Wound healing is a complex process involving stages such as hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. In this context, polymers are useful materials for wound treatment. This research used the Casting method to prepare films from 2% polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) gels. Subsequently, PVP films were grafted with maleic acid (MA) (PVP-g-PAM) to load naringin (NA) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in order to obtain a material with pH responsiveness and antibacterial properties. The modified PVP-g-PAM films were prepared using gamma-ray irradiation through a pre-irradiation oxidative method at a dose rate of 13.7 kGy h⁻¹, doses ranging from 10 to 25 kGy, and reaction times from 50 to 80 min in a bath of water, all samples at 50 °C, and a fixed monomer concentration of 15% (w/v) MA in THF. The conditions that yielded the highest percentage of grafting were 20 kGy and 60 min. NA was loaded at a fixed concentration of 5%. Data release showed that the films follow the Korsmeyer-Peppas kinetic model. Synthesis of AgNPs was performed by γ-ray irradiation–reduction (10 and 30 kGy), using PVP as a stabilizer. AgNPs showed in vitro effectiveness against E. coli and S. aureus. Films were characterized by FTIR-ATR, TGA, DSC, mechanical properties, swelling index, and contact angle. Further studies must be implemented; however, the results up now suggest that PVP-g-PAM loaded with NA and AgNPs can be useful as a potential wound dressing.

The objective of this research work is to obtain the hot ductility behavior, and the structural, microstructural and mechanical characteristics of one of the latest generation of AHSS steels, a complex phase (CP) steel microalloyed with boron (0.006 wt.%), processed by hot and cold rolling operations and heat-treated using two different quenching and partitioning (Q&P) treatments, a one-step partitioning (quenching to 420 °C) and the other a two-step partitioning (quenching to 420 °C and reheated to 600 °C). The results show that boron has a marked effect on the solidification process of the CP steel, refining the austenitic grain size. Due to its refinement, the boron-containing steel had better ductility throughout the temperature range examined (700–900 °C), i.e., the hot ductility trough. Thus, the minimum percentage of reduction in area (%RA) value occurring at 800 °C was 43% for the boron-free steel, compared with 58% for the boron-containing steel. Hence, cracking would not be a problem when straightening the strand on continuous casting. The benefit of boron addition on the room temperature properties was found to be very marked for the higher temperature two-step partitioning treatment, giving a yield stress of 1200 MPa, a UTS (ultimate tensile strength) of 1590 MPa and a total elongation above 11%. The final Q&P microstructure, in both one- and two-step partitioning conditions, consisted of retained austenite (RA-γ), martensite and ferrite islands in a bainitic matrix. Furthermore, the boron treated steel on quenching produced a greater amount of RA-γ, which accounted for its better room temperature ductility and produced a martensitic matrix rather than a bainitic one, giving it greater strength. The addition of boron improved the corrosion resistance of this type of third generation AHSS steel.

In this work, the feasibility of an Al–20Sn (mass%) alloy to improve its mechanical properties through the Equal Channel Angular Pressing (ECAP) process is presented and discussed. Al–20Sn (mass%) alloy samples with a square section of 16 × 16 mm and a length of 100 mm were subjected to the ECAP process through route C (i.e., rotation of 180 degrees between each pass). The characterization of the samples was carried out using X-ray diffraction and the sin²(ψ) method for residual stresses. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to analyze the morphology and grain size. Vickers microhardness was carried out to analyze the homogeneity of the states of deformation and tensile testing to evaluate the yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and elongation. The results showed that the residual stresses were relatively low, confirming the effect of Sn as stress reliever. The grain size was refined to a sub-micron scale and a ribbon-like morphology was observed. The microhardness values of the severely deformed samples showed a significant increase when compared to the as-cast sample. The tensile tests showed an increase in the yield strength after the first pass, that doubled the yield strength of the as cast sample. A marginal increase in the yield strength after the fifth pass was observed; whilst the ductility remained very similar from 1 to 5 passes.

This study investigates, for the first time, the effect of cryogenic rolling on the microstructure and mechanical behavior of Mg–Zn–Y alloys containing long-period stacking-ordered (LPSO) phases. Two compositions, Mg ₉₇ Zn ₁ Y ₂ and Mg ₉₅ Zn ₂ Y ₃ (at.%), were processed by cryogenic rolling after a previous hot rolling step. Scanning electron microscopy revealed significant fragmentation of the LPSO phases, with particles smaller than 1 µm homogeneously distributed within the matrix. X-ray diffraction analysis using the Williamson–Hall method showed an increase in microstrains, indicating a higher crystal defect density induced by cryogenic deformation. These microstructural changes resulted in notable improvements in hardness, with Vickers microhardness increasing by 16.8% in the Mg ₉₇ Zn ₁ Y ₂ alloy and by 14.5% in Mg ₉₅ Zn ₂ Y ₃ , compared to their respective hot-rolled states. The enhancement in mechanical properties is attributed to the fragmentation and homogeneous distribution of the LPSO phase particles, which act as effective barriers to dislocation motion, thus contributing to an increase in defect density. Importantly, no precipitation of secondary phases was detected, confirming the stability of the LPSO phases during cryogenic processing. These results demonstrate that cryogenic rolling represents a promising processing route for strengthening Mg–Zn–Y alloys with LPSO structures.

Commercially pure aluminum (Al) was refined through the addition of the Al-5Ti-0.25C master alloy, resulting in the formation of Al₃Ti and TiC phases, which serve as refining agents. Open-cell metallic foams were successfully produced using the replication casting technique, with pore sizes ranging from 1.00 to 3.35 mm. For the infiltration process, refined aluminum was used, while unrefined aluminum served as a baseline reference. The resultant foams underwent multiple annealing cycles at 480 °C, with the most refined and homogeneous microstructure observed after 504 h. Comprehensive microstructural characterization was conducted utilizing scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy. Additionally, uniaxial compression tests were performed to generate stress–strain profiles for the foams, facilitating an assessment of their energy absorption capacity. The findings indicated an enhancement in energy absorption capacity by a factor of 2.4 to 3, which can be attributed to the incorporation of Al-5Ti-0.25C and the subsequent annealing process.