3D Printed Actuators: Reversibility,Relaxation, and Ratcheting

Additive manufacturing strives to combine any combination of materials into 3D functional structures and devices, ultimately opening up the possibility of 3D printed machines. It remains difficult to actuate such devices, thus limiting the scope of 3D printed machines to passive devices or necessitating the incorporation of external actuators that are manufactured differently. Here, 3D printed hybrid thermoplast/conducter bilayers are explored, which can be actuated by differential heating caused by externally controllable currents flowing through their conducting faces. The functionality of such actuators is uncovered and it is shown that they allow to 3D print, in one pass, simple flexible robotic structures that propel forward under step‐wise applied voltages. Moreover, exploiting the thermoplasticity of the nonconducting plastic parts at elevated temperatures, it is shown that how strong driving leads to irreversible deformations—a form of 4D printing—which also enlarges the range of linear response of the actuators. Finally, it is shown that how to leverage such thermoplastic relaxations to accumulate plastic deformations and obtain very large deformations by alternatively driving both layers of a bilayer; this is called ratcheting. The strategy is scalable and widely applicable, and opens up a new approach to reversible actuation and irreversible 4D printing of arbitrary structures and machines.     

A Review of 3D Printing Technologies for Soft Polymer Materials

Soft polymer materials, which are similar to human tissues, have played critical roles in modern interdisciplinary research. Compared with conventional methods, 3D printing allows rapid prototyping and mass customization and is ideal for processing soft polymer materials. However, 3D printing of soft polymer materials is still in the early stages of development and is facing many challenges including limited printable materials, low printing resolution and speed, and poor functionalities. The present review aims to summarize the ideas to address these challenges. It focuses on three points: 1) how to develop printable materials and make unprintable materials printable, 2) how to choose suitable methods and improve printing resolution, and 3) how to directly construct functional structures/systems with 3D printing. After a brief introduction on this topic, the mainstream 3D printing technologies for printing soft polymer materials are reviewed, with an emphasis on improving printing resolution and speed, choosing suitable printing techniques, developing printable materials, and printing multiple materials. Moreover, the state‐of‐the‐art advancements in multimaterial 3D printing of soft polymer materials are summarized. Furthermore, the revolutions brought about by 3D printing of soft polymer materials for applications similar to biology are highlighted. Finally, viewpoints and future perspectives for this emerging field are discussed.     

3D打印氧化锆材料在红外探测器中的应用探索

杜瓦为红外焦平面探测器提供良好的低温工作环境以及光、机、电、热传输通道。其中冷台面支撑结构作为红外探测器的承载平台,承受设备运输、振动、冲击等作用,对支撑结构的强度提出了更高的要求。因此需要开发新型支撑结构以提高杜瓦的可靠性。根据红外探测器组件低传导漏热、高可靠性的需求,从宏观和微观的角度对不同的支撑结构材料进行分析,对比了两种成型工艺所制备的支撑结构对红外探测器设计制造的影响。与传统加工方式相比,采用数字光处理(Digital Light Procession, DLP)技术成型的氧化锆精度可达到±0.03 mm,与X射线衍射仪(X-Ray Diffractometer, XRD)衍射峰标准卡片符合。这说明其纯度较高,且该技术能缩短工艺时长,优化封装流程。     

Jammed Emulsions with Adhesive Pea Protein Particles for Elastoplastic Edible 3D Printed Materials

3D printed materials are of great relevance to produce medicinal scaffolds and specialized foods. An approach to forming 3D printable materials is to use jammed oil droplets. Jammed oil droplets are highly viscous and can be extruded through the nozzle of a 3D printer, while after chemical cross-linking they acquire a self-standing ability. However, the molecules currently used to stabilize and cross-link the oil droplets have questionable biocompatibility. Therefore, this study aims to produce a 3D printable jammed emulsion using pea proteins. This jammed oil-in-water emulsion is remarkably stable and viscoelastic enough to be extruded through the printer nozzle. Adhesive pea protein particles formed by pH adjustment act as physical cross-links between the oil droplets, forming a scaffold with elastoplastic rheological properties that flows above critical stress while, without any additional treatment, exhibits the required self-standing properties for 3D printing. By understanding the properties of pea proteins and their behavior in bulk and on interfaces, pea protein-based 3D printable material is created for the first time.     

