Nonequilibrium solid phase formation studied by lattice dynamics calculation and ion beam mixing in an immiscible Co-Ag system

For the equilibrium immiscible Co-Ag system, a proven realistic ab initio derived n-body potential is applied to study the nonequilibrium solid phase formation at three chemical stoichiometries of Co/Ag = 1:3, 1:1, and 3:1. To predict the structural stability, the elastic constants and the phonon spectra are calculated at the chosen stoichiometries with a total of eight hypothetical crystalline structures. The calculated results suggest that four compounds, that is, D0(3) CoAg3, B1 CoAg, B2 CoAg, and D0(3) Co3Ag, are unstable, as they all feature negative elastic constants as well as imaginary phonons, and that another four compounds of both fcc-type L1(2) and hcp-type D0(19) structures at chemical stoichiometries of Co/Ag = 1:3 and 3:1, respectively, may elastically be favored and therefore obtainable under some specific conditions. It is also found that all the calculated elastic constants and phonon spectra are coincident within the framework of the elastic theory. Moreover, the calculated elastic constants are in good agreement with those acquired directly from ab initio calculations, lending support to the validity of the ab initio derived n-body Co-Ag potential as well as its resultant elastic constants and the phonon spectra. Interestingly, some of the predicted nonequilibrium solid phases, that is, two hcp-type compounds at chemical stoichiometries of Co/Ag = 1:3 and 3:1, respectively, are indeed obtained in ion beam mixing experiments and their lattice constants determined by diffraction analysis are in good agreement with those from calculations.     

Quantum chemistry investigation on the active site of Mn-SOD

In this paper, we carried out a theoretical study on the active site structures of the Mn-SOD with ab initio Hartree–Fock SCF method, and analyzed the molecular orbital energies, charges and atomic orbital contribution to the frontier molecular orbital.     

Comparison of the thermal behavior of three cellulose fibers mercerized or submitted to solar degradation

Comparison of Lyocell, modal and viscose fibers was performed by means of differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry and scanning electron microscopy. Thermal analysis was performed in air atmosphere. Samples were mercerized (21.3 g 100 mL-1) or submitted to solar radiation (seven months). Solar degraded samples presents a higher thermal stability and are initially less degraded. Furthermore, Lyocell fiber is the most stable under thermal degradation conditions. Heating produces a reduction of the fiber diameter (about 50%). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

New fluorescent probes for the detection of mixed sodium and potassium metal ions

A new fluorescent probe 2 is developed that is capable of measuring the concentration of a mixture of sodium and potassium ions in the solution. This probe contains a fluorophore that is utilized in two ways depending on the pH of the solution.     

Study of the binding characteristics and transportation properties of a 4-aminopyridine imprinted polymer membrane

Molecularly imprinted polymer membranes containing artificial recognition sites for 4-aminopyridine have been prepared by photopolymerization using 4-aminopyridine as template. Reference membranes were prepared with the same monomer mixture but in the absence of the template. The binding characteristics of the imprinted polymer membrane were investigated by a batch method and the transport properties of the membranes were investigated using diffusion chambers. The results showed that the binding amount of 4-aminopyridine is higher than that of 2-aminopyridine whereas the latter can transport the 4-aminopyridine imprinted polymer membrane faster than 4-aminopyridine.     

Amperometric biosensor for ethanol based on immobilization of alcohol dehydrogenase on a nickel hexacyanoferrate modified microband gold electrode

Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) has been immobilized on a nickel hexacyanoferrate modified microband gold electrode surface by a glutaraldehyde/bovine serum albumin (BSA) cross-linking procedure to provide a new amperometric sensor for the assay of ethanol. The resulting enzyme electrode exhibits excellent electrocatalysis for the oxidation of reduced nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide (NADH). The amperometric determination is based on the electrochemical detection of NADH which is generated in the enzymatic reaction of ethanol with NAD(+) under catalysis of ADH. The influence of various experimental conditions was examined for the determination of the optimum analytical performance. The sensor responds rapidly to ethanol with a detection limit of (5.0 +/- 0.3) x 10(-7) mol 1(-1). The response current increases linearly with ethanol concentration up to 5 mmol 1(-1). The sensor remains relatively stable for about 1 week.     

Facile synthesis of exfoliated and highly conductive poly(arylene disulfide)/graphite nanocomposites

Exfoliated graphite has been synthesized by first synthesizing H₂SO₄ intercalated compound in a H₂O₂‐H₂SO₄ mixture, followed by exfoliation under microwave irradiation. Poly(arylene disulfide)/graphite nanocomposites were then fabricated by absorbing cyclic(arylene disulfide) oligomers into the pores of exfoliated graphite. Subsequently, the nanocomposite precursor was subjected to heat treatment to carry out the in situ ring‐opening polymerization of the oligomers via free radical mechanism. The as‐prepared nanocomposite exhibited a exfoliated nanostructure as evidenced by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation. The nanocomposite with a very small amount of graphite, 5 wt%, possesses a highly electrical conductivity of 4 S/cm, therefore, many applications can be found as conductive materials. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

C9‐Iridoids from Scrophularia buergeriana

Four new iridoids, buergerinins B–E ( 1 – 4 ), along with three known iridoids, were isolated from the roots of Scrophularia buergeriana. Their structures were identified on the basis of spectroscopic analysis.