Assessing Information Resource Access and Habits Among Pharmacists

Pharmacy students are taught how to find, use, and evaluate information in order to answer clinical questions, yet little is known about which resources they will have access to once they are working and how those resources align with what they were exposed to during the curriculum. This study is meant to identify gaps between the resources taught in pharmacy programs and those available in practice. By better understanding what resources pharmacists have access to, curriculum can be better aligned to support evidence-based practice

Mechanical properties and characterization of epoxy composites containing highly entangled as-received and acid treated carbon nanotubes

Huntsman–Merrimack MIRALON® carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a novel, highly entan-gled, commercially available, and scalable format of nanotubes. As-received and acid-treated CNTs were added to aerospace grade epoxy (CYCOM® 977-3), and the composites were characterized. The epoxy resin is expected to infiltrate the network of the CNTs and could improve mechanical properties. Epoxy composites were tested for flexural and viscoelastic properties and the as-re-ceived and acid treated CNTs were characterized using Field-Emission Scanning and Transmission Electron Microscopy, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, and Thermogravimetric Analysis. Composites containing 0.4 wt% as-received CNTs showed an increase in flexural strength, from 136.9 MPa for neat epoxy to 147.5 MPa. In addition, the flexural modulus increased from 3.88 GPa for the neat epoxy to 4.24 GPa and 4.49 GPa for the 2.0 wt% and 3.0 wt% as-received CNT/epoxy compo-sites, respectively. FE-SEM micrographs indicated good dispersion of the CNTs in the as-received CNT/epoxy composites and the 10 M nitric acid 6 h treatment at 120 °C CNT/epoxy composites. CNTs treated with 10 M nitric acid for 6 h at 120 °C added oxygen containing functional groups (C– O, C=O, and O=C–O) and removed iron catalyst present on the as-received CNTs, but the flexural properties were not improved compared to the as-received CNT/epoxy composites

Characterization of multidirectional carbon-nanotube-yarn/bismaleimide laminates under tensile loading

Unidirectional, cross-ply, and quasi-isotropic composite laminates are made from continuous carbon nanotube (CNT) yarns with bismaleimide (BMI) resin. The laminates are highly graphitic and have low resin content. Elastic modulus and strength of CNT/BMI laminates and IM7/8552 carbon-epoxy laminates are measured using a scaled-down tensile test method. For CNT/BMI laminates, the variation in the measured tensile modulus is high and the laminates fail in a more gradual manner than IM7/8552 laminates. Microscopy of the failed specimens indicates that intra-yarn splitting is a common feature in all CNT/BMI laminates tested. The results of this investigation will inform the development of CNT yarn reinforced composites for structural applications

Synergistic effect of the anti-solvent bath method and improved annealing conditions for high-quality triple cation perovskite thin films

One step solution processing together with anti-solvent engineering is a tested route in producing high-quality perovskite films due to its simplicity and low fabrication costs. Commercialization of perovskites will require replacing the anti-solvent drip process and lowering annealing temperatures to decrease the energy payback time. In this work, we successfully replace the anti-solvent drip with the anti-solvent bath (ASB) method through balancing the methylammonium (MA) and formamidinium (FA) cations to produce high-quality cesium (Cs)/FA/MA triple cation perovskite films. Furthermore, the annealing parameters of Cs0.05FA0.16MA0.79PbI2.7Br0.3are enhanced to allow for a low-temperature fabrication process when paired with the ASB method. This resulted in the formation of remarkable films with micrometer grains and few defects. Self-powered photodetectors were constructed using the improved conditions, resulting in devices that exhibited a low dark current, an on/off ratio of \u3e103, and a rapid rise time of 12.4 µs. The conclusion of this work shows that ASB can be applied to triple cation perovskites and in using this method, the previously established optimal annealing temperature is lowered

Scalable High Tensile Modulus Composite Laminates Using Carbon Nanotube Yarns

A novel approach is established for fabricating high-strength and high-stiffness composite laminates with continuous carbon nanotube (CNT) yarns for scaled-up mechanical tests and potential engineering applications. Continuous CNT yarns with up to 80% degree of nanotube alignment and a unique self-assembled graphitic CNT packing result in their specific tensile strengths up to 1.9 N/tex. Unidirectional CNT yarn reinforced composite laminates with a CNT concentration of greater than 80 wt.% and minimal microscale voids are fabricated using filament winding and aerospace-grade resin matrices. A specific tensile strength of up to 1.71 GPa/(g cm-3) and a specific modulus of 256 GPa/(g cm-3) are realized; the specific modulus exceeds current state-of-the-art IM7, T1100G and even M60J unidirectional carbon fiber composite laminates. The results demonstrate an effective approach transferring high-strength CNT yarns into composites for applications that require specific tensile modulus properties that are significantly beyond state-of-the-art carbon fiber composites, and potentially open a new performance region in the Ashby chart for composite material applications

Gamma-ray irradiation to achieve high tensile performance of unidirectional CNT yarn laminates

Continuous carbon nanotube (CNT) yarn fabricated from a floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD) method is treated under gamma-ray irradiation to enhance the mechanical properties of the CNT yarn and its unidirectional composite laminates. Gammy-ray doses varying from 50 kGy to 1200 kGy are used to irradiate CNT yarns and their microstructures, tensile properties and surface characterizations are studied. The graphitic structure change is not clear from the transmission electron microscopy, however, the specific tensile strength and modulus of yarn vary slightly within 10 % as the dose increased. This modulus trend coincides with mesoscopic distinct element modeling (mDEM) simulation results. Surface characterization shows additional oxygen functional groups and smaller contact angles after irradiation. Interestingly, the specific tensile properties of composite laminates also increase relative to the yarns, and the unidirectional laminate from CNT yarn treated with the optimal dose of 700 kGy achieves specific strength and modulus as high as 1.89 GPa/gcm−3 and 258 GPa/gcm−3, respectively, which are 30.9 % and 37 % increases compared to the control laminate. The results indicate that radiation-induced crosslinking among the CNTs and the formation of surface-active sites leads to enhanced load transfer in the yarns and promote CNT/resin interfacial bonding