Interaction of poly(ethylene oxide) with fumed silica

Interaction of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO, 600 kDa) with fumed silica A-300 (SBET = 316 m2/g) was investigated under different conditions using adsorption, infrared (IR), thermal analysis (TG-DTA), AFM, and quantum chemical methods. The studied dried silica/PEO samples were also carbonized in a flow reactor at 773 K. The structural characteristics of fumed silica, PEO/silica, and pyrocarbon/fumed silica were investigated using nitrogen adsorption-desorption at 77.4 K. PEO adsorption isotherm depicts a high affinity of PEO to the fumed silica surface in aqueous medium. PEO adsorbed in the amount of 50 mg per gram of silica (PEO monolayer corresponds to CPEO approximately 190 mg/g) can disturb approximately 70% of isolated surface silanols. However, at the monolayer coverage, only 20% of oxygen atoms of PEO molecules take part in the hydrogen bonding with the surface silanols. An increase in the PEO amount adsorbed on fumed silica leads to a diminution of the specific surface area and contributions of micro- (pore radius R < 1 nm) and mesopores (1 < R < 25 nm) to the pore volume but contribution of macropores (R > 25 nm) increases with CPEO. Quantum chemical calculations of a complex of a PEO fragment with a tripple bond SiOH group of a silica cluster in the gas phase and with consideration for the solvent (water) effect show a reduction of interaction energy in the aqueous medium. However, the complex remains strong enough to provide durability of the PEO adsorption complexes on fumed silica; i.e., PEO/fumed silica nanocomposites could be stable in both gaseous and liquid media.     

Ammonia, cyclohexane, nitrogen and water adsorption capacities of an activated carbon impregnated with increasing amounts of ZnCl(2), and designed to chemisorb gaseous NH(3) from an air stream

The adsorption capacity of ZnCl(2)-impregnated activated carbon (AC) for NH(3) is reported in terms of stoichiometric ratio of reaction (NH(3) per ZnCl(2)). This ratio depends on the testing conditions used. Compared to the ratio obtained under dry conditions, the ratio is higher under humid conditions or increased NH(3) concentrations. The linear increase of the NH(3) capacity with increasing loading of ZnCl(2) breaks down at about 3.5 mmol ZnCl(2)/g AC. This behavior is explained in terms of preferential adsorption of a monolayer of salt followed by aggregation of the impregnant once a monolayer is completed. The effect of increasing the loading of ZnCl(2) on the capacity for gases for which the impregnants are not intended, namely cyclohexane, nitrogen, and water vapor, is also discussed. A break in the linear relationship between water capacity and impregnant loading at about 3.5 mmol ZnCl(2) seems to correspond to a full monolayer coverage of ZnCl(2) on AC. The monolayer of ZnCl(2) is shown to reduce the uptake of water into AC, while the ZnCl(2) aggregates are shown to be hydrophilic.     

Role of surface-adsorbed water in the horizontal polymerization of trichlorosilanes

The high surface area of porous silica gel enables characterization of the amount of adsorbed water needed for horizontal polymerization of trichlorosilanes for the first time. Silica gel samples were individually exposed to relative humidity levels of 30%, 40%, 50% and 60% prior to reaction, and the amount of adsorbed water was determined by weighing. Optical microscopy shows that polymer microspheres, unattached to the silica, form in the case of 60% humidity, indicating that this level is in excess of the optimum coverage of water. Microanalysis reveals a monotonic increase in carbon with increased humidity, and ²⁹Si NMR spectra reveal increased cross-linking of the siloxanes as the humidity increased to 50%. HPLC is shown to be a very sensitive technique for assessing the coverage of the silica substrate: zone tailing is sharply minimized at 50% humidity. These results point to 50% as the optimal humidity for dense horizontal polymerization of trichlorosilanes. The amount of adsorbed water at 50% humidity and room temperature is 22±3 μmol/m², which approaches the stoichiometric amount required to hydrolyze the trichlorosilanes.     

