Effect of grape pre-drying and static pomace contact on physicochemical properties and sensory acceptance of Brazilian (Bordo and Isabel) red wines

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Ascorbic acid degradation kinetics in tomatoes at different drying conditions

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Role of enthalpy and entropy in moisture sorption behavior of pineapple pulp powder produced by different drying methods

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Kinetics of osmotic dehydration and air-drying of pumpkins (Cucurbita moschata)

Kinetics of osmotic dehydration (OD) and effects of sucrose impregnation on thermal air-drying of pumpkin slices were investigated. A simplified model based on the solution of Fick's Law was used to estimate effective diffusion coefficients during OD and air-drying. In order to take into account shrinkage, average and variable thicknesses were considered. Pumpkin slices were dehydrated in sucrose solutions (40%, 50% and 60%, w/w, 27 degrees C. The effective water diffusion coefficients were higher than the sucrose, and low diffusivity dependence with solution concentration was observed. Samples non-treated and pre-treated in 60% osmotic solutions during one hour were dried in a hot-air-dryer at 50 and 70 degrees C (2 m/s) until equilibrium was achieved. Pre-treatment enhanced mass transfer during air-drying. Great volume reduction was observed in pre and non-treated dried samples. Using variable thickness in the model diminished the relative deviations between predicted and experimental OD and drying data. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of the addition of silanated silica on the mechanical properties of microwave heat-cured acrylic resin

Effect of the addition of silanated silica on the mechanical properties of microwave heat-cured acrylic resinObjectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the flexural strength and Vickers hardness of a microwave energy heat-cured acrylic resin by adding different concentrations of silane surface-treated nanoparticle silica.Methods: Acrylic resin specimens with dimensions of 65 x 10 x 2.5 mm were formed and divided into five experimental groups (n = 10) according to the silica concentration added to the acrylic resin mass (weight %) prior to polymerisation : G1, without silica; G2, 0.1% silica; G3, 0.5% silica; G4, 1.0% silica; and G5, 5.0% silica. The specimens were submitted to a three-point flexural strength test and to the Vickers hardness test (HVN). The data obtained were statistically analysed by ANOVA and the Tukey test (alpha = 0.05).Results: Regarding flexural strength, G5 differed from the other experimental groups (G1, G2, G3 and G4) presenting the lowest mean, while G4 presented a significantly higher mean, with the exception of group G3. Regarding Vickers hardness, a decrease in values was observed, in which G1 presented the highest hardness compared with the other experimental groups.Conclusion: Incorporating surface-treated silica resulted in direct benefits in the flexural strength of the acrylic resin activated by microwave energy; however, similar results were not achieved for hardness.

Cosmic microwave background and large-scale structure constraints on a simple quintessential inflation model

We derive constraints on a simple quintessential inflation model, based on a spontaneously broken Phi(4) theory, imposed by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe three-year data (WMAP3) and by galaxy clustering results from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We find that the scale of symmetry breaking must be larger than about 3 Planck masses in order for inflation to generate acceptable values of the scalar spectral index and of the tensor-to-scalar ratio. We also show that the resulting quintessence equation of state can evolve rapidly at recent times and hence can potentially be distinguished from a simple cosmological constant in this parameter regime.

Photoluminescence properties of PZT 52/48 synthesized by microwave hydrothermal method using PVA with template

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Synthesis of KNbO3 nanostructures by a microwave assisted hydrothermal method

One-dimensional nanostructures of KNbO3 have attracted a great interest in the scientific community, mainly because of their promising application as nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). However, the synthesis of KNbO3 structures becomes complex due to the natural tendency to form non-stoichiometric potassium niobates. In this context, we report on the crystallization of one-dimensional KNbO3 nanostructures through the reaction between Nb2O5 and KOH under microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis (M-H). The use of this synthesis method made possible a very fast synthesis of singlecrystalline powders. Based on SEM, TEM and XRD characterizations, the influence of the synthesis time and the reactants concentration in the structure and morphology of the resultant KNbO3 was established. The conditions that favor the crystallization of nanofingers were determined to be small amounts of Nb2O5 and short reaction times. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Photoluminescence properties and synthesis of a PZT mesostructure obtained by the microwave-assisted hydrothermal method

Micro-cube-shaped lead zirconate titanate was synthesized using the microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. Photoluminescence and field emission scanning electron microscopy were used for monitoring the formation of mesocrystals. Based on these results, a growth mechanism was then proposed which involved nanoparticle aggregation, nanoplate self-assembly on specific architecture and the final formation of mesoscopic micro-cube-shaped lead zirconate titanate. (C) 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of structurally and morphologically controlled sodium niobates by using niobic acid as a precursor

There are many advantages to using a microwave as a source of heat in hydrothermal reactions. Because it is a quick and homogeneous way to crystallize ceramic powders, it was used in this work for the production of antiferroelectric sodium mobate (NaNbO3) in a cubic-like form and its intermediary phase, disodium diniobate hydrate (Na2Nb2O6 center dot H2O), with a fiber morphology. The syntheses were carried out by treating niobic acid (Nb2O5 center dot nH(2)O) with NaOH. By changing the reaction time and the concentration of the reactants, particles with different structures and different morphologies could be obtained. The structural evolution of the products of this reaction was elucidated on the basis of the arrangement of the NbO6 octahedral units. Conclusive results were obtained with morphological and structural characterizations through XRD, TEM, MEV, and NMR and Raman spectroscopy. ((C) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2008).

Synthesis and characterization of CaBi4Ti4O15 thin films annealed by microwave and conventional furnaces

CaBi4Ti4O15 thin films were deposited by the polymeric precursor method and crystallized in a domestic microwave oven and conventional furnace. The films obtained for microwave energy are well-adhered, homogeneous and with good specularity, when treated at 700 degrees C for 10 min. The microstructure and the structure of the films can be tuned by adjusting the crystallization conditions. When microwave oven is employed, the films presented bigger grains with mean grain size around 80 nm. For comparison, films were also prepared by the conventional furnace at 700 degrees C for 2 h. (C) 2007 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Domestic microwave oven adapted for fast heat treatment of Ba0.5Sr0.5(Ti0.8Sn0.2)O-3 powders

In this work, BSTSn powders prepared by the polymeric precursor method were heat treated in a domestic microwave oven (MW) using a SiC susceptor to absorb the microwave energy and transfer the heat to the powder. The main advantage of MW is to reduce the thermal treatment time for phase crystallization. The powders were heat treated at 300 degrees C for 20 h in conventional oven, 300 degrees C for 10 min, 20 min, and 30 min in MW and at 500 degrees C for 1 min in MW. After thermal treatment, the photoluminescent properties of powders at room temperature were analyzed. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Microwave-hydrothermal synthesis of perovskite bismuth ferrite nanoparticles

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Synthesis of Fine Micro-sized BaZrO3 Powders Based on a Decaoctahedron Shape by the Microwave-Assisted Hydrothermal Method

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Efficient microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of CuO sea urchin-like architectures via a mesoscale self-assembly

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)