{"title":"Piezoelectric polymers and their applications in antimicrobial fields","authors":"Xiuqing Wang, Shujun Zhang, Yushan Hu, Wen Zhou and Xiaojing Huang","doi":"10.1039/D4QM00930D","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM00930D","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Bacterial resistance poses a significant threat to human beings, highlighting the crucial need to explore new antimicrobial strategies. Piezoelectric polymers, as innovative macromolecules, can exhibit antimicrobial effects through the generation of electric fields when triggered by mechanical energy. Recent research studies have highlighted piezoelectric polymers as promising antimicrobial strategies due to their unique piezoelectric characteristics, lower susceptibility to bacterial resistance, and superior biocompatibility. These polymers exert antimicrobial effects in response to external mechanical stimuli, offering the advantages of precise treatment and remote control, showing application potential in various areas, such as healthcare, textile manufacturing, food packaging, and environmental protection. This review summarizes the antimicrobial effects, mechanisms, biocompatibility, and applications of piezoelectric polymers in the antimicrobial fields, aiming to provide a theoretical basis and practical guidance for their further in-depth explorations and innovative applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":86,"journal":{"name":"Materials Chemistry Frontiers","volume":" 5","pages":" 754-771"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143480862","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiyue Zhang, Yingjie Zhou, Minjie Hou, Xiecheng Yang, Kun Ren, Peng Dong, Jiaqian Qin, Da Zhang and Feng Liang
{"title":"Porous Na2Fe(SO4)2/C: high pseudocapacitive contribution for accelerated sodium storage kinetics†","authors":"Xiyue Zhang, Yingjie Zhou, Minjie Hou, Xiecheng Yang, Kun Ren, Peng Dong, Jiaqian Qin, Da Zhang and Feng Liang","doi":"10.1039/D4QM01048E","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM01048E","url":null,"abstract":"<p >To meet the urgent requirement for sustainable energy storage technologies, incorporating effective waste management into the design of energy storage materials can achieve a closed-loop supply chain from waste to energy. Herein, extrinsic pseudocapacitive (PDC) cathode materials with different carbon contents were synthesized using FeSO<small><sub>4</sub></small>·7H<small><sub>2</sub></small>O waste through a simple ball milling and annealing process, which enhances sodium storage kinetics and achieves waste recycling. The results indicate that NFSO particles and graphite flakes create a disordered porous structure, which enhances the PDC effect, thus overcoming the slow migration rate of sodium-ions. Specifically, the diffusion coefficient of NFSO/C-10 increased by around an order of magnitude compared to that of NFSO, increasing from 10<small><sup>−12</sup></small> to 10<small><sup>−11</sup></small>. The discharge capacity reached 84 mA h g<small><sup>−1</sup></small> at 0.2C (1C = 91 mA g<small><sup>−1</sup></small>). The present work realizes the high-value reuse of waste and highlights the crucial role of the PDC effect in enhancing diffusion dynamics, which opens up a new direction for the design and synthesis of high-rate iron-based sulfate cathode materials.</p>","PeriodicalId":86,"journal":{"name":"Materials Chemistry Frontiers","volume":" 6","pages":" 1043-1052"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143583290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiaohua Liu, Xiaoyang Zhao, Xinrui Chen, Lei Ying and Xinrui Miao
{"title":"Revisiting the anti-heavy-atom effect: absence of halogen-based bonding and lack of enhanced aggregation-induced emission in bromine-substituted tetraphenylethylene derivatives†","authors":"Xiaohua Liu, Xiaoyang Zhao, Xinrui Chen, Lei Ying and Xinrui Miao","doi":"10.1039/D4QM01086H","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM01086H","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The well-established phenomenon of fluorescence quenching due to heavy atoms has been extensively recognized within optical physics. Nevertheless, recent research has revealed an intriguing counterpoint termed as “anti-heavy-atom effect”. The introduction of halogens into aggregation-induced emission (AIE) luminescent materials leads to enhanced fluorescence emission. Herein, we synthesized a series of (ethene-1,1,2,2-tetrayltetrakis(benzene-4,1-diyl))tetrakis (phenylmethanone) (ETTP) derivatives with different positions of bromine substitutions to explore their structural-photophysical relationships. Contrary to our expectations, the brominated ETTP derivatives did not exhibit a higher fluorescence quantum yield (<em>Φ</em><small><sub>F</sub></small>) than ETTP. Single-crystal analysis and theoretical calculations revealed that the absence of bromine-based bonding resulted in inadequate suppression of non-radiative relaxation pathways. Moreover, the introduction of carbonyl groups, with their lone electron pairs, resulted in interactions with the excited-state electrons, leading to a decrease in fluorescence intensity. Furthermore, the ETTP derivatives displayed excellent mechanofluorochromic properties arising from crystalline-to-amorphous phase transformations, which could have potential applications in information storage and anti-counterfeiting. This study demonstrates that if the introduced halogen atoms in AIE materials do not participate in the bond formation, the fluorescence emission will not be enhanced. These findings provide deeper insights into traditional views and hold significant implications for future developments of novel high-efficiency AIE-active materials.