Fabrication of ferrocene functionalised ionic liquid/carbon nanotube nanocomposite modified carbon-ceramic electrode: application to the determination of hydrazine

A novel ionic liquid, 1-(ferrocenyl butyl)-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (Fc-IL), was synthesised. The nanocomposite of Fc-IL and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was constructed and used for surface modification of carbon-ceramic electrode. The modified electrode was applied to the determination of hydrazine. Operational parameters such as pH of the solution, ionic liquid volume and amount of carbon nanotubes, which affect the analytical performance of the modified electrode, were optimised. The linear range of the modified electrode toward hydrazine concentration was 0.96–106.10 μg L^–1 with a detection limit of 0.64 μg L^–1 (S/N = 3). The modified electrode displayed high repeatability, reproducibility, long-term life time and low response time (<3 s). The applicability of this method was further tested by analysing the hydrazine content in boiler-feed water samples containing different concentrations of hydrazine and the results were in good agreement with the spectrophotometry method.     

Coupling of air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction method with partial least squares for simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of some preservatives

An air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction method coupled with a multivariate calibration method, namely partial least squares (PLS), was developed for the extraction and simultaneous determination of benzoic acid (BA) and sorbic acid (SA) via a spectrophotometric approach. In this work, a two-step microextraction method was used. In the first step, analytes were extracted from acidic aqueous solution into octanol, as an organic solvent, and in the second step, the analytes were simultaneously back-extracted into an alkaline aqueous solution. The high absorption signal of octanol was the main reason to perform this back-extraction step. The effects of different parameters on the method efficiency were investigated; the parameters included extraction solvent volume, ionic strength of aqueous solution, pH, number of extraction cycles, and aqueous sample volume. Under optimum conditions, calibration graphs were seen to be linear over the range of 0.1–2.0 µg mL^?1 for the both analytes. Other analytical parameters were obtained as follows: Enrichment factors (EFs) were found to be 14.98 and 13.03, and limits of detection were determined to be 0.03 and 0.04 µg mL^?1 for BA and SA, respectively. As the last step, binary mixtures of the analytes were prepared and simultaneously extracted using the proposed method. Finally, PLS modeling was used for multivariate calibration of spectrophotometric data. It was successfully utilized for the analysis of the target analytes in real samples.     

A simple non-enzymatic strategy for adenosine triphosphate electrochemical aptasensor using silver nanoparticle-decorated graphene oxide

In this work, a sensitive electrochemical aptasensor for the detection of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) has been introduced. A simple and non-enzymatic signal amplification strategy is utilized using silver nanoparticle-decorated graphene oxide (AgNPs–GO) as a redox probe. The modified electrode surface was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, FTIR and UV–Vis spectroscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. GO provides an excellent substrate for the presence of the large number of AgNPs, so the monitored oxidation signal of AgNPs has been amplified. ATP-specific DNA aptamer is split into two fragments (F₁ & F₂) in order to design a sandwich-type assay. For the construction of the sensor, the surface of a graphite screen-printed electrode is modified with electrodeposited gold nanoparticles followed by self-assembling a monolayer of 3-mercaptopropionic acid on the electrode surface. The first amino-labeled fragment, F₁, is immobilized on the modified electrode via carbodiimide chemistry. The synthesized AgNPs–GO interacts with F₁ via \(\pi{-}\pi\) stacking. In the presence of ATP, the second fragment of the aptamer, F₂, forms an associated complex with the immobilized F₁ and causes AgNPs–GO to leave the surface. Consequently, a remarkable decrease in the oxidation signal of the AgNPs is observed. The percentage of this decrease has been monitored as an analytical signal, which is proportional to ATP concentration, and delivers a linear response over the range of 10.0 (±0.6) to 850 (±5) nM with a detection limit of 5.0 (±0.2) nM.     

Comparative essential oil composition of aerial parts of Tanacetum dumosum Boiss. from Southern Zagros,Iran.

The essential oils of leaves and flowers of Tanacetum dumosum Boiss., an endemic medicinal shrub, were extracted by using hydrodistillation method and analysed using GC and GC–MS. A total of 43 and 44 compounds were identified in the essential oils from the leaves and flowers of T. dumosum, respectively. The major chemical constituents of leaves oil were borneol (27.9%), bornyl acetate (18.4%), 1,8-cineol (17.5%), α-terpineol (5.3%), cis-chrysanthenyl acetate (3.3%), camphene (2.7%) and terpinene-4-ol (1.9%), while the main components of the flower oil were isobornyl-2-methyl butanoate (41.1%), trans-linalyl oxide acetate (11.9%), 1,8-cineole (7.7%), thymol (4.2%), linalool (3.9%), camphor (2.9%), isobornyl propanoate (2.9%), α-terpineol (2.1%) and caryophyllene oxide (2.0%). Major qualitative and quantitative variations for some main chemical compounds among different aerial parts of T. dumosum were identified. High contents of borneol, bornyl acetate, 1,8-cineol and linalool in the leaves and flowers of T. dumosum show its potential for use in the food and perfumery industry.     

