Supercritical Carbon Dioxide-Based Processes in Photocatalytic Applications

Conventional methods generally used to synthesize heterogeneous photocatalysts have some drawbacks, mainly the difficult control/preservation of catalysts’ morphology, size or structure, which strongly affect the photocatalytic activity. Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂)-assisted techniques have recently been shown to be a promising approach to overcome these limitations, which are still a challenge. In addition, compared to traditional methods, these innovative techniques permit the synthesis of high-performance photocatalysts by reducing the use of toxic and polluting solvents and, consequently, the environmental impact of long-term catalyst preparation. Specifically, the versatility of scCO₂ allows to prepare catalysts with different structures (e.g., nanoparticles or metal-loaded supports) by several supercritical processes for the photocatalytic degradation of various compounds. This is the first updated review on the use of scCO₂-assisted techniques for photocatalytic applications. We hope this review provides useful information on different approaches and future perspectives.     

Drying Effects on Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Lippia thymoides Essential Oil,a Natural Source of Thymol

Leaves of Lippia thymoides (Verbenaceae) were dried in an oven at 40, 50 and 60 °C and the kinetic of drying and the influence of the drying process on the chemical composition, yield, and DPPH radical scavenging activity of the obtained essential oils were evaluated. The composition of the essential oils was determined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-flame ionization detection analyses. The influence of drying on the chemical composition of the essential oils of L. thymoides was evaluated by multivariate analysis, and their antioxidant activity was investigated via the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The Midilli model was the most appropriate to describe the behavior of drying kinetic data of L. thymoides leaves. Thymol was the major compound for all analyzed conditions; the maximum content was obtained from fresh leaves (62.78 ± 0.63%). The essential oils showed DPPH radical scavenging activity with an average of 73.10 ± 12.08%, and the fresh leaves showed higher inhibition (89.97 ± 0.31%). This is the first study to evaluate the influence of drying on the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of L. thymoides essential oils rich in thymol.     

Effect of Filtrated Osmotic Solution Based on Concentrated Chokeberry Juice and Mint Extract on the Drying Kinetics,Energy Consumption and Physicochemical Properties of Dried Apples

Background: Filtration of osmotic solution affects selective penetration during osmotic dehydration (OD), and after drying is finished, this can influence the chemical composition of the material, which is also modified by OD. Methods: Osmotic dehydration was carried out in filtrated and non-filtrated concentrated chokeberry juice with the addition of mint infusion. Then, this underwent convective drying, vacuum-microwave drying and combined convective pre-drying, followed by vacuum-microwave finishing drying. Drying kinetics were presented and mathematical models were selected. The specific energy consumption for each drying method was calculated and the energy efficiency was determined. Results and Discussion: The study revealed that filtration of osmotic solution did not have significant effect on drying kinetics; however, it affected selective penetration during OD. The highest specific energy consumption was obtained for the samples treated by convective drying (CD) (around 170 kJ·g⁻¹ fresh weight (fw)) and the lowest for the samples treated by vacuum-microwave drying (VMD) (around 30 kJ·g⁻¹ fw), which is due to the differences in the time of drying and when these methods are applied. Conclusions: Filtration of the osmotic solution can be used to obtain the desired material after drying and the VMD method is the most appropriate considering both phenolic acid content and the energy aspect of drying.     

低频标准真空涨落的测量

采用自平衡零拍方案, 对低频段的标准量子真空涨落进行了测量. 实验确定了该系统的饱和光功率约为3.2 mW. 在10 Hz–400 kHz的频率范围内, 系统的共模抑制比平均为55 dB, 在100 Hz处高达63 dB, 对激光经典技术噪声具有很强的抑制作用. 当入射光功率为400 μ W 时, 真空涨落噪声达到11 dB. 此低频量子真空噪声探测系统可广泛应用于量子计量和量子光学等研究领域.     

The effect of applied negative bias voltage on the structure of Ti-doped a-C:H films deposited by FCVA

Ti-doped hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited on Si(1 0 0) substrates by a filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) method using Ar and CH₄ as the feedstock. The composition and microstructure of the films were investigated by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and IR spectroscopy. The internal stress was determined by the radius of curvature technique. The influence of the bias voltage on the microstructure of the as-deposited films was investigated. It was found that the graphite-like bonds was dominated in the Ti-doped DLC film deposited at 0 V bias voltage. When bias voltage was increased to −150 V, more diamond-like bond were produced and the sp³ content in film reached the maximum value, after which it decreased and more graphite-like bonds feature produced with further increase of the negative bias voltage. The compressive internal in the Ti-doped DLC films also exhibited a maximum value at −150 V bias voltage. IR results indicated that CH bonded intensity reduced, and H atoms bonded with C atoms were substituted for the Ti atoms as the negative bias voltage increasing. All the composition and microstructure change can be explained by considering the plasma conditions and the effect of negative bias voltage applied to the substrate.     

