Conductive and antibacterial cellulose nanofibers decorated with copper nanoparticles for potential application in wearable devices

One of the contributions of nanotechnology to our daily life is the preparation of a large variety of polymer-based nanofibers, which could be the basis of future wearable devices. Wearable electronics are a great part of smart textiles research. Herein, we have reported an easy method to fabricate electrically conductive cellulose nanofibers (CNFs). To fabricate CNFs, we first prepared cellulose acetate (CA) nanofibers by using the electrospinning technique and later, the deacetylation process was done to obtain the CNFs. The electroless deposition (ELD) technique was then used to create the conductive nanofibers. Copper (Cu) was used to coat the CNFs because of their high conductivity and low cost. The ELD process parameters including time, temperature, volume, and pH were optimized to obtain a nanofiber with higher conductivity. The optimized condition was temperature: 40 °C, time: 10 min, volume: 600 ml, and pH: 13 to obtain a nanofiber web with 983.5 S/cm conductivity. Cu-coated CNFs were characterized by scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, water contact angle, antibacterial activity, tensile, and electrical conductivity. The bending cycle test was performed to quantitatively demonstrate the durability and flexibility of the Cu-coated nanofibers. Cu-coated CNFs exhibited great performance to be used as a conductive layer with antibacterial activity.     

EkmEx - an extended framework for labeling an unlabeled fault dataset

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Software fault prediction (SFP) is a quality assurance process that identifies if certain modules are fault-prone (FP) or not-fault-prone (NFP). Hence, it...     

Image pan-sharpening using enhancement based approaches in remote sensing

Multimedia Tools and Applications - This paper proposes to do image enhancement before pan-sharpening; that is, the image enhancement techniques are used as a pre-processing step. The image...     

Implementation of an operating procedure for quality control at production level in a RMG industry and assessment of quality improvement

Appropriate operating procedure plays a vital role in any production process for improving the quality of the final product An export oriented knit apparel manufacturing industry in Bangladesh was assessed initially and an Operating Procedure for Quality Conformation (OPQC) was applied at production process for quality improvement. The improvements were assessed twice. First assessment was done at seventh month and second assessment at ninth month after implementation of OPQC. Actions were taken considering the feedbacks from each assessment. As a result fabric (in terms of garment) loss % from cutting to final inspection was reduced and found 5.42, 4.65 and 1.19 at initial, first and second assessment, respectively. Assessment by process capability analysis shows the improvements of C_p and C_pk from 0.38 to 0.78 and ?0.35 to 0.44 from start to end of process at second assessment. Similarly Taguchi quality loss (% of order value) was reduced in each assessment and was found 10.88, 9.66 and 3.98% at initial, first and second assessment respectively. Moreover, process capability analysis and Taguchi quality loss analysis directed the manufacturer to the next steps for quality improvement.     

Unraveling the Potential of Innovative Eco-friendly Thermoplastic Starch/SEBS-g-MA/Graphene Oxide Bionanocomposites

The increasing focus on bionanocomposites as environmentally friendly solutions for sustainable applications forms the crux of this study. This study explores the influence of incorporating 2% graphene oxide (GO) on the mechanical and thermal characteristics of blends containing glycerol plasticized thermoplastic starch (TPS) and polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)-block-polystyrene-graft-maleic anhydride (SEBS-g-MA), based matrix films through a solution casting method. Starch is successfully obtained from three varied sources: corn, cassava, and potato, with confirmation via fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The authors formulate and examine varying proportions of TPS/SEBS-g-MA (ranging from 10 to 50 wt.%), focusing on their biodegradability, and find that a 10 wt.% SEBS-g-MA concentration yields optimal degradation rates, thus this is kept constant. The bionanocomposite films are probed using techniques such as FTIR, XRD, mechanical strength testing, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), water absorption, and biodegradability studies. These results indicate that GO incorporation results in a robust hydrogen bonding network within the cassava starch-based bionanocomposite films, enhancing their mechanical strength while decreasing their moisture absorption. Upgraded thermal properties of these films are also evident from the results. Consequently, these materials show promising utility, particularly in the realm of food packaging.     

Engineering Nanoclay Edges to Enhance Antimicrobial Property against Gram-Negative Bacteria: Understanding the Membrane Destruction Mechanism by Contact-Kill

The overuse or abuse of antibiotics has led to serious health problems. During the recent decades, among the various methods used in antibacterial applications, some nanoclay minerals are proved antibacterial or inhibitory to the bacterial growth. However, the antibacterial mechanism of contact-kill based on the intrinsic structure of nanoclays is still unclear. Here, the antibacterial ability of pure clay is enhanced by creating more edge surfaces on kaolinite (Kaol) and the antibacterial mechanism is clarified at the atomic level. Based on experiments and density functional theory/molecular dynamics  calculations, the positively charged Al (OH) and Al (OH₂) species on the edge surfaces of Kaol are confirmed to kill the Escherichia coli cells through direct contact by destroying their outer membrane (OM). The strong hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces between OM and (110)/(1$\overline{1}$0) surfaces of Kaol lead to the folding of OM. Simultaneously, the proton-coupled electron transfer between Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and (1$\overline{1}$0) edge surface of Kaol causes the dissociation of phosphoryl groups on LPS. Considering the similarities of most nanoclays on their edge surfaces, this finding may shed some light on the development of new nanoclay-based antibacterial materials in the future.