Insight into the Feasibility of Fatty Acyl Chlorides with 10-18 Carbons for the Ball-Milling Synthesis of Thermoplastic Cellulose Esters.

Fatty acid cellulose esters (FACE) are common cellulose-based thermoplastics, and their thermoplasticity is determined by both the contents and the lengths of the side chains. Herein, various FACE were synthesized by the ball-milling esterification of cellulose and fatty acyl chlorides containing 10-18 carbons, and their structures and thermoplasticity were thoroughly studied. The results showed that FACE with high degrees of substitution (DS) and low melting flow temperatures (Tf) were achieved as the chain lengths of the fatty acyl chlorides were reduced. In particular, a cellulose decanoate with a DS of 1.85 and a Tf of 186 °C was achieved by feeding 3 mol of decanoyl chloride per mole anhydroglucose units of cellulose. However, cellulose stearate (DS = 1.53) synthesized by the same protocols cannot melt even at 250 °C. More interestingly, the fatty acyl chlorides with 10 and 12 carbons resulted in FACE with superior toughness (elongation at break up to 94.4%). In contrast, due to their potential crystallization of the fatty acyl groups with 14-18 carbons, the corresponding FACE showed higher tensile strength and Young's modulus than the others. This study provides some theoretical basis for the mechanochemical synthesis of thermoplastic FACE with designated properties.

Polypyrrole@CNT@PU Conductive Sponge-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Human Motion Monitoring and Self-Powered Ammonia Sensing.

Elastic sponges are ideal materials for triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) to harvest irregular and random mechanical energy from the environment. However, the conductive design of the elastic materials in TENGs often limits its applications. In this work, we have demonstrated that an elastic conductive sponge can be used as the triboelectric layer and electrode for TENGs. Such an elastic conductive sponge is prepared by a simple way of adsorbing multiwalled carbon nanotubes and monomers of pyrrole to grow conductive polypyrroles on the surface of an elastic polyurethane (PU) sponge. Due to the porous structure of the PU sponge and the conductive multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), PPy on the surface of PU could provide a large contact area to improve the output performance of TENGs, and the conductive sponge-based TENG could generate an output of open-circuit voltage of 110 V or a short-circuit current of 12 µA, respectively. The good flexibility of the conductive PU sponge makes the TENG harvest the kinetic energy of disordered motion with different amplitudes, allowing for human motion monitoring. Furthermore, the porous structure of PU and the synergistic effects of PPy and MWCNTs enable the conductive sponge to sense NH3 as a self-powered NH3 sensor. This work offers a simple way to construct a flexible TENG system for random mechanical energy harvesting, human motion monitoring, and self-powered NH3 sensing.

Hierarchically Porous Implants Orchestrating a Physiological Viscoelastic and Piezoelectric Microenvironment for Bone Regeneration.

The extracellular matrix microenvironment of bone tissue comprises several physiological cues. Thus, artificial bone substitute materials with a single cue are insufficient to meet the demands for bone defect repair. Regeneration of critical-size bone defects remains challenging in orthopedic surgery. Intrinsic viscoelastic and piezoelectric cues from collagen fibers play crucial roles in accelerating bone regeneration, but scaffolds or implants providing integrated cues have seldom been reported. In this study, it is aimed to design and prepare hierarchically porous poly(methylmethacrylate)/polyethyleneimine/poly(vinylidenefluoride) composite implants presenting a similar viscoelastic and piezoelectric microenvironment to bone tissue via anti-solvent vapor-induced phase separation. The viscoelastic and piezoelectric cues of the composite implants for human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell line stimulate and activate Piezo1 proteins associated with mechanotransduction signaling pathways. Cortical and spongy bone exhibit excellent regeneration and integration in models of critical-size bone defects on the knee joint and femur in vivo. This study demonstrates that implants with integrated physiological cues are promising artificial bone substitute materials for regenerating critical-size bone defects.

Metal-Organic Framework Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator for a Self-Powered Methanol Sensor with High Sensitivity and Selectivity.

