Satoshi Ono is a student of Sophia graduate school. His research interest is preparation and characterization of Si3N4-containing nitride ceramics.

The morphologically-controlled preparations of Eu2+-doped calcium silicon nitride (Ca2-xEuxSi5N8: x = 0.05) particles, i.e., the spherical and columnar particles, were conducted by combined techniques of ultrasonic spray pyrolysis and carbothermal reduction/ nitridation. Relating to the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis, the precursor oxides for Ca2-xEuxSi5N8 particles were prepared by this technique at 600ºC in air, using Ca(NO3)2/Eu(NO3)3 solution (total concentration: 2.86 × 10-2 mol·dm-3) with suspended Si3N4 particles. The spray-pyrolyzed powder was further mixed with carbon, and carbothermally reduced in N2 atmosphere. The spherical and columnar Ca1.95Eu0.05Si5N8 particles could be prepared by controlling the heating rate and temperature for carbothermal reduction/nitridation. The spherical Ca1.95Eu0.05Si5N8 particles could be obtained when the spray-pyrolyzed powder (or precursor oxides) was heated to 1000ºC at the rate of 30ºC·min-1and then to 1400ºC for 2 h at the rate of 10ºC·min-1. On the other hand, the columnar Ca1.95Eu0.05Si5N8 particles could be obtained when the spray-pyrolyzed powder was heated to 1100ºC at the rate of 30ºC·min-1 and then to 1500ºC for 2 h at the rate of 10ºC·min-1. The morphological control was conducted by the kinds of liquid phases formed during the heating process. The morphological control of Ca1.95Eu0.05Si5N8 particles could be achieved by the nitridation of spherical and columnar particles formed at 1000ºC or 1100ºC. The emission peaks of spherical and columnar Ca1.95Eu0.05Si5N8 particles appeared at 622 nm and 618 nm, respectively, under the excitation at 375 nm. Overall, the spherical and columnar Ca1.95Eu0.05Si5N8 particles could be formed by controlling the heating rate and temperatures for the carbothermal reduction/nitridation of spray pyrolyzed oxide powders. The spherical and columnar particles emitted the lights with the peak wavelength at 622 and 618 nm under excitation at 375 nm.

Yeonjeong Noh is a student of Sophia graduate school. Her research interest is the fabrication of bone hemostasis and bone regenerate properties with natural plant-derived polymer fabricated with hydroxyapatite.

The preparation conditions of bone-hemostasis materials were examined using hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2: HAp) and natural plant-derived polymer(guar gum(GG), locust bean gum(LBG) and sodium alginate(AG)). The starting gel was prepared by dissolving 2 mass% 80LBG-20GG and 2 mass% AG into deionized water heated at 60ºC (80LBG-20GG/AG). The resulting gels were vigorously agitated with 20,000 rpm for 3 min. Further, the gel was immersed into 3 mass% phosporyl oligosaccharides of calcium (POs-Ca®50) solution at room temperature for 24 h. Then, the resulting gel was hydrothermally-treated 100ºC for 5 h and freeze-dried at -50ºC for 24 h to form s-HAp in the material. According to the X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) and confirmed by the terahertz spectroscopy, the resulting composite contained hydrolyzed materials of POs-Ca, i.e., the sugar-containing HAp (s-HAp), as well as LBG and GG. According to the micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetry (DTA-TG), 16.8% of HAp could be homogeneously dispersed within the porous composite material. The pore sizes were approximately 1 to 2 µm determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The present 80LBG-20GG/AG/s-HAp composite showed the noted porosity (81%; the measurement by micro-CT), absorption of simulated body fluid (1426%), adhesive strength (28.1 N) and hemostat time (7.5 h; the measurement by using simulated blood). The composite is also expected to assist the osteogenesis with its s-HAp. Overall, the composite of s-HAp and natural plant-derived polymer seems to be a promising material for the bone hemostasis and regeneration.

