Effects of Calcination Temperature on the Synthesis of One-Pot Sol-Gelled Barium Titanate Powder and Its Performance as an Endodontic Radiopacifier.

Barium titanate (BaTiO3, BTO), conventionally used for dielectric and ferroelectric applications, has been assessed for biomedical applications, such as its utilization as a radiopacifier in mineral trioxide aggregates (MTA) for endodontic treatment. In the present study, BTO powders were prepared using the sol-gel process, followed by calcination at 400-1100 °C. The X-ray diffraction technique was then used to examine the as-prepared powders to elucidate the effect of calcination on the phase composition and crystalline size of BTO. Calcined BTO powders were then used as radiopacifiers for MTA. MTA-like cements were investigated to determine the optimal calcination temperature based on the radiopacity and diametral tensile strength (DTS). The experimental results showed that the formation of BTO phase was observed after calcination at temperatures of 600 °C and above. The calcined powders were a mixture of BaTiO3 phase with residual BaCO3 and/or Ba2TiO4 phases. The performance of MTA-like cements with BTO addition increased with increasing calcination temperature up to 1000 °C. The radiopacity, however, decreased after 7 days of simulated oral environmental storage, whereas an increase in DTS was observed. Optimal MTA-like cement was obtained by adding 40 wt.% 1000 °C-calcined BTO powder, with its resulting radiopacity and DTS at 4.83 ± 0.61 mmAl and 2.86 ± 0.33 MPa, respectively. After 7 days, the radiopacity decreased slightly to 4.69 ± 0.51 mmAl, accompanied by an increase in DTS to 3.13 ± 0.70 MPa. The optimal cement was biocompatible and verified using MG 63 and L929 cell lines, which exhibited cell viability higher than 95%.

Improvement of the Thermal Conductivity and Mechanical Properties of 3D-Printed Polyurethane Composites by Incorporating Hydroxylated Boron Nitride Functional Fillers.

Recently, the use of fused deposition modeling (FDM) in the three-dimensional (3D) printing of thermal interface materials (TIMs) has garnered increasing attention. Because fillers orient themselves along the direction of the melt flow during printing, this method could effectively enhance the thermal conductivity of existing composite materials. However, the poor compatibility and intensive aggregation of h-BN fillers in polymer composites are still detrimental to their practical application in thermally conductive materials. In this study, hydroxyl-functionalized boron nitride (OH-BN) particles were prepared by chemical modification and ultrasonic-assisted liquid-phase exfoliation to explore their impact on the surface compatibility, mechanical properties and the final anisotropic thermal conductivity of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) composites fabricated by FDM printing. The results show that the surface-functionalized OH-BN fillers are homogeneously dispersed in the TPU matrix via hydrogen bonding interactions, which improve the interfacial adhesion between the filler and matrix. For the same concentration of loaded filler, the OH-BN/TPU composites exhibit better mechanical properties and thermal conductivities than composites incorporating non-modified h-BN. These composites also show higher heat conduction along the stand-vertical direction, while simultaneously exhibiting a low dielectric constant and dielectric loss. This work therefore provides a possible strategy for the fabrication of thermal management polymers using 3D-printing methods.

A study on Ti-doped Fe3O4 anode for Li ion battery using machine learning, electrochemical and distribution function of relaxation times (DFRTs) analyses.

Among many transition-metal oxides, Fe3O4 anode based lithium ion batteries (LIBs) have been well-investigated because of their high energy and high capacity. Iron is known for elemental abundance and is relatively environmentally friendly as well contains with low toxicity. However, LIBs based on Fe3O4 suffer from particle aggregation during charge-discharge processes that affects the cycling performance. This study conjectures that iron agglomeration and material performance could be affected by dopant choice, and improvements are sought with Fe3O4 nanoparticles doped with 0.2% Ti. The electrochemical measurements show a stable specific capacity of 450 mAh g-1 at 0.1 C rate for at least 100 cycles in Ti doped Fe3O4. The stability in discharge capacity for Ti doped Fe3O4 is achieved, arising from good electronic conductivity and stability in microstructure and crystal structure, which has been further confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculation. Detailed distribution function of relaxation times (DFRTs) analyses based on the impedance spectra reveal two different types of Li ion transport phenomena, which are closely related with the electron density difference near the two Fe-sites. Detailed analyses on EIS measurements using DFRTs for Ti doped Fe3O4 indicate that improvement in interfacial charge transfer processes between electrode and Li metal along with an intermediate lithiated phase helps to enhance the electrochemical performance.

