Local Cuban bentonite clay: composition, structure and textural characterization

The Cuban bentonite clays have a specific surface area of 79.9098 m2.g-1, a pore volume of about 0.077612 cm3.g-1 and both isotherms exhibited a hysteresis loop of IV type. X-ray diffractogram of raw bentonite shows that the main mineralogical component is montmorillonite (> 90%). The mineral object study presents the first endothermic peak, characteristic of montmorillonite, in 48.11 ºC and others less accentuated (80.81, 94.01, 119.81 ºC) characteristic of calcium montmorillonite, that corresponds to the loss of water, and can be extended up to 250 ºC. The FTIR spectra showed the existence of Si-OH, Al-Al-OH, Al-Fe-OH, Al-Mg-OH and Si-O-Si functional groups in all clay samples, confirmed the presence of hydrated aluminosilicate in the clay, bands between 1120 and 461 cm-1 correspond to phyllosilicate structures and OH stretching vibrations were observed. The pH at the point of zero charge (pHPZC) obtained has a value of 8.1, which allows montmorillonite to be classified as basic. The structural formula for one-layer unit of montmorillonite was determined as (Na3.99Al0.01)(Al1.11Fe3+0.49Mg0.18Ti0.07)(Ca0.24Na0.15K0.01)O10(OH)2, indicate the location of the different cations in metal oxide octahedrons or tetrahedrons, respectively. From the results obtained by different methods and the analysis of the calculated structural formula, it can be concluded that the bentonite under study is a calcium montmorillonite, with a low specific surface area and little porosity.

Insights into the Microstructural Evolution Occurring during Pyrolysis of Metal-Modified Ceramers Studied through Selective SiO2 Removal

Silicon oxycarbide ceramers containing 5% aluminum, zirconium, and cobalt with respect to the total Si amount are prepared from a commercial polysiloxane and molecular precursors and pyrolyzed at temperatures ranging from 500 to 1000 °C. HF etching is carried out to partially digest the silica phase, thus revealing structural characteristics of the materials, which depend upon the incorporated heteroatom. From the structural and textural characterization, it was deduced that when Al enters into the ceramer structure, the crosslinking degree is increased, leading to lower carbon domain size and carbon incorporation as well. On the contrary, the substitution by Zr induced a phase-separated SiO2-ZrO2 network with some degree of mesoporosity even at high pyrolysis temperatures. Co, however, forms small carbidic crystallites, which strongly modifies the carbonaceous phase in such a way that even when it is added in a small amount and in combination with other heteroatoms, this transient metal dominates the structural characteristics of the ceramer material. This systematic study of the ceramer compounds allows the identification of the ultimate properties of the polymer-derived ceramic composites.

High Energy Ball Milling and Liquid Crystal Template Method: A Successful Combination for the Preparation of Magnetic Nano-Platforms

In this study, we present the preparation of superparamagnetic ordered mesoporous silica (SOMS) for biomedical applications by the combination of high energy ball milling (HEBM) and the liquid crystal template method (LCT) to produce a material comprised of room temperature superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles in a MCM-41 like mesostructured silica. In a typical synthesis, a mixture of Fe2O3 and silica was sealed in a stainless-steel vial with steel balls. Ball milling experiments were performed in a vibratory mill apparatus. The milling process produced nanocomposites with an average size ranging from ∼100–200 nm, where the Fe3O4 nanoparticles (4.8 nm size) are homogeneously dispersed into the amorphous SiO2 matrix. The obtained nanocomposite has been used for the preparation of the SOMS through the LCT method. Structural, morphological and textural characterization were performed using X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and nitrogen sorption analysis. Field dependence of magnetization was investigated and showed superparamagnetic behaviour at 300 K with a value of saturation magnetization (Ms) that is of interest for biomedical applications.

