Functionalization of Electrospun Titanium Oxide Nanofibers with Silver Nanoparticles: Strongly Effective Photocatalyst

In the present study, we are introducing silver-doped titanium oxide nanofibers produced by electrospinning technique. Calcination of dry nanofiber mats consisting of silver nitrate–titanium isopropoxide/PVAc in air at 600°C for 1 h leads to produce Ag-doped titania nanofibers. Two dyes have been invoked to check the photocatalytic ability of the produced nanofibers; methylene blue dihydrate and methyl red. The obtained results indicated that the silver-doped titanium oxide nanofibers can eliminate >92% of the methylene blue dye within 10 min only. In a case of methyl red, almost the dye was decayed (93%) within 3 h.     

Polymeric nanofibers containing solid nanoparticles prepared by electrospinning and their applications

Generally, polymer solution or sol–gel is used to produce electrospun nanofibers via the electrospinning technique. In the utilized sol–gel, the metallic precursor should be soluble in a proper solvent since it has to hydrolyze and polycondensate in the final solution; this strategy straitens the applications of the electrospinning process and limits the category of the electrospinnable materials. In this study, we are discussing electrospinning of a colloidal solution process as an alternative strategy. We have utilized many solid nanopowders and different polymers as well. All the examined colloids have been successfully electrospun. According to the SEM and FE SEM analyses for the obtained nanofiber mats, the polymeric nanofibers could imprison the small nanoparticles; however, the big size ones were observed attaching the nanofiber mats. Successfully, the proposed strategy could be exploited to prepare polymeric nanofibers incorporating metal nanoparticles which might have interesting properties compared with the pristine. For instance, PCL/Ti nanofiber mats exhibited good bioactivity compared with pristine PCL. The proposed strategy can be considered as an innovated methodology to prepare a new class of the electrospun nanofiber mats which cannot be obtained by the conventional electrospinning technique.     

Irradiation grafting of methyl methacrylate monomer onto ultra‐high‐molecular‐weight polyethylene: An experimental design approach for improving adhesion to bone cement

The grafting of methyl methacrylate (MMA) onto ultra‐high‐molecular‐weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and chromic acid etched UHMWPE was conducted with a preirradiation method in air in the presence of a Mohr salt and sulfuric acid. The grafted samples were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, a gravimetric method, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and interfacial bonding strength measurements. The FTIR results showed the presence of ether and carbonyl groups in the MMA‐grafted UHMWPE (MMA‐g‐UHMWPE) samples. The Taguchi experimental design method was used to find the best degree of grafting (DG) and bonding strength. The efficient levels for different variables were calculated with an analysis of variance of the results. SEM micrographs of MMA‐g‐UHMWPE samples showed that with increasing DG and chromic acid etching, the MMA‐g‐UHMWPE rich phase increased on the surface; this confirmed the high interfacial bonding strength of the grafted samples with bone cement. The grafting of the MMA units onto UHMWPE resulted in a lower crystallinity, and the crystallization process proceeded at a higher rate for the MMA‐g‐UHMWPE samples compared to the initial UHMWPE; this suggested that the MMA grafted units acted as nucleating agents for the crystallization of UHMWPE. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Load-slip relationship of tension reinforcement in reinforced concrete members

An accurate evaluation of the moment-rotation relationship of reinforced concrete members at both serviceability and ultimate limit states is a very important aspect as rotation has a significant contribution to the deflection of the member and also has a direct impact on the magnified moment, the ability to absorb energy and the redistribution of moments. The rotation in the un-cracked or homogenous parts of a reinforced concrete member can be determined by integrating the curvature using standard procedures. However, in the cracked or non-homogenous regions, rotations are found to have sudden or discrete changes at each crack between their crack faces. This can be quantified by the crack opening produced by the slip Δ between the reinforcement and the concrete at the crack face induced by the force in the reinforcing bar P. In this paper, closed form solutions are derived for the P-Δ relationships which are applicable to any type and shape of reinforcement. It is then shown how these closed form solutions can be conveniently used to derive the moment-rotation relationship at a crack.     

