Experimental high pressure speed of sound and density of (tetralin + n-decane) and (tetralin + n-hexadecane) systems and thermodynamic modeling

In this work, speed of sound for n-decane, n-hexadecane and tetralin, as well as for binary mixtures involving these hydrocarbons, were determined at pressures of (0.1, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25) MPa at temperatures of (313.15, 323.15 and 333.15) K at different compositions. Density data at atmospheric pressure for these same systems were measured experimentally at temperatures of (313.15, 323.15 and 333.15) K. From these results and thermodynamic definitions, the following properties were calculated: density at high pressures, excess molar volume and excess isentropic compressibility. Tetralin, n-decane and n-hexadecane are chemicals asymmetrical in shape, length and chemical nature that can be found in naphtha and kerosene fractions. The influence of these differences on the physical properties of these mixtures was then evaluated. Density and speed of sound data were correlated with Prigogine–Flory–Patterson (PFP) equation of state. The PFP model correlated well experimental densities for pure components but did not correlate so well the speed of sound dependency with pressure. The model calculated well excess properties, with correct signs, magnitudes, and the qualitative effect of pressure and temperature on these properties.     

Is there any sense to investigate volumetric and acoustic properties of more binary mixtures containing Ionic Liquids?

The excess speed of sound, excess molar volume and excess molar isentropic compressibility of 52 binary mixtures containing Ionic Liquids at T = 298.15 K were calculated using selected literature speed of sound and density data. The second components were alcohols: methanol, or ethanol, or 1-propanol, or 2-propanol, or 1-butanol or other solvents: acetone, acetonitrile, tetrahydrofuran, dichloromethane and dimethylsulfoxide. The Balankina’s relative excesses, X_bal, i.e. the ratios between excess and ideal quantities X^E/X^id were also determined to reduce the structural impact of pure components to absolute excesses. Analysis of quantities determined shows some patterns for concentration dependences of large groups of mixtures; thus, the scheme for influence of anion or cation of Ionic Liquids and solvent on Balankina’s relative excesses was proposed. It seems that presented analysis provide the knowledge about absolute and relative excess quantities for other mixtures without doing the experimental work. It is also visible that analysis of excess molar quantities and X_bal parameters can support the interpretation of interactions which occur between Ionic Liquids and solvent.     

Volumetric properties,viscosities and refractive indices of binary liquid mixtures of tetrafluoroborate-based ionic liquids with methanol at several temperatures

Densities, speeds of sound, viscosities and refractive indices of two binary systems 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [bmim][BF₄] + methanol and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [emim][BF₄] + methanol, as well as of all pure components, have been measured covering the whole range of compositions at T = (278.15 to 318.15) K and p = 101 kPa. From this data, excess molar volumes, excess isentropic compressibilities, viscosity deviations and refractive index deviations were calculated and fitted to extended versions of the Redlich–Kister equation. Estimated coefficients of these equations taking into account the dependence on composition and temperature simultaneously were also presented.     

Volumetric behaviour of the (2,2,4-trimethylpentane + methylbenzene + butan-1-ol) ternary system and its binary sub-systems within the temperature range (298.15–328.15) K

Densities and speeds of sound of the (2,2,4-trimethylpentane + methylbenzene + butan-1-ol) ternary system as well as all its binary sub-systems were measured at four temperatures, namely 298.15 K, 308.15 K, 318.15 K, and 328.15 K at atmospheric pressure by a vibrating-tube densimeter DSA 5000. The binary (isooctane + toluene) system was studied previously. Excess quantities (molar volume, adiabatic compressibility, and isobaric thermal expansivity) of the mixtures studied were calculated from the experimental densities and speed of sounds. The excess molar volume data were correlated using the Redlich–Kister equation. Both the positive and S-shaped excess molar volume curves were found for the systems studied. The excess molar volumes versus concentration of binary systems differed in the shape and temperature dependence. The experimental binary data were compared with literature data. The experimental excess molar volumes were analyzed by means of the Extended Real Associated Solution (ERAS) model. The experimental data and the ERAS model can help to estimate real behaviour of the systems studied.     

Ultrasound-assisted of alkali chloride separation using bulk ionic liquid membrane

An ultrasonic-assisted separation of alkali chloride (LiCl, NaCl, and KCl) salts have been carried out using of an hydrophobic ionic liquid membrane (ILM). The ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate and tributyl phosphate mixture have been used as ILM. An ultrasonic probe with different frequencies (25, 100, and 250) kHz have been applied as source of ultrasound generator with different times of sonication (2, 5, and 10) min in three phases system containing feed, ILM, and receiver in osmotic U-shaped tube. Also, 250, 500, and 1000 ppm of the feed (alkali chloride) concentration have been used to separate. The frequency of 250 kHz with higher sonication time provides optimum condition for separation of LiCl with lower feed concentration. The thermodynamic properties such as density and speed of sound and the related thermodynamic properties have been calculated to optimize ILM composition (x_IL = 0.45) for ultrasound-separation.     

