Publications by authors named "Kamil Gierszal"

Patients exposed to long acting anticoagulant rodenticides (LAARs) are typically administered large amounts of oral vitamin K1 (VK1) to counteract life-threatening anticoagulant effects. Although VK1 treatment effectively prevents mortality, additional methods are needed to reduce the long duration of VK1 treatment which can last for months at high expense. We developed a model of brodifacoum (BDF) poisoning, one of the most potent LAARs, in adult male New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The general consensus in the studies of nanostructured carbon catalysts for oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of alkanes to olefins is that the oxygen functionalities generated during synthesis and reaction are responsible for the catalytic activity of these nanostructured carbons. Identification of the highly active oxygen functionalities would enable engineering of nanocarbons for ODH of alkanes. Few-layered graphenes were used as model catalysts in experiments to synthesize reduced graphene oxide samples with varying oxygen concentrations, to characterize oxygen functionalities, and to measure the activation energies for ODH of isobutane.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The unique structural, dynamical and chemical properties of air/water and oil/water interfaces are thought to play a key role in various biological, geological and environmental processes. For example, non-hydrogen-bonded ('dangling') OH groups--which create surface defects in water's hydrogen bonding network and are experimentally detected at both macroscopic (air/water or oil/water) and microscopic (dissolved hydrophobic molecule) interfaces--are thought to catalyse some chemical reactions. However, how the size, curvature or charge of the exposed hydrophobic surface influences water's propensity to form dangling OH defects has not yet been established quantitatively.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hydrophobic hydration is considered to have a key role in biological processes ranging from membrane formation to protein folding and ligand binding. Historically, hydrophobic hydration shells were thought to resemble solid clathrate hydrates, with solutes surrounded by polyhedral cages composed of tetrahedrally hydrogen-bonded water molecules. But more recent experimental and theoretical studies have challenged this view and emphasized the importance of the length scales involved.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mesoporous carbons with extremely large pore volume ( approximately 6 cm3/g) and narrow bimodal pore size distribution were synthesized by using 24 nm silica colloids as template.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Adsorption and structural properties of inverse carbon replicas of two ordered siliceous P6mm and Ia3d mesostructures have been studied by nitrogen adsorption, powder X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. These carbon replicas were prepared by filling the pores of SBA-15 and KIT-6 siliceous templates with various carbon precursors followed by carbonization and silica dissolution. Sucrose, furfuryl alcohol, acenaphthene, mesophase pitch, and petroleum pitch were used to obtain inverse carbon replicas of SBA-15 and KIT-6.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A highly graphitized ordered nanoporous carbon (ONC) was synthesized by using commercial mesophase pitch as carbon precursor and siliceous colloidal crystal as template. Since silica colloids of different sizes (above 6 nm) and narrow particle size distribution are commercially available, the pore size tailoring in the resulting ONCs is possible.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A new method is proposed for the synthesis of pitch-based carbons with bimodal distribution of uniform mesopores formed by co-imprinting of spherical silica colloids and hexagonally ordered mesoporous particles of SBA-15 into mesophase pitch particles and subsequent silica dissolution.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF