Electrochemical characteristics of Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9|La0.6Sr0.4CoO3-δ + Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9 half-cell

The analysis of the medium temperature half-cell Ce_0.8Gd_0.2O_1.9|70 wt% La_0.6Sr_0.4CoO_3- (LSCO) + 30 wt % Ce_0.8Gd_0.2O_1.9 (CGO) has been made by electrochemical impedance, cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The shape of complex impedance plots depends on temperature and cathodic polarisation of the electrode. Nyquist (Z, Z-) plots were fitted by equivalent circuit taking into account the electrolyte properties (at very high frequencies), charge transfer process at grain boundaries (at high frequencies), and medium and low frequency O₂ reduction process at the cathode surface and inside the porous cathode material. Two different time constants have been obtained for the cathode process, i.e. for electroreduction of oxygen. It was found that the addition of CGO into the cathode material (LSCO) only somewhat decreases the surface catalytic activity but the noticeably higher low-frequency resistance (i.e. mainly diffusion-like mass transfer resistance R_D) values at lower temperatures have been calculated. It was found that the mainly bulk diffusion-limited process at T773 K deviates toward the kinetically mixed process (diffusion + charge transfer) with increasing temperature.     

A comparison of double-focusing sector field ICP-MS, ICP-OES and octopole collision cell ICP-MS for the high-accuracy determination of calcium in human serum

Human serum is routinely measured for total calcium content in clinical studies. A definitive high-accuracy and low-uncertainty method is required for reference measurements to underpin medical diagnoses. This study presents a novel octopole collision cell ICP-MS, high-accuracy, methodology and comparison of that technique with double-focusing sector field ICP-MS and an ICP-OES method. Double-matched isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) was employed for ICP-MS techniques and an exact matching bracketing technique using scandium as an internal standard was used for ICP-OES analysis. Medium resolution mode was utilised for double-focusing sector field ICP-MS analysis to resolve the dominant interferences on the ⁴⁴Ca/⁴²Ca isotope pair. Hydrogen reaction gas was employed to chemically resolve a number of polyatomic interferences predominantly through charge transfer reactions in the octopole collision cell. Comparison data presented for NIST CRM 909b human serum analysis from all three techniques demonstrates highest accuracy (99.6%) and lowest uncertainty (1.1%) for octopole collision cell ICP-MS. Data from ICP-OES using a non-IDMS technique produces comparably accurate data and low-uncertainties. The much higher total expanded uncertainties for double-focusing sector field ICP-MS compared with octopole collision cell data are explained by lower precision on the measurement of the ⁴⁴Ca/⁴²Ca isotope ratio. Data for octopole collision cell ICP-MS submitted for an international blind trial comparison (CCQM K-14) demonstrated excellent agreement with the mean of all participants with a low expanded uncertainty.     

Vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cell culture on NaOH-treated poly(epsilon-caprolactone) films: a preliminary study for vascular graft development

Tissue engineering offers the potential of providing vessels that can be used to replace diseased and damaged native blood vessels. The endothelization of a synthetic vascular graft minimizes the failures associated with blood clotting and platelet activation. The aim of this study was to culture vascular-derived endothelial and smooth muscle cells on both untreated and NaOH-treated poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) films, a biocompatible and bio-resorbable polymer, and to evaluate the behavior of both cell types as a preliminary study for vascular graft development. PCL films were prepared by hot pressing; characterized by DSC, IR, SEM, and scanning force microscopy; and treated with NaOH to increase the surface hydrophilicity before cell culture. Endothelial and smooth muscle cells, isolated from pig cava vein, were characterized by immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy studies of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and alpha-smooth muscle actin. Good adhesion, growth, viability and morphology of both the endothelial and smooth muscle cells on PCL films were obtained, but a light stimulation of mitochondrial activity was observed during short culture times. NaOH treatment improved the adhesion and enhanced the proliferation in both cell types. This verified the possible use of this modified polymer as a support in the preparation of a synthetic vascular graft. [Diagram: see text] SEM micrograph of smooth muscle cells cultured on NaOH-treated PCL film. (Original magnification: 1000x).     

