Surface recrystallization

Wunderlich, B. and Melillo, L. (1966) Surface recrystallization of polyethylene extended-chain crystals, Science, 154, 1329-1330. 

The checkers obtained erratic results in this step, possibly because of surface effects or trace impurities in the pressure vessel. In two other runs, only 16.8-18.8 g of crude product were obtained. In one case, high boiling oligomers were formed, but none of the desired product was produced. Impurities in the diene or dienophile did not appear to be the problem since runs which employed recrystallized 3-acetyl-2(3H)-oxazolone and redistilled 2,3-dimethyl butadiene also gave variable results. 

The filtrate is diluted with 140 ml of 50% methanol-water and placed in the refrigerator for 3 days. The thick sheet of crystalline material which forms on the surface is removed by filtration and washed with 75 % acetic acid to yield 32.5 g of crude product. The filtrate is again cooled overnight and an additional 8.7 g of solid is removed. The crops are combined and the material, mp 120-124°, which is highly colored due to chromium salts, is recrystallized twice from methanol to yield 27 g (24 %) of the keto acid (69) mp 127-129° 78° (CHCI3). 

At the end of the addition, an almost colorless ether layer swims on the surface of the strongly colored water layer. After removal of the ether layer, the water layer is concentrated to dryness under vacuum and a stream of an inert gas. An earthy precipitate is formed, which after recrystallization yields 100 grams of hydroquinone calcium sulfonate, which decomposes without melting above 250°C. 

The surface area of the product is also dependent upon the atmosphere prevailing during reaction, particularly the availability of water during dehydration processes [281—283] which permits or which facilitates recrystallization. Decomposition of low surface area compounds can provide a route for the preparation of solids of high surface area and high catalytic activity [284,285]. 

Hill et al. [117] extended the lower end of the temperature range studied (383—503 K) to investigate, in detail, the kinetic characteristics of the acceleratory period, which did not accurately obey eqn. (9). Behaviour varied with sample preparation. For recrystallized material, most of the acceleratory period showed an exponential increase of reaction rate with time (E = 155 kJ mole-1). Values of E for reaction at an interface and for nucleation within the crystal were 130 and 210 kJ mole-1, respectively. It was concluded that potential nuclei are not randomly distributed but are separated by a characteristic minimum distance, related to the Burgers vector of the dislocations present. Below 423 K, nucleation within crystals is very slow compared with decomposition at surfaces. Rate measurements are discussed with reference to absolute reaction rate theory. 

Alcohol sulfates commonly have free alcohol and electrolytes as impurities. Other hydrophobic impurities can also be present. A method suitable for the purification of surfactants has been proposed by Rosen [120]. Consequently, commercial products have CMCs that deviate from the accepted reference values. This was demonstrated by Vijayendran [121] who studied several commercial sodium lauryl sulfates of high purity. The CMC was determined both by the conductimetric method and by the surface tension method. The values found were similar for both methods but while three samples gave CMC values of 7.9, 7.8, and 7.4 mM, close to the standard range of 8.0-8.2 mM, three other samples gave values of 4.1, 3.1, and 1.7 mM. The sample with a CMC of 7.9 mM was found to have a CMC of 8.0 mM with no detectable surface tension minima after purification and recrystallization. This procedure failed in all other cases. 

The properties described above have important consequences for the way in which these skeletal tissues are subsequently preserved, and hence their usefulness or otherwise as recorders of dietary signals. Several points from the discussion above are relevant here. It is useful to ask what are the most important mechanisms or routes for change in buried bones and teeth One could divide these processes into those with simple addition of new non-apatitic material (various minerals such as pyrites, silicates and simple carbonates) in pores and spaces (Hassan and Ortner 1977), and those related to change within the apatite crystals, usually in the form of recrystallization and crystal growth. The first kind of process has severe implications for alteration of bone and dentine, partly because they are porous materials with high surface area initially and because the approximately 20-30% by volume occupied by collagen is subsequently lost by hydrolysis and/or consumption by bacteria and the void filled by new minerals. Enamel is much denser and contains no pores or Haversian canals and there is very, little organic material to lose and replace with extraneous material. Cracks are the only interstices available for deposition of material. 

In this chapter we describe the basic principles involved in the controlled production and modification of two-dimensional protein crystals. These are synthesized in nature as the outermost cell surface layer (S-layer) of prokaryotic organisms and have been successfully applied as basic building blocks in a biomolecular construction kit. Most importantly, the constituent subunits of the S-layer lattices have the capability to recrystallize into iso-porous closed monolayers in suspension, at liquid-surface interfaces, on lipid films, on liposomes, and on solid supports (e.g., silicon wafers, metals, and polymers). The self-assembled monomolecular lattices have been utilized for the immobilization of functional biomolecules in an ordered fashion and for their controlled confinement in defined areas of nanometer dimension. Thus, S-layers fulfill key requirements for the development of new supramolecular materials and enable the design of a broad spectrum of nanoscale devices, as required in molecular nanotechnology, nanobiotechnology, and biomimetics [1-3]. 

FIG. 17 Schematic illustration of the setup for a tip-dip experiment. First glycerol dialkyl nonitol tetraether lipid (GDNT) monolayers are compressed to the desired surface pressure (measured by a Wilhehny plate system). Subsequently a small patch of the monolayer is clamped by a glass micropipette and the S-layer protein is recrystallized. The lower picture shows the S-layer/GDNT membrane on the tip of the glass micropipette in more detail. The basic circuit for measurement of the electric features of the membrane and the current mediated by a hypothetical ion carrier is shown in the upper part of the schematic drawing. 

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