Moisture Scavenging Research Articles

Chemical characteristics of grass silage with the use of acidifier after opening the bag

The objective of this work was to evaluate the chemical characteristics of Miyagi grass silage (Megathyrsus maximus cv. Miyagi), with the addition of moisture sequestrants (ground corn grain - GCG, and dried distillers grain with solubles and high fiber, DDGS), and addition of inoculant (SiloSolveMC) and/or acid (Mold-Nil Liquid). The experimental design was completely randomized in a 3x3 factorial arrangement, with five replications: factor 01, the use of moisture scavengers (without additive, with the addition of GCG and/or DDGS), and factor 2, the use of bacterial inoculant (SiloSolveMC) and/or acid (Mold-Nil Liquid). For the chemical evaluation of the silage, the percentage of dry matter (DM), the insoluble fiber in neutral detergent (NDF), mineral matter contents (MM), and crude protein (CP). There were no interactions between moisture scavengers, bacterial inoculants, and/or acids. The use of moisture scavengers interfered with DM (P<0.05), observing a value with GCG and DDGS use of 36.18% and 35.46%, respectively, higher than MGS (27,68%). For NDF values using GCG and DDGS, values of 51.39% and 65.47%, respectively, lower (P<0.05) than MGS (70.72%) were observed. The use of microbial inoculant and acid did not alter (P>0.05) the OM values, with an average value of 92%. As for CP, there was no interaction (P>0.05) of moisture scavengers, microbial inoculant, and/or acid. It is recommended to include moisture-sequestering foods associated with MGS to obtain better DM, NDF, and CP values after opening the bag and the use of microbial inoculants and/or acids in the MGS did not influence these characteristics.

Development of Moisture Absorbent Ceramic-Coated Separators for Advanced Lithium-Ion Batteries

In the present human life, various electric devices and machines are worked by lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The batteries have still remained challenges such as, the low cycling stability due to side reactions during charge-discharge cycling and the weak thermal stability at high temperatures. Accordingly, research on improving resistance to high temperatures and impregnability by coating ceramic particles and polymer binders on the surface of the separator is being conducted. The ceramic coating separator is manufactured by connecting small-sized inorganic particles to each other using a small amount of binder. The inorganic particles have high hydrophilicity and high specific surface area, so the ceramic separator has excellent wettability to the electrolyte. As a ceramic coating, alumina is currently commercialized, and a slurry is prepared by mixing a binder, etc., and then coated on a separator and then dried. LG Energy Solutions has commercialized a ceramic composite separator called SRS (Safety-reinforcing separator) and is applying it to batteries. By introducing a ceramic layer on the surface of a polyolefin-based separator, the heat resistance and mechanical strength of the separator have been greatly improved, and it has been widely used in high-capacity and large-sized batteries. when the temperature of the LIBs rises and the separator shrinks or ruptures, a large amount of lithium ions may move, making control difficult and creating a risk of explosion. Therefore, shutdown occurs, but a separator with good shape retention at high temperature is required. Accordingly, research on improving resistance to high temperatures by coating ceramic particles and a polymer binder on the surface of the separator is being conducted. In this work, Ceramic-coated separator membrane film was fabricated using aluminum fluoride (AlF3) materials for a powerful moisture (H2O) scavenger. Accordingly, research on improving high temperature resistance and impregnation property by coating ceramic particles and a polymer binder on the surface of the separator is in progress. First of all, a-AlF₃ nanorods with an average length of 1.882 μm and a diameter of 320 nm were synthesized under low supersaturation conditions. Then, PVdF-HFP [Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene)]-acetone solution was mixed and coated on a polypropylene membrane. The AlF₃-coated separator exhibited thermal shrinkage of 4%, 8%, and 18% at 130, 140, and 150°C, respectively, confirming that thermal stability was improved. In addition, as a result of the impregnation test, it was confirmed that the impregnation property of the coated separator was improved compared to the existing polypropylene separator. In addition, it was confirmed that the full cell manufactured using the a-AlF₃-coated membrane film has improved cycle stability and high-speed, high-capacity compared to the full cell manufactured using the existing non-coated separator.

