Sample records for ionic content aqueous

  1. Mixtures of amino-acid based ionic liquids and water.

    PubMed

    Chaban, Vitaly V; Fileti, Eudes Eterno

    2015-09-01

    New ionic liquids (ILs) involving increasing numbers of organic and inorganic ions are continuously being reported. We recently developed a new force field; in the present work, we applied that force field to investigate the structural properties of a few novel imidazolium-based ILs in aqueous mixtures via molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Using cluster analysis, radial distribution functions, and spatial distribution functions, we argue that organic ions (imidazolium, deprotonated alanine, deprotonated methionine, deprotonated tryptophan) are well dispersed in aqueous media, irrespective of the IL content. Aqueous dispersions exhibit desirable properties for chemical engineering. The ILs exist as ion pairs in relatively dilute aqueous mixtures (10 mol%), while more concentrated mixtures feature a certain amount of larger ionic aggregates.

  2. Design of Phosphonium-Type Zwitterion as an Additive to Improve Saturated Water Content of Phase-Separated Ionic Liquid from Aqueous Phase toward Reversible Extraction of Proteins

    PubMed Central

    Ito, Yoritsugu; Kohno, Yuki; Nakamura, Nobuhumi; Ohno, Hiroyuki

    2013-01-01

    We designed phosphonium-type zwitterion (ZI) to control the saturated water content of separated ionic liquid (IL) phase in the hydrophobic IL/water biphasic systems. The saturated water content of separated IL phase, 1-butyl-3-methyimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, was considerably improved from 0.4 wt% to 62.8 wt% by adding N,N,N-tripentyl-4-sulfonyl-1-butanephosphonium-type ZI (P555C4S). In addition, the maximum water content decreased from 62.8 wt% to 34.1 wt% by increasing KH2PO4/K2HPO4 salt content in upper aqueous phosphate buffer phase. Horse heart cytochrome c (cyt.c) was dissolved selectively in IL phase by improving the water content of IL phase, and spectroscopic analysis revealed that the dissolved cyt.c retained its higher ordered structure. Furthermore, cyt. c dissolved in IL phase was re-extracted again from IL phase to aqueous phase by increasing the concentration of inorganic salts of the buffer solution. PMID:24013379

  3. Supercapacitors based on nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide and borocarbonitrides

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gopalakrishnan, K.; Moses, Kota; Govindaraj, A.; Rao, C. N. R.

    2013-12-01

    Nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (RGO) samples with different nitrogen content, prepared by two different methods, as well as nitrogen-doped few-layer graphene have been investigated as supercapacitor electrodes. Two electrode measurements have been carried out both in aqueous (6M KOH) and in ionic liquid media. Nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxides exhibit satisfactory specific capacitance, the values reaching 126F/g at a scan rate of 10mV/s in aqueous medium. Besides providing supercapacitor characteristics, the study has shown the nitrogen content and surface area to be important factors. High surface-area borocarbonitrides, BxCyNz, prepared by the urea route appear to be excellent supercapacitor electrode materials. Thus, BC4.5N exhibits a specific capacitance of 169F/g at a scan rate of 10mV/s in aqueous medium. In an ionic liquid medium, nitrogen-doped RGO and BC4.5N exhibit specific capacitance values of 258F/g and 240F/g at a scan rate of 5mV/s. The ionic liquid enables a larger operating voltage range of 0.0-2.5V compared to 0.0-1V in aqueous medium.

  4. On the pH of Aqueous Attoliter-Volume Droplets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ramos, Kieran P.; Velpula, Samson S.; Demille, Trevor B.; Pajela, Ryan; Goldner, Lori S.

    Droplets of water dispersed in perfluorinated liquids have widespread use including microfluidics, drug delivery and single-molecule measurements. Perfluorinated liquids are distinctly biocompatible due to their stability, low surface tension, lipophobicity, and hydrophobicity. For this reason, the effect of the perfluorinated surface on droplet contents is usually ignored. However, as the droplet diameter is reduced, we expect that any effect of the water/oil interface on droplet contents will become more obvious. We studied the pH of attoliter-volume aqueous droplets in perfluorinated liquids using pH-sensing fluorescent dyes. Droplets were prepared either by sonication or extrusion from buffer and perfluorinated liquids (FC40 or FC77). A non-ionic surfactant was used to stabilize the droplets. Buffer strength, ionic strength, and pH of the aqueous phase were varied and resulting droplet pH compared to the pH of the buffer from which they were formed. Preliminary data are consistent with a pH in droplets that depends on the concentration of non-ionic surfactant. At low surfactant concentrations, the pH in droplets is distinctly lower than the stock buffer. However, as the concentration of non-ionic surfactant is increased the change in pH decreases. This work was funded by NSF/DBI-1152386.

  5. Ionic liquids modified graphene oxide composites: a high efficient adsorbent for phthalates from aqueous solution

    PubMed Central

    Zhou, Xinguang; Zhang, Yinglu; Huang, Zuteng; Lu, Dingkun; Zhu, Anwei; Shi, Guoyue

    2016-01-01

    In 2015, more than 30% of erasers were found to contain a PAE content that exceeded the 0.1% limit established by the Quality and Technology Supervision Bureau of Jiangsu Province in China. Thus, strengthening the supervision and regulation of the PAE content in foods and supplies, in particular, remains necessary. Graphene oxide (GO) and its composites have drawn great interests as promising adsorbents for polar and nonpolar compounds. However, GO-based adsorbents are typically restricted by the difficult separation after treatment because of the high pressure in filtration and low density in centrifugation. Herein, a series of novel ionic liquids modified graphene oxide composites (GO-ILs) were prepared as adsorbents for phthalates (PAEs) in eraser samples, which overcame the conventional drawbacks. These novel composites have a combination of the high surface area of graphene oxide and the tunability of the ionic liquids. It is expected that the GO-ILs composites can be used as efficient adsorbents for PAEs from aqueous solution. This work also demonstrated a new technique for GO-based materials applied in sample preparation. PMID:27910926

  6. Ionic liquids modified graphene oxide composites: a high efficient adsorbent for phthalates from aqueous solution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Xinguang; Zhang, Yinglu; Huang, Zuteng; Lu, Dingkun; Zhu, Anwei; Shi, Guoyue

    2016-12-01

    In 2015, more than 30% of erasers were found to contain a PAE content that exceeded the 0.1% limit established by the Quality and Technology Supervision Bureau of Jiangsu Province in China. Thus, strengthening the supervision and regulation of the PAE content in foods and supplies, in particular, remains necessary. Graphene oxide (GO) and its composites have drawn great interests as promising adsorbents for polar and nonpolar compounds. However, GO-based adsorbents are typically restricted by the difficult separation after treatment because of the high pressure in filtration and low density in centrifugation. Herein, a series of novel ionic liquids modified graphene oxide composites (GO-ILs) were prepared as adsorbents for phthalates (PAEs) in eraser samples, which overcame the conventional drawbacks. These novel composites have a combination of the high surface area of graphene oxide and the tunability of the ionic liquids. It is expected that the GO-ILs composites can be used as efficient adsorbents for PAEs from aqueous solution. This work also demonstrated a new technique for GO-based materials applied in sample preparation.

  7. Computational analysis of the solvation of coffee ingredients in aqueous ionic liquid mixtures.

    PubMed

    Zeindlhofer, Veronika; Khlan, Diana; Bica, Katharina; Schröder, Christian

    2017-01-13

    In this paper, we investigate the solvation of coffee ingredients including caffeine, gallic acid as representative for phenolic compounds and quercetin as representative for flavonoids in aqueous mixtures of the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate [C 2 mim][OAc] at various concentrations. Due to the anisotropy of the solutes we show that classical Kirkwood-Buff theory is not appropriate to study solvation effects with increasing ionic liquid content. However, excess coordination numbers as well as the mean residence time of solvent molecules at the surface of the solutes can be determined by Voronoi tessellation. Since the volume of the hydration shells is also available by this method, solvation free energies will be discussed as a function of the ionic liquid concentration to yield a physical meaningful picture of solvation for the anisotropic solutes. Hydrogen bonding capabilities of the solutes and their relevance for experimental extraction yields from spent coffee grounds are also discussed.

  8. Computational analysis of the solvation of coffee ingredients in aqueous ionic liquid mixtures† †Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c6ra24736a Click here for additional data file.

    PubMed Central

    Zeindlhofer, Veronika; Khlan, Diana; Bica, Katharina

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we investigate the solvation of coffee ingredients including caffeine, gallic acid as representative for phenolic compounds and quercetin as representative for flavonoids in aqueous mixtures of the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate [C2mim][OAc] at various concentrations. Due to the anisotropy of the solutes we show that classical Kirkwood–Buff theory is not appropriate to study solvation effects with increasing ionic liquid content. However, excess coordination numbers as well as the mean residence time of solvent molecules at the surface of the solutes can be determined by Voronoi tessellation. Since the volume of the hydration shells is also available by this method, solvation free energies will be discussed as a function of the ionic liquid concentration to yield a physical meaningful picture of solvation for the anisotropic solutes. Hydrogen bonding capabilities of the solutes and their relevance for experimental extraction yields from spent coffee grounds are also discussed. PMID:28496974

  9. A green separation strategy for neodymium (III) from cobalt (II) and nickel (II) using an ionic liquid-based aqueous two-phase system.

    PubMed

    Chen, Yuehua; Wang, Huiyong; Pei, Yuanchao; Wang, Jianji

    2018-05-15

    It is significant to develop sustainable strategies for the selective separation of rare earth from transition metals from fundamental and practical viewpoint. In this work, an environmentally friendly solvent extraction approach has been developed to selectively separate neodymium (III) from cobalt (II) and nickel (II) by using an ionic liquid-based aqueous two phase system (IL-ATPS). For this purpose, a hydrophilic ionic liquid (IL) tetrabutylphosphonate nitrate ([P 4444 ][NO 3 ]) was prepared and used for the formation of an ATPS with NaNO 3 . Binodal curves of the ATPSs have been determined for the design of extraction process. The extraction parameters such as contact time, aqueous phase pH, content of phase-formation components of NaNO 3 and the ionic liquid have been investigated systematically. It is shown that under optimal conditions, the extraction efficiency of neodymium (III) is as high as 99.7%, and neodymium (III) can be selectively separated from cobalt (II) and nickel (II) with a separation factor of 10 3 . After extraction, neodymium (III) can be stripped from the IL-rich phase by using dilute aqueous sodium oxalate, and the ILs can be quantitatively recovered and reused in the next extraction process. Since [P 4444 ][NO 3 ] works as one of the components of the ATPS and the extractant for the neodymium, no organic diluent, extra etractant and fluorinated ILs are used in the separation process. Thus, the strategy described here shows potential in green separation of neodymium from cobalt and nickel by using simple IL-based aqueous two-phase system. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Performance of carbon-carbon supercapacitors based on organic, aqueous and ionic liquid electrolytes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lewandowski, Andrzej; Olejniczak, Angelika; Galinski, Maciej; Stepniak, Izabela

    Properties of capacitors working with the same carbon electrodes (activated carbon cloth) and three types of electrolytes: aqueous, organic and ionic liquids were compared. Capacitors filled with ionic liquids worked at a potential difference of 3.5 V, their solutions in AN and PC were charged up to the potential difference of 3 V, classical organic systems to 2.5 V and aqueous to 1 V. Cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charging/discharging and impedance spectroscopy were used to characterize these capacitors. The highest specific energy was recorded for the device working with ionic liquids, while the highest power is characteristic for the device filled with aqueous H 2SO 4 electrolyte. Aqueous electrolytes led to energy density an order of magnitude lower in comparison to that characteristic of ionic liquids.

  11. Highly efficient conductivity modulation of cinnamate-based light-responsive ionic liquids in aqueous solutions.

    PubMed

    Yang, Jie; Wang, Huiyong; Wang, Jianji; Zhang, Yue; Guo, Zhongjia

    2014-12-11

    A new class of cinnamate-based light-responsive ionic liquids was synthesized and characterized, and these ionic liquids with longer alkyl chains showed a remarkable increase in ionic conductivity under UV light irradiation in aqueous solutions.

  12. Dynamic Mass Transfer of Hemoglobin at the Aqueous/Ionic-Liquid Interface Monitored with Liquid Core Optical Waveguide.

    PubMed

    Chen, Xuwei; Yang, Xu; Zeng, Wanying; Wang, Jianhua

    2015-08-04

    Protein transfer from aqueous medium into ionic liquid is an important approach for the isolation of proteins of interest from complex biological samples. We hereby report a solid-cladding/liquid-core/liquid-cladding sandwich optical waveguide system for the purpose of monitoring the dynamic mass-transfer behaviors of hemoglobin (Hb) at the aqueous/ionic liquid interface. The optical waveguide system is fabricated by using a hydrophobic IL (1,3-dibutylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, BBimPF6) as the core, and protein solution as one of the cladding layer. UV-vis spectra are recorded with a CCD spectrophotometer via optical fibers. The recorded spectra suggest that the mass transfer of Hb molecules between the aqueous and ionic liquid media involve accumulation of Hb on the aqueous/IL interface followed by dynamic extraction/transfer of Hb into the ionic liquid phase. A part of Hb molecules remain at the interface even after the accomplishment of the extraction/transfer process. Further investigations indicate that the mass transfer of Hb from aqueous medium into the ionic liquid phase is mainly driven by the coordination interaction between heme group of Hb and the cationic moiety of ionic liquid, for example, imidazolium cation in this particular case. In addition, hydrophobic interactions also contribute to the transfer of Hb.

  13. The magic of aqueous solutions of ionic liquids: ionic liquids as a powerful class of catanionic hydrotropes†

    PubMed Central

    Cláudio, Ana Filipa M.; Neves, Márcia C.; Shimizu, Karina; Canongia Lopes, José N.; Freire, Mara G.; Coutinho, João A. P.

    2015-01-01

    Hydrotropes are compounds able to enhance the solubility of hydrophobic substances in aqueous media and therefore are widely used in the formulation of drugs, cleaning and personal care products. In this work, it is shown that ionic liquids are a new class of powerful catanionic hydrotropes where both the cation and the anion synergistically contribute to increase the solubility of biomolecules in water. The effects of the ionic liquid chemical structures, their concentration and the temperature on the solubility of two model biomolecules, vanillin and gallic acid were evaluated and compared with the performance of conventional hydrotropes. The solubility of these two biomolecules was studied in the entire composition range, from pure water to pure ionic liquids, and an increase in the solubility of up to 40-fold was observed, confirming the potential of ionic liquids to act as hydrotropes. Using dynamic light scattering, NMR and molecular dynamics simulations, it was possible to infer that the enhanced solubility of the biomolecule in the IL aqueous solutions is related to the formation of ionic-liquid–biomolecules aggregates. Finally, it was demonstrated that hydrotropy induced by ionic liquids can be used to recover solutes from aqueous media by precipitation, simply by using water as an anti-solvent. The results reported here have a significant impact on the understanding of the role of ionic liquid aqueous solutions in the extraction of value-added compounds from biomass as well as in the design of novel processes for their recovery from aqueous media. PMID:26379471

  14. On the influence of hydrated ionic liquids on the dynamical structure of model proteins: a computational study.

    PubMed

    Haberler, Michael; Steinhauser, Othmar

    2011-10-28

    The solvation of the protein ubiquitin (PDB entry "1UBQ") in hydrated molecular ionic liquids was studied for varying water content or, equivalently, a diversity of ionic strengths. The cations and anions were 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium and trifluoromethanesulfonate, respectively. The protein's shape and stability as well as the solvation structure, the shell dynamics and the shell resolved dielectric properties were investigated by means of molecular dynamics simulations. The respective simulation trajectories covered 200 nanoseconds. Besides the characteristic point already found for the zinc finger motif at the transition from the pure aqueous environment to the ionic solution an even more pronounced state is found where several properties show extremal behaviour (maximum or minimum). This second characteristic point occurs at the transition from the ionic solution to the hydrated ionic melt where water changes its role from a solvent to a co-solvent. Most of the data analysis presented here is based on the Voronoi decomposition of space. This journal is © the Owner Societies 2011

  15. Diels Alder polyphenylene anion exchange membrane for nonaqueous redox flow batteries

    DOE PAGES

    Small, Leo J.; Pratt, III, Harry D.; Fujimoto, Cy H.; ...

    2015-10-23

    Here highly conductive, solvent-resistant anionic Diels Alder polyphenylene (DAPP) membranes were synthesized with three different ionic contents and tested in an ionic liquid-based nonaqueous redox flow battery (RFB). These membranes display 3–10× increase in conductivity in propylene carbonate compared to some commercially available (aqueous) anion exchange membranes. The membrane with an ion content of 1.5 meq/g (DAPP1.5) proved too brittle for operation in a RFB, while the membrane with an ion content of 2.5 meq/g (DAPP2.5) allowed excessive movement of solvent and poor electrochemical yields (capacity fade). Despite having lower voltage efficiencies compared to DAPP2.5, the membrane with an intermediatemore » ion content of 2.0 meq/g (DAPP2.0) exhibited higher coulombic efficiencies (96.4% vs. 89.1%) and electrochemical yields (21.6% vs. 10.9%) after 50 cycles. Crossover of the electroactive species was the primary reason for decreased electrochemical yields. Analysis of the anolyte and catholyte revealed degradation of the electroactive species and formation of a film at the membrane-solution interface. Increases in membrane resistance were attributed to mechanical and thermal aging of the membrane; no chemical change was observed. As a result, improvements in the ionic selectivity and ionic conductivity of the membrane will increase the electrochemical yield and voltage efficiency of future nonaqueous redox flow batteries.« less

  16. Tube Radial Distribution Flow Separation in a Microchannel Using an Ionic Liquid Aqueous Two-Phase System Based on Phase Separation Multi-Phase Flow.

    PubMed

    Nagatani, Kosuke; Shihata, Yoshinori; Matsushita, Takahiro; Tsukagoshi, Kazuhiko

    2016-01-01

    Ionic liquid aqueous two-phase systems were delivered into a capillary tube to achieve tube radial distribution flow (TRDF) or annular flow in a microspace. The phase diagram, viscosity of the phases, and TRDF image of the 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride and NaOH system were examined. The TRDF was formed with inner ionic liquid-rich and outer ionic liquid-poor phases in the capillary tube. The phase configuration was explained using the viscous dissipation principle. We also examined the distribution of rhodamine B in a three-branched microchannel on a microchip with ionic liquid aqueous two-phase systems for the first time.

  17. Effects of Extrinsic and Intrinsic Proton Activity on The Mechanism of Oxygen Reduction in Ionic Liquids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zeller, Robert August

    Mechanisms for oxygen reduction are proposed for three distinct cases covering two ionic liquids of fundamentally different archetypes and almost thirty orders of magnitude of proton activity. Proton activity is treated both extrinsically by varying the concentration and intrinsically by selecting proton donors with a wide range of aqueous pKa values. The mechanism of oxygen reduction in ionic liquids is introduced by way of the protic ionic liquid (pIL) triethylammonium triflate (TEATf) which shares some similarities with aqueous acid solutions. Oxygen reduction in TEATf begins as the one electron rate limited step to form superoxide, O2 *-, which is then rapidly protonated by the pIL cation forming the perhydroxyl radical, HO2*. The perhydroxyl radical is further reduced to peroxidate (HO2-) and hydrogen peroxide in proportions in accordance with their pKa. The reaction does not proceed beyond this point due to the adsorption of the conjugate base triethylammine interfering with the disproportionation of hydrogen peroxide. This work demonstrates that this mechanism is consistent across Pt, Au, Pd, and Ag electrodes. Two related sets of experiments were performed in the inherently aprotic ionic liquid 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium triflate (C4dMImTf). The first involved the titration of acidic species of varying aqueous pKa into the IL while monitoring the extent of oxygen reduction as a function of pKa and potential on Pt and glassy carbon (GC) electrodes. These experiments confirmed the greater propensity of Pt to reduce oxygen by its immediate and abrupt transition from one electron reduction to four electron reduction, while oxygen reduction on GC gradually approaches four electron reduction as the potentials were driven more cathodic. The potential at which oxygen reduction initiates shows general agreement with the Nernst equation and the acid's tabulated aqueous pKa value, however at the extremely acidic end, a small deviation is observed. The second set of experiments in C4dMImTf solicited water as the proton donor for oxygen reduction in an approximation of the aqueous alkaline case. The water content was varied between extremely dry (<0.1 mol% H2O) and saturated (approximately 15.8 mol% H2O). As the water content increased so too did the extent of oxygen reduction eventually approach two electrons on both Pt and GC. However, additional water led to a linear increase in the Tafel slope under enhanced mass transport conditions up to the point of 10 mol% water. This inhibition of oxygen adsorption is the result of the interaction between superoxide and water and more specifically is proposed to be associated with decomposition of theC4dMIm + cation by hydroxide at the elevated temperatures required for the experiment. Oxygen reduction on both Pt and GC follows Nernstian behavior as the water content is increased. Separate mechanisms for oxygen reduction on Pt and GC are proposed based on the nature of the Nernstian response in these systems.

  18. Ionic imbalance induced self-propulsion of liquid metals

    PubMed Central

    Zavabeti, Ali; Daeneke, Torben; Chrimes, Adam F.; O'Mullane, Anthony P.; Zhen Ou, Jian; Mitchell, Arnan; Khoshmanesh, Khashayar; Kalantar-zadeh, Kourosh

    2016-01-01

    Components with self-propelling abilities are important building blocks of small autonomous systems and the characteristics of liquid metals are capable of fulfilling self-propulsion criteria. To date, there has been no exploration regarding the effect of electrolyte ionic content surrounding a liquid metal for symmetry breaking that generates motion. Here we show the controlled actuation of liquid metal droplets using only the ionic properties of the aqueous electrolyte. We demonstrate that pH or ionic concentration gradients across a liquid metal droplet induce both deformation and surface Marangoni flow. We show that the Lippmann dominated deformation results in maximum velocity for the self-propulsion of liquid metal droplets and illustrate several key applications, which take advantage of such electrolyte-induced motion. With this finding, it is possible to conceive the propulsion of small entities that are constructed and controlled entirely with fluids, progressing towards more advanced soft systems. PMID:27488954

  19. Ionic imbalance induced self-propulsion of liquid metals.

    PubMed

    Zavabeti, Ali; Daeneke, Torben; Chrimes, Adam F; O'Mullane, Anthony P; Zhen Ou, Jian; Mitchell, Arnan; Khoshmanesh, Khashayar; Kalantar-Zadeh, Kourosh

    2016-08-04

    Components with self-propelling abilities are important building blocks of small autonomous systems and the characteristics of liquid metals are capable of fulfilling self-propulsion criteria. To date, there has been no exploration regarding the effect of electrolyte ionic content surrounding a liquid metal for symmetry breaking that generates motion. Here we show the controlled actuation of liquid metal droplets using only the ionic properties of the aqueous electrolyte. We demonstrate that pH or ionic concentration gradients across a liquid metal droplet induce both deformation and surface Marangoni flow. We show that the Lippmann dominated deformation results in maximum velocity for the self-propulsion of liquid metal droplets and illustrate several key applications, which take advantage of such electrolyte-induced motion. With this finding, it is possible to conceive the propulsion of small entities that are constructed and controlled entirely with fluids, progressing towards more advanced soft systems.

  20. Ionic imbalance induced self-propulsion of liquid metals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zavabeti, Ali; Daeneke, Torben; Chrimes, Adam F.; O'Mullane, Anthony P.; Zhen Ou, Jian; Mitchell, Arnan; Khoshmanesh, Khashayar; Kalantar-Zadeh, Kourosh

    2016-08-01

    Components with self-propelling abilities are important building blocks of small autonomous systems and the characteristics of liquid metals are capable of fulfilling self-propulsion criteria. To date, there has been no exploration regarding the effect of electrolyte ionic content surrounding a liquid metal for symmetry breaking that generates motion. Here we show the controlled actuation of liquid metal droplets using only the ionic properties of the aqueous electrolyte. We demonstrate that pH or ionic concentration gradients across a liquid metal droplet induce both deformation and surface Marangoni flow. We show that the Lippmann dominated deformation results in maximum velocity for the self-propulsion of liquid metal droplets and illustrate several key applications, which take advantage of such electrolyte-induced motion. With this finding, it is possible to conceive the propulsion of small entities that are constructed and controlled entirely with fluids, progressing towards more advanced soft systems.

  1. A mean-density model of ionic surfactants for the dispersion of carbon nanotubes in aqueous solutions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Joung, Young Soo

    2018-05-01

    We propose a new analytical model of ionic surfactants used for the dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in aqueous solutions. Although ionic surfactants are commonly used to facilitate the dispersion of CNTs in aqueous solutions, understanding the dispersion process is challenging and time-consuming owing to its complexity and nonlinearity. In this work, we develop a mean-density model of ionic surfactants to simplify the calculation of interaction forces between CNTs stabilized by ionic surfactants. Using this model, we can evaluate various interaction forces between the CNTs and ionic surfactants under different conditions. The dispersion mechanism is investigated by estimating the potential of mean force (PMF) as a function of van der Waals forces, electrostatic forces, interfacial tension, and osmotic pressure. To verify the proposed model, we compare the PMFs derived using our method with those derived from molecular dynamics simulations using comparable CNTs and ionic surfactants. Notably, for stable dispersions, the osmotic pressure and interfacial energy are important for long-range and short-range interactions, respectively, in comparison with the effect of electrostatic forces. Our model effectively prescribes specific surfactants and their concentrations to achieve stable aqueous suspensions of CNTs.

  2. Swelling and hydrolysis kinetics of Kraft pulp fibers in aqueous 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate solutions.

    PubMed

    Mao, Jia; Abushammala, Hatem; Pereira, Laura Barcellos; Laborie, Marie-Pierre

    2016-11-20

    1Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate ([Bmim]HSO4) is efficient at extracting cellulose nanocrystals from pulp fibers. To shed some light on the respective contributions of swelling and hydrolysis of pulp fibers by [Bmim]HSO4, the physical, structural and morphological characteristics of hardwood Kraft pulp fibers were monitored under various conditions of temperature, water content and time. Swelling was largely compounded by hydrolysis at the highest temperatures (120°C) as evidenced by mass loss and reduced degree of polymerization (DPn) at this temperature. At 120°C only, water content appeared to play a significant role on the extent of hydrolysis. At this temperature, a heterogeneous kinetic model involving weak links and amorphous regions best described the experimental data. Hydrolysis rates were maximum at 25% water content in the aqueous ionic liquid. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Performance of Carbon/Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) Air Cathodes from pH 0 to 14 for Li-Air Batteries

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-12-01

    aqueous and aqueous electrolytes are kept separate by a non-electronically conducting ceramic membrane impervious to water, but with a high ionic...thought of as being solvated by the ceramic membrane as it passes from non-aqueous to aqueous electrolyte. The half-cell reaction at the lithium...overall charge in the reaction, positive lithium ions flow through an ionically conducting ceramic membrane from the non-aqueous anode compartment to

  4. Methods for separating medical isotopes using ionic liquids

    DOEpatents

    Luo, Huimin; Boll, Rose Ann; Bell, Jason Richard; Dai, Sheng

    2014-10-21

    A method for extracting a radioisotope from an aqueous solution, the method comprising: a) intimately mixing a non-chelating ionic liquid with the aqueous solution to transfer at least a portion of said radioisotope to said non-chelating ionic liquid; and b) separating the non-chelating ionic liquid from the aqueous solution. In preferred embodiments, the method achieves an extraction efficiency of at least 80%, or a separation factor of at least 1.times.10.sup.4 when more than one radioisotope is included in the aqueous solution. In particular embodiments, the method is applied to the separation of medical isotopes pairs, such as Th from Ac (Th-229/Ac-225, Ac-227/Th-227), or Ra from Ac (Ac-225 and Ra-225, Ac-227 and Ra-223), or Ra from Th (Th-227 and Ra-223, Th-229 and Ra-225).

  5. Ion Association, Solubilities, and Reduction Potentials in Aqueous Solution.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Russo, Steven O.; Hanania, George I. H.

    1989-01-01

    Incorporates the combined effects of ionic strength and ion association to show how calculations involving ionic equilibria are carried out. Examines the variability of reduction potential data for two aqueous redox systems. Provides several examples. (MVL)

  6. ENZYMATIC POLYMERIZATION OF PHENOLS IN ROOM TEMPERATURE IONIC LIQUIDS

    PubMed Central

    Eker, Bilge; Zagorevski, Dmitri; Zhu, Guangyu; Linhardt, Robert J.; Dordick, Jonathan S.

    2009-01-01

    Soybean peroxidase (SBP) was used to catalyze the polymerization of phenols in room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs). Phenolic polymers with number average molecular weights ranging from 1200 to 4100 D were obtained depending on the composition of the reaction medium and the nature of the phenol. Specifically, SBP was highly active in methylimidazolium-containing RTILs, including 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMIM(BF4)), and 1-butyl-3-methylpyridinium tetrafluoroborate (BMPy(BF4)) with the ionic liquid content as high as 90% (v/v); the balance being aqueous buffer. Gel permeation chromatography and MALDI-TOF analysis indicated that higher molecular weight polymers can be synthesized in the presence of higher RTIL concentrations, with selective control over polymer size achieved by varying the RTIL concentration. The resulting polyphenols exhibited high thermostability and possessed thermosetting properties. PMID:20161409

  7. Self-Supporting, Hydrophobic, Ionic Liquid-Based Reference Electrodes Prepared by Polymerization-Induced Microphase Separation.

    PubMed

    Chopade, Sujay A; Anderson, Evan L; Schmidt, Peter W; Lodge, Timothy P; Hillmyer, Marc A; Bühlmann, Philippe

    2017-10-27

    Interfaces of ionic liquids and aqueous solutions exhibit stable electrical potentials over a wide range of aqueous electrolyte concentrations. This makes ionic liquids suitable as bridge materials that separate in electroanalytical measurements the reference electrode from samples with low and/or unknown ionic strengths. However, methods for the preparation of ionic liquid-based reference electrodes have not been explored widely. We have designed a convenient and reliable synthesis of ionic liquid-based reference electrodes by polymerization-induced microphase separation. This technique allows for a facile, single-pot synthesis of ready-to-use reference electrodes that incorporate ion conducting nanochannels filled with either 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide or 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethyl sulfonyl)imide as ionic liquid, supported by a mechanically robust cross-linked polystyrene phase. This synthesis procedure allows for the straightforward design of various reference electrode geometries. These reference electrodes exhibit a low resistance as well as good reference potential stability and reproducibility when immersed into aqueous solutions varying from deionized, purified water to 100 mM KCl, while requiring no correction for liquid junction potentials.

  8. Membrane separation of ionic liquid solutions

    DOEpatents

    Campos, Daniel; Feiring, Andrew Edward; Majumdar, Sudipto; Nemser, Stuart

    2015-09-01

    A membrane separation process using a highly fluorinated polymer membrane that selectively permeates water of an aqueous ionic liquid solution to provide dry ionic liquid. Preferably the polymer is a polymer that includes polymerized perfluoro-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxole (PDD). The process is also capable of removing small molecular compounds such as organic solvents that can be present in the solution. This membrane separation process is suitable for drying the aqueous ionic liquid byproduct from precipitating solutions of biomass dissolved in ionic liquid, and is thus instrumental to providing usable lignocellulosic products for energy consumption and other industrial uses in an environmentally benign manner.

  9. Application of a thiourea-containing task-specific ionic liquid for the solid-phase extraction cleanup of lead ions from red lipstick, pine leaves, and water samples.

    PubMed

    Saljooqi, Asma; Shamspur, Tayebeh; Mohamadi, Maryam; Mostafavi, Ali

    2014-07-01

    Here, task-specific ionic liquid solid-phase extraction is proposed for the first time. In this approach, a thiourea-functionalized ionic liquid is immobilized on the solid sorbent, multiwalled carbon nanotubes. These modified nanotubes packed into a solid-phase extraction column are used for the selective extraction and preconcentration of ultra-trace amounts of lead(II) from aqueous samples prior to electrothermal atomic absorption spectroscopy determination. The thiourea functional groups act as chelating agents for lead ions retaining them and so, give the selectivity to the sorbent. Elution of the retained ions can be performed using an acidic thiourea solution. The effects of experimental parameters including pH of the aqueous solution, type and amount of eluent, and the flow rates of sample and eluent solutions on the separation efficiency are investigated. The linear dependence of absorbance of lead on its concentration in the initial solution is in the range of 0.5-40.0 ng/mL with the detection limit of 0.13 ng/mL (3(Sb)/m, n = 10). The proposed method is applicable to the analysis of red lipstick, pine leaves, and water samples for their lead contents. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. Thermally responsive polymer electrolytes for inherently safe electrochemical energy storage

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kelly, Jesse C.

    Electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs), supercapacitors and Li-ion batteries have emerged as premier candidates to meet the rising demands in energy storage; however, such systems are limited by thermal hazards, thermal runaway, fires and explosions, all of which become increasingly more dangerous in large-format devices. To prevent such scenarios, thermally-responsive polymer electrolytes (RPEs) that alter properties in electrochemical energy storage devices were designed and tested. These RPEs will be used to limit or halt device operation when temperatures increase beyond a predetermined threshold, therefore limiting further heating. The development of these responsive systems will offer an inherent safety mechanism in electrochemical energy storage devices, while preserving the performance, lifetimes, and versatility that large-format systems require. Initial work focused on the development of a model system that demonstrated the concept of RPEs in an electrochemical device. Aqueous electrolyte solutions of polymers exhibiting properties that change in response to temperature were developed for applications in EDLCs and supercapacitors. These "smart materials" provide a means to control electrochemical systems where polymer phase separation at high temperatures affects electrolyte properties and inhibits device performance. Aqueous RPEs were synthesized using N-isopropylacrylamide, which governs the thermal properties, and fractions of acrylic acid or vinyl sulfonic acids, which provide ions to the solution. The molecular properties of these aqueous RPEs, specifically the ionic composition, were shown to influence the temperature-dependent electrolyte properties and the extent to which these electrolytes control the energy storage characteristics of a supercapacitor device. Materials with high ionic content provided the highest room temperature conductivity and electrochemical activity; however, RPEs with low ionic content provided the highest "on-off" ratio in electrochemical activity at elevated temperatures. Overall, solution pH and conductivity were altered by an order of magnitude and device performance (ability to store charge) decreased by over 70%. After demonstration of a model responsive electrolyte in an aqueous system, ionic liquid (IL) based electrolytes were developed as a means of controlling the electrochemical performance in the non-aqueous environments that batteries, specifically Li-ion, require. Here, two systems were developed: (1) an electrolyte comprising poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), the IL, [EMIM][BF4], and a lithium salt and (2) an electrolyte comprising poly(benzyl methacrylate) (PBzMA), the IL, [EMIM][TFSI], and a lithium salt. In each system, the polymer-IL phase separation inhibited device operation at elevated temperatures. For the PEO/IL electrolyte, the thermally induced liquid-liquid phase separation was shown to decrease the ionic conductivity, thereby affecting the concentration of ions at the electrode. Additionally, an increasing charge transfer resistance associated with the phase separated polymer coating the porous electrode was shown to limit electrochemical activity significantly. For the PBzMA/IL electrolyte, the solid-liquid phase separation did not show a change in conductivity, but did cause a drastic increase in charge transfer resistance, effectively shutting off Li-ion battery operation at high temperatures. Such responsive mixtures provide a transformative approach to regulating electrochemical processes, which is necessary to achieve inherently safe operation in large format energy storage with EDLCs, supercapacitors and Li-ion batteries.

  11. Calculating the thermodynamic properties of aqueous solutions of alkali metal carboxylates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rudakov, A. M.; Sergievskii, V. V.; Zhukova, T. V.

    2014-06-01

    A modified Robinson-Stokes equation with terms that consider the formation of ionic hydrates and associates is used to describe thermodynamic properties of aqueous solutions of electrolytes. The model is used to describe data on the osmotic coefficients of aqueous solutions of alkali metal carboxylates, and to calculate the mean ionic activity coefficients of salts and excess Gibbs energies. The key contributions from ionic hydration and association to the nonideality of solutions is determined by analyzing the contributions of various factors. Relations that connect the hydration numbers of electrolytes with the parameters of the Pitzer-Mayorga equation and a modified Hückel equation are developed.

  12. Determination of the distribution constants of aromatic compounds and steroids in biphasic micellar phosphonium ionic liquid/aqueous buffer systems by capillary electrokinetic chromatography.

    PubMed

    Lokajová, Jana; Railila, Annika; King, Alistair W T; Wiedmer, Susanne K

    2013-09-20

    The distribution constants of some analytes, closely connected to the petrochemical industry, between an aqueous phase and a phosphonium ionic liquid phase, were determined by ionic liquid micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). The phosphonium ionic liquids studied were the water-soluble tributyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium with chloride or acetate as the counter ion. The retention factors were calculated and used for determination of the distribution constants. For calculating the retention factors the electrophoretic mobilities of the ionic liquids were required, thus, we adopted the iterative process, based on a homologous series of alkyl benzoates. Calculation of the distribution constants required information on the phase-ratio of the systems. For this the critical micelle concentrations (CMC) of the ionic liquids were needed. The CMCs were calculated using a method based on PeakMaster simulations, using the electrophoretic mobilities of system peaks. The resulting distribution constants for the neutral analytes between the ionic liquid and the aqueous (buffer) phase were compared with octanol-water partitioning coefficients. The results indicate that there are other factors affecting the distribution of analytes between phases, than just simple hydrophobic interactions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Self-Supporting, Hydrophobic, Ionic Liquid-Based Reference Electrodes Prepared by Polymerization-Induced Microphase Separation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chopade, Sujay A.; Anderson, Evan L.; Schmidt, Peter W.

    Interfaces of ionic liquids and aqueous solutions exhibit stable electrical potentials over a wide range of aqueous electrolyte concentrations. This makes ionic liquids suitable as bridge materials that separate in electroanalytical measurements the reference electrode from samples with low and/or unknown ionic strengths. However, methods for the preparation of ionic liquid-based reference electrodes have not been explored widely. We have designed a convenient and reliable synthesis of ionic liquid-based reference electrodes by polymerization-induced microphase separation. This technique allows for a facile, single-pot synthesis of ready-to-use reference electrodes that incorporate ion conducting nanochannels filled with either 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide or 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylmore » sulfonyl)imide as ionic liquid, supported by a mechanically robust cross-linked polystyrene phase. This synthesis procedure allows for the straightforward design of various reference electrode geometries. These reference electrodes exhibit a low resistance as well as good reference potential stability and reproducibility when immersed into aqueous solutions varying from deionized, purified water to 100 mM KCl, while requiring no correction for liquid junction potentials.« less

  14. Design principles from multiscale simulations to predict nanostructure in self-assembling ionic liquids

    DOE PAGES

    Nebgen, Benjamin Tyler; Magurudeniya, Harsha D.; Kwock, Kevin Wen Chi; ...

    2017-07-18

    Molecular dynamics simulations (up to the nanoscale) were performed on the 3-methyl-1-pentylimidazolium ionic liquid cation paired with three anions; chloride, nitrate, and thiocyanate as aqueous mixtures, using the effective fragment potential (EFP) method, a computationally inexpensive way of modeling intermolecular interactions. The simulations provided insight (preferred geometries, radial distribution functions and theoretical proton NMR resonances) into the interactions within the ionic domain and are validated against 1H NMR spectroscopy and small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering experiments on 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium. Ionic liquids containing thiocyanate typically resist gelation and form poorly ordered lamellar structures upon mixing with water. Conversely, chloride, a strongly coordinatingmore » anion, normally forms strong physical gels and produces well-ordered nanostructures adopting a variety of structural motifs over a very wide range of water compositions. Nitrate is intermediate in character, whereby upon dispersal in water it displays a range of viscosities and self-assembles into nanostructures with considerable variability in the fidelity of ordering and symmetry, as a function of water content in the binary mixtures. The observed changes in the macro and nanoscale characteristics were directly correlated to ionic domain structures and intermolecular interactions as theoretically predicted by the analysis of MD trajectories and calculated RDFs. Specifically, both chloride and nitrate are positioned in the plane of the cation. Anion to cation proximity is dependent on water content. Thiocyanate is more susceptible to water insertion into the second solvent shell. Experimental 1H NMR chemical shifts monitor the site-specific competition dependence with water content in the binary mixtures. As a result, thiocyanate preferentially sits above and below the aromatic ring plane, a state disallowing interaction with the protons on the imidazolium ring.« less

  15. Design principles from multiscale simulations to predict nanostructure in self-assembling ionic liquids.

    PubMed

    Nebgen, Benjamin T; Magurudeniya, Harsha D; Kwock, Kevin W C; Ringstrand, Bryan S; Ahmed, Towfiq; Seifert, Sönke; Zhu, Jian-Xin; Tretiak, Sergei; Firestone, Millicent A

    2017-12-14

    Molecular dynamics simulations (up to the nanoscale) were performed on the 3-methyl-1-pentylimidazolium ionic liquid cation paired with three anions; chloride, nitrate, and thiocyanate as aqueous mixtures, using the effective fragment potential (EFP) method, a computationally inexpensive way of modeling intermolecular interactions. The simulations provided insight (preferred geometries, radial distribution functions and theoretical proton NMR resonances) into the interactions within the ionic domain and are validated against 1 H NMR spectroscopy and small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering experiments on 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium. Ionic liquids containing thiocyanate typically resist gelation and form poorly ordered lamellar structures upon mixing with water. Conversely, chloride, a strongly coordinating anion, normally forms strong physical gels and produces well-ordered nanostructures adopting a variety of structural motifs over a very wide range of water compositions. Nitrate is intermediate in character, whereby upon dispersal in water it displays a range of viscosities and self-assembles into nanostructures with considerable variability in the fidelity of ordering and symmetry, as a function of water content in the binary mixtures. The observed changes in the macro and nanoscale characteristics were directly correlated to ionic domain structures and intermolecular interactions as theoretically predicted by the analysis of MD trajectories and calculated RDFs. Specifically, both chloride and nitrate are positioned in the plane of the cation. Anion to cation proximity is dependent on water content. Thiocyanate is more susceptible to water insertion into the second solvent shell. Experimental 1 H NMR chemical shifts monitor the site-specific competition dependence with water content in the binary mixtures. Thiocyanate preferentially sits above and below the aromatic ring plane, a state disallowing interaction with the protons on the imidazolium ring.

  16. Activity and conformation of lysozyme in molecular solvents, protic ionic liquids (PILs) and salt-water systems.

    PubMed

    Wijaya, Emmy C; Separovic, Frances; Drummond, Calum J; Greaves, Tamar L

    2016-09-21

    Improving protein stabilisation is important for the further development of many applications in the pharmaceutical, specialty chemical, consumer product and agricultural sectors. However, protein stabilization is highly dependent on the solvent environment and, hence, it is very complex to tailor protein-solvent combinations for stable protein maintenance. Understanding solvent features that govern protein stabilization will enable selection or design of suitable media with favourable solution environments to retain protein native conformation. In this work the structural conformation and activity of lysozyme in 29 solvent systems were investigated to determine the role of various solvent features on the stability of the enzyme. The solvent systems consisted of 19 low molecular weight polar solvents and 4 protic ionic liquids (PILs), both at different water content levels, and 6 aqueous salt solutions. Small angle X-ray scattering, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and UV-vis spectroscopy were used to investigate the tertiary and secondary structure of lysozyme along with the corresponding activity in various solvation systems. At low non-aqueous solvent concentrations (high water content), the presence of solvents and salts generally maintained lysozyme in its native structure and enhanced its activity. Due to the presence of a net surface charge on lysozyme, electrostatic interactions in PIL-water systems and salt solutions enhanced lysozyme activity more than the specific hydrogen-bond interactions present in non-ionic molecular solvents. At higher solvent concentrations (lower water content), solvents with a propensity to exhibit the solvophobic effect, analogous to the hydrophobic effect in water, retained lysozyme native conformation and activity. This solvophobic effect was observed particularly for solvents which contained hydroxyl moieties. Preferential solvophobic effects along with bulky chemical structures were postulated to result in less competition with water at the specific hydration layer around the protein, thus reducing protein-solvent interactions and retaining lysozyme's native conformation. The structure-property links established in this study are considered to be applicable to other proteins.

  17. Long-living nanobubbles of dissolved gas in aqueous solutions of salts and erythrocyte suspensions.

    PubMed

    Bunkin, Nikolai F; Ninham, Barry W; Ignatiev, Pavel S; Kozlov, Valery A; Shkirin, Alexey V; Starosvetskij, Artem V

    2011-03-01

    Results of experiments combining laser modulation interference microscopy and Mueller matrix scatterometry show that macroscopic scatterers of light are present in liquids free of external solid impurities. Experimental data on distilled water and aqueous NaCl solutions of various concentrations as well as physiological saline solution are reported. The experimental data can be interpreted by using a model of micron-scale clusters composed of polydisperse air nanobubbles having effective radii of 70-100 nm. Their concentration increases with the growth of ionic content. We hypothesize that under certain conditions those clusters of nanobubbles can affect the erythrocyte structure. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. A simple approach for morphology tailoring of alginate particles by manipulation ionic nature of polyurethanes.

    PubMed

    Daemi, Hamed; Barikani, Mehdi; Barmar, Mohammad

    2014-05-01

    A number of different ionic aqueous polyurethane dispersions (PUDs) were synthesized based on NCO-terminated prepolymers. Two different anionic and cationic polyurethane samples were synthesized using dimethylol propionic acid and N-methyldiethanolamine emulsifiers, respectively. Then, proper amounts of PUDs and sodium alginate were mixed to obtain a number of aqueous polyurethane dispersions-sodium alginate (PUD/SA) elastomers. The chemical structure, thermal, morphological, thermo-mechanical and mechanical properties, and hydrophilicity content of the prepared samples were studied by FTIR, EDX, DSC, TGA, SEM, DMTA, tensile testing and contact angle techniques. The cationic polyurethanes and their blends with sodium alginate showed excellent miscibility and highly stretchable properties, while the samples containing anionic polyurethanes and alginate illustrated a poor compatibility and no significant miscibility. The morphology of alginate particles shifted from nanoparticles to microparticles by changing the nature of PUDs from cationic to anionic types. The final cationic elastomers not only showed better mechanical properties but also were formulated easier than anionic samples. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. CONTROLLING THE AQUEOUS MISCIBILITY OF IONIC LIQUIDS: A NOVEL AQUEOUS BIPHASIC SYSTEM FROM WATER-MISCIBLE IONIC LIQUID AND A WATER-STRUCTURING SALT. (R828257)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Concl...

  20. Ionic liquid-anionic surfactant based aqueous two-phase extraction for determination of antibiotics in honey by high-performance liquid chromatography.

    PubMed

    Yang, Xiao; Zhang, Shaohua; Yu, Wei; Liu, Zhongling; Lei, Lei; Li, Na; Zhang, Hanqi; Yu, Yong

    2014-06-01

    An ionic liquid-anionic surfactant based aqueous two-phase extraction was developed and applied for the extraction of tetracycline, oxytetracycline and chloramphenicol in honey. The honey sample was mixed with Na2EDTA aqueous solution. The sodium dodecyl sulfate, ionic liquid 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide and sodium chloride were added in the mixture. After the resulting mixture was ultrasonically shaken and centrifuged, the aqueous two phase system was formed and analytes were extracted into the upper phase. The parameters affecting the extraction efficiency, such as the volume of ionic liquid, the category and amount of salts, sample pH value, extraction time and temperature were investigated. The limits of detection of tetracycline, oxytetracycline and chloramphenicol were 5.8, 8.2 and 4.2 μg kg(-1), respectively. When the present method was applied to the analysis of real honey samples, the recoveries of analytes ranged from 85.5 to 110.9% and relative standard deviations were lower than 6.9%. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Interaction of proteins with ionic liquid, alcohol and DMSO and in situ generation of gold nano-clusters in a cell.

    PubMed

    Nandi, Somen; Parui, Sridip; Halder, Ritaban; Jana, Biman; Bhattacharyya, Kankan

    2018-06-01

    In this review, we give a brief overview on how the interaction of proteins with ionic liquids, alcohols and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) influences the stability, conformational dynamics and function of proteins/enzymes. We present experimental results obtained from fluorescence correlation spectroscopy on the effect of ionic liquid or alcohol or DMSO on the size (more precisely, the diffusion constant) and conformational dynamics of lysozyme, cytochrome c and human serum albumin in aqueous solution. The interaction of ionic liquid with biomolecules (e.g. protein, DNA etc.) has emerged as a current frontier. We demonstrate that ionic liquids are excellent stabilizers of protein and DNA and, in some cases, cause refolding of a protein already denatured by chemical denaturing agents. We show that in ethanol-water binary mixture, proteins undergo non-monotonic changes in size and dynamics with increasing ethanol content. We also discuss the effect of water-DMSO mixture on the stability of proteins. We demonstrate how large-scale molecular dynamics simulations have revealed the molecular origin of this observed phenomenon and provide a microscopic picture of the immediate environment of the biomolecules. Finally, we describe how favorable interactions of ionic liquids may be utilized for in situ generation of fluorescent gold nano-clusters for imaging a live cell.

  2. Influence of the ionic liquid [C4mpy][Tf2N] on the structure of the miniprotein Trp-cage.

    PubMed

    Baker, Joseph L; Furbish, Jeffrey; Lindberg, Gerrick E

    2015-11-01

    We examine the effect of the ionic liquid [C4mpy][Tf2N] on the structure of the miniprotein Trp-cage and contrast these results with the behavior of Trp-cage in water. We find the ionic liquid has a dramatic effect on Trp-cage, though many similarities with aqueous Trp-cage are observed. We assess Trp-cage folding by monitoring root mean square deviation from the crystallographic structure, radius of gyration, proline cis/trans isomerization state, protein secondary structure, amino acid contact formation and distance, and native and non-native contact formation. Starting from an unfolded configuration, Trp-cage folds in water at 298 K in less than 500 ns of simulation, but has very little mobility in the ionic liquid at the same temperature, which can be ascribed to the higher ionic liquid viscosity. At 365 K, the mobility of the ionic liquid is increased and initial stages of Trp-cage folding are observed, however Trp-cage does not reach the native folded state in 2 μs of simulation in the ionic liquid. Therefore, in addition to conventional molecular dynamics, we also employ scaled molecular dynamics to expedite sampling, and we demonstrate that Trp-cage in the ionic liquid does closely approach the aqueous folded state. Interestingly, while the reduced mobility of the ionic liquid is found to restrict Trp-cage motion, the ionic liquid does facilitate proline cis/trans isomerization events that are not seen in our aqueous simulations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Electrical double layer modulation of hybrid room temperature ionic liquid/aqueous buffer interface for enhanced sweat based biosensing.

    PubMed

    Jagannath, Badrinath; Muthukumar, Sriram; Prasad, Shalini

    2018-08-03

    We have investigated the role of kosmotropic anionic moieties and chaotropic cationic moieties of room temperature hydrophilic ionic liquids in enhancing the biosensing performance of affinity based immunochemical biosensors in human sweat. Two ionic liquids, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMIM[BF 4 ]) and choline dihydrogen phosphate (Choline[DHP]) were investigated in this study with Choline[DHP] being more kosmotropic in nature having a more protein stabilizing effect based on the hofmeister series. Non-faradaic interfacial charge transfer has been employed as the mechanism for evaluating the formation and the biosensing of capture probe antibodies in room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs)/aqueous human sweat interface. The charge of the ionic moieties were utilized to form compact electrical double layers around the antibodies for enhancing the stability of the antibody capture probes, which was evaluated through zeta potential measurements. The zeta potential measurements indicated stability of antibodies due to electrostatic repulsion of the RTIL charged moieties encompassing the antibodies, thus preventing any aggregation. Here, we report for the first time of non-faradaic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy equivalent circuit model analysis for analyzing and interpreting affinity based biosensing at hybrid electrode/ionic liquid-aqueous sweat buffer interface guided by the choice of the ionic liquid. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and cortisol two commonly occurring biomarkers in human sweat were evaluated using this method. The limit of detection (LOD) obtained using both ionic liquids for IL-6 was 0.2 pg mL -1 with cross-reactivity studies indicating better performance of IL-6 detection using Choline[DHP] and no response to cross-reactive molecule. The LOD of 0.1 ng/mL was achieved for cortisol and the cross-reactivity studies indicated that cortisol antibody in BMIM[BF 4 ] did not show any signal response to cross-reactive molecules. Furthermore, improved sensitivity and LOD was achieved using ionic liquids as compared to capture probes in aqueous buffer. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. A study on the effect of the concentration of N,N-methylenebisacrylamide and acrylic acid toward the properties of Dioscorea hispida-starch-based hydrogel

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ashri, Airul; Lazim, Azwan

    2014-09-01

    The research investigated the effects of acrylic acid (monomer) and N,N,-methylenebisacrylamide, MBA (crosslinker) toward the percentage of gel content, swelling ratio and ionic strength of a starch-based hydrogel. Starch grafted on poly (sodium acrylate), St-g-PAANa hydrogel was prepared by incorporating starch extracted from Dioscorea hispida in NaOH/aqueous solution using different composition of acrylic acid (AA) and N,N-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) in the presence of potassium persulfate (KPS) as chemical initiator. The highest gel content was observed at 1:30 ratio of starch to AA and 0.10 M of MBA. Results showed the highest swelling ratio was observed at 1:15 ratio of starch to acrylic acid and 0.02 M of MBA solution. The same results also gave the highest swelling ratio for the ionic strength study. The FTIR analysis was also conducted in order to confirm the grafting of AA onto starch backbone.

  5. Sequestration of U(VI) from Acidic, Alkaline, and High Ionic-Strength Aqueous Media by Functionalized Magnetic Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles: Capacity and Binding Mechanisms

    EPA Science Inventory

    Uranium (VI) exhibits little adsorption onto sediment minerals in acidic, alkaline or high ionic-strength aqueous media that often occur in U mining or contaminated sites, which makes U(VI) very mobile and difficult to sequester. In this work, magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparti...

  6. A reversible conductivity modulation of azobenzene-based ionic liquids in aqueous solutions using UV/vis light.

    PubMed

    Li, Zhiyong; Yuan, Xiaoqing; Feng, Ying; Chen, Yongkui; Zhao, Yuling; Wang, Huiyong; Xu, Qingli; Wang, Jianji

    2018-05-09

    Photo-induced conductivity modulation of stimuli-responsive materials is of great importance from the viewpoint of fundamental research and technology. In this work, 5 new kinds of azobenzene-based photo-responsive ionic liquids were synthesized and characterized, and UV/vis light modulation of their conductivity was investigated in an aqueous solution. The factors affecting the conductivity modulation of the photo-responsive fluids, such as photo-isomerization efficiency, photo-regulation aggregation, concentration and chemical structure of the ionic liquids, were examined systematically. It was found that the conductivity of the ionic liquids in water exhibited a significant increase upon UV light irradiation and the ionic liquids with a shorter alkyl spacer in the cation showed a more remarkable photo-induced conductivity enhancement with a maximum increase of 150%. In addition, the solution conductivity was restored (or very close) to the initial value upon an alternative irradiation with visible light. Thus, the solution conductivity can be modulated using alternative irradiation with UV and visible light. Although the reversible photo-isomerization of the azobenzene group under UV/vis irradiation is the origin of the conductivity modulation, the photo-regulated aggregation of the ionic liquid in water is indispensable for the maximum degree of conductivity modulation because UV irradiation can weaken, even break the aggregated cis-isomers of the ionic liquids in an aqueous solution.

  7. Unique role of ionic liquid [bmin][BF 4] during curcumin-surfactant association and micellization of cationic, anionic and non-ionic surfactant solutions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Patra, Digambara; Barakat, Christelle

    2011-09-01

    Hydrophilic ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroburate, modified the properties of aqueous surfactant solutions associated with curcumin. Because of potential pharmaceutical applications as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic agent, curcumin has received ample attention as potential drug. The interaction of curcumin with various charged aqueous surfactant solutions showed it exists in deprotonated enol form in surfactant solutions. The nitro and hydroxyl groups of o-nitrophenol interact with the carbonyl and hydroxyl groups of the enol form of curcumin by forming ground state complex through hydrogen bonds and offered interesting information about the nature of the interactions between the aqueous surfactant solutions and curcumin depending on charge of head group of the surfactant. IL[bmin][BF 4] encouraged early formation of micelle in case of cationic and anionic aqueous surfactant solutions, but slightly prolonged micelle formation in the case of neutral aqueous surfactant solution. However, for curcumin IL [bmin][BF 4] favored strong association (7-fold increase) with neutral surfactant solution, marginally supported association with anionic surfactant solution and discouraged (˜2-fold decrease) association with cationic surfactant solution.

  8. Fractionation of poly(methacrylic acid) and poly(vinyl pyridine) in aqueous and organic mobile phases by multidetector thermal field-flow fractionation.

    PubMed

    Greyling, Guilaume; Pasch, Harald

    2017-08-25

    Multidetector thermal field-flow fractionation (ThFFF) is shown to be a versatile characterisation platform that can be used to characterise hydrophilic polymers in a variety of organic and aqueous solutions with various ionic strengths. It is demonstrated that ThFFF fractionates isotactic and syndiotactic poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) as well as poly(2-vinyl pyridine) (P2VP) and poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (P4VP) according to microstructure in organic solvents and that the ionic strength of the mobile phase has no influence on the retention behaviour of the polymers. With regard to aqueous solutions, it is shown that, despite the weak retention, isotactic and syndiotactic PMAA show different retention behaviours which can qualitatively be attributed to microstructure. Additionally, it is shown that the ionic strength of the mobile phase has a significant influence on the thermal diffusion of polyelectrolytes in aqueous solutions and that the addition of an electrolyte is essential to achieve a microstructure-based separation of P2VP and P4VP in aqueous solutions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Chain Conformation of Phosphorycholine-based Zwitterionic Polymer Brushes in Aqueous Solutions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mao, Jun; Yu, Jing; Lee, Sungsik; Yuan, Guangcui; Satija, Sushil; Chen, Wei; Tirrell, Matthew

    Polyzwitterionic brushes are resistant to nonspecific accumulation of proteins and microorganisms, making them excellent candidates for antifouling applications. It is well-known that polyzwitterions exhibit the so-called antipolyelectrolyte effect: Polyzwitterionic brushes would adopt a collapsed conformation at a low ionic strength due to the electrostatic inter/intra-chain association; whereas at a high ionic strength, they would exhibit an extended conformation because the electrostatic inter/intra-chain dipole-dipole interaction is weakened. However, poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) (PMPC) is a unique member in polyzwitterionic families. Its ultrahigh affinity to water leads to no detectable shrinks in aqueous solutions even at low ionic strengths. In this study, we synthesized highly dense PMPC brushes via surface initiated radical polymerization and systematically investigate their conformational behaviors at solid-liquid interfaces in the presence of multivalent counterions, combining X-ray and neutron scattering and force measurements. We have demonstrated that despite no obvious changes of the entire lengths of extended PMPC brushes in aqueous solutions, the chain conformations including, but not limited to, polyzwitterion distribution and charge correlation, varied, dependent on salt types, ionic strengths and ion valences.

  10. A "by-productless" cellulose foaming agent for use in imidazolium ionic liquids.

    PubMed

    Scott, Janet L; Unali, Gianfranco; Perosa, Alvise

    2011-03-14

    Cellulose foams, or sponges, are produced from solutions in ionic liquids by the aqueous acid mediated decomposition of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium-2-carboxylates, where the alkyl group and acid may be selected such that the by-product is the ionic liquid solvent: a by-productless foaming.

  11. Direct extraction of genomic DNA from maize with aqueous ionic liquid buffer systems for applications in genetically modified organisms analysis.

    PubMed

    Gonzalez García, Eric; Ressmann, Anna K; Gaertner, Peter; Zirbs, Ronald; Mach, Robert L; Krska, Rudolf; Bica, Katharina; Brunner, Kurt

    2014-12-01

    To date, the extraction of genomic DNA is considered a bottleneck in the process of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) detection. Conventional DNA isolation methods are associated with long extraction times and multiple pipetting and centrifugation steps, which makes the entire procedure not only tedious and complicated but also prone to sample cross-contamination. In recent times, ionic liquids have emerged as innovative solvents for biomass processing, due to their outstanding properties for dissolution of biomass and biopolymers. In this study, a novel, easily applicable, and time-efficient method for the direct extraction of genomic DNA from biomass based on aqueous-ionic liquid solutions was developed. The straightforward protocol relies on extraction of maize in a 10 % solution of ionic liquids in aqueous phosphate buffer for 5 min at room temperature, followed by a denaturation step at 95 °C for 10 min and a simple filtration to remove residual biopolymers. A set of 22 ionic liquids was tested in a buffer system and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dimethylphosphate, as well as the environmentally benign choline formate, were identified as ideal candidates. With this strategy, the quality of the genomic DNA extracted was significantly improved and the extraction protocol was notably simplified compared with a well-established method.

  12. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wei Chen; Kan, A.T.; Tomson, M.B.

    Both the adsorption and the desorption processes play important roles in the transport and fate of organic contaminants in water-sediments and groundwater systems. The adsorption-desorption processes are shown to be influenced by a number of factors, including sediments organic carbon content, contaminant aqueous solubility, aqueous-phase concentration as well as some natural environmental factors such as pH, pE, ionic strength and temperature. External mechanical forces, such as sediment perturbation, and repeated dredging will also have finite effect on the microscopic interparticle forces that control bonds between large and small grain particles. The objective of this research is to study the influencesmore » of various environmental effects on the equilibrium or non-equilibrium desorption behavior of nonpolar organic pollutants in historically contaminated natural sediments of Lake Charles, LA. Differences of desorption behavior between freshly and historically contaminated sediments will be compared in order to evaluated the desorption mechanism. The influences of particle size, mineral composition, organic matter concentration, and aqueous phase matrix composition on desorption behaviour will also be evaluated.« less

  13. Heat-induced morphological transformation of gold nanodumbbells in ionic surfactant solutions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wen, Ting-Chun; Lu, Chung-Wen; Hsieh, Wei-Chi; Chang, Sheng-Te; Yang, Ya-Ting; Deng, Jin-Pei

    2018-01-01

    The thermal stability of gold nanodumbbells (NDs) is studied in aqueous solution of ionic surfactants. It is found in aqueous solution of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide that the blue-shift of longitudinal surface plasmon resonance band of gold NDs occurs at 75 °C and the new gold nanorods (NRs) with shortened aspect ratio are formed at the same time. The aspect ratio of the generated gold NRs gradually decreases and finally approaches ∼1.7 after repeated processing. Similarly, the same results are also obtained in aqueous solution of sodium dodecyl sulfate at room temperature. Mechanism is proposed for the shape transformation of gold NDs.

  14. Feasibility of a Supporting-Salt-Free Nonaqueous Redox Flow Battery Utilizing Ionic Active Materials.

    PubMed

    Milshtein, Jarrod D; Fisher, Sydney L; Breault, Tanya M; Thompson, Levi T; Brushett, Fikile R

    2017-05-09

    Nonaqueous redox flow batteries (NAqRFBs) are promising devices for grid-scale energy storage, but high projected prices could limit commercial prospects. One route to reduced prices is to minimize or eliminate the expensive supporting salts typically employed in NAqRFBs. Herein, the feasibility of a flow cell operating in the absence of supporting salt by utilizing ionic active species is demonstrated. These ionic species have high conductivities in acetonitrile (12-19 mS cm -1 ) and cycle at 20 mA cm -2 with energy efficiencies (>75 %) comparable to those of state-of-the-art NAqRFBs employing high concentrations of supporting salt. A chemistry-agnostic techno-economic analysis highlights the possible cost savings of minimizing salt content in a NAqRFB. This work offers the first demonstration of a NAqRFB operating without supporting salt. The associated design principles can guide the development of future active species and could make NAqRFBs competitive with their aqueous counterparts. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. Thermodynamic Analysis of Ionic Compounds: Synthetic Applications.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yoder, Claude H.

    1986-01-01

    Shows how thermodynamic cycles can be used to understand trends in heats of formation and aqueous solubilities and, most importantly, how they may be used to choose synthetic routes to new ionic compounds. (JN)

  16. Mean ionic activity coefficients in aqueous NaCl solutions from molecular dynamics simulations

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mester, Zoltan; Panagiotopoulos, Athanassios Z., E-mail: azp@princeton.edu

    The mean ionic activity coefficients of aqueous NaCl solutions of varying concentrations at 298.15 K and 1 bar have been obtained from molecular dynamics simulations by gradually turning on the interactions of an ion pair inserted into the solution. Several common non-polarizable water and ion models have been used in the simulations. Gibbs-Duhem equation calculations of the thermodynamic activity of water are used to confirm the thermodynamic consistency of the mean ionic activity coefficients. While the majority of model combinations predict the correct trends in mean ionic activity coefficients, they overestimate their values at high salt concentrations. The solubility predictionsmore » also suffer from inaccuracies, with all models underpredicting the experimental values, some by large factors. These results point to the need for further ion and water model development.« less

  17. Ionic liquid and aqueous two-phase extraction based on salting-out coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography for the determination of seven rare ginsenosides in Xue-Sai-Tong injection.

    PubMed

    Li, Lan-Jie; Jin, Yong-Ri; Wang, Xiao-Zhong; Liu, Ying; Wu, Qian; Shi, Xiao-Lei; Li, Xu-Wen

    2015-09-01

    A method of ionic liquid salt aqueous two-phase extraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography has been developed for the analysis of seven rare ginsenosides including Rg6 , F4 , 20(S)-Rg3 , 20(R)-Rg3 , Rk3 , Rk1 , and Rg5 in Xue-Sai-Tong injection. The injection was mixed with ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide aqueous solution, and a mixture was obtained. With the addition of sodium dodecyl sulfate and dipotassium phosphate into the mixture, the aqueous two-phase mixture was formed after ultrasonic treatment and centrifuged. Rare ginsenosides were extracted into the upper phase. To obtain a high extraction factors, various influences were considered systematically, such as the volume of ionic liquid, the category and amount of salts, the amount of sodium dodecyl sulfate, the pH value of system, and the time of ultrasonic treatment. Under the optimal condition, rare ginsenosides in Xue-Sai-Tong injection were enriched and detected, the recoveries of seven rare ginsenosides ranged from 90.05 to 112.55%, while relative standard deviations were lower than 2.50%. The developed method was reliable, rapid and sensitive for the determination of seven rare ginsenosides in the injections. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Aqueous solutions of acidic ionic liquids for enhanced stability of polyoxometalate-carbon supercapacitor electrodes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hu, Chenchen; Zhao, Enbo; Nitta, Naoki; Magasinski, Alexandre; Berdichevsky, Gene; Yushin, Gleb

    2016-09-01

    Nanocomposites based on polyoxometalates (POMs) nanoconfined in microporous carbons have been synthesized and used as electrodes for supercapacitors. The addition of the pseudocapacitance from highly reversible redox reaction of POMs to the electric double-layer capacitance of carbon lead to an increase in specific capacitance of ∼90% at 1 mV s-1. However, high solubility of POM in traditional aqueous electrolytes leads to rapid capacity fading. Here we demonstrate that the use of aqueous solutions of protic ionic liquids (P-IL) as electrolyte instead of aqueous sulfuric acid solutions offers an opportunity to significantly improve POM cycling stability. Virtually no degradation in capacitance was observed in POM-based positive electrode after 10,000 cycles in an asymmetric capacitor with P-IL aqueous electrolyte. As such, POM-based carbon composites may now present a viable solution for enhancing energy density of electrical double layer capacitors (EDLC) based on pure carbon electrodes.

  19. Biocatalytic transformations in ionic liquids.

    PubMed

    van Rantwijk, Fred; Madeira Lau, Rute; Sheldon, Roger A

    2003-03-01

    Room temperature ionic liquids are non-volatile, thermally stable and highly polar; they are also moderately hydrophilic solvents. Here, we discuss their use as reaction media for biocatalysis. Enzymes of widely diverging types are catalytically active in ionic liquids or aqueous biphasic ionic liquid systems. Lipases, in particular, maintain their activity in anhydrous ionic liquid media; the (enantio)selectivity and operational stability are often better than in traditional media. The unconventional solvent properties of ionic liquids have been exploited in biocatalyst recycling and product recovery schemes that are not feasible with traditional solvent systems.

  20. Electrostatic Interactions Influence Protein Adsorption (but Not Desorption) at the Silica-Aqueous Interface.

    PubMed

    McUmber, Aaron C; Randolph, Theodore W; Schwartz, Daniel K

    2015-07-02

    High-throughput single-molecule total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy was used to investigate the effects of pH and ionic strength on bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption, desorption, and interfacial diffusion at the aqueous-fused silica interface. At high pH and low ionic strength, negatively charged BSA adsorbed slowly to the negatively charged fused silica surface. At low pH and low ionic strength, where BSA was positively charged, or in solutions at higher ionic strength, adsorption was approximately 1000 times faster. Interestingly, neither surface residence times nor the interfacial diffusion coefficients of BSA were influenced by pH or ionic strength. These findings suggested that adsorption kinetics were dominated by energy barriers associated with electrostatic interactions, but once adsorbed, protein-surface interactions were dominated by short-range nonelectrostatic interactions. These results highlight the ability of single-molecule techniques to isolate elementary processes (e.g., adsorption and desorption) under steady-state conditions, which would be impossible to measure using ensemble-averaging methods.

  1. Solvent extraction separation of Th-227 and Ac-225 in room temperature ionic liquids

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bell, Jason R; Boll, Rose Ann; Dai, Sheng

    2012-01-01

    The solvent extractions of Th-227 and Ac-225 from the aqueous phase into ionic liquids (ILs) were investigated by using N,N,N ,N - tetraoctyldiglycolamide (TODGA) or di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (HDEHP) as an extractant. Four ionic liquids, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ([C4mim][NTf2]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(perfluoroethanesulfonyl)imide ([C4mim][BETI]), 1-butyl-2,3-trimethyleneimidazolium (trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide [BuI5][NTf2], and 1-benzyl pyridinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ([PhCH2Py][NTf2]) were used as extraction solvents for separation of Th-227 and Ac-225 in this study. Excellent extraction efficiencies and selectivities were found for Th-227/Ac-225 when HDEHP was used as an extractant in these ionic liquids. The effects of different extractant concentrations in ionic liquids and acidities of the aqueous phase on extraction efficienciesmore » and selectivities of Th-227/Ac-225 are also presented in this article.« less

  2. Solvation behaviour of L-leucine in aqueous ionic liquid at different temperatures: Volumetric approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sharma, Samriti; Sandarve, Sharma, Amit K.; Sharma, Meena

    2018-05-01

    For the investigation of interactions of L-leucine in aqueous solutions of an ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetra fluoroborate [Bmim][BF4]) at atmospheric pressure over a temperature range of (293.15K to 313.16K), we use the volumetric approach. By using the density data we have calculated the apparent molar volume, VΦ, limiting apparent molar volume, V0Φ, the slope, Sv, partial molar volume of transfer, V0Φ,tr. The values of these acoustical parameters have been used for the interpretation of different interactions like hydrophilic-hydrophilic, hydrophilic-hydrophobic, ion hydrophilic, solute-solvent and solute-solute interactions in the amino acid and ionic liquid solutions.

  3. Choline-based ionic liquids-enhanced biodegradation of azo dyes.

    PubMed

    Sekar, Sudharshan; Surianarayanan, Mahadevan; Ranganathan, Vijayaraghavan; MacFarlane, Douglas R; Mandal, Asit Baran

    2012-05-01

    Industrial wastewaters such as tannery and textile processing effluents are often characterized by a high content of dissolved organic dyes, resulting in large values of chemical and biological oxygen demand (COD and BOD) in the aquatic systems into which they are discharged. Such wastewater streams are of rapidly growing concern as a major environmental issue in developing countries. Hence there is a need to mitigate this challenge by effective approaches to degrade dye-contaminated wastewater. In this study, several choline-based salts originally developed for use as biocompatible hydrated ionic liquids (i.e., choline sacchrinate (CS), choline dihydrogen phosphate (CDP), choline lactate (CL), and choline tartarate (CT)) have been successfully employed as the cosubstrate with S. lentus in the biodegradation of an azo dye in aqueous solution. We also demonstrate that the azo dye has been degraded to less toxic components coupled with low biomass formation. © 2012 American Chemical Society

  4. Deep Desulfurization of Diesel Fuels with Plasma/Air as Oxidizing Medium, Diperiodatocuprate (III) as Catalyzer and Ionic Liquid as Extraction Solvent

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ban, Lili; Liu, Ping; Ma, Cunhua; Dai, Bin

    2013-12-01

    In this paper, the oxidative desulfurization (ODS) system is directly applied to deal with the catalytic oxidation of sulfur compounds of sulfur-containing model oil by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma in the presence of air plus an extraction step with the oxidation-treated fuel put over ionic liquid [BMIM]FeCl4 (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrachloroferrate). This new system exhibited an excellent desulfurization effect. The sulfur content of DBT in diesel oil decreased from 200 ppm to 4.92 ppm (S removal rate up to 97.5%) under the following optimal reaction conditions: air flow rate (ν) of 60 mL/min, amplitude of applied voltage (U) on DBD of 16 kV, input frequency (f) of 79 kHz, catalyst amount (ω) of 1.25 wt%, reaction time (t) of 10 min. Moreover, a high desulfurization rate was obtained during oxidation of benzothiophene (BT) or 4,6-DMDBT (4,6-dimethyl-dibenzothiophene) under the aforementioned conditions. The oxidation reactivity of different S compounds was decreased in the order of DBT, 4,6-DMDBT and BT. The remarkable advantage of the novel ODS system is that the desulfurization condition applies in the presence of air at ambient conditions without peroxides, aqueous solvent or biphasic oil-aqueous solution system.

  5. Composite polarizability and the construction of an invariant function of refraction and mass density for solutions.

    PubMed

    Szymański, Krzysztof; Petrache, Horia I

    2011-04-14

    Re-examination of dynamical ionic polarizabilities in water solutions leads to the formulation of a solution function r(c), which combines the indices of refraction and mass densities of solutions. We show that this function should be independent of ionic concentration if the composite polarizabilities of hydrated solute clusters are constant. Using existing experimental data for a number of aqueous salt and organic solutions, we find that the r(c) function is either constant or varies linearly with concentration, in most cases with negligible slope. We use this function to compare ionic polarizabilities of crystals and aqueous solutions and to highlight how solute polarizabilities at infinite dilution scale with the electronic valence shell of cations and anions. The proposed r(c) function can be used generally to verify the consistency of experimental measurements and of simulation results, and it provides a test of assumptions in current theories of ionic polarizabilities.

  6. Separation and recycling of nanoparticles using cloud point extraction with non-ionic surfactant mixtures.

    PubMed

    Nazar, Muhammad Faizan; Shah, Syed Sakhawat; Eastoe, Julian; Khan, Asad Muhammad; Shah, Afzal

    2011-11-15

    A viable cost-effective approach employing mixtures of non-ionic surfactants Triton X-114/Triton X-100 (TX-114/TX-100), and subsequent cloud point extraction (CPE), has been utilized to concentrate and recycle inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) in aqueous media. Gold Au- and palladium Pd-NPs have been pre-synthesized in aqueous phases and stabilized by sodium 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate (MES) ligands, then dispersed in aqueous non-ionic surfactant mixtures. Heating the NP-micellar systems induced cloud point phase separations, resulting in concentration of the NPs in lower phases after the transition. For the Au-NPs UV/vis absorption has been used to quantify the recovery and recycle efficiency after five repeated CPE cycles. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to investigate NP size, shape, and stability. The results showed that NPs are preserved after the recovery processes, but highlight a potential limitation, in that further particle growth can occur in the condensed phases. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Ringer tablet-based ionic liquid phase microextraction: Application in extraction and preconcentration of neonicotinoid insecticides from fruit juice and vegetable samples.

