Charge-transfer kinetics in the Nb(V)/Nb(IV) couple in alkali-metal molten chlorides

Charge-transfer standard rate constants k _s for Nb(V)/Nb(IV) redox couple in KCl-NbCl₅ and CsCl-NbCl₅ chloride melts at glassy carbon and platinum electrodes are determined. The Nb(V) electro-chemical reduction process in the NaCl-KCl (equimolar mixture)-NbCl₅ melt was shown being reversible even at high polarization scan rate (v = 2.0 V s^?1); hence, the determination of k _s appeared impossible. Values of k _s in KCl-NbCl₅ melts are higher than those in CsCl-NbCl₅ melts. Quantum-chemical calculations done in nM⁺[NbCl₆]—model systems by the Discrete Fourier Transformation method showed that the calculated ratio of charge-transfer activation energies in the K⁺-Cs⁺ series corresponds to changes in the experimental charge-transfer rate constants. The charge-transfer standard rate constants increase with the increasing of temperature and with the passing from glassy carbon electrode to platinum one.     

Standard rate constants of charge transfer for Nb(V)/Nb(IV) redox couple in chloride-fluoride melts: Experimental and calculation methods

Standard rate constants k _s of charge transfer for Nb(V)/Nb(IV) redox couple in NaCl-KCl (the equimolar mixture) -K₂NbF₇, KCl-K₂NbF₇, and CsCl-K₂NbF₇ melts are determined by using cyclic voltammetry. An unconventional series of the standard rate constants is found: k _s (KCl) < k _s (CsCl) < k _s (NaCl-KCl). Ab initio calculations carried out by using a PC Gamess/Firefly quantum-chemical program showed that the charge transfer activation energy can change not monotonically in the Na-K-Cs series, in compliance with the reorganization energy relationship. This leads, in its turn, to nonmonotonic change in the charge transfer rate constants.     

Standard charge transfer rate constants for Nb(V)/Nb(IV) redox pairs in fluoride melts

Standard charge transfer rate constants (k _s) were defined for Nb(V)/Nb(IV) redox couples in NaF-KF (eutectic)-K₂NbF₇, KF-K₂NbF₇, and CsF-K₂NbF₇ melts using the cyclic voltammetry technique. It was established that in fluoride melts, the k _s values change in the following order depending on the composition of the second coordination sphere: k _s (CsF) < k _s (KF) < k _s (NaF-KF).     

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic study of the interaction of supported metal catalysts with NO<Subscript>x</Subscript>

The reactions of the platinum and rhodium model catalysts applied to aluminum oxide with NO_x (10 Torr NO + 10 Torr O₂) were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The reaction conducted at room temperature formed on the surface of the oxide support the NO _3,s ^? nitrate ions characterized by the N1s line at 407.4 eV and O1s line at 533.1 eV and the NO _2,s ^? nitrite ions characterized by the N1s line with a binding energy of 404.7 eV. At the same time, the Pt4f and Rh3d lines of the supported platinum particles are shifted toward higher binding energies by 0.5–1.0 eV and 0.7–1.2 eV, respectively. It is assumed that the binding energies increase due to changes in the chemical state of the platinum metal in which oxygen is dissolved. The reaction of NO_x with Pt/Al₂O₃ at 200°C forms platinum oxide defined by the Pt4f _7/2 line with a binding energy of 72.3 eV.     

Graphene Quantum Dots Incorporated into β-cyclodextrin: a Novel Polymeric Nanocomposite for Non-Enzymatic Sensing of L-Tyrosine at Physiological pH

Graphene quantum dot-β-cyclodextrin modified glassy carbon electrode was used as a new nanosensor for determination of L-tyrosine (L-Tyr). It was found that graphene quantum dot-β-cyclodextrin has been stably electrodeposited on glassy carbon electrode modified by simple technique. The cyclic voltammograms of the modified electrode in an aqueous solution displayed a pair of well-defined, stable and irreversible reductive/oxidation redox systems. The apparent electron transfer rate constant (k_s) and transfer coefficient (α) determined by cyclic voltammetry were approximately equal to 8.0 s^–1 and 0.7, respectively. The modified electrode showed excellent catalytic activity towards the oxidation of L-Tyr at positive potential in buffer solution. The nanosensor also displayed fast response time, high sensitivity, low detection limit and a remarkably positive potential oxidation of L-Tyr that decreased the effect of interferences in analysis.     

