In situ polymerization of molecular macroclusters on a silica surface: poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) nanofilms

We have found that alcohols, carboxylic acids, and amides self-assemble into a unique molecular architecture, a hydrogen-bonded molecular macrocluster, when they are selectively adsorbed onto silica (glass and oxidized silicon) surfaces in nonpolar solvents such as cyclohexane. In our previous study, this phenomenon could be successfully applied to fabricate molecularly flat and defect-free nanofilms of several tens of nanometers thickness. In this study, we prepared a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) [poly(NIPAAm)] film on the basis of in situ polymerization of a monomer macrocluster layer formed on silica surfaces and investigated how the molecular arrangement of the adsorbed NIPAAm monomers affects the efficiency of the polymerization of them. Poly(NIPAAm) films were prepared by the following two methods: (1) the one-solution method, the in situ photopolymerization of an NIPAAm monomer adsorption layer on silica in one solution (chloroform, cyclohexane, and toluene), and (2) the solution exchange method, adsorption of NIPAAm monomers onto a silica surface from NIPAAm (0.1 mol %) in chloroform, exhange of the solution to 0.005 mol % NIPAAm in cyclohexane, and then polymerization by UV irradiation. By the solution exchange method, molecularly flat, defect-free, and thermoresponsive films were obtained and the thickness could be controlled by the irradiation time, while only several nanometers thickness could be attained by the one-solution method. The structure of NIPAAm adsorption layers formed in each solution condition was characterized by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. It was revealed that only the solution exchange procedure induced the beta-sheet-like adsorbed structure of NIPAAm in which the double bonds of neighboring NIPAAm monomers were closely located, which should have resulted in effective polymerization.     

Adsorption properties of alumina modified with nickel nanoparticles

Adsorption properties of parent γ-alumina, and γ-alumina, modified with nickel nanoparticles (from 0.6 to 18 wt %), are investigated by dynamic sorption. N-hexane, benzene, chloroform, diethyl ether, chlorobenzene, and o-dichlorobenzene are used as test adsorbates. Adsorption isotherms are measured, and isosteric adsorption heats are calculated. Electron-donating and electron-accepting characteristics of surfaces of parent γ-alumina and γ-alumina, modified with Ni nanoparticles, are estimated. It is established that the surface of parent γ-alumina has mainly electron-accepting properties, while the surface of γ-alumina modified with Ni nanoparticles has electron-donating properties. It is shown that benzene and chlorobenzene are sorbed via physical adsorption on the parent and modified γ-alumina, and o-dichlorobenzene is sorbed via chemosorption.     

A gas chromatographic study of the adsorption of organics on thermally treated silicas

Summary Adsorption properties of thermally treated silica beads were investigated by the gas-solid chromatography method. Retention volumes of n-hexane, cyclohexane, benzene and carbon tetrachloride were measured on silica beads obtained from colloidal silica thermally pre-treated at 423–1 223 K. It has been found that the applied temperature does not change the crystal structure of the solids. The specific surface areas of the thermally treated samples remain practically constant up to 1073 K, and then sharply decrease toward 1 373 K. The partition coefficients for all adsorbates plotted against thermal treatment temperature exhibit a maxima laying between 773 and 1 073 K. Possible interactions between the organics and the surface are discussed in the light of determined thermodynamic quantities of adsorption. Presented at the 15th International Symposium on Chromatography, Nürnberg, October 1984     

Adsorption of colloidal trivalent iron on alumina

The adsorption of colloidal trivalent iron on neutral, acid and basic Al₂O₃ from aqueous solution as a function of pH has been studied. The dependence of sorption of pH is characterized by a maximum, whose position depends on the nature of colloidal particles and surface properties of the sorbents. Adsorption isotherms for the given range of sorbent loading can be expressed by the Langmuir adsorption equation.     

Adsorption of methylmethacrylate-vinylferrocene copolymers at the solution/solid interface

A series of methylmethacrylate–vinylferrocene random copolymers was synthesized and characterized. Their adsorption from toluene and chloroform was measured onto pyrogenic silicas. The level of adsorption depended on the solvent, the surface area of the adsorbent, and the copolymer composition. Thus, an inverse adsorption-solubility relationship for toluene and chloroform was observed. However, in solvents such as tetrahydrofuran, 2-butanone, and cyclobutanone, which have strong interaction with silica, this trend was not evident. The compositional dependence of the adsorption of these copolymers in toluene and chloroform is similar. Initially, adsorption tends to increase with the vinylferrocene content in the polymer, and at equimolar copolymer compositions the adsorption reaches a maximum which is followed by a decrease in the adsorption values at high vinylferrocene contents. Gel permeation chromatography(GPC) measurements allowed us to conclude that high molecular weight polymer was preferentially adsorbed.     

