Electrochemical properties of niosomes‐modified Au electrode and its interaction with 1‐anilino‐8‐naphthalene‐sulfonate

The gold electrode was modified by noisomes, prepared by sonicating the mixed solution of PEG 6000/Tween 80/Span 80/H₂O. Electrochemical cyclic voltammetry (CV) and impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were performed for characterizing the modification. The construction of multilayer films of octadecanethiol (ODT)‐niosomes had almost no pinholes, which elicited that niosomes‐coated electrode through ODT assembly was more effective immobilization compared to direct modification method. A large semicircle formation in the entire range of frequency indicated the complete electron‐transfer control for the redox reaction, implying a perfect blocking behavior. The Nyquist plot was consisting of two depressed semicircles after storage for 36 h in air, which implied a progressive and uniform construction manner, as expected for porous coatings. The modified electrode was used to investigate the interaction between 1‐anilino‐8‐naphthalene‐sulfonate (ANS) and noisomes. It was found that the low‐frequency semicircular arcs increase in diameter, indicating that the increase in the resistance R_p attributed mainly to the niosomes/solution interface. It was due to the binding of ANS to the niosomes‐modified electrode surface, exhibited against diffusing species through the pores. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The asymptotic behaviour of weak solutions to the forward problem of electrical impedance tomography on unbounded three‐dimensional domains

The forward problem of electrical impedance tomography on unbounded domains can be studied by introducing appropriate function spaces for this setting. In this paper we derive the point‐wise asymptotic behaviour of weak solutions to this problem in the three‐dimensional case. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relaxations in chitin: Evidence for a glass transition

Relaxations in chitin have been investigated in the temperature range 298–523 K using impedance spectroscopy in the frequency range 10⁻¹–10⁸ Hz. The objective was to detect a glass‐transition temperature for this naturally occurring, semicrystalline polysaccharide. The impedance study was complemented with X‐ray diffraction, thermogravimetric, and differential scanning calorimetry measurements. Preliminary impedance data treatment includes the subtraction of the dc conductivity contribution, the exclusion of contact and interfacial polarization effects, and obtaining a condition of minimum moisture content for further analysis. When all these aspects are taken into account, two relaxations are clearly revealed in the impedance data. For the first time, evidence is presented for a relaxation process, which exhibits a non‐Arrhenius temperature dependence, in dry α‐chitin (∼0.1% moisture content), and likely represents the primary α‐relaxation. This evidence suggests a glass transition temperature for chitin of 335 ± 10 K estimated on the basis of the temperature dependence of the conductivity and of the relaxation time. A second relaxation in dry α‐chitin, not previously reported in the literature, is observed from 353 K to the onset of thermal degradation (∼483 K) and is identified as the σ‐relaxation often associated with proton mobility. It exhibits a normal Arrhenius‐type temperature dependence with activation energy of 113 ± 3 kJ/mol. The latter has not been previously reported in the literature. A high frequency secondary β‐relaxation is also observed with Arrhenius activation energy of 45 ± 1 kJ/mol. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 932–943, 2009     

Dynamic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of the adsorption and relaxation of polyaniline chains during potentiodynamic redox transformations

A new approach to an equivalent circuit analysis of impedance spectra of a conducting polyaniline (PAni) layer is presented. Film properties are often modeled by constant-phase elements (CPE), which are closer to experimental results than capacitors. We want to take an insight into the CPE. We propose a novel equivalent circuit based on the Frumkin-Melik-Gaikazyan adsorption model, as we suppose that the PAni layer molecules may behave like other adsorbing and relaxing organic compounds. Measurements are performed using recently developed experimental technique—dynamic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Obtained spectra are analyzed using the proposed equivalent circuits. Characteristics of several parameters are analyzed and discussed. Published in Russian in Elektrokhimiya, 2007, Vol. 43, No. 9, pp. 1111–1119. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Experimental Study of Effect of Temperature Variations on the Impedance Signature of PZT Sensors for Fatigue Crack Detection

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is recognized as an efficient tool to interpret the reliability of a wide variety of infrastructures. To identify the structural abnormality by utilizing the electromechanical coupling property of piezoelectric transducers, the electromechanical impedance (EMI) approach is preferred. However, in real-time SHM applications, the monitored structure is exposed to several varying environmental and operating conditions (EOCs). The previous study has recognized the temperature variations as one of the serious EOCs that affect the optimal performance of the damage inspection process. In this framework, an experimental setup is developed in current research to identify the presence of fatigue crack in stainless steel (304) beam using EMI approach and estimate the effect of temperature variations on the electrical impedance of the piezoelectric sensors. A regular series of experiments are executed in a controlled temperature environment (25°C–160°C) using 202 V1 Constant Temperature Drying Oven Chamber (Q/TBXR20-2005). It has been observed that the dielectric constant ε₃₃^T which is recognized as the temperature-dependent constant of PZT sensor has sufficiently influenced the electrical impedance signature. Moreover, the effective frequency shift (EFS) approach is optimized in term of significant temperature compensation for the current impedance signature of PZT sensor relative to the reference signature at the extended frequency bandwidth of the developed measurement system with better outcomes as compared to the previous literature work. Hence, the current study also deals efficiently with the critical issue of the width of the frequency band for temperature compensation based on the frequency shift in SHM. The results of the experimental study demonstrate that the proposed methodology is qualified for the damage inspection in real-time monitoring applications under the temperature variations. It is capable to exclude one of the major reasons of false fault diagnosis by compensating the consequence of elevated temperature at extended frequency bandwidth in SHM.     

