Polymer electrolytes have been studied extensively because uniquely they combine ionic conductivity with solid yet flexible mechanical properties, rendering them important for all-solid-state devices including batteries, electrochromic displays and smart windows. For some 30 years, ionic conductivity in polymers was considered to occur only in the amorphous state above Tg. Crystalline polymers were believed to be insulators. This changed with the discovery of Li(+) conductivity in crystalline poly(ethylene oxide)(6):LiAsF(6). However, new crystalline polymer electrolytes have proved elusive, questioning whether the 6:1 complex has particular structural features making it a unique exception to the rule that only amorphous polymers conduct. Here, we demonstrate that ionic conductivity in crystalline polymers is not unique to the 6:1 complex by reporting several new crystalline polymer electrolytes containing different alkali metal salts (Na(+), K(+) and Rb(+)), including the best conductor poly(ethylene oxide)(8):NaAsF(6) discovered so far, with a conductivity 1.5 orders of magnitude higher than poly(ethylene oxide)(6):LiAsF(6). These are the first crystalline polymer electrolytes with a different composition and structures to that of the 6:1 Li(+) complex.

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Three-dimensional (3D) printing has received extensive attention due to its unique multidimensional functionality and customizability and has been recognized as one of the most revolutionary manufacturing technologies. Functional 3D printed products represent an important orientation for next-generation manufacturing and attract a great spotlight for the application in sensors, actuators, robots, electronics, and medical devices. However, the lack of functions of printing polymeric materials dramatically limits the development of functional 3D printing. Different from traditional processing, the physical properties, such as geometry and rheological behavior, of the polymeric materials must match the printing process, making the selection of printable materials limited. More importantly, challenges in large-scale production of such materials further stifle the development of functional 3D printing industry. In this review, we aim to outline recent advances in polymeric materials and methodologies for the functional 3D printing technology. The reports are classified based on functionalities, including electronic conductive, thermally conductive, electromagnetic interference shielding, energy storage, and energy harvesting materials. This study attempts to provide a comprehensive overview of the challenges and opportunities for 3D printing functional polymeric materials/devices, also seeks to enlighten the orientation of future research in this field.

Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) is a main heterodimeric transcription factor that regulates the cellular adaptive response to hypoxia by stimulating the transcription of a series of hypoxia-inducible genes. HIF is frequently upregulated in solid tumors, and the overexpression of HIF can promote tumor progression or aggressiveness by blood vessel architecture and altering cellular metabolism. In this review, we focused on the pivotal role of HIF in tumor angiogenesis and energy metabolism. Furthermore, we also emphasized the possibility of HIF pathway as a potential therapeutic target in cancer.

The growing demand for safe and renewable energy storage systems has driven the recent renaissance of Zn‐ion batteries (ZIBs). Nevertheless, the intrinsic drawbacks of inhomogeneous electric distribution and sluggish ion replenishment worsen the Zn dendrite issues that seriously impede their practical application. Herein, for the first time, a functional 3D printed reservoir‐integrated N‐doped carbon host (3DP‐NC) is designed to remodel the electric/ionic fields. The customized 3D printed structure equipped with regular micron‐sized holes induces reduced local current density and homogeneous electric distribution. The micron‐sized holes function as reservoirs to ensure unobstructed ion diffusion and quasi‐steady‐state ionic supplements. A N‐doping interfacial modification strategy is further employed to encourage a highly zincophilic surface, hence reducing the nucleation energy barrier and motivating uniform Zn nucleation. As a result, the Zn‐deposited 3DP‐NC electrode (3DP‐NC@Zn) affords dendrite‐free morphology and highly reversible Zn plating/stripping with an ultra‐small overpotential of 15.3 mV even at 10 mA cm−2. Additionally, these appealing features also endow the 3DP‐NC@Zn electrode with an outstanding lifespan over 380 h at 1 mA cm−2 and 1 mAh cm−2. The thrilling performance establishes a new roadmap that advances the development of dendrite‐free and durable metal batteries by exploiting this unique 3D printing technique.