以多聚甲醛为还原剂制备新型阳极Pt/CMK-3催化剂

 以多聚甲醛为还原剂,采用液相还原法制备了Pt/CMK-3直接甲醇燃料电池(DMFC)阳极催化剂,并采用透射电镜和X射线衍射技术对其进行了表征. 结果表明,有序介孔碳CMK-3具有规整的二维有序孔道结构,为DMFC中电子和燃料的传输提供了方便的路径,同时它较大的比表面积使得Pt纳米粒子很好地分散在其表面; Pt/CMK-3催化剂中Pt粒子的平均粒径为2.8 nm, 小于E-TEK公司的商品化Pt/XC-72和以甲醇为还原剂制备的Pt/C-M催化剂,并且粒径分布范围窄,结晶度低. 察了Pt/CMK-3催化剂对甲醇的电催化氧化性能,发现Pt/CMK-3催化剂对甲醇氧化的电催化性能优于Pt/XC-72和Pt/C-M催化剂.     

LSGMC5含量对于二甲醚燃料电池复合Ni-Fe阳极性能的影响

用浸渍法制备了掺杂不同质量分数的La0.8Sr0.2Ga0.8Mg0.15Co0.05O3-δ (LSGMC5)粉末的Ni8-Fe2-LSGMC5复合阳极, 并采用交流阻抗和直流极化技术考察了以氢气和二甲醚为燃气时该复合阳极的电化学性能及相应电池的功率输出特性. 结果表明, 在电极中掺入LSGMC5 粉末, 能显著地改善电极的形貌和电极/电解质界面结构, 减小欧姆电阻和极化电阻. 电极中LSGMC5 粉末含量对于氢气及二甲醚电化学氧化性能的影响显著不同. 以二甲醚为燃气时, 电极极化电阻随LSGMC5 粉末含量的增加而减小, 其中LSGMC5 掺杂量为30%的复合阳极具有最高的电化学性能, 相应电池在1073、1023、973 K 时的输出功率分别为1.00、0.61、0.40 W·cm-2; 以氢气为燃气时, LSGMC5 掺杂量为20%的复合阳极具有最好的电化学性能, 随着LSGMC5 掺杂量的进一步增加, 电极极化电阻显著增大.     

Capillary Electrophoresis for the Simultaneous Determination of Metals by Using Ethylenediamine Tetraacetic Acid as Complexing Agent and Vancomycin as Complex Selector

A new separation system of capillary electrophoresis for the simultaneous determination of metals by using ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid （EDTA） as complexing agent and employing vancomycin as complex selector was described. The Z-shape cell capillary electrophoresis was used to enhance the sensitivity for the determination of the complexes of Cu（Ⅱ）, Ni（Ⅱ）, Co（Ⅱ） and Fe（Ⅲ） with EDTA. The partial filling method （co-current mode） was used in order to increase the selectivity of the electrophoretic method, meanwhile vancomycin was not present at the detector path during the detection of metal-EDTA complexes. The vancomycin concentration, phosphate concentration and pH of the buffer strongly influenced mobility, resolution and selectivity of the studied analytes. Under the optimal condition, the relative standard deviations （n=5） of the migration time and the peak area were less than 3.14% and 7.35%, respectively. Application of the Z-shape cell capillary electrophoresis method with UV detection and vancomycin loading led to the reliable determination of these metal ions in tap water and the recoveries were 97%-101%. The detection limits based on a signal to noise ratio of 3 ： 1 were found in the range of 2-10 μg·L^-1.     

