Organic Gel Research Articles

Recent Advances in Desiccant Materials for Energy‐Efficient and Sustainable Heat Transfer Systems

The expanding prevalence of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, currently reliant on fossil fuel‐derived energy, necessitates energy‐saving measures to address climate change concerns. Implementing desiccants with high water vapor affinity reduces latent heat input, impacting the heat exchanger's functionality based on system and desiccant characteristics. This review analyzes the materials in solid desiccants, binders, and substrates, emphasizing advancements for enhanced heat transfer efficiency. Some notable materials explored include metal–organic frameworks, activated carbon, silica gel, polymers, and zeolite. In system level, the article discusses about the dual‐channel heat exchanger which emerges as a solution to drawbacks in existing dehumidification systems, offering higher performance and lower latent heat load in modern solid desiccant‐coated heat exchangers. Despite the environmental impact of material usage, future research should focus on sustainable materials, such as those derived from biomass or recycled sources, to maintain efficiency while minimizing waste in HVAC systems.

Novel Temperature-Responsive Organic Polymer Gel for Efficient Abandonment of Aged Porous Chalk Formations Characterized by X-ray Computed Tomography

Novel Temperature-Responsive Organic Polymer Gel for Efficient Abandonment of Aged Porous Chalk Formations Characterized by X-ray Computed Tomography

NiO Nanomaterial Functionalized with Organic Gel Molecules for Heterogeneous Asymmetric Catalysis

NiO Nanomaterial Functionalized with Organic Gel Molecules for Heterogeneous Asymmetric Catalysis

Research and Application of Chemical Water Plugging Technology with High Salt Resistant Gel and Immobile String

Abstract The salinity of formation water in Gasi N1-N2 reservoir is 18 × 104 mg/L, in which calcium and magnesium ions are 6300 mg/L. The conventional gel used for profile control and water plugging has poor salt resistance and is easy to dehydrate under the erosion of formation water; At the same time, the chemical water plugging of oil wells in the past needs to trip down the downhole string for many times, and the construction period is long. In order to solve the former problem, an anti-high salt organic gel suitable for Gasi N1-N21 reservoir is synthesized. The formula is 0.4 wt% SD-3000 + 0.1-0.2 wt% urotropine + 0.05 wt% resorcinol + 0.4 wt% additive. The viscosity of the gel is more than 6000 mPa.s after gelation, and no obvious dehydration phenomenon is found after aging for five months in the formation water environment of Gasi N1-N21 reservoir at 65 °C. The technology of chemical water plugging without moving the string has been innovatively developed, which does not require the operation of tubing and pump during construction. In Gasi N1-N21 reservoir, anti-high salt gel was used to carry out three well-times of chemical water plugging tests without pulling the string, which were all successful, saving 44% of the cost of measures and shortening 78% of the construction period. After water plugging, water production was obviously inhibited, and the average moisture content was reduced from 95% to 45%. The average daily oil increment of a single well was 1.8 tons, and the cumulative oil increment was 1700 tons. The results show that the chemical water plugging technology without pulling string has broad application prospects in Gasi N1-N21 reservoir in Qinghai Oilfield and similar reservoirs in China.

Flexible Terahertz Broadband Absorber Based on a Copper Composite Film.

Terahertz absorbers play a crucial role in terahertz detectors, radar stealth, electromagnetic shielding, and other fields. However, the design and fabrication of flexible terahertz broadband absorbers remain a challenge at present. Here, we demonstrated a terahertz broadband absorber based on a copper composite film (CCF) consisting of a copper foam and an organic silica gel doped with Fe3O4 powder. The CCF can be fabricated by the infiltration method. The influence of the thickness and the pore size of the copper foam and the mass fraction of doped Fe3O4 powder on the absorption bandwidth were investigated. When the thickness of the CCF is 1.5 mm, the pore size of the copper foam is 95 pores per inch (ppi), and the mass fraction of Fe3O4 is 1%; a broadband absorption is achieved in the range of 0.11-3.5 THz. It is noted that the mass fraction of Fe3O4 has a significant impact on the absorption bandwidth. In addition, the thickness of the CCF and the pore size of the copper foam also have an impact on the absorption. The impedance matching theory is introduced to understand the mechanism of broadband absorption. This flexible broadband absorber has potential application in terahertz stealth, shielding, and the sixth-generation (6G) broadband wireless communication in the future.