Nanako Akiyama is a student of Sophia graduate school. Her research interest is the luminescence properties of oxide, oxynitride and nitride phosphors, and the encapsulation technique of the phosphors in the glass

The conditions for the fabrication of transparent glass body in the Li2O-ZnO-B2O3-P2O5-CaF2 system were examined by a pressureless firing and subsequent oxygen-supplied hot isostatic pressing (O2-HIP). The starting glass was prepared by melting the mixture of LiOH, ZnO, H3BO4, H3PO4 and CaF2 at 1100ºC in air, followed by quenching on copper plates cooled by liquid nitrogen. The glass powder compact was pressurelessly-fired at 370ºC for 1 h in order to remove the open pores, and the subsequent O2-HIP treatment at 370 ºC for 24 h under the pressure of 130 MPa made the clear light transmission possible, regardless of the formation of Ca2P2O7 on the surface. The glass body obtained by firing at 370˚C for 1 h and the subsequent O2-HIP treatment at 370 ºC for 24 h was hydrothermally-treated in water at 100˚C for 1 h, and found that the mass loss of this body was as low as 0.25%, showing excellent water resistance. When the oxynitride phosphors, i.e., blue-emitting (La0.96Ce0.04)3Si8O4N11 and yellow-emitting (Ca0.97Eu0.03)Si2O2N2, were encapsulated into the glass, no peak shifts in the emission/excitation spectra were found, which demonstrated that no significant degradation of phosphors has occurred during the encapsulation operation. Pseudo-white light emission was observed by the equi-mass addition (total amount: 3 mass%) of (La0.96Ce0.04)3Si8O4N11 and (Ca0.97Eu0.03)Si2O2N2. Overall, the transparent glass body could be fabricated by the pressureless firing and subsequent O2-HIP treatment, and the phosphors were encapsulated into the glass without significant degradation.

Arnas Naujokaitis is a PhD student in Vilnius University and also working as junior scientific researcher at The National Centre of Physical and Technological Sciences (NCPTS). He already has decent experience in MoS2 layers formation and characterization. As a result, there are three publications in this research. Another fields of interest are materials deposition, synthesis and growth techniques, also electron microscopy and material characterization methods.

Statement of the Problem: Water splitting via low-cost electrocatalysis is crucial for the development of clean energy from renewable sources.1 However, high cost of the prior Pt and Ir/Ru-based catalysts hinder their wide usage. Consequently, development of cost-effective electrocatalysts recently is of great significance. Currently, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanoplatelet arrays are extensively investigated as electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in the acidic solutions proceeding preferentially at the exposed edge sites of MoS2 nanosheets. In fact, MoS2-based catalysts with increased active for HER sites, as well as doped with Ni and Co atoms, enhance HER efficiency.2 Nevertheless, they still demonstrate the HER efficiencies in times lower than at the surface of bulk Pt. The purpose of this study is to describe our experience of seeking markedly enhance the efficiency of MoS2 electrocatalysts for HER throughout decoration with numerous Pt quantum dots (QDs). Methodology: Crystalline nanoplatelet-shaped MoS2 arrays were formed at the surface of various substrates by hydrothermal synthesis. FE-SEM, HR-TEM, EDX analysis and cyclic voltammetry were employed. Findings: We have showed that a significant improvement of HER efficiency at the nanoplatelet MoS2 substrates can be obtained via a simple decoration with extremely low amount of Pt QDs, ca  6.0 mg/cm2, deposited both at the nanoplatelet edges and at the basal planes (Figure 1b). To the best of our knowledge, the reported by us decoration approach of MoS2 nanoplatelets with Pt QDs and Nps3-5 has not been explored for superior improvement of HER efficiency. Conclusion & Significance: This work opens new further opportunities for significant improving the efficiency of HER at nanoplatelet MoS2 substrates.

Entesar Al-Hetlani has obtained her PhD. in analytical chemistry from the University of Hull, UK in 2013. Currently, she is an assistant professor at Kuwait University. Her research interest focuses on nanomaterial synthesis and characterization for analytical applications such as areas of environmental and forensic analysis. In this work, the synthesis, characterization, application and isolation of photonanocatalyst namely, TiO2 was achieved using a very simple and effective method. This method can subsequently be used to isolate any type of photonanocatalyst from a suspension regardless of the nature of the photonanocatalyst.

