Investigation of the Thermal Behavior of Polypyrrole/Carbon Nanotube Composites and Utilization as Capacitive Material or Support for Catalysts

In this study, polypyrrole (PPy)/carbon nanotube (CNT) composites were synthesized by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization of a pyrrole monomer on CNT. Two different types of CNT having different structural properties were used. The composites were characterized using BET surface area analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. Thermal decomposition kinetics of PPy/CNT composites was studied by thermal gravimetric analysis techniques (TG/DTG (differential thermal gravimetric)) at different heating rates (2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10?K min^?1). Kinetic parameters of the composites were obtained from the TG and DTG curves using the Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS) and Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO) models. The electrochemical capacitive properties of the composites were investigated by the cyclic voltammetry (CV) technique. Pt nanoparticles were decorated on the plain CNTs and composite materials via the microwave irradiation method.     

An investigation into the formation of fumaric acid in apple juice concentrates

 In this study, apples inoculated with pure cultures of Rhizopus stolonifer, Penicillium expansum and Lactobacillus plantarum were utilised as the raw material to produce apple juice concentrate. The effects of microorganisms and various processing treatments on the fumaric acid, lactic acid and patulin contents of apple juice were investigated. R. stolonifer was found to be the most responsible causative agent of fumaric acid and lactic acid. L. plantarum also produced certain amounts of lactic acid, but not as much as R. stolonifer. L. plantarum caused a significant decrease in L-malic acid content indicating the occurrence of malolactic fermentation. During this complicated biochemical pathway, a small amount of fumaric acid was also formed by L. plantarum. P. expansum produced only patulin, but did not affect the fumaric acid and lactic acid contents. Fumaric acid contents of the samples decreased throughout the processing steps excepting evaporation. The fumaric acid contents of the samples increased just after evaporation depending on the heat applied. The patulin and lactic acid contents of the samples also showed a decreasing trend throughout processing. However, L. plantarum caused a significant increase in lactic acid content just after depectinization depending on whether the appropriate time-temperature conditions for incubation were available during depectinization. Received: 3 November 1998 / Revised version: 4 January 1999     

Sustainable hydrogen production options from food wastes

In this study, two thermochemical processes, namely steam gasification and supercritical water gasification (SCWG), were comparatively studied to produce hydrogen from food wastes containing about 90% water. The SCWG experiments were performed at 400 and 450 °C in presence of catalyst (Trona, K₂CO₃ and seaweed ash). The maximum hydrogen yield was obtained at 450 °C in presence of K₂CO₃ catalyst. In second process, hydrothermal carbonization was used to convert food wastes into a high-quality solid fuel (hydrochar) that was further gasified in a dual-bed reactor in presence of steam. The steam gasification of hydrochar was carried out with and without catalysts (iron?ceria catalyst and dolomite). The maximum hydrogen yield obtained from steam gasification process was 28.08 mmol/g dry waste, about 7.7 times of that from SCWG. This study proposed a new concept for hydrogen production from wet biomass, combination of hydrothermal carbonization following steam gasification.     

Targeted Synthesis of Complex Spiro[3H-indole-3,2′-pyrrolidin]-2(1H)-ones by Intramolecular Cyclization of Azomethine Ylides: Highly Potent MDM2–p53 Inhibitors

Mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) is a main and direct inhibitor of the crucial tumor suppressor p53. Reports from initial clinical trials showed that blocking this interaction with a small-molecule inhibitor can have great value in the treatment of cancer for patients with p53 wild-type tumors; however, it also revealed dose-limiting hematological toxicities and drug-induced resistance as main issues. To overcome the former, an inhibitor with superior potency and pharmacokinetic properties to ultimately achieve full efficacy with less-frequent dosing schedules is required. Toward this aim, we optimized our recently reported spiro-oxindole inhibitors by focusing on the crucial interaction with the amino acid side chain of His96_MDM2. The designed molecules required the targeted synthesis of structurally complex spiro[indole-3,2′-pyrrolo[2,3-c]pyrrole]-2,4′-diones for which we developed an unprecedented intramolecular azomethine ylide cycloaddition and investigated the results by computational methods. One of the new compounds showed superior cellular potency over previously reported BI-0252. This finding is a significant step toward an inhibitor suitable to potentially mitigate hematological on-target adverse effects.     

