Adsorption behavior of lauric acid at heptane/water interface as studied by second harmonic generation spectroscopy and interfacial tensiometry.

Interfacial tensiometry and second harmonic generation (SHG) spectroscopy were applied to examine the adsorption behavior of lauric acid (LA) at a heptane/water interface. From interfacial tensiometry measurements, the adsorption kinetics of LA was revealed to be diffusion-controlled, and the adsorption constant of LA was estimated to be 9.6 x 10(4) M(-1). The adsorption isotherms obtained by SHG measurements were analyzed by taking account of both the molecular orientation of LA at the interface and a surface electric field generated by the adsorbed LA layer. It was confirmed that the carboxylic groups of adsorbed LA molecules were well ordered at the heptane/water interface and the orientation of the carboxylate group was invariant during the adsorption process.     

Thermodynamical equilibrium of binary supramolecular networks at the liquid-solid interface

Coadsorption of two different carboxylic acids, benzenetribenzoic acid and trimesic acid, was studied at the liquid-solid interface in two different solvents (heptanoic and nonanoic acid). Independent alteration of both concentrations in binary solutions resulted in six nondensely packed monolayer phases with different structures and stoichiometries, as revealed by means of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). All of these structures are stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the carboxylic acid functional groups. Moreover, phase transitions of the monolayer structures, accompanied by an alteration of the size and shape of cavity voids in the 2D molecular assembly, could be achieved by in situ dilution. The emergence of the various phases could be described by a simple thermodynamic model.     

Partitioning and adsorption in gas-liquid-solid chromatography: Models of temporal moments for retention and variance

Summary The resolution of gaseous chemical species in gasliquid-solid chromatography is influenced by absorption (partitioning) in the liquid and adsorption at the liquid-solid interface. We consider fundamental mass transfer models with adsorption and partitioning effects for solid chromatographic supports covered with thin films of stationary liquid. The dynamic models, based on mass-balance partial-differential equations, include the significant phenomena: convection, axial dispersion, gas-liquid mass transfer, intraparticle diffusion, and liquid-solid adsorption. Expressions for retention time and band variance (first and second temporal moments) are presented and evaluated for four distinct models: (1) capillary tube with inner surface covered with a uniform-thickness liquid film, (2) column of nonporous spheres covered with a uniform-thickness liquid film, (3) porous spherical particles with intraparticle pores covered with a uniform-thickness liquid film, (4) porous spherical particles with intraparticle pores completely filled with liquid.     

Self-assembly of trimesic acid at the liquid-solid interface-a study of solvent-induced polymorphism

A scanning tunneling microscope operated under ambient conditions was utilized to study the self-assembly of trimesic acid (TMA) at the liquid-solid interface. On a graphite substrate, two different open, loosely packed, two-dimensional hydrogen-bond networks were found. Both structures exhibit a periodic arrangement of approximately 1.0 nm wide cavities, which can be used for the co-adsorption of another species (guest) within the cells of this host system. These two polymorphs ("chickenwire" and "flower" structures) differ in their molecular packing density and hydrogen-bonding schemes. Using a homologous series of alkanoic acids as solvents, ranging from butyric to nonanoic, selective self-assembly of either the "flower" or "chickenwire" forms was achieved on a graphite surface. Solubility of TMA in these acid solvents was found to decrease with increasing chain length, and the longer-chain solvents favored formation of the chickenwire polymorph structure on the surface.     

Control of carboxylic acid and ester groups on chromium (VI) binding to functionalized silica/water interfaces studied by second harmonic generation

