NIR- and VIS-raman spectroscopy of CVD diamond films

Raman spectroscopy is a widely used method for the analysis of CVD diamond layers, because it enables to distinguish between different carbon phases, such as diamond, graphite, amorphous carbon and nanocrystalline carbon, which are all commonly present in CVD diamond films. A comparison of visible Raman spectroscopy and near-infrared Raman spectroscopy applied to CVD diamond layers on various substrates (Si, SiAlON, Au, Pd, Mo, W and cemented carbides) has been carried out with the result that visible Raman spectroscopy can be preferably used for characterizing the diamond quality, but for the detection of non-diamond carbon phases NIR-Raman spectroscopy exhibits certain advantages. The NIR-Raman spectra of diamond on silicon substrates are interfered by thermal activation of the Si.Dedicated to Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. J.F.K. Huber on the occasion of his 70th birthday     

金刚石和类金刚石的常温常压电化学合成

采用线性扫描伏安(LSV)\, X射线粉末衍射和拉曼光谱等方法对电化学还原法从CCl4\|NaCl\|\[BMIM\]BF4体系合成金刚石的可能性进行了研究. LSV研究结果表明, CCl4可在白金研究电极表面直接还原而不需要NaCl作为电子媒介. 采用恒电势电解的方法可在白金研究电极上获得黑色还原产物. 采用X射线粉末衍射和拉曼光谱对研究电极表面形成的黑色产物进行了表征, 在XRD图谱中可观察到金刚石的特征峰, 在拉曼光谱中1 332 cm-1附近可观察到金刚石结构的特征吸收峰, 表明产物中存在金刚石相. 这些结果表明, 采用电化学方法在常温常压下将CCl4转化为金刚石的方法是可行的.     

同位素内标-多反应监测同步在线质谱全扫描确证火锅料中罂粟壳成分

建立了高效液相色谱-三重四极杆线性离子阱质谱测定火锅料中吗啡、可待因、蒂巴因、罂粟碱、那可丁等5种生物碱残留的确证方法。样品采用稀盐酸加热提取,正己烷除脂,阳离子混合机理固相萃取柱净化,5%氨化乙酸乙酯-甲醇洗脱,PAK ST色谱柱分离,5 mmol/L乙酸铵甲醇溶液-10 mmol/L乙酸铵水溶液(pH 3.6)作为流动相洗脱,电喷雾正离子模式下多反应监测同步增强子离子在线全扫描(EPI)。在该实验条件下,5种生物碱的LOD在0.05~0.5 μg/kg之间,增强型子离子全扫描水平限和LOQ在0.2~2 μg/kg之间,方法回收率为64.2%~110.6%, RSD为4.2%~12.5%。阳性样品的定性确证需采用其子离子全扫描质谱图与标准图库中子离子质谱图检索匹配。经测定多种火锅料,表明本方法操作简单、测定结果准确,可用于火锅料中5种生物碱残留的阳性结果确证分析。     

Control of sp2/sp3 carbon ratio and surface chemistry of nanodiamond powders by selective oxidation in air

The presence of large amounts of nondiamond carbon in detonation-synthesized nanodiamond (ND) severely limits applications of this exciting nanomaterial. We report on a simple and environmentally friendly route involving oxidation in air to selectively remove sp(2)-bonded carbon from ND. Thermogravimetric analysis and in situ Raman spectroscopy shows that sp(2) and sp(3) carbon species oxidize with different rates at 375-450 degrees C and reveals a narrow temperature range of 400-430 degrees C in which the oxidation of sp(2)-bonded carbon occurs with no or minimal loss of diamond. X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy detects an increase of up to 2 orders of magnitude in the sp(3)/sp(2) ratio after oxidation. The content of up to 96% of sp(3)-bonded carbon in the oxidized samples is comparable to that found in microcrystalline diamond and is unprecedented for ND powders. Transmission electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy studies show high purity 5-nm ND particles covered by oxygen-containing surface functional groups. The surface functionalization can be controlled by subsequent treatments (e.g., hydrogenization). In contrast to current purification techniques, the air oxidation process does not require the use of toxic or aggressive chemicals, catalysts, or inhibitors and opens avenues for numerous new applications of nanodiamond.     