TiO₂ photocatalysis is commonly utilised in diverse applications such as environmental waste management, biomedical and energy fields. The present study demonstrates the effect of temperature on the characteristics of TiO2 nanopraticles using XRD, XPS, DLS, UV-Vis, N2 sorpometry and TEM techniques. The optimum surface area of the photocatalyst was obtained when it was prepared at 60 ºC. Additionally, the TEM images showed semi-spherical morphology. Afterwards, rapid photodegradation of Rhodamine 6G dye (R6G) with efficiency of 92.5% at pH= 9.17 was accomplished using the optimised nanoparticles. The main focus of this study is to establish a new avenue that can be used to separate the photocatalyst from the reaction medium after the photodegradation experiment is completed. In this study, the photocatalyst was completely detached from the reaction medium in 3 minutes without utilisation of coagulant agents or magnetic nanoparticles. This was lucratively accomplished by adjusting the pH of the medium to match the isoelectric point (pHPZC) of the photocatalyst and annulling its surface charge, hence rapid sedimentation was observed, Figure 1. This new method has proven to be simple, rapid, and applicable to all types of photocatalysts on the industrial scale.

Since he was a student his passion has been for Solid State Physics, in particular for magnetic and optical properties of impurity ions in solid materials. He has worked on these themes in several laboratories around the world: Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas, Río de Janeiro and University of San Carlos, University of San Pablo both in Brazil. MIT, Boston, Mass. USA. Clarendon Laboratories, Oxford, England. Autonomus University of Madrid, Spain. Metropolitan University, México City and his home Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). His work has been mainly on crystals such as LiNbO3, BiGeO, BiSiO, HfO2, Alkali Halides and recently on metaphosphate glasses impurified with a large variety of rare earth and transition metal ions. The results have been used to get knowledge about the structure of several crystal defects. The results have been published in more than 100 papers.

We report the photoluminescence (PL) of Mn2+ and Eu3+ doped zinc phosphate glass as melted. Raman and Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) were also used to get a better characterization. During the synthesis process the Mn2+ ions occupy tetrahedrally coordinated (IVMn2+) sites in the glass, but also partially precipitate on octahedral sites (VIMn2+) giving rise to the simultaneous green and red luminescence, due to the spin-forbidden 4T1(G)→6A1(S) and 4T1g(G)→6A1g(S) transitions in IVMn2+ and VIMn2+ respectively. Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) and lifetime measurements were also used to establish the presence of manganese ions in octahedral/tetrahedral coordination. The absorption transition 6A1(S) →4E(D) of Mn2+ centered at 350 nm can produce red luminescence, while the transition 6A1(S)→4A1(G) of Mn2+ centered at 409 nm produces a green and red dual luminescence that is dependent on manganese concentration in the glass, being the green luminescence the dominant one. On the other hand the presence of Eu3+ produces also a red luminescence around 612nm due to the transition 5D0 →7F2. The manganese and europium ions form next pairs whose interaction gives rise to an increase in the europium red emission and an energy transfer process between both ions.

Xavier Bidault has his expertise in modeling and analysis of nanostructured materials by Molecular Dynamics. In order to study nanostructured optical fibers, the simple adaptive model that he developed during his Physics PhD allowed the simulations to reproduce for the first time the separation of phases of complex compositions in silica-based glasses, as experimentally observed. He now enlarges his skills to organic materials to understand how the granularity (surface energy and porosity) of a nanostructured energetic material impacts its reactivity under shock, with a focus on nanodiamond formation.

Recent experimental studies show that granularity has a substantial impact on the detonation behavior of high-explosive materials: under shock loading, a nanostructured one leads to smaller nanodiamonds than a microstructured one [1]. Moreover, simulations show that a porous energetic material undergoes an extra temperature rise related to the size of the pore/defect [2, 3]. Two aspects of this granularity, the surface energy and the porosity, are explored to investigate these different behaviors. From a model energetic material, the surface energy of nanoparticles with a radius from 2 nm up to 60 nm has been determined by means of Molecular Dynamics simulations using ReaxFF-lg potential [4]. Then, using the Rankine- Hugoniot relations and the equation of states of the corresponding bulk material [5], the contribution of this excess energy to the heating of the shock-compressed, nanostructured and porous material is determined, and compared to the compaction work needed to collapse its porosity. This allows evaluating the balance of these two aspects of granularity to the extra temperature rise under shock loading.

Ying Cheng has her expertise in environmental remediation by nano-materials and by the biodegradation with microorganism. She developed novel functional nanomaterials by green synthesize with potential application in field remediation of contaminants. Besides, She has isolated several bacteria for the degradation of textile pollutions and organic contaminants. Functional biomaterials based on the immobilization of cells has been used in the removal of both textile pollutions and heavy metals. She aimed to integrate nano-material degradation with biodegradation for environmental remediation and the energy recycling and to understand the scientific issues for bio-nano interface.

