Stepwise dehydration of Cd-exchanged levyne: thermal stability and structural modifications

Zeolites show remarkable properties that can be tuned through cation exchange of their original extraframework content. In this respect, the response of the modified zeolite to the heating stimuli, in terms of structural modifications and thermal stability, can drastically change and is, therefore, an important factor to consider. In this study, the dehydration mechanism of a natural levyne previously exchanged with Cd2+ has been monitored in situ by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The initial dehydration trend between 50 and 175 °C is similar to that observed for the pristine material, levyne-Ca. The water loss is accompanied by extraframework cation migration within the zeolitic cavities and the unit-cell volume slightly contracts from 3503.8(1) to 3467.8(6) Å3. From 200 to 250 °C, a pronounced drop of the unit-cell volume (− 7%) is observed. The dehydrated structure at 250 °C corresponds to levyne B topology of natural levyne, characterized by the statistical rupture of the T–O–T bonds of the double six-ring membered cage. However, in contrast to levyne-Ca, the fraction of broken connections reached 50% instead of 37%, and no additional structural modifications were detected up to 350 °C. At 400 °C, diffraction data pointed to the onset of the structural collapse. At this temperature, the measured unit-cell volume was 8% smaller compared to that of the RT structure. The corresponding contracted structure did not rehydrate after exposure to humid conditions for 21 days.

New insights into the role of solution additive anions in Mg2+ dehydration: implications for mineral carbonation

Computer simulations of the Mg2+ dehydration mechanism show that solution additives can stabilise undercoordinated Mg2+ hydration configurations, opening up coordination sites on the central Mg2+ ion, promoting Mg-carbonates nucleation and growth.

The Mechanism of the First Hydration-Dehydration Cycle of Pure α- and β-CaSO4•0.5H2O

The objective of this research was to understand the dehydration mechanism of technical dihydrate and the variation of the physical properties of β-hemihydrate after the first hydration-dehydration process. In this study, the recycling mechanism of different hemihydrate types as raw material was investigated. The influence of the first hydration-dehydration process on the hydration rate, microstructure, and mechanical properties of recycled hemihydrate were characterized by differential calorimetric analysis (DCA), calcium ion-selective electrode (Ca2+-ISE), conductivity, particle size distribution (PSD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the formed hemihydrate after the first hydration-dehydration process differs in its properties than the unrecycled hemihydrate in some characteristics such as the morphological structure, number of surface, and side defects due to the grinding process after the first hydration step. In addition to the grinding step, the calcination process was responsible for increasing the number of defects on the crystal surface, which leads to a change in setting time and the microstructure of the recycled hemihydrate. Therefore, after the 1st reaction cycle of β-HH, the compressive strength decreases due to a decrease in the hemihydrate crystal size, an increase in the surface area, and an increase in the amount of water required to perform the hydration reaction. The obtained hemihydrate after the first hydration-dehydration process was in β form due to the applied calcination process after the first cycle.

The T4 TerL Prohead Packaging Motor Does Not Drive DNA Translocation by a Proposed Dehydration Mechanism

A “DNA crunching” linear motor mechanism that employs a grip-and-release transient spring like compression of B- to A-form DNA has been found in our previous studies. Our FRET measurements in vitro show a decrease in distance from TerL to portal during packaging; furthermore, there is a decrease in distance between closely positioned dye pairs in the Y-stem of translocating Y-DNA that conforms to B- and A- structure. In normal translocation into the prohead the TerL motor expels all B-form tightly binding YOYO-1 dye that cannot bind A-form. The TerL motor cannot package A-form dsRNA. Our work reported here shows that addition of helper B form DNA:DNA (D:D) 20mers allows increased packaging of heteroduplex A-form DNA:RNA 20mers (D:R), evidence for a B- to A-form spring motor pushing duplex nucleic acid. A-form DNA:RNA 25mers, 30mers, and 35mers alone are efficiently packaged into proheads by the TerL motor showing that a proposed hypothetical dehydration motor mechanism operating on duplex substrates does not provide the packaging motor force. Taken together with our previous studies showing TerL motor protein motion toward the portal during DNA packaging, our present studies of short D:D and D:R duplex nucleic acid substrates strongly supports our previous evidence that the protein motor pushes rather than pulls or dehydrates duplex substrates to provide the translocation into prohead packaging force.

An experimental and computational IR and hybrid DFT-D3 study of the conformations of l-lactic and acrylic acid: new insight into the dehydration mechanism of lactic acid to acrylic acid

Effect of the intra-molecular H-bond of l-lactic acid on its dehydration mechanism: IR and DFT-D3 study,