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