Crystal modification of calcium sulfate dihydrate in the presence of some surface-active agents

The effect of surface-active agents (surfactants), as additives, on the crystallization of gypsum was studied under conditions of the simulated dihydrate process of phosphoric acid production. Calcium hydrogen phosphate and sulfuric acid were mixed with dilute phosphoric acid at 80 degrees C, and the turbidity of the reaction mixture was measured at different time periods to determine the induction time of gypsum crystal formation. Two types of surfactants, namely, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a cationic surfactant and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as an anionic surfactant were added to investigate their effects on the crystallization of gypsum. Addition of CTAB decreased the induction time and increased the growth efficiency, while addition of SDS increased the induction time and decreased the growth efficiency compared with the baseline (without additives). The surface energy increased with CTAB and decreased with SDS compared with the baseline. The percentage of fine crystals decreased in the presence of CTAB and increased in the presence of SDS compared with the baseline. Gypsum morphology changed from needle-like in the absence of additives to tabular in the presence of CTAB.     

Adsorption of sodium dodecyl sulfate at the hydrophobic solid/aqueous solution interface in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol): dependence upon polymer molecular weight

The polar orientation and degree of conformational order of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) adsorbed at the hydrophobic octadecanethiol/aqueous solution interface in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) has been investigated as a function of the surfactant concentration and the molecular weight of the polymer. Sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy was employed to obtain spectra of interfacial surfactant; weak SFG signals from interfacial polymer were also detected for polymer molecular weights of 900 and above. The phase of the SFG spectra indicated that both the surfactant and polymer had a net orientation of their CH2 and/or CH3 groups toward the hydrophobic surface. Spectra of SDS in the presence of mixed polymer/surfactant solutions showed increasing conformational order as the surfactant concentration was raised. At the lowest surfactant concentrations, the spectra of SDS were weaker in the presence of the polymer than in its absence. All PEG molecular weights investigated, with the exception of PEG 400, gave rise to significant inhibition of ordered surfactant adsorption below the critical micelle concentration. The greatest inhibitory effect was noted for PEG 900. Probing interfacial PEG specifically through the use of perdeuterated SDS revealed that the polymer spectral intensity decreased monotonically as the surfactant concentration was increased for all polymer molecular weights where a PEG spectrum was apparent. These findings are interpreted in terms of the displacement of preadsorbed polymer as the surfactant concentration increases. This result is compatible with observations of adsorption from SDS/PEG solutions at solid/solution and solution/air interfaces made using other techniques.     

有机空间位阻剂对NaP分子筛的调控作用

以粉煤灰中提取出的硅酸钠和铝酸钠为原料,通过水热合成法制备NaP型分子筛。通过正交实验优化了晶化时间、晶化温度和溶液硅水比等工艺参数,提出了通过空间位阻效应调控晶粒生长过程的方法,探索了结构空间位阻作用对NaP型分子筛生长过程晶型、粒径的调控规律。采用XRD、FI-IR、SEM、BET等手段对产物的晶型、粒径和形貌进行表征,并对不同条件下制备的NaP型分子筛的吸附性能进行了评价。结果表明,水热反应体系中引入空间位阻效应能有效调控Na P型分子筛的形貌和粒径;空间位阻效应的影响规律为环状结构链状结构,长链结构短链结构。吸附性能测试表明,Zn~(2+)有效吸附去除率可达99.8%。     

Greatly accelerated crystallization of poly(lactic acid): cooperative effect of stereocomplex crystallites and polyethylene glycol

Stereocomplex crystallite (SC) between enantiomeric poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) and poly(d-lactic acid) (PDLA), with largely improved thermal resistance and mechanical properties compared with PLLA and PDLA, is a good nucleating agent for poly(lactic acid) (PLA). The effects of SC and/or polyethylene glycol (PEG) on the crystallization behaviors of PLA were investigated. The non-isothermal and isothermal crystallization kinetics revealed that SC and PEG can separately promote the crystallization rate of PLA by heterogeneous nucleation and increasing crystal growth rate, respectively. However, their promoting effect is limited when used alone, and the modified PLA cannot crystallize completely under a cooling rate of 20 °C/min. When SC and PEG are both present, the crystallization rate of PLA is greatly accelerated, and even under a cooling rate of 40 °C/min, PLA can crystallize completely and get a high crystallinity owing to the excellent balance between simultaneously improved nucleation and crystal growth rate.     

