Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zezhong Xiang, Jin Li, Peng You, Linbo Han, Mingxia Qiu, Gengliang Chen, Yu He, Songqiang Liang, Boyuan Xiang, Yaorong Su, Hongyu An, Shunpu Li
Summary: Regular patterns can be spontaneously generated in uphill-diffusion solution systems without a chemical reaction process, as observed through in-situ and ex-situ observations. These patterns can be condensed onto substrates to form structured micro/nanomaterials and have potential applications. This finding is important for understanding pattern formation in nature.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Konstantinos Mazarakos, Ramesh Prasad, Huan-Xiang Zhou
Summary: Phase separation of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) is a phenomenon associated with many essential cellular processes. However, there is still a difficulty in computing the binodal from molecular dynamics simulations of IDPs. In this study, a new method called SpiDec is proposed, which allows for the accurate determination of the phase equilibrium of IDPs.
FRONTIERS IN MOLECULAR BIOSCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Physics, Condensed Matter
C. Patrick Royall, Malcolm A. Faers, Sian L. Fussell, James E. Hallett
Summary: Colloidal gels are important materials with a wide range of applications, exhibiting complex time-dependent behaviors. Research using simple models and experimental systems has revealed insights into the understanding of colloidal gels, including rigidity mechanisms, time-dependent behaviors, and responses to deformation.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICS-CONDENSED MATTER
(2021)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Y. X. Chen, S. Sepahvand, F. Gauvin, K. Schollbach, H. J. H. Brouwers, Qingliang Yu
Summary: This study investigates a silica-cellulose composite aerogel made from olivine silica, which exhibits lower thermal conductivity and higher strength compared to traditional cellulose aerogel, showing promising potential as a high-performance insulation material.
CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Michio Tateno, Taiki Yanagishima, Hajime Tanaka
Summary: The study on colloidal gelation using core-shell fluorescent colloidal particles reveals that the enhancement of local packing and the formation of locally stable rigid structures are the key factors leading to gel formation during phase separation. These findings support a mechanical perspective on dynamic arrest of sticky-sphere systems based on microstructure, replacing conventional explanations based on macroscopic vitrification of colloidal-rich phase.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Michal Marszewski, Sophia C. King, Tiphaine Galy, Glareh N. Kashanchi, Ali Dashti, Yan Yan, Man Li, Danielle M. Butts, Patricia E. McNeil, Esther Lan, Bruce Dunn, Yongjie Hu, Sarah H. Tolbert, Laurent Pilon
Summary: This paper introduces a novel sol-gel method for synthesizing large and thick silica aerogel monoliths at near ambient conditions using commercial colloidal silica nanoparticles as building blocks. By combining specific strategies, such as synthesis on omniphobic liquid substrates, aging at elevated temperatures, and solvent exchange prior to drying, the method produces aerogels with high transmittance and low thermal conductivity.
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
P. Skripov, A. A. Igolnikov, S. B. Rutin, A. Melkikh
Summary: This article presents new data on the non-stationary heat transfer of partially-soluble binary liquids. The study focuses on an aqueous solution of polypropylene glycol-425 with a lower critical solution temperature. The experiments show a significant enhancement of heat transfer at a certain superheating degree, which is attributed to spinodal decomposition. The study also reveals a stage of deteriorated heat transfer prior to the enhancement stage. These findings have implications for the use of solutions with a critical solution temperature as coolants.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Yujie Yan, Bo Jin, Qian Zhou, Rufang Peng
Summary: Chitosan (CS) was used as a carrier for loading copper particles, and CS-Cu carbon aerogel was obtained by freeze-drying and high-temperature carbonization. The CS-Cu carbon aerogel, characterized by various tests, showed a 3D porous structure providing more active sites for copper nanoparticles and effectively preventing agglomeration. The catalytic performance of CS-Cu carbon aerogel on ammonium perchlorate (AP) was investigated, revealing a significant reduction in high-temperature decomposition peak and activation energy for pure AP.
