Laser-induced electron impact ionization in a reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer

Some details of the generation of electrons by impinging a laser beam on a metal surface are described. It is shown that highly efficient electron generation is observed only during the laser pulse. Therefore, this technique delivers intense pulses of electrons. The process is investigated and different ion source set-ups are discussed. In conjunction with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer this technique can be used to produce mass spectra of different samples ranging from simple organic molecules to peptides.     

Application of resonance Raman spectrometry to the determination of vitamin B12.

A gel filtration technique is described for the study of the complexation of dissolved metals by humic and fulvic acids. Measurements can be made under realistic conditions of pH and free metal ion concentrations, both of which can be maintained by the use of TRIS as a buffer. The procedure permits the determination not only of the overall stability constant, but of the binding stoichiometries and the intrinsic stability constants associated with the various types of metal binding sites. The procedure has been applied to the investigation of the interaction of fresh-water fulvic acids with Cu, Zn and Ni, and has provided evidence for the existence of two different types of binding sites in the fulvic acid molecule.     

水溶液中金属增强荧光的研究进展

本文综述了水溶液中金属增强荧光的研究进展,重点阐明如何通过控制荧光物质与金属纳米粒子表面的距离,实现水溶液中的金属增强荧光。荧光物质与金属纳米粒子表面的距离主要通过有机分子和无机分子Si O2层控制,只有当距离合适才能达到最大的金属增强荧光。金属增强荧光提高了荧光检测的灵敏度,扩大了荧光技术的应用范围,已广泛应用到DNA、蛋白质检测、生物标记、生物成像和免疫分析中。     

Preparation and Crystal Growth of Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

Dichalcogenides are known from almost all transition metals. The representatives of this class of compounds show a number of interesting physical and chemical properties depending on their constituent transition metal and crystal structure, which makes them interesting for basic studies and applications in high-end electronics, spintronics, optoelectronics, energy storage, flexible electronics, DNA sequencing and personalized medicine to this day. Many of these properties and effects can only be investigated on chemically and crystallographically pure samples - usually on single crystals. The vast majority of these compounds can be crystallized using chemical vapour transport. However crystallization from the melt is also possible in a considerable number of compounds, including the frequently used self-flux technique. For several compounds the crystallization from different solvents or solvent mixtures by means of solvothermal or hydrothermal synthesis is described.     

Immobilization of histidine-tagged proteins on electrodes

The development of new enzyme immobilization techniques that do not affect catalytic activity or conformation of a protein is an important research task in biotechnology including biosensor applications and heterogeneous reaction systems. One of the most promising approaches for controlled protein immobilization is based on the immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) principle originally developed for protein purification. Here we describe the current status and future perspectives of immobilization of His-tagged proteins on electrode surfaces. Recombinant proteins comprising histidine-tags or histidine rich native proteins have a strong affinity to transition metal ions. For metal ion immobilization at the electrode surface different matrices can be used such as self-assembled monolayers or conductive polymers. This specific technique allows a reversible immobilization of histidine-tagged proteins at electrodes in a defined orientation which is an important prerequisite for efficient electron transfer between the electrode and the biomolecule. Any application requiring immobilized biocatalysts on electrodes can make use of this immobilization approach, making future biosensors and biocatalytic technologies more sensitive, simpler, reusable and less expensive while only requiring mild enzyme modifications.     

Anodic stripping electrochemical analysis of metal nanoparticles

Traditional anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) involves electrodeposition (reduction) of metal ions from solution over some time scale onto a working electrode followed by stripping (oxidation) of the deposited metal in a second step, where the stripping potential and quantity of charge passed provide information about the metal identity and solution concentration, respectively. ASV has recently been extended to the analysis of metal nanoparticles (NPs), which have grown popular because of their fascinating properties tunable by size, shape, and composition. There is a need for improved methods of NP analysis, and because metal NPs can be oxidized to metal ions, ASV is a logical choice. Early studies involved metal NPs as tags for the detection of biomolecules. More recently, anodic stripping has been used to directly analyze the physical, chemical, and structural properties of metal NPs. This review highlights the stripping analysis of NP assemblies on macroelectrodes, individual NPs in solution during collisions with a microelectrode, and a single NP attached to an electrode. A surprising amount of information can be learned from this very simple, low-cost technique.     

