Versatile Design of Functional Organic–Inorganic 3D‐Printed (Opto)Electronic Interfaces with Custom Catalytic Activity

Abstract

benefits for the development of advanced electrochemical transducers (electrodes). [6,7,8,9,10,11] FINPs, such as metal nanoparticles (MNPs) and quantum dots (QDs), are nanostructural elements which can exhibit unique properties and functions due to their electronic and optical properties. [12,13,14,15] This has led to functionalize different types of conductive materials with FINPs acting as transducing platforms, achieving amplified electrochemical signals through a finely divided and enlarged interface formation. Further, the catalytic characteristics of FINPs can be modulated by simply manipulating the synthetic conditions. [16,17,18] Among the several ways to tune electrodes with FINPs, the intermatrix synthesis (IMS) technique has proven to be a straightforward green strategy for the in situ incorporation of several FINPs upon different carbon-rich substrates (e.g., carbon nanotubes, graphene, and nanodiamonds). [19,20] In this new era of nanotechnologyalso so-called as "Fourth Industrial Revolution"-3D printing technology is being at the forefront of electronic devices research since it allows the large-scale and cost-effective prototyping of extremely customizable designs in a matter of minutes. [21,22,23,24,25] Concretely, fused deposition modeling (FDM) is one of the most employed 3D printing strategies for electrodes development due to the current availability of conductive carbon-based nanocomposite filaments. [26,27] Nowadays, 3D-printed nanocomposite carbon electrodes (3D-nCEs) made of grapheneThe ability to combine organic and inorganic components in a single material represents a great step toward the development of advanced (opto)electronic systems. Nowadays, 3D-printing technology has generated a revolution in the rapid prototyping and low-cost fabrication of 3D-printed electronic devices. However, a main drawback when using 3D-printed transducers is the lack of robust functionalization methods for tuning their capabilities. Herein, a simple, general and robust in situ functionalization approach is reported to tailor the capabilities of 3D-printed nanocomposite carbon/polymer electrode (3D-nCE) surfaces with a battery of functional inorganic nanoparticles (FINPs), which are appealing active units for electronic, optical and catalytic applications. The versatility of the resulting functional organic-inorganic 3D-printed electronic interfaces is provided in different pivotal areas of electrochemistry, including i) electrocatalysis, ii) bio-electroanalysis, iii) energy (storage and conversion), and iv) photoelectrochemical applications. Overall, the synergism of combining the transducing characteristics of 3D-nCEs with the implanted tuning surface capabilities of FINPs leads to new/enhanced electrochemical performances when compared to their bare 3D-nCE counterparts. Accordingly, this work elucidates that FINPs have much to offer in the field of 3D-printing technology and provides the bases toward the green fabrication of functional organic-inorganic 3D-printed (opto)electronic interfaces with cust...

A 3D Printer in the Lab: Not Only a Toy

“…[ 95–100 ] 3D printers, in this case, can be used not only to make (flow)reactors, mixers, [ 101,102 ] multi‐material parts, [ 103 ] and so on, but also to embed catalysts directly in the 3D printed material. [ 104–107 ]…”

“…[95][96][97][98][99][100] 3D printers, in this case, can be used not only to make (flow)reactors, mixers, [101,102] multi-material parts, [103] and so on, but also to embed catalysts directly in the 3D printed material. [104][105][106][107] FDM 3D printing has also been used in optics to make diffuse optics [96,97] and optic faceplates. [108] Our group has also incorporated dichroic nanoparticles in a plastic filament for printing, for the first time, a dichroic object, in this case with an optical effect like the Lycurgus cup (Figure 4c).…”

Electrically reading a light-driven molecular switch on 2D-Ti3C2Tx MXene via molecular engineering: towards responsive MXetronics

“…S1 † for illustration). 43,44 The AZO@Ti 3 C 2 T x dispersion was prepared in 3 : 2 IPA/H 2 O containing 2% (v/v) of Naon. The two different states (E-AZO@Ti 3 C 2 T x 4 Z-AZO@Ti 3 C 2 T x ) were photo-driven by irradiating the working electrode with an external light source (l UV : 365 nm; l Vis : 465 nm) for 15 min and electrochemically read out by means of CV employing a three-electrode conguration cell lled with 0.1 M PBS as the electrolyte (scan rate: 50 mV s À1 ).…”

A 3D Printer in the lab: not only a toy

“…[94][95][96][97][98][99] 3D printers, in this case, can be used not only to make (flow)reactors, mixers,[100,101] multimaterial parts, [102] and so on, but also to embed catalysts directly in the 3D printed material. [103][104][105][106] Fig. 4.…”