6AZO-CONTAINING SELF-ASSEMBLY ULTRA-THIN FILMS AND THEIR PHOTOVOLTAIC PROPERTIES

A kind of azo-containing resin (Azo-R) was synthesized by a simple way through the coupling reaction of 2-nitro-N-methyldiphenylamine-4-diazoresin (NDR) with phenol, and a new covalentely attached multilayer film from Azo-R as H-donor and photosensitive diazoresin, diphenylamine-4-diazoresin (DR) as H-acceptor via H-bonding attraction by selfassembly technique has been fabricated. Following the decomposition of diazonium group of DR under exposure to UV light, the H-bonds between the layers of the film convert to covalent bonds and the film becomes very stable toward polar solvents or electrolyte aqueous solutions. Thus the UV-irradiated azo-containing films can be used to measure photocurrent in a conventional three-electrode photoelectrochemical cell using KCl as supporting electrolyte. It was confirmed that the azo-containing multilayer film is responsible for the photocurrent generation.     

Determination of Diffusion Coefficients for Binary Nonelectrolyte Mixtures. A Free-Volume Predictive Approach

A diaphragm cell has been used to measure mutual diffusion coefficients at 25°C for four binary nonelectrolyte mixtures: ethylbenzene + n-hexane, carbon tetrachloride + ethylbenzene, cyclohexane + p-xylene, and 1,2-dichloroethane + cyclohexane. A free-volume predictive approach for binary mutual diffusion coefficients was developed and tested. Only infinite dilution diffusion coefficients, some readily available pure substance data, and UNIFAC group contribution parameters are used in the model. No binary equilibrium thermodynamic information is required. For 73 binary systems with an overall average absolute deviation of 5.2%, it has been shown that the developed method is better than two commonly available reference methods for the prediction of liquid diffusion coefficients.     

Development and characterisation of a new interface for coupling capillary LC with collision-cell ICP–MS and its application for phosphorylation profiling of tryptic protein digests

A comparison of different nebulisers for direct hyphenation of capillary and nano liquid chromatography (Cap-LC, Nano-LC) and quadrupole-based collision cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (CC-ICP–MS) for phosphorylation profiling of tryptic protein digests is described. Helium was used as cell gas and specially tuned instrumental conditions were used to achieve background minimisation at the mass of phosphorus, because of kinetic energy discrimination of the interfering polyatomic ions. The proposed set-up is based on a modified capillary electrophoresis interface and a home-made 4 mL spray chamber. It enables the use of gradient conditions with a highly concentrated organic mobile phase as often used in protein phosphorylation analysis, without the need to apply membrane desolvation for removal of the organic phase or further background minimisation. No significant signal suppression or other negative effects caused by the organic mobile phase occur, because of the low flow rates used in Cap-LC and the robust plasma conditions of the CC-ICP–MS instrument. A tryptic digest of beta-casein was investigated as model compound to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed set-up for phosphorylation profiling in protein analysis using quadrupole based collision-cell ICP–MS as phosphorus-specific detector. Detection limits for phosphorylated peptides down to the sub picomole level were obtained. As a complementary technique, electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (ESI–MS–MS) with data base searching was used for further characterisation of the phosphorylated peptides detected.     

钙钛矿型稀土复合氧化物催化剂上一氧化碳的选择氧化

考察了在钙钛矿型稀土复合氧化物催化剂上，氢气中一氧化碳选择氧化的催化性能，发现该催化剂具有优良的催化活性和选择性。LaMnO3中的锰被铜部分取代后可以提高其催化活性，当其中的镧再被锶或钡部分取代后所得的催化剂的催化活性进一步提高。其中以La0.8Sr0.2Mn0.5Cu0.5O3的催化活性为最佳，在该催化剂上，在40 000 mL·g－1·h－1下，155 ℃时CO可被完全转化为CO2，此时的选择性达54%，与铂催化剂的性能相近。反应气中加入CO2时，CO转化率下降，但选择性有所提高；加入水蒸气则使CO的转化率和反应选择性均下降。