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Sample records for hydrophobic organic solutes

  1. Solution-Processed Organic and Halide Perovskite Transistors on Hydrophobic Surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, Jeremy W; Smith, Hannah L; Zeidell, Andrew; Diemer, Peter J; Baker, Stephen R; Lee, Hyunsu; Payne, Marcia M; Anthony, John E; Guthold, Martin; Jurchescu, Oana D

    2017-05-31

    Solution-processable electronic devices are highly desirable due to their low cost and compatibility with flexible substrates. However, they are often challenging to fabricate due to the hydrophobic nature of the surfaces of the constituent layers. Here, we use a protein solution to modify the surface properties and to improve the wettability of the fluoropolymer dielectric Cytop. The engineered hydrophilic surface is successfully incorporated in bottom-gate solution-deposited organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and hybrid organic-inorganic trihalide perovskite field-effect transistors (HTP-FETs) fabricated on flexible substrates. Our analysis of the density of trapping states at the semiconductor-dielectric interface suggests that the increase in the trap density as a result of the chemical treatment is minimal. As a result, the devices exhibit good charge carrier mobilities, near-zero threshold voltages, and low electrical hysteresis.

  2. Reference interaction site model with hydrophobicity induced density inhomogeneity: An analytical theory to compute solvation properties of large hydrophobic solutes in the mixture of polyatomic solvent molecules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao, Siqin; Sheong, Fu Kit; Huang, Xuhui

    2015-01-01

    Reference interaction site model (RISM) has recently become a popular approach in the study of thermodynamical and structural properties of the solvent around macromolecules. On the other hand, it was widely suggested that there exists water density depletion around large hydrophobic solutes (>1 nm), and this may pose a great challenge to the RISM theory. In this paper, we develop a new analytical theory, the Reference Interaction Site Model with Hydrophobicity induced density Inhomogeneity (RISM-HI), to compute solvent radial distribution function (RDF) around large hydrophobic solute in water as well as its mixture with other polyatomic organic solvents. To achieve this, we have explicitly considered the density inhomogeneity at the solute-solvent interface using the framework of the Yvon-Born-Green hierarchy, and the RISM theory is used to obtain the solute-solvent pair correlation. In order to efficiently solve the relevant equations while maintaining reasonable accuracy, we have also developed a new closure called the D2 closure. With this new theory, the solvent RDFs around a large hydrophobic particle in water and different water-acetonitrile mixtures could be computed, which agree well with the results of the molecular dynamics simulations. Furthermore, we show that our RISM-HI theory can also efficiently compute the solvation free energy of solute with a wide range of hydrophobicity in various water-acetonitrile solvent mixtures with a reasonable accuracy. We anticipate that our theory could be widely applied to compute the thermodynamic and structural properties for the solvation of hydrophobic solute

  3. Solubilization of Hydrophobic Dyes in Surfactant Solutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Reza Tehrani-Bagha

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the use of surfactants for solubilization of hydrophobic organic dyes (mainly solvent and disperse dyes has been reviewed. The effect of parameters such as the chemical structures of the surfactant and the dye, addition of salt and of polyelectrolytes, pH, and temperature on dye solubilization has been discussed. Surfactant self-assemble into micelles in aqueous solution and below the concentration where this occurs—the critical micelle concentration (CMC—there is no solubilization. Above the CMC, the amount of solubilized dye increases linearly with the increase in surfactant concentration. It is demonstrated that different surfactants work best for different dyes. In general, nonionic surfactants have higher solubilization power than anionic and cationic surfactants. It is likely that the reason for the good performance of nonionic surfactants is that they allow dyes to be accommodated not only in the inner, hydrocarbon part of the micelle but also in the headgroup shell. It is demonstrated that the location of a dye in a surfactant micelle can be assessed from the absorption spectrum of the dye-containing micellar solution.

  4. Patterning Method for Silver Nanoparticle Electrodes in Fully Solution-Processed Organic Thin-Film Transistors Using Selectively Treated Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukuda, Kenjiro; Takeda, Yasunori; Kobayashi, Yu; Shimizu, Masahiro; Sekine, Tomohito; Kumaki, Daisuke; Kurihara, Masato; Sakamoto, Masatomi; Tokito, Shizuo

    2013-05-01

    Fully solution-processed organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) devices have been fabricated with simple patterning process at a relatively low process temperature of 100 °C. In the patterning process, a hydrophobic amorphous fluoropolymer material, which was used as the gate dielectric layer and the underlying base layer, was treated with an oxygen plasma to selectively change its surface wetting properties from hydrophobic to hydrophilic. Silver source and drain electrodes were successfully formed in the treated areas with highly uniform line widths and without residues between the electrodes. Nonuniformities in the thickness of the silver electrodes originating from the “coffee-ring” effect were suppressed by optimizing the blend of solvents used with the silver nanoparticles, such that the printed electrodes are appropriate for bottom-gate OTFT devices. A fully solution-processed OTFT device using a polymer semiconductor material (PB16TTT) exhibited good electrical performance with no hysteresis in its transfer characteristics and with good linearity in its output characteristics. A relatively high carrier mobility of 0.14 cm2 V-1 s-1 and an on/off ratio of 1×105 were obtained with the fabricated TFT device.

  5. 3DRISM-HI-D2MSA: an improved analytic theory to compute solvent structure around hydrophobic solutes with proper treatment of solute–solvent electrostatic interactions

    KAUST Repository

    Cao, Siqin

    2017-12-22

    The 3D reference interaction site model (3DRISM) is a powerful tool to study the thermodynamic and structural properties of liquids. However, for hydrophobic solutes, the inhomogeneity of the solvent density around them poses a great challenge to the 3DRISM theory. To address this issue, we have previously introduced the hydrophobic-induced density inhomogeneity theory (HI) for purely hydrophobic solutes. To further consider the complex hydrophobic solutes containing partial charges, here we propose the D2MSA closure to incorporate the short-range and long-range interactions with the D2 closure and the mean spherical approximation, respectively. We demonstrate that our new theory can compute the solvent distributions around real hydrophobic solutes in water and complex organic solvents that agree well with the explicit solvent molecular dynamics simulations.

  6. 3DRISM-HI-D2MSA: an improved analytic theory to compute solvent structure around hydrophobic solutes with proper treatment of solute–solvent electrostatic interactions

    KAUST Repository

    Cao, Siqin; Zhu, Lizhe; Huang, Xuhui

    2017-01-01

    The 3D reference interaction site model (3DRISM) is a powerful tool to study the thermodynamic and structural properties of liquids. However, for hydrophobic solutes, the inhomogeneity of the solvent density around them poses a great challenge to the 3DRISM theory. To address this issue, we have previously introduced the hydrophobic-induced density inhomogeneity theory (HI) for purely hydrophobic solutes. To further consider the complex hydrophobic solutes containing partial charges, here we propose the D2MSA closure to incorporate the short-range and long-range interactions with the D2 closure and the mean spherical approximation, respectively. We demonstrate that our new theory can compute the solvent distributions around real hydrophobic solutes in water and complex organic solvents that agree well with the explicit solvent molecular dynamics simulations.

  7. 3DRISM-HI-D2MSA: an improved analytic theory to compute solvent structure around hydrophobic solutes with proper treatment of solute–solvent electrostatic interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Siqin; Zhu, Lizhe; Huang, Xuhui

    2018-04-01

    The 3D reference interaction site model (3DRISM) is a powerful tool to study the thermodynamic and structural properties of liquids. However, for hydrophobic solutes, the inhomogeneity of the solvent density around them poses a great challenge to the 3DRISM theory. To address this issue, we have previously introduced the hydrophobic-induced density inhomogeneity theory (HI) for purely hydrophobic solutes. To further consider the complex hydrophobic solutes containing partial charges, here we propose the D2MSA closure to incorporate the short-range and long-range interactions with the D2 closure and the mean spherical approximation, respectively. We demonstrate that our new theory can compute the solvent distributions around real hydrophobic solutes in water and complex organic solvents that agree well with the explicit solvent molecular dynamics simulations.

  8. Migration through soil of organic solutes in an oil-shale process water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leenheer, J.A.; Stuber, H.A.

    1981-01-01

    The migration through soil of organic solutes in an oil-shale process water (retort water) was studied by using soil columns and analyzing leachates for various organic constituents. Retort water extracted significant quantities of organic anions leached from ammonium-saturated-soil organic matter, and a distilled-water rinse, which followed retort-water leaching, released additional organic acids from the soil. After being corrected for organic constitutents extracted from soil by retort water, dissolved-organic-carbon fractionation analyses of effluent fractions showed that the order of increasing affinity of six organic compound classes for the soil was as follows: hydrophilic neutrals nearly equal to hydrophilic acids, followed by the sequence of hydrophobic acids, hydrophilic bases, hydrophobic bases, and hydrophobic neutrals. Liquid-chromatographic analysis of the aromatic amines in the hydrophobic- and hydrophilic-base fractions showed that the relative order of the rates of migration through the soil column was the same as the order of migration on a reversed-phase, octadecylsilica liquid-chromatographic column.

  9. On the enrichment of hydrophobic organic compounds in fog droplets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valsaraj, K. T.; Thoma, G. J.; Reible, D. D.; Thibodeaux, L. J.

    The unusual degree of enrichment of hydrophobic organics in fogwater droplets reported by several investigators can be interpreted as a result of (a) the effects of temperature correction on the reported enrichment factors, (b) the effects of colloidal organic matter (both filterable and non-filterable) in fog water and (c) the effects of the large air-water interfacial adsorption of neutral hydrophobic organics on the tiny fog droplets. The enrichment factor was directly correlated to the hydrophobicity (or the activity coefficient in water) of the compounds, as indicated by their octanol-water partition constants. Compounds with large octanol-water partition coefficients (high activity coefficients in water) showed the largest enrichment. Available experimental data on the adsorption of hydrophobic compounds at the air-water interface and on colloidal organic carbon were used to show that the large specific air-water interfacial areas of fog droplets contribute significantly to the enrichment factor.

  10. Surface-bubble-modulated liquid chromatography: a new approach for manipulation of chromatographic retention and investigation of solute distribution at water/hydrophobic interfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, Keisuke; Nakamura, Hiroki; Saito, Shingo; Shibukawa, Masami

    2015-01-20

    In this paper, we present a new chromatographic method termed surface-bubble-modulated liquid chromatography (SBMLC), that has a hybrid separation medium incorporated with surface nanobubbles. Nanobubbles or nanoscale gas phases can be fixed at the interface between water and a hydrophobic material by delivering water into a dry column packed with a nanoporous material. The incorporation of a gas phase at the hydrophobic surface leads to the formation of the hybrid separation system consisting of the gas phase, hydrophobic moieties, and the water/hydrophobic interface or the interfacial water. One can change the volume of the gas phase by pressure applied to the column, which in turn alters the area of water/hydrophobic interface or the volume of the interfacial water, while the amount of the hydrophobic moiety remains constant. Therefore, this strategy provides a novel technique not only for manipulating the separation selectivity by pressure but also for elucidating the mechanism of accumulation or retention of solute compounds in aqueous solutions by a hydrophobic material. We evaluate the contributions of the interfacial water at the surface of an octadecyl bonded silica and the bonded layer itself to the retention of various solute compounds in aqueous solutions on the column packed with the material by SBMLC. The results show that the interfacial water formed at the hydrophobic surface has a key role in retention even though its volume is rather small. The manipulation of the separation selectivity of SBMLC for some organic compounds by pressure is demonstrated.

  11. Micelle swelling agent derived cavities for increasing hydrophobic organic compound removal efficiency by mesoporous micelle@silica hybrid materials

    KAUST Repository

    Shi, Yifeng; Li, Bin; Wang, Peng; Dua, Rubal; Zhao, Dongyuan

    2012-01-01

    Mesoporous micelle@silica hybrid materials with 2D hexagonal mesostructures were synthesized as reusable sorbents for hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) removal by a facile one-step aqueous solution synthesis using 3-(trimethoxysily)propyl

  12. Solution properties of hydrophobically modified

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.M. Al-Sabagh

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available We tested nine hydrophobically modified polyacrylamides with molecular weights situated between 1.58 and 0.89 × 106 g/mol for enhanced oil recovery applications. Their solution properties were investigated in the distilled water, brine solution, formation water and sea water. Their critical association concentrations were determined from the relationship between their concentrations and the corresponding apparent viscosities (ηapp at 30 °C at shear rate 6 s−1. They were between 0.4 and 0.5 g/dl. The brine solutions of 0.5 g/dl of HM-PAMs were investigated at different conditions regarding their apparent viscosities. Such conditions were mono and divalent cations, temperature ranging from 30 to 90 °C, the shear rate ranging from 6 to 30 s−1 and the aging time for 45 days. The surface and interfacial tensions for the HM-PAMs were measured for concentration range from 0.01 to 1 g/dl brine solutions at 30 °C and their emulsification efficiencies were investigated for 7 days. The discrepancy in the properties and efficiencies of the tested copolymers was discussed in the light of their chemical structure.

  13. Molecular Theory and the Effects of Solute Attractive Forces on Hydrophobic Interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaudhari, Mangesh I; Rempe, Susan B; Asthagiri, D; Tan, L; Pratt, L R

    2016-03-03

    The role of solute attractive forces on hydrophobic interactions is studied by coordinated development of theory and simulation results for Ar atoms in water. We present a concise derivation of the local molecular field (LMF) theory for the effects of solute attractive forces on hydrophobic interactions, a derivation that clarifies the close relation of LMF theory to the EXP approximation applied to this problem long ago. The simulation results show that change from purely repulsive atomic solute interactions to include realistic attractive interactions diminishes the strength of hydrophobic bonds. For the Ar-Ar rdfs considered pointwise, the numerical results for the effects of solute attractive forces on hydrophobic interactions are opposite in sign and larger in magnitude than predicted by LMF theory. That comparison is discussed from the point of view of quasichemical theory, and it is suggested that the first reason for this difference is the incomplete evaluation within LMF theory of the hydration energy of the Ar pair. With a recent suggestion for the system-size extrapolation of the required correlation function integrals, the Ar-Ar rdfs permit evaluation of osmotic second virial coefficients B2. Those B2's also show that incorporation of attractive interactions leads to more positive (repulsive) values. With attractive interactions in play, B2 can change from positive to negative values with increasing temperatures. This is consistent with the puzzling suggestions of decades ago that B2 ≈ 0 for intermediate cases of temperature or solute size. In all cases here, B2 becomes more attractive with increasing temperature.

  14. Hydrophobic interactions between polymethacrylic acid and sodium laureth sulfate in aqueous solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaremko, Z. M.; Fedushinskaya, L. B.; Burka, O. A.; Soltys, M. N.

    2014-09-01

    The role of hydrophobic interaction in the development of associative processes is demonstrated, based on the concentration dependences of the viscosity and pH of binary solutions of polymethacrylic acid as an anionic polyelectrolyte and sodium laureth sulfate as an anionic surfactant. It is found that the inflection point on the dependence of the difference between the pH values of binary solutions of polymethacrylic acid and sodium laureth sulfate on the polyelectrolyte concentration is a criterion for determining the predominant contribution from hydrophobic interaction, as is the inflection point on the dependence of pH of individual solutions of polymethacrylic acid on the polyelectrolyte concentration.

  15. Hydrophobicity and thermodynamic response for aqueous solutions of amphiphiles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zemánková, Katerina; Troncoso, Jacobo; Cerdeiriña, Claudio A.; Romaní, Luis; Anisimov, Mikhail A.

    2016-06-01

    The anomalous behavior of aqueous solutions of amphiphiles in the water-rich region is analyzed via a phenomenological approach that utilizes the isobaric heat capacity Cp as an experimental probe. We report extensive data for solutions of 14 amphiphiles as a function of temperature at atmospheric pressure. Beyond that, Cp data but also isobaric thermal expansivities and isothermal compressibilities for three solutions of tert-butanol as a function of both temperature and pressure are presented. Results rule out the possibility that the observed phenomenology is associated with the anomalous thermodynamics of pure water. Indeed, our Cp data, quantitatively consistent with recent spectroscopic analyses, suggest that water-mediated interactions between the nonpolar parts of amphiphiles are at the origin of anomalies, with the effects of such "hydrophobic aggregation" being observed at mole fractions as small as 0.01. Physicochemical details like the size, the electronic charge distribution and the geometry of amphiphile molecules as well as third-order derivatives of the Gibbs energy and the associated Koga lines support the above claims while they further contribute to characterizing the role of hydrophobicity in these phenomena. Progress with a view to gain a deeper, more concrete understanding remains.

  16. The hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratio vs. dissolved organics removal by coagulation – A review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Djamel Ghernaout

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available This review discusses the hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratio as a function of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic contents removal by coagulation process. It is well established that coagulation process could bring a reduction in dissolved organic carbon of around 30–60% by increasing the coagulant dose and optimising reaction pH, in which large organic molecules with hydrophobic property was removed preferentially. Furthermore, the literature affirmed that the greater removal of UV-absorbing substances indicates that alum coagulation preferentially removed the hydrophobic fraction of the total organic carbon. For the hydrophobic fraction, it needs to be removed entirely without its transformation into hydrophilic fractions by coagulation process avoiding pre-chlorination/pre-oxidation due to the risk of organic molecules fragmentation. Determining the exact numerical values of the hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratio for raw water and treated water at different stages of the treatment processes in a water treatment plant, as for the DCO/DBO5 ratio in the case of wastewater treatment, would help on more focusing on OM control and removal.

  17. Adsorption of hydrophobic organic compounds onto a hydrophobic carbonaceous geosorbent in the presence of surfactants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Peng; Keller, Arturo A

    2008-06-01

    The adsorption of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs; atrazine and diuron) onto lampblack was studied in the presence of nonionic, cationic, and anionic surfactants (Triton(R) X-100), benzalkonium chloride [BC], and linear alkylbenzene sulfonate [LAS]) to determine the effect of the surfactant on HOC adsorption onto a hydrophobic carbonaceous geosorbent. Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate showed an adsorption capacity higher than that of BC but similar to that of Triton X-100, implying the charge property of a surfactant is not a useful indicator for predicting the surfactant's adsorption onto a hydrophobic medium. The results also indicated that the octanol-water partition coefficient (K(OW)) of a surfactant is not a good predictor of that surfactant's sorption onto a hydrophobic medium. Under subsaturation adsorption conditions (i.e., before sorption saturation is reached), surfactant adsorption reduced HOC adsorption to a significant extent, with the reduction in HOC adsorption increasing monotonically with the amount of surfactant adsorbed. Among the three surfactants, Triton X-100 was the most effective in reducing HOC adsorption, whereas BC and LAS showed similar effectiveness in this regard. Under the same amount of the surfactant sorbed, the reduction in atrazine adsorption was consistently greater than that for diuron because of atrazine's lower hydrophobicity. No significant difference was observed in the amount of the HOC adsorbed under different adsorption sequences. Our results showed that the presence of surfactant can significantly decrease HOC adsorption onto hydrophobic environmental media and, thus, is important in predicting HOC fate and transport in the environment.

  18. Molecular-scale hydrophobic interactions between hard-sphere reference solutes are attractive and endothermic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaudhari, Mangesh I; Holleran, Sinead A; Ashbaugh, Henry S; Pratt, Lawrence R

    2013-12-17

    The osmotic second virial coefficients, B2, for atomic-sized hard spheres in water are attractive (B2 attractive with increasing temperature (ΔB2/ΔT attractive and endothermic at moderate temperatures. Hydrophobic interactions between atomic-sized hard spheres in water are more attractive than predicted by the available statistical mechanical theory. These results constitute an initial step toward detailed molecular theory of additional intermolecular interaction features, specifically, attractive interactions associated with hydrophobic solutes.

  19. FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPIC STUDY OF THE FORMATION OF HYDROPHOBIC MICRODOMAINS IN AQUEOUS-SOLUTIONS OF POLY(ALKYLMETHYLDIALLYLAMMONIUM BROMIDES)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    YANG, YJ; Engberts, Jan B F N

    The conformational state of poly(alkylmethyldiallylammonium bromides) was studied in aqueous solutions using pyrene as a fluorescence probe. The results are indicative for the formation of hydrophobic microdomains in the case of several copolymers which possess sufficiently hydrophobic alkyl side

  20. Fabrication of hydrophobic/super-hydrophobic nanofilms on magnesium alloys by polymer plating

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang Zhixin, E-mail: zxkang@scut.edu.cn; Lai Xiaoming; Sang Jing; Li Yuanyuan

    2011-11-01

    Hydrophobic/super-hydrophobic nanofilms with improved corrosion resistance were fabricated on the surfaces of Mg-Mn-Ce magnesium alloy by a surface modification technique, named as polymer plating, which has been developed to modify superficial characteristics of magnesium alloys with polymeric nanofilms through synthesized organic compounds of triazine dithiol containing functional groups. The nanofilms were prepared by the electrochemical and polymerization reactions during polymer plating analyzed from characteristics of Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The fabricated nanofilms changed the surface wettability of blank magnesium alloy from hydrophilic to hydrophobic with contact angle 119.0 Degree-Sign of distilled water with lower surface free energy of 20.59 mJ/m{sup 2} and even super-hydrophobic with contact angle 158.3 Degree-Sign with lowest surface free energy of 4.68 mJ/m{sup 2} by different functional nanofilms on their surfaces. Alteration of wettability from hydrophilic to hydrophobic and super-hydrophobic resulted from their low surface free energy and surface morphology with micro- and nano-rough structures. The corrosion behaviors from potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) show that the super-hydrophobic nanofilm has higher corrosion resistance and stability in 0.1 mol/L NaCl solution and lower corrosion current density (I{sub corr}) with R{sub ct} increasing two orders of magnitude of 16,500 {Omega}{center_dot}cm{sup 2} compared to that obtained for blank of 485 {Omega}{center_dot}cm{sup 2}.

  1. Fabrication of hydrophobic/super-hydrophobic nanofilms on magnesium alloys by polymer plating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang Zhixin; Lai Xiaoming; Sang Jing; Li Yuanyuan

    2011-01-01

    Hydrophobic/super-hydrophobic nanofilms with improved corrosion resistance were fabricated on the surfaces of Mg–Mn–Ce magnesium alloy by a surface modification technique, named as polymer plating, which has been developed to modify superficial characteristics of magnesium alloys with polymeric nanofilms through synthesized organic compounds of triazine dithiol containing functional groups. The nanofilms were prepared by the electrochemical and polymerization reactions during polymer plating analyzed from characteristics of Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The fabricated nanofilms changed the surface wettability of blank magnesium alloy from hydrophilic to hydrophobic with contact angle 119.0° of distilled water with lower surface free energy of 20.59 mJ/m 2 and even super-hydrophobic with contact angle 158.3° with lowest surface free energy of 4.68 mJ/m 2 by different functional nanofilms on their surfaces. Alteration of wettability from hydrophilic to hydrophobic and super-hydrophobic resulted from their low surface free energy and surface morphology with micro- and nano-rough structures. The corrosion behaviors from potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) show that the super-hydrophobic nanofilm has higher corrosion resistance and stability in 0.1 mol/L NaCl solution and lower corrosion current density (I corr ) with R ct increasing two orders of magnitude of 16,500 Ω·cm 2 compared to that obtained for blank of 485 Ω·cm 2 .

  2. Effects of solute--solvent attractive forces on hydrophobic correlations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pratt, L.R.; Chandler, D.

    1980-01-01

    A theory is presented for the effect of slowly varying attractive forces on correlations between nonpolar solutes in dilute aqueous solution. We find that hydrophobic correlations are sensitive to relatively long range slowly varying interactions. Thus, it is possible to make qualitative changes in these correlations by introducing small changes in the attractive forces. Several model calculations are presented to illustrate these facts. The contributions of the Lennard-Jones attractive forces to the computer simulation results of Pangali, Rao, and Berne are calculated. For this case it is found that the potential of mean force between spherical nonpolar solutes is hardly affected by inclusion of attractive forces. However, the osmotic second virial coefficient is dominated by the contributions of the attractive forces. For spherical solutes which provide a reasonable model for the methane molecule, inclusion of attractive forces produces a qualitative change in the methane--methane potential of mean force. The connection between these effects of slowly varying attractive forces and the enthalpic part of Ben-Naim's deltaA/sup H/I is discussed

  3. Hydrophobic agglomeration of apatite fines induced by sodium oleate in aqueous solutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bingqiao Yang

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available In this work, the hydrophobic agglomeration of apatite fines induced by sodium oleate in aqueous solutions has been investigated through the measurement of agglomeration degree and fractal dimension. The results showed that the agglomeration degree of apatite fines and agglomerates morphology was strongly depended on sodium oleate concentration, pH, stirring speed and time. Better agglomeration degree and more regular agglomerates were achieved at sodium oleate concentration of 5 × 10−5 mol/L under neutral condition. The critical stirring speed for agglomerates rupture was 1000 rev/min, above which, prolonged stirring time would cause breakage and restructure of the agglomerates after a certain stirring time, resulting in lower agglomeration degree and more regular agglomerates. The agglomeration degree of apatite fines could be greatly enhanced with the addition of emulsified kerosene, but only if the apatite surface was hydrophobic enough. Keywords: Hydrophobic agglomeration, Apatite fines, Agglomeration degree, Fractal dimension, Sodium oleate

  4. Organic-Inorganic Hydrophobic Nanocomposite Film with a Core-Shell Structure

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    Peng Liu

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available A method to prepare novel organic-inorganic hydrophobic nanocomposite films was proposed by a site-specific polymerization process. The inorganic part, the core of the nanocomposite, is a ternary SiO2–Al2O3–TiO2 nanoparticles, which is grafted with methacryloxy propyl trimethoxyl silane (KH570, and wrapped by fluoride and siloxane polymers. The synthesized samples are characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR spectrscopy, X-ray diffractometry (XRD, contact angle meter (CA, and scanning electron microscope (SEM. The results indicate that the novel organic-inorganic hydrophobic nanocomposite with a core-shell structure was synthesized successfully. XRD analysis reveals the nanocomposite film has an amorphous structure, and FTIR analysis indicates the nanoparticles react with a silane coupling agent (methacryloxy propyl trimethoxyl silane KH570. Interestingly, the morphology of the nanoparticle film is influenced by the composition of the core. Further, comparing with the film synthesized by silica nanoparticles, the film formed from SiO2–Al2O3–TiO2 nanoparticles has higher hydrophobic performance, i.e., the contact angle is greater than 101.7°. In addition, the TEM analysis reveals that the crystal structure of the particles can be changed at high temperatures.

  5. Multivalent-Counterion-Induced Surfactant Multilayer Formation at Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Solid-Solution Interfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penfold, Jeffrey; Thomas, Robert K; Li, Peixun; Xu, Hui; Tucker, Ian M; Petkov, Jordan T; Sivia, Devinderjit S

    2015-06-23

    Surface multilayer formation from the anionic-nonionic surfactant mixture of sodium dodecyl dioxyethylene sulfate, SLES, and monododecyl dodecaethylene glycol, C12E12, by the addition of multivalent Al(3+) counterions at the solid-solution interface is observed and characterized by neutron reflectivity, NR. The ability to form surface multilayer structures on hydrophobic and hydrophilic silica and cellulose surfaces is demonstrated. The surface multilayer formation is more pronounced and more well developed on the hydrophilic and hydrophobic silica surfaces than on the hydrophilic and hydrophobic cellulose surfaces. The less well developed multilayer formation on the cellulose surfaces is attributed to the greater surface inhomogeneities of the cellulose surface which partially inhibit lateral coherence and growth of the multilayer domains at the surface. The surface multilayer formation is associated with extreme wetting properties and offers the potential for the manipulation of the solid surfaces for enhanced adsorption and control of the wetting behavior.

  6. A thermodynamic approach to assess organic solute adsorption onto activated carbon in water

    KAUST Repository

    De Ridder, David J.; Verliefde, Arne R. D.; Heijman, Bas G J; Gelin, Simon; Pereira, Manuel Fernando Ribeiro; Rocha, Raquel P.; Figueiredo, José Luí s M; Amy, Gary L.; Van Dijk, Hans C.

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, the hydrophobicity of 13 activated carbons is determined by various methods; water vapour adsorption, immersion calorimetry, and contact angle measurements. The quantity and type of oxygen-containing groups on the activated carbon were measured and related to the methods used to measure hydrophobicity. It was found that the water-activated carbon adsorption strength (based on immersion calorimetry, contact angles) depended on both type and quantity of oxygen-containing groups, while water vapour adsorption depended only on their quantity. Activated carbon hydrophobicity measurements alone could not be related to 1-hexanol and 1,3-dichloropropene adsorption. However, a relationship was found between work of adhesion and adsorption of these solutes. The work of adhesion depends not only on activated carbon-water interaction (carbon hydrophobicity), but also on solute-water (solute hydrophobicity) and activated carbon-solute interactions. Our research shows that the work of adhesion can explain solute adsorption and includes the effect of hydrogen bond formation between solute and activated carbon. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. A thermodynamic approach to assess organic solute adsorption onto activated carbon in water

    KAUST Repository

    De Ridder, David J.

    2012-08-01

    In this paper, the hydrophobicity of 13 activated carbons is determined by various methods; water vapour adsorption, immersion calorimetry, and contact angle measurements. The quantity and type of oxygen-containing groups on the activated carbon were measured and related to the methods used to measure hydrophobicity. It was found that the water-activated carbon adsorption strength (based on immersion calorimetry, contact angles) depended on both type and quantity of oxygen-containing groups, while water vapour adsorption depended only on their quantity. Activated carbon hydrophobicity measurements alone could not be related to 1-hexanol and 1,3-dichloropropene adsorption. However, a relationship was found between work of adhesion and adsorption of these solutes. The work of adhesion depends not only on activated carbon-water interaction (carbon hydrophobicity), but also on solute-water (solute hydrophobicity) and activated carbon-solute interactions. Our research shows that the work of adhesion can explain solute adsorption and includes the effect of hydrogen bond formation between solute and activated carbon. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Permeable sorptive walls for treatment of hydrophobic organic contaminant plumes in groundwater

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grathwohl, P.; Peschik, G.

    1997-01-01

    Highly hydrophobic contaminants are easily adsorbed from aqueous solutions. Since for many of these compounds sorption increases with increasing organic carbon content natural materials such as bituminous shales and coals may be used in permeable sorptive walls. This, however, only applies if sorption is at equilibrium, which may not always be the case in groundwater treatment using a funnel-and-gate system. In contrast to the natural solids, granular activated carbons (GACs) have very high sorption capacities and reasonably fast sorption kinetics. The laboratory results show that application of GACs (e.g. F100) is economically feasible for in situ removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) from groundwater at a former manufactured gas plant site (MGP). For less sorbing compounds (such as benzene, toluene, xylenes) a combination of adsorption and biodegradation is necessary (i.e. sorptive + reactive treatment)

  9. Accumulation of dissolved gases at hydrophobic surfaces in water and sodium chloride solutions: Implications for coal flotation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hampton, M.A.; Nguyen, A.V. [University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld. (Australia). Division of Chemical Engineering

    2009-08-15

    Dissolved gases can preferentially accumulate at the hydrophobic solid-water interface as revealed by neutron reflectivity measurements. In this paper, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to examine accumulation of dissolved gases at a hydrophobic surface in water and sodium chloride solutions. The solvent-exchange method was used to artificially form gaseous domains accumulated at the interface suitable for AFM imaging. Smooth graphite surfaces were used as model surfaces to minimize the secondary effect of surface roughness on the imaging. The concentration of NaCl up to 1 M was found to have a negligible influence on the geometry and population of pre-existing nanobubbles, nanopancakes and nanobubble-nanopancake composites. The implications of the findings on coal flotation in saline water are discussed in terms of attraction between hydrophobic surfaces in water, bubble-particle attachment and hydrophobic coagulation between particles.

  10. Synthesis and characterization of hydrophobically modified polymeric betaines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexey Shakhvorostov

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Polymeric betaines containing long alkyl chains C12H25, C14H29, C16H33 and C18H37 were synthesized by Michael addition reaction of alkylaminocrotonates and methacrylic acid (MAA. They were characterized by FTIR, 13C NMR, DSC, DLS, GPC, cryo-TEM, viscometry and zeta-potential measurements. The polymers were fully soluble in DMF, THF and DMSO, partially dissolved in aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, o-xylene and formed colloid solutions in aqueous KOH. In aqueous KOH and DMSO solutions, hydrophobically modified polymeric betaines behaved as polyelectrolytes. The average hydrodynamic size and zeta potential of diluted aqueous solutions of hydrophobic polybetainess containing dodecyl-, tetradecyl-, hexadecyl-, and octadecyl groups were studied as a function of pH. Anomalous low values of the isoelectric point (IEP of amphoteric macromolecules were found to be in the range of pH 2.7-3.4. According to DLS data, the average size of macromolecules tends to decrease with dilution. Zeta-potential of amphoteric macromolecules in aqueous solution is much higher than that in DMSO. The cryo-TEM results revealed that in both aqueous KOH and DMSO media, the micron- and nanosized vesicles existed. The structural organization of vesicles in water and DMSO is discussed. The wax inhibition effect of hydrophobic polybetaines at a decrease of the pour point temperatures of high paraffinic oils was better in comparison with commercial available ethylene-vinylacetate copolymers (EVA.

  11. Dissolved organic carbon enhances the mass transfer of hydrophobic organic compounds from Nonaqueous Phase Liquids (NAPLs) into the aqueous phase

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smith, K.E.C.; Thullner, M.; Wick, L.Y.; Harms, H.

    2011-01-01

    The hypothesis that dissolved organic carbon (DOC) enhances the mass transfer of hydrophobic organic compounds from nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) into the aqueous phase above that attributable to dissolved molecular diffusion alone was tested. In controlled experiments, mass transfer rates of

  12. Hydrophobic hydration of poly-N-isopropyl acrylamide: a matter of the mean energetic state of water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bischofberger, I.; Calzolari, D. C. E.; de Los Rios, P.; Jelezarov, I.; Trappe, V.

    2014-03-01

    The enthalpically favoured hydration of hydrophobic entities, termed hydrophobic hydration, impacts the phase behaviour of numerous amphiphiles in water. Here, we show experimental evidence that hydrophobic hydration is strongly determined by the mean energetics of the aqueous medium. We investigate the aggregation and collapse of an amphiphilic polymer, poly-N-isopropyl acrylamide (PNiPAM), in aqueous solutions containing small amounts of alcohol and find that the thermodynamic characteristics defining the phase transitions of PNiPAM evolve relative to the solvent composition at which the excess mixing enthalpy of the water/alcohol mixtures becomes minimal. Such correlation between solvent energetics and solution thermodynamics extends to other mixtures containing neutral organic solutes that are considered as kosmotropes to induce a strengthening of the hydrogen bonded water network. This denotes the energetics of water as a key parameter controlling the phase behaviour of PNiPAM and identifies the excess mixing enthalpy of water/kosmotrope mixtures as a gauge of the kosmotropic effect on hydrophobic assemblies.

  13. Hydrophobic Coatings on Cotton Obtained by in Situ Plasma Polymerization of a Fluorinated Monomer in Ethanol Solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molina, Ricardo; Teixidó, Josep Maria; Kan, Chi-Wai; Jovančić, Petar

    2017-02-15

    Plasma polymerization using hydrophobic monomers in the gas phase is a well-known technology to generate hydrophobic coatings. However, synthesis of functional hydrophobic coatings using plasma technology in liquids has not yet been accomplished. This work is consequently focused on polymerization of a liquid fluorinated monomer on cotton fabric initiated by atmospheric plasma in a dielectric barrier discharge configuration. Functional hydrophobic coatings on cotton were successfully achieved using in situ atmospheric plasma-initiated polymerization of fluorinated monomer dissolved in ethanol. Gravimetric measurements reveal that the amount of polymer deposited on cotton substrates can be modulated with the concentration of monomer in ethanol solution, and cross-linking reactions occur during plasma polymerization of a fluorinated monomer even without the presence of a cross-linking agent. FTIR and XPS analysis were used to study the chemical composition of hydrophobic coatings and to get insights into the physicochemical processes involved in plasma treatment. SEM analysis reveals that at high monomer concentration, coatings possess a three-dimensional pattern with a characteristic interconnected porous network structure. EDX analysis reveals that plasma polymerization of fluorinated monomers takes place preferentially at the surface of cotton fabric and negligible polymerization takes place inside the cotton fabric. Wetting time measurements confirm the hydrophobicity of cotton coatings obtained although equilibrium moisture content was slightly decreased. Additionally, the abrasion behavior and resistance to washing of plasma-coated cotton has been evaluated.

  14. Volumetric interpretation of protein adsorption: interfacial packing of protein adsorbed to hydrophobic surfaces from surface-saturating solution concentrations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kao, Ping; Parhi, Purnendu; Krishnan, Anandi; Noh, Hyeran; Haider, Waseem; Tadigadapa, Srinivas; Allara, David L; Vogler, Erwin A

    2011-02-01

    The maximum capacity of a hydrophobic adsorbent is interpreted in terms of square or hexagonal (cubic and face-centered-cubic, FCC) interfacial packing models of adsorbed blood proteins in a way that accommodates experimental measurements by the solution-depletion method and quartz-crystal-microbalance (QCM) for the human proteins serum albumin (HSA, 66 kDa), immunoglobulin G (IgG, 160 kDa), fibrinogen (Fib, 341 kDa), and immunoglobulin M (IgM, 1000 kDa). A simple analysis shows that adsorbent capacity is capped by a fixed mass/volume (e.g. mg/mL) surface-region (interphase) concentration and not molar concentration. Nearly analytical agreement between the packing models and experiment suggests that, at surface saturation, above-mentioned proteins assemble within the interphase in a manner that approximates a well-ordered array. HSA saturates a hydrophobic adsorbent with the equivalent of a single square or hexagonally-packed layer of hydrated molecules whereas the larger proteins occupy two-or-more layers, depending on the specific protein under consideration and analytical method used to measure adsorbate mass (solution depletion or QCM). Square or hexagonal (cubic and FCC) packing models cannot be clearly distinguished by comparison to experimental data. QCM measurement of adsorbent capacity is shown to be significantly different than that measured by solution depletion for similar hydrophobic adsorbents. The underlying reason is traced to the fact that QCM measures contribution of both core protein, water of hydration, and interphase water whereas solution depletion measures only the contribution of core protein. It is further shown that thickness of the interphase directly measured by QCM systematically exceeds that inferred from solution-depletion measurements, presumably because the static model used to interpret solution depletion does not accurately capture the complexities of the viscoelastic interfacial environment probed by QCM. Copyright © 2010

  15. In situ sorption of hydrophobic organic compounds to sediment amended with activated carbon

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kupryianchyk, D.; Rakowska, M.I.; Grotenhuis, J.T.C.; Koelmans, A.A.

    2012-01-01

    Contaminated sediments can be remediated by adding carbonaceous materials (CM), e.g. activated carbons (AC). Here, we analyze published datasets from AC amendment trials to identify variation in the effectiveness of AC in reducing porewater concentrations of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs).

  16. The new view of hydrophobic free energy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldwin, Robert L

    2013-04-17

    In the new view, hydrophobic free energy is measured by the work of solute transfer of hydrocarbon gases from vapor to aqueous solution. Reasons are given for believing that older values, measured by solute transfer from a reference solvent to water, are not quantitatively correct. The hydrophobic free energy from gas-liquid transfer is the sum of two opposing quantities, the cavity work (unfavorable) and the solute-solvent interaction energy (favorable). Values of the interaction energy have been found by simulation for linear alkanes and are used here to find the cavity work, which scales linearly with molar volume, not accessible surface area. The hydrophobic free energy is the dominant factor driving folding as judged by the heat capacity change for transfer, which agrees with values for solvating hydrocarbon gases. There is an apparent conflict with earlier values of hydrophobic free energy from studies of large-to-small mutations and an explanation is given. Copyright © 2013 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Concentration and fractionation of hydrophobic organic acid constituents from natural waters by liquid chromatography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thurman, E.M.; Malcolm, R.L.

    1979-01-01

    A scheme is presented which used adsorption chromatography with pH gradient elution and size-exclusion chromatography to concentrate and separate hydrophobic organic acids from water. A review of chromatographic processes involved in the flow scheme is also presented. Organic analytes which appear in each aqueous fraction are quantified by dissolved organic carbon analysis. Hydrophobic organic acids in a water sample are concentrated on a porous acrylic resin. These acids usually constitute approximately 30-50 percent of the dissolved organic carbon in an unpolluted water sample and are eluted with an aqueous eluent (dilute base). The concentrate is then passed through a column of polyacryloylmorpholine gel, which separates the acids into high- and low-molecular-weight fractions. The high- and low-molecular-weight eluates are reconcentrated by adsorption chromatography, then are eluted with a pH gradient into strong acids (predominately carboxylic acids) and weak acids (predominately phenolic compounds). For standard compounds and samples of unpolluted waters, the scheme fractionates humic substances into strong and weak acid fractions that are separated from the low molecular weight acids. A new method utilizing conductivity is also presented to estimate the acidic components in the methanol fraction.

  18. Water on a Hydrophobic surface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scruggs, Ryan; Zhu, Mengjue; Poynor, Adele

    2012-02-01

    Hydrophobicity, meaning literally fear of water, is exhibited on the surfaces of non-stick cooking pans and water resistant clothing, on the leaves of the lotus plan, or even during the protein folding process in our bodies. Hydrophobicity is directly measured by determining a contact angle between water and an objects surface. Associated with a hydrophobic surface is the depletion layer, a low density region approximately 0.2 nm thick. We study this region by comparing data found in lab using surface plasmon resonance techniques to theoretical calculations. Experiments use gold slides coated in ODT and Mercapto solutions to model both hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces respectively.

  19. Mesoscopic Simulations of the Phase Behavior of Aqueous EO 19 PO 29 EO 19 Solutions Confined and Sheared by Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Surfaces

    KAUST Repository

    Liu, Hongyi

    2012-01-25

    The MesoDyn method is used to investigate associative structures in aqueous solution of a nonionic triblock copolymer consisting of poly(propylene oxide) capped on both ends with poly(ethylene oxide) chains. The effect of adsorbing (hydrophobic) and nonadsorbing (hydrophilic) solid surfaces in contact with aqueous solutions of the polymer is elucidated. The macromolecules form self-assembled structures in solution. Confinement under shear forces is investigated in terms of interfacial behavior and association. The formation of micelles under confinement between hydrophilic surfaces occurs faster than in bulk aqueous solution while layered structures assemble when the polymers are confined between hydrophobic surfaces. Micelles are deformed under shear rates of 1 μs -1 and eventually break to form persistent, adsorbed layered structures. As a result, surface damage under frictional forces is prevented. Overall, this study indicates that aqueous triblock copolymers of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) (Pluronics, EO mPO nEO m) act as a boundary lubricant for hydrophobic surfaces but not for hydrophilic ones. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

  20. Mesoscopic Simulations of the Phase Behavior of Aqueous EO 19 PO 29 EO 19 Solutions Confined and Sheared by Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Surfaces

    KAUST Repository

    Liu, Hongyi; Li, Yan; Krause, Wendy E.; Pasquinelli, Melissa A.; Rojas, Orlando J.

    2012-01-01

    The MesoDyn method is used to investigate associative structures in aqueous solution of a nonionic triblock copolymer consisting of poly(propylene oxide) capped on both ends with poly(ethylene oxide) chains. The effect of adsorbing (hydrophobic) and nonadsorbing (hydrophilic) solid surfaces in contact with aqueous solutions of the polymer is elucidated. The macromolecules form self-assembled structures in solution. Confinement under shear forces is investigated in terms of interfacial behavior and association. The formation of micelles under confinement between hydrophilic surfaces occurs faster than in bulk aqueous solution while layered structures assemble when the polymers are confined between hydrophobic surfaces. Micelles are deformed under shear rates of 1 μs -1 and eventually break to form persistent, adsorbed layered structures. As a result, surface damage under frictional forces is prevented. Overall, this study indicates that aqueous triblock copolymers of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) (Pluronics, EO mPO nEO m) act as a boundary lubricant for hydrophobic surfaces but not for hydrophilic ones. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

  1. A Density Functional Theory Evaluation of Hydrophobic Solvation: Ne, Ar and Kr in a 50-Water Cluster. Implications for the Hydrophobic Effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobko, Nadya; Marianski, Mateusz; Asensio, Amparo; Wieczorek, Robert; Dannenberg, J J

    2012-06-15

    The physical explanation for the hydrophobic effect has been the subject of disagreement. Physical organic chemists tend to use a explanation related to pressure, while many biochemists prefer an explanation that involves decreased entropy of the aqueous solvent. We present DFT calculations at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) and X3LYP/6-31G(d,p) levels on the solvation of three noble gases (Ne, Ar, and Kr) in clusters of 50 waters. Vibrational analyses show no substantial decreases in the vibrational entropies of the waters in any of the three clusters. The observed positive free energies of transfer from the gas phase or from nonpolar solvents to water appear to be due to the work needed to make a suitable hole in the aqueous solvent. We distinguish between hydrophobic solvations (explicitly studied here) and the hydrophobic effect that occurs when a solute (or transition state) can decrease its volume through conformational change (which is not possible for the noble gases).

  2. The effect of enhancing the hydrophobicity of OMMT on the characteristics of PMMA/OMMT nanocomposites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamagata, Shuichi; Hamba, Yusuke; Akasaka, Tsukasa; Ushijima, Natsumi; Uo, Motohiro; Iida, Junichiro; Watari, Fumio

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► PMMA/OMMT nanocomposites were fabricated using a solution intercalation method. ► The silicate platelets were largely well dispersed independent of the hydrophobicity. ► The partially exfoliation of the silicate layers were observed. ► The flexural modulus of the nanocomposites increased favorably. ► The strain at breakage of the nanocomposites remained suitable for our use. - Abstract: Transparent poly(methyl methacrylate)/organically modified montmorillonite (PMMA/OMMT) nanocomposites were fabricated using a solution intercalation method. Two grades of OMMT modified with quaternary alkylammonium ions and containing different amounts of organic matter, NZ70 and NX, were used. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the peaks regarded as a (0 0 1) d-spacing and a second peak were shifted toward lower 2θ values, implying the expansion or the partial exfoliation of the silicate layers, respectively. TEM images showed that the silicate platelets were largely well dispersed independent of the hydrophobicity, although some aggregates were observed. The flexural modulus of the PMMA/OMMT nanocomposites increased favorably with an increasing amount of OMMT of either grade. However, only the NX displayed comparable strain at breakage to that of the PMMA. These results suggest that the highly hydrophobic grade NX shows great promise for use in nanocomposites made via solution intercalation.

  3. FLUORESCENCE PROBING OF THE FORMATION OF HYDROPHOBIC MICRODOMAINS BY CROSS-LINKED POLY(ALKYLMETHYLDIALLYLAMMONIUM BROMIDES) IN AQUEOUS-SOLUTION

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    WANG, GJ; ENGBERTS, J B F N

    Pyrene has been used as a fluorescence probe to investigate the conformational behavior of cross-linked poly(alkylmethyldiallylammonium bromides) in aqueous solutions. Binding of pyrene to hydrophobic microdomains, formed by the polysoaps, is reflected by a change in the ratio I-1/I-3 of the

  4. Strong binding of apolar hydrophobic organic contaminants by dissolved black carbon released from biochar: A mechanism of pseudomicelle partition and environmental implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Heyun; Wei, Chenhui; Qu, Xiaolei; Li, Hui; Zhu, Dongqiang

    2018-01-01

    Dissolved black carbon (DBC), the soluble fraction of black carbon (BC), is an important constituent of dissolved organic matter pool. However, little is known about the binding interactions between hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) and DBC and their significance in the fate process. This study determined the binding ability of DBC released from rice-derived BC for a series of apolar HOCs, including four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and four chlorinated benzenes, using batch sorption and solubility enhancement techniques. Bulk BC and a dissolved soil humic acid (DSHA) were included as benchmark sorbents. The organic carbon-normalized sorption coefficient of phenanthrene to DBC was slightly lower than bulk BC, but was over ten folds higher than DSHA. Consistently, DBC was more effective than DSHA in enhancing the apparent water solubility of the tested HOCs, and the enhancement positively correlated with solute n-octanol-water partition coefficient, indicating the predominance of hydrophobic partition. The much higher binding ability of DBC relative to DSHA was mainly attributed to its higher tendency to form pseudomicellar structures as supported by the fluorescence quenching and the pH-edge data. Our findings suggest that DBC might play a significant role in the environmental fate and transport of HOCs as both sorbent and carrier. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Irreversible Conversion of a Water-Ethanol Solution into an Organized Two-Dimensional Network of Alternating Supramolecular Units in a Hydrophobic Zeolite under Pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arletti, Rossella; Fois, Ettore; Gigli, Lara; Vezzalini, Giovanna; Quartieri, Simona; Tabacchi, Gloria

    2017-02-13

    Turning disorder into organization is a key issue in science. By making use of X-ray powder diffraction and modeling studies, we show herein that high pressures in combination with the shape and space constraints of the hydrophobic all-silica zeolite ferrierite separate an ethanol-water liquid mixture into ethanol dimer wires and water tetramer squares. The confined supramolecular blocks alternate in a binary two-dimensional (2D) architecture that remains stable upon complete pressure release. These results support the combined use of high pressures and porous networks as a viable strategy for driving the organization of molecules or nano-objects towards complex, pre-defined patterns relevant for the realization of novel functional nanocomposites. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. Effects of large volume injection of aliphatic alcohols as sample diluents on the retention of low hydrophobic solutes in reversed-phase liquid chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    David, Victor; Galaon, Toma; Aboul-Enein, Hassan Y

    2014-01-03

    Recent studies showed that injection of large volume of hydrophobic solvents used as sample diluents could be applied in reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RP-LC). This study reports a systematic research focused on the influence of a series of aliphatic alcohols (from methanol to 1-octanol) on the retention process in RP-LC, when large volumes of sample are injected on the column. Several model analytes with low hydrophobic character were studied by RP-LC process, for mobile phases containing methanol or acetonitrile as organic modifiers in different proportions with aqueous component. It was found that starting with 1-butanol, the aliphatic alcohols can be used as sample solvents and they can be injected in high volumes, but they may influence the retention factor and peak shape of the dissolved solutes. The dependence of the retention factor of the studied analytes on the injection volume of these alcohols is linear, with a decrease of its value as the sample volume is increased. The retention process in case of injecting up to 200μL of upper alcohols is dependent also on the content of the organic modifier (methanol or acetonitrile) in mobile phase. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Evaluation of hydrophobicity in PAH-contaminated soils during phytoremediation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cofield, Naressa; Banks, M. Katherine; Schwab, A. Paul

    2007-01-01

    The impact of recalcitrant organic compounds on soil hydrophobicity was evaluated in contaminated soil from a manufactured gas plant site following 12 months of phytoremediation. Significant reduction in soil wetting and water retention was observed in contaminated soil compared to an uncontaminated control. Phytoremediation was effective at reducing total PAHs by 69% with corresponding changes in soil classification from extremely hydrophobic (initial sample) to moderately-strongly hydrophobic (planted) and hydrophilic-very hydrophilic (unplanted) after 12 months. The greatest reduction in soil hydrophobicity was observed in the unplanted, unfertilized treatments that had the lowest removal rate of PAHs. The presence of plants may contribute to hydrophobicity in contaminated soil. - The presence of recalcitrant hydrophobic organic pollutants may enhance soil hydrophobicity

  8. The effect of enhancing the hydrophobicity of OMMT on the characteristics of PMMA/OMMT nanocomposites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamagata, Shuichi, E-mail: shuic@den.hokudai.ac.jp [Department of Orthodontics, Graduate School of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 13 Nishi 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8586 (Japan); Hamba, Yusuke [Department of Orthodontics, Graduate School of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 13 Nishi 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8586 (Japan); Akasaka, Tsukasa [Department of Biomedical Materials and Engineering, Graduate School of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 13 Nishi 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8586 (Japan); Ushijima, Natsumi [Support Section for Education and Research, Graduate School of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 13 Nishi 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8586 (Japan); Uo, Motohiro [Advanced Biomaterials, Department of Restorative Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45, Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8549 (Japan); Iida, Junichiro [Department of Orthodontics, Graduate School of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 13 Nishi 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8586 (Japan); Watari, Fumio [Department of Biomedical Materials and Engineering, Graduate School of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 13 Nishi 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8586 (Japan)

    2012-12-01

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer PMMA/OMMT nanocomposites were fabricated using a solution intercalation method. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The silicate platelets were largely well dispersed independent of the hydrophobicity. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The partially exfoliation of the silicate layers were observed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The flexural modulus of the nanocomposites increased favorably. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The strain at breakage of the nanocomposites remained suitable for our use. - Abstract: Transparent poly(methyl methacrylate)/organically modified montmorillonite (PMMA/OMMT) nanocomposites were fabricated using a solution intercalation method. Two grades of OMMT modified with quaternary alkylammonium ions and containing different amounts of organic matter, NZ70 and NX, were used. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the peaks regarded as a (0 0 1) d-spacing and a second peak were shifted toward lower 2{theta} values, implying the expansion or the partial exfoliation of the silicate layers, respectively. TEM images showed that the silicate platelets were largely well dispersed independent of the hydrophobicity, although some aggregates were observed. The flexural modulus of the PMMA/OMMT nanocomposites increased favorably with an increasing amount of OMMT of either grade. However, only the NX displayed comparable strain at breakage to that of the PMMA. These results suggest that the highly hydrophobic grade NX shows great promise for use in nanocomposites made via solution intercalation.

  9. Feasibility study of silica sol as the carrier of a hydrophobic drug in aqueous solution using enrofloxacin as the model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song Meirong; Song Junling; Ning Aimin; Cui Baoan; Cui Shumin; Zhou Yaobing; An Wankai; Dong Xuesong; Zhang Gege

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of using silica sol to carry a hydrophobic drug in aqueous solution. Enrofloxacin, which was selected as the model drug because it is a broad-spectrum antibiotic drug with poor solubility in water, was adsorbed onto silica sol in aqueous solution during cooling from 60 deg. C to room temperature. The drug-loaded silica sol was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrum, thermal gravimetric analysis and ultraviolet-visible light spectroscopy. The results showed that enrofloxacin was adsorbed by silica sol without degradation at a loading of 15.23 wt.%. In contrast to the rapid release from pure enrofloxacin, the drug-loaded silica sol showed a slower release over a longer time. Kinetics analysis suggested the drug release from silica sol was mainly a diffusion-controlled process. Therefore, silica sol can be used to carry a hydrophobic drug in aqueous solution for controlled drug delivery.

  10. Effects of nanometric hydrophobic layer on performances of solar photovoltaic collectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrei BUTUZA

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The study refers to the experimental investigation of solar photovoltaic collectors' behaviour when the glazed surface is treated with a nanometric layer of hydrophobic solution. The experiment was carried out on two photovoltaic collectors, of which one was considered as reference and the other one was coated with a commercial hydrophobic solution. It was studied the evolution of the following electrical parameters: current, voltage, power, efficiency and daily energy production. The voltage was almost unaffected, but for all the others parameters, important drop were recorded. The preliminary conclusion of the study is that the use of hydrophobic solutions, for the treatment of glazed surfaces of solar collectors is not recommended. This hypothesis needs supplementary investigations and measurements in the context of reduced available information concerning the optical properties of hydrophobic solutions.

  11. Occurrence, distribution and bioaccumulation behaviour of hydrophobic organic contaminants in a large-scale constructed wetland in Singapore.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Qian; Kelly, Barry C

    2017-09-01

    This study involved a field-based investigation to assess the occurrence, distribution and bioaccumulation behaviour of hydrophobic organic contaminants in a large-scale constructed wetland. Samples of raw leachate, water and wetland plants, Typha angustifolia, were collected for chemical analysis. Target contaminants included polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCP), as well as several halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) and personal care products (triclosan and synthetic musks). In addition to PCBs and OCPs, synthetic musks, triclosan (TCS) and dechlorane plus stereoisomers (syn- and anti-DPs) were frequently detected. Root concentration factors (log RCF L/kg wet weight) of the various contaminants ranged between 3.0 and 7.9. Leaf concentration factors (log LCF L/kg wet weight) ranged between 2.4 and 8.2. syn- and anti-DPs exhibited the greatest RCF and LCF values. A strong linear relationship was observed between log RCF and octanol-water partition coefficient (log K OW ). Translocation factors (log TFs) were negatively correlated with log K OW . The results demonstrate that more hydrophobic compounds exhibit higher degrees of partitioning into plant roots and are less effectively transported from roots to plant leaves. Methyl triclosan (MTCS) and 2,8-dichlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (DCDD), TCS degradation products, exhibited relatively high concentrations in roots and leaves., highlighting the importance of degradation/biotransformation. The results further suggest that Typha angustifolia in this constructed wetland can aid the removal of hydrophobic organic contaminants present in this landfill leachate. The findings will aid future investigations regarding the fate and bioaccumulation of hydrophobic organic contaminants in constructed wetlands. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Adsorptive removal of hydrophobic organic compounds by carbonaceous adsorbents: a comparative study of waste-polymer-based, coal-based activated carbon, and carbon nanotubes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lian, Fei; Chang, Chun; Du, Yang; Zhu, Lingyan; Xing, Baoshan; Liu, Chang

    2012-01-01

    Adsorption of the hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) trichloroethylene (TCE), 1,3-dichlorobenzene (DCB), 1,3-dinitrobenzene (DNB) and gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) on five different carbonaceous materials was compared. The adsorbents included three polymer-based activated carbons, one coal-based activated carbon (F400) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNT). The polymer-based activated carbons were prepared using KOH activation from waste polymers: polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) and tire rubber (TR). Compared with F400 and MWNT, activated carbons derived from PVC and PET exhibited fast adsorption kinetics and high adsorption capacity toward the HOCs, attributed to their extremely large hydrophobic surface area (2700 m2/g) and highly mesoporous structures. Adsorption of small-sized TCE was stronger on the tire-rubber-based carbon and F400 resulting from the pore-filling effect. In contrast, due to the molecular sieving effect, their adsorption on HCH was lower. MWNT exhibited the lowest adsorption capacity toward HOCs because of its low surface area and characteristic of aggregating in aqueous solution.

  13. Adsorptive removal of hydrophobic organic compounds by carbonaceous adsorbents: A comparative study of waste-polymer-based,coal-based activated carbon, and carbon nanotubes

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Fei Lian; Chun Chang; Yang Du; Lingyan Zhu; Baoshan Xing; Chang Liu

    2012-01-01

    Adsorption of the hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) trichloroethylene (TCE),1,3-dichlorobenzene (DCB),1,3-dinitrobenzene (DNB) and γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) on five different carbonaceous materials was compared.The adsorbents included three polymer-based activated carbons,one coal-based activated carbon (F400) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNT).The polymerbased activated carbons were prepared using KOH activation from waste polymers:polyvinyl chloride (PVC),polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) and tire rubber (TR).Compared with F400 and MWNT,activated carbons derived from PVC and PET exhibited fast adsorption kinetics and high adsorption capacity toward the HOCs,attributed to their extremely large hydrophobic surface area (2700 m2/g) and highly mesoporous structures.Adsorption of small-sized TCE was stronger on the tire-rubber-based carbon and F400 resulting from the pore-filling effect.In contrast,due to the molecular sieving effect,their adsorption on HCH was lower.MWNT exhibited the lowest adsorption capacity toward HOCs because of its low surface area and characteristic of aggregating in aqueous solution.

  14. Methods to assess bioavailability of hydrophobic organic contaminants: Principles, operations, and limitations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Xinyi; Mayer, Philipp; Gan, Jay

    2013-01-01

    Many important environmental contaminants are hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs), which include PCBs, PAHs, PBDEs, DDT and other chlorinated insecticides, among others. Owing to their strong hydrophobicity, HOCs have their final destination in soil or sediment, where their ecotoxicological effects are closely regulated by sorption and thus bioavailability. The last two decades have seen a dramatic increase in research efforts in developing and applying partitioning based methods and biomimetic extractions for measuring HOC bioavailability. However, the many variations of both analytical methods and associated measurement endpoints are often a source of confusion for users. In this review, we distinguish the most commonly used analytical approaches based on their measurement objectives, and illustrate their practical operational steps, strengths and limitations using simple flowcharts. This review may serve as guidance for new users on the selection and use of established methods, and a reference for experienced investigators to identify potential topics for further research. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. The new method of modifying the hydrophobic properties of expanded perlite

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vogt Elżbieta

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The progressive industrialization and development of the automotive industry is the cause of the increasing demand for chemical products, especially oil products. Unfortunately, during processing, transportation or storage of these products, they get very often into the environment causing pollution. The removal of the results of accidents is still a current problem. The techniques which employ various types of sorbents deserve special attention among the several methods of eliminating the effects of pollutions. Moreover, expanded hydrophobic perlite is an interesting material among sorbents which are used on a large scale. The new method of modifying the hydrophobic properties of expanded perlite, with the use of solutions of stearic acid in organic solvents, was presented. The perlite that was used in research was produced by the PerliPol registered partnership in Bełchatów. Hydrophobic properties of the obtained materials were determined on the basis of the results achieved due to the modified film flotation method, “floating on water” test and on the basis of the value of water retention for individual samples. All grain fractions of perlite obtained hydrophobic properties which were better than or comparable to the hydrophobic properties of the HydroPerl (PerlPol commercial material used to remove petroleum product pollution. The hydrophobization process significantly improved the adsorption capacity of modified perlite to petroleum product pollution.

  16. Using solid phase micro extraction to determine salting-out (Setschenow) constants for hydrophobic organic chemicals.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jonker, M.T.O.; Muijs, B.

    2010-01-01

    With increasing ionic strength, the aqueous solubility and activity of organic chemicals are altered. This so-called salting-out effect causes the hydrophobicity of the chemicals to be increased and sorption in the marine environment to be more pronounced than in freshwater systems. The process can

  17. Partitioning of hydrophobic organic contaminants between polymer and lipids for two silicones and low density polyethylene

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smedes, F.; Rusina, T.P.; Beeltje, H.; Mayer, P.

    2017-01-01

    Polymers are increasingly used for passive sampling of neutral hydrophobic organic substances (HOC) in environmental media including water, air, soil, sediment and even biological tissue. The equilibrium concentration of HOC in the polymer can be measured and then converted into equilibrium

  18. Rheological Properties in Aqueous Solution for Hydrophobically Modified Polyacrylamides Prepared in Inverse Emulsion Polymerization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shirley Carro

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Inverse emulsion polymerization technique was employed to synthesize hydrophobically modified polyacrylamide polymers with hydrophobe contents near to feed composition. Three different structures were obtained: multisticker, telechelic, and combined. N-Dimethyl-acrylamide (DMAM, n-dodecylacrylamide (DAM, and n-hexadecylacrylamide (HDAM were used as hydrophobic comonomers. The effect of the hydrophobe length of comonomer, the initial monomer, and surfactant concentrations on shear viscosity was studied. Results show that the molecular weight of copolymer increases with initial monomer concentration and by increasing emulsifier concentration it remained almost constant. Shear viscosity measurements results show that the length of the hydrophobic comonomer augments the hydrophobic interactions causing an increase in viscosity and that the polymer thickening ability is higher for combined polymers.

  19. Super-hydrophobic surfaces of SiO₂-coated SiC nanowires: fabrication, mechanism and ultraviolet-durable super-hydrophobicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Jian; Li, Zhenjiang; Zhang, Meng; Meng, Alan

    2015-04-15

    The interest in highly water-repellent surfaces of SiO2-coated SiC nanowires has grown in recent years due to the desire for self-cleaning and anticorrosive surfaces. It is imperative that a simple chemical treatment with fluoroalkylsilane (FAS, CF3(CF2)7CH2CH2Si(OC2H5)3) in ethanol solution at room temperature resulted in super-hydrophobic surfaces of SiO2-coated SiC nanowires. The static water contact angle of SiO2-coated SiC nanowires surfaces was changed from 0° to 153° and the morphology, microstructure and crystal phase of the products were almost no transformation before and after super-hydrophobic treatment. Moreover, a mechanism was expounded reasonably, which could elucidate the reasons for their super-hydrophobic behavior. It is important that the super-hydrophobic surfaces of SiO2-coated SiC nanowires possessed ultraviolet-durable (UV-durable) super-hydrophobicity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Methods to assess bioavailability of hydrophobic organic contaminants: Principles, operations, and limitations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cui Xinyi; Mayer, Philipp; Gan, Jay

    2013-01-01

    Many important environmental contaminants are hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs), which include PCBs, PAHs, PBDEs, DDT and other chlorinated insecticides, among others. Owing to their strong hydrophobicity, HOCs have their final destination in soil or sediment, where their ecotoxicological effects are closely regulated by sorption and thus bioavailability. The last two decades have seen a dramatic increase in research efforts in developing and applying partitioning based methods and biomimetic extractions for measuring HOC bioavailability. However, the many variations of both analytical methods and associated measurement endpoints are often a source of confusion for users. In this review, we distinguish the most commonly used analytical approaches based on their measurement objectives, and illustrate their practical operational steps, strengths and limitations using simple flowcharts. This review may serve as guidance for new users on the selection and use of established methods, and a reference for experienced investigators to identify potential topics for further research. - This review summarizes the principles and operations of bioavailability prediction methods, discusses their strengths and limitations, and highlights issues for future research.

  1. Micelle swelling agent derived cavities for increasing hydrophobic organic compound removal efficiency by mesoporous micelle@silica hybrid materials

    KAUST Repository

    Shi, Yifeng

    2012-06-01

    Mesoporous micelle@silica hybrid materials with 2D hexagonal mesostructures were synthesized as reusable sorbents for hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) removal by a facile one-step aqueous solution synthesis using 3-(trimethoxysily)propyl-octadecyldimethyl-ammonium chloride (TPODAC) as a structure directing agent. The mesopores were generated by adding micelle swelling agent, 1,3,5-trimethyl benzene, during the synthesis and removing it afterward, which was demonstrated to greatly increase the HOC removal efficiency. In this material, TPODAC surfactant is directly anchored on the pore surface of mesoporous silica via SiOSi covalent bond after the synthesis due to its reactive Si(OCH 3) 3 head group, and thus makes the synthesized materials can be easily regenerated for reuse. The obtained materials show great potential in water treatment as pollutants sorbents. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Hydrophobically modified polyelectrolytes : synthesis, properties and interactions with surfactants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nieuwkerk, A.C.

    1998-01-01

    Hydrophobically modified polyelectrolytes can form micelle-like aggregates, so-called microdomains, in aqueous solution. The hydrophobic side chains constitute the apolar inner part of these microdomains and the hydrophilic groups on the polyelectrolyte backbone are at the surface of the

  3. Multiscale modification of the conductive PEDOT:PSS polymer for the analysis of biological mixtures in a super-hydrophobic drop

    KAUST Repository

    Coppedè, Nicola

    2016-03-18

    Conducting polymers are materials displaying high electrical conductivity, easy of fabrication, flexibility and biocompatibility, for this, they are routinely employed in organic electronics, printed electronics, and bioelectronics. Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are a second generation of organic thin transistors, in which the insulator layer is an electrolyte medium and the conductive polymer is electrochemically active. OECT devices have been demonstrated in chemical and biological sensing: while accurate in determining the size of individual ions in solution, similar devices break down if challenged with complex mixtures. Here, we combine a conductive PEODOT:PSS polymer with a super-hydrophobic scheme to obtain a family of advanced devices, in which the ability to manipulate a biological solution couples to a precise texture of the substrate (which incorporates five micro-electrodes in a line, and each is a site specific measurement point), and this permits to realize time and space resolved analysis of a solution. While the competition between convection and diffusion in a super-hydrophobic drop operates the separation of different species based on their size and charge, the described device delivers the ability to register a similar difference. In the following, we demonstrate the device in the sensing of a solution in which CTAB and adrenaline are separated with good sensitivity, selectivity and reliability.

  4. Multiscale modification of the conductive PEDOT:PSS polymer for the analysis of biological mixtures in a super-hydrophobic drop

    KAUST Repository

    Coppedè , Nicola; Ferrara, Lorenzo; Bifulco, Paolo; Villani, Marco; Iannotta, Salvatore; Zappettini, Andrea; Cesarelli, Mario; Di Fabrizio, Enzo M.; Gentile, Francesco

    2016-01-01

    Conducting polymers are materials displaying high electrical conductivity, easy of fabrication, flexibility and biocompatibility, for this, they are routinely employed in organic electronics, printed electronics, and bioelectronics. Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are a second generation of organic thin transistors, in which the insulator layer is an electrolyte medium and the conductive polymer is electrochemically active. OECT devices have been demonstrated in chemical and biological sensing: while accurate in determining the size of individual ions in solution, similar devices break down if challenged with complex mixtures. Here, we combine a conductive PEODOT:PSS polymer with a super-hydrophobic scheme to obtain a family of advanced devices, in which the ability to manipulate a biological solution couples to a precise texture of the substrate (which incorporates five micro-electrodes in a line, and each is a site specific measurement point), and this permits to realize time and space resolved analysis of a solution. While the competition between convection and diffusion in a super-hydrophobic drop operates the separation of different species based on their size and charge, the described device delivers the ability to register a similar difference. In the following, we demonstrate the device in the sensing of a solution in which CTAB and adrenaline are separated with good sensitivity, selectivity and reliability.

  5. Selective on site separation and detection of molecules in diluted solutions with super-hydrophobic clusters of plasmonic nanoparticles

    KAUST Repository

    Gentile, Francesco T.; Coluccio, Maria Laura; Proietti Zaccaria, Remo; Francardi, Marco; Cojoc, Gheorghe; Perozziello, Gerardo; Raimondo, Raffaella; Candeloro, Patrizio; Di Fabrizio, Enzo M.

    2014-01-01

    Super-hydrophobic surfaces are bio-inspired interfaces with a superficial texture that, in its most common evolution, is formed by a periodic lattice of silicon micro-pillars. Similar surfaces reveal superior properties compared to conventional flat surfaces, including very low friction coefficients. In this work, we modified meso-porous silicon micro-pillars to incorporate networks of metal nano-particles into the porous matrix. In doing so, we obtained a multifunctional-hierarchical system in which (i) at a larger micrometric scale, the super-hydrophobic pillars bring the molecules dissolved in an ultralow-concentration droplet to the active sites of the device, (ii) at an intermediate meso-scale, the meso-porous silicon film adsorbs the low molecular weight content of the solution and, (iii) at a smaller nanometric scale, the aggregates of silver nano-particles would measure the target molecules with unprecedented sensitivity. In the results, we demonstrated how this scheme can be utilized to isolate and detect small molecules in a diluted solution in very low abundance ranges. The presented platform, coupled to Raman or other spectroscopy techniques, is a realistic candidate for the protein expression profiling of biological fluids. © 2014 the Partner Organisations.

  6. Biotoxicity and bioavailability of hydrophobic organic compounds solubilized in nonionic surfactant micelle phase and cloud point system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Tao; Liu, Chunyan; Zeng, Xinying; Xin, Qiao; Xu, Meiying; Deng, Yangwu; Dong, Wei

    2017-06-01

    A recent work has shown that hydrophobic organic compounds solubilized in the micelle phase of some nonionic surfactants present substrate toxicity to microorganisms with increasing bioavailability. However, in cloud point systems, biotoxicity is prevented, because the compounds are solubilized into a coacervate phase, thereby leaving a fraction of compounds with cells in a dilute phase. This study extends the understanding of the relationship between substrate toxicity and bioavailability of hydrophobic organic compounds solubilized in nonionic surfactant micelle phase and cloud point system. Biotoxicity experiments were conducted with naphthalene and phenanthrene in the presence of mixed nonionic surfactants Brij30 and TMN-3, which formed a micelle phase or cloud point system at different concentrations. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, unable to degrade these compounds, was used for the biotoxicity experiments. Glucose in the cloud point system was consumed faster than in the nonionic surfactant micelle phase, indicating that the solubilized compounds had increased toxicity to cells in the nonionic surfactant micelle phase. The results were verified by subsequent biodegradation experiments. The compounds were degraded faster by PAH-degrading bacterium in the cloud point system than in the micelle phase. All these results showed that biotoxicity of the hydrophobic organic compounds increases with bioavailability in the surfactant micelle phase but remains at a low level in the cloud point system. These results provide a guideline for the application of cloud point systems as novel media for microbial transformation or biodegradation.

