Evan K Wujcik

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Verified

Evan verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

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• Ph.D. in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
• Professor (Assistant) at University of Maine

In this study, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in a water solution was mixed with CNC suspensions in 4:1 and 3:2 weight ratios (w/w) and electrospun (ES) into aligned composite fiber mats. The electrospun mats were mechanically cut into high aspect ratio nanofibers (PVA:CNC-nf) and used as reinforcement in melt compounded thermoplastic poly(lactic acid)...

MXenes, two-dimensional transition metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides, have been investigated for diverse applications since their discovery, however, their life cycle analysis (LCA) has not been studied. Here, we perform a "cradle to gate" LCA to assess the cumulative energy demand (CED) and environmental impacts of lab-scale synthesis of...

Cationic methylene blue (MB) and anionic orange G (OG) dyes were adsorbed using the first-ever synthesized nanocomposite of MXene-AgMOF. At 200 mg/L and 0.01 g, GO-AgMOF, MXene-AgMOF, and AgMOF were able to adsorb 99.9%, 99.0%, and 98.0% of cationic MB dye, respectively, from water. The nanocomposites were characterized both before and after adsorp...

Biofouling is a pivotal problem for polymeric membranes used in water treatment and reuse. Surface functionalization is a promising practice to improve the resistance of membranes to biofouling. Diverse materials, synthesis methods, and functionalization techniques will be needed to address different applications. Herein, we employed a novel ultras...

Textile wastewater is one of the most challenging streams for wastewater treatment as it is heavily contaminated with solid pollutants such as dyes. Nanofiltration (NF) membranes are a promising method to protect water resources by removing dyes and other organic contaminants from wastewater. In this study, novel NF membranes composed of a thin lay...

Drinking water—a vital part of our ecosystem—is often exposed to contamination through industrialization. Halogenated compounds, for example, trihalomethanes (THMs), are among the most common contaminants, being by‐products of water chlorination/treatment. The carcinogenic and health effects of these compounds have motivated scientists to work on t...

Herein, silver-based metal-organic framework (AgMOF) and its graphene oxide (GO)-decorated nanocomposite (GO-AgMOF) are proposed for use in emerging biomedical applications. The nanocomposites are characterized, and hence, in vitro apoptotic and antibacterial features of AgMOF and GO-AgMOF nanomaterials were investigated. An MTT cytocompatibility a...

Polyaniline (PANI) has been widely used as an electroactive material in various applications including sensors, electrochromic devices, solar cells, electroluminescence, and electrochemical energy storage, owing to PANI’s unique redox properties. However, the chemical and electrochemical stability of PANI-based materials is not sufficiently high to...

The capturing of water contaminants and the remediation of water bodies is an important concern to human health due to severe side effects of contaminants on the body such as cancer. Pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, dyes, and chemical warfare agents (CWAs) are a few of the toxic pollutants that cause serious damage to the environment, humans, and ani...

The capturing of water contaminants and the remediation of water bodies is an important concern to human health due to severe side effects of contaminants on the body such as cancer. Pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, dyes, and chemical warfare agents (CWAs) are a few of the toxic pollutants that cause serious damage to the environment, humans, and ani...

The capturing of water contaminants and the remediation of water bodies is an important concern to human health due to severe side effects of contaminants on the body such as cancer. Pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, dyes, and chemical warfare agents (CWAs) are a few of the toxic pollutants that cause serious damage to the environment, humans, and ani...

With the ever-growing concerns for sustainable energy production and clean air, developing highly efficient catalysts to eliminate exhaust emission pollutants is of vital importance. In this work, we report a class of thermally stable RuOx-CeO2 nanofiber catalysts derived from a facile one-pot electrospinning method. Ru-CeO2 nanofiber catalysts exh...

This study investigates the effect of surface functionalization of a thin-film composite forward osmosis membrane with zwitterions and silver-based metal organic frameworks (Ag-MOFs) to improve the antifouling, anti-biofouling, and antimicrobial activity of the membrane. Two types of zwitterions, namely, 3-bromopropionic acid and 1,3-propane sulton...

Electrospun polyacrylonitrile/iron nitrate (PAN/Fe(NO3)3) nanofibers were prepared, and used as precursor nanofibers for production of carbon/iron nanofibers via the carbonization process. The catalytic effects of metallic iron on morphologies, chemical structures, graphitic carbon growth, and thermal behavior during and after the carbonization pro...

Disease diagnosis and treatment always have and will remain the primary goals of modern healthcare. When diseases may be detected early, however, clinical outcomes are able to be improved due to the increased efficiency of therapeutic treatments. To improve upon the detection of diseases, nanofibers (NFs) have been applied to create nanosensors cap...

With haptic and pressure sensor manufacturing in the US totaling $US 1.6 billion in annual revenue—with 2% annual projected growth from 2018 to 2023—and tactical and service clothing manufacturing in the US totaling $US 242.9 million in annual revenue, the potential of advanced wearables continues to grow. As many fields tend toward miniaturized te...

Excessive copper (as Cu(II)) in drinking water—in place through mining, farming, manufacturing operations, and municipal or industrial wastewater releases—can be a threat to human health and ecosystem wellbeing. Some sources of drinking water are remote; hence, the sensitive, selective, and portable detection of contaminated copper in drinking wate...

Here, we demonstrate facile water-processable and sprayable electrode fabrication methods for LiFePO4/graphene hybrid cathodes in LIBs, without using an organic solvent. The multi-functionality of graphene oxide (GO), as a dispersant, binder, and precursor for the conductive graphene, was exploited in this fabrication process. Additional polymeric...

Porous graphene possesses great potential as an anode material for sodium-ion batteries. Due to the porosity of the graphene, the increase in surface area allows for shorter diffusion length for electrolyte ions. Herein, the porous graphene oxide is created using the breath figure method, and then reduced by chemical, electrochemical, or thermal me...

Wearable strain sensors are essential for the realization of applications in the broad fields of remote healthcare monitoring, soft robots, immersive gaming, among many others. These flexible sensors should be comfortably adhered to skin and capable of monitoring human motions with high accuracy, as well as exhibiting excellent durability. However,...

Electron Microscopy Investigation of CeO2 Nanofibers Supported Noble Metal (Pt, Pd and Ru) Catalysts for CO Oxidation - Volume 25 Supplement - Zhongqi Liu, Yang Lu, Junhao Li, Yifan Wang, Evan K. Wujcik, Ruigang Wang

Wearable strain sensors are essential for the realization of applications in the broad fields of remote healthcare monitoring, soft robots, immersive gaming, among many others. These flexible sensors should be comfortably adhered to skin and capable of monitoring human motions with high accuracy, as well as exhibiting excellent durability. However,...

Ternary polyoxymethylene (POM) blends comprising methacrylate‐butadiene‐styrene (MBS) copolymer and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) in different weight percentages are prepared by a two‐step melt extrusion technique. The synergistic toughening effect of polyoxymethylene by MBS as the impact modifier and TPU as the compatibilizer is investigated....

Indium oxide (In 2 O 3 ) doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocomposites were successfully synthesized through a facile microwave hydrothermal method. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm...

Carbon black (CB)/thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) nanocomposites with a range of nanoparticle loadings were prepared successfully by using a joint co-coagulation technique and hot pressing. The presence of hydrogen bonding interactions between the CB particles and TPU chains was identified from the results of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spe...

The dimension of polyaniline (PANI) is effectively tuned by changing the end groups of additive surfactants. PANI fiberboards, dendrites, and rods are separately obtained through the guidance of micelle soft templates formed by the corresponding surfactants, i.e., sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS), sodium lauryl sulfonate (SLS), and sodium dodecyl ben...

Due to rapidly developing international globalization and industrialization, countless toxic chemicals have been released into the environment in terms of airborne, water, and solid pollutants. During the past century, waste products have risen 10-fold. And this amount will double again by 2025 according to projections. Chemical pollutants, such as...

Carbon fiber composite laminates were interfacially reinforced through in-situ synthesis of g-C3N4 on the carbon fibers. The introduced g-C3N4 greatly improved the roughness, functional groups and wettability on the carbon fiber surface and markedly enhanced the interfacial properties of composite laminates. The surface free energy of carbon fibers...

Recent years, an explosive growth of wearable technology has been witnessed. A highly stretchable and sensitive wearable strain sensor which can monitor motions is in great demand in various fields such as healthcare, robotic systems, prosthetics, visual realities, professional sports, entertainments, etc. An ideal strain sensor should be highly st...

A series of crosslinked anion exchange membranes (AEMs) were prepared through ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of tetraalkylammonium-functionalized norbornene derivatives. Dimensional stability and mechanical properties were enhanced by the crosslinker of 2, 2′-(hexane-1,6-diyl) bis(2-methyl-2, 3, 3a, 4, 7, 7a-hexahydro-1H-4, 7-methano...

Materials science is becoming a more and more important influencer in electronics, as new synthesis methods and new materials are consistently coming to fruition. In particular, templated synthesis schemes offer unique material options, various alignments, and micro- to nanoscale control over morphology. Surfactant and co-surfactant templating, fur...

