Filtern
Erscheinungsjahr
- 2022 (28) (entfernen)
Dokumenttyp
- Vortrag (28) (entfernen)
Sprache
- Englisch (28) (entfernen)
Referierte Publikation
- nein (28)
Schlagworte
- Mechanochemistry (9)
- In situ real-time monitoring (5)
- XAS (5)
- BAMline (4)
- Bayesian Statistics (4)
- Synchrotron (4)
- Anhydrite (3)
- Biobased polymers (3)
- GEXRF (3)
- Grazing exit (3)
Organisationseinheit der BAM
- 6.3 Strukturanalytik (28) (entfernen)
Calcium sulfate minerals are abundant in natural and engineered environments and they exist in the form of three hydrates: gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O), bassanite (CaSO4·0.5H2O), and anhydrite (CaSO4). Due to their relevance in natural and industrial processes, the formation pathways of these calcium sulfate phases from aqueous solution have been the subject of intensive research1.
The state-of-the-art of the calcium sulfate formation mechanisms builds upon and goes beyond what we have come to appreciate in the astounding intricacy of other mineral formation processes from ions in aqueous solutions. The original, and rather naive, 'textbook' image of these phenomena, stemming from the adaptation of classical nucleation and growth theories, has increased in complexity due to the discovery of a variety of precursor and intermediate species2. These include solute clusters (e.g. prenucleation clusters, PNCs), liquid(-like) phases, as well as amorphous and nanocrystalline solids etc.. In this context, a number of studies have already revealed that nucleation in the CaSO4-H2O system is non-classical, where the formation of the different crystalline phases involves several steps including a common amorphous precursor1, 3, 4.
In this contribution we show that the formation of the amorphous phase involves the aggregation of small primary particles into larger disordered aggregates exhibiting a "brick-in-the-wall" structure5, 6. The actual crystallization occurs by the restructuring and coalescence of the particles ("bricks") into a given calcium sulfate phase depending on the physicochemical conditions of the solution. Importantly, the rearrangement process does not continue until a (nearly-)perfect homogeneous single crystal is obtained. Instead it comes to a stop, or at least significantly slows down. Such a process thus yields a final imperfect mesocrystal, composed of smaller domains rather than a continuous crystal structure, within which the domains are separated by an amorphous (i.e. less ordered) calcium sulfate phase.
Hence, the non-classical crystallization process of CaSO4 yields a final imperfect mesocrystal with an overall morphology resembling that of a single crystal, yet composed of smaller nano-domains. Importantly, these observations reveal that organic-free calcium sulfate mesocrystals grown by a particle mediated-pathway preserve in the final crystal structure a “memory” or “imprint” of their non-classical nucleation process, something that has been overlooked until now. Furthermore, the nano-scale misalignment of the structural sub-units within these crystals can propagate through the length-scales, and be expressed macroscopically as misaligned zones/domains in large single crystals (Fig. 1). Indeed, by considering large anhydrite crystals from the famous Naica Mine (“Cueva de los cristales”) we observed a suite of correlated self-similar void defects spanning multiple length-scales7 (Fig 2). These flaws, in the macroscopic crystal, stem from “seeds of imperfection” originating from a particle-mediated nucleation pathway. Hence, building a crystal could be viewed as Nature stacking blocks in a game of Tetris, whilst slowly forgetting the games core concept and failing to fill rows completely.
Phenolic compounds constitute a widespread and important class of water pollutants that should be efficiently removed from wastewater because of their toxicity even at low concentrations. They are indeed discharged in the liquid effluents from various factories: chemical, petrochemical, paper, wood, metallurgy and cocking plants 1. Phenols are also found in the waste waters of agroindustrial processes like the olive oil mills, tomato processing and wine distilleries 2,3. These contaminants cause several health problems for humans and aquatic organisms 4. Therefore, numerous studies on the removal of polyphenols from wastewaters have been conducted and many techniques have been used. Among them, adsorption is considered to be the best effective and low cost method. In this context, we have focused our efforts on optimizing adsorption process by development of novel, low-cost adsorbents derived from biobased byproducts with high adsorptive capacity.
The main aim of this study is to synthesize triazole-based poly(ether-pyridine)s as new synthetic adsorbent phases for the extraction of phenolic compounds from aqueous solutions. For this purpose, new fluoromonomers containing 1,2,3-triazole units were prepared by the Cu(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction and then used for the elaboration of novel poly(ether-pyridine-triazole)s (PEPTs) by direct polycondensation with isosorbide and bisphenol A. Chemical structure of fluorinated pyridinic monomers as well as resulting polymers was confirmed by 1H and 19F NMR spectroscopic methods. The thermal behaviour of the obtained PEPTs was characterized using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Their uptake performance to eliminate organic compounds was determined using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).
