Ideal Building Research Articles

Flame spread characteristics of densified wood with various sample widths and densities

Densified wood (DW) is a novel functional material with great mechanical properties, its structural characteristics make it attractive as an ideal building material for mid-to-high-rise timber constructions. However, its flame spread characteristics is not yet fully understood, which threatens its further developments and applications. This study experimentally and analytically investigates the impact of density and width on the flame spread behaviors and heat transfer characteristics of DW. Flame spread rate, mass loss rate (MLR), and flame height decrease with increasing wood density. Both MLR and flame height increase with the increasing width, while flame spread rate increases first and then decreases. Dimensionless power-law relationships among them were established, which well predict the measurements. The dominant gaseous heat transfer transits from radiation to convection with the increase of density. The critical density for this transition is increased with width. Both width and density impact the preheating length and total heat flux, which are combined to influence the flame spread rate. A dimensionless correlation among them was established with an R2 of 0.915 to the experiments of current and previous publications. This work helps to understand flame spread of DW and benefits the fire safety in timber construction.

Route to Enhancing Remote Epitaxy of Perovskite Complex Oxide Thin Films.

Remote epitaxy is taking center stage in creating freestanding complex oxide thin films with high crystallinity that could serve as an ideal building block for stacking artificial heterostructures with distinctive functionalities. However, there exist technical challenges, particularly in the remote epitaxy of perovskite oxides associated with their harsh growth environments, making the graphene interlayer difficult to survive. Transferred graphene, typically used for creating a remote epitaxy template, poses limitations in ensuring the yield of perovskite films, especially when pulsed laser deposition (PLD) growth is carried out, since graphene degradation can be easily observed. Here, we employ spectroscopic ellipsometry to determine the critical factors that damage the integrity of graphene during PLD by tracking the change in optical properties of graphene in situ. To mitigate the issues observed in the PLD process, we propose an alternative growth strategy based on molecular beam epitaxy to produce single-crystalline perovskite membranes.

Time-varying deterioration of bamboo mechanical properties

Bamboo is a type of fast-growing and renewable natural resource that is an ideal building material. In this study, the longitudinal tensile, longitudinal compressive, flexural, longitudinal shear, transverse tensile, and transverse compressive stress-strain and strength properties of bamboo with a period of 240 days were conducted to study the time-varying deterioration performance of bamboo. The results showed that the mechanical properties of bamboo decreased gradually with the passage of time. The transverse compressive strength deteriorated the most, and the longitudinal tensile strength deteriorated the least. After 240 days of tests, bamboo CCS decreased by 52.5% and UTS decreased by 25.4%. Formulas to predict deterioration of mechanical properties were put forward and validated. It was found that the nodes of bamboo influenced its mechanical properties. The deterioration degree of the test specimens with nodes was slightly higher than that of the test specimens without nodes. These findings provide evidence about the deterioration mechanism of bamboo and are significant for promoting the development of bamboo architecture.

Axial compressive properties of round bamboo-fiber reinforced phosphogypsum composite short columns

Bamboo is an ideal green building material with excellent mechanical properties. Phosphogypsum (PG) is a kind of solid waste residue which is in urgent need of resource utilization and has been used as construction material. In this paper, a kind of round bamboo-fiber reinforced phosphogypsum composite short column was proposed. Axial compression tests of pure bamboo columns, bamboo columns filled with phosphogypsum inside, bamboo columns with phosphogypsum outside and bamboo columns with phosphogypsum inside and outside were carried out to explore the failure mode and mechanical properties of the short columns. The effects of the parameters include bamboo node, hose hoops, size of the bamboo tube and the strength of phosphogypsum on the mechanical properties of the short columns were analyzed, and the theoretical calculation method of the bearing capacity of the short columns was put forward. The results show that the bamboo nodes and hose hoops can improve the bearing capacity, initial stiffness and ductility of the column. The larger the size of the bamboo tube, the better the mechanical properties of the short column. The bearing capacity of round bamboo—phosphogypsum composite short column is higher than that of pure bamboo column. The ductility of bamboo columns with phosphogypsum outside is obviously higher than that of pure bamboo columns. The finite element analysis results are in good agreement with the test results. The theoretical calculation method of the bearing capacity of columns considering the strength reduction coefficient, the bamboo node effect coefficient and the constraint effect in this paper has high accuracy.

