Front Cover: The image shows a schematic illustrating the adsorption- and solvency-mediated detection of chemical composition and co-monomer sequence distribution in random copolymers by means of interaction chromatography (THF: tetrahydrofuran; IO: isooctane; MC: methylene chloride; ACN: acetonitrile). Further details can be found in the article by J. Han, B. H. Jeon, C. Y. Ryu,^* J. J. Semler, Y. K. Jhon, and J. Genzer^* on page 1543.

Recent developments in the field of supra-molecular self-assembly in aqueous solution are summarized for amphiphilic and double hydrophilic block copolymers possessing nonlinear chain topologies, including miktoarm star polymers, dendritic–linear block copolymers, cyclic block copolymers, and comb-shaped copolymer brushes.

A conjugated polymer sensitizer containing an electron donating backbone (triphenylamine) and an electron accepting side chain (cyanoacetic acid) with conjugated thiophene units as the linkers has been synthesized. Modeling results have shown that there is a pronounced intramolecular charge separation upon excitation of the polymer, which indicates that the excited electrons could be injected into the conduction band of TiO₂ via the carbonyl group attached to the TiO₂ surface. DSSC with an energy conversion efficiency of 3.39% was obtained under AM 1.5 G illumination using such polymer as sensitizer, which represents the highest efficiency for polymer dye-sensitized DSSC.

Calcium carbonate can be biomimetically synthesized inside the cavities of layer-by-layer assembled polyelectrolyte nanotubes by the catalysis of urease. The size of the calcium carbonate precipitates can be controlled by the cavity dimensions. This may allow polyelectrolyte nanotubes to be applied in the fields of nanomaterials synthesis, controlled release, and drug delivery.

Interaction chromatography is used to detect monomer sequence distributions in A/B random copolymers by tailoring their adsorption inside a chromatographic column through variations of the solvent quality and the chemistry of the stationary phase.

A facile strategy was developed to generate patterned wrinkles as small as 300 nm on Au-poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) bilayers fixed on silicon wafer via a conductive adhesive tape (CAT), where the PDMS must be thinner than 82 μm and the CAT must be of porous structure that could act as mini balloons.

The synthesis of novel N-vinylimidazole containing thermotropic liquid crystalline ionic liquids is described. The self-assembly of these organic salts is induced by the introduction of mesogenic, rod-like biphenyl- and coumarin-based molecules. The thermal behaviour of the ionic liquid crystals was investigated by polarizing optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Subsequently, the monomer ionic liquids were polymerized by a free-radical mechanism.

Amphiphilic hybrid π-conjugated polymers that contain polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes have been successfully synthesized by the Sonogashira–Hagihara polycondensation reaction. In these polymers, the π-conjugation length was extended along the poly(p-phenylene-ethynylene) backbone. Furthermore, the content of POSS substituents can influence the aggregation behavior of the polymers and subsequent luminescent properties.

A facile approach that does not require additional reducing agent has been applied to prepare colloidal metal nanoparticle–hydrogel nanocomposites. Up to now no reports have described the in-situ synthesis of metal nanoparticles in a hydrogel network without additional reducing agent. Moreover, to our knowledge, this is the first time that gold and silver colloidal nanoparticles have been prepared within the same polymeric hydrogel network composition.

An active-gas-free environment leads to cross-linking of polymer main chains. The cross-linked polymer has excellent solvent resistance and an increased bandgap. Using this reaction, three-color PLEDs with a multi-layer structure are realized by dry photo-patterning, and multi-layer blue-emitting devices with dramatically enhanced efficiency can be achieved.

Sheet-like polyaniline (PANI) with controllable sizes have been successfully fabricated by recycling the waste liquids discharged by conventional aniline polymerization, which is of benefit to save energy and resources and reduce pollution. A plausible formation mechanism of sheet-like PANI is proposed, which provides some novel insights into the synthesis, morphology control, and assembly of PANI micro/nanomaterials and might be helpful for the assembly of other conducting polymer micro/nanomaterials.

Ag-coated PS nanospheres (left) and Ag/liquid (isopropyl myristate, IPM)-encapsulated nanocapsules (right) were synthesized by miniemulsion polymerization in the presence of a water-soluble KPS and an oil-soluble AIBN initiator. An IPM solution containing dodecanethiol-capped Ag NPs acts as a hydrophobe to suppress Ostwald ripening of miniemulsified droplets.

A gas microsensor is developed by integrating an oligoaniline film with microscale gold electrodes. The nanoscale oligoaniline film is fabricated on a poly-(dimethylsiloxane) substrate using graft polymerization with FeCl₃ as a mild oxidant. The as-fabricated film is around 14-nm thick and above 85% transmittance on the PDMS substrate. The microsensor shows a ppb level detection limit with rapid response and high sensitivity to NH₃ sensing.

Back Cover: A one-step strategy is developed to generate patterned wrinkles on Au–poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) bilayers in contact with a conductive adhesive tape (CAT). The key is that a thin PDMS film (<82 µm) rests on a porous CAT, where the CAT acts as a mini balloon to induce local stretching of PDMS. Further details can be found in the article by Z. Li, D. Yang,^* X. Liu, and H. Ma^* on page 1549.