Micellization properties of cardanol as a renewable co-surfactant

With the aim to improve the features of surfactant solutions in terms of sustainability and renewability we propose the use of hydrogenated natural and sustainable plant-derived cardanol as an additive to com- mercial surfactants. In the present study we demonstrated that its addition, in amounts as high as 10%, to commercial surfactants of different charge does not significantly affect surfactant properties. Conversely, the presence of hydrogenated cardanol can strongly affect spectrophotometric determination of CMC if preferential interactions with the dyes used take place. This latter evidence may be profitably exploited in surfactant manufacturing by considering that the concurrent pres…

Gold nanoparticles stabilized by modified halloysite nanotubes for catalytic applications

Gold nanoparticles stabilized by modified halloysite nanotubes for catalytic applications

A highly sustainable prototype of a flow system based on gold nanoparticles (4.2 nm) supported on thiol-functionalized halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) was developed for catalytic applications. The catalytic performances were evaluated using the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol as a model system. Under the best experimental conditions (0.0001 mol%, 1.97 × 10−8 mg of Au nanoparticles), an impressive apparent turnover frequency value up to 2 204 530 h−1 was achieved and the halloysite-based catalyst showed full recyclability even after ten cycles. The high catalytic activity confirms the importance of the use of HNTs as support for Au nanoparticles that can exert a synergistic effect bo…