Textural Characterization of Dietetic Amrakhand Prepared by using Stevia Leaf Extracts Powder

Background: The name Amrakhand comes from two words ‘aam’ and ‘shrikhand’ literally meaning mango shrikhand. It is popular mango yoghurt in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Amrakhand contains high sugar content, but in the context of health consciousness refined carbohydrate is necessary to curb in the diet of both insulin and non-insulin dependent diabetic patient. Hence dietetic Amrakhand was prepared using stevia to study its effect and suitability as a natural sweetener.Methods: Amrakhand prepared using different proportions of sucrose and powdered stevia leaf extract. The proportions used are 30:70 (T1), 25:75 (T2), 20: 80 (T3), 15:85 (T4), 10:90 (T5) with control sample 100:0 (T0). Textural properties of dietetic Amrakhand such as hardness, consistency, index of viscosity and cohesiveness were evaluated by using a texture analyzer (TA-XT2I, Stable Micro System, UK).Result: Textural parameters reveals that effect of increasing the concentration level of powdered stevia leaf extract, decreases the hardness, consistency, cohesiveness and index of viscosity values of the product. Whereas good sensory results were found at 70% (T1) of sucrose replacement by stevia leaf extract in dietetic Amrakhand. Hence, present paper focused on evaluation of textural characterization of dietetic Amrakhand prepared by using Stevia leaf extracts powder.

Completing the eruptive record of Deception Island (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica) by characterizing ash layers in proximal marine sediments cores.

<p>The chemical and textural characterization of ash layers allows relating them to their volcanic source, provides information regarding an eruptive event and its impact; and pictures more accurate scenarios in case of future activity. Deception Island, located in central Bransfield strait (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica), consists of a horseshoe-shaped composite volcano, whose central part is occupied by a collapse caldera (8.5 x 10 km). It is considered to be among the most active volcanoes in Antarctica and a future eruption is very likely to happen, affecting the military and scientific research stations located nearby. The characterisation of volcanic ash layers found in marine sediment cores outside Deception Island can provide valuable information to: (i) determine the size and explosiveness of past eruptive events, (ii) assess the extent of their related hazards; and (iii) complete the eruption record of the island. Here, we present results of the characterization of the ash layers found on five marine sediment cores (TG-40, 41,43, 48 and 50) drilled proximal to Deception Island (less than 40 km) during the Antarctic Campaign of the MAGIA project (ANT-584/97). The final aim is to trace isochronous tephra horizons between the studied cores and try associating them to their respective eruptive events on the island. First, we carried out a granulometry analysis of each sampled layer and characterized the morphology of the fragments using as parameters: elongation, sphericity, solidity, and length/width ratio. Results obtained indicate that most of the layers are moderate to well sorted coarse ash. Minor amounts of lapilli and fine ash appear in the shallower (0 to 50 cm depth) layers. The granulometry and the morphology indicate that the layers have been reworked by turbiditic currents after the eruption, but not enough to destroy the information necessary for correlation. The petrographical study via optical microscope has highlighted the presence of three different types of volcanic glasses based on: (i) the colour of the ash particles under non-crossed polarized light; (ii) microcrystal content; (iii) texture; and (iv) vesicle abundance. Type 1 glasses, with black colour and generally shard shaped, show a low content in microcrystals and vesicles. Type 2, with brown colour and more spherical shapes, have a higher content in microcrystals and the fragments usually have a fluidal texture; the vesicle abundance is variable. Type 3, with yellow colour and variably shaped, are usually rich in microcrystals and vesicles, and have fluidal texture. In all families, the mineralogy of the microcrystals is mainly plagioclase (90%), pyroxene and olivine. The longest core (TG-48, 120 cm long) contains 15 layers, the deepest ones (113, 115 and 120 cm depth) may be correlated to the ones found in previous studies associated with a period of abundant volcanic activity around 2000 years BP.</p><p>This research is part of POLARCSIC and PTIVolcan research initiatives. This research was partially funded by the MINECO grants VOLCLIMA (CGL2015-72629-EXP), POSVOLDEC(CTM2016-79617-P)(AEI/FEDER-UE) and VOLGASDEC (PGC2018-095693-B-I00)(AEI/FEDER, UE). Analyzed tephra samples and sediment cores were provided by the rock repository of the Instituto de Ciencias del Mar del CSIC (ICM-CSIC) (http://gma.icm.csic.es/ca/dades).</p>