Influence of the Oxide Content in the Catalytic Power of Raney Nickel in Hydrogen Generation

The influence of oxides in the hydrogen evolution on Raney nickel electrocatalysts was characterized by electrochemical impedance measurements. In addition, these materials show competitive overpotentials for hydrogen evolution with a modified Watts bath as a binder for the Raney nickel. The optimum result was ?190?mV of overpotential at 100?mA?cm^?2. Oxygen in the Raney Ni catalyst affects its electroactivity toward hydrogen evolution. The source of oxygen is related to the presence of chloride ions in the modified Watts bath. A Watts bath binds Raney Ni particles to the surface of the catalysts and chloride regulates the oxygen content in the nickel binder during electrodeposition. High oxygen content increases the hydrogen evolution overpotential of the electrode. The electroactivity of the synthesized porous coatings was evaluated by polarization curves and impedance plots. In addition, surface characterization by X-ray diffraction, field emission–scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy-dispersive analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is reported.     

基于纳米ZnO/壳聚糖复合膜DNA电化学传感器用于HIV基因的免标记检测

以室温固相合成法制备纳米ZnO,通过壳聚糖(CHIT)的成膜效应将纳米ZnO固定在玻碳电极(GCE)表面,制得的ZnO/CHIT/GCE电极成为DNA固定和杂交的良好平台。DNA的固定和杂交通过电化学交流阻抗进行表征。以电化学交流阻抗免标记法检测目标DNA,固定于电极表面的DNA探针与目标DNA杂交后使电极表面的电子传递电阻增大,以此作为检测信号可以高灵敏度地测定目标DNA。电化学阻抗谱检测人类免疫缺陷病毒(HIV)基因片段的线性范围为2.0×10-11~2.0×10-6mol/L,检出限为2.0×10-12mol/L。     

Regenerable Leptin Immunosensor Based on Protein G Immobilized Au‐Pyrrole Propylic Acid‐Polypyrrole Nanocomposite

A regenerable, labelless electrochemical immunosensor is investigated. In this work, pyrrole (Py) and pyrrole propylic acid (Pa) were co‐electropolymerized in the presence of gold nanoparticles to form a porous, conductive, stable and hydrophilic nanocomposite, followed by the covalent attachment of protein G to capture an antibody as the probe for the immunoassay. The regeneration of the sensor was achieved by rinsing the electrodes with 0.1 M glycine buffer (pH 2.7). The binding and dissociation of the antibody with protein G and optimization of the efficient immobilization were studied by impedance and optical measurements, respectively. The charge transfer resistance obtained from the impedance measurements is used to study the interaction between antibody‐protein G and antibody‐antigen. The immunosensor performance and its regenerability were evaluated by using anti‐leptin IgG as the probe protein to detect leptin in 0.01 M PBS, and its specificity was tested in 1% human serum. The leptin impedimetric immunosensor exhibits a detection dynamic range of 10–100 000 ng/mL with 10 ng/mL detection limit in 0.01 M PBS+1% serum solutions. This work proves the feasibility to make a sensitive, regenerative electrochemical immunosensor, which could be very useful for environmental control and food analysis.     

Electrochemical Characterization of Gold 6‐Amino‐2‐mercaptobenzothiazole Self‐Assembled Monolayer for Dopamine Detection in Pharmaceutical Samples

A new sensor, gold‐6‐amino‐2‐mercaptobenzothiazole (6A2MBT), was fabricated via a self‐assembly procedure. Electrochemical properties of the monolayer were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The modified electrode showed excellent antifouling property against the oxidation products of DA, allowed us to construct a dynamic calibration curve with two linear parts, 1.00×10^?6 to 3.72×10^?4 and 3.72×10^?4 to 6.42×10^?4 M DA, with correlation coefficients of 0.997 and 0.992 and a detection limit of 1.57×10^?7 M DA by using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), respectively. Finally, the performance of the Au‐6A2MBT modified electrode was successfully tested for electrochemical detection of DA in a pharmaceutical sample.     

Direct Electrochemical Determination of Glyphosate at Copper Phthalocyanine/Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Film Electrodes

A copper phthalocyanine/multiwalled carbon nanotube film‐modified glassy carbon electrode has been used for the determination of the herbicide glyphosate (Gly) at ?50 mV vs. SCE by electrochemical oxidation using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed that Gly is adsorbed on the metallic centre of the copper phthalocyanine molecule, with formation of Gly‐copper ion complexes. An analytical method was developed using DPV in pH 7.4 phosphate buffer solution, without any pretreatment steps: Gly was determined in the concentration range of 0.83–9.90 μmol L^?1, with detection limit 12.2 nmol L^?1 (2.02 μg L^?1).