중국 국가 통계국에서 발표한 데이터에 따르면, 2022년 60세 이상 인구는 전체의 19.6%이며, 2035년에는 4억을 초과하여 고령화 사회의 단계에 접어들 것이라고 한다. 질병의 발병률이 매우 높은 고령층은 의약품의 복용 과정에서 주의해야 할 점이 많은 반면, 이에 대한 이해가 부족하여 의약품의 복용에 따른 잠재적인 위험에 항상 노출되어 있다. 이에 따라 의약품 포장에 대한 고령층의 요구를 수용하고, 의약품 복용의 정확성과 편의성을 향상시키는 문제는 당면의 과제가 되고 있다. 본 연구는 디지털 휴먼 기술을 도입하여 의약품 포장의 혁신적인 디자인을 강구하고, 이를 통해 고령층의 의약품 관련 문제에 대한 해결을 목표로 한다. 의약품 포장 디자인에 디지털 휴먼 기술을 적용하는 것은 최근 디지털 발전의 추세에 부합하며, 고령층을 대상으로 하는 의약품 포장 디자인에 새로운 사로를 제공할 수 있다. 따라서 본 연구는 문헌 분석법 및 사례 분석법 등을 통해 고령층을 대상으로 하는 의약품 포장 디자인의 발전 현황을 파악하여, 기존 제한적인 정보만을 제공하던 단일 시각 형태의 전통적인 의약품 포장 디자인의 한계를 극복하고, 새로운 디자인 방안을 제시하여 고령층이 더 다양한 방식으로 의약품 포장을 통해 필요한 정보를 인식할 수 있도록 만들고자 하였다. 기존 의약품 포장 디자인에 대한 분석을 바탕으로 본 연구는 디지털 휴먼 기술과 의약품 포장의 결합에 대한 타당성을 도출했고, 실례를 통해 디지털 휴먼 기술이 의약품 포장에 있어 상당한 응용 가치와 잠재력을 가지고 있다는 사실을 검증하였다.

4-Nitrophenol (4NP) is a vital intermediate in organic industries, and its exploitation creates serious environmental issues. We propose a fluorescence quenching-based strategy with nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon dots (NS-CDs) for highly sensitive 4NP detection with excellent selectivity. The NS-CDs are produced through the hydrothermal process, in which citric acid serves as a carbon source and cysteamine hydrochloride as a source of N and S. The effect of doping was also studied by synthesizing undoped CDs and examining their properties. As-developed NS-CDs exhibit a bright cyan blue color with maximum emission centered at 465 nm. The fluorescence of NS-CDs is significantly quenched in an approximately linear fashion with increasing 4NP concentration (7.5–97.5 μM). The inner filter effect (IFE) and static quenching (SQ) between NS-CDs and 4NP are responsible for such fluorescence reduction. The fluorimetry technique enables the quantification of 4NP with a limit of detection (LOD) of about 0.028 μM. Moreover, the fluorescence quenching is tested for several other chemical compounds but they generate false quenching signals; only 4NP leads to fluorescence quenching of NS-CDs, demonstrating excellent selectivity. The “turn-off” fluorescence properties and visually apparent color change of the fluorescent probe reveal the excellent performance for 4NP sensing. The NS-CDs’ capability of quantifying 4NP in real water samples (tap water and drinking water) produces an excellent recovery rate ranging between 96.24 and 98.36%.

In this investigation, we synthesized a novel quaternary nanocomposite, denoted as RGO-Ba(OH)2/CeO2/TiO2, through a straightforward and cost-effective solid-state synthesis approach. The as-prepared composites underwent a series of comprehensive characterizations, including XRD, FTIR, TGA-DTA, XPS, SEM, EDAX, and TEM analyses, affirming the successful synthesis of a quaternary nanocomposite with well-interconnected nanoparticles, nanorods, and sheet-like structures. Further, our electrochemical performance evaluations demonstrated that the electrochemical capacitance of the RGO-Ba(OH)2/CeO2/ TiO2 nanocomposite achieved an impressive value of 445 F g− 1 at a current density of 1.0 A g− 1, particularly when the mass ratio of CeO2 and TiO2 was maintained at 90:10. Furthermore, the specific capacitance retained a remarkable 65% even after 2000 cycles at a current density of 6 A g− 1 in a 3 mol KOH electrolyte. Comparatively, this outstanding electrochemical performance of the RGO-Ba(OH)2/CeO2/TiO2 (90:10) nanocomposite can be attributed to several factors. These include the favorable electrical conductivity and large specific surface area provided by graphene, TiO2, and Ba(OH)2, the enhanced energy density and extended cycle life resulting from the presence of CeO2, and the synergistic contributions among all four components. Therefore, the RGO-Ba(OH)2/CeO2/TiO2 nanocomposite emerges as a highly promising electrode material for supercapacitors.