Development of highly reusable, mechanically stable corn starch-based aerogel using glycerol for potential application in the storage of fresh spinach leaves

Impact of glycerol on the physico-functional, morphological, mechanical, and rehydration properties of corn starch-based aerogel has been investigated. The aerogel was prepared from hydrogel (sol-gel method) using solvent exchange and supercritical CO2 drying. Glycerol-infused aerogel had a more connected, denser structure (0.38–0.45 g/cm3), enhanced hygroscopic behavior, and was reusable up to eight times in terms of its capacity to absorb water after being drawn from the soaked sample. However, the inclusion of glycerol reduced the aerogel's porosity (75.89–69.91 %) and water absorption rate (WAR; 118.53–84.64 %) but enhanced its percentage shrinkage (75.03–77.99 %) and compressive strength (26.01–295.06 N). The most effective models for describing the rehydration behavior of aerogel were determined to be the Page, Weibull, and Modified Peleg models. Glycerol addition improved the internal strength of the aerogel so could be recycled without significant change in the physical characteristics of the aerogel. By effectively eliminating the condensed moisture that was developed inside the packing owing to the transpiration of fresh spinach leaves, the aerogel extended the storage life of the leaves by up to eight days. The glycerol-based aerogel has the potential to be employed as a carrier matrix for various chemicals and a moisture scavenger.

A Review on Nano-Food Packaging: An Untapped Revolution in Food Packaging

Spoilage of food is a worldwide concern because of poor faulty packaging material. Today the evolution of nanotechnology in the food industry provides several benefits in food preservation, food processing, and food packaging. Nano packaging has found many applications in the food industry. Nano packaging of food provides many benefits such as oxygen (O2) scavengers, moisture scavengers, antimicrobial, gas barrier properties, strength, flexibility, keeping an eye on freshness, etc. These nanomaterials help to increase the shelf life of food, and maintaining the quality without causing any alteration is a primary concern. Nano packaging made it possible to transport food globally by increasing the shelf life of food products. Nano food packaging, however, is still in the fetal stage; therefore, this review crisps the present status and recent advancement of this technology. Furthermore, address the toxicity of nanoparticles (NPs) in food packaging and safety concerns. The pros and cons of this novel technology will describe its usefulness and appropriateness in the food packaging industry.

Formulation and Optimization of Stable Aspirin 100mg Tablets

Several moisture and temperature-sensitive medicines cannot be manufactured in Sudan due to extreme climatic conditions. Keeping these factors under control during production is difficult task. It is possible to overcome these difficulties by using excipients and utilizing technology in the production of the drug. This study aimed to adjust and improve the formulation of aspirin using different excipients and different technological approaches to produce stable aspirin tablets. Microcrystalline cellulose and lactose were used as fillers and stearic acid as a lubricant, four aspirin formulations, two formulations containing lactose and two formulations containing microcrystalline cellulose were prepared for aspirin 100 mg. For each formulation, wet granulation and direct compression techniques were applied separately, to study the effect of manufacturing technology and the role of excipients on the stability of the product. Prepared tablets were subjected to various quality control tests. Lactose had lower moisture content than MCC. But MCC has moisture scavenger characteristic. Direct-compression CDs with MCC shows less degradation than other tablet formulations. Addition of stearic acid as a substitute for magnesium stearate (a lubricant) changes the overall pH to more acidic which reduces hydrolysis.

