Synthesis of CdSe nanocrystals in a noncoordinating solvent: effect of reaction temperature on size and optical properties

Photocatalytic properties of BiFeO3 powders synthesized by the mixture of CTAB and Glycine

Highly pure BiFeO₃ (BFO) powders were prepared by the solution combustion synthesis method using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and glycine as fuels at various fuel-to-oxidant (φ) ratios. Microstructural characteristics, morphology, optical properties, and thermal analysis were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and differential thermal/thermogravimetry (DTA/TGA), respectively. The combusted powders prepared at different fuel content contained a small amount of impurity phases such as Bi₂₄Fe₂O₃₉ and Bi₂Fe₄O₉. During the calcination of BFO powders at 600 °C for 1 h, a nearly pure BFO phase was produced. Combusted powders photodegraded about 80% of methylene blue dye at φ = 2 through 90 min of visible light irradiation.

Synthesis and Characterization of Blended Cellulose Acetate Membranes

The casting and preparation of ultrafiltration ZnO modified cellulose acetate membrane (CA/ZnO) were investigated in this work. CA membranes were fabricated by phase inversion using dimethylformamide (DMF) as a solvent and ZnO as nanostructures materials. Ultrafiltration (UF) performance, mechanical stability, morphology, contact angle, and porosity were evaluated on both CA- and ZnO-modified CA samples. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to determine the morphology of the membranes, showing different pore sizes either on rough surfaces and cross-sections of the samples, an asymmetric structure and ultra-scale pores with an average pore radius 0.0261 to 0.045 µm. Contact angle measurements showed the highest hydrophobicity values for the samples with no ZnO addition, ranging between 48° and 82.7° on their airside. The permeability values decreased with the increasing CA concentration in the casting solution, as expected; however, ZnO-modified membranes produced lower flux than the pure CA ones. Nevertheless, ZnO modified CA membranes have higher surface pore size, pore density and porosity, and improved surface hydrophilicity compared with pure CA membranes. The results indicated that the incorporated nano-ZnO tends to limit the packing of the polymer chains onto the membrane structure while showing antifouling properties leading to better hydrophilicity and permeation with consistent UF applications.

Influence of ionic liquid on Novozym 435-catalyzed the transesterification of castor oil and ethyl caffeate

Caffeic acid (CA), one kind of phenolic acids widely occurring in the plant kingdom, can be used as potential UV protective ingredient and antioxidant. However, the application of CA was limited because of its unsatisfactory solubility in hydrophilic and lipophilic media. In this work, BMIMPF₆, one kind of ionic liquids (ILs), was developed as an environmental friendly reaction media for the enzymatic preparation of CA derivatives by the transesterification of castor oil (CO) and ethyl caffeate (EC). Different series of ILs with BF 4 - , TF 2 - , and PF 6 - were screened and compared, and the effects of transesterification variables [temperature (60-100 °C) enzyme concentration (10-90 mg/mL), substrate molar ratio (CO/EC, 1:1-5:1), water load (0-8%), and reaction pressure] were also investigated. Results showed that, in the IL system, hydrophilic and lipophilic products were formed by two competitive reactions [(i) hydrolysis + transesterification and (ii) transesterification]. The maximum hydrophilic caffeoyl lipids yield (26.10 ± 0.28%) and reaction selectivity for hydrophilic caffeoyl lipids (0.4) was achieved in BMIMPF₆ system. The increases of substrate ratio (molar ratio of CO to EC, from 1:1 to 5:1), water load (from 0 to 8%), and enzyme concentration (from 10 to 90 mg/mL) were in favor of hydrophilic caffeoyl lipid formation. However, the vacuum system and high temperature (from 70 to 100 °C) are favorable for lipophilic caffeoyl lipids formation. Under the optimal reaction conditions (90 °C, 75 mg/mL enzyme concentration, substrate ratio 3:1, 60 h, and 10 mmHg vacuum pressures), the maximum EC conversion was 72.48 ± 2.67%. The activation energies of the transesterification, and the selective formations of lipophilic and hydrophilic products were calculated as 44.55, 47.65, and 54.96 kJ/mol, respectively.

Exposure enhanced photoluminescence of CdS0.9Se0.1quantum dots embedded in spin-coated Ge25S75thin films

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are well known photoluminescent materials.

Influence of stability on the acute toxicity of CdSe/ZnS nanocrystals to Daphnia magna

The acute toxicity of polymer-coated CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) to Daphnia magna was investigated using 48-h exposure studies. The principal objective was to relate the toxicity of QDs to specific physical and chemical aspects of the QD. As such, two different CdSe core diameters, 2 nm QDs (green-emitting) and 5 nm QDs (red-emitting), and two different surface coatings, polyethylene oxide (PEO) and 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) were studied. The QDs were characterized before and after the 48-h exposure using fluorescence, ultrafiltrations (3 kDa), and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) metal analysis. In addition, flow field flow fractionation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (Fl FFF-ICP-MS) was used as a more extensive characterization technique to determine particle size and composition as well as identify other potential constituents in the QD solutions. The more stable QDs (PEO) were found to be less acutely toxic than the QDs with accelerated dissolution (MUA), suggesting QD stability has significant impact on the nanoparticles' short-term toxicity. The emergence of dissolved Cd(2+) in solution indicates that the toxicity of the MUA QDs is likely due to Cd poisoning, and a mass-based dose response occurred as a consequence of this mode of action. Alternatively, the PEO QDs caused acute toxicity without observed particle dissolution (i.e., no detectable metals were solubilized), suggesting an alternative mode of toxic action for these nanoparticles. Results of the present study suggest that using particle number, instead of mass, as a dose metric for the PEO QDs, produces markedly different conclusions, in that smaller core size does not equate to greater toxicity.