    PubMed

    Farajzadeh, Mir Ali; Bamorowat, Mahdi; Mogaddam, Mohammad Reza Afshar

    2016-11-01

    An efficient, reliable, sensitive, rapid, and green analytical method for the extraction and determination of neonicotinoid insecticides in aqueous samples has been developed using ionic liquid phase microextraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector. In this method, a few microliters of 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (as an extractant) is added onto a ringer tablet and it is transferred into a conical test tube containing aqueous phase of the analytes. By manually shaking, the ringer tablet is dissolved and the extractant is released into the aqueous phase as very tiny droplets to provide a cloudy solution. After centrifuging the extracted analytes into ionic liquid are collected at the bottom of a conical test tube. Under the optimum extraction conditions, the method showed low limits of detection and quantification between 0.12 and 0.33 and 0.41 and 1.11ngmL(-1), respectively. Extraction recoveries and enrichment factors were from 66% to 84% and 655% to 843%, respectively. Finally different aqueous samples were successfully analyzed using the proposed method. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Interaction between amphiphilic ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium octyl sulfate and anionic polymer of sodium polystyrene sulfonate in aqueous medium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barhoumi, Z.; Saini, M.; Amdouni, N.; Pal, A.

    2016-09-01

    The micellization of an aqueous solution of the surface active ionic liquid (SAIL), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium octylsufate (C4mim)(C8OSO3) and its interaction with an anionic polymer sodium polystyrene sulfonate, (NaPSS) were studied using conductimetry, tensiometry and fluorimetry. Surface tension profile shows a more dramatic increase in the value of surface tension of aqueous (C4mim)(C8OSO3) before the critical micelle concentration (cmc) of IL. The critical micelle concentration (cmc) value of this surfactant was found out from conductance measurements. The thermodynamic parameters, i.e., Gibb's free energy, enthalpy, and entropy of micellization of the IL in aqueous solution have been calculated. Behavior of fluorescence probe confirms the binding interactions between SAIL and the polyelectrolyte.

  9. Phenyl boron-based compounds as anion receptors for non-aqueous battery electrolytes

    DOEpatents

    Lee, Hung Sui; Yang, Xiao-Qing; McBreen, James; Sun, Xuehui

    2002-01-01

    Novel fluorinated boronate-based compounds which act as anion receptors in non-aqueous battery electrolytes are provided. When added to non-aqueous battery electrolytes, the fluorinated boronate-based compounds of the invention enhance ionic conductivity and cation transference number of non-aqueous electrolytes. The fluorinated boronate-based anion receptors include different fluorinated alkyl and aryl groups.

  10. Reliability of ionic polymer metallic composite for opto-mechanical applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Chung-Yi; Su, Guo-Dung J.

    2014-09-01

    Electroactive polymer (EAP) is capable of exhibiting large shape changes in response to electrical stimulation. EAPs can produce large deformation with lower applied voltage for actuation applications. IPMC (Ionic Polymer Metal Composite) is a well-known ionic EAPs. It has numerous attractive advantages, such as low electrical energy consumption and light weight. The mechanism of IPMC actuator is due to the ionic diffusion when the voltage gradient is applied, so that the type of ionic solution has a large impact on the physical properties of IPMC. In this paper, the reliability tests of IPMC with non-aqueous ionic solution are demonstrated. Pt-IPMC with LiOH aqueous solution exhibits the best maximum displacement, but the water in LiOH solution is electrolyzed because of the low electrolysis voltage 1.23 V of water. To improve electrolysis problems and the operation time in the air, proper solvents including high electrolysis voltage and low vapor pressure should be considered. The reliability tests focus on the durability of IPMC in the air. The surface resistance, tip displacement and response time of IPMC are presented. More improvements of IPMC fabrication, such as Ag-IPMC, was developed in this paper.

  11. Effect of nitrate and sulfate relative abundance in PM2.5 on liquid water content explored through half-hourly observations of inorganic soluble aerosols at a polluted receptor site

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xue, Jian; Griffith, Stephen M.; Yu, Xin; Lau, Alexis K. H.; Yu, Jian Zhen

    2014-12-01

    Liquid water content (LWC) is the amount of liquid water on aerosols. It contributes to visibility degradation, provides a surface for gas condensation, and acts as a medium for heterogeneous gas/particle reactions. In this study, 520 half-hourly measurements of ionic chemical composition in PM2.5 at a receptor site in Hong Kong are used to investigate the dependence of LWC on ionic chemical composition, particularly on the relative abundance of sulfate and nitrate. LWC was estimated using a thermodynamic model (AIM-III). Within this data set of PM2.5 ionic compositions, LWC was highly correlated with the multivariate combination of sulfate and nitrate concentrations and RH (R2 = 0.90). The empirical linear regression result indicates that LWC is more sensitive to nitrate mass than sulfate. During a nitrate episode, the highest LWC (80.6 ± 17.9 μg m-3) was observed and the level was 70% higher than that during a sulfate episode despite a similar ionic PM2.5 mass concentration. A series of sensitivity tests were conducted to study LWC change as a function of the relative nitrate and sulfate abundance, the trend of which is expected to shift to more nitrate in China as a result of SO2 reduction and increase in NOx emission. Starting from a base case that uses the average of measured PM2.5 ionic chemical composition (63% SO42-, 11% NO3-, 19% NH4+, and 7% other ions) and an ionic equivalence ratio, [NH4+]/(2[SO42-] + [NO3-]), set constant to 0.72, the results show LWC would increase by 204% at RH = 40% when 50% of the SO42- is replaced by NO3- mass concentration. This is largely due to inhibition of (NH4)3H(SO4)2 crystallization while PM2.5 ionic species persist in the aqueous phase. At RH = 90%, LWC would increase by 12% when 50% of the SO42- is replaced by NO3- mass concentration. The results of this study highlight the important implications to aerosol chemistry and visibility degradation associated with LWC as a result of a shift in PM2.5 ionic chemical composition to more nitrate in atmospheric environments as is expected in many Chinese cities.

  12. Novel ascorbic acid based ionic liquids for the in situ synthesis of quasi-spherical and anisotropic gold nanostructures in aqueous medium.

    PubMed

    Dinda, Enakshi; Si, Satyabrata; Kotal, Atanu; Mandal, Tarun K

    2008-01-01

    A series of newly designed ascorbic acid based room temperature ionic liquids were successfully used to prepare quasi-spherical and anisotropic gold nanostructures in an aqueous medium at ambient temperature. The synthesis of these room temperature ionic liquids involves, first, the preparation of a 1-alkyl (such as methyl, ethyl, butyl, hexyl, octyl, and decyl) derivative of 3-methylimidazolium hydroxide followed by the neutralization of the derivatised product with ascorbic acid. These ionic liquids show significantly better thermal stability and their glass transition temperature (Tg) decreases with increasing alkyl chain length. The ascorbate counter anion of these ionic liquids acts as a reducing agent for HAuCl4 to produce metallic gold and the alkylated imidazolium counter cation acts as a capping/shape-directing agent. It has been found that the nature of the ionic liquids and the mole ratio of ionic liquid to HAuCl4 has a significant effect on the morphology of the formed gold nanostructures. If an equimolar mixture of ionic liquid and HAuCl4 is used, predominantly anisotropic gold nanostructures are formed and by varying the alkyl chain length attached to imidazolium cation of the ionic liquids, various particle morphologies can formed, such as quasispherical, raspberry-like, flakes or dendritic. A probable formation mechanism for such anisotropic gold nanostructures has been proposed, which is based on the results of some control experiments.

  13. A novel approach for the removal of radiocesium from aqueous solution by ZSM-5 molecular sieve.

    PubMed

    Gao, Xiaoqing; Zhang, Peng; Yang, Junqiang; Sun, Xuejie; Fu, Yi; Shi, Keliang; Chai, Zhifang; Wu, Wangsuo

    2018-05-21

    Finding an approach for pretreatment of radionuclides from contaminated water are interesting topics of research. In present work, the ZSM-5 molecular sieve was characterized with different techniques such as zeta potential, SEM, FT-IR and XRD to clarify the surface properties of sample and applied as a sorbent to concentrate and recover Cs(I) from aqueous solution. The effect of environmental conditions such as contact time, ionic strength, content of sorbent and solution pH on Cs(I) uptake were optimized using batch techniques. Different kinetic and isotherm models were utilized to evaluate the experimental data and the correlation parameters were obtained. Based on the sorption/desorption experiment, it can be deduced that the ZSM-5 molecular sieve has potential application for the rapid and quantitative recovery of radiocesium from wastewater. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. "Washing-out" ionic liquids from polyethylene glycol to form aqueous biphasic systems.

    PubMed

    Tomé, Luciana I N; Pereira, Jorge F B; Rogers, Robin D; Freire, Mara G; Gomes, José R B; Coutinho, João A P

    2014-02-14

    The molecular-level mechanisms behind the formation of aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) composed of ionic liquids (ILs) and polymers are hitherto not completely understood. For the first time, it is herein shown that polymer-IL-based ABS are a result of a "washing-out" phenomenon, and not of a salting-out effect of the IL over the polymer as assumed in the past few years. Novel evidence is herein provided by experimental results combined with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

  15. Crown Ethers in Nonaqueous Electrolytes for Lithium/Air Batteries

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Xu, Wu; Xiao, Jie; Wang, Deyu

    2010-02-04

    The effects of three crown ethers, 12-crown-4, 15-crown-5, and 18-crown-6, as additives and co-solvents in non-aqueous electrolytes on the cell performance of primary Li/air batteries operated in a dry air environment were investigated. Crown ethers have large effects on the discharge performance of non-aqueous electrolytes in Li/air batteries. A small amount (normally less than 10% by weight or volume in electrolytes) of 12-Crown-4 and 15-crown-5 reduces the battery performance and a minimum discharge capacity appears at the crown ether content of ca. 5% in the electrolytes. However, when the content increases to about 15%, both crown ethers improve the capacitymore » of Li/air cells by about 28% and 16%, respectively. 15-Crown-5 based electrolytes even show a maximum discharge capacity in the crown ether content range from 10% to 15%. On the other hand, the increase of 18-crown-6 amount in the electrolytes continuously lowers of the cell performance. The different battery performances of these three crown ethers in electrolytes are explained by the combined effects from the electrolytes’ contact angle, oxygen solubility, viscosity, ionic conductivity, and the stability of complexes formed between crown ether molecules and lithium ions.« less

  16. High Areal Energy 3D-Interdigitated Micro-Supercapacitors in Aqueous and Ionic Liquid Electrolytes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Eustache, Etienne; Douard, Camille; Demortière, Arnaud

    The fabrication of high performance on-chip 3D micro-supercapacitors (MSCs) based on MnO 2 pseudocapacitive binder-free thin film electrodes (< 500 nm thick) with interdigitated topology is reported. An original technological process easily scalable to pilot production line is proposed on 3-inch silicon wafers. High areal energy (> 10 μWh.cm -2) and power densities (> 10 mW.cm -2) are reached on small footprint micro-supercapacitors (4 mm 2) tested in aqueous electrolyte (0.8 V). Furthermore, the cell voltage of such MSC can be increased up to 1.5 V with EMI TFSI ionic liquids but at the expense of the areal capacitance. Themore » performance in ionic liquid is in the same order of magnitude than the one obtained for aqueous electrolyte. The benefit from the 3D topology is clearly demonstrated when the surface performance are normalized to the electrode thickness allowing to obtain an interesting energy vs power tradeoff (> 10 μWh.cm -2 μm -1 and > 1 mw.cm -2 μm -1). Here, this paper aims at improving the energy density of MSCs while keeping high power capability, by combining the use of ionic liquids and the deposition of MnO 2 thin film onto robust and efficient 3D scaffolds.« less

  17. High Areal Energy 3D-Interdigitated Micro-Supercapacitors in Aqueous and Ionic Liquid Electrolytes

    DOE PAGES

    Eustache, Etienne; Douard, Camille; Demortière, Arnaud; ...

    2017-08-21

    The fabrication of high performance on-chip 3D micro-supercapacitors (MSCs) based on MnO 2 pseudocapacitive binder-free thin film electrodes (< 500 nm thick) with interdigitated topology is reported. An original technological process easily scalable to pilot production line is proposed on 3-inch silicon wafers. High areal energy (> 10 μWh.cm -2) and power densities (> 10 mW.cm -2) are reached on small footprint micro-supercapacitors (4 mm 2) tested in aqueous electrolyte (0.8 V). Furthermore, the cell voltage of such MSC can be increased up to 1.5 V with EMI TFSI ionic liquids but at the expense of the areal capacitance. Themore » performance in ionic liquid is in the same order of magnitude than the one obtained for aqueous electrolyte. The benefit from the 3D topology is clearly demonstrated when the surface performance are normalized to the electrode thickness allowing to obtain an interesting energy vs power tradeoff (> 10 μWh.cm -2 μm -1 and > 1 mw.cm -2 μm -1). Here, this paper aims at improving the energy density of MSCs while keeping high power capability, by combining the use of ionic liquids and the deposition of MnO 2 thin film onto robust and efficient 3D scaffolds.« less

  18. Effects of alkyl chain length and solvents on thermodynamic dissociation constants of the ionic liquids with one carboxyl group in the alkyl chain of imidazolium cations.

    PubMed

    Chen, Yuehua; Wang, Huiyong; Wang, Jianji

    2014-05-01

    Thermodynamic dissociation constants of the Brønsted acidic ionic liquids (ILs) are important for their catalytic and separation applications. In this work, a series of imidazolium bromides with one carboxylic acid substitute group in their alkyl chain ([{(CH2)nCOOH}mim]Br, n = 1,3,5,7) have been synthesized, and their dissociation constants (pKa) at different ionic strengths have been determined in aqueous and aqueous organic solvents at 0.1 mole fraction (x) of ethanol, glycol, iso-propanol, and dimethyl sulfoxide by potentiometric titrations at 298.2 K. The standard thermodynamic dissociation constants (pKa(T)) of the ILs in these solvents were calculated from the extended Debye-Hückel equation. It was found that the pKa values increased with the increase of ionic strength of the media and of the addition of organic solvent in water. The pKa(T) values also increased with the increase of the alkyl chain length of cations of the ILs. In addition, the effect of solvent nature on pKa(T) values is interpreted from solvation of the dissociation components and their Gibbs energy of transfer from water to aqueous organic solutions.

  19. Nanoarchitecture Control Enabled by Ionic Liquids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Murdoch, Heather A.; Limmer, Krista R.; Labukas, Joseph P.

    2017-04-01

    Ionic liquids have many advantages over traditional aqueous electrosynthesis for fabrication of functional nanoarchitectures, including enabling the integration of nanoparticles into traditional coatings, superhydrophobicity, nanofoams, and other hierarchical structures. Shape and size control through ionic liquid selection and processing conditions can synthesize nanoparticles and nanoarchitectures without the use of capping agents, surfactants, or templates that are often deleterious to the functionality of the resultant system. Here we give a brief overview of some recent and interesting applications of ionic liquids to the synthesis of nanoparticles and nanoarchitectures.

  20. Evolution of Osmolyte Systems.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Banfalvi, Gaspar

    1991-01-01

    Osmotic aspects of aqueous solutions that are usually disregarded in biochemistry textbooks are presented. This article discusses the osmolarity of seawater, evolution of organisms over geological time, ionic adaptation of cells, ionic concentrations in bacteria, osmolytes and blood electrolytes in water-stressed organisms and land vertebrates,…

  1. Recovery of sugars from ionic liquid biomass liquor by solvent extraction

    DOEpatents

    Brennan, Timothy Charles R.; Holmes, Bradley M.; Simmons, Blake A.; Blanch, Harvey W.

    2015-10-13

    The present invention provides for a composition comprising a solution comprising (a) an ionic liquid (IL) or ionic liquid-aqueous (ILA) phase and (b) an organic phase, wherein the solution comprises a sugar and a boronic acid. The present invention also provides for a method of removing a sugar from a solution, comprising: (a) providing a solution comprising (i) an IL or ILA phase and (ii) an organic phase, wherein the solution comprises an IL, a sugar and a boronic acid; (b) contacting the sugar with the boronic acid to form a sugar-boronic acid complex, (c) separating the organic phase and the aqueous phase, wherein the organic phase contains the sugar-boronic acid complex, and optionally (d) separating the sugar from the organic phase.

  2. Inclusion complex formation of ionic liquids with 4-sulfonatocalixarenes studied by competitive binding of berberine alkaloid fluorescent probe

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miskolczy, Zsombor; Biczók, László

    2009-07-01

    A clinically important natural isoquinoline alkaloid, berberine, was used as a fluorescent probe to study the encapsulation of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium (C nMIm +) type ionic liquids in 4-sulfonato-substituted calix[4]arene (SCX4) and calix[6]arene (SCX6) at pH 2. Addition of ionic liquids to the aqueous solution of berberine-SCXn inclusion complexes brought about considerable fluorescence intensity diminution due to the extrusion of berberine from the macrocycle into the aqueous phase by the competitive inclusion of C nMIm + cation. The lengthening of the aliphatic side chain of the imidazolium moiety diminished the equilibrium constant of complexation with SCX4, but enhanced the stability of SCX6 complexes. Larger binding strength was found for SCX4.

  3. Use of ionic liquids as coordination ligands for organometallic catalysts

    DOEpatents

    Li, Zaiwei [Moreno Valley, CA; Tang, Yongchun [Walnut, CA; Cheng,; Jihong, [Arcadia, CA

    2009-11-10

    Aspects of the present invention relate to compositions and methods for the use of ionic liquids with dissolved metal compounds as catalysts for a variety of chemical reactions. Ionic liquids are salts that generally are liquids at room temperature, and are capable of dissolving a many types of compounds that are relatively insoluble in aqueous or organic solvent systems. Specifically, ionic liquids may dissolve metal compounds to produce homogeneous and heterogeneous organometallic catalysts. One industrially-important chemical reaction that may be catalyzed by metal-containing ionic liquid catalysts is the conversion of methane to methanol.

  4. A resolution approach of racemic phenylalanine with aqueous two-phase systems of chiral tropine ionic liquids.

    PubMed

    Wu, Haoran; Yao, Shun; Qian, Guofei; Yao, Tian; Song, Hang

    2015-10-30

    Aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) based on tropine type chiral ionic liquids and inorganic salt solution were designed and prepared for the enantiomeric separation of racemic phenylalanine. The phase behavior of IL-based ATPS was comprehensive investigated, and phase equilibrium data were correlated by Merchuk equation. Various factors were also systematically investigated for their influence on separation efficiency. Under the appropriate conditions (0.13g/g [C8Tropine]pro, 35mg/g Cu(Ac)2, 20mg/g d,l-phenylalanine, 0.51g/g H2O and 0.30g/g K2HPO4), the enantiomeric excess value of phenylalanine in solid phase (mainly containing l-enantiomer) was 65%. Finally, the interaction mechanism was studied via 1D and 2D NMR. The results indicate that d-enantiomer of phenylalanine interacts more strongly with chiral ILs and Cu(2+) based on the chiral ion-pairs space coordination mechanism, which makes it tend to remain in the top IL-rich phase. By contrast, l-enantiomer is transferred into the solid phase. Above chiral ionic liquids aqueous two-phase systems have demonstrated obvious resolution to racemic phenylalanine and could be promising alterative resolution approach for racemic amino acids in aqueous circumstance. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  5. Ionic Liquids as a Basis Context for Developing High school Chemistry Teaching Materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hernani; Mudzakir, A.; Sumarna, O.

    2017-02-01

    This research aims to produce a map of connectedness highschool chemical content with the context of the modern chemical materials applications based on ionic liquids. The research method is content analysis of journal articles related to the ionic liquid materials and the textbooks of high school chemistry and textbooks of general chemistry at the university. The instrument used is the development format of basic text that connect and combine content and context. The results showed the connectedness between: (1) the context lubricants ionic liquid with the content of ionic bonding, covalent bonding, metal bonding, interaction between the particles of matter, the elements of main group, the elements of transition group, and the classification of macromolecules; (2) the context of fuel cell electrolite with the content of ionic bonding, covalent bonding, metal bonding, interaction between the particles of matter, Volta cell, and electrolysis cell; (3) the contect of nanocellulose with the content of ionic bonding, covalent bonding, metal bonding, interaction between the particles of matter, colloid, carbon compound, and the classification of macromolecules; and (4) the context of artificial muscle system with the content of ionic bond, covalent bond, metal bonding, interaction between the particles of matter, hydrocarbons, electrolytes and non-electrolytes, and the classification of macromolecules. Based on the result of this content analysis, the context of ionic liquid is predicted can be utilized for the enrichment of high school chemistry and has the potential to become teaching material’s context of high school chemistry in the future.

  6. Quantification of amino acids and peptides in an ionic liquid based aqueous two-phase system by LC-MS analysis.

    PubMed

    Oppermann, Sebastian; Oppermann, Christina; Böhm, Miriam; Kühl, Toni; Imhof, Diana; Kragl, Udo

    2018-04-25

    Aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) occur by the mixture of two polymers or a polymer and an inorganic salt in water. It was shown that not only polymers but also ionic liquids in combination with inorganic cosmotrophic salts are able to build ATPS. Suitable for the formation of ionic liquid-based ATPS systems are hydrophilic water miscible ionic liquids. To understand the driving force for amino acid and peptide distribution in IL-ATPS at different pH values, the ionic liquid Ammoeng 110™ and K 2 HPO 4 have been chosen as a test system. To quantify the concentration of amino acids and peptides in the different phases, liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC-MS) technologies were used. Therefore the peptides and amino acids have been processed with EZ:faast™-Kit from Phenomenex for an easy and reliable quantification method even in complex sample matrices. Partitioning is a surface-dependent phenomenon, investigations were focused on surface-related amino acid respectively peptide properties such as charge and hydrophobicity. Only a very low dependence between the amino acids or peptides hydrophobicity and the partition coefficient was found. Nevertheless, the presented results show that electrostatic respectively ionic interactions between the ionic liquid and the amino acids or peptides have a strong impact on their partitioning behavior.

  7. Ionic strength-induced formation of smectite quasicrystals enhances nitroaromatic compound sorption.

    PubMed

    Li, Hui; Pereira, Tanya R; Teppen, Brian J; Laird, David A; Johnston, Cliff T; Boyd, Stephen A

    2007-02-15

    Sorption of organic contaminants by soils is a determinant controlling their transport and fate in the environment. The influence of ionic strength on nitroaromatic compound sorption by K+- and Ca2+ -saturated smectite was examined. Sorption of 1,3-dinitrobenzene by K-smectite increased as KCl ionic strength increased from 0.01 to 0.30 M. In contrast, sorption by Ca-smectite at CaCl2 ionic strengths of 0.015 and 0.15 M remained essentially the same. The "salting-out" effect on the decrease of 1,3-dinitrobenzene aqueous solubility within this ionic strength range was <1.5% relative to the solubility in pure water. This decrease of solubility is insufficient to account for the observed increase of sorption by K-smectite with increasing KCl ionic strength. X-ray diffraction patterns and light absorbance of K-clay suspensions indicated the aggregation of clay particles and the formation of quasicrystal structures as KCI ionic strength increased. Sorption enhancement is attributed to the formation of better-ordered K-clay quasicrystals with reduced interlayer distances rather than to the salting-out effect. Dehydration of 1,3-dinitrobenzene is apparently a significant driving force for sorption, and we show for the first time that sorption of small, planar, neutral organic molecules, namely, 1,3-dinitrobenzene, causes previously expanded clay interlayers to dehydrate and collapse in aqueous suspension.

  8. Design of functional guanidinium ionic liquid aqueous two-phase systems for the efficient purification of protein.

    PubMed

    Ding, Xueqin; Wang, Yuzhi; Zeng, Qun; Chen, Jing; Huang, Yanhua; Xu, Kaijia

    2014-03-07

    A series of novel cationic functional hexaalkylguanidinium ionic liquids and anionic functional tetraalkylguanidinium ionic liquids have been devised and synthesized based on 1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidine. The structures of the ionic liquids (ILs) were confirmed by (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H NMR) and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (13C NMR) and the production yields were all above 90%. Functional guanidinium ionic liquid aqueous two-phase systems (FGIL-ATPSs) have been first designed with these functional guanidinium ILs and phosphate solution for the purification of protein. After phase separation, proteins had transferred into the IL-rich phase and the concentrations of proteins were determined by measuring the absorbance at 278 nm using an ultra violet visible (UV-vis) spectrophotometer. The advantages of FGIL-ATPSs were compared with ordinary ionic liquid aqueous two-phase systems (IL-ATPSs). The proposed FGIL-ATPS has been applied to purify lysozyme, trypsin, ovalbumin and bovine serum albumin. Single factor experiments were used to research the effects of the process, such as the amount of ionic liquid (IL), the concentration of salt solution, temperature and the amount of protein. The purification efficiency reaches to 97.05%. The secondary structure of protein during the experimental process was observed upon investigation using UV-vis spectrophotometer, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and circular dichroism spectrum (CD spectrum). The precision, stability and repeatability of the process were investigated. The mechanisms of purification were researched by dynamic light scattering (DLS), determination of the conductivity and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was suggested that aggregation and embrace phenomenon play a significant role in the purification of proteins. All the results show that FGIL-ATPSs have huge potential to offer new possibility in the purification of proteins. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Method for Reduction of Silver Biocide Plating on Metal Surfaces

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Steele, John; Nalette, Timothy; Beringer, Durwood

    2013-01-01

    Silver ions in aqueous solutions (0.05 to 1 ppm) are used for microbial control in water systems. The silver ions remain in solution when stored in plastic containers, but the concentration rapidly decreases to non-biocidal levels when stored in metal containers. The silver deposits onto the surface and is reduced to non-biocidal silver metal when it contacts less noble metal surfaces, including stainless steel, titanium, and nickel-based alloys. Five methods of treatment of contact metal surfaces to deter silver deposition and reduction are proposed: (1) High-temperature oxidation of the metal surface; (2) High-concentration silver solution pre-treatment; (3) Silver plating; (4) Teflon coat by vapor deposition (titanium only); and (5) A combination of methods (1) and (2), which proved to be the best method for the nickel-based alloy application. The mechanism associated with surface treatments (1), (2), and (5) is thought to be the development of a less active oxide layer that deters ionic silver deposition. Mechanism (3) is an attempt to develop an equilibrium ionic silver concentration via dissolution of metallic silver. Mechanism (4) provides a non-reactive barrier to deter ionic silver plating. Development testing has shown that ionic silver in aqueous solution was maintained at essentially the same level of addition (0.4 ppm) for up to 15 months with method (5) (a combination of methods (1) and (2)), before the test was discontinued for nickel-based alloys. Method (1) resulted in the maintenance of a biocidal level (approximately 0.05 ppm) for up to 10 months before that test was discontinued for nickel-based alloys. Methods (1) and (2) used separately were able to maintain ionic silver in aqueous solution at essentially the same level of addition (0.4 ppm) for up to 10 months before the test was discontinued for stainless steel alloys. Method (3) was only utilized for titanium alloys, and was successful at maintaining ionic silver in aqueous solution at essentially the same level of addition (0.4 ppm) for up to 10 months before the test was discontinued for simple flat geometries, but not for geometries that are difficult to Teflon coat.

  10. Application of ionic liquids based enzyme-assisted extraction of chlorogenic acid from Eucommia ulmoides leaves.

    PubMed

    Liu, Tingting; Sui, Xiaoyu; Li, Li; Zhang, Jie; Liang, Xin; Li, Wenjing; Zhang, Honglian; Fu, Shuang

    2016-01-15

    A new approach for ionic liquid based enzyme-assisted extraction (ILEAE) of chlorogenic acid (CGA) from Eucommia ulmoides is presented in which enzyme pretreatment was used in ionic liquids aqueous media to enhance extraction yield. For this purpose, the solubility of CGA and the activity of cellulase were investigated in eight 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium ionic liquids. Cellulase in 0.5 M [C6mim]Br aqueous solution was found to provide better performance in extraction. The factors of ILEAE procedures including extraction time, extraction phase pH, extraction temperatures and enzyme concentrations were investigated. Moreover, the novel developed approach offered advantages in term of yield and efficiency compared with other conventional extraction techniques. Scanning electronic microscopy of plant samples indicated that cellulase treated cell wall in ionic liquid solution was subjected to extract, which led to more efficient extraction by reducing mass transfer barrier. The proposed ILEAE method would develope a continuous process for enzyme-assisted extraction including enzyme incubation and solvent extraction process. In this research, we propose a novel view for enzyme-assisted extraction of plant active component, besides concentrating on enzyme facilitated cell wall degradation, focusing on improvement of bad permeability of ionic liquids solutions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Ionic calcium determination in skim milk with molecular probes and front-face fluorescence spectroscopy: simple linear regression.

    PubMed

    Gangidi, R R; Metzger, L E

    2006-11-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine if the ionic calcium content of skim milk could be determined using molecular probes and front-face fluorescence spectroscopy. Current methods for determining ionic calcium are not sensitive, overestimate ionic calcium, or require complex procedures. Molecular probes designed specifically for measuring ionic calcium could potentially be used to determine the ionic calcium content of skim milk. The goal of the current study was to develop foundation methods for future studies to determine ionic calcium directly in skim milk and other dairy products with molecular probes and fluorescence spectroscopy. In this study, the effect of pH on calcium-sensitive fluorescent probe (Rhod-5N and Fluo-5N) performance using various concentrations of skim milk was determined. The pH of diluted skim milk (1.9 to 8.9% skim milk), was adjusted to either 6.2 or 7.0, after which the samples were analyzed with fluorescent probes (1 microM) and front-face fluorescence spectroscopy. The ionic calcium content of each sample was also determined using a calcium ion-selective electrode. The results demonstrated that the ionic calcium content of each sample was highly correlated (R2 > 0.989) with the fluorescence intensities of the probe-calcium adduct using simple linear regression. Higher than suggested ionic calcium contents of 1,207 and 1,973 microM were determined with the probes (Fluo-5N and Rhod-5N) in diluted skim milk with pH 7.0 and 6.2, respectively. The fluorescence intensity of the probe-calcium adduct decreased with a decrease in pH for the same ionic calcium concentration. This study demonstrates that Fluo-5N and Rhod-5N can be used to determine the ionic-calcium content of diluted milk with front-face fluorescence spectroscopy. Furthermore, these probes may also have the potential to determine the ionic calcium content of undiluted skim milk.

  12. The influence of ionic strength on carbonate-based spectroscopic barometry for aqueous fluids: an in-situ Raman study on Na2CO3-NaCl solutions

    PubMed Central

    Wu, Jia; Wang, Shixia; Zheng, Haifei

    2016-01-01

    The Raman wavenumber of the symmetric stretching vibration of carbonate ion (ν1-CO32−) was measured in three aqueous solutions containing 2.0 mol·L−1 Na2CO3 and 0.20, 0.42, or 0.92 mol·L−1 NaCl, respectively, from 122 to 1538 MPa at 22 °C using a moissanite anvil cell. The ν1 Raman signal linearly shifted to higher wavenumbers with increasing pressure. Most importantly, the slope of ν1-CO32− Raman frequency shift (∂ν1/∂P)I was independent of NaCl concentration. Moreover, elevated ionic strength was found to shift the apparent outline of the carbonate peak toward low wavenumbers, possibly by increasing the proportion of the contact ion pair NaCO3−. Further investigations revealed no cross-interaction between the pressure effect and the ionic strength effect on the Raman spectra, possibly because the distribution of different ion-pair species in the carbonate equilibrium was largely pressure-independent. These results suggested that the ionic strength should be incorporated as an additional constraint for measuring the internal pressure of various solution-based systems. Combining the ν1-CO32− Raman frequency slope with the pressure herein with the values for the temperature or the ionic strength dependencies determined from previous studies, we developed an empirical equation that can be used to estimate the pressure of carbonate-bearing aqueous solutions. PMID:27982064

  13. Boron compounds as anion binding agents for nonaqueous battery electrolytes

    DOEpatents

    Lee, Hung Sui; Yang, Xia-Oing; McBreen, James; Xiang, Caili

    2000-02-08

    Novel fluorinated boron-based compounds which act as anion receptors in non-aqueous battery electrolytes are provided. When added to non-aqueous battery electrolytes, the fluorinated boron-based compounds of the invention enhance ionic conductivity and cation transference number of non-aqueous electrolytes. The fluorinated boron-based anion receptors include borane and borate compounds bearing different fluorinated alkyl and aryl groups.

  14. Excluded volume and ion-ion correlation effects on the ionic atmosphere around B-DNA: Theory, simulations, and experiments

    PubMed Central

    Ovanesyan, Zaven; Fenley, Marcia O.; Guerrero-García, Guillermo Iván; Olvera de la Cruz, Mónica

    2014-01-01

    The ionic atmosphere around a nucleic acid regulates its stability in aqueous salt solutions. One major source of complexity in biological activities involving nucleic acids arises from the strong influence of the surrounding ions and water molecules on their structural and thermodynamic properties. Here, we implement a classical density functional theory for cylindrical polyelectrolytes embedded in aqueous electrolytes containing explicit (neutral hard sphere) water molecules at experimental solvent concentrations. Our approach allows us to include ion correlations as well as solvent and ion excluded volume effects for studying the structural and thermodynamic properties of highly charged cylindrical polyelectrolytes. Several models of size and charge asymmetric mixtures of aqueous electrolytes at physiological concentrations are studied. Our results are in good agreement with Monte Carlo simulations. Our numerical calculations display significant differences in the ion density profiles for the different aqueous electrolyte models studied. However, similar results regarding the excess number of ions adsorbed to the B-DNA molecule are predicted by our theoretical approach for different aqueous electrolyte models. These findings suggest that ion counting experimental data should not be used alone to validate the performance of aqueous DNA-electrolyte models. PMID:25494770

  15. Development of tropine-salt aqueous two-phase systems and removal of hydrophilic ionic liquids from aqueous solution.

    PubMed

    Wu, Haoran; Yao, Shun; Qian, Guofei; Song, Hang

    2016-08-26

    A novel aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) composed of a small molecule organic compound tropine and an organic or inorganic salt aqueous solution has been developed for the first time. The phase behavior of tropine-salt ATPS was systemically investigated and the phase equilibrium data were measured in different temperatures and concentrations and correlated by the Merchuk equation with satisfactory results. The detection of the conductivity and particle size proved the formation of micelle in the process of forming tropine-salt ATPS. The separation application of the ATPS was assessed with the removal of hydrophilic benzothiazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) from aqueous solution. The result showed that ILs were effectively extracted into the top tropine-rich phase. Finally, ILs in the top tropine-rich phase were further separated by the means of adsorption-desorption with DM301 macroporous resin and ethanol. The method of novel tropine-salt ATPS combined with adsorption-desorption is demonstrated a promising alternative thought and approach for the removal or recovery of hydrophilic compounds from aqueous media and also could provide a potential application for bio-separation. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  16. Extraction of Biomolecules Using Phosphonium-Based Ionic Liquids + K3PO4 Aqueous Biphasic Systems

    PubMed Central

    Louros, Cláudia L. S.; Cláudio, Ana Filipa M.; Neves, Catarina M. S. S.; Freire, Mara G.; Marrucho, Isabel M.; Pauly, Jérôme; Coutinho, João A. P.

    2010-01-01

    Aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) provide an alternative and efficient approach for the extraction, recovery and purification of biomolecules through their partitioning between two liquid aqueous phases. In this work, the ability of hydrophilic phosphonium-based ionic liquids (ILs) to form ABS with aqueous K3PO4 solutions was evaluated for the first time. Ternary phase diagrams, and respective tie-lines and tie-lines length, formed by distinct phosphonium-based ILs, water, and K3PO4 at 298 K, were measured and are reported. The studied phosphonium-based ILs have shown to be more effective in promoting ABS compared to the imidazolium-based counterparts with similar anions. Moreover, the extractive capability of such systems was assessed for distinct biomolecules (including amino acids, food colourants and alkaloids). Densities and viscosities of both aqueous phases, at the mass fraction compositions used for the biomolecules extraction, were also determined. The evaluated IL-based ABS have been shown to be prospective extraction media, particularly for hydrophobic biomolecules, with several advantages over conventional polymer-inorganic salt ABS. PMID:20480041

  17. Molecular dynamics simulation studies of the interactions between ionic liquids and amino acids in aqueous solution.

    PubMed

    Tomé, Luciana I N; Jorge, Miguel; Gomes, José R B; Coutinho, João A P

    2012-02-16

    Although the understanding of the influence of ionic liquids (ILs) on the solubility behavior of biomolecules in aqueous solutions is relevant for the design and optimization of novel biotechnological processes, the underlying molecular-level mechanisms are not yet consensual or clearly elucidated. In order to contribute to the understanding of the molecular interactions established between amino acids and ILs in aqueous media, classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed for aqueous solutions of five amino acids with different structural characteristics (glycine, alanine, valine, isoleucine, and glutamic acid) in the presence of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl imide. The results from MD simulations enable to relate the properties of the amino acids, namely their hydrophobicity, to the type and strength of their interactions with ILs in aqueous solutions and provide an explanation for the direction and magnitude of the solubility phenomena observed in [IL + amino acid + water] systems by a mechanism governed by a balance between competitive interactions of the IL cation, IL anion, and water with the amino acids.

  18. Adsorption of non-ionic ABC triblock copolymers: Surface modification of TiO2 suspensions in aqueous and non-aqueous medium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lerch, Jean-Philippe; Atanase, Leonard Ionut; Riess, Gérard

    2017-10-01

    A series of non-ionic ABC triblock copolymers, such as poly(butadiene)-b-poly(2-vinylpyrridine)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PB-P2VP-PEO) were synthesized by sequential anionic polymerizations. For these copolymers comprising an organo-soluble PB and a water-soluble PEO block, their P2VP middle block has been selected for its anchoring capacity on solid surfaces. The adsorption isotherms on TiO2 were obtained in heptane and in aqueous medium, as selective solvents. In both of these cases, the P2VP middle block provides the surface anchoring, whereas PB and PEO sequences are acting as stabilizing moieties in heptane and water respectively. By extension to ABC triblock copolymers of the scaling theory developed for diblock copolymers, the density of adsorbed chains could be correlated with the molecular characteristics of the PB-P2VP-PEO triblock copolymers. From a practical point a view, it could be demonstrated that these copolymers are efficient dispersing agents for the TiO2 pigments in both aqueous and non-aqueous medium.

  19. EFFECTS OF PH, SOLID/SOLUTION RATIO, IONIC STRENGTH, AND ORGANIC ACIDS ON PB AND CD SOPRTION ON KAOLINITE

    EPA Science Inventory

    Potentiometric and ion-selective electrode titrations together with batch sorption/desorption experiments, were performed to explain the aqueous and surface complexation reactions between kaolinite, Pb, Cd and three organic acids. Variables included pH, ionic strength, metal conc...

  20. Development of Monopole Interaction Models for Ionic Compounds. Part I: Estimation of Aqueous Henry's Law Constants for Ions and Gas Phase pKa Values for Acidic Compounds.

    PubMed

    Hilal, S H; Saravanaraj, A N; Carreira, L A

    2014-02-01

    The SPARC (SPARC Performs Automated Reasoning in Chemistry) physicochemical mechanistic models for neutral compounds have been extended to estimate Henry's Law Constant (HLC) for charged species by incorporating ionic electrostatic interaction models. Combinations of absolute aqueous pKa values, relative pKa values in the gas phase, and aqueous HLC for neutral compounds have been used to develop monopole interaction models that quantify the energy differences upon moving an ionic solute molecule from the gas phase to the liquid phase. Inter-molecular interaction energies were factored into mechanistic contributions of monopoles with polarizability, dipole, H-bonding, and resonance. The monopole ionic models were validated by a wide range of measured gas phase pKa data for 450 acidic compounds. The RMS deviation error and R(2) for the OH, SH, CO2 H, CH3 and NR2 acidic reaction centers (C) were 16.9 kcal/mol and 0.87, respectively. The calculated HLCs of ions were compared to the HLCs of 142 ions calculated by quantum mechanics. Effects of inter-molecular interaction of the monopoles with polarizability, dipole, H-bonding, and resonance on acidity of the solutes in the gas phase are discussed. Copyright © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. Exploring the ionic strength effects on the photochemical degradation of pyruvic acid in atmospheric deliquescent aerosol particles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mekic, Majda; Brigante, Marcello; Vione, Davide; Gligorovski, Sasho

    2018-07-01

    There is increasing evidence that aqueous-phase atmospheric chemistry is an important source of secondary organic aerosols (SOA), but the related processes are currently not adequately represented in atmospheric chemistry models. Here we show that the absorption spectrum of pyruvic acid (PA) exhibits both an increase of the absorption intensity and a red shift of 13 nm while going from a dilute aqueous phase to a solution containing the inert salt sodium perchlorate (5M NaClO4). If this phenomenon turns out to be more general, many compounds that do not absorb actinic light in clouds and fog could become light absorbers at elevated salt concentrations in aerosol deliquescent particles. Compared to the direct photolysis of PA in dilute aqueous solution, the photolysis rate is increased by three times at high ionic strength (5M NaClO4). Such a considerable enhancement can be rationalized in the framework of the Debye-McAulay approach for reactions of ionic + neutral (or neutral + neutral) species, considering that the PA direct photolysis likely involves interaction between the photogenerated triplet state and water. This is, to our knowledge, the first report of a significant effect of the ionic strength on the rate of an atmospheric photochemical reaction. The phenomenon has important implications for the fate of PA and, potentially, of other organic compounds in atmospheric aerosol deliquescent particles.

  2. Simultaneous extraction and HPLC determination of 3-indole butyric acid and 3-indole acetic acid in pea plant by using ionic liquid-modified silica as sorbent.

    PubMed

    Sheikhian, Leila; Bina, Sedigheh

    2016-01-15

    In this study, ionic liquid-modified silica was used as sorbent for simultaneous extraction and preconcentration of 3-indole butyric acid and 3-indole acetic acid in pea plants. The effect of some parameters such as pH and ionic strength of sample solution, amount of sorbent, flow rate of aqueous sample solution and eluent solution, concentration of eluent solution, and temperature were studied for each hormone solution. Percent extraction of 3-indole butyric acid and 3-indole acetic acid was strongly affected by pH of aqueous sample solution. Ionic strength of aqueous phase and temperature showed no serious effects on extraction efficiency of studied plant hormones. Obtained breakthrough volume was 200mL for each of studied hormones. Preconcentration factor for spectroscopic and chromatographic determination of studied hormones was 100 and 4.0×10(3) respectively. Each solid sorbent phase was reusable for almost 10 times of extraction/stripping procedure. Relative standard deviations of extraction/stripping processes of 3-indole butyric acid and 3-indole acetic acid were 2.79% and 3.66% respectively. The calculated limit of detections for IBA and IAA were 9.1×10(-2)mgL(-1) and 1.6×10(-1)mgL(-1) respectively. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Supramolecular Assembly of a Biomineralizing Antimicrobial Peptide in Coarse-Grained Monte Carlo Simulations (Postprint)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-07-05

    aqueous solutions at a wide pH range.7 Silica forms rapidly at room temperature in the absence of other ionic catalysts or cofactors (buffers, salts...and other ionic species) that are normally required with in vitro biosilica synthesis. The silaffins are uniquely functionalized; serine residues are...alkaline conditions mimic the properties of the poly- ionic modifications on native silaffins.13,14 The zwitterionic properties facilitate intermolecular

  4. Ionic liquid ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of the aqueous phase for preconcentration of heavy metals ions prior to determination by LC-UV.

    PubMed

    Werner, Justyna

    2018-05-15

    Ionic liquid ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of the aqueous phase was used for preconcentration of Ni 2+ , Co 2+ , Cd 2+ , Cu 2+ , Pb 2+ in natural water samples prior to liquid chromatography with UV detection. In the proposed method, the ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate was used as a complexing agent and the phosphonium ionic liquid trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium bis[(2,4,4-trimethyl)pentyl]phosphinate (Cyphos IL 104) was used as an extractant. Ultrasound energy was used to disperse the extractant in the aqueous phase. After microextraction, the ionic liquid and aqueous phases were separated by centrifugation. Then the aqueous phase was frozen and the lighter than water ionic liquid phase containing metal ions complexes with pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate was separated and dissolved in a small volume of methanol prior to injection into the liquid chromatograph. Several parameters including the volume of extractant, the pH of the sample, the concentration of complexing agent, the time of ultrasound energy treatment, the time and speed of centrifugation and the effect of ionic strength were optimized. Under the optimized conditions (10 µL of Cyphos IL 104, pH = 5, 0.3% w/v ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate, 60 s of ultrasound use, 5 min/5000 rpm (2516×g) of centrifugation, 2.0 mg of NaCl), preconcentration factors were 211, 210, 209, 207 and 211 for Ni 2+ , Co 2+ , Cd 2+ , Cu 2+ and Pb 2+ respectively. Linearity was observed in the ranges 0.2-75.0 µg L -1 for Pb 2+ , Cd 2+ , Co 2+ and 0.5-100.0 µg L -1 for Cu 2+ , Ni 2+ . The limits of detection were 0.03 µg L -1 for Ni 2+ , 0.03 µg L -1 for Co 2+ , 0.03 µg L -1 for Cd 2+ , 0.02 µg L -1 for Cu 2+ , 0.02 µg L -1 for Pb 2+ , respectively. The accuracy of this method was evaluated by preconcentration and determination of Ni 2+ , Co 2+ , Cd 2+ , Cu 2+ , Pb 2+ in certified reference materials (TMRAIN-04 and NIST 1643e) with the recovery values in the range of 97-102%. The presented method has been successfully applied for the determination of analytes in natural water samples (river and lake waters). Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Hierarchical micro- and mesoporous carbide-derived carbon as a high-performance electrode material in supercapacitors.

    PubMed

    Rose, Marcus; Korenblit, Yair; Kockrick, Emanuel; Borchardt, Lars; Oschatz, Martin; Kaskel, Stefan; Yushin, Gleb

    2011-04-18

    Ordered mesoporous carbide-derived carbon (OM-CDC) materials produced by nanocasting of ordered mesoporous silica templates are characterized by a bimodal pore size distribution with a high ratio of micropores. The micropores result in outstanding adsorption capacities and the well-defined mesopores facilitate enhanced kinetics in adsorption processes. Here, for the first time, a systematic study is presented, in which the effects of synthesis temperature on the electrochemical performance of these materials in supercapacitors based on a 1 M aqueous solution of sulfuric acid and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ionic liquid are reported. Cyclic voltammetry shows the specific capacitance of the OM-CDC materials exceeds 200 F g(-1) in the aqueous electrolyte and 185 F g(-1) in the ionic liquid, when measured in a symmetric configuration in voltage ranges of up to 0.6 and 2 V, respectively. The ordered mesoporous channels in the produced OM-CDC materials serve as ion-highways and allow for very fast ionic transport into the bulk of the OM-CDC particles. At room temperature the enhanced ion transport leads to 75% and 90% of the capacitance retention at current densities in excess of ∼10 A g(-1) in ionic liquid and aqueous electrolytes, respectively. The supercapacitors based on 250-300 μm OM-CDC electrodes demonstrate an operating frequency of up to 7 Hz in aqueous electrolyte. The combination of high specific capacitance and outstanding rate capabilities of the OM-CDC materials is unmatched by state-of-the art activated carbons and strictly microporous CDC materials. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. Coatable Li4 SnS4 Solid Electrolytes Prepared from Aqueous Solutions for All-Solid-State Lithium-Ion Batteries.

    PubMed

    Choi, Young Eun; Park, Kern Ho; Kim, Dong Hyeon; Oh, Dae Yang; Kwak, Hi Ram; Lee, Young-Gi; Jung, Yoon Seok

    2017-06-22

    Bulk-type all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries (ASLBs) for large-scale energy-storage applications have emerged as a promising alternative to conventional lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to their superior safety. However, the electrochemical performance of bulk-type ASLBs is critically limited by the low ionic conductivity of solid electrolytes (SEs) and poor ionic contact between the active materials and SEs. Herein, highly conductive (0.14 mS cm -1 ) and dry-air-stable SEs (Li 4 SnS 4 ) are reported, which are prepared using a scalable aqueous-solution process. An active material (LiCoO 2 ) coated by solidified Li 4 SnS 4 from aqueous solutions results in a significant improvement in the electrochemical performance of ASLBs. Side-effects of the exposure of LiCoO 2 to aqueous solutions are minimized by using predissolved Li 4 SnS 4 solution. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  7. Nonlinear Porous Diffusion Modeling of Hydrophilic Ionic Agrochemicals in Astomatous Plant Cuticle Aqueous Pores: A Mechanistic Approach.

    PubMed

    Tredenick, Eloise C; Farrell, Troy W; Forster, W Alison; Psaltis, Steven T P

    2017-01-01

    The agricultural industry requires improved efficacy of sprays being applied to crops and weeds in order to reduce their environmental impact and deliver improved financial returns. Enhanced foliar uptake is one means of improving efficacy. The plant leaf cuticle is known to be the main barrier to diffusion of agrochemicals within the leaf. The usefulness of a mathematical model to simulate uptake of agrochemicals in plant cuticles has been noted previously in the literature, as the results of each uptake experiment are specific to each formulation of active ingredient, plant species and environmental conditions. In this work we develop a mathematical model and numerical simulation for the uptake of hydrophilic ionic agrochemicals through aqueous pores in plant cuticles. We propose a novel, nonlinear, porous diffusion model for ionic agrochemicals in isolated cuticles, which extends simple diffusion through the incorporation of parameters capable of simulating: plant species variations, evaporation of surface droplet solutions, ion binding effects on the cuticle surface and swelling of the aqueous pores with water. We validate our theoretical results against appropriate experimental data, discuss the key sensitivities in the model and relate theoretical predictions to appropriate physical mechanisms. Major influencing factors have been found to be cuticle structure, including tortuosity and density of the aqueous pores, and to a lesser extent humidity and cuticle surface ion binding effects.

  8. Nonlinear Porous Diffusion Modeling of Hydrophilic Ionic Agrochemicals in Astomatous Plant Cuticle Aqueous Pores: A Mechanistic Approach

    PubMed Central

    Tredenick, Eloise C.; Farrell, Troy W.; Forster, W. Alison; Psaltis, Steven T. P.

    2017-01-01

    The agricultural industry requires improved efficacy of sprays being applied to crops and weeds in order to reduce their environmental impact and deliver improved financial returns. Enhanced foliar uptake is one means of improving efficacy. The plant leaf cuticle is known to be the main barrier to diffusion of agrochemicals within the leaf. The usefulness of a mathematical model to simulate uptake of agrochemicals in plant cuticles has been noted previously in the literature, as the results of each uptake experiment are specific to each formulation of active ingredient, plant species and environmental conditions. In this work we develop a mathematical model and numerical simulation for the uptake of hydrophilic ionic agrochemicals through aqueous pores in plant cuticles. We propose a novel, nonlinear, porous diffusion model for ionic agrochemicals in isolated cuticles, which extends simple diffusion through the incorporation of parameters capable of simulating: plant species variations, evaporation of surface droplet solutions, ion binding effects on the cuticle surface and swelling of the aqueous pores with water. We validate our theoretical results against appropriate experimental data, discuss the key sensitivities in the model and relate theoretical predictions to appropriate physical mechanisms. Major influencing factors have been found to be cuticle structure, including tortuosity and density of the aqueous pores, and to a lesser extent humidity and cuticle surface ion binding effects. PMID:28539930

  9. Non-aqueous homogenous biocatalytic conversion of polysaccharides in ionic liquids using chemically modified glucosidase.

    PubMed

    Brogan, Alex P S; Bui-Le, Liem; Hallett, Jason P

    2018-06-25

    The increasing requirement to produce platform chemicals and fuels from renewable sources means advances in biocatalysis are rapidly becoming a necessity. Biomass is widely used in nature as a source of energy and as chemical building blocks. However, recalcitrance towards traditional chemical processes and solvents provides a significant barrier to widespread utility. Here, by optimizing enzyme solubility in ionic liquids, we have discovered solvent-induced substrate promiscuity of glucosidase, demonstrating an unprecedented example of homogeneous enzyme bioprocessing of cellulose. Specifically, chemical modification of glucosidase for solubilization in ionic liquids can increase thermal stability to up to 137 °C, allowing for enzymatic activity 30 times greater than is possible in aqueous media. These results establish that through a synergistic combination of chemical biology (enzyme modification) and reaction engineering (solvent choice), the biocatalytic capability of enzymes can be intensified: a key step towards the full-scale deployment of industrial biocatalysis.

  10. Programmable Hydrogel Ionic Circuits for Biologically Matched Electronic Interfaces.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Siwei; Tseng, Peter; Grasman, Jonathan; Wang, Yu; Li, Wenyi; Napier, Bradley; Yavuz, Burcin; Chen, Ying; Howell, Laurel; Rincon, Javier; Omenetto, Fiorenzo G; Kaplan, David L

    2018-06-01

    The increased need for wearable and implantable medical devices has driven the demand for electronics that interface with living systems. Current bioelectronic systems have not fully resolved mismatches between engineered circuits and biological systems, including the resulting pain and damage to biological tissues. Here, salt/poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) aqueous two-phase systems are utilized to generate programmable hydrogel ionic circuits. High-conductivity salt-solution patterns are stably encapsulated within PEG hydrogel matrices using salt/PEG phase separation, which route ionic current with high resolution and enable localized delivery of electrical stimulation. This strategy allows designer electronics that match biological systems, including transparency, stretchability, complete aqueous-based connective interface, distribution of ionic electrical signals between engineered and biological systems, and avoidance of tissue damage from electrical stimulation. The potential of such systems is demonstrated by generating light-emitting diode (LED)-based displays, skin-mounted electronics, and stimulators that deliver localized current to in vitro neuron cultures and muscles in vivo with reduced adverse effects. Such electronic platforms may form the basis of future biointegrated electronic systems. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. Aqueous Processing for Printed Organic Electronics: Conjugated Polymers with Multistage Cleavable Side Chains

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    The ability to process conjugated polymers via aqueous solution is highly advantageous for reducing the costs and environmental hazards of large scale roll-to-roll processing of organic electronics. However, maintaining competitive electronic properties while achieving aqueous solubility is difficult for several reasons: (1) Materials with polar functional groups that provide aqueous solubility can be difficult to purify and characterize, (2) many traditional coupling and polymerization reactions cannot be performed in aqueous solution, and (3) ionic groups, though useful for obtaining aqueous solubility, can lead to a loss of solid-state order, as well as a screening of any applied bias. As an alternative, we report a multistage cleavable side chain method that combines desirable aqueous processing attributes without sacrificing semiconducting capabilities. Through the attachment of cleavable side chains, conjugated polymers have for the first time been synthesized, characterized, and purified in organic solvents, converted to a water-soluble form for aqueous processing, and brought through a final treatment to cleave the polymer side chains and leave behind the desired electronic material as a solvent-resistant film. Specifically, we demonstrate an organic soluble polythiophene that is converted to an aqueous soluble polyelectrolyte via hydrolysis. After blade coating from an aqueous solution, UV irradiation is used to cleave the polymer’s side chains, resulting in a solvent-resistant, electroactive polymer thin film. In application, this process results in aqueous printed materials with utility for solid-state charge transport in organic field effect transistors (OFETs), along with red to colorless electrochromism in ionic media for color changing displays, demonstrating its potential as a universal method for aqueous printing in organic electronics. PMID:28979937

  12. Aqueous Processing for Printed Organic Electronics: Conjugated Polymers with Multistage Cleavable Side Chains.

    PubMed

    Schmatz, Brian; Yuan, Zhibo; Lang, Augustus W; Hernandez, Jeff L; Reichmanis, Elsa; Reynolds, John R

    2017-09-27

    The ability to process conjugated polymers via aqueous solution is highly advantageous for reducing the costs and environmental hazards of large scale roll-to-roll processing of organic electronics. However, maintaining competitive electronic properties while achieving aqueous solubility is difficult for several reasons: (1) Materials with polar functional groups that provide aqueous solubility can be difficult to purify and characterize, (2) many traditional coupling and polymerization reactions cannot be performed in aqueous solution, and (3) ionic groups, though useful for obtaining aqueous solubility, can lead to a loss of solid-state order, as well as a screening of any applied bias. As an alternative, we report a multistage cleavable side chain method that combines desirable aqueous processing attributes without sacrificing semiconducting capabilities. Through the attachment of cleavable side chains, conjugated polymers have for the first time been synthesized, characterized, and purified in organic solvents, converted to a water-soluble form for aqueous processing, and brought through a final treatment to cleave the polymer side chains and leave behind the desired electronic material as a solvent-resistant film. Specifically, we demonstrate an organic soluble polythiophene that is converted to an aqueous soluble polyelectrolyte via hydrolysis. After blade coating from an aqueous solution, UV irradiation is used to cleave the polymer's side chains, resulting in a solvent-resistant, electroactive polymer thin film. In application, this process results in aqueous printed materials with utility for solid-state charge transport in organic field effect transistors (OFETs), along with red to colorless electrochromism in ionic media for color changing displays, demonstrating its potential as a universal method for aqueous printing in organic electronics.

  13. Determination of volatile polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in waters using headspace solid-phase microextraction with a benzyl-functionalized crosslinked polymeric ionic liquid coating.

    PubMed

    Merdivan, Melek; Pino, Verónica; Anderson, Jared L

    2017-08-01

    A benzyl-functionalized crosslinked polymeric ionic liquid (PIL), produced through the co-polymerization of the 1-vinylbenzyl-3-hexadecylimidazolium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]imide (VBHDIM-NTf 2 ) ionic liquid (IL) monomer and 1,12-di(3-vinylbenzylimidazolium)dodecane bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]imide ((DVBIM) 2 C 12- 2NTf 2 ) IL crosslinker, was successfully used as a sorbent coating in headspace solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled to gas chromatography (GC) with flame-ionization detection (FID) to determine seven volatile polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in environmental water samples. Optimum extraction conditions for the PAHs when using the novel sorbent include an extraction temperature of 50°C, an ionic strength content adjusted with 30% (w/v) NaCl in the aqueous sample, and an extraction time of 60 min. The extraction performance of the crosslinked PIL fiber was compared to the SPME commercial coating polydimethylsiloxane fiber. The calibration ranges of the studied PAHs were linear in the range of 0.02-20 µg L -1 for the crosslinked PIL fiber. The accuracy of the proposed method was demonstrated by examining the spiked recoveries of seven PAHs which produced values ranging from 67.2% to 130% (for river- and seawater samples), and precision values lower than 9.4% for a spiked level of 1 µg L -1 , and detection limits between 0.01 and 0.04 µg L -1 , which supports the sensitivity of the method using GC-FID.

  14. Solid-State Ionic Diodes Demonstrated in Conical Nanopores

    DOE PAGES

    Plett, Timothy S.; Cai, Wenjia; Le Thai, Mya; ...

    2017-02-27

    Ionic transport at the nanoscale features phenomena that are not observed in larger systems. Nonlinear current–voltage curves characteristic of ionic diodes as well as ion selectivity are examples of effects observed at the nanoscale. Many man-made nanopore systems are inspired by biological channels in a cell membrane, thus measurements are often performed in aqueous solutions. Consequently, much less is known about ionic transport in nonaqueous systems, especially in solid-state electrolytes. Here we show ionic transport through single pores filled with gel electrolyte of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) doped with LiClO 4 in propylene carbonate. The system has no liquid interface andmore » the ionic transport occurs through the porous gel structure. We demonstrate that a conically shaped nanopore filled with the gel rectifies the current and works as a solid-state ionic diode.« less

  15. SORPTION OF CU AND ZN TO KAOLINITE AND IRON OXIDE: EFFECTS OF HUMIC ACID AND IONIC STRENGTH AND IMPLICATIONS FOR STORMWATER RUNOFF

    EPA Science Inventory

    Heavy metals are common pollutants in wet weather flows and urban waterways. Changes in ionic strength, whether from mixing with saline waters, road salt, or from the large osmotic adjustment needed for the Microtox toxicity assay, affect the aqueous chemistry of stormwater runof...

  16. Acceptor-type hydroxide graphite intercalation compounds electrochemically formed in high ionic strength solutions.

    PubMed

    Miyazaki, Kohei; Iizuka, Asuka; Mikata, Koji; Fukutsuka, Tomokazu; Abe, Takeshi

    2017-09-05

    The intercalation of hydroxide ions (OH - ) into graphite formed graphite intercalation compounds (GICs) in high ionic strength solutions. GICs of solvated OH - anions with two water molecules (OH - ·2H 2 O) in alkaline aqueous solutions and GICs of only OH - anions in a molten NaOH-KOH salt solution were electrochemically synthesized.

  17. Development of Monopole Interaction Models for Ionic Compounds. Part I: Estimation of Aqueous Henry’s Law Constants for Ions and Gas Phase pKa Values for Acidic Compounds

    EPA Science Inventory

    The SPARC (SPARC Performs Automated Reasoning in Chemistry) physicochemical mechanistic models for neutral compounds have been extended to estimate Henry’s Law Constant (HLC) for charged species by incorporating ionic electrostatic interaction models. Combinations of absolute aq...

  18. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bunkin, N F; Shkirin, A V; Burkhanov, I S

    Aqueous NaCl solutions with different concentrations have been investigated by dynamic scattering of laser radiation. It is experimentally shown that these solutions contain scattering particles with a wide size distribution in a range of ∼10 – 100 nm. The experimental results indirectly confirm the existence of quasi-stable gas nanobubbles in the bulk of aqueous ionic solutions. (light scattering)

  19. Effect of pH on the Electrophoretic Mobility of Spores of Bacillus anthracis and Its Surrogates in Aqueous Solutions

    EPA Science Inventory

    Electrophoretic mobility (EPM) of endospores of Bacillus anthracis and surrogates were measured in aqueous solution across a broad pH range and several ionic strengths. EPM values trended around phylogenetic clustering based on the 16S rRNA gene. Measurements reported here prov...

  20. Osmotic pressures and second virial coefficients for aqueous saline solutions of lysozyme

    DOE PAGES

    Moon, Y. U.; Anderson, C. O.; Blanch, H. W.; ...

    2000-03-27

    Experimental data at 25 °C are reported for osmotic pressures of aqueous solutions containing lysozyme and any one of the following salts: ammonium sulfate, ammonium oxalate and ammonium phosphate at ionic strength 1 or 3M. Data were obtained using a Wescor Colloid Membrane Osmometer at lysozyme concentrations from about 4 to 20 grams per liter at pH 4, 7 or 8. Osmotic second virial coefficients for lysozyme were calculated from the osmotic-pressure data. All coefficients were negative, increasing in magnitude with ionic strength. Furthermore, tesults are insensitive to the nature of the anion, but rise slightly in magnitude as themore » size of the anion increases.« less

  1. In-situ ionic liquid dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction using a new anion-exchange reagent combined Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles for determination of pyrethroid pesticides in water samples.

    PubMed

    Fan, Chen; Liang, You; Dong, Hongqiang; Ding, Guanglong; Zhang, Wenbing; Tang, Gang; Yang, Jiale; Kong, Dandan; Wang, Deng; Cao, Yongsong

    2017-07-04

    In this work, in-situ ionic liquid dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined ultrasmall Fe 3 O 4 magnetic nanoparticles was developed as a kind of pretreatment method to detect pyrethroid pesticides in water samples. New anion-exchange reagents including Na[DDTC] and Na[N(CN) 2 ] were optimized for in-situ extraction pyrethroids, which showed enhanced microextraction performance. Pyrethroids were enriched by hydrophilic ionic liquid [P 4448 ][Br] (aqueous solution, 200 μL, 0.2 mmol mL -1 ) reaction in-situ with anion-exchange reagent Na[N(CN) 2 ] (aqueous solution, 300 μL, 0.2 mmol mL -1 ) forming hydrophobic ionic liquid as extraction agent in water sample (10 mL). Ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (30 mg) were used to collect the mixture of ionic liquid and pyrethroids followed by elution with acetonitrile. The extraction of ionic liquid strategies was unique and efficiently fulfilled with high enrichment factors (176-213) and good recoveries (80.20-117.31%). The method was successively applied to the determination of pyrethroid pesticides in different kinds of water samples with the limits of detection ranged from 0.16 to 0.21 μg L -1 . The proposed method is actually nanometer-level microextraction (average size 80 nm) with the advantages of simplicity, rapidity, and sensitivity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Superbase-derived protic ionic liquid extractants for metal ion separation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bell, Jason R.; Dai, Sheng; Luo, Huimin

    2014-04-19

    Solvent extraction of La 3+ and Ba 2+ by an ionic liquid extractant in an imidazolium-based ionic liquid diluent was investigated. Seven protic ionic liquid extractants were examined and these protic ILs are based on five organic superbases and either 6,6,7,7,8,8,8-heptafluoro-2,2-dimethyl-3,5-octadione (Hfod) or 1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoroacetylacetone (Hhfac) -diketones as anion. For fod-based extractants, the extraction efficiencies and separation factors were found to be concentration dependent. The effects of aqueous phase acidity, extractant structure, and extractant concentration on separation properties of La 3+ and Ba 2+ are discussed in this paper.

  3. Design of Bioactive Organic-inorganic Hybrid Materials with Self-setting Ability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miyazaki, T.; Machida, S.; Morita, Y.; Ishida, E.

    2011-10-01

    Paste-like materials with ability of self-setting are attractive for bone substitutes, since they can be injected from the small hole with minimized invasion to the patient. Although bone cements which set as apatite are clinically used, there is limitation on clinical applications due to their mechanical properties such as high brittleness and low fracture toughness. To overcome this problem, organic-inorganic hybrids based on a flexible polymer are attractive. We have obtained an idea for design of self-setting hybrids using polyion complex fabricated by ionic interaction of anionic and cationic polymers. We aimed at preparation of organic-inorganic hybrids exhibiting self-setting ability and bioactivity. The liquid component was prepared from cationic chitosan aqueous solution. The powder component was prepared by mixing various carrageenans with α-tricalcium phosphate (α-TCP). The obtained cements set within 1 day. Compressive strength showed tendency to increase with increase in α-TCP content in the powder component. The prepared cements formed the apatite in simulated body fluid within 3 days. Novel self-setting materials based on organic-inorganic hybrid can be designed utilizing ionic interaction of polysaccharide.

  4. Fabrication of ionic liquid electrodeposited Cu--Sn--Zn--S--Se thin films and method of making

    DOEpatents

    Bhattacharya, Raghu Nath

    2016-01-12

    A semiconductor thin-film and method for producing a semiconductor thin-films comprising a metallic salt, an ionic compound in a non-aqueous solution mixed with a solvent and processing the stacked layer in chalcogen that results in a CZTS/CZTSS thin films that may be deposited on a substrate is disclosed.

  5. Improving accuracy of electrochemical capacitance and solvation energetics in first-principles calculations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sundararaman, Ravishankar; Letchworth-Weaver, Kendra; Schwarz, Kathleen A.

    2018-04-01

    Reliable first-principles calculations of electrochemical processes require accurate prediction of the interfacial capacitance, a challenge for current computationally efficient continuum solvation methodologies. We develop a model for the double layer of a metallic electrode that reproduces the features of the experimental capacitance of Ag(100) in a non-adsorbing, aqueous electrolyte, including a broad hump in the capacitance near the potential of zero charge and a dip in the capacitance under conditions of low ionic strength. Using this model, we identify the necessary characteristics of a solvation model suitable for first-principles electrochemistry of metal surfaces in non-adsorbing, aqueous electrolytes: dielectric and ionic nonlinearity, and a dielectric-only region at the interface. The dielectric nonlinearity, caused by the saturation of dipole rotational response in water, creates the capacitance hump, while ionic nonlinearity, caused by the compactness of the diffuse layer, generates the capacitance dip seen at low ionic strength. We show that none of the previously developed solvation models simultaneously meet all these criteria. We design the nonlinear electrochemical soft-sphere solvation model which both captures the capacitance features observed experimentally and serves as a general-purpose continuum solvation model.

  6. Computational solvation analysis of biomolecules in aqueous ionic liquid mixtures : From large flexible proteins to small rigid drugs.

    PubMed

    Zeindlhofer, Veronika; Schröder, Christian

    2018-06-01

    Based on their tunable properties, ionic liquids attracted significant interest to replace conventional, organic solvents in biomolecular applications. Following a Gartner cycle, the expectations on this new class of solvents dropped after the initial hype due to the high viscosity, hydrolysis, and toxicity problems as well as their high cost. Since not all possible combinations of cations and anions can be tested experimentally, fundamental knowledge on the interaction of the ionic liquid ions with water and with biomolecules is mandatory to optimize the solvation behavior, the biodegradability, and the costs of the ionic liquid. Here, we report on current computational approaches to characterize the impact of the ionic liquid ions on the structure and dynamics of the biomolecule and its solvation layer to explore the full potential of ionic liquids.

  7. Ionic Liquid Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass for Enhanced Enzymatic Delignification.

    PubMed

    Moniruzzaman, Muhammad; Goto, Masahiro

    2018-05-10

    Ionic liquids (ILs), a potentially attractive "green," recyclable alternative to environmentally harmful volatile organic compounds, have been increasingly exploited as solvents and/or cosolvents and/or reagents in a wide range of applications, including pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for further processing. The enzymatic delignification of biomass to degrade lignin, a complex aromatic polymer, has received much attention as an environmentally friendly process for clean separation of biopolymers including cellulose and lignin. For this purpose, enzymes are generally isolated from naturally occurring fungi or genetically engineered fungi and used in an aqueous medium. However, enzymatic delignification has been found to be very slow in these conditions, sometimes taking several months for completion. In this chapter, we highlight an environmentally friendly and efficient approach for enzymatic delignification of lignocellulosic biomass using room temperature ionic liquids (ILs) as (co)solvents or/and pretreatment agents. The method comprises pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass in IL-aqueous systems before enzymatic delignification, with the aim of overcoming the low delignification efficiency associated with low enzyme accessibility to the solid substrate and low substrate and product solubilities in aqueous systems. We believe the processes described here can play an important role in the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass-the most abundant renewable biomaterial in the world-to biomaterials, biopolymers, biofuels, bioplastics, and hydrocarbons. Graphical Abstract.

  8. Responses of polar organic compounds to different ionic environments in aqueous media are interrelated.

    PubMed

    Ferreira, L A; Chervenak, A; Placko, S; Kestranek, A; Madeira, P P; Zaslavsky, B Y

    2014-11-14

    Solubilities of 17 polar organic compounds in aqueous solutions of Na2SO4, NaCl, NaClO4, and NaSCN at the salt concentrations of up to 1.0-2.0 M were determined and the Setschenow constant, ksalt, values were estimated. It was found that NaClO4 may display both salting-in and salting-out effects depending on the particular compound structure. The Setschenow constant values for all the polar compounds examined in different salt solutions are found to be interrelated. Similar relationships were observed for partition coefficients of nonionic organic compounds in aqueous polyethylene glycol-sodium sulfate two-phase systems in the presence of different salt additives reported previously [Ferreira et al., J. Chromatogr. A, 2011, 1218, 5031], and for the effects of different salts on optical rotation of amino acids reported by Rossi et al. [J. Phys. Chem. B, 2007, 111, 10510]. In order to explain the observed relationships it is suggested that all the effects observed originate as responses of the compounds to the presence of a given ionic environment and its interaction with the compounds by forming direct or solvent-separated ionic pairs. The response is compound-specific and its strength is determined by the compound structure and the type (and concentration) of ions inducing the response.

  9. The Electrostatic Screening Length in Concentrated Electrolytes Increases with Concentration.

    PubMed

    Smith, Alexander M; Lee, Alpha A; Perkin, Susan

    2016-06-16

    According to classical electrolyte theories interactions in dilute (low ion density) electrolytes decay exponentially with distance, with the Debye screening length the characteristic length scale. This decay length decreases monotonically with increasing ion concentration due to effective screening of charges over short distances. Thus, within the Debye model no long-range forces are expected in concentrated electrolytes. Here we reveal, using experimental detection of the interaction between two planar charged surfaces across a wide range of electrolytes, that beyond the dilute (Debye-Hückel) regime the screening length increases with increasing concentration. The screening lengths for all electrolytes studied-including aqueous NaCl solutions, ionic liquids diluted with propylene carbonate, and pure ionic liquids-collapse onto a single curve when scaled by the dielectric constant. This nonmonotonic variation of the screening length with concentration, and its generality across ionic liquids and aqueous salt solutions, demonstrates an important characteristic of concentrated electrolytes of substantial relevance from biology to energy storage.

  10. Preconcentration of aqueous dyes through phase-transfer liquid-phase microextraction with a room-temperature ionic liquid.

    PubMed

    Chen, Hsiu-Liang; Chang, Shuo-Kai; Lee, Chia-Ying; Chuang, Li-Lin; Wei, Guor-Tzo

    2012-09-12

    In this study, we employed the room-temperature ionic liquid [bmim][PF(6)] as both ion-pair agent and an extractant in the phase-transfer liquid-phase microextraction (PTLPME) of aqueous dyes. In the PTLPME method, a dye solution was added to the extraction solution, comprising a small amount of [bmim][PF(6)] in a relatively large amount of CH(2)Cl(2), which serves as the disperser solvent to an extraction solution. Following extraction, CH(2)Cl(2) was evaporated from the extractant, resulting in the extracted dyes being concentrated in a small volume of the ionic liquid phase to increase the enrichment factor. The enrichment factors of for the dye Methylene Blue, Neutral Red, and Methyl Red were approximately 500, 550 and 400, respectively; their detection limits were 0.014, 0.43, and 0.02 μg L(-1), respectively, with relative standard deviations of 4.72%, 4.20%, and 6.10%, respectively. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Aqueous ionic liquids and their effects on protein structures: an overview on recent theoretical and experimental results

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smiatek, Jens

    2017-06-01

    Ionic liquids (ILs) are used in a variety of technological and biological applications. Recent experimental and simulation results reveal the influence of aqueous ionic liquids on the stability of protein and enzyme structures. Depending on different parameters like the concentration and the ion composition, one can observe distinct stabilization or denaturation mechanisms for various ILs. In this review, we summarize the main findings and discuss the implications with regard to molecular theories of solutions and specific ion effects. A preferential binding model is introduced in order to discuss protein-IL effects from a statistical mechanics perspective. The value of the preferential binding coefficient determines the strength of the ion influence and indicates a shift of the chemical equilibrium either to the native or the denatured state of the protein. We highlight the role of water in order to explain the self-association behavior of the IL species and discuss recent experimental and simulation results in the light of the observed binding effects.

  12. Immobilization of enzymes using non-ionic colloidal liquid aphrons (CLAs): Surface and enzyme effects.

    PubMed

    Ward, Keeran; Xi, Jingshu; Stuckey, David C

    2015-12-01

    The use of non-ionic colloidal liquid aphrons (CLAs) as a support for enzyme immobilisation was investigated. Formulation required the mixing of an aqueous-surfactant solution with a relatively non-polar solvent-surfactant solution, forming a solvent droplet surrounded by a thin stabilised aqueous film (soapy shell). Studies utilising anionic surfactants have showed increased retention, however, very little have been understood about the forces governing immobilisation. This study seeks to determine the effects of enzyme properties on CLA immobilisation by examining a non-ionic/non-polar solvent system comprised of two non-ionic surfactants, Tween 20 and 80, mineral oil and the enzymes lipase, aprotinin and α-chymotrypsin. From these results it was deduced that hydrophobic interactions strongly governed immobilisation. Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy (CSLM) revealed that immobilisation was predominantly achieved by surface adsorption attributed to hydrophobic interactions between the enzyme and the CLA surface. Enzyme surface affinity was found to increase when added directly to the formulation (pre-manufacture addition), as opposed to the bulk continuous phase (post-manufacture addition), with α-chymotrypsin and aprotinin being the most perturbed, while lipase was relatively unaffected. The effect of zeta potential on immobilisation showed that enzymes adsorbed better closer to their pI, indicating that charge minimisation was necessary for immobilisation. Finally, the effect of increasing enzyme concentration in the aqueous phase resulted in an increase in adsorption for all enzymes due to cooperativity between protein molecules, with saturation occurring faster at higher adsorption rates. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Study of Crystallinity Index (CrI) of Oil Palm Frond Pretreatment using Aqueous [EMIM][OAc] in a Closed System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abu Darim, R.; Azizan, A.; Salihon, J.

    2018-05-01

    The objective of this preliminary study is to identify the Crystalinity Index (CrI) of Oil Palm Frond (OPF) pretreated with 40% concentration of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ionic liquid ([EMIM][OAc]) in a closed system. The morphology and structural changes of the pretreated OPF were examined by using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The pretreatment process was carried out in triplicates by loading 40% of [EMIM][OAc] concentration with 10 wt% of OPF loading in the Bio-ionic liquid-reactor. The pretreatment process was conducted for 3 hours with working volume of 70 mL and temperature of 110°C. A Bio-ionic liquid reactor was purposely designed for the lignocellulosic pretreatment by using aqueous ionic liquid at high temperature (higher than boiling point of water). The CrI of OPF pretreated with 40% concentration of [EMM][OAc] in a closed system observed was 9% lower from the untreated OPF and the result showed significant difference with 95% confidence level. Further examination of the untreated and pretreated OPF by using XRD showed that the diffraction pattern of the pretreated OPF samples was decreasing compared to the untreated OPF. The characteristic of the FTIR spectra of the pretreated OPF showed the presence of the cellulose I and occurrence of amorphous cellulosic in the samples. The findings from this study are expected to improve knowledge on pretreatment of OPF by using aqueous [EMIM][OAc] as a green economically viable process for future renewable energy.

  14. Reactions of Ions with Ionic Liquid Vapors by Selected-Ion Flow Tube Mass Spectrometry

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-03-29

    Emel’yanenko, V. N.; Verevkin, S. P.; Heintz, A.; Corfield, J.-A.; Deyko, A.; Lovelock , K. R. J.; Licence, P.; Jones, R. G. Pyrrolidinium- Based Ionic...112, 11734–11742. (2) Lovelock , K. R. J.; Deyko, A.; Licence, P.; Jones, R. G. Vaporisa- tion of an Ionic Liquid Near Room Temperature. Phys. Chem...Relevance of pKa from Aqueous Solutions. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 15411–15419. (15) Armstrong, J. P.; Hurst, C.; Jones, R. G.; Licence, P.; Lovelock , K

  15. Influence of ionic strength, anions, cations, and natural organic matter on the adsorption of pharmaceuticals to silica.

    PubMed

    Bui, Tung Xuan; Choi, Heechul

    2010-08-01

    The adsorption of four wide-use pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, diclofenac, ibuprofen, and ketoprofen) onto a porous silica was investigated under varied ionic strengths, different anions, divalent cations (Ca(2+) and Mg(2+)), trivalent cations (Al(3+) and Fe(3+)), and natural organic matter (NOM). The experiments demonstrated that at a given pH the adsorption was most affected by ionic strength, trivalent cations, and properties of pharmaceuticals. The increase of ionic strength resulted in an increase in the adsorption of ketoprofen, but a decrease in the adsorption of carbamazepine. Trivalent metal cations made intense increases in the adsorption of three acidic pharmaceuticals, which could be due to the formation of inner-sphere complex of the cations on the surface and/or complexation of the pharmaceuticals with both surface and aqueous metal species. It was found that the adsorption of carbamazepine was not affected by divalent and trivalent cations, whereas the adsorption of diclofenac was solely impacted by the presence of Al(3+). Moreover, divalent cations at low concentration could slightly enhance the adsorption of ibuprofen and ketoprofen, whereas NOM caused a reduction in the adsorption of the tested pharmaceuticals except for diclofenac. These results suggest that ionic strength, divalent cations, trivalent cations, and NOM are notable factors affecting the adsorption of pharmaceuticals and thus the ultimate fate of pharmaceuticals in the aqueous environment. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Osmotic Pressure of Aqueous Chondroitin Sulfate Solution: A Molecular Modeling Investigation

    PubMed Central

    Bathe, Mark; Rutledge, Gregory C.; Grodzinsky, Alan J.; Tidor, Bruce

    2005-01-01

    The osmotic pressure of chondroitin sulfate (CS) solution in contact with an aqueous 1:1 salt reservoir of fixed ionic strength is studied using a recently developed coarse-grained molecular model. The effects of sulfation type (4- vs. 6-sulfation), sulfation pattern (statistical distribution of sulfate groups along a chain), ionic strength, CS intrinsic stiffness, and steric interactions on CS osmotic pressure are investigated. At physiological ionic strength (0.15 M NaCl), the sulfation type and pattern, as measured by a standard statistical description of copolymerization, are found to have a negligible influence on CS osmotic pressure, which depends principally on the mean volumetric fixed charge density. The intrinsic backbone stiffness characteristic of polysaccharides such as CS, however, is demonstrated to contribute significantly to its osmotic pressure behavior, which is similar to that of a solution of charged rods for the 20-disaccharide chains considered. Steric excluded volume is found to play a negligible role in determining CS osmotic pressure at physiological ionic strength due to the dominance of repulsive intermolecular electrostatic interactions that maintain chains maximally spaced in that regime, whereas at high ionic-strength steric interactions become dominant due to electrostatic screening. Osmotic pressure predictions are compared to experimental data and to well-established theoretical models including the Donnan theory and the Poisson-Boltzmann cylindrical cell model. PMID:16055525

  17. Trace Water as Prominent Factor to Induce Peptide Self-Assembly: Dynamic Evolution and Governing Interactions in Ionic Liquids.

    PubMed

    Wang, Juan; Yuan, Chengqian; Han, Yuchun; Wang, Yilin; Liu, Xiaomin; Zhang, Suojiang; Yan, Xuehai

    2017-11-01

    The interaction between water and biomolecules including peptides is of critical importance for forming high-level architectures and triggering life's functions. However, the bulk aqueous environment has limitations in detecting the kinetics and mechanisms of peptide self-assembly, especially relating to interactions of trace water. With ionic liquids (ILs) as a nonconventional medium, herein, it is discovered that trace amounts of water play a decisive role in triggering self-assembly of a biologically derived dipeptide. ILs provide a suitable nonaqueous environment, enabling us to mediate water content and follow the dynamic evolution of peptide self-assembly. The trace water is found to be involved in the assembly process of dipeptide, especially leading to the formation of stable noncovalent dipeptide oligomers in the early stage of nucleation, as evident by both experimental studies and theoretical simulations. The thermodynamics of the growth process is mainly governed by a synergistic effect of hydrophobic interaction and hydrogen bonds. Each step of assembly presents a different trend in thermodynamic energy. The dynamic evolution of assembly process can be efficiently mediated by changing trace water content. The decisive role of trace water in triggering and mediating self-assembly of biomolecules provides a new perspective in understanding supramolecular chemistry and molecular self-organization in biology. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. EFFECT OF AQUEOUS PHASE PROPERTIES ON CLAY PARTICLE ZETA POTENTIAL AND ELECTRO-OSMOTIC PERMEABILITY: IMPLICATIONS FOR ELECTRO-KINETIC SOIL REMEDIATION PROCESSES

    EPA Science Inventory

    The influence of aqueous phase properties (pH, ionic strength and divalent metal ion concentration) on clay particle zeta potential and packed-bed electro-osmotic permeability was quantified. Although pH strongly altered the zeta potential of a Georgia kaolinite, it did not signi...

  19. Micelle formation of nonionic surfactants in a room temperature ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate: surfactant chain length dependence of the critical micelle concentration.

    PubMed

    Inoue, Tohru; Yamakawa, Haruka

    2011-04-15

    Micellization behavior was investigated for polyoxyethylene-type nonionic surfactants with varying chain length (C(n)E(m)) in a room temperature ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF(4)). Critical micelle concentration (cmc) was determined from the variation of (1)H NMR chemical shift with the surfactant concentration. The logarithmic value of cmc decreased linearly with the number of carbon atoms in the surfactant hydrocarbon chain, similarly to the case observed in aqueous surfactant solutions. However, the slope of the straight line is much smaller in bmimBF(4) than in aqueous solution. Thermodynamic parameters for micelle formation estimated from the temperature dependence of cmc showed that the micellization in bmimBF(4) is an entropy-driven process around room temperature. This behavior is also similar to the case in aqueous solution. However, the magnitude of the entropic contribution to the overall micellization free energy in bmimBF(4) is much smaller compared with that in aqueous solution. These results suggest that the micellization in bmimBF(4) proceeds through a mechanism similar to the hydrophobic interaction in aqueous surfactant solutions, although the solvophobic effect in bmimBF(4) is much weaker than the hydrophobic effect. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. New porous monolithic membranes based on supported ionic liquid-like phases for oil/water separation and homogenous catalyst immobilisation.

    PubMed

    Porcar, Raúl; Nuevo, Daniel; García-Verdugo, Eduardo; Lozano, Pedro; Sanchez-Marcano, José; Burguete, M Isabel; Luis, Santiago V

    2018-03-07

    Porous monolithic advanced functional materials based on supported ionic liquid-like phase (SILLP) systems were used for the preparation of oleophilic and hydrophobic cylindrical membranes and successfully tested as eco-friendly and safe systems for oil/water separation and for the continuous integration of catalytic and separation processes in an aqueous-organic biphasic reaction system.

  1. Evaporation-based Ge/.sup.68 Ga Separation

    DOEpatents

    Mirzadeh, Saed; Whipple, Richard E.; Grant, Patrick M.; O'Brien, Jr., Harold A.

    1981-01-01

    Micro concentrations of .sup.68 Ga in secular equilibrium with .sup.68 Ge in strong aqueous HCl solution may readily be separated in ionic form from the .sup.68 Ge for biomedical use by evaporating the solution to dryness and then leaching the .sup.68 Ga from the container walls with dilute aqueous solutions of HCl or NaCl. The chloro-germanide produced during the evaporation may be quantitatively recovered to be used again as a source of .sup.68 Ga. If the solution is distilled to remove any oxidizing agents which may be present as impurities, the separation factor may easily exceed 10.sup.5. The separation is easily completed and the .sup.68 Ga made available in ionic form in 30 minutes or less.

  2. Sub-0.5 V Highly Stable Aqueous Salt Gated Metal Oxide Electronics

    PubMed Central

    Park, Sungjun; Lee, SeYeong; Kim, Chang-Hyun; Lee, Ilseop; Lee, Won-June; Kim, Sohee; Lee, Byung-Geun; Jang, Jae-Hyung; Yoon, Myung-Han

    2015-01-01

    Recently, growing interest in implantable bionics and biochemical sensors spurred the research for developing non-conventional electronics with excellent device characteristics at low operation voltages and prolonged device stability under physiological conditions. Herein, we report high-performance aqueous electrolyte-gated thin-film transistors using a sol-gel amorphous metal oxide semiconductor and aqueous electrolyte dielectrics based on small ionic salts. The proper selection of channel material (i.e., indium-gallium-zinc-oxide) and precautious passivation of non-channel areas enabled the development of simple but highly stable metal oxide transistors manifested by low operation voltages within 0.5 V, high transconductance of ~1.0 mS, large current on-off ratios over 107, and fast inverter responses up to several hundred hertz without device degradation even in physiologically-relevant ionic solutions. In conjunction with excellent transistor characteristics, investigation of the electrochemical nature of the metal oxide-electrolyte interface may contribute to the development of a viable bio-electronic platform directly interfacing with biological entities in vivo. PMID:26271456

  3. Non-conventional solvents in liquid phase microextraction and aqueous biphasic systems.

    PubMed

    An, Jiwoo; Trujillo-Rodríguez, María J; Pino, Verónica; Anderson, Jared L

    2017-06-02

    The development of rapid, convenient, and high throughput sample preparation approaches such as liquid phase microextraction techniques have been continuously developed over the last decade. More recently, significant attention has been given to the replacement of conventional organic solvents used in liquid phase microextraction techniques in order to reduce toxic waste and to improve selectivity and/or extraction efficiency. With these objectives, non-conventional solvents have been explored in liquid phase microextraction and aqueous biphasic systems. The utilized non-conventional solvents include ionic liquids, magnetic ionic liquids, and deep eutectic solvents. They have been widely used as extraction solvents or additives in various liquid phase microextraction modes including dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction, single-drop microextraction, hollow fiber-liquid phase microextraction, as well as in aqueous biphasic systems. This review provides an overview into the use of non-conventional solvents in these microextraction techniques in the past 5 years (2012-2016). Analytical applications of the techniques are also discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Monitoring of oxidation steps of ascorbic acid redox reaction by kinetics-sensitive voltcoulometry in unsupported and supported aqueous solutions and real samples.

    PubMed

    Orlický, Jozef; Gmucová, Katarína; Thurzo, Ilja; Pavlásek, Juraj

    2003-04-01

    Aqueous solutions of ascorbic acid in unsupported and supported aqueous solutions and real samples were studied by the kinetics-sensitive double-step voltcoulommetric method with the aim to contribute to a better understanding of its behavior in biological systems. The data obtained from measurements made on analytes prepared in the laboratory, as well as those made on real samples (some commercial orange drinks, flash of the fresh fruits) point to the redox reaction of L-ascorbic acid (L-AH2) being very sensitive to both the presence of dissolved gaseous species (O2, CO2) and the ionic strenght in the analyte. Either the dissolved gaseous species, or the higher ionic strength caused by both the presence of supporting electrolyte and increased total concentration of ascorbic acid, respectively, give birth to the degradation of L-AH2. Naturally, the highest percentage of L-AH2 was spotted in fresh fruit.

  5. Biocompatible Nanocoatings of Fluorinated Polyphosphazenes through Aqueous Assembly

    DOE PAGES

    Selin, Victor; Albright, Victoria; Ankner, John Francis; ...

    2018-02-23

    Nonionic fluorinated polyphosphazenes, such as poly[bis(trifluoroethoxy)phosphazene] (PTFEP), display superb biocompatibility, yet their deposition to surfaces has been limited to solution casting from organic solvents or thermal molding. Here in this paper, hydrophobic coatings of fluorinated polyphosphazenes are demonstrated through controlled deposition of ionic fluorinated polyphosphazenes (iFPs) from aqueous solutions using the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique. Specifically, the assemblies included poly[(carboxylatophenoxy)(trifluoroethoxy)phosphazenes] with varied content of fluorine atoms as iFPs (or poly[bis(carboxyphenoxy)phosphazene] (PCPP) as a control nonfluorinated polyphosphazene) and a variety of polycations. Hydrophobic interactions largely contributed to the formation of LbL films of iFPs with polycations, leading to linear growth and extremelymore » low water uptake. Hydrophobicity-enhanced ionic pairing within iFP/BPEI assemblies gave rise to large-amplitude oscillations in surface wettability as a function of capping layer, which were the largest for the most fluorinated iFP, while control PCPP/polycation systems remained hydrophilic regardless of the film top layer. Neutron reflectometry (NR) studies indicated superior layering and persistence of such layering in salt solution for iFP/BPEI films as compared to control PCPP/polycation systems. Hydrophobicity of iFP-capped LbL coatings could be further enhanced by using a highly porous polyester surgical felt rather than planar substrates for film deposition. Importantly, iFP/polycation coatings displayed biocompatibility which was similar to or superior to that of solution-cast coatings of a clinically validated material (PTFEP), as demonstrated by the hemolysis of the whole blood and protein adsorption studies.« less

  6. Biocompatible Nanocoatings of Fluorinated Polyphosphazenes through Aqueous Assembly

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Selin, Victor; Albright, Victoria; Ankner, John Francis

    Nonionic fluorinated polyphosphazenes, such as poly[bis(trifluoroethoxy)phosphazene] (PTFEP), display superb biocompatibility, yet their deposition to surfaces has been limited to solution casting from organic solvents or thermal molding. Here in this paper, hydrophobic coatings of fluorinated polyphosphazenes are demonstrated through controlled deposition of ionic fluorinated polyphosphazenes (iFPs) from aqueous solutions using the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique. Specifically, the assemblies included poly[(carboxylatophenoxy)(trifluoroethoxy)phosphazenes] with varied content of fluorine atoms as iFPs (or poly[bis(carboxyphenoxy)phosphazene] (PCPP) as a control nonfluorinated polyphosphazene) and a variety of polycations. Hydrophobic interactions largely contributed to the formation of LbL films of iFPs with polycations, leading to linear growth and extremelymore » low water uptake. Hydrophobicity-enhanced ionic pairing within iFP/BPEI assemblies gave rise to large-amplitude oscillations in surface wettability as a function of capping layer, which were the largest for the most fluorinated iFP, while control PCPP/polycation systems remained hydrophilic regardless of the film top layer. Neutron reflectometry (NR) studies indicated superior layering and persistence of such layering in salt solution for iFP/BPEI films as compared to control PCPP/polycation systems. Hydrophobicity of iFP-capped LbL coatings could be further enhanced by using a highly porous polyester surgical felt rather than planar substrates for film deposition. Importantly, iFP/polycation coatings displayed biocompatibility which was similar to or superior to that of solution-cast coatings of a clinically validated material (PTFEP), as demonstrated by the hemolysis of the whole blood and protein adsorption studies.« less

  7. A general ionic liquid pH-zone-refining countercurrent chromatography method for separation of alkaloids from Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.

    PubMed

    Fang, Yingtong; Li, Quan; Shao, Qian; Wang, Binghai; Wei, Yun

    2017-07-21

    The alkaloids from lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn) are effective in lowering hyperlipemia and level of cholesterol. However, there is not a general method for their separation. In this work, a general ionic liquid pH-zone-refining countercurrent chromatography method for isolation and purification of six alkaloids from the whole lotus plant was successfully established by using ionic liquids as the modifier of the two-phase solvent system. The conditions of ionic liquid pH-zone-refining countercurrent chromatography, involving solvent systems, concentration of retainer and eluter, types of ionic liquids, the content of ionic liquids as well as ionic liquids posttreatment, were optimized to improve extraction efficiency. Finally, the separation of these six alkaloids was performed with a two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water-[C 4 mim][PF 6 ] at a volume ratio of 5:2:2:8:0.1, where 10mM TEA was added to the organic stationary phase as a retainer and 3mM HCl was added to the aqueous mobile phase as an eluter. As a result, six alkaloids including N-nornuciferine, liensinine, nuciferine, isoliensinine, roemerine and neferine were successfully separated with the purities of 97.0%, 90.2%, 94.7%, 92.8%, 90.4% and 95.9%, respectively. The established general method has been respectively applied to the crude samples of lotus leaves and lotus plumules. A total of 37.3mg of liensinine, 57.7mg of isoliensinine and 179.9mg of neferine were successfully purified in one run from 1.00g crude extract of lotus plumule with the purities of 93.2%, 96.5% and 98.8%, respectively. Amount of 45.6mg N-nornuciferine, 21.6mg nuciferine and 11.7mg roemerine was obtained in one step separation from 1.05g crude extract of lotus leaves with the purity of 96.9%, 95.6% and 91.33%, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Hg⁰ removal from flue gas by ionic liquid/H₂O₂.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Guangwen; Bai, Bofeng; Zhang, Qiang; Cai, Ming

    2014-09-15

    1-Alkyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ionic liquids ([Cnmim] Cl, n=4, 6, 8) were prepared. The ionic liquid was then mixed with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to form an absorbent. The Hg(0) removal performance of the absorbent was investigated in a gas/liquid scrubber using simulated flue gas. It was found that the ionic liquid/H2O2 mixture was an excellent absorbent and could be used to remove Hg(0) from flue gas. When the mass ratio of H2O2 to ionic liquid was 0.5, the absorbent showed high Hg(0) removal efficiency (up to 98%). The Hg(0) removal efficiency usually increased with the absorption temperature, while decreased with the increase of alkyl chain length in ionic liquid molecule. The Hg(0) removal mechanism involved with Hg(0) oxidation by H2O2 and Hg(2+) transfer from aqueous phase to ionic liquid phase. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Engineering ionic liquid-tolerant cellulases for biofuels production.

    PubMed

    Wolski, Paul W; Dana, Craig M; Clark, Douglas S; Blanch, Harvey W

    2016-04-01

    Dissolution of lignocellulosic biomass in certain ionic liquids (ILs) can provide an effective pretreatment prior to enzymatic saccharification of cellulose for biofuels production. Toward the goal of combining pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis, we evolved enzyme variants of Talaromyces emersonii Cel7A to be more active and stable than wild-type T. emersonii Cel7A or Trichoderma reesei Cel7A in aqueous-IL solutions (up to 43% (w/w) 1,3-dimethylimdazolium dimethylphosphate and 20% (w/w) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate). In general, greater enzyme stability in buffer at elevated temperature corresponded to greater stability in aqueous-ILs. Post-translational modification of the N-terminal glutamine residue to pyroglutamate via glutaminyl cyclase enhanced the stability of T. emersonii Cel7A and variants. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed an increase in melting temperature of 1.9-3.9°C for the variant 1M10 over the wild-type T. emersonii Cel7A in aqueous buffer and in an IL-aqueous mixture. We observed this increase both with and without glutaminyl cyclase treatment of the enzymes. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  10. Conductivities of the ionic complexes of two cyclic polyethers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fielder, W. L.; Odonnell, P. M.

    1975-01-01

    The conductivities of the solid potassium thiocyanate complex of both dicyclohexyl-18-crown-6 and dibenzo-18-crown-6 were measured at 300K (27 C). Saturated aqueous potassium thiocyanate and graphite were used as ion-transporting and ion-blocking electrodes, respectively. The ionic conductivity predominated for both samples, but it was many orders of magnitude smaller than the value previously reported. The ionic conductivity of the dicyclohexyl complex (the better conductor) was 0.000003 ohm/cm. Crown complexes, in general, do not appear promising as potassium ion solid electrolytes contrary to claims in the patent literature.

  11. Efficient removal of caesium ions from aqueous solution using a calix crown ether in ionic liquids: mechanism and radiation effect.

    PubMed

    Xu, Chao; Yuan, Liyong; Shen, Xinghai; Zhai, Maolin

    2010-04-28

    The removal of radioactive (137)Cs from nuclear waste is of great importance for both the environment and energy saving. Herein, we report a study on the removal of Cs(+) using a calix crown ether bis(2-propyloxy)calix[4]crown-6 (BPC6) in ionic liquids [C(n)mim][NTf(2)], where [C(n)mim](+) is 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium and [NTf(2)](-) is bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide. The BPC6/[C(n)mim][NTf(2)] system is highly efficient in removing Cs(+) from aqueous solution, even at a low concentration of BPC6. HNO(3) and metal ions such as Na(+), Al(3+) in the aqueous phase interfered with the extraction of Cs(+) by competitive interaction with BPC6 and/or salting-out effect. UV analysis confirmed that the extraction of Cs(+) by the BPC6/[C(n)mim][NTf(2)] system involves a dual extraction mechanism, i.e., via exchange of BPC6.Cs(+) complex or Cs(+) by [C(n)mim](+). Irradiation of [C(4)mim][NTf(2)] dramatically decreases Cs(+) partitioning in the ionic liquid phase by the competitive interaction of radiation-generated H(+) with BPC6, while irradiation of BPC6/[C(4)mim][NTf(2)] decreases Cs(+) partitioning more markedly due to the radiolysis of BPC6.

  12. Submicrometer Emitter ESI Tips for Native Mass Spectrometry of Membrane Proteins in Ionic and Nonionic Detergents

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Susa, Anna C.; Lippens, Jennifer L.; Xia, Zijie; Loo, Joseph A.; Campuzano, Iain D. G.; Williams, Evan R.

    2018-01-01

    Native mass spectrometry (native-MS) of membrane proteins typically requires a detergent screening protocol, protein solubilization in the preferred detergent, followed by protein liberation from the micelle by collisional activation. Here, submicrometer nano-ESI emitter tips are used for native-MS of membrane proteins solubilized in both nonionic and ionic detergent solutions. With the submicrometer nano-ESI emitter tips, resolved charge-state distributions of membrane protein ions are obtained from a 150 mM NaCl, 25 mM Tris-HCl with 1.1% octyl glucoside solution. The relative abundances of NaCl and detergent cluster ions at high m / z are significantly reduced with the submicrometer emitters compared with larger nano-ESI emitters that are commonly used. This technique is beneficial for significantly decreasing the abundances (by two to three orders of magnitude compared with the larger tip size: 1.6 μm) of detergent cluster ions formed from aqueous ammonium acetate solutions containing detergents that can overlap with the membrane protein ion signal. Resolved charge-state distributions of membrane protein ions from aqueous ammonium acetate solutions containing ionic detergents were obtained with the submicrometer nano-ESI emitters; this is the first report of native-MS of membrane proteins solubilized by ionic detergents. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

  13. Submicrometer Emitter ESI Tips for Native Mass Spectrometry of Membrane Proteins in Ionic and Nonionic Detergents.

    PubMed

    Susa, Anna C; Lippens, Jennifer L; Xia, Zijie; Loo, Joseph A; Campuzano, Iain D G; Williams, Evan R

    2018-01-01

    Native mass spectrometry (native-MS) of membrane proteins typically requires a detergent screening protocol, protein solubilization in the preferred detergent, followed by protein liberation from the micelle by collisional activation. Here, submicrometer nano-ESI emitter tips are used for native-MS of membrane proteins solubilized in both nonionic and ionic detergent solutions. With the submicrometer nano-ESI emitter tips, resolved charge-state distributions of membrane protein ions are obtained from a 150 mM NaCl, 25 mM Tris-HCl with 1.1% octyl glucoside solution. The relative abundances of NaCl and detergent cluster ions at high m /z are significantly reduced with the submicrometer emitters compared with larger nano-ESI emitters that are commonly used. This technique is beneficial for significantly decreasing the abundances (by two to three orders of magnitude compared with the larger tip size: 1.6 μm) of detergent cluster ions formed from aqueous ammonium acetate solutions containing detergents that can overlap with the membrane protein ion signal. Resolved charge-state distributions of membrane protein ions from aqueous ammonium acetate solutions containing ionic detergents were obtained with the submicrometer nano-ESI emitters; this is the first report of native-MS of membrane proteins solubilized by ionic detergents. Graphical Abstract.

  14. Synthesis of thermo-responsive bovine hemoglobin imprinted nanoparticles by combining ionic liquid immobilization with aqueous precipitation polymerization.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yongmei; Yang, Chongchong; Sun, Yan; Qiu, Fengtao; Xiang, Yang; Fu, Guoqi

    2018-02-01

    Surface molecular imprinting over functionalized nanoparticles has proved to be an effective approach for construction of artificial nanomaterials for protein recognition. Herein, we report a strategy for synthesis of core-shell protein-imprinted nanoparticles by the functionalization of nano-cores with ionic liquids followed by aqueous precipitation polymerization to build thermo-responsive imprinted polymer nano-shells. The immobilized ionic liquids can form multiple interactions with the protein template. The polymerization process can produce thermo-reversible physical crosslinks, which are advantageous to enhancing imprinting and facilitating template removal. With bovine hemoglobin as a model template, the imprinted nanoparticles showed temperature-sensitivity in both dispersion behaviors and rebinding capacities. Compared with the ionic-liquid-modified core nanoparticles, the imprinted particles exhibited greatly increased selectivity and two orders of magnitude higher binding affinity for the template protein. The imprinted nanoparticles achieved relatively high imprinting factor up to 5.0 and specific rebinding capacity of 67.7 mg/g, respectively. These nanoparticles also demonstrated rapid rebinding kinetics and good reproducibility after five cycles of adsorption-regeneration. Therefore, the presented approach may be viable for the fabrication of high-performance protein-imprinted nanoparticles with temperature sensitivity. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. Through-plane conductivities of membranes for nonaqueous redox flow batteries

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Anderson, Travis Mark; Small, Leo J.; Pratt, III, Harry D.

    In this study, nonaqueous redox flow batteries (RFB) leverage nonaqueous solvents to enable higher operating voltages compared to their aqueous counterparts. Most commercial components for flow batteries, however, are designed for aqueous use. One critical component, the ion-selective membrane, provides ionic conductance between electrodes while preventing crossover of electroactive species. Here we evaluate the area-specific conductances and through-plane conductivities of commercially available microporous separators (Celgard 2400, 2500) and anion exchange membranes (Neosepta AFX, Neosepta AHA, Fumasep FAP-450, Fumasep FAP-PK) soaked in acetonitrile, propylene carbonate, or two imidazolium-based ionic liquids. Fumasep membranes combined with acetonitrile-based electrolyte solutions provided the highest conductancemore » values and conductivities by far. When tested in ionic liquids, all anion exchange membranes displayed conductivities greater than those of the Celgard microporous separators, though the separators’ decreased thickness-enabled conductances on par with the most conductive anion exchange membranes. Ionic conductivity is not the only consideration when choosing an anion exchange membrane; testing of FAP-450 and FAP-PK membranes in a nonaqueous RFB demonstrated that the increased mechanical stability of PEEK-supported FAP-PK minimized swelling, in turn decreasing solvent mediated crossover and enabling greater electrochemical yields (40% vs. 4%) and Coulombic efficiencies (94% vs. 90%) compared to the unsupported, higher conductance FAP-450.« less

  16. Through-plane conductivities of membranes for nonaqueous redox flow batteries

    DOE PAGES

    Anderson, Travis Mark; Small, Leo J.; Pratt, III, Harry D.; ...

    2015-08-13

    In this study, nonaqueous redox flow batteries (RFB) leverage nonaqueous solvents to enable higher operating voltages compared to their aqueous counterparts. Most commercial components for flow batteries, however, are designed for aqueous use. One critical component, the ion-selective membrane, provides ionic conductance between electrodes while preventing crossover of electroactive species. Here we evaluate the area-specific conductances and through-plane conductivities of commercially available microporous separators (Celgard 2400, 2500) and anion exchange membranes (Neosepta AFX, Neosepta AHA, Fumasep FAP-450, Fumasep FAP-PK) soaked in acetonitrile, propylene carbonate, or two imidazolium-based ionic liquids. Fumasep membranes combined with acetonitrile-based electrolyte solutions provided the highest conductancemore » values and conductivities by far. When tested in ionic liquids, all anion exchange membranes displayed conductivities greater than those of the Celgard microporous separators, though the separators’ decreased thickness-enabled conductances on par with the most conductive anion exchange membranes. Ionic conductivity is not the only consideration when choosing an anion exchange membrane; testing of FAP-450 and FAP-PK membranes in a nonaqueous RFB demonstrated that the increased mechanical stability of PEEK-supported FAP-PK minimized swelling, in turn decreasing solvent mediated crossover and enabling greater electrochemical yields (40% vs. 4%) and Coulombic efficiencies (94% vs. 90%) compared to the unsupported, higher conductance FAP-450.« less

  17. Specific anion effects on copper surface through electrochemical treatment: Enhanced photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction activity of derived nanostructures induced by chaotropic anions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Navaee, Aso; Salimi, Abdollah

    2018-05-01

    Copper derivatives are the most prominent CO2 reduction electrocatalyst. Herein, the metallic copper has been electrochemically treated with some of common ionic salts such as N3bar, HPO2bar, S2bar, Fbar, Clbar, Brbar and Ibar based on the dissolution of a metallic working electrode in an aqueous solution to derive the surface roughness incorporated with nanostructures. Diverse surface morphology can be obtained when the ionic radii of anions are changed. Surface study reveals various roughness shapes based on the size and polarity of the anions, where the ions with higher ionic radii have higher impact on the Cu surface. In comparison, polyatomic oxyanion such as HPO2bar even with large ionic radii do not have enough strength to create the surface roughness than that of oxygen-free anions with large ionic radii. The photoelectrochemical behavior of the modified surfaces toward CO2 reduction is studied at a wide potential window in bicarbonate aqueous solution. Based on our investigations, treated surfaces by Ibar, Clbar and S2bargive a more surface roughness, while Ibar and N3bar offer higher catalytic activity toward CO2 reduction due to possible complexing ability of these anions with Cu cations, followed by formation of the co-catalyst semiconductor and facilitate electron transfer. This methodology can be applied to investigate the effect of ions on transition metals along with obtaining different surface morphologies tailored to different applications.

  18. Cellulose ionics: switching ionic diode responses by surface charge in reconstituted cellulose films.

    PubMed

    Aaronson, Barak D B; Wigmore, David; Johns, Marcus A; Scott, Janet L; Polikarpov, Igor; Marken, Frank

    2017-09-25

    Cellulose films as well as chitosan-modified cellulose films of approximately 5 μm thickness, reconstituted from ionic liquid media onto a poly(ethylene-terephthalate) (PET, 6 μm thickness) film with a 5, 10, 20, or 40 μm diameter laser-drilled microhole, show significant current rectification in aqueous NaCl. Reconstituted α-cellulose films provide "cationic diodes" (due to predominant cation conductivity) whereas chitosan-doped cellulose shows "anionic diode" effects (due to predominant anion conductivity). The current rectification, or "ionic diode" behaviour, is investigated as a function of NaCl concentration, pH, microhole diameter, and molecular weight of the chitosan dopant. Future applications are envisaged exploiting the surface charge induced switching of diode currents for signal amplification in sensing.

  19. Ionic depletion at the crystalline Gibbs layer of PEG-capped gold nanoparticle brushes at aqueous surfaces

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Wenjie; Zhang, Honghu; Mallapragada, Surya; Travesset, Alex; Vaknin, David

    2017-12-01

    In situ surface-sensitive x-ray diffraction and grazing incidence x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (GIXFS) methods are combined to determine the ionic distributions across the liquid/vapor interfaces of thiolated-polyethylene-glycol-capped gold nanoparticle (PEG-AuNP) solutions. Induced by the addition of salts (i.e., Cs2SO4 ) to PEG-AuNPs solutions, two-dimensional hexagonal lattices of PEG-AuNPs form spontaneously at the aqueous surfaces, as is demonstrated by x-ray reflectivity and grazing incidence small-angle x-ray scattering. By taking advantage of element specificity with the GIXFS method, we find that the cation Cs+ concentration at the crystalline film is significantly reduced in parts of the PEG-AuNP film compared with that in the bulk.

  20. Effect of the interfacial tension and ionic strength on the thermodynamic barrier associated to the benzocaine insertion into a cell membrane.

    PubMed

    López Cascales, J J; Oliveira Costa, S D

    2013-02-01

    The insertion of local anaesthetics into a cell membrane is a key aspect for explaining their activity at a molecular level. It has been described how the potency and response time of local anaesthetics is improved (for clinical applications) when they are dissolved in a solution of sodium bicarbonate. With the aim of gaining insight into the physico-chemical principles that govern the action mechanism of these drugs at a molecular level, simulations of benzocaine in binary lipid bilayers formed by DPPC/DPPS were carried out for different ionic strengths of the aqueous solution. From these molecular dynamic simulations, we observed how the thermodynamic barrier associated with benzocaine insertion into the lipid bilayers diminished exponentially as the fraction of DPPS in the bilayer increased, especially when the ionic strength of the aqueous solution increased. In line with these results, we also observed how this thermodynamic barrier diminished exponentially with the phospholipid/water interfacial tension. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Extraction of trace tilmicosin in real water samples using ionic liquid-based aqueous two-phase systems.

    PubMed

    Pan, Ru; Shao, Dejia; Qi, Xueyong; Wu, Yun; Fu, Wenyan; Ge, Yanru; Fu, Haizhen

    2013-01-01

    The effective method of ionic liquid-based aqueous two-phase extraction, which involves ionic liquid (IL) (1-butyl-3-methyllimidazolium chloride, [C4mim]Cl) and inorganic salt (K2HPO4) coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), has been used to extract trace tilmicosin in real water samples which were passed through a 0.45 μm filter. The effects of the different types of salts, the concentration of K2HPO4 and of ILs, the pH value and temperature of the systems on the extraction efficiencies have all been investigated. Under the optimum conditions, the average extraction efficiency is up to 95.8%. This method was feasible when applied to the analysis of tilmicosin in real water samples within the range 0.5-40 μg mL(-1). The limit of detection was found to be 0.05 μg mL(-1). The recovery rate of tilmicosin was 92.0-99.0% from the real water samples by the proposed method. This process is suggested to have important applications for the extraction of tilmicosin.

  2. Adsorption of malachite green from aqueous solution by using novel chitosan ionic liquid beads.

    PubMed

    Naseeruteen, Faizah; Hamid, Nur Shahirah Abdul; Suah, Faiz Bukhari Mohd; Ngah, Wan Saime Wan; Mehamod, Faizatul Shimal

    2018-02-01

    Chitosan ionic liquid beads were prepared from chitosan and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium based ionic liquids to remove Malachite Green (MG) from aqueous solutions. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out as a function of initial pH, adsorbent dosage, agitation time and initial MG concentration. The optimum conditions were obtained at pH 4.0, 0.008g of adsorbent dosage and 20min of agitation time were utilized in the kinetic and isotherm studies. Three kinetic models were applied to analyze the kinetic data and pseudo-second order was found to be the best fitted model with R 2 >0.999. In order to determine the adsorption capacity, the sorption data were analyzed using the linear form of Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin equations. The isotherm was best fitted by Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum adsorption capacity (q max ) obtained from Langmuir isotherm for two chitosan beads 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate A and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium B are 8.07mgg -1 and 0.24mgg -1 respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Sorption properties of Th(IV) on the raw diatomite--effects of contact time, pH, ionic strength and temperature.

    PubMed

    Sheng, Guodong; Hu, Jun; Wang, Xiangke

    2008-10-01

    Diatomite has a number of unique physicochemical properties and has diversified industrial uses. Natural diatomite has been tested as a potential sorbent for the removal of Th(IV) from aqueous solutions. The results indicate that sorption of Th(IV) is strongly dependent on ionic strength at pH<3, and is independent of ionic strength at pH>3. Outer-sphere complexation or ion exchange may be the main sorption mechanism of Th(IV) to diatomite at low pH values, whereas the sorption of Th(IV) at pH>3 is mainly dominated by inner-sphere complexation or precipitation. The competition for Th(IV) between aqueous or surface adsorbed anions (e.g., herein ClO(4)(-), NO(3)(-) and Cl(-)) and surface functional groups of diatomite is important for Th(IV) sorption. The thermodynamic data (DeltaH(0), DeltaS(0), DeltaG(0)) are calculated from the temperature-dependent sorption isotherms. The results suggest that sorption process of Th(IV) on diatomite is spontaneous and endothermic.

  4. Aqueous Binary Lanthanide(III) Nitrate Ln(NO3)3 Electrolytes Revisited: Extended Pitzer and Bromley Treatments

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chatterjee, Sayandev; Campbell, Emily L.; Neiner, Doinita

    To date, only limited thermodynamic models describing activity coefficients of the aqueous solutions of lanthanide ions are available. This work expands the existing experimental osmotic coefficient data obtained by classical isopiestic technique for the aqueous binary trivalent lanthanide nitrate Ln(NO3)3 solutions using a combination of water activity and vapor pressure osmometry measurements. The combined osmotic coefficient database for each aqueous lanthanide nitrate at 25°C, consisting of literature available data as well as data obtained in this work, was used to test the validity of Pitzer and Bromley thermodynamic models for the accurate prediction of mean molal activity coefficients of themore » Ln(NO3)3 solutions in wide concentration ranges. The new and improved Pitzer and Bromley parameters were calculated. It was established that the Ln(NO3)3 activity coefficients in the solutions with ionic strength up to 12 mol kg-1 can be estimated by both Pitzer and single-parameter Bromley models, even though the latter provides for more accurate prediction, particularly in the lower ionic strength regime (up to 6 mol kg-1). On the other hand for the concentrated solutions, the extended three-parameter Bromley model can be employed to predict the Ln(NO3)3 activity coefficients with remarkable accuracy. The accuracy of the extended Bromley model in predicting the activity coefficients was greater than ~95% and ~90% for all solutions with the ionic strength up to 12 mol kg-1 and and 20 mol kg-1, respectively. This is the first time that the activity coefficients for concentrated lanthanide solutions have been predicted with such a remarkable accuracy.« less

  5. Influence of non-ionic emulsifier type on the stability of cinnamaldehyde nanoemulsions: A comparison of polysorbate 80 and hydrophobically modified inulin.

    PubMed

    Sedaghat Doost, Ali; Dewettinck, Koen; Devlieghere, Frank; Van der Meeren, Paul

    2018-08-30

    Cinnamaldehyde nanoemulsions were formulated to enable its application in an aqueous environment. The pure cinnamaldehyde nanoemulsions, stabilized by polysorbate 80 (at concentrations >0.5%), had both a higher stability and smaller droplet size, whereas the emulsions containing hydrophobically modified inulin (HMI) formed a colloidal dispersion with larger particle size. Incorporation of sunflower oil (SO) allowed postponement of Ostwald ripening for a sufficiently long period of time (at least 60 days). Cryo-SEM and droplet size analyses of the nanoemulsions emulsified by HMI revealed no significant changes during storage. Under these conditions, HMI as an emulsifier exhibited a powerful resistance to high salt contents (up to 2 M) and high thermal processing temperatures (90 °C). The surfactant type and SO content had no marked influence on the antimicrobial activity of the nanoemulsions. This study provides precious information for a commercial formulation of nanoemulsions with durable physical stability under severe stress conditions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Rapid Particle Patterning in Surface Deposited Micro-Droplets of Low Ionic Content via Low-Voltage Electrochemistry and Electrokinetics

    PubMed Central

    Sidelman, Noam; Cohen, Moshik; Kolbe, Anke; Zalevsky, Zeev; Herrman, Andreas; Richter, Shachar

    2015-01-01

    Electrokinetic phenomena are a powerful tool used in various scientific and technological applications for the manipulation of aqueous solutions and the chemical entities within them. However, the use of DC-induced electrokinetics in miniaturized devices is highly limited. This is mainly due to unavoidable electrochemical reactions at the electrodes, which hinder successful manipulation. Here we present experimental evidence that on-chip DC manipulation of particles between closely positioned electrodes inside micro-droplets can be successfully achieved, and at low voltages. We show that such manipulation, which is considered practically impossible, can be used to rapidly concentrate and pattern particles in 2D shapes in inter-electrode locations. We show that this is made possible in low ion content dispersions, which enable low-voltage electrokinetics and an anomalous bubble-free water electrolysis. This phenomenon can serve as a powerful tool in both microflow devices and digital microfluidics for rapid pre-concentration and particle patterning. PMID:26293477

  7. Solvation and aggregation of n,n'-dialkylimidazolium ionic liquids: a multinuclear NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulation study.

    PubMed

    Remsing, Richard C; Liu, Zhiwei; Sergeyev, Ivan; Moyna, Guillermo

    2008-06-26

    The solvation and aggregation of the ionic liquid (IL) 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C4mim]Cl) in water and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) were examined by analysis of (1)H and (35/37)Cl chemical shift perturbations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Evidence of aggregation of the IL n-butyl chains in aqueous environments at IL concentrations of 75-80 wt% was observed both in the NMR experiments and in the MD simulations. The studies also show that [C4mim]Cl behaves as a typical electrolyte in water, with both ions completely solvated at low concentrations. On the other hand, the data reveal that the interactions between the [C4mim](+) and Cl(-) ions strengthen as the DMSO content of the solutions increases, and IL-rich clusters persist in this solvent even at concentrations below 10 wt%. These results provide an experimentally supported atomistic explanation of the effects that these two solvents have on some of the macroscopic properties of [C4mim]Cl. The implications that these findings could have on the design of IL-based solvent systems are briefly discussed.

  8. Potential Energy Surfaces and Dynamics of High Energy Species

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-04-13

    explored include ionic liquids and a range of high-nitrogen content and nitrogen-oxygen content species. Polyhedral oligomeric silisesquioxanes are...Approved for Public Release 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT Several papers on ionic liquids have been published or submitted as a result of this...in energetic ionic liquids . These are variously substituted triazolium, tertazolium, and pentazolium cations. The heats of formation of all species

  9. Soft and flexible PEDOT/PSS films for applications to soft actuators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Yuechen; Tanigawa, Ryo; Okuzaki, Hidenori

    2014-07-01

    Stretchable and highly conductive PEDOT/PSS/Xyl films were prepared by casting an aqueous dispersion of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT/PSS) as colloidal gel particles containing xylitol (Xyl) and subsequent heating. The electrical conductivity of the PEDOT/PSS/Xyl film containing 50 wt% of xylitol significantly increased from 115 S cm-1 to 407 S cm-1 by heating at 140 °C in air for 1 h. It was found that the xylitol had two functions as (i) a plasticizer to weaken hydrogen bonds between PSS of colloidal particles by replacing with that between xylitol and PSS and (ii) the additional capability of increasing the mobility of charge carriers between the colloidal particles. The transparent ionic liquid/polyurethane (IL/PU) gels were fabricated by dissolving thermoplastic polyurethane and ionic liquid of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide. By increasing the IL content from 0 wt% to 70 wt%, both ionic conductivity and electric-double-layer capacitance under an electric field increased, while Young’s modulus, strength and elongation at break decreased. The IL/PU/PEDOT/PSS/Xyl composites were fabricated by sandwiching the IL/PU gel between two soft and flexible PEDOT/PSS/Xyl films. Upon application of 2 V, the IL/PU/PEDOT/PSS/Xyl composite (IL = 70%) showed quick and intensive bending toward anode, where the bending displacement at 0.1 Hz attained 2.9 mm, corresponding to the strain of 0.15%, and still worked at frequencies higher than 50 Hz.

  10. Potential of Zero Charge and Its Temperature Derivative for Au(111) Electrode|Alkanethiol SAM|1.0 M Aqueous Electrolyte Solution Interfaces: Impact of Electrolyte Solution Ionic Strength and Its Effect on the Structure of the Modified Electrode|Electrolyte Solution Interface

    DOE PAGES

    Smalley, John F.

    2017-04-06

    In this study, we demonstrate how small and rapid temperature perturbations (produced by the indirect laser-induced temperature jump (ILIT) technique) of solid metal electrode|electrolyte solution interfaces may be used to determine the potential of zero (total) charge (E pzc) and its temperature derivativemore » $$\\left(\\frac{dEpzc}{dT}\\right)$$ of Au(111) electrode surfaces modified by alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers in contact with high ionic strength (i.e., 1.0 M) aqueous electrolyte solutions. The E pzc’s measured for two different types of SAMs (made from either HS(CH 2) n-1CH 3 (5 ≤ n ≤ 12, E pzc = -(0.99 ± 0.12) V vs SSCE) or HS(CH 2) nOH (3 ≤ n ≤ 16, E pzc = (0.46 ± 0.22) V vs SSCE)) are considerably different than those measured previously at much lower electrolyte solution ionic strengths. For mixed monolayers made from both HS(CH 2) n-1CH 3 and HS(CH 2) nFc (where Fc refers to ferrocene), the difference in Epzc decreases as a function of the surface concentration of the Fc moiety (i.e., [Fc]), and it completely disappears at a surprisingly small [Fc] (~4.0 × 10 –11 mol cm –2). These observations for the Au(111)|hydrophobic (neat and mixed) SAM|aqueous electrolyte solution interfaces, along with the surface potentials (g Sml(dip)) evaluated for the contacting electrolyte solution surfaces of these interfaces, are consistent with a structure for the water molecule components of these surfaces where there is a net orientation of the dipoles of these molecules. Accordingly, the negative (oxygen) ends of these molecules point toward the SAM surface. The positive values of g Sml(dip) evaluated for hydrophilic SAM (e.g., made from HS(CH 2) nOH)|aqueous electrolyte solution interfaces) also indicate that the structure of these interfaces is similar to that of the hydrophobic interfaces. However, g Sml(dip) decreases with increasing ionic strength for the hydrophilic interfaces, while it increases with increasing ionic strength for the hydrophobic interfaces. The data (and calculations) reported in the present work and other studies of hydrophobic (and hydrophilic)|aqueous solution interfaces are as yet insufficient to support a complete explanation for the effects of ionic strength observed in the present study. Nevertheless, an analysis based upon the value of $$\\left(\\frac{dEpzc}{dT}\\right)$$ (= (0.51 ± 0.12) mV/K, essentially the same for SAMs made from both HS(CH 2) n-1CH 3 and HS(CH 2) nOH), determined in the present study provides a further indication that upon formation of the SAM there is a partial charge transfer of electrons from the relevant gold atoms on the Au(111) surface to the sulfur atoms of the alkanethiols.« less

  11. The effect of high ionic strength on neptunium (V) adsorption to a halophilic bacterium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ams, David A.; Swanson, Juliet S.; Szymanowski, Jennifer E. S.; Fein, Jeremy B.; Richmann, Michael; Reed, Donald T.

    2013-06-01

    The mobility of neptunium (V) in subsurface high ionic strength aqueous systems may be strongly influenced by adsorption to the cell wall of the halophilic bacteria Chromohalobacter sp. This study is the first to evaluate the adsorption of neptunium (V) to the surface of a halophilic bacterium as a function of pH from approximately 2 to 10 and at ionic strengths of 2 and 4 M. This is also the first study to evaluate the effects of carbonate complexation with neptunium (V) on adsorption to whole bacterial cells under high pH conditions. A thermodynamically-based surface complexation model was adapted to describe experimental adsorption data under high ionic strength conditions where traditional corrections for aqueous ion activity are invalid. Adsorption of neptunium (V) was rapid and reversible under the conditions of the study. Adsorption was significant over the entire pH range evaluated for both ionic strength conditions and was shown to be dependent on the speciation of the sites on the bacterial surface and neptunium (V) in solution. Adsorption behavior was controlled by the relatively strong electrostatic attraction of the positively charged neptunyl ion to the negatively charged bacterial surface at pH below circum-neutral. At pH above circum-neutral, the adsorption behavior was controlled by the presence of negatively charged neptunium (V) carbonate complexes resulting in decreased adsorption, although adsorption was still significant due to the adsorption of negatively charged neptunyl-carbonate species. Adsorption in 4 M NaClO4 was enhanced relative to adsorption in 2 M NaClO4 over the majority of the pH range evaluated, likely due to the effect of increasing aqueous ion activity at high ionic strength. The protonation/deprotonation characteristics of the cell wall of Chromohalobacter sp. were evaluated by potentiometric titrations in 2 and 4 M NaClO4. Bacterial titration results indicated that Chromohalobacter sp. exhibits similar proton buffering capacity to previously studied non-halophilic bacteria. The titration data were used to determine the number of types, concentrations, and associated deprotonation constants of functional groups on the bacterial surface; the neptunium adsorption measurements were used to constrain binding constant values for the important neptunium (V)-bacterial surface species. Together, these results can be incorporated into geochemical speciation models to aid in the prediction of neptunium (V) mobility in complex bacteria-bearing geochemical systems.

  12. Elaboration and characterization of a free standing LiSICON membrane for aqueous lithium-air battery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Puech, Laurent; Cantau, Christophe; Vinatier, Philippe; Toussaint, Gwenaëlle; Stevens, Philippe

    2012-09-01

    In order to develop a LISICON separator for an aqueous lithium-air battery, a thin membrane was prepared by a tape-casting of a Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7 (PO4)3-AlPO4 based slip followed by a sintering step. By optimizing the grain sizes, the slip composition and the sintering treatment, the mechanical properties were improved and the membrane was reduced to a thickness of down to 40 μm. As a result, the ionic resistance is relatively low, around 38 Ω for a 55 μm membrane of 1 cm2. One side of the membrane was coated with a lithium oxynitrured phosphorous (LiPON) thin film to prevent lithium metal attack. Lithium metal was electrochemically deposited on the LiPON surface from a saturated aqueous solution of LiOH. However, the ionic resistance of the LiPON film, around 67 Ω for a 1.2 μm film of 1 cm2, still causes an important ohmic loss contribution which limits the power performance of a lithium-air battery.

  13. Controlling the Formation of Ionic-Liquid-based Aqueous Biphasic Systems by Changing the Hydrogen-Bonding Ability of Polyethylene Glycol End Groups.

    PubMed

    Pereira, Jorge F B; Kurnia, Kiki A; Freire, Mara G; Coutinho, João A P; Rogers, Robin D

    2015-07-20

    The formation of aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) when mixing aqueous solutions of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and an ionic liquid (IL) can be controlled by modifying the hydrogen-bond-donating/-accepting ability of the polymer end groups. It is shown that the miscibility/immiscibility in these systems stems from both the solvation of the ether groups in the oxygen chain and the ability of the PEG terminal groups to preferably hydrogen bond with water or the anion of the salt. The removal of even one hydrogen bond in PEG can noticeably affect the phase behavior, especially in the region of the phase diagram in which all the ethylene oxide (EO) units of the polymeric chain are completely solvated. In this region, removing or weakening the hydrogen-bond-donating ability of PEG results in greater immiscibility, and thus, in a higher ability to form ABS, as a result of the much weaker interactions between the IL anion and the PEG end groups. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. Cloud point phenomena for POE-type nonionic surfactants in a model room temperature ionic liquid.

    PubMed

    Inoue, Tohru; Misono, Takeshi

    2008-10-15

    The cloud point phenomenon has been investigated for the solutions of polyoxyethylene (POE)-type nonionic surfactants (C(12)E(5), C(12)E(6), C(12)E(7), C(10)E(6), and C(14)E(6)) in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmimBF(4)), a typical room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL). The cloud point, T(c), increases with the elongation of the POE chain, while decreases with the increase in the hydrocarbon chain length. This demonstrates that the solvophilicity/solvophobicity of the surfactants in RTIL comes from POE chain/hydrocarbon chain. When compared with an aqueous system, the chain length dependence of T(c) is larger for the RTIL system regarding both POE and hydrocarbon chains; in particular, hydrocarbon chain length affects T(c) much more strongly in the RTIL system than in equivalent aqueous systems. In a similar fashion to the much-studied aqueous systems, the micellar growth is also observed in this RTIL solvent as the temperature approaches T(c). The cloud point curves have been analyzed using a Flory-Huggins-type model based on phase separation in polymer solutions.

  15. Capacitive behaviour of MnF2 and CoF2 submicro/nanoparticles synthesized via a mild ionic liquid-assisted route

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ma, Ruguang; Zhou, Yao; Yao, Lin; Liu, Guanghui; Zhou, Zhenzhen; Lee, Jong-Min; Wang, Jiacheng; Liu, Qian

    2016-01-01

    Submicro-/nano-sized MnF2 rods and hierarchical CoF2 cuboids are respectively synthesized via a facile precipitation method assisted by ionic liquid under a mild condition. The as-prepared MF2 (M = Mn, Co) submicro/nanoparticles exhibit impressive specific capacitance in 1.0 M KOH aqueous solution, especially at relatively high current densities, e.g. 91.2, 68.7 and 56.4 F g-1 for MnF2, and 81.7, 70.6 and 63.0 F g-1 for CoF2 at 5, 8 and 10 A g-1, respectively. The mechanism of striking capacitance of MF2 is clarified on the basis of analysing the cycled electrodes by different characterization techniques. Such remarkable capacitance is ascribed to the redox reactions between MF2 and MOOH in aqueous alkaline electrolytes, which can not be obtained in aqueous neutral electrolytes. This study for the first time provides direct evidences on the pseudocapacitance mechanism of MF2 in alkaline electrolytes and paves the way of application of transition metal fluorides as electrodes in supercapacitors.

  16. A computer program for geochemical analysis of acid-rain and other low-ionic-strength, acidic waters

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Johnsson, P.A.; Lord, D.G.

    1987-01-01

    ARCHEM, a computer program written in FORTRAN 77, is designed primarily for use in the routine geochemical interpretation of low-ionic-strength, acidic waters. On the basis of chemical analyses of the water, and either laboratory or field determinations of pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen, the program calculates the equilibrium distribution of major inorganic aqueous species and of inorganic aluminum complexes. The concentration of the organic anion is estimated from the dissolved organic concentration. Ionic ferrous iron is calculated from the dissolved oxygen concentration. Ionic balances and comparisons of computed with measured specific conductances are performed as checks on the analytical accuracy of chemical analyses. ARCHEM may be tailored easily to fit different sampling protocols, and may be run on multiple sample analyses. (Author 's abstract)

  17. Sugarcane bagasse pretreatment using three imidazolium-based ionic liquids; mass balances and enzyme kinetics

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Effective pretreatment is key to achieving high enzymatic saccharification efficiency in processing lignocellulosic biomass to fermentable sugars, biofuels and value-added products. Ionic liquids (ILs), still relatively new class of solvents, are attractive for biomass pretreatment because some demonstrate the rare ability to dissolve all components of lignocellulosic biomass including highly ordered (crystalline) cellulose. In the present study, three ILs, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C4mim]Cl), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C2mim]Cl), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([C2mim]OAc) are used to dissolve/pretreat and fractionate sugarcane bagasse. In these IL-based pretreatments the biomass is completely or partially dissolved in ILs at temperatures greater than 130°C and then precipitated by the addition of an antisolvent to the IL biomass mixture. For the first time mass balances of IL-based pretreatments are reported. Such mass balances, along with kinetics data, can be used in process modelling and design. Results Lignin removals of 10% mass of lignin in bagasse with [C4mim]Cl, 50% mass with [C2mim]Cl and 60% mass with [C2mim]OAc, are achieved by limiting the amount of water added as antisolvent to 0.5 water:IL mass ratio thus minimising lignin precipitation. Enzyme saccharification (24 h, 15FPU) yields (% cellulose mass in starting bagasse) from the recovered solids rank as: [C2mim]OAc(83%) > >[C2mim]Cl(53%) = [C4mim]Cl(53%). Composition of [C2mim]OAc-treated solids such as low lignin, low acetyl group content and preservation of arabinosyl groups are characteristic of aqueous alkali pretreatments while those of chloride IL-treated solids resemble aqueous acid pretreatments. All ILs are fully recovered after use (100% mass as determined by ion chromatography). Conclusions In all three ILs regulated addition of water as an antisolvent effected a polysaccharide enriched precipitate since some of the lignin remained dissolved in the aqueous IL solution. Of the three IL studied [C2mim]OAc gave the best saccharification yield, material recovery and delignification. The effects of [C2mim]OAc pretreatment resemble those of aqueous alkali pretreatments while those of [C2mim]Cl and [C4mim]Cl resemble aqueous acid pretreatments. The use of imidazolium IL solvents with shorter alkyl chains results in accelerated dissolution, pretreatment and degradation. PMID:22920045

  18. Ionic depletion at the crystalline Gibbs layer of PEG-capped gold nanoparticle brushes at aqueous surfaces

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wang, Wenjie; Zhang, Honghu; Mallapragada, Surya

    In situ surface-sensitive x-ray diffraction and grazing incidence x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (GIXFS) methods are combined to determine the ionic distributions across the liquid/vapor interfaces of thiolated-polyethylene-glycol–capped gold nanoparticle (PEG-AuNP) solutions. Induced by the addition of salts (i.e., Cs 2SO 4) to PEG-AuNPs solutions, two-dimensional hexagonal lattices of PEG-AuNPs form spontaneously at the aqueous surfaces, as is demonstrated by x-ray reflectivity and grazing incidence small-angle x-ray scattering. In conclusion, by taking advantage of element specificity with the GIXFS method, we find that the cation Cs + concentration at the crystalline film is significantly reduced in parts of the PEG-AuNP film comparedmore » with that in the bulk.« less

  19. Cloud point extraction: an alternative to traditional liquid-liquid extraction for lanthanides(III) separation.

    PubMed

    Favre-Réguillon, Alain; Draye, Micheline; Lebuzit, Gérard; Thomas, Sylvie; Foos, Jacques; Cote, Gérard; Guy, Alain

    2004-06-17

    Cloud point extraction (CPE) was used to extract and separate lanthanum(III) and gadolinium(III) nitrate from an aqueous solution. The methodology used is based on the formation of lanthanide(III)-8-hydroxyquinoline (8-HQ) complexes soluble in a micellar phase of non-ionic surfactant. The lanthanide(III) complexes are then extracted into the surfactant-rich phase at a temperature above the cloud point temperature (CPT). The structure of the non-ionic surfactant, and the chelating agent-metal molar ratio are identified as factors determining the extraction efficiency and selectivity. In an aqueous solution containing equimolar concentrations of La(III) and Gd(III), extraction efficiency for Gd(III) can reach 96% with a Gd(III)/La(III) selectivity higher than 30 using Triton X-114. Under those conditions, a Gd(III) decontamination factor of 50 is obtained.

  20. Ionic depletion at the crystalline Gibbs layer of PEG-capped gold nanoparticle brushes at aqueous surfaces

    DOE PAGES

    Wang, Wenjie; Zhang, Honghu; Mallapragada, Surya; ...

    2017-12-14

    In situ surface-sensitive x-ray diffraction and grazing incidence x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (GIXFS) methods are combined to determine the ionic distributions across the liquid/vapor interfaces of thiolated-polyethylene-glycol–capped gold nanoparticle (PEG-AuNP) solutions. Induced by the addition of salts (i.e., Cs 2SO 4) to PEG-AuNPs solutions, two-dimensional hexagonal lattices of PEG-AuNPs form spontaneously at the aqueous surfaces, as is demonstrated by x-ray reflectivity and grazing incidence small-angle x-ray scattering. In conclusion, by taking advantage of element specificity with the GIXFS method, we find that the cation Cs + concentration at the crystalline film is significantly reduced in parts of the PEG-AuNP film comparedmore » with that in the bulk.« less

  1. Ionic liquid-salt aqueous two-phase extraction based on salting-out coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography for the determination of sulfonamides in water and food.

    PubMed

    Han, Juan; Wang, Yun; Liu, Yan; Li, Yanfang; Lu, Yang; Yan, Yongsheng; Ni, Liang

    2013-02-01

    Ionic liquid-salt aqueous two-phase extraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection was developed for the determination of sulfonamides in water and food samples. In the procedure, the analytes were extracted from the aqueous samples into the ionic liquid top phase in one step. Three sulfonamides, sulfamerazine, sulfamethoxazole, and sulfamethizole were selected here as model compounds for developing and evaluating the method. The effects of various experimental parameters in extraction step were studied using two optimization methods, one variable at a time and Box-Behnken design. The results showed that the amount of sulfonamides did not have effect on the extraction efficiency. Therefore, a three-level Box-Behnken experimental design with three factors, which combined the response surface modeling, was used to optimize sulfonamides extraction. Under the most favorable extraction parameters, the detection limits (S/N = 3) and quantification limits (S/N = 10) of the proposed method for the target compounds were achieved within the range of 0.15-0.3 ng/mL and 0.5-1.0 ng/mL from spiked samples, respectively, which are lower than or comparable with other reported approaches applied to the determination of the same compounds. Finally, the proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of sulfonamide compounds in different water and food samples and satisfactory recoveries of spiked target compounds in real samples were obtained.

  2. Ionic liquid-based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction with back-extraction coupled with capillary electrophoresis to determine phenolic compounds.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Caihong; Tong, Shanshan; Chang, Yunxia; Jia, Qiong; Zhou, Weihong

    2012-04-01

    Ionic liquid (IL) based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) with back-extraction coupled with capillary electrophoresis ultraviolet detection was developed to determine four phenolic compounds (bisphenol-A, β-naphthol, α-naphthol, 2, 4-dichlorophenol) in aqueous cosmetics. The developed method was used to preconcentrate and clean up the four phenolic compounds including two steps. The analytes were transferred into room temperature ionic liquid (1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, [C(8) MIM][PF(6) ]) rich-phase in the first step. In the second step, the analytes were back-extracted into the alkaline aqueous phase. The effects of extraction parameters, such as type and volume of extraction solvent, type and volume of disperser, extraction and centrifugal time, sample pH, salt addition, and concentration and volume of NaOH in back-extraction were investigated. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the preconcentration factors were 60.1 for bisphenol-A, 52.7 for β-naphthol, 49.2 for α-naphthol, and 18.0 for 2, 4-dichlorophenol. The limits of detection for bisphenol-A, β-naphthol, α-naphthol and 2, 4-dichlorophenol were 5, 5, 8, and 100 ng mL(-1), respectively. Four kinds of aqueous cosmetics including toner, soften lotion, make-up remover, and perfume were analyzed and yielded recoveries ranging from 81.6% to 119.4%. The main advantages of the proposed method are quick, easy, cheap, and effective. © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  3. Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbons from Ionic Liquids@MOF: Remarkable Adsorbents for Both Aqueous and Nonaqueous Media.

    PubMed

    Ahmed, Imteaz; Panja, Tandra; Khan, Nazmul Abedin; Sarker, Mithun; Yu, Jong-Sung; Jhung, Sung Hwa

    2017-03-22

    Porous carbons were prepared from a metal-organic framework (MOF, named ZIF-8), with or without modification, via high-temperature pyrolysis. Porous carbons with high nitrogen content were obtained from the calcination of MOF after introducing an ionic liquid (IL) (IL@MOF) via the ship-in-bottle method. The MOF-derived carbons (MDCs) and IL@MOF-derived carbons (IMDCs) were characterized using various techniques and used for liquid-phase adsorptions in both water and hydrocarbon to understand the possible applications in purification of water and fuel, respectively. Adsorptive performances for the removal of organic contaminants, atrazine (ATZ), diuron, and diclofenac, were remarkably enhanced with the modification/conversion of MOFs to MDC and IMDC. For example, in the case of ATZ adsorption, the maximum adsorption capacity of IMDC (Q 0 = 208 m 2 /g) was much higher than that of activated carbon (AC, Q 0 = 60 m 2 /g) and MDC (Q 0 = 168 m 2 /g) and was found to be the highest among the reported results so far. The results of adsorptive denitrogenation and desulfurization of fuel were similar to that of water purification. The IMDCs are very useful in the adsorptions since these new carbons showed remarkable performances in both the aqueous and nonaqueous phases. These results are very meaningful because hydrophobic and hydrophilic adsorbents are usually required for the adsorptions in the water and fuel phases, respectively. Moreover, a plausible mechanism, H-bonding, was also suggested to explain the remarkable performance of the IMDCs in the adsorptions. Therefore, the IMDCs derived from IL@MOF might have various applications, especially in adsorptions, based on high porosity, mesoporosity, doped nitrogen, and functional groups.

  4. Ionic liquid phase microextraction combined with fluorescence spectrometry for preconcentration and quantitation of carvedilol in pharmaceutical preparations and biological media.

    PubMed

    Zeeb, Mohsen; Mirza, Behrooz

    2015-04-30

    Carvedilol belongs to a group of medicines termed non-selective beta-adrenergic blocking agents. In the presented approach, a practical and environmentally friendly microextraction method based on the application of ionic liquids (ILs) was followed by fluorescence spectrometry for trace determination of carvedilol in pharmaceutical and biological media. A rapid and simple ionic liquid phase microextraction was utilized for preconcentration and extraction of carvedilol. A hydrophobic ionic liquid (IL) was applied as a microextraction solvent. In order to disperse the IL through the aqueous media and extract the analyte of interest, IL was injected into the sample solution and a proper temperature was applied and then for aggregating the IL-phase, the sample was cooled in an ice water-bath. The aqueous media was centrifuged and IL-phase collected at the bottom of the test tube was introduced to the micro-cell of spectrofluorimeter, in order to determine the concentration of the enriched analyte. Main parameters affecting the accuracy and precision of the proposed approach were investigated and optimized values were obtained. A linear response range of 10-250 μg I(-1) and a limit of detection (LOD) of 1.7 μg I(-1) were obtained. Finally, the presented method was utilized for trace determination of carvedilol in commercial pharmaceutical preparations and biological media.

  5. Optimization of oligomeric enzyme activity in ionic liquids using Rhodotorula glutinis yeast phenylalanine ammonia lyase.

    PubMed

    Barron, Christiaan C; Sponagle, Brandon J D; Arivalagan, Pugazhendhi; D'Cunha, Godwin B

    2017-01-01

    Phenylalanine ammonia lyase (E.C.4.3.1.24, PAL) activity of Rhodotorula glutinis yeast has been demonstrated in four commonly used ionic liquids. PAL forward reaction was carried out in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium methyl sulfate ([BMIM][MeSO 4 ]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIM][BF 4 ]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF 6 ]) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium lactate ([BMIM][lactate]). Our experiments have revealed that PAL is catalytically active in ionic liquids and the enzyme activity in ([BMIM][PF 6 ]) is comparable to that obtained in aqueous buffer medium. Different conditions were optimized for maximal PAL forward activity including time of incubation (30.0min) L -phenylalanine substrate concentration (30.0mM), nature of buffer (50.0mM Tris-HCl), pH (9.0), temperature (37°C), and speed of agitation (100 rev min -1 ). Under these optimized conditions, about 83% conversion of substrate to product was obtained for the PAL forward reaction that was determined using UV spectroscopy at 290nm. PAL reverse reaction in ([BMIM][PF 6 ]) was determined spectrophotometrically at 520nm; and about 59% substrate conversion was obtained. This data provides further knowledge in enzyme biocatalysis in non-aqueous media, and may be of importance when studying the function of other oligomeric/multimeric proteins and enzymes in ionic liquids. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Diffusion of aqueous solutions of ionic, zwitterionic, and polar solutes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Teng, Xiaojing; Huang, Qi; Dharmawardhana, Chamila Chathuranga; Ichiye, Toshiko

    2018-06-01

    The properties of aqueous solutions of ionic, zwitterionic, and polar solutes are of interest to many fields. For instance, one of the many anomalous properties of aqueous solutions is the behavior of water diffusion in different monovalent salt solutions. In addition, solutes can affect the stabilities of macromolecules such as proteins in aqueous solution. Here, the diffusivities of aqueous solutions of sodium chloride, potassium chloride, tri-methylamine oxide (TMAO), urea, and TMAO-urea are examined in molecular dynamics simulations. The decrease in the diffusivity of water with the concentration of simple ions and urea can be described by a simple model in which the water molecules hydrogen bonded to the solutes are considered to diffuse at the same rate as the solutes, while the remainder of the water molecules are considered to be bulk and diffuse at almost the same rate as pure water. On the other hand, the decrease in the diffusivity of water with the concentration of TMAO is apparently affected by a decrease in the diffusion rate of the bulk water molecules in addition to the decrease due to the water molecules hydrogen bonded to TMAO. In other words, TMAO enhances the viscosity of water, while urea barely affects it. Overall, this separation of water molecules into those that are hydrogen bonded to solute and those that are bulk can provide a useful means of understanding the short- and long-range effects of solutes on water.

  7. Contact lens material characteristics associated with hydrogel lens dehydration.

    PubMed

    Ramamoorthy, Padmapriya; Sinnott, Loraine T; Nichols, Jason J

    2010-03-01

    To determine the association between material dehydration and hydrogel contact lens material characteristics, including water content and ionicity. Water content and refractive index data were derived from automated refractometry measurements of worn hydrogel contact lenses of 318 participants in the Contact Lens and Dry Eye Study (CLADES). Dehydration was determined in two ways; as the difference between nominal and measured (1) water content and (2) refractive index. Multiple regression models were used to examine the relation between dehydration and material characteristics, controlling for tear osmolality. The overall measured and nominal water content values were 52.58 +/- 7.49% and 56.88 +/- 7.81% respectively, while the measured and nominal refractive indices were 1.429 +/- 0.015 and 1.410 +/- 0.017. High water content and ionic hydrogel lens materials were associated with greater dehydration (p < 0.0001 for both) than low water content and non-ionic materials. When dehydration was assessed as the difference in refractive index, only high water content was associated with dehydration (p < 0.0001). High water content and ionic characteristics of hydrogel lens materials are associated with hydrogel lens dehydration, with the former being more strongly associated. Such dehydration changes could in turn lead to important clinical ramifications such as reduced oxygen transmissibility, greater lens adherence and reduced tear exchange.

  8. Enthalpies of Dissolution of Crystalline Naproxen Sodium in Water and Potassium Hydroxide Aqueous Solutions at 298 K

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lytkin, A. I.; Chernikov, V. V.; Krutova, O. N.; Bychkova, S. A.; Volkov, A. V.; Skvortsov, I. A.

    2018-03-01

    The enthalpies of dissolution of crystalline naproxen sodium in water and aqueous solutions of KOH at 298.15 K are measured by direct calorimetric means in a wide range of concentrations. The acid-base properties of naproxen sodium at ionic strength I 0 and I = 0.1 (KNO3) and a temperature of 298.15 K are studied by spectrophotometric means. The concentration and thermodynamic dissociation constants are determined. The standard enthalpies of the formation of naproxen sodium and the products of its dissociation in aqueous solution are calculated.

  9. Lithium1.3Aluminum0.3Titanium1.7Phosphate as a solid state Li-ion conductor: Issues with microcracking and stability in aqueous solutions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jackman, Spencer D.

    Lithium aluminum titanium phosphate (LATP) with formula Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 was analyzed and tested to better understand its applicability as a solid state ion conducting ceramic material for electrochemical applications. Sintered samples were obtained from Ceramatec, Inc. in Salt Lake City and characterized in terms of density, phase-purity, fracture toughness, Young's modulus, thermal expansion behavior, mechanical strength, a.c. and d.c. ionic conductivity, and susceptibility to static and electrochemical corrosion in aqueous Li salt solutions. It was shown that LATP is prone to microcrack generation because of high thermal expansion anisotropy. A.c. impedance spectra of high-purity LATP of varying grain sizes showed that microcracking had a negative impact on the ionic conduction of Li along grain boundaries, with fine-grained (1.7±0.7 µm) LATP having twice the ionic conductivity of the same purity of coarse-grained (4.8±1.9 µm) LATP at 50°C. LATP with detectible secondary phases had lower ionic conductivity for similar grain sizes, as would be expected. The Young's modulus of fine-grained LATP was measured to be 115 GPa, and the highest biaxial strength was 191±11 MPa when tested in mineral oil, 144±13 MPa as measured in air, and 26±7 MPa after exposure to deionized water, suggesting that LATP undergoes stress-corrosion cracking. After exposure to LiOH, the strength was 76±19 MPa. This decrease in strength was observed despite there being no measureable change in a.c. impedance spectra, X-ray diffraction, or sample mass, suggesting phosphate glasses at grain boundaries. The chemical and electrochemical stability of high-purity LATP in aqueous electrochemical cells was evaluated using LiOH, LiCl, LiNO3, and LiCOOCH3 salts as the Li source. LATP was found to be most stable between pH 8-9, with the longest cell operating continuously at 25 mA cm-2 for 625 hours at 40°C in LiCOOCH3. At pH values outside of the 7-10 range, eventual membrane degradation was observed in all aqueous systems under electrochemical conditions. While LATP was surprisingly resistant to static corrosion in a hot, aqueous LiOH solution, electrochemical degradation was observed at the cathode due to subsurface pitting. Strength measurements were more instructive than impedance measurements in detecting this degradation.

  10. ISOTOPE FRACTIONATION PROCESS

    DOEpatents

    Clewett, G.H.; Lee, DeW.A.

    1958-05-20

    A new method is described for isotopic enrichment of uranium. It has been found that when an aqueous acidic solution of ionic tetravalent uraniunn is contacted with chelate complexed tetravalent uranium, the U/sup 238/ preferentially concentrates in the complexed phase while U/sup 235/ concentrates in the ionic phase. The effect is enhanced when the chelate compound is water insoluble and is dissolved in a water-immiscible organic solvent. Cupferron is one of a number of sultable complexing agents, and chloroform is a suitable organic solvent.

  11. Solute-Gas Equilibria in Multi-Organic Aqueous Systems

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1981-11-30

    THIS PAGK(*7@nDae~ Kht.Eero*g) Block 20 (cont.) --z Henry’s constants for selected organic solvents were determined at ionic strengths up to 1.0 M (KC1...equili- brium, batch stripping reactor. Data were fit to a regression equation. Henry’s constants for selected organic solvents were determined at ionic...organic systems. The presence of additional or- ganics (some perhaps not even strippable ) likely to be found along with a particular volatile should be

  12. Colloidal behavior of aqueous montmorillonite suspensions in the presence of non-ionic polymer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gareche, M.; Azri, N.; Allal, A.; Zeraibi, N.

