The influence of CaCO3 filler component on thermal decomposition process of PP/LDPE/DAP ternary blend

Polypropylene‐low density polyethylene (PP‐LDPE) blends involving PP‐LDPE (90/10 wt%.) with (0.06 wt%) dialkyl peroxide (DAP) and different amounts (5, 10, 20 wt%) of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) were prepared by melt‐blending with a single‐screw extruder. The effect of addition of CaCO₃ on thermal decomposition process and kinetic parameters, such as activation energy and pre‐exponential factor of PP‐LDPE blend with DAP matrix, was studied. The kinetics of the thermal degradation of composites was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis in dynamic nitrogen atmosphere at different heating rates. TG curves showed that the thermal decomposition of composites occurred in one weight‐loss stage. The apparent activation energies of thermal decomposition for composites, as determined by the Tang method (TM), the Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose method (KAS), the Flynn–Wall–Ozawa method (FWO), and the Coats–Redfern (CR) method were 156.6, 156.0, 159.8, and 167.7 kJ.mol^?1 for the thermal decomposition of composite with 5 wt% CaCO₃, 191.5, 190.8, 193.1, and 196.8 kJ.mol^?1 for the thermal decomposition of composite with 10 wt% CaCO₃, and 206.3, 206.1, 207.5, and 203.8 kJ mol^?1 for the thermal decomposition of composite with 20 wt% CaCO₃, respectively. The most likely decomposition process for weight‐loss stages of composites with CaCO₃ content 5 and 10 wt% was an A_n sigmoidal type. However, the most likely decomposition process for composite with CaCO₃ content 20 wt% was an R_n contracted geometry shape type in terms of the CR and master plots results. It was also found that the thermal stability, activation energy, and thermal decomposition process were changed with the increase in the CaCO₃ filler weight in composite structure. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

(Liquid + liquid) equilibria of (water + propionic acid + alcohol) ternary systems

(Liquid + liquid) equilibrium (LLE) data of the solubility (binodal) curves and tie-line end composition were examined for mixtures of {water (1) + propionic acid (2) + octanol or nonanol or decanol or dodecanol (3)} at T = 298.15 K and 101.3 ± 0.7 kPa. The reliability of the experimental tie-line data was confirmed by using the Othmer-Tobias correlation. The LLE data of the ternary systems were predicted by UNIFAC method. Distribution coefficients and separation factors were evaluated for the immiscibility region.     

Capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection for the determination of urinary ethylmalonic acid for the diagnosis of ethylmalonic aciduria

Ethylmalonic acid is a metabolic organic acid, and its accumulation in urine is diagnostic of ethylmalonic aciduria. In this study, a simple and fast method employing capillary electrophoresis equipped with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection was developed for the detection of ethylmalonic acid in urine samples. The optimized electrophoretic separation was performed in 50 mmol/L 2‐(N‐morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid solution, buffered at a pH of 6.5, and contained 0.13 mmol/L cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as an electroosmotic modifier. Electrophoresis was run at 28 kV in reversed polarity. The linear range of ethylmalonic acid concentration was between 1 and 100 mg/L with a regression coefficient of 0.9998. This method had good intra‐ and interday precision with <5% relative standard deviations. The detection limit (signal‐to‐noise ratio = 3) and the quantification limit (signal‐to‐noise ratio = 10) values were 0.139 and 0.466 mg/L, respectively. Using our optimized conditions, the method was successfully employed for the detection of ethylmalonic acid in urine sample of ethylmalonic aciduria patient.     

f‐Block Ansa Complexes in the Solid State: [3]Thoro‐ and [3]Uranocenophanes

The preparation of [3]thoro‐ and [3]uranocenophanes, the first structurally authenticated ansa‐bridged complexes of actinocenes, is reported. Following a flytrap route, 1,2‐bis(cyclooctatetraenyldimethylsilyl)methane was synthesized, reduced to its tetraanion, and subsequently converted into bridged uranocene and thorocene complexes by salt metathesis with the corresponding actinide tetrachlorides. In addition, their electronic structures have been investigated by experimental (UV/Vis spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry) and theoretical (DFT) methods.     

Indoor radon levels of spas and dwellings located around Bayındır geothermal region

Western part of Turkey is rich area in terms of geothermal sources. The one of these geothermal areas is Bay?nd?r-Dereköy/Ergenli located in Küçük Menderes Graben. In this study, indoor radon concentrations were determined in some places (spas and some dwellings) located on Bay?nd?r-Dereköy/Ergenli. Measurements were realized using LR-115 type 2 solid state nuclear track detectors in the course of 10 months. The indoor radon concentrations were found between 39.3 and 235.4 Bq m^?3 for spas, 39.3 and 405 Bq m^?3 for houses. Indoor radon concentrations were compared with reference levels determined by international agencies. Radon concentrations in this area were quite low than reference levels revised by international health agencies.     

