Multi-fractal imaging and structural investigation of silica hydrogels and aerogels

Carbonaceous material obtained from exhausted coffee by an aqueous solution combustion process and used for cobalt (II) and cadmium (II) sorption

New carbonaceous materials were obtained using a fast aqueous solution combustion process from mixtures of exhausted coffee, ammonium nitrate (oxidizer) and urea (fuel) heated at 600, 700, 800 or 900 °C. The resulting powders were effective adsorbents for removing Co(II) and Cd(II) from aqueous solutions. Exhausted coffee was also calcined at different temperatures and compared. The products were characterized, and the obtained carbons had BET specific surface areas of 114.27-390.85 m(2)/g and pore diameters of 4.19 to 2.44 nm when the temperature was increased from 600 to 800 °C. Cobalt and cadmium adsorption by the carbonaceous materials was correlated with the maximum adsorption capacities and specific surface areas of the materials. The method reported here is advantageous because it only required 5 min of reaction to improve the textural properties of carbon obtained from exhausted coffee, which play an important role in the material's cobalt and cadmium adsorption capacities.

Colloidal aggregation phenomena: Spatial structuring of TEOS-derived silica aerogels

In this contribution, the homogeneity of silica aerogels made from tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was studied by means of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopies. FTIR spectra show a slight difference in the asymmetric Si-O-Si stretching vibration frequency in the outer and inner part of the aerogels. According to the 29Si NMR data, a higher relation Q4/Q3 was obtained in the inner parts of the gels compared with their outer parts, proving the difference in the cross linkage of the silica network. The obtained results are interpreted in terms of the specific spatial structuring of the colloidal suspensions due to the presence of gravity.