Ricerc@Sapienza

Interpenetrated polymer network microgels, composed of crosslinked networks of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and Polyacrylic acid (PAAc), have been investigated through rheological measurements at four different amounts of Polyacrylic acid. Both PAAc content and crosslinking degree modify particle dimensions, mass and softness, thereby strongly affecting the volume fraction and the system viscosity.

In the current paper, the behavior of zinc oxide/SAE50 nano lubricant as a part of the new generation of coolants and lubricants is examined using response surface method (RSM). The data used in this study were viscosity at dissimilar volume concentrations (0-1.5%) and temperatures (5-50 °C) for dissimilar shear rate values. Therefore, sensitivity analysis based on variation of nanoparticle (NP) concentration and temperature was also implemented. The findings revealed that enhancing the volume fraction (φ) exacerbates the viscosity sensitivity to temperature.

The effects that an increase of environmental pH has on the triple helix of scleroglucan (Sclg)
and on the Sclg/borax hydrogel are reported. Rheological experiments show that the hydrogel is less
sensitive to pH increase than Sclg alone, while at pH = 14 a dramatic viscosity decrease takes place for
both systems. This effect is evidenced also by the reduced water uptake and anisotropic elongation
detected, at pH = 14, by the swelling behaviour of tablets prepared with the Sclg/borax system.

The local structure of a series of homologous protic ionic liquids (PILs) is investigated using ab initio computations and ab initio-based molecular dynamics. The purpose of this work is to show that in PILs the network of hydrogen bonds may promote like-charge clustering between anionic species. We correlate the theoretical evidence of this possibility with viscosity experimental data. The homologous series of liquids is obtained by coupling choline with amino acid anions and varying the side chain.

The quest for sustainable chemistry is fortunately an unstoppable process, and a new class of
biodegradable compounds, the Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES) [1,2], has recently been proposed as
inexpensive and “greener” alternative to flank the family of solvents currently considered the “pillar” of
solution green chemistry—ionic liquids. Such a new class is composed of an eutectic mixture of
solids, usually the quaternary ammonium salt choline chloride, and a hydrogen-donor (HBD) Brønsted

The aim of this work was to propose a mass-transfer model and scale-up procedure of the Fenton process of organic pollutants present in sludge produced in a municipal wastewater treatment plant. The sludge was collected at the end of anaerobic stabilization, sedimentation and filter press thickening and was firstly characterized by measuring the Total Organic Carbon on the whole sludge and on the liquid phase, the Chemical Oxygen Demand on the liquid phase, the viscosity, the pH, the Cu and Fe concentration and the water content.