Removal of Mn(II) and Cd(II) from wastewaters by natural and modified clays

The adsorption capacities of commercial and Brazilian natural clays were evaluated to test their applications in wastewater control. We investigated the process of sorption of manganese(II) and cadmium(II) present in synthetic aqueous effluents, by calculating the adsorption isotherms at 298 K using batch experiments. The influence of temperature and pH on the adsorption process was also studied. Adsorption of metals was best described by a Langmuir isotherm, with values of Q ₀ parameter, which is related to the sorption capacity, corresponding to 6.3 mg g^{− 1} for K-10/Cd(II), 4.8 mg g^{− 1} for K-10/Mn(II), 11.2 mg g^{− 1} for NT-25/Cd(II) and 6.0 mg g^{− 1} for NT-25/Mn(II). We observed two distinct adsorption mechanisms that may influence adsorption. At the first 5 min of interaction, a cation exchange mechanism that takes place at exchange sites located on (001) basal planes is predominant. This process is inhibited by low pH values. After this first and fast step, a second sorption mechanism can be related to formation of inner-sphere surface complexes, which is formed at edges of the clay. The rate constants and the initial sorption rates correlate positively with temperature in all studied systems, denoting the predominance of a physisorption process. The addition of complexing agents that are incorporated within the K10 structure, enhance metal uptake by the adsorbent. The results have shown that both Cd(II) and Mn(II) were totally retained from a 50 mg L^{− 1} solution when K10 grafted with ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (APDC) was used as adsorbent.     

Tandem and chemoselective synthesis of benzil derivatives from styrene and arene diazonium salts

A facile and practically applied protocol for synthesis of benzil derivatives using styrene and arene diazonium salts is reported. Pd(OAc)₂/SeO₂ catalytic system was found to be efficient for chemoselective synthesis of benzil. Selenium dioxide works well as an oxidant under milder reaction conditions. Moderate to very good yields of the desired products were obtained.     

Quasi-linear Schrödinger–Poisson system under an exponential critical nonlinearity: existence and asymptotic behaviour of solutions

We prove the generalized $$L^p$$ -Poincaré inequalities and Sobolev type inequalities on graphs with polynomial volume growth. They are optimal on Vicsek graphs.     

Study of benznidazole–cyclodextrin inclusion complexes, cytotoxicity and trypanocidal activity

The current chemotherapy for Chagas disease is still based on benznidazole, which has low solubility, but complexation with cyclodextrins provides a way of increasing the solubility. The objective of this work was to characterize the inclusion complexes formed between benznidazole (BNZ) and randomly 2-methyled-β-cyclodextrin (RM-β-CD) in aqueous solution and study cytotoxicity and trypanocidal. BNZ:RM-β-CD solution complex systems were prepared and characterized using the phase solubility diagram, nuclear magnetic resonance and a photostability assays, also to investigate the in vitro trypanocidal activity with epimastigote forms of Trypanossoma cruzi and the study of cytotoxicity against mammal cells. The phase-solubility diagram displayed an A _L-type feature, providing evidence of the formation of soluble inclusion complexes. The continuous variation method showed the existence of a complex with 1:1 stoichiometry. Toxicity assays demonstrated that inclusion complexes were able to reduce the toxic effects caused by benznidazole alone and that this did not interfere with the trypanocidal activity of the benznidazole. The use of inclusion complexes benznidazole:cyclodextrin is thus a promising alternative for the development of a safe and stable liquid formulation and a new option for the treatment of Chagas disease.     

6,6′-Thiobis(methylene)-β-cyclodextrin dimer as a dimeric host and reusable promoter for synthesis of chromenones in water

Herein, two unit of β-cyclodextrin linked by thiomethylene bridge was synthesized and employed as a novel efficient supramolecular host for the synthesis of biologically active chromenones templates via three-component single-pot reaction. A possible reaction mechanism through molecular complexation is suggested based on 2D ROESY NMR spectroscopic analysis. Moreover, the catalyst could be easily recycled, while a 94% yield and 89% rate of catalyst recovery could be achieved after four cycles of catalyst recycling. Environmentally benign reaction conditions, excellent yields, and avoidance of organic solvent and conventional isolation as well as purification are the noteworthy credits of this developed protocol.     

On concentration of solution to a Schrödinger logarithmic equation with deepening potential well

In this work, we prove the existence of positive solution for the following class of problems where λ>0 and is a potential satisfying some conditions. Using the variational method developed by Szulkin for functionals, which are the sum of a C¹ functional with a convex lower semicontinuous functional, we prove that for each large enough λ>0, there exists a positive solution for the problem, and that, as λ→+∞, such solutions converge to a positive solution of the limit problem defined on the domain Ω=int(V^?1({0})).     

Trace elements status in the terrain of an impounded vehicle scrapyard

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - The impact of a scrapyard of impounded vehicles in São Paulo state on topsoil was evaluated for As, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, V, Zn and...