Advanced ceramic sponge materials with temperature-invariant high compressibility are urgently needed as thermal insulators, energy absorbers, catalyst carriers, and high temperature air filters. However, the application of ceramic sponge materials is severely limited due to their complex preparation process. Here, we present a facile method for large-scale fabrication of highly compressible, temperature resistant SiO 2-Al 2 O 3 composite ceramic sponges by blow spinning and subsequent calcination. We successfully produce anisotropic lamellar ceramic sponges with numerous stacked microfiber layers and density as low as 10 mg cm −3. The anisotropic lamellar ceramic sponges exhibit high compression fatigue resistance, strain-independent zero Poisson's ratio, robust fire resistance, temperatureinvariant compression resilience from −196 to 1000°C, and excellent thermal insulation with a thermal conductivity as low as 0.034 W m −1 K −1. In addition, the lamellar structure also endows the ceramic sponges with excellent sound absorption properties, representing a promising alternative to existing thermal insulation and acoustic absorption materials.

Interfacing DNA with two-dimensional (2D) materials has been intensely researched for various analytical and biomedical applications. Most of such studies were performed on graphene oxide (GO), and two metal dichalcogenides, MoS2 and WS2; all of them can all adsorb single-stranded DNA. However, they like use different surface forces for adsorption based on their chemical structures. In this work, fluorescently labeled DNA oligonucleotides were used and their adsorption capacity and kinetics were studied as a function of ionic strength, DNA length and sequence. Desorption of DNA from these surfaces were also measured. DNA is more easily desorbed from GO by various denaturing agents, while surfactants yield more desorption from MoS2 and WS2. Our results are consistent with that DNA can be adsorbed by GO via π-π stacking and hydrogen bonding, MoS2 and WS2 mainly use van der Waals force for adsorption. Finally, fluorescent DNA probes were adsorbed by these 2D materials for detecting the complementary DNA. For this assay, GO gave the highest sensitivity, while they all showed a similar detection limit. This study has enhanced our fundamental understanding of DNA adsorption by two important types of 2D materials and is useful for further rational optimization of their analytical and biomedical applications.3

Attaching DNA to nanomaterials is the basis for DNA-directed assembly, sensing, and drug delivery using such hybrid materials. Poly-cytosine (poly-C) DNA is a high affinity ligand for four types of commonly used nanomaterials, including nanocarbons (graphene oxide and single-walled carbon nanotubes), transition metal dichalcogenides (MoS and WS ), metal oxides (Fe O and ZnO), and metal nanoparticles (Au and Ag). Compared to other homo-DNA sequences, poly-C DNA has the highest affinity for the first three types of materials. Using a diblock DNA containing a poly-C block to attach to surfaces, the target DNA was successfully hybridized to the other block on graphene oxide more efficiently than that containing a typical poly-A block, especially in the presence of non-specific background DNA, proteins, or surfactants. This work provides a simple solution for functionalizing nanomaterials with non-modified DNA and offers new insights into DNA biointerfaces.

We report a conceptually new polymerization technique termed migration insertion polymerization (MIP) for main chain metal-containing polymer (MCP) synthesis. Cyclopentadienyldicarbonyldiphenylphosphinopropyliron (FpP) is synthesized and polymerized via MIP, resulting in air stable poly(cyclopentadienylcarbonyldiphenylphosphinobutanoyliron) (PFpP) displaying narrow molecular weight distribution. The backbone of PFpP contains asymmetric iron units connected by both phosphine coordination and Fe-acyl bonds, which is representative of a new type of polymer. Furthermore, PFpP is tested to be soluble in a wide range of organic solvents and shown to possess reactive Fp end groups. PFpP amphiphiles have therefore been prepared via an end group migration insertion reaction in the presence of oligoethylene phosphine.