Adsorption studies of Pb (II) by two different magnetic MnFe2O4 materials synthesized with sol-gel process

Abstract

The spherical nanomaterials of MnFe-Ac and MnFe-Na can be synthesized with sol-gel method. The adsorption test of Pb (II) was carried out with two kinds of synthesized nanomaterials, and discussed their adsorption effects of Pb (II). The characteristic was analyzed by SEM, XRD, XPS and magnetic measurements. As the results showeed, the particles size of the material became smaller, but the morphology did not change after adsorption. The change of Ms was from 42.7 and 62.0?emu/g to 25.6 and 89.4?emu/g, respectively. By Langmuir and Freundlich models, the maximum adsorption amounts of Pb (II) were 23.40 and 41.56?mg/g, respectively, and analysis demonstrated that the adsorption of Pb (II) on samples was monolayer adsorption. The kinetic analysis showed that the adsorption of Pb (II) on the two materials was more in accordance with the pseudo-second-order model, which indicated that adsorption process of the materials for Pb (II) were primarily limited by the chemical adsorption.     

Friction Behavior of Human Skin Rubbing against Different Textured Polymeric Materials Obtained by a 3D Printing Microfabrication Technique

Understanding friction behavior of human skin is indispensable in order to optimize surfaces and materials in contact with the skin. The coefficient of friction (COF) for different materials contacting against the skin is mainly influenced by the nature of the materials, mechanical contact parameters, and physiological skin conditions. The aim of the present research work was to study the grip effect of two different polymeric materials by producing different textured patterns using a 3D printing microfabrication technique and a replication technique. It was found that under the same contact conditions, a difference in the friction amplitude exists between the two different polymeric materials and that positive texturing, which consists of high relief or protrusions, showed higher COFs than negative texturing, consisting of low relief, holes, or dimples, which showed a decrease in friction as the textured pattern area density increased.     

Hierarchical Coherent Phonons in a Superatomic Semiconductor

The coupling of phonons to electrons and other phonons plays a defining role in material properties, such as charge and energy transport, light emission, and superconductivity. In atomic solids, phonons are delocalized over the 3D lattice, in contrast to molecular solids where localized vibrations dominate. Here, a hierarchical semiconductor that expands the phonon space by combining localized 0D modes with delocalized 2D and 3D modes is described. This material consists of superatomic building blocks (Re₆Se₈) covalently linked into 2D sheets that are stacked into a layered van der Waals lattice. Using transient reflectance spectroscopy, three types of coherent phonons are identified: localized 0D breathing modes of isolated superatom, 2D synchronized twisting of superatoms in layers, and 3D acoustic interlayer deformation. These phonons are coupled to the electronic degrees of freedom to varying extents. The presence of local phonon modes in an extended crystal opens the door to controlling material properties from hierarchical phonon engineering.     

Roles of calcium-containing alkali materials on dark fermentation and anaerobic digestion: A systematic review

The accelerated chemical-industry has caused a rapid increase of calcium-containing alkali wastes, containing a large amount of calcium, magnesium, aluminum, and iron ions and caused a great risk to environment. Anaerobic digestion or dark fermentation is one of the most promising technologies to recover biogas, such as methane and hydrogen. Nevertheless, the hydrolysis processes of lignocellulosic biomass and waste activated sludge were the rate-limiting step of the biochemical reactions, which focused on pretreatment to improve the biodegradability of substrate. In addition, when some easily acidified wastes, such as kitchen residue, fruit and vegetable waste, and high concentration organic wastewater, are used as substrate to produce hydrogen and methane, volatile fatty acid accumulation often occurs, causing the process instability. Thus, this paper reviewed the main roles of calcium-based alkali materials such as calcium oxide, calcium peroxide and calcium hydroxide on the substrate pretreatment for obtaining high biodegradability, while others (e.g. calcium carbonate, lime and red muds) used as additives for maintaining process stability, thereby increasing biogas yield from anaerobic digestion and dark fermentation.     

Fluidisation characteristics of granular activated carbon in drinking water treatment applications

Granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration is an important unit operation in drinking water treatment. GAC filtration is widely used for its filtration and adsorption capabilities as a barrier for undesired organic macro- and micro-pollutants. GAC filtration consists of two successive phases: adsorption and filtration, capturing the impurities from the water in conjunction with a backwash procedure in which the suspended particles are flushed out of the system. Available literature predominantly focusses on adsorption. A less frequently discussed but nevertheless equally crucial aspect of this operation is the backwash procedure of GAC beds. To prevent accumulation of suspended particles and to avoid additional operation costs, optimal backwashing is required. Another factor is sustainability: water utilities are showing increasing interest in exploring new sustainable GAC media. As these have different bed expansion tendencies due to different GAC characteristics with varying geometries, operational developments are needed for prediction models to estimate the expansion degree during backwashing. The prediction of the bed expansion of GAC is complex as the particles are non-spherical, porous and polydisperse. Through a combination of advanced particle laboratory and fluidisation experiments, we demonstrate a new approach which leads to an improved expansion prediction model for the backwashing of GAC filters.     