  7. Surface analysis of selected hydrophobic materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wisniewska, Sylwia Katarzyna

    This dissertation contains a series of studies on hydrophobic surfaces by various surface sensitive techniques such as contact angle measurements, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Hydrophobic surfaces have been classified as mineral surfaces, organic synthetic surfaces, or natural biological surfaces. As a model hydrophobic mineral surface, elemental sulfur has been selected. The sulfur surface has been characterized for selected allotropic forms of sulfur such as rhombic, monoclinic, plastic, and cyclohexasulfur. Additionally, dextrin adsorption at the sulfur surface was measured. The structure of a dextrin molecule showing hydrophobic sites has been presented to support the proposed hydrophobic bonding nature of dextrin adsorption at the sulfur surface. As a model organic hydrophobic surface, primary fatty amines such as dodecylamine, hexadecylamine, and octadecylamine were chosen. An increase of hydrophobicity, significant changes of infrared bands, and surface topographical changes with time were observed for each amine. Based on the results it was concluded that hydrocarbon chain rearrangement associated with recrystallization took place at the surface during contact with air. A barley straw surface was selected as a model of biological hydrophobic surfaces. The differences in the contact angles for various straw surfaces were explained by the presence of a wax layer. SEM images confirmed the heterogeneity and complexity of the wax crystal structure. AFM measurements provided additional structural details including a measure of surface roughness. Additionally, straw degradation as a result of conditioning in an aqueous environment was studied. Significant contact angle changes were observed as soon as one day after conditioning. FTIR studies showed a gradual wax layer removal due to straw surface decomposition. SEM and AFM images revealed topographical changes and biological

  8. Hydrophobicity study of kaolinite from La Unión, Antioquia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liliana M. Usuga-Manco

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available In this research three methodologies to convert the hydrophilic surface of kaolinite into a hydrophobic surface are proposed, this condition is required to recover this mineral by means of froth flotation. Taking into account the anisotropy, zeta potential and complex surface electrical properties of the kaolinite, three surface chemical treatments based on the interacting and absorption of anionic collectors onto the mineral surface, causing an increase in the contact angle and thus increased hydrophobicity of kaolinite were applied. The methodologies proposed were interactions of kaolinite particles with: sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions with concentration 1x10-3M, 1x10-4M, 1x10-5M; sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions 1x10-3M, 1x10-4M, 1x10-5M with further interaction with kerosene solutions 127000 ppm; and oleic acid solutions 1x10-3M, 1x10-4M, 1x10-5M, each one with a five minutes of interaction. The experimental results obtained by zeta potential and contact angle of the kaolinite before and after applying chemical treatments indicate that larger the chain length of the collector and its concentration, bigger the contact angle and so, more hydrophobic the surface (edge or face. In order to optimize, control and understand this solid-liquid interaction phenomenon is suggested to find out about the hydrophobization mechanism of kaolinite with oleic acid and its percentage of hydrophobization.

  9. Stabilization by hydrophobic protection as a molecular mechanism for organic carbon sequestration in maize-amended rice paddy soils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, X Y; Spaccini, R; Pan, G; Piccolo, A

    2013-08-01

    The hydrophobic components of soil organic matter (SOM) are reckoned to play an important role in the stabilization of soil organic carbon (SOC). The contribution of hydrophobic substances to SOC sequestration was evaluated in four different paddy soils in the South of China, following a 6-month incubation experiment with maize straw amendments. Soil samples included: a well developed paddy soil (TP) derived from clayey lacustrine deposits in the Tai Lake plain of Jiangsu; an acid clayey paddy soil (RP) derived from red earth in the rolling red soil area of Jiangxi; a weakly developed neutral paddy soil (PP) formed on Jurassic purple shale from Chongq; and a calcic Fluvisol (MS) derived from riverine sediments from a wetland along the Yangtze valley of Anhui, China. The SOC molecular composition after 30 and 180 days of incubation, was determined by off-line thermochemolysis followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. Lignin, lipids and carbohydrates were the predominant thermochemolysis products released from the treated soils. A selective preservation of hydrophobic OM, including lignin and lipids, was shown in maize amended soils with prolonged incubation. The decomposition of lignin and lipids was significantly slower in the TP and RP soils characterized by a larger content of extractable iron oxyhydrates (Fed) and lower pH. The overall increase in hydrophobic substances in maize incubated samples was correlated, positively, with total content of clay and Fed, and, negatively, with soil pH. Moreover, yields of both lignin and lipid components showed a significant relationship with SOC increase after incubation. These findings showed that the larger the lipid and lignin content of SOM, the greater was the stability of SOC, thereby suggesting that OM hydrophobic components may have an essential role in controlling the processes of OC sequestration in paddy soils of South China. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Soil hydrophobicity: comparative study of usual determination methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo Saldanha Vogelmann

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Hydrophobic or water repellent soils slowly absorb water because of the low wett ability of the soil particles which are coated with hydrophobic organic substances. These pose significant effects on plant growth, water infiltration and retention, surface runoff and erosion. The objective of this study was to compare the performance of tension micro-infiltrometer(TMI and the water drop penetration time (WDPT methods in the determination of the hydrophobicity index of eighteen soils from southern Brazil. Soil samples were collected from the 0-5cm soil layer to determine particle size distribution, organic matter content, hydrophobicity index of soil aggregates and droplet penetration time of disaggregated and sieved soil samples. For the TMI method the soil samples were subjected to minor changes due to the use of macroaggregates to preserve the distribution of solid constituents in the soil. Due to the homogeneity of the soil samples the WDPT method gave smaller coefficients of variation unlike the TMI method where the soil structure is preserved. However, both methods had low coefficients of variation, and are thus effective for determining the soil hydrophobicity, especially when the log hydrophobicity index or log WDPT is >1.

  11. Determination of solute organic concentration in contaminated soils using a chemical-equilibrium soil column system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gamst, Jesper; Kjeldsen, Peter; Christensen, Thomas Højlund

    2007-01-01

    using two soils with different content of organic carbon (f(oc) of 1.5 and 6.5%, respectively). A quadruple blind test of the ER-V system using glass beads in stead of soil showed an acceptable recovery (65-85%) of all of the 11 VOCs tested. Only for the most volatile compound (heptane, K-H similar...... to 80) an unacceptable recovery was found (9%). The contact time needed for obtaining chemical equilibrium was tested in the ER-H system by performing five test with different duration (1, 2, 4, 7 and 19 days) using the low organic carbon soil. Seven days of contact time appeared sufficient...... for determination of solute concentration in a contaminated soil were developed; (1) a chemical Equilibrium and Recirculation column test for Volatile organic chemicals (ER-V) and (2) a chemical Equilibrium and Recirculation column test for Hydrophobic organic chemicals (ER-H). The two test systems were evaluated...

  12. Partitioning of hydrophobic organic contaminants between polymer and lipids for two silicones and low density polyethylene

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Smedes, Foppe; Rusina, Tatsiana P.; Beeltje, Henry

    2017-01-01

    Polymers are increasingly used for passive sampling of neutral hydrophobic organic substances (HOC) in environmental media including water, air, soil, sediment and even biological tissue. The equilibrium concentration of HOC in the polymer can be measured and then converted into equilibrium conce...... for a thermodynamically sound risk assessment of HOC contained in microplastics....

  13. In vitro to in vivo extrapolation of biotransformation rates for assessing bioaccumulation of hydrophobic organic chemicals in mammals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Yung-Shan; Lo, Justin C; Otton, S Victoria; Moore, Margo M; Kennedy, Chris J; Gobas, Frank A P C

    2017-07-01

    Incorporating biotransformation in bioaccumulation assessments of hydrophobic chemicals in both aquatic and terrestrial organisms in a simple, rapid, and cost-effective manner is urgently needed to improve bioaccumulation assessments of potentially bioaccumulative substances. One approach to estimate whole-animal biotransformation rate constants is to combine in vitro measurements of hepatic biotransformation kinetics with in vitro to in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE) and bioaccumulation modeling. An established IVIVE modeling approach exists for pharmaceuticals (referred to in the present study as IVIVE-Ph) and has recently been adapted for chemical bioaccumulation assessments in fish. The present study proposes and tests an alternative IVIVE-B technique to support bioaccumulation assessment of hydrophobic chemicals with a log octanol-water partition coefficient (K OW ) ≥ 4 in mammals. The IVIVE-B approach requires fewer physiological and physiochemical parameters than the IVIVE-Ph approach and does not involve interconversions between clearance and rate constants in the extrapolation. Using in vitro depletion rates, the results show that the IVIVE-B and IVIVE-Ph models yield similar estimates of rat whole-organism biotransformation rate constants for hypothetical chemicals with log K OW  ≥ 4. The IVIVE-B approach generated in vivo biotransformation rate constants and biomagnification factors (BMFs) for benzo[a]pyrene that are within the range of empirical observations. The proposed IVIVE-B technique may be a useful tool for assessing BMFs of hydrophobic organic chemicals in mammals. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:1934-1946. © 2016 SETAC. © 2016 SETAC.

  14. Quantifying the effect of sorption and bioavailability of hydrophobic organic contaminants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, W.; Bouwer, E.; Cunningham, A.

    1994-01-01

    In-situ bioremediation has been applied successfully at a few sites. Several restrictions presently exist which could greatly limit the effectiveness of this promising technology. Hydrophobic organic contaminants tend to sorb onto soil. However, microorganisms are most effective in utilizing substrates from the aqueous phase. Sorption tends to separate the direct contact between microorganisms and contaminants necessary for biodegradation to occur. A series of experiments, which represented scenarios with fast sorption/desorption, slow sorption/desorption, mass transfer across boundary layer and mass transfer within attached microorganisms (biofilm), was conducted to demonstrate the concentration effect and the mass transfer effect. A method has been developed to quantify bioavailability of organic contaminants in aquatic environments. Bioavailability Factor (B f ), a dimensionless parameter derived from mathematical models and verified by experimental results, has been formulated to describe the impact of equilibrium sorption, nonequilibrium sorption, and mass transfer processes on the rate and extent of biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons

  15. Driving force for hydrophobic interaction at different length scales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zangi, Ronen

    2011-03-17

    We study by molecular dynamics simulations the driving force for the hydrophobic interaction between graphene sheets of different sizes down to the atomic scale. Similar to the prediction by Lum, Chandler, and Weeks for hard-sphere solvation [J. Phys. Chem. B 1999, 103, 4570-4577], we find the driving force to be length-scale dependent, despite the fact that our model systems do not exhibit dewetting. For small hydrophobic solutes, the association is purely entropic, while enthalpy favors dissociation. The latter is demonstrated to arise from the enhancement of hydrogen bonding between the water molecules around small hydrophobes. On the other hand, the attraction between large graphene sheets is dominated by enthalpy which mainly originates from direct solute-solute interactions. The crossover length is found to be inside the range of 0.3-1.5 nm(2) of the surface area of the hydrophobe that is eliminated in the association process. In the large-scale regime, different thermodynamic properties are scalable with this change of surface area. In particular, upon dimerization, a total and a water-induced stabilization of approximately 65 and 12 kJ/mol/nm(2) are obtained, respectively, and on average around one hydrogen bond is gained per 1 nm(2) of graphene sheet association. Furthermore, the potential of mean force between the sheets is also scalable except for interplate distances smaller than 0.64 nm which corresponds to the region around the barrier for removing the last layer of water. It turns out that, as the surface area increases, the relative height of the barrier for association decreases and the range of attraction increases. It is also shown that, around small hydrophobic solutes, the lifetime of the hydrogen bonds is longer than in the bulk, while around large hydrophobes it is the same. Nevertheless, the rearrangement of the hydrogen-bond network for both length-scale regimes is slower than in bulk water. © 2011 American Chemical Society

  16. COMPARISON OF SORPTION ENERGTICS FOR HYDROPHOBIC ORGANIC CHEMICALS BY SYNTHETIC AND NATURAL SORBENTS FROM METHANOL/WATER SOLVENT MIXTURES

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) was used to investigate the thermodynamics and mechanisms of hydrophobic organic chemical (HOC) retention from methanol/water solvent mixtures. The enthalpy-entropy compensation model was used to infer that the hydro- phobic sorptive me...

  17. Influence of dissolved organic matter and manganese oxides on metal speciation in soil solution: A modelling approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Arnaud R; Ponthieu, Marie; Cancès, Benjamin; Conreux, Alexandra; Morvan, Xavier; Gommeaux, Maxime; Marin, Béatrice; Benedetti, Marc F

    2016-06-01

    Trace element (TE) speciation modelling in soil solution is controlled by the assumptions made about the soil solution composition. To evaluate this influence, different assumptions using Visual MINTEQ were tested and compared to measurements of free TE concentrations. The soil column Donnan membrane technique (SC-DMT) was used to estimate the free TE (Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) concentrations in six acidic soil solutions. A batch technique using DAX-8 resin was used to fractionate the dissolved organic matter (DOM) into four fractions: humic acids (HA), fulvic acids (FA), hydrophilic acids (Hy) and hydrophobic neutral organic matter (HON). To model TE speciation, particular attention was focused on the hydrous manganese oxides (HMO) and the Hy fraction, ligands not considered in most of the TE speciation modelling studies in soil solution. In this work, the model predictions of free ion activities agree with the experimental results. The knowledge of the FA fraction seems to be very useful, especially in the case of high DOM content, for more accurately representing experimental data. Finally, the role of the manganese oxides and of the Hy fraction on TE speciation was identified and, depending on the physicochemical conditions of the soil solution, should be considered in future studies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Thermal destruction of organic waste hydrophobicity for agricultural soils application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comino, Francisco; Aranda, Víctor; Domínguez-Vidal, Ana; Ayora-Cañada, María José

    2017-11-01

    Use of organic amendments is a good strategy for combating the growing problem of soil degradation due to deterioration of organic matter content, particularly severe in semi-arid European Mediterranean regions, while at the same time providing an opportunity for recycling organic wastes. Olive mill pomace (OMP), the main by-product of the olive oil industry, is being used increasingly in olive grove soils for this purpose. Although the positive effects of OMP amendments have been widely studied, they also have some negative effects on soil. One of the most critical is that they increase water repellency (WR) due to the presence of poorly evolved, strongly aliphatic compounds. This detrimental effect has received very little attention, although it may impair plant water availability and infiltration rates, increase erosion and lower long-term soil quality. This study proposed, for the first time, thermal treatment as an effective way of reducing WR in organic amendments (i.e. mixtures of OMP, olive tree pruning, chicken manure and spent coffee grounds) prior to their application to soil. Thermal treatment at 275 °C proved effective in removing WR, while lower temperatures (175 or 225 °C) can even increase it. Changes by thermal treatment in the characteristics of the organic amendments studied with FTIR and UV-Vis spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis showed that it strongly reduced the aliphatic compounds mainly responsible for their hydrophobicity, concentrated aromatic compounds and increased thermostability. Heating also reduced phytotoxicity, making all of the organic amendments usable in the field (germination index over 100%). Therefore, heating at 275 °C could be an acceptable option for removing WR from organic amendments, enhancing their quality with more stable evolved characteristics. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. The role of hydrophobic interactions for the formation of gas hydrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yoon, R.H.; Wang, J.; Eriksson, J.C. [Virginia Polytech Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA (United States). Center for Advanced Separation Technologies; Sum, A.K. [Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering

    2008-07-01

    The process of hydrate formation remains largely unexplained due to a lack of evidence for the water molecules around the hydrophobic solute such as methane, and the nucleation process leading to the clustering that induces hydrate growth. However, the water structure is known to play a major role in the mechanism for hydrate nucleation. This paper presented evidence that hydrophobic solutes promote the structuring of water. Water molecules at room temperature tend to form ice structures around the hydrocarbon chains of surfactant molecules dissolved in water. An atomic force microscope (AFM) was used in this study to measure the surface forces between thiolated gold surfaces. The purpose was to better understand the structure of the thin films of water between hydrophobic surfaces. The water molecules tended to reorganize themselves to form ordered structures, which may be related to the nucleation of hydrates. The entropy reduction associated with the ice structure can be considered as the net driving force for self-assembly. Recent studies have revealed that long-range attractive forces exist between hydrophobic surfaces, which are likely to result from structuring of the water molecules in the vicinity of the hydrophobic surfaces. Similarly, the hydrophobic nature of most gas hydrate formers may induce ordering of water molecules in the vicinity of dissolved solutes. It was concluded that the results of this study may be used to develop a new mechanism for the formation of gas hydrates, including methane. 20 refs., 2 figs.

  20. Measuring hydrophobic micropore volumes in geosorbents from trichloroethylene desorption data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Hefa; Reinhard, Martin

    2006-06-01

    Hydrophobic micropores can play a significant role in controlling the long-term release of organic contaminants from geosorbents. We describe a technique for quantifying the total and the hydrophobic mineral micropore volumes based on the mass of trichloroethylene (TCE) sorbed in the slow-releasing pores under dry and wet conditions, respectively. Micropore desorption models were used to differentiate the fast- and slow-desorbing fractions in desorption profiles. The micropore environment in which organic molecules were sorbed in the presence of water was probed by studying the transformation of a water-reactive compound (2,2-dichloropropane or 2,2-DCP). For sediment from an alluvial aquifer, the total and hydrophobic micropore volumes estimated using this technique were 4.65 microL/g and 0.027 microL/g (0.58% of total), respectively. In microporous silica gel A, a hydrophobic micropore volume of 0.038 microL/g (0.035% of reported total) was measured. The dehydrohalogenation rate of 2,2-DCP sorbed in hydrophobic micropores of the sediment was slower than that reported in bulk water, indicating an environment of low water activity. The results suggest that hydrolyzable organic contaminants sorbed in hydrophobic micropores react slower than in bulk water, consistent with the reported persistence of reactive contaminants in natural soils.

  1. Influence of the extracted solute on the aggregation of malonamide extractant in organic phases: Consequences for phase stability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berthon, L.; Martinet, L.; Testard, F.; Madic, Ch.; Zem, Th.

    2010-01-01

    Due to their amphiphilic properties, malonamide molecules in alkane are organized in reverse micelle type aggregates, composed of a polar core formed by the malonamide polar heads and the extracted solutes, and surrounded by a hydrophobic shell made up of the extractant alkyl chains. The aggregates interact with one another through an attractive potential, leading to the formation of a third phase. This occurs with the splitting of the organic phase into a light phase composed mostly of diluent, and a heavy third phase containing highly concentrated extractant and solutes. In this article, we show that the aggregation (monomer concentration, domain of stability, and attractive potential between micelles) greatly depends on the nature of the extracted solute, whereas the size of aggregate (aggregation number) is only slightly influenced by this. We describe the extraction of water, nitric acid, neodymium nitrate and uranyl nitrate. Strongly polarizable species induce consistently large attraction potentials and a small stability domain for the dispersion of nano-droplets in the solvent. Highly polarizable ions such as lanthanides or uranyl induce more long-range attractive interactions than do protons. (authors)

  2. Micropore clogging by leachable pyrogenic organic carbon: A new perspective on sorption irreversibility and kinetics of hydrophobic organic contaminants to black carbon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Bingyu; Zhang, Wei; Li, Hui; Fu, Heyun; Qu, Xiaolei; Zhu, Dongqiang

    2017-01-01

    Black carbon (BC) plays a crucial role in sequestering hydrophobic organic contaminants in the environment. This study investigated key factors and mechanisms controlling nonideal sorption (e.g., sorption irreversibility and slow kinetics) of model hydrophobic organic contaminants (nitrobenzene, naphthalene, and atrazine) by rice-straw-derived BC. After removing the fraction of leachable pyrogenic organic carbon (LPyOC) (referring to composites of dissoluble non-condensed organic carbon and associated mineral components) with deionized water or 0.5 M NaOH, sorption of these sorbates to BC was enhanced. The sorption enhancement was positively correlated with sorbate molecular size in the order of atrazine > naphthalene > nitrobenzene. The removal of LPyOC also accelerated sorption kinetics and reduced sorption irreversibility. These observations were attributed to increased accessibility of BC micropores initially clogged by the LPyOC. Comparison of BC pore size distributions before and after atrazine sorption further suggested that the sorbate molecules preferred to access the micropores that were more open, and the micropore accessibility was enhanced by the removal of LPyOC. Consistently, the sorption of nitrobenzene and atrazine to template-synthesized mesoporous carbon (CMK3), a model sorbent with homogeneous pore structures, showed decreased kinetics, but increased irreversibility by impregnating sorbent pores with surface-grafted alkylamino groups and by subsequent loading of humic acid. These findings indicated an important and previously unrecognized role of LPyOC (i.e., micropore clogging) in the nonideal sorption of organic contaminants to BC. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. The impact of framework organic functional groups on the hydrophobicity and overall stability of mesoporous silica materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smeulders, Geert; Meynen, Vera; Silvestre-Albero, Ana; Houthoofd, Kristof; Mertens, Myrjam; Silvestre-Albero, Joaquin; Martens, Johan A.; Cool, Pegie

    2012-01-01

    Graphical abstract: The stability (hydrothermal, mechanical and chemical) of PMOs is studied in a systematic way and ranks them between classic and other hybrid mesoporous silica materials. Highlights: ► The stability (hydrothermal, mechanical and chemical) of PMOs is studied. ► Compared stability of PMOs with classic and other hybrid mesoporous silica materials. ► Immersion calorimetry to study the effect of hydrophobicity. ► PMOs show superior stability. - Abstract: The hydrothermal, mechanical and chemical stability of various mesoporous materials have been studied in detail, using X-ray diffraction and nitrogen sorption. Pure siliceous nanoporous powders (MCM-41 and SBA-15) are evaluated against their hybrid counterparts; namely 2 types of periodic mesoporous organosilicas (benzene and ethane bridged PMOs) and an organosilane grafted MCM-41 material. In primary tests, the stability of the hybrid materials is found to be superior compared to that of the pure siliceous ones. The stability of the materials was correlated to their hydrophobicity via immersion calorimetry, applied for the first time in this context. Based on these results, a clear correlation between the hydrophobicity of a material and its stability has been revealed. In addition, with 29 Si-MAS-NMR and vacuum experiments, the mechanism of the structural deterioration in the three different stability treatments could be unambiguously identified as the hydrolyzation of the siloxane bonds. The homogeneity of the hydrophobic groups throughout the entire network was found to be of great importance, irrespective of the hydrophobic nature at the surface as determined by calorimetric measurements. The results reveal that the most stable material can withstand (a) a pressure of 740 MPa during 5 min, (b) a 2 h stirring in a 2 M NaOH solution and (c) a 3 day steaming treatment at 393 K.

  4. The impact of framework organic functional groups on the hydrophobicity and overall stability of mesoporous silica materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smeulders, Geert, E-mail: geert.smeulders@ua.ac.be [University of Antwerpen (Ukraine), Laboratory of Adsorption and Catalysis, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk (Belgium); Meynen, Vera [University of Antwerpen (Ukraine), Laboratory of Adsorption and Catalysis, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk (Belgium); Silvestre-Albero, Ana [Universidad de Alicante, Laboratorio de Materiales Avanzados, Apartado 99, 03080 Alicante (Spain); Houthoofd, Kristof [KULeuven, Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, Kasteelpark Arenberg 23, 3001 Heverlee (Belgium); Mertens, Myrjam [Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO N.V.), Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol (Belgium); Silvestre-Albero, Joaquin [Universidad de Alicante, Laboratorio de Materiales Avanzados, Apartado 99, 03080 Alicante (Spain); Martens, Johan A. [KULeuven, Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, Kasteelpark Arenberg 23, 3001 Heverlee (Belgium); Cool, Pegie [University of Antwerpen (Ukraine), Laboratory of Adsorption and Catalysis, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk (Belgium)

    2012-02-15

    Graphical abstract: The stability (hydrothermal, mechanical and chemical) of PMOs is studied in a systematic way and ranks them between classic and other hybrid mesoporous silica materials. Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The stability (hydrothermal, mechanical and chemical) of PMOs is studied. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Compared stability of PMOs with classic and other hybrid mesoporous silica materials. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Immersion calorimetry to study the effect of hydrophobicity. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer PMOs show superior stability. - Abstract: The hydrothermal, mechanical and chemical stability of various mesoporous materials have been studied in detail, using X-ray diffraction and nitrogen sorption. Pure siliceous nanoporous powders (MCM-41 and SBA-15) are evaluated against their hybrid counterparts; namely 2 types of periodic mesoporous organosilicas (benzene and ethane bridged PMOs) and an organosilane grafted MCM-41 material. In primary tests, the stability of the hybrid materials is found to be superior compared to that of the pure siliceous ones. The stability of the materials was correlated to their hydrophobicity via immersion calorimetry, applied for the first time in this context. Based on these results, a clear correlation between the hydrophobicity of a material and its stability has been revealed. In addition, with {sup 29}Si-MAS-NMR and vacuum experiments, the mechanism of the structural deterioration in the three different stability treatments could be unambiguously identified as the hydrolyzation of the siloxane bonds. The homogeneity of the hydrophobic groups throughout the entire network was found to be of great importance, irrespective of the hydrophobic nature at the surface as determined by calorimetric measurements. The results reveal that the most stable material can withstand (a) a pressure of 740 MPa during 5 min, (b) a 2 h stirring in a 2 M NaOH solution and (c) a 3 day steaming treatment at 393 K.

  5. Evaluation of solution and rheological properties for hydrophobically associated polyacrylamide copolymer as a promised enhanced oil recovery candidate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.N. El-hoshoudy

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Crude oil is the most critical energy source in the world, especially for transportation, provision of heat and light as there has not been a sufficient energy source to replace crude oil has broadly integrated, so there is an urgent need to maximize the extraction of the original oil in-place for every reservoir, and accelerating the development of enhanced oil recovery (EOR technologies. Polymer flooding by hydrophobically associated polyacrylamides (HAPAM is a widely used technique through EOR technology. For successful application of these polymers, one should evaluate rheological and solution properties at simulated reservoir conditions as a function of polymer concentration, salinity, temperature and shear rate. The results showed that these copolymers exhibit favorable salt tolerance, temperature resistance, and recoverable viscosity after shearing, reasonable thickening behavior and improved viscosity enhancement properties due to presence of hydrophobic association in the copolymer main chains. Moreover, its capacity for oil production improvement was evaluated during flooding experiments through one dimensional sandstone model at simulated reservoir conditions.

  6. Effect of water content on the water repellency for hydrophobized sands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subedi, S.; Kawamoto, K.; Kuroda, T.; Moldrup, P.; Komatsu, T.

    2011-12-01

    Alternative earthen covers such as capillary barriers (CBs) and evapotranspirative covers are recognized as useful technical and low-cost solutions for limiting water infiltration and controlling seepage flow at solid waste landfills in semi-arid and arid regions. However, their application to the landfills at wet regions seems to be matter of concern due to loss of their impending capability under high precipitation. One of the possible techniques to enhance the impermeable properties of CBs is to alter soil grain surfaces to be water-repellent by mixing/coating hydrophobic agents (HAs). In order to examine a potential use of model sands hydrophobized with locally available and environmental-friendly HAs such as oleic acid (OA) and stearic acid (SA) for hydrophobic CBs. In the present study, we first characterized the effect of water content on the degree of water repellency (WR) for hydrophobized sands and volcanic ash soil at different depth. Secondly, the time dependency of the contact angle in hydrophobized sands and volcanic ash soils at different water content was evaluated. Further, the effects of hydrophobic organic matter contents on the WR of hydrophobized sands were investigated by horizontal infiltration test. We investigated the degree of WR as functions of volumetric water content (θ) of a volcanic ash soil samples from different depth and water adjusted hydrophobized sand samples with different ratio of HAs by using sessile drop method (SDM). The initial contact angle (αi) measured from SDM decreased gradually with increasing water content in OA and SA coated samples. Measured αi values for volcanic ash soils increased with increasing water content and reached a peak values of 111.7o at θ= 0.325 cm3 cm-3, where-after αi gradually decreased. Each test sample exhibited sharp decrease in contact angle with time at higher water content. Sorptivity values for oleic acid coated samples decreased with increasing HA content and reached the minimum

  7. Impact of Hydrophobic Pollutants' Behavior on Occupational and Environmental Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ijeoma Kanu

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper reviews the influence of hydrophobic pollutant behavior on environmental hazards and risks. The definition and examples of hydrophobic pollutants are given as a guide to better understand the sources of release and the media of dispersion in the environment. The properties and behavior of hydrophobic pollutants are described and their influence on environmental hazard and risk is reviewed and evaluated. The overall outcome of the assessment and evaluation showed that all hydrophobic pollutants are hazardous and risky to all organisms, including man. Their risk effects are due to their inherent persistence, bioaccumulation potential, environmental mobility, and reactivity. Their hazardous effects on organisms occur at varying spatial and temporal degrees of emissions, toxicities, exposures, and concentrations.

  8. Fluoroalkyl and Alkyl Chains Have Similar Hydrophobicities in Binding to the “Hydrophobic Wall” of Carbonic Anhydrase

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    J Mecinovic; P Snyder; K Mirica; S Bai; E Mack; R Kwant; D Moustakas; A Heroux; G Whitesides

    2011-12-31

    The hydrophobic effect, the free-energetically favorable association of nonpolar solutes in water, makes a dominant contribution to binding of many systems of ligands and proteins. The objective of this study was to examine the hydrophobic effect in biomolecular recognition using two chemically different but structurally similar hydrophobic groups, aliphatic hydrocarbons and aliphatic fluorocarbons, and to determine whether the hydrophobicity of the two groups could be distinguished by thermodynamic and biostructural analysis. This paper uses isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) to examine the thermodynamics of binding of benzenesulfonamides substituted in the para position with alkyl and fluoroalkyl chains (H{sub 2}NSO{sub 2}C{sub 6}H{sub 4}-CONHCH{sub 2}(CX{sub 2}){sub n}CX{sub 3}, n = 0-4, X = H, F) to human carbonic anhydrase II (HCA II). Both alkyl and fluoroalkyl substituents contribute favorably to the enthalpy and the entropy of binding; these contributions increase as the length of chain of the hydrophobic substituent increases. Crystallography of the protein-ligand complexes indicates that the benzenesulfonamide groups of all ligands examined bind with similar geometry, that the tail groups associate with the hydrophobic wall of HCA II (which is made up of the side chains of residues Phe131, Val135, Pro202, and Leu204), and that the structure of the protein is indistinguishable for all but one of the complexes (the longest member of the fluoroalkyl series). Analysis of the thermodynamics of binding as a function of structure is compatible with the hypothesis that hydrophobic binding of both alkyl and fluoroalkyl chains to hydrophobic surface of carbonic anhydrase is due primarily to the release of nonoptimally hydrogen-bonded water molecules that hydrate the binding cavity (including the hydrophobic wall) of HCA II and to the release of water molecules that surround the hydrophobic chain of the ligands. This study defines the balance of enthalpic and

  9. Quantifying the effect of medium composition on the diffusive mass transfer of hydrophobic organic chemicals through unstirred boundary layers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mayer, Philipp; Karlson, U.; Christensen, P.S.

    2005-01-01

    Unstirred boundary layers (UBLs) often act as a bottleneck for the diffusive transport of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) in the environment. Therefore, a microscale technique was developed for quantifying mass transfer through a 100-μm thin UBL, with the medium composition of the UBL...... as the controllable factor. The model compound fluoranthene had to (1) partition from a contaminated silicone disk (source) into the medium, (2) then diffuse through 100 μm of medium (UBL), and finally (3) partition into a clean silicone layer (sink). The diffusive mass transfer from source to sink was monitored over...... of magnitude. These results demonstrate that medium constituents, which normally are believed to bind hydrophobic organic chemicals, actually can enhance the diffusive mass transfer of HOCs in the vicinity of a diffusion source (e.g., contaminated soil particles). The technique can be used to evaluate...

  10. Influences of binding to dissolved organic matter on hydrophobic organic compounds in a multi-contaminant system: Coefficients, mechanisms and ecological risks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yi-Long; He, Wei; Liu, Wen-Xiu; Kong, Xiang-Zhen; Yang, Bin; Yang, Chen; Xu, Fu-Liu

    2015-11-01

    The complexation flocculation (CF) method was successfully employed to identify binding coefficients (Kdoc) of specific organic contaminants to dissolved organic matter (DOM, often indicated by dissolved organic carbon, DOC) in a multi-contaminant hydrophobic organic contaminant (HOC) system. Kdoc values were obtained for most of the evaluated 33 HOCs, indicating the feasibility and applicability of the CF method in a multi-contaminant system. Significant positive correlations were observed between binding coefficients and octanol-water partition coefficients (Kow) for organic halogen compounds, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) (R(2) = 0.95, p mechanisms between PAHs and organic halogen compounds exist. These differences further result in discriminative competition partitions of HOCs between DOM and organisms. Assuming that only freely dissolved HOCs are bioconcentrative, the results of DOM-influenced bioconcentration factor (BCFDOM) and DOM-influenced lowest observed effect level (LOELDOM) indicate that the ecological risk of HOCs is decreased by DOM. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Attractive forces between hydrophobic solid surfaces measured by AFM on the first approach in salt solutions and in the presence of dissolved gases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azadi, Mehdi; Nguyen, Anh V; Yakubov, Gleb E

    2015-02-17

    Interfacial gas enrichment of dissolved gases (IGE) has been shown to cover hydrophobic solid surfaces in water. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) data has recently been supported by molecular dynamics simulation. It was demonstrated that IGE is responsible for the unexpected stability and large contact angle of gaseous nanobubbles at the hydrophobic solid-water interface. Here we provide further evidence of the significant effect of IGE on an attractive force between hydrophobic solid surfaces in water. The force in the presence of dissolved gas, i.e., in aerated and nonaerated NaCl solutions (up to 4 M), was measured by the AFM colloidal probe technique. The effect of nanobubble bridging on the attractive force was minimized or eliminated by measuring forces on the first approach of the AFM probe toward the flat hydrophobic surface and by using high salt concentrations to reduce gas solubility. Our results confirm the presence of three types of forces, two of which are long-range attractive forces of capillary bridging origin as caused by either surface nanobubbles or gap-induced cavitation. The third type is a short-range attractive force observed in the absence of interfacial nanobubbles that is attributed to the IGE in the form of a dense gas layer (DGL) at hydrophobic surfaces. Such a force was found to increase with increasing gas saturation and to decrease with decreasing gas solubility.

  12. Passive Dosing to Determine the Speciation of Hydrophobic Organic Chemicals in Aqueous Samples

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Birch, Heidi; Gouliarmou, V.; Lützhøft, Hans-Christian Holten

    2010-01-01

    A new analytical approach to determine the speciation of hydrophobic organic analytes is presented. The freely dissolved concentration in a sample is controlled by passive dosing from silicone (poly(dimethylsiloxane)), and the total sample concentration at equilibrium is measured. The free fraction...... is determined as the ratio between measured concentrations in pure water and sample. C-14-labeled fluoranthene served as model analyte, and total sample concentrations were easily measured by liquid scintillation counting. The method was applied to surface water, stormwater runoff, and wastewater...... (SPME). This analytical approach combines simplicity with high precision, and it does not require any phase separation steps....

  13. Gas-liquid partitioning of halogenated volatile organic compounds in aqueous cyclodextrin solutions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ondo, Daniel; Barankova, Eva [Department of Physical Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Technology, Technicka 5, 166 28 Prague 6 (Czech Republic); Dohnal, Vladimir, E-mail: dohnalv@vscht.cz [Department of Physical Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Technology, Technicka 5, 166 28 Prague 6 (Czech Republic)

    2011-08-15

    Highlights: > Binding of halogenated VOCs with cyclodextrins examined through g-l partitioning. > Complex stabilities reflect host-guest size matching and hydrophobic interaction. > Presence of halogens in the guest molecule stabilizes the binding. > Thermodynamic origin of the binding varies greatly among the systems studied. > Results obey the guest-CD global enthalpy-entropy compensation relationship. - Abstract: Gas-liquid partitioning coefficients (K{sub GL}) were measured for halogenated volatile organic compounds (VOCs), namely 1-chlorobutane, methoxyflurane, pentafluoropropan-1-ol, heptafluorobutan-1-ol, {alpha},{alpha},{alpha}-trifluorotoluene, and toluene in aqueous solutions of natural {alpha}-, {beta}-, and {gamma}-cyclodextrins (CDs) at temperatures from (273.35 to 326.35) K employing the techniques of headspace gas chromatography and inert gas stripping. The binding constants of the 1:1 inclusion complex formation between the VOCs and CDs were evaluated from the depression of the VOCs volatility as a function of CD concentration. The host-guest size matching and the hydrophobic interaction concept were used to rationalize the observed widely different affinity of the VOC-CD pairs to form the inclusion complex. The enthalpic and entropic component of the standard Gibbs free energy of complex formation as derived from the temperature dependence of the binding constant indicate the thermodynamic origin of the binding to vary greatly among the systems studied, but follow the global enthalpy-entropy compensation relationships reported previously in the literature.

  14. Enantioselective Crystallization of Sodium Chlorate in the Presence of Racemic Hydrophobic Amino Acids and Static Magnetic Fields

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María-Paz Zorzano

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available We study the bias induced by a weak (200 mT external magnetic field on the preferred handedness of sodium chlorate crystals obtained by slow evaporation at ambient conditions of its saturated saline solution with 20 ppm of added racemic (dl hydrophobic amino acids. By applying the Fisher test to pairs of experiments with opposing magnetic field orientation we conclude, with a confidence level of 99.7%, that at the water-air interface of this saline solution there is an enantioselective magnetic interaction that acts upon racemic mixtures of hydrophobic chiral amino acids. This interaction has been observed with the three tested racemic hydrophobic amino acids: dl-Phe, dl-Try and dl-Trp, at ambient conditions and in spite of the ubiquitous chiral organic contamination. This enantioselective magnetic dependence is not observed when there is only one handedness of added chiral amino-acid, if the added amino acid is not chiral or if there is no additive. This effect has been confirmed with a double blind test. This novel experimental observation may have implications for our view of plausible initial prebiotic scenarios and of the roles of the geomagnetic field in homochirality in the biosphere.

  15. Responsive gelation of hydrophobized linear polymer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Claus Greve; Toeth, Joachim; Jørgensen, Lene

    In this study we present the rheological properties of a physically linked polymer network, composed of linear hydrophilic chains, modified with hydrophobic moieties in each end. Solutions of the polymer in ethanol-water mixtures showed Newtonian behaviour up to about 99 % ethanol, with the highest...

  16. Direct numerical solution of the Ornstein-Zernike integral equation and spatial distribution of water around hydrophobic molecules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikeguchi, Mitsunori; Doi, Junta

    1995-09-01

    The Ornstein-Zernike integral equation (OZ equation) has been used to evaluate the distribution function of solvents around solutes, but its numerical solution is difficult for molecules with a complicated shape. This paper proposes a numerical method to directly solve the OZ equation by introducing the 3D lattice. The method employs no approximation the reference interaction site model (RISM) equation employed. The method enables one to obtain the spatial distribution of spherical solvents around solutes with an arbitrary shape. Numerical accuracy is sufficient when the grid-spacing is less than 0.5 Å for solvent water. The spatial water distribution around a propane molecule is demonstrated as an example of a nonspherical hydrophobic molecule using iso-value surfaces. The water model proposed by Pratt and Chandler is used. The distribution agrees with the molecular dynamics simulation. The distribution increases offshore molecular concavities. The spatial distribution of water around 5α-cholest-2-ene (C27H46) is visualized using computer graphics techniques and a similar trend is observed.

  17. How microorganisms use hydrophobicity and what does this mean for human needs?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna eKrasowska

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH plays a crucial role in the attachment to, or detachment from the surfaces. The influence of CSH on adhesion of microorganisms to biotic and abiotic surfaces in medicine as well as in bioremediation and fermentation industry has both negative and positive aspects. Hydrophobic microorganisms cause the damage of surfaces by biofilm formation; on the other hand, they can readily accumulate on organic pollutants and decompose them. Hydrophilic microorganisms also play a considerable role in removing organic wastes from the environment because of their high resistance to hydrophobic chemicals. Despite the many studies on the environmental and metabolic factors affecting cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH, the knowledge of this subject is still scanty and is in most cases limited to observing the impact of hydrophobicity on adhesion, aggregation or flocculation. The future of research seems to lie in finding a way to managing the microbial adhesion process, perhaps by steering cell hydrophobicity.

  18. A rheological study of hydrophobic-surface-active polymer systems structuration; Etude rheologique de la structuration de systemes polymere hydrophobe-tensioactif

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heinrich, E.

    1997-01-29

    This work deals with the study of the rheology and the structuration of hydrophobic polymer and surfactant systems. The used associative polymers are acrylamide/nonyl methacrylate copolymers and the surfactant is nonionic. They are particularly used for hydrocarbons extraction techniques as drilling (drilling fluids) or wells cementation. The studied materials are first characterized by different analytic techniques. This preliminary stage of the work gives a good insight of the physico-chemical parameters of the systems. The effect of surfactant was shown by studying the variation of Newtonian viscosity as a function of surfactant concentration. This yields bell curves, whose maximum determines the critical aggregation concentration (cac). The hydrophobic effect is analysed in different polymer concentration regimes, in quasi-static conditions, and under shear. The study of the dynamic visco-elasticity of semi-dilute solutions allows to observe the effect of the hydrophobic associations on the relaxation time of the chains. The system can be described as a superposition of two networks of junctions: the network of physical entanglements and a second one formed by the hydrophobic links. Phenomena of structuration have been observed at room temperature for surfactant concentrations close to the cac. The increase of viscosity or elastic modulus can be 3 to 4 orders of magnitude. The effect of the temperature on the structure of the systems is studied as well. The rheological characterization of the Sol-Gel transition is developed and the rheological behavior of the solutions in a structured state shows a critical stress for rupture of the structure. Microscopic observations of the birefringence of the solutions display the existence of lamellar vesicles, which leads to the following assumption: the formation of big spherulites create a rigidification of the macromolecular network. (author) 190 refs.

  19. Solvation of hydrocarbons in aqueous-organic mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sedov, I.A.; Magsumov, T.I.; Solomonov, B.N.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Thermodynamic functions of solvation in mixtures of water with acetone and acetonitrile are measured at T = 298.15 K. • Solvation of n-octane and toluene in aqueous-organic mixtures is studied. • When increasing water content, Gibbs free energies grow up steadily, while enthalpies have a maximum. • Hydrocarbons are preferentially solvated with organic cosolvent even in mixtures with rather high water content. • Acetonitrile suppresses the hydrophobic effect less than acetone. - Abstract: We study the solvation of two hydrocarbons, n-octane and toluene, in binary mixtures of water with organic cosolvents. Two polar aprotic cosolvents that are miscible with water in any proportions, acetonitrile and acetone, were considered. We determine the magnitudes of thermodynamic functions of dissolution and solvation at T = 298.15 K in the mixtures with various compositions. Solution calorimetry was used to measure the enthalpies of solution, and GC headspace analysis was applied to obtain limiting activity coefficients of solutes in the studied systems. For the first time, the enthalpies of solution of alkane in the mixtures with high water content were measured directly. We observed well-pronounced maxima of the dependencies of enthalpies of solvation from the composition of solvent and no maxima for the Gibbs free energies of solvation. Two factors are concluded to be important to explain the observed tendencies: high energy cost of reorganization of binary solvent upon insertion of solute molecules and preferential surrounding of hydrocarbons with the molecules of organic cosolvent. Enthalpy-entropy compensation leads to a steady growth of the Gibbs free energies with increasing water content. On the other hand, consideration of the plots of the Gibbs free energy against enthalpy of solvation clearly shows that the solvation properties are changed dramatically after addition of a rather small amount of organic cosolvents. It is shown that they

  20. Boundary layers of aqueous surfactant and block copolymer solutions against hydrophobic and hydrophilic solid surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steitz, Roland; Schemmel, Sebastian; Shi Hongwei; Findenegg, Gerhard H

    2005-01-01

    The boundary layer of aqueous surfactants and amphiphilic triblock copolymers against flat solid surfaces of different degrees of hydrophobicity was investigated by neutron reflectometry (NR), grazing incidence small angle neutron scattering (GISANS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Solid substrates of different hydrophobicities were prepared by appropriate surface treatment or by coating silicon wafers with polymer films of different chemical natures. For substrates coated with thin films (20-30 nm) of deuterated poly(styrene) (water contact angle θ w ∼ 90), neutron reflectivity measurements on the polymer/water interface revealed a water depleted liquid boundary layer of 2-3 nm thickness and a density about 90% of the bulk water density. No pronounced depletion layer was found at the interface of water against a less hydrophobic polyelectrolyte coating (θ w ∼ 63). It is believed that the observed depletion layer at the hydrophobic polymer/water interface is a precursor of the nanobubbles which have been observed by AFM at this interface. Decoration of the polymer coatings by adsorbed layers of nonionic C m E n surfactants improves their wettability by the aqueous phase at surfactant concentrations well below the critical micellar concentration (CMC) of the surfactant. Here, GISANS experiments conducted on the system SiO 2 /C 8 E 4 /D 2 O reveal that there is no preferred lateral organization of the C 8 E 4 adsorption layers. For amphiphilic triblock copolymers (PEO-PPO-PEO) it is found that under equilibrium conditions they form solvent-swollen brushes both at the air/water and the solid/water interface. In the latter case, the brushes transform to uniform, dense layers after extensive rinsing with water and subsequent solvent evaporation. The primary adsorption layers maintain properties of the precursor brushes. In particular, their thickness scales with the number of ethylene oxide units (EO) of the block copolymer. In the case of dip-coating without

  1. Efficient "on-the-fly" calculation of Raman spectra from ab-initio molecular dynamics: Application to hydrophobic/hydrophilic solutes in bulk water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Partovi-Azar, Pouya; Kühne, Thomas D

    2015-11-05

    We present a novel computational method to accurately calculate Raman spectra from first principles. Together with an extension of the second-generation Car-Parrinello method of Kühne et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett. 2007, 98, 066401) to propagate maximally localized Wannier functions together with the nuclei, a speed-up of one order of magnitude can be observed. This scheme thus allows to routinely calculate finite-temperature Raman spectra "on-the-fly" by means of ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations. To demonstrate the predictive power of this approach we investigate the effect of hydrophobic and hydrophilic solutes in water solution on the infrared and Raman spectra. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Evolution and accumulation of organic foulants on hydrophobic and hydrophilic membrane surfaces in a submerged membrane bioreactor

    KAUST Repository

    Matar, Gerald

    2015-09-07

    Membrane surface modification is attracting more attention to mitigate biofouling in membrane bioreactors (MBRs). Five membranes differing in chemistry and hydrophobic/hydrophilic potential were run in parallel in a lab-scale MBR under the same conditions. Membranes were sampled after 1, 10, 20 and 30 days of MBR operation with synthetic wastewater. Subsequently, accumulated organic foulants were characterised using several chemical analytical tools. Results showed similar development of organic foulants with time, illustrating that membrane surface chemistry did not affect the selection of specific organic foulants. Multivariate analysis showed that biofilm samples clustered according to the day of sampling. The composition of organic foulants shifted from protein-like substances towards humics and polysaccharides-like substances. We propose that to control biofouling in MBRs, one should focus less on the membrane surface chemistry.

  3. Protecting group and switchable pore-discriminating adsorption properties of a hydrophilic-hydrophobic metal-organic framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohideen, M Infas H; Xiao, Bo; Wheatley, Paul S; McKinlay, Alistair C; Li, Yang; Slawin, Alexandra M Z; Aldous, David W; Cessford, Naomi F; Düren, Tina; Zhao, Xuebo; Gill, Rachel; Thomas, K Mark; Griffin, John M; Ashbrook, Sharon E; Morris, Russell E

    2011-04-01

    Formed by linking metals or metal clusters through organic linkers, metal-organic frameworks are a class of solids with structural and chemical properties that mark them out as candidates for many emerging gas storage, separation, catalysis and biomedical applications. Important features of these materials include their high porosity and their flexibility in response to chemical or physical stimuli. Here, a copper-based metal-organic framework has been prepared in which the starting linker (benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid) undergoes selective monoesterification during synthesis to produce a solid with two different channel systems, lined by hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces, respectively. The material reacts differently to gases or vapours of dissimilar chemistry, some stimulating subtle framework flexibility or showing kinetic adsorption effects. Adsorption can be switched between the two channels by judicious choice of the conditions. The monoesterified linker is recoverable in quantitative yield, demonstrating possible uses of metal-organic frameworks in molecular synthetic chemistry as 'protecting groups' to accomplish selective transformations that are difficult using standard chemistry techniques.

  4. Characterizing time-dependent contact angles for sands hydrophobized with oleic and stearic acids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Subedi, S; Kawamoto, K; Jayarathna, L

    2012-01-01

    -frequency precipitation. A potential solution is to alter soil grain surfaces to become water repellent by mixing or coating the soil cover material with hydrophobic agents (HAs). In this study, hydrophobic CBs comprised of sands mixed with environmentally friendly HAs (oleic acid [OA] and stearic acid [SA]) were studied...

  5. Hydrophobization by Means of Nanotechnology on Greek Sandstones Used as Building Facades

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georgios Karagiannis

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Modern sustainable architecture indicates the use of local natural stones for building. Greek sandstones from Epirus (Demati, Greece, EN 12440 used as building facades meet aesthetic and have high mechanical properties, but the inevitable interaction between stone materials and natural or anthropogenic weathering factors controls the type, and extent of stone damages. In the present paper, samples of sandstone were treated with a conventional hydrophobic product and four solutions of the same product, enriched with nanosilica of different concentrations. The properties of the treated samples, such as porosity and pore size distribution, microstructure, static contact angle of a water droplet, and durability to deterioration cycles (freeze-thaw were recorded and conclusions were drawn. The research indicates the increased hydrophobic properties in nanosilica solutions but also the optimum content in nanoparticles that provides hydrophobicity without altering the properties of the stone.

  6. Role of long- and short-range hydrophobic, hydrophilic and charged residues contact network in protein’s structural organization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sengupta Dhriti

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The three-dimensional structure of a protein can be described as a graph where nodes represent residues and the strength of non-covalent interactions between them are edges. These protein contact networks can be separated into long and short-range interactions networks depending on the positions of amino acids in primary structure. Long-range interactions play a distinct role in determining the tertiary structure of a protein while short-range interactions could largely contribute to the secondary structure formations. In addition, physico chemical properties and the linear arrangement of amino acids of the primary structure of a protein determines its three dimensional structure. Here, we present an extensive analysis of protein contact subnetworks based on the London van der Waals interactions of amino acids at different length scales. We further subdivided those networks in hydrophobic, hydrophilic and charged residues networks and have tried to correlate their influence in the overall topology and organization of a protein. Results The largest connected component (LCC of long (LRN-, short (SRN- and all-range (ARN networks within proteins exhibit a transition behaviour when plotted against different interaction strengths of edges among amino acid nodes. While short-range networks having chain like structures exhibit highly cooperative transition; long- and all-range networks, which are more similar to each other, have non-chain like structures and show less cooperativity. Further, the hydrophobic residues subnetworks in long- and all-range networks have similar transition behaviours with all residues all-range networks, but the hydrophilic and charged residues networks don’t. While the nature of transitions of LCC’s sizes is same in SRNs for thermophiles and mesophiles, there exists a clear difference in LRNs. The presence of larger size of interconnected long-range interactions in thermophiles than mesophiles, even at

  7. MS-2 and poliovirus transport in porous media: Hydrophobic effects and chemical perturbations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bales, Roger C.; Li, Shimin; Maguire, Kimberly M.; Yahya, Moyasar T.; Gerba, Charles P.

    1993-04-01

    In a series of pH 7 continuous-flow column experiments, removal of the bacteriophage MS-2 by attachment to silica beads had a strong, systematic dependence on the amount of hydrophobic surface present on the beads. With no hydrophobic surface, removal of phage at pH 5 was much greater than at pH 7. Release of attached phage at both pH values did occur, but was slow; breakthrough curves exhibited tailing. Poliovirus attached to silica beads at pH 5.5 much more than at pH 7.0, and attachment was also slowly reversible. Time scales for phage and poliovinis attachment were of the order of hours. The sticking efficiency factor (α), reflecting microscaie physicochemical influences on virus attachment, was in the range of 0.0007-0.02. Phage release was small but measurable under steady state conditions. Release was enhanced by lowering ionic strength and by introducing beef extract, a high-ionic-strength protein solution. Results show that viruses experience reversible attachment/detachment (sometimes termed sorption), that large chemical perturbations are needed to induce rapid virus detachment, and that viruses should be quite mobile in sandy porous media. Even small amounts of hydrophobic organic material in the porous media (≥0.001%) can retard virus transport.

  8. Non-invasive high throughput approach for protein hydrophobicity determination based on surface tension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amrhein, Sven; Bauer, Katharina Christin; Galm, Lara; Hubbuch, Jürgen

    2015-12-01

    The surface hydrophobicity of a protein is an important factor for its interactions in solution and thus the outcome of its production process. Yet most of the methods are not able to evaluate the influence of these hydrophobic interactions under natural conditions. In the present work we have established a high resolution stalagmometric method for surface tension determination on a liquid handling station, which can cope with accuracy as well as high throughput requirements. Surface tensions could be derived with a low sample consumption (800 μL) and a high reproducibility (content. The protein influence on the solutions' surface tension was correlated to the hydrophobicity of lysozyme, human lysozyme, BSA, and α-lactalbumin. Differences in proteins' hydrophobic character depending on pH and species could be resolved. Within this work we have developed a pH dependent hydrophobicity ranking, which was found to be in good agreement with literature. For the studied pH range of 3-9 lysozyme from chicken egg white was identified to be the most hydrophilic. α-lactalbumin at pH 3 exhibited the most pronounced hydrophobic character. The stalagmometric method occurred to outclass the widely used spectrophotometric method with bromophenol blue sodium salt as it gave reasonable results without restrictions on pH and protein species. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Influence of cosolvents on the hydrophobic surface immobilization topography of Candida antarctica lipase B

    Science.gov (United States)

    The presence of cosolvents and co-solutes during the immobilization of lipases on hydrophobic supports may influence the extent of lipase immobilization and the long-term catalytic stability of the biocatalyst. Candida antarctica B lipase immobilization was examined on a hydrophobic surface, i.e., ...

  10. Solidification method for organic solution and processing method of aqueous solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kamoshida, Mamoru; Fukazawa, Tetsuo; Yazawa, Noriko; Hasegawa, Toshihiko

    1998-01-01

    The relative dielectric constant of an organic solution containing polar ingredients is controlled to 13 or less to enable its solidification. The polarity of the organic solution can be evaluated quantitatively by using the relative dielectric constant. If the relative dielectric constant is high, it can be controlled by dilution using a non-polar organic solvent of low relative dielectric constant. With such procedures, solidification can be conducted by using an economical 12-hydroxy stearic acid, process of liquid wastes can be facilitated and the safety can be ensured. (T.M.)

  11. Preparation and performance of Pt/PTFE/Foam SiC as a hydrophobic catalyst for LPCE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He, Jianchao; Wang, Heyi; Xiao, Chengjian; Li, Jiamao; Chen, Ping; Hou, Jingwei

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A new type of foam material, Foam SiC with three-dimensional network structure, was chosen as the carrier of catalyst. • Foam SiC was hydrophobic treated by PTFE, and achieved a good hydrophobic property. • Pt/PTFE/Foam SiC was prepared by impregnation method with Pt-organic solution and gaseous phase reduction method. • The hydrophobic catalysts were packed with Dixon phosphor bronze gauze rings (about 3 mm × 3 mm) in LPCE system to test the catalytic performance. • The effect of different size of the catalyst on LPCE was been tested. - Abstract: Platinum catalysts supported on a composite of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and Foam SiC (Pt/PTFE/Foam SiC) have been proposed and prepared by an impregnation method. The as-prepared Pt/PTFE/Foam SiC was characterized by compression load testing, dynamic contact angle measurement, SEM, XRD, and TEM. The results show that the catalyst prepared by triple hydrophobic treatment had an initial contact angle of 134.2°, a good compression performance of 3.2 MPa, and platinum nanoparticles of 12.1 nm (average size). The catalytic activity of the catalyst was tested with different packing methods, reaction temperatures, and gas-liquid ratios. An excellent hydrogen isotope exchange performance was observed using a hydrophilic packing material-to-catalyst ratio of 25% and reaction temperature of 80 °C. Pt/PTFE/Foam SiC may be used as a hydrophobic catalyst for a water detritiation system (WDS) via a liquid-phase catalytic exchange process (LPCE).

  12. Preparation and performance of Pt/PTFE/Foam SiC as a hydrophobic catalyst for LPCE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    He, Jianchao; Wang, Heyi, E-mail: hywang@caep.cn; Xiao, Chengjian; Li, Jiamao; Chen, Ping; Hou, Jingwei

    2016-12-15

    Highlights: • A new type of foam material, Foam SiC with three-dimensional network structure, was chosen as the carrier of catalyst. • Foam SiC was hydrophobic treated by PTFE, and achieved a good hydrophobic property. • Pt/PTFE/Foam SiC was prepared by impregnation method with Pt-organic solution and gaseous phase reduction method. • The hydrophobic catalysts were packed with Dixon phosphor bronze gauze rings (about 3 mm × 3 mm) in LPCE system to test the catalytic performance. • The effect of different size of the catalyst on LPCE was been tested. - Abstract: Platinum catalysts supported on a composite of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and Foam SiC (Pt/PTFE/Foam SiC) have been proposed and prepared by an impregnation method. The as-prepared Pt/PTFE/Foam SiC was characterized by compression load testing, dynamic contact angle measurement, SEM, XRD, and TEM. The results show that the catalyst prepared by triple hydrophobic treatment had an initial contact angle of 134.2°, a good compression performance of 3.2 MPa, and platinum nanoparticles of 12.1 nm (average size). The catalytic activity of the catalyst was tested with different packing methods, reaction temperatures, and gas-liquid ratios. An excellent hydrogen isotope exchange performance was observed using a hydrophilic packing material-to-catalyst ratio of 25% and reaction temperature of 80 °C. Pt/PTFE/Foam SiC may be used as a hydrophobic catalyst for a water detritiation system (WDS) via a liquid-phase catalytic exchange process (LPCE).

  13. Acid-base and copper-binding properties of three organic matter fractions isolated from a forest floor soil solution

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Schaik, Joris W. J.; Kleja, Dan B.; Gustafsson, Jon Petter

    2010-02-01

    Vast amounts of knowledge about the proton- and metal-binding properties of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in natural waters have been obtained in studies on isolated humic and fulvic (hydrophobic) acids. Although macromolecular hydrophilic acids normally make up about one-third of DOM, their proton- and metal-binding properties are poorly known. Here, we investigated the acid-base and Cu-binding properties of the hydrophobic (fulvic) acid fraction and two hydrophilic fractions isolated from a soil solution. Proton titrations revealed a higher total charge for the hydrophilic acid fractions than for the hydrophobic acid fraction. The most hydrophilic fraction appeared to be dominated by weak acid sites, as evidenced by increased slope of the curve of surface charge versus pH at pH values above 6. The titration curves were poorly predicted by both Stockholm Humic Model (SHM) and NICA-Donnan model calculations using generic parameter values, but could be modelled accurately after optimisation of the proton-binding parameters (pH ⩽ 9). Cu-binding isotherms for the three fractions were determined at pH values of 4, 6 and 9. With the optimised proton-binding parameters, the SHM model predictions for Cu binding improved, whereas the NICA-Donnan predictions deteriorated. After optimisation of Cu-binding parameters, both models described the experimental data satisfactorily. Iron(III) and aluminium competed strongly with Cu for binding sites at both pH 4 and pH 6. The SHM model predicted this competition reasonably well, but the NICA-Donnan model underestimated the effects significantly at pH 6. Overall, the Cu-binding behaviour of the two hydrophilic acid fractions was very similar to that of the hydrophobic acid fraction, despite the differences observed in proton-binding characteristics. These results show that for modelling purposes, it is essential to include the hydrophilic acid fraction in the pool of 'active' humic substances.

  14. Tips pentacene crystal alignment for improving performance of solution processed organic thin film transistors

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Zhengran

    devices. A novel method is demonstrated here to switch between lateral and vertical phase separation in semiconducting TIPS pentacene/ polymer blend films by simply varying the alkyl length of the polyacrylate polymer component. The phase separation modes depend on intermolecular interactions between small molecule TIPS pentacene and polymer additives. The blend film with a dominant vertical phase separation exhibits a significant enhancement in average mobility and performance consistency of organic OTFTs. Chapter 5 demonstrates an effective approach to improve both charge transport and performance consistency in solution-processed OTFTs by blending TIPS pentacene with a series of small-molecule additives: 4-butylbenzoic acid (BBA), 4-hexylbenzoic acid (HBA), and 4-octylbenzoic acid (OBA). These three small molecules share a benzoic acid moiety, but have different length of hydrophobic tails. The self-assembled interfacial layer of small molecules on the gate oxide surface leads to uniform deposition of TIPS pentacene crystal seeds and facilitates TIPS pentacene to grow along the tilted orientation of substrate, which results in a film of enhanced crystal orientation and areal coverage. OTFTs based on TIPS pentacene/small molecule blends demonstrate greatly improved average hole mobility and performance consistency, which correlates with the length of hydrophobic tail of the small-molecule additives. Chapter 6 summarizes the conclusions of this dissertation and the related future work.

  15. Nanoscale encapsulation: the structure of cations in hydrophobic microporous aluminosilicates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wasserman, S.R.; Yuchs, S.E.; Giaquinta, D.; Soderholm, L.; Song, Kang.

    1996-01-01

    Hydrophobic microporous aluminosilicates, created by organic surface modification of inherently hydrophilic materials such as zeolites and clays, are currently being investigated as storage media for hazardous cations. Use of organic monolayers to modify the surface of an aluminosilicate after introducing an ion into the zeolite/clay reduces the interaction of water with the material. Resulting systems are about 20 times more resistant to leaching of stored ion. XAS spectra from the encapsulated ion demonstrate that byproducts from the organic modifier can complex with the stored cation. This complexation can result in a decreased affinity of the cation for the aluminosilicate matrix. Changing the organic modifier eliminates this problem. XAS spectra also indicate that the reactivity and speciation of the encapsulated ion may change upon application of the hydrophobic layer

  16. Standard Test Method for Hydrophobic Surface Films by the Atomizer Test

    CERN Document Server

    American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

    1965-01-01

    1.1 This test method covers the detection of the presence of hydrophobic (nonwetting) films on surfaces and the presence of hydrophobic organic materials in processing ambients. When properly conducted, the test will enable detection of fractional molecular layers of hydrophobic organic contaminants. On very rough or porous surfaces the sensitivity of the test may be significantly decreased. 1.2 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded as the standard. The values given in parentheses are for information only. 1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

  17. Synthesis and toxicity evaluation of hydrophobic ionic liquids for volatile organic compounds biodegradation in a two-phase partitioning bioreactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez Castillo, Alfredo Santiago; Guihéneuf, Solène; Le Guével, Rémy; Biard, Pierre-François

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Description of a VOC depollution system suitable with industrial processes, TPPB. • Novel association of TPPB and hydrophobic ionic liquids. • Synthesis of several hydrophobic ionic liquids designed to fit desired properties. • Toxicity evaluation of these ILs towards cells, animals and bacteria. - Abstract: Synthesis of several hydrophobic ionic liquids (ILs), which might be selected as good candidates for degradation of hydrophobic volatile organic compounds in a two-phase partitioning bioreactor (TPPB), were carried out. Several bioassays were also realized, such as toxicity evaluation on activated sludge and zebrafish, cytotoxicity, fluoride release in aqueous phase and biodegradability in order to verify their possible effects in case of discharge in the aquatic environment and/or human contact during industrial manipulation. The synthesized compounds consist of alkylimidazoliums, functionalized imidazoliums, isoqinoliniums, triazoliums, sulfoniums, pyrrolidiniums and morpholiniums and various counter-ions such as: PF_6"−, NTf_2"− and NfO"−. Toxicity evaluation on activated sludge of each compound (5% v/v of IL) was assessed by using a glucose uptake inhibition test. Toxicity against zebrafish and cytotoxicity were evaluated by the ImPACCell platform of Rennes (France). Fluoride release in water was estimated by regular measurements using ion chromatography equipment. IL biodegradability was determined by measuring BOD_2_8 of aqueous samples (compound concentration,1 mM). All ILs tested were not biodegradable; while some of them were toxic toward activated sludge. Isoquinolinium ILs were toxic to human cancerous cell lines. Nevertheless no toxicity was found against zebrafish Danio rerio. Only one IL released fluoride after long-time agitation.

  18. Relation between the characteristic molecular volume and hydrophobicity of nonpolar molecules

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sedov, Igor A., E-mail: igor_sedov@inbox.ru; Solomonov, Boris N., E-mail: boris.solomonov@ksu.r

    2010-09-15

    Experimental values of the Gibbs free energies of hydration for a set of nonpolar or very slightly polar compounds are analyzed in order to investigate how does the hydrophobic effect depend on molecular structure and shape. The contribution due to the hydrophobic effect is evaluated using a method we suggested previously. A number of values of the Gibbs free energies of solvation in dimethyl sulfoxide and in hexadecane, which are required for calculation, were determined by gas chromatographic headspace analysis. It is found that the Gibbs hydrophobic effect energy is linearly dependent on characteristic molecular volume for a large variety of solutes with branched and unbranched carbon chains, different functional groups and atomic composition. Molecular structure and shape do not significantly affect the hydrophobicity of chemical species, and molecular volume is a main factor determining it.

  19. Water around fullerene shape amphiphiles: A molecular dynamics simulation study of hydrophobic hydration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Varanasi, S. R., E-mail: s.raovaranasi@uq.edu.au, E-mail: guskova@ipfdd.de; John, A. [Institut Theorie der Polymere, Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V., Hohe Straße 6, Dresden D-01069 (Germany); Guskova, O. A., E-mail: s.raovaranasi@uq.edu.au, E-mail: guskova@ipfdd.de [Institut Theorie der Polymere, Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V., Hohe Straße 6, Dresden D-01069 (Germany); Dresden Center for Computational Materials Science (DCMS), Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden D-01069 (Germany); Sommer, J.-U. [Institut Theorie der Polymere, Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V., Hohe Straße 6, Dresden D-01069 (Germany); Dresden Center for Computational Materials Science (DCMS), Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden D-01069 (Germany); Institut für Theoretische Physik, Technische Universität Dresden, Zellescher Weg 17, Dresden D-01069 (Germany)

    2015-06-14

    Fullerene C{sub 60} sub-colloidal particle with diameter ∼1 nm represents a boundary case between small and large hydrophobic solutes on the length scale of hydrophobic hydration. In the present paper, a molecular dynamics simulation is performed to investigate this complex phenomenon for bare C{sub 60} fullerene and its amphiphilic/charged derivatives, so called shape amphiphiles. Since most of the unique properties of water originate from the pattern of hydrogen bond network and its dynamics, spatial, and orientational aspects of water in solvation shells around the solute surface having hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions are analyzed. Dynamical properties such as translational-rotational mobility, reorientational correlation and occupation time correlation functions of water molecules, and diffusion coefficients are also calculated. Slower dynamics of solvent molecules—water retardation—in the vicinity of the solutes is observed. Both the topological properties of hydrogen bond pattern and the “dangling” –OH groups that represent surface defects in water network are monitored. The fraction of such defect structures is increased near the hydrophobic cap of fullerenes. Some “dry” regions of C{sub 60} are observed which can be considered as signatures of surface dewetting. In an effort to provide molecular level insight into the thermodynamics of hydration, the free energy of solvation is determined for a family of fullerene particles using thermodynamic integration technique.

  20. Water around fullerene shape amphiphiles: A molecular dynamics simulation study of hydrophobic hydration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Varanasi, S. R.; John, A.; Guskova, O. A.; Sommer, J.-U.

    2015-01-01

    Fullerene C 60 sub-colloidal particle with diameter ∼1 nm represents a boundary case between small and large hydrophobic solutes on the length scale of hydrophobic hydration. In the present paper, a molecular dynamics simulation is performed to investigate this complex phenomenon for bare C 60 fullerene and its amphiphilic/charged derivatives, so called shape amphiphiles. Since most of the unique properties of water originate from the pattern of hydrogen bond network and its dynamics, spatial, and orientational aspects of water in solvation shells around the solute surface having hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions are analyzed. Dynamical properties such as translational-rotational mobility, reorientational correlation and occupation time correlation functions of water molecules, and diffusion coefficients are also calculated. Slower dynamics of solvent molecules—water retardation—in the vicinity of the solutes is observed. Both the topological properties of hydrogen bond pattern and the “dangling” –OH groups that represent surface defects in water network are monitored. The fraction of such defect structures is increased near the hydrophobic cap of fullerenes. Some “dry” regions of C 60 are observed which can be considered as signatures of surface dewetting. In an effort to provide molecular level insight into the thermodynamics of hydration, the free energy of solvation is determined for a family of fullerene particles using thermodynamic integration technique

  1. Ag/C:F Antibacterial and hydrophobic nanocomposite coatings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kylián, Ondřej; Kratochvíl, Jiří; Petr, Martin; Kuzminova, Anna; Slavínská, Danka; Biederman, Hynek; Beranová, Jana

    Silver-based nanomaterials that exhibit antibacterial character are intensively studied as they represent promising weapon against multi-drug resistant bacteria. Equally important class of materials represent coatings that have highly water repellent nature. Such materials may be used for fabrication of anti-fogging or self-cleaning surfaces. The aim of this study is to combine both of these valuable material characteristics. Antibacterial and highly hydrophobic Ag/C:F nanocomposite films were fabricated by means of gas aggregation source of Ag nanoparticles and sputter deposition of C:F matrix. The nanocomposite coatings had three-layer structure C:F base layer/Ag nanoparticles/C:F top layer. It is shown that the increasing number of Ag nanoparticles in produced coatings leads not only in enhancement of their antibacterial activity, but also causes substantial increase of their hydrophobicity. Under optimized conditions, the coatings are super-hydrophobic with water contact angle equal to 165∘ and are capable to induce 6-log reduction of bacteria presented in solution within 4h.

  2. Is Br2 hydration hydrophobic?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alcaraz-Torres, A; Gamboa-Suárez, A; Bernal-Uruchurtu, M I

    2017-02-28

    The spectroscopic properties of bromine in aqueous systems suggest it can behave as either hydrophilic or hydrophobic solute. In small water clusters, the halogen bond and the hydrogen-halogen interaction are responsible for its specific way of binding. In water hydrates, it is efficiently hosted by two different cages forming the crystal structure and it has been frequently assumed that there is little or no interaction between the guest and the host. Bromine in liquid solution poses a challenging question due to its non-negligible solubility and the large blue shift measured in its absorption spectra. Using a refined semi-empirical force field, PM3-PIF, we performed a Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics study of bromine in liquid water. Here we present a detailed study in which we retrieved the most representative hydration structures in terms of the most frequent positions around bromine and the most common water orientations. Albeit being an approximate description of the total hydration phenomenon, it captures the contribution of the leading molecular interactions in form of the recurrent structures. Our findings confirm that the spectroscopic signature is mainly caused by the closest neighbors. The dynamics of the whole first hydration shell strongly suggests that the external molecules in that structure effectively isolate the bulk from the presence of bromine. The solvation structure fluctuates from a hydrophilic to a hydrophobic-like environment along the studied trajectory.

  3. Computational models for structure-hydrophobicity relationships of 4-carboxyl-2,6-dinitrophenyl azo hydroxynaphthalenes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Idowu, Olakunle S; Adegoke, Olajire A; Idowu, Abiola; Olaniyi, Ajibola A

    2007-01-01

    Some phenyl azo hydroxynaphthalene dyes (e.g., sunset yellow) are certified as approved colorants for food, cosmetics, and drug formulations. The hydrophobicity of 4 newly synthesized azo dyes of the phenyl azo hydroxynaphthalene class was investigated, as a training set, with the goal of developing models for quantitative structure-property relationships (QSPR). Retention behavior of the molecules reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography (RPTLC) was investigated using liquid paraffin-coated silica gel as the stationary phase. Mobile phases consisted of aqueous mixtures of methanol, acetone, and dimethylformamide (DMF). Basic hydrophobicity parameter (Rmw), specific hydrophobic surface area (S), and isocratic chromatographic hydrophobicity index (phio) were computed from the chromatographic data. The hydrophobicity index (Rm) decreased linearly with increasing concentration of organic modifiers. Extrapolated Rmw values obtained by using DMF and acetone differ significantly from the value obtained by using methanol as organic modifier [P dyes and may also play useful roles in computer-assisted molecular discovery of nontoxic azo dyes.

  4. Conformation of bovine submaxillary mucin layers on hydrophobic surface as studied by biomolecular probes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pakkanen, Kirsi I.; Madsen, Jan Busk; Lee, Seunghwan

    2015-01-01

    In the present study, the conformational changes of bovine submaxillary mucin (BSM) adsorbed on a hydrophobic surface (polystyrene (PS)) as a function of concentration in bulk solution (up to 2mg/mL) have been investigated with biomolecular probe-based approaches, including bicinchoninic acid (BCA),enzyme-linkedimmunosorbentassay(EIA...... solution. Adsorbed masses of BSM onto hydrophobic surface, as probe by BCA, showed a continuously increasing trend up to 2mg/mL. But, the signals from EIA and ELLA, which probe the concentration of available unglycosylatedC-terminals and the central glycosylated regions, respectively, showed complicated...

