This research explores a novel approach to achieve spontaneous demulsification of Pickering emulsions by leveraging the exchange reaction between particles adsorbed on emulsion droplets and surfactants. Surfactant-adsorbed films typically create two-dimensional liquid-like film (expanded film) with low surface coverage, which is unable to fully exclude adsorbed particles from the emulsion surface. Therefore, to realize spontaneous demulsification of a Pickering emulsion, the surface phase transition to a two-dimensional solid-like film (condensed film) of surfactants on the droplet surface was utilized. This phase transition successfully realized spontaneous demulsification of silica-stabilized Pickering emulsions upon cooling.

The development of metal oxide supports with porous structure and high electrical conductivity has attracted considerable interest for diverse applications, including polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) and water electrolysis. Among these supports, iridium oxide-titanium oxide (Ir–IrO₂/TiO₂) particles stand out due to their unique properties. In this study, we synthesized a porous catalyst support consisting of titanium oxide particles with a low loading of iridium–iridium oxide species (Ir–IrO₂) using a flame aerosol process. We examined the effect of annealing these flame-made Ir–IrO₂/TiO₂ particles to boost their electrical conductivity. Prior to annealing, a spherical morphology with a porous structure, and the Ir–IrO₂ species were amorphous but uniformly covered the TiO₂ surface. After annealing at 750°C, the Ir–IrO₂/TiO₂ particles retained their spherical morphology and porous structure, demonstrating their excellent thermal stability. By increasing the annealing temperature to 750°C, the electrical conductivity of Ir–IrO₂/TiO₂ particles improved significantly, rising from 1.05 S/cm before annealing to 1.85 S/cm, demonstrating the effectiveness of annealing treatment in enhancing conductivity. These findings provide valuable insights into optimizing the performance of catalysts for various applications.

We focused on cyclodextrin-metal-organic frameworks (CD-MOFs) as a novel carrier for inhalable microparticles. CD-MOFs have garnered attention in pharmaceutical fields owing to their high biodegradability and safety. Particles produced by spray-drying were found to successfully achieve a high loading of levofloxacin (LVFX) compared to the antisolvent crystallization method. Furthermore, a significantly higher delivery rate to the lungs was observed when comparing particles prepared via spray-drying with those prepared using the antisolvent crystallization method. Additionally, aiming for the design of inhalable combination drugs, particles were prepared via spray-drying with 4-aminosalicylic acid and isoniazid. These particles demonstrated the formulation of cocrystals, enabling the simultaneous local delivery of drugs with different properties to the lungs.

In this study, fine-grained Zn samples with excellent mechanical properties were prepared via spark plasma sintering (SPS) using fine Zn powder and heat treatment. The as-sintered sample prepared by SPS exhibited fine grain size and random crystallographic texture. Moreover, heat treatment induced recrystallization and reduced the dislocation density in the vicinity of the grain boundaries of the as-sintered samples. Mechanical testing revealed superior properties in the sintered and heat-treated samples, with the sample heat-treated at 650 K demonstrating an exceptional elongation exceeding 80%. The remarkable mechanical performance is linked to the initial microstructural characteristics and dynamic recrystallization (DRX) occurring during deformation. These findings suggest that the combination of SPS and heat treatment is an effective strategy for enhancing the mechanical properties of Zn, presenting potential applications in advanced materials and biomaterials.

Organic semiconductors have many advantages: abundant resources, tunable functionality by molecular design, and easy coating process. In particular, n-type organic semiconductors have been in high demand owing to their requirement for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuits. However, n-type organic semiconductors have lower electron mobility than inorganic and p-type semiconductors. Achieving an electron mobility of 1 cm²/Vs in n-type transistors would enable the fabrication of CMOS in combination with conventional p-type semiconductors. In the current work, we focused on the significant influence of the molecular arrangement of n-type organic semiconductors on their electron mobility and aimed to control their molecular arrangement.