Compression testing of continuous fiber reinforced polymer composites with out-of-plane fiber waviness and circular notches

We investigated the face-stabilized Open-Hole Compression (OHC) test method for evaluating the effects of fiber waviness on the compression strength of continuous carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites. Temporal evaluations of the load-deformation response, acoustic emissions and optical microscopy are used to understand the failure modes and damage progression in the OHC specimen. The failure modes observed are structurally correlated to matrix failure and kink zone formation leading to fiber fracture. The results show how the resin pocket plays a more critical role than the layup in influencing the initiation of damage in the composite specimens.     

Polyaniline-coated coconut fibers: Structure,properties and their use as conductive additives in matrix of polyurethane derived from castor oil

Electrically conducting fibers based on coconut fibers (CF) and polyaniline (PANI) were prepared through in situ oxidative polymerization of aniline (ANI) in the presence of CF using iron (III) chloride hexahydrate (FeCl_3.6H₂O) or ammonium persulfate (APS) as an oxidant. The PANI-coated coconut fibers (CF-PANI) displayed various morphologies, electrical conductivities and percentages of PANI on the CF surface. For both systems, a PANI conductive layer was present on the CF surface, which was responsible for an electrical conductivity of around 1.5 × 10⁻¹ and 1.9 × 10⁻² S cm⁻¹ for composites prepared with FeCl₃.6H₂O and APS, respectively; values that are similar to that of pure PANI. In order to modify the structure and properties of polyurethane derived from castor oil (PU) both CF-PANI and pure PANI were used as conductive additives. The PU/CF-PANI composites exhibited higher electrical conductivity than pure PU and PU/PANI blends. Additionally, the PU/CF-PANI composites showed a variation in electrical resistivity according to the compressive stress applied, indicating that these materials could be applied for pressure-sensitive applications.     

Preparation and Photocatalytic Activity of Ce,H3PW12O40 co-doped TiO2 Hollow Fibers

A series of Ce, H3PW12O40 co-doped TiO2 hollow fibers photocatalysts have been prepared by sol-gel method using ammonium ceric nitrate, H3PW12O40 and tetrabutyltitanate as precursors and cotton fibers as template, followed by calcination at 500 ℃ in N2 atmosphere for 2 h. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption-desorption mea- surements, and UV-Vis spectroscopy are employed to characterize the morphology, crystal structure, surface structure, and optical absorption properties of the samples. The photo- catalytic performance of the samples has been studied by photodegradation phenol in water under UV and visible light irradiation. The results show that the TiO2 fiber materials have hollow structures, and the co-doped TiO2 hollow fibers exhibit higher photocatalytic activities for the degradation of phenol than un-doped, single-doped TiO2 hollow fibers under UV and visible light. In addition, the recyclability of co-doped TiO2 fibers is also confirmed that the TiO2 fiber retains ca. 90% of its activity after being used four times. It is shown that the co-doped TiO2 fibers can be activated by visible light and may be potentially applied to the treatment of water contaminated by organic pollutants. The synergistic effect of Ce and H3PW12O40 co-doping plays an important role in improving the photocatalytic activity.     

Formation of DNA‐Copolymer Fibrils Through an Amyloid‐Like Nucleation Polymerization Mechanism

Conjugation of a hydrophobic poly(2‐oxazoline) bearing tertiary amide groups along its backbone with a short single stranded nucleotide sequence results in an amphiphilic comb/graft copolymer, which organizes in fibrils upon direct dissolution in water. Supported by circular dichroism, atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and scattering data, fibrils are formed through inter‐ and intramolecular hydrogen bonding between hydrogen accepting amide groups along the polymer backbone and hydrogen donating nucleic acid grafts leading to the formation of hollow tubes.

     

Comparison of the separation of proteins of wide-ranging molecular weight via trilobal polypropylene capillary-channeled polymer fiber,commercial superficiously porous,and commercial size exclusion columns

Reversed phase and size-exclusion chromatography methods are commonly used for protein separations, although they are based on distinctly different principles. Reversed phase methods yield hydrophobicity-based (loosely-termed) separation of proteins on porous supports, but tend to be limited to proteins with modest molecular weights based on mass transfer limitations. Alternatively, size-exclusion provides complementary benefits in the separation of higher mass proteins based on entropic, not enthalpic, processes, but tend to yield limited peak capacities. In this study, microbore columns packed with a novel trilobal polypropylene capillary-channeled polymer fiber were used in a reversed phase modality for the separation of polypeptides and proteins of molecular weights ranging from 1.4 to 660 kDa. Chromatographic parameters including gradient times, flow rates, and trifluoroacetic acid concentrations in the mobile phase were optimized to maximize resolution and throughput. Following optimization, the performance of the trilobal fiber column was compared to two commercial-sourced columns, a superficially porous C4-derivatized silica and size exclusion, both of which are sold specifically for protein separations and operated according to the manufacturer-specified conditions. In comparison to the commercial columns, the fiber-based column yielded better separation performance across the entirety of the suite, at much lower cost and shorter separation times.     

