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The effects of locally applied zinc chloride (ZnCl2) on early and late‐stage parameters of fracture healing were evaluated in a diabetic rat model. Type 1 Diabetes has been shown to negatively impact mechanical parameters of bone as well as biologic markers associated with bone healing. Zinc treatments have been shown to reverse those outcomes in tests of nondiabetic and diabetic animals. This study is the first to assess the efficacy of a noncarrier mediated ZnCl2 on bony healing in diabetic animals. This is a promising basic science approach which may lead to benefits for diabetic patients in the future. Treatment and healing were assessed through quantification of callus zinc, radiographic scoring, microcomputed tomography (µCT), histomorphometry, and mechanical testing. Local ZnCl2 treatment increased callus zinc levels at 1 and 3 days after fracture (p ≤ 0.025). Femur fractures treated with ZnCl2 showed increased mechanical properties after 4 and 6 weeks of healing. Histomorphometry of the ZnCl2‐treated fractures found increased callus cartilage area at Day 7 (p = 0.033) and increased callus bone area at Day 10 (p = 0.038). In contrast, callus cartilage area was decreased (p < 0.01) after 14 days in the ZnCl2‐treated rats. µCT analysis showed increased bone volume in the fracture callus of ZnCl2‐treated rats at 6 weeks (p = 0.0012) with an associated increase in the proportion of µCT voxel axial projections (Z‐rays) spanning the fracture site. The results suggest that local ZnCl2 administration improves callus chondrogenesis leading to greater callus bone formation and improved fracture healing in diabetic rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the ever‐growing interest in micro‐supercapacitors (MSCs) as a promising power source for microelectronics, their low areal energy density has plagued practical applications. Herein, accordion foldable MSCs (af‐MSCs) are presented as a cell architectural strategy in contrast to traditional material‐driven approaches. The constituent unit cells of an in‐plane MSC array are compactly stacked in a confined device footprint via accordion folding. Decoupling the energy storage (MSC cells) and folding section (electrical interconnection between the cells) in the MSC array, in combination with neutral plane‐controlled flexible hydrophobic cellulose nanofiber (CNF) substrates, enables the realization of the af‐MSCs. The af‐MSCs achieve high areal integration density with a fill factor of 81.1% and on‐demand (in‐series/in‐parallel) cell configurations owing to the microscale direct‐ink–writing of rheology‐tuned MSC cell components on the CNF substrates. The af‐MSC with a miniaturized footprint (22.75 mm2) achieves exceptional areal electrochemical performances (areal energy density of 89.2 µWh cm−2), which exceed those of previously reported in‐plane MSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional power sources encounter difficulties in achieving structural unitization with complex‐shaped electronic devices because of their fixed form factors. Here, it is realized that an on‐demand conformal Zn‐ion battery (ZIB) on non‐developable surfaces uses direct ink writing (DIW)‐based nonplanar 3D printing. First, ZIB component (manganese oxide‐based cathode, Zn powder‐based anode, and UV‐curable gel composite electrolyte) inks are designed to regulate their colloidal interactions to fulfill the rheological requirements of nonplanar 3D printing, and establish bi‐percolating ion/electron conduction pathways, thereby enabling geometrical synchronization with non‐developable surfaces, and ensuring reliable electrochemical performance. The ZIB component inks are conformally printed on arbitrary curvilinear substrates to produce embodied ZIBs that can be seamlessly integrated with complicated 3D objects (including human ears). The conformal ZIB exhibits a high fill factor (i.e., areal coverage of cells on underlying substrates, ≈100%) that ensures high volumetric energy density (50.5 mWh cmcell−3), which exceeds those of previously‐reported shape‐adaptable power sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the extensive studies on printed power sources for user‐customized shape‐versatile electronics, most of them have still focused on printing of electrochemically active materials, with little attention to passive components such as current collectors and packaging, thus hindering their versatile application. Here, all‐direct‐ink‐writing (DIW) of artistic supercapacitors (ASCs) as a facile and scalable strategy to enable power source‐unitized monolithic electronic devices with various form factors is demonstrated. Interdigitated nickel current collectors embedded inside a polyurethane support layer are fabricated using DIW printing, which can facilitate the subsequent printing of multi‐scale, ultrathick electrodes. Interstitial voids between the DIW‐printed adjacent electrode layers are densely infiltrated by click‐crosslinkable electrolyte inks with well‐tuned rheological properties. The void‐free electrode/electrolyte assembly is conformally printed with a waterproof packaging ink to enable hermetic encapsulation, eventually producing all‐DIW‐printed ASCs with efficient space utilization, design diversity, and dimensional scalability. Notably, the resulting ASC can be seamlessly unitized with arbitrary‐shaped 3D objects (e.g., miniature pagodas), allowing for the potential development of on‐demand embodied power sources for electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: aqueous Zn-ion batteries; electrode-customized electrolytes; ionic liquid skinny gels; water-repellent ion-conducting protective layers; Zn anodes EN aqueous Zn-ion batteries electrode-customized electrolytes ionic liquid skinny gels water-repellent ion-conducting protective layers Zn anodes 1 1 1 09/06/21 20210902 NES 210902 B Ionic Liquid Skinny Gels b In article number 2103850, Sang-Young Lee and co-workers present ionic liquid (IL) skinny gels as a water-repellent ion-conducting protective layer customized for aqueous Zn-ion battery anodes. Aqueous Zn-ion batteries, electrode-customized electrolytes, ionic liquid skinny gels, water-repellent ion-conducting protective layers, Zn anodes Water-Repellent Ionic Liquid Skinny Gels Customized for Aqueous Zn-Ion Battery Anodes (Adv. Funct. [Extracted from the article]

Despite the enormous potential of aqueous zinc (Zn)‐ion batteries as a cost‐competitive and safer power source, their practical applications have been plagued by the chemical/electrochemical instability of Zn anodes with aqueous electrolytes. Here, ionic liquid (IL) skinny gels are reported as a new class of water‐repellent ion‐conducting protective layers customized for Zn anodes. The IL skinny gel (thickness ≈500 nm), consisting of hydrophobic IL solvent, Zn salts, and thiol‐ene polymer compliant skeleton, prevents the access of water molecules to Zn anodes while allowing Zn2+ conduction for redox reactions. The IL‐gel‐skinned Zn anode enables sustainable Zn plating/stripping cyclability under 90% depth of discharge (DODZn) without suffering from water‐triggered interfacial parasitic reactions. Driven by these advantageous effects, a Zn‐ion full cell (IL‐gel‐skinned Zn‐anode||aqueous‐electrolyte‐containing MnO2 cathode) exhibits high charge/discharge cycling performance (capacity retention ≈95.7% after 600 cycles) that lies beyond those achievable with conventional aqueous Zn‐ion battery technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]