Microstructure induced ultra-high energy storage density coupled with rapid discharge properties in lead-free Ba0.9Ca0.1Ti0.9Zr0.1O3–SrNb2O6 ceramics

Novel lead-free (1-x)Ba_0·9Ca_0·1Ti_0·9Zr_0·1O₃-xSrNb₂O₆ ceramics were synthesized via a two-step high energy ball milling process. The evolution of microstructural properties, phase transformation, and energy storage characteristics was comprehensively investigated to assess the applicability of material in multi-layered ceramic capacitors. The substitution of SrNb₂O₆ (SNO) in Ba_0·9Ca_0·1Ti_0·9Zr_0·1O₃ (BTCZ) has resulted in substantial improvement in materials density along with a small increase in the grain size of the synthesized ceramic. A thorough microstructural investigation indicates an excellent dispersibility and compatibility between BTCZ and SNO phases. With an increase in SNO substitution, a transition from typical ferroelectric to relaxor ferroelectric has been observed, which has led to a significantly slimmer ferroelectric loop along with frequency dispersive dielectric properties. The optimized composition (i.e., x = 0.10) exhibits an ultra-high recoverable energy density of 2.68 J/cm³ along with a moderately high energy efficiency of 83.4%. Further, SNO substituted samples have also shown an enhancement in breakdown strength. The improvement in energy storage performance and breakdown strength of SNO substituted BTCZ composites are mainly attributed to relatively homogeneous grain morphology, optimum grain size, microstructural density, and improved grain boundary interface.     

Towards a super-resolution based approach for improved face recognition in low resolution environment

Multimedia Tools and Applications - The video surveillance activity generates a vast amount of data, which can be processed to detect miscreants. The task of identifying and recognizing an object...     

Cross project defect prediction: a comprehensive survey with its SWOT analysis

Innovations in Systems and Software Engineering - Software fault prediction (SFP) refers to the process of identifying (or predicting) faulty modules based on its characteristics/software metrics....     

QoS-Aware Optical Fog-Assisted Cyber-Physical System in the 5G Ready Heterogeneous Network

Wireless Personal Communications - In recent years, the emergence of Internet of things and cyber-physical system provide a proactive and efficacious solution to enable remote monitoring, machine...     

Emergence of relaxor behavior along with enhancement in energy storage performance in light rare-earth doped Ba0.90Ca0.10Ti0.90Zr0.10O3 ceramics

Nano-sized light rare-earth (La, Pr, Nd, and Sm) doped Ba_0.90Ca_0.10Ti_0.90Zr_0.10O₃ ceramics were synthesized to enhance the energy storage performance. The Rietveld study of bare and doped samples has shown tetragonal crystal symmetry and a single-phase perovskite structure. The rare-earth addition in Ba_0.90Ca_0.10Ti_0.90Zr_0.10O₃ has resulted in a remarkable change in the microstructure of the doped samples. The addition of Nd in Ba_0.90Ca_0.10Ti_0.90Zr_0.10O₃ lattice has resulted in optimum grain size and density among the five compositions. As a result of improvement in morphological characteristics in the Nd-doped sample, the dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric characteristics were significantly enhanced. The Nd-doped sample has shown a relaxor behavior with a maximum dielectric constant of 10788 combined with a high saturation polarization of 41.88 μC/cm². Further, the material has shown optimum electromechanical behavior with excellent aging characteristics. The obtained properties of Nd-doped Ba_0.90Ca_0.10Ti_0.90Zr_0.10O₃ sample justifies its potential application in multi-layer energy storage capacitors.     

