Parametric study on the stabilization of metal oxide nanoparticles in organic solvents: A case study with indium tin oxide (ITO) and heptane

Fibrous wearable and implantable bioelectronics

Fibrous wearable and implantable devices have emerged as a promising technology, offering a range of new solutions for minimally invasive monitoring of human health. Compared to traditional biomedical devices, fibers offer a possibility for a modular design compatible with large-scale manufacturing and a plethora of advantages including mechanical compliance, breathability, and biocompatibility. The new generation of fibrous biomedical devices can revolutionize easy-to-use and accessible health monitoring systems by serving as building blocks for most common wearables such as fabrics and clothes. Despite significant progress in the fabrication, materials, and application of fibrous biomedical devices, there is still a notable absence of a comprehensive and systematic review on the subject. This review paper provides an overview of recent advancements in the development of fibrous wearable and implantable electronics. We categorized these advancements into three main areas: manufacturing processes, platforms, and applications, outlining their respective merits and limitations. The paper concludes by discussing the outlook and challenges that lie ahead for fiber bioelectronics, providing a holistic view of its current stage of development.

Coupled Oxides/LLDPE Composites for Textile Effluent Treatment: Effect of Neem and PVA Stabilization

The polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and neem extract were grafted onto coupled oxides (3ZT-CO) via reflux process to stabilize the particles to form 3ZT-CO/PVA and 3ZT-CO/Neem. These were then incorporated into LLDPE by melt blending process to give LLDPE/3ZT-CO/PVA and LLDPE/3ZT-CO/Neem composites. The Neem and PVA stabilized particles showed high zeta potential and dispersed homogeneously in water. The stabilization process altered the shape of the particles due to plane growth along the (002) polar direction. The stabilizers acted as capping agents and initiated the one-dimensional growth. The alkyl chain groups from PVA increased the polarity of the LLDPE/3ZT-CO/PVA and played a dominant role in the water adsorption process to activate the photocatalytic activity. This was further enhanced by the homogeneous distribution of the particles and low degree of crystallinity (20.87%) of the LLDPE composites. LLDPE/3ZT-CO/PVA exhibited the highest photodegradation (93.95%), which was better than the non-stabilized particles. Therefore, the photocatalytic activity of a polymer composite can be enhanced by grafting PVA and neem onto couple oxides. The LLDPE/3ZT-CO/PVA composite was further used to treat textile effluent. The results showed the composite was able to remove dye color by 93.95% and to reduce biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) by 99.99%.

Treatment of oil sands produced water using combined electrocoagulation and chemical coagulation techniques

Hybrid electrocoagulation-chemical coagulation (EC-CC) process has attracted a growing attention for the removal of various types of wastewaters contaminants. In this paper, the feasibility of EC-CC technique as an alternative to conventional chemical processes for the treatment of steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) produced water has been systematically studied. Eight parameters, namely electrode material, cell configuration, pH and temperature of the solution, chemical coagulant dosage, intensity of the electrical current, mixing rate, and treatment time were studied. To explore the synergistic effect of the design parameters, the experimental trials were arranged using Taguchi method. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to evaluate the effect of each design parameter on the organic matter removal from the SAGD produced water. It was found that all parameters except the electrode arrangement had a significant effect on the removal efficiency of the EC-CC process. Among these parameters, the chemical coagulant and the treatment time had the most significant contribution to the efficiency by 40% and 26%, respectively. The optimum condition for the highest TOC removal efficiency (39.8%) was obtained by applying 0.34 A to Al electrode in a bipolar (BP) configuration when the pH, temperature, coagulant concentration, mixing rate, and reaction time were set to 8, 60 °C, 200 mg/L, 700 rpm, and 90 min, respectively. Moreover, a second-order polynomial regression model was proposed to predict the removal efficiency in terms of design parameters. An excellent agreement between the model predictions and experimental data was obtained with the adjusted R² of about 99%.