Surface Pressure, Hysteresis, Interfacial Tension, and CMC of Four Sorbitan Monoesters at Water-Air, Water-Hexane, and Hexane-Air Interfaces

The hydrophobicity of fine particles is important for their behavior at interfaces, for example, in stabilizing emulsions. In this study, contact angles were evaluated for silanized fumed silica nanospheres with mean primary diameter of about 12 nm, using heat flow microcalorimetry. Three systems were investigated: water-air-nanospheres, toluene-air-nanospheres, and toluene-water-nanospheres. For the water-air-nanospheres system, n-propanol at various concentrations in water was used to aid in dispersing the nanospheres, and the enthalpy of immersion between water, air, and nanospheres was obtained by extraploting to zero n-propanol concentration. Measurements of enthalpy of immersion for toluene-air-nanospheres system were straightforward, as all the nanospheres samples were dispersible in toluene. The enthalpy of immersion for toluene-water-nanospheres system was calculated from the data for the aforementioned first and the second systems. For water-air-nanosphere systems, contact angles were in the range of 14 to 118 degrees, corresponding to enthalpy of immersion from -0.0905 to 0.0041 J/m(2). For the case of toluene-air-nanospheres systems, the contact angles varied from 72 to 94 degrees with corresponding enthalpy of immersion from -0.0295 to -0.0189 J/m(2). For toluene-water-nanospheres systems, however, contact angles were in the range of 0 to 96 degrees, corresponding to enthalpy of immersion from -0.0717 to -0.0175 J/m(2). Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Studies of surface modification of solids

The surface of silica was treated with trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS) and hexa-methyldisilazane (HMDS) respectively and the immersional heat into water, adsorption capacity for water vapor and infrared absorption spectra were measured. TMCS reacts with freely vibrating silanols while HMDS also reacts with other silanols. By treatment with silane, the silica surface is covered by the trimethylsilyl group, a maximum amount of which attains 1 meq/g (3 groups/nm²). As the amount of the trimethylsilyl group on silica increases, the immersional heat of silica into water decreases and attains a constant value of about 25 erg/cm², which is the typcial value for a hydrophobic surface. The interaction of the trimethylsilyl group with water is weak, therefore the adsorptive capacity for water vapor is lessened remarkably by treatment with silane.     

Adsorption of triton X-100 on silica gel: effects of temperature and alcohols

Adsorption of Triton X-100 (TX-100) on silica gel has been studied as a function of temperature (308–328 K) and composition for mixtures of water with ethanol or t-butanol. The adsorption capacity of silica gel for TX-100 decreases with increase in alcohol content. Adsorption isotherms of TX-100 on silica gel are four-region and were analyzed using the ARIAN (adsorption isotherm regional analysis) model. Data in regions 2, 3 and 4 were fitted to the Temkin, bilayer and reverse desorption isotherms, respectively. The results show that adsorption of TX-100 on silica gel in water and alcohol-water binary mixtures occurs mainly through formation of monolayer surface aggregates or low bilayer coverage.      

Microwave Dielectric Relaxation of Bound Water to Silica, Alumina, and Silica-Alumina Gel Suspensions

By the use of a time domain reflectomery method, dielectric measurements were carried out on silica, alumina, and silica-alumina gel suspensions (five types with composition varying between 0.3 < Si/Al atomic ratio <0.8) in the frequency range of 100 kHz to 20 GHz. For all the gels, a relaxation peak due to bound water was observed. This peak locates at around 1-10 MHz, indicating that the peak is a decade or 10 decades lower than those of biological polymers such as an aqueous DNA solution. The silica and alumina gels have a different bound water structure, judging from the fact that the peaks are different in their locations and shapes between the two gels. The silica-alumina gels exhibit two different peaks other than the peak of bulk water. The sum of the relaxation strength on the two peaks is proportional to the monolayer capacity obtained from water vapor isotherms. The shape of the one peak holds that of the silica gel, whereas the other retains that of alumina gel, and furthermore the ratio of the relaxation strength on the former peak to that on the latter depends on Si/Al atomic ratio. It is suggested that both peaks are caused by the orientation of bound water molecules. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.     

Modeling carbon dioxide adsorption on polyethylenimine-functionalized TUD-1 mesoporous silica

Samples of porous, foam-like TUD (Technische Universit?t Delft)-1 mesoporous silica were functionalized with polyethylenimine and were used as a substrate for CO(2) adsorption. Produced solids were characterized by means of electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and N(2) adsorption/desorption at 77K, in order to prove that polymer chains efficiently filled the pores of functionalized samples. CO(2) adsorption isotherms on polyethylenimine-containing TUD-1 were evaluated at T=298, 313, 328, and 348 K for pressures up to 100 kPa by means of a volumetric technique. The CO(2) adsorption capacity proved to be significantly dependent on temperature, with the highest capacity encountered at T=348 K. The experimental data for CO(2) adsorption were satisfactorily described by means of the Langmuir isotherm, and the dependence of the isosteric heat on the fractional coverage of the adsorbent was evaluated by means of the van't Hoff equation, showing values in the order of 80 kJ/mol for a fractional coverage of about 50%.     