</p>","PeriodicalId":86,"journal":{"name":"Materials Chemistry Frontiers","volume":" 8","pages":" 1228-1239"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143793001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ya Qing Zhang, Cui-Cui Yang, Li Li and Wei Quan Tian
{"title":"Megamerger of porphyrin (phthalocyanine) with azulene-based graphene nanosheets for high-performance nonlinear optical materials†","authors":"Ya Qing Zhang, Cui-Cui Yang, Li Li and Wei Quan Tian","doi":"10.1039/D4QM01074D","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM01074D","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Due to their good physical and chemical properties, porphyrins and phthalocyanines are promising nonlinear optical (NLO) materials, particularly for biological applications. However, the design of excellent porphyrin or phthalocyanine NLO materials with both strong second and third NLO properties remains challenging. In the present work, the merger of azulene-based graphene (azugraphene) nanosheets with porphyrin (phthalocyanine) brings about hybrid structures with strong NLO responses and good chemical stability through polarizing the enhanced π-conjugation. Among these designed molecules, the azugraphene merged porphyrin P<small><sub>N</sub></small>-3A-A has the largest static first hyperpolarizability per heavy atom (〈<em>β</em><small><sub>0</sub></small>〉/<em>N</em> of 449.99 × 10<small><sup>−30</sup></small> esu) and second hyperpolarizability per heavy atom (〈<em>γ</em><small><sub>0</sub></small>〉/<em>N</em> of −11.28 × 10<small><sup>−34</sup></small> esu). The addition of Mg into P<small><sub>N</sub></small>-3A-A further enhances the second and third order NLO properties, and the 〈<em>β</em><small><sub>0</sub></small>〉/<em>N</em> and 〈<em>γ</em><small><sub>0</sub></small>〉/<em>N</em> values of Mg-P<small><sub>N</sub></small>-3A-A reach 454.07 × 10<small><sup>−30</sup></small> esu and −11.37 × 10<small><sup>−34</sup></small> esu, respectively. The strong third order NLO responses of the porphyrin and metalloporphyrin derivatives in the near-infrared region confer these molecules potential applications in optoelectronics and biomedical engineering owing to the extended π-conjugation of the N-doped polar graphene nanosheets and the biocompatibility of porphyrin. This work provides useful information for designing multi-functional materials by properly combining the merits of functional components.</p>","PeriodicalId":86,"journal":{"name":"Materials Chemistry Frontiers","volume":" 7","pages":" 1149-1165"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143688105","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jiabei Xu, Xingzhi Wu, Wenfa Zhou, Tianwei Zhang, Junyi Yang, Li Jiang and Yinglin Song
{"title":"Fused-ring electron acceptor molecules with a narrow bandgap for near-infrared broadband ultrafast laser absorption†","authors":"Jiabei Xu, Xingzhi Wu, Wenfa Zhou, Tianwei Zhang, Junyi Yang, Li Jiang and Yinglin Song","doi":"10.1039/D4QM01076K","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM01076K","url":null,"abstract":"<p >With the development of near-infrared (NIR) laser technologies, there is an urgent demand to develop novel optical limiting materials for laser protection. Fused-ring electron acceptors (FREAs), as NIR dyes, hold great potential in optical limiting due to their strong electron mobilities. In this study, optical nonlinearities of FREAs (<strong>IEICO-4F</strong> and <strong>ITIC-4F</strong>) are investigated within the NIR window (850–1550 nm). Under the combined contributions of two-photon absorption (TPA), TPA-induced excited state absorption or three-photon absorption (3PA), both compounds exhibit broadband reverse saturation absorption, which extends to 1550 nm. Especially for <strong>IEICO-4F</strong>, its TPA cross-section reaches 26 700 GM at 950 nm under 190 fs and it has an ultralow optical limiting threshold (0.44 mJ cm<small><sup>−2</sup></small>). In comparison with <strong>ITIC-4F</strong>, increasing the conjugated length in <strong>IEICO-4F</strong> by non-covalent interaction between ‘O’ and ‘S’ atoms effectively modulates its molecular band gap and remarkably enhances its optical nonlinear response. Additionally, the nonlinear refraction of FREAs displays obvious self-defocusing in the near-resonance region, which is primarily governed by a bound electron response (Kerr effect). Our results indicate that FREAs with electron-rich cores are greatly promising as optical limiting materials and warrant further exploration in nonlinear optics.</p>","PeriodicalId":86,"journal":{"name":"Materials Chemistry Frontiers","volume":" 6","pages":" 1020-1030"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143583220","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
