WS<Subscript>2</Subscript> grafted on silicon and nano-silicon particles etched: a high-performance electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

Most of research has been carried out for the development of electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), which are high activity and low cost. In this study, a practical, usable, highly active, cheap, and none noble metal catalyst was developed for HER. To this end, tungsten disulfide supported on silicon (WS₂/Si) and on silicon nanoparticles (WS₂/nano-Si) were prepared. To increase the catalytic activity of WS₂/nano-Si, chemical etching was used to prepare WS₂/nano-Si etched. The synthesized electrocatalysts were characterized using Fortier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction methods. To evaluate the electrochemical attributes of WS₂/Si and WS₂/n-Si before and after chemical etching, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, linear sweep, and cyclic voltammetry were used. The electrochemical measurements indicated an intense activity of the WS₂/nano-Si/etched, through a high density of the current and low overpotential for HER, with a small overpotential of 0.14 V, Tafel slopes as small as 45 mV dec^?1, and large cathodic currents. These results show that through etching process of silicon in HF the quantities of the active sites have been changed and increased considerably.     

Effects of Brownian Motion and Thermophoresis on the Mixed Convection of Nanofluid in a Porous Channel Including Flow Reversal

This article is devoted to combined convection heat transfer of nanofluids through a vertical channel filled with a homogeneous and isotropic porous medium. The flow is assumed to be fully developed and the “Brinkman extended Darcy” model is used for the flow in the porous media and “clear compatible” viscous dissipation model is considered. Also the model utilized for the nanofluid incorporates the effects of Brownian motion and thermophoresis. The governing momentum, energy, and nanopartices volume fraction equations are solved both analytically and numerically. The effects of the influential dimensionless parameters such as Brownian and thermophoresis parameters, mixed convection parameter (Gr/Re), Brinkman, Darcy and Lewis numbers on dimensionless velocity and temperature distributions and pressure drop are studied. Also, the results of the Nusselt number for the both left and right walls are presented and discussed.     

(Pyridine)(tetrahydroborato)zinc Complex Mediated Acetylation of Amines with Ethyl Acetate

(Pyridine)(tetrahydroborato)zinc complex, (Py)Zn(BH₄)₂, can efficiently perform acetylation of a variety of aliphatic and aromatic amines with ethyl acetate under refluxing THF.     

A DEA approach for fair allocation of common revenue

An issue of considerable importance, how to allocate a common revenue in an equitable manner across a set of competing entities. This paper introduces a new approach to obtaining allocation common revenue on all decision making units (DMUs) in such a way that the relative efficiency is not changed. In this method for determining allocation common revenue dose not need to solving any linear programming. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the results of the analysis.     

Electrocatalytic characteristics of a 1-[4-(ferrocenyl ethynyl)phenyl]-1-ethanone modified carbon-paste electrode in the oxidation of ascorbic acid.

A carbon-paste electrode spiked with 1-[4-(ferrocenyl ethynyl)phenyl]-1-ethanone was constructed by the incorporation of 1-[4-(ferrocenyl ethynyl)phenyl]-1-ethanone in a graphite powder silicon oil matrix. It shown by cyclic voltammetry and double potential-step chronoamperometry, which this ferrocene derivative modified a carbon-paste electrode, can catalyze the ascorbic acid oxidation in an aqueous buffered solution. It has been found that under the optimum conditions (pH 7.00), the oxidation of ascorbic acid at the surface of this carbon paste modified electrode occurs at a potential of about 260 mV less positive than that of an unmodified carbon-paste electrode. The catalytic oxidation peak current was linearly dependent on the ascorbic acid concentration, and a linear calibration curve was obtained in the range of 6 x 10(-5) M-7 x 10(-3) M of ascorbic acid with a correlation coefficient of 0.9997. The detection limit (2sigma) was determined to be 6.3 x 10(-5) M. This method was also used for the determination of ascorbic acid in some pharmaceutical samples, such as effervescent tablets, ampoules and multivitamin syrup, by using a standard addition method. The reliability of the method was established by a parallel determination against the official method.     

A highly efficient protocol for regioselective ring-opening of epoxides with alcohols,water, acetic acid,and acetic anhydride catalyzed by SbF3

SbF₃ as an efficient catalyst has been used for regioselective alcoholysis, acetolysis and hydrolysis of epoxides to the corresponding β-alkoxy, β-acetoxy alcohols, and 1,2-diols in high to excellent yields. This study also represents a convenient synthesis of vic-diacetates from ring-opening of epoxides with acetic anhydride.     