Cholesterol Based Organogelators in Environmental Remediation: Applications in Removal of Toxic Textile Dyes and Oil Spill Recovery.

Oil spills in the ocean and textile dyes have a catastrophic impact on the environment, economy, and ecosystem. Phase-selective organic gelator dye sorption and oil separation for oil adsorption should meet certain criteria such as facile synthesis, low cost, effective gelation, and recyclability. This study has discovered that an aliphatic chain synthetic amphiphile based on cholesterol can produce organogels in a variety of organic solvents. Numerous methods, such as X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, high-resolution scanning electron microscopy, and rheology, have been used extensively to examine and describe these organogels. An environmentally acceptable technique for achieving hazardous dye separation is presented here. For the sustainable filtration of dye-contaminated water, a new, straightforward, one-step method driven by gravitational force has been employed by using a gel column. This approach has shown excellent stability and reusability with repeated use, and it is easily scalable for the effective removal of a wide range of hazardous dyes. Furthermore, because the oil fraction was absorbed in the gel, the study showed how well it might be used to apply phase selectivity to separate the oil-water mixture from marine accidents. Furthermore, a straightforward distillation method can be used to quantitatively recover the oils contained in the gel and gelator molecules in phase-selective gelation. This low-tech, ecofriendly, and highly effective method also offers valuable insights into the development of advanced materials for separating toxic dyes and oil from water.

Review on the Polymeric and Chelate Gel Precursor for Li-Ion Battery Cathode Material Synthesis.

The rapid design of advanced materials depends on synthesis parameters and design. A wide range of materials can be synthesized using precursor reactions based on chelated gel and organic polymeric gel pathways. The desire to develop high-performance lithium-ion rechargeable batteries has motivated decades of research on the synthesis of battery active material particles with precise control of composition, phase-purity, and morphology. Among the most common methods reported in the literature to prepare precursors for lithium-ion battery active materials, sol-gel is characterized by simplicity, homogeneous mixing, and tuning of the particle shape. The chelate gel and organic polymeric gel precursor-based sol-gel method is efficient to promote desirable reaction conditions. Both precursor routes are commonly used to synthesize lithium-ion battery cathode active materials from raw materials such as inorganic salts in aqueous solutions or organic solvents. The purpose of this review is to discuss synthesis procedure and summarize the progress that has been made in producing crystalline particles of tunable and complex morphologies by sol-gel synthesis that can be used as active materials for lithium-ion batteries.

Nano-tentacled interconnected channels organic gel for rapid uranium extraction from seawater

Due to dwindling terrestrial uranium resources and escalating ecological pressures, the long-term viability of uranium supply has become a critical concern. The immense uranium reserves in seawater present a potential solution, yet extraction technology faces dual challenges of efficiency and adaptability to complex marine environments. Current interconnected porous adsorbents, despite their high flux properties, are limited by low specific surface area and weak mechanical strength, which constrain their effectiveness. Here, inspired by the unique hierarchical structures of marine organisms, we describe an organic gel adsorbent with supermacroporous and interconnected channels (10 ∼ 100 µm) adorned with "nano-tentacle" structures. This design significantly enhances the specific surface area by 18 times, increasing adsorption sites and imparting antibacterial properties. Notably, this adsorbent maintains structural integrity and superior mechanical strength (1.32 MPa tensile and 2.44 MPa compressive strength) even when fully saturated. During a 23-day trial in natural seawater, a uranium adsorption rate of 0.332 mg g⁻¹ day⁻¹ was achieved. This work offers a pioneering approach for the design and fabrication of hierarchical structured adsorbents, highlighting the immense potential of extracting uranium from seawater for sustainable energy production.