Computer Simulation of the Cathode Active Layer in Hydrogen–Oxygen Fuel Cell with Polymer Electrolyte: The Nature of the Overall Current Variations

Full computer simulation of the cathode structure in hydrogen–oxygen fuel cell with polymer electrolyte is performed. Both transport, support grains (agglomerates of carbon particles onto whose surface Pt-catalyst is deposited), and the current generation in active layer are simulated. The active layer operation in potentiostatic mode is studied. The effect of variations of the active layer and the fuel cell temperature (T_s and Т, respectively) on the cathode overall current I and the support grain flooding with water is calculated. The changes in the temperature difference T_s–Т was shown for the first time, experimentally and by the simulation, to generate variations of I and the degree of the support grain flooding with water. In particular, with the increasing of T_s–Т the current I increased, whereas the support grain flooding with water decreased; and vice versa, with the decreasing of T_s–Т the current I drops down, while, the support grain flooding with water grows. An explanation of the phenomena is presented, which takes account of structure of the support grains in which О₂ reduction and Н₂О generation occur. There exist intrinsic channels for protons and О₂ molecules transportation to the catalyst. Water releasing in the support grains is able to fill partially or even entirely the gas pores through which oxygen is supplied to the platinum. As a result, the current generated in the support grains can drop down significantly; at the same time, the value of I also drops down. The degree of the support grainfilling with water is determined by two processes, namely, the flooding and draining. The source of flooding is the current generation; that of draining, the water saturated vapor diffusion and water filtration in nanopores. The lower cathode potential, the higher the flooding rate, whereas the water removal rate grows or drops down with the increasing of decreasing of the temperature difference Т_s–Т, respectively. Thus, the temperature difference variations naturally lead to those of the quantity I.     

The use of recurrent equations in chromatography

Recurrent equations A(x + k) = aA(x) + b were shown to be applicable to the approximation not only of virtually arbitrary properties of organic compounds (A) in homologous series (A = n _C, k = 1 or 2) but also of the dependences of chromatographic retention parameters on the number of carbon atoms in homologue molecules (A = t _R). The same equations described the temperature dependences of retention times of arbitrary compounds under isothermal separation conditions in gas chromatography (x = T, k = ΔT = const) and the dependences of retention times on the concentration of an organic solvent as an eluent component (x = C, k = ΔC = const) under isocratic separation conditions in high performance liquid chromatography.     

Direct electron transfer and biocatalytic activity of iron storage protein molecules immobilized on electrodeposited cobalt oxide nanoparticles

Ferritin was immobilized on a glassy carbon electrode with electrodeposited cobalt oxide nanoparticles, and its direct electron transfer behavior was studied. It exhibits a pair of redox peaks due to direct electron transfer between ferritin and the nanoparticles. Electrochemical parameters including the formal potential (E^0??), the charge transfer coefficient (??), and the apparent heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (k_s) were determined. The sensor displays excellent biocatalytic activity in terms of reduction of hydrogen peroxide, and this was applied to electrochemical sensing of hydrogen peroxide.

Vanadium separation with activated carbon and iron/activated carbon nanocomposites in fixed bed column: experimental and modelling study

In this work, iron nanoparticles were impregnated onto a commercial activated carbon surface to produce a novel adsorbent called iron-activated carbon nanocomposite (I-AC). Commercial activated carbon (CAC) and I-AC were used for vanadium separation in a fixed-bed column. The effects of various operating parameters such as inlet vanadium ion concentration, adsorbent dose and volumetric flow rate on vanadium separation performance of CAC were investigated. The performance of both adsorbents was compared in three adsorption/desorption cycles. The experimental breakthrough curves of vanadium ions in the fixed-bed column were modeled using the film-pore-surface diffusion model (FPSDM). The four mass transfer parameters characterizing this model, namely the external mass-transfer coefficient (k _f ), pore and surface diffusion coefficients (D _p and D _s ), and axial dispersion coefficient (D _L ) were evaluated through the model. Modelling and experimental results showed that the I-AC nanocomposite has a better performance for vanadium separation in comparison to AC. Sensitivity analysis on the FPSDM showed that the pore and surface diffusion, external mass transfer and axial dispersion play a significant role in vanadium separation using the I-AC. On the other hand, surface diffusion resulted to be relatively less important when CAC was used.     

