The fabrication of polyHIPE polymer (PHP) was specifically tailored to produce a highly porous (85%) structure with the primary pore size in the range of 50–170 μm for cartilage tissue engineering. The resulting PHP scaffold was proven biocompatible with human articular chondrocytes and viable cells were observed within the materials as evaluated using the Live/Dead assay and histological analysis. Chondrocytes with round nuclei were organized into multicellular layers on the PHP surface and were observed to grow approximately 300 μm into the scaffold interior.
COBISS.SI-ID: 19662102
The influence of heat treatment on AISI 420 in 0.1 M H2SO4 was studied at passive potentials and increasing temperatures of acid, which lowers the passivity process and accelerates the dissolution of protective layers. Samples were compared with potentiodynamic measurements, EIS, SEM and EDS analysis. From Ea, Δ‡H∘ andΔ‡S∘, further corrosive behaviour can be predicted in terms of the activation energy needed for the initiation of a chemical process on a metal surface: whether either passivation or dissolution of protective layer is preferred. In respect of those values, the passivity efficiency factor ηpass was introduced and represents best corrosion behaviour as it exceeds value 1.
COBISS.SI-ID: 19114262
Membrane assisted crystallization (MACr) offers an innovative platform for crystallizing Na2CO3, allowing its reuse after CO2 capture from flue gases by an alkaline solution (i.e., NaOH). Kristalizacija s pomočjo membrane (ang Membrane assisted crystallization; MACr) ponuja inovativno platformo za kristalizacijo Na2CO3, ki omogoča njegovo ponovno uporabo po zajemanje CO2 iz dimnih plinov z alkalno raztopino (tj, NaOH). In this study, the biomimetic aquaporin Inside™ membrane AIM60 was employed to enhance water removal, facilitating Na2CO3 crystallization. The water channel in the active layer, comprising aquaporin proteins, and the strong wettability of membrane substrate assist a better performance. For instance, the water flux of AIM60 membrane for concentrating a 1.89 mol L−1 Na2CO3 solution (osmotic pressure of 94.8 bar) in forward osmosis (FO) mode was 6.62 L m−2 h−1 and 3.25 L m−2 h−1 in pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) mode when a 5.13 mol L−1 NaCl solution (osmotic pressure of 304.9 bar) was employed as the draw solution. This demonstrates that the AIM60 FO membrane outperformed the previously reported dense reverse osmosis membrane (0.21 L m−2 h−1 in FO mode and 0.16 L m−2 h−1 in PRO mode) and a porous hydrophobic hollow fiber membrane (0.08 L m−2 h−1) under the same operating conditions. Crystallization utilizing the AIM60 membrane in an osmotic crystallizer was achieved without noticeable membrane scaling or degradation. Furthermore, a proper control of the supersaturation level induces crystallization of Na2CO3·10H2O crystals with a purity of 99.94%. Hence, the aquaporin Inside™ FO membrane may be a promising alternative to existing methods for Na2CO3 crystallization for its application in a CO2 capture scenario.
COBISS.SI-ID: 19193878
In this study, we investigated facile sonochemical synthesis, combined with the calcination process for the preparations of TiO2-MWCNT composites with different mole ratios of titanium and carbon. In order to produce stable nano dispersions we exploited an innovative biotechnology-based approach for the covalent functionalizations of TiO2-MWCNTs with in-situ synthesized soluble phenoxazine dye molecules.
COBISS.SI-ID: 19155734
Macroporous polymer composites with included alumina particles were prepared via an emulsion templating procedure by photopolymerising the monomer containing continuous phase. Methyl methacrylate and multifunctional acrylate monomer Sartomer SR 492 were used for the polymer matrix.
COBISS.SI-ID: 19206422