Removal of uranium(VI) from aqueous solutions using nanoporous ZnO prepared with microwave-assisted combustion synthesis

The adsorption of the uranyl ions from aqueous solutions on the nanoporous ZnO powders has been investigated under different experimental conditions. The adsorption of uranyl on nanoporous ZnO powders were examined as a function of the contact times, pH of the solution, concentration of uranium(VI) and temperature. The ability of this material to remove U(VI) from aqueous solution was followed by a series of Langmuir and Freunlinch adsorption isotherms. The adsorption percent and distribution coefficient for nanoporous ZnO powders were 98.65 % ± 1.05 and 7,304 mL g^?1, respectively. The optimum conditions were found as at pH 5.0, contact time 1 h, at 1/5 Zn²⁺/urea ratio, 50 ppm U(VI) concentration and 303 K. The monomolecular adsorption capacity of nanoporous ZnO powders for U(VI) was found to be 1,111 mg g^?1 at 303 K. Using the thermodynamic equilibrium constants obtained at different temperatures, various thermodynamic parameters, such as ΔG°, ΔH° and ΔS°, have been calculated. Thermodynamic parameters (ΔH° = 28.1 kJ mol ^?1, ΔS° = 160.30 J mol^?1 K^?1, ΔG° = ?48.54 kJ mol^?1) showed the endothermic and spontaneous of the process. The results suggested that nanoporous ZnO powders was suitable as sorbent material for recovery and adsorption of U(VI) ions from aqueous solutions.     

Surface structure and photoluminescence properties of AZO thin films on polymer substrates

Al‐doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films were deposited on indium tin oxide (ITO) coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method at room temperature. The effects of film thickness on the surface structure and the photoluminescence properties of the films were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and room temperature photoluminescence (PL). AFM analysis showed that the surface of all films was extremely flat and uniform at nanoscale. Root mean square (RMS) value of the surface roughness which scanned the surface area of 3 µm by 3 µm and grain size increased with increasing the film thickness. Thus, the surface morphology of the films became rough because of the coarse grains. The depth profile of AZO layers was analyzed by SIMS. It was found that the thickness of the AZO layer is almost same with the desired film thickness. The PL intensity of the dominant peak decreased and shifted slightly towards the shorter wavelengths with increasing the film thickness. According to the relationships between luminescence intensity and crystalline characteristics, it was observed that the intensity of the peak decreased by the increased surface area of the grains. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

SDA 7: A modular and parallel implementation of the simulation of diffusional association software

The simulation of diffusional association (SDA) Brownian dynamics software package has been widely used in the study of biomacromolecular association. Initially developed to calculate bimolecular protein–protein association rate constants, it has since been extended to study electron transfer rates, to predict the structures of biomacromolecular complexes, to investigate the adsorption of proteins to inorganic surfaces, and to simulate the dynamics of large systems containing many biomacromolecular solutes, allowing the study of concentration‐dependent effects. These extensions have led to a number of divergent versions of the software. In this article, we report the development of the latest version of the software (SDA 7). This release was developed to consolidate the existing codes into a single framework, while improving the parallelization of the code to better exploit modern multicore shared memory computer architectures. It is built using a modular object‐oriented programming scheme, to allow for easy maintenance and extension of the software, and includes new features, such as adding flexible solute representations. We discuss a number of application examples, which describe some of the methods available in the release, and provide benchmarking data to demonstrate the parallel performance. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Computational Chemistry Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Immobilization of urease in poly(1-vinyl imidazole)/poly(acrylic acid) network

In this study, urease was immobilized in a polymer network obtained by complexation of poly(1-vinyl imidazole) (PVI) with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA). Preparation of the polymer network was monitored by FT-IR spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that enzyme immobilization had a strong effect on film morphology. Proton conductivity of the PVI/PAA network was measured via impedance spectroscopy under humidified conditions. Values of the Michaelis-Menten constant (K _M) for immobilized urease were higher than for the free enzyme, indicating a decreased affinity of the enzyme to its substrate. The basic characteristics (pH_opt, pH_stability, T _opt, T _stability, reusability, and storage stability) of immobilized urease were determined. The results show that the PAA/PVI polymer network is suitable for enzyme immobilization.     

Light-induced copper(I)-catalyzed click chemistry

Light can be used as an activator for the in situ generated copper(I)-catalyzed click reaction between azides and alkynes without adding reducing agents. The accumulation of sufficient concentration of copper(I) throughout the reaction can successfully be achieved by UV irradiation, in the presence of air.