Investigation of the degree of crystallinity of acrylonitrile-divinylbenzene copolymers

Using the wide-angle X-ray scattering method, the degree of crystallinity of suspension copolymers and terpolymers of acrylonitrile (AN) and divinylbenzene (DVB) were determined. Copolymers with various degrees of cross-linking (5%–50% DVB) were prepared in the presence of thermodynamically different solvents added in order to obtain porous structure. It was found that copolymers with a degree of cross-linking of 0.1% DVB have a crystallinity index below 0.2, although the crystallinity index of PAN obtained under the same conditions is 0.5. Owing to the solvation conditions, even in copolymers with a degree of cross-linking of 20% DVB, ordered regions occur, and dilution of the polymerization mixture with poor solvents cause a decrease in the degree of crystallinity of these copolymers. Terpolymers AN, butyl acrylate (BA) or vinyl acetate (VA) have less ordered structure for the same amount of DVB. Methacrylonitrile and DVB copolymers obtained under the same conditions as AN and DVB are amorphous.     

Picosecond thermal pulses in thin gold films

In this paper it has been shown that, with the advent of lasers with a very short pulse duration, the effect of thermal wave propagation becomes important. To consider this effect, hyperbolic heat conduction in thin gold films was studied. It was shown that for heat fluxes of the order 10⁸ W·cm^–2, a thermal wave is generated in thin gold films. The consideration of the hyperbolicity of heat transfer enables one to describe the temperature profile with one value of fluence.     

Stabilizing Redox-Active Hexaazatriphenylene in a 2D Conductive Metal–Organic Framework for Improved Lithium Storage Performance

Organic redox-active materials are promising electrode candidates for lithium-ion batteries by virtue of their designable structure and cost-effectiveness. However, their poor electrical conductivity and high solubility in organic electrolytes limit the device's performance and practical applications. Herein, the π-conjugated nitrogen-containing heteroaromatic molecule hexaazatriphenylene (HATN) is strategically embedded with redox-active centers in the skeleton of a Cu-based 2D conductive metal–organic framework (2D c-MOF) to optimize the lithium (Li) storage performance of organic electrodes, which delivers improved specific capacity (763 mAh g⁻¹ at 300 mA g⁻¹), long-term cycling stability (≈90% capacity retention after 600 cycles at 300 mA g⁻¹), and excellent rate performance. The correlation of experimental and computational results confirms that this high Li storage performance derives from the maximum number of active sites (CN sites in the HATN unit and CO sites in the CuO₄ unit), favorable electrical conductivity, and efficient mass transfer channels. This strategy of integrating multiple redox-active moieties into the 2D c-MOF opens up a new avenue for the design of high-performance electrode materials.     

Energy Transfer Induced by TADF Polymer Enables the Recycling of Excitons in Perovskite Solar Cells

Formamidinium lead triiodide (FAPbI₃) has been demonstrated as the most efficient perovskite system to date, due to its excellent thermal stability and an ideal bandgap approaching the Shockley-Queisser limit. Whereas, there are intrinsic quantum confinement effects in FAPbI₃, which lead to unwanted non-radiative recombination. Additionally, the black α-phase of FAPbI₃ is unstable under room temperature due to the significant residual tensile stress in the film. To simultaneously address the above issues, a thermally-activated delayed fluorescence polymer P1 is designed in the study to modify the FAPbI₃ film. Owing to the spectral overlap between the photoluminescence of P1 and absorption of the above-bandgap quantum wells of FAPbI₃, the Förster energy transfer occurs at the P1/FAPbI₃ interface, which further triggers the Dexter energy transfer within FAPbI₃. The exciton “recycling” can thus be realized, which reduces the non-radiative recombination losses in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Moreover, P1 is found to introduce compressive stress into FAPbI₃, which relieves the tensile stress in perovskite. Consequently, the PSCs with P1 treatment achieve an outstanding power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 23.51%. Moreover, with the alleviation of stress in the perovskite film, flexible PSCs (f-PSCs) also deliver a high PCE of 21.40%.     

