Effect of temperature and pH on droplet aggregation and phase separation characteristics of flocs formed in oil–water emulsions after coagulation

Coagulation process is used for destabilization of emulsions to promote aggregation of oil droplets on flocs which can be subsequently removed by sedimentation or flotation. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of temperature and pH on the effectiveness of destabilization of olive oil–water emulsions in relation to floc morphology and aggregation characteristics of oil droplets, and to quantify the ability of flocs to capture and separate oil. A cationic polyelectrolyte was used for the coagulation of oil droplets in edible olive oil–water emulsions using a jar test apparatus. The flocs formed in olive oil–water emulsions after coagulant addition were analyzed using microscopic image analysis techniques. Fractal dimension, radius of captured oil droplets on flocs, number of oil droplets aggregated on flocs, and floc size were used to quantitatively characterize and compared the effectiveness of the coagulation process at different conditions (pH and temperature) and the ability of flocs to remove oil from water. Analysis of microscopic images showed that floc size was not always the best measure of effectiveness of coagulation process in oil–water emulsions. The flocs forming at different pH levels and temperatures had significant morphological differences in their ability to aggregate different sizes and numbers of oil droplets, resulting in significant differences in their ability for separating oil. Fractal dimension did not correlate with the ability of flocs to aggregate oil droplets nor the total amount of oil captured on flocs. Temperature had a significant effect on droplet size and number of droplets captured on flocs. The differences in floc sizes at different temperatures were not significant. However, the flocs forming at 20 °C had fewer but larger droplets aggregating larger amounts of oil than flocs formed at 30 °C and 40 °C. The size of droplets at different pH levels was similar, however, there were significant differences in number of droplets aggregating on flocs and floc sizes. The amount of oil captured on flocs at pH 7 and pH 9 was significantly higher than those at pH 5 and pH 11. The calculated fractal dimensions of the flocs (all less than 1.8) indicated that the coagulation process was diffusion limited implying that there was no repulsion between the colliding particles (i.e., droplets and flocs); hence, each collision between flocs and droplets resulted in attachment.     

Effect of pH on the reactivity of dipeptides and α-amino acids in the N-acylation

The reaction kinetics of Gly, L-??-Ala, Gly-Gly, L-??-Ala-L-??-Ala and ??-Ala-??-Ala with picryl benzoate in water (40 wt %)-2-propanol was investigated. At pH = 4?C8 the rate constants of N-acylation of the anionic form of dipeptides are less than those of the corresponding amino acid anions, in agreement with their basicity, whereas the relative effective rate constants of reactions depend on pH: in acidic, neutral and slightly alkaline media the k _ef values are higher for the dipeptides, and in a strongly alkaline medium, for the amino acids. These differences are due to the changes in the concentrations of reactive forms of amino acids and dipeptides in the system at varying the medium pH.     

Effect of pH on the Hydrothermal Synthesis of BN Nanocrystals

Boron nitride (BN) has been synthesized using hydrothermal synthesis method. The experimental results showed that the pH value of the reaction solution has an important effect on the yield and phases of BN samples. As the pH value decreased, the content of cBN increased and the yield improved. The increase in cBN content is resulted from the conversion of oBN into cBN under hydrothermal condition, and the growth of cBN nanocrystals may due to the decrease in the reaction speed, thus the crystalline perfection of BN improved when the pH value decreased.     

Friction force spectroscopy of β- and κ-casein monolayers

Friction force spectroscopy (FFS) has been applied to study the tribological properties of β- and κ-casein layers on hydrophobic substrates in aqueous solutions. Nanometer-sized imaging tips were employed. This allowed exerting and determining the high pressures needed to remove the layers and registering the topographic evolution during this process. Both β- and κ-casein layers showed similar and not particularly high initial frictional responses (friction coefficient of ～1 when measured with a silicon nitride tip). The pressures needed to remove the layers were of the same order of magnitude for both proteins, ～10(8) Pa, but slightly higher for those composed of β-casein. The technique has also shown to be useful in studying the two-dimensional lateral diffusion of the proteins and the wear on the layers they form.     