HDEHP和HEHEHP界面性质及添加剂对界面性质的影响

测定了HDEHP、HEHEHP、TOPO、TBP、SDS和CTMAB的煤油溶液与硫酸盐水溶液所构成的液-液体系的界面张力,考察了水相pH对界面张力的影响,求得这些化合物的界面吸附常数,计算出饱和吸附时界面吸附分子的截面积,提出了用Cmin计算活性剂分配比的方法,研究了向HDEHP或HEHEHP体系中添加TOPO(或TBP)、SDS、CTMAB时界面张力的变化及其对萃取速率的影响。界面化学反应控制的萃取金属阳离子过程的速率将因添加剂占据界面和(或)形成界面负电层而降低,因添加剂与萃取剂形成界面活性较强的分子缔合物对金属的萃取而提高。     

Polymer coatings for improved protein crystal growth

The ability to grow quality protein crystals is necessary to analyze protein structure by X-ray diffraction and related techniques. As such it plays a key role in enzymology, structure-based drug design, molecular biology, and other biomedical areas. It is also required for macromolecule purification by crystallization. Protein crystal growth (PCG) may be negatively influenced by various factors related to nonspecific adsorption and adherence at growth chamber surfaces. Such factors include nucleation and growth of flawed crystals at chamber walls, or wall growth blockage of optical monitoring paths. Surface localized poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and other neutral, hydrophilic polymers are known to significantly reduce nonspecific adsorption of biological macromolecules and particles. Preliminary studies, involving various PCG methods (temperature induction, vapor diffusion), apparatii (test tubes, cuvettes, and specialized PCG hardware), growth chamber materials (glass, polystyrene, polysulfone), chamber volumes (0.1–10 ml) and protein samples (lysozyme, thaumatin, insulin) indicate the potential of PEG coatings to significantly reduce problems related to adsorption in PCG. The results, which match the ability of such coatings to reduce protein adsorption as evaluated by both ellipsometry and enzyme linked immunoassay, are discussed in relation to colloidal stabilization theory and properties of PEG coated surfaces.     

Effect of magnetic field on sodium arsenate metastable zone width and crystal nucleation kinetics for crystallization

Sodium arsenate, the main component of arsenic-containing solid waste pollutants, causes serious environmental health threats. Crystallization is one of the effective methods for separating and purifying sodium arsenate from arsenic-alkali residue lixivium. However, the crystallization process is limited for its low observability and the lack of separation and purification data. In this work, a laser detection system with a magnetic field generator was designed, and the solubility, metastable zone width, interfacial tension, interfacial entropy factor, crystal nucleation, and growth rate of sodium arsenate were investigated in a constant composition environment. The results showed that the solubility, metastable zone width, interfacial tension, and interfacial entropy factor decreases with the presence of a magnetic field. The magnetic field shortened the crystallization induction time and changed the nucleation and growth rate of sodium arsenate. Under the magnetic field, the nucleation rate increased from 2.43 × 10¹⁶ to 8.98 × 10¹⁷ (s m³)⁻¹, and the growth rate decreased from 4.94 × 10⁻⁸ to 2.73 × 10⁻⁸ (s m³)⁻¹, the growth mechanism of sodium arsenate as a continuous growth mode was unchanged. In addition, the X-ray diffraction and infrared showed that the crystal structure of sodium arsenate is unaffected by the magnetic field, indicating that the enhancement of the crystallization process of sodium arsenate with the magnetic field could be a feasible method in engineering application.     