Triboelectric nanogenerators have shown great potential in the area of self-powered gas sensors in the past decade. In this paper, we developed a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) based on spiky structured ZIF-8@ZnO, which can harvest energy with high efficiency and act as a self-powered methanol sensor. The open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current generated by a ZIF-8@ZnO-based TENG is 58 V and 10 µA, achieving 2.4 times and 3.3 times enhancement compared to ZnO-based TENGs. The TENG can charge capacitors fast and light up at least 40 LEDs. ZIF-8@ZnO-based TENGs show good sensitivity and selectivity to methanol gas at room temperature due to the porous structure provided by ZIF-8 and the heterostructure of ZIF-8@ZnO. The response of ZIF-8@ZnO-based TENG to methanol reaches 30.35% at 100 ppm with excellent response (∼5.9 s) and recovery time (∼2.2 s). This work demonstrates the application of MOF-modified metal oxide semiconductors based on a self-powered gas sensor and proposes a promising solution to enhance the output performance and sensing properties of TENGs based on metal oxide semiconductors.

Janus and Heteromodulus Elastomeric Fiber Mats Feature Regulable Stress Redistribution for Boosted Strain Sensing Performance.

Wearable strain sensors have huge potential for applications in healthcare, human-machine interfacing, and augmented reality systems. However, the nonlinear response of the resistance signal to strain has caused considerable difficulty and complexity in data processing and signal transformation, thus impeding their practical applications severely. Herein, we propose a simple way to achieve linear and reproducible resistive signals responding to strain in a relatively wide strain range for flexible strain sensors, which is achieved via the fabrication of Janus and heteromodulus elastomeric fiber mats with micropatterns using microimprinting second processing technology. In detail, both isotropic and anisotropic fiber mats can turn into Janus fiber mats with periodical and heteromodulus micropatterns via controlling the fiber fusion and the diffusion of local macromolecular chains of thermoplastic elastomers. The Janus heterogeneous microstructure allows for stress redistribution upon stretching, thus leading to lower strain hysteresis and improved linearity of resistive signal. Moreover, tunable sensing performance can be achieved by tailoring the size of the micropatterns on the fiber mat surface and the fiber anisotropy. The Janus mat strain sensors with high signal linearity and good reproducibility have a very low strain detection limit, enabling potential applications in human-machine interfacing and intelligent control fields if combined with a wireless communication module.

A Wave-Driven Piezoelectrical Film for Interfacial Steam Generation: Beyond the Limitation of Hydrogel.

Solar interfacial vapor generation based on low evaporation energy requirements is an effective technology to speed up water purification under natural sunlight, offering great potential to alleviate the current global water crisis. The external electric field and hydrogel are two independent methods enabling low-energy water evaporation. However, the complicated external equipment for generating an electric field and the restricted activation area of hydrogels significantly limit their practical application in steam generation. Thus, a piezoelectric fiber membrane is embedded into a highly hydratable light-absorbing poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel for synergistic water activation. The integrated evaporator is capable of continuously converting the wave energy reserved in the ocean into electrical energy, activating the water in the hydrogel. It is found that the activation effect leads to an improvement of over 23% compared to a non-piezoelectric hydrogel evaporator. This work provides an evaporation prototype based on the synergistic water activation of wave-triggered electricity and highly hydratable hydrogel.

Vitrimeric Polylactide by Two-step Alcoholysis and Transesterification during Reactive Processing for Enhanced Melt Strength.

Because of its rather low melt strength, polylactide (PLA) has yet to fulfill its promise as advanced biobased and biodegradable foams to replace fossil-based polymer foams. In this work, PLA vitrimers were prepared by two-step reactive processing from commercial PLA thermoplastics, glycerol, and diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) using Zn(II)-catalyzed addition and transesterification chemistry. The transesterification reaction of PLA and glycerol occurs with zinc acetate as the catalyst, and chain scission will take place due to the alcoholysis of the PLA chains by the free hydroxyl groups from the glycerol. Long-chain PLA with hydroxyl groups can be obtained and then cross-linked with MDI. Rheological analysis shows that the formed cross-linked network can significantly improve melt strength and promote strain hardening under extensional flow. PLA vitrimers still maintain the ability of thermoplastic processing via extrusion and compression. The enhanced melt strength and the rearrangement of network topology facilitate the foaming processing. An expansion ratio as large as 49.2-fold and microcellular foam with a uniform cell morphology can be obtained for PLA vitrimers with a gel fraction of 51.8% through a supercritical carbon dioxide foaming technique. This work provides a new way with the scale-up possibility to enhance the melt strength of PLA, and the broadened range of PLA applicability brought by PLA vitrimers is truly valuable in terms of the realization of a sustainable society.

