(Press-News.org)
Professors Yiqiang Wu and Caichao Wan, along with their team from Central South University of Forestry and Technology (CSUFT), have pioneered a groundbreaking transparent material derived from natural bamboo. This innovative material features a three-layered flame-retardant barrier, effectively reducing heat release, slowing flame spread, and restraining the emission of combustible volatiles, toxic smoke, and CO. Their findings have been documented in the journal Research.
Silica glass, a widely used transparent material in the construction industry, has seen increased adoption as an essential building material over the past 50 years. Its versatility is reflected in the global glass production reaching approximately 130 million tons in 2020. According to C. Wan, a full professor at the College of Materials Science and Engineering at CSUFT and a corresponding author of the paper, "Despite its numerous advantages such as high transparency and the availability of raw materials, traditional silica glass still grapples with challenges including brittleness, high density, and substantial CO2 emissions and greenhouse gases during the manufacturing process."
In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in transparent wood products, thanks to their remarkable features like high transparency, excellent mechanical strength, and superior thermal insulation properties. Transparent wood not only offers environmental benefits but also holds huge potential as a viable alternative to traditional glass materials. Nevertheless, there are several limitations associated with the utilization of transparent wood: (a) global wood scarcity, particularly in China, poses a challenge; despite efforts to increase production through plantations, it is projected that the demand for industrial
roundwood in 2050 will exceed supply; (b) the use of polymers in transparent wood makes it highly susceptible to fire, posing a potential hazard; and (c) there is a need to further enhance the functional properties of transparent wood beyond its basic optical and mechanical attributes.
“Bamboo, often referred to as ‘the second forest’, boasts a fast growth and regeneration rate, allowing it to reach maturity and be utilized as a building material within 4 to 7 years of growth,” says Wan, “with an output 4 times higher than wood per acre, bamboo is recognized for its exceptional efficiency.”
“In terms of chemical composition, bamboo shares similarities with wood, mainly consisting of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose. Furthermore, the internal hierarchical structure of bamboo closely resembles that of wood, featuring high porosity and permeability because of neatly arranged vertical channels. This characteristic suggests the potential use of bamboo in the production of transparent composite materials.” says Y. Yang, PhD student in Wan’s lab and lead study author.
The team’ solution is to impregnate an inorganic liquid sodium silicate (Na2O·nSiO2) into the delignified bamboo structure using a facile and efficient vacuum-impregnation technique. Subsequently, a hydrophobic treatment is applied to the intermediate product. “Through this strategy, we can build a 3-layered flame-retardant barrier comprising a top silane layer, an intermediate layer of SiO2 formed through hydrolysis–condensation of Na2SiO3 on the surface, and an inner layer of Na2SiO3)” Wan describes. “This strategy achieves a long ignition time of 116 s, low total heat release of 0.7 MJ/m2, low total smoke production of 0.063 m2, and low peak CO concentration of 0.008 kg/kg.” The bending and tensile moduli of the transparent bamboo are as high as 7.6 ± 1.3 and 6.7 ± 1.1 GPa, respectively, demonstrating its excellent mechanical properties.
In addition, when used as a substrate for perovskite solar cells, the transparent bamboo shows the potential to act as a light management layer due to its high light transmittance of 71.6% and an impressive fog value of 96.7%, leading to a marked enhancement of 15.29% in power conversion efficiency.
They are excited that this discovery opens the door for green flame-retardant glass and optical device applications. “In the future research, we will focus on the large-scale fabrication and multi-functionalization of this transparent bamboo,” adds Wan.
END
Congenital heart disease (CHD) is one of the most common congenital anomalies worldwide, which brings a heavy health and financial burden to patients. Early CHD screening and treatment can significantly improve children’s prognosis and quality of life. However, inexperienced sonographers often face difficulties in recognizing CHD through transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) images. An auxiliary CHD screening system that allows inexperienced sonographers and general practitioners to perform TTE in a simple and easy-to-use way, thereby improving the CHD screening rate and scope, is urgently needed.
An Anhui Medical University, National Center for Children's Health and National Research ...
