Optical Nonlinearity of Hybrid and Nanocomposite Materials Prepared by the Sol-Gel Method

In this paper the nonlinear refractive index, optical limiting effect, photoinduced and electroinduced second harmonic generation of dye-doped hybrid and nanoparticle-doped composite materials prepared by the sol-gel process have been reported. The origin of these nonlinear optical effects has been discussed.     

Speciation analysis of aluminium(III) in natural waters and biological fluids by complexing with various catechols followed by differential pulse voltammetry detection

The biological effects of aluminium have received much attention in recent years. Speciation of Al is of basic relevance as it concerns its reactivity and bioavailability. A differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) procedure is proposed for speciation analysis of Al(III) in natural waters and biological fluids using six catechols (L-dopa, dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, caffeic acid and o-benzenediol) as electroactive ligands. The decrease of the DPV anodic peak current for each catechol ligand is linear with the increase of Al concentration. This speciation analysis idea is based on the measurement of the complexation capacity, namely, different affinities of Al(III) for catechols and organic ligands under two pH conditions. The labile monomeric Al fraction (mainly inorganic aluminium) is determined at pH 4.6, while the total monomeric Al fraction is determined at pH 8.5. The principle for Al(III) speciation analysis by an electrochemical method is discussed. This sensitive and simple fractionation method is successfully applied to the speciation analysis of Al in natural waters and the results agree well with those of Driscoll's method. The speciation analysis of Al in biological fluids is also explored and the results are compared with those obtained by ultrafiltration and dialysis. Compared with other speciation protocols the electrochemical method possesses some remarkable advantages: rapidity, high sensitivity, cheap instrumentation and a simple operation procedure.     

Microfiltration of protein solutions at thin film composite membranes

An experimental study of the interaction of the enzyme yeast alcohol dehydrogenase (YADH) with polysulfone thin film composite microfiltration membranes (Dow-Danmark) has been carried out. It was found that the membranes adsorbed only 3/4 of a monolayer of the enzyme under the conditions studied. Even so, under filtration conditions, the membrane permeation rate decreased continuously with time. This decrease in permeation rate was due neither to concentration polarisation nor to protein adsorption alone. However, it could be quantified using the standard blocking filtration law, which describes a decrease in pore volume due to deposition of protein in the interior structure of the membrane. Reversal of the membrane, so that the supporting matrix faced the feed solution, gave more stable permeation rates. Implications for the microfiltration of industrial fermentation broths are discussed.     

单分散磁性纳米颗粒的制备及生物高分子在其上的组装

磁性纳米颗粒因其潜在的生物医学应用价值而成为纳米生物材料领域研究的前沿。本文综述了单分散磁性纳米颗粒的制备方法以及生物高分子在磁性纳米颗粒上的组装的研究进展。     

PtBr2-catalyzed consecutive enyne metathesis-aromatization of 1-(1-methoxy-but-3-enyl)-2-(1-alkynyl)benzenes: dual role of the Pt catalyst

1,7-Enynes 1, connected through an aromatic ring and bearing a leaving methoxy group at the 4-position, underwent the PtBr(2)-catalyzed enyne metathesis followed by aromatization in one pot to afford vinyl naphthalenes 3 in good to acceptable yields. The cyclobutene intermediate 11a and another intermediate 2a were isolated, indicating that PtBr(2) acts as a dual role catalyst: (1) as a transition metal catalyst, it induces the enyne metathesis to produce 11a starting from 1a, and (2) as a Lewis acid catalyst, it facilitates elimination of MeOH from 2a to give the aromatized product 3a.     

AFM imaging and characterization of latex particles formed by copolymerization of styrene and poly(ethylene oxide) macromonomer

A new type of latex particle was prepared by copolymerization of styrene and poly(ethylene oxide) macromonomer. By controlling the concentration of styrene in reaction mixtures, several latexes with different grain sizes were obtained. The packing patterns of the latex films as well as shapes and sizes of the latex particles were measured with atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM images revealed that the grain sizes of the latexes increase with increasing concentration of styrene. At a higher styrene concentration (10 wt%), the latex showed a rather homogenous distribution of grain sizes. Lateral force microscopy (LFM) was used to reveal frictional features of latex particles. Contact and non-contact mode AFM were employed to image the same sample of the latex films. The results show that AFM working in non-contact mode can be used to effectively eliminate the horizontal-line-like artifacts, which may obscure AFM images.