Hydrothermal preparation of tobermorite from blast furnace slag for Cs+ and Sr2+ sorption.

Al-substituted 11Å-tobermorite was formed by alkaline hydrothermal treatment of blast furnace slag with sodium silicate added at 180°C for 2-48 h. Effects of the hydrothermal treatment time were characterized by XRD, SEM, and isothermal adsorption of N2. Sorption characteristics of the obtained samples were examined for Cs(+) and Sr(2+). The sample obtained by hydrothermal treatment for 48 h (HT-48 h) consisted of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H), and Al-substituted 11Å-tobermorite. The HT-48 h showed the highest performance for Cs(+) and Sr(2+) selectivity in the presence of Na(+). The interlayer Na(+) of Al-substituted 11Å-tobermorite and surface Ca(2+) played an important role in selective Cs(+) and Sr(2+).

Photoinduced underwater superoleophobicity of TiO2 thin films.

The photoinduced wettabilities of water, n-hexadecane, dodecane, and n-heptane on a flat TiO2 surface prepared by a sol-gel method-based coating were investigated. An amphiphilic surface produced by UV irradiation exhibited underwater superoleophobicity with an extremely high static oil contact angle (CA) of over 160°. The TiO2 surface almost completely repelled the oil droplet in water. A robust TiO2 surface with no fragile nanomicrostructure was fabricated on a Ti mesh with a pore size of approximately 150 µm. The fabricated mesh was found to be applicable as an oil/water separation filter.

Photosensitized hydrogen evolution from water using a single-walled carbon nanotube/fullerodendron/SiO2 coaxial nanohybrid.

A coaxial nanohybrid consisting of a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT), fullerodendron, and SiO(2) shows high-efficiency light-driven hydrogen evolution from water. Upon visible light irradiation, SWCNT/fullerodendron/SiO(2) coaxial nanohybrid shows hydrogen evolution activity in the presence of methyl viologen (MV(2+)), benzyldihydronicotinamide (BNAH), and a colloidal polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)-Pt.

X-ray absorption and neutron diffraction studies of (Sr(1 - x)Ce(x))MnO3: transition from coherent to incoherent static Jahn-Teller distortions.

We have carried out Ce L- and Mn K-edge x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) measurements to experimentally determine the oxidation states of both Ce and Mn in (Sr(1 - x)Ce(x))MnO(3) (x = 0.1-0.4). It was found that although Ce is predominantly 4 + at low doping levels (x = 0.1 and 0.15), the Ce valency decreases with increasing Ce doping (reaching a value of around 3.5 + at x = 0.4). The average Mn oxidation state decreases with the increase of Ce content, with the percentage of Jahn-Teller active Mn(3+) ions increasing from 26% (x = 0.1) to 57% (x = 0.4). Precise structural parameters were also obtained from high resolution neutron diffraction studies for samples with x = 0.1-0.3. The crystal structure remains tetragonal in I4/mcm for x ≤ 0.3. The octahedral tilt angle increases with increasing Ce content, but the distortion of the MnO(6) octahedra is reduced significantly at x ≥ 0.2 due to a transition from long-range ordered Jahn-Teller distortions to incoherent static distortions.

Effect of CaTiO(3)-CaCO(3) prepared by alkoxide method on cell response.

In recent years, calcium titanate (CaTiO(3)) and carbon-containing materials have gained much attention in a number of biomedical material researches. To maximize the advantages of both materials, we developed a novel alkoxide method to get "calcium titanate with calcium carbonate" (CaTiO(3)-CaCO(3)). The objective was to evaluate the crystallinity and elemental composition of CaTiO(3)-CaCO(3) prepared by alkoxide method, CaTiO(3)-aC elaborated by modified thermal decomposition method, commercially-prepared CaTiO(3), and the effect of these materials on the bone marrow stromal cell. Hydroxyapatite was used as positive control material. We examined the cellular proliferation, osteoblastic differentiation, and mineralization of KUSA/A1 cells cultured with the materials. The results showed that CaTiO(3)-CaCO(3) and CaTiO(3)-aC contained evidence of calcium carbonate enhancing cell proliferation, osteoblastic differentiation, and mineralization. On the contrary, the commercially-prepared CaTiO(3) revealed absence of calcium carbonate with lower cell response than the other groups. The results indicated that calcium carbonate could play a key role in the cell response of CaTiO(3) material. In conclusion, our findings suggest that CaTiO(3)-CaCO(3) could be considered an important candidate as a biomaterial for medical and dental applications.

Recovery of rare metal compounds from nickel-metal hydride battery waste and their application to CH4 dry reforming catalyst.

