Effect of Variant Counterions on Stability and Particle Size of Silica Sol

The effects of variant counterions with ionic strength of 0.05, 0.10, 0.20 and 0.25 mol·kg^-1 on the stability and particle size of silica sols have been studied using the traditional methods of Ubbelohde viscosity measurement, TEM and titration respectively, finding that the stability and particle size of the silica sols are all concerned with the acidic, positively electric properties and the sizes of the counterions, as well as the attraction between the counterions and surface silicon hydroxyl groups of the silica sols. The small positively charged counterions lead to the decrease in particle sizes, making the silica sol the most stable. But the larger weakly acidic counterions can restrict the particle sizes of the silica sols and easily make the sols coagulate. It was also found that there existed a linear relationship between log r and log η, which has not ever been reported. The effect of temperature on the stability and particle sizes was also discussed.     

ESR Study of a Nitroxide Radical in Sol-Gel Glasses

A spin probe TEMPOL (4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl-1-oxy) was dissolved in a tetraethyl orthosilicate sol-gel reaction system and measured by electron spin resonance spectroscopy at 295 K. The nitrogen hyperfine coupling constant was from 1.64–1.66 mT in the sol-gel solutions. The values were sensitive to the ethanol-to-water ratio of the solutions. The hyperfine coupling constant in the xerogels was 1.70 mT, which was almost the same as that in water, indicating that the probe molecules were trapped in silica pores with water adsorbed on the silica surfaces. The motion of TEMPOL in the xerogels was considerably slower than in the sol-gel solutions. The local viscosity estimated was from 70–90 cP. The ESR spectra of TEMPOL were altered during the sol-gel process, indicating that adsorbed water on the silicas surfaces has an important role for trapping organic molecules in sol-gel glasses.     

Needle-like calcium carbonate assisted self-assembly of mesostructured hollow silica nanotubes

Mesostructured hollow silica nanotubes (MHSNTs) were successfully produced via the self-assembly of C₁₆TMABr and silica species on the surface of needle-like calcium carbonate nanoparticles in an alkaline medium at room temperature. The characterization of MHSNTs by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), pore size distribution (PSD) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) indicated that MHSNTs had uniform tubular hollow structures with big openings, a length of 1.5-2.0 μm, an inner diameter of 150-200 nm at the open end and 50-60 nm at the closed end, and a wall thickness of 20-30 nm, as well as a narrow PSD around 2.3 nm in the shells and a BET surface area as high as ∼975.3 m²/g. By small-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET and pore structure analysis, it was found that more uniformly structured mesopores could be formed by the method of removing the double templates simultaneously through a solvent extraction process, as compared to the separate removal of the double templates by calcinating and then etching in an acidic solution, and the amount of C₁₆TMABr affected the mesoporous structures of MHSNTs greatly. The formation processes of MHSNTs were also studied with XRD and FTIR.     

An effective cross-linking of polymer layer on monodisperse, poly(maleic anhydride-styrene)-modified colloidal silica particles and properties of the composite

Summary  The cross-linkings of the surface polymer layer on mono disperse, poly(maleic anhydride-styrene)-modified silica particles by the reaction with diisocyanate were studied. The extent of cross-linking was estimated by the weight decrease by immersing the particles in the buffer solution of pH 2.0, 4.0 and 9.0 at a room temperature for 24 h. The reaction of the polymer-modified silica with 1,6-diisocyanatohexane afforded relatively stable composite particles which lost less than 5 wt% of the polymer in aqueous solution in the pH range 2.0–9.0. The diisocyanate was a preferable cross-linker to 2,4-diisocyanatotoluene in terms of stability in acidic or basic aqueous solution. The flexibility of the cross-linker molecule possibly plays an important role in the cross-linking reaction. The carboxyl and amino groups were formed by treating the cross-linked composite particles with diluted HCl solution; 5–6 and 0.5–1.1 μmol g^-1, respectively. The cross-linked composite particles exhibited the characteristic property of ζ-potential, −44 to −47 mV and −102 to −107 mV in a neutral aqueous solution and ethanol, respectively. Received: 26 May 1997 Accepted: 4 August 1997     

Eco-friendly synthesis of high silica zeolite Y with choline as green and innocent structure-directing agent

Zeolite synthesis in contemporary chemical industries is predominantly conducted using organic structure-directing agents (OSDAs), which are chronically hazardous to humans and the environment. It is a growing trend to develop an eco-friendly and nuisanceless OSDA for zeolite synthesis. Herein, choline is employed as a non-toxic and green OSDA to synthesize high silica Y zeolite with SiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratios of 6.5–6.8. The prepared Y zeolite samples exhibited outstanding (hydro)thermal stability at ultrahigh temperature owing to the higher SiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratio. The XRF, SEM, ²⁹Si-NMR and ¹³Na+ results suggested that choline plays a structure-directing role in the synthesis of Y zeolite, while the feed molar fraction of Na⁺ is a crucial determinant for the framework SiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratio and the crystal morphology.     

TLC resolution of enantiomeric mixtures of amino acids

Summary Resolution of enantiomeric mixtures of DL-amino acids (Nine) using silica gel layers impregnated with (-)-bruncine is reported. The solvent system used was Butanol: Acetic acid: Chloroform (3∶1∶4). The diastereomers were formed and hydrolysed, by dilute HCl spray, on the chromatogram only and the amino acids thus resolved were located by ninhydrin spray. The cross resolution possibilities of enantiomers were also calculated.     

