Hydrogen Production via Steam Reforming of Ethyl Alcohol over Palladium/Indium Oxide Catalyst

We report the synergetic effect between palladium and indium oxide on hydrogen production in the steam reforming reaction of ethyl alcohol. The palladium/indium oxide catalyst shows higher hydrogen production rate than indium oxide and palladium. Palladium/indium oxide affords ketonization of ethyl alcohol with negligible by-product carbon monoxide, while indium oxide mainly affords dehydration of ethyl alcohol, and palladium affords decomposition of ethyl alcohol with large amount of by-product carbon monoxide. The catalytic feature of palladium/indium oxide can be ascribed to the formation of palladium-indium intermetallic component during the reaction as confirmed by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic measurements.

Reversible Control of Primary and Secondary Self-Assembly of Poly(4-allyloxystyrene)-Block-Polystyrene

The reversible control of primary and secondary self-assemblies was attained using a poly(4-allyloxystyrene)-block-polystyrene diblock copolymer (PASt--PSt) through variations in temperature. The copolymer showed no self-assembly in cyclohexane over and existed as a unimer with a 37.1 nm hydrodynamic diameter. When the temperature was lowered to , the copolymer formed micelles with 269.9 nm by the primary self-assembly. As the result of further lowering the temperature to , the secondary self-assembly of the micelles occurred to produce ca. 2975.9 nm aggregates. The aggregates were dissociated into unimers by increasing the temperature up to . The light scattering studies demonstrated that the thermoresponsivity of the copolymer showed good hysteresis throughout the variation in the temperature in the range between 20 and , based on the Marquadt analysis of the hydrodynamic diameter distribution. It was found that the primary and secondary self-assemblies of the copolymer were perfectly controlled by the temperature.

Effects of Electrolyte on Floating Water Bridge

Fuchs found phenomena that when high voltage is applied to deionized water filled in two contacted beakers, a floating water bridge forms spontaneously. In this paper, we examined flow direction of water bridge and what effects the addition of electrolytes such as NaCl, NaOH, and to the floating water bridge would give. We found that ionization degree reduced the length of water bridge though insoluble electrolyte had no effect on the length of water bridge.

Use of Viscosity to Probe the Interaction of Anionic Surfactants with a Coagulant Protein from Moringa oleifera Seeds

The intrinsic viscosity of the coagulant protein was evaluated from the flow times of the protein solutions through a capillary viscometer, and the results suggested the coagulant protein to be globular. The interactions of the coagulant protein with anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) were also investigated by capillary viscometry. We conclude that there is strong protein-surfactant interaction at very low surfactant concentrations, and the behavior of the anionic surfactants in solutions containing coagulant protein is very similar. The viscometry results of protein-SDS system are compared with surface tension, fluorescence, and circular dichroism reported earlier. Combining the results of the four studies, the four approaches seem to confirm the same picture of the coagulant protein-SDS interaction. All the physical quantities when studied as function of surfactant concentration for 0.05% (w/v) protein solution either exhibited a maximum or minimum at a critical SDS concentration.

Spatial Heterogeneity and Imperfect Mixing in Chemical Reactions: Visualization of Density-Driven Pattern Formation

Imperfect mixing is a concern in industrial processes, everyday processes (mixing paint, bread machines), and in understanding salt water-fresh water mixing in ecosystems. The effects of imperfect mixing become evident in the unstirred ferroin-catalyzed Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction, the prototype for chemical pattern formation. Over time, waves of oxidation (high ferriin concentration, blue) propagate into a background of low ferriin concentration (red); their structure reflects in part the history of mixing in the reaction vessel. However, it may be difficult to separate mixing effects from reaction effects. We describe a simpler model system for visualizing density-driven pattern formation in an essentially unmixed chemical system: the reaction of pale yellow Fe3+ with colorless SCN− to form the blood-red Fe(SCN)2+ complex ion in aqueous solution. Careful addition of one drop of Fe(NO3)3 to KSCN yields striped patterns after several minutes. The patterns appear reminiscent of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities and convection rolls, arguing that pattern formation is caused by density-driven mixing.

Oxidation of Quercetin by Myeloperoxidase

Study of effect of myeloperoxidase on quercetin at pH 6.0 indicated quercetin oxidation via the formation of the oxidation product. The stability of quercetin and oxidation product was investigated as a function of time by using spectrophotometric and HPLC techniques. The apparent pseudo first-order rate constants were calculated and discussed.

Electrochemical Behavior of Titanium and Its Alloys as Dental Implants in Normal Saline

The electrochemical behavior of pure titanium and titanium alloys in a simulated body fluid (normal saline solution) has been tested, and the results have been reported. The significance of the results for dental use has been discussed. The tests also serve as a screening test for the best alloy system for more comprehensive long-term investigations.

Pigment Melanin Scavenges Nitric Oxide In Vitro: Possible Relevance to Keloid Formation

Recently, nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated in the formation of keloids, preferentially formed in dark-skinned persons, and we suspected that pigment melanin itself may play a direct role by adsorbing NO. We tested the ability of cuttlefish sepia melanin to scavenge (adsorb) NO, generated in situ by 2-(N.N Diethylamino) diazeneolate-2-oxide (DEA/NO), through a dialysis membrane. NO was measured as and by the Griess method and as by trapping experiments with the fluorogenic substrate 4,5-diaminofluorescein (DAF-2). Initial and concentrations were significantly lower in the test dialyzates than in controls. Scavenging of NO was rapid enough to compete with DAF adduct formation. Both analytical methods gave comparable results. Adsorbed NO and/or its oxidized products may undergo interactions with melanin, adsorbed , and/or dermal material that may lead to keloid formation.

Determination of Differential Enthalpy and Isotherm by Adsorption Calorimetry

An adsorption microcalorimeter for the simultaneous determination of the differential heat of adsorption and the adsorption isotherm for gas-solid systems are designed, built, and tested. For this purpose, a Calvet heat-conducting microcalorimeter is developed and is connected to a gas volumetric unit built in stainless steel to record adsorption isotherms. The microcalorimeter is electrically calibrated to establish its sensitivity and reproducibility, obtaining K=154.34±0.23 WV−1. The adsorption microcalorimeter is used to obtain adsorption isotherms and the corresponding differential heats for the adsorption of CO2 on a reference solid, such as a NaZSM-5 type zeolite. Results for the behavior of this system are compared with those obtained with commercial equipment and with other studies in the literature.

Ultrasoft and High Magnetic Moment CoFe Films Directly Electrodeposited from a B-Reducer Contained Solution

A methodology to fabricate ultrasoft CoFe nano-/microfilms directly via electrodeposition from a semineutral iron sulfate solution is demonstrated. Using boron-reducer as the additive, the CoFe films become very soft with high magnetic moment. Typically, the film coercivity in the easy and hard axes is 6.5 and 2.5 Oersted, respectively, with a saturation polarization up to an average of 2.45 Tesla. Despite the softness, these shining and smooth films still display a high-anisotropic field of ~45 Oersted with permeability up to 104. This kind of films can potentially be used in current and future magnetic recording systems as well as microelectronic and biotechnological devices.