Spray dryer processed graphene oxide/reduced graphene oxide for high-performance supercapacitor

This study deals with the utility of mini spray dryer process to improve the dispersibility, of graphene oxide(GO) and its application for high-performance supercapacitor. Initially, the neutral solution of GO was obtained using the modified Hummer's method. After this, the prepared GO solution was processed by mini spray dryer to obtain a more purified, lighter, and dispersed form of GO which is named as spray dryer processed GO (SPGO). The SPGO thus obtained showed excellent dispersibility behavior with various solvents, which is not found in case of conventional oven drying. Furthermore, utility of SPGO and its reduced form (r-SPGO) for supercapacitor applications have been investigated. Results obtained from the cyclic voltammetry(CV) analysis, impedance, and charge-discharge behavior of supercapacitor fabricated using r-SPGO shows enhanced features. Therefore, the simple spray dried GO and its reduced form, that is, r-SPGO can be utilized as a potential candidate for the supercapacitor application. Herein, as synthesized SPGO exhibited the specific capacitance of 12.07 and 37.6 F/g with PVA-H₃PO₄ and 1 mol/L H₃PO₄, respectively, at a scan rate of 5 mV/s. On the other hand, reduced form of SPGO, that is, r-SPGO showed the specific capacitance of 27.16 and 230 F/g with PVA-H₃PO₄ and 1 mol/L H₃PO₄, respectively.     

Calf massager: Intervention for body muscle discomfort during prolonged standing

Many occupations require workers to stand for long periods of time without proper interventions, which causes discomfort in the back and lower limbs. Therefore, this study aims to assess the effectiveness in alleviating body muscle discomfort during prolonged standing through the use of a calf massager. This study was conducted among male workers at a manufacturer with production line workers and the list was obtained from the HR Department and simple random sampling was done by number categorization. A total of 100 respondents (50 respondents for both the control and the experimental groups) participated in this study. The experiment took place in a room with a similar setup for the production line. Each respondent was requested to perform the simulated task for 2 hr. For the experimental group, the calf massager was turned on every 15 min. At every 15‐min interval after turning on the calf massager, respondents from both groups were required to evaluate their discomfort level on a Borg's scale CR‐10 questionnaire. The results showed that the level of body discomfort among respondents in the experimental group reduced (20–30%) compared with that of the control group. Multivariate analysis results revealed that the discomfort rating for the lower back, knees, thighs, calves, and feet was significantly lower (p < .05) among the experimental group compared with the control group. For lower body parts, the lower back region was statistically significant (p < .05) at the 90th, 105th, and 120th min; the thigh region was statistically significant (p < .05) at the 120th min; the knee region was statistically significant (p < .05) at the 105th and 120th min; the calf region was statistically significant (p < .05) at all minute intervals except the 15th and 45th min, while the feet region, was statistically significant at the 105th and 120th min. Therefore, this study indicates that calf massage treatment is capable of reducing body muscle discomfort during prolonged standing and highlights the significance of calf massage.     

Design of a wideband microstrip antenna and the use of artificial neural networks in parameter calculation

This paper deals with the design of a multi-slot hole-coupled microstrip antenna on a substrate of 2 mm thickness that gives multi-frequency (wideband) characteristics. The Method of Moments (MoM)-based IE3D software was used to simulate the results for return loss, VSWR, the Smith chart, and the radiation patterns. A tunnel-based artificial neural network (ANN) was also developed to calculate the radiation patterns of the antenna. The radiation patterns were measured experimentally at 10.5 GHz and 12 GHz. The experimental results were in good agreement with the simulated results from IE3D and those of the artificial neural network. A new method of using a genetic algorithm (GA) in an artificial neural network is also discussed. This new method was used to calculate the resonant frequency of a single-shorting-post microstrip antenna. The resonant frequency calculated using the genetic-algorithm-coupled artificial neural network was compared with the analytical and experimental results. The results obtained were in very good agreement with the experimental results.     