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Duke University showed that a genetic variant, present in 3-4% of self-identified Black individuals in the U.S., increases the risk for both heart failure and death and contributes to significant decreases in longevity at the population level
A genetic variant carried by 3-4 percent of self-identified Black Americans increases the risk for heart failure and death, contributing to a significant decrease in longevity at the population level, according to a new study led by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, and Duke University School of Medicine. The ...
About The Study: Among self-reported Black individuals, male and female V142I carriers faced similar and substantial risk for heart failure hospitalization, predominantly with reduced ejection fraction, and death, with steep age-dependent penetrance. Delineating the individual contributions of, and complex interplay among, the V142I variant, ancestry, the social construct of race, and biological or social determinants of health to cardiovascular disease merits further investigation.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Scott D. Solomon, M.D., email ssolomon@rics.bwh.harvard.edu.
To access the ...
The higher the blood sugar level in pregnant women when first diagnosed with diabetes, the higher the risk of complications around and after birth, according to research presented at the 26th European Congress of Endocrinology in Stockholm. For every 5mg/L above the diagnosis threshold, the risk of newborns having low blood sugar levels, or a large birth weight, rises by 9% and 6%, accordingly, while mothers have a 31% higher risk of diabetes after birth. The findings suggest that high-risk women with gestational diabetes should be classified further to limit these complications for both ...
Women who enter menopause before the age of 40 are more likely to die young, but may lower their risk with hormone therapy, according to research presented at the 26th European Congress of Endocrinology in Stockholm. This long-term Finnish study is the largest carried out on the association between premature menopause and mortality, which highlights the importance of regular medical checkups and appropriate hormone therapy use in these women.
Most women experience menopause between the ages of 45 and 55. However, about 1% of women go through menopause before the age of 40 years, known as premature menopause or ...
Being asked whether you considered yourself a normal weight, plumper or thinner as a child when attending a doctor’s appointment as an adult might appear like a very strange question to ask, but new research being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity in Venice, Italy (12-15 May) suggests that such questions can help identify increased mortality risk in adults living with obesity. The study is by Dr William Johnson, an epidemiology expert based at Loughborough University, UK, and colleagues.
Obesity in adulthood ...
Viewers bombarded with 52 minutes of junk food advertising every hour.
Young people exposed to influencer and digital game-based marketing consume an additional 37 calories in foods that are high in fat, salt, and sugar after each exposure.
Findings underscore urgent need for digital food marketing polices to protect young viewers.
Food and drink advertisements on videogame livestreaming platforms (VGLSPs) like Twitch are associated with more positive attitudes towards, and purchases and intake of, unhealthy foods that are high in fat, salt and/or sugar (HFSS) like energy drinks among adolescents aged 18 or younger, according ...
Lisbon, Portugal – 11 May 2024: Heart failure patients who are vaccinated against COVID-19 have an 82% greater likelihood of living longer than those who are not vaccinated, according to research presented today at Heart Failure 2024, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 Heart Failure is a life-threatening syndrome affecting more than 64 million people worldwide.2
“Patients with heart failure should be vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect their health,” said study author Dr. Kyeong-Hyeon Chun of the National Health Insurance ...
“Sticks and stones may break my bones,” the old adage goes. “But words will never hurt me.”
Tell that to Eugenia Rho, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, and she will show you extensive data that prove otherwise.
Her Society + AI & Language Lab has shown that
Police language is an accurate predictor of violent interactions with Black motorists.
Broadcast media bias and social media echo chambers have put American democracy at risk.
Now, Rho’s ...
A group of scientists who placed instruments on an ice shelf in Antarctica found that ponds of meltwater were causing the ice to flex and fracture.
Though scientists had predicted the phenomenon, this is the first time it was observed in the field.
The finding raises concerns that, as climate change progresses and more melting occurs, vulnerable ice shelves in Antarctica will collapse—contributing to global sea rise.
“Ice shelves are extremely important for the Antarctic Ice Sheet’s overall health as they act to buttress, or hold back, the glacier ice ...
