Densification of Mn-doped tin oxide films by conventional heating and microwave heating treatment

Mn(II) doped SnO2 thin films used for shielding fluoride glasses against corrosion were investigated by x-ray absorption spectroscopy (EXAFS and XANE)S at the Sn and Mn K-edges. The effect of firing treatment on the densification of the films was studied. It has been evidenced a partial change of Mn valence from 2.3 to 2.6 upon heating which is attributed to a change of ratios of two Mn sites: grafted divalent Mn ions at the surface of SnO 2 nanocrystallites and trivalent Mn ions embedded into a substitutional solid solution with Sn. © Physica Scripta 2005.

Chalcopyrite and bornite differentially affect protein synthesis in planktonic cells of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans is used in bioleaching industrial operations to recover metal ions from mineral sulfides. Chalcopyrite and bornite are copper sulfides that have the same elemental composition, but differ in their susceptibility to the bioleaching process. Our objective was to identify differentially expressed proteins in A. ferrooxidans LR cells exposed to chalcopyrite or bornite, as a sole energy source, for 24 hours. Compared to the control (without minerals), proteins were induced or repressed in planktonic cells after contact with chalcopyrite or bornite by 24 hours. These results demonstrated that the time of exposure to the copper minerals was enough to trigger distinct responses in the A. ferrooxidans metabolism. © 2007 Trans Tech Publications.

Exploratory study on sequestration of some essential metals by indigo carmine food dye

Indigo carmine forms a stable complex with different ions, and the stability constant of the complexes were evaluated as log K equal to 5.75; 5.00; 4.89 and 3.89 for complexes with Cu(II), Ni(II), Co(II) and Zn(II) ions, respectively, in 0.1 mol L -1 carbonate buffer solution at pH 10. The interaction between Cu(II) ions and indigo carmine (IC) in alkaline medium resulted in the formation of the Cu 2(IC) complex, measured by the spectrophotometric method, with a stoichiometric ratio between indigo carmine and metal ions of 2:1 (metal-ligand). The reported method has also been successfully tested for determination of copper in pharmaceutical compounds based on copper-gluconate without pre-treatment.

Concentration of Cu(II) and Cd(II) from natural river water by Adsorption on a Modified Silica Surface

A high surface area silica gel (737 ± m2 g-1) was synthesized modified through a two-step reaction with a 4-amino-2-mercaptopyrimidine ligand and applied to Cu(II) and Cd(II) adsorption from an aqueous medium. The modified material was characterized by FTIR, which showed that attachment of the molecule occurred via thiol groups at 2547 and 2600 cm-1, and by elemental analysis that indicated the presence of 0.0102 mmol of ligand. The data from adsorption experiments were adjusted to a modified Langmuir equation and the maximum adsorption capacity was 6.6 and 3.8 μmol g-1 for Cu(II) and Cd(II), respectively. After adjusting several parameters, the material was applied in the preconcentration of natural river water using a continuous flow system before and after sample mineralization, and the results showed a 10-fold enrichment factor. The proposed method was validated through preconcentration and analysis of certified standard reference material (1643e), whose results were in agreement with the values provided by the manufacturer.

Study of Er3+ fluorescence on tellurite glasses containing Ag nanoparticles

Optical characteristics of tellurite glasses containing silver nanoparticles (NPs) and the influence on the emission spectrum of Er 3+ ions were studied. The transitions 4f ↔ 4f from erbium ions, mainly the 4I13/2 → 4I15/2 transition that involve upconversion energy process, have a strongly dependence with the chemical structure of the rare earth ion. In the present work, silver nanparticles (NPs) embedded in the host vitreous material, show a significant enhance (or quenching) on the erbium fluorescence due the long-range electromagnetic interaction between the plasmon surface energy of the Ag NPs (Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance -LSPR) and the Er3+ ions.