Tailoring 3D Printed Micro-Structured Carbons for Adsorption

The manufacture of tailored carbon-based adsorbent structures with exceptionally low-pressure drops and improved kinetics using stereolithographic 3D printing is presented. Adsorbent structures are printed from commercial resins with square, circular, and hexagonal cross-sectional microchannels. These structures can reduce energy use by 50–95% compared to conventional carbon-packed beds. The activated 3D printed carbon achieves Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface areas over 1000 m² g⁻¹ and shows outstanding butane adsorption capacities, over twice the capacity of a commercial carbon and a comparable capacity to phenolic-based carbons. The structures also show excellent uptakes of cyclohexane, up to 0.62 g g⁻¹ in a saturated feed. The introduction of complex axial geometries including spirals and chevrons enable superior adsorption kinetics and premature breakthrough of contaminants at high gas flow rates. These results demonstrate the success of intelligent manufacturing of low-pressure drop, high-capacity micro-structured adsorbents, allowing for the development of gas separation technologies for applications such as greenhouse gas removal and respiratory protection.     

Advances in 4D Printing: Materials and Applications

4D printing has attracted tremendous interest since its first conceptualization in 2013. 4D printing derived from the fast growth and interdisciplinary research of smart materials, 3D printer, and design. Compared with the static objects created by 3D printing, 4D printing allows a 3D printed structure to change its configuration or function with time in response to external stimuli such as temperature, light, water, etc., which makes 3D printing alive. Herein, the material systems used in 4D printing are reviewed, with emphasis on mechanisms and potential applications. After a brief overview of the definition, history, and basic elements of 4D printing, the state‐of‐the‐art advances in 4D printing for shape‐shifting materials are reviewed in detail. Both single material and multiple materials using different mechanisms for shape changing are summarized. In addition, 4D printing of multifunctional materials, such as 4D bioprinting, is briefly introduced. Finally, the trend of 4D printing and the perspectives for this exciting new field are highlighted.     

Customizable Supercapacitors via 3D Printed Gel Electrolyte

New manufacturing strategies toward customizable energy storage devices (ESDs) are urgently required to allow structural designability for space and weight-sensitive electronics. Besides the macroscopic geometry customization, the ability to fine-tune the ESD internal architectures are key to device optimization, allowing short and uniform electrons/ions diffusion pathways and increased contact areas while overcoming the issues of long transport distance and high interfacial resistance in conventional devices with planar thick electrodes. ESDs with 2D or 3D electrodes filled with liquid or gel-like electrolyte have been reported, yet they face significant challenges in design flexibility for 3D ESD architectures. Herein, a novel method of assembling ESDs with the ability to customizing both external and internal architectures via digital light processing (DLP) technique and a facile sequential dip-coating process is demonstrated. Using supercapacitors as prototype device, the 3D printing of ESDs with areal capacity of 282.7 mF cm⁻² which is higher than a reference device with same mass loading employing planar stacked configuration (205.5 mF cm⁻²) is demonstrated. The printed devices with highly customizable external geometry conveniently allow the ESDs to serve as structural components for various electronics such as watchband and biomimetic electronics which are difficult to be manufactured with previously reported strategies.     

3D Printed Anatomical Nerve Regeneration Pathways

A 3D printing methodology for the design, optimization, and fabrication of a custom nerve repair technology for the regeneration of complex peripheral nerve injuries containing bifurcating sensory and motor nerve pathways is introduced. The custom scaffolds are deterministically fabricated via a microextrusion printing principle using 3D models, which are reverse engineered from patient anatomies by 3D scanning. The bifurcating pathways are augmented with 3D printed biomimetic physical cues (microgrooves) and path‐specific biochemical cues (spatially controlled multicomponent gradients). In vitro studies reveal that 3D printed physical and biochemical cues provide axonal guidance and chemotractant/chemokinetic functionality. In vivo studies examining the regeneration of bifurcated injuries across a 10 mm complex nerve gap in rats showed that the 3D printed scaffolds achieved successful regeneration of complex nerve injuries, resulting in enhanced functional return of the regenerated nerve. This approach suggests the potential of 3D printing toward advancing tissue regeneration in terms of: (1) the customization of scaffold geometries to match inherent tissue anatomies; (2) the integration of biomanufacturing approaches with computational modeling for design, analysis, and optimization; and (3) the enhancement of device properties with spatially controlled physical and biochemical functionalities, all enabled by the same 3D printing process.     

