Jun Zhang’s group developed a new kind of nonaromatic polymaleimides (A-PM) via anionic polymerization. By adjusting the reaction conditions, the emission colors of A-PM are readily tunable from blue, green to orange and red, which is rarely achieved in nonconventional luminophores. These unique properties endow A-PM promising for applications in encryption, ion detection, fingerprint identification, etc. This work not only sheds new lights on the rational regulation of photophysical properties of nonconventional luminophores, but also paves the way for their versatile applications.

In recent years, the construction of micro/nano structure assemblies by biological assembly units has been extensively studied in the fields of bio-nanotechnology and other fields. Micro/nano structure assemblies with different morphologies can be obtained by a quick and simple method such as the self-assembly of biomolecules. Diphenylalanine dipeptide and its derivatives, as a biologically active peptide in many peptide-based building blocks, have good biocompatibility and characteristic for chemical modification, biological function and simple preparation. Micro/nano-materials with different structures based on diphenylalanine and its derivatives can be obtained by controllable assembled methods. They also have wide applications in optics, mechanical engineering, electrochemical sensing and detection areas, etc. Controlled assembly of short peptides and its derivatives can be achieved by changing the assembly conditions or introducing of exogenous small molecules. This review summaries and outlooks the controllable assembly of diphenylalanine dipeptide micro/nano structure assemblies and their applications in biomedicine, biosensor, optoelectronic materials, optical waveguides and catalysis.

Nanomaterials that contain noble metal palladium are kinds of electrocatalytic materials which have excellent properties. Among them, Pd-Cu binary materials have attracted much attention in recent years due to their low cost and high activity. The introduction of Cu not only reduces the amount of Pd, but also causes ligand effect, stress effect, aggregation effect and so on, which provides a variety of ways to optimize the electrocatalytic performance. Constructing special morphology and structure can make the catalyst expose more active sites to increase the electrochemical active surface area and improve the electrocatalytic performance. In addition, the adjustment of Pd-Cu component or the construction of composite structure can adjust the d-band center, thereby optimizing the electrode interface adsorption energy, and finally enhancing activity and improving stability. This review summarizes some preparation methods of Cu-Pd nano electrocatalysts with different structures, such as spherical particles, porous structure, branched structure, hollow nanocage, core-shell structure and single atom. In addition, the application of Cu-Pd nano electrocatalysts in organic small molecule oxidation (such as methanol, ethanol, formic acid oxidation), inorganic small molecule reduction (such as oxygen reduction, carbon dioxide reduction) and electroless copper plating is also summarized. Finally, the development prospect of Cu-Pd nano electrocatalyst is presented.

With the development of nanotechnology, it has been possible to easily adjust the compositions, morphologies, and sizes of nanomaterials to control their properties. In order to endow nanomaterials with new functions and expand their applications in the fields of materials, chemistry, biology and medicine, it is very meaningful to develop new types of nanomaterials that can achieve multiple functions at the same time. One of the methods for obtaining multifunctional nanomaterials is achieved by coating the surface of simple nanoparticles with functional materials, and the resulting composite structure is called a core-shell structure. The core and shell of the core-shell structure can be composed of the same or different materials. By changing the compositions, structures and surface properties of the core and shell materials, the nanomaterials can be endowed with special optical, electrical, magnetic, catalytic, adsorption and biological activities. The hollow and yolk-shell structure can be formed by the controllable transformation of the core and the shell, in which the inner cavity can be used as a high-performance nanoreactor in various fields of catalysis. In this review, the design and application of core-shell structured nanoreactors with different structures in the field of catalysis are discussed, with emphases on the applications in catalytic degradation of dye pollutants, catalytic hydrogenation, catalytic oxidation, and catalytic cascade reactions. Finally, some prospects are put forward for the future research and development of multifunctional core-shell structured nanoreactors.

The emergence of microplastics (MPs) has aroused widespread concern around the world. They spread all over the ocean and land in various environmental media, causing serious environmental pollution. Microplastics are generally defined as plastic fibers, particles or films with a particle size of less than 5 mm, which can be absorbed and accumulated by organisms, causing ecological and health risks. In fact, many microplastics can reach the micron or even nanometer level and are invisible to the naked eye, so they are vividly compared to the “PM2.5” in the ocean. As a hot issue in the current academic and social circles, this review aims to systematically introduce the source and distribution, biological effects, analysis and identification methods of microplastics in the environment, and focus on the degradation strategies and research results of microplastics pollution, providing a reference for the future study of microplastics degradation.

