Fogging occurs when moisture condensation takes the form of accumulated droplets with diameters larger than 190 nm or half of the shortest wavelength (380 nm) of visible light. This problem may be effectively addressed by changing the affinity of a material’s surface for water, which can be accomplished via two approaches: i) the superhydrophilic approach, with a water contact angle (CA) less than 5°, and ii) the superhydrophobic approach, with a water CA greater than 150°, and extremely low CA hysteresis. To date, all techniques reported belong to the former category, as they are intended for applications in optical transparent coatings. A well-known example is the use of photocatalytic TiO2 nanoparticle coatings that become superhydrophilic under UV irradiation. Very recently, a capillary effect was skillfully adopted to achieve superhydrophilic properties by constructing 3D nanoporous structures from layer-by-layer assembled nanoparticles. The key to these two “wet”-style antifogging strategies is for micrometer-sized fog drops to rapidly spread into a uniform thin film, which can prevent light scattering and reflection from nucleated droplets. Optical transparency is not an intrinsic property of antifogging coatings even though recently developed antifogging coatings are almost transparent, and the transparency could be achieved by further tuning the nanoparticle size and film thickness. To our knowledge, the antifogging coatings may also be applied to many fields that do not require optical transparency, including, for example, paints for inhibiting swelling and peeling issues and metal surfaces for preventing corrosion. These types of issues, which are caused by adsorption of moisture, are hard to solve by the superhydrophilic approach because of its inherently “wet” nature. Thus, a “dry”-style antifogging strategy, which consists of a novel superhydrophobic technique that can prevent moisture or microscale fog drops from nucleating on a surface, is desired. Recent bionic researches have revealed that the self-cleaning ability of lotus leaves and the striking ability of a water-strider’s legs to walk on water can be attributed to the ideal superhydrophobicity of their surfaces, induced by special microand nanostructures. To date, the biomimetic fabrication of superhydrophobic microand/or nanostructures has attracted considerable interest, and these types of materials can be used for such applications as self-cleaning coatings and stain-resistant textiles. Although a superhydrophobic technique inspired by lotus leaves is expected to be able to solve such fogging problems because the water droplets can not remain on the surface, there are no reports of such antifogging coatings. Very recently, researchers from General Motors have reported that the surfaces of lotus leaves become wet with moisture because the size of the fog drops are at the microscale—so small that they can be easily trapped in the interspaces among micropapillae. Thus, lotuslike surface microstructures are unsuitable for superhydrophobic antifogging coatings, and a new inspiration from nature is desired for solving this problem. In this communication, we report a novel, biological, superhydrophobic antifogging strategy. It was found that the compound eyes of the mosquito C. pipiens possess ideal superhydrophobic properties that provide an effective protective mechanism for maintaining clear vision in a humid habitat. Our research indicates that this unique property is attributed to the smart design of elaborate microand nanostructures: hexagonally non-close-packed (ncp) nipples at the nanoscale prevent microscale fog drops from condensing on the ommatidia surface, and hexagonally close-packed (hcp) ommatidia at the microscale could efficiently prevent fog drops from being trapped in the voids between the ommatidia. We also fabricated artificial compound eyes by using soft lithography and investigated the effects of microand nanostructures on the surface hydrophobicity. These findings could be used to develop novel superhydrophobic antifogging coatings in the near future. It is known that mosquitoes possess excellent vision, which they exploit to locate various resources such as mates, hosts, and resting sites in a watery and dim habitat. To better understand such remarkable abilities, we first investigated the interaction between moisture and the eye surface. An ultrasonic humidifier was used to regulate the relative humidity of the atmosphere and mimic a mist composed of numerous tiny water droplets with diameters less than 10 lm. As the fog was C O M M U N IC A IO N

The dry-style antifogging properties of mosquito compound eyes and artificial analogues prepared by soft lithography: a superhydrophobic state with high adhesive force

Oil sorbents play a very important part in the remediation processes of oil spills. To enhance the oil-sorption properties and simplify the oil-recovery process, various advanced oil sorbents and oil-collecting devices based on them have been proposed recently. Here, we firstly discuss the design considerations for the fabrication of oil sorbents and describe recently developed oil sorbents based on modification strategy. Then, recent advances regarding oil sorbents mainly based on carbon materials and swellable oleophilic polymers are also presented. Subsequently, some additional properties are emphasized, which are required by oil sorbents to cope with oil spills under extreme conditions or to facilitate the oil-collection processes. Furthermore, some oil-collection devices based on oil sorbents that have been developed recently are shown. Finally, an outlook and challenges for the next generation of oil-spill-remediation technology based on oil-sorbents materials are given.

Advanced Sorbents for Oil-Spill Cleanup: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

Molecular science entails the study of structures and properties of materials at the level of single molecules or small interacting complexes of molecules. Moving beyond single molecules and well-defined complexes, aggregates (i.e., irregular clusters of many molecules) serve as a particularly useful form of materials that often display modified or wholly new properties compared to their molecular components. Some unique structures and phenomena such as polymorphic aggregates, aggregation-induced symmetry breaking, and cluster excitons are only identified in aggregates, as a few examples of their exotic features. Here, by virtue of the flourishing research on aggregation-induced emission, the concept of "aggregate science" is put forward to fill the gaps between molecules and aggregates. Structures and properties on the aggregate scale are also systematically summarized. The structure-property relationships established for aggregates are expected to contribute to new materials and technological development. Ultimately, aggregate science may become an interdisciplinary research field and serves as a general platform for academic research.

Aggregate Science: From Structures to Properties

Nonconventional luminophores devoid of remarkable conjugates have attracted considerable attention due to their unique luminescence behaviors, updated luminescence mechanism of organics and promising applications in optoelectronic, biological and medical fields. Unlike classic luminogens consisting of molecular segments with greatly extended electron delocalization, these unorthodox luminophores generally possess nonconjugated structures based on subgroups such as ether (–O–), hydroxyl (–OH), halogens, carbonyl (CO), carboxyl (–COOH), cyano (CN), thioether (–S–), sulfoxide (SO), sulfone (OSO), phosphate, and aliphatic amine, as well as their grouped functionalities like amide, imide, anhydride and ureido. They can exhibit intriguing intrinsic luminescence, generally featuring concentration-enhanced emission, aggregation-induced emission, excitation-dependent luminescence and prevailing phosphorescence. Herein, we review the recent progress in exploring these nonconventional luminophores and discuss the current challenges and future perspectives. Notably, different mechanisms are reviewed and the clustering-triggered emission (CTE) mechanism is highlighted, which emphasizes the clustering of the above mentioned electron rich moieties and consequent electron delocalization along with conformation rigidification. The CTE mechanism seems widely applicable for diversified natural, synthetic and supramolecular systems.

Nonconventional luminophores: characteristics, advancements and perspectives.

Inspired by the self-cleaning and water-repellent properties of plants and animals in the natural world, superhydrophobic and superoleophobic materials develop quickly, and are of great interest in academic and industrial areas. Although various chemicals have been used, silanes and silicones play very important roles in the preparation of superhydrophobic and superoleophobic materials. Approximately 25% of the literature about superhydrophobic and superoleophobic materials is based on silanes and silicones. Thus, we believe that an exhaustive literature review from the viewpoint of silane and silicone chemistry is now pertinent to give an overview of the recent progress about their roles in the preparation of superhydrophobic and superoleophobic materials. First of all, we hope to overview the roles of silanes and silicones in constructing micro-/nanostructures, decreasing the surface energy and/or as binders for the fabrication of superhydrophobic and superoleophobic surfaces. We will then focus on the roles of silanes and silicones in the formation of superhydrophobic and superoleophobic particles, sponges and aerogels. In the conclusions, we will summarize the roles of silanes and silicones in forming superhydrophobic and superoleophobic materials, and the challenges in the field. Overall, this review will hopefully help readers to use silanes and silicones dexterously in the design of novel superhydrophobic and superoleophobic materials.

Roles of silanes and silicones in forming superhydrophobic and superoleophobic materials

Polyester synthesis from the alternating copolymerization of epoxides with cyclic anhydrides via a metal-free route remains a key challenge. This work reports the development of a highly active organocatalytic route for the copolymerization of a spectrum of epoxides and cyclic anhydrides. Fully alternating polyesters were synthesized by a variety of organic Lewis acid–base pairs including organoboranes and quaternary onium salts. The effect of the acidity, type, and size of Lewis pairs on the catalytic activity and selectivity of the copolymerization is presented. The undesirable transesterification and etherification were effectively suppressed even in the case of complete conversion of the cyclic anhydride. This could be ascribed to the formation of a unique tetracoordinate bond-carboxylate (or alkoxide) anion. The Lewis pairs are highly active, with a turnover frequency of 102 and 303 h–1 for the copolymerization of propylene oxide with maleic anhydride and phthalic anhydride, respectively, at 80 °C. B...

Highly Active Organic Lewis Pairs for the Copolymerization of Epoxides with Cyclic Anhydrides: Metal-Free Access to Well-Defined Aliphatic Polyesters

Unorthodox luminescent polymers without large π-conjugated structures, as promising soft luminescent materials, have recently received considerable attention owing to the availability of versatile preparation methods and their good processability. These polymers generally possess electron-rich moieties, with a diversity of intermolecular and intramolecular interactions through delocalized electrons. Therefore, polymerization itself can be an effective way to realize fluorescence emission. Here, polymerization-induced emission (PIE) is conceptualized as the process of transforming non-luminescent small molecules (i.e., monomers) into luminescent polymers. Correspondingly, PIE luminogens (PIEgens) with luminescent clusters, which are proposed as group aggregates with the minimum critical size for emission, require further investigation in order to understand the structure–emission relationships and related mechanisms. Promisingly, advanced polymerization methods offer unlimited opportunities to develop new soft luminescent polymers owing to the multi-level structures of polymers.

Polymerization-induced emission

The fluorescent properties of a linear poly(hydroxyurethane) (P1) from carbon dioxide, siloxane (Si–O–Si)-containing bisepoxide and diamine are described. P1 showed strong photoluminescence with a quantum yield of up to 23.6%, high photostability, and broad absorption and emission spectra either in bulk or solution. The flexibility and hydrophobicity of the Si–O–Si linkage in P1 were utilized to drive the intense aggregation of hydroxyurethane chromophores which combined with the hydrogen bonding interactions lead to strong photoluminescence. P1 was used as a single phosphor film for fabricating a low voltage, cool white light-emitting diode device with competitive performances.

Fluorescent linear CO2-derived poly(hydroxyurethane) for cool white LED

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2021/GC/D0GC03333B

Carbon dioxide derived carbonized polymer dots for multicolor light-emitting diodes

Crosslinking‐Induced White Light Emission of Poly(Hydroxyurethane) Microspheres for White LEDs

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