Investigation of the effects of the local environment on the surface-enhanced Raman spectra of striped gold/silver nanorod arrays

The effects of the local environment on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra utilizing gold, silver, and gold/silver striped nanorod array substrates was investigated. The arrays were fabricated using an electrochemical metal deposition into an anodic aluminum oxide template. The analyte chosen for this study was p-nitroso-N,N-dimethylaniline (p-NDMA), which has an electronic structure that is highly sensitive to its surrounding environment. Changes in the peak positions and peak ratios were used to probe the influence of water and the striping pattern on the SERS signal of p-NDMA. We present the results of the fabrication and characterization of the nanorod array substrates, as well as SERS spectra of p-NDMA in both polar and nonpolar environments and SERS spectra on a variety of striped nanorod arrays. The Raman data suggests that the p-NDMA molecule exists in a more polarized state when bound to the gold as compared to the silver rods. We have attempted to use these differences to determine whether the SERS signal predominantly arises from the tips of the rods or from the interior of the array.     

Coupling of air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction method with partial least squares for simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of some preservatives

An air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction method coupled with a multivariate calibration method, namely partial least squares (PLS), was developed for the extraction and simultaneous determination of benzoic acid (BA) and sorbic acid (SA) via a spectrophotometric approach. In this work, a two-step microextraction method was used. In the first step, analytes were extracted from acidic aqueous solution into octanol, as an organic solvent, and in the second step, the analytes were simultaneously back-extracted into an alkaline aqueous solution. The high absorption signal of octanol was the main reason to perform this back-extraction step. The effects of different parameters on the method efficiency were investigated; the parameters included extraction solvent volume, ionic strength of aqueous solution, pH, number of extraction cycles, and aqueous sample volume. Under optimum conditions, calibration graphs were seen to be linear over the range of 0.1–2.0 µg mL^?1 for the both analytes. Other analytical parameters were obtained as follows: Enrichment factors (EFs) were found to be 14.98 and 13.03, and limits of detection were determined to be 0.03 and 0.04 µg mL^?1 for BA and SA, respectively. As the last step, binary mixtures of the analytes were prepared and simultaneously extracted using the proposed method. Finally, PLS modeling was used for multivariate calibration of spectrophotometric data. It was successfully utilized for the analysis of the target analytes in real samples.     

On the rate of complete convergence for weighted sums of NSD random variables and an application

In this paper, the complete convergence is established for the weighted sums of negatively superadditive-dependent random variables. As an application, the Marcinkiewicz-Zygmund strong law of large numbers for the random weighted average is also achieved, and a simulation study is done for the asymptotic behaviour of random weighting estimator.     

A nanomagnetic and 3-mercaptopropyl-functionalized silica powder for dispersive solid phase extraction of Hg(II) prior to its determination by continuous-flow cold vapor AAS

Microchimica Acta - The authors describe a method for the trace determination of Hg(II) in human fluids using magnetic dispersive solid phase extraction. A silica powder magnetized with Fe3O4...     

Aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohols through biosynthesized palladium nanoparticles mediated by Oak fruit bark extract as an efficient heterogeneous nanocatalyst

In this study, green synthesis of Pd nanoparticles (NPs) is outlined through application of Oak fruit bark extract as a reducing, capping and stabilizing agent. The characteristics and properties of the biosynthesized Pd NPs were revealed by FESEM, EDX, XRD, TEM, UV–Vis, and FT-IR spectroscopies. So that, UV–Vis spectroscopy of the Pd colloidal solution confirmed reduction of Pd ions, and XRD and TEM analysis identified fcc unit cell structure forming 5–7 nm spherical Pd NPs. Furthermore, catalytic activity of the prepared catalyst was investigated through aerobic oxidation of alcohols, as model reactions. Catalytic evaluations demonstrated achievement of good yields from primary and secondary benzyl alcohols. In general, the devised synthesis method is advantageous from several perspectives. For example, the synthesized catalysts give high product yields and are efficient, they eliminate the need for surfactant, chemical reductants, ligand and organic solvents, the approach is economically inexpensive, it results in cleaner reaction profiles, application of the simply prepared heterogeneous catalyst is convenient, and the catalyst is recoverable and reusable for at least six times without any significant loss of its catalytic activity.     

Chlorofluorofullerenes (CFFs)

We have applied density functional theory calculations to devise stable arrangements of chlorofluorofullerenes (CFFs). In the case of C₆₀ClF and C₆₀Cl₂F₂, an extensive isomer search shows that the most stable configurations are those with two halogens located on the corannulene-like structure. In general, 1,2-adduct is more stable than 1,4-adduct and 1,2 addition across 6–6 bonds is more stable than 1,2 addition across 5–6 bonds. The formation of a CFF from chlorofullerene is exothermic while chlorination of a fluorofullerene is endothermic. For C₆₀Cl_18-3nF_3n (n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6), the binding energies decrease as the number of Cl atoms increases and the energy differences between isomers with the same formula are small. The ¹³C NMR patterns of C₆₀Cl_18-3nF_3n (n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) are divided into two parts: δ_iso values of chlorinated and fluorinated carbons shift to low field and appear in the range of 65.1–100.2 and 84.5–97.4 ppm; two peaks related to C sites on the cyclohexatriene pole and the flattened equatorial belt separating the two hemispheres appear at 120.2–123.4 and 125.8–129.1 ppm, respectively. Negative nucleus independent chemical shift (NICS) in interior positions of rings or cages indicates the presence of induced diatropic ring currents which suggests that cyclohexatriene poles can be considered as benzenoid fragments. NICS yields minor value (?2.7 ppm) at the ring center of polar pentagons of C₆₀Cl₁₀F₁₀, and significantly negative values in the cage center.     