Micro-Raman and Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy of Carbon Allotropes

Summary: Raman spectroscopic data are obtained on various carbon allotropes like diamond, amorphous carbon, graphite, graphene and single wall carbon nanotubes by micro-Raman spectroscopy, tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy imaging, and the potentials of these techniques for advanced analysis of carbon structures are discussed. Depending on the local organisation of carbon the characteristic Raman bands can be found at different wavenumber positions, and e.g. quality or dimensions of structures of the samples quantitatively can be calculated. In particular tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy allows the investigation of individual single wall carbon nanotubes and graphene sheets and imaging of e.g. local defects with nanometer lateral resolution. Raman spectra of all carbon allotropes are presented and discussed.     

Parametric study of atmospheric-pressure diamond synthesis with an inductively coupled plasma torch

Polycrystalline diamond coatings have been deposited run molybdenum and silicon substrates using an inductively coupled, atmospheric-pressure plasma torch. Growth rates are on the order of 10 hr. The inductively coupled plasma reactor is found to produce a uniform, well-characterized growth environment for experimental and computational .study of the atmospheric-pressure diamond growth regime. Growth morphology is found to be sensitive to reactor conditions such as substrate surface temperature and methane-to-hydrogen feed ratio. An experimental parametric study of these variables is performed and the resultant growth analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction Spectroscopic analysis of the gas phase is also performed. Results indicate that the, substrate temperature range over which diamond growth occurs shifts toward higher temperatures as the methane-to-hydrogen feed ratio is increased. The growth rate is observed to reach a maximum with varying methane-to-hydrogen feed ratio at constant substrate temperature. Raman analysis of the deposits indicates that higher-quality diamond is achieved at the highest limits of substrate temperature for a given methane-to-hydrogen ratio. Higher-quality diamond is also observed to be, formed at lower methane-to-hydrogen feed ratios.     

FT-MIR and Raman spectroscopy coupled to multivariate analysis for the detection of clenbuterol in murine model

A fast and simple screening method for the determination of clenbuterol at the ppb level in a murine model was demonstrated by Mid Infrared (MIR) and Raman spectroscopy in conjunction with multivariate analysis. In order to build the calibration models to quantify clenbuterol in rat meat, mixtures of rat meat and clenbuterol were prepared in a range of 5-10,000 ppb. Partial Least Square (PLS) analysis was used to build the calibration model. The results shown that Mid Infrared and Raman spectroscopy were efficient, but Mid Infrared (R(2) = 0.966 and SEC = 0.27) were superior to Raman (R(2) = 0.914 and SEC = 1.167). The SIMCA model developed showed 100% classification rate of rat meat samples with or without clenbuterol. The results were confirmed with contaminated meat samples from animals treated with clenbuterol. Chemometric models represent an attractive option for meat quality screening without sample pretreatments which can identify veterinary medicinal products at the ppb level.     

Quantitative analysis of active compounds in pharmaceutical preparations by use of attenuated total-reflection Fourier transform mid-infrared spectrophotometry and the internal standard method

A new method is presented for the quantitative analysis of compounds in pharmaceutical preparations Fourier transform (FT) mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy with an attenuated total reflection (ATR) module. Reduction of the quantity of overlapping absorption bands, by interaction of the compound of interest with an appropriate solvent, and the employment of an internal standard (IS), makes MIR suitable for quantitative analysis. Vigabatrin, as active compound in vigabatrin 100-mg capsules, was used as a model compound for the development of the method. Vigabatrin was extracted from the capsule content with water after addition of a sodium thiosulfate IS solution. The extract was concentrated by volume reduction and applied to the FTMIR-ATR module. Concentrations of unknown samples were calculated from the ratio of the vigabatrin band area (1321-1610 cm(-1)) and the IS band area (883-1215 cm(-1)) using a calibration standard. The ratio of the area of the vigabatrin peak to that of the IS was linear with the concentration in the range of interest (90-110 mg, in twofold; n=2). The accuracy of the method in this range was 99.7-100.5% (n=5) with a variability of 0.4-1.3% (n=5). The comparison of the presented method with an HPLC assay showed similar results; the analysis of five vigabatrin 100-mg capsules resulted in a mean concentration of 102 mg with a variation of 2% with both methods.     

金刚石膜微结构的慢正电子束测量研究

The microstructure of diamond films was studied by slow positron beam and Raman spectroscopy. For the Raman spectroscopy experiment on diamond films, a high fraction of the sp3 hybridized bond was detected in samples. Positron annihilation spectra analysis further illuminated that the concentration and types of defects were different in each sample. S-E curves of all samples showed that diamond crystal structures had obvious variation in each sample. These results indicated that positron annihilation spectroscopy was an effective means to measure microstructure of diamond films.     

