Polymer 4D printing: Advanced shape-change and beyond

4D printing is an exciting branch of additive manufacturing. It relies on established 3D printing techniques to fabricate objects in much the same way. However, structures which fall into the 4D printed category have the ability to change with time, hence the “extra dimension.” The common perception of 4D printed objects is that of macroscopic single-material structures limited to point-to-point shape change only, in response to either heat or water. However, in the area of polymer 4D printing, recent advancements challenge this understanding. A host of new polymeric materials have been designed which display a variety of wonderful effects brought about by unconventional stimuli, and advanced additive manufacturing techniques have been developed to accommodate them. As a result, the horizons of polymer 4D printing have been broadened beyond what was initially thought possible. In this review, we showcase the many studies which evolve the very definition of polymer 4D printing, and reveal emerging areas of research integral to its advancement.     

两个基于2,5-二甲氧基对苯二甲酸和咪唑衍生物的超分子钴配位聚合物的结构及光催化反应

本文以咪唑衍生物为配体,通过水热合成法与钴离子制备出两个配位聚合物:{[Co(DTA)(1,4-DIB)(H₂O)]·H₂O}_n(1)和[Co(DTA)(1,3-BMIB)]_n(2)(1,4-DIB=1,4-二(1H-咪唑-1-基)苯; 1,3-BMIB=1,3-二(4-甲基-1H-咪唑-1-基)苯;H₂DTA=2,5-二甲氧基对苯二甲酸)。利用X射线单晶衍射、粉末衍射、热失重、元素分析、红外光谱以及固体紫外-可见光谱等对两个配合物进行了表征。结构分析证实配合物1和2是通过二维结构堆积成的三维超分子化合物。粉末衍射测试则显示两个配合物在水中有很好的稳定性。固体紫外-可见光谱显示两个配合物属半导体材料,对紫外-可见光有很强的吸收作用。在光催化实验中,配合物1和2可加快亚甲基蓝的降解速度。     

基于级联PPMgLN晶体的双倍/三倍频双波长激光器

本文演示了紧凑的绿色和近红外双色连续波激光光源,其发射波长分别为516 nm和775 nm。设计并制造了级联的周期性极化掺镁铌酸锂晶体,用于同时转换通信波长的二次谐波(SHG)和三次谐波(THG),可以在相同温度下获得绿色和近红外激光的输出。通过建立一个单程激光测量系统,在2 W泵浦功率下获得516 nm的0.15 mW绿光和775 nm的1.19 mW的光,晶体温度控制在30.8 ℃。实验结果将为单激光器泵浦的紧凑型双波长共线激光器提供重要的案例。     

Calcium-based coordination polymers from a solvothermal synthesis of HKUST-1 in 3D printed autoclaves

A mixed-metal 1D coordination polymer [CaCu(HBTC)₂(H2O)₈]_n (where H₃BTC – benzene-1,3,5-tric arboxylic acid) was obtained in a solvothermal synthesis of a well-known copper-containing metal–organic framework [Cu₃(BTC)₂(H₂O)₃]_n (HKUST-1) in autoclaves 3D-printed from commercial polypropylene. This material was a source of calcium ions, apparently, leaking from a colorant (calcium carbonate) promoted by glacial acetic acid as a modulator used to produce large single crystals of HKUST-1. This finding was confirmed by elemental analysis and a model experiment that resulted in a new calcium-based 1D coordination polymer [Ca(H₂BTC)₂(H₂O)₅]_n under the same solvothermal conditions with no copper or calcium salts put into a 3D-printed autoclave.     

Alkaline oxygen evolution: exploring synergy between fcc and hcp cobalt nanoparticles entrapped in N-doped graphene

Herein, we report a Mott-Schottky catalyst by entrapping cobalt nanoparticles inside the N-doped graphene shell (Co@NC). The Co@NC delivered excellent oxygen evolution activity with an overpotential of merely 248 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm^–2 with promising long-term stability. The importance of Co encapsulated in NC has further been demonstrated by synthesizing Co nanoparticles without NC shell. The synergy between the hexagonal close-packed (hcp) and face-centered cubic (fcc) Co plays a major role to improve the OER activity, whereas the NC shell optimizes the electronic structure, improves the electron conductivity, and offers a large number of active sites in Co@NC. The density functional theory calculations have revealed that the hcp Co has a dominant role in the surface reaction of electrocatalytic oxygen evolution, whereas the fcc phase induces the built-in electric field at the interfaces with N-doped graphene to accelerate the H⁺ ion transport.     

A branch-and-bound method for the minimum k−enclosing ball problem

The minimum k-enclosing ball problem seeks the ball with smallest radius that contains at least k of m given points. This problem is NP-hard. We present a branch-and-bound algorithm on the tree of the subsets of k points to solve this problem. Our method is able to solve the problem exactly in a short amount of time for small and medium sized datasets.     

Portable single-sided NMR measurements at variable temperatures: Implementation of a thermo-controlled device and application to the heating of bread dough

A temperature control unit was implemented to vary the temperature of samples studied on a commercial Mobile Universal Surface Explorer nuclear magnetic resonance (MOUSE-NMR) apparatus. The device was miniaturized to fit the maximum MOUSE sampling depth (25 mm). It was constituted by a sample holder sandwiched between two heat exchangers placed below and above the sample. Air was chosen as the fluid to control the temperature at the bottom of the sample, at the interface between the NMR probe and the sample holder, in order to gain space. The upper surface of the sample was regulated by the circulation of water inside a second heat exchanger placed above the sample holder. The feasibility of using such a device was demonstrated first on pure water and then on several samples of bread dough with different water contents. For this, T1 relaxation times were measured at various temperatures and depths and were then compared with those acquired with a conventional compact closed-magnet spectrometer. Discussion of results was based on biochemical transformations in bread dough (starch gelatinization and gluten heat denaturation). It was demonstrated that, within a certain water level range, and because of the low magnetic field strength of the MOUSE, a linear relationship could be established between T1 relaxation times and the local temperature in the dough sample.     

Enhanced Power Density of Alcohol Biofuel Cell by Polymer-assisted Crosslinks of 3D Graphene on Carbon Paper as the Bioanode

Herein, we successfully construct the 3D biocompatible graphene through crosslinking 2D graphene nanosheet onto carbon fiber paper with poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) as anode of the alcohol biofuel cell. Compared with the bioanode without 3D graphene, the current density and output power of PDDA-graphene-ADH bioanode is increased by 23 % and 41 % at a high concentration of ethanol at pH 8.9, suggesting the stabilization role of graphene in enzyme loading. The study provides us a deep analysis on structures and performances of the bioanode incl. electrochemistry, X-ray photoelectron spectra, and atomic force microscopy images, which is significant to develop the new methods to construct 3D porous electrodes in energy conversion device.