Identification and characterization of active and inactive species for surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering

The surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) activity of a statistically significant number of silver nanoparticles has been studied using a correlated SERRS mapping and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) method. TEM allowed the nature of each entity to be directly identified, and the SERRS activity was obtained from the corresponding SERRS map. Particles in various states of aggregation were analyzed to establish relative activities. It was established that SERRS activity is dependent on the specific batch of colloid tested. By averaging different colloid batches, it was shown that increasing SERRS activity is observed with increasing numbers of particles in the aggregates. By reducing the surface coverage of the particles to the extent that single moieties could be examined optically, the ratio of the relative activities of single particles, dimers, trimers, and larger aggregates was estimated. High-resolution TEM images of a number of active and inactive particles are reported. However, no clear correlation between microstructure and SERRS activity was observed.     

Determination of tadalafil in pharmaceutical preparation by HPLC using monolithic silica column

The simple, reliable and reproducible HPLC and extraction methods were developed for the analysis of tadalafil in pharmaceutical preparation. The column used was monolithic silica column, Chromolith Performance RP-18e (100 mm × 4.6 mm, i.d.). The mobile phase used was phosphate buffer (100 mM, pH 3.0)-acetonitrile (80:20, v/v) at the flow rate of 5 mL min⁻¹ with UV detection at 230 nm at ambient temperature. Extraction of tadalafil from tablet was carried out using methanol. Linearity was observed in the concentration range from 100 to 5000 ng mL⁻¹ for tadalafil with a correlation coefficient (R²) 0.9999 and 100 ng mL⁻¹ as the limit of detection. The values of linearity range, correlation coefficient (R²) and limit of detection were 50-5000 ng mL⁻¹, 0.9999-50 ng mL⁻¹, respectively for sildenafil. Parameters of validation prove the precision of the method and its applicability for the determination of tadalafil in pharmaceutical tablet formulation. The method is suitable for high throughput analysis of the drug.     

RPTLC Analysis of Haloperidol and its Metabolites in Wastewater after Solid-Phase Extraction

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - An inexpensive, simple, and reproducible SPE-TLC method has been developed and validated for analysis of haloperidol and its three...     

On the use of sensitivity analysis in model reduction to predict flows for varying inflow conditions

The proper orthogonal decomposition (POD)‐based model reduction method is more and more successfully used in fluid flows. However, the main drawback of this methodology rests in the robustness of these reduced order models (ROMs) beyond the reference at which POD modes have been derived. Any variation in the flow or shape parameters within the ROM fails to predict the correct dynamics of the flow field. To broaden the spectrum of these models, the POD modes should have the global characteristics of the flow field over which the predictions are required. Mixing of snapshots with varying parameters is one way to improve the global nature of the modes but is computationally demanding because it requires full‐order solutions for a number of parameter values in order to assemble atextitrich enough database on which to perform POD. Instead, we have used sensitivity analysis (SA) to include the flow and shape parameters influence during the basis selection process to develop more robust ROMs for varying viscosity (Reynolds number), changing orientation and shape definition of bodies. This study aims at extending these ideas to inflow conditions to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in capturing the effect of varying inflow on the dynamics of the flow over an elliptic cylinder. Numerical experiments show that the newly derived models allow for a more accurate representation of the flows when exploring the parameter space. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Molecular dynamics study of the mechanical characteristics of Ni/Cu bilayer using nanoindentation

<正>In the present work,a three-dimensional molecular dynamics simulation is carried out to perform the nanoindentation experiment on Ni single crystal.The substrate indenter system is modeled using hybrid interatomic potentials including the many-body potential embedded atom method(EAM),and two-body morse potential.To simulate the indentation process,a spherical indenter(diameter = 80 A,1 A=0.1 nm) is chosen.The results show that the mechanical behaviour of a monolithic Ni is not affected by crystalline orientation.To elucidate the effect of a heterogeneous interface, three bilayer interface systems are constructed,namely Ni(100)/Cu(111),Ni(110)/Cu(111),and Ni(111)/Cu(111).The simulations along these systems clearly describe that mechanical behaviour directly depends on the lattice mismatch. The interface with the smaller mismatch between the specified crystal planes is proved to be harder and vice versa.To describe the relationship between film thickness and interface effect,we choose various values of film thickness ranging from 20 A to 50 A to perform the nanoindentation experiment.It is observed that the interface is significant only for the relatively small thickness of film and the separation between interface and the indenter tip.It is shown that with the increase in film thickness,the mechanical behaviour of the film shifts more toward that of monolithic material.     

Homogeneous phase polymerization of vinylidene fluoride in supercritical carbon dioxide

For the first time, stabilizer‐free vinylidene fluoride (VDF) homopolymerizations were carried out in homogenous phase with supercritical CO₂ using the conventional initiator di‐tert butyl peroxide (DTBP). In‐line FT‐NIR spectroscopy showed that complete monomer conversion may be obtained. Molecular weights were determined via size‐exclusion chromatography and polymer endgroup analysis by ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy. The number average molecular weights were below 10⁴ g mol^?1 and polydispersities ranged from 3.1 to 5.7 depending on DTBP and VDF concentration. For allowing isothermal reaction, high CO₂ contents ranging from 61 to 83 wt % were used. The high‐temperature and high‐pressure conditions required for homogeneous polymerization did not alter the amount of defects in VDF chaining. Scanning electron microscopy indicated that regular stack‐type particles are obtained upon expansion of the homogeneous polymerization mixture. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 5626–5635, 2007     

Stability-Indicating High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatographic Method for the Simultaneous Determination of Quercetin and Resveratrol in the Lipid-Based Nanoformulation

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - A simple, sensitive, specific, rapid, and accurate high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method has been developed...     

One-Pot Hydrothermal Synthesis of Ternary 1T-MoS2/Hexa-WO3/Graphene Composites for High-Performance Supercapacitors

A new ternary composite of 1T-molybdenum disulfide, hexagonal tungsten trioxide, and reduced graphene oxide (M-W-rGO) is synthesized by using a one-pot hydrothermal process. The synergetic effect of 1T-MoS₂ and hexa-WO₃ nanoflowers improves the electrochemical performance for supercapacitors by inducing additional active sites and hexagonal tunnels, respectively, which lead to high storage capacity and easy transfer of electrolyte ions. The ternary M-W-rGO composite has a high specific capacitance of 836 F g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹, which is nearly twice that of binary composites of M-rGO and W-rGO with high capacitance retention of 86.35 % after 3000 cycles at a high current density of 5 A g⁻¹. This study provides a new ternary composite that can be used as an electrode material for high-performance supercapacitors.     

Synthesis and characterization of Mn:CdS nanoflower thin films prepared by hydrothermal method for photocatalytic activity

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology - Mn-CdS nanoflowers were successfully deposited using hydrothermal technique at 150 °C for 2 h. The effect of changing the dopant...     

Universal sound absorption in amorphous solids: A theory of elastically coupled generic blocks

Glasses are known to exhibit quantitative universalities at low temperatures, the most striking of which is the ultrasonic attenuation coefficient Q^?1. In this work we develop a theory of coupled generic blocks with a certain randomness property to show that universality emerges essentially due to the interactions between elastic blocks, regardless of their microscopic nature.