Stress controllability in thermal and electrical conductivity is important for flexible piezoresistive devices. Due to the strength‐elasticity trade‐off, comprehensive investigation of stress‐controllable conduction in elastic high‐modulus polymers is challenging. Here presented is a 3D elastic graphene‐crosslinked carbon nanotube sponge/polyimide (Gw‐CNT/PI) nanocomposite. Graphene welding at the junction enables both phonon and electron transfer as well as avoids interfacial slippage during cyclic compression. The uniform Gw‐CNT/PI comprising a high‐modulus PI deposited on a porous templated network combines stress‐controllable thermal/electrical conductivity and cyclic elastic deformation. The uniform composites show different variation trends controlled by the porosity due to different phonon and electron conduction mechanisms. A relatively high k (3.24 W m−1 K−1, 1620% higher than PI) and suitable compressibility (16.5% under 1 MPa compression) enables the application of the composite in flexible elastic thermal interface conductors, which is further analyzed by finite element simulations. The interconnected network favors a high stress‐sensitive electrical conductivity (sensitivity, 973% at 9.6% strain). Thus, the Gw‐CNT/PI composite can be an important candidate material for piezoresistive sensors upon porosity optimization based on stress‐controllable thermal or electrical conductivity. The results provide insights toward controlling the stress‐induced thermal/electrical conductivities of 3D interconnected templated composite networks for piezoresistive conductors or sensors.

Hydrogel-based sensors have attracted significant attention owing to their promising applications in artificial intelligence. However, developing robust hydrogel conductors with customizable functionality and excellent sensor properties is challenging. In this...

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BackgroundThe consecutive monoculture for most of medicinal plants, such as Rehmannia glutinosa, results in a significant reduction in the yield and quality. There is an urgent need to study for the sustainable development of Chinese herbaceous medicine.Methodology/Principal FindingsComparative metaproteomics of rhizosphere soil was developed and used to analyze the underlying mechanism of the consecutive monoculture problems of R. glutinosa. The 2D-gel patterns of protein spots for the soil samples showed a strong matrix dependency. Among the spots, 103 spots with high resolution and repeatability were randomly selected and successfully identified by MALDI TOF-TOF MS for a rhizosphere soil metaproteomic profile analysis. These proteins originating from plants and microorganisms play important roles in nutrient cycles and energy flow in rhizospheric soil ecosystem. They function in protein, nucleotide and secondary metabolisms, signal transduction and resistance. Comparative metaproteomics analysis revealed 33 differentially expressed protein spots in rhizosphere soil in response to increasing years of monoculture. Among them, plant proteins related to carbon and nitrogen metabolism and stress response, were mostly up-regulated except a down-regulated protein (glutathione S-transferase) involving detoxification. The phenylalanine ammonia-lyase was believed to participate in the phenylpropanoid metabolism as shown with a considerable increase in total phenolic acid content with increasing years of monoculture. Microbial proteins related to protein metabolism and cell wall biosynthesis, were up-regulated except a down-regulated protein (geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase) functioning in diterpenoid synthesis. The results suggest that the consecutive monoculture of R. glutinosa changes the soil microbial ecology due to the exudates accumulation, as a result, the nutrient cycles are affected, leading to the retardation of plant growth and development.Conclusions/SignificanceOur results demonstrated the interactions among plant, soil and microflora in the proteomic level are crucial for the productivity and quality of R. glutinosa in consecutive monoculture system.

Development of intelligent adaptable materials with unprecedented sensitivity that can mimic the tactile sensing functions of natural skin is a major driving force in the realization of artificial intelligence. Herein, we judiciously designed and synthesized a series of lauryl acrylate-based polymeric organogels with high transparency, mechanical adaptability, self-healing properties, and adhesive capability. Moreover, a robust capacitive sensor with high sensitivity (0.293 kPa–1) was developed by sandwiching the prepared soft, adaptable organogels between two tough conductive hydrogels and then used to monitor various human motions such as finger stretching, wrist bending, and throat movement during chewing. Interestingly, the resulting capacitive sensor could also function as prosthetic skin on a pneumatic soft artificial hand, enabling intelligent haptic perception. The research disclosed herein is expected to provide insights into the rational design of artificial human-like skins with unprecedented functionalities.