Recent advances in the synthesis of hierarchically mesoporous TiO2 materials for energy and environmental applications

Because of their low cost, natural abundance, environmental benignity, plentiful polymorphs, good chemical stability and excellent optical properties, TiO₂ materials are of great importance in the areas of physics, chemistry and material science. Much effort has been devoted to the synthesis of TiO₂ nanomaterials for various applications. Among them, mesoporous TiO₂ materials, especially with hierarchically porous structures, show great potential owing to their extraordinarily high surface areas, large pore volumes, tunable pore structures and morphologies, and nanoscale effects. This review aims to provide an overview of the synthesis and applications of hierarchically mesoporous TiO₂ materials. In the first section, the general synthetic strategies for hierarchically mesoporous TiO₂ materials are reviewed. After that, we summarize the architectures of hierarchically mesoporous TiO₂ materials, including nanofibers, nanosheets, microparticles, films, spheres, core-shell and multi-level structures. At the same time, the corresponding mechanisms and the key factors for the controllable synthesis are highlighted. Following this, the applications of hierarchically mesoporous TiO₂ materials in terms of energy storage and environmental protection, including photocatalytic degradation of pollutants, photocatalytic fuel generation, photoelectrochemical water splitting, catalyst support, lithium-ion batteries and sodium-ion batteries, are discussed. Finally, we outline the challenges and future directions of research and development in this area.     

Hierarchically porous metal–organic frameworks: synthetic strategies and applications

Despite numerous advantages, applications of conventional microporous metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are hampered by their limited pore sizes, such as in heterogeneous catalysis and guest delivery, which usually involve large molecules. Construction of hierarchically porous MOFs (HP-MOFs) is vital to achieve the controllable augmentation of MOF pore size to mesopores or even macropores, which can enhance the diffusion kinetics of guests and improve the storage capacity. This review article focuses on recent advances in the methodology of HP-MOF synthesis, covering preparation of HP-MOFs with intrinsic hierarchical pores, and modulated, templated and template-free synthetic strategies for HP-MOFs. The key factors which affect the formation of HP-MOF architectures are summarized and discussed, followed by a brief review of their applications in heterogeneous catalysis and guest encapsulation. Overall, this review presents a roadmap that will guide the future design and development of HP-MOF materials with molecular precision and mesoscopic complexity.     

Unprecedented and highly stable lithium storage capacity of (001) faceted nanosheet-constructed hierarchically porous TiO2/rGO hybrid architecture for high-performance Li-ion batteries

Active crystal facets can generate special properties for various applications. Herein, we report a (001) faceted nanosheet-constructed hierarchically porous TiO₂/rGO hybrid architecture with unprecedented and highly stable lithium storage performance. Density functional theory calculations show that the (001) faceted TiO₂ nanosheets enable enhanced reaction kinetics by reinforcing their contact with the electrolyte and shortening the path length of Li⁺ diffusion and insertion-extraction. The reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets in this TiO₂/rGO hybrid largely improve charge transport, while the porous hierarchy at different length scales favors continuous electrolyte permeation and accommodates volume change. This hierarchically porous TiO₂/rGO hybrid anode material demonstrates an excellent reversible capacity of 250 mAh g^–1 at 1 C (1 C = 335 mA g^–1) at a voltage window of 1.0–3.0 V. Even after 1000 cycles at 5 C and 500 cycles at 10 C, the anode retains exceptional and stable capacities of 176 and 160 mAh g^–1, respectively. Moreover, the formed Li₂Ti₂O₄ nanodots facilitate reversed Li⁺ insertion-extraction during the cycling process. The above results indicate the best performance of TiO₂-based materials as anodes for lithium-ion batteries reported in the literature.     

The promises,challenges and pathways to room-temperature sodium-sulfur batteries

Room-temperature sodium-sulfur batteries (RT-Na-S batteries) are attractive for large-scale energy storage applications owing to their high storage capacity as well as the rich abundance and low cost of the materials. Unfortunately, their practical application is hampered by severe challenges, such as low conductivity of sulfur and its reduced products, volume expansion, polysulfide shuttling effect and Na dendrite formation, which can lead to rapid capacity fading. The review discusses the Na-S-energy-storage chemistry, highlighting its promise, key challenges and potential strategies for large-scale energy storage systems. Specifically, we review the electrochemical principles and the current technical challenges of RT-Na-S batteries, and discuss the strategies to address these obstacles. In particular, we give a comprehensive review of recent progresses in cathodes, anodes, electrolytes, separators and cell configurations, and provide a forward-looking perspective on strategies toward robust high-energy-density RT-Na-S batteries.     