Resonantly enhanced surface second harmonic generation (SHG) measurements carried out at pH 7 and room temperature were performed to study how surface-bound carboxylic acid and methyl ester functional groups control the interaction of chromate ions with fused silica/water interfaces. These functional groups were chosen because of their high abundance in humic and fulvic acids and related biopolymers commonly found in soils. They were anchored to the silica surface using organosilane chemistry to avoid competing complexation processes in the aqueous solution as well as competitive adsorption of the organic compounds and chromate. The SHG experiments were carried out at room temperature and pH 7 while using environmentally representative chromate concentrations ranging from 1 x10(-6) to 2 x 10(-4) M. Chromate is found to bind to the acid- and ester-functionalized silica/water interfaces in a reversible fashion. In contrast to the plain silica/water interface, chromate binding studies performed on the functionalized silica/water interfaces show S-shaped adsorption isotherms that can be modeled using the Frumkin-Fowler-Guggenheim (FFG) model. This model predicts a coverage-dependent binding constant of K(ads) x exp(gtheta). Values for g are found to be 3.2(2), 2.1(2), and 1.3(2) for the carboxylic acid-, the ester-, and the nonfunctionalized silica/water interfaces, respectively, and are consistent with stabilizing lateral adsorbate-adsorbate interactions among the Cr(VI) species adsorbed to the functionalized surfaces. The FFG model allows for the parametrization of the solid-liquid partition coefficient and chromate retardation factors in silica-rich soil particles whose surfaces contain organic adlayers rich in carboxylic acid and methyl ester groups. The straightforward model presented here predicts that chromate retardation increases by up to 200% when carboxylic acid functional groups are present at the silica/water interface. Increases up to 50% are predicted for methyl ester-containing organic adlayers, and the retardation factor remains effectively near unity for the plain silica/water interface (no siloxanes present).     

Structure and Orientation of Tetracarboxylic Acids at Oil–Water Interfaces

Fouling caused by tetracarboxylic acids in transport and separation process chains involving petroemulsions occurs when the interfacial concentration of tetraacids becomes large enough for calcium ions in the water phase to “crosslink” the adsorbed tetraacid molecules and form a precipitate. At present, the structure and orientation of tetraacid molecules at oil–water interfaces, which influences the precipitation behavior, has not been studied in detail. In this work, molecular dynamics simulations of indigenous and synthetic tetracarboxylic acid compounds are presented to describe the structure and spatial orientation of tetraacid molecules at oil–water interfaces. Molecular distributions relative to the oil–water dividing surface along with the length and orientation angle distributions of the acidic arm groups are presented. The probability distributions determined here that describe the tetraacids at an oil–water interface can be employed to reconstruct the density of carboxylic acid groups at the oil–water interface. The interfacial carboxylic acid density can be employed to determine the fraction of adsorbed tetraacid molecules that are “crosslinked” with calcium ions based on the distances between carboxylic acid groups. The simulations presented also form a basis to calculate interfacial molecular areas and virial coefficients to employ in molecular mixed monolayer adsorption isotherms.     

An Adsorption Isotherm from a Micro-state Model

The present study is dedicated to the derivation of an alternative adsorption isotherm for liquid-solid interfaces from a micro-state model, where adsorption is predominantly of a chemical nature. We describe adsorption-desorption on a liquid-solid interface starting from a partition function. In the new model the surface site occupation number is controlled by the Pauli principle (monolayer condition) and additional an attractive or repulsive surface potential, which depends on the overall surface coverage (nonlinearity). The effective potential represents adsorbate adsorbent interaction, as well as an influence of adsorbate adsorbate interactions on the surface potential. A Langmuir equivalent isotherm is recovered in the limit of a weak potential. The proposed model and Langmuirs isotherm are compared using data of humic acid (HA) adsorption on Brazilian Oxisol soil samples. Both models parameterize the experimental data well, but only the new model seems to be self-consistent.     

Adsorption of nanoparticles at the solid-liquid interface

The adsorption of differently charged nanoparticles at liquid-solid interfaces was investigated by in situ X-ray reflectivity measurements. The layer formation of positively charged maghemite (γ-Fe(2)O(3)) nanoparticles at the aqueous solution-SiO(2) interface was observed while negatively charged gold nanoparticles show no adsorption at this interface. Thus, the electrostatic interaction between the particles and the charged surface was determined as the driving force for the adsorption process. The data analysis shows that a logarithmic particle size distribution describes the density profile of the thin adsorbed maghemite layer. The size distribution in the nanoparticle solution determined by small angle X-ray scattering shows an average particle size which is similar to that found for the adsorbed film. The formed magehemite film exhibits a rather high stability.     

Rational modulation of the periodicity in linear hydrogen-bonded assemblies of trimesic acid on surfaces

We demonstrate a surprising cooperative adsorption process at the liquid-solid interface, involving self-assembly in which a three-fold hydrogen-bonding unit (trimesic acid, TMA) is forced into a linear pattern by noncovalent interaction with an alcohol. Our work shows that the unexpected linear pattern formed by coadsorption of TMA and alcohols can be modulated in size by choosing alcohols with different chain lengths.     