Statement of the Problem: The ever-increasing demand for energy and the growing water shortage are two major challenges all over the world. It is urgent to find environmentally sound methods for energy generation and waste disposal. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) offer a clean and energy-conservative way for wastewater treatment and energy recycling. The performance of electrodes is the most important aspect in improving the power density and promoting the application of MFCs in large scales. Improving the anode configuration to enhance biocompatibility and accelerate electron shuttling is critical for efficient energy recovery in MFCs. Therefore, we aim to design an easy and eco-friendly synthesis process of nanomaterials for the modification of the electrode, eliminating the generation of hazardous substances while enhancing the productivity of MFC. Methodology: Graphene-based nanocomposite was coated using layer-by-layer assembly technique onto carbon brush anode then green reduced by Eucalyptus leaf extract. Findings: The green synthesized nanocomposite film affords larger surface roughness for microbial colonization. The modified anode achieved a 3.2-fold higher power density of 33.7 W/m3 at a current density of 54.9 A/m3 with a 75% shorter start period. Conclusion & Significance: The layer-by-layer structure of green reduced rGO/Au NPs film creates a high bacteria loading capacity, promotes intimate contact between the electricigens and anode surface and facilitates cell-anode interaction. Thereby the charge transfer efficiency in the process of electricity generation and power delivery is elevated. This green approach for designing biocompatible anode provides much potential for high-performance MFCs and efficient energy recovery. Finally, the increment in electrical conductivity and catalytic efficiency of anode guarantees its further applications in MFCs for sewage treatments.

Jana Hlavata is Ph.D. student at Department of Nonwovens and Nanofibrous Materials, Faculty of Textile Engineering at Technical University of Liberec, Czech Republic. She specializes in centrifugal spinning technology, especially in needle and needle-less way. Materials and modified fibers mentioned above have been successfully spun at two devices assembled at department. These devices are improved and upgrade according to her specifications and requirements. During her internship at University of Alabama at Birmingham she has been dealing with controlled morphology of porous fibers.

Centrifugal spinning, Forcespinning¬TM or rotary jet spinning, all these names represent relatively new and simple technology that allows production of fibers by using only centrifugal forces. These forces are caused by high-speed rotation of the spinneret unit and are necessary for drawing polymeric jet and fiber formation. Two main ways of centrifugal spinning process depend on type of the spinneret unit. These are needle and needle-less technology. Besides that, it is possible to combine centrifugal forces with electric field to produce fibers by electro-centrifugal method. Fibers could be forming from solutions or melts as well. Centrifugal spinning has several advantages in comparison to electrospinning such as spinnability of liquid form of materials (polymeric solution/melt, ceramic, metal), larger range of spinnable materials (no requirements on conductivity of material) and higher production rate. Fibers are arranged in one direction and gathered on collector. This homogenous fiber layer could be used in many different applications, I.e. in biomedical area, tissue scaffolds, drug delivery systems, filtration, energy industry etc. Materials polycaprolactone (PCL), polyvinyl butyral (PVB), polyamide 6 (PA 6), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), copolymer of polycaprolactone and lactid acid (PLC), collagen and other have previously been successfully spun. Forcespun fibers generally have wide distribution of their diameters. Big variability in spinning devices, used materials and process conditions lead to production of modified fibers, such as porous fibers, bicomponent fibers and even hybrid and inorganic fibers.

Radek Jirkovec is a Ph.D. student at department of Nonwovens and Nanofibrous Materials at Technical University of Liberec, Czech Republic. His focus is bio-printing, hydrogels, preparation of scaffolds for tissue engineering. He has been working on these topics since his master's thesis and is currently expanding his knowledge of these topics in his dissertation.

This paper deals with the preparation of composite scaffolds composed of micro / nano fibers and biocompatible hydrogel. An experiment of this work was focused on finding a suitable material that could be suitably applied while enabling cell migration and proliferation. Only natural polymers for hydrogel formation were used for testing due to their biocompatibility, natural biodegradability and biological functions. Five materials were selected for testing: collagen, gelatin, agarose, agar and hyaluronic acid, which were applied to the micro / nano fibrous layer from biocompatible polycaprolactone. In the experiment itself, it was found that all materials could be applied without great difficulty, but subsequent in-vitro testing only enabled the collagen and hyaluronic acid hydrogel to allow cell proliferation and migration to fibrous material.