Polymerization of vinyl monomers in the presence of silica having surface functional groups

The surface of silica was modified by mercaptopropyl, chloropropyl, aminopropyl, and methacryloxypropyl groups by the treatment of silica with the corresponding silane coupling agents, and the effects of functional groups on the surface on the polymerization of vinyl monomers initiated by benzoyl peroxide or 2,2-azobisisobutyronitrile were investigated. Although the rate of the polymerization of vinyl monomers in the presence of silica was almost equal to that in the absence of silica, a part of polymer formed was grafted onto silica surface. The polymerization was considerably retarded in the presence of these functionalized silicas and the corresponding polymers were effectively grafted onto the surface. The molecular weight of ungrafted polymer formed in the presence of the functionalized silica was lower than that formed in the presence of unmodified silica. This indicates that the chain transfer reaction of growing polymer radical to functionalized silica surface forms radicals on the surface, which then couples with growing polymer radical and/or reinitiates the polymerization to give rise to the grafting of polymers onto the surface. In the case of silica having methacryloxypropyl groups, the grafting based on the copolymerization of vinyl monomer with the surface methacryloxypropyl groups was considered to successfully proceed.     

Synthesis of Composite Polystyrene/Silica Nanoparticles via Precipitation and Emulsion Polymerization Methods

Polystyrene/silica composite nanoparticles were synthesized via precipitation and emulsion polymerization methods, in the presence of a basic co‐monomer (e.g., 4‐VP and 1‐VID), and a colloidal aqueous silica solution. The effects of key process parameters, that is, solvent type, monomer/co‐monomer volume ratio and total monomers concentration for precipitation polymerization, and reaction temperature, pH value, initial silica‐sol concentration and initial monomer/co‐monomer molar ratio for emulsifier‐free emulsion polymerization on the particle morphology, silica content, and particle size distribution of the composite nanoparticles were experimentally investigated. Stable, spherical, and uniform in size composite nanoparticles were synthesized by both techniques. The average particle diameter varied from 108 to 182 nm for the emulsifier‐free emulsion polymerization and from 400 to 800 nm for the precipitation polymerization, while the silica content was as high as 38.3 wt.‐% for the former method and up to 15.5 wt.‐% for the later. The synthesized composite polymer/silica particles were then electrolytically co‐deposited with zinc on steel plates to improve the corrosion resistance of the metal's surface.

     

Flow microcalorimetry of adsorption of anionic alkyl surfactants at the solid/liquid interface

Flow microcalorimetry was used to study the adsoption of anionic alkyl surfactants from aque--ous solutions onto silica. It is found that for alkyl sulfate systems the strength of adsorption interactionincreases with increases of the alkyl chain length and decreases as temperature rises. The adsorptiondepends only on monomer concentration of the solution even above the critical micelle concentration(cmc). The assumption is made that the adsorption involves only a transfer of monomers from bulkto surface phase. A different adsorption mechanism is operative for the alkyl carboxylate.     

Spacer effect of novel bifunctional organophosphorus monomers in metal-imprinted polymers prepared by surface template polymerization

The interfacial activity and the molecular structure of functional monomers are critical factors that determine the success of synthesizing metal-imprinted polymers by surface template polymerization. From this point of view, first we prepared three distinct novel bifunctional organophosphorus monomers that are interspaced, in each case, by an alkyl spacer having a specific length. Each monomer carries two phosphonic acid groups and two aromatic groups in its molecular structures. Further, by using the synthesized bifunctional monomers, we prepared highly selective Zn(II)-imprinted polymers by the surface template polymerization initiated from a water-in-oil emulsion. To evaluate the template effect, we conducted diagnostic adsorption studies on Zn(II)-imprinted and unimprinted polymers with zinc ions. A high interfacial activity was found to be required for the functional monomers to create the predominant template effect. It became clear that Zn(II)-imprinted polymers having bifuctional monomers with 12-length alkyl chains (1,12-dodecanediol-O, O′-diphenyl phosphonic acid: DDDPA) yielded the best results. Moreover, analysis results of adsorption behavior supported a high-performance of the Zn(II)-imprinted polymers with DDDPA. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 2727–2734, 1998     