The untreated effluent dropping into the environment from various textile industries is a major issue. To solve this problem, development of an efficient catalyst for the degradation of macro dye molecules has attracted extensive attention. This work is mainly focused on the synthesis of nickel–manganese sulfide decorated with rGO nanocomposite (Ni–Mn-S/rGO) as an effective visible photocatalyst for degradation of textile toxic macro molecule dye. A simple hydrothermal method was used to synthesize Ni–Mn-S wrapped with rGO. The prepared composites were characterized using various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), Fourier transform infra-red spectrometer (FTIR), and ultra violet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy. The photocatalytic performance of nickel sulfide (NiS), manganese sulfide (MnS), nickel–manganese sulfide (Ni–Mn-S), and Ni–Mn-S/rGO nanocomposite was assessed by analyzing the removal of acid yellow (AY) and rose bengal (RB) dyes under natural sun light. Among these, the Ni–Mn-S/rGO nanocomposite showed the high photocatalytic degradation efficiency of AY and RB dyes (20 ppm concentration) with efficiency at 96.1 and 93.2%, respectively, within 150-min natural sunlight irradiation. The stability of photocatalyst was confirmed by cycle test; it showed stable degradation efficiency even after five cycles. This work confirms that it is an efficient approach for the dye degradation of textile dyes using sulfide-based Ni–Mn-S/rGO nanocomposite.

This study aimed to identify and analyze the effects of both isothermal heat treatment temperature and residence time on the formation of mesophase in coal tar pitch, especially with respect to its microstructural and crystalline evolution. The formation and growth of mesophase resulted in a decrease in d002 and an increase in Lc, and the degree of such variation was larger when the isothermal heat treatment temperature was higher. In isothermally heat-treated pitch, two distinct domains were observed: less developed crystalline carbon (LDCC) and more developed crystalline carbon (MDCC). When pitch was isothermally heat-treated at 375 °C for 20 h, d002 was 4.015 Å in the LDCC and 3.515 Å in the MDCC. Higher isothermal heat-treatment temperatures accelerated the formation, growth, and coalescence of mesophase. Indeed, in the pitch specimen isothermally heat-treated at 425 °C for 20 h, d002 was 3.809 Å in the LDCC and 3.471 Å in the MDCC. The evolution of mesophase was characterized by pronounced inflection points in d002 curves. It was found that the emergence of these inflection points coincided with pronounced changes in the microstructure of mesophase. This finding confirmed the relationship between inflection points in d002 and the microstructure of mesophase.

Wearable sensors with highly flexible and sensitive characteristics have attracted research interests in the promising field of electronic skin, health monitoring, and soft robotics. However, the developing of high-performance piezoresistive sensor is full of challenges due to the expensive equipment and complex procedures. Herein, we fabricate a reduced graphene oxide/ polyurethane composite sponge (GPCS) pressure sensor combining with dual-templates. The polyurethane (PU) sponge provides an elastic structure as solid template. Meanwhile, air bubbles as gas template are used to uniformly disperse graphene oxide (GO) sheets. The burst of air bubbles in the process of thermal treatment makes GO coating on the surface of PU skeleton, avoiding the aggregation of reduced graphene oxide. Therefore, the GPCS exhibits excellent compressibility and uniform coating structure. As a result, it also possesses high sensitivity (Gauge Factor = 3.00 in the range of 0–10% strain), fast response time (35 ms), and excellent cyclic piezoresistive stability (5000 loading–unloading cycles) when applied in the pressure sensor field. Moreover, the flexible wearable stress–strain sensor assembled by the GPCS can be easily adhered on the surface of human skin and precisely detect human movements such as elbow bending and finger bending. Such low-cost procedure and excellent sensing performance enable GPCS sensor to demonstrate tremendous application potential in the field of advanced wearable devices.

Development of carbon-based biocompatible and flexible nanosensors is essential in different practical applications. Humidity sensor is crucial in different fields among them. Herein, a unique metal-free nanosensor comprised of 2D-graphitic carbon nitride (CN) decorated with 0D-carbon dots (C-dots) was fabricated to monitor humidity in human breath. Simple polymerization and carbonization techniques were used to synthesize nitrogen enriched heterostructure (CN@C-dots). The synthesized heterostructure showed excellent physicochemical properties including high surface area, hydrophilic functionalities and more active sites that were responsible for enhanced humidity sensing. The fabricated nanosensor indicated excellent resistivity against humidity due to diffused proton hoping through inhibition of ion transfer from multiple water layers. The interaction mechanism was explained through simple hydrogen bonding and defective site chemisorbed oxygen participation in physisorbed humidity molecules.

