Technetium-99m extraction and transport across tri-n-octylamine-xylene based supported liquid membranes

The nuclear properties of^99mTc radionuclide are ideal for organ imaging. Study of the technetium transport across supported liquid membranes has been performed to get data for its separation from other elements. Tri-n-octylamine diluted in xylene was used to constitute the liquid membranes, supported in polypropylene microporous films. Stripping on the product solution side was performed with dilute NaOH solutions. The effect of sulphuric acid, nitric acid and hydrochloric acid in the feed on transport of^99mTc as TcO ₄ ^– ions has been studied. The permeability of the given ions determined from kinetic activity data has been found to be in the order of PH₂SO₄>PHCl>PHNO₃. The flux values have been calculated based on this permeability data. The increase in carrier concentration has shown an increase in flux and permeability values to a given optimum concentration. The increase in temperature has been found to reduce the transport of Tc ions. The optimum conditions for transport of^99mTc for the given acid concentration have been determined. Mechanism of Tc ion transport has also been provided based on chemical reactions involved at the membrane interfaces and uptake of Tc ions by the membrane. MoO ₄ ^2– ions do not permeate through membrane under optimum conditions of transport for TcO ₄ ^2– ions from H₂SO₄ solution.     

Determination of transport coefficients in microporous solids

Macroscopic transient methods are reviewed with respect to their applicability to the investigation of molecular transport in microporous sorption systems. Various levels of sophistication of data evaluation for nonequilibrium sorption results obtained by means of batch methods are identified and characterised. Special attention is paid to the characterisation ofFickian (intracrystalline) diffusion as well as to the identification and quantification of additional rate mechanisms that, in general, may simultaneously occur in molecular sieve systems. A state-of-art determination of transport coefficients is exemplified for the systems benzene/microporous gallosilicate of MFI-type, n-hexane/silicalite-I and p-ethyltoluene/ZSM-5. Their sorption rate behaviour can be understood either byFickian diffusion or byFickian diffusion and intracrystalline molecular immobilisation/mobilisation and surface barrier penetration, respectively. To analyse complex sorption rate patterns in microporous systems, the method oftotal curve fitting with full parameter region consideration becomes mandatory.     

Transport through a slab membrane governed by a concentration-dependent diffusion coefficient: Part IV. D(C)/D0=1+(αC)−β(αC)

Using the specific functional form D(C)/D₀=1+(αC)−β(αC)² an investigation has been made of (isothermal) transport through a slab membrane under ‘simple’ boundary conditions and governed by a diffusion coefficient, D(C), which, with increasing concentration, at first increases, passes through a maximum value and finally decreases. The flux, integral diffusion coefficient and concentration profile characteristic of steady-state permeation have been evaluated; special attention has been paid to the positions of such profiles in relation to the corresponding linear distribution associated with a constant diffusion coefficient.The corresponding transient-state transport has been studied within a framework of the time-lag ‘early-time’ and ‘ ’ procedures. Expressions for the ‘adsorption’ and ‘desorption’ time-lags are given. The concentration-dependence of these time-lags, of the (four) integral diffusion coefficients derived from them and of the arithmetic-mean time-lag ratios have been considered in some detail. The ‘early-time’ and ‘ ’ finite-difference procedures have likewise been employed to derive four further integral diffusion coefficients, so enabling a comparison to be made of the nine integral coefficients pertaining to established experimental techniques.Particular interest attaches to the situation for which n≡β(αC₀)=1 (where C₀ is the ingoing or upstream concentration of diffusant) resulting in D(C₀) being symmetrical about C₀/2. Some consideration has been given, in general, to features of transient-state transport when governed by a symmetrical D(C).     

Semiempirical study of electronic and bonding properties of iron silicide clusters

Summary Molecular orbital calculations of iron, silicon, and iron silicide clusters have been carried out using the UHF-MINDO/SR method. The nature of the bonding in these compounds has been investigated by analyzing the importance of bonding indexes and diatomic components of the total energy. It has been found that in iron silicide the strongest bond is formed between Fe-Si and that it arises mainly as the result ofsp-sp type orbital interactions. Althoughd orbitals show very little overlap withs-p orbitals, they do contribute significantly to bonding through electrostatic type diatomic interactions. By means of a detailed analysis ofsp, andd orbitals and total density of states (DOS) of Fe₇Si₇, Si₇Fe₇, Fe₁₅, and Si₁₇ clusters, the present calculations have permitted us to explain the origin of the iron silicide UPS experimental peaks.     

A Film-Pore-Surface Diffusion Model for the Adsorption of Acid Dyes on Activated Carbon

The sorption of acid dyes from aqueous effluents onto activated carbon has been studied. The effects of initial dye concentration and activated carbon mass on the rate of Acid Blue 80, Acid Red 114 and Acid Yellow 117 removal have been investigated. A three-resistance mass transport model based on film, pore and surface diffusion control has been applied to model the concentration decay curves. The model incorporates an effective diffusion coefficient D _eff, which is dependant on the equilibrium solid phase concentration or fractional surface coverage. The results of the film-pore-surface diffusion model are compared with the data obtained from the basic film-pore diffusion model. It has been found that the film-pore-surface diffusion model provides a major improvement over the data correlated by the film-pore diffusion model. Also, the relationship between surface diffusion and fractional surface coverage has been investigated for the adsorption of acid dyes on activated carbon.     

A Film-Pore-Surface Diffusion Model for the Adsorption of Acid Dyes on Activated Carbon

The sorption of acid dyes from aqueous effluents onto activated carbon has been studied. The effects of initial dye concentration and activated carbon mass on the rate of Acid Blue 80, Acid Red 114 and Acid Yellow 117 removal have been investigated. A three-resistance mass transport model based on film, pore and surface diffusion control has been applied to model the concentration decay curves. The model incorporates an effective diffusion coefficient D _eff, which is dependant on the equilibrium solid phase concentration or fractional surface coverage. The results of the film-pore-surface diffusion model are compared with the data obtained from the basic film-pore diffusion model. It has been found that the film-pore-surface diffusion model provides a major improvement over the data correlated by the film-pore diffusion model. Also, the relationship between surface diffusion and fractional surface coverage has been investigated for the adsorption of acid dyes on activated carbon.     

Thermal diffusion in solutions containing two or more solute species in equilibrium: The Wagner effect

An exact thermodynamic treatment of the Wagner effect, thermal diffusion in solutions containing two or more species in equilibrium, is given. We consider primarily a solution in which the solute can exist as a monomer A or an n-mer A _n . Both A and A _n are treated as independent solute species. We do not assume that the solution is ideal or dilute.The heat of transport has been derived. It consists of two parts; one due to the intrinsic heat of transport of the species in the system and the other, due to chemical reaction. We found that the heats of transport derived from the Soret and Dufour effects are identical. Accordingly, the reciprocity relation is confirmed for the Onsager phenomenological coefficient for heat-matter coupling.     

Structure formation of surfactants in concentrated sulphuric acid: a light scattering study

A common cationic surfactant,n-hexadecylammonium hydrogensulphate, dissolved in concentrated sulphuric acid, has been studied by static and dynamic light scattering. Micelle formation has been observed even in this unusual solvent. An apparent molar mass of 45 500±4.5% was found for the aggregates. A translational diffusion coefficientD ₀=5.5×10^–9 cm²/s was measured which gave a hydrodynamically effective radius ofR _h=17.7 nm. The geometric radius of gyration wasR _g=76.2 nm. The ratioR _g/R _h=4.33 is indicative for rodlike structures. Assuming a polydispersity ofL _w/L _n=2 this corresponds to a cylinder ofL _w=152 nm. An axial ratiop _w=(L _w/d)=60.4 nm was estimated which leads to a cylinder diameter of 2.53 nm. At surfactant concentrations higher than 5% (w/vol) the rod-like micelles aggregate to form more globular structures. The time correlation function, recorded by dynamic light scattering, exhibited a two-step decay which indicates a bimodal distribution of particle sizes. The fast motion coincides with that of the micelles at low concentrations while the other is slower than the fast one by three orders of magnitude and corresponds to the translational motion of large clusters.     

Effects of type of adsorption isotherms on parallel diffusion of sulfonated dyes into porous cellulose membrane

Transport phenomenon of three sulfonated azo dyes, C.I. Acid Red 88, C.I. Direct Yellow 12, and C.I. Direct Blue 15 into water-swollen cellulose membranes has been analyzed on the basis of parallel transport theory by surface and pore diffusion. Langmuir equation was applied into the mass balance equation to estimate dye concentration in the pores. The results were compared with the results obtained by applying Freundlich equation in our previous papers. The surface diffusivity (D _s) and the pore diffusivity (D _p) for the parallel diffusion model obtained by applying Langmuir equation agreed with those obtained by applying Freudlich equation. The theoretical concentration profiles for parallel diffusion calculated usingD _s andD _p coincided accurately with the experimental data when we applied either Langmuir or Freundlich equations.     

