Amperometric hydrazine sensor using a glassy carbon electrode modified with gold nanoparticle-decorated multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Microchimica Acta - Gold nanoparticles (AuNP) were deposited on the surface of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) by in-situ thermal decomposition of gold acetate under solvent and reducing agent...     

Synthesis and characterization of Ni(II) complexes bearing of 2‐(1H–benzimidazol‐2‐yl)‐phenol derivatives as highly active catalysts for ethylene oligomerization

Novel Ni(II) complexes of 2‐(1H–benzimidazol‐2‐yl)‐phenol derivatives (HL_x: x  =  1–5; C1–C5 ) have been synthesized and characterized. In the mononuclear complexes, the ligands were coordinated as bidentate, via one imine nitrogen and the phenolate oxygen atoms. The structures of the compounds were confirmed on the basis of FT‐IR, UV–Vis, ¹H‐, ¹³C–NMR, inductively coupled plasma and elemental analyses (C, H and N). The purity of these compounds was ascertained by melting point (m.p.) and thin‐layer chromatography. The geometry optimization and vibrational frequency calculations of the compounds were performed using Gaussian 09 program with B3LYP/TZVP level of theory. All Ni(II) complexes were activated with diethylaluminum chloride (Et₂AlCl), so that C2 showed the highest activity [6600 kg mol^?1 (Ni) h^?1], where the ligand contains a chlorine substituent. Oligomers obtained from the complexes consist mainly of dimer and trimer, and also exhibit high selectivity for linear 1‐butene and 1‐hexene. Both the steric and electronic effects of coordinative ligands affect the catalytic activity and the properties of the catalytic products.     

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.     

Cobalt complexes based on 2-(1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)-phenol derivatives: preparation,spectral studies,DFT calculations and catalytic behavior toward ethylene oligomerization

In this study, five novel Co(II) complexes of 2-(1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)-phenol derivatives (HL_x: x = 1–5) have been synthesized and characterized. The general formula for complexes C1 and C2 is K₂[Co(HL_1,2)₂Cl₂]·H₂O, for complex C3 K₂[Co(HL₃)₂Cl₂], and for complexes C4 and C5 [Co(HL_4,5)₂]. In all complexes, the ligands are coordinated as bidentate, via one imine nitrogen and the phenolate oxygen atoms. The structures of the compounds were characterized by FT-IR, UV–vis, ¹H, ¹³C NMR spectroscopies, ICP and elemental analysis (C, H, and N). The purity of these compounds was ascertained by melting point (m.p.) and TLC. Geometry optimization of the studied complexes was done by Gaussian09 software at B3LYP/TZVP level of theory and satisfactory theoretical–experimental agreement was achieved for NMR and IR spectra of the compounds. Based on the combined experimental and theoretical studies, six-coordinate octahedral structures have been proposed for complexes C1–C3, while complexes C4 and C5 had distorted tetrahedral geometry. All complexes were activated with diethylaluminum chloride (Et₂AlCl), cobalt(II) complexes containing bulky methyl groups in the aryl moiety show high catalytic activities (1774 kg?mol^?1(Co)?h^?1) for ethylene oligomerization. The oligomers obtained from the cobalt complexes exhibit good selectivity for linear 1-butene and 1-hexene. Results revealed that both the steric and electronic effects of ligands strongly affect the catalytic activities and the properties of the catalytic products.     

Fabrication of a liquid-gated enzyme field effect device for sensitive glucose detection

This study presents fabrication of a liquid-gated enzyme field effect device and its implementation as a glucose biosensor. The device consisted of four electrodes on a glass substrate with a channel functionalized by carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes-polyaniline nanocomposite (MWCNTCOOH/PAn) and glucose oxidase. The resistance of functionalized channel increased with increasing the concentration of glucose when an electric field was applied to the liquid gate. The most effective and stable performance was obtained at the applied electric field of 100 mV. The device resistance, R, exhibited a linear relationship with the logarithm of glucose concentration in the range between 0.005 and 500 mM glucose. The detection limit (S/N = 3) for glucose was about 0.5 μM. Large effective area and good conductivity properties of MWCNTCOOH/PAn nanocomposite were the key features of the fabricated sensitive and stable glucose biosensor.     

In Silico Evaluation of Iranian Medicinal Plant Phytoconstituents as Inhibitors against Main Protease and the Receptor-Binding Domain of SARS-CoV-2

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which initially appeared in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Elderly individuals and those with comorbid conditions may be more vulnerable to this disease. Consequently, several research laboratories continue to focus on developing drugs to treat this infection because this disease has developed into a global pandemic with an extremely limited number of specific treatments available. Natural herbal remedies have long been used to treat illnesses in a variety of cultures. Modern medicine has achieved success due to the effectiveness of traditional medicines, which are derived from medicinal plants. The objective of this study was to determine whether components of natural origin from Iranian medicinal plants have an antiviral effect that can prevent humans from this coronavirus infection using the most reliable molecular docking method; in our case, we focused on the main protease (M^pro) and a receptor-binding domain (RBD). The results of molecular docking showed that among 169 molecules of natural origin from common Iranian medicinal plants, 20 molecules (chelidimerine, rutin, fumariline, catechin gallate, adlumidine, astragalin, somniferine, etc.) can be proposed as inhibitors against this coronavirus based on the binding free energy and type of interactions between these molecules and the studied proteins. Moreover, a molecular dynamics simulation study revealed that the chelidimerine–M^pro and somniferine–RBD complexes were stable for up to 50 ns below 0.5 nm. Our results provide valuable insights into this mechanism, which sheds light on future structure-based designs of high-potency inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2.     

A survey on the effect of ionic liquid on electrochemical behavior and electrocatalytic activity of a phosphomolybdic acid-ionic liquid-MWCNT–modified glassy carbon electrode

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - The surface of a glassy carbon electrode modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (GCE/MWCNTs) was coated with a layer of phosphomolybdic acid (PMo12)...     

Reliability analysis of a k-out-of-n:F system under a linear degradation model with calibrations

Annals of the Institute of Statistical Mathematics - A k-out-of-n:F system with both of soft and hard failures is considered such that its components degrade through internal and external factors....     

Experimental investigation of stability and thermal conductivity of phase change materials containing pristine and functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The biggest challenge in dispersion of nanoparticles in phase change materials (PCMs) is the physical stability of these particles in PCM. Numerous...