Diatom-inspired multiscale mineralization of patterned protein–polysaccharide complex structures

Marine diatoms construct their hierarchically ordered, three-dimensional (3D) external structures called frustules through precise biomineralization processes. Recapitulating the remarkable architectures and functions of diatom frustules in artificial materials is a major challenge that has important technological implications for hierarchically ordered composites. Here, we report the construction of highly ordered, mineralized composites based on fabrication of complex self-supporting porous structures—made of genetically engineered amyloid fusion proteins and the natural polysaccharide chitin—and performing in situ multiscale protein-mediated mineralization with diverse inorganic materials, including SiO₂, TiO₂ and Ga₂O₃. Subsequently, using sugar cubes as templates, we demonstrate that 3D fabricated porous structures can become colonized by engineered bacteria and can be functionalized with highly photoreactive minerals, thereby enabling co-localization of the photocatalytic units with a bacteria-based hydrogenase reaction for a successful semi-solid artificial photosynthesis system for hydrogen evolution. Our study thus highlights the power of coupling genetically engineered proteins and polysaccharides with biofabrication techniques to generate hierarchically organized mineralized porous structures inspired by nature.     

Designing ionic channels in novel carbons for electrochemical energy storage

Tremendous efforts have been dedicated to developing high-performance energy storage devices based on the micro- or nano-manipulation of novel carbon electrodes, as certain nanocarbons are perceived to have advantages such as high specific surface areas, superior electric conductivities, excellent mechanical properties and so on. In typical electrochemical electrodes, ions are intercalated/deintercalated into/from the bulk (for batteries) or adsorbed/desorbed on/from the surface (for electrochemical capacitors). Fast ionic transport, significantly determined by ionic channels in active electrodes or supporting materials, is a prerequisite for the efficient energy storage with carbons. In this report, we summarize recent design strategies for ionic channels in novel carbons and give comments on the promising features based on those carbons towards tailorable ionic channels.     

基于专利分析的钠硫电池发展态势研究

新能源技术的不断发展对大规模储能技术提出更高的要求,钠硫电池作为一种备受关注的电化学储能技术,具有良好的性能与经济效益。本文以钠硫电池为研究对象,旨在通过对钠硫电池储能技术相关专利的分析,梳理并总结钠硫电池领域中技术研发重点与专利分布特点。专利数据来源于DII数据库中钠硫电池储能领域的全球专利。在调研钠硫电池研发概况的基础上,利用TDA和Innography工具,从专利申请总体态势、技术主题、主要国家/地区分布、重要专利权人等方面,对钠硫电池相关专利展开分析。最后,就我国钠硫电池储能技术的发展提出建议。     

Bioinspired hierarchical helical nanocomposite macrofibers based on bacterial cellulose nanofibers

Bio-sourced nanocellulosic materials are promising candidates for spinning high-performance sustainable macrofibers for advanced applications. Various strategies have been pursued to gain nanocellulose-based macrofibers with improved strength. However, nearly all of them have been achieved at the expense of their elongation and toughness. Inspired by the widely existed hierarchical helical and nanocomposite structural features in biosynthesized fibers exhibiting exceptional combinations of strength and toughness, we report a design strategy to make nanocellulose-based macrofibers with similar characteristics. By combining a facile wet-spinning process with a subsequent multiple wet-twisting procedure, we successfully obtain biomimetic hierarchical helical nanocomposite macrofibers based on bacterial cellulose nanofibers, realizing impressive improvement in their tensile strength, elongation and toughness simultaneously. The achievement certifies the validity of the bioinspired hierarchical helical and nanocomposite structural design proposed here. This bioinspired design strategy provides a potential platform for further optimizing or creating many more strong and tough nanocomposite fiber materials for diverse applications.     

Biomimetic micro∕nanostructured functional surfaces for microfluidic and tissue engineering applications

This paper reviews our work on the application of ultrafast pulsed laser micro∕nanoprocessing for the three-dimensional (3D) biomimetic modification of materials surfaces. It is shown that the artificial surfaces obtained by femtosecond-laser processing of Si in reactive gas atmosphere exhibit roughness at both micro- and nanoscales that mimics the hierarchical morphology of natural surfaces. Along with the spatial control of the topology, defining surface chemistry provides materials exhibiting notable wetting characteristics which are potentially useful for open microfluidic applications. Depending on the functional coating deposited on the laser patterned 3D structures, we can achieve artificial surfaces that are (a) of extremely low surface energy, thus water-repellent and self-cleaned, and (b) responsive, i.e., showing the ability to change their surface energy in response to different external stimuli such as light, electric field, and pH. Moreover, the behavior of different kinds of cells cultured on laser engineered substrates of various wettabilities was investigated. Experiments showed that it is possible to preferentially tune cell adhesion and growth through choosing proper combinations of surface topography and chemistry. It is concluded that the laser textured 3D micro∕nano-Si surfaces with controllability of roughness ratio and surface chemistry can advantageously serve as a novel means to elucidate the 3D cell-scaffold interactions for tissue engineering applications.     