Over the years, industrial and human activities and agricultural practices have caused a serious threat to human health and the environment. Indeed, it has been demonstrated that these activities are responsible for the presence of pollutants in the soil, air and water.
Water is one of the most strategic issues today, as it is associated with the living world. Therefore, water pollution is becoming a universal scourge that leads to environmental degradation, decrease of water quality and threatens public health.
Water pollution is mainly due to the discharge of certain harmful chemical compounds that are not very or not at all biodegradable (phenolic compounds, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, dyes, pesticides, etc.) by various industries: chemical, pharmaceutical, textile, food processing, etc. The impact of these industrial effluents on fauna and flora is very harmful. A sensitization of the socio-economic actors and the public, accompanied by a severe regulation in relation to the discharges, would contribute to fight against this drift, but also, by the development of effective methods allowing to remove these pollutants, not only in an analytical purpose but also of depollution.
Thus and within the framework of the preservation of an environment with regard to any anthropogenic activity, our research topic relates to the use of original biosourced polymeric phases for the extraction of the organic compounds and the heavy metals in aqueous mediums.
Therefore, we have proceeded to the synthesis and characterization of a large variety of monomers, polymers and cross-linked materials. These products, partially derived from biomass, contain various functional groups with the ability to interact with chemical components without discriminating effect.
The developed polymer phases have been successfully used for the adsorption of some organic pollutants and heavy metals in synthetic aqueous solutions.
Calcium sulfate minerals are abundant in natural and engineered environments and they exist in the form of three hydrates: gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O), bassanite (CaSO4·0.5H2O), and anhydrite (CaSO4). Due to their relevance in natural and industrial processes, the formation pathways of these calcium sulfate phases from aqueous solution have been the subject of intensive research1.
The state-of-the-art of the calcium sulfate formation mechanisms builds upon and goes beyond what we have come to appreciate in the astounding intricacy of other mineral formation processes from ions in aqueous solutions. The original, and rather naive, 'textbook' image of these phenomena, stemming from the adaptation of classical nucleation and growth theories, has increased in complexity due to the discovery of a variety of precursor and intermediate species2. These include solute clusters (e.g. prenucleation clusters, PNCs), liquid(-like) phases, as well as amorphous and nanocrystalline solids etc.. In this context, a number of studies have already revealed that nucleation in the CaSO4-H2O system is non-classical, where the formation of the different crystalline phases involves several steps including a common amorphous precursor1, 3, 4.
In this contribution we show that the formation of the amorphous phase involves the aggregation of small primary particles into larger disordered aggregates exhibiting a "brick-in-the-wall" structure5, 6. The actual crystallization occurs by the restructuring and coalescence of the particles ("bricks") into a given calcium sulfate phase depending on the physicochemical conditions of the solution. Importantly, the rearrangement process does not continue until a (nearly-)perfect homogeneous single crystal is obtained. Instead it comes to a stop, or at least significantly slows down. Such a process thus yields a final imperfect mesocrystal, composed of smaller domains rather than a continuous crystal structure, within which the domains are separated by an amorphous (i.e. less ordered) calcium sulfate phase.
Hence, the non-classical crystallization process of CaSO4 yields a final imperfect mesocrystal with an overall morphology resembling that of a single crystal, yet composed of smaller nano-domains. Importantly, these observations reveal that organic-free calcium sulfate mesocrystals grown by a particle mediated-pathway preserve in the final crystal structure a “memory” or “imprint” of their non-classical nucleation process, something that has been overlooked until now. Furthermore, the nano-scale misalignment of the structural sub-units within these crystals can propagate through the length-scales, and be expressed macroscopically as misaligned zones/domains in large single crystals. Indeed, by considering large anhydrite crystals from the famous Naica Mine (“Cueva de los cristales”) we observed a suite of correlated self-similar void defects spanning multiple length-scales7. These flaws, in the macroscopic crystal, stem from “seeds of imperfection” originating from a particle-mediated nucleation pathway. Hence, building a crystal could be viewed as Nature stacking blocks in a game of Tetris, whilst slowly forgetting the games core concept and failing to fill rows completely.
Calcium sulfate minerals are abundant in natural and engineered environments in the form of three phases: gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O), bassanite (CaSO4·0.5H2O), and anhydrite (CaSO4). Due to their relevance in natural and industrial processes, the formation pathways of these phases from aqueous solution have been the subject of intensive research, a number of studies have already revealed that nucleation in the CaSO4-H2O system is non-classical, The formation of the different crystalline phases involves several steps including a common amorphous precursor.