Salt-inclusion materials (SIMs), novel crystal materials with a unique host structure and guest salt inclusion, are of great interest to researchers due to their excellent porous, packable and flexible structure. The synthesis of SIMs is very challenging, as most of them are obtained serendipitously. To develop these materials for further application, it is important to understand their crystal chemistry, synthesis mechanism and relevant properties. In this work, we review typical SIMs synthesized in high-temperature molten salt system in recent years, classify them by their crystal frameworks, discuss some SIMs with unique structures and summarize their characteristics. This paper also introduces the potential application of SIMs in the environmental, photoelectric, thermoelectric and fluorescence fields. For the future development of SIMs, further investigation of their crystal chemistry is still needed to explore their applications

Iridium(Ⅲ) complexes have attracted much attention in the field of luminescent materials because of their high luminescence quantum yield, convenient wavelength regulation, long emission lifetime and good optical stability. Due to its strong cell permeability, Ir(Ⅲ) complex can target a variety of cell tissues and affect their structure and function, thus showing unique antitumor activity. Ir(Ⅲ) complexes have become a research hotspot in the direction of metal antitumor drugs, especially PDT photosensitizers. In this review, the structure-property relationship between the structure of Ir(Ⅲ) complexes and their luminescence and antitumor performances are summarized, the recent developments of Ir(Ⅲ) complexes in the fields of biological imaging, probes and sensors, antitumor therapy are highlighted. The scientific problems existing in the current research are discussed and future application of Ir(Ⅲ) complexes are also prospected.

Compared with the original drugs, the phosphoester prodrugs can not only improve the targeting, stability and bioavailability of the drugs, reduce toxicity and side effects, but also mask the unpleasant odor of the drugs, improve water solubility, and provide better access to the drugs. Phosphorylation of hydroxyl-containing drugs is one of the most important methods for their prodrug design. According to different valences of central phosphorus atoms and chemical structures, the phosphorylation reagents include tetracoordinated P(Ⅴ) compounds, tricoordinated P(Ⅲ) compounds and H-phosphite esters. The advances of these reagents in the synthesis of phosphoester prodrugs were reviewed, and the applications of these prodrugs were elaborated. Finally, the advantages and limitations of various phosphorylation reagents were summarized, and the development trend was prospected based on the application cases of continuous flow reaction technology.

Flexible sensors have potential applications in the fields of soft robotic, wearable electronics and biomedical, etc., due to their stable sensing performance under large deformation conditions, such as,bending, twisting, and stretching. Compared with traditional photolithography technology for constructing flexible sensors, printing as one of additive manufacturing technologies has the advantages of green, low-cost and large-area manufacturing. In various printing technologies, electrohydrodynamic jet (e-jet) printing technology enable replace traditional lithography technology to fabricate high-resolution flexible sensors, because its compatibility with multiple functional materials and special working mechanism. Recently, e-jet printing technology shows wide application prospects in the fields of miniaturized flexible sensors, such as flexible pressure sensors, flexible gas sensors and flexible electrochemical sensors. In the review, we focused on the recent developments of materials, processes and applications of e-jet printing technology in the field of flexible sensor. Firstly, we introduced the working principle of e-jet printing technology and various e-jet printing ink materials in detail. Then, the interface controlling methods between ink and flexible substrate in e-jet printing progress were discussed. Subsequently, the applications of e-jet printing technology for flexible pressure sensors, flexible gas sensors and flexible electrochemical sensors were provided. Finally, we presented the future challenges and opportunities of next-generation e-jet printing in high resolution flexible sensors.

Thermally activated delayed fluorescence materials with circularly polarized luminescence characteristics have received extensive attention due to their application prospects in data storage, bio-imaging, and 3D display. The circularly polarized thermally activated delayed fluorescence (CP-TADF) devices based on these materials exhibit excellent circularly polarized electroluminescence performance. In this paper, starting from the molecular design strategies and luminescence mechanism of CP-TADF molecules, we comprehensively summarize their design strategies according to the different construction methods, and the chemical structures, photoelectric properties, as well as applications in electroluminescent devices are systematically reviewed. Finally, we discuss the current problems of CP-TADF materials, and our outlook on their future development prospects and challenges is also given.

