A Systematic investigation of the dc electrical conductivity of rare-earth doped ceria

The dc electrical conductivity of rare-earth doped ceria has been measured as a function of temperature (300–600 K) and composition (0.05–15 mol% M₂O₃) on using the complex impedance technique. Five dopants have been selected, yttrium and the lanthanides Yb, Gd, Nd, and La. For all of them, the variations of the activation energy versus dopant concentration are similar and characterized by the existence of a minimum. This peculiar property can be understood if attractive interactions between immobile dopant ions and mobile oxygen vacancies are taken into account. From an analysis of the experimental results, it is concluded that this interaction extends at least to third or fourth nearest neighbors depending on the size and the electronic configuration of the dopant ion.     

Charge transfer in and conductivity of molecularly doped thiophene‐based copolymers

The electrical conductivity of organic semiconductors can be enhanced by orders of magnitude via doping with strong molecular electron acceptors or donors. Ground‐state integer charge transfer and charge‐transfer complex formation between organic semiconductors and molecular dopants have been suggested as the microscopic mechanisms causing these profound changes in electrical materials properties. Here, we study charge‐transfer interactions between the common molecular p‐dopant 2,3,5,6‐tetrafluoro‐7,7,8,8‐tetracyanoquinodimethane and a systematic series of thiophene‐based copolymers by a combination of spectroscopic techniques and electrical measurements. Subtle variations in chemical structure are seen to significantly impact the nature of the charge‐transfer species and the efficiency of the doping process, underlining the need for a more detailed understanding of the microscopic doping mechanism in organic semiconductors to reliably guide targeted chemical design. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 58–63     

Poly(4-vinylpyridine-co-aniline)-modified electrode—synthesis, characterization, and application as cadmium(II) ion sensor

A poly(4-vinylpyridine-co-aniline) (poly(4VP-co-Ani))-based solid-state ion sensor for cadmium (Cd) was developed. This was obtained from studies done on a number of selected monomers electropolymerized onto a poly(4vinylpyridine) (P4VP)-modified graphite pencil rod, surface characterizing them and then analyzing their performances as a Cd(II) ion sensor. Among them, the membrane of poly(4VP-co-Ani) at a mole ratio of 0.05:0.15 was found to be the best. The fabricated poly(4VP-co-Ani) solid-state electrode had a linear response of 1?×?10^?6 to 1?×?10^?2?M Cd²⁺, slope of 29.4?±?0.5 mV decade^?1, detection limit of 7.94?×?10^?7?M Cd²⁺, and response time of 15 s at pH 4.5–8.5 with excellent selectivity. The sensor was operationally stable within a period of 3 months. The proposed sensor was tested for determination of Cd²⁺ in environmental, plant, and pharmaceutical samples. The analyses were comparable to the standard atomic absorption spectrophotometric method.     

Rapid determination of ethylene oxide with fiber-packed sample preparation needle

Fiber-packed sample preparation device was applied to the simultaneous derivatization/preconcentration of ethylene oxide (EO) in air samples. The polymer-coated filaments were packed longitudinally into the needle, and hydrogen bromide (HBr) was loaded onto the filaments in the preconditioning process. Simultaneous derivatization with HBr in the needle was made during the sampling process of the gaseous EO, and the corresponding derivatized analyte, 2-bromoethanol, was desorbed by passing a small amount of methanol through the extraction needle in the heated gas chromatograph (GC) injector. The basic extraction/desorption parameters for EO have been evaluated. The limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ) and the relative standard deviation (RSD) of run-to-run repeatability were 1.8 ng/L, 5.4 ng/L and less than 4%, respectively, with an extraction time of about 10 min. Satisfactory storage performance for three days at room temperature was also confirmed.     

Analysis of the chemical composition of the essential oil of Polygonum minus Huds. using two-dimensional gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF MS)

The essential oil in leaves of Polygonum minus Huds., a local aromatic plant, were identified by a pipeline of gas chromatography (GC) techniques coupled with mass-spectrometry (MS), flame ionization detector (FID) and two dimensional gas chromatography time of flight mass spectrometry (GC x GC-TOF MS). A total of 48 compounds with a good match and high probability values were identified using this technique. Meanwhile, 42 compounds were successfully identified in this study using GC-MS, a significantly larger number than in previous studies. GC-FID was used in determining the retention indices of chemical components in P. minus essential oil. The result also showed the efficiency and reliability were greatly improved when chemometric methods and retention indices were used in identification and quantification of chemical components in plant essential oil.     

