Surface-associated metal catalyst enhances the sorption of perfluorooctanoic acid to multi-walled carbon nanotubes

The perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) sorption behavior of two commercial multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) (C 150 P from Bayer MaterialScience: BA and C-MWNTs from NanoTechLabs Inc.: CP) was investigated from aqueous solution. The BA nanotubes contained Co/Mn/Mg/Al catalysts both on their outer surface and in the inner bore while CP contained Fe-based catalyst typically within the tubes. The adsorption isotherms of (14)C-radiolabeled PFOA were measured by batch experiments and fitted to the Freundlich model (r(2)>0.92). The adsorption affinity and capacity on BA were significantly higher than on CP. Increasing the pH reduced the adsorption of PFOA due to the electrostatic interaction between the pH-sensitive surface and the adsorbate. Increasing the NaCl concentration led to the aggregation of the MWCNTs reducing the available surface and thus the adsorption capacity. Removal of the catalyst from the outer surface of BA changed the electrophoretic mobility from a positive to a negative value and also decreased the adsorbed amount of PFOA. The surface charge of the surface-associated metal catalyst favors the electrostatic sorption of PFOA. Such surface modifications may be a promising way to improve the sorption capacity of MWCNTs for pollutants such as PFOA and to broaden their potential application in water purification.     

The sorption properties of carbon nanotubes modified with tetraphenylmethylenediphosphine dioxide in nitric acid media

The distribution of microamounts of La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, and Y nitrates between aqueous solutions of HNO₃ and multiwalled carbon nanotubes noncovalently modified with tetraphenylmethylenediphosphine dioxide (L) was considered depending on the concentration of HNO₃ in the aqueous phase and L in the sorbent phase. Ln(III) ions were shown to pass to the sorbent phase in the form of solvated nitrates Ln(NO₃)₃L₃. The effectiveness of the extraction of such complexes decreases along the series of rare-earth metals as the atomic number of the element in the Periodic Table increases.     

Computer simulation of size effects and adsorption properties of one-wall carbon nanotubes (6,6)

Structure, electric and adsorption properties of carbon open-end nanotubes of (6,6) chirality consisting of 5–19 segments were studied by quantum-chemical methods AM1, PM3, LSDA/3-21G, B3LYP/6-31G. The size effects and adsorption properties of nanotubes are discussed.     

Hydrogen and methane sorption in dry and water-loaded multiwall carbon nanotubes

Both H2 and CH4 are clean energy sources. Adsorption was considered a measure to enhance their storage, and many efforts have been dedicated to creating novel materials including carbon nanotubes as efficient carriers for them. In order to understand the uptake mechanism and the viability of practical application, eight adsorption isotherms of H2 on a sample of multiwall carbon nanotubes were collected. The heat of adsorption was determined and an isotherm model was presented. Isotherms of CH4 on the same sample were also collected. While the adsorption on dry samples behaves similarly to that of H2, the sorption behavior of CH4 in the water-loaded sample is quite different and five times higher uptake capacity was observed in the wet sample due to the formation of methane hydrates. However, carbon nanotubes are unlikely to be used as an energy carrier due to its limited surface area and pore volume.     

Confinement of Mg-MgH2 systems into carbon nanotubes changes hydrogen sorption energetics

The density functional theory (DFT) method was used to study the effect of nanoconfinement on the energetics of Mg-MgH2 systems. Varying levels of loading of the Mg/MgH2 particles into a (10,10) carbon nanotube were examined, and the corresponding energetics were computed. A clear trend was observed that, as the level of loading increases (increasing confinement), the net energy change in the hydrogen sorption/desorption processes decreases to a significant level when the loading approaches the maximum. The confinement was found not to depend on the tube length of the confining nanotubes.     

