Real‐Time Measurement of the Size Distribution of Diesel Exhaust Particles using a Portable 4‐stage Electrical Low Pressure Impactor

For this study, a 4 stage electrical low pressure impactor was designed to measure the real‐time size distribution of diesel particulate matter (DPM). For the performance evaluation, sodium chloride (NaCl) particles and dioctyl sebacate (DOS) particles were used. After evaluating the collection efficiency of each stage of the impactor, the size distributions of test particles were estimated using electrical current data and their inversion algorithm, and this was found to agree with the results obtained by a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS). For measurement of DPM, a common‐rail direct injection (CRDI) diesel engine, for engine speeds of 1,200 rpm and 1,500 rpm at 2.7 kgf·m, was used. Therefore, it was found that the size distribution of the DPM could be easily obtained, with the currents measured by the impactor and the data inversion algorithm, in less than 5 seconds. Furthermore, the effective density of the DPM could be obtained using the calculated results and the SMPS data.     

Liquid chromatographic resolution of racemic rasagiline and its analogues on a chiral stationary phase based on (+)‐(18‐crown‐6)‐2,3,11,12‐tetracarboxylic acid

A liquid chromatographic chiral stationary phase based on (+)‐(18‐crown‐6)‐2,3,11,12‐tetracarboxylic acid was applied to the resolution of 15 analytes, including racemic rasagiline, a chiral drug for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, and its analogues. The composition of mobile phase was optimized to be ethanol/acetonitrile/acetic acid/triethylamine (80:20:0.2:0.3, v/v/v/v) by evaluating the chromatographic results for the resolution of five selected analytes under various mobile phase conditions. Under the optimized mobile phase conditions, racemic rasagiline was resolved quite well with a separation factor of 1.48 and resolution of 2.71 and its 14 analogues were also resolved reasonably well with separation factors of 1.06–1.54 and resolutions of 0.54–2.11. Among 15 analytes, racemic rasagiline was resolved best except for just one analyte. The analyte structure–enantioselectivity relationship indicated that racemic rasagiline has the most appropriate structural characteristics for resolution on the chiral stationary phase.     

Organocatalytic Conjugate Addition of Azide Ion to α,β‐Unsaturated Aldehydes

An efficient and simple amine‐catatalyzed azide conjugate addition to α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes has been developed. In the presence of a catalytic amount of tertiary amine with a 1:1 mixture of NaN₃ and 37% HCl in CH₂Cl₂, α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes provided β‐azido aldehydes, which could be transformed into 1,3‐amino alcohols.     

Rapid Removal of Organics and Oil Spills from Waters Using Silicone Rubber “Sponges”

We have developed a simple, robust, and efficient technology utilizing cheap and recoverable materials based on commercially available silicone elastomer networks for removing organic solvents and crude oil from waters. Hydrophobic and oleophilic properties of silicone elastomers endow poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) with the capacity to absorb a large variety of organics, including benzene (B), toluene (T), ethylbenzene (E), and xylene (X), commonly referred to as BTEX, and also crude oils, while at the same time enabling the organic “sponges” to float on waters, which facilitates straightforward handling. We developed a method for generating PDMS particles with variable sizes (ranging from hundreds nanometers to few millimeters) by drop-wise depositing siloxane/cross-linker mixtures into warm water, a process which leads to the cross-linking of the PDMS components. We have tested the capability of the PDMS particles to remove toluene and benzene from water. We also performed similar experiments by utilizing PDMS sheets. In both instances we observed a rapid sorption of the organic phase into PDMS; the amount of absorbed organic solvent depended on the concentration in water and the total mass (volume) of PDMS and did not depend on the geometry of the PDMS “sponge.” In addition, we have examined the uptake of toluene and benzene from toluene/benzene (T/B) mixtures dissolved in water. Our results indicate that the amount of benzene absorbed from the T/B mixtures into PDMS increases relative to the uptake from pure benzene/water solutions. This behavior is associated with toluene acting as a “surfactant” that effectively replaces the more unfavorable PDMS/B contacts with less costly T/B ones. Finally, a simple experiment demonstrates qualitatively that PDMS is also capable of removing crude oils from oil-contaminated waters.     

Cellulose polymorphism study with sum-frequency-generation (SFG) vibration spectroscopy: identification of exocyclic CH2OH conformation and chain orientation

Sum-frequency-generation (SFG) vibration spectroscopy is a technique only sensitive to functional groups arranged without centrosymmetry. For crystalline cellulose, SFG can detect the C6H₂ and intra-chain hydrogen-bonded OH groups in the crystal. The geometries of these groups are sensitive to the hydrogen bonding network that stabilizes each cellulose polymorph. Therefore, SFG can distinguish cellulose polymorphs (I_β, II, III_I and III_II) which have different conformations of the exocyclic hydroxymethylene group or directionalities of glucan chains. The C6H₂ asymmetric stretching peaks at 2,944 cm^?1 for cellulose I_β and 2,960 cm^?1 for cellulose II, III_I and III_II corresponds to the trans-gauche (tg) and gauche-trans (gt) conformation, respectively. The SFG intensity of the stretch peak of intra-chain hydrogen-bonded O–H group implies that the chain arrangement in cellulose crystal is parallel in I_β and III_I, and antiparallel in II and III_II.     

Dynamic output feedback consensus of continuous‐time networked multiagent systems

This article addresses the dynamic output feedback consensus problem of continuous‐time networked multiagent systems. Both a fixed topology and Markovian switching topologies are considered. The consensus algorithms are on the base of the output information of each agent's itself and its neighbors. Some sufficient conditions for consensus of multiagent systems are obtained in forms of bilinear matrix inequalities. The algorithm based on the homotopy continuation method is given to compute the feasible controller gains. Numerical simulations are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed results. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 20: 35–42, 2015     

Reaction-based colorimetric and fluorogenic signaling of hydrogen sulfide using a 7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole–coumarin conjugate

A novel reaction-based probe for the dual signaling of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) was investigated. The selective H₂S-induced cleavage of the ether linkage of the 7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD) and 7-hydroxycoumarin conjugate resulted in a dual signaling behavior. The colorimetric and fluorogenic signaling behaviors were attributed to the H₂S-induced generation of 7-nitrobenzo-2,1,3-oxadiazole-4-thiol (NBD-SH) and 7-hydroxycoumarin, respectively. The signaling behavior was analyzed by ratiometry. The selective signaling of H₂S over other common metal ions and anions was possible with a detection limit of 1.6 × 10⁻⁶ M in an aqueous DMSO solution.