Reconfigurable 4D printing via mechanically robust covalent adaptable network shape memory polymer.

4D printing enables 3D printed structures to change shape over "time" in response to environmental stimulus. Because of relatively high modulus, shape memory polymers (SMPs) have been widely used for 4D printing. However, most SMPs for 4D printing are thermosets, which only have one permanent shape. Despite the efforts that implement covalent adaptable networks (CANs) into SMPs to achieve shape reconfigurability, weak thermomechanical properties of the current CAN-SMPs exclude them from practical applications. Here, we report reconfigurable 4D printing via mechanically robust CAN-SMPs (MRC-SMPs), which have high deformability at both programming and reconfiguration temperatures (>1400%), high Tg (75°C), and high room temperature modulus (1.06 GPa). The high printability for DLP high-resolution 3D printing allows MRC-SMPs to create highly complex SMP 3D structures that can be reconfigured multiple times under large deformation. The demonstrations show that the reconfigurable 4D printing allows one printed SMP structure to fulfill multiple tasks.

A volatile microemulsion method of preparing water-soluble photo-absorbers for 3D printing of high-resolution, high-water-content hydrogel structures.

Digital light processing (DLP)-based three-dimensional (3D) printing is an ideal tool to manufacture hydrogel structures in complex 3D forms. Using DLP to print hydrogel structures with high resolution requires the addition of water-soluble photo-absorbers to absorb excess light and confine photopolymerization to the desired area. However, the current photo-absorbers for hydrogel printing are neither efficient to absorb the excess light nor water-soluble. Herein, we report a volatile microemulsion template method that converts a wide range of commercial non-water-soluble photo-absorbers including Sudan orange G, quercetin, and many others to water-soluble nanoparticles with solubility above 1.0 g mL-1. After using these water-soluble photo-absorber nanoparticles, the highest lateral and vertical resolutions of printing high-water-content (70-80 wt%) hydrogels can be improved to 5 µm and 20 µm, respectively. Moreover, the quercetin nanoparticle can be easily washed out so that we achieve colorless and transparent printed hydrogel structures with excellent mechanical deformability and biocompatibility as well as thermally controllable variations on transparency and actuation. The proposed methods pave a new efficient way to develop water-soluble photo-absorbers, which helps to greatly improve the printing resolution of the high-water-content hydrogel structure and would be beneficial to extend the application scope of hydrogels.

Multimaterial 3D printed self-locking thick-panel origami metamaterials.

Thick-panel origami has shown great potential in engineering applications. However, the thick-panel origami created by current design methods cannot be readily adopted to structural applications due to the inefficient manufacturing methods. Here, we report a design and manufacturing strategy for creating thick-panel origami structures with excellent foldability and capability of withstanding cyclic loading. We directly print thick-panel origami through a single fused deposition modeling (FDM) multimaterial 3D printer following a wrapping-based fabrication strategy where the rigid panels are wrapped and connected by highly stretchable soft parts. Through stacking two thick-panel origami panels into a predetermined configuration, we develop a 3D self-locking thick-panel origami structure that deforms by following a push-to-pull mode enabling the origami structure to support a load over 11000 times of its own weight and sustain more than 100 cycles of 40% compressive strain. After optimizing geometric parameters through a self-built theoretical model, we demonstrate that the mechanical response of the self-locking thick-panel origami structure is highly programmable, and such multi-layer origami structure can have a substantially improved impact energy absorption for various structural applications.

Centrifugal multimaterial 3D printing of multifunctional heterogeneous objects.

There are growing demands for multimaterial three-dimensional (3D) printing to manufacture 3D object where voxels with different properties and functions are precisely arranged. Digital light processing (DLP) is a high-resolution fast-speed 3D printing technology suitable for various materials. However, multimaterial 3D printing is challenging for DLP as the current multimaterial switching methods require direct contact onto the printed part to remove residual resin. Here we report a DLP-based centrifugal multimaterial (CM) 3D printing method to generate large-volume heterogeneous 3D objects where composition, property and function are programmable at voxel scale. Centrifugal force enables non-contact, high-efficiency multimaterial switching, so that the CM 3D printer can print heterogenous 3D structures in large area (up to 180 mm × 130 mm) made of materials ranging from hydrogels to functional polymers, and even ceramics. Our CM 3D printing method exhibits excellent capability of fabricating digital materials, soft robots, and ceramic devices.

