Search Results (8)

Hybrids of short oligourea foldamers with residues of α, β and γ-amino acids esters at the C-terminus were obtained and subjected to a reaction with LiOH. There are two possible transformations under such conditions, one of which is ester hydrolysis and the formation of a carboxylic group and the other is the cyclization reaction after abstraction of a proton from urea by a base. We have investigated this reaction with difference C-terminal residue structures, as well as under different work-up conditions, especially for oligourea hybrids with α-amino acid esters. For these compounds, an oligourea–hydantoin combination is the product of cyclization. The stability of the hydantoin ring under alkaline conditions has been alsotested. Furthermore, this work reports data related to the structure of C-terminal-modified oligourea foldamers in solution and, for one compound, in the solid state. Helical folding is preserved both for cyclized and linear modifications, with oligourea–acid hybrids appearing to be more conformationally stable, as they are stabilized by an additional intramolecular hydrogen bond in comparison to cyclic derivatives. Full article

Porous carbon derived from grape marc (GM) was synthesized via carbonization and chemical activation processes. Extrinsic nitrogen (N)-dopant in GM, activated by KOH, could render its potential use in supercapacitors effective. The effects of chemical activators such as potassium hydroxide (KOH) and zinc chloride (ZnCl₂) were studied to compare their activating power toward the development of pore-forming mechanisms in a carbon electrode, making them beneficial for energy storage. GM carbon impregnated with KOH for activation (KAC), along with urea as the N-dopant (KAC_urea), exhibited better morphology, hierarchical pore structure, and larger surface area (1356 m² g⁻¹) than the GM carbon activated by ZnCl₂ (ZnAC). Moreover, density functional theory (DFT) investigations showed that the presence of N-dopant on a graphite surface enhances the chemisorption of O adsorbates due to the enhanced charge-transfer mechanism. KAC_urea was tested in three aqueous electrolytes with different ions (LiOH, NaOH, and NaClO₄), which delivered higher specific capacitance, with the NaOH electrolyte exhibiting 139 F g⁻¹ at a 2 mA current rate. The NaOH with the alkaline cation Na⁺ offered the best capacitance among the electrolytes studied. A multilayer perceptron (MLP) model was employed to describe the effects of synthesis conditions and physicochemical and electrochemical parameters to predict the capacitance and power outputs. The proposed MLP showed higher accuracy, with an R² of 0.98 for capacitance prediction. Full article

The atomic picture of cellulose dissolution in alkali/urea aqueous solution is still not clear. To reveal it, we use trehalose as the model molecule and total scattering as the main tool. Three kinds of alkali solution, i.e., LiOH, NaOH and KOH are compared. The most probable all-atom structures of the solution are thus obtained. The hydration shell of trehalose has a layered structure. The smaller alkali ions can penetrate into the glucose rings around oxygen atoms to form the first hydration layer. The larger urea molecules interact with hydroxide groups to form complexations. Then, the electronegative complexation can form the second hydration layer around alkali ions via electrostatic interaction. Therefore, the solubility of alkali aqueous solution for cellulose decreases with the alkali cation radius, i.e., LiOH > NaOH > KOH. Our findings are helpful for designing better green solvents for cellulose. Full article

Increasing utilization of textiles has raised concern regarding the environmental impact brought by the textile manufacturing process and disposal of waste textiles. In our previous work, the dissolution of cotton waste through different solvent systems was demonstrated. Herein, this study aimed to further investigate the recycling of waste cotton–elastane fabrics using H₂SO₄, NaOH/urea, and LiCl/DMAc solvent systems. The structure of regenerated films was characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and the properties of the regenerated films, including transparency, mechanical properties, water vapor permeability, and thermal stability, were investigated. The results revealed that all solvent systems could convert the waste cotton–elastane fabrics into regenerated films with the existence of different forms of elastane components. The elastane fibers were partially hydrolyzed in H₂SO₄ solvent and reduced the transparency of regenerated films, but they were well retained in NaOH/urea solvent and interrupted the structure of regenerated cellulose films. It is worth noting that the elastane fibers were completely dissolved in LiCl/DMAc solvent and formed a composite structure with cellulose, leading to obviously improved tensile strength (from 51.00 to 121.63 MPa) and water barrier property (from 3.50 × 10⁻⁷ to 1.03 × 10⁻⁷ g m⁻¹ h⁻¹ Pa⁻¹). Therefore, this work demonstrates the possibility to directly recycle waste cotton–elastane fabrics through dissolution and regeneration, and the resultant films have potential applications as packaging materials. Full article

Cellulose films regenerated from aqueous alkali–urea solution possess different properties depending on coagulation conditions. However, the correlation between coagulant species and properties of regenerated cellulose (RC) films has not been clarified yet. In this study, RC films were prepared from cellulose nanofiber (CNF) and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) under several coagulation conditions. Cellulose dissolved in aqueous LiOH–urea solution was regenerated using various solvents at ambient temperature to investigate the effects of their dielectric constant on the properties of RC film. The crystal structure, mechanical properties, and surface morphology of prepared RC films were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), tensile tester, and atomic probe microscopy (AFM), respectively. It is revealed that the preferential orientation of (110) and (020) crystal planes, which are formed by inter- and intramolecular hydrogen bonding in cellulose crystal regions, changed depending on coagulant species. Furthermore, we found out that tensile strength, elongation at break, and crystal structure properties of RC films strongly correlate to the dielectric constant of solvents used for the coagulation process. This work, therefore, would be able to provide an indicator to control the mechanical performance of RC film depending on its application and to develop detailed researches on controlling the crystal structure of cellulose. Full article

In this study, we fabricated a composite polymer anion exchange membrane (AEM) with a sandwich structure. This prepared AEM demonstrated high ionic conductivity (0.25 Scm⁻¹), excellent alkali resistance (8 M KOH), and good mechanical properties (tensile strength of 0.455 MPa and elongation at break of 82.13%). Here, degrease cotton (DC) treated with LiOH/urea aqueous solution was used and immersed into a coagulation bath to form a film. This film was immersed in acrylic acid (AA) monomers, and in-suit polymerization was carried out in the presence of KOH and an initiator. Finally, a composite polymer membrane with sandwich structure was achieved, in which the upper and bottom layers were mainly composed of polymerized AA (PAA) while the central layer was mainly composed of DC derived film. The central layer acted as a skeleton to improve the mechanical properties and alkali resistance. The top and bottom layers (PAA-rich layers) acted as OH- ion transport carriers, making basic cations migrate along the main chain of PAA. This newly developed composite membrane showed increased tensile strength and an elongation at break of 2.7 and 1.5 times, respectively, when compared to a control PAA/KOH AEM film. Furthermore, an electrochemical stability window of 2.0 V was measured via the cyclic voltammetry curve test, showing a wide electrochemical window and promising application in Zn–Air batteries. Full article

In this work, non-derivatized cellulose pulp was dissolved in a cold alkali solution (LiOH/urea) and chemically cross-linked with methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) to form a robust hydrogel with superior water absorption properties. Different cellulose concentrations (i.e., 2, 3 and 4 wt%) and MBA/glucose molar ratios (i.e., 0.26, 0.53 and 1.05) were tested. The cellulose hydrogel cured at 60 °C for 30 min, with a MBA/glucose molar ratio of 1.05, exhibited the highest water swelling capacity absorbing ca. 220 g H₂O/g dry hydrogel. Moreover, the data suggest that the cross-linking occurs via a basic Michael addition mechanism. This innovative procedure based on the direct dissolution of unmodified cellulose in LiOH/urea followed by MBA cross-linking provides a simple and fast approach to prepare chemically cross-linked non-derivatized high-molecular-weight cellulose hydrogels with superior water uptake capacity. Full article

In this study, Cu and Cu₂O nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized through chemical reduction of soluble copper-chelating ligand complexes using formaldehyde as a reducing agent. The influence of various chelating ligands, such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), and a surface-active derivative of DTPA (C₁₂-DTPA), as well as surfactants (i.e., hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride (DoTAC), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and dimethyldodecylamine-N-oxide (DDAO)), on morphology and the composition of produced NPs was investigated. In the absence of surfactants, spherical copper particles with polycrystalline structure could be obtained. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that, in the presence of EDTA, the synthesized NPs are mainly composed of Cu with a crystallite size on the order of 35 nm, while with DTPA and C₁₂-DTPA, Cu₂O is also present in the NPs as a minority phase. The addition of ionic surfactants to the copper–EDTA complex solution before reduction resulted in smaller spherical particles, mainly composed of Cu. However, when DDAO was added, pure Cu₂O nano-octahedrons were formed, as verified by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM) and XRD. Furthermore, a hybrid material could be successfully prepared by mixing the octahedral Cu₂O NPs with cellulose dissolved in a LiOH/urea solvent system, followed by spin-coating on silica wafers. It is expected that this simple and scalable route to prepare hybrid materials could be applied to a variety of possible applications. Full article