不锈钢上液相电沉积类金刚石薄膜

以甲醇有机溶液作碳源,应用直流脉冲电化学沉积方法,在不锈钢表面制备了类金刚石碳薄膜.用原子力显微镜、扫描电镜、拉曼光谱仪和傅立叶红外吸收光谱表征该薄膜的表面形貌和结构.结果表明:经电化学沉积的含氢类金刚石碳薄膜均匀、致密,表面粗糙度小;Raman光谱在1 332.51cm-1处有一强的谱峰,与金刚石的特征谱峰相重合.加入活性添加剂,增加了电流密度,使沉积速率提高到0.5μm/h.     

Light‐Induced Catalyst and Solvent‐Free High Pressure Synthesis of High Density Polyethylene at Ambient Temperature

The combined effect of high pressure and electronic photo‐excitation has been proven to be very efficient in activating extremely selective polymerisations of small unsaturated hydrocarbons in diamond anvil cells (DAC). Here we report an ambient temperature, large volume synthesis of high density polyethylene based only on high pressure (0.4–0.5 GPa) and photo‐excitation (~350 nm), without any solvent, catalyst or radical initiator. The reaction conditions are accessible to the current industrial technology and the laboratory scale pilot reactor can be scaled up to much larger dimensions for practical applications. FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, and X‐ray diffraction, indicate that the synthesised material is of comparable quality with respect to the outstanding crystalline material obtained in the DAC. The polydispersity index is comparable to that of IV generation Ziegler‐Natta catalysts. Moreover the crystalline quality of the synthesised material can be further enhanced by a thermal annealing at 373 K and ambient pressure.

     

Comparison of diffuse-reflectance absorbance and attenuated total reflectance FT-IR for the discrimination of bacteria

A collection of bacteria belonging to the genus Bacillus were analysed by diffuse reflectance absorbance and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy in the mid-infrared. The diffuse reflectance absorbance method is a rapid whole organism fingerprinting method, which generates a biochemical profile of the bacteria, where samples are presented to the FT-IR spectrometer dried on a metal carrier. The attenuated total reflectance FT-IR used in conjunction with a diamond attenuated total reflectance (ATR) accessory produces a biochemical profile of the surface chemistry of bacteria directly without the need for drying, and has not previously been used in the discrimination of bacteria. Principal component, discriminant function and hierarchical cluster analysis were performed on the data to discriminate the bacteria. The differentiation of the bacteria to species level was observed in both analyses however, it was concluded that the ATR FT-IR illustrated better sub-species differentiation of the microorganisms. This may imply that the total biochemical profiling infers discrimination to species level whereas strain specific markers are present on the cell surface chemistry.     

FTIR analysis of cysteic acid and cysteine-S-thiosulphate on untreated and bleached human hair

Human hair was analysed by FTIR spectroscopy and single fibre analysis was achieved using an IR microscope, an ATR diamond cell was also found very useful in determining the cysteic acid content of hair tress samples. Several different data manipulations were also assessed.     

The use of CE-electrochemiluminescence with ionic liquid for the determination of bioactive constituents in Chinese traditional medicine

CE / tris(2,2-bipyridyl) ruthenium(II) (Ru(bpy)(3) (2+)) electrochemiluminescence (ECL), CE-ECL, with an ionic liquid (IL) detection system was established for the determination of bioactive constituents in Chinese traditional medicine opium poppy which contain large amounts of coexistent substances. A minimal sample pretreatment which involves a one-step extraction approach avoids both sample loss and environmental pollution. As the nearby hydroxyl groups in some alkaloid such as morphine may react with borate to form complexes and IL, as a high-conductivity additive in running buffer, could cause an enhanced field-amplified effect of electrokinetic injection. Running buffer containing 25 mM borax-8 mM 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMImBF(4))IL (pH 9.18) was used which resulted in significant changes in separation selectivity and obvious enhancement in ECL intensities for those alkaloids with similar structures. Sensitive detection could be achieved when the distance between the Pt working electrode and the outlet of separation capillary was set at 150 microm and the stainless steel cannula was fixed approximately 1 cm away from the outlet of the capillary. Quantitative analysis of four alkaloids was achieved at a detection voltage of 1.2 V and a separation voltage of 15 kV in less than 7 min. Detection limits of thebaine, codeine, morphine, and narcotine were 2.5 x 10(-7), 2.5 x 10(-7), 1 x 10(-9) and 1 x 10(-6) M(S/N = 3), respectively. The method was successfully applied to determine the amounts of opium alkaloids in real poppy samples.     

