How to Improve Sustainability in Fused Filament Fabrication (3D Printing) Research?

This review aims to provide an overview of sustainable approaches that can be incorporated into well-known procedures for the development of materials, pre- and post-treatments, modifications, and applications of 3D-printed objects, especially for fused filament fabrication (FFF). Different examples of conductive and non-conductive bespoke filaments using renewable biopolymers, bioplasticizers, and recycled materials are presented and discussed. The main final characteristics of the polymeric materials achieved according to the feedstock, preparation, extrusion, and treatments are also covered.

Dual magnetic field and temperature optical probes of controlled crystalline phases in lanthanide-doped multi-shell nanoparticles.

The engineering of core@multi-shell nanoparticles containing heterogeneous crystalline phases in different layers constitutes an important strategy for obtaining optical probes. The possibility of obtaining an opto-magnetic core@multi-shell nanoparticle capable of emitting in the visible and near-infrared ranges by upconversion and downshifting processes is highly desirable, especially when its optical responses are dependent on temperature and magnetic field variations. This work proposes the synthesis of hierarchically structured core@multi-shell nanoparticles of heterogeneous crystalline phases: a cubic core containing Dy ions responsible for magnetic properties and optically active hexagonal shells, where Er, Yb, and Nd ions were distributed.

General Protocol to Obtain D-Glucosamine from Biomass Residues: Shrimp Shells, Cicada Sloughs and Cockroaches.

A general protocol is developed to obtain D-glucosamine from three widely available biomass residues: shrimp shells, cicada sloughs, and cockroaches. The protocol includes three steps: (1) demineralization, (2) deproteinization, and (3) chitin hydrolysis. This simple, general protocol opens the door to obtain an invaluable nitrogen-containing compound from three biomass residues, and it can potentially be applied to other chitin sources.

The Thermomechanical Properties of Thermally Evaporated Bismuth Triiodide Thin Films.

Bismuth triiodide (BiI) has been studied in recent years with the aim of developing lead-free semiconductors for photovoltaics. It has also appeared in X-ray detectors due to the high density of the Bismuth element. This material is attractive as an active layer in solar cells, or may be feasible for conversion into perovskite-like material (MABiI), being also suitable for photovoltaic applications.

Exploring the dual functionality of an ytterbium complex for luminescence thermometry and slow magnetic relaxation.

We present a comprehensive investigation of the magnetic and optical properties of an ytterbium complex, which combines two desirable and practical features into a single molecular system. Based upon Yb ions that promote near-infrared optical activity and a chemical backbone that is ideal for an in-depth understanding of the magnetic behaviour, we have designed a multifunctional opto-magnetic species that operates as a luminescent thermometer and as a single-molecule magnet (SMM). Our magnetic investigations, in conjunction with calculations, reveal one of the highest energy barriers reported for an Yb-based complex.

The metagenomic landscape of xenobiotics biodegradation in mangrove sediments.

Metagenomics is a powerful approach to study microorganisms present in any given environment and their potential to maintain and improve ecosystem health without the need of cultivating these microorganisms in the laboratory. In this study, we combined a cultivation-independent metagenomics approach with functional assays to identify the detoxification potential of microbial genes evaluating their potential to contribute to xenobiotics resistance in oil-impacted mangrove sediments. A metagenomic fosmid library containing 12,960 clones from highly contaminated mangrove sediment was used in this study.

Switching the Spin-Crossover Phenomenon by Ligand Design on Imidazole-Diazineiron(II) Complexes.

The iron(II) complexes of two structural isomers of 2-(1 H-imidazol-2-yl)diazine reveal how ligand design can be a successful strategy to control the electronic and magnetic properties of complexes by fine-tuning their ligand field. The two isomers only differ in the position of a single diazinic nitrogen atom, having either a pyrazine (Z) or a pyrimidine (M) moiety. However, [Fe(M)](ClO) is a spin-crossover complex with a spin transition at 241 K, whereas [Fe(Z)](ClO) has a stable magnetic behavior between 2 and 300 K.

Temperature probing and emission color tuning by morphology and size control of upconverting β-NaYbGdF:Tm:Ho nanoparticles.

The chemical composition, shape and size of upconverting nanoparticles are known to have a great influence on their spectroscopic properties, such as the emission color and the emission intensity variation as a function of temperature. This work shows the color tuning and the thermal sensitivity of NaYbGdF:Tm:Ho nanoparticles synthesized by two different approaches of the same synthetic method showing the influence of size and morphology, 250 nm hexagonal-plated and 30 nm spheroidal nanoparticles, on the visible upconversion color under NIR irradiation. According to the 1931-CIE diagram, the hexagonal-shaped nanoparticles show white light emission and the spheroidal ones generate red light emission under 980 nm excitation.

Determination of disease biomarkers in Eucalyptus by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography and multivariate data analysis.

In this paper is reported the use of the chromatographic profiles of volatiles to determine disease markers in plants - in this case, leaves of Eucalyptus globulus contaminated by the necrotroph fungus Teratosphaeria nubilosa. The volatile fraction was isolated by headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and analyzed by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-fast quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC×GC-qMS). For the correlation between the metabolic profile described by the chromatograms and the presence of the infection, unfolded-partial least squares discriminant analysis (U-PLS-DA) with orthogonal signal correction (OSC) were employed.

Determination of Se using a solid-phase micro-extraction device coupled to a graphite furnace and detection by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

A solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) method using an SPME fiber device and graphite furnace (GF) for extracting Se compounds was proposed. Various factors affecting the derivatization and extraction of Se(IV) by SPME-GF were evaluated, including the effect of acid (type and concentration), the concentration of the derivatizing agent, the derivatization temperature, the extraction and derivatization times and the extraction temperature. After optimizing these conditions, the quantification of Se(IV) was performed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS).