Study on Regenerative Processing Performance of Chlorinated Polyethylene Based on Wireless Network and Artificial Intelligence Technology

The development of Information Technology has intruded the chemical industry. In the conventional chemical industry, humans are involved in monitoring the chemical evaporation processes. If there is any damage, then humans suffer enormously. These drawbacks are overcome in the chemical industry by implanting the sensors to the required blocks for monitoring the levels of chemical substances. An alert system can be introduced with an artificial intelligence algorithm to regenerate the process using details updated in the database. In this research, the machine-based Time-Temperature Superposition (TTS) method is implemented to monitor the chemical reactions in the chemical component manufacturing company.

Wear Analysis of Materials Used for a Track Steering System in Abrasive Soil Mass

This paper presents the results of comparative research on materials used for a track steering system in an abrasive soil mass. Two types of elastomer tracks were tested: a steel-rubber stave from an asphalt paver and a rubber overlay used in vehicles with a steel track chain. The results obtained were related to the wear of Hadfield steel. The tests were carried out on a "spinning bowl" stand in a natural soil mass, which consisted of two types of soil: light and heavy. It was shown that the resistance to abrasive wear depended on the grain size of the worked soil and the chemical composition of the materials. Rubber overlay was found to have the highest resistance index in all types of soils. It was made of high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, ethylene acrylate/ethyl copolymer (ethylene acrylate 18%) and ethylene/propylene copolymer with an ethylene content of 60%. An analysis of the condition of the machined surfaces after friction tests complements the results presented.

Size effects of graphene nanoplatelets on the properties of high-density polyethylene nanocomposites: morphological, thermal, electrical, and mechanical characterization

High-density polyethylene (HDPE)-based nanocomposites incorporating three different types of graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) were fabricated to investigate the size effects of GnPs in terms of both lateral size and thickness on the morphological, thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties. The results show that the inclusion of GnPs enhance the thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties of HDPE-based nanocomposites regardless of GnP size. Nevertheless, the most significant enhancement of the thermal and electrical conductivities and the lowest electrical percolation threshold were achieved with GnPs of a larger lateral size. This could have been attributed to the fact that the GnPs of larger lateral size exhibited a better dispersion in HDPE and formed conductive pathways easily observable in scanning electron microscope (SEM) images. Our results show that the lateral size of GnPs was a more regulating factor for the above-mentioned nanocomposite properties compared to their thickness. For a given lateral size, thinner GnPs showed significantly higher electrical conductivity and a lower percolation threshold than thicker ones. On the other hand, in terms of thermal conductivity, a remarkable amount of enhancement was observed only above a certain filler concentration. The results demonstrate that GnPs with smaller lateral size and larger thickness lead to lower enhancement of the samples' mechanical properties due to poorer dispersion compared to the others. In addition, the size of the GnPs had no considerable effect on the melting and crystallization properties of the HDPE/GnP nanocomposites.

Sweet-MXene hydrogel with mixed-dimensional components for biomedical applications

Biodegradable hydrogels are promising extracellular matrix-like materials for biomedical applications due to their high compatibility, ease of administration and minimal invasion. The injectable hydrogels to be considered for regenerative therapies should mimic the intrinsic properties of tissues, i.e. self-healing and swelling. Here, we present facile electrically conductive sweet-MXene (S-MXene) hydrogel with novel mixed-dimensional compositions including natural zero dimensional (0D) fluorescent carbon dots in honey, delaminated 2D fluorescent titanium carbide (Ti₃C₂) nanosheets and bioinspired 3D crosslinked polymeric chitosan networks. The developed versatile (Ti₃C_2-MXene-honey-chitosan) heterostructure exhibited excellent porous architecture with desired swelling and controlled degradation. This electrically conductive composite is highly biocompatible, it supported cell attachment and survival.

Multifunctional chitosan-magnetic graphene quantum dot nanocomposites for the release of therapeutics from detachable and non-detachable biodegradable microneedle arrays

Biodegradable chitosan-magnetic graphene quantum dot (MGQD) nanocomposites were prepared and investigated for the release of small and large molecular weight (MWt) therapeutics from detachable and non-detachable biodegradable microneedle arrays. The presence of MGQDs in chitosan increased the electrical conductivity and biodegradation rate of chitosan while maintaining its mechanical properties. The detachable microneedle arrays were created by including a water-soluble ring of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) at the base of the microneedle, which enabled the rapid detachment of the microneedle shaft from the base. The PEG ring did not impede the microneedle array performance, with mechanical properties and a drug release profile of low MWt lidocaine hydrochloride similar to microneedle arrays without the ring. Without the PEG ring, the chitosan-MGQD microneedles were electrically conductive and allowed for electrically stimulated release of large MWt therapeutics which was challenging without the stimulation. These results demonstrate that chitosan nanocomposites containing MGQDs with intrinsic photoluminescent and supermagnetic properties are promising materials for developing multifunctional microneedles for targeted and tracked transdermal drug delivery.

The influence of epitaxial crystallization on the mechanical properties of a high density polyethylene/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite injection bar

High density polyethylene (HDPE)/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanocomposite bars were prepared by injection molding and the effects of RGO on the HDPE matrix were investigated.

