Energy, Environment and Biological Materials

Review from Ringgold Inc., ProtoView: The International Union of Materials Research Societies (IUMRS) is comprised of all the materials research societies in Asia. Its 2010 conference encompassed 21 symposia covering six broad areas. The 64 papers in this first volume were selected from the symposia on solar cells and bio-medical materials. The preface says also from the symposium on eco-materials and technology for climate change, but these seem to have moved to another volume. The topics include the influence of polymer concentration on polysaccharide electrolyte for quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells, the thermal stability of aluminum-doped zinc oxide thin films, synthesizing quaternary ammonium salt from rosin and its inhibition to some wood decay fungi, the biosynthesis of carboxymethylated bacterial cellulose composite for wound dressing, and mechanisms of high fracture strength in bone.