A flow injection-ETAAS system for the on-line determination of total and dissolved silica in waters

An all-solid-state potentiometric sensor modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for silicate assessment and water-quality testing

A simple and cost-effective approach is proposed for silicate ion determination. The approach is based on designing an all-solid-state potentiometric sensor. The plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membrane sensor is based on the ion-association complex [Ni(bphen)₃]²⁺[SiO₃]^2- as a sensory recognition material. The sensor is modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as an ion-to-electron transducer material. The performance characteristics of the new silicate-selective electrode were evaluated using a potentiometric water-layer test, potentiometric measurements, impedance spectroscopy, and current-reversal chronopotentiometry. The developed electrodes exhibited a low detection limit (0.11 μg mL^-1) over a wide linear range (4.0 × 10^-6 to 1.0 × 10^-3 M) and near-Nernstian sensitivity (slope = -28.1 ± 1.4 mV per decade). They presented a very short response time (<5 s) over the pH range 6-12 and provided acceptable reliability, ease of design and miniaturization, and high potential stability, in addition to good accuracy and precision. The sensors exhibited enhanced selectivity for silicate over many common interfering anions, such as SO₄^2-, NO₃^-, CH₃COO^-, CO₃^2-, Cl^-, S^2-, and PO₄^3-. These results could qualify the developed sensor to be used in a successful way for the trace determination of silicate ions in different matrices. The developed method was successfully applied to the potentiometric detection of silicate in different pre-packaged bottled drinking water samples.

Effect of dissolved silica on photocatalytic water purification with a TiO2 ceramic catalyst

If photocatalytic water purification technologies will find practical applications, the impact of total dissolved solids in the source water on the activity of the photocatalyst must be evaluated. In this study, we evaluated the effects of SiO₃^2- in water on a TiO₂ ceramic photocatalyst; specifically, we determined the effects of SiO₃^2- on the rate of photocatalytic degradation of formic acid (as a model contaminant) and on the rate of photocatalytic inactivation of Escherichia coli in an aqueous solution. Both the rate of formic acid degradation and the sterilization rate decreased with increasing SiO₃^2- concentration. On the other hand, at a given SiO₃^2- concentration, the activity of the photocatalyst did not decrease over the course of 120 h, and the surface structure of the photocatalyst did not change (i.e., no precipitate formed on the surface). The decreases in photocatalytic activity due to the presence of SiO₃^2- could be recovered by flushing the experimental apparatus with distilled water. These results show that the reason for the lower photocatalytic activity in the presence of SiO₃^2- than in its absence was due to adsorption of SiO₃^2- onto the surface of the TiO₂ photocatalyst and that SiO₃^2- adsorption was an equilibrium process in water.

An All-Solid-State Silicate Ion-Selective Electrode Using PbSiO₃ as a Sensitive Membrane

Ion-Selective Electrode (ISE) is an emerging technology for in situ monitoring of the chemical concentrations of an aqueous environment. In this work, we reported a novel all-solid-state silicate ISE, using an Ag/Pb/PbSiO₃ electrode. This electrode responded to aqueous SiO₃²⁻ with a reasonable slope of −31.34 mV/decade and a good reproductivity. The linear range covered from 10⁻⁵ M to 10⁻¹ M, for the Na₂SiO₃ solutions and the response time was generally less than 5 s. Its potentiometric response to pH and silicate indicated that the prepared electrode was sensitive to silicate, rather than pH. Compared to the traditional liquid ISE, our all-solid-state silicate electrode was resistant to high pressure and could be used in situ, in deep water. In addition, the miniaturized electrodes (diameter of 0.4 mm and a length of 2–3 cm) could be easily integrated into a multi-modal sensor, which could simultaneously determine multiple parameters. Our prepared silicate ISE could potentially be used to determine the presence of silicate in a low-chloride aqueous environment, where the ISE exhibited better selectivity for silicate, over interfering ions such as, SO₄²⁻, NO₃⁻, CH₃COO⁻, CO₃²⁻, and PO₄³⁻.

Protozoal digestion of coat-defective Bacillus subtilis spores produces "rinds" composed of insoluble coat protein

The Bacillus subtilis spore coat is a multilayer, proteinaceous structure that consists of more than 50 proteins. Located on the surface of the spore, the coat provides resistance to potentially toxic molecules as well as to predation by the protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila. When coat-defective spores are fed to Tetrahymena, the spores are readily digested. However, a residue termed a "rind" that looks like coat material remains. As observed with a phase-contrast microscope, the rinds are spherical or hemispherical structures that appear to be devoid of internal contents. Atomic force microscopy and chemical analyses showed that (i) the rinds are composed of insoluble protein largely derived from both outer and inner spore coat layers, (ii) the amorphous layer of the outer coat is largely responsible for providing spore resistance to protozoal digestion, and (iii) the rinds and intact spores do not contain significant levels of silicon.

Evaluation of capillary electrophoresis for determining the concentration of dissolved silica in geothermal brines

The determination of silica concentrations in geothermal brines is widely recognized as a difficult analytical task due to its complex chemical polymerization kinetics that occurs during sample collection and chemical analysis. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has been evaluated as a new reliable analytical method to measure silica (as silicates) in geothermal brines. Synthetic and geothermal brine samples were used to evaluate CE methodology. A capillary electrophoresis instrument, Quanta 4000 (Waters-Millipore) coupled with a Waters 820 workstation was used to carry out the experimental work. The separation of silicates was completed in approximately 5.5 min using a conventional fused-silica capillary (75 microm i.d. x 375 microm o.d. x 60 cm total length). A hydrostatic injection (10 cm for 20 s at 25 degrees C) was employed for introducing the samples. The carrier electrolyte consisted of 10 mM sodium chromate, 3 mM tetradecyltrimethyl-ammonium hydroxide (TTAOH), 2 mM sodium carbonate, and 1 mM sodium hydroxide, adjusted to a pH 11.0 +/- 0.1. Silicates were determined using an indirect UV detection at a wavelength of 254 nm with a mercury lamp and with a negative power supply (-15 kV). A good reproducibility in the migration times (%R.S.D. approximately 1.6%) based on six non-consecutive injections of synthetic brine solutions was obtained. A linear response between silica concentration and corrected peak area was observed. Ordinary (OLR) and weighted (WLR) linear regression models were used for calculating silica concentrations in all samples using the corresponding fitted calibration curves. The analytical results of CE were finally compared with the most probable values of synthetic reference standards of silica using the Student's t-test. No significant differences were found between them at P = 0.01. Similarly, the atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) results were also compared with the most probable concentrations of the same reference standards, finding significant differences at P = 0.01.