Miscellaneous PEDOT:PTS (polythiophenesulfonyl chloride) based conductive binder for silicon anodes in lithium ion batteries

Lithium ion batteries which are an energy storage system have increasing attention owing to suitability and advantages for many applications. Although it has ideal specifications, the capacity properties still have to be developed. In this study, the electrical conductivity of the anode was increased by using a conductive polymer binder and the active material content of the anode was also enhanced without adding carbon additives. Silicon based anodes were manufactured by using poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/polythiophenesulfonyl chloride (PEDOT:PTS) conductive polymer binders. Si/PEDOT:PTS anode showed about 2000 mAh/g specific capacities after 60 cycles with decreasing impedance.     

Linear trinuclear mixed valance MnIII-MnII-MnIII complex: Synthesis,crystal structure and characterization

A new linear trinuclear Mn^III-Mn^II-Mn^III complex 1 has been synthesized and characterized by elemental, spectral, X-ray and magnetic analysis. X-ray diffraction studies show that the central Mn^II ion is located at a crystallographic inversion center and is triply bridged to the terminal Mn^III ions through one methoxide, one syn-syn carboxylate and one hydroxyl oxygen bridges with the short Mn^III…Mn^II distance that is 3.047 Å. The intermolecular C-H…O, C-H…π and ring-metal interactions are observed in the hydrogen-bonded assembly of 1. Magnetic studies reveal that the mixed-valence complex 1 has S = 3/2 ground state with antiferromagnetic exchange interactions between Mn^II and Mn^III ions.     

Synthesis, characterization and chromotropic properties of MnII, CoII, NiII and CuII with bis (acesulfamato) bis ( 3 -methylpyridine) complexes

The novel 3- [M: Mn^II, Co^II, and Ni^II] and 3- complexes (acs: acesulfamate; 3-pic: 3-methylpyridine) have been synthesized and characterized using elemental analyses, magnetic moments, UV–Vis and FT-IR spectra. The thermal behaviour of the complexes was also studied by simultaneous TG, DTG and DTA methods in static air atmosphere. The chromotropic properties of all complexes have been studied using thermal and spectral analysis. While the complexes of Co^II and Ni^II show reversible continuous thermochromism, an irreversible discontinuous thermochromism is observed in the Mn^II and Cu^II) complexes in the solid state. The observed thermochromism in the Mn^II, Co^II and Ni^II complexes is due to the different ligand field strength associated with the deaquation reaction. The solvatochromic behaviour of the complexes is also studied and all anhydrous complexes (except Mn^II) exhibit solvatochromic properties depending on the donor number of the solvent.     

Fabrication of Electrochemical Immunosensor for Detection of Interleukin 8 Biomarker via Layer-by-layer Self-assembly Process on Cost-effective Fluorine Tin Oxide Electrode

A highly sensitive impedimetric immunosensor for the determination of interleukin 8 (IL 8) cancer biomarker was fabricated via simple fabrication process. A silane agent with isocyanate groups, 3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl isocyanate (IPTES), were utilized for binding of IL 8 antigen specific antibodies and self-assembled on the fluorine tin oxide (FTO) substrate with a standard silanization chemistry. Under optimum experimental conditions, the designed immunosensor had a wide linear detection range of 0.02–4 pg/mL, a low limit of detection of 11.9 fg/mL and a high sensitivity of 4.42 kΩ pg⁻¹ mL cm⁻². The designed biosensor displayed high reproducibility and repeatability, good selectivity against interference biomarkers.     

