Bipolar electrochemistry in confined nanospace

正Nanopores employ a confined space for electrochemical sensing of high-throughput individual biomolecules in solution.The most general mechanism of nanopore sensing is based on a volume exclusion effect.However,the increasing demands on revealing the single-molecule/particle chemistry and biophysics require the nanopores not only provide structural/conformational/sequencing information,but also     

Supported ionic liquid phase catalysis on functionalized carbon nanotubes

Highly active rhodium catalysts have been prepared by immobilization of an ionic liquid film on carbon nanotubes functionalized with imidazolium-based ionic moieties.     

Restricted hydration structures of Rb and Br ions confined in slit-shaped carbon nanospace

Hydration structures of "nanosolutions" around both cation and anion for rubidium bromide confined in nanospaces (pore width = 1.1 nm) of activated carbon fiber were determined with EXAFS measurements and related analysis. The analytical results indicate that the ionic solutions confined in hydrophobic nanospaces tend to form an incomplete dehydration structure, because of the spatial restriction by the nanospace and capturing water molecules in the ordered structure.     

Polymerized ionic liquid functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes/polyetherimide composites

Thin polyetherimide (PEI) films containing 0.1–3 wt.% multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), have been prepared from three types of MWCNTs, namely pristine, oxidized and polymerized ionic liquid (PIL) functionalized CNTs. Oxidized and PIL functionalized CNTs (CNT–PIL) showed better dispersion in the matrix compared to pristine CNTs. For CNT–PIL, alignment of CNTs has been observed in the matrix. Regardless of the type of CNTs, their incorporation led to an increased thermal stability of the polymer matrix. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that storage modulus increased by up to 25% (3 wt.% CNT–PIL) and an increase in the height of the damping peaks (tan δ). The addition of CNTs did not have any significant influence on the tensile properties and T_g of the polymer, and the electrical conductivity did not decrease in the case of modified CNTs.     

Palladium nanoparticles supported onto ionic carbon nanotubes as robust recyclable catalysts in an ionic liquid

Palladium nanoparticles have been deposited onto imidazolium bromide-functionalized ionic MWCNTs through hydrogen reduction of Na2PdCl4 in water without aid of surfactants under extremely mild conditions, and combined with an ionic liquid to create a new recyclable ionic liquid-based catalytic system allowing up to 50 times recycling.     

Application of multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified carbon ionic liquid electrode for electrocatalytic oxidation of dopamine

A simple, sensitive, and reliable method based on a multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) modified carbon ionic liquid electrode (CILE) has been successfully developed for determination of dopamine (DA) in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA). The acid-treated MWNTs with carboxylic acid functional groups could promote the electron-transfer reaction of DA and inhibit the voltammetric response of AA. Due to the good performance of the ionic liquid, the electrochemical response of DA on the MWNTs/CILE was better than that of other MWNTs modified electrodes. Under the optimum conditions a linear calibration plot was obtained in the range 5.0×10(-8) to 2.0×10(-4) mol L(-1) and the detection limit was 1.0×10(-8) mol L(-1).     

Discotic ionic liquid crystals of triphenylene as dispersants for orienting single-walled carbon nanotubes

Orient and conduct: Triphenylene-based discotic ionic liquid crystals (ILCs) with six imidazolium ion pendants can disperse pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). When the ILC is columnarly assembled, doping with SWNTs results in macroscopic homeotropic columnar orientation. Combination of shear and annealing treatments gives rise to three different orientation states, which determine the anisotropy of electrical conduction.     

Voltammetric sensors based on gel composites containing carbon nanotubes and an ionic liquid

Possibilities of using electrode coatings based on a gel of carboxylated multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in an ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, [BMIm]PF₆) for the creation of a voltammetric sensor with electrocatalytic properties with respect to the pharmacological group of catecholamines—levodopa, methyldopa, and carbidopa—are considered. Using cyclic voltammetry, it was found that a glassy carbon electrode coated with a thin layer of an MWCNT–[BMIm]PF₆ gel or an MWCNT–[BMIm]PF₆–Nafion gel-composite induced a decrease in overvoltage (~60 mV), improved the reversibility of the redox reaction, and increased oxidation currents of the studied substances in comparison with an unmodified glassy carbon electrode. The concentration dependence of the analytical signal was linear in the ranges of 1–250, 2–350, and 5–400 mM for carbidopa, levodopa, and methyldopa, respectively. In the determination of the specified substances in diluted urine samples and tableted drugs, the accuracy index was 98–102% and the relative standard deviation, 0.3–5% (n = 5, P = 0.95).     

Hydrogenation of aryl ketones using palladium nanoparticles on single-walled carbon nanotubes in an ionic liquid

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are used as supporting materials for palladium (Pd) nanoparticles generated in situ in ionic liquid (IL); Pd nanocatalysts on SWNTs exhibit superior reactivity for hydrogenation of aryl ketones in IL under mild conditions (1 atm of H₂ (g) and room temperature) and can be reused above 10 times without any loss of catalytic activity.     

