Highly Efficient Zirconium Based Carbonaceous Solid Acid Catalyst for Selective Synthesis of 5-HMF from Fructose and Glucose in Isopropanol as a Solvent

Catalysis Letters - A new zirconium based carbonaceous solid acid catalyst Zr@CC-PA with both Lewis and Bronsted acidic sites was prepared by simultaneous carbonization and phosphonation of glucose...     

Wavelength conversion using rare earth doped oxides in polyolefin based nanocomposite films

Nanocomposites are a new class of polymeric materials which include organic or inorganic nano‐phase materials. These nanocomposite films can show interesting properties which have many applications for wavelength conversion and energy saving. In this paper, we present polyolefin based nanocomposite films prepared using wavelength‐converting red ‘phosphors’ such as Y₂O₃: Eu³⁺ and LiAl₅O₈:Fe³⁺ and blue ‘phosphor’ CaMgSi₂O₆: Eu²⁺. The durability of the polymer chain is unaffected by incorporation of inorganic nanoparticles as there is no direct interaction between them. The addition of surfactant in the nanocomposite film helps to improve the dispersion ability of the nanoparticles and increase the flexibility of the polymer film. Wavelength‐converting ‘nanophosphors’ incorporated in a polymer matrix help to increase the tensile strength of the film. The films show excellent wavelength conversion ability of UV light into the visible and near IR range. These nanocomposite films have great application in energy saving devices. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Scrap leather valorization through composite fabrication using mustard oil resin and N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone

Iranian Polymer Journal - Composites derived from petroleum sources like epoxy, unsaturated polyester and phenolics have limitations due to non-biodegradability toxicity which have harmful effects...     

Effect of iron oxide (Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>) on the structural,optical, electrical,and dielectric properties of SrO–V<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript> glasses

The oxide glass system of the composition (10 – x)SrO–xFe₂O₃–90V₂O₅, (x = 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 mol %) were prepared by a standard melt quenching technique. The amorphous nature of the prepared glass was confirmed using X-ray diffraction technique. The infrared spectra of these glasses were recorded over a continuous spectral range (850–1500 cm^–1). The density of prepared sample was obtained by the Archimedes principle. The physical parameters of the glasses were also determined with respect to the composition. Density increases from 3.10 to 3.20 g/cm³, whereas the molar volume decreases with the increase in Fe₂O₃ concentration. In order to study optical properties, absorption spectra were measured at room temperature. Indirect optical energy band gap, optical dielectric constant, refractive index were calculated from optical energy band gap. The refractive index decreases gradually with the increase in Fe₂O₃ content due to increase of bridging oxygen’s. For temperatures from 300 to 500 K, the dc conductivity increased with the increasing Fe₂O₃ content. The dielectric properties like dielectric constant, dielectric loss factor and dielectric loss tangent investigated at the room temperature in the frequency range of 10 kHz to 1 MHz decreases with frequency. The dielectric behavior shows strong frequency as well as composition dependence.     

Aromatic polyesters containing pendent 4-(phenylsulfonyl)phenyl groups: synthesis and characterization

A new bisphenol, 1,1-bis-[(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1-(4-phenylsulfonyl)phenyl)]ethane (DPSBP) was synthesized starting from diphenylsulfide and was characterized by spectroscopic methods. DPSBP was polycondensed with isophthalic acid chloride (IPC), terephthalic acid chloride (TPC) and a mixture of IPC and TPC (50:50 mol%) by phase-transfer catalysed interfacial polymerization method to obtain aromatic polyesters containing pendent 4-(phenylsulfonyl)phenyl groups. A series of copolyesters was also obtained by polycondensation of varying molar proportions of DPSBP and bisphenol-A (BPA) with TPC. (Co)polyesters exhibited inherent viscosities in the range 0.56–1.57 dLg^?1 and number average molecular weights (Mn) were in the range 28,650–80,230 g/mol. Polyesters dissolved readily in common organic solvents such as dichloromethane, chloroform, tetrahydrofuran and aprotic polar solvents such as N-methylpyrrolidone, and N,N-dimethylacetamide. Tough, transparent and flexible films of polyesters could be cast from their chloroform solutions. X-Ray diffraction studies indicated amorphous nature of aromatic polyesters. Polyesters showed T_g values in the range 223–257 °C while T₁₀ values were in the range of 469–484 °C indicating their excellent thermal stability.     

Sunflower Acid Oil-Based Production of Rhamnolipid Using Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Its Application in Liquid Detergents

Utilization of industrial waste as substrates for the rhamnolipid synthesis by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a worthy alternative for conventionally used vegetable oils and fatty acids to reduce the production cost of rhamnolipid. Sunflower acid oil (SAO), a by-product of the oil industry, contains 70% 18:0 fatty acid, with oleic acid as a major component. In this scope, production and analysis of rhamnolipid was successfully demonstrated using SAO as a new substrate. Pseudomonas aeruginosa produced rhamnolipid (a glycolipid biosurfactant) at a maximum concentration of 4.9 g L⁻¹ with 60 g L⁻¹ of SAO in the medium. Structural properties of rhamnolipid biosurfactant are confirmed using thin layer chromatography (TLC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. Further surface-active properties of the crude rhamnolipid were evaluated by measuring surface tension and emulsification properties. The synthesized rhamnolipid reduced the surface tension of water to 30.12 mN m⁻¹ and interfacial tension (against heptane) to 0.52 mN m⁻¹. Moreover, rhamnolipid shows the highest emulsification index (above 80%) for vegetable oils. This study confirms the use of SAO as a potential substrate for rhamnolipid production. The synthesized rhamnolipid was incorporated in liquid detergent formulation along with alpha olefin sulfonate (AOS) and sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES). The performance properties including foaming and cleaning efficiency of liquid detergent were compared.     

An experimental study of heat transfer in aluminum castings during water quenching

The influence of quenching orientation and agitation conditions on heat transfer of aluminum alloys during water quenching was experimentally investigated with a test casting. The results indicate that heat transfer in water quenching of casting aluminum alloy consists of film boiling, nucleate boiling and convection stages. The highest heat transfer coefficients (HTC) are observed in the nucleate boiling, while the lowest is in the convective cooling stage. The heat transfer coefficients on the horizontal surfaces facing down during quenching are lower than those of other surfaces regardless whether the water is agitated or not. Agitation enhances heat transfer process especially when castings are at high temperatures and heat transfer process is in the film boiling stage.     

Study of bactericidal efficiency of magnetron sputtered TiO2 films deposited at varying oxygen partial pressure

TiO₂ thin films have been deposited at different Ar:O₂ gas ratios (20:80,70:30,50:50,and 40:60 in sccm) by rf reactive magnetron sputtering at a constant power of 200 W. The formation of TiO₂ was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The oxygen percentage in the films was found to increase with an increase in oxygen partial pressure during deposition. The oxygen content in the film was estimated from XPS measurement. Band gap of the films was calculated from the UV-Visible transmittance spectra. Increase in oxygen content in the films showed substantial increase in optical band gap from 2.8 eV to 3.78 eV. The Ar:O₂ gas ratio was found to affect the particle size of the films determined by a transmission electron microscope (TEM). The particle size was found to be varying between 10 and 25 nm. The bactericidal efficiency of the deposited films was investigated using Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells under 1 h UV irradiation. The growth of E. coli cells was estimated through the Optical Density measurement by UV-Visible absorbance spectra. The qualitative analysis of the bactericidal efficiency of the deposited films after UV irradiation was observed through SEM. A correlation between the optical band gap, particle size and bactericidal efficiency of the TiO₂ films at different argon:oxygen gas ratio has been studied.