After montmorillonite (MTM) was first exfoliated into nanosheets as a reinforcing filler in the 1980s, layered clay became a hotspot of interest. However, to date, the exfoliation of the resource-rich and inexpensive layered MTM into high-quality nanosheets still remains a significant challenge. Herein, a simple and effective strategy to exfoliate layered MTM into mono-layered sheets via the aggregation of polyethyl–phosphate glycol ester (Exolit OP 550) is proposed. A significant decrease in exfoliation time from 120 min to 3 min was observed at room temperature only via a gentle stirring process. Moreover, various factors that reduce the viscosity of the mixture could be utilized to boost the exfoliated concentration to a record high value of 100 wt%, which is an increase of 460–2400% compared with that in other works. A tentative model was also proposed to illustrate the exfoliation mechanism based on the detection of segmental confined movement, structural evolution, and polymer-clay interaction. Particularly, the as-observed critical concentration of 200 wt% MTM indicated a saturation effect for the surface-adsorbed polymer. The critical concentration for the onset of exfoliation was 150 wt%. In addition, the structure of the exfoliated nanosheets in Exolit OP 550 underwent a temperature-sensitive and irreversible transformation. Thus, our study may provide new insight for the exfoliation of clay.

The emergence of Organ-on-a-Chip (OoC) has significantly advanced biomedical research mainly on aspects of disease modeling and drug research. The need for real-time and continuous monitoring of the OoCs has been driving the development of integrated sensors on-chip. To meet these needs across different scales, from microscopic to macroscopic, primary sensing strategies for in situ sensor integration typically include electrical, optical, and mechanical approaches. This review focuses on the detection methodologies driven by these requirements and analyzes the core sensing elements involved. It further explores current innovative pathways for achieving in situ sensing integration and discusses the future prospects brought about by the development of models in OoC and sensing technologies.

A nanochannel, based on CF₃ to break water clusters, achieves a record output power density of 4.10 W m⁻² among clay generators.