Advanced Materials Technologies最新文献

Early and accurate diagnosis of glaucoma is crucial to prevent the progressive deterioration that leads to irreversible vision loss. It is imperative to develop an effective screening tool for glaucoma. Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) is a tear biomarker implicated in glaucoma pathogenesis. Lateral flow assay (LFA) provides an ideal platform for detection of glaucoma in tear fluid. A quantum dot-based fluorescence LFA, integrated with a 3D printed readout box, is developed for fast (30 min), sensitive, and quantitative CNTF detection in tears. A standard curve is firstly generated for the quantitative detection of CNTF. The limit of detection (LOD) of the obtained LFA strip at 6.45 pg·mL⁻¹ is comparable to that of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at 6.42 pg·mL⁻¹. This enables the identification of low CNTF levels (25.7 ± 14.9 pg·mL⁻¹) reported in tear fluid from glaucoma patients. This LFA is found to be highly selective for CNTF and maintained consistent results in different pH condition. The strip remaines stablewhen stored in the darkat room temperature. A smartphone app is developed to simplify analysis and enable prompt and easily obtainable results. This method shows great potential to be a powerful tool for point-of-care glaucoma screening.

Fiber batteries are essential for the realization of high-performance wearable and textile electronics with the desirable features of conventional textiles, including breathability, stretchability, and washability. However, the development of fiber batteries is limited by scalability and performance since most reported fabrication techniques are not compatible with standard battery manufacturing. This work presents a novel method for the scalable fabrication of fiber batteries with a stacked design analogous to that of conventional pouch cells using layer lamination and laser machining. To accomplish this, several poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) separators are developed, enabling lamination between conventional battery electrodes using a heated rolling press. The laminated strips are subsequently laser cut to form fibers with widths as narrow as 650–700 µm. These prototypes are successfully cycled in pouch cells and capillary tubes, delivering very high linear energies up to 0.61 mWh cm⁻¹. Custom equipment is designed to demonstrate scalable fiber battery fabrication processing in a roll-to-roll fashion. This work marks a paradigm shift in fiber battery research by demonstrating substantial benefits over all previous approaches including optimal active material utilization, low inactive material content, scalability, and compatibility with equipment already used widely in the battery industry.

Urine analysis stands as a critical diagnostic tool, offering insights into health and disease. However, current techniques demand sophisticated equipment or significant sample processing for urine examination, reducing their suitability for regular point-of-care assessments. This study introduces a novel multi-component sensing platform to address these constraints. The proposed sensor array can detect sodium (Na⁺), potassium (K⁺), ammonium (NH₄⁺), calcium (Ca⁺⁺), chloride (Cl⁻), and pH levels, thus, enabling real-time urine analysis. This sensing platform utilizes an extended gate (EG)-field effect transistor (FET) design employing EG electrodes made of LASER engraved graphene on flexible Kapton substrates. These experimental findings from individual sensors demonstrate consistent linear responses to ion levels, discrimination of specific ions among interferences, and operational stability over time. Additionally, the six-channel sensor array exhibits notable sensitivity and selectivity in a urine environment, effectively discerning various ions and pH, illustrating its efficacy for urine analysis and validating its potential for reliable point-of-care diagnostics.

This study synthesizes silicon (Si) powders with lithium silicates including lithium orthosilicate (Li₄SiO₄), lithium metasilicate (Li₂SiO₃), and lithium disilicate (Li₂Si₂O₅), creating a composite structure of crystalline Si within a Li_xSi_yO_z matrix through the lithiothermic reduction reaction (LTRR) process. The reduction of Li-ion consumption of the anode is investigated by 1) initial solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer formation, 2) SEI layer formation in response to Si expansion-induced damage, 3) trapping of Li ions at Si defects, and 4) side reactions during initial charge and discharge cycles. Si/Li_xSi_yO_z electrode exhibits a specific capacity of 1522.2 mAh g⁻¹ and an initial coulombic efficiency of 83.5%. The effect of the calendering process is observed, and a pressurization condition of 5000 kgf cm⁻² or less is set, and the ICE is improved to 93.4%–96%. Si/Li_xSi_yO_z electrodes outperform pure crystalline Si electrodes in specific capacity (7.3%), ICE (42%), and retention characteristics (17%). The integration of the Li_xSi_yO_z matrix into Si anodes enhances Li-ion transport and partially suppresses Si expansion. Additionally, the Si/Li_xSi_yO_z electrode exhibits superior rate capability in the 0.2–1.6 A g⁻¹ range.

