Water diffusivity D measured by using NMR techniques in Na-smectite suspensions decreases with increasing smectite fraction (up to 50 wt%), but increases with increasing salinity (NaCl or CaCl(2) aqueous solutions) at a fixed clay fraction. The increase, larger for CaCl(2) solutions, is explained by aggregation of clay particles when high salinities are reached. Macroscopic organisation of dense mixtures of clay and aqueous solutions can be inferred by T(2) transverse NMR relaxation times which are sensitive to the volume to surface ratio. Dispersed suspensions exhibit mono-modal T(2) distributions, whereas bimodal T(2) distributions are observed for flocculated systems. The bimodal T(2) distributions are interpreted as a measurement of the spacing between clay particles within aggregates and between aggregates. Finally, the diffusion data can be gathered in an unique curve using the Debye length and the measured spacing between particles. When the thickness of the electro-diffuse layer (Debye length) is of the same order as the spacing between clay particles, the water diffusivity decreases. Otherwise it is constant at about 2.22+/-0.25x10(-9) m(2)/s. This last result illustrates clearly the effect of electro-chemical properties of smectite on water diffusivity.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2008.08.013 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
December 2024
Sustainability Solutions Research Lab, Faculty of Engineering, University of Pannonia, Egyetem Str. 10, Veszprém, 8200, Hungary.
Ensuring everyone enjoys healthy lifestyles and well-being at all ages, Progress has been made in increasing access to clean water and sanitation facilities and reducing the spread of epidemics and diseases. The synthesis of nano-particles (NPs) by using microalgae is a new nanobiotechnology due to the use of the biomolecular (corona) of microalgae as a capping and reducing agent for NP creation. This investigation explores the capacity of a distinct indigenous microalgal strain to synthesize silver nano-particles (AgNPs), as well as its effectiveness against multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria and its ability to degrade Azo dye (Methyl Red) in wastewater.
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December 2024
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) are a critical technology for efficient hydrogen production to decarbonize fuels and industrial feedstocks. To make hydrogen cost-effective, the overpotentials across the cell need to be decreased and platinum-group metal loading reduced. One overpotential that needs to be better understood is due to mass transport limitations from bubble formation within the porous transport layer (PTL) and anode catalyst layer (ACL), which can lead to a reduction in performance at typical operating current densities.
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December 2024
Department of Chemistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada.
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of porous materials that are of topical interest for their utility in water-related applications. Nevertheless, molecular-level insight into water-MOF interactions and MOF hydrolytic reactivity remains understudied. Herein, we report two hydrolytic pathways leading to either structural stability or framework decomposition of a MOF (ZnMOF-1).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhotochem Photobiol
December 2024
Institute of Chemistry, State University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
Given that non-equilibrium molecular motion in thermal gradients is influenced by both solute and solvent, the application of spectroscopic methods that probe each component in a binary mixture can provide insights into the molecular mechanisms of thermal diffusion for a large class of systems. In the present work, we use an all-optical setup whereby near-infrared excitation of the solvent leads to a steady-state thermal gradient in solution, followed by characterization of the non-equilibrium system with electronic spectroscopy, imaging, and intensity. Using rhodamine B in water as a case study, we perform measurements as a function of solute concentration, temperature, wavelength, time, near-infrared laser power, visible excitation wavelength, and isotope effect.
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December 2024
Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, CAS Key Laboratory of Materials for Energy Conversion, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P. R. China.
The critical challenges in developing ultralow-temperature proton-based energy storage systems are enhancing the diffusion kinetics of charge carriers and inhibiting water-triggered interfacial side reactions between electrolytes and electrodes. Here an acid-salt hybrid electrolyte with a stable anion-cation-HO solvation structure that realizes unconventional proton transport at ultralow temperature is shown, which is crucial for electrodes and devices to achieve high rate-capacity and stable interface compatibility with electrodes. Through multiscale simulations and experimental investigations in the electrolyte employing ZnCl introduced into 0.
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