Surface tension of lead–lithium melts

The temperature and concentration dependences of the surface tension of lithium alloys based on lead are experimentally determined for the first time in a field of compositions with up to 20 at % lithium in lead in the temperature range from the liquidus up to 700 K. The isotherm of surface tension of the studied alloys in the range of compositions with ~10 at % Li in lead contains a minimum, as does the adsorption isotherm of lithium in the sub-eutectic area of PbLi compounds.     

Onsager heat of transport at the aniline liquid–vapour interface

The heat of transport for passage of matter through a gas–liquid interface has been determined for the aniline liquid–vapour system, by measuring stationary-state pressure differences produced by known temperature differences over a distance of 2 mm on the vapour side of the interface. For the range of pressures used, 2 mm is between 6 and 34 mean free paths. Coupling of the heat and matter fluxes is significant over the whole of this range. At the higher pressures the heat of transport is more than 20% of the heat of condensation; at the lower pressures it is more than 50%.     

Surface tension evolution during early stages of drying of sol–gel coatings

Striation defects in spin-coated thin films have been blamed on unfavorable capillary forces that occur due to solvent evaporation commonly experienced during coating deposition. Solvent evaporation during spinning causes predictable composition changes at the surface and these can either stabilize or de-stabilize the surface with respect to convective motions within the coating solution. The present work examines the surface tension changes while adding the most volatile component rather than removing it. This is then a “reverse drying” process, but it provides us with the slope of the surface tension change during normal coating drying. We have examined coating solutions for a case where a specific solvent addition has previously been shown to prevent the formation of striation defects. By measuring both the starting solution (one that produces bad striation defects) and the co-solvent-modified solution (that produces much flatter coatings), we are able to demonstrate the correlation between surface tension changes during spinning and the striation defect formation (or prevention). For the present case, an aluminum-titanate sol–gel recipe, the solvent that eliminated the striation defects is also responsible for a continuous, gradual, reduction in surface tension during the spin-on process, consistent with a model proposed earlier (D. P. Birnie, J Mater Res 16:1145–1154, 2001).     

Surface tension of liquid high-entropy equiatomic alloys of a Cu–Sn–Bi–In–Pb system

An experimental study of the temperature dependences of the surface tension of liquid high-entropy equiatomic alloys of a Cu–Sn–Bi–In–Pb system is conducted. Measurements are made within the temperature range of t _L to 1300°C in the mode of heating and subsequent cooling of a sample. Overcooling of a melt prior to crystallization is detected. The depth of overcooling grows along with the number of components in the melt, while the temperature coefficient of surface tension falls. The experimental results qualitatively interpreted within the concepts of the specific surface entropy of a liquid.     

Grain boundary corrosion of the surface of annealed thin layers of gold by OH· radicals

Annealed thin layers of gold with large mono-crystalline areas were treated with OH^· radicals generated in an electrochemical Fenton reaction. The morphological changes observed with ex situ atomic force microscopy in non-contact mode and grazing incidence X-ray diffractometry show that the grain boundaries, and generally the non-{111} planes, are the loci of highest reactivity, i.e., the places where the gold dissolution is much faster than on the {111} planes.     

Surface tension isotherms of the dioxane–acetone–water and glycerol–ethanol–water ternary systems

The results of the experimental and theoretical studies of the concentration dependence of surface tension of aqueous solutions of the 1,4-dioxane–acetone–water and glycerol–ethanol–water ternary systems were given. The studies were performed by the hanging-drop method on a DSA100 tensiometer. The maximum error of surface tension was 1%. The theoretical models for calculating the surface tension of the ternary systems of organic solutions were analyzed.     

Surface and interface engineering in transition metal–based catalysts for electrochemical water oxidation

A tremendous effort has been provided in last two decades to develop efficient transition metal–based heterogeneous catalysts for the electrochemical water oxidation. Several approaches such as composition modulation, heteroatom doping, morphological development, particle size tuning, surface area enhancement, and control over electronic structure have been explored for the designing of the materials with improved water oxidation activity. As the electrochemical process is a surface phenomenon, surface structure plays a crucial role in controlling the water oxidation activity. Rational engineering of the catalyst surface by composition modulation, crystal facet tuning, and generating functional overlayer has been reported to enhance the water oxidation activity. Heteroatom doping, cationic and anionic deficiencies, and ultrathin 2D morphology are also found to promote electrochemical performance. In addition, engineering in the interface provides intrinsic improvement of the catalytic activity and stability for the electrochemical water oxidation. Although, surface and interface engineering of the catalyst has come out as the major factors in the electrochemical water oxidation, no dedicated review is available in this field. In this review, we have described the strategies of improving water oxidation activity of the catalysts by surface and interface engineering. The progress in this field discussed in detail; the challenges have been identified and addressed to attain a clear understanding in this field.     

