Diamond Nanoelectrode Arrays for the Detection of Surface Sensitive Adsorption

Nanocrystalline diamond nanoelectrode arrays (NEAs) have been applied to investigate surface‐sensitive adsorption phenomena at the diamond–liquid interface. The adsorption of neutral methyl viologen (MV⁰) was used as a model system. The adsorption of MV⁰ was examined on hydrogen‐ and oxygen‐terminated surfaces. On the hydrogenated nanoelectrode surface, a sharp anodic stripping peak was observed upon oxidation of MV⁰, revealing strong adsorption of MV⁰. In contrast, a sigmoidal voltammogram was recorded with an oxygenated electrode surface, indicating there was no MV⁰ adsorption. The changes in the shapes of these voltammograms are due to the drastic changes that occur in the diffusion profiles during the transition. The diffusion profile changes from hemispherical diffusion on oxygen‐terminated surfaces to thin‐layer electrochemistry upon adsorption on hydrogen‐terminated surfaces. Different types and concentrations of buffer solutions were then used to vary the interaction of MV⁰ with diamond NEAs. The results suggest that the adsorption of MV⁰ on hydrogen‐terminated diamond NEAs is controlled by hydrophobic interactions. Therefore, diamond NEAs are ideal for the study of adsorption phenomena at the liquid–solid interface with voltammetry.     

Specific Ion and Concentration Effects in Acetate Solutions with Na+, K+ and Cs+

How salt ions affect solutes and the water beyond the solvation shell is not well understood. Molecular dynamics simulations of alkali-acetate solutions were analysed here in order to examine if, and how, different cations and solute concentrations affect the water structure and the interactions between water and acetates. The results revealed that water structure is perturbed to more than 1 nm away from the acetates and that this effect is more pronounced in physiological than in molar electrolyte concentrations. Analysis of simulations of a soluble protein revealed that the water orientation is perturbed to at least 1.5 nm from the protein structure. Furthermore, modifications to the orientation of water around carboxylate side chains were shown to depend on the local environment on the protein surface, and could extend to well over 1 nm, which may have an effect on protein dynamics during MD simulations in small water boxes.     

Linear Viscoelasticity of Concentrated Polyethylene Glycol tert-Octylphenyl Ether Solutions

Linear viscoelastic studies were carried out on concentrated polyethylene glycol tert-octylphenyl ether solutions over a range of temperatures and concentrations comprising the lamellar and hexagonal liquid-crystalline phases and the isotropic surfactant-rich phase. The generalized or a simple Maxwell model fits the frequency dependence of the dynamic functions for the hexagonal and isotropic surfactant-rich phases, respectively. The combined influence of temperature and concentration on both the zero-shear rate-limiting viscosity and the relaxation time for isotropic samples follows an exponential dependence. The results are discussed according to the phase behaviour of these systems.     

Specific Ion Effects on an Oligopeptide: Bidentate Binding Matters for the Guanidinium Cation

Ion–protein interactions are important for protein function, yet challenging to rationalize owing to the multitude of possible ion–protein interactions. To explore specific ion effects on protein binding sites, we investigate the interaction of different salts with the zwitterionic peptide triglycine in solution. Dielectric spectroscopy shows that salts affect the peptide's reorientational dynamics, with a more pronounced effect for denaturing cations (Li⁺, guanidinium (Gdm⁺)) and anions (I^?, SCN^?) than for weakly denaturing ones (K⁺, Cl^?). The effects of Gdm⁺ and Li⁺ were found to be comparable. Molecular dynamics simulations confirm the enhanced binding of Gdm⁺ and Li⁺ to triglycine, yet with a different binding geometry: While Li⁺ predominantly binds to the C‐terminal carboxylate group, bidentate binding to the terminus and the nearest amide is particularly important for Gdm⁺. This bidentate binding markedly affects peptide conformation, and may help to explain the high denaturation activity of Gdm⁺ salts.     

Theoretical Insights into Specific Ion Effects and Strong-Weak Acid-Base Rules for Ions in Solution: Deriving the Law of Matching Solvent Affinities from First Principles

We present a detailed study of specific ion effects, volcano plots and the law of matching solvent affinities by means of a conceptual density functional theory (DFT) approach. Our results highlight that specific ion effects and the corresponding implications on the solvation energy are mainly due to differences in the electric chemical potentials and chemical hardnesses of the ions and the solvent. Our approach can be further used to identify reliable criteria for the validity of the law of matching solvent affinities. Basic expressions are derived, which allow us to study the limiting conditions for this empirical observation with regard to matching chemical reactivity indices. Moreover, we show that chaotropic and kosmotropic concepts and their implications for the stability of ion pairs are directly related to a generalized strong and weak acids and bases (SWAB) principle for ions in solution, which is also applicable to rationalize the shape of volcano plots for different solvents. In contrast to previous assumptions, all empirical findings can be explained by the properties of local solvent-ion complexes which dominate the specific global behavior of ion pairs in solution.     