Propolis-Based Nanofiber Patches to Repair Corneal Microbial Keratitis

In this research, polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA)/gelatin (GEL)/propolis (Ps) biocompatible nanofiber patches were fabricated via electrospinning technique. The controlled release of Propolis, surface wettability behaviors, antimicrobial activities against the S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, and biocompatibility properties with the mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were investigated in detail. By adding 0.5, 1, and 3 wt.% GEL into the 13 wt.% PVA, the morphological and mechanical results suggested that 13 wt.% PVA/0.5 wt.% GEL patch can be an ideal matrix for 3 and 5 wt.% propolis addition. Morphological results revealed that the diameters of the electrospun nanofiber patches were increased with GEL (from 290 nm to 400 nm) and Ps addition and crosslinking process cause the formation of thicker nanofibers. The tensile strength and elongation at break enhancement were also determined for 13 wt.% PVA/0.5 wt.% GEL/3 wt.% Ps patch. Propolis was released quickly in the first hour and arrived at a plateau. Cell culture and contact angle results confirmed that the 3 wt.% addition of propolis reinforced mesenchymal stem cell proliferation and wettability properties of the patches. The antimicrobial activity demonstrated that propolis loaded patches had antibacterial activity against the S. aureus, but for P. aeruginosa, more studies should be performed.     

Fabrication of Microfluidic Devices for Emulsion Formation by Microstereolithography

Droplet microfluidics—the art and science of forming droplets—has been revolutionary for high-throughput screening, directed evolution, single-cell sequencing, and material design. However, traditional fabrication techniques for microfluidic devices suffer from several disadvantages, including multistep processing, expensive facilities, and limited three-dimensional (3D) design flexibility. High-resolution additive manufacturing—and in particular, projection micro-stereolithography (PµSL)—provides a promising path for overcoming these drawbacks. Similar to polydimethylsiloxane-based microfluidics 20 years ago, 3D printing methods, such as PµSL, have provided a path toward a new era of microfluidic device design. PµSL greatly simplifies the device fabrication process, especially the access to truly 3D geometries, is cost-effective, and it enables multimaterial processing. In this review, we discuss both the basics and recent innovations in PµSL; the material basis with emphasis on custom-made photopolymer formulations; multimaterial 3D printing; and, 3D-printed microfluidic devices for emulsion formation as our focus application. Our goal is to support researchers in setting up their own PµSL system to fabricate tailor-made microfluidics.     

Adsorptive characteristics of isoniazid on powdered activated carbon: π–π Dispersion interactions at the solid–solution interface

The presence of antibiotic residues in the aquatic environment poses a potential risk to living organisms due to the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. In the present study, the removal of isoniazid by commercial powdered activated carbon was studied in aqueous solutions. The adsorption experiments were done as a function of time, concentration, temperature, and pH in order to understand the adsorption mechanism. The Langmuir and the Freundlich isotherms were used to model the equilibrium data. The results showed that isoniazid was physisorbed on the surface of the activated carbon by π–π dispersion interactions.     

Evaluation on dye removal capability of didodecyldimethylammonium-bentonite from aqueous solutions

The removal efficiency of Reactive Blue 19 (RB19) by using surfactant-modified bentonite (MB) from aqueous solutions, and also textile wastewater samples was examined. Natural bentonite (NB) was firstly modified with didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDDAB) in order to increase the removal capacity of bentonite. MB was then characterized by Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectrophotometer (FTIR), x-ray diffractometry (XRD), x-ray fluorescence (XRF), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)/EDX, zeta potential, elemental, and thermal analysis techniques. The high adsorption capacity of MB was 407.7?mg g^?1 at pH?=?1.5 and 20^°C. The adsorption of Reactive Blue 19 onto MB agreed with the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models.     

Characterization of paraben substituted cyclotriphosphazenes,and a DNA interaction study with a real-time electrochemical profiling based biosensor

Microchimica Acta - This paper describes an amperometric method for studying DNA-drug candidate interactions. It uses an automatted electrochemical biosensor (MiSens®) based on real-time...     

Fabrication of photo‐cross‐linked polyethyleneimine‐based barriers for CO2 capture

In this study, first, polyethyleneimine was acrylated and mixed with polyvinyl alcohol solution to prepare photo‐crosslinked polyethyleneimine (PEI)‐based nanofibers by utilizing ultraviolet and electrospinning technique at the same time. For CO₂ permeability testing, same formulations were prepared by using solvent casting technique and exposed to ultraviolet light to have polyethyleneimine‐based membrane films. The chemical structures of the nanofibers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The thermal properties of nanofibers were examined by thermal gravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimeter. The morphology of nanofibers was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. CO₂ permeabilities of samples were also measured. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.