Zinc and lead content and availability in Brazilian soil contaminated with residue of a secondary smelting lead recycling plant

The sequential extraction procedure of Zinc and lead performed in a Brazilian soil showed that it presents high pollution potential once over 90% of total lead is present in fractions where the metals can be easily mobilized. The fraction contents are as follow: F1 = 174 and 15 mg kg-1; F2 = 3155 and 9.7 mg kg -1; F3 = 99 and 1.6 mg kg -1; Residual fraction = 38 and 5.5 mg kg -1 for lead and zinc, respectively. The comparison with non contaminated soil only Pb 2+ concentration is above its intervention reference concentration, 900 mg kg -1.

Strongly luminescent, highly ionic europium in a lanthanum diphenylphosphinate matrix

A series of insoluble, chemically inert and thermally stable compounds La1-xEux(DPP)3 (x = 0.50, 0.20, 0.10, and 0.050; DPP = diphenylphosphinate) was synthesized and characterized by elemental and thermogravimetric analysis, FT Infrared spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction. Luminescence spectroscopy at both 77 and 298 K showed changes in the intensity of the hypersensitive transition 5D 0 → 7F2 of Eu3+ which are dependent of the excitation wavelength, suggesting that the europium occupies two different sites in the compounds. The large quantum efficiency and quantum yield, as well as the long radiative lifetime of the 5D0 Eu3+ level of the series of compounds, which are desirable qualities for light-conversion molecular devices, are discussed in terms of the interactions and the energy transfer process between the ligands and the metal ion. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Study of adsorption and preconcentration by using a new silica organomodified with [3-(2,2′-dipyridylamine)propyl] groups

In this work, a silica surface chemically modified with [3-(2,2′-dipyridylamine)propyl] groups, named [3-(2,2′- dipyridylamine)propyl]silica (Si-Pr-DPA) was prepared, characterized, and evaluated for its heavy metal adsorption characteristics from aqueous solution. To our knowledge, we are the first authors who have reported the present modification. The material was characterized using infrared spectroscopy, SEM, and NMR 29Si and 13C solid state. Batch and column experiments were conducted to investigate for heavy metal removal from dilute aqueous solution by sorption onto Si-Pr-DPA. From a number of studies the affinity of various metal ions for the Si-Pr-DPA sorbent was determined to follow the order Fe(III) > Cr(III) >> Cu(II) > Cd(II) > Pb(II) > Ni(II). Two standard reference materials were used for checking the accuracy and precision of the method. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of environmental samples. This ligand material has great advantage for adsorption of transition-metal ions from aqueous medium due to its high degree of organofunctionalization associated with the large adsorption capacity, reutilization possibility, and rapidity in reaching the equilibrium. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Synthesis and characterization of 3-[(thiourea)-propyl]-functionalized silica gel and its application in adsorption and catalysis

The objective of this research was the preparation of a silica gel functionalized successively with 3-chloropropyltrimethoxysilane (SG-PrCl) and thiourea (SG-Pr-THIO), and its application in adsorption and catalysis. The materials were characterized by 13C and 29Si NMR, FTIR, scanning electron micrographs (SEM), analysis of nitrogen and elemental analysis. Aiming at its application in adsorption, the [3-(thiourea)-propyl] silica gel (SG-Pr-THIO) was tested as an adsorbent for transition-metal ions using a batchwise process. The organofunctionalized surface showed the ability to adsorb the metal ions Cd(ii), Cu(ii), Ni(ii), Pb(ii) and Co(ii) from water, ethanol and acetone. The adsorption isotherms were fitted by Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) models. The kinetics of adsorption of metals were performed using three models such as pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order and Elovich. The Langmuir and pseudo-first order models were the most appropriate to describe the adsorption and kinetic data, respectively. With the purpose of application in catalysis, the SG-Pr-THIO was reacted with a Mo(ii) organometallic complex, forming the new material SG-Pr-THIO-Mo. Only a few works in the literature have reported this type of reaction, and none dealt with thiourea and Mo(ii) complexes. The new Mo-silica gel organometallic material was tested as catalyst in the epoxidation of cyclooctene and styrene. © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.