Role of Active Packaging in the Food Industry: A Review

In response to shifting consumer demands, food packaging's conventional function is continuing to change. Consumer desire for healthier, safer and good quality meals with longer shelf-life is one of the current causes that are challenging the food packaging sector to produce new and better technology packaging solutions. Therefore, Active packaging (AP) can be used to satisfy these requirements. The biggest advantage of Active packaging (AP) is less food waste because the items have a longer shelf life. Undoubtedly, active packaging is a great option for a variety of food sector applications. In the upcoming years, the commercial success of active packaging systems should be anticipated as they represent the growth of food packaging in the future. In this review, a summary of active packaging technologies, including oxygen scavenger, moisture scavenger, ethylene absorber, antioxidant-releaser, CO2 emitter, and antimicrobial packaging systems are provided. In particular, reviews of scientific studies emphasizing the advantages of these technologies for certain food products are conducted. However, the development of food nano-packaging is still in its early stage, despite having numerous opportunities to enhance packaging materials and functions. Although, due to the advancements in nanotechnology there might be higher chances of enabling the creation of better active packaging. This article also discusses current breakthroughs in food nano packaging based on active nanoparticles.

Comparative Study of Conventional Electrolytes for Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries

AbstractConventional magnesium salts are generally considered to be passivating to the magnesium anode, hence chloride‐based electrolyte additives are often added to circumvent this issue. As a result, the performance of conventional magnesium salts has rarely been assessed in a chloride‐free system. This work provides a comparative study on the electrochemical performance and interfacial reaction of four commercially available magnesium salts with tetrabutylammonium borohydride as moisture scavenger. Magnesium bis(hexamethyldisilazide) was found to be the most reductively stable and enabled excellent magnesium plating/stripping without chloride additive. Investigation of the solid electrolyte interphase revealed a thin organic polyether layer that was conducive to magnesium‐ion migration. The results also showed that a minuscule amount of chloride (20 mM) improved the reversibility of magnesium plating/stripping but was still corrosive towards the current collector, thus establishing that chloride‐free electrolyte is most appropriate for future development of rechargeable magnesium batteries.

Using a Chloride-Free Magnesium Battery Electrolyte to Form a Robust Anode-Electrolyte Nanointerface.

Magnesium bis(hexamethyldisilazide) (Mg(HMDS)2)-based electrolytes are compelling candidates for rechargeable magnesium batteries due to their high compatibility with magnesium metal anode. However, the usual combination of Mg(HMDS)2 with chloride salts limits their practical application due to severe corrosion of cell components and low anodic stability. Herein, we report for the first time, a chloride-free Mg(HMDS)2-based electrolyte in 1,2-dimethoxyethane. By chemically controlling the moisture content using tetrabutylammonium borohydride as a moisture scavenger, the electrolyte demonstrates outstanding electrochemical performance in magnesium plating/stripping, with an average Coulombic efficiency of 98.3% over 150 cycles, and is noncorrosive to cell components. Surface analysis and depth profiling of the magnesium metal anode reveals the formation of a robust solid electrolyte interphase at the anode-electrolyte nanointerface, which allows magnesium plating/stripping to occur reversibly. The electrolyte also demonstrates good compatibility with a copper sulfide nanomaterial cathode, which exhibits a high initial discharge capacity of 261.5 mAh g-1.

Insights into the Moisture Scavenging Properties of Different Types of Starch in Tablets Containing a Moisture-Sensitive Drug.

Starch is a commonly used excipient in the pharmaceutical industry. However, information on the effect of the moisture scavenging properties of starch to protect moisture-sensitive drugs is limited. The interaction between starch and moisture is of particular interest as moisture fugacity can impact drug stability. In this study, the moisture behavior of different starches was examined for an understanding of its role in the degradation of acetylsalicylic acid. The starches were characterized for their dimensional- and moisture-related properties. Stability testing was carried out on tablets containing acetylsalicylic acid and different starches. Although moisture sorption processes were visually comparable for the different starches, quantitative differences were found in their moisture interaction and distribution. From the sorption isotherms, moisture monolayer coverage and area of hysteresis were found to correlate well with the percentage of acetylsalicylic acid degradation. The lowest percentage of acetylsalicylic acid degradation was observed in starch that exhibited high monolayer coverage, large area of hysteresis, and good capacity for internally absorbed moisture. Findings from this study highlighted the value of moisture scavenging excipients when formulating moisture-sensitive drug products. Clearly, the assessment of moisture sorption properties of excipients during the preformulation phase can be an invaluable exercise for identifying the best possible ingredients in formulations where moisture sensitivity is an area of concern.

Insights on the role of excipients and tablet matrix porosity on aspirin stability.

Excipient-moisture interaction can be a critical attribute in determination of product stability. This study aimed to investigate influence of integrating excipients having different moisture interaction into moisture sensitive drug formulations. Aspirin was formulated with maize starch (MS), microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and calcium hydrogen phosphate dihydrate (DCP). The excipients were evaluated for their inherent moisture content and water activity. Tablets fabricated at different compression pressures were exposed to 40°C, 75% relative humidity for a stipulated period before analyzing for aspirin degradation. The results revealed that while MS had higher moisture content, the water activity was relatively low. Consequently, MS tablets had lower aspirin degradation than MCC and DCP tablets. In contrast, high water activity of DCP resulted in greater aspirin degradation. This was despite the low moisture content of DCP. Influence of tablet porosity on aspirin degradation was minimal. This illustrated the fugacity of moisture, possessing high thermodynamic activity and physical spatial delimitation would not suppress its distribution. The findings suggested that excipients possessing high water retentive capacity could potentially be useful as internal tablet desiccants by acting as a moisture scavenger. This study also highlights the importance of water activity in preformulation studies related to the choice of excipients.

Valorization of marine-derived biowaste to develop chitin/fish gelatin products as bioactive carriers and moisture scavengers

Marine-derived biowaste was valorized to develop chitin/fish gelatin porous materials with the aim of being used as moisture scavengers and bioactive carriers. Chitin was extracted from squid pens, abundant and available biowastes from fishery industry, through a sustainable process and the environmental assessment was carried out. Besides the valorization of biowaste, it is worth noting that the use of this specific biowaste allows the avoidance of discoloration and demineralization processes to extract chitin and, thus, a lower consumption of resources, both chemicals and energy, in comparison to the conventional chitin extraction from crustacean shells. Consequently, this alternative source of chitin brings economic and environmental benefits. In addition to the reduction of food waste disposal, the incorporation of squid pen-extracted chitin into fish gelatin formulations led to the conversion of a biowaste into a value-added product. In this regard, chitin was employed as a reinforcing agent in order to improve the mechanical behavior of fish gelatin materials. It is worth noting that good compatibility between gelatin and chitin was achieved since no chitin aggregation was observed. Furthermore, more defined pores were obtained after chitin addition. Additionally, tetrahydrocurcumin was incorporated into the formulation as a bioactive and its release was analyzed during three days. It was observed that samples prepared with chitin and THC showed potential as active porous materials for bioactive delivery.

Antimicrobial and Conductive Nanocellulose-Based Films for Active and Intelligent Food Packaging.

Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is becoming an important substrate for engineering multifunctional nanomaterials with singular and tunable properties for application in several domains. Here, antimicrobial conductive nanocomposites composed of poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (PSBMA) and BNC were fabricated as freestanding films for application in food packaging. The nanocomposite films were prepared through the one-pot polymerization of sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA) inside the BNC nanofibrous network and in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate as cross-linking agent. The ensuing films are macroscopically homogeneous, more transparent than pristine BNC, and present thermal stability up to 265 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere. Furthermore, the films have good mechanical performance (Young’s modulus ≥ 3.1 GPa), high water-uptake capacity (450–559%) and UV-blocking properties. The zwitterion film with 62 wt.% cross-linked PSBMA showed bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus (4.3–log CFU mL−1 reduction) and Escherichia coli (1.1–log CFU mL−1 reduction), and proton conductivity ranging between 1.5 × 10−4 mS cm−1 (40 °C, 60% relative humidity (RH)) and 1.5 mS cm−1 (94 °C, 98% RH). Considering the current set of properties, PSBMA/BNC nanocomposites disclose potential as films for active food packaging, due to their UV-barrier properties, moisture scavenging ability, and antimicrobial activity towards pathogenic microorganisms responsible for food spoilage and foodborne illness; and also for intelligent food packaging, due to the proton motion relevant for protonic-conduction humidity sensors that monitor food humidity levels.