Activated carbon (AC) is a versatile and extensively employed adsorbent in environmental remediation. It possesses distinct properties that can be enhanced to selectively target specific pollutants through modifications, including chemical impregnation or incorporation into composite materials. In this study, porous calcium alginate beads (PCAB) were synthesized by incorporating AC and natural alginate through ion gelation in a Ca(II) ion-containing solution, with the addition of sodium lauryl sulfate as a surfactant. The prepared PCAB was tested for Cu(II) removal. PCAB exhibited a spherical shape with higher porosity and surface area (160.19 m2. g−1) compared to calcium alginate beads (CAB) (0.04 m2. g−1). The adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-first-order model for PCAB and the pseudo-second-order model for CAB. The Langmuir isotherm model provided the best fit for adsorption on PCAB, while the Freundlich model was suitable for CAB. Notably, PCAB demonstrated a maximum adsorption capacity of 75.54 mg.g−1, significantly higher than CAB's capacity of 9.16 mg. g−1. Desorption studies demonstrated that 0.1 M CaCl2 exhibited the highest efficiency (90%) in desorbing Cu(II) ions from PCAB, followed by 0.1 M HCl and 0.1 M NaCl. PCAB showed efficient reusability for up to four consecutive adsorption– desorption cycles. The fixed-bed column experiment confirmed the match with the Thomas model to the breakthrough curves with qTH of 120.12 mg.g−1 and 68.03 mg.g−1 at a flow rate of 1 mL.min−1 and 2 mL.min−1, respectively. This study indicated that PCAB could be an effective adsorbent for Cu(II) removal, offering insights for further application and design considerations.

Sulforaphane is a naturally occurring active substance found in vegetables that is known for its potential in preventing and treating cancer. This compound has demonstrated promising effects in inhibiting the growth of various types of cancer, including esophageal, lung, colon, breast, and liver cancer. However, its instability towards pH and heat limits its application in the medical and food industries. To address this challenge, novel drug delivery systems have been developed to improve the stability and efficacy of sulforaphane, making it a more suitable candidate for clinical use in cancer research. In this study, nanocomposite materials were prepared using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and chitosan (CS) as base materials, with polydopamine (PDA) acting as a bridge material. The synthesized composite materials were used as drug carriers for the release of sulforaphane. The results of the study showed that the drug loading increased with an increase in the concentration of sulforaphane, indicating that the nanocomposite materials were effective in delivering and releasing the drug. Moreover, a positive correlation was observed between the drug loading and the thickness of the PDA layer. These findings suggest that the use of MWCNTs, CS, and PDA in the development of drug delivery systems can enhance the stability and efficacy of sulforaphane, potentially leading to improved cancer treatment outcomes.

The development of biocomposites using renewable resources is a cost-effective and long-term solution to environmental and resource issues. Hydrogels [Poly Sodium Acrylate (PSA)] were created by variable percentages of crosslinker concentration, and banana–cellulose microfibril (CMF) was used as a filler in this study for better reinforcement. When the concentration of crosslinker is increased, the number of covalent crosslinks increases, limiting the movement of water molecules and lowering the diffusion coefficient, equilibrium water content, the initial rate of swelling, and the theoretical equilibrium swelling ratio. The swelling behaviour of reinforced PSA with high concentrations of CMF was unexpected; the hydrophilic OH groups of CMF increase the diffusion of water molecules from the swelling medium to inside the PSA, allowing for better mechanical behaviour of gels without sacrificing the swelling response. The swelling behaviour and swelling exponent of a hydrogel were determined at various temperatures, pH levels, and physiological fluid models. The swelling exponent's maximum value was discovered to be 0.5, which suggests that the hydrogel's water diffusion was non-Fickian in nature. The swelling ratio was found to rise with rising temperature and to have a lower value than that at room temperature. It was also proven that elevating the pH of the medium from 1 to 7 improved the PSA/CMF hydrogels' swelling response. The swelling behaviour of PSA/CMF hydrogels was also investigated as the concentration of CMF rose from 0.2 to 1%. The equilibrium water content, swelling kinetics, and water transport mechanisms were all investigated. The Flory–Rehner equation was applied to determine crosslinking density, polymer mesh size, and molecular weight between crosslinks.