  5. Structural adaptation of extreme halophilic proteins through decrease of conserved hydrophobic contact surface

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background Halophiles are extremophilic microorganisms growing optimally at high salt concentrations. There are two strategies used by halophiles to maintain proper osmotic pressure in their cytoplasm: accumulation of molar concentrations of potassium and chloride with extensive adaptation of the intracellular macromolecules ("salt-in" strategy) or biosynthesis and/or accumulation of organic osmotic solutes ("osmolyte" strategy). Our work was aimed at contributing to the understanding of the shared molecular mechanisms of protein haloadaptation through a detailed and systematic comparison of a sample of several three-dimensional structures of halophilic and non-halophilic proteins. Structural differences observed between the "salt-in" and the mesophilic homologous proteins were contrasted to those observed between the "osmolyte" and mesophilic pairs. Results The results suggest that haloadaptation strategy in the presence of molar salt concentration, but not of osmolytes, necessitates a weakening of the hydrophobic interactions, in particular at the level of conserved hydrophobic contacts. Weakening of these interactions counterbalances their strengthening by the presence of salts in solution and may help the structure preventing aggregation and/or loss of function in hypersaline environments. Conclusions Considering the significant increase of biotechnology applications of halophiles, the understanding of halophilicity can provide the theoretical basis for the engineering of proteins of great interest because stable at concentrations of salts that cause the denaturation or aggregation of the majority of macromolecules. PMID:22192175

  6. Structural adaptation of extreme halophilic proteins through decrease of conserved hydrophobic contact surface

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siglioccolo Alessandro

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Halophiles are extremophilic microorganisms growing optimally at high salt concentrations. There are two strategies used by halophiles to maintain proper osmotic pressure in their cytoplasm: accumulation of molar concentrations of potassium and chloride with extensive adaptation of the intracellular macromolecules ("salt-in" strategy or biosynthesis and/or accumulation of organic osmotic solutes ("osmolyte" strategy. Our work was aimed at contributing to the understanding of the shared molecular mechanisms of protein haloadaptation through a detailed and systematic comparison of a sample of several three-dimensional structures of halophilic and non-halophilic proteins. Structural differences observed between the "salt-in" and the mesophilic homologous proteins were contrasted to those observed between the "osmolyte" and mesophilic pairs. Results The results suggest that haloadaptation strategy in the presence of molar salt concentration, but not of osmolytes, necessitates a weakening of the hydrophobic interactions, in particular at the level of conserved hydrophobic contacts. Weakening of these interactions counterbalances their strengthening by the presence of salts in solution and may help the structure preventing aggregation and/or loss of function in hypersaline environments. Conclusions Considering the significant increase of biotechnology applications of halophiles, the understanding of halophilicity can provide the theoretical basis for the engineering of proteins of great interest because stable at concentrations of salts that cause the denaturation or aggregation of the majority of macromolecules.

  7. Mass transfer processes and field-scale transport of organic solutes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brusseau, M.L.

    1990-01-01

    The influence of mass transfer processes, such as sorption/desorption and mass transfer between immiscible liquids and water, on the transport of organic solutes is discussed. Rate-limited sorption of organic solutes caused by a diffusion-constrained mechanism is shown to be significant under laboratory conditions. The significance of the impact of nonequilibrium sorption on field-scale transport is scale dependent. The impact of organic liquids on mass transfer and transport of organic solutes depends upon the nature of the solute and the nature and form of the organic liquid. For example, while retardation of nonionic solutes is decreased in mixed-solvent systems, (i.e. systems comprised of water and a miscible organic liquid or an immiscible liquid present in concentrations below phase separation), the retardation of organic acids may, in some cases, increase with addition of a cosolvent. While the presence of an immiscible liquid existing as a mobile phase will reduce retention of organic solutes, the presence of residual saturation of an immiscible liquid can significantly increase retention. A model is presented that incorporates the effects of retention resulting from residual saturation, as well as nonequilibrium sorption, on the transport of organic solutes. (Author) (70 refs., 3 figs.)

  8. Synthesis and toxicity evaluation of hydrophobic ionic liquids for volatile organic compounds biodegradation in a two-phase partitioning bioreactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rodriguez Castillo, Alfredo Santiago [Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Rennes, CNRS, UMR 6226, 11 Allée de Beaulieu, CS 50837, 35708 Rennes Cedex 7 (France); Université européenne de Bretagne (France); Guihéneuf, Solène, E-mail: solene.guiheneuf@wanadoo.fr [Université européenne de Bretagne, Université de Rennes 1, Sciences Chimiques de Rennes, UMR, CNRS 6226, Groupe Ingénierie Chimique & Molécules Pour le Vivant (ICMV), Bât. 10A, Campus de Beaulieu, Avenue du Général Leclerc, CS 74205, 35042 Rennes cedex (France); Le Guével, Rémy [Plate-forme ImPACcell Structure Fédérative de Recherche BIOSIT Université de Rennes 1, Bat. 8, Campus de Villejean, 2 Avenue du Pr. Leon Bernard, CS 34317, 35043 Rennes Cedex (France); Biard, Pierre-François [Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Rennes, CNRS, UMR 6226, 11 Allée de Beaulieu, CS 50837, 35708 Rennes Cedex 7 (France); Université européenne de Bretagne (France); and others

    2016-04-15

    Highlights: • Description of a VOC depollution system suitable with industrial processes, TPPB. • Novel association of TPPB and hydrophobic ionic liquids. • Synthesis of several hydrophobic ionic liquids designed to fit desired properties. • Toxicity evaluation of these ILs towards cells, animals and bacteria. - Abstract: Synthesis of several hydrophobic ionic liquids (ILs), which might be selected as good candidates for degradation of hydrophobic volatile organic compounds in a two-phase partitioning bioreactor (TPPB), were carried out. Several bioassays were also realized, such as toxicity evaluation on activated sludge and zebrafish, cytotoxicity, fluoride release in aqueous phase and biodegradability in order to verify their possible effects in case of discharge in the aquatic environment and/or human contact during industrial manipulation. The synthesized compounds consist of alkylimidazoliums, functionalized imidazoliums, isoqinoliniums, triazoliums, sulfoniums, pyrrolidiniums and morpholiniums and various counter-ions such as: PF{sub 6}{sup −}, NTf{sub 2}{sup −} and NfO{sup −}. Toxicity evaluation on activated sludge of each compound (5% v/v of IL) was assessed by using a glucose uptake inhibition test. Toxicity against zebrafish and cytotoxicity were evaluated by the ImPACCell platform of Rennes (France). Fluoride release in water was estimated by regular measurements using ion chromatography equipment. IL biodegradability was determined by measuring BOD{sub 28} of aqueous samples (compound concentration,1 mM). All ILs tested were not biodegradable; while some of them were toxic toward activated sludge. Isoquinolinium ILs were toxic to human cancerous cell lines. Nevertheless no toxicity was found against zebrafish Danio rerio. Only one IL released fluoride after long-time agitation.

  9. [Extraction of lambda-cyhalothrin from aqueous dioxan solutions].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shormanov, V K; Chigareva, E N; Belousova, O V

    2011-01-01

    The results of extraction of lambda-cigalotrin from dioxan aqueous solutions by hydrophobic organic solvents are presented. It is shown that the degree of extraction depends on the nature of the extractant, the water to dioxan ratio, and saturation of the water-dioxan layer with the electrolyte. The highest efficiency of lambda-cigalotrin extraction was achieved using chlorophorm as a solvent under desalination conditions. The extraction factor was calculated necessary to obtain the desired amount of lambda-cigalotrin from the water-dioxan solution (4:1) with the help of the extractants being used.

  10. Charge Segregation and Low Hydrophobicity Are Key Features of Ribosomal Proteins from Different Organisms*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fedyukina, Daria V.; Jennaro, Theodore S.; Cavagnero, Silvia

    2014-01-01

    Ribosomes are large and highly charged macromolecular complexes consisting of RNA and proteins. Here, we address the electrostatic and nonpolar properties of ribosomal proteins that are important for ribosome assembly and interaction with other cellular components and may influence protein folding on the ribosome. We examined 50 S ribosomal subunits from 10 species and found a clear distinction between the net charge of ribosomal proteins from halophilic and non-halophilic organisms. We found that ∼67% ribosomal proteins from halophiles are negatively charged, whereas only up to ∼15% of ribosomal proteins from non-halophiles share this property. Conversely, hydrophobicity tends to be lower for ribosomal proteins from halophiles than for the corresponding proteins from non-halophiles. Importantly, the surface electrostatic potential of ribosomal proteins from all organisms, especially halophiles, has distinct positive and negative regions across all the examined species. Positively and negatively charged residues of ribosomal proteins tend to be clustered in buried and solvent-exposed regions, respectively. Hence, the majority of ribosomal proteins is characterized by a significant degree of intramolecular charge segregation, regardless of the organism of origin. This key property enables the ribosome to accommodate proteins within its complex scaffold regardless of their overall net charge. PMID:24398678

  11. Understanding organic reactions in water : from hydrophobic encounters to surfactant aggregates

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Engberts, J.B.F.N.; Blandamer, M.J.

    2001-01-01

    A crucial factor in realising a green chemical process in solution involves the choice of a safe, non-toxic and cheap solvent. Water is the obvious choice. Despite solubility problems, considerable interest has developed recently in organic chemistry in water. This interest also results from the

  12. Standard Test Method for Hydrophobic Surface Films by the Water-Break Test

    CERN Document Server

    American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

    2002-01-01

    1.1 This test method covers the detection of the presence of hydrophobic (nonwetting) films on surfaces and the presence of hydrophobic organic materials in processing ambients. When properly conducted, the test will enable detection of molecular layers of hydrophobic organic contaminants. On very rough or porous surfaces, the sensitivity of the test may be significantly decreased. 1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard. The inch-pound values given in parentheses are for information only. 1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

  13. Hydrophobic organic contaminants in surficial sediments of Baltimore Harbor: Inventories and sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashley, J.T.F.; Baker, J.E.

    1999-01-01

    The heavily urbanized and industrialized Baltimore Harbor/Patapsco River/Back River system is one of the most highly contaminated regions of the Chesapeake Bay. In June 1996, surficial sediments were collected at 80 sites throughout the subestuarine system, including historically undersampled creek sand embayments. The samples were analyzed for a suite of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) consisting of 32 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 113 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners. Total PAH and total PCB concentrations ranged from 90 to 46,200 and 8 to 2,150 ng/g dry weight, respectively. There was enormous spatial variability in the concentrations of HOCs, which was not well correlated to grain size or organic carbon content, suggesting nonequilibrium partitioning and/or proximity to sources as important factors explaining the observed spatial variability. High concentrations of both classes of HOCs were localized around major urban stormwater runoff discharges. Elevated PAH concentrations were also centered around the Sparrow's Point Industrial Complex, most likely a result of the pyrolysis of coal during the production of steel. All but 1 of the 80 sites exceeded the effects range-low (ERL) for total PCBs and, of those sites, 40% exceeded the effects range-medium (ERM), suggesting toxicity to marine benthic organisms would frequently occur. Using principal component analysis, differences in PAH signatures were discerned. Higher molecular weight PAHs were enriched in signatures from sediments close to suspected sources (i.e., urban stormwater runoff and steel production complexes) compared to those patterns observed at sites further from outfalls or runoff. Due to varying solubilities and affinities for organic matter of the individual PAHs, partitioning of the heavier weight PAHs may enrich settling particles with high molecular weight PAHs. Lower molecular weight PAHs, having lower affinity for particles, may travel from the source to a

  14. Synthesis of biocompatible hydrophobic silica-gelatin nano-hybrid by sol-gel process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smitha, S; Shajesh, P; Mukundan, P; Nair, T D R; Warrier, K G K

    2007-03-15

    Silica-biopolymer hybrid has been synthesised using colloidal silica as the precursor for silica and gelatin as the biopolymer counterpart. The surface modification of the hybrid material has been done with methyltrimethoxysilane leading to the formation of biocompatible hydrophobic silica-gelatin hybrid. Here we are reporting hydrophobic silica-gelatin hybrid and coating precursor for the first time. The hybrid gel has been evaluated for chemical modification, thermal degradation, hydrophobicity, particle size, transparency under the UV-visible region and morphology. FTIR spectroscopy has been used to verify the presence of CH(3) groups which introduce hydrophobicity to the SiO2-MTMS-gelatin hybrids. The hydrophobic property has also been tailored by varying the concentration of methyltrimethoxysilane. Contact angle by Wilhelmy plate method of transparent hydrophobic silica-gelatin coatings has been found to be as high as approximately 95 degrees . Oxidation of the organic group which induces the hydrophobic character occurs at 530 degrees C which indicates that the surface hydrophobicity is retained up to that temperature. Optical transmittance of SiO2-MTMS-gelatin hybrid coatings on glass substrates has been found to be close to 100% which will enable the hybrid for possible optical applications and also for preparation of transparent biocompatible hydrophobic coatings on biological substrates such as leather.

  15. SYNTHESIS AND CATALYTIC PROPERTIES OF HYDROPHOBICALLY-MODIFIED POLY(ALKYLMETHYLDIALLYLAMMONIUM CHLORIDES)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wang, G.J; Engberts, J.B.F.N.

    Novel non-cross-linked and cross-linked, hydrophobically modified homo- and copolymers were synthesized by free-radical cyclo(co)polymerization of alkylmethyldiallylammonium chloride monomers in aqueous solution using ammonium persulfate as the initiator. Cross-linking was brought about by addition

  16. Modelling the fate of hydrophobic organic contaminants in a boreal forest catchment: A cross disciplinary approach to assessing diffuse pollution to surface waters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bergknut, Magnus; Meijer, Sandra; Halsall, Crispin; Agren, Anneli; Laudon, Hjalmar; Koehler, Stephan; Jones, Kevin C.; Tysklind, Mats; Wiberg, Karin

    2010-01-01

    The fate of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) in soils and waters in a northern boreal catchment was explored through the development of a chemical fate model in a well-characterised catchment system dominated by two land types: forest and mire. Input was based solely on atmospheric deposition, dominated by accumulation in the winter snowpack. Release from soils was governed by the HOC concentration in soil, the soil organic carbon fraction and soil-water DOC content. The modelled export of selected HOCs in surface waters ranged between 11 and 250 ng day -1 during the snow covered period, compared to 200 and 9600 ng/d during snow-melt; highlighting the importance of the snow pack as a source of these chemicals. The predicted levels of HOCs in surface water were in reasonable agreement to a limited set of measured values, although the model tended to over predict concentrations of HOCs for the forested sub-catchment, by over an order of magnitude in the case of hexachlorobenzene and PCB 180. This possibly reflects both the heterogeneity of the forest soils and the complicated and changing hydrology experienced between the different seasons. - The fate of hydrophobic organic contaminants in a boreal forest catchment is connected to the flux of dissolved organic carbon and seasonal deposition.

  17. Hydration of krypton and consideration of clathrate models of hydrophobic effects from the perspective of quasi-chemical theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashbaugh, Henry S; Asthagiri, D; Pratt, Lawrence R; Rempe, Susan B

    2003-09-01

    Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) results on a krypton-water liquid solution are presented and compared to recent XAFS results for the radial hydration structure for a Kr atom in liquid water solution. Though these AIMD calculations have important limitations of scale, the comparisons with the liquid solution results are satisfactory and significantly different from the radial distributions extracted from the data on the solid Kr/H(2)O clathrate hydrate phase. The calculations also produce the coordination number distribution that can be examined for metastable coordination structures suggesting possibilities for clathrate-like organization; none are seen in these results. Clathrate pictures of hydrophobic hydration are discussed, as is the quasi-chemical theory that should provide a basis for clathrate pictures. Outer shell contributions are discussed and estimated; they are positive and larger than the positive experimental hydration free energy of Kr(aq), implying that inner shell contributions must be negative and of comparable size. Clathrate-like inner shell hydration structures on a Kr atom solute are obtained for some, but not all, of the coordination number cases observed in the simulation. The structures found have a delicate stability. Inner shell coordination structures extracted from the simulation of the liquid, and then subjected to quantum chemical optimization, always decomposed. Interactions with the outer shell material are decisive in stabilizing coordination structures observed in liquid solution and in clathrate phases. The primitive quasi-chemical estimate that uses a dielectric model for the influence of the outer shell material on the inner shell equilibria gives a contribution to hydration free energy that is positive and larger than the experimental hydration free energy. The 'what are we to tell students' question about hydrophobic hydration, often answered with structural clathrate pictures, is then considered; we propose an

  18. Flame retardant and hydrophobic properties of novel sol-gel derived phytic acid/silica hybrid organic-inorganic coatings for silk fabric

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Xian-Wei; Liang, Cheng-Xi; Guan, Jin-Ping; Yang, Xu-Hong; Tang, Ren-Cheng

    2018-01-01

    In this work, a novel phosphorus-rich hybrid organic-inorganic silica coating for improving the flame retardancy of silk fabric was prepared using naturally occurring phytic acid as phosphorus precursor and catalyst for the hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane. In addition, three silane coupling agents, namely 3-aminopropyldimethoxymethylsilane, 3-chloropropyltrimethoxysilane and 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane, were added in the hybrid sol as cross-linkers with the aim of developing hydrophobic coatings and improving the washing durability of the treated silk fabric. The condensation degree of the hybrid sol was characterized by solid-state 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The flammability and thermal degradation properties of the treated silk fabrics were determined in terms of limiting oxygen index, vertical burning, pyrolysis combustion flow calorimetry and thermogravimetric analyses. The surface morphology and hydrophobicity of the treated silk fabrics were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and water contact angle tests. The flammability tests revealed that the silicon sol could endow silk fabric with excellent flame retardancy when doped with phytic acid, and the treated silk fabrics self-extinguished immediately when the ignition source was removed. The silk fabrics treated with the modified hybrid sols exhibited hydrophobic surface and also better durability to washing.

  19. Nanostructured oxygen sensor--using micelles to incorporate a hydrophobic platinum porphyrin.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fengyu Su

    Full Text Available Hydrophobic platinum(II-5,10,15,20-tetrakis-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorophenyl-porphyrin (PtTFPP was physically incorporated into micelles formed from poly(ε-caprolactone-block-poly(ethylene glycol to enable the application of PtTFPP in aqueous solution. Micelles were characterized using dynamic light scattering (DLS and atomic force microscopy (AFM to show an average diameter of about 140 nm. PtTFPP showed higher quantum efficiency in micellar solution than in tetrahydrofuran (THF and dichloromethane (CH₂Cl₂. PtTFPP in micelles also exhibited higher photostability than that of PtTFPP suspended in water. PtTFPP in micelles exhibited good oxygen sensitivity and response time. This study provided an efficient approach to enable the application of hydrophobic oxygen sensors in a biological environment.

  20. Preferential hydrophobic interactions are responsible for a preference of D-amino acids in the aminoacylation of 5'-AMP with hydrophobic amino acids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacey, J. C. Jr; Wickramasinghe, N. S.; Sabatini, R. S.

    1992-01-01

    We have studied the chemistry of aminoacyl AMP to model reactions at the 3' terminus of aminoacyl tRNA for the purpose of understanding the origin of protein synthesis. The present studies relate to the D, L preference in the esterification of 5'-AMP. All N-acetyl amino acids we studied showed faster reaction of the D-isomer, with a generally decreasing preference for D-isomer as the hydrophobicity of the amino acid decreased. The beta-branched amino acids, Ile and Val, showed an extreme preference for D-isomer. Ac-Leu, the gamma-branched amino acid, showed a slightly low D/L ratio relative to its hydrophobicity. The molecular basis for these preferences for D-isomer is understandable in the light of our previous studies and seems to be due to preferential hydrophobic interaction of the D-isomer with adenine. The preference for hydrophobic D-amino acids can be decreased by addition of an organic solvent to the reaction medium. Conversely, peptidylation with Ac-PhePhe shows a preference for the LL isomer over the DD isomer.

  1. BRACHIAL EFFLUX OF HYDROPHOBIC ORGANIC COMPOUNDS BY RAINBOW TROUT (ONCORHYNCHUS MYKISS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Data on the branchial elimination of hydrophobic compounds has been suggested as key information in the development of PBTK models for fish. The hypothesis is that branchial efflux of high log Kow compounds proceeds to an equilibrium between the afferent blood and expired water. ...

  2. BRANCHIAL EFFLUX OF HYDROPHOBIC ORGANIC COMPOUNDS BY RAINBOW TROUT (ONCORHYNCHUS MYKISS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Development of PBTK models for fish has been impededd by a lack of data on the branchial elimination of hydrophobic compounds. The hypothesis is that branchial efflux of high log Kow compounds proceeds to an equilibrium between the afferent blood and expired water. Branchial effl...

  3. Unravelling the hydrophobicity of urea in water using thermodiffusion: implications for protein denaturation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niether, Doreen; Di Lecce, Silvia; Bresme, Fernando; Wiegand, Simone

    2018-01-03

    Urea is widely used as a protein denaturant in aqueous solutions. Experimental and computer simulation studies have shown that it dissolves in water almost ideally at high concentrations, introducing little disruption in the water hydrogen bonded structure. However, at concentrations of the order of 5 M or higher, urea induces denaturation in a wide range of proteins. The origin of this behaviour is not completely understood, but it is believed to stem from a balance between urea-protein and urea-water interactions, with urea becoming possibly hydrophobic at a specific concentration range. The small changes observed in the water structure make it difficult to connect the denaturation effects to the solvation properties. Here we show that the exquisite sensitivity of thermodiffusion to solute-water interactions allows the identification of the onset of hydrophobicity of urea-water mixtures. The hydrophobic behaviour is reflected in a sign reversal of the temperature dependent slope of the Soret coefficient, which is observed, both in experiments and non-equilibrium computer simulations at ∼5 M concentration of urea in water. This concentration regime corresponds to the one where abrupt changes in the denaturation of proteins are commonly observed. We show that the onset of hydrophobicity is intrinsically connected to the urea-water interactions. Our results allow us to identify correlations between the Soret coefficient and the partition coefficient, log P, hence establishing the thermodiffusion technique as a powerful approach to study hydrophobicity.

  4. Study on hydrophobicity degradation of gas diffusion layer in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, Shuchun; Li, Xiaojin; Li, Jin; Liu, Sa; Lu, Wangting; Shao, Zhigang; Yi, Baolian

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • The hydrophobicity degradation mechanism of GDL was proposed thoroughly. • C-O and C=O groups appeared on the surfaces of GDL after immersion. • The relative content of PTFE in GDL decreased after immersion. • The surfaces and inner structure of GDL destroyed after immersion. - Abstract: As one of the essential components of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), gas diffusion layer (GDL) is of importance on water management, as well on the performance and durability of PEMFC. In this paper, the hydrophobicity degradation of GDL was investigated by immersing it in the 1.0 mol L −1 H 2 SO 4 solution saturated by air for 1200 h. From the measurements of contact angle and water permeability, the hydrophobic characteristics of the pristine and immersed GDLs were compared. To investigate the causes for hydrophobicity degradation, the GDLs were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and thermogravimetry. Further, the chemical compositions of H 2 SO 4 solutions before and after immersion test were analyzed with infrared spectroscopy. Results showed that the hydrophobicity of immersed GDL decreased distinctly, which was caused by the damage of physical structure and surface characteristics. Moreover, the immersed GDL showed a worse fuel cell performance than the pristine GDL, especially under a low humidity condition

  5. Alternatives for the disposition of PUREX organic solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nelson, D.W.

    1995-01-01

    This Supporting Document submits options and recommendations for final management of Tank 40 Plutonium-Uranium Extraction (PUREX) Plant organic solution per Tri-Party Agreement Milestorm Number M-80-00-T03. Hanford is deactivating the PUREX Plant for the US DOE. One the key element of this Deactivation is disposition of approximately 81,300 liters (21,500 gallons) of slightly radioactively contaminated organic solution to reduce risk to the environment, reduce cost of long-term storage, and assure regulatory compliance. An announcement in the Commerce Business Daily (CBD) on October 14, 1994 has resulted in the submission of proposals from two facilities capabLe of receiving and thermally destroying the solution. Total decomposition by thermal destruction is the recommended option for the disposition of the PUREX organic solution and WHC is evaluating the proposals from the two facilities

  6. Hydrolysis of polyacrylamide containing associative hydrophobic groups: effect of the degree of hydrolysis and ionic strength on the viscosity in aqueous medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lima, Bruna V. de; Vidal, Rosangela R.L.; Reis, Jeanne H.C. dos; Balaban, Rosangela de C.

    2009-01-01

    The HAPAM-10N polymer (hydrophobically modified and partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide) was obtained by partial hydrolysis of HAPAM (hydrophobically modified polyacrylamide) precursor containing very low amount of hydrophobic groups (0.75%) in 0.1 M NaCl and 0.25 M NaOH aqueous solutions, at 40 deg C for 10 min. Hydrolysis degree of 44.64 % was obtained by 13 C NMR. The viscosity of polymers solutions was evaluated as a function of polymer concentration, ionic strength and temperature, at constant shear rate. The viscosity of HAPAM solutions increased with polymer concentration, however, it did not change significantly with the increase of ionic strength, and decreased with the temperature enhancement. The viscosity of HAPAM-10N solutions increased significantly in distilled water, due to electrostatic repulsions among carboxylate groups. However, with the increase of polymer concentration, ionic strength and temperature, it was not observed a significant increase of viscosity, probably due to the low amount of hydrophobic groups and high hydrolysis degree. (author)

  7. Are N-methyl groups of Tetramethylurea (TMU) Hydrophobic? A ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    of three dimensional tetrahedral H-bond network to two dimensional zig-zag chain-like structure often found in alcohols. A comparison to ... All these results indicate hydrophobic interaction-induced aggregation of TMU in dilute aqueous solutions which .... off by gently blowing hot air around the outer surface of the cuvette.

  8. Scavenging of priority organic pollutants from aqueous waste using granular activated carbon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, S.; Yenkie, M.K.N. [Central Fuel Research Institute, Nagpur (India)

    2006-04-15

    Many organic compounds present in industrial and domestic wastewaters are carcinogenic in nature. Removal of these organic compounds from wastewater has become a great challenge to wastewater treatment technologies, as many of them are non-biodegradable in nature. Adsorption on granular activated carbon (GAC) has emerged an efficient and economically viable technology for removal of final traces of a broad spectrum of toxic organic compounds from domestic and industrial wastewater. In the present investigation adsorption of some priority organic pollutants, namely phenol, o-cresol, p-nitrophenol, m-methoxyphenol, benzoic acid and salicylic acid on granular activated carbon, was studied in a batch system at laboratory scale. Experiments were carried out to determine adsorption isotherms and kinetics for adsorbate when present in aqueous solutions as single, bi- and tri-solute systems. The commercially available bituminous coal based granular activated carbon Filtrasorb 300 (F-300) was used as adsorbent. The results indicate that p-nitrophenol is most strongly adsorbed as compared to other phenols studied. Aqueous phase solubility of the adsorbate plays a deciding role in multi-component systems as more hydrophobic p-nitrophenol adsorbs to a greater extent than less hydrophobic phenol, o-cresol and m-methoxyphenol. The preferential adsorption of strongly adsorbable solute over a weakly adsorbable one has been observed, as the solutes are competing for the available surface area of the adsorbent for adsorption.

  9. Selective separation of furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural from an aqueous solution using a supported hydrophobic deep eutectic solvent liquid membrane.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dietz, Carin H J T; Kroon, Maaike C; Di Stefano, Michela; van Sint Annaland, Martin; Gallucci, Fausto

    2017-12-14

    For the first time, 12 different supported deep eutectic solvent (DES) liquid membranes were prepared and characterized. These membranes consist of a polymeric support impregnated with a hydrophobic DES. First, the different membranes were characterized and their stability in water and air was determined. Subsequently, the supported DES liquid membranes were applied for the recovery of furfural (FF) and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from aqueous solutions. The effects of substrate properties (e.g. pore size), DES properties (e.g. viscosity) and concentrations of FF and HMF in the feed phase on the observed diffusivities and permeabilities were assessed. It was found that the addition of DES enhances the transport of FF and HMF through the polymeric membrane support. In particular, the use of the DES consisting of thymol + lidocaine (in the molar ratio 2 : 1) impregnated in a polyethylene support resulted in enhanced transport for both FF and HMF, and is most interesting for (in situ) isolation of FF and HMF from aqueous solutions, e.g. in biorefinery processes.

  10. Engineering durable hydrophobic surfaces on porous alumina ceramics using in-situ formed inorganic-organic hybrid nanoparticles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gu, Jianqiang; Wang, Junwei; Li, Yanan; Xu, Xin; Chen, Chusheng; Winnubst, Louis

    2017-01-01

    Hydrophobic surfaces are required for a variety of applications owing to their water repellent and self-cleaning properties. In this work, we present a novel approach to prepare durable hydrophobic surfaces on porous ceramics. A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film was applied to a porous alumina wafer,

  11. Hyperbranched polyglycerol as a colloid in cold organ preservation solutions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sihai Gao

    Full Text Available Hydroxyethyl starch (HES is a common colloid in organ preservation solutions, such as in University of Wisconsin (UW solution, for preventing graft interstitial edema and cell swelling during cold preservation of donor organs. However, HES has undesirable characteristics, such as high viscosity, causing kidney injury and aggregation of erythrocytes. Hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG is a branched compact polymer that has low intrinsic viscosity. This study investigated HPG (MW-0.5 to 119 kDa as a potential alternative to HES for cold organ preservation. HPG was synthesized by ring-opening multibranching polymerization of glycidol. Both rat myocardiocytes and human endothelial cells were used as an in vitro model, and heart transplantation in mice as an in vivo model. Tissue damage or cell death was determined by both biochemical and histological analysis. HPG polymers were more compact with relatively low polydispersity index than HES in UW solution. Cold preservation of mouse hearts ex vivo in HPG solutions reduced organ damage in comparison to those in HES-based UW solution. Both size and concentration of HPGs contributed to the protection of the donor organs; 1 kDa HPG at 3 wt% solution was superior to HES-based UW solution and other HPGs. Heart transplants preserved with HPG solution (1 kDa, 3% as compared with those with UW solution had a better functional recovery, less tissue injury and neutrophil infiltration in syngeneic recipients, and survived longer in allogeneic recipients. In cultured myocardiocytes or endothelial cells, significantly more cells survived after cold preservation with the HPG solution than those with the UW solution, which was positively correlated with the maintenance of intracellular adenosine triphosphate and cell membrane fluidity. In conclusion, HPG solution significantly enhanced the protection of hearts or cells during cold storage, suggesting that HPG is a promising colloid for the cold storage of donor organs

  12. Role of NH2-terminal hydrophobic motif in the subcellular localization of ATP-binding cassette protein subfamily D: Common features in eukaryotic organisms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Asaka; Asahina, Kota; Okamoto, Takumi; Kawaguchi, Kosuke; Kostsin, Dzmitry G.; Kashiwayama, Yoshinori; Takanashi, Kojiro; Yazaki, Kazufumi; Imanaka, Tsuneo; Morita, Masashi

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • ABCD proteins classifies based on with or without NH 2 -terminal hydrophobic segment. • The ABCD proteins with the segment are targeted peroxisomes. • The ABCD proteins without the segment are targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum. • The role of the segment in organelle targeting is conserved in eukaryotic organisms. - Abstract: In mammals, four ATP-binding cassette (ABC) proteins belonging to subfamily D have been identified. ABCD1–3 possesses the NH 2 -terminal hydrophobic region and are targeted to peroxisomes, while ABCD4 lacking the region is targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Based on hydropathy plot analysis, we found that several eukaryotes have ABCD protein homologs lacking the NH 2 -terminal hydrophobic segment (H0 motif). To investigate whether the role of the NH 2 -terminal H0 motif in subcellular localization is conserved across species, we expressed ABCD proteins from several species (metazoan, plant and fungi) in fusion with GFP in CHO cells and examined their subcellular localization. ABCD proteins possessing the NH 2 -terminal H0 motif were localized to peroxisomes, while ABCD proteins lacking this region lost this capacity. In addition, the deletion of the NH 2 -terminal H0 motif of ABCD protein resulted in their localization to the ER. These results suggest that the role of the NH 2 -terminal H0 motif in organelle targeting is widely conserved in living organisms

  13. Influences of binding to dissolved organic matter on hydrophobic organic compounds in a multi-contaminant system: Coefficients, mechanisms and ecological risks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Yi-Long; He, Wei; Liu, Wen-Xiu; Kong, Xiang-Zhen; Yang, Bin; Yang, Chen; Xu, Fu-Liu

    2015-01-01

    The complexation flocculation (CF) method was successfully employed to identify binding coefficients (K_d_o_c) of specific organic contaminants to dissolved organic matter (DOM, often indicated by dissolved organic carbon, DOC) in a multi-contaminant hydrophobic organic contaminant (HOC) system. K_d_o_c values were obtained for most of the evaluated 33 HOCs, indicating the feasibility and applicability of the CF method in a multi-contaminant system. Significant positive correlations were observed between binding coefficients and octanol–water partition coefficients (K_o_w) for organic halogen compounds, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) (R"2 = 0.95, p < 0.05) and organic chlorine pesticides (OCPs) (methoxychlor excluded, R"2 = 0.82, p < 0.05). The positive correlations identified between the lgK_d_o_c and lgBCF (bioconcentration factor) for PBDEs and OCPs, as well as the negative correlation observed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), indicated that different binding or partition mechanisms between PAHs and organic halogen compounds exist. These differences further result in discriminative competition partitions of HOCs between DOM and organisms. Assuming that only freely dissolved HOCs are bioconcentrative, the results of DOM-influenced bioconcentration factor (BCF_D_O_M) and DOM-influenced lowest observed effect level (LOEL_D_O_M) indicate that the ecological risk of HOCs is decreased by DOM. - Highlights: • Complexing-flocculation is viable in measuring K_d_o_c in a multi-polluted system. • The binding mechanisms between PAHs and organic halogens were different. • DOM should be considered when assessing ecological risk of HOCs in natural ecosystem. - Assuming only freely dissolved HOCs are effective, bioconcentration factors and ecological risks of HOCs are decreased by dissolved organic matter via binding.

  14. Contribution of different effluent organic matter fractions to membrane fouling in ultrafiltration of treated domestic wastewater

    KAUST Repository

    Zheng, Xing; Croue, Jean-Philippe

    2012-01-01

    In the present work, effluent organic matter (EfOM) in treated domestic wastewater was separated into hydrophobic neutrals, colloids, hydrophobic acids, transphilic acids and neutrals and hydrophilic compounds. Their contribution to dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was identified. Further characterization was conducted with respect to molecular size and hydrophobicity. Each isolated fraction was dosed into salt solution to identify its fouling potential in ultrafiltration (UF) using a hydrophilized polyethersulfone membrane. The results show that each kind of EfOM leads to irreversible fouling. At similar delivered DOC load to the membrane, colloids present the highest fouling effect in terms of both reversible and irreversible fouling. The hydrophobic organics show much lower reversibility than the biopolymers present. However, as they are of much smaller size than the membrane pore opening, they cannot lead to such severe fouling as biopolymers do. In all of the isolated fractions, hydrophilics show the lowest fouling potential. For either colloids or hydrophobic substances, increasing their content in feedwater leads to worse fouling. The co-effect between biopolymers and other EfOM fractions has also been identified as one of the mechanisms contributing to UF fouling in filtering EfOM-containing waters. © IWA Publishing 2012.

  15. Contribution of different effluent organic matter fractions to membrane fouling in ultrafiltration of treated domestic wastewater

    KAUST Repository

    Zheng, Xing

    2012-12-01

    In the present work, effluent organic matter (EfOM) in treated domestic wastewater was separated into hydrophobic neutrals, colloids, hydrophobic acids, transphilic acids and neutrals and hydrophilic compounds. Their contribution to dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was identified. Further characterization was conducted with respect to molecular size and hydrophobicity. Each isolated fraction was dosed into salt solution to identify its fouling potential in ultrafiltration (UF) using a hydrophilized polyethersulfone membrane. The results show that each kind of EfOM leads to irreversible fouling. At similar delivered DOC load to the membrane, colloids present the highest fouling effect in terms of both reversible and irreversible fouling. The hydrophobic organics show much lower reversibility than the biopolymers present. However, as they are of much smaller size than the membrane pore opening, they cannot lead to such severe fouling as biopolymers do. In all of the isolated fractions, hydrophilics show the lowest fouling potential. For either colloids or hydrophobic substances, increasing their content in feedwater leads to worse fouling. The co-effect between biopolymers and other EfOM fractions has also been identified as one of the mechanisms contributing to UF fouling in filtering EfOM-containing waters. © IWA Publishing 2012.

  16. Super-Hydrophobic Green Corrosion Inhibitor On Carbon Steel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassan, H.; Ismail, A.; Ahmad, S.; Soon, C. F.

    2017-06-01

    There are many examples of organic coatings used for corrosion protection. In particular, hydrophobic and super-hydrophobic coatings are shown to give good protection because of their enhanced ability to slow down transport of water and ions through the coating. The purpose of this research is to develop water repellent coating to avoid direct contact between metal and environment corrosive and mitigate corrosion attack at pipeline system. This water repellent characteristic on super-hydrophobic coating was coated by electrodeposition method. Wettability of carbon steel with super-hydrophobic coating (cerium chloride and myristic acid) and oxidized surface was investigated through contact angle and inhibitor performance test. The inhibitor performance was studied in 25% tannin acid corrosion test at 30°C and 3.5% sodium chloride (NaCl). The water contact angle test was determined by placing a 4-μL water droplet of distilled water. It shows that the wettability of contact angle super-hydrophobic with an angle of 151.60° at zero minute can be classified as super-hydrophobic characteristic. By added tannin acid as inhibitor the corrosion protection on carbon steel becomes more consistent. This reveals that the ability of the coating to withstand with the corrosion attack in the seawater at different period of immersions. The results elucidate that the weight loss increased as the time of exposure increased. However, the corrosion rates for uncoated carbon steel is high compared to coated carbon steel. As a conclusion, from both samples it can be seen that the coated carbon steel has less corrosion rated compared to uncoated carbon steel and addition of inhibitor to the seawater provides more protection to resist corrosion attack on carbon steel.

  17. Tailoring super-hydrophobic properties of electrochemical biosensor for early cancer detection

    KAUST Repository

    Malara, Natalia; Gentile, Francesco; Ferrara, Lorenzo; Villani, Marco; Iannotta, Salvatore; Zappettini, Andrea; Di Fabrizio, Enzo M.; Trunzo, Valentina; Mollace, Vincenzo; Coppedé , Nicola

    2016-01-01

    of health, sub-clinical and cancer patients. The device comprises arrays of super-hydrophobic micro-pillars in which a finite number of pillars incorporates nano-electrodes for site specific measurements of a solution. Due to its nano-scale architecture

  18. Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy Studies on ModelPeptide Adsorption at the Hydrophobic Solid-Water and HydrophilicSolid-Water Interfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    York, Roger L. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2007-01-01

    Sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy has been used to study the interfacial structure of several polypeptides and amino acids adsorbed to hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces under a variety of experimental conditions. Peptide sequence, peptide chain length, peptide hydrophobicity, peptide side-chain type, surface hydrophobicity, and solution ionic strength all affect an adsorbed peptide's interfacial structure. Herein, it is demonstrated that with the choice of simple, model peptides and amino acids, surface specific SFG vibrational spectroscopy can be a powerful tool to elucidate the interfacial structure of these adsorbates. Herein, four experiments are described. In one, a series of isosequential amphiphilic peptides are synthesized and studied when adsorbed to both hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces. On hydrophobic surfaces of deuterated polystyrene, it was determined that the hydrophobic part of the peptide is ordered at the solid-liquid interface, while the hydrophilic part of the peptide appears to have a random orientation at this interface. On a hydrophilic surface of silica, it was determined that an ordered peptide was only observed if a peptide had stable secondary structure in solution. In another experiment, the interfacial structure of a model amphiphilic peptide was studied as a function of the ionic strength of the solution, a parameter that could change the peptide's secondary structure in solution. It was determined that on a hydrophobic surface, the peptide's interfacial structure was independent of its structure in solution. This was in contrast to the adsorbed structure on a hydrophilic surface, where the peptide's interfacial structure showed a strong dependence on its solution secondary structure. In a third experiment, the SFG spectra of lysine and proline amino acids on both hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces were obtained by using a different experimental geometry that increases the SFG signal

  19. Fabrication of hydrophobic compressed oil palm trunk surface by sol-gel process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muzakir, Syafiqah; Salim, Nurjannah; Huda Abu Bakar, Nurul; Roslan, Rasidi; Sin, Lim Wan; Hashim, Rokiah

    2018-04-01

    Improvement of the robustness of hydrophobic surfaces is crucial to achieving commercial applications of these surfaces in such various areas as self-cleaning, water repellency and corrosion resistance. Compressed oil palm trunk (OPT) panel is one of potential product which can be used as panelling and indoor furniture application. By adding hydrophobic properties to compressed oil palm trunk panel might increase the application of compressed oil palm trunk especially for outdoor application. In this study, fabrication is using the sol-gel technique. Sol-gel was prepared by adding ethanol with Hexadecyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide (CTAB) solution with Tetraethyl Orthosilicate (TEOS) with surface modification of chlorotrimethylsilane (CTMS). The surface with hydrophobic coating was undergone surface analysis with contact angle machine with the aid of software SCA 20 and the determined of the morphology of surface with scanning electron microscope (SEM). The produced compressed oil palm trunk surfaces exhibited promising hydrophobic properties with a contact angle of 104° and the relatively better mechanical robustness.

  20. Tailoring super-hydrophobic properties of electrochemical biosensor for early cancer detection

    KAUST Repository

    Malara, Natalia

    2016-08-08

    In this paper, we demonstrate an organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) based on the conductive polymer PEDOT:PSS for the analysis of the cell culture medium upon interaction with circulating cells isolated form peripheral blood sampling of health, sub-clinical and cancer patients. The device comprises arrays of super-hydrophobic micro-pillars in which a finite number of pillars incorporates nano-electrodes for site specific measurements of a solution. Due to its nano-scale architecture, the device realizes time and space resolved measurement of biological solution. Tumor metabolism could produce reactive species able to determine a different electronic behavior of correspondent microenviroment. On this basis, the device here presented the changes in the ESR signals was used to identify electronic changes occurring in the analysis of different type of microenvironment. Our results demonstrate that the device is able to register significative difference to differentiate healthy individuals form cancer patients, through an easy blood sampling. In conclusion, these preliminary data are suggestive of a novel test potentially useful to early identification of subjects at risk to development cancer disease.

  1. Dynamic Passive Dosing for Studying the Biotransformation of Hydrophobic Organic Chemicals: Microbial Degradation as an Example

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Smith, Kilian E. C.; Rein, Arno; Trapp, Stefan

    2012-01-01

    Biotransformation plays a key role in hydrophobic organic compound (HOC) fate, and understanding kinetics as a function of (bio)availability is critical for elucidating persistence, accumulation, and toxicity. Biotransformation mainly occurs in an aqueous environment, posing technical challenges...... for producing kinetic data because of low HOC solubilities and sorptive losses. To overcome these, a new experimental approach based on passive dosing is presented. This avoids using cosolvent for introducing the HOC substrate, buffers substrate depletion so biotransformation is measured within a narrow...... also similar for both PAHs, but decreased by around 2 orders of magnitude with increasing dissolved concentrations. Dynamic passive dosing is a useful tool for measuring biotransformation kinetics at realistically low and defined dissolved HOC concentrations....

  2. Different assembly of type IV collagen on hydrophilic and hydrophobic substrata alters endothelial cells interaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    NM Coelho

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Considering the structural role of type IV collagen (Col IV in the assembly of the basement membrane (BM and the perspective of mimicking its organization for vascular tissue engineering purposes, we studied the adsorption pattern of this protein on model hydrophilic (clean glass and hydrophobic trichloro(octadecylsilane (ODS surfaces known to strongly affect the behavior of other matrix proteins. The amount of fluorescently labeled Col IV was quantified showing saturation of the surface for concentration of the adsorbing solution of about 50μg/ml, but with approximately twice more adsorbed protein on ODS. AFM studies revealed a fine – nearly single molecular size – network arrangement of Col IV on hydrophilic glass, which turns into a prominent and growing polygonal network consisting of molecular aggregates on hydrophobic ODS. The protein layer forms within minutes in a concentration-dependent manner. We further found that human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC attach less efficiently to the aggregated Col IV (on ODS, as judged by the significantly altered cell spreading, focal adhesions formation and the development of actin cytoskeleton. Conversely, the immunofluorescence studies for integrins revealed that the fine Col IV network formed on hydrophilic substrata is better recognized by the cells via both α1 and α2 heterodimers which support cellular interaction, apart from these on hydrophobic ODS where almost no clustering of integrins was observed.

  3. Synthesis of silver nanocubes in a hydrophobic binary organic solvent.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peng, S.; Sun, Y. (Center for Nanoscale Materials)

    2010-01-01

    Synthesis of metal nanoparticles with controlled shapes in hydrophobic solvents is challenging because homogeneous nucleation with high rate in these solvents is favorable for the formation of multiply twinned (MT) nanoparticles with spherical morphology. In this work, we report an inhomogeneous nucleation strategy in a binary hydrophobic solvent mediated by dimethyldistearylammonium chloride (DDAC), resulting in the coexistence of single-crystalline Ag polyhedrons and MT Ag quasi-spheres at the beginning of the reaction. In the consequent step, the MT Ag nanoparticles are selectively etched and dissolved through oxidation by NO{sub 3}{sup -} ions (from the Ag precursor, AgNO{sub 3}) with the assistance of Cl{sup -} ions (from DDAC). The dissolved Ag species are then reduced and deposited on the more stable single-crystalline polyhedrons to form Ag nanocubes. Synergy of the oxidative etching of MT particles and growth of single-crystalline particles leads to Ag nanocubes with high purity when the ripening time is long enough. For example, refluxing a mixing solvent of octyl ether and oleylamine containing AgNO{sub 3} (0.02 M) and DDAC (0.03 M) at 260 C for 1 h results in Ag nanocubes with an average edge length of 34 nm and a purity higher than 95%.

  4. Preparation and use of polymeric materials containing hydrophobic anions and plasticizers for separation of cesium and strontium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abney, K.D.; Kinkead, S.A.; Mason, C.F.V.; Rais, J.

    1997-01-01

    Preparation and use is described for polymeric materials containing hydrophobic anions and plasticizers for extraction of cesium and strontium. The use of polymeric materials containing plasticizers which are solvents for hydrophobic anions such as derivatives of cobalt dicarbollide or tetraphenylborate which are capable of extracting cesium and strontium ions from aqueous solutions in contact with the polymeric materials, is described. The polymeric material may also include a synergistic agent for a given ion like polyethylene glycol or a crown ether, for removal of radioactive isotopes of cesium and strontium from solutions of diverse composition and, in particular, for solutions containing large excess of sodium nitrate

  5. Use of hydrophobic Pt-catalysts in tritium removal from effluents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gheorghe, Ionita; Popescu, Irina; Stefanescu, Ioan; Steflea, Dumitru; Varlam, Carmen

    2002-01-01

    Based on the long experience of the authors, in the preparation, testing and evaluation of the performances of hydrophobic catalysts, and based on the reviewed references, this paper presents up-to-date R and D activities on the application of the hydrophobic catalysts in tritium removal from nuclear effluents. Tritium removal from the heavy water reactor and nuclear reprocessing plant, the cleanup of atmosphere and gaseous effluents by hydrogen-oxygen recombination, removal of oxygen dissolved in water are presented and discussed. Unlike the conventional hydrophilic catalysts, the hydrophobic catalysts keep a high catalytic activity and stability, even under the direct contact to liquid water or in presence of saturated humidity. A large diversity of catalyst types (over 100 catalysts) was prepared and tested in order to make them feasible for such processes. The objectives of the review are: - to provide a database for selection of the most appropriate catalyst and catalytic packing for above mentioned processes; - the designing and operation of reactor packed with hydrophobic catalysts; - to evaluate the potentiality of hydrophobic Pt-catalysts in the present and future applications. The most important results are the following: - the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts packed in the trickle bed or separated bed reactors, showed a high catalytic activity and long stability; - the utilization of the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts for the hydrogen isotopes (tritium and deuterium) separation and for hydrogen-oxygen recombination in nuclear field was entirely confirmed on industrial scale; - the improvement of the inner geometry of the reactors and of the composition of mixed catalytic packing as well as the evaluation of performances of separation processes constitute a major contribution of the authors; - the extension of the utilization of the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts in the oxidation of volatile organic compounds from wastewater; - the removal of dissolved oxygen, and deuterium

  6. Tailoring the surface chemical bond states of the NbN films by doping Ag: Achieving hard hydrophobic surface

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ren, Ping; Zhang, Kan; Du, Suxuan [Department of Materials Science, State Key Laboratory of Superhard Materials, and Key Laboratory of Automobile Materials, MOE, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012 (China); Meng, Qingnan [College of Construction Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, 130026 (China); He, Xin [Department of Materials Science, State Key Laboratory of Superhard Materials, and Key Laboratory of Automobile Materials, MOE, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012 (China); Wang, Shuo [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Wen, Mao, E-mail: wenmao225@jlu.edu.cn [Department of Materials Science, State Key Laboratory of Superhard Materials, and Key Laboratory of Automobile Materials, MOE, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012 (China); Zheng, Weitao, E-mail: WTZheng@jlu.edu.cn [Department of Materials Science, State Key Laboratory of Superhard Materials, and Key Laboratory of Automobile Materials, MOE, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012 (China)

    2017-06-15

    Highlights: • Intrinsically hydrophilic NbN films can transfer to hydrophobic Nb-Ag-N films by doping Ag atoms into NbN sublattice. • Solute Ag can promote that the hydrophobic Ag{sub 2}O groups formed on the Nb-Ag-N film surface through self-oxidation. • The present work may provide a straightforward approach for the production of robust hydrophobic ceramic surfaces. - Abstract: Robust hydrophobic surfaces based on ceramics capable of withstanding harsh conditions such as abrasion, erosion and high temperature, are required in a broad range of applications. The metal cations with coordinative saturation or low electronegativity are commonly chosen to achieve the intrinsically hydrophobic ceramic by reducing Lewis acidity, and thus the ceramic systems are limited. In this work, we present a different picture that robust hydrophobic surface with high hardness (≥20 GPa) can be fabricated through doping Ag atoms into intrinsically hydrophilic ceramic film NbN by reactive co-sputtering. The transition of wettability from hydrophilic to hydrophobic of Nb-Ag-N films induced by Ag doping results from the appearance of Ag{sub 2}O groups on the films surfaces through self-oxidation, because Ag cations (Ag{sup +}) in Ag{sub 2}O are the filled-shell (4d{sup 10}5S{sup 0}) electronic structure with coordinative saturation that have no tendency to interact with water. The results show that surface Ag{sub 2}O benefited for hydrophobicity comes from the solute Ag atoms rather than precipitate metal Ag, in which the more Ag atoms incorporated into Nb-sublattice are able to further improve the hydrophobicity, whereas the precipitation of Ag nanoclusters would worsen it. The present work opens a window for fabricating robust hydrophobic surface through tailoring surface chemical bond states by doping Ag into transition metal nitrides.

  7. Fragment-based approach to calculate hydrophobicity of anionic and nonionic surfactants from chromatographic retention on a C18 stationary phase

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hammer, J.; Haftka, J.J.-H.; Scherpenisse, P.; Hermens, J.L.M.; de Voogt, P.W.P.

    To predict the fate and potential effects of organic contaminants, information about their hydrophobicity is required. However, common parameters to describe the hydrophobicity of organic compounds (e.g., octanol–water partition constant [KOW]) proved to be inadequate for ionic and nonionic

  8. Mutation of exposed hydrophobic amino acids to arginine to increase protein stability

    OpenAIRE

    Strub, Caroline; Alies, Carole; Lougarre, Andrée; Ladurantie, Caroline; Czaplicki, Jerzy; Fournier, Didier

    2004-01-01

    Abstract Background One strategy to increase the stability of proteins is to reduce the area of water-accessible hydrophobic surface. Results In order to test it, we replaced 14 solvent-exposed hydrophobic residues of acetylcholinesterase by arginine. The stabilities of the resulting proteins were tested using denaturation by high temperature, organic solvents, urea and by proteolytic digestion. Conclusion Altough the mutational effects were rather small, this strategy proved to be successful...

  9. Origins of protein denatured state compactness and hydrophobic clustering in aqueous urea: inferences from nonpolar potentials of mean force.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimizu, Seishi; Chan, Hue Sun

    2002-12-01

    Free energies of pairwise hydrophobic association are simulated in aqueous solutions of urea at concentrations ranging from 0-8 M. Consistent with the expectation that hydrophobic interactions are weakened by urea, the association of relatively large nonpolar solutes is destabilized by urea. However, the association of two small methane-sized nonpolar solutes in water has the opposite tendency of being slightly strengthened by the addition of urea. Such size effects and the dependence of urea-induced stability changes on the configuration of nonpolar solutes are not predicted by solvent accessible surface area approaches based on energetic parameters derived from bulk-phase solubilities of model compounds. Thus, to understand hydrophobic interactions in proteins, it is not sufficient to rely solely on transfer experiment data that effectively characterize a single nonpolar solute in an aqueous environment but not the solvent-mediated interactions among two or more nonpolar solutes. We find that the m-values for the rate of change of two-methane association free energy with respect to urea concentration is a dramatically nonmonotonic function of the spatial separation between the two methanes, with a distance-dependent profile similar to the corresponding two-methane heat capacity of association in pure water. Our results rationalize the persistence of residual hydrophobic contacts in some proteins at high urea concentrations and explain why the heat capacity signature (DeltaC(P)) of a compact denatured state can be similar to DeltaC(P) values calculated by assuming an open random-coil-like unfolded state. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  10. Nanocarriers from GRAS Zein Proteins to Encapsulate Hydrophobic Actives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weissmueller, Nikolas T; Lu, Hoang D; Hurley, Amanda; Prud'homme, Robert K

    2016-11-14

    One factor limiting the expansion of nanomedicines has been the high cost of the materials and processes required for their production. We present a continuous, scalable, low cost nanoencapsulation process, Flash Nanoprecipitation (FNP) that enables the production of nanocarriers (NCs) with a narrow size distribution using zein corn proteins. Zein is a low cost, GRAS protein (having the FDA status of "Generally Regarded as Safe") currently used in food applications, which acts as an effective encapsulant for hydrophobic compounds using FNP. The four-stream FNP configuration allows the encapsulation of very hydrophobic compounds in a way that is not possible with previous precipitation processes. We present the encapsulation of several model active compounds with as high as 45 wt % drug loading with respect to zein concentration into ∼100 nm nanocarriers. Three examples are presented: (1) the pro-drug antioxidant, vitamin E-acetate, (2) an anticholera quorum-sensing modulator CAI-1 ((S)-3-hydroxytridecan-4-one; CAI-1 that reduces Vibrio cholerae virulence by modulating cellular communication), and (3) hydrophobic fluorescent dyes with a range of hydrophobicities. The specific interaction between zein and the milk protein, sodium caseinate, provides stabilization of the NCs in PBS, LB medium, and in pH 2 solutions. The stability and size changes in the three media provide information on the mechanism of assembly of the zein/active/casein NC.

  11. Effect of hydrophobic groups on the adsorption conformation of modified polycarboxylate superplasticizer investigated by molecular dynamics simulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhao, Hongxia [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Civil Engineering Materials, Nanjing 210008, Jiangsu (China); Jiangsu Sobute New Materials Co. Ltd., Nanjing 211103, Jiangsu (China); Wang, Yanwei, E-mail: wangyanwei@cnjsjk.cn [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Civil Engineering Materials, Nanjing 210008, Jiangsu (China); Jiangsu Sobute New Materials Co. Ltd., Nanjing 211103, Jiangsu (China); Yang, Yong; Shu, Xin; Yan, Han [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Civil Engineering Materials, Nanjing 210008, Jiangsu (China); Jiangsu Sobute New Materials Co. Ltd., Nanjing 211103, Jiangsu (China); Ran, Qianping, E-mail: qpran@cnjsjk.cn [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Civil Engineering Materials, Nanjing 210008, Jiangsu (China); Jiangsu Sobute New Materials Co. Ltd., Nanjing 211103, Jiangsu (China)

    2017-06-15

    Highlights: • Adsorption conformation of comb-like PCE was studied by all-atom MD simulations. • A comparison is made between vacuum-based and solution-based simulations. • Effects of hydrophobic modifications on adsorption properties are elucidated. - Abstract: All-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to study the adsorption conformations of hydrophobically-modified comb-shaped polycarboxylate ether-based (PCE) superplasticizer molecules on a model surface of dicalcium silicate (C{sub 2}S) in vacuum and in an explicit solution, respectively. Three different hydrophobic modifying groups, namely, the ethyl group, the n-butyl group and the phenyl group, decorated to the backbone, were examined. Comparing the hydrophobically-modified PCEs to the unmodified one, differences were found in the binding energy, the adsorption conformation and the water density at the interface. The interaction between PCE molecules and C{sub 2}S was weakened in a solution with explicit solvents than that obtained from vacuum-based simulations. The presence of hydrophobic groups lowered the polymer-surface binding energy, decreased the radius of gyration (Rg) of the adsorbed polymer, increased the peak position in the heavy-atom density profiles in the direction perpendicular to the surface, and also caused the adsorbed conformations to be more globular in shape. The parallel and perpendicular components (relative to the surface plane) of the geometric sizes of the adsorbed polymers were calculated, and the results showed that the presence of hydrophobically modifying groups decreased the in-plane radius while increased the adsorption layer thickness compared to the unmodified control. The presence of PCEs perturbed the dense water layer above the C{sub 2}S surface and lowered the water density. Perturbations to the interfacial water density were found to correlate nicely with the adsorbed conformations of PCEs.

  12. Process for iron separation from an organic solution containing uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Textoris, A.; Lyaudet, G.; Bathelier, A.

    1987-01-01

    Iron is separated from an organic solution of U and Fe in a phosphine oxide and an acid organic phosphorus compound by reaction on oxalic acid or a mixture of sulfuric and phosphoric acid or phosphoric acid. Uranium stays in the initial organic solution and iron is transferred to the aqueous phase [fr

  13. Molecular and supramolecular characterization of Ni(II)/losartan hydrophobic nanoprecipitate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nascimento, Lorrayne O.; Goulart, Pedro P.; Correa, Jéssyca L.; Abrishamkar, Afshin; Da Silva, Jeferson G.; Mangrich, Antonio S.; de França, Amanda A.; Denadai, Ângelo M. L.

    2014-09-01

    In this work, a contribution to understanding of the formation of metal(II)/losartan hydrophobic nanoprecipitate is reported. A Ni(II)/Los system was prepared and characterized in solid state and in solution. Solubility studies confirmed the formation of hydrophobic precipitate. Obtained spectroscopic data suggest a sort of coordination between tetrazolic ring as well as OH, and a D4h geometry around the nickel cation. Thermodynamic studies demonstrated that complexation is a stepwise process, with equal enthalpic and entropic contributions for free energy of complexation. DLS and zeta potential titrations indicate the formation of stable nanoparticles of size and charge dependent on the molar ratio. Finally, rheological studies demonstrate a Bingham plastic behavior for Ni(II)/Los suspension.

  14. SYNTHESIS AND CATALYTIC PROPERTIES OF CROSS-LINKED HYDROPHOBICALLY ASSOCIATING POLY(ALKYLMETHYLDIALLYLAMMONIUM BROMIDES)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    WANG, GJ; ENGBERTS, JBFN

    1994-01-01

    Cross-linked, hydrophobically associating homo- and copolymers were synthesized by free-radical cyclo(co)polymerization of alkylmethyldiallylammonium bromide monomers with a small amount of N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide in aqueous solution using ammonium persulfate as the initiator. The cross-linked

  15. Complexation of Polyelectrolytes with Hydrophobic Drug Molecules in Salt-Free Solution: Theory and Simulations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Qun-Li; Hadinoto, Kunn; Ni, Ran

    2017-04-18

    The delivery and dissolution of poorly soluble drugs is challenging in the pharmaceutical industry. One way to significantly improve the delivery efficiency is to incorporate these hydrophobic small molecules into a colloidal polyelectrolyes(PE)-drug complex in their ionized states. Despite its huge application value, the general mechanism of PE collapse and complex formation in this system has not been well understood. In this work, by combining a mean-field theory with extensive molecular simulations, we unveil the phase behaviors of the system under dilute and salt-free conditions. We find that the complexation is a first-order-like phase transition triggered by the hydrophobic attraction between the drug molecules. Importantly, the valence ratio between the drug molecule and PE monomer plays a crucial role in determining the stability and morphology of the complex. Moreover, the sign of the zeta potential and the net charge of the complex are found to be inverted as the hydrophobicity of the drug molecules increases. Both theory and simulation indicate that the complexation point and complex morphology and the electrostatic properties of the complex have a weak dependence on chain length. Finally, the dynamics aspect of PE-drug complexation is also explored, and it is found that the complex can be trapped into a nonequilibrium glasslike state when the hydropobicity of the drug molecule is too strong. Our work gives a clear physical picture behind the PE-drug complexation phenomenon and provides guidelines to fabricate the colloidal PE-drug complex with the desired physical characteristics.

  16. Fragment-based approach to calculate hydrophobicity of anionic and nonionic surfactants derived from chromatographic retention on a C18 stationary phase

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hammer, Jort; Haftka, Joris J-H; Scherpenisse, Peter; Hermens, Joop L M; de Voogt, Pim W P

    To predict the fate and potential effects of organic contaminants, information about their hydrophobicity is required. However, common parameters to describe the hydrophobicity of organic compounds (e.g., octanol-water partition constant [KOW ]) proved to be inadequate for ionic and nonionic

  17. Fabrication of semi-transparent super-hydrophobic surface based on silica hierarchical structures

    KAUST Repository

    Chen, Ping-Hei; Hsu, Chin-Chi; Lee, Pei-Shan; Lin, Chao-Sung

    2011-01-01

    -coating silica particles suspended in a precursor solution of silane, ethanol, and H2O with molar ratio of 1:4:4. The resulting super hydrophobic films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical transmission, and contact angle measurements

  18. Solution-processed copper-nickel nanowire anodes for organic solar cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Ian E.; Rathmell, Aaron R.; Yan, Liang; Ye, Shengrong; Flowers, Patrick F.; You, Wei; Wiley, Benjamin J.

    2014-05-01

    This work describes a process to make anodes for organic solar cells from copper-nickel nanowires with solution-phase processing. Copper nanowire films were coated from solution onto glass and made conductive by dipping them in acetic acid. Acetic acid removes the passivating oxide from the surface of copper nanowires, thereby reducing the contact resistance between nanowires to nearly the same extent as hydrogen annealing. Films of copper nanowires were made as oxidation resistant as silver nanowires under dry and humid conditions by dipping them in an electroless nickel plating solution. Organic solar cells utilizing these completely solution-processed copper-nickel nanowire films exhibited efficiencies of 4.9%.This work describes a process to make anodes for organic solar cells from copper-nickel nanowires with solution-phase processing. Copper nanowire films were coated from solution onto glass and made conductive by dipping them in acetic acid. Acetic acid removes the passivating oxide from the surface of copper nanowires, thereby reducing the contact resistance between nanowires to nearly the same extent as hydrogen annealing. Films of copper nanowires were made as oxidation resistant as silver nanowires under dry and humid conditions by dipping them in an electroless nickel plating solution. Organic solar cells utilizing these completely solution-processed copper-nickel nanowire films exhibited efficiencies of 4.9%. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr01024h

  19. Investigations on reducing microbiologically-influenced corrosion of aluminum by using super-hydrophobic surfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu Tao, E-mail: liutao@shmtu.edu.c [Institute of Marine Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306 (China); Dong Lihua; Liu Tong; Yin Yansheng [Institute of Marine Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306 (China)

    2010-07-15

    Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, potentiodynamic polarization and scanning electron microscopy were carried out to determine the effect of super-hydrophobic surfaces on the marine bacterium Vibrio natriegens (V. natriegens) adhesion. Four different samples were prepared in order to investigate the anti-biocorrosion mechanism of super-hydrophobic surfaces. Potentiodynamic polarization suggested that the V. natriegens attached on the surface mainly enhanced the reaction kinetics of the anodic reaction and accelerated the dissolution of aluminum. EIS results were interpreted with different equivalent circuits to model the physicoelectric characteristics of the electrode/biofilm/solution interface. The results showed that neither anodization nor chemical modification could decrease the bacterial adhesion and corrosion rate individually. V. natriegens showed only weak attachment to the super-hydrophobic surface, and the biocorrosion mechanism was closely associated with surface energy and surface topography.

  20. Investigations on reducing microbiologically-influenced corrosion of aluminum by using super-hydrophobic surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Tao; Dong Lihua; Liu Tong; Yin Yansheng

    2010-01-01

    Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, potentiodynamic polarization and scanning electron microscopy were carried out to determine the effect of super-hydrophobic surfaces on the marine bacterium Vibrio natriegens (V. natriegens) adhesion. Four different samples were prepared in order to investigate the anti-biocorrosion mechanism of super-hydrophobic surfaces. Potentiodynamic polarization suggested that the V. natriegens attached on the surface mainly enhanced the reaction kinetics of the anodic reaction and accelerated the dissolution of aluminum. EIS results were interpreted with different equivalent circuits to model the physicoelectric characteristics of the electrode/biofilm/solution interface. The results showed that neither anodization nor chemical modification could decrease the bacterial adhesion and corrosion rate individually. V. natriegens showed only weak attachment to the super-hydrophobic surface, and the biocorrosion mechanism was closely associated with surface energy and surface topography.

  1. Hydrophobicity classification of polymeric materials based on fractal dimension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Thomazini

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available This study proposes a new method to obtain hydrophobicity classification (HC in high voltage polymer insulators. In the method mentioned, the HC was analyzed by fractal dimension (fd and its processing time was evaluated having as a goal the application in mobile devices. Texture images were created from spraying solutions produced of mixtures of isopropyl alcohol and distilled water in proportions, which ranged from 0 to 100% volume of alcohol (%AIA. Based on these solutions, the contact angles of the drops were measured and the textures were used as patterns for fractal dimension calculations.

  2. Hydrophobic ZnO-TiO2 Nanocomposite with Photocatalytic Promoting Self-Cleaning Surface

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiang Wei

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The hydrophobicity and self-cleaning are the important influence factors on the precision and environment resistance of quartz crystal microbalance (QCM in detecting organic gas molecules. In this paper, ZnO nanorod array is prepared via the in situ method on the QCM coated with Au film via hydrothermal process. ZnO nanorod array film on QCM is modified by β-CD in hydrothermal process and then decorated by TiO2 after being impregnated in P25 suspension. The results show that as-prepared ZnO-TiO2 nanocomposite exhibits excellent hydrophobicity for water molecules and superior self-cleaning property for organic molecules under UV irradiation.

  3. Quenched polyelectrolytes with hydrophobicity independent from chemical charge fraction: A SANS and SAXS study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Souha Ben Mahmoud

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available We investigate by SANS and SAXS the structure of semidilute aqueous hydrophobic quenched polyelectrolyte solutions, in which we can vary independently the hydrophobicity and the chemical/electrostatic charge fraction (above the Manning condensation threshold 36%. Such a de-correlation is the original point of the work, reached using statistical tri-copolymers poly(acrylamide-co-styrene-co-2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane-sodium sulfonate, poly(AMx-co-STy-co-AMPSz. The hydrophobicity is brought by ST, the chemical electrostatic charge by AMPS and solubility without charge by AM. We consider that although these copolymers have chemical structure different from partially sulfonated polystyrene sulfonate, PS-co-SSNa, made of two monomers, one charged, one hydrophobic, they have however vicinal behavior. The variation of chemical charge, has no strong consequence on the structure properties which is in agreement with the fact that it is always larger than the Manning threshold. The dependence of q∗ with AM content shows that AM reduces hydrophobicity. The similarity with PS-co-SSNa, for which pearl necklace-like conformations were directly measured by SANS (form factor using ZAC method, suggests that pearl necklace conformations are also adopted by these tri-copolymers and that this behavior could be so generalized to a much larger range of synthetic hydrophobic polyelectrolytes using simple copolymerization.

  4. Osmotic potential calculations of inorganic and organic aqueous solutions over wide solute concentration levels and temperatures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cochrane, T. T., E-mail: agteca@hotmail.com [AGTECA S.A., 230 Oceanbeach Road, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga 3116 (New Zealand); Cochrane, T. A., E-mail: tom.cochrane@canterbury.ac.nz [Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140 (New Zealand)

    2016-01-15

    Purpose: To demonstrate that the authors’ new “aqueous solution vs pure water” equation to calculate osmotic potential may be used to calculate the osmotic potentials of inorganic and organic aqueous solutions over wide ranges of solute concentrations and temperatures. Currently, the osmotic potentials of solutions used for medical purposes are calculated from equations based on the thermodynamics of the gas laws which are only accurate at low temperature and solute concentration levels. Some solutions used in medicine may need their osmotic potentials calculated more accurately to take into account solute concentrations and temperatures. Methods: The authors experimented with their new equation for calculating the osmotic potentials of inorganic and organic aqueous solutions up to and beyond body temperatures by adjusting three of its factors; (a) the volume property of pure water, (b) the number of “free” water molecules per unit volume of solution, “N{sub f},” and (c) the “t” factor expressing the cooperative structural relaxation time of pure water at given temperatures. Adequate information on the volume property of pure water at different temperatures is available in the literature. However, as little information on the relative densities of inorganic and organic solutions, respectively, at varying temperatures needed to calculate N{sub f} was available, provisional equations were formulated to approximate values. Those values together with tentative t values for different temperatures chosen from values calculated by different workers were substituted into the authors’ equation to demonstrate how osmotic potentials could be estimated over temperatures up to and beyond bodily temperatures. Results: The provisional equations formulated to calculate N{sub f}, the number of free water molecules per unit volume of inorganic and organic solute solutions, respectively, over wide concentration ranges compared well with the calculations of N{sub f

  5. Osmotic potential calculations of inorganic and organic aqueous solutions over wide solute concentration levels and temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cochrane, T. T.; Cochrane, T. A.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: To demonstrate that the authors’ new “aqueous solution vs pure water” equation to calculate osmotic potential may be used to calculate the osmotic potentials of inorganic and organic aqueous solutions over wide ranges of solute concentrations and temperatures. Currently, the osmotic potentials of solutions used for medical purposes are calculated from equations based on the thermodynamics of the gas laws which are only accurate at low temperature and solute concentration levels. Some solutions used in medicine may need their osmotic potentials calculated more accurately to take into account solute concentrations and temperatures. Methods: The authors experimented with their new equation for calculating the osmotic potentials of inorganic and organic aqueous solutions up to and beyond body temperatures by adjusting three of its factors; (a) the volume property of pure water, (b) the number of “free” water molecules per unit volume of solution, “N f ,” and (c) the “t” factor expressing the cooperative structural relaxation time of pure water at given temperatures. Adequate information on the volume property of pure water at different temperatures is available in the literature. However, as little information on the relative densities of inorganic and organic solutions, respectively, at varying temperatures needed to calculate N f was available, provisional equations were formulated to approximate values. Those values together with tentative t values for different temperatures chosen from values calculated by different workers were substituted into the authors’ equation to demonstrate how osmotic potentials could be estimated over temperatures up to and beyond bodily temperatures. Results: The provisional equations formulated to calculate N f , the number of free water molecules per unit volume of inorganic and organic solute solutions, respectively, over wide concentration ranges compared well with the calculations of N f using recorded

  6. The hydrophobic and omnidirectional antireflection coating of SiO2 nanospheres with C18-TEOS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Cheng-Chih; Lan, Wen-Lin; Chen, Nien-Po; Wu, Chyan-Chyi

    2014-06-01

    This paper demonstrates the antireflection coating of SiO2 nanospheres applied to cover glass by using the optimal spin-coating method. Because of the hydrolysis and condensation reactions between the SiO2 nanosphere antireflection (AR) coating and n-octadecyltriethoxysilane solution (C18-TEOS), the contact angle of the AR coating with hydrophobic treatment is improved approximately 38%, and the moisture-resistance remains unchanged, which preserved similar transmittance for six weeks. Furthermore, the AR coating with hydrophobic treatment exhibits approximately 3% and 7% improvement in the transmittance at normal and oblique incidence, respectively. The hydrophobic and omnidirectional AR coating with nanoscale SiO2 particles can be fabricated using the proposed simple and economical method.

  7. Hydrophobic-Core Microcapsules and Their Formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calle, Luz M. (Inventor); Li, Wenyan (Inventor); Buhrow, Jerry W. (Inventor); Jolley, Scott T. (Inventor)

    2016-01-01

    Hydrophobic-core microcapsules and methods of their formation are provided. A hydrophobic-core microcapsule may include a shell that encapsulates a hydrophobic substance with a core substance, such as dye, corrosion indicator, corrosion inhibitor, and/or healing agent, dissolved or dispersed therein. The hydrophobic-core microcapsules may be formed from an emulsion having hydrophobic-phase droplets, e.g., containing the core substance and shell-forming compound, dispersed in a hydrophilic phase. The shells of the microcapsules may be capable of being broken down in response to being contacted by an alkali, e.g., produced during corrosion, contacting the shell.

