Cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) micellar templates directed synthesis of water-dispersible polyaniline rhombic plates with excellent processability and flow-induced color variation

The Utilization of Metal-Organic Frameworks and Their Derivatives Composite in Supercapacitor Electrodes

Up to now, the mainstream adoption of renewable energy has brought about substantial transformations in the electricity and energy sector. This shift has garnered considerable attention within the scientific community. Supercapacitors, known for their exceptional performance metrics like good charge/discharge capability, strong power density, as well as extended cycle longevity, have gained widespread traction across various sectors, including transportation and aviation. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with unique traits including adaptable structure, highly customizable synthetic methods, and high specific surface area, have emerged as strong candidates for electrode materials. For enhancing the performance, MOFs are commonly compounded with other conducting materials to increase capacitance. This paper provides a detailed analysis of various common preparation strategies and characteristics of MOFs. It summarizes the recent application of MOFs and their derivatives as supercapacitor electrodes alongside other carbon materials, metal compounds, and conductive polymers. Additionally, the challenges encountered by MOFs in the realm of supercapacitor applications are thoroughly discussed. Compared to previous reviews, the content of this paper is more comprehensive, offering readers a deeper understanding of the diverse applications of MOFs. Furthermore, it provides valuable suggestions and guidance for future progress and development in the field of MOFs.

Single-sided and integrated polyaniline/ poly(vinylidene fluoride) flexible membrane with micro/nanostructures as breathable, nontoxic and fast response wearable humidity sensor

Harmless and breathable flexible humidity sensor has important applications in continuous and real-time detection of human physiological activities. In this work, with hydrophobic poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membrane as both the template and substrate and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as a structure regulator, polyaniline (PANI) was unilaterally deposited on a PVDF microporous membrane to facilely fabricate a single-sided integrated flexible humidity sensor (IFHS). Such IFHS is featured with unique micro/nano structure and good air permeability. Moreover, it exhibits good humidity sensing properties at room temperature including fast response, small hysteresis and stable response even under bending deformation. The flexible sensor could realize non-contact monitoring of human respiration and speaking activities. Unilateral deposition of PANI and good breathability of IFHS avoids direct contact between PANI and human skin, thus averting harms to human and minimizing the deterioration of humidity sensing properties of PANI layer. The simple method is universal to the preparation of single-sided, integrated, breathable, nontoxic and fast response wearable humidity sensors based on PANI and hydrophobic microporous polymer membranes, offering useful references for the construction of advanced flexible sensors.

The Influence of Metal Loading Amount on Ni/Mesoporous Silica Extracted from Lapindo Mud Templated by CTAB for Conversion of Waste Cooking Oil into Biofuel

The synthesis and characterization of Ni/mesoporous silica (Ni/MS) catalysts from Lapindo mud with various metal loading for the hydrocracking of waste cooking oil into biofuel has been conducted. The MS was synthesized by the hydrothermal method using CTAB as a template. The nickel-metal of 4, 6, and 8 wt% was loaded into the MS using salt precursors of Ni(NO3)2.6H2O via wet impregnation, produced the Ni(4)/MS, Ni(6)/MS, and Ni(8)/MS catalysts, respectively. The materials produced were then characterized by X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), and Surface Area Analyzer (SAA), and Absorption Atomic Spectrophotometry (AAS). The catalytic activity test was carried out for hydrocracking of waste cooking oil and the resulted liquid product was analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that the specific surface area of Ni(4)/MS, Ni(6)/MS, and Ni(8)/MS catalysts are 63.08, 91.45, and 120.45 m2/g, respectively. The liquid products of the hydrocracking using Ni(4)/MS, Ni(6)/MS, and Ni(8)/MS catalysts were 80.57, 74.63, and 75.77 wt%, where the total biofuel produced was 55.46, 50.93, and 54.05 wt%, respectively. Based on these results, Ni(4)/MS material was successfully used as the most potent catalyst in the hydrocracking of waste cooking oil into the biofuel. Copyright © 2021 by Authors, Published by BCREC Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). 

A Guided Walk through the World of Mesoporous Bioactive Glasses (MBGs): Fundamentals, Processing, and Applications

Bioactive glasses (BGs) are traditionally known to be able to bond to living bone and stimulate bone regeneration. The production of such materials in a mesoporous form allowed scientists to dramatically expand the versatility of oxide-based glass systems as well as their applications in biomedicine. These nanostructured materials, called mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs), not only exhibit an ultrafast mineralization rate but can be used as vehicles for the sustained delivery of drugs, which are hosted inside the mesopores, and therapeutic ions, which are released during material dissolution in contact with biological fluids. This review paper summarizes the main strategies for the preparation of MBGs, as well as their properties and applications in the biomedical field, with an emphasis on the methodological aspects and the promise of hierarchical systems with multiscale porosity.

Lightweight aerogels based on bacterial cellulose/silver nanoparticles/polyaniline with tuning morphology of polyaniline and application in soft tissue engineering

Herein, polyaniline (PANI) with tuning morphology was in-situ synthesized within bacterial cellulose (BC)/silver nanoparticles hydrogels (AgNPs) that were prepared by green hydrothermal reduction method in different molarity of 0.01 and 0.25 of HCl solution along with the presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG). The synthesis of PANI in the presence of PEG in 0.01 M HCl led to the formation of rose-like morphology within nanocomposite aerogels with a size of 1.5-5.2 μm. All aerogels had the porosity and shrinkage of higher than 80% and lower than 10%, respectively. Rheology results showed a higher value of storage modulus (G') than that of loss modulus (G″) for all samples over the whole frequency regime. It confirmed by the loss factor (tan δ) value of less than 1 for all hydrogel samples. The synthesis of PANI within BC/Ag in 0.25 M of HCl solution resulted in a substantial rise of G' to nearly 1.5 × 10⁴ Pa that was one order of magnitude higher than that of other hydrogels. However, the synthesis condition of PANI did not influence the antibacterial activity. In spite of unfavorable cell attachment onto nanocomposite aerogels, the cell proliferation increased steadily over the whole period of incubation.

An electrospun flexible Janus nanoribbon array endowed with simultaneously tuned trifunctionality of electrically conductive anisotropy, photoluminescence and magnetism

A flexible Janus nanoribbon array endowed with simultaneously tuned trifunctionality of electrically conductive anisotropy, photoluminescence, and magnetism was fabricated by electrospinning.