Polymer electrets and their applications

Polymer electrets have revealed great potential application in electromechanical devices because of the low weight, large quasi-piezoelectric sensitivity, and excellent flexibility. For an electret, a permanent and macroscopic electric field exists on the surface, principally led by a macroscopic electrostatic charge on the surface or a net orientation of polar groups inside the object. Here, progress in the development of polymer electrets is reviewed. After a brief retrospect of the research courses and those typical polymer electrets that are classified into fluorine polymer and nonfluorine polymer, we present a survey on the charging methods, including corona, soft X-ray, contact, thermal and monoenergetic particle beams. The latest representative applications (i.e., power harvesting, sensors, field effect transistors, and biomedicine) based on polymer electrets are also summarized. Finally, we complete this review with a discussion on perspectives and challenges in this field.     

吸湿凉爽机织物的结构设计与性能

为研究织物组织结构与复合纱线线密度对织物凉爽性能的影响,将线密度为7.4和9.8 tex涤纶分别与线密度为7.8 tex锦纶反向加捻、并线后作为纬纱,以8.3 tex涤纶/竹浆纤维50/50混纺纱作经纱,设计平纹、二上一下斜纹和透孔组织织物.测试织物的瞬间接触凉感、热湿舒适性能及织物干、湿态升温曲线,并采用凉爽温度指数对织物的综合凉爽性能进行评价.研究结果表明:6种设计织物的瞬间接触凉感均高于标准,且平纹织物最好,纬纱粗细对瞬间接触凉感影响不显著;透孔织物透气性最好,且在人体出汗的状态下具有较好的导湿散热性能.平纹织物凉爽温度指数最高,最大凉爽温度为2.8℃,综合凉爽性能最好.     

Fabrication of crescent-shaped ceramic microparticles based on single emulsion microfluidics

Ceramic microparticles have great potentials in various fields such as materials engineering, biotechnology, microelectromechanical systems, etc. Morphology of the microparticle performs an important role on their application. To date, it remains difficult to find an effective and controllable way for fabricating nonspherical ceramic microparticles with 3D features. This work demonstrates a method that combines UV light lithography and single emulsion opaque-droplet-templated microfluidic molding to prepare the crescent-shaped ceramic microparticles. By tailoring the intensity of UV light and flow rate of fluid, the shapes of microparticles are accordingly tuned. Therefore, varieties of crescent-shaped microparticles and their variations have been fabricated. After sintering, the crescent-shaped alumina ceramic microparticles were obtained. Benefitting from the light absorption and scattering behavior of most ceramic nanoparticles, this system can serve as a general platform to produce crescent-shaped microparticles made from different materials, and hold great potentials for applications in microrobotics, structural materials in MEMS, and biotechnology.     

TEMPO氧化修饰的天然多糖纳米纤维增强复合材料及其功能化研究进展

纤维素和几丁质具有相似的结构，是自然界中储量丰富的两类天然多糖。经2, 2, 6, 6-四甲基哌啶氮氧化物(TEMPO)氧化修饰制备的纤维素和几丁质纳米纤维，不仅具有多糖类物质的良好亲水性、生物可降解性、生物相容性及丰富的官能团(羟基、羧基、乙酰氨基和氨基等)所带来的特定化学性质，而且还具有纳米纤维的纳米尺寸效应、大比表面积、高表面活性、高结晶度和手性液晶相结构等特点，已成为生物质纳米材料领域的研究重点之一。本文对TEMPO氧化修饰制备天然多糖纳米纤维的方法及剥离机制进行了总结，同时重点综述了TEMPO氧化修饰的天然多糖纳米纤维在薄膜、凝胶、导电、医用、电磁屏蔽及环境等复合材料的增强和功能升级等方面的研究进展，强调了纤维素和几丁质纳米纤维的官能团及纳米尺寸在复合材料中的增效机制。最后，对天然多糖纳米纤维的发展方向及其在各领域应用的机遇与挑战进行了展望。     

