Evaluation of the surface properties of dextran-coated poly(isobutylcyanoacrylate) nanoparticles by spin-labelling coupled with electron resonance spectroscopy

Poly(alkylcyanoacrylate) nanoparticles are developed as carrier for the in vivo delivery of drugs. In this area of research, one of the major challenges is to design nanoparticles able to carry a drug to a specific site in the body. This appears to be mainly governed by the surface properties of the carrier. Results from previous independent studies suggest that the way dextran chains are arranged at the nanoparticle surface can affect the in vivo fate of the carrier. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to investigate for the first time whether electronic paramagnetic resonance (EPR) could highlight a difference between the physico-chemical surface properties of dextran-coated nanoparticles obtained by two different emulsion polymerisation mechanisms of isobutylcyanoacrylate. Poly(isobutylcyanoacrylate) nanoparticles were prepared either by anionic or by radical polymerisation, initiated in both cases by dextran. The respective copolymers self-organised as nanoparticles. Dextran chains located at the nanoparticle surface could be labelled with a free nitroxide radical containing a probe and EPR analysis could be performed on freeze-dried nanoparticles, rehydrated nanoparticles and dispersed nanoparticles in water. The mobility of dextran chains appeared to differ according to the degree of hydration of the systems. More interestingly, EPR spectra clearly highlighted differences in dextran chain mobility comparing the nanoparticles obtained by radical and anionic polymerisation. Therefore, this technique opens an interesting prospect of investigating surface properties of polysaccharide-coated nanoparticles by a new physico-chemical approach to further correlate the mobility of the polysaccharide chains with the fate of the nanoparticles in biological systems.     

Density functional approach to adsorption of simple fluids on surfaces modified with a brush-like chain structure

A density functional theory to describe adsorption of a simple fluid from a gas phase on a surface modified with pre-adsorbed chains is proposed. The chains are bonded to the surface by one of their ends, so they can form a brush-like structure. Two models are investigated. According to the first model all but the terminating segment of a chain can change the configuration during the adsorption of fluid species. The second model assumes that the chains remain "frozen", and the system is considered as a nonuniform quenched-annealed mixture. We apply simple form of interactions to study adsorption phenomena, microscopic structure, and layering transitions. Our principal findings show that new layering phase transitions can occur because of a chemical modification of the substrate under certain conditions, in comparison with nonmodified surfaces. However, opposite trends, that is, smoothing the adsorption isotherms, can also be observed, depending on the surface density of the grafted chains.     

Polymerisation of liquid crystalline phases in binary surfactant/water systems

The polymerisation of a polymerisable fatty acid surfactant (sodium 10-undecenoate) has been studied in both its self-assembled and non self-assembled forms. Polymerisation in non self-assembled solution was achieved to near completion. The polymerisation produces a surface active polymer. The self-assembling behaviour of this pre-polymerised form differs markedly from that observed for the monomeric surfactant [1]. A lamellar phase only is formed in the polymeric phase diagram with no hexagonal or lamellar gel phases being observed. Polymerisation in the different self-assembled forms of sodium 10-undecenoate reached a limit of approximately 30% only, i.e., the surfactant aggregates act to inhibit the polymerisation. The nature of the hydrocarbon chain was found to play a critical role in determining the effect that polymerisation had on the underlying geometry of the surfactant molecules. When the chains are in a fluid-like state (as for the micellar and hexagonal phases) the original monomeric matrix remains largely unchanged. Whereas partial polymerisation of the lamellar gel phase results in a phase transformation.In addition the hydrolysis of the fatty acid soap at low concentrations (close to the critical micelle concentration) has been investigated. Hydrolysis was shown to produce both the parent fatty acid and an acid soap dimer. The presence of these species greatly affects the solution behaviour in this region of the phase diagram shifting the critical micelle concentration to very high concentrations of sodium 10-undecenoate (ca. 0.4 M).     

Mass spectrometric study of the formaldehyde and hydroxymethylene dications

The hydroxymethylene dication HCOH²⁺ is shown to the stable in the gas phase, while the isomeric formaldehyde dication is not. The energetics of formation and decomposition of the former is determined from MIKE (mass-analyzed ion kinetic energy) experiments. The experimental findings are shown to be in pleasing agreement with results from ab initio molecular orbital calculations.     

