A new chelating resin containing 2-aminothiophenol: Synthesis characterization and determination of mercury in waste water using <Superscript>203</Superscript>Hg radiotracer

A new stable chelating resin was synthesized by incorporating 2-aminothiophenol into Merrifield polymer through C-N covalent bond and characterized by elemental analysis, IR and thermal study. The sorption capacity of the newly formed resin for Hg²⁺ as a function of pH has been studied using ²⁰³Hg radioisotope. The resin exhibits no affinity to alkali or alkaline earth metal ions and common anions. The separation of mercury(II) in presence of different alkali and alkaline earth metal ions (Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Sr²⁺, Ba²⁺), common anions (ClO₄ ⁻, SO₄ ²⁻) and other diverse ions (Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺, Fe³⁺, Ni²⁺ and Zn²⁺) has been checked. In column operation it has been observed that Hg²⁺ content of the waste water can be removed at usual pH of natural water. Mercury was determined by isotope dilution method and the concentration of Hg²⁺ in the waste water spiked with ²⁰³Hg was found to be 0.05 to 0.09 μg/ml.     

Retention of enzymatic activity of alpha-amylase in the reductive synthesis of gold nanoparticles

In this paper, we report the generation of Au nanoparticles (NPs), using a pure enzyme for the reduction of AuCl4(-), with the retention of enzymatic activity in the complex. As a model system, alpha-amylase was used to readily synthesize and stabilize Au NPs in aqueous solution. Although several other enzymes were also pursued for the synthesis, it was interesting to observe that only alpha-amylase and EcoRI could produce Au NPs. Following NP synthesis, the activity of the enzyme was retained in the Au NP-alpha-amylase complex. The presence of Au NPs and alpha-amylase in the complex was established by UV-visible and FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) measurements. Our observations suggest that the presence of free and exposed S-H groups is essential in the reduction of AuCl4(-) to Au NPs. Structural analysis of the enzymes showed that both alpha-amylase and EcoRI enzymes have free and exposed S-H groups in their native form and thus are suitable for the generation of NPs, whereas the other ones used here do not have such groups. Fortuitously, the enzymatic functional group of alpha-amylase is positioned opposite to that of the free and exposed S-H group, which makes it ideal for the production of Au NPs; binding of the enzyme to Au NPs via Au-S bond and also retention of the biological activity of the enzyme.     

Carbon nanotube salts. Arylation of single-wall carbon nanotubes

[reaction: see text] Carbon nanotube salts prepared by treating single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with lithium in liquid ammonia react readily with aryl iodides to give SWNTs functionalized by aryl groups.     

Au nanoparticles and polyaniline coated resin beads for simultaneous catalytic oxidation of glucose and colorimetric detection of the product

In this letter, we report the synthesis of Au nanoparticles (NPs) and polyaniline (PANI) on the same cation-exchange resin beads and demonstrate their use in catalyzing the oxidation of glucose to gluconic acid by Au NPs and simultaneously in detecting the formation of the acid by the color change of PANI. The synthesis was carried out by exchanging the cations of the resins with HAuCl4 and anilinuium chloride and then reducing the metal ions by NaBH4 to produce Au NPs followed by polymerization of aniline using H2O2. The green emeraldine salt form of PANI thus obtained was treated with NaOH to be converted to blue emeraldine base before use. The deposition of Au NPs was confirmed by a change in color of the bead, visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopic measurements. On the other hand, the presence of PANI was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy. The formation of gluconic acid from glucose was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. We could detect the presence of glucose of a minimum 1.0 mM concentration in water, using the present method. Our experimental observations demonstrate the possibility of the incorporation of multifunctional components on the surfaces of resins for carrying out a chemical reaction as well as detection of the product.     

