Synergistic effect of micro- and nano-TiO2 on hydrophobic,mechanical, and electrical properties of hybrid polyurethane composites

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - One of the ways to improve the performance of ceramic insulators in polluted climates is to use polymer coatings reinforced with ceramic...     

Compact bilayer substrate integrated waveguide leaky wave antenna with dumbbell‐shaped slot based on the TE20 mode

In this article, a compact dual layer leaky wave antenna array is simulated and constructed using the substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) based on the TE₂₀ mode at the X‐ and Ku‐bands. The proposed antenna is designed by creating dumbbell‐shaped slots on the upper layer of the SIW. These slots have increased the antenna bandwidth so that the proposed antenna has a bandwidth of 9.5 to 13.7 GHz and a fractional bandwidth of 36%. In addition, to excite the TE₂₀ mode, an SIW power divider is used in the feeding network of the antenna located in the bottom layer. Moreover, the gain and directivity are other advantages of the proposed antenna so that at 12.5 GHz the antenna peak gain reaches to 15.7 dB. Antenna beam scanning angle is from 5° to 81°. This antenna is simulated and analyzed by the CST Microwave Studio software. The obtained results from the antenna test lab confirm the simulation results.     

Exploration of Advanced Electrode Materials for Approaching High‐Performance Nickel‐Based Superbatteries

The surging interest in high performance, low‐cost, and safe energy storage devices has spurred tremendous research efforts in the development of advanced electrode active materials. Herein, the in situ growth of zinc–iron layered double hydroxide (Zn–Fe LDH) on graphene aerogel (GA) substrates through a facile, one‐pot hydrothermal method is reported. The strong interaction and efficient electronic coupling between LDH and graphene substantially improve interfacial charge transport properties of the resulting nanocomposite and provide more available redox active sites for faradaic reactions. An LDH–GA||Ni(OH)₂ device is also fabricated that results in greatly enhanced specific capacity (187 mAh g^?1 at 0.1 A g^?1), outstanding specific energy (147 Wh kg^?1), excellent specific power (16.7 kW kg^?1), along with 88% capacity retention after >10 000 cycles. This approach is further extended to Ni–MH and Ni–Cd batteries to demonstrate the feasibility of compositing with graphene for boosting the energy storage performance of other well‐known Ni‐based batteries. In contrast to conventional Ni‐based batteries, the nearly flat voltage plateau followed by a sloping potential profile of the integrated supercapacitor–battery enables it to be discharged down to 0 V without being damaged. These findings provide new prospects for the design of high‐performance and affordable superbatteries based on earth‐abundant elements.     

Stabilized finite elements for time-harmonic waves in incompressible and nearly incompressible elastic solids

The propagation of waves in elastic solids at or near the incompressible limit is of interest in many current and emerging applications. Standard low-order Galerkin finite element discretization struggles with both incompressibility and wave dispersion. Galerkin least squares stabilization is known to improve computational performance of each of these ingredients separately. A novel approach of combined pressure-curl stabilization is presented, facilitating the use of continuous, equal-order interpolation of displacements and pressure. The pressure stabilization parameter is determined by stability considerations, while the curl stabilization parameter is determined by dispersion considerations. The proposed pressure-curl–stabilized scheme provides stable and accurate results on a variety of numerical tests for incompressible and nearly incompressible elastic waves computed with linear elements.     

Multilevel resistive switching and synaptic plasticity of nanoparticulated cobaltite oxide memristive device

Multilevel resistive switching(RS)is a key property to embrace the full potential of memristive devices for non-volatile memory and neuromorphic computing applications.In this study,we employed nanopar-ticulated cobaltite oxide(Co3O4)as a model material to demonstrate the multilevel RS and synaptic learning capabilities because of its multiple and stable redox state properties.The Pt/Co3O4/Pt memris-tive device exhibited tunable RS properties with respect to different voltages and compliance currents(CC)without the electroforming process.That is,the device showed voltage-dependent RS at a higher CC whereas CC-dependent RS was observed at lower CC.The device showed four different resistance states during endurance and retention measurements and non-volatile memory results indicated that the CC-based measurement had less variation.Besides,we investigated the basic and complex synap-tic plasticity properties using the analog current-voltage characteristics of the Pt/Co3O4/Pt device.In particular,we mimicked the potentiation-depression and four-spike time-dependent plasticity(STDP)rules such as asymmetric Hebbian,asymmetric anti-Hebbian,symmetric Hebbian,and symmetric anti-Hebbian learning rules.The results of the present work indicate that the cobaltite oxide is an excellent nanomaterial for both multilevel RS and neuromorphic computing applications.     

Optical Imaging Approaches to Monitor Static and Dynamic Cell‐on‐Chip Platforms: A Tutorial Review

Miniaturized laboratories on chip platforms play an important role in handling life sciences studies. The platforms may contain static or dynamic biological cells. Examples are a fixed medium of an organ‐on‐a‐chip and individual cells moving in a microfluidic channel, respectively. Due to feasibility of control or investigation and ethical implications of live targets, both static and dynamic cell‐on‐chip platforms promise various applications in biology. To extract necessary information from the experiments, the demand for direct monitoring is rapidly increasing. Among different microscopy methods, optical imaging is a straightforward choice. Considering light interaction with biological agents, imaging signals may be generated as a result of scattering or emission effects from a sample. Thus, optical imaging techniques could be categorized into scattering‐based and emission‐based techniques. In this review, various optical imaging approaches used in monitoring static and dynamic platforms are introduced along with their optical systems, advantages, challenges, and applications. This review may help biologists to find a suitable imaging technique for different cell‐on‐chip studies and might also be useful for the people who are going to develop optical imaging systems in life sciences studies.     

Implementation of design of experiments approach for the micronization of a drug with a high brittle–ductile transition particle diameter

Objective: To optimize air-jet milling conditions of ibuprofen (IBU) using design of experiment (DoE) method, and to test the generalizability of the optimized conditions for the processing of another non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID).

Methods: Bulk IBU was micronized using an Aljet mill according to a circumscribed central composite (CCC) design with grinding and pushing nozzle pressures (GrindP, PushP) varying from 20 to 110?psi. Output variables included yield and particle diameters at the 50th and 90th percentile (D₅₀, D₉₀). Following data analysis, the optimized conditions were identified and tested to produce IBU particles with a minimum size and an acceptable yield. Finally, indomethacin (IND) was milled using the optimized conditions as well as the control.

Results: CCC design included eight successful runs for milling IBU from the ten total runs due to powder “blowback” from the feed hopper. DoE analysis allowed the optimization of the GrindP and PushP at 75 and 65?psi. In subsequent validation experiments using the optimized conditions, the experimental D₅₀ and D₉₀ values (1.9 and 3.6?μm) corresponded closely with the DoE modeling predicted values. Additionally, the optimized conditions were superior over the control conditions for the micronization of IND where smaller D₅₀ and D₉₀ values (1.2 and 2.7?μm vs. 1.8 and 4.4?μm) were produced.

Conclusion: The optimization of a single-step air-jet milling of IBU using the DoE approach elucidated the optimal milling conditions, which were used to micronize IND using the optimized milling conditions.