Synthesis and characterization of a new conducting polymer composite

Organic conductive composite films have been synthesized by electropolymerization of pyrrole in the presence of chitosan and p-toluene sulfonic acid sodium salt. The obtained conductive polymer composite films have been characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and conductivity measurements. The prepared polymer composite films had the amorphous structure and exhibited the enhanced conductivity and mechanical properties due to the presence of chitosan in the composite films.     

Surface-modified TiO(2) nanoparticles as affinity probes and as matrices for the rapid analysis of phosphopeptides and proteins in MALDI-TOF-MS

We utilized three different types of TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) namely TiO₂‐dopamine, TiO₂‐CdS and bare TiO₂ NPs as multifunctional nanoprobes for the rapid enrichment of phosphopeptides from tryptic digests of α‐ and β‐casein, milk and egg white using a simplified procedure in MALDI‐TOF‐MS. Surface‐modified TiO₂ NPs serve as effective matrices for the analysis of peptides (gramicidin D, HW6, leucine‐enkephalin and methionine‐enkephalin) and proteins (cytochrome c and myoglobin) in MALDI‐TOF‐MS. In the surface‐modified TiO₂ NPs‐based MALDI mass spectra of these analytes (phosphopetides, peptides and proteins), we found that TiO₂‐dopamine and bare TiO₂ NPs provided an efficient platform for the selective and rapid enrichment of phosphopeptides and TiO₂‐CdS NPs efficiently acted as the matrix for background‐free detection of peptides and proteins with improved resolution in MALDI‐MS. We found that the upper detectable mass range is 17 000 Da using TiO₂‐CdS NPs as the matrix. The approach is simple and straightforward for the rapid analysis of phosphopeptides, peptides and proteins by MALDI‐MS in proteome research.     

The Role of Allium subhirsutum L. in the Attenuation of Dermal Wounds by Modulating Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Wistar Albino Rats

In our study, Allium subhirsutum L. (AS) was investigated to assess its phenolic profile and bioactive molecules including flavonoids and organosulfur compounds. The antioxidant potential of AS and wound healing activity were addressed using skin wound healing and oxidative stress and inflammation marker estimation in rat models. Phytochemical and antiradical activities of AS extract (ASE) and oil (ASO) were studied. The rats were randomly assigned to four groups: group I served as a control and was treated with simple ointment base, group II was treated with ASE ointment, group III was treated with ASO ointment and group IV (reference group; Ref) was treated with a reference drug “Cytolcentella^® cream”. Phytochemical screening showed that total phenols (215 ± 3.5 mg GAE/g) and flavonoids (172.4 ± 3.1 mg QE/g) were higher in the ASO than the ASE group. The results of the antioxidant properties showed that ASO exhibited the highest DPPH free radical scavenging potential (IC50 = 0.136 ± 0.07 mg/mL), FRAP test (IC50 = 0.013 ± 0.006 mg/mL), ABTS test (IC50 = 0.52 ± 0.03 mg/mL) and total antioxidant capacity (IC50 = 0.34 ± 0.06 mg/mL). In the wound healing study, topical application of ASO performed the fastest wound-repairing process estimated by a chromatic study, percentage wound closure, fibrinogen level and oxidative damage status, as compared to ASE, the Cytolcentella reference drug and the untreated rats. The use of AS extract and oil were also associated with the attenuation of oxidative stress damage in the wound-healing treated rats. Overall, the results provided that AS, particularly ASO, has a potential medicinal value to act as effective skin wound healing agent.     

Properties of boron and phosphorous incorporated tetrahedral amorphous carbon films grown using filtered cathodic vacuum arc process

This paper reports the electrical, mechanical, structural and field emission properties of as grown and also boron and phosphorous incorporated tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) films, deposited using a filtered cathodic vacuum arc process. The effect of varying boron and phosphorous content (up to 2.0 at.% in to ta-C) on the conductivity (σ_D), activation energy (ΔE₁), hardness, microstructure, emission threshold (E_turn-ON) and emission current density (J) at 12.5 V/μm of ta-C: B and ta-C: P films deposited at a high negative substrate bias of −300 V are reported. It is observed that both boron and phosphorous incorporation leads to a nearly an order increase in σ_D and corresponding decrease in ΔE₁ and a slight increase in hardness as compared to as grown ta-C films. In the case of field assisted electron emission, it is observed that E_turn-ON increases and J decreases. The changes are attributed to the changes in the sp³/sp² ratio of the films due to boron and phosphorous incorporation. The effect of boron on ta-C is to give a p-type effect whereas the effect of phosphorous gives n-type doping effect.     

