Singapore

ABSTRACT Since 2003 the European Union has accelerated the immediate replacement of hazardous materials from consumer products, especially lead and lead-based systems from electrical and electronic equipment, by lead-free systems. However, inspite of significant research across the globe a suitable alternative to potential lead based system PZT has not been identified. Barium Calcium Zirconium Titanate (Ba0.89 Ca0.11 Zr0.10 Ti0.90) O3,is a promising lead free system which exhibit functional response at par or better than the prominent lead based systems like PZT or PMN-PT. In this report we will present our study primarily focussed on realization of BCZT ceramic by using sintering aid, which could bring down sintering temperature below 1400 oC, so that firing of the ceramic could be carried out at ordinary lab furnace. Structural and microstructural features of the synthesized ceramic BCZT – xPr (x = 0.00, 0.02,0.04, and 0.06) along with functional attributes will be analyzed in the presentation. Various steps taken to realize quality ceramic will be illustrated. The average piezoelectric constant d33 was obtained in the range of 144 – 150 pC/N and was lower than expected value. The dielectric maxima were observed near the Curie point as expected. Well defined slim ferroelectric hysteresis loop of BCZT – (x)Pr prepared with varying Pr6O11concentration indicates, the capability and stability of the ceramics at high voltage (3900 V) and frequency (50 Hz).The doped ceramic were found to be stable even at high voltage and high frequency and hence will be useful for diverse applications.

MATERIALS FOR HUMANITY (MH 21)

REALIZATION OF LOW TEMPERATURE SINTERED BCZT CERAMIC, THROUGH Pr DOPING AND RUDIMENTARY ANALYSIS

The OWSD General Assembly and international conference will be held entirely online for the first time in OWSD's 28-year history, allowing as many of OWSD's 7600+ members to participate as possible.

The conference theme is 'Women, science and development', exploring three areas of relevance: 1) the importance of basic sciences for development; 2) the impact of applied sciences on development and 3) including sex and gender as variables in scientific research.


**Keynote speakers include:** 
* Fabiola Gianotti, Director-General of CERN; 
* Bina Agarwal, an internationally celebrated economist specializing in the political economy of gender, poverty and inequality; and 
* Angela Saini, award-winning author of Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong and the New Research That’s Rewriting the Story, Superior: The Return of Race Science, and other books. 

OWSD members will present their own research in the three themes during poster sessions throughout the conference. In addition, members will also present their own scientific and personal responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. All members will also have the opportunity to take part in a workshop on increasing their visibility and impact as a scientist, with a session on using podcasts for storytelling by Joy Owango and Adelle Onyango of the Training Centre in Communication (TCC Africa), followed by a session on filmmaking for impact by Nicole Leghissa, OWSD video consultant.

The conference will include a handover of the previous OWSD Executive Board to the new members, elected in June-July 2021. On the last day of the conference (19 November), the OWSD Italy Country Network will be launched. **This will be an in-person event in Trieste.** Italian government representatives and donors are invited to attend. The Trieste event will be coordinated with similar in person events being held in OWSD countries throughout the developing world and streamed online. At least 2,000 OWSD members, women scientists from developing countries around the world, are expected to participate online in the General Assembly and conference.

 

**ABOUT THE PROGRAMME**

In order to approach the complex and wide-ranging challenges of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, societies around the world must access and harness all the talent and experience available to them. The concerns and perceptions of the greatest number of all possible actors and recipients must be considered in order that the most relevant issues and effective solutions are found. Women are considerably underrepresented as researchers in STEM subjects around the globe; according to UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS) data, in 2019 the global average percentage of women researchers was still below 30%. Yet women typically have first hand specialist knowledge of the day-to-day challenges diverse individuals face within communities, and can be key informers in the design and development of their solutions. Moreover, since women are most often the providers of informal community support, if they are not fully informed—and if solutions are developed without their consultation—it may be the case that products, services and solutions are not relevant or appropriate. Technological advances may mean improved machines on large farms, for example, potentially increasing food production, but since the key points of food insecurity in the world are on small-scale farms managed by women throughout the Global South, such capital investments will have little impact in the areas where food production is most critical—and where women’s knowledgeable implementation of appropriate innovative technologies could make the most difference.