    2015-04-01

    In this paper we characterized at first, the rheological behavior of the bentonite suspensions and the aqueous solutions of polyethylene oxide (PEO), then we were investigated the influence of this polymer in a water-based drilling fluid model (6% of bentonite suspension). The objective is to exhibit how the non ionic polymer with molecular weight 6×103 g/mol. of varying concentration mass (0.7%, 1%, 2% et 3%) significantly alter the rheological properties (yield stress, viscosity, loss and elastic modulus) of the bentonite suspensions. The rheological measurements made in simple shear and in dynamic on the mixture (water-bentonite-PEO), showed rheological properties of bentonite suspensions both in the presence and absence of non-ionic polymer. The PEO presents an affinity for the bentonite particles slowing down their kinetic aggregation. The analysis by X-rays diffraction also allowed understanding the structure of this mixture. It had revealed the intercalation between of the clay platelets on one hand, and the links bridges assured by the chains of polymer between bentonite particles beyond a critical concentration in PEO on the other hand. The Herschel- Bulkley rheological model is used for the correlation of our experimental results.

  13. Sequential injection ionic liquid dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for thallium preconcentration and determination with flame atomic absorption spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Anthemidis, Aristidis N; Ioannou, Kallirroy-Ioanna G

    2012-08-01

    A novel, automatic on-line sequential injection dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (SI-DLLME) method, based on 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([Hmim][PF(6)]) ionic liquid as an extractant solvent was developed and demonstrated for trace thallium determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The ionic liquid was on-line fully dispersed into the aqueous solution in a continuous flow format while the TlBr(4)(-) complex was easily migrated into the fine droplets of the extractant due to the huge contact area of them with the aqueous phase. Furthermore, the extractant was simply retained onto the surface of polyurethane foam packed into a microcolumn. No specific conditions like low temperature are required for extractant isolation. All analytical parameters of the proposed method were investigated and optimized. For 15 mL of sample solution, an enhancement factor of 290, a detection limit of 0.86 μg L(-1) and a precision (RSD) of 2.7% at 20.0 μg L(-1) Tl(I) concentration level, was obtained. The developed method was evaluated by analyzing certified reference materials while good recoveries from environmental and biological samples proved that present method was competitive in practical applications.

  14. PCE solubilization and mobilization by commercial humic acid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Johnson, William P.; John, W. Wynn

    1999-01-01

    In this paper, comparison is made of terms describing solubilization of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOC) by dissolved humic substances (DHS) and commercial non-ionic surfactants. This paper examines the ability of a commercial humic acid (Aldrich humic acid) to solubilize and mobilize tetrachlorothene (PCE) residual in porous media. The constant for solubilization of PCE by Aldrich humic acid is shown to be a factor of two to thirty times less than that published for dodecyl alcohol ethoxylate surfactants, showing that Aldrich humic acid is less capable than some non-ionic surfactants at solubilizing residual PCE. The depression of PCE-water interfacial tension in the presence of DHS is shown to be significantly less than published values for a non-ionic surfactant, and surfactant mixtures, indicating that the DHS used in this study is less prone to cause mobilization of non-aqueous phase liquids relative to surfactants. Several possible advantages of DHS use in the remediation of subsurface media contaminated with HOC are described, including the ability of DHS to solubilize HOC irrespective of the DHS concentration, and potential lesser tendency of DHS to depress the interfacial tension between non-aqueous phases and water relative to surfactants (an advantage when mobilization is undesired).

  15. Interactions of Aqueous Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquid Mixtures with Solid-Supported Phospholipid Vesicles

    PubMed Central

    Losada-Pérez, Patricia; Khorshid, Mehran; Renner, Frank Uwe

    2016-01-01

    Despite the environmentally friendly reputation of ionic liquids (ILs), their safety has been recently questioned given their potential as cytotoxic agents. The fundamental mechanisms underlying the interactions between ILs and cells are less studied and by far not completely understood. Biomimetic films are here important biophysical model systems to elucidate fundamental aspects and mechanisms relevant for a large range of biological interaction ranging from signaling to drug reception or toxicity. Here we use dissipative quartz crystal microbalance QCM-D to examine the effect of aqueous imidazolium-based ionic liquid mixtures on solid-supported biomimetic membranes. Specifically, we assess in real time the effect of the cation chain length and the anion nature on a supported vesicle layer of the model phospholipid DMPC. Results indicate that interactions are mainly driven by the hydrophobic components of the IL, which significantly distort the layer and promote vesicle rupture. Our analyses evidence the gradual decrease of the main phase transition temperature upon increasing IL concentration, reflecting increased disorder by weakening of lipid chain interactions. The degree of rupture is significant for ILs with long hydrophobic cation chains and large hydrophobic anions whose behavior is reminiscent of that of antimicrobial peptides. PMID:27684947

  16. Extraction and Chromatographic Determination of Shikimic Acid in Chinese Conifer Needles with 1-Benzyl-3-methylimidazolium Bromide Ionic Liquid Aqueous Solutions

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Fengli; Hou, Kexin; Li, Shuangyang; Zu, Yuangang; Yang, Lei

    2014-01-01

    An ionic liquids-based ultrasound-assisted extraction (ILUAE) method was successfully developed for extracting shikimic acid from conifer needles. Eleven 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium ionic liquids with different cations and anions were investigated and 1-benzyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide solution was selected as the solvent. The conditions for ILUAE, including the ionic liquid concentration, ultrasound power, ultrasound time, and liquid-solid ratio, were optimized. The proposed method had good recovery (99.37%–100.11%) and reproducibility (RSD, n = 6; 3.6%). ILUAE was an efficient, rapid, and simple sample preparation technique that showed high reproducibility. Based on the results, a number of plant species, namely, Picea koraiensis, Picea meyeri, Pinus elliottii, and Pinus banksiana, were identified as among the best resources of shikimic acid. PMID:24782942

  17. Synthesis and characterization of ionic polymer networks in a room-temperature ionic liquid.

    PubMed

    Stanzione, Joseph F; Jensen, Robert E; Costanzo, Philip J; Palmese, Giuseppe R

    2012-11-01

    Ionic liquid gels (ILGs) for potential use in ion transport and separation applications were generated via a free radical copolymerization of 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) and N,N'-methylene(bis)acrylamide (MBA) using 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate (IL) as a room temperature ionic liquid solvent medium. The AMPS and MBA monomer solubility window in the IL in the temperature range of 25 to 65 °C was determined. In situ ATR-FTIR showed near complete conversion of monomers to a cross-linked polymer network. ILGs with glass transition temperatures (T(g)s) near -50 °C were generated with T(g) decreasing with increasing IL content. The elastic moduli in compression (200 to 6600 kPa) decreased with increasing IL content and increasing AMPS content while the conductivities (0.35 to 2.14 mS cm⁻¹) increased with increasing IL content and decreasing MBA content. The polymer-IL interaction parameter (χ) (0.48 to 0.55) was determined via a modified version of the Bray and Merrill equation.

  18. Production of coconut protein powder from coconut wet processing waste and its characterization.

    PubMed

    Naik, Aduja; Raghavendra, S N; Raghavarao, K S M S

    2012-07-01

    Virgin coconut oil (VCO) has been gaining popularity in recent times. During its production, byproducts such as coconut skim milk and insoluble protein are obtained which are underutilized or thrown away to the environment at present. This study deals with utilization of these byproducts to obtain a value-added product, namely, coconut protein powder. When coconut milk was subjected to centrifugation, three phases, namely, fat phase (coconut cream), aqueous phase (coconut skim milk), and solid phase (insoluble protein) were obtained. The coconut skim milk and insoluble protein were mixed and homogenized before spray drying to obtain a dehydrated protein powder. The proximate analysis of the powder showed high protein content (33 % w/w) and low fat content (3 % w/w). Protein solubility was studied as a function of pH and ionic content of solvent. Functional properties such as water hydration capacity, fat absorption capacity, emulsifying properties, wettability, and dispersibility of coconut protein powder were evaluated along with morphological characterization, polyphenol content, and color analysis. Coconut protein powder has shown to have good emulsifying properties and hence has potential to find applications in emulsified foods. Sensory analysis showed high overall quality of the product, indicating that coconut protein powder could be a useful food ingredient.

  19. Frontiers in poly(ionic liquid)s: syntheses and applications.

    PubMed

    Qian, Wenjing; Texter, John; Yan, Feng

    2017-02-20

    We review recent works on the synthesis and application of poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs). Novel chemical structures, different synthetic strategies and controllable morphologies are introduced as a supplement to PIL systems already reported. The primary properties determining applications, such as ionic conductivity, aqueous solubility, thermodynamic stability and electrochemical/chemical durability, are discussed. Furthermore, the near-term applications of PILs in multiple fields, such as their use in electrochemical energy materials, stimuli-responsive materials, carbon materials, and antimicrobial materials, in catalysis, in sensors, in absorption and in separation materials, as well as several special-interest applications, are described in detail. We also discuss the limitations of PIL applications, efforts to improve PIL physics, and likely future developments.

  20. Electroactive polymer actuator based on a reduced graphene electrode

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Im, Ki Hong; Choi, Hyonkwang

    2014-03-01

    We report an electroactive polymer (EAP) actuator using a reduced graphene electrode for a ionic polymer-metal composite actuator. Aqueous-reduced graphene is deposited to both sides of the ionic polymer membranes by using a simple inkjet printing process. The electrical and the optical properties of the reduced graphene were evaluated by using a four-point probe system, Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy. The actuator properties were evaluated from the curvatures of the ionic polymer graphene composite (IPGC) for various input voltages. From the results, we propose a new and simple isosceles trapezoidal element model for analyzing the relations among the input voltage, thickness, and curvature of IPGC.

  1. Determination of the parameters controlling swelling of chemically cross-linked pH-sensitive poly(N-vinylimidazole) hydrogels.

    PubMed

    Molina, M Jesús; Gómez-Antón, M Rosa; Piérola, Inés F

    2007-10-25

    The number of variables controlling the behavior of ionic gels is large and very often some of them are unknown. The aim of this work is to interpret quantitatively the swelling behavior of pH sensitive gels, with the minimum number of simplifying assumptions. With this purpose, the equilibrium degree of swelling (S) and protonation (alpha) of chemically cross-linked poly(N-vinylimidazole) (PVI) immersed in aqueous salt solutions were measured as a function of the ionic strength (mu), in the whole range of pH. In acid solutions with pH in the range 0 to 4, imidazole moieties become protonated, and PVI behaves as a polyelectrolyte gel: S decreases upon increasing mu both for NaCl and for CaCl(2), with HCl as protonating acid. In aqueous solutions with larger pH, between 4 and 12, the hydrogel is practically neutral, and S increases as mu rises, showing a salting-in effect. From the quantitative analysis of these results, the following facts emerged. Protonation induces chain stiffness (as measured by the non-Gaussian factor) and worsening of the solvent quality of the aqueous media (as measured by the polymer-solvent interaction parameter). For alpha below 33%, swelling seems to be governed by the excess of mobile counterions inside the gel with respect to the bath, with a minor but still significantly negative contribution of the osmotic swelling pressure due to polymer-solvent mixing. Above 33% protonation, it is necessary to consider Manning counterion condensation to get parameters with physical meaning. The crossover between polyelectrolyte and salting-in effects corresponds to alpha and mu values with the same ionic and mixing contributions to the osmotic swelling pressure. The formation of ionic nonpermanent cross-links, with H(2)SO(4) as the protonating acid, was discarded.

  2. Mucopolysaccharides in aqueous solutions: effect of ionic strength on titration curves.

    PubMed

    Rueda, C; Arias, C; Galera, P; López-Cabarcos, E; Yagüe, A

    2001-01-01

    We study the changes taking place in hyaluronic acid, chondroitin 4-sulfate (C4-S) and condroitin 6-sulfate (C6-S), at ionic strengths of 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20 in NaCl, in a neutralization process in aqueous solution. We apply the equation of Henderson Hasselbalch modified for polyelectrolytes and evaluate the changes in the electrostatic free energy starting from the pK curves as a function of the dissociation degree. For a dissociation degree next to 0.4 corresponding to the -COOH group of the hyaluronic acid, we observed a change in the conformation of the three glycosaminoglycans studied. This conformational change takes place as a consequence of the break of intramolecular links and the beginning of the ionization process. The macromolecules in solution show a structure of random coil sufficiently expanded so that the interaction among the close ionizable groups is negligible.

  3. A shell-resolved analysis of preferential solvation of coffee ingredients in aqueous mixtures of the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zeindlhofer, Veronika; Berger, Magdalena; Steinhauser, Othmar; Schröder, Christian

    2018-05-01

    Ionic liquids increase the solubility of various coffee ingredients in aqueous solution but little is known about the underlying mechanism. Kirkwood-Buff integrals as well as the potential of mean force indicate that the imidazolium cations are accumulated at the surface of the solutes, removing water molecules from the solute surface. Although hydrogen bonding of the anions to hydroxy groups of the solutes can be detected, their concentration at the surface is less enhanced compared to the cations. The decomposition into solvation shells by Voronoi tessellation reveals that structural features are only observed in the first solvation shell. Nevertheless, the depletion of water and the excess concentration of the ions and, in particular, of the cations are visible in the next solvation shells as well. Therefore, classical arguments of hydrotropic theory fail to explain this behavior.

  4. Homogeneous Liquid–Liquid Extraction of Rare Earths with the Betaine—Betainium Bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide Ionic Liquid System

    PubMed Central

    Hoogerstraete, Tom Vander; Onghena, Bieke; Binnemans, Koen

    2013-01-01

    Several fundamental extraction parameters such as the kinetics and loading were studied for a new type of metal solvent extraction system with ionic liquids. The binary mixture of the ionic liquid betainium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide and water shows thermomorphic behavior with an upper critical solution temperature (UCST), which can be used to avoid the slower mass transfer due to the generally higher viscosity of ionic liquids. A less viscous homogeneous phase and mixing on a molecular scale are obtained when the mixture is heated up above 55 °C. The influence of the temperature, the heating and cooling times, were studied for the extraction of neodymium(III) with betaine. A plausible and equal extraction mechanism is proposed in bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, nitrate, and chloride media. After stripping of the metals from the ionic liquid phase, a higher recovery of the ionic liquid was obtained by salting-out of the ionic liquid fraction lost by dissolution in the aqueous phase. The change of the upper critical solution temperature by the addition of HCl or betaine was investigated. In addition, the viscosity was measured below and above the UCST as a function of the temperature. PMID:24169434

  5. Determination of trihalomethanes in waters by ionic liquid-based single drop microextraction/gas chromatographic/mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Aguilera-Herrador, Eva; Lucena, Rafael; Cárdenas, Soledad; Valcárcel, Miguel

    2008-10-31

    A simple, rapid, solventless method for the determination of trihalomethanes (THMs) (chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane and bromoform) in water samples is presented. The analytes are extracted from the headspace of the aqueous matrix into a 2 microL drop of the ionic liquid 1-octyl-3-methyl-imidazolium hexafluorophosphate working at 30 degrees C for 30 min. The separation and detection of the target compounds is accomplished by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry owing to the use of an interface that efficiently transfers the analytes extracted in the ionic liquid drop to the gas chromatograph while preventing the ionic liquid from entering the column. The detection limits obtained are below the values compelled by the legislation, ranging from 0.5 microg L(-1) for chloroform and bromodichloromethane to 0.9 microg L(-1) for dibromochloromethane. The use of ionic liquid in the extraction procedure avoids the use of organic solvents and leads to relative standard deviations that range from 3.1% to 4.8%.

  6. Ecotoxicological characterization of polyoxyethylene glycerol ester non-ionic surfactants and their mixtures with anionic and non-ionic surfactants.

    PubMed

    Ríos, Francisco; Fernández-Arteaga, Alejandro; Lechuga, Manuela; Fernández-Serrano, Mercedes

    2017-04-01

    This paper reports on a study that investigated the aquatic toxicity of new non-ionic surfactants derived from renewable raw materials, polyoxyethylene glycerol ester (PGE), and their binary mixtures with anionic and non-ionic surfactants. Toxicity of pure PGEs was determined using representative organisms from different trophic levels: luminescent bacteria (Vibrio fischeri), microalgae (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata), and freshwater crustaceans (Daphnia magna). Relationships between toxicity and the structural parameters such as unit of ethylene oxide (EO) and hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) were evaluated. Critical micellar concentration (CMC) in the conditions of the toxicity test was also determined. It was found that the toxicity of the aqueous solutions of PGE decreased when the number of EO units in the molecule, HLB, and CMC increased. PGEs showed lower CMC in marine medium, and the toxicity to V. ficheri is lower when the CMC was higher. Given their non-polar nature, narcosis was expected to be the primary mode of toxic action of PGEs. For the mixture of surfactants, we observed that the mixtures with PGE that had the higher numbers of EO units were more toxic than the aqueous solutions of pure surfactants. Moreover, we found that concentration addition was the type of action more likely to occur for mixtures of PGE with lower numbers of EO units with non-ionic surfactants (alkylpolyglucoside and fatty alcohol ethoxylate), whereas for the mixture of PGE with lower EO units and anionic surfactant (ether carboxylic derivative), the most common response type was response addition. In case of mixtures involving amphoteric surfactants and PGEs with the higher numbers of EO units, no clear pattern with regard to the mixture toxicity response type could be observed.

  7. Oxygen, water, and sodium chloride transport in soft contact lenses materials.

    PubMed

    Gavara, Rafael; Compañ, Vicente

    2017-11-01

    Oxygen permeability, diffusion coefficient of the sodium ions and water flux and permeability in different conventional hydrogel (Hy) and silicone-hydrogel (Si-Hy) contact lenses have been measured experimentally. The results showed that oxygen permeability and transmissibility requirements of the lens have been addressed through the use of siloxane containing hydrogels. In general, oxygen and sodium chloride permeability values increased with the water content of the lens but there was a percolation phenomenon from a given value of water uptake mainly in the Si-Hy lenses which appeared to be related with the differences between free water and bound water contents. The increase of ion permeability with water content did not follow a unique trend indicating a possible dependence of the chemical structure of the polymer and character ionic and non-ionic of the lens. Indeed, the salt permeability values for silicone hydrogel contact lenses were one order of magnitude below those of conventional hydrogel contact lenses, which can be explained by a diffusion of sodium ions occurring only through the hydrophilic channels. The increase of the ionic permeability in Si-Hy materials may be due to the confinement of ions in nanoscale water channels involving possible decreased degrees of freedom for diffusion of both water and ions. In general, ionic lenses presented values of ionic permeability and diffusivity higher than most non-ionic lenses. The tortuosity of the ionic lenses is lower than the non-ionic Si-Hy lenses. Frequency 55 and PureVision exhibited the highest water permeability and flux values and, these parameters were greater for ionic Si-Hy lenses than for ionic conventional hydrogel lenses. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 2218-2231, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. The Evaporation and Degradation of N-Nitroso Dimethyl Amine in Aqueous Solutions.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    The fate of N-Nitroso Dimethyl Amine ( NDMA ) in aqueous solutions and in a 25 percent caustic waste stream which is produced in the manufacture of...degradation of NDMA in an open lagoon. It was found that for basic solutions, the removal was primarily evaporation, whereas, evaporation is low for...that nitrite severely inhibits the photolysis of NDMA in acid and neutral pHs, and an increase in ionic strength slightly increases the evaporation rate

  9. FLUX OF IONIC DYES ACROSS MICRONEEDLE-TREATED SKIN: EFFECT OF DYE MOLECULAR CHARACTERISTICS

    PubMed Central

    Gomaa, Yasmine A.; Garland, Martin J.; McInnes, Fiona; Donnelly, Ryan F.; El-Khordagui, Labiba K.; Wilson, Clive

    2014-01-01

    Drug flux across microneedle (MN)-treated skin is influenced by the characteristics of the MN array, microconduits and drug molecules in addition to the overall diffusional resistance of microconduits and viable tissue. Relative implication of these factors has not been fully explored. In the present study, the in vitro permeation of a series of six structurally related ionic xanthene dyes with different molecular weights (MW) and chemical substituents, across polymer MN-pretreated full thickness porcine skin was investigated in relation of their molecular characteristics. Phosphate buffer saline pH 7.4, the medium used in skin permeation experiments, was used to determine the equilibrium solubility of the dyes and their partition coefficient both in the isotropic n-octanol/ aqueous system and porcine skin/ aqueous system. Additionally, dissociation constants were determined potentiometrically. Results indicated that for rhodamine dyes, skin permeation of the zwitterionic form which predominates at physiological pH, was significantly reduced by an increase in MW, the presence of the chemically reactive isothiocyanate substituent reported to interact with stratum corneum proteins and the skin thickness. These factors were generally shown to override aqueous solubility, an important determinant of drug diffusion in an aqueous milieu. Findings provided more insight into the mechanism of drug permeation across MN-treated skin, of importance to both the design of MN-based transdermal drug delivery systems and in vitro skin permeation research. PMID:22960319

  10. Ditetraalkylammonium amino acid ionic liquids as CO₂ absorbents of high capacity.

    PubMed

    Ma, Jing-Wen; Zhou, Zheng; Zhang, Feng; Fang, Cheng-Gang; Wu, You-Ting; Zhang, Zhi-Bing; Li, Ai-Min

    2011-12-15

    By grafting butyl or ethyl onto tetramethylethylenediamine, quaternary ammonium salts with two positive charge centers were formed at the first step. Metathesis with Ag(2)O followed. Through neutralization with glycine, l-alanine, or valine, a series of new ditetraalkylammonium amino acid ionic liquids (DILs) for CO(2) capture were generated. The structures of DILs, as shown in Figure 1, were verified by using (1)H NMR and EA. These DILs were found to be of quite high viscosity which militated against their industrial application in CO(2) removal. Drawing on the experience of mixed amines' aqueous solutions, these DILs were blended with water or N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) aqueous solutions to act as special absorbents of CO(2). Using a Double-Tank Absorption System, the absorption performance of these DIL solutions was investigated in detail. The experimental results indicated that among the three aqueous solutions of DILs (20%, 40%, and 80 wt %), the solution of 40% DIL had a higher absorption rate of CO(2) than the other two, demonstrating the different effects of concentration and viscosity on the absorption. The solution of 40% DIL or the 15% DIL + 15% MDEA had much higher capacity for CO(2) than the corresponding monocation tetraalkylammonium AAILs, due to the special structure of the dication which could influence the solubility of CO(2) in the aqueous solution.

  11. Effect of Concentration on the Interfacial and Bulk Structure of Ionic Liquids in Aqueous Solution.

    PubMed

    Cheng, H-W; Weiss, H; Stock, P; Chen, Y-J; Reinecke, C R; Dienemann, J-N; Mezger, M; Valtiner, M

    2018-02-27

    Bio and aqueous applications of ionic liquids (IL) such as catalysis in micelles formed in aqueous IL solutions or extraction of chemicals from biologic materials rely on surface-active and self-assembly properties of ILs. Here, we discuss qualitative relations of the interfacial and bulk structuring of a water-soluble surface-active IL ([C 8 MIm][Cl]) on chemically controlled surfaces over a wide range of water concentrations using both force probe and X-ray scattering experiments. Our data indicate that IL structuring evolves from surfactant-like surface adsorption at low IL concentrations, to micellar bulk structure adsorption above the critical micelle concentration, to planar bilayer formation in ILs with <1 wt % of water and at high charging of the surface. Interfacial structuring is controlled by mesoscopic bulk structuring at high water concentrations. Surface chemistry and surface charges decisively steer interfacial ordering of ions if the water concentration is low and/or the surface charge is high. We also demonstrate that controlling the interfacial forces by using self-assembled monolayer chemistry allows tuning of interfacial structures. Both the ratio of the head group size to the hydrophobic tail volume as well as the surface charging trigger the bulk structure and offer a tool for predicting interfacial structures. Based on the applied techniques and analyses, a qualitative prediction of molecular layering of ILs in aqueous systems is possible.

  12. Mesopore- and Macropore-Dominant Nitrogen-Doped Hierarchically Porous Carbons for High-Energy and Ultrafast Supercapacitors in Non-Aqueous Electrolytes.

    PubMed

    Shao, Rong; Niu, Jin; Liang, Jingjing; Liu, Mengyue; Zhang, Zhengping; Dou, Meiling; Huang, Yaqin; Wang, Feng

    2017-12-13

    Non-aqueous electrolytes (e.g., organic and ionic liquid electrolytes) can undergo high working voltage to improve the energy densities of supercapacitors. However, the large ion sizes, high viscosities, and low ionic conductivities of organic and ionic liquid electrolytes tend to cause the low specific capacitances, poor rate, and cycling performance of supercapacitors based on conventional micropore-dominant activated carbon electrodes, limiting their practical applications. Herein, we propose an effective strategy to simultaneously obtain high power and energy densities in non-aqueous electrolytes via using a cattle bone-derived porous carbon as an electrode material. Because of the unique co-activation of KOH and hydroxyapatite (HA) within the cattle bone, nitrogen-doped hierarchically porous carbon (referred to as NHPC-HA/KOH) is obtained and possesses a mesopore- and macropore-dominant porosity with an ultrahigh specific surface area (2203 m 2 g -1 ) of meso- and macropores. The NHPC-HA/KOH electrodes exhibit superior performance with specific capacitances of 224 and 240 F g -1 at 5 A g -1 in 1.0 M TEABF 4 /AN and neat EMIMBF 4 electrolyte, respectively. The symmetric supercapacitor using NHPC-HA/KOH electrodes can deliver integrated high energy and power properties (48.6 W h kg -1 at 3.13 kW kg -1 in 1.0 M TEABF 4 /AN and 75 W h kg -1 at 3.75 kW kg -1 in neat EMIMBF 4 ), as well as superior cycling performance (over 89% of the initial capacitance after 10 000 cycles at 10 A g -1 ).

  13. AN EXACT METHOD FOR RELATING ZWITTERIONIC MICROSCOPIC TO MACROSCOPIC ACIDITY CONSTANTS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Zwitterions are aqueous solvated molecules simultaneously possessing one negatively and one positively charged site. Although electroneutral, the environmental interaction of zwitterions with other ionic species is likely to differ significantly from the behavior of comparable e...

  14. Potentiometric study of binary complexes of 3-[(1 R)-1-hydroxy-2-(methylamino)ethyl]phenol hydrochloride with some lanthanide ions in aqueous and mixed solutions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sharma, S. S.; Kadia, M. V.

    2014-12-01

    The complexation of lanthanide ions (Y3+, La3+, Ce3+, Pr3+, Nd3+, Sm3+, Gd3+, Tb3+, and Dy3+) with 3-[(1 R)-1-hydroxy-2-(methylamino)ethyl]phenol hydrochloride was studied at different temperatures and different ionic strengths in aqueous solutions by Irving-Rossotti pH titration technique. Stepwise calculation, PKAS and BEST Fortran IV computer programs were used for determination of proton-ligand and metal-ligand stability constants. The formation of species like MA, MA2, and MA(OH) is considered in SPEPLOT. Thermodynamic parameters of complex formation (Δ G, Δ H, and Δ S) are also evaluated. Negative Δ G and Δ H values indicate that complex formation is favourable in these experimental conditions. The stability of complexes is also studied at in different solvent-aqueous (vol/vol). The stability series of lanthanide complexes has shown to have the "gadolinium break." Stability of complexes decreases with increase in ionic strength and temperature. Effect of systematic errors like effect of dissolved carbon dioxide, concentration of alkali, concentration of acid, concentration of ligand and concentration of metal have also been explained.

  15. Aqueous two-phase based on ionic liquid liquid-liquid microextraction for simultaneous determination of five synthetic food colourants in different food samples by high-performance liquid chromatography.

    PubMed

    Sha, Ou; Zhu, Xiashi; Feng, Yanli; Ma, Weixing

    2015-05-01

    A rapid and effective method of aqueous two-phase systems based on ionic liquid microextraction for the simultaneous determination of five synthetic food colourants (tartrazine, sunset yellow, amaranth, ponceau 4R and brilliant blue) in food samples was established. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with an ultraviolet detector of variable wavelength was used for the determinations. 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide was selected as the extraction reagent. The extraction efficiency of the five colourants in the proposed system is influenced by the types of salts, concentrations of salt and [CnMIM]Br, as well as the extracting time. Under the optimal conditions, the extraction efficiencies for these five colourants were above 95%. The phase behaviours of aqueous two-phase system and extraction mechanism were investigated by UV-vis spectroscopy. This method was applied to the analysis of the five colourants in real food samples with the detection limit of 0.051-0.074 ng/mL. Good spiked recoveries from 93.2% to 98.9% were obtained. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Applications of ionic liquids in biphasic separation: Aqueous biphasic systems and liquid-liquid equilibria.

    PubMed

    Shukla, Shashi Kant; Pandey, Shubha; Pandey, Siddharth

    2018-07-20

    Ionic liquids (ILs) have been receiving much attention in many fields of analytical chemistry because of their various interesting properties which distinguish them from volatile organic compounds. They offer both directional and non-directional forces towards a solute molecule and therefore act as excellent solvents for a wide range of polar and non-polar compounds. Because of the presence of various possible interactions, ILs easily undergo biphasic separation with water and other less polar/non-polar organic solvents. Their ability to create biphasic splitting makes them a promising candidate for liquid-liquid separation processes, such as aqueous biphasic systems and liquid-liquid equilibria. Various aspects of ILs in these separation methods are discussed in view of the origin of physical forces responsible for the biphasic interactions, the effect of structural components, temperature, pressure, pH and additives. The specific advantages of using ILs in aqueous biphasic systems and liquid-liquid equilibria in binary and ternary systems are discussed with a view to defining their future role in separation processes by giving major emphasis on developing non-toxic ILs with physical and solution properties tailored to the needs of specific sample preparation techniques. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Porous media augmented with biochar for the retention of E. coli

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kolotouros, Christos A.; Manariotis, Ioannis D.; Karapanagioti, Hrissi K.

    2016-04-01

    A significant number of epidemic outbreaks has been attributed to waterborne fecal-borne pathogenic microorganisms from contaminated ground water. The transport of pathogenic microorganisms in groundwater is controlled by physical and chemical soil properties like soil structure, texture, percent water saturation, soil ionic strength, pore-size distribution, soil and solution pH, soil surface charge, and concentration of organic carbon in solution. Biochar can increase soil productivity by improving both chemical and physical soil properties. The mixing of biochar into soils may stimulate microbial population and activate dormant soil microorganisms. Furthermore, the application of biochar into soil affects the mobility of microorganisms by altering the physical and chemical properties of the soil, and by retaining the microorganisms on the biochar surface. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of biochar mixing into soil on the transport of Escherichia coli in saturated porous media. Initially, batch experiments were conducted at two different ionic strengths (1 and 150 mM KCl) and at varying E. coli concentrations in order to evaluate the retention of E. coli on biochar in aqueous solutions. Kinetic analysis was conducted, and three isotherm models were employed to analyze the experimental data. Column experiments were also conducted in saturated sand columns augmented with different biochar contents, in order to examine the effect of biochar on the retention of E. coli. The Langmuir model fitted better the retention experimental data, compared to Freundlich and Tempkin models. The retention of E. coli was enhanced at lower ionic strength. Finally, biochar-augmented sand columns were more capable in retaining E. coli than pure sand columns.

  18. Nanoscale structure and morphology of sulfonated polyphenylenes via atomistic simulations

    DOE PAGES

    Abbott, Lauren J.; Frischknecht, Amalie L.

    2017-01-23

    We performed atomistic simulations on a series of sulfonated polyphenylenes systematically varying the degree of sulfonation and water content to determine their effect on the nanoscale structure, particularly for the hydrophilic domains formed by the ionic groups and water molecules. We found that the local structure around the ionic groups depended on the sulfonation and hydration levels, with the sulfonate groups and hydronium ions less strongly coupled at higher water contents. In addition, we characterized the morphology of the ionic domains employing two complementary clustering algorithms. At low sulfonation and hydration levels, clusters were more elongated in shape and poorlymore » connected throughout the system. As the degree of sulfonation and water content were increased, the clusters became more spherical, and a fully percolated ionic domain was formed. As a result, these structural details have important implications for ion transport.« less

  19. Room temperature electrodeposition of actinides from ionic solutions

    DOEpatents

    Hatchett, David W.; Czerwinski, Kenneth R.; Droessler, Janelle; Kinyanjui, John

    2017-04-25

    Uranic and transuranic metals and metal oxides are first dissolved in ozone compositions. The resulting solution in ozone can be further dissolved in ionic liquids to form a second solution. The metals in the second solution are then electrochemically deposited from the second solutions as room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL), tri-methyl-n-butyl ammonium n-bis(trifluoromethansulfonylimide) [Me.sub.3N.sup.nBu][TFSI] providing an alternative non-aqueous system for the extraction and reclamation of actinides from reprocessed fuel materials. Deposition of U metal is achieved using TFSI complexes of U(III) and U(IV) containing the anion common to the RTIL. TFSI complexes of uranium were produced to ensure solubility of the species in the ionic liquid. The methods provide a first measure of the thermodynamic properties of U metal deposition using Uranium complexes with different oxidation states from RTIL solution at room temperature.

  20. The synthesis and the chemical and physical properties of non-aqueous silylamine solvents for carbon dioxide capture.

    PubMed

    Rohan, Amy L; Switzer, Jackson R; Flack, Kyle M; Hart, Ryan J; Sivaswamy, Swetha; Biddinger, Elizabeth J; Talreja, Manish; Verma, Manjusha; Faltermeier, Sean; Nielsen, Paul T; Pollet, Pamela; Schuette, George F; Eckert, Charles A; Liotta, Charles L

    2012-11-01

    Silylamine reversible ionic liquids were designed to achieve specific physical properties in order to address effective CO₂ capture. The reversible ionic liquid systems reported herein represent a class of switchable solvents where a relatively non-polar silylamine (molecular liquid) is reversibly transformed to a reversible ionic liquid (RevIL) by reaction with CO₂ (chemisorption). The RevILs can further capture additional CO₂ through physical absorption (physisorption). The effects of changes in structure on (1) the CO₂ capture capacity (chemisorption and physisorption), (2) the viscosity of the solvent systems at partial and total conversion to the ionic liquid state, (3) the energy required for reversing the CO₂ capture process, and (4) the ability to recycle the solvents systems are reported. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. A Modified Robinson-Stokes equation for describing the thermodynamic properties of aqueous solutions of 1-1 electrolytes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rudakov, A. M.; Sergievskii, V. V.

    2008-05-01

    Equations relating osmotic, mean ionic activity, and water activity coefficients to electrolyte concentrations in binary aqueous solutions were substantiated within the framework of cluster concepts. The model includes the contribution to solution nonideality of electrostatic interactions in terms of the Debye-Hückel theory along with hydration and association of salts via relations containing hydration and association numbers in the standard states. According to the description of data on 54 aqueous solutions of 1-1 electrolytes, this model should be given preference compared with the most extensively used NRTL, NRTL-NRF, Wilson, and Pitzer models.

  2. Electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofibers functionalized with EDTA for adsorption of ionic dyes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chaúque, Eutilério F. C.; Dlamini, Langelihle N.; Adelodun, Adedeji A.; Greyling, Corinne J.; Ngila, J. Catherine

    2017-08-01

    The manipulation of nanofibers' surface chemistry could enhance their potential application toward the removal of ionic dyes in wastewater. For this purpose, surface modification of electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and ethylenediamine (EDA) crosslinker was experimented. The functionalized EDTA-EDA-PAN nanofibers were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) technique. The impregnation of EDA and EDTA chelating agents on the surface of PAN changed the distribution of nanofibers as proximity is increased (accompanied by reduced softness), but the nanofibrous structure of the pristine PAN nanofibers was not substantially altered. Adsorption equilibrium studies were performed with Freundlich, Langmuir and Temkin isotherm models with the former providing better correlation to the experimental data. The modified PAN nanofibers showed efficient sorption of methyl orange (MO) and reactive red (RR) from aqueous synthetic samples, evinced by the maximum adsorption capacities (at 25 °C) of 99.15 and 110.0 mg g-1, respectively. The fabricated nanofibers showed appreciable removal efficiency of the target dye sorptives from wastewater. However, the presence of high metal ions content affected the overall extraction of dyes from wastewater due to the depletion of the adsorbent's active adsorptive sites.

  3. Decorating Graphene Oxide with Ionic Liquid Nanodroplets: An Approach Leading to Energy-Dense, High-Voltage Supercapacitors.

    PubMed

    She, Zimin; Ghosh, Debasis; Pope, Michael A

    2017-10-24

    A major stumbling block in the development of high energy density graphene-based supercapacitors has been maintaining high ion-accessible surface area combined with high electrode density. Herein, we develop an ionic liquid (IL)-surfactant microemulsion system that is found to facilitate the spontaneous adsorption of IL-filled micelles onto graphene oxide (GO). This adsorption distributes the IL over all available surface area and provides an aqueous formulation that can be slurry cast onto current collectors, leaving behind a dense nanocomposite film of GO/IL/surfactant. By removing the surfactant and reducing the GO through a low-temperature (360 °C) heat treatment, the IL plays a dual role of spacer and electrolyte. We study the effect of IL content and operating temperature on the performance, demonstrating a record high gravimetric capacitance (302 F/g at 1 A/g) for 80 wt % IL composites. At 60 wt % IL, combined high capacitance and bulk density (0.76 g/cm 3 ), yields one of the highest volumetric capacitances (218 F/cm 3 , at 1 A/g) ever reported for a high-voltage IL-based supercapacitor. While achieving promising rate performance and cycle-life, the approach also eliminates the long and costly electrolyte imbibition step of cell assembly as the electrolyte is cast directly with the electrode material.

  4. Hydrocarbon-Seeded Ignition System for Small Spacecraft Thrusters Using Ionic Liquid Propellants

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Whitmore, Stephen A.; Merkley, Daniel P.; Eilers, Shannon D.; Taylor, Terry L.

    2013-01-01

    "Green" propellants based on Ionic-liquids (ILs) like Ammonium DiNitramide and Hydroxyl Ammonium Nitrate have recently been developed as reduced-hazard replacements for hydrazine. Compared to hydrazine, ILs offer up to a 50% improvement in available density-specific impulse. These materials present minimal vapor hazard at room temperature, and this property makes IL's potentially advantageous for "ride-share" launch opportunities where hazards introduced by hydrazine servicing are cost-prohibitive. Even though ILs present a reduced hazard compared to hydrazine, in crystalline form they are potentially explosive and are mixed in aqueous solutions to buffer against explosion. Unfortunately, the high water content makes IL-propellants difficult to ignite and currently a reliable "coldstart" capability does not exist. For reliable ignition, IL-propellants catalyst beds must be pre-heated to greater than 350 C before firing. The required preheat power source is substantial and presents a significant disadvantage for SmallSats where power budgets are extremely limited. Design and development of a "micro-hybrid" igniter designed to act as a "drop-in" replacement for existing IL catalyst beds is presented. The design requires significantly lower input energy and offers a smaller overall form factor. Unlike single-use "squib" pyrotechnic igniters, the system allows the gas generation cycle to be terminated and reinitiated on demand.

  5. Phosphate Removal by Anion Binding on Functionalized Nanoporous Sorbents

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chouyyok, Wilaiwan; Wiacek, Robert J.; Pattamakomsan, Kanda

    2010-03-26

    Phosphate was captured from aqueous solutions by cationic metal-EDA complexes anchored inside mesoporous silica MCM-41 supports (Cu(II)-EDA-SAMMS and Fe(III)-EDA-SAMMS). Fe-EDA-SAMMS was more effective at capturing phosphate than the Cu-EDA-SAMMS and was further studied for matrix effects (e.g., pH, ionic strength, and competing anions) and sorption performance (e.g., capacity and rate). The adsorption of phosphate was highly pH dependent; it increased with increasing pH from 1.0 to 6.5, and decreased above pH 6.5. The adsorption was affected by high ionic strength (0.1 M of NaCl). In the presence of 1000-fold molar excess of chloride and nitrate anions, phosphate removal by Fe-EDA-SAMMSmore » was not affected. Slight, moderate and large impacts were seen with bicarbonate, sulfate and citrate anions, respectively. The phosphate adsorption data on Fe-EDA-SAMMS agreed well with the Langmuir model with the estimated maximum capacity of 43.3 mg/g. The material displayed rapid sorption rate (99% of phosphate removal within 1 min) and lowering the phosphate content to ~ 10 µg/L of phosphorus, which is lower than the EPA’s established freshwater contaminant level for phosphorous (20 µg/L).« less

  6. Self-Healing Behavior of Ethylene-Based Ionomers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kalista, Stephen J., Jr.; Ward, Thomas C.; Oyetunji, Zainab

    2004-01-01

    The self-healing behavior of poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) (EMAA)-based ionomers holds tremendous potential for use in a wide variety of unique applications. However, to effectively utilize this self-healing behavior and to design novel materials which possess this ability, the mechanism by which they heal must first be understood ionomers are a class of polymers that can be described as copolymers containing less than 15 mol% ionic content whereby the bulk properties are governed by ionic interactions within the polymer. These ionic groups aggregate into discrete regions known as multiplets which overlap forming clusters that act as physical cross-links profoundly influencing the bulk physical properties. These clusters possess an order-disorder transition (T(sub i)) where the clustered regions may rearrange themselves given time and stimuli. Recognizing the strong influence of these ionic regions on other well understood ionomer properties, their role in self-heating behavior will be assessed. The self-healing behavior is observed following projectile puncture. It has been suggested that during impact energy is passed to the ionomer material, heating it to the melt state. After penetration, it is proposed that the ionic regions maintain their attractions and flow together patching the hole. Thus, the importance of this ionic character and is unique interaction must be established. This will be accomplished through examination of materials with varying ionic content and through the analysis of the T(sub i). The specific ionomer systems examined include a number of ethylene-based materials. Materials of varying ionic content, including the non-ionic base copolymers, will be examined by peel tests, projectile impact and DSC analysis. The information will also be compared with some basic data on LDPE material.

  7. SEPARATION OF PLUTONIUM FROM FISSION PRODUCTS BY A COLLOID REMOVAL PROCESS

    DOEpatents

    Schubert, J.

    1960-05-24

    A method is given for separating plutonium from uranium fission products. An acidic aqueous solution containing plutonium and uranium fission products is subjected to a process for separating ionic values from colloidal matter suspended therein while the pH of the solution is maintained between 0 and 4. Certain of the fission products, and in particular, zirconium, niobium, lanthanum, and barium are in a colloidal state within this pH range, while plutonium remains in an ionic form, Dialysis, ultracontrifugation, and ultrafiltration are suitable methods of separating plutonium ions from the colloids.

  8. Electric double-layer capacitor based on an ionic clathrate hydrate.

    PubMed

    Lee, Wonhee; Kwon, Minchul; Park, Seongmin; Lim, Dongwook; Cha, Jong-Ho; Lee, Huen

    2013-07-01

    Herein, we suggest a new approach to an electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC) that is based on a proton-conducting ionic clathrate hydrate (ICH). The ice-like structures of clathrate hydrates, which are comprised of host water molecules and guest ions, make them suitable for applications in EDLC electrolytes, owing to their high proton conductivities and thermal stabilities. The carbon materials in the ICH Me4NOH⋅5 H2O show a high specific capacitance, reversible charge-discharge behavior, and a long cycle life. The ionic-hydrate complex provides the following advantages in comparison with conventional aqueous and polymer electrolytes: 1) The ICH does not cause leakage problems under normal EDLC operating conditions. 2) The hydrate material can be utilized itself, without requiring any pre-treatments or activation for proton conduction, thus shortening the preparation procedure of the EDLC. 3) The crystallization of the ICH makes it possible to tailor practical EDLC dimensions because of its fluidity as a liquid hydrate. 4) The hydrate solid electrolyte exhibits more-favorable electrochemical stability than aqueous and polymer electrolytes. Therefore, ICH materials are expected to find practical applications in versatile energy devices that incorporate electrochemical systems. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  9. Towards understanding the effects of van der Waals strengths on the electric double-layer structures and capacitive behaviors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Huachao; Bo, Zheng; Yang, Jinyuan; Yan, Jianhua; Cen, Kefa

    2017-10-01

    Solid-liquid interactions are considered to play a crucial role in charge storage capability of electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs). In this work, effects of van der Waals (VDW) strengths on the EDL structures and capacitive performances within two representative electrolytes of solvated aqueous solutions and solvent-free ionic liquids are illuminated by molecular dynamics simulations. Single crystalline metals with similar lattice constant but diverse VDW potentials are employed as electrodes. Upon enhancing VDW strengths, capacitance of aqueous electrolytes first increases conspicuously by ∼34.0% and then descends, manifesting a non-monotonic trend, which goes beyond traditional perspectives. Such unusual observation is interpreted by the excluded-volume effects stemmed from ion-solvent competitions. Stimulated by predominant coulombic interactions, more ions are aggregated at the interface despite of the increasing VDW potentials, facilitating superior screening efficiency and capacitance. However, further enhancing strengths preferentially attracts more solvents instead of ions to the electrified surface, which in turn strikingly repels ions from Helmholtz layers, deteriorating electrode capacitance. An essentially similar feather is also recognized for ionic liquids, while the corresponding mechanisms are prominently ascribed to the suppressed ionic separations issued from cation-anion competitions. We highlight that constructing electrode materials with a moderate-hydrophilicity could further advance the performances of EDLCs.

  10. Effects of ionic strength on passive and iontophoretic transport of cationic permeant across human nail.

    PubMed

    Smith, Kelly A; Hao, Jinsong; Li, S Kevin

    2009-06-01

    Transport across the human nail under hydration can be modeled as hindered transport across aqueous pore pathways. As such, nail permselectivity to charged species can be manipulated by changing the ionic strength of the system in transungual delivery to treat nail diseases. The present study investigated the effects of ionic strength upon transungual passive and iontophoretic transport. Transungual passive and anodal iontophoretic transport experiments of tetraethylammonium ion (TEA) were conducted under symmetric conditions in which the donor and receiver had the same ionic strength in vitro. Experiments under asymmetric conditions were performed to mimic the in vivo conditions. Prior to the transport studies, TEA uptake studies were performed to assess the partitioning of TEA into the nail. Permselectivity towards TEA was inversely related to ionic strength in both passive and iontophoretic transport. The permeability and transference number of TEA were higher at lower ionic strengths under the symmetric conditions due to increased partitioning of TEA into the nail. Transference numbers were smaller under the asymmetric conditions compared with their symmetric counterparts. The results demonstrate significant ionic strength effects upon the partitioning and transport of a cationic permeant in transungual transport, which may be instrumental in the development of transungual delivery systems.

  11. Quantitative and qualitative optimization of allergen extraction from peanut and selected tree nuts. Part 2. Optimization of buffer and ionic strength using a full factorial experimental design.

    PubMed

    L'Hocine, Lamia; Pitre, Mélanie

    2016-03-01

    A full factorial design was used to assess the single and interactive effects of three non-denaturing aqueous (phosphate, borate, and carbonate) buffers at various ionic strengths (I) on allergen extractability from and immunoglobulin E (IgE) immunoreactivity of peanut, almond, hazelnut, and pistachio. The results indicated that the type and ionic strength of the buffer had different effects on protein recovery from the nuts under study. Substantial differences in protein profiles, abundance, and IgE-binding intensity with different combinations of pH and ionic strength were found. A significant interaction between pH and ionic strength was observed for pistachio and almond. The optimal buffer system conditions, which maximized the IgE-binding efficiency of allergens and provided satisfactory to superior protein recovery yield and profiles, were carbonate buffer at an ionic strength of I=0.075 for peanut, carbonate buffer at I=0.15 for almond, phosphate buffer at I=0.5 for hazelnut, and borate at I=0.15 for pistachio. The buffer type and its ionic strength could be manipulated to achieve the selective solubility of desired allergens. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Extraction photometric determination of yperite by phthaleins.

    PubMed

    Halámek, E; Kobliha, Z

    1999-01-01

    Extraction spectrophotometric determination of sulfidic yperite, based on the reaction with four phthaleins, was developed. The method is technically simpler than the determination of yperites with reagent T-135 (alkaline-aqueous ethanolic thymolphthalein solution) because it does not require heating at 80 degrees C, cooling and acidification of the reaction mixture. Selection of the appropriate phthalein, and particularly optimization of the reagent composition and extraction of the coloured reaction product in chloroform, markedly increased the selectivity of the determination of yperites (HD, HN-3). The reaction is performed in a medium of increased polarity due to the low content of alcohol which enables the reaction to proceed at temperatures of 5-20 degrees C without any marked loss of sensitivity. Using (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy, the reaction products of HD and o-cresolphthalein were identified and an ionic mechanism for the reaction of HD with phthaleins is suggested.

  13. Highly Efficient Extraction of Phenolic Compounds by Use of Magnetic Room Temperature Ionic Liquids for Environmental Remediation

    PubMed Central

    Deng, Ning; Li, Min; Zhao, Lijie; Lu, Chengfei; de Rooy, Sergio L.; Warner, Isiah M.

    2011-01-01

    A hydrophobic magnetic room temperature ionic liquid (MRTIL), trihexyltetradecylphosphonium tetrachloroferrate(III) ([3C6PC14][FeCl4]), was synthesized from trihexyltetradecylphosphonium chloride and FeCl3·6H2O. This MRTIL was investigated as a possible separation agent for solvent extraction of phenolic compounds from aqueous solution. Due to its strong paramagnetism, [3C6PC14][FeCl4] responds to an external neodymium magnet, which was employed in the design of a novel magnetic extraction technique. The conditions for extraction, including extraction time, volume ratio between MRTIL and aqueous phase, pH of aqueous solution, and structures of phenolic compounds were investigated and optimized. The magnetic extraction of phenols achieved equilibrium in 20 min and the phenolic compounds were found to have higher distribution ratios under acidic conditions. In addition, it was observed that phenols containing a greater number of chlorine or nitro substitutents exhibited higher distribution ratios. For example, the distribution ratio of phenol (DPh) was 107. In contrast, 3,5-dichlorophenol distribution ratio (D3,5-DCP) had a much higher value of 6372 under identical extraction conditions. When compared with four selected traditional non-magnetic room temperature ionic liquids, our [3C6PC14][FeCl4] exhibited significantly higher extraction efficiency under the same experimental conditions used in this work. Pentachlorophenol, a major component in the contaminated soil sample obtained from a superfund site, was successfully extracted and removed by use of [3C6PC14][FeCl4] with high extraction efficiency. Pentachlorophenol concentration was dramatically reduced from 7.8 μg.mL−1 to 0.2 μg.mL−1 after the magnetic extraction by use of [3C6PC14][FeCl4]. PMID:21783320

  14. Liquid-liquid extraction of neodymium(III) by dialkylphosphate ionic liquids from acidic medium: the importance of the ionic liquid cation.

    PubMed

    Rout, Alok; Kotlarska, Justyna; Dehaen, Wim; Binnemans, Koen

    2013-10-21

    The ionic liquids 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate, [C6mim][DEHP], 1-hexyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate, [C6mpyr][DEHP], and tetrabutylammonium bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate, [N4444][DEHP], were prepared and characterized using (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy. The extraction behavior of neodymium(iii) from nitrate medium by these ionic liquids, diluted with the room temperature ionic liquids 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [C6mim][NTf2], 1-hexyl-3-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [C6mpyr][NTf2], and tributylmethylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [N1444][NTf2], was studied. The distribution ratio of neodymium(iii) was measured as a function of various parameters, such as pH, concentration of the ionic liquid extractant, nature of diluents, concentration of ionic liquid cations and nitrate anions in the aqueous phase. The extraction behavior was compared with that obtained for a solution of the molecular extractant bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (DEHPA) in an ionic liquid diluent. The extraction of neodymium(iii) in the ionic liquids [C6mim][DEHP] and [C6mpyr][DEHP] showed markedly different extraction properties in comparison with that of the quaternary ammonium analogue [N4444][DEHP], especially concerning the pH dependence of the extraction process. These results show that the extraction process can be tuned by the selection of the ionic liquid cation. The extraction experiments also included the trivalent rare-earth ions lanthanum(iii), cerium(iii), praseodymium(iii), ytterbium(iii) and yttrium(iii). Studies of the stripping behavior and the reusability of the ionic liquids were carried out, which indicate that the ionic liquids can be reused with no loss in activity.

  15. Isopiestic Determination of the Osmotic Coefficients of NaNO3 + Eu(NO3)3 + H2O at 298.15 K and Representation with an Extended Ion-Interaction (Pitzer) Model

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Peter R. Zalupski; Rocklan McDowell; Simon L. Clegg

    Isopiestic vapor pressures were measured at 298.15 K for aqueous NaNO3 + Eu(NO3)3 solutions, using NaCl(aq) as the reference standard. Measurements were made for both binary (single salt) solutions and for ternary solutions of the following NaNO3 ionic strength fractions: 0.05995, 0.08749, 0.16084, 0.27709, and 0.36313 over the water activity range 0.8951 = aw = 0.9832. (These ionic strength fractions correspond to NaNO3 molality fractions 0.27675, 0.36519, 0.53489, 0.69695, and 0.77381, respectively.) The results, and those of other studies for the two pure aqueous solutions, were used to determine the Pitzer model parameters for aqueous Eu(NO3)3 for molalities up tomore » 3 mol kg–1 and the two ternary (mixture) parameters ?Eu,Na = 0.367 ± 0.0035 and ?Eu,Na,NO3 = -0.0743 ± 0.0014. Some deviations of the measurements from the fitted model, of the order of +0.0075 in the osmotic coefficient, were noted for mixtures containing less than about 1 mol kg–1 total NO3–. The use of the mixture parameters in the Pitzer model yields predicted trace activity coefficients of Eu3+ in 1 mol kg–1 aqueous NaNO3 almost a factor of 2 greater than if they are omitted.« less

  16. Quantum dots and ionic liquid-sensitized effect as an efficient and green catalyst for the sensitive determination of glucose.

    PubMed

    Azizi, Seyed Naser; Chaichi, Mohammad Javad; Shakeri, Parmis; Bekhradnia, Ahmadreza

    2015-07-05

    A novel fluorescence (FL) method using water-soluble CdSe quantum dots (QDs) is proposed for the fluorometric determination of hydrogen peroxide and glucose. Water-soluble CdSe QDs were synthesized by using thioglycolic acid as stabilizer in aqueous solutions. The nanoparticles were structurally and optically characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) emission spectroscopy and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Ionic liquid-sensitized effect in aqueous solution was then investigated. In the presence of ionic liquid as catalyst, H2O2 was decomposed into radical that could quench the fluorescence of CdSe QDs more efficiently and rapidly. Then the oxidization of glucose by glucose oxidase was coupled with the fluorescence quenching of CdSe QDs by H2O2 producer with ionic liquid catalyst, which can be used to detect glucose. Therefore, a new FL analysis system was developed for the determination of glucose. Under the optimum conditions, there is a good linear relationship between the relative PL emission intensity and the concentration of glucose in the range of 5.0×10(-7)-1.0×10(-4) M of glucose with a correlation coefficient (R(2)) of 0.9973. The limit of detection of this system was found to be 1.0×10(-7) M. This method is not only simple, sensitive and low cost, but also reliable for practical applications. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  17. Rapid analysis of ultraviolet filters using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled to headspace gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.

    PubMed

    Pierson, Stephen A; Trujillo-Rodríguez, María J; Anderson, Jared L

    2018-05-29

    An ionic-liquid-based in situ dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method coupled to headspace gas chromatography and mass spectrometry was developed for the rapid analysis of ultraviolet filters. The chemical structures of five ionic liquids were specifically designed to incorporate various functional groups for the favorable extraction of the target analytes. Extraction parameters including ionic liquid mass, molar ratio of ionic liquid to metathesis reagent, vortex time, ionic strength, pH, and total sample volume were studied and optimized. The effect of the headspace temperature and volume during the headspace sampling step was also evaluated to increase the sensitivity of the method. The optimized procedure is fast as it only required ∼7-10 min per extraction and allowed for multiple extractions to be performed simultaneously. In addition, the method exhibited high precision, good linearity, and low limits of detection for six ultraviolet filters in aqueous samples. The developed method was applied to both pool and lake water samples attaining acceptable relative recovery values. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Spectroscopic and thermodynamic study of charge transfer complex formation between cloxacillin sodium and riboflavin in aqueous ethanol media of varying composition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roy, Dalim Kumar; Saha, Avijit; Mukherjee, Asok K.

    2006-03-01

    Cloxacillin sodium has been shown to form a charge transfer complex of 2:1 stoichiometry with riboflavin (Vitamin B 2) in aqueous ethanol medium. The enthalpy and entropy of formation of this complex have been determined by estimating the formation constant spectrophotometrically at five different temperatures in pure water medium. Pronounced effect of dielectric constant of the medium on the magnitude of K has been observed by determining K in aqueous ethanol mixtures of varying composition. This has been rationalized in terms of ionic dissociation of the cloxacillin sodium (D -Na +), hydrolysis of the anion D - and complexation of the free acid, DH with riboflavin.

  19. SOME NOVEL LIQUID PARTITIONING SYSTEMS: WATER-IONIC LIQUIDS AND AQUEOUS BIPHASIC SYSTEMS. (R828257)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Concl...

  20. An approach to the ionic cholinergic interaction. Theoretical treatment of the interaction between tetramethylammonium and acetate ions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zuccarello, Felice; Raudino, Antonio; Buemi, Giuseppe

    1980-03-01

    The interaction between the anionic site of cholinesterase and the cationic end of acetylcholine is estimated by considering a simplified model. The effect of the aqueous environment on the stability of the aggregate is considered.

  1. Concurrence of aqueous and gas phase contamination of groundwater in the Wattenberg oil and gas field of northern Colorado.

    PubMed

    Li, Huishu; Son, Ji-Hee; Carlson, Kenneth H

    2016-01-01

    The potential impact of rapid development of unconventional oil and natural gas resources using hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling on regional groundwater quality has received significant attention. Major concerns are methane or oil/gas related hydrocarbon (such as TPHs, BTEX including benzene, toluene, ethybenzene and xylene) leaks into the aquifer due to the failure of casing and/or stray gas migration. Previously, we investigated the relationship between oil and gas activity and dissolved methane concentration in a drinking water aquifer with the major finding being the presence of thermogenic methane contamination, but did not find detectable concentrations of TPHs or BTEX. To understand if aqueous and gas phases from the producing formation were transported concurrently to drinking water aquifers without the presence of oil/gas related hydrocarbons, the ionic composition of three water groups was studied: (1) uncontaminated deep confined aquifer, (2) suspected contaminated groundwater - deep confined aquifer containing thermogenic methane, and (3) produced water from nearby oil and gas wells that would represent aqueous phase contaminants. On the basis of quantitative and spatial analysis, we identified that the "thermogenic methane contaminated" groundwater did not have similarities to produced water in terms of ionic character (e.g. Cl/TDS ratio), but rather to the "uncontaminated" groundwater. The analysis indicates that aquifer wells with demonstrated gas phase contamination have not been contacted by an aqueous phase from oil and gas operations according to the methodology we use in this study and the current groundwater quality data from COGCC. However, the research does not prove conclusively that this the case. The results may provide insight on contamination mechanisms since improperly sealed well casing may result in stray gas but not aqueous phase transport. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Efficient removal of tetracycline with KOH-activated graphene from aqueous solution

    PubMed Central

    Sun, Yiran; Yu, Fei

    2017-01-01

    Activated graphene absorbents with high specific surface area (SSA) were prepared by an easy KOH-activated method, and were applied in absorbing antibiotics, such as tetracycline (TC). After activation, many micropores were introduced to graphene oxide sheets, leading to higher SSA and many new oxygen-containing functional groups, which gave KOH-activated graphene excellent adsorption capacity (approx. 532.59 mg g−1) of TC. Further study on the adsorption mechanism showed that the Langmuir isotherm model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model fitted with experiment data. To further understand the adsorption process, the effects of solid–liquid ratio, pH, ionic strength and coexisting ions were also investigated. The results revealed that, compared with pH and ionic strength, solid–liquid ratio and coexisting ions (Cu2+, CrO42−) had more significant influence over the adsorption performance. The findings provide guidance for application of KOH-activated graphene as a promising alternative adsorbent for antibiotics removal from aqueous solutions. PMID:29291064

  3. Kinetic-Dominated Charging Mechanism within Representative Aqueous Electrolyte-based Electric Double-Layer Capacitors.

    PubMed

    Yang, Huachao; Yang, Jinyuan; Bo, Zheng; Chen, Xia; Shuai, Xiaorui; Kong, Jing; Yan, Jianhua; Cen, Kefa

    2017-08-03

    The chemical nature of electrolytes has been demonstrated to play a pivotal role in the charge storage of electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs), whereas primary mechanisms are still partially resolved but controversial. In this work, a systematic exploration into EDL structures and kinetics of representative aqueous electrolytes is performed with numerical simulation and experimental research. Unusually, a novel charging mechanism exclusively predominated by kinetics is recognized, going beyond traditional views of manipulating capacitances preferentially via interfacial structural variations. Specifically, strikingly distinctive EDL structures stimulated by diverse ion sizes, valences, and mixtures manifest a virtually identical EDL capacitance, where the dielectric nature of solvents attenuates ionic effects on electrolyte redistributions, in stark contradiction with solvent-free counterpart and traditional Helmholtz theory. Meanwhile, corresponding kinetics evolve conspicuously with ionic species, intimately correlated with ion-solvent interactions. The achieved mechanisms are subsequently illuminated by electrochemical measurements, highlighting the crucial interplay between ions and solvents in regulating EDLC performances.

  4. Hydrogen bond basicity of ionic liquids and molar entropy of hydration of salts as major descriptors in the formation of aqueous biphasic systems.

    PubMed

    Passos, Helena; Dinis, Teresa B V; Cláudio, Ana Filipa M; Freire, Mara G; Coutinho, João A P

    2018-05-23

    Aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) composed of ionic liquids (ILs) and conventional salts have been largely investigated and successfully used in separation processes, for which the determination of the corresponding ternary phase diagrams is a prerequisite. However, due the large number of ILs that can be prepared and their high structural versatility, it is impossible to experimentally cover and characterize all possible combinations of ILs and salts that may form ABS. The development of tools for the prediction and design of IL-based ABS is thus a crucial requirement. Based on a large compilation of experimental data, a correlation describing the formation of IL-based ABS is shown here, based on the hydrogen-bonding interaction energies of ILs (EHB) obtained by the COnductor-like Screening MOdel for Real Solvents (COSMO-RS) and the molar entropy of hydration of the salt ions. The ability of the proposed model to predict the formation of novel IL-based ABS is further ascertained.

  5. Isotope effects in aqueous solvation of simple halides

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Videla, Pablo E.; Rossky, Peter J.; Laria, D.

    2018-03-01

    We present a path-integral-molecular-dynamics study of the thermodynamic stabilities of DOH⋯ X- and HOD⋯ X- (X = F, Cl, Br, I) coordination in aqueous solutions at ambient conditions. In agreement with experimental evidence, our results for the F- case reveal a clear stabilization of the latter motif, whereas, in the rest of the halogen series, the former articulation prevails. The DOH⋯ X- preference becomes more marked the larger the size of the ionic solute. A physical interpretation of these tendencies is provided in terms of an analysis of the global quantum kinetic energies of the light atoms and their geometrical decomposition. The stabilization of the alternative ionic coordination geometries is the result of a delicate balance arising from quantum spatial dispersions along parallel and perpendicular directions with respect to the relevant O-H⋯X- axis, as the strength of the water-halide H-bond varies. This interpretation is corroborated by a complementary analysis performed on the different spectroscopic signals of the corresponding IR spectra.

  6. Reactive phosphorus removal from aquaculture and poultry productions systems using polymeric hydrogels.

    PubMed

    Kofinas, Peter; Kioussis, Dimitri R

    2003-01-15

    This work reports on the features of a sorption processes for the ultimate removal and recovery of reactive phosphorus from aquaculture and poultry production wastewater effluents. The sorbent used was a cross-linked polyamine (PAA-HCl) polymeric hydrogel. The PAA-HCl hydrogels were prepared by chemically cross-linking aqueous solutions of linear PAA-HCl chains with epichlorohydrin (EPI). The phosphorus binding capacity of the gels was measured in standard aqueous solutions as a function of ionic strength. Equilibrium PO4(3-), loadings of 100 mg anion/g gel were obtained. The regeneration ability of the gels was demonstrated by release of the bound phosphorus anions upon washing with 1-2 M NaOH solution, providing opportunities to recover and reuse the gel over multiple cycles. The ionic polyamine gels have been demonstrated to be appropriate materials for treating poultry and aquaculture wastewater effluents. Upon treatment phosphorus anion concentrations were reduced to levels suitable for discharge into natural surface waters.

  7. Can an ammonium-based room temperature ionic liquid counteract the urea-induced denaturation of a small peptide?

    PubMed

    Ghosh, Soumadwip; Dey, Souvik; Patel, Mahendra; Chakrabarti, Rajarshi

    2017-03-15

    The folding/unfolding equilibrium of proteins in aqueous medium can be altered by adding small organic molecules generally termed as co-solvents. Denaturants such as urea are instrumental in the unfolding of proteins while protecting osmolytes favour the folded ensemble. Recently, room temperature ionic liquids (ILs) have been shown to counteract the deleterious effect of urea on proteins. In this paper, using atomistic molecular dynamics we show that a ternary mixture containing a particular ammonium-based IL, triethylammonium acetate (TEAA), and urea (in 1 : 5 molar ratio) helps a small 15-residue S-peptide analogue regain most of its native structure, whereas a binary aqueous mixture containing a large amount of urea alone completely distorts it. Our simulations show that the denaturant urea directly interacts with the peptide backbone in the binary mixture while for the ternary mixture both urea as well as the IL are preferentially excluded from the peptide surface.

  8. ORGANIC-HIGH IONIC STRENGTH AQUEOUS SOLVENT SYSTEMS FOR SPIRAL COUNTER-CURRENT CHROMATOGRAPHY: GRAPHIC OPTIMIZATION OF PARTITION COEFFICIENT

    PubMed Central

    Zeng, Yun; Liu, Gang; Ma, Ying; Chen, Xiaoyuan; Ito, Yoichiro

    2012-01-01

    A new series of organic-high ionic strength aqueous two-phase solvents systems was designed for separation of highly polar compounds by spiral high-speed counter-current chromatography. A total of 21 solvent systems composed of 1-butanol-ethanol-saturated ammonium sulfate-water at various volume ratios are arranged according to an increasing order of polarity. Selection of the two-phase solvent system for a single compound or a multiple sample mixture can be achieved by two steps of partition coefficient measurements using a graphic method. The capability of the method is demonstrated by optimization of partition coefficient for seven highly polar samples including tartrazine (K=0.77), tryptophan (K=1.00), methyl green (K= 0.93), tyrosine (0.81), metanephrine (K=0.89), tyramine (K=0.98), and normetanephrine (K=0.96). Three sulfonic acid components in D&C Green No. 8 were successfully separated by HSCCC using the graphic selection of the two-phase solvent system. PMID:23467197

  9. Ion distribution and selectivity of ionic liquids in microporous electrodes.

    PubMed

    Neal, Justin N; Wesolowski, David J; Henderson, Douglas; Wu, Jianzhong

    2017-05-07

    The energy density of an electric double layer capacitor, also known as supercapacitor, depends on ion distributions in the micropores of its electrodes. Herein we study ion selectivity and partitioning of symmetric, asymmetric, and mixed ionic liquids among different pores using the classical density functional theory. We find that a charged micropore in contact with mixed ions of the same valence is always selective to the smaller ions, and the ion selectivity, which is strongest when the pore size is comparable to the ion diameters, drastically falls as the pore size increases. The partitioning behavior in ionic liquids is fundamentally different from those corresponding to ion distributions in aqueous systems whereby the ion selectivity is dominated by the surface energy and entropic effects insensitive to the degree of confinement.

  10. A precision structured smart hydrogel for sensing applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Menges, J.; Kleinschmidt, P.; Bart, H.-J.; Oesterschulze, E.

    2017-10-01

    We report on a macroinitiator based smart hydrogel film applied on a microcantilever for sensing applications. The studied hydrogel features a comparatively wide dynamic range for changes in the electrolyte's ionic strength. Furthermore, it offers a simple spin coating process for thin film deposition as well as the capability to obtain high aspect ratio microstructures by reactive ion etching. This makes the hydrogel compatible to microelectromechanical system integration. As a proof of concept, we study the response of hydrogel functionalized cantilevers in aqueous sodium chloride solutions of varying ionic strength. In contrast to the majority of hydrogel materials reported in the literature, we found that our hydrogel still responds in high ionic strength environments. This may be of future interest for sensing e.g., in sea water or physiological environments like urine.

  11. Dual functions of imidazole-based polymeric ionic liquid (PIL) on the anticorrosive performance of graphene-based waterborne epoxy coatings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Chengbao; Du, Peng; Nan, Feng; Zhao, Haichao; Wang, Liping

    2018-06-01

    Dispersion of graphene nanosheets in a water and polymer matrix has been rarely achieved due to graphene’s hydrophobicity, which thus impedes its potential anticorrosive application. In this study, stable graphene aqueous dispersion was obtained by using imidazole-based polymeric ionic liquid (PIL) as the dispersant with ultrasonic vibration. Stacked graphene sheets were exfoliated to a few layers via cation-π interaction between PIL and graphene nanosheets. Electrochemical impedance measurements were taken to investigate the anticorrosion performance of epoxy coatings with or without polymeric ionic liquid–graphene (PIL–G) hybrids. Results indicated that the PIL–G hybrid significantly enhanced the long-term protective performance of epoxy coatings, which was attributed to the synergistic effects of the corrosion-inhibitive PIL and impermeable graphene nanosheets.

  12. Metal-ion interactions and the structural organization of Sepia eumelanin.

    PubMed

    Liu, Yan; Simon, John D

    2005-02-01

    The structural organization of melanin granules isolated from ink sacs of Sepia officinalis was examined as a function of metal ion content by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Exposing Sepia melanin granules to ethelenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) solution or to metal salt solutions changed the metal content in the melanin, but did not alter granular morphology. Thus ionic forces between the organic components and metal ions in melanin are not required to sustain the natural morphology once the granule is assembled. However, when aqueous suspensions of Sepia melanin granules of varying metal content are ultra-sonicated, EDTA-washed and Fe-saturated melanin samples lose material to the solution more readily than the corresponding Ca(II) and Mg(II)-loaded samples. The solubilized components are found to be 5,6-dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (DHICA)-rich constituents. Associated with different metal ions, Na(I), Ca(II) and Mg(II) or Fe(III), these DHICA-rich entities form distinct two-dimensional aggregation structures when dried on the flat surface of mica. The data suggest multiply-charged ions play an important role in assisting or templating the assembly of the metal-free organic components to form the three-dimensional substructure distributed along the protein scaffold within the granule.

  13. Atomic force microscopy evaluation of aqueous interfaces of immobilized hyaluronan.

    PubMed

    Morra, Marco; Cassinelli, Clara; Pavesio, Alessandra; Renier, Davide

    2003-03-15

    Hyaluronan (HA) was immobilized on aminated glass surfaces in three different ways: by simple ionic interaction and by covalent linking at low density and at full density. In agreement with previous reports, in vitro experiments show that the outcome of fibroblast adhesion tests is markedly affected by the details of the coupling procedure, suggesting that different interfacial forces are operating at the aqueous/HA interface in the three cases investigated. The interfacial properties of the HA-coated surfaces were probed by force-distance curves obtained with the atomic force microscope (AFM). This approach readily shows significant differences among the tested samples, which are directly related to the coupling strategy and to results of cell adhesion tests. In particular, the range of interaction between the tip and the surface is much lower when HA is covalently linked than when it is ionically coupled, suggesting a more compact surface structure in the former case. Increasing HA surface density minimizes the interaction force between the surface and the AFM tip, likely reflecting more complete shielding by the HA chains of the underlying substrate. In summary, these measurements clearly show the different nature of the aqueous interfaces tested, and underline the role of this analytical approach in the development and control of finely tuned biomaterial surfaces.

  14. Hydroxyapatite-gelatin nanocomposite as a novel adsorbent for nitrobenzene removal from aqueous solution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wei, Wei; Sun, Rong; Jin, Zhu; Cui, Jing; Wei, Zhenggui

    2014-02-01

    A novel adsorbent of hydroxyapatite-gelatin (HAP-GEL) nanocomposite was developed for nitrobenzene removal from aqueous solution. The adsorbent was characterized and its performance in nitrobenzene removal was evaluated. The effects of contact time, adsorbent dosage, temperature, pH, ionic strength, humic acid, and the presence of solvent on nitrobenzene adsorption, as well as the thermodynamic parameters for adsorption equilibrium were also investigated. Results showed that HAP-GEL nanocomposite possessed good adsorption ability to nitrobenzene. The adsorption process was fast, and it reached a steady state after only 1 min. Nitrobenzene removal was increased with an increasing amount of adsorbent dosage but decreased as the temperature and pH increased. Meanwhile the amount of nitrobenzene adsorbed decreased with an increase of ionic strength from 0.01 to 1.0 mol/L and humic acid from 10 to 50 mg/L. The adsorption isotherm studies showed that both Langmuir and Freundlich models could fit the experimental data well, and the maximum adsorption capacity was estimated to be 42.373 mg/g. The thermodynamic parameters suggested that the adsorption of nitrobenzene on HAP-GEL nanocomposite was physisorption, spontaneous and exothermic in nature. Findings of this study demonstrated the potential utility of the HAP-GEL nanocomposite as an effective adsorbent for nitrobenzene removal from aqueous solution.

  15. Colloid-probe AFM studies of the interaction forces of proteins adsorbed on colloidal crystals.

    PubMed

    Singh, Gurvinder; Bremmell, Kristen E; Griesser, Hans J; Kingshott, Peter

    2015-04-28

    In recent years, colloid-probe AFM has been used to measure the direct interaction forces between colloidal particles of different size or surface functionality in aqueous media, as one can study different forces in symmerical systems (i.e., sphere-sphere geometry). The present study investigates the interaction between protein coatings on colloid probes and hydrophilic surfaces decorated with hexagonally close packed single particle layers that are either uncoated or coated with proteins. Controlled solvent evaporation from aqueous suspensions of colloidal particles (coated with or without lysozyme and albumin) produces single layers of close-packed colloidal crystals over large areas on a solid support. The measurements have been carried out in an aqueous medium at different salt concentrations and pH values. The results show changes in the interaction forces as the surface charge of the unmodified or modified particles, and ionic strength or pH of the solution is altered. At high ionic strength or pH, electrostatic interactions are screened, and a strong repulsive force at short separation below 5 nm dominates, suggesting structural changes in the absorbed protein layer on the particles. We also study the force of adhesion, which decreases with an increment in the salt concentration, and the interaction between two different proteins indicating a repulsive interaction on approach and adhesion on retraction.