Eradication of Barrett''s mucosa with argon plasma coagulation and acid suppression: immediate and mid term results

Microcapsules are used for the formulation of drug controlled release and drug targeting dosage forms. Encapsulated hydrophobic drugs are often applied as their solutions in plant oils. The uptake of the oils in the complex coacervate microcapsules can be improved by the addition of surfactants. In this study, soybean, olive and peanut oils were chosen as the representatives of plant oils. The well characterized complex coacervation of gelatin and acacia has been used to produce the microcapsules. The amount of encapsulated oil has been determined gravimetrically. The encapsulation of the oils was high (75-80%). When the surfactants with HLB values from 1.8 to 6.7 were used, the amount of encapsulated oil was high (65-85%). A significant decrease of the oil content in the microcapsules was found when Tween 61 with HLB = 9.6 had been added into the mixture. No oil was found inside the microcapsules from the coacervate emulsion mixture containing Tween 81 (HLB = 10) and Tween 80 (HLB = 15), respectively. The results of the experiment confirm the dependence of hydrophobic substance encapsulation on the HLB published recently for Squalan.     

Characterization of ZnS:Cu, Br electroluminescent phosphor prepared by new route

Synthesis of electroluminescent ZnS:Cu, Br phosphor by a number of routes has been presented along with their brightness-voltage, brightness-frequency, brightness-waveform and spectral energy distribution studies. The sample fired in N₂ atmosphere with aluminum and bromine shows predominantly green emission with a peak around 530 nm whereas the sample prepared under H₂S and HBr shows the broadest emission spectrum with multiple peaks. These peaks may arise out of different possible bands of copper, self-activated luminescence of ZnS and association of copper with some of the donor levels formed because of the higher reactivity of HBr. All the samples have been found to obey the relation B=B₀ exp.(−b/V^0.5) which has been discussed using bipolar tunnel emission model. The frequency variation of brightness is linear. Samples containing bromine show multiple secondary peaks indicating that bromine helps in formation of multiple shallow traps.     

Chitosan-based magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer: synthesis and application in selective recognition of tricyclazole from rice and water samples

A tricyclazole selective chitosan/Fe₃O₄ magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer (MMIP) was synthesized using non-covalent binding polymerization involving methacrylic acid (MAA) as functional monomer, divinylbenzene (DVB-80) as crosslinker, 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile as initiator, acetonitrile/toluene (75:25, v/v) as porogenic solvent and tricyclazole as template. Surface morphology and magnetic characterization of the prepared imprinted and non-imprinted polymers were done using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and vibrating sample magnetometry, respectively. The adsorption kinetic data fitted best in pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption equilibrium was achieved in 30 min and the maximum binding capacity was 4579.9 µg/g. The Freundlich isotherm model was found suitable for explaining the binding isotherm data (R² > 0.99). Negative values of thermodynamic parameters ∆G (Gibb’s free energy), ∆H (enthalpy), and ∆S (entropy) revealed exothermic and spontaneous nature of adsorption processes. It also revealed decreased randomness at the solid–liquid interface during sorption. The scatchard plot analysis suggested heterogeneity of binding sites on MMIPs. The molecular recognition selectivity of MMIPs towards tricyclazole was much higher, as compared to its structural analogues, tebuconazole (α = 28.58) and hexaconazole (α = 37.16). The MMIPs were successfully applied to separate and enrich tricyclazole from fortified samples of rice and water, with a recovery percentage of 89.4% and 90.9%, respectively. These reusable imprinted polymers possessing high selectivity and specificity can be utilized as an adsorbent for solid-phase extraction in sample preparation for tricyclazole residue analysis in complex environmental matrices.

     

Ageing studies of pineapple leaf fiber–reinforced polyester composites

This experimental study evaluated the water absorption characteristics of pineapple leaf fiber (PALF)–polyester composites of different fiber content. The degree of water absorption was found to increase with fiber loading. The mechanism of diffusion was analyzed and the effect of fiber loading on the sorption kinetics was studied. The diffusion coefficient was calculated and found to increase with fiber content. Studies were also made to correlate water absorption with the cross‐sectional areas of the specimens. The effects of ageing on the tensile properties and dimensional stability of PALF polyester composites were studied under two different ageing conditions. Ageing studies showed a decrease in tensile strength of the composites. The composite specimens subjected to thermal ageing showed only a slight deterioration in strength. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 94: 503–510, 2004