Effects of dough formula and baking conditions on acrylamide and hydroxymethylfurfural formation in cookies

The effects of dough formula and baking conditions on the formations of acrylamide and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) were studied in a cookie model system. Increasing the sugar concentration in the dough formula increased acrylamide formation during baking at 205 °C for 11 min. The effect of sugar on acrylamide formation was more pronounced for glucose than for sucrose, expectedly. Addition of citric acid into dough formula comprising sucrose increased the susceptibility of acrylamide formation, while it decreased acrylamide formation in the dough formula comprising glucose. Decreasing the pH of dough formula increased the tendency to surface browning and the formation of hydroxymethylfurfural in cookies during baking. The results suggest that a cookie with acceptable texture and colour, but having less than 150 ng/g of acrylamide, can be manufactured by lowering the baking temperature and avoiding reducing sugars in the recipe.     

A kinetic investigation into the removal of carbobenzyloxy group from protected amines via hydrogenolysis reaction

Hydrogenolysis of a carbobenzyloxy group (CBz) was studied utilizing molecular hydrogen in the presence of carbon-supported palladium catalyst. It was demonstrated that the kinetics of the reaction are greatly influenced by the presence of the CO₂ by-product. It was found out that the presence of CO₂ determines whether the reaction is first or zero order since it causes deactivation of the catalyst via inhibition. The effect of potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃) and triethylamine (TEA) as additives was investigated. A considerable solvent effect was also observed that may be explained by the variation of dispersion of the catalyst from one solvent to another.     

The effect of heat treatment temperature on the interfacial shear strength of C/C composites

This paper investigates the effect of heat treatment temperature on the interfacial shear strength (IFSS) of carbon/carbon composites reinforced with polyacrylonitrile-based fibers. A series of single fiber push-out tests were performed on specimens heat treated at 1800, 2100, and 2400 °C, using a nanoindenter with a flat ended conical tip. The microstructure was characterized using polarized light and transmission electron microscopy and the debonded fiber/matrix interface was examined using scanning electron microscopy. Wavelet analysis of the load–displacement data was used as an additional tool to investigate the initiation and progression of debonding. Compared to 1800 °C, heat treatment at 2400 °C was associated with a decrease in IFSS, from 12 to 7 MPa. Transmission electron microscopy study showed that the microstructure of the fiber/matrix interphase remained amorphous even with heat treatment at 2400 °C. The decrease in the IFSS can be partly attributed to the reorganization of the graphene sheets in the matrix in the vicinity of fiber/matrix interphase. The thermal expansion mismatch between fiber and pyrocarbon matrix is another possible reason for the observed decrease in the IFSS.     

A STUDY ON THE PERFORMANCE OF THE CATALYTIC POROUS-WALL THREE-PHASE REACTOR

A theoretical investigation of a catalytic porous-wall reactor in which gaseous and liquid reactants approach each other from opposite sides of the catalyst is undertaken. Equations for the annular liquid-channel are coupled with those for the catalytic wall and solved numerically and analytically using a simplified model. For the model reaction under study, the main design and operation parameters which affect reactor performance are the Thiele modulus, Peclet number, width of the liquid channel and the inlet concentration of the reactant in the liquid phase.

The effect of reactor configuration is peculiar to the cylindrical geometry because the thickness and relative location of the catalytic wall as well as the selection of the liquid and gas channels can influence the reactor performance. Thin-walled catalyst tubes have larger effectiveness factors and as the tube radius approaches that of the reactor, conversion in the reactor increases especially when the liquid is saturated with the gaseous reactant. Concentration of the liquid reactant in the feed has a significant effect if the reactant is depleted at some point inside the catalyst wall. Since the reaction zone width can be adjusted by changing the feed composition, this might have important implications with respect to selectivity.     

Direct pyrolysis mass spectrometry analysis of fresh and aged $\hbox{PF}_{6}^{-}$‐doped polythiophenes

In this study, pyrolysis mass spectrometry has been applied for the investigation of thermal characteristics of ‐doped polythiophene (PTh) films. Thermal degradation of PTh showed behaviour identical with ‐doped polythiophene (BF₄‐PTh), indicating that the effects of the dopants in question on the thermal characteristics of the PTh are not significant. Besides the oligomer peaks (up to hexamer), peaks indicating decomposition of the thiophene ring have also been detected as in the case of BF₄‐PTh. However, the data also indicated that the oxidation of the dopant was much more effective, yielding mainly POF₃, H₃PO₄ compounds even for the freshly prepared samples. Upon ageing, the yield of these products increased and exposure to air for more than 50 days also caused degradation of the PTh chains. Furthermore, substitution of the thiophene (Th) ring by fluorine has been recorded and was associated with reactions of Th with the reactive oxidation products of the dopant. Analyses of the de‐doped samples showed that although de‐doping was effective to a certain extent, inward diffusion of the counter ion (C₄H₉)₄N⁺ has also occurred. This diffusion was more efficient than that was observed for BF₄‐PTh samples. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry