Photophysics and morphology of a polyfluorene donor–acceptor triblock copolymer for solar cells

We present a study of the optical, structural and device properties of a polyfluorene (PFM)‐based (PFM‐F8BT‐PFM) donor–acceptor triblock copolymer for use in an organic solar cell. Neutron reflectivity is employed to probe the vertical composition profile before and after thermal annealing while the crystallinity was examined using grazing incidence wide‐angle X‐ray. The absorption spectra and photoluminescence emission for the triblock and analogous blend of PFM with F8BT reveal a greater degree of intermixing in the triblock. However, the triblock copolymer exhibits exciplex emission, which necessitates a geminate polar pair; long‐lived exciplex states are detrimental in organic photovoltaic devices. The triplet yield in the triblock and the blend is estimated using photoinduced absorption, with the triblock copolymer generating a triplet population 20 times that of the blend. This is far from ideal as triplets are wasted states in organic photovoltaic devices and they can also act as scavengers of polarons reducing the efficiency even more. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2013 , 51, 1705–1718     

Synthesis,characterization, anti-fungi and anti-bacterial activity of new [(2-pyridyl)-3-isatin]-bishydrazone

New [(pyridine-2-carboxaldhyde)-3-isatin]-bishydrazone (cpish), [(2-acetylpyridine)-3-isatin]-bishydrazone (apish), and [(2-benzoyl pyridine)-3-isatin]-bishydrazone (bpish) have been synthesized and characterized by the elemental analysis, IR, NMR and electronic spectra. The bioefficiency of the [(2-pyridyl)-3-isatin]-bishydrazones have been examined for their in-vitro antibacterial and antifungal activity against many types of bacteria and fungal cultures which are common contaminants of the environment in Egypt and some of which are involved in human and animal diseases or in plant diseases or frequently reported from contaminated soil, water, and food substances. The results of these studies indicate that the [(2-pyridyl)-3-isatin]-bishydrazones possess notable antimicrobial properties.     

Protective Roles of Honey in Reproductive Health: A Review

Nowadays, most people who lead healthy lifestyles tend to use natural products as supplements, complementary medicine or alternative treatments. Honey is God’s precious gift to mankind. Honey has been highly appreciated and extensively used since ancient history due to its high nutritional and therapeutic values. It is also known to enhance fertility. In the last few decades, the important role of honey in modern medicine has been acknowledged due to the large body of convincing evidence derived from extensive laboratory studies and clinical investigations. Honey has a highly complex chemical and biological composition that consists of various essential bioactive compounds, enzymes, amino and organic acids, acid phosphorylase, phytochemicals, carotenoid-like substances, vitamins and minerals. Reproductive health and fertility rates have declined in the last 30 years. Therefore, this review aimed to highlight the protective role of honey as a potential therapeutic in maintaining reproductive health. The main role of honey is to enhance fertility and treat infertility problems by acting as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy for protecting the vagina and uterus from atrophy, protecting against the toxic effects of xeno-oestrogenic agents on female reproductive functions and helping in the treatment of gynaecological disorders, such as vulvovaginal candidiasis infection, that affect women’s lives.     

Multi-residue analytical method for human pharmaceuticals and synthetic hormones in river water and sewage effluents by solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

Pollutants such as human pharmaceuticals and synthetic hormones that are not covered by environmental legislation have increasingly become important emerging aquatic contaminants. This paper reports the development of a sensitive and selective multi-residue method for simultaneous determination and quantification of 23 pharmaceuticals and synthetic hormones from different therapeutic classes in water samples. Target pharmaceuticals include anti-diabetic, antihypertensive, hypolipidemic agents, β2-adrenergic receptor agonist, antihistamine, analgesic and sex hormones. The developed method is based on solid phase extraction (SPE) followed by instrumental analysis using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–ESI-MS/MS) with 30 min total run time. River water samples (150 mL) and (sewage treatment plant) STP effluents (100 mL) adjusted to pH 2, were loaded into MCX (3 cm³, 60 mg) cartridge and eluted with four different reagents for maximum recovery. Quantification was achieved by using eight isotopically labeled internal standards (I.S.) that effectively correct for losses during sample preparation and matrix effects during LC–ESI-MS/MS analysis. Good recoveries higher than 70% were obtained for most of target analytes in all matrices. Method detection limit (MDL) ranged from 0.2 to 281 ng/L. The developed method was applied to determine the levels of target analytes in various samples, including river water and STP effluents. Among the tested emerging pollutants, chlorothiazide was found at the highest level, with concentrations reaching up to 865 ng/L in STP effluent, and 182 ng/L in river water.     

