Fast 3D printing of fine, continuous, and soft fibers via embedded solvent exchange.

Nature uses fibrous structures for sensing and structural functions as observed in hairs, whiskers, stereocilia, spider silks, and hagfish slime thread skeins. Here, we demonstrate multi-nozzle printing of 3D hair arrays having freeform trajectories at a very high rate, with fiber diameters as fine as 1.5 µm, continuous lengths reaching tens of centimeters, and a wide range of materials with elastic moduli from 5 MPa to 3500 MPa.

Understanding the Mechanism of Electrochemical CO Capture by Supercapacitive Swing Adsorption.

Carbon dioxide capture underpins an important range of technologies that can help to mitigate climate change. Improved carbon capture technologies that are driven by electrochemistry are under active development, and it was recently found that supercapacitor energy storage devices can reversibly capture and release carbon dioxide. So-called supercapacitive swing adsorption (SSA) has several advantages over traditional carbon dioxide capture technologies such as lower energy consumption and the use of nontoxic materials.

Effect of the Formation Rate on the Stability of Anode-Free Lithium Metal Batteries.

Anode-free Li-ion batteries (AFBs), where a Cu current collector is used to plate and strip Li instead of a classic anode, are promising technologies to increase the energy density of batteries. In addition, AFBs are safer and easier to manufacture than competing Li-metal anodes and solid-state batteries. However, the loss of Li inventory that occurs during the operation of AFBs limits their lifespan and practical application.

Scalable Self-Assembly of Composite Nanofibers into High-Energy-Density Li-Ion Battery Electrodes.

The application of nanosized active particles in Li-ion batteries has been the subject of intense investigation, yielding mixed results in terms of overall benefits. While nanoparticles have shown promise in improving rate performance and reducing issues related to cracking, they have also faced criticism due to side reactions, low packing density, and consequent subpar volumetric battery performance. Interesting processes such as self-assembly have been proposed to increase packing density, but these tend to be incompatible with scalable processes such as roll-to-roll coating, which are essential to manufacture electrodes at scale.