Adsorption of poly(vinyl alcohol) from water to a hydrophobic surface: effects of molecular weight, degree of hydrolysis, salt, and temperature

The adsorption of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVOH) from aqueous solutions to a silicon-supported fluoroalkyl monolayer is described. Thickness, wettability, and roughness of adsorbed films are studied as a function of polymer molecular weight, degree of hydrolysis (from the precursor, poly(vinyl acetate)), polymer concentration, salt type and concentration, and temperature. The data suggest a two-stage process for adsorption of the polymer: physisorption due to a hydrophobic effect (decrease in interfacial free energy) and subsequent stabilization of the adsorbed layer due to crystallization of the polymer. Adsorption of lower-molecular-weight polymers results in thicker films than those prepared with a higher molecular weight; this is ascribed to better crystallization of more mobile short chains. Higher contents of unhydrolyzed acetate groups on the poly(vinyl alcohol) chain lead to thicker adsorbed films. Residual acetate groups partition to the outermost surface of the films and determine wettability. Salts, including sodium chloride and sodium sulfate, promote adsorption, which results in thicker films; at the same time, their presence over a wide concentration range leads to formation of rough coatings. Sodium thiocyanate has little effect on PVOH adsorption, only slightly reducing the thickness in a 2 M salt solution. Increased temperature promotes adsorption in the presence of salt, but has little effect on salt-free solutions. Evidently, higher temperatures favor adsorption but cause crystallization to be less thermodynamically favorable. These competing effects result in the smoothest coatings being formed in an intermediate temperature range.     

Experimental study on dynamic interfacial tension with mixture of SDS-PEG as surfactants in a coflowing microfluidic device

In this work, a coflowing microfluidic device was used to determine the influence of different mixed sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) compound systems on dynamic interfacial tension and, by extension, corresponding emulsion droplet sizes. The aqueous solutions were used as the continuous phase in the microfluidic device, while octane was used as the organic dispersed phase. Combined SDS-PEG systems lower the interfacial tension more than either component can alone up to the critical aggregation concentration (CAC) of SDS. Octane droplet sizes produced in the microfluidic device using combined SDS-PEG systems were smaller than those produced using SDS alone, and a reduction in dynamic interfacial tension as determined by drop size followed a pattern similar to that observed in the static case (PEG4000 > PEG600 > PEG400 > PEG200 > PEG8000) with the exception of PEG8000. Finally, a previously formulated model relating interfacial tension to droplet size was used to estimate the dynamic interfacial tensions in the microfluidic device.     

Al-ITQ-13分子筛的快速合成及表征

通过设计首次提出针对ITQ-13分子筛晶化促进剂的合成策略,ITQ-13分子筛.通过X射线粉末衍射(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、N2吸附、原位红外(FTIR)及固体核磁(27Al NMR)等测试手段对ITQ-13分子筛的物化性能进行了表征,考察了晶化过程中结晶度的变化,得出了晶化过程的动力学参数,对晶化机理进行了探讨.结果表明:快速合成法与传统方法合成的ITQ-13分子筛具有相似的物化性能,并且可以合成含有更多骨架铝的ITQ-13分子筛;NO3-的加入通过极化憎水基团,加速SiOSi物质结合,降低ITQ-13分子筛的成核活化能以及生长活化能,从而可以提高晶化速率,缩短晶化时间至11 h.     

Preparation and Evaluation of Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose from Sugarcane Bagasse for Applications in Coal-Water Slurry

A study on the feasibility of preparing cellulose from sugarcane bagasse, by means of chemical procedures including acid hydrolysis and alkaline treatment was conducted. The extracted purified cellulose was further used to prepare a cost-effective additive via alkalization and etherification for Coal-water slurry (CWS). The degree of substitute (DS) and intrinsic viscosity of the prepared sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (SCMC1) were determined and its structure was also characterized by means of FT-IR and TGA, with another sample of SCMC2 produced from microcrystalline cellulose and a commercial SCMC3 as references. Results showed SCMC1 had a DS of 0.857 which was 32.7% and 44.7% higher than SCMC2 and SCMC3, respectively. The higher intrinsic viscosity of SCMC1 indicated it had a higher molecular mass. The SCMC samples were used as additives to prepare CWS of which the rheological behavior and static stability were measured to evaluate their applied performances. The data showed that CWS with SCMC1 had a lower apparent viscosity and higher static stability than others, which was due to the higher DS and higher molecular mass of SCMC1. For SCMC1 could provide stronger electrostatic repulsive forces and steric repulsive forces between the coal particles via adsorption.     