Nanoporous carbon nanotubes synthesized through confined hydrogen-bonding self-assembly

We report a simple and direct synthetic method for the preparation of nanoporous carbon nanotubes with larger pores (>10 nm) on the tube wall. The method combines the use of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) as a template for the tube diameter and block copolymer/carbohydrates self-assembly within thin films confined inside AAO pore channels to form nanopores. It involves coating the AAO inner pore channel surface with block copolymer (polystyrene-co-poly(vinylpyridine)) and carbohydrates in dimethylformamide (DMF) solution. Drying of DMF induced microphase separation of PS-PVP and formation of ordered PS and PVP/carbohydrate domains. Within the coating, the carbohydrates stay specifically only in the pyridine domains surrounding PS domains due to the hydrogen bonding between carbohydrates and pyridine blocks. After carbonization at high temperature (>460 degrees C) in argon, PS was removed, forming the nanopores and carbohydrates, and PVP was carbonized, forming the framework of nanoporous carbon tubes within AAO channels. Removal of AAO led to the formation of individual monodisperse nanoporous carbon nanotubes with a tube wall of approximately 16 nm. The ease with which these nanoporous carbon nanotubes can be fabricated, and the ability to tune tube nanostructures and surface chemistry through the choice of block copolymers used and carbonization temperature, should facilitate investigations of their scope for practical applications.     

Molecular dynamics study of ionic liquid confined in silicon nanopore

Russian Journal of Physical Chemistry A - Molecular dynamics simulations was carried to investigate the structure and dynamics of [BMIM][PF6] ionic liquid (IL) confined inside a slit-like silicon...     

Dynamics of water confined in single- and double-wall carbon nanotubes

Using high-resolution quasielastic neutron scattering, we investigated the temperature dependence of single-particle dynamics of water confined in single- and double-wall carbon nanotubes with the inner diameters of 14+/-1 and 16+/-3 A, respectively. The temperature dependence of the alpha relaxation time for water in the 14 A nanotubes measured on cooling down from 260 to 190 K exhibits a crossover at 218 K from a Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann law behavior to an Arrhenius law behavior, indicating a fragile-to-strong dynamic transition in the confined water. This transition may be associated with a structural transition from a high-temperature, low-density (<1.02 gcm(3)) liquid to a low-temperature, high-density (>1.14 gcm(3)) liquid found in molecular dynamics simulation at about 200 K. However, no such dynamic transition in the investigated temperature range of 240-195 K was detected for water in the 16 A nanotubes. In the latter case, the dynamics of water simply follows a Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann law. This suggests that the fragile-to-strong crossover for water in the 16 A nanotubes may be shifted to a lower temperature.     

Single-walled carbon nanotubes for improved enantioseparations on a chiral ionic liquid stationary phase in GC

In order to investigate whether the use of single-walled carbon nanotubes can improve enantioseparations on an ionic liquid stationary phase, a chiral ionic liquid, (R)-N,N,N-trimethyl-2-aminobutanol-bis(trifluoromethanesulfon)imidate, was synthesized. Two capillary columns, one containing the chiral ionic liquid and the other containing the single-walled carbon nanotubes and the chiral ionic liquid, were then prepared for GC. The results of the separations achieved with these columns show that coating the chiral ionic liquid stationary phase onto the capillary column containing single-walled carbon nanotubes improves the enantioselectivety of the chiral ionic liquid. This work indicates that using single-walled carbon nanotubes in this manner enables the application range of such GC chiral separations to be extended.     

Coiled carbon nanotubes combined with ionic liquid: a new soft material for SPE

For the first time a soft material formed from coiled carbon nanotubes and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate has been used as sorbent material. The soft material has high stability as well as a high capacity to adsorb analytes. In this work we propose using a natural cotton fiber impregnated with the soft material to miniaturize the system. The system was tested for the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in spiked river water samples. The absolute recovery ranged between 97.5 and 105.5%, demonstrating the usefulness of the soft material. The limit of detection ranged from 2.5 to 6.1 μg/L and the precision expressed as the relative standard deviation for the analysis of five consecutive analyses ranged between 2.5 and 5.8%.     

Polarization relaxation in an ionic liquid confined between electrified walls

The response of a room temperature molten salt to an external electric field when it is confined to a nanoslit is studied by molecular dynamics simulations. The fluid is confined between two parallel and oppositely charged walls, emulating two electrified solid-liquid interfaces. Attention is focused on structural, electrostatic, and dynamical properties, which are compared with those of the nonpolarized fluid. It is found that the relaxation of the electrostatic potential, after switching the electric field off, occurs in two stages. A first, subpicosecond process accounts for 80% of the decay and is followed by a second subdiffusive process with a time constant of 8 ps. Diffusion is not involved in the relaxation, which is mostly driven by small anion translations. The relaxation of the polarization in the confined system is discussed in terms of the spectrum of charge density fluctuations in the bulk.     

Determination of microcystin-LR with a glassy carbon impedimetric immunoelectrode modified with an ionic liquid and multiwalled carbon nanotubes

We report on a sensitive, simple, label-free impedance-based immunoelectrode for the determination of microcystin-LR (MCLR). The surface of the electrode was modified with a composite made from multiwalled carbon nanotubes and an ionic liquid, and with immobilized polyclonal antibody against MCLR. Cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy were applied to characterize the modified electrode. It is found that the multi-walled carbon nanotubes act as excellent mediators for the electron transfer between the electrode and dissolved hexacyanoferrate redox pair, while the ionic liquid renders it biocompatible. The method exhibits a wide linear range (0.005 μg?L-1 to 1.0 μg?L-1), a low detection limit (1.7 ng?L-1) and a long-term stability of around 60 days. The ionic liquid 1-amyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate gave the best impedimetric response. The new immunoelectrode is sensitive, stable, and easily prepared. It has been successfully applied to the determination of MCLR in water samples.

Poly(ionic liquid)-wrapped single-walled carbon nanotubes for sub-ppb detection of CO2

An ultrasensitive CO(2) sensor with a detection limit of 500 ppt was achieved using poly(ionic liquid)-wrapped single-walled carbon nanotubes as sensing materials. The sensor exhibited superior selectivity to CO(2) and was resistant to the interference of relative humidity.