Characterization of Formation Kinetics of Self-Assembled Thiol Monolayers on Gold by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy

Interest in the properties of organized monolayers has grown enormously in recent years because these monolayers can provide a means to control the interface at a molecular level1. The self-assemblies of alkanethiols and their derivatives were probably the most intensively studied due to their stability, well-packed structure, ease in preparation, and flexibility in designing the tail group2. The adsorption kinetics of thiol monolayer has been studied by using several techniques, including con…     

CTAB在硅胶表面吸附引起的润湿性变化和模拟驱油

用椭圆偏振法测定溴代十六烷基三甲胺（CTAB）水溶液在光滑的二氧化硅膜片上的吸附，其结果符合两阶段模型，即在不同浓度下发生单分子层和近似双分子层的吸附，并与其表面润湿性变化的数据吻合.用改进的Washburn方程测量改性硅胶粉末的润湿性, 研究了CTAB水溶液在硅胶粉末表面上吸附引起的润湿性变化.并由此探讨了CTAB水溶液在硅胶粉末表面的润湿性,表面活性剂的临界胶束浓度（CMC）与表面含油粉末脱油率的关系，对在非超低界面张力条件下通过改变固/液界面润湿性提高原油采收率作了实验探讨.     

Structural modifications and adsorption capability of C18-silica/binary solvent interphases studied by EPR and RP-HPLC

The structure of the octadecyl (C18) chain layer attached to a silica surface in the presence of binary solvents (acetonitrile/water; methanol/water) was investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), using 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6 tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl (Tempol) to mimic the behavior of pollutants with medium-low polarity. The computer-aided analysis of the EPR spectra provided structural and dynamical information of the probe and its environments which clarified the modifications of the chain conformations that occur at different solvent compositions. Capacity factors, k', were calculated as a function of the percentage of water/organic solvent (mobile phase), and the retention behavior of the C18-functionalized silica surface (stationary phase) was compared with the results obtained with EPR analysis under static conditions. In particular, EPR analysis showed that, at percentages of ACN equal or higher than 50%, the chain layer assume a quite ordered structure, whereas at percentages lower than 50% the chains tend to collapse and fold on the silica surface. In this latter situation, the hydrophobic net of the C18 chains strongly limits Tempol mobility. In methanol/water mixtures, both EPR and RP-HPLC analysis showed that the probe was adsorbed into a poorly ordered interphase. If the residual silanols at the silica surface were bonded to a sililating agent (endcapping), both EPR and RP-HPLC analysis showed a decreased adsorption of the probe with respect to the non-endcapped silica at the same mobile phase composition.     

Nanoparticles of varying hydrophobicity at the emulsion droplet-water interface: adsorption and coalescence stability

The coalescence stability of poly(dimethylsiloxane) emulsion droplets in the presence of silica nanoparticles ( approximately 50 nm) of varying contact angles has been investigated. Nanoparticle adsorption isotherms were determined by depletion from solution. The coalescence kinetics (determined under coagulation conditions at high salt concentration) and the physical structure of coalesced droplets were determined from optical microscopy. Fully hydrated silica nanoparticles adsorb with low affinity, reaching a maximum surface coverage that corresponds to a close packed monolayer, based on the effective particle radius and controlled by the salt concentration. Adsorbed layers of hydrophilic nanoparticles introduce a barrier to coalescence of approximately 1 kT, only slightly reduce the coalescence kinetics, and form kinetically unstable networks at high salt concentrations. Chemically hydrophobized silica nanoparticles, over a wide range of contact angles (25 to >90 degrees ), adsorb at the droplet interface with high affinity and to coverages equivalent to close-packed multilayers. Adsorption isotherms are independent of the contact angle, suggesting that hydrophobic attraction overcomes electrostatic repulsion in all cases. The highly structured and rigid adsorbed layers significantly reduce coalescence kinetics: at or above monolayer surface coverage, stable flocculated networks of droplets form and, regardless of their wettability, particles are not detached from the interface during coalescence. At sub-monolayer nanoparticle coverages, limited coalescence is observed and interfacial saturation restricts the droplet size increase. When the nanoparticle interfacial coverage is >0.7 and <1.0, mesophase-like microstructures have been noted, the physical form and stability of which depends on the contact angle. Adsorbed nanoparticle layers at monolayer coverage and composed of a mixture of nanoparticles with different hydrophobisation levels form stable networks of droplets, whereas mixtures of hydrophobized and hydrophilic nanoparticles do not effectively stabilize emulsion droplets.     