Effect of silica on the ZnS nanoparticles for stable and sustainable antibacterial application

Silica-capped Zinc Sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticles were synthesized for the use as stable and long-term antibacterial agents because silica is a very important component in food packaging applications for moisture absorption in tune with its property of biocompatibility and water solubility. The variation in morphological and optical properties of core-shell nanostructures was studied by changing the concentration of silica in a core-shell combination. The structural and morphological properties of silica-capped ZnS have been observed by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) studies, respectively. Uncapped ZnS nanoparticles with particle size of 2-4 nm in a highly agglomerated state have been observed from TEM, which shows that they can be used only for short-term antibacterial action despite its excellent zone of inhibition (antibiotic sensitivity). However, ZnS/SiO₂ core-shell nanostructures are highly monodisperse in nature and the particle size increases up to 5-8 nm with increase in silica concentration. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis confirms the formation of silica capping on the ZnS surface. The inhibition of defect-related emission by silica capping in energy-resolved photoluminescence studies also shows the formation of very stable ZnS nanoparticles. To study the antibacterial properties of the pure and silica-capped ZnS nanostructure the agar-well diffusion method was employed against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The obtained results indicate that pure ZnS shows excellent antibacterial action but it can last only for few days.     

Fabrication and optimization of polypyrrole/cerium oxide/glassy carbon sensing platform for the electrochemical detection of flupirtine

Journal of Applied Electrochemistry - In spite of single nanomaterials, nanocomposites have come to be the superior modifying materials for electrochemical sensing. Herein, the highly...     

Nanostructured lipid carriers based nanogel for meloxicam delivery: mechanistic,in-vivo and stability evaluation

Aim: Our investigation was aimed to investigate the potential suitability of meloxicam-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (MLX-NLC) gel for topical application.

Main methods: MLX-NLC gel was prepared and in vivo skin penetration ability of the NLC gel was evaluated using confocal laser scanning microscopy. We studied the effect of MLX-NLC gel on the changes in lipid profile of skin to get an insight into its skin penetration enhancement mechanism. Acetic acid induced writhing test was performed to evaluate the analgesic effect. Drug concentration-time profile of MLX in rat plasma and skin after topical and oral treatment with MLX-NLC gel and oral MLX-solution, respectively, was observed. MLX-NLC gel was subjected to primary skin irritation test, sub-acute dermal toxicity study. Storage stability of MLX-NLC gel was also assessed for 90 days.

Key findings: NLC gel was effective in permeating Rhodamine 123 to deeper layers of rat skin. Changes in skin lipid prolife were observed in the rat skin on treatment with MLX-NLC gel and the results supported skin lipid extraction as a possible penetration enhancement mechanism. MLX-NLC gel demonstrated sustained pain inhibitory effect. Pharmacokinetics study established that topical application of MLX-NLC gel had the potential to avoid systemic uptake and hence the risk of systemic adverse effects. MLX-NLC gel demonstrated good skin tolerability and biosafety. Excellent physical stability of nanogel was observed at 4?±?2?°C.

Significance: The study revealed that NLC gel is a promising carrier system for the topical application of MLX without side effects.     

Development of docetaxel nanocapsules for improving in vitro cytotoxicity and cellular uptake in MCF-7 cells

The aim of this study was to fabricate docetaxel loaded nanocapsules (DTX-NCs) with a high payload using Layer-by-Layer (LbL) technique by successive coating with alternate layers of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes. Developed nanocapsules (NCs) were characterized in terms of morphology, particle size distribution, zeta potential (ζ-potential), entrapment efficiency and in vitro release. The morphological characteristics of the NCs were assessed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) that revealed coating of polyelectrolytes around the surface of particles. The developed NCs successfully attained a submicron particle size while the ζ-potential of optimized NCs alternated between (+) 34.64?±?1.5 mV to (?) 33.25?±?2.1 mV with each coating step. The non-hemolytic potential of the NCs indicated the suitability of the developed formulation for intravenous administration. A comparative study indicated that the cytotoxicity of positively charged NCs (F4) was significant higher (p?in vitro on MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, cell uptake studies evidenced a higher uptake of positive NCs (≥1.2 fold) in comparison to negative NCs. In conclusion, formulated NCs are an ideal vehicle for passive targeting of drugs to tumor cells that may result in improved efficacy and reduced toxicity of encapsulated drug moiety.