This study focused on the preparation of poly(ε-caprolactone)/carbon nanotubes (PCL/CNTs) composite membranes via electrospinning technology and investigated their performance in oil–water separation. The effects of varying CNTs contents and spinning parameters on the structure and properties of the membrane materials were systematically studied. A highly uniform diameter distribution of the PCL fiber was achieved by using the dichloromethane/dimethylformamide (DCM/DMF) composite solvent with volume ratio of 7:3, as well as a PCL concentration of ca. 17 wt.%. The optimal electrospinning parameters were identified as an applied voltage of 18 kV and a syringe pump flow rate of 1 mL·h⁻¹, which collectively ensured uniform fiber morphology under the specified processing conditions. The critical threshold concentration of CNTs in the composite system was determined to be 1 wt.%, above which the composite fibers exhibit a significant increase in diameter heterogeneity. Both pristine PCL fibrous membranes and PCL/CNTs composite membranes demonstrated excellent and stable oil–water separation performance, with separation efficiencies consistently around 90%. Notably, no significant attenuation in separation efficiency was observed after ten consecutive separation cycles. Furthermore, when incorporating 0.5 wt.% CNTs, the PCL/CNT composite membranes exhibited a 20% increase in separation flux for heavy oils compared to pristine PCL membranes. Additionally, CNTs, as a prototypical class of nanofillers for polymer matrix reinforcement, can potentially enhance the mechanical properties of composite films, thus effectively prolonging their service life.

Nanofibers, as nucleating agents, can significantly alter the nucleation and growth dynamics of polymer crystallization, thereby modulating the morphology and structure of crystals to enhance mechanical performance of the materials. In this study, the effects of nanofibrillar nucleating agent 1,3:2,4-di(3,4-dimethylbenzylidene) sorbitol (DMDBS) content, melting temperature, and injection speed on the crystallization behavior and mechanical performance of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) were systematically investigated. The incorporation of DMDBS significantly increased the number of iPP nuclei, reduced crystal size and raised the onset crystallization temperature by approximately 11 °C. Concurrently, the tensile strength and elastic modulus of injection-molded iPP samples improved by 15% and 55%, respectively. However, a rise in the melting temperature led to a decrease in the crystallinity, tensile strength, elastic modulus, and impact strength of both neat iPP and iPP/DMDBS samples. With the increase in injection speed, the tensile strength and elastic modulus of iPP/DMDBS samples increased. During the crystallization process, DMDBS crystallizes prior to the iPP melt, forming the nanofibrillar network that effectively reduced the energy barrier for iPP crystal nucleation. Furthermore, under the influence of shear forces during processing, the presence of these nanofibrillar networks promoted the formation of oriented crystalline structures, which in turn contributed to the enhanced tensile strength and elastic modulus observed in iPP samples.

To address the inherent brittleness and insufficient wear resistance of conventional transition metal monoboride ceramics, as well as the application limitations caused by large interfacial mismatches triggered by adding heterogeneous secondary phases, we prepared (TiVCrMoW)B homology and isostructural high-entropy monoboride ceramics containing compositionally enriched isostructural microregions using spark plasma sintering. This ceramic inherits the orthorhombic Cmcm-type monoboride crystal structure. XRD analysis indicates a single phase within its detection limit, while EDS characterization reveals significant elemental segregation, forming in situ compositionally enriched isostructural microregions that are Ti-, Mo-, and W-rich. The interfaces between these regions are well bonded, and the relative density reaches 94.13%. Relying on this intrinsic microstructural architecture, the material is observed to concurrently improve hardness and toughness under the present testing conditions, achieving a Vickers hardness of 39.95 ± 4.32 GPa under a 0.5 N load and a fracture toughness of 3.39 ± 0.36 MPa·m^1/2. Under 10 N reciprocating dry friction conditions, it exhibits stable friction behavior, with a steady-state coefficient of friction maintained at 0.52 and a volume wear rate as low as (1.11 ± 0.4) ×10⁻⁶ mm³/(N·m). The wear mechanisms are primarily early-stage abrasive wear, microcrack propagation, and localized layered spalling, with no adhesive wear or brittle fracture observed. The low wear rate arises from the combined effects of lattice distortion induced by high entropy, isostructural compositional-microregion toughening caused by elemental segregation, and fine-grain-induced retardation of microcrack propagation. This work confirms that a homology isostructural compositional-microregion structure architecture can contribute to the concurrent enhancement of hardness, toughness, and wear resistance of high-entropy monoboride ceramics, and provides a promising design strategy for wear-resistant ceramics without external secondary phases based on the high-entropy strategy.

Flexible strain sensors are crucial for wearable electronics and human–machine interaction, yet simultaneously achieving high sensitivity and a broad working range remains challenging. Here, a high-performance strain sensor is developed by integrating carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) hybrid conductive networks with electrospun thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) nanofibers, followed by pre-stretching to engineer a dual-microcrack architecture. The synergistic interplay between 1D CNTs and 2D rGO stabilizes conductive pathways, while strain-regulated microcrack evolution amplifies resistance variation. The sensor delivers a wide strain range of up to 100%, with gauge factors of 75.2, 1600.5, and 7484.5 across 0–32%, 32–60%, and 60–100% strain, respectively. It further exhibits a rapid response/recovery time of 30/40 ms, a low detection limit of 0.01%, and excellent durability over 1000 cycles. Benefiting from these comprehensive superior sensing performances, the sensor can reliably monitor both subtle human physiological signals and large-amplitude human motions, demonstrating great application potential in wearable health monitoring, intelligent motion perception and human–machine interaction fields.