Silicalite-1修饰的HY型分子筛及其对纤维素水解的催化性能

采用silicalite-1对HY型分子筛进行修饰,得到具有核壳结构的复合分子筛HY/silicalite-1。通过X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电镜(SEM)、透射电镜(TEM)、N2的吸附-脱附及吡啶吸附红外(Py-FTIR)等手段对不同晶化时间合成的HY/silicalite-1复合分子筛进行了表征,研究了复合分子筛对纤维素水解的催化性能。结果表明,晶化时间直接影响复合分子筛的晶体生长规律和两组分的相对含量,最佳晶化时间为16-24 h,所得到的复合分子筛外貌呈核壳结构,silicalite-1附晶生长在HY型分子筛的表面;随着晶化时间的延长,复合分子筛的表面由胶浊状变为光滑,最终变为鳞片状;其B酸量先减少后增加,而L酸量则先增加后减少。其中,晶化时间为24 h的HY/silicalite-1复合分子筛B酸量最大,L酸量最小,对纤维素水解反应具有良好的催化性能,葡萄糖收率由HY型分子筛催化获得的28.0%大幅提高至45.8%。     

The effects of polyelectrolytes on the inhibition and aggregation of calcium oxalate crystallization

The influence of polyelectrolytes with different architecture on spontaneous batch crystallization of calcium oxalate was investigated. A series of acidic acrylate block copolymers were been made, by radical polymerization, with defined molecular weight and structure. Radical polymerization of acrylic acid (AA) was carried out in the presence of α‐thiopolyethylene glycol monomethylether as a chain transfer agent to produce poly(ethylene glycolblockacrylic acid) copolymers. Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) block length in the copolymers was controlled by using three different molecular weight chain transfer agents (M_n = 350, 750 and 2000 g/mol). The presence of copolymers inhibited the crystal growth of calcium oxalate possibly through adsorption onto the active growth sites for crystal growth due to the charge and hydrophilic effects. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Kinetics of the crystallization of barium chromate

Summary The kinetics of the crystallization of barium chromate have been studied conductometrically at 298 K for both spontaneous and seeded growth systems. The rate of growth follows a quadratic dependence upon the relative supersaturation which suggests a surface-controlled growth mechanism. This rate equation holds fairly well for the various supersaturation and solid/solution ratios used. The presence of seeds in the solution appears to accelerate the growth rate. Analysis of the calculated induction times in unseeded systems corroborates the surface-controlled growth mechanism. The effect of some additives on the kinetics of growth has also been studied. The retarding effect of these inhibitors is interpreted in terms of adsorption of inhibitor ions at the active crystal growth sites.Dedicated to the memory of ProfessorE. N. Rizkalla who passed away on November 29, 1993     

Effect of Mobile-Phase Additives on Separation of Gold Nanoparticles by Size-Exclusion Chromatography

Two spherical gold nanoparticles (diameters 5.3 and 38 nm, respectively) were used to appraise the separation performance of various mobile-phase additives in size-exclusion chromatography (SEC). The three additives were sodium citrate (SC), sodium chloride (NaCl), and sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS). The problem of adsorption on gold nanoparticles occurs when SC and NaCl are used as mobile-phase additives. In contrast, the adsorption problem is overcome by using SDS as mobile-phase additive; furthermore, SDS prevents gold nanoparticles from coagulating during separation. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of using SDS as mobile-phase additive in SEC for size separation of gold nanoparticles and also demonstrates how SEC may be used to investigate interactions between a mobile-phase additive and gold nanoparticles.     

Dynamics of adsorption of an oppositely charged polymer-surfactant mixture at the air-water interface: poly(dimethyldiallylammonium chloride) and sodium dodecyl sulfate

