Dimensional considerations on the mechanical properties of 3D printed polymer parts

Additive manufacturing offers a useful and accessible tool for prototyping and manufacturing small volume functional parts. Polylactic acid (PLA) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) are amongst the most commonly used materials. Characterising 3D printed PLA and TPU is potentially important for both designing and finite element modelling of functional parts. This work explores the mechanical properties of additively manufactured PLA/TPU specimens with consideration to design parameters including size, and infill percentage. PLA/TPU specimens are 3D-printed in selected ISO standard geometries with 20%, 60%, 100% infill percentage. Tensile and compression test results suggest that traditional ISO testing standards might be insufficient in characterising 3D printed materials for finite element modelling or application purposes. Infill percentage in combination to design size, may significantly affect the mechanical performance of 3D printed parts. Dimensional variation may cause inhomogeneity in mechanical properties between large and small cross section areas of the same part. The effect was reduced in small cross section parts where reducing the nominal infill had less effect on the resulting specimens. The results suggest that for 3D printed functional parts with significant dimensional differences between sections, the material properties are not necessarily homogeneous. This consideration may be significant for designers using 3D printing for applications, which include mechanical loading.     

Unpaired 3d Electrons on Atomically Dispersed Cobalt Centres in Coordination Polymers Regulate both Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) Activity and Selectivity for Use in Zinc–Air Batteries

Reversible oxygen conversion is important for various green energy technologies. Herein we synthesize a series of bimetallic coordination polymers by varying the Ni/Co ratio and using HITP (HITP=2,3,6,7,10,11‐hexaiminotriphenylene) as the ligand, to interrogate the role of metal centres in modulating the activity of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Co₃HITP₂ and Ni₃HITP₂ are compared. Unpaired 3d electrons in Co₃HITP₂ result in less coplanarity but more radical character. Thus, despite of a reduced crystallinity and conductivity, the best ORR activity, comparable to 20 % Pt/C, is obtained for Co₃HITP₂, showing the 3d orbital configuration of the metal centre promotes ORR. Experimental and DFT studies show a transition of ORR pathway from four‐electron for Co₃HITP₂ to two‐electron for Ni₃HITP₂. Rechargeable zinc–air batteries using Co₃HITP₂ as the air cathode catalyst demonstrate excellent energy efficiency and stability.     

A Photowelding Strategy for Conductivity Restoration in Flexible Circuits

Light‐driven micropumps, which are based on electro‐osmosis with the electric field generated by photocatalytic reactions, are among most attractive research topics in chemical micromotors. Until now, research in this field has mainly been focused on the directional motion or collective behavior of microparticles, which lack practical applications. In this study, we have developed a photowelding strategy for repeated photoinduced conductivity recovery of cracked flexible circuits. We immersed the circuit in a suspension of conductive healing particles and applied photoillumination to the crack; photocatalysis of a predeposited pentacene (PEN) layer triggered electro‐osmotic effects to gather conductive particles at the crack, thus leading to conductivity recovery of the circuit. This photowelding strategy is a novel application of light‐driven micropumps and photocatalysis for conductivity restoration.     

Sensitive Quantification of Fe(III) in Food Samples at Screen Printed Carbon Electrode Modified with Graphene and Piroxicam by Catalytic Adsorptive Voltammetry

A new disposable sensitive voltammetric sensor for the determination of Fe(III) based on a graphene (G) and piroxicam (Pir) modified screen printed carbon electrode (Pir/G/SPCE) has been developed. The developed method is based on accumulation of Fe(III) on the surface of the prepared sensor strip, formation a complex with Pir and subsequent reduction the adsorbed chelated Fe(III) at ?0.03 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) coupled with the catalytic enhancement of bromate. Characterizations of the modified electrode surface were performed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM), energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Electrochemical behavior of the modified SPCEs was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Under the optimum conditions, the catalytic voltammetric method exhibited linear calibration plot in the concentration ranges of 1–100 ng mL^?1 and 100–3500 ng mL^?1 Fe(III) with a limit of detection of 0.3 ng mL^?1. The sensor strip displayed good reproducibility with 1.7 % relative standard deviation (RSD%). The developed method was successfully applied for the determination of iron in food samples such as vegetables, fruit, and cereal.     

An Arylazopyrazole‐Based N‐Heterocyclic Carbene as a Photoswitch on Gold Surfaces: Light‐Switchable Wettability,Work Function,and Conductance

A novel photoresponsive and fully conjugated N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) has been synthesized that combines the excellent photophysical properties of arylazopyrazoles (AAPs) with an NHC that acts as a robust surface anchor (AAP‐BIMe). The formation of self‐assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold was proven by ToF‐SIMS and XPS, and the organic film displayed a very high stability at elevated temperatures. This stability was also reflected in a high desorption energy, which was determined by temperature‐programmed SIMS measurements. E‐/Z‐AAP‐BIMe@Au photoisomerization resulted in reversible alterations of the surface energy (i.e. wettability), the surface potential (i.e. work function), and the conductance (i.e. resistance). The effects could be explained by the difference in the dipole moment of the isomers. Furthermore, sequential application of a dummy ligand by microcontact printing and subsequent backfilling with AAP‐BIMe allowed its patterning on gold. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of a photoswitchable NHC on a gold surface. These properties of AAP‐BIMe@Au illustrate its suitability as a molecular switch for electronic devices.     

