Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) still need continuous safety monitoring based on their intrinsic properties, as well as due to the increase in their sizes and device requirements. The main causes of fires and explosions in LIBs are heat leakage and the presence of highly inflammable components. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the safety of the batteries by preventing the generation of these gases and/or their early detection with sensors. The improvement of such safety sensors requires new approaches in their manufacturing. There is a growing role for research of nanostructured sensor’s durability in the field of ionizing radiation that also can induce structural changes in the LIB’s component materials, thus contributing to the elucidation of fundamental physicochemical processes; catalytic reactions or inhibitions of the chemical reactions on which the work of the sensors is based. A current method widely used in various fields, Direct Ink Writing (DIW), has been used to manufacture heterostructures of Al₂O₃/CuO and CuO:Fe₂O₃, followed by an additional ALD and thermal annealing step. The detection properties of these 3D-DIW printed heterostructures showed responses to 1,3-dioxolan (DOL), 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) vapors, as well as to typically used LIB electrolytes containing LiTFSI and LiNO₃ salts in a mixture of DOL:DME, as well also to LiPF₆ salts in a mixture of ethylene carbonate (EC) and dimethyl carbonate (DMC) at operating temperatures of 200 °C–350 °C with relatively high responses. The combination of the possibility to detect electrolyte vapors used in LIBs and size control by the 3D-DIW printing method makes these heterostructures extremely attractive in controlling the safety of batteries.

An in-situ method to measure the radii of single microparticles in plasmas with high precision is presented. The particles are trapped in the plasma sheath and illuminated with laser light. Using out-of-focus imaging and polarizing optics, the angle- and polarization-resolved scattering intensities are measured and compared to Lorenz-Mie theory. A two-stage fit procedure is introduced to obtain the complex refractive index in addition to the particle radius. Complementary long-distance microscopy measurements are performed to compare with fit results. The method is applied to particles of different materials used in complex plasma research to measure etch rates due to plasma inherent processes.

Conversion of light into heat is essential for a broad range of technologies such as solar thermal heating, catalysis and desalination. Three-dimensional (3D) carbon nanomaterial-based aerogels have been shown to hold great promise as photothermal transducer materials. However, until now, their light-to-heat conversion is limited by near-surface absorption, resulting in a strong heat localization only at the illuminated surface region, while most of the aerogel volume remains unused. We present a fabrication concept for highly porous (>99.9%) photothermal hybrid aeromaterials, which enable an ultrarapid and volumetric photothermal response with an enhancement by a factor of around 2.5 compared to the pristine variant. The hybrid aeromaterial is based on strongly light-scattering framework structures composed of interconnected hollow silicon dioxide (SiO₂) microtubes, which are functionalized with extremely low amounts (in order of a few μg cm^-3) of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets, acting as photothermal agents. Tailoring the density of rGO within the framework structure enables us to control both light scattering and light absorption and thus the volumetric photothermal response. We further show that by rapid and repeatable gas activation, these transducer materials expand the field of photothermal applications, like untethered light-powered and light-controlled microfluidic pumps and soft pneumatic actuators.

Soft and flexible conductors are essential for the development of soft robots, wearable electronics, electronic tissue, and implants. However, conventional soft conductors are inherently characterized by a large change in conductance upon mechanical deformation or under alternating environmental conditions, e.g., humidity, drastically limiting their application potential. This work demonstrates a novel concept for the development of strain‐invariant, highly elastic and highly water stable all‐organic soft conductors, overcoming the limitations of previous strain‐invariant soft conductors. For the first time, thin film deposition technologies are combined in a three‐dimensional fashion, resulting in micro‐ and nano‐engineered, multi‐layered (<50 nm), ultra‐lightweight (< 15 mg cm⁻³) foam‐like framework structures based on Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) and Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), characterized by a highly strain‐invariant conductivity (≈184 S/m) between 80% compressive and 25% tensile strain. Both the initial electrical and mechanical properties are retained during long‐term cycling, even after 2000 cycles at 50% compression. Furthermore, the PTFE thin film renders the framework structure highly hydrophobic, resulting in stable electrical properties, even when immersed in water for a month. Such innovative multi‐scaled and multi‐layered functional materials are of interest for a broad range of applications in soft electronics, energy storage and conversion, sensing, water and air purification, as well as biomedicine.