太赫兹3D打印透镜综述

太赫兹波由于其独特的电磁特性可应用于超高速率无线通信、生物化学物质检测以及高分辨率成像等领域。但由于太赫兹波的物理波长小,传统适用于低频的加工工艺难以满足其加工精度的要求;而微纳米加工工艺又具有加工复杂、成本高等缺点。3D打印技术的发展为太赫兹器件的加工提供了新的选择和更多的设计灵活度。文章介绍了香港城市大学太赫兹与毫米波国家重点实验室在3D打印太赫兹透镜方面的最新研究动态和实验研究新成果,包括基于3D打印的太赫兹高增益圆极化透镜、近场聚焦圆极化透镜、贝塞尔波束生成透镜的设计,高精度3D打印方法的探索以及太赫兹天线测试方法等。太赫兹3D打印透镜天线具有低成本、低损耗、能快速成型等特点,可应用于不同的太赫兹场景中。     

3D Printed Graphene-Based 3000 K Probe

High-temperature heating is ubiquitously utilized in material synthesis and manufacturing, which often features a rapid production rate due to the significantly improved kinetics. However, current technologies generally provide overall and steady-state heating, thereby limiting their applications in micro/nano-manufacturing that require selective patterning and swift heating. Herein, significantly improved control over small-scale heating is reported by utilizing 3D printed reduced-graphene-oxide (RGO) probe triggered by electrical Joule heating, which enables precise heating with high spatial (sub-millimeter scale) and temporal (milliseconds) resolutions. The block copolymer-modified aqueous-based RGO ink enabled 3D printing of high-precision structures, and a bio-inspired cellular microstructure is constructed to achieve control of the electrical conductivity and maximize structure robustness (benefit for efficient heating and operability). In particular, a thermal probe featuring a microscale tip with excellent heating capabilities (up to ≈3000 K, ultra-fast ramping rate of ≈10⁵ K s⁻¹, and durations in milliseconds) is fabricated. This thermal probe is ideal for surface patterning, as it is demonstrated for the selective synthesis of patterned metal (i.e., platinum and silver) nanoparticles on nano-carbon substrates, which is not possible by traditional steady-state heating. The material construction and heating strategy can be readily extended to a range of applications requiring precise control on high-temperature heating.     

A Subtractive Photoresist Platform for Micro‐ and Macroscopic 3D Printed Structures

The selective removal of structural elements plays a decisive role in 3D printing applications enabling complex geometries. To date, the fabrication of complex structures on the microscale is severely limited by multistep processes. Herein, a subtractive photoresist platform technology that is transferable from microscopic 3D printing via direct laser writing to macroscopic structures via stereolithography is reported. All resist components are readily accessible and exchangeable, offering fast adaptation of the resist's property profile. The micro‐ and macroprinted structures can be removed in a facile fashion, without affecting objects based on standard photoresists. The cleavage is analyzed by time‐lapse optical microscopy as well as via in‐depth spectroscopic assessment. The mechanical properties of the printed materials are investigated by nanoindentation. Critically, the power of the subtractive resist platform is demonstrated by constructing complex 3D objects with flying features on the microscale.     