A Case Series of Olfactory Dysfunction in Imported COVID-19 Patients: A 12-Month Follow-Up Study.

Objective: The scientific community knows little about the long-term influence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on olfactory dysfunction (OD). With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing worldwide, the risk of imported cases remains high. In China, it is necessary to understand OD in imported cases. Methods: A prospective follow-up design was adopted. A total of 11 self-reported patients with COVID-19 and OD from Xi'an No. 8 Hospital were followed between August 19, 2021, and December 12, 2021. Demographics, clinical characteristics, laboratory and radiological findings, and treatment outcomes were analyzed at admission. We surveyed the patients via telephone for recurrence and sequelae at the 1-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up. Results: Eleven patients with OD were enrolled; of these, 54.5% (6/11) had hyposmia and 45.5% (5/11) had anosmia. 63.6% (7/11) reported OD before or on the day of admission as their initial symptom; of these, 42.9% (3/7) described OD as the only symptom. All patients in the study received combined treatment with traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, and 72.7% (8/11) had partially or fully recovered at discharge. In terms of OD recovery at the 12-month follow-up, 45.5% (5/11) reported at least one sequela, 81.8% (9/11) had recovered completely, 18.2% (2/11) had recovered partially, and there were no recurrent cases. Conclusions: Our data revealed that OD frequently presented as the initial or even the only symptom among imported cases. Most OD improvements occurred in the first 2 weeks after onset, and patients with COVID-19 and OD had favorable treatment outcomes during long-term follow-up. A better understanding of the pathogenesis and appropriate treatment of OD is needed to guide clinicians in the care of these patients.

Self-Sensing Actuators Based on a Stiffness Variable Reversible Shape Memory Polymer Enabled by a Phase Change Material.

Soft actuators with integrated mechanical and actuation properties and self-sensing ability are still a challenge. Herein, a stiffness variable polyolefin elastomer (POE) with a reversible shape memory effect is prepared by introducing a typical phase change material, i.e., paraffin wax (PW). It is found that the variable stiffness of POE induced by PW can balance the reversible strain and load-bearing capability of actuators. Especially, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are concentrated in a thin surface layer by spraying and hot pressing in the soft state of POE/PW blends, providing signal transductions for the strain and temperature perception for actuators. Taking advantage of tunable reversible deformation and mechanical transformation of the POE/PW actuator, different biomimetic robotics, including grippers with high load-bearing capability (weight-lifting ratio > 146), walking robots that can sense angles of joints, and high-temperature warning robots are demonstrated. A scheme combining the variable stiffness and electrical properties provides a versatile strategy to integrate actuation performance and self-sensing ability, inspiring the development of multifunctional composite designs for soft robotics.

Macromolecule Relaxation Directed 3D Nanofiber Architecture in Stretchable Fibrous Mats for Wearable Multifunctional Sensors.

Elastomer fiber mat sensors, which are capable of perceiving mechanical stimuli, temperature, and vapor of chemicals, are highly desirable for designing wearable electronics and human-robot interfacing devices due to good wearability, skin affinity, and durability, and so on. However, it is still challenging to fabricate multiresponsive flexible wearable sensors with three-dimensional (3D) architecture using simple material and structure design. Herein, we report an all-in-one multiresponsive thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) nanofiber mat sensors composed of crimped elastomer fibers with deposited platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) on the fiber surface. The 1D TPU nanofibers could be transferred to nanofibers with different 3D nanofiber architectures by controllable macromolecular chain relaxation of aligned elastomer polymers upon poor solvent annealing. The conductive networks of PtNPs on wavy TPU fibers enable the sensor susceptible to multiple stimuli like strain/pressure, humidity, and organic vapors. Besides, the 3D nanofiber architectures allow the strain sensor to detect wider tensile strain and pressure with higher sensitivity due to delicate fiber morphology and structure control. Therefore, this work provides new insights into the fabrication of multifunctional flexible sensors with 3D architecture in an easy way, advancing the establishment of a multiple signal monitoring platform for the health care and human-machine interfacing.