This paper investigates the effect of seashell (SS) powders of 75 μm size, reinforced in multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-added nylon 66 polymer composite, by studying its mechanical and thermal properties for suitable application in the automotive industry. Seashells were collected from the seashores and the mechanical ball milling method is employed to ground the SSs into powders using a sieve machine, and the desired particulate size of 75 μm is obtained. These particulate SSs are reinforced in the matrix of nylon 66 in different proportions, viz., 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15% by weight along with 1 wt.% of MWCNTs. Twin-screw extruder and injection molding are employed to prepare the testing specimens. Mechanical and thermal tests were carried out as per ASTM standards. From the mechanical and thermal analyses, it is observed that tensile strength and coefficient of linear thermal expansion decrease with an increase in SS content, whereas flexural strength, shore hardness, impact strength, Vicat softening point, and heat deflection temperature rise with higher wt.% of SSs. This is owing to the thermoplastic’s decreased flexibility, which increases its resilience to deflection and load and its high thermal stability. The added MWCNTs improved the bonding strength and mechanical properties due to their higher surface areato- volume ratio.

The challenge of incorporating photothermal conversion function into chitosan (CS) hybrid fibers lies in balancing functionality and mechanical properties. In this study, we successfully prepared a chitosan/graphene oxide/gelatin (CS/GA/GO) hybrid fiber using the wet spinning process, achieving improved mechanical properties and efficient photothermal conversion capabilities. When compared with pure CS fiber with a breaking strength of 1.07 cN/dtex, the breaking strength of the CS/ GA composite fiber increased by 46.73%, while the CS/GA/GO hybrid fiber showed an even greater increase of 85.98%. In addition, the introduction of gelatin (GA) led to secondary scattering of near-infrared light, enhancing the photothermal conversion efficiency. As a result, the CS/GA/GO hybrid fiber exhibited a faster temperature rise rate and higher maximum temperatures (94.3 °C, 103.0 °C, and 111.3 °C) as compared to the CS/GO hybrid fiber. The successful incorporation of GA not only improved the mechanical properties but also enhanced the photothermal performance of the hybrid fiber.

Large-area porous carbon is easily produced for supercapacitors from polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) precursors, composed of carbon backbone and attached heteroatoms. The released heteroatoms during pyrolysis leave the porous carbon. This study explored the activation of both precursors using chemical agents (ZnO, Mg(OH)2, and KOH) to develop carbon with multiple micropores and mesopores. The activation process and relevant precursors were studied to implement synthesized porous carbon as an electrode in supercapacitors. During the activation of PVDC-resin, ZnO served both as templates and activating agents, while Mg(OH)2 served only as a template, and KOH served as an activating agent. For activation of PVDF, ZnO acted as a template and activating agent, whereas Mg(OH)2 and KOH impeded activation owing to side reactions. Therefore, with the above chemical agents, PVDC-resin was converted to carbon with a higher surface area than PVDF. The porous carbon produced using PVDC-resin with KOH had the highest specific capacitance of 137 F g− 1 and rate performance of 79% at 50 mV s− 1 (vs. 5 mV s− 1) owing to the successful creation of micropores and mesopores. This study identifies optimal conditions for synthesizing porous carbon using polymer precursors and chemical agents for supercapacitors.

Polylactic acid (PLA) is often used in the preparation of environmentally friendly biodegradable polymer plastics, and how to improve the flame retardant performance of polylactic acid has been concerned by experts and scholars. Here, we provide a new idea, using bamboo activated carbon as the main material, and phytic acid, urea and Zn(NO3)2·6(H2O) as modifiers to produce a new type of carbon flame retardant. It has bamboo activated carbon as carbon source; second, it has P, N elements and metal oxides. The two synergistically play a flame retardant role on polylactic acid. The polylactic acid composite showed good thermal stability, from no grade optimization to V-0 in the UL-94 test, and the limiting oxygen index was also increased from 20.1 to 31.2%. The above tests show that bamboo activated carbon loaded with ZnO has a good flame retardant effect on polylactic acid.

We report a simple benchtop method to synthesize diamonds from ethyl alcohol ( C2H6O) at ambient pressure and room temperature via solvothermal reactions in a liquid solution of table salt (NaCl) and their structural characterization using electron diffraction and high-resolution electron microscopy. In addition to the usual cubic phase of diamond, the hexagonal phase of diamond (lonsdaleite) has also been obtained and identified unambiguously. Many of the synthesized diamonds often contain structural defects including twinnings, stacking faults, and dislocations. The formation and growth of diamond under ambient conditions provide further insights into understanding of the natural existence of diamond on Earth as well as in outer space. While only nanometric diamonds have been observed in the present study, we believe this discovery will open up new ways that have long been sought to grow diamonds, including large size diamonds, in organic solutions at ambient conditions.