Spectroscopic study and thermal behavior of trivalent lanthanides and yttrium(III) chelates of EDTA using TG-DSC, FTIR, and TG-DSC coupled to FTIR

Solid-state compounds of yttrium and lanthanide chelates of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid have been synthesized. Simultaneous thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC), theoretical and experimental infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), elemental analysis, complexometry and TG-DSC coupled to FTIR were used to characterize and to study the thermal decomposition of these compounds. The results provided information about the composition, dehydration, thermal stability, thermal decomposition and identification of gaseous products evolved during the thermal decomposition of these compounds. The theoretical and experimental spectroscopic data suggest the possible modes of coordination of the ligand with the lanthanum and terbium metal ions. © 2013 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary.

Eumelanin thin films: Solution-processing, growth, and charge transport properties

Eumelanin pigments show hydration-dependent conductivity, broad-band UV-vis absorption, and chelation of metal ions. Solution-processing of synthetic eumelanins opens new possibilities for the characterization of eumelanin in thin film form and its integration into bioelectronic devices. We investigate the effect of different synthesis routes and processing solvents on the growth, the morphology, and the chemical composition of eumelanin thin films using atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. We further characterize the films by transient electrical current measurements obtained at 50% to 90% relative humidity, relevant for bioelectronic applications. We show that the use of dimethyl sulfoxide is preferable over ammonia solution as processing solvent, yielding homogeneous films with surface roughnesses below 0.5 nm and a chemical composition in agreement with the eumelanin molecular structure. These eumelanin films grow in a quasi layer-by-layer mode, each layer being composed of nanoaggregates, 1-2 nm high, 10-30 nm large. The transient electrical measurements using a planar two-electrode device suggest that there are two contributions to the current, electronic and ionic, the latter being increasingly dominant at higher hydration, and point to the importance of time-dependent electrical characterization of eumelanin films. This journal is © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Optical properties of the MoO3-TiO2 particulate system and its use as a ceramic pigment

Mo-doped TiO2 powders were prepared using a dry mixture of TiO2 and MoO3 oxides with several compositions, followed by a calcination step at several temperatures. The resulting oxide system develops yellow and green tones. The XRD patterns showed only traces of MoO 3; however, EDS results, combined with TG/DTA data, confirmed the presence of molybdenum ions, suggesting that the changes in optical properties of the oxide system is due to the incorporation of Mo ions into the TiO 2 matrix, substituting Ti+4 with Mo+6 ions. The band gap decreased with increasing of MoO3 content; on the other hand, the band gap reached a maximum value at about 850°C to 910°C when plotted as a function of the calcination temperature. The glazes produced showed that the oxide system under study is a potential material for use as abinary ceramic pigment. Copyright © 2013 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Synthesis, structural characterization and photophysical properties of highly photoluminescent crystals of Eu(III), Tb(III) and Dy(III) with 2,5-thiophenedicarboxylate

Lanthanide compounds of general formula [Ln2(2,5-tdc) 3(dmf)2(H2O)2] ·2dmf·H2O (Ln = Eu(III) (1), Tb(III) (2), Gd(III) (3) and Dy(III) (4), dmf = N,N′-dimethylformamide and 2,5-tdc2- = 2,5-thiophedicarboxylate anion) were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, X-ray powder diffraction patterns, thermogravimetric analysis and infrared spectroscopy. Phosphorescence data of Gd(III) complex showed that the triplet states (T1) of 2,5-tdc2- ligand have higher energy than the main emitting states of Eu(III), Tb(III) and Dy(III), indicating that 2,5-tdc2- ligand can act as intramolecular energy donor for these metal ions. An energy level diagram was used to establish the most relevant channels involved in the ligand-to-metal energy transfer. The high value of experimental intensity parameter Ω2 for the Eu(III) complex indicate that the europium ion is in a highly polarizable chemical environment. The emission quantum efficiency (η) of the 5D0 emitting level of Eu(III) was also determined. The complexes act as possible light conversion molecular devices (LCMDs). © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Análise metaloproteômica de cálcio, ferro e zinco em colostro, leite de transição e leite maduro humanos

Pós-graduação em Biologia Geral e Aplicada - IBB

Produção de levana por Zymomonas mobilis CCT 4494 em meio de cultura sacarose e caracterização do sistema enzimático responsável pela hidrólise de sacarose e de formação de levana

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)