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Materials Scientists (material + scientists)
Selected AbstractsNanostructured Carbon and Carbon Nanocomposites for Electrochemical Energy Storage ApplicationsCHEMSUSCHEM CHEMISTRY AND SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY & MATERIALS, Issue 2 2010Sheng Su Abstract Electrochemical energy storage is one of the important technologies for a sustainable future of our society, in times of energy crisis. Lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors with their high energy or power densities, portability, and promising cycling life are the cores of future technologies. This Review describes some materials science aspects on nanocarbon-based materials for these applications. Nanostructuring (decreasing dimensions) and nanoarchitecturing (combining or assembling several nanometer-scale building blocks) are landmarks in the development of high-performance electrodes for with long cycle lifes and high safety. Numerous works reviewed herein have shown higher performances for such electrodes, but mostly give diverse values that show no converging tendency towards future development. The lack of knowledge about interface processes and defect dynamics of electrodes, as well as the missing cooperation between material scientists, electrochemists, and battery engineers, are reasons for the currently widespread trial-and-error strategy of experiments. A concerted action between all of these disciplines is a prerequisite for the future development of electrochemical energy storage devices. [source] Bioinspired Design of Dynamic MaterialsADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 23 2009Javeed Shaikh Mohammed Abstract An emerging approach for design of dynamic materials involves mimicking natural systems, which are adept at changing their structure and function in response to their environment. Biological systems possess a diverse range of dynamic mechanisms, including competitive ligand,protein binding, enzyme-catalyzed remodeling, and allosteric protein conformational changes. These dynamic mechanisms are now being exploited by materials scientists and engineers to design "bioinspired" synthetic materials that undergo responsive assembly and disassembly as well as dynamic volume and shape changes. The purpose of this review is to describe recent progress in design and development of bioinspired dynamic materials, with a particular emphasis on hydrogel networks. We specifically focus on emerging approaches that use biological phenomena as an inspiration for design of materials. [source] Toxicity Evaluation for Safe Use of Nanomaterials: Recent Achievements and Technical ChallengesADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 16 2009Saber M. Hussain Abstract Recent developments in the field of nanotechnology involving the synthesis of novel nanomaterials (NM) have attracted the attention of numerous scientists owing to the possibility of degradative perturbations in human health. This Review evaluates previous investigations related to NM toxicity studies using biological models and describes the limitations that often prevent toxicologists from identifying whether NM pose a real hazard to human health. One major limitation to assess toxicity is the characterization of the NM prior to and after exposure to living cells or animals. The most relevant physicochemical characteristics of NM are: size, surface chemistry, crystallinity, morphology, solubility, aggregation tendency, homogeneity of dispersions, and turbidity. All of these properties need to be assessed in order to determine their contribution to toxicity. Due to the lack of appropriate methods to determine the physicochemical nature of nanoparticles in biological systems, the exact nature of NM toxicity is not fully described or understood at this time. This Review emphasizes the need for state-of-the-art physicochemical characterization, the determination of appropriate exposure protocols and reliable methods for assessing NM internalization and their kinetics in living organisms. Once these issues are addressed, optimal experimental conditions could be established in order to identify if NM pose a threat to human health. Multidisciplinary research between materials scientists and life scientists should overcome these limitations in identifying the true hazards of NM. [source] Polymer-Derived Ceramics: 40 Years of Research and Innovation in Advanced CeramicsJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, Issue 7 2010Paolo Colombo Preceramic polymers were proposed over 30 years ago as precursors for the fabrication of mainly Si-based advanced ceramics, generally denoted as polymer-derived ceramics (PDCs). The polymer to ceramic transformation process enabled significant technological breakthroughs in ceramic science and technology, such as the development of ceramic fibers, coatings, or ceramics stable at ultrahigh temperatures (up to 2000°C) with respect to decomposition, crystallization, phase separation, and creep. In recent years, several important advances have been achieved such as the discovery of a variety of functional properties associated with PDCs. Moreover, novel insights into their structure at the nanoscale level have contributed to the fundamental understanding of the various useful and unique features of PDCs related to their high chemical durability or high creep resistance or semiconducting behavior. From the processing point of view, preceramic polymers have been used as reactive binders to produce technical ceramics, they have been manipulated to allow for the formation of ordered pores in the meso-range, they have been tested for joining advanced ceramic components, and have been processed into