84 research outputs found
ELECTROSPUN BIOMIMETIC AND PHOTOSENSITIVE NANOFIBROUS SCAFFOLD FOR SKIN TISSUE ENGINEERING
Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH
Atmospheric deposition of chlorinated and brominated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in central Europe analyzed by GC-MS/MS
Chlorinated and brominated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (ClPAHs and BrPAHs) are persistent organic pollutants that are ubiquitous in the atmospheric environment. The sources, fate, and sinks in the atmosphere of these substances are largely unknown. One of the reasons is the lack of widely accessible analytical instrumentation. In this study, a new analytical method for ClPAHs and BrPAHs using gas-chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry is presented. The method was applied to determine ClPAHs and BrPAHs in total deposition samples collected at two sites in central Europe. Deposition fluxes of ClPAHs and BrPAHs ranged 580 (272-962) and 494 (161-936) pg m(-2) day(-1), respectively, at a regional background site, Kosetice, and 547 (351-724) and 449 (202-758) pg m(-2) day(-1), respectively, at a semi-urban site, Praha-Libus. These fluxes are similar to those of PCBs and more than 2 orders of magnitude lower than those of the parent PAHs in the region. Seasonal variations of the deposition fluxes of these halogenated PAHs were found with maxima in summer and autumn, and minima in winter at Kosetice, but vice versa at Praha-Libus. The distribution of ClPAHs and BrPAHs between the particulate and dissolved phases in deposition samples suggests higher degradability of particulate BrFlt/Pyr and BrBaA than of the corresponding ClPAHs. A number of congeners were detected for the first time in the atmospheric environment
Electrically bioactive coating on Ti with bi-layered SnO2-TiO2 hetero-structure for improving osteointegration
SnO2–TiO2 surface with the bi-layered structure on Ti provides internal electric stimulation to promote osteointegration of implant.</p
Quantitatively analyzing the failure processes of rechargeable Li metal batteries.
Practical use of lithium (Li) metal for high–energy density lithium metal batteries has been prevented by the continuous formation of Li dendrites, electrochemically isolated Li metal, and the irreversible formation of solid electrolyte interphases (SEIs). Differentiating and quantifying these inactive Li species are key to understand the failure mode. Here, using operando nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy together with ex situ titration gas chromatography (TGC) and mass spectrometry titration (MST) techniques, we established a solid foundation for quantifying the evolution of dead Li metal and SEI separately. The existence of LiH is identified, which causes deviation in the quantification results of dead Li metal obtained by these three techniques. The formation of inactive Li under various operating conditions has been studied quantitatively, which revealed a general “two-stage” failure process for the Li metal. The combined techniques presented here establish a benchmark to unravel the complex failure mechanism of Li metal
Enhanced Osseointegration of Hierarchically Structured Ti Implant with Electrically Bioactive SnO<sub>2</sub>-TiO<sub>2</sub> Bilayered Surface
The poor osseointegration
of Ti implant significantly compromise its application in load-bearing
bone repair and replacement. Electrically bioactive coating inspirited
from heterojunction on Ti implant can benefit osseointegration but
cannot avoid the stress shielding effect between bone and implant.
To resolve this conflict, hierarchically structured Ti implant with
electrically bioactive SnO2–TiO2 bilayered
surface has been developed to enhance osseointegration. Benefiting
from the electric cue offered by the built-in electrical field of
SnO2–TiO2 heterojunction and the topographic
cue provided by the hierarchical surface structure to bone regeneration,
the osteoblastic function of basic multicellular units around the
implant is significantly improved. Because the individual TiO2 or SnO2 coating with uniform surface exhibits
no electrical bioactivity, the effects of electric and topographic
cues to osseointegration have been decoupled via the analysis of in
vivo performance for the placed Ti implant with different surfaces.
The developed Ti implant shows significantly improved osseointegration
with excellent bone–implant contact, improved mineralization
of extracellular matrix, and increased push-out force. These results
suggest that the synergistic strategy of combing electrical bioactivity
with hierarchical surface structure provides a new platform for developing
advanced endosseous implants
Gate-tunable Topological Valley Transport in Bilayer Graphene
Valley pseudospin, the quantum degree of freedom characterizing the
degenerate valleys in energy bands, is a distinct feature of two-dimensional
Dirac materials. Similar to spin, the valley pseudospin is spanned by a time
reversal pair of states, though the two valley pseudospin states transform to
each other under spatial inversion. The breaking of inversion symmetry induces
various valley-contrasted physical properties; for instance, valley-dependent
topological transport is of both scientific and technological interests.
Bilayer graphene (BLG) is a unique system whose intrinsic inversion symmetry
can be controllably broken by a perpendicular electric field, offering a rare
possibility for continuously tunable valley-topological transport. Here, we
used a perpendicular gate electric field to break the inversion symmetry in
BLG, and a giant nonlocal response was observed as a result of the topological
transport of the valley pseudospin. We further showed that the valley transport
is fully tunable by external gates, and that the nonlocal signal persists up to
room temperature and over long distances. These observations challenge
contemporary understanding of topological transport in a gapped system, and the
robust topological transport may lead to future valleytronic applications
Roadmap on energy harvesting materials
Ambient energy harvesting has great potential to contribute to sustainable development and address growing environmental challenges. Converting waste energy from energy-intensive processes and systems (e.g. combustion engines and furnaces) is crucial to reducing their environmental impact and achieving net-zero emissions. Compact energy harvesters will also be key to powering the exponentially growing smart devices ecosystem that is part of the Internet of Things, thus enabling futuristic applications that can improve our quality of life (e.g. smart homes, smart cities, smart manufacturing, and smart healthcare). To achieve these goals, innovative materials are needed to efficiently convert ambient energy into electricity through various physical mechanisms, such as the photovoltaic effect, thermoelectricity, piezoelectricity, triboelectricity, and radiofrequency wireless power transfer. By bringing together the perspectives of experts in various types of energy harvesting materials, this Roadmap provides extensive insights into recent advances and present challenges in the field. Additionally, the Roadmap analyses the key performance metrics of these technologies in relation to their ultimate energy conversion limits. Building on these insights, the Roadmap outlines promising directions for future research to fully harness the potential of energy harvesting materials for green energy anytime, anywhere
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