A method for correcting the contact angle from the θ/2 method

The θ/2 method, a widely used technique on measuring the contact angle of a sessile drop, assumes that the drop profile is part of a sphere. However, the shape profile of a sessile drop is governed by the Young–Laplace equation and is different from a sphere, especially for drops with a large bound number (e.g. large volume or small surface tension). The spherical assumption, therefore, causes errors on evaluating the contact angles. The deviation of contact angle from the θ/2 method is evaluated from a theoretical calculation in this work. A simple means is given for correcting the measurement error. The corrected angle results from the drop volume, surface tension, liquid density and the contact angle from θ/2 method. An algorithm for finding the correct contact angle without knowing the density and surface tension is also given. At the end, two examples of pendant drops are given for the illustration.     

Effect of Artabotrys odoratissimus extract as an environmentally sustainable inhibitor for mild steel corrosion in 0.5 M H2SO4 media

Artabotrys odoratissimus inhibitory effect on mild steel (MS) corrosion in 0.5 M H₂SO₄ solution has been assessed utilizing mass loss, electrochemical potentiodynamic polarization, and impedance spectroscopy techniques. The Artabotrys odoratissimus plant has a wide range of bioactive compounds. Phytochemicals were tested for ethanolic Artabotrys odoratissimus leaves extract (AOLE) using the FeCl₃ test, Salkowaski's test, and others. Corrosion tests were conducted at varying inhibitor concentrations and temperatures. The inhibitory impact of AOLE on corrosion of MS was reported to improve with increasing concentration. Polarization experiments revealed that AOLE is a mixed kind of inhibitor and the inhibition efficacy (η_w) for MS is 93.27% for 1.25 g/L AOLE. For Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), maximal inhibitory efficacy (η_w) was 91.62% due to AOLE adsorption on the MS surface. The obtained results using each methodology are highly consistent and closely resemble each other. The adsorption of AOLE molecules on an MS surface from the bulk of the solution causes the inhibitor's inhibition action, and the adsorption mechanism follows Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The computed $\Delta G_{ads}^o$ values ranged between ?32.919 and ?33.520 kJ mol^?1, implying a spontaneous and exothermic inhibitory action. The thermodynamic and activation parameters are often used to understand corrosion inhibition mechanisms. The comparison of corrosion product and pure extract FT-IR spectrum indicates the nature of AOLE adsorption on the MS surface. The surface morphology of MS samples was assessed using atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and contact angle techniques.     

Coordination around thorium(IV) in aqueous perchlorate,chloride and nitrate solutions

The coordination around the thorium(IV) ion in aqueous perchlorate, chloride and nitrate solutions has been determined from large angle X-ray scattering measurements. In perchlorate solutions, where inner-sphere complexes are not formed, the first coordination sphere contains 8.0±0.5 water molecules with Th-H₂O bond lengths of 2.48₅ Å. In chloride solutions inner-sphere complexes are formed, which lead to an increase in the coordination number. In nitrate solutions the nitrate ions are bonded as bidentate ligands to the thorium ion. The bond lengths are similar to those found in crystalline hydrates of thorium nitrate. The coordination numbers found for thorium(IV) in solution are compared with previously reported values for lower charged ions of similar size.On leave from Department of Inorganic Chemistry Royal Institute of Technology S-10044 Stockholm Sweden     

Conductance study of ammonium complexes with several crown ethers and cryptands in nitrobenzene,acetonitrile and dimethylformamide solutions

The formation of ammonium complexes with several crown ethers and cryptands in nitrobenzene, acetonitrile and dimethylformamide solutions was investigated by conductometry at 25°C. Stability constants of the resulting 1:1 complexes sere determined from the molar conductance-mole ratio data and found to vary in the order DC18C6>18C6>DB30C10>DB21C7>DB24C8>DB18C6>15C5>B15C5>12C4, in the case of crown complexes, and in the order C222>C221>C211>C22>C21 for the ammonium cryptates. The stabilities of the complexes varied inversely with the Gutmann donicity of the solvents. Influences of the number of members in the macrocycle, nature of the substituents in the polyether ring, cavity size and dimensionality, conformations of the free and complexed ligands and number of N⁺–H bonds available for hydrogen bonding are discussed.     

