Superhydrophobic and superoleophobic nanocellulose aerogel membranes as bioinspired cargo carriers on water and oil

We demonstrate that superhydrophobic and superoleophobic nanocellulose aerogels, consisting of fibrillar networks and aggregates with structures at different length scales, support considerable load on a water surface and also on oils as inspired by floatation of insects on water due to their superhydrophobic legs. The aerogel is capable of supporting a weight nearly 3 orders of magnitude larger than the weight of the aerogel itself. The load support is achieved by surface tension acting at different length scales: at the macroscopic scale along the perimeter of the carrier, and at the microscopic scale along the cellulose nanofibers by preventing soaking of the aerogel thus ensuring buoyancy. Furthermore, we demonstrate high-adhesive pinning of water and oil droplets, gas permeability, light reflection at the plastron in water and oil, and viscous drag reduction of the fluorinated aerogel in contact with oil. We foresee applications including buoyant, gas permeable, dirt-repellent coatings for miniature sensors and other devices floating on generic liquid surfaces.     

Thiourea-treated graphene aerogel as a highly selective gas sensor for sensing of trace level of ammonia

As a result of this study, a new and simple method was proposed for the fabrication of an ultra sensitive, robust and reversible ammonia gas sensor. The sensing mechanism was based upon the change in electrical resistance of a graphene aerogel as a result of sensor exposing to ammonia. Three-dimensional graphene hydrogel was first synthesized via hydrothermal method in the absence or presence of various amounts of thiourea. The obtained material was heated to obtain aerogel and then it was used as ammonia gas sensor. The materials obtained were characterized using different techniques such as Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thiourea-treated graphene aerogel was more porous (389 m² g⁻¹) and thermally unstable and exhibited higher sensitivity, shorter response time and better selectivity toward ammonia gas, compared to the aerogel produced in the absence of thiourea. Thiourea amount, involved in the hydrogel synthesis step, was found to be highly effective factor in the sensing properties of finally obtained aerogel. The sensor response time to ammonia was short (100 s) and completely reversible (recovery time of about 500 s) in ambient temperature. The sensor response to ammonia was linear between 0.02 and 85 ppm and its detection limit was found to be 10 ppb (3S/N).     

Ultralight sulfonated graphene aerogel for efficient adsorption of uranium from aqueous solutions

The radon activity concentration was measured in 67 rooms in kindergartens in Visegrad countries over a period of 1 year using the SSNTD method within the framework of the standard V4 project. In 7.5% of rooms radon activity concentration exceeded 300 Bq m^?3, the reference value recommended by the Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM. The annual effective doses due to radon inhalation ranged from 0.5 to 13.3 mSv for children and from 0.3 to 8.3 mSv for staff.

     

Microporous carbon aerogel prepared through ambient pressure drying route as anode material for lithium ion cells

Carbon aerogel synthesized through a cost‐effective and easy method was evaluated and found to be a promising anode material for lithium ion cells. Carbon aerogel was prepared by carbonizing resorcinol–formaldehyde (RF) aerogel under inert atmosphere. Resorcinol–formaldehyde aerogel in turn was prepared through sol gel polymerization of resorcinol with formaldehyde using sodium carbonate as catalyst adopting ambient pressure drying route. The structure and the morphology of the prepared carbon aerogel are investigated using X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and surface area determined using N₂–Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method. The TEM images reveal microporous morphology of the carbon aerogel particles. The evaluation of carbon aerogel as an anode material revealed promising specific capacity synergized with outstanding cyclability. The first cycle specific capacity was 288 mAh/g with an efficiency of 63% at C/10 rate. The material retained a capacity of 96.9% of the initial capacity with about 100% efficiency after 100 cycles, showing the excellent cyclability of the material. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of a highly porous carbon material with magnetic properties

Russian Journal of Applied Chemistry - Double modification of birch wood sawdust was performed with the aim to prepare porous carbon materials with magnetic properties.     