Nanoporous Pt Catalyst Modified by Sn Electrodeposition for Electrochemical Oxidation of Formaldehyde

A nanoporous Pt particles‐modified Ti (nanoPt/Ti) electrode was prepared through a simple hydrothermal method using aqueous H₂PtCl₆ as a precursor and formaldehyde as a reduction agent. The nanoPt/Ti electrode was then modified with limited amounts of tin particles generated by cyclic potential scans in the range of ?0.20 to 0.50 V in a 0.01 mol·L^?1 SnCl₂ solution, to synthesize a Sn‐modified nanoporous Pt catalyst (Sn/nanoPt/Ti). Electroactivity of the nanoPt/Ti and Sn/nanoPt/Ti electrodes towards formaldehyde oxidation in a 0.5 mol·L^?1 H₂SO₄ solution was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. Electrooxidation of formaldehyde on the nanoPt/Ti electrode takes place at a potential of 0.45 V and then presents high anodic current densities due to the large real surface area of the nanoPt/Ti electrode. The formaldehyde oxidation rate is dramatically increased on the Sn/nanoPt/Ti electrode at the most negative potentials, where anodic formaldehyde oxidation is completely suppressed on the nanoPt/Ti electrode. Chronoamperogramms (CA) of the Sn/nanoPt/Ti electrode display stable and large quasi‐steady state current densities at more negative potential steps. Amperometric data obtained at a potential step of 100 mV show a linear dependence of the current density for formaldehyde oxidation upon formaldehyde concentration in the range of 0.003 to 0.1 mol·L^?1 with a sensitivity of 59.29 mA·cm^?2 (mol·L^?1)^?1. A detection limit of 0.506 mmol·L^?1 formaldehyde was found. The superior electroactivity of the Sn/nanoPt/Ti electrode for formaldehyde oxidation can be illustrated by a so‐called bifunctional mechanism which is involved in the oxidation of poisoning adsorbed CO species via the surface reaction with OH adsorbed on neighboring Sn sites.     

Theoretical study of benzonitrile clusters in the gas phase and their adsorption onto a Au(111) surface

We made theoretical calculations for a benzonitrile molecule and its clusters in the gas phase and as adsorbed on the Au(111) surface, to explain the observation by scanning tunneling microscope, that is, the trimer formation of cyanophenyl porphyrins adsorbed onto the Au(111) surface. With regard to the gas-phase species, ab initio calculations showed that (1) the benzonitrile dimer has a single stable structure that is planar and antiparallel; (2) the trimer has two isoenergetic stable structures, that is, a planar and cyclic structure and an antiparallel and nonplanar one; (3) the clusters are more stable, at low temperatures, than the monomer. For the adsorbed species, we made quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical calculations in which the interaction between the adsorbates and the surface is evaluated in a molecular-mechanical way by using analytical potential functions and an image charge model. Because the stable structures were found to be similar to those in the gas phase, the cluster formation of adsorbed cyanophenyl porphyrins was attributed to the interaction between cyanophenyl groups, which is barely affected by adsorbate-surface interaction. It was also found that the adsorbed cyclic benzonitrile trimer is more stable than the monomer and the dimer because the relative stability is dependent on enthalpy alone. We therefore concluded that the preferential formation of trimers by the adsorbed cyanophenyl porphyrins is due to the negligible contribution of entropy to the relative stability of the adsorbed species and that the adsorption hardly changes the situation found in the gas phase.     