Modulation of Protein Adsorption and Cell Proliferation on Polyethylene Immobilized Graphene Oxide Reinforced HDPE Bionanocomposites

The uniform dispersion of nanoparticles in a polymer matrix, together with an enhancement of interfacial adhesion is indispensable toward achieving better mechanical properties in the nanocomposites. In the context to biomedical applications, the type and amount of nanoparticles can potentially influence the biocompatibility. To address these issues, we prepared high-density polyethylene (HDPE) based composites reinforced with graphene oxide (GO) by melt mixing followed by compression molding. In an attempt to tailor the dispersion and to improve the interfacial adhesion, we immobilized polyethylene (PE) onto GO sheets by nucleophilic addition-elimination reaction. A good combination of yield strength (ca. 20 MPa), elastic modulus (ca. 600 MPa), and an outstanding elongation at failure (ca. 70%) were recorded with 3 wt % polyethylene grafted graphene oxide (PE-g-GO) reinforced HDPE composites. Considering the relevance of protein adsorption as a biophysical precursor to cell adhesion, the protein adsorption isotherms of bovine serum albumin (BSA) were determined to realize three times higher equilibrium constant (Keq) for PE-g-GO-reinforced HDPE composites as compared to GO-reinforced composites. To assess the cytocompatibility, we grew osteoblast cell line (MC3T3) and human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) on HDPE/GO and HDPE/PE-g-GO composites, in vitro. The statistically significant increase in metabolically active cell over different time periods in culture for up to 6 days in MC3T3 and 7 days for hMSCs was observed, irrespective of the substrate composition. Such observation indicated that HDPE with GO or PE-g-GO addition (up to 3 wt %) can be used as cell growth substrate. The extensive proliferation of cells with oriented growth pattern also supported the fact that tailored GO addition can support cellular functionality in vitro. Taken together, the experimental results suggest that the PE-g-GO in HDPE can effectively be utilized to enhance both mechanical and cytocompatibility properties and can further be explored for potential biomedical applications.

Graphene enhanced low-density polyethylene by pretreatment and melt compounding

The addition of graphene can improve the order of the molecular chain and the macroscopic properties of the polyethylene.

Degradable polyethylene nanocomposites with silica, silicate and thermally reduced graphene using oxo-degradable pro-oxidant

Polyethylene nanocomposites with silica, alumino-silicate and thermally reduced graphene were generated by adding pro-oxidant additive. Additive resulted in early degradation of pure polymer, however, the degradation was delayed in the presence of fillers. Graphene resulted in maximum extent of enhancement of peak degradation temperature (13–14 °C depending on the additive content) followed by silicate and silica. Additive also resulted in enhancement of polymer crystallinity, which was further aided by the filler, though no change in peak melting and crystallization temperatures was observed. The graphene and silicate particles were also observed to be uniformly dispersed in polymer matrix, whereas some aggregates were present in silica based composites. In graphene composite with 2.5 wt% additive content, the tensile modulus was increased by 1.95 times that of pure polymer. Increasing the additive content was also observed to enhance the mechanical performance. For instance, graphene nanocomposite with 1 % additive content had 40 % and 33 % increment in storage modulus at 50 °C and 70 °C respectively as compared to pure PE. The thick plaques of composites exhibited oxo-degradation in the presence of pro-oxidant with silica and silicate composites with 2.5 wt% additive having 100 % degree of embrittlement in 15–16 months at 30 °C. Graphene composites also exhibited ∼50 % embrittlement for the same conditions. The filler particles were observed to delay the time needed to attain embrittlement due to reduction in oxygen permeation in the matrix as well as UV absorption, however, these materials confirmed that degradation of the materials could be successfully tuned without sacrificing the mechanical, thermal and rheological properties of the nanocomposites.

Biodegradable and conductive chitosan–graphene quantum dot nanocomposite microneedles for delivery of both small and large molecular weight therapeutics

Chitosan–graphene quantum dot nanocomposites are used in microneedle arrays for transdermal delivery of small and large molecular weight drugs.

Effect of mixing conditions on the selective localization of graphite oxide and the properties of polyethylene/high-impact polystyrene/graphite oxide nanocomposite blends

We develop here a new and effective strategy for compatibilizing immiscible polymer blend nanocomposites of polyethylene/high impact polystyrene/graphite oxide (PE/HIPS/GO) by combination of solution intercalation and melt mixing method.

Strong and conductive chitosan-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites for transdermal drug delivery

Chitosan-reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites were synthesized through a biocompatible reduction process and were first reported for applications in transdermal drug delivery devices, such as microneedle arrays. Introducing rGO improved the mechanical properties of chitosan, with the strongest nanocomposites containing 1 wt% and 2 wt% rGO chosen to undergo drug delivery testing. The addition of rGO increased the electrical conductivity of chitosan, allowing the nanocomposites to be used for electroporation or iontophoresis drug delivery applications. The rGO content was proven to be an important factor for drug delivery due to the bonding of drug onto rGO. Increasing the rGO content allowed for a quicker and more substantial drug release, allowing for a controlled drug release rate. The nanocomposites also exhibited pH dependent release behaviour, with a reduced release rate in the presence of an acidic medium. The biodegradation rate of chitosan decreased when rGO was added but the biodegradation rates of the nanocomposites are not dependent on the rGO concentration, with nanocomposites of 1 wt% and 2 wt% rGO possessing a similar biodegradation path. The use of the nanocomposite in a microneedle array was shown through compression testing and drug release testing in a pseudo-in vivo environment.