writer：Huang X, Liu J, Zhou P, Su G, Zhou T, Zhang X, Zhang C.
keywords：bionic hierarchical architectures, dynamic crosslinking, liquid metals, photothermal materials, solar harvesting
source：期刊
specific source：Small
Issue time：2021年
Highly efficient and mechanically durable photothermal materials are
urgently needed for solar harvesting, but their development still remains
challenging. Here, inspired by the hierarchically oriented architecture of
natural spider silk, an ultrarobust liquid metals (LMs)/polymer composite is
presented via dynamic crosslinking based on the unique mechanical deformable characteristic of LMs. Dynamically cross-linked core–shell structured
LMs droplets can be squeezed along with the orientational crystallization
of polymer chains during drawing, thus enabling LMs nanoparticles to be
uniformly programmed in the rigid polyethylene nanofiber skeleton. The
resultant composite exhibits an unprecedented combination of strong broadband light absorption (96.9–99.3%), excellent photothermal conversion
ability, remarkable mechanical property (tensile strength of 283.7 MPa, which
can lift 200 000 times its own weight), and long-term structural reliability
(bearing 100 000 bending cycles). A powerful and durable solar thermoelectric
generator system for real-environmental solar-heat-electricity conversion is
further demonstrated, providing a valuable guidance for the design and fabrication of high-performance solar-harvesting materials