Volume 12, Issue 9 - 12(9) Special Issue: Chemistry and Chemical Engineering - Materials

New vapor-liquid equilibria (VLE) data at 323.15, 333.15, 343.15, and 353.15 K and pressures up to 112.9 bar are reported for the carbon dioxide + 2-methyl-2-propanol system. The experimental method used in this work was a static analytical method with liquid and vapor phases sampling using a rapid online sampler injector (ROLSI™) coupled to a gas chromatograph (GC) for analysis. Measured VLE data and literature data for carbon dioxide + 2-methyl-2-propanol system were modeled with the Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK) cubic equation of state with classical van der Waals (two-parameter conventional mixing rule, 2PCMR) mixing rules. A single set of interaction parameters that lead to a correct phase behavior was used in this work to model the new VLE data and critical points of the mixtures in a wide range of temperature and pressure. The SRK prediction results were compared to the new data measured in this study and to available literature data.

Quinine sulfate dihydrate (QNS), IUPAC name: (8S,9R)-6-methoxy-4-quinolenyl-5-vinyl-2-quinuclidinyl methanol sulfate dihydrate, was tested as corrosion inhibitor for carbon steel in 1.5 mol L−1 HCl solution using the potentiodynamic polarization and the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) associated with UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The electrochemical results showed that, the inhibition efficiency (IE) increased with the increase in QNS concentration, reaching a maximum value of 93.35±0.25%. The polarization resistance (R p) followed the same trend, obtaining the highest value of 659.7 Ω cm2, while the corrosion current density (i corr) reached the lowest level of 195 µA cm−2. The action mechanism of QNS was proposed considering the ability of quinine (QN) to be adsorbed on the metal surface via the lone pairs of electrons from hydroxyl oxygen atom, and/or from quinoline and quinuclidinic nitrogens. The occurrence of the complexes between inhibitor and iron ions was considered an additional process, which may contribute to protective layer formation. The Temkin adsorption isotherm was found as the best fitting for the degree of surface coverage (θ) values. In order to elucidate the mechanism of protective layer formation, the free energy of adsorption (ΔG o ads) value was calculated. This indicates that the inhibitor acts by chemical adsorption on the steel surface.

We successfully synthesized tin dioxide nanoparticles with polyhedral morphology via an ethylene glycol assisted sol-gel approach. The structural characteristics of three tin dioxide samples were investigated after being thermally treated at 400°C, 600°C and 800°C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns clearly show the formation of single phase tin dioxide nanoparticles, with crystallite size of 6–20 nm, in good correlation with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis confirms the formation of 6nm polyhedral nanoparticles for the 400°C sample. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra suggest a high concentration of oxygen vacancies. The oxygen vacancy concentration increases with temperature, due to the combined action of the formation of VO and the energetic O compensation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis also confirms the formation of single phase tin dioxide and the presence of oxygen vacancies in good agreement with UV-VIS and PL data.

The phase behavior of the carbon dioxide + cycloalkane mixtures usually receives low attention, though these systems are important for many industries, e.g. the carbon capture and storage. In this paper calculations results for the carbon dioxide + cyclopentane binary system are presented, based on SRK and PR cubic equations of state with classical van der Waals mixing rules. A single set of binary parameters for each model was proposed to predict the global phase behavior of the system in a wide range of pressure and temperature. Albeit the thermodynamic models used are simple, they are able to represent fairly well the phase behavior of the system analyzed in this paper.

N-nitrosamines are a new class of emerging nitrogenous drinking water disinfection by-products. These compounds are probably carcinogenic which could seriously affect the safety of drinking water consumers. The aim of this study is to develop a simple, fast, and specific analytical method for the routine determination of low part per trillion levels of N-nitrosamines in waters. An ultra high pressure liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC/MS/MS) method was developed for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of N-nitrosamines in waters. N-nitrosamines were extracted, purified and concentrated from water samples in one step using a solid-phase extraction (SPE). The compounds were detected in multiple reaction monitoring via electrospray ionisation source with positive ionisation mode. To achieve symmetrical peak shapes and a short chromatographic analysis time, the mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile, water and formic acid (60:40:0.1, v/v/v) was used in the experiment. Chromatographic separation of N-nitrosamines was done in less than two minutes. All calibration curves had good linearity (r2≥ 0.9989). The intra- and inter-day precision of the assay ranged from 0.59% to 3.11% and accuracy ranged from 99.66% to 104.1%. The mean recoveries of N-nitrosamines in spiked water were 98%-101%. The reproducability was acceptable with relative standard deviations of less than 3.53%. The proposed method yielded detection limits very low which ranges from 0.04 to 0.16 ng L−1. Finally, the developed analytical method was successfully applied to the analysis of N-nitrosamines in natural water sample

