Nanobubbles have many potential applications depending on their types. The long-term stability of different gas nanobubbles is necessary to be studied considering their applications. In the present study, five kinds of nanobubbles (N₂, O₂, Ar + 8%H₂, air and CO₂) in deionized water and a salt aqueous solution were prepared by the hydrodynamic cavitation method. The mean size and zeta potential of the nanobubbles were measured by a light scattering system, while the pH and Eh of the nanobubble suspensions were measured as a function of time. The nanobubble stability was predicted and discussed by the total potential energies between two bubbles by the extended Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) theory. The nanobubbles, except CO₂, in deionized water showed a long-term stability for 60 days, while they were not stable in the 1 mM (milli mol/L) salt aqueous solution. During the 60 days, the bubble size gradually increased and decreased in deionized water. This size change was discussed by the Ostwald ripening effect coupled with the bubble interaction evaluated by the extended DLVO theory. On the other hand, CO₂ nanobubbles in deionized water were not stable and disappeared after 5 days, while the CO₂ nanobubbles in 1 mM of NaCl and CaCl₂ aqueous solution became stable for 2 weeks. The floating and disappearing phenomena of nanobubbles were estimated and discussed by calculating the relationship between the terminal velocity of the floating bubble and bubble size.

For recovery of gallium from Bayer liquor, adsorption, and elution on amidoxime resin for gallium (Ga), vanadium (V), and aluminum (Al) ions in alkaline solution were systematically investigated by batch and column experiment. Amidoxime resin did not adsorb Al. The adsorption separation efficiency of Ga and V increased with increasing NaOH concentration and decreasing temperature and contact time. The adsorption kinetics of Ga and V are fit by a pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption isotherms of Ga and V could be fit well by the Langmuir model. Gallium was easily eluted using low concentration acid (1~2 mol/L H⁺), but it was difficult to elute V. Although high concentration acid could elute 70% of V, this treatment would destroy resin. With high NaOH concentration and a long eluting time, more than 50% of V could be eluted at temperatures greater than 50°C, and NaOH did no damage to the resin. The optimum condition of Ga separation from V and Al is at low temperature with short contact time and high NaOH concentration. After adsorption and desorption, a high-purity Ga is obtained, from which V can be recovered V by elution with a strong NaOH concentration at 50°C. FT-IR spectra and XPS showed that the adsorption mechanism of Ga was only related to interaction with oxygen atoms of amidoxime groups (C = NOH). Furthermore, the adsorption mechanism of V was related to both nitrogen and oxygen atoms of amidoxime groups that caused the difficulty of desorbing V from resin.

Gallium alloys are ideal base carriers for temperature-sensitive ferrofluids, which can be used for energy convection, soft robotics, microchannels, magnetorheological devices, etc. In this study, gallium was mixed with different substances (In, Sn, Zn, Ge, and Al) to obtain a low melting point, reduce the wetness and adhesion of its alloys, and realize low viscosity. The melting point, contact angle on certain solid plates, viscosity, and viscoelasticity of the gallium alloys were measured, and some useful gallium alloys were obtained. The experimental results showed that Ga₈₀In₁₀Sn₁₀ had lower wettability at a larger contact angle of 148.6° on the Teflon plate. Here, (Ga₈₀In₁₀Sn₁₀)₉₇Zn₃ with a melting point of 8.2 °C, lower than the melting point of Galinstan, was developed. It had a viscosity about three times that of water at room temperature and an elastic response from 0.1 to 100 Hz at a 1% strain amplitude for the viscoelasticity. It was expected that a kind of temperature-sensitive magnetic fluid with a gallium-based liquid alloy as the base carrier liquid would be prepared in the future with Teflon as the container to achieve energy conversion under the drive of the magnetic field.

Lithium recovery is imperative to accommodate the increase in lithium demand. Salt lake brine contains a large amount of lithium and is one of the most important sources of lithium metal. In this study, Li₂CO₃, MnO₂, and TiO₂ particles were mixed, and the precursor of a manganese–titanium mixed ion sieve (M-T-LIS) was prepared by a high-temperature solid-phase method. M-T-LISs were obtained by DL-malic acid pickling. The adsorption experiment results noted single-layer chemical adsorption and maximum lithium adsorption of 32.32 mg/g. From the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller and scanning electron microscopy results, the M-T-LIS provided adsorption sites after DL-malic acid pickling. In addition, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared results showed the ion exchange mechanism of the M-T-LIS adsorption. From the results of the Li⁺ desorption experiment and recoverability experiment, DL-malic acid was used to desorb Li⁺ from the M-T-LIS with a desorption rate of more than 90%. During the fifth cycle, the Li⁺ adsorption capacity of the M-T-LIS was more than 20 mg/g (25.90 mg/g), and the recovery efficiency was higher than 80% (81.42%). According to the selectivity experiment, the M-T-LIS had good selectivity for Li⁺ (adsorption capacity of 25.85 mg/g in the artificial salt lake brine), which indicates its good application potential.

In this study, 8% hydrogen (H₂) in argon (Ar) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas nanobubbles was produced at 10, 30, and 50 vol.% of ethanol aqueous solution by the high-speed agitation method with gas. They became stable for a long period (for instance, 20 days), having a high negative zeta potential (−40 to −50 mV) at alkaline near pH 9, especially for 10 vol.% of ethanol aqueous solution. The extended Derjaguin, Landau, Verwey, and Overbeek (DLVO) theory was used to evaluate the nanobubble stability. When the nanobubble in ethanol alkaline aqueous solution changed to an acidic pH of around 5, the zeta potential of nanobubbles was almost zero and the decrease in the number of nanobubbles was identified by the particle trajectory method (Nano site). The collapsed nanobubbles at zero charge were detected thanks to the presence of few free radicals using G-CYPMPO spin trap reagent in electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The free radicals produced were superoxide anions at collapsed 8%H₂ in Ar nanobubbles and hydroxyl radicals at collapsed CO₂ nanobubbles. On the other hand, the collapse of mixed CO₂ and H₂ in Ar nanobubble showed no free radicals. The possible presence of long-term stable nanobubbles and the absence of free radicals for mixed H₂ and CO₂ nanobubble would be useful to understand the beverage quality.

With the target of recovering rare earth elements (REEs) from acidic leachates, a new functionalized hydrogel was designed, based on the phosphorylation of algal/polyethyleneimine beads. The functionalization strongly increased the sorption efficiency of the raw material for Pr(III) and Tm(III). Diverse techniques were used for characterizing this new material and correlating the sorption performances and mechanisms to the physicochemical structure of the sorbent. First, the work characterized the sorption properties from synthetic solutions with the usual procedures (study of pH effect, uptake kinetics, sorption isotherms, metal desorption and sorbent recycling, and selectivity from multi-element solutions). Optimum pH was found close to 5; sorption isotherms were fitted by the Langmuir equation (maximum sorption capacities close to 2.14 mmol Pr g⁻¹ and 1.57 mmol Tm g⁻¹). Fast uptake kinetics were modeled by the pseudo-second order rate equation. The sorbent was highly selective for REEs against alkali-earth and base metals. The sorbent was remarkably stable for sorption and desorption operation (using 0.2 M HCl/0.5 M CaCl₂ solutions). The sorbent was successfully applied to the leachates of Egyptian ore (pug leaching) after a series of pre-treatments (precipitation steps), sorption, and elution. The selective precipitation of REEs using oxalic acid allows for the recovery of a pure REE precipitate.