Achieving stable organic solar cells with 19.2 % efficiency via fine interpenetrating network with fused-ring aromatic lactone donor

The ternary strategy has enhanced the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells. However, long-term stability remains a challenge due to heat-induced molecular interactions and excessive self-aggregation. The fused-ring aromatic lactone (FAL) unit, with its extended molecular plane and electron-withdrawing ability, acts as an ideal building block in our newly designed donor P35. By introducing P35 into PM6:L8-BO systems, it optimizes film morphology and enhances π-π stacking, facilitating phase separation and balancing charge transport channels. The electron-withdrawing capability of P35 lowers the HOMO levels, thereby decreasing non-radiative recombination. Additionally, the extended molecular plane of P35 provides structural support to prevent the collapse of fiber-like PM6 and crosslinks with PM6 to form a thermodynamically stable interpenetrating network. This effectively limits the formation of isolated SMA islands, thereby minimizing the degeneration of the active layer. Consequently, an optimized PCE of 19.2 % (certified 18.55 %) is achieved in the PM6:P35:L8-BO devices, which still retains 80 % initial PCE under 600 h of AM 1.5 G illumination and 90 % PCE after 950 h storage in darkness. This research emphasizes the importance of electron-withdrawing capabilities and extended molecular planes in achieving long-term stability and high efficiency.

Phase‐Transition Photonic Brick for Reconfigurable Topological Pathways

AbstractTopological photonic insulators serve as highways for light propagation, enabling photons to be transported with topological protection and enriching the understanding of light‐matter interactions. However, the prohibitive fabrication and non‐reconfigurable functionality of current topological photonics seriously hinder its practical applications. Here, a revolutionary concept of phase‐transition photonic brick is theoretically proposed and experimentally demonstrated, which can be regarded as an ideal building block to develop reconfigurable highways for light propagations. The proposed modular photonic brick not only integrates the inherent benefits of both passive and active topological photonics, but also offers previously unattainable superiority, including flexible scalability, deformability, detachability, and recyclability. Leveraging these benefits, this work provides a groundbreaking topological platform that balances the reconfigurability, multifunctionality, low electrical energy consumption, and low device fabrication cost. By unlocking the potential of recyclable photonic bricks, the work represents a significant step toward realizing the extensive and sustainable practical applications of topological photonics in information processing, computing, communications, and beyond.

Effects of building configuration and upstream buildings on pedestrian risk around ideal buildings in a floodwater–wind joint environment

Urban building affects both floodwater inundation and air flow in high-density cities, influencing the pedestrian risk within urban blocks. Previous studies have identified physical characteristics of buildings as important factors influencing either floodwater spread or the wind environment. However, the correlation between the building configuration and pedestrian risk under the combined effect of floodwater and wind is not yet fully understood. This study estimates the integrated effects of building configuration and an upstream building on the pedestrian risk around ideal buildings in a joint floodwater–wind environment. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are performed to model the inundation depth, floodwater velocity, and wind speed at pedestrian level for single- and double-building models. The pedestrian risk in terms of the toppling instability is evaluated, and a series of laboratory flume experiments on the stability/instability of a dummy representing pedestrians in a quasi-natural state are conducted to validate the CFD simulation results. The findings show that the building configuration affects the pedestrian risk to some degree; however, the building height yields a minor effect and converging and diverging flows lead to different pedestrian risk distributions within the area of interest. Floodwater always plays a dominant role over wind in triggering pedestrian toppling, and pedestrian evacuation speeds vary depending on the circumstances. When an upstream building is added, its distance from the target building, length, and the reduced ratio relative to the reference case, as well as the interspace between its segments, influence the pedestrian risk; however, the height of the upstream building has the smallest effect on the pedestrian risk response. The study outcome can provide insights for administrators and stakeholders when implementing tailored measures against direct impacts of surging floodwater and strong wind in the context of resilient city management.