In this contribution we show that the formation of the amorphous phase involves the aggregation of small primary particles into larger disordered aggregates exhibiting a "brick-in-the-wall" structure. The actual crystallization occurs by the restructuring and coalescence of the "bricks" into a given calcium sulfate phase depending on the physicochemical conditions of the solution. Such a process yields a final imperfect mesocrystal, composed of smaller domains rather than a continuous single crystal structure.
These observations reveal that organic-free calcium sulfate mesocrystals grown by a particle mediated-pathway might preserve in the final crystal structure an “imprint” of their growth pathways. Indeed, by considering large anhydrite crystals from the famous Naica Mine we observed a suite of correlated self-similar void defects spanning multiple length-scales. These flaws, in the macroscopic crystal, stem from “seeds of imperfection” originating from an original particle-mediated growth. Hence, building a crystal could be viewed as Nature stacking blocks in a game of Tetris, whilst slowly forgetting the games core concept and failing to fill rows completely.
The components that are used in structural and in high temperature applications generally face significant challenges with respect to oxidation behaviours and metalworking processes. In most of the cases, harsh environmental conditions lead materials to degrade due to corrosion. To thoroughly investigate the corrosion processes and to determine oxidation states of metal components within the reaction products, we need special analytical tools. Grazing exit X-ray fluorescence (GEXRF) offers a non-destructive way to collect this information in sub-micrometre depth range.
In order to obtain structural information, such as regarding oxidation states or atomic/molecular geometric arrangement, the GEXRF approach can also be combined with the X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) method. The position and energy sensitive detector, with 264x264 pixel detector area, provides information regarding the signal emitted from the sample as a function of the emission angle and thus allows depth-sensitive analysis. Furthermore, the data collected from samples of an incidence energy which can be controlled with a resolution of 0.5 eV provides XANES data to determine oxidation states.
We address the feasibility of our setup and provide a new optimization procedure (Bayesian Optimization and Gaussian Regression) to decrease measuring time. The results settle on a conceptual study on a reference sample (Cr-Oxide layer (300nm) on Cr layer (500nm) on Si wafer).
Time is the most valuable parameter in synchrotron experiments. This is costly and some of the experiments suffer from low efficiency due to low counting statistics. With today's high processing power long experiments are run in a shorter time and increase efficiency. With optimization algorithms time in "counting-hungry" experiments reduced by factor of 10. Our project is to develop a new method to analyze the chemical properties of complex materials non-destructively and efficiently, such as high entropy materials subjected to corrosion processes. A better understanding of the corrosion process will help to develop corrosion-resistant materials and reduce the cost of corrosion damage, which averages around 2.5 trillion USD annually.
The components that are used in structural and in high temperature applications generally face significant challenges with respect to oxidation behaviours and metalworking processes. In most of the cases, harsh environmental conditions lead materials to degrade due to corrosion. To thoroughly investigate the corrosion processes and to determine oxidation states of metal components within the reaction products, we need special analytical tools. Grazing exit X-ray fluorescence (GEXRF) offers a non-destructive way to collect this information in sub-micrometre depth range.
In order to obtain structural information, such as regarding oxidation states or atomic/molecular geometric arrangement, the GEXRF approach can also be combined with the X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) method. The position and energy sensitive detector, with 264x264 pixel detector area, provides information regarding the signal emitted from the sample as a function of the emission angle and thus allows depth-sensitive analysis. Furthermore, the data collected from samples of an incidence energy which can be controlled with a resolution of 0.5 eV provides XANES data to determine oxidation states.
We address the feasibility of our setup and provide a new optimization procedure (Bayesian Optimization and Gaussian Regression) to decrease measuring time. The results settle on a conceptual study on a reference sample (Cr-Oxide layer (300nm) on Cr layer (500nm) on Si wafer).
News from the BAMline
(2022)
Mechanochemical reactions promise a new direction for environmentally benign preparation of materials, and has been dubbed by IUPAC as one of the 10 chemical innovations that will change our world. Despite this significant promise, very little is known about the mechanisms that drive mechanochemical transformations, posing significant barriers to realizing their full potential. To this end, there is growing need to follow mechanochemical reactions in situ and in real time. We here describe advances in the development and application of XAS methods to monitor material synthesis in real time under mechanochemical conditions. We demonstrate the generality of our approaches by describing mechanochemical syntheses of materials by both vibratory ball milling and by Resonant Acoustic Mixing (RAM), where a time resolution of 1 second is for a whole XAS spectrum was achieved. Moreover, we describe how spectroscopic methods can be coupled to diffraction-based approaches, thereby providing new dimensions in understanding mechanochemical synthesis.