Degradability and biocompatibility of bioglass/poly(amino acid) composites with different surface bioactivity as bone repair materials

Bioglass (BG) possesses excellent bioactivity and has been widely used in the manufacture of biomaterials. In this study, a composite with different surface bioactivity was fabricated via in situ melting polymerization by incorporating BG and poly(amino acid) (PAA) at a suitable ratio. The structure of the composite was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and XRD. The compressive strength of the BG/PAA composites was 139 MPa (BG:PAA = 30:70). The BG/PAA composites were degradable, and higher BG in composite showed higher weight loss after 4 weeks of incubation in simulated body fluid. In addition, the BG/PAA composite maintained adequate residual compressive strength during the degradation period. The SEM results showed the differences in surface bioactivities of the composites directly, and 30BG/PAA composite showed thicker apatite layer and higher Ca/p than 15BG/PAA. in vitro MG-63 cell culture experiments showed that the composite was noncytotoxic and thus allows cells to adhere, proliferate, and differentiate. This indicates that the composite has good biocompatibility. The implantations in the bone defects of rabbits for 4 and 12 weeks were studied. The composites had good biocompatibility and were capable of guiding new bone formation without causing any inflammation. The composite may be successfully used in the development of bone implants.     

Atomistic simulations of functionalization of aramid fiber-epoxy nanocomposite

Owing to its high degree of crystallinity and orientation, the surface of aramid fiber is smooth, causing its low bonding strength with polymer matrix. This has restricted the application of aramid fiber in reinforced polymer materials. Effective methods are by introducing functional groups through surface modification and by increasing its surface roughness thereby greatly improving its bonding strength with the polymer. In this work, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation study fiber functionalized with hydroxyl (OH), carboxyl (COOH), and the silane coupling agent as nanofillers for polymer nanocomposites. The interfacial characteristics and the mechanical behavior of polymer nanocomposites are investigated. The results show that the functionalization can enhance the interfacial shear stress and tensile strength. The functional group not only provides a stronger interface, but also provides additional mechanical interlocking effect, which effectively improves load-bearing transmission capacity. The analysis of the micro-mechanism from the energy level also provides new insights for the functionalized design of nanocomposites.     

Effects of thickness and hydrophobicity of double microporous layer on the performance in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

In this paper, a multi-layer gas diffusion layer (GDL) is designed. The GDL consists of a single carbon paper backing layer and dual microporous layers (MPLs). Moreover, the effects of thickness and hydrophobicity of double MPL on the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells are investigated. From the test results of the water contact angle, conductivity, pore size distribution, and the polarization curve, it is found that the thickness adjustment increases the number of 0.5 to 7 μm and 20 to 100 μm pores in GDL, which is more conducive to water discharge. Therefore, the thickness adjustment is more favorable to the cell performance under high humidity. While the gradient hydrophobic design makes the MPL of the modified intermediate layer have a certain water-retaining capacity to humidify the reaction gas, which has better effect under low humidity. At last, the results show that the optimized GDL meets a limit power density of 1.772 W/cm² under 60% humidification and 1.600 W/cm² under 100% humidification.     

Enzymatic degradability and release properties of graphene oxide/silk fibroin nanocomposite films

The structure evolution of silk fibroin (SF) in the nanocomposite films with graphene oxide (GO) was investigated and related to the enzymatic degradability and release property. The interaction with GO was found to induce conformation transition of SF from random coil to β-sheet. However, the surface binding constrained the rearrangement of the silk chains, leading to a decrease of β-sheet when GO content was more than 1.0%. The crystal structure of SF played a key role in the degradation of GO/SF composites. The preferential degradation of the hydrophilic blocks resulted in a faster degradation of SF films with higher β-sheet content. The addition of GO to SF matrix led to a slower release and a reduction of the burst release of RhB, the model compound. The release profile was well fitted to the Rigter–Peppas equation, from which the characteristic constant decreased and the diffusional exponent increased with increasing GO content but quickly leveled off when GO content was more than 1.0%. Degradation of the composites had little influence on the characteristic constant of RhB release, however, led to an increased diffusional exponent, which was more evident for the composites with higher β-sheet content.     

Effect of IR-laser treatment parameters on surface structure,roughness, wettability and bonding properties of fused deposition modeling-printed PEEK/CF

In this study, laser surface treatment was applied to alter the surface texturing and chemical compositions of fused deposition modeling (FDM)-printed PEEK/CF samples to improve the deficiency of inert surface of PEEK as adherend substrate. The influence of IR-laser parameters including treatment gaps, single pulse energy and pulse widths on surface properties and shear bond strength were discussed. The results indicated that surface roughness was enhanced with decreasing treatment gap or increasing pulse energy, which reached the highest value of Ra = 32.44 μm at 0.4*0.4 mm² treatment gap and 300 mJ single pulse energy. By adjusting laser pulse width, surface wettability changed from hydrophobicity to hydrophilicity. After micro-second laser ablation, the texturing structure was changed and acted as mechanical interlocking effect, and therefore make the shear bond strengths improve from 3.28 to 6.42 MPa compared with the untreated groups. On the other hand, functional groups on substrate surface were activated after nano-second laser ablation, which contributes to an enhancement of shear bond strength through chemical interaction between adhesives and substrates. Therefore, our work highlights an efficient method of laser surface treatment on the adhesion property of FDM-printed substrates.     