 
 


**Keynote Speakers:**
* Fabiola Gianotti, Director-General of CERN; 
* Bina Agarwal, an internationally celebrated economist specializing in the political economy of gender, poverty and inequality; and 
* Angela Saini, award-winning author of Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong and the New Research That’s Rewriting the Story, Superior: The Return of Race Science, and other books. 

**Eminent Guests:**
* Elena Bonetti, Italian Minister for Family and Equal Opportunities
* Maria Cristina Messa,	Italian Minister of Universities and Research
* Shamila Nair-Bedouelle,	Assistant Director General for Natural Sciences, UNESCO
* Maria Chiara Carrozza,	President, National Research Council of Italy
* Kerstin Jonsson Cisse,	Head of Unit for Globally Sustainable Economic Development, Sida - Sweden
* Naser Faruqui,	Director of Education and Science at IDRC - Canada
* Ylann Schemm,	Director, Elsevier Foundation
* Alberto Quadrio Curzio,	President Emeritus of the Italian Academy of Sciences and Humanities 
* Mohamed Hassan,	President, TWAS the World Academy of Sciences

**Chairs, panelists, interviewers and other speakers:**
Jennifer Thomson, Tonya Blowers, Rana Dajani, Shobhana Narasimhan, Joy Owango, Elizabeth Pollitzer, Kausila Timsina, Elizabeth Bandason, Susana Arrechea, Reinabelle Reyes, Dorine Odongo, Elizabeth Pollitzer, Adelle Onyango, Nicole Leghissa, Jana Rodriguez Hertz, Maryse Nkoua Ngavouka, Kate Shaw, Chao Mbogo, Prativa Pandey, Edna Patricia Matta-Camacho, Amira Shaheen, Wezi Nyambili, Ana Lucía Martinez Abarca, Mashura Shammi, Therese Umuhoza, Dionica Gamboa, Marian Nkansah, Babalola Olubukola Oluranti, Esi Awuah, Fortunate Farirai, Atya Kapley, Hasin Anupama Azhari, Huda Basaleem, Nashwa Eassa, Shymaa Enany, Kleinsy Bonilla, Patricia Castillo-Briceno, Fang Xin

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OWSD 6th GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

The conference theme is 'Women, science and development', exploring three areas of relevance: the importance of basic sciences for development; the impact of applied sciences on development, and including sex and gender as variables in scientific research.

poster

**Please view our Welcome to MH21 video.**

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To access the MH 21 Conference, [please register](https://mh21.mrs.org.sg/event/da3f9651-429f-4763-81b2-ebd7311b6bc8/websitePage:206f7605-1731-41f9-8421-56d3890f398f)

MH 21 is arranged around 6 themes that focus attention on pressing needs that should be addressed to enhance the well-being of communities and provide a forum for presenting breakthrough discoveries.

Continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic polymer composites (CFRTP) are becoming more significant in industrial applications because of their unique advantages such as excellent mechanical and chemical performance, light weight, short molding cycle, secondary molding and waste recycling. However, the difficulty in developing CFRTP is how to combine fiber with thermoplastics due to the significant difference in surface property between fiber and thermoplastic matrix. In this work, we presented the method to create the strong interaction between polymer matrix and fiber to improve the interface adhesion. The result from this study indicates that the strength of the CFRTP increase both along and cross fiber direction by introducing the interface interaction. The breaking behavior of the CFRTP suggests the different breaking mechanism of the CFRTP. This method is also applicable for production scale as the interaction was created within second time scale.