A hierarchically combined reduced graphene oxide/Nickel oxide hybrid supercapacitor device demonstrating compliable flexibility and high energy density.

This work demonstrates a hierarchical structure design with mixed holey graphene oxide (HGO) and Ni(OH)2 active material layer made by one-pot hydrothermal reaction clinging to Nickel foam as backbone and ice-template oriented graphene oxide (GO) aerogel as filling, aiming to create an asymmetric solid supercapacitor (ASC) device with compliable flexibility and high electrochemical performance. The effects of hydrothermal treatment and ice-template freezing parameters on electrochemical stability under repeated exterior deformation are discussed, the optimal parameters result in a high areal capacitance of 479.8 mF/cm2 in asymmetric supercapacitor device setup. The use of porous HGO and oriented GO aerogel synergistically contribute to the high energy and power density up to 1.69 Wh/m2 and 9 W/m2 as well as excellent electrochemical performance retention under repeated curving deformation which reaches 102% thanks to a novel activation process. The electrode assembly including metal foam and the buffering GO aerogel should be instructive for future supercapacitor design.

3- to 24-month Follow-up on COVID-19 with Pulmonary Tuberculosis Survivors after Discharge: Results from a Prospective, Multicenter Study.

Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and tuberculosis (TB) are major public health and social issues worldwide. The long-term follow-up of COVID-19 with pulmonary TB (PTB) survivors after discharge is unclear. This study aimed to comprehensively describe clinical outcomes, including sequela and recurrence at 3, 12, and 24 months after discharge, among COVID-19 with PTB survivors. Methods: From January 22, 2020 to May 6, 2022, with a follow-up by August 26, 2022, a prospective, multicenter follow-up study was conducted on COVID-19 with PTB survivors after discharge in 13 hospitals from four provinces in China. Clinical outcomes, including sequela, recurrence of COVID-19, and PTB survivors, were collected via telephone and face-to-face interviews at 3, 12, and 24 months after discharge. Results: Thirty-two COVID-19 with PTB survivors were included. The median age was 52 (45, 59) years, and 23 (71.9%) were men. Among them, nearly two-thirds (62.5%) of the survivors were moderate, three (9.4%) were severe, and more than half (59.4%) had at least one comorbidity (PTB excluded). The proportion of COVID-19 survivors with at least one sequela symptom decreased from 40.6% at 3 months to 15.8% at 24 months, with anxiety having a higher proportion over a follow-up. Cough and amnesia recovered at the 12-month follow-up, while anxiety, fatigue, and trouble sleeping remained after 24 months. Additionally, one (3.1%) case presented two recurrences of PTB and no re-positive COVID-19 during the follow-up period. Conclusion: The proportion of long symptoms in COVID-19 with PTB survivors decreased over time, while nearly one in six still experience persistent symptoms with a higher proportion of anxiety. The recurrence of PTB and the psychological support of COVID-19 with PTB after discharge require more attention.

Recent Advances in Multiresponsive Flexible Sensors towards E-skin: A Delicate Design for Versatile Sensing.

Multiresponsive flexile sensors with strain, temperature, humidity, and other sensing abilities serving as real electronic skin (e-skin) have manifested great application potential in flexible electronics, artificial intelligence (AI), and Internet of Things (IoT). Although numerous flexible sensors with sole sensing function have already been reported since the concept of e-skin, that mimics the sensing features of human skin, was proposed about a decade ago, the ones with more sensing capacities as new emergences are urgently demanded. However, highly integrated and highly sensitive flexible sensors with multiresponsive functions are becoming a big thrust for the detection of human body motions, physiological signals (e.g., skin temperature, blood pressure, electrocardiograms (ECG), electromyograms (EMG), sweat, etc.) and environmental stimuli (e.g., light, magnetic field, volatile organic compounds (VOCs)), which are vital to real-time and all-round human health monitoring and management. Herein, this review summarizes the design, manufacturing, and application of multiresponsive flexible sensors and presents the future challenges of fabricating these sensors for the next-generation e-skin and wearable electronics.

