Junfei Tian

Wuhan University of Technology | WHUT · State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing

Article Efficient energy generation from a sweat-powered, wearable, MXene-based hydroelectric nanogenerator Graphical abstract Highlights d Single-layer MXene nanosheets are integrated into a wool cloth to fabricate HENGs d Sweat is used as the driving force for HENGs, enabling sustainable energy generation d Oxidized ketjen black nanoparticles in...

Mixing, homogenization, separation, and filtration are crucial processes in miniaturized analytical systems employed for in-vitro biological, environmental, and food analysis. However, in microfluidic systems achieving homogenization becomes more challenging due to the laminar flow conditions, which lack the turbulent flows typically used for mixin...

The ubiquitous and continuous natural processes of water absorption and evaporation have stimulated interest in generating electricity through the creation of a flow of electrical charge, which can then be collected and stored. However, the resultant low output power density as well as the complicated fabrication and operation processes have hinder...

3D printing technology, also known as “additive manufacturing”, can be used to design highly complex structures to produce products quickly on demand and at low cost, and has great application prospects in rapid processing. The application of biomass materials in 3D printing can significantly reduce the negative impact of petroleum based materials...

To address the problems of the high cost and cumbersome preparation process in the current construction of cholesterol sensors, a third-generation electrochemical cholesterol sensor with a facile preparation method, low cost, enhanced sensitivity, and wide linear range was investigated. The cholesterol sensor was constructed by immobilizing cholest...

PVA matrix was induced to suppress infiltration and coffee-ring effects during the colorimetric analysis on a paper substrate and was applied to improve the trace-level detection of nickel ions (Ni ²⁺ ) in environmental samples. To improve the color response, cross-linked PVA matrix was used to anchor the indicator reagent of Ni ²⁺ on the surface o...

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation is an emerging technology with promising solutions towards water scarcity. Nevertheless, many challenges remain in realizing its implementation including inefficient utilization of thermal energy and difficult to scale production. Herein, we develop a simple, low-cost and scale-producible photothermal material f...

This study reports a novel strategy to fabricate a third-generation glucose sensor on screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE). The direct electron transfer (DET) between glucose oxidase (GOx) and SPCE was accomplished by immobilization of GOx in poly (3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) functionalized electrodes. The use of PEDOT relaxed the requir...

A promising strategy to use alkali and alkaline earth metals chloride as an ideal high-efficiency atmospheric moisture catcher has been introduced in hygroelectric generator (HEG) engineering. However, the achievement of high output power density for commercial electronics by most HEGs is challenging. To address this issue, a novel approach is prop...

Conductive hydrogel flexible sensors have attracted considerable research interest because of their good conductivity, flexibility, and biocompatibility. However, conventional hydrogels suffer from dehydration under ambient environments and freezing at low temperatures. Herein, we prepared a chitin/polyacrylamide organohydrogel with highly stretcha...

Background The screening of biological hazards, chemical contaminants and allergens in food products is a major concern of food industry since they can cause serious illnesses and even lead to death. Therefore, there is a significant interest in developing low-cost, robust, and rapid detection methods for food safety and quality analysis. Conventio...

The use of functional biodegradable wastes to treat environmental problems would create minimal extra burden to our environment. In this paper, we propose a sustainable and practical strategy to turn spent coffee ground (SCG) into a multifunctional palladium-loaded catalyst for water treatment instead of going into landfill as solid waste. Bleached...

Xylan is the primary hemicellulose in most hardwood species, especially in birch. Research has highlighted the exploitation of xylans as a strength-enhancing additive to paper due to the current trend for the effective utilization of biomass. In this paper, a new pulping process was proposed, which involved the extraction of xylan prior to pulping,...

Spent coffee ground (SCG), left over in coffee making, is the most abundant coffee byproduct, of which approximately 70% is made by cellulose and hemicellulose. Herein, we obtained a delignified SCG (D-SCG) by using an aqueous solution of 3 wt% NaOH for 1 h at 90 °C and then an aqueous solution of 3 wt% NaClO2 buffered with acetic acid at pH 4.3 fo...

In this work, two kinds of water-soluble chitosan derivatives (succinylated chitosan and hydroxypropyl chitosan) were used as substrates to prepare indicator label for detecting CO2 concentration. The mixed-dyes of bromocresol blue and methyl red indicators were investigated and the results of SEM test revealed that the mixed indicator could be uni...

