Preparation and application of carbon nanotubes/poly(o‐toluidine) composite fibers for the headspace solid‐phase microextraction of benzene,toluene, ethylbenzene,and xylenes

A novel nanocomposite coating of poly(o‐toluidine) and oxidized multiwalled CNTs (MWCNTs, where CNTs is carbon nanotubes) was electrochemically prepared on a stainless‐steel wire. The applicability of the fiber was assessed for the headspace solid‐phase microextraction of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes in aqueous samples followed by GC with flame ionization detection. In order to obtain an adherent and stable composite coating, several experimental parameters related to the coating process, such as polymerization potential and time, and the concentration of o‐toluidine and oxidized MWCNTs were optimized. The combination of MWCNTs and polymer in a nanocomposite form presents desirable opportunities to produce materials for new applications. The effects of various parameters on the efficiency of the headspace solid‐phase microextraction process, such as desorption temperature and time, extraction temperature and time, and ionic strength were also investigated. At the optimum conditions, LODs were 0.03–0.06 μg/L. The method showed linearity in the range of 0.5–300 μg/L with coefficients of determination >0.99. The intraday and interday RSDs obtained at a 5 μg/L concentration level (n = 5) using a single fiber were 1.2–5.2 and 3.2–7.5%, respectively. The fiber‐to‐fiber RSD (%; n = 3) at 5 μg/L was 6.1–9.2%.     

Linear frequency modulation photoacoustic radar: optimal bandwidth and signal-to-noise ratio for frequency-domain imaging of turbid media

The development of the pulse compression photoacoustic (PA) radar using linear frequency modulation (LFM) demonstrated experimentally that spectral matching of the signal to the ultrasonic transducer bandwidth does not necessarily produce the best PA signal-to-noise ratio, and it was shown that the optical and acoustic properties of the absorber will modify the optimal bandwidth. The effects of these factors are investigated in frequency-domain (FD) PA imaging by employing one-dimensional and axisymmetric models of the PA effect, and a Krimholtz-Leedom-Matthaei model for the employed transducers. LFM chirps with various bandwidths were utilized and transducer sensitivity was measured to ensure the accuracy of the model. The theory was compared with experimental results and it was shown that the PA effect can act as a low-pass filter in the signal generation. Furthermore, with the PA radar, the low-frequency behavior of two-dimensional wave generation can appear as a false peak in the cross correlation signal trace. These effects are important in optimizing controllable features of the FD-PA method to improve image quality.     

Constructing Robust Entangled Coherent GHZ and W States via a Cavity QED System

Using a system of three distant cavities, we propose a method for constructing tripartite entangled coherent GHZ and W states which are robust due to the photon losses in the cavities. Each of cavities is doped with a semiconductor quantum dot. By the dynamics, the excitonic modes of quantum dots are enabled to exhibit entangled coherent GHZ and W states. Apart from the exciton losses, the master equation approach shows that when the populations of the field modes in the cavities are negligible the destruction of entanglement due to dissipation arises from photon losses, is effectively suppressed.     

Distinguished sets of semi-simple Lie algebras

Journal of Algebraic Combinatorics - We call a finite, spanning set of a semi-simple real Lie algebra a distinguished set if it satisfies the following property: The Lie bracket of any two elements...     

Synthesis and characterization of new derivatives of bis(1,4-diazepinium) salts and bis(γ-substituted pentamethine cyanine(dyes using vinamidinium salt

The preparation of several bis(1,4-diazepinium) salts from the reaction of three 1,2-diamines with a bis(vinamidinium) salt is described. Bis(γ-substituted pentamethine cyanine(dyes are also prepared from the reaction of vinamidinium salt with 1,2-dimethylquinolinium perchlorate and 1,2,3,3-tetramethyl-3H-indolium perchlorate. Data from elemental analyzes, IR, ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, and mass spectra (MS) confirm the molecular structure of the obtained products.     

Copper and nickel immobilized on cytosine@MCM-41: as highly efficient,reusable and organic–inorganic hybrid nanocatalysts for the homoselective synthesis of tetrazoles and pyranopyrazoles

In this work, a green approach is reported for efficient synthesis of biologically active tetrazole and pyranopyrazole derivatives in the presence of Cu-Cytosine@MCM-41 and Ni-Cytosine@MCM-41 (copper (II) and nickel (II) catalyst on the modified MCM-41 using cytosine). The synthesis of tetrazoles and pyranopyrazoles in the presence of these catalysts was performed in green solvents such as water or poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG). All products were obtained in high TOF (turnover frequency) numbers in the presence of these catalysts, which indicate the high efficiency of these catalysts in the synthesis of tetrazole and pyranopyrazole derivatives. The prepared catalysts were characterized by various techniques such as BET, TGA, XRD, FT-IR, SEM, EDS, WDX, TEM, and AAS. Mesoporous structure of these catalysts was confirmed by nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms. These catalysts can be recovered and reused for several runs without significant change in their catalytic activity or metal capacity. The recovered catalysts have been characterized by XRD, SEM, EDS, WDX, FT-IR and AAS techniques, by which their heterogeneous nature has been confirmed.     

Antibacterial and antioxidant properties of phyto-synthesized silver nanoparticles using Lavandula stoechas extract

Due to environmentally friendly and cost- effective issues, biological methods for silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesis are advantageous over chemical and physical ones. In this study, AgNPs synthesized using Lavandula stoechas extract as a reductant and its antioxidant capacity, antibacterial property and cytotoxicity effect were investigated. The phyto-synthesized AgNPs were characterized using various analyses such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD) as well as Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR). The prepared nanoparticles were spherical on shape with the size about 20–50 nm. Antibacterial studies through agar disk diffusion method confirmed the antibacterial potential of phyto-synthesized AgNPs toward two clinical Staphylococus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria, although MTT assay demonstrated that S. aureus (MIC = 125 μg/ml) was more susceptible to AgNPs than P. aeruginosa (MIC = 250 μg/ml). Moreover, the cytotoxicity assay of phyto-synthezied AgNPs showed a low cytotoxic effect on RAW264 cell line at 62.5 μg/ml as an effective concentration. Also the considerable antioxidant capacity of the AgNPs confirmed through DPPH assay. Great antibacterial and antioxidant properties along with biocompatibility make the suggested phyto-synthesized AgNPs a great candidate for different biomedical applications including wound healing.     

A palladium complex immobilized onto mesoporous silica: a highly efficient and reusable catalytic system for carbon–carbon bond formation and anilines synthesis

A palladium complex supported on functionalized mesoporous silica MCM-41 proved to be a highly efficient, recoverable catalyst for C–C coupling reactions and amination of aryl halides to afford anilines. The nanocatalyst was characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, N₂ adsorption–desorption isotherms and inductively coupled plasma analysis. The catalyst could be reused for several consecutive runs without significant loss of activity. The excellent yields of products, simple reaction procedures and short reaction times are the main advantages of this methodology.