Surface structure and properties of mixed fumed oxides

A variety of fumed oxides such as silica, alumina, titania, silica/alumina (SA), silica/titania (ST), and alumina/silica/titania (AST) were characterized. These oxides have different specific surface areas and different primary particle composition in the bulk and at the surface. These materials were studied by FTIR, NMR, Auger electron spectroscopy, one-pass temperature-programmed desorption with mass spectrometry control (OP TPDMS), microcalorimetry, and nitrogen adsorption. Nonlinear changes in the surface content of alumina in SA and AST and titania in ST and AST samples with increasing oxide content along with simultaneous changes in their specific surface area cause complex dependencies of the heat of immersion in water and desorption of water on heating on the structural parameters. Simultaneous analysis of changes in the surface phase composition, in the concentration of hydroxyls, and in the structural characteristics reveals that at a low content of the second phase the structural characteristics (e.g., S(BET)) are predominant; however, at a large content of these oxides the phase composition plays a more important role.     

Effect of Interfacial Alcohol Concentrations on Oil Solubilization by Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Micelles

Alcohol partitioning and its effect on oil solubilization in Winsor Type I microemulsion systems was investigated. The microemulsion systems consisted of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), pentanol, isopropanol (IPA), and dodecane, with either deionized water or an aqueous solution of 50 mM CaCl(2). Alcohol partitioning between aqueous, oil, and interfacial phases of the microemulsion was described using a pseudophase model in which the alcohol was assumed to self-associate in the oil phase. Partitioning in these miroemulsions was consistent with pentanol self-association in the oil phase. IPA did not self-associate but co-associated with pentanol in the oil phase. IPA concentrations as high as 20 g/kg of water had no effect on pentanol partitioning. The partition coefficient for pentanol between aqueous and interfacial phases was about 220 on a mole fraction basis. However, pentanol saturated the interfacial phase at a mole ratio of 3 : 1 pentanol to SDS. Addition of pentanol beyond that sufficient to saturate the interface resulted in large amounts of pentanol partitioning into the oil, reaching concentrations in excess of 25 g dL(-1) of oil phase. Dodecane solubilization increased linearly with pentanol mole fraction in the interface up to the 3 : 1 pentanol-to-SDS saturation level. The fact that dodecane solubilization was unaffected by pentanol at concentrations beyond those necessary for interfacial saturation suggests that pentanol behaves as a cosurfactant and not a cosolvent in these microemulsion systems. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Application of solid-phase microextraction for the determination of pyrethroid residues in vegetable samples by GC-MS

A solid-phase microextraction (SPME) method has been developed for the determination of 7 pyrethroid insecticides (bifenthrin, lambda-cyhalothrin, permethrin, cyfluthrin, cypermethrin, fenvalerate, and tau-fluvalinate) in water, vegetable (tomato), and fruit (strawberry) samples, based on direct immersion mode and subsequent desorption into the injection port of a GC/MS. The SPME procedure showed linear behavior in the range tested (0.5-50 microg L(-1) in water and 0.01-0.1 mg kg(-1) in tomato) with r(2) values ranging between 0.97 and 0.99. For water samples limits of detection ranged between 0.1 and 2 microg L(-1 )with relative standard deviations lower than 20%. Detection limits for tomato samples were between 0.003 and 0.025 mg kg(-1) with relative standard deviations around 25%. Finally, the SPME procedure has been applied to vegetable (tomato) and fruit (strawberry) samples obtained from an experimental plot treated with lambda-cyhalothrin, and in both cases the analyte was detected and quantified using a calibration curve prepared using blank matrix. SPME has been shown to be a simple extraction technique which has a number of advantages such as solvent-free extraction, simplicity, and compatibility with chromatographic analytical systems. Difficulties with the correct quantification in a complex matrix are also discussed.     

Determination of cadmium, lead and copper in water samples by flame atomic-absorption spectrometry with preconcentration by flow-injection on-line sorbent extraction

Cadmium, lead and copper were determined in synthetic sea-water, drinking water and the NBS 1643b Trace Elements in Water standard reference material at mug/l. levels by flame atomic-absorption spectrometry after on-line preconcentration by sorbent extraction with a flow-injection system. Bonded silica with octadecyl functional groups packed in a micro column of 100 mul capacity was used to collect diethylammonium diethyldithiocarbamate complexes of the heavy metals in the aqueous samples. The sample loading time was 20 sec at a flow-rate of 3.3 ml/min. Ethanol or methanol was used to elute the adsorbed analytes into the spectrometer. The sample loading rate, elution rate and pH were optimized. Enrichment factors of 19-25 for Cd, Pb and Cu were achieved at sampling frequencies of 120/hr with precisions of 1.4, 1.0 and 1.3% rsd (n = 11), respectively. The detection limits (3sigma) for Cd, Pb and Cu were 0.3, 3 and 0.2 mug/l., respectively. Determination of Cd, Pb and Cu in NBS SRM 1643b showed good agreement with the certified values. Recoveries of Cd and Pb added to sea-water were 95 and 102%, respectively.     

