Silver nanoparticle decorated poly(2-aminodiphenylamine) modified carbon paste electrode as a simple and efficient electrocatalyst for oxidation of formaldehyde

This work describes the promising activity of silver nanoparticles on the surface of a poly(2-amino diphenylamine) modified carbon paste electrode (CPE) towards formaldehyde oxidation. Electrodeposition of the conducting polymer film on the CPE was carried out using consecutive cyclic voltammetry in an aqueous solution of 2-aminodiphenylamine and HCl. Nitrogen groups in the polymer backbone had a Ag ion accumulating effect, allowing Ag nanoparticles to be electrochemically deposited on the surface of the electrode. The electrochemical and morphological characteristics of the modified electrode were investigated. The electro-oxidation of formaldehyde on the surface of electrode was studied using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry in aqueous solution of 0.1 mol/L NaOH. The electro-oxidation onset potential was found to be around -0.4 V, which is unique in the literature. The effect of different concentrations of formaldehyde on the electrocatalytic activity of the modified electrode was investigated. Finally, the diffusion coefficient of formaldehyde in alkaline media was calculated to be 0.47 × 10^-6 cm²/s using chronoamperometry.     

Preparation and formaldehyde sensitive properties of N-GQDs/SnO2 nanocomposite

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have both the properties of graphene and semiconductor quantum dots, and exhibit stronger quantum confinement effect and boundary effect than graphene. In addition, the band gap of GQDs will transform to non-zero from 0 eV of graphene by surface functionalization, which can be dispersed in common solvents and compounded with solid materials. In this work, the SnO₂ nanosheets were prepared by hydrothermal method. As the sensitizer, nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) were prepared and composited with SnO₂ nanosheets. Sensing performance of pristine SnO₂ and N-GQDs/SnO₂ were investigated with HCHO as the target gas. The response (R_a/R_g) of 0.1% N-GQDs/SnO₂ was 256 for 100 ppm HCHO at 60 °C, which was about 2.2 times higher than pristine SnO₂ nanosheet. In addition, the material also had excellent selectivity and low operation temperature. The high sensitivity of N-GQDs/SnO₂ was attributed to the increase of active sites on materials surface and the electrical regulation of N-GQDs. This research is helpful to develop new HCHO gas sensor and expand the application field of GQDs.     

Picomole‐level Formaldehyde Determination in Gaseous and Beer Samples Using Flow Injection Chemiluminescence Analysis

Based on the linear enhancement of formaldehyde (FA) within 7.0 ～ 1000 pmol l^?1 on luminol—bovine serum albumin (BSA) chemiluminescence (CL) system, FA determination in air and beer samples using CL with flow injection (FI) was proposed. The detection limit was 2.5 pmol l^?1 (3σ) and the relative standard deviations were less than 4.5% (n = 7). At a flow rate of 2.0 mL min^?1, a whole analysis from sampling to washing only needed 32 s, offering a sample throughput of 112 h^?1. This proposed method was successfully utilized to determine FA vapor pressure in liquid (121.8 ± 3.8 Pa), FA content in real air sample (8.93 ± 0.03 mg m^?3), and FA levels in beer (199.5 ± 5.6 ～ 225.2 ± 3.5 mg l^?1), giving determination recoveries from 90.7% to 109.3%. The mechanism of BSA—FA interaction was also investigated, showing FA binding to BSA was a spontaneous process mainly through hydrogen bonding and van der Waals force by FI‐CL, with binding constant K of 1.89 × 10⁶ l mol^?1 and the number of binding sites n of 0.86. Molecular docking analysis further revealed FA could enter into the pocket at subdomain IIA of BSA, with K of 1.71 × 10⁵ l mol^?1 and ΔG of ‐29.68 kJ mol^?1.     

N-Benzylazacyclophane synthesis via aromatic Mannich reaction

A new method for synthesizing phenolic N-benzylazacyclophanes starting from tyramine is presented here. Computational calculations showed that macrocyclization is favored by the formation of hydrogen bond-based templates; these templates are not affected by including benzyl groups in the nitrogen atom of the tyramine moiety. The results showed that N-benzyl groups with electron-donating substituents have more nucleophilic nitrogen atoms, thereby favoring macrocyclization, while electron-withdrawing groups favor polymerization.     

Concise synthesis of aromatic tertiary amines via a double Petasis–borono Mannich reaction of aromatic amines,formaldehyde, and organoboronic acids

A simple and efficient strategy to construct aromatic tertiary amines via a double Petasis–borono Mannich reaction of aromatic amines, formaldehyde, and organoboronic acids has been developed. The transformation provides a useful method for the synthesis of amine derivatives.     

Analysis of formose sugar and formaldehyde by high-performance liquid chromatography

Formose sugar and formaldehyde (HCHO) were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) utilizing a CarboPac PA1 column (Dionex) and pulsed amperometric detection. This HPLC system was unsuitable for the analysis of formose sugar and HCHO and thus reducing sugars and unconverted HCHO were determined by endowing them with charges through a derivatization method using 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine. The separation and detection of compounds were performed by three Chromolith RP-C18 columns (Merck) and diode array detection, at a wavelength of 360 nm ultraviolet light, respectively. Lower sugars (except HCHO) showed some instabilities when the derivatized samples were kept for the extended periods of time. For C₅ and consecutive higher sugars, a certain derivatization time was necessary. In the present case (formose reaction with partial HCHO conversion), approximately 18 h may be a reasonable compromise for the derivatization reaction. A derivatization agent to compound mole ratio of up to 100:1 was required to complete the derivatization of C₄ and higher sugars. However, the analysis of C₄ and consecutive higher sugars is problematic for example due to overlapping of peaks or branched-chain sugars.     

A rapid, simple method for determining formaldehyde in drinking water using colorimetric-solid phase extraction

Formaldehyde has been detected in drinking water supplies across the globe and on board NASA spacecraft. A rapid, simple, microgravity-compatible technique for measuring this contaminant in water supplies using colorimetric-solid phase extraction (C-SPE) is described. This method involves collecting a water sample into a syringe by passage through a cartridge that contains sodium hydroxide, to adjust pH, and Purpald, which is a well-established colorimetric reagent for aldehydes. After completing the reaction in the syringe by agitating for 2 min on a shaker at 400 rpm, the 1.0-mL alkaline sample is passed through an extraction disk that retains the purple product. The amount of concentrated product is then measured on-disk using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and compared to a calibration plot generated from Kubelka-Munk transformations of the reflectance data at 700 nm to determine the formaldehyde concentration. This method is capable of determining formaldehyde concentrations from 0.08 to 20 ppm with a total work-up time of less than 3 min using only 1-mL samples.     

Hydrothermal synthesis of (Fe,N) co-doped TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> powders and their photocatalytic properties under visible light irradiation

(Fe, N) co-doped titanium dioxide powders have been prepared by a quick, low-temperature hydrothermal method using TiOSO₄, CO(NH₂)₂, Fe(NO₃)₃, and CN₃H₅ · HCl as starting materials. The synthesized powders were characterized by XRD, TEM, BET, XPS, and UV–Vis spectroscopy. Experimental results show that the as-synthesized TiO₂ powders are present as the anatase phase and that the N and Fe ions have been doped into the TiO₂ lattice. The specific surface area of the powders is 167.8 m²/g by the BET method and the mean grain size is about 11 nm, calculated by Scherrer’s formula. UV–Vis absorption spectra show that the edge of the photon absorption has been red-shifted up to 605 nm. The doped titanium dioxide powders had excellent photocatalytic activity during the process of photo-degradation of formaldehyde and some TVOC gases under visible light irradiation.     

MnO2/ZSM-5上臭氧协同催化去除甲醛的性能研究

采用浸渍法制备了不同MnO2负载量的催化剂,用BET分析、X射线衍射等手段对其进行了分析,并考察了在MnO2/ZSM-5催化剂上臭氧协同催化去除甲醛的性能.结果显示:相对于单一的MnO2和ZSM-5,MnO2/ZSM-5复合催化剂具有更高的催化活性,其中10%MnO2/ZSM-5性能最佳,一次性去除效率可达到47%左右,制备所得到的催化剂有较强的稳定性,连续工作120h去除效率基本不变.     

Determination of glyphosate and its metabolites in plant material by reversed‐polarity CE with indirect absorptiometric detection

A simple CE method for simultaneous determination of glyphosate and its metabolites (i.e. aminomethylphosphonic acid, glyoxylate, sarcosine and formaldehyde) in plants is reported here. A BGE of pH 7.5, 10% ACN, 7.5 mM phthalate, containing 0.75 mM hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide as an electro‐osmotic flow modifier, an applied voltage of –20 kV and absorptiometric monitoring at 220 nm were the optimal chemical and instrumental parameters. The method, with development time 20 min, shows linear calibrations within the range 5–500 μg/mL (for all target analytes) with correlation coefficients between 0.999 and 0.998. It has been validated by application to samples of Lolium spp. The electroinjection mode hinders most interferents to enter the capillary, thus providing a clean electropherogram and making unnecessary long sample‐preparation steps.