  16. Physicochemical factors affecting ethanol adsorption by activated carbon.

    PubMed

    Bradley, K J; Hamdy, M K; Toledo, R T

    1987-03-01

    Powder and granular activated charcoal were evaluated for ethanol adsorptivity from aqueous mixtures using an adsorption isotherm. Ethanol adsorption capacity was more pronounced at 25 degrees C as compared to 5, 15, and 40 degrees C. When pH of the ethanol-buffer mixture (0.09 ionic strength) was changed from acidic (2.3) to neutral and then to alkaline (11.2), ethanol adsorption was decreased. Increasing ionic strength of the ethanol-buffer mixtures from 0.05 to 0.09 enhanced ethanol adsorption but a further increase to 0.14 showed no significant effect. Ethanol adsorption was more efficient from an aqueous ethanol mixture as compared to semidefined and nondefined fermentation worts, respectively. Heating granular charcoal to 400 degrees C for 1 h and 600 degrees C for 3 h in N(2) increased ethanol adsorptivity and heating to 1000 degrees C (1 h) in CO(2) decreased it when ethanol was removed from dilute solutions by simple pass adsorption in a carbon packed column. Granular charcoal was superior to powdered charcoal and an inverse relationship was noted between the weight of the granular carbon bed in the column and ethanol adsorbed/g carbon. Decreasing the column feed flow rate from 7.5 to 2.0 L aqueous ethanol/min increased the adsorption rate.

  17. Adsorption of cadmium by biochar produced from pyrolysis of corn stalk in aqueous solution.

    PubMed

    Ma, Fengfeng; Zhao, Baowei; Diao, Jingru

    2016-09-01

    The purpose of this work is to investigate adsorption characteristic of corn stalk (CS) biochar for removal of cadmium ions (Cd 2+ ) from aqueous solution. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of pH value of solution, adsorbent particle size, adsorbent dosage, and ionic strength of solution on the adsorption of Cd 2+ onto biochar that was pyrolytically produced from CS at 300 °C. The results showed that the initial pH value of solution played an important role in adsorption. The adsorptive amount of Cd 2+ onto the biochar decreased with increasing the adsorbent dosage, adsorbent particle size, and ionic strength, while it increased with increasing the initial pH value of solution and temperature. Cd 2+ was removed efficiently and quickly from aqueous solutions by the biochar with a maximum capacity of 33.94 mg/g. The adsorption process was well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model with the correlation coefficients greater than 0.986. The adsorption isotherm could be well fitted by the Langmuir model. The thermodynamic studies showed that the adsorption of Cd 2+ onto the biochar was a spontaneous and exothermic process. The results indicate that CS biochar can be considered as an efficient adsorbent.

  18. Characterization of Highly Sulfonated SIBS Polymer Partially Neutralized With Mg(+2) Cations

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-08-01

    protective clothing, block copolymer ionomer membranes emerge. They are highly ordered sequence of both ionic and nonionic blocks, in which the ionic ...incorporated into the ionic polymer. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy results revealed that a significant amount of ordering occurred as a result on...increasing Mg content. This band indicates Mg complexation formed when two or more sulfonate groups ionically bonded to the Mg+2 cation

  19. The use of synthesized aqueous solutions for determining strontium sorption isotherms

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Liszewski, M.J.; Bunde, R.L.; Hemming, C.; Rosentreter, J.; Welhan, J.

    1998-01-01

    The use of synthesized aqueous solutions for determining experimentally derived strontium sorption isotherms of sediment was investigated as part of a study accessing strontium chemical transport properties. Batch experimental techniques were used to determine strontium sorption isotherms using synthesized aqueous solutions designed to chemically represent water from a natural aquifer with respect to major ionic character and pH. A strontium sorption isotherm for a sediment derived using a synthesized aqueous solution was found to be most comparable to an isotherm derived using natural water when the synthesized aqueous solution contained similar concentrations of calcium and magnesium. However, it is difficult to match compositions exactly due to the effects of disequilibrium between the solution and the sediment. Strong linear relations between sorbed strontium and solution concentrations of calcium and magnesium confirm that these cations are important co-constituents in these synthesized aqueous solutions. Conversely, weak linear relations between sorbed strontium and solution concentrations of sodium and potassium indicate that these constituents do not affect sorption of strontium. The addition of silica to the synthesized aqueous solution does not appreciably affect the resulting strontium sorption isotherm.

  20. Computer modeling of the mineralogy of the Martian surface, as modified by aqueous alteration

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zolensky, M. E.; Bourcier, W. L.; Gooding, J. L.

    1988-01-01

    Mineralogical constraints can be placed on the Martian surface by assuming chemical equilibria among the surface rocks, atmosphere and hypothesized percolating groundwater. A study was made of possible Martian surface mineralogy, as modified by the action of aqueous alteration, using the EQ3/6 computer codes. These codes calculate gas fugacities, aqueous speciation, ionic strength, pH, Eh and concentration and degree of mineral saturation for complex aqueous systems. Thus, these codes are also able to consider mineralogical solid solutions. These codes are able to predict the likely alteration phases which will occur as the result of weathering on the Martian surface. Knowledge of the stability conditions of these phases will then assist in the definition of the specifications for the sample canister of the proposed Martian sample return mission. The model and its results are discussed.

  1. Particles from bird feather: a novel application of an ionic liquid and waste resource.

    PubMed

    Sun, Ping; Liu, Zhao-Tie; Liu, Zhong-Wen

    2009-10-30

    The dissolution and regeneration of the waste chicken feathers in an ionic liquid of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM]Cl) were demonstrated for preparing chicken feather based particles. The structure and properties of the regenerated chicken feathers were investigated by FT-IR, XRD, SEM, BET and water contact angle. The crystallinity of the regenerated chicken feathers was decreased, and the content of beta-sheet was 31.71%, which was clearly lower than the raw feather (47.19%). The surface property of chicken feather changed from hydrophobicity to hydrophilicity after regenerated from [BMIM]Cl as indicated by the change of the water contact angle from 138 to 76 degrees . The chicken feather particles regenerated from [BMIM]Cl showed an excellent efficiency (63.5-87.7%) for removing Cr(VI) ions in wastewater at the concentrations from 2 to 80 ppm. The Freundlich constant (k(F)) for the adsorption of Cr(VI) ion by the particles of the regenerated chicken feather was four times larger than that of the raw chicken feather, the possible reason is the hydrophilic groups such as amino and carboxyl groups were tend to self-assemble towards surface when the dissolved CF were regenerated by water, amino group will partly hydrate to cationic amino and Cr(VI) ion occurs as an anion in the aqueous phase, so the cationic amino will adsorb the anionic Cr(VI) ion onto the RCF particles through electrostatic attraction. This work demonstrated a new application of the ionic liquid for dissolving chicken feather and a renewable application of waste chicken feather for removing Cr(VI) ion in water.

  2. Wintertime water-soluble aerosol composition and particle water content in Fresno, California

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parworth, Caroline L.; Young, Dominique E.; Kim, Hwajin; Zhang, Xiaolu; Cappa, Christopher D.; Collier, Sonya; Zhang, Qi

    2017-03-01

    The composition and concentrations of water-soluble gases and ionic aerosol components were measured from January to February 2013 in Fresno, CA, with a particle-into-liquid sampler with ion chromatography and annular denuders. The average (±1σ) ionic aerosol mass concentration was 15.0 (±9.4) µg m-3, and dominated by nitrate (61%), followed by ammonium, sulfate, chloride, potassium, nitrite, and sodium. Aerosol-phase organic acids, including formate and glycolate, and amines including methylaminium, triethanolaminium, ethanolaminium, dimethylaminium, and ethylaminium were also detected. Although the dominant species all came from secondary aerosol formation, there were primary sources of ionic aerosols as well, including biomass burning for potassium and glycolate, sea spray for sodium, chloride, and dimethylamine, and vehicles for formate. Particulate methanesulfonic acid was also detected and mainly associated with terrestrial sources. On average, the molar concentration of ammonia was 49 times greater than nitric acid, indicating that ammonium nitrate formation was limited by nitric acid availability. Particle water was calculated based on the Extended Aerosol Inorganics Model (E-AIM) thermodynamic prediction of inorganic particle water and κ-Köhler theory approximation of organic particle water. The average (±1σ) particle water concentration was 19.2 (±18.6) µg m-3, of which 90% was attributed to inorganic species. The fractional contribution of particle water to total fine particle mass averaged at 36% during this study and was greatest during early morning and night and least during the day. Based on aqueous-phase concentrations of ions calculated by using E-AIM, the average (±1σ) pH of particles in Fresno during the winter was estimated to be 4.2 (±0.2).

  3. Magnetic ionic liquids as non-conventional extraction solvents for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

    PubMed

    Trujillo-Rodríguez, María J; Nacham, Omprakash; Clark, Kevin D; Pino, Verónica; Anderson, Jared L; Ayala, Juan H; Afonso, Ana M

    2016-08-31

    This work describes the applicability of magnetic ionic liquids (MILs) in the analytical determination of a group of heavy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Three different MILs, namely, benzyltrioctylammonium bromotrichloroferrate (III) (MIL A), methoxybenzyltrioctylammonium bromotrichloroferrate (III) (MIL B), and 1,12-di(3-benzylbenzimidazolium) dodecane bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl)]imide bromotrichloroferrate (III) (MIL C), were designed to exhibit hydrophobic properties, and their performance examined in a microextraction method for hydrophobic analytes. The magnet-assisted approach with these MILs was performed in combination with high performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection. The study of the extraction performance showed that MIL A was the most suitable solvent for the extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and under optimum conditions the fast extraction step required ∼20 μL of MIL A for 10 mL of aqueous sample, 24 mmol L(-1) NaOH, high ionic strength content of NaCl (25% (w/v)), 500 μL of acetone as dispersive solvent, and 5 min of vortex. The desorption step required the aid of an external magnetic field with a strong NdFeB magnet (the separation requires few seconds), two back-extraction steps for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons retained in the MIL droplet with n-hexane, evaporation and reconstitution with acetonitrile. The overall method presented limits of detection down to 5 ng L(-1), relative recoveries ranging from 91.5 to 119%, and inter-day reproducibility values (expressed as relative standard derivation) lower than 16.4% for a spiked level of 0.4 μg L(-1) (n = 9). The method was also applied for the analysis of real samples, including tap water, wastewater, and tea infusion. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Why is hydrofluoric acid a weak acid?

    PubMed

    Ayotte, Patrick; Hébert, Martin; Marchand, Patrick

    2005-11-08

    The infrared vibrational spectra of amorphous solid water thin films doped with HF at 40 K reveal a strong continuous absorbance in the 1000-3275 cm(-1) range. This so-called Zundel continuum is the spectroscopic hallmark for aqueous protons. The extensive ionic dissociation of HF at such low temperature suggests that the reaction enthalpy remains negative down to 40 K. These observations support the interpretation that dilute HF aqueous solutions behave as weak acids largely due to the large positive reaction entropy resulting from the structure making character of the hydrated fluoride ion.

  5. SPECIATION OF ORGANICS IN WATER WITH RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY: UTILITY OF IONIC STRENGTH VARIATION

    EPA Science Inventory

    We have developed and are applying an experimental and mathematical method for describing the micro-speciation of complex organic contaminants in aqueous media. For our case, micro-speciation can be defined as qualitative and quantitative identification of all discrete forms of ...

  6. Formation of Aqueous Suspensions of Fullerenes

    EPA Science Inventory

    Colloidal suspensions of C60, C70 and a derivative of C60, PCBM ([6,6]-Phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester) were produced by extended mixing in water. We examined the contribution of background solution chemistry (pH, ionic strength) on the formation kinetics of colloidal suspe...

  7. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Das, S.; Ghosh, A., E-mail: sspag@iacs.res.in

    We have studied ionic conductivity and dielectric permittivity of PEO-LiClO{sub 4} solid polymer electrolyte plasticized with propylene carbonate. Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction studies confirm minimum volume fraction of crystalline phase for the polymer electrolyte with 40 wt. % propylene carbonate. The ionic conductivity exhibits a maximum for the same composition. The temperature dependence of the ionic conductivity has been well interpreted using Vogel-Tamman-Fulcher equation. Ion-ion interactions in the polymer electrolytes have been studied using Raman spectra and the concentrations of free ions, ion-pairs and ion-aggregates have been determined. The ionic conductivity increases due to the increase of freemore » ions with the increase of propylene carbonate content. But for higher content of propylene carbonate, the ionic conductivity decreases due to the increase of concentrations of ion-pairs and ion-aggregates. To get further insights into the ion dynamics, the experimental data for the complex dielectric permittivity have been studied using Havriliak–Negami function. The variation of relaxation time with temperature obtained from this formalism follows Vogel-Tamman-Fulcher equation similar to the ionic conductivity.« less

  8. The solvation structures of cellulose microfibrils in ionic liquids.

    PubMed

    Mostofian, Barmak; Smith, Jeremy C; Cheng, Xiaolin

    2011-12-01

    The use of ionic liquids for non-derivatized cellulose dissolution promises an alternative method for the thermochemical pretreatment of biomass that may be more efficient and environmentally acceptable than more conventional techniques in aqueous solution. Here, we performed equilibrium MD simulations of a cellulose microfibril in the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BmimCl) and compared the solute structure and the solute-solvent interactions at the interface with those from corresponding simulations in water. The results indicate a higher occurrence of solvent-exposed orientations of cellulose surface hydroxymethyl groups in BmimCl than in water. Moreover, spatial and radial distribution functions indicate that hydrophilic surfaces are a preferred site of interaction between cellulose and the ionic liquid. In particular, hydroxymethyl groups on the hydrophilic fiber surface adopt a different conformation from their counterparts oriented towards the fiber's core. Furthermore, the glucose units with these solvent-oriented hydroxymethyls are surrounded by the heterocyclic organic cation in a preferred parallel orientation, suggesting a direct and distinct interaction scheme between cellulose and BmimCl.

  9. Interactions of lysozyme in concentrated electrolyte solutions from dynamic light-scattering measurements.

    PubMed Central

    Kuehner, D E; Heyer, C; Rämsch, C; Fornefeld, U M; Blanch, H W; Prausnitz, J M

    1997-01-01

    The diffusion of hen egg-white lysozyme has been studied by dynamic light scattering in aqueous solutions of ammonium sulfate as a function of protein concentration to 30 g/liter. Experiments were conducted under the following conditions: pH 4-7 and ionic strength 0.05-5.0 M. Diffusivity data for ionic strengths up to 0.5 M were interpreted in the context of a two-body interaction model for monomers. From this analysis, two potential-of-mean-force parameters, the effective monomer charge, and the Hamaker constant were obtained. At higher ionic strength, the data were analyzed using a model that describes the diffusion coefficient of a polydisperse system of interacting protein aggregates in terms of an isodesmic, indefinite aggregation equilibrium constant. Data analysis incorporated multicomponent virial and hydrodynamic effects. The resulting equilibrium constants indicate that lysozyme does not aggregate significantly as ionic strength increases, even at salt concentrations near the point of salting-out precipitation. PMID:9414232

  10. Diffusion of ionic and non-ionic contrast agents in articular cartilage with increased cross-linking--contribution of steric and electrostatic effects.

    PubMed

    Kulmala, K A M; Karjalainen, H M; Kokkonen, H T; Tiitu, V; Kovanen, V; Lammi, M J; Jurvelin, J S; Korhonen, R K; Töyräs, J

    2013-10-01

    To investigate the effect of threose-induced collagen cross-linking on diffusion of ionic and non-ionic contrast agents in articular cartilage. Osteochondral plugs (Ø=6mm) were prepared from bovine patellae and divided into two groups according to the contrast agent to be used in contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT) imaging: (I) anionic ioxaglate and (II) non-ionic iodixanol. The groups I and II contained 7 and 6 sample pairs, respectively. One of the paired samples served as a reference while the other was treated with threose to induce collagen cross-linking. The equilibrium partitioning of the contrast agents was imaged after 24h of immersion. Fixed charge density (FCD), water content, contents of proteoglycans, total collagen, hydroxylysyl pyridinoline (HP), lysyl pyridinoline (LP) and pentosidine (Pent) cross-links were determined as a reference. The equilibrium partitioning of ioxaglate (group I) was significantly (p=0.018) lower (-23.4%) in threose-treated than control samples while the equilibrium partitioning of iodixanol (group II) was unaffected by the threose-treatment. FCD in the middle and deep zones of the cartilage (p<0.05) and contents of Pent and LP (p=0.001) increased significantly due to the treatment. However, the proteoglycan concentration was not systematically altered after the treatment. Water content was significantly (-3.5%, p=0.007) lower after the treatment. Since non-ionic iodixanol showed no changes in partition after cross-linking, in contrast to anionic ioxaglate, we conclude that the cross-linking induced changes in charge distribution have greater effect on diffusion compared to the cross-linking induced changes in steric hindrance. Copyright © 2013 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Smalley, John F.

    In this study, we demonstrate how small and rapid temperature perturbations (produced by the indirect laser-induced temperature jump (ILIT) technique) of solid metal electrode|electrolyte solution interfaces may be used to determine the potential of zero (total) charge (E pzc) and its temperature derivativemore » $$\\left(\\frac{dEpzc}{dT}\\right)$$ of Au(111) electrode surfaces modified by alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers in contact with high ionic strength (i.e., 1.0 M) aqueous electrolyte solutions. The E pzc’s measured for two different types of SAMs (made from either HS(CH 2) n-1CH 3 (5 ≤ n ≤ 12, E pzc = -(0.99 ± 0.12) V vs SSCE) or HS(CH 2) nOH (3 ≤ n ≤ 16, E pzc = (0.46 ± 0.22) V vs SSCE)) are considerably different than those measured previously at much lower electrolyte solution ionic strengths. For mixed monolayers made from both HS(CH 2) n-1CH 3 and HS(CH 2) nFc (where Fc refers to ferrocene), the difference in Epzc decreases as a function of the surface concentration of the Fc moiety (i.e., [Fc]), and it completely disappears at a surprisingly small [Fc] (~4.0 × 10 –11 mol cm –2). These observations for the Au(111)|hydrophobic (neat and mixed) SAM|aqueous electrolyte solution interfaces, along with the surface potentials (g Sml(dip)) evaluated for the contacting electrolyte solution surfaces of these interfaces, are consistent with a structure for the water molecule components of these surfaces where there is a net orientation of the dipoles of these molecules. Accordingly, the negative (oxygen) ends of these molecules point toward the SAM surface. The positive values of g Sml(dip) evaluated for hydrophilic SAM (e.g., made from HS(CH 2) nOH)|aqueous electrolyte solution interfaces) also indicate that the structure of these interfaces is similar to that of the hydrophobic interfaces. However, g Sml(dip) decreases with increasing ionic strength for the hydrophilic interfaces, while it increases with increasing ionic strength for the hydrophobic interfaces. The data (and calculations) reported in the present work and other studies of hydrophobic (and hydrophilic)|aqueous solution interfaces are as yet insufficient to support a complete explanation for the effects of ionic strength observed in the present study. Nevertheless, an analysis based upon the value of $$\\left(\\frac{dEpzc}{dT}\\right)$$ (= (0.51 ± 0.12) mV/K, essentially the same for SAMs made from both HS(CH 2) n-1CH 3 and HS(CH 2) nOH), determined in the present study provides a further indication that upon formation of the SAM there is a partial charge transfer of electrons from the relevant gold atoms on the Au(111) surface to the sulfur atoms of the alkanethiols.« less

  12. High energy supercapattery with an ionic liquid solution of LiClO4.

    PubMed

    Yu, Linpo; Chen, George Z

    2016-08-15

    A supercapattery combining an ideally polarized capacitor-like electrode and a battery-like electrode is demonstrated theoretically and practically using an ionic liquid electrolyte containing 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium tri(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate (BMPyrrFAP), gamma-butyrolactone (γ-GBL) and LiClO4. The electrochemical deposition and dissolution of lithium metal on a platinum and glass carbon electrode were investigated in this ionic liquid solution. The CVs showed that the fresh electrochemically deposited lithium metal was stable in the electrolyte, which encouraged the investigation of this ionic liquid solution in a supercapattery with a lithium battery negative electrode. The active material counted specific energy of the supercapattery based on a lithium negative electrode and an activated carbon (Act-C) positive electrode could reach 230 W h kg(-1) under a galvanostatic charge-discharge current density of 1 mA cm(-2). The positive electrode material (Act-C) was also investigated by CV, AC impedance, SEM and BET. The non-uniform particle size and micropores dominated porous structure of the Act-C enabled its electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) behavior in the ionic liquid solution. The measured specific capacitance of the Act-C in this ionic liquid solution is higher than the same Act-C in aqueous solution, which indicates the Act-C can also perform well in the ionic liquid electrolyte.

  13. Surfactant-based ionic liquids for extraction of phenolic compounds combined with rapid quantification using capillary electrophoresis.

    PubMed

    Huang, Fangzhi; Berton, Paula; Lu, Chengfei; Siraj, Noureen; Wang, Chun; Magut, Paul K S; Warner, Isiah M

    2014-09-01

    A rapid liquid phase extraction employing a novel hydrophobic surfactant-based room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL), tetrabutylphosphonium dioctyl sulfosuccinate ([4C4 P][AOT]), coupled with capillary electrophoretic-UV (CE-UV) detection is developed for removal and determination of phenolic compounds. The long-carbon-chain RTIL used is sparingly soluble in most solvents and can be used to replace volatile organic solvents. This fact, in combination with functional-surfactant-anions, is proposed to reduce the interfacial energy of the two immiscible liquid phases, resulting in highly efficient extraction of analytes. Several parameters that influence the extraction efficiencies, such as extraction time, RTIL type, pH value, and ionic strength of aqueous solutions, were investigated. It was found that, under acidic conditions, most of the investigated phenols were extracted from aqueous solution into the RTIL phase within 12 min. Good linearity was observed over the concentration range of 0.1-80.0 μg/mL for all phenols investigated. The precision of this method, expressed as RSD, was determined to be within 3.4-5.3% range. The LODs (S/N = 3) of the method were in the range of 0.047-0.257 μg/mL. The proposed methodology was successfully applied to determination of phenols in real water samples. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. Surface acid-base behaviors of Chinese loess.

    PubMed

    Chu, Zhaosheng; Liu, Wenxin; Tang, Hongxiao; Qian, Tianwei; Li, Shushen; Li, Zhentang; Wu, Guibin

    2002-08-15

    Acid-base titration was applied to investigate the surface acid-base properties of a Chinese loess sample at different ionic strengths. The acidimetric supernatant was regarded as the system blank of titration to correct the influence of particle dissolution on the estimation of proton consumption. The titration behavior of the system blank could be described by the hydrolysis of Al3+ and Si(OH)4 in aqueous solution as well as the production of hydroxyaluminosilicates. The formation of Al-Si species on homogeneous surface sites by hydrous aluminum and silicic acid, released from solid substrate during the acidic titration, was considered in the model description of the back-titration procedure. A surface reaction model was suggested as follows: >SOH<-->SO(-)+H+, pK(a)(int)=3.48-3.98;>SOH+Al(3+)+H4SiO4<-->SOAl(OSi(OH)3(+)+2H+, pK(SC)=3.48-4.04. Two simple surface complexation models accounted for the interfacial structure, i.e., the constant capacitance model (CCM) and the diffuse layer model (DLM), and gave a satisfactory description of the experimental data. Considering the effect of ionic strength on the electrostatic profile at the solid-aqueous interface, the DLM was appropriate at the low concentrations (0.01 and 0.005 mol/L) of background electrolyte (NaNO3 in this study), while the CCM was preferable in the case of high ionic strength (0.1 mol/L).

  15. Solubility and modeling acid-base properties of adrenaline in NaCl aqueous solutions at different ionic strengths and temperatures.

    PubMed

    Bretti, Clemente; Cigala, Rosalia Maria; Crea, Francesco; De Stefano, Concetta; Vianelli, Giuseppina

    2015-10-12

    Solubility and acid-base properties of adrenaline were studied in NaCl aqueous solutions at different ionic strengths (0

  16. An ionic liquid as a solvent for headspace single drop microextraction of chlorobenzenes from water samples.

    PubMed

    Vidal, Lorena; Psillakis, Elefteria; Domini, Claudia E; Grané, Nuria; Marken, Frank; Canals, Antonio

    2007-02-12

    A headspace single-drop microextraction (HS-SDME) procedure using room temperature ionic liquid and coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography capable of quantifying trace amounts of chlorobenzenes in environmental water samples is proposed. A Plackett-Burman design for screening was carried out in order to determine the significant experimental conditions affecting the HS-SDME process (namely drop volume, aqueous sample volume, stirring speed, ionic strength, extraction time and temperature), and then a central composite design was used to optimize the significant conditions. The optimum experimental conditions found from this statistical evaluation were: a 5 microL microdrop of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, exposed for 37 min to the headspace of a 10 mL aqueous sample placed in a 15 mL vial, stirred at 1580 rpm at room temperature and containing 30% (w/v) NaCl. The calculated calibration curves gave a high level of linearity for all target analytes with correlation coefficients ranging between 0.9981 and 0.9997. The repeatability of the proposed method, expressed as relative standard deviation, varied between 1.6 and 5.1% (n=5). The limits of detection ranged between 0.102 and 0.203 microg L(-1). Matrix effects upon extraction were evaluated by analysing spiked tap and river water as well as effluent water samples originating from a municipal wastewater treatment plant.

  17. Kinetics of the oxidation of hydrogen sulfite by hydrogen peroxide in aqueous solution:. ionic strength effects and temperature dependence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maaß, Frank; Elias, Horst; Wannowius, Klaus J.

    Conductometry was used to study the kinetics of the oxidation of hydrogen sulfite, HSO -3, by hydrogen peroxide in aqueous non-buffered solution at the low concentration level of 10 -5-10 -6 M, typically found in cloud water. The kinetic data confirm that the rate law reported for the pH range 3-6 at higher concentration levels, rate= kH·[H +]·[HSO -3]·[H 2O 2], is valid at the low concentration level and at low ionic strength Ic. At 298 K and Ic=1.5×10 -4 M, third-order rate constant kH was found to be kH=(9.1±0.5)×10 7 M -2 s -1. The temperature dependence of kH led to an activation energy of Ea=29.7±0.9 kJ mol -1. The effect of the ionic strength (adjusted with NaCl) on rate constant kH was studied in the range Ic=2×10 -4-5.0 M at pH=4.5-5.2 by conductometry and stopped-flow spectrophotometry. The dependence of kH on Ic can be described with a semi-empirical relationship, which is useful for the purpose of comparison and extrapolation. The kinetic data obtained are critically compared with those reported earlier.

  18. MERCURY(II) PARTITIONING FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS WITH A NEW, HYDROPHOBIC ETHYLENE-GLYCOL FUNCTIONALIZED BIS(METHYLIMIDAZOLIUM) IONIC LIQUID. (R828257)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Concl...

  19. Application and recovery of ionic liquids in the preparative separation of four flavonoids from Rhodiola rosea by on-line three-dimensional liquid chromatography.

    PubMed

    Ma, Shufeng; Hu, Liming; Ma, Chaoyang; Lv, Wenping; Wang, Hongxin

    2014-09-01

    A novel on-line three-dimensional liquid chromatography method was developed to separate four main flavonoids from Rhodiola rosea. Ethyl acetate/0.5 mol/L ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride aqueous solution was selected as the solvent system. In the first-dimension separation, the target flavonoids were entrapped and subsequently desorbed into the second-dimension high-speed countercurrent chromatographic column for separation. In the third-dimension chromatography, the residual ionic liquid in the four separated flavonoids was removed and the used ionic liquid was recovered. As a result, 35.1 mg of compound 1, 20.4 mg of compound 2, 8.5 mg of compound 3, and 10.6 mg of compound 4 were obtained from 1.53 g R. rosea extract. They were identified as rhodiosin, rhodionin, herbacetin, and kaempferol, respectively. The recovery of ionic liquid reached 99.1% of the initial amount. The results showed that this method is a powerful technology for the separation of R. rosea flavonoids and that the ionic-liquid-based solvent system has advantages over traditional solvent systems in renewable and environmentally friendly properties. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  20. PREFACE: Ionic fluids Ionic fluids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Levin, Yan; Kornyshev, Alexei; Barbosa, Marcia C.

    2009-10-01

    In spite of its apparent simplicity Coulomb law, when applied to many body systems, leads to an amazingly rich mathematical structure. The simple idea that two similarly charged objects always repel, is not necessarily true in a colloidal suspension or a dusty plasma. Neither can one simply predict the direction of the electrophoretic motion of a polyion from only knowing its chemical charge. Strong Coulomb correlations in ionic fluids result in instabilities very similar to the gas--liquid phase separation observed in atomic fluids. It is fair to say that bulk behavior of simple aqueous monovalent electrolytes is now very well understood. Unfortunately this is not the case for multivalent electrolytes or molten salts. In these systems cation-anion association leads to strong non-linear effects which manifest themselves in formations of tightly bound ionic clusters. In spite of the tremendous effort invested over the years, our understanding of these systems remains qualitative. In this special issue we have collected articles from some of the biggest experts working on ionic fluids. The papers are both experimental and theoretical. They range from simple electrolytes in the bulk and near interfaces, to polyelectrolytes, colloids, and molten salts. The special issue, covers a wide spectrum of the ongoing research on ionic fluids. All readers should find something of interest here.

  1. Fundamental Insights into the Dissolution and Precipitation of Cellulosic Biomass from Ionic Liquid Mixtures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Minnick, David L.

    Lignocellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on earth making it a promising feedstock for the production of renewable chemicals and fuels. However, utilization of biomass remains a challenge as recalcitrance of cellulose and hemicellulose hinder separation and conversion of these carbohydrates. For instance, the complex inter- and intra- molecular hydrogen bonding network of cellulose renders it insoluble in nearly all aqueous and organic solvents. Alternatively, select ionic liquids (ILs) dissolve significant quantities. Through an ionic liquid mediated dissolution and precipitation process cellulose crystallinity is significantly reduced consequently enhancing subsequent chemical and biochemical reaction processes. Therefore, understanding the thermodynamics of ionic liquid - cellulose mixtures is imperative to developing an IL based biomass processing system. This dissertation illustrates solid-liquid phase equilibrium results for the dissolution and precipitation of cellulose in various IL/cosolvent, IL/antisolvent, and IL/mixed solvent systems with the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium diethyl phosphate ([EMIm][DEP]). Molecular interactions between the ionic liquid, organic solvents, and cellulose are assessed by spectroscopic techniques including Kamlet-Taft solvatochromic analysis, FTIR, and NMR. Additionally, this dissertation discusses how preferential solvation of the IL cation and anion by co- and anti-solvents impact the ability of IL ions to interact with cellulose thus affecting the cellulose dissolution capacity of the various IL-solvent mixtures.

  2. Extraction of ranitidine and nizatidine with using imidazolium ionic liquids prior spectrophotometric and chromatographic detection.

    PubMed

    Kiszkiel, Ilona; Starczewska, Barbara; Leśniewska, Barbara; Późniak, Patrycja

    2015-03-15

    A new extraction medium was proposed for liquid-liquid extraction of the histamine H2 receptor antagonists ranitidine (RNT) and nizatidine (NZT). The ionic liquids with low vapor pressure and favorable solvating properties for a range of compounds such as 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [C4mim][PF6] and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [C4mim][Tf2N] were tested for isolation of analytes. The extraction parameters of RNT and NZT, namely, amount of ionic liquid, pH of sample solution, shaking and centrifugation time were optimized. The isolation processes were performed with 1 mL of the ionic liquids. The extracted samples (pH values near 4) were shaken at 1750 rpm. The influence of interfering substances on the efficiency of extraction process was also studied. Methods for the histamine H2 receptor antagonists (ranitidine and nizatidine) determination after their separation using imidazolium ionic liquids by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combined with UV spectrophotometry were developed. The application of ionic liquids in extraction step allows for selective isolation of analytes from aqueous matrices and their preconcentration. The above methods were applied to the determination of RNT and NZT in environmental samples (river water and wastewater after treatment). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Effect of ionic strength on the thermodynamic characteristics of complexation between Fe(III) ion and nicotinamide in water-ethanol and water-dimethyl sulfoxide mixtures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gamov, G. A.; Grazhdan, K. V.; Gavrilova, M. A.; Dushina, S. V.; Sharnin, V. A.; Baranski, A.

    2013-06-01

    Solutions of iron(III) perchlorate in water, water-ethanol, and water-dimethyl sulfoxide solvents (x_{H_2 O} = 0.7 and 0.25 mole fractions) at ionic strength values I = 0.1, 0.25, and 0.5 are studied by IR spectroscopy. Analysis of the absorption bands of perchlorate ion shows that it does not participate in association processes. It is demonstrated that in the range of ionic strength values between 0 and 0.5 (NaClO4), it affects neither the results from potentiometric titration to determine the stability constants of the iron(III)-nicotinamide complex nor the thermal effects of complexation determined via direct calorimetry in a binary solvent containing 0.3 mole fractions (m.f.) of a non-aqueous component.

  4. Enhanced nonlinear optical responses in donor-acceptor ionic complexes via photo induced energy transfer.

    PubMed

    Mamidala, Venkatesh; Polavarapu, Lakshminarayana; Balapanuru, Janardhan; Loh, Kian Ping; Xu, Qing-Hua; Ji, Wei

    2010-12-06

    By complexion of donor and acceptor using ionic interactions, the enhanced nonlinear optical responses of donor-acceptor ionic complexes in aqueous solution were studied with 7-ns laser pulses at 532 nm. The optical limiting performance of negatively charged gold nanoparticles or graphene oxide (Acceptor) was shown to be improved significantly when they were mixed with water-soluble, positively-charged porphyrin (Donor) derivative. In contrast, no enhancement was observed when mixing with negatively-charged porphyrin. Transient absorption studies of the donor-acceptor complexes confirmed that the addition of energy transfer pathway were responsible for excited-state deactivation, which results in the observed enhancement. Fluence, angle-dependent scattering and time correlated single photon counting measurements suggested that the enhanced nonlinear scattering due to faster nonradiative decay should play a major role in the enhanced optical limiting responses.

  5. A new dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction using ionic liquid based microemulsion coupled with cloud point extraction for determination of copper in serum and water samples.

    PubMed

    Arain, Salma Aslam; Kazi, Tasneem Gul; Afridi, Hassan Imran; Arain, Mariam Shahzadi; Panhwar, Abdul Haleem; Khan, Naeemullah; Baig, Jameel Ahmed; Shah, Faheem

    2016-04-01

    A simple and rapid dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction procedure based on ionic liquid assisted microemulsion (IL-µE-DLLME) combined with cloud point extraction has been developed for preconcentration copper (Cu(2+)) in drinking water and serum samples of adolescent female hepatitits C (HCV) patients. In this method a ternary system was developed to form microemulsion (µE) by phase inversion method (PIM), using ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C4mim][PF6]) and nonionic surfactant, TX-100 (as a stabilizer in aqueous media). The Ionic liquid microemulsion (IL-µE) was evaluated through visual assessment, optical light microscope and spectrophotometrically. The Cu(2+) in real water and aqueous acid digested serum samples were complexed with 8-hydroxyquinoline (oxine) and extracted into IL-µE medium. The phase separation of stable IL-µE was carried out by the micellar cloud point extraction approach. The influence of of different parameters such as pH, oxine concentration, centrifugation time and rate were investigated. At optimized experimental conditions, the limit of detection and enhancement factor were found to be 0.132 µg/L and 70 respectively, with relative standard deviation <5%. In order to validate the developed method, certified reference materials (SLRS-4 Riverine water) and human serum (Sero-M10181) were analyzed. The resulting data indicated a non-significant difference in obtained and certified values of Cu(2+). The developed procedure was successfully applied for the preconcentration and determination of trace levels of Cu(2+) in environmental and biological samples. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. [Determination of Chloride Salt Solution by NIR Spectroscopy].

    PubMed

    Zhang, Bin; Chen, Jian-hong; Jiao, Ming-xing

    2015-07-01

    Determination of chloride salt solution by near infrared spectrum plays a very important role in Biomedicine. The near infrared spectrum analysis of Sodium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium chloride aqueous solution shows that the concentration change of chloride salt can affect hydrogen bond, resulting in the variation of near infrared spectrum of water. The temperature influence on NIR spectrum has been decreased by choosing reasonable wavelength range and the wavelength where the temperature effects are zero (isosbestic point). Chlorine salt prediction model was established based on partial least squares method and used for predicting the concentration of the chlorine ion. The impact on near infrared spectrum of the cation ionic radius, the number of ionic charge, the complex effect of ionic in water has also discussed in this article and the reason of every factor are analysed. Experimental results show that the temperature and concentration will affect the near-infrared spectrum of the solution, It is found that the effect of temperature plays the dominant role at low concentrations of chlorine salt; rather, the ionic dominates at high concentration. Chloride complexes are formed in aqueous solution, It has an effect on hydrogen bond of water combining with the cations in chlorine salt solution, Comparing different chloride solutions at the same concentration, the destruction effects of chloride complexes and catnions on the hydrogen bond of water increases in the sequences: CaCl2 >NaCl>KC. The modeling result shows that the determination coefficients (R2) = 99.97%, the root mean square error of cross validation (RM- SECV) = 4.51, and the residual prediction deviation (RPD) = 62.7, it meets the daily requirements of biochemical detection accuracy.

  7. Modeling the effects of variable groundwater chemistry on adsorption of molybdate

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Stollenwerk, Kenneth G.

    1995-01-01

    Laboratory experiments were used to identify and quantify processes having a significant effect on molybdate (MoO42−) adsorption in a shallow alluvial aquifer on Cape Cod, assachusetts. Aqueous chemistry in the aquifer changes as a result of treated sewage effluent mixing with groundwater. Molybdate adsorption decreased as pH, ionic strength, and the concentration of competing anions increased. A diffuse-layer surface complexation model was used to simulate adsorption of MoO42−, phosphate (PO43−), and sulfate (SO42−) on aquifer sediment. Equilibrium constants for the model were calculated by calibration to data from batch experiments. The model was then used in a one-dimensional solute transport program to successfully simulate initial breakthrough of MoO42− from column experiments. A shortcoming of the solute transport program was the inability to account for kinetics of physical and chemical processes. This resulted in a failure of the model to predict the slow rate of desorption of MoO42− from the columns. The mobility of MoO42− ncreased with ionic strength and with the formation of aqueous complexes with calcium, magnesium, and sodium. Failure to account for MoO42− speciation and ionic strength in the model resulted in overpredicting MoO42− adsorption. Qualitatively, the laboratory data predicted the observed behavior of MoO42− in the aquifer, where retardation of MoO42− was greatest in uncontaminated roundwater having low pH, low ionic strength, and low concentrations of PO43− and SO42−.

  8. Molecular and ionic diffusion in aqueous - deep eutectic solvent mixtures: probing inter-molecular interactions using PFG NMR.

    PubMed

    D'Agostino, Carmine; Gladden, Lynn F; Mantle, Mick D; Abbott, Andrew P; Ahmed, Essa I; Al-Murshedi, Azhar Y M; Harris, Robert C

    2015-06-21

    Pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR has been used to probe self-diffusion of molecular and ionic species in aqueous mixtures of choline chloride (ChCl) based deep eutectic solvents (DESs), in order to elucidate the effect of water on motion and inter-molecular interactions between the different species in the mixtures, namely the Ch(+) cation and hydrogen bond donor (HBD). The results reveal an interesting and complex behaviour of such mixtures at a molecular level. In general, it is observed that the hydroxyl protons ((1)H) of Ch(+) and the hydrogen bond donor have diffusion coefficients significantly different from those measured for their parent molecules when water is added. This indicates a clear and significant change in inter-molecular interactions. In aqueous Ethaline, the hydroxyl species of Ch(+) and HBD show a stronger interaction with water as water is added to the system. In the case of Glyceline, water has little effect on both hydroxyl proton diffusion of Ch(+) and HBD. In Reline, it is likely that water allows the formation of small amounts of ammonium hydroxide. The most surprising observation is from the self-diffusion of water, which is considerably higher that expected from a homogeneous liquid. This leads to the conclusion that Reline and Glyceline form mixtures that are inhomogeneous at a microscopic level despite the hydrophilicity of the salt and HBD. This work shows that PFG NMR is a powerful tool to elucidate both molecular dynamics and inter-molecular interactions in complex liquid mixtures, such as the aqueous DES mixtures.

  9. Surface interaction forces of cellulose nanocrystals grafted with thermoresponsive polymer brushes.

    PubMed

    Zoppe, Justin O; Osterberg, Monika; Venditti, Richard A; Laine, Janne; Rojas, Orlando J

    2011-07-11

    The colloidal stability and thermoresponsive behavior of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) brushes grafted from cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) of varying graft densities and molecular weights was investigated. Indication of the grafted polymer brushes was obtained after AFM imaging of CNCs adsorbed on silica. Also, aggregation of the nanoparticles carrying grafts of high degree of polymerization was observed. The responsiveness of grafted CNCs in aqueous dispersions and as an ultrathin film was evaluated by using light scattering, viscosimetry, and colloidal probe microscopy (CPM). Light transmittance measurements showed temperature-dependent aggregation originating from the different graft densities and molecular weights. The lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of grafted poly(NiPAAm) brushes was found to decrease with the ionic strength, as is the case for free poly(NiPAAm) in aqueous solution. Thermal responsive behavior of grafted CNCs in aqueous dispersions was observed by a sharp increase in dispersion viscosity as the temperature approached the LCST. CPM in liquid media for asymmetric systems consisting of ultrathin films of CNCs and a colloidal silica probe showed the distinctive effects of the grafted polymer brushes on interaction and adhesive forces. The origin of such forces was found to be mainly electrostatic and steric in the case of bare and grafted CNCs, respectively. A decrease in the onset of attractive and adhesion forces of grafted CNCs films were observed with the ionic strength of the aqueous solution. The decreased mobility of polymer brushes upon partial collapse and decreased availability of hydrogen bonding sites with higher electrolyte concentration were hypothesized as the main reasons for the less prominent polymer bridging between interacting surfaces.

  10. Molecular emulsions: from charge order to domain order.

    PubMed

    Perera, Aurélien

    2017-10-25

    Aqueous mixtures of small molecules, such as lower n-alkanols for example, are known to be micro-segregated, with domains in the nano-meter range. One consequence of this micro-segregation would be the existence of long range domain-domain oscillatory correlations in the various atom-atom pair correlation functions, and subsequent pre-peaks in the corresponding atom-atom structure factors, in the q-vector range corresponding to nano-sized domains. However, no such pre-peak have ever been observed in the large corpus of radiation scattering data published so far on aqueous mixtures of small n-alkanols. By using large scale simulations of aqueous-1propanol mixtures, it is shown herein that the origin for the absence of scattering pre-peak resides in the exact cancellation of the contributions of the various atom-atom correlation pre-peaks to the total scattered intensity. The mechanism for this cancellation is due to the differences in the long range oscillatory behaviour of the correlations (beyond 1 nm), which are exactly out-of-phase between same species and cross species. This is similar to the charge order observed in ionic melts, but differs from room temperature ionic liquids, where the segregation is between charged and neutral groups, instead of species segregation. The consequences of such cancellation in the experimental scattering data are examined, in relation to the possibility of detecting micro-segregation through such methods. In the particular case of aqueous-1propanol mixtures, it is shown the X-ray scattering leads an exact cancellation, while this cancellation in neutron scattering is seen to depend on the deuteration ratio between solvent and solute.

  11. Water solubility enhancements of DDT and trichlorobenzene by some surfactants below and above the critical micelle concentration

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Kile, D.E.; Chiou, C.T.

    1989-01-01

    Water solubility enhancements of 1,1-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-2,2,2-trichloroethane (DDT) and 1,2,3-trichlorobenzene (TCB) by aqueous surfactants below and above their critical micelle concentrations (CMCs) have been studied at room temperature with the following surfactants: Triton X-100, Triton X-114, Triton X-405, Brij 35, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. While the solubilities of DDT and TCB are greatly enhanced by all surfactants above the measured CMC, DDT also exhibits significant solubility enhancements below the CMC of the molecularly nonhomogeneous surfactants (the Triton series and Brij 35). The plot of the apparent DDT solubility against the concentration of Triton and Brij surfactants shows an uprising curve below the nominal CMC, which is attributed to the successive micellization of the heterogeneous monomer species. Above the CMC, the enhancement effect with the nonionic surfactants is closely proportional to the nonpolar chain content of the surfactant, whereas the effect with the ionic surfactants is less accountable in terms of their nonpolar chain contents. The solubilization power of a micelle relative to a bulk solvent is evaluated by a comparison of the observed micelle-water and solvent-water partition coefficients.

  12. Solution-phase electronegativity scale: insight into the chemical behaviors of metal ions in solution.

    PubMed

    Li, Keyan; Li, Min; Xue, Dongfeng

    2012-04-26

    By incorporating the solvent effect into the Born effective radius, we have proposed an electronegativity scale of metal ions in aqueous solution with the most common oxidation states and hydration coordination numbers in terms of the effective ionic electrostatic potential. It is found that the metal ions in aqueous solution are poorer electron acceptors compared to those in the gas phase. This solution-phase electronegativity scale shows its efficiency in predicting some important properties of metal ions in aqueous solution such as the aqueous acidities of the metal ions, the stability constants of metal complexes, and the solubility product constants of the metal hydroxides. We have elaborated that the standard reduction potential and the solution-phase electronegativity are two different quantities for describing the processes of metal ions in aqueous solution to soak up electrons with different final states. This work provides a new insight into the chemical behaviors of the metal ions in aqueous solution, indicating a potential application of this electronegativity scale to the design of solution reactions.

  13. Effect of Ionic Strength and Surface Charge Density on the Kinetics of Cellulose Nanocrystal Thin Film Swelling.

    PubMed

    Reid, Michael S; Kedzior, Stephanie A; Villalobos, Marco; Cranston, Emily D

    2017-08-01

    This work explores cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) thin films (<50 nm) and particle-particle interactions by investigating film swelling in aqueous solutions with varying ionic strength (1-100 mM). CNC film hydration was monitored in situ via surface plasmon resonance, and the kinetics of liquid uptake were quantified. The contribution of electrostatic double-layer forces to film swelling was elucidated by using CNCs with different surface charges (anionic sulfate half ester groups, high and low surface charge density, and cationic trimethylammonium groups). Total water uptake in the thin films was found to be independent of ionic strength and surface chemistry, suggesting that in the aggregated state van der Waals forces dominate over double-layer forces to hold the films together. However, the rate of swelling varied significantly. The water uptake followed Fickian behavior, and the measured diffusion constants decreased with the ionic strength gradient between the film and the solution. This work highlights that nanoparticle interactions and dispersion are highly dependent on the state of particle aggregation and that the rate of water uptake in aggregates and thin films can be tailored based on surface chemistry and solution ionic strength.

  14. Distribution of Dechlorinating Bacteria between the Aqueous and Solid Phases

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cápiro, N. L.; Hatt, J. K.; Wang, Y.; Loeffler, F. E.; Pennell, K. D.

    2010-12-01

    Microbial monitoring of aquifers relies on nucleic acid biomarker analysis, which is typically performed with biomass recovered from groundwater samples; however, it is unclear what fraction of the target population(s) is associated with groundwater (i.e., planktonic cells) or is attached to solid phases (i.e., biofilms). Understanding how the titer of target organism(s) in groundwater correlates with the true cell titers of the target organism in the aquifer (i.e., planktonic plus attached cells) is critical for a meaningful interpretation of the data, the prediction of bioremediation performance, and the implementation of site management strategies. To evaluate the distribution of active cells between resident solid phase and the aqueous phase, one-dimensional columns were packed under water-saturated conditions with Bio-Dechlor INOCULUM, a PCE-to ethene-dechlorinating bacterial consortium containing both multiple Dehalococcoides (Dhc) strains and Geobacter lovleyi strain SZ (GeoSZ). The columns were packed with two distinct solid matrices: a low organic content sandy Federal Fine Ottawa soil or Appling soil with higher organic matter content. Influent reduced mineral salts medium supplied at a groundwater pore-water velocity of 0.3 m/day contained both 10 mM lactate as electron donor and 0.33 mM PCE as electron acceptor. Routine collection of biomass from column side ports and effluent samples measured the titers of target cells in the aqueous phase and determined when steady state conditions had been reached. A second set of column experiments evaluated delivery and filtration effects by the solid matrix (i.e., Federal Fine Ottawa sand versus Appling soil) under the same conditions except that electron donor or acceptor were omitted (no growth conditions). Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis using Dhc and GeoSZ 16S rRNA gene-targeted primer and probe sets determined the planktonic cell counts, and destructive sampling of the columns allowed measurement of the total cell titer (i.e., attached plus planktonic cells). The results indicate that within the higher organic matter Appling soil, the fraction of target cells associated with the solid phase was nearly 2-orders of magnitude higher compared to the fraction attached to the aqueous phase. In the sandy soil, differences were approximately 1-order of magnitude. Ongoing efforts use dynamic light scattering and electrophoretic mobility measurements over a range of ionic strengths and pH values to shed light on the parameters that control microbial attachment behavior. Knowledge of factors that affect microbial distribution between aqueous and solid phases is essential for interpreting qPCR data obtained from site groundwater where biological remedies are implemented.

  15. Water Contaminant Mitigation in Ionic Liquid Propellant

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Conroy, David; Ziemer, John

    2009-01-01

    Appropriate system and operational requirements are needed in order to ensure mission success without unnecessary cost. Purity requirements applied to thruster propellants may flow down to materials and operations as well as the propellant preparation itself. Colloid electrospray thrusters function by applying a large potential to a room temperature liquid propellant (such as an ionic liquid), inducing formation of a Taylor cone. Ions and droplets are ejected from the Taylor cone and accelerated through a strong electric field. Electrospray thrusters are highly efficient, precise, scaleable, and demonstrate low thrust noise. Ionic liquid propellants have excellent properties for use as electrospray propellants, but can be hampered by impurities, owing to their solvent capabilities. Of foremost concern is the water content, which can result from exposure to atmosphere. Even hydrophobic ionic liquids have been shown to absorb water from the air. In order to mitigate the risks of bubble formation in feed systems caused by water content of the ionic liquid propellant, physical properties of the ionic liquid EMI-Im are analyzed. The effects of surface tension, material wetting, physisorption, and geometric details of the flow manifold and electrospray emitters are explored. Results are compared to laboratory test data.

  16. The Properties of HPMC:PEO Extended Release Hydrophilic Matrices and their Response to Ionic Environments.

    PubMed

    Hu, Anran; Chen, Chen; Mantle, Michael D; Wolf, Bettina; Gladden, Lynn F; Rajabi-Siahboomi, Ali; Missaghi, Shahrzad; Mason, Laura; Melia, Colin D

    2017-05-01

    Investigate the extended release behaviour of compacts containing mixtures of hydrophilic HPMC and PEO in hydrating media of differing ionic strengths. The extended release behaviour of various HPMC:PEO compacts was investigated using dissolution testing, confocal microscopy and magnetic resonance imaging, with respect to polymer ratio and ionic strength of the hydrating media. Increasing HPMC content gave longer extended release times, but a greater sensitivity to high ionic dissolution environments. Increasing PEO content reduced this sensitivity. The addition of PEO to a predominantly HPMC matrix reduced release rate sensitivity to high ionic environments. Confocal microscopy of early gel layer development showed the two polymers appeared to contribute independently to gel layer structure whilst together forming a coherent and effective diffusion barrier. There was some evidence that poorly swollen HPMC particles added a tortuosity barrier to the gel layer in high ionic strength environments, resulting in prolonged extended release. MRI provides unique, non-invasive spatially resolved information from within the HPMC:PEO compacts that furthers our understanding of USP 1 and USP 4 dissolution data. Confocal microscopy and MRI data show that combinations of HPMC and PEO have advantageous extended release properties, in comparison with matrices containing a single polymer.

  17. Effect of water and ionic liquids on biomolecules.

    PubMed

    Saha, Debasis; Mukherjee, Arnab

    2018-02-08

    The remarkable progress in the field of ionic liquids (ILs) in the last two decades has involved investigations on different aspects of ILs in various conditions. The nontoxic and biocompatible nature of ILs makes them a suitable substance for the storage and application of biomolecules. In this regard, the aqueous IL solutions have attracted a large number of studies to comprehend the role of water in modulating various properties of biomolecules. Here, we review some of the recent studies on aqueous ILs that concern the role of water in altering the behavior of ILs in general and in case of biomolecules solvated in ILs. The different structural and dynamic effects caused by water have been highlighted. We discuss the different modes of IL interaction that are responsible for stabilization and destabilization of proteins and enzymes followed by examples of water effect on this. The role of water in the case of nucleic acid storage in ILs, an area which has mostly been underrated, also has been emphasized. Our discussions highlight the fact that the effects of water on IL behavior are not general and are highly dependent on the nature of the IL under consideration. Overall, we aim to draw attention to the significance of water dynamics in the aqueous IL solutions, a better understanding of which can help in developing superior storage materials for application purposes.

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

    PubMed

    Jonker, Michiel T O; Muijs, Barry

    2010-06-01

    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 be described with empirical salting-out or Setschenow constants, which traditionally are determined by comparing aqueous solubilities in freshwater and saline water. Aqueous solubilities of hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOCs) however are difficult to determine, which might partly explain the limited size of the existing data base on Setschenow constants for these chemicals. In this paper, we propose an alternative approach for determining the constants, which is based on the use of solid phase micro extraction (SPME) fibers. Partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to SPME fibers increased about 1.7 times when going from de-ionized water to seawater. From the log-linear relationship between SPME fiber-water partition coefficients and ionic strength, Setschenow constants were derived, which measured on average 0.35 L mol(-1). These values agreed with literature values existing for some of the investigated PAHs and were independent of solute hydrophobicity or molar volume. Based on the present data, SPME seems to be a convenient and suitable alternative technique to determine Setschenow constants for HOCs. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. High density liquid structure enhancement in glass forming aqueous solution of LiCl.

    PubMed

    Camisasca, G; De Marzio, M; Rovere, M; Gallo, P

    2018-06-14

    We investigate using molecular dynamics simulations the dynamical and structural properties of LiCl:6H 2 O aqueous solution upon supercooling. This ionic solution is a glass forming liquid of relevant interest in connection with the study of the anomalies of supercooled water. The LiCl:6H 2 O solution is easily supercooled and the liquid state can be maintained over a large decreasing temperature range. We performed simulations from ambient to 200 K in order to investigate how the presence of the salt modifies the behavior of supercooled water. The study of the relaxation time of the self-density correlation function shows that the system follows the prediction of the mode coupling theory and behaves like a fragile liquid in all the range explored. The analysis of the changes in the water structure induced by the salt shows that while the salt preserves the water hydrogen bonds in the system, it strongly affects the tetrahedral hydrogen bond network. Following the interpretation of the anomalies of water in terms of a two-state model, the modifications of the oxygen radial distribution function and the angular distribution function of the hydrogen bonds in water indicate that LiCl has the role of enhancing the high density liquid component of water with respect to the low density component. This is in agreement with recent experiments on aqueous ionic solutions.

  20. Influence of Aqueous-Salt Conditions on the Structure and Dynamics of the Monomeric and Novel Dimeric forms of the Alzheimer s ABeta21-30 protein fragment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smith, Micholas Dean

    The behavior of the Alzheimer's related peptide Abeta is the subject of much study. In typical computational studies the environment local to the peptide is assumed to be pure water; however, in vivo the peptide is found in the extracellular space near the plasma membrane which is rich in ionic species. In this thesis, the hypothesis that the presence of group I/IIA salts will result in increased sampling of disordered structures as well as modify the dynamics of meta-stable structural motifs in the small folding nucleus of the Abeta peptide (Abeta21-30) is examined under a variety of ionic environments and was shown that of the tested salts, CaCl2 (and MgCl2, to a much lesser degree) did increase the propensity for disordered states; while, the group IA salts, KCl and NaCl, had little effect on the secondary structure of the peptide. Further, study of three familial mutations of this peptide region is also performed under aqueous salt-environments to elucidate further mechanistic details of how aqueous salts modify the region's behavior. Finally, as experimental results have highlighted that aggregation rates of the full-length peptide are modified by the presence of CaCl2, this work examines novel dimers states of Abeta21-30 and their stabilities when exposed to CaCl2.

  1. High density liquid structure enhancement in glass forming aqueous solution of LiCl

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Camisasca, G.; De Marzio, M.; Rovere, M.; Gallo, P.

    2018-06-01

    We investigate using molecular dynamics simulations the dynamical and structural properties of LiCl:6H2O aqueous solution upon supercooling. This ionic solution is a glass forming liquid of relevant interest in connection with the study of the anomalies of supercooled water. The LiCl:6H2O solution is easily supercooled and the liquid state can be maintained over a large decreasing temperature range. We performed simulations from ambient to 200 K in order to investigate how the presence of the salt modifies the behavior of supercooled water. The study of the relaxation time of the self-density correlation function shows that the system follows the prediction of the mode coupling theory and behaves like a fragile liquid in all the range explored. The analysis of the changes in the water structure induced by the salt shows that while the salt preserves the water hydrogen bonds in the system, it strongly affects the tetrahedral hydrogen bond network. Following the interpretation of the anomalies of water in terms of a two-state model, the modifications of the oxygen radial distribution function and the angular distribution function of the hydrogen bonds in water indicate that LiCl has the role of enhancing the high density liquid component of water with respect to the low density component. This is in agreement with recent experiments on aqueous ionic solutions.

  2. Double emulsions for the compatibilization of hydrophilic nanocellulose with non-polar polymers and validation in the synthesis of composite fibers.

    PubMed

    Carrillo, Carlos A; Nypelö, Tiina; Rojas, Orlando J

    2016-03-14

    A route for the compatibilization of aqueous dispersions of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) with a non-polar polymer matrix is proposed to overcome a major challenge in CNF-based material synthesis. Non-ionic surfactants were used in CNF aqueous dispersions equilibrated with an organic phase (for demonstration, a polystyrene solution, PS, was used). Stable water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) double emulsions were produced as a result of the compromise between composition and formulation variables. Most remarkably, the proposed route for CNF integration with hydrophobic polymers removed the need for drying or solvent-exchange of the CNF aqueous dispersion prior to processing. The rheological behavior of the double emulsions showed strong shear thinning behavior and facilitated CNF-PS co-mixing in solid nanofibers upon electrospinning. The morphology and thermal properties of the resultant nanofibers revealed that CNFs were efficiently integrated in the hydrophobic matrix which was consistent with the high interfacial area of the precursor double emulsion. In addition, the morphology and quality of the composite nanofibers can be controlled by the conductivity (ionic strength) of the CNF dispersion. Overall, double emulsion systems are proposed as a novel, efficient and scalable platform for CNF co-processing with non-polar systems and they open up the possibility for the redispersion of CNFs after removal of the organic phase.

  3. Non-aqueous aluminium-air battery based on ionic liquid electrolyte

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Revel, Renaud; Audichon, Thomas; Gonzalez, Serge

    2014-12-01

    A promising metal-air secondary battery based on aluminium-oxygen couple is described. In this paper, we observed that an aluminium-air battery employing EMImCl, AlCl3 room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) as electrolyte and aluminium as negative electrode, has an exceptional reduced self-discharged rate. Due to its new and innovative type of electrolyte, this aluminium-air battery can support relatively high current densities (up to 0.6 mA cm-2) and an average voltage of 0.6-0.8 V. Such batteries may find immediate applications, as they can provide an internal, built-in autonomous and self-sustained energy source.

  4. Solution structure of detergent micelles at conditions relevant to membrane protein crystallization.

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Littrell, K.; Thiyagarajan, P.; Tiede, D.

    1999-07-02

    In this study small angle neutron scattering was used to characterize the formation of micelles in aqueous solutions of the detergents DMG and SPC as a function of detergent concentration and ionic strength of the solvent. The effects on the micelle structure of the additives glycerol and PEG, alone as well as in combination typical for actual membrane protein crystallization, were also explored. This research suggests that the micelles are cigar-like in form at the concentrations studied. The size of the micelles was observed to increase with increasing ionic strength but decrease with the addition of glycerol or PEG.

  5. Structural instability of shell-like assemblies of a keplerate-type polyoxometalate induced by ionic strength.

    PubMed

    Veen, Sandra J; Kegel, Willem K

    2009-11-19

    We demonstrate a new structural instability of shell-like assemblies of polyoxometalates. Besides the colloidal instability, that is, the formation of aggregates that consist of many single layered POM-shells, these systems also display an instability on a structural scale within the shell-like assemblies. This instability occurs at significantly lower ionic strength than the colloidal stability limit and only becomes evident after a relatively long time. For the polyoxometalate, abbreviated as {Mo(72)Fe(30)}, it is shown that the structural stability limit of POM-shells lies between a NaCl concentration of 1.00 and 5.00 mM in aqueous solution.

  6. The susceptibility critical exponent for a nonaqueous ionic binary mixture near a consolute point

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zhang, Kai C.; Briggs, Matthew E.; Gammon, Robert W.; Levelt Sengers, J. M. H.

    1992-01-01

    We report turbidity measurements of a nonaqueous ionic solution of triethyl n-hexylammonium triethyl n-hexylboride in diphenyl ether. A classical susceptibility critical exponent gamma = 1.01 +/- 0.01 is obtained over the reduced temperature range t between values of 0.1 and 0.0001. The best fits of the sample transmission had a standard deviation of 0.39 percent over this range. Ising and spherical model critical exponents are firmly excluded. The correlation length amplitude xi sub 0 from fitting is 1.0 +/- 0.2 nm which is much larger than values found in neutral fluids and some aqueous binary mixtures.

  7. Adsorptive Removal of Nitrate from Aqueous Solution Using Nitrogen Doped Activated Carbon.

    PubMed

    Machida, Motoi; Goto, Tatsuru; Amano, Yoshimasa; Iida, Tatsuya

    2016-01-01

    Activated carbon (AC) has been widely applied for adsorptive removal of organic contaminants from aqueous phase, but not for ionic pollutants. In this study, nitrogen doped AC was prepared to increase the adsorption capacity of nitrate from water. AC was oxidized with (NH 4 ) 2 S 2 O 8 solution to maximize oxygen content for the first step, and then NH 3 gas treatment was carried out at 950°C to aim at forming quaternary nitrogen (N-Q) species on AC surface (Ox-9.5AG). Influence of solution pH was examined so as to elucidate the relationship between surface charge and adsorption amounts of nitrate. The results showed that Ox-9.5AG exhibited about twice higher adsorption capacity than non-treatment AC at any initial nitrate concentration and any equilibrium solution pH (pH e ) investigated. The more decrease in pH e value, the more adsorption amount of negatively charged nitrate ion, because the surface charge of AC and Ox-9.5AG could become more positive in acidic solution. The oxidation and consecutive ammonia treatments lead to increase in nitrogen content from 0.35 to 6.4% and decrease in the pH of the point of zero charge (pH pzc ) from 7.1 to 4.0 implying that positively charged N-Q of a Lewis acid was created on the surface of Ox-9.5AG. Based on a Langmuir data analysis, maximum adsorption capacity attained 0.5-0.6 mmol/g of nitrate and adsorption affinity was 3.5-4.0 L/mmol at pH e 2.5 for Ox-9.5AG.

  8. Influence of Coprecipitated Organic Matter on Fe2+(aq) -Catalyzed Transformation of Ferrihydrite: Implications for Carbon Dynamics

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chen, Chunmei; Kukkadapu, Ravi K.; Sparks, Donald L.

    2015-08-10

    The poorly crystalline Fe(III) hydroxide ferrihydrite is an important sink for organic matter (OM), nutrients and contaminants in soils and sediments. Aqueous Fe(II) is known to catalyze the transformation of ferrihydrite to more crystalline and thus less reactive phases. While coprecipitation of OM with ferrihydrite could be a common process in many environments due to changes in pH, redox potential or ionic strength, little is known about the impacts of coprecipitated OM on Fe(II)-catalyzed ferrihydrite transformation and its consequences for C dynamics. Accordingly, we explored the extent and pathways of Fe(II)-induced transformation of OM-ferrihydrite coprecipitates and subsequent C mobility. Mössbauermore » spectroscopic results indicated that the coprecipitated OM within ferrihydrite weakened the inter-particle magnetic interactions and decreased average particle size. The coprecipitated OM resulted in diminished Fe(II)-induced ferrihydrite transformation and thus preservation of ferrihydrite. The secondary mineral profiles upon Fe(II) reaction with ferrihydrite were a function of OM content and Fe(II) concentration. At low Fe(II) levels, OM completely inhibited goethite formation and stimulated lepidocrocite formation. At high Fe(II) levels, whereas goethite was formed in the presence of OM, OM reduced the amount of goethite and magnetite formation and increased the formation of lepidocrcocite. The solid-phase C content remained unchanged after reaction, while OM desorpability by H2PO4- was enhanced following reaction of OM-ferrihydrites with aqueous Fe(II). These findings provide insights into the reactivity of natural ferrihydrite containing OM in soils and sediments and the subsequent impact on mineral evolution and C dynamics.« less

  9. SEPARATION OF THORIUM FROM URANIUM

    DOEpatents

    Bane, R.W.

    1959-09-01

    A description is given for the separation of thorium from uranium by forming an aqueous acidic solution containing ionic species of thorium, uranyl uranium, and hydroxylamine, flowing the solution through a column containing the phenol-formaldehyde type cation exchange resin to selectively adsorb substantially all the thorium values and a portion of the uranium values, flowing a dilute solution of hydrochloric acid through the column to desorb the uranium values, and then flowing a dilute aqueous acidic solution containing an ion, such as bisulfate, which has a complexing effect upon thortum through the column to desorb substantially all of the thorium.

  10. Gelation of Regenerated Fibroin Solution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nagarkar, Shailesh; Lele, Ashish; Chassenieux, Christophe; Nicolai, Taco; Durand, Dominique

    2008-07-01

    Silk fibroin is a high molecular weight multiblock ampiphillic protein known for its ability to form high strength fibers. It is also biocompatible; silk sutures have been traditionally used for many centuries. Recently, there has been much interest in making silk hydrogels for applications ranging from tissue engineering to controlled delivery. Fibroin gels can be formed from aqueous solutions by changing one or more state variables such as pH, temperature and ionic strength. In this work we present our investigations on the gelation of aqueous fibroin solutions derived from Bombyx Mori silk using light scattering, confocal microscopy and rheological techniques.

  11. Nanoporous membranes with electrochemically switchable, chemically stabilized ionic selectivity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Small, Leo J.; Wheeler, David R.; Spoerke, Erik D.

    2015-10-01

    Nanopore size, shape, and surface charge all play important roles in regulating ionic transport through nanoporous membranes. The ability to control these parameters in situ provides a means to create ion transport systems tunable in real time. Here, we present a new strategy to address this challenge, utilizing three unique electrochemically switchable chemistries to manipulate the terminal functional group and control the resulting surface charge throughout ensembles of gold plated nanopores in ion-tracked polycarbonate membranes 3 cm2 in area. We demonstrate the diazonium mediated surface functionalization with (1) nitrophenyl chemistry, (2) quinone chemistry, and (3) previously unreported trimethyl lock chemistry. Unlike other works, these chemistries are chemically stabilized, eliminating the need for a continuously applied gate voltage to maintain a given state and retain ionic selectivity. The effect of surface functionalization and nanopore geometry on selective ion transport through these functionalized membranes is characterized in aqueous solutions of sodium chloride at pH = 5.7. The nitrophenyl surface allows for ionic selectivity to be irreversibly switched in situ from cation-selective to anion-selective upon reduction to an aminophenyl surface. The quinone-terminated surface enables reversible changes between no ionic selectivity and a slight cationic selectivity. Alternatively, the trimethyl lock allows ionic selectivity to be reversibly switched by up to a factor of 8, approaching ideal selectivity, as a carboxylic acid group is electrochemically revealed or hidden. By varying the pore shape from cylindrical to conical, it is demonstrated that a controllable directionality can be imparted to the ionic selectivity. Combining control of nanopore geometry with stable, switchable chemistries facilitates superior control of molecular transport across the membrane, enabling tunable ion transport systems.Nanopore size, shape, and surface charge all play important roles in regulating ionic transport through nanoporous membranes. The ability to control these parameters in situ provides a means to create ion transport systems tunable in real time. Here, we present a new strategy to address this challenge, utilizing three unique electrochemically switchable chemistries to manipulate the terminal functional group and control the resulting surface charge throughout ensembles of gold plated nanopores in ion-tracked polycarbonate membranes 3 cm2 in area. We demonstrate the diazonium mediated surface functionalization with (1) nitrophenyl chemistry, (2) quinone chemistry, and (3) previously unreported trimethyl lock chemistry. Unlike other works, these chemistries are chemically stabilized, eliminating the need for a continuously applied gate voltage to maintain a given state and retain ionic selectivity. The effect of surface functionalization and nanopore geometry on selective ion transport through these functionalized membranes is characterized in aqueous solutions of sodium chloride at pH = 5.7. The nitrophenyl surface allows for ionic selectivity to be irreversibly switched in situ from cation-selective to anion-selective upon reduction to an aminophenyl surface. The quinone-terminated surface enables reversible changes between no ionic selectivity and a slight cationic selectivity. Alternatively, the trimethyl lock allows ionic selectivity to be reversibly switched by up to a factor of 8, approaching ideal selectivity, as a carboxylic acid group is electrochemically revealed or hidden. By varying the pore shape from cylindrical to conical, it is demonstrated that a controllable directionality can be imparted to the ionic selectivity. Combining control of nanopore geometry with stable, switchable chemistries facilitates superior control of molecular transport across the membrane, enabling tunable ion transport systems. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental procedures, synthesis, and characterization of molecules 1, 2 and 3. Explanation of the electrochemical method for approximating nanopore diameter. Additional XPS spectra. See DOI: 10.1039/C5NR02939B

  12. Applicability of grid-net detection system for landfill leachate and diesel fuel release in the subsurface.

    PubMed

    Oh, Myounghak; Seo, Min Woo; Lee, Seunghak; Park, Junboum

    2008-02-19

    The grid-net system estimating the electrical conductivity changes was evaluated as a potential detection system for the leakage of diesel fuel and landfill leachate. Aspects of electrical conductivity changes were varied upon the type of contaminant. The electrical conductivity in the homogeneous mixtures of soil and landfill leachate linearly increased with the ionic concentration of pore fluid, which became more significant at higher volumetric water contents. However, the electrical conductivity in soil/diesel fuel mixture decreased with diesel fuel content and it was more significant at lower water contents. The electrode spacing should be determined by considering the type of contaminant to enhance the electrode sensitivity especially when two-electrode sensors are to be used. The electrode sensitivity for landfill leachate was constantly maintained regardless of the electrode spacings while that for the diesel fuel significantly increased at smaller electrode spacings. This is possibly due to the fact that the insulating barrier effect of the diesel fuel in non-aqueous phase was less predominant at large electrode spacing because electrical current can form the round-about paths over the volume with relatively small diesel fuel content. The model test results showed that the grid-net detection system can be used to monitor the leakage from waste landfill and underground storage tank sites. However, for a successful application of the detection system in the field, data under various field conditions should be accumulated.

  13. Application of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy to zirconium in aqueous solution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ruas, Alexandre; Matsumoto, Ayumu; Ohba, Hironori; Akaoka, Katsuaki; Wakaida, Ikuo

    2017-05-01

    In the context of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (F1-NPP) decommissioning process, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has many advantages. The purpose of the present work is to demonstrate the on-line monitoring capability of the LIBS coupled with the ultra-thin liquid jet sampling method. The study focuses on zirconium in aqueous solution, considering that it is a major element in the F1-NPP fuel debris that has been subject to only a few LIBS studies in the past. The methodology of data acquisition and processing are described. In particular, two regions of interest with many high intensity zirconium lines have been observed around 350 nm in the case of the ionic lines and 478 nm in the case of atomic lines. The best analytical conditions for zirconium are different depending on the analysis of ionic lines or atomic lines. A low LOD of about 4 mg L- 1 could be obtained, showing that LIBS coupled with the ultra-thin liquid jet sampling technique is a promising alternative for more complex solutions found in the F1-NPP, namely mixtures containing zirconium.

  14. Single Molecule Electrochemical Detection in Aqueous Solutions and Ionic Liquids.

    PubMed

    Byers, Joshua C; Paulose Nadappuram, Binoy; Perry, David; McKelvey, Kim; Colburn, Alex W; Unwin, Patrick R

    2015-10-20

    Single molecule electrochemical detection (SMED) is an extremely challenging aspect of electroanalytical chemistry, requiring unconventional electrochemical cells and measurements. Here, SMED is reported using a "quad-probe" (four-channel probe) pipet cell, fabricated by depositing carbon pyrolytically into two diagonally opposite barrels of a laser-pulled quartz quadruple-barreled pipet and filling the open channels with electrolyte solution, and quasi-reference counter electrodes. A meniscus forms at the end of the probe covering the two working electrodes and is brought into contact with a substrate working electrode surface. In this way, a nanogap cell is produced whereby the two carbon electrodes in the pipet can be used to promote redox cycling of an individual molecule with the substrate. Anticorrelated currents generated at the substrate and tip electrodes, at particular distances (typically tens of nanometers), are consistent with the detection of single molecules. The low background noise realized in this droplet format opens up new opportunities in single molecule electrochemistry, including the use of ionic liquids, as well as aqueous solution, and the quantitative assessment and analysis of factors influencing redox cycling currents, due to a precisely known gap size.

  15. Dimerization of tetracationic porphyrins: ionic strength dependence.

    PubMed

    Dixon, D W; Steullet, V

    1998-02-01

    Cationic porphyrins are under study in a number of contexts including their interaction with biological targets, as possible therapeutic agents and as building blocks for molecular devices such as molecular photodiodes and solar cells. Many cationic porphyrins dimerize readily in aqueous solution. Dimerization in turn can control the properties of the porphyrin as well as its binding to its target. The propensity of a porphyrin to dimerize in aqueous solution can be estimated by recording the optical spectrum of the solution as a function of the concentration of added salt. Analysis of the data in terms of the Debye-Hückel formalism gives an estimate of the extent of dimerization as a function of ionic strength. Data for TMPyP4 [meso-tetrakis(4-N-methylpyridinium)porphyrin] and its butyl and octyl homologs; TMAP [meso-tetrakis(4-N,N,N-trimethylanilinium)porphyrin]; T theta PP [meso-tetrakis[4-N-[(3-(trimethyl-ammonio)propyl)oxy]phenyl]porphyrin] and the ferrocenyl porphyrin P3Fc are discussed. Dimerization may affect binding of the cationic porphyrins to their targets, e.g., DNA.

  16. Improving the extraction of l-phenylalanine by the use of ionic liquids as adjuvants in aqueous biphasic systems.

    PubMed

    Yang, Hongpeng; Chen, Li; Zhou, Cunshan; Yu, Xiaojie; Yagoub, Abu ElGasim A; Ma, Haile

    2018-04-15

    Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is widely used in the polymer-salt systems. However, the low polarity of the PEG-rich phase limits the application of aqueous biphasic systems (ABS). To overcome this disadvantage, a small quantity of ionic liquid (IL) was used as an adjuvant in ABS to enlarge the polarity range. Therefore, an innovative study involving addition of 4wt% imidazolium-based ILs to the PEG 600/NaH 2 PO 4 ABS, aiming at controlling the phase behavior and extraction ability, was carried out. The phase diagrams, the tie-lines and the partitioning behavior of l-phenylalanine and ILs were studied in these systems. The results reveal that l-phenylalanine preferentially partitions for the PEG-rich phase. The addition of 4wt% IL to ABS controls the partitioning behavior of l-phenylalanine, which depends on the type of IL employed. Moreover, it is verified that increasing temperature lead to a decrease in the partition coefficient of l-phenylalanine. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Solvent effects on the polar network of ionic liquid solutions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bernardes, Carlos E. S.; Shimizu, Karina; Canongia Lopes, José N.

    2015-05-01

    Molecular dynamics simulations were used to probe mixtures of ionic liquids (ILs) with common molecular solvents. Four types of systems were considered: (i) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide plus benzene, hexafluorobenzene or 1,2-difluorobenzene mixtures; (ii) choline-based ILs plus ether mixtures (iii) choline-based ILs plus n-alkanol mixtures; and (iv) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium nitrate and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethyl sulfate aqueous mixtures. The results produced a wealth of structural and aggregation information that highlight the resilience of the polar network of the ILs (formed by clusters of alternating ions and counter-ions) to the addition of different types of molecular solvent. The analysis of the MD data also shows that the intricate balance between different types of interaction (electrostatic, van der Waals, H-bond-like) between the different species present in the mixtures has a profound effect on the morphology of the mixtures at a mesoscopic scale. In the case of the IL aqueous solutions, the present results suggest an alternative interpretation for very recently published x-ray and neutron diffraction data on similar systems.

