Polymeric membrane coated graphite cesium selective electrode based on 4′,4″(5′) di–tert-butyl di-benzo-18-crown-6

A new PVC membrane coated graphite electrode for cesium ion based on 4′,4″(5′)di–tert-butyl di-benzo-18-crown-6 (DTBDB18C6) as ionophore was prepared. The electrode shows a near Nernstian response of 57.0 ± 1.8 mV decade^?1 over a wide activity range of 6.0 × 10^?6–1.0 × 10^?1 mol L^?1 with a limit of detection 4.0 × 10^?6 mol L^?1. The proposed electrode is suitable for use in aqueous solution in the pH range of 3.0–9.5. It has a fast response time of 10 s and can be used for at least 1 month without any considerable divergence in potential. The selectivity coefficients for Cs⁺ ion with respect to ammonium, alkali, alkaline earth and some selected transition metal ions were determined and showed a superior selectivity over Li⁺, Na⁺ and alkaline earth metal ions. The new electrode was applied for determination of Cs⁺ in spiked tap water. The electrode was also used as indicator electrode in potentiometric titration of Cs⁺ with sodium tetraphenyl borate.     

Combination of ionic liquid-based dispersive liquid-liquid micro-extraction with stopped-flow spectrofluorometry for the pre-concentration and determination of aluminum in natural waters, fruit juice and food samples

In this research, we combined ionic liquid-based dispersive liquid-liquid micro-extraction (IL-based DLLME) with stopped-flow spectrofluorometry (SFS) to evaluate the concentration of aluminum in different real samples at trace level. 1-Hexylpyridinium hexafluorophosphate [Hpy][PF₆] ionic liquid and 8-hydroxyquinoline (oxine), which forms a highly fluorescent complex with Al³⁺, were chosen as the extraction solvent and chelating agent, respectively. The hydrophobic Al-oxine complex was extracted into the [Hpy][PF₆] and separated from the aqueous phase. Then, the concentration of the enriched aluminum in the sediment phase was determined by SFS. Some effective parameters that influence the SFS signals and the micro-extraction efficiency, such as the suction and sending time, the concentration of the chelating agent, pH, the amount of the ionic liquid, the type of disperser solvent and diluting agent, ionic strength, extraction time, equilibration temperature and centrifugation time were investigated and optimized. In the optimum experimental conditions, the limit of detection (3 s) and enrichment factor were 0.05 μg L⁻¹ and 100, respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for six replicate determinations of 6 μg L⁻¹ Al was 1.7%. The calibration graph using the pre-concentration system was linear in the range of 0.06-15 μg L⁻¹ with a correlation coefficient of 0.9989. The developed method was validated by the analysis of certified reference materials and applied successfully to the determination of aluminum in several water, fruit juice and food samples.     

The salting-out effect and phase separation in aqueous solutions of tri-sodium citrate and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide

The aim of this work is to obtain further evidence about the salting-out effect produced by the addition of tri-sodium citrate to aqueous solutions of water miscible ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([C₄mim][Br]) by evaluating the effect of tri-sodium citrate on the thermodynamic properties of aqueous solutions of this ionic liquid. Experimental measurements of density and sound velocity at different temperatures ranging from (288.15 to 308.15) K, the refractive index at 308.15 K and the liquid–liquid phase diagram at different temperatures ranging from (288.15 to 338.15) K for aqueous solutions containing 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([C₄mim][Br]) and tri-sodium citrate (Na₃Cit) are taken. The apparent molar volume of transfer of [C₄mim][Br] from water to aqueous solutions of Na₃Cit have positive values and it increases by increasing salt molality. Although at high IL molality, the apparent molar isentropic compressibility shows similar behaviour with that of the apparent molar volume. However at low concentrations of IL, the apparent molar isentropic compressibility of transfer of [C₄mim][Br] from water to aqueous solutions of Na₃Cit have negative values. The effects of temperature and the addition of Na₃Cit and [C₄mim][Br] on the liquid–liquid phase diagram of the investigated system have been studied. It was found that an increase in temperature caused the expansion of the one-phase region. The presence of Na₃Cit triggers a salting-out effect, leading to significant upward shifts of the liquid–liquid de-mixing temperatures of the system. The effect of temperature on the phase-forming ability in the system investigated has been studied based on a salting-out coefficient obtained from fitting the binodal values to a Setschenow-type equation for each temperature. Based on cloud point values, the energetics of the clouding process have been estimated and it was found that both of entropy and enthalpy are the driving forces for biphasic formation.     