Effect of volume concentration and temperature on viscosity and surface tension of graphene–water nanofluid for heat transfer applications

In the present study, the effect of volume concentration (0.05, 0.1 and 0.15 %) and temperature (10–90 °C) on viscosity and surface tension of graphene–water nanofluid has been experimentally measured. The sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate is used as the surfactant for stable suspension of graphene. The results showed that the viscosity of graphene–water nanofluid increases with an increase in the volume concentration of nanoparticles and decreases with an increase in temperature. An average enhancement of 47.12 % in viscosity has been noted for 0.15 % volume concentration of graphene at 50 °C. The enhancement of the viscosity of the nanofluid at higher volume concentration is due to the higher shear rate. In contrast, the surface tension of the graphene–water nanofluid decreases with an increase in both volume concentration and temperature. A decrement of 18.7 % in surface tension has been noted for the same volume concentration and temperature. The surface tension reduction in nanofluid at higher volume concentrations is due to the adsorption of nanoparticles at the liquid–gas interface because of hydrophobic nature of graphene; and at higher temperatures, is due to the weakening of molecular attractions between fluid molecules and nanoparticles. The viscosity and surface tension showed stronger dependency on volume concentration than temperature. Based on the calculated effectiveness of graphene–water nanofluids, it is suggested that the graphene–water nanofluid is preferable as the better coolant for the real-time heat transfer applications.     

Effect of dioxane on the binding of competitive inhibitor proflavin and catalytic activity of bovine pancreatic α-chymotrypsin

The binding of competitive inhibitor proflavin by α-chymotrypsin in water-dioxane mixtures over the entire range of thermodynamic activities of water a _w was studied. The data on the degree of binding of proflavin were compared to the results on the catalytic activity of the enzyme preliminary incubated in water-dioxane mixtures. An analysis of the behavior of the concentration dependences of these characteristics demonstrated that, at low a _w values, the behavior of the interprotein contacts in the enzyme formed during its drying largely governs its functional properties, while at high a _w values, they are determined by the interaction of the enzyme with the organic solvent. Interplay of these two factors is responsible for the observed complex shape of the isotherm of binding of proflavin, with the maximum degree of binding being attained at moderate a _w values.     

Effect of hydrophobicity on the stability of sol–gel silica coatings in vacuum and their laser damage threshold

Silica antireflective coatings modified by hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) were deposited on clean substrates (silicon wafer or K9 glass blanks) by sol–gel processing. The effects of HMDS on the contamination resistant capability and laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of coatings were investigated. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that a stable sol with uniformly distributed silica particles with an average particle size of about 15 nm was acquired by adding appropriate amount of HMDS into the standard SiO₂ sol. With the modified sol the resultant coatings were hydrophobic and the contact angle for water increased with increasing amount of HMDS in the reaction mixture. Such increase in hydrophobicity was not the result of surface roughness. The antireflective properties were retained after HMDS-treatment and the maximum transmission values were above 99 %. The introduction of HMDS into silica sols had also increased the LIDT of coatings from 24.3 to 37.0 J cm^?2 when the molar ratio of HMDS to tetraethoxysilane was 0.05:1. The increase in LIDT was attributed to the decrease of nodular defect and uniform microstructures of coatings as an effect of the HMDS modification. After some of the hydroxyl groups on the surface of the SiO₂ particle were replaced by methyl groups, from which the SiO₂ particle gained a water-repellent surface, the stability of coatings in vacuum was increased. The maximum transmission values of modified coatings decreased by only 0.25 % after storage under vacuum for 168 h. In contrast, the standard sol–gel silica coatings decreased about 2 % under similar conditions. The LIDT of modified coatings remained as high as 30.8 J cm^?2, more than that of standard coatings stored for the same duration in air.     