Removal behavior and mechanism of silver from low concentration wastewater using cellulose aerogel modified by thiosemicarbazide

Due to the low concentration of silver in water, most of the cellulose adsorbents exhibited low removal efficiency, which greatly limited their practical applications. Herein, a cellulose aerogel modified by thiosemicarbamide (CAT) was fabricated for reducing and adsorbing silver ions from low concentration wastewater. The characterization results concluded that CAT owned a three-dimensional spongy structure with many circular microspheres and a better specific surface area (19.37 m² g⁻¹), as well as the functional groups of ─C═N⁺─H and ─(C═S)─N. The static batch adsorption experiments demonstrated that CAT could reached the maximum removal percentage of 94.94% and adsorption capacity of 42.12 mg g⁻¹ under the initial concentration of Ag(I) was 15 mg L⁻¹ and the pH value was 7. Meanwhile, the adsorption of Ag(I) on CAT was second-order reaction, and the Langmuir model could better fit the adsorption process. In addition, CAT exhibited wide pH values (1–9) adaptability and excellent adsorption performance for silver through electrostatic interaction, chelation, and reduction. This study probably provides a new method as well as important experimental data and theoretical reference for the removal of silver ions and other metals.     

Sustainability-guided life-cycle design and assessment for bio-based composite foams: Integrate flame retardancy/lightweight in usage and energy utilization after service

Sustainable development strategy has aroused a great interest in biomass resources as alternative raw materials. A kind of biomass-derived poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), has been developed as porous foams to reduce resource exhaustion and meet lightweight demands. For fire-safety in-service, graphene oxide (GO) was functionalized by 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) to combine flame-retardant elements and heat-barrier function. Hence, a very low loading level of P-containing GO as only 5 wt% could reduce peak heat release rate (pHRR) and total heat release (THR) of PBS-based foams by 58.5% and 22.3%, respectively. Meanwhile, N-/P-doped mesoporous char with a specific surface area of 136 m²/g, which derived from combustion of flame-retardant foaming PBS, contributes to a potential of energy storage applications in the capacitor or the anode of Li-ion battery with long-term stability. Overall, the sustainability of bio-based polyester could integrate lightweight of foaming, and be extended to utilization after use via facile combustion inspired by flame-retardancy design.     

Ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene with improved crosslink density,oxidation stability,and microbial inhibition by chemical crosslinking and tea polyphenols for total joint replacements

Highly crosslinked ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) stabilized by vitamin E (VE) is widely applied in artificial joints as the bearings. Despite the approval, there is a discord that VE lowers the crosslinking efficiency, limiting its use at high concentration. In this work, we aim to obtain highly crosslinked and oxidation resistant UHMWPE through the conjunction of tea polyphenol and chemical crosslinking. We hypothesized that highly incorporated tea polyphenol with multiple reactive sites can ameliorate crosslinking efficiency of chemical crosslinked UHMWPE in comparison to VE. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) as representative tea polyphenol was incorporated into UHMWPE at high concentration (2–8 wt%), followed by chemical crosslinking with 2 wt% organic peroxide. Unlike VE/UHMWPE blends as the control, chemical crosslinking achieved an increasing trend in crosslink density of EGCG/UHMWPE blends with increasing antioxidant concentration. High concentration of EGCG also enhanced the oxidation stability of UHMWPE. Intriguingly, EGCG endowed UHMWPE with an excellent antimicrobial property, which was inefficient in VE/UHMWPE. Cell viability was hardly affected by the high loaded antioxidant and peroxide. The chemically crosslinked UHMWPE blended with EGCG is proved to be a reasonable, cost effective and realistic alternative for use in artificial joints.     

Catechol-containing waterborne polyurethane adhesive inspired by mussel proteins

A series of waterborne polyurethane (PDMAPU) containing catechol group were prepared by double-bond random copolymerization of terminated double bond polyurethane prepolymer with modified acrylamido dopamine under thermal initiation. This kind of mussel-like waterborne polyurethane adhesive is inspired by marine mussel, as well as it is environment-friendly and used in bonding of leather. FTIR and ¹H NMR proved the successful introduction of catechol group into polyurethane matrix. Oxidative cross-linking between catechol unit and molecular chain in PDMAPU structure, the thermal stability and crystallization ability of PDMAPU was significantly improved. The increase of the particle size of PDMAPU emulsion showed that the introduction of catechol group changed the microstructure of polyurethane and enhanced the cross-linking degree. The water resistance of polyurethane emulsion was further improved. Compared with PU without catechol group, the peel strength of leather substrate adhered by PDMAPU emulsion increased from 0.42 to 1.93 MPa, which indicated that PDMAPU has better bonding properties with leather. The bidentate hydrogen bond formed with catechol group as the reaction sites is considered to be the key reason for the adhesion of mussel-like polyurethane adhesive to hydrophilic substrates. This work provides an alternative to prepare environment-friendly high performance adhesive for hydrophilic substrates.     

多超声振子作用下气泡动力学数值模拟

超声对强化吸收制冷循环中发生器内溴化锂水溶液沸腾传热有重要意义,目前开展的相关研究较少,尤其多超声振子气泡动力学方面的理论尚未报道。为探究振子数量对溶液空化特性的影响,构建多振子气泡动力学模型,以纯水为例验证了模型准确性,探讨了不同影响因素对溶液空化特性的影响。模拟结果表明：总声强为1 W/cm²,振子数量由1增加至5时,空化气泡最大半径增加了44.12%,振子数量达到24～25个时,气泡最大半径增加率仅为1%;发生压力对空化效应的影响随着振子数量的增多而增大,单振子在吸收制冷系统的真空发生器更易产生稳态空化,而多振子更易在真空发生器内产生瞬态空化;多振子频率均匀度越小,空化强度越大,声强均匀度对空化强度的影响可忽略。