Thermodynamic and kinetic stability of cerium(IV) complexes with a series of aminopolyacetic acids

The compositions, stability constants, and rate constants of intramolecular redox decomposition of cerium(IV) complexes with anions of aminoacetic (H₂NCH₂COOH), iminodiacetic [HN(CH₂COOH)₂], nitrilotriacetic [N(CH₂COOH)₃], ethylenediaminetetraacetic [(CH₂COOH)₂N(CH₂)₂N(CH₂COOH)₂], and hexamethylenediaminetetraacetic [(CH₂COOH)₂N(CH₂)₆N(CH2COOH)₂] acids were determined by potentiometric, spectrophotometric, and kinetic methods at pH in the range 1.3?2.0 in perchlorate and nitrate media at an ionic strength I = 0.1 and a temperature of 298.15 K. Direct linear correlation between the logarithms of the stability constants of the complexes, log β₁₀₁, and logarithms of the cumulative protonation constants, log В _m+k (k = 1–2), of aminopolyacetic acid anions L ^m–, and inverse linear correlation between log β₁₀₁ and logarithms of the rate constants of intramolecular redox decomposition of the complexonates [CeL]^4–m (m = 1–4), log k _n=1, were found.     

Method for calculating the sizes of nucleation centers upon homogeneous crystallization from a supercooled liquid

An alternative approach to calculating critical sizes l_k of nucleation centers and work A_k of their formation upon crystallization from a supercooled melt by analyzing the variation in the Gibbs energy during the phase transformation is considered. Unlike the classical variant, it is proposed that the transformation entropy be associated not with melting temperature T_L but with temperature T < T_L at which the nucleation of crystals occurs. New equations for l_k and A_k are derived. Based on the results from calculating these quantities for a series of compounds, it is shown that this approach is unbiased and it is possible to eliminate known conflicts in analyzing these parameters in the classical interpretation.     

Cloning and expression of NDM-1 metallo-β-lactamase gene and study of the catalytic properties of the recombinant enzyme

A gene-expression system has been designed to express the NDM-1 metallo-β-lactamase gene in E. coli cells. This system enables the synthesis of the recombinant protein in a soluble and active form. A method for the isolation and purification of the recombinant enzyme has been developed. The yield of the homogeneous protein preparation was 10–15 mg per liter of E. coli culture medium. The catalytic parameters of the recombinant NDM-1 β-lactamase were measured for ampicillin (K_m = 185 μM and k_cat = 585 s^–1) and meropenem (K_m = 85 μM and k_cat = 160 s^–1). These values correlate well with the literature data. The catalytic parameters for the chromogenic CENTA substrate (K_m = 14 μM and k_cat = 290 s^–1) were obtained for the first time.     

Kinetics of thermal reaction HOCl ⇄ H(<Superscript>2</Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">S</Emphasis>) + OCl(<Emphasis Type="Italic">X</Emphasis><Superscript>2</Superscript>Π<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">i</Emphasis></Subscript>) in gas phase

The kinetics of gas reaction \(HOCl\underset{{k_r }}{\overset{{k_f }}{\longleftrightarrow}}H(^2 S) + OCl(X^2 \Pi _i )\) was analyzed by the MP4 method. In the temperature range of 100–373 K the rate constants k _f and k _r and equilibrium constant K were changed from 1.10 × 10^?220 to 1.17 × 10^?52 s^?1, from 2.89 × 10^?16 to 1.68 × 10^?5s^?1 and from 3.80 × 10^?205 to 6.96 × 10^?48 respectively. In the above temperature range, the activation energy of the forward reaction (E _f) is 105.05 kcal/mol. In the same temperature interval there are two kinetic domains for the reverse reaction with activation energies (E _r1 = 5.53 kcal/mol when T is 100–273 K and E _r2 = 14.50 kcal/mol when T is 273–373 K, respectively.     

Immobilization of Platinum(II) and Platinum(IV) Complexes on Oxidized Nanoporous Carbon Material and Evaluation of the Enthalpy of Adsorption

Physicochemical study of cis-[Pt(NH3)2Cl2] and cis-[Pt(NH₃)₂Cl₂(OH)₂] is carried out, and immobilization of platinum complexes on the nanoporous carbon substrate is investigated. The solubility of cis-[Pt(NH₃)₂Cl₂] in 1 M HCl solution is determined, and the average enthalpy of dissolution is calculated: Δ_solH° = 27.3 ± 0.9 kJ/mol. The batch capacity is determined experimentally for cis-[Pt(NH3)2Cl2] and cis- [Pt(NH₃)₂Cl₂(OH)₂] to be 32.9 mg/g (0.17 mg-equiv/g) and 47.6 mg/g (0.24 mg-equiv/g), respectively. Immobilization of platinum complexes on the oxidized carbon surface is found to take place due to interaction between carboxy groups and ammine groups of platinum complexes. The resulting heat capacity curves are used to calculate the enthalpies of adsorption for cis-[Pt(NH₃)₂Cl₂] and cis-[Pt(NH₃)₂Cl₂(OH)₂] on the oxidized carbon surface, equal to 24.46 and 27.46 kJ/mol, respectively.     

