Grafting of functionalized silica particles with poly(acrylic acid)

Two different methods to graft silica particles with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) were studied. In the first method PAA was reacted with 1,1′‐carbonyldiimidazole to give functionalized PAA. The resulting activated carbonyl group reacted easily with 3‐aminopropyl‐functionalized silica at low temperatures. In the second method 3‐glycidoxypropyl‐functionalized silica particles were reacted directly with PAA by using magnesium chloride as a catalyst. Different molecular weights of PAAs were used in order to investigate the effect of molecular weight on grafting yields in both methods. The grafting yields were determined with thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). All products were also investigated with IR. The results showed that the yields of reactions performed at ambient temperature by using 1,1′‐carbonyldiimidazole‐functionalized PAA were the same as with a direct reaction of unfunctionalized PAA and 3‐aminopropyl‐functionalized silica performed at 153°C. Also in reactions between 3‐glycidoxypropyl‐functionalized silica and PAA the yields were satisfactory. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cathodic electrochemiluminescence at double barrier Al/Al2O3/Al/Al2O3 tunnel emission electrodes

Double insulating barrier tunnel emission electrodes were fabricated by adding a new pure aluminum layer upon oxidized aluminum electrodes by vacuum evaporation and thermally oxidizing the new aluminum layer in air at room temperature. Resulting Al/Al₂O₃/Al/Al₂O₃ electrodes allow the use of various aluminum alloys in the electrode body necessary for hardness or shaping ability of the electrode while obtaining the luminescence properties of pure aluminum oxide. During electrical excitation of luminescent labels by cathodic hot electron injection into aqueous electrolyte solution, the background noise is mainly based on high-field-induced solid-state electroluminescence and F-center luminescence of the outer aluminum oxide film. The more defect states and/or impurity centers the outer oxide film contains, the higher is the background emission intensity. The present electrode fabrication method provides a considerable improvement in signal-to-noise ratio for time-resolved electrochemiluminescence (TR-ECL) measurements when the original native oxide film of the electrode body contains luminescence centers displaying long-lived luminescence. The excellent performance of the present electrodes is demonstrated by extremely low-level detection of Tb(III) chelates, luminol, Pt(II) coproporphyrin and Tb(III) labels in an immunometric immunoassay by time-resolved electrochemiluminescence.     

Relative thermodynamic stabilities of 2-substituted 4-methylene-1,3-dioxolanes and 4-methyl-1,3-dioxoles

The relative thermodynamic stabilities of 24 pairs of carbon-carbon double-bondexo-endo isomeric 2-substituted 4-methylene-1,3-dioxolanes (a) and 4-methyl-1,3-dioxoles (b) have been determined by base-catalyzed chemical equilibration in DMSO solution. In all cases, theendo isomer (b) is the favored species at thermodynamic equilibrium. A single alkyl substitutent on C-2 gives only a negligible contribution to the relative stability of the isomeric forms, but the presence of two alkyl groups on C-2 increases the relative stability of theendo isomer by 2–3 kL mol^–1. A still higher effect in favor of theendo isomer is produced by introduction of a single alkoxy group on C-2; this effect is further slightly accentuated by 2,2-dialkoxy substitution at C-2. The origin of the favorable effect of 2-alkoxy substitution on the relative stability of theendo isomer is not clear, but it seems to arise from an unexpected stability of theendo isomer rather than from an enhanced destabilization of theexo form.     

Influence of the pore structure of MCM-41 and SBA-15 silica fibers on atomic layer chemical vapor deposition of cobalt carbonyl

Mesoporous high surface area MCM-41 and SBA-15 type silica materials with fibrous morphology were synthesized and used as support materials for the ALCVD (atomic layer chemical vapor deposition) preparation of Co/MCM-41 and Co/SBA-15 catalysts. Co/MCM-41 and Co/SBA-15 catalysts were prepared by deposition of Co2(CO)8 from the gas phase onto the surfaces of preheated support materials in a fluidized bed reactor. For both silica materials, two different kinds of preparation methods, direct deposition and a pulse deposition method, were used. Pure silica supports as well as supported cobalt catalysts were characterized by various spectroscopic (IR) and analytical (X-ray diffraction, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, elemental analysis) methods. MCM-41 and SBA-15 fibers showed considerable ability to adsorb Co2(CO)8 from the gas phase. For MCM-41 and SBA-15 silicas, cobalt loadings of 13.7 and 12.1 wt % were obtained using the direct deposition method. The cobalt loadings increased to 23.0 and 20.7 wt % for MCM-41 and SBA-15 silicas, respectively, when the pulse deposition method was used. The reduction behavior of silica-supported cobalt catalysts was found to depend on the catalyst preparation method and on the mesoporous structure of the support material. Almost identical reduction properties of SBA-15-supported catalysts prepared by different deposition methods are explained by the structural properties of the mesoporous support and, in particular, by the chemical structure of the inner surfaces and walls of the mesopores. Pulse O2/H2 chemisorption experiments showed catalytically promising redox properties and surface stability of the prepared MCM-41- and SBA-15-supported cobalt catalysts.     

