Spectrophotometric Determination of Hydrogen Peroxide Using Leucocrystal Violet in Micellar Medium

A simple and sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of hydrogen peroxide, based on the increase in color intensity of dye on addition of surfactant, is described. Hydrogen peroxide is first reacted with potassium iodide in acidic medium, in presence of ammonium molybdate to liberate iodine. The liberated iodine oxidizes leucocrystal violet to crystal violet having maximum absorbance at 593 nm. The color of the dye intensifies with the addition of the surfactant, cetyl pyridinium chloride though the absorption maximum remains the same. Beer's law is obeyed in the range 0.05–0.45 µg of hydrogen peroxide per 25 mL of final solution (0.002–0.018 µg mL^?1) with an excellent correlation coefficient (r = 0.9977). The proposed method has been successfully applied for the analysis of hydrogen peroxide in various food products and rainwater.     

Characterization of uranium isotopic abundances in depleted uranium metal assay standard 115

Certified reference material (CRM) 115, Uranium (Depleted) Metal (Uranium Assay Standard), was analyzed using a TRITON Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometer to characterize the uranium isotope-amount ratios. The certified ²³⁵U/²³⁸U “major” isotope-amount ratio of 0.0020337 (12) in CRM 115 was determined using the total evaporation (TE) and the modified total evaporation (MTE) analytical techniques. In the MTE method, the total evaporation process is interrupted on a regular basis to allow correction of background from peak tailing, internal calibration of the secondary electron multiplier detector versus the Faraday cups, peak-centering, and ion source re-focusing. For the “minor” ²³⁴U/²³⁸U and ²³⁶U/²³⁸U isotope-amount ratio measurements using MTE, precision and accuracy comparable to conventional analyses are achieved, without compromising the quality of the ²³⁵U/²³⁸U isotope-amount ratios. Characterized values of the ²³⁴U/²³⁸U and ²³⁶U/²³⁸U isotope-amount ratios in CRM 115 are 0.000007545 (10) and 0.000032213 (84), respectively. The ²³³U/²³⁸U isotope-amount ratio in CRM 115 is estimated to be <5 × 10^?9. The homogeneity of the CRM 115 materials is established through the absence of any statistically significant unit-to-unit variation in the uranium isotope-amount ratios. The measurements leading to the certification of uranium isotope-amount ratios are discussed.     

Synthesis and cytotoxicity study of pyrazoline derivatives of methoxy substituted naphthyl chalcones

2-Acetyl naphthalene reacts with various methoxy substituted benzaldehyde in the presence of 10 % sodium hydroxide solution giving functionalized chalcones. The synthesized chalcones when further reacted with hydrazine hydrate in the presence of acetic acid afforded N-acetyl pyrazolines. All the synthesized products were confirmed by various spectral data such as FTIR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and HRMS studies. All the synthesized compounds were screened for cytotoxicity against various cell lines.     

Surface morphological and impedance spectroscopic studies on the interaction of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) with mild steel in acid solutions

The inhibition of mild steel corrosion in aerated acid mixture of 0.5 N H₂SO₄ and 0.5 N HCl solution was investigated using potentiodynamic polarization studies, linear polarization studies, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, adsorption, and surface morphological studies. The effect of inhibitor concentration on corrosion rate, degree of surface coverage, adsorption kinetics, and surface morphology is investigated. The inhibition efficiency increased markedly with increase in additive concentration. The presence of PEG and PVP decreases the double-layer capacitance and increases the charge-transfer resistance. The inhibitor molecules first adsorb on the metal surface following a Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Both PEG and PVP offer good inhibition properties for mild steel and act as mixed-type inhibitors. Surface analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) shows that PVP offers better protection than PEG.     

Electrochemical studies on the interaction of l-cysteine with metallic copper in sulfuric acid

Amino acids have been widely used as green corrosion inhibitors for an array of metals. Considering its importance in corrosion chemistry, studies were undertaken with the objective to discovering the inhibitory effect of a sulfur-containing amino acid, l-cysteine, on copper in different concentrations of sulfuric acid (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 M) at different temperatures. Techniques like the weight loss method, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, potentiodynamic polarization (Tafel), and adsorption studies were employed. Results revealed that l-cysteine do offer an attractive inhibition efficiency. However, with an increase in the concentration of the inhibitor, corrosion rates decreased irrespective of the temperature gradients. This is due to surface adsorption of the inhibitor molecules on the metal which has contributed to a decreased double-layer capacitance and increased polarization resistance. With the increase in the concentration of the medium, the corrosion rate was also enhanced and this is due the liberation of a high quantum of H⁺ ions. Based on the results of Tafel polarization studies, it is evident that the amino acid, l-cysteine, could act as a mixed type inhibitor. The importance of l-cysteine in the corrosion of copper metal has been highlighted in this paper.     

Electrochemical biosensors based on Ti3C2Tx MXene: future perspectives for on-site analysis

MXenes are recently developed two-dimensional layered materials composed of early transition metal carbides and/or nitrides that provide unique characteristics for biosensor applications. This review presents the recent progress made on the usage and applications of MXenes in the field of electrochemical biosensors, including microfluidic biosensors and wearable microfluidic biosensors, and highlights the challenges with possible solutions and future needs. The multilayered configuration and high conductivity make these materials as an immobilization matrix for the biomolecule immobilization with activity retention and to be explored in the fabrication of electrochemical sensors, respectively. First, how the MXene nanocomposite as an electrode modifier affects the sensing performance of the electrochemical biosensors based on enzymes, aptamer/DNA, and immunoassays is well described. Second, recent developments in MXene nanocomposites as wearable biosensing platforms for the biomolecule detection are highlighted. This review pointed out the future concerns and directions for the use of MXene nanocomposites to fabricate advanced electrochemical biosensors with high sensitivity and selectivity. Specifically, possibilities for developing microfluidic electrochemical sensors and wearable electrochemical microfluidic sensors with integrated biomolecule detection are emphasized.     

Redox-Mediated Alcohol Oxidation Coupled to Hydrogen Gas Formation in a Dye-Sensitized Photosynthesis Cell

This work reports a dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cell (DSPEC) that couples redox-mediated light-driven oxidative organic transformations to reductive hydrogen (H₂) formation. The DSPEC photoanode consists of a mesoporous anatase TiO₂ film on FTO (fluorine-doped tin oxide), sensitized with the thienopyrroledione-based dye AP11 , while H₂ was formed at a FTO-Pt cathode. Irradiation of the dye-sensitized photoanode transforms 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine 1-oxyl (TEMPO) to the oxidized TEMPO (TEMPO⁺), which acts as a chemical oxidant for the conversion of benzyl alcohol. The TEMPO^0/+ couple, previously used as redox mediator in DSSC, mediates efficient electron transfer from the organic substrate to the photo-oxidized dye. A DSPEC photoreactor was designed that allows in situ monitoring the reaction progress by infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography. Sustained light-driven oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde within the DSPEC photoreactor, using of TEMPO as mediator, demonstrated the efficiency of the device, with a photocurrent of 0.4 mA cm⁻², approaching quantitative Faradaic efficiency and exhibiting excellent device stability.