Xiaoju Wang

Morphology engineering of in situ aminated lignin regulates ultramicropore development and nitrogen configuration in the resulting porous carbons, enabling enhanced CO ₂ capture.

Room-temperature formic acid co-dissolution enables the formation of water-resistant cellulose/polycaprolactone filaments with water-triggered shape transformation and polarization-dependent structural coloration properties.

Utilizing naturally derived biopolymers in the macromolecular design of thermoresponsive polymers offers sustainable and biodegradable smart building blocks to functional materials. Here, a novel graft polymer of xylan‐g‐allyl glycidyl ether (xylan‐g‐AGE) that is thermoresponsive to self‐assemble and photoreactive in photopolymerization is reported. This research highlights an innovative use of the debranched wood xylan, a chemically engineered linear polysaccharide of β‐1,4‐linked xylose, as the backbone in grafting polymer, which allows a greater degree of spatial coordination for sidechains than the analogous cellulose. Induced by the reformation of H‐bonds and hydrophobic effect, xylan‐g‐AGE transits from solvated coil chain to self‐assembled mesoglobules upon the temperature change above its lower critical solution temperature (LCST). When xylan‐g‐AGE is used in photoresins to fabricate hydrogels with good geometric fidelity via DLP 3D printing, solvated xylan‐g‐AGE stiffens the polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogel strongly, due to higher crosslink density of available AGE moiety and faster crosslinking rate, while self‐assembled xylan‐g‐AGE toughens the PEG hydrogel better, attributed to the strategy of “dual chemically independent domains” that smartly combines tough domain of PEG and soft domain of self‐assembled xylan‐g‐AGE. Conductive hydrogel is fabricated by incorporating 2D MXene sheets into this hydrogel matrix in DLP printing, which demonstrates superior performance as wearable strain sensors.

Sustainable microgels derived from photocurable cellulose nanofibers and their polyacrylamide hybrids efficiently support 3D cell culture as assembled granular hydrogels.

The proliferation of human cervical cancer (Hela) cells was investigated on a series of nanostructured polymer latex surfaces. The physico-chemical properties of the surfaces, composed of mixtures of polystyrene and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene dispersions, were precisely controlled in the nanoscale range by adjusting the mixing ratio of the components and thermal treatment. In addition, the proliferation response of HeLa cells was compared to that of human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cells. A low dispersive surface energy and peak or valley dominance (S_pk/S_vk) were observed to increase the proliferation yield of the Hela cells. The HDF cells were less influenced by the surface chemistry and showed improved proliferation on surfaces without dominant peak or valley features (S_pk and S_vk). The observed changes in Hela cell behaviour underscored the critical role of material surface properties in influencing cellular responses, with more significant accumulation of nuclear patterning of filamentous actin (F-actin) on stiffer and smoother surfaces (e.g., borosilicate glass) due to higher mechanical stress. A more dynamic reorganisation of the cytoskeleton was observed for cells grown on polymer surfaces with moderate roughness and surface energy. These results emphasise the importance of characterising and tuning surface properties to accommodate the specific behaviours of different cell types.

Advanced cellulose‐based foams are urgently needed as sustainable packaging materials in an era of prioritizing environmental consciousness. However, transferring the mechanical properties of cellulose fibers into porous structures is always limited by gas entrapment during foaming and irreversible structural collapse upon liquid evaporation. Herein, a hierarchical assembly strategy combines cationic cellulose nanofibrils (CCNF) with a dynamic covalent tannin/borate (T/B) complex to fabricate 3D continuous foams with distinct lamellar structure via oven drying is proposed for scalable production. CCNF assembles the T/B complex onto cellulose fibers by electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding, while the reversible covalent bonds among T/B complex impart shear‐thinning and self‐healing properties, thereby ensuring foamability (exceeding 300%) and structural stability. Moreover, the T/B foam offers a versatile platform for customization with metal ions (Fe³⁺, Cu²⁺, and Ag⁺), allowing the tailoring of physical and mechanical properties. At an optimized tannin addition of 10%, the 10T/5B‐Fe foam exhibits the highest normalized strength above 410 Pa/density, while maintaining an ultralow density of 9.2 mg cm⁻³. Additionally, the pH‐responsiveness of T/B complexes enables the release of metal ions for long‐term antimicrobial activity. This study demonstrates a green and scalable strategy for functional foam production, offering new possibilities for next‐generation antimicrobial packaging materials.