Properties of electrospun PVDF/PMMA/CA membrane as lithium based battery separator

Poly vinylidene fluoride:poly methyl methacrylate:cellulose acetate (CA) at ratios of 100:0:0, 90:10:0, 90:5:5 and 90:0:10 respectively, were successfully electrospun. These membranes were mixed to form a 12 wt% solution prepared with volume ratio 7:3 of DMAc:acetone solvents. These membranes were then analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, FTIR, WAXD, pore size, porosity% and electrolyte uptake (EU)%. It was observed that the best absorption results were obtained in the presence of CA. The electrospun membrane at ratio of 90:0:10 was observed with the highest porosity of 99.1 % and EU at 323 %. It also had a 43.6 % crystallinity and a 162 °C melting temperature. It was then concluded that addition of CA improved the separator properties.     

Linkage Microenvironment of Azoles-Related Covalent Organic Frameworks Precisely Regulates Photocatalytic Generation of Hydrogen Peroxide

Artificial H₂O₂ photosynthesis by covalent organic frameworks (COFs) photocatalysts is promising for wastewater treatment. The effect of linkage chemistry of COFs as functional basis to photoelectrochemical properties and photocatalysis remains a significant challenge. In this study, three kinds of azoles-linked COFs including thiazole-linked TZ-COF, oxazole-linked OZ-COF and imidazole-linked IZ-COF were successfully synthesized. More accessible channels of charge transfer were constructed in TZ-COF via the donor-π-acceptor structure between thiazole linkage and pyrene linker, leading to efficient suppression of photoexcited charge recombination. Density functional theory calculations support the experimental studies, demonstrating that the thiazole linkage is more favorable for the formation of *O₂ intermediate in H₂O₂ production than that of the oxazole and imidazole linkages. The real active sites in COFs located at the benzene ring fragment between pyrene unit and azole linkage.     

NaBH4 reduction of ortho and para-nitroaniline catalyzed by silver nanoparticles synthesized using Tamarindus indica seed coat extract

Research on Chemical Intermediates - This study deals with reduction of ortho and para-nitroaniline by NaBH4 with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), synthesized by use of a green method, as catalyst. In...     

Identification of single and double sites of phosphorylation by ECD FT-ICR/MS in peptides related to the phosphorylation site domain of the myristoylated alanine-rich c kinase protein

A series of phosphorylated test peptides was studied by electron capture dissociation Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ECD FT-ICR MS). The extensive ECD-induced fragmentation made identification of phosphorylation sites for these peptides straightforward. The site(s) of initial phosphorylation of a synthetic peptide with a sequence identical to that of the phosphorylation site domain (PSD) of the myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase (MARCKS) protein was then determined. Despite success in analyzing fragmentation of the smaller test peptides, a unique site on the PSD for the first step of phosphorylation could not be identified because the phosphorylation reaction produced a heterogeneous mixture of products. Some molecules were phosphorylated on the serine closest to the N-terminus, and others on one of the two serines closest to the C-terminus of the peptide. Although no definitive evidence for phosphorylation on either of the remaining two serines in the PSD was found, modification there could not be ruled out by the ECD fragmentation data.     

Purple passion fruit seeds (Passiflora edulis f. edulis Sims) as a promising source of skin anti-aging agents: Enzymatic,antioxidant and multi-level computational studies

This study aimed to assess the anti-aging potential of the ethanol extract of Passiflora edulis f. edulis Sims seeds, through in vitro determination of antioxidant activity and inhibition assays of some enzymes related to skin aging. Furthermore, using in silico methods (docking and molecular dynamics), were established the affinity of the majority compounds of the extract on the target enzymes, ending with the prediction of drug-likeness properties. The extract showed a high total phenolic content, represented mainly by flavonoids and phenolic acids, as well as a considerable antioxidant potential measured through the DPPH, FRAP and ORAC methods. In the inhibition assays of the enzymes collagenase, elastase and tyrosinase, IC₅₀ values presented were optimal. Docking studies demonstrated marked binding ability of the extract constituients (specially, fisetin, galangin and S-eriodictyol) to the Collagenase and Tyrosinase. Molecular dynamics validated the stability and rationality of these molecular docking studies, MM/PBSA calculations provide strong evidence for both their specific heavy binding and how enzyme-ligand complex stabilized inside the catalytic domain, and drug-likeness studies showed suitable dermato-pharmacokinetics indices for most of components of extract. Findings from this study suggest that ethanol extract of P. edulis has a great potential as an anti-aging agent.     