氨基膦酸树脂吸附镨的研究

氨基膦酸树脂 (简称ＡＰＡＲ)是一类性能优良的螯合树脂 ,功能基为 ＣＨ2 ＮＨＣＨ2 Ｐ(Ｏ) (ＯＨ) 2 ,由于功能基上同时含有Ｎ和Ｏ等配位原子 ,它能与多种金属离子形成比较稳定的配合物。近年来有关含磷的螯合树脂吸附金属离子的各种研究比较活跃[1～ 4] 。本文就氨基膦酸树脂在ＨＡｃ ＮａＡｃ体系中对镨 (Ⅲ )的吸附行为进行了研究。获得了诸多基本参数 ,为氨基膦酸树脂在湿法冶金中对镨离子的富集、提取等方面的应用提供了理论依据。1　实验部分1 1　试剂及仪器72 1型分光光度计 ,ＳＨＡ Ｃ水浴恒温振荡器(± 0 .1℃ ) ,ｐＨＳ 3ｃ型…     

Computer analysis of amino acid chromatograms.

A procedure is described for the automatic off-line analysis of amino acid chromatograms of protein hydrolysates, using a small computer. The data requirements are basic, and, unlike previous programs, the present system allows the separation and identification of bands, as well as the quantitative determination of composition. With minor modification, the program could be extended for use with most types of chromatographic data. The validity of the application of the program to experimental data is discussed.     

The direct electrochemistry of glucose oxidase based on the synergic effect of amino acid ionic liquid and carbon nanotubes

Amino acid ionic liquids (AAILs) have attracted much attention due to their special chemical and physical properties, especially their outstanding biocompatibility and truly green aspect. In this work, a novel electrochemical biosensing platform based on AAILs/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) composite was fabricated. AAILs were used as a novel solvent for glucose oxidase (GOD) and the GOD-AAILs/CNTs/GC electrode was conveniently prepared by immersing the carbon nanotubes (CNTs) modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode into AAILs containing GOD. The direct electrochemistry of GOD on the GOD-AAILs/CNTs/GC electrode has been investigated and a pair of reversible peaks was obtained by cyclic voltammetry. The immobilized glucose oxidase could retain bioactivity and catalyze the reduction of dissolved oxygen. Due to the synergic effect of AAILs and CNTs, the GOD-AAILs/CNTs/GC electrode shows excellent electrocatalytic activity towards glucose with a linear range from 0.05 to 0.8 mM and a detection limit of 5.5 μM (S/N = 3). Furthermore, the biosensor exhibits good stability and ability to exclude the interference of commonly coexisting uric and ascorbic acid. Therefore, AAILs/CNTs composite can be a good candidate biocompatible material for the direct electrochemistry of the redox-active enzyme and the construction of third- generation enzyme sensors.     

单壁碳纳米管中甲烷吸附的分子模拟

采用巨正则系统MonteCarlo方法研究了甲烷在单壁碳纳米管(Singlewallcarbonnanotube,SWNT)中于低温74.05K下的吸附等温线及吸附机理,发现在两个较小的孔径(1.225nm和1.632nm)下单壁碳纳米管中甲烷的吸附有着明显的微孔所独有的“填充效应”,而在2.04nm以上的孔的吸附中会出现毛细凝聚现象。通过模拟知道发生毛细凝聚的必要条件是孔内能至少容纳下两层粒子,此外还导出在恒定温度下毛细凝聚吸附量与SWNT孔径关系。本文还模拟了常温300K下甲烷在SWNT内的吸附,对比了2.04nm和4.077nm两种孔径的SWNT吸附甲烷的等温线,推荐在4.077nm孔中的适宜吸附存储压力为5.0～6.0MPa,吸附质量分数可达16%～19%.     

