Thermal Stability Investigation of Synthesized Epoxy-Polyurethane/Silica Nanocomposites

Silicon - In this research, epoxy polyurethane-nano silica nanocomposites have been synthesized using an in-situ method, for which SiO2 nanocomposites had been initially ready in N,...     

Synthesis and reactions of 2-(p-chloroanilino)-5- (D-galacto-1,2,3,4,5-pentahydroxypentyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazole

Oxidative cyclization of D -galactose (p-chlorophenyl)thiosemicarbazone gave 2-(p-chloroanilino)-5-( D -galacto-1,2,3,4,5-pentahydroxypentyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazole ( 1 ), whose acetylation afforded 2-[N-acetyl-N-(p-chlorophenyl)]-amino-5-( D -galacto-1,2,3,4,5-pentacetoxypentyl)- 1,3,4-thiadiazole ( 3 ). Its periodate oxidation of the glycol groups gave 2-(p-chloroanilino)-1,3,4-thiadiazole-5-carboxaldehyde ( 4 ), which can be transformed into 1,2-[2-(p-chloroanilino)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-5-yl]-1-hydroxy-2-oxoethane. A number of hydrazones of the formyl thiadiazole was prepared and its reduction with sodium borohydride gave 2-(p-chloroanilino)-5-hydroxymethyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole ( 6 ), whose acetylation gave a mono-O-acetyl derivative ( 7 ). Oxidation of the formyl thiadiazole gave 2-(p-chloroanilino)-1,3,4-thiadiazole ( 9 ). The spectral data of the compounds were discussed.     

Thermosensitive folic acid-targeted poly (ethylene-<Emphasis Type="Italic">co</Emphasis>-vinyl alcohol) hemisuccinate polymeric nanoparticles for delivery of epirubicin to breast cancer cells

A novel thermosensitive folic acid (FA)-targeted succinylated poly (ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) (EVOH) (EVOHS-FA) nanocarrier was synthesized for the specific delivery of epirubicin (EPI) to MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. Three different ratios of synthesized EVOH-Suc were reacted with FA. The structure of the desired products (EVOHS₄₀-FA, EVOHS₆₀-FA and EVOHS₈₀-FA) was confirmed by ¹H NMR and FTIR techniques. Nanoparticles were obtained by nano-precipitation procedure using DMSO/H₂O as solvent/anti-solvent. The particle size, zeta potential, entrapment efficacy and in vitro release profile of the final formulations in different temperatures were measured. The optimized nanoparticles had the particle size of 214 ± 8.5 nm, zeta potential of ?29.6 mV, PDI of 0.198 ± 0.04, and a high encapsulation efficiency that released the drug efficiently within 450 h at the temperature of 40 °C compared to 37 °C. The morphology of nanoparticles was studied by scanning electron microscopy. The in vitro cytotoxicity was evaluated using the MTT assay on MCF-7 cell lines in response to temperatures of 37 and 40 °C. The MTT assay indicated that the targeted nanoparticles carrying EPI were significantly more cytotoxic than the non-targeted nanoparticles and the free drug at 40 °C.     

Effect of Zirconia Concentration on the Growth of Nanowires in Bioactive Glass–Ceramic Coatings

Bioactive glass–ceramic with various zirconia concentrations was applied on stainless steel (SS) by the sol–gel method. Bioactive glass powder was prepared by the sol–gel method, and thermal properties of the prepared powders were studied by differential thermal analysis (DTA). The effects of zirconia were investigated to explore the growth of nanowires. The growth model of nanowires, in this study, is proposed in terms of the surface diffusion. The coatings showed the hardness values to be in the range of 3000–4500 MPa. The hardness values of prepared composite coatings increased with an increase in zirconia amounts.     

Delignification of intact biomass and cellulosic coproduct of acid‐catalyzed hydrolysis

The kinetics of acid‐catalyzed hemicellulose removal and also alkaline delignification of oat hull biomass were investigated. All three operational parameters namely, catalyst concentration (0.10–0.55 N H₂SO₄), temperature (110–130°C), and residence time (up to 150 min) affected the efficiency of hemicellulose removal, with 100% of hemicellulose removed by appropriate selection of process parameters. Analysis of delignification kinetics (in the temperature range of 30–100°C) indicated that it can be expressed very well by a two‐phase model for the crude biomass and also for the hemicellulose‐prehydrolyzed material. The application of acid‐catalyzed prehydrolysis improved the capacity of lignin dissolution especially at lower temperatures (30 and 65°C) and accelerated the dissolution of lignin. This acceleration of delignification by prehydrolysis was possible at all levels of temperature in the bulk phase; however, results were more significant at the lower temperatures in the terminal phase. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 1783–1791, 2015     

