Have you ever imagined a future where smartphones can fold like paper and smartwatches are printed directly onto clothing? All of this would be impossible without graphene—a two-dimensional carbon material hailed as the “king of materials.” However, conventional graphene printing inks typically rely on surfactants or polymers as dispersants; these additives must be removed through high-temperature post‑processing, limiting their use on heat‑sensitive substrates and hindering the development of diverse flexible electronic devices. A recent breakthrough: scientists from China and Israel have developed a new type of graphene ink. By using polypropylene carbonate (PPC) as a dispersant and pairing it with low‑surface‑tension solvents, they can print high‑performance micro‑supercapacitors on paper with only a mild 220°C annealing step. Coupled with aerosol jet printing (AJP) technology, this approach makes it easy to bring intricate circuits to life right on paper.
In today’s era of rapid technological advancement, soft robotics is transitioning from the laboratory to real-world applications—ranging from minimally invasive surgical instruments in medicine and flexible actuation units for wearable devices to precise motion control in microrobots—all of which hinge on breakthroughs in the core component: soft actuators. Traditional soft actuators either face challenges in miniaturization, lack design flexibility, or rely on wired power supplies that constrain mobility. A recent study published in Nano Letters, however, reports an MXene–cellulose nanofiber (CNF) composite actuator fabricated via aerosol jet printing (AJP), which simultaneously addresses three major bottlenecks—scalability, customization, and multi‑stimulus responsiveness—paving the way for the next generation of soft robotics.
In fields such as smart wearables, virtual reality, and robotic interaction, haptic display technology is playing an increasingly vital role. However, conventional haptic displays often face numerous challenges—high costs, bulky form factors, substantial power consumption, and complex integration—which severely limit their applicability in portable, flexible devices. Recently, an innovative study has successfully developed a low-voltage, wearable haptic display based on the “thermo‑pneumatic” principle, opening up new possibilities for future intelligent haptic interfaces. This article will provide a detailed explanation of the key technology behind it: the central role of aerosol jet printing (AJP) in its fabrication.
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