Probe diffusion in homogeneous diblock copolymers

Forced Rayleigh scattering was used to investigate the diffusion of a photoreactive dye molecule in two homogeneous poly(styrene-b-isoprene) (SI) diblock copolymers with overall molecular weights of approximately 2000. Although diffusion rates were intermediate to TTI transport in homopolymer polystyrene (PS) and polyisoprene (PI), system dynamics appear to be largely dictated in each case by the PI block. The size of the polymer jumping unit, on the other hand, is evaluated from a free-volume analysis of the data, and is found to be governed predominantly by the PS component of the copolymer. The mechanism for tracer diffusion in low-molecular-weight block copolymers appears analogous to transport in a high molecular weight SI diblock copolymer (M_n = 13,600) that has been solvated sufficiently in toluene to be microstructurally disordered. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 1739–1746, 1998     

Transport properties of alkyltrimethylammonium bromide surfactants in aqueous solutions

Differential mutual diffusion coefficients of n-alkyltrimethylammonium bromides [CH₃(CH₂)_n–1N(CH₃)₃Br, C_nTAB] (n=10, 12, 14, 16) have been measured in aqueous solutions at 298.15 K using a conductimetric cell and an automatic apparatus to follow diffusion. The cell is based on an open-ended capillary, and the technique follows the diffusion process by measuring the resistance of a solution inside the capillaries at various times. The electrical conductances of those solutions have also been measured to calculate the critical micellar concentration (cmc). Thermodynamic analysis of the data suggests that the free ion concentration decreases at concentrations above the cmc, in agreement with theoretical predictions. The obtained values of the micellization parameters were used to model the mutual diffusion coefficients of C_nTAB aqueous solutions.     

Comparative investigations of ion-exchange membranes

The equilibrium and transport properties (conductivity, transport number, diffusion) of crosslinked ionomer membranes based on sulfinated and sulfonated PSU in aqueous solutions of HCl, NaCl and KCl have been investigated and compared with a Nafion 117 membrane. It has been found that these membranes are more compact and their conducting paths are of smaller dimension than that of the Nafion 117. The influence of length of crosslinking chain, changing from –(CH₂)₄– to –(CH₂)₁₂–, is particularly indicated by the diffusion coefficients; the conductivity and transport numbers of counterions are influenced only slightly. Practically no dependence of this effect on the transport number of H⁺ has been found.     

Glass transition. A new approach based on cluster model of glasses

The structure of real glasses has been considered to be microheterogeneous, composed of clusters and connective tissue. Particles in the cluster are assumed to be highly correlated in positions. The tissue is considered to have a truly amorphous structure with its particles vibrating in highly anharmonic potentials. Glass transition is recognized as corresponding to the melting of clusters. A simple mathematical model has been developed which accounts for various known features associated with glass transition, such as range of glass transition temperature,T _g, variation ofT _g with pressure, etc. Expressions for configurational thermodynamic properties and transport properties of glass forming systems are derived from the model. The relevence and limitations of the model are also discussed. Contribution No. 251 from Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit.     

Transient permeation of organic vapors through elastomeric membranes

The permeation of benzene and acetone vapors through sulfur-cured natural rubber was studied by the time-lag method. The experimental results were analyzed by a method suggested by Meares. The zero concentration diffusion coefficient D₀ was obtained by the early-time method. The Frisch time-lag equation was utilized to estimate both the solubility coefficient s and the additional parameter b required to define the concentration dependence of the diffusion coefficient: D(c) = D₀ exp {bc}. This form of concentration dependence was manifested by the corresponding permeability coefficient values. At low entering penetrant pressure, where the transport coefficients are constant, indirect evidence was obtained that D₀ is the mechanistically correct diffusion coefficient. The solubility coefficient values calculated for benzene vapor in natural rubber are in reasonable agreement with published equilibrium sorption data for a similar rubber compound. At higher entering penetrant pressures, average diffusion coefficients obtained at steady state tended to be larger than the corresponding average diffusion coefficients derived from the time lags. This same effect has been detected by other experimental approaches. Permeation experiments designed for this rapid method of analysis appear capable of yielding information consistent with that obtained by more time-consuming traditional methods.     

Surface Electromigration Patterns in a Confined Adsorbed Metal Film: Ga on GaN

The mass transport of gallium adatoms in a confined gallium bilayer on GaN(0001) is studied with photoelectron spectromicroscopy with the goal to identify the diffusing species and their lateral distribution during directional surface electromigration and/or ”random” thermal diffusion. It has been found that only the gallium atoms from the second layer undergo biased diffusion involving formation of three‐dimensional islands. The development of different gallium concentration patterns is described by means of a general model, considering the presence of vacancies and trapping centres for the diffusing atoms.     