bulk or macroporous components. Consequently, possible fields of applications of PDCs have been extended significantly by the recent research and development activities. Several key engineering fields suitable for application of PDCs include high-temperature-resistant materials (energy materials, automotive, aerospace, etc.), hard materials, chemical engineering (catalyst support, food- and biotechnology, etc.), or functional materials in electrical engineering as well as in micro/nanoelectronics. The science and technological development of PDCs are highly interdisciplinary, at the forefront of micro- and nanoscience and technology, with expertise provided by chemists, physicists, mineralogists, and materials scientists, and engineers. Moreover, several specialized industries have already commercialized components based on PDCs, and the production and availability of the precursors used has dramatically increased over the past few years. In this feature article, we highlight the following scientific issues related to advanced PDCs research: (1) General synthesis procedures to produce silicon-based preceramic polymers. (2) Special microstructural features of PDCs. (3) Unusual materials properties of PDCs, that are related to their unique nanosized microstructure that makes preceramic polymers of great and topical interest to researchers across a wide spectrum of disciplines. (4) Processing strategies to fabricate ceramic components from preceramic polymers. (5) Discussion and presentation of several examples of possible real-life applications that take advantage of the special characteristics of preceramic polymers. Note: In the past, a wide range of specialized international symposia have been devoted to PDCs, in particular organized by the American Ceramic Society, the European Materials Society, and the Materials Research Society. Most of the reviews available on PDCs are either not up to date or deal with only a subset of preceramic polymers and ceramics (e.g., silazanes to produce SiCN-based ceramics). Thus, this review is focused on a large number of novel data and developments, and contains materials from the literature but also from sources that are not widely available. [source] 7th International Conference on Excitonic Processes in Condensed Matter (EXCON 2006), 26,30 June 2006, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USAPHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (B) BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 3 2006Article first published online: 15 FEB 200 The series of EXCON conferences provides an interdisciplinary forum on electronic excitations of extended media, inviting participation of condensed matter physicists, photochemists, photobiologists, and materials scientists. Abstracts of contributed papers on all aspects of exciton phenomena can be submitted now or at any time up to March 15, 2006. Visit the EXCON website http://www.wfu.edu/excon2006/ to download the the abstract template and instructions. [source] Indentation as a technique to assess the mechanical properties of fallback foodsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 4 2009Peter W. Lucas Abstract A number of living primates feed part-year on seemingly hard food objects as a fallback. We ask here how hardness can be quantified and how this can help understand primate feeding ecology. We report a simple indentation methodology for quantifying hardness, elastic modulus, and toughness in the sense that materials scientists would define them. Suggested categories of fallback foods,nuts, seeds, and root vegetables,were tested, with accuracy checked on standard materials with known properties by the same means. Results were generally consistent, but the moduli of root vegetables were overestimated here. All these properties are important components of what fieldworkers mean by hardness and help understand how food properties influence primate behavior. Hardness sensu stricto determines whether foods leave permanent marks on tooth tissues when they are bitten on. The force at which a food plastically deforms can be estimated from hardness and modulus. When fallback foods are bilayered, consisting of a nutritious core protected by a hard outer coat, it is possible to predict their failure force from the toughness and modulus of the outer coat, and the modulus of the enclosed core. These forces can be high and bite forces may be maximized in fallback food consumption. Expanding the context, the same equation for the failure force for a bilayered solid can be applied to teeth. This analysis predicts that blunt cusps and thick enamel will indeed help to sustain the integrity of teeth against contacts with these foods up to high loads. Am J Phys Anthropol 140:643,652, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] THE CHALLENGE OF ,TECHNOLOGICAL CHOICES'FOR MATERIALS SCIENCE APPROACHES IN ARCHAEOLOGY,ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 1 2000B. SILLAR Recently several anthropological and sociological studies have interpreted technologies as cultural choices that are determined as much by local perceptions and the social context fly any material constraints or purely functional criteria. Using the example of ceramic technology we consider how materials science studies can contribute to and benefit from this understanding of technology as a social construct. Although we acknowledge some potential difficulties, it is our contention that both materials scientists and archaeologists have gained much and have much to gain by cooperating together to study ancient technologies, and that the concept of ,technological choices'can facilitate a wider consideration of the factors shaping technological developments. [source] | ||||||||||