  8. Dye-based coatings for hydrophobic valves and their application to polymer labs-on-a-chip

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riegger, L.; Mielnik, M. M.; Gulliksen, A.; Mark, D.; Steigert, J.; Lutz, S.; Clad, M.; Zengerle, R.; Koltay, P.; Hoffmann, J.

    2010-04-01

    We provide a method for the selective surface patterning of microfluidic chips with hydrophobic fluoropolymers which is demonstrated by the fabrication of hydrophobic valves via dispensing. It enables efficient optical quality control for the surface patterning thus permitting the low-cost production of highly reproducible hydrophobic valves. Specifically, different dyes for fluoropolymers enabling visual quality control (QC) are investigated, and two fluoropolymer-solvent-dye solutions based on fluorescent quantum dots (QD) and carbon black (CB) are presented in detail. The latter creates superhydrophobic surfaces on arbitrary substrates, e.g. chips made from cyclic olefin copolymer (COC, water contact angle = 157.9°), provides good visibility for the visual QC in polymer labs-on-a-chip and increases the burst pressures of the hydrophobic valves. Finally, an application is presented which aims at the on-chip amplification of mRNA based on defined flow control by hydrophobic valves is presented. Here, the optimization based on QC in combination with the Teflon-CB coating improves the burst pressure reproducibility from 14.5% down to 6.1% compared to Teflon-coated valves.

  9. Effect of organic substrates on available elemental contents in nutrient solution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ao, Y.S.; Sun, M.; Li, Y.Q. [Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai (China). School for Agriculture & Biology

    2008-07-15

    In this paper, the changes of available elemental contents in the nutrient solution extracts of organic substrates (peat moss, charred rice husk, chicken manure, sawdust, turfgrass clipping and weathered coal) were studied and compared with that in the water extracts. Results showed that available elemental contents in the nutrient solution extracts are significantly different between organic substrates, whereas ionic concentrations are basically under steady condition after treatment for 36-108 h. Ionic contents in the nutrient solution extracts are not equal to the value of adding ionic concentrations in the supplied nutrient solution to that in the water extract. Thus, a mathematical model was proposed for adjusting the composition of supplied nutrient solution to match plant requirements in the organic soilless culture system.

  10. Inkjet-printed gold nanoparticle chemiresistors: Influence of film morphology and ionic strength on the detection of organics dissolved in aqueous solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chow, Edith; Herrmann, Jan; Barton, Christopher S.; Raguse, Burkhard; Wieczorek, Lech

    2009-01-01

    The influence of film morphology on the performance of inkjet-printed gold nanoparticle chemiresistors has been investigated. Nanoparticles deposited from a single-solvent system resulted in a 'coffee ring'-like structure with most of the materials deposited at the edge. It was shown that the uniformity of the film could be improved if the nanoparticles were deposited from a mixture of solvents comprising N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and water. Electrical conductivity measurements showed that both 'coffee ring' and 'flat' films were qualitatively similar suggesting that the films have similar nanoscale structures. To form the functional chemiresistor device, the 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine coating on the nanoparticle was exchanged with 1-hexanethiol to provide a hydrophobic sensing layer. The performance of 1-hexanethiol coated gold nanoparticle chemiresistors to small organic molecules, toluene, dichloromethane and ethanol dissolved in 1 M KCl in regard to changes in impedance and response times was unaffected by the film morphology. For larger hydrocarbons such as octane, the rate of uptake of the analyte into the film was significantly faster when the flatter nanoparticle film was used as opposed to the 'coffee ring' film which has a thicker edge. Furthermore, the presence of potassium and chloride ions in the solution media does not significantly affect the impedance of the nanoparticle film at 1 Hz (<2% variation in film impedance over more than four orders of magnitude change in ionic strength). However, the ionic strength of the media affected the partitioning of the analyte into the hydrophobic nanoparticle film. The response of the sensor was found to increase with an increased salt concentration due to a salting-out of the analyte from the solution

  11. An SFG study of interfacial amino acids at the hydrophilic SiO2 and hydrophobic deuterated polystyrene surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holinga, George J; York, Roger L; Onorato, Robert M; Thompson, Christopher M; Webb, Nic E; Yoon, Alfred P; Somorjai, Gabor A

    2011-04-27

    Sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy was employed to characterize the interfacial structure of eight individual amino acids--L-phenylalanine, L-leucine, glycine, L-lysine, L-arginine, L-cysteine, L-alanine, and L-proline--in aqueous solution adsorbed at model hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. Specifically, SFG vibrational spectra were obtained for the amino acids at the solid-liquid interface between both hydrophobic d(8)-polystyrene (d(8)-PS) and SiO(2) model surfaces and phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at pH 7.4. At the hydrophobic d(8)-PS surface, seven of the amino acids solutions investigated showed clear and identifiable C-H vibrational modes, with the exception being l-alanine. In the SFG spectra obtained at the hydrophilic SiO(2) surface, no C-H vibrational modes were observed from any of the amino acids studied. However, it was confirmed by quartz crystal microbalance that amino acids do adsorb to the SiO(2) interface, and the amino acid solutions were found to have a detectable and widely varying influence on the magnitude of SFG signal from water at the SiO(2)/PBS interface. This study provides the first known SFG spectra of several individual amino acids in aqueous solution at the solid-liquid interface and under physiological conditions.

  12. Hydrophobic Calcium Carbonate for Cement Surface

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shashi B. Atla

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This report describes a novel way to generate a highly effective hydrophobic cement surface via a carbonation route using sodium stearate. Carbonation reaction was carried out at different temperatures to investigate the hydrophobicity and morphology of the calcium carbonate formed with this process. With increasing temperatures, the particles changed from irregular shapes to more uniform rod-like structures and then aggregated to form a plate-like formation. The contact angle against water was found to increase with increasing temperature; after 90 °C there was no further increase. The maximum contact angle of 129° was obtained at the temperature of 60 °C. It was also found that carbonation increased the micro hardness of the cement material. The micro hardness was found to be dependent on the morphology of the CaCO3 particles. The rod like structures which caused increased mineral filler produced a material with enhanced strength. The 13C cross polarization magic-angle spinning NMR spectra gave plausible explanation of the interaction of organic-inorganic moieties.

  13. A hydrophobic organelle probe based on aggregation-induced emission: Nanosuspension preparation and direct use for endoplasmic reticulum imaging in living cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Sichao; Huang, Cuihong; Zhao, Xuyan; Zhang, Yong; Liu, Shuwen; Zhu, Qiuhua

    2018-01-01

    Organic fluorophores have a wide range of biological uses and are usually needed to be prepared as water-soluble compounds or nanoparticles for applications in aqueous biosystems owing to their hydrophobic properties, which often is a complex, time-consuming and high-cost process. Here, the nanoparticle preparation of hydrophobic fluorophores and their application in cell imaging have been investigated. It was found: a) fetal bovine serum (FBS) shows an excellent dispersion effect on hydrophobic small-molecule organic compounds; b) a hydrophobic C6-unsubstituted tetrahydropyrimidine (Me-THP-Naph) can be prepared as nanosuspensions utilizing cell culture medium with 10% FBS and directly be used as a specific real-time imaging probe for the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), a dynamic organelle playing a crucial role in many cellular processes. Compared with existing ER-targeted organic fluorescent probes, Me-THP-Naph, a product of an efficient five-component reaction that we developed, has unconventional aggregation-induced emission characteristics and shows advantages of low cost, long-term staining, good photostability, high signal-to-noise ratio and excellent biocompatibility, which make it a potential specific probe for real-time ER imaging. More importantly, this work affords a simple strategy for direct application of hydrophobic organic compounds in aqueous biological systems.

  14. Ions-induced nanostructuration: effect of specific ionic adsorption on hydrophobic polymer surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siretanu, Igor; Chapel, Jean-Paul; Bastos-González, Delfi; Drummond, Carlos

    2013-06-06

    The effect of surface charges on the ionic distribution in close proximity to an interface has been extensively studied. On the contrary, the influence of ions (from dissolved salts) on deformable interfaces has been barely investigated. Ions can adsorb from aqueous solutions on hydrophobic surfaces, generating forces that can induce long-lasting deformation of glassy polymer films, a process called ion-induced polymer nanostructuration, IPN. We have found that this process is ion-specific; larger surface modifications are observed in the presence of water ions and hydrophobic and amphiphilic ions. Surface structuration is also observed in the presence of certain salts of lithium. We have used streaming potential and atomic force microscopy to study the effect of dissolved ions on the surface properties of polystyrene films, finding a good correlation between ionic adsorption and IPN. Our results also suggest that the presence of strongly hydrated lithium promotes the interaction of anions with polystyrene surfaces and more generally with hydrophobic polymer surfaces, triggering then the IPN process.

  15. Corrosion of alloy C-22 in organic acid solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carranza, Ricardo M.; Rodriguez, Martin A.; Giordano, Celia M.

    2007-01-01

    Electrochemical studies such as cyclic potentiodynamic polarization (CPP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were performed to determine the corrosion behavior of Alloy 22 (N06022) in 1M NaCl solutions at various pH values from acidic to neutral at 90 C degrees. All the tested material was wrought Mill Annealed (MA). Tests were also performed in NaCl solutions containing weak organic acids such as oxalic, acetic, citric and picric acids. Results show that the corrosion rate of Alloy 22 was significantly higher in solutions containing oxalic acid than in solutions of pure NaCl at the same pH. Citric and Picric acids showed a slightly higher corrosion rate, and Acetic acid maintained the corrosion rate of pure chloride solutions at the same pH. Organic acids revealed to be weak inhibitors for crevice corrosion. Higher concentration ratios, compared to nitrate ions, were needed to completely inhibit crevice corrosion in chloride solutions. Results are discussed considering acid dissociation constants, buffer capacity and complex formation constants of the different weak acids. (author) [es

  16. Highly Efficient Interception and Precipitation of Uranium(VI) from Aqueous Solution by Iron-Electrocoagulation Combined with Cooperative Chelation by Organic Ligands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Peng; Zhun, Bao; Wang, Xuegang; Liao, PingPing; Wang, Guanghui; Wang, Lizhang; Guo, Yadan; Zhang, Weimin

    2017-12-19

    A new strategy combining iron-electrocoagulation and organic ligands (OGLs) cooperative chelation was proposed to screen and precipitate low concentrations (0-18.52 μmol/L) of uranium contaminant in aqueous solution. We hypothesized that OGLs with amino, hydroxyl, and carboxyl groups hydrophobically/hydrophilically would realize precuring of uranyl ion at pH electrocoagulation would achieve faster and more efficient uranium precipitation. Experimentally, the strategy demonstrated highly efficient uranium(VI) precipitation efficiency, especially with hydrophilic macromolecular OGLs. The uranium removal efficiency at optimized experimental condition reached 99.65%. The decrease of zeta potential and the lattice enwrapping between U-OGLs chelates and flocculation precursor were ascribed to the enhanced uranium precipitation activity. Uranium was precipitated as oxides of U(VI) or higher valences that were easily captured in aggregated micelles under low operation current potential. The actual uranium tailing wastewater was treated, and a satisfied uranium removal efficiency of 99.02% was discovered. After elution of the precipitated flocs, a concentrated uranium solution (up to 106.52 μmol/L) with very few other metallic impurities was obtained. Therefore, the proposed strategy could remove uranium and concentrate it concurrently. This work could provide new insights into the purification and recovery of uranium from aqueous solutions in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly process.

  17. Hydrophobic Drug-Loaded PEGylated Magnetic Liposomes for Drug-Controlled Release

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardiansyah, Andri; Yang, Ming-Chien; Liu, Ting-Yu; Kuo, Chih-Yu; Huang, Li-Ying; Chan, Tzu-Yi

    2017-05-01

    Less targeted and limited solubility of hydrophobic-based drug are one of the serious obstacles in drug delivery system. Thus, new strategies to enhance the solubility of hydrophobic drug and controlled release behaviors would be developed. Herein, curcumin, a model of hydrophobic drug, has been loaded into PEGylated magnetic liposomes as a drug carrier platform for drug controlled release system. Inductive magnetic heating (hyperthermia)-stimulated drug release, in vitro cellular cytotoxicity assay of curcumin-loaded PEGylated magnetic liposomes and cellular internalization-induced by magnetic guidance would be investigated. The resultant of drug carriers could disperse homogeneously in aqueous solution, showing a superparamagnetic characteristic and could inductive magnetic heating with external high-frequency magnetic field (HFMF). In vitro curcumin release studies confirmed that the drug carriers exhibited no significant release at 37 °C, whereas exhibited rapid releasing at 45 °C. However, it would display enormous (three times higher) curcumin releasing under the HFMF exposure, compared with that without HFMF exposure at 45 °C. In vitro cytotoxicity test shows that curcumin-loaded PEGylated magnetic liposomes could efficiently kill MCF-7 cells in parallel with increasing curcumin concentration. Fluorescence microscopy observed that these drug carriers could internalize efficiently into the cellular compartment of MCF-7 cells. Thus, it would be anticipated that the novel hydrophobic drug-loaded PEGylated magnetic liposomes in combination with inductive magnetic heating are promising to apply in the combination of chemotherapy and thermotherapy for cancer therapy.

  18. 21 CFR 584.700 - Hydrophobic silicas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ...) Product. Amorphous fumed hydrophobic silica or precipitated hydrophobic silica (CAS Reg. No. 68611-0944... 21 Food and Drugs 6 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Hydrophobic silicas. 584.700 Section 584.700 Food... DRUGS, FEEDS, AND RELATED PRODUCTS FOOD SUBSTANCES AFFIRMED AS GENERALLY RECOGNIZED AS SAFE IN FEED AND...

  19. Adsorption of Hydrophobically Modified Polyelectrolytes on Hydrophobic Substrates Adsorption de polyélectrolytes modifiés hydrophobiquement sur les substrats hydrophobes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mays J. W.

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available A series of diblock copolymers, poly (tert-butyl styrene-sodium poly (styrene sulfonate with different molecular weight and percentage of sulfonation have been used to study the effect of polymer structure on its adsorption behavior onto hydrophobically modified silicon wafers. The percentage of the hydrophobic block varies from 3. 6-8. 9%. Previous studies show that salt concentration is very important for the adsorption of such polyelectrolytes onto silica surfaces. Octadecyltriethoxysilane (OTE has been used to modify the silicon wafer which changes the water contact angle from 50° on unmodified silica to 100° to 120°. On this hydrophobic surface, we found that the adsorption of these slightly hydrophobically modified polyelectrolytes is close to the 4/23rd power of salt concentration predicted by a recent model. The grafting density is also consistent with a dependence on the length of the hydrophobic block to the -12/23rd power, and the length of the polyelectrolyte block to the -6/23rd power, predicted by this model. Une série de copolymères à diblocs poly (tert-butyle styrène-sodium (sulfonate de polystyrène de masses moléculaires et pourcentages de sulfonation différents ont été utilisés pour étudier les effets de la structure du polymère sur son pouvoir d'adsorption sur des surfaces de silicium modifiées hydrophobiquement. Le pourcentage du bloc hydrophobe varie de 3,6 à 8,9%. Les études antérieures montrent que la concentration saline est très importante pour l'adsorption de ces polyélectrolytes sur les surfaces de silice. Nous avons utilisé l'octadecyltriéthoxysilane (OTE pour modifier la surface de silicium qui change l'angle de contact de l'eau de 50° sur la silice non modifiée à une valeur comprise entre 100° et 120° sur la silice modifiée. Sur cette surface hydrophobe, nous constatons que l'adsorption de ces polyélectrolytes légèrement modifiés hydrophobiquement est proche de la loi puissance 4

  20. Diels-Alder reactions in water : Enforced hydrophobic interaction and hydrogen bonding

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Engberts, Jan B.F.N.

    1995-01-01

    Second-order rate constants have been measured for the Diels-Alder (DA) reactions of cyclopentadiene with dienophiles of varying hydrophobicity and hydrogen-bond acceptor capacity in water, in a series of organic solvents and in alcohol-water mixtures. The intramolecular DA reaction of

  1. DIELS-ALDER REACTIONS IN WATER - ENFORCED HYDROPHOBIC INTERACTION AND HYDROGEN-BONDING

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Engberts, J.B.F.N.

    Second-order rate constants have been measured for the Diels-Alder (DA) reactions of cyclopentadiene with dienophiles of varying hydrophobicity and hydrogen-bond acceptor capacity in water, in a series of organic solvents and in alcohol-water mixtures. The intramolecular DA reaction of

  2. Electrochemical analysis in a liposome suspension using lapachol as a hydrophobic electro active species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okumura, Noriko; Wakamatsu, Shiori; Uno, Bunji

    2014-01-01

    This study demonstrated that the electro-chemical analysis of hydrophobic quinones can be performed in liposome suspension systems. We prepared and analyzed liposome suspensions containing lapachol, which is a quinone-based anti-tumor activity compound. In this suspension system, a simple one redox couple of lapachol is observed. These results are quite different from those obtained in organic solvents. In addition, the pH dependence of redox behaviors of lapachol could be observed in multilamellar vesicle (MLV) suspension system. This MLV suspension system method may approximate the electrochemical behavior of hydrophobic compounds in aqueous conditions. A benefit of this liposome suspension system for electrochemical analysis is that it enables to observe water-insoluble compounds without using organic solvents.

  3. Decomposition Technology Development of Organic Component in a Decontamination Waste Solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Chong Hun; Oh, W. Z.; Won, H. J.; Choi, W. K.; Kim, G. N.; Moon, J. K.

    2007-11-01

    Through the project of 'Decomposition Technology Development of Organic Component in a Decontamination Waste Solution', the followings were studied. 1. Investigation of decontamination characteristics of chemical decontamination process 2. Analysis of COD, ferrous ion concentration, hydrogen peroxide concentration 3. Decomposition tests of hardly decomposable organic compounds 4. Improvement of organic acid decomposition process by ultrasonic wave and UV light 5. Optimization of decomposition process using a surrogate decontamination waste solution

  4. The mechanism study of efficient degradation of hydrophobic nonylphenol in solution by a chemical-free technology of sonophotolysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, L.J.; Chu, W., E-mail: cewchu@polyu.edu.hk; Lee, Po-Heng; Wang, Jian

    2016-05-05

    Highlights: • pH influenced NP sonophotolysis by changing its existing form and light absorption. • NO{sub 3}{sup −} accelerated NP sonophotolysis while HCO{sub 3}{sup −} showed insignificant influence. • Both ortho- and meta-hydroxy-NP species can exist together thermodynamically. • Only the ortho-4-nonyl-benzoquinone is dominant thermodynamically. • The mechanism of ortho-hydroxy-NP formation was the addition of HO· and H· - Abstract: Nonylphenol is a hydrophobic endocrine disrupting compound, which can inhibit the growth of sewage bacteria in biological processes. This study investigated the degradation of 4-n-nonylphenol (NP) in water by a chemical-free technology of sonophotolysis with emphasis on the impacts of several important parameters, including light intensity, solution pH, two commonly seen inorganic ions (i.e. NO{sub 3}{sup −} and HCO{sub 3}{sup −}), and principally on the examination of degradation mechanisms. It was found that, solution pH could significantly influence both NP degradation efficiency and the synergistic effect of sonophotolytic process, where higher synergistic effect was obtained at more acidic condition. In addition, the presence of NO{sub 3}{sup −} accelerated NP degradation by both acting as a photosensitizer and providing NO{sub 2}· radicals, while HCO{sub 3}{sup −} had little effect on NP degradation. Identification of intermediates of NP degradation indicated that NP sonophotolysis was mainly initiated by the formation of hydroxy-NP, and a new intermediate di-hydroxy-NP was identified for the first time ever in this study. Through thermodynamic analysis, results indicated that both ortho- and meta-hydroxy-NP species can coexist in the solution but the ortho-4-NBZQ (4-nonyl-benzoquinone) is dominant. In addition, the mechanism of ortho-hydroxy-NP formation was suggested by the addition of HO· and H· radicals.

  5. Inkjet-printed gold nanoparticle chemiresistors: Influence of film morphology and ionic strength on the detection of organics dissolved in aqueous solution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chow, Edith [CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering, PO Box 218, Lindfield, NSW 2070 (Australia)], E-mail: Edith.Chow@csiro.au; Herrmann, Jan; Barton, Christopher S.; Raguse, Burkhard; Wieczorek, Lech [CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering, PO Box 218, Lindfield, NSW 2070 (Australia)

    2009-01-19

    The influence of film morphology on the performance of inkjet-printed gold nanoparticle chemiresistors has been investigated. Nanoparticles deposited from a single-solvent system resulted in a 'coffee ring'-like structure with most of the materials deposited at the edge. It was shown that the uniformity of the film could be improved if the nanoparticles were deposited from a mixture of solvents comprising N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and water. Electrical conductivity measurements showed that both 'coffee ring' and 'flat' films were qualitatively similar suggesting that the films have similar nanoscale structures. To form the functional chemiresistor device, the 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine coating on the nanoparticle was exchanged with 1-hexanethiol to provide a hydrophobic sensing layer. The performance of 1-hexanethiol coated gold nanoparticle chemiresistors to small organic molecules, toluene, dichloromethane and ethanol dissolved in 1 M KCl in regard to changes in impedance and response times was unaffected by the film morphology. For larger hydrocarbons such as octane, the rate of uptake of the analyte into the film was significantly faster when the flatter nanoparticle film was used as opposed to the 'coffee ring' film which has a thicker edge. Furthermore, the presence of potassium and chloride ions in the solution media does not significantly affect the impedance of the nanoparticle film at 1 Hz (<2% variation in film impedance over more than four orders of magnitude change in ionic strength). However, the ionic strength of the media affected the partitioning of the analyte into the hydrophobic nanoparticle film. The response of the sensor was found to increase with an increased salt concentration due to a salting-out of the analyte from the solution.

  6. Transparent Hydrophobic Coating by Sol Gel Method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohd Hamzah Harun; Nik Ghazali Nik Salleh; Mahathir Mohamed; Mohd Sofian Alias

    2016-01-01

    Transparent hydrophobic coating of inorganic based tetra orthosilicate (TEOS) was prepared by sol gel method by varying fluoroalkylsilane (FAS) content which works as hydrophobic agent. Surface contact angle, transmittance degree and surface morphology were characterized for each sample. All samples show good transparency which was confirmed by UV visible spectroscopy. The hydrophobicity obtained increases with FAS content indicates that FAS is best candidate to induce hydrophobicity for inorganic coating. (author)

  7. Decomposition Technology Development of Organic Component in a Decontamination Waste Solution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jung, Chong Hun; Oh, W. Z.; Won, H. J.; Choi, W. K.; Kim, G. N.; Moon, J. K

    2007-11-15

    Through the project of 'Decomposition Technology Development of Organic Component in a Decontamination Waste Solution', the followings were studied. 1. Investigation of decontamination characteristics of chemical decontamination process 2. Analysis of COD, ferrous ion concentration, hydrogen peroxide concentration 3. Decomposition tests of hardly decomposable organic compounds 4. Improvement of organic acid decomposition process by ultrasonic wave and UV light 5. Optimization of decomposition process using a surrogate decontamination waste solution.

  8. Hydration patterns and salting effects in sodium chloride solution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Weifeng; Mu, Yuguang

    2011-10-07

    The salting effects of 2M sodium chloride electrolyte are studied based on a series of model solutes with properties ranging from hydrophobic to hydrophilic. Generally, hydrophobic solutes will be salted out and hydrophilic solutes will be salted in by NaCl solution. The solvation free energy changes are highly correlated with Kirkwood-Buff integrals. The underlying mechanism resorts to the preferential binding of ions and water to solutes. Our results demonstrate that the salting effect not only depends on the salt's position in Hofmeister series, but also on the solutes' specifics. Taking the hydration free energies of solutes and ions as independent variables, a schematic diagram of salting effects is suggested. The resolved multifaceted salting effects rely on the sensitive balance of the tripartite interaction among solutes, ions, and water. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

  9. Transport of Liquid Phase Organic Solutes in Liquid Crystalline Membranes

    OpenAIRE

    Han, Sangil

    2010-01-01

    Porous cellulose nitrate membranes were impregnated with 8CB and PCH5 LCs (liquid crystals) and separations of solutes dissolved in aqueous phases were performed while monitoring solute concentration via UV-VIS spectrometry. The diffusing organic solutes, which consist of one aromatic ring and various functional groups, were selected to exclude molecular size effects on the diffusion and sorption. We studied the effects on solute transport of solute intra-molecular hydrogen bonding and so...

  10. Investigations on renal organic and inorganic solutes, in vivo

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wolff, S.D.

    1989-01-01

    A basic question in renal physiology is how do the cells of the renal medulla survive the high concentrations of sodium chloride and urea which occur with antidiuresis. The problem is two-fold: (1) urea, being highly permeable to cell membranes, should enter the cell and adversely affect protein function; and (2) inorganic ions, being in much higher concentration extracellularly than intracellularly should dehydrate the cell. If these organic solutes exist in response to high concentrations of sodium chloride and urea, then their content should vary with diuretic state. Two protocols were developed to test the validity of this hypothesis. The first protocol used 31 P-NMR in vivo to monitor GPC content before, during, and after acute diuresis in an exteriorized rabbit kidney model. Changes in sodium distribution and tissue structure were monitored dynamically with 23 Na- and 1 H-NMR imaging, respectively. The second protocol used HPLC to quantitate each of the four organic solutes in renal inner medullary homogenates. Here, the effect of diuretic state and acute diuresis on organic solute content was assessed

  11. Synthesis and self-assembly of four-armed star copolymer based on poly(ethylene brassylate) hydrophobic block as potential drug carries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Jiucun, E-mail: chenjc@swu.edu.cn; Li, Junzhi; Liu, Jianhua; Weng, Bo; Xu, Liqun [Southwest University, Institute for Clean Energy & Advanced Materials (China)

    2016-05-15

    A novel well-defined four-armed star poly(ethylene brassylate)-b-poly(poly(ethylene glycol)methyl ether methacrylate) (s-PEB-b-P(PEGMA)) was synthesized and self-assembled via the combination of ring-opening polymerization and reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT) in this work. It proceeded firstly with the synthesis of hydrophobic four-armed star homopolymer of ethylene brassylate (EB) via ROP with organic catalyst, followed by the esterification reaction of s-PEB with chain transfer agent. Afterward, RAFT polymerization of PEGMA monomer was initialed using PEB-based macro-RAFT agent, resulting in the target amphiphilic four-armed star copolymer. The obtained s-PEB-b-P(PEGMA) can assemble into micelles with PEB segments as core and P(PEGMA) segments as shell in aqueous solution. The self-assembly behavior was studied by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscope. The micelles of s-PEB-b-P(PEGMA) exhibited higher loading capacity of the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). The investigation of DOX release from the micelles demonstrated that the release rate of the hydrophobic drug could be effectively controlled.Graphical Abstract.

  12. Tritium removal by hydrogen isotopic exchange between hydrogen gas and water on hydrophobic catalyst

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morishita, T.; Isomura, S.; Izawa, H.; Nakane, R.

    1980-01-01

    Many kinds of the hydrophobic catalysts for hydrogen isotopic exchange between hydrogen gas and water have been prepared. The carriers are the hydrophobic organic materials such as polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE), monofluorocarbon-PTFE mixture(PTFE-FC), and styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer(SDB). 0.1 to 2 wt % Pt is deposited on the carriers. The Pt/SDB catalyst has much higher activity than the Pt/PTFE catalyst and the Pt/PTFE-FC catalyst shows the intermediate value of catalytic activity. The observation of electron microscope shows that the degrees of dispersion of Pt particles on the hydrophobic carriers result in the difference of catalytic activities. A gas-liquid separated type column containing ten stages is constructed. Each stage is composed of both the hydrophobic catalyst bed for the hydrogen gas/water vapor isotopic exchange and the packed column type bed for the water vapor/liquid water isotopic exchange. In the column hydrogen gas and water flow countercurrently and hydrogen isotopes are separated

  13. Desorption modeling of hydrophobic organic chemicals from plastic sheets using experimentally determined diffusion coefficients in plastics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hwang; Byun, Da-Eun; Kim, Ju Min; Kwon, Jung-Hwan

    2018-01-01

    To evaluate rate of migration from plastic debris, desorption of model hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOCs) from polyethylene (PE)/polypropylene (PP) films to water was measured using PE/PP films homogeneously loaded with the HOCs. The HOCs fractions remaining in the PE/PP films were compared with those predicted using a model characterized by the mass transfer Biot number. The experimental data agreed with the model simulation, indicating that HOCs desorption from plastic particles can generally be described by the model. For hexachlorocyclohexanes with lower plastic-water partition coefficients, desorption was dominated by diffusion in the plastic film, whereas desorption of chlorinated benzenes with higher partition coefficients was determined by diffusion in the aqueous boundary layer. Evaluation of the fraction of HOCs remaining in plastic films with respect to film thickness and desorption time showed that the partition coefficient between plastic and water is the most important parameter influencing the desorption half-life. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Rheological Properties of Associative Star Polymers in Aqueous Solutions: Effect of Hydrophobe Length and Polymer Topology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hietala, Sami; Strandman, Satu; Jarvi, Paula

    2009-01-01

    triblock copolymer. These polymers, synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), were found to form hydrogels due to intermolecular association originating from the PS blocks. The increasing length of the PS block was observed to lead to more elastic networks due to increased hydrophobic...

  15. Fabrication of Hydrophobic Surface on Wood Veneer via Electroless Nickel Plating Combined with Chemical Corrosion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhaojun Tang

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Birch veneers were coated with Ni-P films by a combined process of KBH4 activation and electroless plating. The plated veneers were further chemically corroded to obtain hydrophobic surfaces on wood. The effect of chemical corrosion on the contact angle of the veneers was investigated. The hydrophobic veneers were characterized by X-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, and X-ray diffraction (XRD. The surface contact angle of birch veneer before and after it was plated with Ni-P alloy coating was 41º and 121º, respectively. The contact angle reached 136.7º when the nickel-coated veneers were corroded in CuSO4 aqueous solution for 30 min. XPS analysis showed that Cu0 cluster doped with little CuO formed on the corroded surface of Ni-P alloy film after chemical corrosion. SEM and XRD showed that rough copper clusters formed on the surface of the wood veneer and revealed the reason of the surface hydrophobicity. This study provides a new pathway for fabricating hydrophobic wood.

  16. Fabrication of semi-transparent super-hydrophobic surface based on silica hierarchical structures

    KAUST Repository

    Chen, Ping-Hei

    2011-01-01

    This study successfully develops a versatile method of producing superhydrophobic surfaces with micro/nano-silica hierarchical structures on glass surfaces. Optically transparent super hydrophobic silica thin films were prepared by spin-coating silica particles suspended in a precursor solution of silane, ethanol, and H2O with molar ratio of 1:4:4. The resulting super hydrophobic films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical transmission, and contact angle measurements. The glass substrates in this study were modified with different particles: micro-silica particles, nano-silica particles, and hierarchical structures. This study includes SEM micrographs of the modified glass surfaces with hierarchical structures at different magnifications. © 2011 The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  17. Metal Enhanced Fluorescence on Super-Hydrophobic Clusters of Gold Nanoparticles

    KAUST Repository

    Battista, Edmondo; Coluccio, Maria Laura; Alabastri, Alessandro; Barberio, Marianna; Causa, Filippo; Netti, Paolo Antonio; Di Fabrizio, Enzo M.; Gentile, Francesco

    2016-01-01

    We used optical lithography, electroless deposition and deep reactive ion etching techniques to realize arrays of super-hydrophobic gold nanoparticles arranged in a hierarchical structure. At the micro-scale, silicon-micro pillars in the chip permit to manipulate and concentrate biological solutions, at the nano-scale, gold nanoparticles enable metal enhanced fluorescence (MEF) effects, whereby fluorescence signal of fluorophores in close proximity to a rough metal surface is amplified by orders of magnitude. Here, we demonstrated the device in the analysis of fluorescein derived gold-binding peptides (GBP-FITC). While super-hydrophobic schemes and MEF effects have been heretofore used in isolation, their integration in a platform may advance the current state of fluorescence-based sensing technology in medical diagnostics and biotechnology. This scheme may be employed in protein microarrays where the increased sensitivity of the device may enable the early detection of cancer biomarkers or other proteins of biomedical interest.

  18. Metal Enhanced Fluorescence on Super-Hydrophobic Clusters of Gold Nanoparticles

    KAUST Repository

    Battista, Edmondo

    2016-12-15

    We used optical lithography, electroless deposition and deep reactive ion etching techniques to realize arrays of super-hydrophobic gold nanoparticles arranged in a hierarchical structure. At the micro-scale, silicon-micro pillars in the chip permit to manipulate and concentrate biological solutions, at the nano-scale, gold nanoparticles enable metal enhanced fluorescence (MEF) effects, whereby fluorescence signal of fluorophores in close proximity to a rough metal surface is amplified by orders of magnitude. Here, we demonstrated the device in the analysis of fluorescein derived gold-binding peptides (GBP-FITC). While super-hydrophobic schemes and MEF effects have been heretofore used in isolation, their integration in a platform may advance the current state of fluorescence-based sensing technology in medical diagnostics and biotechnology. This scheme may be employed in protein microarrays where the increased sensitivity of the device may enable the early detection of cancer biomarkers or other proteins of biomedical interest.

  19. Contribution of hydrophobic effect to the sorption of phenanthrene, 9-phenanthrol and 9, 10-phenanthrenequinone on carbon nanotubes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Hongbo; Zhang, Di; Pan, Bo; Peng, Jinhui

    2017-02-01

    Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), with diverse sources and acute toxicity, are categorized as priority pollutants. Previous studies have stated that the hydrophobic effect controls PAH sorption, but no study has been conducted to quantify the exact contribution of the hydrophobic effect. Considering the well-defined structure of carbon nanotubes and their stable chemical composition in organic solvents, three multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were selected as a model adsorbent. Phenanthrene (PHE) and its degradation intermediates 9-phenanthrol (PTR) and 9, 10-phenanthrenequinone (PQN) were used as model adsorbates. To quantify the contribution of the hydrophobic effect for these three chemicals, the effect of organic solvent (methanol and hexadecane) was investigated. Adsorption isotherms for PHE, PTR and PQN were well fitted by the Freundlich isotherm model. A positive relationship between adsorption affinities of these three chemicals and specific surface area (SSA) was observed in hexadecane but not in water or methanol. Other factors should be included other than SSA. Adsorption of PQN on MWCNTs with oxygen functional groups was higher than that on pristine MWCNTs due to π-π EDA interactions. The contribution of hydrophobic effect was 50%-85% for PHE, suggesting that hydrophobic effect was the predominant mechanism. This contribution was lower than 30% for PTR/PQN on functionalized MWCNTs. Hydrogen bonds control the adsorption of PTR, and π-π bonding interactions control PQN sorption after screening out the hydrophobic effect in hexadecane. Hydrophobic effect is the control mechanism for nonpolar chemicals, while functional groups of CNTs and solvent types control the adsorption of polar compounds. Extended work on quantifying the relationship between chemical structure and the contribution of the hydrophobic effect will provide a useful technique for PAH fate modeling. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Geometrical Patterning of Super-Hydrophobic Biosensing Transistors Enables Space and Time Resolved Analysis of Biological Mixtures

    KAUST Repository

    Gentile, Francesco

    2016-01-12

    PEDOT:PSS is a conductive polymer that can be integrated into last generation Organic Electrochemical Transistor (OECT) devices for biological inspection, identification and analysis. While a variety of reports in literature demonstrated the chemical and biological sensitivity of these devices, still their ability in resolving complex mixtures remains controversial. Similar OECT devices display good time dynamics behavior but lack spatial resolution. In this work, we integrated PEDOT:PSS with patterns of super-hydrophobic pillars in which a finite number of those pillars is independently controlled for site-selective measurement of a solution. We obtained a multifunctional, hierarchical OECT device that bridges the micro- to the nano-scales for specific, combined time and space resolved analysis of the sample. Due to super-hydrophobic surface properties, the biological species in the drop are driven by convection, diffusion, and the externally applied electric field: the balance/unbalance between these forces will cause the molecules to be transported differently within its volume depending on particle size thus realizing a size-selective separation. Within this framework, the separation and identification of two different molecules, namely Cetyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromid (CTAB) and adrenaline, in a biological mixture have been demonstrated, showing that geometrical control at the micro-nano scale impart unprecedented selectivity to the devices.

  1. Geometrical Patterning of Super-Hydrophobic Biosensing Transistors Enables Space and Time Resolved Analysis of Biological Mixtures

    KAUST Repository

    Gentile, Francesco; Ferrara, Lorenzo; Villani, Marco; Bettelli, Manuele; Iannotta, Salvatore; Zappettini, Andrea; Cesarelli, Mario; Di Fabrizio, Enzo M.; Coppedè , Nicola

    2016-01-01

    PEDOT:PSS is a conductive polymer that can be integrated into last generation Organic Electrochemical Transistor (OECT) devices for biological inspection, identification and analysis. While a variety of reports in literature demonstrated the chemical and biological sensitivity of these devices, still their ability in resolving complex mixtures remains controversial. Similar OECT devices display good time dynamics behavior but lack spatial resolution. In this work, we integrated PEDOT:PSS with patterns of super-hydrophobic pillars in which a finite number of those pillars is independently controlled for site-selective measurement of a solution. We obtained a multifunctional, hierarchical OECT device that bridges the micro- to the nano-scales for specific, combined time and space resolved analysis of the sample. Due to super-hydrophobic surface properties, the biological species in the drop are driven by convection, diffusion, and the externally applied electric field: the balance/unbalance between these forces will cause the molecules to be transported differently within its volume depending on particle size thus realizing a size-selective separation. Within this framework, the separation and identification of two different molecules, namely Cetyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromid (CTAB) and adrenaline, in a biological mixture have been demonstrated, showing that geometrical control at the micro-nano scale impart unprecedented selectivity to the devices.

  2. Liposomes coated with hydrophobically modified hydroxyethyl cellulose: Influence of hydrophobic chain length and degree of modification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smistad, Gro; Nyström, Bo; Zhu, Kaizheng; Grønvold, Marthe Karoline; Røv-Johnsen, Anne; Hiorth, Marianne

    2017-08-01

    Nanoparticulate systems with an uncharged hydrophilic surface may have a great potential in mucosal drug delivery. In the present study liposomes were coated with hydrophobically modified hydroxyethyl cellulose (HM-HEC) to create a sterically stabilized liposomal system with an uncharged surface. The aim was to clarify the influence of the amount of hydrophobic modification of HEC and the length of the hydrophobic moiety, on the stability of the system and on the release properties. HM-HEC with different degrees of hydrophobic modification (1 and 2mol%) and hydrophobic groups with different chain lengths (C8, C12, C16) were included in the study, as well as fluid phase and gel phase liposomes. Both types of liposomes were successfully coated with HM-HEC containing 1mol% of hydrophobic groups, while 2mol% did not work for the intended pharmaceutical applications. The polymer coated gel phase liposomes were stable (size, zeta potential, leakage) for 24 weeks at 4°C, with no differences between the C8 and C16 HM-HEC coating. For the fluid phase liposomes a size increase was observed after 24 weeks at 4°C for all formulations; the C8 HM-HEC coated liposomes increased the most. No differences in the leakage during storage at 4°C or in the release at 35°C were observed between the fluid phase formulations. To conclude; HM-HEC with a shorter hydrophobic chain length resulted in a less stable product for the fluid phase liposomes, while no influence of the chain length was observed for the gel phase liposomes (1mol% HM). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Synthesis and surface modification of hydrophobic magnetite to processible magnetite at silica-propylamine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Woo, Kyoungja [Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Nanomaterials Research Center, P.O. Box 131, Cheongryang, Seoul 130-650 (Korea, Republic of)]. E-mail: kjwoo@kist.re.kr; Hong, Jangwon [Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Nanomaterials Research Center, P.O. Box 131, Cheongryang, Seoul 130-650 (Korea, Republic of); Ahn, Jae-Pyoung [Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Nanomaterials Research Center, P.O. Box 131, Cheongryang, Seoul 130-650 (Korea, Republic of)

    2005-05-15

    Hydrophobic magnetite nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution were prepared by thermal decomposition of Fe(CO){sub 5} in octyl ether solution of oleic acid and by consecutive aeration. The nanoparticles were converted into magnetite core/silica shell (magnetite at silica) structured particles with hydrophilic and processible aminopropyl groups on their surfaces.

  4. Wildfire effects on lipid composition and hydrophobicity of bulk soil and soil size fractions under Quercus suber cover (SW-Spain).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiménez-Morillo, Nicasio T; Spangenberg, Jorge E; Miller, Ana Z; Jordán, Antonio; Zavala, Lorena M; González-Vila, Francisco J; González-Pérez, José A

    2017-11-01

    Soil water repellency (hydrophobicity) prevents water from wetting or infiltrating soils, triggering changes in the ecosystems. Fire may develop, enhance or destroy hydrophobicity in previously wettable or water-repellent soils. Soil water repellency is mostly influenced by the quality and quantity of soil organic matter, particularly the lipid fraction. Here we report the results of a study on the effect of fire on the distribution of soil lipids and their role in the hydrophobicity grade of six particle size fractions (2-1, 1-0.5, 0.5-0.25, 0.25-0.1, 0.1-0.05 and fractions. Soil lipids were Soxhlet extracted with a dichloromethane-methanol mixture. Fatty acids (FAs) and neutral lipids were separated, derivatized, identified and quantified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and gas chromatography/flame ionization detection. The hydrophobicity values of soil samples and fractions were statistically different (P fractions. All samples displayed a similar distribution of FAs, straight-chain saturated acids in the C 14 -C 32 range, and neutral lipids (n-alkan-1-ols, n-alkanes), only differing in their relative abundances. Among possible biogeochemical mechanisms responsible for the changes in soil lipids, the observed depletion of long chain FAs (C ≥24 ) in the coarse fraction is best explained by thermal cracking caused by the heat of the fire. The enrichment of long chain FAs observed in other fractions suggests possible exogenous additions of charred, lipid-rich, material, like cork suberin or other plant-derived macromolecules (cutins). Principal component analysis was used to study the relationships between hydrophobicity with soil organic matter and its different components. Extractable organic matter (EOM) and specifically long chain FAs content were positively correlated to soil hydrophobicity. Therefore, the latter could be used as biomarkers surrogated to hydrophobicity in sandy soils. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Characterisation of nanomaterial hydrophobicity using engineered surfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Desmet, Cloé; Valsesia, Andrea; Oddo, Arianna; Ceccone, Giacomo; Spampinato, Valentina; Rossi, François; Colpo, Pascal, E-mail: pascal.colpo@ec.europa.eu [Directorate Health, Consumer and Reference Materials, Consumer Products Safety Unit (Italy)

    2017-03-15

    Characterisation of engineered nanomaterials (NMs) is of outmost importance for the assessment of the potential risks arising from their extensive use. NMs display indeed a large variety of physico-chemical properties that drastically affect their interaction with biological systems. Among them, hydrophobicity is an important property that is nevertheless only slightly covered by the current physico-chemical characterisation techniques. In this work, we developed a method for the direct characterisation of NM hydrophobicity. The determination of the nanomaterial hydrophobic character is carried out by the direct measurement of the affinity of the NMs for different collectors. Each collector is an engineered surface designed in order to present specific surface charge and hydrophobicity degrees. Being thus characterised by a combination of surface energy components, the collectors enable the NM immobilisation with surface coverage in relation to their hydrophobicity. The experimental results are explained by using the extended DLVO theory, which takes into account the hydrophobic forces acting between NMs and collectors.

  6. Thermodynamics of hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions of organic solutes in solutions of imidazolium based ionic liquids: “Structure-property” relationships

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Varfolomeev, Mikhail A.; Khachatrian, Artashes A.; Akhmadeev, Bulat S.; Solomonov, Boris N.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Solution enthalpies of organic solutes in imidazolium based ionic liquids were measured. • van der Waals interactions scale of imidazolium based ionic liquids was proposed. • Enthalpies of solvation of organic solutes in ionic liquids were determined. • Hydrogen bond enthalpies of organic solutes with ionic liquids were calculated. • Relationships between structure of ionic liquids and thermochemical data were obtained. - Abstract: In the present work thermochemistry of intermolecular interactions of organic compounds in solutions of imidazolium based ionic liquids (ILs) has been studied using solution calorimetry method. Enthalpies of solution at infinite dilution of non-polar (alkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons) and polar (alcohols, amides, and etc.) organic solutes in two ionic liquids 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate were measured at 298.15 K. The scale of van der Waals interactions of imidazolium based ILs has been proposed on the basis of solution enthalpies of n-alkanes in their media. The effect of the cation and anion structure of ILs on the enthalpies of solvation was analyzed. Enthalpies of hydrogen bonding of organic solutes with imidazolium based ILs were determined. It has been shown that these values are close to zero for proton acceptor solutes. At the same time, enthalpies of hydrogen bonding of proton donor solutes with ionic liquids are increased depending the anion: tetrafluoroborate ≈ bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide < 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl sulfate < trifluoromethanesulfonate. Enthalpies of van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonding in the solutions of imidazolium based ionic liquids were compared with the same data for molecular solvents.

  7. Thermodynamics of hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions of organic solutes in solutions of imidazolium based ionic liquids: “Structure-property” relationships

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Varfolomeev, Mikhail A., E-mail: vma.ksu@gmail.com; Khachatrian, Artashes A.; Akhmadeev, Bulat S.; Solomonov, Boris N.

    2016-06-10

    Highlights: • Solution enthalpies of organic solutes in imidazolium based ionic liquids were measured. • van der Waals interactions scale of imidazolium based ionic liquids was proposed. • Enthalpies of solvation of organic solutes in ionic liquids were determined. • Hydrogen bond enthalpies of organic solutes with ionic liquids were calculated. • Relationships between structure of ionic liquids and thermochemical data were obtained. - Abstract: In the present work thermochemistry of intermolecular interactions of organic compounds in solutions of imidazolium based ionic liquids (ILs) has been studied using solution calorimetry method. Enthalpies of solution at infinite dilution of non-polar (alkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons) and polar (alcohols, amides, and etc.) organic solutes in two ionic liquids 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate were measured at 298.15 K. The scale of van der Waals interactions of imidazolium based ILs has been proposed on the basis of solution enthalpies of n-alkanes in their media. The effect of the cation and anion structure of ILs on the enthalpies of solvation was analyzed. Enthalpies of hydrogen bonding of organic solutes with imidazolium based ILs were determined. It has been shown that these values are close to zero for proton acceptor solutes. At the same time, enthalpies of hydrogen bonding of proton donor solutes with ionic liquids are increased depending the anion: tetrafluoroborate ≈ bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide < 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl sulfate < trifluoromethanesulfonate. Enthalpies of van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonding in the solutions of imidazolium based ionic liquids were compared with the same data for molecular solvents.

  8. Transport of organic contaminants in subsoil horizons and effects of dissolved organic matter related to organic waste recycling practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chabauty, Florian; Pot, Valérie; Bourdat-Deschamps, Marjolaine; Bernet, Nathalie; Labat, Christophe; Benoit, Pierre

    2016-04-01

    Compost amendment on agricultural soil is a current practice to compensate the loss of organic matter. As a consequence, dissolved organic carbon concentration in soil leachates can be increased and potentially modify the transport of other solutes. This study aims to characterize the processes controlling the mobility of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in deep soil layers and their potential impacts on the leaching of organic contaminants (pesticides and pharmaceutical compounds) potentially present in cultivated soils receiving organic waste composts. We sampled undisturbed soil cores in the illuviated horizon (60-90 cm depth) of an Albeluvisol. Percolation experiments were made in presence and absence of DOM with two different pesticides, isoproturon and epoxiconazole, and two pharmaceutical compounds, ibuprofen and sulfamethoxazole. Two types of DOM were extracted from two different soil surface horizons: one sampled in a plot receiving a co-compost of green wastes and sewage sludge applied once every 2 years since 1998 and one sampled in an unamended plot. Results show that DOM behaved as a highly reactive solute, which was continuously generated within the soil columns during flow and increased after flow interruption. DOM significantly increased the mobility of bromide and all pollutants, but the effects differed according the hydrophobic and the ionic character of the molecules. However, no clear effects of the origin of DOM on the mobility of the different contaminants were observed.

  9. Formation of the second organic phase during uranyl nitrate extraction from aqueous solution by 30% tributylphosphate solution in paraffin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yhrkin, V.G.

    1996-01-01

    For extraction systems aqueous solution of uranyl nitrate-30% solution of tributylphosphate in individual paraffins from C 13 to C 17 the influence of the second organic phase of uranyl nitrate concentration in aqueous and organic phases, the length of hydrocarbon chain of paraffin hydrocarbon and temperature from 25 to 50 deg C on formation conditions has been defected. A special method of achieving the conditions of organic phase stratification from three-phase region, involving definition of equilibrium phases composition by density and refractive index, has been elaborated for more precise definition of organic phase homogeneity region. It has been revealed that without addition of nitric acid to uranyl nitrate solution the organic phase homogeneity limits can be achieved solely on paraffins C 15 , C 16 and C 17 and only under conditions similar to equeous phase saturation in terms of uranyl nitrate. 16 refs., 2 figs

  10. Modelling oral up-take of hydrophobic and super-hydrophobic chemicals in fish.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larisch, Wolfgang; Goss, Kai-Uwe

    2018-01-24

    We have extended a recently published toxicokinetic model for fish (TK-fish) towards the oral up-take of contaminants. Validation with hydrophobic chemicals revealed that diffusive transport through aqueous boundary layers in the gastro-intestinal tract and in the blood is the limiting process. This process can only be modelled correctly if facilitated transport by albumin or bile micelles through these boundary layers is accounted for. In a case study we have investigated the up-take of a super hydrophobic chemical, Dechlorane Plus. Our results suggest that there is no indication of a hydrophobicity or size cut-off in the bioconcentration of this chemical. Based on an extremely high, but mechanistically sound facilitation factor we received model results in good agreement with experimental values from the literature. The results also indicate that established experimental procedures for BCF determination cannot cover the very slow up-take and clearance kinetics that are to be expected for such a chemical.

  11. Dynamics of Wetting of Ultra Hydrophobic Surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohammad Karim, Alireza; Kim, Jeong-Hyun; Rothstein, Jonathan; Kavehpour, Pirouz; Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Collaboration

    2013-11-01

    Controlling the surface wettability of hydrophobic and super hydrophobic surfaces has extensive industrial applications ranging from coating, painting and printing technology and waterproof clothing to efficiency increase in power and water plants. This requires enhancing the knowledge about the dynamics of wetting on these hydrophobic surfaces. We have done experimental investigation on the dynamics of wetting on hydrophobic surfaces by looking deeply in to the dependency of the dynamic contact angles both advancing and receding on the velocity of the three-phase boundary (Solid/Liquid/Gas interface) using the Wilhelmy plate method with different ultra-hydrophobic surfaces. Several fluids with different surface tension and viscosity are used to study the effect of physical properties of liquids on the governing laws.

  12. Effect of whey goat milk kefir on hydrophobicity of E. coli O157:H7, S. typhi bacteria and C. albicans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dedi Fardiaz

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available The hydrophobicity of bacteria. was determined using BATH (Bacteria adhesion to hydrocarbon test. All bacteria showed that 0,9 ml n-octane exposure gave a positive response and indicating that E. coli O157:H7 was categorized as moderate hydrophobic bacteria,  while S.  typhi  and C. albicans were catagorized as  highly hydrophobic bacteria. Goat Milk Kefir increased hydrophobicity of E.  coli O157:H7 by 24.40, however, decreased hydrophobicity of S. typhi by 47.56  and C. albicans by 70.14 percent, respectively. This finding showed that one of the inhibition mechanism may be caused by  an interaction  of  organic acid and peptide  compounds with cell membrane, in which hydrophobic sites of component  modified the hydrophobicity of the bacteria cell surface. The hydrophobicity modification in bacterial  cell wall might result inhibition of adhetion bacteria at cell host. Key words : Enterophatogenic bacteria, hidrophobisitas bacteria

  13. Liquid-phase and vapor-phase dehydration of organic/water solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yu [Palo Alto, CA; Ly, Jennifer [San Jose, CA; Aldajani, Tiem [San Jose, CA; Baker, Richard W [Palo Alto, CA

    2011-08-23

    Processes for dehydrating an organic/water solution by pervaporation or vapor separation using fluorinated membranes. The processes are particularly useful for treating mixtures containing light organic components, such as ethanol, isopropanol or acetic acid.

  14. Marine snow, organic solute plumes, and optimal chemosensory behavior of bacteria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kiørboe, Thomas; Jackson, G.A.

    2001-01-01

    Leaking organic solutes form an elongated plume in the wake of a sinking aggregate. These solutes may both be assimilated by suspended bacteria and guide bacteria with chemokinetic swimming behavior toward the aggregate. We used modifications of previously published models of the flow and concent......Leaking organic solutes form an elongated plume in the wake of a sinking aggregate. These solutes may both be assimilated by suspended bacteria and guide bacteria with chemokinetic swimming behavior toward the aggregate. We used modifications of previously published models of the flow...... behavior was used to examine the potential contribution of aggregate-generated solute plumes for water column bacteria] production. Despite occupying only a small volume fraction, the plumes may provide important growth habitats for free bacteria and account for a significant proportion of water column...

  15. Enhanced washing durability of hydrophobic coating on cellulose fabric using polycarboxylic acids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang Wenqi; Xing Yanjun; Yu Yunyi; Shang Songmin; Dai Jinjin

    2011-01-01

    Nine polycarboxylic acids were used to improve washing durability of hydrophobic cellulose fabric finished by sol-gel method. By simultaneous forming ester-bridge between cellulose and silica layer by ester bond, polycarboxylic acids could anchor silica coating onto cellulose fabric to strengthen the adhesion of organic-inorganic hybrid coating. The wettability of treated fabrics was characterized by water contact angle, spray test and hydrostatic pressure test. The results showed that all investigated polycarboxylic acids could improve the durability. The polycarboxylic acid with proper distance between terminal carboxylic acid groups and number of carboxylic acid groups showed the highest durability. 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) led to the best durability of hydrophobic cellulose fabric with water contact angle of 137.6 o (recovery percentage of 94.2%) after 30 washing times. The effect of BTCA on durability was characterized by scanning electron microscopy. This study demonstrated that the surface treatment using polycarboxylic acids and mixed organosilanes is a promising alternative for achieving durable hydrophobic fabrics.

  16. Adsorption of hydrophobin on different self-assembled monolayers: the role of the hydrophobic dipole and the electric dipole.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Chunwang; Liu, Jie; Zhao, Daohui; Zhou, Jian

    2014-09-30

    In this work, the adsorptions of hydrophobin (HFBI) on four different self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) (i.e., CH3-SAM, OH-SAM, COOH-SAM, and NH2-SAM) were investigated by parallel tempering Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations. Simulation results indicate that the orientation of HFBI adsorbed on neutral surfaces is dominated by a hydrophobic dipole. HFBI adsorbs on the hydrophobic CH3-SAM through its hydrophobic patch and adopts a nearly vertical hydrophobic dipole relative to the surface, while it is nearly horizontal when adsorbed on the hydrophilic OH-SAM. For charged SAM surfaces, HFBI adopts a nearly vertical electric dipole relative to the surface. HFBI has the narrowest orientation distribution on the CH3-SAM, and thus can form an ordered monolayer and reverse the wettability of the surface. For HFBI adsorption on charged SAMs, the adsorption strength weakens as the surface charge density increases. Compared with those on other SAMs, a larger area of the hydrophobic patch is exposed to the solution when HFBI adsorbs on the NH2-SAM. This leads to an increase of the hydrophobicity of the surface, which is consistent with the experimental results. The binding of HFBI to the CH3-SAM is mainly through hydrophobic interactions, while it is mediated through a hydration water layer near the surface for the OH-SAM. For the charged SAM surfaces, the adsorption is mainly induced by electrostatic interactions between the charged surfaces and the oppositely charged residues. The effect of a hydrophobic dipole on protein adsorption onto hydrophobic surfaces is similar to that of an electric dipole for charged surfaces. Therefore, the hydrophobic dipole may be applied to predict the probable orientations of protein adsorbed on hydrophobic surfaces.

  17. Radiation-induced nitration of organic compounds in aqueous solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ershov, B.G.; Gordeev, A.V.; Bykov, G.L.

    2009-01-01

    Radiation-induced nitration of organic compounds in aqueous solutions was studied. It was found that γ-irradiation of solutions containing acetic and nitric acid and/or their salts gives nitromethane. Dependences of the product yield on the absorbed dose and the contents of components were established. The mechanism of radiation nitration involving radicals is discussed. (author)

  18. Secondary environmental impacts of remedial alternatives for sediment contaminated with hydrophobic organic contaminants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Yongju; Thompson, Jay M; Lin, Diana; Cho, Yeo-Myoung; Ismail, Niveen S; Hsieh, Ching-Hong; Luthy, Richard G

    2016-03-05

    This study evaluates secondary environmental impacts of various remedial alternatives for sediment contaminated with hydrophobic organic contaminants using life cycle assessment (LCA). Three alternatives including two conventional methods, dredge-and-fill and capping, and an innovative sediment treatment technique, in-situ activated carbon (AC) amendment, are compared for secondary environmental impacts by a case study for a site at Hunters Point Shipyard, San Francisco, CA. The LCA results show that capping generates substantially smaller impacts than dredge-and-fill and in-situ amendment using coal-based virgin AC. The secondary impacts from in-situ AC amendment can be reduced effectively by using recycled or wood-based virgin AC as production of these materials causes much smaller impacts than coal-based virgin AC. The secondary environmental impacts are highly sensitive to the dredged amount and the distance to a disposal site for dredging, the capping thickness and the distance to the cap materials for capping, and the AC dose for in-situ AC amendment. Based on the analysis, this study identifies strategies to minimize secondary impacts caused by different remediation activities: optimize the dredged amount, the capping thickness, or the AC dose by extensive site assessments, obtain source materials from local sites, and use recycled or bio-based AC. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Microplastics as vectors for bioaccumulation of hydrophobic organic chemicals in the marine environment: A state-of-the-science review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziccardi, Linda M; Edgington, Aaron; Hentz, Karyn; Kulacki, Konrad J; Kane Driscoll, Susan

    2016-07-01

    A state-of-the-science review was conducted to examine the potential for microplastics to sorb hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOCs) from the marine environment, for aquatic organisms to take up these HOCs from the microplastics, and for this exposure to result in adverse effects to ecological and human health. Despite concentrations of HOCs associated with microplastics that can be orders of magnitude greater than surrounding seawater, the relative importance of microplastics as a route of exposure is difficult to quantify because aquatic organisms are typically exposed to HOCs from various compartments, including water, sediment, and food. Results of laboratory experiments and modeling studies indicate that HOCs can partition from microplastics to organisms or from organisms to microplastics, depending on experimental conditions. Very little information is available to evaluate ecological or human health effects from this exposure. Most of the available studies measured biomarkers that are more indicative of exposure than effects, and no studies showed effects to ecologically relevant endpoints. Therefore, evidence is weak to support the occurrence of ecologically significant adverse effects on aquatic life as a result of exposure to HOCs sorbed to microplastics or to wildlife populations and humans from secondary exposure via the food chain. More data are needed to fully understand the relative importance of exposure to HOCs from microplastics compared with other exposure pathways. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:1667-1676. © 2016 SETAC. © 2016 SETAC.

  20. Effect of Heterogeneous Chemical Reactions on the Köhler Activation of Aqueous Organic Aerosols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Djikaev, Yuri S; Ruckenstein, Eli

    2018-05-03

    We study some thermodynamic aspects of the activation of aqueous organic aerosols into cloud droplets considering the aerosols to consist of liquid solution of water and hydrophilic and hydrophobic organic compounds, taking into account the presence of reactive species in the air. The hydrophobic (surfactant) organic molecules on the surface of such an aerosol can be processed by chemical reactions with some atmospheric species; this affects the hygroscopicity of the aerosol and hence its ability to become a cloud droplet either via nucleation or via Köhler activation. The most probable pathway of such processing involves atmospheric hydroxyl radicals that abstract hydrogen atoms from hydrophobic organic molecules located on the aerosol surface (first step), the resulting radicals being quickly oxidized by ubiquitous atmospheric oxygen molecules to produce surface-bound peroxyl radicals (second step). These two reactions play a crucial role in the enhancement of the Köhler activation of the aerosol and its evolution into a cloud droplet. Taking them and a third reaction (next in the multistep chain of relevant heterogeneous reactions) into account, one can derive an explicit expression for the free energy of formation of a four-component aqueous droplet on a ternary aqueous organic aerosol as a function of four independent variables of state of a droplet. The results of numerical calculations suggest that the formation of cloud droplets on such (aqueous hydrophilic/hydrophobic organic) aerosols is most likely to occur as a Köhler activation-like process rather than via nucleation. The model allows one to determine the threshold parameters of the system necessary for the Köhler activation of such aerosols, which are predicted to be very sensitive to the equilibrium constant of the chain of three heterogeneous reactions involved in the chemical aging of aerosols.

  1. Towards understanding hydrophobic recovery of plasma treated polymers: Storing in high polarity liquids suppresses hydrophobic recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bormashenko, Edward; Chaniel, Gilad; Grynyov, Roman

    2013-01-01

    The phenomenon of hydrophobic recovery was studied for cold air plasma treated polyethylene films. Plasma-treated polymer films were immersed into liquids with very different polarities such as ethanol, acetone, carbon tetrachloride, benzene and carbon disulphide. Hydrophobic recovery was studied by measurement of contact angles. Immersion into high polarity liquids slows markedly the hydrophobic recovery. We relate this slowing to dipole–dipole interaction of polar groups of the polymer with those of the liquids. This kind of interaction becomes decisive when polar groups of polymer chains are at least partially spatially fixed.

  2. Effects of biosurfactants, mannosylerythritol lipids, on the hydrophobicity of solid surfaces and infection behaviours of plant pathogenic fungi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshida, S; Koitabashi, M; Nakamura, J; Fukuoka, T; Sakai, H; Abe, M; Kitamoto, D; Kitamoto, H

    2015-07-01

    To investigate the effects of mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs) on the hydrophobicity of solid surfaces, their suppressive activity against the early infection behaviours of several phytopathogenic fungal conidia, and their suppressive activity against disease occurrences on fungal host plant leaves. The changes in the hydrophobicity of plastic film surfaces resulting from treatments with MEL solutions (MEL-A, MEL-B, MEL-C and isoMEL-B) and synthetic surfactant solutions were evaluated based on the changes in contact angles of water droplets placed on the surfaces. The droplet angles on surfaces treated with MELs were verified to decrease within 100 s after placement, with contact angles similar to those observed on Tween 20-treated surfaces, indicating decreases in surface hydrophobicity after MEL treatments. Next, conidial germination, germ tube elongation and the formation of appressorium of Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici, Colletotrichum dematium, Glomerella cingulata and Magnaporthe grisea were evaluated on plastic surfaces that were pretreated with surfactant solutions. On the surfaces of MEL-treated plastic film, inhibition of conidial germination, germ tube elongation, and suppression of appressoria formation tended to be observed, although the level of effect was dependent on the combination of fungal species and type of MEL. Inoculation tests revealed that the powdery mildew symptom caused by B. graminis f. sp. tritici was significantly suppressed on wheat leaf segments treated with MELs. MELs exhibited superior abilities in reducing the hydrophobicity of solid surfaces, and have the potential to suppress powdery mildew in wheat plants, presumably due to the inhibition of conidial germination. This study provides significant evidence of the potential for MELs to be used as novel agricultural chemical pesticides. © 2015 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  3. Nanoparticle and gelation stabilized functional composites of an ionic salt in a hydrophobic polymer matrix.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Selin Kanyas

    Full Text Available Polymer composites consisted of small hydrophilic pockets homogeneously dispersed in a hydrophobic polymer matrix are important in many applications where controlled release of the functional agent from the hydrophilic phase is needed. As an example, a release of biomolecules or drugs from therapeutic formulations or release of salt in anti-icing application can be mentioned. Here, we report a method for preparation of such a composite material consisted of small KCOOH salt pockets distributed in the styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS polymer matrix and demonstrate its effectiveness in anti-icing coatings. The mixtures of the aqueous KCOOH and SBS-cyclohexane solutions were firstly stabilized by adding silica nanoparticles to the emulsions and, even more, by gelation of the aqueous phase by agarose. The emulsions were observed in optical microscope to check its stability in time and characterized by rheological measurements. The dry composite materials were obtained via casting the emulsions onto the glass substrates and evaporations of the organic solvent. Composite polymer films were characterized by water contact angle (WCA measurements. The release of KCOOH salt into water and the freezing delay experiments of water droplets on dry composite films demonstrated their anti-icing properties. It has been concluded that hydrophobic and thermoplastic SBS polymer allows incorporation of the hydrophilic pockets/phases through our technique that opens the possibility for controlled delivering of anti-icing agents from the composite.

  4. Solution processed metal oxide thin film hole transport layers for high performance organic solar cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steirer, K. Xerxes; Berry, Joseph J.; Chesin, Jordan P.; Lloyd, Matthew T.; Widjonarko, Nicodemus Edwin; Miedaner, Alexander; Curtis, Calvin J.; Ginley, David S.; Olson, Dana C.

    2017-01-10

    A method for the application of solution processed metal oxide hole transport layers in organic photovoltaic devices and related organic electronics devices is disclosed. The metal oxide may be derived from a metal-organic precursor enabling solution processing of an amorphous, p-type metal oxide. An organic photovoltaic device having solution processed, metal oxide, thin-film hole transport layer.

  5. Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy of Adsorbed Amino Acids, Peptides and Proteins of Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Solid-Water Interfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Holinga IV, George Joseph [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2010-09-01

    Sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy was used to investigate the interfacial properties of several amino acids, peptides, and proteins adsorbed at the hydrophilic polystyrene solid-liquid and the hydrophobic silica solid-liquid interfaces. The influence of experimental geometry on the sensitivity and resolution of the SFG vibrational spectroscopy technique was investigated both theoretically and experimentally. SFG was implemented to investigate the adsorption and organization of eight individual amino acids at model hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces under physiological conditions. Biointerface studies were conducted using a combination of SFG and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) comparing the interfacial structure and concentration of two amino acids and their corresponding homopeptides at two model liquid-solid interfaces as a function of their concentration in aqueous solutions. The influence of temperature, concentration, equilibration time, and electrical bias on the extent of adsorption and interfacial structure of biomolecules were explored at the liquid-solid interface via QCM and SFG. QCM was utilized to quantify the biological activity of heparin functionalized surfaces. A novel optical parametric amplifier was developed and utilized in SFG experiments to investigate the secondary structure of an adsorbed model peptide at the solid-liquid interface.

  6. Trace organic solutes in closed-loop forward osmosis applications: influence of membrane fouling and modeling of solute build-up.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Haese, Arnout; Le-Clech, Pierre; Van Nevel, Sam; Verbeken, Kim; Cornelissen, Emile R; Khan, Stuart J; Verliefde, Arne R D

    2013-09-15

    In this study, trace organics transport in closed-loop forward osmosis (FO) systems was assessed. The FO systems considered, consisted of an FO unit and a nanofiltration (NF) or reverse osmosis (RO) unit, with the draw solution circulating between both units. The rejection of trace organics by FO, NF and RO was tested. It was found that the rejection rates of FO were generally comparable with NF and lower than RO rejection rates. To assess the influence of fouling in FO on trace organics rejection, FO membranes were fouled with sodium alginate, bovine serum albumin or by biofilm growth, after which trace organics rejection was tested. A negative influence of fouling on FO rejection was found which was limited in most cases, while it was significant for some compounds such as paracetamol and naproxen, indicating specific compound-foulant interactions. The transport mechanism of trace organics in FO was tested, in order to differentiate between diffusive and convective transport. The concentration of trace organics in the final product water and the build-up of trace organics in the draw solution were modeled assuming the draw solution was reconcentrated by NF/RO and taking into account different transport mechanisms for the FO membrane and different rejection rates by NF/RO. Modeling results showed that if the FO rejection rate is lower than the RO rejection rate (as is the case for most compounds tested), the added value of the FO-RO cycle compared to RO only at steady-state was small for diffusively and negative for convectively transported trace organics. Modeling also showed that trace organics accumulate in the draw solution. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Solution processed organic light-emitting diodes using the plasma cross-linking technology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    He, Kongduo [Department of Light Sources and Illuminating Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433 (China); Liu, Yang [Department of Light Sources and Illuminating Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433 (China); Engineering Research Center of Advanced Lighting Technology, Ministry of Education, Shanghai 200433 (China); Gong, Junyi; Zeng, Pan; Kong, Xun; Yang, Xilu; Yang, Cheng; Yu, Yan [Department of Light Sources and Illuminating Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433 (China); Liang, Rongqing [Department of Light Sources and Illuminating Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433 (China); Engineering Research Center of Advanced Lighting Technology, Ministry of Education, Shanghai 200433 (China); Ou, Qiongrong, E-mail: qrou@fudan.edu.cn [Department of Light Sources and Illuminating Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433 (China); Engineering Research Center of Advanced Lighting Technology, Ministry of Education, Shanghai 200433 (China)

    2016-09-30

    Highlights: • Mixed acetylene and Ar plasma treatment makes the organic film surface cross-linked. • The plasma treatment for 30 s does not affect the performance of OLEDs. • Cross-linking surface can resist rinsing and corrosion of organic solvent. • The surface morphology is nearly unchanged after plasma treatment. • The plasma cross-linking method can realize solution processed multilayer OLEDs. - Abstract: Solution processed multilayer organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) present challenges, especially regarding dissolution of the first layer during deposition of a second layer. In this work, we first demonstrated a plasma cross-linking technology to produce a solution processed OLED. The surfaces of organic films can be cross-linked after mixed acetylene and Ar plasma treatment for several tens of seconds and resist corrosion of organic solvent. The film thickness and surface morphology of emissive layers (EMLs) with plasma treatment and subsequently spin-rinsed with chlorobenzene are nearly unchanged. The solution processed triple-layer OLED is successfully fabricated and the current efficiency increases 50% than that of the double-layer OLED. Fluorescent characteristics of EMLs are also observed to investigate factors influencing the efficiency of the triple-layer OLED. Plasma cross-linking technology may open up a new pathway towards fabrication of all-solution processed multilayer OLEDs and other soft electronic devices.

  8. Corrosion resistance and long-term durability of super-hydrophobic nickel film prepared by electrodeposition process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khorsand, S.; Raeissi, K.; Ashrafizadeh, F.

    2014-01-01

    A super-hydrophobic nickel film with micro-nano structure was successfully fabricated by electrodeposition process. By controlling electrodeposition parameters and considering different storage times for the coatings in air, various nickel films with different wettability were fabricated. Surface morphology of nickel films was examined by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the micro-nano nickel film was well-crystallized and exhibited pine cone-like microstructure with nano-cone arrays randomly dispersed on each micro-protrusion. The wettability of the micro-nano nickel film varied from super-hydrophilicity (water contact angle 5.3°) to super-hydrophobicity (water contact angle 155.7°) by exposing the surface in air at room temperature. The corrosion resistance of the super-hydrophobic film was estimated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Tafel polarization measurements. The potentiodynamic curves revealed that the corrosion rate of superhydrophobic surface was only 0.16% of the bare copper substrate. Moreover, EIS measurements and appropriate equivalent circuit models revealed that the corrosion resistance of nickel films considerably improved with an increase in the hydrophobicity. The superhydrophobic surface also exhibited an excellent long-term durability in neutral 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution.

  9. Hydrophobic perfluoro-silane functionalization of porous silicon photoluminescent films and particles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rodriguez, C.; Laplace, P.; Gallach-Pérez, D.; Pellacani, P.; Martín-Palma, R.J. [Departamento de Física Aplicada e Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid (Spain); Torres-Costa, V. [Departamento de Física Aplicada e Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid (Spain); Centro de Microanálisis de Materiales, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid (Spain); Ceccone, G. [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, 21020, Ispra (Italy); Manso Silván, M., E-mail: miguel.manso@uam.es [Departamento de Física Aplicada e Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid (Spain)

    2016-09-01

    Highlights: • Hydrophobic functionalization of porous silicon structures. • Perfluorooctyl group binding confirmed by XPS. • Improved stability face to extreme oxidation conditions. • Perfluorooctyl functionalization compatible with photoluminescence of porous silicon particles. - Abstract: Luminescent structures based on semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are increasingly used in biomolecular assays, cell tracking systems, and in-vivo diagnostics devices. In this work we have carried out the functionalization of porous silicon (PSi) luminescent structures by a perfluorosilane (Perfluoro-octyltriethoxysilane, PFOS) self assembly. The PFOS surface binding (traced by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and photoluminescence efficiency were analyzed on flat model PSi. Maximal photoluminescence intensity was obtained from PSi layers anodized at 110 mA/cm{sup 2}. Resistance to hydroxylation was assayed in H{sub 2}O{sub 2}:ethanol solutions and evidenced by water contact angle (WCA) measurements. PFOS-functionalized PSi presented systematically higher WCA than untreated PSi. The PFOS functionalization was found to slightly improve the aging of the PSi particles in water giving rise to particles with longer luminescent life. Confirmation of PFOS binding to PSi particles was derived from FTIR spectra and the preservation of luminescence was observed by fluorescence microscopy. Such functionalization opens the possibility of promoting hydrophobic-hydrophobic interactions between biomolecules and fluorescent QD structures, which may enlarge their biomedical applications catalogue.

