scholarly journals Increasing Salt Rejection of Polybenzimidazole Nanofiltration Membranes via the Addition of Immobilized and Aligned Aquaporins

Processes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priyesh Wagh ◽  
Xinyi Zhang ◽  
Ryan Blood ◽  
Peter Kekenes-Huskey ◽  
Prasangi Rajapaksha ◽  
...  

Aquaporins are water channel proteins in cell membrane, highly specific for water molecules while restricting the passage of contaminants and small molecules, such as urea and boric acid. Cysteine functional groups were installed on aquaporin Z for covalent attachment to the polymer membrane matrix so that the proteins could be immobilized to the membranes and aligned in the direction of the flow. Depth profiling using x-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) analysis showed the presence of functional groups corresponding to aquaporin Z modified with cysteine (Aqp-SH). Aqp-SH modified membranes showed a higher salt rejection as compared to unmodified membranes. For 2 M NaCl and CaCl2 solutions, the rejection obtained from Aqp-SH membranes was 49.3 ± 7.5% and 59.1 ± 5.1%. On the other hand, the rejections obtained for 2 M NaCl and CaCl2 solutions from unmodified membranes were 0.8 ± 0.4% and 1.3 ± 0.2% respectively. Furthermore, Aqp-SH membranes did not show a significant decrease in salt rejection with increasing feed concentrations, as was observed with other membranes. Through simulation studies, it was determined that there was approximately 24% capping of membrane pores by dispersed aquaporins.

NANO ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (01) ◽  
pp. 1550014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peicao Wang ◽  
Hongjuan Sun ◽  
Tongjiang Peng

The graphite oxidation samples with different degrees of oxidation were prepared from natural flake graphite via a modified Hummers method with controlled addition of KMnO 4. The evolution of oxygen-containing functional groups was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The evolution rule of three-dimensional (3D) graphite structures during oxidation has been verified via X-ray diffraction (XRD). Experimental results show that the evolution of the interplanar spacing of samples during oxidation can be approximately divided into four stages. When the dosage of KMnO 4 is 0.5 g per 1 g of graphite (g/g), a graphite intercalation compound (GIC) is formed through intercalating reactions, and a slight increase is observed in the values of d100 and d110, suggesting that the π–π interactions which decrease the length of carbon–carbon bonds were partially disrupted. Adding additional KMnO 4 initiates the second stage, in which GIC begins to oxidize. The insertion of oxygen-containing functional groups in the graphene basal plane leads to dramatic changes in the values of d100 and d110. The d100 is greatly reduced while d110 increases slightly. These trends are attributed to the fact that the basal plane is stretched during the oxidation process. Further addition of KMnO 4 in the third stage leads to relatively small increases in the values of d100 and d110. This result is consistent with the evolution rule of hydroxyl groups. In this research, the evolution rule of the value of d001 is also clearly demonstrated. When the concentration of KMnO 4 is not more than 3.0 g/g, the value of products d001 keeps gradually increasing, indicating that oxygen-containing groups continue to form bonds with carbons in the basal plane, and that additional water molecules are adsorbed between the layers of the samples. All the interplanar spacing values (d001, d100 and d110) are reduced significantly in the fourth stage, when the amount of KMnO 4 added up to 4.0 g/g. FT-IR and XPS analyses demonstrate that the decrease in the values of d100 and d110 is due to a reduction in the content of external hydroxyl groups. The change in d001 is attributed to the partial release of water molecules confined in the interlayer spaces between adjacent sheets are partly released.


2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 891-896
Author(s):  
Manel Halouani ◽  
M. Dammak ◽  
N. Audebrand ◽  
L. Ktari

One nickel 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate coordination polymers, Ni2 [(O10C6H4)(COO)2].2H2O  (I), was hydrothermally synthesized from an aqueous solution of Ni (NO3)2.6H2O, (1,4-CDC) (1,4-CDC = 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid) and tetramethylammonium nitrate. Compound (I) crystallizes in the monoclinic system with the C2/m space group. The unit cell parameters are a = 20.1160 (16) Å, b = 9.9387 (10) Å, c = 6.3672 (6) Å, β = 97.007 (3) (°), V= 1263.5 (2) (Å3) and Dx= 1.751g/cm3. The refinement converged into R= 0.036 and RW = 0.092. The structure, determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction, consists of two nickel atoms Ni (1) and Ni (2). Lots of ways of which is surrounded by six oxygen atoms, a carboxyl group and two water molecules.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-200
Author(s):  
Yuan She ◽  
Chong Zou ◽  
Shiwei Liu ◽  
Keng Wu ◽  
Hao Wu ◽  
...  

