Preparation of nanoparticles and hollow spheres of ��-Fe2O3 and their properties

Uniform nanoparticles and hollow microspheres of hematite (??-Fe₂O₃) were obtained via a hydrothermal method by using iron (III) chloride as a precursor. The effects of reactant concentration, reaction time and temperature on the morphology of the samples were studied. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer (SQUID) measurement. ??-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles show a superparamagnetic behavior and the average size of the spherical particles was around 60 nm. However, hollow microspheres show a normal ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature with remanent magnetization and coercivity of 0.2482 emu/g and 2,516 Oe, respectively, and their average diameter was around 2 ??m. The effects of reactant concentration and reaction temperature on the formation of the products were investigated. The experimental results reveal that the magnetic properties of hematite can be tuned by controlling the morphology.     

超重力环境中合成微细晶须碳酸钙及其表征

Ultra-fine whiskers of calcium carbonate were successfully synthesized by reactive precipitation in highgravity field generated by the rotating packed bed（RPB）. In the experiment Ca（OH）2 and CO2 were as reactants and H3PO4 was used as the morphology-control additive. Synthesizing the same amount of CaCO3 whiskers,the needed carbonation time in the high-gravity field is 1/36-1/18 of that by the traditional technology reported in the literature. The ultra-fine CaCO3 whiskers can be synthesized and well-controlled under the following conditions:the volumetric flow rate of gas 100-300 L/h and that of liquid 600-1000 L/h,rotating speed of RPB 600-1200 r/min,reaction temperature between 40-80℃ and concentration of H3PO4 5.0%-30%. The calcium carbonate whiskers have the mean shaft diameter of 80-250 nm and the average aspect ratio of 10-25 with the narrow distribution of both the mean shaft diameter and the aspect ratio. The properties of the product are characterized by means of TEM,electron diffraction,XRD,TG-DTA and elementary analysis. Electron diffraction analysis shows that the synthesized calcium carbonate whiskers have crystalline structure,while XRD analysis indicates that aragonite structure accounts for 97.77% in content of the final CaCO3 whisker product. And TG-DTA analysis shows that the obtained product decomposes at 423℃,which is 402℃ lower than that of the CaCO3 obtained in the normal gravity.     

Maximum Production of Fermentable Sugars from Barley Straw Using Optimized Soaking in Aqueous Ammonia (SAA) Pretreatment

Soaking in aqueous ammonia (SAA) pretreatment was investigated to improve enzymatic digestibility and consequently to increase total fermentable sugar production from barley straw. Various effects of pretreatment process parameters, such as reaction temperature, reaction time, solid:liquid ratio, and ammonia concentration, were evaluated, and the optimum conditions for two of the most important factors, reaction temperature and time were determined using response surface methodology. Optimized reaction conditions were 77.6 °C treatment temperature, 12.1 h. treatment time, 15 wt.% ammonia concentration, and 1:8 solid-to-liquid ratio, which gave a sugar recovery yield of 71.5 % (percent of theoretical sugar recovered from the untreated barley straw) with enzyme loading of 15 FPU/g-glucan. In the optimization of the SAA pretreatment process, ammonia concentration, reaction temperature, and reaction time were determined to be the most significant factors correlated to subsequent enzyme digestibility. Based on tested conditions exhibiting high sugar recovery yields of >60 %, it appeared that reaction temperature affected total fermentable sugar production more significantly than reaction time.     

In situ preparation,characterization and performance of magnesium carbonate whiskers/cellulose fibers hybrid paper

Magnesium carbonate whiskers/cellulose fibers hybrid paper was successfully prepared via in situ synthesis process, and the flame retardancy and tensile strength properties were investigated. The effects of magnesium salt type, initial magnesium salt concentration, temperature, time and pH value were also detected. The hybrid paper was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and thermogravimetry-derivative thermogravimetry techniques, respectively. The results showed that the same whiskers/fibers hybrid paper could be prepared from different magnesium salts. If the pH was above 9.4, hydrated basic magnesium carbonate would be created, which would lead to the decrease of oxygen index (OI). Reaction time had no effect on the OI and tensile strength of the hybrid paper. Under the optimized conditions, the OI of the hybrid paper reached 28 %. The in situ synthesis process was much better than the direct addition process.     

