Thin clay coatings can be deposited from water dispersions for the purpose of improved gas barrier properties and fire retardancy polymeric materials. Mechanical are difficult to assess, since they very thin (≈1µm). In-situ tests using a micro tensile stage in scanning electron microscope reveal thickness-dependent microcracking mechanism, Weibull parameters coating fracture extracted. Complex ...

Matrix tablets are drug delivery devices designed to release a drug in a controlled manner over an extended period of time. We develop a cellular automaton (CA) model for the dissolution and release of a water-soluble drug and excipient from a matrix tablet of water-insoluble polymer. Cells of the CA are occupied by drug, excipient, water or polymer and the CA updating rules simulate the dissol...

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biopolymers are widely recognised as outstanding candidates to replace conventional petroleum-derived polymers. Their mechanical properties are good and can be tailored through copolymer composition, they are biodegradable, and unlike many alternatives, they do not rely on oil-based feedstocks. Further, they are the only commodity polymer that can be synthesised intra...

Stress corrosion experiments were performed on unidirectional ECR-glass/polymer composites with the modified polyester, epoxy and vinyl ester resins for the use in high voltage composite insulator applications. Two types of ECR-glass fibers with low and high seed counts were investigated. The stress corrosion tests were performed in nitric acid under four point bending conditions and the resist...

The addition of a ductile phase to porous ceramic can help overcome the brittleness ceramics. Yet, most studies so far have focused on processing and characterization dense composites. Alternatively, unidirectional pores improve strength Here we combine two approaches show simple strategy obtain highly porous, ceramic/polymer We infiltrated ice-templated zirconia scaffolds with polymer or solut...

Portland cement concrete (PCC) has been successful in many applications. However, since the 1960s technological investigations concerning modifications of concrete by polymeric materials have been conducted. Attention has been focused on concretes in which the continuous phase is some kind of polymeric resin and the discrete phase is some type of mineral aggregate. Such composite materials are ...

A doped poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)– based graded-index plastic optical fiber (GI POF) with high mechanical strength is reported for the first time. Although the POF is generally believed to have a good mechanical flexibility even if it has a large-core diameter, such a high mechanical strength has been provided by making the polymer chains in the POF highly oriented in its axial direction...

Mechanically robust battery electrodes are desired for applications in wearable devices, flexible displays, and structural energy and power. In this regard, the challenge is to balance mechanical and electrochemical properties in materials that are inherently brittle. Here, we demonstrate a unique water-based self-assembly approach that incorporates a diblock copolymer bearing electron- and ion...

Marine saponins are naturally glycosides compounds which possess important biomedical properties such as anti-cancer, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Nevertheless, no systematic studies on the anti-inflammatory potential of brittle star saponin and its underlying mechanisms have been reported. In this study, Ophiocoma erinaceus extracted saponin was investigated for its in vitro anti-inflamm...