A camphene-camphor-polymer composite material for the production of superhydrophobic absorbent microporous foams

In a recently published paper (doi.org/10.3390/molecules26113116) on self-propelled motion of objects on the water surface, we described a novel surface-active plastic material obtained by dissolution of camphor and polypropylene in camphene at 250 $$^\circ$$ ∘ C. The material has wax-like mechanical properties, can be easily formed to any moldable shape, and allows for longer and more stable self-propelled motion if compared with pure camphor or pure camphene or of a camphene-camphor wax. Here we use scanning electron microscopy to visualize and characterize the microporous structure of the solid polypropylene foam formed in the plastic for different polypropylene contents. The topology of foams remaining in the material after camphor and camphene molecules have been removed through evaporation or dissolution is similar to polypropylene foams obtained using thermally-induced phase separation. We show that the foams have a superhydrophobic surface but strongly absorb non-polar liquids, and suggest an array of potential scientific and industrial applications.

CO2 Reduction to Valuable Chemicals on TiO2-Carbon Photocatalysts Deposited on Silica Cloth

A new photocatalyst for CO2 reduction has been presented. The photocatalyst was prepared from a combination of a commercial P25 with a mesopore structure and carbon spheres with a microporous structure with high CO2 adsorption capacity. Then, the obtained hybrid TiO2-carbon sphere photocatalysts were deposited on a glass fiber fabric. The combined TiO2-carbon spheres/silica cloth photocatalysts showed higher efficiency in the two-electron CO2 reduction towards CO than in the eight-electron reaction to methane. The 0.5 g graphitic carbon spheres combined with 1 g of TiO2 P25 resulted in almost 100% selectivity to CO. From a practical point of view, this is promising as it economically eliminates the need to separate CO from the gas mixture after the reaction, which also contains CH4 and H2.

Physico-chemical properties of silicon dioxides obtained by extraction from sulfuric acid solutions from acid decomposition of nepheline

The synthesis of silica was carried out by extraction from a silica-containing solution from the decomposition of nepheline using acetone and ethanol, followed by gelatinization of the organic phase. The structural and surface properties of the obtained sample of SiO2 were studied and the pH of the isoionic point of their surface was determined. It was found that the use of extraction does not have a destructive effect on the specific surface of the SiO2 xerogel and allows preserving its original microporous structure.

Fabrication of Highly Microporous Structure Activated Carbon via Surface Modification with Sodium Hydroxide

The aim of this study was to select the optimal conditions for the carbonization process followed by surface modification treatment with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to obtain a highly microporous activated carbon structure derived from palm kernel shells (PKS) and coconut shells (CS). The effects of the carbonization temperature and NaOH concentration on the physiochemical properties, adsorption capability, specific surface area, surface morphology, and surface chemistry of PKS and CS were evaluated in this study. The results show that surface-modified activated carbons presented higher surface area values (CS: 356.87 m2 g−1, PKS: 427.64 m2 g−1), smaller pore size (CS: 2.24 nm, PKS: 1.99 nm), and larger pore volume (CS: 0.34 cm3 g−1, PKS: 0.30 cm3 g−1) than the untreated activated carbon, demonstrating that the NaOH surface modification was efficient enough to improve the surface characteristics of the activated carbon. Moreover, surface modification via 25% NaOH greatly increases the active functional group of activated carbon, thereby directly increasing the adsorption capability of activated carbon (CS: 527.44 mg g−1, PKS: 627.03 mg g−1). By applying the NaOH post-treatment as the ultimate surface modification technique to the activated carbon derived from PKS and CS, a highly microporous structure was produced.