Bio-inspired untethered fully soft robots in liquid actuated by induced energy gradients

Soft robotics with new designs, fabrication technologies and control strategies inspired by nature have been totally changing our view on robotics. To fully exploit their potential in practical applications, untethered designs are preferred in implementation. However, hindered by the limited thermal/mechanical performance of soft materials, it has been always challenging for researchers to implement untethered solutions, which generally involve rigid forms of high energy-density power sources or high energy-density processes. A number of insects in nature, such as rove beetles, can gain a burst of kinetic energy from the induced surface-energy gradient on water to return to their familiar habitats, which is generally known as Marangoni propulsion. Inspired by such a behavior, we report the agile untethered mobility of a fully soft robot in liquid based on induced energy gradients and also develop corresponding fabrication and maneuvering strategies. The robot can reach a speed of 5.5 body lengths per second, which is 7-fold more than the best reported, 0.69 (body length per second), in the previous work on untethered soft robots in liquid by far. Further controlling the robots, we demonstrate a soft-robot swarm that can approach a target simultaneously to assure a hit with high accuracy. Without employing any high energy-density power sources or processes, our robot exhibits many attractive merits, such as quietness, no mechanical wear, no thermal fatigue, invisibility and ease of robot fabrication, which may potentially impact many fields in the future.     

能源革命中的电化学储能技术

储能技术在可再生能源并网及微电网、电网调峰提效、区域供能、电动汽车等应用中发挥着关键作用,是保障能源安全,落实节能减排,推动全社会绿色低碳发展的重大战略需求,对切实推进能源革命具有不可替代的作用。文章重点介绍具有重要市场前景的电化学储能技术,包括液流电池、锂离子电池、铅炭电池、钠基电池技术,并在分析电化学储能技术发展现状的基础上,阐述中国相关领域未来的发展战略。     

Voltage-induced penetration effect in liquid metals at room temperature

Room-temperature liquid metal is discovered to be capable of penetrating through macro- and microporous materials by applying a voltage. The liquid metal penetration effects are demonstrated in various porous materials such as tissue paper, thick and fine sponges, fabrics, and meshes. The underlying mechanism is that the high surface tension of liquid metal can be significantly reduced to near-zero due to the voltage-induced oxidation of the liquid metal surface in a solution. It is the extremely low surface tension and gravity that cause the liquid metal to superwet the solid surface, leading to the penetration phenomena. These findings offer new opportunities for novel microfluidic applications and could promote further discovery of more exotic fluid states of liquid metals.     

Postsynthetic functionalization of covalent organic frameworks

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have been at the forefront of porous-material research in recent years. With predictable structural compositions and controllable functionalities, the structures and properties of COFs could be controlled to achieve targeted materials. On the other hand, the predesigned structure of COFs allows fruitful postsynthetic modifications to introduce new properties and functions. In this review, the postsynthetic functionalizations of COFs are discussed and their impacts towards structural qualities and performances are comparatively elaborated on. The functionalization involves the formation of specific interactions (covalent or coordination/ionic bonds) and chemical reactions (oxidation/reduction reaction) with pendant groups, skeleton and reactive linkages of COFs. The chemical stability and performance of COFs including catalytic activity, storage, sorption and opto-electronic properties might be enhanced by specific postsynthetic functionalization. The generality of these strategies in terms of chemical reactions and the range of suitable COFs places them as a pivotal role for the development of COF-based smart materials.     

Advances in flywheel performance for space power applications

Power derived from stored energy rather than directly from the primary thermal source is an attractive alternative in certain space applications. To meet the stringent requirements for space needs will, however, require that flywheel performance be advanced from its current levels. Previous flywheel development programmes focused on the use of composite materials and resulted in storage densities, at ultimate speed, of 286 kJ/kg being attained. More recent work, directed at the space application, has advanced flywheel storage densities at ultimate speed to 878 kJ/kg.     

