Evaluation ofwaste perlite fines in the production of construction materials

The use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) is a well established practice worldwide in the manufacture of Portland cement (PC)-based construction materials. While utilisation of industrial by-products has been successful, the potential of mining wastes is yet to receive adequate attention in the context of construction materials. In an expanded form perlite, which is a naturally occurring, hydrated volcanic siliceous glass, is an ideal material as a lightweight aggregate for use in a wide range of construction materials including concrete. The mining and processing of the grades of perlite required for the production of lightweight aggregate results in the creation of a fine grained waste which currently has no economic value. This paper reports preliminary data on the utilisation of waste perlite fines as a SCM in calcium silicate-based construction material and discusses the potential of this mining waste to reduce the environmental impact of the production of conventional cement-based construction materials.     

Lithium–Bromide Exchange versus Nucleophilic Addition of Schiff's base: Unprecedented Tandem Cyclisation Pathways

By exploring lithium–bromide exchange reactivity of aromatic Schiff's bases with tert-butyllithium (tBuLi), we have revealed unprecedented competitive intermolecular and intramolecular cascade annulation pathways, leading to valuable compounds, such as iso-indolinones and N-substituted anthracene derivatives. A series of reaction parameters were probed, including solvent, stoichiometry, sterics and organolithium reagent choice, in order to understand the influences that limit such ring-closing pathways. With two viable reactivity options for the organolithium on the imine; namely, nucleophilic addition or lithium–bromide exchange, a surprising competitive nature was observed, where nucleophilic addition dominated, even under cryogenic conditions. Considering the most commonly used solvents for lithium–bromide exchange, tetrahydrofuran (THF) and diethyl ether (Et₂O), contrasting reactivity outcomes were revealed with nucleophilic addition promoted in THF, while Et₂O yielded almost double the conversion of cyclic products than in THF.     

Observation of muon neutrino disappearance with the MINOS detectors in the NuMI neutrino beam

This Letter reports results from the MINOS experiment based on its initial exposure to neutrinos from the Fermilab NuMI beam. The rates and energy spectra of charged current nu(mu) interactions are compared in two detectors located along the beam axis at distances of 1 and 735 km. With 1.27 x 10(20) 120 GeV protons incident on the NuMI target, 215 events with energies below 30 GeV are observed at the Far Detector, compared to an expectation of 336+/-14 events. The data are consistent with nu(mu) disappearance via oscillations with |Delta(m)2/32|=2.74 +0.44/-0.26 x10(-3)eV(2) and sin(2)(2theta(23))>0.87 (68% C.L.).     

Light-Triggered Transformation of Molecular Baskets into Organic Nanoparticles

Discovering novel and functional photoresponsive materials is of interest for improving controlled release of molecules and scavenging toxic compounds for cleaning our environment or designing chemosensors. In this study, we report on the photoinduced decarboxylation of basket 1 ⁶⁻, containing three glutamic acids at its rim. This concave compound is, in an aqueous environment (30 mm phosphate buffer at pH 7.0), monomeric (¹H NMR DOSY, DLS) with glutamic acid residues randomly oriented about its rim (¹H NMR and MM-OPLS3). The irradiation (300 nm) of 1 ⁶⁻ leads to the exclusive removal of its α-carboxylates to give amphiphilic 2 ³⁻ possessing γ-carboxylates. The photochemical transformation is a consecutive reaction with mono- and bis-decarboxylated products observed with ¹H NMR spectroscopy and ESI mass spectrometry. Amphiphilic 2 ³⁻ is a preorganized molecule (MM-OPLS3) that, in water, aggregates into organic nanoparticles (ca. 50–200 nm in diameter; DLS, TEM and cryo-TEM) having a critical aggregation concentration of 12 μm (UV/Vis). As the transition of monomeric 1 ⁶⁻ into nanoparticulate 2 ³⁻ is triggered with light, we reasoned that stimuli-responsive formation of the soft material lends itself to nanotechnology applications such as controlled release or scavenging of targeted compounds.