Electrically Conductive Peptide Fibers as Direct Electron Transfer Scaffolds for Enzymatic Electrocatalysis

Biology provides many sources of inspiration for synthetic and multi-functional nanomaterials. Naturally evolved proteins possess a range of unique functions and self-assembly behavior. Some of these have electron transport functions as part of metabolic processes. Their flexible design and potential for stimuli responsiveness make proteins ideal building blocks of bioelectronic interfaces. In biosensor and electrocatalysis applications, bioelectronic materials are designed to interconvert biological signals or processes into electronic signals and vice versa. In this work, we designed a peptide fiber structure that exhibits stimuli-responsive self-assembly and the capacity to transport electrical current over micrometer long distances. Hierarchically ordered nanofibers of α-helical coiled-coil peptides were assembled using a pH responsive structure ordering motif comprising of two neighboring lysine residues. Cryo-EM structures of these assemblies reveal a novel organization of α-helical peptides in a cross coiled coil arrangement that exhibits electrical conductivity. Both solid-state and solution-based electrochemical characterization show that these fibers are conductive. Single-fiber conductive AFM determined that the solid-state electrical conductivity is on a similar order of magnitude with conductive cytochrome filaments from bacteria. Solution deposited fiber films approximately doubled the electroactive surface area of the electrode, confirming their conductivity in aqueous environments. Furthermore, these fibers can be used as scaffolds for redox enzyme immobilization for electrochemical biosensing. Progress towards immobilized enzymatic devices will be discussed as well. This work further expands the field of stimuli-responsive and multifunctional nanomaterials by using peptide assemblies as structural supports for future implementation in bioelectronic and bioelectrochemical systems.

Perencanaan Rumah Minimalis Ramah Lingkungan di Kelurahan Poris Plawad Utara, Cipondoh, Tangerang, Banten

Poris Plawad Utara, Cipondoh, Tangerang, Banten is a densely populated area, this is due to the large number of incomers who live or reside there. Due to those conditions, there is a must to educate the residents to have plan in designing the healthy and environmentally friendly home. It needs to pay an attention for aspects of the surrounding environmental conditions in planning a healthy and environmentally friendly residence, such as circulation of the sun, wind movement, availability of open areas and other environmental aspects to meet residential needs for thermal comfort. To achieve these ideal conditions, it is a necessary to pay an attention to the natural ventilation circulation system and natural lighting. From the results of the research carried out, it can be concluded that the ideal building orientation is facing east-west, in this direction, the sunlight shines throughout the day. If the light intensity is high, vegetation can be planted in the area around the building with shady and cooling tree species, it can also provide alternatives to the building structure such as making wooden slats in the direction of the sun to reduce glare and maximize openings to circulate air from outside the room. To provide natural coolness to the building, distance is created in between each the building so that the wind can move freely in the room.

Unfolding the Challenges To Prepare Single Crystalline Complex Oxide Membranes by Solution Processing.

The ability to prepare single crystalline complex oxide freestanding membranes has opened a new playground to access new phases and functionalities not available when they are epitaxially bound to the substrates. The water-soluble Sr3Al2O6 (SAO) sacrificial layer approach has proven to be one of the most promising pathways to prepare a wide variety of single crystalline complex oxide membranes, typically by high vacuum deposition techniques. Here, we present solution processing, also named chemical solution deposition (CSD), as a cost-effective alternative deposition technique to prepare freestanding membranes identifying the main processing challenges and how to overcome them. In particular, we compare three different strategies based on interface and cation engineering to prepare CSD (00l)-oriented BiFeO3 (BFO) membranes. First, BFO is deposited directly on SAO but forms a nanocomposite of Sr-Al-O rich nanoparticles embedded in an epitaxial BFO matrix because the Sr-O bonds react with the solvents of the BFO precursor solution. Second, the incorporation of a pulsed laser deposited La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) buffer layer on SAO prior to the BFO deposition prevents the massive interface reaction and subsequent formation of a nanocomposite but migration of cations from the upper layers to SAO occurs, making the sacrificial layer insoluble in water and withholding the membrane release. Finally, in the third scenario, a combination of LSMO with a more robust sacrificial layer composition, SrCa2Al2O6 (SC2AO), offers an ideal building block to obtain (001)-oriented BFO/LSMO bilayer membranes with a high-quality interface that can be successfully transferred to both flexible and rigid host substrates. Ferroelectric fingerprints are identified in the BFO film prior and after membrane release. These results show the feasibility to use CSD as alternative deposition technique to prepare single crystalline complex oxide membranes widening the range of available phases and functionalities for next-generation electronic devices.

