Improved Photodegradation of Organic Contaminants Using Nano‐TiO2 and TiO2–SiO2 Deposited on Portland Cement Concrete Blocks

The photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ nanoparticles (nano‐TiO₂) and its hybrid with SiO₂ (nano‐TiO₂–SiO₂) for degradation of some organic dyes on cementitious materials was studied in this work. Nanohybrid photocatalysts were prepared using an inorganic sol–gel precursor and then characterized using XRD, SEM and UV–Vis. The grain sizes were estimated by Scherrer's equation to be around 10 nm. Then, a thin layer was applied to Portland cement concrete (PCC) blocks by dipping them into nano‐TiO₂ and nano‐TiO₂–SiO₂ solution. The efficiency of coated PCC blocks for the photocatalytic decomposition of two dyes, Malachite Green oxalate (MG) and Methylene Blue (MB), was examined under UV and visible irradiation and then monitored by the chemical oxygen demand tests. The results showed that more than 80% and 92% of MG and MB were decomposed under UV–Vis irradiation using blocks coated with nano‐TiO₂–SiO₂. TiO₂/PCC and TiO₂–SiO₂/PCC blocks showed a significant ability to oxidize dyes under visible and UV lights and TiO₂–SiO₂/PCC blocks require less time for dye degradation. Based on these results, coated blocks have increased photocatalytic activity which can make them commercially accessible photocatalysts.     

Facile protection of carbonyl compounds as oxathiolanes and transoxathioacetalization of oxyacetals promoted by iron(III) trifluoroacetate or trifluoromethanesulfonate as chemoselective and recyclable catalysts

Oxathioacetalization of carbonyl compounds and transoxathioacetalization of O,O-acetals/ketals are reported under nearly neutral conditions promoted by iron(III) trifluoroacetate [Fe(CF₃CO₂)₃] or trifluoromethanesulfonate [Fe(CF₃SO₃)₃] as recyclable and highly efficient Lewis acid catalysts.     

A Study on Transreactions of PET/PEN Reactive Blending in a Twin‐Screw Extruder Using an Axial Dispersion Model

Transreactions of PET and PEN melt‐mixed in a twin‐screw extruder are investigated. The extruder is modeled and characterized in the frame of a tubular system of closed type. The kinetic modeling is based on a modified second‐order reversible reaction equation, which allows the dispersion equation to be solved analytically. The analysis shows a good agreement between the model and experiment. The axial dispersion model is employed to predict the extent of transesterification reactions (X) and degree of randomness (RD). ¹H NMR measurements are performed to estimate X and RD. Theoretical and experimental data are in good agreement. The model can thus be exploited to describe the effects of processing parameters, mixing time, mixing temperature, and blend composition on X and RD.

     

A review on wound dressings with an emphasis on electrospun nanofibrous polymeric bandages

Wound dressings have experienced continuous and significant changes since the ancient times. The development starts with the use of natural materials to simply cover the wounds to the materials of the present time that could be specially made to exhibit various extraordinary functions. The modern bandage materials made of electrospun biopolymers contain various active compounds that are beneficial to the healing of wounds. These materials are fibrous in nature, with the size of fibers segments ranging from tens of nanometers to micrometers. With the right choices of biopolymers used for these fibrous materials, they could enhance the healing of wounds significantly compared with the conventional fibrous dressing materials, such as gauze. These bandages could be made such that they contain bioactive ingredients, such as antimicrobial, antibacterial, and anti‐inflammatory agents, which could be released to the wounds enhancing their healing. In an active wound dressing (AWD), the main purpose is to control the biochemical states of a wound in order to aid its healing process. This review provides an overview of different types of wounds, effective parameters in wound healing and different types of wound dressing materials with a special emphasis paid to those prepared by electrospinning. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dark solitons of the Biswas–Milovic equation by the first integral method

This paper studies the Biswas–Milovic equation that is a generalized version of the familiar nonlinear Schrodinger's equation describing the propagation of solitons through optical fibers for trans-continental and trans-oceanic distances with Kerr law nonlinearity by the aid of the first integral method. The dark 1-soliton solution is retrieved by the aid of this method and a couple of other singular periodic solutions are also obtained.     

