Review on Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles: Antibacterial Activity and Toxicity Mechanism

Nano-Micro Letters - Antibacterial activity of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) has received significant interest worldwide particularly by the implementation of nanotechnology to synthesize...     

Vital parameters for high gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) production by an industrial soy sauce koji Aspergillus oryzae NSK in submerged-liquid fermentation

Food Science and Biotechnology - In submerged-liquid fermentation, seven key parameters were assessed using one-factor-at-a-time to obtain the highest GABA yield using an industrial soy sauce koji...     

Recent advances in additive‐enhanced polymer electrolyte membrane properties in fuel cell applications: An overview

Additives such as fillers, cross‐linkers, and plasticizers have become increasingly important in the polymer nanocomposite production field, especially for enhancing the structural morphology, functional behavior, and final performance of nanocomposites in broad applications. The current work is an overview of the effects of additive substances such as fillers, cross‐linkers, and plasticizers in the polymer electrolyte membrane composites applied to fuel cells. A comparative review is conducted by categorizing fillers into several types, and the most popular cross‐linkers and plasticizers used in fuel cell membranes are included in this review. The highlighted properties include the proton conductivity, permeability, mechanical properties, thermal properties, crystallinity, and structure of additive‐modified nanocomposites. Furthermore, the challenges and future prospects in the additive field are discussed in Section 5.0. This review can provide a reference for researchers seeking specific substances that can be used to enhance nanocomposite properties, especially in membrane fuel cell applications.     

Enhanced alkaline stability and performance of alkali‐doped quaternized poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes for passive direct ethanol fuel cell

Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) emerge as the new research energy field since fast production of electricity, high efficiency conversion, and simple fabrication process. The production cost, conductivity properties, and ethanol permeability of membrane were the main problem that limited the DEFC performance and commercialization. In this study, a low cost, good ionic conductivity and low ethanol permeability of an anion exchange membrane based on incorporation KOH‐doped quaternized poly(vinyl alcohol) (QPVA) membrane (designed as QPVA/KOH) is synthesized and cross‐linked with glutaraldehyde solution. The membrane is expected to cut the production cost and enhance the performance. In this work, an optimum of alkali‐doped concentration has influence the membrane performance. The membrane has reveal high chemical stability even doped with 8‐M KOH solution in 100°C. The morphology of membranes remained unbreakable and achieved high range of ionic conductivity (~10^?2 S cm^?1). The membranes present maximum ionic conductivity 1.29 × 10^?2 S cm^?1 at 30°C and 3.07 × 10^?2 S cm^?1 at 70°C. The ethanol permeability of membrane is lower compared with the commercial membranes. Power density of alkaline DEFCs with platinum‐based catalyst by using cross‐linked QPVA/KOH membrane is 5.88 mW cm^?2, which is higher than commercial membranes at 30°C temperature. At 70°C, power density has increased up to 11.28 mW cm^?2 and significantly increased up to 22.82 mW cm^?2 via the nonplatinum‐based catalyst. Moreover, according to the durability test, the performance of passive alkaline DEFC by using cross‐linked QPVA/KOH membrane has maintained at 36.2% level. With such efficiency, the stack current density has been able to stay above 120 mA cm^?2 for over 1000 hours, at 70°C.     

Incorporation of sugarcane bagasse in the development of high dietary fibre noodles

Sugarcane bagasse (SB) is one of the most abundant food wastes. In this research, SB was incorporated into the development of noodles at three different ratios, i.e. 5%, 10% and 15%. Total dietary fibre of noodles significantly increased from 3.39% (control noodles; – without SB) to 13.85% with 15% SB incorporation. All SB incorporated noodles (SBNs) were qualified to be labelled as ‘High in dietary fibre’. The 15% SBN had the highest fibre content and lowest dialyzable glucose, but the organoleptic properties were the lowest. Due to that, 5% SBN was deemed to be the most suitable ratio for noodles incorporation, as it had the closest value towards the commercial noodles in terms of colour, texture, fibre content and dialyzable glucose concentration of noodles samples. In terms of sensory evaluation, the 5% SBN had the highest overall acceptability, and the ratio was suitable for noodles development.