Interface and Morphology Engineered Amorphous Si for Ultrafast Electrochemical Lithium Storage.

Ultrafast high-capacity lithium-ion batteries are extremely desirable for portable electronic devices, where Si is the most promising alternative to the conventional graphite anode due to its very high theoretical capacity. However, the low electronic conductivity and poor Li-diffusivity limit its rate capability. Moreover, high volume expansion/contraction upon Li-intake/uptake causes severe pulverization of the electrode, leading to drastic capacity fading.

Core-Shell Structured Antimicrobial Nanofiber Dressings Containing Herbal Extract and Antibiotics Combination for the Prevention of Biofilms and Promotion of Cutaneous Wound Healing.

Burn wounds are susceptible to microbial invasion from both resident and exogenous bacteria, which becomes a critical public health issue and causes substantial economic burden. There is a perceived demand to produce new antimicrobial wound dressings that hinder bacterial colonization while accelerating the healing process and hence would provide an improved standard of care for patients. Since ancient times, herbal extracts from medicinally important plants have extensively been used for treating burn injuries.

Electrochemical properties of vertically aligned graphenes: tailoring heterogeneous electron transfer through manipulation of the carbon microstructure.

The electrochemical response of different morphologies (microstructures) of vertically aligned graphene (VG) configurations is reported. Electrochemical properties are analysed using the outer-sphere redox probes Ru(NH) (RuHex) and ,,','-tetramethyl--phenylenediamine (TMPD), with performances de-convoluted accompanying physicochemical characterisation (Raman, TEM, SEM, AFM and XPS). The VG electrodes are fabricated using an electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapour deposition (ECR-CVD) methodology, creating vertical graphene with a range of differing heights, spacing and edge plane like-sites/defects (supported upon underlying SiO/Si).

Poly-ε-Caprolactone/Gelatin Hybrid Electrospun Composite Nanofibrous Mats Containing Ultrasound Assisted Herbal Extract: Antimicrobial and Cell Proliferation Study.

Electrospun fibers have emerged as promising materials in the field of biomedicine, due to their superior physical and cell supportive properties. In particular, electrospun mats are being developed for advanced wound dressing applications. Such applications require the firers to possess excellent antimicrobial properties in order to inhibit potential microbial colonization from resident and non-resident bacteria.

Antimicrobial properties and biocompatibility of electrospun poly-ε-caprolactone fibrous mats containing Gymnema sylvestre leaf extract.

Wound care management presents one of the substantial and tenacious challenges to the healthcare systems worldwide. Microbial colonization and subsequent biofilm formation after injury have garnered much attention, as there is an appreciable correlation between biofilms formation and delayed healing in chronic wounds. Nanotechnology has emerged as a potential platform for the management of treating acute and chronic wounds.

Robust water repellent ZnO nanorod array by Swift Heavy Ion Irradiation: Effect of Electronic Excitation Induced Local Chemical State Modification.

Tailoring the surface properties by varying the chemistry and roughness could be of interest for self-cleaning applications. We demonstrate the transformation of hydrophobic ZnO Nano rod (NR) array into superhydrophobic nature by changing the local chemical state and without altering the surface roughness by swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiation. The aligned ZnO NR arrays were irradiated using 150 MeV Ag ions with different fluences from 5E10 to 3E12 ions/cm.

Hybrid Gas Sensing and Transport Properties of Few-Walled CNTs Decorated with Discrete SnO₂ Nanoparticles.

CVD grown, few walled carbon nanotubes (FWCNTs) were quasi decorated with SnO₂nanoparticles (FWCNTs-SnO₂) and its gas sensing properties were analyzed with ammonia and ethanol. At room temperature FWCNTs-SnO₂show enhanced 'p type' gas sensing response than FWCNTs. Activation of SnO₂at high temperatures led to systematic changes in the sensing behavior towards 'n type' response.