Alginate gels are an outstanding biomaterial widely applicable in tissue engineering, medicine, and pharmacy for cell transplantation, wound healing and efficient bioactive agent delivery, respectively. This contribution provides new and comprehensive insight into the atomic-resolution structure and dynamics of polyvalent ion-cross-linked alginate gels in microbead formulations. By applying various advanced solid-state NMR (ssNMR) spectroscopy techniques, we verified the homogeneous distribution of the cross-linking ions in the alginate gels and the high degree of ion exchange. We also established that the two-component character of the alginate gels arises from the concentration fluctuations of residual water molecules that are preferentially localized along polymer chains containing abundant mannuronic acid (M) residues. These hydrated M-rich blocks tend to self-aggregate into subnanometer domains. The resulting coexistence of two types of alginate chains differing in segmental dynamics was revealed by ¹H–¹³C dipolar profile analysis, which indicated that the average fluctuation angles of the stiff and mobile alginate segments were about 5–9° or 30°, respectively. Next, the ¹³C CP/MAS NMR spectra indicated that the alginate polymer microstructure was strongly dependent on the type of cross-linking ion. The polymer chain regularity was determined to systematically decrease as the cross-linking ion radius decreased. Consistent with the ¹H–¹H correlation spectra, regular structures were found for the gels cross-linked by relatively large alkaline earth cations (Ba²⁺, Sr²⁺, or Ca²⁺), whereas the alginate chains cross-linked by bivalent transition metal ions (Zn²⁺) and trivalent metal cations (Al³⁺) exhibited significant irregularities. Notably, however, the observed disordering of the alginate chains was exclusively attributed to the M residues, whereas the structurally well-defined gels all contained guluronic acid (G) residues. Therefore, a key role of the units in M-rich blocks as mediators promoting the self-assembly of alginate chains was experimentally confirmed. Finally, combining 2D ²⁷Al 3Q/MAS NMR spectroscopy with density functional theory (DFT) calculations provided previously unreported insight into the structure of the Al³⁺ cross-linking centers. Notably, even with a low residual amount of water, these cross-linking units adopt exclusively 6-fold octahedral coordination and exhibit significant motion, which considerably reduces quadrupolar coupling constants. Thus, the experimental strategy presented in this study provides a new perspective on cross-linked alginate structure and dynamics for which high-quality diffraction data at the atomic resolution level are inherently unavailable.

Although perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) have recently experienced significant progress, there are only scattered reports of PeLEDs with both high efficiency and long operational stability, calling for additional strategies to address this challenge. Here, we develop perovskite-molecule composite thin films for efficient and stable PeLEDs. The perovskite-molecule composite thin films consist of in-situ formed high-quality perovskite nanocrystals embedded in the electron-transport molecular matrix, which controls nucleation process of perovskites, leading to PeLEDs with a peak external quantum efficiency of 17.3% and half-lifetime of approximately 100 h. In addition, we find that the device degradation mechanism at high driving voltages is different from that at low driving voltages. This work provides an effective strategy and deep understanding for achieving efficient and stable PeLEDs from both material and device perspectives.

Spintronics holds great potential for next-generation high-speed and low–power consumption information technology. Recently, lead halide perovskites (LHPs), which have gained great success in optoelectronics, also show interesting magnetic properties. However, the spin-related properties in LHPs originate from the spin-orbit coupling of Pb, limiting further development of these materials in spintronics. Here, we demonstrate a new generation of halide perovskites, by alloying magnetic elements into optoelectronic double perovskites, which provide rich chemical and structural diversities to host different magnetic elements. In our iron-alloyed double perovskite, Cs₂Ag(Bi:Fe)Br₆, Fe³⁺ replaces Bi³⁺ and forms FeBr₆ clusters that homogenously distribute throughout the double perovskite crystals. We observe a strong temperature-dependent magnetic response at temperatures below 30 K, which is tentatively attributed to a weak ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic response from localized regions. We anticipate that this work will stimulate future efforts in exploring this simple yet efficient approach to develop new spintronic materials based on lead-free double perovskites.

A composite electrolyte based on a garnet electrolyte (LLZO) and polyester-based co-polymer (80:20 ε-caprolactone (CL)-trimethylene carbonate, PCL-PTMC with LiTFSI salt) is prepared. Integrating the merits of both ceramic and co-polymer electrolytes is expected to address the poor ionic conductivity and high interfacial resistance in solid-state lithium-ion batteries. The composite electrolyte with 80 wt % LLZO and 20 wt % polymer (PCL-PTMC and lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) at 72:28 wt %) exhibited a Li-ion conductivity of 1.31 × 10^–4 S/cm and a transference number (t_Li⁺) of 0.84 at 60 °C, notably higher than those of the pristine PCL-PTMC electrolyte. The prepared composite electrolyte also exhibited an electrochemical stability of up to 5.4 V vs Li⁺/Li. The interface between the composite electrolyte and a LiFePO₄ (LFP) cathode was also improved by direct incorporation of the polymer electrolyte as a binder in the cathode coating. A Li/composite electrolyte/LFP solid-state cell provided a discharge capacity of ca. 140 mAh/g and suitable cycling stability at 55 °C after 40 cycles. This study clearly suggests that this type of amorphous polyester-based polymers can be applied in polymer-in-ceramic composite electrolytes for the realization of advanced all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries.