Programmed Internal Reconfigurations in a 3D-Printed Mechanical Metamaterial Enable Fluidic Control for a Vertically Stacked Valve Array.

Microfluidic valves play a key role within microfluidic systems by regulating fluid flow through distinct microchannels, enabling many advanced applications in medical diagnostics, lab-on-chips, and laboratory automation. While microfluidic systems are often limited to planar structures, 3D printing enables new capabilities to generate complex designs for fluidic circuits with higher densities and integrated components. However, the control of fluids within 3D structures presents several difficulties, making it challenging to scale effectively and many fluidic devices are still often restricted to quasi-planar structures.

Synthesis, Characterization, and Magnetic Properties of Lanthanide-Containing Paramagnetic Ionic Liquids: An Evan's NMR Study.

The present study focuses on the synthesis and characterization of lanthanide-containing paramagnetic ionic liquids (ILs), [CCIm][MClX] ( = 4, 6, and 8; M = Gd, Dy, and Ho; X = Br and Cl), derived from 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium anions. These paramagnetic ILs exhibit low vapor pressure, high thermal stability, physiochemical stability, and tunability, along with significant magnetic susceptibility, making them of interest in advanced material applications that may take advantage of neat liquids with magnetic susceptibility. Structural and physical properties were determined using FTIR, H NMR, DSC, and TGA.

Thermal conductivity of ethylene glycol and propylene glycol nanofluids with boron nitride nano-barbs.

This study investigates the potential of composite allotrope boron nitride nanobarbs (BNNBs) as nanoparticles for enhancing the thermal conductivity of nanofluids based on mixtures of ethylene glycol and propylene glycol with water. BNNBs are allotrope composites composed of boron nitride nanotube cores with walls decorated with attached hexagonal boron nitride crystals, creating a jagged morphology that facilitates the formation of a connected network and contributes to the enhancement of thermal conductivity in nanofluids. BNNBs exhibit high thermal conductivity due to efficient phonon transfer and they are electrical insulators owing to their wide bandgap.

Synthesis and disassembly of an organometallic polymer comprising redox-active CoS clusters and Janus biscarbene linkers.

Here, we show for the first time that main-chain organometallic polymers (MCOPs) can be prepared from Janus N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) linkers and polynuclear cluster nodes. The crosslinked framework CoS-MCOP is synthesized ligand displacement reactions and undergoes reversible electron transfer in the solid state. Discrete molecular cluster species can be excised from the framework by digesting the solid in solutions of excess monocarbene.

Adsorption studies of divalent, dinuclear coordination complexes as molecular spacers on SWCNTs.

In order to enhance the electrical energy storage capabilities of nanostructured carbon materials, inter-particle spacer strategies are needed to maintain ion-accessible surface area between the nanoparticles. This paper presents a comparison between different classes of divalent, dinuclear coordination complexes which both show strong adsorption to SWCNTs and have molecular spacer properties that maintain electrochemical activity. We find that a novel, dinuclear zinc hydrazone complex binds as an ion-pair at very high loading while not inducing significant aggregation as compared to our previously studies of dinuclear ruthenium complexes.

Aggregation kinetics of single-walled carbon nanotubes investigated using mechanically wrapped multinuclear complexes: probing the tube-tube repulsive barrier.

The rational design of supraparticle assemblies requires a detailed understanding of directed assembly processes. The stability of dispersions of nanoscale materials, like single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), is still not fully understood, nor are the mechanisms of aggregation and assembly. A detailed balance of attractive van der Waals type interactions with various repulsive barrier mechanisms is needed to control the assembly of industrially viable and functional hybrid-nanoscale supraparticles.

Direct measurement of the interactions of amide solvents with single-walled carbon nanotubes using isothermal titration calorimetry.

The interaction enthalpy of amide solvents with single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) dispersions is measured using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). N,N-Dimethyl-formamide (DMF) and N-methyl-2-pyrilidone (NMP) were used to make dispersions of highly purified (6,5) SWCNTs. Using isothermal titration calorimetry, the ΔH and K(A) terms related to the solvent-nanotube interactions were measured, and ΔG and ΔS of the interaction were determined.