The preparation of highly ordered TiO2 nanotube arrays by an anodization method and their applications

The tubular-shaped nanostructure of TiO(2) is very interesting, and highly ordered arrays of TiO(2) nanotubes (TNTs) can be easily fabricated by anodization of the Ti substrate in specific electrolytes. Here in this feature article, we review synthesis methods for various TNTs including normal, alloy, and architectural forms such as bamboos, lace, and flowers. Specific nanosize architectures such as bamboo and lace types can be regulated by alternating voltage and further anodizing. In order to extend light response of TNTs to visible solar spectra, various dopings of specific elements have been discussed. The normal and modified TNTs are suggested for applications such as dye sensitized solar cells, water splitting, photocatalytic degradation of pollutants, CO(2) reduction, sensors, energy storage devices including Li ion batteries and supercapacitors, and other applications such as flexible substrate and biomaterials.     

Pigment identification on "Pietà" of Barletta, example of Renaissance Apulian sculpture: a Raman microscopy study

A study of the original painting layer of the "Pietà" of Barletta, a polychrome statue, important example of Renaissance Apulian sculpture, was performed by mu-Raman spectroscopy. Vermilion was identified in the original layer of the blood drops on Jesus knee. Lazurite was identified as the original blue pigment on Our Lady's veil and lace, currently a yellow ochre-like color. The use of lazurite demonstrates the historical-artistic importance of this polychrome statue, and supports the hypothesis that this artwork was probably commissioned by Our Lady's devotees to itinerant artists inspired by the more precious Vesperbilder model.     

The gas-phase chemiionization reaction between samarium and oxygen atoms: a theoretical study

The Sm+O chemiionization reaction has been investigated theoretically using a method that allows for correlation and relativistic effects. Potential energy curves have been calculated for several electronic states of SmO and SmO+. Comparison with available spectroscopic and thermodynamic values for these species is reported and a mechanism for the chemiionization reaction Sm+O is proposed. The importance of spin-orbit coupling in the excited states of SmO, in allowing this chemiionization reaction to take place, has been revealed by these calculations. This paper shows the metal-plus-oxidant chemiionization reaction.     

Pigment identification on “Pietà” of Barletta, example of Renaissance Apulian sculpture: A Raman microscopy study

A study of the original painting layer of the “Pietà” of Barletta, a polychrome statue, important example of Renaissance Apulian sculpture, was performed by μ-Raman spectroscopy. Vermilion was identified in the original layer of the blood drops on Jesus knee. Lazurite was identified as the original blue pigment on Our Lady's veil and lace, currently a yellow ochre-like color. The use of lazurite demonstrates the historical-artistic importance of this polychrome statue, and supports the hypothesis that this artwork was probably commissioned by Our Lady's devotees to itinerant artists inspired by the more precious Vesperbilder model.     

Kieselalgen

Diatoms are a highly unusual group of organisms. They acquired their photosynthesis apparatus later than the plants, but had such extraordinary success in the last 200 million years that they made large contributions to the Earth's geochemical cycles and climate regulation. Current ideas to sequester carbon dioxide by fertilising ocean water with iron also targets diatoms, which are the fastest to respond to nutrient availability. Their intricately structured, lace‐like silica shells are of interest to nanotechnology. However, as they are far from the beaten tracks of biochemical research and not represented by any of the classic model organisms, their morphogenesis is still poorly understood and cannot be replicated in vitro.     

Self avoiding walk trees and laces

This paper is divided into two sections. In the first section we describe the use depth first search trees and breadth first search trees in understanding self avoiding walks and restricted random walks. While we derive our results for Euclidean lattices the method is totally general and can be used for other lattices as well. In the second section derive an expression for the number of laces in the lace expansion of a memory four restricted random walk.     

Light Induced Electron Transfer and Charge Separation of Porphyrin Compounds for Photoelectric Conversion

A series of artificial photosynthesis porphyrin compounds consisting of electron donor and electron acceptor (compounds 1-6) were synthesized. Their spectroscopic behaviors in solution were investigated and the synthetic molecular devices were prepared with these molecules by using LB technique. It was indicated that multistep electron transfer and charge separation for these compounds actually occur, which is of great advantage to their photoelectric conversion. An efficient energy transfer process takes place for compound 6. A mechanism involving photoinduced electron transfer and multistep charge separation for these compounds was suggested. With only one monolayer of tetrad 1 LB film on the surface of Sn0₂ conductive glass, high photo-driven voltage and current were obtained.     

Classical molecular electrostatics: recognition of ligands in proteins and the vibrational Stark effect

It is shown that classical electrostatics quantitatively describes both the binding of the diatomic ligands XO (X = C, N, O) to the heme group in myoglobin and the dependence of their vibrational frequencies upon an external field, the vibrational Stark effect. The key is a proper treatment of induced dipoles. The results suggest that ligand binding occurs via an "electrostatic bond", a generalization of the standard ionic bond to include induction, and, more generally, that classical electrostatics can replace quantum mechanics for a considerable simplification of some complex problems.     