Application of acoustic methods for a non-destructive evaluation of the elastic properties of several typologies of materials

In solid phase materials, differently from what happens in the fluid phase, elastic waves propagate both through longitudinal and transverse waves. From the speed of propagation of longitudinal and transverse waves, it is possible to evaluate important elastic properties of the solids under study, namely the Young’s modulus, the Poisson’s coefficient, the bulk modulus and the shear modulus. This work suggests an accurate method for measuring wave propagation speeds in homogeneous and non-homogeneous materials with the purpose to evaluate their mechanical properties and the associated uncertainty.First of all, to assess the performance of the proposed methodology, based on the “pulse-echo” technique, in terms of accuracy and precision, measurements of wave propagation speeds have been carried out, in atmospheric conditions, in well-known homogeneous and isotropic materials, such as copper, aluminum, stainless steel and also polymethyl methacrylate (Plexiglas®), Teflon® and optical glass BK7. These results were compared with the values reported in literature (if present), showing how published speed of sound data are very disperse and not so reliable owing to the lack of a precise uncertainty evaluation and of the temperature value associated to the measurement. Then, the same experimental apparatus was used for measuring speed of sound as a function of temperature (from 274.15 to 313.15 K) for 304 stainless steel and oxygen free copper, showing a good accuracy of the results also for temperature conditions far from ambient. Finally, the same procedure was applied to a non-homogeneous solid, obtaining some very preliminary results in typical mediterranean building material, as Carrara marble.     

Design,synthesis and evaluation of novel dehydroabietic acid-dithiocarbamate hybrids as potential multi-targeted compounds for tumor cytotoxicity

In the present study, novel representatives of the important group of biologically-active, dehydroabietic acid-bearing dithiocarbamate moiety, were synthesized and characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, HR-MS. The in vitro antiproliferative activity evaluation (MTT) indicated that these compounds exhibited potent inhibitory activities in various cancer cell lines (HepG-2, MCF-7, HeLa, T-24, MGC-803). Particularly, compound III-b possessed extraordinary cytotoxicity with low micromolar IC₅₀ values ranging from 4.07 to 38.84 µM against tested cancer cell lines, while displayed weak cytotoxicity on two normal cell lines (LO-2 and HEK 293 T). Subsequently, the potential mechanisms of representative compound III-b were elementarily investigated by Transwell experiment, which showed III-b can inhibit cancer cells migration. Annexin-V/PI dual staining showed that the compound can induce HepG-2 cells apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Meanwhile this apoptosis may be related to the upregulated protein expression of cleaved-caspase 3, cleaved-caspase 9, Bax and downregulated of Bcl-2 indicated by Western Blot. Later study further confirmed that ROS levels in HepG-2 cells increased significantly with the rise of concentrations. In addition, through the network pharmacology data analyzing, the core targets and signaling pathways of compound III-b for treatment of liver neoplasms were forecasted. Molecular docking model showed that compound III-b had high affinity with hub targets (CASP3, EGFR, HSP90AA1, MAPK1, ERBB2, MDM2), suggesting that compound III-b might target the hub protein to modulate signaling activity. Taken together, these data indicated that dehydroabietic acid structural modification following the “Molecular hybridization” principle is a feasible way to discover the potential multi-targeted antitumor compounds.     

Modelling Spatial Variations of the Speed of Light

We extend a new method to measure possible variation of the speed of light by using Baryon Acoustic Oscillations and the Hubble function onto an inhomogeneous pressure model of the universe. The method relies on the fact that there is a simple relation between the angular diameter distance maximum and the Hubble function (H) evaluated at the same maximum‐condition redshift, which includes the speed of light c. One limit of such a method was the assumption of the vanishing of spatial curvature (though, as it has been shown, a non‐zero curvature has negligible effect). In this paper, apart from taking into account an inhomogeneity, we consider non‐zero spatial curvature and calculate an exact relation between and H. Our main result is the evaluation if current or future missions such as Square Kilometer Array (SKA) can be sensitive enough to detect any spatial variation of c which can in principle be related to the recently observed spatial variation of the fine structure constant (an effect known as α‐dipole).     

Investigating generation mechanisms of tyre/road noise by speed exponent analysis

The purpose of this study is to clarify the influence of air-pumping related noise sources on typical tyre/road noise. The aim is to increase the understanding of noise generation mechanisms and catalyse the development of existing tyre/road noise simulation tools. The speed dependency of measured and simulated tyre/road noise is analysed and the results show that a large part of the noise can be explained by a high speed exponent traditionally connected with air-pumping mechanisms. Surprisingly, this is also the case for rough road surfaces which are expected to mainly generate noise by tyre vibrations. It is also found that vehicle wind noise may have a strong influence on the pass-by noise and care must be taken when analysing measurement data of quiet tyre/road combinations. Even simulated tyre/road noise shows higher speed exponents than what is anticipated without the inclusion of any type of air-pumping mechanism in the model. It is concluded that it is unfeasible to separate noise created by tyre vibrations from noise created by air-pumping with a speed exponent analysis due to the overlap in the speed exponents connected with the different generation mechanisms.