Composite resin to enhance interface between matrix and fiber in continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites

Absorbing the moisture from sweat evaporation would prevent the accumulation of sweat, and thus inhibit the growth of bacteria or fungi, providing a healthy and comfortable microclimate for people. However, there have been almost no such attempts. On the other hand, sweat has always been considered a waste resource and attempts to tap this free resource in the form of energy are relatively sparse. To realize these ideas, here we developed a cobalt-complex based super-hygroscopic material (Co-SHM). Integrating the Co-SHM into breathable and waterproof PTFE membranes, we designed new kinds of armpit pad, shoe lining, and insole, which can rapidly absorb the moisture from sweat evaporation to prevent sweat accumulation. The absorbed sweat can be transduced to energy through a Co-SHM based wearable energy harvesting device that consists of an eight-series-connection of electrochemical cells.

Super-Hygroscopic Film Based Wearables for Expediting Sweat Evaporation and Energy Harvesting

Polylactic acid (PLA) mixed with long-persistent phosphor (Ca2BO3Cl: Eu2+, Dy3+) was prepared in this study. The sustainable yellow luminescence of the composites could be clearly observed. The mechanical properties of the composite filaments were tested, including maximal force and elasticity modulus. In particular, the influence of humidity on mechanical properties was studied and optimal mixing conditions were found. Finally, the prepared composite filaments were printed into a hollow dodecahedron and presented in this study.

PLA/Ca2BO3Cl: Eu2+, Dy3+, A Novel Sustainable Luminescence Composite Material for 3D Printing

Microporous structure plays a significant role in bone tissue engineering, to influence inductive bone formation and elevate bone ingrowth inside microporous scaffolds. We hereby fabricated microporous scaffolds by 3D printing with mixture of porogens and photopolymerizing resin. We tuned the microporosity of scaffolds from 0% to 36% by varying the porogen concentration in the inks from zero to 60 vol%. The microporosity and microspore size of scaffolds can affect in vitro expansion of preosteoblast cells. Our studies revealed that preosteoblast cells’ in vitro adhesion and proliferation were significantly mediated by the printed scaffolds. Cells proliferation on scaffolds with 20-30% microporosity showed much higher rate than on other scaffolds. In this microporosity range, scaffolds also showed much better cell spreading and morphologies. At a low level of microporosity (<7%), the cell proliferation rate was even lower than the solid scaffolds, which indicates that the microporous structure is “toxic” for cells at low microporosity range. A higher microporosity (> 35%) led to very poor cell attachment and is unfavorable for the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells. Furthermore, the printed dual macro-/micro-porous scaffolds showed higher proliferation rate of MC3T3-E1 cells as compared to mono-pore sized scaffolds, either the macro-porous or microporous structure.

3D printing fabricated bone scaffolds with macro and micro porous structures

Stabilizing Effect of the Polymer Matrix on Sputter-Anneal Fabricated Nanocomposite Thin Films

The flame retardancy for polymers is very demanding as a lot of polymers are flammable and decompose into small and volatile hydrocarbons upon pyrolysis. In the past, most effective flame retardants for polymers are halogen-based. With the increasing regulatory requirements on safety and environments, halogen-based flame retardants are gradually being replaced with non-halogenated flame retardants. Inorganic metal hydroxides, mainly aluminum hydroxide (ATH) and magnesium hydroxide (MDH), are the largest class of flame retardants by volume. Other non-halogenated flame retardants, such as phosphorus-, nitrogen- and silicon-based, show promises for this property. The up-to-date technique gaps are: (1) for inorganic flame retardants, high loading of 40 - 60 wt% is required, leading to worse mechanical properties and heavy weight, (2) for current non-halogenated ones, most of them are small molecules. Such small flame retardant molecules have relatively poor thermal stability and mechanical strength, and will slowly leach out from the composites surface, leading to performance deterioration and possible environmental pollution. The development of new flame retardants with higher efficacy, lower loading, higher strength and high stability are therefore in need. Targeting this, we have developed new flame retardants with polymeric nature, which theoretically possess the above advantages over the current ones, and demonstrated their effectiveness in various polymers like polypropylene, polyamide. The flame retardant long chains will entangle with polymer matrix chains, stabilizing the whole composites without leaching issues.

