By employing a novel low-temperature synthetic pathway, highly ordered cubic mesoporous materials with hitherto the largest pores (up to 27 nm) and unit cells (up to 44 nm) have been successfully obtained.

Epoxy vitrimers with dynamic covalent networks enable reprocessing and recycling of epoxy thermosets. However, achieving high mechanical performance remains a challenge. In this work, ferulic acid-based hyperbranched epoxy resin (FEHBP) was synthesized to produce closed-loop recyclable and catalyst-free epoxy vitrimers without compromising its thermal and mechanical properties. The incorporation of FEHBP with a hyperbranched topological structure improved the tensile strength, modulus, and toughness of epoxy vitrimers through an in situ reinforcing and toughening mechanism. The hydroxyls of FEHBP catalyzed the dynamic transesterification and accelerated the reprocessing of epoxy vitrimers. Thus, the obtained epoxy vitrimers demonstrated excellent weldability, malleability, and programmability. Epoxy vitrimers with 10 phr FEHBP exhibited high tensile strength (126.4 MPa), usable Tg (94 °C), fast stress relaxation (a relaxation time of 45 s at 140 °C) and a retention of tensile strength (above 88.3%) upon recycling. The degradation products were reused to produce new epoxy vitrimers under mild conditions with similar mechanical properties and thermal stability as the original epoxy vitrimers, leading to closed-loop recyclable, fully bio-based epoxy vitrimers with potential for industrial applications.

Polyfluorene‐based oligomers and polymers (PFs) have been studied intensively as active materials for organic optoelectronic devices. In this review, the optimization of the opto‐electronic property and device efficiency of polyfluorenes in the field of light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) and photovoltaic cells (PVs) by tuning structure and morphology are summarized in terms of two typical modification techniques: copolymerization and blending. The relationships between molecular structures, thin film morphologies, opto‐electronic properties and device efficiencies are discussed, and some recent progress in LEDs and PVs is simultaneously reviewed. After the introduction, the basic knowledge of molecular structures and properties of polyfluorene homopolymers is presented as a background for a better understanding of their great potential for opto‐electronic applications. Immediately after this, three different opinions on the origin of low‐energy emission band at 520–540 nm in polyfluorene‐based LEDs are addressed. Rod–coil block copolymers and alternative copolymers are focused on in the next section, which are a vivid embodiment of controlling supramolecular structures and tailoring molecular structures, respectively. In particular, various supramolecular architectures induced by altering coil blocks are carefully discussed. Recent work that shows great improvement in opto‐electronic properties or device performance by blending or doping is also addressed. Additionally, the progress of understanding concerning the mechanisms of exciton dynamics is briefly referred to. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry

A novel tripodal gelator, functionalized by three urea and three azobenzene moieties grafted with three long alkyl chains, was designed and synthesized. The morphologies and surface properties of the xerogels prepared from this gelator strongly depend on the polarity of the gelling solvent. Cabbage-like topography and superhydrophobicity were observed in the xerogel formed from a low polar aromatic solvent such as xylene. The wettability of a xerogel could be turned from hydrophobicity to hydrophilicity by applying a sol-gel process with different solvents. Spectral and structural analysis of the xerogels revealed a basic bilayer arrangement of molecules with polarity changing on going from the inner hydrophilic regions toward the outer region (edge) of the layer. The cooperation and relative competition of hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic interactions, and azobenzene-azobenzene interactions are suggested to be the main contribution for the bilayer structure self-assembly. This two-dimensional self-assembly and the growth of nanostructures are remarkable in view of the usual fibrous aggregates given by organogels.