Microstructural evolution of a commercial ultrafine alumina powder densified by different methods

The densification and grain growth of bodies made from a commercial ultrafine alumina powder was investigated. The primary powder was initially subjected to dry (uniaxial cold pressing) and wet shaping (slip casting), followed by conventional (CS)-, two step (TSS)-, and microwave (MS) sintering to explore the effect of each series of treatments on the densification and microstructural evolution of the specimens. It was demonstrated that a uniform microstructure with higher density would be obtained using the wet shaping method. In addition, microwave sintering was found to be more effective into the densification of the specimens and in yielding a finer grain structure. It is believed that the high heating rate and effective particle packing are responsible for the improvements in these properties. On this basis, it was also demonstrated that the fracture toughness of the samples increased significantly through the application of microwave sintering.     

Synthesis of silicon-substituted hydroxyapatite by a hydrothermal method with two different phosphorous sources

Silicon-substituted hydroxyapatite (Si-HA) with up to 1.8 wt% Si content was prepared successfully by a hydrothermal method, using Ca(NO₃)₂, (NH₄)₃PO₄ or (NH₄)₂HPO₄ and Si(OCH₂CH₃)₄ (TEOS) as starting materials. Silicon has been incorporated in hydroxyapatite (HA) lattice by partially replacing phosphate (PO₄³⁻) groups with silicate (SiO₄⁴⁻) groups resulting in Si-HA described as Ca₁₀(PO₄)_6−x(SiO₄)_x(OH)_2−x. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform IR spectroscopy (FTIR), inductively coupled plasma AES (ICP-AES) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques reveal that the substitution of phosphate groups by silicate groups causes some OH⁻ loss to maintain the charge balance and changes the lattice parameters of HA. The crystal shape of Si-HA has not altered compared to silicon-free reference hydroxyapatite but Si-incorporation reduces the size of Si-HA crystallites. Based on in vitro tests, soaking the specimens in simulated body fluid (SBF), and MTT assays by human osteoblast-like cells, Si-substituted hydroxyapatite is more bioactive than pure hydroxyapatite.     

Polymerization of Triazolinediones with trans-3,3-Dichloro-1-phenyl-1-propene

The reaction of 4-phenyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione (PhTD) ( 2 ) with trans-3,3-dichloro-1-phenyl-1-propene ( 4 ) was investigated at room and reflux temperatures in methylene chloride solution. Although the reaction is slow, it gives quantitative yield. This reaction leads to the formation of two 2:1 adducts via double Diels–Alder and Diels–Alder-Ene reactions in a ratio of about 1: 7. The major product was isolated by means of fractional crystallization as a pure compound and was characterized by infra-red (IR), ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ¹³C NMR, mass spectra and elemental analysis. The structure of the minor product was determined by IR and ¹H NMR. These compounds were used as models for the polymerization reactions. The reaction of bistriazolinediones (1,6-bis-(3,5-dioxo-1,2,4-triazoline-4-yl)hexane and bis-(p-3,5-dioxo-1,2,4-triazoline-4-ylphenyl)methane) with ( 4 ) was carried out in dimethylformamide (DMF). The reactions gave novel polymers via repetitive double Diels–Alder and Diels–Alder-Ene polyaddition reactions, with the major component being a Diels–Alder-Ene structure. These polymers have intrinsic viscosities in a range from 0·08 to 0·18dlg^-1 in DMF. The physical properties and structural characterization of these polymers have been studied and are reported. © of SCI.     

Synthesis and characterization of a novel silicone containing vinylic macromonomer and its uses in the preparation of poly (silicone‐co‐styrene‐co‐butylacrylate) with montmorillonite nanocomposite emulsion

A new silicone containing macromonomer, 4‐(methacrylamido) phenoxy polymethylhydrosiloxane (4‐MPMHS) with a vinyl group, was successfully synthesized. Then poly (silicone‐co‐styrene‐co‐butylacrylate) with montmorillonite, P (Si‐co‐St‐co‐BA) with MMT nanocomposite emulsion was prepared by in situ intercalative emulsion polymerization of styrene (St), butyl acrylate (BA), and 4‐MPMHS, in the presence of organic modified montmorillonite (OMMT) with different OMMT contents (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2 wt %). Potassium persulphate (KPS) was used as an initiator and sodium lauryl sulfoacetate (SLSA) and nonyl phenol ethylene oxide—40 U (NP‐40) were used as anionic and nonionic emulsifiers, respectively. The resulting macromonomer was characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transformer infrared (FT‐IR), proton (¹H NMR), and carbon (¹³C NMR) nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopes. The OMMT was characterized by FT‐IR and X‐ray diffraction (XRD). The nanocomposite emulsions were characterized by using Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), laser light scattering, and surface tension method. Thermal properties of the copolymers were studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and then the effects of OMMT percent on the water absorption ratio and drying speed were examined. Results showed that OMMT could improve the properties of emulsion. In other words, the properties of nanocomposite emulsions were better when compared with those of the silicone‐acrylate emulsion. The property of nanocomposite emulsion containing 1 wt % OMMT was the best one, and the following advantages were obtained: smaller particle size, faster drying speed, smaller surface tension, and improved water resistance by the incorporation of OMMT. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Improving the dynamic performance of continuous-flow mixing of pseudoplastic fluids possessing yield stress using Maxblend impeller