Paper with Power: Engraving 2D Materials on 3D Structures for Printed,High‐Performance,Binder‐Free,and All‐Solid‐State Supercapacitors

The prevalence of the Internet of Things (IoT) and wearable electronics create an unprecedented demand for new power sources which are low cost, high performance, and flexible in many application settings. In this paper, a strategy for the scalable fabrication of high‐performance, all‐solid‐state supercapacitors (SCs) is demonstrated using conventional paper and an inkjet printer. Emerging printed electronics technology and low‐cost chemical engraving methods are bridged for the first time to construct Cu_xO nanosheets, in situ, on the 3D metallized fiber structures. Benefitting from both the “2D Materials on 3D Structures” design and the binder‐free nature of the fabricated electrodes, substantial improvements to electrical conductivity, aerial capacitance, and electrochemical performance of the resulting SCs are observed. With the proposed strategy, the fabricated SCs can be seamlessly integrated into any printed circuit, sensors, or artwork; the properties of these SCs can be easily tuned by simple pattern design, fulfilling the increasing demand of highly customized power systems in the IoT and flexible/wearable electronics industries.     

Smart Energy Bricks: Ti3C2@Polymer Electrochemical Energy Storage inside Bricks by 3D Printing

Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology has a pronounced impact on building construction and energy storage devices. Here, the concept of integrating 3D-printed electrochemical devices into insulation voids in construction bricks is demonstrated in order to create electrochemical energy storage as an integral part of home building. The low-cost 3D-printed supercapacitor (SC) electrodes are created using graphene/polylactic acid (PLA) filament in any desired shape such as 3D cylindrical- (3Dcy), disk- (3Ddc), and 3D rectangular- (3Drc) shaped electrodes. To obtain excellent capacitive performance, a Ti₃C₂@polypyrrole (PPy) hybrid is uniformly electroplated on the surface of 3D-printed electrodes. These Ti₃C₂@PPy-coated 3D-printed electrodes exhibit outstanding electrical conductivity, capacitive performance, cycle life, and power density. The bricks themselves act as an excellent scaffold for electrochemical energy devices as they are electrically insulating, fire-resistant, and contain substantial unused thermal insulation voids. A 3Drc Ti₃C₂@PPy SC is integrated into a real brick to showcase a smart house energy storage system that allows to reserve power in the bricks and use it as a power backup source in the event of a power outage in the elevator. This concept provides a platform for future truly smart buildings built from added value “smart brick” energy storage systems.     

液晶材料与3D显示

介绍了3D显示的基本原理,重点介绍了目前3D显示的主流技术类型,包含了眼镜式3D技术以及裸眼式3D技术,其中眼镜式3D技术包含色差式3D技术、偏光式3D技术和主动快门式3D技术;裸眼式3D技术包含视差屏障式3D技术、柱状透镜式3D技术、指向光源式3D技术和多层显示式3D技术。阐述了各种3D显示技术的基本实现原理和应用领域、并对涉及液晶显示的几种3D技术的优缺点进行了对比。结合液晶材料的特点与3D液晶显示的实际要求,阐述了3D液晶面板对液晶材料快速响应方面的要求,以及液晶透镜对液晶材料光学各向异性参数的要求。     

3D Printed Enzyme-Functionalized Scaffold Facilitates Diabetic Bone Regeneration

Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) suffer from a high risk of fractures and poor bone healing ability. Surprisingly, no effective therapy is available to treat diabetic bone defect in clinic. Here, a 3D printed enzyme-functionalized scaffold with multiple bioactivities including osteogenesis, angiogenesis, and anti-inflammation in diabetic conditions is proposed. The as-prepared multifunctional scaffold is constituted with alginate, glucose oxidase (GOx), and catalase-assisted biomineralized calcium phosphate nanosheets (CaP@CAT NSs). The GOx inside scaffolds can alleviate the hyperglycemia environment by catalyzing glucose and oxygen into gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Both the generated H₂O₂ as well as the overproduced H₂O₂ in DM can be scavenged by CaP@CAT NSs, while the initiated hypoxic microenvironment stimulates neovascularization. Moreover, the incorporation of CaP@CAT NSs not only enhance the mechanical property of the scaffolds, but also facilitate bone regeneration by the degraded Ca²⁺ and PO₄³⁻ ions. The remarkable in vitro and in vivo outcomes demonstrate that enzymes functionalized scaffolds can be an effective strategy for enhancing bone tissue regeneration in diabetic conditions, underpinning the potential of multifunctional scaffolds for diabetic bone regeneration.     