ADVANCED POWDER TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Lilian C. Johnson, Roseanna N. Zia
Summary: Although dense colloidal gels are typically described as a result of phase separation arrest, they continue to coarsen with age, indicating a slow but ongoing phase separation process. Mechanical yield of reversible colloidal gels releases kinetic arrest and can be viewed as non-equilibrium phase separation. Studies show that external perturbations can lead to bond relaxation and rapid reduction of potential energy, consistent with renewed phase separation.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
M. Moron, A. Al-Masoodi, C. Lovato, M. Reiser, L. Randolph, G. Surmeier, J. Bolle, F. Westermeier, M. Sprung, R. Winter, M. Paulus, C. Gutt
Summary: By using X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy, the kinetics and dynamics of a pressure-induced liquid-liquid phase separation in a water-lysozyme solution are investigated. The results demonstrate that, under pressure, the system reaches the phase boundary without arrest, and the coarsening process slows down with increasing quench depths. The study also reveals the presence of fast superdiffusive and slow subdiffusive motion associated with fast viscoelastic fluctuations and slow viscous coarsening, respectively.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Anastasia Ragulskaya, Nafisa Begam, Anita Girelli, Hendrik Rahmann, Mario Reiser, Fabian Westermeier, Michael Sprung, Fajun Zhang, Christian Gutt, Frank Schreiber
Summary: The study investigates the dynamics and kinetics of a protein solution undergoing liquid-liquid phase separation using X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy. It is found that in the early stage of spinodal decomposition, the kinetics relaxation is significantly slower than the dynamics and can be decoupled. The microscopic dynamics are well described by hyper-diffusive ballistic motions with relaxation time exponentially growing with time in the early stage followed by a power-law increase with fluctuations.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
Qiqi Song, Changqing Miao, Huazheng Sai, Jie Gu, Meijuan Wang, Pengjie Jiang, Yutong Wang, Rui Fu, Yaxiong Wang
Summary: A simplified method was proposed for preparing composite aerogel fibers (CAF) with excellent mechanical properties and thermal insulation performance, meeting the requirements of wearable applications.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jae-Hyung Wee, Younghwan Bae, Nam Pil Cho, Moo Sung Kim, Won Jun Lee, Sang Young Yeo
Summary: Flash-spun nonwoven (FS-NW) is a promising material in the field of personal protective equipment (PPE) due to its unique filament morphology and non-uniform diameter distribution, which contribute to its excellent barrier and mechanical properties. This study proposes a simple method to control the microstructure of flash-spun filaments (FSFs) by adjusting the pressure-induced phase separation (PIPS) process in the polymer/supercritical fluid (SCF) solution. The results demonstrate that the PIPS method can effectively control the diameter and network structure of the filaments, and enable the synthesis of various products.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Brian K. Ryu, Scott M. Fenton, Tuan T. D. Nguyen, Matthew E. Helgeson, Roseanna N. Zia
Summary: Modulating the interaction potential between colloids can trigger equilibrium phase transitions and non-equilibrium gelation. Traditional methods are inadequate to represent long-ranged interactions and non-equilibrium phenomena. In this study, we use experiments and simulations to explore long-ranged thermoresponsive colloidal interactions and propose a kinetics-based algorithm to select potentials that accurately replicate non-equilibrium behavior.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ziyuan Rao, Biswanath Dutta, Fritz Kormann, Wenjun Lu, Xuyang Zhou, Chang Liu, Alisson Kwiatkowski da Silva, Ulf Wiedwald, Marina Spasova, Michael Farle, Dirk Ponge, Baptiste Gault, Jorg Neugebauer, Dierk Raabe, Zhiming Li
Summary: The high-entropy alloy concept has evolved from stabilizing solid solutions to rendering them metastable through spinodal decomposition, in order to enhance magnetic properties. By adjusting the composition to form Fe-Co enriched regions, the magnetic properties of the decomposed alloy can be improved.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Meysam Salari, Saeed Habibpour, Mahdi Hamidinejad, Sara Mohseni Taromsari, Hani E. Naguib, Aiping Yu, Chul B. Park
Summary: This study investigates the effects of nanotube-to-nanoribbon conversion on the electrical properties of solid and microcellular conductive polymer composites (CPCs). The results show that composites based on chemically unzipped graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) exhibit significantly higher conductivities than those based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) due to the larger number of filler-filler junctions and contact areas. Furthermore, the conductivities of both MWCNT-based and GNR-based composites can be greatly enhanced through microcellular foaming. The study also demonstrates the potential of modifying carbon fillers and polymer matrices to improve EMI shielding.
