TY - JOUR TI - Reorganizing Polymer Chains with Cyclodextrins AU - Gurarslan, Alper AU - Joijode, Abhay AU - Shen, Jialong AU - Narayanan, Ganesh AU - Antony, Gerry J. AU - Li, Shanshan AU - Caydamli, Yavuz AU - Tonelli, Alan E. T2 - Polymers AB - During the past several years, we have been utilizing cyclodextrins (CDs) to nanostructure polymers into bulk samples whose chain organizations, properties, and behaviors are quite distinct from neat bulk samples obtained from their solutions and melts. We first form non-covalently bonded inclusion complexes (ICs) between CD hosts and guest polymers, where the guest chains are highly extended and separately occupy the narrow channels (~0.5–1.0 nm in diameter) formed by the columnar arrangement of CDs in the IC crystals. Careful removal of the host crystalline CD lattice from the polymer-CD-IC crystals leads to coalescence of the guest polymer chains into bulk samples, which we have repeatedly observed to behave distinctly from those produced from their solutions or melts. While amorphous polymers coalesced from their CD-ICs evidence significantly higher glass-transition temperatures, Tgs, polymers that crystallize generally show higher melting and crystallization temperatures (Tms, Tcs), and some-times different crystalline polymorphs, when they are coalesced from their CD-ICs. Formation of CD-ICs containing two or more guest homopolymers or with block copolymers can result in coalesced samples which exhibit intimate mixing between their common homopolymer chains or between the blocks of the copolymer. On a more practically relevant level, the distinct organizations and behaviors observed for polymer samples coalesced from their CD-ICs are found to be stable to extended annealing at temperatures above their Tgs and Tms. We believe this is a consequence of the structural organization of the crystalline polymer-CD-ICs, where the guest polymer chains included in host-IC crystals are separated and confined to occupy the narrow channels formed by the host CDs during IC crystallization. Substantial degrees of the extended and un-entangled natures of the IC-included chains are apparently retained upon coalescence, and are resistant to high temperature annealing. Following the careful removal of the host CD lattice from each randomly oriented IC crystal, the guest polymer chains now occupying a much-reduced volume may be somewhat “nematically” oriented, resulting in a collection of randomly oriented “nematic” regions of largely extended and un-entangled coalesced guest chains. The suggested randomly oriented nematic domain organization of guest polymers might explain why even at high temperatures their transformation to randomly-coiling, interpenetrated, and entangled melts might be difficult. In addition, the behaviors and uses of polymers coalesced from their CD-ICs are briefly described and summarized here, and we attempted to draw conclusions from and relationships between their behaviors and the unique chain organizations and conformations achieved upon coalescence. DA - 2017/12/4/ PY - 2017/12/4/ DO - 10.3390/polym9120673 VL - 9 IS - 12 SP - 673 UR - https://doi.org/10.3390/polym9120673 ER - TY - JOUR TI - A photoactivatable light tracer AU - Liu, Xiaoming AU - Zhang, Yang AU - Baker, James D. AU - Raymo, Françisco M. T2 - Journal of Materials Chemistry C AB - The photoinduced interconversion of the two emissive states of a photoactivatable fluorophore permits the quantitative mapping of the electromagnetic radiation propagating through microscaled objects in three dimensions. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1039/C7TC05049F UR - https://doi.org/10.1039/C7TC05049F ER - TY - CONF TI - Supramolecular delivery of photoactivatable fluorophores in developing embryos AU - Zhang, Yang AU - Tang, Sicheng AU - Sansalone, Lorenzo AU - Thapaliya, Ek Raj AU - Baker, James D. AU - Raymo, Françisco M. A2 - Osiński, Marek A2 - Parak, Wolfgang J. A2 - Liang, Xing-Jie AB - The identification of noninvasive strategies to monitor dynamics within living organisms in real time is essential to elucidate the fundamental factors governing a diversity of biological processes. This study demonstrates that the supramolecular delivery of photoactivatable fluorophores in Drosophila melanogaster embryos allows the real-time tracking of translocating molecules. The designed photoactivatable fluorophores switch from an emissive reactant to an emissive product with spectrally-resolved fluorescence, under moderate blue-light irradiation conditions. These hydrophobic fluorescent probes can be encapsulated within supramolecular hosts and delivered to the cellular blastoderm of the embryos. Thus, the combination of supramolecular delivery and fluorescence photoactivation translates into a noninvasive method to monitor dynamics in vivo and can evolve into a general chemical tool to track motion in biological specimens. C2 - 2017/2// C3 - Colloidal Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications XII DA - 2017/2// DO - 10.1117/12.2261721 PB - SPIE ER - TY - CONF TI - Probing the intracellular fate of supramolecular nanocarriers and their cargo with FRET schemes AU - Thapaliya, Ek Raj AU - Fowley, Colin AU - Callan, Bridgeen AU - Tang, Sicheng AU - Zhang, Yang AU - Callan, John F. AU - Raymo, Françisco M. A2 - Osiński, Marek A2 - Parak, Wolfgang J. A2 - Liang, Xing-Jie AB - We designed a strategy to monitor self-assembling supramolecular nanocarriers and their cargo simultaneously in the intracellular space with fluorescence measurements. It is based on Fӧrster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between complementary chromophores covalently integrated in the macromolecular backbone of amphiphilic polymers and/or noncovalently encapsulated in supramolecular assemblies of the amphiphilic components. Indeed, these polymers assemble into a micelles in aqueous phase to bring energy donors and acceptors in close proximity and allow energy transfer. The resulting supramolecular assemblies maintain their integrity after travelling into the intracellular space and do not lose their molecular guests in the process. Furthermore, this mechanism can also be exploited to probe the fate of complementary nanoparticles introduced within cells in consecutive incubation steps. Efficient energy transfer occurs in the intracellular space after the sequential incubation of nanocarriers incorporating donors first and then nanoparticles containing acceptors or vice versa. The two sets of nanostructured assemblies ultimately co-localize in the cell interior to bring donors and acceptors together and enable energy transfer. Thus, this protocol is particularly valuable to monitor the transport properties of supramolecular nanocarriers inside living cells and can eventually contribute to the fundamental understating of the ability of these promising vehicles to deliver contrast agents and/or drugs intracellularly in view of possible diagnostics and/or therapeutic applications. C2 - 2017/2// C3 - Colloidal Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications XII DA - 2017/2// DO - 10.1117/12.2269514 PB - SPIE ER - TY - JOUR TI - Fluorescence patterning with mild illumination in polymer films of photocleavable oxazines AU - Thapaliya, Ek Raj AU - Zhang, Yang AU - Raymo, Françisco M. T2 - J. Mater. Chem. C AB - The photoinduced cleavage of oxazine heterocycles, connected to macromolecules spin coated on appropriate substrates, occurs efficiently and irreversibly to quench the emission of a fluorescent dopant and allow the imprinting of patterns. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1039/c6tc05532j VL - 5 IS - 5 SP - 1179-1183 ER - TY - CONF TI - Highlighting cancer cells with macromolecular probes AU - Tang, Sicheng AU - Zhang, Yang AU - Thapaliya, Ek Raj AU - Brown, Adrienne S. AU - Wilson, James N. AU - Raymo, Françisco M. A2 - Osiński, Marek A2 - Parak, Wolfgang J. A2 - Liang, Xing-Jie AB - Conventional fluorophore–ligand constructs for the detection of cancer cells generally produce relatively weak signals with modest contrast. The inherently low brightness accessible per biding event with the pairing of a single organic fluorophore to a single ligand as well as the contribution of unbound probes to background fluorescence are mainly responsible for these limitations. Our laboratories identified a viable structural design to improve both brightness and contrast. It is based on the integration of activatable fluorophores and targeting ligands within the same macromolecular construct. The chromophoric components are engineered to emit bright fluorescence exclusively in acidic environments. The targeting agents are designed to bind complementary receptors overexpressed on the surface of cancer cells and allow internalization of the macromolecules into acidic organelles. As a result of these properties, our macromolecular probes switch their intense emission on exclusively in the intracellular space of target cells with minimal background fluorescence from the extracellular matrix. In fact, these operating principles translate into a 170-fold enhancement in brightness, relative to equivalent but isolated chromophoric components, and a 3-fold increase in contrast, relative to model but non-activatable fluorophores. Thus, our macromolecular probes might ultimately evolve into valuable analytical tools to highlight cancer cells with optimal signal-to-noise ratios in a diversity of biomedical applications. C2 - 2017/2// C3 - Colloidal Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications XII DA - 2017/2// DO - 10.1117/12.2261495 PB - SPIE ER - TY - JOUR TI - Facile fabrication of AIE/AIEE-active fluorescent nanoparticles based on barbituric for cell imaging applications AU - Li, Kai AU - Zhang, Yang AU - Qiao, Bing AU - Tao, Furong AU - Li, Tianduo AU - Ding, Yunqiao AU - Raymo, Françisco M. AU - Cui, Yuezhi T2 - RSC Adv. AB - Compounds 1–4 were synthesized, and the optical properties and mechanisms were investigated. Compound 4 was applied to the cell imaging. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1039/c7ra03956e VL - 7 IS - 48 SP - 30229-30241 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Detection of nitroaromatic explosives by a 3D hyperbranched σ–π conjugated polymer based on a POSS scaffold AU - Ma, Xiaoshuang AU - Tao, Furong AU - Zhang, Yang AU - Li, Tianduo AU - Raymo, Françisco M. AU - Cui, Yuezhi T2 - J. Mater. Chem. A AB - A three-dimensional hyperbranched polymer (3D-HP) with σ–π conjugated PDMPS (poly(dichloromethylphenylsilane)s) units covalently bonded to a polyhedral oligosilsesquioxane (POSS) scaffold was prepared by a one-step “thiol–ene click chemistry” reaction. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1039/c7ta04351a ER - TY - JOUR TI - Bioimaging with Macromolecular Probes Incorporating Multiple BODIPY Fluorophores AU - Thapaliya, Ek Raj AU - Zhang, Yang AU - Dhakal, Pravat AU - Brown, Adrienne S. AU - Wilson, James N. AU - Collins, Kevin M. AU - Raymo, Françisco M. T2 - Bioconjugate Chemistry AB - Seven macromolecular constructs incorporating multiple borondipyrromethene (BODIPY) fluorophores along a common poly(methacrylate) backbone with decyl and oligo(ethylene glycol) side chains were synthesized. The hydrophilic oligo(ethylene glycol) components impose solubility in aqueous environment on the overall assembly. The hydrophobic decyl chains effectively insulate the fluorophores from each other to prevent detrimental interchromophoric interactions and preserve their photophysical properties. As a result, the brightness of these multicomponent assemblies is approximately three times greater than that of a model BODIPY monomer. Such a high brightness level is maintained even after injection of the macromolecular probes in living nematodes, allowing their visualization with a significant improvement in signal-to-noise ratio, relative to the model monomer, and no cytotoxic or behavioral effects. The covalent scaffold of these macromolecular constructs also permits their subsequent conjugation to secondary antibodies. The covalent attachment of polymer and biomolecule does not hinder the targeting ability of the latter and the resulting bioconjugates can be exploited to stain the tubulin structure of model cells to enable their visualization with optimal signal-to-noise ratios. These results demonstrate that this particular structural design for the incorporation of multiple chromophores within the same covalent construct is a viable one to preserve the photophysical properties of the emissive species and enable the assembly of bioimaging probes with enhanced brightness. DA - 2017/5// PY - 2017/5// DO - 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.7b00166 VL - 28 IS - 5 SP - 1519-1528 ER - TY - CONF TI - Development of New Organic Hole Transport Compounds for high Performances Dye-sensitized Solar cells AU - Eletmany, Mohamed R. T2 - 1st International Conference on Natural Resources and Renewable Energy (ICNRRE) C2 - 2017/4/17/ C3 - 1st International Conference on Natural Resources and Renewable Energy (ICNRRE) CY - South Valley University, Hurghada, Egypt DA - 2017/4/17/ PY - 2017/4/17/ ER - TY - JOUR TI - The influence of designs of protective uniforms on firefighters’ performance during moderate physical exercises AU - Ciesielska-Wróbel, Izabela AU - DenHartog, Emiel AU - Barker, Roger T2 - Textile Research Journal AB - The aim of this study was to verify whether the minor differences in the design of uniforms and their fit can be quantified in terms of their impact on firefighters’ cardiorespiratory parameters and subjective perception of these uniforms. The impact of minor design improvements compared to the existing designs of personal protective clothing (PPC) is still relatively difficult to quantify due to the lack of sensitive devices used in smart measuring methodologies; however, the perception of these slight differences is reported by PPC users. The impact of these design differences in PPC on firefighters was studied via physiological tests based on occupation-related activities in which cardiorespiratory parameters were monitored and three-dimensional (3D) silhouette scanning was performed on the firefighters. Apart from heart rate (beats/min), none of the other measured physiological parameters, for example, oxygen consumption (VO 2 , ml/min) demonstrated statistically significant differences when firefighters were testing uniforms: ergonomic (ER), standard (ST), bulky (BU), and reference outfit (RO), the latter being T-shirt and shorts. A statistically significant correlation was found between parameters measured via 3D body scanning and selected cross-sections of the silhouettes as well as subjective assessments of easiness of specific movement performance during the physiological test and assessment of bulkiness of the uniforms. There is a limited influence of the minor design differences between firefighters’ uniforms on the selected physiological parameters of the subjects wearing them. The outcome of the study can be utilized when performing the test on subjects and improving designs of PPC. DA - 2017/6/19/ PY - 2017/6/19/ DO - 10.1177/0040517517715084 VL - 88 IS - 17 SP - 1979-1991 J2 - Textile Research Journal LA - en OP - SN - 0040-5175 1746-7748 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0040517517715084 DB - Crossref KW - protective uniforms for firefighters KW - designs of uniforms KW - cardiorespiratory parameters KW - ergonomic comfort in textiles ER - TY - JOUR TI - A Novel Adjustable Concept for Permeable Gas/Vapor Protective Clothing: Balancing Protection and Thermal Strain AU - Bogerd, Cornelis Peter AU - Langenberg, Johannes Pieter AU - DenHartog, Emiel A T2 - Annals of Work Exposures and Health AB - Armed forces typically have personal protective clothing (PPC) in place to offer protection against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) agents. The regular soldier is equipped with permeable CBRN-PPC. However, depending on the operational task, these PPCs pose too much thermal strain to the wearer, which results in a higher risk of uncompensable heat stress. This study investigates the possibilities of adjustable CBRN-PPC, consisting of different layers that can be worn separately or in combination with each other. This novel concept aims to achieve optimization between protection and thermal strain during operations. Two CBRN-PPC (protective) layers were obtained from two separate manufacturers: (i) a next-to-skin (NTS) and (ii) a low-burden battle dress uniform (protective BDU). In addition to these layers, a standard (non-CBRN protective) BDU (sBDU) was also made available. The effect of combining clothing layers on the levels of protection were investigated with a Man-In-Simulant Test. Finally, a mechanistic numerical model was employed to give insight into the thermal burden of the evaluated CBRN-PPC concepts. Combining layers results in substantially higher protection that is more than the sum of the individual layers. Reducing the airflow on the protective layer closest to the skin seems to play an important role in this, since combining the NTS with the sBDU also resulted in substantially higher protection. As expected, the thermal strain posed by the different clothing layer combinations decreases as the level of protection decreases. This study has shown that the concept of adjustable protection and thermal strain through multiple layers of CBRN-PPC works. Adjustable CBRN-PPC allows for optimization of the CBRN-PPC in relation to the threat level, thermal environment, and tasks at hand in an operational setting. DA - 2017/12/23/ PY - 2017/12/23/ DO - 10.1093/annweh/wxx101 VL - 62 IS - 2 SP - 232-242 LA - en OP - SN - 2398-7308 2398-7316 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/annweh/wxx101 DB - Crossref KW - CBRN KW - Man-in-Simulant Test KW - personal protective equipment KW - thermal burden KW - thermal strain KW - whole system test ER - TY - JOUR TI - Maximum allowable exposure to different heat radiation levels in three types of heat protective clothing AU - Heus, Ronald AU - Denhartog, Emiel A. T2 - Industrial Health AB - To determine safe working conditions in emergency situations at petro-chemical plants in the Netherlands a study was performed on three protective clothing combinations (operator's, firefighter's and aluminized). The clothing was evaluated at four different heat radiation levels (3.0, 4.6, 6.3 and 10.0 k∙W∙m-2) in standing and walking posture with a thermal manikin RadMan™. Time till pain threshold (43°C) is set as a cut-off criterion for regular activities. Operator's clothing did not fulfil requirements to serve as protective clothing for necessary activities at heat radiation levels above 1.5 k∙W∙m-2 as was stated earlier by Den Hartog and Heus1). With firefighter's clothing it was possible to work almost three min up to 4.6 k∙W∙m-2. At higher heat radiation levels firefighter's clothing gave insufficient protection and aluminized clothing should be used. Maximum working times in aluminized clothing at 6.3 k∙W∙m-2 was about five min. At levels of 10.0 k∙W∙m-2 (emergency conditions) emergency responders should move immediately to lower heat radiation levels. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.2486/indhealth.2017-0137 VL - 55 IS - 6 SP - 529-536 J2 - INDUSTRIAL HEALTH LA - en OP - SN - 0019-8366 1880-8026 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2017-0137 DB - Crossref KW - Heat radiation KW - Protective clothing KW - Tolerance time KW - Skin temperature KW - Exposure ER - TY - JOUR TI - Single channel planar lipid bilayer recordings of the melittin variant MelP5 AU - Fennouri, Aziz AU - Mayer, Simon Finn AU - Schroeder, Thomas BH AU - Mayer, Michael T2 - Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Biomembranes AB - MelP5 is a 26 amino acid peptide derived from melittin, the main active constituent of bee venom, with five amino acid replacements. The pore-forming activity of MelP5 in lipid membranes is attracting attention because MelP5 forms larger pores and induces dye leakage through liposome membranes at a lower concentration than melittin. Studies of MelP5 have so far focused on ensemble measurements of membrane leakage and impedance; here we extend this characterization with an electrophysiological comparison between MelP5 and melittin using planar lipid bilayer recordings. These experiments reveal that MelP5 pores in lipid membranes composed of 3:1 phosphatidylcholine:cholesterol consist of an average of 10 to 12 monomers compared to an average of 3 to 9 monomers for melittin. Both peptides form transient pores with dynamically varying conductance values similar to previous findings for melittin, but MelP5 occasionally also forms stable, well-defined pores with single channel conductance values that vary greatly and range from 50 to 3000pS in an electrolyte solution containing 100mM KCl. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1016/j.bbamem.2017.07.005 KW - Antimicrobial peptide KW - Pore-forming peptide KW - Melittin KW - MelP5 KW - Planar lipid bilayer ER - TY - JOUR TI - An electric-eel-inspired soft power source from stacked hydrogels T2 - Nature AB - Progress towards the integration of technology into living organisms requires electrical power sources that are biocompatible, mechanically flexible, and able to harness the chemical energy available inside biological systems. Conventional batteries were not designed with these criteria in mind. The electric organ of the knifefish Electrophorus electricus (commonly known as the electric eel) is, however, an example of an electrical power source that operates within biological constraints while featuring power characteristics that include peak potential differences of 600 volts and currents of 1 ampere. Here we introduce an electric-eel-inspired power concept that uses gradients of ions between miniature polyacrylamide hydrogel compartments bounded by a repeating sequence of cation- and anion-selective hydrogel membranes. The system uses a scalable stacking or folding geometry that generates 110 volts at open circuit or 27 milliwatts per square metre per gel cell upon simultaneous, self-registered mechanical contact activation of thousands of gel compartments in series while circumventing power dissipation before contact. Unlike typical batteries, these systems are soft, flexible, transparent, and potentially biocompatible. These characteristics suggest that artificial electric organs could be used to power next-generation implant materials such as pacemakers, implantable sensors, or prosthetic devices in hybrids of living and non-living systems. DA - 2017/12/17/ PY - 2017/12/17/ DO - 10.1038/nature24670 UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/nature24670 ER - TY - RPRT TI - Methods of forming an artificial leather substrate from leather waste and products therefrom AU - Pourdeyhimi, B. AU - Corino, A. AU - Fry, J. AU - Fortner, A. AU - Lambert, B. DA - 2017/11/21/ PY - 2017/11/21/ M1 - 9822481 M3 - U.S. Patent SN - 9822481 ER - TY - CONF TI - Analytical quantification of key odor compounds found in footwear AU - Pickett, T.E. AU - Ormond, R.B. C2 - 2017/// C3 - AATCC 2017 - 2017 AATCC International Conference Proceedings DA - 2017/// SP - 87-96 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85021822319&partnerID=MN8TOARS ER - TY - CONF TI - Outward Leakage smoke simulation for evaluating susceptibility of firefighter turnout ensembles and materials to particulate infiltration AU - Maness, C. AU - Ormond, R.B. C2 - 2017/// C3 - AATCC 2017 - 2017 AATCC International Conference Proceedings DA - 2017/// SP - 77-86 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85021831835&partnerID=MN8TOARS ER - TY - JOUR TI - Synthesis, Characterization, and Toxicological Properties of New Cationic Bleach Activators AU - Wang, Guan AU - Umbuzeiro, Gisela de Aragão AU - Vendemiatti, Josiane Aparecida AU - de Oliveira, Adria Caloto AU - Vacchi, Francine Inforçato AU - Hussain, Maqbool AU - Hauser, Peter J. AU - Freeman, Harold S. AU - Hinks, David T2 - Journal of Surfactants and Detergents AB - Abstract Three new bleach activators for cotton containing pyridinium (PBBC), nicotinamido (NABBC), and 3‐methylpyridinium (3‐PBBC) cationic groups were synthesized and characterized by 1 H NMR and HPLC–mass spectrometry. They were then applied to cotton fabric in a bleaching process and evaluated for their performance against the prototype N ‐[4‐(triethylammoniomethyl)benzoyl]butyrolactam chloride (TBBC) at a relatively low bleaching temperature (55 °C) and pH 8.5. Measurement of Commission internationale de l’éclairage (International Commission on Illumination) (CIE) whiteness index (WI) values showed that PBBC (WI = 64), NABBC (WI = 58), and 3‐PBBC (WI = 71) impart a significant increase in CIE whiteness compared to a control sample (WI = 40). Among the three new activators, 3‐PBBC exhibited the best performance. Its WI was comparable to that of fabric bleached using the prototype bleach activator TBBC. The acute toxicity of TBBC and the new bleach activators was evaluated using the microcrustacean Daphnia similis . The chronic toxicity of TBBC and 3‐PBBC was evaluated using the green alga Raphidocelis subcapitata , and mutagenicity was evaluated in the Salmonella /microsome assay using the strain TA100. 3‐PBBC was 86 times less toxic to D. similis , 18 times less toxic to R. subcapitata , and 10 times less mutagenic to TA100 in comparison with TBBC. DA - 2017/1// PY - 2017/1// DO - 10.1007/S11743-016-1899-3 VL - 20 IS - 1 SP - 277–285 SN - 1097-3958 1558-9293 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/S11743-016-1899-3 KW - Synthesis KW - Bleaching KW - Cationic bleach activator KW - Acute toxicity KW - Chronic toxicity KW - Mutagenicity KW - Mass spectra KW - NMR spectra ER - TY - JOUR TI - A carbon nanotube optical reporter maps endolysosomal lipid flux AU - Jena, Prakrit V. AU - Roxbury, Daniel AU - Galassi, Thomas V. AU - Akkari, Leila AU - Horoszko, Christopher P. AU - Iaea, David B. AU - Budhathoki-Uprety, Januka AU - Pipalia, Nina H. AU - Haka, Abigail S. AU - Harvey, Jackson D. AU - Mittal, Jeetain AU - Maxfield, Frederick R. AU - Joyce, Johanna A. AU - Heller, Daniel A. AB - ABSTRACT Lipid accumulation within the lumen of endolysosomal vesicles is observed in various pathologies including atherosclerosis, liver disease, neurological disorders, lysosomal storage disorders, and cancer. Current methods cannot measure lipid flux specifically within the lysosomal lumen of live cells. We developed an optical reporter, composed of a photoluminescent carbon nanotube of a single chirality, which responds to lipid accumulation via modulation of the nanotube’s optical bandgap. The engineered nanomaterial, composed of short-single stranded DNA and a single nanotube chirality, localizes exclusively to the lumen of endolysosomal organelles without adversely affecting cell viability or proliferation, or organelle morphology, integrity, or function. The emission wavelength of the reporter can be spatially resolved from within the endolysosomal lumen to generate quantitative maps of lipid content in live cells. Endolysosomal lipid accumulation in cell lines, an example of drug-induced phospholipidosis (DIPL), was observed for multiple drugs in macrophages, and measurements of patient-derived Niemann-Pick type C fibroblasts identified lipid accumulation and phenotypic reversal of this lysosomal storage disease. Single-cell measurements using the reporter discerned sub-cellular differences in equilibrium lipid content, illuminating significant intracellular heterogeneity among endolysosomal organelles of differentiating bone marrow-derived monocytes. Single-cell kinetics of lipoprotein-derived cholesterol accumulation within macrophages revealed rates that differed among cells by an order of magnitude. This carbon nanotube optical reporter of endolysosomal lipid content in live cells confers new capabilities for drug development processes and the investigation of lipid-linked diseases. DA - 2017/5/6/ PY - 2017/5/6/ DO - 10.1101/134999 VL - 5 UR - https://doi.org/10.1101/134999 ER - TY - THES TI - Anisotropic D-EAP Electrodes and their Application in Spring Roll Actuators AU - Fang, Xiaomeng DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// M3 - Ph.D. thesis PB - North Carolina State University ER - TY - CONF TI - Soft, flexible 3D printed fibers for capacitive tactile sensing AU - Kapoor, A. AU - McKnight, M. AU - Chatterjee, Kony AU - Agcayazi, T. AU - Kausche, H. AU - ghosh, AU - Bozkurt, A. AB - This study presents our latest efforts towards developing a force sensor array by weaving 3D printed functionalized polymer fibers. Silicone was used as the base polymer and carbon fillers were used to impart electrical conductivity. Two “H”-shaped fiber cross-sections oriented orthogonally acted as a parallel plate capacitor and were used for detecting normal forces. In this article, we present the fabrication method of the unique “H”-shaped fiber cross-section along with the investigation of the relation between applied force and measured capacitance. We also report the sensor response to variation in temperature. The sensing crossover was found to have a stable mechanical and electrical response in the force range of 0–6 N and the performance of this soft sensor was not significantly affected by temperature. C2 - 2017/1/9/ C3 - IEEE Sensors DA - 2017/1/9/ DO - 10.1109/ICSENS.2016.7808918 SP - 1–3 UR - http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7808918/ ER - TY - JOUR TI - Influence of biobased silica/carbon hybrid nanoparticles on thermal and mechanical properties of biodegradable polymer films T2 - Composites Communications AB - In this study, biobased silica/carbon hybrid nanoparticles (SCNPs) were synthesized using pyrolysis process and reinforced in to polymer film using 3D printing technique. These polymer films were further tested for their thermal and mechanical properties to determine the influence of silica/carbon nanoparticles on the properties of the biopolymer. The SCNPs were synthesized from agricultural waste rice husk by high temperature pressure reaction. These nanoparticles were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman Spectroscopy, and Transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis and revealed the formation of highly crystalline cristobalite silica/carbon hybrid nanomaterial. X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed the presence of elemental Si, C, and O in the as-synthesized SCNPs. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area measurements showed the surface area of 223.029 m2/g, for as prepared nanoparticles. The 3D printed biocomposites thin films were characterized by XRD, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Raman spectroscopy, FE-SEM and Tensile analysis. The FE-SEM analysis of the composites showed the uniform dispersion of nanoparticles in the biopolymer. TGA and Tensile tests revealed significant enhancement in thermal stability, maximum strain and strain to failure properties due to the integration of 0.5 and 1.0 wt% of silica/carbon nanoparticles (SCNPs). Also, DSC analysis showed the moderate improvement of glass transition temperature and crystallization temperature as compared to the neat polymer. This increase may be due to the increased crosslinking of polymer by incorporation of thermally stable SCNPs nanoparticles. DA - 2017/6// PY - 2017/6// DO - 10.1016/j.coco.2017.04.005 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.coco.2017.04.005 KW - Hybrid nanoparticles KW - Biopolymer composites KW - Thermal properties KW - Mechanical properties ER - TY - JOUR TI - Preparation and microscopic characterization of biobased nanoparticles from natural waste materials T2 - Microscopy and Microanalysis AB - Journal Article Preparation and microscopic characterization of biobased nanoparticles from natural waste materials Get access Vijaya K Rangari, Vijaya K Rangari Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of engineering, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088, United States Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Vitus Apalangya, Vitus Apalangya Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of engineering, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088, United States Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Manik Biswas, Manik Biswas Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of engineering, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088, United States Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Shaik Jeelani Shaik Jeelani Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of engineering, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088, United States Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Microscopy and Microanalysis, Volume 23, Issue S1, 1 July 2017, Pages 1938–1939, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1431927617010352 Published: 04 August 2017 DA - 2017/7// PY - 2017/7// DO - 10.1017/s1431927617010352 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1431927617010352 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Pilot scale testing and modeling of enzymatic reactive absorption in packed columns for CO2 capture AU - Leimbrink, Mathias AU - Tlatlik, Stephen AU - Salmon, Sonja AU - Kunze, Anna-Katharina AU - Limberg, Timo AU - Spitzer, Rüdiger AU - Gottschalk, Axel AU - Górak, Andrzej AU - Skiborowski, Mirko T2 - International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control AB - Efficient processes for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture from post-combustion flue gases are required to combat global climate change. A key stage in post-combustion capture is selective CO2 separation from the flue gas stream. Separation of CO2 from mixed gases using countercurrent gas–liquid absorption in packed columns is a well-established technology for treatment of industrial gas streams. This approach can be adapted to remove CO2 from post-combustion flue gas, however, process improvements are needed to minimize the corresponding capital costs and energy requirements. Special challenges for CO2 recovery from flue gas arise from the very large volumes of gas to be processed, the need to operate the process with an inlet flue gas stream at atmospheric pressure, and the high amount of energy required to regenerate the absorption liquid. Aqueous solutions of the tertiary amine N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) are commercially used for high pressure CO2 separation due to high loading capacity for CO2, relatively good chemical and thermal stability and low volatility. Application of MDEA-based solutions to ambient pressure separations, such as CO2 capture from flue gases, is challenging since high reaction rates are required. High reaction rates for the MDEA system are achievable at high temperatures, which is conflicting with the preference of low temperatures to exploit high absorption capacity. This conflict can be overcome with the addition of a rate enhancing catalyst that enables high reaction rates at low temperatures. To put this innovative breakthrough technology closer to industrial application CO2 absorption in 30–50 wt.% aqueous solutions of MDEA in absence and presence of the CO2 absorption enhancing enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA) was evaluated in pilot scale. The pilot scale investigation employed a packed column for parametric testing. Test variables included the liquid phase composition (30–50 wt.% MDEA), the column liquid load (8–24 m3 m−2 h−1), the absorber temperature (20–40 °C), and the application of CA in a dissolved or immobilized form. The CO2 absorption mass transfer enhancement provided by CA was measured. In the presence of dissolved CA, 30 wt.% aqueous MDEA showed superior performance in terms of absorption rates compared to operation using 50 wt.% MDEA(aq). No significant change in the CO2 absorption rate was observed for operation at given loads between 20 °C and 40 °C with dissolved CA present. At 20 °C with 30 wt.% MDEA the absorption rate with dissolved CA increased by more than 9 times compared to the absorption rate without enzyme. These results broaden the operation window for efficient CO2 absorption using MDEA solutions and allow for the exploitation of new process regimes, wherein high equilibrium loadings are achievable by applying lower absorption temperatures. Based on the experimental results obtained with dissolved CA, a simplified rate-based model of enzymatic reactive absorption (ERA), accounting for enzyme accelerated reaction kinetics, was developed which was capable of accurately predicting CO2 absorption rate when compared with experimental data. Implemented in a process simulator the model allows for the detailed investigation of the process behavior and the complex interactions of ab- and desorption operations in the presence of the CA. The validated model is intended to guide future experimental work as well as further performance optimization. In addition to the work exploiting the catalyst in its free form, the utilization of CA immobilized in a granular form and held in the pockets of Katapak-SP packing was successfully demonstrated. DA - 2017/7// PY - 2017/7// DO - 10.1016/J.IJGGC.2017.04.010 VL - 62 SP - 100-112 J2 - International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control LA - en OP - SN - 1750-5836 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/J.IJGGC.2017.04.010 DB - Crossref KW - Enzymatic reactive absorption KW - MDEA KW - Carbonic anhydrase KW - Pilot scale testing KW - Rate-based modeling KW - Energy efficiency KW - Carbon dioxide capture ER - TY - JOUR TI - Laccase-immobilized bacterial cellulose/TiO2 functionalized composite membranes: Evaluation for photo- and bio-catalytic dye degradation AU - Li, Guohui AU - Nandgaonkar, Avinav G. AU - Wang, Qingqing AU - Zhang, Jinning AU - Krause, Wendy E. AU - Wei, Qufu AU - Lucia, Lucian A. T2 - Journal of Membrane Science AB - Bacterial cellulose (BC) was prepared by the fermentation of Komagataeibacter xylinus. Subsequently, through site-directed surface oxidation chemistry, the hydroxyl groups of BC were successfully oxidized into aldehyde groups that served as anchors for covalent immobilization of laccase (Lac) to the newly developed oxidized BC (OBC) membrane. TiO2 was additionally co-immobilized to OBC to produce a novel material in which dye degradation was carried out under specific conditions. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) confirmed the installation of both TiO2 and laccase on the surface of OBC nanofiber membrane. The optimum pH, temperature, thermal stability, operational stability of the OBC/Lac and OBC/TiO2-Lac membrane were also studied in detail. In addition, the effect of the temperature and pH on dye degradation was also investigated. The results showed that the oxidation process successfully introduced aldehyde groups onto the BC (FT-IR), and also improved the stability of the immobilized laccase. Compared with free laccase, the optimum pH of immobilized laccase shifted to lower pH, while the optimum temperature decreased from 55 °C to 50 °C. The dye degradation experiments showed that the optimum pH for dye degradation was 5.0–6.0, while the optimum temperature was ~40 °C. Under UV illumination, the dye degradation efficiency was significantly improved. Therefore, functionalized composite bacterial cellulose nanofiber membranes with a combined bio- and photo- catalytic property are a potentially valid approach for industrial textile dye degradation. DA - 2017/3// PY - 2017/3// DO - 10.1016/J.MEMSCI.2016.10.033 VL - 525 SP - 89-98 J2 - Journal of Membrane Science LA - en OP - SN - 0376-7388 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/J.MEMSCI.2016.10.033 DB - Crossref KW - Laccase KW - Bacterial cellulose KW - Titanium dioxide KW - Immobilization KW - Dye degradation ER - TY - JOUR TI - Attempted Determination of the Structures of Complex Aliphatic Copolyesters AU - Li, Shanshan AU - Shen, Jialong AU - Nichol, Jessica L. AU - Tonelli, Alan E. T2 - Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics AB - Abstract Attempts at the microstructural characterization of biodegradable aliphatic polyesters made via melt‐polymerization of three distinct diacids or diesters and three structurally distinct diols are described. Probes sensitive to local, short‐range microstructures ( 13 C‐NMR) and potentially sensitive to overall, global, complete polymer architectures (Kerr effect) are employed. Solution 13 C‐NMR reveals the copolyesters possess largely random comonomer sequences, without, however, complete elucidation of even their shortest comonomer sequences. The limited structural sensitivity of NMR prevents development of meaningful structure–property relations. Observed Kerr effects, on the other hand, clearly demonstrate sensitivity to the presence of distinct microstructures of longer range than are observed by 13 C‐NMR. To identify the details of these longer‐range structural elements, will, however, require the ability to estimate the Kerr constants of these aliphatic copolyesters when they are assumed not only to possess the types and amounts of short‐range microstructures identified experimentally by 13 C‐NMR, but which are located at different positions along their chains. This ambitious goal requires extensive experimental and calculational efforts, which are currently just beginning and will be described subsequently. DA - 2017/9/29/ PY - 2017/9/29/ DO - 10.1002/MACP.201700258 VL - 218 IS - 22 SP - 1700258 J2 - Macromol. Chem. Phys. LA - en OP - SN - 1022-1352 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/MACP.201700258 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - A Service Learning Collaborative to Build a Sustainable Enterprise for Underprivileged Women (SEuW) AU - West, Andre AU - Istook, Cynthia AU - Porterfield, Anne AU - Ghosh, Tushar T2 - Journal of Textile Design Research and Practice AB - India is a country with a rich heritage of handicrafts that operate as a labor intensive cottage industry, with little opportunity for organized operation and impact in the global marketplace. Service-learning is the systematic approach to teaching and learning where students use academic knowledge and developed class skills to address community needs. The goal of this ongoing service-learning project was to develop practices that might aid the development of a sustainable enterprise, leveraging traditional Indian handicrafts in the Western marketplace. To this end, a class assignment was developed to engage textile and fashion students in a real-world production experience while learning about the design and manufacturing process, as well as culture through their activities. The skills and knowledge that the students are developing can go far beyond the traditional manufacturing to retail outcome objectives, touching and influencing people’s lives with a global sustainable perspective. At the same time, utilizing and building their own skills by learning the fundamental craft of local artists helps students develop a sense of global awareness. The products were developed to support the handicraft industry of India and are based on historically localized skills. The outcome objective is for the students, with the help of outside entities, to have creative input in the development of updated Indian handicraft products that can be sold in the United States of America with a much broader appeal to Western taste than is currently being offered. DA - 2017/1/2/ PY - 2017/1/2/ DO - 10.1080/20511787.2017.1362144 VL - 5 IS - 1 SP - 3-16 J2 - Journal of Textile Design Research and Practice LA - en OP - SN - 2051-1787 2051-1795 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20511787.2017.1362144 DB - Crossref ER - TY - CONF TI - Twisting robustness in the ring spinning system with single friction-belt false-twister AU - Yin, R. AU - Tao, X.-M. AU - Xu, B.-G. C2 - 2017/// C3 - Fiber Society 2017 Spring Conference: Next Generation Fibers for Smart Products DA - 2017/// SP - 91 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85040161142&partnerID=MN8TOARS ER - TY - CONF TI - Yarn Dynamics on a Moving Belt in the Ring Spinning System C2 - 2017/6// C3 - 14th Asian Textile Conference DA - 2017/6// ER - TY - JOUR TI - A Carbon Nanotube Optical Sensor Reports Nuclear Entry via a Noncanonical Pathway T2 - ACS Nano AB - Single-walled carbon nanotubes are of interest in biomedicine for imaging and molecular sensing applications and as shuttles for various cargos such as chemotherapeutic drugs, peptides, proteins, and oligonucleotides. Carbon nanotube surface chemistry can be modulated for subcellular targeting while preserving photoluminescence for label-free visualization in complex biological environments, making them attractive materials for such studies. The cell nucleus is a potential target for many pathologies including cancer and infectious diseases. Understanding mechanisms of nanomaterial delivery to the nucleus may facilitate diagnostics, drug development, and gene-editing tools. Currently, there are no systematic studies to understand how these nanomaterials gain access to the nucleus. Herein, we developed a carbon nanotube based hybrid material that elucidate a distinct mechanism of nuclear translocation of a nanomaterial in cultured cells. We developed a nuclear-targeted probe via cloaking photoluminescent single-walled carbon nanotubes in a guanidinium-functionalized helical polycarbodiimide. We found that the nuclear entry of the nanotubes was mediated by the import receptor importin β without the aid of importin α and not by the more common importin α/β pathway. Additionally, the nanotube photoluminescence exhibited distinct red-shifting upon entry to the nucleus, potentially functioning as a reporter of the importin β-mediated nuclear transport process. This work delineates a noncanonical mechanism for nanomaterial delivery to the nucleus and provides a reporter for the study of nucleus-related pathologies. DA - 2017/4/25/ PY - 2017/4/25/ DO - 10.1021/acsnano.7b00176 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.7b00176 KW - helical polymer KW - hyperspectral imaging KW - cervical cancer KW - near-infrared sensor KW - biosensor KW - polycation KW - nuclear pore complex ER - TY - JOUR TI - Polymer cloaking modulates the carbon nanotube protein corona and delivery into cancer cells T2 - J. Mater. Chem. B AB - Carbon nanotube-based molecular probes, imaging agents, and biosensors in cells and in vivo continue to garner interest as investigational tools and clinical devices due to their unique photophysical properties. Surface chemistry modulation of nanotubes plays a critical role in determining stability and interaction with biological systems both in vitro and in vivo. Among the many parameters that influence the biological fate of nanomaterials, surface charge is particularly influential due to direct electrostatic interactions with components of the cell membrane as well as proteins in the serum, which coat the nanoparticle surface in a protein corona and alter nanoparticle-cell interactions. Here, we modulated functional moieties on a helical polycarbodiimide polymer backbone that non-covalently suspended the nanotubes in aqueous media. By derivatizing the polymer with either primary amine or carboxylic acid side chains, we obtained nanotube complexes that present net surface charges of opposite polarity at physiological pH. Using these materials, we found that the uptake of carbon nanotubes in these cells is highly dependent on charge, with cationic nanotubes efficiently internalized into cells compared to the anionic nanotubes. Furthermore, we found that serum proteins drastically influenced cell uptake of the anionic nanotubes, while the effect was not prominent for the cationic nanotubes. Our findings have implications for improved engineering of drug delivery devices, molecular probes, and biosensors. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1039/c7tb00695k UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c7tb00695k ER - TY - JOUR TI - Control of Carbon Nanotube Solvatochromic Response to Chemotherapeutic Agents T2 - ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces AB - Alkylating agents such as cisplatin play an essential role in chemotherapy regimens, but initial and acquired resistance in many cancer types often dampen therapeutic response. The poor understanding of the mechanisms of resistance highlight the need for quantitative measurements of alkylating agent distribution at both the tissue and subcellular levels. Sensors for use in live animals and cells would allow for more effective study of drug action and resistance. Toward this end, single-walled carbon nanotubes suspended with single-stranded DNA have suitable optical properties for in vivo sensors, such as near-infrared emission and sensitivity to the local environment via solvatochromic responses. Currently, solvatochromic changes of such sensors have been limited by the chemical nature of the analyte, making it impossible to control the direction of energy emission changes. Here, we describe a new approach to control the direction and magnitude of solvatochromic responses of carbon nanotubes. We found that the alkylation of DNA on the nanotube surface can result in small changes in DNA conformation that allow the adsorption of amphiphiles to produce large differences (>14 nm) in response to different drugs. The technique surprisingly revealed differences among drugs upon alkylation. The ability to control carbon nanotube solvatochromism as desired may potentially expand the application of nanotube-based optical sensors for new classes of analytes. DA - 2017/11// PY - 2017/11// DO - 10.1021/acsami.7b12015 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b12015 KW - nanosensor KW - fluorescence KW - photoluminescence KW - cis-diammineplatinum(II) dichloride KW - antineoplastic KW - mustard agent ER - TY - JOUR TI - A Carbon Nanotube Optical Reporter Maps Endolysosomal Lipid Flux T2 - ACS Nano AB - Lipid accumulation within the lumen of endolysosomal vesicles is observed in various pathologies including atherosclerosis, liver disease, neurological disorders, lysosomal storage disorders, and cancer. Current methods cannot measure lipid flux specifically within the lysosomal lumen of live cells. We developed an optical reporter, composed of a photoluminescent carbon nanotube of a single chirality, that responds to lipid accumulation via modulation of the nanotube's optical band gap. The engineered nanomaterial, composed of short, single-stranded DNA and a single nanotube chirality, localizes exclusively to the lumen of endolysosomal organelles without adversely affecting cell viability or proliferation or organelle morphology, integrity, or function. The emission wavelength of the reporter can be spatially resolved from within the endolysosomal lumen to generate quantitative maps of lipid content in live cells. Endolysosomal lipid accumulation in cell lines, an example of drug-induced phospholipidosis, was observed for multiple drugs in macrophages, and measurements of patient-derived Niemann-Pick type C fibroblasts identified lipid accumulation and phenotypic reversal of this lysosomal storage disease. Single-cell measurements using the reporter discerned subcellular differences in equilibrium lipid content, illuminating significant intracellular heterogeneity among endolysosomal organelles of differentiating bone-marrow-derived monocytes. Single-cell kinetics of lipoprotein-derived cholesterol accumulation within macrophages revealed rates that differed among cells by an order of magnitude. This carbon nanotube optical reporter of endolysosomal lipid content in live cells confers additional capabilities for drug development processes and the investigation of lipid-linked diseases. DA - 2017/11/28/ PY - 2017/11/28/ DO - 10.1021/acsnano.7b04743 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.7b04743 KW - single-walled carbon nanotubes KW - single-cell sensing live-cell imaging KW - near-infrared fluorescence KW - hyperspectral microscopy ER - TY - JOUR TI - Dedifferentiated Adipocytes Improve Heart Function Post-Myocardial Infarction T2 - Journal of Regenerative Medicine AB - Background:The development of pluripotent stem cell-based strategies for regenerative medicine offers hope of one day having a limitless source of therapeutic cells for the repairing of damaged cardiac tissue resulting from myocardial infarction (MI). Dedifferentiated adipose cells (DFAT) have recently gained attention in this regard for their in vitro and in vivo ability to express vascular and cardiac-specific markers. To date, there is limited knowledge with respect to their capacity to improve cardiac function and contractility when introduced into the myocardium after the onset of MI. To that end, this study investigated the in vivo potential of intramyocardially injected mouse DFAT (mDFAT) cells to differentiate towards cardiovascular lineages and enhance cardiac function in a murine model of MI. Methods: Mature adipocytes were harvested from GFP-transgenic mice and dedifferentiated in vitro to produce pluripotent mDFAT cells. Mice that underwent LAD ligation surgery were injected intramyocardially with a dose of therapeutic mDFAT cells (n=6) shortly after the confirmation of successful MI. Results: Consistent with previous findings by the authors, we observed an immunofluorescent stain pattern in the infarct area of mDFAT cells adjacent to or co-localized with Troponin T, Cx-43, CD31, isolectin B4 and α-SMA up to eight weeks after cell transplantation. Furthermore, echocardiography and hemodynamic catheterization measurements indicated an overall improvement in global cardiac function, including ejection fraction, fractional shortening and contractility. Conclusions: This study is the first to report that the transplantation of mDFAT cells into a murine model of MI can preserve cardiac function up to eight weeks after the onset of infarction, suggesting a potential role for DFAT cells as a therapeutic pluripotent cell source in cardiovascular tissue repair. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.4172/2325-9620.1000135 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2325-9620.1000135 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Biochemical and biomechanical properties of the pacemaking sinoatrial node extracellular matrix are distinct from contractile left ventricular matrix. AU - Gluck, JM AU - Herren, AW AU - Yechikov, S AU - Kao, HKJ AU - Khan, A AU - Phinney, BS AU - Chiamvimonvat, N AU - Chan, JW AU - Lieu, DK T2 - PloS one AB - Extracellular matrix plays a role in differentiation and phenotype development of its resident cells. Although cardiac extracellular matrix from the contractile tissues has been studied and utilized in tissue engineering, extracellular matrix properties of the pacemaking sinoatrial node are largely unknown. In this study, the biomechanical properties and biochemical composition and distribution of extracellular matrix in the sinoatrial node were investigated relative to the left ventricle. Extracellular matrix of the sinoatrial node was found to be overall stiffer than that of the left ventricle and highly heterogeneous with interstitial regions composed of predominantly fibrillar collagens and rich in elastin. The extracellular matrix protein distribution suggests that resident pacemaking cardiomyocytes are enclosed in fibrillar collagens that can withstand greater tensile strength while the surrounding elastin-rich regions may undergo deformation to reduce the mechanical strain in these cells. Moreover, basement membrane-associated adhesion proteins that are ligands for integrins were of low abundance in the sinoatrial node, which may decrease force transduction in the pacemaking cardiomyocytes. In contrast to extracellular matrix of the left ventricle, extracellular matrix of the sinoatrial node may reduce mechanical strain and force transduction in pacemaking cardiomyocytes. These findings provide the criteria for a suitable matrix scaffold for engineering biopacemakers. DA - 2017/9// PY - 2017/9// DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0185125 VL - 12 IS - 9 UR - http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/28934329 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Physical characterization of electrospun nanofibers AU - Zhu, J. AU - Ge, Y. AU - Jasper, S. AU - Zhang, X. T2 - Woodhead Publishing Series in Textiles DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// VL - 186 ER - TY - JOUR TI - novel bi-functional double-layer rGO-PVDF/PVDF composite nanofiber membrane separator with enhanced thermal stability and effective polysulfide inhibition for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries AU - Zhu, P. AU - Zhu, J. D. AU - Zang, J. AU - Chen, C. AU - Lu, Y. AU - Jiang, M. J. AU - Yan, C. Y. AU - Dirican, M. AU - Selvan, R. K. AU - Zhang, X. W. T2 - Journal of Materials Chemistry A DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// VL - 5 ER - TY - JOUR TI - electrochemical performance of SnSb/C nanofibers with different morphologies and underlying mechanism AU - Xia, X. AU - Li, Z. Y. AU - Xue, L. G. AU - Qiu, Y. P. AU - Zhang, C. Y. AU - Zhang, X. W. T2 - Journal of Materials Research DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// VL - 32 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Split Sn-Cu alloys on carbon nanofibers by one-step heat treatment for long-lifespan lithium-ion batteries AU - Shen, Z. AU - Hu, Y. AU - Chen, R. Z. AU - He, X. AU - Chen, Y. L. AU - Shao, H. F. AU - Zhang, X. W. AU - Wu, K. S. T2 - Electrochimica Acta DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// VL - 225 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Hollow core-shell structured silicon@carbon nanoparticles embed in carbon nanofibers as binder-free anodes for lithium-ion batteries AU - Chen, Y. L. AU - Hu, Y. AU - Shen, Z. AU - Chen, R. Z. AU - He, X. AU - Zhang, X. W. AU - Li, Y. Q. AU - Wu, K. S. T2 - Journal of Power Sources DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// VL - 342 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Fabrication and electrochemical behavior study of nano-fibrous sodium titanate composite AU - Ge, Y. Q. AU - Zhu, J. D. AU - Dirican, M. AU - Jia, H. AU - Yanilmaz, M. AU - Lu, Y. AU - Chen, C. AU - Qiu, Y. P. AU - Zhang, X. W. T2 - Materials Letters DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// VL - 188 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Chemical characterization of electrospun nanofibers AU - Zhu, J. AU - Jasper, S. AU - Zhang, X. T2 - Woodhead Publishing Series in Textiles DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// VL - 186 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Purification and characterization of three commercial phenylazoaniline disperse dyes AU - Umbuzeiro, Gisela A. AU - Szymczyk, Malgorzata AU - Li, Min AU - Chen, Yufei AU - Vendemiatti, Josiane A. S. AU - de Albuquerque, Anjaina F. AU - dos Santos, Amanda AU - Maselli, Bianca de S. AU - Kummrow, Fábio AU - Vinueza, Nelson R. AU - Freeman, Harold S. T2 - Coloration Technology AB - Although tons of disperse dyes are used worldwile, little information on their ecotoxicity is available. While in silico models can be used to predict their ecotoxicity, experimental results from Daphnia can show significantly higher toxicity than predicted. Thus the objective of this work was to extend the knowledge base in this area by evaluating the ecotoxicity of three widely used disperse dyes and comparing the results to predicted values. Bearing in mind that generating ecotoxicity data on azo disperse dyes is complicated because they are not readily found as homogeneous compounds, we employed chromatographic methods to purify three commercially dyes C.I. Disperse Violet 93, Blue 291, and Blue 373 already found in the aquatic environment. No acute toxicity was observed for Daphnia similis. These results seems to be in general agreement when compared with ECOSAR predicted values. We hypothesize that differences in Kow values could explain the variations in results. DA - 2017/10/2/ PY - 2017/10/2/ DO - 10.1111/cote.12307 VL - 133 IS - 6 SP - 513-518 J2 - Coloration Technol LA - en OP - SN - 1472-3581 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cote.12307 DB - Crossref ER - TY - CONF TI - Effects of thermal energy harvesting on the human - Clothing - environment microsystem AU - Myers, A.C. AU - Jur, J.S. AB - The objective of this work is to perform an in depth investigation of garment-based thermal energy harvesting. The effect of human and environmental factors on the working efficiency of a thermal energy harvesting devices, or a thermoelectric generator (TEG), placed on the body is explored.. Variables that strongly effect the response of the TEG are as follows: skin temperature, human motion or speed, body location, environmental conditions, and the textile properties surrounding the TEG. In this study, the use of textiles for managing thermal comfort of wearable technology and energy harvesting are defined. By varying the stitch length and/or knit structure, one can manipulate the thermal conductivity of the garment in a specific location. Another method of improving TEG efficiency is through the use of a heat spreader, which increases the effective collection area of heat on the TEG hot side. Here we show the effect of a TEG on the thermal properties of a garment with regard to two knit stitches, jersey and 1 × 1 rib. C2 - 2017/// C3 - IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering DA - 2017/// DO - 10.1088/1757-899X/254/7/072015 VL - 254 M1 - 7 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85034955383&partnerID=MN8TOARS ER - TY - JOUR TI - A Wearable Hydration Sensor with Conformal Nanowire Electrodes AU - Yao, S. AU - Myers, A. AU - Malhotra, A. AU - Lin, F. AU - Bozkurt, A. AU - Muth, J.F. AU - Zhu, Y. T2 - Advanced Healthcare Materials AB - A wearable skin hydration sensor in the form of a capacitor is demonstrated based on skin impedance measurement. The capacitor consists of two interdigitated or parallel electrodes that are made of silver nanowires (AgNWs) in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. The flexible and stretchable nature of the AgNW/PDMS electrode allows conformal contact to the skin. The hydration sensor is insensitive to the external humidity change and is calibrated against a commercial skin hydration system on an artificial skin over a wide hydration range. The hydration sensor is packaged into a flexible wristband, together with a network analyzer chip, a button cell battery, and an ultralow power microprocessor with Bluetooth. In addition, a chest patch consisting of a strain sensor, three electrocardiography electrodes, and a skin hydration sensor is developed for multimodal sensing. The wearable wristband and chest patch may be used for low-cost, wireless, and continuous monitoring of skin hydration and other health parameters. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1002/adhm.201601159 VL - 6 IS - 6 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85011340660&partnerID=MN8TOARS ER - TY - JOUR TI - Effect of Atmospheric Pressure Plasma on Handsheets and Pulps AU - Cornelius, C. AU - Saquing, C. AU - Venditti, R. AU - McCord, M.G. AU - Bourham, M.A. T2 - BioResources DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// VL - 12 IS - 4 SP - 8199–8216 UR - https://bioresources.cnr.ncsu.edu/resources/the-effect-of-atmospheric-pressure-plasma-on-paper-and-pulps/ ER - TY - JOUR TI - Desizing of PVA sized pet/cotton fabrics with atmospheric pressure plasma AU - Cornelius, Carrie AU - McCord, Marian AU - Bourham, Mohamed AU - Hauser, Peter T2 - Cellulose DA - 2017/11/21/ PY - 2017/11/21/ DO - 10.1007/s10570-017-1586-1 VL - 25 IS - 1 SP - 869-881 J2 - Cellulose LA - en OP - SN - 0969-0239 1572-882X UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10570-017-1586-1 DB - Crossref KW - Plasma KW - Grafting KW - Textile KW - Size KW - Polyester KW - Cotton KW - Polyvinyl alcohol KW - Desizing ER - TY - JOUR TI - Notches in fibrous materials: micro-mechanisms of deformation and damage AU - Sozumert, Emrah AU - Farukh, Farukh AU - Sabuncuoglu, Baris AU - Demirci, Emrah AU - Acar, Memis AU - Pourdeyhimi, Behnam AU - Silberschmidt, Vadim V. T2 - XXVII INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: MATHEMATICAL AND COMPUTER SIMULATION IN MECHANICS OF SOLIDS AND STRUCTURES - FUNDAMENTALS OF STATIC AND DYNAMIC FRACTURE (MCM 2017) AB - Fibrous networks are ubiquitous structures for many natural materials, such as bones and bacterial cellulose, and artificial ones (e.g. polymer-based nonwovens). Mechanical behaviour of these networks are of interest to researchers since it deviates significantly from that of traditional materials treated usually within the framework of continuum mechanics. The main reason for this difference is a discontinuous character of networks with randomly distributed fibres (that can be also curved) resulting in complex scenarios of fibre-to-fibre interactions in the process of their deformation. This also affects a character of load transfer, characterised by spatial non-uniformity and localisation. A discontinuous nature of fibrous networks results in their non-trivial failure character and, more specifically, evolution of failure caused by notches. In order to investigate these mechanisms, various notches are introduced both into real-life specimens used in experimentation and discontinuous finite-element (FE) models specially developed (Farukh et al., 2014a; Hou et al., 2009, 2011a; Sabuncuoglu et al, 2013) to mimic the microstructure of fibrous networks. The specimens were tested under tensile loading in one of the principal directions, with FE-based simulations emulating this regime. The effect of notch shape on damage mechanisms, effective material toughness and damage patterns was investigated using the obtained experimental and numerical methods. The developed discontinuous model with direct introduction of microstructural features of fibrous networks allowed assessment of strain distribution over selected paths in them in order to obtain strain profiles in the vicinity of notch tips. Additionally, evolution of damage calculated in advanced numerical simulations demonstrated a good agreement with images from experiments. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1016/j.prostr.2017.11.026 VL - 6 SP - 168-173 SN - 2452-3216 KW - Fibre materials KW - fibrous networks KW - deformation KW - damage KW - finite-element analysis KW - notch ER - TY - CONF TI - Integrating Experiments and MD Simulations to Determine Degradation of Poly-4-Hydroxybutyrate (P4HB) For Surgical Suture Applications AU - Vaid, R. AU - Pasquinelli, M.A. AU - King, M.W. C2 - 2017/11// C3 - Proceedings of the Technical Medical Textiles Conference CY - Stuggart, Germany DA - 2017/11// ER - TY - JOUR TI - Tin nanoparticles embedded in ordered mesoporous carbon as high-performance anode for sodium-ion batteries AU - Luo, L. AU - Qiao, H. AU - Xu, W. Z. AU - Li, D. W. AU - Zhu, J. D. AU - Chen, C. AU - Lu, Y. AU - Zhu, P. AU - Zhang, X. W. AU - Wei, Q. F. T2 - Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// VL - 21 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Apparel sourcing in Sub-Saharan Africa Views from apparel sourcing executives and trade policy representatives AU - Adikorley, Ruth Dede AU - Thoney-Barletta, Kristin AU - Joines, Jeff AU - Rothenberg, Lori T2 - RESEARCH JOURNAL OF TEXTILE AND APPAREL AB - Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine why Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is not currently a major player in producing apparel for the US market and determine if SSA is likely to become one because of several opportunities that the region offers, including relatively low labor wages, an ample labor force and duty-free access to the USA through the 10-year renewal of AGOA. Design/methodology/approach In-depth interviews were conducted with eight high-level executives in apparel sourcing and trade agencies to obtain their views on the opportunities and challenges of sourcing in SSA in relation to other major apparel sourcing regions. A descriptive analysis of the qualitative data was used to answer three research questions. Findings The findings reveal that SSA is a competitive region to source from, because of low labor wages and the duty-free benefits through AGOA. However, several challenges hinder a significant increase in sourcing from SSA. The executives recommended that for SSA to be a significant force in the global apparel market, vertical supply chains should be developed, where raw materials like fabric are sourced from within the country/region and SSA governments should become more involved in business environment improvements. Originality/value At present, there is limited academic literature on sourcing and supplier selection in Africa, particularly in textile and apparel sourcing in SSA. Based on interviews from high-level executives engaged in the sourcing decision-making process, this study reveals the benefits, challenges and opportunities for sourcing apparel from SSA countries. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1108/rjta-05-2017-0022 VL - 21 IS - 3 SP - 203-218 SN - 1560-6074 KW - Sourcing KW - Apparel KW - Sub-Saharan Africa KW - AGOA ER - TY - JOUR TI - Strategies for Increasing Response Rates for Online End-of-Course Evaluations. AU - Chapman, Diane D AU - Joines, Jeffrey A T2 - International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// VL - 29 IS - 1 SP - 47-60 ER - TY - JOUR TI - The charging and stability of electret filters AU - Kilic, A. AU - Russell, S. AU - Shim, E. AU - Pourdeyhimi, B. T2 - Fibrous filter media DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// SP - 95-121 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Production of polyolefins AU - Kotek, Richard AU - Afshari, Mehdi AU - Avci, Huseyin AU - Najafi, Mesbah T2 - POLYOLEFIN FIBRES: STRUCTURE, PROPERTIES AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS, 2ND EDITION AB - This chapter discusses various polymerization routes for major polyolefins such polyethylenes and polypropylene with emphasis on various catalysts. Ziegler–Natta catalysts as well as newer metallocene catalysts are reviewed. Major industrial polymerization processes are also discussed. This chapter finally describes the most important extrusion methods for polyolefins, which can create a variety of products from processes like melt spinning, film casting, film blowing, injection molding, blow molding, and rotational molding. Melt spinning of polyolefins is described in a great detail. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1016/b978-0-08-101132-4.00007-2 SP - 189-264 ER - TY - CHAP TI - Plasma textiles as fibrous filter media AU - Jasper, W.J. AU - Rasipuram, S.C. T2 - Fibrous Filter Media T3 - Woodhead Publishing Series in Textiles AB - Plasma textiles are a new class of compact filters which provide enhanced submicron particle filtration for particle diameters ranging from 30 to 300 nm without exhibiting a most penetrating particle size (MPPS). Unlike traditional passive respiratory filters, plasma textiles are active tunable filters which can be manufactured from woven, nonwoven, or knitted fabrics. They are embedded with high-voltage electrodes to produce in-situ room temperature/cold plasma. Simultaneous charging and capture of incoming submicron particles are achieved by a corona discharge that is initiated by applying high voltages beyond 6 kV. Both the woven and the nonwoven plasma textiles provide filtration efficiencies close to 100% for ultra-fine particles, indicating that electrostatic forces dominate at higher voltages. The maximum filtration efficiency obtained with the woven plasma textile exceeds HEPA specification and the nonwoven plasma textile exceeds the filtration efficiency of ULPA filters. PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1016/b978-0-08-100573-6.00011-3 SP - 191-210 PB - Elsevier SN - 9780081005828 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Improving the coloration/dyeability of polyolefin fibres AU - Shamey, Renzo T2 - POLYOLEFIN FIBRES: STRUCTURE, PROPERTIES AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS, 2ND EDITION AB - An overview of polyolefin fibre characteristics pertinent to dyeing properties is given. Dye fibre interactions are briefly discussed and the role of fibre morphology on dye retention is briefly explained. The use of conventional dyeing techniques with commercial dyes including acid, direct, vat, sculpture, azoic, disperse, and solvent-soluble dyes on polyolefins is reviewed. Fibre modification including the use of polymeric and low molecular weight additives, copolymerization and grafting, polyblending, nanoparticle infusion, supercritical fluids, and chemical surface treatment to improve the dyeability of polyolefins is examined. Fibre modification may be the key in achieving commercially acceptable dyeings on polyolefins; however, recent advances in the dyeing of unmodified polyolefin fibres also show promise and merit further investigation. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1016/b978-0-08-101132-4.00012-6 SP - 359-388 ER - TY - CONF TI - History of the winter simulation conference: Period of growth, consolidation, and innovation (1993–2007) AU - Barton, Russell R. AU - Joines, Jeffrey A. AU - Morrice, Douglas J. AB - In this paper, we consider the history of the Winter Simulation Conference (WSC) from 1993-2007, a period characterized by growth, consolidation, and innovation. We examine developments in the WSC program including rapid proliferation of new tracks and mini-tracks to match the interests of WSC attendees. Our essay also considers the impact of technological advancements. With the launch of www.wintersim.org in 1995, the website soon became the main vehicle for dissemination of information to conference participants. Additionally, it enabled the development of the online paper-management system for submission, review, revision, and final delivery to the publisher of all papers in the Proceedings. The website also led to significant changes in how the Proceedings was published and archived. Lastly, we survey developments in the WSC administration concerning the WSC Board of Directors structure, conference financing, new conference venues (e.g., the decision to take the conference international), and novel collaborations. C2 - 2017/// C3 - 2017 Winter Simulation Conference (WSC) DA - 2017/// DO - 10.1109/wsc.2017.8247784 SP - 87–99 PB - IEEE ER - TY - CONF TI - History of the winter simulation conference: Modern period (2008–2017) AU - Alexopoulos, Christos AU - Joines, Jeffrey A. AU - Kuhl, Michael E. AB - In this paper we review the history of the Winter Simulation Conference (WSC) during 2008-2017, a period characterized by financial stability, continued growth, and inroads into the new age of simulation. In particular, we trace the modernization of the Conference as well as its expansion outside of the United States for the first time. C2 - 2017/// C3 - 2017 Winter Simulation Conference (WSC) DA - 2017/// DO - 10.1109/wsc.2017.8247785 SP - 100–114 PB - IEEE ER - TY - JOUR TI - Nanoscale considerations responsible for diverse macroscopic phase behavior in monosubstituted isobutyl-POSS/poly(ethylene oxide) blends AU - Caydamli, Yavuz AU - Yildirim, Erol AU - Shen, Jialong AU - Fang, Xiaomeng AU - Pasquinelli, Melissa A. AU - Spontak, Richard J. AU - Tonelli, Alan E. T2 - SOFT MATTER AB - Nanocomposites prepared by incorporating functionalized polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) into polymer matrices afford a wide range of versatile hybrid materials for use in technologies ranging from cosmetics and pharmaceuticals to sensors and batteries. Here, we investigate the phase behavior of nanocomposites composed of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and monosubstituted isobutyl POSS (iPOSS) modified with different functional moieties. Microscopic analyses of blends containing these iPOSS variants reveal the existence of different macroscopic morphologies and surface topologies. In the presence of octa-iPOSS, a POSS-rich surface cell motif reminiscent of breath patterns develops, whereas addition of allyl-iPOSS promotes the formation of surface plates. While aminopropyl-iPOSS forms dispersed aggregates, maleamic acid-iPOSS disperses in PEO with little effect on PEO crystal morphology. We perform rotational isomeric state Monte Carlo simulations to discern the effect of monosubstitution on the interaction energy between iPOSS and PEO, and establish the molecular-level origin for these observed differences in phase behavior. DA - 2017/12/14/ PY - 2017/12/14/ DO - 10.1039/c7sm01788j VL - 13 IS - 46 SP - 8672-8677 SN - 1744-6848 UR - https://doi.org/10.1039/C7SM01788J ER - TY - JOUR TI - Design of abrasion resistant super-antiwetting nylon surfaces AU - Li, Guoqing AU - Lee, Hoon Joo AU - Michielsen, Stephen T2 - NEW JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY AB - Abrasion resistant super-antiwetting nylon surface designed through a three-step wet chemistry steps DA - 2017/11/21/ PY - 2017/11/21/ DO - 10.1039/c7nj02807e VL - 41 IS - 22 SP - 13593-13599 SN - 1369-9261 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Demonstrating Unique Behaviors of Polymers AU - Shen, Jialong AU - Tonelli, Alan E. T2 - JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION AB - Behaviors characteristic of and unique to polymers are demonstrated through four simple experiments: (i) comparison of the dilute solution viscosities of a small molecule and a high-molecular-weight polymer, (ii) observation of the properties of a “slime”, (iii) the stretching of a rubber band, and (iv) a simple paper-and-pencil simulation experiment for the step-growth polymerization of X–Y (or A–B) types of monomers. The described demos have been performed for audiences ranging from middle school to university graduate students to successfully introduce and explain why polymers and materials made from them behave uniquely. DA - 2017/11// PY - 2017/11// DO - 10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00008 VL - 94 IS - 11 SP - 1738-1745 SN - 1938-1328 KW - General Public KW - Upper-Division Undergraduate KW - Graduate Education/Research KW - Polymer Chemistry KW - Demonstrations KW - Hands-On Learning/Manipulatives ER - TY - JOUR TI - Creation and Evaluation of New Porcine Model for Investigation of Treatments of Surgical Site Infection AU - Mohiti-Asli, Mahsa AU - Risselada, Marije AU - Jacob, Megan AU - Pourdeyhimi, Behnam AU - Loboa, Elizabeth G. T2 - TISSUE ENGINEERING PART C-METHODS AB - Surgical site infection (SSI) is the most common cause of surgical failure, increasing the risks of postoperative mortality and morbidity. Recently, it has been reported that the use of antimicrobial dressings at the incision site help with prevention of SSI. Despite the increased body of research on the development of different types of antimicrobial dressings for this application, to our knowledge, nobody has reported a reliable large animal model to evaluate the efficacy of developed materials in a preclinical SSI model. In this study, we developed a porcine full-thickness incision model to investigate SSI caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the leading cause of SSI in the United States. Using this model, we then evaluated the efficacy of our newly developed silver releasing nanofibrous dressings for preventing and inhibiting MRSA infection. Our results confirmed the ease and practicality of a new porcine model as an in vivo platform for evaluation of biomaterials for SSI. Using this model, we found that our silver releasing scaffolds significantly reduced bacterial growth in wounds inoculated with MRSA relative to nontreated controls and to wounds treated with the gold standard, silver sulfadiazine, without causing inflammation at the wound site. Findings from this study confirm the potential of our silver-releasing nanofibrous scaffolds for treatment/prevention of SSI, and introduce a new porcine model for in vivo evaluation of additional SSI treatment approaches. DA - 2017/11// PY - 2017/11// DO - 10.1089/ten.tec.2017.0024 VL - 23 IS - 11 SP - 795-803 SN - 1937-3392 KW - surgical site infection KW - porcine model KW - antimicrobial scaffold KW - silver KW - electrospinning KW - MRSA ER - TY - JOUR TI - Structure-property relationships: Influence of number of anchoring groups in triphenylamine-carbazole motifs on light harvesting and photovoltaic performance for dye-sensitized solar cells AU - Elsherbiny, Dalia AU - Yildirim, Erol AU - El-Essawy, Farag AU - Abdel-Megied, Ahmed AU - El-Shafei, Ahmed T2 - DYES AND PIGMENTS AB - Three novel organic sensitizers were molecularly designed and synthesized based on triphenylamine (TPA), as the core donor (DTPA), linked to one, two or three carbazole (DCarb) moieties with different number of anchoring groups (AG) to generate: DTPA-π-DCarb-A (DE1), DTPA(π-DCarb-A)2 (DE-2) and DTPA(π-DCarb-A)3 (DE-3). The primary goal of this study was to investigate the influence of bridging different number of DCarb and AG, through π-spacer, with TPA on the photovoltaic performance in DSSCs. The molar extinction coefficient increased with increasing the number of DCarb and A. DE-3 showed the greatest light harvesting in solution and when anchored onto TiO2. Hence, the increase in the number of DCarb and AG led to better light harvesting and stronger electronic coupling with TiO2, which reflected positively on the photovoltaic properties, and this is the first systematic study of its kind involving TPA-π-carbazole motif. DE-3 achieved the best efficiency of 5.44% and showed IPCE of 74% at 470 nm. The Voc increased with increasing the number of anchoring groups. Equilibrium molecular geometries and frontier molecular orbitals studied by DFT and TD-DFT calculations were in excellent agreement with experiments, which showed enhanced electronic coupling with TiO2 and photovoltaic performance as the number of anchoring groups increased. DA - 2017/12// PY - 2017/12// DO - 10.1016/j.dyepig.2017.08.022 VL - 147 SP - 491-504 SN - 1873-3743 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85028554215&partnerID=MN8TOARS ER - TY - JOUR TI - Reorganizing polymer chains with cyclodextrins AU - Gurarslan, A. AU - Joijode, A. AU - Shen, J. L. AU - Narayanan, G. AU - Antony, G. J. AU - Li, S. S. AU - Caydamli, Y. AU - Tonelli, A. E. T2 - Polymers DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// VL - 9 IS - 12 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Printed, metallic thermoelectric generators integrated with pipe insulation for powering wireless sensors AU - Iezzi, Brian AU - Ankireddy, Krishnamraju AU - Twiddy, Jack AU - Losego, Mark D. AU - Jur, Jesse S. T2 - APPLIED ENERGY AB - The Internet of Things (IoT), coupled with advanced analytics, is poised to revolutionize manufacturing maintenance and efficiency. However, a practical route to powering these many IoT devices remains unclear. In this work, flexible thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are fabricated from low cost, screen printed silver and nickel inks before being integrated into a novel form factor device based on commercial steam pipe insulation. Through optimization of internal resistances and total device design, this 420-junction TEG device produces 308 µW of power at a temperature difference of 127 K. This is sufficient to power a temperature sensing circuit with wireless communication capabilities. In this report we demonstrate that, after an initial 4 h of charging, this TEG can power a standard RFduino microcontroller for 10 min while sending temperature readings every 30 s via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to a cell phone. Additional optimization and scaling could further increase system efficiency and provide a viable route to powering an industrial wireless sensing network (WSN). DA - 2017/12/15/ PY - 2017/12/15/ DO - 10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.09.073 VL - 208 SP - 758-765 SN - 1872-9118 KW - Thermoelectric generator KW - Screen printing KW - Internet of things KW - Pipe insulation KW - Wireless sensing network ER - TY - JOUR TI - Physical characterization of electrospun nanofibers AU - Zhu, J. AU - Ge, Y. AU - Jasper, S. AU - Zhang, X. T2 - ELECTROSPUN NANOFIBERS AB - One-dimensional nanostructures produced by electrospinning offer many advantages. To better understand these electrospun nanofibers, we classify them into four categories: electrospun polymer nanofibers, electrospun metal nanofibers, electrospun carbon nanofibers, and electrospun composite nanofibers. In this chapter, we introduce corresponding physical characterizations and illustrate them with specific examples. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1016/b978-0-08-100907-9.00009-x VL - 186 SP - 207-238 SN - 2042-0803 UR - https://publons.com/publon/26924651/ ER - TY - JOUR TI - Color Gamut Analysis and Color Fastness Evaluation for Textile Inkjet Printing Application on Polyester AU - Ding, Yi AU - Freeman, Harold S. AU - Parrillo-Chapman, Lisa T2 - JOURNAL OF IMAGING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AB - As part of a study aimed at selecting inksets for printing fabrics for outdoor use, pigment-based and disperse dye-based inksets were evaluated on polyester fabric via textile inkjet printing. Colorimetric attributes were recorded for each color, as well as the mixed colors generated through RIPMaster V11 software. Color Table (CTB) profiles were created to compare spot colors and International color consortium (ICC) profiles were created to evaluate color gamut volumes. Four-color and seven-color disperse dye-based inksets were evaluated, along with six-color and eight-color pigment-based inksets . Four-color and seven-color combination of disperse and pigment inksets were compared. As expected, the addition of colors to the basic four-color inkset increased the color gamuts significantly. It was also found that the disperse dye-based inkset provided deeper colors, and excellent wet and dry crock fastness. However, light fastness from the disperse dye-based inksets was not as high as the levels obtained using pigment-based inksets. DA - 2017/9// PY - 2017/9// DO - 10.2352/j.imagingsci.technol.2017.61.5.050503 VL - 61 IS - 5 SP - SN - 1943-3522 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Chemical characterization of electrospun nanofibers AU - Zhu, J. AU - Jasper, S. AU - Zhang, X. T2 - ELECTROSPUN NANOFIBERS AB - A variety of electrospun nanofibers have been made for applications in biotechnology, energy storage, healthcare, environmental engineering, etc. It is noteworthy that the chemical characterization of electrospun nanofibers plays an extremely important role in understanding the relationship between the structure and properties of those materials. Therefore, it is necessary to familiarize oneself with the chemical characterization tools used to identify electrospun nanofibers. In this chapter, several chemical characterization methods, such as nuclear magnetic resonance, gel permeation chromatography, elemental analysis, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, etc., are discussed in detail. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1016/b978-0-08-100907-9.00008-8 VL - 186 SP - 181-206 SN - 2042-0803 UR - https://publons.com/publon/26924650/ ER - TY - JOUR TI - A comparative study to evaluate conventional and nonconventional cleaning treatments of cellulosic paper supports AU - Zidan, Y. AU - El-Shafei, A. AU - Noshy, W. AU - Salim, E. T2 - Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.5281/zenodo.1005538 VL - 17 IS - 3 SP - 337-353 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85046288345&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - Cellulosic paper supports KW - akapad paper KW - deionized water KW - cleaning KW - gellan gum KW - solvent gels KW - Cellulose Nano Gel ER - TY - JOUR TI - Wearable supercapacitors on polyethylene terephthalate fabrics with good wash fastness and high flexibility AU - Wang, Guixia AU - Babaahmadi, Vahid AU - He, Nanfei AU - Liu, Yixin AU - Pan, Qin AU - Montazer, Majid AU - Gao, Wei T2 - JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES AB - All solid-state micro-supercapacitors (MSC) have emerged as attractive energy-storage units for portable and wearable electronics. Here, we describe a textile-based solid-state MSC via laser scribing of graphene oxide (GO) coatings on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabric. The laser-scribed graphene oxide layers (LGO) possess three-dimensionally porous structure suitable for electrochemical-double-layer formation. To improve the wash fastness and the flexibility of the as-prepared MSCs, glutaraldehyde (GA) was employed to crosslink the GO layers and PVA-gel electrolyte onto the PET fabric. The resultant all solid-state MSCs exhibited excellent flexibility, high areal specific capacitance (756 μF·cm−2 at 20 mV·s−1), and good rate capability when subject to bending and laundering. Furthermore, the MSC device showed a high power density of about 1.4 W·cm−3 and an energy density of 5.3 × 10−5 Wh·cm−3, and retained 98.3% of its initial capacitance after 1000 cycles at a current density of 0.5 mA·cm−2. This work is the first demonstration of in-plane MSCs on PET fabric surfaces with enhanced durability and flexibility. DA - 2017/11/1/ PY - 2017/11/1/ DO - 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2017.09.047 VL - 367 SP - 34-41 SN - 1873-2755 KW - Micro-supercapacitor (MSC) KW - Laser patterning KW - Graphene oxide KW - Cross-linking KW - Solid-state electrolyte KW - Wash fastness ER - TY - JOUR TI - Relationship between contact angle and contact line radius for micro to atto [10(-6) to 10(-18)] liter size oil droplets AU - Jasper, Warren J. AU - Rasipuram, Srinivasan T2 - JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS AB - Contact angles of liquids on surfaces characterize wettability and have been studied extensively, especially for sessile droplets on flat surfaces. Continuum models that incorporate the contact line energy into Young's equation predict a linear dependence between the cosine of the contact angle and the inverse line radius. Experimental evidence for non-volatile nanodroplets suggests a non-linear relationship. At these dimensions (femto and atto liter sized droplets), experimental evidence suggests a flattening of the curve which can be explained by the addition of internal Laplace pressures. This, in turn, indicates that the contact angle for ultra small droplets is less than that measured for macro droplets. DA - 2017/12// PY - 2017/12// DO - 10.1016/j.molliq.2017.10.134 VL - 248 SP - 920-926 SN - 1873-3166 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Radiation-induced mechanical property changes of CNT yarn AU - Gigax, Jonathan G. AU - Bradford, Philip D. AU - Shao, Lin T2 - NUCLEAR INSTRUMENTS & METHODS IN PHYSICS RESEARCH SECTION B-BEAM INTERACTIONS WITH MATERIALS AND ATOMS AB - Stimulated by the previous findings that ion beam can induce carbon nanotube (CNT) welding, we studied the irradiation effects on CNT yarns by proton irradiation. A 2.5 MeV proton beam was transmitted through a 25 μm thick Ti window and irradiated CNT yarn in air. The yarn, of about 40 μm in diameter, was fabricated by pulling and spinning CNT bundles from a CNT aligned film. After irradiation to an ion fluence of 5 × 1012, 1 × 1013, 1 × 1014, and 1 × 1015 cm−2, Raman spectroscopy was performed to study defect behavior by comparing intensity changes to the D and G bands at 1350 cm−1 and 1560 cm−1, respectively. The analysis revealed a decreasing defect level up to 1 × 1013 cm−2, followed by an increasing defect level with increasing fluence. The mechanical properties of the yarns are characterized by using a tensile tester with a strain rate of 0.2 mm/min at room temperature. The maximum tensile strength occurred at a fluence of 1 × 1013 cm−2. With increasing proton fluencies, the fracture strain shows gradual enhancement. DA - 2017/10/15/ PY - 2017/10/15/ DO - 10.1016/j.nimb.2017.04.050 VL - 409 SP - 268-271 SN - 1872-9584 KW - Ion-solid interaction KW - Carbon nanotubes KW - Ion beam welding KW - Carbon nanotube yarn ER - TY - JOUR TI - New carbazole based metal-free organic dyes with D-pi-A-pi-A architecture for DSSCs: Synthesis, theoretical and cell performance studies AU - Naik, Praveen AU - Elmorsy, Mohamed R. AU - Su, Rui AU - Babu, Dickson D. AU - El-Shafei, Ahmed AU - Adhikari, Airody Vasudeva T2 - SOLAR ENERGY AB - Herein we report the design, synthesis and photovoltaic performance studies of three new D-π-A-π-A architectured organic chromophores (N1-3) derived from (Z)-3-(9-hexyl-9H-carbazol-3-yl)-2-(thiophen-2-yl) acrylonitrile scaffold. In the new design, the electron rich carbazole unit is connected to three different electron withdrawing/anchoring species, viz. cyano acetic acid, rhodanine-3-acetic acid and barbituric acid via cyano vinyl thiophene as π-spacer. Newly synthesized dyes were characterized by spectral, photophysical and electrochemical analyses. Their optical band-gap, GSOP and ESOP values, as calculated from the optical and CV studies were found to be in the range of 2.12–2.21, −5.52 to −5.43 and −5.40 to −3.25 eV respectively. The DFT and TD-DFT studies were performed using Turbomole 7.1V software and the results indicated the existence of proper charge separation between HOMO and LUMO levels of the dyes. Also, the results revealed good matching of theoretically generated optical spectral data with the experimental values. Finally, DSSC devices were fabricated using these three dyes and the dye N1 containing cyanoacetic acid as an acceptor unit showed better photo conversion efficiency (η) of 3.55% than the other two dyes. It’s JSC, VOC, and IPCE parameters were shown to be 9.06 mA cm−2, 0.577 V and 48%, respectively. The obtained EIS data and electron lifetimes of N1–3 sensitized devices are well in accordance with experimental photovoltaic parameters. DA - 2017/9/1/ PY - 2017/9/1/ DO - 10.1016/j.solener.2017.05.088 VL - 153 SP - 600-610 SN - 0038-092X UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85020822743&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - DSSC KW - Sensitizer KW - Carbazole KW - Cyano vinyl thiophene KW - DFT and TDFT calculations ER - TY - JOUR TI - Mordant dye application on cotton: optimisation and combination with natural dyes AU - Ding, Yi AU - Freeman, Harold S. T2 - COLORATION TECHNOLOGY AB - It is well known that cotton fibres can be dyed through the formation of coordinate bonds involving cellulose chains, mordants such as alum, and natural dyes such as alizarin. Similarly, synthetic dyes known as mordant acid dyes can be used to dye wool fibres. Unlike mordant dyes on wool, the fastnesses of natural dyes on cotton are often low. Although concerns surrounding textile sustainability have sparked renewed interest in the use of natural dyes, extensive replacement of synthetic dyes with natural dyes is neither practical nor fundamentally possible. However, similarities in dyeing methods using mordant and natural dyes raise the possibility of using mordant dyes as alternatives to natural dyes in the dyeing of cotton. Further, the potential for combining suitable dyes from these two classes to expand the colour gamut currently available from natural dyes on cotton seem worthy of exploration. The results of this study indicate that shades comparable with those produced by natural dyes can be obtained on cotton using select mordant dyes following Fe 2+ and Al 3+ pretreatments. The best results were obtained using a two‐step/two‐bath process and dyes such as CI Mordant Blue 13 and CI Mordant Orange 6. In evaluations of mordant and natural dye combinations using the two mordant dyes logwood and Osage orange as prototypes, interesting fabric shades were obtained. However, the fastness properties of these dyes must be improved in order to produce commercially viable dyeings. DA - 2017/10// PY - 2017/10// DO - 10.1111/cote.12288 VL - 133 IS - 5 SP - 369-375 SN - 1478-4408 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Meltblown Polymer Fabrics as Candidate Scaffolds for Rotator Cuff Tendon Tissue Engineering AU - Jenkins, Thomas L. AU - Meehan, Sean AU - Pourdeyhimi, Behnam AU - Little, Dianne T2 - TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A AB - Various biomaterial technologies are promising for tissue engineering, including electrospinning, but commercial scale-up of throughput is difficult. The goal of the study was to evaluate meltblown fabrics as candidate scaffolds for rotator cuff tendon tissue engineering. Meltblown poly(lactic acid) fabrics were produced with several polymer crystallinities and airflow velocities [500(low), 900(medium) or 1400(high) m3air/h/m fabric]. Fiber diameter, alignment, and baseline bidirectional tensile mechanical properties were evaluated. Attachment and spreading of human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) were evaluated over 3 days immediately following seeding. After initial screening, the fabric with the greatest Young's modulus and yield stress was selected for 28-day in vitro culture and for evaluation of tendon-like extracellular matrix production and development of mechanical properties. As expected, airflow velocity of the polymer during meltblowing demonstrated an inverse relationship with fiber diameter. All fabrics exhibited fiber alignment parallel to the direction of collector rotation. All fabrics demonstrated mechanical anisotropy at baseline. Cells attached, proliferated, and spread on all fabrics over the initial three-day culture period. Consistent with the observed loss of integrity of the unseeded biomaterial, hASC-seeded scaffolds demonstrated a significant decrease in Young's modulus over 28 days of culture. However, dsDNA, sulfated glycosaminoglycan, and collagen content increased significantly over 28 days. Histology and polarized light microscopy demonstrated collagen deposition and alignment throughout the thickness of the scaffolds. While fiber diameters approximated an order of magnitude greater than those previously reported for electrospun scaffolds intended for tendon tissue engineering, they were still within the range of collagen fiber diameters found in healthy tendon. The extent of matrix production and alignment was similar to that previously observed for multilayered electrospun scaffolds. While the Young's modulus of scaffolds after 28 days of culture was lower than native rotator cuff tendon, it approximated that reported previously following culture of electrospun scaffolds and was on the same order of magnitude as of current Food and Drug Administration-approved patches for rotator cuff augmentation. Together, these data suggest that with minor polymer and parameter modifications, meltblown scaffolds could provide an economical, high-throughput production alternative method to electrospinning for use in rotator cuff tendon tissue engineering. DA - 2017/9// PY - 2017/9// DO - 10.1089/ten.tea.2016.0470 VL - 23 IS - 17-18 SP - 958-967 SN - 1937-335X KW - collagen KW - tendon KW - meltspun KW - meltblown KW - electrospun KW - rotator cuff ER - TY - JOUR TI - Investigation of microcombing parameters in enhancing the properties of carbon nanotube yarns AU - Yu, Yingying AU - Zhang, Liwen AU - Yildiz, Ozkan AU - Deng, Haotian AU - Zhao, Changhao AU - Bradford, Philip D. AU - Li, Jianying AU - Zhu, Yuntian T2 - MATERIALS & DESIGN AB - Microcombing has been reported as a novel processing approach for reducing waviness and improving alignment of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), which effectively enhances the performance of materials made from CNT sheets. In this study, we have systematically investigated the effects of microcombing parameters on the properties of CNT yarns. It is found that the electrical and mechanical properties of CNT yarns first improved with increasing degree of microcombing and then degraded with over-combing. At the optimum degree of microcombing, the electrical conductivity, tensile strength, and Young's modulus of the CNT yarns were improved to 140%, 140%, and 230%, respectively, over those of uncombed yarns. The enhanced yarn properties were resulted from reduced nanotube waviness, improved CNT alignment and denser packing structure, which led to a more uniform yarn structure. On the other hand, over-combing degraded structural uniformity, resulting in lower electrical and mechanical properties. These observations are expected to help with future selection of microcombing parameters for producing high-quality CNT yarns and polymer-CNT composite yarns for superior electrical and mechanical properties. DA - 2017/11/15/ PY - 2017/11/15/ DO - 10.1016/j.matdes.2017.08.035 VL - 134 SP - 181-187 SN - 1873-4197 KW - Carbon nanotube yarns KW - microcombing effects KW - mechanical properties KW - electrical properties ER - TY - JOUR TI - Integration of Six Sigma to traditional quality management theory: an empirical study on organisational performance AU - Uluskan, Meryem AU - Godfrey, A. Blanton AU - Joines, Jeffrey A. T2 - TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT & BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AB - This paper integrates Six Sigma (SS) practices into traditional quality management (QM) theory by investigating its relation to traditional QM practices as well as its direct effect on organisational performance. This research used Path Analysis, a special case of SEM, through which the research hypotheses were evaluated. The paper uses survey data collected from US textile and apparel industry members. As an important contribution to previous literature, the results suggest that overall performance appears to be favourably and directly influenced by successful implementation of both SS and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Therefore, SS practices are concluded to directly impact organisational performance rather than being complementary to traditional QM practices. Considering the social and technical (soft and hard) dimensions of QM, our study has found a significant path to SS from process management (PM), but not from other soft aspects. This showed that textile and apparel companies’ SS applications are dominated by hard quality practices, but they have not been yet widely linked with social dimensions such as CRM or Employee Relationship Management (ERM). Results also indicate that ERM has a direct impact on PM and CRM, and Top Management has direct positive links to CRM and ERM. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1080/14783363.2016.1150173 VL - 28 IS - 13-14 SP - 1526-1543 SN - 1478-3371 KW - quality management KW - Six Sigma KW - organisational performance KW - path analysis KW - hard and soft quality management ER - TY - JOUR TI - Effect of Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) on Heat Loss in Structural Firefighter Turnout Suits AU - McQuerry, Meredith AU - DenHartog, Emiel AU - Barker, Roger T2 - AATCC Journal of Research AB - The purpose of this research was to determine the effect of firefighter's self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) on heat loss through clothing ventilation openings in structural firefighter turnout suits. Passive and active ventilation openings were fabricated into structural turnout suits and tested with and without the SCBA to determine the effect on clothing ventilation. Turnout suits were evaluated under two test conditions on a sweating manikin to measure thermal and evaporative resistance. A predicted total heat loss (THL) value was calculated for each suit and compared to a control turnout without ventilation openings. A significant improvement in heat loss was measured when the SCBA harness, mask, and thermal hood were removed from the structural ensemble. Results showed the SCBA harness significantly decreased heat loss in firefighter turnouts. DA - 2017/9/1/ PY - 2017/9/1/ DO - 10.14504/ajr.4.5.1 VL - 4 IS - 5 SP - 1-5 J2 - aatcc j res LA - en OP - SN - 2330-5517 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.14504/ajr.4.5.1 DB - Crossref KW - Comfort KW - Firefighter KW - Protective Clothing KW - Turnout Suit KW - Ventilation ER - TY - JOUR TI - Analytical techniques for characterizing cyclodextrins and their inclusion complexes with large and small molecular weight guest molecules AU - Narayanan, Ganesh AU - Boy, Ramiz AU - Gupta, Bhupender S. AU - Tonelli, Alan E. T2 - POLYMER TESTING AB - Cyclodextrins are oligosaccharides that have truncated cone like structures, making them capable of forming non-covalent bonds with a large variety of molecules (especially hydrophobic molecules). Additionally, as the outer rims of their truncated cones are lined with several hydroxyl groups, secondary interactions with and functionalization of these hydroxyl groups are also possible. Current techniques available to analyze and characterize these interactions, although somewhat limited, can be accomplished by judicious selection of analytical tools. However, for emerging applications, the currently utilized techniques summarized in this review may not be sufficient. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview, including their possible limitations, of current techniques commonly employed to investigate such interactions. In view of CD-based materials for emerging applications, wherever possible, analytical tools used for these studies are also discussed. DA - 2017/9// PY - 2017/9// DO - 10.1016/j.polymertesting.2017.07.023 VL - 62 SP - 402-439 SN - 1873-2348 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Variability in human responses when working in chemical protective impermeable suits AU - DenHartog, Emiel T2 - Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise AB - PURPOSE: A major concern for responders to hazardous materials (HazMat) incidents is the heat strain that is caused by impermeable (NFPA1991) suits. In a research project, funded by the US Department of Defense, the thermal strain experienced when wearing these suits was studied. One area of interest was determining whether individual or anthropometric factors of age and body mass index could be predictors for individual physiological responses to allow more accurate predictions of work time in HazMat suits. METHODS: 40 subjects between the ages of 25 and 50 participated in a protocol approved by the local ethical committee. Six different fully encapsulated impermeable HazMat suits were evaluated in three climates: moderate (24°C, 50% RH, 20°C WBGT), warm-wet (32°C, 60% RH, 30°C WBGT), and hot-dry (45°C, 20% RH, 37°C WBGT, 200 W/m2 radiant load) and at three walking speeds: 2.5 km/hr, 4 km/hr, and 5.5 km/hr. The medium speed, 4 km/hr, was tested in all three climates and the other two walking speeds were only tested in the moderate climate. Prior to the test a submaximal exercise test in normal clothing was performed to determine a relationship between heart rate and oxygen consumption (Pre-Test). RESULTS: In total 163 exposures were measured. Tolerance time ranged from as low as 20 minutes in the hot-dry condition to 60 minutes (the maximum) in the moderate climate, especially common at the lowest walking speed. An important aspect of the dataset was the large variability between the subjects. Although the average responses seemed predictable, the variability in the high strain conditions ranged from 20 minutes up to 60 minutes. Individual characteristics showed very limited power in predicting individual tolerance times; only age versus final heart rate and the pre-test versus tolerance time showed a significant correlation with tolerance time (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Individual variability was much larger than expected, partly due to the inhomogeneous groups used in these experiments. Furthermore, rather than maximum core temperature reaching maximum heart rate was the most important reason for terminating the work. The data show the importance of individual monitoring for these high thermal and physiological strain exposure in the work place. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1249/01.mss.0000518304.79717.f8 VL - 49 IS - 5 SP - 510–510 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Thermomechanical insight into the reconfiguration of Diels-Alder networks AU - Pratchayanan, Danaya AU - Yang, Jeh-Chang AU - Lewis, Christopher L. AU - Thoppey, Nagarajan AU - Anthamatten, Mitchell T2 - JOURNAL OF RHEOLOGY AB - Relating thermoreversible bond kinetics to temperature and mechanical stress is essential to for the ongoing development of melt-processable, reconfigurable networks. Here, we apply the dynamic mechanical analysis methods to study the kinetics and equilibrium behavior of dynamic polymer networks above their gel point. Thermoreversible Diel–Alder (DA) adducts are installed as linking groups to create well-defined poly(caprolactone) networks. Stress relaxation studies at various strains are performed to differentiate how temperature and stress influence the rate of bond breaking, i.e., the rate of the retro-DA reaction. The resulting thermal activation energies of stress relaxation are nearly independent of applied stress over the experimental range studied. The forward, more sluggish, DA reaction is studied by continuously monitoring the response in Young's modulus (E′) following different temperature reductions. Equilibrium values of E′ are used to establish the temperature dependence of the DA equilibrium constant, and a van't Hoff analysis from thermomechanical studies alone allows estimates of enthalpy and entropy changes associated with the DA reaction. The results provide insight on how to design, formulate, and reprocess thermoreversible shape memory networks. DA - 2017/11// PY - 2017/11// DO - 10.1122/1.4997580 VL - 61 IS - 6 SP - 1359-1367 SN - 0148-6055 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Structurally simple D-A-type organic sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells: effect of anchoring moieties on the cell performance AU - Naik, Praveen AU - Su, Rui AU - Babu, Dickson D. AU - El-Shafei, Ahmed AU - Adhikari, Airody Vasudeva T2 - JOURNAL OF THE IRANIAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY DA - 2017/11// PY - 2017/11// DO - 10.1007/s13738-017-1180-3 VL - 14 IS - 11 SP - 2457-2466 SN - 1735-2428 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85032027118&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - n-type sensitizer KW - DSSC KW - Barbituric acid KW - Knoevenagel condensation KW - DFT and TDFT calculations ER - TY - JOUR TI - Mechanisms of signal coupling to optical fiber for FBG sensor detection of Lamb waves AU - Wee, Junghyun AU - Hackney, Drew AU - Bradford, Philip AU - Peters, Kara T2 - 2017 25TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON OPTICAL FIBER SENSORS (OFS) AB - One of the major challenges when using fiber Bragg grating sensors (FBGs) to detect Lamb wave or acoustic emission signals in structures is the low sensitivity of these sensors to surface waves propagating in the structure. The authors have previously demonstrated that remote bonding of the optical fiber away from the FBG can increase the measured signal amplitude. In this paper we investigate the potential mechanisms for this increase through finite element simulations and demonstrate that the shear lag effect through the adhesive is the major source of the signal amplitude difference between the direct and remote bonding cases. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1117/12.2263278 VL - 10323 SP - SN - 1996-756X KW - Lamb wave detection KW - fiber Bragg grating KW - structural health monitoring KW - adhesive bonding ER - TY - JOUR TI - Improved photovoltaic performances of Ru (II) complex sensitized DSSCs by co-sensitization of carbazole based chromophores AU - Naik, Praveen AU - Su, Rui AU - El-Shafei, Ahmed AU - Adhikari, Airody Vasudeva T2 - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY COMMUNICATIONS AB - Herein, we report photovoltaic performance studies of three carbazole based dyes (N1–3) derived from (Z)-3-(9-hexyl-9H-carbazol-3-yl)-2-(thiophen-2-yl)acrylonitrile scaffold as effective co-sensitizers in Ru (II) complex, i.e. NCSU-10 sensitized DSSCs. From the results it is evident that, the device fabricated using co-sensitizer N3 with 0.2 mM of NCSU-10 exhibited improved photon conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.73% with JSC of 19.87 mA·cm− 2, VOC of 0.655 V and FF of 67.0%, while N1 displayed PCE of 8.29% with JSC of 19.75 mA·cm− 2, VOC of 0.671 V and FF of 62.6%, whereas NCSU-10 (0.2 mM) alone displayed PCE of 8.25% with JSC of 20.41 mA·cm− 2, VOC of 0.667 V and FF of 60.6%. However, their EIS studies confirm that, N1, showing higher VOC is efficient in suppressing the undesired charge recombination in DSSCs through enhanced surface coverage on TiO2 and thereby resulting in longer electron lifetime than that of NCSU-10 dye alone. Here, the higher PCE of N3 can be attributed to its improved light harvesting efficiency, which is due to the presence of highly electron withdrawing barbituric acid in its structure. Conclusively, the results showcase the potential of simple carbazole based dyes as co-sensitizers in improving efficiency of DSSCs. DA - 2017/12// PY - 2017/12// DO - 10.1016/j.inoche.2017.10.030 VL - 86 SP - 241-245 SN - 1879-0259 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85032805638&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - Carbazole KW - Co-sensitization KW - DSSC KW - NCSU-10 KW - Photovoltaic performance ER - TY - JOUR TI - Highly mesoporous C nanofibers with graphitized pore walls fabricated via ZnCo2O4-induced activating-catalyzed-graphitization for long-lifespan lithium-ion batteries AU - Chen, Renzhong AU - Hu, Yi AU - Shen, Zhen AU - He, Xia AU - Cheng, Zhongling AU - Pan, Peng AU - Wu, Keshi AU - Zhang, Xiangwu AU - Tang, Zhongyang T2 - JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A AB - Transition metals (TMs), e.g. Fe, Co, and Ni, are normally unsuitable for the fabrication of highly porous C materials with graphitized C layers. DA - 2017/11/7/ PY - 2017/11/7/ DO - 10.1039/c7ta05445a VL - 5 IS - 41 SP - 21679-21687 SN - 2050-7496 UR - https://publons.com/publon/16070131/ ER - TY - JOUR TI - Highly anisotropic magneto-transport and field orientation dependent oscillations in aligned carbon nanotube/epoxy composites AU - Wells, Brian AU - Kumar, Raj AU - Reynolds, C. Lewis, Jr. AU - Peters, Kara AU - Bradford, Philip D. T2 - APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS AB - Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely investigated as additive materials for composites with potential applications in electronic devices due to their extremely large electrical conductivity and current density. Here, highly aligned CNT composite films were created using a sequential layering fabrication technique. The degree of CNT alignment leads to anisotropic resistance values which varies &gt;400× in orthogonal directions. Similarly, the magnetoresistance (MR) of the CNT composite differs depending upon the relative direction of current and the applied magnetic field. A suppression of negative to positive MR crossover was also observed. More importantly, an overall positive magnetoresistance behavior with localized +/− oscillations was discovered at low fields which persists up to room temperature when the current (I) and in-plane magnetic field (B) were parallel to the axis of CNT (B∥I∥CNT), which is consistent with Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in our CNT/epoxy composites. When the current, applied magnetic field, and nanotube axis are aligned, the in-plane MR is positive instead of negative as observed for all other field, current, and tube orientations. Here, we provide in-depth analysis of the conduction mechanism and anisotropy in the magneto-transport properties of these aligned CNT-epoxy composites. DA - 2017/12/25/ PY - 2017/12/25/ DO - 10.1063/1.4999503 VL - 111 IS - 26 SP - SN - 1077-3118 ER - TY - JOUR TI - High-performance nylon fibers AU - Najafi, M. AU - Nasri, L. AU - Kotek, R. T2 - STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE FIBERS AB - Nylon is one of the most important polymers for production of high-performance fibers. High tenacity, high elasticity, good adhesion to rubber, and resistance to heat, abrasion, and chemicals make it possible for nylon filaments/yarns to be used widely in various technical products such as tire cords, industrial threads, climbing ropes, and fishing nets. This chapter first reviews the recent developments in spinning and treatment methods of high-performance nylon fibers. These techniques affect different elements inside the fiber structure, improving the tensile, thermal, and chemical properties. To understand such effects the morphology and the physical and chemical characteristics of the filaments are explained in detail. Finally, this chapter provides some suggestions for future production of technical nylon fibers. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1016/b978-0-08-100550-7.00009-7 VL - 187 SP - 199-244 SN - 2042-0803 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Desizing of starch sized cotton fabrics with atmospheric pressure plasma AU - Cornelius, Carrie AU - McCord, Marian AU - Bourham, Mohamed AU - Hauser, Peter T2 - CELLULOSE DA - 2017/12// PY - 2017/12// DO - 10.1007/s10570-017-1509-1 VL - 24 IS - 12 SP - 5685-5695 SN - 1572-882X KW - Cotton KW - Starch KW - Desizing KW - Plasma ER - TY - JOUR TI - Complex Phase Behavior and Network Characteristics of Midblock-Solvated Triblock Copolymers as Physically Cross-Linked Soft Materials AU - Woloszczuk, Sebastian AU - Tuhin, Mohammad O. AU - Gade, Soumya R. AU - Pasquinelli, Melissa A. AU - Banaszak, Michal AU - Spontak, Richard J. T2 - ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES AB - In the presence of a midblock-selective solvent, triblock copolymers not only self-organize but also form a molecular network. Thermoplastic elastomer gels constitute examples of such materials and serve as sealants and adhesives, as well as ballistic, microfluidic, and electroactive media. We perform Monte Carlo and dissipative particle dynamics simulations to investigate the phase behavior and network characteristics of these materials. Of particular interest is the existence of a truncated octahedral morphology that resembles the atomic arrangement of various inorganic species. Both simulation approaches quantify the midblock bridges responsible for network development and thus provide a detailed molecular picture of these composition-tunable soft materials. DA - 2017/11/22/ PY - 2017/11/22/ DO - 10.1021/acsami.7b14298 VL - 9 IS - 46 SP - 39940-39944 SN - 1944-8252 KW - thermoplastic elastomer KW - physical gel KW - block copolymer KW - self-assembly KW - TPEG ER - TY - JOUR TI - Characterization of color including temporal hue shift of a range of long-lasting phosphorescent/fluorescent (SiO2/REC@SAOED) composites AU - Chen, Zhi AU - Xiong, Nian AU - Ge, Mingqiao AU - Shamey, Renzo T2 - OPTICAL MATERIALS EXPRESS AB - A series of luminescent composites was prepared by coating the surface of long-lasting phosphorescent SrAl2O4: Eu2+ ,Dy3+ (SAOED) compounds that emit yellow-greenish light, with various concentrations of red emitting coumarin (REC) fluorescent dye. The color of the luminescent SiO2/REC@SAOED composites, including the temporal hue shift in darkness, was characterized using photoluminescence (PL) emission spectra and spectroradiometric measurements. The PL emission spectra of the pAosphorescent/fluorescent composite contains a continuous band ranging from 450 to 700 nm with two emission peaks. The emission peak for the uncoated SAOED remained invariant, while the fluorescent emission peak exhibited a bathochromic shift from 607 to 618 nm when the concentration of REC in the composite was increased from 0.1 to 0.9 (wt%), indicating that the hue of the luminescent composite would gradually shift towards red with increasing concentrations of coumarin. Although the intensity of the fluorescent peak increased gradually with an increase in the concentration of REC, the ratio of the phosphorescent to fluorescent emission peak intensity also increased gradually over time. Spectroradiometric measurements of compounds showed that the hue of the emitted light from the composites exhibited a gradual hypsochromic (blue) shift over time in darkness, and the extent of the blue-shift decreased gradually with an increase in the concentration of REC. DA - 2017/11/1/ PY - 2017/11/1/ DO - 10.1364/ome.7.003909 VL - 7 IS - 11 SP - 3909-3918 SN - 2159-3930 UR - https://doi.org/10.1364/OME.7.003909 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Channelized carbon nanofiber with uniform-dispersed GeO2 as anode for long-lifespan lithium-ion batteries AU - He, Xia AU - Hu, Yi AU - Shen, Zhen AU - Chen, Renzhong AU - Wu, Keshi AU - Cheng, Zhongling AU - Zhang, Xiang Wu AU - Pan, Peng T2 - JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS AB - The direct use of low-cost GeO2 nanoparticles as a replacement for germanium salt as a source of germanium is more practical for the fabrication of GeO2/C composite electrodes for commercial lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the tendency of nanoparticles to easily agglomerate complicates the task of obtaining a uniform distribution of GeO2 in a carbon matrix. In this study, we used polystyrene (PS) as a sacrificial template to fabricate a uniform dispersion of multichannel carbon fiber with amorphous GeO2 (GeO2/MCNF) via electrospinning with a single nozzle. With a polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/PS ratio of 1:0.6, the GeO2/MCNF composite shows enhanced initial Coulombic efficiency (66.9%), high reversible specific capacity (832 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles under a current density of 250 mA g−1), and excellent cycling stability and rate capability. Especially, this anode material exhibits superior cycling stability (472 mA h g−1 after 500 cycles under a current density of 1250 mA g−1). The improved electrochemical performance could be attributed to the uniformly dispersed GeO2, unique carbon nanostructure, and the synergistic interaction between GeO2 and the CNFs. The proposed method provides a common strategy to develop other low conductivity anode materials with high current capacities and long-term cycle stabilities. DA - 2017/12/30/ PY - 2017/12/30/ DO - 10.1016/j.jallcom.2017.09.038 VL - 729 SP - 313-322 SN - 1873-4669 UR - https://publons.com/publon/16070130/ KW - GeO2 KW - Multichannel KW - Carbon nanofibers KW - Anode KW - Lithium-ion batteries ER - TY - JOUR TI - Thread-Like CMOS Logic Circuits Enabled by Reel-Processed Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Transistors via Selective Doping AU - Heo, Jae Sang AU - Kim, Taehoon AU - Ban, Seok-Gyu AU - Kim, Daesik AU - Lee, Jun Ho AU - Jur, Jesse S. AU - Kim, Myung-Gil AU - Kim, Yong-Hoon AU - Hong, Yongtaek AU - Park, Sung Kyu T2 - ADVANCED MATERIALS AB - The realization of large‐area electronics with full integration of 1D thread‐like devices may open up a new era for ultraflexible and human adaptable electronic systems because of their potential advantages in demonstrating scalable complex circuitry by a simply integrated weaving technology. More importantly, the thread‐like fiber electronic devices can be achieved using a simple reel‐to‐reel process, which is strongly required for low‐cost and scalable manufacturing technology. Here, high‐performance reel‐processed complementary metal‐oxide‐semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuits are reported on 1D fiber substrates by using selectively chemical‐doped single‐walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) transistors. With the introduction of selective n‐type doping and a nonrelief photochemical patterning process, p‐ and n‐type SWCNT transistors are successfully implemented on cylindrical fiber substrates under air ambient, enabling high‐performance and reliable thread‐like CMOS inverter circuits. In addition, it is noteworthy that the optimized reel‐coating process can facilitate improvement in the arrangement of SWCNTs, building uniformly well‐aligned SWCNT channels, and enhancement of the electrical performance of the devices. The p‐ and n‐type SWCNT transistors exhibit field‐effect mobility of 4.03 and 2.15 cm 2 V −1 s −1 , respectively, with relatively narrow distribution. Moreover, the SWCNT CMOS inverter circuits demonstrate a gain of 6.76 and relatively good dynamic operation at a supply voltage of 5.0 V. DA - 2017/8/18/ PY - 2017/8/18/ DO - 10.1002/adma.201701822 VL - 29 IS - 31 SP - SN - 1521-4095 KW - complelentary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuits KW - deep UV irradiation KW - single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) KW - thread-like fiber electronic devices KW - transistors ER - TY - JOUR TI - Stable Organic Radicals in Lignin: A Review AU - Patil, Shradha V. AU - Argyropoulos, Dimitris S. T2 - CHEMSUSCHEM AB - Abstract Lignin and the quest for the origin of stable organic radicals in it have seen numerous developments. Although there have been various speculations over the years on the formation of these stable radicals, researchers have not been able to arrive at a solid, unequivocal hypothesis that applies to all treatments and types of lignin. The extreme complexity of lignin and its highly aromatic, cross‐linked, branched, and rigid structure has made such efforts rather cumbersome. Since the early 1950s, researchers in this field have dedicated their efforts to the establishment of methods for the detection and determination of spin content, theoretical simulations, and reactions on model compounds and spin‐trapping studies. Although a significant amount of published research is available on lignin or its model compounds and the reactive intermediates involved during various chemical treatments (pulping, bleaching, extractions, chemical modifications, etc.), the literature provides a limited view on the origin, nature, and stability of such radicals. Consequently, this review is focused on examining the origin of such species in lignin, factors affecting their presence, reactions involved in their formation, and methods for their detection. DA - 2017/9/11/ PY - 2017/9/11/ DO - 10.1002/cssc.201700869 VL - 10 IS - 17 SP - 3284-3303 SN - 1864-564X KW - biomass KW - EPR spectroscopy KW - radicals KW - reactive intermediates KW - spin trapping ER - TY - JOUR TI - Role of Polymerized Micelles on the Calcium Carbonate Mineralization of Nanofibers AU - Park, Yaewon AU - Rawat, Preeti AU - Ford, Ericka T2 - Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research AB - Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is a well-known chemical adsorbent. In this study, anthraquinone dye adsorption by CaCO3-mineralized nanofibers was evaluated with respect to the chemistry and structure of ionic particles that were seeded into the fibers. Reacted and unreacted surfmers of polyoxyethylene-1-(alkyloxylmethyl) alkyl ether sulfuric ester ammonium salt (PAMS) and polyoxyethylene alkylphenyl ether ammonium sulfate (PAPS) were added to aqueous poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) solutions at concentrations above their critical micelle concentration prior to electrospinning. The roles of these polymerized micelles on CaCO3 mineralization (produced by dipping PVA nanofibers into alternating solutions of aqueous CaCl2 and NaCO3) were compared to the roles of calcium chloride (CaCl2) and unseeded PVA nanofibers. Seeding nanofibers with reacted PAMS and PAPS resulted in higher degrees of CaCO3 mineralization than those with unreacted surfmers. PAPS caused even greater degrees of CaCO3 mineralization than other seeds, including PAMS. Likewise, dye absorption was greatest among the vaterite CaCO3 containing surfaces that were along nanofibers seeded with PAPS. Complexation between the PAMS and PVA hydroxyl groups had reduced their ability to attract calcium ions to the surfaces of nanofibers for mineralization, which also suppressed dye adsorption. DA - 2017/7/12/ PY - 2017/7/12/ DO - 10.1021/acs.iecr.7b00902 VL - 56 IS - 29 SP - 8241-8250 J2 - Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. LA - en OP - SN - 0888-5885 1520-5045 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ACS.IECR.7B00902 DB - Crossref ER - TY - JOUR TI - Ion Beam Modification of Carbon Nanotube Yarn in Air and Vacuum AU - Gigax, Jonathan G. AU - Bradford, Philip D. AU - Shao, Lin T2 - MATERIALS AB - We studied the effects ion beam irradiation on carbon nanotube (CNT) yarns. CNT yarn was fabricated by drawing and spinning CNT sheets from a vertically aligned CNT forest. The yarn was irradiated by 2.5 MeV protons in either vacuum or air. Irradiation in air was achieved by directing the proton beam through a 0.025 mm thick Ti window. Irradiation in vacuum occurred at a pressure of <10−6 torr at room temperature and at an elevated temperature of 600 °C. Tensile testing revealed that CNT yarn irradiated in air increased in tensile strength with increasing proton fluence. For yarn irradiated in vacuum, however, the strength decreased with increasing fluence. We believe that irradiation-induced excitation and trapping/bonding of gas atoms between tubes may play a role for the mechanical property changes. DA - 2017/8// PY - 2017/8// DO - 10.3390/ma10080860 VL - 10 IS - 8 SP - SN - 1996-1944 KW - ion-solid interaction KW - carbon nanotubes KW - ion beam welding KW - carbon nanotube yarn ER - TY - JOUR TI - Investigating activation of carbon fiber nonwovens for use as supercapacitor electrodes AU - Leary, Jennifer D. AU - Maze, Benoit AU - Pourdeyhimi, Behnam T2 - JOURNAL OF THE TEXTILE INSTITUTE AB - Double-layer supercapacitors rely on the high specific surface area (SSA) of activated carbons. Typically, granular-activated carbon held together by polymer binder is used. As a potential alternative, this paper focuses on the potential use of commercially available carbon fiber nonwovens. A commercially available binder-free carbon fiber nonwoven was used initially, but surface area analysis revealed that no microporosity developed following the CO2 activation treatment. In order to investigate how the structure of the original carbon material impacted subsequent activation, polyacrylonoitrile (PAN) nonwovens were fabricated and carbonized in-house under controlled conditions (695, 895, and 1095 °C). Carbonization temperature was found to be a limiting factor, where higher carbonization temperatures led to lower potential for activation. Since commercially available materials are typically carbonized at unknown temperatures, and are likely carbonized at high temperatures to develop electrical conductivity, it is found that they are unlikely to form high SSA materials. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1080/00405000.2016.1260424 VL - 108 IS - 9 SP - 1528-1536 SN - 1754-2340 KW - Nonwovens KW - carbon fiber KW - microstructures KW - energy storage KW - electrodes ER - TY - JOUR TI - Introduction to the late Professor John W. S. Hearle's publication list AU - Oxenham, William AU - Chen, Xiaogang T2 - JOURNAL OF THE TEXTILE INSTITUTE AB - The Publications Committee of The Textile Institute was unanimous in agreeing that there would be a recognition of Prof. Hearle’s outstanding contribution to Textile Science and most particularly h... DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1080/00405000.2017.1337635 VL - 108 IS - 9 SP - 1477-1488 SN - 1754-2340 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Influence of atmospheric plasma-induced graft polymerization of DADMAC into cotton on dyeing with acid dyes AU - Helmy, Hany M. AU - Hauser, Peter AU - El-Shafei, Ahmed T2 - JOURNAL OF THE TEXTILE INSTITUTE AB - AbstractThe primary objective of this work was to generate dyes sites in cotton fiber for acid dyes via free radical graft polymerization of diallyldimethylammonium chloride (DADMAC), to confer cationized cotton, and evaluate the dyeability of the cationized cotton toward acid dyes, which is unprecedented. Plasma-induced graft polymerization of DADMAC on cotton, using different plasma conditions, followed by dyeing with different acid dyes was studied. The color yield of dyed cotton was evaluated using K/S. Light fastness, color change, and staining following accelerated washing cycles were carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of cotton cationization. Cross-section dyed cotton was studied using scanning electron microscopy and showed deep dyeing of acid dyes into cotton fibers. This approach resulted in significant dye uptake into the fibers and considerably reduced the need for effluent treatment. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1080/00405000.2017.1298206 VL - 108 IS - 11 SP - 1871-1878 SN - 1754-2340 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85014755559&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - High density atmospheric pressure plasma KW - surface modification KW - acid dyes KW - cationization KW - poly-DADMAC ER - TY - JOUR TI - Highly Conductive Polypropylene-Graphene Nonwoven Composite via Interface Engineering AU - Pan, Qin AU - Shim, Eunkyoung AU - Pourdeyhimi, Behnam AU - Gao, Wei T2 - LANGMUIR AB - Here we report a highly conductive polypropylene-graphene nonwoven composite via direct coating of melt blown polypropylene (PP) nonwoven fabrics with graphene oxide (GO) dispersions in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), followed by the chemical reduction of GO with hydroiodic acid (HI). GO as an amphiphilic macromolecule can be dispersed in DMF homogeneously at a concentration of 5 mg/mL, which has much lower surface tension (37.5 mN/m) than that of GO in water (72.9 mN/m, at 5 mg/mL). The hydrophobic PP nonwoven has a surface energy of 30.1 mN/m, close to the surface tension of GO in DMF. Therefore, the PP nonwoven can be easily wetted by the GO/DMF dispersion without any pretreatment. Soaking PP nonwoven in a GO/DMF dispersion leads to uniform coatings of GO on PP-fiber surfaces. After chemical reduction of GO to graphene, the resulting PP/graphene nonwoven composite offers an electrical conductivity of 35.6 S m-1 at graphene loading of 5.2 wt %, the highest among the existing conductive PP systems reported, indicating that surface tension of coating baths has significant impact on the coating uniformity and affinity. The conductivity of our PP/graphene nonwoven is also stable against stirring washing test. In addition, here we demonstrate a monolithic supercapacitor derived from the PP-GO nonwoven composite by using a direct laser-patterning process. The resulted sandwich supercapacitor shows a high areal capacitance of 4.18 mF/cm2 in PVA-H2SO4 gel electrolyte. The resulting highly conductive or capacitive PP/graphene nonwoven carries great promise to be used as electronic textiles. DA - 2017/8/1/ PY - 2017/8/1/ DO - 10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b01508 VL - 33 IS - 30 SP - 7452-7458 SN - 0743-7463 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Graphene-Fiber-Based Supercapacitors Favor N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone/Ethyl Acetate as the Spinning Solvent/Coagulant Combination AU - He, Nanfei AU - Pan, Qin AU - Liu, Yixin AU - Gao, Wei T2 - ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES AB - One-dimensional flexible fiber supercapacitors (FSCs) have attracted great interest as promising energy-storage units that can be seamlessly incorporated into textiles via weaving, knitting, or braiding. The major challenges in this field are to develop tougher and more efficient FSCs with a relatively easy and scalable process. Here, we demonstrate a wet-spinning process to produce graphene oxide (GO) fibers from GO dispersions in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), with ethyl acetate as the coagulant. Upon chemical reduction of GO, the resulting NMP-based reduced GO (rGO) fibers (rGO@NMP-Fs) are twice as high in the surface area and toughness but comparable in tensile strength and conductivity as that of the water-based rGO fibers (rGO@H2O-Fs). When assembled into parallel FSCs, rGO@NMP-F-based supercapacitors (rGO@NMP-FSCs) offered a specific capacitance of 196.7 F cm–3 (147.5 mF cm–2), five times higher than that of rGO@H2O-F-based supercapacitors (rGO@H2O-FSCs) and also higher than most existing wet-spun rGO-FSCs, as well as those FSCs built with metal wires, graphene/carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers, or even pseudocapacitive materials. In addition, our rGO@NMP-FSCs can provide good bending and cycling stability. The energy density of our rGO@NMP-FSCs reaches ca. 6.8 mWh cm–3, comparable to that of a Li thin-film battery (4 V/500 μAh). DA - 2017/7/26/ PY - 2017/7/26/ DO - 10.1021/acsami.7b05982 VL - 9 IS - 29 SP - 24568-24576 SN - 1944-8244 KW - graphene oxide KW - fiber supercapacitors KW - graphene fibers KW - wet spinning KW - PVA electrolyte ER - TY - JOUR TI - GeOx ultra-dispersed in microporous carbon nanofibers: a binder-free anode for high performance lithium-ion battery AU - He, Xia AU - Hu, Yi AU - Shen, Zhen AU - Chen, Renzhong AU - Wu, Keshi AU - Cheng, Zhonglin AU - Zhang, Xiangwu AU - Pan, Peng T2 - ELECTROCHIMICA ACTA AB - Carbonaceous materials are usually used to improve the electrochemical performance of GeOx for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Preparing a material in which GeOx is ultra-dispersed in carbon nanofibers via a simple process has rarely been reported. Here we design and prepare a three-dimensional (3D) composite in which amorphous GeOx is ultra-uniformly distributed in one-dimensional (1D) microporous carbon nanofibers (GeOx-mCNFs) via high energy ball milling combined with carbonization-amorphization reactions. When directly used as a binder-free anode material for LIBs, the as-synthesized GeOx-mCNFs hybrid shows a highly reversible specific capacity, a good rate performance, and an excellent cycling stability (i.e., 621 mA h g−1 at 1.2 A g−1 after 300 cycles), which is attributed to the synergistic effects of the ultra-uniform amorphous GeOx, a 1D interconnected carbon nanostructure, and micropores. It is expected that the GeOx-mCNFs hybrid could be utilized as a binder-free anode material in high-current rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. DA - 2017/8/20/ PY - 2017/8/20/ DO - 10.1016/j.electacta.2017.06.122 VL - 246 SP - 981-989 SN - 1873-3859 UR - https://publons.com/publon/16070132/ KW - ultra-dispersed KW - GeOx KW - carbon nanofibers KW - anode KW - electrospinning ER - TY - JOUR TI - A novel bi-functional double-layer rGO-PVDF/PVDF composite nanofiber membrane separator with enhanced thermal stability and effective polysulfide inhibition for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries AU - Zhu, Pei AU - Zhu, Jiadeng AU - Zang, Jun AU - Chen, Chen AU - Lu, Yao AU - Jiang, Mengjin AU - Yan, Chaoyi AU - Dirican, Mahmut AU - Selvan, Ramakrishnan Kalai AU - Zhang, Xiangwu AU - al. T2 - JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A AB - A novel, bi-functional double-layer reduced graphene oxide (rGO)–polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/PVDF membrane was fabricated by a simple electrospinning technique and was used as a promising separator for lithium–sulfur batteries. DA - 2017/8/7/ PY - 2017/8/7/ DO - 10.1039/c7ta03301j VL - 5 IS - 29 SP - 15096-15104 SN - 2050-7496 UR - https://doi.org/10.1039/C7TA03301J ER - TY - JOUR TI - A Comparative Study on Two Ru-II Complexes with Thiophene-Based Ancillary Ligands for High-Efficiency Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells AU - Su, Rui AU - Elmorsy, Mohamed R. AU - Abed, Mira AU - Islam, Ashraful AU - Lord, Meghan AU - Fadda, Ahmed A. AU - El-Shafei, Ahmed T2 - EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF INORGANIC CHEMISTRY AB - Heteroleptic polypyridyl Ru complexes MMR‐1 and MMR‐2 containing 2‐(methylthio)thienyl and 2‐(4‐methoxyphenyl)thienyl units on the antennas of ancillary ligands, respectively, were designed, synthesized, and characterized as sensitizers for dye‐sensitized solar cells. The maximum absorption wavelength of MMR‐1 is more red‐shifted than that of MMR‐2 , but MMR‐2 has a higher molar extinction coefficient, leading to better light harvesting. Under the same device‐fabrication conditions, the photovoltaic performances of these sensitizers were evaluated while anchored on mesoporous TiO 2 and compared to that of the benchmark N719 . Both MMR‐1 and MMR‐2 exhibited comparable or even higher solar‐to‐electric conversion efficiencies η with respect to N719 when employed as photosensitizers in DSSCs. Compared to MMR‐1 , MMR‐2 exhibited better overall conversion efficiency, which was attributed to the electron‐donating effect of the 4‐methoxyphenyl group and the better absorptivity by harvesting higher‐energy photons. Complex MMR‐2 also showed higher open‐circuit voltage V OC than MMR‐1 , which is likely due to the extension of the antenna of the ancillary ligand by inserting a phenyl group, which leads to less dye aggregation. The photovoltaic performance of MMR‐2 was better, with a short‐circuit photocurrent density of 16.76 mA cm –2 , a V OC of 0.673 V, a fill factor of 73.5 %, and an η value of 8.29 % with the addition of 0.5 m 4‐ tert ‐butylpyridine (TBP) compared to 8.18 % for N719 . DA - 2017/8/24/ PY - 2017/8/24/ DO - 10.1002/ejic.201700468 VL - 2017 IS - 31 SP - 3690-3697 SN - 1099-0682 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85028060292&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - Dyes KW - Pigments KW - Solar cells KW - Ruthenium KW - N ligands KW - Ligand design ER - TY - JOUR TI - pH-Driven Actuation of DNA Origami via Parallel I-Motif Sequences in Solution and on Surfaces AU - Majikes, Jacob M. AU - Ferraz, Lucas C. C. AU - LaBean, Thomas H. T2 - BIOCONJUGATE CHEMISTRY AB - As bottom up DNA nanofabrication creates increasingly complex and dynamic mechanisms, the implementation of actuators within the DNA nanotechnology toolkit has grown increasingly important. One such actuator, the I-motif, is fairly simple in that it consists solely of standard DNA sequences and does not require any modification chemistry or special purification beyond that typical for DNA oligomer synthesis. This study presents a new implementation of parallel I-motif actuators, emphasizing their future potential as drivers of complex internal motion between substructures. Here we characterize internal motion between DNA origami substructures via AFM and image analysis. Such parallel I-motif design and quantification of actuation provide a useful step toward more complex and effective molecular machines. DA - 2017/7// PY - 2017/7// DO - 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.7b00288 VL - 28 IS - 7 SP - 1821-1825 SN - 1043-1802 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Variability in heat strain in fully encapsulated impermeable suits in different climates and at different work loads (vol 61, pg 248, 2017) AU - DenHartog, E. A. AU - Rubenstein, C. D. AU - Deaton, A. S. AU - Bogerd, C. P. T2 - Annals of Work Exposures and Health DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// VL - 61 IS - 2 SP - 267-267 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Variability in Heat Strain in Fully Encapsulated Impermeable Suits in Different Climates and at Different Work Loads AU - DenHartog, Emiel A. AU - Rubenstein, Candace D. AU - Deaton, A. Shawn AU - Bogerd, Cornelis Peter T2 - ANNALS OF WORK EXPOSURES AND HEALTH AB - A major concern for responders to hazardous materials (HazMat) incidents is the heat strain that is caused by fully encapsulated impermeable (NFPA 1991) suits. In a research project, funded by the US Department of Defense, the thermal strain experienced when wearing these suits was studied. Forty human subjects between the ages of 25 and 50 participated in a protocol approved by the local ethical committee. Six different fully encapsulated impermeable HazMat suits were evaluated in three climates: moderate (24°C, 50% RH, 20°C WBGT), warm-wet (32°C, 60% RH, 30°C WBGT), and hot-dry (45°C, 20% RH, 37°C WBGT, 200 W m-2 radiant load) and at three walking speeds: 2.5, 4, and 5.5 km h-1. The medium speed, 4 km h-1, was tested in all three climates and the other two walking speeds were only tested in the moderate climate. Prior to the test a submaximal exercise test in normal clothing was performed to determine a relationship between heart rate and oxygen consumption (pretest). In total, 163 exposures were measured. Tolerance time ranged from as low as 20 min in the hot-dry condition to 60 min (the maximum) in the moderate climate, especially common at the lowest walking speed. Between the six difference suits limited differences were found, a two-layered aluminized suit exhibited significant shorter tolerance times in the moderate climate, but no other major significant differences were found for the other climates or workloads. An important characteristic of the overall dataset is the large variability between the subjects. Although the average responses seem suitable to be predicted, the variability in the warmer strain conditions ranged from 20 min up to 60 min. The work load in these encapsulated impermeable suits was also significantly higher than working in normal clothing and higher than predicted by the Pandolf equation. Heart rate showed a very strong correlation to body core temperature and was in many cases the limiting factor. Setting the heart rate maximum at 80% of predicted individual maximum (age based) would have prevented 95% of the cases with excessive heat strain. Monitoring of heart rate under operational conditions would further allow individually optimize working times and help in preventing exertional heat stroke. DA - 2017/3/1/ PY - 2017/3/1/ DO - 10.1093/annweh/wxw019 VL - 61 IS - 2 SP - 248-259 SN - 2398-7316 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85033466174&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - ergonomics KW - extreme environments KW - personal protective clothing KW - protective clothing and heat stress ER - TY - JOUR TI - The glass transition temperatures of amorphous linear aliphatic polyesters AU - Shen, Jialong AU - Caydamli, Yavuz AU - Gurarslan, Alper AU - Li, Shanshan AU - Tonelli, Alan E. T2 - POLYMER AB - A series of wholly amorphous linear aliphatic co- and tetra-polyesters were synthesized via bulk melt step-growth polymerization. Their glass transition temperatures were determined using DSC and were essentially unaffected by crystallinity. The glass transition temperatures of the polyesters increase linearly with the ratio of ester groups per methylene group. Extrapolations of the ratio to zero ester group content gave a reliable value for the Tg of amorphous polyethylene (PE). The experimental Tgs manifest a steeper slope on the Tg vs. ester group content plot compared to those calculated using Van Krevelen's group contribution method. The intramolecular equilibrium flexibilities were evaluated through the calculation of conformational entropies of individual polymer chains approximated by considering solely the short-range interactions between neighboring groups, as embodied in their RIS conformational models. Their calculated conformational entropies, Sconf, decrease linearly with increasing ester group content, leading to the observation that Sconf ∝1/Tg. DA - 2017/8/25/ PY - 2017/8/25/ DO - 10.1016/j.polymer.2017.07.054 VL - 124 SP - 235-245 SN - 1873-2291 KW - Glass transition KW - Amorphous linear aliphatic polyester KW - Conformational entropy ER - TY - JOUR TI - Optimization of an ecofriendly dyeing process in an industrialized supercritical carbon dioxide unit for acrylic fibers AU - Zheng, Huanda AU - Zhang, Juan AU - Zheng, Laijiu T2 - TEXTILE RESEARCH JOURNAL AB - The feasibility of using supercritical CO 2 as a cleaning dyeing medium to dye acrylic fibers was investigated on an industrialized unit. The influence of dyeing temperature, dyeing pressure, dyeing time, and dye concentration on the K/ S values of acrylic fibers was examined using the fractional factorial design of experiments. A second-order polynomial model was established to analyze the interactions between distinct parameters and to obtain the optimal K/ S values. The results showed that an excellent dyeing effect of acrylic fibers was obtained in the industrialized supercritical CO 2 unit, but the dyeing effect was easily affected by variations of the dyeing parameters. In the experimental range, a calculated K/ S value could be up to 6.14 with the dyeing temperature of 100℃, dyeing pressure of 26 MPa, dyeing time of 60 min, and dye concentration of 3%. The dyed acrylic fibers presented good color fastness to washing, rubbing, and light. Furthermore, a commercially acceptable levelness and reproducibility for acrylic fibers were obtained in the supercritical CO 2 dyeing process. DA - 2017/9// PY - 2017/9// DO - 10.1177/0040517516659379 VL - 87 IS - 15 SP - 1818-1827 SN - 1746-7748 KW - supercritical carbon dioxide KW - ecofriendly dyeing KW - acrylic fibers KW - industrialized unit KW - disperse dye ER - TY - JOUR TI - Effect of yarn structure on wicking and its impact on bloodstain pattern analysis (BPA) on woven cotton fabrics AU - Li, Xingyu AU - Li, Jingyao AU - Michielsen, Stephen T2 - FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL AB - Bloodstain pattern analysis (BPA) of bloodstains on hard, non-porous surfaces has found widespread use in crime scene analysis and reconstruction for violent crimes in which bloodshed occurs. At many violent crime scenes, bloody clothing is also found and may be analyzed. However, to date, there are no definitive methods for analyzing bloodstains on textiles, even for simple drip stains. There are two major classes of textiles used for apparel and household textiles, weaves and knits. In this article, drip stains on two 100% cotton plain weave fabrics representative of bed sheets are analyzed. Since it is common practice in the manufacture of bed sheeting to use different types of yarn in the warp and weft direction to reduce cost, custom weaves were made from yarns produced by each of the three most common staple yarn production techniques to control this variable. It was found that porcine blood wicked into the fabrics made with ring spun yarn, but not into those made with open end or vortex spun yarns. The uneven wicking of blood into the different yarns resulted in elliptical-shaped stains on commercial bed sheeting that can be misleading when performing bloodstain pattern interpretation based on the stain morphology. This surprising result demonstrates that it is not sufficient to analyze the structure of the fabric, but one must also characterize the yarns from which the fabric is made. This study highlights the importance of a deeper characterization of the textile structure, even down to the yarn level, for BPA on textiles. DA - 2017/7// PY - 2017/7// DO - 10.1016/j.forsciint.2017.04.011 VL - 276 SP - 41-50 SN - 1872-6283 KW - Bloodstains KW - Textiles KW - Woven KW - Yarn KW - BPA KW - Cotton ER - TY - JOUR TI - Effect of Clothing Layers on Mass Transfer of Methyl Salicylate Vapor Through CBRN Materials in a Cylinder Test AU - Ormond, R. B. AU - DenHartog, E. A. T2 - JOURNAL OF TESTING AND EVALUATION AB - Abstract The testing of protective clothing materials against chemical and biological (CB) hazards is usually done at either a swatch of fabric or at the systems level. In this paper, a cylinder test method was developed in combination with a MethylSalicylate (MeS) Simulant test (variant to the MIST test) to study the effect of air-permeable and membrane clothing systems and specifically the effects of layering on protection. Three fabrics, material A air permeable absorptive, material B air impermeable, non-absorptive (membrane) and material C air permeable non-absorptive were tested on the cylinder alone and in combinations at 1 m/s and 10 m/s wind speeds. At high wind speeds, the MeS vapor penetrated all three materials and protection factors (PF) were lower than 10. At the lower wind speed much higher protection was found, PF(material A) = 36, PF(material B) = 29, PF(material C) = 2, and material B showed a significant decrease in protection with a leakage added (PF = 2), which did not occur with material A (PF = 29). When materials A and C were combined the combination of any layer to material A increased protection, especially with material A close to the cylinder: PF = 983 with material A twice, and PF = 765 with material C outside and material A inside. With material C on both layers, essentially no protection was obtained (PF = 2) and with material A outside and material C inside PF was 55, slightly higher than material A alone. In conclusion, the cylinder method provided very useful information in the development of protective clothing systems, especially at the lower wind speed of 1 m/s, and may provide a reliable quick and efficient way to obtain information on protection of air permeable absorptive fabrics. The method provides much more realistic data than current standard swatch tests on such materials and is cheaper and faster than a whole system MIST test. DA - 2017/7// PY - 2017/7// DO - 10.1520/jte20150491 VL - 45 IS - 4 SP - 1378-1387 SN - 1945-7553 KW - protective clothing KW - test method KW - chemical protection ER - TY - JOUR TI - Accuracy of electrospun fiber diameters: The importance of sampling and person-to-person variation AU - Narayanan, Ganesh AU - Tekbudak, Merve Yasemin AU - Caydamli, Yavuz AU - Dong, Ju AU - Krause, Wendy E. T2 - POLYMER TESTING AB - Potential sampling errors (regional variation) on an electrospun mat were explored and person-to-person (analyst affect) variation in image analysis of the fiber diameter were investigated via detailed statistical analyses. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) samples were prepared from the vertical midline of a single non-woven mat of electrospun polyethylene oxide. Thirteen analysts with identical training and instructions measured the diameters of the nanofibers from the six SEM images and statistical analyses were performed on the resulting data. The fiber diameters were significantly different in the lower region than the upper and center regions. Furthermore, the fiber diameters in the lower region—from micrographs taken only millimeters apart—were statistically different demonstrating a statistically significant regional variation in the sample. Furthermore, statistically significant variation between the analysts also was observed, with the average fiber diameter ranging from 166 nm to 276 nm. DA - 2017/8// PY - 2017/8// DO - 10.1016/j.polymertesting.2017.04.017 VL - 61 SP - 240-248 SN - 1873-2348 KW - Analyst effect KW - Electrospinning KW - Electrostatic spinning KW - Fiber diameter KW - Image analysis KW - ImageJ KW - Nanofibers KW - Regional effect KW - Sampling ER - TY - JOUR TI - A comparative study of the influence of N, N '-dialkyl vs. N, N '-diaryl-based electron donor ancillary ligands on photocurrent and photovoltage in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) AU - Ashraf, Saba AU - Yildirim, Erol AU - Akhtar, Javeed AU - Siddiqi, Humaira M. AU - El-Shafei, Ahmed T2 - PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS AB - In this study, we report the synthesis of a novel heteroleptic Ru(ii)-sensitizer, denoted as SD-1; moreover, its photophysical, electrochemical, and photovoltaic performances were compared with those of N719 and K77-7. DA - 2017/8/21/ PY - 2017/8/21/ DO - 10.1039/c7cp02530k VL - 19 IS - 31 SP - 20847-20860 SN - 1463-9084 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85027680532&partnerID=MN8TOARS ER - TY - JOUR TI - Thiocyanate-free ruthenium(II) sensitizers with a bi-imidazole ligand in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) AU - Ashraf, Saba AU - Akhtar, Javeed AU - Siddiqi, Humaira M. AU - El-Shafei, Ahmed T2 - NEW JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY AB - In this study, tris-heteroleptic Ru(ii) sensitizers denoted as SD-15 and SD-16 with a 4,4′,5,5′-tetramethyl-1H,1′H-2,2′-bis-imidazole moiety as the ancillary ligand were designed, synthesized and characterized. DA - 2017/7/21/ PY - 2017/7/21/ DO - 10.1039/c7nj01363a VL - 41 IS - 14 SP - 6272-6277 SN - 1369-9261 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85022344639&partnerID=MN8TOARS ER - TY - JOUR TI - Plasma induced graft polymerization of a fluorocarbon monomer on polyamide 6,6 fabrics AU - Dincmen, M. G. AU - Hauser, P. J. AU - Gursoy, N. C. T2 - Tekstil ve Konfeksiyon DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// VL - 27 IS - 1 SP - 38-45 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Molecular design and theoretical investigation of new metal-free heteroaromatic dyes with D-pi-A architecture as photosensitizers for DSSC application AU - Naik, Praveen AU - Su, Rui AU - Elmorsy, Mohamed R. AU - Babu, Dickson D. AU - El-Shafei, Ahmed AU - Adhikari, Airody Vasudeva T2 - JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY A-CHEMISTRY AB - Herein, we report design, synthesis and photovoltaic performance of four new metal-free heteroaromatic dyes (P1-4) with D-π-A architecture carrying electron donating carbazole core connected to four different electron withdrawing/anchoring groups, viz. cyanoacetic acid, rhodanine-3-acetic acid, barbituric acid and thiobarbituric acid and phenylene ring as a π-spacer. The newly designed P1-4 were synthesized from carbazole derivative using Suzuki cross coupling approach followed by Knoevenagel condensation reaction. Their structures were confirmed by FTIR, NMR, Mass spectral and elemental analyses. The dyes were subjected to optical and electrochemical studies in order to investigate their absorption/emission behavior as well as HOMO/LUMO energies. The UV–vis spectral studies reveal that the P1-4 showed λmax at 412, 439, 458 and 489 nm, respectively. Their optical band-gap is in the range of 2.17 to 2.61 eV and fluorescence quantum yield is in the order of 44–70%. From energy level diagram, it is clear that all the dyes possess good thermodynamic feasibility for electron injection into CB edge of TiO2 as well as their regeneration from electrolyte system. The photovoltaic performance studies indicate that among the tested dyes, P1 anchored with cyanoacetic acid displayed the highest IPCE (32%), resulting in improved PCE (1.94%), JSC (4.68 mA cm−2), VOC (0.588 V) and FF (70.3%) values, when compared to other dyes. Finally, DFT studies were performed using Turbomole 7.1 V software to investigate their electron cloud delocalization in HOMO/LUMO levels and theoretical absorption spectral data. The results reveal that the dye P1 showed effective charge separation in its FMO levels, which has reflected in its ICT behavior and hence P1 displayed the improved photovoltaic performance. DA - 2017/8/1/ PY - 2017/8/1/ DO - 10.1016/j.jphotochem.2017.05.033 VL - 345 SP - 63-73 SN - 1010-6030 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85019870789&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - DSSC KW - Heteroaromatic dyes KW - Suzuki coupling KW - Negative free energy KW - DFT simulations ER - TY - JOUR TI - In-situ formation of tin-antimony sulfide in nitrogen-sulfur Co-doped carbon nanofibers as high performance anode materials for sodium-ion batteries AU - Chen, Chen AU - Li, Guoqing AU - Zhu, Jiadeng AU - Lu, Yao AU - Jiang, Mengjin AU - Hu, Yi AU - Shen, Zhen AU - Zhang, Xiangwu T2 - CARBON AB - As potential alternatives to lithium-ion batteries in grid energy storage application, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have attracted tremendous attention. Absence of high-performance anode material remains a challenge to commercialize SIBs. Herein, a SnSbSx/porous carbon nanofiber (SnSbSx/PCNF) composite with superior performance is successfully prepared via electrospinning, followed by a sulfuration treatment. The as-prepared SnSbSx/PCNF composite exhibits a unique two-dimensional nano-sheet morphology. As a result, the SnSbSx/PCNFs can deliver a high reversible capacity of 566.7 mAh g−1 after 80 cycles and achieve good cycling stability and rate capability when used as anode materials for SIBs. The improved electrochemical performance of SnSbSx/PCNFs can be ascribed to the synergistic effects of SnSbSx nano-sheets and enhanced diffusion coefficient of Na+ in sulfurated PCNFs (SPCNFs), which can not only provide good electronic conductivity but also buffer the volume change of the SnSbSx nano-sheets during sodiation/desodiation process. Additionally, the sulfuration process generates a sulfur doping effect on the PCNFs, further enhancing their sodium storage ability. Therefore, the excellent Na-storage ability demonstrates SnSbSx/PCNFs a great potential as anode material for high-performance SIBs. DA - 2017/8// PY - 2017/8// DO - 10.1016/j.carbon.2017.05.072 VL - 120 SP - 380-391 SN - 1873-3891 UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2017.05.072 ER - TY - JOUR TI - High-Throughput Fabrication Method for Producing a Silver-Nanoparticles-Doped Nanoclay Polymer Composite with Novel Synergistic Antibacterial Effects at the Material Interface AU - Cai, Shaobo AU - Pourdeyhimi, Behnam AU - Loboa, Elizabeth G. T2 - ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES AB - In this study, we report a high-throughput fabrication method at industrial pilot scale to produce a silver-nanoparticles-doped nanoclay–polylactic acid composite with a novel synergistic antibacterial effect. The obtained nanocomposite has a significantly lower affinity for bacterial adhesion, allowing the loading amount of silver nanoparticles to be tremendously reduced while maintaining satisfactory antibacterial efficacy at the material interface. This is a great advantage for many antibacterial applications in which cost is a consideration. Furthermore, unlike previously reported methods that require additional chemical reduction processes to produce the silver-nanoparticles-doped nanoclay, an in situ preparation method was developed in which silver nanoparticles were created simultaneously during the composite fabrication process by thermal reduction. This is the first report to show that altered material surface submicron structures created with the loading of nanoclay enables the creation of a nanocomposite with significantly lower affinity for bacterial adhesion. This study provides a promising scalable approach to produce antibacterial polymeric products with minimal changes to industry standard equipment, fabrication processes, or raw material input cost. DA - 2017/6/28/ PY - 2017/6/28/ DO - 10.1021/acsami.7b03793 VL - 9 IS - 25 SP - 21105-21115 SN - 1944-8244 KW - high-throughput KW - silver-nanoparticles-doped nanoclay KW - synergistic antibacterial effect KW - reduced bacterial adhesion KW - minimal silver content KW - in situ thermal reduction ER - TY - JOUR TI - Facile fabrication of foldable electrospun polyacrylonitrile-based carbon nanofibers for flexible lithium-ion batteries AU - Chen, Renzhong AU - Hu, Yi AU - Shen, Zhen AU - Pan, Peng AU - He, Xia AU - Wu, Keshi AU - Zhang, Xiangwu AU - Cheng, Zhongling T2 - JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A AB - To enable electrospun polyacrylonitrile-based C nanofibers (CNFs) to be employed as anode materials in flexible Li-ion batteries, it is essential to overcome their frangibility and enhance their flexibility. DA - 2017/7/7/ PY - 2017/7/7/ DO - 10.1039/c7ta02528a VL - 5 IS - 25 SP - 12914-12921 SN - 2050-7496 UR - https://publons.com/publon/16070134/ ER - TY - CONF TI - Fabrication and packaging of flexible and breathable patch antennas on textiles AU - Shahariar, H. AU - Soewardiman, H. AU - Jur, J. S. AB - Textile antennas are prone to damage and change their shape and RF (radio frequency) characteristics over time. However, typical hydrophobic coatings or encapsulation layers, such as polyurethane, acrylate, or films, make textile antennas rigid and air impermeable. This work details the approach of using a polyurethane web as an encapsulation and lamination layer for screen-printed microstrip patch antennas on textile fabrics. Integrating the polyurethane web into the textile antennas makes the printed antennas flexible, air permeable, and durable. Further improvements are made by introducing a novel porous patch antenna design to enhance the flexibility and air-permeability for printed antennas. Antennas were designed and modeled using the ANSYS HFSS simulation software and compared with fabricated experimental results. Results show the fully packaged printed antenna have good impedance matching even under different bent conditions. The antennas were also analyzed before and after rinsing with heavy flow of water for 2 minutes to determine the effect of wetting. C2 - 2017/// C3 - Southeastcon 2017 DA - 2017/// DO - 10.1109/secon.2017.7925306 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Enhanced anisotropic response of dielectric elastomer actuators with microcombed and etched carbon nanotube sheet electrodes AU - Fang, Xiaomeng AU - Li, Ang AU - Yildiz, Ozkan AU - Shao, Huiqi AU - Bradford, Philip D. AU - Ghosh, Tushar K. T2 - CARBON AB - Dielectric elastomers (DE), also known as dielectric electroactive polymers offer tremendous potential in a wide-ranging applications including microrobotics and wearable responsive systems. The real-world application of DEs, however, has been limited by a number of factors, including facile means of producing directional stress/strain. As a critical component of the DE actuator, the electrodes should have high electrical conductance under finite in-plane deformation, good electromechanical stability, and ease of shaping based on the design requirements. In this work we investigate highly aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) sheets as electrodes in DE actuators to yield anisotropic electromechanical response. The morphology of CNT sheets were altered by microcombing and selective laser etching to enhance mechanical anisotropy. The enhancement of CNT sheets alignment results in almost pure unidirectional strain of 33% at a relatively moderate electric field. The results demonstrate that the deformation anisotropy of DE actuators can be significantly improved by directional laser etching of the electrodes rather than microcombing alone. DA - 2017/8// PY - 2017/8// DO - 10.1016/j.carbon.2017.05.067 VL - 120 SP - 366-373 SN - 1873-3891 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Engineering biorefinery residues from loblolly pine for supercapacitor applications AU - He, Nanfei AU - Yoo, Seunghyun AU - Meng, Jiajia AU - Yildiz, Ozkan AU - Bradford, Philip D. AU - Park, Sunkyu AU - Gao, Wei T2 - CARBON AB - Recycling agricultural waste biomass into high-value-added products is of great importance to offset the cost of biofuel production. Here, we make biochar-based activated carbons (BACs) from loblolly pine chips via different carbonization recipes and chemical activations. BACs were then assembled into electrochemical double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) as electrode materials. Surprisingly, pyrolysis at lower temperatures (300 °C and 350 °C) rendered better electrochemical performance of BACs than those done at higher temperatures (500 °C and 700 °C). This is mainly due to the large surface area and high pore volume generated at the lower temperatures. Among all the pyrolysis recipes, flash pyrolysis at 300 °C produced the BAC with the highest specific capacitance (74 F g−1 at 20 mV s−1), exceeding the specific capacitance of commercial activated carbon (NORIT®) by 45%. This report demonstrates the great potential of our refinery recipe to engineer BACs from the sustainable, affordable, and abundant natural wastes for energy-storage applications, which opens the door for a group of biorefinery residues for value-added applications. DA - 2017/8// PY - 2017/8// DO - 10.1016/j.carbon.2017.05.056 VL - 120 SP - 304-312 SN - 1873-3891 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Carbon-Coated Magnesium Ferrite Nanofibers for Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes with Enhanced Cycling Performance AU - Luo, L. AU - Li, D. W. AU - Zang, J. AU - Chen, C. AU - Zhu, J. D. AU - Qiao, H. AU - Cai, Y. B. AU - Lu, K. Y. AU - Zhang, X. W. AU - Wei, Q. F. AU - al., T2 - ENERGY TECHNOLOGY AB - Abstract Carbon‐coated magnesium ferrite (MgFe 2 O 4 @C) nanofibers were synthesized by electrospinning technology and a subsequent carbonization process using polydopamine as carbon precursor. SEM and TEM observations revealed that N‐doped carbon layers with different thicknesses were coated uniformly on the surface of the MgFe 2 O 4 nanofibers. If used as anode materials for lithium–ion batteries (LIBs), MgFe 2 O 4 @C nanofibers with a carbon thickness of 7 nm exhibited an excellent cycling performance and rate capability compared with pristine MgFe 2 O 4 and MgFe 2 O 4 @C nanofibers with carbon thicknesses of 4 and 15 nm, respectively. These nanofibers delivered high initial discharge and charge capacities of 1383 and 1044 mAh g −1 , respectively, with a Coulombic efficiency of 75.5 %. A reversible capacity of 926 mAh g −1 could be obtained after 200 cycles at 0.1 Ag −1 . Even at a high rate of 1 A g −1 after 500 cycles, they still maintained a stable capacity of 610 mAh g −1 with a capacity retention of 81.9 %. Therefore, the MgFe 2 O 4 @C nanofibers are a potential anode candidate for LIBs. DA - 2017/8// PY - 2017/8// DO - 10.1002/ente.201600686 VL - 5 IS - 8 SP - 1364-1372 SN - 2194-4296 UR - https://publons.com/publon/26924653/ KW - carbon KW - iron KW - magnesium KW - nitrogen doping KW - polydopamine ER - TY - JOUR TI - Bi-directional ultrasonic wave coupling to FBGs in continuously bonded optical fiber sensing AU - Wee, Junghyun AU - Hackney, Drew AU - Bradford, Philip AU - Peters, Kara T2 - APPLIED OPTICS AB - Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors are typically spot-bonded onto the surface of a structure to detect ultrasonic waves in laboratory demonstrations. However, to protect the rest of the optical fiber from any environmental damage during real applications, bonding the entire length of fiber, called continuous bonding, is commonly done. In this paper, we investigate the impact of continuously bonding FBGs on the measured Lamb wave signal. In theory, the ultrasonic wave signal can bi-directionally transfer between the optical fiber and the plate at any adhered location, which could potentially produce output signal distortion for the continuous bonding case. Therefore, an experiment is performed to investigate the plate-to-fiber and fiber-to-plate signal transfer, from which the signal coupling coefficient of each case is theoretically estimated based on the experimental data. We demonstrate that the two coupling coefficients are comparable, with the plate-to-fiber case approximately 19% larger than the fiber-to-plate case. Finally, the signal waveform and arrival time of the output FBG responses are compared between the continuous and spot bonding cases. The results indicate that the resulting Lamb wave signal output is only that directly detected at the FBG location; however, a slight difference in signal waveform is observed between the two bonding configurations. This paper demonstrates the practicality of using continuously bonded FBGs for ultrasonic wave detection in structural health monitoring (SHM) applications. DA - 2017/9/1/ PY - 2017/9/1/ DO - 10.1364/ao.56.007262 VL - 56 IS - 25 SP - 7262-7268 SN - 2155-3165 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Heavy metal adsorption on solution-blown biopolymer nanofiber membranes AU - Kolbasov, A. AU - Sinha-Ray, S. AU - Yarin, A. L. AU - Pourdeyhimi, B. T2 - JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE AB - Nanofiber membranes containing such biopolymers as lignin, oats, soy protein, sodium alginate and chitosan used in this work were formed by solution blowing. The heavy metal adsorption on these membranes from aqueous solutions was studied in equilibrium in the batch experiments, as well as under the throughflow conditions. The mechanical properties of nylon-6-based biopolymer-containing membranes important under the throughflow conditions were also evaluated using tensile tests. A novel model of metal adsorption in the throughflow experiments was also proposed here and verified by the successful comparison with the present experimental data. The results revealed attractive capabilities of these inexpensive nano-textured biopolymer adsorbents formed from waste materials using the process scalable to the industrial level. The results also elucidated the physico-chemical mechanisms of heavy metal adsorption on biopolymers. DA - 2017/5/15/ PY - 2017/5/15/ DO - 10.1016/j.memsci.2017.02.019 VL - 530 SP - 250-263 SN - 1873-3123 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Effect of the Coagulation Bath on the Structure and Mechanical Properties of Gel-Spun Lignin/Poly(vinyl alcohol) Fibers AU - Lu, Chunhong AU - Blackwell, Charles AU - Ren, Qingyuan AU - Ford, Ericka T2 - ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING AB - Gel spinning was investigated as an alternative approach to the melt spinning of lignin-based fibers. Lignin/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) composites with various weight percentages of lignin were gel-spun into high-strength fibers. Although lignin is an amorphous biopolymer, incorporation of the rigid filler enhanced the mechanical properties of the PVA fibers and affected their structure. Lignin stabilized the gel structure of the thermoreversible PVA gel, as noted by higher gel melting temperatures. Methanol/acetone coagulation baths with high acetone content rendered the gel-spun fibers more drawable, helped to maintain lignin within the gel fibers, and increased the gel melting point. The best mechanical performance was observed for fibers containing 5% lignin, which had an average tensile strength of 1.1 GPa, a Young’s modulus of 37 GPa, and a toughness of 17 J/g. Structural analysis of the 5% lignin fibers showed them to possess the highest index of PVA crystallinity. The fibers were more drawable at higher weight percentages of lignin. This plasticizing behavior at elevated temperatures of drawing led to stronger lignin-based fibers. Evidence of hydrogen bonding between lignin and PVA within gel-drawn fibers was observed by infrared spectroscopy, and substituents of the lignin biopolymer were mildly aligned along the fiber axis. Lignin/PVA fibers resisted dissolution in boiling water, unlike neat PVA fibers. However, fiber swelling increased with lignin content. Structurally, gel-spun composites must have regions of PVA laced between lignin. In summary, biobased fibers containing 5–50% lignin were gel-spun into composites having mechanical properties that are suitable for industrial and high-performance fiber applications. DA - 2017/4// PY - 2017/4// DO - 10.1021/acssuschemeng.6b02423 VL - 5 IS - 4 SP - 2949-2959 SN - 2168-0485 KW - Gel spinning Lignin KW - Poly(vinyl alcohol) KW - Coagulation bath KW - Raman anisotropy ER - TY - JOUR TI - Effect of isolation method on reinforcing capability of recycled cotton nanomaterials in thermoplastic polymers AU - Farahbakhsh, Nasim AU - Shahbeigi-Roodposhti, Peiman AU - Sadeghifar, Hasan AU - Venditti, Richard A. AU - Jur, Jesse S. T2 - JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE DA - 2017/5// PY - 2017/5// DO - 10.1007/s10853-016-0738-2 VL - 52 IS - 9 SP - 4997-5013 SN - 1573-4803 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Weaver's historic accessible collection of synthetic dyes: a cheminformatics analysis AU - Kuenemann, Melaine A. AU - Szymczyk, Malgorzata AU - Chen, Yufei AU - Sultana, Nadia AU - Hinks, David AU - Freeman, Harold S. AU - Williams, Antony J. AU - Fourches, Denis AU - Vinueza, Nelson R. T2 - CHEMICAL SCIENCE AB - The Max Weaver Dye Library is presented to the scientific community with a cheminformatics approach to enhance research opportunities with this unique collection of ∼98 000 vials of custom-made dyes. DA - 2017/6/1/ PY - 2017/6/1/ DO - 10.1039/c7sc00567a VL - 8 IS - 6 SP - 4334-4339 SN - 2041-6539 ER - TY - JOUR TI - The electrochemical performance of SnSb/C nanofibers with different morphologies and underlying mechanism AU - Xia, Xin AU - Li, Zhiyong AU - Xue, Leigang AU - Qiu, Yiping AU - Zhang, Chuyang AU - Zhang, Xiangwu T2 - JOURNAL OF MATERIALS RESEARCH DA - 2017/3// PY - 2017/3// DO - 10.1557/jmr.2016.508 VL - 32 IS - 6 SP - 1184-1193 SN - 2044-5326 UR - https://publons.com/publon/26924648/ ER - TY - JOUR TI - Optimising the anionisation of cotton with 3-chloro-2-hydroxy-1-propanesulphonic acid sodium salt for dyeing with basic dyes AU - Fu, Sha AU - Farrell, Matthew J. AU - Hauser, Peter J. T2 - COLORATION TECHNOLOGY AB - To enable the dyeing of cotton with basic dyes, cotton fabrics were anionised using 3‐chloro‐2‐hydroxy‐1‐propanesulphonic acid sodium salt ( CHPSAS ). The anionisation efficiency of three typical textile processing application methods has been investigated, including cold pad‐batch, pad‐dry‐cure, and pad‐steam. To obtain the highest CHPSAS anionisation efficiency and dye uptake with basic dyes, the influence of CHPSAS concentration as well as molar ratio between CHPSAS and Na OH was evaluated. Additionally, various kinds of basic dye were applied to examine further the dyeability of the anionised cotton. DA - 2017/6// PY - 2017/6// DO - 10.1111/cote.12267 VL - 133 IS - 3 SP - 194-199 SN - 1478-4408 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Nylon-Graphene Composite Nonwovens as Monolithic Conductive or Capacitive Fabrics AU - Pan, Qin AU - Shim, Eunkyoung AU - Pourdeyhimi, Behnam AU - Gao, Wei T2 - ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES AB - Here we describe a nylon-graphene nonwoven (NGN) composite, prepared via melt-blowing of nylon-6 into nonwoven fabrics and infiltrate those with graphene oxide (GO) in aqueous dispersions, which were further chemically reduced into graphene to offer electrical conductivity. The correlation between the conductivity and the graphene loading is described by the percolation scaling law σ = (p – pc)t, with an exponent t of 1.2 and a critical concentration pc of 0.005 wt %, the lowest among all the nylon composites reported. Monolithic supercapacitors have been further developed on the nylon-GO nonwoven composites (NGO), via a programed CO2-laser patterning process. The nylon nonwoven works as an efficient matrix, providing high capacity to GO and ensuring enough electrode materials generated via the subsequent laser patterning processes. Our best monolithic supercapacitors exhibited an areal capacitance of 10.37 mF cm–2 in PVA-H2SO4 electrolyte, much higher than the 1–3 mF cm–2 reported for typical microsupercapacitors. Moreover, our supercapacitors were able to retain a capacitance density of 5.07 mF cm–2 at an ultrahigh scan rate (1 V s–1), probably due to the facilitated ion migration within the highly porous nonwoven framework. This is the first report of highly functional nylon-6 nonwovens, fabricated via industrially scalable pathways into low-cost conductive polymer matrices and disposable energy storage systems. DA - 2017/3/8/ PY - 2017/3/8/ DO - 10.1021/acsami.7b00471 VL - 9 IS - 9 SP - 8308-8316 SN - 1944-8244 KW - graphene oxide (GO) KW - nonwoven KW - nylon-6 KW - conductive polymer composites KW - monolithic supercapacitors ER - TY - JOUR TI - High-strength, thermally stable nylon 6,6 composite nanofiber separators for lithium-ion batteries AU - Yanilmaz, Meltem AU - Zhu, Jiadeng AU - Lu, Yao AU - Ge, Yeqian AU - Zhang, Xiangwu T2 - JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE DA - 2017/5// PY - 2017/5// DO - 10.1007/s10853-017-0764-8 VL - 52 IS - 9 SP - 5232-5241 SN - 1573-4803 UR - https://publons.com/publon/26924646/ ER - TY - JOUR TI - Development of High-Tenacity, High-Modulus Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Filaments via a Next Generation Wet-Melt-Spinning Process AU - Yoon, Joshua H. AU - Avci, Huseyin AU - Najafi, Mesbah AU - Nasri, Lassad AU - Hudson, Samuel M. AU - Kotek, Richard T2 - POLYMER ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE AB - In this study, PET (intrinsic viscosity of 1.05 dl/g) was melt processed with a horizontal isothermal bath (HIB) treatment. Tensile properties of PET fiber samples were highly increased by using the HIB. The process-structure-property relationship of control (no HIB) and HIB fiber samples were characterized by tensile testing, differential scanning calorimetry, birefringence measurement, scanning electron microscopy and hot-air shrinkage measurements. It was found that HIB fiber samples, which had been subjected to post-drawing process, had a high degree of molecular chain orientation, that is, a high birefringence, high crystallinity and a fibrillar structure. The best tensile property acquired from a HIB-drawn PET fiber sample was 10.24 g/d in tenacity, 114.17 g/d in modulus, and 13.49% in elongation at break. Applying the HIB in the melt spinning process was simple and required only small process space; hence, it is cost effective. In addition, acquiring HIB fiber samples was successful at a final take-up speed of 2,500 m/min. Hence, this HIB-assisted melt spinning technology has a high potential to be used in industries for technical textiles applications. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 57:224–230, 2017. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers DA - 2017/2// PY - 2017/2// DO - 10.1002/pen.24406 VL - 57 IS - 2 SP - 224-230 SN - 1548-2634 ER - TY - JOUR TI - An environmentally benign approach to achieving vectorial alignment and high microporosity in bacterial cellulose/chitosan scaffolds (vol 7, pg 13678, 2017) AU - Li, Guohui AU - Nandgaonkar, Avinav G. AU - Habibi, Youssef AU - Krause, Wendy E. AU - Wei, Qufu AU - Lucia, Lucian A. T2 - RSC ADVANCES AB - Correction for ‘An environmentally benign approach to achieving vectorial alignment and high microporosity in bacterial cellulose/chitosan scaffolds’ by Guohui Li et al., RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 13678–13688. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1039/c7ra90040f VL - 7 IS - 27 SP - 16737-16737 SN - 2046-2069 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Strong and resilient alumina nanotube and CNT/alumina hybrid foams with tuneable elastic properties AU - Stano, Kelly L. AU - Faraji, Shaghayegh AU - Yildiz, Ozkan AU - Akyildiz, Halil AU - Bradford, Philip D. AU - Jur, Jesse S. T2 - RSC ADVANCES AB - Alumina foams from anisotropic structured carbon nanotube structures are studied for their unique mechanical and thermal performance characteristics. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1039/c7ra02452e VL - 7 IS - 45 SP - 27923-27931 SN - 2046-2069 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Simulating increased Lamb wave detection sensitivity of surface bonded fiber Bragg grating AU - Wee, J. AU - Hackney, D. A. AU - Bradford, P. D. AU - Peters, K. J. T2 - SMART MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES DA - 2017/4// PY - 2017/4// DO - 10.1088/1361-665x/aa646b VL - 26 IS - 4 SP - SN - 1361-665X KW - fiber Bragg gratings KW - Lamb wave detection KW - adhesive bonding ER - TY - JOUR TI - Real-time dyebath monitoring of reactive dyeing on cationized cotton for levelness control: part 2-effects of leveling agents and dye dosing AU - Fu, Sha AU - Farrell, Matthew J. AU - Hauser, Peter J. AU - Hinks, David AU - Jasper, Warren J. AU - Ankeny, Mary A. T2 - CELLULOSE DA - 2017/7// PY - 2017/7// DO - 10.1007/s10570-017-1291-0 VL - 24 IS - 7 SP - 3061-3071 SN - 1572-882X KW - Cationic cotton KW - Reactive dye KW - Dyeing kinetics KW - Real-time monitoring KW - Levelness KW - Leveling agents ER - TY - JOUR TI - Pilot-plant investigation on low-temperature bleaching of cotton fabric with TBCC-activated peroxide system AU - Yu, Jiao AU - Shao, Dongyan AU - Sun, Chang AU - Xu, Changhai AU - Hinks, David T2 - CELLULOSE DA - 2017/6// PY - 2017/6// DO - 10.1007/s10570-017-1276-z VL - 24 IS - 6 SP - 2647-2655 SN - 1572-882X KW - Cotton fiber KW - Low-temperature bleaching KW - Bleach activator KW - Activated peroxide system KW - Pilot-plant scale ER - TY - JOUR TI - Low temperature welding of graphene on PET with silver nanoparticles producing higher durable electro-conductive fabric AU - Babaahmadi, Vahid AU - Montazer, Majid AU - Gao, Wei T2 - CARBON AB - Conductive fabrics have been the basic building blocks in various applications such as static dissipation, EMI shielding and wearable electronics, where high conductivity and good durability are essential. This work describes a new method to improve the conductivity and durability of modified polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabrics via low-temperature welding of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) on the PET fiber surfaces. A layer of rGO-AgNPs on the fiber surface was formed by coating aqueous mixture of graphene oxide (GO) and AgNO3 and the subsequent reduction with hydrazine. Interfusing of rGO-AgNPs and fibers has been achieved via thermal annealing at relatively low temperatures (<200 °C), thanks to the depressed melting point of Ag in the nanoparticle form. Electrical conductivity and wash fastness have been significantly enhanced after annealing. To our best knowledge, our fabric bares the highest electrical conductivity among those reported in similar textile systems. In addition, we report good durability of rGO coating on PET via a series of wash fastness and bending tests. DA - 2017/7// PY - 2017/7// DO - 10.1016/j.carbon.2017.03.066 VL - 118 SP - 443-451 SN - 1873-3891 KW - Conductive textiles KW - Silver nanoparticles KW - Reduced graphene oxide KW - Thermal annealing KW - Durability KW - Fastness ER - TY - JOUR TI - Human and environmental analysis of wearable thermal energy harvesting AU - Myers, Amanda AU - Hodges, Ryan AU - Jur, Jesse S. T2 - ENERGY CONVERSION AND MANAGEMENT AB - In considering wearable energy harvesting, one must recognize the wide array of factors that lead to variations of energy harvesting. The objective of this work is to define analytical methods to study the effect of environmental and human factors on thermal energy generator (TEG) performance in a variety of use case scenarios. A test method for evaluating the performance of a TEG in a wearable form is developed and demonstrated using both in-lab and out-of-lab procedures. The fabrication procedure of an energy harvesting wearable device demonstrates a method of integrating rigid devices into a flexible substrate. The wearable device is used in a human trial which covered a series of activities in different environmental conditions. The results of these trials demonstrate the significant effect of movement, or convection, on thermal energy harvesting. Humidity levels do not have a significant correlation to power; however, wet bulb temperature must be taken into consideration due to the additional cooling effect of evaporation on temperature. The data collected indicates that while dry-bulb temperature does not have the greatest effect on TEG power generation, wet-bulb temperature is indicative of TEG performance. Additionally, user generated movement is the main consideration when designing a wearable device with TEGs as it had the largest effects on power generation. The results of this work quantify how a wearable device will perform throughout daily activities, allowing the definition of an operational scenario of a self-powered wearable device while choosing the most appropriate design for a particular application. This work also provides a foundation for exploring how textiles can enable the design of unique wearable devices. This will lead to further investigation into quantifying the effect that the construction of a textile has on TEG performance as well as on consumer comfort. DA - 2017/7/1/ PY - 2017/7/1/ DO - 10.1016/j.enconman.2017.04.002 VL - 143 SP - 218-226 SN - 1879-2227 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85017181906&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - Wearable technology KW - Energy harvesting KW - Thermoelectric devices KW - Environmental to human correlations ER - TY - JOUR TI - Hollow core-shell structured silicon@carbon nanoparticles embed in carbon nanofibers as binder-free anodes for lithium-ion batteries AU - Chen, Yanli AU - Hu, Yi AU - Shen, Zhen AU - Chen, Renzhong AU - He, Xia AU - Zhang, Xiangwu AU - Li, Yongqiang AU - Wu, Keshi T2 - JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES AB - Silicon is regarded as one of the most promising candidates for lithium-ion battery anodes owing to its large theoretical energy density (about 4200 mAh g−1) and low working potential (vs. Li/Li+). However, its practical application is limited by structure degradation and a comparatively poor capacity retention caused by large volume changes during cycling. In this study, we have prepared a novel nanofiber form of silicon/carbon with hollow core–shell structured [email protected] ([email protected]) nanoparticles embedded in carbon nanofibers. Voids between the silicon nanoparticle (SiNP) core and carbon shell help to accommodate the volume expansion associated with the lithiation/delithiation process in a working electrode and allow formation of a stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film. The obtained electrodes exhibited good cycle performance with a high reversible capacity of 1020.7 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at a current density of 0.2 A g-1, and also delivered excellent cycling performance at a high current density of 3.2 A g-1. The design of this new structure provides a potential method for developing other functional composite anode materials with high reversible capacities and long-term cycle stabilities. DA - 2017/2/28/ PY - 2017/2/28/ DO - 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2016.12.089 VL - 342 SP - 467-475 SN - 1873-2755 UR - https://publons.com/publon/652498/ KW - Hollow core shell structure KW - Si@C nanoparticles KW - Sol-gel method KW - Silicon/carbon nanofiber membrane KW - Lithium-ion battery anode ER - TY - JOUR TI - Fluid replacement advice during work in fully encapsulated impermeable chemical protective suits AU - Rubenstein, Candace D. AU - DenHartog, Emiel A. AU - Deaton, A. Shawn AU - Bogerd, Cornelis P. AU - DeKant, Saskia T2 - Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene AB - A major concern for responders to hazardous materials (HazMat) incidents is the heat strain that is caused by fully encapsulated impermeable chemical protective suits. In a research project, funded by the US Department of Defense, the thermal strain experienced when wearing these suits was studied. One particular area of interest was the fluid loss of responders during work in these suits as dehydration may be an additional health concern to the heat strain. 17 City of Raleigh firemen and 24 students were tested at two different labs. Subjects between the ages of 25 and 51 were used for human subject trials in a protocol approved by the local ethical committee. Six different Level A HazMat suits were evaluated in three climates: moderate (24°C, 50% RH, 20°C WBGT), warm-wet (32°C, 60% RH, 30°C WBGT), and hot-dry (45°C, 20% RH, 37°C WBGT, 200 W/m2 radiant load) and at three walking speeds: 2.5 km/hr, 4 km/hr, and 5.5 km/hr. 4 km/hr was tested in all three climates and the other two walking speeds were tested in the moderate climate. Weight loss data was collected to determine fluid loss during these experiments. Working time ranged from as low as 20 min in the hot-dry condition to 60 min (the maximum) in the moderate climate, especially common at the lowest walking speed. The overall results from all experiments showed that fluid loss ranged from 0.2-2.2 L during these exposures, with the average fluid loss being 0.8 L, with 56% of the data between 0.5 L and 1 L of fluid loss. Further analysis showed that a suggestion of drinking 0.7 Liter per hour would safely hydrate over 50% of responders after one work-rest cycle. Applying this fluid volume over three work-rest cycles only put 11% of responders at risk of hypohydration vs. the 57% at risk with no fluid intake. DA - 2017/5/5/ PY - 2017/5/5/ DO - 10.1080/15459624.2017.1296230 VL - 14 IS - 6 SP - 448-455 J2 - Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene LA - en OP - SN - 1545-9624 1545-9632 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2017.1296230 DB - Crossref KW - Fluid loss KW - heat strain KW - impermeable suits KW - protective clothing ER - TY - JOUR TI - Evaluating turnout composite layering strategies for reducing thermal burden in structural firefighter protective clothing systems AU - McQuerry, Meredith AU - DenHartog, Emiel AU - Barker, Roger T2 - TEXTILE RESEARCH JOURNAL AB - A modular approach for arranging the component layers used in the construction of structural firefighter turnout garments is explored as a strategy for reducing the thermal burden contributed by these protective garments to firefighter heat stress. An instrumented sweating manikin was used to measure the insulation, evaporative resistance and total heat loss through turnout systems configured to represent different layering strategies. The outer shell, moisture barrier and thermal liner layers of the structural turnout base composite were tested individually to determine each layer's thermal insulation and evaporative resistance. Multiple two- and three-layer combinations were analyzed for their application in specific working conditions. This study demonstrates that the moisture barrier layer contributes the most resistance to evaporative heat loss through the turnout system, while dry heat loss is most restricted by the thermal liner component. Removal of a single inner liner layer was equally beneficial for heat loss, regardless of material properties. It shows the potential benefit of turnout design strategy that utilizes a modular or adaptive layering approach to reduce turnout-related heat strain in conditions consistent with fire protection. DA - 2017/6// PY - 2017/6// DO - 10.1177/0040517516651101 VL - 87 IS - 10 SP - 1217-1225 SN - 1746-7748 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85019365317&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - heat stress KW - protective clothing KW - firefighter KW - turnout KW - modularity ER - TY - JOUR TI - Enhanced Endosomal Escape by Light-Fueled Liquid-Metal Transformer AU - Lu, Yue AU - Lin, Yiliang AU - Chen, Zhaowei AU - Hu, Quanyin AU - Liu, Yang AU - Yu, Shuangjiang AU - Gao, Wei AU - Dickey, Michael D. AU - Gu, Zhen T2 - NANO LETTERS AB - Effective endosomal escape remains as the "holy grail" for endocytosis-based intracellular drug delivery. To date, most of the endosomal escape strategies rely on small molecules, cationic polymers, or pore-forming proteins, which are often limited by the systemic toxicity and lack of specificity. We describe here a light-fueled liquid-metal transformer for effective endosomal escape-facilitated cargo delivery via a chemical-mechanical process. The nanoscale transformer can be prepared by a simple approach of sonicating a low-toxicity liquid-metal. When coated with graphene quantum dots (GQDs), the resulting nanospheres demonstrate the ability to absorb and convert photoenergy to drive the simultaneous phase separation and morphological transformation of the inner liquid-metal core. The morphological transformation from nanospheres to hollow nanorods with a remarkable change of aspect ratio can physically disrupt the endosomal membrane to promote endosomal escape of payloads. This metal-based nanotransformer equipped with GQDs provides a new strategy for facilitating effective endosomal escape to achieve spatiotemporally controlled drug delivery with enhanced efficacy. DA - 2017/4// PY - 2017/4// DO - 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b04346 VL - 17 IS - 4 SP - 2138-2145 SN - 1530-6992 KW - Drug delivery KW - liquid metal KW - stimuli-responsive KW - morphological transformation KW - endosomal escape ER - TY - JOUR TI - Dynamic adsorption of ammonia: apparatus, testing conditions, and adsorption capacities AU - Amid, Hooman AU - Maze, Benoit AU - Flickinger, Michael C. AU - Pourdeyhimi, Behnam T2 - MEASUREMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AB - There is a growing need for adsorbents with high capacities for adsorption of toxic gas molecules. Methods and conditions to test these materials introduce large discrepancies and overestimates (~90%) in the reported literature. This study describes a simple apparatus utilizing hand-held inexpensive gas sensors for testing adsorbents and hybrid adsorbent materials, explains possible sources for the observed discrepancies based on how the measurements are made, and provides guidelines for accurate measurements of adsorption capacity. Ammonia was the model gas and Ammonasorb™ activated carbon was the model commercial adsorbent. Inlet ammonia concentration, residence time, adsorbent pre-treatment (baking) and humidity, affected the measured adsorption capacities. Results suggest that the time lag in gas detection sensors leads to overestimated capacities. Monitoring both inlet and outlet concentrations using two calibrated sensors solved this issue. There was a direct relationship between adsorption capacity and residence time and capacities were higher at higher inlet concentrations. The size of the adsorbent particles did not show a significant effect on adsorption breakthrough, and the apparatus was able to quantify how humidity reduced the adsorption capacity. DA - 2017/5// PY - 2017/5// DO - 10.1088/1361-6501/aa6236 VL - 28 IS - 5 SP - SN - 1361-6501 KW - Adsorption capacity/breakthrough KW - ammonia KW - activated carbon KW - test methods KW - gas detector ER - TY - JOUR TI - Compressive piezoresistive behavior of carbon nanotube sheets embedded in woven glass fiber reinforced composites AU - Aly, Karim AU - Li, Ang AU - Bradford, Philip D. T2 - COMPOSITES PART B-ENGINEERING AB - Due to the difficulties associated with performing compression tests and the complex nature of compression failure, the number of studies that have examined the piezoresistive response of carbon nanotube (CNT) sensing networks in composites under compression loading has been limited. This paper introduces a novel technique for embedding aligned sheets of two millimeter long, interconnected CNTs into the interlaminar region of laminated composite structures to assess the potential of the CNT sheets to function as strain sensing materials for composite structures subjected to axial compression loading. Quasi-static and cyclic compression mechanical loading tests were accompanied by real time electrical resistance change data acquisition and the results suggested that the CNT sheet sensing material composed of six CNT sheets layers exhibited improved sensitivity, stability and repeatability which are vital properties for any successful health monitoring technique. The coupons with six CNT sheets layers embedded exhibited piezoresistivity that showed some linearity in tension and was nonlinear in compression. This piezoresistive response was characterized as anti-symmetric around zero strain all the way until fracture. DA - 2017/5/1/ PY - 2017/5/1/ DO - 10.1016/j.compositesb.2016.11.002 VL - 116 SP - 459-470 SN - 1879-1069 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85006298233&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - Polymer matrix-composites (PMCs) KW - Electrical properties KW - Mechanical properties KW - Mechanical testing ER - TY - JOUR TI - Tin nanoparticles embedded in ordered mesoporous carbon as high-performance anode for sodium-ion batteries AU - Luo, L. AU - Qiao, H. AU - Xu, W. Z. AU - Li, D. W. AU - Zhu, J. D. AU - Chen, C. AU - Lu, Y. AU - Zhu, P. AU - Zhang, X. W. AU - Wei, Q. F. AU - al., T2 - JOURNAL OF SOLID STATE ELECTROCHEMISTRY DA - 2017/5// PY - 2017/5// DO - 10.1007/s10008-016-3501-3 VL - 21 IS - 5 SP - 1385-1395 SN - 1433-0768 UR - https://publons.com/publon/26924649/ KW - Sonochemical KW - Sn KW - CMK-3 KW - Sodium KW - Anode ER - TY - JOUR TI - Synthesis and photovoltaic performance of a novel asymmetric dual channel co-sensitizer for dye-sensitized solar cell beyond 10% efficiency AU - Babu, Dickson D. AU - Su, Rui AU - Naik, Praveen AU - El-Shafei, Ahmed AU - Adhikari, Airody Vasudeva T2 - DYES AND PIGMENTS AB - In this paper, we report the design and synthesis of a new bi-anchoring indole based co-sensitizer DBA-8 with A-π-D-A (acceptor-π bridge-donor-acceptor) architecture, carrying indole moiety as a donor and barbituric acid as acceptor/anchoring groups. Its photo-physical and electrochemical properties along with molecular geometries, calculated from Density Functional Theory (DFT) are employed to comprehend the effect of co-sensitizer structure on photovoltaic characteristics of DSSCs. The abovementioned organic dye (DBA-8) was employed as a co-sensitizer along with well-known ruthenium based sensitizer NCSU-10 in order to broaden the spectral responses of the co-sensitized DSSC. In the present work, for the first time we are demonstrating the profound role of a dual-anchoring co-sensitizer that can play in ameliorating the overall performance of a solar cell. The photovoltaic studies indicated that, the co-sensitizer DBA-8 succeeded in increasing the light harvesting ability in the device significantly. Notably, the device co-sensitized using 0.2 mM DBA-8 along with ruthenium based chromophore NCSU-10, showed a maximum efficiency of 10.68% (Jsc = 25.14 mAcm−2, Voc = 0.695 V, ff = 61.2%). Further, the good agreement between the theoretically and experimentally obtained λmax data vindicate that, the energy functional and basis set employed in this study can be successfully utilized for predicting the absorption spectra of new photosensitizers, with great precision before synthesis. Furthermore, all these findings showcase the vast potential of bi-anchoring molecules in improving the overall performance of the dye-sensitized solar cells. DA - 2017/6// PY - 2017/6// DO - 10.1016/j.dyepig.2017.02.010 VL - 141 SP - 112-120 SN - 1873-3743 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85012243986&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - Dye sensitized solar cells KW - Indole KW - Thiophene KW - Co-sensitizers KW - Density functional theory KW - Acceptors ER - TY - JOUR TI - Pyrolytic-carbon coating in carbon nanotube foams for better performance in supercapacitors AU - He, Nanfei AU - Yildiz, Ozkan AU - Pan, Qin AU - Zhu, Jiadeng AU - Zhang, Xiangwu AU - Bradford, Philip D. AU - Gao, Wei T2 - JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES AB - Nowadays, the wide-spread adoption of supercapacitors has been hindered by their inferior energy density to that of batteries. Here we report the use of our pyrolytic-carbon-coated carbon nanotube foams as lightweight, compressible, porous, and highly conductive current collectors in supercapacitors, which are infiltrated with chemically-reduced graphene oxide and later compressed via mechanical and capillary forces to generate the active electrodes. The pyrolytic carbon coatings, introduced by chemical vapor infiltration, wrap around the CNT junctions and increase the surface roughness. When active materials are infiltrated, the pyrolytic-carbon coatings help prevent the π-stacking, enlarge the accessible surface area, and increase the electrical conductivity of the scaffold. Our best-performing device offers 48% and 57% higher gravimetric energy and power density, 14% and 23% higher volumetric energy and power density, respectively, and two times higher knee frequency, than the device with commercial current collectors, while the “true-performance metrics” are strictly followed in our measurements. We have further clarified the solution resistance, charge transfer resistance/capacitance, double-layer capacitance, and Warburg resistance in our system via comprehensive impedance analysis, which will shed light on the design and optimization of similar systems. DA - 2017/3/1/ PY - 2017/3/1/ DO - 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2017.01.091 VL - 343 SP - 492-501 SN - 1873-2755 UR - https://publons.com/publon/19584407/ KW - Pyrolytic carbon coating KW - Carbon nanotube foams KW - Reduced graphene oxide KW - Current collectors KW - Supercapacitors ER - TY - JOUR TI - Multi-jet electrospinning of polystyrene/polyamide 6 blend: thermal and mechanical properties AU - Yoon, Jae Won AU - Park, Yaewon AU - Kim, Jooyoun AU - Park, Chung Hee T2 - FASHION AND TEXTILES AB - Abstract Polystyrene (PS) has high thermal resistance thus can be applied as thermally comfortable textile. However, the application is limited due its low mechanical strength. In this study, polyamide 6 (PA6) was blended with PS to improve the mechanical strength of PS, by means of a multi-jet electrospinning. Content ratio of the blend web was measured by chemical immersion test and confocal microscopy analysis. Fiber content was in accordance with the number of syringes used for PS and PA6 respectively. The effects of content ratio on the web morphology, thermal resistance, tensile behavior, air and water vapor permeability, and surface hydrophilicity were investigated. The influence of environmental humidity during electrospinning process on three dimensional (3D) web structure was also reported. PS web produced from higher humidity had more pores and corrugations at the surface. The increased surface roughness and porosity led to the increased hydrophobicity and thermal resistance. Though the blending of PA6 with PS enhanced the mechanical strength, the added PA6 decreased air/water vapor permeability and thermal resistance. The lowered thermal resistance by the addition of PA6 was mainly attributed to higher thermal conductivity of PA6 material and lowered air content with PA6 fibers. DA - 2017/4/28/ PY - 2017/4/28/ DO - 10.1186/s40691-017-0090-4 VL - 4 SP - SN - 2198-0802 KW - Multi-jet electrospinning KW - Polystyrene KW - Polyamide 6 KW - Thermal resistance KW - Porosity ER - TY - JOUR TI - Measuring the effects of structural turnout suits on firefighter range of motion and comfort AU - Ciesielska-Wrobel, Izabela AU - DenHartog, Emiel AU - Barker, Roger T2 - ERGONOMICS AB - Range of motion (ROM) can be restricted by wearing stiff and bulky clothing. This is particularly true of firefighter suits that are constructed using fabric layers to provide thermal protection from fire. This study developed an evaluation technique to quantify the loss of mobility associated with wearing firefighters' protective suits that were deliberately selected to represent similar ergonomic design features. The ROM of 10 firefighters was measured using electro-goniometers attached to their bodies while they wore uniforms and a reference outfit, and performed specific movements. The most restrictive uniform is the Bulky suit that contained additional layers of materials in sleeves and on the knees. The Traditional Suit was more ROM restrictive than Ergonomic. The subjective evaluation of suits supported the objective assessments provided by the electro-goniometers. A 3-D body scanning technique was employed to establish a correlation between the bulkiness of firefighter outfits and subject ROM. Practitioner Summary: This study presents a methodology for measurements of range of motion (ROM) in firefighters wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). Even small differences in designs of PPE may impact firefighters' ROM, which can be detected by electro-goniometers providing measurements if they are attached along the joint to measure limb angular movement. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1080/00140139.2016.1229044 VL - 60 IS - 7 SP - 997-1007 SN - 1366-5847 UR - https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2016.1229044 KW - Range of motion KW - goniometer KW - personal protective equipment KW - firefighters KW - clothing design and testing ER - TY - JOUR TI - In situ preparation of graphene-ZnO composites for enhanced graphite exfoliation and graphene-nylon-6 composite films AU - Hossain, Muhammad Mohsin AU - Shima, Hossain AU - Lee, Insup AU - Hahn, Jae Ryang T2 - JOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE AB - An effective method for the fabrication of graphene-ZnO nanoparticle (GZN) composites has been developed. GZN composites with high electrical conductivity (18,607 S/m) are prepared in situ from graphite-ZnO composites. The GZN composites also exhibit visible-light absorption and enable the effective exfoliation of graphite. The presence of the ZnO nanoparticles assists the exfoliation of graphite and enables the preparation of solutions of highly dispersed and concentrated graphene sheets (2.7 mg/mL) that exhibit high electrical conductivity without reduction (40,404 S/m). A solution of graphene sheets was used to produce a graphene-nylon-6 film with an excellent Young's modulus (3 GPa) and a high tensile strength (109 MPa). An exclusive mechanism was proposed for the improvement of mechanical properties of the nylon-6 composite film. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 45034. DA - 2017/7/15/ PY - 2017/7/15/ DO - 10.1002/app.45034 VL - 134 IS - 27 SP - SN - 1097-4628 KW - composites KW - conductivity KW - film KW - graphene KW - Nylon 6 ER - TY - JOUR TI - In Situ Solution Process for Fabricating Thermally and Mechanically Stable Highly Conductive ZnO-CNT Fiber Composites AU - Hossain, M. M. AU - Son, S. B. AU - Hahn, J. R. T2 - ACTA PHYSICA POLONICA A DA - 2017/1// PY - 2017/1// DO - 10.12693/aphyspola.131.124 VL - 131 IS - 1 SP - 124-132 SN - 1898-794X ER - TY - JOUR TI - Impact of competitive strategy and cost-focus on global supplier switching (reshore and relocation) decisions AU - Uluskan, Meryem AU - Godfrey, A. Blanton AU - Joines, Jeff A. T2 - JOURNAL OF THE TEXTILE INSTITUTE AB - This study analyzes how global supplier switching decisions (reshore and relocate) are influenced by the buyers’ cost-focus and competitive strategies. Comprehensive survey data were gathered from US textile and apparel industry. The analysis revealed that the buyers with distinct competitive strategies such as Made-in-USA, speed-to-market are likely to have significantly higher proportions of reshoring activities. Furthermore, large companies and retailers are shown to be more cost-focused than small and manufacturing companies, respectively. Finally, cost-focused companies are shown to be more likely to switch their international suppliers. By analyzing the buyer side of supplier-switching and identifying the common features of companies engaging in reshoring or relocation, our analysis enables us to better interpret international supplier-switching. While other studies have regarded the superior performance of the prospective supplier or the external issues as the main factors, we emphasize the impact of internal dynamics of buyers on the international supplier-switching processes. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1080/00405000.2016.1245596 VL - 108 IS - 8 SP - 1308-1318 SN - 1754-2340 KW - Supplier-switching KW - reshoring KW - relocation KW - competitive strategy KW - cost-focused outsourcing ER - TY - JOUR TI - Geometric impact of void space in woven fabrics on oil resistance or repellency AU - Lim, Jihye AU - Powell, Nancy AU - Lee, Hoonjoo AU - Michielsen, Stephen T2 - JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE DA - 2017/7// PY - 2017/7// DO - 10.1007/s10853-017-1022-9 VL - 52 IS - 13 SP - 8149-8158 SN - 1573-4803 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1022-9 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Adhesion of blended polymer films AU - Staszel, Christopher AU - Sinha-Ray, Suman AU - Yarin, Alexander L. AU - Pourdeyhimi, Behnam T2 - POLYMER AB - In this work, the adhesion energies of two dissimilar polymer films after thermal bonding are studied. The films were formed from the emulsions of polycaprolactone (PCL) and nylon-6 (N6) spin-coated onto metal substrates. After that, the solidified blend polymer films on the metal substrates were faced with additional PCL films on metal substrates and thermally bonded to them. The surface structure of blend films was elucidated prior to thermal bonding by staining them using Rhodamine B. The dye stained only N6 leaving PCL undyed and the exposed structure was analyzed using digital photography, which revealed the surface concentration of PCL, as well as the N6 and PCL distributions over the surfaces. It was discovered that PCL-N6 domains would remain partially mixed, influencing the adhesion energy measured. DA - 2017/3/10/ PY - 2017/3/10/ DO - 10.1016/j.polymer.2017.01.066 VL - 112 SP - 92-101 SN - 1873-2291 KW - Characterization KW - Spin-coating KW - Surface topography ER - TY - JOUR TI - A wearable hydration sensor with conformal nanowire electrodes AU - Yao, S. S. AU - Mills, Amanda AU - Malhotra, A. AU - Lin, F. Y. AU - Bozkurt, A. AU - Muth, J. F. AU - Zhu, Y. T2 - Advanced Healthcare Materials AB - A wearable skin hydration sensor is developed by Y. Zhu, J. F. Muth, and co-workers in article number 1601159. The sensor is made of silver nanowires inlaid in a silicone substrate, which renders the sensor flexible and stretchable. Integrated systems with multimodal sensing capability (e.g., hydration, strain/motion and electrophysiological sensing) are demonstrated in two form factors — wristband and chest patch. Image design by Shanshan Yao. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1002/adhm.201770031 VL - 6 IS - 6 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Waste from eucalyptus wood steaming as a natural dye source for textile fibers AU - Rossi, T. AU - Silva, P. M. S. AU - De Moura, L. F. AU - Araujo, M. C. AU - Brito, J. O. AU - Freeman, H. S. T2 - JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION AB - Natural dyes are gaining interest due their expected low risk to human health and the environment and biodegradability. In addition, there are ever-growing potential new sources of natural dyes in the form of production waste products that merit consideration for coloration of materials such as textiles. Thus, an innovative approach to waste minimization through source reduction has emerged. In the present study, the potential for using colored liquid waste produced in the steam treatment of eucalyptus wood as a natural coloring matter for textile fabrics was investigated. Specifically, eucalyptus wood extract was used to dye cotton, nylon and wool in an exhaust dyeing process without the addition of the traditional mordanting agents. The resulting dyed fabrics were evaluated for color fastness and it was found that wash fastness of eucalyptus wood processing waste dyed fabrics was very good, while light fastness was typical of natural dyes in the absence of mordants. DA - 2017/2/1/ PY - 2017/2/1/ DO - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.109 VL - 143 SP - 303-310 SN - 1879-1786 KW - Eucalyptus extract KW - Textile dyeing KW - Wash fastness KW - Light fastness KW - Natural dyeing ER - TY - JOUR TI - Surface modification of PET film via a large area atmospheric pressure plasma: An optical analysis of the plasma and surface characterization of the polymer film AU - Rezaei, Farzad AU - Dickey, Michael D. AU - Bourham, Mohamed AU - Hauser, Peter J. T2 - SURFACE & COATINGS TECHNOLOGY AB - This paper presents a comprehensive study of surface modification of polyethylene terephthalate film substrates to improve its adhesion properties using a large area atmospheric plasma. Different aspects of this study includes (1) analysis of the physical and chemical characteristics of the plasma (2) as well as the substrates, and (3) evaluation of adhesion of an acrylate based hard coating onto PET substrates. PET is chemically inert to most coatings, but atmospheric plasmas can modify the surface in a manner that is compatible with high throughput manufacturing. First, optical emission spectroscopy was employed to analyze the plasma in terms of its chemical composition as well as physical characteristics such as electron temperature and density. This section estimates electron temperature of 0.2–0.4 eV and density in the order of 1014–1015 cm− 3 for the studied plasmas. Second, various plasma gas mixtures with helium as the seed gas mixed with fraction of oxygen and/or nitrogen (0.5–1.1 v%) were used to carry out the surface treatment of the substrates at different exposure doses between 15 and 75 J cm− 2. Post-treatment characterization by XPS, AFM, and a goniometer show that the surface becomes enriched with oxygen, rougher, and more wetting depends on the power and composition of the plasma. Lastly, standard adhesion 180° T-peel tests indicated improved adhesion after treatment. DA - 2017/1/15/ PY - 2017/1/15/ DO - 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2016.11.072 VL - 309 SP - 371-381 SN - 0257-8972 KW - Plasma surface modification KW - Optical emission spectroscopy KW - Adhesion KW - Polymeric coating ER - TY - JOUR TI - Split Sn-Cu Alloys on Carbon Nanofibers by One-step Heat Treatment for Long-Lifespan Lithium-Ion Batteries AU - Shen, Zhen AU - Hu, Yi AU - Chen, Renzhong AU - He, Xia AU - Chen, Yanli AU - Shao, Hanfeng AU - Zhang, Xiangwu AU - Wu, Keshi T2 - ELECTROCHIMICA ACTA AB - To develop next-generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with novel designs, reconsidering traditional materials with enhanced cycle stability and excellent rate performance is crucial. We herein report the successful preparation of three-dimensional (3D) composites in which spilt Sn–Cu alloys are uniformly dispersed in an amorphous carbon nanofiber matrix (Sn–Cu–CNFs) via one-step carbonization-alloying reactions. The spilt Sn–Cu alloys consist of active Cu6Sn5 and inactive Cu3Sn, and are controllable by optimization of the carbonization-alloying reaction temperature. The 3D carbon nanofiber framework allowed the Sn–Cu–CNFs to be used directly as anodes in lithium-ion batteries without the requirement for polymer binders or electrical conductors. These composite electrodes exhibited a stable cyclability with a discharge capacity of 400 mA h g−1 at a high current density of 1.0 A g−1 after 1200 cycles, as well as an excellent rate capability, which could be attributed to the improved electrochemical properties of the Sn–Cu–CNFs provided by the buffering effect of Cu3Sn and the 3D carbon nanofiber framework. This one-step synthesis is expected to be widely applicable in the targeted structural design of traditional tin-based anode materials. DA - 2017/1/20/ PY - 2017/1/20/ DO - 10.1016/j.electacta.2016.12.143 VL - 225 SP - 350-357 SN - 1873-3859 UR - https://publons.com/publon/16070135/ KW - One-step carbonization-alloying reactions KW - Sn-Cu alloys KW - carbon nanofibers KW - binder- and electrical conductor-free anode KW - lithium-ion batteries ER - TY - JOUR TI - Mutual interaction effects between discomfort and cognitive task performance in clothing systems AU - DenHartog, Emiel A. AU - Koerhuis, Claudy L. T2 - JOURNAL OF THE TEXTILE INSTITUTE AB - The focus of this study was to establish a relationship between physical discomfort and performance. Eleven healthy male subjects participated in this pilot study. The subjects performed a 2-h protocol without and with significant thermal and mechanical discomfort. Various cognitive tasks were executed repeatedly during the protocol to evaluate cognitive performance on memory, tracking, and vigilance tasks. Prior and after each task, subjective comfort scores were asked and objective task performance was measured. Mechanical and/or thermal discomfort only minimally influenced the overall scores for comfort. The only significant change in objective performance was a 2% increase in percentage missed stimuli during thermal discomfort. The type of task did influence the change in comfort scores, increasing the scores during the attention and memory task and decreasing during the vigilance and tracking task and fine motor tasks. Surprisingly, not discomfort, but the type of task mainly influenced the changes in comfort, discomfort became worse (increased) during easy, less challenging tasks. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1080/00405000.2016.1179089 VL - 108 IS - 5 SP - 664-673 SN - 1754-2340 UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84965075879&partnerID=MN8TOARS KW - ergonomics KW - protective clothing KW - discomfort KW - thermal strain KW - comfort perception KW - human performance KW - cognitive tests ER - TY - JOUR TI - Enhanced dielectric and piezoelectric responses in Zn1-xMgxO thin films near the phase separation boundary AU - Kang, Xiaoyu AU - Shetty, Smitha AU - Garten, Lauren AU - Ihlefeld, Jon F. AU - Trolier-McKinstry, Susan AU - Maria, Jon-Paul T2 - APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS AB - Dielectric and piezoelectric properties for Zn1-xMgxO (ZMO) thin films are reported as a function of MgO composition up to and including the phase separation region. Zn1-xMgxO (0.25 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) thin films with c-axis textures were deposited by pulsed laser deposition on platinized sapphire substrates. The films were phase pure wurtzite for MgO concentrations up to 40%; above that limit, a second phase with rocksalt structure evolves with strong {100} texture. With increasing MgO concentration, the out-of-plane (d33,f) and in-plane (e31,f) piezoelectric coefficients increase by 360% and 290%, respectively. The increase in piezoelectric coefficients is accompanied by a 35% increase in relative permittivity. Loss tangent values fall monotonically with increasing MgO concentration, reaching a minimum of 0.001 for x ≥ 0.30, at which point the band gap is reported to be 4 eV. The enhanced piezoelectric response, the large band gap, and the low dielectric loss make Zn1-xMgxO an interesting candidate for thin film piezoelectric devices, and demonstrate that compositional phase transformations provide opportunities for property engineering. DA - 2017/1/23/ PY - 2017/1/23/ DO - 10.1063/1.4973756 VL - 110 IS - 4 SP - SN - 1077-3118 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Effect of annealing on charging properties of electret fibers AU - Kilic, A. AU - Shim, Eunkyoung AU - POURDEYHIMI, BEHNAM T2 - Journal of the Textile Institute AB - In the present work, effect of annealing on charging and surface morphology of isotactic polypropylene (PP) filaments was reported. To enhance the surface crystallinity of the filaments, samples were annealed at 70 and 110 °C for 12 h. As expected, fiber surface crystallinity increased upon annealing which led more stable electret fibers. However, the change in the initial surface potential was not so remarkable. The same trend was also observed in filaments containing a commercial nucleating agent, NA11 (sodium 2,2′-methylene-bis(4,6-di-tertbutylphenyl)-phosphate). Surface crystallinity was analyzed using the intensity of specific peaks obtained from attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy analysis. The surface charge characteristics of fibers were determined using a modified surface potential decay test. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1080/00405000.2016.1207269 VL - 108 IS - 6 SP - 987–991 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Direct observation of the conformational transitions of single pyridine molecules on a Ag(110) surface induced by long-range repulsive intermolecular interactions AU - Lee, Insup AU - Son, Seungbae AU - Shin, Taeho AU - Hahn, Jae R. T2 - JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS AB - The transition between two conformations of pyridine molecules adsorbed on a Ag(110) surface at 13 K was investigated by performing single-molecule manipulation at a very low coverage and the track-imaging of pyridines for various surface coverages using a variable low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope. A single tilted conformer was converted to an upright conformer when another coadsorbed tilted pyridine molecule approached to within ∼2 nm. The conversion probability depends on the molecular separation. The tilted conformers that are prevalent at a very low coverage were converted to upright conformers with an increasing surface coverage. The minimum molecular separation before this transition is induced was determined to be 2.2 nm using molecular track-imaging and statistical analysis of the pyridine separation as a function of the molecular coverage. The conformation transition was attributed to substrate-mediated long-range repulsive interactions between the pyridine molecules, which are produced by charge redistribution that occurs upon pyridine adsorption on the silver surface. DA - 2017/1/7/ PY - 2017/1/7/ DO - 10.1063/1.4973379 VL - 146 IS - 1 SP - SN - 1089-7690 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Cellulose-Lignin Biodegradable and Flexible UV Protection Film AU - Sadeghifar, Hasan AU - Venditti, Richard AU - Jur, Jesse AU - Gorga, Russell E. AU - Pawlak, Joel J. T2 - ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING AB - There is significant interest in biodegradable and transparent UV protection films from renewable resources for many different applications. Herein, the preparation and characterization of semitransparent flexible cellulose films containing low amounts of covalently bonded lignin with UV-blocking properties are described. Azide modified cellulose dissolved in dimethylacetamide/lithium chloride (DMAc/LiCl) was reacted with propargylated lignin to produce 0.5%, 1%, and 2% by weight lignin containing materials. Cellulose-lignin films were prepared by regeneration in acetone. These covalently bonded cellulose-lignin films were homogeneous, unlike the simple blends of cellulose and lignin. Prepared films showed high UV protection ability. Cellulose film containing 2% lignin showed 100% protection of UV-B (280–320 nm) and more than 90% of UV-A (320–400 nm). The UV protection of prepared films was persistent when exposed to thermal treatment at 120 °C and UV irradiation. Thermogravimetric analysis of the films showed minimal mass loss up to 275 °C. The tensile strength of the neat cellulose film was around 120 MPa with about a 10% strain to break. Treated cellulose films with 2% lignin showed lower tensile strength (90 MPa). The described methods demonstrate a straightforward procedure to produce renewable based cellulose-lignin UV-light-blocking films. DA - 2017/1// PY - 2017/1// DO - 10.1021/acssuschemeng.6b02003 VL - 5 IS - 1 SP - 625-631 SN - 2168-0485 KW - UV protection KW - Cellulose KW - Lignin KW - Click chemistry KW - Transparent film KW - Flexible film ER - TY - JOUR TI - 3D face recognition in the Fourier domain using deformed circular curves AU - Lee, Deokwoo AU - Krim, Hamid T2 - MULTIDIMENSIONAL SYSTEMS AND SIGNAL PROCESSING DA - 2017/1// PY - 2017/1// DO - 10.1007/s11045-015-0334-7 VL - 28 IS - 1 SP - 105-127 SN - 1573-0824 KW - Face recognition KW - Classification KW - Deformed circular curves KW - Geodesic distance KW - Fourier Transform KW - Dimensionality reduction ER - TY - JOUR TI - Structures and properties of hydroentangled nonwovens: effect of number of manifolds AU - Venu, L. B. S. AU - Shim, Eunkyoung AU - Anantharamaiah, N. AU - POURDEYHIMI, BEHNAM T2 - Journal of the Textile Institute AB - Hydroentangling is a process in which fibers are entangled by impinging of a curtain of high-speed water jets to form mechanically strong, soft, and textile-like fabrics. Hydroentangled nonwovens are finding a gamut of applications without knowing the entangling mechanisms. In most applications, hydroentangling is carried out using multiple manifolds. This study focuses on the formation of hydroentangled web structures with multiple manifolds and their properties. The 3D analysis revealed the internal structures of hydroentangled nonwovens disclosing formation of fiber loops at jet impact regions. We also report changes of fiber orientations and fiber interlocking within web structures in nonwovens hydroentanged with multiple manifolds. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1080/00405000.2016.1165400 VL - 108 IS - 3 SP - 301–313 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Radial growth of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in aligned sheets through cyclic carbon deposition and graphitization AU - Faraji, Shaghayegh AU - Yildiz, Ozkan AU - Rost, Christina AU - Stano, Kelly AU - Farahbakhsh, Nasim AU - Zhu, Yuntian AU - Bradford, Philip D. T2 - CARBON AB - Carbon coated aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube (AMWCNT/C) sheets were used for studying the controlled radial growth of MWCNTs. Pyrolytic carbon (PyC) was deposited on the surface of nanotubes using multiple cycles of chemical vapor infiltration. Morphological and structural characterization showed that when graphitization was done in one step, after the deposition of multiple cycles of PyC, the presence of a large amount of disordered carbon on the surface of nanotubes led to a poorly graphitized coating structure that did not resembled nanotube walls anymore. Graphitization of the AMWCNT/C sheets after each deposition cycle prevented the development of disordered carbon during the subsequent PyC deposition cycles. Using the cyclic-graphitization method, thick PyC coating layers were successfully graphitized into a crystalline structure that could not be differentiated from the original nanotube walls. TEM observation and X-ray data confirmed radial growth of nanotubes, while spectra collected from Raman spectroscopy revealed that radially grown CNTs had the same quality as graphitized pristine nanotubes. The focus of this study was to compare the effect of cyclic graphitization with a one-step graphitization method to gain insight on the necessary parameters needed to radially grow high quality CNTs. DA - 2017/1// PY - 2017/1// DO - 10.1016/j.carbon.2016.10.012 VL - 111 SP - 411-418 SN - 1873-3891 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Ibuprofen loaded PLA nanofibrous scaffolds increase proliferation of human skin cells in vitro and promote healing of full thickness incision wounds in vivo AU - Mohiti-Asli, M. AU - Saha, S. AU - Murphy, S. V. AU - Gracz, H. AU - Pourdeyhimi, B. AU - Atala, A. AU - Loboa, E. G. T2 - JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS RESEARCH PART B-APPLIED BIOMATERIALS AB - This article presents successful incorporation of ibuprofen in polylactic acid (PLA) nanofibers to create scaffolds for the treatment of both acute and chronic wounds. Nanofibrous PLA scaffolds containing 10, 20, or 30 wt % ibuprofen were created and ibuprofen release profiles quantified. In vitro cytotoxicity to human epidermal keratinocytes (HEK) and human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) of the three scaffolds with varying ibuprofen concentrations were evaluated and compared to pure PLA nanofibrous scaffolds. Thereafter, scaffolds loaded with ibuprofen at the concentration that promoted human skin cell viability and proliferation (20 wt %) were evaluated in vivo in nude mice using a full thickness skin incision model to determine the ability of these scaffolds to promote skin regeneration and/or assist with scarless healing. Both acellular and HEK and HDF cell-seeded 20 wt % ibuprofen loaded nanofibrous bandages reduced wound contraction compared with wounds treated with Tegaderm™ and sterile gauze. Newly regenerated skin on wounds treated with cell-seeded 20 wt % ibuprofen bandages exhibited significantly greater blood vessel formation relative to acellular ibuprofen bandages. We have found that degradable anti-inflammatory scaffolds containing 20 wt % ibuprofen promote human skin cell viability and proliferation in vitro, reduce wound contraction in vivo, and when seeded with skin cells, also enhance new blood vessel formation. The approaches and results reported here hold promise for multiple skin tissue engineering and wound healing applications. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 327-339, 2017. DA - 2017/2// PY - 2017/2// DO - 10.1002/jbm.b.33520 VL - 105 IS - 2 SP - 327-339 SN - 1552-4981 KW - controlled release KW - drug delivery/release KW - inflammation KW - PLLA KW - wound healing ER - TY - JOUR TI - Fabrication and electrochemical behavior study of nano-fibrous sodium titanate composite AU - Ge, Yeqian AU - Zhu, Jiadeng AU - Dirican, Mahmut AU - Jia, Hao AU - Yanilmaz, Meltem AU - Lu, Yao AU - Chen, Chen AU - Qiu, Yiping AU - Zhang, Xiangwu T2 - MATERIALS LETTERS AB - Nanofiber structured Na2Ti3O7 was synthesized via electrospinning process which was further used as an anode material for sodium-ion batteries for the first time. One-dimensional construction of Na2Ti3O7 composite could contribute to better electrochemical activity. It was demonstrated that the capacity of Na2Ti3O7 nanofibers was significantly improved to 257.8 mAh g−1 at 30 mA g−1. Furthermore, the rate capability of Na2Ti3O7 nanofibers was significantly enhanced, showing charge capacities were 161.8, 116.5, and 72.4 mAh g−1 at 100, 200, and 400 mA g−1, respectively. Therefore, improved specific capacity and rate capability made Na2Ti3O7 nanofibers composite as a promising anode material for sodium-ion batteries. DA - 2017/2/1/ PY - 2017/2/1/ DO - 10.1016/j.matlet.2016.11.025 VL - 188 SP - 176-179 SN - 1873-4979 UR - https://publons.com/publon/26924645/ KW - Sodium titanate KW - Nanocomposites KW - Electrospinning KW - Sodium-ion batteries KW - Electrochemical properties ER - TY - JOUR TI - Fabrication and characterization of bactericidal thiol-chitosan and chitosan iodoacetamide nanofibres AU - Abdelgawad, Abdelrahman M. AU - El-Naggar, Mehrez E. AU - Hudson, Samuel M. AU - Rojas, Orlando J. T2 - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES AB - Two chitosan derivatives, namely, thiol-chitosan (TCs) and chitosan iodoacetamide (CsIA) were newly synthesized by reacting Cs with thiglycolic acid (TGA) and iodoacetic acid (IA) respectively. After being crosslinked with glutraldehyde (GA), the two derivatives were submitted to FT-IR and H1 NMR analysis for identification and characterization of their chemical features. As TCs and CsIA are water soluble, their electrospun nanofibres mats from aqueous solutions could be crosslinked and achieved using polyvinyl alcohol/Chitosan blend (PVA/Cs) polymers. Morphological structures of the obtained nanofibres and their webs were studied via those of TCs and CsIA free systems. The data also indicate that the crosslinked PVA/Cs/CsIA is more thermally stable than the crosslinked PVA/Cs/TCs and crosslinked PVA/Cs respectively. It was proved that the electrospun fibers containing TCs or CsIA display a superior antibacterial activity against negative bacteria E. Coli with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 400μg/ml. These effects are rather in confirmation with bacterial kinetics essays which were also carried out in current work. Of particular interest is that the antimicrobial properties of fibers containing small concentration of either TCs or CsIA are much superior than those obtained with neat Cs electrospun nanofibres used as reference. By and large the results advocate the fibers webs containing TCs or CsIA as excellent candidates for wound dressing applications. DA - 2017/1// PY - 2017/1// DO - 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2016.07.061 VL - 94 SP - 96-105 SN - 1879-0003 KW - Chitosan KW - Electrospinning KW - Thiol-chitosan KW - Chitosan iodoacetamide KW - Biocides KW - Antibacterial efficiency ER - TY - JOUR TI - Evaluation of Antimicrobial-Treated Fabric Properties AU - Lamba, Nina M. AU - Herson, Diane S. AU - Jindani, Rahim AU - King, Martin W. T2 - AATCC JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AB - New antimicrobial textile finishes with enhanced action against microbes are needed for improved protection in critical applications, including hospital infection control and biodefense. This study compares fabric treated with a novel quaternary ammonium compound-based antimicrobial treatment with untreated fabric, using a new method for determining the antimicrobial efficacy of fabrics and textiles. The effects of contact temperature, contact time, and bacterial load were demonstrated. The lowest concentrations of bacterial cells were killed very quickly. Increasing contact time resulted in inactivation of larger numbers of cells, as did elevating temperature from 24 °C to 37 °C. Important physical properties of the fabrics were retained. The simplicity, and good reproducibility, of the test procedure supports its use for the rapid screening and assessment of fabric specimens for antimicrobial activity. DA - 2017/1// PY - 2017/1// DO - 10.14504/ajr.4.1.2 VL - 4 IS - 1 SP - 14-21 SN - 2330-5517 KW - Antimicrobial KW - Biocidal KW - Rapid Screening Test KW - Test Methodology KW - Textile Finish Assessment ER - TY - JOUR TI - Carbon-ZnO core-shell nanospheres: Facile fabrication and application in the visible-light photocatalytic decomposition of organic pollutant dyes AU - Shima, Hossain AU - Hossain, Muhammad M. AU - Lee, Insup AU - Son, Seungbae AU - Hahn, Jae R. T2 - MATERIALS CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS AB - We developed a simple thermolysis method for fabricating effective photocatalysts for the decomposition of organic pollutants under sunlight. Zinc oxide-deposited carbon spheres (ZDCS) were prepared via a one-pot process in a solvent- and catalyst-free environment. The ZDCS composite exhibited a strong light absorption band across the whole visible range, a very good dispersion concentration (1.84 mg/mL) in organic solvents without the need for surfactants, ionic liquids, or stabilizers, and a high electrical conductivity (∼1300 S/m). These materials were shown to be useful for decomposing organic pollutants under sunlight. The reaction time (105 min), degradation percentage (98.2%), and recycling performance suggested that ZDCS act as an excellent photocatalyst under visible light illumination for the decomposition of methylene blue. The enhanced physicochemical properties of the ZDCS are due to the covalent interaction between the carbon core and ZnO outer layer, which increases the lifetime of photo-generated charge carriers. DA - 2017/1/1/ PY - 2017/1/1/ DO - 10.1016/j.matchemphys.2016.10.007 VL - 185 SP - 73-82 SN - 1879-3312 KW - Core-shell nanospheres KW - Carbon-ZnO composites KW - Visible-light photo-degradation KW - Covalent interaction between surface and core ER - TY - JOUR TI - Search for effective chemical quenching to arrest molecular assembly and directly monitor DNA nanostructure formation AU - Majikes, J. M. AU - Nash, J. A. AU - LaBean, T. H. T2 - NANOSCALE AB - Structural DNA nanotechnology has demonstrated both versatility and potential as a molecular manufacturing tool; the formation and processing of DNA nanostructures has therefore been subject to much interest. Characterization of the formation process itself is vital to understanding the role of design in production yield. We present our search for a robust new technique, chemical quenching, to arrest molecular folding in DNA systems for subsequent characterization. Toward this end we will introduce two miniM13 origami designs based on a 2.4 kb scaffold, each with diametrically opposed scaffold routing strategies (maximized scaffold crossovers versus maximized staple crossovers) to examine the relevance of design in the folding process. By chemically rendering single strand DNA inert and unable to hybridize, we probe the folding pathway of several scaffolded DNA origami structures. DA - 2017/1/28/ PY - 2017/1/28/ DO - 10.1039/c6nr08433h VL - 9 IS - 4 SP - 1637-1644 SN - 2040-3372 ER - TY - JOUR TI - Preparation of SiO2/PS superhydrophobic fibers with bionic controllable micro-nano structure via centrifugal spinning AU - Li, Yongqiang AU - Zou, Chao AU - Shao, Jianzhong AU - Zhang, Xiangwu AU - Li, Ya'nan T2 - RSC ADVANCES AB - We present a novel and simple centrifugal spinning technology that extrudes fibers from polymer solutions by using a high-speed rotary, perforated spinneret. And large amount of superhydrophobic micro/nano fibers can be prepared by using it. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1039/c6ra25813a VL - 7 IS - 18 SP - 11041-11048 SN - 2046-2069 UR - https://publons.com/publon/26924647/ ER - TY - JOUR TI - Do we need to know and can we determine the complete macrostructures of synthetic polymers? AU - Gurarslan, Rana AU - Tonelli, Alan E. T2 - PROGRESS IN POLYMER SCIENCE AB - The complete molecular architectures of synthetic polymers, which may be called their macrostructures, consist of the types and amounts of short-range microstructural elements they contain, such as comonomer, regio- and stereosequences, branches, cross-links etc., as well as their locations along the polymer backbone. While spectroscopic probes that are only sensitive to local polymer structures, like NMR, can identify and quantify short-range microstructural elements, they are unable to locate their positions along the polymer backbone. Consequently, the present situation regarding our ability to characterize the complete chemical structures of synthetic polymers would be analogous to that of proteins if it were only possible to determine their amino acid compositions or possibly the amounts of consecutive pairs or even triplets of constituent amino acids, rather than their complete macrostructures, i.e., their complete amino acid sequences or primary structures. While the genetic DNA code may be read to determine the primary structures of most proteins, we have no such synthetic template for man-made polymers which can be utilized to determine their complete macrostructural architectures. Just as the primary sequences of proteins determine their secondary, tertiary, and even quaternary structures, and of course their resultant biological functions, it can logically be presumed that the behaviors of synthetic polymers are also principally the result of their complete structural architectures. Though important, the types and quantities of short-range microstructures polymers contain and which constitutes our present level of structural knowledge, is insufficient for the development of truly relevant structure-property relations. In addition, the degree of macrostructural heterogeneity among the chains in polymer samples is also expected to strongly influence the behaviors of materials made from them, and so this related issue also needs to be addressed. Here we summarize our recent attempts to develop and demonstrate an experimental approach that can be used to begin to characterize the complete macrostructures of synthetic polymers and to illustrate the relevance of this knowledge to understanding their properties and behaviors. DA - 2017/2// PY - 2017/2// DO - 10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2016.09.001 VL - 65 SP - 42-52 SN - 1873-1619 KW - Polymer KW - Architectures KW - Macrostructures KW - Kerr Effect ER - TY - JOUR TI - Comparative studies on standard and new test methods for evaluating the effects of structural firefighting gloves on hand dexterity AU - Barker, Roger L. AU - Ross, Kevin A. AU - Andrews, Jessica AU - Deaton, A. Shawn T2 - TEXTILE RESEARCH JOURNAL AB - This research identifies laboratory test methods designed to advance assessment of the effects of structural firefighter gloves on a firefighter’s ability to perform tasks with their hands. Two new hand dexterity test methods are discussed: a modified tool test for measuring glove effects on gross or whole hand motor control, and a novel cylinder lift method for evaluating glove effects on fine or fingertip hand dexterity. Data generated by testing a representative group of structural firefighter and other responder gloves are used to show that these new test methods provide less variable data and a more useful and informative assessment of the effects of glove construction on hand dexterity than that provided by standard small pin pegboard tests. Based on these comparisons, a combination of the newly developed tool and cylinder lift test methods are recommended for evaluating the effects of structural firefighter gloves on hand dexterity in standards used as the basis of certifying the performance of structural firefighter clothing. DA - 2017/2// PY - 2017/2// DO - 10.1177/0040517516629143 VL - 87 IS - 3 SP - 270-284 SN - 1746-7748 KW - glove dexterity KW - glove dexterity test methods KW - gloves KW - structural firefighter gloves KW - tactility KW - hand function ER - TY - JOUR TI - Characterization of biofuel refinery byproduct via selective electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry AU - Boes, Kelsey S. AU - Narron, Robert H. AU - Chen, Yufei AU - Park, Sunkyu AU - Vinueza, Nelson R. T2 - FUEL AB - To achieve economic viability, biorefineries need to increase efficiency through characterization of byproducts for the purpose of valorization. One such byproduct is the liquid stream produced after autohydrolysis pretreatment, autohydrolyzate liquor, which contains valuable organic derivatives of hemicellulose and lignin from biomass. To characterize the autohydrolysis liquor, we employed a novel method for such liquor analysis that uses electrospray ionization and ion dopants in combination with tandem mass spectrometry using a quadrupole–time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Electrospray expands current analysis of such liquors through softer ionization. Ion dopants provide for differentiation of the complex mixture components without requiring derivatization or preliminary separation. The dopants—ammonium chloride and sodium hydroxide—primarily target and enhance ionization of hemicellulosic or lignin derivative species, respectively, based on the species’ differing functionalities. Valuable structural information can be gleaned from these enhanced species by ion isolation and collision-activated dissociation (CAD), which reveals the presence of hemicellulosic or lignin derivative functionalities. These ionization techniques coupled with CAD enabled us to not only confirm the presence of low molecular weight ions, such as vanillin, as previously seen with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry but also expand the characterization to high molecular weight species. This expanded knowledge of the composition of autohydrolyzate liquor opens up the potential to develop lucrative co-products from this stream in a commercial biorefinery. DA - 2017/1/15/ PY - 2017/1/15/ DO - 10.1016/j.fuel.2016.10.016 VL - 188 SP - 190-196 SN - 1873-7153 KW - Biomass pretreatment KW - Tandem mass spectrometry KW - Lignin KW - Oligosaccharides KW - Time-of-flight KW - Electrospray ionization ER - TY - JOUR TI - An environmentally benign approach to achieving vectorial alignment and high microporosity in bacterial cellulose/chitosan scaffolds AU - Li, Guohui AU - Nandgaonkar, Avinav G. AU - Habibi, Youssef AU - Krause, Wendy E. AU - Wei, Qufu AU - Lucia, Lucian A. T2 - RSC ADVANCES AB - Bacterial cellulose (BC) nanofibers secreted by Komagataeibacter xylinus 10245 were applied alone or with chitosan to prepare highly aligned and porous scaffolds through a liquid nitrogen-initiated ice “templating” and freeze-drying process. DA - 2017/// PY - 2017/// DO - 10.1039/c6ra26049g VL - 7 IS - 23 SP - 13678-13688 SN - 2046-2069 ER -