Interfacial Radiation-Absorbing Hydrogel Film for Efficient Thermal Utilization on Solar Evaporator Surfaces.

Solar water purification is a promising technology with a strong potential for producing fresh water without effluent discharge. For energy-intensive interfacial vapor generation, energy loss to air via heat radiation and convection occurs commonly but is normally ignored, which severely limits the energy efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to precisely regulate the interfacial thermal energy for interfacial vapor generation. Here, we developed a hierarchically porous radiation-absorbing hydrogel film (hp-RAH) through an in situ gelation strategy and employed this hp-RAH on various existing solar evaporator surfaces. The hydrogel film efficiently absorbs and reutilizes the thermal radiation energy emitted by the photothermal layer and eradicates thermal convection of the photothermal layer into air. In this way, an evaporation efficiency up to 95% is obtained, and the heat radiation and convection losses are reduced from 6.6% to 0.39% under 1 sun. This strategy demonstrates a promising membrane evaporation prototype based on the evaporation surface thermal utilization.

Scalable Flexible Phase Change Materials with a Swollen Polymer Network Structure for Thermal Energy Storage.

3D porous structural materials are proved to be enticing candidates for the fabrication of high-performance organic phase change materials (PCMs), but the stringent fabrication process and poor processability greatly hampered their commercialization. Herein, flexible leakage-proof composite PCMs with pronounced comprehensive performance are fabricated by a scalable polymer swelling strategy without using any solvent, in which the paraffin wax (PW) segment is confined in a robust flexible 3D polymer network, giving rise to the composite PCMs with excellent form stability even at 160 °C, a high latent heat energy storage density of 133.6 J/g, and an outstanding thermal conductivity of up to ∼5.11 W/mK. More importantly, the mass production of the flexible composite phase change fiber, film, and bulk products can be achieved by adopting mature processing technologies. These resultant composite PCMs exhibit promising thermal management ability to solve the overheating problem of electronics and high-efficiency solar-thermal energy conversion capacity.

Phase change mediated mechanically transformative dynamic gel for intelligent control of versatile devices.

Traditional devices, including conventional rigid electronics and machines, as well as emerging wearable electronics and soft robotics, almost all have a single mechanical state for particular service purposes. Nonetheless, dynamic materials with interchangeable mechanical states, which enable more diverse and versatile applications, are urgently necessary for intelligent and adaptive application cases in the future electronic and robot fields. Here, we report a gel-like material composed of a crosslinking polymer network impregnated with a phase changing molten liquid, which undergoes an exceptional stiffness transition in response to a thermal stimulus. Vice versa, the material switches from a soft gel state to a rigid solid state with a dramatic stiffness change of 105 times (601 MPa versus 4.5 kPa) benefiting from the liquid-solid phase change of the crystalline polymer once cooled. Such reversibility of the phase and mechanical transition upon thermal stimuli enables the dynamic gel mechanical transformation, demonstrating potential applications in an adhesive thermal interface gasket (TIG) to facilitate thermal transport, a high-temperature warning sensor and an intelligent gripper. Overall, this dynamic gel with a tunable stiffness change paves a new way to design and fabricate adaptive smart materials toward intelligent control of versatile devices.

Aligned wave-like elastomer fibers with robust conductive layers via electroless deposition for stretchable electrode applications.

Flexible wearable electronics play an important role in the healthcare industry due to their unique skin affinity, portability and breathability. Despite great progress, it still remains a big challenge to facilely fabricate stretchable electrodes with low resistance, excellent stability and a wide tensile range. Here, we propose a handy and time-saving strategy for the fabrication of elastomeric films consisting of wave-like fibers with a robust conductive layer of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) immobilized using polydopamine (PDA) and silicone rubber (SR). To realize better stretchability, electrospun thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) mats with oriented nanofibers were treated via ethanol to achieve a wavy structure, which also allowed for the decoration of AgNP precursors on the TPU surface via PDA assisted electroless deposition (ELD). Therefore, the electrodes achieved a stretchability of 120% with high electrical conductivity (486 S cm-1). The films with a reduction time of 30 min showed superior electrical conductivity indicated by a resistance increase of only 100% within 50% strain. The TPU/PDA/AgNP/SR composites with a shorter reduction time of silver precursors could monitor human motions as wearable strain sensors with a wide work strain range (0-98%) and a high sensitivity (with a gauge factor (GF) of up to 81.76) for a strain of 80-98%. Therefore, they are an excellent candidate for potential application in prospective stretchable electronics.