Thermodynamic and stereochemical aspects of the polymerizability of glycolide and lactide

The ring-opening polymerizations of the dilactones glycolide and the S,S- and S,R-stereoisomers of lactide were studied using quantum mechanical methods. The ring strain and the conformational distribution of these cyclic monomers and of the polymers were calculated, and the effect of the medium on the polymerization was predicted, for both bulk and solution. The polymerizability of the three monomers in the gas phase, that is, nonpolar medium, is much greater than that of δ-valerolactone or 1,4-dioxan-2-one. This difference vanishes in the polar medium chloroform, which is attributed to the fact that, while all of these monomers possess polar cis-lactone bonds, the three dilactones possess small dipole moments. The data are combined to give polymerization enthalpy and free energy values. The four stereoregular lactide polymers did not differ significantly in energy. Accordingly, the ability to synthesize any one of these rests on catalyst specificity (“polymer chain-end control”). Although introduction of sterically demanding methyl groups into glycolide is expected to favor coiled conformations and decrease polymerizability, this was not found to be the case. Good agreement of calculated values with experimental data from the literature was achieved.     

双酚F分子印迹聚合物的制备及其对水相中双酚F吸附性能的研究

以双酚F(4,4′-BPF)为模板分子,α-甲基丙烯酸(MAA)为功能单体,乙二醇二甲基丙烯酸酯(EGDMA)为交联剂,偶氮二异丁腈(AIBN)为引发剂,采用沉淀聚合法合成4,4′-BPF分子印迹聚合物(MIPs)。运用傅里叶红外(FT-IR)光谱对产物的结构进行表征,并对其吸附等温线、吸附动力学、吸附热力学及选择性识别性能进行研究。结果表明:MIPs对水相中4,4′-BPF具有特异性吸附,最大吸附容量为82.8 mg/g;Freundlich模型拟合吸附等温线的相关系数R2=0.995;热力学参数ΔG、ΔS、ΔH均小于0,表明此吸附过程是自发进行的、熵减的、放热的。     

Molecular modelling of amphipathic basic model peptides: Interactions in aqueous solutions and in the presence of lipids

Molecular modelling calculations based on experimental data obtained in solution and in small unilamellar vesicles are used to study interactions between amphiphilic basic peptides and membranes. The behaviour of such peptides during the initial and final stages of the adsorption process is our primary interest. Primary sequences of 20 amino acid residues were designed with equal numbers of basic lysines and hydrophobic leucines in order to get an amphipathic α helix. First, in solution, aggregates with an increasing number (up to nine) of helical monomers were built up and the hydrophobic solvent accessible surface per monomer was analysed on energy minimised structures. This showed that aggregates with 5–8 of monomers should be equally probable, in reasonable accordance with experimental data. In addition, models of membranes with 21 dimyristoyl-phosphatidylcholine lipids were constructed; amphiphilic peptides were merged into these assemblies with their axes parallel to the monolayer surface and the whole lipid/peptide complex was submitted to a few steps of simulated annealing and further energy minimisation techniques in order to equilibrate alkyl chains in the vicinity of the peptide. These simulations yield an estimation of the penetration depth for the peptide in the monolayer of ∼3.2 ?, whereas experimental approaches to this question were not productive. The modification in the peptide net electrical charge by interchanging Leu in Lys residues in such systems is also examined: for low-charged peptides the penetration depth increases. Received: 20 May 1998 / Accepted : 3 September 1998 / Published online: 7 December 1998     

Surface modification of fine colloidal silica with copolymer silane-coupling agents composed of maleic anhydride

The reactivity of copolymer silane composed of maleic anhydride in the modification of fine colloidal silica was studied. The reaction of colloidal silica of 10 and 45-nm diameter with trimethoxysilyl-terminated poly(maleic anhydride-co-styrene) [P(MA-ST)] and poly(MA-co-methyl methacrylate) in tetrahydrofuran resulted in effective surface modification without particle aggregation. From the results that the reaction using the polystyrene silane of low molecular weight led to partial aggregation, it was suggested that the steric interaction between relatively rigid copolymer chains having a maleic anhydride moiety adsorbed on the silica prevented the aggregation in the reaction. The ²⁹Si cross-polarization magic-angle-spinning NMR spectra of P(MA-ST)-modified silica showed that the polymer silane was bound to the silica surface by the direct reaction with silica hydroxyl groups and via the polymerization. Received: 27 June 2001 Accepted: 6 September 2001     

