Preparation of novel ion exchange polyurethane foam and its application for separation and determination of palladium in environmental samples

The new strong anion exchanger (PUFIX) from polyurethane foam was prepared by coupling of the primary amine of the foam matrix with ethyl iodide. PUFIX was characterized using different tools (IR spectra, elemental analysis, density and thermal analysis). The sorption properties of the new anion exchanger (PUFIX) and chromatographic behaviour for separation and determination of palladium(II) ions at low concentrations from aqueous iodide or thiocyanate media were investigated by a batch and dynamic processes. The maximum sorption of Pd(II) was in the pH range of 0.3–2. The kinetics of sorption of the Pd(II) by the PUFIX was found to be fast with average values of half-life of sorption (t_1/2) of 3.32 min. The variation of the sorption of Pd(II) with temperature gives average values of ΔH, ΔS, ΔG and ΔE to be −38.3 kJ mol⁻¹, −100.7 J K⁻¹ mol⁻¹, −8.3 and 11.8 kJ mol⁻¹, respectively. The sorption capacity of PUFIX was 1.69 mmol g⁻¹ for Pd(II), preconcentration factors of values ≈250 and the recovery 99–100% were achieved (R.S.D. ≈ 1.24%). The lower detection limit, 1.28 ng mL⁻¹ was evaluated using spectrophotometric method (R.S.D. ≈ 2.46%).     

An investigation of the accelerated thermal degradation of different epoxy resin composites using X-ray microcomputed tomography and optical coherence tomography

Epoxy resin composites reinforced with hollow glass microspheres, microlight microspheres, 3D parabeam glass, and E-Glass individually were subjected to accelerated thermal degradation conditions. X-ray microcomputed tomography (XμCT) was used to evaluate density changes, reinforcement filler damage, homogeneity, cracks and microcracks in the bulk of the different epoxy resin composites. XμCT 3D images, 2D reconstructed images and voids calculations revealed microspheres damage, filler distributions and showed cracks in all composites with different shapes and volume in response to the thermal degradation conditions. In addition, expansion of air bubbles/voids was observed and recorded in the microsphere and microlight epoxy composite samples. In a complementary way, optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used as a novel optical characterisation technique to study structural changes of the surface and near-surface regions of the composites, uncovering signs of surface shrinkage caused by the thermal treatment. Thus, combining XμCT and OCT proved useful in examining epoxy resin composites' structure, filler-resin interface and surface characteristics.     

Synthesis of ZnTiO3/tourmaline/Ni foam catalyst and enhanced photocatalytic performance

ZnTiO₃/tourmaline loaded on the nickel foam (ZnTiO₃/tourmaline/Ni-foam) is prepared by a facile coating method. Morphology and structure of the photocatalyst were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electrons microscopy (SEM), raman spectroscopy, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectrum (UV–vis DRS) and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). The photocatalytic properties of the materials were tested by using the Rhodamine B (RhB) solution as the target pollutant. The results indicates that the ZnTiO₃/tourmaline/Ni foam exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than that of ZnTiO₃ and ZnTiO₃/Ni foam under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation, and its degradation rate was up to 99.2%. Moreover, the degradation rate remained at 91.3% after eight consecutive photocatalytic reaction cycles. The outstanding photocatalytic performances of ZnTiO₃/tourmaline/Ni foam was mainly attributed to the existence of tourmaline, which can help to inhibit the recombination of electron-hole paris, and the proper pore structure of the carrier. Meanwhile, the trapping experiments indicated that ·O₂^– was the main active species in the photocatalytic degradation of RhB.     

Ni(OH)2修饰的三聚氰胺泡沫用于可压缩超级电容器电极

通过化学镀和电化学镀的方法制备了一种Ni(OH)₂电化学活性材料修饰三聚氰胺泡沫(MF)可压缩骨架的超级电容器电极材料MF/Ni(OH)₂。MF/Ni(OH)₂可压缩电极材料表现出最佳的电容性能,例如循环稳定性(即使在40 mA/cm^-3的电流密度下经过2000次充放电循环后,可压缩电极仍能保持90.63%的初始电容)和可压缩稳定性(即使在压缩率为50%时,仍具有97.88%的电容保持率)。层状可压缩超级电容器由MF/Ni(OH)₂弹性材料作为阳极,镍/碳(Ni/C)为阴极以及实验室中常用的滤纸作隔膜材料组成。这种超级电容器装置在不同的压缩下表现出良好的电化学性能和优异的压缩稳定性。最后,使用可压缩的超级电容器来点亮LED灯,以展示其在柔性电子设备中的应用。这些优化的电化学和机械性能表明MF/Ni(OH)₂可作为可压缩超级电容器的应用中的候选电极。     

Studying the Suitability of Nineteen Lignins as Partial Polyol Replacement in Rigid Polyurethane/Polyisocyanurate Foam