钛基纳米多孔金电极对甲醛氧化的电催化活性

采用水热法制备了钛基纳米金微粒修饰电极(Au/Ti)。扫描电镜图表明纳米金颗粒粒径大约为300 nm,在钛基体表面构成三维多孔网状结构。运用循环伏安,电位阶跃和交流阻抗等电化学技术研究了碱性介质中甲醛在Au/Ti电极上的电氧化行为。循环伏安图显示,甲醛在Au/Ti上的起始氧化电位在-0.90 V左右,相对于多晶金电极提前大约0.2 V,交流阻抗测试表明,甲醛在Au/Ti电极上电氧化表现出低的电荷传递电阻。研究结果表明钛基纳米金微粒修饰电极对甲醛氧化具有良好的电催化活性。     

亚硝基苯与甲醛的反应机理和溶剂效应的理论研究

采用密度泛函理论方法RB3LYP/6-311＋＋G(d,p)研究了亚硝基苯与甲醛在单重态势能面上分别在气相和溶剂中的反应机理. 找到两条反应通道: 协同机理和分步机理, 均生成实验产物N-苯基氧肟酸C6H5NOHCHO. 计算结果表明: 亚硝基苯与甲醛在气相中分步机理为主要通道. 采用导电极化连续介质模型研究了反应体系在水、乙醇、乙腈、二氯甲烷、四氢呋喃、环己烷溶液中反应的溶剂化效应, 这些溶剂可降低反应的活化能, 但反应对溶剂的极性不敏感. 无论在气相还是溶剂中, 亚硝基苯与甲醛的分步机理为优势通道.     

Detection of traces of formaldehyde in pure air by gas chromatography and helium ionization detection

The sensitive helium ionization detector (HID) was used for the direct determination of ppm to ppb levels of formaldehyde in air. Two methods to generate formaldehyde in an air stream were evaluated. The first method utilized a paraformaldehyde permeation tube and the second utilized a motor driven syringe and a dilute solution of formaldehyde. The two methods were evaluated using gas chromatography with HID and spectrophotometry. The paraformaldehyde permeation tube generates only about 60% of the theoretical value, while the motor driven syringe was accurate for levels below 2 ppm; however, at a concentration of 13 ppm or above, oligomers or other chemical forms of CH2O are formed to decrease the concentration of gaseous CH2O produced.     

Investigation of Catalyst Fragmentation in Gas‐Phase Olefin Polymerisation: A Novel Short Stop Reactor

Summary: A short stop reactor (SSR) was developed to study nascent particle morphology and reaction kinetics in the gas‐phase polymerisation of olefins on supported catalysts. It is shown that the SSR provides a useful means to look into important phenomena such as catalyst fragmentation and catalyst site activation and deactivation that take place during the very early stages of the heterogeneous polymerisation of olefins. New experimental results obtained from gas‐phase polymerisation of ethylene show that, depending on the type of catalyst system and on the reaction conditions, different kinds of morphologies can be obtained for the nascent polymer (e.g., cracks and folded chain). Experimental data also indicate that the growth of the polymer chains occur at a non‐steady state during the very early stages of the polymerisation.

SEM image showing the morphology of a polymer/catalyst particle after 2 seconds of polymerisation at 8 bars of ethylene on an MgCl₂‐supported Ziegler‐Natta catalyst.     

Polymerisation and degradation of an aromatic amine-based naphthoxazine

Pyrolysis mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of aromatic amine-based naphthoxazine monomer (15-Na) and Poly15-Na has been carried out. Evaporation and degradation of the monomer are detected during the curing process while the polymerisation proceeded. The polymerisation and degradation mechanisms are proposed for 15-Na and Poly15-Na, respectively. The proposed polymerisation mechanism for naphthoxazine monomer was through the aniline units either by coupling of the radicals generated by cleavage of the side rings or by substitution to the benzene ring of aniline. It has been determined that polymerisation followed opposing paths yielding some thermally less stable linkages through which thermally crosslinked polynaphthoxazine (Poly15-Na) suffers from low thermal stability. It has been shown that pyrolysis MS is a very useful technique to investigate the polymerisation and degradation mechanisms and degradation products of these materials.     

