Innovative Wearable Electronics: Next-Generation Nitrogen-Doped Lutetium-Carbon Microspheres Composites for Robust Energy Harvesting.

In the quest to advance wearable electronics, this study presents a novel method using nitrogen-doped lutetium-carbon microspheres (N, Lu-CMS) for high-performance piezoelectric energy harvesting. The synthesis of N, Lu-CMS begins with the polymerization of sucrose, followed by the preparation of N, Lu-CMS metal complexes through the incorporation of lutetium (III) nitrate hydrate and thiourea, yielding a black powder product. The wearable electronic device is designed with a silicon rubber (SR) matrix, reinforced with 0D fillers such as N, Lu-CMS, or molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂).

Unraveling the Electrochemical Insights of Cobalt Oxide/Conducting Polymer Hybrid Materials for Supercapacitor, Battery, and Supercapattery Applications.

This review article focuses on the potential of cobalt oxide composites with conducting polymers, particularly polypyrrole (PPy) and polyaniline (PANI), as advanced electrode materials for supercapacitors, batteries, and supercapatteries. Cobalt oxide, known for its high theoretical capacitance, is limited by poor conductivity and structural degradation during cycling. However, the integration of PPy and PANI has been proven to enhance the electrochemical performance through improved conductivity, increased pseudocapacitive effects, and enhanced structural integrity.

The Effect of Rubber-Metal Interactions on the Mechanical, Magneto-Mechanical, and Electrical Properties of Iron, Aluminum, and Hybrid Filler-Based Styrene-Butadiene Rubber Composites.

Multifunctional stretchable rubber composites are gaining attention due to their unique electrical, mechanical, and magnetic properties. However, their high production costs pose economic challenges. This study explores the use of cost-effective metal powders-iron, aluminum, and their 1:1 (vol/vol) hybrid filler-in styrene-butadiene rubber composites, varying from 10 to 20 vol%.

Multifunctional Aspects of Mechanical and Electromechanical Properties of Composites Based on Silicone Rubber for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Systems.

Energy harvesting systems fabricated from rubber composite materials are promising due to their ability to produce green energy with no environmental pollution. Thus, the present work investigated energy harvesting through piezoelectricity using rubber composites. These composites were fabricated by mixing titanium carbide (TiC) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS) as reinforcing and electrically conductive fillers into a silicone rubber matrix.

Review of Recent Progress on Silicone Rubber Composites for Multifunctional Sensor Systems.

The latest progress (the year 2021-2024) on multifunctional sensors based on silicone rubber is reported. These multifunctional sensors are useful for real-time monitoring through relative resistance, relative current change, and relative capacitance types. The present review contains a brief overview and literature survey on the sensors and their multifunctionalities.

Enhancing Rubber Vulcanization Cure Kinetics: Lowering Vulcanization Temperature by Addition of MgO as Co-Cure Activator in ZnO-Based Cure Activator Systems.

Vulcanization is a chemical modification of rubber that requires a considerable amount of thermal energy. To save thermal energy, the kinetics of rubber vulcanization should be improved. In this article, the curing properties of rubber vulcanization are thoroughly investigated using the moving die rheometer (MDR) technique.

Stretchable Magneto-Mechanical Configurations with High Magnetic Sensitivity Based on "Gel-Type" Soft Rubber for Intelligent Applications.

"Gel-type" soft and stretchable magneto-mechanical composites made of silicone rubber and iron particles are in focus because of their high magnetic sensitivity, and intelligence perspective. The "intelligence" mentioned here is related to the "smartness" of these magneto-rheological elastomers (MREs) to tune the "mechanical stiffness" and "output voltage" in energy-harvesting applications by switching magnetic fields. Hence, this work develops "gel-type" soft composites based on rubber reinforced with iron particles in a hybrid with piezoelectric fillers such as barium titanate.

Modulating the Configurations of "Gel-Type" Soft Silicone Rubber for Electro-Mechanical Energy Generation Behavior in Wearable Electronics.