A Hybrid Microporous Copper Structure for High Performance Capillary-Driven Liquid Film Boiling

Phase change thermal management devices including heat pipes and ultra-thin vapor chambers can remove and spread the excess heat from microprocessors more efficiently compared with the conventional heat sinks. However, the capillary and CHF limits of the evaporator section remained a challenge for high heat flux (> 100 Wcm−2) large area (> 5 × 5 mm2) applications. In this study, a hybrid microporous structure consists of copper wire meshes (CWMs) as the liquid delivery routing and copper inverse opals (CIOs) film as the boiling/evaporation platform is proposed. The feasibility of the approach and the design optimization were studied with extensive modeling and CFD simulations. For the experiment setup, the heater and the RTD sensors are fabricated over a Silicon chip using the conventional micro fabrication processes and the micro porous copper film is deposited based on template-assisted electrodeposition, resulting in CIOs structure with average 5 μm pore size, 1 μm neck, and 15 μm thickness. A copper wire mesh structure (500 μm thickness, 0.5 porosity, 71 μm wire diameter) with 4 × 4 tile openings (1 × 1 mm2 area per tile) was fixed over the CIOs film with mechanical constraints. A flow loop and vapor chamber are designed and fabricated to perform capillary boiling experiments in a saturated environment (liquid water and vapor at ∼100°C). The hybrid microporous structure was able to remove over 75 W from the 5 × 5 mm2 heater area (over 300 W cm−2 heat flux) with 9°C super heat resulting in thermal resistance of 0.03 cm2°CW−1 at the CHF. The findings of this study are largely beneficial for the design and fabrication of high performance evaporator wicks and next-generation heat routing technologies.

Computer Analysis of the Effects of Time and Gas Atmosphere of the Chemical Activation on the Development of the Porous Structure of Activated Carbons Derived from Oil Palm Shell

The results of the advanced computer analysis of the influence of time and gas atmosphere of the chemical activation process on the microporous structure formation of activated carbons prepared from oil palm shell via microwave irradiation and activation, using potassium hydroxide as an activation agent, are presented in this paper. The quenched solid density functional theory (QSDFT) and the new numerical clustering-based adsorption analysis (LBET) methods were used especially in the analysis of the microporous structure of the activated carbons, taking into account the surface heterogeneity, and the results obtained were confronted with the simple results achieved earlier using Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and T-plot methods. On the basis of the computer analysis carried out and taking into account the results obtained, it has been shown that the material with the best adsorption properties and suitable for practical industrial applications is activated carbon obtained in a gaseous nitrogen atmosphere at an activation time of 30 min. Moreover, the value of the heterogeneity parameter indicates that the surface area of this activated carbon is homogeneous, which is of particular importance in the practical application. The paper emphasizes that an erroneous approach to the interpretation of analytical results based on gas adsorption isotherms, which consists in basing conclusions only on the values of a single parameter such as specific surface area or micropore volume, should be avoided. Therefore, it is recommended to use in the analysis of measurement data, several methods of porous structure analysis, including methods considering the heterogeneity of the surface, and when interpreting the results one should also take into account the adsorption process for which the analyzed materials are dedicated.

Structure of polytetrafluoroethylene modified by the combined action of γ-radiation and high temperatures

By means of X-ray computed microtomography (XCMT) the existence of a developed microporous structure having an average pore diameter of ~3.5 μm and pore content of ~1.1 vol.% has been revealed in unirradiated polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). It has been found that the combined action of gamma radiation (absorbed dose per PTFE of ~170 kGy) and high temperatures (327-350 °C) leads to the disappearance of the microporous structure and the formation of several large pores with sizes from 30 to 50 μm in the bulk of thermal-radiation modified PTFE (TRM-PTFE). It has been established by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis that the thermal-radiation modification of PTFE leads to an increase in the interplanar spacings, the degree of crystallinity and volume of the unit cell, as well as to a decrease in the size of crystals and the X-ray density of the crystalline phase in comparison with the initial polymer. It is assumed that the previously established effect of improving the deformation-strength and tribological properties of the TRM-PTFE can be due not only to the radiation cross-linking of polymer chains but also to the disappearance of the micropore system and to the ordering of the crystalline phase of PTFE.