A review on wound dressings with an emphasis on electrospun nanofibrous polymeric bandages

Wound dressings have experienced continuous and significant changes since the ancient times. The development starts with the use of natural materials to simply cover the wounds to the materials of the present time that could be specially made to exhibit various extraordinary functions. The modern bandage materials made of electrospun biopolymers contain various active compounds that are beneficial to the healing of wounds. These materials are fibrous in nature, with the size of fibers segments ranging from tens of nanometers to micrometers. With the right choices of biopolymers used for these fibrous materials, they could enhance the healing of wounds significantly compared with the conventional fibrous dressing materials, such as gauze. These bandages could be made such that they contain bioactive ingredients, such as antimicrobial, antibacterial, and anti‐inflammatory agents, which could be released to the wounds enhancing their healing. In an active wound dressing (AWD), the main purpose is to control the biochemical states of a wound in order to aid its healing process. This review provides an overview of different types of wounds, effective parameters in wound healing and different types of wound dressing materials with a special emphasis paid to those prepared by electrospinning. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the orthogonality of the phase velocity and its feasibility for plane waves

Phase and group velocities of plane waves may have different directions in a linear and homogeneous medium. This difference may lead to interesting situations such as the phase reversal propagation and the orthogonal phase velocity. Although the former has been analyzed in depth and it has found many applications, the latter has been left as a hypothesis. Actually, due to our best knowledge there is no evidence of such media where the phase velocity is orthogonal to the group velocity. In this paper we discuss this situation thoroughly. We show that a plane wave with orthogonal phase velocity cannot possess linear momentum. Moreover, we show that a plane wave without the linear momentum cannot propagate at all, so the orthogonality of the phase velocity does not take place in reality for electromagnetic plane waves.     

Efficient visible-light-induced photocatalytic degradation of MO on the Cr-nanocrystalline titania-S

In order to improve visible light photocatalytic activities of the nanometer TiO₂, a novel and efficient Cr,S-codoped TiO₂ (Cr-TiO₂-S) photocatalyst was prepared by precipitation-doping method. The crystalline structure, morphology, particle size, and chemical structure of Cr-TiO₂-S were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) techniques, respectively. Results indicate that the doping of Cr and S, cause absorption edge shifts to the visible light region (λ > 420 nm) compare to the pure TiO₂, reduces average size of the TiO₂ crystallites, enhances desired lattice distortion of Ti, promotes separation of photo-induced electron and hole pair, and thus improves pollutant decomposition under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic activities of Cr-TiO₂-S nanoparticles were evaluated using the photodegradation of methyl orange (MO) as probe reaction under the irradiation of UV and visible light and it was observed that the Cr-TiO₂-S photocatalyst shows higher visible photocatalytic activity than the pure TiO₂. The optimal Cr-TiO₂-S concentration to obtain the highest photocatalytic activity was 5 mol% for both of Cr and S.     

Measurement of water activities of alanine + tri-potassium citrate + water system at temperatures between 293.15 and 313 K—Experimental and modeling

Water activity measurements by isopiestic method have been carried out on the aqueous solutions of alanine + tri-potassium citrate (K₃Cit) over a range of temperatures at atmospheric pressure. From these measurements, values of the vapor pressure of solutions were determined. The effect of temperature on the vapor–liquid equilibrium of alanine + K₃Cit + H₂O systems has been studied. The experimental water activities have been correlated successfully with the segment-based local composition Wilson and NRTL models. The agreement between the correlations and the experimental data is good.     

Some New Results on the Superstability of the Cauchy Equation on Semigroups

In this paper the superstability of the Cauchy equation can be proved for complex valued functions on commutative semigroup under some suitable conditions. Furthermore, in this note, we give a partial affirmative answer to problem 18, in the 31st ISFE.     

Nuclear data for the cyclotron production of ~（117）Sb and ~（90）Nb

This presented study is to make comparison of cross sections to produce ¹¹⁷Sb and ⁹⁰Nb via different reactions with particle incident energy up to 70 MeV as a part of systematic studies on particle-induced activations on enriched Sn, Y₂O₃ and ZrO₂ targets, theoretical calculation of production yield, calculation of required thickness of target and suggestion of optimum reaction to produce Antimony-117 and Niobium-90.     

A comparison study between sodium dodecyl sulfate and sodium dodecyl sulfonate with respect to the thermodynamic properties,micellization, and interaction with poly(ethylene glycol) in aqueous solutions

The density, sound velocity, and conductivity measurements were performed on aqueous solutions of sodium dodecyl sulfate (C₁₂H₂₅SO₄Na) or sodium dodecyl sulfonate (C₁₂H₂₅SO₃Na) in the absence and presence of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) at different temperatures. Changes in the apparent molar volumes and isentropic compressibilities upon micellization were derived using a pseudophase-transition approach and the infinite dilution apparent molar properties of the monomer and micellar form of C₁₂H₂₅SO₄Na and C₁₂H₂₅SO₃Na were determined. Variations of the critical micelle concentrations (CMCs) of both surfactants in the solutions investigated with temperature were obtained from which thermodynamic parameters of micellization were estimated. It was found that at low temperature the micelle formation process is endothermic and therefore, this process must be entropically driven. However, upon increasing the temperature, the enthalpic factor becomes more significant and, at temperatures higher than 303.15 K the micellization is enthalpy driven. The interactions between C₁₂H₂₅SO₄Na/C₁₂H₂₅SO₃Na and PEG were studied and it was found that sodium alkyl sulfonates were seen to interact more weakly than their sulfate analogues.