Predicting dust emissions – Experimental study compared to coupled DEM/CFD simulations using a reference test bulk material

The awareness of dust emissions is crucial regarding safe industrial processes, environmental protection and health care. For this purpose, closely linked experimental and numerical investigations are performed. This work presents the results of an experimental study which is used for the calibration of a modelling framework based on the Discrete Element Method (DEM) coupled with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and applied for the calculation of dust emissions for predictive purposes. The key objective of the approach is to come up with a dust source term which enables to describe and to quantify the release of particle emissions. For the presented experimental study, a wind tunnel and a rotating drum setup, which cover various handling types of bulk materials, are used in order to gain data about parameters having an impact on the dust release. The special feature of the investigations is the use of a reference test bulk material which represents a bulk material in its generally main fractions, the fine and the coarse material, keeping the discrepancy between experiments and simulations low. With the help of the experimental results the calibration of the simulation model was carried out and followed by a comparison.     

Impact of precursor preparation on density of gadolinium iron garnets synthesized via reactive sintering

Gadolinium iron garnet was obtained from two different precursors, homogenized in isopropyl alcohol and in an aqueous environment with a fixed pH. In the first case, it was a mixture of goethite (FeO(OH)) and gadolinium oxide (Gd₂O₃); in the second, a mixture of GdIP (GdFeO₃) and α-Fe₂O₃. Conditions of homogenization in the aqueous environment were selected based on the zeta (ξ) potential measurements as the function of pH. DSC measurements of the output powder mixtures allowed the identification of the effects observed during the temperature rise. In the case of the material obtained from a mixture of goethite (FeO(OH)) and gadolinium oxide, with the increasing temperature, we observe three effects, the first of which corresponds to the phase transformation of goethite into α-Fe₂O₃, the second corresponds to the reaction of gadolinium iron perovskite (GdIP) formation, and the third to the reaction in which a gadolinium iron garnet (GdIG) is formed. However, in the case of heat treatment of the mixture of GdIP and α-Fe₂O₃, we only observe the effect responsible for a solid state reaction leading to the formation of gadolinium iron garnet. Dilatometric measurements allowed to determine the changes in linear dimensions at various stages of reaction sintering. The resulting materials were sintered at temperatures of 1200, 1300, and 1400 °C. In the case of the material obtained from a mixture of perovskite and iron (III) oxide, already at the temperature of 1300 °C, a density has been obtained at around 95% of the theoretical density, and the temperature of 1400 °C allowed achieving a density of 97% of the theoretical density. Whereas, for the material obtained from a mixture of goethite (FeO(OH)) and gadolinium oxide, a density above 95% of theoretical density was achieved only at 1400 °C.     

Poly(2,5-Dihydroxy-1,4-Benzoquinonyl Sulfide) As an Efficient Cathode for High-Performance Aqueous Zinc–Organic Batteries

Aqueous rechargeable zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have attracted considerable attention as a promising candidate for low-cost and high-safety electrochemical energy storage. However, the advancement of ZIBs is strongly hindered by the sluggish ionic diffusion and structural instability of inorganic metal oxide cathode materials during the Zn²⁺ insertion/extraction. To address these issues, a new organic host material, poly(2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinonyl sulfide) (PDBS), has been designed and applied for zinc ion storage due to its elastic structural factors (tunable space and soft lattice). The aqueous Zn-organic batteries based on the PDBS cathode show outstanding cycling stability and rate capability. The coordination moieties (O and S) display the strong electron donor character during the discharging process and can act as the coordination arms to host Zn²⁺. Also, under the electrochemical environment, the malleable polymer structure of PDBS permits the rotation and bending of polymer chains to facilitate the insertion/extraction of Zn²⁺, manifesting the superiority and uniqueness of organic electrode materials in the polyvalent cation storage. Finally, quasi-solid-state batteries based on aqueous gel electrolyte demonstrate highly stable capacity under different bending conditions.     

Piezoelectricity of the Transmembrane Protein ba3 Cytochrome c Oxidase

Controlling the electromechanical response of piezoelectric biological structures including tissues, peptides, and amino acids provides new applications for biocompatible, sustainable materials in electronics and medicine. Here, the piezoelectric effect is revealed in another class of biological materials, with robust longitudinal and shear piezoelectricity measured in single crystals of the transmembrane protein ba₃ cytochrome c oxidase from Thermus thermophilus. The experimental findings from piezoresponse force microscopy are substantiated using a range of control measurements and molecular models. The observed longitudinal and shear piezoelectric responses of ≈ 2 and 8 pm V⁻¹, respectively, are comparable to or exceed the performance of commonly used inorganic piezoelectric materials including quartz, aluminum nitride, and zinc oxide. This suggests that transmembrane proteins may provide, in addition to physiological energy transduction, technologically useful piezoelectric material derived entirely from nature. Membrane proteins could extend the range of rationally designed biopiezoelectric materials far beyond the minimalistic peptide motifs currently used in miniaturized energy harvesters, and the finding of robust piezoelectric response in a transmembrane protein also raises fundamental questions regarding the molecular evolution, activation, and role of regulatory proteins in the cellular nanomachinery, indicating that piezoelectricity might be important for fundamental physiological processes.