Ionic skin with a high performance has been extensively explored due to its ability to convert external stimuli into obvious electrical signals for wearable electronics and intelligent detection. However, due to the unmatched Young's moduli between the elastic substrate and the conductive layer, rapidly manufacturing durable ionic skin with ultrase...

A low-cost and portable paper-based analytical device has been developed for high throughput and on-site monitoring TC residue in milk through visualized colorimetric reaction. The filtration and concentration effect induced by the porous nature of paper contribute to strengthen the color intensity, leading to quantitative and sensitive detection o...

Functional fillers in three-dimensional (3D) printing composite filaments offer an innovative way spent coffee grounds (SCGs) can be reused. However, the inherent brownness of SCGs places a limit on the color in which the composite filament and, consequently, the finished print appears. Herein, colored composite filaments for fused deposition model...

Conductive elastomers (CEs)with strong mechanical properties have been fabricated and used in flexible electronics. However, the development of CEs with both super-high mechanical strength and extreme stretchability remains challenging. This paper reports on the development of a series of mechanically strong and tough CEs based on photopolymerizabl...

Oil wastes pose an enormous threat to aquatic ecosystems, and environmental and economic demands emphasize the importance of affordable and sustainable oil absorbents. To tackle this issue, we propose the repurposing of abundant and low-cost cuttlebone from the ocean to address oil spills for the ocean. By the simple, successive deposition of polyd...

Nanocellulose paper-based transparent conducting materials, one of the important components of the main green electronics in the future, have been considered as one of the most exciting parts to play salient roles in next-generation flexible electronic devices. It remains a challenge to facilely fabricate highly transparent conducting nanopaper mat...

In this paper, nanochitin was used as an alternative natural nanomaterial to combine with cellulose fibers for fabricating high-strength paper. Two typical chitin nanowhiskers having contrasting sign of surface charge were compared to evaluate the enhancement performance on paper in details. The results show that nanochitin with positive charges on...

Nanocomposite hydrogels consisting of a synthetic matrix reinforced by nanosized crystalline polysaccharides offer significant potential in various fields. Different from nanocellulose, the combination of nanochitin with synthetic polymers to obtain nanocomposite hydrogels has not been extensively and systematically studied. Herein, a physically an...

We report a rapid fabrication strategy of highly transparent piezoresistive balls with excellent pressure-sensitivity and toughness by photopolymerization of polymerizable deep eutectic solvents. By careful design and integration, a number...

It is a challenge to synthesize all-in-one molecular networks that are autonomously self-healable over a wide temperature range (from subzero to high), transparent, stretchable and conductive. Here we demonstrate the fabrication of self-healing, transparent, conductive and highly stretchable elastomers by a photoinitiated copolymerization of two po...

To extend the applications of natural polymer-based hydrogels to wearable sensors, it is both important and a great challenge to improve their mechanical and electrical performance. In this work, highly stretchable, strain-sensitive, and ionic-conductive cellulose-based hydrogels (CHs) were prepared by random copolymerization of allyl cellulose and...

Red blood cells (RBCs), the most abundant cellular component in whole blood, are an important health indicator, and the morphology and behavior of RBCs on porous paper substrates plays a key role in the interpretation of the diagnostic results of paper-based blood analysis. The wetting of paper by a blood sample containing dispersed RBCs drives the...

In this study, a series of conductive composite wires were successfully prepared by combining dispersions of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibers (TOCNFs) with different MWCNTs contents into a dispersion of partially deacetylated α-chitin nanofibers (α-DECHNs) followed with a drying process. The TOCNFs/MWCNTs...

Accurate quantification method with wide linearity spanning range is paramount in the development of low-cost, portable and point-of-care sensors. This work reports a new approach to analyze the colorimetric assays on paper-based sensors by the quantification from light transmission. Instead of the commonly-developed color intensity measurement on...

Developing green substrates based on cellulose to substitute synthetic plastics meet the requirement for the sustainable future. However, cellulose-based substrates supporting for building electronic devices are usually opaque and highly hydrophilic, which ultimately limits the performance of optoelectronic devices. Herein, we report a new avenue f...

Nanopaper prepared from cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) is a kind of promising substrate for various high-tech devices. However, several drawbacks including poor water stability and weak corrosion resistance still remain, which limit the practical applications of the nanopaper. Herein, we present a simple and low-cost method for fabricating transparent...

