Synthesis,Characterization and Catalytic Activities of Palladium(II) Nitroaryl Complexes

Two palladium(II) nitroaryl complexes trans-[bromo(p-nitrophenyl)bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II)] 1 and trans-[bromo(2,4-dinitrophenyl)bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II)] 2 have been synthesized. The complexes were characterized by FTIR and NMR (¹H, ¹³C and ³¹P) spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The molecular structure of complex 2, as confirmed by X-ray crystallography, reveals that the Pd atom and its neighboring groups (two PPh₃, Br and phenylene group) lie in a slightly distorted square plane. In the UV–Vis spectra of the complexes 1 and 2, the palladium to aryl charge transfer bands were observed. The emission peaks from the singlet excited states (S₁ → S₀) were observed in the photoluminescence spectra of the complexes. The thermal stability of the complexes has been studied by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). TGA data showed that both complexes are thermally stable up to 200 °C, and complex 1 is more stable than 2. The catalytic efficiency of the new palladium(II) complexes was studied as demonstrated using the Sonogashira coupling reactions with good yields. The experimental results suggest that the Sonogashira coupling reactions can be performed at moderate temperature (50 °C) using these new palladium(II) complexes as catalysts.     

Structural Control of NiO–YSZ/LSCF–YSZ Dual‐Layer Hollow Fiber Membrane for Potential Syngas Production

The objective of this study was to fabricate dual‐layer hollow fiber as a microreactor for potential syngas production via phase inversion‐based co‐extrusion/cosintering process. As the main challenge of phase inversion is the difficulty to obtain defect‐free fiber, this work focuses on the effect of the fabrication parameters, that is, nonsolvent content, sintering temperature and outer‐layer extrusion rate, on the macrostructure of the produced hollow fiber. SEM images confirm that the addition of nonsolvent has successfully minimized the finger‐like formation. At high sintering temperature, more dense hollow fiber was formed while outer‐layer extrusion rate affects the outer layer thickness.     

Two-step purification strategy for enhanced recovery of recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen from Pichia pastoris

Univariate screening on factors affecting the purification performance of recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) on ion exchange chromatography (IEC) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and the establishment of a two-step purification strategy were performed. Amongst four IEC adsorbents examined, the use of Q Sepharose XL IEC adsorbent under optimized conditions together with optimized SEC purification was able to efficiently purify HBsAg. An established purification strategy comprising the two techniques further demonstrated adaptability for scale-up operations with a final total purification factor (PF) of 94.82 ± 16.20, HBsAg purity of 95.48% and recovery yield of 78.07%.     

COSMO-RS:An ionic liquid prescreening tool for gas hydrate mitigation

Recently ionic liquids(ILs) are introduced as novel dual function gas hydrate inhibitors. However, no desired gas hydrate inhibition has been reported due to poor IL selection and/or tuning method. Trial error as well as selection based on existing literature are the methods currently employed for selecting and/or tuning ILs. These methods are probabilistic, time consuming, expensive and may not result in selecting high performance ILs for gas hydrate mitigation. In this work, COSMO-RS is considered as a prescreening tool of ILs for gas hydrate mitigation by predicting the hydrogen bonding energies(E_(HB)) of studied IL inhibitors and comparing the predicted E_(HB) to the depression temperature(?) and induction time. Results show that, predicted EHBand chain length of ILs strongly relate and significantly affect the gas hydrate inhibition depression temperature but correlate moderately(R = 0.70) with average induction time in literature. It is deduced from the results that, ? increases with increasing IL EHBand/or decreases with increasing chain length. However, the cation–anion pairing of ILs also affects IL gas hydrate inhibition performance. Furthermore, a visual and better understanding of IL/water behavior for gas hydrate inhibition in terms of hydrogen bond donor and acceptor interaction analysis is also presented by determining the sigma profile and sigma potential of studied IL cations and anions used for gas hydrate mitigation for easy IL selection.     

Reinforcement of graphene nanoplatelets on plasticized poly(lactic acid) nanocomposites: Mechanical,thermal, morphology,and antibacterial properties

Plasticized poly(lactic acid) (PLA)‐based nanocomposites filled with graphene nanoplatelets (xGnP) and containing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and epoxidized palm oil (EPO) with ratio 2 : 1 (2P : 1E) as hybrid plasticizer were prepared by melt blending method. The key objective is to take advantage of plasticization to increase the material ductility while preserving valuable stiffness, strength, and toughness via addition of xGnP. The tensile modulus of PLA/2P : 1E/0.1 wt % xGnP was substantially improved (30%) with strength and elasticity maintained, as compared to plasticized PLA. TGA analysis revealed that the xGnP was capable of acting as barrier to reduce thermal diffusion across the plasticized PLA matrix, and thus enhanced thermal stability of the plasticized PLA. Incorporation of xGnP also enhanced antimicrobial activity of nanocomposites toward Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41652.     

