Layer-by-layer deposition of open-pore mesoporous TiO 2- Nafion® film electrodes

The formation of variable thickness TiO2 nanoparticle-Nafion® composite films with open pores is demonstrated via a layer-by-layer deposition process. Films of about 6 nm diameter TiO2 nanoparticles grow in the presence of Nafion® by “clustering” of nanoparticles into bigger aggregates, and the resulting hierarchical structure thickens with about 25 nm per deposition cycle. Film growth is characterized by electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and quartz crystal microbalance techniques. Simultaneous small-angle X-ray scattering and wide-angle X-ray scattering measurements for films before and after calcination demonstrate the effect of Nafion® binder causing aggregation. Electrochemical methods are employed to characterize the electrical conductivity and diffusivity of charge through the TiO2-Nafion® composite films. Characteristic electrochemical responses are observed for cationic redox systems (diheptylviologen2+/+, Ru(NH3)3+/2+6, and ferrocenylmethyl-trimethylammonium2+/+) immobilized into the TiO2-Nafion® nanocomposite material. Charge conduction is dependent on the type of redox system and is proposed to occur either via direct conduction through the TiO2 backbone (at sufficiently negative potentials) or via redox-center-based diffusion/electron hopping (at more positive potentials)

Impact of Gluma Desensitizer on the tensile strength of zirconia crowns bonded to dentin: an in vitro study

This study tested the impact of Gluma Desensitizer on the tensile strength of zirconia crowns bonded to dentin. Human teeth were prepared and randomly divided into six groups (N = 144, n = 24 per group). For each tooth, a zirconia crown was manufactured. The zirconia crowns were cemented with: (1) Panavia21 (PAN), (2) Panavia21 combined with Gluma Desensitizer (PAN-G), (3) RelyX Unicem (RXU), (4) RelyX Unicem combined with Gluma Desensitizer (RXU-G), (5) G-Cem (GCM) and (6) G-Cem combined with Gluma Desensitizer (GCM-G). The initial tensile strength was measured in half (n = 12) of each group and the other half (n = 12) subjected to a chewing machine (1.2 Mio, 49 N, 5°C/50°C). The cemented crowns were pulled in a Universal Testing Machine (1 mm/min, Zwick Z010) until failure occurred and tensile strength was calculated. Data were analyzed with one-way and two-way ANOVA followed by a post hoc Scheffé test, t test and Kaplan-Meier analysis with a Breslow-Gehan analysis test (α = 0.05). After the chewing simulation, the self-adhesive resin cements combined with Gluma Desensitizer showed significantly higher tensile strength (RXU-G, 12.8 ± 4.3 MPa; GCM-G, 13.4 ± 6.2 MPa) than PAN (7.3 ± 1.7 MPa) and PAN-G (0.9 ± 0.6). Within the groups, PAN, PAN-G and RXU resulted in significantly lower values when compared to the initial tensile strength; the values of all other test groups were stable. In this study, self-adhesive resin cements combined with Gluma Desensitizer reached better long-term stability compared to PAN and PAN-G after chewing simulation