The ability to shape and pattern conductors has been indispensable for manufacturing functional devices. Herein, a series of patterned liquid metals–based flexible electronics are fabricated via magnetic printing. The combination of highly conductive liquid metals and flexible photosensitive resins endows the as-prepared devices with excellent electrical and mechanical properties, such as high electric conductivity (8 × 10⁴ S m⁻¹), low detection hysteresis, good durability, and environmental stability. What's more, strain-insensitive flexible electronics can be achieved by designing the structure of liquid metal-based conductors, and the resistance is only increased 0.13 Ω at 100% strain. Therefore, the as-prepared liquid metals-based flexible electronics have promising applications in stretchable conductors.

The printed electronics (PEs) market has witnessed substantial growth, reaching a valuation of USD 10.47 billion in the previous year. Driven by its extensive use in a multitude of applications, this growth trend is expected to continue with a projected compound annual growth rate of 22.3% from 2022 to 2032. Compared to screen printing, the adoption of inkjet printing (IJP) technology to manufacture PEs has been limited to laboratory-scale research only. The fact that IJP's inability to maintain consistent high-resolution quality over large printing areas has made transitioning IJP for commercial production arduous. Most of the previous literatures have focused on holistic discussion on material design for IJP, but this review provides insight into key aspects in material processing up to printing optimization to realize high-resolution PEs. This review also highlights the challenges in controlling the functional ink properties and their interaction with the substrate as well as printing parameters to deliver the desired quality of the droplets and final prints. Imminent application of IJP in PEs and future perspectives are also included in this review.

Integrated photonics is demanded in applications operating at ultraviolet to visible wavelengths, such as atomic/quantum systems, on-chip broadband receivers, and far-field structured illumination autofluorescence microscopy. A fundamental challenge in these applications is efficient edge coupling from a single-mode fiber (SMF) to on-chip photonic components, which is critical for on-chip integration. In this paper, a high-efficiency edge coupler based on an alumina-on-insulator platform is introduced and experimentally validated. The coupler employs a symmetric double-tip taper and a multimode interference (MMI)-based optical combiner. The double-tip taper effectively expands the mode field diameter at the chip facet to match that of the SMF at the initial stage. Then the MMI-based combiner efficiently combines the two channels in the taper into a highly confined strip waveguide. A coupling loss of 2.85 dB/facet has been achieved for the transverse magnetic mode at the wavelength of 407 nm, which is the lowest insertion loss for fiber-chip coupling on this platform to the best of the knowledge. The design can significantly reduce the insertion loss associated with fiber-chip coupling, offering a key component for diverse areas ranging from atomic/quantum photonic integrated circuits and ultra-high capacity communications to optical microscopes.

Extensive research into green technologies is driven by the worldwide push for eco-friendly materials and energy solutions. The focus is on synergies that prioritize sustainability and environmental benefits. This study explores the potential of abundant, non-toxic, and sustainable resources such as paper, lignin-enriched paper, and cork for producing laser-induced graphene (LIG) supercapacitor electrodes with improved capacitance. A single-step methodology using a CO₂ laser system is developed for fabricating these electrodes under ambient conditions, providing an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional carbon sources. The resulting green micro-supercapacitors (MSCs) achieve impressive areal capacitance (≈7–10 mF cm⁻²) and power and energy densities (≈4 μW cm^-2 and ≈0.77 µWh cm⁻² at 0.01 mA cm⁻²). Stability tests conducted over 5000 charge–discharge cycles demonstrate a capacitance retention of ≈80–85%, highlighting the device durability. These LIG-based devices offer versatility, allowing voltage output adjustment through stacked and sandwich MSCs configurations (parallel or series), suitable for various large-scale applications. This study demonstrates that it is possible to create high-quality energy storage devices based on biodegradable materials. This development can lead to progress in renewable energy and off-grid technology, as well as a reduction in electronic waste.