Valentina Caba has her expertise in waterborne and solventborne polyurethane coating. She has developed this formula of conductive polyurethane after years of experience in research and developing of polymer coating on paper release. The conductive polyurethane formula could be incorporated into the production of the textile coating, which leads to the broadening of synthetic leather application. With her interest in eco-friendly components she is looking for improvement of raw materials quality and the use of chemicals with low or zero volatile organic compounds.

Electrically conductive polymers have shown great potential for several applications in electronic, environmental, and biomedical fields. In particular, polyurethane is used in electromagnetic shields1, in electrodes for capacitive deionization in the desalination process of brackish water4, and in electrodes for electrocardiography2 and electroencephalography monitoring3, and electrostimulation5. Conductive composite materials can be realized as compact (film) or porous (foam) layers, depending on the process. For polyurethane, literature reports different recipes depending on the final material features. This implies the use of a wide range of reagents and additives, and it goes against the tendency of manufacturing companies focusing on the reduction of chemical products and raw materials in their processes. The purpose of this study is the industrial development of electrically conductive water-based polyurethane, suitable both for foam and film casting. In this study, polyether, polyester, and polycarbonate based polyurethane is used and mixed with different cross-linkers and conductive fillers. Five different compounds in similar concentration are compared as cross-linkers. Different loadings of silver based conductive fillers are used. The foam is obtained by mechanical frothing from the mixture of components used for the film. Paper transfer coating process is used to realize both films and foams for testing. Different paper release materials are considered. Surface resistivity is measured by two-point probes method. Results show that the conductivity of the material depends on all the considered variables in different ways. The main contribution is given by the conductive filler loading, with a percolation threshold about 45% wt. The surface resistivity increases about three orders of magnitudes from film to foam. This loss of conductivity can be recovered by increasing the filler loading. The water-based conductive polyurethane prepared in this work, can be successfully realized in porous or compact layers by industrial process manufacturing, with a cost-saving formula using reduced number of components.

Audiometric screening tests are carried out in lightweight, mobile capsules. In this case, compliance with specific environmental conditions, in particular acoustic, necessitates the selection of suitable sound absorbing materials. The assignment of the materials into the group of sound absorbing materials depends on the value of the absorption coefficient. Sound absorbing materials should have and absorption coefficient α>0,1 in any frequency, what can be achieved for materials characterized by both high porosity or high surface perforation. Materials of this type include, modern layered materials and sandwich structured as “honeycomb” type. In mentioned applications, the mechanical properties of these materials are also important in addition to the sound absorption properties. This study presents systematic comparison between commonly used and commercially available construction composites. Two of analyzed composites, layered and sandwich structured, are typically used as lightweight constructions elements, because of their unique properties and advantageous weight to flexural strength ratio. Both analyzed composites, exhibit high absorption of the sound. The analyzed composites were characterized in terms of mechanical and surface properties. Special emphasis was placed on the characteristic of the connection between composite structural components. For this purpose, the following methods were used: scanning electron microscopy, optical profilometry, contact angle measurements and 3-point bending. Presented systematic analysis will be useful to select appropriate materials for lightweight constructions. The main results if the study can be summarized in the following conclusions. 1) Both composites demonstrate that they are several times more rigid compared to commonly used polymer composites. 2) Comparative analysis revealed many times higher mechanical properties of the sandwich structured panels compared to layered composites. 3) Studies showed that layered composite is characterize by the absence of delimitation of the lightweight panel. The results show high potential of the analyzed composites as lightweight construction materials with simultaneous sound absorption.

Donata Kuczynska is a PhD student and has her expertise in evaluation of surface properties of the materials, especially in biomaterials. Her main interest is interaction of titanium surface with the plasma proteins (albumin and fibronectin) and cells. She deals with comprehensive characterization of the surface physicochemical properties such as: chemical composition, roughness, topography, wettability and surface free energy. She has experience in surface analysis techniques - AFM Atomic Force Microscopy, Optical Profilmetry, XPS Spectroscopy, Auger AES Spectroscopy and Fourier FTIR Spectroscopy. Currently she is working on laser surface texturing of titanium and its alloys.