Hydrogen analysis in solid samples by utilizing He metastable atoms induced by TEA CO2 laser plasma in He gas at 1 atm

A TEA CO₂ laser (350 mJ–1.5 J, 10.6 μm, 200 ns, 10 Hz) was focused onto a metal sub-target under He as host gas at 1 atmospheric pressure with a small amount of impurity gas, such as water and ethanol vapors. It was found that the TEA CO₂ laser with the help of the metal sub-target is favorable for generating a strong, large volume helium gas breakdown plasma at 1 atmospheric pressure, in which the helium metastable-excited state was then produced overwhelmingly. While the metal sub-target itself was never ablated. The helium metastable-excited state produced after the strong helium gas breakdown plasma was considered to play an important role in exciting the atoms. This was confirmed by the specific characteristics of the detected H emission, namely the strong intensity with low background, narrow spectral width, and the long lifetime. This technique can be used for gas and solid samples analysis. For nonmetal solid analysis, a metal mesh was introduced in front of the nonmetal sample surface to help initiation of the helium gas breakdown plasma. For metal sample, analysis can be carried out by combining the TEA CO₂ laser and an Nd–YAG laser where the Nd–YAG laser is used to ablate the metal sample. The ablated atoms from the metal sample are then sent into the region of helium gas breakdown plasma induced by the TEA CO₂ laser to be excited through the helium metastable-excited state. This technique can be extended to the analysis of other elements, not limited only to hydrogen, such as halogens.     

Speciation of metal ions in proteins by combining PIXE and thin layer electrophoresis

Particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) spectroscopy is a simple and convenient method of quantitative multielemental analysis with sensitivities in the μg/g range, that can be successfully used for trace analysis of metal ions in proteins or enzymes. However, due to its elemental character the technique alone is not a priori suitable for speciation. Keeping track of the metal ions of interest throughout a proper biochemical separation technique, on the other hand, could be a useful strategy for speciation. Different versions of thin layer electrophoresis (polyacrylamide gel, agarose or cellulose acetate electrophoresis) are very effective and sensitive methods to separate proteins or protein fragments. Due to the high absolute sensitivity of PIXE the metal ions concentrated in the narrow bands of an electropherogram can be in situ successfully detected. The present paper describes this unique combination of biochemical separation and ion beam analysis which significantly extends the information obtained from electrophoresis. Illustrative applications are given and the advantages and limitations of the method are discussed. Possible extensions of the technique are also outlined.     

Evading metal adduct formation during desorption‐ionization mass spectrometry

An investigation into the propensity of metal adduct formation in the recently developed Desorption Ionization by Charge Exchange (DICE) mass spectrometric technique has demonstrated that this method could be utilized to minimize spectral complications caused by metal adducts. For example, peaks for sodium and other metal adducts were not observed in the mass spectra acquired by the ambient‐pressure DICE technique from samples deposited on a solid surface, even after the salt content of samples was deliberately increased. A mass spectrum recorded from a urine sample by this technique showed peaks only for the proton adducts of urea and creatinine. This technique employs a nebulized spray of charged toluene droplets for analyte desorption. Because of the non‐polar nature of the spray reagent, it neither contains any appreciable amount of cations nor provides any favored ‘pickup’ of metal cations from the sample matrix. Consequently, peaks for metal adducts that are commonly observed with other desorption techniques are minimal or absent in the spectra recorded by the DICE method. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Revisiting the Electroplating Process for Lithium‐Metal Anodes for Lithium‐Metal Batteries

Electroplating has been studied for centuries, not only in the laboratory but also in industry for machinery, electronics, automobile, aviation, and other fields. The lithium‐metal anode is the Holy Grail electrode because of its high energy density. But the recyclability of lithium‐metal batteries remains quite challenging. The essence of both conventional electroplating and lithium plating is the same, reduction of metal cations. Thus, industrial electroplating knowledge can be applied to revisit the electroplating process for lithium‐metal anodes. In conventional electroplating, some strategies like using additives, modifying substrates, applying pulse current, and agitating electrolyte have been explored to suppress dendrite growth. These methods are also effective in lithium‐metal anodes. Inspired by that, we revisit the fundamental electroplating theory for lithium‐metal anodes in this Minireview, mainly drawing attention to the theory of electroplating thermodynamics and kinetics. Analysis of essential differences between traditional electroplating and plating/stripping of lithium‐metal anodes is also presented. Thus, industrial electroplating knowledge can be applied to the electroplating process of lithium‐metal anodes to improve commercial lithium‐metal batteries and the study of lithium plating/stripping can further enrich the classical electroplating technique.     

