Nucleation and growtn of polythiophene films on gold electrodes

The nucleation and growth of polythiophene films on gold electrodes has been studied using potentiostatic steps. The mechanism has been deduced and estimates made of the kinetic parameters. Dissolution of the gold substrate at potentials where thiophene polymerisation occurs is suppressed by the initial rapid formation of a monolayer of polymer. The data indicate that formation of bulk film occurs by the instantaneous nucleation and three-dimensional growth of polymer on top of this monolayer. Rate constants for growth parallel to the surface on the bare gold substrate and the covering polymer layer are surprisingly very similar. Growth perpendicular to the surface is slightly more rapid, typically by a factor of 1.5–3, although it is less dependent on potential. The high density of nuclei results in their overlap at an early stage, after which growth is only possible perpendicular to the surface. Within a narrow potential range, the observation of maxima and minima in current-time transients is interpreted in terms of the “death” and “rebirth” of growing centres.     

Amine groups functionalized gel-type resin supported Pd catalysts: Physicochemical and catalytic properties in hydrogenation of alkynes

Palladium catalysts (0.125–0.5 wt.% Pd) supported by amine groups—functionalized gel-type resin (FCN) were studied in the hydrogenation of alkynes reagents, 2-butyne-1,4-diol and phenylacetylene. The catalysts were prepared by two routes. The first, “OAc” is based on the immobilization of Pd-precursor in the pre-swollen resin from THF solution of Pd(OAc)₂, followed by chemical reduction of the Pd-centers. This method produces Pd particles of size in nano-scale. The second procedure, “aq” implies the deposition of Pd-species on dry resin beads using aqueous solution of PdCl₂. Reduction of these Pd-species gives relatively large Pd particles, dominating are 30–50 nm in size. The SEM studies performed over the cross-section of catalysts grains showed location of Pd in outer shell of polymer beads in both “OAc” and “aq” catalysts; however, thinner layer of Pd appears in “aq” series catalysts. In the presence of all catalysts, prepared by “OAc” and “aq” methods the selectivity towards alkenes is high, above 90%. The catalysts of “aq’ series are much more active and more selective than “OAc” analogues giving selectivity to alkene ca. 94% at almost complete conversion of alkynes. Moreover, catalytic performance of “aq’ series catalyst is unchanged under recycling use. The catalyst was recovered and reused 4 times, maintaining its catalytic efficiency.     

Voltammetric oxidation and determination of cinnarizine at glassy carbon electrode modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes

We discovered a novel method to prepare a protein-based hydrogel, that is, a “Three-Dimensional Nanostructured Protein Hydrogel (3D NPH)”, which is composed of protein–polymer hybrid nanoparticles. In this study, we propose a novel protein microarray whose 3D NPH spots were prepared by dispensing a small volume of the solution of protein–polymer mixture on a substrate. The dispensed solution had a short time for cross-linking before its drying-up and the resulting 3D NPH had loosely cross-linked, thin spongy structure. Therefore, the reaction ratio between ligands and analytes was drastically improved in this system compared with the large volume system for Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) protein microarray.     

Metal nanoparticles on polymer surfaces: 4. Preparation and structure of colloidal gold films

The process of the enlargement of gold hydrosol nanoparticles adsorbed on the surfaces of glassy polymers (polystyrene and poly(2-vinylpyridine)) in mixed aqueous solution of chloroauric acid and hydroxylamine is studied. It is established that the character of this process depends on the intensity of metal-polymer interaction and the density of nanoparticle packing in an initial monolayer. At a high coverage of a poly(2-vinylpyridine) surface by seeding gold particles, their rather uniform growth is observed, whereas, at low coverage, the enlargement of adsorbed particles, as well as the nucleation and growth of new particles take place. At the same time, new Au nanoparticles are not formed on the polystyrene surface in the enlargement process, even at low coverages by preliminarily deposited seeding hydrosol particles. Adsorbed gold particles can also be enlarged after their preliminary incorporation into the polystyrene surface layer. Such an incorporation (partial embedding) is ensured by the annealing of a system at a temperature between surface (T_g) and bulk glass transition temperatures. In this case, the T_g value can be considerably decreased (up to room temperature) by the addition of small amounts of a homologue with a much lower molecular mass in the polystyrene matrix. Lateral conductivity of colloidal Au films formed on a poly(2-vinylpyridine) surface by the enlargement of adsorbed seeding particles is measured. According to these measurements, contacts providing the formation of conductive channels are formed in the process of nanoparticle enlargement.__________Translated from Kolloidnyi Zhurnal, Vol. 67, No. 2, 2005, pp. 149–160.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Dementeva, Kartseva, Bolshakova, Vereshchagina, Ogarev, Kalinina, Rudoy.     

Quantum Size Effects in the Photonics of Semiconductor Nanoparticles

The appearance of quantum size effects in ultradisperse semiconductors, their quantitative analysis, and their effect on the absorption of light and on the photophysical (vibrational relaxation of photogenerated “hot” charge carriers, band-band and “defect” luminescence) and certain primary photochemical processes (the accumulation of excess negative charge by the semiconductor nanoparticles, interphase electron transfer, etc.) are discussed.__________Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Eksperimental’naya Khimiya, Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 67–87, March–April, 2005.     

Spectroelectrochemical study of the corrosion of a copper electrode in deaerated 1.0 M HCl solutions containing Fe(III): Effect of the corrosion inhibitor benzotriazole

The corrosion rate of a copper electrode in deaerated 1.0 M HCl by Fe(III) ions, in the absence and presence of benzotriazole (BTAH), has been evaluated through weight-loss experiments using a rotating disk electrode (RDE). The corrosion process is controlled by transport of the Fe(III) ions to the electrode surface both in the absence and presence of BTAH. The inhibiting action is initiated at BTAH concentrations around 10 mM and the Langmuir adsorption isotherm is obeyed in the BTAH concentration range from 10 to 45 mM with an apparent equilibrium adsorption constant of 10 M⁻¹. Above this concentration, the Langmuir plot is not obeyed due to the formation of a multilayer. The surface films formed during the corrosion process have been investigated by “in situ” and “ex situ” fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy and characterized as being composed of the polymeric [Cu(I)BTA] complex and [Cu(I)CIBTAH]₄, the former as an inner layer response for the corrosion inhibition process.     

Preparation of alpha-elastin nanoparticles by gamma irradiation

Nanoparticles were prepared by utilizing the thermosensitive aggregation of alpha-elastin and gamma ray crosslinking. Three different heating process, “Slow heating”, “Fast heating”, and “Heat shock”, were applied for the aggregation of the alpha-elastin and examined to yield nanoparticles by gamma rays crosslinking. As a result, only “Slow heating” process yielded nanoparticles with diameters of about ca. 300 nm above cloud point (CP) and about ca. 100 nm below CP, and a narrow size distribution above 1.0 mg/ml concentration (exclude 1.0 mg/ml).     

Synthesis and properties of novel thermotropic liquid crystalline copoly(ester-imide)s

Four novel copoly(ester-imide)s based on 3,3',4,4'-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride,bis(trimellitic acid anhydride) phenyl ester and di-p-aminophenyl ester of dicarboxylic acids were synthesized via two-step method in order to investigate whether two imide mesogenic units with different conformation and polarity could control the formation of LC-phase.Polarizes light microscopy(PLM) and differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) have shown that three polymers formed the nematic phase with thread schlieren...     

