Sulfonated copolyanilines (SPANs), SPAN-40 and SPAN-75, were prepared and applied in this tissue engineering study. SPAN scaffolds (SPANs) and control group polyaniline (PANI) were synthesized by performing oxidative polymerization. To further research the effects of neuron regeneration, PC12 cells were cultured on as-prepared PANI and SPANs with laminin (La) treatment under electrical stimulation. The effects on PC12 cell differentiation were investigated by controlling the amount of sulfonated groups (−SO 3 H) in the SPAN chain, the electrical stimulation voltage, and the presence or absence of La coating. The adhesion and proliferation of cells increased with the degree of sulfonation; La and electrical stimulation further promoted neuronal cell differentiation as increased neurite length was demonstrated in the micrograph analyses. In summary, the sulfonated copolyaniline coated with La had the best effect on neuronal differentiation under electrical stimulation, suggesting its potential as a substrate for nerve tissue engineering.

In this paper, comparative studies of hydrophilic and hydrophobic mesoporous silica particles (MSPs) on the dielectric properties of their derivative polyester imide (PEI) composite membranes were investigated. A series of hydrophilic and hydrophobic MSPs were synthesized with the base-catalyzed sol-gel process of TEOS, MTMS, and APTES at a distinctive feeding ratio with a non-surfactant template of D-(-)-Fructose as the pore-forming agent. Subsequently, the MSPs were blended with the diamine of APAB, followed by introducing the dianhydride of TAHQ with mechanical stirring for 24 h. The obtained viscous solution was subsequently coated onto a copper foil, 36 μm in thickness, followed by performing thermal imidization at specifically programmed heating. The dielectric constant of the prepared membranes was found to show an obvious trend: PEI containing hydrophilic MSPs > PEI > PEI containing hydrophobic MSPs. Moreover, the higher the loading of hydrophilic MSPs, the higher the value of the dielectric constant and loss tangent. On the contrary, the higher the loading of hydrophobic MSPs, the lower the value of the dielectric constant with an almost unchanged loss tangent.

Research on the development of flexible silica aerogels (FSAs) has been ongoing due to their excellent thermal insulation, low density, and high elasticity. However, the physical properties of FSAs, such as density, thermal conductivity, mechanical strength, and surface wettability, are highly dependent on the preparation conditions. To achieve the desired properties of FSAs for various applications, it is necessary to develop a method to fine-tune their physical properties. In this paper, two modifiers of methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS)/trimethylethoxysilane (TMES) were employed to fine-tune the bulk density of a series of flexible silica aerogels (FSAs), reflecting a series of FSAs with fine-tunable physical properties. First, the precursor was synthesized by a click reaction between vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS) and 2,2′ (ethylenedioxy) diethanethiol (EDDET). The VTMS, EDDET, and the as-prepared precursor were characterized by FT-IR and NMR spectroscopy. Subsequently, the precursor was converted into a series of FSAs (denoted by FSA, FSA-M, and FSA-T) through conventional sol-gel reactions with/without MTMS/TMES. Chemical structures of synthesized FSAs were confirmed by 13C and 29Si solid-state NMR spectroscopy. The porous structure of FSAs was identified by BET and SEM, respectively. Physical properties, such as thermal conductivity, mechanical strength, and surface wettability of FSAs were determined by a Hot Disk, durometer/DMA in compression mode, and contact angle measurements, respectively. This study found FSAs containing none, 1 wt%, 5 wt%, and 10 wt% of MTMS increase the density of FSAs from 0.419 g/cm3 (FSA), 0.423 g/cm3 (FSA-M1), 0.448 g/cm3 (FSA-M5), and 0.456 g/cm3 (FSA-M10). It should be noted that the thermal conductivity, surface hardness, bulk mechanical strength, and hydrophobicity of FSA-Ms of increasing MTMS loading were all found to show a rising trend, while FSA-Ts exhibited lower density. FSA-T10 exhibited lower thermal conductivity, surface hardness, and bulk mechanical strength as compared to FSA. However, it was found to show higher hydrophobicity as compared to that of FSA.

In this study, the waste Si sawdust (WSS) obtained from the silicon wafer sawing process was applied in polymer composite for anticorrosion application for the first time. The WSS powder was processed through a beads‐milling (BM) procedure using Zr beads. Subsequently, WSS‐based polystyrene (PS) composite coatings were prepared by photo‐polymerization of styrene monomers in the presence of a specific amount of WSS powder with UV radiation. The as‐prepared WSS‐based PS composite coatings were subsequently investigated and characterized by a series of tests. Anticorrosion performance of sample‐coated cold‐rolled steel (CRS) electrodes were investigated by a series of electrochemical corrosion measurements (e.g., Tafel, Nyquist, and Bode plots) in saline conditions. Gas permeability analysis (GPA) study of these membranes were also determined to support the anticorrosion data of coatings. It should be noted that the WSS‐based PS composite coatings were all found to exhibit better corrosion resistance than that of neat PS. Moreover, the composite coating with higher loading of WSS was found to show better anticorrosion performance than of lower loading of WSS. This may be attributed to the dispersion of WSS particles in PS can effectively prolong the diffusion path of corrosive factors, as evidenced by the corresponding GPA results.

Zinc-rich epoxy coating plays a major role in current heavy-duty corrosion protection solutions, yet high loading of zinc dust (ZD) weakens the coating flexibility and adhesion capability of the overall coating. This work demonstrated the successful incorporation of small amounts of rGO and aniline pentamer (AP)-based diamine into zinc-rich non-electroactive epoxy thermoset (NEET) as a novel heavy-duty anticorrosion coating composite. This coating composite promoted its wear resistance without sacrificing anticorrosion performance and adhesion ability while effectively reducing the loading of ZD. Based on a series of electrochemical measurements, an electroactive epoxy thermoset (EET) containing 5 wt % electroactive APbased diamine (DAAP) and 0.5 wt % rGO can replace 70 wt % ZD and shows equivalent anticorrosion performance under an accelerated salt-spray assay and electrochemical corrosion measurements. Furthermore, coatings containing DAAP and rGO exhibited improved wear resistance and good adhesion capability.