Polystyrene‐modified novolac epoxy resin/clay nanocomposite: Synthesis,and characterization

A polystyrene‐modified epoxidized novolac resin/montmorillonite nanocomposite was fabricated and characterized successfully. For this purpose, novolac resin (NR) was epoxidized through the reaction of phenolic hydroxyl group with epichlorohydrin in super basic medium to produce epoxidized novolac resin (ENR). Afterward, a polystyrene was synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) technique, and then brominated at the benzylic positions using N‐bromosuccinimide (NBS). The brominated polystyrene (PSt‐Br) was reacted with ethanolamine in basic medium in order to afford an amine‐functionalized polystyrene (PSt‐NH₂). An organo‐modified montmorillonite (O‐MMT) was synthesized through the treatment of MMT with hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride salt. Finally, ENR‐PSt/MMT nanocomposite was fabricated through curing a mixture of ENR (70 wt.%) and O‐MMT (5 wt.%) with PSt‐NH₂ (25 wt.%). Transition electron microscopy (TEM) and powder X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the fabricated nanocomposite has an exfoliated structure. Thermal property studies using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the curing of ENR by PSt‐NH₂, as well as incorporation of a small amount of MMT have synergistic effect on the thermal stability of the ENR resin.     

Synthesis, characterization, electrochemical studies, and antibacterial activities of cobalt(III) complexes with Salpn-Tipe Schiff base ligands. Crystal structure of trans-[CoIII(L1)(Py)2]ClO4

The synthesis, characterization, spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of trans-[Co^III(L¹)(Py)₂]ClO₄ (I) and trans-[Co^III(L²)(Py)₂]ClO₄ (II) complexes, where H₂L¹ = N,N′-bis(5-chloro-2-hydroxybenzylidene)-1,3-propylenediamine and H₂L² = N,N′-bis(5-bromo-2-hydroxybenzylidene)-1,3-propylenediamine, have been investigated. Both complexes have been characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, UV-Vis, and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The crystal structure of I has been determined by X-ray diffraction. The coordination geometry around cobalt(III) ion is best described as a distorted octahedron. The electrochemical studies of these complexes revealed that the first reduction process corresponding to Co(III/II) is electrochemically irreversible accompanied by dissociation of the axial Co-N(Py) bonds. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the Schiff bse ligands and their corrsponding complexes have been tested against human pathogenic bacterias such as Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli. The cobalt(III) complexes showed lower antimicrobial activity than the free Schiff base ligands.     

Preparation and thermal treatment of Pd/Ag composite membrane on a porous alumina tube by sequential electroless plating technique for H2 separation

Pd/Ag/α-Al2O3 composite membranes were prepared by sequential electroless plating technique. The prepared membranes were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy techniques （ICP-AES）. Effects of annealing time, Ag content, and air treatment on the hydrogen permeation flux and morphology of the alloys were investigated. The results of the investigation showed that the prepared type of tube had a good potential as substrate for membrane preparation. In addition, a uniform defect-free alloy was prepared by annealing at 550 ℃ in H2 atmosphere. The permeation results showed an increase in H2 permeation flux by increasing the Ag content and the annealing time. In addition, the air treatment of the prepared membranes at 400 ℃ for 1 h changed the morphology of the alloy and substantially enhanced the hydrogen flux.     

Synthesis of some novel tetraimidazolium salts derived from diphenyl- and dimethylglycolurils

Several new tetrabromo compounds based on diphenyl- and dimethylglycolurils were synthesized. Sequential treatment of these compounds with imidazole, methyl iodide, and sodium tetrafluoroborate gave their corresponding tetra imidazolium salts. Some of these compounds because of their low melting points can be registered as a potential and new class of ionic liquids. Correspondence: Mehdi Bakavoli, Department of Chemistry, School of Sciences, Ferdowsi University, Mashhad 91375-1436, Iran.     

Thermodynamic Study of the Binding of Mercury Ion to Human Growth Hormone at Different Temperatures

The interaction of human growth hormone (hGH) with the divalent mercury ion was studied by isothermal titration calorimetry at two temperatures of 27 °C and 37 °C in aqueous solutions. We found that there is a set of two identical and non-interacting binding sites for Hg²⁺ ions. The intrinsic dissociation equilibrium constant and the molar enthalpy of binding are 4.2 mmol⋅L⁻¹ and −14.8 kJ⋅mol⁻¹ at 27 °C and 5.1 mmol⋅L⁻¹ and −14.2 kJ⋅mol⁻¹ at 37 °C, respectively. The results obtained indicate that the stability of the protein increases due to the binding of mercury ions using the extended solvation theory.     