Computer Simulation of the Initial Stage of the Nucleation of Water Vapors on the Silver Iodide Crystal Surface: 2. Thermodynamics

The formation work of the condensed phase nucleus from the vapor on the surface of silver iodide at 273 K is calculated by the method of bicanonical statistical ensemble. The energy barrier of the formation of a nucleus of a monolayer on the surface is located in the region of extremely small sizes and its height does not exceed the energy of thermal motion k _B T. Such a barrier cannot markedly decelerate the nucleation. A point crystal defect in the form of an extra ion on the surface qualitatively changes the pattern of the formation work curve: the minimum with a depth of about 100k _B T corresponding to a thermodynamically stable nucleus appears on this curve. As the vapor pressure increases, “spots” of water molecules are formed and grow on the substrate surface around point crystal defects. These spots tend to coalesce and cover the entire surface as a monolayer; however, the high free energy barrier prevents the formation of further layers.__________Translated from Kolloidnyi Zhurnal, Vol. 67, No. 4, 2005, pp. 561–572.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Shevkunov.     

Lithium intercalation into PbNb2S5, PbNbS3, SnNb2Se5, BiVS3, SnVSe3, and PbNb2Se5 misfit layer chalcogenides

The intercalation of lithium into various misfit layer chalcogenides of two different stoichiometries was performed by using n-butyl lithium on powders. The reaction was found to proceed topochemically, and a greater expansion in the c direction and higher lithium contents were observed in the lithiated phases with “MM′₂X₅” approximate stoichiometries compared to “MM′X₃” stoichiometries. This behaviour difference is assigned to the different stacking sequence of the slices of the two sublattices formed by double layers of MX and sandwiches of M′X₂. Lattice distortions are induced during lithiation, leading to changes in the relative orientation of MS-type bilayers and to complete amorphization after long reaction times. The synthesis and partial characterization of a new misfit layer selenide of nominal composition “PbNb₂Se₅” is also reported. The value of the c-dimension (c = 37.3₇ Å) suggests a stacking sequence PbSe---NbSe₂---NbSe₂---PbSe---NbSe₂---NbSe₂, etc. This material becomes highly unstable on lithium intercalation and decomposes to its constituents after a few hours of lithiation.     

Effect of nanobubbles on friction forces between hydrophobic surfaces in water

Micro- and nanoscale combined hierarchical polymer structures were fabricated by UV-assisted capillary force lithography. The method is based on the sequential application of engraved polymer molds with a UV-curable resin of polyurethane acrylate (PUA) followed by surface treatment with a trichloro(1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl) silane in vapor phase. Two distinct wetting states were observed on these dual-roughness structures. One is “Cassie–Wenzel state” where a water droplet forms heterogeneous contact with microstructures and homogeneous contact with nanostructures. The other is “Cassie–Cassie state” where a droplet makes heterogeneous contact both with micro- and nanostructures. A simple thermodynamic model was developed to explain static contact angle, hysteresis, and wetting transition on dual-roughness structures.     

Transients of the Open-Circuit Potential Observed during the Interaction of Formic Acid with Preliminarily Adsorbed Oxygen on a Platinized Platinum Electrode

Transients of the open-circuit potential, which are observed during the interaction of formic acid with preliminarily adsorbed oxygen (O_ads) on a Pt/Pt electrode in 0.5 M H₂SO₄, are measured. It is established, by means of the method of cathodic potentiodynamic pulses, that the slowest interaction of formic acid with O_ads occurs in the region of large coverages of the electrode surface by oxygen (θ_O ∼1–0.8). A presumption is put forward that the process rate in this region is defined by a direct reaction of O_ads with molecules of formic acid from the bulk solution. It is shown that the interaction of formic acid with O_ads in the region of intermediate coverages (θ_O ∼ 0.8–0.2) proceeds via a mechanism of “conjugated reactions.” Transients of the open-circuit potential for formic acid are compared to transients for carbon monoxide obtained in analogous conditions. The substantially shorter overall time of potential decay in the case of CO (at the same concentrations) is caused by a faster reaction of CO with adsorbed oxygen in the region of large θ_O. The difference is explained by assuming that the HCOOH adsorption as opposed to CO bears a dissociative character.__________Translated from Elektrokhimiya, Vol. 41, No. 8, 2005, pp. 936–942.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Manzhos, Maksimov, Podlovchenko.     

Preparation and catalytic activity of titanium silicalite-1 zeolite membrane with TPABr as template

The preparation of the supported titanium silicalite-1 (TS-1) zeolite membrane with inexpensive tetrapropylammonium bromide (TPABr)/weak base synthesis system was studied by three methods, and the catalytic activity of the obtained TS-1 zeolite membrane was evaluated with the oxidation of 2-propanol (IPA) under pervaporation condition. It was found that TS-1 zeolite membrane could be successfully prepared with “seeding” or “seeding in situ” method, but could not be achieved with “in situ” method. Adding a little amount of promoter ions of PO₄³⁻ into the synthesis gel was of benefit to the catalytic activity of the prepared TS-1 zeolite membrane, but had no obvious effect on the membrane layer formation on the mullite porous support. For “seeding” method, the membrane prepared with the synthesis gel having molar composition of SiO₂:0.1TPABr:0.9Et₂NH:0.03TiO₂:80H₂O:0.06H₃PO₄ at 150 °C for 48 h showed the highest oxidation conversion of IPA of 72% accompanied by a flux of 0.35 kg/m² h. Further more, much higher IPA oxidation conversion of 76% accompanied by a flux of 0.65 kg/m² h was obtained for the TS-1 zeolite membrane prepared with the same synthesis gel by “seeding in situ” method at 150 °C for 72 h.     

A thermodynamic interpretation of the behavior of higher fatty alcohols and acids upon the chromatographic paper

An idea was presented of treating the chromatographed substance as a “solute,” and the chromatographic system, composed of the stationary and the mobile phase as a “solvent.” Moreover the concept of “local equilibrium” was introduced, allowing to regard a given chromatographic spot as a “binary solution.” Thus a possibility arose to apply the classical thermodynamic approach, normally used for binary solutions, and namely: μ_i = μ_i + RT ln x_iƒ_i, where μ_i—chemical potential of the “i”-th compound in the solution, μ_i—chemical potential of the pure “i”-th compound, x_i-molar fraction of the “i”-th compound, ƒ_i—its activity coefficient, in a modified form, suitable for the chromatographic purpose.     

Distribution of Co(II) between immiscible phases formed in water + 1-butanol system

Heterogeneous equilibria for the distribution of Co²⁺ between the two layers formed in water + 1-butanol (1-BuOH) system have been investigated at ambient conditions. The study (confined to only 28 °C) reveals an interesting feature of the distribution equilibrium for the system whereby Co²⁺ has been found to exist in both the phases as the same species namely its aqua-complex thus directly demonstrating strong selective solvation of Co²⁺ by the water molecules. Almost constant values of refractive indices and densities were exhibited by the two layers regardless in which ratio the component liquids were mixed together. However, relative volumes of the layers varied smoothly on gradually changing the ratio of the two liquids in the overall “solvent system”. Also the Co²⁺ distribution coefficient (K_D) changed appreciably on going to alcohol-richer “solvent systems” but K_D remained fairly constant on adding different amounts of cobalt dichloride to any given “solvent system”.     

New Method of Analysis of Intermolecular Contacts in the Crystal Structure: π-Complexes

A new method for analysis of intermolecular contacts in the crystal structure based on characteristics of the Voronoi-Dirichlet polyhedra (VDP) is considered using metal π-complexes as examples. The crystal data of the compounds were used to determine the surface area of the VDP faces corresponding to all intermolecular contacts in one π-complex, the total volume of the pyramids with VDP faces as bases and the nuclei of atoms involved in the intermolecular contacts at the vertices, and the total solid angle at which the “intermolecular” VDP faces are seen from the corresponding nuclei of the molecule. A common linear correlation between the enthalpy of sublimation of π-complexes and saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons and the molecular VDP characteristics was elucidated. On the basis of the results, the enthalpies of sublimation were calculated for some iron π-complexes (for which data on the crystal structure were available) and C₆₀ and C₇₀ fullerenes.__________Translated from Koordinatsionnaya Khimiya, Vol. 31, No. 7, 2005, pp. 495–505.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Serezhkin, Shevchenko, Serezhkina.     