Glass fiber-based metal organic gel composite electrolytes for solid-state lithium batteries

Abstract Quasi-solid-state electrolytes encounter great obstacles in structural stability due to their inherent heterogeneity. Here, we introduce a new composite structure of glass-fiber-based metal-organic gel as a solid-state electrolyte and explore its electrochemical properties in lithium-metal batteries. We use a straightforward in-situ sol-gel method to synthesize this composite electrolyte, where glass fiber acts as matrices, ferric nitrate reacts with trimeric acid to form interconnected channels with abundant unsaturated metal sites, while ionic liquid electrolyte is in-situ confined into interconnected channels. The as-prepared composite electrolyte membrane has a uniform structure and composition, exhibiting a high room-temperature ionic conductivity of 1.79×10−3 S cm−1 and a high electrochemical oxidation potential of 4.76 V vs Li/Li+. This composite has excellent cycling performance in LiFePO4//Li (99.5% after 100 cycles) and NCM811//Li (86.6% after 200 cycles) batteries.

Towards in-depth profile control using s-MPG synergy with MSRG in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs

In-depth profile control is a crucial technique employed to enhance oil recovery in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs. However, it is a challenge to achieve in-depth profile control. In this paper, two types of organic gel systems, namely s-MPG and MSRG, tailored for fractured-vuggy reservoirs with 140 °C and 22 × 104 mg/L have been developed. FTIR was used to analyze the functional groups of s-MPG and MSRG. Additionally, the quality retention rates of s-MPG and MSRG were assessed using TG-DSC, yielding results of 92.85% and 92.65%, respectively. The dilution rates of s-MPG and MSRG are found to be 18.69% and 26.69%, respectively, demonstrating excellent compatibility and adaptability. The enhancement performance depends on the synergistic effect that the anti-dilution s-MPG effectively separates bottom water, while high-strength MSRG separates the oil layer. Moreover, the EOR performances of s-MPG synergy with MSRG in various types of fractured-vuggy carbonate models were also evaluated. The highest oil recovery of 12% is achieved in fracture network model. Laboratory results indicate that the synergistic combination of s-MPG and MSRG for water plugging in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs results in a more effective enhancement of oil recovery compared to using a single gel system for plugging. Finally, the s-MPG synergy with MSRG has been applied in actual fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs. As expected, the water cut of typical well is reduced from 100% to 30% and the increased oil production is 1142 t totally. Therefore, this study presents a novel approach to achieving in-depth profile control by leveraging the synergistic effect of s-MPG with MSRG in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs.

Electrochemiluminescence detection of Hg2+ using lanthanide mental organic gel based on boric acid functionalization

Recent advancements in electrochemiluminescence (ECL) have highlighted the potential of metal–organic gels (MOGs) as innovative luminescent materials for environmental monitoring. This study introduces a terbium-based Metal–Organic Gel (Tb-MOG) synthesized through a straightforward solvothermal method, exhibiting quantitative detection of mercury ions (Hg2+). The high mesoporosity of Tb-MOG facilitates co-reactant penetration and the gel does not come off easily when applied to the electrodes, enhancing the stability and efficiency of ECL signals. The organic ligand 5-borophenyl-1,3-dicarboxylic acid (5-bop) serves dual functions: it sensitizes Tb3+ luminescence and specifically recognizes Hg2+. Upon the interaction with Hg2+, the boronic acid group of 5-bop undergoes a metal transfer reaction, resulting in an enhanced ’antenna’ effect, which enhances ECL emission. The linear range for Hg2+ of the proposed method was from 1.2 μM to 24.6 μM, with a detection of limit (LOD) of 0.53 μM.

Recurrently gellable and thermochromic inorganic hydrogel thermogalvanic cells.

