Methiocarb Degradation by Electro-Fenton: Ecotoxicological Evaluation

This paper studies the degradation of methiocarb, a highly hazardous pesticide found in waters and wastewaters, through an electro-Fenton process, using a boron-doped diamond anode and a carbon felt cathode; and evaluates its potential to reduce toxicity towards the model organism Daphnia magna. The influence of applied current density and type and concentration of added iron source, Fe₂(SO₄)₃·5H₂O or FeCl₃·6H₂O, is assessed in the degradation experiments of methiocarb aqueous solutions. The experimental results show that electro-Fenton can be successfully used to degrade methiocarb and to reduce its high toxicity towards D. magna. Total methiocarb removal is achieved at the applied electric charge of 90 C, and a 450× reduction in the acute toxicity towards D. magna, on average, from approximately 900 toxic units to 2 toxic units, is observed at the end of the experiments. No significant differences are found between the two iron sources studied. At the lowest applied anodic current density, 12.5 A m⁻², an increase in iron concentration led to lower methiocarb removal rates, but the opposite is found at the highest applied current densities. The highest organic carbon removal is obtained at the lowest applied current density and added iron concentration.     

Electrochemical and electrocatalytic stability of Prussian blue/Berlin green redox transformation in Prussian blue-polypyrrole composite films

Redox transformation of Prussian blue to Berlin green (PB/BG) in Prussian blue-polypyrrole (PB-PPy) composites synthesized via original one-step method has been studied. It was shown that the nature of anion and composition of background electrolyte play an important role for both the stability and the shape of electrochemical response of composite film during redox transfer of Prussian blue to Berlin green. Nitric acid, phosphoric acid, malic acid and citric acid 0.05 N (eq/L) solutions and the same acids partially neutralized with 0.01 N KOH were used as electrolyte to study the role of potassium ions presence in solution. The most stable electrochemical response of PB/BG redox transfer was obtained for the nitrate anions containing solutions in the presence of potassium ions. Nevertheless, the stability of the electrochemical transformation PB/BG in composite films in other media is enough to detect the sulphite ions content in wine samples via electrocatalytic reaction at the potentials of PB/BG redox transformation.

     

Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction on CuOx Nanocubes: Tracking the Evolution of Chemical State,Geometric Structure,and Catalytic Selectivity using Operando Spectroscopy

The direct electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into multi‐carbon (C₂₊) products still faces fundamental and technological challenges. While facet‐controlled and oxide‐derived Cu materials have been touted as promising catalysts, their stability has remained problematic and poorly understood. Herein we uncover changes in the chemical and morphological state of supported and unsupported Cu₂O nanocubes during operation in low‐current H‐Cells and in high‐current gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) using neutral pH buffer conditions. While unsupported nanocubes achieved a sustained C₂₊ Faradaic efficiency of around 60 % for 40 h, the dispersion on a carbon support sharply shifted the selectivity pattern towards C₁ products. Operando XAS and time‐resolved electron microscopy revealed the degradation of the cubic shape and, in the presence of a carbon support, the formation of small Cu‐seeds during the surprisingly slow reduction of bulk Cu₂O. The initially (100)‐rich facet structure has presumably no controlling role on the catalytic selectivity, whereas the oxide‐derived generation of under‐coordinated lattice defects, can support the high C₂₊ product yields.     

Discovery of a Chiral DNA-Targeted Platinum–Acridine Agent with Potent Enantioselective Anticancer Activity

A structure–activity relationship study was performed for a set of rigidified platinum–acridine anticancer agents containing linkers derived from chiral pyrrolidine and piperidine scaffolds. Screening a library of microscale reactions and selected resynthesized compounds in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells showed that cytotoxicities varied by more than three orders of magnitude. A potent hit compound was discovered containing a (R)-N-(piperidin-3-yl) linker ( P2-6R ), which killed NCI-H460 and A549 lung cancer cells 100 times more effectively than the S enantiomer ( P2-6S ). P2-6R accumulated in A549 cells significantly faster and produced 50-fold higher DNA adduct levels than P2-6S . Ligand similarity analysis suggests that only module 6R may be compatible with strainless monofunctional intercalative binding. NCI-60 screening and COMPARE analysis highlights the spectrum of activity and potential utility of P2-6R for treating NSCLC and other solid tumors.     

Unraveling the Effect of the Hydration Level on the Molecular Mobility of Nanolayered Polymeric Systems

This work investigates the influence of the hydration level on the molecular mobility and glass transition dynamics of freestanding chitosan/alginate (CHT/ALG) nanolayered systems. Nonconventional dynamic mechanical analysis identifies two relaxation processes assigned to the α‐relaxation of the two biopolymers, respectively, CHT and ALG, when immersed in water/ethanol mixtures. This phenomenon explains the shape memory properties of the multilayered systems induced by hydration, thus constituting promising smart materials that would be of paramount importance in a plethora of research fields, including in the biomedical and biotechnological fields.     