Photochemistry of Tetracene Adsorbed on Dry Silica: Products and Mechanism

The photochemistry of tetracene (1) has been studied on dry silica at very low surface coverages (less than 3% of a monolayer). Irradiation of degassed samples of 1 adsorbed on silica surface proceeds very slowly to produce both syn (2) and anti (3) dimers. Under aerated conditions photolysis of 1 at surface coverages <1% of a monolayer gives mainly tetracene-5, 12-endoperoxide (4) and very little dimer. The endoperoxide slowly decomposes to form 5, 12-tetracenequinone (5), 5, 12-dihydroxytetracene (6) and 5, 12-dihydro-5, 12-dihydroxytetracene (7), respectively. As the surface coverage is increased above 1% of a monolayer, dimerization becomes more pronounced as a result of pairing and/or aggregation. The photooxidation process is mediated by the addition of singlet molecular oxygen to 1. Tetracene also undergoes a dark oxidation reaction on the silica surface to give 5 (major), 6 and 7 (minors) as products. The first-order rate constant for this Lewis acid-catalyzed oxidation was determined to be 1 × 10⁵ S^?1.     

State and structure of water in vicinity of hydrophobic surfaces

Criterial values of the specific heat of water wetting, surface pressure, and contact angle classifying surfaces into hydrophilic and hydrophobic are proposed based on the analysis of own and published data. The most characteristic properties of hydrophobic surfaces, i.e., large surface area per water molecule in the conventional adsorption monolayer and the absence of continuous two-layer water film on the adsorbent surface at vapor pressure close to saturation, are discussed using nonporous carbon-based materials as example. The presence of residual hydrophilic groups that act as sites of the clusterization of polar molecules on the surface of graphitized carbon black is confirmed by gas chromatography and the concentration of these sites is calculated. The amount of water molecules in the surface cluster is determined at different stages of adsorption. Procedures for preparing organically modified layered silicates and silica as basic objects of the study of the interaction between water molecules and hydrophobic surfaces are considered. It is proven that the boundary water layer in the vicinity of hydrophobic surface consists of a thin (∼0.5 nm) depletion layer with a density of 0.4 g/cm³ and a considerable amount (25–30%) of water molecules with free OH groups and thicker (∼35 nm) layer, which is characterized by a more ordered network of hydrogen bonds compared to liquid water. Data obtained by X-ray scattering and neutron and reflection methods, and sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy are compared with the results of calorimetric study of the interaction between water and hydrophobic surface, as well as with the data of molecular-statistical calculations of the state of water molecules in the surface layer.     

Influence of the pressure on the properties of chromatographic columns .III. retention volume of thiourea, hold-up volume, and compressibility of the C18-bonded layer

The influence of the average column pressure (ACP) on the elution volume of thiourea was measured on two RPLC columns, packed with Resolve-C18 (surface coverage 2.45 micromol/m2) and Symmetry-C18 (surface coverage 3.18 micromol/m2), and it was compared to that measured under the same conditions on an underivatized silica (Resolve). Five different methanol-water mixtures (20, 40, 60, 80 and 100% methanol, v/v) were used. Once corrected for the compressibility of the mobile phase, the data show that the elution volume of thiourea increases between 3 and 7% on the C18-bonded columns when the ACP increases from 50 to 350 bar, depending on the methanol content of the eluent. No such increase is observed on the underivatized Resolve silica column. This increase is too large to be ascribed to the compressibility of the stationary phase (silica + C18 bonded chains) which accounts for less than 5% of the variation of the retention factor. It is shown that the reason for this effect is of thermodynamic origin, the difference between the partial molar volume of the solute in the stationary and the mobile phase, Delta V, controlling the retention volume of thiourea. While Delta V is nearly constant for all mobile phase compositions on Resolve silica (with Delta V approximately equal to -4 mL/mol), on RPLC phases, it significantly increases with increasing methanol content, particularly above 60% methanol. It varies between -5 mL/mol and -17 mL/mol on Resolve-C18 and between -9 mL/mol and -25 mL/mol on Symmetry-C18. The difference in surface coverage between these two RP-HPLC stationary phases increases the values of Delta V by about 5 mL/mol.