  10. In situ crystallized zirconium phenylphosphonate films with crystals vertically to the substrate and their hydrophobic, dielectric, and anticorrosion properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Zhaohui; Zhang, Fazhi; Wang, Lei; Xu, Sailong; Guo, Xiaoxiao

    2010-01-05

    The in situ crystallization technique has been utilized to fabricate zirconium phenylphosphonate (ZrPP) films with their hexagonal crystallite perpendicular to the copper substrate. The micro/nano roughness surface structure, as well as the intrinsic hydrophobic characteristic of the surface functional groups, affords ZrPP films excellent hydrophobicity with water contact angle (CA) ranging from 134 degrees to 151 degrees , without any low-surface-energy modification. Particularly, in the corrosive solutions such as acidic or basic solutions over a wide pH from 2 to 12, no obvious fluctuation in CA was observed for all the ZrPP film. The k values of the hydrophobic ZrPP films are in the low-k range (k feature is proposed to bear ZrPP film a more stable low-k value in an ambient atmosphere. Besides, the polarization current of ZrPP films is reduced by 2 orders of magnitude, compared to that of the untreated copper substrate. Even deposited in a vacuum oven for 30 days at room temperature, ZrPP films also show excellent corrosion resistance, indicating a stable anticorrosion property.

  11. Uranium removal from organic solutions of PUREX process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dell'Occhio, L.A.; Dupetit, G.A.; Pascale, A.A.; Vicens, H.E.

    1987-01-01

    During the uranium extraction process with tributyl phosphate (TBP) in nitric medium, a bi solvated, non hydrated complex is formed, of formula UO2(NO3)2TBP, which is soluble in the diluent, a paraffin hydrocarbon. As it is known that some uranium salts, for instance the nitrate, when dissolved in organic solvents, like isopropanol, can be discharged as complex molecules at the cathode of an electrodeposition cell, it was decided to apply this technique to uranium loaded TBP solutions. From preliminary experiments resulted a practical possibility for the analytical control through the alpha measurement of electro deposits. This technique could be applied as well to the treatment of depleted organic streams carrying undesirable alpha activity, because the so treated solutions become deprived of uranium. This work presents the curves obtained working at constant voltage with uranium-loaded TBP solutions, the determination of the optimal operation voltage in these conditions, the electrodeposition yield for electro polished copper and stainless steel cathodes and the tests of reproducibility of deposits. A summary of the results obtained operating the high voltage supply at constant power is also presented. (Author)

  12. Solution processed organic bulk heterojunction tandem solar cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Albrecht, Steve; Neher, Dieter [Soft Matter Physics, University of Potsdam, D-14476 Potsdam (Germany)

    2011-07-01

    One of the critical issues regarding the preparation of organic tandem solar cells from solution is the central recombination contact. This contact should be highly transparent and conductive to provide high recombination currents. Moreover it should protect the 1st subcell from the solution processing of the 2nd subcell. Here, we present a systematic study of various recombination contacts in organic bulk heterojunction tandem solar cells made from blends of different polymers with PCBM. We compare solution processed recombination contacts fabricated from metal-oxides (TiO{sub 2} and ZnO) and PEDOT:PSS with evaporated recombination contacts made from thin metal layers and molybdenum-oxide. The solar cell characteristics as well as the morphology of the contacts measured by AFM and SEM are illustrated. To compare the electrical properties of the varying contacts we show measurements on single carrier devices for different contact-structures. Alongside we present the results of optical modeling of the subcells and the complete tandem device and relate these results to experimental absorption and reflection spectra of the same structures. Based on these studies, layer thicknesses were adjusted for optimum current matching and device performance.

  13. Stainless and Galvanized Steel, Hydrophobic Admixture and Flexible Polymer-Cement Coating Compared in Increasing Durability of Reinforced Concrete Structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tittarelli, Francesca; Giosuè, Chiara; Mobili, Alessandra

    2017-08-01

    The use of stainless or galvanized steel reinforcements, a hydrophobic admixture or a flexible polymer-cement coating were compared as methods to improve the corrosion resistance of sound or cracked reinforced concrete specimens exposed to chloride rich solutions. The results show that in full immersion condition, negligible corrosion rates were detected in all cracked specimens, except those treated with the flexible polymer-cement mortar as preventive method against corrosion and the hydrophobic concrete specimens. High corrosion rates were measured in all cracked specimens exposed to wet-dry cycles, except for those reinforced with stainless steel, those treated with the flexible polymer-cement coating as restorative method against reinforcement corrosion and for hydrophobic concrete specimens reinforced with galvanized steel reinforcements.

  14. RETENTION OF HUMIC ACID FROM WATER BY NANOFILTRATION MEMBRANE AND INFLUENCE OF SOLUTION CHEMISTRY ON MEMBRANE PERFORMANCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. A. Zazouli, S. Nasseri, A. H. Mahvi, M. Gholami, A. R. Mesdaghinia, M. Younesian

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The objectives of this research were to investigate the rejection efficiency of salt and hydrophobic fraction of natural organic matter, to study the flux decline behavior with a spiral wound nanofiltration membrane, and also to survey the influence of water chemistry on membrane performance. Experiments were conducted using a cross flow pilot-scale membrane unit with a full circulation mode. Humic acid was used as hydrophobic organic matter and NaCl as background electrolyte. Results showed that flux reduction increased with increasing ionic strength and humic acid concentration, and with lower pH. The rejection efficiency of organic and salt decreased with the decrease in pH and increase in ionic strength, because of osmotic pressure increase, leading to permeate flux decline and decrease in salt rejection. In addition, the improved salt rejection was likely due to Donnan exclusion by humic material close to membrane surfaces. The average rejection efficiency of humic acid and salt ranged between 91.2%-95.25% and 63.6%-80%, respectively. Dissolved organic carbon concentration was less than 0.57mg/L in permeate for all experiments. With increasing organic concentration, the charge of the membrane surface has become more negative due to the adsorption of organic foulants on the membrane surface, and thus increased the electrostatic repulsion. However, the increasing surface charge had the potential to result in a larger molecular weight cut-off of a fouled membrane due to membrane swelling which can lead to lower rejection solutes. Therefore, results of this study indicated that membrane fouling may significantly affect the rejection of organic and ion solute.

  15. Synthesis and characterization of Fe colloid catalysts in inverse micelle solutions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martino, A.; Stoker, M.; Hicks, M. [Sandia National Lab., Alburquerque, NM (United States)] [and others

    1995-12-31

    Surfactant molecules, possessing a hydrophilic head group and a hydrophobic tail group, aggregate in various solvents to form structured solutions. In two component mixtures of surfactant and organic solvents (e.g., toluene and alkanes), surfactants aggregate to form inverse micelles. Here, the hydrophilic head groups shield themselves by forming a polar core, and the hydrophobic tails groups are free to move about in the surrounding oleic phase. The formation of Fe clusters in inverse miscelles was studied.Iron salts are solubilized within the polar interior of inverse micelles, and the addition of the reducing agent LiBH{sub 4} initiates a chemical reduction to produce monodisperse, nanometer sized Fe based particles. The reaction sequence is sustained by material exchange between inverse micelles. The surfactant interface provides a spatial constraint on the reaction volume, and reactions carried out in these micro-heterogeneous solutions produce colloidal sized particles (10-100{Angstrom}) stabilized in solution against flocculation of surfactant. The clusters were stabilized with respect to size with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and with respect to chemical composition with Mossbauer spectroscopy, electron diffraction, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In addition, these iron based clusters were tested for catalytic activity in a model hydrogenolysis reaction. The hydrogenolysis of naphthyl bibenzyl methane was used as a model for coal pyrolysis.

  16. ICT solutions in intelligent organizations as challenges in a knowledge economy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adamczewski Piotr

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Solutions of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT are the foundation of modern economic organizations in a knowledge economy. This is the case in particular in intelligent organizations, for which the advanced ICT infrastructure is the sine qua non condition for the effective knowledge management. This article is aimed at describing the role of modern ICT trends, which are described as SMAC, (Social, Mobility, Analytics, Cloud, and are becoming an essential ICT element supporting management processes. Such solutions enable to create new models of organization operations on the global markets using strategic resources, such as the knowledge supported with SMAC solutions. The arguments are illustrated with results of own research conducted by the author in 2014-2016 in selected SME’s from the Mazowieckie and Wielkopolskie rovinces and their reference to the general development trends in this area.

  17. High-performance polyamide thin-film-nanocomposite reverse osmosis membranes containing hydrophobic zeolitic imidazolate framework-8

    KAUST Repository

    Duan, Jintang; Pan, Yichang; Pacheco Oreamuno, Federico; Litwiller, Eric; Lai, Zhiping; Pinnau, Ingo

    2015-01-01

    A hydrophobic, hydrothermally stable metal-organic framework (MOF) - zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) was successfully incorporated into the selective polyamide (PA) layer of thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes for water desalination

  18. Hydrophobic Modification of Layered Clays and Compatibility for Epoxy Nanocomposites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiang-Jen Lin

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Recent studies on the intercalation and exfoliation of layered clays with polymeric intercalating agents involving poly(oxypropylene-amines and the particular uses for epoxy nanocomposites are reviewed. For intercalation, counter-ionic exchange reactions of clays including cationic layered silicates and anionic Al-Mg layered double hydroxide (LDH with polymeric organic ions afforded organoclays led to spatial interlayer expansion from 12 to 92 Å (X-ray diffraction as well as hydrophobic property. The inorganic clays of layered structure could be modified by the poly(oxypropyleneamine-salts as the intercalating agents with molecular weights ranging from 230 to 5,000 g/mol. Furthermore, natural montmorillonite (MMT clay could be exfoliated into thin layer silicate platelets (ca. 1 nm thickness in one step by using polymeric types of exfoliating agents. Different lateral dimensions of MMT, synthetic fluorinated Mica and LDH clays had been cured into epoxy nanocomposites. The hydrophobic amine-salt modification resulting in high spacing of layered or exfoliation of individual clay platelets is the most important factor for gaining significant improvements of properties. In particular, these modified clays were reported to gain significant improvements such as reduced coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE, enhanced thermal stability, and hardness. The utilization of these layered clays for initiating the epoxy self-polymerization was also reported to have a unique compatibility between clay and organic resin matrix. However, the matrix domain lacks of covalently bonded crosslink and leads to the isolation of powder material. It is generally concluded that the hydrophobic expansion of the clay inter-gallery spacing is the crucial step for enhancing the compatibility and the ultimate preparation of the advanced epoxy materials.

  19. Hydrophobic Modification of Layered Clays and Compatibility for Epoxy Nanocomposites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Jiang-Jen; Chan, Ying-Nan; Lan, Yi-Fen

    2010-01-01

    Recent studies on the intercalation and exfoliation of layered clays with polymeric intercalating agents involving poly(oxypropylene)-amines and the particular uses for epoxy nanocomposites are reviewed. For intercalation, counter-ionic exchange reactions of clays including cationic layered silicates and anionic Al-Mg layered double hydroxide (LDH) with polymeric organic ions afforded organoclays led to spatial interlayer expansion from 12 to 92 Å (X-ray diffraction) as well as hydrophobic property. The inorganic clays of layered structure could be modified by the poly(oxypropylene)amine-salts as the intercalating agents with molecular weights ranging from 230 to 5,000 g/mol. Furthermore, natural montmorillonite (MMT) clay could be exfoliated into thin layer silicate platelets (ca. 1 nm thickness) in one step by using polymeric types of exfoliating agents. Different lateral dimensions of MMT, synthetic fluorinated Mica and LDH clays had been cured into epoxy nanocomposites. The hydrophobic amine-salt modification resulting in high spacing of layered or exfoliation of individual clay platelets is the most important factor for gaining significant improvements of properties. In particular, these modified clays were reported to gain significant improvements such as reduced coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), enhanced thermal stability, and hardness. The utilization of these layered clays for initiating the epoxy self-polymerization was also reported to have a unique compatibility between clay and organic resin matrix. However, the matrix domain lacks of covalently bonded crosslink and leads to the isolation of powder material. It is generally concluded that the hydrophobic expansion of the clay inter-gallery spacing is the crucial step for enhancing the compatibility and the ultimate preparation of the advanced epoxy materials.

  20. Synthesis of zeolite from rice husk ash waste of brick industries as hydrophobic adsorbent for fuel grade ethanol purification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purnomo, A.; Alhanif, M.; Khotimah, C.; Zuhra, UA; Putri, BR; Kumoro, AC

    2017-11-01

    A lot of researchers have devoted on ethanol utilization as renewable energy to substitute petroleum based gasoline. When ethanol is being used as a new fuel candidate, it should have at least of 99.5% purity. Usually produced via sugar fermentation process, further purification of ethanol from other components in fermentation broth to obtain its fuel grade is a crucial step. The purpose of this research is to produce synthetic zeolite as hydrophobic adsorbent from rice husk ash for ethanol-water separation and to investigate the influence of weight, adsorption time and initial ethanol concentration on zeolite adsorption capacity. This research consisted of rice husk silica extraction, preparation of hydrophobic zeolite adsorbent, physical characterization using SEM, EDX and adsorption test for an ethanol-water solution. Zeolite with highest adsorption capacity was obtained with 15: 1 alumina silica composition. The best adsorption condition was achieved when 4-gram hydrophobic zeolite applied for adsorption of 100 mL of 10% (v/v) ethanol-water solution for 120 minutes, which resulted in ethanol with 98.93% (v/v) purity. The hydrophobic zeolite from rice husk ash is a potential candidate as an efficient adsorbent to purify raw ethanol into fuel grade ethanol. Implementation of this new adsorbent for ethanol production in commercial scale may reduce the energy consumption of that usually used for the distillation processes.

  1. Influence of hydrophobic modification in alginate-based hydrogels for biomedical applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choudhary, Soumitra

    Alginate has been exploited commercially for decades in foods, textiles, paper, pharmaceutical industries, and also as a detoxifier for removing heavy metals. Alginate is also popular in cell encapsulation because of its relatively mild gelation protocol and simple chemistry with which biological active entities can be immobilized. Surface modification of alginate gels has been explored to induce desired cell interactions with the gel matrix. These modifications alter the bulk properties, which strongly determine on how cells feel and response to the three-dimensional microenvironment. However, there is a need to develop strategies to engineer functionalities into bulk alginate hydrogels that not only preserve their inherent qualities but are also less toxic. In this thesis, our main focus was to optimize the mechanical properties of alginate-based hydrogels, and by doing so control the performance of the biomaterials. In the first scheme, we used alginate and hydrophobically modified ethyl hydroxy ethyl cellulose as components in interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) gels. The second network was used to control gelation time and rheological properties. We believe these experiments also may provide insight into the mechanical and structural properties of more complex biopolymer gels and naturally-occurring IPNs. Next, we worked on incorporating a hydrophobic moiety directly into the alginate chain, resulting in materials for extended release of hydrophobic drugs. We successfully synthesized hydrophobically modified alginate (HMA) by attaching octylamine groups onto the alginate backbone by standard carbodiimide based amide coupling reaction. Solubility of several model hydrophobic drugs in dilute HMA solutions was found to be increased by more than an order of magnitude. HMA hydrogels, prepared by crosslinking the alginate chains with calcium ions, were found to exhibit excellent mechanical properties (modulus ˜100 kPa) with release extended upto 5 days. Ability

  2. Structural and thermodynamic aspects of aqueous solution of trivalent lanthanides complexation by hydrophobic compounds of tartaric acid, by gluconic acid and related molecules. Outlook for liquid-liquid extraction of these cations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giroux, Sebastien

    1999-01-01

    This work deals with the complexation of lanthanide(III) ions by different molecules and with the synthesis of hydrophobic molecules able to extract them of an aqueous solution. Its aim is to describe the systems obtained by the determination of the formation constants of the species and by the description of their structure. The aim of this work is also to obtain a selective complexation of lanthanides(III) towards actinides(III), because this aim presents a great interest in the reprocessing of radioactive wastes. The complexation studies have been followed by potentiometry, NMR, UV-visible spectroscopy and circular dichroism. The first mixtures studied are the couples: lanthanide(III)-gluconic acid (LH). The complexes system they formed has been described and the structures have been specified; a strong complexation has been revealed. The MLH -2 specie induces a selectivity between the lanthanides(III) equivalent to those obtained with EDTA and its uncharged character allows to consider the use of gluconic acid as extractant. The use of ligands as glucosaminic acid or glucamine slows the beginning of the complexation until pH= 6-7. The neutral specie MLH -2 is formed too. In order to use the complexing properties of gluconic acid and its selective character towards lanthanides(III), the synthesis of molecules derived containing a long alkyl chain with a hydrophobic character has been carried out for using them as extracting agents. An original method of the preparation of tartramides is presented. This preparation consists of an amidation of one of the carboxylic functions of the tartaric acid by a fatty amine. These molecules, surface-active, complex the lanthanides(III) and extract them in an organic phase using the tri-n-butyl phosphate as co-extractant. (O.M.)

  3. Order and correlation contributions to the entropy of hydrophobic solvation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Maoyuan; Besford, Quinn Alexander; Mulvaney, Thomas; Gray-Weale, Angus, E-mail: gusgw@gusgw.net [School of Chemistry, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 (Australia)

    2015-03-21

    The entropy of hydrophobic solvation has been explained as the result of ordered solvation structures, of hydrogen bonds, of the small size of the water molecule, of dispersion forces, and of solvent density fluctuations. We report a new approach to the calculation of the entropy of hydrophobic solvation, along with tests of and comparisons to several other methods. The methods are assessed in the light of the available thermodynamic and spectroscopic information on the effects of temperature on hydrophobic solvation. Five model hydrophobes in SPC/E water give benchmark solvation entropies via Widom’s test-particle insertion method, and other methods and models are tested against these particle-insertion results. Entropies associated with distributions of tetrahedral order, of electric field, and of solvent dipole orientations are examined. We find these contributions are small compared to the benchmark particle-insertion entropy. Competitive with or better than other theories in accuracy, but with no free parameters, is the new estimate of the entropy contributed by correlations between dipole moments. Dipole correlations account for most of the hydrophobic solvation entropy for all models studied and capture the distinctive temperature dependence seen in thermodynamic and spectroscopic experiments. Entropies based on pair and many-body correlations in number density approach the correct magnitudes but fail to describe temperature and size dependences, respectively. Hydrogen-bond definitions and free energies that best reproduce entropies from simulations are reported, but it is difficult to choose one hydrogen bond model that fits a variety of experiments. The use of information theory, scaled-particle theory, and related methods is discussed briefly. Our results provide a test of the Frank-Evans hypothesis that the negative solvation entropy is due to structured water near the solute, complement the spectroscopic detection of that solvation structure by

  4. Durability of hydrophobic treatment of concrete

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vries, J. de; Polder, R.B.; Borsje, H.

    1998-01-01

    The subject of this study was the performance of hydrophobic treatment to protect concrete against chloride penetration from de-icing salts. Hydrophobic treatment makes a concrete surface absorb less water and less chloride. Test methods and requirements for commercial products were established. In

  5. Durability of hydrophobic treatment of concrete

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vries, J. de; Polder, R.B.; Borsje, H.

    1998-01-01

    The subject of this study was the performance of hydrophobic treatment to protect concrete against chloride penetration from de-icing salts. Hydrophobic treatment makes a concrete surface absorb less water and less chloride. Several types of tests were carried out to study the performance of

  6. Dewetting and Hydrophobic Interaction in Physical and Biological Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berne, Bruce J.; Weeks, John D.; Zhou, Ruhong

    2013-01-01

    Hydrophobicity manifests itself differently on large and small length scales. This review focuses on large length scale hydrophobicity, particularly on dewetting at single hydrophobic surfaces and drying in regions bounded on two or more sides by hydrophobic surfaces. We review applicable theories, simulations and experiments pertaining to large scale hydrophobicity in physical and biomoleclar systems and clarify some of the critical issues pertaining to this subject. Given space constraints, we could not review all of the significant and interesting work in this very active field. PMID:18928403

  7. Robust hydrophobic polyurethane fibrous membranes with tunable porous structure for waterproof and breathable application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Jiatai; Gu, Haihong; Cao, Jin; Chen, Shaojie; Li, Ni; Xiong, Jie

    2018-05-01

    In this work, novel nanofibrous membranes with waterproof and breathable (W&B) performance were successfully fabricated by the combination of electrospinning and surface modification technology. This fibrous membranes consisted of polyurethane (PU), NaCl, and fluoroalkylsilane (FAS). Firstly, The fibrous construction and porous structure of fibrous membranes were regulated by tuning the NaCl concentrations in PU solutions. Then, the obtained PU/NaCl fibrous membranes were further modified with fluoroalkylsilane (FAS) to improve hydrophobic property. The synergistic effect of porous structure and hydrophobicity on waterproof and breathable performance was investigated. Furthermore, the mechanical property of fibrous membranes was deeply analysed on the basis of macromolecule orientation and adhesive structure. Benefiting from the optimized porous structure and hydrophobic modification, the resultant fibrous membranes exhibited excellent waterproof (hydrostatic pressure of 1261 Mbar), breathable (water vapor transmission (WVT) rate of 9.06 kg m-2 d-1 and air permeability of 4.8 mm s-1) performance, as well as high tensile strength (breakage stress of 10.4 MPa), suggesting a promising candidate for various applications, especially in protective clothing.

  8. Origin of poor doping efficiency in solution processed organic semiconductors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jha, Ajay; Duan, Hong-Guang; Tiwari, Vandana; Thorwart, Michael; Miller, R J Dwayne

    2018-05-21

    Doping is an extremely important process where intentional insertion of impurities in semiconductors controls their electronic properties. In organic semiconductors, one of the convenient, but inefficient, ways of doping is the spin casting of a precursor mixture of components in solution, followed by solvent evaporation. Active control over this process holds the key to significant improvements over current poor doping efficiencies. Yet, an optimized control can only come from a detailed understanding of electronic interactions responsible for the low doping efficiencies. Here, we use two-dimensional nonlinear optical spectroscopy to examine these interactions in the course of the doping process by probing the solution mixture of doped organic semiconductors. A dopant accepts an electron from the semiconductor and the two ions form a duplex of interacting charges known as ion-pair complexes. Well-resolved off-diagonal peaks in the two-dimensional spectra clearly demonstrate the electronic connectivity among the ions in solution. This electronic interaction represents a well resolved electrostatically bound state, as opposed to a random distribution of ions. We developed a theoretical model to recover the experimental data, which reveals an unexpectedly strong electronic coupling of ∼250 cm -1 with an intermolecular distance of ∼4.5 Å between ions in solution, which is approximately the expected distance in processed films. The fact that this relationship persists from solution to the processed film gives direct evidence that Coulomb interactions are retained from the precursor solution to the processed films. This memory effect renders the charge carriers equally bound also in the film and, hence, results in poor doping efficiencies. This new insight will help pave the way towards rational tailoring of the electronic interactions to improve doping efficiencies in processed organic semiconductor thin films.

  9. Hydrophobically Modified Sulfonated Polyacrylamides for IOR: Correlations between Associative Behavior and Injectivity in the Diluted Regime Polyacrylamides sulfonés modifiés hydrophobes pour la RAH (IOR : corrélations entre le caractère associatif et l’injectivité en régime dilué

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dupuis G.

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available We report new experimental correlations between the injectivity through polycarbonate membranes and associative properties of random Hydrophobically Modified Water Soluble Polymers (HMWSP with sulfonated polyacrylamides (SPAM backbones and variable compositions in hydrophobic units. The investigations are focused on both their associative behavior in the diluted and semi-diluted regime and their injectivity under frontal filtration conditions in the diluted regime. Results from viscosimetric and dynamic light scattering measurements indicate the existence of thresholds in terms of amount (≥ 0.5 mol% and mass (≥ C12 of alkyl hydrophobic units above which interchain interactions arise. These interactions are evidenced by the presence of multichain aggregates in diluted solutions and by enhanced thickening abilities in semi- diluted solutions. The filtration study was performed with capillary pore membranes (track-etched in the Darcy regime under constant -flow rate and high Jamming Ratio conditions. Results show that: injection of diluted solutions of HMWSP without interchaininteractions (i.e. with composition in hydrophobic units belowthe above mentioned thresholds does not lead to significantmobility and permeability reductions as compared to theinjection of a reference Water Soluble Polymer (WSP; injection of diluted solutions of HMWSP with interchain interactions leads to significant mobility and permeability reductions; HMWSP-induced mobility and permeability reductions are essentially due to irreversible polymer adsorption on the pore walls and not to the formation of filter-cakes; HMWSP adsorbed layers thicknesses are limited by the effective stress applied by the solution’s flow in the pores. Nous présentons de nouvelles corrélations expérimentales entre l’injectivité dans des membranes de polycarbonate et le caractère associatif de Polymères Hydrosolubles Modifiés Hydrophobes (PHMH ayant des squelettes de polyacrylamide

  10. The hydrophobic effect: Molecular dynamics simulations of water confined between extended hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Morten Østergaard; Mouritsen, Ole G.; Peters, Günther H.J.

    2004-01-01

    Structural and dynamic properties of water confined between two parallel, extended, either hydrophobic or hydrophilic crystalline surfaces of n-alkane C36H74 or n-alcohol C35H71OH, are studied by molecular dynamics simulations. Electron density profiles, directly compared with corresponding......-correlation functions reveal that water molecules have characteristic diffusive behavior and orientational ordering due to the lack of hydrogen bonding interactions with the surface. These observations suggest that the altered dynamical properties of water in contact with extended hydrophobic surfaces together...... at both surfaces. The ordering is characteristically different between the surfaces and of longer range at the hydrophilic surface. Furthermore, the dynamic properties of water are different at the two surfaces and different from the bulk behavior. In particular, at the hydrophobic surface, time...

  11. Organisation and shape of micellar solutions of block copolymers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaspard, J. P.; Creutz, S.; Bouchat, Ph.; Jérôme, R.; Cohen Stuart, M.

    1997-02-01

    Diblock copolymers of polymethacrylic acid sodium salt, forming the hair, and styrene derivatives have been studied in aqueous solutions by SANS and SAXS. The influence of both the chemical nature and the length of the hydrophobic bloxk on the size and shape of micelles have been investigated. The micellar core size is in agreement with the theoretical evaluation for copolymers with a short hydrophobic sequence. In contrast, in case of larger hydrophobic blocks, the measured size is incompatible with a star-like model. Various hypotheses are presented for the latter.

  12. Surface Hydrophobicity Causes SO2 Tolerance in Lichens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hauck, Markus; Jürgens, Sascha-René; Brinkmann, Martin; Herminghaus, Stephan

    2008-01-01

    Background and Aims The superhydrophobicity of the thallus surface in one of the most SO2-tolerant lichen species, Lecanora conizaeoides, suggests that surface hydrophobicity could be a general feature of lichen symbioses controlling their tolerance to SO2. The study described here tests this hypothesis. Methods Water droplets of the size of a raindrop were placed on the surface of air-dry thalli in 50 lichen species of known SO2 tolerance and contact angles were measured to quantify hydrophobicity. Key Results The wettability of lichen thalli ranges from strongly hydrophobic to strongly hydrophilic. SO2 tolerance of the studied lichen species increased with increasing hydrophobicity of the thallus surface. Extraction of extracellular lichen secondary metabolites with acetone reduced, but did not abolish the hydrophobicity of lichen thalli. Conclusions Surface hydrophobicity is the main factor controlling SO2 tolerance in lichens. It presumably originally evolved as an adaptation to wet habitats preventing the depression of net photosynthesis due to supersaturation of the thallus with water. Hydrophilicity of lichen thalli is an adaptation to dry or humid, but not directly rain-exposed habitats. The crucial role of surface hydrophobicity in SO2 also explains why many markedly SO2-tolerant species are additionally tolerant to other (chemically unrelated) toxic substances including heavy metals. PMID:18077467

  13. Influence of non-hydrophobic factors on the sorption of ionizable xenobiotics to solids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lützhøft, Hans-Christian Holten; Franco, Antonio; Trapp, Stefan

    2011-01-01

    It is well known that xenobiotics sorp to solid phases like soil and sediment, depending on their inherent properties and environmental conditions. Traditionally it was accepted, that the hydrophobicity of the chemical, i.e. the log KOW, as well as the solid’s content of organic carbon (OC) were...

  14. Low proliferation and high apoptosis of osteoblastic cells on hydrophobic surface are associated with defective Ras signaling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Eun-Ju; Kim, Hong-Hee; Huh, Jung-Eun; Kim, In-Ae; Seung Ko, Jea; Chung, Chong-Pyoung; Kim, Hyun-Man

    2005-01-01

    The hydrophobic (HPB) nature of most polymeric biomaterials has been a major obstacle in using those materials in vivo due to low compatibility with cells. However, there is little knowledge of the molecular detail to explain how surface hydrophobicity affects cell responses. In this study, we compared the proliferation and apoptosis of human osteoblastic MG63 cells adhered to hydrophilic (HPL) and hydrophobic surfaces. On the hydrophobic surface, less formation of focal contacts and actin stress fibers, a delay in cell cycle progression, and an increase in apoptosis were observed. By using fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1) as a model growth factor, we also investigated intracellular signaling pathways on hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. The activation of Ras, Akt, and ERK by FGF1 was impaired in MG63 cells on the hydrophobic surface. The overexpression of constitutively active form of Ras and Akt rescued those cells from apoptosis and recovered cell cycle progression. Furthermore, their overexpression also restored the actin cytoskeletal organization on the hydrophobic surface. Finally, the proliferative, antiapoptotic, and cytoskeletal effects of constitutively active Ras in MG63 cells on the hydrophobic surface were blocked by wortmannin and PD98059 that inhibit Akt and ERK activation, respectively. Therefore, our results suggest that the activation of Ras and its downstream molecules Akt and ERK to an appropriate level is one of crucial elements in the determination of osteoblast cell responses. The Ras pathway may represent a cell biological target that should be considered for successful surface modification of biomaterials to induce adequate cell responses in the bone tissue

  15. Heat-resistant hydrophobic-oleophobic coatings

    OpenAIRE

    Uyanik, Mehmet; Arpac, Ertugrul; Schmidt, Helmut K.; Akarsu, Murat; Sayilkan, Funda; Sayilkan, Hikmet

    2006-01-01

    Thermally and chemically durable hydrophobic oleophobic coatings, containing different ceramic particles such as SiO2, SiC, Al 2O3, which can be alternative instead of Teflon, have been developed and applied on the aluminum substrates by spin-coating method. Polyimides, which are high-thermal resistant heteroaromatic polymers, were synthesized, and fluor oligomers were added to these polymers to obtain hydrophobic-oleophobic properties. After coating, Al surface was subjected to Taber-abrasio...

  16. Resistive switching characteristics of solution-processed organic-inorganic blended films for flexible memory applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baek, Il-Jin; Cho, Won-Ju

    2018-02-01

    We developed a hybrid organic-inorganic resistive random access memory (ReRAM) device that uses a solution-process to overcome the disadvantages of organic and inorganic materials for flexible memory applications. The drawbacks of organic and inorganic materials are a poor electrical characteristics and a lack of flexibility, respectively. We fabricated a hybrid organic-inorganic switching layer of ReRAM by blending HfOx or AlOx solution with PMMA solution and investigated the resistive switching behaviour in Ti/PMMA/Pt, Ti/PMMA-HfOx/Pt and Ti/PMMA-AlOx/Pt structures. It is found that PMMA-HfOx or PMMA-AlOx hybrid switching layer has a larger memory window, more stable durability and retention characteristics, and a better set/reset voltage distribution than PMMA layer. Further, it is confirmed that the flexibility of the PMMA-HfOx and PMMA-AlOx blended films was almost similar to that of the organic PMMA film. Thus, the solution-processed organic-inorganic blended films are considered a promising material for a non-volatile memory device on a flexible or wearable electronic system.

  17. Fish skin bacteria: Colonial and cellular hydrophobicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sar, N; Rosenberg, E

    1987-05-01

    Bacteria were desorbed from the skin of healthy, fast-swimming fish by several procedures, including brief exposure to sonic oscillation and treatment with nontoxic surface active agents. The surface properties of these bacteria were studied by measuring their adhesion to hexadecane, as well as by a newly developed, simple method for studying the hydrophobicity of bacterial lawns. This method, referred to as the "Direction of Spreading" (DOS) method, consists of recording the direction to which a water drop spreads when introduced at the border between bacterial lawns and other surfaces. Of the 13 fish skin isolates examined, two strains were as hydrophobic as polystyrene by the DOS method. Suspended cells of one of these strains adhered strongly to hexadecane (84%), whereas cells of the other strain adhered poorly (13%). Another strain which was almost as hydrophobic as polystyrene by the DOS method did not adhere to hexadecane at all. Similarly, lawns of three other strains were more hydrophobic than glass by the DOS method, but cell suspensions prepared from these colonies showed little or no adhesion to hexadecane. The high colonial but relatively low cellular hydrophobicity could be due to a hydrophobic slime that is removed during the suspension and washing procedures. The possibility that specific bacteria assist in fish locomotion by changing the surface properties of the fish skin and by producing drag-reducing polymers is discussed.

  18. A new viscosupplement based on partially hydrophobic hyaluronic acid: a comparative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finelli, Ivana; Chiessi, Ester; Galesso, Devis; Renier, Davide; Paradossi, Gaio

    2011-01-01

    A novel partially hydrophobized derivative of hyaluronic acid (HYADD® 4), containing a low number of C16 side-chains per polysaccharide backbone, provides injectable hydrogels stabilized by side-chain hydrophobic interactions. The rheological properties of Hymovis®, a physical hydrogel based on the hyaluronic acid derivative HYADD® 4, were evaluated using as reference a solution of the parent natural polysaccharide, hyaluronic acid. The rheological measurements were performed both in flow and oscillation regimes at the physiological frequency values of the knee, typically spanning the range from 0.5 Hz (walking frequency) to 3 Hz (running frequency). Moreover, the viscoelastic features of Hymovis® were compared with the market-available viscosupplementation products in view of its use in joint diseases.The different behavior of the investigated materials in crossover frequency measurements and in structure recovery experiments can be explained on the basis of the structural and dynamic properties of the polymeric systems.

  19. Synthesis, characterisation and physicochemical properties of hydrophobically modified inulin using long-chain fatty acyl chlorides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Lingyu; Ratcliffe, I; Williams, P A

    2017-12-15

    A series of inulin derivatives were synthesized in aqueous solution using acyl chlorides with varying alkyl chain length (C10-C16). They were characterised using a number of techniques including MALDI TOF-MS, 1 H NMR and FTIR and their degree of substitution determined. The solution properties of the hydrophobically modified inulins were investigated using dye solubilisation and surface tension and it was confirmed that the molecules aggregated in solution above a critical concentration (critical aggregation concentration, CAC). The value of the CAC was found to be reasonably consistent between the different techniques and was shown to decrease with increasing hydrophobe chain length. It was found that the C10, C12 and C14 derivatives formed stable oil-in-water emulsions and the emulsion droplet size decreased with increasing alkyl chain length. The C16 derivative was not able to produce stable oil-in-water emulsions; however, it was able to form stable water-in-oil emulsions. The fact that the derivatives are able to form micellar-like aggregates and stabilise emulsions makes them suitable candidates for the encapsulation and delivery of active compounds with potential application in food, cosmetic, personal care and pharmaceutical formulations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Hydrophobicity-induced drying transition in alkanethiol self ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Raman Research Institute, C.V. Raman Avenue, Bangalore 560 080, India ... Hydrophobicity; hydrophobic gap; self-assembled monolayer; length scale dependent .... From our work, we find that when the alkanethiol SAM is prepared from a.

  1. Organic components and plutonium and americium state in soils and soil solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sokolik, G.A.; Ovsyannikova, S.V.; Kimlenko, I.M.

    2002-01-01

    The fraction composition of humus substances of different type soils and soil solutions have been studied. A distribution of Pu 239, 240 and Am 241 between humus substances fractions of different dispersity and mobility in soil-vegetation cover has been established. It was shown that humus of organic soils fixes plutonium and americium in soil medium in greater extent than humus of mineral soils. That leads to lower migration ability of radionuclides in organic soils. The lower ability of americium to form difficultly soluble organic and organic-mineral complexes and predomination of its anion complexes in soil solutions may be a reason of higher mobility and biological availability of americium in comparison to plutonium during soil-plant transfer (authors)

  2. Mechanism of the extraction of nitric acid and water by organic solutions of tertiary alkyl-amines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gourisse, D.

    1966-06-01

    The micellar aggregation of tri-alkyl-ammonium nitrates in low polarity organic solvents has been verified by viscosity, conductivity and sedimentation velocity measurements. The aggregation depends upon the polarity of solvent, the length of the alkyl radicals and the organic concentration of the various constituents (tri-alkyl-ammonium nitrate, tri-alkyl-amine, nitric acid, water). The amine salification law has been established and the excess nitric acid and water solubilities in the organic solutions have been measured. Nitric acid and water are slightly more soluble in micellar organic solutions than in molecular organic solutions. A description of excess nitric acid containing tri-alkyl-ammonium nitrate solutions is proposed. (author) [fr

  3. Doping Polymer Semiconductors by Organic Salts: Toward High-Performance Solution-Processed Organic Field-Effect Transistors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Yuanyuan; Rengert, Zachary D; McDowell, Caitlin; Ford, Michael J; Wang, Ming; Karki, Akchheta; Lill, Alexander T; Bazan, Guillermo C; Nguyen, Thuc-Quyen

    2018-04-24

    Solution-processed organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) were fabricated with the addition of an organic salt, trityl tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate (TrTPFB), into thin films of donor-acceptor copolymer semiconductors. The performance of OFETs is significantly enhanced after the organic salt is incorporated. TrTPFB is confirmed to p-dope the organic semiconductors used in this study, and the doping efficiency as well as doping physics was investigated. In addition, systematic electrical and structural characterizations reveal how the doping enhances the performance of OFETs. Furthermore, it is shown that this organic salt doping method is feasible for both p- and n-doping by using different organic salts and, thus, can be utilized to achieve high-performance OFETs and organic complementary circuits.

  4. In-line gas chromatographic apparatus for measuring the hydrophobic micropore volume (HMV) and contaminant transformation in mineral micropores

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheng Hefa [State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640 (China); Reinhard, Martin, E-mail: reinhard@stanford.edu [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-4020 (United States)

    2010-07-15

    Desorption of hydrophobic organic compounds from micropores is characteristically slow compared to surface adsorption and partitioning. The slow-desorbing mass of a hydrophobic probe molecule can be used to calculate the hydrophobic micropore volume (HMV) of microporous solids. A gas chromatographic apparatus is described that allows characterization of the sorbed mass with respect to the desorption rate. The method is demonstrated using a dealuminated zeolite and an aquifer sand as the model and reference sorbents, respectively, and trichloroethylene (TCE) as the probe molecule. A glass column packed with the microporous sorbent is coupled directly to a gas chromatograph that is equipped with flame ionization and electron capture detectors. Sorption and desorption of TCE on the sorbent was measured by sampling the influent and effluent of the column using a combination of switching and injection valves. For geosorbents, the HMV is quantified based on Gurvitsch's rule from the mass of TCE desorbed at a rate that is characteristic for micropores. Instrumental requirements, design considerations, hardware details, detector calibration, performance, and data analysis are discussed along with applications. The method is novel and complements traditional vacuum gravimetric and piezometric techniques, which quantify the total pore volume under vacuum conditions. The HMV is more relevant than the total micropore volume for predicting the fate and transport of organic contaminants in the subsurface. Sorption in hydrophobic micropores strongly impacts the mobility of organic contaminants, and their chemical and biological transformations. The apparatus can serve as a tool for characterizing microprous solids and investigating contaminant-solid interactions.

  5. In-line gas chromatographic apparatus for measuring the hydrophobic micropore volume (HMV) and contaminant transformation in mineral micropores

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng Hefa; Reinhard, Martin

    2010-01-01

    Desorption of hydrophobic organic compounds from micropores is characteristically slow compared to surface adsorption and partitioning. The slow-desorbing mass of a hydrophobic probe molecule can be used to calculate the hydrophobic micropore volume (HMV) of microporous solids. A gas chromatographic apparatus is described that allows characterization of the sorbed mass with respect to the desorption rate. The method is demonstrated using a dealuminated zeolite and an aquifer sand as the model and reference sorbents, respectively, and trichloroethylene (TCE) as the probe molecule. A glass column packed with the microporous sorbent is coupled directly to a gas chromatograph that is equipped with flame ionization and electron capture detectors. Sorption and desorption of TCE on the sorbent was measured by sampling the influent and effluent of the column using a combination of switching and injection valves. For geosorbents, the HMV is quantified based on Gurvitsch's rule from the mass of TCE desorbed at a rate that is characteristic for micropores. Instrumental requirements, design considerations, hardware details, detector calibration, performance, and data analysis are discussed along with applications. The method is novel and complements traditional vacuum gravimetric and piezometric techniques, which quantify the total pore volume under vacuum conditions. The HMV is more relevant than the total micropore volume for predicting the fate and transport of organic contaminants in the subsurface. Sorption in hydrophobic micropores strongly impacts the mobility of organic contaminants, and their chemical and biological transformations. The apparatus can serve as a tool for characterizing microprous solids and investigating contaminant-solid interactions.

  6. In-line gas chromatographic apparatus for measuring the hydrophobic micropore volume (HMV) and contaminant transformation in mineral micropores.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Hefa; Reinhard, Martin

    2010-07-15

    Desorption of hydrophobic organic compounds from micropores is characteristically slow compared to surface adsorption and partitioning. The slow-desorbing mass of a hydrophobic probe molecule can be used to calculate the hydrophobic micropore volume (HMV) of microporous solids. A gas chromatographic apparatus is described that allows characterization of the sorbed mass with respect to the desorption rate. The method is demonstrated using a dealuminated zeolite and an aquifer sand as the model and reference sorbents, respectively, and trichloroethylene (TCE) as the probe molecule. A glass column packed with the microporous sorbent is coupled directly to a gas chromatograph that is equipped with flame ionization and electron capture detectors. Sorption and desorption of TCE on the sorbent was measured by sampling the influent and effluent of the column using a combination of switching and injection valves. For geosorbents, the HMV is quantified based on Gurvitsch's rule from the mass of TCE desorbed at a rate that is characteristic for micropores. Instrumental requirements, design considerations, hardware details, detector calibration, performance, and data analysis are discussed along with applications. The method is novel and complements traditional vacuum gravimetric and piezometric techniques, which quantify the total pore volume under vacuum conditions. The HMV is more relevant than the total micropore volume for predicting the fate and transport of organic contaminants in the subsurface. Sorption in hydrophobic micropores strongly impacts the mobility of organic contaminants, and their chemical and biological transformations. The apparatus can serve as a tool for characterizing microporous solids and investigating contaminant-solid interactions. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Performance of a Novel Hydrophobic Mesoporous Material for High Temperature Catalytic Oxidation of Naphthalene

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guotao Zhao

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A high surface area, hydrophobic mesoporous material, MFS, has been successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal synthesis method using a perfluorinated surfactant, SURFLON S-386, as the single template. N2 adsorption and TEM were employed to characterize the pore structure and morphology of MFS. Static water adsorption test indicates that the hydrophobicity of MFS is significantly higher than that of MCM-41. XPS and Py-GC/MS analysis confirmed the existence of perfluoroalkyl groups in MFS which led to its high hydrophobicity. MFS was used as a support for CuO in experiments of catalytic combustion of naphthalene, where it showed a significant advantage over MCM-41 and ZSM-5. SEM was helpful in understanding why CuO-MFS performed so well in the catalytic combustion of naphthalene. Experimental results indicated that MFS was a suitable support for catalytic combustion of large molecular organic compounds, especially for some high temperature catalytic reactions when water vapor was present.

  8. Rat organic solute carrier protein 1 (rOscp1) mediated the transport of organic solutes in Xenopus laevis oocytes: isolation and pharmacological characterization of rOscp1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izuno, Hisanori; Kobayashi, Yasuna; Sanada, Yutaka; Nihei, Daisuke; Suzuki, Masako; Kohyama, Noriko; Ohbayashi, Masayuki; Yamamoto, Toshinori

    2007-09-22

    Rat organic solute carrier protein 1 (rOscp1) was isolated from a rat testis cDNA library. Isolated rOscp1 cDNA consisted of 1089 base pairs that encoded a 363-amino acid protein, and the amino acid sequence was 88% and 93% identical to that of human OSCP1 (hOSCP1) and mouse Oscp1 (mOscp1), respectively. The message for rOscp1 is highly detected in rat testis. When expressed in X. oocytes, rOscp1 mediated the high affinity transport of p-aminohippurate (PAH) with a Km value of 15.7+/-1.9 microM, and rOscp1-mediated organic solutes were exhibited in time- and Na+-independent manners. rOscp1 also transported various structurally heterogenous compounds such as testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), and taurocholate with some differences in substrate specificity compared with hOSCP1. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the rOscp1 protein is localized in the basal membrane side of Sertoli cells as observed in mouse testis [Kobayashi et al., 2007; Kobayashi, Y., Tsuchiya, A., Hayashi, T., Kohyama, N., Ohbayashi, M., Yamamoto, T., 2007. Isolation and characterization of polyspecific mouse organic solute carrier protein 1 (mOscp1). Drug Metabolism and Disposition 35 (7), 1239-1245]. Thus, the present results indicate that a newly isolated cDNA clone, rOscp1, is a polyspecific organic solute carrier protein with some differences in substrate specificity compared with human and mouse OSCP1.

  9. Fate and wetting potential of bio-refractory organics in membrane distillation for coke wastewater treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Jing; Li, Jianfeng; Chen, Zuliang; Cheng, Fangqin

    2018-06-02

    Membrane distillation (MD) has been hindered in industrial applications due to the potential wetting or fouling caused by complicated organic compositions. This study investigated the correlations between the fate and wetting potential of bio-refractory organics in the MD process, where three coke wastewater samples pre-treated with bio-degradation and coagulation served as feed solutions. Results showed that although most of the bio-refractory organics in coke wastewater were rejected by the hydrophobic membrane, some volatile aromatic organics including benzenes, phenols, quinolines and naphthalenes passed through the membrane during the MD process. Interestingly, membrane wetting occurred coincidently with the penetration of phenolic and heterocyclic organics. The wetting rate was obviously correlated with the feed composition and membrane surface properties. Ultimately, novel insights into the anti-wetting strategy of MD with bio-refractory organics was proposed, illustrating that the polyaluminum chloride/polyacrylamide coagulation not only removed contaminants which could accelerate membrane wetting, but also retarded membrane wetting by the complexation with organics. The deposition of these complexes on the membrane surface introduced a secondary hydrophilic layer on the hydrophobic substrate, which established a composite membrane structure with superior wetting resistance. These new findings would be beneficial to wetting control in membrane distillation for wastewater treatment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Progress in high-efficient solution process organic photovoltaic devices fundamentals, materials, devices and fabrication

    CERN Document Server

    Li, Gang

    2015-01-01

    This book presents an important technique to process organic photovoltaic devices. The basics, materials aspects and manufacturing of photovoltaic devices with solution processing are explained. Solution processable organic solar cells - polymer or solution processable small molecules - have the potential to significantly reduce the costs for solar electricity and energy payback time due to the low material costs for the cells, low cost and fast fabrication processes (ambient, roll-to-roll), high material utilization etc. In addition, organic photovoltaics (OPV) also provides attractive properties like flexibility, colorful displays and transparency which could open new market opportunities. The material and device innovations lead to improved efficiency by 8% for organic photovoltaic solar cells, compared to 4% in 2005. Both academic and industry research have significant interest in the development of this technology. This book gives an overview of the booming technology, focusing on the solution process fo...

  11. Hydrophobic treatment of concrete as protection against chloride penetration

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vries, J. de; Polder, R.B.; Borsje, H.

    1996-01-01

    Hydrophobic treatment makes a concrete surface absorb less water and less chloride. Hydrophobic treatment was studied as a protection agninst chloride penetration from deicing salts. Test methods were designed. Nine hydrophobic products were tested, of which three complied to the requirements on

  12. All-solution processed organic solar cells with top illumination

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Patil, B.R.; Shanmugam, S.; Teunissen, J.P.; Galagan, Y.

    2015-01-01

    All-solution processed organic solar cells with inverted device architecture were demonstrated. Devices contain opaque bottom electrodes and semitransparent top electrodes, resulting in top illuminated devices. Nanoparticles-based Ag ink was used for inkjet printing both top and bottom electrodes.

  13. Increasing the Performance of Vacuum Membrane Distillation Using Micro-Structured Hydrophobic Aluminum Hollow Fiber Membranes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chia-Chieh Ko

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This study develops a micro-structured hydrophobic alumina hollow fiber with a high permeate flux of 60 Lm−2h−1 and salt rejection over 99.9% in a vacuum membrane distillation process. The fiber is fabricated by phase inversion and sintering, and then modified with fluoroalkylsilanes to render it hydrophobic. The influence of the sintering temperature and feeding temperature in membrane distillation (MD on the characteristics of the fiber and MD performance are investigated. The vacuum membrane distillation uses 3.5 wt % NaCl aqueous solution at 70 °C at 0.03 bar. The permeate flux of 60 Lm−2h−1 is the highest, compared with reported data and is higher than that for polymeric hollow fiber membranes.

  14. Removal of methylene blue from its aqueous solution by froth flotation: hydrophobic silica nanoparticle as a collector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Nan; Liu, Wei; Ding, Linlin; Wu, Zhaoliang, E-mail: zhaoliangwu-hebut@163.com; Yin, Hao; Huang, Di; Li, Hongzhen; Jin, Lixue; Zheng, Huijie [Hebei University of Technology, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology (China)

    2017-02-15

    Dye pollution has been a severe problem faced by worldwide environmentalists. The use of nanoparticles as adsorbents has attracted widespread interests for effectively removing dyes, while the separation of them from an aqueous solution is a difficult and important subject. For achieving the simultaneous removal of methylene blue (MB) and nanoadsorbents, this work utilized a commercial hydrophobic silica nanoparticle (SNP) (200.0 ± 10.0 nm in average particle size) as a collector and then developed a novel froth flotation technology without using any surfactants. Under the suitable conditions of anhydrous ethanol dosage of 8 mL, pH of 9.0, SNP concentration of 600 mg/L, and flotation column height of 600 mm, the removal efficiencies of MB and SNPs and the volume ratio reached 91.1 ± 4.6%, 93.9 ± 4.7%, and 10.5 ± 0.5, respectively. Subsequently, the recovered MB-adsorbed SNPs in the foamate were separated by free setting due to their high concentration and massive agglomeration. After free setting, MB could be effectively separated from the recovered MB-adsorbed SNPs by using ethanol at pH 2.0 and repeating five cycles of washing-centrifugation. Additionally, the regenerated SNPs could be reused for removing MB up to five times. Overall, this work had a significant meaning for the treatment of dye-contaminated wastewaters.

  15. Enhanced Bioactivity of α-Tocopheryl Succinate Based Block Copolymer Nanoparticles by Reduced Hydrophobicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palao-Suay, Raquel; Aguilar, María Rosa; Parra-Ruiz, Francisco J; Maji, Samarendra; Hoogenboom, Richard; Rohner, Nathan A; Thomas, Susan N; Román, Julio San

    2016-12-01

    Well-structured amphiphilic copolymers are necessary to obtain self-assembled nanoparticles (NPs) based on synthetic polymers. Highly homogeneous and monodispersed macromolecules obtained by controlled polymerization have successfully been used for this purpose. However, disaggregation of the organized macromolecules is desired when a bioactive element, such as α-tocopheryl succinate, is introduced in self-assembled NPs and this element must be exposed or released to exert its action. The aim of this work is to demonstrate that the bioactivity of synthetic NPs based on defined reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization copolymers can be enhanced by the introduction of hydrophilic comonomers in the hydrophobic segment. The amphiphilic terpolymers are based on poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as hydrophilic block, and a hydrophobic block based on a methacrylic derivative of α-tocopheryl succinate (MTOS) and small amounts of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) (PEG-b-poly(MTOS-co-HEMA)). The introduction of HEMA reduces hydrophobicity and introduces "disorder" both in the homogeneous blocks and the compact core of the corresponding NPs. These NPs are able to encapsulate additional α-tocopheryl succinate (α-TOS) with high efficiency and their biological activity is much higher than that described for the unmodified copolymers, proposedly due to more efficient degradation and release of α-TOS, demonstrating the importance of the hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. RF plasma based selective modification of hydrophilic regions on super hydrophobic surface

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jaehyun; Hwang, Sangyeon; Cho, Dae-Hyun [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419 (Korea, Republic of); Hong, Jungwoo [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141 (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Jennifer H., E-mail: j_shin@kaist.ac.kr [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141 (Korea, Republic of); Byun, Doyoung, E-mail: dybyun@skku.edu [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419 (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-02-01

    Highlights: • Simple and amenable reforming method for a substrate with disparate patterns of hydrophilic dots on super-hydrophobic surfaces is proposed. • Wettability characteristics and modification mechanism for the surfaces are conducted and revealed through SEM, AFM, WSI, and SIMS. • Several representative materials for various applications are successfully deposited. - Abstract: Selective modification and regional alterations of the surface property have gained a great deal of attention to many engineers. In this paper, we present a simple, a cost-effective, and amendable reforming method for disparate patterns of hydrophilic regions on super-hydrophobic surfaces. Uniform super-hydrophobic layer (Contact angle; CA > 150°, root mean square (RMS) roughness ∼0.28 nm) can be formed using the atmospheric radio frequency (RF) plasma on top of the selective hydrophilic (CA ∼ 70°, RMS roughness ∼0.34 nm) patterns imprinted by electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet printing technology with polar alcohols (butyl carbitol or ethanol). The wettability of the modified surface was investigated qualitatively utilizing scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and wavelength scanning interferometer (WSI). Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) analysis showed that the alcohol addiction reaction changed the types of radicals on the super-hydrophobic surface. The wettability was found to depend sensitively on chemical radicals on the surface, not on surface morphology (particle size and surface roughness). Furthermore, three different kinds of representative hydrophilic samples (polystyrene nano-particle aqueous solution, Salmonella bacteria medium, and poly(3,4-ethylenediocythiophene) ink) were tested for uniform deposition onto the desired hydrophilic regions. This simple strategy would have broad applications in various research fields that require selective deposition of target materials.

  17. A multi-staining chip using hydrophobic valves for exfoliative cytology in cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Tae Hee; Bu, Jiyoon; Moon, Jung Eun; Kim, Young Jun; Kang, Yoon-Tae; Cho, Young-Ho; Kim, In Sik

    2017-07-01

    Exfoliative cytology is a highly established technique for the diagnosis of tumors. Various microfluidic devices have been developed to minimize the sample numbers by conjugating multiple antibodies in a single sample. However, the previous multi-staining devices require complex control lines and valves operated by external power sources, to deliver multiple antibodies separately for a single sample. In addition, most of these devices are composed of hydrophobic materials, causing unreliable results due to the non-specific binding of antibodies. Here, we present a multi-staining chip using hydrophobic valves, which is formed by the partial treatment of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). Our chip consists of a circular chamber, divided into six equal fan-shaped regions. Switchable injection ports are located at the center of the chamber and at the middle of the arc of each fan-shaped zone. Thus, our device is beneficial for minimizing the control lines, since pre-treatment solutions flow from the center to outer ports, while six different antibodies are introduced oppositely from the outer ports. Furthermore, hydrophobic narrow channels, connecting the central region and each of the six fan-shaped zones, are closed by capillary effect, thus preventing the fluidic mixing without external power sources. Meanwhile, HEMA treatment on the exterior region results in hydrophobic-to-hydrophilic transition and prevents the non-specific binding of antibodies. For the application, we measured the expression of six different antibodies in a single sample using our device. The expression levels of each antibody highly matched the conventional immunocytochemistry results. Our device enables cancer screening with a small number of antibodies for a single sample.

  18. A multi-staining chip using hydrophobic valves for exfoliative cytology in cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Tae Hee; Bu, Jiyoon; Kim, Young Jun; Kang, Yoon-Tae; Cho, Young-Ho; Moon, Jung Eun; Kim, In Sik

    2017-01-01

    Exfoliative cytology is a highly established technique for the diagnosis of tumors. Various microfluidic devices have been developed to minimize the sample numbers by conjugating multiple antibodies in a single sample. However, the previous multi-staining devices require complex control lines and valves operated by external power sources, to deliver multiple antibodies separately for a single sample. In addition, most of these devices are composed of hydrophobic materials, causing unreliable results due to the non-specific binding of antibodies. Here, we present a multi-staining chip using hydrophobic valves, which is formed by the partial treatment of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). Our chip consists of a circular chamber, divided into six equal fan-shaped regions. Switchable injection ports are located at the center of the chamber and at the middle of the arc of each fan-shaped zone. Thus, our device is beneficial for minimizing the control lines, since pre-treatment solutions flow from the center to outer ports, while six different antibodies are introduced oppositely from the outer ports. Furthermore, hydrophobic narrow channels, connecting the central region and each of the six fan-shaped zones, are closed by capillary effect, thus preventing the fluidic mixing without external power sources. Meanwhile, HEMA treatment on the exterior region results in hydrophobic-to-hydrophilic transition and prevents the non-specific binding of antibodies. For the application, we measured the expression of six different antibodies in a single sample using our device. The expression levels of each antibody highly matched the conventional immunocytochemistry results. Our device enables cancer screening with a small number of antibodies for a single sample. (paper)

  19. RF plasma based selective modification of hydrophilic regions on super hydrophobic surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jaehyun; Hwang, Sangyeon; Cho, Dae-Hyun; Hong, Jungwoo; Shin, Jennifer H.; Byun, Doyoung

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Simple and amenable reforming method for a substrate with disparate patterns of hydrophilic dots on super-hydrophobic surfaces is proposed. • Wettability characteristics and modification mechanism for the surfaces are conducted and revealed through SEM, AFM, WSI, and SIMS. • Several representative materials for various applications are successfully deposited. - Abstract: Selective modification and regional alterations of the surface property have gained a great deal of attention to many engineers. In this paper, we present a simple, a cost-effective, and amendable reforming method for disparate patterns of hydrophilic regions on super-hydrophobic surfaces. Uniform super-hydrophobic layer (Contact angle; CA > 150°, root mean square (RMS) roughness ∼0.28 nm) can be formed using the atmospheric radio frequency (RF) plasma on top of the selective hydrophilic (CA ∼ 70°, RMS roughness ∼0.34 nm) patterns imprinted by electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet printing technology with polar alcohols (butyl carbitol or ethanol). The wettability of the modified surface was investigated qualitatively utilizing scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and wavelength scanning interferometer (WSI). Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) analysis showed that the alcohol addiction reaction changed the types of radicals on the super-hydrophobic surface. The wettability was found to depend sensitively on chemical radicals on the surface, not on surface morphology (particle size and surface roughness). Furthermore, three different kinds of representative hydrophilic samples (polystyrene nano-particle aqueous solution, Salmonella bacteria medium, and poly(3,4-ethylenediocythiophene) ink) were tested for uniform deposition onto the desired hydrophilic regions. This simple strategy would have broad applications in various research fields that require selective deposition of target materials.

  20. The solubilities of significant organic compounds in HLW tank supernate solutions -- FY 1995 progress report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barney, G.S.

    1996-01-01

    At the Hanford Site organic compounds were measured in tank supernate simulant solutions during FY 1995. This solubility information will be used to determine if these organic salts could exist in solid phases (saltcake or sludges) in the waste where they might react violently with the nitrate or nitrite salts present in the tanks. Solubilities of sodium glycolate, succinate, and caproate salts; iron and aluminum and butylphosphate salts; and aluminum oxalate were measured in simulated waste supernate solutions at 25 degree C, 30 degree C, 40 degree C, and 50 degree C. The organic compounds were selected because they are expected to exist in relatively high concentrations in the tanks. The solubilities of sodium glycolate, succinate, caproate, and butylphosphate in HLW tank supernate solutions were high over the temperature and sodium hydroxide concentration ranges expected in the tanks. High solubilities will prevent solid sodium salts of these organic acids from precipitating from tank supernate solutions. The total organic carbon concentrations (YOC) of actual tank supernates are generally much lower than the TOC ranges for simulated supernate solutions saturated (at the solubility limit) with the organic salts. This is so even if all the dissolved carbon in a given tank and supernate is due to only one of these eight soluble compounds (an unlikely situation). Metal ion complexes of and butylphosphate and oxalate in supernate solutions were not stable in the presence of the hydroxide concentrations expected in most tanks. Iron and aluminum dibutylphosphate compounds reacted with hydroxide to form soluble sodium dibutylphosphate and precipitated iron and aluminum hydroxides. Aluminum oxalate complexes were also not stable in the basic simulated supernate solutions. Solubilities of all the organic salts decrease with increasing sodium hydroxide concentration because of the common ion effect of Na+. Increasing temperatures raised the solubilities of the organic

  1. The effect of (2-hydroxypropyl)-beta-cyclodextrin on rheology of hydrophobically end-capped poly(ethylene glycol) aqueous solutions

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Horský, Jiří; Mikešová, Jana; Quadrat, Otakar; Šňupárek, J.

    2004-01-01

    Roč. 48, č. 1 (2004), s. 23-38 ISSN 0148-6055 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA104/99/0560 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z4050913 Keywords : (2-hydroxypropyl)-beta-cyclodextrin * hydrophobized PEG * rheology Subject RIV: CD - Macromolecular Chemistry Impact factor: 2.525, year: 2004

  2. Design of textured surfaces for super-hydrophobicity

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Prithvi Raj Jelia

    2017-11-11

    Nov 11, 2017 ... as silicon wafer [1, 10, 11]. Yoon et al [12] used a modified ... The explanation for the increase in the contact angle or hydrophobicity on the ... water droplets on super-hydrophobic surfaces that exhibit large contact angles are ...

  3. Preparation of hydrophobic Pt-catalysts for decontamination of nuclear effluents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ionita, Gh.; Popescu, I.; Retegan, T.; Stefanescu, I.

    2005-01-01

    Based on the long experience of the authors, in the preparation, testing and evaluation of the performances of hydrophobic catalysts, and based on the reviewed references, this paper presents up-to-date R and D activities on the preparation methods and applications of the hydrophobic catalysts, in deuterium and tritium separation. The objectives of the paper are: (1) to provide a database for selection of the most appropriate catalyst and catalytic packing for above mentioned processes, (2) to evaluate the potentiality of hydrophobic Pt-catalysts in the deuterium and tritium separation (3) to asses and to find a new procedure for preparation a new improved hydrophobic catalyst. The merits of the hydrophobic catalysts are shown in comparison to hydrophilic catalysts. As results of the review some general conclusions about the applications of hydrophobic catalysts in environmental field are as follow: (1) the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts packed in the trickle bed reactors showed a high catalytic activity and long stability; (2) the utilization of the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts for tritium removal from liquid and gaseous effluent in nuclear field was entirely confirmed on industrial scale; (3) the extension of the utilization of the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts in other new processes, which take place in presence of liquid water or high humidity are subjected to testing. (author)

  4. Preparation of hydrophobic Pt-catalysts for decontamination of nuclear effluents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ionita, Gh.; Popescu, I.; Retegan, T.; Stefanescu, I.

    2004-01-01

    Based on the long experience of the authors, in the preparation, testing and evaluation of the performances of hydrophobic catalysts, and based on the reviewed references, this paper presents up-to-date R and D activities on the preparation methods and applications of the hydrophobic catalysts, in deuterium and tritium separation. The objectives of the paper are: - to provide a database for selection of the most appropriate catalyst and catalytic packing for above mentioned processes; - to evaluate the potentiality of hydrophobic Pt-catalysts in the deuterium and tritium separation; - to assess and to find a new procedure for preparation a new improved hydrophobic catalyst. The merits of the hydrophobic catalysts are shown in comparison to hydrophilic catalysts. As results of the review some general conclusions about the applications of hydrophobic catalysts in environmental field are as follows: - the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts packed in the trickle bed reactors showed a high catalytic activity and long stability; - the utilization of the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts for tritium removal from liquid and gaseous effluent in nuclear field was entirely confirmed on industrial scale; - the extension of the utilization of the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts in other new processes, which take place in presence of liquid water or high humidity are subject to testing. (authors)

  5. Relation between acid back-diffusion and luminal surface hydrophobicity in canine gastric mucosa: Effects of salicylate and prostaglandin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goddard, P.J.

    1989-01-01

    The stomach is thought to be protected from luminal acid by a gastric mucosal barrier that restricts the diffusion of acid into tissue. This study tested the hypothesis that the hydrophobic luminal surface of canine gastric mucosa incubated in Ussing chambers, impedes the back-diffusion of luminal acid into the tissue. Isolated sheets of mucosa were treated with cimetidine to inhibit spontaneous acid secretion, and incubated under conditions that prevented significant secretion of luminal bicarbonate. By measuring acid loss from the luminal compartment using the pH-stat technique, acid back-diffusion was continuously monitored; potential difference (PD) was measured as an index of tissue viability. Tissue luminal surface hydrophobicity was estimated by contact angle analysis at the end of each experiment. Addition of 16,16-dimethyl prostaglandin E 2 to the nutrient compartment enhanced luminal surface hydrophobicity, but did not reduce acid back-diffusion in tissues that maintained a constant PD. 10 mM salicylate at pH 4.00 in the luminal compartment reduced surface hydrophobicity, but this decrease did not occur if 1 ug/ml prostaglandin was present in the nutrient solution. Despite possessing relatively hydrophilic and relatively hydrophobic surface properties, respectively, acid back-diffusion in the absence of salicylate was not significantly different between these two groups. Neither group maintained a PD after incubation with salicylate. Lastly, radiolabeled salicylate was used to calculate the free (non-salicylate associated) acid loss in tissues incubated with salicylate and/or prostaglandin. No significant correlation was found between free acid back-diffusion and luminal surface hydrophobicity. These data do not support the hypothesis that acid back-diffusion in impeded by the hydrophobic surface presented by isolated canine gastric mucosa

  6. All-solution-processed organic solar cells with conventional architecture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Franeker, J.J. van; Voorthuijzen, W.P.; Gorter, H.; Hendriks, K.H.; Janssen, R.A.J.; Hadipour, A.; Andriessen, H.A.J.M.; Galagan, Y.O.

    2013-01-01

    Abstract All-solution processed organic solar cells with a conventional device structure were demonstrated. The evaporated low work function LiF/Al electrode was replaced by a printed high work function silver electrode combined with an additional electron transport layer (ETL). Two electron

  7. Structuring unbreakable hydrophobic barriers in paper

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nargang, Tobias M.; Kotz, Frederik; Rapp, Bastian E.

    2018-02-01

    Hydrophobic barriers are one of the key elements of microfluidic paper based analytical devices (μPADs).μPADs are simple and cost efficient and they can be carried out without the need of high standard laboratories. To carry out such a test a method is needed to create stable hydrophobic barriers. Commonly used methods like printing wax or polystyrene have the major drawback that these barriers are stiff and break if bended which means they will no longer be able to retain a liquid sample. Here we present silanes to structure hydrophobic barriers via polycondensation and show a silanization method which combines the advantages of flexible silane/siloxane layers with the short processing times of UV-light based structuring. The barriers are created by using methoxy silanes which are mixed with a photo acid generator (PAG) as photoinitiator. Also a photosensitizer was given to the mixture to increase the effectiveness of the PAG. After the PAG is activated by UV-light the silane is hydrolyzed and coupled to the cellulose via polycondensation. The created hydrophobic barriers are highly stable and do not break if being bended.

  8. Weakly hydrated surfaces and the binding interactions of small biological solutes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brady, John W; Tavagnacco, Letizia; Ehrlich, Laurent; Chen, Mo; Schnupf, Udo; Himmel, Michael E; Saboungi, Marie-Louise; Cesàro, Attilio

    2012-04-01

    Extended planar hydrophobic surfaces, such as are found in the side chains of the amino acids histidine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan, exhibit an affinity for the weakly hydrated faces of glucopyranose. In addition, molecular species such as these, including indole, caffeine, and imidazole, exhibit a weak tendency to pair together by hydrophobic stacking in aqueous solution. These interactions can be partially understood in terms of recent models for the hydration of extended hydrophobic faces and should provide insight into the architecture of sugar-binding sites in proteins.

  9. Role of air bubbles overlooked in the adsorption of perfluorooctanesulfonate on hydrophobic carbonaceous adsorbents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Pingping; Deng, Shubo; Lu, Xinyu; Du, Ziwen; Wang, Bin; Huang, Jun; Wang, Yujue; Yu, Gang; Xing, Baoshan

    2014-12-02

    Hydrophobic interaction has been considered to be responsible for adsorption of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) on the surface of hydrophobic adsorbents, but the long C-F chain in PFOS is not only hydrophobic but also oleophobic. In this study, for the first time we propose that air bubbles on the surface of hydrophobic carbonaceous adsorbents play an important role in the adsorption of PFOS. The level of adsorption of PFOS on carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphite (GI), graphene (GE), and powdered activated carbon (PAC) decreases after vacuum degassing. Vacuum degassing time and pressure significantly affect the removal of PFOS by these adsorbents. After vacuum degassing at 0.01 atm for 36 h, the extent of removal of PFOS by the pristine CNTs and GI decreases 79% and 74%, respectively, indicating the main contribution of air bubbles to PFOS adsorption. When the degassed solution is recontacted with air during the adsorption process, the removal of PFOS recovers to the value obtained without vacuum degassing, further verifying the key role of air bubbles in PFOS adsorption. By theoretical calculation, the distribution of PFOS in air bubbles on the adsorbent surfaces is discussed, and a new schematic sorption model of PFOS on carbonaceous adsorbents in the presence of air bubbles is proposed. The accumulation of PFOS at the interface of air bubbles on the adsorbents is primarily responsible for its adsorption, providing a new mechanistic insight into the transport, fate, and removal of PFOS.

  10. Reconciling the understanding of 'hydrophobicity' with physics-based models of proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Robert C; Pettitt, B Montgomery

    2016-03-02

    The idea that a 'hydrophobic energy' drives protein folding, aggregation, and binding by favoring the sequestration of bulky residues from water into the protein interior is widespread. The solvation free energies (ΔGsolv) of small nonpolar solutes increase with surface area (A), and the free energies of creating macroscopic cavities in water increase linearly with A. These observations seem to imply that there is a hydrophobic component (ΔGhyd) of ΔGsolv that increases linearly with A, and this assumption is widely used in implicit solvent models. However, some explicit-solvent molecular dynamics studies appear to contradict these ideas. For example, one definition (ΔG(LJ)) of ΔGhyd is that it is the free energy of turning on the Lennard-Jones (LJ) interactions between the solute and solvent. However, ΔG(LJ) decreases with A for alanine and glycine peptides. Here we argue that these apparent contradictions can be reconciled by defining ΔGhyd to be a near hard core insertion energy (ΔGrep), as in the partitioning proposed by Weeks, Chandler, and Andersen. However, recent results have shown that ΔGrep is not a simple function of geometric properties of the molecule, such as A and the molecular volume, and that the free energy of turning on the attractive part of the LJ potential cannot be computed from first-order perturbation theory for proteins. The theories that have been developed from these assumptions to predict ΔGhyd are therefore inadequate for proteins.

  11. Pathways to dewetting in hydrophobic confinement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Remsing, Richard C; Xi, Erte; Vembanur, Srivathsan; Sharma, Sumit; Debenedetti, Pablo G; Garde, Shekhar; Patel, Amish J

    2015-07-07

    Liquid water can become metastable with respect to its vapor in hydrophobic confinement. The resulting dewetting transitions are often impeded by large kinetic barriers. According to macroscopic theory, such barriers arise from the free energy required to nucleate a critical vapor tube that spans the region between two hydrophobic surfaces--tubes with smaller radii collapse, whereas larger ones grow to dry the entire confined region. Using extensive molecular simulations of water between two nanoscopic hydrophobic surfaces, in conjunction with advanced sampling techniques, here we show that for intersurface separations that thermodynamically favor dewetting, the barrier to dewetting does not correspond to the formation of a (classical) critical vapor tube. Instead, it corresponds to an abrupt transition from an isolated cavity adjacent to one of the confining surfaces to a gap-spanning vapor tube that is already larger than the critical vapor tube anticipated by macroscopic theory. Correspondingly, the barrier to dewetting is also smaller than the classical expectation. We show that the peculiar nature of water density fluctuations adjacent to extended hydrophobic surfaces--namely, the enhanced likelihood of observing low-density fluctuations relative to Gaussian statistics--facilitates this nonclassical behavior. By stabilizing isolated cavities relative to vapor tubes, enhanced water density fluctuations thus stabilize novel pathways, which circumvent the classical barriers and offer diminished resistance to dewetting. Our results thus suggest a key role for fluctuations in speeding up the kinetics of numerous phenomena ranging from Cassie-Wenzel transitions on superhydrophobic surfaces, to hydrophobically driven biomolecular folding and assembly.

