Tuning the properties of a black TiO2-Ag visible light photocatalyst produced by a rapid one-pot chemical reduction

A highly efficient black TiO₂-Ag photocatalytic nanocomposite, active under both UV and visible light illumination, was synthesized by decorating the surface of 25 nm TiO₂ particles with Ag nanoparticles. The material was obtained via a rapid, one-pot, simple (surfactant and complexing agent free) chemical reduction method using silver nitrate and formaldehyde as a metal salt and reducing agent, respectively. The nanocomposite shows an increase of over 800% in the rate of photocatalytic methylene blue dye degradation, compared to commercial unmodified TiO_2, under UV-VIS illumination. Unlike pure TiO₂, the nanocomposite exhibits visible light activation, with a corresponding drop in optical reflectance from 100% to less than 10%. The photocatalytic properties were shown to be strongly enhanced by post-reduction annealing heat treatments in air, which were observed to decrease, rather than coarsen, silver particle size, and increase particle distribution. This, accompanied by a variation in the silver surface oxidation states, appear to dramatically affect the photocatalytic efficiency under both UV and visible light. This highly active photocatalyst could have wide ranging applications in water and air pollution remediation and solar fuel production.     

Complete Caps in with Both N and q Odd

In this work, an inductive method to construct complete caps in affine spaces is provided. Using this tool, for odd and q odd, complete caps smaller than all already known ones are obtained.     

Functional methods in three-dimensional neutron transport theory

Summary In this work, we are concerned with the stationary neutron transport Boltzmann equation (in its integral form) in a parallelepiped. Functional methods allow us to prove that the integral transport operator, which is defined in L² space, has eigenvalues depending continuously and monotonically on geometrical and physical parameters. We show that the eigenfunctions are continuous with respect to set of the spatial variables and the optical parameters. Finally, we remark that the same results are valid if the study is carried out in the Banach space C.

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Sommario In questo lavoro consideriamo l'equazione stazionaria di Boltzmann (nella forma integrale) per neutroni monoenergetici nel caso di un sistema tridimensionale a forma di parallelepipedo. L'uso di alcuni metodi dell'analisi funzionale ci permette di provare che l'operatore integrale del trasporto, definito nello spazio L², ha autovalori che dipendono continuamente dai parametri geometrici e fisici. Si prova che le autofunzioni sono continue rispetto all'insieme delle variabili spaziali e dei parametri ottici. Infine, si osserva che gli stessi risultati sono validi se l'operatore del trasporto agisce nello spazio di Banach C.

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Work performed under contract C.N.R. (Gruppo Nazionale per la Fisica Matematica).     

Recent advances in catalytic asymmetric epoxidation using the environmentally benign oxidant hydrogen peroxide and its derivatives

There has been a recent drive to develop asymmetric catalytic methods to produce epoxides using environmentally benign oxidants, especially hydrogen peroxide. This critical review discusses the advances that have been made using both metal-based and organocatalytic homogeneous catalysts (142 references).     

Synthesis and aggregation behaviour of a new sultaine surfactant

The aggregation properties of a new sultaine surfactant have been studied in buffered aqueous solution at pH 7.4 under controlled condition of osmolarity. Spontaneously formed sultaine vesicles with a mean diameter of about 1 μm can be observed by optical microscopy. The phase behaviour of the surfactant has been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Nile Red fluorescence. Two critical vesicular concentrations (CVC(1) and CVC(2)) have been fluorimetrically measured, by using pyrene and Nile Red as the fluorescent probes. The two populations of vesicles behave differently as a consequence of their size. The stability of extruded large unilamellar vesicles (LUV) formed slightly above the CVC(1) has been evaluated in the temperature range 25-75°C by following the rate of spontaneous release of entrapped 5(6)-carboxyfluorescein (CF). The stability of the same vesicles at 70°C has also been investigated under osmotic stress obtained by adding NaCl or sucrose to the bulk solution. At a sultaine concentration above the CVC(2) LUV tend to associate and form stable larger closely packed aggregates as suggested by Dynamic Laser Light Scattering and rheological measurements.     

