A New Triazole-Thiol Compound Organofunctionalized on the Silica Gel Surface: Chemical Properties and Copper Sorption in Ethanol / Water Media

Silicon - This study describes the preparation and characterization of 3-chloropropyl silica gel with 4-amino-5-(4pyridyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol (SGA) for copper adsorption in different media....     

Direct-Ink-Writing of Electroactive Polymers for Sensing and Energy Storage Applications

Considering the high levels of materials used in the fields of electronics and energy storage systems, it is increasingly necessary to take into consideration environmental impact. Thus, it is important to develop devices based on environmentally friendlier materials and/or processes, such as additive manufacturing techniques. In this work, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) are prepared by direct-ink-writing (DIW) by varying solvent evaporation temperature and fill density percentage. Different morphologies for both polymers are obtained, including dense films and porous membranes, as well as different electroactive β-phase content, thermal and mechanical properties. The dielectric constant and piezoelectric d₃₃ coefficient for dense films reaches up to 16 at 1 kHz and 4 pC N⁻¹, respectively for PVDF-HFP with a fill density of 80 and a solvent evaporation temperature of 50 °C. Porous structures are developed for battery separator membranes in lithium-ion batteries, with a highest ionic conductivity value of 3.8 mS cm⁻¹ for the PVDF-HFP sample prepared with a fill density of 100 and a solvent evaporation temperature of 25 °C, the sample showing an excellent cycling performance. It is demonstrated that electroactive films and membranes can be prepared by direct-ink writing suitable for sensors/actuators and energy storage systems.     

Global insight into microwave stoneware firing: Macro and microstructural changes

Industrial competition and environmental concerns lead to the exploration of alternative and energy-efficient technologies for ceramic materials processing. The main objective of this work was to present microwave heating as a viable option for stoneware processing. Stoneware functional properties are presented and discussed, with emphasis on impact strength, water absorption, porosity, and color. Microstructure analyses show that microwave- and gas-fired samples have higher densifications than electrically fired samples. A relevant finding for processing conditions is that microwave firing requires temperatures approximately 100°C lower than those required by conventional firing. Microwave-fired samples’ rupture energies are approximately twice (0.57 ± 0.06 (J)) those of the reference samples (0.26 ± 0.03 (J)), and their water absorptions are approximately one-half (1.5% at 1170°C and 0.8% at 1190°C) of those of the reference samples (2.0%), whereas the water absorption of electrically fired samples at 1180°C has been estimated to be 7.5%. Color analysis also evidences a shift to lower microwave firing temperatures, what is attributed to the enhanced transformations promoted by microwave heating when comparing with the transformations promoted by conventional (gas or electric) heating.     

Surface Pretreatments of Silicon Nitride for CVD Diamond Deposition

The efficiency of different surface pretreatments (four standard chemical etchings and four diamond powder abrasive procedures) on silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) substrates for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of diamond has been systematically investigated. Blank Si₃N₄ samples were polished with colloidal silica (∼0.25 μm). Diamond nucleation and growth runs were conducted in a microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition apparatus for 10 min and 6 h, respectively. Superior results concerning nucleation density ( N _d∼ 10¹⁰ cm⁻² after 10 min), film uniformity, and grain size (below 2 μm after 6 h) were obtained for the mechanically microflawed samples, revealing that chemical etchings (hot and cold strong acids, molten base or CF₄ plasma) are not crucial for good CVD diamond quality on Si₃N₄.     

Supported Molybdenum Carbides Lie Between Metallic and Sulfided Catalysts for Deep HDS

Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene on alumina-supported Mo₂C has been studied. These catalysts are stable and active under deep HDS conditions (0-250 wt ppm S). However, although they are well known to have hydrogenation properties, they lead preferentially to a non-hydrogenated product of the HDS reaction: dimethylbiphenyl. For the same reaction, supported platinum and sulfided molybdenum oxide lead to the hydrogenated products dimethyldicyclohexyl and methylcyclohexyltoluene, respectively. The ranking of HDS activity is as follows: MoS₂/Al₂O₃ < Mo₂C/Al₂O₃ < Pt/SiO₂.     