Marcin Zemla is a PhD student in Warsaw University of Technology and also MSc student in University of Warsaw. He has his expertise in first-principles calculations based on Density Functional Theory (DFT). He is mainly interested in defects interactions in Fe-Cr alloys, especially grain boundaries interactions. In his research he is using DFT implemented into VASP code. Currently he is studying Fe-Cr point defects into both bulk and grain boundary structures. Nevertheless, he works on it and develops a methodology also in another project, in which he recently published a paper DOI: 10.1039/C7CP03109B.

Ferritic Fe-Cr steels are proposed as structural materials in fusion and fission nuclear power plants. To understand radiation damage effects in Fe-Cr alloys, it is necessary to investigate point defect properties, which are dependent on the concentration of Cr, the short-range ordering of alloy and the local environment of a defect. This kind of information, on the atomic level, can be derived from ab initio simulations. Spin-polarized density functional theory calculations are performed by using VASP code, with generalized gradient approximation (GGA) of Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) for exchange-correlation. Representative structures are generated using DFT-based Monte Carlo simulations [1]. The chemical potentials, formation energies and relaxation volumes of defects as well as changes of magnetic moments caused by the presence of point defects are studied as functions of the local environment, the short-range ordering and the concentration of Cr in Fe-Cr alloys.

Agata Sotniczuk is currently a PhD student at Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology. In her work she focused on corrosion behavior of nanocrystalline metals, especially titanium and aluminium alloys. One of her main interest is the influence of microstructural defects, like dislocations and grain boundaries on the passive layer formation is solutions simulating body fluids. This subject was also a topic of her Master Thesis which was awarded the first price from the Polish Corrosion Society. Her main investigation tools are electrochemical tests (impedance and potentiodynamic) together with electron microscopes (SEM, TEM) for microstructure characterization.

Owing to the constant increasing of the number of people suffer hearing disorders, the demand for modern medical devices like mobile audiometric cabins is continues to grow. The opportunity to fold and relocate the cabin would allowed to examine greater number of population in distant places by the same equipment. Nevertheless the necessity of cabin mobility imposes special requirements on its construction The main requirement for constructive materials in case of mobile audiometric cabins is the high mechanical strength related to density which allowed for its mass reduction. Other properties like the high fatigue resistance, the great joining ability and high corrosion resistance in working conditions are also essential. Both titanium and aluminium alloys fulfil this requirements. Thus, the aluminium alloys, which are less expensive and possess better weldability, are the first choice for the mobile medical constructions. The precipitation strengthened 6xxx aluminium alloys have both satisfactory mechanical strength and weldability. The broad availability of semi-finished products made from 6xxx alloys is also a great advantage. Although mechanical properties of semi-products like yield or tensile strength are given in normalized worksheets, manufacturers data do not enclosed their anisotropy. The differences of mechanical properties on particular directions and on the elements thickness are connected with crystallographic and morphologic texture. In this study the homogeneity of the microstructure, texture and mechanical properties anisotropy of selected aluminium profiles with different shapes was investigated. For this purpose following tests were made: phase and texture analysis by XRD, microstructure analysis on different sections (OIM and SEM+EDS), static tensile tests and microhardness measurements. Obtained results are important due to its great influence on the construction mechanics. The elements of supporting structures work in the conditions of compression, shearing or bending. The anisotropy of its mechanical properties can lead to the contrary properties for different load conditions. There are no doubts that such results have to be taken into consideration during designing of the audiometric cabins construction.

Stanislav Nevyhosteny is a Ph.D. student at the department of nonwovens and nanofibrous materials, Faulty of textiles, Technical university of Liberec, Czech republic. He specializes in production of hybrid and inorganic nanofibers using the direct current and alternating current electrospinning. The main area of his research is hybrid nanocomposites for attenuating ionizing radiation. This is achieved through combination of inorganic and polymer chemistry.

