Evaluation of the performance of single‐walled carbon nanohorns in capillary electrophoresis

This paper describes for the first time the use of single‐walled carbon nanohorns (SWNHs) as pseudostationary and stationary phases for EKC and CEC, respectively, taking advantage of their characteristic features, such as conical‐end termination, formation of spherical assemblies dahlia‐flower like superstructure and easy functionalization. The use of SWNHs as pseudostationary phase for EKC required the study of their dispersion in different surfactants as well as their compatibility with the electrophoretic system. The carboxylation and subsequent immobilization of carboxylated SWNHs in fused‐silica capillary to obtain useful, reproducible and stable stationary phases for CEC has also been investigated, with promising results. The electrophoretic separations obtained for water‐soluble vitamins in both modalities (EKC and CEC) have been systematically compared with those obtained with single‐walled carbon nanotubes.     

Evaluation of the polysubstituted pyridinium ionic liquid [hmmpy][Ntf2] as a suitable solvent for desulfurization: Phase equilibria

Suitability of a pyridinium ionic liquid as a solvent in desulfurization has been analyzed. (Liquid + liquid) equilibria for ternary systems composed by 1-hexyl-3,5-dimethyl pyridinium {bis[trifluoromethylsulfonyl]imide, thiophene, and three hydrocarbons representative of fuel (n-heptane, 2,2,4 trimethylpentane, and toluene) have been determined at T = 298.15 K and atmospheric pressure. High solubility of thiophene in the ionic liquid and also of toluene have been found, being this solvent practically immiscible with 2,2,4 trimethylpentane and heptane. Equilibrium data of these systems have been well correlated with UNIQUAC equations finding the highest deviations for the ternary system involving toluene. NRTL model drove to worse results being considered as not suitable model to correlate the experimental results.     

Fatty Acid Carboxylate‐ and Anionic Surfactant‐Controlled Delivery Systems That Use Mesoporous Silica Supports

We report the preparation of a MCM‐41 mesoporous material that contains the dye [Ru(bipy)₃]Cl₂ (bipy=bipyridine) inside the mesopores and functionalised with suitable binding groups at the entrance of the pores. Solids S1 – S3 were obtained by the reaction of the mesoporous material with N‐methyl‐N′‐propyltrimethoxysilylimidazolium chloride, N‐phenyl‐N′‐[3‐(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]thiourea, or N‐phenyl‐N′‐[3‐(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]urea, respectively. A study of the dye delivery of these systems in buffered water (pH 7.0, 2‐[4‐(2‐hydroxyethyl)piperazin‐1‐yl]ethanesulfonic acid (HEPES), 10^?3 mol dm^?3) in the presence of a family of carboxylate ions was carried out. In the interaction of the anions with the surface of the solids, the response depends on the characteristics of the binding groups (i.e., imidazolium, urea and thiourea) at the pore outlets and their specific interaction with the corresponding anion. The interaction of long‐chain carboxylate ions with the binding sites at the surface of the solids resulted in a remarkable inhibition of the delivery of the dye. This inhibition was observed clearly for the dodecanoate anion, whereas the octanoate, decanoate, cholate, deoxycholate, glycodeoxycholate and taurocholate anions induced a certain pore blockage that varied according to the solid studied. The interaction of smaller anions, such as acetate, butanoate, hexanoate and octanoate, with the solids had no effect on the dye release process. The possible use of the gating system for the chromo‐fluorogenic detection of anionic surfactants through selective dye delivery inhibition was also explored. Molecular dynamic simulations that use force‐field methods have been made to theoretically study the capping carboxylate mechanism. The calculations are in agreement with the experimental results, thus allowing a representation of the dye delivery inhibition in the presence of long‐chain carboxylate ions.     