Adamantanes as spherical nanosondes in adducts with a chiral dirhodium complex-discriminating enantiomers and probing spatial proximities

Three different kinds of substituted chiral adamantane molecules—adamantanones, dioxolanoadamantanes and dithiolano—adamantanes—were studied in the dirhodium experiment (NMR measurement with 1:1 molar mixtures with Rh^(II)₂[(R)‐(+)‐MTPA]₄ in CDCl₃). Their different behavior in adduct formation is described, and the possibility of determining enantiomeric purities and absolute configurations is explored. Detailed inspection of one‐ and two‐dimensional NMR experiments allowed for an interpretation of steric and electronic intra‐adduct interaction showing that the phenyl groups of Rh* tend to enwrap the bound adamantane ligand so that through‐space effects over a range of 6–7 Å away from the binding rhodium atom can be observed. Even slight differences in the relative orientation of phenyl groups can be monitored when comparing diastereomeric adducts via NMR signal dispersion. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Increase of the density,temperature and velocity of plasma jets driven by a ring of high energy laser beams

Supersonic plasma outflows driven by multi-beam, high-energy lasers, such as Omega and NIF, have been and will be used as platforms for a variety of laboratory astrophysics experiments. Here we propose a new way of launching high density and high velocity, plasma jets using multiple intense laser beams in a hollow ring formation. We show that such jets provide a more flexible and versatile platform for future laboratory astrophysics experiments. Using high resolution hydrodynamic simulations, we demonstrate that the collimated jets can achieve much higher density, temperature and velocity when multiple laser beams are focused to form a hollow ring pattern at the target, instead of focused onto a single spot. We carried out simulations with different ring radii and studied their effects on the jet properties. Implications for laboratory collisionless shock experiments are discussed.     

Anti-Kählerian Geometry on Lie Groups

Let G be a Lie group of even dimension and let (g, J) be a left invariant anti-Kähler structure on G. In this article we study anti-Kähler structures considering the distinguished cases where the complex structure J is abelian or bi-invariant. We find that if G admits a left invariant anti-Kähler structure (g, J) where J is abelian then the Lie algebra of G is unimodular and (G, g) is a flat pseudo-Riemannian manifold. For the second case, we see that for any left invariant metric g for which J is an anti-isometry we obtain that the triple (G, g, J) is an anti-Kähler manifold. Besides, given a left invariant anti-Hermitian structure on G we associate a covariant 3-tensor ?? on its Lie algebra and prove that such structure is anti-Kähler if and only if ?? is a skew-symmetric and pure tensor. From this tensor we classify the real 4-dimensional Lie algebras for which the corresponding Lie group has a left invariant anti-Kähler structure and study the moduli spaces of such structures (up to group isomorphisms that preserve the anti-Kähler structures).     

Methods of Fourier optics in digital holographic microscopy

In this paper, processing methods of Fourier optics implemented in a digital holographic microscopy system are presented. The proposed methodology is based on the possibility of the digital holography in carrying out the whole reconstruction of the recorded wave front and consequently, the determination of the phase and intensity distribution in any arbitrary plane located between the object and the recording plane. In this way, in digital holographic microscopy the field produced by the objective lens can be reconstructed along its propagation, allowing the reconstruction of the back focal plane of the lens, so that the complex amplitudes of the Fraunhofer diffraction, or equivalently the Fourier transform, of the light distribution across the object can be known. The manipulation of Fourier transform plane makes possible the design of digital methods of optical processing and image analysis. The proposed method has a great practical utility and represents a powerful tool in image analysis and data processing. The theoretical aspects of the method are presented, and its validity has been demonstrated using computer generated holograms and images simulations of microscopic objects.     

Voltammetric determination of chlorothalonil and its respective reduction mechanism studied by density functional theory

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - A simple, fast, and direct electroanalytical method has been developed for the pesticide chlorothalonil determination using a boron-doped diamond electrode...