Anti-icing performance of superhydrophobic surfaces

This article studies the anti-ice performance of several micro/nano-rough hydrophobic coatings with different surface chemistry and topography. The coatings were prepared by spin-coating or dip coating and used organosilane, fluoropolymer or silicone rubber as a top layer. Artificially created glaze ice, similar to the naturally accreted one, was deposited on the nanostructured surfaces by spraying supercooled water microdroplets (average size ∼80 μm) in a wind tunnel at subzero temperature (−10 °C). The ice adhesion strength was evaluated by spinning the samples in a centrifuge at constantly increasing speed until ice delamination occurred. The results show that the anti-icing properties of the tested materials deteriorate, as their surface asperities seem to be gradually broken during icing/de-icing cycles. Therefore, the durability of anti-icing properties appears to be an important point for further research. It is also shown that the anti-icing efficiency of the tested superhydrophobic surfaces is significantly lower in a humid atmosphere, as water condensation both on top and between surface asperities takes place, leading to high values of ice adhesion strength. This implies that superhydrophobic surfaces may not always be ice-phobic in the presence of humidity, which can limit their wide use as anti-icing materials.     

An efficient method for synthesis of acylals from aldehydes using multi-walled carbon nanotubes functionalized with phosphonic acid(MWCNTs-C-PO_3H_2)

MWCNTs-C-PO_3H_2 has been used as an efficient,heterogeneous and reusable nanocatalyst for synthesis of acylals from aldehydes under solvent-free conditions at room temperature.A wide range of aldehydes was studied and corresponding products were obtained in good to excellent yields in short reaction times.Nanocatalyst can be easily recovered by centrifuge and reused for subsequent reactions for at least five times without deterioration in catalytic activity.The major advantages of the present method are high yields,short reaction time,recyclable catalyst and solvent-free reaction conditions at room temperature.     

Synthesis of Benzoxazoles Catalyzed by MCM-41, a Green and Reusable Catalyst

Benzoxazoles can be rapidly and efficiently synthesized from acyl chloride with 2-aminophenols in one simple step, which provided a practical and efficient method for high-throughput synthesis of this important class of heterocyclic compounds.     

Efficient One‐Pot Synthesis of β‐Acetamido Carbonyl Compounds Using Fe3O4 Nanoparticles

A new, one‐pot condensation of aldehydes, enolizable ketones and esters, AcCl, and MeCN, in the presence of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (nano‐Fe₃O₄) as an efficient catalyst, for the preparation of β‐acetamido carbonyl compounds at room temperature is described.     

Hydrophobic properties of surfaces coated with fluoroalkylsiloxane and alkylsiloxane monolayers

A comparative analysis of hydrophobicity of fluoroalkylsiloxane and alkylsiloxane monolayers is presented. In order to compare wetting behavior on smooth and rough substrates, a simple model considering various self-assembly degrees of organic molecules and various area fractions of air inclusion is used. Sliding behavior for water on rough silanized needle-like surfaces is also evaluated. On smooth surfaces, regardless of assembly degree of coatings, contact angles of fluoroalkylsiloxane monolayers are always ∼10° larger. The difference, however, decreases when rough substrates with air inclusion are used. It is shown that assembly order of silane molecules and reduced water-solid contact area are the key factors leading to both high contact angles and low sliding angles. Such coatings are expected to be potential snow- and ice-repellent materials.     

Electrochemical synthesis of 6-amino-5-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) pyrimidine

Electrochemical oxidation of several catechols is studied in the presence of 4(6)-aminouracil (3a) and 6-amino-1,3-dimethyl uracil (3b) as nucleophiles in aqueous solution using cyclic voltammetry and controlled-potential coulometry. The results reveal that quinones derived from catechols participate in Michael additions with 3a and 3b to give the corresponding catecholamine derivatives via an electron transfer followed by chemical reaction (EC) mechanistic pathway in good yields and purities.     

Fabrication of Fe3O4@graphene oxide core-shell nanospheres for ferrofluid-based dispersive solid phase extraction as exemplified for Cd(II) as a model analyte

Microchimica Acta - The authors describe the synthesis of core-shell structured Fe3O4@graphene oxide nanospheres (denoted as Fe3O4@GO NSs) via a chemical (covalent) bonding method. A chemical...     

Separation of glucose and pentose sugars by selective enzyme hydrolysis of AFEX-treated corn fiber

A process was developed to fractionate corn fiber into glucose- and pentose-rich fractions. Corn fiber was ammonia fiber explosion treated at 90 degrees C, using 1 g anhydrous ammonia pergram of drybiomass, 60% moisture, and 30-min residence time. Twenty four hour hydrolysis of ammonia fiber explosion-treated corn fiber with cellulase converted 83% of available glucanto-glucose. In this hydrolysis the hemicellulose was partially broken down with 81% of the xylan and 68% of the arabinan being contained in the hydrolysate after filtration to remove lignin and other insoluble material. Addition of ethanol was used to precipitate and recover the solubilized hemicellulose from the hydrolysate, followed by hydrolysis with 2% (v/v) sulfuric acid to convert the recovered xylan and arabinan to monomeric sugars. Using this method, 57% of xylose and 54% of arabinose available in corn fiber were recovered in a pentose-rich stream. The carbohydrate composition of the pentose-enriched stream was 5% glucose, 57% xylose, 27% arabinose, and 11% galactose. The carbohydrate composition of the glucose-enriched stream was 87% glucose, 5% xylose, 6% arabinose, and 1% galactose, and contained 83% of glucose available from the corn fiber.     

Determination of amine and aldehyde surface densities: application to the study of aged plasma treated polyethylene films

The aim of this work was to test and to compare different methods reported in the literature to quantify amine and aldehyde functions on the surface of polyethylene (PE) films treated by ammonia plasma and to specify their stability against time. A low pressure ammonia plasma reactor was used to functionalize PE films with amine groups, which could be subsequently used for further immobilization of biomolecules. In order to determine the density of amine groups on the surface of treated films, various molecule probes and spectrophotometric analytical methods have been investigated. Two methods using (i) sulfosuccinimidyl 6-[3'-(2-pyridyldithio)-propionamido] hexanoate (sulfo-LC-SPDP) and (ii) 2-iminothiolane (ITL) associated with bicinchoninic acid (BCA) have been proved to be reliable and sensitive enough to estimate the surface concentration of primary amine functions. The amount of primary amino groups on the functionalized polyethylene films was found to be between 1.2 and 1.4 molecules/nm2. In a second step, the surface concentration of glutaraldehyde (GA), which is currently used as a spacer arm before immobilization of biomolecules, has been assessed: two methods were used to determine the surface density of available aldehyde functions, after the reaction of GA with the aminated polyethylene film. The concentration of GA was found to be in the same range as primary amine concentration. The influence of aging time on the density of available amino and aldehyde groups on the surfaces were evaluated under different storage conditions. The results showed that 50% of the initial density of primary amine functions remained available after storage during 6 days of the PE samples in PBS (pH 7.6) at 4 degrees C. In the case of aldehyde groups, the same percentage of the initial density (50%) remained active after storage in air at RT over a longer period, i.e., 15 days.