Amperometric sensor for hydrogen peroxide based on direct electron transfer of spinach ferredoxin on Au electrode

A protein-based electrochemical sensor for hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) was developed by an easy and effective film fabrication method where spinach ferredoxin (Fdx) containing [2Fe–2S] metal center was cross linked with 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) on a gold (Au) surface. The surface morphology of Fdx molecules on Au electrodes was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) were employed to study the electrochemical behavior of adsorbed Fdx on Au. The interfacial properties of the modified electrode were evaluated in the presence of Fe(CN)₆^3?/4? redox couple as a probe. From CV, a pair of well-defined and quasi-reversible redox peaks of Fdx was obtained in 10 mM, pH 7.0 Tris–HCl buffer solution at ?170 and ?120 mV respectively. One electron reduction of the [2Fe-2S]²⁺ cluster occurs at one of the iron atoms to give the reduced [2Fe-2S]⁺. The formal reduction potential of Fdx ca. ?150 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl electrode) at pH 7.0. The electron-transfer rate constant, k_s, for electron transfer between the Au electrode and Fdx was estimated to be 0.12 s^?1. From the electrochemical experiments, it is observed that Fdx/MUA/Au promoted direct electron transfer between Fdx and electrode and it catalyzes the reduction of H₂O₂. The Fdx/MUA/Au electrode displays a linear increase in amperometric current for increasing concentration of H₂O₂.The sensor calibration plot was linear with r² = 0.998 with sensitivity approximately 68.24 μAm M^?1 cm^?2. Further, the effect of nitrite on the developed sensor was examined which does not interfere with the detection of H₂O₂. Finally, the addition of H₂O₂ on MUA/Au electrode was observed which has no effect on amperometric current.     

Simultaneous determination of ascorbic acid,dopamine and serotonin at poly(phenosafranine) modified electrode

The oxidation of phenosafranine at glassy carbon electrode gives rise to stable redox active electropolymerized film containing a polyazine moiety (poly(phenosafranine)). The redox response of the poly(phenosafranine) film was observed at the modified electrode at different pH and the pH dependence of the peak potential is 60 mV/pH, which is very close to the expected Nernstian behavior. The apparent diffusion coefficient (D_app) of poly(phenosafranine) film was measured as 2.51 × 10⁻⁹ cm²/s. This film exhibits potent and persistent electron-mediating behavior followed by well-separated oxidation peaks towards ascorbic acid (AA), dopamine (DA) and serotonin with activation overpotential, which is 200 mV lower than that of the bare electrode for AA oxidation. Using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) studies, the limit of detection of DA in the presence of AA is estimated to be in the submicromolar regime. This method has been used for determining DA and AA concentrations in real samples with satisfactory results.     

Amperometric enzyme biosensor for hydrogen peroxide via Ugi multicomponent reaction

A novel strategy based on the Ugi multicomponent reaction was employed for immobilizing horseradish peroxidase on sodium alginate-coated gold electrode. The electrode was employed for constructing an amperometric biosensor device using 1 mM hydroquinone as electrochemical mediator. The electrode showed linear response (poised at −300 mV vs Ag/AgCl) toward H₂O₂ concentration between 70 μM and 8.8 mM at pH 7.0. The biosensor reached 95% of steady-state current in about 12 s and its sensitivity was 33.8 mA/M cm². The electrode retained full initial activity after 30 days of storage at 4 °C in 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0.     

KOH activated carbon derived from biomass-banana fibers as an efficient negative electrode in high performance asymmetric supercapacitor

Here we demonstrate the fabrication, electrochemical performance and application of an asymmetric supercapacitor(AS) device constructed with β–Ni(OH)_2/MWCNTs as positive electrode and KOH activated honeycomb-like porous carbon(K-PC) derived from banana fibers as negative electrode. Initially,the electrochemical performance of hydrothermally synthesized β–Ni(OH)_2/MWCNTs nanocomposite and K-PC was studied in a three-electrode system using 1 M KOH. These materials exhibited a specific capacitance(Cs) of 1327 F/g and 324 F/g respectively at a scan rate of 10 m V/s. Further, the AS device i.e.,β–Ni(OH)_2/MWCNTs//K-PC in 1 M KOH solution, demonstrated a Cs of 156 F/g at scan rate of 10 m V/s in a broad cell voltage of 0–2.2 V. The device demonstrated a good rate capability by maintaining a Cs of 59 F/g even at high current density(25 A/g). The device also offered high energy density of 63 Wh/kg with maximum power density of 5.2 kW/kg. The AS device exhibited excellent cycle life with 100% capacitance retention at 5000 th cycle at a high current density of 25 A/g. Two AS devices connected in series were employed for powering a pair of LEDs of different colors and also a mini fan.     