Multilayer adsorption of alcohols from benzene/n-heptane mixtures on silica gel

An equation for multilayer adsorption from multicomponent liquid mixtures on solid surfaces¹ has been examined. For this purpose experimental adsorption data for four alcohols from benzene/n-heptane mixture on silica gel have been measured. Average number of the adsorbed layers, heterogeneity parameter and capacity of the surface phase have been evaluated by using the equation mentioned above.

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Mehrschichten-Adsorption von Alkoholen aus Benzol/n-Heptan-Mischung an Silica Gel

Zusammenfassung Eine Gleichung für Mehrschichten-Adsorption an festen Oberflächen¹ aus Mehrkomponentenlösungen wurde getestet. Zu diesem Zweck wurden experimentelle Daten für die Adsorption von vier Alkoholen aus Benzol/n-Heptan-Mischung an Silica Gel herangezogen. Der Mittelwert für die Anzahl der Adsorptionsschichten, der Heterogenitätsparameter und die Kapazität der Oberflächenphase wurde aus dieser Gleichung berechnet.

     

Preparation and characterization of polypropylene/mesoporous silica nanocomposites with confined polypropylene

Polypropylene (PP)/Ti-MCM-41 nanocomposites were prepared by isospecific propylene polymerization with Ti-MCM-41/Al(i-C₄H₉)₃ catalyst. The cross polarization/magic angle spinning (CP/MAS) ¹³C NMR spectrum of the composite was similar to that of the conventional isotactic PP, and the decrease in the pore volume of Ti-MCM-41 in the nanocomposites, as measured by N₂ adsorption, was consistent with the value calculated from the weight loss in the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) curve; both these facts attest to propylene polymerization within the mesopores of Ti-MCM-41. Alkali treatment followed by extraction with o-dichlorobenzene allows us to extract the confined PP out of the Ti-MCM-41 mesopores. Although the PP/Ti-MCM-41 nanocomposites do not exhibit a crystalline melting point, the same PP when extracted from the mesopores showed a clear melting point at 154.7 °C; this indicates that the crystallization of PP confined in mesopores is strongly hindered. For the PP polymerized within the confinement, the molecular weight (M_w) and molecular weight distribution (M_w/M_n) were 84,000 and 4.3, respectively; these values were considerably smaller than those of the PP polymerized concurrently outside the Ti-MCM-41 mesopores (M_w = 200,000–450,000, M_w/M_n = 40–75). Therefore, the confinement also has a marked effect on the molecular weight of the PP. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 3324–3332, 2003     

载体和担载酸对乙烯直接氧化合成乙酸反应的影响

 在固定床流动反应器上研究了Pd－酸／载体体系催化乙烯直接氧\r\n化合成乙酸的反应，并对载体相同但担载酸强度不同的催化剂的催化活\r\n性进行了比较．结果表明，担载酸的强度明显影响催化剂的活性，酸强\r\n度越大其催化活性越高．用NH3－TPD和异丙醇脱水探针反应表征了二氧\r\n化硅、活性碳和酸性白土三种载体担载的Pd－H4SiW12催化剂的酸性，\r\n并测试了三种催化剂的催化活性．结果表明，载体通过影响担载酸的强\r\n度而影响催化剂的活性，载体上的强酸中心越多，催化剂的活性越高．\r\n测定了二氧化硅、活性碳和酸性白土三种载体担载的Pd－H4SiW12催化\r\n剂上Pd的分散度，并与其催化活性相关联．结果表明，决定乙烯直接氧\r\n化生成乙酸反应活性的主要因素是催化剂的酸强度而不是Pd的分散度．     

Iron speciation by solid phase extraction and flame atomic absorption spectrometry using N,N′-bis-(2-hydroxy-5-bromobenzyl)-2-hydroxy-1,3-diiminopropane

A new Schiff base, N,N′-bis-(2-hydroxy-5-bromobenzyl)-2-hydroxy-1,3-diiminopropane, has been synthesized for the very sensitive determination of iron(III) and iron(II) in natural water samples. It enabled a very selective and rapid method for iron determination to be developed. The method has also been applied to total iron determination in sediment samples. In the preconcentration system, the Schiff base reagent is mixed with the samples and chelates containing iron(III). The complexes are then adsorbed on silica gel within a column system. Elution of the adsorbed chelate from the silica gel was performed with a small volume of acetone containing 2.5% nitric acid. The iron is measured off-line by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The method can be applied to the preconcentration, separation and speciation of iron. The effects of parameters such as pH, sample flow rate, eluent flow rate, foreign ions and ligand concentration have been investigated. The effect of humic acid that can produce complexes with metal ions in natural systems has also been investigated. The results obtained indicate that the method is not affected by the presence of up to 10 ppm humic acid, which would be a very high concentration to be present in natural systems. The solid phase extraction method developed has been applied to the determination of iron in both natural water samples and sediment samples. The LOD was found to be 0.17 mg L⁻¹ when no preconcentration was used, although preconcentration factors of 100 could be achieved. The recovery values for spiked samples were between 100 and 104%. The results were compared statistically with those from the standard 1,10 phenanthroline method used for iron speciation in water systems. A Student’s t-test indicated no significant difference between the two methods. In addition, this method was applied to the analysis of a certified sediment sample, LGC 6156. Generally, a 10-fold preconcentration factor was required for the analysis of natural water samples.