Thermogalvanic cells (TGCs) draw great attention in the field of heat to electricity conversion, but TGCs were only in the form of liquid or organic gel. Here, we report an all-inorganic hydrogel TGC via simply mixing and stirring two inorganic salt solutions. Benefiting from the hydrogen bonds resultant framework and endogenous Fe2+/3+ redox couple, the TGC can recurrently pulverize-gel with completely holding its initial thermogalvanic performances after even 60 cycles. As the temperature and pH coregulating Fe3+ concentration and reversible transformation between Fe3+ and Fe(OH)3, we boost thermopower and realize thermochromism. This work provides a different perspective for TGCs and offers an avenue for future hydrogel materials research.

Investigations of Silica/MOF composite coating and its dehumidification performance on a desiccant-coated heat exchanger

Desiccant materials have an important impact on the dehumidification performance of desiccant-coated heat exchanger (DCHE). In this paper, a desiccant-coated heat exchanger based on a composite desiccant material of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and silica gel was proposed. The coating was experimentally prepared and tested for its hygroscopic performance under different binder types (PVP, PVA, and PVB), different binder mass concentrations, and different MOF mass concentrations in the composite adsorbent. Further simulations were performed to investigate the effects of key structural and operational parameters on the performance of DCHE. Experimentally, the optimal hygroscopic performance of the composite adsorbent was obtained at 15 wt% PVP and 20 wt% MOF, which was 51.71 % higher than that of silica coating, and the cost of the composite adsorbent drops 78.04 % by comparing to the pure MOF for laboratory fabrication, and based on the novel economic efficiency index proposed in this paper, the mass concentration of the MOF should not exceed 32.8 wt%. Simulation results showed that under the conditions as follows: 1.2 mm (fin spacing), 25 mm (fin height), 0.28 mm (coating thickness), 25 °C (cooling water temperature), and 0 % (initial moisture content), the corresponding moisture removal capacity (MRC) and of DCHE was 6.740 g/kg, which was 149.63 % higher than that of silica coating.

Green Polymer Electrolytes Prepared by a Cost-Effective Approach.

The preparation of solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) using poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) typically involves incorporating fillers or undergoing chemical modifications to reduce crystallinity and enhance conductivity. PEO with a lower molecular weight, known as polyethylene glycol (PEG), exhibits higher conductivity, despite weaker mechanical strength. It is commonly employed as a plasticizer to improve the conductivity of SPEs or to fabricate PEG-based gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs). In this study, we use a straightforward approach to create innovative SPEs by blending liquid polymer electrolytes (LPEs), particularly low-molecular-weight polyethylene glycol (PEG), with a molecular weight of 400 g/mol, and sustainable poly(l-lactide) (PLLA). Solid PEG/PLLA forms are achieved by introducing 30 wt % of PLLA. Subsequently, the addition of lithium salts results in the development of novel PEG/PLLA SPEs. Another focal point of this study involves incorporating 1,3:2,4-dibenzylidene sorbitol (DBS) into these PEG/PLLA systems. DBS, an organic gelator derived from natural sugars, demonstrates self-assembly, leading to the formation of a nanofibrillar network structure. Leveraging DBS's ability to form organogels in liquid organic environments, we facilitate the transformation of low PLLA content LPEs into innovative solvent-free GPEs. Our prepared PEG/PLLA SPEs exhibited a maximum conductivity value of 4.39 × 10-5 S/cm, approximately five times higher than that of neat PEG (10000 g/mol) SPEs. The ionic conductivity exhibited a declining trend as the content of PLLA and DBS increased. However, there was an improvement in electrochemical stability. Furthermore, the incorporation of PLLA and DBS into electrolytes contributed to enhanced mechanical support and stability within the electrolyte layer. This, in turn, mitigated capacity decay and improved the cycling performance of assembled lithium-ion cells.