Isobaric vapor–liquid equilibria of 1,1-dimethylethoxy-butane + methanol or ethanol + water at 101.32 kPa

Isobaric vapor–liquid equilibrium data (VLE) at 101.325 kPa have been determined in the miscible region for 1,1-dimethylethoxy-butane (BTBE) + methanol + water and 1,1-dimethylethoxy-butane (BTBE) + ethanol + water ternary systems, and for their constituent binary systems, methanol + BTBE and ethanol + BTBE. Both binary systems show an azeotrope at the minimum boiling point. In the ternary system BTBE + methanol + water no azeotrope has been found, however, the system BTBE + ethanol + water might form a ternary azeotrope near the top of the binodal. Thermodynamically consistent VLE data have been satisfactorily correlated using the UNIQUAC, NRTL and Wilson equations for the activity coefficient of the liquid phase. Temperature and vapor phase compositions have been compared with those calculated by the group-contribution methods of prediction ASOG, and the original and modified UNIFAC. Predicted values are not in good agreement with experimental values.     

Micromotor‐Based Energy Generation

A micromotor‐based strategy for energy generation, utilizing the conversion of liquid‐phase hydrogen to usable hydrogen gas (H₂), is described. The new motion‐based H₂‐generation concept relies on the movement of Pt‐black/Ti Janus microparticle motors in a solution of sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) fuel. This is the first report of using NaBH₄ for powering micromotors. The autonomous motion of these catalytic micromotors, as well as their bubble generation, leads to enhanced mixing and transport of NaBH₄ towards the Pt‐black catalytic surface (compared to static microparticles or films), and hence to a substantially faster rate of H₂ production. The practical utility of these micromotors is illustrated by powering a hydrogen–oxygen fuel cell car by an on‐board motion‐based hydrogen and oxygen generation. The new micromotor approach paves the way for the development of efficient on‐site energy generation for powering external devices or meeting growing demands on the energy grid.     

Entrance flow of a yield-power law fluid

In the present work we have obtained the numerical solution of the momentum equation for a Yield-Pseudoplastic power-law fluid flowing in the entrance region of a tube. The accuracy of the numerical results is checked by comparing the asymptotic values of friction coefficients and velocity profiles with the corresponding results from the analytical solutions for the fully-developed region. The results of the entrance flow solution for the power-law exponent equal to unity (Bingham fluid) are also in agreement with the numerical solution for a Bingham fluid. Detailed results are presented for wide ranges of yield numbers and power law exponents.

Nomenclature

Nomenclature a constant - D diameter - F dimensionless pressure gradient in (4.3) - f _x friction factor in (5.1) - f _app total friction factor in (5.2) - K entrance pressure drop coefficient - n power law exponent - p pressure - r radial co-ordinate - R radius of a tube - Re Reynolds number (5.3) - s rate of shear, u/r - u axial velocity - average velocity - v velocity in radius direction - x axial co-ordinate - y normal co-ordinate - Y yield number in (4.4) - z dimensionless axial distance =(x/D)/Re - z ₁ 1/z Greek Symbols plug flow radius in (4.6) - _eff effective viscosity - density - shear stress - _y yield stress - dimensionless stream function     

Nanoscale mixing of soft solids

Assessing the state of mixing on the molecular scale in soft solids is challenging. Concentrated solutions of micelles formed by self-assembly of polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene-alt-propylene) (PS-PEP) diblock copolymers in squalane (C(30)H(62)) adopt a body-centered cubic (bcc) lattice, with glassy PS cores. Utilizing small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and isotopic labeling ((1)H and (2)H (D) polystyrene blocks) in a contrast-matching solvent (a mixture of squalane and perdeuterated squalane), we demonstrate quantitatively the remarkable fact that a commercial mixer can create completely random mixtures of micelles with either normal, PS(H), or deuterium-labeled, PS(D), cores on a well-defined bcc lattice. The resulting SANS intensity is quantitatively modeled by the form factor of a single spherical core. These results demonstrate both the possibility of achieving complete nanoscale mixing in a soft solid and the use of SANS to quantify the randomness.