  12. Natural organic matter to enhance electrokinetic transport of PAH

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Suer, P.; Joensson, S.; Allard, B. [Man-Technology-Environment Research Centre, Oerebro Univ. (Sweden)

    2001-07-01

    The remediation of contaminated soil can be enhanced with natural organic matter (NOM) as a complexing agent for pollutants. NOM has both hydrophobic and acidic properties, so that it is charged and thus subject to electroremediation. At the same time many contaminants have a high affinity for organic matter. Organic matter was produced in situ in an electric field or added in solute form. The resulting dissolved organic matter was transported towards the cathode, probably by cationic colloids. Produced dissolved organic matter included high molecular weight molecules near the cathode, at the site of pH buffering. Pyrene and phenanthrene were likewise transported towards the cathode. Movement was small but distinctive in 2-day experiments. Clay influence the soil/water distribution of the PAH but no effect on the total transport could be discerned. The presence of solid organic matter in the soil removed all PAH from the water phase, even though the concentration of organic matter in the water phase was high as well. (orig.)

  13. Hydrophobic duck feathers and their simulation on textile substrates for water repellent treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Yuyang; Chen Xianqiong; Xin, J H

    2008-01-01

    Inspired by the non-wetting phenomena of duck feathers, the water repellent property of duck feathers was studied at the nanoscale. The microstructures of the duck feather were investigated by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging method through a step-by-step magnifying procedure. The SEM results show that duck feathers have a multi-scale structure and that this multi-scale structure as well as the preening oil are responsible for their super hydrophobic behavior. The microstructures of the duck feather were simulated on textile substrates using the biopolymer chitosan as building blocks through a novel surface solution precipitation (SSP) method, and then the textile substrates were further modified with a silicone compound to achieve low surface energy. The resultant textiles exhibit super water repellent properties, thus providing a simple bionic way to create super hydrophobic surfaces on soft substrates using flexible material as building blocks

  14. All-solution-processed organic solar cells with conventional architecture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Franeker, van J.J.; Voorthuijzen, W.P.; Gorter, H.; Hendriks, K.H.; Janssen, R.A.J.; Hadipour, A.; Andriessen, R.; Galagan, Y.

    2013-01-01

    All-solution processed organic solar cells with a conventional device structure were demonstrated. The evaporated low work function LiF/Al electrode was replaced by a printed high work function silver electrode combined with an additional electron transport layer (ETL). Two electron transport layers

  15. Preparation of inorganic hydrophobic catalysts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Yong; Wang, Heyi; Du, Yang

    2009-04-01

    In order to catalyse the oxidation of tritium gas, two inorganic hydrophobic catalysts are prepared. Under room temperature, the catalysed oxidation ratio of 0.3%-1% (V/V) hydrogen gas in air is higher than 95%. Pt-II inorganic hydrophobic catalysts has obviously better catalysing ability than Pt-PTFE and lower ability than Pt-SDB in H 2 -HTO isotopic exchange, because the pressure resistence of Pt-II is much higher than Pt-SDB, it can be used to the CECE cell of heavy water detritium system. (authors)

  16. Organic molecules based on dithienyl-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole as new donor materials for solution-processed organic photovoltaic cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Zhonglian; Fan, Benhu; Ouyang, Jianyong [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117574 (Singapore); Xue, Feng [Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117573 (Singapore); Adachi, Chihaya [Center for Future Chemistry, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi, Fukuoka 819-0395 (Japan)

    2010-12-15

    Polymers based on dithienyl-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (TBT) have received strong attention as the donor materials of polymer photovoltaic cells (PVs), since they can have a low band gap. But soluble small organic molecules based on TBT have been rarely studied. This paper reports the synthesis of two small organic molecules based on TBT and their application as the donor materials of solution-processed bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs). These compounds were soluble in common organic solvents, such as chloroform, chlorobenzene and tetrahydrofuran. They have band gaps comparable to poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and lower HOMO and LUMO (HOMO: highest occupied molecular orbital, LUMO: lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) levels than P3HT. These molecules and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) were used as the donors and acceptor to fabricate bulk heterojunction OPVs through solution processing. After optimization of the experimental conditions, power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.66% was achieved on the solution-processed OPVs under AM 1.5G, 100 mW cm{sup -2} illumination. (author)

  17. Hydrophobic mismatch in gramicidin A'/lecithin systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watnick, P.I.; Chan, S.I.; Dea, P.

    1990-01-01

    Gramicidin A' (GA') has been added to three lipid systems of varying hydrophobic thickness: dimyristoyllecithin (DML), dipalmitoyllecithin (DPL), and distearoyllecithin (DSL). The similarity in length between the hydrophobic portion of GA' and the hydrocarbon chains of the lipid bilayers has been studied by using 31 P and 2 H NMR. Hydrophobic mismatch has been found to be most severe in the DML bilayer system and minimal in the case of DSL. In addition, the effects of hydrophobic mismatch on the cooperative properties of the bilayer have been obtained from 2 H NMR relaxation measurements. The results indicate that incorporation of the peptide into the bilayer disrupts the cooperative director fluctuations characteristic of pure multilamellar lipid dispersions. Finally, the GA'/lecithin ratio at which the well-known transformation from bilayer to reverse hexagonal (H II ) phase occurs is shown to depend on the acyl chain length of the phospholipid. A rationale is proposed for this chain length dependence

  18. Hydrophobic Collapse of Ubiquitin Generates Rapid Protein-Water Motions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wirtz, Hanna; Schäfer, Sarah; Hoberg, Claudius; Reid, Korey M; Leitner, David M; Havenith, Martina

    2018-06-04

    We report time-resolved measurements of the coupled protein-water modes of solvated ubiquitin during protein folding. Kinetic terahertz absorption (KITA) spectroscopy serves as a label-free technique for monitoring large scale conformational changes and folding of proteins subsequent to a sudden T-jump. We report here KITA measurements at an unprecedented time resolution of 500 ns, a resolution 2 orders of magnitude better than those of any previous KITA measurements, which reveal the coupled ubiquitin-solvent dynamics even in the initial phase of hydrophobic collapse. Complementary equilibrium experiments and molecular simulations of ubiquitin solutions are performed to clarify non-equilibrium contributions and reveal the molecular picture upon a change in structure, respectively. On the basis of our results, we propose that in the case of ubiquitin a rapid (<500 ns) initial phase of the hydrophobic collapse from the elongated protein to a molten globule structure precedes secondary structure formation. We find that these very first steps, including large-amplitude changes within the unfolded manifold, are accompanied by a rapid (<500 ns) pronounced change of the coupled protein-solvent response. The KITA response upon secondary structure formation exhibits an opposite sign, which indicates a distinct effect on the solvent-exposed surface.

  19. Transport of organic solutes through amorphous teflon AF films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Hong; Zhang, Jie; Wu, Nianqiang; Zhang, Xu; Crowley, Katie; Weber, Stephen G

    2005-11-02

    Fluorous media have great potential for selective extraction (e.g., as applied to organic synthesis). Fluorous polymer films would have significant advantages in fluorous separations. Stable films of Teflon AF 2400 were cast from solution. Films appear defect-free (SEM; AFM). Rigid aromatic solutes are transported (from chloroform solution to chloroform receiving phase) in a size-dependent manner (log permeability is proportional to -0.0067 times critical volume). Benzene's permeability is about 2 orders of magnitude higher than in comparable gas-phase experiments. The films show selectivity for fluorinated solutes in comparison to the hydrogen-containing control. Transport rates are dependent on the solvent making up the source and receiving phases. The effect of solvent is, interestingly, not due to changes in partition ratio, but rather it is due to changes in the solute diffusion coefficient in the film. Solvents plasticize the films. A less volatile compound, -COOH-terminated poly(hexafluoropropylene oxide) (4), plasticizes the films (T(g) = -40 degrees C). Permeabilities are decreased in comparison to 4-free films apparently because of decreased diffusivity of solutes. The slope of dependence of log permeability on critical volume is not changed, however.

  20. clay nanocomposite by solution intercalation technique

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Polymer–clay nanocomposites of commercial polystyrene (PS) and clay laponite were prepared via solution intercalation technique. Laponite was modified suitably with the well known cationic surfactant cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide by ion-exchange reaction to render laponite miscible with hydrophobic PS.

  1. Mutation of exposed hydrophobic amino acids to arginine to increase protein stability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Czaplicki Jerzy

    2004-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background One strategy to increase the stability of proteins is to reduce the area of water-accessible hydrophobic surface. Results In order to test it, we replaced 14 solvent-exposed hydrophobic residues of acetylcholinesterase by arginine. The stabilities of the resulting proteins were tested using denaturation by high temperature, organic solvents, urea and by proteolytic digestion. Conclusion Altough the mutational effects were rather small, this strategy proved to be successful since half of the mutants showed an increased stability. This stability may originate from the suppression of unfavorable interactions of nonpolar residues with water or from addition of new hydrogen bonds with the solvent. Other mechanisms may also contribute to the increased stability observed with some mutants. For example, introduction of a charge at the surface of the protein may provide a new coulombic interaction on the protein surface.

  2. Hydrophobic core substitutions in calbindin D9k

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kragelund, B B; Jönsson, M; Bifulco, G

    1998-01-01

    Hydrophobic core residues have a marked influence on the Ca2+-binding properties of calbindin D9k, even though there are no direct contacts between these residues and the bound Ca2+ ions. Eleven different mutants with substitutions in the hydrophobic core were produced, and their equilibrium Ca2+...... that the hydrophobic core residues promote Ca2+ binding both by contributing to the preformation of the Ca2+ sites in the apo state and by preferentially stabilizing the Ca2+-bound state.......Hydrophobic core residues have a marked influence on the Ca2+-binding properties of calbindin D9k, even though there are no direct contacts between these residues and the bound Ca2+ ions. Eleven different mutants with substitutions in the hydrophobic core were produced, and their equilibrium Ca2...... that the mutation causes only very minimal perturbations in the immediate vicinity of residue 61. Substitutions of alanines or glycines for bulky residues in the center of the core were found to have significant effects on both Ca2+ affinity and dissociation rates. These substitutions caused a reduction in affinity...

  3. Searching for life on Mars: degradation of surfactant solutions used in organic extraction experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Court, Richard W; Sims, Mark R; Cullen, David C; Sephton, Mark A

    2014-09-01

    Life-detection instruments on future Mars missions may use surfactant solutions to extract organic matter from samples of martian rocks. The thermal and radiation environments of space and Mars are capable of degrading these solutions, thereby reducing their ability to dissolve organic species. Successful extraction and detection of biosignatures on Mars requires an understanding of how degradation in extraterrestrial environments can affect surfactant performance. We exposed solutions of the surfactants polysorbate 80 (PS80), Zonyl FS-300, and poly[dimethylsiloxane-co-[3-(2-(2-hydroxyethoxy)ethoxy)propyl]methylsiloxane] (PDMSHEPMS) to elevated radiation and heat levels, combined with prolonged storage. Degradation was investigated by measuring changes in pH and electrical conductivity and by using the degraded solutions to extract a suite of organic compounds spiked onto grains of the martian soil simulant JSC Mars-1. Results indicate that the proton fluences expected during a mission to Mars do not cause significant degradation of surfactant compounds. Solutions of PS80 or PDMSHEPMS stored at -20 °C are able to extract the spiked standards with acceptable recovery efficiencies. Extraction efficiencies for spiked standards decrease progressively with increasing temperature, and prolonged storage at 60°C renders the surfactant solutions ineffective. Neither the presence of ascorbic acid nor the choice of solvent unequivocally alters the efficiency of extraction of the spiked standards. Since degradation of polysorbates has the potential to produce organic compounds that could be mistaken for indigenous martian organic matter, the polysiloxane PDMSHEPMS may be a superior choice of surfactant for the exploration of Mars.

  4. Fabrication of polylactic acid/hydroxyapatite/graphene oxide composite and their thermal stability, hydrophobic and mechanical properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ming Gong

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available A series of polylactic acid/hydroxyapatite/graphene oxide composite (PLA/HA/GO were fabricated via solution blending and casting method using N,N-dimethyl-formamide (DMF and CH2Cl2 as mutual solvents. The physicochemical properties of the resulting composites were characterized by means of FT-IR, SEM, TEM, Raman spectra, XRD and N2-physisorption. Particularly, the thermal stabilities, hydrophobic and mechanical properties of PLA/HA/GO composites were systematically investigated. The influences of GO content on thermal stabilities, hydrophobic and mechanical properties of the composites were also evaluated. The results showed that the addition of GO and HA not only improved the thermal stability of PLA, but also improved the hydrophobic property of PLA-based composites. By compared with the PLA/HA/GO composite, the tensile strength of pristine PLA is slight high. The tensile strength and hardness of PLA/HA/GO composites increased with the increase of GO content. The obtained PLA/HA/GO composite may be a promising material for load-bearing orthopedic implants.

  5. Effect of pre-drying treatments on solution-coated organic thin films for active-matrix organic light-emitting diodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Dongkyun; Hong, Ki-Young; Park, Jongwoon

    2017-12-01

    Due to capillary rise, organic thin films fabricated by solution coating exhibit the concave thickness profile. It is found that the thickness and emission uniformities within pixels vary depending sensitively on the pre-drying treatment that has been done before hard bake. We investigate its effect on the film quality by varying the temperature, time, pressure, fluid flow-related solute concentration, and evaporation-related solvent. To this end, we carry out spin coatings of a non-aqueous poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) for a hole transporting blanket layer. With a low-boiling-point (BP) organic solvent, the pre-drying makes no significant impact on the thickness profiles. With a high-BP organic solvent, the PVK films pre-dried in a vacuum for a sufficient time exhibit very uniform light emission in the central region, but non-emission phenomenon near the perimeter of pixels. It is addressed that such a non-emission phenomenon can be suppressed to some extent by decreasing the vacuum pressure. However, the rapid evaporation by heat conduction during the pre-drying degrades the thickness uniformity due to a rapid microflow of solute from the edge to the center. No further enhancement in the thickness uniformity is obtained by varying the solute concentration and using a mixture of low- and high-BP solvents.

  6. Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm formation and structural organization on different types of intraocular lenses under in vitro flow conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baillif, Stéphanie; Leduff, Frank; Hartmann, Daniel J; Kodjikian, Laurent

    2013-01-01

    To compare the adherence and structural organization of Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm on intraocular lenses (IOLs). IOLs made of 3 different biomaterials [polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), hydrophilic acrylic or hydrophobic acrylic] were incubated into an S. epidermidis bacterial solution. Scanning electron microscopy was used to count the bound bacteria and to analyze the structural biofilm architecture. After 4-6 h of incubation, adherence was statistically weakest on the hydrophilic acrylic polymer. On the hydrophobic acrylic material, the bacterial cells tended to cover the substratum in a horizontal spread in a continuous monolayer. On the hydrophilic acrylic material or on the PMMA material bacterial cells tended to form only few, small scattered cell clusters. The data suggest that the pattern of S. epidermidis adhesion varies with the IOL biomaterial. Hydrophobic IOLs seem to be more permissive to S. epidermidis adhesion. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  7. Fully solution-processed organic solar cells on metal foil substrates

    KAUST Repository

    Gaynor, Whitney; Lee, Jung-Yong; Peumans, Peter

    2009-01-01

    We demonstrate fully solution-processed organic photovoltaic cells on metal foil substrates with power conversion efficiencies similar to those obtained in devices on transparent substrates. The cells are based on the regioregular poly- (3

  8. Controllable picoliter pipetting using hydrophobic microfluidic valves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, M.; Huang, J.; Qian, X.; Mi, S.; Wang, X.

    2017-06-01

    A picoliter pipetting technique using the microfluidic method is presented. Utilizing the hydrophobic self-assembled monolayer films patterned in microchannels as pressure-controlled valves, a small volume of liquid can be separated by a designed channel trap and then ejected from the channel end at a higher pressure. The liquid trap section is composed of a T-shaped channel junction and a hydrophobic patch. The liquid volume can be precisely controlled by varying the distance of the hydrophobic patch from the T-junction. By this means, liquid less than 100 pl can be separated and pipetted. The developed device is potentially useful for sample dispensing in biological, medical, and chemical applications.

  9. Investigation of processes of interaction relativistic electrons with the solutions of organic dyes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buki, A.Yu.; Gokov, S.P.; Kazarinov, Yu.G.; Kalenik, S.A.; Kasilov, V.I.; Kochetov, S.S.; Makhnenko, P.L.; Mel'nitskiy, I.V.; Tverdohvalov, A.V.; Tsyatsko, V.V.; Shopen, O.A.

    2014-01-01

    Investigation of the processes of interaction of ionizing radiation with complex organic objects can solve a number of fundamental and applied problems in radiation physics, chemistry and biology. In this work we investigated the dose dependence (dose range 1...5MRad) optical density relative concentrations of water, alcohol and glycerine solution following organic dyes: methylene blue - C 16 H 18 N 3 SCl and methyl orange - C 14 H 14 N 3 O 3 SNa, irradiated with an electron beam with an energy of 16MeV. In the analysis of absorption spectra, it was found that water solutions of dyes have less resistance to radiation as compared with the alcohol and glycerol. Also, all solutions of methyl orange less radiation resistant than the methylene blue solution. Analysis of the spectra showed that these relationships are close to linear in the range of doses. To understand the physical and chemical processes occurring in the interaction of relativistic electrons with the studied organic objects were performed the computer simulations of the energy spectra of ions formed due to breaking the chemical bonds of molecules of dye solutions using the program SRIM-2010. The analysis showed that radiation - stimulated chemical processes play a major role in the destruction of the source of organic dye molecules. The remaining processes (interaction of electrons and nuclei, the cascade processes) accounts for about 10% of all molecular breaks.

  10. Constructing Fluorine-Free and Cost-Effective Superhydrophobic Surface with Normal-Alcohol-Modified Hydrophobic SiO2 Nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Hui; Zhu, Liqun; Li, Weiping; Liu, Huicong; Chen, Haining

    2017-01-11

    Superhydrophobic coatings have drawn much attention in recent years for their wide potential applications. However, a simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly approach is still lacked. Herein, a promising approach using nonhazardous chemicals was proposed, in which multiple hydrophobic functionalized silica nanoparticles (SiO 2 NPs) were first prepared as core component, through the efficient reaction between amino group containing SiO 2 NPs and the isocyanate containing hydrophobic surface modifiers synthesized by normal alcohols, followed by simply spraying onto various substrates for superhydrophobic functionalization. Furthermore, to further improve the mechanical durability, an organic-inorganic composite superhydrophobic coating was fabricated by incorporating cross-linking agent (polyisocyanate) into the mixture of hydrophobic-functionalized SiO 2 NPs and hydroxyl acrylic resin. The hybrid coating with cross-linked network structures is very stable with excellent mechanical durability, self-cleaning property and corrosion resistance.

  11. The salting-out of molibdoferrats(II from aqueous solutions by the organic solvents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mykola V. Nikolenko

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this work was to develop a method for producing of molybdoferrate(II precipitates by salting-out them from aqueous solutions by means of organic solvents. Dependence of the composition of molybdoferrate(II precipitates on the pH of the reaction solutions was studied. Experiments on salting-out of molybdoferrate(II with various organic solvents were carried out. As a result it was found that the best reagent for the molybdoferrate(II salting-out is acetone. By its use, lowest quantity of the ammonium sulfate impurities was obtained. It is also of importance that by using of acetone the process of regeneration by distillation of the reaction solutions is characterized by the lowest energy consumption. A functional relationship between the solubility of molybdoferrates(II and dielectric constant of the medium was established. By increasing the dielectric constant of the solvent solubility of molybdoferrates(II rapidly increases. The linearized dependence ln(lnS–ln(1/e was proposed to predict the solubility of molybdoferrates(II in various aqueous-organic solutions.

  12. Flotation of copper-bearing shale in solutions of inorganic salts and organic reagents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ratajczak Tomasz

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Flotation data on copper-bearing shale in aqueous solutions of inorganic electrolytes (NaCl, Na2SO4, KPF6, NH4Cl and organic reagents (ethylamine, propylamine as frothers were presented and discussed. The relationships between shale flotation, surface tension of aqueous solution and foam height during bubbling with air in the flotation system were presented. It has been found that flotation of shale in the presence of inorganic salts the yield was directly proportional to the surface tension of the aqueous solution of salt and inversely proportional to the height of the foam. On the other hand, for organic reagents solutions (short chain amines, a reverse effect has been observed in relation to the inorganic compounds studied, that is the yield of copper-bearing shale flotation and the foam height were inversely proportional to the surface tension of the amine solution.

  13. Fragment-based approach to calculate hydrophobicity of anionic and nonionic surfactants derived from chromatographic retention on a C18 stationary phase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammer, Jort; Haftka, Joris J-H; Scherpenisse, Peter; Hermens, Joop L M; de Voogt, Pim W P

    2017-02-01

    To predict the fate and potential effects of organic contaminants, information about their hydrophobicity is required. However, common parameters to describe the hydrophobicity of organic compounds (e.g., octanol-water partition constant [K OW ]) proved to be inadequate for ionic and nonionic surfactants because of their surface-active properties. As an alternative approach to determine their hydrophobicity, the aim of the present study was therefore to measure the retention of a wide range of surfactants on a C 18 stationary phase. Capacity factors in pure water (k' 0 ) increased linearly with increasing number of carbon atoms in the surfactant structure. Fragment contribution values were determined for each structural unit with multilinear regression, and the results were consistent with the expected influence of these fragments on the hydrophobicity of surfactants. Capacity factors of reference compounds and log K OW values from the literature were used to estimate log K OW values for surfactants (log KOWHPLC). These log KOWHPLC values were also compared to log K OW values calculated with 4 computational programs: KOWWIN, Marvin calculator, SPARC, and COSMOThermX. In conclusion, capacity factors from a C 18 stationary phase are found to better reflect hydrophobicity of surfactants than their K OW values. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:329-336. © 2016 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC. © 2016 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC.

  14. Effect of Feed Gas Flow Rate on CO2 Absorption through Super Hydrophobic Hollow Fiber membrane Contactor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kartohardjono, Sutrasno; Alexander, Kevin; Larasati, Annisa; Sihombing, Ivander Christian

    2018-03-01

    Carbon dioxide is pollutant in natural gas that could reduce the heating value of the natural gas and cause problem in transportation due to corrosive to the pipeline. This study aims to evaluate the effects of feed gas flow rate on CO2 absorption through super hydrophobic hollow fiber contactor. Polyethyleneglycol-300 (PEG-300) solution was used as absorbent in this study, whilst the feed gas used in the experiment was a mixture of 30% CO2 and 70% CH4. There are three super hydrophobic hollow fiber contactors sized 6 cm and 25 cm in diameter and length used in this study, which consists of 1000, 3000 and 5000 fibers, respectively. The super hydrophobic fiber membrane used is polypropylene-based with outer and inner diameter of about 525 and 235 μm, respectively. In the experiments, the feed gas was sent through the shell side of the membrane contactor, whilst the absorbent solution was pumped through the lumen fibers. The experimental results showed that the mass transfer coefficient, flux, absorption efficiency for CO2-N2 system and CO2 loading increased with the feed gas flow rate, but the absorption efficiency for CO2-N2 system decreased. The mass transfer coefficient and the flux, at the same feed gas flow rate, decreased with the number of fibers in the membrane contactor, but the CO2 absorption efficiency and the CO2 loading increased.

  15. Application and validation of isotope dilution method (IDM) for predicting bioavailability of hydrophobic organic contaminants in soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jie; Taylor, Allison; Schlenk, Daniel; Gan, Jay

    2018-05-01

    Risk assessment of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) using the total chemical concentration following exhaustive extraction may overestimate the actual availability of HOCs to non-target organisms. Existing methods for estimating HOC bioavailability in soil have various operational limitations. In this study, we explored the application of isotope dilution method (IDM) to quantify the accessible fraction (E) of DDTs and PCBs in both historically-contaminated and freshly-spiked soils. After addition of 13 C or deuterated analogues to a soil sample, the phase distribution of isotope-labeled and native chemicals reached an apparent equilibrium within 48 h of mixing. The derived E values in the three soils ranged from 0.19 to 0.82, depending on the soil properties and also the contact time of HOCs (i.e., aging). The isotope dilution method consistently predicted greater accumulation into earthworm (Eisenia fetida) than that by polyethylene (PE) or solid phase microextraction (SPME) sampler, likely because desorption in the gut enhanced bioavailability of soil-borne HOCs. A highly significant linear regression (R 2  = 0.91) was found between IDM and 24-h Tenax desorption, with a slope statistically identical to 1. The IDM-derived accessible concentration (C e ) was further shown to accurately predict tissue residues in earthworm exposed in the same soils. Given the relatively short duration and simple steps, IDM has the potential to be readily adopted for measuring HOC bioaccessibility in soil and for improving risk assessment and evaluation of remediation efficiency. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Solvent extraction of Sr2+ and Cs+ based on hydrophobic protic ionic liquids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luo, Huimin; Yu, Miao; Dai, Sheng

    2007-01-01

    A series of new hydrophobic and protic alkylammonium ionic liquids with bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide or bis(perfluoroethylsulfonyl)imide as conjugated anions was synthesized in a one-pot reaction with a high yield. In essence our synthesis method involves the combination of neutralization and metathesis reactions. Some of these hydrophobic and protic ionic liquids were liquids at room temperature and therefore investigated as new extraction media for separation of Sr 2+ and Cs + from aqueous solutions. An excellent extraction efficiency was found for some of these ionic liquids using dicyclohexano-18-crown-6 and calix[4]arene-bis(tert-octylbenzo-crown-6) as extractants. The observed enhancement in the extraction efficiency can be attributed to the greater hydrophilicity of the cations of the protic ionic liquids. The application of the protic ionic liquids as new solvent systems for solvent extraction opens up a new avenue in searching for simple and efficient ionic liquids for tailored separation processes. (orig.)

  17. EWOD driven cleaning of bioparticles on hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jönsson-Niedziółka, M; Lapierre, F; Coffinier, Y; Parry, S J; Zoueshtiagh, F; Foat, T; Thomy, V; Boukherroub, R

    2011-02-07

    Environmental air monitoring is of great interest due to the large number of people concerned and exposed to different possible risks. From the most common particles in our environment (e.g. by-products of combustion or pollens) to more specific and dangerous agents (e.g. pathogenic micro-organisms), there are a large range of particles that need to be controlled. In this article we propose an original study on the collection of electrostatically deposited particles using electrowetting droplet displacement. A variety of particles were studied, from synthetic particles (e.g. Polystyrene Latex (PSL) microsphere) to different classes of biological particle (proteins, bacterial spores and a viral simulant). Furthermore, we have compared ElectroWetting-On-Dielectric (EWOD) collecting efficiency using either a hydrophobic or a superhydrophobic counter electrode. We observe different cleaning efficiencies, depending on the hydrophobicity of the substrate (varying from 45% to 99%). Superhydrophobic surfaces show the best cleaning efficiency with water droplets for all investigated particles (MS2 bacteriophage, BG (Bacillus atrophaeus) spores, OA (ovalbumin) proteins, and PSL).

  18. Rheological Properties of Hydrophobically Associative Copolymers Prepared in a Mixed Micellar Method Based on Methacryloxyethyl-dimethyl Cetyl Ammonium Chloride as Surfmer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rui Liu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A novel cationic surfmer, methacryloxyethyl-dimethyl cetyl ammonium chloride (DMDCC, is synthesized. The micellar properties, including critical micelle concentration and aggregation number, of DMDCC-SDS mixed micelle system are studied using conductivity measurement and a steady-state fluorescence technique. A series of water-soluble associative copolymers with acrylamide and DMDCC are prepared using the mixed micellar polymerization. Compared to conventional micellar polymerization, this new method could not only reasonably adjust the length of the hydrophobic microblock, that is, NH, but also sharply reduce the amount of surfactant. Their rheological properties related to hydrophobic microblock and stickers are studied by the combination of steady flow and linear viscoelasticity experiments. The results indicate that both the hydrophobic content and, especially the length of the hydrophobic microblock are the dominating factors effecting the intermolecular hydrophobic association. The presence of salt influences the dynamics of copolymers, resulting in the variation of solution characters. Viscosity measurement indicates that mixed micelles between the copolymer chain and SDS molecules serving as junction bridges for transitional network remarkably enhance the viscosity. Moreover, the microscopic structures of copolymers at different experimental conditions are conducted by ESEM. This method gives us an insight into the preparation of hydrophobically associative water-soluble copolymers by cationic surfmer-anionic surfactant mixed micellar polymerization with good performance.

  19. Prediction of Hydrophobic Cores of Proteins Using Wavelet Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirakawa; Kuhara

    1997-01-01

    Information concerning the secondary structures, flexibility, epitope and hydrophobic regions of amino acid sequences can be extracted by assigning physicochemical indices to each amino acid residue, and information on structure can be derived using the sliding window averaging technique, which is in wide use for smoothing out raw functions. Wavelet analysis has shown great potential and applicability in many fields, such as astronomy, radar, earthquake prediction, and signal or image processing. This approach is efficient for removing noise from various functions. Here we employed wavelet analysis to smooth out a plot assigned to a hydrophobicity index for amino acid sequences. We then used the resulting function to predict hydrophobic cores in globular proteins. We calculated the prediction accuracy for the hydrophobic cores of 88 representative set of proteins. Use of wavelet analysis made feasible the prediction of hydrophobic cores at 6.13% greater accuracy than the sliding window averaging technique.

  20. Biomimetic hydrophobic surface fabricated by chemical etching method from hierarchically structured magnesium alloy substrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Yan; Yin, Xiaoming; Zhang, Jijia [Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education), Jilin University, Changchun 130022 (China); Wang, Yaming [Institute for Advanced Ceramics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Han, Zhiwu, E-mail: zwhan@jlu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education), Jilin University, Changchun 130022 (China); Ren, Luquan [Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education), Jilin University, Changchun 130022 (China)

    2013-09-01

    As one of the lightest metal materials, magnesium alloy plays an important role in industry such as automobile, airplane and electronic product. However, magnesium alloy is hindered due to its high chemical activity and easily corroded. Here, inspired by typical plant surfaces such as lotus leaves and petals of red rose with super-hydrophobic character, the new hydrophobic surface is fabricated on magnesium alloy to improve anti-corrosion by two-step methodology. The procedure is that the samples are processed by laser first and then immersed and etched in the aqueous AgNO{sub 3} solution concentrations of 0.1 mol/L, 0.3 mol/L and 0.5 mol/L for different times of 15 s, 40 s and 60 s, respectively, finally modified by DTS (CH{sub 3}(CH{sub 2}){sub 11}Si(OCH{sub 3}){sub 3}). The microstructure, chemical composition, wettability and anti-corrosion are characterized by means of SEM, XPS, water contact angle measurement and electrochemical method. The hydrophobic surfaces with microscale crater-like and nanoscale flower-like binary structure are obtained. The low-energy material is contained in surface after DTS treatment. The contact angles could reach up to 138.4 ± 2°, which hydrophobic property is both related to the micro–nano binary structure and chemical composition. The results of electrochemical measurements show that anti-corrosion property of magnesium alloy is improved. Furthermore, our research is expected to create some ideas from natural enlightenment to improve anti-corrosion property of magnesium alloy while this method can be easily extended to other metal materials.

  1. A facile nanoaggregation strategy for oral delivery of hydrophobic drugs by utilizing acid-base neutralization reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Huabing; Wan Jiangling; Wang Yirui; Mou Dongsheng; Liu Hongbin; Xu Huibi; Yang Xiangliang

    2008-01-01

    Nanonization strategies have been used to enhance the oral availability of numerous drugs that are poorly soluble in water. Exploring a facile nanonization strategy with highly practical potential is an attractive focus. Here, we report a novel facile nanoaggregation strategy for constructing drug nanoparticles of poorly soluble drugs with pH-dependent solubility by utilizing acid-base neutralization in aqueous solution, thus facilitating the exploration of nanonization in oral delivery for general applicability. We demonstrate that hydrophobic itraconazole dissolved in acid solution formed a growing core and aggregated into nanoparticles in the presence of stabilizers. The nanoparticles, with an average diameter of 279.3 nm and polydispersity index of 0.116, showed a higher dissolution rate when compared with the marketed formulation; the average dissolution was about 91.3%. The in vivo pharmacokinetic studies revealed that the nanoparticles had a rapid absorption and enhanced oral availability. The diet state also showed insignificant impact on the absorption of itraconazole from nanoparticles. This nanoaggregation strategy is a promising nanonization method with a facile process and avoidance of toxic organic solvents for oral delivery of poorly soluble drugs with pH-dependent solubility and reveals a highly practical potential in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries

  2. Trends in soil solution dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations across European forests

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Camino-Serrano, Marta; Graf Pannatier, Elisabeth; Vicca, Sara; Luyssaert, Sebastiaan; Jonard, Mathieu; Ciais, Philippe; Guenet, Bertrand; Gielen, Bert; Peñuelas, Josep; Sardans, Jordi; Waldner, Peter; Sawicka, Kasia

    2016-01-01

    Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in surface waters is connected to DOC in soil solution through hydrological pathways. Therefore, it is expected that long-term dynamics of DOC in surface waters reflect DOC trends in soil solution. However, a multitude of site studies have failed so far to establish

  3. Trends in soil solution dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations across European forests

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Camino-Serrano, M.; Graf Pannatier, E.; Vicca, S.; Luyssaert, S.; Jonard, M.; Ciais, P.; Guenet, B.; Gielen, B.; Peñuelas, J.; Sardans, J.; Waldner, P.; Etzold, S.; Cecchini, G.; Clarke, N.; Galić, Z.; Gandois, L.; Hansen, K.; Johnson, J.; Klinck, U.; Lachmanová, Z.; Lindroos, A.J.; Meesenburg, H.; Nieminen, T.M.; Sanders, T.G.M.; Sawicka, K.; Seidling, W.; Thimonier, A.; Vanguelova, E.; Verstraeten, A.; Vesterdal, L.; Janssens, I.A.

    2016-01-01

    Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in surface waters is connected to DOC in soil solution through hydrological pathways. Therefore, it is expected that long-term dynamics of DOC in surface waters reflect DOC trends in soil solution. However, a multitude of site studies have failed so far to establish

  4. Analyzing the Molecular Kinetics of Water Spreading on Hydrophobic Surfaces via Molecular Dynamics Simulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Lei; Cheng, Jiangtao

    2017-09-07

    In this paper, we report molecular kinetic analyses of water spreading on hydrophobic surfaces via molecular dynamics simulation. The hydrophobic surfaces are composed of amorphous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) with a static contact angle of ~112.4° for water. On the basis of the molecular kinetic theory (MKT), the influences of both viscous damping and solid-liquid retarding were analyzed in evaluating contact line friction, which characterizes the frictional force on the contact line. The unit displacement length on PTFE was estimated to be ~0.621 nm and is ~4 times as long as the bond length of C-C backbone. The static friction coefficient was found to be ~[Formula: see text] Pa·s, which is on the same order of magnitude as the dynamic viscosity of water, and increases with the droplet size. A nondimensional number defined by the ratio of the standard deviation of wetting velocity to the characteristic wetting velocity was put forward to signify the strength of the inherent contact line fluctuation and unveil the mechanism of enhanced energy dissipation in nanoscale, whereas such effect would become insignificant in macroscale. Moreover, regarding a liquid droplet on hydrophobic or superhydrophobic surfaces, an approximate solution to the base radius development was derived by an asymptotic expansion approach.

  5. Femtosecond study of the effects of ions and hydrophobes on the dynamics of water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Post, Sietse T; Tielrooij, Klaas-Jan; Hunger, Johannes; Backus, Ellen H G; Bakker, Huib J

    2013-01-01

    We study the effects of ions and hydrophobic molecular groups on the orientational dynamics of water using THz dielectric relaxation (THz-DR) and polarization-resolved femtosecond infrared (fs-IR) pump-probe spectroscopy. We measure the dynamics of water in solutions of NaI, NaCl, CsCl, guanidinium chloride (GndCl) and tetramethyl guanidinium chloride (TMGndCl) of different the static dipoles of their surrounding water molecules. With fs-IR we find that concentrations. With THz-DR we observe that strongly hydrated cations align the OD groups that form hydrogen bonds to halide anions reorient with two distinct time constants of 2 +/- 0.3 ps and 9 +/- 1 ps. The fast process is assigned to a wobbling motion of the OD group that keeps the hydrogen bond with the anion intact. The amplitude of this wobbling motion depends on the nature of both the anion and the counter cation. The replacement of four of the six hydrogen atoms of the weakly hydrated cation guanidinium by hydrophobic methyl groups leads to an exceptionally strong slowing down of the water dynamics. Hydrophobic groups thus appear to have a much stronger effect on the dynamics of water than ions. These findings give new insights in the mechanism of protein denaturation by GndCl and TMGndCl.

  6. Standard Gibbs free energies for transfer of actinyl ions at the aqueous/organic solution interface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kitatsuji, Yoshihiro; Okugaki, Tomohiko; Kasuno, Megumi; Kubota, Hiroki; Maeda, Kohji; Kimura, Takaumi; Yoshida, Zenko; Kihara, Sorin

    2011-01-01

    Research highlights: → Standard Gibbs free energies for ion-transfer of tri- to hexavalent actinide ions. → Determination is based on distribution method combined with ion-transfer voltammetry. → Organic solvents examined are nitrobenzene, DCE, benzonitrile, acetophenone and NPOE. → Gibbs free energies of U(VI), Np(VI) and Pu(VI) are similar to each other. → Gibbs free energies of Np(V) is very large, comparing with ordinary monovalent cations. - Abstract: Standard Gibbs free energies for transfer (ΔG tr 0 ) of actinyl ions (AnO 2 z+ ; z = 2 or 1; An: U, Np, or Pu) between an aqueous solution and an organic solution were determined based on distribution method combined with voltammetry for ion transfer at the interface of two immiscible electrolyte solutions. The organic solutions examined were nitrobenzene, 1,2-dichloroethane, benzonitrile, acetophenone, and 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether. Irrespective of the type of organic solutions, ΔG tr 0 of UO 2 2+ ,NpO 2 2+ , and PuO 2 2+ were nearly equal to each other and slightly larger than that of Mg 2+ . The ΔG tr 0 of NpO 2 + was extraordinary large compared with those of ordinary monovalent cations. The dependence of ΔG tr 0 of AnO 2 z+ on the type of organic solutions was similar to that of H + or Mg 2+ . The ΔG tr 0 of An 3+ and An 4+ were also discussed briefly.

  7. Evaporation rate of water in hydrophobic confinement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Sumit; Debenedetti, Pablo G

    2012-03-20

    The drying of hydrophobic cavities is believed to play an important role in biophysical phenomena such as the folding of globular proteins, the opening and closing of ligand-gated ion channels, and ligand binding to hydrophobic pockets. We use forward flux sampling, a molecular simulation technique, to compute the rate of capillary evaporation of water confined between two hydrophobic surfaces separated by nanoscopic gaps, as a function of gap, surface size, and temperature. Over the range of conditions investigated (gaps between 9 and 14 Å and surface areas between 1 and 9 nm(2)), the free energy barrier to evaporation scales linearly with the gap between hydrophobic surfaces, suggesting that line tension makes the predominant contribution to the free energy barrier. The exponential dependence of the evaporation rate on the gap between confining surfaces causes a 10 order-of-magnitude decrease in the rate when the gap increases from 9 to 14 Å. The computed free energy barriers are of the order of 50 kT and are predominantly enthalpic. Evaporation rates per unit area are found to be two orders of magnitude faster in confinement by the larger (9 nm(2)) than by the smaller (1 nm(2)) surfaces considered here, at otherwise identical conditions. We show that this rate enhancement is a consequence of the dependence of hydrophobic hydration on the size of solvated objects. For sufficiently large surfaces, the critical nucleus for the evaporation process is a gap-spanning vapor tube.

  8. Comparing the Spectroscopic and Molecular Characteristics of Different Dissolved Organic Matter Fractions Isolated by Hydrophobic and Anionic Exchange Resins Using Fluorescence Spectroscopy and FT-ICR-MS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Morgane Derrien

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Despite the environmental significance of dissolved organic matter (DOM, characterizing DOM is still challenging due to its structural complexity and heterogeneity. In this study, three different chemical fractions, including hydrophobic acid (HPOA, transphilic acid (TPIA, and hydrophilic neutral and base (HPIN/B fractions, were separated from bulk aquatic DOM samples, and their spectral features and the chemical composition at the molecular level were compared using both fluorescence excitation emission matrix-parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS. The HPIN/B fraction was distinguished from the two acidic fractions (i.e., HPOA and TPIA by the EEM-PARAFAC, while the TPIA fraction was discriminated by using the molecular parameters derived from the FT-ICR MS analyses. Statistical comparison suggests that the spectral dissimilarity among the three chemical fractions might result from the acido-basic properties of DOM samples, while the differences in molecular composition were more likely to be affected by the hydrophobicity of the DOM fractions. The non-metric multidimensional scaling map further revealed that the HPOA was the most heterogeneous among the three fractions. The number of overlapping formulas among the three chemical fractions constituted only <5% of all identified formulas, and those between two different fractions ranged from 2.0% to 24.1%, implying relatively homogeneous properties of the individual chemical fractions with respect to molecular composition. Although employing chemical fractionation achieved a lowering of the DOM heterogeneity, prevalent signatures of either acido-basic property or the hydrophobic nature of DOM on the characteristics of three chemical isolated fractions were not found for this study.

  9. Solution processing of back electrodes for organic solar cells with inverted architecture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Galagan, Y.; Shanmugam, S.; Teunissen, J.P.; Eggenhuisen, T.M.; Biezemans, A.F.K.V.; Van Gijseghem, T.; Groen, W.A.; Andriessen, R.

    2014-01-01

    Solution processing of the electrodes is a big challenge towards scaling up and R2R processing of organic solar cells. Inkjet printing is a non-contact printing method, it can be realized by solution processing at ambient condition and provides freedom of shape in the electrode pattern. The inkjet

  10. A novel compound cleaning solution for benzotriazole removal after copper CMP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gu Zhangbing; Liu Yuling; Gao Baohong; Wang Chenwei; Deng Haiwen

    2015-01-01

    After the chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) process, the copper surface is contaminated by a mass of particles (e.g. silica) and organic residues (e.g. benzotriazole), which could do great harm to the integrated circuit, so post-CMP cleaning is essential. In particular, benzotriazole (BTA) forms a layer of Cu-BTA film with copper on the surface, which leads to a hydrophobic surface of copper. So an effective cleaning solution is needed to remove BTA from the copper surface. In this work, a new compound cleaning solution is designed to solve two major problems caused by BTA: one is removing BTA and the other is copper surface corrosion that is caused by the cleaning solution. The cleaning solution is formed of alkaline chelating agent (FA/O II type), which is used to remove BTA, and a surfactant (FA/O I type), which is used as a corrosion inhibitor. BTA removal is characterized by contact angle measurements and electrochemical techniques. The inhibiting corrosion ability of the surfactant is also characterized by electrochemical techniques. The proposed compound cleaning solution shows advantages in removing BTA without corroding the copper surface. (paper)

  11. Ligands Exchange Process on Gold Nanoparticles in Acetone Solution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, C. L.; Mu, Y. Y.; Bian, Z. C.; Luo, Z. H.; Luo, K.; Huang, A. Z.

    2018-05-01

    The ligands exchange process on gold nanoparticles (GNPs) was proceeded by using hydrophobic group (PPh3) and hydrophilic group (THPO) in acetone solution. The FTIR and XPS results demonstrated that part of THPO was replaced by PPh3 which was dissolved in polar solution (acetone); the results were in accordance with the electrochemical analysis where the differential capacity decreased with increasing exchange time. After 12 h, the exchange process terminated and the final ratio of PPh3 and THPO was about 1.4: 1. This ratio remained unchanged although the PPh3 and THPO modified GNPs re-dispersed in the PPh3 acetone solution demonstrating the stable adsorption of both ligands after exchanging for 12 h. The TEM images showed that the gold nanoparticles were self-assembled from scattered to arranged morphology due to the existence of hydrophilic and hydrophobic ligands and led to Janus gold nanoparticles.

  12. Hydrophobic silica nanoparticles as reinforcing filler for poly (lactic acid polymer matrix

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pilić Branka M.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Properties of poly (lactic acid (PLA and its nanocomposites, with silica nanoparticles (SiO2, as filler were investigated. Neat PLA films and PLA films with different percentage of hydrophobic fumed silica nanoparticles (0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 5 wt. % were prepared by solution casting method. Several tools were used to characterize the influence of different silica content on crystalline behavior, and thermal, mechanical and barrier properties of PLA/SiO2 nanocomposites. Results from scanning electron microscope (SEM showed that the nanocomposite preparation and selection of specific hydrophobic spherical nano filler provide a good dispersion of the silica nanoparticles in the PLA matrix. Addition of silica nanoparticles improved mechanical properties, the most significant improvement being observed for lowest silica content (0.2wt.%. Barrier properties were improved for all measured gases at all loadings of silica nanoparticles. The degree of crystallinity for PLA slightly increased by adding 0.2 and 0.5 wt. % of nano filler. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III46001

  13. Influence of organic components on plutonium and americium speciation in soils and soil solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sokolik, G.A.; Ovsyannikova, S.V.; Kimlenko, I.M.

    2003-01-01

    Group composition of humic substances of organic and mineral soils sampled in the 30-km zone of the Chernobyl accident was analyzed for studying influence of organic components on migration properties of plutonium and americium in soils and soil solutions by the method of gel-chromatography and chemical fractionation. It was ascertained that humus of organic soils binds plutonium and americium stronger than humus of mineral soils. Elevated mobility of americium compared to plutonium one stems from lower ability of the latter to from hard to solve organic and organomineral complexes, as well as from its ability to form anionic complexes in soil solutions [ru

  14. Physicochemical Behavior of Some Amino Acids/Glycylglycine in Aqueous D-Galactose Solutions at Different Temperatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Anwar; Patel, Rajan; Shahjahan; Ansari, Nizamul Haque

    2010-03-01

    The apparent molar volumes {(overline{V_2})} for glycine (Gly), l-alanine (Ala), phenylalanine (Phe), and glycylglycine (Gly-Gly) in 0.10 m aqueous d-galactose solutions have been determined from density measurements at (298.15, 303.15, 308.15, and 313.15) K. The data for {(overline{V_2})} were utilized to estimate the partial molar volume at infinite dilution {(overline{V_2^0})} , and experimental slope {(S_v^ast)} . The transfer volume, {(overline{V2^0}_(tr))} , and hydration number, ( n H) were also evaluated. The viscosity data were used to evaluate A- and B-coefficients of the Jones-Dole equation, the free energy of activation of viscous flow per mole of the solvent {left(Δ μ1^{0ast} right)} and the solute {left(Δ μ 2^{0ast} right)} . The molar refractivity ( R D) was calculated from refractive index data. The results were discussed in terms of hydrophilic-ionic, hydrophilic-hydrophobic, and hydrophobic-hydrophobic interactions, and structure-making/-breaking ability of the solute (AAs/peptide) in aqueous d-galactose solutions.

  15. Morphology Development in Solution-Processed Functional Organic Blend Films: An In Situ Viewpoint.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richter, Lee J; DeLongchamp, Dean M; Amassian, Aram

    2017-05-10

    Solution-processed organic films are a facile route to high-speed, low cost, large-area deposition of electrically functional components (transistors, solar cells, emitters, etc.) that can enable a diversity of emerging technologies, from Industry 4.0, to the Internet of things, to point-of-use heath care and elder care. The extreme sensitivity of the functional performance of organic films to structure and the general nonequilibrium nature of solution drying result in extreme processing-performance correlations. In this Review, we highlight insights into the fundamentals of solution-based film deposition afforded by recent state-of-the-art in situ measurements of functional film drying. Emphasis is placed on multimodal studies that combine surface-sensitive X-ray scattering (GIWAXS or GISAXS) with optical characterization to clearly define the evolution of solute structure (aggregation, crystallinity, and morphology) with film thickness.

  16. Morphology Development in Solution-Processed Functional Organic Blend Films: An In Situ Viewpoint

    KAUST Repository

    Richter, Lee J.

    2017-04-17

    Solution-processed organic films are a facile route to high-speed, low cost, large-area deposition of electrically functional components (transistors, solar cells, emitters, etc.) that can enable a diversity of emerging technologies, from Industry 4.0, to the Internet of things, to point-of-use heath care and elder care. The extreme sensitivity of the functional performance of organic films to structure and the general nonequilibrium nature of solution drying result in extreme processing-performance correlations. In this Review, we highlight insights into the fundamentals of solution-based film deposition afforded by recent state-of-the-art in situ measurements of functional film drying. Emphasis is placed on multimodal studies that combine surface-sensitive X-ray scattering (GIWAXS or GISAXS) with optical characterization to clearly define the evolution of solute structure (aggregation, crystallinity, and morphology) with film thickness.

  17. Biosurfactant-enhanced bioremediation of hydrophobic pollutants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cameotra, S.S.; Makkar, R.S. [Inst. of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh (India)

    2010-01-15

    Biosurfactants are surface-active compounds synthesized by a wide variety of microorganisms. They are molecules that have both hydrophobic and - philic domains and are capable of lowering the surface tension and the interfacial tension of the growth medium. Biosurfactants possess different chemical structures-lipopeptides, glycolipids, neutral lipids, and fatty acids. They are nontoxic biomolecules that are biodegradable. Biosurfactants also exhibit strong emulsification of hydrophobic compounds and form stable emulsions. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), crude on sludge, and pesticides call be toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic compounds that pollute the environment. They are released into the environment as a result of oil spillage and by-products of coal treatment processes. The low water solubility of these compounds limits their availability to microorganisms, which is a potential problem for bioremediation of contaminated sites. Microbially produced surfactants enhance the bioavailability of these hydrophobic compounds for bioremediation. Therefore, biosurfactant-enhanced solubility of pollutants has potential hioremediation applications.

  18. Surface modification to produce hydrophobic nano-silica particles using sodium dodecyl sulfate as a modifier

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qiao, Bing; Liang, Yong; Wang, Ting-Jie, E-mail: wangtj@tsinghua.edu.cn; Jiang, Yanping

    2016-02-28

    Graphical abstract: Nano silica particle was modified to produce hydrophobic surface with contact angle of 107° using the water soluble SDS as a modifier through a new route. The grafted density reached 1.82–2 nm. Brønsted acid sites supply proton to react with SDS via generating carbocation, forming a Si–O–C structure. - Highlights: • Silica was modified to produce hydrophobic surface using SDS as modifier. • The route is free of organic solvent and gets perfect contact of SDS and silica. • Contact angle of modified silica particles reached 107°. • Grafted density on the silica surface reached 1.82 SDS nm{sup −2}. • Brønsted acid sites supply proton to react with SDS via generating carbocation. - Abstract: Hydrophobic silica particles were prepared using the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a modifier by a new route comprising three processes, namely, aqueous mixing, spray drying and thermal treatment. Since SDS dissolves in water, this route is free of an organic solvent and gave a perfect dispersion of SDS, that is, there was excellent contact between SDS and silica particles in the modification reaction. The hydrophobicity of the modified surface was verified by the contact angle of the nano-sized silica particles, which was 107°. The SDS grafting density reached 1.82 nm{sup −2}, which is near the highest value in the literature. The optimal parameters of the SDS/SiO{sub 2} ratio in the aqueous phase, process temperature and time of thermal treatment were determined to be 20%, 200 °C and 30 min, respectively. The grafting mechanism was studied by comparing the modification with that on same sized TiO{sub 2} particles, which indicated that the protons of the Brønsted acid sites on the surface of SiO{sub 2} reacted with SDS to give a carbocation which then formed a Si–O–C structure. This work showed that the hydrophilic surface of silica can be modified to be a hydrophobic surface by using a water soluble modifier SDS in a

  19. Surface modification of coconut shell based activated carbon for the improvement of hydrophobic VOC removal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Lin; Liu, Suqin; Liu, Junxin

    2011-08-30

    In this study, coconut shell based carbons were chemically treated by ammonia, sodium hydroxide, nitric acid, sulphuric acid, and phosphoric acid to determine suitable modification for improving adsorption ability of hydrophobic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on granular activated carbons (GAC). The saturated adsorption capacities of o-xylene, a hydrophobic volatile organic compound, were measured and adsorption effects of the original and modified activated carbons were compared. Results showed that GAC modified by alkalis had better o-xylene adsorption capacity. Uptake amount was enhanced by 26.5% and reduced by 21.6% after modification by NH(3)H(2)O and H(2)SO(4), respectively. Compared with the original, GAC modified by acid had less adsorption capacity. Both SEM/EDAX and BET were used to identify the structural characteristics of the tested GAC, while IR spectroscopy and Boehm's titration were applied to analysis the surface functional groups. Relationships between physicochemical characteristics of GAC and their adsorption performances demonstrated that o-xylene adsorption capacity was related to surface area, pore volume, and functional groups of the GAC surface. Removing surface oxygen groups, which constitute the source of surface acidity, and reducing hydrophilic carbon surface favors adsorption capacity of hydrophobic VOCs on carbons. The performances of modified GACs were also investigated in the purification of gases containing complex components (o-xylene and steam) in the stream. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Hydrophobicity studies of polymer thin films with varied CNT concentration

    Science.gov (United States)

    M. Rodzi, N. H.; M. Shahimin, M.; Poopalan, P.; Man, B.; M. Nor, M. N.

    2013-12-01

    Surface functionalization studies for re-creating a `Lotus Leaf' effect (superhydrophobic) have been carried out for the past decade; looking for the material which can provide high transparency, low energy surface and high surface roughness. Fabrication of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) hybrid thin film variations on glass to produce near-superhydrophobic surfaces is presented in this paper. There are three important parameters studied in producing hydrophobic surfaces based on the hybrid thin films; concentration of PDMS, concentration of MWCNT and droplet sizes. The study is carried out by using PDMS of varied cross linker ratio (10:1, 30:1 and 50:1) with MWCNT concentration of 1mg, 10mg and 15mg for 0.5 μl, 2.0 μl, 5.0 μl and 10 μl droplet sizes. The resulting hybrid thin films show that hydrophobicity increased with increasing cross linker ratio and MWCNT percentage in the PDMS solution. A near superhydrophobic surface can be created when using 15 mg of MWCNT with 50:1 cross linker ratio PDMS thin films, measured on 10 μl droplet size. The hybrid thin films produced can be potentially tailored to the application of biosensors, MEMS and even commercial devices.

  1. Hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents as water-immiscible extractants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Osch, van D.J.G.P.; Zubeir, L.F.; Bruinhorst, van den A.; Alves da Rocha, M.A.; Kroon, M.C.

    2015-01-01

    Hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are presented for the first time. They consist of decanoic acid and various quaternary ammonium salts. The effect of the alkyl chains on the hydrophobicity and the equilibrium of the two-phase DES–water system were investigated. These new DESs were

  2. Characterization of Hydrophobic Peptides in the Presence of Detergent by Photoionization Mass Spectrometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bagag, Aïcha; Jault, Jean-Michel; Sidahmed-Adrar, Nazha; Réfrégiers, Matthieu; Giuliani, Alexandre; Le Naour, François

    2013-01-01

    The characterization of membrane proteins is still challenging. The major issue is the high hydrophobicity of membrane proteins that necessitates the use of detergents for their extraction and solubilization. The very poor compatibility of mass spectrometry with detergents remains a tremendous obstacle in studies of membrane proteins. Here, we investigated the potential of atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) for mass spectrometry study of membrane proteins. This work was focused on the tetraspanin CD9 and the multidrug transporter BmrA. A set of peptides from CD9, exhibiting a broad range of hydropathicity, was investigated using APPI as compared to electrospray ionization (ESI). Mass spectrometry experiments revealed that the most hydrophobic peptides were hardly ionized by ESI whereas all peptides, including the highly hydrophobic one that corresponds to the full sequence of the first transmembrane domain of CD9, were easily ionized by APPI. The native protein BmrA purified in the presence of the non-ionic detergent beta-D-dodecyl maltoside (DDM) was digested in-solution using trypsin. The resulting peptides were investigated by flow injection analysis of the mixture followed by mass spectrometry. Upon ESI, only detergent ions were detected and the ionic signals from the peptides were totally suppressed. In contrast, APPI allowed many peptides distributed along the sequence of the protein to be detected. Furthermore, the parent ion corresponding to the first transmembrane domain of the protein BmrA was detected under APPI conditions. Careful examination of the APPI mass spectrum revealed a-, b-, c- and y- fragment ions generated by in-source fragmentation. Those fragment ions allowed unambiguous structural characterization of the transmembrane domain. In conclusion, APPI–MS appears as a versatile method allowing the ionization and fragmentation of hydrophobic peptides in the presence of detergent. PMID:24236085

  3. Characterization of hydrophobic peptides in the presence of detergent by photoionization mass spectrometry.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aïcha Bagag

    Full Text Available The characterization of membrane proteins is still challenging. The major issue is the high hydrophobicity of membrane proteins that necessitates the use of detergents for their extraction and solubilization. The very poor compatibility of mass spectrometry with detergents remains a tremendous obstacle in studies of membrane proteins. Here, we investigated the potential of atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI for mass spectrometry study of membrane proteins. This work was focused on the tetraspanin CD9 and the multidrug transporter BmrA. A set of peptides from CD9, exhibiting a broad range of hydropathicity, was investigated using APPI as compared to electrospray ionization (ESI. Mass spectrometry experiments revealed that the most hydrophobic peptides were hardly ionized by ESI whereas all peptides, including the highly hydrophobic one that corresponds to the full sequence of the first transmembrane domain of CD9, were easily ionized by APPI. The native protein BmrA purified in the presence of the non-ionic detergent beta-D-dodecyl maltoside (DDM was digested in-solution using trypsin. The resulting peptides were investigated by flow injection analysis of the mixture followed by mass spectrometry. Upon ESI, only detergent ions were detected and the ionic signals from the peptides were totally suppressed. In contrast, APPI allowed many peptides distributed along the sequence of the protein to be detected. Furthermore, the parent ion corresponding to the first transmembrane domain of the protein BmrA was detected under APPI conditions. Careful examination of the APPI mass spectrum revealed a-, b-, c- and y- fragment ions generated by in-source fragmentation. Those fragment ions allowed unambiguous structural characterization of the transmembrane domain. In conclusion, APPI-MS appears as a versatile method allowing the ionization and fragmentation of hydrophobic peptides in the presence of detergent.

  4. Solution-Processed Wide-Bandgap Organic Semiconductor Nanostructures Arrays for Nonvolatile Organic Field-Effect Transistor Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wen; Guo, Fengning; Ling, Haifeng; Liu, Hui; Yi, Mingdong; Zhang, Peng; Wang, Wenjun; Xie, Linghai; Huang, Wei

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, the development of organic field-effect transistor (OFET) memory device based on isolated and ordered nanostructures (NSs) arrays of wide-bandgap (WBG) small-molecule organic semiconductor material [2-(9-(4-(octyloxy)phenyl)-9H-fluoren-2-yl)thiophene]3 (WG 3 ) is reported. The WG 3 NSs are prepared from phase separation by spin-coating blend solutions of WG 3 /trimethylolpropane (TMP), and then introduced as charge storage elements for nonvolatile OFET memory devices. Compared to the OFET memory device with smooth WG 3 film, the device based on WG 3 NSs arrays exhibits significant improvements in memory performance including larger memory window (≈45 V), faster switching speed (≈1 s), stable retention capability (>10 4 s), and reliable switching properties. A quantitative study of the WG 3 NSs morphology reveals that enhanced memory performance is attributed to the improved charge trapping/charge-exciton annihilation efficiency induced by increased contact area between the WG 3 NSs and pentacene layer. This versatile solution-processing approach to preparing WG 3 NSs arrays as charge trapping sites allows for fabrication of high-performance nonvolatile OFET memory devices, which could be applicable to a wide range of WBG organic semiconductor materials. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. The kinetics of dye formation by pulse radiolysis of pararosaniline cyanide in aqueous or organic solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McLaughlin, W.L.; Holcman, J.; Sehested, K.; Kosanic, M.M.

    1979-11-01

    The radiation-induced conversion of the leucocyanide of pararosaniline dye to the highly colored salt-isomer of the dye in acidic aqueous solution (wavelength of maximum absorption lambda sub(max)=540 nm) or polar organic solution (lambda sub(max)=550 nm), takes place in two separate processes. The first is very fast (within 3 s -1 to 10 6 s -1 , as the acidity or concentration of an oxidizing agent increases. In oxygen-free acidic aqueous or organic solutions (argon saturated) there is an unstable transient species (lambdasub(max)=380 nm). When using O 2 or N 2 O-saturated aqueous or organic solution, there is no intermediate absorption band at 380 nm, but the slow process of dye formation at 540 or 550 nm is still sequential to the initial fast process having somewhat faster kinetics than in Ar-saturated solution. (author)

  6. Influence of hydrophobicity on the chemical treatments of graphene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rai, Krishna Bahadur; Khadka, Ishwor Bahadur; Kim, Eun Hye; Ahn, Sung Joon; Kim, Hyun Woo; Ahn, Joung Real

    2018-01-01

    The defect-free transfer of graphene grown by using chemical vapor deposition is essential for its applications to electronic devices. For the reduction of inevitable chemical residues, such as polar molecules and ionized impurities resulting from the transfer process, a hydrophobic polydimethyl-siloxane (PDMS) film was coated on a SiO2/Si wafer. The hydrophobic PDMS film resulted in fewer defects in graphene in comparison to a bare SiO2/Si wafer, as measured with Raman spectroscopy. We also studied the influence of the hydrophobic PDMS film on the chemical doping of graphene. Here, nitric acid (HNO3) was used to make p-type graphene. When graphene was transferred onto a SiO2/Si wafer coated with the hydrophobic PDMS film, fewer defects, compared to those in graphene transferred onto a bare SiO2/Si wafer, were created in grapheme by HNO3 as measured with Raman spectroscopy. The experiments suggest that when graphene is transferred onto a hydrophobic film, the number of defects created by chemical molecules can be reduced.

  7. Fully solution-processed organic solar cells on metal foil substrates

    KAUST Repository

    Gaynor, Whitney

    2009-08-19

    We demonstrate fully solution-processed organic photovoltaic cells on metal foil substrates with power conversion efficiencies similar to those obtained in devices on transparent substrates. The cells are based on the regioregular poly- (3-hexylthiophene) and C61 butyric acid methyl ester bulk heterojunction system. The bottom electrode is a silver film whose workfunction is lowered by Cs2CO3 using spin-coating to serve as a cathode. The transparent top anode consists of a conductive polymer in combination with a solution-processed silver nanowire mesh that is laminated onto the devices. Each layer of the device, including the transparent electrode, is fabricated from solution, giving rise to the possibility of completely printed solar cells on low-cost substrates.

  8. A flow-through passive dosing system for continuously supplying aqueous solutions of hydrophobic chemicals to bioconcentration and aquatic toxicity tests

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Adolfsson-Erici, Margaretha; Åkerman, Gun; Jahnke, Annika

    2012-01-01

    A continuous supply of water with defined stable concentrations of hydrophobic chemicals is a requirement in a range of laboratory tests such as the OECD 305 protocol for determining the bioconcentration factor in fish. Satisfying this requirement continues to be a challenge, particularly for hyd...

  9. SOLUTION THERMODYNAMICS OF TRICLOSAN AND TRICLOCARBAN IN SOME VOLATILE ORGANIC SOLVENTS

    OpenAIRE

    DELGADO, Daniel R.; R. HOLGUIN, Andres; MARTÍNEZ, Fleming

    2012-01-01

    Thermodynamic functions of Gibbs energy, enthalpy, and entropy for the solution processes of the antimicrobial drugs Triclosan and Triclocarban in five volatile organic solvents were calculated from solubility values at temperatures from 293.15 to 313.15 K. Triclosan and Triclocarban solubility was determined in acetone, acetonitrile (AcCN), ethyl acetate (AcOEt), methanol (MetOH), and cyclohexane (CH). The excess of Gibbs energy and the activity coefficients of the solutes were also calculat...

  10. Hydrophobicity and charge shape cellular metabolite concentrations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arren Bar-Even

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available What governs the concentrations of metabolites within living cells? Beyond specific metabolic and enzymatic considerations, are there global trends that affect their values? We hypothesize that the physico-chemical properties of metabolites considerably affect their in-vivo concentrations. The recently achieved experimental capability to measure the concentrations of many metabolites simultaneously has made the testing of this hypothesis possible. Here, we analyze such recently available data sets of metabolite concentrations within E. coli, S. cerevisiae, B. subtilis and human. Overall, these data sets encompass more than twenty conditions, each containing dozens (28-108 of simultaneously measured metabolites. We test for correlations with various physico-chemical properties and find that the number of charged atoms, non-polar surface area, lipophilicity and solubility consistently correlate with concentration. In most data sets, a change in one of these properties elicits a ~100 fold increase in metabolite concentrations. We find that the non-polar surface area and number of charged atoms account for almost half of the variation in concentrations in the most reliable and comprehensive data set. Analyzing specific groups of metabolites, such as amino-acids or phosphorylated nucleotides, reveals even a higher dependence of concentration on hydrophobicity. We suggest that these findings can be explained by evolutionary constraints imposed on metabolite concentrations and discuss possible selective pressures that can account for them. These include the reduction of solute leakage through the lipid membrane, avoidance of deleterious aggregates and reduction of non-specific hydrophobic binding. By highlighting the global constraints imposed on metabolic pathways, future research could shed light onto aspects of biochemical evolution and the chemical constraints that bound metabolic engineering efforts.

  11. Frosting characteristics on hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces: A review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Min-Hwan; Kim, Hisuk; Lee, Kwan-Soo; Kim, Dong Rip

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Fabrication methods of hydrophobic metal surfaces were investigated. • Mechanisms of ice crystal formation were reviewed in terms of static contact angle. • Future researches for frost retardation on heat exchanger surfaces were discussed. - Abstract: Fabrication methods of the hydrophobic property on metal surfaces and frosting characteristics on hydrophobic surfaces were investigated. A hydrophobic surface with a static contact angle of less than 150° was implemented by surface coating or etching, and a superhydrophobic surface with a static contact angle of greater than 150° was realized by a hybrid method using both coating and etching. The changes in surface properties affected the behaviors of the early stage frosting from the dry surface to the formation of ice crystals. On the hydrophobic surfaces, ice crystals were formed by freezing after condensation. Isolated-droplet freezing and inter-droplet freezing are mechanisms by which the condensate undergoes a phase change into ice crystals. Through isolated-droplet freezing, a supercooled condensate changes phase into ice crystals by forming ice nuclei based on the classical nucleation theory. In addition, through inter-droplet freezing, ice crystals are propagated due to the difference in saturation vapor pressure between supercooled condensates and ice crystals. The formation and propagation of ice crystals are delayed as the static contact angle increases. Additionally, based on a review, future researches that is needed to improve hydrophobic technologies are discussed.

  12. Time-resolved imaging and immobilization study of biomaterials on hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces by means of laser-induced forward transfer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boutopoulos, Christos; Chatzipetrou, Marianneza; Zergioti, Ioanna; Papathanasiou, Athanasios G

    2014-01-01

    In this work, we present the generation of high velocity liquid jets of a photosynthetic biomaterial in buffer solution (i.e. thylakoid membranes) and a test solution, using the laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) technique. The high impact pressure of the collision of the jets on solid substrates, ranging from 0.045 MPa–35 MPa, resulted in strong physical immobilization of the photosynthetic biomaterial on superhydrophobic (SH) poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) surfaces and hydrophobic gold surfaces. The immobilization efficiency was evaluated by fluorescence microscopy, while time-resolved imaging of the LIFT process was carried out to study the corresponding LIFT dynamics. The results show that this simple, direct and chemical-linkers-free immobilization technique is valuable for several biosensors and microfluidic applications since it can be applied to a variety of hydrophobic and SH substrates, leading to the selective immobilization of the biomaterials, due to the high spatial printing resolution of the LIFT technique. (letter)

  13. Bioaccesibility Extraction of Hydrophobic Pollutants: Benefits of Separating Leaching Agent and Acceptor Medium

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cocovi-Solberg, D. J.; Miro, M.; Loibner, A. P.

    2015-01-01

    Bioaccessibility extractions of organic pollutants from environmental solid samples are increasingly used in environmental risk assessment and management. Recent research has indicated that many bioaccessibility extraction methods have limited sink capacity for hydrophobic organic chemicals, which...... are a step forward, they also lead to challenges related to the separation of sink and matrix and/or the subsequent quantification of the bioaccessible fraction. The present study aimed at developing a new approach for (1) enhancing the sink capacity of bioaccessibility extractions, (2) improving phase......, the developed method was applied to PAH contaminated soils and the results compared to results obtained with other existing methods....

  14. Thermoresponsive behavior of chitosan-g-N-isopropylacrylamide copolymer solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Recillas, Maricarmen; Silva, Luisa L; Peniche, Carlos; Goycoolea, Francisco M; Rinaudo, Marguerite; Argüelles-Monal, Waldo M

    2009-06-08

    Chitosan-g-N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) water-soluble copolymers were synthesized and characterized by FTIR and (1)H NMR spectroscopies combined with conductometric and potentiometric titrations. Their thermoresponsive, fully reversible, behavior in aqueous solutions was characterized by means of microcalorimetry and rheology. During heating of copolymer solutions there is a well-known endothermic effect, which coincides with a marked increase in G' and a moderate decrement in G'' due to the formation of a hydrophobic network at the expense of the net amount of sol fraction. It was also found that a straight dependence between the values of G' above the LCST and the enthalpies associated with the transition reflecting that the connectivity in the gel network is governed by the net number of formed enthalpic-hydrophobic driven-junctions. Both the LCST and the enthalpy change vary with the ionic strength of copolymer solutions, but no dependence was found with the neutralization of the polyelectrolyte chain.

  15. IMPLICATIONS OF MICROBIAL ADHESION TO HYDROCARBONS FOR EVALUATING CELL-SURFACE HYDROPHOBICITY .1. ZETA-POTENTIALS OF HYDROCARBON DROPLETS

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    BUSSCHER, HJ; VANDEBELTGRITTER, B; VANDERMEI, HC

    1995-01-01

    Microbial adhesion to hydrocarbons (MATH) is generally considered to be a measure of the organisms cell surface hydrophobicity. As microbial adhesion is a complicated interplay of long-range van der Waals and electrostatic forces and various short-range interactions, the above statement only holds

  16. Heterogeneous nucleation promotes carrier transport in solution-processed organic field-effect transistors

    KAUST Repository

    Li, Ruipeng

    2012-09-04

    A new way to investigate and control the growth of solution-cast thin films is presented. The combination of in situ quartz crystal microbalance measurements with dissipation capabilities (QCM-D) and in situ grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) in an environmental chamber provides unique quantitative insights into the time-evolution of the concentration of the solution, the onset of nucleation, and the mode of growth of the organic semiconductor under varied drying conditions. It is demonstrated that careful control over the kinetics of solution drying enhances carrier transport significantly by promoting phase transformation predominantly via heterogeneous nucleation and sustained surface growth of a highly lamellar structure at the solid-liquid interface at the expense of homogeneous nucleation. A new way to investigate and control the growth of drop-cast thin films is presented. The solution-processing of small-molecule thin films of TIPS-pentacene is investigated using time-resolved techniques to reveal the mechanisms of nucleation and growth leading to solid film formation. By tuning the drying speed of the solution, the balance between surface and bulk growth modes is altered, thereby controlling the lamellar formation and tuning the carrier mobility in organic field-effect transistors Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. Novel hydrophobic PDVB/R-SiO2 for adsorption of volatile organic compounds from highly humid gas stream.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Han-feng; Cao, Jie-jing; Zhou, Ying; Zhan, De-li; Chen, Yin-fei

    2013-11-15

    A novel organic-inorganic hydrophobic polydivinylbenzene-silica adsorbent (PDVB/R-SiO2) was successfully prepared by introducing a specific amount of divinylbenzene and solvent (i.e., tetrahydrofuran) to SiO2pores and initiating polymerization under solvothermal conditions. New smaller structures and surface areas were formed in the SiO2 pores. The PDVB/R-SiO2-0.5 samples exhibited a bimodal pore size distribution with both SiO2 micropores/mesopores (0.5-2.0 nm) and mesopores (2.0-5.0 nm). The surface areas increased from 116 m(2)/g (SiO2) to 246 m(2)/g. The breakthrough curves of toluene adsorption indicated that the amount adsorbed on PDVB/R-SiO2-0.5 was 12 times higher than that on SiO2. The highly humid environment exhibited no effect on adsorption because the surface of PDVB was functionalized. The adsorbed toluene was easily desorbed in hot N2 stream at 100 °C. After 10 adsorption-desorption cycles, PDVB/R-SiO2-0.5 continued exhibiting excellent adsorption, indicating superior structural and regeneration abilities. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Effect of organic solvents on dissolution process of mechano-chemically activated molybdenum by inorganic acid solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shevtsova, I.Ya.; Chernyak, A.S.; Khal'zov, A.A.

