Ancient and Contemporary Industries Based on Alkali and Alkali-Earth Salts and Hydroxides: The Historical and Technological Review

Although sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium were isolated as the chemical elements by Sir Humphry Davy for the first time at the beginning of the 19th century, alkali salts and hydroxides have been widely known and used since the very ancient time. The word “alcali” & “alkali” was borrowed in the 14th century by literary Roman-Germanic languages from Arabic al-qalī, al-qâly ou al-qalawi (), which means “calcinated ashes” of saltwort plants. These ashes are characterized nowadays as mildly basic. They have been widely used in therapy, cosmetics, and pharmacy in Mediaeval Europe and the Middle East. However, the consumption of these alkali containing ashes, as well as natron salts and calcined lime-based materials used for different customer purposes, like therapy, pharmacy, cosmetics, glass making, textile treating, dyes, brick making, binding materials, etc., was commonly known since the very ancient times. The current review of the archeological, historical, and technological data provides the readers with the scope of the different everyday life applications of alkali and alkali-earth salts and hydroxides from ancient times till nowadays. The review obviously reveals that many modern chemical manufacturing processes using alkali and alkali-earth salts and hydroxides have a very ancient history. In contrast, there has been a similarity of targets for implementing alkali and alkali-earth salts and hydroxides in everyday life, from the ancient past till the modern period. These processes are ceramic and glass making, binding materials in construction, textile treatment, metallurgy, etc. So, this review approves the common statement: “The Past is a clue for the Future.”

SBA-15 with Crystalline Walls Produced via Thermal Treatment with the Alkali and Alkali Earth Metal Ions

Crystalline walled SBA-15 with large pore size were prepared using alkali and alkali earth metal ions (Na+, Li+, K+ and Ca2+). For this work, the ratios of alkali metal ions (Si/metal ion) ranged from 2.1 to 80, while the temperatures tested ranged from 500 to 700 °C. The SBA-15 prepared with Si/Na+ ratios ranging from 2.1 to 40 at 700 °C exhibited both cristobalite and quartz SiO2 structures in pore walls. When the Na+ amount increased (i.e., Si/Na increased from 80 to 40), the pore size was increased remarkably but the surface area and pore volume of the metal ion-based SBA-15 were decreased. When the SBA-15 prepared with Li+, K+ and Ca2+ ions (Si/metal ion = 40) was thermally treated at 700 °C, the crystalline SiO2 of quartz structure with large pore diameter (i.e., 802.5 Å) was observed for Ca+2 ion-based SBA-15, while no crystalline SiO2 structures were observed in pore walls for both the K+ and Li+ ions treated SBA-15. The crystalline SiO2 structures may be formed by the rearrangement of silica matrix when alkali or alkali earth metal ions are inserted into silica matrix at elevated temperature.

Selective Adsorption of H2S, H2O and SO2 over CH4 on Graphene Surface Decorated with Alkali Earth Metals: Insights from DFT Study

The selective adsorption of CH4, H2S, SO2 and H2O by alkali earth metal (AEM) decorated double vacancy graphene (DVG) was investigated with the first principles method. The most stable adsorption configurations, adsorption energy of CH4, H2S, SO2 and H2O on AEM_DVG have been discussed.

Effect of modification on impact strength of critical carriage castings made of 20GL steel

Effect of modifiers on the basis of rare-earth and alkali-earth metals on microstructure and impact toughness of car castings made of low-alloy casting 20GL steel of open-hearth and electroarc melts on the basis of statistical and microstructural analysis is considered. The relationship between the steel impact toughness level, matrix grain parameters and non-metallic inclusions is studied.

From Electride-like Super Alkali Earth Atom to Superalkalide or Superalkali Electride: M(HF)3M (M = Na or Li) as Field-Induced Excellent Inorganic NLO Molecular Switches

Exploring novel molecular switch is an ongoing hot issue in molecular electronics. Alkalide and electride are two typical representatives of excess electron compounds. It was found that M(HF)3M (M =...

Inhibition of Corrosion of structural steels (St3)

Compositions based on hydroxyethylidene diphosphonic and nitrilotrimethylenephosphonic acids with alkali earth metals (Ca, Mg) are studied as corrosion inhibitors. It is found that the studied compositions are not inferior to their zinc counterparts as regards their corrosion inhibition efficiency and can be used in two-circuit cooling systems.