The metallic C6S monolayer with high specific capacity for K-ion batteries

K-ion batteries (KIBs) attract considerable attention due to the abundance of K, high-working voltages, and chemical similarity with Li, enabling the utilization of mature Li-ion technology. However, shortage of high-performance anode materials is a critical obstacle for the development of KIBs. Through first-principles swarm-intelligence structural search, we identify a potential anode material, the C₆S monolayer, which provides not only a remarkably high specific capacity of 1546 mAh/g but also a low diffusion barrier of 0.11 eV and a low open-circuit voltage of 0.21 V. Inherent metallicity originates from delocalized π electrons.     

Improved Dermal and Transdermal Delivery of Curcumin with SmartFilms and Nanocrystals

Poor aqueous solubility of active compounds is a major issue in today’s drug delivery. In this study the smartFilm-technology was exploited to improve the dermal penetration efficacy of a poorly soluble active compound (curcumin). Results were compared to the dermal penetration efficacy of curcumin from curcumin bulk suspensions and nanocrystals, respectively. The smartFilms enabled an effective dermal and transdermal penetration of curcumin, whereas curcumin bulk- and nanosuspensions were less efficient when the curcumin content was similar to the curcumin content in the smartFilms. Interestingly, it was found that increasing numbers of curcumin particles within the suspensions increased the passive dermal penetration of curcumin. The effect is caused by an aqueous meniscus that is created between particle and skin if the dispersion medium evaporates. The connecting liquid meniscus causes a local swelling of the stratum corneum and maintains a high local concentration gradient between drug particles and skin. Thus, leading to a high local passive dermal penetration of curcumin. The findings suggest a new dermal penetration mechanism for active compounds from nano-particulate drug delivery systems, which can be the base for the development of topical drug products with improved penetration efficacy in the future.     

Synthesis of a Novel Chitosan/Basil Oil Blend and Development of Novel Low Density Poly Ethylene/Chitosan/Basil Oil Active Packaging Films Following a Melt-Extrusion Process for Enhancing Chicken Breast Fillets Shelf-Life

An innovative process for the adsorption of the hydrophobic Basil-Oil (BO) into the hydrophilic food byproduct chitosan (CS) and the development of an advanced low-density polyethylene/chitosan/basil-oil (LDPE/CS_BO) active packaging film was investigated in this work. The idea of this study was the use of the BO as both a bioactive agent and a compatibilizer. The CS was modified to a CS_BO hydrophobic blend via a green evaporation/adsorption process. This blend was incorporated directly in the LDPE to produce films with advanced properties. All the obtained composite films exhibited improved packaging properties. The film with 10% CS_BO content exhibited the best packaging properties, i.e., 33.0% higher tensile stress, 31.0% higher water barrier, 54.3% higher oxygen barrier, and 12.3% higher antioxidant activity values compared to the corresponding values of the LDPE films. The lipid oxidation values of chicken breast fillets which were packaged under vacuum using this film were measured after seven and after fourteen days of storage. These values were found to be lower by around 41% and 45%, respectively, compared with the corresponding lipid oxidation values of pure LDPE film.     

A novel nanoscale fin field effect transistor by amended channel: Investigation and fundamental physics

The present paper proposes a new Fin Field Effect Transistor (FinFET) with an amended Channel (AC). The fin region consists of two sections; the lower part which has a rounded shape and the upper part of fin as conventional FinFETs, is cubic. The AC-FinFET devices are proven to have a lower threshold voltage roll-off, reduced DIBL, better subthreshold slope characteristics, and a better gate capacitance in comparison with the C-FinFET. Moreover, the simulation result with three-dimensional and two-carrier device simulator demonstrates an improved output characteristic of the proposed structure due to reduction of self-heating effect. Due to the rounded shape of the lower fin region and decreasing corner effects there, the heat can flow easily, and the device temperature will decrease. Also the gate control over the channel increases due to the narrow upper part of the fin. The paper, thus, attempts to show the advantages of higher performance AC-FinFET device over the conventional one, and its effect on the operation of nanoscale devices.     

Dielectric properties of tetragonal tungsten bronze films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering

Tetragonal tungsten bronze (TTB) films have been synthesised on Pt(111)/TiO₂/SiO₂/Si substrates from Ba₂LnFeNb₄O₁₅ ceramics (Ln = La, Nd, Eu) by RF magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction measurements evidenced the multi-oriented nature of films with some degrees of preferential orientation along (111). The dependence of the dielectric properties on temperature and frequency has been investigated. The dielectric properties of the films are similar to those of the bulk, i.e., ε ∼150 and σ ∼10⁻⁶ Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹ at 1 MHz and room temperature. The films exhibit two dielectric anomalies which are attributed to Maxwell Wagner polarization mechanism and relaxor behaviour. Both anomalies are sensitive to post-annealing under oxygen atmosphere and their activation energies are similar E_a ∼0.30 eV. They are explained in terms of electrically heterogeneous contributions in the films.     

Probing the Rotational Dynamics of meso‐(2‐Substituted)aryl Substituents in A2B‐Type Subporphyrins

A₂B‐type B‐methoxy subporphyrins 3 a – g and B‐phenyl subporphyrins 7 a – c , e , g bearing meso‐(2‐substituted)aryl substituents are synthesized, and their rotational dynamics are examined through variable‐temperature (VT) ¹H NMR spectroscopy. In these subporphyrins, the rotation of meso‐aryl substituents is hindered by a rationally installed 2‐substituent. The rotational barriers determined are considerably smaller than those reported previously for porphyrins. Comparison of the rotation activation parameters reveals a variable contribution of ΔH^≠ and ΔS^≠ in ΔG^≠. 2‐Methyl and 2‐ethyl groups of the meso‐aryl substituents in subporphyrins 3 e , 3 f , and 7 e induce larger rotational barriers than 2‐alkoxyl substituents. The rotational barriers of 3 g and 7 g are reduced by the presence of the 4‐dibenzylamino group owing to its ability to stabilize the coplanar rotation transition state electronically. The smaller rotational barriers found for B‐phenyl subporphyrins than for B‐methoxy subporphyrins indicate a negligible contribution of S_N1‐type heterolysis in the rotation of meso‐aryl substituents.     

Moving boundary truncated grid method: Multidimensional quantum dynamics

The moving boundary truncated grid (TG) method is used to study wave packet dynamics of multidimensional quantum systems. As time evolves, appropriate Eulerian grid points required for propagating a wave packet are activated and deactivated with no advance information about the dynamics. This method is applied to the Henon-Heiles potential and wave packet barrier scattering in two, three, and four dimensions. Computational results demonstrate that the TG method not only leads to a great reduction in the number of grid points needed to perform accurate calculations but also is computationally more efficient than the full grid calculations.     

Polycaprolactone solution–based ink for designing microfluidic channels on paper via 3D printing platform for biosensing application

This work reports a novel fabrication technique for development of channels on paper‐based microfluidic devices using the syringe module of a 3D printing syringe–based system. In this study, printing using polycaprolactone (PCL)‐based ink (Mw 70 000‐90 000) was employed for the generation of functional hydrophobic barriers on Whatman qualitative filter paper grade 1 (approximate thickness of 180 μm and pore diameter of 11 μm), which would effectively channelize fluid flow to multiple assay zones dedicated for different analyte detection on a microfluidic paper‐based analytical device (μPAD). The standardization studies reveal that a functional hydrophilic channel for sample conduction fabricated using the reported technique can be as narrow as 460.7 ± 20 μm and a functional hydrophobic barrier can be of any width with a lower limit of about 982.2 ± 142.75 μm when a minimum number of two layers of the ink is extruded onto paper. A comparison with the hydrodynamic model established for writing with ink is used to explain the width of the line printed by this system. A fluid flow analysis through a single channel system was also carried out to establish its conformity with the Washburn model, which governs the fluid flow in two‐dimensional μPAD. The presented fabrication technique proves to be a robust strategy that effectively taps the advantages of this 3D printing technique in the production of μPADs with enhanced speed and reproducibility.