Polyaniline/montmorillonite nanocomposite thin layers deposited on different substrates

Preparation method of polyaniline/montmorillonite (PANI/MMT) nanocomposite in the form of thin layer deposited on various substrates is optimized in this work to obtain high electrical conductivity. Simple method (i.e. polymerization of anilinium sulfate in the presence of MMT) has been used for the preparation and following four conditions were varied: preparation temperature (T = 10 or 20 °C), preparation time (t = 4 or 6 h), size fraction of MMT (p < 1 or 5 µm), and type of substrate (microscope glass slides, silica glass slides, polyester foils). Therefore, 24 samples were prepared, characterized and their electrical conductivity was compared. Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used for the characterization of the structure of samples. Thickness of layers was measured using atomic force microscopy. Based on the comparison of samples and with respect to the aim of obtaining high electrical conductivity, it was found that the most suitable substrate is polyester foil and preparation conditions are T = 20 °C, t = 6 h, p < 5 µm. To obtain highly conductive layers on glass substrates (although less conductive than layers on foil), preparation time have to be shortened to 4 h.     

Raman study of PANI thin film during long time period in dependence on storage conditions

Conducting polymer polyaniline which is nowadays in forefront of the interest was in our study prepared in a form of thin films from anilinium sulfate by its chemical oxidation using ammonium peroxydisulfate. During the oxidation process, the polyaniline was deposited on glass slides and immersed into reaction mixture. Two sets of polyaniline thin films were prepared with different oxidation times (10, 20, 30, and 40 min). The first set was kept dry in desiccator and the second one was freely exposed to air moisture. Raman spectroscopy, nondestructive technique which is very sensitive to changes in structure of polymers, was used for the characterization of the protonation state of prepared polyaniline thin films. It was found that storage conditions affect the protonation state which in case of samples kept in desiccator is maintained without significant changes for longer time. Raman spectroscopy also revealed the dependence of protonation state on the oxidation time and 10 min proved as not sufficient for the creation of the protonation form of polyaniline.     

Offline combination of pressurized fluid extraction and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy for antioxidant activity of grape skin extracts assessment

A comprehensive characterization of grape skin methanolic and ethanolic extracts prepared by pressurized fluid extraction (PFE) at various temperatures within 40 to 120 °C from two wine grape varieties, St. Laurent and Alibernet was performed. For the first time, an offline combination of PFE and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy together with other experimental methods was employed to assess the effect of extraction conditions on numerous extract characteristics including antioxidant or radical-scavenging ability, HPLC profile of anthocyanins, total phenolic compounds content (TPC), tristimulus color values (CIE Lab), and pH values. The properties of extracts depend on the solvent used, the mass of grape skins as well as on the extraction conditions among which the temperature plays a crucial role. In spite of wide interval of extraction temperatures, all extracts still retain their antioxidant and/or radical-scavenging properties, indicating that the extracts prepared by PFE can serve as potential source of functional food supplements or color enhancers.     

Iminodiacetic acid-modified magnetic poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-based microspheres for phosphopeptide enrichment

Magnetic non-porous hydrophilic poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-glycidyl methacrylate) microspheres prepared by the dispersion polymerization and modified with iminodiacetic acid (IDA) were employed for the IMAC separation of phosphopeptides. Fe³⁺ and Ga³⁺ ions immobilized on IDA-modified magnetic microspheres were used for the enrichment of phosphopeptides from the proteolytic digests of two model proteins differing in their physico-chemical properties and phosphate group content: porcine pepsin A and bovine α-casein. The optimum conditions for phosphopeptide adsorption and desorption in both cases were investigated and compared. The phosphopeptides separated from the proteolytic digests were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The ability of the prepared Fe³⁺- and Ga³⁺-IDA-modified magnetic microspheres to capture phosphopeptides from complex mixtures was shown on an example of bovine milk proteolytic digest.     

Comparison of multimesh hp-FEM to interpolation and projection methods for spatial coupling of thermal and neutron diffusion calculations

Multiphysics solution challenges are legion within the field of nuclear reactor design and analysis. One major issue concerns the coupling between heat and neutron flow (neutronics) within the reactor assembly. These phenomena are usually very tightly interdependent, as large amounts of heat are quickly produced with an increase in fission events within the fuel, which raises the temperature that affects the neutron cross section of the fuel. Furthermore, there typically is a large diversity of time and spatial scales between mathematical models of heat and neutronics. Indeed, the different spatial resolution requirements often lead to the use of very different meshes for the two phenomena. As the equations are coupled, one must take care in exchanging solution data between them, or significant error can be introduced into the coupled problem. We propose a novel approach to the discretization of the coupled problem on different meshes based on an adaptive multimesh higher-order finite element method (hp-FEM), and compare it to popular interpolation and projection methods. We show that the multimesh hp-FEM method is significantly more accurate than the interpolation and projection approaches considered in this study.     

Inference and phase transitions in the detection of modules in sparse networks

We present an asymptotically exact analysis of the problem of detecting communities in sparse random networks generated by stochastic block models. Using the cavity method of statistical physics and its relationship to belief propagation, we unveil a phase transition from a regime where we can infer the correct group assignments of the nodes to one where these groups are undetectable. Our approach yields an optimal inference algorithm for detecting modules, including both assortative and disassortative functional modules, assessing their significance, and learning the parameters of the underlying block model. Our algorithm is scalable and applicable to real-world networks, as long as they are well described by the block model.     

Decavanadates with complex cations: synthesis and structure of (NH4)2[M(H2O)5(NH3CH2CH2COO)]2V10O28·nH2O (M?=?ZnII, n?=?4; M?=?MnII, n?=?2)

Decavanadates with complex cations, (NH₄)₂[Zn(H₂O)₅(NH₃CH₂CH₂COO)]₂V₁₀O₂₈·4H₂O (4) and (NH₄)₂[Mn(H₂O)₅(NH₃CH₂CH₂COO)]₂V₁₀O₂₈·2H₂O (5), have been prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, i.r., Raman, UV–vis. and ⁵¹V-n.m.r. spectroscopies and by thermal analysis. The X-ray structure determination revealed, both in 4 and 5, the presence of complex cations with hexacoordinated central atoms and monodentate β-alanine ligands, and decavanadate V₁₀O₂₈ ⁶⁻ anions. The differences in the structural arrangement in 4 and 5 are probably a consequence of the different ionic radii of Zn²⁺ and Mn²⁺ (high spin).     

Thermal,spectral and biological properties of Zn(II) complex compounds with phenazone

The thermal decomposition of the complexes Zn(form)₂⋅2phen (I), Zn(ac)₂⋅2phen (II), Zn(prop)₂⋅2phen (III), Zn(but)₂⋅2phen (IV), where phen=phenazone, form=formiate, ac=acetate, prop=propionate, but=butyrate has been studied in air by TG/DTG and DTA methods. The possible mechanism of the thermal decomposition was proposed. The final product of thermal decomposition was ZnO. IR data show unidentate coordination of carboxylate group to Zn(II) ion. The complexes were tested against various strains of microorganisms and their efficiency decrease in the sequence yeasts >bacteria>filamentous fungi.