Spectroscopic and structural characterization of chlorine loading effects on Mo/Si:Ti catalysts in oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane

The structural changes induced in a silica-titania mixed-oxide support (1:1 molar ratio) by chlorine addition at different loading levels, their relation to the structural characteristics of supported MoOx species over the support, and their correlation with ethane oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) activity have been examined. The molybdenum and chlorine precursors are incorporated into the Si/Ti support network as it forms during gelation by using a "one-pot" modified sol-gel/coprecipitation technique. In situ X-ray diffraction during calcination shows the Si/Ti 1:1 mixed-oxide support is in a state of nanodispersed anatase titania over amorphous silica. With the addition of molybdenum and chlorine modifier, this anatase feature becomes more pronounced, indicating a decreased dispersion of titania. The effective titania surface area on the chlorine-doped Si:Ti support obtained from 2-propanol temperature-programmed reaction supports this observation. Raman spectra of dehydrated samples point to an enhanced interaction of MoOx species with silica at the expense of titania. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic results show that, without forming a molybdenum chloride, the presence of chlorine significantly alters the relative surface concentration of Si vs Ti, the electronic structure of the surface MoOx species, and the oxygen environment around supported MoOx species in the Si/Ti network. Secondary ion mass spectrometry detected the existence of SiCl fragments from the mass spectra, which provides molecular insight into the location of chlorine in Mo/Si:Ti catalysts. The observed increase in ethane ODH selectivity with chlorine modification may be ascribed to the MoOx species sharing more complex ligands with silica and titania with the indirect participation of chlorine. Steady-state isotopic transient kinetic analysis (SSITKA) is used to to examine the oxygen insertion and exchange mechanisms. The catalysts show very little oxygen exchange with the gas phase in the absence of a reaction medium. During the steady-state ODH reaction, lattice oxygen appears to be the primary source of oxygen in the formation of water and CO2.     

The role of surface and subsurface point defects for chemical model studies on TiO2: a first-principles theoretical study of formaldehyde bonding on rutile TiO2(110)

We report a systematic investigation of the effects of different surface and subsurface point defects on the adsorption of formaldehyde on rutile TiO(2)(110) surfaces using density functional theory (DFT). All point defects investigated--including surface bridging oxygen vacancies, titanium interstitials, and subsurface oxygen vacancies--stabilize the adsorption significantly by up to 56 kJ mol(-1) at a coverage of 0.1 monolayer (ML). The stabilization is due to a decrease of the coordination (covalent saturation) of the surface Ti adsorption sites adjacent to the defects, which leads to a stronger molecule-surface interaction. This change in the Ti is caused by the removal of a neighboring atom (oxygen vacancies) or substantial lattice relaxations induced by the subsurface defects. On the stoichiometric reference surface, the most stable adsorption geometry of formaldehyde is a tilted η(2)-dioxymethylene (with an adsorption energy E(ads)=-125 kJ mol(-1)), in which a bond forms to a nearby bridging O atom and the carbonyl-O atom in the formaldehyde binds to a Ti atom in the adjacent fivefold coordinated lattice site. The η(1)-top configuration on five-coordinate Ti(4+) is much less favorable (E(ads)=-69 kJ mol(-1)). The largest stabilization is exerted by subsurface Ti interstitials between the first and second layers. These defects stabilize the η(2)-dioxymethylene structure by nearly 40 kJ mol(-1) to an adsorption energy of -164 kJ mol(-1). Contrary to popular belief, adsorption in a bridging oxygen vacancy (E(ads)=-86 kJ mol(-1)) is much less favorable for formaldehyde compared to the η(2)-dioxymethylene structures. From these results we conclude that formaldehyde will bind in the η(2)-dioxymethylene structure on the stoichiometric surface as well as in the presence of Ti interstitials and bridging oxygen vacancies. In the light of these substantial effects, we conclude that it is essential to include all the types of point defects present in typical, reduced rutile samples used for model studies, at realistic concentrations to obtain correct adsorption sites, structures, energetic, and chemi-physical properties.     

