Based on the principle of stability of geopolymer gel as refractory binder, a geopolymeric paste in the K2O-Al2O3-SiO 2 system was developed and used to produce refractory concretes by adding various amount of α-quartz sand (grain size in the range 0.1 μm to 1 mm) and fine powder alumina (grain size in the range 0.1-100 μm). The consolidated samples were characterized before and after sintering using optical dilatometer, DSC, XRD and SEM. The total shrinkage in the range of 25-900 °C was less than 3%, reduced with respect to the most diffused potassium or sodium based geopolymer systems, which generally records a >5% shrinkage. The maximum shrinkage of the basic geopolymer composition was recorded at 1000 °C with a 17% shrinkage which is reduced to 12% by alumina addition. The temperature of maximum densification was shifted from 1000 °C to 1150 or 1200 °C by adding 75 wt% α-quartz sand or fine powder alumina respectively. The sequences of sintering of geopolymer concretes could be resumed as dehydration, dehydroxylation, densification and finally plastic deformation due to the importance of liquid phase. The geopolymer formulations developed in this study appeared as promising candidates for high-temperature applications: refractory, fire resistant or insulating materials

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A novel approach to the synthesis of pyrazole derivatives from tosylhydrazones of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds possessing a β-hydrogen is proposed, exploiting microwave (MW) activation coupled with solvent free reaction conditions. The cycloaddition was studied on three ketones (trans-4-phenyl-3-buten-2-one, β-ionone and trans-chalcone). The corresponding 3,5-disubstitued-1H-pyrazoles were obtained in high yields and after short reaction times. In order to simplify and point out the green chemistry features of the method, a further improvement was achieved under the same catalytic conditions with a "one pot" synthesis of these heterocyclic compounds, starting directly from their carbonyl precursors via tosylhydrazones generated in situ. For an exhaustive study, the dielectric properties of the solid reaction mixtures were also measured, in order to obtain input data for the numerical simulation of their heating behaviour in the single mode MW cavity which was used for experimental work. In order to supply a valid methodology and tool for measuring the environmental impact, a comparative study between the synthetic route proposed and the classical synthetic route has been carried out.

An interlaboratory comparison (ILC) was

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