Browsing by Author "Costa, Alexandra"
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- An AFM, TEM, XRD and luminescence study of carbon nanomaterials obtained from cork industry wastewaterPublication . Prata, José Virgílio; Monteiro, O. C.; Silvestre, António Jorge; Viana, A. S.; Costa, AlexandraQuercus suber L. (cork oak) contributes significantly to the economies of several European Union countries. The industrial processing of cork planks involves a cooking operation in which the textural and plastic properties of cork are improved. The resulting wastewater (ca. 400 L/ton of processed cork) is rich in water-soluble extractives, namely phenol- and polyphenol-based compounds and pectins. While the presence of these and other compounds usually defy several spent water treatment processes owing to their inherent poor biodegradability, they represente otherwise a huge opportunity to produce high-valued carbon-based materials.
- Bright nanoparticles for an even brighter future: efficient production of luminescent carbon nanodots from olive mill wastewaterPublication . Sousa, D. A.; Costa, Alexandra; Alexandre, M. R.; Prata, José VirgílioCarbon nanodots (CNDs) are a very recent class of spherical-shaped nanosized carbon materials possessing average typical diameters < 10 nm. Since the very first reports on carbon dots,1,2 a variety of methods (top-down and bottom-up strategies), carbon sources and passivating agents, have dealt with their synthesis.3 The bottom-up approach, encompassing the use of pyrolytic/solvothermal processes, is more amenable for large-scale production and can cope with a large diversity of carbon precursors, either from natural or synthetic sources, typically endowed with acid, alcohol and amine functionalities.4 Some of the interesting CNDs properties include tunable photoluminescence, outstanding photostability and negligible cytotoxicity. These unique properties have prompted their intense and widespread use in several fields, such as fluorescent bioimaging and nanomedicine, chemo/biosensing, photocatalysis and optoelectronics.4
- Calix[4]arene-carbazole-containing polymers synthesis, properties and thin films as molecular sensorsPublication . Costa, Alexandra; Barata, Patrícia; Fialho, Carina B.; Prata, José VirgílioCalix[4]arenes, an interesting bow-shaped macrocyles, have been explored due to their valuable properties, e.g. molecular recognition, proving outstanding complexability towards neutral and ionic guests of several origins. In this communication we report the synthesis and the chemosensing ability on the solid state of a new bicyclic calix[4]arene-based polymers integrating phenylene-ethynylene-carbazole units as fluorescente segments (Calix-OCP-PPE-CBZs), in the detection of several nitroanilines (NAs) in vapor phase.
- Calix[4]arene-carbazole-containing polymers: synthesis and propertiesPublication . D. Barata, Patrícia; Costa, Alexandra; Prata, José VirgílioNew highly fluorescent calix[4]arene-containing phenylene-alt-ethynylene-3,6- and 2,7-carbazolylene polymers (CALIX-PPE-CBZs) have been synthesized for the first time and their photophysical properties evaluated. Both polymers were obtained in good isolated yields (70-84%), having M-w ranging from 7660-26,700 g mol(-1). It was found that the diethynyl substitution (3,6- or 2,7-) pattern on the carbazole monomers markedly influences the degree of polymerization. The amorphous yellow polymers are freely soluble in several nonprotic organic solvents and have excellent film forming abilities. TG/DSC analysis evidences similar thermal behaviors for both polymers despite their quite different molecular weight distributions and main-chain connectivities (T-g, in the range 83-95 degrees C and decomposition onsets around 270 degrees C). The different conjugation lengths attained by the two polymers dictates much of their photophysical properties. Thus, whereas the fully conjugated CALIX-PPE-2,7-CBZ has its emission maximum at 430 nm (E-g = 2.84 eV; Phi(F) = 0.62, CHCl3), the 3,6-linked counterpart (CALIX-PPE-3,6-CBZ) fluoresces at 403 nm with a significant lower quantum yield (E-g = 3.06 eV; Phi(F) = 0.31, CHCl3). The optical properties of both polymers are predominantly governed by the intrachain electronic properties of the conjugated backbones owing to the presence of calix[4]arenes along the polymer chain which disfavor significant interchain interactions, either in fluid- or solid-state.
- Carbon nanodots from olive mill wastewater: a sustainable routePublication . Sousa, D. A.; Costa, Alexandra; Alexandre, M. R.; Prata, José VirgílioOlive oils are obtained from the fruit of the olive tree (Olea europaea L.) by combined mechanical and physical operations. Portugal has a significant production of olive oil (76 k tonnes/year over the last 5 years, 2010-2015) [1]. Olive oil is typically obtained by two main processes: batch press and continuous centrifugation. Depending on the particular process used, 200-1600 L of olive mill wastewater (OMWW) is produced per tonne of processed olives. Taken the lowest of these values, an estimate points to around 15 million L of OMWW may be produced each year in Portugal. The OMWW exhibits very low biodegradability parameters which pose serious issues for its treatment. Sustainable production of high-valued carbon materials from industrial lowvalued and problematic wastes is particularly appealing and highly desirable.
