PEDOT:PSS Conductivity Enhancement through Addition of the Surfactant Tween 80.

Replacement of indium tin oxide with the intrinsically conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) has been of significant interest in recent years as a result of lower processing and material costs. In addition, the inclusion of additives has been reported to further enhance the conductivity, rheology, and wettability of PEDOT:PSS. In this study, Tween 80 was shown to decrease the sheet resistance of PEDOT:PSS films from approximately 1000 to 76 Ω□ at a 2.

The Effect of a Secondary Process on the Analysis of Isothermal Crystallisation Kinetics by Differential Scanning Calorimetry.

This paper demonstrates the application of a modified Avrami equation in the analysis of crystallisation curves obtained using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The model incorporates a square root of time dependence of the secondary process into the conventional Avrami equation and, although previously validated using laser flash analysis and infrared spectroscopy, is not currently transferable to DSC. Application of the model to calorimetric data required long-duration isotherms and a series of data treatments.

Crosslinker Copolymerization for Property Control in Inverse Vulcanization.

Sulfur is an underused by-product of the petrochemicals industry. Recent research into inverse vulcanization has shown how this excess sulfur can be transformed into functional polymers, by stabilization with organic crosslinkers. For these interesting new materials to realize their potential for applications, more understanding and control of their physical properties is needed.

Formulation of a covalently bonded hydroxyapatite and poly(ether ether ketone) composite.

Spinal fusion devices can be fabricated from composites based on combining hydroxyapatite and poly(ether ether ketone) phases. These implants serve as load-bearing scaffolds for the formation of new bone tissue between adjacent vertebrae. In this work, we report a novel approach to covalently bond hydroxyapatite and poly(ether ether ketone) to produce a novel composite formulation with enhanced interfacial adhesion between phases.

Active screen plasma surface modification of polycaprolactone to improve cell attachment.

To tailor polycaprolactone (PCL) surface properties for biomedical applications, film samples of PCL were surface modified by the active screen plasma nitriding (ASPN) technique. The chemical composition and structure were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The wettability of the surface modified polymers was investigated by contact angle and surface energy methods.

Effect of sterilisation by gamma irradiation on the ability of polycaprolactone (PCL) to act as a scaffold material.

This paper investigates the effect of sterilisation by gamma irradiation (dose 2.5Mrad) on the following properties of polycaprolactone (PCL): (1) degradation rate (catalysed by lipase), (2) mechanical properties, (3) the ability of cells to attach and subsequently grow on its surface. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) was used to determine the effects of gamma irradiation of weight average (M(w)) and number average (M(n)) molecular weights.