Covalent sidewall functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes by amino acids

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with amino acids covalently attached to their side walls, viz., “nanotube-aminoacids,” have been prepared starting from colloidal solutions of fluorinated SWNTs (F-SWNTs) and amino acids in o-dichlorobenzene and heating at 80–150 °C in the presence of pyridine. The syntheses were carried out with the F-SWNTs of approximately 2: 1 (C: F) stoichiometry and several natural α-aino acids with both pro-tected and unprotected carboxyl groups, such as glycine ethyl ester hydrochloride, L-serine ethyl ester hydrochloride, l-cysteine, and trans-4-hydroxy-l-proline. The nanotube-aminoacids have been characterized by Raman and FTIR spectroscopy, atomic force, scanning, and transmission electron microscopies, and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Based on TGA data, the degree of sidewall functionalization in the synthesized SWNT derivatives was estimated to be in the range from one of 32 to one of 8 carbon atoms, depending on the amino acid nature and reaction conditions used. The amino acid-functionalized SWNTs, prepared in this work by simple and inexpensive one-step method, can be valuable precursors for peptide synthesis and targeted drug delivery, design and fabrication of nanocomposites and fibers, and other biomedical and engineering applications. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 5, pp. 1035–1043, May, 2008.     

A theoretical study on the chirality detection of serine amino acid based on carbon nanotubes with and without Stone-Wales defects

In the present study, the interaction of serine (SER) amino acid (AA) with the pristine and defected carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has been investigated by employing the molecular dynamics (MD) and the density functional theory (DFT) approaches. Furthermore, the potential application of CNTs with and without the Stone-Wales (SW) defects in sensing of SER chirality has been studied. Our results confirm that introducing the chiral l and d SERs (LSER and DSER) exerts a significant effect on the electronic and optical properties of the CNTs with and without the SW defect. According to the MD results, it is observed that for all the structures, the obtained minimum distance is among the SER aliphatic segments and the tube atoms. The calculated structural and electronic properties of pristine and defected CNT are in good agreement with the reported research studies. The results indicate that pyramidalization angles (θ_p) at C atoms are altered in the presence of the SW defects. The overall increment of θ_p suggests that the reactivity has increased at the defective regions. In the case of CNT with one SW defect (CNTSW1), the central C–C bond of the SW defect is the most chemically reactive site. Our results establish that pristine CNT is a semiconductor when the LSER and DSER are adsorbed (with the band gap of 0.30 eV and 0.32 eV, respectively). The LSER-adsorbing CNT with two SW defects (CNTSW2) is a semiconductor with a reduced band gap (0.41 eV), while the DSER-adsorbing CNTSW2 is an n-type semiconductor (with a band gap of 0.70 eV). The optical properties are inferred from the dielectric functions of the CNTs. The most remarkable result belongs to the CNTSW2; the imaginary part of the CNTSW2 dielectric function can sensitively distinguish the chirality of the SER amino acid.

     

Effect of amino acid sorption on formation of water clusters in ion-exchange membranes

The average size and number of water clusters inside ion-exchange membranes are calculated from experimental isotherms of water vapor sorption as a result of considering the sorption in terms of the clusterization theory. It is established that, in MK-40 heterogeneous cation-exchange membrane, water clusters are not formed, while, inside MF-4SK perfluorinated homogeneous membrane, intense cluster formation takes place. The effect of amino acid sorption on cluster water is considered. An increase in the membrane hydrophobicity as a result of the incorporation of amino acid ions leads to prevailing interaction of water molecules with one another rather than with the polymer phase, which is evident from an enlargement of water clusters.     

Amino acid functionalisation of water soluble carbon nanotubes

High solubility of SWNTs and MWNTs in water is obtained by organic functionalisation; derivatisation with N-protected glycine is also easily achieved.     