The strategic approach of this article is to characterize the continuous-flow mixing of pseudoplastic fluids possessing yield stress in a stirred reactor with the Maxblend impeller. Dynamic experiments were carried out through the frequency-modulated random binary input of a brine solution to determine the extent of non-ideal flows. Mixing quality was determined on the basis of the extent of channeling and fully mixed volume. The effects of important parameters such as impeller speed (25–500 rpm), absence of baffles, fluid rheology (0.5–1.5%), fluid flow rate (3.20–14.17 L min⁻¹), and the locations of inlet/outlet on the dynamic performance of the continuous-flow mixing vessel were explored. The performance of the Maxblend impeller was then compared to the performances of various types of impellers such as close-clearance (an anchor), axial-flow (a Lightnin A320), and radial-flow (a Scaba 6SRGT) impellers. It was found when the channeling approached zero and the fully mixed volume approached the total fluid volume in the vessel, the power drawn by the A320 impeller and the Scaba impeller were about 2.9 and 4.3 times greater than that of the Maxblend impeller. Thus, the Maxblend impeller was able to drastically improve the performance of continuous-flow mixing with huge power savings. The mixing quality was further improved by optimizing the impeller speed, decreasing the fluid flow rate, decreasing the fluid concentration, and using bottom inlet- top outlet configuration. The flow non-ideality of the mixing system increased in the absence of the baffles. Thus, better mixing quality and more energy savings can be achieved by employing the findings of this study.     

Group contribution model for determination of molecular diffusivity of non-electrolyte organic compounds in air at ambient conditions

Determination of diffusion coefficients of pure compounds in air is of great interest for modeling of air pollution control processes. In this communication, a Group Contribution (GC) method is applied to represent/predict the molecular diffusivity of chemical compounds in air at 298.15 K and atmospheric pressure. 4661 compounds from various chemical families have been investigated to propose a comprehensive and predictive model. The final model is resulted from coupling the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) with group contributions. Using this dedicated model, we obtain satisfactory results quantified by the following statistical results: Squared Correlation Coefficient=0.995, Standard Deviation Error=0.02, and Average Absolute Deviation=1.4% for the calculated/predicted properties from existing experimental values.     

Removal of Cadmium from Aqueous Solution by Nano Composites of Bentonite /TiO2 and Bentonite/ZnO Using Photocatalysis Adsorption Process

Silicon - In this study, bentonite/TiO2 and bentonite/ZnO nanoparticles were used for studying the cadmium removal from the aqueous solution. The experiments were done in a batch condition under...     

A comparative study on citrate sol-gel and combustion synthesis methods of CoAl2O4 spinel

CoAl₂O₄ spinel was successfully synthesized by combustion synthesis method using glycine and urea by 1:1 molar ratio as fuels and sol-gel process using citric acid as a chelating agent. The as-synthesized powders were calcined at desired temperatures to obtain CoAl₂O₄ spinel as a single phase. X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric, and differential thermal analysis results revealed that the formation of CoAl₂O₄ spinel in combustion method needs 300°C higher temperatures than those of sol-gel. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analysis results revealed that “sol-gel spinel” had nanometric particle size which was smaller than those of “combustion spinel.” Temperature programed reduction with hydrogen and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results declared that there was a little residual cobalt oxide in combustion spinel while there is no oxide resided in “sol-gel spinel.” Consequently, the sol-gel method has more benefit in synthesizing spinel with sulfate precursors than combustion.     

Agitation of Herschel–Bulkley fluids with the Scaba–anchor coaxial mixers

The design of the coaxial mixers depends on many interrelated parameters including the geometry and dimensions of the mixing vessel, the location and type of the impellers, speed ratio, impeller diameter, rotation mode, and fluid rheology. No study has been reported in the literature regarding the mixing performance of the coaxial mixers in the agitation of yield-pseudoplastic fluids. Thus, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of a Scaba–anchor coaxial mixer (a novel configuration) in the mixing of xanthan gum solutions (yield-pseudoplastic fluids). The Herschel–Bulkley model was used to describe the rheological behavior of the xanthan gum solutions. To develop new correlations for the generalized Reynolds and power numbers of the coaxial mixers employed in the agitation of this class of non-Newtonian fluids, we utilized numerous experimental and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) data. The new correlations were tested successfully at different operating conditions (e.g. speed ratio, fluid rheology, and operation mode).