QiHang Bu, ZeiFeng Yue, ZiHan Wang, Ning Jiang, Haibo Luo, RongXue Sun, QianYuan Liu, JianHua Xu, Cheng Wang and JiaJun Fu
{"title":"Sustainable bio-based active packaging films: enhancing chitosan with gallic acid-loaded nanoparticles†","authors":"QiHang Bu, ZeiFeng Yue, ZiHan Wang, Ning Jiang, Haibo Luo, RongXue Sun, QianYuan Liu, JianHua Xu, Cheng Wang and JiaJun Fu","doi":"10.1039/D4QM01064G","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM01064G","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Given the environmental problems caused by petroleum-based packaging materials, there is an urgent requirement for the development of sustainable bio-based green active packaging materials. Despite this need, the practical application of bio-based polymers, such as chitosan and cellulose, is limited due to their poor mechanical properties and barrier properties. Here, we prepared a novel chitosan-based green active composite film, employing chitosan nanoparticles encapsulating gallic acid as nanofillers. The interfacial interactions between the nanoparticles and chitosan matrix were found to significantly enhance the mechanical properties and barrier properties of the composite film. Moreover, the integration of gallic acid-loaded nanoparticles substantially improved the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the composite film. These improvements are crucial for inhibiting the proliferation of food-borne microorganisms and the oxidation of lipids, thereby preserving the quality and safety of foods. Freshness preservation experiments have demonstrated that this composite film could effectively mitigate the quality degradation of crayfish meat during storage, thereby verifying its potential application in the field of food packaging. Consequently, this sustainable bio-based green active packaging film has the potential to replace the traditional petroleum-based packaging film and inspires the development of new sustainable bio-based active packaging films.</p>","PeriodicalId":86,"journal":{"name":"Materials Chemistry Frontiers","volume":" 6","pages":" 1053-1065"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143583292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wenhao Du, Wenzhao Shang, Wei Wen, Xiepeng Deng, Dalu Xie, Yuhao Zhang, Huifang Su and Hongjian Liu
{"title":"Enhancing photodynamic therapy for cancer: a two-photon excited approach with a novel mitochondrial-targeted photosensitizer†","authors":"Wenhao Du, Wenzhao Shang, Wei Wen, Xiepeng Deng, Dalu Xie, Yuhao Zhang, Huifang Su and Hongjian Liu","doi":"10.1039/D4QM00870G","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM00870G","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has emerged as a non-invasive and safe cancer treatment owing to its excellent control, high selectivity, minimal systemic toxicity, and low drug resistance, contrasting sharply with conventional treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. Two-photon PDT has garnered significant interest in the biomedical field for its ability to activate photosensitizers by simultaneously absorbing two near-infrared (NIR) photons. Distinguished from one-photon excited PDT, two-photon excited PDT (TPE-PDT) utilizes two NIR photons for excitation, offering increased tissue penetration, improved spatial resolution, reduced background fluorescence, and decreased photodamage and photobleaching. These advantages make it highly beneficial for tumor treatment. Developing novel TPE-PDT strategies that feature long emission wavelengths, robust light stability, and subcellular organelle targeting is challenging. This study introduces a mitochondrial targeting TPE-PDT scheme based on aggregation-induced emission properties. The nanoparticles demonstrated highly specific mitochondrial targeting. These nanoparticles efficiently generated reactive oxygen species upon exposure to an 830-nm femtosecond laser. This activates the GSDME pyroptosis pathway, leading to effective tumor cell eradication. Hence, this study presents an innovative therapy approach that significantly enhances the efficacy of PDT, making it a possible contender for cancer therapy in translational nanomedicine.</p>","PeriodicalId":86,"journal":{"name":"Materials Chemistry Frontiers","volume":" 8","pages":" 1267-1277"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143793005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Advances in organic room-temperature phosphorescence: design strategies, photophysical mechanisms, and emerging applications","authors":"Yujie Yang, Qianqian Li and Zhen Li","doi":"10.1039/D4QM01032A","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM01032A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Organic room temperature phosphorescent (RTP) materials have garnered significant interest due to their potential applications in anticounterfeiting, biological imaging, and optoelectronic devices. This Chemistry Frontiers paper comprehensively analyzes the photophysical processes underlying phosphorescence to identify the key factors that facilitate phosphorescence emission. It critically evaluates the intrinsic mechanisms of various construction strategies and explores the relationship between aggregated structures and their properties. Detailed discussions on molecular arrangement, packing modes, and intra/intermolecular interactions are presented, offering systematic design principles. Finally, it outlines the current application areas of organic RTP materials, forecasts future advancements, and proposes performance criteria and strategic design approaches to guide further progress in this field.</p>","PeriodicalId":86,"journal":{"name":"Materials Chemistry Frontiers","volume":" 5","pages":" 744-753"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143480861","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mohamed. A. Ali, Zhihua Qiao, Wessel. M. W. Winters, Biao Cai, Moushira. A. Mohamed, Yanfei Zhang, Xiaofeng Liu, Yuanzheng Yue and Jianrong Qiu
{"title":"Vitrification of non-meltable zeolitic-imidazolate frameworks†","authors":"Mohamed. A. Ali, Zhihua Qiao, Wessel. M. W. Winters, Biao Cai, Moushira. A. Mohamed, Yanfei Zhang, Xiaofeng Liu, Yuanzheng Yue and Jianrong Qiu","doi":"10.1039/D4QM00971A","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM00971A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The decomposition of porous zeolitic-imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) poses a significant challenge in discovering new melt-quenched ZIF glasses characterized by high porosity. This challenge has sparked tremendous interest among scientists, driving the pursuit of innovative methods to vitrify non-meltable ZIFs for various applications. Herein, we show a universal approach for synthesizing glasses and foams from non-meltable and porous ZIFs, such as 2D ZIF-7 and 3D ZIF-8, which stand as the most promising porous materials of the ZIF family. This approach is based on the combination of liquid-mediated sequential structure perturbation and post-heat treatment, yielding a variety of highly microporous ZIF foams like glass. The synthesized ZIF foams exhibit superior gas adsorption capacities compared to melt-quenched ones. The as-fabricated membranes based on ZIF foams demonstrate ultrahigh H<small><sub>2</sub></small> permeance and good H<small><sub>2</sub></small>/CH<small><sub>4</sub></small> selectivity. In comparison to the melt-quenching technique, our structural perturbation strategy allows for the synthesis of a significantly greater quantity of glasses and foams from a single batch. It greatly broadens the composition range of ZIFs for glass and foam formation. Consequently, this study holds significant potential for upscaling the synthesis of microporous ZIF foams like glass to address a diverse array of applications such as energy storage, gas sorption and separation. Our work provides insight into the formation mechanism of non-melt-quenched glasses.</p>","PeriodicalId":86,"journal":{"name":"Materials Chemistry Frontiers","volume":" 6","pages":" 1031-1042"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143583221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gang Chen, Wanci Chang, Mengqing Qiu, Baiqiang Zhang, Fangfang Zhang, Guopei Li and Yanqiu Xiao
{"title":"Micromotors toward biomedicine: efforts to achieve precise drug delivery","authors":"Gang Chen, Wanci Chang, Mengqing Qiu, Baiqiang Zhang, Fangfang Zhang, Guopei Li and Yanqiu Xiao","doi":"10.1039/D4QM00847B","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4QM00847B","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Micromotors, characterized by their minute size, remarkable motility, and facile surface modification capabilities, are synthetic multifunctional devices showcasing immense potential in the biomedical field. Specifically, in drug delivery, their powerful capacity for cargo loading and efficient transportation facilitates the precise targeting and release of therapeutic agents at designated sites within the organism's microenvironment. This review outlines recent advancements in the utilization of micromotors for precise drug delivery, meticulously examining key aspects: motors’ propulsion mechanisms, precise motion control, methodologies for drug loading and controlled release, the safety profiles of these devices, and their lifespan, essentially covering every facet of the precise drug delivery process. Additionally, it meticulously explores current challenges within this realm and forecasts prospective avenues for exploration, with the intent of steering research efforts that expedite the translation of micromotor application into clinical settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":86,"journal":{"name":"Materials Chemistry Frontiers","volume":" 5","pages":" 772-792"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143480863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}