Photocatalytic polypyrrole-TiO2-nanoparticles composite thin film generated at the air-water interface

Herein, we report a new method of generation of TiO(2) nanoparticles (NPs) incorporated thin films of polypyrrole (PPy) at the air-water interface. Aqueous TiO(2) NPs when treated with H(2)O(2) and left in a chamber of pyrrole vapor resulted in the formation of a film at the interface, in addition to bulk precipitate. Spectroscopic, X-ray diffraction, and electron microscopic measurements establish the formation of a thin film of PPy with the incorporation of TiO(2) NPs. The TiO(2)-containing PPy films when transferred onto glass substrates were able to photo catalyze the decomposition of aqueous organic dyes: methyl orange and methylene blue. Further, these films could also photo catalyze the oxidation of iodide to triiodide ions in aqueous potassium iodide solution. We find that the PPy-TiO(2) composite films catalyze the reactions in the presence of light more efficiently than a suspension of TiO(2) NPs.     

Partonic Flow and phi-Meson production in Au+Au collisions at sqrt radical sNN = 200 GeV

We present first measurements of the phi-meson elliptic flow (v2(pT)) and high-statistics pT distributions for different centralities from radical sNN=200 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC. In minimum bias collisions the v2 of the phi meson is consistent with the trend observed for mesons. The ratio of the yields of the Omega to those of the phi as a function of transverse momentum is consistent with a model based on the recombination of thermal s quarks up to pT approximately 4 GeV/c, but disagrees at higher momenta. The nuclear modification factor (R CP) of phi follows the trend observed in the K S 0 mesons rather than in Lambda baryons, supporting baryon-meson scaling. These data are consistent with phi mesons in central Au+Au collisions being created via coalescence of thermalized s quarks and the formation of a hot and dense matter with partonic collectivity at RHIC.     

Low-macroscopic field emission from nanocrystalline Al doped SnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> thin films synthesized by sol–gel technique

We have observed low-macroscopic field electron emission from wide bandgap nanocrystalline Al doped SnO₂ thin films deposited on glass substrates. The emission properties have been studied for different anode-sample spacings and for different Al concentrations in the films. The turn-on field and approximate work function were calculated and we have tried to explain the emission mechanism from this. The turn-on field was found to vary in the range 5.6–7.5 V/μm for a variation of anode sample spacing from 80–120 μm. The turn-on field was also found to vary from 4.6–5.68 V/μm for a fixed anode-sample separation of 80 μm with a variation of Al concentration in the films 8.16–2.31%. The Al concentrations in the films have been measured by energy dispersive X-ray analysis. Optical transmittance measurement of the films showed a high transparency with a direct bandgap ∼3.98 eV. Due to the wide bandgap, the electron affinity of the film decreased. This, along with the nanocrystalline nature of the films, enhanced the field emission properties. PACS 81.20.Fw; 61.10.-i; 79.70.+q     

Monitoring orientation and dynamics of membrane-bound melittin utilizing dansyl fluorescence

Melittin is a cationic hemolytic peptide isolated from the European honey bee, Apis mellifera. In spite of a number of studies, there is no consensus regarding the orientation of melittin in membranes. In this study, we used a melittin analogue that is covalently labeled at its amino terminal (Gly-1) with the environment-sensitive 1-dimethylamino-5-sulfonylnaphthalene (dansyl) group to obtain information regarding the orientation and dynamics of the amino terminal region of membrane-bound melittin. Our results show that the dansyl group in Dns-melittin exhibits red edge excitation shift in vesicles of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, implying its localization in a motionally restricted region of the membrane. This is further supported by wavelength-dependent anisotropy and lifetime changes and time-resolved emission spectra characterized by dynamic Stokes shift, which indicates relatively slow solvent relaxation in the excited state. Membrane penetration depth analysis using the parallax method shows that the dansyl group is localized at a depth of approximately 18 A from the center of the bilayer in membrane-bound Dns-melittin. Further analysis of dansyl and tryptophan depths in Dns-melittin shows that the tilt angle between the helix axis of membrane-bound melittin and the bilayer normal is approximately 70 degrees. Our results therefore suggest that melittin adopts a pseudoparallel orientation in DOPC membranes at low concentration.