Abstract Thermoanalysis was used in this research to produce a comparative study on the combustion and gasification characteristics of semi-coke prepared under pyrolytic atmospheres rich in CH4 and H2 at different proportions. Distinctions of different semi-coke in terms of carbon chemical structure, functional groups, and micropore structure were examined. The results indicated that adding some reducing gases during pyrolysis could inhibit semi-coke reactivity, the inhibitory effect of the composite gas of H2 and CH4 was the most observable, and the effect of H2 was higher than that of CH4; moreover, increasing the proportion of reducing gas increased its inhibitory effect. X-ray diffractometer and Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer results indicated that adding reducing gases in the atmosphere elevated the disordering degree of carbon microcrystalline structures, boosted the removal of hydroxyl- and oxygen-containing functional groups, decreased the unsaturated side chains, and improved condensation degree of macromolecular networks. The nitrogen adsorption experiment revealed that the types of pore structure of semi-coke are mainly micropore and mesopore, and the influence of pyrolytic atmosphere on micropores was not of strong regularity but could inhibit mesopore development. Aromatic lamellar stack height of semi-coke, specific surface area of mesopore, and pore volume had a favorable linear correlation with semi-coke reactivity indexes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 92 (10) ◽  
pp. 1627-1641
Author(s):  
Guangguo Wang ◽  
Yongquan Zhou ◽  
He Lin ◽  
Zhuanfang Jing ◽  
Hongyan Liu ◽  
...  

AbstractThe structure of aq. sodium acetate solution (CH3COONa, NaOAc) was studied by X-ray scattering and density function theory (DFT). For the first hydrated layer of Na+, coordination number (CN) between Na+ and O(W, I) decreases from 5.02 ± 0.85 at 0.976 mol/L to 3.62 ± 1.21 at 4.453 mol/L. The hydration of carbonyl oxygen (OC) and hydroxyl oxygen (OOC) of CH3COO− were investigated separately and the OC shows a stronger hydration bonds comparing with OOC. With concentrations increasing, the hydration shell structures of CH3COO− are not affected by the presence of large number of ions, each CH3COO− group binds about 6.23 ± 2.01 to 7.35 ± 1.73 water molecules, which indicates a relatively strong interaction between CH3COO− and water molecules. The larger uncertainty of the CN of Na+ and OC(OOC) reflects the relative looseness of Na-OC and Na-OOC ion pairs in aq. NaOAc solutions, even at the highest concentration (4.453 mol/L), suggesting the lack of contact ion pair (CIP) formation. In aq. NaOAc solutions, the so called “structure breaking” property of Na+ and CH3COO− become effective only for the second hydration sphere of bulk water. The DFT calculations of CH3COONa (H2O)n=5–7 clusters suggest that the solvent-shared ion pair (SIP) structures appear at n = 6 and become dominant at n = 7, which is well consistent with the result from X-ray scattering.


Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 395
Author(s):  
Anastasiia Topnikova ◽  
Elena Belokoneva ◽  
Olga Dimitrova ◽  
Anatoly Volkov ◽  
Dina Deyneko

Crystals of new silicate-germanate Rb1.66Cs1.34Tb[Si5.43Ge0.57O15]·H2O have been synthesized hydrothermally in a multi-component system TbCl3:GeO2:SiO2 = 1:1:5 at T = 280 °C and P = 100 atm. K2CO3, Rb2CO3 and Cs2CO3 were added to the solution as mineralizers. The crystal structure was solved using single crystal X-ray data: a = 15.9429(3), b = 14.8407(3), c = 7.2781(1) Å, sp. gr. Pbam. New Rb,Cs,Tb-silicate-germanate consists of a [Si5.43Ge0.57O15]∞∞ corrugated tetrahedral layer combined by isolated TbO6 octahedra into the mixed microporous framework as in synthetic K3Nd[Si6O15]·2H2O, K3Nd[Si6O15] and K3Eu[Si6O15]·2H2O with the cavities occupied by Cs, Rb atoms and water molecules. Luminescence spectrum on new crystals was obtained and analysed. A comparison with the other representatives of related layered natural and synthetic silicates was carried out based on the topology-symmetry analysis by the OD (order-disorder) approach. The wollastonite chain was selected as the initial structural unit. Three symmetrical ways of forming ribbon from such a chain and three ways of further connecting ribbons to each other into the layer were revealed and described with symmetry groupoids. Hypothetical structural variants of the layers and ribbons in this family were predicted.