热分解法制备纳米氧化钕

采用热分解法以2-硝基苯甲酸和硝酸钕为原料制备了纳米氧化钕微粉,利用正交设计对合成条件进行了优化,得出了最佳的合成条件,即原料2-硝基苯甲酸与硝酸钕物质的量比2.5∶1,溶液pH值5.5,反应时间3h、干燥时间8 h,在此条件下制得了平均粒径为15 nm的氧化钕微粉,并利用XRD和TEM对制得的纳米微粉进行了结构表征.     

Obtaining nanocomposites of polyamide 6 and cellulose whiskers via extrusion and injection molding

Nanocomposites of polyamides with cellulose whiskers are difficult to obtain by conventional processing of extrusion and injection molding because of the low thermal stability of the cellulosic nanostructures and the relatively high processing temperature of polyamides, which is higher than the temperature of thermal degradation of cellulose whiskers. Thus, in this study cellulose whiskers were coated with polyamide 6 (PA6) in order to increase their thermal stability and prevent the formation of agglomerates. This coating on cellulose whiskers allows their application to obtain nanocomposites with polyamides, whose processing temperatures are relatively high, around 250 °C. Cellulose whiskers (CWs) were obtained from cotton fibers by acid hydrolysis. The freeze-dried CWs were coated with PA6 by dispersing them in formic acid; PA6 was solubilized in this suspension. The cellulose-coated whiskers (CCWs) were characterized by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM-FEG) and infrared spectroscopy. SEM-FEG and TG results showed that the PA6 coating on CWs prevented high agglomeration of dried CWs and promoted an increase in their thermal stability from 180 to 280 °C, allowing the use of CCWs to obtain nanocomposites with PA6 using conventional processing routes, such as extrusion and injection molding, at appropriate processing temperatures. In this way, 1 wt% CCWs was used to prepare nanocomposites with PA6. The PA6 + 1CW nanocomposites were compared to neat PA6 without CWs. The samples were characterized by tensile tests and DSC, and the results showed that the PA6 coating on CWs was effective in raising the thermal stability of CWs, improving the dispersion of CWs in the matrix of PA6, resulting in a 45 % increase in the elastic modulus of the nanocomposite with only 1 wt% of coated cellulose whiskers in comparison to neat PA6.     

Dopant position of Co atom in Zn1−xCoxO nanoparticles studied by extended X-ray absorption fine structure

Zn_1?xCo_xO nanoparticles were prepared by sol–gel method. The microstructure and dopant position were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). The XRD patterns did not show any signal of impurity in the Zn_1?xCo_xO nanoparticles with Co concentration from x = 0.01 to 0.08. Neither did the HRTEM image for the highest concentration sample with x = 0.08. The nanoparticles have also been investigated by the EXAFS measurements at Co k-edge. The radical distribution functions, the fitting result of bond length and coordination numbers, indicated there was an impurity in the highest Co concentration sample with x = 0.08. Although most of the Co atoms were substituted for Zn sites in ZnO with x = 0.08, a few of Co atoms formed a microstructure similar to Co₃O₄, which was not found in the XRD and HRTEM. The room temperature ferromagnetic behaviour was found for x = 0.01 sample by superconducting quantum interference device .     

Macroporous zirconia particles prepared by subcritical water in batch and flow processes

Porous zirconia particles were synthesized through a low-temperature hydrothermal synthesis process. Under hydrothermal conditions, water can control the direction of crystal growth, morphology, particle size, and size distribution because thermodynamics and transport properties can be controlled by pressure and temperature. In a batch process, the hydrothermal synthesis was conducted at 200–300 °C and 30 MPa with an SUS-304 tube as the reactor. At the same reaction pressure, experiments were also performed for a flow process with temperatures of 180–200 °C. The synthesized products were calcined and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the macroporous zirconia particles that were formed had pore diameters around 419 nm. The XRD pattern indicated that the products were composed of zirconium oxide particles with monoclinic, tetragonal, and cubic structures.     