叶丝在增温增湿与滚筒烘丝工序中香味组分变化分析

该文研究了制丝线增温增湿和滚筒烘丝工序加工对叶丝香味组分的影响,采用溶剂超声萃取前处理结合GC-MS法测定叶丝的香味组分,并对SIROX增温增湿工序和滚筒烘丝工序前后叶丝香味组分的相对含量进行了分析,比较了工序前后、工序间香味组分的变化趋势。结果显示:①经SIROX增温增湿工序加工后,乙酸、苯甲醇等18种组分相对含量减少,糠醇、2,4-二羟基-2,5-二甲基-3(2H)-呋喃-3-酮等6种组分相对含量增加;②经滚筒烘丝工序加工后,乙酸、麦芽酚等14种组分相对含量减少,糠醇、糠醛等6种组分相对含量增加;③经增温增湿及滚筒烘丝两工序后,乙酸、2,3-丁二醇等23种组分相对含量减少,糠醇、2,4-二羟基-2,5-二甲基-3(2H)-呋喃-3-酮等4种组分相对含量增加;④两工序间的温度、湿度剧烈变化,使叶丝内部组分发生了美拉德反应、降解反应、挥发等,香味组分经两个工序后发生了一系列显著变化。该研究对提升卷烟产品质量、优化工艺参数、开发高质量产品具有重要意义。     

Effects of Different Drying Methods on the Retention of Bioactive Compounds,On-Line Antioxidant Capacity and Color of the Novel Snack from Red-Fleshed Apples

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different drying methods: convective (at 50, 60, 70 °C), vacuum-microwave (at 120, 240, 360, 480 W and 360 W with reduction to 120 W) and hybrid (convective pre-drying at 50, 60, 70 °C followed by vacuum-microwave drying at 120 W) on the quality parameters of novel red-fleshed apple fruit snacks (RFAs), such as phenolics, on-line antioxidant capacity, water activity and color. Drying kinetics, including a temperature profile of dried material, and modified Page model were determined. Freeze-drying was used as a control method. The highest content of bioactive compounds in the samples was retained following freeze-drying, then hybrid, vacuum-microwave and finally convection drying. The antioxidant capacity measured by on-line 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS), identified anthocyanins, flavan-3-ols and phenolic acid as the main compounds responsible for this activity. Unfavorable changes in color, formation of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and degradation of polyphenolics were noted along with increasing drying temperature and magnetron power. The red-fleshed apple snacks are a promising high-quality dehydrated food product belonging to functional foods category.     

Green and Functional Aerogels by Macromolecular and Textural Engineering of Chitosan Microspheres

Tremendous interest was recently devoted to the preparation of porous and functional materials through sustainable route, including primarily the use of renewable biopolymers instead of petroleum‐sourced synthetic chemicals. Among the biopolymers available in enormous quantity, chitosan – obtained by deacetylation of chitin – stands as the sole nitrogen‐containing cationic amino‐sugar carbohydrate. This distinctively provides chitosan derivatives with plenty of opportunities in materials science. Particularly, its pH switchable solubility allowed the preparation of three‐dimensional entangled nanofibrillated self‐standing microspheres. These porous hydrogels behave as nano‐reactors to confine exogenous nanoobjects within the polysaccharide network, including sol‐gel metal alkoxide species, organometallic derivatives and isotropic and oriented nanoparticles. Besides, the interfacial interplay of chitosan with lamellar clay and graphene oxide allowed the penetration of the biopolymer inside of the galleries, which result in a complete delamination of the layered nanomaterials. The preserved gelation memory of chitosan in these formulations provides a way to access porous microspheres entangling exfoliated nanometric sheets. CO₂ supercritical drying of functional hydrogel beads enabled efficient removal of water and other liquid solvents without wall collapsing, allowing large‐scale preparation of millimetric hydrocolloidal microspheres with an open macroporous network. These functionalized lightweight biopolymer aerogels find applications in heterogeneous catalysis, sensing, adsorption, insulation and for the design of other sophisticated porous nanostructures. Beyond their tailorable molecular and textural‐engineering, the possibility for macroscopic shaping of these intriguing nanostructures opens many new opportunities, especially in additive‐manufacturing for soft and hybrid robotics.     

光敏热成像材料的化学增感进展

本文综述了近年来光敏热成像(PTG)材料在化学增感方面取得的相关新进展.在分析文献结果以及结合作者相关实验数据的基础上提出了进行化学增感的有效方法,即提高卤化银外部潜影的形成效率,或者提高银离子供应源在显影过程中的热迁移能力.文章对PTG材料在化学增感方面的发展提出了一些见解和想法.