Search results for "Chemical engineering"
showing 10 items of 5892 documents
GROWTH AND PHOTOELECTROCHEMICAL BEHAVIOUR OF ELECTRODEPOSITED ZnO THIN FILMS FOR SOLAR CELLS
2012
Thin zinc oxide films were deposited potentiostatically from zinc nitrate aqueous solutions on ITO substrates. The influence of experimental parameters (temperature, electrolyte concentration, deposition potential) on structure and morphology of films was investigated. Deposited films were generally polycrystalline in structure, even if growth according to preferential planes occurs in certain conditions. The effect of thermal treatments in air at 150 and 350 °C was also studied. In some cases, Cl species were incorporated into deposit by adding zinc chloride to the electrolyte. A photoelectrochemical investigation, performed in neutral solution before and after thermal treatment, gives mor…
Reduced protein adsorption on plastics via direct plasma deposition of triethylene glycol monoallyl ether
1997
The direct plasma-induced deposition of tri(ethylene glycol) monoallyl ether is reported. RF plasma polymerization of this monomer was carried out under both continuous wave (CW) and pulsed plasma operation. The major focus of this work was optimization of the degree of retention of the C-O-C bonds of the starting monomer during the deposition process. This successfully was accomplished using low RF power during the CW runs and low RF duty cycles during the pulsed plasma experiments. Spectroscopic analysis of the plasma films revealed a strong dependence of film composition on the RF power and duty cycles employed. In particular, an unusually high level of film chemistry compositional contr…
The possibilities of using low-cost fibrous natural materials as sorbents for removing aliphatic hydrocarbons (C6-C15) from an aqueous solution
2020
Sorption of oil-related products (including mainly the propellants) is the basic process that coun-teracts spreading these types of pollution into the environment. Plenty of synthetic substances (including multi-component petroleum products) must be removed both from the fresh and ground-water. The aim of this study was to compare the possibilities of using natural fibrous materials (also weed or waste materials): broadleaf cattail (Typha latifolia L.) seeds, peat and coconut fiber as sorbents of aliphatic hydrocarbons from an aqueous solution. In order to increase sorptive capacity, tested materials were mercerized in hot (80°C) NaOH for sorption properties improvement. The removal of alip…
Tailored syntheses of nanostructured silicas: Control of particle morphology, particle size and pore size
1998
Ordered mesoporous silicas with spherical morphology and average particle size in the range between 100 nm and 2 μm were synthesised according to two novel routes. Both synthesis routes used tetraethoxysilane, water, alcohol and aqueous ammonia for producing spherical silica beads. The porosity was created by adding two different kinds of pore structure directing agents to the starting solution: one was an n-alkyltrialkoxysilane which was covalently bonded to the silica framework, the other was an n-alkylamine which acted as a nonionic template. After calcination and post treatment the resulting particles showed a specific surface area up to 1000 m2 g-1, a specific pore volume of up to 0.8 …
Generalised syntheses of ordered mesoporous oxides: the atrane route
2000
Abstract A new simple and versatile technique to obtain mesoporous oxides is presented. While implying surfactant-assisted formation of mesostructured intermediates, the original chemical contribution of this approach lies in the use of atrane complexes as precursors. Without prejudice to their inherent unstability in aqueous solution, the atranes show a marked inertness towards hydrolysis. Bringing kinetic factors into play, it becomes possible to control the processes involved in the formation of the surfactant–inorganic phase composite micelles, which constitute the elemental building blocks of the mesostructures. Independent of the starting compositional complexity, both the mesostructu…
Electrochemical reduction of graphene oxide films in aqueous and organic solutions
2013
Abstract Electrochemical reduction of graphene oxide (GO) films cast on tin oxide glass substrates were carried out in aqueous solutions and in propylene carbonate and acetonitrile. Cyclic voltammetric measurements indicate successful reduction of GO films. The reduction process begins in aqueous solutions at less negative potentials than in organic solutions. Additionally the pH value of the aqueous solutions influences the reduction potential. According to spectroscopic analysis the reduction process of the GO film can be controlled by the choice of reduction potential and electrolyte medium. The potential window in this work was made broader by increasing pH or by using organic electroly…
Halloysite nanotubes filled with MgO for paper reinforcement and deacidification
2021
Abstract A novel material for the deacidification and protection of paper has been designed by using MgO filled halloysite nanotubes (Hal). The ability of MgO loaded nanotubes to control the acidic conditions was evaluated by pH measurements in aqueous solvent. Afterwards, paper was impregnated into hydroxypropyl cellulose dispersions containing the consolidating material. A simulation of strong acidic conditions allowed us to evaluate the deacidification effect of the composite material on the samples. In particular, the paper reaches a pH of 7.7 after 1 h exposition to HNO3 vapours when MgO-Hal nanoparticles are added to the impregnation mixture at a concentration of 10 wt% and it remains…
Expanding the atrane route: Generalized surfactant-free synthesis of mesoporous nanoparticulated xerogels
2008
Abstract A diversity of silica-based and non-silica nanoparticulated mesoporous xerogels have been synthesized from aqueous solution using a surfactant-free strategy, and starting from molecular atrane complexes as precursors. This approach constitutes an extension of the “atrane route” previously described for the surfactant-assisted synthesis of mesoporous materials, and allows us to unify the multiplicity of protocols described for the preparation of conventional xerogels. In fact, we have used exactly the same preparative conditions for obtaining all the compositions reported here. The xerogels synthesized in this way include pure silica (UVM-11), aluminosilicates and titanosilicates (M…
Fabrication of metal nano-structures using anodic alumina membranes grown in phosphoric acid solution: Tailoring template morphology
2007
Abstract The influence of experimental parameters on the morphology of the porous structure and on the formation kinetics has been investigated for anodic alumina membranes (AAM) grown in aqueous H 3 PO 4 at 160 V. It was found that pore aspect ratio and membrane porosity on the solution-side surface are influenced by tensiostatic charge, bath temperature and the presence of Al 3+ ions in solution. Morphological and kinetic data, recorded in different conditions, give useful information on the growth mechanism of pore channels in phosphoric acid solution. Nickel nano-structures have been fabricated using AAM as template. Electroless deposition, performed by adding the reducing agent to a su…
Original Supercritical Water Device for Continuous Production of Nanopowders
2011
Well-crystallized ZnO, ZrO2, TiO2, CeO2, Y2O3 and La2O3 nanoparticles are synthesized under supercritical water conditions (T > 647 K and P > 22.1 MPa) using a home-made continuous process. At room temperature, metallic salts with or without aqueous hydroxide solution (KOH or NaOH) are pressurized to 25–30 MPa. Then, the reactant(s) is/are rapidly heated to 673–773 K by mixing with the supercritical water in a patented reactor. Residence time is in the range from 2 to 8 s. XRD, TEM and surface area analyses highlight the production of pure and well-crystallized nanoparticles with a uniform size distribution.