Study of the elementary processes involved in the selective oxidation of methane over MoOx/SiO2

Isolated molybdate species supported on silica are reported to have the highest specific activity and selectivity for the direct oxidation of methane to formaldehyde. The present investigation was undertaken to understand the elementary redox processes involved in the formation of formaldehyde over such species. A MoO(x)/SiO(2) catalyst was prepared with a Mo loading of 0.44 Mo/nm(2). On the basis of evidence from extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and Raman spectroscopy, the Mo atoms in this catalyst are present as isolated, pentacoordinated molybdate species containing a single Mo=O bond. Isotopic labeling experiments in combination with in-situ Raman spectroscopy were used to examine the reducibility of the dispersed molybdate species and the exchange of O atoms between the gas phase and the catalyst. It was established that treatment of MoO(x)/SiO(2) at 873 K under pure methane reduces the dispersed molybdate species to only a limited extent and results mainly in the deposition of amorphous carbon. During CH(4) oxidation to formaldehyde, the catalyst undergoes only a very small degree of reduction and typically only approximately 50-500 ppm of Mo(VI) is reduced to Mo(IV). Reactions carried out using CH(4) and (18)O(2) show that there is extensive scrambling of O atoms between the species in the gas phase and the catalyst. Additional experiments revealed that H(2)O formed in the reaction is the principal species responsible for the exchange of O atoms between the gas phase and the SiO(2) support. Low concentrations of H(2)O were observed to enhance the activity of MoO(x)/SiO(2) for CH(4) oxidation to formaldehyde. A mechanism for the oxidation of CH(4) over MoO(x)/SiO(2) was formulated in light of the observations made here and is discussed in the light of previous studies. It is proposed that peroxides are produced by the reaction of O(2) with a small concentration of reduced molybdate species and that the reaction of CH(4) with these peroxide species leads to the formation of formaldehyde. The proposed mechanism also accounts for the positive effects of low concentrations of H(2)O on the rate of formaldehyde formation.     

The colloidal force of bead-spring chains in a good solvent

A recently developed density functional theory (DFT) for tethered bead-spring chains is used to investigate colloidal forces for the good solvent case. A planar surface of tethered chains is opposed to a bare, hard wall and the force exerted on the bare wall is calculated by way of the contact density. Previously, the case of large wall separation was investigated. The density profiles of the unperturbed chains, in that case, were found to be neither stepfunctions nor parabolas and were shown to accurately predict computer simulation results. In the present paper, the surface forces that result from the distortion of these density profiles at finite wall separation is studied. The resulting force function is analyzed for varying surface coverages, wall separations, and chain lengths. The results are found to be in near quantitative agreement with the scaling predictions of Alexander [S. Alexander, J. Phys. (Paris) 38, 983 (1977)] when the layer thickness is "correctly" defined. Finally, a hybrid Alexander-DFT theory is suggested for the analysis of experimental results.     

Formaldehyde encapsulated in zeolite: a long-lived, highly activated one-carbon electrophile to carbonyl-ene reactions

Gaseous formaldehyde is extremely unstable and readily undergoes self-polymerization to a solid paraformaldehyde or disproportionation to methanol and formic acid in the presence of moisture. We disclose a simple method to stably store such a labile formaldehyde as a monomer in a nanoporous faujasite zeolite at 5 degrees C for at least 50 days without self-polymerization or disproportionation. The greater stability of formaldehyde encapsulated in zeolite was confirmed by 13C MAS NMR spectroscopy. Formaldehyde was not only stabilized within the zeolite cages but functioned as a powerful electrophile toward various olefins. Zeolite-encapsulated formaldehyde was proved to be a stable but highly reactive C1 reagent.     

金属修饰Ti_2N MXene吸附分解H_2S的第一性原理计算

通过第一性原理计算研究了Ti_2NO_2 MXene对H_2S的吸附、分解行为. Ti_2NO_2对H_2S气体分子的吸附结果表明,两者之间为弱的物理吸附, Ti_2NO_2无法有效吸附H_2S气体.采用过渡金属(Sc、 V)修饰Ti_2NO_2的研究结果表明,Sc和V可以在Ti_2NO_2表面上稳定存在,不易发生团聚,其最稳定吸附位为N原子上方.进一步研究了Sc、 V修饰的Ti_2NO_2对H_2S气体分子的吸附行为,结果表明金属修饰后其吸附H_2S的能力明显提高.此外还发现, H_2S分子可以在Sc/Ti_2NO_2和V/Ti_2NO_2表面直接解离为HS*和H*,而后HS*中的H原子再与H*进一步结合形成H_2, S原子则与过渡金属成键. HS*在V/Ti_2NO_2表面解离的势垒为1.69 eV,低于在Sc/Ti_2NO_2表面的2.08 eV,表明V/Ti_2NO_2有望成为吸附、分解H_2S气体的理想候选材料.     

Photoreversible supramolecular polymerisation and hierarchical organization of hydrogen-bonded supramolecular co-polymers composed of diarylethenes and oligothiophenes

Diarylethene 1 equipped with two monotopic melamine hydrogen-bonding sites and oligothiophene-functionalized ditopic cyanurate (OTCA) were mixed in a nonpolar solvent to form AA-BB-type supramolecular co-polymers (SCPs) bearing photoswitchable moieties in their main chains and extended π systems as side chains. UV/Vis, fluorescence, dynamic light scattering (DLS), TEM, and AFM studies revealed that the two functional co-monomers formed flexible quasi-one-dimensional SCPs in solution that hierarchically self-organized into helical nanofibers through H-aggregation of the oligothiophene side chains. Upon irradiating the SCPs with UV light, a transition occurred from the H-aggregated state to non-aggregated monomeric oligothiophene side chains, as shown by spectroscopic studies, which indicates the formation of small oligomeric species held together only by hydrogen-bonding interactions. TEM and AFM visualized unfolded fibrils corresponding to elongated single SCP chains formed upon removal of solvent. The helical nanofibers were regenerated upon irradiating the UV-irradiated solution with visible light. These results demonstrated that the supramolecular polymerisation followed by hierarchical organization can be effectively controlled by proper supramolecular designs using diarylethenes and π-conjugated oligomers.     

On the titanium oxide neutral cluster distribution in the gas phase: Detection through 118 nm single-photon and 193 nm multiphoton ionization

Titanium oxide clusters are generated in a supersonic expansion by laser ablation of the metal and reaction with oxygen (0.1-6%) in He expansion gas. Mass spectra of the titanium oxide clusters are observed by photoionization with lasers of three different wavelengths: 118, 193, and 355 nm. Only the 118 nm (10.5 eV) light can ionize Ti(m)O(n) neutral clusters without fragmentation. Both the 193 nm (6.4 eV) and 355 nm (3.5 eV) multiphoton ionization cause fragmentation of the neutral clusters during the ionization process and, thus, can complicate the determination of the stable neutral Ti(m)O(n) gas-phase species. Employing 118 nm single-photon ionization and line-width data, the Ti(m)O(2m) and Ti(m)O(2m+1) series are found to be the most stable neutral cluster species for high oxygen content in the expansion gas. Fragmentation during the multiphoton ionization process for 193 nm light yields the cluster ions Ti(m)O(2m-1,-2)+. These ions are formed by the loss of one or two oxygen atoms from Ti(m)O(2m,2m+1) neutral species. The dominant cluster growth process is suggested to be through the addition of TiO2 species. For low oxygen content (<2%) in the expansion gas, oxygen-deficient clusters of the form Ti(m)O(2m-1,-2) are also observed. These latter series are not fragmented by the 193 nm ionization process.     

Titanium alkoxide complexes: condensed phase and gas phase comparisons

The complex [Ti(2,4-dimethyl-2,4-pentanediolate)2]2 (1) has been synthesized from [Ti(OiPr)4] by transesterification with a stoichiometric amount of 2,4-dimethyl-2,4-pentanediol. We have characterized complex 1 in the solid state by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and in the gas phase by desorption chemical ionization mass spectrometry (DCI-MS). The structural and mass spectrometric data show complex 1 to be stable as a dimer in both the solid and gas phases. The retention of dimeric nuclearity in the gas phase sets complex 1 apart from other simple titanium alkoxide complexes [Ti(OiPr)4] and [Ti(OMe)4]4 that give rise to respective families of molecular ions in the DCI-MS experiment. The highest mass molecular ions for Ti alkoxide complexes in the gas phase may reveal the highest nuclearity that these complexes achieve in condensed phases. According to this interpretation the complex [Ti(OiPr)4] is principally dimeric in the gas phase and probably also in the pure liquid phase and should be represented by the formula [Ti(OiPr)4]2.