Stretchable and anti-freezing conductive hydrogels, especially prepared from natural polymers, are beneficial for important and rapidly growing stretchable electronic devices. Unfortunately, the potential value of the pure natural polymer-based hydrogel in such applications is very limited because of its poor mechanical behaviour and inevitable fre...

Stretchable and compressible hydrogels based on natural polymers have received immense considerations for electronics. The feasibility of using pure natural polymer-based hydrogels could be improved, if their mechanical behaviors satisfy the requirements of practical applications. Herein, we report highly stretchable (tensile strain ~126%) and comp...

The development of paper-based diagnostics should provide facile fabrication and user-friendliness. A promising solution is to obviate hydrophobic barriers and display intuitive results. Herein, we report a novel “Pen-Writing” technique for providing hydrophobic barrier-free patterned biosensor fabrication and user-friendly bioassay operation. We f...

A series of highly porous and biocompatible poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels containing partially deacetylated α-chitin nanowhiskers (ChWs) were fabricated by the double-cross-link (DC) with glutaraldehyde (GA) and repeating freeze-thawing cycle. Then these hydrogels were used as carrier for bovine serum albumin (BSA), which served as the model...

Patterned paper sensors such as letter- and barcode-shaped sensors have become a subject of growing interest due to the potential in information embedding and data interpretation, which brings a requirement on easily fabricating these paper-based analytical devices. The answer, in part, may lie in the influence of paper structure on the performance...

Photoluminescent materials have been widely used in anti-counterfeiting and security field due to their unique performance of better security, easy identification and difficulty to duplication. Herein, we present a facile and versatile strategy to fabricate biomass-based composites comprised of lanthanide rare earth ions-doped nanocrystals and cell...

A highly transparent self-cleaning superhydrophobic surface was constructed via a facile and environmentally friendly strategy by using biomass-based polyurethane and fused SiO2 nanoparticles. By simply controlling the amounts of castor oil (CO) and SiO2 the coating presented excellent superhydrophobic with high water contact angle (158.5°) and low...

The use of natural materials to solve environmental problems will not increase extra burden on global environment. In this paper, we describe a natural, recyclable and low-cost method for terminating methane bubbles under water before it releasing into atmosphere. The cellulose aerogel with porous structure and large surface area was fabricated via...

We report a green fabrication of conductive paper based on in-situ polymerization of polymerizable deep eutectic solvents (PDESs) through a screen printing process. By pre-designed circuit paths and careful integration,...

The paper intended to research the influences of paper in UV ink-jet printer, mainly including the height and glossiness. Results proved that infiltrations had all appeared between three selected substrates of paper, on which the paper roughness and bulkiness had a linear effect. And the infiltration on the first layer of ink was bigger than those...

A novel multivalent cations-triggered shape memory hydrogels were synthesized in a one-pot method, and interpenetrating double network was formed by chemically cross-linked polyacrylamide (PAM) network and physically cross-linked sodium carboxymethyl cellulose network. The temporary shape was fixed by complexation between a native biopolymer, sodiu...

Transparent, conductive elastomer is an emerging platform for stretchable electronics, attractive due to its ability to sustain high physical deformations while still fulfills optical/electrical functions. Poly (deep eutectic solvents, DESs) can serve as a new type of transparent, conductive elastomer as a result of their low cost, green fabricatio...

Conductive paper owns low-cost, lightweight, sustainable, easy to scale-up and tailorable advantages, allowing for its promising potential in flexible electronics, such as bendable supercapacitors, solar cells, electromagnetic shields and actuators. Ionic gels, exhibiting a lower Young's modulus together with facile manufacturing, can fully serve a...

TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibers/polyacrylamide/gelatin shape memory hydrogels were successfully fabricated through a facile in-situ free-radical polymerization method, and double network was formed by chemically cross-linked polyacrylamide (PAM) network and physically cross-linked gelatin network. TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibers (TOCNs) wer...

The paper studied effect of different basic weight of paper and width of hydrophilic channel on microfluidic devices fabricated by UV inkjet printing. Then, we made 4 different basic weight of paper and tested free diffusion length of liquid on paper that we initially made. Next, we designed a pattern which contains 4 different width of hydrophilic...

A facile and environmentally friendly method was reported for the fabrication of superhydrophobic steel mesh by depositing with dual-scale [email protected]/* */ ([email protected]/* */2) particles coated with hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS), which provided 3D multi-scale hierarchical rough surface structure with low surface energy to perform the...