Deformable liquid crystalline polymers have attracted a lot of research interests in recent years, because of the great potentials in the development of intelligent soft systems such as artificial muscles, soft robots and smart optical devices. However, the response of conventional liquid crystalline polymers is based on thermal control methods, which limits the applications due to the low thermal conductivity of the polymer matrix and the high dependence on external heating devices. In contrast, the light control method has shown many advantages, including non-contact, remote in-situ, and precise manipulation capabilities, which could contribute to developing diverse unrestricted and remotely operable smart soft devices. Recently, there have been many important advances in the development of photodeformable liquid crystalline polymers fabricated by introducing organic or/and inorganic light-responsive components as functional additives. Among them, the multiple functions of the introduced components can be easily combined with the orientational deformation behavior of the liquid crystalline polymer through the interaction among the functional module, the liquid crystal phase and the polymer matrix. Here, this review focuses on the design strategy, manufacturing method and working principle of the photo-manipulatable liquid crystalline polymer composite systems incorporated with light-sensitive components. Moreover, the possible applications and future development are briefly summarized at the end of the review.

Life are governed by cellular complex metabolic processes. One of the on-going endeavours in the scientific community is to study and understand these dynamic biochemical reactions and the roles of biomolecules in sustaining life. Fluorescent probes have been widely used in the visualization of analytes in physiological and pathological processes, due to their advantages such as easy operation, low cost, high sensitivity, capability of multi-channel and real-time visualization in vivo. However, most fluorescent probes can only respond to single analyte, which is not suitable to mornitor multiple analytes in complex biological system. In recent five years, significantly more multi-analyte fluorescent probes based on 1,8-naphthimide fluorophore have been designed in biological or environmental field. Categorized by the fluorescent mechanisms, such as single fluorescent mechanism (e.g. photoinduced electron transfer (PET), intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)), dual fluorescent mechanisms (e.g. PET-ICT, PET-FRET, and ICT-FRET) and so on, this review highlights the recent progress in designing strategies, corresponding recognition process, optical property and cell imaging of 1,8-naphthalimide-based multi-analyte fluorescent probes. Finally, the development trend and possible challenges of such fluorescent probes are prospected.

Enzyme-powered micro/nanomotor is a new type of micro/nanomachines that uses natural enzymes to catalyze the decomposition of fuels such as hydrogen peroxide, glucose, urea, and glycerides to provide power, which mainly includes hydrogen peroxidase, urease, glucose oxidase, and lipase-powered nanomotors. Compared with traditional micro/nanomotors, enzyme powered micro/nanomotors have good biocompatibility, and can achieve autonomous targeting motion in situ using biofuel without additional fuels, which endows enzyme-driven micro/nanomotors with great potential and prospects for in vivo applications, especially in biomedical fields. Currently, the application of enzyme-driven micro/nanomotors in biomedical fields has attracted the attention of many researchers. However, there is no review timely and concisely summarizing the progress in this research aspect. Therefore, based on our experience, this paper focuses on the recent progress of different types of enzyme-powered micro/nanomotors in cancer diagnosis and treatment, and briefly introduces the application of triglyceride degradation and bacterial infection. Finally, this paper provides an outlook on the development and future research in this field, and hopes to stimulate new ideas for building a "human health community" with the goal of "towards the science and technology frontiers worldwide, as well as peoples’ life and health".

Sodium ion hybrid capacitors (SIHCs) have been considered to be one of the most promising electrochemical energy storage devices because of the abundant and low cost of sodium resources, and their similar physical and chemical properties to that of the lithium. SIHCs are usually assembled with high-energy anode and high-power cathode, which can bridge the energy and power gaps between sodium-ion batteries and supercapacitors. However, their large-scale application is strongly impeded by the kinetics and capacity imbalance between capacitive-type cathode and battery-type anode. In this paper, the working principle of SIHCs and the research progress of various anode and cathode materials are summarized. The development trend of SIHCs is reviewed emphatically from the aspects of controlled preparation and modification of material structure. The main challenges encountered in the development of SIHCs are discussed and the future research direction of the electrode materials in this field is prospected.