CO2 induced phase transitions in diamine-appended metal–organic frameworks

Using a combination of density functional theory and lattice models, we study the effect of CO₂ adsorption in an amine functionalized metal–organic framework. These materials exhibit a step in the adsorption isotherm indicative of a phase change. The pressure at which this step occurs is not only temperature dependent but is also metal center dependent. Likewise, the heats of adsorption vary depending on the metal center. Herein we demonstrate via quantum chemical calculations that the amines should not be considered firmly anchored to the framework and we explore the mechanism for CO₂ adsorption. An ammonium carbamate species is formed via the insertion of CO₂ into the M–N_amine bonds. Furthermore, we translate the quantum chemical results into isotherms using a coarse grained Monte Carlo simulation technique and show that this adsorption mechanism can explain the characteristic step observed in the experimental isotherm while a previously proposed mechanism cannot. Furthermore, metal analogues have been explored and the CO₂ binding energies show a strong metal dependence corresponding to the M–N_amine bond strength. We show that this difference can be exploited to tune the pressure at which the step in the isotherm occurs. Additionally, the mmen–Ni₂(dobpdc) framework shows Langmuir like behavior, and our simulations show how this can be explained by competitive adsorption between the new model and a previously proposed model.     

A new method for voltammetric determination of the stoichiometry of metal complexes

A new method for voltammetric determination of the composition of metal complexes has been developed. This method can be used in a manner similar to that of molar ratio except that the voltammetric technique is employed instead of the spectroscopic one. The present technique has been applied to the transition metal complexes with some typical uni-, bi-, ter- and sexidentate ligands, and it was found that the compositions determined by this method were in good agreement with those from the spectroscopic technique. A theoretical approach to this method has been presented.     

Multielemental determination in normal,benign, and cancerous tissues of the human brain

Although the metal content of the human body is only about 3%, metals are very important for human lives. Diseases occur when an excess or deficiency of in-vivo metals appear, when other metal pollutants enter the body, or when poisons or viruses enter into the metal ligand competition. Cancer is caused by carcinogens, which are substances capable of producing tumors in any test species at any dose level. This paper discusses the determination of some elements in diseased tissues of the human brain. As the elements present are mostly at micro- or nano-gram levels, the very sensitive technique of neutron activation analysis involving radiochemical separation has been employed. Substocihiometric estimations were carried out wherever possible. The radiochemical separation procedure includes a solvent extraction and precipitation technique. The elements estimated in the tissue samples are Cu, Au, As, Se, Hg, Co, Zn, Ca, Fe, P, Cr, Na, and K. The accuracy, precision, and radiochemical purity of the method have been discussed. Two samples and a standard can be analyzed in four days.     

Mapping of surface-enhanced fluorescence on metal nanoparticles using super-resolution photoactivation localization microscopy

Photoactivation localization microscopy (PALM) was applied to study surface-enhanced fluorescence (SEF) on metal nanostructures (SEF-PALM). The detection of fluorescence from individual single molecules can be used to image the point-spread-function and spatial distribution of the fluorescence emitted in the vicinity of a metal surface. Due to the strong scattering effect, the angular distribution of the fluorescence is altered by metals, resulting in a spatial shift of fluorescence spots with respect to the metal nanostructures, and has to be taken into account in the analysis. SEF-PALM can be used to discriminate effects of labelling density when estimating the enhancement factor in SEF. Furthermore, nanostructures with sizes below the diffraction limit can be resolved using this technique. SEF-PALM is established as a powerful tool to study plasmon-mediated phenomena on metal nanostructures.     

Microscopical Structuring of Solids by Molecular Beam Epitaxy—Spatially Resolved Materials Synthesis

Interfaces and heterojunctions which are incorporated into a crystal in well-defined geometrical and spatial arrangements can lead to a structuring or engineering of (semiconducting) solids down to atomic dimensions. The electrical and optical properties are then defined locally, and phenomena related to extremely small dimensions (“quantum size effects”) become more important than the actual chemical properties of the materials used. The technique of molecular beam epitaxy allows an atomic layer-by-layer deposition in a two-dimensional growth process, and crystalline materials in alternating layers of arbitrary composition and only a few atomic layers thickness are formed. The synthesis of microscopically structured solids by molecular beam epitaxy affords access to a new class of materials with accurately tailored electrical, optical, magnetic, dielectric, mechanical etc. properties. The semiconductor and metal superlattices described in this article, which are made of alternating thin layers of two different materials, symbolize just the beginning of a new area of materials engineering on a molecular (or atomic) scale. This periodic modulation of the chemical composition normal to the surface imposes an artificial periodicity on the semiconductor or metal crystal, a periodicity of one or two orders of magnitude larger than its natural lattice spacing. The synthesis of other materials combinations, including semiconductor/metal, semiconductor/insulator, metal/insulator, polymers, and magnetic materials, with entirely different properties and for completely different applications will certainly follow. Finally, a large variety of desired combinations of elements can be selected, and even metastable compounds with novel exciting properties can be synthesized by molecular beam epitaxy.     