Asymmetry induction by cooperative intermolecular hydrogen bonds in surface-anchored layers of achiral molecules.

The mesoscale induction of two-dimensional supramolecular chirality (formation of 2D organic domains with a single handedness) was achieved by self-assembly of 1,2,4-benzenetricarboxylic (trimellitic) acid on a Cu(100) surface at elevated temperatures. The combination of spectroscopic [X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS)], real-space-probe [scanning tunneling microscopy (STM)], and computational [density functional theory (DFT)] methods allows a comprehensive characterization of the obtained organic adlayers, where details of molecular adsorption geometry, intermolecular coupling, and surface chemical bonding are elucidated. The trimellitic acid species, comprising three functional carboxylic groups, form distinct stable mirror-symmetric hydrogen-bonded domains. The chiral ordering is associated with conformational restriction in the domains: molecules anchor to the substrate with an ortho carboxylate group, providing two para carboxylic acid moieties for collective lateral interweaving through H bonding, which induces a specific tilt of the molecular plane. The ease of molecular symmetry switching in domain formation makes homochiral-signature propagation solely limited by the terrace width. The molecular layer modifies the morphology of the underlying copper substrate and induces mum-sized strictly homochiral terraces.     

Incorporation dynamics of molecular guests into two-dimensional supramolecular host networks at the liquid-solid interface

The objective of this work is to study both the dynamics and mechanisms of guest incorporation into the pores of 2D supramolecular host networks at the liquid-solid interface. This was accomplished by adding molecular guests to prefabricated self-assembled porous monolayers and the simultaneous acquisition of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) topographs. The incorporation of the same guest molecule (coronene) into two different host networks was compared, where the pores of the networks either featured a perfect geometric match with the guest (for trimesic acid host networks) or were substantially larger than the guest species (for benzenetribenzoic acid host networks). Even the moderate temporal resolution of standard STM experiments in combination with a novel injection system was sufficient to reveal clear differences in the incorporation dynamics in the two different host networks. Further experiments were aimed at identifying a possible solvent influence. The interpretation of the results is aided by molecular mechanics (MM) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.     

Competitive adsorption of organic matter with phosphate on aluminum hydroxide

The effects of orthophosphate on the adsorption of natural organic matter (NOM) on aluminum hydroxide were investigated using three organic compounds as surrogates, including humic acid (HA), phthalic acid, and 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,3-DHBA). The adsorption of phthalic acid and 2,3-DHBA was very limited compared to that of HA, whereas their adsorption was reduced much more significantly than that of HA by phosphate. The efficiency of phosphate in reducing HA adsorption increased with increasing phosphate concentration. Phosphate adsorption was slightly reduced by phthalic acid and 2,3-DHBA but moderately suppressed by HA. The adjacent carboxylic groups mainly contributed to the adsorption of humic acid at low pH, while the adjacent phenol groups were responsible for the adsorption of humic acid at high pH. HPLC-SEC and SUVA analysis revealed that HA molecules with high molecular weight were adsorbed preferentially but were easily displaced by the specifically adsorbed phosphate. TM-AFM images revealed that the aggregation of HA molecules and the protonation of carboxylic groups at low pH facilitated the adsorption under acidic conditions. The presence of phosphate increases the coagulant dosage for NOM removal as some sites on the coagulant precipitates become utilized by phosphate.     

Fundamentals and application of ordered molecular assemblies to affinity biosensing

Organization of biomolecules in two/three dimensional assemblies has recently aroused much interest in nanobiotechnology. In this context, the development of techniques for controlling spatial arrangement and orientation of the desired molecules to generate highly-ordered nanostructures in the form of a mono/multi layer is considered highly significant. The studies of monolayer films to date have focused on three distinct methods of preparation: (i) the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique, involving the transfer of a monolayer assembled at the gas-liquid interface; (ii) self-assembly at the liquid-solid interface, based on spontaneous adsorption of desired molecules from a solution directly onto a solid surface; and (iii) Layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly at a liquid-solid interface, based on inter-layer electrostatic attractions for fabrication of multilayers. A variety of monolayers have been utilized to fabricate biomolecular electronic devices including biosensors. The composition of a monolayer based matrix has been found to influence the activity(ies) of biomolecule(s). We present comprehensive and critical analysis of ordered molecular assemblies formed by LB and self-assembly with potential applications to affinity biosensing. This critical review on fundamentals and application of ordered molecular assemblies to affinity biosensing is likely to benefit researchers working in this as well as related fields of research (401 references).     