Preparation and characterization of a molecularly imprinted polymer by grafting on silica supports: a selective sorbent for patulin toxin

A new molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) has been prepared on silica beads using the radical “grafting from” polymerization method for selective extraction of minor contaminant mycotoxin of patulin (PTL). After the introduction of amino groups onto the silica surface with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, azo initiator onto the silica surface was achieved by the reaction of surface amino groups with 4,4′-azobis(4-cyanopentanoic acid). The scale-up synthesis of MIP was then carried out in the presence of 6-hydroxynicotinic acid as template substitute, functional, and cross-linking monomers. The prepared sorbent was characterized using FT-IR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, elemental analysis, and the adsorption–desorption selectivity, and the capacity characteristic of the polymer was investigated by a conventional batch adsorption test and Scatchard plot analysis. The results indicated that coated polymers had specific adsorption to PTL as compared with its co-occurring 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde (hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF)), at the same bulk concentration for solution of PTL and HMF, the maximum absorbance in the solid-phase extraction (SPE) method to PTL were 93.97% or 0.654 μg/mg while to HMF they were 76.89% or 0.496 μg/mg. Scatchard analysis revealed that two classes of binding sites were formed in PTL-MIP with dissociation constants of 3.2 × 10⁻² and 5.0 × 10⁻³ mg/mL and the affinity binding sites of 8.029 and 1.364 mg/g, respectively. The recoveries of PTL were more than 90% for the developed MISPE and around 75% for the traditional liquid–liquid extraction in spiked apple juice samples. It was concluded that the method is suitable for the scale-up synthesis of PTL-MIP grafted on silica, and the polymer can be effectively applied as SPE coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the determination of PTL in apple juice or other related products.     

Neutral hydrophilic coatings for capillary electrophoresis prepared by controlled radical polymerization

In the present study, porous silica particles as well as impervious fused-silica wafers and capillary tubes were modified with hydrophilic polymers (hydroxylated polyacrylamides and polyacrylates), using a surface-confined grafting procedure based on atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) which was also surface-initiated from α-bromoisobutyryl groups. Initiator immobilization was achieved by hydrosilylation of allyl alcohol on hydride silica followed by esterification of the resulting propanol-bonded surface with α-bromoisobutyryl bromide. Elemental analysis, IR and NMR spectroscopies on silica micro-particles, atomic force microscopy, ellipsometry and profilometry on fused-silica wafers, as well as CE on fused-silica tubes were used to characterize the chemically modified silica substrate at different stages. We studied the effect of monomer concentration as well as cross-linker on the ability of the polymer film to reduce electroosmosis and to prevent protein adsorption (i. e., its non-fouling capabilities) and found that the former was rather insensitive to both parameters. Surface deactivation towards adsorption was somewhat more susceptible to monomer concentration and appeared also to be favored by a low concentration of the cross-linker. The results show that hydrophilic polyacrylamide and polyacrylate coatings of controlled thickness can be prepared by ATRP under very mild polymerization conditions (aqueous solvent, room temperature and short reaction times) and that the coated capillary tubes exhibit high efficiencies for protein separations (0.3–0.6 million theoretical plates per meter) as well as long-term hydrolytic stability under the inherently harsh conditions of capillary isoelectric focusing. Additionally, there was no adsorption of lysozyme on the coated surface as indicated by a complete recovery of the basic enzyme. Furthermore, since polymerization is confined to the inner capillary surface, simple precautions (e.g., solution filtration) during the surface modification process are sufficient to prevent capillary clogging.     

Polyelectrolyte–particle complex formation. Polyelectrolyte linear charge density and ionic concentration effects. Monte Carlo simulations

The influence of the linear charge density (LCD) of a polyelectrolyte on its adsorption on an oppositely charged colloidal particle is investigated by Monte Carlo simulations. Adsorption characteristics are studied at different linear charge densities and ionic concentrations and for a given polyelectrolyte/particle size ratio so that particle curvature has full effect. The isolated polyelectrolyte goes through a smooth transition from a collapsed structure to an extended rod-like conformation with increasing the linear charge density in the low ionic concentration regime. In the high ionic concentration regime, the polyelectrolyte is less sensitive to the increase in the linear charge density and adopts a coil conformation. We found that complex formation is promoted by decreasing the ionic concentration and increasing the linear charge density and that large changes in the polymer dimensions are observed at the adsorption-desorption limit. By adjusting the linear charge density and ionic strength, we demonstrate that the adsorption-desorption limit corresponds to a sharp transition from non-adsorbed to adsorbed conformations and that the mean adsorption energy per monomer has to be less than -0.4 kT to achieve adsorption. We calculated that the linear charge density at the adsorption-desorption limit is related to the Debye-Hückel length according to LCD^crit ~3². At small values of the linear charge density and low ionic strength (no adsorption is observed at high ionic strength), a large amount of monomers are present in loops and tails. By increasing LCD, the amount of monomers in trains reaches a maximum value and the polyelectrolyte adopt flat conformation at the surface of the particle.     