New insight into multi-functional MOG@COP/SA beads for co-adsorption and mono-detection in CTC-Cr(Ⅵ) co-contamination system and efficient anti-counterfeiting

Co-contamination of antibiotics and heavy metals in water environment has provoked considerable toxicological concerns. Meantime, residue detection of heavy metals as well as national anti-counterfeiting safety also have driven attempts in wastewater treatment. In this paper, a core–shell hybrid MOG@COP is designed with behaviors superior to pristine components by combining a Zr-based metal–organic gel and a guanidine-based covalent organic polymer, for co-adsorption and mono-detection in chlortetracycline hydrochloride (CTC)-Cr(Ⅵ) co-contamination system and efficient anti-counterfeiting. In single/binary system, the adsorption capacities of CTC and Cr(Ⅵ) behave as 133.69 and 63.45 mg·g−1/181.82 and 64.47 mg·g−1, and the high sensitivity and low detection limit of Cr(Ⅵ) render as 1.46*105 M−1 and 0.20 μM/1.49*102 M−1 and 0.63 mM, respectively. In addition, to solve the powder shortcomings of easy agglomeration and difficult recycling, MOG@COP is fixed into sodium alginate (SA) matrix to fabricate MOG@COP/SA beads, yielding reinforced adsorption performance of CTC/Cr(Ⅵ) in both single system (152.91/92.25 mg·g−1) and binary system (174.83/75.30 mg·g−1). More importantly, a self-constructed adsorption-detection-anti-counterfeiting (ADA) platform is ingeniously developed with the MOG@COP/SA beads as the backfills for continuously processing CTC-Cr(Ⅵ) co-contaminated water, realizing real-time visualization of Cr(Ⅵ) adsorption process and optical anti-counterfeiting protection. In conclusion, this work is expected to not only trigger the reasonable design of the core–shell hybrid MOG@COP/SA beads with versatile performances of simultaneous luminescence monitor, capture and anti-counterfeiting, but also allow the original exploration for all-in-one platform.

Ionic liquid-reinforced transparent, stretchable, conductive organic ionic gel with ultra-high sensory capability and ultra-robust impact-resistance

Traditional conductive hydrogels face challenges in environmental stability and mechanical limitations, constraining their applications in wearable devices. Here, we present a novel organic ionic gel by the construction of PVA/EG double polymer network and ionic liquid, named POIG. It showcases outstanding tensile strength (3.01 MPa) and extensibility (820 %). POIG excels in both low and high-speed impacts, dissipating over 90 % of energy in low-speed impacts and outperforming commercial foam five times in high-speed impacts (1.4 kJ/m). The addition of an ionic liquid in POIG creates a stable, uniform, and highly ordered internal conductive structure, leading to ultra-low strain responsiveness (0.2 %), ultra-fast response times (≈10 ms), high linearity (R2 = 0.999), and excellent sensing performance. High stability is also confirmed through 4000 cycles of both tensile and compression testing. Additionally, we developed a real-time sign language recognition system using deep learning, accurately identifying ten gestures with 98.5 % accuracy. This research offers a durable and innovative organic material for future wearable technology and smart devices.

Bifunctional silver-metal organic gels with catalytic and electrochemiluminescence properties applied for ratio detection of I27L gene

The rate of maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is significantly increased by the common I27L gene variant of the hepatocyte nuclear factor-1α (HNF1A), hence achieving sensitive and precise I27L gene detection is the focus of early monitoring and diagnosis of HNF1A-MODY. In this study, we developed a silver-metal organic gels (Ag MOGs)/ K2S2O8-O2 system-based electrochemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (ECL-RET) ratio biosensor for detecting the I27L gene. The novel Ag MOGs were synthesized by simply mixing Ag+ and Luminol at ambient temperature. On the one hand, Ag MOGs could generate excellent anodic ECL signals in phosphate buffer without requiring exogenous co-reactants, which were derived from the Luminol ligand. On the other hand, Ag MOGs facilitated the electrocatalytic reduction of K2S2O8 by providing stable catalytic active sites and enhancing electron transfer rates, thereby leading to enhanced cathodic ECL emission from K2S2O8-O2. We constructed an ECL-RET ratio biosensor utilizing a DNA walker cycle amplification strategy. The biosensor leveraged the anodic ECL emission from the Ag MOGs/K2S2O8-O2 system as a donor and Atto 425 as a receptor, achieving ultra-sensitive detection of the I27L gene within a linear range of 100 amol/L to 100 pmol/L, and featuring a detection limit of 72 amol/L. Therefore, a direct synthesis technique of bifunctional materials with catalysis and electrochemiluminescence has been developed. Additionally, the ECL-RET ratio biosensor provided a universal platform for the detection of diabetes subtypes.