Fabrication of cage-like particles via unstable seeded dispersion polymerization: A new concept in the polymerization-induced self-assembly

The formation mechanism of hollow micron-sized polystyrene (PS) particles having numerous dents on the surface, so-called cage-like particles, obtained from seeded dispersion polymerization (SDP) of 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate (EHMA) with low molecular weight (MW) PS particles stabilized by poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in the presence of hexadecane droplets was investigated. It was found that association of poly(2-ethylhexyl methacrylate) (PEHMA)/hexadecane phases which occurs due to the instability of the obtained composite particles followed by a diffusion of PS ellipsoidal particles into each other is the main process responsible for the production of such unique morphology. Time course monitoring of the SDP showed that diffusion of hexadecane and/or PS and/or PEHMA phase into PS/PEHMA/hexadecane composite particles through PS shell which happens based on Ostwald ripening is the main phenomenon which results in the formation of the dents on the surface of final particles. Moreover, the experimental results revealed that in this reaction system, the polymerization develops in a faster manner rather than the SDP employing seed particles having higher MWs. Furthermore, it was observed that particles with different surface morphologies can be produced by using different hydrocarbons. The elimination of small particles which are produced in addition to the cage-like ones via decreasing the concentration of the stabilizer was another interesting finding of this research. The acquired results showed that unstable SDP is expected to be a new concept in polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) which employs instability of a dispersion for self-assembly of polymeric particles, and therefore, production of polymeric unique objects.     

Aluminum(III)-doped ZnO@Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> nanocomposite as a magnetic sorbent for preconcentration of cadmium(II)

An Al-doped ZnO@Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite was synthesized and used as a magnetic sorbent for solid-phase extraction of Cd(II) prior to its determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The size and morphology of the nano-sorbent were characterized via X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy and FTIR. Following its desorption with acetic acid, cadmium was quantified by FAAS. Factors affecting the extraction of the Cd(II) were optimized. Under optimized experimental conditions, the calibration graph is linear in the 0.6 to 60 ng mL^?1 concentration range. The limit of detection is 0.17 ng mL^?1 and the pre-concentration factor is 50. The inter- and intra-day relative standard deviations for six replicate determinations at a Cd(II) level of 40 ng mL^?1 are 3.8% and 2.5%, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the trace determination of Cd(II) in spiked water samples. The accuracy of the method was confirmed by analyzing the certified reference material NIST SRM 1643e.

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Graphical abstract Schematic of the synthesis of an Al-doped ZnO@Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite and its application as a magnetic sorbent for solid-phase extraction of Cd(II) prior to its determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS).

     

Synthesis,structural determination and HSA interaction studies of a new water-soluble Cu(II) complex derived from 1,10-phenanthroline and ranitidine drug

A new water-soluble Cu(II) complex containing ranitidine drug and 1,10-phenanthroline was synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductivity, spectroscopic and computational methods. In vitro human serum albumin (HSA)-interaction studies of Cu(II) complex were performed by employing fluorescence spectroscopy in combination with UV–vis absorption and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopies. The results of fluorescence titration showed that Cu(II) complex strongly quenched the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA through a static quenching mechanism with an intrinsic binding constant (6.05 × 10⁴ M^?1) at 286 K. The thermodynamic parameters ΔG, ΔH, and ΔS at different temperatures were calculated and suggested that the hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding interactions play major roles in Cu(II) complex-HSA association. The displacement experiments using warfarin and ibuprofen as site I and II probes proved that the Cu(II) complex could bind to site I (subdomain IIA) of HSA. Finally, CD spectra indicated that the interaction of the Cu(II) complex with HSA leads to an increase in the α-helical content. The main result of this study was the finding that the binding affinity of the Cu(II) complex to HSA is three orders of magnitude stronger than that of ranitidine drug.     

Synthesis and characterization of magnetically nanoparticles of Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>@APTMS@ZrCp<Subscript>2</Subscript> as a novel and reusable catalyst for convenient reduction of nitro compounds with glycerol

The present paper describes the synthesis of magnetically nanoparticles of zirconocene-modified magnetite, Fe₃O₄@APTMS@ZrCp₂, as a new generation in heterogeneous and reusable type nanocatalysts. The prepared zirconocene nanocomposite was characterized using FT-IR, SEM, XRD, EDX, AGFM, ICP–OES, TGA and BET analyses. The core–shell nanocatalyst exhibited an excellent catalytic activity towards glycerol reduction of various nitro compounds to the corresponding amines. All reactions were carried out in H₂O at room temperature (40–90 min) to afford amines in high to excellent yields. Reusability of the core–shell zirconocene was examined 5 times without significant loss of its catalytic activity.