Effect of microstructure and surface roughness on the wettability of superhydrophobic sol–gel nanocomposite coatings

Sol–gel nanocomposite coatings were fabricated by spraying precursor mixtures containing hydrophobically modified silica (HMS) nanoparticles dispersed in sol–gel matrices prepared with acid-catalyzed tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), and methyltriethoxysilane (MTEOS). The hydrophobicity of the coatings increased with increase in the concentration of HMS nanoparticles. Superhydrophobic coatings with water contact angle (WCA) of 166° and roll-off angle <2° were obtained by optimizing the sol–gel processing parameters and the concentration of silica nanoparticles in the coating. FESEM studies have shown that surface has a micro-nano binary structure composed of microscale bumps and craters with protrusions of nanospheres. The properties of composite coatings fabricated by spin coating and spray coating methods were compared. It was found that the microstructure and the wettability were also dependent on the method of application of the coating.     

Effect of hydrogen reduction temperature on the microstructure and magnetic properties of Fe–Ni powders

The effect of hydrogen reduction temperature on the properties of Fe–Ni powders was described. The mixed powders of Fe-oxide and NiO were prepared by chemical solution mixing of nitrates powders and calcination at 350 °C for 2 h in air. The calcined powders formed small agglomeration with an average particle size of 100 nm. The microstructure and magnetic properties were investigated by using X-ray diffractometry, thermogravimetry, differential thermal analyzer, and vibrating sample magnetometer. Microstructure and thermal analysis revealed that the Fe-oxide and NiO phase were changed to FeNi₃ phase in the temperature range of 245–310 °C, and by heat-up to 690 °C the FeNi₃ phase was transformed to γ-FeNi phase. The reduced powder at 350 °C showed saturation magnetization of 76.3 emu/g and coercivity of 205.5 Oe, while the reduced powders at 690 °C exhibited saturation magnetization of 84.0 emu/g and coercivity of 14.0 Oe. The change of magnetic properties was discussed by the observed microstructural features.

     

Kinetic pathways to peptide aggregation on surfaces: the effects of β-sheet propensity and surface attraction

Mechanisms of peptide aggregation on hydrophobic surfaces are explored using molecular dynamics simulations with a coarse-grained peptide representation. Systems of peptides are studied with varying degrees of backbone rigidity (a measure of β-sheet propensity) and degrees of attraction between their hydrophobic residues and the surface. Multiple pathways for aggregation are observed, depending on the surface attraction and peptide β-sheet propensity. For the case of a single-layered β-sheet fibril forming on the surface (a dominant structure seen in all simulations), three mechanisms are observed: (a) a condensation-ordering transition where a bulk-formed amorphous aggregate binds to the surface and subsequently rearranges to form a fibril; (b) the initial formation of a single-layered fibril in the bulk depositing flat on the surface; and (c) peptides binding individually to the surface and nucleating fibril formation by individual peptide deposition. Peptides with a stiffer chiral backbone prefer mechanism (b) over (a), and stronger surface attractions prefer mechanism (c) over (a) and (b). Our model is compared to various similar experimental systems, and an agreement was found in terms of the surface increasing the degree of fibrillar aggregation, with the directions of fibrillar growth matching the crystallographic symmetry of the surface. Our simulations provide details of aggregate growth mechanisms on scales inaccessible to either experiment or atomistic simulations.     

Comparison on effect of hydrophobicity on the antibacterial and antifungal activities of α-helical antimicrobial peptides

HPRP-A1, a 15-mer α-helical cationic peptide, was derived from N-terminus of ribosomal protein L1 (RpL1) of Helicobacter pylori. In this study, HPRP-A1 was used as a framework to obtain a series of peptide analogs with different hydrophobicity by single amino acid substitutions in the center of nonpolar face of the amphipathic helix in order to systematically study the effect of hydrophobicity on biological activities of -helical antimicrobial peptides. Hydrophobicity and net charge of peptides played key roles in the biological activities of these peptide analogs; HPRP-A1 and peptide analogs with relative higher hydrophobicity exerted broad spectrum antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria and pathogenic fungi, but also showed stronger hemolytic activity; the change of hydrophobicity and net charge of peptides had similar effects with close trend and extent on antibacterial activities and antifungal activities. This indicated that there were certain correlations between the antibacterial mode of action and the antifungal mode of action of these peptides in this study. The peptides exhibited antimicrobial specificity for bacteria and fungi, which provided potentials to develop new antimicrobial drugs for clinical practices.     