Silica-tin nanotubes prepared from rice husk ash by sol-gel method: Characterization and its photocatalytic activity

Silica-tin material has been synthesized by simple sol-gel method using rice husk ash as the source of silica and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as the surfactant at room temperature. Calcination of the material at 500 °C for 5 h gave nanotubes with external diameter of 2-4 nm and an internal diameter of 1-2 nm. The BET specific surface area was found to be 607 m² g⁻¹. Nitrogen sorption analysis exhibits a type IV isotherm with H3 hysteresis loop. The powder X-ray diffraction pattern showed that the material is amorphous. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared material was studied towards degradation of methylene blue under UV-irradiation. According to the experimental results the silica-tin nanotubes exhibit high photocatalytic activity compared to pure rice husk silica.     

Combined effect of CuO nanofillers and DBP plasticizer on ionic conductivity enhancement in the solid polymer electrolyte PEO–LiCF<Subscript>3</Subscript>SO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

We report a new kind of polyethylene oxide, PEO–LiCF₃SO₃-based composite polymer electrolyte, containing active copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles with dibutyl phthalate (DBP) prepared by solution-cast technique. The incorporation of 10 wt.% DBP and 5 wt.% CuO to the salted polymer showed a significant conductivity enhancement with maximum conductivity 2.62 × 10⁻⁴ Scm⁻¹ at room temperature. This could be attributed to the increasing of amorphous phase content and structural changes in the polymer electrolyte. Arrhenius plot suggest that temperature-dependent conductivity is a thermally activated process.     

Growth and sintering effects of hydrated polycrystalline Li<Subscript>2</Subscript>WO<Subscript>4</Subscript>

Polycrystalline Li₂WO₄ was sintered at temperatures, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 650, and 700 °C. After sintering at each particular temperature, the Li₂WO₄ was cooled to room temperature. The X-ray diffraction pattern of Li₂WO₄ exhibits dominant peaks attributable to 7Li₂WO₄.4H₂O (cubic) and Li₂WO₄ (hexagonal) and thus reveals the extent of hydration of the material. The composition varies on heating at several temperatures as shown by the presence of new peaks in the diffractogram. Thermogravimetric analysis is used to correlate respective structural and thermal properties in variation. The impedance spectra show the presence of a semicircle in the higher frequency regions and straight line behaviors at lower frequencies. SEM micrographs depict the image of sintered Li₂WO₄. Grain growth studies reveal the sensitiveness of grain toward temperature. The maximum grain size is observed to be ≈5.7 μm at 700 °C.     

等离子辅助分子束外延技术研究生长在Si(111)衬底的氮化镓pn结

利用等离子辅助分子束外延系统研究了生长在硅(111)衬底的氮化镓pn结,并将其应用于光学器件．硅和镁分别用做n和p掺杂,反射高能电子衍射图像显示氮化镓pn结层具有良好的表面形貌,结层厚度约为0.705 nm,且为六方结构．室温下X射线衍射对称摇摆曲线中(0002)面的ω/2θ显示,半峰宽为0.340,说明氮化镓pn结质量高．另外,在硅和镁掺杂样品中没有A1峰淬灭．光致发光光谱表明pn结样品具有良好的光学性能．镍和铝作为分别作为正面和背面的电极接触应用于光学器件,该器件的电流电压特性显示了典型的异质结整流特性．正向接触镍经过氮气中退火处理10 min,结果表明,600 oC处理的样品比400 oC处理和未经处理的样品具有更高的增益．     

Two‐phase flow electrosynthesis: Comparing N‐octyl‐2‐pyrrolidone–aqueous and acetonitrile–aqueous three‐phase boundary reactions

A microfluidic double channel device is employed to study reactions at flowing liquid–liquid junctions in contact with a boron‐doped diamond (BDD) working electrode. The rectangular flow cell is calibrated for both single‐phase liquid flow and biphasic liquid–liquid flow for the case of (i) the immiscible N‐octyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NOP)–aqueous electrolyte system and (ii) the immiscible acetonitrile–aqueous electrolyte system. The influence of flow speed and liquid viscosity on the position of the phase boundary and mass transport‐controlled limiting currents are examined. In contrast to the NOP–aqueous electrolyte case, the acetonitrile–aqueous electrolyte system is shown to behave close to ideal without ‘undercutting’ of the organic phase under the aqueous phase. The limiting current for three‐phase boundary reactions is only weakly dependent on flow rate but directly proportional to the concentration and the diffusion coefficient in the organic phase. Acetonitrile as a commonly employed synthetic solvent is shown here to allow effective three‐phase boundary processes to occur due to a lower viscosity enabling faster diffusion. N‐butylferrocene is shown to be oxidised at the acetonitrile–aqueous electrolyte interface about 12 times faster when compared with the same process at the NOP–aqueous electrolyte interface. Conditions suitable for clean two‐phase electrosynthetic processes without intentionally added supporting electrolyte in the organic phase are proposed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ionically conducting and environmentally safe gum Arabic as a high-performance gel-like electrolyte for solid-state supercapacitors

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - The development of innovative gel electrolyte is nowadays considered one of the most important features for the realization of high-safety and...