Effective scrap iron particles (SIP) pre-treatment for complete mineralization of benzidine based azo dye effluent

This study proposed that hybrid scrap cast iron particles (SIP)-aerobic biodegradation technology could enhance the biodegradability of toxic wastewater. SIP cleaved the azo linkages of Direct Green1 dye to form benzidine, 4-aminophenol, aniline and 1,2,7-triamino-8-hydroxynapthalene-3,6-disulfonic acid. SIP-mediated dye reduction was effective at wide pH range; however, kinetic analysis revealed fastest pseudo-first order dye reduction rate at acidic pH 3 (k_d = 0.549 min⁻¹) followed by pH 9 (k_d = 0.383 min⁻¹) and pH 7 (k_d = 0.318 min⁻¹). The daughter aromatic amines produced were partially adsorbed onto the SIP surface and maximally at neutral pH. The adsorption process followed pseudo-second order adsorption kinetics and Langmuir isotherm. Benzidine was adsorbed more than 4-aminophenol and aniline. BOD₅ of the SIP-treated effluent increased from 0.93 to 12 mg/L showing improved biodegradability. The daughter amines were rapidly mineralized in the aerobic bioreactor within 6 h. Cost-effective SIP pre-treatment could accelerate mineralization and detoxification of recalcitrant wastewater.     

Determination of phenolic whitening agents in cosmetics by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with amperometric detection

A sensitive method for simultaneous determination of six phenolic whitening agents,including arbutin, phenol,resorcinol,hydroquinone,kojic acid,and salicylic acid in cosmetics has been developed using micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with amperometric detection（MECC-AD）.Effects of several factors,such as the pH value and concentration of running buffer,potential applied to the working electrode,separation voltage,and injection time were investigated to obtain optimum conditions for separation and detection.With a 75 cm long fused-silica capillary tube,well-defined separation of six phenolic compounds was achieved in 10mmol/L SDS/40 mmol/L H₃BO₃-Na₂B₄O₇ running buffer（pH 9.0）.Good linear relationship was obtained for each analyte over three orders of magnitude with correlation coefficients（r2） between 0.9985 and 0.9994,and the detection limit（S/N=3） ranged from 0.04μg/mL to 0.45μg/mL The proposed method has been successfully applied for the determination of phenolic whitening agents in real cosmetic samples with satisfactory results,providing an alternative monitoring method for cosmetics safety regulation.     

Determination of formal potential of NADH/NAD+ redox couple and catalytic oxidation of NADH using poly(phenosafranin)-modified carbon electrodes

The electrochemical regeneration of NADH/NAD⁺ redox couple has been studied using poly(phenosafranin) (PPS)-modified carbon electrodes to evaluate the formal potential and catalytic rate constant for the oxidation of NADH. The PPS-modified electrodes were prepared by electropolymerization of phenosafranin onto different carbon substrates (glassy carbon (GC) and basal-plane pyrolytic graphite (BPPG)) in different electrolytic solutions. The formal potential was estimated to be ? 0.365 ± 0.002 V vs. SHE at pH 7.0. As for the bare carbon electrodes, the oxidation of NADH at the BPPG electrode was found to be enhanced compared with the GC electrode. For the PPS-modified electrodes, it was found that the electrocatalysis of PPS-modified electrodes for the oxidation of NADH largely depends on the carbon substrate and electrolyte solution employed for their preparation, i.e., the PPS-modified BPPG electrode prepared in 0.2 M NaClO₄/acetonitrile solution exhibits an excellent and persistent electrocatalytic property toward NADH oxidation in phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.0) with a diminution of the overpotential of about 740 and 670 mV compared with those at the bare GC electrode and the PPS-modified GC electrode prepared in 0.2 M H₂SO₄ solution, respectively. A quantitative analysis of the electrocatalytic reaction based on rotating disk voltammetry gave the electrocatalytic reaction rate constants of the order of 10³–10⁴ M^?1 s^? 1 depending on the preparation conditions of the PPS-modified electrodes.     