Alkali Hydrothermal Synthesis of Na0.1Ca0.9TiO3 Nanorods as Heterogeneous Catalyst for Transesterification of Camelina Sativa Oil to Biodiesel

Orthorhombic perovskite Na_0.1Ca_0.9TiO₃ nanorods were synthesized at low calcination temperature via alkali hydrothermal synthesis. The synthesized nanorods exhibits a square based prism morphology, with a width and length of 200–500 nm and 2–3 μm respectively. The structural, textural and basic characteristics of the catalyst were examined by SEM, TEM, XRD and BET. The growth direction of the nanorods was confirmed to be along the long symmetry [110] zone axis and the exterior surfaces are found to be polar (110) and (002) with either Ti or Ca exposed in those facets. The catalytic activity of the nanorods was investigated for the transesterification of the low-input Camelina Sativa oil and methanol to give the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). Effects of important reaction parameters such as methanol to oil molar ratio, catalyst dosage, reaction temperature and reaction time on oil conversion were examined. Optimized biodiesel yield of 93 % was achieved with catalyst dosage of 6 % w/w, methanol to oil molar ratio of 36:1 at reaction temperature of 60 °C for 8 h.     

Aqueous-phase catalytic hydrogenation of furfural to cyclopentanol over Cu-Mg-Al hydrotalcites derived catalysts: Model reaction for upgrading of bio-oil

A series of Cu-Mg-Al hydrotalcites derived oxides with a (Cu+Mg)/Al mole ratio of 3 and varied Cu/Mg mole ratio (from 0.07 to 0.30) were prepared by co-precipitation and calcination methods, then they were introduced to the hydrogenation of furfural in aqueous-phase. Effects of Cu/Mg mole ratio, reaction temperature, initial hydrogen pressure, reaction time and catalyst amount on the conversion rate of furfural as well as the selectivity toward desired product cyclopentanol were systematically investigated. The conversion of furfural over calcined hydrotalcite catalyst with a Cu/Mg mole ratio of 0.2 was up to 98.5% when the reaction was carried out under 140 °C and the initial hydrogen pressure of 4 MPa for 10 h, while the selectivity toward cyclopentanol was up to 94.8%. The catalysts were characterized by XRD and SEM. XRD diffraction of all the samples showed characteristic pattern of hydrotalcite with varied peak intensity as a result of different Cu content. The catalytic activity was improved gradually with the increase of Cu component in the hydrotalcite.     

Fabrication of SiC and Si3N4 Whiskers under Pressurized Ar and N2 Atmosphere through High‐Energy Ball Milling

SiO_{2 (activated or mesoporous silica)}/Mg_{(magnesiothermic or metal sintering aid)}/C_{(activated or polymeric carbon)}/N_{2 (atmosphere)} systems were used in the one‐step synthesis of β‐SiC and β‐Si₃N₄ whiskers. In this study, a mixture of the active precursors was allowed to react via a self‐sustaining reaction (high‐energy ball milling process). Scanning electron micrographs and X‐ray diffraction (XRD ) analysis showed that the rod‐like SiC whiskers (~800 µm) were synthesized in situ by the direct carbothermal reduction of silicon nitride (or silicon) with activated carbon in N₂ (or Ar) atmosphere. The results show that β‐Si₃N₄ (without β‐SiC ) was fully formed after 5 h of milling with four different morphologies, namely whisker tip (droplet/no droplet) and nonuniform whiskers (short hexagonal/rhombohedral/rod‐like) with a length of 0.1–400 µm. By adding metal sintering aids, the liquid phase Mg–Si–O–N and the rate of carbothermal reduction increased (enhanced densification via particle rearrangement) and their hexagonal whiskers tended to assume a rod‐like shape. The effect of the concentration of CO (reduction of α‐Fe₂O₃ to Fe by CO ) on the whisker synthesis suggests that, in addition to the concentration of CO , the nature of the family of mesoporous silica/carbon template is an important factor in the synthesis of β‐SiC and β‐Si₃N₄ whiskers. The possible chemical reactions were investigated by studying the unwanted phases (MgO , Si, SiC , Fe₂O₃ , Fe₃O₄ , FeO , Fe, Fe₃C , MgCO₃ ) of comparable XRD graphs.     