Interaction of single-walled carbon nanotubes with sulfuric acid

An increase in the radiation yield of paramagnetic centers in H₂SO₄ + nanotubes (NTs) solutions was evidence of the sensitizing influence of NTs on the low-temperature radiolysis of sulfuric acid, that is, on excitation energy and charge transfer. Under the conditions selected, the influence of NTs extended to distances of 100–300 nm. The presence of NTs also influenced the interstice nanodiffusion of atomic hydrogen by decreasing kinetic heterogeneity of the vitrified matrix surrounding NTs. No chemical interaction between atomic hydrogen and carbon NTs was observed at 77–120 K. The diffusion of radical-base anions occurred following the vacancy mechanism and was independent of the presence of NTs. Nanotubes did not form a separate phase as sulfuric acid solutions were cooled to 77 K. The transition from the vitreous to supercooled liquid state was observed as irradiated and nonirradiated solutions were heated to 175 K; no phase transitions occurred over the temperature range 180–300 K. For the first time, substantial changes in the electronic spectra of sulfuric acid solutions of NTs with time were observed: an intense additional absorption band at 320 nm appeared in the spectra in several days. This band was supposedly related to the formation of complexes between H₂SO₄ molecules and the surface of NTs.     

Sidewall carboxylic acid functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes

The reactions of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with succinic or glutaric acid acyl peroxides in o-dichlorobenzene at 80-90 degrees C resulted in the addition of 2-carboxyethyl or 3-carboxypropyl groups, respectively, to the sidewalls of the SWNT. These acid-functionalized SWNTs were converted to acid chlorides by derivatization with SOCl(2) and then to amides with terminal diamines such as ethylenediamine, 4,4'-methylenebis(cyclohexylamine), and diethyltoluenediamine. The acid-functionalized SWNTs and the amide derivatives were characterized by a set of materials characterization methods including attenuated total reflectance (ATR) FTIR, Raman and solid state (13)C NMR spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and thermal gravimetry-mass spectrometry (TG-MS). The degree of SWNT sidewall functionalization with the acid-terminated groups was estimated as 1 in 24 carbons on the basis of TG-MS data. In comparison with the pristine SWNTs, the acid-functionalized SWNTs show an improved solubility in polar solvents, for example, alcohols and water, which enables their processing for incorporation into polymer composite structures as well as for a variety of biomedical applications.     

Molecular simulation study of temperature effect on ionic hydration in carbon nanotubes

Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to investigate the hydration of Li(+), Na(+), K(+), F(-), and Cl(-) inside the carbon nanotubes at temperatures ranging from 298 to 683 K. The structural characteristics of the coordination shells of ions are studied, including the ion-oxygen radial distribution functions, the coordination numbers, and the orientation distributions of the water molecules. Simulation results show that the first coordination shells of the five ions still exist in the nanoscale confinement. Nevertheless, the first coordination shell structures of cations change more significantly than those of anions because of the preferential orientation of the water molecules induced by the carbon nanotube. The first coordination shells of cations are considerably less ordered in the nanotube than in the bulk solution, whereas the change of the first coordination shell structures of the anions is minor. Furthermore, the confinement induces the anomalous behavior of the coordination shells of the ions with temperature. The first coordination shell of K(+) are found to be more ordered as the temperature increases only in the carbon nanotube with the effective diameter of 1.0 nm, implying the enhancement of the ionic hydration with temperature. This is contrary to that in the bulk solution. The coordination shells of the other four ions do not have such behavior in the carbon nanotube with the effective diameter ranging from 0.73 to 1.00 nm. The easier distortion of the coordination shell of K(+) and the match of the shell size and the nanotube size may play roles in this phenomenon. The exchange of water molecules in the first coordination shells of the ions with the solution and the ion diffusion along the axial direction of the nanotube are also investigated. The mobility of the ions and the stability of the coordination shells are greatly affected by the temperature in the nanotube as in the bulk solutions. These results help to understand the biological and chemical processes at the high temperature.     

NMR spectroscopic investigation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified by amino groups

The results of the functionalization of multi-walled carbon nanotube surface by amines containing different substituents at the nitrogen atom, namely, primary n-hexylamine, secondary izadrine, and tertiary N-benzylmorpholine and dithiline, are presented. It was shown by NMR spectroscopy, thermal analysis, mass spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and elemental analysis that the interaction of primary and secondary amines with modified nanotubes results in the formation of a covalent bond with the nitrogen atom of amines, while the reactions with tertiary amines afford quaternary ammonium salts; diamine is attached covalently through both amine groups.