Two-state and continuous phase transitions in lipid bilayers A time-resolved X-ray diffraction study

Structural changes associated with transition from one phase to another have been examined in several lipid-water systems using time-resolved X-ray diffraction methods. Two types of transition mechanism can be recognized on the basis of scattering originating from the packing of the hydrocarbon chains. Two-state transitions are characterized by coexistence of the wide-angle scattering patterns of the initial and final phases throughout the transition region. Continuous transitions, on the other hand, take place through a series of intermediate states that are believed to arise from deformation of the hydrocarbon chain lattice as one phase transforms into another. Two-state processes are observed as subgel to liquid crystal transitions, and continuous transformations are typical of subgel to gel phase transitions. Examples of these transition types are presented and other transitions that do not appear to conform to either of these mechanisms are described.     

Catalytic decomposition of organic peroxides by 4,4′-diamino-trans-stilbene (DTS)/montmorillonite complex. I. dibenzoyl peroxide (DBP)

The decomposition of DBP was studied in the presence of DTS in an ethanolic homogeneous solution and with DTS intercalated in montmorillonite clay mineral as a heterogeneous reaction. The kinetic parameters obtained from the two systems were monitored and indicated that the homogeneous system follows second order reaction kinetics for DBP, whereas the heterogeneous one follows a three-halves order. The heterogeneous system was found to possess higher catalytic efficiency and the reaction was shown to take place within the internal surfaces of the clay mineral. This was attributed to the great surface area of the catalyst, Lewis and Brönsted acid sites and its great ability to sorb the polar organic species.     

Two-state and continuous phase transitions in lipid bilayers A time-resolved X-ray diffraction study

Structural changes associated with transition from one phase to another have been examined in several lipid-water systems using time-resolved X-ray diffraction methods. Two types of transition mechanism can be recognized on the basis of scattering originating from the packing of the hydrocarbon chains. Two-state transitions are characterized by coexistence of the wide-angle scattering patterns of the initial and final phases throughout the transition region. Continuous transitions, on the other hand, take place through a series of intermediate states that are believed to arise from deformation of the hydrocarbon chain lattice as one phase transforms into another. Two-state processes are observed as subgel to liquid crystal transitions, and continuous transformations are typical of subgel to gel phase transitions. Examples of these transition types are presented and other transitions that do not appear to conform to either of these mechanisms are described.     

DNA-programmed control of photosensitized singlet oxygen production

DNA sequence-controlled on-and-off switching of a singlet oxygen sensitizer has been developed and demonstrated. The singlet oxygen photosensitizer pyropheophorbide-a (P) was attached to a 15-mer nucleotide sequence. A molecule that could quench the sensitizer, the so-called "black hole quencher 3" (Q), was attached to a complementary nucleotide strand. Upon hybridization of the two conjugates, singlet oxygen production from P was completely shut down. Upon the addition of a third DNA sequence that can displace and release the P-DNA conjugate from the P-Q pair, up to 85% of the singlet oxygen production was recovered. This system is a model for a benign drug that becomes active only in the presence of a specific targeted nucleotide sequence.     

固相配位化学反应研究(ⅩⅩⅤ)——草酸高铁与路易氏间碱的固相反应

用气相色谱法研究了草酸铁(Ⅲ)与路易氏碱在氢气氛和氦气氛中的固相反应。结果表明草酸铁与氢氧化钠在室温下明显发生固相反应,其产物随温度升高而变化。同时发现α-Fe对草酸钠有催化分解作用,与四硫化钾低于220°C时发生固相反应,生成KFeS₂,但只有1/4草酸铁参加了固相反应,反应不完全,对固相反应的机制及反应气氛的影响也进行了探讨。     

Exploring recent developments on 1,2,4-triazole: Synthesis and biological applications

Triazoles are nitrogen-bearing heterocycles. In the last few decades, researchers have focused on fused heterocycles, as they have better pharmacological effect compared to triazoles alone. Among the two isomers of triazole, this article aims to explore the work carried out on 1,2,4-triazole and N-bridged heterocycles derived from 1,2,4-triazole in last 18 years, highlight different synthetic pathways, and present a brief summary of the different biological activities possessed by 1,2,4-triazole derivatives. The information collected in this article is expected to help researchers to discover novel therapeutic agents for better applications in the field of pharmaceutical science.     

Charge density analysis of some processes involving intramolecular hydrogen transfer

The variations in topology of the electron density along the reaction paths of the keto-enol tautomerism of acetaldehyde, the pinacol rearrangement of protonated 1,2-ethanediol, and the unimolecular decomposition of methanediol, were studied as examples of hydrogen transfer between, respectively, C?O, C?C, and O?O atoms. The evolution of atomic charges, determined using two different atomic partitionings (AIM and Hirshfeld), indicates that the main electronic charge transfer in keto-enol tautomerism takes place between the migrating hydrogen and the carbon of the carbonyl group. The topology of the electron density demonstrates that a hydrogen-bridge structure is never formed along the reaction path of the pinacol rearrangement. The methanediol decomposition follows a concerted mechanism with very small variations in the atomic charges.     

Mechanism of nitromethane liquid membrane oscillator containing sodium oleate

The oscillatory behavior of a liquid membrane oscillator with anionic surfactant was investigated in order to understand the oscillation mechanism at the molecular level. As a theoretical framework, an approach based on chemical kinetics laws has been used. The chosen system involved nitromethane with 2,2(')-bipyridine as liquid membrane. The aqueous donor phase contained sodium oleate and butanol, while sodium chloride was added to the aqueous acceptor phase. It was established that the oscillations take place exclusively at the aqueous acceptor phase/membrane interface. Therefore, liquid membrane oscillators with anionic surfactants behave the same way as oscillators with cationic surfactants as to the location of oscillations. An oscillation mechanism involving three stages is proposed and confirmed by numerical simulations. The oscillations of electrical potential differences between the two aqueous phases are produced by sudden adsorption and desorption of anionic surfactant in solvated form and butanol at the acceptor/membrane interface. The whole process is controlled by the slow diffusion of these species across the liquid membrane. The chaotic character of the oscillations was demonstrated by Lyapunov exponents obtained from the strange attractor of the system.     

Ground-state proton-transfer dynamics governed by configurational optimization

The ground-state proton transfer (GSPT) of 7-hydroxyquinoline along a hydrogen-bonded alcohol chain has been investigated in n-alkanes using time-resolved transient-absorption spectroscopy with variation of alcohols, media, isotopes, and temperatures. As a 7-hydroxyquinoline molecule associates with two alcohol molecules via hydrogen bonding to form a cyclic complex in a nonpolar aprotic medium, the intrinsic GSPT dynamics of the cyclic complex in a n-alkane has been observed directly without being interfered with by solvent association to form the cyclic complex. GSPT occurs concertedly without accumulating any reaction intermediate and yet asymmetrically with a rate-determining tunneling process. Both the rate constant and the kinetic isotope effect of GSPT increase rapidly with the proton-donating ability of the alcohol but decrease greatly with the molecular size of the alcohol. The reorganization of the hydrogen-bond bridge to form an optimal precursor configuration for efficient proton tunneling takes place prior to intrinsic GSPT, and configurational optimization becomes more important as the molecular size of the alcohol increases. Consequently, the larger contribution of configurational optimization to GSPT leads to the weaker asymmetric character of GSPT.     

Novel [1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-b][1,3,4]thiadiazine derivatives embedded with benzimidazole moiety as potent antioxidants

Fourteen novel [1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-b][1,3,4]thiadiazine derivatives bearing benzimidazole moiety ( 7a-n ) have been synthesized using the one-pot nitro reductive cyclization method. All the synthesized compounds were confirmed by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR), ¹³C NMR, fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), mass spectrum, and elemental analyses. All the title compounds were subjected to in vitro antioxidant activity. The free radical scavenging activity of the compounds was examined using DPPH, nitric oxide, and superoxide radical scavenging methods. The results demonstrated that compound 3-(2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-1-propyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-5-yl)-6-4-tolyl-7H-[1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-b][1,3,4]thiadiazine ( 7c ) was potent in scavenging both DPPH and nitric oxide radical with IC₅₀ values of 13.57 and 18.55 μg/ml when compared to the standard with IC₅₀ values of 23.75 and 23.14 μg/ml, respectively, which was due to the presence of electron-donating groups. The activity was found to decline when electron-donating groups were replaced by electron-withdrawing groups. Moderate scavenging activity was observed for the superoxide radical. Structure activity relationship and physiochemical properties were studied for all the derivatives.     

Synthesis of monodisperse, rodlike silica colloids with tunable aspect ratio

Although the experimental study of spherical colloids has been extensive, similar studies on rodlike particles are rare because suitable model systems are scarcely available. To fulfill this need, we present the synthesis of monodisperse rodlike silica colloids with tunable dimensions. Rods were produced with diameters of 200 nm and greater and lengths up to 10 μm, resulting in aspect ratios from 1 to ～25. The growth mechanism of these rods involves emulsion droplets inside which silica condensation takes place. Due to an anisotropic supply of reactants, the nucleus grows to one side only, resulting in rod formation. In concentrated dispersions, these rods self-assemble in liquid crystal phases, which can be studied quantitatively on the single particle level in three-dimensional real-space using confocal microscopy. Isotropic, paranematic, and smectic phases were observed for this system.     

Polymer Transformers: Interdigitating Reaction Networks of Fueled Monomer Species to Reconfigure Functional Polymer States

Adaptivity is an essential trait of life. One type of adaptivity is the reconfiguration of a functional system states by correlating sensory inputs. We report polymer transformers, which can adaptively reconfigure their composition from a state of a mixed copolymer to being enriched in either monomer A or B. This is achieved by embedding and hierarchically interconnecting two chemically fueled activation/deactivation enzymatic reaction networks for both monomers via a joint activation pathway (network level) and an AB linker monomer reactive to both A and B (species level). The ratio of enzymes governing the individual deactivation pathways (our external signals) control the enrichment behavior in the dynamic state. The method shows high programmability of the reconfigured state, rejuvenation of transformation cycles, and quick in situ adaptation. As a proof‐of‐concept, we showcase this dynamic reconfiguration for colloidal surface functionalities.