Supported iron based redox systems for hydrogen production and storage from ethanol

Hydrogen production using ethanol and Fe₂O₃/support in a redox cycle was investigated. The composites were prepared by impregnation of Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ with Fe(NO₃)₃, with different proportions of iron, i.e. 10, 30 and 50 wt.%, calcinated at 450°C and characterized by Mössbauer spectroscopy, XRD, SEM, BET and TG. The redox cycle to produce and/or store hydrogen is a two step process (1) initially the ethanol is used to reduce the iron oxide to Fe°; (2) and when H₂ is needed, Fe° reacts with H₂O to produce CO-free hydrogen, and the iron oxide is reduced again to Fe° making this system cyclic. After the reactions it was interesting to observe that ethanol can directly reduce the iron oxide to produce metallic iron, with carbon deposition and iron–carbon as side product. Preliminary results indicate that it is possible to perform multiple redox cycles with the supported iron oxide without deactivation.     

Continuity Envelopes of Spaces of Generalized Smoothness in the Critical Case

The continuity envelope for the Besov and Triebel-Lizorkin spaces of generalized smoothness B _pq ^(s,Ψ)(ℝ ⁿ ) and F _pq ^(s,Ψ)(ℝ ⁿ ), respectively, are computed in the critical case s=n/p, provided that Ψ satisfies an appropriate critical condition. Surprisingly, in this critical situation, the corresponding optimal index is ∞, when compared with all the known results. Moreover, in the particular case of the classical spaces, we solve an open problem posed by Haroske in Envelopes and Sharp Embeddings of Function Spaces, Research Notes in Mathematics, vol. 437, Chapman & Hall, Boca Raton, 2007. As an immediate application of our results we give an upper estimate for approximation numbers of related embeddings.     

Finite-Dimensional Representations of Hyper Loop Algebras over Non-algebraically Closed Fields

We study finite-dimensional representations of hyper loop algebras over non-algebraically closed fields. The main results concern the classification of the irreducible representations, the construction of the Weyl modules, base change, tensor products of irreducible and Weyl modules, and the block decomposition of the underlying abelian category. Several results are interestingly related to the study of irreducible representations of polynomial algebras and Galois theory.     

Structural and surface analysis of unsupported and alumina-supported La(Mn,Fe,Mo)O3 perovskite oxides

A series of bulk and Al₂O₃-supported perovskite oxides of the type LaMn_1???x???y Fe _x Mo _y O₃ (x?=?0.00?0.90 and y?=?0.00–0.09) were synthesized by the citric acid complexation–gelation method followed by annealing in air at 800 °C. For all samples, the local environment and the chemical state and concentration of surface species were determined. Mössbauer spectra revealed the only presence of octahedral Fe³⁺ ions dispersed in the perovskite structure, however well-crystallized together with a poorly crystalline LaFeO₃ phases were detected for larger substitutions (x?=?0.90). A similar picture was obtained for Mo-loaded (y?=?0.02 and 0.05) samples but a new phase most likely related to Fe³⁺ ions dispersed aside from the perovskite structure was found for larger substitutions (y?=?0.09). Together with these structures, supported samples showed the presence of LaFeO₃ nanoparticles. Finally, photoelectron spectroscopy indicated that the chemical state and composition of the samples in the surface region (2–3 nm) approaches that of the bulk. For the unsupported substituted samples, iron (and molybdenum) enters into the perovskite structure while manganese tends to be slightly segregated. Moreover, in supported perovskites, a fraction of Mo and La atoms interact with the alumina surface. All these oxides were active in methane combustion and best performance was recorded for the Fe-rich composition (x?=?0.9) in which both Mn³⁺ and Mo³⁺ ions were in the same proportion (y?=?0.05).     

Revisitation of the molecular mobility of the amorphous solid 4,4′-methylenebis(N,N-diglycidylaniline) (MBDA): New contributions from the TSDC technique

In the present work we revisit the previously published study by Thermally Stimulated Depolarisation Currents (TSDC) of the slow molecular mobility in the amorphous solid state of 4,4′-methylenebis(N,N-diglycidylaniline), MBDA (H. P. Diogo, J. J. Moura Ramos, J. Mol. Liq. 129(2006)138–146) in order to add two important points dealing with recent uses of the TSDC technique. One of them concerns a new method to account for nonexponentiality in Thermally Stimulated Depolarisation Currents (TSDC) data treatment which affects the analysis of the alpha relaxation peak and the determination of the fragility index of the glass-forming system. The other point concerns the analysis of the secondary relaxations in MBDA. It is shown that two kinds of secondary relaxations are differently influenced by aging. The faster components of the secondary relaxation are negligibly dependent on aging and may be ascribed to intramolecular modes of motion, while the slower motional modes show a significant dependence on aging and correspond to the genuine Johari-Goldstein β-relaxation.     

Thermal studies of isoniazid and mixtures with rifampicin

Rifampicin–Isoniazid mixture is a frequently used product in the treatment of tuberculosis. Rifampicin exhibits polymorphism and exists in two polymorphic forms: the stable form I and the metastable form II. The aim of this work was to evaluate the thermal behavior of the binary mixtures of polymorphs I and II of rifampicin and isoniazid by using DSC. Mixtures of different forms (rifampicin form I and II) showed interaction with isoniazid indicating that the mixtures are less stable compared to the drug alone. Interaction was observed in case of both polymorphs of rifampicin.     

The interaction of xenon with n-alkane solvents Comparison between different cavity models

A recently proposed model for calculating the energetics of cavity formation in liquids is used to study the interaction of rare gases in n-alkane solvents. It is observed that the energy and the entropy of interaction of a given solute with different n-alkane solvents are very similar and show a monotonic variation with the n-alkane carbon number. This behaviour, which is not observed when other methods are used to calculate the energetics of cavity formation, reinforces the idea of the similarity of the contact energies of the different n-alkane molecules.     

Ligand K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy and DFT calculations on [Fe3S4]0,+ clusters: delocalization, redox, and effect of the protein environment

Ligand K-edge XAS of an [Fe3S4]0 model complex is reported. The pre-edge can be resolved into contributions from the mu(2)S(sulfide), mu(3)S(sulfide), and S(thiolate) ligands. The average ligand-metal bond covalencies obtained from these pre-edges are further distributed between Fe(3+) and Fe(2.5+) components using DFT calculations. The bridging ligand covalency in the [Fe2S2]+ subsite of the [Fe3S4]0 cluster is found to be significantly lower than its value in a reduced [Fe2S2] cluster (38% vs 61%, respectively). This lowered bridging ligand covalency reduces the superexchange coupling parameter J relative to its value in a reduced [Fe2S2]+ site (-146 cm(-1) vs -360 cm(-1), respectively). This decrease in J, along with estimates of the double exchange parameter B and vibronic coupling parameter lambda2/k(-), leads to an S = 2 delocalized ground state in the [Fe3S4]0 cluster. The S K-edge XAS of the protein ferredoxin II (Fd II) from the D. gigas active site shows a decrease in covalency compared to the model complex, in the same oxidation state, which correlates with the number of H-bonding interactions to specific sulfur ligands present in the active site. The changes in ligand-metal bond covalencies upon redox compared with DFT calculations indicate that the redox reaction involves a two-electron change (one-electron ionization plus a spin change of a second electron) with significant electronic relaxation. The presence of the redox inactive Fe(3+) center is found to decrease the barrier of the redox process in the [Fe3S4] cluster due to its strong antiferromagnetic coupling with the redox active Fe2S2 subsite.     

Porous alginate-Ca hydrogels interpenetrated with PNIPAAm networks: Interrelationship between compressive stress and pore morphology

Thermo-sensitive porous hydrogels composed of interpenetrated networks (IPN) of alginate-Ca²⁺ and PNIPAAm have been obtained. The hydrogels were prepared by cross-linking alginate-Na⁺ with Ca²⁺ ions inside PNIPAAm networks. Compressive tests and scanning electron microscopy were used to evaluate gel strength and pore morphology, respectively. IPN hydrogels displayed two distinct pore morphologies under thermal stimuli. Below 30-35 °C, the LCST of PNIPAAm in water, IPN hydrogels were highly porous. The pore size of hydrogel heated above LCST became progressively smaller. Alginate-Ca²⁺ and PNIPAAm hydrogels, used as references, did not present such behaviour, indicating that the porous effect is due to IPN hydrogel. It was verified that higher strength is achieved when the hydrogel presents small pore size and the temperature is increased. It is suggested that at temperatures above LCST, the PNIPAAm chains shrink and pull the alginate-Ca²⁺ networks back. During shrinking, the polymer chains occupy the open spaces (pores from which water is expelled), and therefore, the hydrogel becomes less deformable when subjected to compressive stress. The results presented in this work indicate that the mechanical properties as well as the pore morphologies of these IPN hydrogels can be tailored by thermal stimulus.     

Synthesis of fluorescent water-soluble functionalised benzo[a]phenoxazinium salts

In order to develop long-wavelength functionalised oxazine dyes with good water solubility and high photostability for biological applications, a series of novel side-chain functionalised benzo[a]phenoxazinium salts were synthesised and characterised. These polycyclic cationic compounds showed strong fluorescence in ethanol and water (pH 7.4), with an emission wavelengths higher than 637 nm, as well as high quantum yields and moderate Stokes’ shifts. The photostability of the fluorophores synthesised, under irradiation at 419 nm, was good to excellent in ethanol and moderate in water at physiological pH.