In addition to the commonly observed single molecule fluorescence intensity fluctuations due to molecular reorientation dynamics, a perylene bisimide-calixarene compound (1) shows additional on-off fluctuations due to its ability to undergo intramolecular excited state electron transfer (PET). This quenching process is turned on rather sharply when a film of poly(vinylacetate) containing 1 is heated above its glass transition temperature (T g), which indicates that the electron transfer process depends on the availability of sufficient free volume. Spatial heterogeneities cause different individual molecules to reach the electron transfer regime at different temperatures, but these heterogeneities also fluctuate in time: in the matrix above T g molecules that are mostly nonfluorescent due to PET can become fluorescent again on timescales of seconds to minutes. The two different mechanisms for intensity fluctuation, rotation and PET, thus far only observed in compound 1, make it a unique probe for the dynamics of supercooled liquids.

New vapor-liquid equilibria (VLE) data at 333.15, 343.15, and 353.15 K and pressures up to 130.0 bar are reported for the carbon dioxide + 2-methyl-1-propanol (isobutanol) system. The experimental method used in this work was a static analytical method with liquid and vapor phases sampling using a rapid online sampler injector (ROLSITM) coupled to a gas chromatograph (GC) for analysis. Measured VLE data and literature data for carbon dioxide + 2-methyl-1-propanol system were modeled with the Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK) cubic equation of state with classical van der Waals (two-parameter conventional mixing rule, 2PCMR) mixing rules. A single set of interaction parameters that lead to a correct phase behavior was used in this work to model the new VLE data and critical points of the mixtures in a wide range of temperature and pressure. The SRK prediction results were compared to the new data measured in this study and to available literature data.

Bacterial cellulose (BC), a natural polymer with unique physical and mechanical properties, has several applications in the biomedical field, including drug loading and controlled drug delivery. For this study, a Box-Behnken experimental design was employed as a statistical tool to optimize the release of a model drug, amoxicillin, from BC membranes. Independent variables studied were the concentration of the drug (X1), the concentration of glycerol (X2) and the concentration of a permeation enhancer (X3). From the variables studied, drug concentration had the highest effect on drug release. Among the other independent variables, th linear and quadratic X2 terms, the linear X3 term and the interaction term X2X3 were found to affect the release of amoxicillin from bacterial cellulose membranes.

The aim of this paper was to prepare composites of bacterial cellulose (BC) and collagen to evaluate both the effect of collagen on the morphological, mechanical and thermal properties of BC and the effect of BC on the thermal stability of collagen for designing composites with increased potential biomedical applications. Two series of composites were prepared, the first series by immersing BC pellicle in solutions of collagen obtained in three forms, collagen gel (CG), collagen solution (CS) and hydrolysed collagen (HC), followed by freeze drying; and the second series of composites by mixing BC powder in solutions of collagen (CG, CS and HC), also followed by freeze drying. The properties of obtained composites were evaluated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), mechanical tests, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results revealed that BC acts as a thermal stabilizer for CS matrix, while with CG matrix it interacts synergistically leading to composites with improved properties. On the other hand, the BC sheet impregnated with collagen has a significantly improved thermal stability. Collagen (as HC, CS or CG) has also a positive influence on the mechanical properties of lyophilized BC sheet. A four times increase of modulus was observed in BC/HC and BC/CG composites. and an increase of 60 times for BC/CS. The spectacular increase of elastic modulus and tensile strength in the case of BC/CS composite was explained by the easier penetration of collagen solution in the BC network and impregnation of BC fibrils as revealed by SEM and AFM analyzes.