Infrared Spectroscopic Study on Adsorption of Acetonitrile from Solution onto Several Oxide Surfaces at High Pressure

Adsorption of acetonitrile from toluene solution at a liquid-solid interface under pressures of up to 300 MPa was investigated by IR spectroscopy. The CN stretching vibration bands (v_CN) of adsorbed acetonitrile were observed at higher frequencies than those of the same species in the liquid phase. The shift on alumina-pillared montmorillonite (ALPM) was the largest (ca. 8 cm^-1) for the adsorbents studied. The v_CN intensities of adsorbed acetonitrile on ALPM and on alumina (Al₂O₃) considerably increased with increased pressure, indicating an increase acetonitrile adsorption due to compression. It was concluded that the total volume of the system was reduced by adsorption, and that the reduction was brought about not only by the formation of an adsorption bond but also by the change in the solvation of the adsorbate in the adsorbent pore.     

Fluorescence spectroscopic investigation of the interaction between triphenyltin and humic acids

The interaction between triphenyltin (TPT) and humic acid (HA) was investigated using UV-vis and fluorescence spectra techniques. The experimental results showed that the fluorescence quenching of HA by TPT was a result of the interaction of TPT with HA. The binding constant K(b) and corresponding thermodynamic parameters were measured at different temperatures. The binding of TPT molecule to HA is a spontaneous molecular interaction procedure in which entropy increased and Gibbs free energy decreased. Hydrophobic interaction force plays a major role in stabilizing the TPT-HA complex. The three-dimensional fluorescence contour spectra revealed that TPT could enter into the hydrophobic cavities in some domain of HA.     

Scanning tunneling microscopy of prochiral anthracene derivatives on graphite: chain length effects on monolayer morphology

The morphology of monolayers formed upon adsorption of prochiral 1,5-substituted anthracene derivatives on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite is investigated using scanning tunneling microscopy at the liquid-solid interface. The adsorption orientation of these prochiral anthracene derivatives positions one of their enantiotopic faces in contact with the graphite. The molecules adsorb in rows with contact between adjacent anthracenes. The anthracene side chains extend perpendicular to the direction of the row repeat. All molecules within a single row adsorb via the same enantiotopic face. Anthracenes with side chains containing an even number of non-hydrogenic atoms (C, S) form monolayers in which molecules in adjacent rows adsorb via opposite enantiotopic faces. Anthracenes with side chains that contain an odd number of non-hydrogenic atoms form two-dimensional chiral domains in which all rows contain molecules adsorbed via the same enantiotopic face. This chain length effect on monolayer morphology represents a generalized example of structural effects previously observed in alkanoic acid monolayers formed on HOPG. The variation of the STM current with position in the vicinity of the anthracenes indicates that the highest occupied molecular orbital is the predominant mediator of tunneling for the aromatic group.     

Displacement of hexanol by the hexanoic acid overoxidation product in alcohol oxidation on a model supported palladium nanoparticle catalyst

This work characterizes the adsorption, structure, and binding mechanism of oxygenated organic species from cyclohexane solution at the liquid/solid interface of optically flat alumina-supported palladium nanoparticle surfaces prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The surface-specific nonlinear optical vibrational spectroscopy, sum-frequency generation (SFG), was used as a probe for adsorption and interfacial molecular structure. 1-Hexanoic acid is an overoxidation product and possible catalyst poison for the aerobic heterogeneous oxidation of 1-hexanol at the liquid/solid interface of Pd/Al(2)O(3) catalysts. Single component and competitive adsorption experiments show that 1-hexanoic acid adsorbs to both ALD-prepared alumina surfaces and alumina surfaces with palladium nanoparticles, that were also prepared by ALD, more strongly than does 1-hexanol. Furthermore, 1-hexanoic acid adsorbs with conformational order on ALD-prepared alumina surfaces, but on surfaces with palladium particles the adsorbates exhibit relative disorder at low surface coverage and become more ordered, on average, at higher surface coverage. Although significant differences in binding constant were not observed between surfaces with and without palladium nanoparticles, the palladium particles play an apparent role in controlling adsorbate structures. The disordered adsorption of 1-hexanoic acid most likely occurs on the alumina support, and probably results from modification of binding sites on the alumina, adjacent to the particles. In addition to providing insight on the possibility of catalyst poisoning by the overoxidation product and characterizing changes in its structure that result in only small adsorption energy changes, this work represents a step toward using surface science techniques that bridge the complexity gap between fundamental studies and realistic catalyst models.     