Strong and Tough MXene Bridging-induced Conductive Nacre.

Nacre is a classic model, providing an inspiration for fabricating high-performance bulk nanocomposites with the two-dimensional platelets. However, the "brick" of nacre, aragonite platelet, is an ideal building block for making high-performance bulk nanocomposites. Herein, we demonstrated a strong and tough conductive nacre through reassembling aragonite platelets with bridged by MXene nanosheets and hydrogen bonding, not only providing high mechanical properties but also excellent electrical conductivity. The flexural strength and fracture toughness of the obtained conductive nacre reach ~282 MPa and ~6.3 MPa m1/2, which is 1.6 and 1.6 times higher than that of natural nacre, respectively. These properties are attributed to densification and high orientation degree of the conductive nacre, which is effectively induced by the combined interactions of hydrogen bonding and MXene nanosheets bridging. The crack propagations in conductive nacre are effectively inhibited through crack deflection with hydrogen bonding, and MXene nanosheets bridging between aragonite platelets. In addition, our conductive nacre also provides a self-monitoring function for structural damage and offers exceptional electromagnetic interference shielding performance. Our strategy of reassembling the aragonite platelets exfoliated from waste nacre into high-performance artificial nacre, provides an avenue for fabricating high-performance bulk nanocomposites through the sustainable reutilization of shell resources.

Strong and Tough MXene Bridging‐induced Conductive Nacre

AbstractNacre is a classic model, providing an inspiration for fabricating high‐performance bulk nanocomposites with the two‐dimensional platelets. However, the “brick” of nacre, aragonite platelet, is an ideal building block for making high‐performance bulk nanocomposites. Herein, we demonstrated a strong and tough conductive nacre through reassembling aragonite platelets with bridged by MXene nanosheets and hydrogen bonding, not only providing high mechanical properties but also excellent electrical conductivity. The flexural strength and fracture toughness of the obtained conductive nacre reach ~282 MPa and ~6.3 MPa m1/2, which is 1.6 and 1.6 times higher than that of natural nacre, respectively. These properties are attributed to densification and high orientation degree of the conductive nacre, which is effectively induced by the combined interactions of hydrogen bonding and MXene nanosheets bridging. The crack propagations in conductive nacre are effectively inhibited through crack deflection with hydrogen bonding, and MXene nanosheets bridging between aragonite platelets. In addition, our conductive nacre also provides a self‐monitoring function for structural damage and offers exceptional electromagnetic interference shielding performance. Our strategy of reassembling the aragonite platelets exfoliated from waste nacre into high‐performance artificial nacre, provides an avenue for fabricating high‐performance bulk nanocomposites through the sustainable reutilization of shell resources.

Metalloporphyrins as Building Blocks for Quantum Information Science

AbstractThe intrinsic quantum nature of molecules opens exciting opportunities for developing the field of quantum information science. In this context, porphyrins stand out as ideal building blocks for quantum technologies thanks to their unique optical and electrical properties as well as their capacity to accommodate metal atoms and ions. This review bridges the chemistry and physics of porphyrins, providing an overview of recent advances in porphyrin‐based molecular qubits. Starting from qubits, the review explores the potential of porphyrin units to combine, leading to the formation of quantum logic gates and hierarchical higher‐dimensional structures. Next, the exploitation of porphyrins' unique photophysical properties for realizing long‐lived high spin states is examined. These states are promising for the photogeneration of multi‐level systems and the optical initialization and control of molecular qubits. With a critical eye on the current state‐of‐the‐art, the review elucidates the future perspectives of porphyrins for advancing quantum technologies.

A Three-in-One Hybrid Strategy for High-Performance Semiconducting Polymers Processed from Anisole.