Structure determination of zinc iodide complexes formed in aqueous solution

Structures of the complexes formed in aqueous solutions between zinc(II) and iodide ions have been determined from large-angle X-ray scattering, Raman and far-IR measurements. The coordination in the hydrated Zn²⁺ hexaaqua ion and the first iodide complex, [ZnI]⁺, is octahedral, but is changed into tetrahedral in the higher complexes, [ZnI₂(H₂O)₂], [ZnI₃(H₂O)]^– and [ZnI₄]^2–. The Zn-I bond length is 2.635(4)Å in the [ZnI₄]^2– ion and slightly shorter, 2.592(6)Å, in the two lower tetrahedral complexes. In the octahedral [ZnI(H₂O)₅]⁺ complex the Zn-I bond length is 2.90(1)Å. The Zn-O bonding distances in the complexes are approximately the same as that in the hydrated Zn²⁺ ion, 2.10(1)Å.     

Measuring Contact Angles at Copper Electrodes

Potential dependences of the angle of contact between perfluorodecaline C₁₀F₁₈ and copper, copper(I) sulfide, and copper telluride Cu₄Te₃ in 0.1 M CH₃COONa are measured. The data are in good agreement with the metal hardness measured in 1 M KOH. The uncharged-surface potentials (USP) for copper, copper(I) sulfide, and copper telluride equal 0.05–0.07, –0.02 to –0.04, and 0.05–0.07 V (NHE) in 0.1 M CH₃COONa. Studying the effect of Br^– ions shows that USP for copper and Cu₂S shift in, respectively, the negative and positive directions with an increase in [Br^–]. For copper telluride, USP shifts in the positive direction at low Br^– concentrations, and at NaBr concentrations in excess of 0.04 M, in the negative direction.     

Interaction between the antibacterial compound,oleuropein, and model membranes

Oleuropein, a secoiridoid glycoside extracted from the olive tree, Olea europaea L., has been described as showing antibacterial properties. However, the exact mechanism of these antimicrobial properties is not yet well understood. In the present study, we have studied the interaction of oleuropein with phosphatidylglycerol (PG) as a model membrane for Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (Gram-positive bacteria) and phosphatidylethanolamine and Escherichia coli (E. coli) lipid extract as a model membrane for E. coli (Gram-negative bacteria). The study has been carried out using monolayers as model membranes and using kinetics at constant area and compression isotherms with Brewster angle microscopy (BAM) observations. The results show that oleuropein interacts in higher extent with PG monolayers, which is related with its stronger antibacterial effect against Gram-positive bacteria. The effects on the membrane are probably produced at the cell surface because oleuropein did not form stable mixed monolayers with the lipids assayed at the air/water interface.     

Thermodynamics of liquid mixtures containing n-alkanes and strongly polar components: VE and C P E of mixtures with either pyridine or piperidine

Excess molar volumes V _E and excess molar heat capacities C _P ^/E at constant pressure have been obtained, as a function of mole fraction x₁, for several binary liquid mixtures belonging either to series I: pyridine+n-alkane (C_lH_2l+2), with l=7, 10, 14, 16, or series II: piperidine+n-alkane, with l=7, 8, 10, 12, 14. The instruments used were a vibrating-tube densimeter and a Picker flow microcalorimeter, respectively. V ^E of pyridine+n-heptane shows a S-shaped composition dependence with a small negative part in the region rich in pyridine (x₁>0.90). All the other systems show positive V ^E only. The excess volumes increase with increasing chain length l of the n-alkane. The excess molar heat capacities of the mixtures belonging to series II are all negative, except for a small positive part for piperidine+n-heptane in the region rich in piperidine (x₁>0.87). The C _P ^/E at the respective minima, C _P ^/E (x_1,min ), become more negative with increasing l, and the x_1,min values range from about 0.26 (l=7) to 0.39 (l=14). Most interestingly, mixtures of series I exhibit curves of C _P ^/E against x₁ with two minima and one maximum, the so-called W-shape curves.Dedicated to Professor A. Néckel on the occasion of his 65^th birthday. Communicated in part at the XVII^èmes Journées de Calorimétrie, d'Analyse Thermique et de Thermodynamique Chimique, Ferrara, Italy, 27–30 October, 1986.     

