Orthogonal collocation for a nonlinear integro-differential equation

This paper is concerned with the numerical solution using orthogonalcollocation of a nonlinear integro-differential equation whichexhibits certain features arising in the modelling of catalyticcombustion in a cylindrical reactor taking account of radiation.These features imply that the available convergence theory oforthogonal collocation cannot be applied directly. Optimal convergenceresults of the orthogonal collocation approximation are provedfor our equation, and these are illustrated by numerical experiments.In addition superconvergence results for the iterated collocationsolution are obtained.     

Methanol electrochemical oxidation at nanometer-scale PtRu materials

The electrochemical oxidation of CH₃OH at nanometer-scale PtRu catalyst materials is reported. Comparisons are made between the properties of a Johnson Matthey (JM) PtRu black sample (50 at.% Ru (X_Ru ≈ 0.5)) and PtRu particles (2-6 nm, nominally X_Ru ≈ 0.5) prepared by sonication under anhydrous conditions. Cyclic voltammetry and in situ infrared spectroscopy measurements show the catalysts are active for the oxidation of 0.5 M CH₃OH in 0.1 M HClO₄ at temperatures between ambient and 70 °C. The sonochemically prepared PtRu sample displayed properties characteristic of bulk PtRu alloys with X_Ru ≈ 0.5. Evidence for phase separation of Pt and Ru was observed in CO stripping voltammetry from the JM catalyst adsorbed at low metal loadings (20 μg/cm²) on bulk Au electrodes. Per gram of catalyst, the JM material was more active toward CO₂ formation and displayed greater resistance to poisoning by adsorbed CO than the sonochemically prepared material during ambient temperature oxidation of 0.5 M CH₃OH in 0.1 M HClO₄.     

Ultrafast Electron Transfer Kinetics of Graphene Grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition

High electrochemical reactivity is required for various energy and sensing applications of graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Herein, we report that heterogeneous electron transfer can be remarkably fast at CVD‐grown graphene electrodes that are fabricated without using the conventional poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) for graphene transfer from a growth substrate. We use nanogap voltammetry based on scanning electrochemical microscopy to obtain very high standard rate constants k⁰≥25 cm s^?1 for ferrocenemethanol oxidation at polystyrene‐supported graphene. The rate constants are at least 2–3 orders of magnitude higher than those at PMMA‐transferred graphene, which demonstrates an anomalously weak dependence of electron‐transfer rates on the potential. Slow kinetics at PMMA‐transferred graphene is attributed to the presence of residual PMMA. This unprecedentedly high reactivity of PMMA‐free CVD‐grown graphene electrodes is fundamentally and practically important.     

Design and fabrication of teflon-coated tungsten nanorods for tunable hydrophobicity

The nature of water interaction with tungsten nanorods (WNRs) fabricated by the glancing-angle deposition technique (GLAD)-using RF magnetron sputtering under various Ar pressures and substrate tilting angles and then subsequent coating with Teflon-has been studied and reported. Such nanostructured surfaces have shown strong water repellency properties with apparent water contact angles (AWCA) of as high as 160°, which were found to depend strongly upon the fabrication conditions. Variations in Ar pressure and the substrate tilting angle resulted in the generation of WNRs with different surface roughness and porosity properties. A theoretical model has been proposed to predict the observed high AWCAs measured at the nanostructure interfaces. The unique pyramidal tip geometry of WNRs generated at low Ar pressure with a high oblique angle reduced the solid fraction at the water interface, explaining the high AWCA measured on such surfaces. It was also found that the top geometrical morphologies controlling the total solid fraction of the WNRs are dependent upon and controlled by both the Ar pressure and substrate tilting angle. The water repellency of the tungsten nanorods with contact angles as high as 160° suggests that these coatings have enormous potential for robust superhydrophobic and anti-icing applications in harsh environments.     