In this paper, we reported castor oil based biothiol (CO-SH) as a good stability and self-initiated oligomer for photoinitiator (PI)-free UV coating. CO-SH was synthesized via esterification reaction between castor oil (CO) and 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA). The results of both proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) and Fourier transform infra...

A series of thioxanthone dicarboxamide derivatives (TX-DCAs) containing hydrogen donors as one-component photoinitiators (PIs) have been prepared. In particular, the photoreactivity of these PIs was remarkably improved due to the covalent binding of the N-phthalimido derivative and type II chromophore thioxanthone. These derivatives exhibit interes...

In this paper, UV-curable castor oil-based polyfunctional polyurethane acrylate (COME-PUA) was synthesized via photo-click chemistry and isocyanate polyurethane reaction. Facile and highly efficient side-chain functionalization of castor oil (CO) was first achieved via thiol-ene photo-click chemistry with β-mercaptoethanol (ME). 1H NMR result indic...

In this paper, we present a simple printable two-dimensional micro-ring plate for spot assays in low-resource settings. Each micro-zone on the overhead transparency contains a hydrophilic center restricted by a superhydrophobic ring. The zone can be fully wetted by a small amount of aqueous sample (0.5 μl) and can also hold a large volume up to 100...

Cellulose paper specimens with and without surface modification were compared in order to study their physicochemical compatibility with quantum dots (QDs) for biochemical sensing applications. Silane and chitosan modification methods were applied. The distribution of QDs deposited on untreated paper and papers modified with silane and chitosan wer...

Our recent research on bioactive paper has focused on developing paper-based blood analysis devices for use in resource-limited regions. We have successfully designed a series of paper-based blood typing devices that can report the test result accurately, rapidly and in a user-friendly manner and have validated these devices in the laboratory. Here...

As a potential platform for point-of-care clinical analyses and environment monitoring, paper biosensors have received considerable attention. In many cases, the conjugation of biomolecules onto paper surface is crucial for increasing the functionalities of paper-based bioanalytical devices. Until now, it is sometimes argued as in the literature th...

For all user-operated blood typing devices in today’s market, including those designed by us in our previous research, a buffer-activation or buffer-washing step is required. The buffer-activation step, as is employed in some commercial blood typing devices, involves dissolving the antibodies deposited in the assaying zones of the device before the...

This study introduced a barcode-like design into paper-based blood typing device by integrating with smartphone-based technology. The concept of presenting paper-based blood typing assay in a barcode-like pattern significantly enhanced the adaptability of the assay to the smartphone technology. The fabrication of this device involved the use of pri...

A method of fabricating a microfluidic system having microfluidic channels on a surface of a hydrophilic substrate, the method including the steps of: hydrophobizing the substrate surface; locating a mask defining the substrate surface, the mask having open areas defining the periphery of the microfluidic channels; and applying an irradiation treat...

This study investigated the stability of the primary blood typing antibodies (Anti-A, Anti-B and Anti-D IgM) on paper. This knowledge is critical to manufacture a new type of paper-based blood typing device where blood group antibodies must be kept active on paper for extended periods. Two strategies were explored. The first involved mixing additiv...

Enzyme horseradish peroxidase was immobilized on mesoporous silica nanorods to fabricate enzymatic bioactive papers with increased bio-stability. The new bioactive papers based on the immobilized enzyme have tremendously high stability both at room temperature and at 37 �C, in contrast to the low stability of conventional bioactive papers using fre...

Recent research on the use of bioactive paper for human blood typing has led to the discovery of a new method for identifying the haemagglutination of red blood cells (RBCs). When a blood sample is introduced onto paper treated with the grouping antibodies, RBCs undergo haemagglutination with the corresponding grouping antibodies, forming agglutina...

Recent studies on liquid marble applications have shown the possibilities of using liquid marbles as biochemical or biological reactors. These potential applications of liquid marbles generate further interests in the investigation of materials and energy transport between liquid marbles to enable the control and manipulation of the biochemical and...

A liquid marble has a porous and superhydrophobic shell, which prevents the liquid core within the marble from making any contact with outside surfaces, but at the same time allows gases to transport freely across the shell. In this study we demonstrated the use of this unique property of liquid marbles to build respirable micro-biological reactors...