Flexible carbon membrane supercapacitor based on γ-cyclodextrin-MOF

Supercapacitors (SCs) with high energy density and power density are a research hotspot. Herein, we report a flexible porous carbon membrane supercapacitor prepared by electrospinning polyacrylonitrile (PAN) with γ-cyclodextrin-MOF (γ-CD-MOF) and then carbonizing at 900 °C. BET results showed that the supercapacitor retained the skeleton of γ-CD, γ-CD-MOF and the pores formed by the spun-fibers, which were 0.73, 1.09 and 23–186 nm, respectively, showing a high specific surface area of 134.7 m²/g. The hierarchically porous structures ensure rapid charge transfer and ion diffusion, resulting in the PAN/γ-CD-MOF carbon electrode with a high capacity of 283.3 F/g. Moreover, the supercapacitor had a high energy density up to 17.5 Wh/kg and power density up to 6 kW/kg. Significantly, it showed excellent cycle stability with a capacitance retention of 97.5% after 6000 cycles. This work provides a supramolecular strategy to construct a flexible porous carbon membrane, which has potential for supercapacitor applications.     

Water-annealing regulated protein-based magnetic nanofiber materials: tuning silk structure and properties to enhance cell response under magnetic fields

In this study, flexible silk fibroin protein and biocompatible barium hexaferrite (BaM) nanoparticles were combined and electrospun into nanofibers, and their physical properties could be tuned through the mixing ratios and a water annealing process. Structural analysis indicates that the protein structure of the materials is fully controllable by the annealing process. The mechanical properties of the electrospun composites can be significantly improved by annealing, while the magnetic properties of barium hexaferrite are maintained in the composite. Notably, in the absence of a magnetic field, cell growth increased slightly with increasing BaM content. Application of an external magnetic field during in vitro cell biocompatibility study of the materials demonstrated significantly larger cell growth. We propose a mechanism to explain the effects of water annealing and magnetic field on cell growth. This study indicates that these composite electrospun fibers may be widely used in the biomedical field for controllable cell response through applying different external magnetic fields.     

Electrospun Aspirin/Eudragit/Lipid Hybrid Nanofibers for Colon-targeted Delivery Using an Energy-saving Process

Both electrospinning apparatus and their commercial pro-ducts are extending their applications in a wide variety of fields. However, very limited reports can be found about how to implement an energy-saving process and in turn to reduce the production cost. In this paper, a brand-new type of coaxial spinneret with a solid core and its electrospinning methods are developed. A novel sort of medicated Eudragit/lipid hybrid nanofibers are gene-rated for providing a colon-targeted sustained release of aspirin. A series of characterizations demonstrates that the as-prepared hybrid nanofibers have a fine linear morphology with the aspirin/lipid separated from the matrix Eudragit to form many tiny islands. In vitro dissolution tests exhibit that the hybrid nanofibers are able to effectively prevent the release of aspirin under an acid condition (8.7%±3.4% for the first two hours), whereas prolong the drug release time period under a neutral condition(99.7±4.2% at the se-venth hour). The energy-saving mechanism is discussed in detail. The prepared aspirin-loaded hybrid nanofibers can be further transferred into an oral dosage form for potential application in counte-ring COVID-19 in the future.     

Characterization of the channel walls roughness in photonic crystal fibers

We present electron microscope (FEI NanoSEM) and atomic force microscopy measurements of surface roughness in nanochannels in photonic crystal fibers (PCF). A method was invented to cleave the PCF along the axis without damaging the surface structure in the nanochannels allowing us to characterize the morphology of the nanochannels in the PCF. A multi-wall carbon nanotube mounted onto commercial AFM probes and super sharp silicon non-contact mode AFM probes were used to characterize the wall roughness in the nanochannels. The roughness is shown to have a Gaussian distribution, and has an amplitude smaller than 0.5 nm. The height–height correlation function is an exponential correlation function with an autocorrelation length of 13 nm, and 27 nm corresponding with scan sizes of 200×100 nm², and 1600×200 nm², respectively.     

Wastes from Wood Extraction Used in Composite Materials: Behavior after Accelerated Weathering

New materials were obtained by incorporating in polypropylene (PP) matrix 60% wood wastes resulting after extraction with supercritical carbon dioxide, water, and ethanol. Structural, mechanical, thermal, and rheological characterizations, as well as moisture uptake of the composites, were evaluated before and after accelerated weathering. It was found that the extraction method influenced the composite properties due to the hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance. The addition of extracted fibers results in an increase in hardness and tensile properties and a decrease of impact strength as compared to PP.