  18. Adsorption of gentian violet dyes in aqueous solution on microporous AlPOs molecular sieves synthesized by ionothermal method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fortas, W.; Djelad, A.; Hasnaoui, M. A.; Sassi, M.; Bengueddach, A.

    2018-02-01

    In this work, AlPO-34, like-chabazite (CHA) zeolite, was ionothermally prepared using the ionic liquid (IL), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [EMIMCl], as solvent. The solids obtained were characterized by x-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal analysis (TG) and nitrogen adsorption/desorption at 77.3 K. The results show that the ionic liquid is occluded in the AlPO-34 framework and consequently it acts also as a structure-directing agent. The variation of chemical composition led to AlPO-34 materials with different crystal sizes and morphologies. The well crystallized AlPO-34 material was used as adsorbent for Crystal Violet (CV) dye removal from aqueous solutions. The effect of adsorption parameters such as pH and initial concentration were investigated. It was found that adsorption dyes is favorable at pH = 6. The adsorption isotherm data follow the Langmuir equation in which parameters are calculated. The selected AlPO-34 sample exhibited a high crystal violet dye removal of 46.08 mg g-1 at pH = 6.

  19. Scaling effects in sodium zirconium silicate phosphate (Na 1+ xZr 2Si xP 3- xO 12) ion-conducting thin films

    DOE PAGES

    Ihlefeld, Jon F.; Gurniak, Emily; Jones, Brad H.; ...

    2016-05-04

    Preparation of sodium zirconium silicate phosphate (NaSICon), Na 1+xZr 2Si xP 3–xO 12 (0.25 ≤ x ≤ 1.0), thin films has been investigated via a chemical solution approach on platinized silicon substrates. Increasing the silicon content resulted in a reduction in the crystallite size and a reduction in the measured ionic conductivity. Processing temperature was also found to affect microstructure and ionic conductivity with higher processing temperatures resulting in larger crystallite sizes and higher ionic conductivities. The highest room temperature sodium ion conductivity was measured for an x = 0.25 composition at 2.3 × 10 –5 S/cm. In conclusion, themore » decreasing ionic conductivity trends with increasing silicon content and decreasing processing temperature are consistent with grain boundary and defect scattering of conducting ions.« less

  20. Ionic Hydrogel Based on Chitosan Cross-Linked with 6-Phosphogluconic Trisodium Salt as a Drug Delivery System.

    PubMed

    Martínez-Martínez, Mayte; Rodríguez-Berna, Guillermo; Gonzalez-Alvarez, Isabel; Hernández, Ma Jesús; Corma, Avelino; Bermejo, Marival; Merino, Virginia; Gonzalez-Alvarez, Marta

    2018-04-09

    In this work, 6-phosphogluconic trisodium salt (6-PG - Na + ) is introduced as a new aqueous and nontoxic cross-linking agent to obtain ionic hydrogels. Here, it is shown the formation of hydrogels based on chitosan cross-linked with 6-PG - Na + . This formulation is obtained by ionic interaction of cationic groups of polymer with anionic groups of the cross-linker. These hydrogels are nontoxic, do not cause dermal irritation, are easy to extend, and have an adequate adhesion force to be applied as polymeric film over the skin. This formulation exhibits a first order release kinetic and can be applied as drug vehicle for topical administration or as wound dressing for wound healing. The primary goal of this communication is to report the identification and utility of 6-phosphogluconic trisodium salt (6-PG - Na + ) as a nontoxic cross-linker applicable for cationic polymers.

  1. Dicationic ionic liquid mediated fabrication of Au@Pt nanoparticles supported on reduced graphene oxide with highly catalytic activity for oxygen reduction and hydrogen evolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shi, Ya-Cheng; Chen, Sai-Sai; Feng, Jiu-Ju; Lin, Xiao-Xiao; Wang, Weiping; Wang, Ai-Jun

    2018-05-01

    Ionic liquids as templates or directing agents have attracted great attention for shaping-modulated synthesis of advanced nanomaterials. In this work, reduced graphene oxide supported uniform core-shell Au@Pt nanoparticles (Au@Pt NPs/rGO) were fabricated by a simple one-pot aqueous approach, using N-methylimidazolium-based dicationic ionic liquid (1,1-bis(3-methylimadazoilum-1-yl)butylene bromide, [C4(Mim)2]2Br) as the shape-directing agent. The morphology evolution, structural information and formation mechanism of Au@Pt NPs anchored on rGO were investigated by a series of characterization techniques. The obtained nanocomposites displayed superior electrocatalytic features toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) compared with commercial Pt/C catalyst. This approach provides a novel route for facile synthesis of nanocatalysts in fuel cells.

  2. Furfural production using ionic liquids: A review.

    PubMed

    Peleteiro, Susana; Rivas, Sandra; Alonso, José Luis; Santos, Valentín; Parajó, Juan Carlos

    2016-02-01

    Furfural, a platform chemical with a bright future, is commercially obtained by acidic processing of xylan-containing biomass in aqueous media. Ionic liquids (ILs) can be employed in processed for furfural manufacture as additives, as catalysts and/or as reaction media. Depending on the IL utilized, externally added catalysts (usually, Lewis acids, Brönsted acids and/or solid acid catalysts) can be necessary to achieve high reaction yields. Oppositely, acidic ionic liquids (AILs) can perform as both solvents and catalysts, enabling the direct conversion of suitable substrates (pentoses, pentosans or xylan-containing biomass) into furfural. Operating in IL-containing media, the furfural yields can be improved when the product is continuously removed along the reaction (for example, by stripping or extraction), to avoid unwanted side-reactions leading to furfural consumption. These topics are reviewed, as well as the major challenges involved in the large scale utilization of ILs for furfural production. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. The interactions between ionic surfactants and phosphatidylcholine vesicles: Conductometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tsao, Heng-Kwong; Tseng, Wen Liang

    2001-11-01

    The interaction between ionic surfactants and phosphatidylcholine vesicles, which are prepared without addition of buffer and salt, is investigated by conductivity measurements. On the basis of the vesicle acting as a trap of charge carriers, the bilayer/aqueous phase partition coefficient K and the surfactant/lipid molar ratio Re of nine surfactants are determined. The thermodynamic consistency is satisfied by the measured parameters. The effects of the alkyl chain length (C10-C16) and ionic head group are then studied. The inverse partition coefficient K-1 is linearly related to the critical micelle concentration. The solubilizing ability Reb is a consequence of the competition between the surfactant incorporation into the bilayer and the formation of micelles. Consequently, the K parameter rises whereas the Reb parameter declines as the chain length is increased. The influence due to addition of salt is also discussed.

  4. Structure and diffusion of furans and other cellulose-derived compounds in solvents via MD simulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rabideau, Brooks; Ismail, Ahmed

    2011-03-01

    There is now a large push towards the development of energy sources that are both environmentally friendly and sustainable; with the conversion of cellulose derived from biomass into biofuels being one promising route. In this conversion, a variety of intermediary compounds have been identified, which appear critical to successful expansion of the process to an industrial scale. Here we examine the structure and diffusion of these furans and acids derived from cellulose within ionic liquids via molecular dynamic simulation. Ionic liquids have shown the ability to dissolve cellulose with certain `green' benefits over existing, conventional solvents. Specifically, we study the solvation properties of these chemicals by examining the pair correlation functions of solute with solvent, and by exploring the agglomeration and separation of these chemicals from the solvent as well as the hydrogen bonding between species. Additionally, we determine the diffusion constant of these compounds in ionic liquid and aqueous solvents.

  5. Performance of Liquid Phase Exfoliated Graphene As Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors Electrodes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huffstutler, Jacob; Wasala, Milinda; Richie, Julianna; Winchester, Andrew; Ghosh, Sujoy; Kar, Swastik; Talapatra, Saikat

    2014-03-01

    We will present the results of our investigations of electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs) or supercapacitors (SC) fabricated using liquid-phase exfoliated graphene. Several electrolytes, such as aqueous potassium hydroxide KOH (6M), ionic 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [BMIM][PF6], and ionic 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate[BMP][FAP] were used. These EDLC's show good performance compared to other carbon nanomaterials based EDLC's devices. We found that the liquid phase exfoliated graphene based devices possess specific capacitance values as high as 262 F/g, when used with ionic liquid electrolyte[BMP][FAP], with power densities (~ 454 W/kg) and energy densities (~ 0.38Wh/kg). Further, these devices indicated rapid charge transfer response even without the use of any binders or specially prepared current collectors. A detailed electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis in order to understand the phenomenon of charge storage in these materials will be presented.

  6. Refractive index matching to develop transparent polyaphrons: Characterization of immobilized proteins.

    PubMed

    Ward, Keeran; Stuckey, David C

    2016-06-01

    Refractive index matching was used to create optically transparent polyaphrons to enable proteins adsorbed to the aphron surface to be characterized. Due to the significant light scattering created by polyaphrons, refractive index matching allowed for representative circular dichroism (CD) spectra and acceptable structural characterization. The method utilized n-hexane as the solvent phase, a mixture of glycerol and phosphate buffer (30% [w/v]) as the aqueous phase, and the non-ionic surfactants, Laureth-4 and Kolliphor P-188. Deconvolution of CD spectra revealed that the immobilized protein adapted its native conformation, showing that the adsorbed protein interacted only with the bound water layer ("soapy shell") of the aphron. Isothermal calorimetry further demonstrated that non-ionic surfactant interactions were virtually non-existent, even at the high concentrations used (5% [w/v]), proving that non-ionic surfactants can preserve protein conformation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Structural rearrangement and dispersion of functionalized graphene sheets in aqueous solutions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lee, Yun Jung; Huang, Liwei; Wang, Howard

    2015-09-01

    Surfactants are widely used for dispersing graphene and functionalized graphene sheets (FGS) in colloidal suspensions, but there have been few studies of the structure of the dispersed graphene-surfactant complexes in suspension and of their time evolution. Here, we combine experimental study of efficiencies of ionic surfactants/polymers in suspending FGS in water with characterization using atomic force microscopy, small angle neutron scattering, and molecular simulations to probe the detailed structures of FGSs. A systematic study of FGS dispersions using ionic surfactants with varying chain lengths revealed that the effective charge density of surfactant layer defines the concentration of dispersed FGS whilemore » the strength of interfacial binding defines the stability of graphene dispersion over long time aging. Ionic surfactants with strong interfacial binding and large molecular weight increase the dispersing power by over an order of magnitude.« less

  8. Effective removal of tetracycline from aqueous solution using activated carbon prepared from tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) industrial processing waste.

    PubMed

    Sayğılı, Hasan; Güzel, Fuat

    2016-09-01

    Activated carbon (TAC) prepared under optimized conditions with ZnCl2 activation from a new precursor; tomato industrial processing waste (TW), was applied as an adsorbent to remove tetracycline (TC) from aqueous solution. The factors (TAC dosage, initial TC concentration, contact time, ionic strength and solution temperature) affecting the adsorption process were examined at natural pH (5.7) of TAC-TC system in aqueous solution. Kinetic data was found to be best complied by the pseudo-second order model. The isotherm analysis indicated that the equilibrium data could be represented by the Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacity was identified as 500.0mgg(-1) at 308K. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Integration of carboxyl modified magnetic particles and aqueous two-phase extraction for selective separation of proteins.

    PubMed

    Gai, Qingqing; Qu, Feng; Zhang, Tao; Zhang, Yukui

    2011-07-15

    Both of the magnetic particle adsorption and aqueous two-phase extraction (ATPE) were simple, fast and low-cost method for protein separation. Selective proteins adsorption by carboxyl modified magnetic particles was investigated according to protein isoelectric point, solution pH and ionic strength. Aqueous two-phase system of PEG/sulphate exhibited selective separation and extraction for proteins before and after magnetic adsorption. The two combination ways, magnetic adsorption followed by ATPE and ATPE followed by magnetic adsorption, for the separation of proteins mixture of lysozyme, bovine serum albumin, trypsin, cytochrome C and myloglobin were discussed and compared. The way of magnetic adsorption followed by ATPE was also applied to human serum separation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. A highly fluorescent hydrophilic ionic liquid as a potential probe for the sensing of biomacromolecules.

    PubMed

    Chen, Xu-Wei; Liu, Jia-Wei; Wang, Jian-Hua

    2011-02-17

    With respect to the conventional imidazolium ionic liquids which generally create very weak fluorescence with quantum yields at extremely low levels of 0.005-0.02, a symmetrical hydrophilic ionic liquid 1,3-butylimidazolium chloride (BBimCl) was found to be highly fluorescent with λ(em) at 388 nm when excited at λ(ex) < 340 nm. The very high quantum yield of BBimCl in aqueous medium, derived to be 0.523 when excited at 315 nm, was attributed to its symmetrical plane conjugating structure. In the presence of hemoglobin, the fluorescence of BBimCl could be significantly quenched, resulting from the coordinating interaction between the iron atom in the heme group of hemoglobin and the cationic imidazolium moiety. This feature of the present hydrophilic ionic liquid makes it a promising fluorescence probe candidate for the sensitive sensing of hemoglobin. A linear regression was observed within 3 × 10(-7) to 5 × 10(-6) mol L(-1) for hemoglobin, and a detection limit of 7.3 × 10(-8) mol L(-1) was derived.

  11. Ion and gas chromatography mass spectrometry investigations of organophosphates in lithium ion battery electrolytes by electrochemical aging at elevated cathode potentials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weber, Waldemar; Wagner, Ralf; Streipert, Benjamin; Kraft, Vadim; Winter, Martin; Nowak, Sascha

    2016-02-01

    The electrochemical aging of commercial non-aqueous lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6)/organic carbonate solvent based lithium ion battery electrolyte has been investigated in view of the formation of ionic and non-ionic alkylated phosphates. Subject was a solvent mixture of ethylene carbonate/ethyl methyl carbonate EC:EMC (1:1, by wt.) with 1 M LiPF6 (LP50 Selectilyte™, BASF). The analysis was carried out by ion chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) for ionic compounds and (headspace) gas chromatography mass spectrometry ((HS)-GC-MS) for non-ionic compounds. The electrochemical aging was performed by galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling and potentiostatic experiments with LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LMNO) as cathode material at increased cut-off potentials (>4.5 V vs. Li/Li+). A strong dependence of the formation of organophosphates on the applied electrode potential was observed and investigated by quantitative analysis of the formed phosphates. In addition, new possible ;fingerprint; compounds for describing the electrolyte status were investigated and compared to existing compounds.

  12. Fluorinated ionic liquids for protein drug delivery systems: Investigating their impact on the structure and function of lysozyme.

    PubMed

    Alves, Márcia; Vieira, Nicole S M; Rebelo, Luís Paulo N; Araújo, João M M; Pereiro, Ana B; Archer, Margarida

    2017-06-30

    Since the approval of recombinant human insulin by FDA in 1982, more than 200 proteins are currently available for pharmaceutical use to treat a wide range of diseases. However, innovation is still required to develop effective approaches for drug delivery. Our aim is to investigate the potential use of fluorinated ionic liquids (FILs) as drug delivery systems (DDS) for therapeutic proteins. Some initial parameters need to be assessed before further studies can proceed. This work evaluates the impact of FILs on the stability, function, structure and aggregation state of lysozyme. Different techniques were used for this purpose, which included differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF), spectrophotometric assays, circular dichroism (CD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM/TEM). Ionic liquids composed of cholinium-, imidazolium- or pyridinium- derivatives were combined with different anions and analysed at different concentrations in aqueous solutions (below and above the critical aggregation concentration, CAC). The results herein presented show that the addition of ionic liquids had no significant effect on the stability and hydrolytic activity of lysozyme. Moreover, a distinct behaviour was observed in DLS experiments for non-surfactant and surfactant ionic liquids, with the latter encapsulating the protein at concentrations above the CAC. These results encourage us to further study ionic liquids as promising tools for DDS of protein drugs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Lipid extraction from microalgae using a single ionic liquid

    DOEpatents

    Salvo, Roberto Di; Reich, Alton; Dykes, Jr., H. Waite H.; Teixeira, Rodrigo

    2013-05-28

    A one-step process for the lysis of microalgae cell walls and separation of the cellular lipids for use in biofuel production by utilizing a hydrophilic ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium. The hydrophilic ionic liquid both lyses the microalgae cell walls and forms two immiscible layers, one of which consists of the lipid contents of the lysed cells. After mixture of the hydrophilic ionic liquid with a suspension of microalgae cells, gravity causes a hydrophobic lipid phase to move to a top phase where it is removed from the mixture and purified. The hydrophilic ionic liquid is recycled to lyse new microalgae suspensions.

  14. The effect of switchable water additives on clay settling.

    PubMed

    Chen, Chien-Shun; Lau, Ying Yin; Mercer, Sean M; Robert, Tobias; Horton, J Hugh; Jessop, Philip G

    2013-01-01

    The recycling of process water from strip mining extractions is a very relevant task both industrially and environmentally. The sedimentation of fine tailings during such processes, however, can often require long periods of time and/or the addition of flocculants which make later water recycling difficult. We propose the use of switchable water additives as reversible flocculants for clay/water suspensions. Switchable water additives are compounds such as diamines that make it possible to reversibly control the ionic strength of an aqueous solution. Addition of CO(2) to such an aqueous solution causes the ionic strength to rise dramatically, and the change is reversed upon removal of the CO(2). These additives, while in the presence of CO(2), promote the aggregation of clay tailings, reduce settling times, and greatly increase the clarity of the liberated water. The removal of CO(2) from the liberated water regenerates a low ionic strength solution that does not promote clay aggregation and settling until CO(2) is added again. Such reversible behavior would be useful in applications such as oil sands separations in which the recycled water must not promote aggregation. When added to kaolinite and montmorillonite clay suspensions, switchable water provided process waters of lower turbidity than those additives from inorganic salts or by CO(2)-treatment alone. When recollected, the switchable water supernatant was shown to be recyclable over three cycles for enhanced settling of kaolinite. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. Ionic liquid molecularly imprinted polymers for application in pipette-tip solid-phase extraction coupled with gas chromatography for rapid screening of dicofol in celery.

    PubMed

    Yan, Hongyuan; Yang, Chen; Sun, Yunyun; Row, Kyung Ho

    2014-09-26

    A new type of ionic liquid molecularly imprinted polymers (IL-MIPs) synthesized by precipitation polymerization using 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide as an auxiliary solvent and α-chloro-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (α-chloro-DDT) as the template was applied as a selective sorbent of minimized pipette tip-solid-phase extraction (PT-SPE) for rapid isolation and extraction of dicofol (DCF) from celery samples. The pretreatment procedure of celery samples involved only 2.0mg of IL-MIPs, 0.8 mL of acetonitrile-water (ACN-H2O; 1:1, v/v) (washing solvent), and 1.0 mL of acetone-10% acetic acid (HOAc) (elution solvent). Compared with molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), ionic liquid-non-imprinted polymers (IL-NIPs) and conventional sorbents such as C18, Si, NH2, and Al2O3-N, IL-MIPs showed higher adsorption and purification capacity to DCF in aqueous solution. Good linearity for DCF was observed in the range from 2.3 to 232.5 ng g(-1) (r(2)=0.9995). The average recoveries at three spiking levels ranged from 86.6% to 101.9% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of ≤ 6.5% (n=3). The presented IL-MIPs-PT-SPE-GC/ECD method combines the advantages of MIPs, IL, and PT-SPE, and can be used in aqueous conditions with high affinity and selectivity to analytes of complex samples. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Interfacial Region between Boehmite and Gibbsite Basal Surfaces and High Ionic Strength Aqueous Solutions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Shen, Zhizhang; Ilton, Eugene S.; Prange, Micah P.

    Classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to study the interactions of up to 2 M NaCl and NaNO3 aqueous solutions with the presumed inert boehmite (010) and gibbsite (001) surfaces. The force field parameters used in these simulations were validated against density functional theory calculations of Na+ and Cl- hydrated complexes adsorbed at the boehmite (010) surface. In all the classical MD simulations and regardless of the ionic strength or the nature of the anion, Na+ ions were found to preferably form inner-sphere complexes over outer-sphere complexes at the aluminum (oxy)hydroxide surfaces, adsorbing closer to the surface than bothmore » water molecules and anions. In contrast, Cl- ions were distributed almost equally between inner- and outer-sphere positions. The resulting asymmetry in adsorption strengths offers molecular-scale evidence for the observed isoelectric point (IEP) shift to higher pH at high ionic strength for aluminum (oxy)hydroxides. As such, the MD simulations also provided clear evidence against the assumption that the basal surfaces of boehmite and gibbsite are inert to background electrolytes. Finally, the MD simulations indicated that, although the adsorption behavior of Na+ in NaNO3 and NaCl solutions was similar, the different affinities of NO3- and Cl- for the aluminum (oxy)hydroxide surfaces might have macroscopic consequences, such as difference in the sensitivity of the IEP to the electrolyte concentration.« less

  17. A study of the impact of moist-heat and dry-heat treatment processes on hazardous trace elements migration in food waste.

    PubMed

    Chen, Ting; Jin, Yiying; Qiu, Xiaopeng; Chen, Xin

    2015-03-01

    Using laboratory experiments, the authors investigated the impact of dry-heat and moist-heat treatment processes on hazardous trace elements (As, Hg, Cd, Cr, and Pb) in food waste and explored their distribution patterns for three waste components: oil, aqueous, and solid components. The results indicated that an insignificant reduction of hazardous trace elements in heat-treated waste-0.61-14.29% after moist-heat treatment and 4.53-12.25% after dry-heat treatment-and a significant reduction in hazardous trace elements (except for Hg without external addition) after centrifugal dehydration (P < 0.5). Moreover, after heat treatment, over 90% of the hazardous trace elements in the waste were detected in the aqueous and solid components, whereas only a trace amount of hazardous trace elements was detected in the oil component (<0.01%). In addition, results indicated that heat treatment process did not significantly reduce the concentration of hazardous trace elements in food waste, but the separation process for solid and aqueous components, such as centrifugal dehydration, could reduce the risk considerably. Finally, combined with the separation technology for solid and liquid components, dry-heat treatment is superior to moist-heat treatment on the removal of external water-soluble ionic hazardous trace elements. An insignificant reduction of hazardous trace elements in heat-treated waste showed that heat treatment does not reduce trace elements contamination in food waste considerably, whereas the separation process for solid and aqueous components, such as centrifugal dehydration, could reduce the risk significantly. Moreover, combined with the separation technology for solid and liquid components, dry-heat treatment is superior to moist-heat treatment for the removal of external water-soluble ionic hazardous trace elements, by exploring distribution patterns of trace elements in three waste components: oil, aqueous, and solid components.

  18. Water structure and aqueous uranyl(VI) adsorption equilibria onto external surfaces of beidellite, montmorillonite, and pyrophyllite: results from molecular simulations.

    PubMed

    Greathouse, Jeffery A; Cygan, Randall T

    2006-06-15

    Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to provide a systematic study of aqueous uranyl adsorption onto the external surface of 2:1 dioctahedral clays. Our understanding of this key process is critical in predicting the fate of radioactive contaminants in natural groundwaters. These simulations provide atomistic detail to help explain experimental trends in uranyl adsorption onto natural media containing smectite clays. Aqueous uranyl concentrations ranged from 0.027 to 0.162 M. Sodium ions and carbonate ions (0.027-0.243 M) were also present in the aqueous regions to more faithfully model a stream of uranyl-containing groundwater contacting a mineral system comprised of Na-smectite. No adsorption occurred near the pyrophyllite surface, and there was little difference in uranyl adsorption onto the beidellite and montmorillonite, despite the difference in location of clay layer charge between the two. At low uranyl concentration, the pentaaquouranyl complex dominates in solution and readily adsorbs to the clay basal plane. At higher uranyl (and carbonate) concentrations, the mono(carbonato) complex forms in solution, and uranyl adsorption decreases. Sodium adsorption onto beidellite occurred both as inner- and outer-sphere surface complexes, again with little effect on uranyl adsorption. Uranyl surface complexes consisted primarily of the pentaaquo cation (85%) and to a lesser extent the mono(carbonato) species (15%). Speciation diagrams of the aqueous region indicate that the mono(carbonato)uranyl complex is abundant at high ionic strength. Oligomeric uranyl complexes are observed at high ionic strength, particularly near the pyrophyllite and montmorillonite surfaces. Atomic density profiles of water oxygen and hydrogen atoms are nearly identical near the beidellite and montmorillonite surfaces. Water structure therefore appears to be governed by the presence of adsorbed ions and not by the location of layer charge associated with the substrate. The water oxygen density near the pyrophyllite surface is similar to the other cases, but the hydrogen density profile indicates reduced hydrogen bonding between adsorbed water molecules and the surface.

  19. Spectroscopic analyses on sonocatalytic damage to bovine serum albumin (BSA) induced by ZnO/hydroxylapatite (ZnO/HA) composite under ultrasonic irradiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Zhiqiu; Li, Ying; Wang, Jun; Zou, Mingming; Gao, Jingqun; Kong, Yumei; Li, Kai; Han, Guangxi

    ZnO/hydroxylapatite (ZnO/HA) composite with HA molar content of 6.0% was prepared by the method of precipitation and heat-treated at 500 °C for 40 min and was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). The sonocatalytic activities of ZnO/HA composite was carried out through the damage of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in aqueous solution. Furthermore, the effects of several factors on the damage of BSA molecules were evaluated by means of UV-vis and fluorescence spectra. Experimental results indicated that the damage degree of BSA aggravated with the increase of ultrasonic irradiation time, irradiation power and ZnO/HA addition amount, but weakened with the increase of solution acidity and ionic strength. In addition, the damage site to BSA was also studied by synchronous fluorescence technology and the damage site was mainly at tryptophan (Trp) residue. This paper provides a valuable reference for driving sonocatalytic method to treat tumor in clinic application.

  20. Chemical-to-Electricity Carbon: Water Device.

    PubMed

    He, Sisi; Zhang, Yueyu; Qiu, Longbin; Zhang, Longsheng; Xie, Yun; Pan, Jian; Chen, Peining; Wang, Bingjie; Xu, Xiaojie; Hu, Yajie; Dinh, Cao Thang; De Luna, Phil; Banis, Mohammad Norouzi; Wang, Zhiqiang; Sham, Tsun-Kong; Gong, Xingao; Zhang, Bo; Peng, Huisheng; Sargent, Edward H

    2018-05-01

    The ability to release, as electrical energy, potential energy stored at the water:carbon interface is attractive, since water is abundant and available. However, many previous reports of such energy converters rely on either flowing water or specially designed ionic aqueous solutions. These requirements restrict practical application, particularly in environments with quiescent water. Here, a carbon-based chemical-to-electricity device that transfers the chemical energy to electrical form when coming into contact with quiescent deionized water is reported. The device is built using carbon nanotube yarns, oxygen content of which is modulated using oxygen plasma-treatment. When immersed in water, the device discharges electricity with a power density that exceeds 700 mW m -2 , one order of magnitude higher than the best previously published result. X-ray absorption and density functional theory studies support a mechanism of operation that relies on the polarization of sp 2 hybridized carbon atoms. The devices are incorporated into a flexible fabric for powering personal electronic devices. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. K-targeted strategy for isolation of phenolic alkaloids of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn by counter-current chromatography using lysine as a pH regulator.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yanyan; Zhang, Lihong; Zhou, Hui; Guo, Xiuyun; Wu, Shihua

    2017-03-24

    Counter-current chromatography (CCC) is an efficient liquid-liquid partition chromatography technique without support matrix. Despite there are many significant advancements in the CCC separation of natural products especially for non-ionic neutral compounds, CCC isolation of ionic compounds including alkaloids is still a challenging process guide by classical partition coefficients (K) or distribution ratio (K C ) because their partition coefficient could not be equal to distribution ratio in common ionic conditions. Here, taking the extract of embryo of the seed of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn as sample, we introduced a modified K-targeted strategy for isolation of phenolic alkaloids by use of lysine as a pH regulator. The results indicated that if the mass of basic regulators such as aqueous ammonia and lysine added into the solvent system were high enough to inhibit the ionization of the targeted alkaloids, the distribution ratio of targets with ionic and non-ionic molecular forms got stable and might not been changed as the concentration of the pH regulator. In this case, the distribution ratio of target was almost equal to the partition coefficient. Thus, the targets could be isolated by K-targeted CCC separation through adding a certain amount pH regulators into the solvent system. Further experiments also showed that the sample concentration was an important factor on the distribution ratio of targets. Meanwhile, CCC experiments indicated that lysine was more suitable than aqueous ammonia for the separation of phenolic alkaloids because the chemical property of lysine-target complex in the CCC fractions was more stable. Therefore, the preparative CCC separation was performed using 20mM lysine as a pH regulator with more than 800mg injection mass. After simple back-extraction with dichloromethane, the lysine in the CCC fraction was removed completely and pure isoliensinine and neferine were obtained. In summary, the whole results indicated that the modified K-targeted CCC strategy using lysine as the pH regulator was efficient for isolation of phenolic alkaloids from crude plant extracts. It not only provided a practical strategy for the isolation of neferine and its analogues, but also introduced a powerful method to resolve the peak skewing (leading or tailing) in CCC separation of ionic compounds. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Sr- and Nb-co-doped Li7La3Zr2O12 solid electrolyte with Al2O3 addition towards high ionic conductivity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lin, Changwei; Tang, Yu; Song, Jun; Han, Lei; Yu, Jingbo; Lu, Anxian

    2018-06-01

    In the present study, series of garnet-type Li6.75+ x La3- x Sr x Zr1.75Nb0.25O12 solid electrolytes [LLSZN with various Sr contents ( x = 0.05-0.25)] have been prepared via conventional solid-state method. The effects of Sr contents on their phase structure and ionic conductivity have been systematically investigated on the combined measurements of X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy and alter current impedance spectroscopy. Our results reveal that a phase transition from tetragonal to cubic structure occurs when both Sr and Nb elements is introduced, and such a cubic structure can be stable over the whole Sr contents variation, which is suggested to provide a beneficial impact on the performance of LLSZN. Accordingly, both relative density and total ionic conductivity exhibit a favorable tendency of increasing first and then decreasing with increased Sr contents, wherein a peak value at 93.46% and 5.09 × 10-4 S cm-1, respectively, can be well achieved. Particularly, the maximum ionic conductivity is almost twice that of the compared sample (2.93 × 10-4 S cm-1), and possess the minimum activation energy 0.30 eV. Such a modification method, featured with higher efficiency and lower cost, is expected to be helpful for the development of solid electrolyte.

  3. Spontaneous Ionic Polarization in Ammonia-Based Ionic Liquid [Spontaneous Ionic Polarization in Ionic Liquid

    DOE PAGES

    Kim, Ki-jeong; Yuan, Hongtao; Jang, Hoyoung; ...

    2018-05-24

    Ionic liquids and gels have attracted attention for a variety of energy storage applications, as well as for high performance electrolytes for batteries and super-capacitors. Although the electronic structure of ionic electrolytes in these applications is of practical importance for device design and improved performance, the understanding of the electronic structure of ionic liquids and gels is still at an early stage. Here we report soft x-ray spectroscopic measurements of the surface electronic structure of a representative ammonia-based ionic gel (DEME-TFSI with PSPMMA- PS copolymer). We observe that near the outermost surface, the area of the anion peak (1s Nmore » - core level in TFSI) is relatively larger than that of the cation peak (N + in DEME). This spontaneous ionic polarization of the electrolyte surface, which is absent for the pure ionic liquid without copolymer, can be directly tuned by the copolymer content in the ionic gel, and further results in a modulation in work function. Finally, these results shed new light on the control of surface electronic properties of ionic electrolytes, as well as a difference between their implementation in ionic liquids and gels.« less

  4. Spontaneous Ionic Polarization in Ammonia-Based Ionic Liquid [Spontaneous Ionic Polarization in Ionic Liquid

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kim, Ki-jeong; Yuan, Hongtao; Jang, Hoyoung

    Ionic liquids and gels have attracted attention for a variety of energy storage applications, as well as for high performance electrolytes for batteries and super-capacitors. Although the electronic structure of ionic electrolytes in these applications is of practical importance for device design and improved performance, the understanding of the electronic structure of ionic liquids and gels is still at an early stage. Here we report soft x-ray spectroscopic measurements of the surface electronic structure of a representative ammonia-based ionic gel (DEME-TFSI with PSPMMA- PS copolymer). We observe that near the outermost surface, the area of the anion peak (1s Nmore » - core level in TFSI) is relatively larger than that of the cation peak (N + in DEME). This spontaneous ionic polarization of the electrolyte surface, which is absent for the pure ionic liquid without copolymer, can be directly tuned by the copolymer content in the ionic gel, and further results in a modulation in work function. Finally, these results shed new light on the control of surface electronic properties of ionic electrolytes, as well as a difference between their implementation in ionic liquids and gels.« less

  5. Vine-shoot waste aqueous extract applied as foliar fertilizer to grapevines: Effect on amino acids and fermentative volatile content.

    PubMed

    Sánchez-Gómez, R; Garde-Cerdán, T; Zalacain, A; Garcia, R; Cabrita, M J; Salinas, M R

    2016-04-15

    The aim of this work was to study the influence of foliar applications of different wood aqueous extracts on the amino acid content of musts and wines from Airén variety; and to study their relationship with the volatile compounds formed during alcoholic fermentation. For this purpose, the foliar treatments proposed were a vine-shoot aqueous extract applied in one and two times, and an oak extract which was only applied once. Results obtained show the potential of Airén vine-shoot waste aqueous extracts to be used as foliar fertilizer, enhancing the wine amino acid content especially when they were applied once. Similar results were observed with the aqueous oak extract. Regarding wine fermentative volatile compounds, there is a close relationship between musts and their wines amino acid content allowing us to discuss about the role of proline during the alcoholic fermentation and the generation of certain volatiles. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Determination of the content of alkyl ketene dimer in its latex by an ionic-liquid assisted headspace gas chromatography.

    PubMed

    Yan, Ning; Wan, Xiao-Fang; Chai, Xin-Sheng; Chen, Run-Quan; Chen, Chun-Xia

    2017-12-29

    This paper reports on an ionic-liquid assisted headspace gas chromatographic (HS-GC) for the determination of the content of alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) in its latex samples, in which the GC system was equipped with a thermal conductivity detector (TCD). The method was based on the AKD hydrolysis conducted in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (ionic-liquid) added medium at 100°C for 10min in a closed headspace sample vial, and the measured CO 2 (the resulting product of the hydrolysis) by HS-GC. The results showed that the present method has a good measurement precision (RSD <2.3%) and accuracy (recoveries from 96 - 105%), and the limit of quantitation (LOQ) is 0.9%. The present method is very suitable to be used for the routine check of AKD content in its latex sample in mill applications. The study also showed that the content of AKD in the tested commercial latex samples were in the range of 3.5-12%. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Actinide recovery process

    DOEpatents

    Muscatello, Anthony C.; Navratil, James D.; Saba, Mark T.

    1987-07-28

    Process for the removal of plutonium polymer and ionic actinides from aqueous solutions by absorption onto a solid extractant loaded on a solid inert support such as polystyrenedivinylbenzene. The absorbed actinides can then be recovered by incineration, by stripping with organic solvents, or by acid digestion. Preferred solid extractants are trioctylphosphine oxide and octylphenyl-N,N-diisobutylcarbamoylmethylphosphine oxide and the like.

  8. DETECTION OF HEAVY METALS BY IMMUNOASSAY: OPTIMIZATION AND VALIDATION OF A RAPID, PORTABLE ASSAY FOR IONIC CADMIUM (R824029)

    EPA Science Inventory

    An immunoassay is described that measured Cd(II) in aqueous samples at
    concentrations from approximately 7 to 500 ppb. The assay utilized a monoclonal
    antibody that bound tightly to a cadmium-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)
    complex but not to metal-free EDTA...

  9. Spectroscopic and time-dependent density functional investigation of the role of structure on the acid-base effects of citrinin detection

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    A time dependent density functional (TD-DFT) study was carried out on tautomers and ionic forms of citrinin to gain insight into the role of chemical structure and micellar environments on detection. Steady state fluorescence studies of citrinin in micellar aqueous solutions produced unusual results...

  10. Actinide recovery process

    DOEpatents

    Muscatello, A.C.; Navratil, J.D.; Saba, M.T.

    1985-06-13

    Process for the removal of plutonium polymer and ionic actinides from aqueous solutions by absorption onto a solid extractant loaded on a solid inert support such as polystyrene-divinylbenzene. The absorbed actinides can then be recovered by incineration, by stripping with organic solvents, or by acid digestion. Preferred solid extractants are trioctylphosphine oxide and octylphenyl-N,N-diisobutylcarbamoylmethylphosphine oxide and the like. 2 tabs.

  11. Wood protection by commercial silver formulations against Eastern subterranean termites

    Treesearch

    Frederick Green; Rachel Ann Arango

    2007-01-01

    The scope of this paper is to compare commercial formulations of aqueous products containing silver for their ability to prevent termite damage by Eastern subterranean termites in a no-choice laboratory test. Five commercial products were tested in order to explore a broad range of formulation and silver forms: colloidal, ionic and nanoparticles. Southern pine wood...

  12. Self-consistent field theory of polymer-ionic molecule complexation.

    PubMed

    Nakamura, Issei; Shi, An-Chang

    2010-05-21

    A self-consistent field theory is developed for polymers that are capable of binding small ionic molecules (adsorbates). The polymer-ionic molecule association is described by Ising-like binding variables, C(i) ((a))(kDelta)(=0 or 1), whose average determines the number of adsorbed molecules, n(BI). Polymer gelation can occur through polymer-ionic molecule complexation in our model. For polymer-polymer cross-links through the ionic molecules, three types of solutions for n(BI) are obtained, depending on the equilibrium constant of single-ion binding. Spinodal lines calculated from the mean-field free energy exhibit closed-loop regions where the homogeneous phase becomes unstable. This phase instability is driven by the excluded-volume interaction due to the single occupancy of ion-binding sites on the polymers. Moreover, sol-gel transitions are examined using a critical degree of conversion. A gel phase is induced when the concentration of adsorbates is increased. At a higher concentration of the adsorbates, however, a re-entrance from a gel phase into a sol phase arises from the correlation between unoccupied and occupied ion-binding sites. The theory is applied to a model system, poly(vinyl alcohol) and borate ion in aqueous solution with sodium chloride. Good agreement between theory and experiment is obtained.

  13. Novel double-confined polymeric ionic liquids as sorbents for solid-phase microextraction with enhanced stability and durability in high-ionic-strength solution.

    PubMed

    Feng, Juanjuan; Sun, Min; Xu, Lili; Wang, Shuai; Liu, Xia; Jiang, Shengxiang

    2012-12-14

    Because of the occurrence of ion exchange between high-ionic-strength solution and anions of polymeric ionic liquids (PILs), PILs based solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibers were rarely used in direct immersion mode to high-salt-added samples. In this work, a novel double-confined PIL sorbent was prepared by co-polymerization of cation and anion of 1-vinyl-3-octylimidzaolium p-styrenesulfonate (VOIm(+)SS(-)). The poly(VOIm(+)-SS(-)) was chemically bonded onto functionalized stainless steel wire via surface radical chain-transfer reaction. Stability of poly(VOIm(+)-SS(-)) in high-ionic-strength solution was investigated and compared with that of poly(1-vinyl-3-octylimidzaolium benzenesulfonate) (poly(VOIm(+)BS(-))) by elemental analysis of sulfur element, and results turned out that the poly(VOIm(+)-SS(-)) was more stable. Coupled to gas chromatography (GC), the poly(VOIm(+)-SS(-)) fiber was used to extract three sorts of compounds including anilines, phenols and phthalate esters in aqueous solution. The as-established method showed good linearity, low detection limits, and acceptable repeatability. The direct immersion SPME-GC method was applied to determine the model phthalate esters in bottled mineral water. The determination results were satisfactory. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Thermodynamic characteristics of protolytic equilibria of L-serine in aqueous solutions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kochergina, L. A.; Volkov, A. V.; Khokhlova, E. A.; Krutova, O. N.

    2011-05-01

    The heat effects of the reaction of aqueous solution of L-serine with aqueous solutions of HNO3 and KOH were determined by calorimetry at temperatures of 288.15, 298.15, and 308.15 K, and ionic strength values of 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 (background electrolyte, KNO3). Standard thermodynamic characteristics (Δr H o, Δr G o, Δr S o, Δ C {/p o}) of the acid-base reactions in aqueous solutions of L-serine were calculated. The effect of the concentration of background electrolyte and temperature on the heats of dissociation of amino acid was considered. The combustion energy of L-serine by bomb calorimetry in the medium of oxygen was determined. The standard combustion and formation enthalpies of crystalline L-serine were calculated. The heats of dissolution of crystalline L-serine in water and solutions of potassium hydroxide at 298.15 K were measured by direct calorimetry. The standard enthalpies of formation of L-serine and products of its dissociation in aqueous solution were calculated.

  15. Carbon dioxide capture via aqueous N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA)-1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([bmim][Ac]) hybrid solvent

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hailegiorgis, Sintayehu Mekuria; Khan, Saleem Nawaz; Abdolah, Nur Hanis H.; Ayoub, Muhammad; Tesfamichael, Aklilu

    2017-10-01

    In this study, aqueous hybrid solvents from a mixture of aqueous N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate, [bmim][Ac] as ionic liquids (ILs) were formulated at different mass ratio. In each aqueous hybrid solvents, the concentrations of MDEA were kept constant at 30 wt%. In the hybrid solvents, the solubility of CO2 was investigated at [bmim][Ac] concentration of 10 wt% and 20 wt%, respectively and results were compared with pure aqueous MDEA solvent. It was observed that the solubility of CO2 is significantly improved in the hybrid solvent as compared to the solubility of CO2 in pure aqueous MDEA solvent. However, increasing the concentration of [bmim][Ac] from 10 wt% to 20 wt% has a negative effect on the solubility of CO2 due to viscosity effect. It was also observed that hybrid solvents with 10 wt% [bmim][Ac] has better CO2 loading capacity. Increasing pressure from 10 bar to 20 bar has demonstrated an increase in CO2 absorption capacity as well as CO2 absorption rate. Hybrid solvents prepared from amine and imidazolium ILs will be a promising solvent in the capturing of CO2.

  16. Effect of carboxymethyl cellulose and ionic strength on stability of mineral suspensions in potash ore flotation systems.

    PubMed

    Pawlik, M; Laskowski, J S; Ansari, A

    2003-04-15

    The adsorption of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose from aqueous solutions varying in ionic strength from that of distilled water to 50% NaCl/KCl brine (about 3.5 mol/dm(3)) onto illite and dolomite has been studied. The purpose of this work was to investigate the solvency effects in the phenomena underlying the potash flotation process that is carried out in saturated brine. Based on viscosity measurements, the adsorption results were analyzed in terms of a simple model of polymer macromolecules in solution. Suspension stability measurements carried out concomitantly with adsorption tests showed the ranges of carboxymethyl cellulose concentration over which the tested suspensions either were aggregated or were restabilized.

  17. Improvement of electrochemical performances of sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) via incorporation of sulfonated poly(arylene ether benzimidazole)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hong, Young Taik; Lee, Chang Hyun; Park, Hyung Su; Min, Kyung A.; Kim, Hyung Joong; Nam, Sang Yong; Lee, Young Moo

    In the present study, modified acid-base blend membranes were fabricated via incorporation of sulfonated poly(arylene ether benzimidazole) (SPAEBI) into sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) (SPAES). These membranes had excellent methanol-barrier properties in addition to an ability to compensate for the loss of proton conductivity that typically occurs in general acid-base blend system. To fabricate the membranes, SPAEBIs, which served as amphiphilic polymers with different degrees of sulfonation (0-50 mol%), were synthesized by polycondensation and added to SPAES. It resulted in the formation of acid-amphiphilic complexes such as [PAES-SO 3] - +[H-SPAEBI] through the ionic crosslinking, which prevented SO 3H groups in the complex from transporting free protons in an aqueous medium, contributing to a reduction of ion exchange capacity values and water uptake in the blend membranes, and leading to lower methanol permeability in a water-methanol mixture. Unfortunately, the ionic bonding formation was accompanied by a decrease of bound water content and proton conductivity, although the latter problem was solved to some extent by the incorporation of additional SO 3H groups in SPAEBI. In the SPAES-SPAEBI blend membranes, enhancement of proton conductivity and methanol-barrier property was prominent at temperatures over 90 °C. The direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) performance, which was based on SPAES-SPAEBI-50-5, was 1.2 times higher than that of Nafion ® 117 under the same operating condition.

  18. Estudio tribologico de nuevos nanofluidos ionicos y nanomateriales

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saurin Serrano, Noelia

    The present work has focused on tribology and surface engineering of materials and interfaces. In the first place, four new halogen-free ionic liquids have been studied as boundary lubricants in reciprocating steel-sapphire and steel-epoxy resin contacts. Two different steel surface roughness have been compared, finding not only low friction, but also non-measurable wear, in the case of higher roughness. New ionic nanofluids have been obtained by dispersion of two commercial graphene grades in the ionic liquid 1-octyl-3-methylimidazlium tetrafluoroborate, finding the best friction reducing and antiwear performance in pin-on-disc sapphire-steel and steel-epoxy resin contacts. New aqueous lubricants have been developed by addition of new dispersions of graphene in a protic ionic liquid free from contaminant elements, as it is an ammonium cation citrate anion derivative. Controlled water evaporation leads to new self-lubricating surfaces. In the present work, the tribological performance of a fragile low wear-resistance materials such as epoxy resin has been improved by addition of variables concentrations of the ionic liquid 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate or carbon nanophases such as singlewalled carbon nanotubes or graphene. Blended with the ionic liquid or previously modified by it. The first epoxy resin materials with ability of self-healing the abrasion surface damage, due to the addition of ionic liquid, are described. New epoxy resin matrix nanocomposites, obtained by combination of carbon nanophases and ionic liquid, show better tribological behavior than the materials containing any of the additives separately. Finally, a new research line on the cure of the new epoxy matrix nanocomoposites as protective coatings on steel substrates has been initiated.

  19. Energetic Ionic Liquids Based on Lanthanide Nitrate Complex Anions (Postprint)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-01-01

    calculated nitrogen content for CO-balanced aluminum -con- taining ionic liquids is 28%,[3] while the nitrogen content of CO-balanced salts 11 and 12 is...1 mg of 11 was heated to 200 8C in a micro melting point apparatus, gases rapidly evolved to leave white lanthanum oxide powder . The decomposition...Iyen- gar , J. Tomasi, V. Barone, B. Mennucci, M. Cossi, G. Scalmani, N. Rega, G. A. Petersson, H. Nakatsuji, M. Hada, M. Ehara, K. Toyota, R. Fukuda, J

  20. PREPARATION OF DIBASIC ALUMINUM NITRATE

    DOEpatents

    Gresky, A.T.; Nurmi, E.O.; Foster, D.L.; Wischow, R.P.; Savolainen, J.E.

    1960-04-01

    A method is given for the preparation and recovery of basic aluminum nltrates having an OH: Al ratio of at least two, comprising two steps. First, metallic aluminum is dissolved in aqueous Al(NO/sub 3/)/sub 3/, in the presence of a small quantity of elemental or ionic mercury, to increase its Al: NO/sub 3/ ratio into the range 1 to 1.2. The resulting aqueous solution is then added to an excess of a special organic solvent, typically a mixture of five parts methanol and six parts diethyl ether, whereupon the basic aluminum nitrate, e.g. Al/sub 6/(OH)/sub 13/-(NO/sub 3/)/sub 5/, recoverably precipitates.

  1. Method for removal of metal atoms from aqueous solution using suspended plant cells

    DOEpatents

    Jackson, Paul J.; Torres, deceased, Agapito P.; Delhaize, Emmanuel

    1992-01-01

    The use of plant suspension cultures to remove ionic metallic species and TNT-based explosives and their oxidation products from aqueous solution is described. Several plant strains were investigated including D. innoxia, Citrus citrus, and Black Mexican Sweet Corn. All showed significant ability to remove metal ions. Ions removed to sub-ppm levels include barium, iron, and plutonium. D. innoxia cells growing in media containing weapons effluent contaminated with Ba.sup.2+ also remove TNT, other explosives and oxidation products thereof from solution. The use of dead, dehydrated cells were also found to be of use in treating waste directly.

  2. Method for removal of explosives from aqueous solution using suspended plant cells

    DOEpatents

    Jackson, Paul J.; Torres, deceased, Agapito P.; Delhaize, Emmanuel

    1994-01-01

    The use of plant suspension cultures to remove ionic metallic species and TNT-based explosives and their oxidation products from aqueous solution is described. Several plant strains were investigated including D. innoxia, Citrus citrus, and Black Mexican Sweet Corn. All showed significant ability to remove metal ions. Ions removed to sub-ppm levels include barium, iron, and plutonium. D. innoxia cells growing in media containing weapons effluent contaminated with Ba.sup.2+ also remove TNT, other explosives and oxidation products thereof from solution. The use of dead, dehydrated cells was also found to be of use in treating waste directly.

  3. Role of Heavy Meromyosin in Heat-Induced Gelation in Low Ionic Strength Solution Containing L-Histidine.

    PubMed

    Hayakawa, Toru; Yoshida, Yuri; Yasui, Masanori; Ito, Toshiaki; Wakamatsu, Jun-ichi; Hattori, Akihito; Nishimura, Takanori

    2015-08-01

    The gelation of myosin has a very important role in meat products. We have already shown that myosin in low ionic strength solution containing L-histidine forms a transparent gel after heating. To clarify the mechanism of this unique gelation, we investigated the changes in the nature of myosin subfragments during heating in solutions with low and high ionic strengths with and without L-histidine. The hydrophobicity of myosin and heavy meromyosin (HMM) in low ionic strength solution containing L-histidine was lower than in high ionic strength solution. The SH contents of myosin and HMM in low ionic strength solution containing l-histidine did not change during the heating process, whereas in high ionic strength solution they decreased slightly. The heat-induced globular masses of HMM in low ionic strength solution containing L-histidine were smaller than those in high ionic strength solution. These findings suggested that the polymerization of HMM molecules by heating was suppressed in low ionic strength solution containing L-histidine, resulting in formation of the unique gel. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®

  4. Removal of a hazardous heavy metal from aqueous solution using functionalized graphene and boron nitride nanosheets: Insights from simulations.

    PubMed

    Azamat, Jafar; Sattary, Batoul Shirforush; Khataee, Alireza; Joo, Sang Woo

    2015-09-01

    A computer simulation was performed to investigate the removal of Zn(2+) as a heavy metal from aqueous solution using the functionalized pore of a graphene nanosheet and boron nitride nanosheet (BNNS). The simulated systems were comprised of a graphene nanosheet or BNNS with a functionalized pore containing an aqueous ionic solution of zinc chloride. In order to remove heavy metal from an aqueous solution using the functionalized pore of a graphene nanosheet and BNNS, an external voltage was applied along the z-axis of the simulated box. For the selective removal of zinc ions, the pores of graphene and BNNS were functionalized by passivating each atom at the pore edge with appropriate atoms. For complete analysis systems, we calculated the potential of the mean force of ions, the radial distribution function of ion-water, the residence time of ions, the hydrogen bond, and the autocorrelation function of the hydrogen bond. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Redox active polymers and colloidal particles for flow batteries

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gavvalapalli, Nagarjuna; Moore, Jeffrey S.; Rodriguez-Lopez, Joaquin

    The invention provides a redox flow battery comprising a microporous or nanoporous size-exclusion membrane, wherein one cell of the battery contains a redox-active polymer dissolved in the non-aqueous solvent or a redox-active colloidal particle dispersed in the non-aqueous solvent. The redox flow battery provides enhanced ionic conductivity across the electrolyte separator and reduced redox-active species crossover, thereby improving the performance and enabling widespread utilization. Redox active poly(vinylbenzyl ethylviologen) (RAPs) and redox active colloidal particles (RACs) were prepared and were found to be highly effective redox species. Controlled potential bulk electrolysis indicates that 94-99% of the nominal charge on different RAPsmore » is accessible and the electrolysis products are stable upon cycling. The high concentration attainable (>2.0 M) for RAPs in common non-aqueous battery solvents, their electrochemical and chemical reversibility, and their hindered transport across porous separators make them attractive materials for non-aqueous redox flow batteries based on size-selectivity.« less

  6. Self-Assembly of Porphyrin J-Aggregates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Snitka, Valentinas; Rackaitis, Mindaugas; Navickaite, Gintare

    2006-03-01

    The porphyrin nanotubes were built by ionic self-assembly of two oppositely charged porphyrins in aqueous solution. The porphyrins in the acid aqueous solution self-assemble into J-aggregates, wheels or other structures. The electrostatic forces between these porphyrin blocks contribute to the formation of porphyrin aggregates in the form of nanotubes, enhance the structural stability of these nanostructures. The nanotubes were composed mixing aqueous solutions of the two porphyrins - anionic Meso-tetra(4- sulfonatophrnyl)porhine dihydrochloride (TPPS4) and cationic Meso-tetra(4-pyridyl)porphine (T4MPyP). The porphyrin nanotubes obtained are hollow structures with the length of 300 nm and diameter 50 nm. Photocatalytic porphyrins are used to reduce metal complexes from aqueous solution and to control the deposition of Au from AuHCl4 and Au nanoparticles colloid solutions onto porphyrin nanotubes. Porphyrin nanotubes are shown to reduce metal complexes and deposit the metal selectively onto the inner or outer surface of the tubes, leading to nanotube-metal composite structures.

  7. Sampling for silver nanoparticles in aqueous media using a rotating disk electrode: evidence for selective sampling of silver nanoparticles in the presence of ionic silver.

    PubMed

    Steinberg, Spencer; Hodge, Vernon; Schumacher, Brian; Sovocool, Wayne

    2017-03-01

    Amendment of a carbon paste electrode consisting of graphite and Nujol®, with a variety of organic and inorganic materials, allows direct adsorption of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from aqueous solution in either open or close circuit modes. The adsorbed AgNPs are detected by stripping voltammetry. Detection limits of less than 1 ppb Ag are achievable with a rotating disk system. More than one silver peak was apparent in many of the stripping voltammograms. The appearance of multiple peaks could be due to different species of silver formed upon stripping or variation in the state of aggregation or size of nanoparticles. With most of these packing materials, dissolved Ag + was also extracted from aqueous solution, but, with a packing material made with Fe(II,III) oxide nanoparticles, only AgNPs were extracted. Therefore, it is the best candidate for determination of metallic AgNPs in aqueous environmental samples without interference from Ag + .

  8. Standard state thermodynamic properties of Ba2+(aq), Co2+(aq), and Cu2+(aq) up to 598.15 K, and temperature effect on ligand field.

    PubMed

    Djamali, Essmaiil; Chen, Keith; Murray, Richard C; Turner, Peter J; Cobble, James W

    2009-02-26

    Integral heat of solution measurements of barium chloride to 619.81 K, copper oxide in an excess of perrhenic acid to 585 K, and cobalt perrhenate in perrhenic acid to 573 K were measured in a high dilution calorimeter (< or =10(-3) m) at psat, from which the high temperature thermodynamic properties of aqueous barium chloride, copper perrhenate, and cobalt perrhenate were obtained. From the known differences between the corresponding properties for aqueous perrhenate and chloride ions, the thermodynamic properties of completely ionized aqueous copper and cobalt chloride were obtained from ionic additivity. The enthalpy and derived heat capacity data at higher temperatures (T > 473.15 K) suggest that the ligand field stabilization energy of Co2+(aq) may be disappearing.

  9. Extraction of organic compounds with room temperature ionic liquids.

    PubMed

    Poole, Colin F; Poole, Salwa K

    2010-04-16

    Room temperature ionic liquids are novel solvents with a rather specific blend of physical and solution properties that makes them of interest for applications in separation science. They are good solvents for a wide range of compounds in which they behave as polar solvents. Their physical properties of note that distinguish them from conventional organic solvents are a negligible vapor pressure, high thermal stability, and relatively high viscosity. They can form biphasic systems with water or low polarity organic solvents and gases suitable for use in liquid-liquid and gas-liquid partition systems. An analysis of partition coefficients for varied compounds in these systems allows characterization of solvent selectivity using the solvation parameter model, which together with spectroscopic studies of solvent effects on probe substances, results in a detailed picture of solvent behavior. These studies indicate that the solution properties of ionic liquids are similar to those of polar organic solvents. Practical applications of ionic liquids in sample preparation include extractive distillation, aqueous biphasic systems, liquid-liquid extraction, liquid-phase microextraction, supported liquid membrane extraction, matrix solvents for headspace analysis, and micellar extraction. The specific advantages and limitations of ionic liquids in these studies is discussed with a view to defining future uses and the need not to neglect the identification of new room temperature ionic liquids with physical and solution properties tailored to the needs of specific sample preparation techniques. The defining feature of the special nature of ionic liquids is not their solution or physical properties viewed separately but their unique combinations when taken together compared with traditional organic solvents. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Molecular-level elucidation of saccharin-assisted rapid dissolution and high supersaturation level of drug from Eudragit® E solid dispersion.

    PubMed

    Ueda, Keisuke; Kanaya, Harunobu; Higashi, Kenjirou; Yamamoto, Keiji; Moribe, Kunikazu

    2018-03-01

    In this work, the effect of saccharin (SAC) addition on the dissolution and supersaturation level of phenytoin (PHT)/Eudragit® E (EUD-E) solid dispersion (SD) at neutral pH was examined. The PHT/EUD-E SD showed a much slower dissolution of PHT compared to the PHT/EUD-E/SAC SD. EUD-E formed a gel layer after the dispersion of the PHT/EUD-E SD into an aqueous medium, resulting in a slow dissolution of PHT. Pre-dissolving SAC in the aqueous medium significantly improved the dissolution of the PHT/EUD-E SD. Solid-state 13 C NMR measurements showed an ionic interaction between the tertiary amino group of EUD-E and the amide group of SAC in the EUD-E gel layer. Consequently, the ionized EUD-E could easily dissolve from the gel layer, promoting PHT dissolution. Solution-state 1 H NMR measurements revealed the presence of ionic interactions between SAC and the amino group of EUD-E in the PHT/EUD-E/SAC solution. In contrast, interactions between PHT and the hydrophobic group of EUD-E strongly inhibited the crystallization of the former from its supersaturated solution. The PHT supersaturated solution was formed from the PHT/EUD-E/SAC SD by the fast dissolution of PHT and the strong crystallization inhibition effect of EUD-E after aqueous dissolution. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Aqueous ionic liquids and their influence on peptide conformations: denaturation and dehydration mechanisms.

    PubMed

    Diddens, Diddo; Lesch, Volker; Heuer, Andreas; Smiatek, Jens

    2017-08-09

    Low concentrated aqueous ionic liquids (ILs) and their influence on protein structures have attracted a lot of interest over the last few years. This can be mostly attributed to the fact that aqueous ILs, depending on the ion species involved, can be used as protein protectants or protein denaturants. Atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed in order to study the influence of different aprotic ILs on the properties of a short hairpin peptide. Our results reveal distinct binding and denaturation effects for 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium (EMIM) in combination with different anions, namely, chloride (CL), tetrafluoroborate (BF4) and acetate (ACE). The simulation outcomes demonstrate that the studied ILs with larger anions reveal a more pronounced accumulation behavior of the individual ion species around the peptide, which is accomplished by a stronger dehydration effect. We can relate these findings to the implications of the Kirkwood-Buff theory, which provides a thermodynamic explanation for the denaturation strength in terms of the IL accumulation behavior. The results for the spatial distribution functions, the binding energies and the local/bulk partition coefficients are in good agreement with metadynamics simulations in order to determine the energetically most stable peptide conformations. The free energy landscapes indicate a decrease of the denaturation strength in the order EMIM/ACE, EMIM/BF4 and EMIM/CL, which coincides with a decreasing size of the anion species. An analysis of the potential binding energies reveals that this effect is mainly of enthalpic nature.

  12. Atomistic Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Charged Latex Particle Surfaces in Aqueous Solution.

    PubMed

    Li, Zifeng; Van Dyk, Antony K; Fitzwater, Susan J; Fichthorn, Kristen A; Milner, Scott T

    2016-01-19

    Charged particles in aqueous suspension form an electrical double layer at their surfaces, which plays a key role in suspension properties. For example, binder particles in latex paint remain suspended in the can because of repulsive forces between overlapping double layers. Existing models of the double layer assume sharp interfaces bearing fixed uniform charge, and so cannot describe aqueous binder particle surfaces, which are soft and diffuse, and bear mobile charge from ionic surfactants as well as grafted multivalent oligomers. To treat this industrially important system, we use atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to investigate a structurally realistic model of commercial binder particle surfaces, informed by extensive characterization of particle synthesis and surface properties. We determine the interfacial profiles of polymer, water, bound and free ions, from which the charge density and electrostatic potential can be calculated. We extend the traditional definitions of the inner and outer Helmholtz planes to our diffuse interfaces. Beyond the Stern layer, the simulated electrostatic potential is well described by the Poisson-Boltzmann equation. The potential at the outer Helmholtz plane compares well to the experimental zeta potential. We compare particle surfaces bearing two types of charge groups, ionic surfactant and multivalent oligomers, with and without added salt. Although the bare charge density of a surface bearing multivalent oligomers is much higher than that of a surfactant-bearing surface at realistic coverage, greater counterion condensation leads to similar zeta potentials for the two systems.

  13. Enhancement of the ionic conductivity of olivine by the water incorporation based on the Mg diffusivity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Katsura, T.; Fei, H.; Koizumi, S.; Sakamoto, N.; Yurimoto, H.

    2016-12-01

    Although the water corporation has been considered to enhance the electrical conductivity of olivine by the proton conduction, the magnitude of the proton conduction is relatively small at asthenospheric temperatures because of its smaller activation energy than those of the small polaron and ionic conductions. However, the water incorporation could enhance the ionic conduction, because it should increase the defect density in the Mg sites. Since the ionic conductivity is proportional to the diffusivity, we have measured the self-diffusion coefficients of Mg in forsterite as a function of pressure, temperature and water content. We annealed fine-grained polycrystalline aggregates of forsterite with water contents up to 300 ppm, on whose polished plane a 25Mg-enriched Mg2SiO4 thin film was made, at pressures of 1 to 13 GPa and temperatures of 1100 to 1300 K. The lattice and grain-boundary diffusion coefficients were calculated simultaneously using profiles obtained by the depth analysis of SIMS. Experimental results gave the activation energy of 280 ± 30 and 360 ± 30 kJ/mol, activation volumes of 4.3 ± 0.3 and 3.9 ± 0.7 cm3/mol, and water content exponents of 1.2 ± 0.2 and 1.0 ± 0.1 for the lattice and grain-boundary diffusions, respectively. Using the ionic conduction data by Constable [2006] and Yoshino et al. [2009], and the water and pressure effects on Mg diffusivity in this study, the ionic conduction is found by 2 orders of magnitude higher than the small polaron and proton conductions under oceanic-asthenosphere conditions. Thus, the high conductivity of the oceanic asthenosphere will be governed by the water-enhanced ionic conduction. The negative pressure dependence of the Mg diffusivity and the gradual temperature increase in the asthenosphere will produce a conductivity maximum at the top of the asthenosphere. The high-conductivity layer at the top of the asthenosphere observed under very young oceanic plates can be attributed to this ionic conduction maximum.

  14. Examination of an aloe vera galacturonate polysaccharide capable of in situ gelation for the controlled release of protein therapeutics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McConaughy, Shawn David

    A therapeutic delivery platform has been investigated with the ultimate goal of designing a sustained protein release matrix utilizing an in-situ gelling, acidic polysaccharide derived from the Aloe vera plant. The Aloe vera polysaccharide (AvP) has been examined in order to determine how chemical composition, structure, molecular weight and solution behavior affect gelation and protein/peptide delivery. Correlations are drawn between structural characteristics and solution behavior in order to determine the impact of polymer conformation and solvation on gel formation under conditions designed to simulate nasal applications. Steady state and dynamic rheology, classic and dynamic light scattering, zeta potential, pulse field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance and fluorescence spectroscopy have been employed to gain insight into the effects of galacturonic acid content, degree of methylation, entanglement and ionic strength on both solution behavior and the hydrogel state which ultimately governs protein/peptide release. This dissertation is divided into two sections. In the first section, a series of Aloe vera polysaccharides (AvP), from the pectin family have been structurally characterized indicating high galacturonic acid (GalA) content, low degree of methylester substitution (DM), low numbers of rhamnose residues and high molecular weight with respect to pectins extracted from traditional sources. The behavior of AvP was examined utilizing dilute solution, low-shear rheological techniques for specific molecular weight samples at selected conditions of ionic strength. From these dilute aqueous solution studies, the Mark-Houwink-Sakurada (MHS) constants (K and alpha), persistence length (Lp) and inherent chain stiffness (B parameter) were determined, indicating an expanded random coil in aqueous salt solutions. The critical concentration for transition from dilute to concentrated solution, C e, was determined by measuring both the zero shear viscosity and fluorescence emission of the probe molecule 1,8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulphonic acid (1,8-ANS) as a function of polymer concentration. Correlations are drawn between viscosity experiments and measurement of zeta potential. Increased degrees of intermolecular interactions are responsible for a shift of Ce to lower polymer concentrations with increasing ionic strength. Additionally, dynamic rheology data are presented highlighting the ability of AvP to form gels at low polymer and calcium ion concentrations, exemplifying the technological potential of this polysaccharide for in-situ drug delivery. In the second section, properties of Aloe vera galacturonate hydrogels formed via Ca2+ crosslinking have been studied in regard to key parameters influencing gel formation including molecular weight, ionic strength and molar ratio of Ca2+ to COO- functionality. Dynamic oscillatory rheology and pulsed field gradient NMR (PFG-NMR) studies have been conducted on hydrogels formed at specified Ca2+ concentrations in the presence and absence of Na+ and K+ ions, in order to assess the feasibility of in situ gelation for controlled delivery of therapeutics. Aqueous Ca2+ concentrations similar to those present in nasal and subcutaneous fluids induce the formation of elastic Aloe vera polysaccharide (AvP) hydrogel networks. By altering the ratio of Ca2+ to COO- functionality, networks may be tailored to provide elastic modulus (G') values between 20 and 20,000 Pa. The Aloe vera polysaccharide exhibits time dependent phase separation in the presence of monovalent electrolytes. Thus the relative rates of calcium induced gelation and phase separation become major considerations when designing a system for in situ delivery applications where both monovalent (Na+, K+) and divalent (Ca2+) ions are present. PFG-NMR and fluorescence microscopy confirm that distinctly different morphologies are present in gels formed in the presence and absence 0.15 M NaCl. Curve fitting of theoretical models to experimental release profiles of fluorescein labeled dextrans indicate diffusion rates are related to hydrogel morphology. These studies suggest that for efficient in situ release of therapeutic agents, polymer concentrations should be maintained above the critical entanglement concentration (Ce, 0.60 wt%) when [Ca2+]/[COO -] ratios are less than 1. Additionally, the monovalent electrolyte concentration in AvP solutions should not exceed 0.10 M prior to Ca 2+ crosslinking.

  15. Exploratory studies on some electrochemical cell systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chaudhuri, Srikumar; Guha, D.

    Exploratory studies were conducted on cell systems with different metal anodes, and iodine and sulphur mixed with graphite powder in a polymer matrix as cathodes, using different electrolytes in non-aqueous and aqueous media as ionic charge carriers. The electrical conductance of the electrolyte solutions in aqueous and non-aqueous solvents, the open circuit voltage (OCV) and short circuit current (SCC) for the different cell systems were measured. To date, the non-aqueous solvents used in our studies were dimethylformamide, formamide, dioxan, and nitrobenzene, and the electrolytes used were potassium iodide, caustic potash, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and calcium chloride. These electrolytes were used in both non-aqueous and aqueous media. In general, aqueous electrolyte solutions gave a better performance than non-aqueous electrolyte solutions. Of the aqueous electrolytes, the highest conductance was shown by potassium chloride solution in water (conductance=0.0334 mho). However, the best OCV and SCC were shown by aluminium as anode and iodine as cathode with a saturated solution of caustic potash in water. The OCV was 1.85 V and the SCC was 290 mA cm -2. The highest conductance among the non-aqueous systems was shown by caustic potash in formamide. (Conductance=0.013 mho.) The best OCV and SCC, however, were shown by a zinc anode and iodine cathode with saturated potassium chloride in formamide, having an OCV of 1.55 V and an SCC of 150 mA cm -2. Further studies are in progress to obtain detailed performance data and recharging characteristics of some of the more promising systems reported here.

  16. Ruthenium nanoparticles in ionic liquids: structural and stability effects of polar solutes.

    PubMed

    Salas, Gorka; Podgoršek, Ajda; Campbell, Paul S; Santini, Catherine C; Pádua, Agílio A H; Costa Gomes, Margarida F; Philippot, Karine; Chaudret, Bruno; Turmine, Mireille

    2011-08-14

    Ionic liquids are a stabilizing medium for the in situ synthesis of ruthenium nanoparticles. Herein we show that the addition of molecular polar solutes to the ionic liquid, even in low concentrations, eliminates the role of the ionic liquid 3D structure in controlling the size of ruthenium nanoparticles, and can induce their aggregation. We have performed the synthesis of ruthenium nanoparticles by decomposition of [Ru(COD)(COT)] in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [C(1)C(4)Im][NTf(2)], under H(2) in the presence of varying amounts of water or 1-octylamine. For water added during the synthesis of metallic nanoparticles, a decrease of the solubility in the ionic liquid was observed, showed by nanoparticles located at the interface between aqueous and ionic phases. When 1-octylamine is present during the synthesis, stable nanoparticles of a constant size are obtained. When 1-octylamine is added after the synthesis, aggregation of the ruthenium nanoparticles is observed. In order to explain these phenomena, we have explored the molecular interactions between the different species using (13)C-NMR and DOSY (Diffusional Order Spectroscopy) experiments, mixing calorimetry, surface tension measurements and molecular simulations. We conclude that the behaviour of the ruthenium nanoparticles in [C(1)C(4)Im][NTf(2)] in the presence of 1-octylamine depends on the interaction between the ligand and the nanoparticles in terms of the energetics but also of the structural arrangement of the amine at the nanoparticle's surface.

  17. Explicit role of ionic strength in retention behavior of polystyrene latex particles in sedimentation field-flow fractionation: Slip boundary model.

    PubMed

    Rah, Kyunil; Han, Sujeong; Choi, Jaeyeong; Eum, Chul Hun; Lee, Seungho

    2017-12-15

    We investigate an explicit role of the ionic strength in the retention behaviors of polystyrene (PS) latex particles in sedimentation field-flow fractionation (SdFFF) by hinging upon the retention theory recently developed [1] asR=(R o +v b * )/(1+v b * ). Here R is an experimental retention ratio, and R o is the analytical expression of the standard retention theory based on the parabolic flow velocity. The reduced boundary velocityv b * is expressed in terms of the ionic strength I of the carrier liquid as v b * =v b,o * /(1+εI), where v b,o * =0.070and ε=60 mM -1 for all the PS latex systems under investigation. We then apply this to study the explicit ionic strength effect on the retention behaviors of PS beads of 200, 300, 400, and 500nm, respectively. As a primary result, the strong dependence of the retention ratio on the ionic strength can be quantitatively accounted for in an excellent accuracy: The slip effect at the channel surface is significant, particularly when I≲0.5mM, without showing any distinguishable dependence on the specific additives to control I, such as FL-70, SDS, NaNO 3 , and NaN 3 . Based on the present study, we put forward an experimental means to estimate the ionic strength of an aqueous solution using an FFF technique. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  18. Polyelectrolyte and carbon nanotube multilayers made from ionic liquid solutions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nakashima, Takuya; Zhu, Jian; Qin, Ming; Ho, Szushen; Kotov, Nicholas A.

    2010-10-01

    The inevitable contact of substrates with water during the traditional practice of layer-by-layer assembly (LBL) creates problems for multiple potential applications of LBL films in electronics. To resolve this issue, we demonstrate here the possibility of a LBL process using ionic liquids (ILs), which potentially eliminates corrosion and hydration processes related to aqueous media and opens additional possibilities in structural control of LBL films. ILs are also considered to be one of the best ``green'' processing solvents, and hence, are advantageous in respect to traditional organic solvents. Poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) and poly(sodium styrenesulfonate) (PSS) were dispersed in a hydrophilic IL and successfully deposited in the LBL fashion. To produce electroactive thin films with significance to electronics, a similar process was realized for PSS-modified single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT-PSS) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). Characterization of the coating using standard spectroscopy and microscopy techniques typical of the multilayer field indicated that there are both similarities and differences in the structure and properties of LBL films build from ILs and aqueous solutions. The films exhibited electrical conductivity of 102 S m-1 with transparency as high as 98% for visible light, which is comparable to similar parameters for many carbon nanotube and graphene films prepared by both aqueous LBL and other methods.The inevitable contact of substrates with water during the traditional practice of layer-by-layer assembly (LBL) creates problems for multiple potential applications of LBL films in electronics. To resolve this issue, we demonstrate here the possibility of a LBL process using ionic liquids (ILs), which potentially eliminates corrosion and hydration processes related to aqueous media and opens additional possibilities in structural control of LBL films. ILs are also considered to be one of the best ``green'' processing solvents, and hence, are advantageous in respect to traditional organic solvents. Poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) and poly(sodium styrenesulfonate) (PSS) were dispersed in a hydrophilic IL and successfully deposited in the LBL fashion. To produce electroactive thin films with significance to electronics, a similar process was realized for PSS-modified single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT-PSS) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). Characterization of the coating using standard spectroscopy and microscopy techniques typical of the multilayer field indicated that there are both similarities and differences in the structure and properties of LBL films build from ILs and aqueous solutions. The films exhibited electrical conductivity of 102 S m-1 with transparency as high as 98% for visible light, which is comparable to similar parameters for many carbon nanotube and graphene films prepared by both aqueous LBL and other methods. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Aggregation of PEI and PSS in [EMIm][EtSO4], detailed FTIR data, water-contact angle for (PEI/PSS)10 multilayers, and XPS survey spectra. See DOI: 10.1039/b9nr00333a

  19. Analysis of a whole diet in terms of phenolic content and antioxidant capacity: effects of a simulated gastrointestinal digestion.

    PubMed

    Koehnlein, Eloá Angélica; Koehnlein, Érica Marcela; Corrêa, Rúbia Carvalho Gomes; Nishida, Verônica Sayuri; Correa, Vanesa Gesser; Bracht, Adelar; Peralta, Rosane Marina

    2016-09-01

    This work compares the phenolic contents and the total antioxidant capacity of the 36 most popular Brazilian foods submitted to aqueous extraction or in vitro digestion. The purpose was to evaluate the extent by which digestion differs from the simple aqueous extraction procedures of several food matrices. After in vitro digestion, cereals, legumes, vegetables, tuberous vegetables, chocolates and fruits showed higher phenolic contents and higher antioxidant activities than those obtained by aqueous extraction. Contrarily, the digestion caused a reduction in the phenolic contents and antioxidant activities of beverages (red wine, coffee and yerba mate). Our results suggest that the phenolics of food groups with solid and complex matrix are protected against enzymatic action and alteration in pH during the digestion, what does not occur in liquid food matrices such as the beverages. This fact would overestimate the antioxidant activities of beverages submitted solely to aqueous extraction.

  20. Stability and Transport of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles in Aqueous Environment: Effect of pH, Ionic Strength, and Organic Matter.