Control of Intrachain Morphology in the Formation of Polyfluorene Aggregates on the Single-Molecule Level

Controlling the morphology of π-conjugated polymers for organic optoelectronic devices has long been a goal in the field of materials science. Since the morphology of a polymer chain is closely intertwined with its photophysical properties, it is desirable to be able to change the arrangement of the polymers at will. We investigate the π-conjugated polymer poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (PFO), which can exist in three distinctly different structural phases: the α-, β-, and γ-phase. Every phase has a different chain structure and a unique photoluminescence (PL) spectrum. Due to its unique properties and the pronounced spectral structure-property relations, PFO can be used as a model system to study the morphology of π-conjugated polymers. To avoid ensemble averaging, we examine the PL spectrum of single PFO chains embedded in a non-fluorescent matrix. With single-molecule spectroscopy the structural phase of every single chain can be determined, and changes can be monitored very easily. To manipulate the morphology, solvent vapor annealing (SVA) was applied, which leads to a diffusion of the polymer chains in the matrix. The β- and γ-phases appear during the self-assembly of single α-phase PFO chains into mesoscopic aggregates. The extent of β- and γ-phase formation is directed by the solvent-swelling protocol used for aggregation. Aggregation unequivocally promotes formation of the more planar β- and γ-phases. Once these lower-energy more ordered structural phases are formed, SVA cannot return the polymer chain to the less ordered phase by aggregate swelling.     

Super‐ and Ferroelastic Organic Semiconductors for Ultraflexible Single‐Crystal Electronics

Like silicon, single crystals of organic semiconductors are pursued to attain intrinsic charge transport properties. However, they are intolerant to mechanical deformation, impeding their application in flexible electronic devices. Such contradictory properties, namely exceptional molecular ordering and mechanical flexibility, are unified in this work. We found that bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene (TIPS‐P) crystals can undergo mechanically induced structural transitions to exhibit superelasticity and ferroelasticity. These properties arise from cooperative and correlated molecular displacements and rotations in response to mechanical stress. By utilizing a bending‐induced ferroelastic transition of TIPS‐P, flexible single‐crystal electronic devices were obtained that can tolerate strains (?) of more than 13 % while maintaining the charge carrier mobility of unstrained crystals (μ>0.7 μ₀). Our work will pave the way for high‐performance ultraflexible single‐crystal organic electronics for sensors, memories, and robotic applications.     

Synthetic Organic Design for Solar Fuel Systems

From the understanding of biological processes and metalloenzymes to the development of inorganic catalysts, electro‐ and photocatalytic systems for fuel generation have evolved considerably during the last decades. Recently, organic and hybrid organic systems have emerged to challenge the classical inorganic structures through their enormous chemical diversity and modularity that led earlier to their success in organic (opto)electronics. This Minireview describes recent advances in the design of synthetic organic architectures and promising strategies toward (solar) fuel synthesis, highlighting progress on materials from organic ligands and chromophores to conjugated polymers and covalent organic frameworks.     

Mechanics of stretchable electronics on balloon catheter under extreme deformation

Stretchable electronics has been applied to balloon catheters for high-efficacy ablation, with tactile sensing integrated on the surface, to establish full and conformal contact with the endocardial surface for elimination of the heart sink caused by blood flow around their surfaces. The balloon of the catheter folds into uniform ‘clover’ patterns driven by the pressure mismatch inside (∼vacuum) and outside of the balloon (pressure ∼1 atm). The balloon catheter, on which microelectrodes and interconnects are printed, undergoes extreme mechanical deformation during its inflation and deflation. An analytic solution is obtained for balloon catheter inflation and deflation, which gives analytically the distribution of curvatures and the maximum strain in the microelectrodes and interconnects. The analytic solution is validated by the finite element analysis. It also accounts for the effect of inflated radius, and is very useful to the optimal design of balloon catheter.     

Evaluation of the piezoelectric behaviour produced by a thick-film transducer using digital speckle pattern interferometry

This paper presents an interferometric measurement of the out-of-plane deflections produced by a piezoelectric transducer, manufactured by thick-film deposition of a ceramic paste over an alumina substrate, when is subjected to a DC electric voltage. It is shown that a digital speckle pattern interferometer with an incorporated phase-shifting facility allows the measurement of nanometer displacements generated by the piezoelectric device. These measurements are used to evaluate the effective piezoelectric charge constant along the polarization direction (d₃₃)_eff that characterizes the thick-film transducer.