Phase behavior of (CO2 + methanol + lauric acid) system

In this study the phase equilibrium behaviors of the binary system (CO₂ + lauric acid) and the ternary system (CO₂ + methanol + lauric acid) were determined. The static synthetic method, using a variable-volume view cell, was employed to obtain the experimental data in the temperature range of (293 to 343) K and pressures up to 24 MPa. The mole fractions of carbon dioxide were varied according to the systems as follows: (0.7524 to 0.9955) for the binary system (CO₂ + lauric acid); (0.4616 to 0.9895) for the ternary system (CO₂ + methanol + lauric acid) with a methanol to lauric acid molar ratio of (2:1); and (0.3414 to 0.9182) for the system (CO₂ + methanol + lauric acid) with a methanol to lauric acid molar ratio of (6:1). For these systems (vapor + liquid), (liquid + liquid), (vapor + liquid + liquid), and (solid + fluid) transitions were observed. The phase equilibrium data obtained for the systems were modeled using the Peng–Robinson equation of state with the classical van der Waals mixing rule with a satisfactory correlation between experimental and calculated values.     

Room temperature, metal-free synthesis of diaryl ethers with use of diaryliodonium salts

A fast, high-yielding synthesis of diaryl ethers with use of mild and metal-free conditions has been developed. The scope includes bulky ortho-substituted diaryl ethers, which are difficult to obtain by metal-catalyzed protocols. Halo-substituents, racemization-prone amino acid derivatives, and heteroaromatics are also tolerated. The methodology is expected to be of high utility in the synthesis of complex molecules and in the pharmaceutical industry.     

On a refinement of Craig’s lattices

Let p be an odd prime. A family of (p−1)-dimensional over-lattices yielding new record packings for several values of p in the interval [149…3001] is presented. The result is obtained by modifying Craig’s construction and considering conveniently chosen Z-submodules of Q(ζ), where ζ is a primitive pth root of unity. For p≥59, it is shown that the center density of the (p−1)-dimensional lattice in the new family is at least twice the center density of the (p−1)-dimensional Craig lattice.     

A hybrid shuffled complex evolution approach based on differential evolution for unconstrained optimization

Numerous optimization methods have been proposed for the solution of the unconstrained optimization problems, such as mathematical programming methods, stochastic global optimization approaches, and metaheuristics. In this paper, a metaheuristic algorithm called Modified Shuffled Complex Evolution (MSCE) is proposed, where an adaptation of the Downhill Simplex search strategy combined with the differential evolution method is proposed. The efficiency of the new method is analyzed in terms of the mean performance and computational time, in comparison with the genetic algorithm using floating-point representation (GAF) and the classical shuffled complex evolution (SCE-UA) algorithm using six benchmark optimization functions. Simulation results and the comparisons with SCE-UA and GAF indicate that the MSCE improves the search performance on the five benchmark functions of six tested functions.     

Synthesis and application of imprinted polyvinylimidazole-silica hybrid copolymer for Pb determination by flow-injection thermospray flame furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

A novel ion imprinted polyvinylimidazole-silica hybrid copolymer (IIHC) was synthesized and used as a selective solid sorbent for Pb²⁺ ions preconcentration using an on-line solid phase extraction (SPE) system coupled to TS-FF-AAS. The ionic hybrid sorbent was prepared using 1-vinylimidazole and 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propylmethacrylate as monomers, Pb²⁺ ions as template, tetraethoxysilane as reticulating agent and 2,2′-azobis-isobutyronitrile as initiator. The best on-line SPE conditions concerning sorption behavior, including sample pH (6.46), buffer concentration (9.0 mmol L⁻¹), eluent (HNO₃) concentration (0.5 mol L⁻¹) and preconcentration flow rate (4.0 mL min⁻¹), were optimized by means of full factorial design and Doehlert matrix. The analytical curve ranged from 2.5 to 65.0 μg L⁻¹ (r = 0.999) with limit of detection of 0.75 μg L⁻¹; the precision (repeatability) calculated as relative standard deviation (n = 10) was 5.0 and 3.6% for Pb²⁺ concentration of 10.0 and 60.0 μg L⁻¹, respectively. From on-line breakthrough curve, column capacity was 3.5 mg g⁻¹. Preconcentration factor (PF), consumptive index (CI) and concentration efficiency (CE) were 128.0, 0.16 mL and 25.6 min⁻¹, respectively. The selective performance of the sorbent, based on relative selectivity coefficient, was compared to NIC (non imprinted copolymer) for the binary mixture Pb²⁺/Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺/Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺/Zn²⁺. The results showed that ion imprinted polyvinylimidazole-silica hybrid polymer had higher selectivity for Pb²⁺ than NIC at 64.9, 16.0 and 8.8 folds. The developed method was successfully applied for highly sensitive and selective Pb²⁺ determination in different kinds of water samples, parenteral solutions and urine. Accuracy was also assessed by analyzing certified reference fish protein (DORM-3) and marine sediment (MESS-3 and PACS-2) with satisfactory results.     

Raman spectroscopic analysis of real samples: Brazilian bauxite mineralogy

In this investigation, Raman spectroscopy with 1064 and 632.8 nm excitation was used to investigate real mineral samples of bauxite ore from mines of Northern Brazil, together with Raman mapping and X-rays diffraction. The obtained results show clearly that the use of microRaman spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the identification of all the minerals usually found in bauxites: gibbsite, kaolinite, goethite, hematite, anatase and quartz. Bulk samples can also be analysed, and FT-Raman is more adequate due to better signal-to-noise ratio and representativity, although not efficient for kaolinite. The identification of fingerprinting vibrations for all the minerals allows the acquisition of Raman-based chemical maps, potentially powerful tools for process mineralogy applied to bauxite ores.     

Thermal studies on solid 1,4-bis(3-carboxy-3-oxo-prop-1-enyl) benzene of lighter trivalent lanthanides

Solid-state compounds of general formula Ln₂L₃·nH₂O, where L represents 1,4-bis(3-carboxy-3-oxo-prop-1-enyl)benzene and Ln = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, were synthesized. Complexometric titrations with EDTA, thermogravimetry (TG), differential thermal analysis (DTA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray powder diffractometry, elemental analysis and infrared spectroscopy have been employed to characterize and to study the thermal behavior of these compounds in dynamic air atmosphere. The results led to information about the composition, dehydration, crystallinity, and thermal decomposition of the synthesized compounds.     

Influence of the incorporated metal on template removal from MCM-41 type mesoporous materials

Al-modified MCM-41, La-modified MCM-41, and Ce-modified MCM-41 mesoporous materials were prepared with different molar ratios (Si/M = 10; 25; 50; 100 and 200) at room temperature. The materials were characterized using XRD, BET–BJH, and TG–DTA. The XRD showed four peaks, due to the ordered hexagonal array of parallel silica tubes, which could be indexed as (100), (110), (200), and (210), assuming a hexagonal unit cell. The surface area decreased as the concentration of the metal incorporated in the material increased. The thermal stability of the materials was around 650 °C. The CeO₂ phase made the mass transfer process more difficult, hindering Hofmann degradation and favoring oxidation.     

Quercetin-PVP K25 solid dispersions

Quercetin is a flavonoid very well studied and has already entered clinical trials emerging as prospective anticancer drug candidate. In addition, quercetin has being reported to its free-radical scavenging activity and suggests potential uses for the prevention and treatment of pathologies as atherosclerosis, chronic inflammation, and others. However, quercetin is sparingly soluble in water, which may be responsible for its limited absorption upon oral administration. The solid dispersion of quercetin with polyvinylpyrrolidone Kollidon^® 25 (PVP K25) suggests an interesting way to increase quercetin solubility, antioxidant activity, and consequently bioavailability. Then, the purpose of this study was to prepare solid dispersions of quercetin with PVP K25 and evaluate their thermal characterization, antioxidant activity and quercetin improvement solubility. For this purpose, quercetin-PVP K25 solutions were dried and quercetin-PVP K25 solids were obtained. The formation of quercetin-PVP K25 solid dispersion was evaluated by solubility studies, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TG), and antioxidant activity. It was observed that PVP K25 was able to provide quercetin clear aqueous solutions and that quercetin solubility was increased in a PVP K25 concentration dependent manner, improving solubility even 436-fold the pure quercetin. The results obtained with XRD, FT-IR, DSC, and TG demonstrated possible quercetin-PVP K25 solid dispersion formation. Besides, the antioxidant activity of the quercetin-PVP K25 solid dispersions dissolved in aqueous solution and pure quercetin dissolved in methanol showed IC₅₀ value of 0.61 ± 0.03 and 1.00 ± 0.02 μg/mL, respectively, demonstrating that the solid dispersions presented a significant increase in antioxidant activity (P < 0.05). Putting results together, it was possible to conclude there was the formation of quercetin-PVP K25 solid dispersion.