In recent years, a new and promising polymer processing technology known as water‐assisted injection molding (WAIM) has attracted attention not only for academic reasons but also for its industrial applications. WAIM technology provides a new way to fabricate hollow or other complicated products due to its faster cycling time and light weight. This...

In this study, polystyrene-b-poly (ethylene/propylene)-b-polystyrene grafted glycidyl methacrylate (SEPS-g-GMA) copolymer was prepared by melt grafting in the mixer. The successful grafting of GMA on the SEPS molecular chain was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The grafting ratio of SEPS-g-GMA was measured by acid-base t...

The effects of phosphazene based epoxy resin hexa-[4-(glycidyloxycarbonyl) phenoxy]cyclotriphosphazene (CTP-EP) as a synergistic agent on fire retardancy, thermal and mechanical properties of polyamide 6/aluminum diethylphosphinate (PA6/AlPi) composites were investigated. AlPi and CTP-EP presented an obviously synergistic flame retardant effect for...

Fuel cells have attracted more attentions due to many advantages they can provide, including high energy efficiency and low environmental burden. To form a stable, low cost and efficient catalyst, we presented here the state of the art of electrocatalyst fabrication approaches, involving carbon nanotubes and their multifunctional nanocomposites inc...

Carbon nanoadsorbents have attracted tremendous interest for metal ion removal from wastewater due to their extraordinary aspect ratios, surface areas, porosities, and reactivities. However, challenges still exist as they suffer from subpar dispersion and recovery, tending to aggregate, and so on. Thus significant research efforts focus on modifica...

In this paper, a series of amorphous polynorbornene cells were constructed, and the microstructures of the membranes and the transports of OH- in the membranes were optimized at different temperatures and water contents. The relationships between the microstructure of polynorbornenes and the transport of hydroxide ions were investigated by molecula...

A new monomer called 2,2′-(4,4′-oxydiphenol-4,4′-diyl)bis(2-methyl-2,3,3a,4,7,7a-hexahydro-1H-4,7-methanoisoindol-2-ium) iodide (d3) is synthesized possessing both cross-linker and functional groups. The membranes are formed by copolymerizing d3 with norbornene and (3aR,4S,7R,7aS)-2-methyl-2-(3-(trimethylammonio)propyl)-2,3,3a,4,7,7a-hexahydro-1H-4...

A novel two-layer reinforced carbon fiber (CF), i.e., Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs)/graphene oxide (GO) reinforced CF (named as CF/Ag/GO) was prepared by an electrochemical deposition and electrophoretic deposition (EPD) consequently. The modified fiber showed an increased interfacial shear strength (IFSS) and tensile strength. Transmission electron mi...

Lignin grafted N, N′-methylene-bisacrylamide (LM) was copolymerized with acrylic acid (AA) to fabricate lignin based poly (acrylic acid) (LBPAA) nanocomposites, and organo-montmorillonite (OrgMMT) was uniformly dispersed in LBPAA by ultrasonic method. The water absorbency in KCl solution was 302.9 g/g for LBPAA/OrgMMT (3 wt% OrgMMT, 43.65 wt% LM, a...

We report thermal and infrared transmission measurements on ammonia borane (NH3BH3, AB), and its bulk composites with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a function of temperature. X-ray studies reveal an amorphous phase combined the AB crystalline with the addition of the polymer. We determine the activation energies in the temperature range from 25 °C...

The current investigation seeks to measure the thermal and vibrational response of ammonia borane (NH3BH3, AB)/polyacrylamide (PAM, Mn ~ 150,000) composites in bulk and electrospun fiber forms. The hydrogen release and melting temperature profiles for the composites were found to be lower than pristine AB. The kinetic analysis of the first dehydrog...

As a unique group of advanced polymer-based materials, conductive polymer nanocomposites combining the flexibility and/or conductivity of the polymer with the distinct properties of nanofillers have found many intriguing applications in various modern devices. This review provides a concise yet inclusive introduction to the concept of conductive po...

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop laboratory techniques to evaluate the inhibition efficiency of salt neutralizer (SN) solutions in the corrosion protection of metal alloys associated with winter maintenance equipment. Design/methodology/approach The corrosion resistance of alloys A36, B36 and B152 treated with SNs was evaluated by a...

Polypropylene (PP) based graphene nanocomposites (NCs) find diverse applications in material science such as a material for making lightweight storage tanks. Herein, NCs with graphene nanoparticles (GnPs) and PP were prepared, using solution mixing method. GnPs have a slight effect on the crystalline structure of PP, as shown by X ray diffraction (...

INTRODUCTION  Ammonia Borane (NH 3 .BH 3) is a potent solid state hydrogen storing material (Fig. 3a) [1, 2].  Improves hydrogen storage capabilities on blending with polymer like polyacrylamide (PAM) (Fig. 3b).  Lowering the H 2-release temperature and suppressing the generation of boracic impurities on composite preparation (fiber and bulk). ...

