Solubility of Mo6S4.5I4.5 nanowires in common solvents: a sedimentation study

Due to their ease of fabrication and monodisperse, metallic nature, molybdenum-sulfur-iodine nanowires are an interesting alternative to carbon nanotubes for some applications. However very little is known about the solubility of these materials. In this work we have investigated the solubility of Mo(6)S(4.5)I(4.5) nanowire soot in a range of common solvents by performing sedimentation studies and microscopic and spectroscopic characterization. A sedimentation equation was derived showing that the concentration of any insoluble dispersed phase decreases exponentially with time. We find that in all solvents, Mo(6)S(4.5)I(4.5) nanowire soot contains three phases, two of which are insoluble with one stable phase. Microscopy and spectroscopy show that the first insoluble phase is associated mainly with spherical impurities and sediments rapidly out of solution resulting in purification. The second phase appears to consist of insoluble nanowire bundles and sediments more slowly, eventually leaving a stable dispersion of nanowire bundles. The stably dispersed bundles tend to be smaller than their insoluble counterparts. The best solvents studied were 2-propanol and dimethylformamide. Microscopy studies showed that, in the case of 2-propanol, sonication significantly reduced the bundle size relative to the unsonicated bulk. However, during sedimentation, large quantities of bundles were observed to reaggregate to form larger bundles which subsequently sedimented out of solution. In general, the sedimentation properties of the various phases did not vary significantly with concentration indicating that the insoluble nanowires are intrinsically insoluble. However, the diameter of the stably dispersed bundles decreased with concentration, until very small bundles consisting of only two or three nanowires were observed at concentrations below 0.003 mg/mL. In addition, stable composite dispersions were produced by mixing the nanowires with poly(vinylpyrrolidone) in 2-propanol opening the way for the formation of polymer/inorganic nanowire composites.     

An unexpected [2+2]-cycloaddition reaction of 4-methyldithieno-[3,4-b:3′,2′-d]pyridinium iodide with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate

An unexpected [2+2]-cycloaddition occured in the reaction of 4-methyldithieno-[3,4-6:3′,2′-d]pyridinium iodide (3)with two equivalents of DMAD, giving 4-(trans-1,2-dicarbomethoxy-2- iodovinyl)-5-methyl-6,7-dicarbomethoxy-4,5-dihydrothieno [23-c]quinoline (4) in 54% yield. 4 is formed via 4-methyl-5-(trans-1,2-dicarbomethoxy-2-iodo-4,5-dihydrothieno [3,4-b:3′,2′-d]pyridine (16), followed by [2+2]-cycloaddition. The primary adduct rearranges via a thiepin to an episulfide which eliminates sulfur to give 4.     

Comparison of Prediction of Phase Equilibria in the Ag–In–Sb System at 200°C with Experimental Data

Summary. Binary thermodynamic data, successfully used for phase diagram calculations of binary systems Ag–In, Ag–Sb, and In–Sb, were used for prediction of phase equilibria in ternary Ag–In–Sb system at 200°C. Symmetrical Redlich–Kister–Muggianu model for ternary thermodynamic function calculation was proved to be best valid in this ternary system. Predicted equilibria were compared with experimentally (SEM, EDX) determined composition of phases in chosen alloys after long term annealing and with the results of DTA measurements.     

A Short Note on Extreme Amenability of Automorphism Groups of <Emphasis Type="Italic">ω</Emphasis>-Categorical Structures

In this short note we would like to point out a straighforward corllary of the recent result of Dorais, Gubkin, McDonald and Rivera that the automorphism group of every ω-categorical linear order is extremely amenable: it follows that an oligomorphic permutation group G is contained in an extremely amenable permutation group if and only if it preserves a linear order.     

The use of methylcellulose for the synthesis of Li<Subscript>2</Subscript>FeSiO<Subscript>4</Subscript>/C composites

The key parameters related to cathode materials for commercial use are a high specific capacity, good cycling stability, capacity retention at high current rates, as well as the simplicity of the synthesis process. This study presents a facile synthesis of a composite cathode material, Li₂FeSiO₄ with carbon, under extreme conditions: rapid heating, short dwell at 750 °C and subsequent quenching. The water-soluble polymer methylcellulose was used both as an excellent dispersing agent and a carbon source that pyrolytically degrades to carbon, thereby enabling the homogeneous deployment of the precursor compounds and the control of the Li₂FeSiO₄ particle growth from the earliest stage of processing. X-ray powder diffraction reveals the formation of Li₂FeSiO₄ nanocrystallites with a monoclinic structure in the P2₁/n space group (#14). The composite’s electrochemical performance as a cathode material in Li-ion batteries was examined. The influence of the amount of methylcellulose on the microstructural, morphological, conductive, and electrochemical properties of the obtained powders has been discussed. It has been shown that the overall electrochemical performance is improved with an increase of carbon content, through both the decrease of the mean particle diameter and the increase of electrical conductivity.     

Nickel and strontium nitrates as modifiers for the determination of selenium in wine by Zeeman electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A mixed matrix modifier of nickel and strontium nitrates was used as a chemical modifier for the determination of selenium in wines by Zeeman electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. Wine samples were heated on a boiling water bath with small amounts of nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. For complete elimination of interference, especially from sulfates and phosphates, selenium is complexed with ammonium pyrolidinedithiocarbamate (APDTC), extracted into methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), and measured by ETAAS. The graphite furnace temperature program was optimized for both aqueous and organic solutions. Pyrolysis temperatures of 1300?°C and 800?°C were chosen for aqueous and organic solutions, respectively; 2700?°C and 2100?°C were used as optimum atomization temperatures for aqueous and organic solutions, respectively. The optimum modifier mass established is markedly lower than those presented in the literature. The platform atomization ensures pretreatment stabilization up to 1100?°C and 1600?°C, respectively, for organic and aqueous selenium solutions. The procedure was verified by the method of standard addition. The investigated wine samples originated from the different regions of the Republic of Macedonia. The selenium concentration varied from not detectable to 0.93 μg L^–1.     

Coupled fixed point results for mappings without mixed monotone property

It is shown that a mixed monotone property in coupled fixed point results can be replaced by another property which is automatically satisfied in the case of a totally ordered space, the case which is the most important in applications. Hence, these results can be applied in a much wider class of problems.