Electronically Excited States in Model Complexes of Noble Metal Clusters with Carbon Nanodots

Russian Physics Journal - Theoretical calculations of excited states in the complexes of gold and silver three-atom nanoclusters with carbon quantum nanodots are performed using the M062X...     

Solvothermal synthesis of transition metal (iron/copper) and nitrogen co−doped carbon nanomaterials: comparing their peroxidase−like properties

Journal of Nanoparticle Research - Polycrystalline metallic copper nanoparticle samples with the average particle sizes ranging from 53 to 80 nm were controllably prepared by the wet...     

Magnetoresistance and Quantum Oscillations in WTe2 Semimetal

Physics of the Solid State - The discovery of extreme magnetoresistance (MR) in nonmagnetic materials attracted attention to WTe2 semimetal. We studied MR in a single crystal of tungsten...     

Promoting grain growth in Ni-rich single-crystal cathodes for high-performance lithium-ion batteries through Ce doping

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Preparing a high-performance Ni-rich single-crystal cathode for Li-ion batteries is challenging. This is because calcination must be performed at a high...     

Development of a new catalytic and sustainable methodology for the synthesis of benzodiazepine triazole scaffold using magnetically separable CuFe2O4@MIL-101(Cr) nano-catalyst in aqueous medium

Magnetically retrieval CuFe₂O₄@MIL-101(Cr) metal–organic framework was successfully prepared from easily available starting materials and characterized using various spectroscopic and analytical techniques such as powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, transmission electron microscopy, elemental mapping, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, vibrating sample magnetometer, and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. The catalyst was then used in the synthesis of benzodiazepines containing a triazole moiety in water. The advantages of this protocol include high yields, reusability of the catalyst, and gram-scale synthesis.     

Solid‐phase microextraction Arrow for the volatile organic compounds in soy sauce

A novel solid‐phase microextraction Arrow was used to separate volatile organic compounds from soy sauce, and the results were verified by using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. Solid‐phase microextraction Arrow was optimized in terms of three extraction conditions: type of fiber used (polydimethylsiloxane, polyacrylate, carbon wide range/polydimethylsiloxane, and divinylbenzene/polydimethylsiloxane), extraction temperature (40, 50, and 60°C), and extraction time (10, 30, and 60 min). The optimal solid‐phase microextraction Arrow conditions were as follows: type of fiber = polyacrylate, extraction time = 60 min, and extraction temperature = 50°C. Under the optimized conditions, the solid‐phase microextraction Arrow was compared with conventional solid‐phase microextraction to determine extraction yields. The solid‐phase microextraction Arrow yielded 6–42‐fold higher levels than in solid‐phase microextraction for all 21 volatile organic compounds detected in soy sauce due to the larger sorption phase volume. The findings of this study can provide practical guidelines for solid‐phase microextraction Arrow applications in food matrixes by providing analytical methods for volatile organic compounds.     

Reversible Shape‐Morphing and Fluorescence‐Switching in Supramolecular Nanomaterials Consisting of Amphiphilic Cyanostilbene and Cucurbit[7]uril

We demonstrate a reversible shape‐morphing with concurrent fluorescence switching in the nanomaterials which are complexed with cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) in water. The cyanostilbene derivative alone forms ribbon‐like two‐dimensional (2D) nanocrystals with bright yellow excimeric emission in water (λ_em=540 nm, Φ_F=42 %). Upon CB[7] addition, however, the ribbon‐like 2D nanocrystals immediately transform to spherical nanoparticles with significant fluorescence quenching and blue‐shifting (λ_em=490 nm, Φ_F=1 %) through the supramolecular complexation of the cyanostilbene and CB[7]. Based on this reversible fluorescence switching and shape morphing, we could demonstrate a novel strategy of turn‐on fluorescence sensing of spermine and also monitoring of lysine decarboxylase activity.     

Fractionation and characterization of starch granules using field-flow fractionation (FFF) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)

Starch is one of the main carbohydrates in food; it is formed by two polysaccharides: amylose and amylopectin. The granule size of starch varies with different botanical origins and ranges from less than 1 μm to more than 100 μm. Some physicochemical and functional properties vary with the size of the granule, which makes it of great interest to find an efficient and accurate size-based separation method. In this study, the full-feed depletion mode of split-flow thin cell fractionation (FFD-SF) was employed for a size-based fractionation of two types of starch granules (corn and potato) on a large scale. The fractionation efficiency (FE) of fraction-a for corn and potato granules was 98.4 and 99.4%, respectively. The FFD-SF fractions were analyzed using optical microscopy (OM) and gravitational field-flow fractionation (GrFFF). The respective size distribution results were in close agreement for the corn starch fractions, while they were slightly different for the potato starch fractions. The thermal properties of FFD-SF fractions were analyzed, and the results for the potato starch showed that the peak temperature of gelatinization (T_p) slightly decreases as the size of the granules increases. Additionally, the enthalpy of gelatinization (ΔH) increases when the granule size increases and shows negative correlation with the gelatinization range (ΔT).

     

Effect of aromatic substitution on the cure reaction and network properties of anhydride cured triphenyl ether tetraglycidyl epoxy resins

A systemic study of the impact of aromatic substitution on the reaction rate and network properties of the isomers of a tetraglycidylaniline triphenyl ether epoxy resin cured with anhydride hardeners is presented here. The epoxy resins synthesized in this work were based upon N,N,N,N‐tetraglycidyl bis(aminophenoxy)benzene (TGAPB), where the glycidyl aniline and ether groups change from being all meta (133 TGAPB), to meta and para (134 TGAPB), and finally to an all para substituted epoxy resin (144 TGAPB). Increasing para substitution increased reaction rate, promoted the onset of vitrification and increased epoxide conversion. Thermal properties such as glass transition temperatures (T_g) and coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) both increased consistently with increasing para substitution, although thermal stability as measured via thermogravimetric analysis decreased. Mechanical properties also varied systematically with flexural strength and ductility increasing with increased para substitution, while the modulus decreased. Indeed, the ductility almost doubled, as measured by the work of fracture and displacement at failure highlighting the importance of substitution on properties.