Preparation and characterization of poly(vinyl chloride)/polystyrene/poly(ethylene glycol) hollow‐fiber ultrafiltration membranes

Hollow‐fiber ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were prepared from blends of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and polystyrene (PS) with a dry/wet phase inversion method. Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and N,N‐dimethylacetamide were used as the additive and solvent, respectively. The effects of the PEG concentration in the dope solution as an additive on the cross sections and inner and outer surface morphologies, permeability, and separation performance of the hollow fibers were examined. The mean pore size, pore size distribution, and mean roughness of both the inner and outer surfaces of the produced hollow fibers were determined by atomic force microscopy. Also, the mechanical properties of the hollow‐fiber membranes were investigated. UF experiments were conducted with aqueous solutions of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP; K‐90, M_w = 360 kDa). From the results, we found that the PVC/PS hollow‐fiber membranes had two layers with a fingerlike structure. These two layers were changed from a wide and long to a thin and short morphology with increasing PEG concentration. A novel and until now undescribed shape of the nodules in the outer surfaces, which was denoted as a sea‐waves shape, was observed. The outer and inner pore sizes both increased with increasing PEG concentration. The water permeation flux of the hollow fibers increased from 104 to 367 L m^?2 h^?1 bar^?1) at higher PEG concentrations. The PVP rejection reached the highest value at a PEG concentration of 4 wt %, whereas at higher values (from 4 to 9 wt %), the rejection decreased. The same trend was found also for the tensile stress at break, Young's modulus, and elongation at break of the hollow fibers. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 989‐1004, 2013     

Electric and dielectric study of cobalt substituted MgMn nanoferrites synthesized by solution combustion technique

Cobalt substituted Mg–Mn nanoferrites with formulae Mg_0.9Mn_0.1Co_xFe_2?xO₄, x=0.0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3, have been synthesized for the first time by the solution combustion technique. The effects of Co²⁺ ions on the dc resistivity, dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent of Mg–Mn nanoferrites at room temperature are presented in this paper. X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of a single phase spinel structure. Particle size was found to increase, 20.9–23.9 nm, with increasing Co²⁺ concentration. The dc resistivity was increased by two order of magnitude with substitution of Co²⁺ ions while the dielectric constant was found to be decreasing with the increasing concentration of cobalt ions. The value of dc resistivity obtained for Mg_0.9Mn_0.1Fe₂O₄ nanoferrite in our work is greater than the value obtained for the same composition prepared by the conventional ceramic technique. Further, the dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent were observed to be decreasing with the increase in frequency.     

Mild hydrocracking of 1-methyl naphthalene (1-MN) over alumina modified zeolite

The catalytic activity and life of the NiMoS supported on alumina–USY zeolite (physical mixture of alumina and USY (NMAZ), USY zeolite coated with alumina (NMACZ-2)) were compared in the hydrocracking of 1-methyl naphthalene by a single run at the several reaction temperatures between 360 and 400 °C as well as repeated runs at 360 °C. The relative activity of NMAZ is slightly higher after 1 h at all reaction temperatures, but was lower after 2 h at reaction temperatures above 380 °C. The preference of NMACZ-2 became distinct and definite by further increasing the reaction time at all reaction temperatures. Too long reaction time, particularly at higher reaction temperature, decreased the yield of (alkyl)benzenes, indicating the significant progress of the successive reactions. Thus, the highest yield of alkyl(benzenes) of about 97% was obtained over NMACZ-2 after 4 h at 380–390 °C. This was much less than the yield of about 82% obtained over NMAZ after 4 h at 370 °C. Ten repeated runs at 360 °C for 6 h resulted in marked decrease of yield over NMAZ from 73% to 64%, while the decrease in yield over NMACZ-2 was only from about 80% to 78%. The decrease of catalytic activity appears to reflect the coke formation on the USY which occurs on the naked acidic site of the substrate, which are rather isolated from the NiMoS on alumina. In contrast, alumina-coated support keeps USY underneath the alumina, which carries NiMoS and acidic sites on the same surface. The acidity of surface alumina is moderated by the underneath USY. The adequate acidity of the neighboring NiMoS and high hydrogenation activity provide a good balance resulting in an excellent catalytic activity and life of NiMoS supported on alumina-coated USY zeolite.     

Adsorption desalination of chloride ions on composite natural–synthetic materials: An approach for the reduction of chlorine corrosion in electrodeionization units

The release of chlorine in the electrodeionization (EDI) unit causes corrosion in the EDI unit, damaging ion exchange membranes and creating a safety risk for the workers. In this work, adsorption desalination of Cl^? ions on low-cost composite synthetic–natural Jordanian materials were investigated as an approach to prevent the release of corrosive chlorine gas at the positive electrode. The percentage removal reaches 25% at 25 min shaking time to 55% at 120 min, in a single batch experiment. The values of ΔH⁰, ΔS⁰, and ΔG⁰ indicate the favorability of physisorption. Zeolite and Pozzolana represent potential adsorbents of chloride.     

