Microwave-assisted organic swelling promotes fast and efficient delamination of waste printed circuit boards.

A large amount of waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) that contain valuable metals, namely gold and copper, are produced annually. WPCBs are constituted by a multi-layer structure reinforced by a brominated epoxy resin (BER), which is very difficult to separate into the metallic and non-metallic components. The main aim of this work was to evaluate the ability of microwave for assisting in the delamination of WPCBs by organic swelling of the BER. Additionally, its performance was compared with other strategies (thermostatic and ultrasonic baths) previously described in the literature. Firstly, a library of solvents [dimethyl formamide (DMF), dimethyl acetamide (DMAc), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), cyclohexanone (CH), γ-butyrolactone (GBL), tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (TFA) and dimethyl malonate (DM)] was selected based on the calculation of Hansen solubility parameters plus others exclusion parameters and their performance to detach all components of WPCBs (25 mm2) was tested by microwave (200 °C for 10 min), thermostatic (153 °C for 10 min) and ultrasonic (60 °C for 25 h) baths. Microwave showed to be the most efficient approach and the delamination order for WPCBs was: NMP > DMSO >DMF > DMAc. Subsequent optimization of key parameters (dimensions of WPCBs and reaction time) were obtained: dimensions of 225 mm2 using NMP (solid/liquid ratio of 300 g/L) at 200 °C with 2 cycles of 10 min. In conclusion, microwave-assisted swelling revealed to be more efficient and faster process to delaminate WPCBs into metallic and non-metallic components, which are important advantages when envisaging a future industrial waste management implementation.

Effects of Charge Density on Photophysics and Aggregation Behavior of Anionic Fluorene-Arylene Conjugated Polyelectrolytes.

Three anionic fluorene-based alternating conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) have been synthesized that have 9,9-bis(4-phenoxy-butylsulfonate) fluorene-2,7-diyl and 1,4-phenylene (PBS-PFP), 4,4'-biphenylene (PBS-PFP2), or 4,4″-p-terphenylene (PBS-PFP3) groups, and the effect of the length of the oligophenylene spacer on their aggregation and photophysics has been studied. All form metastable dispersions in water, but can be solubilized using methanol, acetonitrile, or dioxane as cosolvents. This leads to increases in their emission intensities and blue shifts in fluorescence maxima due to break-up of aggregates. In addition, the emission maximum shifts to the blue and the loss of vibronic structure are observed when the number of phenylene rings is increased. Debsity Functional Theory (DFT) calculations suggest that this is due to increasing conformational flexibility as the number of phenylene rings increases. This is supported by increasing amplitude in the fast component in the fluorescence decay. The nonionic surfactant n-dodecylpentaoxyethylene glycol ether (C12E5) also breaks up aggregates, as seen by changes in fluorescence intensity and maximum. However, the loss in vibrational structure is less pronounced in this case, possibly due to a more rigid environment in the mixed surfactant-CPE aggregates. Further information on the aggregates formed with C12E5 was obtained by electrical conductivity measurements, which showed an initial increase in specific conductivity upon addition of surfactants, while at higher surfactant/CPE molar ratios a plateau was observed. The specific conductance in the plateau region decreased in the order PBS-PFP3 < PBS-PFP2 < PBS-PFP, in agreement with the change in charge density on the CPE. The reverse process of aggregate formation has been studied by injecting small volumes of solutions of CPEs dissolved at the molecular level in a good solvent system (50% methanol-water) into the poor solvent, water. Aggregation was monitored by changes in both fluorescence and light scattering. The rate of aggregation increases with hydrophobicity and concentration of sodium chloride but is only weakly dependent on temperature.

Towards the Development of a Low-Cost Device for the Detection of Explosives Vapors by Fluorescence Quenching of Conjugated Polymers in Solid Matrices.

Conjugated polymers (CPs) have proved to be promising chemosensory materials for detecting nitroaromatic explosives vapors, as they quickly convert a chemical interaction into an easily-measured high-sensitivity optical output. The nitroaromatic analytes are strongly electron-deficient, whereas the conjugated polymer sensing materials are electron-rich. As a result, the photoexcitation of the CP is followed by electron transfer to the nitroaromatic analyte, resulting in a quenching of the light-emission from the conjugated polymer. The best CP in our studies was found to be poly[(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-co-bithiophene] (F8T2). It is photostable, has a good absorption between 400 and 450 nm, and a strong and structured fluorescence around 550 nm. Our studies indicate up to 96% quenching of light-emission, accompanied by a marked decrease in the fluorescence lifetime, upon exposure of the films of F8T2 in ethyl cellulose to nitrobenzene (NB) and 1,3-dinitrobenzene (DNB) vapors at room temperature. The effects of the polymeric matrix, plasticizer, and temperature have been studied, and the morphology of films determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal fluorescence microscopy. We have used ink jet printing to produce sensor films containing both sensor element and a fluorescence reference. In addition, a high dynamic range, intensity-based fluorometer, using a laser diode and a filtered photodiode was developed for use with this system.