Synthesis and characterization of trans-M2(T(i)PB)2(O2C-CH=CH-2-C4H3S)2 (M = Mo or W) and comments on the metal-to-ligand charge transfer bands in MM quadruply bonded complexes of the type trans-M2(T(i)PB)2L2, where T(i)PB = 2,4,6-triisopropylbenzoate and L = π-accepting carboxylate ligand

The preparation and characterization of the compounds trans-M(2)(T(i)PB)(2)(O(2)C-CH=CH-2-C(4)H(3)S)(2) where M = Mo or W and T(i)PB = 2,4,6-triisopropylbenzoate are reported. The optical spectra of the new compounds are compared with those of related trans-M(2)(T(i)PB)(2)L(2) compounds where L = O(2)C-C(6)H(4)-4-CN, O(2)C-α,α'-terthienyl (TTh), and O(2)C-4-C(6)H(4)N-B(C(6)F(5))(3), that show strong metal-to-ligand charge transfer bands because of M(2)δ to Lπ conjugation, and are notably temperature dependant due to the various conformations of the two trans-L groups. Upon cooling the spectral features sharpen as the planar geometry that optimizes M(2)δ-Lπ conjugation is favored. As the electronic coupling of the two trans-Lπ systems increases the (0,0) electronic transition gains intensity indicating a greater nesting of the ground state (S(0)) and excited state (S(1)) potential energy surfaces. These features are discussed in terms of the related electronic coupling of [M(2)]-[M(2)] complexes.     

Nanocomposites based on polymer blends: enhanced interfacial interactions in polycarbonate/ethylene-propylene copolymer blends with multi-walled carbon nanotubes

In this article, the phase separation in the melt blended polycarbonate (PC) and ethylene propylene copolymer (EPC) has been studied with dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Two glass transition temperatures on the tan δ curves were detected. This confirms the immiscibility of PC and EPC phases. Different content of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were added to the PC/EPC blends and the interfacial adhesion between MWCNTs and PC/EPC blend were shown using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The MWCNTs were located in the PC phase and at the interfaces of PC and EPC phases. Moreover, the storage modulus (E′) of polymer blends was changed by the increasing content of EPC elastomer and MWCNTs. The value of E′ of PC decreased with an incorporation of EPC. While, along with an addition of MWCNTs in the PC/EPC blends an increase of E′ was visible. The strong interfacial interactions between the matrix and MWCNTs played the main role in increasing the values of the E′ of the nanocomposites.     

Robust general N user authentication scheme in a centralized quantum communication network via generalized GHZ states

Quantum communication provides an enormous advantage over its classical counterpart: security of communications based on the very principles of quantum mechanics. Researchers have proposed several approaches for user identity authentication via entanglement. Unfortunately, these protocols fail because an attacker can capture some of the particles in a transmitted sequence and send what is left to the receiver through a quantum channel. Subsequently, the attacker can restore some of the confidential messages, giving rise to the possibility of information leakage. Here we present a new robust General Nuser authentication protocol based on N-particle Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger (GHZ) states, which makes eavesdropping detection more effective and secure, as compared to some current authentication protocols. The security analysis of our protocol for various kinds of attacks verifies that it is unconditionally secure, and that an attacker will not obtain any information about the transmitted key. Moreover, as the number of transferred key bits N becomes larger, while the number of users for transmitting the information is increased, the probability of effectively obtaining the transmitted authentication keys is reduced to zero.     

Revisiting Quantum Authentication Scheme Based on Entanglement Swapping

The crucial issue of quantum communication protocol is its security. In this paper, the security of the Quantum Authentication Scheme Based on Entanglement Swapping proposed by Penghao et al. (Int J Theor Phys., doi:10.1007/s10773-015-2662-7) is reanalyzed. It is shown that the original does not complete the task of quantum authentication and communication securely. Furthermore a simple improvement on the protocol is proposed.     

The 6pi, phosphide-stabilised stannylene dianion [C6H4P2Sn]2-; the first member of a new class of Arduengo-type carbene analogues

Dilithiation of 1,2-(PH2)2C6H4 with nBuLi followed by reaction with Sn(NMe2)2 in the presence of the Lewis base donor tmeda [Me2NCH2CH2NMe2] gives [(C6H4P2Sn)(Li.tmeda)2] , containing the phosphide-stabilised, 6pi stannylene dianion [C6H4P2Sn]2-.