Generation of Self-Assembled 3D Network in TPU by Insertion of Al2O3/h-BN Hybrid for Thermal Conductivity Enhancement.

Thermal management has become one of the crucial factors in designing electronic equipment and therefore creating composites with high thermal conductivity is necessary. In this work, a new insight on hybrid filler strategy is proposed to enhance the thermal conductivity in Thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU). Firstly, spherical aluminium oxide/hexagonal boron nitride (ABN) functional hybrid fillers are synthesized by the spray drying process. Then, ABN/TPU thermally conductive composite material is produced by melt mixing and hot pressing. Then, ABN/TPU thermally conductive composite material is produced by melt mixing and hot pressing. Our results demonstrate that the incorporation of spherical hybrid ABN filler assists in the formation of a three-dimensional continuous heat conduction structure that enhances the thermal conductivity of the neat thermoplastic TPU matrix. Hence, we present a valuable method for preparing the thermal interface materials (TIMs) with high thermal conductivity, and this method can also be applied to large-scale manufacturing.

The effect of processing parameters on the synthesis of tungsten oxide nanomaterials by a modified plasma arc gas condensation technique.

In the present study, tungsten oxide nanomaterials were synthesized by a modified plasma arc gas condensation technique. The effects of processing parameters (plasma current ranged from 70-90 A and chamber pressure ranged from 200-600 torr) on the preparation of tungsten oxide nanomaterials were investigated. X-ray diffraction results showed that all of the nanomaterials synthesized in the present study exhibited W5O14 phase. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy examinations revealed that the tungsten oxide nanomaterials were equiaxed when prepared at a relatively low plasma current of 70 A, and turned into rod-like nanoparticles with increasing plasma current (80 or 90 A). Generally, the relative amount, diameter, and length of tungsten oxide nanorods increased with increasing plasma currents or chamber pressures. The aspect ratio of the as-prepared tungsten oxide nanorods reached a maximum of 12.7 when a plasma current of 90 A and a chamber pressure of 400 torr were used. A growth mechanism for tungsten oxide nanorods was proposed.

Spherical Composite Powder by Coupling Polymethyl Methacrylate and Boron Nitride via Spray Drying for Cosmetic Application.

In the present study, spherical composite powder was successfully prepared via spray drying process using polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) powders. The pristine and as-prepared composite powders were examined using scanning electron microscopy, a particle size analyzer, oil absorption, and specific surface area analyses. These powders were then mixed with linseed oil to prepare samples for UV-Visible-Near Infrared spectroscopy investigation to determine their light absorption ability. Blank and powder-added blemish balm creams were examined using a sun protection factor tester and a thermal conductivity tester. In addition, transmittances of these creams were also evaluated. The experimental results show that spray-dried spherical composite powder exhibited good oil absorption ability. The blemish balm cream with 10 wt.% spray-dried composite powder not only exhibited superior sunscreen protection ability, but also good thermal conductivity.

Development of Thermally Conductive Polyurethane Composite by Low Filler Loading of Spherical BN/PMMA Composite Powder.

The issue of electronic heat dissipation has received much attention in recent times and has become one of the key factors in electronic components such as circuit boards. Therefore, designing of materials with good thermal conductivity is vital. In this work, a thermally conductive SBP/PU composite was prepared wherein the spherical h-BN@PMMA (SBP) composite powders were dispersed in the polyurethane (PU) matrix. The thermal conductivity of SBP was found to be significantly higher than that of the pure h-BN/PU composite at the same h-BN filler loading. The SBP/PU composite can reach a high thermal conductivity of 7.3 Wm-1 K-1 which is twice as high as that of pure h-BN/PU composite without surface treatment in the same condition. This enhancement in the property can be attributed to the uniform dispersion of SBP in the PU polymer matrix that leads to a three-dimensional continuous heat conduction thereby improving the heat diffusion of the entire composite. Hence, we provide a valuable method for preparing a 3-dimensional heat flow path in polyurethane composite, leading to a high thermal conductivity with a small amount of filler.