Modified Graphite Paste Electrode with Lewatit FO36 Nanoresin/Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Determination of Quercetin

In the present study, the electrochemical oxidation of quercetin (QUR) was investigated using a graphite paste electrode (GPE) modified with multi-walled carbon nanotube and Lewatit FO36 nanoresin (LFONR-MWCNT/GPE). LFONR-MWCNT/GPE could effectively a sensitive anodic peak at around 0.23 V (vs. SCE) in a 0.10 M phosphate buffer solution. Modified electrode revealed that activated with multiwalled carbon nanotube and LFONR was capable of facilitating electron transfer and increasing surface area. The electrochemical oxidation of QUR was studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). Some kinetic parameters for electrochemical oxidation of QUR including total number of electrons (n) and standard heterogeneous rate constant (k_s) were also determined. The calibration graph consisted of two linear segments of 1.8–25.0 μM, and 25.0–570.0 μM with a detection limit of 0.213 μM (based on 3S_b). The applicability of the method to juice of peach, red grape, sour cherry and Gincora tablets analysis was also evaluated.     

Random packing of monoatomic structures

The dependence of the first coordination number k _n on the packing factor k _y is obtained for four cubic structures: fcc, bcc, simple cubic, and diamond. The k _n (k _y ) dependence is described by a third-degree polynomial k _n = ?71.76782 + 467.78914 k _y ? 925.48451 k _y ² + 603.01146 k _y ³ with the confidence factor R _d = 1. The k _n (k _y ) function has an N loop with a maximum at k _n = 6.32; k _y = 0.454 and a minimum at k _n = 5.84; k _y = 0.573. The tangents intersect the k _n (k _y ) curve at extrema at k _y = 0.4 and k _y = 0.625. Around the N loop, i.e., at 5.84 ≤ k _n ≤ 6.32 and 0.4 ≤ k _y ≤ 0.625, two or three packing factors correspond to a certain value of the coordination number. Therefore, this range of the k _n and k _y values can be defined as a “random packing” region. Estimations presented here agree well with the results of calculations, both geometric and numerical. For monoatomic solids with the random packing parameters, the difference between the specific volumes of the solid and liquid phases is insignificant. The dilatancy effect is possible in the region where ?k _n / ?k _y ≤ 0.     

High-sensitive amperometric hydrazine sensor based on chemically synthesized zinc nitroprusside nanoparticle-supported carbon ceramic electrode

Zinc nitroprusside (ZnNP) nanoparticles were fabricated at the surface of zinc powder-doped carbon ceramic electrode (CCE) by a chemical derivatization process. This modified electrode was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and cyclic voltammetry techniques. The charge transfer rate constant (k _s) and charge transfer coefficient (α) were calculated for the electron exchange reaction of the ZnNP thin film. The ZnNP nanoparticle-modified CCE (ZnNP|CCE) showed good electrocatalytic activity toward hydrazine oxidation. The limit of detection (S/N = 3) and sensitivity were found to be 0.16 µM and 0.21 µA/µM, respectively. The mechanism of hydrazine electrooxidation at the electrode surface was studied. Finally, the ZnNP|CCE was successfully used for the determination of trace amount of hydrazine in different spiked and real samples.     

Catalytic effects of cationic nanoparticle (CTABr/NaX/H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O,X = Cl,Br) for the piperidinolysis of phenyl salicylate ions

The expression of pseudo-second-order rate constants (k _X) for cationic nanoparticle (CN) [CTABr/NaX/H₂O, X = Br, Cl, CTABr = cetyltrimethylammonium bromide] catalyzed piperidinolysis-ionized phenyl salicylate (PSa^–), at constant [CTABr]_T, 0.1 M piperidine (Pip), and 35°C, were calculated from the relationship: k _obs = (k ₀ + k _X[NaX])/(1 + K ^X/S[NaX]), in which k ₀, k _X, and K ^X/S are constant kinetic parameters and k _obs represents the pseudo-first-order rate constant for Pip reaction with phenyl salicylate ion in the presence of CN. The source of the large catalytic effect of CN catalyst was shown to be due to the transfer of PSa^– from pseudo-phase of the CNs to the bulk aqueous phase through X^–/PSa^– ion exchange at the surface of the CNs.