Engineering Natural Pollen Grains as Multifunctional 3D Printing Materials

The development of multifunctional 3D printing materials from sustainable natural resources is a high priority in additive manufacturing. Using an eco-friendly method to transform hard pollen grains into stimulus-responsive microgel particles, we engineered a pollen-derived microgel suspension that can serve as a functional reinforcement for composite hydrogel inks and as a supporting matrix for versatile freeform 3D printing systems. The pollen microgel particles enabled the printing of composite inks and improved the mechanical and physiological stabilities of alginate and hyaluronic acid hydrogel scaffolds for 3D cell culture applications. Moreover, the particles endowed the inks with stimulus-responsive controlled release properties. The suitability of the pollen microgel suspension as a supporting matrix for freeform 3D printing of alginate and silicone rubber inks was demonstrated and optimized by tuning the rheological properties of the microgel. Compared with other classes of natural materials, pollen grains have several compelling features, including natural abundance, renewability, affordability, processing ease, monodispersity, and tunable rheological features, which make them attractive candidates to engineer advanced materials for 3D printing applications.     

3D Printing of Multifunctional Hydrogels

3D printing technology has been widely explored for the rapid design and fabrication of hydrogels, as required by complicated soft structures and devices. Here, a new 3D printing method is presented based on the rheology modifier of Carbomer for direct ink writing of various functional hydrogels. Carbomer is shown to be highly efficient in providing ideal rheological behaviors for multifunctional hydrogel inks, including double network hydrogels, magnetic hydrogels, temperature‐sensitive hydrogels, and biogels, with a low dosage (at least 0.5% w/v) recorded. Besides the excellent printing performance, mechanical behaviors, and biocompatibility, the 3D printed multifunctional hydrogels enable various soft devices, including loadable webs, soft robots, 4D printed leaves, and hydrogel Petri dishes. Moreover, with its unprecedented capability, the Carbomer‐based 3D printing method opens new avenues for bioprinting manufacturing and integrated hydrogel devices.     

3D Printed Micro-Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices: From Design to Integration

With the continuous development and implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT), the growing demand for portable, flexible, wearable self-powered electronic systems significantly promotes the development of micro-electrochemical energy storage devices (MEESDs), such as micro-batteries (MBs) and micro-supercapacitors (MSCs). By overcoming the limitations of traditional fabrication processes, 3D printing techniques have been attracting much attention in recent years. Theoretically, 3D printing technologies can manufacture any customized arbitrary geometry and structure of electrodes and other components by fast prototyping at a relatively low cost to achieve desirable electrochemical performance and simplified integration. To that end, a comprehensive review of recent progress on the applications of 3D printing in MEESDs is presented herein. Emphasis is given to the generally classified seven types of 3D printing techniques (their working principle, process control, resolution, advantages, and disadvantages), their applications to fabricate electrodes, and other components with different configurations. Finally, the integration of other electronics into MEESDs and a future perspective on the research and development direction in this important field are further discussed.     

Achieving the Upper Bound of Piezoelectric Response in Tunable,Wearable 3D Printed Nanocomposites

The trade‐off between processability and functional responses presents significant challenges for incorporating piezoelectric materials as potential 3D printable feedstock. Structural compliance and electromechanical coupling sensitivity have been tightly coupled: high piezoelectric responsiveness comes at the cost of low compliance. Here, the formulation and design strategy are presented for a class of a 3D printable, wearable piezoelectric nanocomposite that approaches the upper bound of piezoelectric charge constants while maintaining high compliance. An effective electromechanical interphase model is introduced to elucidate the effects of interfacial functionalization between the highly concentrated perovskite nanoparticulate inclusions (exceeding 74 wt%) and light‐sensitive monomer matrix, shedding light on the significant enhancement of piezoelectric coefficients. It is shown that, through theoretical calculation and experimental validations, maximizing the functionalization level approaches the theoretical upper bound of the piezoelectric constant d₃₃ at any given loading concentration. Based on these findings, their applicability is demonstrated by designing and 3D printing piezoelectric materials that simultaneously achieve high electromechanical sensitivity and structural functionality, as highly sensitive wearables that detect low pressure air (<50 Pa) coming from different directions, as well as wireless, self‐sensing sporting gloves for simultaneous impact absorption and punching force mapping.