chains from irreversible sliding out of place due to the applied strain and provides interchain charge transport. Consequently, we are able to improve the polymer’s mechanical properties such as elongation at break, tensile strength, and toughness along with charge mobility. Additionally, our polymer shows great tolerance to a 40% strain without a decrease in mobility while maintaining a stable electrical performance even after 5000 stretching cycles at 30% strain.

Removing sulfur dioxide (SO2) from exhaust flue gases of fossil fuel power plants is an important issue given the toxicity of SO2 and subsequent environmental problems. To address this issue, we successfully developed a new series of imide-linked covalent organic frameworks (COFs) that have high mesoporosity with large surface areas to support gas flowing through channels; furthermore, we incorporated 4-[(dimethylamino)methyl]aniline (DMMA) as the modulator to the imide-linked COF. We observed that the functionalized COFs serving as SO2 adsorbents exhibit outstanding molar SO2 sorption capacity, i.e., PI-COF-m10 record 6.30 mmol SO2 g−1 (40 wt%). To our knowledge, it is firstly reported COF as SO2 sorbent to date. We also observed that the adsorbed SO2 is completely desorbed in a short time period with remarkable reversibility. These results suggest that channel-wall functional engineering could be a facile and powerful strategy for developing mesoporous COFs for high-performance reproducible gas storage and separation.

We measured the electrical activity signals of the heart through vital signs monitoring garments that have textile electrodes in conductive yarns while the subject is in stable and dynamic motion conditions. To measure the electrical activity signals of the heart during daily activities, four types of monitoring garment were proposed. Two experiments were carried out as follows: the first experiment sought to discover which garment led to the least displacement of the textile electrode from its originally intended location on the wearer's body. In the second, we measured and compared the electrical activity signals of the heart between the wearer's stable and dynamic motion states. The results indicated that the most appropriate type of garment sensing-wise was the "cross-type", and it seems to stabilize the electrode's position more effectively. The value of SNR of ECG signals for the "cross-type" garment is the highest. Compared to the "chest-belt-type" garment, which has already been marketed commercially, the "cross-type" garment was more efficient and suitable for heart activity monitoring.

No abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop an emotion model based on the colour combinations popularly used for interior coordination in Korea. To summarize, the emotion model had the following features: (1) It consisted of three axes named as ‘soft–hard’ (first dimension), ‘light–heavy’ (second dimension) and ‘splendid–sober’ (third dimension). (2) The emotion descriptors were categorized into nine emotion groups and matched with the representing colour combinations. (3) This emotion model had a one‐to‐multiplicity correspondence structure between the colour combination and the emotion descriptor, whereas most of the previously developed models included only one‐to‐one correspondence. (4) It was observed that the emotion variable only showed a relatively consistent tendency within the space of the emotion model as the difference in the tone of colour combinations increased or decreased. The emotion model developed in this study can be used as a basis for the determination of local consumers’ emotion on colour combinations to support colour planning in the industrial design field relevant to interior coordination.