Wettability conversion on the liquid flame spray generated superhydrophobic TiO2 nanoparticle coating on paper and board by photocatalytic decomposition of spontaneously accumulated carbonaceous overlayer

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is a photoactive material with various interesting and useful properties. One of those is the perfect wettability of TiO₂ surface after ultraviolet (UV) illumination. Wettability of a solid surface plays an important role in the field of printing, coating, and adhesion among others. Here we report on a superhydrophobic and photoactive liquid flame spray (LFS) generated TiO₂ nanoparticle coating that can be applied on web-like materials such as paper and board in one-step roll-to-roll process. The LFS TiO₂ nanoparticle coated paper and board were superhydrophobic instantly after the coating procedure because of spontaneously accumulated carbonaceous overlayer on TiO₂, and thus there was no need for any type of separate hydrophobization treatment. The highly photoactive LFS TiO₂ nanoparticle coating could be converted steplessly from superhydrophobic to superhydrophilic by UV-illumination, and the coating gave strong response to natural daylight illumination even in the shade. The superhydrophobic LFS TiO₂ coated surface can be used as an intelligent substrate, where photo-generated hydrophilic patterns guide the fluid setting and figure formation. Our study reveals that the wettability changes on the LFS TiO₂ surface were primarily caused by the photocatalytic removal of the carbonaceous material from TiO₂ during the UV-illumination and spontaneous accumulation of the carbonaceous material on the surface of the metal oxide during storage in the dark. The latter mechanism was found to be a temperature activated process which could be significantly speeded up by heat treatment. If other mechanisms such as surface oxidization, increment of hydroxyl groups, or charge separation played a role in the wetting phenomena on TiO₂, their effect was rather secondary as the removal and accumulation of the carbonaceous material dominated the wettability changes on the surface. Our study gives valuable information on the complex issue of photo-induced wettability changes on TiO₂.     

Switchable water absorption of paper via liquid flame spray nanoparticle coating

Surface wetting/anti-wetting and liquid absorption are relevant properties of many porous solids including paper and other cellulose-based materials. Here we demonstrate how surface wetting by water and water absorption of commercially available kraft paper can be altered by thin nanoparticle coatings fabricated by liquid flame spray in facile and continuous one-step process. Surface wettability and absorption properties of paper increased with silica and decreased with titania (TiO₂) nanoparticle coatings. Moreover, the water-repellent (superhydrophobic) TiO₂ nanoparticle coated paper could be switched to superhydrophilic and water absorbing by ultraviolet illumination. The experiments revealed that although surface wetting and liquid absorption of nanoparticle coated paper are strongly related to each other, they are two distinct phenomena which do not necessarily correlate. We propose wetting regimes on the nanoparticle coated paper samples on the basis of the experimental observations.     

Generalized Kramers–Kronig relations and sum rules for moments and powers of degenerate four wave mixing susceptibility

Optical Review - Generalized Kramers–Kronig (K–K) type dispersion relations and sum rules are derived in the static limit for the moments of the degenerate four wave mixing...     

Versatile bio-ink for covalent immobilization of chimeric avidin on sol-gel substrates

A bio-ink for covalent deposition of thermostable, high affinity biotin-binding chimeric avidin onto sol-gel substrates was developed. The bio-ink was prepared from heterobifunctional crosslinker 6-maleimidohexanoic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide which was first reacted either with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane or 3-aminopropyldimethylethoxysilane to form silane linkers 6-maleimide-N-(3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl)hexanamide or -(ethoxydimethylsilyl)propyl)-hexanamide. C-terminal cysteine genetically engineered to chimeric avidin was reacted with the maleimide group of silane linker in methanol/PBS solution to form a suspension, which was printed on sol-gel modified PMMA film. Different concentrations of chimeric avidin and ratios between silane linkers were tested to find the best properties for the bio-ink to enable gravure or inkjet printing. Bio-ink prepared from 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane was found to provide the highest amount of active immobilized chimeric avidin. The developed bio-ink was shown to be valuable for automated fabrication of avidin-functionalized polymer films.     

Measuring tablet porosity using multispectral imaging system

A multispectral imaging system with computer controlled light source of 16 light emitting diodes is applied for measuring of tablet porosity. The system is based on a subspace vector model of surface reflection. The measured spectral data are compressed on the stage of measurement and used directly for the discrimination of tablets with different porosity. The experimental results demonstrate that the multispectral imaging system is a potential method for tablet porosity measurement.