Silicone is widely used in packing materials, medical equipment, and separation membranes. Since microbial cells easily adhere to the surface of silicone materials and form biofilms, techniques for incorporating antimicrobial activity into silicone materials are in high demand. This study describes the preparation of silver Ag /silicone composite membranes through a simple two-step immersion process, utilizing an iodine solution followed by a silver nitrate solution at room temperature. Scanning electron microscopy SEM observations revealed that particles with sizes of several nanometers to several tens of nanometers were present on the silicone membrane surface; these particles were identified as silver iodide using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy EDS . The Ag/silicone membrane possessed excellent antibacterial efficacy against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and the antibacterial efficacy R against both types of bacteria was R > 4, even after stomacher treatment or acidic treatment of pH 2-6 for 24 h. The mechanical strength of the silicone membrane was also maintained after antibacterial treatment, with Young s modulus values of 7.9 1.2 MPa and 8.3 1.5 MPa for the untreated membrane and Ag/silicone membrane, respectively p > 0.05 . In addition, the reduction in permeation performance of the Ag/silicone membrane was only 20%, despite the antibacterial treatment on the membrane surface. This antibacterial treatment method of silicone membranes can be conducted at room temperature 25 without special equipment, and may be applied to other types of silicone materials.
Silicone (polydimethylsiloxane) materials are widely used in various applications. Due to microbe adherence and biofilm formation at the surface of silicone materials, silicone materials must possess antibacterial properties. To achieve this, we prepared copper (Cu)–silicone composite membranes using a simple two-step process of immersion in iodine and copper sulfate solutions. Subsequent scanning electron microscopy revealed Cu nanoparticles (CuNPs) of 10 to 200 nanometers in diameter on the silicone membrane surface, which were identified as copper iodide using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The mechanical strength of the material did not change significantly as a result of the two-step immersion treatment and the Cu/silicone membrane showed excellent antibacterial efficacy against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, maintaining R > 2 even after a physical impact such as stomacher treatment. Additionally, the Cu ions eluted from the Cu/silicone membrane remained at very low concentrations, suggesting firm immobilization of CuNPs on the silicone membrane. This proposed antimicrobial treatment method does not require special equipment, can be performed at room temperature, and has the potential for use on silicone materials other than membranes.
Hydrogen boride (HB), a freestanding 2D hydrogenated‐borophene (borophane) polymorph, is synthesized via ion exchange. HB sheets with a B/H atomic ratio of 1.0 are confirmed to contain three‐center–two‐electron B–H–B bonds and two‐center–two‐electron terminal B–H bonds. The optical properties of HB sheets are expected to be tunable by changing the BHB/BH bond ratio, which alters the electronic structure of HB sheets; however, this is not yet achieved. This study demonstrates that controlling the BHB/BH bond ratio in the HB sheets is possible without altering the hydrogen content by adjusting the volume of ion‐exchange resin during synthesis, thus enabling the tuning of the photoinduced H2 release under UV irradiation. Furthermore, the fluorescence intensity correlates with the absorbance ratio of the BHB and BH vibrational modes. Increasing the BHB/BH bond ratio enhances the luminescence intensity, whereas reducing it enhances the photoinduced H2 release rate under UV irradiation. The ability to control the BHB/BH bond ratio of HB sheets provides new avenues for optimizing their properties for various applications, including hydrogen storage and photocatalysis.
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