A. D. Vasil’ev

Biodegradation of polyhydroxyalkanoates by soil microbial communities of different structures and detection of PHA degrading microorganisms

Biodegradation of microbial linear polymers of hydroxyalkanoic acids (polyhydroxyalkanoates, PHAs) by soil microbial communities of different structures has been studied during two field seasons in different weather conditions. This process was shown to be influenced by the polymer chemical composition, temperature, humidity, and the microbial soil component. The PHA degradation was accompanied by a decrease in the polymer molecular weight and an increase in the degree of crystallinity, indicating the preferential destruction of the amorphous phase compared to the crystalline one. The quantity of the true PHA destructors developing at the surface of the polymer samples was lower than the quantity of accompanying bacteria. The dominant PHA degrading microorganisms under the test conditions were identified as bacteria of the genera Variovorax, Stenotrophomonas, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, and Xanthomonas and as micromycetes from Penicillium, Paecilomyces, Acremonium, Verticillium, and Zygosporium.

Biodegradation of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) in the South China Sea and identification of PHA-degrading bacteria

The biodegradation patterns of two types of PHA, a 3-hydroxybutyrate (3-PHB) polymer and a 3-hydroxybutyrate and 3-hydroxyvalerate (3-PHB/3-PHV) copolymer, were studied in tropical marine environments (Dam Bay, South China Sea, Nha Trang, Vietnam). No reliable differences in the degradation of 3-PHB and 3-PHB/3-PHV were revealed. It was shown that the degradation process depended mainly on the shape of a polymer product and its production method: the degradation of polymer films was found to be more active than that of molded solids. A decrease in the molecular mass of both types of PHA was detected in the course of the degradation of PHA samples. However, the degree of PHA crystallinity did not change; that is, the levels of degradation of both the amorphous and crystalline phases of PHA were almost the same. Among microbial PHA degraders, three bacterial strains, Bacillus sp. IBP-V002, Enterobacter cloacae sp. IBP-V001, and Gracilibacillus sp. IBP-V003, were identified based on the results of morphological, biochemical, and molecular phylogenetic analyses. The ability of the representatives of the genera Gracilibacillus and Enterobacter to degrade PHA was revealed for the first time.

The physicochemical properties of polyhydroxyalkanoates with different chemical structures

A set of polyhydroxyalkanoates are synthesized, and a comparative study of their physicochemical properties is performed. The molecular masses and polydispersities of polyhydroxyalkanoates are found to be independent of their chemical structures. It is shown that the temperature characteristics and degrees of crystallinity of polyhydroxyalkanoates are affected by the chemical compositions of the monomers and their quantitative contents in the polymers. The incorporation of 4-hydroxybutyrate, 3-hydroxyvalerate, and 3-hydroxyhexanoate units into the chain of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) decreases its melting point and thermal degradation temperature relative to these parameters of a homogeneous poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) sample (175 ± 5°C and 275 ± 5°C, respectively). The higher the content of the second monomer units in the poly(3-hydroxybutirate) chain, the greater the changes. The degrees of crystallinity of polyhydroxyalkanoate copolymers are generally lower than that of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (75 ± 5%). The effect on the ratio of the amorphous and crystalline phases of the copolymer samples becomes more pronounced in the series 3-hydroxy-valerate-3-hydroxyhexanoate-4-hydroxybutyrate. The prepared samples exhibit different properties ranging from rigid thermoplastic materials to engineering elastomers.

Effect of strontium and barium doping on the magnetic state and electrical conductivity of GdCoO3

A coordinated investigation of the magnetic and electrical properties of polycrystalline cobalt oxide compounds CdCoO3, Gd0.9Ba0.1CoO3, and Gd0.9Sr0.1CoO3 is carried out. Undoped GdCoO3 reveals a low conductivity; a magnetic moment of 7.4 μB per molecule, which is less than the theoretical value for the Gd3+ ion; and an asymptotic Curie temperature of −6 K. Doping GdCoO3 with barium and strontium to substitution of 10 at. % Gd brings about an increase in the conductivity and magnetic transitions at T = 300 K for Gd0.9Ba0.1CoO3 and T = 170 K for Gd0.9Sr0.1CoO3. The magnetization anomalies imply the formation of magnetic clusters. The behavior of the electrical conductivity at high temperatures suggests a variable activation energy. At low temperatures, Mott hopping conduction sets in.