Coelectrospinning and emulsion electrospinning are two main methods for preparing core–sheath electrospun nanofibers in a cost-effective and efficient manner. Here, physical phenomena and the effects of solution and processing parameters on the coaxial fibers are introduced. Coaxial fibers with specific drugs encapsulated in the core can exhibit a...

In this chapter, the application of two commonly used calorimetries, i.e., differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and microscale combustion calorimetry (MCC), will be introduced. DSC is mainly used to study the melting and crystallization behaviors of polymers/polymer nanocomposites. Here, the nanofiller-dependent melting and crystallization behav...

Coelectrospinning and emulsion electrospinning are two main methods for preparing core–sheath electrospun nanofibers in a cost‐effective and efficient manner. Here, physical phenomena and the effects of solution and processing parameters on the coaxial fibers are introduced. Coaxial fibers with specific drugs encapsulated in the core can exhibit a...

A self-assembly approach to lead selenide (PbSe) structures that have organized across multiple length scales and multiple dimensions has been achieved. These structures consist of angstroscale 0D PbSe crystals, synthesized via a hot solution process, which have stacked into 1D nanorods via aligned dipoles. These 1D nanorods have arranged into nano...

Water is an integral part of our society, and it is of the utmost importance that this water is clean and safe for potable use. Drinking water sources can become contaminated with halogenated organic compounds (HOCs) via improper disposal of refrigeration or air conditioning units, industrial usage, and even through the disinfection of our drinking...

The purpose of this paper is to report on the detection of toxic halogenated organic compounds in water using their inhibitory action on a pyridine-catalyzed reaction between dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (DMAD) and 2-methyl-4-nitroaniline (MNA). Previous work has shown that similar techniques can successfully lower the detection limit of sulfide...

The purpose of this paper is to report on the detection of toxic halogenated organic compounds in water using their inhibitory action on a pyridine-catalyzed reaction between dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (DMAD) and 2-methyl-4-nitroaniline (MNA). Previous work has shown that similar techniques can successfully lower the detection limit of sulfide...

Inorganic nano-scale heterostructures have many advantages over hybrid organic-inorganic dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC or Grätzel cells), including their resistance to photo-bleaching, thermal stability, large specific surface areas, and general robustness. This study presents a first-of-its-kind low-cost all-inorganic lead selenide-anatase tita...

Carbon nanostructures—including graphene, fullerenes, etc.—have found applications in a number of areas synergistically with a number of other materials. These multifunctional carbon nanostructures have recently attracted tremendous interest for energy storage applications due to their large aspect ratios, specific surface areas, and electrical con...

In this paper, polyimide (PI) nanofibers with diameters of 300–400 nm are successfully produced via electrospinning methods. Electrospinning parameters such as polymer concentration, applied voltage, feed rate, and the needle-to-collector distance have been studied systematically to investigate their effects on morphology. The smooth-surfaced unifo...

One-dimensional (1-D) nanostructures have attracted enormous research interest due to their unique physicochemical properties and wide application potential. These 1-D nanofibers are being increasingly applied to biomedical fields owing to their high surface area-to-volume ratio, high porosity, and the ease of tuning their structures, functionaliti...

In this review, the authors will discuss novel and prospective antibody nanosensors for the detection of specific analytes used in a number of fields of analytical chemistry. Biosensors—transducers that incorporate biological molecules for recognition—have been found to be fundamental in a number of chemical, clinical, and environmental analyses. A...

We present the conception of an electrochemical sodium ion sensor for point-of-care sweat analysis. This flexible amperometric sensor was developed to quantify the amount of sodium ions in sweat (in real-time), alleviating the wait time, large sample size, possible contamination, and expensive analytical equipment associated with current diagnostic...

In past decades, nanostructured materials have shown promise of revolutionizing a wide number of areas of needed development, including theranostic, electronic, and photonic materials. Applications of these fields include yet wider range of specialties, all of which can be incorporated into sensor material design. This shall be the focus of my rese...

Implantable sensors utilizing nanotechnology are at the forefront of diagnostic, medical monitoring, and biological technologies. These sensors are often equipped with nanostructured carbon allotropes, such as graphene or carbon nanotubes (CNTs), because of their unique and often enhanced properties over forms of bulk carbon, such as diamond or gra...

This work demonstrates the ability of an acetylcholinesterase-inspired biomimetic sensor to accurately predict the toxicity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors. In surface waters used for municipal drinking water supplies, numerous pesticides and other anthropogenic chemicals have been found that inhibit AChE; however, there is currently no p...