Study of transport processes in plants by radioabsorption and microradiographic methods

The passive transport processes in plants of²²Na⁺,¹³⁷Cs⁺,⁴⁵Ca²⁺,⁶⁵Zn²⁺,⁵⁹Fe³⁺ and³²PO ₄ ³⁻ ions and the plant-protecting agent “Saphidon (¹⁴C)” were studied by a radioabsorption method. The parameters of the passive transport processes of²¹²Pb²⁺, borate and tetraborate ions in plants were measured by quantitative microradiographic methods, using photoemulsion and solid state nuclear track detectors. Ion diffusion concentration profiles within the plants were determined at various diffusion times and temperatures. The equation of linear diffusion combined with convection was used to determine the diffusion coefficients characteristic of the transport processes.     

Syntheses and characterization of physically crosslinked hydrogels from dithiocarbamate‐derived polyurethane macroiniferter

A dithiocarbamate (DC)‐based polyurethane macroiniferter (PUMI) was synthesized and used to prepare physically crosslinked polyurethane‐block‐poly (acrylamide) (PU‐b‐PAAm) and polyurethane‐block‐poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PU‐b‐PVP) hydrogels. The success of the reactions has been confirmed by FTIR, ¹H‐NMR, and ¹³C‐NMR Spectroscopy analyses. The number average molecular weight of the block copolymers increased linearly with conversion and copolymerization time and thus followed a “living” radical mechanism. The water transport behavior of these polyurethane‐based hydrogels such as water uptake rate, equilibrium water content (EWC), transport number (n), characteristic diffusion rate constant (K), diffusion coefficient (D), and pH effect on EWC has been investigated. The results revealed that PU‐b‐PAAm hydrogels followed Fickian diffusion suggesting diffusion controlled swelling kinetics, whereas the PU‐b‐PVP hydrogels followed non‐Fickian diffusion indicating that both diffusion and structural relaxation controlled the water transport. The PU‐b‐PAAm hydrogels showed higher swelling at both low and high pH than at a neutral pH. This is attributed to protonation of the tertiary amines of N,N′‐diethyl‐N,N′‐bis(2‐hydroxyethyl) thiuram disulfide (DHTD) at low pH and base hydrolysis of amide segments at high pH. In the thermogravimetric analysis; PUMI, PU‐b‐PVP and PU‐b‐PAAm have degraded in three distinct stages related to CS₂ evolution, hard segment degradation, and soft segment degradation. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 6272–6284, 2008     

Gas sorption and transport in substituted polystyrenes

The effects of pendant groups on gas transport were investigated using a series of substituted polystyrenes. Permeability coefficients were measured at 35°C and 1 atm for He, N₂, O₂, CH₄, and CO₂, and diffusion coefficients were calculated from time lag data. The absolute permeabilities for the polystyrenes are correlated reasonably well using a free volume model. All pendant group substitutions resulted in a reduction of the mobility selectivity for CO₂/CH₄ separation relative to polystyrene, although there was very little effect on the O₂/N₂ selectivity. The effects of the various substituents were individually analyzed in terms of their size, rigidity, and polarity. The addition of a methyl group to the backbone significantly decreases transport, while attachment to the para ring position increases permeation. Bulky rigid groups, such as t-butyl, enhance permeation even more. Methoxy and acetoxy substitutions provided an excellent means of examining plasticization of polymers by CO₂, such as cellulose acetate, which contain these same moieties. The response of these polymers indicates that the degree of plasticization is related to the polarity and flexibility of the pendant group.     

Thermal Diffusion with Chemical Reaction: A Carrier System

The heat of transport of oxygen across a membrane mediated by hemoglobin (Hb) as a carrier is iuvestigated by the method of irreversible thermodynamics. It is assumed that oxygen combines with hemoglobin molecules to form oxyhemoglobin according to the reaction nO₂ + Hb=HbO_zn. The oxyhemoglobin molecule HbO_zn then migrates to a new position and is reconverted to Hb by releasing oxygen. It is shown that the heat of transport of oxygen consists of two contributions; one due to the reaction and the other from thermal diffusion of individual species present. Total oxygen flux across the membrane is also calculated in terms of temperature and the chemical potential difference of oxygen across the membrane. The use of the heat of transport as a measure of the efficiency of the heat pump for the carrier-mediated transport process is investigated.