Amperometric glucose sensor based on glucose oxidase immobilized on gelatin-multiwalled carbon nanotube modified glassy carbon electrode

We investigated the direct electrochemistry of glucose oxidase (GOx) at gelatin-multiwalled carbon nanotube (GCNT) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). GOx was covalently immobilized onto GCNT modified GCE through the well known glutaraldehyde (GAD) chemistry. The immobilized GOx showed a pair of well-defined reversible redox peaks with a formal potential (E⁰′) of ? 0.40 V and a peak to peak separation (ΔE_p) of 47 mV. The surface coverage concentration (Г) of GOx in GCNT/GOx/GAD composite film modified GCE was 3.88 × 10^? 9 mol cm^? 2 which indicates the high enzyme loading. The electron transfer rate constant (k_s) of GOx immobilized onto GCNT was 1.08 s^? 1 which validates a rapid electron transfer processes. The composite film shows linear response towards 6.30 to 20.09 mM glucose. We observed a good sensitivity of 2.47 μA mM^?1 cm^? 2 for glucose at the composite film. The fabricated biosensor displayed two weeks stability. Moreover, it shows no response to 0.5 mM of ascorbic acid (AA), uric acid (UA), acetaminophen (AP), pyruvate (PA) and lactate (LA) which shows its potential application in the determination of glucose from human serum samples. The composite film exhibits excellent recovery for glucose in human serum at physiological pH with good practical applicability.     

Direct electrochemistry study of glucose oxidase on Pt nanoparticle-modified aligned carbon nanotubes electrode by the assistance of chitosan–CdS and its biosensoring for glucose

Aligned carbon nanotubes (ACNTs) electrode has been developed for the direct protein electrochemistry and enzyme-biosensor study involving two types of nanoparticles. Pt nanoparticles (Pt_nano) were electro-modified on the ACNTs’ each tube, greatly increasing the electrode surface area for locating protein and also its electronic transfer ability. Glucose oxidase (GOD) with chitosan (CS) and CdS nanoparticles electrochemically coated on each tube of ACNTs–Pt_nano by the electrodeposition reaction of CS when pH value passing its pKa. The CdS nanoparticles between ACNTs electrode and GOD have stimulated the GOD’s direct electron transfer during its redox reaction of FAD/FADH₂. The CS–GOD–CdS/ACNTs–Pt_nano electrode also offer sensitive response to the substrate of glucose with detection limit of 46.8 μM (S/N = 3) and apparent Michaelis–Menten constant of 11.86 mM.     

Quaternary (liquid + liquid) equilibria of aqueous two-phase poly (ethylene glycol), poly (DMAM–TBAM), and KH2PO4: Experimental and generalized Flory–Huggins theory

Quaternary (liquid + liquid) equilibrium (LLE) data of the aqueous two-phase poly (ethylene glycol), poly (N,N-dimethylacrylamide-t-butylacrylamide) with abbreviation name poly (DMAM–TBAM) as a hydrophobic association water-soluble copolymer and KH₂PO₄ has been determined experimentally at T = 338.15 K. Furthermore, the generalized Flory–Huggins theory with two electrostatic terms (the Debye–Hückel and Pitzer–Debye–Hückel) was used for correlation of the phase behavior of the quaternary system and the interaction parameters between all species were calculated.It was found that addition of poly (DMAM–TBAM) copolymer as well as changing the temperature can shift the binodal curves of aqueous two-phase systems containing polyethylene glycol (PEG) and salt. Also, the phase behavior of the DMAM–TBAM copolymer with some salts containing sodium chloride, ammonium hydrogen phosphate, potassium hydrogen phosphate, and sodium carbonate were studied experimentally at T = 338.15 K and the effect of the salt type on the their binodal curves was determined.     

Enthalpies of mixing of liquid systems for lead free soldering: Al-Cu-Sn system

The present work refers to high-temperature drop calorimetric measurements on liquid Al–Cu, Al–Sn, and Al–Cu–Sn alloys. The binary systems have been investigated at 973 K, up to 40 at.% Cu in case of Al–Cu, and over the entire concentrational range in case of Al–Sn. Measurements in the ternary Al–Cu–Sn system were performed along the following cross-sections: x_Al/x_Cu = 1:1, x_Al/x_Sn = 1:1, x_Cu/x_Sn = 7:3, x_Cu/x_Sn = 1:1, and x_Cu/x_Sn = 3:7 at 1273 K. Experimental data were used to find ternary interaction parameters by applying the Redlich–Kister–Muggianu model for substitutional solutions, and a full set of parameters describing the concentration dependence of the enthalpy of mixing was derived. From these, the isoenthalpy curves were constructed for 1273 K. The ternary system shows an exothermic enthalpy minimum of approx. ?18,000 J/mol in the Al–Cu binary and a maximum of approx. 4000 J/mol in the Al–Sn binary system. The Al–Cu–Sn system is characterized by considerable repulsive ternary interactions as shown by the positive ternary interaction parameters.     

