Tunable surface-enhanced infrared absorption on au nanofilms on si fabricated by self-assembly and growth of colloidal particles

Au colloids were used to fabricate nanoscale-tunable Au nanofilms on silicon for surface-enhanced IR absorption bases in both ambient and electrochemical environments. This wet process incorporates the self-assembly of colloidal Au monolayer using 3-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane as the organic coupler with subsequent chemical plating in an Au(III)/hydroxylamine solution. FTIR spectroscopy in transmission mode of the probe species SCN- was used to evaluate the apparent surface enhancement in IR absorption of 2D Au colloid arrays and chemically plated Au particles. The nanostructure of Au films was examined by atomic force microscopy. The IR and AFM results show that the apparent surface enhancement factor (1-2 orders of magnitude) increases with increasing sizes and/or contact, and the severe aggregation of Au nanoparticles may cause the bipolar band shape. Cyclic voltammetry on the Au nanofilm obtained by the above nucleation and growth strategy exhibits a feasible electrochemical stability and behavior. In situ ATR-FTIR measurement of p-nitrobenzoic acid adsorption demonstrates that the as-grown Au film yields rather promising surface enhancement as well.     

Steric effects of substituted quinolines on lithium coordination geometry

The X-ray crystal structures of a series of lithium quinolates – lithium 8-hydroxyquinolinate (Liq), lithium 2-methyl-8-hydroxyquinolinate (MeLiq), and 2-phenyl-8-hydroxquinolinate (PhLiq), are compared. The substitution at the 2-position of the 8-hydroxyquinoline ligand has significant impact on the aggregation of the lithium complex in the crystalline state. Liq and MeLiq molecules crystallize as hexamers, whereas PhLiq crystallizes as a tetramer. The possible influence of crystal-packing forces on the preferred cluster structure was probed using density functional theory calculations on a systematically varied set of Liq, MeLiq, and PhLiq clusters. For Liq and MeLiq, the observed structures match the most stable computed structures. In the PhLiq case, the observed tetrameric structure is computed to be less stable (+1.2 kcal/mol/monomer) than the lowest energy structure, a hexamer. In this case, solid-state effects probably outweigh small differences in cluster stability.     

Effects of thermal history on the rigid amorphous phase in poly(phenylene sulfide)

The rigid amorphous phase of semicrystalline poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) has been studied as a function of thermal history using scanning calorimetry, dielectric relaxation, density, and small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). Based on the new heat of fusion of perfect crystalline PPS, which is 26.7±0.8 cal/gram, the weight fraction of rigid amorphous phase is shown to be nearly twice as large as previously reported [1]. The mass fraction of the rigid amorphous phase ranges from 0.24 to 0.42 and is dependent upon thermal treatment. We have taken the approach of assuming a three-phase model for the morphology of semicrystalline PPS consisting of crystalline lamellae, mobile amorphous, and rigid amorphous components. Using this three-phase model, we determine that the average density of the rigid amorphous fraction is 1.325 g/cc, which is slightly larger than the density of the mobile amorphous phase fraction and was insensitive to thermal history. From the SAXS long period, the layer thicknesses of the mobile amorphous phase, rigid amorphous phase, and crystal lamellae were estimated. Only the lamellar thickness shows a systematic variation with thermal history, increasing with melt or cold crystallization temperature, or with decreasing cooling rate.     

A three‐dimensional lead(II) coordination polymer: poly[aqua‐μ‐imidazole‐4,5‐dicarboxyl­ato‐lead(II)]

In the title coordination polymer, [Pb(C₅H₂N₂O₄)(H₂O)]_n, the Pb^II atom is seven‐coordinated by one N atom and five O atoms from four individual imidazole‐4,5‐dicarboxyl­ate (HIDC²⁻) groups and one water mol­ecule. It is inter­esting to note that the HIDC²⁻ group serves as a bridging ligand to link the Pb^II atoms into a three‐dimensional microporous open‐framework.     

Rate dependence of temperature fields and energy dissipations in non-static pseudoelasticity

The temperature fields and the energy dissipations of shape memory alloys during the stress-induced martensitic transformations are studied theoretically and experimentally. The effect of the loading rate is analyzed. It was found that the temperature field inside a shape memory alloy sample varies strongly in space and time. The increase rate of the temperature is given by the difference between the rate of the latent heat release and the rate of the heat convection and conduction. The notion and the rate dependence of the energy dissipation are discussed in connection with the stress–strain hysteresis, the entropy production, and the Clausius–Duhem inequality.     

Enhanced visible-light photoelectrochemical and photoelectrocatalytic activity of nano-TiO2/polyimide/Ni foam photoanode

Research on Chemical Intermediates - We report a novel method for fabrication of a nano-TiO2/polyimide (PI)/Ni foam photoanode. Characterization results indicated that porous nanostructured TiO2...     

Doubly stereocontrolled asymmetric Michael addition of acetylacetone to nitroolefins promoted by an isosteviol-derived bifunctional thiourea

A novel class of chiral bifunctional thioureas bearing a chiral lipophilic beyerane scaffold and a tertiary amino group was designed and prepared. The thioureas were proven to be effective for catalyzing the doubly stereocontrolled asymmetric Michael addition between acetylacetone and nitroolefins. The corresponding adducts were obtained in high yields (up to 95%) and with good to excellent enantioselectivities (up to 97%). In addition, the reaction of tert-butyl acetoacetate and trans-β-nitrostyrene also proceeded smoothly with good enantioselectivity.     

Determination of pseudo‐ginsenoside GQ in human plasma by high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A specific, sensitive and rapid method based on high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC‐MS/MS) was developed for the determination of pseudo‐ginsenoside GQ in human plasma. Liquid–liquid extraction was used to isolate the analyte from biological matrix followed by injection of the extracts onto a C₈ column with isocratic elution. Detection was carried out on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer (API‐4000 system) in multiple reaction monitoring mode using negative electrospray ionization. The mobile phase consisted of methanol–10 mm ammonium acetate (90:10, v/v) and the flow rate was 0.3 mL/min. The method was validated over the concentration range of 5.0–5000.0 ng/mL for plasma. Inter‐ and intra‐day precisions (relative standard deviation) were all within 15% and the accuracy (relative error) was ≤9.4%. The lower limit of quantitation was 5.0 ng/mL. The pseudo‐ginsenoside GQ was stable after 8 h at room temperature, 24 h at autosampler and three freeze–thaw cycles (from ?30 to 25 °C). The method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of pseudo‐ginsenoside GQ in healthy Chinese volunteers. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Role of Tryptophan in the Active Site of Plant Esterase: Chemical Modification and Fluorometric Studies

Plant esterase extracted from wheat flour play key roles in the spectrophotometric detection of organophosphorus compounds (OPs) for food safety and human health. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of tryptophan residues in the activity and structure of plant esterase by chemical modification and fluorometric studies. Active site characterization of purified plant esterase showed the involvement of tryptophan in the catalytic activity. Only one was essential for the enzyme activity by the Tsou’s analysis. Substrate protection experiments further confirmed that the tryptophan residue was located at the substrate-binding site. Fluorescence quenching studies elucidated that the tryptophan residues were largely exposed to the solvent, and a smaller fraction of the surface tryptophan residues had electropositively charged amino acids around them. Experimental results obtained here are expected to promote the applications of plant esterase in OPs detection. Further confirmation of the existence of other critical residues and detailed explanation of their functions were also required for the elucidation of the mechanism involved in the detection of OPs.