Murilo Pereira Moisés

AuNp@MOF composite as electrochemical material for determination of bisphenol A and its oxidation behavior study

A composite material based on a metal organic framework (MOF), nanowhisker of Al2O3 silanized with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and gold nanoparticles (AuNp) was synthesized and characterized. This material was used to prepare an electrode based in carbon paste (CPE) and applied as a sensor for the determination of bisphenol A (BPA). The electrochemical characterizations and behaviour of the electrode containing the AuNp@MOF composite exhibited a 2.3 higher electroactive surface area, when compared with just CPE. Using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), it can be noted that the presence of AuNp plays an important role in enhancing the analyte signal detection of BPA 2.5-fold. A linear increase in emphasizing the response as a function of analyte concentration is demonstrated. In this account, we believe that this composite may be applied in analyticals methods for the determination of BPA and others endocrine disruptors.

Synthesis of zeolite from multilayer food packing and sugar cane bagasse ash for CO2 adsorption

The X/A zeolite crystal mixtures were synthesized using sugar cane bagasse ash (SCBA) as a silicon source and multilayer food packing (MFP) as an aluminum source under hydrothermal conditions at 80 °C for 79–296 hours. The silicon was extracted by alkaline fusion for 40 min at 550 °C with an alkali–SCBA weight ratio of 1:1. The aluminum solution was obtained from MFP using NaOH 1 M (3:1 water–acetone) solution. The synthesized zeolites were analyzed by XRD, FTIR, SEM, and BET. In the XRD results, most of the signals were indexed to zeolite X, and some signals were indexed to zeolite A. The vibration bands in the region 1200–400 cm−1 suggested the presence of the double-six-ring (D6R) zeolite X structure. The crystal morphology is characteristic of the zeolite X, and the specific area found by the BET method was 810.47 m2 g−1. The zeolite with the higher specific area was applied in the CO2 adsorption process until it reached 25 bar by the gravimetric method. The experimentally adsorbed amounts were adjusted with the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Toth models.

Synthesis of α-aminophosphonates using a mesoporous silica catalyst produced from sugarcane bagasse ash

A new green synthesis route is proposed for obtaining a mesoporous material using sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) as the silica source. The material obtained was denoted by SBA-16 and its mesostructure was characterized by low-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nitrogen adsorption techniques. Sulfonic acid groups were introduced to the as-synthesized material, resulting in an acid catalyst denoted by SBA-16/SO3H. The catalytic activities of SBA-16 and SBA-16/SO3H were investigated in Kabachnik–Fields reactions, where α-aminophosphonate compounds were produced. The results show that both products can be considered as promising catalysts, where SBA-16/SO3H showed a slightly better performance than SBA-16.

Physical-chemical properties of dental composites and adhesives containing silane-modified SBA-15

The aim of this study was to synthesize and characterize mesoporous materials SBA-15 and SBA-15 modified with 3-(methacryloxy)-propyl-trimethoxysilane (MPS) to be used as inorganic filler in restorative dental composites and adhesives, and evaluate the main physical-chemical properties of the resulting material. The SBA-15 and SBA-15/MPS were characterized by FTIR, BET and X-Ray and combined with TEGDMA, bis-GMA and commercial spherical silica to produce dental composites. Afterwards, the mesoporous materials were combined with TEGDMA, bis-GMA and HEMA to make adhesives. To compare the results, composites and adhesives containing only commercial spherical silica were investigated. Some physical-chemical properties such as degree of conversion (DC), flexural strength (FS) and modulus (FM), water sorption and solubility (Wsp and Wsl), specific area (BET), and the leachable components were evaluated. The SBA-15/MPS can be used to prepare dental restorative materials, with some foreseeable advantages compared with pure SBA-15 dental materials and with improved properties compared with commercial spherical silica dental materials. An important improvement was that the dental materials based on modified SBA-15 presented a reduction of approximately 60% in leaching of unreacted monomers extracted by solvent compared to the control group.

Bionanocomposites based on mesoporous silica and alginate for enhanced drug delivery

This work reports the preparation, the characterization and the prednisolone release profile of biocompatible hydrogel nanocomposites containing mesoporous silica (SBA) and alginate as a biomaterial for enhanced drug delivery with reduced burst effect and improved mechanical properties. Such systems, which were prepared using specific SBA/alginate-crosslinking chemistry, exhibited interconnecting pore hybrid network owing to both mesoporous silica and hydrogel characteristics. Activated SBA was shown to be a determinant factor in inhibiting initial burst by nearly 90% and the drug was released with minimal burst kinetics. The nanoparticles reduced the movements of polymer chains, affecting macromolecular relaxation, and the distribution of mesoporous silica within the hydrogel made drug release into surrounding liquid less favorable. The proposed systems are biocompatible with human immortalized RWPE-1 prostatic epithelial cells. This report offers an approach of up-to-date interest for the development of advanced biomaterials for further physiological and pathological applications.

Mechanical recycling of tags and labels residues using sugarcane bagasse ash

In this study, an alternative method for recycling residues of labels and stickers (parings) containing biaxically oriented polypropylene (BOPP) and polyurethane-based glue was discussed. The recycling of this type of material is complicated, once the separation and the milling processes are difficult to be accomplished, due to the presence of a large amount of glue. In this study, sugarcane bagasse ash was used to enable the milling process of stickers residues. Composites were prepared with post-consumer polypropylene extrusion with different polypropylene/parings ash ratio. These materials were analyzed by tensile, three point flexural, hardness, density, water absorption, Izod impact tests, thermogravimetric analysis, environmental exposure and scanning electron microscopy. Addition of sticker residues/ash to the polypropylene matrix makes the material more rigid and does not affect significantly thermal and degradation properties. Thus, the recycling process proposed in this paper is environmentally and economically viable.

Silanized silica nanoparticles as compatibilizer of sisal fibers/polyethylene composites

Abstract In this study, the influence of silanized silica nanoparticles on the compatibility of composites prepared with sisal fibers and high density polyethylene is discussed. The sisal fibers were chemically treated and covered with silica nanoparticles by mechanical milling. The composites were prepared by extrusion of HDPE and different amount of fibers. The morphology and thermal properties of the sisal fibers and composites, the influence of sisal fibers and silica nanoparticles on crystallinity of HDPE, the mechanical behavior and water uptake of composites were evaluated by different techniques. It was observed that thermal properties of HDPE on composites were not changed by the presence of sisal fibers and silica nanoparticles. The different chemical treatments in sisal fibers and the presence of silica nanoparticles resulted in improved mechanical properties and were preponderant to the water uptake decrease in the composites, comparing with HDPE. Keywords: composites, compatibilization, silanized silica nanoparticle, sisal fibers, mechanical properties.