Sahle-Demessie E. – TechConnect Briefs

The aging and release of pristine and functionalized carbon nanotubes from epoxy-nanocomposites during accelerated weathering

Sahle-Demessie E., Han C., Zhao A., Gagliardi N., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, US

Epoxies are widely used in various applications, including coatings, electronics insulations, and waterproofing applications due to their excellent properties such as good adhesion, electrical insulation, and heat resistance along with the strong mechanical property. Currently, [...]

Nanoparticles and Nano-polymer Composite Interactions with Microbial Biofilm

Sahle-Demessie E., Jing H., Sorial G.A., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, US

Environmental biofilms are efficient binding matrices for nanoparticles (NPs) and this can be attributed largely to the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that hold biofilms together. There is a significant accumulations of NPs occurred in biofilms [...]

Effects of Engineered Nanoparticles on Hydrophobic Organic Pollutants

Sahle-Demessie E., Han C., Zhao A., Grecsek H., U.S. Environmental Protectin Agency, US

As nanomaterials become increasingly part of everyday consumer products, it is imperative to measure their potential release during production, use, and disposal, and assess their impact on the health of human and the ecosystem. This [...]

Release of Carbon Nanotubes from Nano-polymer Composites during Environmental Aging

Sahle-Demessie E., Han C., Zhao A., Wang J., Grecsek H., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, US

Over the past two decades there has been a significant increase in commercial products incorporating engineered nanomaterials (ENM) that are now are used in electronic, cosmetics, automotive and medical products and in environmental applications. Although [...]

Engineered Nanoparticles in the Environment: Their Fate, Transport and Interaction with Organic Pollutants

Sahle-Demessie E., Zhao A., Grecsek H., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, US

Nanotechnology has emerged as one of the leading fields in science having tremendous application in diverse disciplines. As nanomaterials become increasingly part of everyday consumer products, it is imperative to measure the potential release during [...]

Investigating Environmental Weathering of CNF/CNT/ Thermoplastic Polymer Synthesized using Additive Manufacturing

Sahle-Demessie E., Zhao Amy, Stephen Chady, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, US

Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing) is an emerging technology for making a new class of multifunctional nanocomposites for many niche items such as medical implants, and a wide range of industrial designed components. Additive manufacturing [...]

Characterizing Environmental Transformation of Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes and Carbon Nano-Fiber Composites using Thermal Analysis and Related Hyphenated Techniques

Sahle-Demessie E., Zhao A., Salamon A.W., Cassel B., Gagliardi N.A., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, US

Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy (TGA/GCMS), for the evolved gas analysis, has given insight to the stability and kinetics of structural changes and determining adsorbed organics to nanomaterials and nanocomposites. [...]