Hierarchically Designed Three‐Dimensional Macro/Mesoporous Carbon Frameworks for Advanced Electrochemical Capacitance Storage

Mesoporous carbon (m‐C) has potential applications as porous electrodes for electrochemical energy storage, but its applications have been severely limited by the inherent fragility and low electrical conductivity. A rational strategy is presented to construct m‐C into hierarchical porous structures with high flexibility by using a carbon nanotube (CNT) sponge as a three‐dimensional template, and grafting Pt nanoparticles at the m‐C surface. This method involves several controllable steps including solution deposition of a mesoporous silica (m‐SiO₂) layer onto CNTs, chemical vapor deposition of acetylene, and etching of m‐SiO₂, resulting in a CNT@m‐C core–shell or a CNT@m‐C@Pt core–shell hybrid structure after Pt adsorption. The underlying CNT network provides a robust yet flexible support and a high electrical conductivity, whereas the m‐C provides large surface area, and the Pt nanoparticles improves interfacial electron and ion diffusion. Consequently, specific capacitances of 203 and 311 F g^?1 have been achieved in these CNT@m‐C and CNT@m‐C@Pt sponges as supercapacitor electrodes, respectively, which can retain 96 % of original capacitance under large degree compression.     

Surface of room temperature ionic liquid [bmim][PF6] studied by polarization- and experimental configuration-dependent sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy

Understanding and control of the surface properties such as molecular orientations are of great importance in numerous applications of ionic liquids. However, there remain discrepancies among the previous experimental and theoretical studies on the surface orientation and structures of room temperature ionic liquids(RTIL) systems. In this article, the orientation of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium([bmin]) cation at the air/liquid interface of a characteristic RTIL, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate([bmim][PF6]), was investigated by the sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy(SFG-VS). Detailed polarization and experimental configuration analyses of the SFG-VS spectra showed the possibility of a small spectral splitting in the CH3 symmetric stretching region, which can be further attributed to the probable existence of multiple orientations for the interfacial [bmim] cations. In addition, the(N)–CH3 vibrations were absent, ruling out the prediction by several recent molecular dynamics simulations which state that portions of the [bmim] cations orient with a standing-up(N)–CH3 group at the ionic liquid surface. Hence, new realistic theoretical models have to be developed to reflect the complex nature of the ionic liquid surface.     

Quantum theory as a description of robust experiments: Derivation of the Pauli equation

It is shown that the Pauli equation and the concept of spin naturally emerge from logical inference applied to experiments on a charged particle under the conditions that (i) space is homogeneous (ii) the observed events are logically independent, and (iii) the observed frequency distributions are robust with respect to small changes in the conditions under which the experiment is carried out. The derivation does not take recourse to concepts of quantum theory and is based on the same principles which have already been shown to lead to e.g. the Schrödinger equation and the probability distributions of pairs of particles in the singlet or triplet state. Application to Stern–Gerlach experiments with chargeless, magnetic particles, provides additional support for the thesis that quantum theory follows from logical inference applied to a well-defined class of experiments.     

Development of a capillary electrophoretic method for determination of plasma clearance of iohexol in dogs and cats

Renal function can be monitored by estimation of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), for example, through measurement of the plasma clearance of a marker that is freely filtrated through the kidney without reabsorption. It has been proposed that iohexol is the most accurate marker for GFR determination in cats and dogs. However, there is a need for a validated capillary electrophoretic method that covers the concentration range for a full curve clearance estimate of iohexol. In the final method, the plasma samples were protein precipitated and the supernatant was analyzed in a background electrolyte containing borate buffer (0.06 m , pH 10.0). The method developed was proved to be linear (concentration range 18– 2900 mg/L) and had a good precision (e.g. 2.3–2.9% at 88 mg/L) and accuracy (e.g. 101–105% at 88 mg/L). Finally, the method was compared with a previously published and validated HPLC‐UV method by parallel analysis of clinical plasma samples from dogs and cats administered Omnipaque®. This comparison showed excellent agreement between the two methods and no proportional or systematic error was observed. The proposed method is simple and has a low cost per sample, which makes it applicable for routine analysis. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A New Method of Testing and Evaluating the Quality of Refined Montan Wax: Digital Color and GC Fingerprint

To establish a new method of testing and evaluating the quality of refined montan wax (RMW), digital color and GC fingerprint technology were introduced and applied. CIE Lab color mode was used to digitize the exterior colors of RMW, and the score obtained through a fitting function was also used to reflect its quality. It is shown that they were in complete accord with the human visual perception trend. The GC fingerprint was used to characterize the internal chemical information of RMW, and the composition of its internal features was reflected through the relative retention time (RRT) and relative peak area (RPA) values. It is shown that there was a high degree of similarity between the fingerprints, while certain differences also existed. This can be used to implement effective application of RMW to aspects such as quality control, adulteration identification, and origin attributions.