The electrode responses of a tungsten bronze electrode differ in potentiometry and voltammetry and give access to the individual contributions of electron and proton transfer

A tungsten wire covered with Na_0.75WO₃ acts in potentiometry as a reversible pH electrode having a pH dependent open-circuit potential E_ocp with nernstian slope. The mid-peak potential E_mp of cyclic voltammograms also depends on pH. At low pH (e.g., pH 2) and slow scan rates (e.g., 2 mV s^–1) the voltammetric response is almost completely reversible. At higher pH and faster scan rates, the voltammetric systems exhibit features of increasing irreversibility. Under the conditions of reversibility, the E_ocp and E_mp differ significantly. E_ocp is determined by the proton transfer at the electrode surface; whereas E_mp is determined by the electron transfer equilibrium tungsten(VI)/tungsten(V) and the proton transfer at the electrode surface. The difference between E_ocp and E_mp provides the individual thermodynamic contributions of electron and proton transfer to the overall pH dependent redox electrode. This is the first time that both contributions can be separated for an insertion electrochemical system (thin surface layer). It is also shown for the first time that the mechanism of an ion-sensitive electrode can differ in potentiometry and voltammetry.     

Hydrothermal conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into high-value energy storage materials

Preparation of hierarchically porous, heteroatom-rich nanostructured carbons through green and scalable routes plays a key role for practical energy storage applications. In this work, naturally abundant lignocellulosic agricultural waste with high initial oxygen content, hazelnut shells, were hydrothermally carbonized and converted into nanostructured ‘hydrochar'. Environmentally benign ceramic/magnesium oxide(Mg O) templating was used to introduce porosity into the hydrochar. Electrochemical performance of the resulting material(HM700) was investigated in aqueous solutions of 1 M H_2SO_4, 6 M KOH and1 M Na_2SO_4, using a three-electrode cell. HM700 achieved a high specific capacitance of 323.2 F/g in 1 M H_2SO_4(at 1 A/g,-0.3 to 0.9 V vs. Ag/Ag Cl) due to the contributions of oxygen heteroatoms(13.5 wt%)to the total capacitance by pseudo-capacitive effect. Moreover, a maximum energy density of 11.1 Wh/kg and a maximum power density of 3686.2 W/kg were attained for the symmetric supercapacitor employing HM700 as electrode material(1 M Na_2SO_4, E = 2 V), making the device promising for green supercapacitor applications.     

Preparation of natural isovaleraldehyde by the Maillard reaction

Isovaleraldehyde possesses malty,fruity,cocoa-like odor and is widely used in fruit,chocolate,coffee flavors.The preparation of natural isovaleraldehyde by the Maillard model reaction was studied in this paper.The effects of the ratio of D-glucose/L-leucine, reaction temperature and pH value on the yield of isovaleraldehyde were explored.The optimum conditions were as follows: n(D-glucose):n(L-leucine)=4,temperature 150℃,reaction time 3 h,pH 5.The highest yield of isovaleraldehyde obtained was about 32%.     

A non-precious metal catalyst for oxygen reduction prepared by heat-treating a mechanical mixture of carbon black,melamine and cobalt chloride

A non-precious metal catalyst CoMe]C for the oxygen reduction reaction is prepared by heat-treating a mechanical mixture of carbon black, melamine and cobalt chloride at 600 under nitrogen atmosphere for 2 h. The catalytic activity of CoMe/C is characterized by the electrochemical linear sweep voltammetry technique. The onset reduction potential of the catalyst is 0.55 V （vs. SCE） at a scanning rate of 5 mV/s in 0.5 mol/L H2SO4 solution. The formation of the ORR activity sites of CoMe/C is facilitated by metallic β- cobalt.     