Effect of the External Mirror Feedback Strength in the Dynamics and Spectrum of the Injected Semiconductor Lasers

We analytically investigate the effect of an external mirror on the stability of an injected semiconductor laser, the latter treated as injected damped oscillators. In the studied configuration, the injected semiconductor laser with an external mirror is under the influence of a chaotic oscillating optical signal that is generated by a similar semiconductor master laser. We derive our results in terms of the damping rate and resonance frequency. We show that the external mirror can eliminate the unstable modes of the injected laser at low frequencies. Furthermore, the mirror can enhance the damping of the oscillation modes of the injected semiconductor laser; consequently, the driven response of the injected laser may have a broad spectrum, even wider than that of the chaotic driving signal. We also show results for the bandwidths of the injection amplitude and phase increment as functions of the injection rate and feedback strength of the external mirror. In addition, we use bifurcation and time-series curves to describe the dynamical behavior of the injected laser. We identify the feedback strength of injected laser, relative to that of the master laser, which induces synchronization between the injected-laser oscillation modes and the master laser.     

Control of instability in a semiconductor laser using a functional pump current generator with a dynamical parameter

In this paper, an electric circuit to control the dynamic output of a semiconductor laser is introduced. The circuit controls chaos and instability of the laser output by changing its pumping current. The change of the current is also introduced by a nonlinear map. The most important element of this nonlinear map is a dynamical variable parameter. We have studied the dynamic behavior of the laser before and after applying the control using bifurcation curves and time series. We have shown that the laser output, in the intervals of the feedback phase and strength where it is chaotic, can be totally inverted to the quasi periodic (QP) and period one (P1) oscillation modes, by control method.     

One-dimensional mercury(II) coordination polymers with a flexible bidentate Schiff base ligand (Me2N-Ba)2Bn: Synthesis, characterization, and crystal structures

Three one-dimensional mercury(II) complexes, [Hg₂(μ_N,N-((Me₂N-Ba)₂Bn)(μ-X)₂X₂] _n , where X = Cl (I), Br (II), and I (III), (Me₂N-Ba)₂Bn = N,N′-bis(dimethylaminobenzylidene)butane-1,4-diamine, involving a bidentate Schiff base with a flexible spacer (=N-C-C-C-C-N=) were prepared under mild condition and characterized by elemental analyses (CHN), FT-IR, ¹H & ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy. The crystal structure of II has been determined by X-ray single-crystal diffraction. Each Hg(II) center adopts a distorted [HgNBr₃] tetrahedron environment arising from two crystallographically equivalent (Me₂N-Ba)₂Bn Schiff base ligands. Each of ligands acts as N₂-bis-chelating ligand with the nitrogen atoms of two imine functions in anti-form leading to the dinuclear [Hg₂(μ_N,N-(Me₂N-Ba)₂Bn)Br₂] groups. Such dinuclear [Hg₂(μ_N,N-((Me₂Nvg-Ba)₂Bn)Br₂] groups are bridged two iodine anions (μ-Br)₂ to form a neutral 1D-chain mercury (II) coordination polymer.     

Electropolymerized coatings of poly(o‐anisidine) and poly(o‐anisidine)‐TiO2 nanocomposite on aluminum alloy 3004 by using the galvanostatic method and their corrosion protection performance

Poly(o‐anisidine) (POA) and poly(o‐anisidine)‐TiO₂ (POA‐TiO₂) nanocomposite coatings on aluminum alloy 3004 (AA3004) have been investigated by using the galvanostatic method. The electrosynthesized coatings were characterized by FT ‐ IR spectroscopy, XRD, SEM ‐ EDX and SEM. The corrosion protection performance of POA and POA‐TiO₂ nanocomposite coatings was investigated in the 3.5% NaCl solution by using potentiodynamic polarization technique and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results show that the corrosion rate of the nanocomposite coatings is about 900 times lower than the bare AA3004 under optimal conditions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.