Surface tension studies on the complexation of dodecylpyridinium chloride byβ-cyclodextrin in aqueous electrolyte solutions

Surface tension measurements have been performed at 25° C for aqueous mixtures of dodecylpyridinium chloride and -cyclodextrin in 0.1 M NaCl. Data analyses assuming 1:1 stoichiometry were applied to estimate the complexation constant of the host-guest complex formation. The technique yields consistent results for solutions with a swamping, constant concentration of a simple inorganic electrolyte.     

Extended Veytsman statistics for the solid–fluid transition in the framework of lattice fluid

Lattice fluid can describe a vapor–liquid transition but not a solid–fluid transition. In this work, we propose a simple and analytic term which yields a solid–fluid transition when coupled with a lattice based equation of state (EOS). The proposed term is derived based on the two assumptions that (1) solid can be considered as highly associated phase affected by strong attractive force and (2) this force is distinct from the conventional attractive forces yielding a vapor–liquid transition. To formulate these assumptions, we extend Veytsman statistics by modifying its density dependency. The derived term was combined with a quasi-chemical nonrandom lattice fluid theory (QLF) developed by the authors. The combined model was found to require only two parameters besides 3 QLF parameters for physical properties calculation of three phases. When tested against equilibrium properties of 8 components, the combined model was found to closely reproduce melting pressure, sublimation pressure, and vapor pressure, but underestimate solid density as well as heat of melting at the triple point temperature. It was found that the present approach can yield a solid–liquid transition at all temperatures.     

Crucial combinations of critical exponents for liquids–vapour and ferromagnetic second-order phase transitions

Four combinations of critical exponents pertaining to the Ising model are constructed which yield simply the dimensionality d. One of these, connecting γ and η, is shown to lead to an immediately useful estimates of the sum α + η in three dimensions, about which exponents controversy still exists. This sum in three dimensions is shown to be very near or equal to 1/8, a condition which Zhang’s predictions, for the exact solution of the 3D Ising model, satisfy with α = 0 and η = 1/8. But the pioneering work of Wilson based on renormalisation group theory gave the estimate η = 0.037, while the Perk advocates α = 0.1, without however, proceeding a proof. We therefore finally stress the current importance of further experimental measurements. The critical exponent δ may be the most favourable focus, to distinguish between Zhang’s prediction of 13/3 and a value around 4.8 following for d = 3 from Wilson’s value of η quoted above.     

Molecular simulation of the phase behaviour of ternary fluid mixtures: the effect of a third component on vapour–liquid and liquid–liquid coexistence

The Gibbs ensemble algorithm is implemented to determine the vapour–liquid and liquid–liquid phase coexistence of dilute ternary fluid mixtures interacting via a Lennard–Jones potential. Calculations are reported for mixtures with a third component characterised by different intermolecular potential energy parameters. Comparison with binary mixture data indicates that the choice of energy parameter for the third component affects the composition range of vapour–liquid substantially. The addition of a third component lowers the energy of liquid phase while slightly increasing the energy of the vapour phase.     

Surface accessibility of cellulose fibrils studied by hydrogen–deuterium exchange with water

A problem with cellulose-based materials is that they are highly influenced by moisture, leading to reduced strength properties with increasing moisture content. By achieving a more detailed understanding of the water–cellulose interactions, the usage of cellulose-based materials could be better optimized. Two different exchange processes of cellulose hydroxyl/deuteroxyl groups have been monitored by transmission FT-IR spectroscopy. By using line-shape-assisted deconvolution of the changing intensities, we have been able to follow the exchange kinetics in a very detailed and controlled manner. The findings reveal a hydrogen exchange that mainly is located at two different kinds of fibril surfaces, where the differences arise from the water accessibility of that specific surface. The slowly accessible regions are proposed to be located between the fibrils inside of the aggregates, and the readily accessible regions are suggested to be at the surfaces of the fibril aggregates. It was also possible to identify the ratio of slowly and readily accessible surfaces, which indicated that the average aggregate of cotton cellulose is built up by approximately three fibrils with an assumed average size of 12 × 12 cellulose chains. Additionally, the experimental setup enabled visualizing and discussing the implications of some of the deviating spectral features that are pronounced when recording FT-IR spectra of deuterium-exchanging cellulose: the insufficient red shift of the stretching vibrations and the vastly decreasing line widths.     

