Topic Review
Ambient Mass Spectrometry Imaging and Its Applications
Ambient mass spectrometry imaging (AMSI) has attracted much attention in recent years. As a kind of unlabeled molecular imaging technique, AMSI can enable in situ visualization of a large number of compounds in biological tissue sections in ambient conditions. In this review, the developments of various AMSI techniques are discussed according to one-step and two-step ionization strategies. In addition, recent applications of AMSI for lipid and metabolite analysis (from 2016 to 2021) in disease diagnosis, animal model research, plant science, drug metabolism and toxicology research, etc., are summarized. Finally, further perspectives of AMSI in spatial resolution, sensitivity, quantitative ability, convenience and software development are proposed. 
  • 763
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Thin-Film Fabrication for Low-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are amongst the most widely used renewable alternative energy systems with near-zero carbon emission, high efficiency, and environment-friendly features. However, the high operating temperature of SOFCs is still considered a major challenge due to several issues regarding the materials’ corrosion, unwanted reactions between layers, etc. Thus, low-temperature SOFCs (LT-SOFCs) have gained significant interest during the past decades. Despite the numerous advantages of LT-SOFCs, material selection for each layer is of great importance as the common materials have not shown a desirable performance so far. In addition to the selection of the materials, fabrication techniques have a great influence on the properties of the SOFCs. As SOFCs with thinner layers showed lower polarisation resistance, especially in the electrolyte layer, different thin-film fabrication methods have been employed, and their effect on the overall performance of SOFCs has been evaluated.
  • 763
  • 23 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Nanocellulose Nanomorphologies
Nanocellulosic materials have attracted special attention because of their performance in different advanced applications, biodegradability, availability, and biocompatibility. Nanocellulosic materials can assume three distinct morphologies, including cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), cellulose nanofibers (CNF), and bacterial cellulose (BC). 
  • 763
  • 17 May 2023
Topic Review
Plastic Waste into Supports for Nanostructured Heterogeneous Catalysts
Plastics are ubiquitous in our society and are used in many industries, such as packaging, electronics, the automotive industry, and medical and health sectors, and plastic waste is among the types of waste of higher environmental concern. The increase in the amount of plastic waste produced daily has increased environmental problems, such as pollution by micro-plastics, contamination of the food chain, biodiversity degradation and economic losses. The selective and efficient conversion of plastic waste for applications in environmental remediation, such as by obtaining composites, is a strategy of the scientific community for the recovery of plastic waste. The development of polymeric supports for efficient, sustainable, and low-cost heterogeneous catalysts for the treatment of organic/inorganic contaminants is highly desirable yet still a great challenge; this will be the main focus of this work. Common commercial polymers, like polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene therephthalate, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride, are addressed herein, as are their main physicochemical properties, such as molecular mass, degree of crystallinity and others. Additionally, we discuss the environmental and health risks of plastic debris and the main recycling technologies as well as their issues and environmental impact. The use of nanomaterials raises concerns about toxicity and reinforces the need to apply supports; this means that the recycling of plastics in this way may tackle two issues. Finally, we dissert about the advances in turning plastic waste into support for nanocatalysts for environmental remediation, mainly metal and metal oxide nanoparticles.
  • 762
  • 18 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Metal-Nitrosophenolato Complexes
Metal-nitrosophenolato complexes consist of a metal ion (most commonly copper(II)) flanked by typically two or more 2-nitrosophenolate ligands. The syntheses of them demonstrate a privileged introduction of a nitroso (and a hydroxyl via the Baudisch reaction) group to an aromatic ring. These complexes first appeared in the literature as early as 1939, and a range of applications has subsequently been published. However, optimisations of the preparative sequences were not considered, and as such, the reactions have seldom been utilised in recent years; indeed, there remains confusion in the literature as to how such complexes form.
  • 762
  • 15 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Self-Healing Elastomers
It is impossible to describe the recent progress of our society without considering the role of polymers; however, for a broad audience, “polymer” is usually related to environmental pollution. The poor disposal and management of polymeric waste has led to an important environmental crisis, and, within polymers, plastics have attracted bad press despite being easily reprocessable. Nonetheless, there is a group of polymeric materials that is particularly more complex to reprocess, rubbers. These macromolecules are formed by irreversible crosslinked networks that give them their characteristic elastic behavior, but at the same time avoid their reprocessing. Conferring them a self-healing capacity stands out as a decisive approach for overcoming this limitation. By this mean, rubbers would be able to repair or restore their damage automatically, autonomously, or by applying an external stimulus, increasing their lifetime, and making them compatible with the circular economy model.
  • 762
  • 26 May 2022
Topic Review
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) as Biomaterials in Tissue Engineering
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biodegradable and biocompatible biopolymers. These biomaterials have grown in importance in the fields of tissue engineering and tissue reconstruction for structural applications where tissue morphology is critical, such as bone, cartilage, blood vessels, and skin, among others. Furthermore, they can be used to accelerate the regeneration in combination with drugs, as drug delivery systems, thus reducing microbial infections. When cells are cultured under stress conditions, a wide variety of microorganisms produce them as a store of intracellular energy in the form of homo- and copolymers of [R]—hydroxyalkanoic acids, depending on the carbon source used for microorganism growth. 
  • 762
  • 03 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Bioremediation of PCBs
PCB, polychorinated biphenyls, are a type of chemical that was widely used in the 1960s and 1970s, and which is a contamination source of soil and water. They are fairly stable and therefore persistent in the environment. Bioremediation of PCBs is the use of microorganisms to degrade PCBs from contaminated sites, which can be either a soil or aqueous environment. It is a process relying on multiple microorganisms' co-metabolism. Anaerobic microorganisms dechlorinate PCBs first, and other microorganisms that are capable of doing BH pathway can break down the dechlorinated PCBs to usable intermediates like acyl-CoA or carbon dioxide. If no BH pathway-caple microorganisms are present, dechlorinated PCBs can be mineralized with help of fungi and plants. However, there are multiple limiting factors for this co-metabolism.
  • 761
  • 29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Single-Component Cationic Photoinitiators
With the advantages offered by cationic photopolymerization (CP) such as broad wavelength activation, tolerance to oxygen, low shrinkage and the possibility of “dark cure”, it has attracted extensive attention in photoresist, deep curing and other fields in recent years. The applied photoinitiating systems (PIS) play a crucial role as they can affect the speed and type of the polymerization and properties of the materials formed. Much effort has been invested into developing cationic photoinitiating systems (CPISs) that can be activated at long wavelengths and overcome technical problems and challenges faced. 
  • 761
  • 24 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Nanocellulosic Materials for Oil Spill
Modern developments in cellulosic materials for oil spill removal are briefly showcased in this entry. Different types of lignocellulosic textures and different modification techniques and preparation methods are explained. Materials were classified into 3D-materials such as hydrophobic and oleophobic sponges and aerogels, or 2D-materials such as membranes, fabrics, films, and meshes. Majorly, 3D-materials showed clear correlation between porosity and density, and their absorption behavior. Moreover, it was shown that nanocellulosic precursors are not exclusively suitable to attain considerable absorption performance. This finding can lead to developments in cost- and energy-efficient production processes of future cellulosic oil spillage removal solutions.
  • 761
  • 27 Sep 2021
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