Discontinuous crack growth in poly (vinyl fluoride) by mechanochemical ageing in sodium hydroxide

The mechanochemical degradation of poly (vinyl fluoride) (PVDF) was studied in sodium hydroxide solution (soda) in the presence of various gradients of imposed mechanical deformation. Compact tension (CT) and low-necked tensile specimens were used to study ageing in soda (pH 14) at 90 °C during up to 35 days. This made it possible to impose various strain fields during ageing. An image correlation method was used to estimate the displacement fields at the surface of the specimen during the mechanical tests. PVDF degradation in soda usually results in a reddish brown colouring and is essentially localised in the “fairly deformed zones” (30% < ?₁ < 70%). For more important strains (?₁ > 70%), no colouration is observed and the degradation is stopped by limitation of the soda diffusion in the material [1] and [2]. In the presence of an imposed strain field, there is a level of mechanochemical degradation “Stress Corrosion Cracking” (SCC) in soda for which the formation of microcracks is observed within a layer of exposed surface of degraded polymer. Cracking always starts at the border of the zone coloured by chemical degradation. The mechanical deformation in this bordering zone is approximately ?₁ ≈ 30%. The cracking continues via a discontinuous propagation of propagations and crack arrests usually called “stick-slip”. The fracture surfaces are marked by a succession of distinct coloured striations representing a temporary crack arrests characteristic of discontinuous crack growth. Cracking can stop with the elimination of one of the two combined causes of SCC, mechanical or chemical.     

Coordination of carbonyl oxygen in the complexes of polymeric <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-crotonyl-2-hydroxyphenylazomethine

The Schiff base N-crotonyl-2-hydroxyphenylazomethine HL, derived from the reaction of acrylamide and salicylaldehyde, was synthesised. Polymeric complexes were obtained from the reaction of polymeric HL with divalent metals. The mode of bonding and overall geometry of the complexes were determined through physico-chemical and spectroscopic methods and compared with that previously reported for the analogous monomeric ligand. These studies revealed tetrahedral geometries around the metal centres for Mn(II), Co(II), Zn(II), Cd(II) and Hg(II) complexes of general formula [M(L)Cl], octahedral for Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes of general formula [M′(L)Cl(H₂O)₂], and square planar for Pd(II) complex of general formula [Pd(L)Cl].     

Laser-induced fluorescence detection of lead atoms in a laser-induced plasma: An experimental analytical optimization study

The combination of the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) techniques was investigated to improve the limit of detection (LoD) of trace elements in solid matrices. The influence of the main experimental parameters on the LIF signal, namely the ablation fluence, the excitation energy, and the inter-pulse delay, was studied experimentally and a discussion of the results was presented. For illustrative purpose we considered detection of lead in brass samples. The plasma was produced by a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser and then re-excited by a nanosecond Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO) laser. The experiments were performed in air at atmospheric pressure. We found out that the optimal conditions were obtained for our experimental set-up using relatively weak ablation fluence of 2–3 J/cm² and an inter-pulse delay of about 5–10 μs. Also, a few tens of microjoules was typically required to maximize the LIF signal. Using the LIBS–LIFS technique, a single-shot LoD for lead of about 1.5 part per million (ppm) was obtained while a value of 0.2 ppm was obtained after accumulating over 100 shots. These values represent an improvement of about two orders of magnitude with respect to LIBS.     

Thermo-mechanical description of material diffusion during an ultrasonic wire bonding process

The volume diffusion during an ultrasonic wire bonding process leads to a material transport between the wire and the material of the substrate and thus creates an intermetallic phase between them. In order to investigate this process, the thermal and mechanical mechanisms occurring during wire bonding should be studied. For this purpose, finite element simulations based on coupled thermo-mechanical equations are performed to study the temperature and stress distribution in and around the interface. The final objective of the model is to develop a growth law for the intermetallic phases by considering the mechanical work applied to the wire in addition to the temperature increase at the interface. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Environmental Degradation of Microbial Polyhydroxyalkanoates and Oil Palm-Based Composites

This paper investigates the degradation of polyhydroxyalkanoates and its biofiber composites in both soil and lake environment. Time-dependent changes in the weight loss of films were monitored. The rate of degradation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)], poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB-co-23?mol% 4HB)] and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB-co-9?mol% 3HV-co-19?mol% 4HB)] were investigated. The rate of degradation in the lake is higher compared to that in the soil. The highest rate of degradation in lake environment (15.6?% w/w week^?1) was observed with P(3HB-co-3HV-co-4HB) terpolymer. Additionally, the rate of degradation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) [P(3HB-co-38?mol% 3HV)] was compared to PHBV biofiber composites containing compatibilizers and empty fruit bunch (EFB). Here, composites with 30?% EFB displayed the highest rate of degradation both in the lake (25.6?% w/w week^?1) and soil (15.6?% w/w week^?1) environment.