Synthesis of stable ruthenium carbonyl complexes containing alkynols ligands and 2(diphenylphosphino)ethyl-triethoxysilane: novel complexes to anchor on mesoporous silica SBA-15 and Al2O3 surface

Abstract  

The triruthenium complexes containing alkynols ligands have been reacted with 2(diphenylphosphino)ethyl-triethoxysilane (dpts), obtaining novel chemically stable disubstituted complexes. The same disubstituted Ru complexes above described were also synthesized following another approach based on the reaction from the phosphine substituted complex Ru₃(CO)₁₀(dpts)₂ and the same alkynols ligands used to obtain the above triruthenium complexes. One of these stable complexes, the HRu₃(CO)₇[C≡C(Me)₂(OH)](dpts)₂ compound was grafted on the mesoporous silica SBA-15 and on γ-Al₂O₃ surface in order to obtain novel hybrid materials to employ in heterogeneous catalysis. The resulting materials have been characterized by multidisciplinary approach based on inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), FT-IR, XRD, physisorption measurements and DR-UV–Visible spectroscopy.     

Electrochemical genosensors for the detection of Bonamia parasite. Selection of single strand-DNA (ssDNA) probes by simulation of the secondary structure folding

A post-PCR nucleic acid work by comparing experimental data, from electrochemical genosensors, and bioinformatics data, derived from the simulation of the secondary structure folding and prediction of hybridisation reaction, was carried out in order to rationalize the selection of ssDNA probes for the detection of two Bonamia species, B. exitiosa and B. ostreae, parasites of Ostrea edulis.Six ssDNA probes (from 11 to 25 bases in length, 2 thiolated and 4 biotinylated) were selected within different regions of B. ostreae and B. exitiosa PCR amplicons (300 and 304 bases, respectively) with the aim to discriminate between these parasite species. ssDNA amplicons and probes were analyzed separately using the “Mfold Web Server” simulating the secondary structure folding behaviour. The hybridisation of amplicon-probe was predicted by means of “Dinamelt Web Server”. The results were evaluated considering the number of hydrogen bonds broken and formed in the simulated folding and hybridisation process, variance in gaps for each sequence and number of available bases. In the experimental part, thermally denatured PCR products were captured at the sensor interface via sandwich hybridisation with surface-tethered probes (thiolated probes) and biotinylated signalling probes. A convergence between analytical signals and simulated results was observed, indicating the possibility to use bioinformatic data for ssDNA probes selection to be incorporated in genosensors.     

New monoterpene-derived phosphinopyridine ligands and their application in the enantioselective iridium-catalyzed hydrogenation

Pyridine derivatives with a phosphine or phosphinite pendant (1-11) have been synthesized from (+)-α-pinene, (−)-isopinocampheol, and/or (+)-camphor via Kröhnke annulation or another annulation method as the key step for the construction of the pyridine nucleus. The iridium complex of 6 proved to catalyze hydrogenation of the prochiral unfunctionalized alkene 44 with 94% ee, whereas the complex of 2 was most efficient in the hydrogenation of the cinnamyl-type ester 45 (83% ee).     

Metadynamics study of a β-hairpin stability in mixed solvents

Understanding the molecular mechanisms that allow some organisms to survive in extremely harsh conditions is an important achievement that might disclose a wide range of applications and that is constantly drawing the attention of many research fields. The high adaptability of these living creatures is related to the presence in their tissues of a high concentration of osmoprotectants, small organic, highly soluble molecules. Despite osmoprotectants having been known for a long time, a full disclosure of the machinery behind their activity is still lacking. Here we describe a computational approach that, taking advantage of the recently developed metadynamics technique, allows one to fully describe the free energy surface of a small β-hairpin peptide and how it is affected by an osmoprotectant, glycine betaine (GB) and for comparison by urea, a common denaturant. Simulations led to relevant thermodynamic information, including how the free energy difference of denaturation is affected by the two cosolvents; unlike urea, GB caused a considerable increase of the folded basin stability, which transposes into a higher melting temperature. NMR experiments confirmed the picture derived from the theoretical study. Further molecular dynamics simulations of selected conformations allowed investigation into deeper detail the role of GB in folded state protection. Simulations of the protein in GB solutions clearly showed an excess of osmoprotectant in the solvent bulk, rather than in the protein domain, confirming the exclusion from the protein surface, but also highlighted interesting features on its interactions, opening to new scenarios besides the classic "indirect mechanism" hypothesis.