Copper acetate-facilitated transfer-free growth of high-quality graphene for hydrovoltaic generators

Direct synthesis of high-quality graphene on dielectric substrates without a transfer process is of vital importance for a variety of applications. Current strategies for boosting high-quality graphene growth, such as remote metal catalyzation, are limited by poor performance with respect to the release of metal catalysts and hence suffer from a problem with metal residues. Herein, we report an effective approach that utilizes a metal-containing species, copper acetate, to continuously supply copper clusters in a gaseous form to aid transfer-free growth of graphene over a wafer scale. The thus-derived graphene films were found to show reduced multilayer density and improved electrical performance and exhibited a carrier mobility of 8500 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. Furthermore, droplet-based hydrovoltaic electricity generator devices based on directly grown graphene were found to exhibit robust voltage output and long cyclic stability, in stark contrast to their counterparts based on transferred graphene, demonstrating the potential for emerging energy harvesting applications. The work presented here offers a promising solution to organize the metal catalytic booster toward transfer-free synthesis of high-quality graphene and enable smart energy generation.     

Frontiers in zeolites: towards establishing a new discipline of condensed matter chemistry—an interview with Ruren Xu

In recent decades, the application of zeolite has been extended to many sustainable processes. Professor Ruren Xu (徐如人) of Jilin University is a leader within Chinese, Asian and worldwide zeolite communities, as well as the founder of the inorganic synthesis discipline in China and the first person in the world to propose the scientific discipline of modern inorganic synthetic chemistry. Professor Xu started his scholarly research on zeolites in the mid-1970s. He focused initially on crystallization and mechanisms of zeolite formation. In the 1980s, he gradually shifted his research to the exploration of microporous materials with novel frameworks and compositions. In 1984, he outlined new directions in the synthesis of zeolites and placed emphasis on the ‘heteroatom concept’, which turned out to be very influential and fruitful for the subsequent development of heteroatom-containing zeolite catalysts. In the following years, he and his group systematically developed new solvothermal routes for zeolite synthesis. In the late 1990s, Xu started to think about the rational synthesis of zeolites, a major challenge for zeolite as well as inorganic synthesis in general. His group developed several effective strategies for the rational design and synthesis of zeolitic materials. He is the chairman of the 15th International Zeolite Conference (15th IZC) held in 2007 for the first time in China. Because of his significant contribution to zeolite science in China, he received the National Zeolite Lifetime Achievement Award of China in 2017. NSR recently interviewed Professor Xu about the current status and future prospects of zeolites and related porous materials. This interview is dedicated to Professor Xu on his 90th birthday, in recognition of his seminal contribution to zeolite science, modern inorganic synthetic chemistry and the new discipline of condensed matter chemistry, which was first suggested by Professor Xu in 2018.