The development of semiconducting polymers with good processability in green solvents and competitive electrical performance is essential for realizing sustainable large-scale manufacturing and commercialization of organic electronics. A major obstacle is the processability-performance dichotomy that is dictated by the lack of ideal building blocks with balanced polarity, solubility, electronic structures, and molecular conformation. Herein, through the integration of donor, quinoid and acceptor units, an unprecedented building block, namely TQBT, is introduced for constructing a serial of conjugated polymers. The TQBT, distinct in non-symmetric structure and high dipole moment, imparts enhanced solubility in anisole-a green solvent-to the polymer TQBT-T. Furthermore, PTQBT-T possess a highly rigid and planar backbone owing to the nearly coplanar geometry and quinoidal nature of TQBT, resulting in strong aggregation in solution and localized aggregates in film. Remarkably, PTQBT-T films spuncast from anisole exhibit a hole mobility of 2.30 cm2 V-1 s-1, which is record high for green solvent-processable semiconducting polymers via spin-coating, together with commendable operational and storage stability. The hybrid building block emerges as a pioneering electroactive unit, shedding light on future design strategies in high-performance semiconducting polymers compatible with green processing and marking a significant stride towards ecofriendly organic electronics.

DNA-based nanostructures for RNA delivery.

RNA-based therapeutics have emerged as a promising approach for the treatment of various diseases, including cancer, genetic disorders, and infectious diseases. However, the delivery of RNA molecules into target cells has been a major challenge due to their susceptibility to degradation and inefficient cellular uptake. To overcome these hurdles, DNA-based nano technology offers an unprecedented opportunity as a potential delivery platform for RNA therapeutics. Due to its excellent characteristics such as programmability and biocompatibility, these DNA-based nanostructures, composed of DNA molecules assembled into precise and programmable structures, have garnered significant attention as ideal building materials for protecting and delivering RNA payloads to the desired cellular destinations. In this review, we highlight the current progress in the design and application of three DNA-based nanostructures: DNA origami, lipid-nanoparticle (LNP) technology related to frame guided assembly (FGA), and DNA hydrogel for the delivery of RNA molecules. Their biomedical applications are briefly discussed and the challenges and future perspectives in this field are also highlighted.

Facile Access to High Solid Content Monodispersed Microspheres via Dual-Component Surfactants Regulation toward High-Performance Colloidal Photonic Crystals.

Monodispersed microspheres play a major role in optical science and engineering, providing ideal building blocks for structural color materials. However, the method toward high solid content (HSC) monodispersed microspheres has remained a key hurdle. Herein, a facile access to harvest monodispersed microspheres based on the emulsion polymerization mechanism is demonstrated, where anionic and nonionic surfactants are employed to achieve the electrostatic and steric dual-stabilization balance in a synergistic manner. Monodispersed poly(styrene-butyl acrylate-methacrylic acid) colloidal latex with 55wt% HSC is achieved, which shows an enhanced self-assembly efficiency of 280% compared with the low solid content (10wt%) latex. In addition, Ag-coated colloidal photonic crystal (Ag@CPC) coating with near-zero refractive index is achieved, presenting the characteristics of metamaterials. And an 11-fold photoluminescence emission enhancement of CdSe@ZnS quantum dots is realized by the Ag@CPC metamaterial coating. Taking advantage of high assembly efficiency, easily large-scale film-forming of the 55wt% HSC microspheres latex, robust Ag@CPC metamaterial coatings could be easily produced for passive cooling. The coating demonstrates excellent thermal insulation performance with theoretical cooling power of 30.4W m-2, providing practical significance for scalable CPC architecture coatings in passive cooling.

Bendable and Chemically Stable Metal-Organic Hybrid Membranes for Molecular Separation.

Crystalline porous metal-organic materials are ideal building blocks for separation membranes because of their molecular-sized pores and highly ordered pore structure. However, creating ultrathin, defect-free crystalline membranes is challenging due to inevitable grain boundaries. Herein, we reported an amorphous metal-organic hybrid (MOH) membrane with controlled microporosity. The synthesis of the MOH membrane entails the use of titanium alkoxide and organic linkers containing di/multicarboxyl groups as monomers in the polymerization reaction. The resultant membranes exhibit similar microporosity to existing molecular sieve materials and high chemical stability against harsh chemical environments owing to the formation of stable Ti-O bonds between metal centers and organic linkers. An interfacial polymerization is developed to fabricate an ultrathin MOH membrane (thickness of the membrane down to 80 nm), which exhibits excellent rejections (>98% for dyes with molecular weights larger than 690 Da) and high water permeance (55 L m-2 h-1 bar-1). The membranes also demonstrate good flexibility, which greatly improves the processability of the membrane materials.

