In this letter we report on the decomposition of the bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) amide (TFSA) anion under quite mild electrochemical conditions. The results show clearly that the TFSA anion can easily be decomposed during anodic oxidation of copper in the ionic liquid 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) amide [BMP] TFSA at 70 °C leading to the formation of CuF₂. At room temperature, however, no significant decomposition was obtained. Therefore, one has to be very careful in applying ionic liquids based on TFSA anions under anodic conditions at elevated temperature as the TFSA anion might decompose, depending on the anode material.

Chitosan-polyvinyl acetate (CHI-PVA) blends were prepared throughout copolymerization reaction. Chitosan (CHI) as a hydrophilic molecule was added to modify the blend surface of polyvinyl acetate (PVA). The sorption effects of CHI-PVA blends were studied in the presence of binary feed mixture of methanol–water (MW). The obtained blends were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), microscopic analysis and conductivity measurements to investigate the chemical structure, crystallinity, surface morphology and electric property, respectively. Effect of water content on the swelling performance of CHI-PVA blends based on (methanol/water) ratio was discussed. CHI-PVA complexes show high swelling performance with 20% CHI based blends from 50% water content in methanol–water mixture

Nanoparticles of tungsten oxide (WO₃) and zinc oxide (ZnO) enriched polyethylene sebacate (PES) nanocomposites were prepared through the coprecipitation process and condensation polymerization reaction. The obtained nano-sized particles of WO₃ and ZnO, PES, and nanocomposites (WO₃-PES NC and ZnO-PES NC) were investigated. The average molecular weight of the cured PES was measured by employing the gel permeation chromatography (GPC) technique. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra assured the formation of the polymeric nanocomposites.WO₃ and ZnO nanoparticles supposed a condensed porous spherical phase found implanted in the polymer structure, as detected by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) methods. These nano-scale systems achieved an electrical activity based on the conductive nanoparticles embedded matrix as a result of the ion–ion interactions. The microbial influence of the nanocomposites was examined against pathogenic bacteria; Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis, and Fungi; Aspergillus niger, and Candidaalbicans. Results exhibited that these nanocomposites have antimicrobial effects from moderate to slightly high on bacteria and high on fungi which was confirmed by a clear zone of inhibition. This study contributes to the design of reasonable composites to be under evaluation for their catalytic effect.

The present paper deals with treatment of oil spills using weights of modified lignocellulose sawdust. The crude oil sorption on the surface of sawdust was discussed. Nineteen crude oil-degrading bacterial isolates were separated from an oil-polluted area in Saryaqos, Al-kanakah and Mustorud area, Egypt. Four bacterial species showed the predominated growth rate on crude oil hydrocarbons. The effect of different weight of sawdust (0.1–0.5 w/v) on the bacterial degradation of crude oil sample was investigated. Biodegradation potential was evaluated after 5 days. The total oil was removed from the microcosms after the biological treatment ranging from 65 to 80% after 5 days. Gas Chromatographic (GC) analysis of the crude oil remaining in the culture medium, showed that the higher biodegradation of iso-paraffins than n-paraffins in microcosms containing biosurfactant, higher weight of fatty sawdust (FSD) at 0.5 g and BI1, BI4 and bacterial consortium of four bacterial isolates separately. The result show that these bacterial strains can be used for the bioremediation using modified sawdust in oil polluted area.