Robust tracking control for operator-based uncertain micro-hand actuator with Prandtl–Ishlinskii hysteresis

Since the hysteresis property inherently exists in the rubber material, it is necessary to deal with the control issues for the micro-hand by considering the hysteresis property. Therefore, in this paper, the robust tracking control for the micro-hand systems is discussed from the aspect of the Prandtl–Ishlinskii hysteresis property which is more applicable for the real applications. Firstly, a new model is obtained by combining the dynamic model of the micro-hand with Prandtl–Ishlinskii hysteresis property. Secondly, a new stability condition based on bounded input and bounded output stability is proposed for the Prandtl–Ishlinskii hysteresis modeled micro-hand system from two different cases. Thirdly, by designing the robust controllers based on the internal model control method, the tracking performance can be improved by eliminating the effect from the disturbance. Finally, simulation is used to further demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design scheme.     

Chatter detection for milling using novel p-leader multifractal features

Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing - Chatter in machining results in poor workpiece surface quality and short tool life. An accurate and reliable chatter detection method is needed before its...     

Biofunctionalized upconverting CaF<Subscript>2</Subscript>:Yb,Tm nanoparticles for <Emphasis Type="Italic">Candida albicans</Emphasis> detection and imaging

Versatile optimization of the synthesis method and composition of Yb3+ and Tm3+ co-doped CaF2 nanoparticles as well as a novel biofunctionalization method were developed and evaluated.Through multistep synthesis,the luminescence intensity of the Tm3+ activator was enhanced by more than 10-fold compared to standard one-step synthesis.The proposed methods were used to homogenously distribute the doping ions within the nanoparticle's volume and thus reduce luminescence quenching.Optimization of dopant ions concentration led to the selection of the most efficient visible and near-infrared up-converting nanoparticles,which were CaF2 doped with 10％ Yb3+ 0.05％ Tm3+ and 20％ Yb3+ 0.5％ Tm3+,respectively.To illustrate the suitability of the synthesized nanoparticles as bio-labels,a dedicated biofunctionalization method was used,and the nanoparticles were applied for labeling and imaging of Candida albicans cells.This method shows great promise because of extremely low background and high specificity because of the presence of the attached molecules.     

Recent progress in continuous and semi-continuous processing of solid oral dosage forms: a review

Context: Continuous processing is an innovative production concept well known and successfully used in other industries for many years. The modern pharmaceutical industry is facing the challenge of transition from a traditional manufacturing approach based on batch-wise production to a continuous manufacturing model.

Objective: The aim of this article is to present technological progress in manufacturing based on continuous and semi-continuous processing of the solid oral dosage forms.

Methods: Single unit processes possessing an alternative processing pathway to batch-wise technology or, with some modification, an altered approach that may run continuously, and are thus able to seamlessly switch to continuous manufacturing are briefly presented. Furthermore, the concept of semi-continuous processing is discussed. Subsequently, more sophisticated production systems created by coupling single unit processes and comprising all the steps of production, from powder to final dosage form, were reviewed. Finally, attempts of end-to-end production approach, meaning the linking of continuous synthesis of API from intermediates with the production of final dosage form, are described.

Results: There are a growing number of scientific articles showing an increasing interest in changing the approach to the production of pharmaceuticals in recent years. Numerous scientific publications are a source of information on the progress of knowledge and achievements of continuous processing. These works often deal with issues of how to modify or replace the unit processes in order to enable seamlessly switching them into continuous processing. A growing number of research papers concentrate on integrated continuous manufacturing lines in which the production concept of “from powder to tablet” is realized. Four main domains are under investigation: influence of process parameters on intermediates or final dosage forms properties, implementation of process analytical tools, control-managing system responsible for keeping continuous materials flow through the whole manufacturing process and the development of new computational methods to assess or simulate these new manufacturing techniques. The attempt to connect the primary and secondary production steps proves that development of continuously operating lines is possible.

Conclusion: A mind-set change is needed to be able to face, and fully assess, the advantages and disadvantages of switching from batch to continuous mode production.