Improved voltage tracking of autonomous microgrid technology using a combined resonant controller with lead-lag compensator adopting negative imaginary theorem

Growing application of distributed generation units at remote places has led to the evolution of microgrid (MG) technology. When an MG system functions independently, i.e., in autonomous mode, unpredictable loads and uncertainties emerge throughout the system. To obtain stable and flexible operation of an autonomous MG, a rigid control mechanism is needed. In this paper, a robust high-performance controller is introduced to improve the performance of voltage tracking of an MG system and to eliminate stability problems. A combination of a resonant controller and a lead-lag compensator in a positive position feedback path is designed, one which obeys the negative imaginary (NI) theorem, for both single-phase and three-phase autonomous MG systems. The controller has excellent tracking performance. This is investigated through considering various uncertainties with different load dynamics. The feasibility and effectiveness of the controller are also determined with a comparative analysis with some well-known controllers, such as linear quadratic regulator, model predictive and NI approached resonant controllers. This confirms the superiority of the designed controller.     

Cellular DNA breakage by soy isoflavone genistein and its methylated structural analogue biochanin A

Epidemiological studies have indicated that populations with high isoflavone intake through soy consumption have lower rates of breast, prostate, and colon cancer. The isoflavone polyphenol genistein in soybean is considered to be a potent chemopreventive agent against cancer. In order to explore the chemical basis of chemopreventive activity of genistein, in this paper we have examined the structure–activity relationship between genistein and its structural analogue biochanin A. We show that both genistein and its methylated derivative biochanin A are able to mobilize nuclear copper in human lymphocyte, leading to degradation of cellular DNA. However, the relative rate of DNA breakage was greater in the case of genistein. Further, the cellular DNA degradation was inhibited by copper chelator (neocuproine/bathocuproine) but not by compounds that specifically bind iron and zinc (desferrioxamine mesylate and histidine, respectively). We also compared the antioxidant activity of the two isoflavones against tert‐butylhydroperoxide‐induced oxidative breakage in lymphocytes. Again genistein was found to be more effective than biochanin A in providing protection against oxidative stress induced by tert‐butylhydroperoxide. It would therefore appear that the structural features of isoflavones that are important for antioxidant properties are also the ones that contribute to their pro‐oxidant action through a mechanism that involves redox cycling of chromatin‐bound nuclear copper.     

Investigation of forestry wastes: Torrefaction and their thermal properties for use in energy recovery schemes

Three biomasses like Eucalyptus, Azadirachata, and Ficus religiosa were torrefied to investigate the effect of temperature and residence time was investigated on torrefied biomasses for yield, volatile matter, fixed carbon, ash, and Gross calorific value (GCV). Thermogravimetric analysis and Hardgrove grindability index (HGI) of three torrefied samples were studied at optimum conditions of temperature and residence time. According to the results, an optimum temperature was found to be 260°C at 45 min residence time. A maximum GCV of torrefied biomasses of Eucalyptus, Azadirachata, and F. religiosa were found to be 4,301, 3,190, and 3,278 kcal/kg, respectively. According to thermogravimetric analyzer results, the Azadirachata has shown higher weight loss compared to Eucalyptus and F. religiosa during thermogravimetirc study. The weight loss rate for Azadirachata was maximum to nearly 12.8%/min compared to 6.11 and 5.12%/min for Eucalyptus and F. religiosa, respectively. The order of reactivity based on mean reactivity and combustion characterization factor was found to be Azadirachata indica > Eucalyptus > F. religiosa. According to HGI results, Eucalyptus, Azadirachata, and F. religiosa have shown HGI values of 71, 60.7, and 81.7, respectively. The results of this study could be useful for the energy recovery schemes in the country.     

Study on microstructure,rheological, and mechanical properties of cellulose short fiber reinforced TPVs based on EPDM/PP

The morphology, rheology, and mechanical properties of the dynamically vulcanized thermoplastic elastomer based on EPDM/PP (60/40, w:w) containing 5, 10, and 20% of cellulose short fiber were studied. From the results it was found that addition of 5% of cellulose fiber has no significant effect on the maximum torque associated with the dynamic vulcanization stage, while higher concentration of fibers decreased the maximum torque. These results were explained in terms of influence of cellulose fibers on the extent of agglomeration formed between the cured rubber particles. The results of tensile test performed on the samples showed that incorporation of 5% of cellulose fibers into the sample has an increasing effect on elongation at break with no appreciable change in tensile behavior. However increasing the cellulose fibers content of the sample to 20% had a remarkable change in tensile properties of the sample resulting in a toughened plastic type behavior. The melt elasticity of the sample containing 5% of cellulose fibers particularly at low shear rate range was found to be lower than that of the sample without fibers indicating the role of fibers in weakening of cured rubber particle agglomeration. This was supported with the results of the relaxation time distribution H(λ) and scanning electron microscopy of the samples. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers