A study of the alumina-silica gel adsorbent for the removal of silicic acid from geothermal water: increase in adsorption capacity of the adsorbent due to formation of amorphous aluminosilicate by adsorption of silicic acid

Two kinds of adsorbents (Si adsorbent and Al adsorbent) for the removal of silicic acid from geothermal water to retard the formation of silica scales were prepared using silicic acid contained in geothermal water. The Si adsorbent was prepared by evaporating geothermal water, and the Al adsorbent was prepared by evaporating geothermal water after the addition of aluminum chloride. The specific surface area of the Si adsorbent was small and it's adsorption capacity of silicic acid was low. Although the specific surface area of the Al adsorbent was also small, it was significantly increased by the adsorption of silicic acid and it's adsorption capacity was high. Based on the change in the local structure of aluminum ion by the adsorption of silicic acid, the Al adsorbent was considered to be silica particles covered with crystalline aluminum hydroxide. Moreover, it was concluded that the increase in the specific surface area of the Al adsorbent and the decrease in the zeta potential were due to the formation of an amorphous aluminosilicate with a large surface area and a negative charge (one 4-coordinated Al) by the reaction between aluminum ions and silicic acids.     

Study of the selective extraction of iron (III) by silica-immobilized 5-formyl-3-arylazo-salicylic acid derivatives

A method for immobilization of 5-formyl-3-arylazosalicylic acid derivatives on the surface of silica gel is described. The new silica gel phases were synthesized by a very simple and rapid route which can be defined as a one-step reaction. The phases were proved to show an excellent improvement in the iron (III) extraction and the determined mmol g(-1) values are in the range of 1.24 - 1.32. The metal-uptake properties of eleven metal ions were also evaluated at different pH values and shaking times. The process of selective extraction of iron (III), in presence of an interfering ion, by these phases was also studied by both column and batch equilibrium techniques in order to identify the possible type of interference of each metal ion in this process. Three divalent metal ions (Mg, Ca and Mn) exhibited a minimum interference in iron (III) extraction. A group of six divalent metal ions (Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) were found to be interfering in the selective extraction of iron (III) via the arylazo-moiety of the silica phase, while Cr(III) was found to show a specific interference type based on the affinity of Cr(III) for binding to the chelation centers of the salicylic acid moiety of the silica phase.     

Preparation and properties investigation of PMMA/silica composites derived from silicic acid

Hybrid materials based on silicic acid and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) were prepared by in situ bulk polymerization of a silicic acid sol and MMA mixture. Silicic acid sol was obtained by tetrahydrofuran (THF) extraction of silicic acid from water. Silicic acid was prepared by hydrolysis and condensation of sodium silicate in the presence of 3.6 M HCl. As a comparative study, PMMA composites filled by silica particles, which were derived from calcining the silicic acid gel, were prepared by a comparable in situ polymerization. Each set of PMMA/silica composites was subjected to thermal and mechanical studies. Residual THF in PMMA/silicic acid composites impacted the properties of the polymer composites. With increase in silica content, the PMMA composites filled with silica particles showed improved thermal and mechanical properties, whereas a decrease in thermal stability and mechanical strength was found for PMMA composites filled with silicic acid dissolved in THF. With a better compatibility with polymer matrix, silicic acid sol shows better reinforcement than silica particles in PMMA films prepared via blending of the corresponding THF solutions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biomimetic formation of silica thin films by surface-initiated polymerization of 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate and silicic acid

Biosilicification in diatoms is achieved by specific interactions between silaffins, composed of polypeptides and long-chain polyamines, and silicic acid derivatives. The polycondensation of silicic acids is reported to be catalyzed by the long-chain polyamines that mainly contain tertiary N-methylpropyleneimine moieties. In this report, we utilized a tertiary amine-containing polymer, poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (poly(DMAEMA)), as a surface-grafted, biomimetic counterpart of the long-chain polyamines in silaffins and demonstrated that the surface-initiated polycondensation of silicic acids, leading to the formation of silica thin films, proceeded smoothly on surfaces presenting poly(DMAEMA), where poly(DMAEMA) was grown from gold surfaces by surface-initiated, atom transfer radical polymerization. The formed silica film was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy.     

Determination of zinc in blast furnace flue dusts

Two methods for the determination of zinc in blast-furnace flue dusts are described. One involves a solvent extraction step using methyl isobutyl ketone to separate the zinc from the bulk of the interfering elements, followed by a complexometric titration of the zinc with EDTA, using Eriochrome Black T as indicator. The other employs differential pulse polarography with a hydrochloric acid + pyridine supporting electrolyte. In this method, the interference of iron is prevented by reducing it with hydroxylamine hydrochloride; aluminium is complexed with potassium fluoride. Other elements, with the exception of cobalt, do not interfere. Excellent agreement between the two methods is obtained in the range 0.01–0.6% zinc.     

Voltammetric Detection of Lead(II) Using Amide‐Cyclam‐ Functionalized Silica‐Modified Carbon Paste Electrodes

2‐(4,8,11‐Triscarbamoylmethyl‐1,4,8,11‐tetraazacyclotetradec‐1‐yl)acetamide (TETAM) derivatives bearing 1, 2, or 4 silylated arms have been synthesized and grafted to the surface of silica gel and ordered mesoporous silica samples. The resulting organic‐inorganic hybrids have been incorporated into carbon paste electrodes and applied to the preconcentration electroanalysis of Pb(II). The attractive recognition properties of these cyclam derivatives functionalized with amide pendent groups toward Pb(II) species and the highly porous structure of the adsorbents can be exploited for the selective and sensitive detection of the target analyte. Various parameters affecting the preconcentration and detection steps have been discussed with respect to the composition and pH of both accumulation and detection media, the nature of the adsorbent (number of silylated groups linking the macrocycle to silica, texture of materials), the accumulation time, and the presence of interfering cations. Under optimal conditions and for 2 min accumulation at open‐circuit, the voltammetric response increased linearly with the Pb(II) concentration in a range extending from 2×10^?7 to 10^?5 M, while a longer accumulation time of 15 min afforded a linear calibration curve between 10^?8 and 10^?7 M with a detection limit of 2.7×10^?9 M which is well below the European regulatory limit of lead in consumption water.     

Separation of microamounts of fluoride coexisting with large amounts of aluminium and silica by improved trimethylsilylating distillation

The previously reported distillation method for the separation of fluoride as trimethyl- fluorosilane is much improved. When hexamethyldisilazane serves as the silylating agent, interference of silica can be avoided and distillation is rapid at room temperature. Aluminum is effectively masked by pyrophosphoric acid. Almost all ions tested can be tolerated in 1000-fold molar amounts to fluoride. Over 98% recovery is obtained for 49 μg of fluoride in the presence of 80 mg of aluminum plus 200 mg of silica. Concentration of fluoride from very dilute (μg l^-1) solutions is easily achieved. Satisfactory results were obtained for standard rocks.     

Gravimetrically Measured Isotherms of Adsorption of Benzene,n-hexane and Cyclohexene on Different Porous Silica Gels

The isotherms of adsorption-desorption of the vapour of benzene, cyclohexene and n-hexane on different porous silica gels were measured gravimetrically. For all the adsorbates, the amount of vapour condensed in the adsorbent pores is significantly greater than the amount adsorbed. The isotherms of all the adsorbates are linear in a wide range of relative pressures. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Solid phase extraction of penicillins from milk by using sacrificial silica beads as a support for a molecular imprint

We have prepared molecularly imprinted beads with molecular recognition capability for target molecules containing the penicillanic acid substructure. They were prepared by (a) grafting mesoporous silica beads with 6-aminopenicillanic acid as the mimic template, (b) filling the pores with a polymerized mixture of methacrylic acid and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, and (c) removing the silica support with ammonium fluoride. The resulting imprinted beads showed good molecular recognition capability for various penicillanic species, while antibiotics such as cephalosporins or chloramphenicol were poorly recognized. The imprinted beads were used to extract penicillin V, nafcillin, oxacillin, cloxacillin and dicloxacillin from skimmed and deproteinized milk in the concentration range of 5–100 μg·L^?1. The extracts were then analyzed by micellar electrokinetic chromatography by applying reverse polarity staking as an in-capillary preconcentration step, and this resulted in a fast and affordable method within the MRL levels, characterized by minimal pretreatment steps and recoveries of 64–90 %.

Sodium silicate route to coat polymer particles with silica

This paper presents a low-cost method to coat polymer particles with silica nanoparticles from inexpensive sodium silicate solution, which is a less-common precursor compared with tetraethyl orthosilicate for coating of polymer particles. The method is based on deposition of active silicic acid in the presence of polymer particles, prepared by emulsion polymerization of styrene involving poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone), under conditions that a dilute silica sol can be formed from this active silicic acid. The whole process was conducted in aqueous media. The effects of different reaction parameters, such as reaction temperature, amount of active silicic acid and solution pH, on the morphology and size of composite particles were investigated.     

Silica adsorbent prepared from spent diatomaceous earth and its application to removal of dye from aqueous solution

The objective of this work is to study the activation regeneration of spent diatomaceous earth (SDE) for the preparation of silica adsorbents using thermal regeneration and acid/alkaline activation methods. Under the experimental conditions investigated, it was found that the alkaline activation method carried out by sodium hydroxide under controlled conditions is significantly superior to other heat and activation methods. The porosities of solids thus obtained are over 0.2, indicating that they are basically mesoporous. The optimal porous material thus prepared was used as a mineral adsorbent for methylene blue at 25 degrees C. The adsorption equilibrium revealed that the silica adsorbent can take up over 50 mg/g at relatively low concentrations in aqueous medium from the fittings of Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms with high correlations. On the other hand, the adsorption kinetic of methylene blue under various adsorbent dosages can be well described with a pseudo-second-order reaction model.     

硅胶及其衍生物作为基体的激光解吸离子化飞行时间质谱

制备了一种新型无机基体材料(硅胶及其衍生物)用于测定激光解吸离子化飞行时间质谱,建立了一种新的质谱分析方法,并用以解决传统MALDI-TOFMS存在的基体干扰问题.该法适合于低分子量化合物的分析.同时探讨了该新解吸离子化方法的机理.     

Conversion of cellulose materials into nanostructured ceramics by biomineralization

Synthesis of hierarchically ordered silica materials having ordered wood cellular structures has been demonstrated through in-situ mineralization of wood by means of surfactant-directed mineralization in solutions of different pH. At low pH, silicic acid penetrates the buried interfaces of the wood cellular structure without clogging the pores to subsequently “molecularly paint” the interfaces thereby forming a positive replica following calcinations. At high pH, the hydrolyzed silica rapidly condenses to fill the open cells and pits within the structure resulting in a negative replica of the structure. Surfactant-templated mineralization in acid solutions leads to the formation of micelles that hexagonally pack at the wood interfaces preserving structural integrity while integrating hexagonally ordered nanoporosity into the structure of the cell walls following thermal treatment in air. The carbothermal reduction of mineralized wood with silica at high temperature produces biomorphic silicon carbide (SiC) materials, which are typical aggregations of β-SiC nanoparticles. To understand the roles of each component (lignin, crystalline cellulose, amorphous cellulose) comprising the natural biotemplates in the transformation to SiC rods, three different cellulose precursors including unbleached and bleached pulp, and cellulose nanocrystals have been utilized. Lignin in unbleached pulp blocked homogeneous penetration of silica into the pores between cellulose fibers resulting in non-uniform SiC fibers containing thick silica layers. Bleached pulp produced uniform SiC rods with camelback structures (80 nm in diameter; ∼50 μm in length), indicating that more silica infiltrates into the amorphous constituent of cellulose to form chunky rather than straight rod structures. The cellulose nanocrystal (CNXL) material produced clean and uniform SiC nanowires (70 nm in diameter; >100 μm in length) without the camelback structure.     

Use of nitrosochromotropic acid as a metal indicator

Summary Nitrosochromotropic acid and copper give a purple coloured complex in the pH range 5.8–6.5, which is less stable than Cu(II)-EDTA complex. When milligramme quantities of copper solution containing few drops of nitrosochromotropic acid were titrated with EDTA the colour changes to light green or colourless. Copper can be titrated from 15–30° C, but at higher temperature low results are obtained due to dissociation of copper complex. Alkaline earths do not interfere in the titration of copper, but zinc, cadmium, nickel, cobalt, aluminium and iron(III) interfere. The interference of aluminium and iron(III) is masked by sodium fluoride. Microtitration can be carried out using nitrosochromotropic acid screened with xylene cyanol FF as metal indicator.     

Bioencapsulation of living yeast (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pichia pastoris</Emphasis>) with silica after transformation with lysozyme gene

Bioencapsulation is an attractive way to immobilize biomolecules including cells, in silica or hybrid materials. Until now the sol–gel technology was preferentially utilized in bacteria or yeast cells immobilization. Biomimetic route to silica materials synthesis offers considerable advantages over conventional strategies. Recently, lysozyme has been used to induce the rapid synthesis of amorphous silica and it provides a convenient approach to synthesize silica under ambient temperature and pH. In this study, we showed that Pichia pastoris can be transformed with the gene encoding the losozyme. The heterologously produced lysozyme was enzymatically active, which was confirmed by measuring the bactericidal activity against Gram-positive bacteria and staining with Rhodamine 123 (formation of silica from silicic acid). Scanning electron microscopic analysis revealed that a viscous silica cover formed around the yeast in the presence of silicic acid. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the growth kinetics of P. pastoris was not affected after transformation when growing in the medium with silicic acid. In conclusion, yeast cells can be bioengineered to secrete lysozyme, which in turn conveniently mediate the encapsulation of yeast cells within silica. The facile method for yeast encapsulation may prove a novel way for cell immobilization through the combination of genetic approach and biomineralization.     