MATERIALS HORIZONS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Mohammad M. Rastegardoost, Omid Aghababaei Tafreshi, Zia Saadatnia, Shahriar Ghaffari-Mosanenzadeh, Chul B. Park, Hani E. Naguib
Summary: This study introduces a new material structure and multi-layer structure to develop porous electrospun PVDF mats with significantly enhanced dielectric properties and novel dipole arrangement. These mats can be used in high-performance triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs).
APPLIED MATERIALS TODAY
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Li Ma, Mahdi Hamidinejad, Linfeng Wei, Biao Zhao, Chul B. Park
Summary: An input impedance model was used to study the effect of foam thickness on the reflectivity of microcellular conductive polymer composite (CPC) foams. It was found that absorption-dominant electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness can be achieved by changing the foam thickness and adjusting the void fraction (VF) and cellular morphology. Increasing the VF and cell density in the cellular morphology can create additional solid/air interfaces, promoting the attenuation capability of EM waves.
MATERIALS TODAY PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Mahdi Zeidi, Chul B. Park, Chun Il Kim
Summary: The mechanical properties of nanofibrillated rubber-toughened polypropylene nanocomposites were studied using molecular dynamics simulations. The results showed that the mechanical properties of the nanocomposites could be enhanced by interfacial modification, due to the improved interfacial load transfer. This study provides valuable insights for the development of robust and scalable fabrication processes for nanofibrillated rubber-toughened nanocomposite structures.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Mahmoud Embabi, Mu Sung Kweon, Andrew Anstey, Anthony V. Tuccitto, Chul B. Park, Maksim E. Shivokhin, Patrick C. Lee
Summary: The effect of ethylene comonomer content on the foaming behavior of polypropylene (PP), particularly the foam processing window (FPW), was investigated. Increasing ethylene comonomer content resulted in decreased onset crystallization and end melting temperatures of PP. However, it had negligible effects on the rheological responses and foamability of the PP-based resins. The main effect was observed in the FPW, where 1.5 wt % of ethylene comonomers shifted the FPW towards lower temperatures.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Thermodynamics
Rezgar Hasanzadeh, Taher Azdast, Patrick C. Lee, Chul B. Park
Summary: Achieving global energy sustainability is crucial in the energy fields, and polymeric foams are considered the most promising thermal insulation materials. This study conducted a comparative analysis between different insulation materials and concluded that polymeric foams are the most promising option. A theoretical model based on foam density and cell size was developed and validated using experimental results. The important experimental achievements in thermal insulation performance of polymeric foams in recent years were also reviewed.
THERMAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PROGRESS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Omid Aghababaei Tafreshi, Zia Saadatnia, Shahriar Ghaffari-Mosanenzadeh, Ambrish Kumar, Meysam Salari, Sara Mohseni Taromsari, Mohammad Mahdi Rastegardoost, Chul B. Park, Hani E. Naguib
Summary: This study presents a method for fabricating high-performance polyimide-carbon nanotube aerogel composite films. The films exhibit low shrinkage and density, high pore volume, surface area, real permittivity, and electrical conductivity, as well as ultrahigh service temperature. Furthermore, the films demonstrate good flexibility and durability, making them suitable for supercapacitor electrodes.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Sara Mohseni Taromsari, HaoTian Harvey Shi, Meysam Salari, Ladan Eskandarian, Saeed Habibpour, Aiping Yu, Chul B. Park, Hani E. Naguib
Summary: In this study, a novel strategy involving nano-scale surface functionalization and micro-scale in-situ coating technique was employed to enhance the sensitivity and working range of electrospun strain sensors. By combining 2D tannic acid functionalized Ti3C2Tx MXene and 1D graphene nanoribbons, a nanohybrid sensor with fast response and recovery, high sensitivity, dynamic stability and extended working range was developed.
