Triclosan‐based antibacterial paper reinforced with nano‐montmorillonite: a model nanocomposite for the development of new active packaging

In this study, a suitable method is reported to produce reinforced antibacterial paper packaging using the antimicrobial triclosan (TC) and organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) as “model” compounds. Direct incorporation of TC at a concentration of 1 wt% and OMMT at concentrations of 1, 4, 7, and 10 wt% into papers was performed via coating process, and the resulting materials were characterized by in vitro antimicrobial assays, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, mechanical tests, and water vapor transmission rate determinations. It was demonstrated that the presence of 1% TC in the coated papers exhibited inhibitory effects against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. It was also pointed out that increases of approximately 30% in the tensile strength of commercial paper are obtained by using the OMMT at a concentration of 1 wt%. Water barrier property and thermal stability of paper were also enhanced because of the coating process and the incorporation of OMMT. The results from this study demonstrate that OMMT has a great potential to be incorporated into coating formulations to obtain antibacterial‐coated papers with improved properties for various packaging applications. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Direct Monitoring of Thickness and Refractive Index of Optical Thin Film Deposited on Fiber End-face

We propose a system for depositing thin films on waveguides which enables low-temperature deposition and precise control of the refractive index and film thickness. It is composed of a conventional ion-beam sputtering (IBS) system and a new system for directly monitoring film characteristics during deposition. We controlled refractive indices over a wide range from 1.52 to 1.97 by moving the sputtering targets (SiO₂ and Si₃N₄) in the IBS system. The refractive index or film thickness was in-situ monitored by observing the optical power reflected from the end-face of a monitoring fiber set in the deposition chamber. Antireflection coating films were successfully deposited on a fiber end-face and a laser diode chip facet with low reflectivity from 0.05 to 0.07%. This deposition system is attractive for constructing highly functional optical devices for future photonic networks.     

Separation of antipyretic analgesics by open tubular capillary electrochromatography with homopolymer coatings

This study developed an open‐tubular capillary electrochromatography protocol for the analysis of antipyretic analgesic drugs, which used a multifunctional homopolymer as coating. A controlled/living radical polymerization strategy was adopted to obtain poly(N‐acryloxysuccinimide) with a tunable chain‐length. The homopolymer coating enhanced the separation performance by contributing to the hydrophobic and hydrogen‐bonding interactions between the analytes and the homopolymer. The effect of polymer chain‐length and buffer pH and concentration on the separation efficiency was evaluated. In this approach, baseline separation of the three test drugs was achieved within 15 min. The repeatability of the prepared homopolymer coating was investigated, with the relative standard deviations < 2.88% observed in intra‐ and interday runs. Good linearity in the 5–800 µM range (R² ≥ 0.998) demonstrates that accurate quantitative analysis of real samples was achieved. Moreover, the proposed assay was used to quantify the three drugs (aminopyrine, 4‐aminoantipyrine, and phenacetin) in urine samples, achieving recovery rates between 92.1 and 108.7%. This promising methodology may be used for the analysis of drugs in real bio‐samples and for the development of unique homopolymer coatings for open‐tubular capillary electrochromatography systems.     

Controlling the infrared optical properties of rf-sputtered NiO films for applications of infrared window

In this paper, we will focus on an IR transmittance enhancement technique from the window material point of view by using metal oxides, especially nickel oxide (NiO). At first, anti-reflection (AR) coatings were modeled by using the optical properties of NiO films. The transmittance of the model was predicted using Swanepoel’s model and verified with NiO film prepared by rf magnetron sputtering. Also, post-deposition annealing was performed and was found to change the optical properties of the NiO film. Therefore, we analyzed the annealing effect on the IR optical properties of the NiO film. Furthermore, we confirmed the durability of the NiO film and verified the possibility of this material being used in infrared optics.     

Study on the changes of ultrasonic parameters over supercritical Ni-Co electroplating process

This work discusses the influence of changes to ultrasound (US) parameters over the nickel cobalt (Ni-Co) metal thin film properties produced by supercritical CO₂ (SC-CO₂) electroplating. Additionally, Ni-Co films were produced by conventional electroplating and silent SC-CO₂ and compared against each other.The discussion on metal thin film properties revolves around variations to the bath type ultrasonic power (15 W and 20 W) and frequency (42 k Hz and 72 kHz) during experiments. The properties provided by the three electroplating processes and analyzed include: grain sizes, film elemental content analyses, surface microstructures, film hardness, corrosion resistance, surface roughness, crystalline structure and preferential growth, etc. From the results it was clear that quality of films produced by US-SC-CO₂ was improved compared to that of films produced by silent SC-CO₂, which itself was better than those produced by conventional electroplating. However, when US power was varied we observed a decline in the mechanical properties of the produced films.The combination of ultrasonic agitation with SC-CO₂ allows for improved mechanical properties such as: lower surface roughness, finer grain size and surface morphologies, increased corrosion resistance and film hardness. The ultrasound agitation applied to SC-CO₂ electroplating enhanced the formation of alloyed metal as ultrasonic agitation increased the electrolyte flowability during electroplating process resulting in increased mass transfer while at the same time achieving a surface cleaning effect which removed metal ions with poor adhesion and other unwanted particles. Moreover, application of ultrasonic agitation avoids the use of surfactants so only changes to the physical phenomena and no changes to the chemical composition of the deposited thin films were observed, meaning less pollution to the electrolyte and higher purity of the deposited films.The US-SC-CO₂ electroplating method described in this work effectively enhanced the mechanical properties of the deposited thin films compared to those produced by both silent SC-CO₂ and conventional electroplating processes.     

Tunable Upconversion Emissions from Lanthanide-doped Monodisperse β-NaYF4 Nanoparticles

We report upconversion multicolor tuning based on uniform β-NaYF₄:Yb/Tm/Er nanoparticles. The as-synthesized nanoparticles with an average diameter of 25 nm are well dispersed in a wide range of nonpolar solvents including hexane, cyclohexane, dichloromethane, and toluene. These nanoparticles show intense upconversion emissions and the color output can be precisely modulated by adjusting activator ratios of Tm³⁺ to Er³⁺. Dopant-concentration dependent emission properties of the triply doped particle system are also investigated. In addition, we demonstrate that these nanoparticles can be readily transferred to polar solvents such as ethanol and water by growing a thin silica layer (10 nm) around the particles, providing potential applications in biological labeling and imaging.     

Effects of acid and alkaline based surface preparations on spray deposited cerium based conversion coatings on Al 2024-T3

Cerium based conversion coatings were spray deposited on Al 2024-T3 and characterized to determine the effect of surface preparation on the deposition rate and surface morphology. It was found that activation of the panel using a 1-wt.% sulfuric acid solution increased the coating deposition rate compared to alkaline cleaning alone. Analysis of the surface morphology of the coatings showed that the coatings deposited on the acid treated panels exhibited fewer visible cracks compared to coatings on alkaline cleaned panels. Auger electron spectroscopy depth profiling showed that the acid activation decreased the thickness of the aluminum oxide layer and the concentration of magnesium on the surface of the panels compared to the alkaline treatment. Additionally, acid activation increased the copper concentration at the surface of the aluminum substrate. Based on the results, the acid based surface treatment appeared to expose copper rich intermetallics, thus increasing the number of cathodic sites on the surface, which led to an overall increase in the deposition rate.     

Structural, optical, and electrical properties of p-type NiO films and composite TiO2/NiO electrodes for solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

p-Type nickel oxide thin films were prepared by sol-gel method, and their structural, optical and electrical properties were investigated. The Ni(OH)₂ sol was formed from nickel (II) acetate tetrahydrate, Ni(CH₃COO)₂·4H₂O, in a mixture of alcohol solution and poly(ethylene glycol), and deposited on an ITO substrate by spin coating followed by different heat treatments in air (50-800 °C). The formation and composition of NiO thin film was justified by EDX analysis. It is found that the thickness of the NiO film calcined at 450 °C for 1 h is about 120 nm with average particle size of 22 nm, and high UV transparency (∼75%) in the visible region is also observed. However, the transmittance is negligible for thin films calcined at 800 °C and below 200 °C due to larger particle size and the amorphous characteristics, respectively. Moreover, the composite electrode comprising n-type TiO₂ and p-type NiO is fabricated. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the composite TiO₂/NiO electrode demonstrate significant p-type behavior by the shape of the rectifying curve in dark. The effect of calcination temperature on the rectification behavior is also discussed.     

Preparation and properties of electroless Ni-P-SiO2 composite coatings

Dispersible SiO₂ nanoparticles were co-deposited with electroless Ni-P coating onto AISI-1045 steel substrates in the absence of any surfactants in plating bath. The resulting Ni-P/nano-SiO₂ composite coatings were heat-treated for 1 h at 200 °C, 400 °C, and 600 °C, respectively. The hardness and wear resistance of the heat-treated composite coatings were measured. Moreover, the structural changes of the composite coatings before and after heat treatment were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), while their elemental composition and morphology were analyzed using an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results show that co-deposited SiO₂ particles contributed to increase the hardness and wear resistance of electroless Ni-P coating, and the composite coating heat-treated at about 400 °C had the maximum hardness and wear resistance.     

Incorporation and release of drug into/from superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

The aim of this study was to attach a model drug (naproxen) onto superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION). First, SPION were coated with thin layer of silica that contained micropores. We demonstrated that such surface functionalization could be optimized by the use of citric acid which prevented SPION agglomeration during the procedure. HRTEM investigation showed a uniform 1-2-nm-thick silica coating around SPION. This coating did not affect significantly the magnetic properties of the SPION. Into the coated SPION we successfully incorporated about 30 wt% of naproxen. The latter was readily released after immersion into a testing solution. The composites could be interesting for potential use in diagnostics.