Amino-Acid-Encoded Bioinspired Supramolecular Self-Assembly of Multimorphological Nanocarriers.

Supramolecular self-assembly has emerged as an efficient tool to construct well-organized nanostructures for biomedical applications by small organic molecules. However, the physicochemical properties of self-assembled nanoarchitectures are greatly influenced by their morphologies, mechanical properties, and working mechanisms, making it challenging to design and screen ideal building blocks. Herein, using a biocompatible firefly-sourced click reaction between the cyano group of 2-cyano-benzothiazole (CBT) and the 1,2-aminothiol group of cysteine (Cys), an amino-acid-encoded supramolecular self-assembly platform Cys(SEt)-X-CBT (X represents any amino acid) is developed to incorporate both covalent and noncovalent interactions for building diverse morphologies of nanostructures with bioinspired response mechanism, providing a convenient and rapid strategy to construct site-specific nanocarriers for drug delivery, cell imaging, and enzyme encapsulation. Additionally, it is worth noting that the biodegradation of Cys(SEt)-X-CBT generated nanocarriers can be easily tracked via bioluminescence imaging. By caging either the thiol or amino groups in Cys with other stimulus-responsive sites and modifying X with probes or drugs, a variety of multi-morphological and multifunctional nanomedicines can be readily prepared for a wide range of biomedical applications.

Assessing impact of urban densification on outdoor microclimate and thermal comfort using ENVI-met simulations for Combined Spatial-Climatic Design (CSCD) approach

Future urban planning requires context-specific integration of spatial design and microclimate especially for tropical cities with extreme weather conditions. Thus, we propose a Combined Spatial-Climatic Design approach to assess impact of urban densification on annual outdoor thermal comfort performance employing ENVI-met simulations for Singapore. We first consider building bylaws and residential site guidelines to develop eight urban-density site options for a target population range. We further classify annual weather data into seven weather-types and use them as boundary conditions for the simulations. Comparing such fifty-six combined spatial-climatic simulation outputs by analyzing Outdoor Thermal Comfort Autonomy, we report the influence of site geometry is nominal on air temperatures but significant for Mean Radiant Temperatures and Physiological Equivalent Temperatures. Neighborhoods with taller (20 % increase in mean height) buildings and narrower footprints exhibit better thermal performance compared to short and wider (12–58 % decrease in mean width) buildings, due to less radiative heat gain during solar noon. For a high density tropical urban context, like Singapore with high sun angle and solar radiation, mutual shading and presence of wind enhances thermal comfort. Results provide useful and actionable recommendations on ideal building profile for heat responsive neighborhoods in low-latitude hot-humid cities similar to Singapore.

Peptide-Functionalized Inorganic Oxide Nanomaterials for Solid Cancer Imaging and Therapy.

The diagnosis and treatment of solid tumors have undergone significant advancements marked by a trend toward increased specificity and integration of imaging and therapeutic functions. The multifaceted nature of inorganic oxide nanomaterials (IONs), which boast optical, magnetic, ultrasonic, and biochemical modulatory properties, makes them ideal building blocks for developing multifunctional nanoplatforms. A promising class of materials that have emerged in this context are peptide-functionalized inorganic oxide nanomaterials (PFIONs), which have demonstrated excellent performance in multifunctional imaging and therapy, making them potential candidates for advancing solid tumor diagnosis and treatment. Owing to the functionalities of peptides in tumor targeting, penetration, responsiveness, and therapy, well-designed PFIONs can specifically accumulate and release therapeutic or imaging agents at the solid tumor sites, enabling precise imaging and effective treatment. This review provides an overview of the recent advances in the use of PFIONs for the imaging and treatment of solid tumors, highlighting the superiority of imaging and therapeutic integration as well as synergistic treatment. Moreover, the review discusses the challenges and prospects of PFIONs in depth, aiming to promote the intersection of the interdisciplinary to facilitate their clinical translation and the development of personalized diagnostic and therapeutic systems by optimizing the material systems.