Review
Engineering, Environmental
Rezgar Hasanzadeh, Peyman Mihankhah, Taher Azdast, Asghar Rasouli, Mohadese Shamkhali, Chul B. Park
Summary: This article introduces the advantages and applications of 3D and 4D printing in fabricating tissue engineering scaffolds, with a focus on the potential of hydrogels in 4D printing scaffolds. Furthermore, the effects of 3D and 4D printing parameters on the mechanical, morphological, and biological properties of scaffolds are investigated.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Byung Gwan Hyun, Yun-Seok Jun, Jung-Hyub Lee, Mahdi Hamidinejad, Zia Saadatnia, Hani E. Naguib, Chul B. Park
Summary: This study reported a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) based all-in-one structured TENGs (A-TENGs) integrated with one-dimensional carbon nanotubes (CNT) and two-dimensional boron nitride (BN). The study introduced microcellular pores by supercritical treatment, allowing the BN particles to be exposed to the surface of TPU/CNT matrix. The resulting contact-release motion between the exposed BN particles and CNT/TPU generated electricity, making it a potential power source for wearable devices without external power sources.
COMPOSITES PART B-ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Composites
Haoyu Ma, Pengjian Gong, Guangxian Li, Chul B. Park
Summary: In this work, a supercritical fluid-assisted cell wall stretching method was used to regulate the physical distance among carbon nanofillers, which resulted in optimized electron tunneling loss and induced high polarization loss. Monte Carlo simulation was used for precise control of the physical distance. Based on the theoretical design strategy, an EMW absorbing nanocomposite foam and an EMI shielding material with superior absorption performance were successfully fabricated.
COMPOSITES SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Li Ma, Linfeng Wei, Mahdi Hamidinejad, Chul B. B. Park
Summary: An input impedance model was used to optimize the geometry and microstructure of layered PVDF composite foams, achieving broadband low reflection for effective electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. Hybrid heterostructures of SiCnw@MXene and conductive PVDF/CNT composite foams were incorporated as absorption and shielding layers, respectively, resulting in an EMI shielding effectiveness of 45 dB and an average reflectivity of 0.03.
MATERIALS HORIZONS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Qizheng Qin, Huanhuan Geng, Jiushuai Deng, Xuebin Su, Miao Chen, Chul B. Park
Summary: This study aims to develop a recycling extraction process for the clean recovery of critical metals in coal gangue. The results showed that the developed pretreatment method could significantly improve extraction efficiency and inhibit the leaching of harmful elements. The polymetallic products obtained can be used as potential raw materials for low-cost composite materials.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Meysam Salari, Sara Mohseni Taromsari, Saeed Habibpour, HaoTian Harvey Shi, Mahdi Hamidinejad, Aiping Yu, Hani E. Naguib, Chul B. Park
Summary: This study proposes a systematic framework for optimizing the characteristics of dielectric polymer composites and successfully fabricates a double-layer electromagnetic absorber (EMA). The EMA exhibits high shielding and absorption performance for incident waves, as well as excellent mechanical characteristics, making it suitable for protective attire applications.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Sasan Rezaei, Hosseinali Omranpour, Zeineb Ben Rejeb, Maryam Fashandi, Ali Reza Monfared, Reza Rahmati, Mohammad M. Rastegardoost, Hani E. Naguib, Chul B. Park
Summary: This study developed hydrophobic, lightweight, and flexible silica aerogels with remarkable resilience and electrical properties to withstand extreme temperatures. By incorporating vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS) into the polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS) chain, both the triboelectric performance and power density of the aerogel-based triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) were greatly enhanced.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C
(2023)