Structural and electrochemical properties of TiFe alloys synthesized by ball milling for hydrogen storage

The binary TiFe alloy was synthesized by mechanical alloying (MA) under argon atmosphere at room temperature. The effect of ball to powder weight ratio on the microstructures was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The effect of milling time on the electrochemical and activation properties was investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM), galvanostatic charging and discharging, constant potential discharge, and potentiodynamic polarization techniques. Relationships between electrochemical properties, such as polarization, variation of electrochemical discharge capacity, \( \frac{D_{\mathrm{H}}}{a^2} \) ratio exchange current density, and Nernst potential and alloy compositions were evaluated. XRD results showed that with increasing ball to powder weight ratio, the amorphization process is accelerating and powders milled with a ratio of 1:8 have the highest conversion rate to TiFe. SEM observations reveal that particles show cleavage fracture morphology and size distribution is generally normalized. TiFe milled during 40 h was easily activated within 5 cycles and showed the best discharge capacity equal to 147 mAh g^?1. A good cycling was observed after 20 cycles at ambient temperature for the alloy milled for 30 h. A correlation between alloy composition, \( \frac{D_{\mathrm{H}}}{a^2} \) report, exchange current density, and Nernst potential on one hand and the variation of the electrochemical discharge capacity during cycling for different milling times on the other hand was observed.     

Zirconyl schiff base complex-functionalized MCM-41 catalyzes dehydration of fructose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in organic solvents

A heterogeneous catalyst was prepared by immobilizing Zirconyl Schiff base complex on the modified MCM-41 and used in the conversion of fructose to HMF. A higher HMF yield was obtained when fructose as raw material under optimal reaction conditions.     

Thermal, structural and rheological behaviour of native and modified waxy corn starch with hydrochloric acid at different temperatures

In this study, samples of native waxy corn starch, waxy corn starch treated with HCl 0.15 mol L^?1 at 20 and 50 °C, respectively, were analysed. The thermogravimetric curves showed similar behaviour with three main mass losses and a decrease in the thermal stability. The acid hydrolysis in low HCl concentration performed for 4 h caused a decrease in peak temperature (DSC), viscosity peak (RVA), gelatinisation enthalpy (DSC) and relative crystallinity (XRD), and an increase in the average roughness (NC-AFM). The X-ray diffraction patterns displayed the ‘A’ type for all the starch granules.     

Synthesis of high-performance superabsorbent glycerol acrylate-cross-linked poly (acrylic acid)

Glycerol acrylate (GA) is synthesised by an acryloylation reaction with acryloyl chloride. An ester was used as a cross-linking agent at varying proportions in the synthesis of poly acrylic acid (PAA). The amount of cross-linking density in the product (GA-PAA) and degree of neutralisation determine the absorbency of the polymer samples. A sample of GA-PAA containing 0.8 % GA was discovered to absorb 395 and 66 g/g of water and saline solution, respectively. Different solvent uptakes were tested with the sample showing varying capacity for different solvents. The temperature of the reaction was maintained at 60 °C and a reaction time of 2½ h. FTIR, TGA, SEM and XRD analyses were used to characterise the products.     

Recovery of Algal Oil from Marine Green Macro-algae Enteromorpha intestinalis by Acidic–Hydrothermal Process

In this study, the recovery of algal oil from Enteromorpha intestinalis based on an acidic–hydrothermal reaction was investigated. Overall, the algal oil yield after the acidic–hydrothermal reaction was increased under the conditions of high reaction temperature, high catalyst concentration, and long reaction time within the tested ranges. Significantly, catalyst concentration, compared with reaction temperature and time, less affected algal oil recovery. The optimal acidic–hydrothermal reaction conditions for production of algal oil from E. intestinalis were as follows—200 °C reaction temperature, 2.92 % catalyst concentration, 54 min reaction time. Under these conditions, an 18.6 % algal oil yield was obtained. By increasing the combined severity factor, the algae oil recovery yield linearly increased.     

