Pore size and pore volume adjustable mesoporous ZnS was synthesized through a co-template method, which was achieved by the combined interaction between butylamine and some alkanols with proper lengths of the straight carbon chain. The pore size for mesoporous ZnS templated by butyl amine alone was 4.29 nm, and could be enlarged to 6.96 and 8.33 nm respectively through adding certain amounts of hexanol and octanol. Correspondingly, the pore volume also exhibited an augmentation with increasing carbon chain lengths of alkanols from C6 to C8. However, the pore size and pore volume dropped abruptly when decanol was added as the auxiliary agent. The formation of mesopores for ZnS prepared using butylamine molecules as the only templating agent is considered to be attributed to the coordination between N atoms in amines and Zn2+ ions at the surfaces of zinc suphide. The templating effect of butylamines might be improved by adding hexanols and octanols to form aggregates through solubilization to tailor the pore size and pore volume of ZnS effectively, while the function of decanols for changing the porous structure is restricted by its low solubility.

Adsorption of soluble silicate species, (Si(OH)4) on maghemite, (γ-Fe2O3) has been studied by high precision potentiometric titrations, spectroscopic analyses and zeta potential determinations. Titrations were performed at 25.0 °C within the range 2.8 < pH < 11.1 and at a constant ionic strength of 0.100 mol dm-3. The experimental data were evaluated using the constant capacitance model. For the maghemite - H+ system, the following values for the surface complexation constants and capacitance were found: ≡FeOH + H+ ↔ ≡FeOH2+; log βs11(int) = 5.39 ± 0.01 ≡FeOH ↔ ≡FeO- + H+; log βs-11(int) = -7.51 ± 0.01; C = 2.40 Fm-2.Three different concentration ratios of the determined concentration of active surface sites and added total silicate concentration, [≡FeOH]:[Si(OH)4], were examined (1:1, 2:1 and 3:1). A model comprising of three surface complexes, ≡FeOSi(OH)3, log βs011(int) = 3.61 ± 0.02; ≡FeOSiO(OH)2-, log βs-111(int) = -3.00 ± 0.01; and ≡FeOSiO2(OH)2-, log βs-211(int) = -11.35 ± 0.02; was found to best describe the experimental observations. Attempts to model the adsorption of silicates on maghemite as bidentate or polynuclear silicate complexes were not successful. The maximum silicate adsorption for the 1:1 ratio, approximately 80%, was obtained at pH 9 - 9.5. The IEP of maghemite in the presence of silicates (1:1 ratio) was determined from ζ-potential measurements, giving pHIEP ≈ 6.6.

The adsorption of pinosylvin- a natural antifungal agent - on wood was studied byRamanmicroprobe technique. The adsorption properties of twelve different European wood species were compared. The effect of solvents used, heat treatment, and prolonged storage of the samples on pinosylvin adsorption ability was analysed by means of the Raman intensity ratios of characteristic lines. Itwas found that the surface concentration of pinosylvin increased when the Lewis acidity of the solvent increased. Besides, adsorption of pinosylvin was less efficient on during prolonged storage the surface of wood became more hydrophobic after prolonged sample storage. In case of heat treatment (120C, 3 h) no remarkable effect on the amount of adsorbed pinosylvin was observed. Simultaneously, the intensity of the fluorescence background increases. Moreover, the possible influence of B.E.T. specific surface area and lignin content (described by the kappavalue) on the amount of adsorbed pinosylvin was investigated.As revealed, B.E.T. specific surface area did not vary significantly between the different wood species, and therefore it has no significant effect on the efficiency of pinosylvin adsorption. However, the surface concentration of pinosylvin seems to increas with the lignin content. The amount of solvent residue in each sample wasmeasured by diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) technique. For a few wood samples (e.g. pine heartwood, ash, and Hungarian oak) UV-Raman scattering was used to characterize the aromatic components of these wood species. The morphology of the samples was investigated with the aid of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. Furthermore, the B.E.T. specific surface area was found not to vary significantly between the different wood species, and therefore it has no significant effect on the efficiency of pinosylvin adsorption. However, the surface concentration of pinosylvin seems to increas with the lignin content. DRIFT spectroscopy was found to be useful to detect solvent residue in the wood samples and the evaporation of polar solvents is a rather slow process. However, it was not possible to detect adsorbed pinosylvin by DRIFT measurements, due to the low concentration and the lack of characteristic frequencies differing from other wood constituents.

Pore size adjustable mesoporous silica was synthesized by adsorption of varying amount of sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate at the surface of silica activated by zinc ion via a novel surface charge reversal route. The pore size and volume can be adjusted from 5.9 to 13.76 nm and 0.88 to 1.08 cm3·g-1 respectively with increasing the SDBS concentration from 0.77 to 3.08 mmol·L-1. Adsorption of Zn2+ as a function of pH and N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms demonstrated that the metal ions such as Zn2+ could be readily removed with dilute nitric acid without apparent collapse of the pore structure at the proper range of SDBS concentration.

31P CP/MAS NMR spectroscopy was used to study the adsorption of six different O,O′-dialkyldithiophosphate ions on the surface of synthetic galena (PbS). The 31P CP/MAS NMR spectra of the surface lead(II) dithiophosphates were compared with the 31P CP/MAS NMR spectra of polycrystalline lead(II) dithiophosphate complexes of the same ligands. Surface complexation of the dialkyldithiophosphate ions was established on the surface of PbS. A terminal S,S′-chelating coordination is suggested for the surface complexes. The bulkier alkyl groups lead to surface precipitation in addition to the surface adsorption. Derivatives of monothiophosphoric and phosphoric acids were displayed as hydrolysis products of dialkyldithiophosphates on the synthetic PbS, the amount of which depends on the type of alkyl group.

A new family of the 3D heterometallic coordination polymers [{Ln2(SO4)2(H2O)2(pydc)2Cu2 (bpy)2·2(H2O)}]n (Ln = Sm ( 1), Eu ( 2), Gd ( 3), Tb ( 4) and Dy ( 5); pydc = 2,6-pyridine-dicarboxylate anion; bpy= 4,4-bipyridine) have successfully been synthesized under solvothermal conditions (H2O/ethanol). All the coordination polymers obtained were characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR analysis, differential thermal analysis/thermogravimetry (DTA/TG), fluorescent spectra and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The most intriguing structural feature is that all the compounds exhibit 3D frameworks with 1D inorganic lanthanide ladders and organic CuI-bipyridine chains, which represent two types of 3d/4f coordination polymers (form I: Ln = Sm and Eu; form II: Ln = Gd, Tb and Dy) as the result of a so-called gadolinium break effect. Additionally, compounds 2 and 4 showed the characteristic emission spectra of the EuIII and TbIII ions, respectively, and appeared to have good fluorescence properties, while 1, 3 and 5 emitted fluorescence resembling CuI complexes. To our knowledge, the investigation of the

In this paper, mesoporous alumina with different pore sizes and wall crystalline structures was synthesized at calcination temperatures over 550 °C. The characterization of the samples calcined at 550, 800, 1100, and 1300 °C, respectively, was performed using TEM, XRD, FTIR, TG/DTA, and N2 adsorption/desorption techniques. The correlation between pore size and wall crystalline structure on calcination temperature was systematically investigated.

Single-crystalline cooperite (PtS) with a nearly stoichiometric composition was characterized in detail by X-ray diffraction, electron-probe X-ray microanalysis, and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy. For the first time it was demonstrated that Pt-195 static and MAS NMR spectroscopy can be used for studying natural platinum minerals. The 195pt chemical-shift tensor of cooperite was found to be consistent with the axial symmetry and is characterized by the following principal values: delta(xx) = -5920 ppm, delta(yy) = -3734 ppm, delta(zz) = +4023 ppm, and delta(iso) = -1850 ppm. According to the ESR data, the samples of cooperite contain copper(II), which is adsorbed on the surface during the layer-by-layer crystal growth and is not involved in the crystal lattice.