Plasma-Assisted Reaction Chemical Ionization for Elemental Mass Spectrometry of Organohalogens

We present plasma-assisted reaction chemical ionization (PARCI) for elemental analysis of halogens in organic compounds. Organohalogens are broken down to simple halogen-containing molecules (e.g., HBr) in a helium microwave-induced plasma followed by negative mode chemical ionization (CI) in the afterglow region. The reagent ions for CI originate from penning ionization of gases (e.g., N₂) introduced into the afterglow region. The performance of PARCI-mass spectrometry (MS) is evaluated using flow injection analyses of organobromines, demonstrating 5–8 times better sensitivities compared with inductively coupled plasma MS. We show that compound-dependent sensitivities in PARCI-MS mainly arise from sample introduction biases.

Green synthesis of benzimidazoloquinazolines and 1,4-dihydropyridines using magnetic cyanoguanidine-modified chitosan as an efficient heterogeneous nanocatalyst under various conditions

Monatshefte für Chemie - Chemical Monthly - In the present study, we demonstrated the synthesis of magnetic cyanoguanidine-modified chitosan (MCGC) as an efficient and green retrievable...     

Tapered copolymers of styrene and 4-vinylbenzocyclobutene via carbanionic polymerization for crosslinkable polymer films

Well-defined polystyrene homopolymers with surface-adhesive triethoxysilyl end group were synthesized via living carbanionic polymerization, epoxide end-functionalization and subsequent hydrosilylation with triethoxysilane. Grafting-to performance of polymers with various molecular weight (M_n = 3000–14,000 g mol⁻¹) to a silicon surface was examined in dependence of reaction time, polymer concentration, solvent and number of alkoxysilyl end groups. Crosslinkable polymers for surface modification were synthesized by statistical carbanionic copolymerization of 4-vinylbenzocyclobutene (4-VBCB) and styrene, followed by epoxide end-functionalization and triethoxysilane modification (M_n = 4000–14,000 g mol⁻¹). The copolymers were characterized by ¹H-NMR, THF-SEC, and matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. In situ ¹H-NMR kinetic studies in cyclohexane-d₁₂ provided information regarding the monomer gradient in the polymer chains, with styrene being the more reactive monomer (r_s = 2.75, r_4-VBCB = 0.23). Thin polymer films on silicon wafers were prepared by grafting-to surface modification under conditions derived for the polystyrene homopolymer. The traceless, thermally induced crosslinking reaction of the benzocyclobutene units was studied by DSC in bulk as well as in 3–6 nm thick polymer films. Crosslinked films were analyzed by atomic force microscopy, ellipsometry, and nanoindentation, showing smooth polymer films with an increased modulus. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Polymer Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 58, 181–192     

Guaranteed cost nonlinear sampled-data control: applications to a class of chaotic systems

Nonlinear Dynamics - This paper addresses the guaranteed cost sampled-data controller synthesis and analysis problems with application to nonlinear chaotic systems. A linear parameter-varying (LPV)...     

Toll-like receptors for pathogen detection in water: challenges and benefits

The need for effective and efficient methods for pathogen detection in water is as serious as ever due to the health risk posed to human population by the consumption of pathogen-contaminated water. One of the important research streams which have been focused on by researchers for development of novel techniques for this purpose is biosensor technologies. Using different bio-recognition elements and transduction methodologies, biosensors have the potential to detect their analyte of interest in a fast and highly specific manner. Different pathogenic agents can be recognised by toll-like receptors (TLRs). The innate immune system of higher organisms employs TLRs for triggering intracellular signalling and induction of the expression of immune response genes. In this report, we explore the challenges associated with employing TLRs for pathogen detection in water samples. Although methods using TLR expressing cells also have been discussed, the focus of this review is on using TLR proteins as the bio-recognition elements in biosensors.     

Effect of normal phonon-phonon scattering on the phonon relaxation time for metals

The phonon-phonon scattering relaxation time for metals is derived by an analysis that explicitly incorporates the Peierls condition that normal phonon-phonon scattering cannot equilibrate the phonon system. Numerical results are presented for potassium. These results demonstrate that at low temperatures, the Peierls condition leads to a very significant reduction of phonon-phonon scattering.     

Thermodynamic behavior of complexation process between benzo-15-crown-5 with Li+, Na+, K+, and NH4 + cations in acetonitrile–methanol binary media

The stability constants of 1:1 (M:L) complexes of benzo-15-crown-5 (B15C5) with Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺ and NH₄ ⁺ cations, the Gibbs standard free energies ( $ \Updelta {\text{G}}_{\text{c}}^{ \circ } $ ), the standard enthalpy changes ( $ \Updelta {\text{H}}_{\text{c}}^{ \circ } $ ) and standard entropy changes ( $ \Updelta {\text{S}}_{\text{c}}^{ \circ } $ ) for formation of these complexes in acetonitrile–methanol (AN–MeOH) binary mixtures have been determined conductometrically. The conductance data show that the stoichiometry of the complexes formed between the macrocyclic ligand and the studied cations is 1:1 (M:L). In most cases, addition of B15C5 to solutions of these cations, causes a continuous increase in the molar conductivities which indicates that the mobility of complexed cations is more than the uncomplexed ones. The stability constants of the complexes were obtained from fitting of molar conductivity curves using a computer program, GENPLOT. The results show that the selectivity order of B15C5 for the metal cations changes with the nature and composition of the binary mixed solvent. The values of standard enthalpy changes ( $ \Updelta {\text{H}}_{\text{c}}^{ \circ } $ ) for complexation reactions were obtained from the slope of the van’t Hoff plots and the changes in standard entropy ( $ \Updelta {\text{S}}_{\text{c}}^{ \circ } $ ) were calculated from the relationship $ \Updelta {\text{G}}_{{{\text{c}},298.15}}^{ \circ } = \Updelta {\text{H}}_{\text{c}}^{ \circ } - 298.15\Updelta {\text{S}}_{\text{c}}^{ \circ } $ . A non-linear behavior was observed between the stability constants (log K_f) of the complexes and the composition of the acetonitrile–methanol (AN–MeOH) binary solution. The results obtained in this study, show that in most cases, the complexes formed between B15C5 and Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺ and NH₄ ⁺ cations are both enthalpy and entropy stabilized and the values of these thermodynamic quantities change with the composition of the binary solution.