Clays have been used in several technological areas. One of the most usual applications is their incorporation into organic materials. Nonetheless, natural clays are hydrophobic being incompatible with organic medium. Clay organophilization can be reached by several methods such as by exchange of the interlayer sodium cations by organic cations, and by silanization of the clay layers. In this study the bentonite clay was organophilized by the addition of the methoxymethyltriphenylphosphonium chloride (CTFF). Further, the organoclay was silanized with (3-glycidyloxypropyl) trimethoxysilane (GPTMS). X-ray fluorescence results, infrared and XPS spectroscopy showed the presence of phosphorus in the organophilic clay. The interlayer space, obtained by X-ray diffraction, increased in 55% after the CTFF addition showing the cationic exchange in the clay lamellar region. After the silanization of the organoclay the interlayer space was slightly reduced from 1,78 nm to 1,72 nm, indicating that the silane molecules were preferential bound in the clay edges.

We have studied the treatment of Reactive Black 5 (RP5) and Blue 19 (RA19), which are respectively azo and anthraquinone textile dyes, by electrochemical oxidation using a non commercial boron doped diamond electrode supported on titanium metallic with a relation between B and C equal to 15,000 ppm. Pt was used as counter electrode and Ag/AgCl(sat) was the reference electrode. The variables investigated to optimize the degradation were support electrolyte concentration (0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 mol L-1 of K2SO4), temperature (25, 35 and 45 ºC) and pH (2.5 and 10) by applying a current density of 75 mA cm-2. Total decolorization was observed in all electrochemical conditions studied. The highest rates of mineralization and chromatographic area removal were attained at high support electrolyte concentration due to the increase of conductivity, which caused more generation of hydroxyl radicals. RP5 was degraded at lower electrolysis time than RA19 with smaller requirement of electric charge. The mineralization rate increased in acid medium and at higher temperature since the increase in temperature favors the generation reactions of persulfate. These conditions led to the highest levels of current efficiencies and lower energy consumed.

Amostras de silício poroso (PS) foram obtidas pelo processo de anodização em lâminas de Si tipo n, dopadas com fósforo. A oxidação eletroquímica do PS foi obtida utilizando-se solução de ácido fluorídrico (HF) contendo aditivos como etanol e acetonitrila (MeCN). A formação dos poros foi estudada com a variação da resistividade das laminas de Si e parâmetros de processo como: concentração do ácido, densidade de corrente e tempo de anodização. As técnicas de Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura (MEV) e Espectroscopia de Espalhamento Raman foram utilizadas para a investigação da morfologia e fotoluminescência, respectivamente. A camada de PS formada com o uso da solução de HF-MeCN mostrou maior uniformidade e homogeneidade na distribuição dos macroporos com diferentes tipos e tamanhos. Esse comportamento pode ser explicado devido a tensão superficial da MeCN ser maior que a do etanol. Consequentemente, as moléculas de MeCN podem passivar a superfície do silício durante o processo de anodização.

Porous silicon (PS) samples were obtained by anodization etching process of n-type silicon wafer phosphorus-doped. Electrochemical oxidation of PS was investigated in aqueous hydrofluoric acid (HF) containing additive such as ethanol or acetonitrile. Pore formation was studied with the variation of type and resistivity of the silicon wafer, taking into account the most important anodization process parameters such as: acid concentration, current density and anodization time. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Raman Scattering Spectroscopy measurements were used to characterize the macropore morphology changes and sample photoluminescense responses, respectively. PS layer formed in HF-acetonitrile solution showed more uniform and homogeneous macropore distributions with different shapes and sizes. Behavior may be explained because acetonitrile surface tension is greater than that of ethanol. Therefore, acetonitrile molecules might passivate the silicon surface dissolved during the anodization process.