Nanomaterials are an important aspect of contemporary technology. Although nanomaterials were always present in nature, mankind is only recently learning to create and utilize them. A good example is the "lotus effect" - hydrophobic surface of lotus leaves due to their nanomarphology. An equally interesting phenomenon is the coloration of butterfly wings due to the interference of light. There is also a substantial amount of fine carbon and oxidic particles in the environment, created by volcanic activity, fires or burning fossil fuels. In recent decades, nanomaterials are receiving a major attention and are found in almost all areas of technology. These materials can be found in micro and nano electronics, polymer biomaterials, drug delivery systems, fuel cells, polymer films, nanofibers, litography, protective equipment and various other applications. Best properties are, however, in many cases achieved by combining nanomaterials with the usual materials, usually in a form of matrix for the nanostructures. Nanocomposites based on polymers have become an important part of contemporary research and development. A very popular method for polymer processing has recently become electrospinning. Thanks to the simplicity, large amount of spinnable materials and unique properties, both the technology and its products are receiving major attention. A variety of uses are also found for inorganic additives, which can be incorporated into the nanofibers in a form of particles or solutions to create hybrid fibers or nanocomposites. Using these materials, it was possible to produce a hybrid nanocomposite with higher than usual ionizing radiation attenuation properties, while being lighter and safer for the environment.

Sanchayita Nag has expertise in synthesis and characterization of nano ferrites, along with synthesis of graphene and polymer based ferrite composites. Her major interest is mainly focused on the characterization of the synthesized materials for several possible applications like magnetic, photocatalytic as well as dielectric. Her continuous efforts in the concerned field have created new possibilities for the multifunctional applications of organic nanoferrite composites.

In the present work, HCL- doped polypyrrole was prepared by the oxidative-polymerization [1] method. X-ray diffraction pattern depicts a broad amorphous peak centered around 2Ɵ = 23o, corresponding to scattering from the bare polymer chain [2].TEM images revealed the sheet like morphology of the sample. The visible light driven photo degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) and Methylene Blue (MB) dyes were carried out to study the photocatalytic performance of the sample. Field dependent room temperature M-H behavior of the sample was also studied. In both cases, the sample showed 99.99% degradation of the dyes at around 25 minutes. The sample showed a trace of ferromagnetism at room temperature (RT-FM) with coercivity around 120 Oe and saturation magnetization around 1.5X10-3 emu/gm. For nonmagnetic polypyrrole, this observation is a bit striking. This phenomena may be correlated to the defect related ferromagnetism as generally observed in chemically synthesized graphene or its nanocomposites [3]. Simultaneously, in the case of conducting polymers, the process of doping (intercalation) breaks the double bond of the polymeric chain and produces a positively charged defect and a dangling bond. These two factors results the formation of a positive polaron. The ferromagnetic ordering of polarons may induce ferromagnetism into the sample [4].

Madina Ryssakova is a master student in Advanced Chemical Engineering program at University of Edinburgh. Her dissertation project focuses on studying catalytic activity of Cu-ZSM-5 for direct methane to methanol conversion. She worked on this project under the supervision of Dr. Francisco Garcia Garcia (University of Edinburgh) and with cooperation of Sasol Technology Ltd. as a project industrial partner.

Methanol is one of the high potential products used as a key raw material to produce many other chemicals. Current industrial route for methanol production is a two-stage process including steam reforming of methane to synthesis gas and catalytic conversion of syngas to methanol. This method is considered as energy intensive and expensive. Therefore, investigation of technology for direct methane to methanol conversion (DMTM) will be an attractive alternative for conventional technology. In nature, materials such as methane monooxygenase (MMO) oxidizes methane by single step and Copper-Exchanged Zeolite Catalysts (Cu-ZSM-5) can mimic this exceptional activity of MMO. The main objective of this work was to investigate catalytic performance of Cu-ZSM-5 for DMTM under mild isothermal conditions. The methodology was to incorporate copper at framework positions of zeolite, characterize Cu-ZSM-5 and test its activity for DMTM. As Al atoms within zeolite framework are believed to play an important role in the nature of copper active sites, samples with different Si/Al ratios were employed to observe the effect of catalyst acidity on methanol production. The results on DMTM over Cu-ZSM-5 presented the formation methanol for all tested samples. Treatment of catalyst with air was found to be most favorable environment to form active copper clusters comparing with H2O and H2O/H2. and Cu-ZSM-5 with high Al content had a higher product yield. These findings confirm the activity of copper-oxo sites in ZSM-5 towards methane to methanol oxidation and role of zeolite acidity in catalyst performance.