Review: the latest advances in biomedical applications of chitosan hydrogel as a powerful natural structure with eye-catching biological properties

Journal of Materials Science - Chitosan is one of the natural cationic polymers with unique properties such as non-toxicity, biodegradability, biocompatibility, environmentally friendly that has...     

Salt-assisted solution combustion synthesis of NiFe2O4: Effect of salt type

The effects of three types of salt including NaF, KCl, and NaCl on the properties of NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles using salt-assisted solution combustion synthesis (SSCS) have been investigated. The synthesized powders were evaluated by SEM, TEM, FTIR, XRD, and VSM analysis. Also, the specific surface area (SSA), as well as size distribution and volume of the porosities of NiFe₂O₄ powders were determined by the BET apparatus. The visual observations showed that the intensity and time of combustion synthesis of nanoparticles have been severely influenced by the type of salt. The highest crystallinity was observed in the synthesized powder using NaCl. The SSA has also been correlated completely to the type of salt. The quantities of SSA was achieved about 91.62, 64.88, and 47.22 m²g^-1 for the powders synthesized by KCl, NaCl, and NaF respectively. Although the magnetic hysteresis loops showed the soft ferromagnetic behavior of the NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles in all conditions, KCl salt could produce the particles with the least coercivity and remanent magnetization. Based on the present study, the salt type is a key parameter in the SSCS process for the preparation of spinel ferrites. Thermodynamic evaluation also showed that the melting point and heat capacity are important parameters for the proper selection of the salt.     

Evolving an Accurate Decision Tree-Based Model for Predicting Carbon Dioxide Solubility in Polymers

Solubility is one of the most indispensable physicochemical properties determining the compatibility of components of a blending system. Research has been focused on the solubility of carbon dioxide in polymers as a significant application of green chemistry. To replace costly and time-consuming experiments, a novel solubility prediction model based on a decision tree, called the stochastic gradient boosting algorithm, was proposed to predict CO₂ solubility in 13 different polymers, based on 515 published experimental data lines. The results indicate that the proposed ensemble model is an effective method for predicting the CO₂ solubility in various polymers, with highly satisfactory performance and high efficiency. It produces more accurate outputs than other methods such as machine learning schemes and an equation of state approach.     

Correction to: Cloud-based vehicular networks: a taxonomy,survey, and conceptual hybrid architecture

Wireless Networks - The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake in the title. The correct title has been published with this erratum.     

Morphological evolution on the surface of hydrothermally synthesized hydroxyapatite microspheres in the presence of EDTMP

Well-ordered and surface engineered hierarchical hydroxyapatite microspheres (HAM) were prepared via a template free hydrothermal process. Ethylene diamine tetra (methylene phosphonic acid) (EDTMP) was used as chelating or regulating agent for the first time in this study. The results indicated the formation of sheet-like particles in the absence of EDTMP. On the other hand, microspheres with radially grown nanorods (HAMNR) or nanosheets (HAMNS) on the surface were obtained (with average diameter of 5?µm) in the presence of EDTMP. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were used to characterize the crystalline phases in the synthesized samples. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that EDTMP concentration played an important part in regulating the morphology to form well organized microspheres with nanosheets or nanorods on the surface. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) revealed an increase in the specific surface area with the change in morphology from the HAMNS to HAMNR. Possible mechanisms are proposed to account for the formation of different morphologies based upon thermodynamic and kinetic theories.