Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is an important high-performance thermoplastic. Its excellent strength, stiffness, toughness, fatigue resistance, biocompatibility, chemical stability and radiolucency have made PEEK attractive in dental and orthopedic applications. However, PEEK has an inherently hydrophobic and chemically inert surface, which has restricted its widespread use in clinical applications, especially in bonding with dental resin composites. Cutting edge research on novel methods to improve PEEK applications in dentistry, including oral implant, prosthodontics and orthodontics, is reviewed in this article. In addition, this article also discusses innovative surface modifications of PEEK, which are a focus area of active investigations. Furthermore, this article also discusses the necessary future studies and clinical trials for the use of PEEK in the human oral environment to investigate its feasibility and long-term performance.

In this work, silane-functionalized carbon dots with green and red emission (G-SiCDs and R-SiCDs) were prepared via a one-step solvothermal method. Red LEDs were fabricated using a combination of R-SiCDs and blue LED chips since there have been few reports on red LEDs that have carbon dots as a converter. Also, different ratios of G-SiCDs to R-SiCDs were adjusted so they could serve as optical converters in trichromatic WLEDs. Compared to G-SiCD-based dichromatic WLEDs, the color rendering index (CRI), which represents the true color of irradiated objects, of R-SiCD- and G-SiCD-based trichromatic WLEDs was found to be significantly improved from 58 to 88. The CIE coordinates of the G-SiCD- and R-SiCD-based trichromatic WLEDs were very close to and were even the same as pure white light (0.33, 0.33). G-SiCDs and R-SiCDs have a similar functional alkoxysilane group, thus they will show good compatibility and can co-condense with each other to form a 3D cross-linking structure. What's more, environmental SiCDs have the potential to be luminescent and encapsulation layers simultaneously in trichromatic WLEDs. This strategy will help to avoid traditional compatibility problems between luminescent and encapsulation materials in WLEDs. The as-prepared polymerizable SiCDs could provide a new opportunity to simplify the preparation process and improve the optical performances of WLEDs.

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has made remarkable progress in polymer materials, which has changed polymer science significantly. However, this community still relies heavily on the traditional research paradigm instead of the data-driven paradigm. This review advocates for a fundamental paradigm shift in polymer research from traditional experience-driven methods to data-driven approaches enabled by AI. While AI has made transformative advances in polymer design, property prediction, and process optimization, the field remains anchored in conventional methodologies. AI’s computational advantages against persistent barriers are also evaluated, such as data scarcity, inadequate material descriptors, and algorithmic complexity. Potential solutions, including collaborative data platforms, domain-adapted descriptor frameworks, and active learning strategies, are also discussed. Furthermore, we demonstrate how high-quality data and explainable AI methodologies overcome computational limitations while ensuring result credibility in other areas, which can benefit polymer research. Ultimately, this work provides a roadmap for accelerating the sustainable convergence of data-driven AI innovation with polymer science.

The excellent performance and wide applications of phenyl polysiloxanes are largely due to their phenyl units and monomer sequences. However, the relationship between molecular structure and material properties has not been explicitly elucidated. In this work, the sequence distribution and microstructure of random copolymers were quantitatively investigated by means of a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation combined with experimental verification. The results of ²⁹Si NMR showed that the large number of phenyl units not only shortened the length of the dimethyl units, but also significantly increased the proportion of consecutive phenyl units. The simulation results indicated the attraction between adjacent phenyl groups that were effectively strengthened intra- and inter- molecular interactions, which determined the equilibrium population of conformations and the dynamics of conformational transitions. Furthermore, the evolution of bond angle distribution, torsion distribution, and mean-squared displacements (MSD) shed light on the conformational characteristics that induce the unique thermodynamics properties and photophysical behavior of high-phenyl polysiloxanes. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamical mechanical analysis (DMA), spectrofluorimetry, and laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) were performed to verify the conclusions drawn from the simulation. Overall, the complementary use of MD simulations and experiments provided a deep molecular insight into structure–property relationships, which will provide theoretical guidance for the rational design and preparation of high-performance siloxanes.