Electro-mechanical configurations can be piezo-electric transducers, triboelectric generators, electromagnetic induction, or hybrid systems. Our present study aims at developing energy generation through the piezoelectric principle. Gel-type soft SR with Shore A hardness below 30 was used as a versatile material for an elastomeric substrate.

Fabrication of High-Performance Natural Rubber Composites with Enhanced Filler-Rubber Interactions by Stearic Acid-Modified Diatomaceous Earth and Carbon Nanotubes for Mechanical and Energy Harvesting Applications.

Mechanical robustness and high energy efficiency of composite materials are immensely important in modern stretchable, self-powered electronic devices. However, the availability of these materials and their toxicities are challenging factors. This paper presents the mechanical and energy-harvesting performances of low-cost natural rubber composites made of stearic acid-modified diatomaceous earth (mDE) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs).

Tailoring Triple Filler Systems for Improved Magneto-Mechanical Performance in Silicone Rubber Composites.

The demand for multi-functional elastomers is increasing, as they offer a range of desirable properties such as reinforcement, mechanical stretchability, magnetic sensitivity, strain sensing, and energy harvesting capabilities. The excellent durability of these composites is the key factor behind their promising multi-functionality. In this study, various composites based on multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), clay minerals (MT-Clay), electrolyte iron particles (EIP), and their hybrids were used to fabricate these devices using silicone rubber as the elastomeric matrix.

Nanocarbon Black and Molybdenum Disulfide Hybrid Filler System for the Enhancement of Fracture Toughness and Electromechanical Sensing Properties in the Silicone Rubber-Based Energy Harvester.

Recently, hybrid fillers have been found to be more advantageous in energy-harvesting composites. This study investigated the mechanical and electromechanical performances of silicone rubber-based composites made from hybrid fillers containing conductive nanocarbon black (NCB) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS). A hybrid filler system containing only 3 phr (per hundred grams of rubber) MoS and 17 phr NCB provided higher fracture strain, better tensile strength, and excellent toughness values compared to the 20 phr NCB-only-filled and 5 phr MoS-only-filled rubber composites.

Inflammatory Markers and Brain Volume in Patients with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.

Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by increased inflammatory processing and altered brain volume. In this study, we investigated the relationship between inflammatory markers and brain volume in patients with PTSD.

Methods: Forty-five patients with PTSD, and 70 healthy controls (HC) completed clinical assessments and self-reported psychopathology scales.

Advances in Rubber Compounds Using ZnO and MgO as Co-Cure Activators.

Zinc oxide performs as the best cure activator in sulfur-based vulcanization of rubber, but it is regarded as a highly toxic material for aquatic organisms. Hence, the toxic cure activator should be replaced by a non-toxic one. Still, there is no suitable alternative industrially.

New Insight into Rubber Composites Based on Graphene Nanoplatelets, Electrolyte Iron Particles, and Their Hybrid for Stretchable Magnetic Materials.

New and soft composites with good mechanical stretchability are constantly addressed in the literature due to their use in various industrial applications such as soft robotics. The stretchable magnetic materials presented in this work show a promising magnetic effect of up to 28% and improved magnetic sensitivity. The composites are soft in nature and possess hardness below 65.

Novel Rubber Composites Based on Copper Particles, Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes and Their Hybrid for Stretchable Devices.

New technologies are constantly addressed in the scientific community for updating novel stretchable devices, such as flexible electronics, electronic packaging, and piezo-electric energy-harvesting devices. The device promoted in the present work was found to generate promising ~6V and durability of >0.4 million cycles.

Treatment efficacy of tDCS and predictors of treatment response in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Background: Although transcranial direct stimulation (tDCS) has been proposed as an alternative treatment option for various psychiatric disorders, there is inconsistent information regarding the treatment effects of tDCS for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study aimed to investigate the tDCS efficacy and identify predictors of treatment response to tDCS in patients with PTSD.

Method: Fifty-one patients received 10 sessions of tDCS involving the position of the anode over the F3 area and cathode over the F4 as a condition of 2.

Soft Composites Filled with Iron Oxide and Graphite Nanoplatelets under Static and Cyclic Strain for Different Industrial Applications.