A two-step reaction mechanism of oxygen release from Pd/CeO2: mathematical modelling based on step gas concentration experiments

Topics in Catalysis - A mathematical model has been developed to study the transient release of oxygen from a 1 wt% Pd/CeO2 catalyst in the 450–550&nbsp;°C range based on alternate...     

Rice husk ash filled natural rubber. I. Overall rate constant determination for the vulcanization process from rheometric data

Black rice husk ash (BRHA) and white rice husk ash (WRHA) were incorporated into natural rubber (NR) using a laboratory‐size two‐roll mill. A conventional vulcanization system (CV) was chosen and cure studies were carried out on a TI‐100 Curometer. The torque curves were obtained at 150, 160, 170, and 180°C. The overall rate and the apparent activation energy for the vulcanization process were calculated for each compound assuming that vulcanization follows first‐order kinetics. For comparison purposes, two commercial fillers, precipitated silica (Zeosil‐175) and carbon black (N762), were also used. It was observed that addition of WRHA to NR compounds increased the cross‐linking rate and lowered the apparent activation energy more markedly than the other fillers. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 1194–1203, 2003     

Nanocomposites based on polyethylene and Mg-Al layered double hydroxide. I. Synthesis and characterization

Low density polyethylene (LDPE)/Mg-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanocomposites have been synthesized with different compositions by melt-mixing technique using maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene as compatibilizer. LDH has been modified by sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate using reconstruction method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The nanocomposites are characterized by different techniques such as, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), XRD and rheology. The TEM analysis shows a complex nature of particle dispersion in the polymer matrix with wide distribution of particles sizes and shapes. The rheological analysis showed significant changes in linear viscoelastic responses of the composites, even at very low concentration (2 phr) of LDH materials, in comparison to the pure polymer in low frequency regime in dynamic frequency sweep experiments. These changes are related to the LDHs-polymer chains interactions resulting in network-like structure.     

Electrodeposition of polypyrrole on aluminium in aqueous tartaric solution

The electrosynthesis of polypyrrole (PPy) has been achieved on aluminium in aqueous medium of tartaric acid by means of cyclic voltammetry, potentiostatic and galvanostatic techniques. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray microanalysis by energy spectroscopy dispersion (EDS) applying on surfaces show that the PPy coating is developed from the metal surface through the cracks of the initial Al₂O₃ layer.A mechanism involving the participation of the supporting electrolyte and the pyrrole (Py) in distinct active sites was proposed based on the linear sweep voltammetry. It is observed for all applied electrochemical techniques that the pyrrole concentration has to be higher than 0.1 M to allow the polypyrrole electrodeposition in acid medium.Scanning electron microscopy, secondary electrons (SE) and backscattering electrons (BE), shows that the PPy coating obtained in galvanostatic and potentiostatic modes starts with small islands at weak applied potentials or current densities. Moreover, EDS reveals a good homogeneity and compactness of the film achieved in galvanostatic method. The corrosion results in 3% NaCl medium show that the PPy coating decreases the corrosion behaviour of the aluminium. The bilayer Al₂O₃/PPy shows a capacitor with future applications.     

Thioglycolate-elicited rat macrophages exhibit alterations in incroporation and oxidation of fatty acids

Incorporation and oxidation of fatty acids (FA) were investigated in resident and thioglycolate-clicited (TG-elicited) rat macrophages (Mϕ). Both cell types presented a time-dependent incorporation of [¹⁴C]-labeled palmitic acid (PA), oleic acid (OA), linoleic acid (LA), and arachidonic acid (AA) up to 6h. The total amount of [¹⁴C]-FA incorporated by resident Mϕ after 6 h was: AA>PA=LA>OA. TG-elicited cells presented a 50% reduction in the incorporation of LA, PA, and AA, whereas that of OA remained unchanged as compared to resident Mϕ. The FA were oxidized by resident Mϕ as follows: LA>OA>PA>AA. TG elicitation promoted a reduction of 42% in LA oxidation and a marked increase in AA oxidation (280%). The increased oxidation of AA in TG-elicited cells may account for the lower production of prostaglandins in Mϕ under these conditions. The full significance of these findings for Mϕ function, however, remains to be examined.