Properties of Ferrite-Filled Natural Rubber Composites

Nickel zinc ferrite (Ni-ZnFe₂O₄)-filled natural rubber (NR) composite was prepared at various loading of ferrite. The tensile properties included in this study were tensile strength, tensile modulus and elongation at break. The tensile strength and elongation at break of the composites increased up to 40 parts per hundred rubber (phr) of ferrite and then decreased at higher loading whereas the tensile modulus was increased gradually with increasing of ferrite loading. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to determine the wettability of filler in rubber matrix. From the observation, the increase of filler loading reduced the wettability of the filler. Thermal stability of the composites was conducted by using a thermogravimetry analyser (TGA). The incorporation of ferrite in NR composites enhanced the thermal stability of NR composites. The swelling test results indicate that the swelling percentage of the composites decreased by increasing of ferrite loading. The initial permeability, μ_i and quality factor, Q of magnetic properties of NR composites achieved maximum value at 60 phr of ferrite loading for frequency range between 5000–40,000 kHz. The maximum impedance, Z _max of the NR composites was at the highest value at 80 phr ferrite loading for frequency range between 200–800 MHz.     

Thermal,Mechanical and Morphological Characterization of Jute/Gelatin Composites

Jute fabrics/gelatin biocomposites were fabricated using compression molding. The fiber content in the composite varied from 20–60 wt%. Composites were subjected to mechanical, thermal, water uptake and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis. Composite contained 50 wt% jute showed the best mechanical properties. Tensile strength, tensile modulus, bending strength, bending modulus and impact strength of the 50% jute content composites were found to be 85 MPa, 1.25 GPa, 140 MPa and 9 GPa and 9.5 kJ/m², respectively. Water uptake properties at room temperature were evaluated and found that the composites had lower water uptake compared to virgin matrix.     

Surface modification of henequen (Agave fourcroydes) fibers by ultraviolet curing with 2‐hydroxyethylacrylate and ethylacrylate: Effect of additives on degradable properties

Henequen fibers were grafted with a double impregnating monomer 2‐hydroxyethylacrylate (HEA) and ethylacrylate (EA) to improve the physicomechanical properties. The fibers soaked in different concentration (1–10%) of monomer + MeOH solution along with photoinitiator Irgacure 907 [2%] were cured under ultraviolet (UV) lamp at different UV radiation intensities (2–14 passes). Concentration of monomer at different radiation intensities was optimized with extent of mechanical properties such as polymer loading, tensile strength, and elongation at break. Enhanced tensile strength (268%) and elongation at break (110%) were achieved by the polymer treated fibers than untreated virgin fibers. We observed that, henequen fibers treated by 3% EA showed better physico‐mechanical properties than those treated by 5% HEA. The tensile properties of henequen fibers treated by 3% EA can be enhanced by adding aloxysilane; 3‐(trimethoxysilyl) propylmethacrylate additives with bulk monomer EA (3%). The degradability of the treated and untreated fibers due to accelerated weathering were also studied and it has been found that surface modified henequen fibers produced more resistivity towards different weathering conditions than untreated fibers. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 4000–4006, 2006     

The effect of magnetic and optic field in water electrolysis

Hydrogen production via water electrolysis was studied under the effect of magnetic and optical field. A diode solid state laser at blue, green and red were utilized as optical field source. Magnetic bar was employed as external magnetic field. The green laser has shown a greatest effect in hydrogen production due to its non-absorbance properties in the water. Thus its intensity of electrical field is high enough to dissociation of hydronium and hydroxide ions during orientation toward polarization of water. The potential to break the autoprotolysis and generate the auto-ionization is the mechanism of optical field to reveal the hydrogen production in water electrolysis. The magnetic field effect is more dominant to enhance the hydrogen production. The diamagnetic property of water has repelled the present of magnetic in water. Consequently the water splitting occurs due to the repulsive force induced by the external magnetic field. The magnetic distributed more homogenous in the water to involve more density of water molecule. As a result hydrogen production due to magnetic field is higher in comparison to optical field. However the combination both fields have generated superior effect whereby the hydrogen yields nine times higher in comparison to conventional water electrolysis.