    1992-01-01

    The process of chemical dissolution of mechanochemically activated and nonactivated molybdenite by inorganic acid solutions in certain organic solvents of different nature was considered. It is shown that the highest extraction of molybdenum in solution is achieved in the presence of nitric acid. The dissociation constant of the acid used in the given organic solvent does not affect molybdenite solubility. When dissolving molybdenite by solutions of nitric acid in carbonic acids, alcohols and esters, the solubility of the concentrate depends on the length of hydrocarbon chain of the organic solvent and dispersion degree of mineral source material

  19. Solvation theory to provide a molecular interpretation of the hydrophobic entropy loss of noble-gas hydration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Irudayam, Sheeba Jem; Henchman, Richard H

    2010-01-01

    An equation for the chemical potential of a dilute aqueous solution of noble gases is derived in terms of energies, force and torque magnitudes, and solute and water coordination numbers, quantities which are all measured from an equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation. Also derived are equations for the Gibbs free energy, enthalpy and entropy of hydration for the Henry's law process, the Ostwald process, and a third proposed process going from an arbitrary concentration in the gas phase to the equivalent mole fraction in aqueous solution which has simpler expressions for the enthalpy and entropy changes. Good agreement with experimental hydration free energies is obtained in the TIP4P and SPC/E water models although the solute's force field appears to affect the enthalpies and entropies obtained. In contrast to other methods, the approach gives a complete breakdown of the entropy for every degree of freedom and makes possible a direct structural interpretation of the well-known entropy loss accompanying the hydrophobic hydration of small non-polar molecules under ambient conditions. The noble-gas solutes experience only a small reduction in their vibrational entropy, with larger solutes experiencing a greater loss. The vibrational and librational entropy components of water actually increase but only marginally, negating any idea of water confinement. The term that contributes the most to the hydrophobic entropy loss is found to be water's orientational term which quantifies the number of orientational minima per water molecule and how many ways the whole hydrogen-bond network can form. These findings help resolve contradictory deductions from experiments that water structure around non-polar solutes is similar to bulk water in some ways but different in others. That the entropy loss lies in water's rotational entropy contrasts with other claims that it largely lies in water's translational entropy, but this apparent discrepancy arises because of different

  20. Inverse colloidal crystal membranes for hydrophobic interaction membrane chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vu, Anh T; Wang, Xinying; Wickramasinghe, S Ranil; Yu, Bing; Yuan, Hua; Cong, Hailin; Luo, Yongli; Tang, Jianguo

    2015-08-01

    Hydrophobic interaction membrane chromatography has gained interest due to its excellent performance in the purification of humanized monoclonal antibodies. The membrane material used in hydrophobic interaction membrane chromatography has typically been commercially available polyvinylidene fluoride. In this contribution, newly developed inverse colloidal crystal membranes that have uniform pores, high porosity and, therefore, high surface area for protein binding are used as hydrophobic interaction membrane chromatography membranes for humanized monoclonal antibody immunoglobulin G purification. The capacity of the inverse colloidal crystal membranes developed here is up to ten times greater than commercially available polyvinylidene fluoride membranes with a similar pore size. This work highlights the importance of developing uniform pore size high porosity membranes in order to maximize the capacity of hydrophobic interaction membrane chromatography. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. Protein-induced bilayer Perturbations: Lipid ordering and hydrophobic coupling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Frederic Nicolas Rønne; Laursen, Ib; Bohr, Henrik

    2009-01-01

    The host lipid bilayer is increasingly being recognized as an important non-specific regulator of membrane protein function. Despite considerable progress the interplay between hydrophobic coupling and lipid ordering is still elusive. We use electron spin resonance (ESR) to study the interaction...... between the model protein gramicidin and lipid bilayers of varying thickness. The free energy of the interaction is up to −6 kJ/mol; thus not strongly favored over lipid–lipid interactions. Incorporation of gramicidin results in increased order parameters with increased protein concentration...... and hydrophobic mismatch. Our findings also show that at high protein:lipid ratios the lipids are motionally restricted but not completely immobilized. Both exchange on and off rate values for the lipid ↔ gramicidin interaction are lowest at optimal hydrophobic matching. Hydrophobic mismatch of few Å results...

  2. Scientific basis of a new method for hydrophobic modification of mineral binders using peat products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Misnikov

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available This study deals with the issue of caking of mineral binding materials during storage and transportation. The author conducted a critical analysis of known methods for the protection of cement from exposure to moisture and water vapour. Common disadvantages of these methods are their low effectiveness and complexity of use in industrial and domestic environments. This article introduces a new method for hydrophobising construction materials using peat, which achieves high water repellency in the modified materials with relatively low expenditure on organic materials. The author proposes film coating of the mineral particles of dispersed hydrophilic materials as a protection mechanism against their undesirable exposure to moisture during storage. The insulating film consists of hydrophobic products (bitumens released during thermal decomposition of the organic matter in peat. The estimated thickness of the bitumen film is about 12 nm and it does not adversely affect the flow properties of the powder. A model of the formation of film coatings on mineral particles is provided and their elemental chemical composition is determined. It is shown experimentally that the modified hydrophobic cement is protected from exposure to liquid vapours, and optimal values of organic component concentrations in the dispersed mineral matter that do not reduce the strength of cement mortar are identified.

  3. Mapping Hydrophobicity on the Protein Molecular Surface at Atom-Level Resolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicolau Jr., Dan V.; Paszek, Ewa; Fulga, Florin; Nicolau, Dan V.

    2014-01-01

    A precise representation of the spatial distribution of hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity and charges on the molecular surface of proteins is critical for the understanding of the interaction with small molecules and larger systems. The representation of hydrophobicity is rarely done at atom-level, as this property is generally assigned to residues. A new methodology for the derivation of atomic hydrophobicity from any amino acid-based hydrophobicity scale was used to derive 8 sets of atomic hydrophobicities, one of which was used to generate the molecular surfaces for 35 proteins with convex structures, 5 of which, i.e., lysozyme, ribonuclease, hemoglobin, albumin and IgG, have been analyzed in more detail. Sets of the molecular surfaces of the model proteins have been constructed using spherical probes with increasingly large radii, from 1.4 to 20 Å, followed by the quantification of (i) the surface hydrophobicity; (ii) their respective molecular surface areas, i.e., total, hydrophilic and hydrophobic area; and (iii) their relative densities, i.e., divided by the total molecular area; or specific densities, i.e., divided by property-specific area. Compared with the amino acid-based formalism, the atom-level description reveals molecular surfaces which (i) present an approximately two times more hydrophilic areas; with (ii) less extended, but between 2 to 5 times more intense hydrophilic patches; and (iii) 3 to 20 times more extended hydrophobic areas. The hydrophobic areas are also approximately 2 times more hydrophobicity-intense. This, more pronounced “leopard skin”-like, design of the protein molecular surface has been confirmed by comparing the results for a restricted set of homologous proteins, i.e., hemoglobins diverging by only one residue (Trp37). These results suggest that the representation of hydrophobicity on the protein molecular surfaces at atom-level resolution, coupled with the probing of the molecular surface at different geometric resolutions

  4. Patterned hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces of ultra-smooth nanocrystalline diamond layers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mertens, M., E-mail: michael.mertens@uni-ulm.de [Institute of Micro and Nanomaterials, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm (Germany); Mohr, M.; Brühne, K.; Fecht, H.J. [Institute of Micro and Nanomaterials, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm (Germany); Łojkowski, M.; Święszkowski, W. [Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw (Poland); Łojkowski, W. [Institute of High Pressure Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw (Poland)

    2016-12-30

    Highlights: • Hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties on fluorine-, hydrogen- and oxygen- terminated ultra-nanocrystalline diamond films. • Micropatterned - multi-terminated layers with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic areas on one sample. • Visualization of multi-terminated surfaces by e.g. SEM and LFM. • Roughness and friction investigations on different terminated surfaces. • Smooth and biocompatible surfaces with same roughness regardless of hydrophobicity for microbiological investigations. - Abstract: In this work, we show that ultra nanocrystalline diamond (UNCD) surfaces have been modified to add them hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties. The nanocrystalline diamond films were deposited using the hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) technique. This allows growing diamond on different substrates which can be even 3D or structured. Silicon and, for optical applications, transparent quartz glass are the preferred substrates for UNCD layers growth. Fluorine termination leads to strong hydrophobic properties as indicated by a high contact angle for water of more than 100°. Hydrogen termination shows lesser hydrophobic behavior. Hydrophilic characteristics has been realised with oxygen termination. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) measurements confirm the oxygen and fluorine- termination on the nanocrystalline diamond surface. Further, by micropatterning using photolithography, multi-terminated layers have been created with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic areas. In addition, we have shown that retermination is achieved, and the properties of the surface have been changed from hydrophobic to hydrophilic and vice versa. Micro- roughness and stress in the grown film influences slightly the wetting angle as well. The opportunity to realize local differences in hydrophobicity on nanocrystalline diamond layers, in any size or geometry, offers interesting applications for example in

  5. Fabricating Super-hydrophobic Polydimethylsiloxane Surfaces by a Simple Filler-Dissolved Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Yung-Tsan; Chou, Jung-Hua

    2010-12-01

    The self-cleaning effect of super-hydrophobic surfaces has attracted the attention of researchers. Typical ways of manufacturing super-hydrophobic surfaces include the use of either dedicated equipment or a complex chemical process. In this study, a simple innovative filler-dissolved method is developed using mainly powder salt and rinsing to form hydrophobic surfaces. This method can produce large super-hydrophobic surfaces with porous and micro rib surface structures. It can also be applied to curved surfaces, including flexible membranes. The contact angle of the manufactured artificial hydrophobic surface is about 160°. Furthermore, water droplets roll off the surface readily at a sliding angle of less than 5°, resembling the nonwetting lotus like effect.

  6. Characteristics improvement of hydrophobic polytetrafluoroethylene-platinum catalysts for tritium separation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Popescu, I.; Ionita, Gh.; Dobrinescu, D.; Varlam, C.; Stefanescu, I.

    2006-01-01

    Full text: Based on the long experience of the authors in the preparation, testing and evaluation of the performances of hydrophobic catalysts and based on the reviewed references, this paper presents up-to-date R and D activities on the preparation methods and applications of the hydrophobic catalysts in tritium separation. The objectives of the paper are: how to improve the characteristics and performance of platinum hydrophobic catalysts; to assess and find a new procedure for the preparation of a new improved hydrophobic catalyst. From reviewed references one can conclude that platinum is the most active and efficient catalytic metal while the polytetrafluoroethylene is the best wet-proofing agent. A new improved hydrophobic Pt-catalyst has been proposed and its testing is now underway. The main steps and experimental conditions of preparation are thoroughly discussed. A new wet-proofing agent and new binders (titanium dioxide, cerium dioxide, zirconium dioxide) with a catalytic role are proposed and tested. The physico-structural parameters of the improved catalyst have been determined and are discussed in detail. The new proposal is a promising idea to improve the performance of conventional hydrophobic Pt-catalysts. (authors)

  7. Hydrophobic treatment of concrete

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vries, J. de; Polder, R.B.

    1996-01-01

    As part of the maintenance policy of the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Civil Engineering Division, hydrophobic treatment of concrete was considered as an additional protective measure against penetration of aggressive substances, for instance deicing salts in bridge decks. A set of tests was designed

  8. Adsorption of dextrin on hydrophobic minerals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beaussart, Audrey; Mierczynska-Vasilev, Agnieszka; Beattie, David A

    2009-09-01

    The adsorption of dextrin on talc, molybdenite, and graphite (three naturally hydrophobic minerals) has been compared. Adsorption isotherms and in situ tapping mode atomic force microscope (TMAFM) imaging have enabled polymer adsorbed amount and morphology of the adsorbed layer (area coverage and polymer domain size) to be determined and also the amount of hydration water in the structure of the adsorbed layer. The effect of the polymer on the mineral contact angles, measured by the captive bubble method on cleaved mineral surfaces, indicates clear correlations between the hydrophobicity reduction of the minerals, the adsorbed amount, and the surface coverage of the adsorbed polymer. Predictions of the flotation recovery of the treated mineral phases have been confirmed by performing batch flotation experiments. The influence of the polymer surface coverage on flotation recovery has highlighted the importance of this key parameter in the predictions of depressant efficiency. The roles of the initial hydrophobicity and the surface structure of the mineral basal plane in determining adsorption parameters and flotation response of the polymer-treated minerals are also discussed.

  9. Solution-processed organic thermoelectric materials exhibiting doping-concentration-dependent polarity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Sunbin; Potscavage, William J; Yang, Yu Seok; Park, In Seob; Matsushima, Toshinori; Adachi, Chihaya

    2016-10-26

    Recent progress in conducting polymer-based organic thermoelectric generators (OTEGs) has resulted in high performance due to high Seebeck coefficient, high electrical conductivity (σ), and low thermal conductivity obtained by chemically controlling the materials's redox levels. In addition to improving the properties of individual OTEGs to obtain high performance, the development of solution processes for the fabrication of OTEG modules is necessary to realize large thermoelectric voltage and low-cost mass production. However, the scarcity of good candidates for soluble organic n-type materials limits the use of π-leg module structures consisting of complementary elements of p- and n-type materials because of unbalanced transport coefficients that lead to power losses. In particular, the extremely low σ of n-type materials compared with that of p-type materials is a serious challenge. In this study, poly(pyridinium phenylene) (P(PymPh)) was tested as an n-type semiconductor in solution-processed OTEGs, and the carrier density was controlled by a solution-based chemical doping process using the dopant sodium naphthalenide, a well-known reductant. The electronic structures and doping mechanism of P(PymPh) were explored based on the changes in UV-Vis-IR absorption, ultraviolet photoelectron, and X-ray photoelectron spectra. By controlling the dopant concentration, we demonstrate a maximum n-type power factor of 0.81 μW m -1 K -2 with high σ, and at higher doping concentrations, a switch from n-type to p-type TE operation. This is one of the first cases of a switch in polarity just by increasing the concentration of the reductant and may open a new route for simplified fabrication of complementary organic layers.

  10. Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Half-corrugated Channel Flow by Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Surfaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. R. Rastan

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available In the first part of the present study, a two dimensional half-corrugated channel flow is simulated at Reynolds number of 104, in no-slip condition (hydrophilic surfaces( using various low Reynolds turbulence models as well as standard k-ε model; and an appropriate turbulence model (k-ω 1998 model( is proposed. Then, in order to evaluate the proposed solution method in simulation of flow adjacent to hydrophobic surfaces, turbulent flow is simulated in simple channel and the results are compared with the literature. Finally, two dimensional half-corrugated channel flow at Reynolds number of 104 is simulated again in vicinity of hydrophobic surfaces for varoius slip lengths. The results show that this method is capable of drag reduction in such a way that an increase of 200 μm in slip length leads to a massive drag reduction up to 38%. In addition, to access a significant drag reduction in turbulent flows, the non-dimensionalized slip length should be larger than the minimum.

  11. Development of paper-based microfluidic analytical device for iron assay using photomask printed with 3D printer for fabrication of hydrophilic and hydrophobic zones on paper by photolithography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asano, Hitoshi; Shiraishi, Yukihide

    2015-07-09

    This paper describes a paper-based microfluidic analytical device for iron assay using a photomask printed with a 3D printer for fabrication of hydrophilic and hydrophobic zones on the paper by photolithography. Several designed photomasks for patterning paper-based microfluidic analytical devices can be printed with a 3D printer easily, rapidly and inexpensively. A chromatography paper was impregnated with the octadecyltrichlorosilane n-hexane solution and hydrophobized. After the hydrophobic zone of the paper was exposed to the UV light through the photomask, the hydrophilic zone was generated. The smallest functional hydrophilic channel and hydrophobic barrier were ca. 500 μm and ca. 100 μm in width, respectively. The fabrication method has high stability, resolution and precision for hydrophilic channel and hydrophobic barrier. This test paper was applied to the analysis of iron in water samples using a colorimetry with phenanthroline. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Effects of constituent ions of a phosphonium-based ionic liquid on molecular organization of H2O as probed by 1-propanol

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Morita, Takeshi; Miki, Kumiko; Ayako, Nitta

    2015-01-01

    on the basis of 1-propanol probing methodology devised by Koga et al. The resulting characterization of the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity is displayed on a two-dimensional map together with previous results, for a total of four cations and nine anions of typical ionic liquid (IL) constituents. The results......Aqueous solutions of tetrabutylphosphonium trifluoroacetate, [P4444]CF3COO, exhibit a liquid-liquid phase transition with a lower critical solution temperature. Herein, we characterized the constituent ions, [P4444](+) and CF3COO(-), in terms of their effects on the molecular organization of H2O...

  13. Landfill leachate effects on sorption of organic micropollutants onto aquifer materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Thomas; Christensen, Thomas Højlund; Pfeffer, Fred M.

    1992-01-01

    The effect of dissolved organic carbon as present in landfill leachate, on the sorption of organic micropollutants in aquifer materials was studied by laboratory batch and column experiments involving 15 non-polar organic chemicals, 5 landfill leachates and 4 aquifer materials of low organic carbon......, the effect of landfill leachate on retardation of organic micropollutants in aquifer material seems limited....... content. The experiments showed that hydrophobic organic micropollutants do partition into dissolved organic carbon found in landfill leachate potentially increasing their mobility. However, landfill leachate interacted with aquifer materials apparently increases the sorbent affinity for the hydrophobic...

  14. Influence of Hydrophobicity on Polyelectrolyte Complexation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sadman, Kazi [Department; amp, Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States; Wang, Qifeng [Department; amp, Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States; Chen, Yaoyao [Department; amp, Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States; Keshavarz, Bavand [Department; Jiang, Zhang [X-ray; Shull, Kenneth R. [Department; amp, Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States

    2017-11-16

    Polyelectrolyte complexes are a fascinating class of soft materials that can span the full spectrum of mechanical properties from low viscosity fluids to glassy solids. This spectrum can be accessed by modulating the extent of electrostatic association in these complexes. However, to realize the full potential of polyelectrolyte complexes as functional materials their molecular level details need to be clearly correlated with their mechanical response. The present work demonstrates that by making simple amendments to the chain architecture it is possible to affect the salt responsiveness of polyelectrolyte complexes in a systematic manner. This is achieved by quaternizing poly(4-vinylpyridine) (QVP) with methyl, ethyl and propyl substituents– thereby increasing the hydrophobicity with increasing side chain length– and complexing them with a common anionic polyelectrolyte, poly(styrene sulfonate). The mechanical 1 ACS Paragon Plus Environment behavior of these complexes is compared to the more hydrophilic system of poly(styrene sulfonate) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium) by quantifying the swelling behavior in response to salt stimuli. More hydrophobic complexes are found to be more resistant to doping by salt, yet the mechanical properties of the complex remain contingent on the overall swelling ratio of the complex itself, following near universal swelling-modulus master curves that are quantified in this work. The rheological behavior of QVP complex coacervates are found to be approximately the same, only requiring higher salt concentrations to overcome strong hydrophobic interactions, demonstrating that hydrophobicity can be used as an important parameter for tuning the stability of polyelectrolyte complexes in general, while still preserving the ability to be processed “saloplastically”.

  15. Lecithin hydrophobicity modulates the process of cholesterol crystal nucleation and growth in supersaturated model bile systems.

    OpenAIRE

    Ochi, H; Tazuma, S; Kajiyama, G

    1996-01-01

    The present study was performed to determine whether the degree of lecithin hydrophobicity regulates bile metastability and, therefore, affects the process of cholesterol crystallization. Supersaturated model bile (MB) solutions were prepared with an identical composition on a molar basis (taurocholate/lecithin/cholesterol, 73:19.5:7.5; total lipid concentration 9 g/dl) except for the lecithin species; egg yolk phosphatidylcholine, soybean phosphatidylcholine, 1-palmitoyl-2-linoleoyl-sn-phosp...

  16. Micellar copolymerization of poly(acrylamide-g-propylene oxide): rheological evaluation and solution characterization; Copolimerizacao micelar de poli(acrilamida-g-oxido de propileno): avaliacao reologica e caracterizacao de suas solucoes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sadicoff, Bianca L.; Brandao, Edimir M.; Lucas, Elizabete F. [Universidade Federal, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Inst. de Macromoleculas]. E-mail: elucas@ima.ufrj.br; Amorim, Marcia C.V. [Universidade Estadual, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Inst. de Quimica

    2001-06-01

    Graft copolymers of polyacrylamide and poly(propylene oxide) were synthesized by a micellar copolymerization technique. The rheological properties of the copolymers solutions were evaluated and compared with literature data for solutions of the same copolymers, synthesized by solution polymerization. The effect of hydrophobe content, salt addition and surfactant addition on the rheological properties were also investigated. Increasing hydrophobe content resulted in higher solution viscosities in the semi-dilute regime. Upon addition of salts, the hydrophobic groups associated to minimize their exposure to water. In the semi-dilute region, higher contents of surfactant added resulted in lower reduced viscosities of the polymer solutions. The copolymers were qualitatively characterized by infra-red spectrometry. (author)

  17. Photoinduced hydrophobic surface of graphene oxide thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Xiaoyan; Song Peng; Cui Xiaoli

    2012-01-01

    Graphene oxide (GO) thin films were deposited on transparent conducting oxide substrates and glass slides by spin coating method at room temperature. The wettability of GO thin films before and after ultraviolet (UV) irradiation was characterized with water contact angles, which increased from 27.3° to 57.6° after 3 h of irradiation, indicating a photo-induced hydrophobic surface. The UV–vis absorption spectra, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and conductivity measurements of GO films before and after UV irradiation were taken to study the mechanism of photoinduced hydrophobic surface of GO thin films. It is demonstrated that the photoinduced hydrophobic surface is ascribed to the elimination of oxygen-containing functional groups on GO molecules. This work provides a simple strategy to control the wettability properties of GO thin films by UV irradiation. - Highlights: ► Photoinduced hydrophobic surface of graphene oxide thin films has been demonstrated. ► Elimination of oxygen-containing functional groups in graphene oxide achieved by UV irradiation. ► We provide novel strategy to control surface wettability of GO thin films by UV irradiation.

  18. Thermally stable silica-coated hydrophobic gold nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanehara, Masayuki; Watanabe, Yuka; Teranishi, Toshiharu

    2009-01-01

    We have successfully developed a method for silica coating on hydrophobic dodecanethiol-protected Au nanoparticles with coating thickness ranging from 10 to 40 nm. The formation of silica-coated Au nanoparticles could be accomplished via the preparation of hydrophilic Au nanoparticle micelles by cationic surfactant encapsulation in aqueous phase, followed by hydrolysis of tetraethylorthosilicate on the hydrophilic surface of gold nanoparticle micelles. Silica-coated Au nanoparticles exhibited quite high thermal stability, that is, no agglomeration of the Au cores could be observed after annealing at 600 degrees C for 30 min. Silica-coated Au nanoparticles could serve as a template to derive hollow nanoparticles. An addition of NaCN solution to silica-coated Au nanoparticles led the formation of hollow silica nanoparticles, which were redispersible in deionized water. The formation of the hollow silica nanoparticles results from the mesoporous structures of the silica shell and such a mesoporous structure is applicable to both catalyst support and drug delivery.

  19. Specific ion effects on the hydrophobic interaction of benzene self-assembled monolayers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dobberschütz, Sören; Pedersen, Morten Rimmen; Hassenkam, Tue

    2015-01-01

    The interaction of aromatic compounds with various ions in aqueous solutions plays a role in a number of fields, as diverse as protein folding and enhanced oil recovery, among others. Therefore, we have investigated the effect of the four electrolytes, KCl, NaCl, MgCl2 and CaCl2, on the hydrophobic...... interaction of benzene self-assembled monolayers. Using the jump to contact phenomenon of an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip as an indicator of attractive forces between the surfaces of a sample and the tip, we discovered lower frequencies in the snap in as well as narrower distributions for the snap...

  20. Micro- and nanoscale characterization of hydrophobic and hydrophilic leaf surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhushan, Bharat; Jung, Yong Chae

    2006-01-01

    Superhydrophobic surfaces as well as low adhesion and friction are desirable for various industrial applications. Certain plant leaves are known to be hydrophobic in nature due to their roughness and the presence of a thin wax film on the surface of the leaf. The purpose of this study is to fully characterize the leaf surfaces on the micro- and nanoscale while separating out the effects of the micro- and the nanobumps of hydrophobic leaves on the hydrophobicity. Hydrophilic leaves were also studied to better understand the role of wax and roughness. Furthermore, the adhesion and friction properties of hydrophobic and hydrophilic leaves were studied. Using an optical profiler and an atomic/friction force microscope (AFM/FFM), measurements were made to fully characterize the leaf surfaces. It is shown that the nanobumps play a more important role than the microbumps in the hydrophobic nature as well as friction of the leaf. This study will be useful in developing superhydrophobic surfaces

  1. Bio-inspired hydrophobic modification of cellulose nanocrystals with castor oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shang, Qianqian; Liu, Chengguo; Hu, Yun; Jia, Puyou; Hu, Lihong; Zhou, Yonghong

    2018-07-01

    This work presents an efficient and environmentally friendly approach to generate hydrophobic cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) using thiol-containing castor oil (CO-SH) as a renewable hydrophobe with the assist of bio-inspired dopamine at room temperature. The modification process included the formation of the polydopamine (PDA) buffer layer on CNC surfaces and the Michael addition reaction between the catechol moieties of PDA coating and thiol groups of CO-SH. The morphology, crystalline structure, surface chemistry, thermal stability and hydrophobicity of the modified CNC were charactered by TEM, XRD, FT-IR, solid-state 13 C NMR, XPS, TGA and contact angle analysis. The modified CNC preserved cellulose crystallinity, displayed higher thermal stability than unmodified CNC, and was highly hydrophobic with a water contact angle of 95.6°. The simplicity and versatility of the surface modification strategy inspired by adhesive protein of mussel may promote rapid development of hydrophobic bio-based nanomaterials for various applications. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Searching for convergent evolution in manganese superoxidase dismutase using hydrophobic cluster analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heng Xiang

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available There are numerous examples of convergent evolution in nature. Major ecological adaptations such as flight, loss of limbs in vertebrates, pesticide resistance, adaptation to a parasitic way of life, etc., have all evolved more than once, as seen by their analogous functions in separate taxa. But what about protein evolution? Does the environment have a strong enough influence on intracellular processes that enzymes and other functional proteins play, to evolve similar functional roles separately in different organisms? Manganese Superoxide Dismutase (MnSOD is a manganesedependant metallo-enzyme which plays a crucial role in protecting cells from anti-oxidative stress by eliminating reactive (superoxide oxygen species. It is a ubiquitous housekeeping enzyme found in nearly all organisms. In this study we compare phylogenies based on MnSOD protein sequences to those based on scores from Hydrophobic Cluster Analysis (HCA. We calculated HCA similarity values for each pair of taxa to obtain a pair-wise distance matrix. A UPGMA tree based on the HCA distance matrix and a common tree based on the primary protein sequence for MnSOD was constructed. Differences between these two trees within animals, enterobacteriaceae, planctomycetes and cyanobacteria are presented and cited as possible examples of convergence. We note that several residue changes result in changes in hydrophobicity at positions which apparently are under the effect of positive selection.

  3. Analysis of Discharged Gas from Incinerator using Simulated Organic Solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Seungil; Kim, Hyunki; Heo, Jun; Kang, Dukwon; Kim, Yunbok; Kwon, Youngbock

    2014-01-01

    Korea has no experience of treatment of RI organic waste and appropriate measures for treatment of organic waste did not suggested. RI organic wastes which are occurring in KOREA are stored at the RI waste storage building of KORAD. But they can't no more receive the RI organic waste because the storage facility for RI organic waste was saturated with these organic wastes. In case of Japan, they recognized the dangerousness of long-term storage for RI organic wastes. In case of Korea, the released concentration of gaseous pollutant from the incinerator is regulated by attached table No.1 of the Notification No. 2012-60 of Nuclear Safety Commission and attached table No.8 of Clean Air Conservation Act. And the dioxin from the incinerator is regulated by attached table No.3 of Persistent Organic Pollutants Control Act. This experiment was performed to examine whether the incinerator introduced from Japan is manufactured suitably for municipal law regulation and to confirm the compliance about the gaseous pollutant released from incinerator with the above-mentioned laws especially attached table No.1 of NSC using simulated organic waste solution. In this experiment, we examined whether the incinerator was manufactured suitably for municipal law regulation and confirmed the compliance about the gaseous pollutant released from incinerator with the above-mentioned laws using simulated organic waste solution. The design requirement of incinerator for RI organic waste in the municipal law regulation is proposed briefly but the requirements for more detail about the incinerator are proposed in regulation of Japan. The incinerator used in this experiment is satisfied with all clauses of the domestic as well as Japan. Multiple safety functions were installed in the incinerator such as air purge system to remove unburned inflammable gases in the furnace and earthquake detector. Also, perfect combustion of RI organic waste is achieved because the temperature in the furnace

  4. Analysis of Discharged Gas from Incinerator using Simulated Organic Solution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Seungil; Kim, Hyunki; Heo, Jun; Kang, Dukwon [HaJI Co., Ltd., Radiation Eng. Center, Siheung (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Yunbok; Kwon, Youngbock [KORAD, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-05-15

    Korea has no experience of treatment of RI organic waste and appropriate measures for treatment of organic waste did not suggested. RI organic wastes which are occurring in KOREA are stored at the RI waste storage building of KORAD. But they can't no more receive the RI organic waste because the storage facility for RI organic waste was saturated with these organic wastes. In case of Japan, they recognized the dangerousness of long-term storage for RI organic wastes. In case of Korea, the released concentration of gaseous pollutant from the incinerator is regulated by attached table No.1 of the Notification No. 2012-60 of Nuclear Safety Commission and attached table No.8 of Clean Air Conservation Act. And the dioxin from the incinerator is regulated by attached table No.3 of Persistent Organic Pollutants Control Act. This experiment was performed to examine whether the incinerator introduced from Japan is manufactured suitably for municipal law regulation and to confirm the compliance about the gaseous pollutant released from incinerator with the above-mentioned laws especially attached table No.1 of NSC using simulated organic waste solution. In this experiment, we examined whether the incinerator was manufactured suitably for municipal law regulation and confirmed the compliance about the gaseous pollutant released from incinerator with the above-mentioned laws using simulated organic waste solution. The design requirement of incinerator for RI organic waste in the municipal law regulation is proposed briefly but the requirements for more detail about the incinerator are proposed in regulation of Japan. The incinerator used in this experiment is satisfied with all clauses of the domestic as well as Japan. Multiple safety functions were installed in the incinerator such as air purge system to remove unburned inflammable gases in the furnace and earthquake detector. Also, perfect combustion of RI organic waste is achieved because the temperature in the furnace

  5. Effect of housing geometry on the performance of ChemcatcherTM passive sampler for the monitoring of hydrophobic organic pollutants in water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lobpreis, Tomas; Vrana, Branislav; Dominiak, Ewa; Dercova, Katarina; Mills, Graham A.; Greenwood, Richard

    2008-01-01

    Passive sampling of pollutants in water has been gaining acceptance for environmental monitoring. Previously, an integrative passive sampler (the Chemcatcher TM ) was developed and calibrated for the measurement of time weighted average concentrations of hydrophobic pollutants in water. Effects of physicochemical properties and environmental variables (water temperature and turbulence) on kinetic and thermodynamic parameters characterising the exchange of analytes between the sampler and water have been published. In this study, the effect of modification in sampler housing geometry on these calibration parameters was studied. The results obtained for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons show that reducing the depth of the cavity in the sampler body geometry increased the exchange kinetics by approximately twofold, whilst having no effect on the correlation between the uptake and offload kinetics of analytes. The use of performance reference compounds thus avoids the need for extensive re-calibration when the sampler body geometry is modified. - The effect of passive sampler geometry on accumulation kinetics of organic pollutants from water was evaluated

  6. Cationic flocculants carrying hydrophobic functionalities: applications for solid/liquid separation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwarz, S; Jaeger, W; Paulke, B-R; Bratskaya, S; Smolka, N; Bohrisch, J

    2007-07-26

    The flocculation behaviors of three series of polycations with narrow molecular weight distributions carrying hydrophobic substituents on their backbones [poly(N-vinylbenzyl-N,N,N-trimethylammonium chloride), poly(N-vinylbenzyl-N,N-dimethyl-N-butylammonium chloride), and poly(N-vinylbenzylpyridinium chloride)] were investigated in dispersions of monodisperse polystyrene latexes and kaolin. Apparently, the charge density of the polycations decreases with increasing substituent hydrophobicity and increasing molecular weight of the polyelectrolytes. The necessary amount of flocculant for phase separation in dispersions with high substrate surface charge densities increases with increasing hydrophobicity of the polyelectrolyte. Nevertheless, the introduction of hydrophobic functionalities is beneficial, resulting in a substantial broadening of the range between the minimum and maximum amounts of flocculant necessary for efficient flocculation (flocculation window). An increase in ionic strength supports this effect. When the substrate has a low charge density, the hydrophobic interactions play a much more significant role in the flocculation process. Here, the minimum efficient doses remained the same for all three polyelectrolytes investigated, but the width of the flocculation window increased as the polycation hydrophobicity and the molecular weight increased. The necessary amount of flocculant increased with an increase in particle size at constant solid content of the dispersion, as well as with a decreasing number of particles at a constant particle size.

  7. Detection of secondary structure elements in proteins by hydrophobic cluster analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodcock, S; Mornon, J P; Henrissat, B

    1992-10-01

    Hydrophobic cluster analysis (HCA) is a protein sequence comparison method based on alpha-helical representations of the sequences where the size, shape and orientation of the clusters of hydrophobic residues are primarily compared. The effectiveness of HCA has been suggested to originate from its potential ability to focus on the residues forming the hydrophobic core of globular proteins. We have addressed the robustness of the bidimensional representation used for HCA in its ability to detect the regular secondary structure elements of proteins. Various parameters have been studied such as those governing cluster size and limits, the hydrophobic residues constituting the clusters as well as the potential shift of the cluster positions with respect to the position of the regular secondary structure elements. The following results have been found to support the alpha-helical bidimensional representation used in HCA: (i) there is a positive correlation (clearly above background noise) between the hydrophobic clusters and the regular secondary structure elements in proteins; (ii) the hydrophobic clusters are centred on the regular secondary structure elements; (iii) the pitch of the helical representation which gives the best correspondence is that of an alpha-helix. The correspondence between hydrophobic clusters and regular secondary structure elements suggests a way to implement variable gap penalties during the automatic alignment of protein sequences.

  8. Solution-printed organic semiconductor blends exhibiting transport properties on par with single crystals

    KAUST Repository

    Niazi, Muhammad Rizwan; Li, Ruipeng; Li, Erqiang; Kirmani, Ahmad R.; Abdelsamie, Maged; Wang, Qingxiao; Pan, Wenyang; Payne, Marcia M.; Anthony, John E.; Smilgies, Detlef-M.; Thoroddsen, Sigurdur T; Giannelis, Emmanuel P.; Amassian, Aram

    2015-01-01

    Solution-printed organic semiconductors have emerged in recent years as promising contenders for roll-to-roll manufacturing of electronic and optoelectronic circuits. The stringent performance requirements for organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) in terms of carrier mobility, switching speed, turn-on voltage and uniformity over large areas require performance currently achieved by organic single-crystal devices, but these suffer from scale-up challenges. Here we present a new method based on blade coating of a blend of conjugated small molecules and amorphous insulating polymers to produce OTFTs with consistently excellent performance characteristics (carrier mobility as high as 6.7 cm2 V−1 s−1, low threshold voltages of<1 V and low subthreshold swings <0.5 V dec−1). Our findings demonstrate that careful control over phase separation and crystallization can yield solution-printed polycrystalline organic semiconductor films with transport properties and other figures of merit on par with their single-crystal counterparts.

  9. Solution-printed organic semiconductor blends exhibiting transport properties on par with single crystals

    KAUST Repository

    Niazi, Muhammad Rizwan

    2015-11-23

    Solution-printed organic semiconductors have emerged in recent years as promising contenders for roll-to-roll manufacturing of electronic and optoelectronic circuits. The stringent performance requirements for organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) in terms of carrier mobility, switching speed, turn-on voltage and uniformity over large areas require performance currently achieved by organic single-crystal devices, but these suffer from scale-up challenges. Here we present a new method based on blade coating of a blend of conjugated small molecules and amorphous insulating polymers to produce OTFTs with consistently excellent performance characteristics (carrier mobility as high as 6.7 cm2 V−1 s−1, low threshold voltages of<1 V and low subthreshold swings <0.5 V dec−1). Our findings demonstrate that careful control over phase separation and crystallization can yield solution-printed polycrystalline organic semiconductor films with transport properties and other figures of merit on par with their single-crystal counterparts.

  10. Foaming behaviour of polymer-surfactant solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cervantes-MartInez, Alfredo; Maldonado, Amir

    2007-01-01

    We study the effect of a non-ionic amphiphilic polymer (PEG-100 stearate also called Myrj 59) on the foaming behaviour of aqueous solutions of an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate or SDS). The SDS concentration was kept fixed while the Myrj 59 concentration was varied. Measurements of foamability, surface tension and electrical conductivity were carried out. The results show two opposite effects depending on the polymer concentration: foamability is higher when the Myrj 59 concentration is low; however, it decreases considerably when the polymer concentration is increased. This behaviour is due to the polymer adsorption at the air/liquid interface at lower polymer concentrations, and to the formation of a polymer-surfactant complex in the bulk at higher concentrations. The results are confirmed by surface tension and electrical conductivity measurements, which are interpreted in terms of the microstructure of the polymer-surfactant solutions. The observed behaviour is due to the amphiphilic nature of the studied polymer. The increased hydrophobicity of Myrj 59, compared to that of water-soluble polymers like PEG or PEO, increases its 'reactivity' towards SDS, i.e. the strength of its interaction with this anionic surfactant. Our results show that hydrophobically modified polymers have potential applications as additives in order to control the foaming properties of surfactant solutions

  11. Hydrothermal preparation of hydrophobic and hydrophilic nanoparticles of iron oxide and a modification with CM-dextran

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Repko, Anton, E-mail: repko@natur.cuni.cz; Niznansky, Daniel; Matulkova, Irena [Charles University in Prague, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Science (Czech Republic); Kalbac, Martin [J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry of the AS CR, v.v.i. (Czech Republic); Vejpravova, Jana [Institute of Physics AS CR, v.v.i., Department of Magnetic Nanosystems (Czech Republic)

    2013-07-15

    Hydrophobic and hydrophilic particles of iron oxide (magnetite/maghemite) with diameter of 6-10 nm were prepared by hydrothermal hydrolysis of iron oleate in water/pentanol/oleic acid system at 180 Degree-Sign C. The hydrophobic/hydrophilic nature of resulting particles was controlled by the presence of sodium oleate and by manipulating the ionic strength (with NaCl). The final particle size was controlled by additional organic solvent (octanol or toluene) and by seed growth. Hydrophilic particles (6 nm) were further modified by carboxymethyl-dextran in water to obtain stable and well-dispersed superparamagnetic nanoparticles suitable for biomedical application. The prepared particles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, magnetic measurements, Moessbauer spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and zeta-potential measurement.

  12. [Is merging organizations the solution to service integration?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demers, Louis; Dupuis, Alain; Poirier, Mario

    2002-01-01

    Organizational models inherited from the time when institutionalizing patients was common practice are now obsolete. Service coordination, undergone earlier within a same institution, is now governed by professionnals linked to various organizations and different settings. One of the difficulties of integration of these services is that contributing organizations often continue to operate individually, consequently going against the pursued goal. The solution most often proposed to counter this compartimentalization consists in reinforcing integration of organizations, which will in time favor integration of various services. One of the ways to realize this organizational integration is to reduce the number of existing organizations, by merging for example, a certain number of them. It is this path of hierarchical organization that the Québec health care system has taken during the 1990. Other paths that of networking have also been experienced during the same period. To judge of the relevance of these options, the authors propose a reversal of the dominating perspective according to which service integration necessarily pass through installing mecanisms of organizational integration. Withought minimizing the importance of such mecanisms, the authors put forth that integration of services commands first and foremost collaboration between professional health workers. Through this angle, the relevance of an organizational integration model depends on the impact it will have on the capacity and willingness of health workers to work in a concerted way. The authors submit that the fact of giving to a sole authority the govern of existing organizations is not the panacea some would like to believe.

  13. The effects of processing conditions on the surface morphology and hydrophobicity of polyvinylidene fluoride membranes prepared via vapor-induced phase separation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Yuelian; Fan, Hongwei; Ge, Ju; Wang, Shaobin; Chen, Ping; Jiang, Qi

    2012-12-01

    The present investigation reveals how the surface morphology and the hydrophobicity of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes, which were prepared via a vapor-induced phase separation method, were affected by the initial PVDF content in the casting solution and the air temperature. The surface morphology was characterized with scanning electron microscopy. A ternary phase diagram of PVDF/N, N-dimethylacetamide/water was constructed to explain the formation mechanism of the different morphologies. The results show that different membrane morphologies and hydrophobicities can be obtained by changing the processing conditions. Low air temperature and high PVDF contents facilitate the crystallization process, resulting in the formation of a porous skin and particle morphology, which increases the hydrophobicity of the surface. High air temperature and low PVDF contents are favorable for the formation of a net-like surface morphology via spinodal decomposition and lead to a superhydrophobic surface. Theoretical calculations were performed to testify that the net-like surface was more favorable for superhydrophobicity than the particle-based surface.

  14. Reclamation of cadmium-contaminated soil using dissolved organic matter solution originating from wine-processing waste sludge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Cheng-Chung; Chen, Guan-Bu

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Increases in acidity, washing frequency, and operational temperature enhance the Cd removal. ► Approximately 80% of Cd can be removed from the soil by dissolved organic matter (DOM) washing. ► The DOM washing can moderate the loss of soil fertility. ► The DOM washing will have a great improvement if we employ NaOH, KOH, Ca(OH) 2 , and Mg(OH) 2 to prepare the DOM solution together. -- Abstract: Soil washing using an acid solution is a common practice for removing heavy metals from contaminated soil in Taiwan. However, serious loss of nutrients from soil is a major drawback of the washing. Distillery sludge can be used to prepare a dissolved organic matter (DOM) solution by extracting its organic constituents with alkaline solutions. This study employed DOM solutions to remediate Cd-contaminated soil (with concentrations up to 21.5 mg kg −1 ) and determine the factors affecting removal of Cd, such as pH, initial concentration of DOM solution, temperature, and washing frequency. When washing with pH 3.0 and 1250 mg L −1 DOM solution, about 80% and 81% of Cd were removed from the topsoil at 27 °C and subsoil at 40 °C, respectively. To summarize the changes in fertility during DOM washing with various pH solutions: the increase in organic matter content ranged from 7.7% to 23.7%; cation exchange capacity (CEC) ranged from 4.6% to 13.9%; available ammonium (N-NH 4 ) content ranged from 39.4% to 2175%; and available phosphorus content ranged from 34.5% to 182%. Exchangeable K, Ca, and Mg remained in the topsoil after DOM washing, with concentrations of 1.1, 2.4, and 1.5 times higher than those treated with HCl solution at the same pH, respectively

  15. Reclamation of cadmium-contaminated soil using dissolved organic matter solution originating from wine-processing waste sludge

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Cheng-Chung, E-mail: ccliu@niu.edu.tw [Department of Environmental Engineering, National Ilan University, Ilan, 260, Taiwan (China); Chen, Guan-Bu [Department of Environmental Engineering, National Ilan University, Ilan, 260, Taiwan (China)

    2013-01-15

    Highlights: ► Increases in acidity, washing frequency, and operational temperature enhance the Cd removal. ► Approximately 80% of Cd can be removed from the soil by dissolved organic matter (DOM) washing. ► The DOM washing can moderate the loss of soil fertility. ► The DOM washing will have a great improvement if we employ NaOH, KOH, Ca(OH){sub 2}, and Mg(OH){sub 2} to prepare the DOM solution together. -- Abstract: Soil washing using an acid solution is a common practice for removing heavy metals from contaminated soil in Taiwan. However, serious loss of nutrients from soil is a major drawback of the washing. Distillery sludge can be used to prepare a dissolved organic matter (DOM) solution by extracting its organic constituents with alkaline solutions. This study employed DOM solutions to remediate Cd-contaminated soil (with concentrations up to 21.5 mg kg{sup −1}) and determine the factors affecting removal of Cd, such as pH, initial concentration of DOM solution, temperature, and washing frequency. When washing with pH 3.0 and 1250 mg L{sup −1} DOM solution, about 80% and 81% of Cd were removed from the topsoil at 27 °C and subsoil at 40 °C, respectively. To summarize the changes in fertility during DOM washing with various pH solutions: the increase in organic matter content ranged from 7.7% to 23.7%; cation exchange capacity (CEC) ranged from 4.6% to 13.9%; available ammonium (N-NH{sub 4}) content ranged from 39.4% to 2175%; and available phosphorus content ranged from 34.5% to 182%. Exchangeable K, Ca, and Mg remained in the topsoil after DOM washing, with concentrations of 1.1, 2.4, and 1.5 times higher than those treated with HCl solution at the same pH, respectively.

  16. Ecological significance of compatible solute accumulation by micro-organisms: from single cells to global climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welsh, D T

    2000-07-01

    The osmoadaptation of most micro-organisms involves the accumulation of K(+) ions and one or more of a restricted range of low molecular mass organic solutes, collectively termed 'compatible solutes'. These solutes are accumulated to high intracellular concentrations, in order to balance the osmotic pressure of the growth medium and maintain cell turgor pressure, which provides the driving force for cell extension growth. In this review, I discuss the alternative roles which compatible solutes may also play as intracellular reserves of carbon, energy and nitrogen, and as more general stress metabolites involved in protection of cells against other environmental stresses including heat, desiccation and freezing. Thus, the evolutionary selection for the accumulation of a specific compatible solute may not depend solely upon its function during osmoadaptation, but also upon the secondary benefits its accumulation provides, such as increased tolerance of other environmental stresses prevalent in the organism's niche or even anti-herbivory or dispersal functions in the case of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). In the second part of the review, I discuss the ecological consequences of the release of compatible solutes to the environment, where they can provide sources of compatible solutes, carbon, nitrogen and energy for other members of the micro-flora. Finally, at the global scale the metabolism of specific compatible solutes (betaines and DMSP) in brackish water, marine and hypersaline environments may influence global climate, due to the production of the trace gases, methane and dimethylsulfide (DMS) and in the case of DMS, also couple the marine and terrestrial sulfur cycles.

  17. Microwave-induced carbon nanotubes catalytic degradation of organic pollutants in aqueous solution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Jing; Xue, Shuang; Song, Youtao; Shen, Manli [School of Environment Science, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036 (China); Zhang, Zhaohong, E-mail: lnuhjhx@163.com [School of Environment Science, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036 (China); Yuan, Tianxin; Tian, Fangyuan [School of Environment Science, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036 (China); Dionysiou, Dionysios D., E-mail: dionysios.d.dionysiou@uc.edu [Environmental Engineering and Science Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0012 (United States)

    2016-06-05

    Highlights: • Microwave-induced CNTs-based catalytic degradation technology is developed. • Microwave catalytic activities of CNTs with different diameters are compared. • Organic pollutants with different structure can be degraded in MW/CNTs system. • The 10–20 nm CNTs shows the higher catalytic activity under MW irradiation. - Abstract: In this study, a new catalytic degradation technology using microwave induced carbon nanotubes (MW/CNTs) was proposed and applied in the treatment of organic pollutants in aqueous solution. The catalytic activity of three CNTs of 10–20 nm, 20–40 nm, and 40–60 nm diameters were compared. The results showed that organic pollutants such as methyl orange (MO), methyl parathion (MP), sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS), bisphenol A (BPA), and methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution could be degraded effectively and rapidly in MW/CNTs system. CNTs with diameter of 10–20 nm exhibited the highest catalytic activity of the three CNTs under MW irradiation. Further, complete degradation was obtained using 10–20 nm CNTs within 7.0 min irradiation when 25 mL MO solution (25 mg/L), 1.2 g/L catalyst dose, 450 W, 2450 MHz, and pH = 6.0 were applied. The rate constants (k) for the degradation of SDBS, MB, MP, MO and BPA using 10–20 nm CNTs/MW system were 0.726, 0.679, 0.463, 0.334 and 0.168 min{sup −1}, respectively. Therefore, this technology may have potential application for the treatment of targeted organic pollutants in wastewaters.

  18. Microwave-induced carbon nanotubes catalytic degradation of organic pollutants in aqueous solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Jing; Xue, Shuang; Song, Youtao; Shen, Manli; Zhang, Zhaohong; Yuan, Tianxin; Tian, Fangyuan; Dionysiou, Dionysios D.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Microwave-induced CNTs-based catalytic degradation technology is developed. • Microwave catalytic activities of CNTs with different diameters are compared. • Organic pollutants with different structure can be degraded in MW/CNTs system. • The 10–20 nm CNTs shows the higher catalytic activity under MW irradiation. - Abstract: In this study, a new catalytic degradation technology using microwave induced carbon nanotubes (MW/CNTs) was proposed and applied in the treatment of organic pollutants in aqueous solution. The catalytic activity of three CNTs of 10–20 nm, 20–40 nm, and 40–60 nm diameters were compared. The results showed that organic pollutants such as methyl orange (MO), methyl parathion (MP), sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS), bisphenol A (BPA), and methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution could be degraded effectively and rapidly in MW/CNTs system. CNTs with diameter of 10–20 nm exhibited the highest catalytic activity of the three CNTs under MW irradiation. Further, complete degradation was obtained using 10–20 nm CNTs within 7.0 min irradiation when 25 mL MO solution (25 mg/L), 1.2 g/L catalyst dose, 450 W, 2450 MHz, and pH = 6.0 were applied. The rate constants (k) for the degradation of SDBS, MB, MP, MO and BPA using 10–20 nm CNTs/MW system were 0.726, 0.679, 0.463, 0.334 and 0.168 min"−"1, respectively. Therefore, this technology may have potential application for the treatment of targeted organic pollutants in wastewaters.

  19. TAM-based external factors related to ERP solutions acceptance in organizations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simona Zabukovsek

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of ERP solutions use, understanding of critical success factors of ERP solutions assimilation in organizations is crucial. The technology acceptance model (TAM proposed by Davis (1989 has been the most widely used model for researching user acceptance and usage of IT/IS. The purpose of this paper is to extend the original TAM with groups of external factors which impact actual ERP system use. First, we focus on ERP system use in companies’ maturity phase. Second, we expose and examine three groups of external factors which influence ERP usage. The model was empirically tested using data collected from a survey of ERP users in 44 organizations. Survey data have been collected from ERP users who have been exposed to an ERP system which has operated for more than one year. The proposed research model was analyzed using the PLS approach.

  20. Flower-Like CuO/ZnO Hybrid Hierarchical Nanostructures Grown on Copper Substrate: Glycothermal Synthesis, Characterization, Hydrophobic and Anticorrosion Properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beshkar, Farshad; Khojasteh, Hossein; Salavati-Niasari, Masoud

    2017-06-25

    In this work we have demonstrated a facile formation of CuO nanostructures on copper substrates by the oxidation of copper foil in ethylene glycol (EG) at 80 °C. On immersing a prepared CuO film into a solution containing 0.1 g Zn(acac)₂ in 20 mL EG for 8 h, ZnO flower-like microstructures composed of hierarchical three-dimensional (3D) aggregated nanoparticles and spherical architectures were spontaneously formed at 100 °C. The as-synthesized thin films and 3D microstructures were characterized using XRD, SEM, and EDS techniques. The effects of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 as surfactants and stabilizers on the morphology of the CuO and ZnO structures were discussed. Possible growth mechanisms for the controlled organization of primary building units into CuO nanostructures and 3D flower-like ZnO architectures were proposed. The hydrophobic property of the products was characterized by means of water contact angle measurement. After simple surface modification with stearic acid and PDMS, the resulting films showed hydrophobic and even superhydrophobic characteristics due to their special surface energy and nano-microstructure morphology. Importantly, stable superhydrophobicity with a contact angle of 153.5° was successfully observed for CuO-ZnO microflowers after modification with PDMS. The electrochemical impedance measurements proved that the anticorrosion efficiency for the CuO/ZnO/PDMS sample was about 99%.

  1. Flower-Like CuO/ZnO Hybrid Hierarchical Nanostructures Grown on Copper Substrate: Glycothermal Synthesis, Characterization, Hydrophobic and Anticorrosion Properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farshad Beshkar

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available In this work we have demonstrated a facile formation of CuO nanostructures on copper substrates by the oxidation of copper foil in ethylene glycol (EG at 80 °C. On immersing a prepared CuO film into a solution containing 0.1 g Zn(acac2 in 20 mL EG for 8 h, ZnO flower-like microstructures composed of hierarchical three-dimensional (3D aggregated nanoparticles and spherical architectures were spontaneously formed at 100 °C. The as-synthesized thin films and 3D microstructures were characterized using XRD, SEM, and EDS techniques. The effects of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB, and polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000 as surfactants and stabilizers on the morphology of the CuO and ZnO structures were discussed. Possible growth mechanisms for the controlled organization of primary building units into CuO nanostructures and 3D flower-like ZnO architectures were proposed. The hydrophobic property of the products was characterized by means of water contact angle measurement. After simple surface modification with stearic acid and PDMS, the resulting films showed hydrophobic and even superhydrophobic characteristics due to their special surface energy and nano-microstructure morphology. Importantly, stable superhydrophobicity with a contact angle of 153.5° was successfully observed for CuO-ZnO microflowers after modification with PDMS. The electrochemical impedance measurements proved that the anticorrosion efficiency for the CuO/ZnO/PDMS sample was about 99%.

  2. Multifunctional Organic-Semiconductor Interfacial Layers for Solution-Processed Oxide-Semiconductor Thin-Film Transistor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, Guhyun; Kim, Keetae; Choi, Byung Doo; Roh, Jeongkyun; Lee, Changhee; Noh, Yong-Young; Seo, SungYong; Kim, Myung-Gil; Kim, Choongik

    2017-06-01

    The stabilization and control of the electrical properties in solution-processed amorphous-oxide semiconductors (AOSs) is crucial for the realization of cost-effective, high-performance, large-area electronics. In particular, impurity diffusion, electrical instability, and the lack of a general substitutional doping strategy for the active layer hinder the industrial implementation of copper electrodes and the fine tuning of the electrical parameters of AOS-based thin-film transistors (TFTs). In this study, the authors employ a multifunctional organic-semiconductor (OSC) interlayer as a solution-processed thin-film passivation layer and a charge-transfer dopant. As an electrically active impurity blocking layer, the OSC interlayer enhances the electrical stability of AOS TFTs by suppressing the adsorption of environmental gas species and copper-ion diffusion. Moreover, charge transfer between the organic interlayer and the AOS allows the fine tuning of the electrical properties and the passivation of the electrical defects in the AOS TFTs. The development of a multifunctional solution-processed organic interlayer enables the production of low-cost, high-performance oxide semiconductor-based circuits. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  3. Properties of POPC/POPE supported lipid bilayers modified with hydrophobic quantum dots on polyelectrolyte cushions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolasinska-Sojka, Marta; Wlodek, Magdalena; Szuwarzynski, Michal; Kereiche, Sami; Kovacik, Lubomir; Warszynski, Piotr

    2017-10-01

    The formation and properties of supported lipid bilayers (SLB) containing hydrophobic nanoparticles (NP) was studied in relation to underlying cushion obtained from selected polyelectrolyte multilayers. Lipid vesicles were formed from zwitterionic 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) and negatively charged 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (POPE) in phosphate buffer (PBS). As hydrophobic nanoparticles - quantum dots (QD) with size of 3.8nm (emission wavelength of 420nm) were used. Polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEM) were constructed by the sequential, i.e., layer-by-layer (LbL) adsorption of alternately charged polyelectrolytes from their solutions. Liposomes and Liposome-QDs complexes were studied with Transmission Cryo-Electron Microscopy (Cryo-TEM) to verify the quality of vesicles and the position of QD within lipid bilayer. Deposition of liposomes and liposomes with quantum dots on polyelectrolyte films was studied in situ using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) technique. The fluorescence emission spectra were analyzed for both: suspension of liposomes with nanoparticles and for supported lipid bilayers containing QD on PEM. It was demonstrated that quantum dots are located in the hydrophobic part of lipid bilayer. Moreover, we proved that such QD-modified liposomes formed supported lipid bilayers and their final structure depended on the type of underlying cushion. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Hydrophobic polymers for orodispersible films: a quality by design approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borges, Ana Filipa; Silva, Branca M A; Silva, Cláudia; Coelho, Jorge F J; Simões, Sérgio

    2016-10-01

    To develop orodispersible films (ODF) based on hydrophobic polymers with higher stability to ordinary environmental humidity conditions without compromising their fast disintegration time. A quality by design approach was applied to screen three different formulations each one based on a different hydrophobic polymer: polyvinyl acetate, methacrylate-based copolymer and shellac. The screening formulations were characterized regarding their mechanical properties, residual water content, disintegration time and appearance, in order to find a suitable ODF formulation according to established critical quality attributes. The selected critical process parameters for the selection of appropriate ODF formulations were the percentage of the different excipients and the plasticizer type. Three hydrophobic-based matrices with fast disintegration were developed. These were generically composed by a hydrophobic polymer, a stabilizer, a disintegrant and a plasticizer. It verified that the common components within the three different formulations behave differently depending on the system/chemical environment that they were included. It was shown that it is possible to develop oral films based on hydrophobic polymers with fast disintegration time, good texture and appearance, breaking a paradigm of the ODF research field.

  5. Calculational assessment of critical experiments with mixed-oxide fuel pin arrays moderated by organic solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smolen, G.R.; Funabashi, H.

    1987-01-01

    Critical experiments have been conducted with organically moderated mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel pin assemblies at the Pacific Northwest Lab. Critical Mass Lab. These experiments are part of a joint exchange program between the US Dept. of Energy and the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corp. of Japan in the area of criticality data development. The purpose of these experiments is to benchmark computer codes and cross-section libraries and to assess the reactivity difference between systems moderated by water and those moderated by an organic solution. Past studies have indicated that some organic mixtures may be better moderators than water. This topic is of particular importance to the criticality safety of fuel processing plants where fissile material is dissolved in organic solutions during the solvent extraction process. In the past, it has been assumed that the codes and libraries benchmarked with water-moderated experiments were adequate when performing design and licensing studies of organically moderated systems. Calculations presented in this paper indicated that the Scale code system and the 27-energy-group cross-section library accurately compute k/sub eff/ for organically moderated MOX fuel pin assemblies. Furthermore, the reactivity of an organic solution with a 32 vol % TBP/68 vol% NPH mixture in a heterogeneous configuration is the same, for practical purposes, as water

  6. Calculational assessment of critical experiments with mixed oxide fuel pin arrays moderated by organic solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smolen, G.R.

    1987-01-01

    Critical experiments have been conducted with organic-moderated mixed oxide (MOX) fuel pin assemblies at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) Critical Mass Laboratory (CML). These experiments are part of a joint exchange program between the United States Department of Energy (USDOE) and the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC) of Japan in the area of criticality data development. The purpose of these experiments is to benchmark computer codes and cross-section libraries and to assess the reactivity difference between systems moderated by water and those moderated by an organic solution. Past studies have indicated that some organic mixtures may be better moderators than water. This topic is of particular importance to the criticality safety of fuel processing plants where fissile material is dissolved in organic solutions during the solvent extraction process. In the past, it has been assumed that the codes and libraries benchmarked with water-moderated experiments were adequate when performing design and licensing studies of organic-moderated systems. Calculations presented in this paper indicated that the SCALE code system and the 27-energy-group cross-section accurately compute k-effectives for organic moderated MOX fuel-pin assemblies. Furthermore, the reactivity of an organic solution with a 32-vol-% TBP/68-vol-% NPH mixture in a heterogeneous configuration is the same, for practical purposes, as water. 5 refs

  7. Adsorption kinetics of diblock copolymers from a micellar solution on silica and titania.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bijsterbosch, H.D.; Cohen Stuart, M.A.; Fleer, G.J.

    1998-01-01

    The solution and adsorption behavior of a series of diblock copolymers of hydrophobic poly(dimethyl siloxane) and hydrophilic poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) was studied. These block copolymers formed large polydisperse micelles in an aqueous solution. The critical micelle concentration was lower than 2

  8. Unexpected Rheological Behavior of Hydrophobic Associative Shellac-based Oligomeric Food Thickener.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Jianan; Li, Kun; Xu, Juan; Zhang, Wen-Wen; Ma, Jinju; Liu, Lanxiang; Sun, Yanlin; Zhang, Hong; Li, Kai

    2018-06-07

    The sodium shellac constituting of "surfactant" monomer, which is sensitive to shear stress, exhibits shear-thickening behavior at low concentration (5 wt%), and reacts with H+ to retain the transient high viscosity under shear, is introduced in this study. The appearance of the sodium shellac with different concentrations in aqueous mode also could be described. The steady-shear flow test proved that under high shear rate, sodium shellac suspension could change from Newtonian fluid to continuous shear thickening of non-Newtonian fluid. Dynamic oscillation test suggested that the sodium shellac solution at low concentration (0.1 and 1 wt%) under low shear rate represented classic viscous fluid behavior (G´´G´), and the solution at high concentration (5, 10 and 15 wt%) represented the classic the elastic gel behavior (G´´G´). Moreover, high shear rate caused a cross-linking point between G´´and G´ curve; at the low concentration, this could be the gel point and at high concentration, it could be attributed to the broken of gel. All of these transforming points were relating to the interaction between the sodium clusters. This interaction should be the hydrophobic association between the particles. In order to prove phenomenon, classic hydrophilic polymer PEO was employed as the disrupting factor to the hydrophobic association. As expected, the shear-thickening behavior vanished after mixing with PEO, which verified our assumption. On the other hand, the high viscosity of the suspension under shear could be retained by reaction with H+ to solidify the transient hydroclusters under shear, meanwhile, sodium shellac had great potential as the functional shear-thickener which could modify the rheological property of the polymer with carboxyl groups, e.g. pectin, alginate or polyacrylic acid. Thus, this natural and green thicker has great potential in food, medical gel, green adhesive, or cosmetic products.

  9. Improved performance of organic solar cells with solution processed hole transport layer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhargav, Ranoo; Gairola, S. P.; Patra, Asit; Naqvi, Samya; Dhawan, S. K.

    2018-06-01

    This work is based on Cobalt Oxide as solution processed, inexpensive and effective hole transport layer (HTL) for efficient organic photovoltaic applications (OPVs). In Organic solar cell (OSC) devices ITO coated glass substrate used as a transparent anode electrode for light incident, HTL material Co3O4 dissolve in DMF solvent deposited on anode electrode, after that active layer material (donor/acceptor) deposited on to HTL and finally Al were deposited by thermal evaporation used as cathode electrode. These devices were fabricated with PCDTBT well known low band gap donor material in OSCs and blended with PC71BM as an acceptor material using simplest device structure ITO/Co3O4/active layer/Al at ambient conditions. The power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) based on Co3O4 and PEDOT:PSS have been achieved to up to 3.21% and 1.47% with PCDTBT respectively. In this study we reported that the devices fabricated with Co3O4 showed better performance as compare to the devices fabricated with well known and most studied solution processed HTL material PEDOT:PSS under identical environmental conditions. The surface morphology of the HTL film was characterized by (AFM). Lastly, we have provided Co3O4 as an efficient hole transport material HTL for solution processed organic photovoltaic applications.

  10. Zebrabase: An intuitive tracking solution for aquatic model organisms

    OpenAIRE

    Oltova, Jana; Bartunek, Petr; Machonova, Olga; Svoboda, Ondrej; Skuta, Ctibor; Jindrich, Jindrich

    2018-01-01

    Small fish species, like zebrafish or medaka, are constantly gaining popularity in basic research and disease modeling as a useful alternative to rodent model organisms. However, the tracking options for fish within a facility are rather limited. Here, we present an aquatic species tracking database, Zebrabase, developed in our zebrafish research and breeding facility that represents a practical and scalable solution and an intuitive platform for scientists, fish managers and caretakers, in b...

  11. Improved gel electrophoresis matrix for hydrophobic protein separation and identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tokarski, Caroline; Fillet, Marianne; Rolando, Christian

    2011-03-01

    We propose an improved acrylamide gel for the separation of hydrophobic proteins. The separation strategy is based on the incorporation of N-alkylated and N,N'-dialkylated acrylamide monomers in the gel composition in order to increase hydrophobic interactions between the gel matrix and the membrane proteins. Focusing on the most efficient monomer, N,N'-dimethylacrylamide, the potentiality of the new matrix was evaluated on membrane proteins of the human colon HCT-116 cell line. Protein analysis was performed using an adapted analytical strategy based on FT-ICR tandem mass spectrometry. As a result of this comparative study, including advanced reproducibility experiments, more hydrophobic proteins were identified in the new gel (average GRAVY: -0.085) than in the classical gel (average GRAVY: -0.411). Highly hydrophobic peptides were identified reaching a GRAVY value up to 1.450, therefore indicating their probable locations in the membrane. Focusing on predicted transmembrane domains, it can be pointed out that 27 proteins were identified in the hydrophobic gel containing up to 11 transmembrane domains; in the classical gel, only 5 proteins containing 1 transmembrane domain were successfully identified. For example, multiple ionic channels and receptors were characterized in the hydrophobic gel such as the sodium/potassium channel and the glutamate or the transferrin receptors whereas they are traditionally detected using specific enrichment techniques such as immunoprecipitation. In total, membrane proteins identified in the classical gel are well documented in the literature, while most of the membrane proteins only identified on the hydrophobic gel have rarely or never been described using a proteomic-based approach. 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Failure analysis in ITO-free all-solution processed organic solar cells

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Galagan, Y.; Eggenhuisen, T.M.; Coenen, M.J.J.; Biezemans, A.F.K.V.; Verhees, W.J.H.; Veenstra, S.C.; Groen, W.A.; Andriessen, R.; Janssen, R.A.J.

    2015-01-01

    In this paper we discuss a problem-solving methodology and present guidance for troubleshooting defects in ITO-free all-solution processed organic solar cells with an inverted cell architecture. A systematic approach for identifying the main causes of failures in devices is presented. Comprehensive

  13. Organic Light-Emitting Diodes on Solution-Processed Graphene Transparent Electrodes

    KAUST Repository

    Wu, Junbo

    2010-01-26

    Theoretical estimates indicate that graphene thin films can be used as transparent electrodes for thin-film devices such as solar cells and organic light-emitting diodes, with an unmatched combination of sheet resistance and transparency. We demonstrate organic light-emitting diodes with solution-processed graphene thin film transparent conductive anodes. The graphene electrodes were deposited on quartz substrates by spincoating of an aqueous dispersion of functionalized graphene, followed by a vacuum anneal step to reduce the sheet resistance. Small molecular weight organic materials and a metal cathode were directly deposited on the graphene anodes, resulting in devices with a performance comparable to control devices on indium-tin-oxide transparent anodes. The outcoupling efficiency of devices on graphene and indium-tin-oxide is nearly identical, in agreement with model predictions. © 2010 American Chemical Society.

  14. Supramolecular Complexes Formed by the Self-assembly of Hydrophobic Bis(Zn(2+)-cyclen) Complexes, Copper, and Di- or Triimide Units for the Hydrolysis of Phosphate Mono- and Diesters in Two-Phase Solvent Systems (Cyclen=1,4,7,10-Tetraazacyclododecane).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hisamatsu, Yosuke; Miyazawa, Yuya; Yoneda, Kakeru; Miyauchi, Miki; Zulkefeli, Mohd; Aoki, Shin

    2016-01-01

    We previously reported on supramolecular complexes 4 and 5, formed by the 4 : 4 : 4 or 2 : 2 : 2 assembly of a dimeric zinc(II) complex (Zn2L(1)) having 2,2'-bipyridyl linker, dianion of cyanuric acid (CA) or 5,5-diethylbarbituric acid (Bar), and copper(II) ion (Cu(2+)) in an aqueous solution. The supermolecule 4 possesses Cu2(μ-OH)2 centers and catalyzes hydrolysis of phosphate monoester dianion, mono(4-nitrophenyl)phosphate (MNP), at neutral pH. In this manuscript, we report on design and synthesis of hydrophobic supermolecules 9 and 10 by 4 : 4 : 4 and 2 : 2 : 2 self-assembly of hydrophobic Zn2L(2) and Zn2L(3) containing long alkyl chains, CA or Bar, and Cu(2+) and their phosphatase activity for the hydrolysis of MNP and bis(4-nitrophenyl)phosphate (BNP) in two-phase solvent systems. We assumed that the Cu2(μ-OH)2 active sites of 9 and 10 would be more stable in organic solvent than in aqueous solution and that product inhibition of the supermolecules might be avoided by the release of HPO4(2-) into the aqueous layer. The findings indicate that 9 and 10 exhibit phosphatase activity in the two-phase solvent system, although catalytic turnover was not observed. Furthermore, the hydrolysis of BNP catalyzed by the hydrophobic 2 : 2 : 2 supermolecules in the two-phase solvent system is described.

  15. Facile Synthesis of Highly Hydrophobic Cellulose Nanoparticles through Post-Esterification Microfluidization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chunxiang Lin

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available A post-esterification with a high degree of substitution (hDS mechanical treatment (Pe(hDSM approach was used for the production of highly hydrophobic cellulose nanoparticles (CNPs. The process has the advantages of substantially reducing the mechanical energy input for the production of CNPs and avoiding CNP aggregation through drying or solvent exchange. A conventional esterification reaction was carried out using a mixture of acetic anhydride, acetic acid, and concentrated sulfuric acid, but at temperatures of 60–85 °C. The successful hDS esterification of bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp fibers was confirmed by a variety of techniques, such as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR, solid state 13C NMR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, elemental analyses, and X-ray diffraction (XRD. The CNP morphology and size were examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM as well as dynamic light scattering. The hydrophobicity of the PeM-CNP was confirmed by the redispersion of freeze-dried CNPs into organic solvents and water contact-angle measurements. Finally, the partial conversion of cellulose I to cellulose II through esterification improved PeM-CNP thermal stability.

  16. Anodic behavior of stainless-steel substrate in organic electrolyte solutions containing different lithium salts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Furukawa, Kazuki; Yoshimoto, Nobuko; Egashira, Minato; Morita, Masayuki

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • We investigated anodic behavior of stainless-steel in organic electrolytes for advanced capacitor. • Anion of the electrolyte affected the anodic stability of the alloy. • Anodic passivation occurs in LiPF 6 solution but pitting or active dissolution proceeds in other electrolyte solutions. • Fluoride source in the solution contributes to forming a stable surface layer on the stainless steel. - Abstract: The anodic behavior of austenitic stainless-steel, SUS304, as a current collector of positive electrode in lithium-ion battery/capacitor has been investigated in organic electrolyte solutions based on a mixed alkyl carbonate solvent with different lithium salts. Stable passivation characteristics were observed for the stainless-steel in the LiPF 6 solution, but pitting corrosion or active dissolution proceeded in the solutions containing other anions, BF 4 - , (CF 3 SO 2 ) 2 N - (TFSA - ) and ClO 4 - . The mass ratios of the dissolved metal species in the solutions of LiTFSA and LiClO 4 were equivalent to that of the alloy composition, which suggests that no preferential dissolution occurs during the anodic polarization in these electrolyte solutions. An HF component formed by decomposition of PF 6 - with the contaminate water will act as an F - source for the formation of a surface fluoride layer, that will contribute to the anodic stability of SUS304 in the LiPF 6 solution. The anodic corrosion in the LiTFSA solution was suppressed in part by mixing the PF 6 salt or adding HF in the electrolyte

  17. Fabrication of super-hydrophobic duo-structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, X. Y.; Zhang, F.; Jiang, Y. J.; Wang, Y. Y.; Shi, Z. W.; Peng, C. S.