Controllable Synthesis of NiSe<Subscript>2</Subscript> Nanostructures via Hydrothermal Process for Photocatalytic and Solar Cell Applications

This paper reports on the synthesis of rice-like NiSe₂ nanoparticles via a simple hydrothermal method by employing [bis(2-hydoxyacetophenato)nickle(II)], [Ni(HAP)₂], as a novel nickel precursor. Effect of nickel source on morphology and size of nanostructures was also investigated. Moreover, the as-synthesized NiSe₂ nanostructures were utilized as the photocatalyst for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and as the counter electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells. The results showed that structures size and morphology have salient effect on solar cells and using rice-like NiSe₂ nanoparticles leads to an increase in DSSCs efficiency compared to agglomerated sphere-like particles from 6.04 to 8.99?% (~49?% improvement).     

Viscosity prediction in selected Iranian light oil reservoirs: Artificial neural network versus empirical correlations

Viscosity is a parameter that plays a pivotal role in reservoir fluid estimations. Several approaches have been presented in the literature (Beal, 1946; Khan et al, 1987; Beggs and Robinson, 1975; Kartoatmodjo and Schmidt, 1994; Vasquez and Beggs, 1980; Chew and Connally, 1959; Elsharkawy and Alikhan, 1999; Labedi, 1992) for predicting the viscosity of crude oil. However, the results obtained by these methods have significant errors when compared with the experimental data. In this study a robust artificial neural network (ANN) code was developed in the MATLAB software environment to predict the viscosity of Iranian crude oils. The results obtained by the ANN and the three well-established semi-empirical equations (Khan et al, 1987; Elsharkawy and Alikhan, 1999; Labedi, 1992) were compared with the experimental data. The prediction procedure was carried out at three different regimes: at, above and below the bubble-point pressure using the PVT data of 57 samples collected from central, southern and offshore oil fields of Iran. It is confirmed that in comparison with the models previously published in literature, the ANN model has a better accuracy and performance in predicting the viscosity of Iranian crudes.     

Recycling of used engine oil by different solvent

The refining of lubricating oils from waste lubricating oil was examined utilizing a novel blend of solvent extraction and activated alumina adsorbent. The activity of these solvent extraction blends {toluene, butanol and methanol (A)}, {toluene, butanol and ethanol (B)} and {toluene, butanol and isopropanol (C)} was evaluated experimentally, oil to solvent proportions from 1:1 to 1:3 were analyzed for mixture blend (C). The results confirm solvent mixture (A) gave good efficiency with the highest percent sludge removal. The maximum percent of sludge removal improves with the increase of solvent to oil ratios. The physical properties of the recycle oil were measured. The results show the change in the properties of recycling oil and have good efficiency.     

Corrosion inhibition of steel by sodium sulphite

The corrosion inhibition of steel in a closed system containing sodium sulphite at room temperature has been established. Steady-state potential as well as weight loss measurements indicated that sodium sulphite did not only remove O₂ from the solution but also brought complete cathodic protection. It was found also that sodium sulphite could tolerate the presence of Cl^?, SO₄^2? and S^2?. In case of sulphite—sulphate or sulphite—chloride mixtures a concentration of 5 × 10^?3M Na₂SO₃ was required to tolerate a wide range of concentration of these aggressive ions. A linear relationship was found between log sulphite concentration and log maximum tolerated concentration of sulphide.     

Moisture Sensitive Smart Yarns and Textiles from Self‐Balanced Silk Fiber Muscles

Smart textiles that sense, interact, and adapt to environmental stimuli have provided exciting new opportunities for a variety of applications. However, current advances have largely remained at the research stage due to the high cost, complexity of manufacturing, and uncomfortableness of environment‐sensitive materials. In contrast, natural textile materials are more attractive for smart textiles due to their merits in terms of low cost and comfortability. Here, water fog and humidity‐driven torsional and tensile actuation of thermally set twisted, coiled, plied silk fibers, and weave textiles from these silk fibers are reported. When exposed to water fog, the torsional silk fiber provides a fully reversible torsional stroke of 547° mm^?1. Coiled‐and‐thermoset silk yarns provide a 70% contraction when the relative humidity is changed from 20% to 80%. Such an excellent actuation behavior originates from water absorption‐induced loss of hydrogen bonds within the silk proteins and the associated structural transformation, which are corroborated by atomistic and macroscopic characterization of silk and molecular dynamics simulations. With its large abundance, cost‐effectiveness, and comfortability for wearing, the silk muscles will open up additional possibilities in industrial applications, such as smart textiles and soft robotics.