Organic-inorganic hybrid halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted more attention because of their low cost, simple preparation process and high power conversion efficiency(PCE). It is widely considered as ideal candidates for the next generation semiconductor photovoltaic technology. However, the instability caused by moisture, light and heat is still the main factor restricting the commercialization of PSCs devices. Layered two-dimensional (2D) perovskite has attracted extensive attention because of its good environmental stability. By introducing different kinds of hydrophobic large volume organic ammonium cations, a stable 2D structure can be formed. However, due to the existence of insulating organic spacer cations, its charge transport capacity is blocked and its power conversion efficiency is poor. Therefore, improving the PCE of 2D PSCs on the premise of maintaining excellent stability is the key problem. According to the development process of different kinds of 2D perovskite photovoltaic devices, this paper summarizes the key problems affecting the structure and performance of 2D perovskite, such as vertical orientation, mixed dimensional engineering, quantum well regulation, organic spacer cation replacement engineering and so on. Finally, the future development of 2D PSCs is prospected.

In recent years, zero-valent Aluminum (ZVAl) has been widely used for contaminants removal in water due to its extremely low redox potential and being an excellent electron donor. However, the dense oxide film on its surface restrains the activity of ZVAl, and it is easy to form Al-(hydr)oxide on its surface during the reaction, resulting in a secondary passivation and a short reacting life for ZVAl. The research shows that ZVAl could overcome its own disadvantages after compounded with iron-based materials such as zero-valent iron, iron ore and iron-containing clay minerals. Besides changing the physical properties such as hardness and magnetism of ZVAl, it is more meaningful that its efficiency for pollutants removal from water through chemical mechanisms is improved, such as 1) speeding up the reaction rate, 2) broadening pH ranges, 3) promoting durability, and 4) enhancing reaction selectivity. Therefore, on the basis of systematically summarizing the combining mechanisms between iron-based materials and ZVAl (i.e., redox reaction, intermetallic reaction or self-propagating reaction) under different synthetic methods, this review mainly focuses on the enhancing mechanisms of ZVAl composites modified by iron-based materials for pollutants removal in water, and further on the optimization strategies such as introducing a third metal, adding non-metallic elements, polymer or ligand, and constructing a load in detail. Finally, the research direction of ZVAl composites modified by iron-based materials is prospected in order to promote further research and wider application in environmental field for the novel ZVAl based water or wastewater technology.

Nitrated mono-aromatic hydrocarbons(NMAHs)are a class of pollutants with a wide variety of homologous species and complex physical and chemical properties,which are getting increasingly concerned in the researches of atmospheric chemistry.With the advance of measurement technology,more and more types of NMAHs species can be identified in field observations,and the generation mechanisms of different NMAHs are revealed in laboratory research.Base on this, we collected the published literatures of domestic and foreign research in the past 15 years on NMAHs in this paper. Firstly, We summarized its characteristics of temporal and spacial distribution, main sources, gas-particle partitioning in Europe and China as well as other places. Secondly, combing with laboratory experiments and field observations, we summarized generation and loss mechanism of NMAHs,and discussed the research progress in optical absorption, environment and health effects, as well as measurement techniques. Finally, the important scientific problems that need to be solved and future potential research directions are summarized.

Latent fingerprints left at crime scenes are important trace evidence but invisible to the unaided eye. It is essential to use some methods to make latent fingerprints visible before analysis and identification. The introduction of new materials and techniques has promoted the innovation of fingerprint development methods in recent years. Especially many photoluminescent materials such as rare earth luminescent materials, quantum dots and fluorescent metal nano-clusters have shown high potentials in this field. Carbon dots (CDs), as a type of relatively new nanomaterial exhibiting good photoluminescent properties, have lately caught the attention of researchers in fingerprint development. In this paper, recent advances in the application of solution-dispersed CDs and solid-state CDs powders in fingerprint development are reviewed. To be specific, solution-dispersed CDs used in fingerprint development rely on either the classical mechanism of small particle reagents or some special effects including coffee-ring effect and interfacial segregation effect; while solid-state CDs powders used in fingerprint development include CDs powders and CDs-based composite powders which are prepared following different strategies. The challenges in this research area concerning morphologies and surface properties of CDs, photoluminescent properties of CDs, and compatibility with chemical and biological analysis are analyzed. Meanwhile, possible solutions are also proposed to provide guidance to researchers.