Differentiation of opium and poppy straw using capillary electrophoresis and pattern recognition techniques

Opium samples from four different locations and poppy straw from different plant varieties have been assayed using micellar capillary electrophoresis incorporating a sweeping technique. Individual alkaloids (morphine, codeine, papaverine, noscapine, thebaine, oripavine, reticuline and narceine) were quantitatively determined in the different samples by a validated capillary electrophoresis method. Unsupervised pattern recognition of the opium samples and the poppy straw samples using hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA), showed distinct clusters. Supervised pattern recognition using soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) was performed to show individual groupings and allow unknown samples to be classified according to the models built using the CZE assay results.     

Fabrication and electrochemical behaviour of vertically aligned boron-doped diamond nanorod forest electrodes

Vertically aligned boron-doped diamond nanorod forests (BDDNF) were successfully fabricated by depositing a diamond film onto silicon nanowires (SiNWs) using hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD). The boron-doped diamond nanorods were characterized by Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The BDDNF obtained from the SiNWs on the silicon wafer could be directly used as an electrode and its electrochemical behaviour is discussed here. Compared to a flat boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode, the BDDNF electrode showed high sensitivity in the amperometric detection of adenine.     

Laser pyrolysis micro-spectroscopy for modelling fire-induced degradation of ethylene-vinyl acetate systems

A recently developed laser pyrolysis (LP)-Raman/ATR micro-spectroscopic method was applied for analyzing the degradation of polymer systems. The concept behind the method is to combine the micro-scale modelling of fire circumstances with analytical monitoring of the chemical changes in the solid phase of the sample. Samples were irradiated with the infrared beam of a CO₂ laser. The chemical changes were determined by micro-Raman/ATR spectroscopy methods in 200 ms intervals. The applicability of the method is demonstrated here through the pyrolysis of EVA and EVA composites containing metal-modified clays. Rapid depth profiling of few milligrams of sample is feasible with Raman detection, while the ATR sensor is applicable for analysis of fluorescent samples such as Fe coated sepiolite. The acceleration effect of montmorillonite and sepiolite minerals on the degradation of EVA is more pronounced if their surface is coated with Fe atoms. The effects of laser and the cone heater on the ratio of characteristic Raman bands of the polymer are compared and found to be in good correlation.     

Monitoring of the Sol-Gel Synthesis of Organic-inorganic Hybrids by FTIR Transmission,FTIR/ATR,NIR and Raman Spectroscopy

Summary: The sol-gel synthesis of organic-inorganic hybrids based on triethoxysilane- terminated poly(ethylene oxide) and tetraethylorthosilicate was monitored in-situ using three spectroscopic methods (FTIR/ATR, Raman, NIR). These spectroscopic methods allow in-situ monitoring of the evolution of hybrid materials starting from the modification of the polymer and the early steps of hydrolysis up to the network formation. By application of ²⁹Si solid-state NMR spectroscopy the assignment and quantification of the Raman bands to different end groups and different cross-linking states was made. The sol-gel reaction was also followed by in-line NIR spectroscopy. A multivariate data analysis was accomplished to obtain a conversion-time curve. Furthermore, we investigated spin-coated films on wafers using FTIR transmission spectroscopy.     

Raman spectroscopy of halotrichite from Jaroso, Spain

Raman spectroscopy complimented with infrared ATR spectroscopy has been used to characterise a halotrichite FeSO(4) x Al(2)(SO(4))(3) x 22 H(2)O from The Jaroso Ravine, Aquilas, Spain. Halotrichites form a continuous solid solution series with pickingerite and chemical analysis shows that the jarosite contains 6% Mg(2+). Halotrichite is characterised by four infrared bands at 3569.5, 3485.7, 3371.4 and 3239.0 cm(-1). Using Libowitsky type relationships, hydrogen bond distances of 3.08, 2.876, 2.780 and 2.718 Angstrom were determined. Two intense Raman bands are observed at 987.7 and 984.4 cm(-1) and are assigned to the nu(1) symmetric stretching vibrations of the sulphate bonded to the Fe(2+) and the water units in the structure. Three sulphate bands are observed at 77K at 1000.0, 991.3 and 985.0 cm(-1) suggesting further differentiation of the sulphate units. Raman spectrum of the nu(2) and nu(4) region of halotrichite at 298 K shows two bands at 445.1 and 466.9 cm(-1), and 624.2 and 605.5 cm(-1), respectively, confirming the reduction of symmetry of the sulphate in halotrichite.