Continuous Vat Photopolymerization for Optical Lens Fabrication.

Optical lenses require feature resolution and surface roughness that are beyond most (3D) printing methods. A new continuous projection-based vat photopolymerization process is reported that can directly shape polymer materials into optical lenses with microscale dimensional accuracy (< 14.7 µm) and nanoscale surface roughness (< 20 nm) without post-processing. The main idea is to utilize frustum layer stacking, instead of the conventional 2.5D layer stacking, to eliminate staircase aliasing. A continuous change of mask images is achieved using a zooming-focused projection system to generate the desired frustum layer stacking with controlled slant angles. The dynamic control of image size, objective and imaging distances, and light intensity involved in the zooming-focused continuous vat photopolymerization are systematically investigated. The experimental results reveal the effectiveness of the proposed process. The 3D-printed optical lenses with various designs, including parabolic lenses, fisheye lenses, and a laser beam expander, are fabricated with a surface roughness of 3.4 nm without post-processing. The dimensional accuracy and optical performance of the 3D-printed compound parabolic concentrators and fisheye lenses within a few millimeters are investiagted. These results highlight the rapid and precise nature of this novel manufacturing process, demonstrating a promising avenue for future optical component and device fabrication.

Ammonium Ionic Liquid-Functionalized Phenothiazine as a New Redox Mediator for High Chemical Stability on the Anode Surface in Lithium-Air Batteries.

The application of redox mediators (RMs) as soluble catalysts can address the problem of insufficient contact between conventional solid catalysts for lithium-air batteries (LABs). However, oxidized RM molecules migrate to the lithium anode and react with lithium, which results in the accumulation of surface corrosion products that weaken the redox activity of the RM. This paper presents a new combination of phenothiazine (PTZ) as an RM and an ammonium-based ionic liquid (IL) source as a protective agent to prevent the side reactions with lithium and to enhance the electrochemical performance of LABs. IL-functionalized PTZ (IL-PTZ) was successfully synthesized through N-alkylation, quaternization, and anion-exchange reactions. IL-PTZ improved the chemical stability of the RM molecules on the lithium surface as well as the electrochemical performance. A microstructural analysis revealed that the IL group in the IL-PTZ molecules facilitated smooth lithium stripping/plating by blocking the side reactions between the RM and lithium. Compared with the LAB with the PTZ electrolyte, that with the IL-PTZ electrolyte exhibited a significantly higher discharge capacity (2500 mA h/g vs 1500 mA h/g) and a cycle life that was 2 times longer. The IL-PTZ molecule was demonstrated to exhibit great potential as a novel soluble catalyst for application in high-performance LABs.