Raman spectroscopy for identification and quantification analysis of essential oil varieties: a multivariate approach applied to lavender and lavandin essential oils

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is used for cosmetics, perfumes and medicine (antimicrobial activity and relaxant properties) while lavandin (sterile hybrid of L. angustifolia P. Mill. × Lavandula latifolia (L.f.) Medikus) is used for air fresheners, deodorants and soaps. These plants are widely cultivated for essential oil production. In this study, 104 samples were analyzed including 62 lavandin and 42 lavender oil samples from several varieties. The Raman spectra are similar but can be differentiated by chemometrics treatment. Data structure may be studied by PCA. A PLS regression model was used for quantitative analysis of the main compounds such as linalyl acetate, linalool and eucalyptol. The reference data were obtained by gas chromatography. The performance of the method was also tested to discriminate between the two species and the seven varieties (Abrial, Fine, Grosso, Maillette, Matherone, Sumian and Super) by PLS‐DA regression. The examination of PLS and PLS‐DA regression coefficients allowed for the identification of species and of the varieties' metabolomic markers. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

NMR, DFT and luminescence studies of the complexation of Zn(II) with 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonate

Multinuclear ((1)H, (13)C) magnetic resonance spectroscopy, DFT calculations and luminescence techniques have been used to study 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonate (8-HQS) and its complexes with Zn(ii), in aqueous solution. The study combines the high sensitivity of luminescence techniques, the selectivity of multinuclear NMR spectroscopy with the structural details accessible through DFT calculations, and aims to obtain a detailed understanding of the complexation between the Zn(2+) ion and 8-HQS. In addition to a complete assignment of the (1)H and (13)C NMR signals of 8-HQS, a full speciation study has been performed. Over the concentration region studied, Zn(2+) metal ion forms only one significant complex species with 8-HQS in aqueous solution in the pH range 6-8. Job's method shows that this species has a 1:2 (metal:ligand) stoichiometry. The geometry around the metal centre, according to structural optimization using DFT calculations, is suggested to be square bipyramidal, with two coordinated water molecules mutually trans, and the remaining positions occupied by the donor groups of the two coordinated 8-HQS ligands. On binding to Zn(ii), 8-HQS shows a marked fluorescence compared with the weakly-luminescent free ligand. In addition, as previously noted, there are marked changes in the absorption spectra, which support the use of 8-HQS as a sensitive fluorescent sensor to detect Zn(2+) metal ion in surface waters, biological fluids, etc. Based on results of the structural studies, suggestions are made of ways for enhancing fluorescence sensitivity.     

Complexes of aryl-substituted porphyrins and naphthalenediimide (NDI): investigations by synchrotron X-ray diffraction and NMR spectroscopy

New donor-acceptor hybrids of Zn(II)-metallated 5,15-diaryl porphyrins have been designed and synthesised via the porphyrin interactions with an electron acceptor molecule, di-n-hexyl N-substituted 1,2,4,8-naphthalenetetracarboxylic diimide (NDI). Binding interactions within these supramolecular complexes were investigated in the solid state by synchrotron X-ray diffraction and probed in solution by (1)H NMR spectroscopy. The systematic modulation of the porphyrin π-density was achieved, for the first time as multiple methoxy and fluorine groups were introduced as substituents to the 5,15-diaryls of the porphyrin. For these, the variation of the porphyrin-NDI binding strengths determined by (1)H NMR titrations was shown, using the Swain's type dual parameter approach, to be closely linked with the peripheral substitution pattern of the diaryl porphyrins validated by crystallography. The new 1:1 donor-acceptor complexes formed display characteristic features of the aromatic-stacked systems, i.e. the parallel arrangement and short interplanar separation between the substituted porphyrin and NDI. Synthetic modification of electron-density on the porphyrin surface by introducing substituents at peripheral sites of functionalised porphyrins represent a general solution towards electronically tunable aromatic surfaces: an understanding of their solution and solid state behaviour will significantly improve the rational design of new functional donor-acceptor supramolecular materials with potential applications ranging from new energy materials to dye-sensitised solar cells, photovoltaics and future drug delivery devices.     

Effect of air humidity on the removal of carbon tetrachloride from air using Cu-BTC metal-organic framework

We have used interatomic potential-based simulations to study the removal of carbon tetrachloride from air at 298 K, using Cu-BTC metal organic framework. We have developed new sets of Lennard-Jones parameters that accurately describe the vapour-liquid equilibrium curves of carbon tetrachloride and the main components from air (oxygen, nitrogen, and argon). Using these parameters we performed Monte Carlo simulations for the following systems: (a) single component adsorption of carbon tetrachloride, oxygen, nitrogen, and argon molecules, (b) binary Ar/CCl(4), O(2)/CCl(4), and N(2)/CCl(4) mixtures with bulk gas compositions 99?:?1 and 99.9?:?0.1, (c) ternary O(2)/N(2)/Ar mixtures with both, equimolar and 21?:?78?:?1 bulk gas composition, (d) quaternary mixture formed by 0.1% of CCl(4) pollutant, 20.979% O(2), 77.922% N(2), and 0.999% Ar, and (e) five-component mixtures corresponding to 0.1% of CCl(4) pollutant in air with relative humidity ranging from 0 to 100%. The carbon tetrachloride adsorption selectivity and the self-diffusivity and preferential sitting of the different molecules in the structure are studied for all the systems.