Simultaneously exhibiting both a magnetic response and piezoelectric energy harvesting in magneto-rheological elastomers (MREs) is a win-win situation in a soft (hardness below 65) composite-based device. In the present work, composites based on iron oxide (FeO) were prepared and exhibited a magnetic response; other composites based on the electrically conductive reinforcing nanofiller, graphite nanoplatelets (GNP), were also prepared and exhibited energy generation. A piezoelectric energy-harvesting device based on composites exhibited an impressive voltage of ~10 V and demonstrated a high durability of 0.

Indolo[3,2,1-]carbazole-Derived Narrowband Violet-Blue Fluorophores: Tuning the Optical and Electroluminescence Properties by Chromophore Juggling.

The development of rigid polyaromatic building blocks for narrowband violet fluorophores has received tremendous attention. Herein, we designed and synthesized two new triangle-shaped rigid building blocks, namely, 2,5-di--butylindolo[3,2,1-]carbazole () and 2,11-di--butylindolo[3,2,1-]carbazole-4-carbonitrile (), and tethered them with different chromophores to yield a series of violet-blue fluorophores, , , and studied their structure-function relationship. The appended chromophores and cyano unit played a vital role in controlling the optical and electrical properties of the compounds.

Spine-like Joint Link Mechanism to Design Wearable Assistive Devices.

When we develop wearable assistive devices, comfort and support are two main issues that need to be considered. In conventional design approaches, the degree of freedom of the wearer's joint movements tends to be oversimplified. Accordingly, the wearer's motion becomes restrained and bone/ligament injuries might occur in case of an unexpected fall.

Estimation of Number of Graphene Layers Using Different Methods: A Focused Review.

Graphene, a two-dimensional nanosheet, is composed of carbon species (sp hybridized carbon atoms) and is the center of attention for researchers due to its extraordinary physicochemical (e.g., optical transparency, electrical, thermal conductivity, and mechanical) properties.

Silicone Rubber Composites Reinforced by Carbon Nanofillers and Their Hybrids for Various Applications: A Review.

Without fillers, rubber types such as silicone rubber exhibit poor mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. Carbon black (CB) is traditionally used as a filler in the rubber matrix to improve its properties, but a high content (nearly 60 per hundred parts of rubber (phr)) is required. However, this high content of CB often alters the viscoelastic properties of the rubber composite.

Properties of Silicone Rubber-Based Composites Reinforced with Few-Layer Graphene and Iron Oxide or Titanium Dioxide.

The increasing demand for polymer composites with novel or improved properties requires novel fillers. To meet the challenges posed, nanofillers such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, and titanium dioxide (TiO) have been used. In the present work, few-layer graphene (FLG) and iron oxide (FeO) or TiO were used as fillers in a room-temperature-vulcanized (RTV) silicone rubber (SR) matrix.

Development of Wheel Pressure Control Algorithm for Electronic Stability Control (ESC) System of Commercial Trucks.

This paper presents a wheel cylinder pressure control algorithm for application to the vehicle electronic stability control (ESC) systems for commercial trucks. An ESC system is an active system that improves the driving stability by distributing the appropriate braking pressure to each wheel, which is an essential system for safe driving. It is important that the ESC system, through proper braking pressure supply, delivers the correct pressure under control.

Design and Performance Evaluation of an Electro-Hydraulic Camless Engine Valve Actuator for Future Vehicle Applications.

This paper details the new design and dynamic simulation of an electro-hydraulic camless engine valve actuator (EH-CEVA) and experimental verification with lift position sensors. In general, camless engine technologies have been known for improving fuel efficiency, enhancing power output, and reducing emissions of internal combustion engines. Electro-hydraulic valve actuators are used to eliminate the camshaft of an existing internal combustion engines and used to control the valve timing and valve duration independently.

Purification and characterization of a novel laccase from Fomitopsis pinicola mycelia.

A novel laccase was isolated from the culture filtrate of the brown-rot fungus, Fomitopsis pinicola. Enzyme production reached its highest level after cultivation for 8 days at 25°C. The enzyme was purified by ultrafiltration, ion exchange chromatography, gelfiltration chromatography, and hydrophobic interaction chromatography.