Unraveling and Mitigating the Storage Instability of Fluoroethylene Carbonate-Containing LiPF6 Electrolytes To Stabilize Lithium Metal Anodes for High-Temperature Rechargeable Batteries

Implementing Li metal anodes provides the potential of substantially boosting the energy density of current Li-ion battery technology. However, it suffers greatly from fast performance fading largely due to substantial volume change during cycling and the poor stability of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). Fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) is widely acknowledged as an effective electrolyte additive for improving the cycling performance of batteries consisting of electrode materials that undergo large volume changes during cycling such as Li metal. In this study, we report that while FEC can form a robust SEI on the electrode, it also deteriorates the shelf life of electrolytes containing LiPF6. The degradation mechanism of LiPF6 in FEC solutions is unraveled by liquid- and solid-state NMR. Specifically, traces of water residues induce the hydrolysis of LiPF6, releasing HF and PF5 which further trigger ring-opening of FEC and its subsequent polymerization. These reactions are significantly accelerated at elevated temperatures leading to the formation of a three-dimensional fluorinated solid polymer network. Moisture scavenger additives, such as lithium 4,5-dicyano-2-(trifluoromethyl)imidazole (LiTDI), can delay the degradation reaction as well as improve the cycling stability of LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2/Li metal batteries at 55 °C. This work highlights the poor shelf life of electrolytes containing FEC in combination with LiPF6 and thereby the great importance of developing proper storage methods as well as optimizing the content of FEC in practical cells.

Fluoroethylene Carbonate Containing Electrolytes: Origin of Poor Shelf Life and Its Mitigation

The performance of lithium-ion batteries have been substantially improved in almost all aspects since the initial commercialization.[1] However, cycling stability and safety is still one of the main concerns. In this regard, electrolytes play an important role. Although carbonate electrolytes are reduced at the anode electrode, they are able to form a stable passivating layer called solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). This layer is able to suppress continuous electrolyte degradation improving the cyclability of the batteries. SEI-forming additives such as fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) and vinylene carbonate (VC) are found to be particularly effective to stabilise this SEI layer.[2,3] However, K. Kim et al. have recently reported the thermal instability of FEC in LiPF6-based electrolyte for Li-ion batteries.[4] They show that FEC can be defluorinated by Lewis acids such as PF5, generating HF and other acids that are detrimental to the battery. Herein, we have studied the effect of FEC in LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 (NMC)/Li cells at room- and elevated-temperatures. In addition, we have investigated the possible mechanism of such fast degradation of LiPF6- and FEC-based electrolytes and approaches to inhibit it. At room temperature, NMC/Li cells containing FEC additive in the electrolyte presented longer cycle life than the FEC-free electrolytes. However, both electrolytes showed poor electrochemical performance when cycled at 55°C (Fig. 1a). Interestingly, we observed that the LiPF6-based electrolytes which also contains FEC undergo color change when stored at 55°C precipitating a brown solid (Fig. 1b). Shelf life of LiPF6 in FEC solution was investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) confirming the hydrolysis of LiPF6 to phosphoric acid. Furthermore, the obtained solid was identified as a fluorine-based crosslinked polymer derived from FEC. Incorporation of a moisture scavenger compound, such as lithium 2-trifluoromethyl-4,5-dicyanoimidazole (LiTDI), in the electrolyte formulation can slow down the degradation process (Fig. 1b) and improve the battery performance at 55°C (Fig. 1c). [1] J. Electrochem. Soc. 2017, 164, A5019-A5025. [2] ACS Energy Lett. 2017, 2, 1337−1345. [3] J. Power Sources, 2018, 400, 147–156. [4] Electrochim. Acta, 2017, 225, 358–368. Figure 1

