Interaction of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate with Poly(ethyleneimine) in Bulk Solution and at the Air-Solution Interface

Interaction of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) with the cationic polyelectrolyte poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) was investigated in this study. Turbidity measurements were performed in order to analyze the interaction and complex formation in bulk solution as a function of polymer concentration and pH. Surface tension measurements were made to investigate the properties of SDS/PEI/water mixtures at air/solution interface. Results revealed that SDS/PEI complexes form in solution depending on the surfactant and polymer concentration. A decrease was observed in surface tension values in the presence of SDS/PEI mixtures compared to the values of pure SDS solutions. Both solution and interfacial properties exhibited pH dependent behavior. A shift was seen in the critical micelle concentration of SDS solutions as a function of PEI concentration and solution pH. Monovalent and divalent salt additions showed some influence on the interfacial properties of SDS solutions in the presence of PEI.     

支化侧链偶氮无规共聚物中空和类囊泡聚集体研究

研究了支化侧链型偶氮无规共聚物(PMAPB6P-AA)在THF/H2O混合溶液中的自组装行为.研究发现,通过缓慢增加体系的水含量,可以制备出具有中空结构的非球形聚集体.调节聚合物的初始浓度,可以得到不同粒径的聚集体.聚集体中偶氮生色团的光致异构化速率与异构化程度随聚合物初始浓度的增大而减小.在此基础上,采用更加缓慢的增加水含量的方法,使聚合物分子进行充分的疏水聚集与H-聚集,制备出类囊泡状聚集体.在紫外光照射条件下,观察到类囊泡聚集体发生了光致解聚集.     

Polymethylmethacrylate derivatives Eudragit E100 and L100: Interactions and complexation with surfactants

Precipitation or coprecipitation of polyelectrolytes has been largely investigated. However, the precipitation of polyelectrolytes via addition of charged and non‐charged surfactants has not been systematically studied and reported. Consequently, the aim of this work is to investigate the effect of different surfactants (anionic, cationic, non‐charged and zwitterionic) on the precipitation of cationic and anionic polymethylmethacrylate polymers (Eudragit). The surfactants effect has been investigated as a function of their concentration. Special attention has been dedicated to the CMC range and to the colloidal characterization of the formed dispersions. Moreover, the effect of salt (NaCl) and pH was also addressed. It is pointed out that non‐ionic and zwitterionic surfactants do not interact with charged Eudragit E100 and L100. For oppositely charged Eudragit E100/SDS and Eudragit L100/CTAB, precipitation occurs, and the obtained dispersions have been characterized in terms of particle size distribution and zeta potential. It was established that the binding of SDS molecules to Eudragit E100 polymer chains is made through the negative charges of the surfactant heads under the CMC value whereas binding of CTAB to Eudragit L100 chains is made at a CTAB concentration 5 times above its CMC. For Eudragit E100/SDS system, a more acidic medium induces aggregation. A same result was observed for the Eudragit L100/CTAB at a more basic pH. Moreover, it was observed that increasing salt concentration (higher than 100 mM) led to aggregation as generally observed for polycations/anionic surfactant systems.     

Photocatalytic degradation of azo dyes in aqueous solutions under UV irradiation using nano-strontium titanate as the nanophotocatalyst

Research on photocatalytic degradation rate of azo dyes using nano-strontium titanate in photocatalysis process was the main goal of present study. In this regard, the influence of the main operating parameters such a photocatalyst concentration, dye concentration, temperature, pH and the presence of hydrogen peroxide upon dye removal rate under UV irradiation was studied. The absorbance of samples was measured by a UV–Vis spectrophotometer. The structure and morphology of nano-powder were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and crystalline structure by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. The results reveal that nano-strontium titanate has high and significant photocatalytic activity and in comparison with nano-titanium dioxide was superior photocatalyst.     

Hyperthin Membranes for Gas Separations via Layer‐by‐Layer Assembly

Thin film formation via the Layer‐by‐Layer method is now a well‐established and broadly used method in materials science. We have been keenly interested in exploiting this technique in the area of gas separations. Specifically, we have sought to create hyperthin (<100 nm) polyelectrolyte‐based membranes that have practical potential for the separation of CO₂ from N₂ (flue gas) and H₂ from CO₂ (syngas). In this personal account, we summarize recent studies that have been aimed at measuring the influence of a variety of factors that can affect the permeability and permeation selectivity of hyperthin polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs).     

