Subhendu Bhandari has completed his PhD from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India. At present, he is an Assistant Professor in Plastics and Polymer Engineering Department, Maharashtra Institute of Technology, Aurangabad. He has published 9 papers in reputed journals and filed 1 patent.

Polyaniline (PAni) is one of the most widely explored intrinsically conducting polymers which is conducting in nature in its partially doped form. The present investigation reveals the synergistic effect of simultaneous use of dopant combinations during synthesis of PAni on its different properties. Individually and dual doped PAni were synthesized via electrochemical and solid state route. Electrochemical synthesis was carried out in polar protic (aqueous) as well as aprotic (dimethyl formamide) solvent using sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and p-tuluenesulfonic acid (PTSA) as dopants. Solvent-free solid state synthesis of PAni involved the dopants citric acid monohydrate (CA) and camphorsulfonic acid (CSA). For all cases total dopant concentration was maintained at 1M and relative proportion of the dopant concentrations was varied at 1:3, 2:2 and 3:1. Simultaneously dual doped PAni exhibited synergistic improvement in electrical conductivity for all cases. Dopant ratios of [H2SO4]:[PTSA]=3:1 and [CA]:[CSA]=3:1 resulted in highest extent of synergy for respective synthesis processes. Dopant combination of H2SO4 and PTSA in protic and aprotic polar medium of synthesis exhibited maximum improvement of conductivity by 1.5 and 2.6 fold increase. However, the combination of CA and CSA in solid state synthesis exhibited a maximum of 8 fold increase of conductivity compared to individually doped samples which is even higher in comparison with 4% (w/w) addition of multiwalled carbon nanotube in CA doped PAni. Synergistic improvement was also observed for different dual doped PAni in supercapacitive behaviour as well as thermal degradation characteristics within certain range of temperature.

Nayeli Camacho completed her PhD from the University of Texas at El Paso in the USA and Post-doctoral studies from the National Polytechnic Institute, Engineering Department, Mexico City, Mexico. She is a CONACYT Research Fellow working at the Center for Engineering and Industrial Development which is part of a system of research centers managed by the National Council of Science and Technology, CONACYT.

The use of hydroxyapatite-reinforced composite materials in the medical field has considerably increased in recent years because of the high biocompatibility and bioactive properties of this material, especially when it is used in bone replacement applications. It is imperative that new materials are thoroughly analyzed to ensure bio-functionality. This study describes the response of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), separated from leukocyte packages obtained from healthy donors, in contact with a 90-10 weight % composite manufactured from an isophthalic polyester resin and reinforced with HAp and calcium triphosphate particles. The viability of PBCMs in the presence of this novel composite was evaluated every 24 hours for 5 days using commercial luminescent cell viability assay (Premix WST-1 Cell Proliferation Assay), positive and negative controls were used. PBMCs are part of the immune system and are usually stimulated by antigens and mitogens. Although the viability assessment demonstrated that HAp-reinforced resin does not have a cytotoxic effect on the PBMCs, the high cell proliferation values obtained via ELISA could be due to a mitogenic or antigenic effect of the composite. Because of the elevated cell proliferation, it was needed to confirm that the material was not acting as a mitogen. To do this, yellow tetrazolium MTT (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay with the cell line 231 (breast cancer cells) was performed. The viability of this 231 cell line was not affected by the presence of the composite. Based on the results, a pro-inflammatory mediator production assessment should be performed.

Jonathan completed a bachelor of science in chemistry at the University of South Alabama. He then graduated with a master of science in environmental toxicology from the same school before beginning his PhD in materials engineering at Deakin University in Melbourne Australia.

CO2 is a major contributor to anthropogenic climate change. Because it will take decades to replace existing coal-fired power generation infrastructure, post-combustion capture is important to reduce carbon emissions while the transition to more sustainable power generation is underway.rn At Deakin University, I use organic ionic plastic crystal (OIPC) membranes to separate CO2 from nitrogen. A plastic crystal has multiple solid phases, including a \"normal\", highly regular crystalline phase. As a plastic crystal is heated, the associated volumetric expansion allows varying degrees of motion or rotation of lattice constituents and functional groups. While this motion is taking place, the long range order of the crystal is preserved. These properties confer high diffusion rates even in solid phases.rn An OIPC has the same properties, but consists entirely of ions. This makes them non-volatile, more thermally stable, and highly tunable as appropriate ion selection can ideally be done on an application-specific basis. The high diffusion rates and correlation between diffusion rates and the degree of rotation/mobility of the OIPC lattice has been well studied in the context of lithium diffusion through OIPC solid-state electrolytes. In this work, the OIPCs P1224PF6 and C2mpyrBF4 were supported in nanofibrous PVDF and the ideal selectivities for the CO2/N2 gas pair were measured at 35°C. The results were separation factors of 29 and 33, respectively, which is competitive with conventional polymers and supported ionic liquid membranes.