Dielectrics with ultralow permittivity within 2 times that of air, excellent mechanical performance, and high thermal stability are highly attractive to many applications. However, since the finding of silica aerogels in the 1930s, no alternative ultralight porous dielectric with density below 10 mg/cm(3) has been developed. Here we present three-dimensional hierarchical boron nitride foam with permittivity of 1.03 times that of air, density of 1.6 mg/cm(3), and thermal stability up to 1200 °C obtained by chemical vapor deposition on a nickel foam template. This BN foam exhibits complete recovery after cyclic compression exceeding 70% with permittivity within 1.12 times that of air. Gathering all these exceptional characters, the BN foam should create a breakthrough development of flexible ultralow-permittivity dielectrics and ultralight materials.

This tutorial review provides a fundamental understanding of different mechanisms, material selection, device optimization and applications of hydrovoltaic technology and provides a systematic collection of recent advances.

Hexagonal boron nitride monolayers with domain sizes up to 700 μm2 and geometry from triangle to hexagon are fabricated through a refined control over the precursor and morphology of the copper substrate. Hydrogen etching is shown to tailor the h‐BN monolayers precisely along the grain boundaries, providing their morphology over micro­meter scale and a new avenue toward fabricating nanoribbons.

Coating is the most widely applied technology to improve surface properties of substrates, and nanotechnology has been playing an important role in enhancing the coating performance. However, the tunability of surface properties by a single atomic layer remains poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that a chemical vapor deposited hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) monolayer of large area and high quality can serve as a perfect coating to significantly improve friction, oxidation and electric resistance of the substrates. The exceptional low friction and insulation of h-BN monolayer coating facilitate the characterization of the h-BN film vividly by atomic force microscopy, showing the h-BN monolayer consists of domains with size within a few micrometers. This excellent coating performance together with the exceptional high thermal and chemical stability make the h-BN monolayer a promising coating material.

Continuous and ultrathin platinum (Pt) films were deposited on tungsten (W) adhesion layers using atomic layer deposition (ALD) techniques. Pt ALD films were deposited at 120 °C using MeCpPtMe3 and H2 plasma as the reactants. X-ray reflectivity studies observed the rapid nucleation of the Pt film. X-ray photoelectron results were consistent with layer-by-layer growth suggesting a continuous Pt film at thicknesses ≥1.5 nm. The high surface energy of the W ALD adhesion layer enables the growth of continuous and ultrathin films of lower surface energy metals and should facilitate the use of precious metals for a variety of applications.

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The BiFeO3 ceramics were prepared by sol-gel method (BFO-1) and high-pressure synthesis (BFO-2). X-ray diffraction showed that these ceramics are almost of single phase. It is difficult to observe a ferroelectric loop of BFO-1 even at an electric field of 6kV∕cm. Compared to BFO-1, the high-pressure synthesized one has higher resistivity, higher density, and better crystallization. Under an applied electric field of 120kV∕cm, the values of remanent polarization and the coercive field are 46μC∕cm2 and 73kV∕cm, respectively. At room temperature, a magnetic hysteresis loop with enhanced magnetization can be observed in BFO-2.

The aim of study was to assess the relationship between zinc-α2-glycoprotein (ZAG) and androgen excess with insulin resistance in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) women. 99 PCOS women and 100 healthy controls were recruited. Euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp (EHC) was preformed to assess their insulin sensitivity. Circulating ZAG was determined with an ELISA kit. In healthy subjects, circulating ZAG levels exhibited a characteristic diurnal rhythm in humans, with a major nocturnal rise occurring between midnight and early morning. Circulating ZAG and M-value were much lower in PCOS women than in the controls. In all population, overweight/obese subjects had significantly lower circulating ZAG levels than lean individuals. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that only M-value and the area under the curve for glucose were independently related factors to circulating ZAG in PCOS women. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that circulating ZAG was significantly associated with PCOS even after controlling for anthropometric variables, blood pressure, lipid profile and hormone levels. The PCOS women with high ZAG had fewer MetS, IGT and polycystic ovaries as compared with the low ZAG PCOS women. Taken together, circulating ZAG levels are reduced in women with PCOS and ZAG may be a cytokine associated with insulin resistance in PCOS women.