Formation of assemblies comprising Ru-polypyridine complexes and CdSe nanocrystals studied by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and DFT modeling

The interaction between CdSe nanocrystals (NCs) passivated with trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) ligands and a series of Ru-polypyridine complexes-[Ru(bpy)(3)](PF(6))(2) (1), [Ru(bpy)(2)(mcb)](PF(6))(2) (2), [Ru(bpy)(mcb)(2)](BarF)(2) (3), and [Ru(tpby)(2)(dcb)](PF(6))(2) (4) (where bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, mcb = 4-carboxy-4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridine, tbpy = 4,4'-di-tert-butyl-2,2'-bipyridine; dcb = 4,4'-dicarboxy-2,2'-bipyridine, and BarF = tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate)-was studied by attenuated total reflectance FTIR (ATR-FTIR) and modeled using density functional theory (DFT). ATR-FTIR studies reveal that when the solid film of NCs is exposed to an acetonitrile solution of 2, 3, or 4, the complexes chemically bind to the NC surface through their carboxylic acid groups, replacing TOPO ligands. The corresponding spectral changes are observed on a time scale of minutes. In the case of 2, the FTIR spectral changes clearly show that the complex adsorption is associated with a loss of proton from the carboxylic acid group. In the case of 3 and 4, deprotonation of the anchoring group is also detected, while the second, "spectrator" carboxylic acid group remains protonated. The observed energy difference between the symmetric, ν(s), and asymmetric, ν(as), stretch of the deprotonated carboxylic acid group suggests that the complexes are bound to the NC surface via a bridging mode. The results of DFT modeling are consistent with the experiment, showing that for the deprotonated carboxylic acid group the coupling to two Cd atoms via a bridging mode is the energetically most favorable mode of attachment for all nonequivalent NC surface sites and that the attachment of the protonated carboxylic acid is thermodynamically significantly less favorable.     

Fast removal of methylene blue (MB) with functionalized resin

Herein, a new adsorbent was developed in order to fast and effective removal of MB from aqueous solution. For this, crosslinked maleic anhydride polymer was synthesized by copolymerization of maleic anydride (MA) with divinyl benzene (DVB) in DMF at 75?°C using a radical initiator AIBN. A new functionalized resin containing carboxylic acid groups was prepared with modification of crosslinked maleic anydride resin with 5-aminoisophthalic acid. Prepared resin was characterized with FTIR, TGA/DTA and SEM. Parameters affecting adsorption such as pH, initial dye concentration and adsorption time, and also, different isotherm and kinetic models were studied. It was observed that synthesized resin could be used to MB fast removal wide pH and concentration range very high efficiency. It was also found to be that Freundlich isotherm model (R² = 0.9993) and second order kinetic models are much more suitable for adsorption of MB. Moreover, it was also observed that synthesized resin could be used at least five times without losing its original activity.     

Behavior of β-amyloid 1-16 at the air-water interface at varying pH by nonlinear spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations

The adsorption and aggregation of β-amyloid (1-16) fragment at the air-water interface was investigated by the combination of second harmonic generation (SHG) spectroscopy, Brewster angle microscopy (BAM), and molecular dynamics simulations (MD). The Gibbs free energy of surface adsorption was measured to be -10.3 kcal/mol for bulk pHs of 7.4 and 3, but no adsorption was observed for pH 10-11. The 1-16 fragment is believed not to be involved in fibril formation of the β-amyloid protein, but it exhibits interesting behavior at the air-water interface, as manifested in two time scales for the observed SHG response. The shorter time scale (minutes) reflects the surface adsorption, and the longer time scale (hours) reflects rearrangement and aggregation of the peptide at the air-water interface. Both of these processes are also evidenced by BAM measurements. MD simulations confirm the pH dependence of surface behavior of the β-amyloid, with largest surface affinity found at pH = 7. It also follows from the simulations that phenylalanine is the most surface exposed residue, followed by tyrosine and histidine in their neutral form.