Strukturuntersuchungen an naßersponnenen Polyacrylnitrilfasern nach der Gefriertrocknung

Zusammenfassung An unterschiedlich verstreckten und hydrothermisch nachbehandelten, danach gefriergetrockneten Polyacrylnitril-Gelfasern (PAN) wurden Messungen der Röntgenkleinwinkelstreuung (RKWS), Röntgenweitwinkelstreuung (RWWS) und Tieftemperatur-Gassorption (TTGA) durchgeführt. Die RKWS-Messungen zeigen, daß sowohl in den isotropen als auch in den orientierten Proben eine exponentialstatistische Verteilung der Form und Größe der Inhomogenitäten (Hohlräume, Cluster) vorliegt, welche durch die Kohärenzlängel _c bestimmt wird. Eine erhöhte Röntgenabsorption wurde bei den verstreckten Proben festgestellt. Die Analyse der aus der Kohärenzlänge und den Volumsanteilen der Phasen berechneten charakteristischen RK WS-Parameter (z.B. innere Oberfläche, Durchschußlänge) ergibt, daß jede Behandlung der Gelfasern eine Zu- oder Abnahme der etwa gleich großen Hohlräume verursacht (nucleotic change). Das relative Ausmaß dieser Veränderungen wird besprochen.Der Vergleich mit den Ergebnissen der TTGA an den gleichen Fasern zeigt, daß die Tendenzen bei der spezifischen Oberfläche und dem Porenvolumen (Zu- bzw. Abnahme) bei beiden Methoden annähernd gleich sind. Die Absolutwerte des Hohlraumvolumens unterscheiden sich aber z.T. um den Faktor 40. Dies führt zur Schlußfolgerung, daß mit der RK WS Faserbereiche als Hohlräume erfaßt werden, die bei der TTGA nicht angezeigt werden, weil sie für das Meßgas unzugänglich sind.

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Structural studies on wet-spun freeze-dried polyacrylonitrile fibers

Summary Polyacrylonitrile fibers (PAN) were drawn to different extents, hydrothermally aftertreated, and at last freeze-dried. The products were studied by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), and low temperature gassorption (LTGS). The SAXS data show that the shape and the size of the inhomogeneities (voids, clusters) have an exponential statistical distribution determined by the correlation lengthl _c, both in the isotropic fibers and in the fiber-oriented ones. It has also been observed that stretching always causes a higher X-ray absorption. An analysis of the characteristic SAXS parameters (e.g., internal surface, mean chord length), which were calculated from the correlation length and the volume fractions of the phases, evidences that in all samples an augmentation or diminution of the number of the voids with nearly the same shape and size takes place (nucleotic change). Its relative number has been pointed out.Comparison with the results of the LTGS investigations at the same fibers shows that the tendencies of the specific surface and porosity (increase, decrease) are approximately the same with both methods. However, the absolute values of void volume differ in some cases by the factor 40. This leads to the conclusion that the SAXS method records domains of these fibers as voids which are not registered by LTGS (voids not accessible for the gas).

Herrn em.o.Univ. Prof. Dr.Josef Schurz zum 70. Geburtstag gewidmet     

HYDROPHOBICITY OF CONTAMINATED SILICONE RUBBER SURFACES

Silicone rubber (SIR) shows superior performance when used outdoors, but its surface can be transformed frominherently hydrophobic to hydrophilic by the adsorption of contaminants. Al(OH)_3, Al_2O_3, quartz powder and active carbonwere selected as authentic contaminants. Hydrophobicity of the surface was determined using contact angle measurement.The results indicate that the adsorbability of the contaminants can strongly affect the hydrophobicity of contaminated SIRsurface. The increasing rate of contact angle of specimens contaminated by Al(OH)_3 was much faster than that by Al_2O_3 andquartz due to the adsorption of migrated low molecular weight (LMW) polydimethylsiloxanes. Specimens contaminated byactive carbon could achieve sunde hydrophobicity within 15 min because active carbon has high adsorbability. Surfaces ofcontaminated ultrapure SIR, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and glass remain hydrophilic because they contain no mobileLMW components. The addition of oligomeric polydimethylsiloxanes has little effect on the hydrophobicity of contaminantscovered on SIR surface.