Surface modification of activated carbon and fullerene black by Diels–Alder reaction

Activated carbon and fullerene black react with cyclopentadiene at room temperature or slightly elevated temperature. At higher temperature a retro-Diels–Alder reaction takes place. The reaction with the diene and the retro-Diels–Alder reaction could be repeated. As a consequence of the reaction with cyclopentadiene or other suitable dienes and the retro reaction, the surface structure of different carbons changed considerably. The surface area of micropores on fullerene black was much higher than for the original sample. The influence on the surface area of porosity is reported for two different types of carbon.     

Isobaric vapour–liquid equilibria for the binary systems of fuel oxygenates with aromatic hydrocarbons

Isobaric vapour–liquid equilibrium data at 720?mm?Hg for the binary systems of diisopropyl ether with o-xylene and m-xylene and dimethoxymethane with benzene and toluene are determined. A Swietoslawski type ebulliometer is used for the measurements. The experimental T?x data are used to estimate Wilson parameters and the parameters in turn are used to calculate the vapour compositions and activity coefficients. The activity coefficients are used to calculate molar excess Gibbs free energy (G ^E). All the systems studied here do not exhibit azeotropes. Excess Gibbs free energy values are positive over the entire range of composition for all the systems.     

A new equation for the correlation of surface tension–composition data of solvent–solvent and solvent–fused salt mixtures

An attempt has been made to propose accurate equations for correlating the surface tension of binary liquid mixtures. The method is applicable to the systems comprising of components with widely different molecular sizes. Two adjustable parameters, δ_p and δ_m obtained from the least squares analyses of the surface tension–composition data are reported for a number of systems. Temperature dependence of δ_p and δ_m is demonstrated for a few systems. The framework of operational equations has later been applied to cover multi-component systems comprising of fused salts with a single liquid component in full mole fraction range. Excellent fits of the surface tension for binary, ternary and multi-component ionic systems in aqueous or non-aqueous media have been obtained from the proposed method. The surface tension–composition data of 59 different types of systems with about 400 data points can be correlated by the equation with an average percent deviation of about 0.61. In contrast to previous equations from literature to calculate surface tension data, the proposed correlation is noted to be more accurate in different situations.     

Development of a new equation of state for mixed salt and mixed solvent systems,and application to vapour–liquid and solid (hydrate)–vapour–liquid equilibrium calculations

An equation of state that can be used for phase equilibrium and other thermodynamic property calculations at high pressures is developed for systems that contain aqueous solutions of strong electrolytes and molecular species. The proposed equation of state is based upon contributions to the Helmholtz free energy from a non-electrolyte term and three electrolyte terms. The non-electrolyte term comes from the Trebble–Bishnoi equation of state and the electrolyte terms consist of a Born energy term, a mean spherical approximation term and a newly developed hydration term. The application of the proposed equation of state to aqueous systems containing mixed salts and mixed solvents is illustrated by calculating the vapour–liquid equilibrium (VLE) and solid (Clathrate hydrate)–vapour–liquid equilibrium (SVLE) conditions for several systems. The solubility of CO₂ in salt water systems is examined at elevated pressures. As well, the new equation of state is used in conjunction with the model of van der Waals and Platteeuw to predict the SVLE conditions for gas hydrate forming systems in the presence of single salts, mixed salts and a mixture of aqueous salts and methanol. It is found that the new equation of state is able to accurately represent the experimental data over a wide range of pressure, temperature and salt concentration.     

Analysis of Cattaneo–Christov theory for unsteady flow of Maxwell fluid over stretching cylinder

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Analysis of thermal and solutal energy transport phenomena in Maxwell fluid flow with the help of Cattaneo–Christov double diffusion theory is...     

Surface tension of binary and two ternary mixtures containing water–acetonitrile–methanol/ethanol at 298.15 K: experimental data,correlation and prediction by various models

Surface tension of two ternary mixtures of water/acetonitrile/methanol and water/acetonitrile/ethanol, and their constituent binaries, were measured over the whole range of composition at 298.15 K and ambient pressure. The experimental data were used to calculate in the surface tension deviations (Δσ). The negative values of Δσ for the binary and ternary systems indicate the strong hydrogen bonding between unlike molecules of mixtures (particularly in the high concentration of water). Surface tension data of the binary systems were correlated with Fu et al., Wang–Chen, Redlich–Kister and Myers–Scott models. The mean standard deviation obtained from the comparison of experimental and calculated surface tension values for binary systems with four models is less than 0.42. Finally, the concentration dependence of the surface tension deviation of the ternary mixtures at 298.15 K was correlated using Pando et al. and Ku et al. models, with satisfactory results.