Temperature- and humidity-related degradation of conducting polyaniline films

The time dependence of dc conductivity of conducting polyaniline films was measured in relation to temperature and relative humidity of the environment. Optical and structural properties of the samples were checked using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.     

Biological Activity of Essential Oils of Four Juniper Species and Their Potential as Biopesticides

The objective of this study was to assess the biological activity of essential oils (EOs) of four Juniperus species obtained via two different distillation methods and their potential as biopesticides. The studied factors were juniper species (Juniperus communis L., J. oxycedrus L., J. pygmaea C. Koch., and J. sibirica Burgsd), plant sex (male (M) and female (F)), and distillation method (hydrodistillation via a standard Clevenger apparatus (ClevA) and semi-commercial (SCom) steam distillation). The hypothesis was that the EO will have differential antioxidant, antimicrobial, and insecticidal activities as a function of plant species, plant sex, and distillation method. The two distillation methods resulted in similar EO composition within a given species. However, there were differences in the EO content (yield) due to the sex of the plant, and also differences in the proportions of some EO components. The concentration of α-pinene, β-caryophyllene, δ-cadinene and δ-cadinol was dissimilar between the EO of M and F plants within all four species. Additionally, M and F plants of J. pygmaea, and J. sibirica had significantly different concentrations of sabinene within the respective species. The EOs obtained via ClevA extraction showed higher antioxidant capacity within a species compared with those from SCom extraction. All of the tested EOs had significant repellent and insecticidal activity against the two aphid species Rhopalosiphum padi (bird cherry-oat aphid) and Sitobion avenae (English grain aphid) at concentrations of the EO in the solution of 1%, 2.5%, and 5%. The tested EOs demonstrated moderate activity against selected pathogens Fusarium spp., Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum spp., Rhizoctonia solani and Cylindrocarpon pauciseptatum. The results demonstrate that the standard ClevA would provide comparable EO content and composition in comparison with SCom steam distillation; however, even slight differences in the EO composition may translate into differential bioactivity.     

The chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline in water: Raman spectroscopy

The structural changes of aniline oligomers and polyaniline, associated with oxidation of aniline with ammonium peroxydisulfate in aqueous solutions without any added acid, were studied. The reaction was quenched at various times and the films deposited on silicon windows have been studied in detail by Raman spectroscopy, at excitation wavelengths 633 and 514 nm. The presence of substituted phenazine structural units, in addition to ordinary benzenoid, quinonoid, and semiquinonoid structures, has been proved by the appearance of characteristic Raman bands at 1645–1630, 1420–1400, 1380–1365, ∼575, and ∼415 cm⁻¹. The remarkable differences of the Raman spectra of oligoanilines, precipitated in the first phase of oxidative polymerization, and polyaniline nanotubes and nanorods, formed in the second stage of reaction, are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.