Flexible triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have attracted increasing interest since their advent in 2012. In comparison with other flexible electrodes, hydrogels possess transparency, stretchability, biocompatibility, and tunable ionic conductivity, which together provide great potential as current collectors in TENGs for wearable applications. The development of hydrogel‐based TENGs (H‐TENGs) is currently a burgeoning field but research efforts have lagged behind those of other common flexible TENGs. In order to spur research and development of this important area, a comprehensive review that summarizes recent advances and challenges of H‐TENGs will be very useful to researchers and engineers in this emerging field. Herein, the advantages and types of hydrogels as soft ionic conductors in TENGs are presented, followed by detailed descriptions of the advanced functions, enhanced output performance, as well as flexible and wearable applications of H‐TENGs. Finally, the challenges and prospects of H‐TENGs are discussed.

The development of flexible strain sensors over the past decade has focused on accessing high strain percentages and high sensitivity (i.e., gauge factors). Strain sensors that employ capacitance as the electrical signal to correlate to strain are typically restricted in sensitivity because of the Poisson effect. By employing auxetic structures, the limits of sensitivity for capacitive sensors have been exceeded, which has improved the competitiveness of this modality of sensing. In this work, the first employment of helical auxetic yarns as capacitive sensors is presented. It is found that the response of the helical auxetic yarn capacitive sensors (termed as HACS) is dependent on the two main fabrication variables—the ratio of diameters and the helical wrapping length. Depending on these variables, sensors that respond to strain with increasing or decreasing capacitance values can be obtained. A greater auxetic character results in larger sensitivities accessible at smaller strains—a characteristic that is not commonly found when accessing high gauge factors. In addition, the highest sensitivity for auxetic capacitive sensors reported thus far is obtained. A mechanism of sensor response that explains both the variable capacitance response and the high gauge factors obtained experimentally is proposed.

In this work, a previously undescribed phenomenon of orientation-induced redox isomerism in a Langmuir monolayer is revealed in the case of cerium bis-[tetra-(15-crown-5)-phthalocyaninate]-(Ce[(15C5)₄Pc]₂). It was established that intramolecular electron transfer (IET) from the electronic system of phthalocyanine to the 4f-orbital of cerium atom occurs upon spreading of a (Ce[(15C5)₄Pc]₂) chloroform solution onto the air–water interface (3D → 2D IET). This process is related to the transformation of Ce⁴⁺ cation in the solution to Ce³⁺ in the monolayer. It was also found that reversible Ce³⁺ ↔ Ce⁴⁺ IETs occur upon compression (π₁ → π₂) and expansion (π₂ → π₁) of monolayer (2D^π1 ↔ 2D^π2 IET, π-surface pressure). The mechanism of genuine redox isomerism was confirmed by the results of in situ UV–vis spectral measurements performed on monolayers and Langmuir–Blodgett films, AFM, and XPS studies of Langmuir–Blodgett films transferred at different surface pressures. The understanding of this reversible IET mechanism is especially important due to possible applications of such redox-isomeric systems in the development of nanoscale multibit information storage devices.

This paper analyzes the prospects of studying optically anisotropic monolayers on a liquid substrate using linearly polarized light. For quantification of the electronic transmission spectra of the...

The mechanism that guides the formation of exceptionally preserved fossils with soft tissues variously displayed is a paramount challenge to paleontology. The key question for exceptional preservation is the nature of the slowdown of decay and acceleration of soft tissue mineralization. Here we report the experimental formation of subfossils of the brine shrimpArtemia salina(Crustacea, Branchiopoda), which were produced during 14 months of aging in a kaolinite clay sediment. EDS/SEM elemental analyses showed that the subfossils were preserved as thin clay-organic replicas that displayed fine anatomical details. Decomposition in the clay-colloidal solution established highly heterogeneous acidic conditions, with the lowest pH typically found in the vicinity of the buried organisms, and visually manifested in patchy coloration of the sediment. Elevated acidity is likely what ultimately slowed the decay. An acidic environment increases the rate of clay destruction and, consequently, the diffusion rate decline. As a result, the acidic products quickly accumulate around a buried body; this in turn inhibits bacterial proliferation, accelerates the acidic hydrolysis of clay and, accordingly, the release of tanning and mineralizing agents. The subfossils remained stable under experimental high pressure and temperature. These model subfossils exhibit features that are typical of some Lagerstätten fossils preserved in fine-grained sediments.