Conformational and stereoelectronic investigation of chloromethyl methyl sulfide and its sulfinyl and sulfonyl analogs

Three compounds based on polyoxometalate building blocks, [Cu(en)₂]{[Cu(en)₂]₂[Mo^VI₅Mo^V₃V^IV₈O₄₀(PO₄)]} · 4H₂O (1), [Co(en)₂]{[Co(en)₂]₂[HMo^VI₄Mo^V₄V^IV₈O₄₀(PO₄)]} · 5H₂O (2) and [Ni(en)₂]{[Ni(en)₂]₂[Mo^VI₅Mo^V₃V^IV₈O₄₀(VO₄)]} · 2H₂O (3) (en = ethylenediamine), have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, XPS, XRD, TGA and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The result of structure determination shows that isomorphic compounds 1, 2 and 3 feature a one-dimensional chain built from the reduced tetra-capped pseudo-Keggin polyoxoanion, which is further interconnected by [M(en)₂]²⁺ (M = Cu, Co and Ni) groups via the terminal oxygen atoms of polyoxoanions. The crystal data for these compounds are the following: 1, monoclinic, space group C2/c, a = 26.702(3) Å, b = 13.4539(14) Å, c = 19.5987(19) Å, β = 108.650(2)°, V = 6671.0(12) Å³, Z = 4; 2, monoclinic, space group C2/c, a = 26.244(3) Å, b = 13.5070(17) Å, c = 19.581(3) Å, β = 106.881(2)°, V = 6641.8(15) Å³, Z = 4; 3, monoclinic, space group C2/c, a = 26.2789(15) Å, b = 13.5408(6) Å, c = 19.6312(9) Å, β = 106.2590(10)°, V = 6706.1(6) Å³, Z = 4. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements of compounds 1 and 3 reveal the feature of antiferromagnetic exchange in these compounds.     

Synthesis and characterization of a tetranuclear copper(Ⅱ) complex with a chiral Schiff base ligand

The title complex l-[Cu^Ⅱ₄（Hvap）₂（vap）₂（MeOH）₂]（CIO₄）₂ 1 has been synthesized and characterized by EA. IR,TGA,solid-state CD spectra and X-ray single-crystal analyses（l-H₂vap’.a Schiff base ligand derived from the condensation of o-vanillin and l-2-amino-3-phenyl-l-propanol）.Complex 1 crystallizes in monoclinic system,chiral space group P2₁ with a =10.4257（18）.b = 21.695（4）,c = 15.721（3）A,β= 94.443（3）.V= 3545.1（11） ³,Z=2,Cu₄C₇₀H₇₈N₄O₂₂Cl₂.Mr= 1652.42,D_c= 1.548 g/cm³, F（000）= 1704 andμ（MoKα） = 1.338 mm^-1.The final R = 0.0682 and wR = 0.1420 for 6170 observed reflections with I > 2σ（I） and R = 0.1775 and wR = 0.1830 for all data.The structure of complex 1 contains a boat-shaped(Cu₄O₄} motif.The solid-state CD spectra confirm the chiral nature of complex 1.     

Synthesis of an antimetastatic tetrasaccharide β-D-Gal-(1→4)-β-d-GlcpNAc-(1→6)-α-D-Manp-(1→6)-β-D-Manp-OMe

An antimetastatic tetrasaccharide T₁,β-D-Gal-（1→4）-β-D-GlcpNAc-（1→6）-α-D-Manp-（1→6）-β-D-Manp-OMe,was synthesized with two approaches.The first approach was a conventional method employing thioglycoside and Koenigs-Knorr glycosylation reaction in 24%overall yield.The second one was a novel route through the azidoiodo-glycosylation strategy by using 2-iodo-2-deoxylactosyl azide as the donor in 36%overall yield.     

Quasi-reversible two-electron reduction of oxygen at gold electrodes modified with a self-assembled submonolayer of cysteine

The electrochemical reduction of molecular oxygen (O₂) has been performed at gold electrodes modified with a submonolayer of a self-assembly (sub-SAM/Au) of a thiol compound (typically cysteine (CYST)) in O₂-saturated 0.5 M KOH. At bare gold electrode O₂ reduction reaction proceeds irreversibly, while this reaction is totally hindered at gold electrodes with a compact structure of CYST over its surface. The partial reductive desorption of the compact CYST monolayer was achieved by controlling the potential of the CYST/Au electrode, leading to the formation of a submonolayer coverage of the thiol compound over the Au electrode surface (sub-SAM/Au), at which the CYST molecules selectively block the Au(1 0 0) and Au(1 1 0) fractions (the so-called rough domains) of the polycrystalline Au while the Au(1 1 1) component (the so-called smooth domains) remains bare (i.e., uncovered with CYST). This sub-SAM/Au electrode extraordinarily exhibits a quasi-reversible two-electron reduction of molecular oxygen (O₂) in alkaline medium with a peak separation (ΔE_p) between the cathodic and anodic peak potentials (E_p^c,E_p^a) of about 60 mV. The ratio of the anodic current to the cathodic one is close to unity. The formal potential (E^o′) of this reaction is found to equal −150 mV vs. Ag/AgCl/KCl(sat.).