The dynamic adsorption behavior of mixtures of the cationic polymer poly(dimethyldiallylammonium chloride) [poly(dmdaac)] and the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) has been studied at the expanding liquid surface of an overflowing cylinder. A combination of ellipsometry and external reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to measure the adsorbed amounts of poly(dmdaac) and SDS as a function of the bulk surfactant concentration for various polymer concentrations in the range 0-0.2 g dm-3. Laser Doppler velocimetry was used to determine the surface age, which was approximately 1 s for solutions where the polymer adsorbed. The interfacial behavior is rationalized in terms of competition between surface activity and mass transport to the expanding surface. At low surfactant concentrations, adsorption of both poly(dmdaac) and SDS is enhanced as a result of the formation in solution of polymer-surfactant complexes that are more surface active than either component alone. The rate of adsorption of these complexes is diffusion-controlled, and their interfacial composition remains constant at three dmdaac units per SDS molecule over a 5-fold change in the surfactant concentration. For the higher polymer concentrations studied, the complexes saturate the air-water interface: the adsorbed amount is independent of the polymer concentration and remains constant also over a factor of 5 in the surfactant concentration. Once the number of bound surfactant molecules per dmdaac monomer exceeds 0.3, the complexes begin to form large aggregates, which are not surface active due to their slower mass transport. The adsorbed amount decreases rapidly on approach to the equivalence point (one SDS molecule per dmdaac monomer), and when it is reached, only a very small amount of material remains at the interface. At still higher surfactant concentrations, the free SDS adsorbs but there is no adsorbed poly(dmdaac). The dynamic adsorption data are compared with equilibrium measurements of the same system by Staples et al. (Langmuir 2002, 18, 5147), which show very different surface compositions and no significant change in surface coverage at the equivalence point.     

Effect of Sodium Concentration on the Synthesis of Faujasite by Two-step Synthesis Procedure

The relationship between the concentration of sodium cations and the properties of faujasite(FAU) zeolite was investigated using a two-step synthesis procedure including (1) formation of amorphous aluminosilicate precursors and separation of amorphous nanoparticles, and (2) transformation of these amorphous particles into zeolite crystals by treatment with alkali solutions(NaOH). Three representative samples including two nano-sized zeolites and one micron-sized zeolite were prepared using different concentrations of sodium hydroxide. The crystallization process of these zeolites was studied in detail by Fourier transform infrared(FTIR) spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy(NMR), X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), and N₂ adsorption. The results indicated that minor changes in the concertation of inorganic cations can significantly shorten the induction period and crystallization time and thus affect the morphology, size and chemical composition of the zeolite crystals.     

Crystallization,rheological, and mechanical properties of PLLA/PEG blend with multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (FMWCNTs) were introduced into poly(L‐lactide)/polyethylene glycol (PLLA/PEG) blend and the effects of FMWCNTs on crystallization behaviors, rheological, and mechanical properties of PLLA/PEG/FMWCNTs were investigated. The results show that FMWCNTs exhibit good distribution in the nanocomposites and absorb some PEG to agglomerate around them. The crystallization behavior of PLLA in the nanocomposites is greatly dependent on the content of FMWCNTs. At low content of FMWCNTs, the addition of FMWCNTs improves the crystallization behavior of PLLA by enhancing the crystallization temperature and accelerating the crystallization rate, whereas at high content of FMWCNTs, the crystallization of PLLA is restricted to a certain degree. Rheological properties show the formation of the network structure of FMWCNTs at high content, which is the main reason for the retarded crystallization behavior of PLLA due to the network structure providing restriction to mobility and diffusion of PLLA chains to crystal growth fronts. The mechanical properties show that FMWCNTs exhibit reinforcement effect for plasticized PLLA. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigating the kinetics of liquid-free,OSDA-free ZSM-5 zeolite synthesis from iron ore tailings

In this study, ZSM-5, which is a Mobil-type five-type zeolite with well-defined crystal morphology, is successfully synthesized via a seed-assisted, liquid-free method that uses iron ore tailings as a silica source. The ZSM-5 crystallization kinetics at 423, 433, and 443 K and different synthesis times are investigated to identify the nucleation and crystallization mechanisms of the synthesized ZSM-5 zeolites, and results suggest that the crystallization kinetics follow a Kolmogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-type behavior. The activation energies for the induction and transition periods are 112.38 and 58.35 kJ mol⁻¹, respectively. Furthermore, the Avrami exponent indicates three-dimensional crystal growth from both sporadic and instantaneous nucleation mechanisms. A comparison of our results with previous reports of the ZSM-5 crystallization mechanism demonstrates that the seed crystals play a significant role in nucleation and crystal growth. Finally, seed surface crystallization and new nuclei crystallization dual mechanism has been proposed to describe the crystallization process of ZSM-5.