A long cycle-life Na-Mg hybrid battery with a chlorine-free electrolyte based on Mg(TFSI)2

The commercial applications of rechargeable magnesium batteries (RMBs) are hindered by the slow diffusion kinetic of Mg2+ ions in cathode materials. To overcome this problem, we design a new Na-Mg hybrid battery with the NaTi2(PO4)3@Carbon (NTP@C) nanoparticles as a cathode material, the Mg metal as an anode and the Mg(TFSI)2 + NaBH4 - triglyme/1,2-Dimethoxyethane (DME) as a hybrid electrolyte. For the first time, the Mg(TFSI)2 is applied as a Mg2+ ions source in the chlorine-free Na-Mg hybrid electrolyte with NaBH4 as both Na+ ions source and moisture scavenger. The NTP@C/Mg hybrid battery shows excellent electrochemical performance. The corresponding average capacity decay after 1000 cycles is only 0.004% and 0.008% per cycle at 2 C and 10 C, respectively. Even at 20 C, about 60 mAh g−1 can be obtained after 26000 cycles. The impressive capacity retention of 93.7% and 90.2% can be obtained at 5 and 10 C, respectively. The excellent electrochemical performance of the hybrid battery confirms the feasibility using Mg(TFSI)2 in the chlorine-free hybrid electrolyte for long term cycle. The developed NTP@C/Mg hybrid battery possesses the advantages of excellent electrochemical performances, good safety and low cost, making it promising for the commercial applications, especially for the large-scale energy storages.

Selection of the best active modified atmosphere packaging with ethylene and moisture scavengers to maintain quality of guava during low-temperature storage

In modified atmosphere packaging of guava, moisture scavenger (MS) sachet containing 30–50 g of coarse silica gel and ethylene scavenger (ES) sachet containing 0–4 g of potassium permanganate was added as per central composite rotatable design. The headspace O2 and CO2 of the packages were studied at 4, 8 and 12 °C for 30 days and thereafter the guava were left for two days to ripen at 30 °C. After that the chilling injuries, percentage acceptable guava, peel color and pulp texture was analyzed. After two days ripening at 30 °C the samples with 3 g ES and 46 g MS registered higher L∗, lower a∗ value & firmness (16.65 N), lowest chilling injury score. About 95% of guava was found acceptable in this treatment with 1.89–2.79% reducing sugar, 0.95–1.1% titrable acidity, 59% and 46.61% retention of total phenols and ascorbic acid respectively, resulting 32 days shelf-life of guava.

Snapshots of the Hydrolysis of Lithium 4,5-Dicyanoimidazolate–Glyme Solvates. Impact of Water Molecules on Aggregation Processes in Lithium-Ion Battery Electrolytes

Despite that 4,5-dicyano-2-(trifluoromethyl)imidazole lithium salt (LiTDI) exhibits several interesting features in aprotic solvents such as glymes or carbonate esters, little is known about its structural rearrangement after exposure to water. Since the LiTDI salt has been verified as an effective moisture scavenger able to suppress degradation of the LiPF6-based electrolyte, comprehensive knowledge of coordination modes in the LiTDI–H2O system, as well as information about the structure of formed hydrates, is desirable. In the present study, we report the impact of water on the LiTDI glyme-based electrolytes investigated by means of the single-crystal X-ray diffraction technique and Raman spectroscopy. We have found that the exposure of lithium 4,5-dicyanoimidazolate–glyme solvates to humid air gives rise to the hydrolysis products arising from stepwise addition of water molecules to the lithium coordination sphere. Several structural motifs have been distinguished as preferred coordination modes in the...

