Toray (Japan)

ABSTRACT The synthesis of graphene at lower temperatures remains challenging, along with the expansion of its application areas. Here we demonstrated the graphene synthesis on various substrates at and above 350°C by a solid phase reaction method. In this method, C‐rich Ni–C films are deposited on the substrates by conventional magnetron sputter deposition at room temperature with a binary target, followed by vacuum annealing. This resulted in phase separation of the multilayer graphene on top. The temperature dependence of graphene formation is investigated by high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM), in situ X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. Graphene thus synthesized on a stainless steel (SS) plate is successfully used to enhance the biofilm formation and the current generation by Geobacter species for use in microbial fuel cell application. As transfer‐free graphene can be synthesized directly on substrates irrespective of their material and shape, and is usable in harsh environment of liquid, this simple method is believed to be quite promising for a variety of applications.

Accurately predicting novel compound-protein interactions (CPIs) is essential for accelerating drug discovery. The generalizability of machine learning-based CPI prediction models relies significantly on the availability and diversity of CPI datasets. To maximize data utility, particularly for highly confidential datasets maintained by industries, federated learning (FL)—which integrates multi-site data while preserving privacy—has emerged as a promising approach. Nonetheless, its effectiveness when applied to heterogeneous data from diverse molecular domains, a common real-world scenario, remains unclear, thereby limiting its broader adoption. This study evaluates FL for CPI prediction using datasets spanning multiple chemical and protein domains, providing practical guidance for optimizing the FL approach. Results indicate that the FL model enhanced out-of-domain prediction performance but was surpassed by local models for in-domain data under data heterogeneity. Drawing on these findings, a new strategy was developed to achieve robust performance for in- and out-of-domain tasks: a similarity-guided ensemble that combines the global FL model with fine-tuned models based on each client's local data. This method demonstrated effectiveness with real-world industry data, including samples from the public database and 13 pharmaceutical companies. Cumulatively, these findings offer practical guidance for implementing FL in contemporary drug discovery processes.

Abstract Polyethyleneimine (PEI)-loaded porous materials show considerable promise for direct air capture of CO2. The energy-variable positron annihilation lifetime (PAL) technique has been employed to assess the nanoscopic free volume of PEI thin films, a key factor influencing gas transport properties. The PAL results showed that free-volume size decreases slightly due to carbamation and significantly due to amidation, as compared to the macroscopic properties derived from FT-IR and spectroscopic ellipsometry. In addition, these reductions in free volume become more pronounced with decreasing film thickness. This highlights PAL as a valuable method for characterizing the nanostructure of PEI films, subsequently enhancing the gas transport performance of high-efficiency CO2 capture materials.

Overall survival is the most important outcome for treatment response in feline chronic kidney disease (CKD). Beraprost has been shown to reduce the kidney function decline in cats with International Renal Interest Society (IRIS) stage 2 and 3 CKD. However, the association with prolonged survival has not yet been examined. To assess the relationship between beraprost and overall survival in cats with CKD in real clinical practice. Client-owned cats with IRIS stage 3 CKD (n = 134) were evaluated between 2017 and 2020. A retrospective cohort study based on data from electronic medical records of one hospital. The cohort was divided into "beraprost therapy" and "no beraprost therapy" groups, and survival analyses revealed that overall survival was significantly longer in the beraprost therapy group, using Kaplan-Meier curves (p = 0.004). However, baseline phosphate is known to be an important prognostic indicator and was not well balanced between the two groups. Therefore, a subcohort of 97 cats was selected (those having baseline phosphate <6.0 mg/dL) that allowed for this parameter to be balanced between groups. The survival data in this subcohort were consistent with those of the overall study cohort. In feline patients with CKD, beraprost therapy is associated with better overall survival.

In this work, important use cases for HV-SEM will be explored by simulation, such as HAR hole / trench imaging with various profiles and depths, buried feature imaging to understand detection and effective resolution with depth for optical overlay cases, and buried defect and void detection, using a new improved electron beam simulator which greatly extends utility of JMONSEL, AMAG SimuSEM, enabling many complex simulation scenarios to be achievable with many improved outputs and other augmentations. The use of simulation designed experiments (DOEs) to predict best conditions and performance for the above applications will be demonstrated, along with some physical validation in the HV-SEM process space for the JMONSEL/SimuSEM physics kernel by reproducing a few cases in the literature and to experimental results on recent AMAG7 HAR measurement targets.

An electrical reliability of fine copper RDL with 1/1 µm line and space fabricated by using positive photosensitive polyimide (PSPI) has been demonstrated. The polyimide containing flexible molecular units in PSPI was introduced, which is assumed to increase the entanglement of each polymer chain with a design concept of polymer backbone to enhance mechanical and thermal reliability. To conduct a series of tests, test vehicles with semi-additive RDL with 1/1 µm line and space were fabricated with Toray’s PSPI for electrical reliability test. Through a series of electrical reliability tests utilizing our test vehicles, PSPI out-performed the phenol-based resin, which is assumed to have excellent mechanical and thermal stabilities when compared with other resins. 1/1 µm line and space electrodes after electrical reliability tests were also observed and cross-sectioned. This observation of electrodes clearly showed oxidation-reduction of the electrodes on anode and cathode, respectively.

The mechanical and chemical durability is one of the most crucial properties for proton exchange membranes in practical fuel cell applications. In the present paper, we report the physical reinforcement of chemically stable, highly proton conductive tandemly sulfonated, partially fluorinated polyphenylenes using porous polyethylene (PE). With the PE pores completely and homogeneously filled by ionomers through a push coating approach, the resulting reinforced membranes were more proton conductive (183.1–389.2 mS cm−1) than the commercial perfluorinated ionomer (Nafion: 120.6–187.2 mS cm−1) membrane at high humidity (80–95% RH). Benefiting from the tough PE supporting layer, the reinforced membranes outperformed the parent ionomer membranes in stretchability with maximum strain up to 453%. The combination of intrinsic chemical stability of partially fluorinated polyphenylene ionomers and physical reinforcement with PE substrates contributed for the reinforced membranes to achieving superior durability to survive more than 20 000 cycles in severe accelerated durability test combining OCV hold and wet/dry frequent cycling.

Solvation structures of ethylene carbonate-based electrolyte solutions containing 1 mol/L LiPF6, LiN(SO2F)2 (LiFSI), or LiBF4 are experimentally determined, and their electron affinity and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) distribution are calculated by density functional theory (DFT). The stability of the electrolyte solutions against reduction can be evaluated using electron affinity of the solvates, and the formation mechanism of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) can be predicted by their LUMO distributions. The calculation results suggest that 1 mol/L LiPF6 and LiFSI electrolyte solutions should form SEI consisting of carbonate and carboxylate which derives from solvent decomposition and LiF originating from anion decomposition. These predictions are verified experimentally by scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. On the other hand, intriguingly, the reductive decomposition of 1 mol/L LiBF4 electrolyte solution does not simply proceed as theoretically predicted, and the subsequent reactions of SEI need to be considered: further decomposition of the organic SEI and formation of inorganic particles containing lithium, fluoride, oxygen, and boron. These results are consistent with an increase in the resistance of SEI and interfacial lithium ion transfer at the graphite negative electrode. Thus, a combination of DFT prediction and experimental analysis is an effective approach to reveal SEI formation mechanisms and can be utilized as a versatile approach to develop new solvents, electrolyte salts, and additives and to design electrolyte solutions with an appropriate concentration.