Extractant impregnated resins (EIRs) were prepared by impregnation of Amberlite XAD-7 with tetraalkylphosphonium chloride ionic liquid (IL). The EIRs were tested for the sorption of Hg(II) in HCl solutions. Mercury is bound on the EIR through an ion exchange mechanism involving chloroanionic species and the IL. The effect of HCl concentration and IL content is studied and the sorption isotherms are obtained in 1 M HCl solutions: the sorption capacity linearly increases with IL loading up to 100 mg Hg L 21 . A little fraction of the IL immobilized on the resin (about 40 mg IL g 21 ) is tightly bound to the polymer limiting its reactivity with metal ions. The uptake kinetics are mainly controlled by intraparticle diffusion. At high IL loading the kinetics are slowed down, while the temperature has a limited impact. Nitric acid can be used for desorbing mercury and recycling the EIR for at least five cycles.

Enhancement in coercivity values of precursor powders of cobalt ferrite embedded in silica xerogel as well as polyaniline was observed using vibrating sample magnetometry. We compared the magnetic properties of pure precursor powders of ferrite cobalt prepared by coprecipitation method and those embedded in xerogel and polyaniline matrix, prepared by sol-gel and by a conventional in situ chemical oxidation polymerization, respectively. The main magnetic effect is the altered coercivity value growing two magnitude orders for the precursor powders of cobalt ferrite embedded in silica xerogel and in polyaniline. The value goes from 52 Oe to 2200 Oe and 1054 Oe for pure coprecipitated precursor powder and embedded in silica xerogel, and embedded in polyaniline, respectively, without any heat-treatment.

Cobalt oxide nanoparticles were functionalized with sodium citrate and coated with a silica shell (Co 3 O 4 @Q@SiO 2 ). Different experimental configurations were tested in order to obtain low-sized cobalt oxide nanoparticles with high crystallinity, using the chemical reduction-oxidation method. Then, the nanoparticles were coated with silica using the Stöber method, obtaining a silica cover on top of the cobalt oxide nanoparticle surface with a few nanometers thickness. This method permits the functionalization of the nanoparticles at the time of coating. Results show that with a heat treatment of 500 • C, highcrystallinity cobalt oxide nanoparticles are obtained with a spherical shape and an average diameter of 30 nm, whereas the silica cover has 5 nm thickness. Evidence of nanoparticle functionalization was obtained through the measurement of the absorption bands of the functional groups of the sodium citrate with a silica cover. In addition, coated

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