This paper reports a potential method that can restore the wettability of bioactive paper-based sensors while maintaining their bioactivity. This study is driven by the need to increase the wettability of the antibody-loaded blood typing paper devices in order to increase the blood typing assaying speed using such paper devices. Plasma treatment is...

A response in writting: A low-cost bioactive paper device is designed to perform ABO and RhD blood typing tests, and the paper reports the results in writing. This idea was inspired by the vision of the British author, J. K. Rowling, through her novel "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" in which a piece of paper could be interrogated for info...

Eine klare Antwort: Ein kostengünstiges bioaktives Testpapier zur Bluttypisierung (AB0 und RhD) wurde entwickelt (siehe Bild). Die Idee ist von J. K. Rowlings ,,Harry Potter und die Kammer des Schreckens“ inspiriert, wo ein Stück Papier nach Informationen gefragt wird und die Antwort direkt auf dem Papier geschrieben steht.

Recent reports on using bio-active paper and bio-active thread to determine human blood type have shown a tremendous potential of using these low-cost materials to build bio-sensors for blood diagnosis. In this work we focus on understanding the mechanisms of red blood cell agglutination in the antibody-loaded paper. We semi-quantitatively evaluate...

The use of liquid marbles as micro-bioreactors for blood typing assays inside liquid marbles is explored by Wei Shen and co-workers on page 80. The haemagglutination reaction is initiated by injecting the relevant antibody into a marble of a blood sample. The reaction is signified by the separation of agglutinated red blood cells to the lower part...

A liquid marble micro- bioreactor is used to conduct blood typing as a typical biological assay. This study portrays the potential of using such microreactors for biochemical and biological analysis.

In this study we report a new concept of printing low-cost two-dimensional micro-zone plates for chemical and biochemical assays and ELISA. It is different from the concept of forming multi-zone micro-zones on paper by hydrophobic barriers first reported by Yagoda. Instead, the desired multi-zone micro-zone pattern was first printed using a UV-cura...

We used relief and planographic printing methods to print the catalytic effect of an enzyme, but not the enzyme molecules, onto paper. Printing enzymatic reactions have applications in bioactive papers, low-cost diagnostics, anti-counterfeiting devices and advanced packaging materials. These methods can create novel printing effects on commodity su...

This paper describes the first approach at combining paper microfluidics with electrochemiluminescent (ECL) detection. Inkjet printing is used to produce paper microfluidic substrates which are combined with screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) to create simple, cheap, disposable sensors which can be read without a traditional photodetector. The sensin...

The hydrophobic shell of a liquid marble prevents direct contact of the liquid core of the marble with any condensed phases (i.e. solid or liquid) outside the marble, but allows gas and vapour to diffuse across the shell. This property of a liquid marble naturally enables it to discriminately absorb or emit gaseous and vaporous compounds across its...

In this study we investigate the liquid sample delivery speed and the efficiency of microfluidic channels for low-cost and low-volume diagnostic devices driven only by capillary forces. We select open, non-porous surface grooves with a V-shaped cross section for modeling study and for sensor design. Our experimental data of liquid wicking in V-groo...

The porous and superhydrophobic shell of a liquid marble prevents contact of its liquid core with outside surfaces, but allows gas transport. Liquid marble can therefore be used to sense gas or emit gas. Liquid marbles loaded with different indicators can simultaneously sense different gases via different mechanisms.

In this paper, we report the progress in using paper sizing chemistry to fabricate patterned paper for chemical and biological sensing applications. Patterned paper sizing uses paper sizing agents to selectively hydrophobize certain area of a sheet. The hydrophilic-hydrophobic contrast of the pattern so created has an excellent ability to control c...

A novel method for the fabrication of paper-based microfluidic diagnostic devices is reported; it consists of selectively hydrophobizing paper using cellulose reactive hydrophobization agents. The hydrophilic-hydrophobic contrast of patterns so created has excellent ability to control capillary penetration of aqueous liquids in paper channels. Inco...

This paper describes a new and simple concept for fabricating low-cost, low-volume, easy-to-use microfluidic devices using threads. A thread can transport liquid via capillary wicking without the need of a barrier; as it is stainable, it is also a desirable material for displaying colorimetric results. When used in sewing, threads have 3D passagewa...

A method of fabricating a microfluidic system having microfluidic channels on a surface of a hydrophilic substrate, the method including the steps of: hydrophobizing the substrate surface; locating a mask defining the substrate surface, the mask having open areas defining the periphery of the microfluidic channels; and applying an irradiation treat...