Composite materials containing sulfurized polymers and sulfur-containing particles can be used in lithium-sulfur energy storage devices as a positive electrode. The composite material exhibits relatively high capacity retention and high charge/discharge cycle stability. In one particular instance, the composite comprises a sulfurized polymer having chains that are cross-linked through sulfur bonds. The polymer provides a matrix in which sulfide and/or polysulfide intermediates formed during electrochemical charge-discharge processes of sulfur can be confined through chemical bonds and not mere physical confinement or sorption.

Described herein are facile, one-step initiated plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (iPECVD) methods of synthesizing hyper-thin (e.g., sub-100 nm) and flexible metal organic covalent network (MOCN) layers. As an example, the MOCN may be made from zinc tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP) building units. When deposited on a membrane support, the MOCN layers demonstrate gas separation exceeding the upper bounds for multiple gas pairs while reducing the flux as compared to the support alone.

A process for producing a sensor component for detecting an analyte; a sensor component producible by the process; a process for detecting an analyte; and a device comprising the sensor component. The process comprises electrochemically growing a plurality of conducting polymer molecules from a monomer electrolyte solution to provide a percolation network. The plurality of conducting polymer molecules are grown on the surface of an insulating substrate to connect a first electrode to a second electrode and are capable of displaying a change in an electrical property in response to interaction with an analyte A plurality of conductive nodes may be disposed on a surface of the insulating substrate. A potentiostatic method or a galvanostatic method may be employed to grow the plurality of conducting polymers. Chronoamperometry may be employed to electrochemically grow the plurality of conducting polymers. Cyclic voltammetry is not employed to grow the plurality of conducting polymers.

A process for producing a sensor component for detecting an analyte; a sensor component producible by the process; a process for detecting an analyte; and a device comprising the sensor component. The process comprises electrochemically growing a plurality of conducting polymer molecules from a monomer electrolyte solution to provide a percolation network. The plurality of conducting polymer molecules are grown on the surface of an insulating substrate to connect a first electrode to a second electrode and are capable of displaying a change in an electrical property in response to interaction with an analyte A plurality of conductive nodes may be disposed on a surface of the insulating substrate. A potentiostatic method or a galvanostatic method may be employed to grow the plurality of conducting polymers. Chronoamperometry may be employed to electrochemically grow the plurality of conducting polymers. Cyclic voltammetry is not employed to grow the plurality of conducting polymers.

A resist underlayer film-forming composition exhibits a satisfactory etching resistance and heat resistance, and satisfies various other properties, e.g., curability, amount of sublimate generation, in-plane uniformity of film thickness, planarization, embeddability, and so forth; the resist underlayer film-forming composition contains a novolac resin and a solvent, and the novolac resin contains an aromatic ring-bearing unit structure A; this unit structure A is represented by formula (A): and contains a single species or two or more species of bis(azaaryl condensed ring) structural units, which are a structural unit in which two azaaryl condensed rings are bonded via a linker group L. A method forms a resist pattern using this composition and a method produces a semiconductor device using this composition.

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A resist underlayer film-forming composition exhibits a satisfactory etching resistance and heat resistance, and satisfies various other properties, e.g., curability, amount of sublimate generation, in-plane uniformity of film thickness, planarization, embeddability, and so forth; the resist underlayer film-forming composition contains a novolac resin and a solvent, and the novolac resin contains an aromatic ring-bearing unit structure A; this unit structure A is represented by formula (A): and contains a single species or two or more species of bis(azaaryl condensed ring) structural units, which are a structural unit in which two azaaryl condensed rings are bonded via a linker group L. A method forms a resist pattern using this composition and a method produces a semiconductor device using this composition.

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