    EPA Science Inventory

    This study investigated the stability and transport of CeO2 NPs under the influence of pH, natural/manmade organic matter, and electrolyte (NaCl) concentrations. In column test, effluent concentration of CeO2 NPs was close to the influent at pH 10, while most NPs deposited on san...

  1. Molecular Interactions at Marine Interfaces

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1994-09-20

    Microbial Attachment and Biofilm Formation 9:00 Michael Sinnott Structure of Extracellular Polysaccharides of Pseudomonas atlantica 9:30 Herb Waite...sit/ i u~ . Direct Measurements of the Intermolecular F~rccs Between Polysaccharide Exopolymers from marine Bacter"a and Solid Substrates Georges...aqueous medium of high ionic strength. Effect of Polysaccharide Surface Structurt on Microbial Attachment and Biofilm Formation David C. White and A

  2. Gas-Phase Functionalization of Macroscopic Carbon Nanotube Fiber Assemblies: Reaction Control, Electrochemical Properties, and Use for Flexible Supercapacitors.

    PubMed

    Iglesias, Daniel; Senokos, Evgeny; Alemán, Belén; Cabana, Laura; Navío, Cristina; Marcilla, Rebeca; Prato, Maurizio; Vilatela, Juan J; Marchesan, Silvia

    2018-02-14

    The assembly of aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into fibers (CNTFs) is a convenient approach to exploit and apply the unique physico-chemical properties of CNTs in many fields. CNT functionalization has been extensively used for its implementation into composites and devices. However, CNTF functionalization is still in its infancy because of the challenges associated with preservation of CNTF morphology. Here, we report a thorough study of the gas-phase functionalization of CNTF assemblies using ozone which was generated in situ from a UV source. In contrast with liquid-based oxidation methods, this gas-phase approach preserves CNTF morphology, while notably increasing its hydrophilicity. The functionalized material is thoroughly characterized by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Its newly acquired hydrophilicity enables CNTF electrochemical characterization in aqueous media, which was not possible for the pristine material. Through comparison of electrochemical measurements in aqueous electrolytes and ionic liquids, we decouple the effects of functionalization on pseudocapacitive reactions and quantum capacitance. The functionalized CNTF assembly is successfully used as an active material and a current collector in all-solid supercapacitor flexible devices with an ionic liquid-based polymer electrolyte.

  3. Graphene oxide reinforced polymeric ionic liquid monolith solid-phase microextraction sorbent for high-performance liquid chromatography analysis of phenolic compounds in aqueous environmental samples.

    PubMed

    Sun, Min; Bu, Yanan; Feng, Juanjuan; Luo, Chuannan

    2016-01-01

    A graphene oxide reinforced polymeric ionic liquids monolith was obtained by copolymerization of graphene oxide doped 1-(3-aminopropyl)-3-(4-vinylbenzyl)imidazolium 4-styrenesulfonate monomer and 1,6-di-(3-vinylimidazolium) hexane bihexafluorophosphate cross-linking agent. Coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography, the monolith was used as a solid-phase microextraction sorbent to analyze several phenolic compounds in aqueous samples. Under the optimized extraction and desorption conditions, linear ranges were 5-400 μg/L for 3-nitrophenol, 2-nitrophenol, and 2,5-dichlorophenol and 2-400 μg/L for 4-chlorophenol, 2-methylphenol, and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (R(2) = 0.9973-0.9988). The limits of detection were 0.5 μg/L for 3-nitrophenol and 2-nitrophenol and 0.2 μg/L for the rest of the analytes. The proposed method was used to determine target analytes in groundwater from an industrial park and river water. None of the analytes was detected. Relative recoveries were in the range of 75.5-113%. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  4. Removal of lindane from an aqueous solution by using aminopropyl silica gel-immobilized calix[6]arene.

    PubMed

    Tor, Ali; Aydin, Mehmet Emin; Aydin, Senar; Tabakci, Mustafa; Beduk, Fatma

    2013-11-15

    An aminopropyl silica gel-immobilized calix[6]arene (C[6]APS) has been used for the removal of lindane from an aqueous solution in batch sorption technique. The C[6]APS was synthesized with p-tert-butylcalix[6]arene hexacarboxylate derivative and aminopropyl silica gel in the presence of N,N'-diisopropyl carbodiimide coupling reagent. The sorption study was carried out as functions of solution pH, contact time, initial lindane concentration, C[6]APS dosage and ionic strength of solution. The matrix effect of natural water samples on the sorption efficiency of C[6]APS was also investigated. Maximum lindane removal was obtained at a wide pH range of 2-8 and sorption equilibrium was achieved in 2h. The isotherm analysis indicated that the sorption data can be represented by both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. Increasing ionic strength of the solutions increased the sorption efficiency and matrix of natural water samples had no effect on the sorption of lindane. By using multilinear regression model, regression equation was also developed to explain the effects of the experimental variables. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Heavy metal speciation and uptake in crayfish and tadpoles

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bundy, K.J.; Berzins, D.; Millet, L.

    1996-12-31

    Developing valid pollution recording methods is central to assessing environmental damage and remediation. This often is difficult, however, because of speciation and multiphase distribution of contaminants. Polarography, an electroanalytical technique capable of detection and quantification of trace levels of elements and ionic complexes, is a promising method for analyzing environmental samples. Here, polarography has been used to determine lead concentration in water, sediment, bullfrogs, tadpoles, and adsorbed onto kaolin. It has also been used to measure hexavalent chromium concentration in crayfish. This research involves field studies and two laboratory experiments. Studies of a Louisiana swamp have shown lead`s affinity formore » sediment and water particulate phases, rather than being ionically dissolved in the aqueous phase. In swamp bullfrogs, lead was found in greater concentrations in bone compared to muscle. In the first laboratory experiment, lead uptake originating from water and sediment increased in tadpoles as exposure time and concentration increased. Also, this animal`s development was hindered at higher concentrations. The second laboratory experiment exposed crayfish to aqueous hexavalent chromium. Total chromium uptake increased with exposure time and concentration. The chromium tissue abundance was hepatopancreas > gills > muscle. A substantial portion of tissue hexavalent chromium converted to the less toxic trivalent form.« less

  6. Thermoresponsive Poly(Ionic Liquid)s in Aqueous Salt Solutions: Salting-Out Effect on Their Phase Behavior and Water Absorption/Desorption Properties.

    PubMed

    Okafuji, Akiyoshi; Kohno, Yuki; Ohno, Hiroyuki

    2016-07-01

    Here, a thermoresponsive phase behavior of polymerized ionic liquids (PILs) composed of poly([tri-n-alkyl(vinylbenzyl)phosphonium]chloride) (poly([Pnnn VB ]Cl) is reported, where n (the number of carbon atoms of an alkyl chain) = 4, 5, or 6 after mixing with aqueous sodium chloride solutions. Both monomeric [P555VB ]Cl and the resulting poly([P555VB ]Cl) linear homopolymer show a lower critical solution temperature (LCST)-type phase behavior in aq. NaCl solutions. The phase transition temperature of the PIL shifts to lower value by increasing concentration of NaCl. Also the swelling degree of cross-linked poly([P555VB ]Cl) gel decreases by increasing NaCl concentration, clearly suggesting the "salting-out" effect of NaCl results in a significant dehydration of the poly([P555VB ]Cl) gel. The absorbed water in the PIL gel is desorbed by moderate heating via the LCST behavior, and the absolute absorption/desorption amount is improved by copolymerization of [P555VB ]Cl with more hydrophilic [P444VB ]Cl monomer. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  7. Application of novel metal organic framework, MIL-53(Fe) and its magnetic hybrid: For removal of pharmaceutical pollutant, doxycycline from aqueous solutions.

    PubMed

    Naeimi, Shakiba; Faghihian, Hossein

    2017-07-01

    As a pharmaceutical pollutant, doxycycline causes contamination when enters into the environment. In this research MIL-53(Fe), and its magnetic hybrid MIL-53(Fe)/Fe 3 O 4 were synthesized and employed for removal of doxycycline from aqueous solutions. The adsorbents were characterized by XRD, SEM, BET, FTIR, EDAX, VSM and TG-DTG technique. The effect of different variables such as DOC concentration, pH, contacting time, and adsorbent dose on the removal efficiency was studied and under optimized conditions the adsorption capacity of 322mgg -1 was obtained. The adsorption process was kinetically fast and the equilibration was attained within 30min. The used adsorbent was easily separated from the solution by applying external magnetic field. The regenerated adsorbent retained most of its initial capacity after six regeneration steps. The effect of ionic strength was studied and it was indicated that removal of doxycycline from salt-containing water with moderate ionic strengths was quite feasible. Langmuir, Freundlich, Tempkin and Dubinin-Redushkevich isotherms were employed to describe the nature of adsorption process. The sorption data was well interpreted by the Longmuir model. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. An accurate coarse-grained model for chitosan polysaccharides in aqueous solution.

    PubMed

    Tsereteli, Levan; Grafmüller, Andrea

    2017-01-01

    Computational models can provide detailed information about molecular conformations and interactions in solution, which is currently inaccessible by other means in many cases. Here we describe an efficient and precise coarse-grained model for long polysaccharides in aqueous solution at different physico-chemical conditions such as pH and ionic strength. The Model is carefully constructed based on all-atom simulations of small saccharides and metadynamics sampling of the dihedral angles in the glycosidic links, which represent the most flexible degrees of freedom of the polysaccharides. The model is validated against experimental data for Chitosan molecules in solution with various degree of deacetylation, and is shown to closely reproduce the available experimental data. For long polymers, subtle differences of the free energy maps of the glycosidic links are found to significantly affect the measurable polymer properties. Therefore, for titratable monomers the free energy maps of the corresponding links are updated according to the current charge of the monomers. We then characterize the microscopic and mesoscopic structural properties of large chitosan polysaccharides in solution for a wide range of solvent pH and ionic strength, and investigate the effect of polymer length and degree and pattern of deacetylation on the polymer properties.

  9. An accurate coarse-grained model for chitosan polysaccharides in aqueous solution

    PubMed Central

    Tsereteli, Levan

    2017-01-01

    Computational models can provide detailed information about molecular conformations and interactions in solution, which is currently inaccessible by other means in many cases. Here we describe an efficient and precise coarse-grained model for long polysaccharides in aqueous solution at different physico-chemical conditions such as pH and ionic strength. The Model is carefully constructed based on all-atom simulations of small saccharides and metadynamics sampling of the dihedral angles in the glycosidic links, which represent the most flexible degrees of freedom of the polysaccharides. The model is validated against experimental data for Chitosan molecules in solution with various degree of deacetylation, and is shown to closely reproduce the available experimental data. For long polymers, subtle differences of the free energy maps of the glycosidic links are found to significantly affect the measurable polymer properties. Therefore, for titratable monomers the free energy maps of the corresponding links are updated according to the current charge of the monomers. We then characterize the microscopic and mesoscopic structural properties of large chitosan polysaccharides in solution for a wide range of solvent pH and ionic strength, and investigate the effect of polymer length and degree and pattern of deacetylation on the polymer properties. PMID:28732036

  10. Enhanced Electro-Static Modulation of Ionic Diffusion through Carbon Nanotube Membranes by Diazonium Grafting Chemistry

    PubMed Central

    Majumder, Mainak; Keis, Karin; Zhan, Xin; Meadows, Corey; Cole, Jeggan

    2013-01-01

    A membrane structure consisting of an aligned array of open ended carbon nanotubes (~ 7 nm i.d.) spanning across an inert polymer matrix allows the diffusive transport of aqueous ionic species through CNT cores. The plasma oxidation process that opens CNTs tips inherently introduces carboxylic acid groups at the CNT tips, which allows for a limited amount of chemical functional at the CNT pore entrance. However for numerous applications, it is important to increase the density of carboxylic acid groups at the pore entrance for effective separation processes. Aqueous diazonium based electro-chemistry significantly increases the functional density of carboxylic acid groups. pH dependent dye adsorption-desorption and interfacial capacitance measurements indicate ~ 5–6 times increase in functional density. To further control the spatial location of the functional chemistry, a fast flowing inert liquid column inside the CNT core is found to restrict the diazonium grafting to the CNT tips only. This is confirmed by the increased flux of positively charged Ru(bi-py)3+2 with anionic functionality. The electrostatic enhancement of ion diffusion is readily screened in 0.1(M) electrolyte solution consistent with the membrane pore geometry and increased functional density. PMID:25132719

  11. Impact of Surface Active Ionic Liquids on the Cloud Points of Nonionic Surfactants and the Formation of Aqueous Micellar Two-Phase Systems.

    PubMed

    Vicente, Filipa A; Cardoso, Inês S; Sintra, Tânia E; Lemus, Jesus; Marques, Eduardo F; Ventura, Sónia P M; Coutinho, João A P

    2017-09-21

    Aqueous micellar two-phase systems (AMTPS) hold a large potential for cloud point extraction of biomolecules but are yet poorly studied and characterized, with few phase diagrams reported for these systems, hence limiting their use in extraction processes. This work reports a systematic investigation of the effect of different surface-active ionic liquids (SAILs)-covering a wide range of molecular properties-upon the clouding behavior of three nonionic Tergitol surfactants. Two different effects of the SAILs on the cloud points and mixed micelle size have been observed: ILs with a more hydrophilic character and lower critical packing parameter (CPP < 1 / 2 ) lead to the formation of smaller micelles and concomitantly increase the cloud points; in contrast, ILs with a more hydrophobic character and higher CPP (CPP ≥ 1) induce significant micellar growth and a decrease in the cloud points. The latter effect is particularly interesting and unusual for it was accepted that cloud point reduction is only induced by inorganic salts. The effects of nonionic surfactant concentration, SAIL concentration, pH, and micelle ζ potential are also studied and rationalized.

  12. Multi-scale processes of beech wood disintegration and pretreatment with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate/water mixtures.

    PubMed

    Viell, Jörn; Inouye, Hideyo; Szekely, Noemi K; Frielinghaus, Henrich; Marks, Caroline; Wang, Yumei; Anders, Nico; Spiess, Antje C; Makowski, Lee

    2016-01-01

    The valorization of biomass for chemicals and fuels requires efficient pretreatment. One effective strategy involves the pretreatment with ionic liquids which enables enzymatic saccharification of wood within a few hours under mild conditions. This pretreatment strategy is, however, limited by water and the ionic liquids are rather expensive. The scarce understanding of the involved effects, however, challenges the design of alternative pretreatment concepts. This work investigates the multi length-scale effects of pretreatment of wood in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (EMIMAc) in mixtures with water using spectroscopy, X-ray and neutron scattering. The structure of beech wood is disintegrated in EMIMAc/water mixtures with a water content up to 8.6 wt%. Above 10.7 wt%, the pretreated wood is not disintegrated, but still much better digested enzymatically compared to native wood. In both regimes, component analysis of the solid after pretreatment shows an extraction of few percent of lignin and hemicellulose. In concentrated EMIMAc, xylan is extracted more efficiently and lignin is defunctionalized. Corresponding to the disintegration at macroscopic scale, SANS and XRD show isotropy and a loss of crystallinity in the pretreated wood, but without distinct reflections of type II cellulose. Hence, the microfibril assembly is decrystallized into rather amorphous cellulose within the cell wall. The molecular and structural changes elucidate the processes of wood pretreatment in EMIMAc/water mixtures. In the aqueous regime with >10.7 wt% water in EMIMAc, xyloglucan and lignin moieties are extracted, which leads to coalescence of fibrillary cellulose structures. Dilute EMIMAc/water mixtures thus resemble established aqueous pretreatment concepts. In concentrated EMIMAc, the swelling due to decrystallinization of cellulose, dissolution of cross-linking xylan, and defunctionalization of lignin releases the mechanical stress to result in macroscopic disintegration of cells. The remaining cell wall constituents of lignin and hemicellulose, however, limit a recrystallization of the solvated cellulose. These pretreatment mechanisms are beyond common pretreatment concepts and pave the way for a formulation of mechanistic requirements of pretreatment with simpler pretreatment liquors.

  13. Combustible ionic liquids by design: is laboratory safety another ionic liquid myth?

    PubMed

    Smiglak, Marcin; Reichert, W Mathew; Holbrey, John D; Wilkes, John S; Sun, Luyi; Thrasher, Joseph S; Kirichenko, Kostyantyn; Singh, Shailendra; Katritzky, Alan R; Rogers, Robin D

    2006-06-28

    The non-flammability of ionic liquids (ILs) is often highlighted as a safety advantage of ILs over volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but the fact that many ILs are not flammable themselves does not mean that they are safe to use near fire and/or heat sources; a large group of ILs (including commercially available ILs) are combustible due to the nature of their positive heats of formation, oxygen content, and decomposition products.

  14. Effect of the structure of imidazolium cations in [BF4](-)-type ionic liquids on direct electrochemistry and electrocatalysis of horseradish peroxidase in Nafion films.

    PubMed

    Lu, Lu; Huang, Xirong; Qu, Yinbo

    2011-10-01

    The direct electrochemistry and bioelectrocatalysis of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in Nafion films at glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was investigated in three [BF(4)](-)-type room-temperature ionic liquids (ILs) to understand the structural effect of imidazolium cations. The three ILs are 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([Emim][BF(4)]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([Bmim][BF(4)]) and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([Hmim][BF(4)]). A small amount of water in the three ILs is indispensable for maintaining the electrochemical activity of HRP in Nafion films, and the optimum water contents decrease with the increase of alkyl chain length on imidazole ring. Analysis shows that the optimum water contents are primarily determined by the hydrophilicity of ILs used. In contrast to aqueous medium, ILs media facilitate the direct electron transfer of HRP, and the electrochemical parameters obtained in different ILs are obviously related to the nature of ILs. The direct electron transfer between HRP and GCE is a surface-confined quasi-reversible single electron transfer process. The apparent heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant decreases gradually with the increase of alkyl chain length on imidazole ring, but the changing extent is relatively small. The electrocatalytic reduction current of H(2)O(2) at the present electrode decreases obviously with the increase of alkyl chain length, and the mass transfer of H(2)O(2) via diffusion in ILs should be responsible for the change. In addition, the modified electrode has good stability and reproducibility; the ability to tolerate high levels of F(-) has been greatly enhanced due to the use of Nafion film. When an appropriate mediator is included in the sensing layer, a sensitive nonaqueous biosensor could be fabricated. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. On wettability of shale rocks.

    PubMed

    Roshan, H; Al-Yaseri, A Z; Sarmadivaleh, M; Iglauer, S

    2016-08-01

    The low recovery of hydraulic fracturing fluid in unconventional shale reservoirs has been in the centre of attention from both technical and environmental perspectives in the last decade. One explanation for the loss of hydraulic fracturing fluid is fluid uptake by the shale matrix; where capillarity is the dominant process controlling this uptake. Detailed understanding of the rock wettability is thus an essential step in analysis of loss of the hydraulic fracturing fluid in shale reservoirs, especially at reservoir conditions. We therefore performed a suit of contact angle measurements on a shale sample with oil and aqueous ionic solutions, and tested the influence of different ion types (NaCl, KCl, MgCl2, CaCl2), concentrations (0.1, 0.5 and 1M), pressures (0.1, 10 and 20MPa) and temperatures (35 and 70°C). Furthermore, a physical model was developed based on the diffuse double layer theory to provide a framework for the observed experimental data. Our results show that the water contact angle for bivalent ions is larger than for monovalent ions; and that the contact angle (of both oil and different aqueous ionic solutions) increases with increase in pressure and/or temperature; these increases are more pronounced at higher ionic concentrations. Finally, the developed model correctly predicted the influence of each tested variable on contact angle. Knowing contact angle and therefore wettability, the contribution of the capillary process in terms of water uptake into shale rocks and the possible impairment of hydrocarbon production due to such uptake can be quantified. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Magnetic ionic liquid aqueous two-phase system coupled with high performance liquid chromatography: A rapid approach for determination of chloramphenicol in water environment.

    PubMed

    Yao, Tian; Yao, Shun

    2017-01-20

    A novel organic magnetic ionic liquid based on guanidinium cation was synthesized and characterized. A new method of magnetic ionic liquid aqueous two-phase system (MILATPs) coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was established to preconcentrate and determine trace amount of chloramphenicol (CAP) in water environment for the first time. In the absence of volatile organic solvents, MILATPs not only has the excellent properties of rapid extraction, but also exhibits a response to an external magnetic field which can be applied to assist phase separation. The phase behavior of MILATPs was investigated and phase equilibrium data were correlated by Merchuk equation. Various influencing factors on CAP recovery were systematically investigated and optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the preconcentration factor was 147.2 with the precision values (RSD%) of 2.42% and 4.45% for intra-day (n=6) and inter-day (n=6), respectively. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) were 0.14ngmL -1 and 0.42ngmL -1 , respectively. Fine linear range of 12.25ngmL -1 -2200ngmL -1 was obtained. Finally, the validated method was successfully applied for the analysis of CAP in some environmental waters with the recoveries for the spiked samples in the acceptable range of 94.6%-99.72%. Hopefully, MILATPs is showing great potential to promote new development in the field of extraction, separation and pretreatment of various biochemical samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Fabrication and photoactivity of ionic liquid-TiO2 structures for efficient visible-light-induced photocatalytic decomposition of organic pollutants in aqueous phase.

    PubMed

    Gołąbiewska, Anna; Paszkiewicz-Gawron, Marta; Sadzińska, Aleksandra; Lisowski, Wojciech; Grabowska, Ewelina; Zaleska-Medynska, Adriana; Łuczak, Justyna

    2018-01-01

    To investigate the effect of the ionic liquid (IL) chain length on the surface properties and photoactivity of TiO 2 , a series of TiO 2 microspheres have been synthesized via a solvothermal method assisted by 1-methyl-3-octadecylimidazolium chloride ([ODMIM][Cl]) and 1-methyl-3-tetradecylimidazolium chloride ([TDMIM][Cl]). All as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), scanning transmission microscopy (STEM) and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area method, whereas the photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the degradation of phenol in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation (λ > 420 nm). The highest photoefficiency (four times higher than pristine TiO 2 ) was observed for the TiO 2 sample obtained in the presence of [TDMIM][Cl] for a IL to TiO 2 precursor molar ratio of 1:3. It was revealed that interactions between the ions of the ionic liquid and the surface of the growing titanium dioxide spheres results in a red-shift of absorption edge for the IL-TiO 2 semiconductors. In this regard, the direct increase of the photoactivity of IL-TiO 2 in comparison to pristine TiO 2 was observed. The active species trapping experiments indicated that O 2 •- is the main active species, created at the surface of the IL-TiO 2 material under visible-light illumination, and is responsible for the effective phenol degradation.

  18. Molecular crowding has no effect on the dilution thermodynamics of the biologically relevant cation mixtures.

    PubMed

    Głogocka, Daria; Przybyło, Magdalena; Langner, Marek

    2017-04-01

    The ionic composition of intracellular space is rigorously maintained in the expense of high-energy expenditure. It has been recently postulated that the cytoplasmic ionic composition is optimized so the energy cost of the fluctuations of calcium ion concentration is minimized. Specifically, thermodynamic arguments have been produced to show that the presence of potassium ions at concentrations higher than 100 mM reduce extend of the energy dissipation required for the dilution of calcium cations. No such effect has been measured when sodium ions were present in the solution or when the other divalent cation magnesium was diluted. The experimental observation has been interpreted as the indication of the formation of ionic clusters composed of calcium, chloride and potassium. In order to test the possibility that such clusters may be preserved in biological space, the thermodynamics of ionic mixtures dilution in solutions containing albumins and model lipid bilayers have been measured. Obtained thermograms clearly demonstrate that the energetics of calcium/potassium mixture is qualitatively different from calcium/sodium mixture indicating that the presence of the biologically relevant quantities of proteins and membrane hydrophilic surfaces do not interfere with the properties of the intracellular aqueous phase.

  19. Spatial inhomogeneities in ionic liquids, charged proteins, and charge stabilized colloids from collective variables theory.

    PubMed

    Patsahan, O; Ciach, A

    2012-09-01

    Effects of size and charge asymmetry between oppositely charged ions or particles on spatial inhomogeneities are studied for a large range of charge and size ratios. We perform a stability analysis of the primitive model of ionic systems with respect to periodic ordering using the collective variables-based theory. We extend previous studies [Ciach et al., Phys. Rev. E 75, 051505 (2007)] in several ways. First, we employ a nonlocal approximation for the reference hard-sphere fluid which leads to the Percus-Yevick pair direct correlation functions for the uniform case. Second, we use the Weeks-Chandler-Anderson regularization scheme for the Coulomb potential inside the hard core. We determine the relevant order parameter connected with the periodic ordering and analyze the character of the dominant fluctuations along the λ lines. We show that the above-mentioned modifications produce large quantitative and partly qualitative changes in the phase diagrams obtained previously. We discuss possible scenarios of the periodic ordering for the whole range of size and charge ratios of the two ionic species, covering electrolytes, ionic liquids, charged globular proteins or nanoparticles in aqueous solutions, and charge-stabilized colloids.

  20. [Verification of a decrease in the rigidity of the phage lambda DNA polymeric chain in low ionic strength aqueous solutions by testing the polymer-polymer interlink interactions].

    PubMed

    Arutiunian, A V; Ivanova, M A; Kurliand, D I; Kapshin, Iu S; Landa, S B; Poshekhonov, S T; Drobchenko, E A; Shevelev, I V

    2011-01-01

    Changes in the rigidity of the polymetric chain of phage lambda double-strand DNA have been studied by laser correlation spectroscopy. It was shown that, as the ionic strength increases, the effect of the screening of the hydrodynamic interaction of the links of the polymeric chain specific for polymeric coils arises in a DNA solution. It is assumed that the screening occurs when the threshold of the overlapping of DNA coils is achieved. The overlapping of coils is the result of a previously observed significant rise of DNA coil size from abnormally small DNA coils in low ionic strength buffers (about 10(-2) M Na+ or less) to maximum possible large coils in the 5SSC and 5SSC-like buffers. Further analysis of the far interlink interactions in linear lambda phage DNA coils in similar buffers at pH 7 and 4 confirms the earlier proposal about the role of H+ ions in the appearance of abnormally small DNA coils. The abnormal decrease in the DNA coil size in low ionic strength buffers is not a specific feature of lambda phage DNA only.

  1. Interaction of Ionic Liquids with Lipid Biomembrane: Implication from Supramolecular Assembly to Cytotoxicity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jing, Benxin; Lan, Nan; Zhu, Y. Elaine

    2013-03-01

    An explosion in the research activities using ionic liquids (ILs) as new ``green'' chemicals in several chemical and biomedical processes has resulted in the urgent need to understand their impact in term of their transport and toxicity towards aquatic organisms. Though a few experimental toxicology studies have reported that some ionic liquids are toxic with increased hydrophobicity of ILs while others are not, our understanding of the molecular level mechanism of IL toxicity remains poorly understood. In this talk, we will discuss our recent study of the interaction of ionic liquids with model cell membranes. We have found that the ILs could induce morphological change of lipid bilayers when a critical concentration is exceeded, leading to the swelling and tube-like formation of lipid bilayers. The critical concentration shows a strong dependence on the length of hydrocarbon tails and hydrophobic counterions. By SAXS, Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) and fluorescence microscopic measurement, we have confirmed that tube-like lipid complexes result from the insertion of ILs with long hydrocarbon chains to minimize the hydrophobic interaction with aqueous media. This finding could give insight to the modification and adoption of ILs for the engineering of micro-organisms.

  2. Improved Performance of Ionic Liquid Supercapacitors by using Tetracyanoborate Anions.

    PubMed

    Martins, Vitor L; Rennie, Anthony J R; Sanchez-Ramirez, Nedher; Torresi, Roberto M; Hall, Peter J

    2018-02-01

    Supercapacitors are energy storage devices designed to operate at higher power densities than conventional batteries, but their energy density is still too low for many applications. Efforts are made to design new electrolytes with wider electrochemical windows than aqueous or conventional organic electrolytes in order to increase energy density. Ionic liquids (ILs) with wide electrochemical stability windows are excellent candidates to be employed as supercapacitor electrolytes. ILs containing tetracyanoborate anions [B(CN) 4 ] offer wider electrochemical stability than conventional electrolytes and maintain a high ionic conductivity (6.9 mS cm -1 ). Herein, we report the use of ILs containing the [B(CN) 4 ] anion for such an application. They presented a high maximum operating voltage of 3.7 V, and two-electrode devices demonstrate high specific capacitances even when operating at relatively high rates (ca. 20 F g -1 @ 15 A g -1 ). This supercapacitor stored more energy and operated at a higher power at all rates studied when compared with cells using a commonly studied ILs.

  3. Improved in situ saccharification of cellulose pretreated by dimethyl sulfoxide/ionic liquid using cellulase from a newly isolated Paenibacillus sp. LLZ1.

    PubMed

    Hu, Dongxue; Ju, Xin; Li, Liangzhi; Hu, Cuiying; Yan, Lishi; Wu, Tianyun; Fu, Jiaolong; Qin, Ming

    2016-02-01

    A cellulase producing strain was newly isolated from soil samples and identified as Paenibacillus sp. LLZ1. A novel aqueous-dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)/1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium diethyl phosphate ([Emin]DEP)-cellulase system was designed and optimized. In the pretreatment, DMSO was found to be a low-cost substitute of up to 70% ionic liquid to enhance the cellulose dissolution. In the enzymatic saccharification, the optimum pH and temperature of the Paenibacillus sp. LLZ1 cellulase were identified as 6.0 and 40°C, respectively. Under the optimized reaction condition, the conversion of microcrystalline cellulose and bagasse cellulose increased by 39.3% and 37.6%, compared with unpretreated cellulose. Compared to current methods of saccharification, this new approach has several advantages including lower operating temperature, milder pH, and less usage of ionic liquid, indicating a marked progress in environmental friendly hydrolysis of biomass-based materials. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Influence of electrostatic forces on particle propulsion in the evanescent field of silver ion-exchanged waveguides.

    PubMed

    Gebennikov, Dmytro; Mittler, Silvia

    2013-02-26

    The effect of electrostatic interaction between carboxylate- and amino-functionalized polystyrene particles and a charged waveguide surface on the propulsion speed in optical tweezers is considered to be a function of the pH and ionic strength. It was shown that with the variation of the pH of the aqueous solution in which the particles were immersed, a systematic change in propulsion speed with a maximum speed could be achieved. The appearance of a maximum speed was ascribed to changes in the particle-waveguide separation as a result of the combination of two forces: Coulomb repulsion/attraction and induced dipole forces. The highest maximum speed at low ionic strength was around 12 μm/s. Changes in the ionic strength of the solution influenced the gradient of the dielectric constant near the involved surfaces and also led to a slightly reduced hydrodynamic radius of the particles. The combination of these effects subsequently increased the maximum speed to about 23 μm/s.

  5. Preparation of ionic-crosslinked chitosan-based gel beads and effect of reaction conditions on drug release behaviors.

    PubMed

    Chen, Shilan; Liu, Mingzhu; Jin, Shuping; Wang, Bin

    2008-02-12

    Drug-loaded chitosan (CS) beads were prepared under simple and mild condition using trisodium citrate as ionic crosslinker. The beads were further coated with poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) by dipping the beads in PMAA aqueous solution. The surface and cross-section morphology of these beads were observed by scanning electron microscopy and the observation showed that the coating beads had core-shell structure. In vitro release of model drug from these beads obtained under different reaction conditions was investigated in buffer medium (pH 1.8). The results showed that the rapid drug release was restrained by PMAA coating and the optimum conditions for preparing CS-based drug-loaded beads were decided through the effect of reaction conditions on the drug release behaviors. In addition, the drug release mechanism of CS-based drug-loaded beads was analyzed by Peppa's potential equation. According to this study, the ionic-crosslinked CS beads coated by PMAA could serve as suitable candidate for drug site-specific carrier in stomach.

  6. Phytochemical analysis and differential in vitro cytotoxicity assessment of root extracts of Inula racemosa.

    PubMed

    Mohan, Shikha; Gupta, Damodar

    2017-05-01

    The root of Inula racemosa is known for its antifungal, hypolipdemic and antimicrobial properties in traditional Indian Ayurvedic and Chinese system of medicine. The biological efficacy of Inula species is mainly due to the presence sesquiterpene lactone (Isoalantolactone and Alantolactone), which are reported to be inducers of Nrf2 antioxidant pathway. The investigation of properties and efficacy of root extracts of I. racemosa and their comparison was done with a view to find most efficacious extract for use at cellular level (both normal and transformed). In the present study different extracts of root of I. racemosa (aqueous, ethanolic, and 50% aqueous-ethanolic) were prepared and compared for their antioxidant potential, reducing capacity, polyphenol content and flavonoid content. Our investigations suggested that the aqueous extract possess highest antioxidant capacity and reducing potential. The polyphenol content was found to be highest in aqueous extract in comparison with other two extracts. However, all the three extracts showed less flavonoid content. Further, the preliminary phytochemical screening of all the extracts revealed the presence of terpenoids, phytosterols and glycosides. The TLC profile of ethanolic and 50% aqueous-ethanolic extracts showed the presence of alantolactone while aqueous extracts did not exhibit its strong presence. This warrants the need of more stringent techniques for characterization of aqueous extract in future. The in vitro cell based toxicity assays revealed that the aqueous extract was less toxic to kidneys cells while ethanolic extract was toxic to cells even at low concentrations. Hence, the current investigations showed better efficacy of the aqueous extract with respect to other extracts and found to be promising for its future application at in vitro levels. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  7. Study on epoxy resin modified by polyether ionic liquid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jin, X. C.; Guo, L. Y.; Deng, L. L.; Wu, H.

    2017-06-01

    Chloride 1-carboxyl polyether-3-methyl imidazole ionic liquid (PIIL) was synthesized. Then blended with epoxy resin(EP) to prepare the composite materials of PIIL/EP, which cured with aniline curing agent. The structure and curing performance of PIIL/EP were determined by FT-IR and DSC. The effects of the content of PIIL on strength of EP were studied. The results show that the PIIL was the target product. The strength was improved significantly with increase of the PIIL content. The obvious rubber elasticity of PIIL/EP after cured was showed when the content of PIIL accounts for 40% and the impact strength was up to 15.95kJ/m2.

  8. Effects of temperature and solvent condition on phase separation induced molecular fractionation of gum arabic/hyaluronan aqueous mixtures.

    PubMed

    Hu, Bing; Han, Lingyu; Gao, Zhiming; Zhang, Ke; Al-Assaf, Saphwan; Nishinari, Katsuyoshi; Phillips, Glyn O; Yang, Jixin; Fang, Yapeng

    2018-05-14

    Effects of temperature and solvent condition on phase separation-induced molecular fractionation of gum arabic/hyaluronan (GA/HA) mixed solutions were investigated. Two gum arabic samples (EM10 and STD) with different molecular weights and polydispersity indices were used. Phase diagrams, including cloud and binodal curves, were established by visual observation and GPC-RI methods. The molecular parameters of control and fractionated GA, from upper and bottom phases, were measured by GPC-MALLS. Fractionation of GA increased the content of arabinogalactan-protein complex (AGP) from ca. 11% to 18% in STD/HA system and 28% to 55% in EM10/HA system. The phase separation-induced molecular fractionation was further studied as a function of temperature and solvent condition (varying ionic strength and ethanol content). Increasing salt concentration (from 0.5 to 5 mol/L) greatly reduced the extent of phase separation-induced fractionation. This effect may be ascribed to changes in the degree of ionization and shielding of the acid groups. Increasing temperature (from 4 °C to 80 °C) also exerted a significant influence on phase separation-induced fractionation. The best temperature for GA/HA mixture system was 40 °C while higher temperature negatively affected the fractionation due to denaturation and possibly degradation in mixed solutions. Increasing the ethanol content up to 30% showed almost no effect on the phase separation induced fractionation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Anion-Tunable Properties and Electrochemical Performance of Functionalized Ferrocene Compounds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cosimbescu, Lelia; Wei, Xiaoliang; Vijayakumar, M.; Xu, Wu; Helm, Monte L.; Burton, Sarah D.; Sorensen, Christina M.; Liu, Jun; Sprenkle, Vincent; Wang, Wei

    2015-09-01

    We report a series of ionically modified ferrocene compounds for hybrid lithium-organic non-aqueous redox flow batteries, based on the ferrocene/ferrocenium redox couple as the active catholyte material. Tetraalkylammonium ionic moieties were incorporated into the ferrocene structure, in order to enhance the solubility of the otherwise relatively insoluble ferrocene. The effect of various counter anions of the tetraalkylammonium ionized species appended to the ferrocene, such as bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, hexafluorophosphate, perchlorate, tetrafluoroborate, and dicyanamide on the solubility of the ferrocene was investigated. The solution chemistry of the ferrocene species was studied, in order to understand the mechanism of solubility enhancement. Finally, the electrochemical performance of these ionized ferrocene species was evaluated and shown to have excellent cell efficiency and superior cycling stability.

  10. Anion-Tunable Properties and Electrochemical Performance of Functionalized Ferrocene Compounds.

    PubMed

    Cosimbescu, Lelia; Wei, Xiaoliang; Vijayakumar, M; Xu, Wu; Helm, Monte L; Burton, Sarah D; Sorensen, Christina M; Liu, Jun; Sprenkle, Vincent; Wang, Wei

    2015-09-16

    We report a series of ionically modified ferrocene compounds for hybrid lithium-organic non-aqueous redox flow batteries, based on the ferrocene/ferrocenium redox couple as the active catholyte material. Tetraalkylammonium ionic moieties were incorporated into the ferrocene structure, in order to enhance the solubility of the otherwise relatively insoluble ferrocene. The effect of various counter anions of the tetraalkylammonium ionized species appended to the ferrocene, such as bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, hexafluorophosphate, perchlorate, tetrafluoroborate, and dicyanamide on the solubility of the ferrocene was investigated. The solution chemistry of the ferrocene species was studied, in order to understand the mechanism of solubility enhancement. Finally, the electrochemical performance of these ionized ferrocene species was evaluated and shown to have excellent cell efficiency and superior cycling stability.

  11. Scaling-up and ionic liquid-based extraction of pectinases from Aspergillus flavipes cultures.

    PubMed

    Wolf-Márquez, Vicente E; Martínez-Trujillo, M Aurora; Aguilar Osorio, Guillermo; Patiño, Faustino; Álvarez, María S; Rodríguez, Ana; Sanromán, M Ángeles; Deive, Francisco J

    2017-02-01

    The viability of the scaling-up of pectinases production by Aspergillus flavipes at 5L-bioreactor scale has been demonstrated by keeping constant the power input, and a drastic increase in the endo- and exopectinolytic enzyme production was recorded (7- and 40-fold, respectively). The main process variables were modelled by means of logistic and Gompertz equations. In order to overcome the limitations of the conventional downstream strategies, a novel extraction strategy was proposed on the basis of the adequate salting-out potential of two biocompatible cholinium-based ionic liquids (N 1112OH Cl and N 1112OH H 2 PO 4 ) in aqueous solutions of Tergitol, reaching more than 90% of extraction. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cosimbescu, Lelia; Wei, Xiaoliang; Vijayakumar, M.

    We report a series of ionically modified ferrocene compounds for hybrid lithium-organic non-aqueous redox flow batteries, based on the ferrocene/ferrocenium redox couple as the active catholyte material. Tetraalkylammonium ionic moieties were incorporated into the ferrocene structure, in order to enhance the solubility of the otherwise relatively insoluble ferrocene. The effect of various counter anions of the tetraalkylammonium ionized species appended to the ferrocene, such as bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, hexafluorophosphate, perchlorate, tetrafluoroborate, and dicyanamide on the solubility of the ferrocene was investigated. The solution chemistry of the ferrocene species was studied, in order to understand the mechanism of solubility enhancement. Lastly, the electrochemicalmore » performance of these ionized ferrocene species was evaluated and shown to have excellent cell efficiency and superior cycling stability.« less

  13. Inhibition of citral degradation in an acidic aqueous environment by polyoxyethylene alkylether surfactants.

    PubMed

    Maswal, Masrat; Dar, Aijaz Ahmad

    2013-06-15

    Citral is a flavour component widely used in food and cosmetic industries, but is chemically unstable and degrades over time in aqueous solutions due to acid-catalysed and oxidative reactions leading to loss of desirable flavour. The present study reveals the effect of non-ionic micellar solutions of Brij30 and Brij35 on the extent of solubilisation and stabilisation of citral. The rate of chemical degradation of citral in acidic aqueous solutions was found to be highest, which was subsequently reduced significantly within these studied surfactant systems, suggesting protection of citral from an acidic environment once it is incorporated into the micelles. The work concludes that polyoxyethylene alkylether surfactants with lower HLB value, less dense hydrophilic corona and more hydrophobic core volume are efficient in solubilising and stabilising citral against an acidic environment. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Ionic strength dependence of the oxidation of SO2 by H2O2 in sodium chloride particles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ali, H. M.; Iedema, M.; Yu, X.-Y.; Cowin, J. P.

    2014-06-01

    The reaction of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen peroxide in the presence of deliquesced (>75% RH) sodium chloride (brine) particles was studied by utilizing a cross flow mini-reactor. The reaction kinetics were followed by observing chloride depletion in particles by computer-controlled scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray analysis, namely CCSEM/EDX. The reactions take place in concentrated mixed salt brine aerosols, for which no complete kinetic equilibrium data previously existed. We measured the Henry's law solubility of H2O2 in brine solutions to close that gap. We also calculated the reaction rate as the particle transforms continuously from concentrated NaCl brine to, eventually, a mixed NaHSO4 plus H2SO4 brine solution. The reaction rate of the SO2 oxidation by H2O2 was found to be influenced by the change in ionic strength as the particle undergoes compositional transformation, following closely the dependence of the third order rate constant on ionic strength as predicted using established rate equations. This is the first study that has measured the ionic strength dependence of sulfate formation (in non-aqueous media) from oxidation of mixed salt brine aerosols in the presence of H2O2. It also gives the first report of the dependence of the Henry's law constant of H2O2 on ionic strength.

  15. Development of a dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method using a lighter-than-water ionic liquid for the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water.

    PubMed

    Medina, Giselle S; Reta, Mario

    2016-11-01

    A dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method using a lighter-than-water phosphonium-based ionic liquid for the extraction of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from water samples has been developed. The extracted compounds were analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to fluorescence/diode array detectors. The effects of several experimental parameters on the extraction efficiency, such as type and volume of ionic liquid and disperser solvent, type and concentration of salt in the aqueous phase and extraction time, were investigated and optimized. Three phosphonium-based ionic liquids were assayed, obtaining larger extraction efficiencies when trihexyl-(tetradecyl)phosphonium bromide was used. The optimized methodology requires a few microliters of a lighter-than-water phosphonium-based ionic liquid, which allows an easy separation of the extraction solvent phase. The obtained limits of detection were between 0.02 and 0.56 μg/L, enrichment factors between 109 and 228, recoveries between 60 and 108%, trueness between 0.4 and 9.9% and reproducibility values between 3 and 12% were obtained. These figures of merit combined with the simplicity, rapidity and low cost of the analytical methodology indicate that this is a viable and convenient alternative to the methods reported in the literature. The developed method was used to analyze polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in river water samples. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. Lyotropic Phase Behavior of Polybutadiene-Poly(ethylene oxide) Diblock Copolymers in Ionic Liquids

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Simone, Peter M.; Lodge, Timothy P.

    2008-08-26

    The lyotropic phase behavior of three poly(1,2-butadiene-b-ethylene oxide) diblock copolymers (PB-PEO) with different monomer volume fractions has been studied in two different ionic liquids, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([EMI][TFSI]) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMI][PF{sub 6}]), across the complete concentration range. The ordered microstructures present in the solutions were characterized via small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The phase diagrams for the PB-PEO/ionic liquid solutions include regions corresponding to the classical copolymer microstructures: body-centered-cubic lattices of spheres, hexagonally ordered cylinders, and lamellae. Additionally, the phase diagrams also include wide regions of coexisting microstructures and regions apparently corresponding to a disordered network microstructure. The phase behavior ofmore » the PB-PEO copolymers in both ionic liquids was comparable to their previously reported aqueous solution behavior. The temperature dependence of the phase diagrams was very modest, indicative of a highly segregated system. The level of solvent selectivity was also investigated via cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) on dilute solutions. On the basis of the morphology of the dilute solution copolymer aggregate structures in the ionic liquid solvents, and on the structural length scales of the concentrated solutions, it was concluded that for PB-PEO [BMI][PF{sub 6}] behaves as a more selective solvent than [EMI][TFSI].« less

  17. Hydrophobic ionic liquids for quantitative bacterial cell lysis with subsequent DNA quantification.

    PubMed

    Fuchs-Telka, Sabine; Fister, Susanne; Mester, Patrick-Julian; Wagner, Martin; Rossmanith, Peter

    2017-02-01

    DNA is one of the most frequently analyzed molecules in the life sciences. In this article we describe a simple and fast protocol for quantitative DNA isolation from bacteria based on hydrophobic ionic liquid supported cell lysis at elevated temperatures (120-150 °C) for subsequent PCR-based analysis. From a set of five hydrophobic ionic liquids, 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide was identified as the most suitable for quantitative cell lysis and DNA extraction because of limited quantitative PCR inhibition by the aqueous eluate as well as no detectable DNA uptake. The newly developed method was able to efficiently lyse Gram-negative bacterial cells, whereas Gram-positive cells were protected by their thick cell wall. The performance of the final protocol resulted in quantitative DNA extraction efficiencies for Gram-negative bacteria similar to those obtained with a commercial kit, whereas the number of handling steps, and especially the time required, was dramatically reduced. Graphical Abstract After careful evaluation of five hydrophobic ionic liquids, 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([BMPyr + ][Ntf 2 - ]) was identified as the most suitable ionic liquid for quantitative cell lysis and DNA extraction. When used for Gram-negative bacteria, the protocol presented is simple and very fast and achieves DNA extraction efficiencies similar to those obtained with a commercial kit. ddH 2 O double-distilled water, qPCR quantitative PCR.

  18. Ionic liquids and ionic liquid acids with high temperature stability for fuel cell and other high temperature applications, method of making and cell employing same

    DOEpatents

    Angell, C Austen [Mesa, AZ; Xu, Wu [Broadview Heights, OH; Belieres, Jean-Philippe [Chandler, AZ; Yoshizawa, Masahiro [Tokyo, JP

    2011-01-11

    Disclosed are developments in high temperature fuel cells including ionic liquids with high temperature stability and the storage of inorganic acids as di-anion salts of low volatility. The formation of ionically conducting liquids of this type having conductivities of unprecedented magnitude for non-aqueous systems is described. The stability of the di-anion configuration is shown to play a role in the high performance of the non-corrosive proton-transfer ionic liquids as high temperature fuel cell electrolytes. Performance of simple H.sub.2(g) electrolyte/O.sub.2(g) fuel cells with the new electrolytes is described. Superior performance both at ambient temperature and temperatures up to and above 200.degree. C. are achieved. Both neutral proton transfer salts and the acid salts with HSO.sup.-.sub.4 anions, give good results, the bisulphate case being particularly good at low temperatures and very high temperatures. The performance of all electrolytes is improved by the addition of a small amount of involatile base of pK.sub.a value intermediate between those of the acid and base that make the bulk electrolyte. The preferred case is the imidazole-doped ethylammonium hydrogensulfate which yields behavior superior in all respects to that of the industry standard phosphoric acid electrolyte.

  19. Capacitance of Ti 3C 2T x MXene in Ionic Liquid Electrolyte

    DOE PAGES

    Lin, Zifeng; Barbara, Daffos; Taberna, Pierre-Louis; ...

    2016-04-14

    Ti 3C 2T x MXene, a two-dimensional (2D) early transition metal carbide, has shown an extremely high volumetric capacitance in aqueous electrolytes, but in a narrow voltage window (less than 1.23 V). The utilization of MXene materials in ionic liquid electrolytes with a large voltage window has never been addressed. Here, we report the preparation of the Ti 3C 2T x MXene ionogel film by vacuum filtration for use as supercapacitor electrodes operating in 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (EMI-TFSI) neat ionic liquid electrolyte. Due to the disordered structure of the Ti 3C 2T x hydrogel film and a stable spacing after vacuummore » drying, achieved through ionic liquid electrolyte immersion of the Ti 3C 2T x hydrogel film, the Ti 3C 2T x surface became accessible to EMI + and TFSI - ions. A capacitance of 70 F g -1 together with a large voltage window of 3 V was obtained at a scan rate of 20 mV s -1 in neat EMI-TFSI electrolyte. The electrochemical signature indicates a capacitive behavior even at a high scan rate (500 mV s -1) and a high power performance. This work opens up the possibilities of using MXene materials with various ionic liquid electrolytes.« less

  20. Ionic strength dependence of the oxidation of SO2 by H2O2 in sodium chloride particles

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ali, Hashim M.; Iedema, Martin J.; Yu, Xiao-Ying

    The reaction of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen peroxide in the presence of deliquesced (>75% RH) sodium particles was studied by utilizing a crossflow-mini reactor. The reaction kinetics was followed by observing chloride depletion in particles by computer-controlled scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray analysis, namely SEM/EDX. The reactions take place in concentrated mixed salt brine aerosols, for which no complete kinetic equilibrium data previously existed. We measured the Henry’s law solubility of H2O2 to close that gap. We also calculated the reaction rate as the particle transforms continuously from concentrated NaCl brine to eventually a mixed NaHSO4 plus H2SO4more » brine solution. The reaction rate of the SO2 oxidation by H2O2 was found to be influenced by the change in ionic strength as the particle undergoes compositional transformation, following closely the dependence of the third order rate constant on ionic strength as predicted rates using previously established rate equations. This is the first study that has measured the ionic strength dependence of sulfate formation (in non-aqueous media) from oxidation of mixed salt brine aerosols in the presence of H2O2. It also gives the first report of the Henry’s law constant of H2O2 dependence on ionic strength.« less

  1. Manganese oxide electrochemical capacitor with potassium poly(acrylate) hydrogel electrolyte

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Kuang-Tsin; Wu, Nae-Lih

    An aqueous gel electrolyte has for the first time been successfully applied to the MnO 2· nH 2O-based pseudocapacitive electrochemical capacitors (ECs). The gel electrolyte is made of potassium poly(acrylate) (PAAK) polymer and aqueous solution of KCl. With the selected composition, PAAK:KCl:H 2O = 9.0%:6.7%:84.3% by weight, the gel shows no fluidity, possessing an ionic conductivity in the order of 10 -1 S cm -1. The gel electrolyte has been found to give substantially higher specific capacitances than those in the liquid electrolyte with the same salt (KCl) composition (1 M) and high power capability (>10 kW/kg).

  2. Thermodynamic Characteristics of Reactions of the Formation of Complexes between Triglycine and Ni2+ Ions in Aqueous Solution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gorboletova, G. G.; Metlin, A. A.; Bychkova, S. A.

    2018-05-01

    Thermal effects of reactions of the formation of complexes between Ni(II) and triglycine are determined via direct calorimetry in aqueous solutions at 298.15 K and ionic strengths of 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 (KNO3). Standard thermodynamic characteristics (Δr H°, Δr G°, Δr S°) of complexing processes in the investigated systems are calculated. The structures of triglycinate complexes NiL+, NiH-1L, NiL2, NiH-2L2- 2, NiL- 3, and NiH-3L4- 3 are introduced to compare the obtained values and data on the thermodynamics of triglycinate complexes of Ni(II).

  3. Ordered mesoporous ternary mixed oxide materials as potential adsorbent of biomolecules

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pal, Nabanita; Bhaumik, Asim

    2012-05-01

    Designing a suitable mesoporous framework material for the selective adsorption or immobilization of biomolecules is a very challenging area of research. Mesoporous ternary Co-Si-Al oxide materials with large mesopore and their nanoscale ordering have been reported. The synthesis of these ternary oxides are accomplished through evaporation induced self-assembly (EISA) method using Pluronic non-ionic surfactant F127 under non-aqueous sol-gel route. N2 sorption study revealed high BET surface areas for these materials. These materials exhibited very efficient and selective adsorption for the essential biomolecules like vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) and vitamin B3 (nicotinic acid) from their respective aqueous solutions.

  4. Mineral weathering experiments to explore the effects of vegetation shifts in high mountain region (Wind River Range, Wyoming, USA)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mavris, Christian; Furrer, Gerhard; Dahms, Dennis; Anderson, Suzanne P.; Blum, Alex; Goetze, Jens; Wells, Aaron; Egli, Markus

    2015-04-01

    Climate change influences the evolution of soil and landscape. With changing climate, both flora and fauna must adapt to new conditions. It is unknown in many respects to what extent soils will react to warming and vegetation change. The aim of this study was to identify possible consequences for soils in a dry-alpine region with respect to weathering of primary minerals and leaching of elements under expected warming climate conditions due to shifts in vegetation. To achieve this, a field empirical approach was used in combination with laboratory weathering experiments simulating several scenarios. Study sites located in Sinks Canyon and in Stough Basin of the Wind River Range, Wyoming, USA, encompass ecotones that consist of tundra, forest, or sagebrush (from moist to dry, with increasing temperature, respectively). All soils are developed on granitoid moraines. The mineralogy of the soils along the altitudinal sequence was analysed using cathodoluminescence and X-ray diffraction, and revealed clear mineral transformations: biotite and plagioclase were both weathered to smectite while plagioclase also weathered to kaolinite. Cooler, wetter, altitude-dependent conditions seemed to promote weathering of these primary minerals. To test the impact of soil solutions from different ecotones on mineral weathering, aqueous extracts from topsoils (A horizons) were reacted with subsoils (B horizons) in batch experiments. Aqueous extracts of topsoil samples were generated for all three ecotones, and these solutions were characterized. For the batch experiments, the topsoil extracts were reacted for 1800 hours with the subsoil samples of the same ecotone, or with the subsoil samples from higher altitude ecotones. Solutions collected periodically during the experiments were measured using ICP-OES and ion chromatography. Dissolved Ca, Mg and K were mainly controlled by the chemical weathering of oligoclase, K-feldspar and biotite. With increasing altitude (and consequently cooler and moister climate) the total concentrations of Ca, Mg and K in the aqueous extracts decreased, the relative ionic contribution by K decreased, while the ionic contribution by Ca increased. Thus, a shift in vegetation due to climate change seems to affect the ionic composition - but not the ionic load - of the soil solution. In the case of a shift from forest - to - sagebrush and tundra - to - forest or sagebrush, the relative contribution by K strongly increases at the expense of Ca. We hypothesize that K should play an important role in future biogeochemical cycles under the assumptions of climate warming and subsequent vegetation shifts to higher altitudes.

  5. Synthesis of new solid polymer electrolyte and actuator based on PEDOT/NBR/ionic liquid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cho, M. S.; Seo, H. J.; Nam, J. D.; Choi, H. R.; Koo, J. C.; Lee, Y.

    2006-03-01

    The conducting polymer actuator was presented. The solid polymer electrolyte based on nitrile rubber (NBR) activated with different ionic liquids was prepared. The three different grades of NBR films were synthesized by emulsion polymerization with different amount of acrylonitrile, 23, 35, and 40 mol. %, respectively. The effect of acrylonitrile content on the ionic conductivity and dielectric constant of solid polymer electrolytes was characterized. A conducting polymer, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), was synthesized on the surface of the NBR layer by using a chemical oxidation polymerization technique, and room temperature ionic liquids (RTIL) based on imidazolium salts, e.g. 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium X [where X= BF 4 -, PF 6 -, (CF 3SO II) IIN -], were absorbed into the composite film. The effects of the anion size of the ionic liquids on the displacement of the actuator were examined. The displacement increased with increasing the anion-size of the ionic liquids.

  6. Chemistry of gluten proteins.

    PubMed

    Wieser, Herbert

    2007-04-01

    Gluten proteins play a key role in determining the unique baking quality of wheat by conferring water absorption capacity, cohesivity, viscosity and elasticity on dough. Gluten proteins can be divided into two main fractions according to their solubility in aqueous alcohols: the soluble gliadins and the insoluble glutenins. Both fractions consist of numerous, partially closely related protein components characterized by high glutamine and proline contents. Gliadins are mainly monomeric proteins with molecular weights (MWs) around 28,000-55,000 and can be classified according to their different primary structures into the alpha/beta-, gamma- and omega-type. Disulphide bonds are either absent or present as intrachain crosslinks. The glutenin fraction comprises aggregated proteins linked by interchain disulphide bonds; they have a varying size ranging from about 500,000 to more than 10 million. After reduction of disulphide bonds, the resulting glutenin subunits show a solubility in aqueous alcohols similar to gliadins. Based on primary structure, glutenin subunits have been divided into the high-molecular-weight (HMW) subunits (MW=67,000-88,000) and low-molecular-weight (LMW) subunits (MW=32,000-35,000). Each gluten protein type consists or two or three different structural domains; one of them contains unique repetitive sequences rich in glutamine and proline. Native glutenins are composed of a backbone formed by HMW subunit polymers and of LMW subunit polymers branched off from HMW subunits. Non-covalent bonds such as hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds and hydrophobic bonds are important for the aggregation of gliadins and glutenins and implicate structure and physical properties of dough.

  7. Adsorption and desorption of cationic malachite green dye on cellulose nanofibril aerogels.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Feng; Dinh, Darren M; Hsieh, You-Lo

    2017-10-01

    Ultra-light aerogels have been assembled from cellulose nanofibrils into hierarchically macroporous (several hundred μm) honeycomb cellular structure surrounded with mesoporous (8-60nm) thin walls. The high specific surface (193m 2 /g) and surface carboxyl content (1.29mmol/g) of these aerogels were demonstrated to be highly capable of removing cationic malachite green (MG) dye from aqueous media. The rapid MG adsorption was driven by electrostatic interactions and followed a pseudo-second-order adsorption kinetic and monolayer Langmuir adsorption isotherm. At a low 1:5mg/mL aerogel/MG ratio, both initial MG adsorption rate (2.3-59.8mgg -1 min -1 ) and equilibrium adsorption capacity (53.0-203.7mgg -1 ) increased with increasing initial MG concentrations from 10 to 200mg/L, reaching a maximum adsorption of 212.7mgg -1 . The excellent dye removal efficiency was demonstrated by complete MG removal through four repetitive adsorptions at a low 1:5mg/mL aerogel/MG ratio and 10mg/L dye concentration as well as 92% MG adsorption in a single batch at one order of magnitude higher10:5mg/mL aerogel/MG ratio and 100mg/L dye concentration. The adsorbed MG in aerogels could be desorbed in aqueous media by increasing ionic strength, demonstrating facile recovery of both dye and aerogel as well as the robust capability of this aerogel for repetitive applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Experimental study of the bending elasticity of charged lipid bilayers in aqueous solutions with pH5

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mitkova, D.; Stoyanova-Ivanova, A.; Ermakov, Yu A.; Vitkova, V.

    2012-12-01

    Exposure to high concentrations of contaminations due to air polluting gases, vapours and aerosols and possibly altering the normal pH in the body could lead to undesirable changes in the properties of biological cells. Here, we study experimentally the mechanical properties of synthetic phospholipid bilayers containing increasing molar fractions (up to 0.15) of charged lipid (synthetic phosphatidylserine) in aqueous solutions with controlled ionic strength and at pH 5, which is slightly lower than the physiological values of pH. Our observations in phase contrast and fluorescence testified to the coexistence of two phases in membranes for temperatures below 29°C. Micro-sized inhomogeneities in vesicle membranes were systematically observed at temperatures lower than 29°C and for molar fractions of phosphatidylserine in the bilayer higher than 0.1. For the quantitative determination of the membrane bending rigidity, we applied thermal fluctuation analysis of the shape of quasispherical lipid vesicles. As far as the liquid-crystalline state of the bilayer is a necessary condition for the application of the experimental method, only vesicles satisfying this requirement were processed for determination of their membrane bending rigidity. The value obtained for the bending modulus of bilayers with 0.15 molar content of charged lipid is about two times higher than the bending modulus of uncharged membranes in the same bathing solution. These findings are in qualitative agreement with our previous results for the bending rigidity of charged bilayers, measured by vesicle micromanipulation.

  9. Thermodynamic characteristics of the acid-base equilibria of ethylenediamine- N, N'-diglutaric acid in aqueous solutions using calorimetric data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gridchin, S. N.; Nikol'skii, V. M.

    2017-10-01

    The enthalpies of reaction of betaine group neutralization of ethylenediamine- N, N'-diglutaric acid (H4L) at 298.15 K and at different values of ionic strength of 0.1, 0.5, 1.0 (KNO3) is measured by direct calorimetry. The standard thermodynamic characteristics of the protolytic equilibria of H4L are calculated.

  10. Optoelectronics of organic nanofibers formed by co-assembly of porphyrin and perylenediimide.

    PubMed

    Li, Yuangang; Wang, Weina; Leow, Wan Ru; Zhu, Bowen; Meng, Fanben; Zheng, Liyan; Zhu, Jia; Chen, Xiaodong

    2014-07-23

    Organic nanofibers are formed by simple ionic co-assembly of positively charged porphyrin (electron donor) and negatively charged perylenediimide (electron acceptor) derivatives in aqueous solution. Two kinds of electron transfer routes between electron donor and electron acceptor under light excitation in nanofibers are confirmed by DFT calculations and experimental data. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. Conjunctival mucin mRNA expression in contact lens wear.

    PubMed

    Corrales, Rosa M; Galarreta, David; Herreras, Jose M; Saez, Victoria; Arranz, Isabel; González, Maria J; Mayo, Agustin; Calonge, Margarita; Chaves, Felipe J

    2009-09-01

    To investigate the influence of the water content in non-ionic hydrogel contact lenses (HCL) on the mRNA levels of human conjunctival mucin genes (MUCs). Sixteen healthy subjects with no history of contact lenses wear were selected and randomized into two equal groups. Group 1 subjects wore low water content (38%, Soflens 38) non-ionic HCLs. Group 2 wore high water content (66%, Soflens 66) non-ionic HCLs. Conjunctival impression cytology was applied to the superior bulbar conjunctiva of both eyes before, 6 months, and 1 year after HCL fitting, and 15 days after discontinuation of wearing. Total RNA was isolated, retrotranscribed, and amplified by conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and by quantitative real time PCR to study the mRNA levels of MUCs and to analyze variations during the study period. Time- and HCL-dependent variations in mRNA expression were analyzed using Student's test. From the known MUCs, transcripts from MUC1, MUC2, MUC4, MUC5AC, MUC7, MUC13, MUC15, MUC16, and MUC17 genes were detected in all subjects before HCL fitting. Except for MUC2, the expression of some MUC genes significantly increased whereas others significantly decreased at either the 6- and 12-month period. Statistically significant differences between both HCL groups (p < 0.001) were found in the MUC4, MUC13, and MUC15 mRNA expression after 1 year of wear and after the 15 days without HCL wear. However, these differences were not clearly related to the water content of the lenses. Low and high water content non-ionic HCLs induced different changes in the mRNA levels of several MUCs, but the water content was not related to the changes. Recovery to basal levels of conjunctival MUC mRNA expression after wearing HCL lenses for a year takes longer than 15 days for some MUCs.

  12. Ionic liquids as solvents for Čerenkov counting and the effect of a wavelength shifter.

    PubMed

    Mirenda, M; Rodrigues, D; Ferreyra, C; Arenillas, P; Sarmiento, G P; Krimer, N; Japas, M L

    2018-04-01

    We study the wavelength shift of the Čerenkov light - generated in the ionic liquid (BMIMCl) - caused by the addition of the highly fluorescent ionic liquid (BMIMHPTS). 18 F and 32 P efficiencies increases up to 124% and 14%, respectively, compared with the values obtained with pure BMIMCl. With this improvement, ionic liquid mixtures become a good alternative - when using the TDCR-Cherenkov technique - to standardize radionuclides having electron emissions energies close to the threshold energy in water (∼ 260keV). As an advantage compared with other solvents, the Ionic liquid mixture can be reused, in the case of short-lived radionuclides, by simply removing all water content in a vacuum oven. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Method for fabricating hafnia films

    DOEpatents

    Hu, Michael Z [Knoxville, TN

    2007-08-21

    The present invention comprises a method for fabricating hafnia film comprising the steps of providing a substrate having a surface that allows formation of a self-assembled monolayer thereon via covalent bonding; providing an aqueous solution that provides homogeneous hafnium ionic complexes and hafnium nanoclusters wherein the aqueous solution is capable of undergoing homogeneous precipitation under controlled conditions for a desired period of time at a controlled temperature and controlled solution acidity for desired nanocluster nucleation and growth kinetics, desired nanocluster size, desired growth rate of film thickness and desired film surface characteristics. The method further comprising forming the self-assembled monolayer on the surface of the substrate wherein the self-assembled monolayer comprises a plurality of hydrocarbon chains cross-linked together along the surface of the substrate, the hydrocarbon chains being uniformly spaced from one another and wherein each of the hydrocarbon chains having a functional anchoring group at a first end of the chain covalently bonded with the surface of the substrate and each of the hydrocarbon chains having a functional terminating group projected away from the surface wherein the functional terminating group provides a bonding site for the hafnium film to grow; and exposing the substrate to the aqueous solution for a desired period of time at a controlled temperature wherein the hafnium ionic complexes and the hafnium nanoclusters are deposited on the bonding site of the functional terminating group thereby forming the hafnia film wherein the hafnium bonded to the hydrocarbons and to one another provide a uniform ordered arrangement defined by the uniform arrangement of the hydrocarbons.

  14. Hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTA-Br) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmim-BF4) in aqueous solution: An ephemeral binary system.

    PubMed

    Comelles, Francesc; Ribosa, Isabel; Gonzalez, Juan José; Garcia, M Teresa

    2017-03-15

    Mixtures of the cationic surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTA-Br) and the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (bmim-BF 4 ) in aqueous solutions are expected to behave as typical binary cationic surfactant system taking into account the surface activity displayed by the ionic liquid, instead of considering the IL as a water cosolvent. Surface tension and conductivity measurements have been conducted as a function of the total concentration of the mixtures at different surfactant mole fraction (α CTA-Br ) to investigate the surface active properties. Turbidity immediately appearing when the compounds are mixed in water suggests the spontaneous formation of the low soluble compound hexadecyltrimethylammonium tetrafluoroborate (CTA-BF 4 ), together with the salt formed by the respective counterions bmim + and Br - in solution. For α CTA-Br ≠0.5, furthermore of the mentioned compounds, the spare bmim-BF 4 (for α CTA-Br <0.5) or CTA-Br (for α CTA-Br >0.5), are also present in the aqueous solution. Systems containing excess of bmim-BF 4 show a low critical aggregate concentration (cac), but an unexpected high surface tension at cac (γ cac ≈53-56mN/m), as pure CTA-BF 4 . For systems containing excess of CTA-Br, cac increases but γ cac decreases up to 36mN/m. Mixtures of pure CTA-BF 4 and bmim-BF 4 or CTA-Br behave as typical binary surfactant systems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Temperature Effect on Micelle Formation: Molecular Thermodynamic Model Revisited.

    PubMed

    Khoshnood, Atefeh; Lukanov, Boris; Firoozabadi, Abbas

    2016-03-08

    Temperature affects the aggregation of macromolecules such as surfactants, polymers, and proteins in aqueous solutions. The effect on the critical micelle concentration (CMC) is often nonmonotonic. In this work, the effect of temperature on the micellization of ionic and nonionic surfactants in aqueous solutions is studied using a molecular thermodynamic model. Previous studies based on this technique have predicted monotonic behavior for ionic surfactants. Our investigation shows that the choice of tail transfer energy to describe the hydrophobic effect between the surfactant tails and the polar solvent molecules plays a key role in the predicted CMC. We modify the tail transfer energy by taking into account the effect of the surfactant head on the neighboring methylene group. The modification improves the description of the CMC and the predicted micellar size for aqueous solutions of sodium n-alkyl sulfate, dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide (DTAB), and n-alkyl polyoxyethylene. The new tail transfer energy describes the nonmonotonic behavior of CMC versus temperature. In the DTAB-water system, we redefine the head size by including the methylene group, next to the nitrogen, in the head. The change in the head size along with our modified tail transfer energy improves the CMC and aggregation size prediction significantly. Tail transfer is a dominant energy contribution in micellar and microemulsion systems. It also promotes the adsorption of surfactants at fluid-fluid interfaces and affects the formation of adsorbed layer at fluid-solid interfaces. Our proposed modifications have direct applications in the thermodynamic modeling of the effect of temperature on molecular aggregation, both in the bulk and at the interfaces.

  16. Aqueous Solutions of the Ionic Liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium Chloride Denature Proteins

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Baker, Gary A; Heller, William T

    2009-01-01

    As we advance our understanding, ionic liquids (ILs) are finding ever broader scope within the chemical sciences including, most recently, pharmaceutical, enzymatic, and bioanalytical applications. With examples of enzymatic activity reported in both neat ILs and in IL/water mixtures, enzymes are frequently assumed to adopt a quasi-native conformation, even if little work has been carried out to date toward characterizing the conformation, dynamics, active-site perturbation, cooperativity of unfolding transitions, free energy of stabilization, or aggregation/oligomerization state of enzymes in the presence of an IL solvent component. In this study, human serum albumin and equine heart cytochrome c were characterized inmore » aqueous solutions of the fully water-miscible IL 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, [bmim]Cl, by small-angle neutron and X-ray scattering. At [bmim]Cl concentrations up to 25 vol.%, these two proteins were found to largely retain their higher-order structures whereas both proteins become highly denatured at the highest IL concentration studied here (i.e., 50 vol.% [bmim]Cl). The response of these proteins to [bmim]Cl is analogous to their behavior in the widely studied denaturants guanidine hydrochloride and urea which similarly lead to random coil conformations at excessive molar concentrations. Interestingly, human serum albumin dimerizes in response to [bmim]Cl, whereas cytochrome c remains predominantly in monomeric form. These results have important implications for enzymatic studies in aqueous IL media, as they suggest a facile pathway through which biocatalytic activity can be altered in these nascent and potentially green electrolyte systems.« less

  17. Up-scaling mineral-aqueous interfacial processes that govern isotope and trace element partitioning during calcite growth

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lammers, L. N.

    2014-12-01

    The dependence of the isotopic and trace element composition of calcium carbonate minerals on growth conditions including temperature, pH, and salinity is widely used to infer paleoclimate conditions. These inferences rely heavily on phenomenological observations of biogenic and inorganic precipitation both in and ex situ, where only limited variability in solution conditions can be explored. Ionic fluxes between the mineral surface and aqueous growth solution govern the net uptake of both stoichiometric and trace species during calcification, so developing a mechanistic understanding of the reactions governing these fluxes is critical to refine existing proxies and to develop new ones. The micro-scale mechanisms of calcite precipitation from aqueous solution have been extensively studied, and net ionic uptake post-nucleation is known to occur primarily at monomolecular kink sites along step edges at the mineral surface. In this talk, I will present a theoretical framework that uses the quasi-elementary ion attachment and detachment reactions governing ion uptake at kink sites to simultaneously model bulk mineral growth kinetics and tracer partitioning during calcite precipitation. Several distinct processes occur during ion uptake at kink sites that can influence the distribution of trace species, directly impacting the composition of various carbonate paleoproxies including δ44Ca, δ18O, Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca. The distribution of these trace species will be shown to depend on (1) the relative rates of ion desolvation during attachment to kink sites, (2) the relative rates of bond breaking during detachment from kink sites, and (3) the equilibrium partitioning of trace aqueous species. This model accounts for the impact of solution conditions on net ion fluxes and surface speciation, which in turn controls the population of kink sites available for direct ion exchange with the aqueous phase. The impacts of solution variables including pH, temperature and salinity can be treated independently, which unlike traditional partitioning studies allows the impacts of these parameters to be deconvolved. The type of theoretical framework discussed here can be readily extended to explicitly account for each of the major solution composition variables that are implicated in paleoproxy composition.

  18. An extended model based on the modified Nernst-Planck equation for describing transdermal iontophoresis of weak electrolytes.

    PubMed

    Imanidis, Georgios; Luetolf, Peter

    2006-07-01

    An extended model for iontophoretic enhancement of transdermal drug permeation under constant voltage is described based on the previously modified Nernst-Planck equation, which included the effect of convective solvent flow. This model resulted in an analytical expression for the enhancement factor as a function of applied voltage, convective flow velocity due to electroosmosis, ratio of lipid to aqueous pathway passive permeability, and weighted average net ionic valence of the permeant in the aqueous epidermis domain. The shift of pH in the epidermis compared to bulk caused by the electrical double layer at the lipid-aqueous domain interface was evaluated using the Poisson-Boltzmann equation. This was solved numerically for representative surface charge densities and yielded pH differences between bulk and epidermal aqueous domain between 0.05 and 0.4 pH units. The developed model was used to analyze the experimental enhancement of an amphoteric weak electrolyte measured in vitro using human cadaver epidermis and a voltage of 250 mV at different pH values. Parameter values characterizing the involved factors were determined that yielded the experimental enhancement factors and passive permeability coefficients at all pH values. The model provided a very good agreement between experimental and calculated enhancement and passive permeability. The deduced parameters showed (i) that the pH shift in the aqueous permeation pathway had a notable effect on the ionic valence and the partitioning of the drug in this domain for a high surface charge density and depending on the pK(a) and pI of the drug in relation to the bulk pH; (ii) the magnitude and the direction of convective transport due to electroosmosis typically reflected the density and sign, respectively, of surface charge of the tissue and its effect on enhancement was substantial for bulk pH values differing from the pI of epidermal tissue; (iii) the aqueous pathway predominantly determined passive permeability of the studied compound despite its measurable lipophilicity and therefore the lipid pathway did not notably affect enhancement. Hence, the proposed model can provide a good quantitative insight into the interplay between different phenomena and permeant properties influencing iontophoresis and can potentially be used as a predictive tool of the process.

  19. Phytochemical screening, total phenolic content and phytotoxic activity of corn (Zea mays) extracts against some indicator species.

    PubMed

    Ahmed, Hiwa M

    2018-03-01

    Allelopathic effects of corn (Zea mays) extracts was studied, against seed germination and seedling growth of Phalaris minor, Helianthus annuus, Triticumaestivum, Sorghum halepense, Z. mays. Bioassay results showed that aqueous extracts of corn root and shoot, markedly affected seed germination, and other parameters compared with related controls. Preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of various phytochemicals such as tannins, phlobatannins, flavonoids, terpenoids and alkaloids in both roots and shoot aqueous extracts. However, saponins were only present in the shoot aqueous extract, while in shoot ethanol extracts, only terpenoids and alkaloids were detected. Additionally, total polyphenolic (TPC) content in aqueous extracts of corn root and shoot, plus ethanol extracts of corn shoot were determined using an Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. Results revealed TPC content of the corn shoot aqueous extract showed the highest yield, compared to other extracts. These findings suggest that phytochemicals present in Z. mays extracts may contribute to allelopathy effect.

  20. The investigation of some bioactive compounds and antioxidant properties of hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna subsp. monogyna Jacq)

    PubMed Central

    Keser, Serhat; Celik, Sait; Turkoglu, Semra; Yilmaz, Ökkes; Turkoglu, Ismail

    2014-01-01

    Aim: The antioxidant and pharmacological effects of hawthorn have mainly been attributed to the polyphenolic contents. The aim of this research is to determine some bioactive compounds and antioxidant properties of hawthorn aqueous and ethanol extracts of leaves, flowers, and ripened fruits. Materials and Methods: For this purpose, antioxidant activities of extracts were assessed on DPPH•, ABTS•+, superoxide scavenging, reducing power and ferrous metal chelating activity assays and phenolic content of extracts was determined by Folin—Cioacalteu’s reagent. Results: The flavonoids including rutin, apigenin, myricetin, quercetin, naringenin and kaempferol, were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography in the hawthorn extract. Conclusion: It was observed the aqueous and ethanol extracts of Crataegus monogyna subsp. monogyna fruits showed the highest activity in reducing power and metal chelating activity assays. In addition, it was determined that the aqueous flower extract showed higher flavonoid content than aqueous leaves extract. The antioxidant and pharmacological effects of hawthorn have mainly been attributed to the polyphenolic contents. PMID:26401347

  1. The investigation of some bioactive compounds and antioxidant properties of hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna subsp. monogyna Jacq).