Organic electrochromic energy storage materials and device design.

While not affecting electrochemical performance of energy storage devices, integrating multi-functional properties such as electrochromic functions into energy storage devices can effectively promote the development of multifunctional devices. Compared with inorganic electrochromic materials, organic materials possess the significant advantages of facile preparation, low cost, and large color contrast. Specifically, most polymer materials show excellent electrochemical properties, which can be widely used in the design and development of energy storage devices. In this article, we focus on the application of organic electrochromic materials in energy storage devices. The working mechanisms, electrochemical performance of different types of organics as well as the shortcomings of organic electrochromic materials in related devices are discussed in detail.

A polyaniline surface-modified Prussian blue analogue cathode for flexible aqueous Zn-ion batteries.

Aqueous Zn-ion batteries have gained popularity due to their low cost and high safety, but their low energy density limits their application scenarios. Although the Prussian blue analogue (PBA) has the characteristics of high redox potential, the poor capacity and cycling performance restrict its further development. Here, we propose a modification strategy of a polyaniline (PANI) coating on zinc ferricyanide (ZnHCF). The PANI coating inhibits the dissolution of ZnHCF and enables the Zn-ion battery to present two long-flat discharge voltage platforms as well as a high capacity of 150 mA h g-1, which provides a new idea for the development of high-performance PBA battery materials. Meanwhile, owing to the spring-like structure, the battery has a high stretchability of 600% and maintains stable electrochemical properties during stretching.

Anti-Freezing Strategies of Electrolyte and their Application in Electrochemical Energy Devices.

Wider scenes of human's activities under low temperature demand promising performance of anti-freezing electrochemical energy devices, and the promotion of performance is mainly limited by electrolyte. However, despite many relevant research works reported, there are still few reviews that systematically and comprehensively summarize these modified approaches and applications. In this focus review, we classify the prominent anti-freezing strategies as high concentration aqueous electrolyte, organic additives, organic electrolyte and others. Relevant research works have been put to clarify their anti-freezing mechanisms and exhibit the modification effects. Besides, various energy devices including metal-air batteries, non-gas batteries and supercapacitors which employed aforementioned strategies are discussed and their key low-temperature performance indexes are summarized to exhibit the advanced research progress. Finally, we put forward some remaining challenges of these modification strategies toward practical application and propose prospects on future development of low-temperature electrochemical energy devices.

Protective effect of diminazene attenuates myocardial infarction in rats via increased inflammation and ACE2 activity.

The present study aimed to investigate whether diminazene attenuates myocardial infarction (MI) in rats. In addition, the present study investigated whether ACE2 signaling was involved in the effects of diminazene on protein function. A rat model of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was established by occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. The AMI model rats received intraperitoneal injections of diminazene (5 mg/kg/day) for 3 days. Treatment with diminazene significantly inhibited the expression of casein kinase and lactate dehydrogenase, and reduced infarct size in AMI rats. The findings indicated that diminazene significantly reduced the levels of inflammatory factors including tumor necrosis factor­α and interleukin­6, suppressed the protein expression of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 2 (COX­2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and activated angiotensin­converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT1R) and MAS1 proto­oncogene, G protein­coupled receptor (MasR) protein expression in AMI model rats. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that diminazene attenuated AMI in rats via suppression of inflammation, reduction of COX­2 and iNOS expression, and activation of the ACE2/AT1R/MasR signaling pathway.

Palladium-catalyzed desulfitative arylation by C-O bond cleavage of aryl triflates with sodium arylsulfinates.

An efficient Pd-catalyzed desulfitative coupling reaction of sodium arylsulfinates as arylation reagents by C-O bond cleavage of aryl triflates was developed. With only 2 mol % of Pd(OAc)(2) as catalyst and XPhos as ligand, the reaction proceeded well for a range of substrates.