Nitroxide‐mediated polymerization of 1,3‐butadiene in the presence of diphenylamine with hydrogen peroxide as initiator

Living behavior of a nitroxide‐mediated polymerization of 1,3‐butadiene in the presence of diphenyl nitroxide (DPN) as counter radical and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) as initiator has been studied to elucidate the bimodal molar mass distribution of the product by four approaches such as hydrolyzation of the oligomeric product, peak separation technique, which defines the oligobutadiene molar mass dependency in relation to α as a ratio of [nitroxide] to [H₂O₂], variation of hydroxyl value with respect to α, and para‐substituted DPN. It is demonstrated that the synthesized DPN shows efficient control of the polymerization of 1,3‐butadiene, but because of the formation of difunctional nitroxide during the oxidation process of aromatic diphenylamine, a bimodal distribution in the final product is observed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Copper coordinated-poly(α-amino acid) decorated on magnetite graphene oxide as an efficient heterogeneous magnetically recoverable catalyst for the selective synthesis of 5- and 1-substituted tetrazoles from various sources: A comparative study

In this work, poly(α-amino acid)-Cu(II) complex immobilized on magnetite graphene oxide (GO/Fe₃O₄@PAA-Cu-complex) was prepared via a multistep synthesis and employed as an efficient, heterogeneous, magnetically recyclable nanocatalyst for one-pot, three component synthesis of 5- and 1-substituted tetrazoles using different substrates including benzaldehydes, benzonitriles, and anilines in mild conditions. The different approaches were mechanically investigated and compared. The catalyst was fully characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), FE-SEM and TEM analyses. The magnetic nanocatalyst could be readily separated from the reaction mixture by an external magnet and reused for several times without significant loss of catalytic activity. Also, the spectroscopic analysis revealed the stability and durability of the catalyst. Finally, the chemoselectivity of the method was investigated by the various combinations of aldehyde, nitrile, and oxime.     

A thermodynamic investigation on the binding of mercury ion with myelin basic protein at different temperatures

A thermodynamic study on the interaction of myelin basic protein with mercury ion was studied by using isothermal titration calonmetry,ITC,at 300.15,310.15 and 320.15 K in Tris buffer solution at pH 7.The enthalpies of MBP + Hg²⁺ interaction are reported and analysed in terms of the extended solvation model.It was found that MBP has two identical and non-cooperative binding sites for Hg²⁺ ions.The intrinsic dissociation equilibrium constants are 99.904,112.968 and 126.724μmol/L,and the molar enthalpy of binding are -11.634,-10.768 and -10.117kJ mol^-1 at 300.15,310.15 and 320.15 K,respectively.     

Electrodeposited silver nanodendrites electrode with strongly enhanced electrocatalytic activity

Highly uniform dendritic silver nanostructures as a new electrode material, have been synthesized by electrodeposition on the glassy carbon (GC) electrode with assistance of polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG-400) as a soft template, to achieve a superior electrocatalyst with enhanced detection sensitivity in electroanalysis compared to conventional bulk Ag electrodes. The effects of the growth conditions such as concentrations of the reagents and applied potentials on the morphology and structure of as-prepared tree-like nanostructures have also been investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). In the silver nanodendrites (AgNDs), the diameter of the trunk is around 100-200 nm with length up to 10-40 μm, and the length of its branches can reach 10 μm. In addition, the electrocatalytic behavior of this modified electrode was exploited as a sensitive detection system for the reduction of RDX high explosive, hydrogen peroxide and hexacyanoferrate (HCF) by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Also, the obtained results were compared to multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and bulk silver electrodes. These studies show that the nanodendritic silvers significantly increase the electron-transfer rate of the electrochemical reactions by as much as 1-2 orders of magnitude.     

Cetyltrimethylammonium-coated magnetic nanoparticles for the extraction of bromate,followed by its spectrophotometric determination

We report on a combination of magnetic solid-phase extraction and spectrophotometric determination of bromate. Cetyltrimethylammonium ion was adsorbed on the surface of phenyl-functionalized silica-coated Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (Ph-SiO₂@Fe₃O₄), and these materials served as the sorbent. The effects of surfactant and amount of sorbent, the composition of the desorption solution, the extraction time and temperature were optimized. Under optimized conditions, an enrichment factor of 12 was achieved, and the relative standard deviation is 2.9 % (for n?=?5). The calibration plot covers the 1–50 ng mL^?1 range with reasonable linearity (r ²?>?0.998); and the limit of detection is 0.5 ng mL^?1. The method is not interfered by ionic compounds commonly found in environmental water samples. It was successfully applied to the determination of bromate in spiked water samples.