Scalable Production of 2D Non‐Layered Metal Oxides through Metal–Organic Gel Rapid Redox Transformation

Two‐dimensional (2D) nonlayered metal compounds with porous structure show broad application prospects in electrochemistry‐related fields due to their abundant active sites, open ions/electrons diffusion channels, and faradaic reactions. However, scalable and universal synthesis of 2D porous compounds still remains challenging. Here, inspired by blowing gum, a metal‐organic gel (MOG) rapid redox transformation (MRRT) strategy is proposed for the mass production of a wide variety of 2D porous metal oxides. Adequate crosslinking degree of MOG precursor and its rapid redox with NO3‐ are critical for generating gas pressure from interior to exterior, thus blowing the MOG into 2D carbon nanosheets, which further act as self‐sacrifice template for formation of oxides with porous and ultrathin structure. The versatility of this strategy is demonstrated by the fabrication of 39 metal oxides, including 10 transition metal oxides, one II‐main group oxide, two III‐main group oxides, 22 perovskite oxides, four high‐entropy oxides. As an illustrative verification, the 2D transition metal oxides exhibit excellent capacitive deionization (CDI) performance. Moreover, the assembled CDI cell could act as desalting battery to supply electrical energy during electrode regeneration. This MRRT strategy offers opportunities for achieving universal synthesis of 2D porous oxides with nonlayered structures and studying their electrochemistry‐related applications.

Micromechanical piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer array package enhancement with integrated frontliners

In order to improve the susceptibility of ultrasonic transducers to damage and the mismatch in acoustic impedance with test specimens, an impedance-matching layer is introduced between the transducer and the specimen. The impact of the matching layer on acoustic propagation of transducer was analyzed through acoustic field simulation. The performance of the improved transducer was experimentally evaluated by using a dedicated echo testing system for transducers. The matching layer was optimized by considering different materials. The results show that for non-metallic materials, only a layer of acoustic matching layer (organic silicone gel) can be added to achieve acoustic impedance matching and avoid wear. For metal materials, two acoustic matching layers (organic silicone gel and epoxy resin) need to be added to achieve acoustic impedance matching. The propagation efficiency of sound waves is increased by 30% as a result of this process.

Application of Organic Gel on Skin Realized by Hydrogel/Organic Gel Adhesion.

Diversity in solvent selection bestows the organic gel with appealing characteristics embracing antidrying, anti-icing, and antifouling abilities. However, organic gel, subjected to the "toxic" inherent property of solvent, is not able to be manipulated on skin. Herein, introducing the hydrogel layer amid organic gel and skin is envisaged to realize application of organic gel on skin. Hydrogel, inserted as the medium layer, works for the coupling role between skin and organic gel, also avoids the direct contact of organic gel toward skin. First, hydrogel system composed of acrylic acid is fabricated, meanwhile organic gel is prepared employing 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, ethylene glycol (EG) as solvent. Organic gel is able to adhere to hydrogel by hydrogen bonding resulting from carboxyl groups of polyacrylic acid chains and hydroxyl groups occurring on 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate or EG. Additionally, hydrogen bonding enables the hydrogel to be firmly attached to skin, thus organic gel/hydrogel/skin assembly is produced. The further application of organic gel is exploited by incorporating stimuli-responsive dyes including spiropyran and rhodamine derivative.