C18‐bound porous silica monolith particles as a low‐cost high‐performance liquid chromatography stationary phase with an excellent chromatographic performance

Ground porous silica monolith particles with an average particle size of 2.34 μm and large pores (363 Å) exhibiting excellent chromatographic performance have been synthesized on a relatively large scale by a sophisticated sol–gel procedure. The particle size distribution was rather broad, and the d(0.1)/d(0.9) ratio was 0.14. The resultant silica monolith particles were chemically modified with chlorodimethyloctadecylsilane and end‐capped with a mixture of hexamethyldisilazane and chlorotrimethylsilane. Very good separation efficiency (185 000/m) and chromatographic resolution were achieved when the C₁₈‐bound phase was evaluated for a test mixture of five benzene derivatives after packing in a stainless‐steel column (1.0 mm × 150 mm). The optimized elution conditions were found to be 70:30 v/v acetonitrile/water with 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid at a flow rate of 25 μL/min. The column was also evaluated for fast analysis at a flow rate of 100 μL/min, and all the five analytes were eluted within 3.5 min with reasonable efficiency (ca. 60 000/m) and resolution. The strategy of using particles with reduced particle size and large pores (363 Å) combined with C₁₈ modification in addition to partial‐monolithic architecture has resulted in a useful stationary phase (C₁₈‐bound silica monolith particles) of low production cost showing excellent chromatographic performance.     

Oligo-lysine Induced Formation of Silica Particles in Neutral Silicate Solution

Introduction Theformationofsilicastructuresunderthecontrol ofalivingorganism(biosilification)isawidespread phenomenoninnature,whichisfoundinmanylife formssuchasdiatoms,spongesandgrasses,etc.[1,2].Themostattractiveaspectofbiosilificationisthatex quisitestr…     

Indicator Tubes and Indicator Powders for Determining Fluoride and Chloride Ions

Noncovalent immobilization of Arsenazo I, Alizarin Red, Xylenol Orange, and diphenylcarbazone by incorporation into silicic acid xerogels and modification of silica gels was studied, and procedures for determining fluoride and chloride ions by solid-phase spectrophotometry and test methods were developed. Reactions of immobilized reagents with aluminum(III), zirconium(IV), and mercury(II) were studied. The possibility of using immobilized reagent–metal ion–halide ion systems for the determination of halide ions was assessed. Indicator powders were proposed for determining 0.5–10 mg/L fluoride ions and 1–30 mg/L chloride ions, and indicator tubes were developed for determining 20–200 mg/L chloride ions. The determination of fluoride and chloride ions is based on exchange complexation reactions proceeding in the systems immobilized Xylenol Orange–zirconium(IV) and immobilized diphenylcarbazone–mercury(II), respectively. Performance characteristics of the developed procedures were estimated. The procedures were verified by determining halide ions in Narzan mineral water.     

Hochdisperse kieselsäure als spurenfänger zur multi-elementanreicherung: Highly dispersed silicic acid as a trace collector for multi-element preconcentration

Highly dispersed silicic acid as a trace collector for multi-element preconcentrationThe purity and sorption properties of commercially available, highly dispersed silicic acid are investigated and compared with those of pure activated carbon for use as trace collectors. For a series of elements, the blanks and their fluctuations caused by silicic acid are significantly smaller, so that detection limits are improved. Activated carbon, however, is the better adsorbent for preconcentration of chelate complexes; in general, recoveries are much higher than are obtainable under similar conditions with the silicic acid. As examples of the applicability of hydrophobic silicic acid as a trace collector, about ten trace elements are preconcentrated from the pure aluminium, gallium and magnesium metals.     

Selective extraction—Complexometric determination of thorium

A new selective analytical extraction method for thorium is described which is based on the extraction of thorium(IV) with n-butylaniline in chloroform. Thorium is selectively and quantitatively extracted from 1N to 2.5N sulphuric acid media in the presence of EDTA and ascorbic acid. Most of the cations do not interfere in the extraction of thorium. Phosphate, oxalate, citrate, tartarate, nitrate, chloride, borate, and arsenate do not interfere. Dichromate, chromate, and vanadate, on reduction with ascorbic acid, cause no interference. The interference due to fluoride can be easily eliminated with boric acid in the presence of dilute sulphuric acid. The method is simple, rapid, and selective, as compared to most of the methods reported for the extraction of thorium. The method is adaptable for macro and micro work. The method is, however, the only analytical method for the extraction of thorium in sulphuric acid media.