A novel and effective strategy to fabricate light reversible hierarchical patterned surface with self-healing, reversibly tunable adhesion and wettability properties was presented through photo-dimerization induced dynamic wrinkle, also a novel application of the Braille refreshable typography was demonstrated.

We demonstrated a novel core–shell microsphere (CSM) fabricated from coassembly of anthracene-ended hyperbranched poly(ether amine) (hPEA-AN) and anthracene containing polyhedral oligomer silsesquioxane (POSS-AN). The obtained CSMs are cross-linked through photodimerization of anthracene and possess the well-defined core–shell structure according to the images of SEM, TEM, and AFM. The shell of the obtained CSM is comprised of hPEA-AN, while POSS-AN prefers the ordered crystallized aggregation in the core. The size of the obtained CSMs is uniform and tunable. With the increasing content of hPEA-AN in the coassembly, the diameter of CSMs decreased from 930 to 616 nm, while the thickness of shell increased from 95 to 170 nm. Moreover, polymeric hollow microsphere (PHM) was prepared by removing the POSS-AN core of CSM in hydrofluoric acid (HF). The obtained PHM is amphiphilic and fluorescent, and its size is responsive to environmental stimulus such as temperature and pH. PHM can be used in the encapsulation and controlled release of guest molecules. Moreover, the controlled release of guest molecules from PHM can be monitored by itself fluorescence change.

Molecular filtration is very attractive in the industrial applications of separation and water treatment, but it is challenging to realize fast separation due to the low transport rates and filtrate loss within the membranes in commercial ultrafiltration. We here demonstrated a novel example that a nanofiber membrane of poly(ether amine) (PEA) can be used in the separation of hydrophilic dyes through fast molecular filtration. Two types of PEA nanofiber membrane (PEA-NF) were fabricated through the electrospinning process, which were further photo-crosslinked through the UV-induced dimerization of coumarin groups. Regardless of their charge state, the obtained PEA-NF membranes exhibited strong adsorption to Ponceau S (PS), Rose Bengal (RB), Orange G (OG), Ponceau SX (PSX), and Bismarck brown Y (BY), and with weak adsorption to Methylene Blue trihydrate (MB), and Rhodamine 6G (R6G). Based on the unique selective adsorption to the hydrophilic dyes, PEA-NF membranes can separate mixtures of PS/MB in aqueous solution through molecular filtration with a very high flux rate of 2870 L m À2 h À1 . In addition, the PEA-NF membranes are easily regenerated and keep the high separation efficiency over ten adsorption-washing cycles. The integration of the fast separation, easy regeneration and low-cost give PEA-NF membranes potential applications such as separation and water purification.