The recovery of valuable components such as nickel from nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) battery waste by chemical processes and their applications to CH(4) dry reforming catalysts were investigated. Three types of compound, identified by XRD analysis as NiO, CeO(2) and LaCoO(3) phases, were successfully separated from the waste by a series of chemical processes at room temperature using aqueous solutions of HCl, NaOH and NH(3), and Ni component of approximately 70% in Ni-MH battery waste was recovered. The separated NiO, CeO(2) and LaCoO(3) showed catalytic activities for CH(4) dry reforming. In particular, the separated NiO easily reduced to Ni(0) at an initial stage, and exhibited excellent catalytic activity in terms of CH(4) conversion and stability. Furthermore, it was found that the resulting Ni from separated NiO exhibited an anomalous catalysis from the comparison with that from regent NiO.

Zeolite formation from coal fly ash and heavy metal ion removal characteristics of thus-obtained Zeolite X in multi-metal systems.

Zeolitic materials have been prepared from coal fly ash as well as from a SiO(2)-Al(2)O(3) system upon NaOH fusion treatment, followed by subsequent hydrothermal processing at various NaOH concentrations and reaction times. During the preparation process, the starting material initially decomposed to an amorphous form, and the nucleation process of the zeolite began. The carbon content of the starting material influenced the formation of the zeolite by providing an active surface for nucleation. Zeolite A (Na-A) was transformed into zeolite X (Na-X) with increasing NaOH concentration and reaction time. The adsorption isotherms of the obtained Na-X based on the characteristics required to remove heavy ions such as Ni(2+), Cu(2+), Cd(2+) and Pb(2+) were examined in multi-metal systems. Thus obtained experimental data suggests that the Langmuir and Freundlich models are more accurate compared to the Dubinin-Kaganer-Radushkevich (DKR) model. However, the sorption energy obtained from the DKR model was helpful in elucidating the mechanism of the sorption process. Further, in going from a single- to multi-metal system, the degree of fitting for the Freundlich model compared with the Langmuir model was favored due to its basic assumption of a heterogeneity factor. The Extended-Langmuir model may be used in multi-metal systems, but gives a lower value for equilibrium sorption compared with the Langmuir model.

Crystal structures and phase transition in (Sr(0.8)Ce(0.2))(Mn(1-y)Co(y))O(3) (y = 0 and 0.2): the influence of Jahn-Teller distortion.

We have studied the crystal structures of (Sr(0.8)Ce(0.2))(Mn(1-y)Co(y))O(3) (y = 0 and 0.2) using neutron diffraction. Both (Sr(0.8)Ce(0.2))MnO(3) and (Sr(0.8)Ce(0.2))(Mn(0.8)Co(0.2))O(3) have a tetragonal structure in space group I4/mcm at room temperature, and the octahedral tilt angle around the c-axis is nearly the same. The only significant difference is the shape of the Mn(Co)O(6) octahedron: it is elongated in (Sr(0.8)Ce(0.2))MnO(3) due to the cooperative Jahn-Teller (JT) effect, but essentially regular in (Sr(0.8)Ce(0.2))(Mn(0.8)Co(0.2))O(3) due to the absence of JT-active Mn(3+) ions. With increasing temperature, both compounds undergo a continuous phase transition at around 400 °C to a cubic structure in [Formula: see text], with no indication of a distinct transition in (Sr(0.8)Ce(0.2))MnO(3) from the removal of the static JT distortion. In addition, the temperature dependence of the octahedral tilt angle is very similar in the two samples, implying that the JT distortion has minimal effect on the octahedral tilting and the phase transition to cubic. X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) analysis indicates that the Ce oxidation state is predominantly 4+ in both samples. The electrical conductivity is higher in (Sr(0.8)Ce(0.2))MnO(3) than in (Sr(0.8)Ce(0.2))(Mn(0.8)Co(0.2))O(3) in the temperature range studied (100-900 °C).

Sorption properties of the activated carbon-zeolite composite prepared from coal fly ash for Ni(2+), Cu(2+), Cd(2+) and Pb(2+).

Composite materials of activated carbon and zeolite have been prepared successfully by activating coal fly ash (CFA) by fusion with NaOH at 750 degrees C in N(2) followed by hydrothermal treatments under various conditions. Uptake experiments for Ni(2+), Cu(2+), Cd(2+) and Pb(2+) were performed with the materials thus obtained from CFA. Of the various composite materials, that were obtained by hydrothermal treatment with NaOH solution (ca. 4M) at 80 degrees C (a composite of activated carbon and zeolite X/faujasite) proved to be the most suitable for the uptake of toxic metal ions. The relative selectivity of the present sorbents for the various ions was Pb(2+)>Cu(2+)>Cd(2+)>Ni(2+), with equilibrium uptake capacities of 2.65, 1.72, 1.44 and 1.20mmol/g, respectively. The sorption isotherm was a good fit to the Langmuir isotherm and the sorption is thought to progress mainly by ion exchange with Na(+). The overall reaction is pseudo-second order with rate constants of 0.14, 0.17, 0.21 and 0.20Lg/mmol min for the uptake of Pb(2+), Cu(2+), Cd(2+) and Ni(2+), respectively.