Investigation of CO2 adsorption by bagasse-based activated carbon

Bagasse-based activated carbon (BAC) and amine-modified BAC were prepared and investigated for CO₂ adsorption capacity. Modifying BAC with amines resulted in a decrease of surface area, but the decreasing magnitude varied depending on type and loading rate of amines. At room temperature, the unmodified BAC was able to adsorb more CO₂ than the amine-modified BAC. This ability was related to the higher surface area of unmodified than that of the modified BAC. When temperature increased, CO₂ adsorption capacity of all absorbents was decreased. However, above 323 K and a concentration of CO₂ lower than 30% v/v, the BAC modified with PEI at 5 and 25 wt% showed higher adsorption capacity. Among all adsorbents under 15% CO₂ and 348 K, BAC-PEI25 showed the highest adsorption capacity (0.20 mmol/g).     

Characterization of New DNA Aptamers for Anti-HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase

HIV-1 RT is a necessary enzyme for retroviral replication, which is the main target for antiviral therapy against AIDS. Effective anti-HIV-1 RT drugs are divided into two groups; nucleoside inhibitors (NRTI) and non-nucleoside inhibitors (NNRTI), which inhibit DNA polymerase. In this study, new DNA aptamers were isolated as anti-HIV-1 RT inhibitors. The selected DNA aptamer (WT62) presented with high affinity and inhibition against wild-type (WT) HIV-1 RT and gave a KD value of 75.10±0.29 nM and an IC₅₀ value of 84.81±8.54 nM. Moreover, WT62 decreased the DNA polymerase function of K103 N/Y181 C double mutant (KY) HIV-1 RT by around 80 %. Furthermore, the ITC results showed that this aptamer has small binding enthalpies with both WT and KY HIV-1 RTs through which the complex might form a hydrophobic interaction or noncovalent bonding. The NMR result also suggested that the WT62 aptamer could bind with both WT and KY mutant HIV-1 RTs at the connection domain.     

Utilization of mesoporous molecular sieves synthesized from natural source rice husk silica to Chlorinated Volatile Organic Compounds (CVOCs) adsorption

The adsorption of trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), and carbon tetrachloride was studied over our synthesized mesoporous material, MCM-41, from rice husk silica source, abbreviated as RH-MCM-41. More than 99% silica for RH-MCM-41 synthesis was extracted from rice husk under refluxing in HBr solution and then calcined at 873 K for 4 hours. RH-MCM-41 possessed surface area around 750-1,100 m²/g with a uniform pore size with an average diameter of 2.95 nm, narrow range of pore distribution and somewhat hexagonal structure, similar to properties of parent MCM-41. The adsorption of CC1₄ to RH-MCM-41 was stronger than that of TCE and PCE. The adsorption capacity of RH-MCM-41 for CVOCs (chlorinated volatile organic compounds) was higher than commercial mordenite and activated carbons.     

Influence of functional silanes on hydrophobicity of MCM-41 synthesized from rice husk

Mesoporous molecular sieve MCM-41 was synthesized from rice husk and rice husk ash, called RH-MCM-41 and RHA-MCM-41. The sol–gel mixtures were prepared with molar composition of 1.0 SiO₂: 1.1 NaOH: 0.13 CTAB: 0.12 H₂O. After calcination, the polarity of MCM-41 still remained on its surface due to the existence of some silanol groups. In this study, both RH-MCM-41 and RHA-MCM-41 were silylated with two different functional silanes trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS) and phenyldimethylchlorosilane (PDMS) in order to reduce the surface polarity. The efficiency of silylation was determined based on the amount of moisture adsorbed using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The structure of silylating agents and silica templates were found to be important parameters affecting the hydrophobic property of the MCM-41 surface. The post-grafting silylation with aliphatic silane can decrease the surface polarity better than that with aromatic silane, probably due to less sterric hindrance effect. Thus, the surface hydrophobicity of MCM-41 can be improved by the silylation of small molecular silane on RH-MCM-41.     

Ceramic tiles coated with Zr-Ag co-doped TiO2 thin film for indoor air purifying and antimicrobial applications

In this study, Zr-Ag co-doped TiO₂ (ZAT) photocatalyst films having varied numbers of layers (1, 2, 3, and 4) have been developed to coat on ceramic tile substrates by sol-gel spin coating technique. The specimens were tested to determine antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and the capability to degrade gaseous formaldehyde under visible light. X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet and visible absorption spectroscopy, water contact angle, and scanning electron microscopy were applied to characterize the structural and morphological properties of the samples. The photocatalytic reactivity of the nanocomposite films was investigated by the decolorization of methylene blue (MB) dye under visible light irradiation. The results showed that the two-layer ZAT photocatalyst film on ceramic tile exhibited the highest photocatalytic decolorization of MB, with 60.36% efficiency. The ZAT tile had formaldehyde degradation efficiency up to 32.74% within only 6 h under visible light irradiation, higher than that of the bare ceramic tile (4.90%). Additionally, the ZAT thin films could enhance anti-E. coli activity and could be capable of degrading air pollution.     

Silylated rice husk MCM-41 and its binary adsorption of water–toluene mixture

Mesoporous material, MCM-41, synthesized from rice husk (RH-MCM-41) was modified by loading silylating agent (either trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS), dimethyl-dichlorosilane (DMCS) or phenyl-trichlorosilane (PTCS)) with different concentrations (1–9 wt.%), and aging times, varied between 1, 6, 9, and 24 h. Properties of the silylated MCM-41 samples were characterized by XRD, FTIR, N₂ adsorption, and the binary adsorption of a water–toluene mixture for the breakthrough curves; afterwards, the hydrophobicity indices were determined. Silylating agent caused RH-MCM-41 to possess smaller average pore size and surface area, compared to parent RH-MCM-41. Using a silylating condition of 1 wt.% TMCS for 1 h, modified RH-MCM-41 showed satisfactory enhancement its of hydrophobicity without any significant surface modification. Due to the substitution of silane group onto RH-MCM-41, the hydrophobicity index was increased.