Quantum dot based rapid tests for zearalenone detection

Three different kinds of immunosorbent assays with luminescence detection were developed for the determination of zearalenone (ZEN), a secondary toxic metabolite of Fusarium fungi. CdSe/ZnS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) were used as a label in quantitative micro-well plate immunoassays (fluorescent-labeled immunosorbent assay, FLISA) and in qualitative column test methods. As carriers for QD-based column tests, sepharose gel (for covalent binding of antibody) and polyethylene frits (for physical absorption of antibody) were used and compared. The application of QDs as a label resulted in a fourfold decrease in the IC(50) value with FLISA (0.1 ng mL(-1)) with a detection limit of 0.03 ng mL(-1) when compared with the traditional immunosorbent assay which makes use of horseradish peroxidase as the enzyme label. The cutoff levels for both qualitative column test methods were selected based on the maximum level for ZEN in unprocessed cereals established by the European Commission (100 μg kg(-1)) as 5 ng mL(-1) taking into account extraction and dilution. The different developed immumoassays were tested for ZEN determination in raw wheat samples. As a confirmatory method, liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry was used. The obtained results allow using FLISA and both qualitative column test methods for the analysis of analytes with very low established maximum limits, even in very complicated food matrices, owing to the high dilution of the sample extract.     

Enhancement of mechanical and thermal properties of oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber poly(butylene adipate-co-terephtalate) biocomposites by matrix esterification using succinic anhydride

In this work, the oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fiber was used as a source of lignocellulosic filler to fabricate a novel type of cost effective biodegradable composite, based on the aliphatic aromatic co-polyester poly(butylene adipate-co-terephtalate) PBAT (Ecoflex?), as a fully biodegradable thermoplastic polymer matrix. The aim of this research was to improve the new biocomposites' performance by chemical modification using succinic anhydride (SAH) as a coupling agent in the presence and absence of dicumyl peroxide (DCP) and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as initiators. For the composite preparation, several blends were prepared with varying ratios of filler and matrix using the melt blending technique. The composites were prepared at various fiber contents of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 (wt %) and characterized. The effects of fiber loading and coupling agent loading on the thermal properties of biodegradable polymer composites were evaluated using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used for morphological studies. The chemical structure of the new biocomposites was also analyzed using the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy technique. The PBAT biocomposite reinforced with 40 (wt %) of EFB fiber showed the best mechanical properties compared to the other PBAT/EFB fiber biocomposites. Biocomposite treatment with 4 (wt %) succinic anhydride (SAH) and 1 (wt %) dicumyl peroxide (DCP) improved both tensile and flexural strength as well as tensile and flexural modulus. The FTIR analyses proved the mechanical test results by presenting the evidence of successful esterification using SAH/DCP in the biocomposites' spectra. The SEM micrograph of the tensile fractured surfaces showed the improvement of fiber-matrix adhesion after using SAH. The TGA results showed that chemical modification using SAH/DCP improved the thermal stability of the PBAT/EFB biocomposite.     

A theoretical study of double-pass thulium-doped fiber amplifiers

An efficient fluoride-based thulium-doped fiber amplifier (TDFA) is theoretically demonstrated using a double-pass scheme. A reflector is incorporated in the double-pass TDFA to allow double propagation of the test signal in the gain medium and thus improve the gain of the TDFA. The small signal gain improvement of more than 15 dB is obtained in the 1465 nm region. A gain as high as 42 dB is obtained in this region with 300 mW of 1050 nm pump using 20 m of thulium-doped fiber. However, a noise figure penalty of approximately 1 dB is also obtained in this wavelength region. Differential equations are solved using the Runge-Kutta method in the theoretical analysis. The theoretical result is in agreement with the experimental result.     

Synthesis,structural, magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 nanoparticles

In this work, we reported a detailed study on the synthesis, structural and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃. The synthesized nanoparticles were prepared using a sol–gel method and characterized using X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscope. The average particle size was found in the range from 40 to 45 nm. The magnetization versus temperature M(T) measurements as well as magnetization field dependence M(H) have been investigated using vibrating-sample magnetometer. The magnetization as a function of temperature M(T) indicated a broad second-order magnetic phase transition from ferromagnetic state to paramagnetic state in the Curie temperature region (320–340 K). The magnetocaloric effect of the sample has been estimated and presented a maximum magnetic entropy change |ΔS_M|_max?=?0.86 J kg^?1 K^?1 with relative cooling power?=?62.12 J kg^?1 at magnetic field (H)?=?2T. Based on the result of magnetocaloric properties, the investigated sample could be considered as a good refrigerant material for near room temperature magnetic refrigeration.