NSR: Could you please briefly introduce the history of the science of zeolites and related porous materials and the contribution by the Jilin group to the development of zeolite science? Xu : The term ‘zeolite’ was first coined by Swedish Mineralogist Axel Fredrik Cronstedt in 1756 to name a new type of mineral that produced a large amount of steam from water when heated up rapidly. In the 1950s, R.M. Milton from the Union Carbide Corporation made the first synthetic zeolites under hydrothermal conditions. Since then, great efforts have been made to discover new types of zeolites and related porous materials. Besides zeolites with pore sizes smaller than 2.0 nm, mesoporous materials with pore sizes between 2.0 and 50 nm, including mesoporous polymer and mesoporous carbon, porous metal-organic-frameworks (MOFs), and porous organic materials such as porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs), have greatly extended the compositions of porous materials, making porous materials an important area in materials science.The group at the State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparative Chemistry at Jilin University has been working on zeolites since the mid-1970s, initially focusing on the crystallization and formation mechanism of zeolites followed by the synthesis of heteroatom-doped zeolites and open frameworks with new tetrahedral elements and building units. The most publicized examples include JDF-20, a microporous aluminophosphate with the largest 20-membered ring, AlPO-CJB1, the first aluminophosphate sieve with Brönsted acidity, and MAPO-CJ40, a heteroatom-stabilized chiral framework of aluminophosphate molecular sieve with the zeolite structure of JRY, the first zeotype structure discovered by scientists from China.Open in a separate windowProfessor Ruren Xu at Jilin University; a leader in the zeolite community and the founder of the inorganic synthesis discipline in China (courtesy of Professor Ruren Xu).International colleagues in the field of zeolite research widely consider our group to be leaders in the discovery of numerous compounds with abundant structure types and compositions, referred to as the third milestone in the field. Our group is therefore widely referred to as ‘the Jilin Group’ by international colleagues, and is considered to be an important team in the international zeolite research community. Two of the members of this group are Professor Jihong Yu (于吉红) of Jilin University and Professor Fengshou Xiao (肖丰收) now at Zhejiang University. Professor Jihong Yu has had great success in establishing the methodologies for the rational design and synthesis of zeolites and revealing the crystallization mechanism of zeolites, especially the discovery of the hydroxyl free radicals involved in the crystallization mechanism of zeolites. She has also developed new applications of zeolites to catalysis, separation and energy storage. Professor Fengshou Xiao has successfully developed a green synthesis route for zeolites, i.e. a template- and solvent-free route, and highly efficient catalysis systems with synergistic functionalities. In the 1990s, two scholars, Dr. Qisheng Huo (霍启升) and then Dr. Dongyuan Zhao (赵东元) from our group, joined the group of Professor G.D. Stucky at UC Santa Barbara. They became pioneers in the field of ‘mesostructured materials’. Professor Shilun Qiu (裘式纶) made contributions to the early development of MOFs, the membrane of covalent organic frameworks (COFs); and PAFs and COFs with exceptional adsorption, separation and catalysis. Professor Dongyuan Zhao (赵东元) and his group developed, for the first time in the early years of the new century, a new self-assembly route of organic-organic components for the construction of ordered polymer and carbon-based materials, which has been applied to macro-molecules catalysis, adsorption-separation, nanoscale assembly and biochemical systems. Their achievements have significantly advanced the field of porous materials and made great contributions to the field of zeolites. NSR : In recent years, you have been working tirelessly to develop the fields of condensed matter chemistry and condensed matter engineering. Could you please give a brief overview of condensed matter chemistry and engineering, and their relationship to other modern chemistry sciences? Xu : Since the early 1800s, more than 193 million organic and inorganic substances, including alloys, coordination compounds, minerals, mixtures, polymers and salts, have been discovered and presented in the scientific literature. These substances are either natural or human-made via chemical reactions, whereas chemical reactions are the core of the science of chemistry. The traditional thinking has been that the main components in all chemical reactions are molecules, atoms and/or ions, and virtually no attention has been paid to the states of the reactants, which are generally in condensed states like solids, liquids and mesostructures, or even in complex living organisms. Therefore, the processes and products of chemical reactions should not be determined solely by the structure and composition of these basic species but also by the complex, and possibly multilevel-structured, physical and chemical environment, together referred to as the condensed state [1–3]. That is, the relevant matters in the condensed state should be the main bodies of chemical reactions; this is applicable not only to solids and liquids but also to gas molecules, as reactions among gas molecules can take place only in the presence of catalysts in specific condensed states, or after their state transition under extreme reaction conditions. The reaction process, the mechanism and the reaction products are dictated, possibly predominantly by the composition and the multilevel structure of the catalysts in condensed matter states.To achieve a more realistic view of chemical reactions, we need to establish a new chemistry discipline, i.e. condensed matter chemistry, to gain an improved understanding of the actual reaction processes of chemical reactions in the condensed state and to establish associations among functionalities, multilevel structures and properties of the reactants in complex environments. I anticipate that big data and artificial-intelligence-based machine-learning techniques may play indispensable roles as we work to derive general principles and rules from the available data of reactants, reactions and products, along with reaction conditions, possibly guided by principles and knowledge from the science of condensed matter physics.

The processes and products of chemical reactions should not be determined solely by the structure and composition of these basic species but also by the complex, and possibly multilevel-structured, physical and chemical environment, together referred to as the condensed state.—Ruren Xu

