A Hexagonally Ordered Nanoporous Silica-Based Fiber Coating for SPME of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Water Followed by GC�CMS

A highly porous fiber coating material was prepared and functionalized with 3-amino propyl triethoxysilane (APTES) on hexagonally ordered nanoporous silica (SBA-15). Applicability of this coating was assessed employing a laboratory made solid-phase microextraction (SPME) device and gas chromatography?Cmass spectrometry for the simultaneous sampling and determination of trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from aqueous sample solutions. A one at the time optimization strategy was applied to investigate and optimize important extraction parameters such as extraction temperature, extraction time, ionic strength and sonication time. In the optimum conditions, the relative standard deviations for deionized water, spiked with selected PAHs were between 3.3 and 7.7% (n = 3), and detection limits for the studied compounds were 4.2 and 26.1 pg mL^?1. No significant change was observed in the extraction efficiency of the new SPME fiber, over 50 extractions. The proposed method was successfully applied to the extraction and determination of PAHs in the waste water samples.     

Electrolyte effect on adsorption and the phase transition from microstructures to nanostructures in ionic/ionic surfactants mixture

The effect of salt concentration on intermicellar interactions and aggregate structures of anionic and cationic-rich mixtures of CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) and SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate) were investigated with conductometry, surface tension, zeta potential, cyclic voltammetry measurements and by determining the surfactant NMR self-diffusion coefficients. The critical aggregate concentration (CAC), surface excess (Γ(max)), and mean molecular surface area (A(min)) were determined from plots of the surface tension (γ) as a function of the log of total surfactant concentration. The electrochemical behavior of cationic-anionic (catanionic) mixed surfactant and self-assembled surfactant monomers at Pt wire electrode were studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV). A variation in the peak current versus the total concentration of surfactant allow us to evaluate the CAC and related parameters from regular solution theory along with the diffusion coefficient of the electroactive species. It was observed that, for both the planar air/aqueous interface and micellar systems, the nonideality decreased as the amount of electrolyte in the aqueous medium was increased. Finally, we investigated the variations of electrostatic, transfer and steric free energy in phase transition between mixed micelle and vesicle in the presence of electrolyte using the presented model by our groups.     

On the coupling of the homotopy perturbation method and Laplace transformation

In this paper, a Laplace homotopy perturbation method is employed for solving one-dimensional non-homogeneous partial differential equations with a variable coefficient. This method is a combination of the Laplace transform and the Homotopy Perturbation Method (LHPM). LHPM presents an accurate methodology to solve non-homogeneous partial differential equations with a variable coefficient. The aim of using the Laplace transform is to overcome the deficiency that is mainly caused by unsatisfied conditions in other semi-analytical methods such as HPM, VIM, and ADM. The approximate solutions obtained by means of LHPM in a wide range of the problem’s domain were compared with those results obtained from the actual solutions, the Homotopy Perturbation Method (HPM) and the finite element method. The comparison shows a precise agreement between the results, and introduces this new method as an applicable one which it needs fewer computations and is much easier and more convenient than others, so it can be widely used in engineering too.     

Centers on center manifolds in the Lü system

We confirm a conjecture of Mello and Coelho [Phys. Lett. A 373 (2009) 1116] concerning the existence of centers on local center manifolds at equilibria of the Lü system of differential equations on R³. Our proof shows that the local center manifolds are algebraic ruled surfaces, and are unique.     

Preparation of starch stabilized silver nanoparticles with spatial self-phase modulation properties by laser ablation technique

Silver nanoparticles inside the starch solution have been successfully fabricated by laser ablation of a silver plate immersed in starch solution. The ablation has been done using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 10 Hz repetition rate. The starch solution allows for the formation of silver nanoparticles with uniform particle diameters and well dispersed. The ablation was performed at different time durations to study the influence of the laser ablation time on efficiency of particle formation and sizes. The Spatial Self-phase modulation phenomena which can determine the nonlinear optical property of the samples were also investigated for starch solutions containing silver nanoparticles.     

Kubo formulas for second-order hydrodynamic coefficients

At second order in gradients, conformal relativistic hydrodynamics depends on the viscosity η and on five additional "second-order" hydrodynamical coefficients τ(Π), κ, λ?, λ?, and λ?. We derive Kubo relations for these coefficients, relating them to equilibrium, fully retarded three-point correlation functions of the stress tensor. We show that the coefficient λ? can be evaluated directly by Euclidean means and does not in general vanish.     

