Magnetic Carbon Nanofiber Mats for Prospective Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) Sensing Applications

A Recent Review of Electrospun Porous Carbon Nanofiber Mats for Energy Storage and Generation Applications

Electrospun porous carbon nanofiber mats have excellent properties, such as a large surface area, tunable porosity, and excellent electrical conductivity, and have attracted great attention in energy storage and power generation applications. Moreover, due to their exceptional properties, they can be used in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), membrane electrodes for fuel cells, catalytic applications such as oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs), hydrogen evolution reactions (HERs), and oxygen evolution reactions (OERs), and sensing applications such as biosensors, electrochemical sensors, and chemical sensors, providing a comprehensive insight into energy storage development and applications. This study focuses on the role of electrospun porous carbon nanofiber mats in improving energy storage and generation and contributes to a better understanding of the fabrication process of electrospun porous carbon nanofiber mats. In addition, a comprehensive review of various alternative preparation methods covering a wide range from natural polymers to synthetic carbon-rich materials is provided, along with insights into the current literature.

Electrospun Magnetic Nanofiber Mats for Magnetic Hyperthermia in Cancer Treatment Applications-Technology, Mechanism, and Materials

The number of cancer patients is rapidly increasing worldwide. Among the leading causes of human death, cancer can be regarded as one of the major threats to humans. Although many new cancer treatment procedures such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgical methods are nowadays being developed and used for testing purposes, results show limited efficiency and high toxicity, even if they have the potential to damage cancer cells in the process. In contrast, magnetic hyperthermia is a field that originated from the use of magnetic nanomaterials, which, due to their magnetic properties and other characteristics, are used in many clinical trials as one of the solutions for cancer treatment. Magnetic nanomaterials can increase the temperature of nanoparticles located in tumor tissue by applying an alternating magnetic field. A very simple, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly method is the fabrication of various types of functional nanostructures by adding magnetic additives to the spinning solution in the electrospinning process, which can overcome the limitations of this challenging treatment process. Here, we review recently developed electrospun magnetic nanofiber mats and magnetic nanomaterials that support magnetic hyperthermia therapy, targeted drug delivery, diagnostic and therapeutic tools, and techniques for cancer treatment.

Numerical Modeling of Damage Caused by Seawater Exposure on Mechanical Strength in Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites

Fiber-reinforced polymer composites are frequently used in marine environments which may limit their durability. The development of accurate engineering tools capable of simulating the effect of seawater on material strength can improve design and reduce structural costs. This paper presents a numerical-based approach to predict the stress–strain response of fiber-reinforced polymer composites exposed to different seawater immersion times, ranging from 0 to 900 days. A three-dimensional numerical model has been implemented using a static implicit finite element analysis along with a user-defined material (UMAT) subroutine. Puck’s failure criterion was used for ultimate failure analysis of the laminates, while Fick’s first diffusion law was used to predict the seawater absorption rate. Overall, the simulated stress–strain curves were close to those obtained experimentally. Moreover, the model agreed well with the experimental data regarding the maximum stress and the strain at failure leading to maximum errors lower than 9% and 11%, respectively. Additionally, the simulated strain fields agreed well with the experimental results measured by digital image correlation. Finally, the proposed procedure was also used to identify the most critical surfaces to protect the mechanical components from marine environments.

Electromagnetic Interference Shielding with Electrospun Nanofiber Mats—A Review of Production, Physical Properties and Performance

With a steadily increasing number of machines and devices producing electromagnetic radiation, especially, sensitive instruments as well as humans need to be shielded from electromagnetic interference (EMI). Since ideal shielding materials should be lightweight, flexible, drapable, thin and inexpensive, textile fabrics belong to the often-investigated candidates to meet these expectations. Especially, electrospun nanofiber mats are of significant interest since they can not only be produced relatively easily and cost efficiently, but they also enable the embedding of functional nanoparticles in addition to thermal or chemical post-treatments to reach the desired physical properties. This paper gives an overview of recent advances in nanofiber mats for EMI shielding, discussing their production, physical properties and typical characterization techniques.

Investigation of the Morphological Structure of Needle-Free Electrospun Magnetic Nanofiber Mats

Electrospun magnetic nanofibers are promising for a variety of applications in biomedicine, energy storage, filtration or spintronics. The surface morphology of nanofiber mats plays an important role for defined application areas. In addition, the distribution of magnetic particles in nanofibers exerts an influence on the final properties of nanofiber mats. A simple method for the production of magnetic nanofiber mats by the addition of magnetic nanoparticles in an electrospinning polymer solution was used in this study. In this work, magnetic nanofibers (MNFs) were prepared by needle-free electrospinning technique from poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) in the low-toxic solvent dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and 20 wt% Fe3O4 at different parameter conditions such as PAN concentration, voltage and ultrasonic bath. The distribution of nanoparticles in the fiber matrix was investigated as well as the chemical and morphological properties of the resulting magnetic nanofibers. In addition, the surface morphology of magnetic nanofiber mats was studied by confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared microscope (FTIR) and ImageJ software, and distribution of Fe3O4 particles in the matrix was investigated by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX).