There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

Materials with good flexibility and high conductivity that can provide electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding with minimal thickness are highly desirable, especially if they can be easily processed into films. Two-dimensional metal carbides and nitrides, known as MXenes, combine metallic conductivity and hydrophilic surfaces. Here, we demonstrate the potential of several MXenes and their polymer composites for EMI shielding. A 45-micrometer-thick Ti3C2Tx film exhibited EMI shielding effectiveness of 92 decibels (>50 decibels for a 2.5-micrometer film), which is the highest among synthetic materials of comparable thickness produced to date. This performance originates from the excellent electrical conductivity of Ti3C2Tx films (4600 Siemens per centimeter) and multiple internal reflections from Ti3C2Tx flakes in free-standing films. The mechanical flexibility and easy coating capability offered by MXenes and their composites enable them to shield surfaces of any shape while providing high EMI shielding efficiency.

Electromagnetic interference shielding with 2D transition metal carbides (MXenes)

https://cyberleninka.org/article/n/1018032.pdf

Polymer nanotechnology: Nanocomposites

This Review focuses on noncovalent functionalization of graphene and graphene oxide with various species involving biomolecules, polymers, drugs, metals and metal oxide-based nanoparticles, quantum dots, magnetic nanostructures, other carbon allotropes (fullerenes, nanodiamonds, and carbon nanotubes), and graphene analogues (MoS2, WS2). A brief description of π–π interactions, van der Waals forces, ionic interactions, and hydrogen bonding allowing noncovalent modification of graphene and graphene oxide is first given. The main part of this Review is devoted to tailored functionalization for applications in drug delivery, energy materials, solar cells, water splitting, biosensing, bioimaging, environmental, catalytic, photocatalytic, and biomedical technologies. A significant part of this Review explores the possibilities of graphene/graphene oxide-based 3D superstructures and their use in lithium-ion batteries. This Review ends with a look at challenges and future prospects of noncovalently modified graph...

/pdf/noncovalent-functionalization-of-graphene-and-graphene-oxide-49z1h0rufs.pdf

Noncovalent Functionalization of Graphene and Graphene Oxide for Energy Materials, Biosensing, Catalytic, and Biomedical Applications

Review of the proton exchange membranes for fuel cell applications

Direct synthesis of sulfonated aromatic poly(ether ether ketone) proton exchange membranes for fuel cell applications

A chiral two-dimensional MOF, {[Ca(D-Hpmpc)(H2O)2]·2HO0.5}n (1, D-H3pmpc = D-1-(phosphonomethyl) piperidine-3-carboxylic acid), with intrinsic proton conductivity has been synthesized and characterized. Structure analysis shows that compound 1 possesses protonated tertiary amines as proton carriers and hydrogen-bonding chains served as proton-conducting pathways. Further, MOF–polymer composite membranes have been fabricated via assembling polymer PVP with different contents of rod-like 1 submicrometer crystals. Interestingly, the proton conductivity of this composite membrane containing 50 wt% 1 is rapidly increased, compared with that of pure submicrometer crystals at 298 K and ∼53% RH. Therefore, it is feasible to introduce humidification of PVP into composite membranes to enhance low-humidity proton conductivity; and humidified PVP with adsorbed water molecules plays an important role in proton conduction indicated by the results of water physical sorption and TG/DTG analyses. This study may offer a facile strategy to prepare a variety of solid electrolyte materials with distinctive proton-conducting properties under a low humidity.

Hui Na

Papers

Direct synthesis of sulfonated aromatic poly(ether ether ketone) proton exchange membranes for fuel cell applications

From metal–organic framework (MOF) to MOF–polymer composite membrane: enhancement of low-humidity proton conductivity

Crosslinked sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) proton exchange membranes for direct methanol fuel cell applications

Composite membranes based on highly sulfonated PEEK and PBI : Morphology characteristics and performance

Electrochemical properties of sulfonated PEEK used for ion exchange membranes