Agglomeration is a common problem in the production and application of nanoparticles. The degree of agglomeration of layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoparticles is difficult to control in its industrial production. The properties of industrial scale MgAl–CO3–LDH products obtained using an aging reactor composed of a 1 m3 kettle with a water cooling jacket have been compared with MgAl–CO3–LDHs prepared using different aging times in a model laboratory scale reactor [a 500 mL flask]. The effect of varying aging times on the agglomeration of the LDH nanoparticles has been studied experimentally. The crystallinity, surface defects, and surface zeta potential of the LDHs have been studied in an effort to understand the mechanism of agglomeration of the nanoparticles. The results show that in poorly crystalline LDHs, accumulation of Al3+ cations at different points in the layers results in an increase in local charge density. Consequently, the zeta potential and the electrostatic repulsion between particles decrease, resulting in serious agglomeration of LDH nanoparticles. In contrast, for LDHs with higher crystallinity produced with extended aging times, the layer cations become uniformly distributed resulting in an increase in zeta potential and increased electrostatic repulsion between the particles. As a result, the degree of agglomeration is reduced.

Immobilized penicillin G acylase (PGA) as an important industrial catalyst can catalyze penicillin G potassium (PG) to 6‐aminopenicillanic acid (6‐APA). 6‐APA is an important intermediate for semisynthetic penicillin drugs, which occupies a huge market space in the anti‐inflammatory field; as a result, immobilized PGA occupies a huge market space in the pharmaceutical field. However, at present, there are different degrees of defects in the preparation and production process of immobilized PGAs on the market because of the huge demand; therefore, the performance of immobilized PGA and its productivity will bring huge economic benefits to enterprises. Therefore, research on immobilized PGA has always been a focus. This review first introduces the source, classification, structure, and catalytic mechanism of PGA and then studies the development of immobilization methods, immobilized carriers, reaction media, enzyme activity regeneration, and reactors of immobilized PGA in recent years.

In this work, TiO2, which was modified by glutaraldehyde, was adopted as the carrier; the penicillin G acylase (PGA) was immobilized and the influence of immobilized conditions, such as pH of solution, the concentration of PGA, the immobilization temperature, and the reaction time, on the catalytic performance of the immobilized PGA was investigated and optimized. During this process, potassium penicillin G (PG) was chosen as substrate, and the quantity of 6‐aminopenicillanic acid (6‐APA) produced by PG at the temperature of 25 °C for 3 Min in neutral solution was conscripted as the evaluation foundation, indexes, containing the loading capacity (ELC), the activity (EA), and activity retention rate (EAR), were calculated based on quantities of produced 6‐APA and compared with finding out the suitable conditions. Results showed that when the solution pH, PGA concentration, immobilization temperature, and reaction time were 8.0, 2.5% (v/v), 35 °C, and 24 H, respectively, ELC, EA, and EAR presented optimal values of 9,190 U, 14,969 U/g, and 88.5% relatedly. After that, the stability and reusability of immobilized PGA were studied, and the results documented that the pH resistance, thermal stability, and storage stability of immobilized PGA were significantly improved. This work provided technique support for the practical application of immobilized PGA carrier.

Nanoparticles readily agglomerate, especially during nucleation, growth, and calcination processes. In this work, modified carbon black (MCB) has been used to prevent particle agglomeration during the nucleation step in the preparation of a highly dispersed nano-La(OH) 3 precursor by a coprecipitation reaction. The surface carboxyl groups formed on MCB after modification can adsorb and fix positively charged La 3+ ions on the surface. Therefore, nano-La(OH) 3 nuclei can be uniformly deposited on the MCB surface. After nucleation, La(OH) 3 particles with a size of about 20 nm with a positive surface charge still interact strongly with the negatively charged MCB surface, which effectively prevents their agglomeration during the subsequent aging process. Furthermore, due to the release of CO 2 over a wide temperature range from 400 to 700 °C during a subsequent calcination process, La 2 O 3 particles obtained by calcination of the La(OH) 3 precursor can be effectively isolated at high temperature and prevented from agglomerating. By using MCB as an agglomeration inhibitor in this way, highly dispersed La 2 O 3 nanoparticles with a size of 50 nm having excellent photoluminescence ability can be prepared.

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