The influence of magnetic particle incorporation on bisphenol A removal by ß-cyclodextrin-derived sorbent.

A novel, biomass-derived hybrid sorbent Ban-CD-EPI-Fe was successfully synthesized in a coprecipitation method, in which ß-cyclodextrin copolymerized with banana peel extract and epichlorohydrin was grafted onto an iron oxide surface. The composition, presence of functional groups, morphology, thermal stability, and magnetic properties of the obtained material were characterized by Powder X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Physical Properties Measurement System (PPMS). The material bearing around 28% of ß-cyclodextrin units has mesoporous structure with plate-like morphology and active surface area determined by BET and Langmuir models equal to 38.35 and 53.59 m2 g-1, respectively. The sorption studies aimed to remove an endocrine disruptor - bisphenol A (BPA), from water. The results showed that the time evolution could be fitted with pseudo-second kinetic order with a rate constant k equal to 0.05 g mg-1 min-1. According to the Langmuir isotherm, a monolayer is created during BPA sorption, and the maximum sorption capacity was estimated as 93.5 mg g-1. After BPA sorption, the hybrid material could be easily separated by an external magnet and regenerated under mild conditions keeping its recyclability in at least eight cycles.

Ln2 (SeO3 )2 (SO4 )(H2 O)2 (Ln=Sm, Dy, Yb): A Mixed-Ligand Pathway to New Lanthanide(III) Multifunctional Materials Featuring Nonlinear Optical and Magnetic Anisotropy Properties.

Bottom-up assembly of optically nonlinear and magnetically anisotropic lanthanide materials involving precisely placed spin carriers and optimized metal-ligand coordination offers a potential route to developing electronic architectures for coherent radiation generation and spin-based technologies, but the chemical design historically has been extremely hard to achieve. To address this, we developed a worthwhile avenue for creating new noncentrosymmetric chiral Ln3+ materials Ln2 (SeO3 )2 (SO4 )(H2 O)2 (Ln=Sm, Dy, Yb) by mixed-ligand design. The materials exhibit phase-matching nonlinear optical responses, elucidating the feasibility of the heteroanionic strategy. Ln2 (SeO3 )2 (SO4 )(H2 O)2 displays paramagnetic property with strong magnetic anisotropy facilitated by large spin-orbit coupling. This study demonstrates a new chemical pathway for creating previously unknown polar chiral magnets with multiple functionalities.

Impact of Plasma Pre-Treatment on the Tribological Properties of DLC Coatings on PDMS Substrates.

The processes of the deposition of carbon coatings on PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) substrates using plasma techniques are widely used in a large number of studies, in applications ranging from electronic to biological. That is why the potential improvement of their functional properties, including tribological properties, seems very interesting. This paper presents an analysis of the impact of plasma pre-treatment on the properties of the produced diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings, including changes in the coefficients of friction and wear rates. The initial modification processes were performed using two different techniques based on low-pressure plasma (RF PACVD, radio-frequency plasma-assisted chemical vapour deposition) and dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma. The effects of the above-mentioned treatments on the geometric structure of the PDMS surface and its water contact angles and stability over time were determined. The basic properties of the DLC coatings produced on unmodified substrates were compared to those of the coatings subjected to plasma pre-treatment. The most interesting effects in terms of tribological properties were achieved after the DBD process and production of DLC coatings, achieving a decrease in wear rates to 2.45 × 10-8 mm3/Nm. The tests demonstrate that the cross-linking of the polymer substrate occurs during plasma pre-treatment.