Redox-Mediated Artificial Non-Enzymatic Antioxidant MXene Nanoplatforms for Acute Kidney Injury Alleviation.

Acute kidney injury (AKI), as a common oxidative stress-related renal disease, causes high mortality in clinics annually, and many other clinical diseases, including the pandemic COVID-19, have a high potential to cause AKI, yet only rehydration, renal dialysis, and other supportive therapies are available for AKI in the clinics. Nanotechnology-mediated antioxidant therapy represents a promising therapeutic strategy for AKI treatment. However, current enzyme-mimicking nanoantioxidants show poor biocompatibility and biodegradability, as well as non-specific ROS level regulation, further potentially causing deleterious adverse effects. Herein, the authors report a novel non-enzymatic antioxidant strategy based on ultrathin Ti3 C2 -PVP nanosheets (TPNS) with excellent biocompatibility and great chemical reactivity toward multiple ROS for AKI treatment. These TPNS nanosheets exhibit enzyme/ROS-triggered biodegradability and broad-spectrum ROS scavenging ability through the readily occurring redox reaction between Ti3 C2 and various ROS, as verified by theoretical calculations. Furthermore, both in vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrate that TPNS can serve as efficient antioxidant platforms to scavenge the overexpressed ROS and subsequently suppress oxidative stress-induced inflammatory response through inhibition of NF-κB signal pathway for AKI treatment. This study highlights a new type of therapeutic agent, that is, the redox-mediated non-enzymatic antioxidant MXene nanoplatforms in treatment of AKI and other ROS-associated diseases.

Fabrication of a NiO@NF supported free-standing porous carbon supercapacitor electrode using temperature-controlled phase separation method.

To address the problem that capacitor electrode being low in capacitance and reliant on binder to retain shape, a binder-free, self-supporting supercapacitor electrode is made via pyrolysis of porous polyacrylonitrile (PAN) formed by phase separation, supported by hydrothermally treated nickel foam backbone. The role of hydrothermal reaction time and PAN solution concentration on electrochemical properties was thoroughly studied, and the results indicate a generally peaked capacitance at 4 h of hydrothermal reaction time, but after a certain threshold, a supposed micro-domain buffering mechanism would take over and enhance the pseudocapacitance from NiO to reach a specific capacitance as high as 152 F/g at a high active material mass load of 14.98 mg/cm2, providing the area specific capacitance up to 1.98 F/cm2. The use of temperature-controlled phase separation and incorporation of nickel oxide together guarantees the electrode sufficient ion and electron transportation pathway while improving its capacitance by redox electrochemical reactions.

Biobinder Nanocoating for Upgrading the Assembling Structures of High-Capacity Composite Electrodes with a Robust Polymeric Artificial Solid Electrolyte Interphase.

The success of next-generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) fundamentally depends on the rational design of not only the microstructure of an individual component but the component assembling structures on the electrode level. However, building advanced assembling structures for especially high-capacity electrodes is an urgent but a challenging task due to the lacking of in-depth understanding and effective strategies. Here, we propose a functional nanocoating biobinder using the well-known poly(lactic acid) to address the above need. It is found that the composite electrodes with this nanocoating biobinder are upgraded with uniform and robust assembling structures, including the electron-transportation network, ion-transportation network, and interfaces. Importantly, the nanocoating finally works as a new type of polymeric artificial cathode electrolyte interphase (poly-CEI) to protect the active particles. Therefore, a remarkable improvement in the electrochemical performance has been achieved for high-capacity electrodes (LiFePO4, lithium nickel cobalt manganite (NCM), and lithium nickel cobalt aluminum acid (NCA)). In particular, the LFP cathode can deliver a high discharge capacity of 74.6 mA h g-1 at 10C and a high capacity retention of 95.5% even after 850 cycles at 2C. For NCA and NCM cathodes, the cycling stability is dramatically improved due to the protection by the poly-CEI. In short, this study may reshape the essential roles of a binder in composite electrodes by highlighting its critical link to assembling structures.