Metal Nanoparticles on Polymer Surfaces: 1. A New Method of Determining Glass Transition Temperature of the Surface Layer

New experimental approach allowing to study the structure and properties of polymer surface layers at a nanolevel is proposed. According to this method, metal nanoparticles are first adsorbed on a polymer surface from colloidal solution, then resultant system is stepwise annealed, and the particle embedding in a polymer is examined with atomic force microscope. Potentialities of the method are demonstrated using the gold nanoparticles–polystyrene system (including polystyrene modified with the UV radiation) as an example. It was established that the glass transition temperature of polystyrene surface layer is noticeably lower compared with the bulk value and decreases even more after the UV modification of a polymer surface. Possible use of the results obtained for the solution of other, independent problem, namely for the creation of two-dimensional nanocomposites by embedding nanoparticle monolayer ensemble in the surface layer of a glassy polymer at a temperature lower than the glass transition temperature of its bulk is analyzed.     

Phase behavior of the orange essential oil/sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate/water system

The ternary phase diagram for the orange essential oil (OEO)/sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT)/water system was constructed at 25 °C. It indicates a large single phase region, comprising an isotropic water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsion (ME) phase (L₂), a liquid crystal (LC) (lamellar or hexagonal) and a large unstable emulsion phase that separates in two phases of normal and reverse micelles (L₁ and L₂). In this communication the properties of the ME are investigated by viscosity, electric conductivity and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) indicating that the isotropic ME phase exhibits different behaviors depending on composition. At low water content low viscous “dry” surfactant structures are formed, whereas at higher water content higher viscous water droplets are formed. The experimental data allow the determination of the transition from “dry” to the water droplet structures within the L₂ phase. SAXS analyses have also been performed for selected LC samples.     

Application of receptor models to airborne particulate matter

The human activities in their various aspects cause a change in the natural air quality. This change results more marked in very populated and in high industrialized areas. Some pollutants emitted are typical of a particular activity. Each source of pollution is identified by its profile in the composition of the emissions in the environment. Multivariate receptor models can be used in order to apportion pollutants to the different sources assessing the contribution of each source to the total pollution.This paper deals with the application of Absolute Principal Component Scores (APCS) receptor model to data obtained from the automatic network of air quality monitoring in the city of Bari (South Italy). The parameters monitored by automatic networks, as bihourly values, are PM₁₀, NO_x, CO, Benzene, Toluene, Xilene. The data shown in this paper concerning 1 month almost of sampling in different monitoring stations of Bari Municipality during the period of time from January 2005 to April 2006. Moreover preliminary results obtained applying the APCS model to daily PM_2.5 samples collected during SITECOS PRIN project are shown. The results concerning data collected in corso Cavour (Bari) during the month of October 2005.The results obtained by APCS receptor model seem to suggest a poor contribution of the “vehicular traffic source” and a relevant contribution of the “secondary particulate source” to particulate matter concentrations.     

Analysis of microscopic modifications and macroscopic surface properties of polystyrene thin films treated under d.c. pulsed discharge conditions

Using a d.c. pulsed plasma for the polymer surface treatment allows the attainment of macroscopic modifications of the surface, such as an important increase in wettability. At the same time microscopic variations of the surface structure are mainly linked to low‐depth chemical modifications, even if very weak roughness changes appear. This technique thus presents two major interests: the low power consumption compared with other techniques such as radiofrequency or microwave plasmas makes it economical; and very significant treatment (macroscopic) is realized under soft conditions without degradation of the polymer. The results of macroscopic and microscopic studies on polystyrene surfaces may allow a macroscopic interpretation to be made of the interaction between the polymer and the d.c. pulsed plasma. Treatment is divided into two temporal stages: cleaning and functionalization. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.