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ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Sep 2022One of the long-standing problems in materials science is how to predict a material's structure and then its properties given only its composition. Experimental...
One of the long-standing problems in materials science is how to predict a material's structure and then its properties given only its composition. Experimental characterization of crystal structures has been widely used for structure determination, which is, however, too expensive for high-throughput screening. At the same time, directly predicting crystal structures from compositions remains a challenging unsolved problem. Herein we propose a deep learning algorithm for predicting the XRD spectrum given only the composition of a material, which can then be used to infer key structural features for downstream structural analysis such as crystal system or space group classification or crystal lattice parameter determination or materials property prediction. Benchmark studies on two data sets show that our DeepXRD algorithm can achieve good performance for XRD prediction as evaluated over our test sets. It can thus be used in high-throughput screening in the huge materials composition space for materials discovery.
PubMed: 36018289
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c05812 -
Small (Weinheim An Der Bergstrasse,... Jun 2020The fabrication of silicon (Si) anode materials derived from high silica-containing plants enables effective utilization of subsidiary agricultural products. However,...
The fabrication of silicon (Si) anode materials derived from high silica-containing plants enables effective utilization of subsidiary agricultural products. However, the electrochemical performances of synthesized Si materials still require improvement and thus need further structural design and morphology modifications, which inevitably increase preparation time and economic cost. Here, the conversion of corn leaves into Si anode materials is reported via a simple aluminothermic reduction reaction without other modifications. The obtained Si material inherits the structural characteristics of the natural corn leaf template and has many inherent advantages, such as high porosity, amorphous/crystalline mixture structure, and high-valence SiO residuals, which significantly enhance the material's structural stability and electrode adhesive strength, resulting in superior electrochemical performances. Rate capability tests show that the material delivers a high capacity of 1200 mA h g at 8 A g current density. After 300 cycles at 0.5 A g , the material maintains a high specific capacity of 2100 mA h g , with nearly 100% capacity retention during long-term cycling. This study provides an economical route for the industrial production of Si anode materials for Lithium-Ion batteries.
Topics: Biomass; Electrodes; Lithium; Plant Leaves; Silicon; Zea mays
PubMed: 32419373
DOI: 10.1002/smll.202001714 -
The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry Aug 2001This article is an evidence-based tutorial on the principles of biocompatibility. Although the technical issues of biocompatibility may seem beyond the scope of most... (Review)
Review
This article is an evidence-based tutorial on the principles of biocompatibility. Although the technical issues of biocompatibility may seem beyond the scope of most practicing dentists, knowledge of these issues is fundamentally important to ensure the health of patients, dental staff members (including laboratory personnel), and practitioners themselves. Furthermore, the legal liability of dentists is often linked to biocompatibility issues. The biocompatibility of a material is not absolute; it must be measured with regard to the way the material is used. Measuring biocompatibility is a complex process that involves in vitro and in vivo tests. These tests contribute to understanding biologic responses to a material but cannot define the material's biocompatibility with 100% certainty. Practitioners should understand enough about biocompatibility testing methods to critically judge advertising claims and ask relevant questions of manufacturers. Because there is no infallible way to assess biologic response to a material, decisions about the clinical use of a material ultimately must weigh the biologic risks of a material against its potential benefits.
Topics: Biocompatible Materials; Dental Materials; Humans; Materials Testing
PubMed: 11514810
DOI: 10.1067/mpr.2001.117056 -
Injury Dec 2008To determine staff opinions on the application of a sample of seven commercially available casting materials.
AIM
To determine staff opinions on the application of a sample of seven commercially available casting materials.
METHODS
The casting materials were supplied for an exclusive 6-week period to individual hospital departments for sole use in cast applications. Each time a staff member applied a cast they completed a blinded evaluation form to assess the following features of the material's performance: *ease with which the material unrolled; *ease with which the peg remained central on the roll; *effectiveness with which the POP casts adhered to the gauze; *stringiness of the material; *how well the material moulded; *how well the material set. The staff member also noted whether, based on their experience, they would be happy to use the material on a daily basis or not.
RESULTS
A total of 638 evaluation forms were completed for the purpose of this study. Of these, 183 related to POP and 455 were synthetic. Significant differences were identified between the application of POP and synthetic casts and also between the different types of material within each of these categories. Of those staff who expressed a preference, 78% said they would be happy to use POP casts on a daily basis compared to 44% happy to use synthetic casts daily. Of those happy to use POP casts 40% were happy to use Cellona, 90% Gypsona and 40% Conforma. Of those happy to use synthetic casts 20% were happy to use Cellacast, 38% Dynacast, 98% Scotchcast and 10% Deltalite. 22% of staff who expressed a preference objected to the daily use of POP casts compared to 56% who objected to synthetic casts.
CONCLUSION
This study has identified significant differences in application between POP casts and synthetic casts as well as between individual materials within each category. However, staff using casting materials can reach a consensus opinion on the best material to work with. When choosing a casting material, therefore, it is important to consider the application characteristics of the individual material in addition to other factors such as cost and strength. Overall, Gypsona and Scotchcast were the highest scoring materials.
Topics: Casts, Surgical; Equipment Design; Humans; Materials Testing; Medical Staff; Pliability; Prospective Studies; Tensile Strength; Weight-Bearing
PubMed: 18572172
DOI: 10.1016/j.injury.2008.02.022 -
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics :... Nov 2018The most common methods to evaluate hydrogen sorption (volumetric and gravimetric) require significant experience and expensive equipment for providing reproducible...
The most common methods to evaluate hydrogen sorption (volumetric and gravimetric) require significant experience and expensive equipment for providing reproducible results. Both methods allow one to measure excess uptake values which are used to calculate the total amount of hydrogen stored inside of a tank as required for applications. Here we propose an easy to use and inexpensive alternative approach which allows one to evaluate directly the weight of hydrogen inside a material-filled test tank. The weight of the same tank filled with compressed hydrogen in the absence of loaded material is used as a reference. We argue that the only parameter which is of importance for hydrogen storage applications is by how much the material improves the total weight of hydrogen inside of the given volume compared to compressed gas. This parameter which we propose to name Gain includes both volumetric and gravimetric characterization of the material; it can be determined directly without knowing the skeletal volume of the material or excess sorption. The feasibility of the Gravimetric Tank (GT) method was tested using several common carbon and Metal Organic Framework (MOF) materials. The best Gain value of ∼12% was found for the Cu-BTC MOF which means that the tank completely filled with this material stores a 12% higher amount of hydrogen compared to H2 gas at the same P-T conditions. The advantages of the GT method are its inexpensive design, extremely simple procedures and direct results in terms of tank capacity as required for industrial applications. The GT method could be proposed as a standard check for verification of the high hydrogen storage capacity of new materials. The GT method is expected to provide even better accuracy for evaluation of a material's performance for storage of denser gases like e.g. CO2 and CH4.
PubMed: 30382273
DOI: 10.1039/c8cp05241g -
3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing Jun 2021A biobased composite material with heat-triggered shape memory ability was successfully formulated for three-dimensional (3D) printing. It was produced from cellulose...
A biobased composite material with heat-triggered shape memory ability was successfully formulated for three-dimensional (3D) printing. It was produced from cellulose nanocrystals and cellulose micro-powder particles within a bioderived thermally cured polyester matrix based on glycerol, citric acid, and sebacic acid. The effect of curing duration on the material's shape memory behavior was quantified by using two thermo-mechanical approaches to measure recovery: (1) displacement in three-point bending and (2) angular recovery from a beam bent at 90° in a single cantilever setup. Extending curing duration increased the material's glass-transition temperature from -26°C after 6 h to 13°C after 72 h of curing. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the associated progressive conversion of functional groups consistent with polyester formation. Slow recovery rates and low levels of shape recovery (22-70%) were found for samples cured less than 24 h. Those results also indicated a high dependence on the measurement approach. In contrast, samples cured for 48 and 72 h exhibited faster recovery rates, a significantly higher recovery percentage (90-100%) and were less sensitive to the measurement approach. Results demonstrated that once a sufficient curing threshold was achieved, additional curing time could be used to tune the material glass-transition temperature and create heat-triggered 3D-printed products.
PubMed: 36654660
DOI: 10.1089/3dp.2020.0166 -
Cureus Aug 2023Addition silicones have revolutionized the field of fixed prosthodontics because of their dimensional stability, sufficient tear strength and excellent detail... (Review)
Review
Addition silicones have revolutionized the field of fixed prosthodontics because of their dimensional stability, sufficient tear strength and excellent detail reproduction. This review study aims to provide a detailed description of the essential variables to be taken into account during the process of making addition silicone impressions in fixed prosthodontics. These variables include the selection of appropriate tray type, size, and fabrication; the use of tray adhesive; gingival displacement techniques; manipulation of the impression material; the choice of the impression material's viscosity; impression techniques; and the proper insertion, removal, disinfection, and pouring of the cast. Additionally, this review aims to help doctors produce high-quality impressions by empowering them to critically assess the impressions to spot mistakes and motivating them to redo impressions that have serious problems before submitting them to the laboratory.
PubMed: 37746395
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.44014 -
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Sep 2023Prussian white (PW) is considered one of the most promising cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries because of its large ion diffusion channels, low lattice strain,... (Review)
Review
Prussian white (PW) is considered one of the most promising cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries because of its large ion diffusion channels, low lattice strain, facile preparation, nontoxicity, and low cost. At present, research on PW mainly focuses on optimizing the material's structures for the ambient environment yet less on its practical application under extreme temperatures. In this Spotlight, we intend to offer progress we have made in developing PW cathode materials working over wide temperatures in terms of intrinsic feasibility and development prospects. These findings provide a direction to promote the practical viability of PW under extreme conditions.
PubMed: 37708368
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c08521 -
Heliyon Jun 2023Diabetic foot ulcer is a chronic health issue leading to lower leg amputations in approximately 15% of patients with diabetics. There are many factors directly or...
Diabetic foot ulcer is a chronic health issue leading to lower leg amputations in approximately 15% of patients with diabetics. There are many factors directly or indirectly involved in the physiology of wound healing but being a multisystem disorder, wound healing in diabetic patients retard or worsen with heavy exudates and severe microbial infections. Wound management is of prime importance and is an emerging area to incorporate wound regenerative materials in natural or synthetic dressing materials along with proper microbial control. The article aim to identify suitable dressing materials which exhibit inherent wound healing properties at the same time flexible to be used as drug carriers for slow, consistent and effective delivery of 'functional drugs' to the wound environment. The authors selected nine materials from the popular and well accepted dressings of patient choice, analyzed them using graph theoretic approach and ranked them on the basis of graph index values obtained. A critical review has also been done on the basis of their ranking, providing insights to the advantages, disadvantage and potential of top 5 ranked candidate materials. Alginate, Honey, Medifoam, Saline, and Hydrogel dressings were the top five candidate materials ranked respectively, even then, the authors suggests that 'modified hydrogels' can have the potential to be used as a future candidate in DFU treatment as it is the only material (among the top ranked ones) which can effectively used as regenerative drug carrier, while providing all other wound healing properties in relative proportions. The proposed framework can be modified and applied in the selection and ranking of materials for any kind of applications both in industry and medical fields by identifying factors influencing the final outcome of study and by listing the characteristics of the materials selected.
PubMed: 37292346
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16476 -
Materials (Basel, Switzerland) Jan 2021The paper deals with the possibility of applying physical methods to detect a thermally degraded recycled material in plastic parts made of polypropylene. Standard...
The paper deals with the possibility of applying physical methods to detect a thermally degraded recycled material in plastic parts made of polypropylene. Standard methods of evaluating the mechanical properties of the material under static tensile and bending stress, as well as under dynamic impact stress using the Charpy method, were used for the experimental measurements. The rheological properties of materials were monitored using a method involving measuring the melt flow index, while their thermal properties and oxidative stability were monitored using differential scanning calorimetry. Based on the methods used, it can be clearly stated that the most suitable technique for detecting thermally degraded recycled material in polypropylene is the method involving establishing the melt flow index. The bending test seems to be the most suitable method for detecting recycled material by measuring the material's mechanical properties. Similarly to the melt volume flow rate (MVR) method, it was possible to unambiguously detect the presence of even a small amount of recycled material in the whole from measuring the material's bending properties. It is clear from the results that in the short term, there may be no change in the useful properties of the parts, but in the long term the presence of degraded recycled material will have adverse consequences on their lifespan.
PubMed: 33498867
DOI: 10.3390/ma14030552