General bottom-up construction of spherical particles by pulsed laser irradiation of colloidal nanoparticles: a case study on CuO

The development of a general method to fabricate spherical semiconductor and metal particles advances their promising electrical, optical, magnetic, plasmonic, thermoelectric, and optoelectric applications. Herein, by using CuO as an example, we systematically demonstrate a general bottom-up laser processing technique for the synthesis of submicrometer semiconductor and metal colloidal spheres, in which the unique selective pulsed heating assures the formation of spherical particles. Importantly, we can easily control the size and phase of resultant colloidal spheres by simply tuning the input laser fluence. The heating-melting-fusion mechanism is proposed to be responsible for the size evolution of the spherical particles. We have systematically investigated the influence of experimental parameters, including laser fluence, laser wavelength, laser irradiation time, dispersing liquid, and starting material concentration on the formation of colloidal spheres. We believe that this facile laser irradiation approach represents a major step not only for the fabrication of colloidal spheres but also in the practical application of laser processing for micro- and nanomaterial synthesis.     

负载氧化钒催化剂的多波长拉曼光谱研究:结构识别和定量

探究负载金属氧化物的结构是确立催化剂结构和催化性能之间相互关系的首要条件. 在众多表征技术中,多波长拉曼光谱结合了共振拉曼和由不同波长激发的非共振拉曼,不仅在识别负载金属氧化物团簇的结构,而且在定量方面已经成为强有力的工具. 本文以两个负载氧化钒体系(VOx/SiO2,VOx/CeO2)为例,阐述了如何利用该技术研究活性氧化物团簇的多相结构,并理解氧化物团簇和载体之间复杂的相互作用. 由多波长拉曼光谱得到的定性和定量信息能为设计更有效的负载金属氧化物催化剂提供基本的依据.     

铑电极上的表面增强拉曼光谱研究(英文)

本文简要介绍了将铑电极用于表面增强拉曼光谱 (SERS)研究的方法 .具有较强活性的铑电极可以通过对电极施加方波电流进行恒电流粗糙获得 .对模型分子吡啶进行的表面拉曼光谱研究表明 ,该电极具有很好的稳定性和可逆性 ,并且其表面增强因子可达 4 0 0 0 .在对铑电极上一氧化碳的氧化过程进行的拉曼光谱研究中同时检测到桥式和线型吸附的C O和Pt C振动的拉曼信号 .本研究表明铑电极可作为多用的SERS基底 ,拉曼光谱可作为界面研究的通用工具 .     

An evaluation of voltammetric titration procedures for the determination of trace metal complexation in natural waters by use of computers simulation

The impact of random analytical errors on the determination of metal complexation parameters of natural waters by metal titration procedures based on cathodic stripping (CSV) or anodic stripping (ASV) voltammetry is investigated by means of computer simulation. The results indicate that random analytical errors are of overriding importance in establishing the range of ligand concentrations and conditional stability constants that can be accurately determined by these techniques. Simulations incorporating realistic estimates of random analytical error show that only stability constants lying within a relatively narrow range, typically three orders of magnitude, can be determined accurately by the ASV procedure. The CSV procedure suffers from the same limitations, but is potentially more flexible in that the available detection window can be moved (but not widened) by adjustments to the method. Both techniques are capable of accurately determining ligand concentrations provided that the corresponding stability constant, K′, is greater than a threshold value which corresponds to the lower end of the available detection window for the stability constant. Realistically attainable improvements in analytical precision did not greatly improve the performance of either technique. Two graphical treatments for the evaluation of metal complexation parameters from titration data are compared: the Scatchard and Van den Berg/Ruzic plots. Simulations indicate that at least for the single-ligand model of complexation, the Van den Berg/Ruzic method is superior. The importance of the simulation results with respect to determining metal complexation parameters in natural waters is discussed. This study illustrates the value of computer simulation when complex, time-consuming analytical techniques are applied and the need for rigorous analysis of errors in producing data of environmental relevance.