Effect of temperature in region of γ and β relaxations on photo-oxidation of polystyrene

Atactic polystyrene films were irradiated at 254 nm in oxygen. The influence of the polystyrene mobility on chain scission and acetophenone formation in the temperature range 233–387 K has been studied. The increase of quantum yield for chain scission in the γ relaxation region was attributed to phenyl group rotation and increase of the probability of energy transfer from this chromophore to induce C-H bond scission. The considerable increase of acetophenone formation at the β relaxation was attributed to increase of oxygen interaction with the chromophore because of cooperative motion of main chain and benzene rings.     

Temperature effect on the ease of aggregation

The effect of temperature on the critical aggregate concentration (CAgC) has been investigated for the first time, by measurement of the hydrolytic rate constants of p-nitrophenyl dodecanoate (C12) and hexadecanoate (C16) at different temperatures in the 30:70 V/V (Φ=0.30) and 40:60 V/V (Φ= 0.40) dioxane (DX)-H2O systems. The CAgC values of C12 and C16 increase with the increase of the temperature, i.e., high temperatures disfavor aggregation. Activation energies for the hydrolysis of C12 in the monomeric and aggregated concentration domains have also been discussed.     

Kinetic studies on the aggregation behavior of phosphatidylcholines and their analogs

Phosphatidylcholines (Ln's) and their neutral analogs 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerol-3-phospho-ric acid bromoethyl esters (Pn's) have been found to exhibit different aggregation behaviors brought about by hydrophobic-lipophilic interactions (HLI) by means of kinetic probe in MeOH-H2O binary aquiorganic systems. The effects of the structure and the environment on the interesting aggregation of the amphiphilic molecules are discussed.     

Sorption of Am(Ⅲ) on Na-bentonite:Effect of pH,ionic strength,temperature and humic acid

Sorption of Am(Ⅲ) on Na-bentonite as a function of contact time,pH,ionic strength,humic acid(HA) and temperature was investigated under ambient conditions.The results showed that the sorption was strongly dependent on pH and ionic strength. Am(Ⅲ) sorption can be described well by pseudo-second-order model.The presence of HA takes a positive effect at low pH;but a negative influence under high pH range.Enthalpy,entropy and Gibbs free energy(i.e.,△H~0,△S~0 and△G~0) calculated from sorption isotherms suggested that sorption process of Am(Ⅲ) was spontaneous and endothermic.     

Synthesis and swelling behavior of temperature responsive κ-carrageenan nanogels

Crosslinked κ-carrageenan hydrogel nanoparticles (nanogels) with an average size smaller than 100 nm were prepared using reverse microemulsions combined with thermally induced gelation. The size of the nanogels varied with biopolymer concentration at a constant water/surfactant concentration ratio. The nanogels were found to be thermo-sensitive in a temperature range acceptable for living cells (37-45°C) undergoing reversible volume transitions in response to thermal stimuli. This opens the possibility to explore the application of these nanogels in smart therapeutics such as thermo-sensitive drug carriers. As such, the sustained release of methylene blue from the nanogels was evaluated in in vitro conditions as proof of concept experiments and the release rate was found to be controlled with temperature.     

Capacitance Characterization of the Effect of pH Value on the Self—assembled Monolayers of Octadecanethiol

In this paper,the membrane capacitance(Cm),which was obtained from the ecectrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS) method,was used to characterize the effect of pH value on the self-assembled monolayers(SAMs) of octadecanethiol(18SH) for the first time.The results not only strongly proved that inorganic ions could penetrate the SAMs of 18SH,but also ascertained that SAMs of 18SH were not an absolute of free of ion-penetration.Verifying the existence of pin-holes in the octadecanethiol SAMs was the main contribution of this paper,which coincided with the former conjecture very well.