Ionic Liquids and Cellulose: Dissolution, Chemical Modification and Preparation of New Cellulosic Materials

Due to its abundance and a wide range of beneficial physical and chemical properties, cellulose has become very popular in order to produce materials for various applications. This review summarizes the recent advances in the development of new cellulose materials and technologies using ionic liquids. Dissolution of cellulose in ionic liquids has been used to develop new processing technologies, cellulose functionalization methods and new cellulose materials including blends, composites, fibers and ion gels.

Mechanisms of Toxicity of Ag Nanoparticles in Comparison to Bulk and Ionic Ag on Mussel Hemocytes and Gill Cells

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are increasingly used in many products and are expected to end up in the aquatic environment. Mussels have been proposed as marine model species to evaluate NP toxicity in vitro. The objective of this work was to assess the mechanisms of toxicity of Ag NPs on mussel hemocytes and gill cells, in comparison to ionic and bulk Ag. Firstly, cytotoxicity of commercial and maltose stabilized Ag NPs was screened in parallel with the ionic and bulk forms at a wide range of concentrations in isolated mussel cells using cell viability assays. Toxicity of maltose alone was also tested. LC50 values were calculated and the most toxic Ag NPs tested were selected for a second step where sublethal concentrations of each Ag form were tested using a wide array of mechanistic tests in both cell types. Maltose-stabilized Ag NPs showed size-dependent cytotoxicity, smaller (20 nm) NPs being more toxic than larger (40 and 100 nm) NPs. Maltose alone provoked minor effects on cell viability. Ionic Ag was the most cytotoxic Ag form tested whereas bulk Ag showed similar cytotoxicity to the commercial Ag NPs. Main mechanisms of action of Ag NPs involved oxidative stress and genotoxicity in the two cell types, activation of lysosomal AcP activity, disruption of actin cytoskeleton and stimulation of phagocytosis in hemocytes and increase of MXR transport activity and inhibition of Na-K-ATPase in gill cells. Similar effects were observed after exposure to ionic and bulk Ag in the two cell types, although generally effects were more marked for the ionic form. In conclusion, results suggest that most observed responses were due at least in part to dissolved Ag.

KNOCK DETECTION BY AUDIBLE, ACCELEROMETER, PRESSURE AND IONIC CURRENT METHODS.

This paper describes the ways which are used at the present time by the Ford Motor Company for the detection of knock. A description of the available methods is given, and their relative effectiveness is assessed by analysing data taken simultaneously by all of these methods. It is shown that no one technique has an overwhelming advantage, but that each technique has its individual merits and demerits.

Observations on the parasites and associates of wood boring molluscs and crustaceans of the south-west coast of India

An interesting assemblage of commensalic organisms ranging from Protozoa to Arthropoda has been identified from the wood boring animals (molluscs and crustaceans) from the south-west coast of India. Certain aspects of the general biology of the associated ciliates such as the nature of incidence, division in relation to environmental parameters, survival outside the body of the host and reactions related to the general condition of the host are described. Results are also presented of the tolerance of the rare commensalic hydroid Eutima commensalis to different salinities of the medium.

A solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell based on a novel ionic liquid gel and ZnO nanoparticles on a flexible polymer substrate.

This paper describes a new strategy to make a full solid-state, flexible, dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) based on novel ionic liquid gel, organic dye, ZnO nanoparticles and carbon nanotube (CNT) thin film stamped onto a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. The CNTs serve both as the charge collector and as scaffolds for the growth of ZnO nanoparticles, where the black dye molecules are anchored. It opens up the possibility of developing a continuous roll to roll processing for THE mass production of DSSCs.

The effect of cationic, non-ionic and amphiphilic surfactants on the intercalation of bentonite

Surfactant-clay interactions are key for the development of new clay applications and inorganic-organic nanocomposites. Bentonite, with montmorillonite as the principal clay mineral constituent, was modified with varying concentrations of hexadecethyltrimethylammonium chloride (HDTMA), as a reference cationic surfactant, polypropylene glycol (PPG) 1200 and 2000, as non-ionic surfactants, and lecithin and Topcithin®, as amphiphilic phospholipid surfactants, according to the cation exchange capacity (CEC). The modified bentonites were characterised by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry, specific surface area and pore volume. Three intercalation regions have been identified depending on the surfactant. The non-ionic surfactant caused only a crystalline expansion of bentonite interlayers, while the cationic surfactant induced an osmotic intercalation. The amphiphilic lecithin derivatives intercalated more extensively with the bentonite matrix. The TGA and the FTIR spectra showed that, at lower concentrations, the PPGs and HDTMA adopted a disordered conformation that required more energy to degrade, while at higher concentrations, the surfactants were ordered in the interlayer space of the bentonite. The lecithin derivative surfactant had a greater thermal and conformation stability. The specific surface area reduced with increasing surfactant concentrations. This study highlights the effect of surfactant type on the interlayer space of montmorillonite in the perspective of developing novel clay functions. © 2013.

Polymerization of ionic liquid-based microemulsions: A versatile method for the synthesis of polymer electrolytes

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Enhanced Proton Conduction in Polymer Electrolyte Membranes as Synthesized by Polymerization of Protic Ionic Liquid-Based Microemulsions

Proton-conducting membranes were prepared by polymerization of microemulsions consisting of surfactant-stabilized protic ionic liquid (PIL) nanodomains dispersed in a polymerizable oil, a mixture of styrene and acrylonitrile. The obtained PIL-based polymer composite membranes are transparent and flexible even though the resulting vinyl polymers are immiscible with PIL cores. This type of composite membranes have quite a good thermal stability, chemical stability, tunability, and good mechanical properties. Under nonhumidifying conditions, PIL-based membranes show a conductivity up to the order of 1 x 10(-1) S/cm at 160 degrees C, due to the well-connected PIL nanochannels preserved in the membrane. This type of polymer conducting membranes have potential application in high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells.

Characterizing ionic species in PM2.5 and PM10 in four Pearl River Delta cities；South China

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