2006 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 758-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Nolte ◽  
Ingo Pantenburg ◽  
Gerd Meyer

[{Hg(CF3)2}(ThpH)(H2O)](H2O) (1), [{Hg4(Thp)4}(ClO4)4(H2O)8](H2O)4 (2), [{Hg(ThpH)2} (NO3)](NO3) (3) and {Hg(Thp)Cl}(H2O) (4) (ThpH = theophylline, C7H8N4O2) have been synthesized by slow evaporation of aqueous solutions of the mercuric salts Hg(CF3)2, Hg(ClO4)2, Hg(NO3)2, or HgCl2 and theophylline. Their crystal structures were determined on the basis of single crystal X-ray data. The coordination polymers 1 and 2 crystallize with triclinic symmetry, P1̅ (no. 2), with a = 468.8(2), b = 1256.4(5), c = 1445.5(6) pm, α = 67.15(3), β = 89.21(3), γ = 89.40(3)° and a = 833.6(1), b = 1862.7(2), c = 2182.9(2) pm, α = 111.61(1), β = 90.98(1), γ = 95.51(1)°, respectively. 3 and 4 crystallize with monoclinic symmetry, Pc (no. 7), a =1194.1(1), b=1258.8(2), c=735.5(2) pm, β =96.96(2)° and P21/n (no. 14), a=1069.0(2), b =911.6(1), c=1089.9(2) pm and β = 96.87(2)°. In 1 the theophylline molecules are non-coordinating to mercury and leave the Hg(CF3)2 molecule unchanged. Only weak electrostatic attractions to one keto-oxygen atom of theophylline and one water molecule hold this co-crystallisate together. In 2, the theophyllinate anion, Thp−, strongly coordinates with both N(7) and N(9) to HgII forming a large ring with eight Hg atoms that incorporates the water molecules. One sort of nitrate ions in 3 is weakly attached to HgII with the theophylline molecules still bound strongly through N(9). The chloride ligand and the theophyllinate ion seem to have the same strengths as ligands in 4 as they are both attached to HgII with the shortest distances possible


2015 ◽  
Vol 1105 ◽  
pp. 335-338
Author(s):  
Qiong Wu ◽  
Jing Lu ◽  
Xiao Lin Ji ◽  
Tao Yu Zou ◽  
Zhen Fang Qiao ◽  
...  

Modifying polyoxometalates with organic and/or metal-organic moieties is a widely adopted method for broading the range of properties. In this work a new polyoxometalate constructed from Anderson-type polyoxoanions and L-arginine (Arg =L-arginine) molecules Na [CrMo6(OH)6O18]}(H2Arg)2·8H2O(1) has been synthesized via conventional method and characterized by routine techniques. Single-crystal X-Ray diffraction analysis shows that compound 1 is constructed by chiralL-arginine grafted Anderson-type clusters, sodium cation and water molecules which are further stabilized by hydrogen bonding interactions constitute 3D supramolecular networks. In addition, both antitumor behavior and photocatalytic activities of compound 1 were investigated.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Kaduk

The crystal structures of calcium citrate hexahydrate, calcium citrate tetrahydrate, and anhydrous calcium citrate have been solved using laboratory and synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data, and optimized using density functional techniques. Both the hexahydrate and tetrahydrate structures are characterized by layers of edge-sharing Ca coordination polyhedra, including triply chelated Ca. An additional isolated Ca is coordinated by water molecules, and two uncoordinated water molecules occur in the hexahydrate structure. The previously reported polymorph of the tetrahydrate contains the same layers, but only two H2O coordinated to the isolated Ca and two uncoordinated water molecules. Anhydrous calcium citrate has a three-dimensional network structure of Ca coordination polyhedra. The new polymorph of calcium citrate tetrahydrate is the major crystalline phase in several commercial calcium supplements.


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