Facile green synthesis of gold nanoparticles using leaf extract of antidiabetic potent Cassia auriculata

A simple biological method for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) using Cassia auriculata aqueous leaf extract has been carried out in the present study. The reduction of auric chloride led to the formation of AuNPs within 10 min at room temperature (28°C), suggesting a higher reaction rate than chemical methods involved in the synthesis. The size, shape and elemental analysis were carried out using X-ray diffraction, TEM, SEM-EDAX, FT-IR and visible absorption spectroscopy. Stable, triangular and spherical crystalline AuNPs with well-defined dimensions of average size of 15-25 nm were synthesized using C. auriculata. Effect of pH was also studied to check the stability of AuNPs. The main aim of the investigation is to synthesize AuNPs using antidiabetic potent medicinal plant. The stabilizing and reducing molecules of nanoparticles may promote anti-hyperglycemic if tested further.     

Nickel-catalyzed Negishi cross-coupling reactions of secondary alkylzinc halides and aryl iodides

A general Ni-catalyzed process for the cross-coupling of secondary alkylzinc halides and aryl/heteroaryl iodides has been developed. This is the first process to overcome the isomerization and β-hydride elimination problems that are associated with the use of secondary nucleophiles, and that have limited the analogous Pd-catalyzed systems. The impact of salt additives was also investigated. It was found that the presence of LiBF(4) dramatically improves both isomeric retention and yield for challenging substrates.     

Iminium ion cascade reaction in the total synthesis of (+)-vincadifformine

An iminium ion triggered cascade reaction is described in the total synthesis of (+)-vincadifformine by the coupling of 3,3-substituted tetrahydropyridine and indole derivative. The strategy allows simultaneous construction of two new rings, three new sigma bonds, and two new stereogenic centers in one pot with complete stereochemical control.     

Noninvasive assessment of hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C using serum Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Assessment of liver fibrosis is of paramount importance to guide the therapeutic strategy in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). In this pilot study, we investigated the potential of serum Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for differentiating CHC patients with extensive hepatic fibrosis from those without fibrosis. Twenty-three serum samples from CHC patients were selected according to the degree of hepatic fibrosis as evaluated by the FibroTest: 12 from patients with no hepatic fibrosis (F0) and 11 from patients with extensive fibrosis (F3–F4). The FTIR spectra (ten per sample) were acquired in the transmission mode and data homogeneity was tested by cluster analysis to exclude outliers. After selection of the most discriminant wavelengths using an ANOVA-based algorithm, the support vector machine (SVM) method was used as a supervised classification model to classify the spectra into two classes of hepatic fibrosis, F0 and F3–F4. Given the small number of samples, a leave-one-out cross-validation algorithm was used. When SVM was applied to all spectra (n = 230), the sensitivity and specificity of the classifier were 90.1% and 100%, respectively. When SVM was applied to the subset of 219 spectra, i.e., excluding the outliers, the sensitivity and specificity of the classifier were 95.2% and 100%, respectively. This pilot study strongly suggests that the serum from CHC patients exhibits infrared spectral characteristics, allowing patients with extensive fibrosis to be differentiated from those with no hepatic fibrosis.     

A novel tungsten trioxide (WO3)/ITO porous nanocomposite for enhanced photo-catalytic water splitting

Hybrid nanocomposite films of ITO-coated, self-assembled porous nanostructures of tungsten trioxide (WO(3)) were fabricated using electrochemical anodization and sputtering. The morphology and chemical nature of the porous nanostructures were studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of WO(3) porous nanostructures were studied in various alkaline electrolytes and compared with those of titania nanotubes. A new type of alkaline electrolyte containing a mixture of NaOH and KOH was proposed for the first time to the best of our knowledge and shown to improve the photocurrent response of the photoanodes. Here, we show that both the WO(3) nanostructures and titania nanotubes (used for comparison) exhibit superior photocurrent response in the mixture of NaOH and KOH than in other alkaline electrolytes. The WO(3) porous nanostructures suffered from surface corrosion resulting in a huge reduction in the photocurrent density as a function of time in the alkaline electrolytes. However, with a protective coating of ITO (100 nm), the surface corrosion of WO(3) porous nanostructures reduced drastically. A tremendous increase in the photocurrent density of as much as 340% was observed after the ITO was applied to the WO(3) porous nanostructures. The results suggest that the hybrid ITO/WO(3) nanocomposites could be potentially coupled with titania nanotubes in a multi-junction PEC cell to expand the light absorption capability in the solar spectrum for water splitting to generate hydrogen.