Adsorption of triton X-100 on silica gel: effects of temperature and alcohols

Adsorption of Triton X-100 (TX-100) on silica gel has been studied as a function of temperature (308–328 K) and composition for mixtures of water with ethanol or t-butanol. The adsorption capacity of silica gel for TX-100 decreases with increase in alcohol content. Adsorption isotherms of TX-100 on silica gel are four-region and were analyzed using the ARIAN (adsorption isotherm regional analysis) model. Data in regions 2, 3 and 4 were fitted to the Temkin, bilayer and reverse desorption isotherms, respectively. The results show that adsorption of TX-100 on silica gel in water and alcohol-water binary mixtures occurs mainly through formation of monolayer surface aggregates or low bilayer coverage.      

Electron spin resonance studies of spin-labelled polymers—18: Adsorption of spin-labelled poly(vinyl acetate) on silica surfaces

The adsorption of spin-labelled poly(vinyl acetate) from dilute solutions in ethyl acetate, chloroform and toluene onto three silica adsorbents of different surface silanol contents was studied. The adsorption capacities of the three silica samples, which decreased with decreasing surface silanol content, were dependent on the nature of the solvent, being greatest in the poor solvent toluene and least in the good solvent ethyl acetate. The ESR spectra of the polymer adsorbed on the silica of highest silanol content suggested that the polymer had a relatively flat conformation when toluene or chloroform was solvent and a more looped conformation when ethyl acetate was solvent. With the silica of intermediate silanol content, the polymer adsorbed from chloroform solution also had a loopy conformation. The silica of lowest silanol content was prepared by treating the first silica absorbent with trimethylchlorosilane. The line-shapes in the ESR spectrum of the labelled polymer adsorbed on this modified silica indicated a change in mode of adsorption.     

Synthesis of nanometer-scale polymeric structures on surfaces from template assisted admicellar polymerization: a comparative study with protein adsorption

A novel method for the formation of nanometer-scale polymer structures via template assisted admicellar polymerization (TAAP) is described. Admicellar polymerization uses a surfactant layer adsorbed on a surface to localize monomer to the surface prior to polymerization of the monomer. Nanostructures are formed by restricting adsorption to the uncovered sites of an already-templated surface, in this case to the interstitial sites between adsorbed latex spheres. Unlike most other process that form polymer nanostructures, polymer dimensions can be significantly smaller than the interstitial size because of sphere-surfactant interactions. Protein adsorption in the interstitial sites of colloidal arrays was also studied for three different proteins, and the results were compared with those obtained via admicellar polymerization.     

Adsorption characteristics of chloroform on modified zeolites from gaseous phase as well as its aqueous solution

Adsorption characteristics of chloroform from its aqueous solution on Na–Y and Li–Na–Y modified by SiCl₄ were measured and compared with those on Na–ZSM-5 and Na-Mordenite.No adsorption occurred on Na–Y with high hydrophilicity, while the siliceous faujasites became capable of adsorption and its amount increased with increase in the Si/A1 ratio. Adsorption isotherms are of Langmuir type, suggesting that adsorption proceeds by pore filling. The adsorption amounts expressed in volume on Na–Y with high hydrophobicity corresponded to their pore volumes.Adsorption characteristics of chloroform from gaseous phase on Na–Y with different Si/A1 ratio were also measured. The adsorption capability decreased with increasing Si/A1 ratio.Immersional heats of zeolites into water or chloroform were measured in order to evaluate the surface affinity to both solvents. Immersional heats into water were almost constant (about 500 mJ·m^–2) for zeolites with their Si/A1 ratio below 10. The heats decreased with an increase in the Si/A1 ratio above 10, then became almost constant (about 120 mJ·m^–2) over 30 in their ratio. Heats of immersion of Na–Y series into chloroform were almost constant irrespective of their Si/A1 ratio, but decreased slightly when the ratio exceeded 20.Adsorption characteristics of chloroform could be well related to immersional heats into both solvents.