The removal of impurities from gray cotton fabric by atmospheric pressure plasma treatment and its characterization using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy

Gray cotton fabric shows hydrophobic characteristics due to presence of non-cellulosic impurities in outermost layers of cotton fiber. In the present study, atmospheric pressure plasma treatment for the removal of the non-cellulosic impurities from gray cotton fabric is investigated. Gray cotton fabric is treated with air dielectric barrier discharge at different time interval, and characterized by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Different species formed in plasma are identified using optical emission spectroscopy. The results clearly show that the plasma treatment improves wettability of gray cotton which is due to the removal of non-cellulosic impurities and due to the formation of polar carboxylate group. Removal of wax after plasma treatment is clearly reflected in ATR-FTIR spectra as disappearance of symmetric and asymmetric stretching of alkyl group at 2852.24 and 2917.81?cm^?1. Further, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy provides a fast and satisfactory assessment of removal of impurities from cotton surface when untreated and plasma-treated cotton fabric is exposed to HCl vapor and subsequently spectra are collected. We observed a strong carboxyl peak is induced at 1749?cm^?1 in case of untreated cotton. While for plasma-treated cotton fabrics substantial variation in the intensity of 1641 and 1749?cm^?1 peak is observed with increase in plasma treatment time. The morphological changes observed by SEM are in accordance with ATR-FTIR results. The results are compared with conventionally (alkaline scouring) treated cotton fabric. The study reveals that atmospheric pressure plasma has potential to become dry and environment friendly process to improve wettability of gray cotton fabric.     

LIBS based spectroscopic analysis and antidiabetic evaluation of a polyherbal formulation

Although plants have long been a major source of medicine, there is renewed interest in studying the phytochemistry and use of herbal formulations. This paper reports spectroscopic analysis using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) of a polyherbal formulation, whose antidiabetic activity has also been demonstrated on rat models. LIBS analysis revealed the presence of elements such as Na, K, Mg, Ca, H, O and N. The antidiabetic study showed that amongst the four doses studied (50, 100, 150 and 200 mg/kg bw), the dose of 150 mg/kg bw registered the maximum fall in Blood Glucose Level (BGL) in both normal and diabetic (sub and mild) rats in the Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) study—normal rats (22 %), sub-diabetic (36.6 %) and mild-diabetic (39 %). The dose of 150 mg/kg also showed the maximum fall of 23.7 % and 22 % in BGL during fasting BGL and GTT studies of normal rats, respectively. The formulation also showed significant antioxidant activity assessed using in vitro assays. The study validates for the first time the therapeutic use of an antidiabetic polyherbal formulation.     

Mechanical and thermal properties of wood fibers reinforced poly(lactic acid)/thermoplasticized starch composites

Thermoplasticized starch (TPS) filled poly(lactic acid) (PLA) blends are usually found to have low mechanical properties due to poor properties of TPS and inadequate adhesion between the TPS and PLA. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reinforcing effect of wood fibers (WF) on the mechanical properties of TPS/PLA blends. In order to improve the compatibility of wood with TPS/PLA blends, maleic anhydride grafted PLA (MA‐g‐PLA) copolymer was synthesized and used. TPS, TPS/PLA blends, and WF reinforced TPS/PLA composites were prepared by twin‐screw extrusion and injection molded. Scanning electron microscope and crystallinity studies indicated thermoplasticity in starch. WF at two different weight proportions, that is, 20% and 40% with respect to TPS content were taken and MA‐g‐PLA at 10% to the total weight was chosen to study the effect on mechanical properties. At 20% WF and 10% MA‐g‐PLA, the tensile strength exhibited 86% improvement and flexural strength exhibited about 106% improvement over TPS/PLA blends. Increasing WF content to 40% further enhanced tensile strength by 128% and flexural strength by 180% with respect to TPS/PLA blends. Thermal behavior of blends and composites was analyzed using dynamic mechanical analysis and thermogravimetric analysis. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46118.     

Amorphous silicon–carbon based nano-scale thin film anode materials for lithium ion batteries

The buffering effect of carbon on the structural stability of amorphous silicon films, used as an anode for lithium ion rechargeable batteries, has been studied during long term discharge/charge cycles. To this extent, the electrochemical performance of a prototype material consisting of amorphous Si thin film (∼250 nm) deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on amorphous carbon (∼50 nm) thin films, denoted as a-C/Si, has been investigated. In comparison to pure amorphous Si thin film (a-Si) which shows a rapid fade in capacity after 30 cycles, the a-C/Si exhibits excellent capacity retention displaying ∼0.03% fade in capacity up to 50 cycles and ∼0.2% after 50 cycles when cycled at a rate of 100 μA/cm² (∼C/2) suggesting that the presence of thin amorphous C layer deposited between the Cu substrate and a-Si acts as a buffer layer facilitating the release of the volume induced stresses exhibited by pure a-Si during the charge/discharge cycles. This structural integrity combined with microstructural stability of the a-C/Si thin film during the alloying/dealloying process with lithium has been confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The buffering capacity of the thin amorphous carbon layer lends credence to its use as the likely compliant matrix to curtail the volume expansion related cracking of silicon validating its choice as the matrix for bulk and thin film battery systems.     

Timolol‐imprinted soft contact lenses: Influence of the template: Functional monomer ratio and the hydrogel thickness

Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) was used to identify the optimal timolol:functional monomer ratio for preparing soft contact lenses (SCLs) able to sustain drug release. ITC profiles revealed that each timolol molecule required six to eight acrylic acid (AAc) monomers to saturate the binding and that these ratios could be the most suitable for creating imprinted cavities. Various poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate‐co‐AAc) hydrogels 0.2 and 0.9 mm thick were prepared with timolol:AAc molar ratios ranging from 1 : 6 to 1 : 32 and also in the absence of timolol. The hydrogels were reloaded with timolol by immersion in 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, and 0.10 mM drug solutions. Both imprinted and nonimprinted hydrogels showed a high affinity for the drug because of the presence of AAc. Nevertheless, the 1 : 6 and 1 : 8 imprinted hydrogels loaded less timolol but sustained the release better than the other hydrogels. These differences were explained in terms of the different arrangement of the functional monomers along the network. The imprinting effect was more noticeable in the case of the thinnest hydrogels, where the contribution of the diffusion path to the release rate was smaller. The results obtained prove the interest of ITC for the rational design of drug‐imprinted networks to be used as medicated SCLs. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011