EPDM as a selective membrane material in pervaporation

Various types of ethylene–propylene-diene terpolymers (EPDM) and crosslinking procedures have been investigated with pervaporation, vapor sorption, liquid sorption and gas permeation experiments. The EPDM parameters that have been changed are ethylene content, molecular weight, choice of third monomer, type of branching and various crosslinking procedures.The permeability coefficients were determined from pervaporation experiments and were about 40,000 Barrer for toluene and 700 Barrer for water. However, from vapor sorption measurements, a value of 22,000 Barrer for toluene was obtained which is somewhat lower. It should be realized that these data can only be compared qualitatively; the permeabilities obtained from sorption isotherms are derived data while in case of the pervaporation experiments it is experimentally measured.There is an indication that toluene behaves independently from water but the presence of toluene does influence the water flux during pervaporation. Gas permeation experiments resulted in permeabilities for CO₂, O₂ and N₂ of 120, 24 and 11 Barrer, respectively. No clear differences were found for both EPDM-variation and different crosslinking procedures.     

Cucurbit[7]uril: an amorphous molecular material for highly selective carbon dioxide uptake

Cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]), in its amorphous solid state, shows one of the highest CO(2) sorption capacities among known organic porous materials at 298 K and 0.1 and 1 bar. In addition to the highest CO(2) capacity, CB[7] also shows remarkable selectivity of CO(2) over N(2) and CH(4). These properties, along with the existence of readily available precursors, indicate amorphous CB[7] might find applications in recycling CO(2) particularly considering the easy synthesis and potentially low manufacturing costs.     

Molecular level dispersed Pd clusters in the carbon walls of ordered mesoporous carbon as a highly selective alcohol oxidation catalyst

Ordered mesoporous carbon containing molecular-level dispersed Pd clusters in the carbon walls can be synthesized by the nanocasting pathway, which shows high selectivity for the oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes.     

Polydicyclopentadiene based aerogel: a new insulation material

Lightweight polydicyclopentadiene (pDCPD) based aerogels were developed via a simple sol-gel processing and supercritical drying method. The uniform pDCPD wet gels were first prepared at room temperature and atmospheric pressure through ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) incorporating homogeneous ruthenium catalyst complexes (Grubbs catalyst). Gelation kinetics were significantly affected by both catalyst content and target density (i.e., solid content), while gel solvents also played important role in determining the appearance and uniformity of wet gel and aerogel products. A supercritical carbon dioxide (CO₂) drying method was used to extract solvent from wet pDCPD gels to afford nanoporous aerogel solid. A variety of pDCPD based aerogels were synthesized by varying target density, catalyst content, and solvent and were compared with their xerogel analogs (obtained by ambient pressure solvent removal) for linear shrinkage and thermal conductivity value (1 atm air, 38 °C mean temperature). Target density played a key role in determining porosity and thermal conductivity of the resultant pDCPD aerogel. Differential scanning calorimetery (DSC) demonstrated that the materials as produced were not fully-crosslinked. The pDCPD based aerogel monoliths demonstrated high porosities, low thermal conductivity values, and inherent hydrophobicity. These aerogel materials are very promising candidates for many thermal and acoustic insulation applications including cryogenic insulation.

Highly selective carbon dioxide adsorption in a water-stable indium-organic framework material

A metal-organic framework, with chiral 4(1) In(OH)(CO(2))(2) helix chains, exhibits a high CO(2) uptake under ambient conditions and outstanding selective separations of CO(2) from CH(4) or N(2). Its high stability toward humidity or even boiling water is confirmed by PXRD method.     

Anthracene cycloadducts as highly selective chiral auxiliaries

A new chiral auxiliary was designed and easily prepared from a Diels-Alder cycloadduct of an enantiomerically pure anthracene with maleimide. Excellent diastereoselectivities in Diels-Alder reactions, conjugate additions, and aldol reactions employing these auxiliaries are now reported.     

Electrochemical determination of acetaminophen using a glassy carbon electrode modified with a hybrid material consisting of graphene aerogel and octadecylamine-functionalized carbon quantum dots

The study reports on the synthesis of a graphene aerogel@octadecylamine-functionalized carbon quantum dots (GA@O-CQDs). The graphene oxide aqueous dispersion, O-CQDs aqueous dispersion and toluene were strongly mixed to make a toluene-in-water Pickering emulsion. The graphene oxide sheets in the aqueous phase are reduced by hydrazine hydrate, diffuse into the toluene droplets, and self-assemble into graphene oxide microgels. This is followed by freeze-drying and thermal annealing to obtain the GA@O-CQDs hybrid that has a three-dimensional structure of several microns. It was dispersed in ethanol and deposited on a glassy carbon electrode. The modified electrode was applied to differential pulse voltammetric determination of acetaminophen, best at a peak potential of 0.15 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). Figures of the merit include a wide linear response range (0.001–10 μM) and a 0.38 nM of the detection limit (S/N?=?3). The assay has been applied to the determination of acetaminophen in tablets.

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Graphical abstract Schematic presentation of the synthesis of graphene aerogel@octadecylamine-functionalized carbon quantum dots. The synthesis achieves to the intimate chemical and electrical contact between graphene and carbon quantum dots. An electrode modified with the hybrid exhibits ultra high sensitivity for detection of acetaminophen.

     

Comparative study on pore structures of mesoporous ZSM-5 from resorcinol-formaldehyde aerogel and carbon aerogel templating

Resorcinol-formaldehyde aerogels and carbon aerogels of different mesoporosities have been used as templates for preparing bimodal zeolites of mesopores. Samples were thoroughly characterized with X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, N(2) adsorption at 77 K, as well as FT-IR spectroscopy and (29)Si nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The mesoporous ZSM-5 zeolites have additional mesopores of 9-25 nm in widths and 0.07-0.2 cm(3)/g in volumes, besides their perfect inherent micropores. Experimental results show the mesoporous systems of the finally obtained zeolites can be influenced by proper preparation of resorcinol-formaldehyde aerogels and carbon aerogels through solution chemistry. Consequently, zeolites of tunable mesoporosities can be prepared with this unique methodology.     

Production of a highly dispersed carbon material and hydrogen from natural gas in a microwave reactor with metallic catalysts

Effect of a microwave field on metallic catalysts was studied in the reaction of decomposition of methane into hydrogen and highly dispersed carbon. The dependence of the conversion of methane, yield of carbon, and its composition on the chemical nature of a catalysts and reaction conditions was examined.     

Ultra porous nanocellulose aerogels as separation medium for mixtures of oil/water liquids

A novel type of sponge-like material for the separation of mixed oil and water liquids has been prepared by the vapour deposition of hydrophobic silanes on ultra-porous nanocellulose aerogels. To achieve this, a highly porous (>99%) nanocellulose aerogel with high structural flexibility and robustness is first formed by freeze-drying an aqueous dispersion of the nanocellulose. The density, pore size distribution and wetting properties of the aerogel can be tuned by selecting the concentration of the nanocellulose dispersion before freeze-drying. The hydrophobic light- weight aerogels are almost instantly filled with the oil phase when selectively absorbing oil from water, with a capacity to absorb up to 45 times their own weight in oil. The oil can also be drained from the aerogel and the aerogel can then be reused for a second absorption cycle.     