Polymeric Flame Retardants: a Promising Category for Enhanced Performance

Compatible polymer blends with synergetic performance play an integral part in modern society from household, automobiles to aerospace. Conventional miscible polymer systems often relies on strong chemical interactions, while the inherent entropy effects are often neglected. Using a combination of experiments and simulation, we show that entropy driving forces could control the phase structure and mechanical properties of polymer blends from commercial plastics, creating ultrahigh extensibility (~146%), while maintaining its transparency and high strength (~70MPa).

Entropy-driven Ultratough Biodegradable Polymer Blends

With the increasing demand for the high strength and high fracture toughness composites in aerospace, automobile and other structural applications, great efforts have been devoted to the development of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites. However, the majority of commercial carbon fibers are sized for reactive thermosetting epoxy matrix, and therefore cannot be used directly for thermoplastic resin impregnation due to the high processing temperatures and poor interfacial interactions with polymer matrix. In this work, novel surfactant-free aqueous dispersions were derived from commercial polyimide resins through emulsion/solvent evaporation technique. The obtained nano-dispersions with uniform particle size around 100 nm and a high Zeta potential of -48.1 mV were deposited on carbon fibers via electrochemical deposition and dip coating method, respectively. The sized carbon fibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric (TGA) analysis, and the sizing performance was assessed by single fiber pull-out testing using polyetherimide (PEI) as the polymer matrix. The results show that the prepared polyimide sizing presents a positive effect on the interfacial adhesion of carbon fiber/PEI composites. Moreover, the carbon fibers sized by electrochemical deposition method exhibit higher interfacial shear strength (IFSS) compared to the dip-coated ones due to the increased van der Waals forces between the PEI matrix and sizing layer as well as the chemical bonding between the sizing layer and carbon fiber surface. The developed aqueous polyimide nano-dispersions exhibit great potential for application in the manufacturing of continuous carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic prepregs.



Novel polyimide-based aqueous nano-dispersions as sizing agents for carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites

PVA is a polymer containing a large number of hydroxyl groups, which can be used by microorganisms as a source of carbon and energy. Water-soluble PVA has three major advantages: good abrasion resistance, high oil resistance, and high viscosity. Narrow intermolecular gaps and strong intermolecular forces caused the PVA hydroxyl groups for etherification and acetalization reactions to form a flexible film. In this research, The polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers with good water resistance and high orientation were prepared by electrospinning technology, and PVA fiber self reinforced PVA resin matrix composite membrane with high strength and high transmittance was successfully prepared by solution impregnation method and self reinforcing concept. The PVA composite film prepared in this paper has good light transmittance, and the light transmittance is more than 85% at the wavelength of 400-800 nm. Compared with pure PVA films, the strength and toughness of random PVA nanofiber reinforced composites (R-PVAF) (30 wt%) and oriented PVA nanofiber reinforced composites (U-PVAF-1) (30 wt%) were both improved. Compared with R-PVA fiber, the strength and toughness of PVA composites can be further improved with the introduction of U-PVA fiber. The tensile strength of pure PVA film is about 30.1 MPa, while the tensile strength of U-PVAF-3 (50 wt%) can reach 70.0 MPa after the self-strengthening of PVA nanofiber, and the tensile strength of U-PVAF-3 (50 wt%) is increased by about 132.6%, indicating that the self-strengthening method can greatly improve the mechanical properties of PVA film.

Tensile properties of PVA nanofiber self-reinforced transparent PVA composite film

The unique characteristics of perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) comprise excellent luminous emissions, flexibility, and remarkable optoelectronic properties. Unfortunately, the fatal drawbacks of perovskite NCs include poor stability and chemical and thermal degradation. Several studies have demonstrated that the stability of CsPbBr3 colloidal NCs could be improved through the room temperature ligand-assisted re-precipitation (LARP) method. Additionally, analysis towards CsPbBr3 NCs surface will aid in developing long-term stability of colloidal NCs based devices. To date, no comprehensive study on the surface chemistry of CsPbBr3 colloidal NCs has been attempted nor initiated.

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Composite resin to enhance interface between matrix and fiber in continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites

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