    PubMed

    Keser, Serhat; Celik, Sait; Turkoglu, Semra; Yilmaz, Ökkes; Turkoglu, Ismail

    2014-01-01

    The antioxidant and pharmacological effects of hawthorn have mainly been attributed to the polyphenolic contents. The aim of this research is to determine some bioactive compounds and antioxidant properties of hawthorn aqueous and ethanol extracts of leaves, flowers, and ripened fruits. For this purpose, antioxidant activities of extracts were assessed on DPPH•, ABTS•+, superoxide scavenging, reducing power and ferrous metal chelating activity assays and phenolic content of extracts was determined by Folin-Cioacalteu's reagent. The flavonoids including rutin, apigenin, myricetin, quercetin, naringenin and kaempferol, were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography in the hawthorn extract. It was observed the aqueous and ethanol extracts of Crataegus monogyna subsp. monogyna fruits showed the highest activity in reducing power and metal chelating activity assays. In addition, it was determined that the aqueous flower extract showed higher flavonoid content than aqueous leaves extract. The antioxidant and pharmacological effects of hawthorn have mainly been attributed to the polyphenolic contents.

  2. Evaluation of factors influencing the enantioselective enzymatic esterification of lactic acid in ionic liquid.

    PubMed

    Findrik, Zvjezdana; Németh, Gergely; Gubicza, László; Bélafi-Bakó, Katalin; Vasić-Rački, Durđa

    2012-05-01

    In this paper esterification of ethanol and lactic acid catalyzed by Candida antarctica B (Novozyme 435) in ionic liquid (Cyphos 104) was studied. The influence of different variables on lipase enantioselectivity and lactic acid conversion was investigated. The variables investigated were ionic liquid mass/lipase mass ratio, water content, alcohol excess and temperature. Using the Design Expert software 2(3) factorial experimental plan (two levels, three factors) was performed to ascertain the effect of selected variables and their interactions on the ethyl lactate enantiomeric excess and lactic acid conversion. The results of the experiments and statistical processing suggest that temperature and alcohol excess have the highest effect on the ethyl lactate enantiomeric excess, while temperature and water content have the highest influence on the lactic acid conversion. The statistical mathematical model developed on the basis of the experimental data showed that the highest enantiomeric excess achieved in the investigated variable range is 34.3%, and the highest conversion is 63.8% at the initial conditions of water content at 8%; 11-fold molar excess of alcohol and temperature at 30 °C.

  3. 21 CFR 176.170 - Components of paper and paperboard in contact with aqueous and fatty foods.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... average nitrogen content of 14.9 percent such that a 1 percent by weight aqueous solution has a minimum... sulfate having a nitrogen content of 22.5-25.0 percent (Kjeldahl dry basis) and containing no more than 0... polymer with styrene, reaction product with ethylenediamine acetate, having a nitrogen content of 7.4-8.3...

  4. Ultrasonic-energy enhance the ionic liquid-based dual microextraction to preconcentrate the lead in ground and stored rain water samples as compared to conventional shaking method.

    PubMed

    Nizamani, Sooraj; Kazi, Tasneem G; Afridi, Hassan I

    2018-01-01

    An efficient preconcentration technique based on ultrasonic-assisted ionic liquid-based dual microextraction (UA-ILDµE) method has been developed to preconcentrate the lead (Pb +2 ) in ground and stored rain water. In the current proposed method, Pb +2 was complexed with a chelating agent (dithizone), whereas an ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate) was used for extraction purpose. The ultrasonic irradiation and electrical shaking system were applied to enhance the dispersion and extraction of Pb +2 complex in aqueous samples. For second phase, dual microextraction (DµE phase), the enriched Pb +2 complex in ionic liquid, extracted back into the acidic aqueous solution and finally determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Some major analytical parameters that influenced the extraction efficiency of developed method, such as pH, concentration of ligand, volume of ionic liquid and samples, time of shaking in thermostatic electrical shaker and ultrasonic bath, effect of back extracting HNO 3 volume, matrix effect, centrifugation time and rate were optimized. At the sample volume of 25mL, the calculated preconcentration factor was 62.2. The limit of detection of proposed procedure for Pb +2 ions was found to be 0.54μgL -1 . The validation of developed method was performed by the analysis of certified sample of water SRM 1643e and standard addition method in a real water sample. The extraction recovery of Pb +2 was enhanced≥2% with shaking time of 80s in ultrasonic bath as compared to used thermostatic electrical shaker, where for optimum recovery up to 10min was required. The developed procedure was successfully used for the enrichment of Pb +2 in ground and stored rain water (surface water) samples of an endemic region of Pakistan. The resulted data indicated that the ground water samples were highly contaminated with Pb +2 , while some of the surface water samples were also have higher values of Pb +2 than permissible limit of WHO. The concentration of Pb +2 in surface and ground water samples was found in the range of 17.5-24.5 and 25.6-99.1μgL - 1 respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. The Formation and Properties of Thin Lipid Membranes from HK and LK Sheep Red Cell Lipids

    PubMed Central

    Andreoli, Thomas E.; Bangham, J. Andrew; Tosteson, Daniel C.

    1967-01-01

    Lipids were obtained from high potassium (HK) and low potassium (LK) sheep red cells by sequential extraction of the erythrocytes with isopropanol-chloroform, chloroform-methanol-0.1 M KCl, and chloroform. The extract contained cholesterol and phospholipid in a molar ratio of 0.8:1.0, and less than 1% protein contaminant. Stable thin lipid membranes separating two aqueous compartments were formed from an erythrocyte lipid-hydrocarbon solution, and had an electrical resistance of ∼108 ohm-cm2 and a capacitance of 0.38–0.4 µf/cm2. From the capacitance values, membrane thickness was estimated to be 46–132 A, depending on the assumed value for the dielectric constant (2.0–4.5). Membrane voltage was recorded in the presence of ionic (NaCl and/or KCl) concentration gradients in the solutions bathing the membrane. The permeability of the membrane to Na+, K+, and Cl- (expressed as the transference number, T ion) was computed from the steady-state membrane voltage and the activity ratio of the ions in the compartments bathing the membrane. T Na and T K were approximately equal (∼0.8) and considerably greater than T Cl (∼0.2). The ionic transference numbers were independent of temperature, the hydrocarbon solvent, the osmolarity of the solutions bathing the membranes, and the cholesterol content of the membranes, over the range 21–38°C. The high degree of membrane cation selectivity was tentatively attributed to the negatively charged phospholipids (phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine) present in the lipid extract. PMID:6034765

  6. Batch sorption dynamics and equilibrium for the removal of lead ions from aqueous phase using activated carbon developed from coffee residue activated with zinc chloride.

    PubMed

    Boudrahem, F; Aissani-Benissad, F; Aït-Amar, H

    2009-07-01

    Lignocellulosic materials are good precursors for the production of activated carbon. In this work, coffee residue has been used as raw material in the preparation of powder activated carbon by the method of chemical activation with zinc chloride for the sorption of Pb(II) from dilute aqueous solutions. The influence of impregnation ratio (ZnCl2/coffee residue) on the physical and chemical properties of the prepared carbons was studied in order to optimize this parameter. The optimum experimental condition for preparing predominantly microporous activated carbons with high pore surface area (890 m2/g) and micropore volume (0.772 cm3/g) is an impregnation ratio of 100%. The developed activated carbon shows substantial capability to sorb lead(II) ions from aqueous solutions and for relative impregnation ratios of 75 and 100%, the maximum uptake is practically the same. Thus, 75% represents the optimal impregnation ratio. Batch experiments were conducted to study the effects of the main parameters such as contact time, initial concentration of Pb(II), solution pH, ionic strength and temperature. The maximum uptake of lead(II) at 25 degrees C was about 63 mg/g of adsorbent at pH 5.8, initial Pb(II) concentration of 10 mg/L, agitation speed of 200 rpm and ionic strength of 0.005 M. The kinetic data were fitted to the models of pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order, and follow closely the pseudo-second order model. Equilibrium sorption isotherms of Pb(II) were analyzed by the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models. The Freundlich model gives a better fit than the others. Results from this study suggest that activated carbon produced from coffee residue is an effective adsorbent for the removal of lead from aqueous solutions and that ZnCl2 is a suitable activating agent for the preparation of high-porosity carbons.

  7. Morphological and electromechanical characterization of ionic liquid/Nafion polymer composites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bennett, Matthew; Leo, Donald

    2005-05-01

    Ionic liquids have shown promise as replacements for water in ionic polymer transducers. Ionic liquids are non-volatile and have a larger electrochemical stability window than water. Therefore, transducers employing ionic liquids can be operated for long periods of time in air and can be actuated with higher voltages. Furthermore, transducers based on ionic liquids do not exhibit the characteristic back relaxation that is common with water-swollen materials. However, the physics of transduction in the ionic liquid-swollen materials is not well understood. In this paper, the morphology of Nafion/ionic liquid composites is characterized using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The electromechanical transduction behavior of the composites is also investigated. For this testing, five different counterions and two ionic liquids are used. The results reveal that both the morphology and transduction performance of the composites is affected by the identity of the ionic liquid, the cation, and the swelling level of ionic liquid within the membrane. Specifically, speed of response is found to be lower for the membranes that were exchanged with the smaller lithium and potassium ions. The response speed is also found to increase with increased content of ionic liquid. Furthermore, for the two ionic liquids studied, the actuators swollen with the less viscous ionic liquid exhibited a slower response. The slower speed of response corresponds to less contrast between the ionically conductive phase and the inert phase of the polymer. This suggests that disruption of the clustered morphology in the ionic liquid-swollen membranes as compared to water-swollen membranes attenuates ion mobility within the polymer. This attenuation is attributed to swelling of the non-conductive phase by the ionic liquids.

  8. Ionic liquid compatibility in polyethylene oxide/siloxane ion gel membranes

    DOE PAGES

    Kusuma, Victor A.; Macala, Megan K.; Liu, Jian; ...

    2018-10-02

    Ion gel films were prepared by incorporating eight commercially available ionic liquids in two different cross-linked polymer matrices to evaluate their phase miscibility, gas permeability and ionic conductivity for potential applications as gas separation membranes and solid electrolyte materials. The ionic liquids cations were 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium, 1-ethyl-3-methylpyridinium, 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium, tributylmethylphosphonium, and butyltrimethylammonium with a common anion (bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide). In addition, ionic liquids with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium cation with acetate, dicyanamide and tetrafluoroborate counterions were evaluated. The two polymers were cross-linked poly(ethylene oxide) and cross-linked poly(ethylene oxide)/siloxane copolymer. Differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffractometry and visual observations were performed to evaluate the ion gels’ miscibility, thermal stabilitymore » and homogeneity. Ionic liquids with the least basic anion (bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide) and aromatic cations containing acidic proton (e.g. imidazolium and pyridinium) gave the most stable and miscible ion gels. Phase stability was shown to be a function of both ionic liquid content and temperature, with phase separation observed at elevated temperatures. In conclusion, gas permeability testing with carbon dioxide and nitrogen and ionic conductivity measurements confirmed that these ionic liquids increased the gas permeability and ionic conductivity of the polymers.« less

  9. Ionic liquid compatibility in polyethylene oxide/siloxane ion gel membranes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kusuma, Victor A.; Macala, Megan K.; Liu, Jian

    Ion gel films were prepared by incorporating eight commercially available ionic liquids in two different cross-linked polymer matrices to evaluate their phase miscibility, gas permeability and ionic conductivity for potential applications as gas separation membranes and solid electrolyte materials. The ionic liquids cations were 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium, 1-ethyl-3-methylpyridinium, 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium, tributylmethylphosphonium, and butyltrimethylammonium with a common anion (bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide). In addition, ionic liquids with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium cation with acetate, dicyanamide and tetrafluoroborate counterions were evaluated. The two polymers were cross-linked poly(ethylene oxide) and cross-linked poly(ethylene oxide)/siloxane copolymer. Differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffractometry and visual observations were performed to evaluate the ion gels’ miscibility, thermal stabilitymore » and homogeneity. Ionic liquids with the least basic anion (bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide) and aromatic cations containing acidic proton (e.g. imidazolium and pyridinium) gave the most stable and miscible ion gels. Phase stability was shown to be a function of both ionic liquid content and temperature, with phase separation observed at elevated temperatures. In conclusion, gas permeability testing with carbon dioxide and nitrogen and ionic conductivity measurements confirmed that these ionic liquids increased the gas permeability and ionic conductivity of the polymers.« less

  10. Comparative study of bending characteristics of ionic polymer actuators containing ionic liquids for modeling actuation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kikuchi, Kunitomo; Sakamoto, Takumi; Tsuchitani, Shigeki; Asaka, Kinji

    2011-04-01

    Ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs) that can operate in air have recently been developed by incorporating an ionic liquid in ionic polymers. To understand transduction in these composites, it is important to determine the role of the ionic liquid in the ionic polymer (Nafion®), to identify the counter cation, and to investigate the interaction of IPMCs with water vapor in the air. We used Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to analyze three Nafion® membranes, which were soaked in mixtures of water and an ionic liquid (1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMIBF4), 1-buthyl-3-methyl-imidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMIBF4), and 1-buthyl-3-methyl-imidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BMIPF6)). The results demonstrate that only cations (EMI+ and BMI+) in the ionic liquids are taken into the Nafion® membranes as counter ions and that the water content of the membranes in air is less than ˜4% that of Nafion® swollen with water. Based on the experimental results, a transduction model is proposed for an IPMC with an ionic liquid. In this model, bending is caused by local swelling due to the volume effect of the bulky counter cations. This model can explain 30-50% of the experimentally observed bending curvature.

  11. Use of Innovative (Micro)Extraction Techniques to Characterise Harpagophytum procumbens Root and its Commercial Food Supplements.

    PubMed

    Diuzheva, Alina; Carradori, Simone; Andruch, Vasil; Locatelli, Marcello; De Luca, Elisa; Tiecco, Matteo; Germani, Raimondo; Menghini, Luigi; Nocentini, Alessio; Gratteri, Paola; Campestre, Cristina

    2018-05-01

    For the determination of harpagoside and the wide phenolic pattern in Harpagophytum procumbens root and its commercial food supplements, dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME), ultrasound-assisted DLLME (UA-DLLME), and sugaring-out liquid-liquid extraction (SULLE) were tested and compared. In order to optimise the extraction efficiency, DLLME and UA-DLLME were performed in different solvents (water and aqueous solutions of glucose, β-cyclodextrin, (2-hydroxypropyl)-β-cyclodextrin, sodium chloride, natural deep eutectic solvent, and ionic liquid). The plant material was ground and sieved to obtain a uniform granulometry before extraction. Commercial food supplements, containing H. procumbens are commercially available in Italy. The most effective sodium chloride-aided-DLLME was then optimised and applied for analyses followed by HPLC-PDA. For comparison, microwave-assisted extraction was performed using the same solvents and the best results were obtained using 1% of β-cyclodextrin or 15% of sodium chloride. All commercial samples respected the European Pharmacopoeia monograph for this plant material, showing a harpagoside content ≥ 1.2%. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  12. Chemical and physical microenvironments at the Viking landing sites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Clark, B. C.

    1979-01-01

    Physical and chemical considerations permit the division of the near-surface regolith on Mars into at least six zones of distinct microenvironments. The zones are euphotic, duricrust/peds, tempofrost, permafrost, endolithic, and interfacial/transitional. Microenvironments vary significantly in temperature extremes, mean temperature, salt content, relative pressure of water vapor, UV and visible light irradiance, and exposure to ionizing radiation events (100 Mrad) and oxidative molecular species. From what is known of the chemistry of the atmosphere and regolith fines (soil), limits upon the aqueous chemistry of soil pastes may be estimated. Heat of wetting could reach 45 cal/g dry soil; initial pH is indeterminate between 1 and 10; ionic strength and salinity are predicted to be extremely high; freezing point depression is inadequate to provide quantities of liquid water except in special cases. The prospects for biotic survival are grim by terrestrial standards, but the extremes of biological resiliency are inaccessible to evaluation. Second-generation in situ experiments which will better define Martian microenvironments are clearly possible. Antarctic dry valleys are approximations to Martian conditions, but deviate significantly by at least half-a-dozen criteria.

  13. Isolation of 163Ho from dysprosium target material by HPLC for neutrino mass measurements

    DOE PAGES

    Mocko, Veronika; Taylor, Wayne  A.; Nortier, Francois M.; ...

    2015-04-29

    The rare earth isotope 163Ho is of interest for neutrino mass measurements. This report describes the isolation of 163Ho from a proton-irradiated dysprosium target and its purification. A Dy metal target was irradiated with 16 MeV protons for 10 h. After target dissolution, 163Ho was separated from the bulk Dy via cation-exchange high performance liquid chromatography using 70 mmol dm –3 α-hydroxyisobutyric acid as the mobile phase. Subsequent purification of the collected Ho fraction was performed to remove the α-hydroxyisobutyrate chelating agent and to concentrate the Ho in a low ionic strength aqueous matrix. The final solution was characterized bymore » MC-ICP-MS to determine the 163Ho/ 165Ho ratio, 163Ho and the residual Dy content. The HPLC purification process resulted in a decontamination factor 1.4E5 for Dy. As a result, the isolated Ho fraction contained 24.8 ±1.3 ng of 163Ho corresponding to holmium recovery of 72 ± 3%.« less

  14. Chemical and physical microenvironments at the Viking landing sites.

    PubMed

    Clark, B C

    1979-12-01

    Physical and chemical considerations permit the division of the near-surface regolith on Mars into at least six zones of distinct microenvironments. The zones are euphotic, duricrust/peds, tempofrost, permafrost, endolithic, and interfacial/transitional. Microenvironments vary significantly in temperature extremes, mean temperature, salt content, relative pressure of water vapor, UV and visible light irradiance, and exposure to ionizing radiation events (100 Mrad) and oxidative molecular species. From what is known of the chemistry of the atmosphere and regolith fines (soil), limits upon the aqueous chemistry of soil pastes may be estimated. Heat of wetting could reach 45 cal/g dry soil; initial pH is indeterminate between 1 and 10; ionic strength and salinity are predicted to be extremely high; freezing point depression is inadequate to provide quantities of liquid water except in special cases. The prospects for biotic survival are grim by terrestrial standards, but the extremes of biological resiliency are inaccessible to evaluation. Second-generation in situ experiments which will better define Martian microenvironments are clearly possible. Antarctic dry valleys are approximations to Martian conditions, but deviate significantly by at least half-a-dozen criteria.

  15. Microcosm investigation on phytoremediation of Cr using Azolla pinnata.

    PubMed

    Rai, Prabhat Kumar

    2010-01-01

    The extent of Chromium (Cr) pollution in Singrauli industrial region, India was assessed and phytoremediation capacity of a small water fern, Azolla pinnata R.BR (Azollaceae) was observed to purify waters polluted by Cr under microcosm condition. Azolla pinnata endemic to India is a potential hyper-accumulator of heavy metals. During 13 days of the experiment the fern was grown in the aqueous medium containing Cr3+ and CrO4(2-) ions, each in a concentration 0.5, 1.0, and 3.0 mg L(-1). The presence of these ions caused a + 3.1 to -37.5% inhibition of Azolla pinnata growth in comparison to the control. After 13 days of the experiment, metal contents in the solution was decreased up to 70% (CrO4(2-) 3.0 mg L(-1) treatment) to 88% (CrO4(2-) 0.5 mg L(-1) treatment). In the Azolla pinnata tissues, the concentration of couple of the ionic forms of Cr under investigation ranged from 415 to 1095 mg kg(-1) dry mass (dm); the highest level being found for Cr (III) containing solution.

  16. Isolation of 163Ho from dysprosium target material by HPLC for neutrino mass measurements

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mocko, Veronika; Taylor, Wayne  A.; Nortier, Francois M.

    The rare earth isotope 163Ho is of interest for neutrino mass measurements. This report describes the isolation of 163Ho from a proton-irradiated dysprosium target and its purification. A Dy metal target was irradiated with 16 MeV protons for 10 h. After target dissolution, 163Ho was separated from the bulk Dy via cation-exchange high performance liquid chromatography using 70 mmol dm –3 α-hydroxyisobutyric acid as the mobile phase. Subsequent purification of the collected Ho fraction was performed to remove the α-hydroxyisobutyrate chelating agent and to concentrate the Ho in a low ionic strength aqueous matrix. The final solution was characterized bymore » MC-ICP-MS to determine the 163Ho/ 165Ho ratio, 163Ho and the residual Dy content. The HPLC purification process resulted in a decontamination factor 1.4E5 for Dy. As a result, the isolated Ho fraction contained 24.8 ±1.3 ng of 163Ho corresponding to holmium recovery of 72 ± 3%.« less

  17. Nanoporous array anodic titanium-supported co-polymeric ionic liquids as high performance solid-phase microextraction sorbents for hydrogen bonding compounds.

    PubMed

    Jia, Jing; Liang, Xiaojing; Wang, Licheng; Guo, Yong; Liu, Xia; Jiang, Shengxiang

    2013-12-13

    A nanoporous array anodic titanium-supported co-polymeric ionic liquids (NAAT/PILs) solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber was prepared in situ on the titanium wire. NAAT was selected as the substrate, in view of its high surface-to-volume ratio, easy preparation, mechanical stability, and rich titanol groups on its surface which can anchor silica coupling agent containing vinyl and then introduce ionic liquid copolymers as sorbents. In this work, 1-vinyl-3-nonanol imidazolium bromide ([C9OHVIm]Br) and 1,4-di(3-vinylimidazolium) butane dibromide ([(VIM)2C4]2[Br]) were synthesized and used as monomer and crosslinker, respectively. Extraction properties of the NAAT/PILs fiber for polar alcohols and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in aqueous matrix were examined using gaseous sampling-SPME (GS-SPME) and headspace SPME (HS-SPME) mode, respectively. Combining the superior properties of NAAT substrate and the strong hydrogen bond interaction of PILs to polar compounds, the NAAT/PILs SPME fiber showed much higher adsorption affinity to aliphatic alcohols than bare NAAT and pure PILs fibers. The detection limits (LOD) of established GS-SPME-GC-FID method are in the range of 0.35-17.30ngL(-1) with a linear range from 0.01 to 500ngmL(-1). Also, it showed high extraction performance toward volatile fatty acids (VFAs) compounds from aqueous matrix. Under the optimized SPME conditions, wide linear ranges were obtained with correlation coefficients (R(2)) greater than 0.99 and limits of detection were in the range of 0.85-8.74ngL(-1). Moreover, real-world samples were analyzed and good results were obtained. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  18. Two-state model based on the block-localized wave function method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mo, Yirong

    2007-06-01

    The block-localized wave function (BLW) method is a variant of ab initio valence bond method but retains the efficiency of molecular orbital methods. It can derive the wave function for a diabatic (resonance) state self-consistently and is available at the Hartree-Fock (HF) and density functional theory (DFT) levels. In this work we present a two-state model based on the BLW method. Although numerous empirical and semiempirical two-state models, such as the Marcus-Hush two-state model, have been proposed to describe a chemical reaction process, the advantage of this BLW-based two-state model is that no empirical parameter is required. Important quantities such as the electronic coupling energy, structural weights of two diabatic states, and excitation energy can be uniquely derived from the energies of two diabatic states and the adiabatic state at the same HF or DFT level. Two simple examples of formamide and thioformamide in the gas phase and aqueous solution were presented and discussed. The solvation of formamide and thioformamide was studied with the combined ab initio quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical Monte Carlo simulations, together with the BLW-DFT calculations and analyses. Due to the favorable solute-solvent electrostatic interaction, the contribution of the ionic resonance structure to the ground state of formamide and thioformamide significantly increases, and for thioformamide the ionic form is even more stable than the covalent form. Thus, thioformamide in aqueous solution is essentially ionic rather than covalent. Although our two-state model in general underestimates the electronic excitation energies, it can predict relative solvatochromic shifts well. For instance, the intense π →π* transition for formamide upon solvation undergoes a redshift of 0.3eV, compared with the experimental data (0.40-0.5eV).

  19. Removal of reactive red-120 and 4-(2-pyridylazo) resorcinol from aqueous samples by Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles using ionic liquid as modifier.

    PubMed

    Absalan, Ghodratollah; Asadi, Mozaffar; Kamran, Sedigheh; Sheikhian, Leila; Goltz, Douglas M

    2011-08-30

    The nanoparticles of Fe(3)O(4) as well as the binary nanoparticles of ionic liquid and Fe(3)O(4) (IL-Fe(3)O(4)) were synthesized for removal of reactive red 120 (RR-120) and 4-(2-pyridylazo) resorcinol (PAR) as model azo dyes from aqueous solutions. The mean size and the surface morphology of the nanoparticles were characterized by TEM, DLS, XRD, FTIR and TGA techniques. Adsorption of RR-120 and PAR was studied in a batch reactor at different experimental conditions such as nanoparticle dosage, dye concentration, pH of the solution, ionic strength, and contact time. Experimental results indicated that the IL-Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles had removed more than 98% of both dyes under the optimum operational conditions of a dosage of 60mg, a pH of 2.5, and a contact time of 2min when initial dyes concentrations of 10-200mg L(-1) were used. The maximum adsorption capacity of IL-Fe(3)O(4) was 166.67 and 49.26mg g(-1) for RR-120 and PAR, respectively. The isotherm experiments revealed that the Langmuir model attained better fits to the equilibrium data than the Freundlich model. The Langmuir adsorption constants were 5.99 and 3.62L mg(-1) for adsorptions of RR-120 and PAR, respectively. Both adsorption processes were endothermic and dyes could be desorbed from IL-Fe(3)O(4) by using a mixed NaCl-acetone solution and adsorbent was reusable. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Influence of propylene glycol on aqueous silica dispersions and particle-stabilized emulsions.

    PubMed

    Binks, Bernard P; Fletcher, Paul D I; Thompson, Michael A; Elliott, Russell P

    2013-05-14

    We have studied the influence of adding propylene glycol to both aqueous dispersions of fumed silica nanoparticles and emulsions of paraffin liquid and water stabilized by the same particles. In the absence of oil, aerating mixtures of aqueous propylene glycol and particles yields either stable dispersions, aqueous foams, climbing particle films, or liquid marbles depending on the glycol content and particle hydrophobicity. The presence of glycol in water promotes particles to behave as if they are more hydrophilic. Calculations of their contact angle at the air-aqueous propylene glycol surface are in agreement with these findings. In the presence of oil, particle-stabilized emulsions invert from water-in-oil to oil-in-water upon increasing either the inherent hydrophilicity of the particles or the glycol content in the aqueous phase. Stable multiple emulsions occur around phase inversion in systems of low glycol content, and completely stable, waterless oil-in-propylene glycol emulsions can also be prepared. Accounting for the surface energies at the respective interfaces allows estimation of the contact angle at the oil-polar phase interface; reasonable agreement between measured and calculated phase inversion conditions is found assuming no glycol adsorption on particle surfaces.

  1. Ionic conductivity and dielectric permittivity of polymer electrolyte plasticized with polyethylene glycol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Das, S.; Ghosh, A.

    2016-05-01

    We have studied ionic conductivity and dielectric permittivity of PEO-LiClO4 solid polymer electrolyte plasticized with polyethylene glycol (PEG). The temperature dependence of the ionic conductivity has been well interpreted using Vogel-Tamman-Fulcher equation. The maximum dielectric constant is observed for 30 wt. % of PEG content. To get further insights into the ion dynamics, the complex dielectric permittivity has been studied with Havriliak-Negami function. The variation of relaxation time with inverse temperature obtained from HN formalism follows VTF nature.

  2. Ionic current rectification in organic solutions with quartz nanopipettes.

    PubMed

    Yin, Xiaohong; Zhang, Shudong; Dong, Yitong; Liu, Shujuan; Gu, Jing; Chen, Ye; Zhang, Xin; Zhang, Xianhao; Shao, Yuanhua

    2015-09-01

    The study of behaviors of ionic current rectification (ICR) in organic solutions with quartz nanopipettes is reported. ICR can be observed even in organic solutions using quartz pipettes with diameters varied from several to dozens of nanometers, and the direction of ICR is quite different from the ICR observed in aqueous phase. The influences of pore size, electrolyte concentration, and surface charge on the ICR have been investigated carefully. Water in organic solutions affects the direction and extent of ICR significantly. Mechanisms about the formation of an electrical double layer (EDL) on silica in organic solutions with different amount of water have been proposed. An improved method, which can be employed to detect trace water in organic solutions, has been implemented based on Au ultramicroelectrodes with cathodic differential pulse stripping voltammetry.

  3. Effects of ionic liquids on the performance of IPMC

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Min Jung; Park, Sang Woo; Won, Joohye; Nah, Changwoon

    2017-04-01

    One of the issues in operating the IPMC actuators in air condition is the limited lifetime due to the evaporation of aqueous electrolytes like water. Several attempts were already made for solving the problem using an ionic liquid (IL) with higher boiling point. In this study, three different ILs having similar boiling point but different molecular weight were employed in the IPMC actuators. The actuation performance, notably speed and lifetime, were measured and they are compared with that of water-based IPMC actuator. The lower molecular weight IL showed a comparable actuation speed of water due to faster movement of the ion cluster. The lifetime of the water-based IPMC actuator was found to be only 3 hr. However, the IL-based IPMC actuators showed much improved service life.

  4. Anion-Tunable Properties and Electrochemical Performance of Functionalized Ferrocene Compounds

    PubMed Central

    Cosimbescu, Lelia; Wei, Xiaoliang; Vijayakumar, M.; Xu, Wu; Helm, Monte L.; Burton, Sarah D.; Sorensen, Christina M.; Liu, Jun; Sprenkle, Vincent; Wang, Wei

    2015-01-01

    We report a series of ionically modified ferrocene compounds for hybrid lithium-organic non-aqueous redox flow batteries, based on the ferrocene/ferrocenium redox couple as the active catholyte material. Tetraalkylammonium ionic moieties were incorporated into the ferrocene structure, in order to enhance the solubility of the otherwise relatively insoluble ferrocene. The effect of various counter anions of the tetraalkylammonium ionized species appended to the ferrocene, such as bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, hexafluorophosphate, perchlorate, tetrafluoroborate, and dicyanamide on the solubility of the ferrocene was investigated. The solution chemistry of the ferrocene species was studied, in order to understand the mechanism of solubility enhancement. Finally, the electrochemical performance of these ionized ferrocene species was evaluated and shown to have excellent cell efficiency and superior cycling stability. PMID:26374254

  5. Anion-tunable properties and electrochemical performance of functionalized ferrocene compounds

    DOE PAGES

    Cosimbescu, Lelia; Wei, Xiaoliang; Vijayakumar, M.; ...

    2015-09-16

    We report a series of ionically modified ferrocene compounds for hybrid lithium-organic non-aqueous redox flow batteries, based on the ferrocene/ferrocenium redox couple as the active catholyte material. Tetraalkylammonium ionic moieties were incorporated into the ferrocene structure, in order to enhance the solubility of the otherwise relatively insoluble ferrocene. The effect of various counter anions of the tetraalkylammonium ionized species appended to the ferrocene, such as bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, hexafluorophosphate, perchlorate, tetrafluoroborate, and dicyanamide on the solubility of the ferrocene was investigated. The solution chemistry of the ferrocene species was studied, in order to understand the mechanism of solubility enhancement. Lastly, the electrochemicalmore » performance of these ionized ferrocene species was evaluated and shown to have excellent cell efficiency and superior cycling stability.« less

  6. Measuring the proton selectivity of graphene membranes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Walker, Michael I.; Keyser, Ulrich F., E-mail: ufk20@cam.ac.uk; Braeuninger-Weimer, Philipp

    2015-11-23

    By systematically studying the proton selectivity of free-standing graphene membranes in aqueous solutions, we demonstrate that protons are transported by passing through defects. We study the current-voltage characteristics of single-layer graphene grown by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) when a concentration gradient of HCl exists across it. Our measurements can unambiguously determine that H{sup +} ions are responsible for the selective part of the ionic current. By comparing the observed reversal potentials with positive and negative controls, we demonstrate that the as-grown graphene is only weakly selective for protons. We use atomic layer deposition to block most of the defects inmore » our CVD graphene. Our results show that a reduction in defect size decreases the ionic current but increases proton selectivity.« less

  7. Method and apparatus for iterative lysis and extraction of algae

    DOEpatents

    Chew, Geoffrey; Boggs, Tabitha; Dykes, Jr., H. Waite H.; Doherty, Stephen J.

    2015-12-01

    A method and system for processing algae involves the use of an ionic liquid-containing clarified cell lysate to lyse algae cells. The resulting crude cell lysate may be clarified and subsequently used to lyse algae cells. The process may be repeated a number of times before a clarified lysate is separated into lipid and aqueous phases for further processing and/or purification of desired products.

  8. Membrane reference electrode

    DOEpatents

    Redey, L.; Bloom, I.D.

    1988-01-21

    A reference electrode utilizes a small thin, flat membrane of a highly conductive glass placed on a small diameter insulator tube having a reference material inside in contact with an internal voltage lead. When the sensor is placed in a non-aqueous ionic electrolytic solution, the concentration difference across the glass membrane generates a low voltage signal in precise relationship to the concentration of the species to be measured, with high spatial resolution. 2 figs.

  9. Salt type and concentration affect the viscoelasticity of polyelectrolyte solutions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Turkoz, Emre; Perazzo, Antonio; Arnold, Craig B.; Stone, Howard A.

    2018-05-01

    The addition of small amounts of xanthan gum to water yields viscoelastic solutions. In this letter, we show that the viscoelasticity of aqueous xanthan gum solutions can be tuned by different types of salts. In particular, we find that the decrease in viscoelasticity not only depends, as is known, on the salt concentration, but also is affected by the counterion ionic radius and the valence of the salt.

  10. A multi-stimuli responive, self-assembling, boronic acid dipeptide

    DOE PAGES

    Jones, Brad Howard; Martinez, Alina Marissa; Wheeler, Jill S.; ...

    2015-08-11

    Modification of the dipeptide of phenylalanine, FF, with a boronic acid (BA) functionality imparts unique aqueous self-assembly behavior that responds to multiple stimuli. Changes in pH and ionic strength are used to trigger hydrogelation via the formation of nanoribbon networks. Thus, we show for the first time that the binding of polyols to the BA functionality can modulate a peptide between its assembled and disassembled states.

  11. Effect of Micellization on the Adsorption Kinetics of Polymeric Surfactants to the Solid/Water Interface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Toomey, Ryan; Tirrell, Matthew

    2002-03-01

    We have studied the adsorption kinetics of two classes of hydrophobic/ionic diblock copolymer surfactants in aqueous environments to understand the role that micellization plays in the adsorption process. The two systems studied were poly(t-butyl styrene)-block-poly(styrene sulfonate) (PtBS-b-PSS) and polystyrene-block-poly(acrylic acid) (PS-b-PAA). It is found that by changing the hydrophobicity of the adsorbing surface, micelle adsorption can be turned on or off. When micelle adsorption occurs, the initial adsorption rate is always slower than the supply rate of micelles to the surface, indicating “reaction-limited” adsorption. Since these micelles have essentially frozen cores, the adsorption cannot be explained by the release of unimers from the micelles. Rather, micelles directly adsorb, and they have to overcome the potential barrier imposed by their corona. Due to micellization, the adsorption rate can also be a complex function of ionic strength. A regime was found where the initial adsorption rate decreased with increasing ionic strength. This anomaly can be explained by the onset of micellization. As the salt concentration is increased, more micelles are formed. However micelles adsorb roughly an order of magnitude slower than free chains. Therefore, if increasing the ionic strength produces more micelles, the adsorption rate will simultaneously decrease.

  12. Evaluation of the sorption mechanism of ionic liquids onto multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

    PubMed

    Wojsławski, Jerzy; Białk-Bielińska, Anna; Paszkiewicz, Monika; Toński, Michał; Stepnowski, Piotr; Dołżonek, Joanna

    2018-01-01

    The knowledge of the sorption mechanism of different chemicals onto third generation carbon sorbents such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is needed in order to project systems for the effective removal of pollutants from the environment. This paper reports evaluation of the sorption mechanism of selected ionic liquids (ILs), being considered as potential pollutant in environment, onto various CNTs. CNTs characterized by the smallest diameter and the biggest surface area showed the highest sorption capacity to isolate ILs from an aqueous solution. CNTs with a bigger diameter, a functionalized surface and particularly a helical shape showed a lower sorption capacity. The sorption mechanism has been defined as complex, including van der Waals, π-π and electrostatic interactions with dominating π-π interactions. Due to the relatively high sorption coefficient (355.98 ± 20.69-6397.10 ± 355.42 L kg -1 depending on the IL) the study showed that multi-walled carbon nanotubes can potentially be used to effectively isolate ILs from an aqueous solution. Moreover, proved in this study, the fast sorption kinetic, and uncomplicated regeneration process, leading to an even higher sorption capacity, means that CNTs are promising material which could find potential applications in the treatment of water contaminated by ILs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Self-aggregation of bio-surfactants within ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide: A comparative study and potential application in antidepressants drug aggregation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Banjare, Manoj Kumar; Behera, Kamalakanta; Kurrey, Ramsingh; Banjare, Ramesh Kumar; Satnami, Manmohan L.; Pandey, Siddharth; Ghosh, Kallol K.

    2018-06-01

    Aggregation behavior of bio-surfactants (BS) sodium cholate (NaC) and sodium deoxycholate (NaDC) within aqueous solution of ionic liquid (IL) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide [Emim][Br] has been investigated using surface tension, conductivity, steady state fluorescence, FT-IR and dynamic light scattering (DLS) techniques. Various interfacial and thermodynamic parameters are determined in the presence of different wt% of IL [Emim][Br]. Information regarding the local microenvironment and size of the aggregates is obtained from fluorescence and DLS, respectively. FT-IR spectral response is used to reveal the interactions taking place within aqueous NaC/NaDC micellar solutions. It is noteworthy to mention that increasing wt% of [Emim][Br] results in an increase in the spontaneity of micelle formation and the hydrophilic IL shows more affinity for NaC as compared to NaDC. Further, the micellar solutions of BS-[Emim][Br] are utilized for studying the aggregation of antidepressants drug promazine hydrochloride (pH). UV-vis spectroscopic investigation reveals interesting outcomes and the results show changes in spectral absorbance of PH drug on the addition of micellar solution (BS-[Emim][Br]). Highest binding affinity and most promising activity are shown for NaC as compared to NaDC.

  14. Efficient Removal of Cationic and Anionic Radioactive Pollutants from Water Using Hydrotalcite-Based Getters.

    PubMed

    Bo, Arixin; Sarina, Sarina; Liu, Hongwei; Zheng, Zhanfeng; Xiao, Qi; Gu, Yuantong; Ayoko, Godwin A; Zhu, Huaiyong

    2016-06-29

    Hydrotalcite (HT)-based materials are usually applied to capture anionic pollutants in aqueous solutions. Generally considered anion exchangers, their ability to capture radioactive cations is rarely exploited. In the present work, we explored the ability of pristine and calcined HT getters to effectively capture radioactive cations (Sr(2+) and Ba(2+)) which can be securely stabilized at the getter surface. It is found that calcined HT outperforms its pristine counterpart in cation removal ability. Meanwhile, a novel anion removal mechanism targeting radioactive I(-) is demonstrated. This approach involves HT surface modification with silver species, namely, Ag2CO3 nanoparticles, which can attach firmly on HT surface by forming coherent interface. This HT-based anion getter can be further used to capture I(-) in aqueous solution. The observed I(-) uptake mechanism is distinctly different from the widely reported ion exchange mechanism of HT and much more efficient. As a result of the high local concentrations of precipitants on the getters, radioactive ions in water can be readily immobilized onto the getter surface by forming precipitates. The secured ionic pollutants can be subsequently removed from water by filtration or sedimentation for safe disposal. Overall, these stable, inexpensive getters are the materials of choice for removal of trace ionic pollutants from bulk radioactive liquids, especially during episodic environmental crisis.

  15. Adsorption removal of tannic acid from aqueous solution by polyaniline: Analysis of operating parameters and mechanism.

    PubMed

    Sun, Chencheng; Xiong, Bowen; Pan, Yang; Cui, Hao

    2017-02-01

    Polyaniline (PANI) prepared by chemical oxidation was studied for adsorption removal of tannic acid (TA) from aqueous solution. Batch adsorption studies were carried out under different adsorbent dosages, pH, ionic strength, initial TA concentration and coexisting anions. Solution pH had an important impact on TA adsorption onto PANI with optimal removal in the pH range of 8-11. TA adsorption on PANI at three ionic strength levels (0.02, 0.2 and 2molL -1 NaCl) could be well described by Langmuir model (monolayer adsorption process) and the maximum adsorption capacity was 230, 223 and 1023mgg -1 , respectively. Kinetic data showed that TA adsorption on PANI fitted well with pseudo-second-order model (controlled by chemical process). Among the coexisting anions tested, PO 4 3- significantly inhibited TA adsorption due to the enhancement of repulsive interaction. Continuous flow adsorption studies indicated good flexibility and adaptability of the PANI adsorbent under different flow rates and influent TA concentrations. The mechanism controlling TA adsorption onto PANI under different operating conditions was analyzed with the combination of electrostatic interactions, hydrogen bonding, π-π interactions and Van der Waals interactions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. The separation of uranium ions by natural and modified diatomite from aqueous solution.

    PubMed

    Sprynskyy, Myroslav; Kovalchuk, Iryna; Buszewski, Bogusław

    2010-09-15

    In this work the natural and the surfactant modified diatomite has been tested for ability to remove uranium ions from aqueous solutions. Such controlling factors of the adsorption process as initial uranium concentration, pH, contact time and ionic strength have been investigated. Effect of ionic strength of solution has been examined using the solutions of NaCl, Na(2)CO(3) and K(2)SO(4). The pseudo-first order and the pseudo-second order models have been used to analyze the adsorption kinetic results, whereas the Langmuir and the Freundlich isotherms have been used to the equilibrium adsorption data. The effects of the adsorbent modification as well as uranium adsorption on the diatomite surface have been studied using X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and FTIR spectroscopy. The maximum adsorption capacities of the natural and the modified diatomite towards uranium were 25.63 micromol/g and 667.40 micromol/g, respectively. The desorptive solutions of HCl, NaOH, Na(2)CO(3), K(2)SO(4), CaCO(3), humic acid, cool and hot water have been tested to recover uranium from the adsorbent. The highest values of uranium desorption (86%) have been reached using 0.1M HCl. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Ionic liquids as silica deactivating agents in gas chromatography for direct analysis of primary amines in water.

    PubMed

    Krzyżaniak, Agnieszka; Weggemans, Wilko; Schuur, Boelo; de Haan, André B

    2011-12-16

    Analysis of primary amines in aqueous samples remains a challenging analytical issue. The preferred approach by gas chromatography is hampered by interactions of free silanol groups with the highly reactive amine groups, resulting in inconsistent measurements. Here, we report a method for direct analysis of aliphatic amines and diamines in aqueous samples by gas chromatography (GC) with silanol deactivation using ionic liquids (ILs). ILs including trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium bis 2,4,4-(trimethylpentyl)phosphinate (Cyphos IL-104), 1-methyl-3-propylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [pmim][Tf(2)N] and N″-ethyl-N,N,N',N'-tetramethylguanidinium tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate [etmg][FAP] were tested as deactivating media for the GC liner. Solutions of these ILs in methanol were injected in the system prior to the analysis of primary amines. Butane-1,4-diamine (putrescine, BDA) was used as a reference amine. The best results were obtained using the imidazolium IL [pmim][Tf(2)N]. With this deactivator, excellent reproducibility of the analysis was achieved, and the detection limit of BDA was as low as 1mM. The applicability of the method was proven for the analysis of two different primary amines (C4-C5) and pentane-1,5-diamine. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. 4-(2-Pyridylazo)-resorcinol Functionalized Thermosensitive Ionic Microgels for Optical Detection of Heavy Metal Ions at Nanomolar Level.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Xianjing; Nie, Jingjing; Du, Binyang

    2015-10-07

    4-(2-Pyridylazo)-resorcinol (PAR) functionalized thermosensitive ionic microgels (PAR-MG) were synthesized by a one-pot quaternization method. The PAR-MG microgels were spherical in shape with radius of ca. 166.0 nm and narrow size distribution and exhibited thermo-sensitivity in aqueous solution. The PAR-MG microgels could optically detect trace heavy metal ions, such as Cu(2+), Mn(2+), Pb(2+), Zn(2+), and Ni(2+), in aqueous solutions with high selectivity and sensitivity. The PAR-MG microgel suspensions exhibited characteristic color with the presence of various trace heavy metal ions, which could be visually distinguished by naked eyes. The limit of colorimetric detection (DL) was determined to be 38 nM for Cu(2+) at pH 3, 12 nM for Cu(2+) at pH 7, and 14, 79, 20, and 21 nM for Mn(2+), Pb(2+), Zn(2+), and Ni(2+), respectively, at pH 11, which was lower than (or close to) the United States Environmental Protection Agency standard for the safety limit of these heavy metal ions in drinking water. The mechanism of detection was attributed to the chelation between the nitrogen atoms and o-hydroxyl groups of PAR within the microgels and heavy metal ions.

  19. Ionic Strength-Controlled Mn (Hydr)oxide Nanoparticle Nucleation on Quartz: Effect of Aqueous Mn(OH)2.

    PubMed

    Jung, Haesung; Jun, Young-Shin

    2016-01-05

    The early formation of manganese (hydr)oxide nanoparticles at mineral-water interfaces is crucial in understanding how Mn oxides control the fate and transport of heavy metals and the cycling of nutrients. Using atomic force microscopy, we investigated the heterogeneous nucleation and growth of Mn (hydr)oxide under varied ionic strengths (IS; 1-100 mM NaNO3). Experimental conditions (i.e., 0.1 mM Mn(2+) (aq) concentration and pH 10.1) were chosen to be relevant to Mn remediation sites. We found that IS controls Mn(OH)2 (aq) formation, and that the controlled Mn(OH)2 (aq) formation can affect the system's saturation and subsequent Mn(OH)2 (s) and further Mn3O4 (s) nanoparticle formation. In 100 mM IS system, nucleated Mn (hydr)oxide particles had more coverage on the quartz substrate than those in 1 mM and 10 mM IS systems. This high IS also resulted in low supersaturation ratio and thus favor heterogeneous nucleation, having better structural matching between nucleating Mn (hydr)oxides and quartz. The unique information obtained in this work improves our understanding of Mn (hydr)oxide formation in natural as well as engineered aqueous environments, such as groundwater contaminated by natural leachate and acid mine drainage remediation.

  20. Structure, stability and behaviour of nucleic acids in ionic liquids

    PubMed Central

    Tateishi-Karimata, Hisae; Sugimoto, Naoki

    2014-01-01

    Nucleic acids have become a powerful tool in nanotechnology because of their conformational polymorphism. However, lack of a medium in which nucleic acid structures exhibit long-term stability has been a bottleneck. Ionic liquids (ILs) are potential solvents in the nanotechnology field. Hydrated ILs, such as choline dihydrogen phosphate (choline dhp) and deep eutectic solvent (DES) prepared from choline chloride and urea, are ‘green’ solvents that ensure long-term stability of biomolecules. An understanding of the behaviour of nucleic acids in hydrated ILs is necessary for developing DNA materials. We here review current knowledge about the structures and stabilities of nucleic acids in choline dhp and DES. Interestingly, in choline dhp, A–T base pairs are more stable than G–C base pairs, the reverse of the situation in buffered NaCl solution. Moreover, DNA triplex formation is markedly stabilized in hydrated ILs compared with aqueous solution. In choline dhp, the stability of Hoogsteen base pairs is comparable to that of Watson–Crick base pairs. Moreover, the parallel form of the G-quadruplex is stabilized in DES compared with aqueous solution. The behaviours of various DNA molecules in ILs detailed here should be useful for designing oligonucleotides for the development of nanomaterials and nanodevices. PMID:25013178

  1. Protein Stabilization and Enzyme Activation in Ionic Liquids: Specific Ion Effects

    PubMed Central

    Zhao, Hua

    2015-01-01

    There are still debates on whether the hydration of ions perturbs the water structure, and what is the degree of such disturbance; therefore, the origin of Hofmeister effect on protein stabilization continues being questioned. For this reason, it is suggested to use the ‘specific ion effect’ instead of other misleading terms such as Hofmeister effect, Hofmeister series, lyotropic effect, and lyotropic series. In this review, we firstly discuss the controversial aspect of inorganic ion effects on water structures, and several possible contributors to the specific ion effect of protein stability. Due to recent overwhelming attraction of ionic liquids (ILs) as benign solvents in many enzymatic reactions, we further evaluate the structural properties and molecular-level interactions in neat ILs and their aqueous solutions. Next, we systematically compare the specific ion effects of ILs on enzyme stability and activity, and conclude that (a) the specificity of many enzymatic systems in diluted aqueous IL solutions is roughly in line with the traditional Hofmeister series albeit some exceptions; (b) however, the specificity follows a different track in concentrated or neat ILs because other factors (such as hydrogen-bond basicity, nucelophilicity, and hydrophobicity, etc) are playing leading roles. In addition, we demonstrate some examples of biocatalytic reactions in IL systems that are guided by the empirical specificity rule. PMID:26949281

  2. Nicotine-based surface active ionic liquids: Synthesis, self-assembly and cytotoxicity studies.

    PubMed

    Singh, Gurbir; Kamboj, Raman; Singh Mithu, Venus; Chauhan, Vinay; Kaur, Taranjeet; Kaur, Gurcharan; Singh, Sukhprit; Singh Kang, Tejwant

    2017-06-15

    New ester-functionalized surface active ionic liquids (SAILs) based on nicotine, [C n ENic][Br] (n=8, 10 and 12), with bromide counterions have been synthesized, characterized and investigated for their self-assembly behavior in aqueous medium. Conductivity measurements in aqueous solutions of the investigated SAILs have provided information about their critical micelle concentration (cmc), and degree of counterion binding (β), where cmc was found to be 2-3-fold lower than homologous SAILs or conventional cationic surfactants. The inherent fluorescence of SAILs in the absence of any external fluorescent probe have shed light on cmc as well as interactions prevailing between the monomers in micelle at molecular level. The thermodynamic parameters related to micellization have been deduced from isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and conductivity measurements. 1 H NMR, spin-lattice (T 1 ) relaxation time and 2D 1 H- I H ROESY measurements have been exploited to get detailed account of internal structure of micelle. The size and shape of the micelles have been explored using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements. The synthesized SAILs have been found to be non-cytotoxic towards C6-Glioma cell line, which adds to the possible utility of these SAILs for diverse biological applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Silver bioaccumulation dynamics in a freshwater invertebrate after aqueous and dietary exposures to nanosized and ionic Ag

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    le Croteau, Marie-Noe; Misra, Superb K.; Luoma, Samuel N.; Valsami-Jones, Eugenia

    2011-01-01

    We compared silver (Ag) bioavailability and toxicity to a freshwater gastropod after exposure to ionic silver (Ag+) and to Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) capped with citrate or with humic acid. Silver form, exposure route, and capping agent influence Ag bioaccumulation dynamics in Lymnaea stagnalis. Snails efficiently accumulated Ag from all forms after either aqueous or dietary exposure. For both exposure routes, uptake rates were faster for Ag+ than for Ag NPs. Snails efficiently assimilated Ag from Ag NPs mixed with diatoms (assimilation efficiency (AE) ranged from 49 to 58%) and from diatoms pre-exposed to Ag+ (AE of 73%). In the diet, Ag NPs damaged digestion. Snails ate less and inefficiently processed the ingested food, which adversely impacted their growth. Loss rates of Ag were faster after waterborne exposure to Ag NPs than after exposure to dissolved Ag+. Once Ag was taken up from diet, whether from Ag+ or Ag NPs, Ag was lost extremely slowly. Large Ag body concentrations are thus expected in L. stagnalis after dietborne exposures, especially to citrate-capped Ag NPs. Ingestion of Ag associated with particulate materials appears as the most important vector of uptake. Nanosilver exposure from food might trigger important environmental risks.

  4. Comparative study of antioxidant properties and total phenolic content of 30 plant extracts of industrial interest using DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, SOD, and ORAC assays.

    PubMed

    Dudonné, Stéphanie; Vitrac, Xavier; Coutière, Philippe; Woillez, Marion; Mérillon, Jean-Michel

    2009-03-11

    Aqueous extracts of 30 plants were investigated for their antioxidant properties using DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging capacity assay, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay, superoxide dismutase (SOD) assay, and ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) assay. Total phenolic content was also determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Antioxidant properties and total phenolic content differed significantly among selected plants. It was found that oak (Quercus robur), pine (Pinus maritima), and cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) aqueous extracts possessed the highest antioxidant capacities in most of the methods used, and thus could be potential rich sources of natural antioxidants. These extracts presented the highest phenolic content (300-400 mg GAE/g). Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) and clove (Eugenia caryophyllus clovis) aqueous extracts also showed strong antioxidant properties and a high phenolic content (about 200 mg GAE/g). A significant relationship between antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content was found, indicating that phenolic compounds are the major contributors to the antioxidant properties of these plants.

  5. Selective ionic liquid ferrofluid based dispersive-solid phase extraction for simultaneous preconcentration/separation of lead and cadmium in milk and biological samples.

    PubMed

    Fasih Ramandi, Negin; Shemirani, Farzaneh

    2015-01-01

    For the first time, a selective ionic liquid ferrofluid has been used in dispersive solid phase extraction (IL-FF-D-SPE) for simultaneous preconcentration and separation of lead and cadmium in milk and biological samples combined with flame atomic absorption spectrometry. To improve the selectivity of the ionic liquid ferrofluid, the surface of TiO2 nanoparticles with a magnetic core as sorbent was modified by loading 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphtol. Due to the rapid injection of an appropriate amount of ionic liquid ferrofluid into the aqueous sample by a syringe, extraction can be achieved within a few seconds. In addition, based on the attraction of the ionic liquid ferrofluid to a magnet, no centrifugation step is needed for phase separation. The experimental parameters of IL-FF-D-SPE were optimized using a Box-Behnken design (BBD) after a Plackett-Burman screening design. Under the optimum conditions, the relative standard deviations of 2.2% and 2.4% were obtained for lead and cadmium, respectively (n=7). The limit of detections were 1.21 µg L(-1) for Pb(II) and 0.21 µg L(-1) for Cd(II). The preconcentration factors were 250 for lead and 200 for cadmium and the maximum adsorption capacities of the sorbent were 11.18 and 9.34 mg g(-1) for lead and cadmium, respectively. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Determination of three estrogens and bisphenol A by functional ionic liquid dispersive liquid-phase microextraction coupled with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet detection.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Yuehuang; Tang, Tingting; Cao, Zhen; Shi, Guoyue; Zhou, Tianshu

    2015-06-01

    A hydroxyl-functionalized ionic liquid, 1-hydroxyethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, was employed in an improved dispersive liquid-phase microextraction method coupled with ultra high performance liquid chromatography for the enrichment and determination of three estrogens and bisphenol A in environmental water samples. The introduced hydroxyl group acted as the H-bond acceptor that dispersed the ionic liquid effectively in the aqueous phase without dispersive solvent or external force. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated that the hydroxyl group of the cation of the ionic liquid enhanced the combination of extractant and analytes through the formation of hydrogen bonds. The improvement of the extraction efficiency compared with that with the use of alkyl ionic liquid was proved by a comparison study. The main parameters including volume of extractant, temperature, pH, and extraction time were investigated. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 5.0-1000 μg/L for estrone, estradiol, and bisphenol A, and 10.0-1000 μg/L for estriol. The detection limits were in the range of 1.7-3.4 μg/L. The extraction efficiency was evaluated by enrichment factor that were between 85 and 129. The proposed method was proved to be simple, low cost, and environmentally friendly for the determination of the four endocrine disruptors in environmental water samples. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  7. TiO₂ nanoparticle transport and retention through saturated limestone porous media under various ionic strength conditions.

    PubMed

    Esfandyari Bayat, Ali; Junin, Radzuan; Derahman, Mohd Nawi; Samad, Adlina Abdul

    2015-09-01

    The impact of ionic strength (from 0.003 to 500mM) and salt type (NaCl vs MgCl2) on transport and retention of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) in saturated limestone porous media was systematically studied. Vertical columns were packed with limestone grains. The NPs were introduced as a pulse suspended in aqueous solutions and breakthrough curves in the column outlet were generated using an ultraviolent-visible spectrometry. Presence of NaCl and MgCl2 in the suspensions were found to have a significant influence on the electrokinetic properties of the NP aggregates and limestone grains. In NaCl and MgCl2 solutions, the deposition rates of the TiO2-NP aggregates were enhanced with the increase in ionic strength, a trend consistent with traditional Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory. Furthermore, the NP aggregates retention increased in the porous media with ionic strength. The presence of salts also caused a considerable delay in the NPs breakthrough time. MgCl2 as compared to NaCl was found to be more effective agent for the deposition and retention of TiO2-NPs. The experimental results followed closely the general trends predicted by the filtration and DLVO calculations. Overall, it was found that TiO2-NP mobility in the limestone porous media depends on ionic strength and salt type. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Protective Mechanisms of S. lycopersicum Aqueous Fraction (Nucleosides and Flavonoids) on Platelet Activation and Thrombus Formation: In Vitro, Ex Vivo and In Vivo Studies.

    PubMed

    Fuentes, Eduardo; Pereira, Jaime; Alarcón, Marcelo; Valenzuela, Claudio; Pérez, Pablo; Astudillo, Luis; Palomo, Iván

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this research was to investigate mechanisms of antiplatelet action of bioactive principle from S. lycopersicum. Aqueous fraction had a high content of nucleosides (adenosine, guanosine, and adenosine 5'-monophosphate) by HPLC analysis. Also aqueous fraction presented flavonoids content. Aqueous fraction inhibited platelet activation by 15 ± 6% (P < 0.05). Fully spread of human platelets on collagen in the presence of aqueous fraction was inhibited from 15 ± 1 to 9 ± 1  μ m(2) (P < 0.001). After incubation of whole blood with aqueous fraction, the platelet coverage was inhibited by 55 ± 12% (P < 0.001). Platelet ATP secretion and aggregation were significantly inhibited by the aqueous fraction. At the same concentrations that aqueous fraction inhibits platelet aggregation, levels of sCD40L significantly decreased and the intraplatelet cAMP levels increased. In addition, SQ22536, an adenylate cyclase inhibitor, attenuated the effect of aqueous fraction toward ADP-induced platelet aggregation and intraplatelet level of cAMP. Platelet aggregation ex vivo (human study) and thrombosis formation in vivo (murine model) were inhibited by aqueous fraction. Finally, aqueous fraction may be used as a functional ingredient adding antiplatelet activities (nucleosides and flavonoids) to processed foods.

  9. Protective Mechanisms of S. lycopersicum Aqueous Fraction (Nucleosides and Flavonoids) on Platelet Activation and Thrombus Formation: In Vitro, Ex Vivo and In Vivo Studies

    PubMed Central

    Fuentes, Eduardo; Pereira, Jaime; Alarcón, Marcelo; Valenzuela, Claudio; Pérez, Pablo; Astudillo, Luis; Palomo, Iván

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this research was to investigate mechanisms of antiplatelet action of bioactive principle from S. lycopersicum. Aqueous fraction had a high content of nucleosides (adenosine, guanosine, and adenosine 5′-monophosphate) by HPLC analysis. Also aqueous fraction presented flavonoids content. Aqueous fraction inhibited platelet activation by 15 ± 6% (P < 0.05). Fully spread of human platelets on collagen in the presence of aqueous fraction was inhibited from 15 ± 1 to 9 ± 1 μm2 (P < 0.001). After incubation of whole blood with aqueous fraction, the platelet coverage was inhibited by 55 ± 12% (P < 0.001). Platelet ATP secretion and aggregation were significantly inhibited by the aqueous fraction. At the same concentrations that aqueous fraction inhibits platelet aggregation, levels of sCD40L significantly decreased and the intraplatelet cAMP levels increased. In addition, SQ22536, an adenylate cyclase inhibitor, attenuated the effect of aqueous fraction toward ADP-induced platelet aggregation and intraplatelet level of cAMP. Platelet aggregation ex vivo (human study) and thrombosis formation in vivo (murine model) were inhibited by aqueous fraction. Finally, aqueous fraction may be used as a functional ingredient adding antiplatelet activities (nucleosides and flavonoids) to processed foods. PMID:24159349

  10. Solution properties of the capsular polysaccharide produced by Klebsiella pneumoniae K40.

    PubMed

    Flaibani, A; Leonhartsberger, S; Navarini, L; Cescutti, P; Paoletti, S

    1994-04-01

    This paper reports some physicochemical properties of the capsular polysaccharide produced by Klebsiella pneumoniae serotype K40 (K40-CPS) in aqueous solution. The polymer has a linear hexasaccharide repeating unit containing one glucuronic acid residue as the only ionizable group. Potentiometric, viscometric, chiro-optical and rheological measurements have been carried out over a range of ionic strength, pH and temperature, with the aim of characterizing the conformational state of the polysaccharide in aqueous solution. All the data reported indicate that the K40-CPS does not undergo a cooperative conformational transition under the investigated experimental conditions. Furthermore, the viscosity data and the viscoelastic spectra suggest that the K40-CPS is rather flexible and adopts a random coil conformation in solution.

  11. Initial stages of aggregation in aqueous solutions of ionic liquids: molecular dynamics studies.

    PubMed

    Bhargava, B L; Klein, Michael L

    2009-07-16

    Structures formed by 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide aqueous solutions with decyl, dodecyl, tetradecyl, and hexadecyl chains have been studied using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Spontaneous self-assembly of the amphiphilic cations to form quasi-spherical polydisperse aggregates has been observed in all of the systems, with the size and nature of the aggregates varying with chain length. In all systems, the cation alkyl tails are buried deep inside the aggregates with the polar imidazolium group exposed to exploit the favorable interactions with water. Aggregation numbers steadily increase with the chain length. The hexadecyl aggregates have the most ordered internal structure of the systems studied, and the alkyl chains in these cations show the least number of gauche defects.

  12. Density fluctuations in aqueous solution of ionic liquid with lower critical solution temperature: Mixture of tetrabutylphosphonium trifluoroacetate and water

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nitta, Ayako; Morita, Takeshi; Saita, Shohei; Kohno, Yuki; Ohno, Hiroyuki; Nishikawa, Keiko

    2015-05-01

    Aqueous solutions of tetrabutylphosphonium trifluoroacetate ([P4444]CF3COO) exhibit a LCST-type phase transition with the critical point near 0.025 in mole fraction of [P4444]CF3COO at T = 302 K. The phase behavior of [P4444]CF3COO-water mixtures was investigated by evaluating their density fluctuations, which provide quantitative descriptions of the mixing states of the solutions. The concentration dependence of the density fluctuations was investigated at 293 and 301 K for the mixtures without distinguishing the components and for the individual components ([P4444]CF3COO and water). A drastic change in the mixing state was observed for the solution when the critical point was approached.

  13. Protic ionic liquid as additive on lipase immobilization using silica sol-gel.

    PubMed

    de Souza, Ranyere Lucena; de Faria, Emanuelle Lima Pache; Figueiredo, Renan Tavares; Freitas, Lisiane dos Santos; Iglesias, Miguel; Mattedi, Silvana; Zanin, Gisella Maria; dos Santos, Onélia Aparecida Andreo; Coutinho, João A P; Lima, Álvaro Silva; Soares, Cleide Mara Faria

    2013-03-05

    Ionic liquids (ILs) have evolved as a new type of non-aqueous solvents for biocatalysis, mainly due to their unique and tunable physical properties. A number of recent review papers have described a variety of enzymatic reactions conducted in IL solutions, on the other hand, to improve the enzyme's activity and stability in ILs; major methods being explored include the enzyme immobilization (on solid support, sol-gel, etc.), protic ionic liquids used as an additive process. The immobilization of the lipase from Burkholderia cepacia by the sol-gel technique using protic ionic liquids (PIL) as additives to protect against inactivation of the lipase due to release of alcohol and shrinkage of the gel during the sol-gel process was investigated in this study. The influence of various factors such as the length of the alkyl chain of protic ionic liquids (monoethanolamine-based) and a concentration range between 0.5 and 3.0% (w/v) were evaluated. The resulting hydrophobic matrices and immobilized lipases were characterised with regard to specific surface area, adsorption-desorption isotherms, pore volume (V(p)) and size (d(p)) according to nitrogen adsorption and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), physico-chemical properties (thermogravimetric - TG, differential scanning calorimetry - DSC and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy - FTIR) and the potential for ethyl ester and emulsifier production. The total activity yields (Y(a)) for matrices of immobilized lipase employing protic ionic liquids as additives always resulted in higher values compared with the sample absent the protic ionic liquids, which represents 35-fold increase in recovery of enzymatic activity using the more hydrophobic protic ionic liquids. Compared with arrays of the immobilized biocatalyst without additive, in general, the immobilized biocatalyst in the presence of protic ionic liquids showed increased values of surface area (143-245 m(2) g(-1)) and pore size (19-38 Å). Immobilization with protic ionic liquids also favoured reduced mass loss according to TG curves (always less than 42.9%) when compared to the immobilized matrix without protic ionic liquids (45.1%), except for the sample containing 3.0% protic ionic liquids (46.5%), verified by thermogravimetric analysis. Ionic liquids containing a more hydrophobic alkyl group in the cationic moiety were beneficial for recovery of the activity of the immobilized lipase. The physico-chemical characterization confirmed the presence of the enzyme and its immobilized derivatives obtained in this study by identifying the presence of amino groups, and profiling enthalpy changes of mass loss. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Salinity-Dependent Contact Angle Alteration in Oil/Brine/Silicate Systems: the Critical Role of Divalent Cations

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    The effectiveness of water flooding oil recovery depends to an important extent on the competitive wetting of oil and water on the solid rock matrix. Here, we use macroscopic contact angle goniometry in highly idealized model systems to evaluate how brine salinity affects the balance of wetting forces and to infer the microscopic origin of the resultant contact angle alteration. We focus, in particular, on two competing mechanisms debated in the literature, namely, double-layer expansion and divalent cation bridging. Our experiments involve aqueous droplets with a variable content of chloride salts of Na+, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+, wetting surfaces of muscovite and amorphous silica, and an environment of ambient decane containing small amounts of fatty acids to represent polar oil components. By diluting the salt content in various manners, we demonstrate that the water contact angle on muscovite, not on silica, decreases by up to 25° as the divalent cation concentration is reduced from typical concentrations in seawater to zero. Decreasing the ionic strength at a constant divalent ion concentration, however, has a negligible effect on the contact angle. We discuss the consequences for the interpretation of core flooding experiments and the identification of a microscopic mechanism of low salinity water flooding, an increasingly popular, inexpensive, and environment-friendly technique for enhanced oil recovery. PMID:28332396

  15. Salinity-Dependent Contact Angle Alteration in Oil/Brine/Silicate Systems: the Critical Role of Divalent Cations.

    PubMed

    Haagh, M E J; Siretanu, I; Duits, M H G; Mugele, F

    2017-04-11

    The effectiveness of water flooding oil recovery depends to an important extent on the competitive wetting of oil and water on the solid rock matrix. Here, we use macroscopic contact angle goniometry in highly idealized model systems to evaluate how brine salinity affects the balance of wetting forces and to infer the microscopic origin of the resultant contact angle alteration. We focus, in particular, on two competing mechanisms debated in the literature, namely, double-layer expansion and divalent cation bridging. Our experiments involve aqueous droplets with a variable content of chloride salts of Na + , K + , Ca 2+ , and Mg 2+ , wetting surfaces of muscovite and amorphous silica, and an environment of ambient decane containing small amounts of fatty acids to represent polar oil components. By diluting the salt content in various manners, we demonstrate that the water contact angle on muscovite, not on silica, decreases by up to 25° as the divalent cation concentration is reduced from typical concentrations in seawater to zero. Decreasing the ionic strength at a constant divalent ion concentration, however, has a negligible effect on the contact angle. We discuss the consequences for the interpretation of core flooding experiments and the identification of a microscopic mechanism of low salinity water flooding, an increasingly popular, inexpensive, and environment-friendly technique for enhanced oil recovery.

  16. Polymer depletion-driven cluster aggregation and initial phase separation in charged nanosized colloids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gögelein, Christoph; Nägele, Gerhard; Buitenhuis, Johan; Tuinier, Remco; Dhont, Jan K. G.

    2009-05-01

    We study polymer depletion-driven cluster aggregation and initial phase separation in aqueous dispersions of charge-stabilized silica spheres, where the ionic strength and polymer (dextran) concentration are systematically varied, using dynamic light scattering and visual observation. Without polymers and for increasing salt and colloid content, the dispersions become increasingly unstable against irreversible cluster formation. By adding nonadsorbing polymers, a depletion-driven attraction is induced, which lowers the stabilizing Coulomb barrier and enhances the cluster growth rate. The initial growth rate increases with increasing polymer concentration and decreases with increasing polymer molar mass. These observations can be quantitatively understood by an irreversible dimer formation theory based on the classical Derjaguin, Landau, Verwey, and Overbeek pair potential, with the depletion attraction modeled by the Asakura-Oosawa-Vrij potential. At low colloid concentration, we observe an exponential cluster growth rate for all polymer concentrations considered, indicating a reaction-limited aggregation mechanism. At sufficiently high polymer and colloid concentrations, and lower salt content, a gas-liquidlike demixing is observed initially. Later on, the system separates into a gel and fluidlike phase. The experimental time-dependent state diagram is compared to the theoretical equilibrium phase diagram obtained from a generalized free-volume theory and is discussed in terms of an initial reversible phase separation process in combination with irreversible aggregation at later times.

  17. Polymer depletion-driven cluster aggregation and initial phase separation in charged nanosized colloids.

    PubMed

    Gögelein, Christoph; Nägele, Gerhard; Buitenhuis, Johan; Tuinier, Remco; Dhont, Jan K G

    2009-05-28

    We study polymer depletion-driven cluster aggregation and initial phase separation in aqueous dispersions of charge-stabilized silica spheres, where the ionic strength and polymer (dextran) concentration are systematically varied, using dynamic light scattering and visual observation. Without polymers and for increasing salt and colloid content, the dispersions become increasingly unstable against irreversible cluster formation. By adding nonadsorbing polymers, a depletion-driven attraction is induced, which lowers the stabilizing Coulomb barrier and enhances the cluster growth rate. The initial growth rate increases with increasing polymer concentration and decreases with increasing polymer molar mass. These observations can be quantitatively understood by an irreversible dimer formation theory based on the classical Derjaguin, Landau, Verwey, and Overbeek pair potential, with the depletion attraction modeled by the Asakura-Oosawa-Vrij potential. At low colloid concentration, we observe an exponential cluster growth rate for all polymer concentrations considered, indicating a reaction-limited aggregation mechanism. At sufficiently high polymer and colloid concentrations, and lower salt content, a gas-liquidlike demixing is observed initially. Later on, the system separates into a gel and fluidlike phase. The experimental time-dependent state diagram is compared to the theoretical equilibrium phase diagram obtained from a generalized free-volume theory and is discussed in terms of an initial reversible phase separation process in combination with irreversible aggregation at later times.

  18. Identification and HPLC quantitation of the sulfides and dialk(en)yl thiosulfinates in commercial garlic products.

    PubMed

    Lawson, L D; Wang, Z J; Hughes, B G

    1991-08-01

    The content of dialk(en)yl thiosulfinates, including allicin, and their degradation products has been determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), using the respective determined extinction coefficients, for a number of commercially available garlic products. Quantitation has been achieved for the thiosulfinates; diallyl, methyl allyl, and diethyl mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, and hexasulfides; the vinyldithiins; and (E)- and (Z)-ajoene. The thiosulfinates were found to be released only from garlic cloves and garlic powder products. The vinyldithiins and ajoenes were found only in products containing garlic macerated in vegetable oil. The diallyl, methyl allyl, and dimethyl sulfide series were the exclusive constituents found in products containing the oil of steam-distilled garlic. Typical steam-distilled garlic oil products contained about the same amount of total sulfur compounds as total thiosulfinates released from freshly homogenized garlic cloves; however, oil-macerated products contained only 20% of that amount, while garlic powder products varied from 0 to 100%. Products containing garlic powder suspended in a a gel or garlic aged in aqueous alcohol did not contain detectable amounts of these non-ionic sulfur compounds. A comparison of several brands of each type of garlic product revealed a large range in content (4-fold for oil-macerates and 33-fold for steam-distilled garlic oils), indicating the importance of analysis before garlic products are used for clinical investigations or commercial distribution.

  19. Local Structural Investigations, Defect Formation, and Ionic Conductivity of the Lithium Ionic Conductor Li 4 P 2 S 6

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dietrich, Christian; Sadowski, Marcel; Sicolo, Sabrina

    Glassy, glass–ceramic, and crystalline lithium thiophosphates have attracted interest in their use as solid electrolytes in all-solid-state batteries. Despite similar structural motifs, including PS 4 3–, P 2S 6 4–, and P 2S 7 4– polyhedra, these materials exhibit a wide range of possible compositions, crystal structures, and ionic conductivities. Here, we present a combined approach of Bragg diffraction, pair distribution function analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and 31P magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to study the underlying crystal structure of Li 4P 2S 6. In this work, we show that the material crystallizes in a planar structural arrangement asmore » a glass ceramic composite, explaining the observed relatively low ionic conductivity, depending on the fraction of glass content. Calculations based on density functional theory provide an understanding of occurring diffusion pathways and ionic conductivity of this Li + ionic conductor.« less

  20. Characterization of electrochemically deposited films from aqueous and ionic liquid cobalt precursors toward hydrogen evolution reactions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dushatinski, Thomas; Huff, Clay; Abdel-Fattah, Tarek M.

    2016-11-01

    Electrodepositions of cobalt films were achieved using an aqueous or an ethylene glycol based non-aqueous solution containing choline chloride (vitamin B4) with cobalt chloride hexahydrate precursor toward hydrogen evolution reactions from sodium borohydride (NaBH4) as solid hydrogen feedstock (SHF). The resulting cobalt films had reflectivity at 550 nm of 2.2% for aqueously deposited films (ACoF) and 1.3% for non-aqueously deposited films (NCoF). Surface morphology studied by scanning electron microscopy showed a positive correlation between particle size and thickness. The film thicknesses were tunable between >100 μm and <300 μm for each film. The roughness (Ra) value measurements by Dektak surface profiling showed that the NCoF (Ra = 165 nm) was smoother than the ACoF (Ra = 418 nm). The NCoFs and ACoFs contained only α phase (FCC) crystallites. The NCoFs were crystalline while the ACoFs were largely amorphous from X-ray diffraction analysis. The NCoF had an average Vickers hardness value of 84 MPa as compared to 176 MPa for ACoF. The aqueous precursor has a single absorption maximum at 510 nm and the non-aqueous precursor had three absorption maxima at 630, 670, and 695 nm. The hydrogen evolution reactions over a 1 cm2 catalytic surface with aqueous NaBH4 solutions generated rate constants (K) = equal to 4.9 × 10-3 min-1, 4.6 × 10-3 min-1, and 3.3 × 10-3 min-1 for ACoF, NCoF, and copper substrate respectively.

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