The characteristics of highly ordered mesoporous carbons as electrode material for electrochemical sensing as compared with carbon nanotubes

In this paper, the unique properties of highly ordered mesoporous carbons modified glassy carbon electrode (OMCs/GE) are illustrated from comparison with carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrode (CNTs/GE) for the electrochemical sensing applications. Electrochemical behaviors of eight kinds of inorganic and organic electroactive compounds were studied at OMCs/GE, which shows more favorable electron transfer kinetics than that at CNTs/GE. Especially, OMCs/GE exhibits remarkably strong and stable electrocatalytic response toward NADH compared with CNTs/GE. The ability of OMCs to promote electron transfer not only provides a new platform for the development of dehydrogenase-based bioelectrochemical devices, but also indicates a potential of OMCs in a wide range of sensing applications. OMCs prepared are the novel carbon electrode materials, exhibiting more favorable electrochemical reactivity than CNTs for the wide electrochemical sensing applications without pretreatments, while purification or end-opening processing was usually required in case of CNTs.     

Polyurea based aerogel for a high performance thermal insulation material

Less fragile lightweight nanostructured polyurea based organic aerogels were prepared via a simple sol–gel processing and supercritical drying method. The uniform polyurea wet gels were first prepared at room temperature and atmospheric pressure by reacting different isocyanates with polyamines using a tertiary amine (triethylamine) catalyst. Gelation kinetics, uniformity of wet gel, and properties of aerogel products were significantly affected by both target density (i.e., solid content) and equivalent weight (EW) ratio of the isocyanate resin and polyamine hardener. A supercritical carbon dioxide (CO₂) drying method was used to extract solvent from wet polyurea gels to afford nanoporous aerogels. The thermal conductivity values of polyurea based aerogel were measured at pressures from ambient to 0.075 torr and at temperatures from room temperature to −120 °C under a pressure of 8 torr. The polyurea based aerogel samples demonstrated high porosities, low thermal conductivity values, hydrophobicity properties, relatively high thermal decomposition temperature (~270 °C) and low degassing property and were less dusty than silica aerogels. We found that the low thermal conductivities of polyurea based aerogels were associated with their small pore sizes. These polyurea based aerogels are very promising candidates for cryogenic insulation applications and as a thermal insulation component of spacesuits.     

Electrosorption of ions from aqueous solutions by nanostructured carbon aerogel

Electrosorption is generally defined as potential-induced adsorption on the surface of charged electrodes. After polarization of the electrodes, ions are removed from the electrolyte solution by the imposed electric field and adsorbed onto the surface of the electrodes. Experimental and modeling studies were conducted using two types of carbon aerogel composites of different surface areas to provide a better understanding on the mechanisms of electrosorption. The experimental results revealed that no significant specific adsorption of F- ions occurred, while strong specific adsorption was observed for NO3- and Cu2+ ions. In addition, although the two types of carbon aerogel electrodes had different surface areas, their capacities were found to be very similar because of the electrical double-layer overlapping effect in micropores. An electrical double-layer model developed in our previous work (16), in which the electrical double-layer overlapping correction is included, is expanded in the present work by considering the effect of the specific adsorption on the electrosorption process. Modeling results were compared with experimental data obtained under various conditions. When the overlapping effect and specific adsorption were considered, the model provided results that were in good agreement with experimental data.     

A novel carbon electrode material for highly improved EDLC performance

Porous materials, developed by grafting functional groups through chemical surface modification with a surfactant, represent an innovative concept in energy storage. This work reports, in detail, the first practical realization of a novel carbon electrode based on grafting of vinyltrimethoxysilane (vtmos) functional group for energy storage in electric double layer capacitor (EDLC). Surface modification with surfactant vtmos enhances the hydrophobisation of activated carbon and the affinity toward propylene carbonate (PC) solvent, which improves the wettability of activated carbon in the electrolyte solution based on PC solvent, resulting in not only a lower resistance to the transport of electrolyte ions within micropores of activated carbon but also more usable surface area for the formation of electric double layer, and accordingly, higher specific capacitance, energy density, and power capability available from the capacitor based on modified carbon. Especially, the effects from surface modification become superior at higher discharge rate, at which much better EDLC performance (i.e., much higher energy density and power capability) has been achieved by the modified carbon, suggesting that the modified carbon is a novel and very promising electrode material of EDLC for large current applications where both high energy density and power capability are required.