Preparation, microstructure, magnetic and transport properties of bulk textured Bi1.8Pb0.3Sr1.9Ca2Cu3Ox and Bi1.8Pb0.3Sr1.9Ca2Cu3Ox+Ag ceramics

A new method of preparation of bulk textured Bi2223 ceramics and Bi2223+Ag composites, based on room temperature pressing of foamed precursor (Bi2223, Bi2223+Ag) in a liquid medium, is proposed. SEM and XRD data prove a high degree of texture of the bulk samples obtained. Magnetic measurements performed in directions -axis and -planes of Bi2223 crystallites demonstrates anisotropy of magnetization confirming the texture of the ceramics. The materials obtained possess large diamagnetic response in the direction -planes of Bi2223 crystallites at both 77.4 and 4.2 K.

Magnetic and electrical properties of cobalt oxyborate Co3BO5

Single crystals of cobalt oxyborate Co3BO5 are synthesized. The results of investigations into the structural, magnetic, and electrical properties are reported. It is found that Co3BO5 crystals exhibit two magnetic anomalies at T1 = 17 K and T2 = 45 K. The temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity is investigated. Deviations both from the activation law of variation in the electrical resistance and from the Mott variable-range hopping conduction are revealed.

Crystal structure and magnetization of a Co3B2O6 single crystal

The crystal structure and magnetic properties of Co3B2O6 single crystals are studied. Orthorhombic symmetry with space group Pnnm is detected at room temperature. The measurements of static magnetization and dynamic magnetic susceptibility reveal two magnetic anomalies at T1 = 33 K and T2 = 10 K and an easy-axis magnetic anisotropy. The effective magnetic moment indicates a high-spin state of the Co2+ ion. A spin-flop transition is found at low temperatures and Hsf = 23 kOe. EXAFS spectra of the K-edge absorption of Co are recorded at various temperatures, the temperature-induced changes in the parameters of the local environment of cobalt are analyzed, and the effective Co-Co and Co-O distances are determined. The magnetic interactions in the crystal are analyzed in terms of an indirect coupling model.

Conductivity Study of Co3O2BO3 and Co3-xFexO2BO3 Oxyborates

Single crystals of cobalt oxyborates Co3O2BO3 and Co3-xFexO2BO3 were synthesized. The crystal structure and electric properties were investigated. The difference in the electrical resistivity behaviors was found. For parent Co3O2BO3 nor simple activation law, nor Mott variable range hopping (VRH) are acquirable to describe the experimental data in wide temperature region. In contrast for Co3-xFex O2BO3 Mott’s variable-range hopping conductivity clearly dominates.

Effect of cation substitution in fluorine-oxygen molybdates (NH4)2 − xAxMoO2F4

Thermophysical and structural studies of (NH4)2 − xAxMoO2F4 (A = Cs, Rb, K) solid solutions of oxyfluorides have been performed. The character of the influence of cation substitutions on the stability of the initial phase (space group Cmcm) and on the mechanism of phase transitions has been elucidated.

EPR study of the Jahn-Teller effect of Cu2+ ions in ZnGa2O4

The Jahn-Teller effect in the ZnGa2O4 spinel single crystal has been investigated using electron paramagnetic resonance of Cu2+ ions in the temperature range 110–560 K. It has been shown that copper ions occupy octahedral sites 16d in the ZnGa2O4 crystal with cubic symmetry Oh7 (Fd-3m). At T < 560 K, the octahedra undergo tetragonal distortions (predominantly tension) and rotation around the fourfold axes by the angle θ ≈ 2.6°. The parameters of the spin Hamiltonian, which characterize the prolate (g‖ = 2.355, g⊥ = 2.077, A‖ = 116 Oe, Atp = 12 Oe) and oblate (g‖ = 2.018, g⊥ = 2.246, A‖ = 75 Oe, A⊥ = 44 Oe) octahedra, have been determined. At temperatures above 560 K, the static Jahn-Teller effect transforms into the dynamic effect and the spectrum of the magnetic resonance becomes isotropic with g = 2.116 (the experimental frequency corresponds to the X band).