Specific Anion Effects on the Kinetics of Iodination of Acetone

Specific ion effects on the kinetics of iodination of acetone in an acidic medium are investigated by UV/Vis spectrophotometry as a function of nature of the acid and temperature. The results indicate that the order of the reaction with respect to acetone is practically unaffected by the composition of the acid while the value of the mixed constant k₁K increases according to the sequence HBr<HCl<HClO₄<HF<H₂SO₄<H₃PO₄. The results are discussed in terms of the hydration free energy and size of the anion and of the interaction between the cationic intermediate and the anion.     

耐温抗盐驱油聚合物溶液黏弹性

对3种不同结构类型的耐温抗盐驱油聚合物〔高分子量聚丙烯酰胺(HPAM)、磺化聚丙烯酰胺(S-HPAM)和疏水缔合聚丙烯酰胺(A-HPAM)〕的溶液黏弹性能进行了研究。在温度85℃下,通过稳态剪切和动态剪切试验,考察了质量浓度和矿化度对聚合物溶液黏弹性的影响。结果表明,随剪切速率增加,溶液表观黏度逐渐降低。质量浓度越高,溶液的储能模量(G')和损耗模量(G″)越大。由动态剪切实验数据,计算得到第一法向应力差(N1)。随质量浓度增加,聚合物溶液的N1逐渐增大;随矿化度增加,聚合物溶液的N1出现不同盐敏感区域,说明不同结构类型的驱油聚合物溶液对矿化度的弹性响应不同。研究结果为高温高盐油藏聚合物驱剂的选择及开发提供了理论参考。     

A Simple Nanocellulose Coating for Self-Cleaning upon Water Action: Molecular Design of Stable Surface Hydrophilicity

Coating solid surfaces with cellulose nanofibril (CNF) monolayers via physical deposition was found to keep the surfaces free of a variety of oils, ranging from viscous engine oil to polar n-butanol, upon water action. The self-cleaning function was well correlated with the unique molecular structure of the CNF, in which abundant surface carboxyl and hydroxy groups are uniformly, densely, and symmetrically arranged to form a polar corona on a crystalline nanocellulose strand. This isotropic core–corona configuration offers new and easily adoptable guidance to design self-cleaning surfaces at the molecular level. Thanks to its excellent self-cleaning behavior, the CNF coating converted conventional meshes into highly effective membranes for oil–water separation with no prior surface treatment required.     

On the Origin of Foam Stability: Understanding from Viscoelasticity of Foaming Solutions and Liquid Films

The foam stability (drainage half-life) of α-olefin sulfonate (AOS) with partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) or xanthan gum (XG) solution was evaluated by the Warring Blender method. With the increase of polymer (HPAM or XG) concentration, foam stability of the surfactant–polymer complexes increased, and the drainage half-life of AOS-XG foam was higher than that of AOS-HPAM foam at the same polymer and surfactant concentration. With the addition of polymer (HPAM or XG), the viscoelasticity of bulk solution and the liquid film were enhanced. The viscoelasticity of AOS-XG bulk solution and liquid film were both higher than that of AOS-HPAM counterparts.      

Ion‐Specific Oil Repellency of Polyelectrolyte Multilayers in Water: Molecular Insights into the Hydrophilicity of Charged Surfaces

Surface wetting on polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs), prepared by alternating deposition of polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDDA) and poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS), was investigated mainly in water‐solid‐oil systems. The surface‐wetting behavior of as‐prepared PEMs was well correlated to the molecular structures of the uncompensated ionic groups on the PEMs as revealed by sum frequency generation vibrational and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopies. The orientation change of the benzenesulfonate groups on the PSS‐capped surfaces causes poor water wetting in oil or air and negligible oil wetting in water, while the orientation change of the quaternized pyrrolidine rings on the PDDA‐capped surfaces hardly affects their wetting behavior. The underwater oil repellency of PSS‐capped PEMs was successfully harnessed to manufacture highly efficient filters for oil‐water separation at high flux.     