GRAFT COPOLYMERIZATION OF METHYL ACRYLATE ONTO CHITOSAN INITIATED BY POTASSIUM DIPERIODATONICKELATE (IV)

ABSTRACT

A novel redox system, potassium diperiodatonickelate [Ni (IV)]‐chitosan, was employed to initiate the graft copolymerization of methyl acrylate (MA) onto chitosan in alkali aqueous solution. The effects of reaction variables such as monomer concentration, initiator concentration, reaction time, pH and temperature were determined. By means of a series of copolymerization, the grafting conditions were optimized. The maximum grafting percentage obtained was 404.1% when 0.3 g chitosan was copolymerized with 1.8 mL monomer at 35°C for 5 hours with [Ni (IV)]=9.4×10^?4 M and the total volume was 20 mL. Ni (IV)-chitosan system is found to be an efficient redox initiator for this graft copolymerization. A single electron transfer mechanism is proposed to explain the formation of radicals and the initiation. The grafted copolymers were characterized by IR and X-ray diffraction diagrams. The thermal stability of chitosan and chitosan-g-PMA was studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).     

Hydrothermal conditions on Sn0.95Co0.05O2: nanostructures, ferromagnetism and optical behavior

We have studied the effect of hydrothermal conditions at constant temperature of 180 °C, varying preparation time for 15, 30 and 45 h on nanostructures of diluted magnetic semiconductor Sn_0.95Co_0.05O₂ (SC5). X-ray diffraction pattern confirm the tetragonal SnO₂ rutile phase. The transmission and scanning electron microscopy shows the resulting nanostructures i.e. nanospheres and nanorods. The proposed reaction mechanism is given. The Raman spectra show the formation of tetragonal rutile structure of SC5 nanostructures. Fourier transform infrared spectrum has been used to verify the existence of Sn–O bond. The photoluminescence spectra show that the emission spectral intensity increases gradually with decreasing grains size, increasing hydrothermal heating time of SC5 samples and exhibits an intense blue luminescence centered at a wavelength of 531 nm. The optical absorbance measurements revealed that the nanometric size of the materials influences the energy band gap. All the prepared SC5 samples exhibit room temperature ferromagnetism.     

Optimization of the process of chemical hydrolysis of cellulose to glucose

We studied the acid hydrolysis of cellulose in an aqueous medium with the aim of maximizing glucose yield and minimizing the formation of by-products. The influence of reaction parameters such as temperature, acid concentration, acid strength and type of cellulose precursor on glucose yield was investigated. We observed that moderate reaction temperature and low acid concentration resulted in the highest glucose yield with little formation of levulinic acid. Strong acid (pKa < 0) is required to achieve high glucose yield. The crystallite size of the cellulose also affects its reactivity; cellulose with higher crystallite size is more resistant to hydrolysis catalyzed by acid. The highest selectivity for glucose over levulinic acid was recorded at a reaction temperature of 413 K and a sulfuric acid concentration in the range of 0.2–0.5 mol/L. Under these reaction conditions, no levulinic acid was detected, but the glucose yield reached 20 % in only 2 h.     

Magnetic Investigation of Various NiFe<Subscript>2−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Bi<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> Ferrite Nanostructures Synthesized by Ball Milling Technique

NiFe_2?x Bi _x O₄ (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3) nanoparticles with various grain sizes were synthesized via annealing treatment followed by ball milling of its bulk component materials. Commercially available bismuth, nickel and iron oxide powders were first mixed and then annealed at 1200 °C in an oxygen environment furnace for 4 h. The samples were then milled for 2 h by high-energy ball milling. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern indicated that in this stage the samples are single phase. The microstructure investigation was carried out by a scanning electron microscope with maximum magnification of 30,000. The average grain size for different samples was estimated by XRD technique and transmission electron microscopy. Magnetic behavior of the samples at room temperature was studied using an alternating gradient force magnetometry. The Néel temperature of the powders was measured by a Faraday balance. Based on magnetic studies, increase in bismuth content leads to a decrease in the saturation magnetization, coercive field and Néel temperature. This can be attributed to the substitution of Bi³⁺ ion in the ferrite system as a nonmagnetic cation.