NSR: In your opinion, what are the important frontiers in the field of zeolites and related porous materials? Xu: I think the important frontiers in the field of zeolites and related porous materials include: (i) theoretical study of the synthesis, characterization and functionality of zeolites and related porous materials; (ii) development of new zeolites and porous materials with desired functionalities; and (iii) development of the science of condensed matter engineering for porous materials, which involves structure design and rational construction at the condensed state level (i.e. rational synthesis, preparation and self-assembly). NSR: Could you please briefly describe the relationship between zeolites and related porous materials, as well as condensed matter chemistry? Xu : Taking zeolites with specific catalytic performance as an example, the synthesis and preparation stages, as well as the catalysis process, all involve complex condensed matter chemistry. The composition and multilevel structure in the condensed state of the catalyst, the local environment, and the interactions among the reactants enabled by the catalytic sites, determine the catalysis mechanism, process, yield, side-reaction and types of products. During the crystallization process of zeolites under hydro/solvothermal conditions, the composition and structure of the liquid phase will affect the condensation reaction between species, the gelation process, the gel composition, gel crystallization in the presence of the template and the crystallinity of the products, among a few other things. These issues need to be studied at the level of condensed matter chemistry. Studying these issues will push forward the development of condensed matter chemistry. NSR: How do you achieve the rational design and synthesis of zeolites and related porous materials with specific functionalities? Xu : One possible way is to establish the relationship among functionalities in the condensed state, multilevel structure and construction of matter through the development of condensed matter engineering, coupled with mining and modeling big data using artificial intelligence techniques. With such relationships established, we can design the composition and structure in the condensed state of zeolites with specific functionalities and accomplish the rational synthesis and precise preparation/modification of the relevant zeolites. Regarding the development of condensed matter engineering, it was started in the early 1990s via the project ‘Construction of Molecular Engineering’ sponsored by the National Pandeng (攀登, means climb) Project. The principal investigators included our group, Professor Youqi Tang''s (唐有祺) group of Peking University and four other universities and two research institutes. The projects went on for 25 years with the first 10 years supported by the National Pandeng Project and the next 15 years by the ‘973 Project’. Through these projects we have gained considerable knowledge and experience, and built a foundation for the current development of condensed matter engineering. NSR: What suggestions do you have for young researchers working in the field of zeolites and related porous materials? Xu : Zeolites and related porous materials are extremely important materials with great potential for application. Here, I encourage young researchers working in this field to consider the issues from the perspective of condensed matter physical science when they develop new types of porous materials with new functionalities, explore new application areas of porous materials, and investigate the rational construction and precise preparation of matter with specific multilevel structures in condensed states. This new knowledge will serve as the basis and direction for the rapid development of condensed matter chemistry in other fields of chemistry.     

Decisions in thesaurus construction and use

A thesaurus and an ontology provide a set of structured terms, phrases, and metadata, often in a hierarchical arrangement, that may be used to index, search, and mine documents. We describe the decisions that should be made when including a term, deciding whether a term should be subdivided into its subclasses, or determining which of more than one set of possible subclasses should be used. Based on retrospective measurements or estimates of future performance when using thesaurus terms in document ordering, decisions are made so as to maximize performance. These decisions may be used in the automatic construction of a thesaurus. The evaluation of an existing thesaurus is described, consistent with the decision criteria developed here. These kinds of user-focused decision-theoretic techniques may be applied to other hierarchical applications, such as faceted classification systems used in information architecture or the use of hierarchical terms in “breadcrumb navigation”.     

Targeted synthesis of zeolites from calculated interaction between zeolite structure and organic template

Zeolites, a class of silica-based porous materials, have been widely employed in the chemical industry for uses such as sorption, separation, catalysis and ion exchange. Normally, the synthesis of zeolites is performed in the presence of organic templates via a trial-and-error route, which is labor-intensive and empirical. In recent years, theoretical simulation from the interaction between a zeolite structure and an organic template has been used to guide the synthesis of zeolites, which is time-saving. In this review, recent progress in the targeted synthesis of zeolites from interaction between a zeolite structure and an organic template are briefly outlined including the design of new templates for zeolite synthesis, preparation of zeolites with new composition, development of novel routes for zeolite synthesis, synthesis of intergrowth zeolites, generation of novel zeolite structures, control of zeolite morphology and modulation of aluminum distribution in zeolites. These targeted syntheses reveal that the minimum energy principle from the theoretical simulation is key for guiding zeolite crystallization. This review will be important for zeolite researchers for rationally synthesizing zeolites and effectively designing new zeolite structures.     

Butterfly wing architectures inspire sensor and energy applications

Natural biological systems are constantly developing efficient mechanisms to counter adverse effects of increasing human population and depleting energy resources. Their intelligent mechanisms are characterized by the ability to detect changes in the environment, store and evaluate information, and respond to external stimuli. Bio-inspired replication into man-made functional materials guarantees enhancement of characteristics and performance. Specifically, butterfly architectures have inspired the fabrication of sensor and energy materials by replicating their unique micro/nanostructures, light-trapping mechanisms and selective responses to external stimuli. These bio-inspired sensor and energy materials have shown improved performance in harnessing renewable energy, environmental remediation and health monitoring. Therefore, this review highlights recent progress reported on the classification of butterfly wing scale architectures and explores several bio-inspired sensor and energy applications.