Application of vinyltrimethoxy silane as moisture scavenger for the high reactive 2k polyurethane coatings: Physicochemical and kinetic studies

The 2k-polyurethane coating can be formed by simple addition of hydroxyl group containing materials to isocyanate group containing materials. The high reactivity of the aromatic diisocyanate results in absorption of moisture and liberation of CO2 bubbles at room temperature leading to undesired defects in applied coatings. Here, we investigated the effect of vinyltrimethoxy silane (VTMS) as moisture scavenger in the polyurethane coatings and its reactivity towards water and diisocyanate. The mechanism of formation of polyurethane in the presence and absence of the VTMS was successfully described by different techniques (FTIR-ATR measurements of diisocyanate transmittance at wavenumber 2272cm−1). The activation energies were 19.04 and 17.38kJ/mol in the presence and absence of the VTMS, respectively. This indicates that under high temperature and high relative humidity conditions, the VTMS led to fast and safe reaction. It was found that the final coating properties like gloss and hardness were improved where the VTMS undergoes chain reactions with both humidity and diisocyanate as well as participates in the final polyurethane network.

Enhancing Lifetime and Efficiency of Organic Solar Cell by Applying an In Situ Synthesized Low-Crystalline ZnO Layer.

By introducing an in situ synthesized low-crystalline ZnO (LC-ZnO) (amorphous) layer between the cathode and the active layer of PCPDTBT:CdSe solar cell {PCPDTBT: poly[2,6-(4,4-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-4H-cyclopenta [2,1-b:3,4-b']dithiophene)-alt-4,7(2,1,3-benzothiadiazole)]}, the device keeps more than 80 and 40 % of its initial lifetime after 180 and 360 days without any encapsulation, respectively. In this regard, 180 days is the highest lifetime achieved for polymer-based solar cells with direct configuration. In addition, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) is improved up to 70 % in the presence of the LC-ZnO interfacial layer. The LC-ZnO layer is synthesized during polymer annealing after solution-deposition of the precursor at a low temperature (140 °C) and a short time. Highly crystalline ZnO (HC-ZnO) nanoparticles are also synthesized and applied as an interfacial layer. The results show that the LC-ZnO is superior to the HC-ZnO in acting as cathode interfacial layer and moisture scavenger because of the high coverage and surface area provided by the in situ synthesis method.

Food supplements for type 2 diabetics

With more than 382 million patients being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and even more unknowingly suffering of diabetes and pre-diabetes, health burden will continue to grow. Diabetes is a chronic disease, characterized by an unbalanced glucose metabolism. Insulin resistance, inhibited insulin production and rising glucose levels are on the onset of diabetes type 2. The major complications occurring in diabetics are cardiovascular disease, diabetic nephropathy, diabetic retinopathy and cognitive decline resulting in depressions and loss of memory. The pathophysiology of the complications show similarities. High glucose concentrations lead to oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction, which is amplified by the formation of advanced glycation products. Endothelial dysfunction increases a bunch of intracellular cascades resulting in the onset of inflammation, vasoconstriction, cell expansion and thrombosis. This bachelor thesis hands a solution to prevent or delay the onset of these major diabetes complications by the design of a range of food supplements, especially for diabetics. Every major complication is linked to an own food supplement. Methods. The active ingredients were chosen based on the pathophysiology of both diabetes type 2 and the complication (part 1). When the active ingredients were chosen, the excipients were discussed; a body, lubricants, moisture scavengers, firmness agents and binding agent are used to make the supplement manufacturable. To test if the excipients were added in the right amount and proportions, several tests were done. These tests include a friability test, a disintegration test and a hardness test (part 2). Results. The active ingredients include polyphenols, vitamins, plant extracts, herbs and minerals. All supplements resulted in the acceptable ranges set for every test, contain at least one health claim and are supported by scientific evidence. Discussion. When selecting the ingredients, several requirements were taken into account; every product should contain at least one related health claim and should be supported by scientific evidence, also affordability is taken into account. Based on these requirements, some ingredients have been rejected. Points of discussion of these nutritional supplements are the bioavailability and interactions of some of the ingredients, such as polyphenols. Thereby, size of the tablet and quality of the used herbal extracts are points of improvements. Conclusion. The food supplement range has reached the three most important requirements: scientific evidence, health claim and manufacturability. The range is ready for production.