盾构隧道施工物料无人运输发展现状及关键技术

盾构隧道施工物料无人运输有助于提升运输效率、降低运输成本、减少运输安全事故率。与公路汽车无人驾驶、港口车辆无人驾驶、轨道交通无人驾驶等逐步成熟的无人驾驶技术不同，在隧道场景下实施施工物料无人运输存在运输物料种类繁多、运输调度困难、地下定位信号拒止、狭窄车道频繁会车、行车路面工况复杂、地上地下联动响应慢等诸多挑战。从实现盾构隧道施工物料无人运输的关键问题分析入手，综述当前盾构隧道施工物料运输方式、运输需求、无人运输发展现状及存在的挑战，提出盾构隧道施工物料无人运输的五大关键技术：多种类物料智能货控能效管理技术，无人化垂直装卸门机控制技术，多传感器融合同步定位与地图构建技术，隧道复杂环境路径规划与自主避障技术，隧-地一体化联动响应的高可靠性无线通信技术。     

Nanogrooved carbon microtubes for wet three‐dimensional printing of conductive composite structures

Recent advances in three‐dimensional (3D) printing have enabled the fabrication of interesting structures which are not achievable using traditional fabrication approaches. The 3D printing of carbon microtube composite inks allows fabrication of conductive structures for practical applications in soft robotics and tissue engineering. However, it is challenging to achieve 3D printed structures from solution‐based composite inks, which requires an additional process to solidify the ink. Here, we introduce a wet 3D printing technique which uses a coagulation bath to fabricate carbon microtube composite structures. We show that through a facile nanogrooving approach which introduces cavitation and channels on carbon microtubes, enhanced interfacial interactions with a chitosan polymer matrix are achieved. Consequently, the mechanical properties of the 3D printed composites improve when nanogrooved carbon microtubes are used, compared to untreated microtubes. We show that by carefully controlling the coagulation bath, extrusion pressure, printing distance and printed line distance, we can 3D print composite lattices which are composed of well‐defined and separated printed lines. The conductive composite 3D structures with highly customised design presented in this work provide a suitable platform for applications ranging from soft robotics to smart tissue engineering scaffolds. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

Estimating long-term time-resolved indoor PM2.5 of outdoor and indoor origin using easily obtainable inputs

To evaluate the separate impacts on human health and establish effective control strategies, it is crucial to estimate the contribution of outdoor infiltration and indoor emission to indoor PM_2.5 in buildings. This study used an algorithm to automatically estimate the long-term time-resolved indoor PM_2.5 of outdoor and indoor origin in real apartments with natural ventilation. The inputs for the algorithm were only the time-resolved indoor/outdoor PM_2.5 concentrations and occupants’ window actions, which were easily obtained from the low-cost sensors. This study first applied the algorithm in an apartment in Tianjin, China. The indoor/outdoor contribution to the gross indoor exposure and time-resolved infiltration factor were automatically estimated using the algorithm. The influence of outdoor PM_2.5 data source and algorithm parameters on the estimated results was analyzed. The algorithm was then applied in four other apartments located in Chongqing, Shenyang, Xi'an, and Urumqi to further demonstrate its feasibility. The results provided indirect evidence, such as the plausible explanations for seasonal and spatial variation, to partially support the success of the algorithm used in real apartments. Through the analysis, this study also identified several further development directions to facilitate the practical applications of the algorithm, such as robust long-term outdoor PM_2.5 monitoring using low-cost light-scattering sensors.     

Self-healing,elastic and deformable novel composite phase change polymer based on thermoplastic elastomer SEBS for wearable devices

Journal of Materials Science - Form-stable composite phase change materials (C-PCMs) prepared by microencapsulation method and porous matrix adsorption method need for compression molding after...     

Gluten-free cakes with walnut flour: a technological,sensory, and microstructural approach

Walnut flour (WF), a by-product of walnut oil production, is characterised by high polyunsaturated fatty acids, proteins, and fibre contents and presents suitability for bakery products. However, when using non-traditional ingredients, it is essential to evaluate the effect on the quality properties of the final product. So, this work aimed to assess the impact of WF on the technological, physicochemical, and sensory properties of gluten-free (GF) cakes. WF was added at a flour blend (cassava (CS) and maize (MS) starches and rice flour) at 0, 10%, 15%, and 20%. The results showed that WF modified starch gelatinisation, increased amylose–lipid complex (ALC) content, and made crumbs easier to chew. Besides, the total dietary fibre (TDF) and protein content significantly increased. Cakes with 15% WF presented the highest specific volume (SV) and no differences in overall acceptability with respect to control. Hence, WF is a suitable ingredient for gluten-free bakery products.