The hydrogen‐bonded dimers of N,N′,N′′‐tricyclohexylphosphoric triamide in new tin(IV) and copper(II) complexes

In the new tin(IV) and copper(II) complexes, cis‐dichlorido‐trans‐dimethyl‐cis‐bis(N,N′,N′′‐tricyclohexylphosphoric triamide‐κO)tin(IV), [Sn(CH₃)₂Cl₂(C₁₈H₃₆N₃OP)₂], (I), and trans‐diaquabis(N,N′,N′′‐tricyclohexylphosphoric triamide‐κO)copper(II) dinitrate–N,N′,N′′‐tricyclohexylphosphoric triamide (1/2), [Cu(C₁₈H₃₆N₃OP)₂(H₂O)₂](NO₃)₂·2C₁₈H₃₆N₃OP, (II), the N,N′,N′′‐tricyclohexylphosphoric triamide (PTA) ligands exist as hydrogen‐bonded dimers via P=O...H—N interactions around the metal center. The asymmetric unit in (I) consists of one complete complex molecule located on a general position. The Sn^IV coordination geometry is octahedral with two cis hydrogen‐bonded PTA ligands, two cis chloride ligands and two trans methyl groups. The asymmetric unit in (II) contains one half of a [Cu(PTA)₂(H₂O)₂]²⁺ dication on a special position (site symmetry for the Cu atom), one nitrate anion and one free PTA molecule, both on general positions. The complex adopts a square‐planar trans‐[CuO₂O₂] coordination geometry, with the Cu^II ion coordinated by two PTA ligands and two water molecules. Each of the noncoordinated PTA molecules is hydrogen bonded to a neighboring coordinated PTA molecule and an adjacent water molecule; the phosphoryl O atom acts as a double‐H‐atom acceptor. The P atoms in the PTA ligands of both complexes and in the noncoordinated hydrogen‐bonded molecules in (II) adopt a slightly distorted tetrahedral environment.     

A new strategy to simultaneous microextraction of acidic and basic compounds

The simultaneous extraction of acidic and basic pollutants from water samples is an interesting and debatable work in sample preparation techniques. A novel and efficient method named ion pair based surfactant assisted microextraction (IP-SAME) was applied for extraction and preconcentration of five selected acidic and basic aromatic species as model compounds in water samples, followed by high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection. A mixture including 1 mL of ultra-pure water (containing ionic surfactant as emulsifier agent) and 60 μL 1-octanol (as extraction solvent) was rapidly injected using a syringe into a 10.0 mL water sample which formed an emulsified solution. IP-SAME mechanism can be interpreted by two types of molecular mass transfer into the organic solvent (partitioning and ion pairing for non-ionized and ionized compounds, respectively) during emulsification process. The effective parameters on the extraction efficiency such as the extraction solvent type and its volume, type of the surfactant and its concentration, sample pH and ionic strength of the sample were optimized. Under the optimum conditions (60 μL of 1-octanol; 1.5 mmol L(-1) cethyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as emulsifier agent and sample pH 10.0), the preconcentration factors (PFs), detection limits and linear dynamic ranges (LDRs) were obtained in the range of 87-348, 0.07-0.6 μg L(-1) and 0.1-200 μg L(-1) respectively. All of natural water samples were successfully analyzed by the proposed method.     

Efficient Synthesis of Novel Coumarin‐3‐carboxamides (=2‐Oxo‐2H‐1‐benzopyran‐3‐carboxamides) Containing Lipophilic Spacers

The novel coumarin‐3‐carboxamides (=2‐oxo‐2H‐1‐benzopyran‐3‐carboxamides) 5a – 5g containing lipophilic spacers were synthesized through the Ugi‐four‐component reaction (Scheme 1). The reactions of aromatic aldehydes 1 , 4,4′‐oxybis[benzenamine] or 4,4′‐methylenebis[benzenamine] as diamine 2 , coumarin‐3‐carboxylic acid (=2‐oxo‐2H‐benzopyran‐3‐carboxylic acid; 3 ), and alkyl isocyanides 4 lead to the desired substituted coumarin‐3‐carboxamides 5a – 5g at room temperature with high bond‐forming efficiency. These novel coumarin derivatives exhibit brilliant fluorescence at 544 nm in CHCl₃.     

Characterizations of the simple group {^2D_n(3)} by prime graph and spectrum

In this paper, we prove that there exists an infinite series of finite simple groups of Lie type with connected prime graphs which are uniquely determined by their prime graphs. More precisely, we show that every finite group G with the same prime graph as ${{}^2D_{n}(3)}$ , where n ≥ 5 is odd, is necessarily isomorphic to the group ${{}^2D_{n}(3)}$ . In fact, we give a positive answer to an open problem that arose in Zavarnitsine (Algebra Logic 45(4):220–231, 2006). As a consequence of our result, we obtain that the simple group ${{}^2D_n(3)}$ , where n is an odd number, is characterizable by its spectrum.