A polymer film obtainable by polymerising a composition comprising: (a) a compound Formula (I); wherein: R is C.sub.1-4-alkyl, NH.sub.2 or C.sub.6-12-aryl; and M.sup.+ is a cation; (b) a monomer comprising at least two polymerisable groups; and (c) a solvent. Also claimed are compositions and processes for making the polymer films.

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Pure conducting hydrogel precursors and hydrogels formed of pure conducting polymer materials having a combination of high electrical conductivity, high stretchability, low Young's modulus, superior mechanical, electrical and electrochemical stability, and tunable swelling behaviors in wet physiological environments. The hydrogel precursors and hydrogels are fabricated by adding a polar organic solvent to an aqueous solution of the pure conducting polymer material, followed by controlled dry-annealing to form a hydrogel precursor which can be subsequently rehydrated to form a pure conducting polymer hydrogel which comprises at least 99% of the pure conducting polymer.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to methods for preparing high optical density solutions of nanoparticle, such as nanoplates, silver nanoplates or silver platelet nanoparticles, and to the solutions and substrates prepared by the methods. The process can include the addition of stabilizing agents (e.g., chemical or biological agents bound or otherwise linked to the nanoparticle surface) that stabilize the nanoparticle before, during, and/or after concentration, thereby allowing for the production of a stable, high optical density solution of silver nanoplates. The process can also include increasing the concentration of silver nanoplates within the solution, and thus increasing the solution optical density.

It is provided a chalcogenide polymer-carbon composite comprising from 70.0 to 99.0 mol % of a chalcogenide; from 0.5 to 20.0 mol % of carbon in the form of a carbonaceous material, and from 0.5 to 10.0 mol % of a crosslinking moiety, with respect to the total amount of chalcogenide, carbon, and crosslinking moiety, wherein the chalcogenide is in the form of chalcogenide chains bonded to the crosslinking moiety and they are forming a structure wherein the carbonaceous material is embedded. It is also provided a process for its preparation, as well as a cathode comprising the chalcogenide polymer-carbon composite, and a battery comprising the cathode.

Although polyolefin elastomers are widely employed commodity polymers, there are shortcomings of this class of polymers for certain applications. For example, the rheological properties of some polyolefin elastomers may be insufficient to provide the green strength or low shear viscosity necessary to form stable foams, or to provide sufficient viscosity modification effects when present in a solvent. Cationomeric modification of polyolefin elastomers may alleviate these difficulties. Such polyolefin elastomers may feature a random cationomeric polyolefin copolymer comprising at least a first monomer and a second monomer, in which the first monomer is a neutral monomer and the second monomer has a side chain bearing a cationic moiety. The polyolefin elastomers may be present in foamed polyolefin compositions comprising a gas component and/or in liquid compositions comprising a solvent in which the polyolefin elastomer is dissolved.

Trehalose-based hydrogels and methods of making such hydrogels are disclosed. Specifically, a method of creating a trehalose-based hydrogel, comprising the steps of: a) forming a trehalose homopolymer or co-polymer; b) preparing a cross-linker; and c) reacting the trehalose homopolymer or co-polymer with the cross-linker to form the trehalose-based hydrogel.

The present disclosure provides a polymer protecting layer, a lithium metal negative electrode, a lithium secondary battery. In the lithium secondary battery of the present disclosure, a polymer protecting layer comprising a polymer ionic liquid is coated on a surface of a lithium metal sheet.

Doubly-crosslinked hydrogel polyHIPEs (DC-PHs), which exhibit rapid water absorption, enhanced mechanical properties, and shape memory behavior, are provided herein, as well as processes of producing the same and uses thereof. DC-PHs comprise a continuous HIPE-templated doubly-crosslinked hydrogel, formed from hydrogel-forming monomers, ligand-bearing monomers, and crosslinking monomers.

A desalination device includes a container, first and second electrodes, an anion exchange membrane (AEM), and a power source. The container contains saline water that has an elevated concentration of dissolved salts. The AEM separates the container into first and second compartments into which the first and second electrodes, respectively, are arranged. The AEM has a continuous porous structure and a plurality of negatively-charged oxygen functional groups coupled to the porous structure. The power source is configured to selectively apply a voltage to one of the first and second electrodes. The AEM has a selective permeability when the voltage is applied such that cations in the saline water solution have a first diffusion rate d.sub.1 therethrough and anions in the saline water solution have a second diffusion rate d.sub.2 therethrough. The first diffusion rate d.sub.1 is less than the second diffusion rate d.sub.2 and greater than or equal to zero.

Provided are a low-reflective coating layer, a porous layer, a method of fabricating the porous layer, and an optical member including the porous layer. According to an embodiment, a low-reflective coating layer comprising a porous film having hollow sphere structures or bowl-like structures is provided. Each hollow sphere structure or bowl-like structure may have cavity formed therein. The hollow sphere structures or the bowl-like structures may be formed from spherical micelles, and each spherical micelle may be formed by self-assembling a supramolecular complex of a first compound block and a second compound block. In addition, the first compound block may constitute a backbone of the supramolecular chemical compound and the second compound block may constitute a side chain of the supramolecular. The second compound block may be non-covalent bonded to the first compound block.