    2015-04-01

    Recently, super-hydrophobicity has attracted increasing attention due to its huge potential in the practical applications. In this paper, we have presented a duo-structure of the combination of micro-dot-matrix and nano-candle-soot. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was used as a combination layer between the dot-matrix and the soot particles. Firstly, a period of 9-μm dot-matrix was easily fabricated on the K9 glass using the most simple and mature photolithography process. Secondly, the dot-matrix surface was coated by a thin film of PDMS (elastomer: hardener=10:1) which was diluted by methylbenzene at the volume ratio of 1:8. Thirdly, we held the PDMS modified surface over a candle flame to deposit a soot layer and followed by a gentle water-risen to remove the non-adhered particles. At last, the samples were baked at 85°C for 2 hours and then the duo-structure surface with both micro-size dot-matrix and nano-size soot particles was obtained. The SEM indicated this novel surface morphology was quite like a lotus leaf of the well-know micro-nano-binary structures. As a result, the contact angle meter demonstrated such surface exhibited a perfect super-hydrophobicity with water contact angle of 153° and sliding angle of 3°. Besides, just listed as above, the fabrication process for our structure was quite more easy, smart and low-cost compared with the other production technique for super-hydrophobic surfaces such as the phase separation method, electrochemical deposition and chemical vapor deposition etc. Hence, this super-hydrophobic duo-structure reported in this letter was a great promising candidate for a wide and rapid commercialization in the future.

  18. High-performance polyamide thin-film-nanocomposite reverse osmosis membranes containing hydrophobic zeolitic imidazolate framework-8

    KAUST Repository

    Duan, Jintang

    2015-02-01

    A hydrophobic, hydrothermally stable metal-organic framework (MOF) - zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) was successfully incorporated into the selective polyamide (PA) layer of thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes for water desalination. The potential advantages of ZIF-8 over classic hydrophilic zeolite used in TFNs include: i) theoretically faster water transport within the framework and ii) better compatibility with the PA matrix. The TFN membranes were characterized with SEM, TEM, AFM, XPS, water contact angle measurements and reverse osmosis tests under 15.5bar hydraulic pressure with 2000ppm NaCl solution. Lab-made, nano-sized (~200nm) ZIF-8 increased water permeance to 3.35±0.08L/m2·h·bar at 0.4% (w/v) loading, 162% higher than the pristine PA membranes; meanwhile, high NaCl rejection was maintained. The TFN surface was less crosslinked and more hydrophilic than that of the pristine PA. A filler encapsulation mechanism was proposed for the effects of filler on TFN membrane surface morphology and properties. This study experimentally verified the potential use of ZIF-8 in advanced TFN RO membranes.

  19. Aerosol-assisted synthesis of mesoporous organosilica microspheres with controlled organic contents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusuke Yamauchi, Norihiro Suzuki, Prashant Gupta, Keisuke Sato, Naoki Fukata, Miwa Murakami, Tadashi Shimizu, Satoru Inoue and Tatsuo Kimura

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO spherical particles with different organic contents were synthesized in one pot by reacting 1,2-bis(triethoxysilylethane (BTSE with tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS using a spray-drying technique. The scanning electron microscopy observation of spray-dried products clearly showed the formation of spherical particles. The 29Si magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance data revealed that the organic contents due to ethane fragments embedded in the frameworks were controllable and consistent with the BTSE/TEOS molar ratios of precursor solutions. Transmission electron microscopy, small-angle x-ray scattering, and N2 adsorption data of PMO with controlled organic contents indicated that the ethane fragments were embedded in the frameworks with the formation of ordered mesostructures. PMO with a high organic content (BTSE/TEOS=0.50 only showed a hydrophobic property. According to the same procedure, benzene groups were also integrated to a similar degree in the frameworks by using 1,4-bis(triethoxysilylbenzene.

  20. Effect of temperature on the behavior of surface properties of alcohols in aqueous solution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Romero, Carmen M. [Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota (Colombia)], E-mail: cmromeroi@unal.edu.co; Jimenez, Eulogio [Facultade de Ciencias, Universidade da Coruna (Spain); Suarez, Felipe [Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota (Colombia)

    2009-04-15

    The influence of temperature on the behavior of surface properties of aqueous solutions has often been used to obtain information about solute structural effects on water. In this work, we present experimental results for surface tension of aqueous solutions of n-pentanol, n-hexanol, n-heptanol, and n-octanol at T = (283.15, 288.15, 293.15, 298.15, 303.15, and 308.15) K at several concentrations. The results were used to evaluate the limiting experimental slopes of surface tension with respect to mole fraction and the hydrophobicity constant of the Connors model at each temperature. The thermodynamic behavior of aqueous alcohol solutions is discussed in terms of the effect of the hydrocarbon chain on water structure. The temperature dependence of the limiting slopes of surface tension with respect to mole fraction, as well as the hydrophobicity constant derived from surface measurements, is interpreted in terms of alcohol hydration.

  1. Effect of temperature on the behavior of surface properties of alcohols in aqueous solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romero, Carmen M.; Jimenez, Eulogio; Suarez, Felipe

    2009-01-01

    The influence of temperature on the behavior of surface properties of aqueous solutions has often been used to obtain information about solute structural effects on water. In this work, we present experimental results for surface tension of aqueous solutions of n-pentanol, n-hexanol, n-heptanol, and n-octanol at T = (283.15, 288.15, 293.15, 298.15, 303.15, and 308.15) K at several concentrations. The results were used to evaluate the limiting experimental slopes of surface tension with respect to mole fraction and the hydrophobicity constant of the Connors model at each temperature. The thermodynamic behavior of aqueous alcohol solutions is discussed in terms of the effect of the hydrocarbon chain on water structure. The temperature dependence of the limiting slopes of surface tension with respect to mole fraction, as well as the hydrophobicity constant derived from surface measurements, is interpreted in terms of alcohol hydration

  2. The fabrication and hydrophobic property of micro-nano patterned surface on magnesium alloy using combined sparking sculpture and etching route

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Yunfeng [Institute for Advanced Ceramics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Wang, Yaming, E-mail: wangyaming@hit.edu.cn [Institute for Advanced Ceramics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Liu, Hao [Institute for Advanced Ceramics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Liu, Yan [Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education), Jilin University, Changchun 130022 (China); Guo, Lixin; Jia, Dechang; Ouyang, Jiahu; Zhou, Yu [Institute for Advanced Ceramics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China)

    2016-12-15

    Highlights: • A hydrophobic micro-nano roughness surface on magnesium was fabricated. • Micro-nano structure derives from duplicating ‘over growth’ regions by MAO. • 7–9 μm micro-scale big pores insetting with nano-scale fine pores were fabricated. • Hydrophobicity of micro-nano surface was improved by chemical decoration and stearic treatment. - Abstract: Magnesium alloy with micro-nano structure roughness surface, can serve as the loading reservoirs of medicine capsule and industrial lubricating oil, or mimic ‘lotus leaf’ hydrophobic surface, having the potential applications in medical implants, automobile, aerospace and electronic products, etc. Herein, we propose a novel strategy to design a micro-nano structure roughness surface on magnesium alloy using combined microarc sparking sculpture and etching in CrO{sub 3} aqueous solution. A hydrophobic surface (as an applied example) was further fabricated by chemical decorating on the obtained patterned magnesium alloy surface to enhance the corrosion resistance. The results show that the combined micro-nano structure of 7–9 μm diameter big pores insetting with nano-scale fine pores was duplicated after etched the sparking sculptured ‘over growth’ oxide regions towards the magnesium substrate. The micro-nano structure surface was chemically decorated using AgNO{sub 3} and stearic acid, which enables the contact angle increased from 60° to 146.8°. The increasing contact angle is mainly attributed to the micro-nano structure and the chemical composition. The hydrophobic surface of magnesium alloy improved the corrosion potential from −1.521 V of the bare magnesium to −1.274 V. Generally, the sparking sculpture and then etching route demonstrates a low-cost, high-efficacy method to fabricate a micro-nano structure hydrophobic surface on magnesium alloy. Furthermore, our research on the creating of micro-nano structure roughness surface and the hydrophobic treatment can be easily

  3. The fabrication and hydrophobic property of micro-nano patterned surface on magnesium alloy using combined sparking sculpture and etching route

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Yunfeng; Wang, Yaming; Liu, Hao; Liu, Yan; Guo, Lixin; Jia, Dechang; Ouyang, Jiahu; Zhou, Yu

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A hydrophobic micro-nano roughness surface on magnesium was fabricated. • Micro-nano structure derives from duplicating ‘over growth’ regions by MAO. • 7–9 μm micro-scale big pores insetting with nano-scale fine pores were fabricated. • Hydrophobicity of micro-nano surface was improved by chemical decoration and stearic treatment. - Abstract: Magnesium alloy with micro-nano structure roughness surface, can serve as the loading reservoirs of medicine capsule and industrial lubricating oil, or mimic ‘lotus leaf’ hydrophobic surface, having the potential applications in medical implants, automobile, aerospace and electronic products, etc. Herein, we propose a novel strategy to design a micro-nano structure roughness surface on magnesium alloy using combined microarc sparking sculpture and etching in CrO_3 aqueous solution. A hydrophobic surface (as an applied example) was further fabricated by chemical decorating on the obtained patterned magnesium alloy surface to enhance the corrosion resistance. The results show that the combined micro-nano structure of 7–9 μm diameter big pores insetting with nano-scale fine pores was duplicated after etched the sparking sculptured ‘over growth’ oxide regions towards the magnesium substrate. The micro-nano structure surface was chemically decorated using AgNO_3 and stearic acid, which enables the contact angle increased from 60° to 146.8°. The increasing contact angle is mainly attributed to the micro-nano structure and the chemical composition. The hydrophobic surface of magnesium alloy improved the corrosion potential from −1.521 V of the bare magnesium to −1.274 V. Generally, the sparking sculpture and then etching route demonstrates a low-cost, high-efficacy method to fabricate a micro-nano structure hydrophobic surface on magnesium alloy. Furthermore, our research on the creating of micro-nano structure roughness surface and the hydrophobic treatment can be easily extended to the

  4. Preparation and Characterization of Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Hydrogel Electrolyte Using Alkaline Solution

    OpenAIRE

    Chiku, Masanobu; Tomita, Shoji; Higuchi, Eiji; Inoue, Hiroshi

    2011-01-01

    Organic-inorganic hybrid hydrogel electrolytes were prepared by mixing hydrotalcite, cross-linked potassium poly(acrylate) and 6 M KOH solution. The organic-inorganic hybrid hydrogel electrolytes had high ionic conductivity (0.456–0.540 S cm−1) at 30 °C. Moreover, the mechanical strength of the hydrogel electrolytes was high enough to form a 2–3 mm thick freestanding membrane because of the reinforcement with hydrotalcite.

  5. Reclamation of cadmium-contaminated soil using dissolved organic matter solution originating from wine-processing waste sludge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Cheng-Chung; Chen, Guan-Bu

    2013-01-15

    Soil washing using an acid solution is a common practice for removing heavy metals from contaminated soil in Taiwan. However, serious loss of nutrients from soil is a major drawback of the washing. Distillery sludge can be used to prepare a dissolved organic matter (DOM) solution by extracting its organic constituents with alkaline solutions. This study employed DOM solutions to remediate Cd-contaminated soil (with concentrations up to 21.5 mg kg(-1)) and determine the factors affecting removal of Cd, such as pH, initial concentration of DOM solution, temperature, and washing frequency. When washing with pH 3.0 and 1250 mg L(-1) DOM solution, about 80% and 81% of Cd were removed from the topsoil at 27 °C and subsoil at 40 °C, respectively. To summarize the changes in fertility during DOM washing with various pH solutions: the increase in organic matter content ranged from 7.7% to 23.7%; cation exchange capacity (CEC) ranged from 4.6% to 13.9%; available ammonium (NNH(4)) content ranged from 39.4% to 2175%; and available phosphorus content ranged from 34.5% to 182%. Exchangeable K, Ca, and Mg remained in the topsoil after DOM washing, with concentrations of 1.1, 2.4, and 1.5 times higher than those treated with HCl solution at the same pH, respectively. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Separation of cesium from aqueous solutions using alkylated tetraaryl borates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feldmaier, F.

    1991-01-01

    The water solubility of cesium tetraaryl borates was lowered by introducing hydrophobic aliphatic side chains into corresponding acid-resistant fluorosubstituted tetraaryl borates. This improved cesium spearability both in precipitation and in extraction from aqueous solutions. (orig.) [de

  7. The fabrication and hydrophobic property of micro-nano patterned surface on magnesium alloy using combined sparking sculpture and etching route

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Yunfeng; Wang, Yaming; Liu, Hao; Liu, Yan; Guo, Lixin; Jia, Dechang; Ouyang, Jiahu; Zhou, Yu

    2016-12-01

    Magnesium alloy with micro-nano structure roughness surface, can serve as the loading reservoirs of medicine capsule and industrial lubricating oil, or mimic 'lotus leaf' hydrophobic surface, having the potential applications in medical implants, automobile, aerospace and electronic products, etc. Herein, we propose a novel strategy to design a micro-nano structure roughness surface on magnesium alloy using combined microarc sparking sculpture and etching in CrO3 aqueous solution. A hydrophobic surface (as an applied example) was further fabricated by chemical decorating on the obtained patterned magnesium alloy surface to enhance the corrosion resistance. The results show that the combined micro-nano structure of 7-9 μm diameter big pores insetting with nano-scale fine pores was duplicated after etched the sparking sculptured 'over growth' oxide regions towards the magnesium substrate. The micro-nano structure surface was chemically decorated using AgNO3 and stearic acid, which enables the contact angle increased from 60° to 146.8°. The increasing contact angle is mainly attributed to the micro-nano structure and the chemical composition. The hydrophobic surface of magnesium alloy improved the corrosion potential from -1.521 V of the bare magnesium to -1.274 V. Generally, the sparking sculpture and then etching route demonstrates a low-cost, high-efficacy method to fabricate a micro-nano structure hydrophobic surface on magnesium alloy. Furthermore, our research on the creating of micro-nano structure roughness surface and the hydrophobic treatment can be easily extended to the other metal materials.

  8. The solubilities of significant organic compounds in HLW tank supernate solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barney, G.S.

    1994-08-01

    Large quantities of organic chemicals used in reprocessing spent nuclear-fuels at the Hanford Site have accumulated in underground high-level radioactive waste tanks. The organic content of these tanks must he known so that the potential for hazardous reactions between organic components and sodium nitrate/nitrite salts in the waste can he evaluated. The solubilities of organic compounds described in this report will help determine if they are present in the solid phases (salt cake and sludges) as well as the liquid phase (interstitial liquor/supernate) in the tanks. The solubilities of five significant sodium salts of carboxylic acids and aminocarboxylic acids [sodium oxalate, formate, citrate, nitrilotriacetate (NTA) and ethylendiaminetetraacetate (EDTA)] were measured in a simulated supernate solution at 25 degrees C, 30 degrees C, 40 degrees C, and 50 degrees C

  9. Investigation of hydrophobic substrates for solution residue analysis utilizing an ambient desorption liquid sampling-atmospheric pressure glow discharge microplasma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paing, Htoo W; Marcus, R Kenneth

    2018-03-12

    A practical method for preparation of solution residue samples for analysis utilizing the ambient desorption liquid sampling-atmospheric pressure glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (AD-LS-APGD-OES) microplasma is described. Initial efforts involving placement of solution aliquots in wells drilled into copper substrates, proved unsuccessful. A design-of-experiment (DOE) approach was carried out to determine influential factors during sample deposition including solution volume, solute concentration, number of droplets deposited, and the solution matrix. These various aspects are manifested in the mass of analyte deposited as well as the size/shape of the product residue. Statistical analysis demonstrated that only those initial attributes were significant factors towards the emission response of the analyte. Various approaches were investigated to better control the location/uniformity of the deposited sample. Three alternative substrates, a glass slide, a poly(tetrafluoro)ethylene (PTFE) sheet, and a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-coated glass slide, were evaluated towards the microplasma analytical performance. Co-deposition with simple organic dyes provided an accurate means of determining the location of the analyte with only minor influence on emission responses. The PDMS-coated glass provided the best performance by virtue of its providing a uniform spatial distribution of the residue material. This uniformity yielded an improved limits of detection by approximately 22× for 20 μL and 4 x for 2 μL over the other two substrates. While they operate by fundamentally different processes, this choice of substrate is not restricted to the LS-APGD, but may also be applicable to other AD methods such as DESI, DART, or LIBS. Further developments will be directed towards a field-deployable ambient desorption OES source for quantitative analysis of microvolume solution residues of nuclear forensics importance.

  10. Low-Temperature Solution-Processed Gate Dielectrics for High-Performance Organic Thin Film Transistors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaekyun Kim

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available A low-temperature solution-processed high-k gate dielectric layer for use in a high-performance solution-processed semiconducting polymer organic thin-film transistor (OTFT was demonstrated. Photochemical activation of sol-gel-derived AlOx films under 150 °C permitted the formation of a dense film with low leakage and relatively high dielectric-permittivity characteristics, which are almost comparable to the results yielded by the conventionally used vacuum deposition and high temperature annealing method. Octadecylphosphonic acid (ODPA self-assembled monolayer (SAM treatment of the AlOx was employed in order to realize high-performance (>0.4 cm2/Vs saturation mobility and low-operation-voltage (<5 V diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP-based OTFTs on an ultra-thin polyimide film (3-μm thick. Thus, low-temperature photochemically-annealed solution-processed AlOx film with SAM layer is an attractive candidate as a dielectric-layer for use in high-performance organic TFTs operated at low voltages.

  11. Preparation and Sustained-Release Property of Triblock Copolymer/Calcium Phosphate Nanocomposite as Nanocarrier for Hydrophobic Drug

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cao Shao-Wen

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The P123/ACP nanocomposite with sizes less than 100 nm consisting of triblock copolymer P123 and amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP has been prepared by using an aqueous solution containing CaCl2, (NH43PO4, and P123 at room temperature. The P123/ACP nanocomposite is used as the nanocarrier for hydrophobic drug ibuprofen, based on the combined advantages of both amphiphilic block copolymer and calcium phosphate delivery system. The P123/ACP nanocomposite has a much higher ibuprofen loading capacity (148 mg/g than the single-phase calcium phosphate nanostructures. The drug release percentage of the P123/ACP nanocomposite in simulated body fluid reaches about 100% in a period of 156 h, which is much slower than that of single-phase calcium phosphate nanostructures. It is expected that the P123/ACP nanocomposite is promising for the application in the controlled delivery of hydrophobic drugs.

  12. Factorial analysis of the trihalomethane formation in the reaction of colloidal, hydrophobic, and transphilic fractions of DOM with free chlorine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Platikanov, Stefan; Tauler, Roma; Rodrigues, Pedro M S M; Antunes, Maria Cristina G; Pereira, Dilson; Esteves da Silva, Joaquim C G

    2010-09-01

    This study focuses on the factors that affect trihalomethane (THMs) formation when dissolved organic matter (DOM) fractions (colloidal, hydrophobic, and transphilic fractions) in aqueous solutions were disinfected with chlorine. DOM fractions were isolated and fractionated from filtered lake water and were characterized by elemental analysis. The investigation involved a screening Placket-Burman factorial analysis design of five factors (DOM concentration, chlorine dose, temperature, pH, and bromide concentration) and a Box-Behnken design for a detailed assessment of the three most important factor effects (DOM concentration, chlorine dose, and temperature). The results showed that colloidal fraction has a relatively low contribution to THM formation; transphilic fraction was responsible for about 50% of the chloroform generation, and the hydrophobic fraction was the most important to the brominated THM formation. When colloidal and hydrophobic fraction solutions were disinfected, the most significant factors were the following: higher DOM fraction concentration led to higher THM concentration, an increase of pH corresponded to higher concentration levels of chloroform and reduced bromoform, higher levels of chlorine dose and temperature produced a rise in the total THM formation, especially of the chlorinated THMs; higher bromide concentration generates higher concentrations of brominated THMs. Moreover, linear models were implemented and response surface plots were obtained for the four THM concentrations and their total sum in the disinfection solution as a function of the DOM concentration, chlorine dose, and temperature. Overall, results indicated that THM formation models were very complex due to individual factor effects and significant interactions among the factors. In order to reduce the concentration of THMs in drinking water, DOM concentrations must be reduced in the water prior to the disinfection. Fractionation of DOM, together with an elemental

  13. Sorption kinetics and microbial biodegradation activity of hydrophobic chemicals in sewage sludge: Model and measurements based on free concentrations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Artola-Garicano, E.; Borkent, I.; Damen, K.; Jager, T.; Vaes, W.H.J.

    2003-01-01

    In the current study, a new method is introduced with which the rate-limiting factor of biodegradation processes of hydrophobic chemicals in organic and aqueous systems can be determined. The novelty of this approach lies in the combination of a free concentration-based kinetic model with

  14. Partition Coefficients of Organic Molecules in Squalane and Water/Ethanol Mixtures by Molecular Dynamics Simulations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lundsgaard, Rasmus; Kontogeorgis, Georgios; Economou, Ioannis G.

    2011-01-01

    coefficient can be estimated for both a small hydrophilic and a hydrophobic organic molecules between squalane (used here to mimic low density poly ethylene) and water/ethanol solutes using thermodynamic integration to calculate the free energy of solvation. Molecular dynamics simulations are performed, using...... the GROMACS software, by slowly decoupling of firstly the electrostatic and then the Lennard–Jones interactions between molecules in the simulation box. These calculations depend very much on the choice of force field. Two force fields have been tested in this work, the TraPPE-UA (united-atom) and the OPLS...

  15. Hydrophobic environment is a key factor for the stability of thermophilic proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gromiha, M Michael; Pathak, Manish C; Saraboji, Kadhirvel; Ortlund, Eric A; Gaucher, Eric A

    2013-04-01

    The stability of thermophilic proteins has been viewed from different perspectives and there is yet no unified principle to understand this stability. It would be valuable to reveal the most important interactions for designing thermostable proteins for such applications as industrial protein engineering. In this work, we have systematically analyzed the importance of various interactions by computing different parameters such as surrounding hydrophobicity, inter-residue interactions, ion-pairs and hydrogen bonds. The importance of each interaction has been determined by its predicted relative contribution in thermophiles versus the same contribution in mesophilic homologues based on a dataset of 373 protein families. We predict that hydrophobic environment is the major factor for the stability of thermophilic proteins and found that 80% of thermophilic proteins analyzed showed higher hydrophobicity than their mesophilic counterparts. Ion pairs, hydrogen bonds, and interaction energy are also important and favored in 68%, 50%, and 62% of thermophilic proteins, respectively. Interestingly, thermophilic proteins with decreased hydrophobic environments display a greater number of hydrogen bonds and/or ion pairs. The systematic elimination of mesophilic proteins based on surrounding hydrophobicity, interaction energy, and ion pairs/hydrogen bonds, led to correctly identifying 95% of the thermophilic proteins in our analyses. Our analysis was also applied to another, more refined set of 102 thermophilic-mesophilic pairs, which again identified hydrophobicity as a dominant property in 71% of the thermophilic proteins. Further, the notion of surrounding hydrophobicity, which characterizes the hydrophobic behavior of residues in a protein environment, has been applied to the three-dimensional structures of elongation factor-Tu proteins and we found that the thermophilic proteins are enriched with a hydrophobic environment. The results obtained in this work highlight the

  16. Characterizing hydrophobicity of amino acid side chains in a protein environment via measuring contact angle of a water nanodroplet on planar peptide network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Chongqin; Gao, Yurui; Li, Hui; Meng, Sheng; Li, Lei; Francisco, Joseph S; Zeng, Xiao Cheng

    2016-11-15

    Hydrophobicity of macroscopic planar surface is conventionally characterized by the contact angle of water droplets. However, this engineering measurement cannot be directly extended to surfaces of proteins, due to the nanometer scale of amino acids and inherent nonplanar structures. To measure the hydrophobicity of side chains of proteins quantitatively, numerous parameters were developed to characterize behavior of hydrophobic solvation. However, consistency among these parameters is not always apparent. Herein, we demonstrate an alternative way of characterizing hydrophobicity of amino acid side chains in a protein environment by constructing a monolayer of amino acids (i.e., artificial planar peptide network) according to the primary and the β-sheet secondary structures of protein so that the conventional engineering measurement of the contact angle of a water droplet can be brought to bear. Using molecular dynamics simulations, contact angles θ of a water nanodroplet on the planar peptide network, together with excess chemical potentials of purely repulsive methane-sized Weeks-Chandler-Andersen solute, are computed. All of the 20 types of amino acids and the corresponding planar peptide networks are studied. Expectedly, all of the planar peptide networks with nonpolar amino acids are hydrophobic due to θ [Formula: see text] 90°, whereas all of the planar peptide networks of the polar and charged amino acids are hydrophilic due to θ [Formula: see text] 90°. Planar peptide networks of the charged amino acids exhibit complete-wetting behavior due to θ [Formula: see text] 0°. This computational approach for characterization of hydrophobicity can be extended to artificial planar networks of other soft matter.

  17. Interplay of Electrostatics and Hydrophobic Effects in the Metamorphic Protein Human Lymphotactin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korkmaz, Elif Nihal; Volkman, Brian F; Cui, Qiang

    2015-07-30

    The human lymphotactin (hLtn) is a protein that features two native states both of which are physiologically relevant: it is a monomer (hLtn10) at 10 °C with 200 mM salt and a dimer (hLtn40) at 40 °C and without salt. Here we focus on the networks of electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions that display substantial changes upon the conversion from hLtn10 to hLtn40 since they are expected to modulate the relative stability of the two folds. In addition to the Arg 23-Arg 43 interaction discussed in previous work, we find several other like-charge pairs that are likely important to the stability of hLtn10. Free energy perturbation calculations are carried out to explicitly evaluate the contribution of the Arg 23-Arg 43 interaction to the hLtn10 stability. hLtn40 features a larger number of salt bridges, and a set of hydrophobic residues undergo major changes in the solvent accessible surface area between hLtn10 and hLtn40, pointing to their importance to the relative stability of the two folds. We also discuss the use of explicit and implicit solvent simulations for characterizing the conformational ensembles under different solution conditions.

  18. Heterogeneous nucleation promotes carrier transport in solution-processed organic field-effect transistors

    KAUST Repository

    Li, Ruipeng; Khan, Hadayat Ullah; Payne, Marcia M.; Smilgies, Detlef Matthias; Anthony, John Edward; Amassian, Aram

    2012-01-01

    -ray scattering (GIWAXS) in an environmental chamber provides unique quantitative insights into the time-evolution of the concentration of the solution, the onset of nucleation, and the mode of growth of the organic semiconductor under varied drying conditions

  19. Preparation and Characterization of Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Hydrogel Electrolyte Using Alkaline Solution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masanobu Chiku

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Organic-inorganic hybrid hydrogel electrolytes were prepared by mixing hydrotalcite, cross-linked potassium poly(acrylate and 6 M KOH solution. The organic-inorganic hybrid hydrogel electrolytes had high ionic conductivity (0.456–0.540 S cm−1 at 30 °C. Moreover, the mechanical strength of the hydrogel electrolytes was high enough to form a 2–3 mm thick freestanding membrane because of the reinforcement with hydrotalcite.

  20. Solution-grown organic single-crystalline p-n junctions with ambipolar charge transport.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Congcheng; Zoombelt, Arjan P; Jiang, Hao; Fu, Weifei; Wu, Jiake; Yuan, Wentao; Wang, Yong; Li, Hanying; Chen, Hongzheng; Bao, Zhenan

    2013-10-25

    Organic single-crystalline p-n junctions are grown from mixed solutions. First, C60 crystals (n-type) form and, subsequently, C8-BTBT crystals (p-type) nucleate heterogeneously on the C60 crystals. Both crystals continue to grow simultaneously into single-crystalline p-n junctions that exhibit ambipolar charge transport characteristics. This work provides a platform to study organic single-crystalline p-n junctions. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. The potential applications of using compost chars for removing the hydrophobic herbicide atrazine from solution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsui, Lo; Roy, William R

    2008-09-01

    One commercial compost sample was pyrolyzed to produce chars as a sorbent for removing the herbicide atrazine from solution. The sorption behavior of compost-based char was compared with that of an activated carbon derived from corn stillage. When compost was pyrolyzed, the char yield was greater than 45% when heated under air, and 52% when heated under N(2). In contrast, when the corn stillage was pyrolyzed under N(2), the yield was only 22%. The N(2)-BET surface area of corn stillage activated carbon was 439 m(2)/g, which was much greater than the maximum compost char surface area of 72 m(2)/g. However, the sorption affinity of the compost char for dissolved atrazine was comparable to that of the corn stillage activated carbon. This similarity could have resulted from the initial organic waste being subjected to a relatively long period of thermal processes during composting, and thus, the compost was more thermally stable when compared with the raw materials. In addition, microorganisms transformed the organic wastes into amorphous humic substances, and thus, it was likely that the microporisity was enhanced. Although this micropore structure could not be detected by the N(2)-BET method, it was apparent in the atrazine sorption experiment. Overall, the experimental results suggested that the compost sample in current study was a relatively stable material thermally for producing char, and that it has the potential as a feed stock for making high-quality activated carbon.

  2. Substituted benzotriazoles as inhibitors of copper corrosion in borate buffer solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agafonkina, M. O.; Andreeva, N. P.; Kuznetsov, Yu. I.; Timashev, S. F.

    2017-08-01

    The adsorption of substituted 1,2,3-benzotriazoles (R-BTAs) onto copper is measured via ellipsometry in a pure borate buffer (pH 7.4) and satisfactorily described by Temkin's isotherm. The adsorption free energy (-Δ G a 0 ) values of these azoles are determined. The (-Δ G a 0 ) values are found to rise as their hydrophobicity, characterized by the logarithm of the partition coefficient of a substituted BTA in a model octanol-water system (log P), grows. The minimum concentration sufficient for the spontaneous passivation of copper ( C min) and a shift in the potential of local copper depassivation with chlorides ( E pt) after an azole is added to the solution (i.e., Δ E = E pt in - E pt backgr characterizing the ability of its adsorption to stabilize passivation) are determined in the same solution containing a corrosion additive (0.01M NaCl) for each azole under study. Both criteria of the passivating properties of azoles (log C min and Δ E) are shown to correlate linearly with log P, testifying to the role played by surface activity of this family of organic inhibitors in protecting copper in an aqueous solution.

  3. Entropic formulation for the protein folding process: Hydrophobic stability correlates with folding rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dal Molin, J. P.; Caliri, A.

    2018-01-01

    Here we focus on the conformational search for the native structure when it is ruled by the hydrophobic effect and steric specificities coming from amino acids. Our main tool of investigation is a 3D lattice model provided by a ten-letter alphabet, the stereochemical model. This minimalist model was conceived for Monte Carlo (MC) simulations when one keeps in mind the kinetic behavior of protein-like chains in solution. We have three central goals here. The first one is to characterize the folding time (τ) by two distinct sampling methods, so we present two sets of 103 MC simulations for a fast protein-like sequence. The resulting sets of characteristic folding times, τ and τq were obtained by the application of the standard Metropolis algorithm (MA), as well as by an enhanced algorithm (Mq A). The finding for τq shows two things: (i) the chain-solvent hydrophobic interactions {hk } plus a set of inter-residues steric constraints {ci,j } are able to emulate the conformational search for the native structure. For each one of the 103MC performed simulations, the target is always found within a finite time window; (ii) the ratio τq / τ ≅ 1 / 10 suggests that the effect of local thermal fluctuations, encompassed by the Tsallis weight, provides to the chain an innate efficiency to escape from energetic and steric traps. We performed additional MC simulations with variations of our design rule to attest this first result, both algorithms the MA and the Mq A were applied to a restricted set of targets, a physical insight is provided. Our second finding was obtained by a set of 600 independent MC simulations, only performed with the Mq A applied to an extended set of 200 representative targets, our native structures. The results show how structural patterns should modulate τq, which cover four orders of magnitude; this finding is our second goal. The third, and last result, was obtained with a special kind of simulation performed with the purpose to explore a

  4. Synthesis of hydrophobic peptides : An Fmoc “Solubilising Tail” method

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Choma, Christin T.; Robillard, George T.; Englebretsen, Darren R.

    1998-01-01

    The development of an Fmoc method for synthesis and purification of hydrophobic peptides using a “solubihsing tail” strategy is described. Peptide-constructs of the form hydrophobic peptide-[CHmb ester]-solubilising peptide were synthesised. Procedures for forming the 4-Hmb ester linkage, and

  5. Tidal influence on the distribution of hydrophobic organic contaminants in the Seine Estuary and biomarker responses on the copepod Eurytemora affinis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cailleaud, K. [Universite Bordeaux 1, CNRS, ISM-LPTC-UMR 5255, Laboratory of Physico- and Toxico-Chemistry, 351 Cours de la Liberation, 33405 Talence (France) and Universite des Sciences et Technologies de Lille - Lille 1, Laboratoire d' Oceanologie et de Geosciences, UMR CNRS 8187 LOG, Station Marine de Wimereux, 28 Avenue Foch, 62930 Wimereux (France) and Faculte des Sciences et Techniques du Havre, LEMA-UPRES EA3222, Laboratoire d' Ecotoxicologie-Milieux Aquatiques, GDR IMOPHYS, 25 rue Philippe Lebon, 76058 Le Havre (France); Forget-Leray, J. [Faculte des Sciences et Techniques du Havre, LEMA-UPRES EA3222, Laboratoire d' Ecotoxicologie-Milieux Aquatiques, GDR IMOPHYS, 25 rue Philippe Lebon, 76058 Le Havre (France); Peluhet, L.; LeMenach, K. [Universite Bordeaux 1, CNRS, ISM-LPTC-UMR 5255, Laboratory of Physico- and Toxico-Chemistry, 351 Cours de la Liberation, 33405 Talence (France); Souissi, S. [Universite des Sciences et Technologies de Lille - Lille 1, Laboratoire d' Oceanologie et de Geosciences, UMR CNRS 8187 LOG, Station Marine de Wimereux, 28 Avenue Foch, 62930 Wimereux (France); Budzinski, H. [Universite Bordeaux 1, CNRS, ISM-LPTC-UMR 5255, Laboratory of Physico- and Toxico-Chemistry, 351 Cours de la Liberation, 33405 Talence (France)], E-mail: h.budzinski@ism.u-bordeaux1.fr

    2009-01-15

    To elucidate tidally related variations of hydrophobic organic contaminant (HOC) bioavailability and the impact of these contaminants on estuarine ecosystems, both PCB and PAH concentrations were investigated in the dissolved phase and in the suspended particulate material (SPM) of the Seine Estuary. Both PAH and PCB highest levels were observed in surface and bottom water when SPM remobilizations were maximum, in relation to higher speed currents. In parallel, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activities were investigated in the copepod Eurytemora affinis. Significant decreasing AChE levels were measured during the tidal cycle and between surface and bottom copepods related to salinity and to HOC concentration variations. Significant increasing GST levels were also observed when HOC concentrations in the water column were the highest. This study underlined the need to standardize sampling procedures for biomonitoring studies in order to avoid interfering factors that could modify biomarker responses to chemical exposure. - Variations of contamination of E. affinis and enzymatic responses have been studied over a tide cycle in view to improve the use of this copepod for biomonitoring.

  6. Tidal influence on the distribution of hydrophobic organic contaminants in the Seine Estuary and biomarker responses on the copepod Eurytemora affinis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cailleaud, K.; Forget-Leray, J.; Peluhet, L.; LeMenach, K.; Souissi, S.; Budzinski, H.

    2009-01-01

    To elucidate tidally related variations of hydrophobic organic contaminant (HOC) bioavailability and the impact of these contaminants on estuarine ecosystems, both PCB and PAH concentrations were investigated in the dissolved phase and in the suspended particulate material (SPM) of the Seine Estuary. Both PAH and PCB highest levels were observed in surface and bottom water when SPM remobilizations were maximum, in relation to higher speed currents. In parallel, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activities were investigated in the copepod Eurytemora affinis. Significant decreasing AChE levels were measured during the tidal cycle and between surface and bottom copepods related to salinity and to HOC concentration variations. Significant increasing GST levels were also observed when HOC concentrations in the water column were the highest. This study underlined the need to standardize sampling procedures for biomonitoring studies in order to avoid interfering factors that could modify biomarker responses to chemical exposure. - Variations of contamination of E. affinis and enzymatic responses have been studied over a tide cycle in view to improve the use of this copepod for biomonitoring

  7. Features of the corrosion protection of aluminium alloys by creation of hydrophobic coatings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinebryukhov, S. L.; Gnedenkov, S. V.; Egorkin, V. S.; Vyaliy, I. E.

    2017-09-01

    Results of the study of hydrophobic layers on aluminum alloy, which underwent plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) and subsequent deposition of the hydrophobic agent have been described. Coatings formed by deposition of dispersion of the hydrophobic agent containing SiO2 nanoparticles on the surface of the PEO-layer are characterized by high contact angles and inhibitive properties. The formed composite layers were found to be characterized with hydrophobicity and high barrier properties.

  8. Quantifying high-affinity binding of hydrophobic ligands by isothermal titration calorimetry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krainer, Georg; Broecker, Jana; Vargas, Carolyn; Fanghänel, Jörg; Keller, Sandro

    2012-12-18

    A fast and reliable quantification of the binding thermodynamics of hydrophobic high-affinity ligands employing a new calorimetric competition experiment is described. Although isothermal titration calorimetry is the method of choice for a quantitative characterization of intermolecular interactions in solution, a reliable determination of a dissociation constant (K(D)) is typically limited to the range 100 μM > K(D) > 1 nM. Interactions displaying higher or lower K(D) values can be assessed indirectly, provided that a suitable competing ligand is available whose K(D) falls within the directly accessible affinity window. This established displacement assay, however, requires the high-affinity ligand to be soluble at high concentrations in aqueous buffer and, consequently, poses serious problems in the study of protein binding involving small-molecule ligands dissolved in organic solvents--a familiar case in many drug-discovery projects relying on compound libraries. The calorimetric competition assay introduced here overcomes this limitation, thus allowing for a detailed thermodynamic description of high-affinity receptor-ligand interactions involving poorly water-soluble compounds. Based on a single titration of receptor into a dilute mixture of the two competing ligands, this competition assay provides accurate and precise values for the dissociation constants and binding enthalpies of both high- and moderate-affinity ligands. We discuss the theoretical background underlying the approach, demonstrate its practical application to metal ion chelation and high-affinity protein-inhibitor interactions, and explore its potential and limitations with the aid of simulations and statistical analyses.

  9. Adsorption of ionizable organic contaminants on multi-walled carbon nanotubes with different oxygen contents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Xiaona; Zhao Huimin; Quan Xie; Chen Shuo; Zhang Yaobin; Yu Hongtao

    2011-01-01

    Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), which are considered to be promising candidates for the adsorption of toxic organics, are released into aqueous environment with their increasing production and application. In this study, the adsorption behaviors of five structurally related ionizable organic contaminants namely perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA), 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 4-n-nonylphenol (4-NP) onto MWNTs with different oxygen contents (3.84-22.85%) were investigated. The adsorption kinetics was investigated and simulated with pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption isotherms were found to be fitted with Freundlich model and influenced by both the properties of organic chemicals and the oxygen contents of MWNTs. As adsorption capacity decreases dramatically with the increasing of oxygen contents, the MWNTs with the lowest oxygen contents possess the highest adsorption capacity among four MWNTs. For the MWNTs with the oxygen contents of 3.84%, the adsorption affinity related with hydrophobic interaction and π-electron polarizability decreased in the order of 4-NP > PFOSA > PFOS > 2,4-D > PFOA. Furthermore, the adsorption characters of five contaminants were affected by solution pH and solute pK a considering electrostatic repulse force and hydrogen bonding, which showed the adsorption of MWNTs with lower oxygen content is much sensitive to solution chemistry.

  10. Changes in different organic matter fractions during conventional treatment and advanced treatment

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Chao Chen; Xiaojian Zhang; Lingxia Zhu; Wenjie He; Hongda Han

    2011-01-01

    XAD-8 resin isolation of organic matter in water was used to divide organic matter into the hydrophobic and hydrophilic fractions.A pilot plant was used to investigate the change in both fractions during conventional and advanced treatment processes.The treatment of hydrophobic organics (HPO), rather than hydrophilic organicas (HPI), should carry greater emphasis due to HPO's higher trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) and haloacetic acid formation potential (HAAFP).The removal of hydrophobic matter and its transmission into hydrophilic matter reduced ultimate DBP yield during the disinfection process.The results showed that sand filtration, ozonation, and biological activated carbon (BAC) filtration had distinct influences on the removal of both organic fractions.Additionally, the combination of processes changed the organic fraction proportions present during treatment.The use of ozonation and BAC maximized organic matter removal efficiency, especially for the hydrophobic fraction.In sum, the combination of pre-ozonation,conventional treatment, and O3-BAC removed 48% of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), 60% of HPO, 30% of HPI, 63% of THMFP,and 85% of HAAFP.The use of conventional treatment and O3-BAC without pre-ozonation had a comparable performance, removing 51% of DOC, 56% of HPO, 45% of HPI, 61% of THMFP, and 72% of HAAFP.The effectiveness of this analysis method indicated that resin isolation and fractionation should be standardized as an applicable test to help assess water treatment process efficiency.

  11. Structure of diphosphine complexes of Co(II) in solutions of organic compounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saraev, V.V.; Mandyuk, I.M.; Ratovskii, G.V.; Dmitrieva, T.V.; Shmidt, F.K.

    1987-01-01

    The structure of the dichloride complexes of cobalt(II) with 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane (DPPE) and 1,1-bis(diphenylphosphino)methane (DPPM) in organic solvents has been investigated by ESR and electronic spectroscopy. It has been shown that the low-spin complex Co(DPPE) 2 Cl 2 exists in dichloroethane and ethanol solutions in the form of a trigonal bipyramid. Cobalt dichloride reacts with DPPM to form 1:1 and 1:2 complexes, between which there is an equilibrium in a dichloroethane solution. The equilibrium is displaced under the action of the free diphosphine toward the formation of the 1:2 complex. Elimination of the diphosphine from the coordination sphere of cobalt occurs in an ethanol solution

  12. An experimental investigation of evaporating sessile droplet on super-hydrophobic surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shin, Dong Hwan; Lee, Seong Hyuk; Yoo, Jung Yul

    2008-01-01

    The objective of this study is to investigate the evaporation process of a water droplet on hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces. Time-dependent contact angle, height, radius, surface area, and volume were measured for three different surfaces, such as glass, OctadecylTrichloroSilane(OTS), and AlkylKetene Dimmer(AKD) using a digital image analysis technique. For hydrophilic surfaces, the measured contact angle, liquid volume, and height are also compared with numerical estimation. It is found that for super-hydrophobic surfaces, the contact line becomes no longer pinned during evaporation, and three distinct stages for hydrophobic surface cannot be found. For the super-hydrophobic surface, it takes the longest time for evaporation because the droplet maintains spherical shape even near the end of evaporation process

  13. Solvation study of the non-specific lipid transfer protein from wheat by intermolecular NOEs with water and small organic molecules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liepinsh, Edvards; Sodano, Patrick; Tassin, Severine; Marion, Didier; Vovelle, Francoise; Otting, Gottfried

    1999-01-01

    Intermolecular nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs) were measured between the protons of various small solvent or gas molecules and the non-specific lipid transfer protein (ns-LTP) from wheat. Intermolecular NOEs were observed with the hydrophobic pocket in the interior of wheat ns-LTP, which grew in intensity in the order cyclopropane (saturated solution) < methane (140 bar) < ethane (40 bar) < acetonitrile (5% in water) < cyclohexane (saturated solution) < benzene (saturated solution). No intermolecular NOEs were observed with dioxane (5% in water). The intermolecular NOEs were negative for all of the organic molecules tested. Intermolecular NOEs between wheat ns-LTP and water were weak or could not be distinguished from exchange-relayed NOEs. As illustrated by the NOEs with cyclohexane versus dioxane, the hydrophobic pocket in wheat ns-LTP preferably binds non-polar molecules. Yet, polar molecules like acetonitrile can also be accommodated. The pressure dependence of the NOEs between methane and wheat ns-LTP indicated incomplete occupancy, even at 190 bar methane pressure. In general, NOE intensities increased with the size of the ligand molecule and its vapor pressure. NMR of the vapor phase showed excellent resolution between the signals from the gas phase and those from the liquid phase. The vapor concentration of cyclohexane was fivefold higher than that of the dioxane solution, supporting the binding of cyclohexane versus uptake of dioxane

  14. Enhanced adsorption of benzene vapor on granular activated carbon under humid conditions due to shifts in hydrophobicity and total micropore volume.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Han-Bing; Yang, Bing; Xue, Nan-Dong

    2016-11-15

    A series of hydrophobic-modified (polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coating) activated carbons (ACs) were developed to answer a fundamental question: what are the determinants that dominate the adsorption on ACs under humid conditions? Using column experiments, an inter-comparison among bare-AC and PDMS-coated ACs was conducted regarding the association of surface characteristics and adsorption capacity. Primary outcomes occurred in two dominating markers, hydrophobicity and total micropore volume, which played a key role in water adsorption on ACs. However, their contributions to water adsorption on ACs substantially differed under different Pwater/Pair conditions. Hydrophobicity was the only contributor in Pwater/Pair=0.1-0.6, while the two markers contributed equally in Pwater/Pair=0.7-1.0. Furthermore, PDMS-coated AC had a significant increase in benzene adsorption capacities compared to bare-AC at 0-90% relative humidity, while these differences were not significant among PDMS-coated ACs. It is thus presumed that the balance between the two markers can be shifted to favor almost unchanged benzene adsorption capacities among PDMS-coated ACs over a large range of relative humidity. These findings suggest potential benefits of PDMS coating onto ACs in enhancing selective adsorption of hydrophobic volatile organic compounds under high humid conditions. To develop new porous materials with both high total micropore volume and hydrophobicity should thus be considered. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Effect of Hydrophobic Chain Length on the Stability and Guest Exchange Behavior of Shell-Sheddable Micelles Formed by Disulfide-Linked Diblock Copolymers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Haiyan; Li, Yixia; Yang, Jinxian; Ye, Xiaodong

    2017-10-19

    Reduction-responsive micelles hold enormous promise for application as drug carriers due to the fast drug release triggered by reducing conditions and high anticancer activity. However, the effect of hydrophobic chain length on the stability and guest exchange of reduction-responsive micelles, especially for the micelles formed by diblock copolymers containing single disulfide group, is not fully understood. Here, shell-sheddable micelles formed by a series of disulfide-linked copolymer poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PEG-SS-PCL) containing the same chain length of PEG but different chain lengths of hydrophobic block PCL were prepared and well characterized. The influence of the chain length of hydrophobic PCL block on the stability and guest exchange of PEG-SS-PCL micelles was studied by the use of both dynamic laser light scattering (DLS) and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). The results show that longer PCL chains lead to a slower aggregation rate and guest exchange of micelles in the aqueous solutions containing 10 mM dithiothreitol (DTT). The cell uptake of the shell-sheddable PEG-SS-PCL micelles in vitro shows that the amount of internalization of dyes loaded in PEG-SS-PCL micelles increases with the chain length of hydrophobic PCL block investigated by flow cytometric analysis and confocal fluorescence microscopy.

  16. Hydrophobic patches on protein surfaces

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lijnzaad, P.

    2007-01-01

    Hydrophobicity is a prime determinant of the structure and function of proteins. It is the driving force behind the folding of soluble proteins, and when exposed on the surface, it is frequently involved in recognition and binding of ligands and other proteins. The energetic cost of

  17. Spray-coating process in preparing PTFE-PPS composite super-hydrophobic coating

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rui Weng

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available In order to improve the performance of a liquid-floated rotor micro-gyroscope, the resistance of the moving interface between the rotor and the floating liquid must be reduced. Hydrophobic treatment can reduce the frictional resistance between such interfaces, therefore we proposed a method to prepare a poly-tetrafluoroethylene (PTFE-poly-phenylene sulphide (PPS composite super-hydrophobic coating, based on a spraying process. This method can quickly prepare a continuous, uniform PTFE-PPS composite super-hydrophobic surface on a 2J85 material. This method can be divided into three steps, namely: pre-treatment; chemical etching; and spraying. The total time for this is around three hours. When the PTFE concentration is 4%, the average contact angle of the hydrophobic coating surface is 158°. If silicon dioxide nanoparticles are added, this can further improve the adhesion and mechanical strength of the super-hydrophobic composite coating. The maximum average contact angle can reach as high as 164° when the mass fraction of PTFE, PPS and silicon dioxide is 1:1:1.

  18. Spray-coating process in preparing PTFE-PPS composite super-hydrophobic coating

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weng, Rui; Zhang, Haifeng; Liu, Xiaowei

    2014-03-01

    In order to improve the performance of a liquid-floated rotor micro-gyroscope, the resistance of the moving interface between the rotor and the floating liquid must be reduced. Hydrophobic treatment can reduce the frictional resistance between such interfaces, therefore we proposed a method to prepare a poly-tetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-poly-phenylene sulphide (PPS) composite super-hydrophobic coating, based on a spraying process. This method can quickly prepare a continuous, uniform PTFE-PPS composite super-hydrophobic surface on a 2J85 material. This method can be divided into three steps, namely: pre-treatment; chemical etching; and spraying. The total time for this is around three hours. When the PTFE concentration is 4%, the average contact angle of the hydrophobic coating surface is 158°. If silicon dioxide nanoparticles are added, this can further improve the adhesion and mechanical strength of the super-hydrophobic composite coating. The maximum average contact angle can reach as high as 164° when the mass fraction of PTFE, PPS and silicon dioxide is 1:1:1.

  19. Preparing hydrophobic nanocellulose-silica film by a facile one-pot method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le, Duy; Kongparakul, Suwadee; Samart, Chanatip; Phanthong, Patchiya; Karnjanakom, Surachai; Abudula, Abuliti; Guan, Guoqing

    2016-11-20

    Hydrophobic nanocellulose-silica film was successfully prepared by a facile one-pot method using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and dodecyl triethoxylsilane (DTES). Morphological characterization of the hydrophobic nanocellulose-silica (NC-SiO2-DTES) film showed well self-assembled DTES modified silica spherical nanoparticles with the particle sizes in the range of 88-126nm over the nanocellulose film. The hydrophobicity of the NC-SiO2-DTES film was achieved owing to the improvement of roughness of the nanocellulose film by coating dodecyl- terminated silica nanoparticles. An increase in DTES loading amount and reaction time increased the hydrophobicity of the film, and the optimum condition for NC-SiO2-DTES film preparation was achieved at DTES/TEOS molar ratio of 2.0 for 8h reaction time. Besides, the NC-SiO2-DTES film performed superoleophilic property with octane and hexadecane contact angles of 0°. It also showed an excellent hydrophobic property over all pH values ranged from 1 to 14. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Initial water repellency affected organic matter depletion rates of manure amended soils in Sri Lanka

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leelamanie D.A.L.

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The wetting rate of soil is a measure of water repellency, which is a property of soils that prevents water from wetting or penetrating into dry soil. The objective of the present research was to examine the initial water repellency of organic manure amended soil, and its relation to the soil organic matter (SOM depletion rates in the laboratory. Soil collected from the Wilpita natural forest, Sri Lanka, was mixed with organic manure to prepare soil samples with 0, 5, 10, 25, and 50% organic manure contents. Locally available cattle manure (CM, goat manure (GM, and Casuarina equisetifolia leaves (CE were used as the organic manure amendments. Organic matter content of soils was measured in 1, 3, 7, 14, and 30 days intervals under the laboratory conditions with 74±5% relative humidity at 28±1°C. Initial water repellency of soil samples was measured as the wetting rates using the water drop penetration time (WDPT test. Initial water repellency increased with increasing SOM content showing higher increasing rate for hydrophobic CE amended samples compared with those amended with CM and GM. The relation between water repellency and SOM content was considered to be governed by the original hydrophobicities of added manures. The SOM contents of all the soil samples decreased with the time to reach almost steady level at about 30 d. The initial SOM depletion rates were negatively related with the initial water repellency. However, all the CE amended samples initially showed prominent low SOM depletion rates, which were not significantly differed with the amended manure content or the difference in initial water repellency. It is explicable that the original hydrophobicity of the manure as well has a potentially important effect on initiation of SOM decomposition. In contrast, the overall SOM depletion rate can be attributed to the initial water repellency of the manure amended sample, however, not to the original hydrophobicity of the amended manure

  1. Bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation on surfaces of variable roughness and hydrophobicity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tang, Lone; Pillai, Saju; Iversen, Anders

    L.Biofilm formation on surfaces in food production and processing can deteriorate the quality of food products and be a hazard to consumers. The food industry currently uses a number of approaches to either remove biofilm or prevent its formation. Due to the inherent resilience of bacteria...... in biofilm, a particularly attractive approach is the modification of surfaces with the aim to impede the first step in biofilm formation, namely bacterial adhesion. Surface properties such as hydrophobicity, roughness and predisposition for fouling by protein are recognised as important in bacterial...... adhesion. Sol-gel technology and the recent availability of organic modified silicas have lead to development of hybrid organic/inorganic glass ceramic coatings with specialised surface properties. In this study we investigate bacterial adhesion and the subsequent biofilm formation on stainless steel (SS...

  2. The role of organic matter in the removal of emerging trace organic chemicals during managed aquifer recharge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rauch-Williams, T; Hoppe-Jones, C; Drewes, J E

    2010-01-01

    This study explored the effect of different bulk organic carbon matrices on the fate of trace organic chemicals (TOrC) during managed aquifer recharge (MAR). Infiltration through porous media was simulated in biologically active column experiments under aerobic and anoxic recharge conditions. Wastewater effluent derived organic carbon types, differing in hydrophobicity and biodegradability (i. e., hydrophobic acids, hydrophilic carbon, organic colloids), were used as feed substrates in the column experiments. These carbon substrates while fed at the same concentration differed in their ability to support soil biomass growth during porous media infiltration. Removal of degradable TOrC (with the exception of diclofenac and propyphenazone) was equal or better under aerobic versus anoxic porous media infiltration conditions. During the initial phase of infiltration, the presence of biodegradable organic carbon (BDOC) enhanced the decay of degradable TOrC by promoting soil biomass growth, suggesting that BDOC served as a co-substrate in a co-metabolic transformation of these contaminants. However, unexpected high removal efficiencies were observed for all degradable TOrC in the presence of low BDOC concentrations under well adopted oligotrophic conditions. It is hypothesized that removal under these conditions is caused by a specialized microbial community growing on refractory carbon substrates such as hydrophobic acids. Findings of this study reveal that the concentration and character of bulk organic carbon present in effluents affect the degradation efficiency for TOrC during recharge operation. Specifically aerobic, oligotrophic microbiological soil environments present favorable conditions for the transformation of TOrC, including rather recalcitrant compounds such as chlorinated flame retardants. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Polarographic behaviour of uranium (VI) in tributyl phosphate organic solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Degueldre, C.A.; Meklati, M.

    1984-01-01

    U(VI) determination by D.C. and differential pulse polarography was studied in the organic solutions derived from tributyl phosphate - diluent extracts (after separation from nitric acid media) along with a selected aprotic solvent (i.e.: propylene carbonate and N,N-dimethylacetamide). Miscibility of the TBP-diluent (e.g. cyclohexane, n-hexane, kerosene, n-dodecane) phase with nitric acid as supporting electrolyte, either by addition or already present in the extract was larger in DMA than in PC. In the DMA organic mixture, U(VI) exhibited a DPP peak due to a one electron step, with Esub(p)=-0.4 V (position connected with H 2 O and HNO 3 concentrations). This peak which was proportionnel to the U(VI) concentration from 5x10 -6 to 10 -3 M can be used to determinate directly hexavalent uranium in the industrial organic extraction phases TBP-diluent. (orig.)

  4. Optimal Hydrophobicity in Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization-Based Protein Mimics Required for siRNA Internalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    deRonde, Brittany M; Posey, Nicholas D; Otter, Ronja; Caffrey, Leah M; Minter, Lisa M; Tew, Gregory N

    2016-06-13

    Exploring the role of polymer structure for the internalization of biologically relevant cargo, specifically siRNA, is of critical importance to the development of improved delivery reagents. Herein, we report guanidinium-rich protein transduction domain mimics (PTDMs) based on a ring-opening metathesis polymerization scaffold containing tunable hydrophobic moieties that promote siRNA internalization. Structure-activity relationships using Jurkat T cells and HeLa cells were explored to determine how the length of the hydrophobic block and the hydrophobic side chain compositions of these PTDMs impacted siRNA internalization. To explore the hydrophobic block length, two different series of diblock copolymers were synthesized: one series with symmetric block lengths and one with asymmetric block lengths. At similar cationic block lengths, asymmetric and symmetric PTDMs promoted siRNA internalization in the same percentages of the cell population regardless of the hydrophobic block length; however, with 20 repeat units of cationic charge, the asymmetric block length had greater siRNA internalization, highlighting the nontrivial relationships between hydrophobicity and overall cationic charge. To further probe how the hydrophobic side chains impacted siRNA internalization, an additional series of asymmetric PTDMs was synthesized that featured a fixed hydrophobic block length of five repeat units that contained either dimethyl (dMe), methyl phenyl (MePh), or diphenyl (dPh) side chains and varied cationic block lengths. This series was further expanded to incorporate hydrophobic blocks consisting of diethyl (dEt), diisobutyl (diBu), and dicyclohexyl (dCy) based repeat units to better define the hydrophobic window for which our PTDMs had optimal activity. High-performance liquid chromatography retention times quantified the relative hydrophobicities of the noncationic building blocks. PTDMs containing the MePh, diBu, and dPh hydrophobic blocks were shown to have superior

  5. Institutionalization of Organized Industrial Estates in Turkey, Problems Encountered and Proposed Solutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hasan DAĞLAR

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In the aim of the study is to determine the institutionalization degree of organized industrial estates and to identify the faced problems and to develop solutions for these problems. By using survey method, information about problems and institutionalization status of organized industrial estates were obtained from managers of the active organized industrial estates. The problems of organized industrial estates are related to the management structure, qualified staff, energy, transportation, regulation and public improvements. Formalization, professionalism, accountability, transparency and social responsibility have been identified as the factors about the institutionalization of organized industrial estates in Turkey according to factor analysis. It could be argued that organized industrial estates in Turkey have an institutional structure and they have institutionalized. However, it could be said that organized industrial estates which operate in 80 cities of Turkey and more than one are in some cities are not at the same level of institutionalization.

  6. Solvent wash solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neace, J.C.

    1986-01-01

    This patent describes a process for removing diluent degradation products from a solvent extraction solution comprising an admixture of an organic extractant for uranium and plutonium and a non-polar organic liquid diluent, which has been used to recover uranium and plutonium from spent nuclear fuel. Comprising combining a wash solution consisting of: (a) water; and (b) a positive amount up to about, an including, 50 volume percent of at least one highly-polar water-miscible organic solvent, based on the total volume of the water and the highly-polar organic solvent, with the solvent extraction solution after uranium and plutonium values have been stripped from the solvent extraction solution, the diluent degradation products dissolving in the highly-polar organic solvent and the extractant and diluent of the extraction solution not dissolving in the highly-polar organic solvent, and separating the highly-polar organic solvent and the extraction solution to obtain a purified extraction solution

  7. A New Concept to Transport a Droplet on Horizontal Hydrophilic/Hydrophobic Surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Myong, Hyon Kook

    2014-01-01

    A fluid transport technique is a key issue for the development of microfluidic systems. In this paper, a new concept for transporting a droplet without external power sources is proposed and verified numerically. The proposed device is a heterogeneous surface which has both hydrophilic and hydrophobic horizontal surfaces. The numerical simulation to demonstrate the new concept is conducted by an in-house solution code (PowerCFD) which employs an unstructured cell-centered method based on a conservative pressure-based finite-volume method with interface capturing method (CICSAM) in a volume of fluid (VOF) scheme for phase interface capturing. It is found that the proposed concept for droplet transport shows superior performance for droplet transport in microfluidic systems

  8. DNA strand exchange catalyzed by molecular crowding in PEG solutions

    KAUST Repository

    Feng, Bobo; Frykholm, Karolin; Nordé n, Bengt; Westerlund, Fredrik

    2010-01-01

    DNA strand exchange is catalyzed by molecular crowding and hydrophobic interactions in concentrated aqueous solutions of polyethylene glycol, a discovery of relevance for understanding the function of recombination enzymes and with potential applications to DNA nanotechnology. © 2010 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

  9. Characterization of molecular determinants of the conformational stability of macrophage migration inhibitory factor: leucine 46 hydrophobic pocket.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farah El-Turk

    Full Text Available Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF is a key mediator of inflammatory responses and innate immunity and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The oligomerization of MIF, more specifically trimer formation, is essential for its keto-enol tautomerase activity and probably mediates several of its interactions and biological activities, including its binding to its receptor CD74 and activation of certain signaling pathways. Therefore, understanding the molecular factors governing the oligomerization of MIF and the role of quaternary structure in modulating its structural stability and multifunctional properties is crucial for understanding the function of MIF in health and disease. Herein, we describe highly conserved intersubunit interactions involving the hydrophobic packing of the side chain of Leu46 onto the β-strand β3 of one monomer within a hydrophobic pocket from the adjacent monomer constituted by residues Arg11, Val14, Phe18, Leu19, Val39, His40, Val41, Val42, and Pro43. To elucidate the structural significance of these intersubunit interactions and their relative contribution to MIF's trimerization, structural stability and catalytic activity, we generated three point mutations where Leu46 was replaced by glycine (L46G, alanine (L46A and phenylalanine (L46F, and their structural properties, stability, oligomerization state, and catalytic activity were characterized using a battery of biophysical methods and X-ray crystallography. Our findings provide new insights into the role of the Leu46 hydrophobic pocket in stabilizing the conformational state of MIF in solution. Disrupting the Leu46 hydrophobic interaction perturbs the secondary and tertiary structure of the protein but has no effect on its oligomerization state.

  10. Production and characterization of hydrophobic zinc borate by using palm oil

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Nil Baran Acarali; Nurcan Tugrul; Emek Moroydor Derun; Sabriye Piskin

    2013-01-01

    Zinc borate (ZB) was synthesized using zinc oxide, boric acid synthesized from colemanite, and reference ZB as seed. The eff ects of reaction parameters such as reaction time, reactant ratio, and seed ratio on its yield were examined. Then, the eff ects of palm oil with solvents (isopropyl alcohol (IPA), ethanol, and methanol) added to the reaction on its hydrophobicity were explored. Reactions were carried out under determined reaction conditions with magnetically and mechanically stirred systems. The produced ZB was characterized by X-ray diff raction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and measurements of contact angle identified hydrophobicity. The results showed that hydrophobic ZB was successfully produced under determined reaction conditions. The change of process parameters influenced its yield and the usage of palm oil provided hydrophobicity.

  11. A study of degradation resistance and cytocompatibility of super-hydrophobic coating on magnesium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yufen; Feyerabend, Frank; Tang, Shawei; Hu, Jin; Lu, Xiaopeng; Blawert, Carsten; Lin, Tiegui

    2017-09-01

    Calcium stearate based super-hydrophobic coating was deposited on plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) pre-treated magnesium substrate. The pre-treated magnesium and super-hydrophobic coating covered sample were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and electrochemical corrosion measurements. The cytocompatibility and degradation resistance of magnesium, pre-treated magnesium and super-hydrophobic coating were analysed in terms of cell adhesion and osteoblast differentiation. The results indicate that the calcium stearate top coating shows super-hydrophobicity and that the surface is composed of micro/nanostructure. The super-hydrophobic coating covered sample shows higher barrier properties compared with the PEO pre-treated magnesium and bare magnesium. Human osteoblast proliferation, but not differentiation is enhanced by the PEO coating. Contrary, the super-hydrophobic coating reduces proliferation, but enhances differentiation of osteoblast, observable by the formation of hydroxyapatite. The combination of corrosion protection and cell reaction indicates that this system could be interesting for biomedical applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. La catalyse enzymatique en milieu organique Enzymatic Catalysis in Organic Media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monot F.

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available L'environnement naturel des enzymes étant de nature aqueuse, leurs applications industrielles se sont en général limitées à des réactions mettant en jeu des substrats solubles dans l'eau. Depuis quelques années, la possibilité de faire fonctionner des enzymes dans des milieux hydrophobes (hydrocarbures, solvants organiques a été mise en évidence, engendrant ainsi de nombreux travaux visant, d'une part à mieux comprendre les mécanismes permettant aux enzymes de rester actives dans un tel environnement et, d'autre part à explorer les nouvelles applications envisageables. Les produits pétroliers constituant par excellence le domaine des molécules hydrophobes, le présent article se propose de faire le point sur ces deux aspects, compréhension et intérêt de la catalyse enzymatique en milieu organique. Nous détaillerons ainsi les vues actuelles sur le fonctionnement des enzymes dans des solvants organiques, les différents modes de mise en oeuvre possibles et, à travers une revue de leurs applications potentielles, les principaux systèmes enzymatiques utilisés. The extension of enzymatic catalysis, classically carried out in aqueous media, to organic media can be first ascribed to the possibility of using substrates that are poorly soluble or insoluble in water. In biphasic media consisting of an aqueous phase containing the enzyme in solution and of a non water-miscible organic solvent, the enzyme is kept in a suitable aqueous environment. A variant biphasic system consists in creating reverse micelles by the addition of a surfactant in order to increase the interfacial area and thus to improve the transfers between the aqueous phase where the enzyme is located and the organic phase. In these two cases, the partition coefficient of the different reactants plays a crucial role by governing the rates and yields of reaction. Microaqueous media constitute a new system for biocatalysis in organic media. In this case, a solid enzyme

  13. A Solution-Based Temperature Sensor Using the Organic Compound CuTsPc

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahino Mah Abdullah

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available An electrochemical cell using an organic compound, copper (II phthalocyanine-tetrasulfonic acid tetrasodium salt (CuTsPc, has been fabricated and investigated as a solution-based temperature sensor. The capacitance and resistance of the ITO/CuTsPc solution/ITO chemical cell has been characterized as a function of temperature in the temperature range of 25–80 °C. A linear response with minimal hysteresis is observed. The fabricated temperature sensor has shown high consistency and sensitive response towards a specific range of temperature values.

  14. Current status for applications of hydrophobic platinum catalysts in tritium removal from nuclear effluents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vagner, Irina; Ionita, Gheorghe; Varlam, Carmen

    2008-01-01

    Full text: Based on the long experience of the authors, in the preparation, testing and evaluation of the performances of hydrophobic catalysts, and based on the reviewed references, this paper presents up-to-date R and D results on the preparation methods and applications of the hydrophobic catalysts, in deuterium and tritium separation. The objectives of the paper are: 1. to provide a database for selection of the most appropriate catalyst and catalytic packing for above mentioned processes; 2. to evaluate the potentiality of hydrophobic Pt-catalysts in the deuterium and tritium separation; 3. to assess and find a new procedure for preparation of a new improved hydrophobic catalyst. The merits of the hydrophobic catalysts are shown in comparison to hydrophilic catalysts. As results of the review some general conclusions about the applications of hydrophobic catalysts in environmental field are as follow: 1. the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts packed in the trickle bed reactors showed a high catalytic activity and long stability; 2. the utilization of the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts for tritium removal from liquid and gaseous effluent in nuclear field was entirely confirmed on industrial scale; 3. the extension of the utilization of the hydrophobic Pt-catalysts to other new processes, which take place in presence of liquid water or high humidity, like VOCs oxidation from wastewater or H 2 -O 2 catalytic recombination, are subject to testing

  15. Functional bacterial amyloid increases Pseudomonas biofilm hydrophobicity and stiffness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zeng, Guanghong; Vad, Brian S; Dueholm, Morten S

    2015-01-01

    The success of Pseudomonas species as opportunistic pathogens derives in great part from their ability to form stable biofilms that offer protection against chemical and mechanical attack. The extracellular matrix of biofilms contains numerous biomolecules, and it has recently been discovered...... that in Pseudomonas one of the components includes β-sheet rich amyloid fibrils (functional amyloid) produced by the fap operon. However, the role of the functional amyloid within the biofilm has not yet been investigated in detail. Here we investigate how the fap-based amyloid produced by Pseudomonas affects biofilm...... hydrophobicity and mechanical properties. Using atomic force microscopy imaging and force spectroscopy, we show that the amyloid renders individual cells more resistant to drying and alters their interactions with hydrophobic probes. Importantly, amyloid makes Pseudomonas more hydrophobic and increases biofilm...

  16. Radiation-induced changes in membrane hydrophobicity in liposomes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakazawa, Tohru; Nagatsuka, Shinichiro; Yukawa, Osami

    1985-01-01

    Effects of γ-radiation on the physical state of membranes were examined with liposomes of lecithin (phosphatidylcholine) from soybean and rat liver microsomes using spin labeling method. There was a slight increase in the membrane fluidity after irradiation. However, a marked decrease in the membrane hydrophobicity by irradiation was observed in the peripheral region in both types of membranes, in parallel with an increase in the lipid peroxidation. These results suggest that irradiation mainly causes a decrease in the membrane hydrophobicity through lipid peroxidation. (author)

  17. Absorption of a volatile organic compound by a jet loop reactor with circulation of a surfactant solution: Performance evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Byungjoon; Hwang, Geelsu; Haam, Seungjoo; Lee, Changha; Ahn, Ik-Sung; Lee, Kyoungjoo

    2008-01-01

    Biofiltration shows high efficiency for the removal of industrial waste gases and reliable operational stability at low investment and operating cost, especially when the VOC concentration is low, such as 100 ppmv (μL L -1 ) or less. However, it has been reported that the abrupt change in VOC concentrations leads to the failure of the biofilter. Hence, the pretreatment of waste gases is necessary to ensure the stable operation of the biofilter. The objective of this study is to develop a jet loop reactor (JLR) with circulation of a surfactant solution to lower the concentration of VOCs, especially hydrophobic VOCs. Toluene and Tween 81 were used as a model industrial waste gas and a surfactant, respectively. Among several non-ionic surfactants tested, Tween 81 showed the most rapid dissolution of toluene. When a JLR is replaced with fresh Tween 81 solution (0.3% w/v) every hour, it successfully absorbed for 48 h over 90% of the toluene in an inlet gas containing toluene at 1000 ppmv (μL L -1 ) or less. Therefore, JLR with circulation of a surfactant solution is believed to ensure the stable operation of the biofilter even with the unexpected increase in the VOC concentrations

  18. Dependence of Interaction Free Energy between Solutes on an External Electrostatic Field

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pei-Kun Yang

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available To explore the athermal effect of an external electrostatic field on the stabilities of protein conformations and the binding affinities of protein-protein/ligand interactions, the dependences of the polar and hydrophobic interactions on the external electrostatic field, −Eext, were studied using molecular dynamics (MD simulations. By decomposing Eext into, along, and perpendicular to the direction formed by the two solutes, the effect of Eext on the interactions between these two solutes can be estimated based on the effects from these two components. Eext was applied along the direction of the electric dipole formed by two solutes with opposite charges. The attractive interaction free energy between these two solutes decreased for solutes treated as point charges. In contrast, the attractive interaction free energy between these two solutes increased, as observed by MD simulations, for Eext = 40 or 60 MV/cm. Eext was applied perpendicular to the direction of the electric dipole formed by these two solutes. The attractive interaction free energy was increased for Eext = 100 MV/cm as a result of dielectric saturation. The force on the solutes along the direction of Eext computed from MD simulations was greater than that estimated from a continuum solvent in which the solutes were treated as point charges. To explore the hydrophobic interactions, Eext was applied to a water cluster containing two neutral solutes. The repulsive force between these solutes was decreased/increased for Eext along/perpendicular to the direction of the electric dipole formed by these two solutes.

  19. Radiation resistance of organic azo dyes in aqueous solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khabarov, V.N.; Kozlov, L.L.

    1987-01-01

    The resistance to the action of the ionizing radiation of aqueous and aqueous-alcoholic solutions of organic mono- and diazo dyes was studied. The radiation chemical yield of decolorization of the dye, determined from the kinetic decolorization curves served as a quantitative criterion of the radiation resistance. The influence of pH, addition of ethanol, hydroquinone, thiourea, glucose and oxygen on the radiation resistance of the azo dyes was studied. An attempt was made to relate the efficiency of radiation decolorization to the chemical nature of the dye

  20. Adsorption of nicotine from aqueous solution onto hydrophobic zeolite type USY

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazarevic, Natasa; Adnadjevic, Borivoj; Jovanovic, Jelena

    2011-07-01

    The isothermal adsorption of nicotine from an aqueous solution onto zeolite type USY was investigated. The adsorption isotherms of nicotine onto the zeolite at different temperatures ranging from 298 to 322 K were determined. It was found that the adsorption isotherms can be described by the model of Freundlich adsorption isotherm. Based on the adsorption isotherms the changes of adsorption heat, free energy and entropy with adsorption degree were determined. The determined decrease of adsorption heat with adsorption degree can be explained by the presence of the adsorption centers of different energy and concentration on interface of zeolite-nicotine solution. It was found that the probability function of density distribution of the heat of adsorption (DDF) has exponential form. It was concluded that the possibility of fitting the adsorption isotherms of nicotine onto the zeolite by Freundlich adsorption isotherm was a direct consequence of that. The determined increase in entropy with the increase in adsorption degree can be explained with the change of phase state of adsorbed nicotine.