- Chiroptical and emissive properties of a calix[4]arene-containing chiral poly (P-phenylene ethynylene) with enantioselective recognition abilityPublication . Prata, José Virgílio; Costa, Alexandra; Pescitelli, Gennaro; Pinto, Hugo D.Supramolecular chirality was achieved in solutions and thin films of a calixarene-containing chiral aryleneethynylene copolymer. The observed chiroptical activity, which is primarily allied with the formation of aggregates of high molecular weight polymer chains, is the result of a combination of intrachain and interchain effects. The former arises by the adoption of an induced helix-sense by the polymer main-chain while the latter comes from the exciton coupling of aromatic backbone transitions. The co-existence of bulky bis-calixKlarene units and chiral side-chains on the polymer skeleton prevents efficient pi-stacking of neighbouring chains, keeping the chiral assembly highly emissive. In contrast, for a model polymer lacking calixarene moieties, the chiroptical activity is dominated by strong interchain exciton couplings as a result of more favourable packing of polymer chains, leading to a marked decrease of photoluminescence in the aggregate state. The enantiomeric recognition abilities of both polymers towards (R)- and (S)-alpha-methylbenzylamine were examined. It was found that a significant enantiodiscrimination is exhibited by the calixarene-based polymer in the aggregate state.
- Evaluation of the molecular architecture of fluorescence calix[4]arene-based sensors in detection of toxic metalsPublication . Costa, Alexandra; Barata, Patrícia; Fialho, Carina B.; Prata, José VirgílioChemical sensors have been playing a crucial role in analytical chemistry, bio-medicinal science and environmental chemistry. Chemosensors offer na accurate and low-cost finding of anions, cations, enzymes and toxic metal ions with high selectivity and sensitivity. In this regard, many organic compounds have been synthesized and are being used as successful chemosensors, however calixarenes offer distinct advantage in term of selectivity and the easy incorporation of a fluorophore into the structure. Cation complexing ligands containing calix[4]arene have been used to obtain more selective metal ions receptors. Herein, we report fluorescente calix[4]arene-based sensors with diferente molecular architecture [3] and their potentialities to address the detection of toxic metals. Using fluorescence as the signal transduction technique, experiments have shown that CALIX-OCP-2-CBZs are the most sensitiveto Cu.
- A fluorescente bicyclic Calix[4] Arene-Oxacyclophane with planar chirality: Resolution, chiroptical, properties, and absolute configuration.Publication . Prata, José Virgílio; Costa, Alexandra; Pescitelli, Gennaro; Teixeira, Carlos M.A new inherently chiral calix[4]arene ICC 1 has been disclosed. The dissymmetry of 1 is generated from a chirality plane in the quinol moiety of a 1,3-bridged bicyclic calix[4]arene. ICC 1 has been resolved by enantioselective HPLC, and the chiroptical properties of both isolated antipodes (pS)-1 and (pR)-1 confirm their enantiomeric nature. The absolute configuration of the (pS)-1/(pR)-1 enantiomeric pair was established through time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations of electronic circular dichroism (CD) spectra. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Highly fluorescent carbon nanodots from olive mill wastewaterPublication . Prata, José Virgílio; Alexandre, M. R.; Costa, Alexandra; Sousa, D. A.Olive oil production is a tremendously important agro-industrial activity in the Mediterranean region, with the European Union countries contributing to near 70% of the world quota. Olive oil is typically obtained by two main processes: batch press and continuous centrifugation. Depending on the particular process used, 200-1600 L of olive mill wastewater (OMWW) is produced per ton of processed olives. The OMWW exhibits very low biodegradability parameters which pose serious issues for its treatment. Apparently, none of the researched methods or technological processes developed so far have found a widespread application, probably due to unaffordable economical costs.
- How an environmental issue could turn into useful high-valued products: the olive mill wastewater casePublication . Sousa, D. A.; Costa, Alexandra; Alexandre, M. R.; Prata, José VirgílioCarbon-based nanomaterials have been directly synthesized fromolivemillwastewaters (OMWWs) for the first time, using expedite and simple environmental-friendly procedures. The OMWWs collected from a mill operating by a two-phase centrifugation system, after being heated (150–300 °C) solely or in the presence of additives for 2–12 h, furnished nanostructuredmaterials in high yields. Under an optimised set of reaction conditions here described, the resultant as-synthetized aqueous dispersions of carbon nanoparticles exhibit outstanding fluorescence emission properties, which encompass an astonishing quantum yield (ΦF N 0.4). The as-prepared carbon nanomaterials show excitation-dependent emissions covering the whole visible spectrum, with a predominant high glow in the blue-green region, and a remarkable photostability. The relevant features attained by the nanomaterials here reported, allied to their easy synthesis and carbon source affordability, render them with unique capabilities to be used in several current and emerging technological applications, namely in bioimaging and nanomedicine, sensorial analysis, (photo)catalysis and optoelectronics. The as-synthesized nanoparticles show a remarkable high sensitivity and selectivity towards haemoglobin.
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