Effect of surfactant and heat treatment on morphology,surface area and crystallinity in hydroxyapatite nanocrystals

Hydroxyapatite (HA) powders were synthesized by the wet precipitation method, with and without surfactant, under identical processing parameters. These powders were then heat treated at 900 °C for 3 h in air. The detailed characterization of the powders was done by using SEM, dynamic light scattering, nitrogen adsorption, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, and FTIR techniques. The HA phase, identified by well defined PO₄^3? and OH^? ion peaks in Raman and FTIR spectra, was observed in all the powder samples. The addition of surfactant changed the morphology of the particles from spherical to needle/rod-like structure and increased the surface area up to three times (from 33 to 96 m²/g). Also, suppression in the evolution of β-TCP phase was observed along with decrease in the crystal size and crystallinity of the powder due to the addition of surfactant. Synthesized nano-HA crystals were found to have diameters and lengths in the range 10–25 nm and 75–150 nm, respectively. The heat treatment changed the architecture of the particles, increased the crystallinity and reduced the surface area to ≈7 m²/g. However, the relative increase in crystallinity was much higher for the powder synthesized with surfactant. The ratio of the average crystallite size to the crystallinity degree was about 0.53±0.07 for all the powders. The particle size distribution was bimodal and coarser for the powder synthesized without surfactant. The pore size analysis showed transformation of a predominantly mesoporous structure into a meso- plus macroporous one on heat treatment. The intensity of OH^? group peak in Raman spectra was found to be highly sensitive to the crystalline state of the HA powder and may be used to assess crystallinity.     

Effect of various pore formers on the microstructural development of tape-cast porous ceramics

Various types of pore formers have been used for the fabrication of ceramics with controlled porosity. This study addresses a detailed and systematic comparison of different pore formers (e.g. graphite, polymethyl methacrylate, sucrose and polystyrene) with distinct features such as size, distribution and morphology of particles and decomposition/oxidation behavior. Investigations also involve their effect on the rheological properties of the slurries and the microstructural development of laminated porous ceramic tapes.Morphological features of the pore former particles were characterized using laser diffraction, B.E.T. surface area measurement and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques as their thermal decomposition/oxidation behavior were determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) methods. Tape compositions were developed and optimized in order to incorporate identical volumetric loadings of the materials in the tape formulations with different pore formers for a reliable comparison of their pore forming characteristics. Porous yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) ceramics were fabricated without macroscopic defects (e.g. cracks, warpage and delamination) by developing heating profiles based on the identified thermal properties of the pore formers. Characterization of the sintered porous ceramics by SEM and mercury intrusion porosimetry techniques revealed novel relationships between the physical properties of the utilized pore formers, processing parameters and final pore structures.     

Graphene modified Nd/TiO2 photocatalyst for methyl orange degradation under visible light irradiation

A novel nanoscale GR–Nd/TiO₂ composite photocatalyst was synthesized by the hydrothermal method. Its crystal structure, surface morphology, chemical composition and optical properties were studied using XRD, TEM, and XPS, DRS and PL spectroscopy. It was found that graphene and neodymium modification shifts the absorption edge of TiO₂ to visible-light region. The results of photoluminescence (PL) emission spectra show that GR–Nd/TiO₂ composites possess better charge separation capability than do Nd/TiO₂ and pure TiO₂. The photocatalytic activity of prepared samples was investigated by degradation of methyl orange (MO) dye under visible light irradiation. The results show that the GR–Nd/TiO₂ composite can effectively photodegrade MO, showing an impressive photocatalytic activity enhancement over that of pure TiO₂. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the composite catalyst might be attributed to the large adsorptivity of dyes, extended light absorption range and efficient charge separation due to Nd doping and graphene incorporation.     

Integration Concepts for the Fabrication of LTCC Structures

At the Keck Smart Materials Integration Laboratory at Penn State University, low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) material systems have been used to fabricate a number of devices for a variety of applications. This article presents an overview of the integration of the concepts and materials that we have used to achieve miniaturization and unique device function. Examples of microwave filters, metamaterial antennas, and a dielectrophoretic cell sorter will be presented, with emphasis on device modeling and design, prototype construction methods, and test results.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel curcumin based polyurethanes varying diisocyanates structure

In this research work, novel polyurethanes (PUs) based on blends of curcumin/1,4-butane diol (BDO) by varying the structure of diisocyanates were prepared following step growth polymerization. Structural study of blends and various diisocyanates based PU through Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed the incorporation of curcumin into the backbone of the PU. The scanning electron microscopic (SEM) study confirmed the well dispersion of incorporated curcumin and homogeneity of surface of synthesized samples. The SEM results also indicated that surface morphology of synthesized samples much dependent on diisocynates structure. Moreover SEM images inferred that phase separation is more pronounced in aromatic diisocyanate based PU. The anti-bacterial and anti-fungal tests were performed against different strains in order to determine the biocompatibility of the curcumin based PU. The antimicrobial activity results revealed that the material having aromatic diisocyanate are more biocompatible than the aliphatic diisocyanates in the PU structure. On the whole, this work is actually a step towards the generation of novel biocompatible materials preferably useful for biomedical applications.     

Silicon Application Enhances the Photosynthetic Pigments and Phenolic/Flavonoid Content by Modulating the Phenylpropanoid Pathway in Common Buckwheat under Aluminium Stress

Silicon - Silicon (Si) is very effective in the amelioration of heavy metal (HM) stress in different crop plants. This investigation was conducted to assess the protective role of Si in modulating...