In this study, nineteen unmodified lignins from various sources (hardwood, softwood, wheat straw, and corn stover) and isolation processes (kraft, soda, organosolv, sulfite, and enzymatic hydrolysis) were used to replace 30 wt.% of petroleum-based polyol in rigid polyurethane/polyisocyanurate (PUR/PIR) foam formulations. Lignin samples were characterized by measuring their ash content, hydroxyl content (Phosphorus Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy), impurities (Inductively Coupled Plasma), and pH. After foam formulation, properties of lignin-based foams were evaluated and compared with a control foam (with no lignin) via cell morphology, closed-cell content, compression strength, apparent density, thermal conductivity, and color analysis. Lignin-based foams passed all measured standard specifications required by ASTM International C1029-15 for type 1 rigid insulation foams, except for three foams. These three foams had poor compressive strengths, significantly larger cell sizes, darker color, lower closed-cell contents, and slower foaming times. The foam made with corn stover enzymatic hydrolysis lignin showed no significant difference from the control foam in terms of compressive strength and outperformed all other lignin-based foams due to its higher aliphatic and p-hydroxyphenyl hydroxyl contents. Lignin-based foams that passed all required performance testing were made with lignins having higher pH, potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, and aliphatic/p-hydroxyphenyl hydroxyl group contents than those that failed.     

Separation and determination of trace amounts of zinc, lead, cadmium and mercury in tap and Qaroun lake water using polyurethane foam functionalized with 4-hydroxytoluene and 4-hydroxyacetophenone

A stable chelating sorbent was synthesized by covalently linking 4-hydroxytoluene or 4-hydroxyacetophenone with the polyurethane foam (PUF) through -NN- group. The synthesized chelating sorbents were characterized by IR and UV/vis measurements. The modified foams show excellent stability towards various solvents. Factors influencing the extraction process of Zn(II), Pb(II), Cd(II) and Hg(II) were studied and evaluated as a function of pH of metal ion solution and equilibration shaking time. The values of sorption capacity of metal ions (μg g⁻¹) were determined with the two types of bonded foams. The two phenolic bonded foams were studied comparatively. The potential applications of the two newly synthesized foams for the removal and separation of the examined metal ions from two natural water samples (drinking tap water and Qaroun lake water at Fayoum City, Egypt) were investigated. Precision (assessed as a relative standard deviation, R.S.D.) was also evaluated and found to be ≤7.3% (N = 5) with a detection limit under 0.46 μg L⁻¹.     

Chromotropic acid-functionalized polyurethane foam: A new sorbent for on-line preconcentration and determination of cobalt and nickel in lettuce samples

A chromotropic acid-functionalized polyurethane foam has been developed for use in an on-line preconcentration system for cobalt and nickel determination. The packing material was prepared by covalent coupling of chromotropic acid with the polyurethane foam through an azo group. Co and Ni ions were sorbed in the mini-column, from which they could be eluted directly to the nebulizer-burner system of a flame atomic absorption spectrometer. Elution of cobalt and nickel from the mini-column can be accomplished with 0.50 and 0.75 M HCl solutions, respectively. The enrichment factors obtained were 22 (Co) and 27 (Ni), for 60 s preconcentration time, and 57 (Co) and 59 (Ni), if a preconcentration time of 180 s was used. Under the optimum conditions, the proposed procedure allowed the determination of metals with detection limits of 0.43 (cobalt) and 0.52 microg/L (nickel), respectively, on using preconcentration periods of 180 s. The accuracy of the developed procedure was evaluated by analysis of the certified reference materials NIST 1515 Apple Leaves and NIST 1570a Spinach Leaves. The method was applied to the analysis of lettuce samples. The contents of cobalt in the samples analyzed varied from 0.75 to 0.98 microg/g. Nickel was not detected in the lettuce samples.     

水发泡淀粉挤出泡沫的结构与性能

以水为发泡剂,普通玉米淀粉为原料,采用双螺杆挤出机制备淀粉泡沫材料,研究了发泡剂用量及聚乙烯醇的加入量对泡沫材料结构与性能的影响。 用扫描电子显微镜观察了泡沫材料截面的形态,用万能材料试验机测试了泡沫材料的力学性能。 结果表明,水的质量分数为8%时淀粉泡沫径向膨胀率和发泡倍率最高,分别为22倍和17.6倍,压缩模量最高（4.07 MPa）。 加入质量分数10%的聚乙烯醇(PVA)使淀粉泡沫的孔径变大至1.29 mm,壁厚增加至82.43 μm,同时压缩模量增加至9.70 MPa。     

泡沫塑料预富集中子活化测定铜矿中的铼

介绍了泡沫塑料(泡沫塑料)预富集中子活化测定铜矿中的铼的分析流程,研究了泡沫塑料在HF介质中对铼的吸附性能。全流程对铼的吸附率大于97%,对铼的富集倍数为1×104。并对标样铜银矿GBW07164(GSO3)、精铜矿GBW07166(GSO5)进行了分析,其分析精度RSD(n=6)分别为4.4%和3.6%。测定结果与参考值基本吻合,结果令人满意。     

New type of spherical pore Al alloy foam with low porosity and high strength

The Ultra Light Metal Structure with variouskinds of pores (open, close) realizes the lightness andmultifunction of structural material. The functionsinclude lightness (ρ < 1), high specific strength, highenergy absorption, sound insulation, heat insulationand electromagnetism shield. It is one of the hotspotsin material research nowadays[1— . The requirements 6]of high speed movement and high technology make Alalloy foam, which has higher specific st…