Combinatıon of a Box-Behnken design technique with response surface methodology for optimization of the photocatalytic mineralization of C.I. Basic Red 46 dye from aqueous solution

The photodegradation of an industrial azo dye C.I Basic Red 46 was examined in a fixed-bed photoreactor using UV-lamps simulated to the solar irradiation. In our photodecolorization study, the UV/TiO₂ process was optimized using the Box-Behnken approach to evaluate the synergistic effects of three independent parameters (initial concentration of the dye, flow rate, and UV intensity) on mineralization effectiveness. The response surface methodology was in good promise with the prediction model (coefficients of determination of decolorization and mineralization were R²_Dec = 0.997 and R²_TOC = 0.994, respectively). The effects of the factors could be estimated from a second–order polynomial equation and student’s t-test. The optimal parameters of decolorization and mineralization were as follows: initial concentration of colorant 25 mg L⁻¹, rate of fluid flow 0.3 L min⁻¹, and ultraviolet light intensity 38.1 W m⁻². The decolorization and mineralization removal efficiency under these optimal conditions were 100% and 57.63% respectively. These results indicate that optimization using response surface methodology, based on the Box-Behnken approach, is an excellent tool for determining the optimal conditions, and the process can be easily extrapolated for a specific treatment of real waste water containing the azo dye C.I Basic Red 46. Also, the intermediates that were produced during photodegradation process of Basic Red 46 were determined by GC/MS.     

Effect of dipping solution pH values on electrostatic layer-by-layer self-assembly of side-chain azo polyelectrolyte

The effect of pH value on the electrostatic layer-by-layer self-assembly and the photo-responsive behavior of Poly{2-[4-(4-ethoxyphenylazo)phenoxy]ethyl acrylate-co-acrylic acid} (PEAPE) was studied. Results show that in the studied pH value range, the lower the pH value is, the higher is the UV-vis absorbance and the larger is the thickness of the multilayer films. FTIR studies indicate that the azo polyelectrolyte exhibits a different ionization degree in solutions with different pH values. The higher absorbance and the larger thickness of the layer-by-layer films can be attributed to the low ionization degree and the shrinkage conformation of PEAPE in the solution with low pH values. FTIR analysis also confirms that the driving force for layer-by-layer self-assembly of PEAPE and PDAC is the electrostatic interaction. __________ Translated from Acta Polymerica Sinica, 2007, 5: 440–445 [译自: 高 分子学报]     

Graphene and graphene like 2D graphitic carbon nitride: Electrochemical detection of food colorants and toxic substances in environment

Excessive consumption of substances such as food colorants, exposure to doses of metal ions, antibiotic residues and pesticides residues above maximum tolerance limit have a detrimental effect on human health. Hence in detecting these harmful substances, the development of sensitive, selective and convenient analytical tools is an essential step. Graphene and graphene like 2D graphitic carbon nitride have shown great promise in the development of electrochemical sensors for determining the levels of these substances in different samples. In this paper, graphene and graphene like 2D graphitic carbon nitride applications on the determination of various food colorants in foods and drinks such as azo dyes (tartrazine, allura red, amaranth, carmine and sunset yellow); metal ions contaminants, antibiotic and pesticide residues in the environment are reviewed.     

支化侧链偶氮聚电解质生色团H-聚集的动力学研究

利用偶氮聚电解质上的偶氮苯基团作为“探针”,研究了支化侧链偶氮聚电解质PMAPB6P-AA的偶氮生色团H-聚集动力学过程.研究发现,在不同THF/H2O配比情况下,H-聚集的速率有很大差别,THF比例越小,生色团发生H-聚集的速率越大,即偶氮聚电解质在溶剂体系中的疏水聚集对发生H-聚集有重要推动作用.通过测定偶氮聚电解质上的“孤立”生色团和H-聚集体的紫外光谱最大吸收值变化,表征了H-聚集过程的动力学,并分别用一级和二级动力学方程进行了拟合.结果表明,偶氮聚电解质的H-聚集过程具有二级动力学过程的特点.