Corrosion Inhibition of Mild Steel by Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) Extract: Polarization,EIS, AFM,SEM, EDS,and Artificial Neural Network Modeling

Inhibitory action of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) extract (SE) was investigated in hydrochloric acid solution through electrochemical (polarization, EIS), and surface analysis (optical microscopy/atomic force microscopy (AFM)/scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS)) techniques. In addition, Inhibition efficiency was predicted by neural network (NN) modeling in elevated temperatures and different acid concentrations. The thermodynamic adsorption parameters propose that this inhibitor retard both cathodic and anodic processes through physical adsorption and blocking the active corrosion sites. Surface analysis techniques confirm the inhibitor adsorption on the metal surface, which is in accordance with the variation of apparent activation energy of corrosion. Finally, inhibition efficiency is discussed in terms of protective film formation.     

Plasma Assisted Synthesis and Physicochemical Characterizations of Ni–Co/Al2O3 Nanocatalyst Used in Dry Reforming of Methane

To assess the effects of plasma treatment a Ni–Co/Al₂O₃ nanocatalyst (10 % Ni and 3 % Co) was prepared via impregnation method followed by treatment with a non-thermal plasma to be investigated in a catalytic dry reforming of methane. The impregnated and plasma-treated nanocatalysts were characterized using XRD, FESEM, EDX, TEM, BET, FTIR, and XPS techniques. The XRD patterns confirmed the presence of nickel as NiO and NiAl₂O₄ and cobalt as Co₃O₄ on alumina support. Small NiO, NiAl₂O₄, and Co₃O₄ crystals observed in plasma-treated nanocatalyst, exhibited a good dispersion of active phase in this catalyst. The average particles size in plasma-treated sample obtain by FESEM micrograph were shown to be smaller than that of impregnated sample and the morphology was more homogenous and relatively agglomeration-free in plasma-treated Ni–Co/Al₂O₃ nanocatalyst. According to BET analysis, specific surface area of plasma-treated sample was 58 % higher than the non-treated catalyst. TEM analysis showed that particles of active phase were fairly small and well-dispersed on Al₂O₃ as a result of the plasma treatment. Better dispersion of active metal on the surface of plasma-treated sample was confirmed by XPS analysis. The plasma-treated sample showed higher yield and conversion at all temperature ranges investigated and was more resistant to coke formation compared to the non-treated sample. The results from the characterization and reaction studies suggests that plasma treatment may be a promising method for obtaining more active and stable nanocatalysts for dry reforming of methane.     

Separation,pre-concentration and determination of trace amounts of lead(II) ions in environmental samples using two functionalised nanoporous silica gels containing a dipyridyl sub-unit

In this study, two functionalised nanoporous silica gels containing dipyridyl sub-unit (SiL1 and SiL2) as selective solid-phase extraction materials for separation, pre-concentration and determination of trace levels of Pb(II) ions by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was investigated. The experimental parameters including pH, amounts and type of sorbent, sample volume, eluent type and interfering ions on the recovery of the target analytes were investigated, and the optimal experimental conditions were established. Under the optimised operating conditions with the SiL2 as sorbent, an enrichment factor of 300 was obtained. The detection limit based on three times standard deviations of the blanks was 150 ng L^–1. The proposed method was applied to the determination of lead in natural and wastewater samples with satisfactory results (recoveries greater than 96.5%, RSDs lower than 5.0%).     

Kinetic Study of Radical Polymerization VI. Copolymer Composition and Kinetic Parameters for Coplymerization of Styrene‐Itaconic Acid by On‐Line 1H‐NMR

Free radical solution copolymerization of styrene (St) and itaconic acid (IA) in dimethylsulfoxide‐d₆ (DMSO‐d₆) as the solvent and the use of 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as the initiator at 78°C was investigated by an on‐line ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy technique. Individual monomer conversion vs. reaction time, which was calculated from the ¹H‐NMR spectra data, was used to study the drift in monomer mixture composition vs. conversion. It was found that in general, both monomers were incorporated almost equally into the copolymer. However, when the mole fraction of IA was low, the tendency of IA toward incorporation into the copolymer chain was somewhat higher than St and by increasing the mole fraction of IA in the reaction mixture, the inverse tendency was observed. Overall monomer conversion as a function of time was calculated from individual monomer conversion data and used for the estimation of k_p /k_t ^0.5 for various monomer mixture compositions. This ratio was decreased with increasing the amount of IA in the initial feed, indicating a decrease in the rate of copolymerization. Changes in the copolymer composition vs. overall monomer conversion were investigated experimentally from the NMR spectra. This was in good agreement with the changes in monomer mixture composition vs. reaction progress. Plotting the copolymer composition vs. initial monomer feed showed tendency of the system toward alternating copolymerization.