Ion‐Specific Assembly of Strong,Tough, and Stiff Biofibers

Designing engineering materials with high stiffness and high toughness is challenging as stiff materials tend to be brittle. Many biological materials realize this objective through multiscale (i.e., atomic‐ to macroscale) mechanisms that are extremely difficult to replicate in synthetic materials. Inspired from the architecture of such biological structures, we here present flow‐assisted organization and assembly of renewable native cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), which yields highly anisotropic biofibers characterized by a unique combination of high strength (1010 MPa), high toughness (62 MJ m^?3) and high stiffness (57 GPa). We observed that properties of the fibers are primarily governed by specific ion characteristics such as hydration enthalpy and polarizability. A fundamental facet of this study is thus to elucidate the role of specific anion binding following the Hofmeister series on the mechanical properties of wet fibrillar networks, and link this to the differences in properties of dry nanostructured fibers. This knowledge is useful for rational design of nanomaterials and is critical for validation of specific ion effect theories. The bioinspired assembly demonstrated here is relevant example for designing high‐performance materials with absolute structural control.     

Salt resistivity of poly (4-vinyl benzoic acid) gel

Salt resistivity of poly (4-vinyl benzoic acid) (P4VBA) gel was investigated to compare with the super salt-resistivity that was found for poly (4-vinyl phenol)(P4VPh) gel containing an acidic proton and π-electron system. Poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) gel was also prepared and used as a reference gel containing only an acidic proton. P4VBA gel showed a moderate salt resistivity, which was less significant than that for P4VPh gel, in many kinds of inorganic salt solutions (MgCl₂, LiCl, NaCl, KCl, CsCl, KI, KSCN, Na₂SO₄). On the other hand, PAA gel showed a drastic deswelling in the presence of concentrated MgCl₂, LiCl, Na₂SO₄, and (NH₄)₂SO₄ solutions, and a significant swelling for KSCN solution. These contrastive behaviors between P4VBA and PAA gels strongly suggest that the combination of acidic proton and π-electron system is essential and necessary for polymer gels to be endowed with the salt resistivity.     

利用基于Gouy-Chapman模型的离子有效电荷定量表征离子特异性效应

离子特异性效应在固-液界面反应中是普遍存在的.近期研究指出,在较低电解质浓度的某些体系中,离子特异性效应可能并非来源于色散力、经典诱导力、离子半径或水合半径的大小等,而是界面附近强电场中的离子极化作用.这种作用可使界面附近的吸附态反号离子被强烈极化(高达经典极化的104倍).强烈极化的结果将导致离子在界面附近受到的库仑力远远超过离子电荷所能产生的库仑力,这体现在离子的有效电荷将远大于离子的实际电荷.因此胶体体系中基于这种强极化的离子有效电荷可以用来定量表征离子特异性效应的强度.本研究在蒙脱石-胡敏酸混合悬液凝聚过程中发现了Na+、K+、Ca2+、Cu2+四种离子的离子特异性效应,提出了基于激光散射技术测定离子有效电荷的方法,并成功获得了被强烈极化后的离子有效电荷数值.实验测得的Na+、K+、Ca2+、Cu2+四种离子的有效电荷值分别为:ZNa(effective)=1.46,ZK(effective)=1.86,ZCa(effective)=3.92,ZCu(effective)=6.48.该结果表明:(1)离子在强电场中的极化将大大提高离子的有效电荷,从而极大地增强离子所受的库仑作用力;(2)离子的电子层数越多,离子极化越强烈,离子的有效电荷增加越多.     

Electrode Kinetics of Concentrated Sulfide Ion in Basic Solutions

The diffusion coefficients of sulfide ion in 5 M NaOH solution with concentrations of (0.02–0.3)M at temperatures 24–50°C were determined using a rotating-ring-disc Pt electrode to be (0.5–2.0)×10^?5 cm₂/sec. The reaction order of the sulfide oxidation to sulfur was calculated to be 0.42 which implies one-electron transfer as the rate-limiting step and the reaction rate constant was found to be k_f=2.57×10^?5 exp(-0.14ZF_π/RT).     

利用基于Gouy-Chapman模型的离子有效电荷定量表征离子特异性效应

离子特异性效应在固-液界面反应中是普遍存在的. 近期研究指出, 在较低电解质浓度的某些体系中, 离子特异性效应可能并非来源于色散力、经典诱导力、离子半径或水合半径的大小等, 而是界面附近强电场中的离子极化作用. 这种作用可使界面附近的吸附态反号离子被强烈极化(高达经典极化的10⁴倍). 强烈极化的结果将导致离子在界面附近受到的库仑力远远超过离子电荷所能产生的库仑力, 这体现在离子的有效电荷将远大于离子的实际电荷. 因此胶体体系中基于这种强极化的离子有效电荷可以用来定量表征离子特异性效应的强度. 本研究在蒙脱石-胡敏酸混合悬液凝聚过程中发现了Na⁺、K⁺、Ca²⁺、Cu²⁺四种离子的离子特异性效应, 提出了基于激光散射技术测定离子有效电荷的方法, 并成功获得了被强烈极化后的离子有效电荷数值. 实验测得的Na⁺、K⁺、Ca²⁺、Cu²⁺四种离子的有效电荷值分别为: Z_{Na(effective)}=1.46, Z_K(effective)=1.86, Z_{Ca(effective)}=3.92, Z_{Cu(effective)}=6.48.该结果表明: (1) 离子在强电场中的极化将大大提高离子的有效电荷, 从而极大地增强离子所受的库仑作用力;(2) 离子的电子层数越多, 离子极化越强烈, 离子的有效电荷增加越多.     

Surface wetting in liquid-liquid-solid triphase systems: solid-phase-independent transition at the liquid-liquid interface by lewis Acid-base interactions

Interfacial phenomena: A solid-phase-independent strategy for tuning the surface wettability is presented. Lewis acid-base interactions at the oil-water interface can greatly decrease the liquid-liquid interfacial tension and induce oleophilic to superoleophobic wetting transition on a nonresponsive microstructured surface.     

Direct Patterning of Copper on Polyimide by Site‐Selective Surface Modification via a Screen‐Printing Process

We demonstrate a simple route to fabricating copper circuit patterns on the surface of polyimide film. The copper pattern can be obtained in three steps: 1) Formation of partially potassium hydroxide modified pattern via a screen‐printing process, 2) formation of macromolecular metal complex with copper, and 3) copper metallization by DMAB reduction. The morphologies of these copper patterns are determined by cross‐sectional transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Furthermore, the growing process of the metallic copper film is investigated. The direct patterning of copper patterns onto polyimide substrates is promising for use in electronics industry as a large‐area and low‐cost processing technique.     

Water Dynamics in Highly Concentrated Salt Solutions: A Multi-Nuclear NMR Approach

Living cells often contain compartments with high concentration of charged biomolecules. A key question pertinent to the function of biomolecules is how water dynamics are affected by interaction with charged molecules. Here, we study the dynamical behavior of water in an extreme condition, that is, in saturated salt solutions, where nearly all water molecules are located within the first hydration layer of ions. To facilitate disentangling the effects of cations and anions, our study is focused on alkali chloride solutions. Following a multi-nuclear NMR approach enabling direct monitoring of protons and the quadrupolar nuclei ⁷Li, ¹⁷O, ²³Na, ³⁵Cl, ⁸⁷Rb and ¹³³Cs, we investigate how the translational and rotational mobility of water molecules, chloride anion and corresponding cations are affected within the constrained environment of saturated solutions. Our results indicate that water molecules preserve a large level of mobility within saturated alkali chloride solutions that is significantly independent of adjacent ions.     

Fluorescence Probe Studies of Ionic Micelles in Concentrated Salt Solutions

We have investigated the effect of salt concentration and temperature on the average aggregation number and micro-polarity of the interior of micelles of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). sodium tetradecyl sulfate (STDS) and lithium dodecyl sulfate (LiDS). The transient fluorescence decay of micelle-solubilized pyrene has been measured and analyzed. An exponent weighted average aggregation number <n>_e was obtained by this technique. For SDS and STDS in NaCl solution, <n>_e increases as the temperature is lowered or salt concentration is increased <n>_e increased from ～ 50 to ～ 250 over [NaCl] = 0 to 0.8 M. Due to the strong counterion binding of lithium in the micellar solution, the LiDS micelle is much, smaller and does not increase appreciabily even at [LiCl] =0.8 M. From the fluorescence spectrum fine structure of pyrene and the fluorescence decay of the monomer and excimer, we can understand the local polarity and the water penetration to the interior of the micelle upon addition of salts and with changing temperature. The interior of the micelle becomes more nonpolar as the salt concentration is increased and the temperature is lowered. A complete kinetic analysis of the time–dependence of the fluorescence is given. The kinetic analysis is in agreement with the results reached by fluorescence spectral analysis.