An innovative and viable routre for the realization of ultra-thin supercapacitor electrodes assembled with carbon nanotubes

Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors (EDLC), also known as supercapacitors, have been fabricated using Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNTs) as active material for electrode assembling. In particular a new way of fabrication of ultra-thin electrodes (≤25 m) directly formed on the separator has been proposed, and a prototype of EDLC has been realized and tested. For such devices the specific capacitance is in the range 40–45 F/g and the internal resistances in the range 6–8 ·cm2, at current density of 2 mA·cm−2. Keywords: Carbon Nanotube, Supercapacito

Detonation nanodiamonds tailor the structural oeder of PEDOT chains in conductive coating layers of hybrid nanoparticles

Solid layers of PEDOT–detonation nanodiamond based nanoparticles with an exceptional structural order were produced by means of a template-free polymerization technique. As an efficient multifunctional filler, the nanocrystalline diamond has been shown to possess a high catalytic activity on the monomer polymerization rate as well as to play a fundamental role as a 3D arrangement-directing agent of the PEDOT chains at the micro- and nano-scale. SEM, TEM and TED analyses highlighted the mutual organization between PEDOT oligomers and nanodiamond grains, and the produced hierarchical effects on the arrangement of the backbones of the final polymer. Optical and Raman spectroscopy, used together with XRD diffraction to study the molecular structure and crystallographic features of the hybrid materials, pointed out that the adopted synthetic strategy enables highly conjugated and doped hybrid systems to be generated. The spatial distribution of the filler inside the polymeric matrix and the mutual connectivity of nanodiamond crystals and PEDOT segments are found to strongly improve the functional properties of the host polymer. Mechanical characterizations by advanced AFM-based techniques revealed that both indentation modulus and hardness of PEDOT/nanodiamond materials are 3 times higher than the pure PEDOT polymer, while electrical characterizations by a 4-probe method gave sheet resistance values of 1 106 U sq 1 for the nanocomposite particle

Scanning probe microscopy techniques for mechanical characterization at nanoscale

Three atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based techniques are reviewed that allow one to conduct accurate measurements of mechanical properties of either stiff or compliant materials at a nanometer scale. Atomic force acoustic microscopy, AFM-based depth sensing indentation, and torsional harmonic AFM are briefly described. Examples and results of quantitative characterization of stiff (an ultrathin SeSn film), soft polymeric (polyaniline fibers doped with detonation nanodiamond) and biological (collagen fibers) materials are reported

CVD-based techniques for the synthesis of nanographites and nanodiamonds

We report about some Chemical Vapor Deposition approaches used to produce a variety of C-sp2 and C-sp3 crystalline nanostructures. The methodologies developed in our laboratories provide custom-made solutions for the fabrication of specific carbon nanomaterials with properties tailored for applications in the field of nanotechnology

Ultrasound-Stimulated PVA Microbubbles for Adhesive Removal from Cellulose-Based Materials: A Groundbreaking Low-Impact Methodology

In this work, we shed new light on ultrasound contrast agents applied to the field of cultural heritage as an invaluable fine-tune cleaning tool for paper artworks. In this context, one of the primary and challenging issues is the removal of modern adhesives from paper artifacts. Modern adhesives are synthetic polymers whose presence enhances paper degradation and worsens its optical features. A thorough analytical and high-spatial-resolution combined study was successfully performed to test the capability of poly(vinyl alcohol)-based microbubbles stimulated by a proper noninvasive 1 MHz ultrasound field exposure in removing these adhesives from paper surfaces, in the absence of volatile invasive and toxic chemicals and without damaging paper and/or leaving residues. We demonstrate that poly(vinyl alcohol)-shelled microbubbles are suitable for interacting with paper surfaces, targeting and boosting in a few minutes the nondamaging removal of adhesive particles from paper samples thanks to their peculiar shell composition together with their ultrasound dynamics

Health Effects of Naturally Radioactive Water Ingestion: The Need for Enhanced Studies

Background: Radiological pollution is a potentially important aspect of water quality. However, relatively few studies have been conducted to document its possible health effects

In situ photothermal response of single gold nanoparticles through hyperspectral imaging anti-stokes thermometry

Several fields of applications require a reliable characterization of the photothermal response and heat dissipation of nanoscopic systems, which remains a challenging task for both modeling and experimental measurements. Here, we present an implementation of anti-Stokes thermometry that enables the in situ photothermal characterization of individual nanoparticles (NPs) from a single hyperspectral photoluminescence confocal image. The method is label-free, potentially applicable to any NP with detectable anti-Stokes emission, and does not require any prior information about the NP itself or the surrounding media. With it, we first studied the photothermal response of spherical gold NPs of different sizes on glass substrates, immersed in water, and found that heat dissipation is mainly dominated by the water for NPs larger than 50 nm. Then, the role of the substrate was studied by comparing the photothermal response of 80 nm gold NPs on glass with sapphire and graphene, two materials with high thermal conductivity. For a given irradiance level, the NPs reach temperatures 18% lower on sapphire and 24% higher on graphene than on bare glass. The fact that the presence of a highly conductive material such as graphene leads to a poorer thermal dissipation demonstrates that interfacial thermal resistances play a very significant role in nanoscopic systems and emphasize the need for in situ experimental thermometry techniques. The developed method will allow addressing several open questions about the role of temperature in plasmon-assisted applications, especially ones where NPs of arbitrary shapes are present in complex matrixes and environments

Optic chiasm in the species of order Clupeiformes, family Clupeidae: Optic chiasm of Spratelloides gracilis shows an opposite laterality to that of Etrumeus teres

In most teleost fishes, the optic nerves decussate completely as they project to the mesencephalic region. Examination of the decussation pattern of 25 species from 11 different orders in Pisces revealed that each species shows a specific chiasmic type. In 11 species out of the 25, laterality of the chiasmic pattern was not determined; in half of the individuals examined, the left optic nerve ran dorsally to the right optic nerve, while in the other half, the right optic nerve was dorsal. In eight other species the optic nerves from both eyes branched into several bundles at the chiasmic point, and intercalated to form a complicated decussation pattern. In the present study we report our findings that Spratelloides gracilis, of the order Clupeiformes, family Clupeidae, shows a particular laterality of decussation: the left optic nerve ran dorsally to the right (n = 200/202). In contrast, Etrumeus teres, of the same order and family, had a strong preference of the opposite (complementary) chiasmic pattern to that of S. gracilis (n = 59/59), revealing that these two species display opposite left–right optic chiasm patterning. As far as we investigated, other species of Clupeiformes have not shown left–right preference in the decussation pattern. We conclude that the opposite laterality of the optic chiasms of these two closely related species, S. gracilis and E. teres, enables investigation of species-specific laterality in fishes of symmetric shapes

Effect of acidic fluoride solution on the corrosion resistance of ZrTi alloys for dental implant application

The electrochemical behavior of Zr5Ti, Zr25Ti, and Zr45Ti, with and without surface modification were monitored in acidic artificial saliva (pH = 3) containing NaF concentrations 0.2, 0.5, and 1 wt.%, simulating the fluoride concentrations in dental rinses. A passive behaviour for thermally oxidized ZrTi alloys was found using EIS, and XPS data show that the protective oxide film contains both TiO2 and ZrO2, though titanium contents in the outer layer bigger than those in the base alloy result from thermal oxidation. High corrosion resistance to acidic fluoridated environments of ZrTi alloys treated using thermal oxidation in air at 500 ºC