Nitrogen photofixation on nanostructured iron titanate films

A nanostructured iron titanate thin film has been prepared by a sol-gel method from iron(III) chloride and titanium tetraisopropylate. Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis and M?ssbauer spectroscopy suggest the presence of a Fe(2)Ti(2)O(7) phase, which was previously obtained as an intermediary phase upon heating ilmenite. In the presence of ethanol or humic acids and traces of oxygen, the novel film photocatalyzes the fixation of dinitrogen to ammonia (17 microM) and nitrate (45 microM). In the first observable reaction step, hydrazine is produced and then undergoes further photoreduction to ammonia. Oxidation of the latter by oxygen affords nitrate as the final product. Since the reaction occurs also in air and with visible light (lambda>455 nm), and since the iron titanate phase may be formed by the weathering of ilmenite minerals, it may be a model for mutual nonenzymatic nitrogen fixation in nature.     

(η2-Allyl­ammonium)­aqua­bis­(sulfam­ato-N)copper(I)

The Cu^I atom in the title complex, [Cu(NH₂SO₃)₂(C₃H₈N)(H₂O)], is coordinated by the C=C bond of the allyl­ammonium cation, two N atoms of the sulfamate anions and the O atom of the H₂O mol­ecule in the apical position. Thus, the central atom is in a distorted trigonal–pyramidal environment. Strong N—H⃛O and O—H⃛O contacts connect separate moieties of the complex into a three-dimensional framework. The title compound is representative of hitherto unknown copper(I)–sulfamate π-complexes.     

Access to 5-fluoroisoxazoles via the nitrosation of geminal bromo-fluoro arylcyclopropanes

A new method for the synthesis of 3-aryl-5-fluoroisoxazoles via the reaction of nitrosonium chlorosulfate with 2-aryl-1-bromo-1-fluorocyclopropanes containing acceptor substituents in the aromatic ring has been developed. The reaction proceeds highly regioselectively thus providing 3-aryl-5-fluoroisoxazoles in good yields. The structure of isoxazoles was corroborated by the DU8+ hybrid DFT/parametric computational approach.     

Head-to-tail self-assembly of a calix[4]arene inclusion polymer controlled by a pendant arm

A calix[4]arene functionalized at one phenolic group with a pendant ethoxy acetate group, forms an inclusion complex that is stable even in the presence of other potential guest molecules.     

Carbon Nanostructured Screen‐printed Electrodes Modified with CuO/Glucose Oxidase/Maltase/SiO2 Composite Film for Maltose Determination

A sensitive voltammetric method was developed to determine maltose in beverage products using a carbon nanostructured screen‐printed electrode modified with CuO/glucose oxidase/maltase/SiO₂ biocomposite film. Adding CuO particles was done to possess catalytic activity toward hydrogen peroxide. Electrode modified by glucose oxidase and maltase shows a good response to maltose. A well‐defined reduction peak was registered at the potential of ?0.55 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) which intensity increases linearly with the concentration of maltose ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 mmol L^?1. The calculated limit of detection was 0.005 mmol L^?1. Tested on the beer samples, the developed CuO/glucose oxidase/maltase/SiO₂ biocomposite film covered carbon nanostructured screen‐printed electrode is showed to be a prospective sensitive element of the third generation biosensor for maltose.     

A new form of spontaneously polarized material

We report here the discovery of a new form of spontaneously polarized material. Examples of this material, in the form of films, demonstrate the property that they spontaneously harbour electric fields which may exceed 10(8) Vm(-1), achieving potentials of tens of volts on the film surface. The molecules presently identified form a diverse group, thus far of six species, with gas phase dipoles lying between 0.08 D and 0.5 D: propane (0.08 D), isopentane (0.13 D), nitrous oxide (0.167 D), isoprene (0.25 D), toluene (0.385 D) and CF(3)Cl (Freon-13; 0.5 D). Here we concentrate on an understanding of the nature of the interactions which give rise to the spontaneously polarized state, using the measured temperature dependence of the electric field in N(2)O as a diagnostic. We show that the polarized state can arise through a mechanism of non-linear dipole alignment in a single domain in which dipole alignment generates the electric field within the film and the field generates dipole alignment. Non-local interactions take place over the dimension of the thickness of the film and permeate the entire medium through the agency of the electric field. This new type of material may have wide ranging applications in devices and in nanotechnology.     

Voltammetric Determination of Purine Bases Using a Carbon Electrode Modified With Hybrid Silica Film

Hybrid silica films containing cation‐exchange polyelectrolytes were designed and used to modify a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for voltammetric determination of purine bases. Hybrid silica‐polyelectrolyte films synthesised in the presence of adenine as structure directed component have demonstrated enhanced sorption capacity to purine base. The anodic peaks of adenine and guanine at a hybrid film‐modified GCE were observed at +1.55 and +1.1 V, respectively, in phosphate buffer solution at pH 3.5. Oxidation currents of adenine and guanine were proportional to their concentration in the range of 0.02–0.50 mM, with a detection limit of 0.015 mM. The developed method was used to determine adenine in adenosine triphosphate and purine bases in hydrolyzed solutions of DNA and demonstrated good metrological characteristics.     

A BEM for transient thermoelastic fracture analysis of FGMs

A boundary element method for the transient thermoelastic fracture analysis in isotropic, continuously non-homogeneous and linear elastic functionally graded materials subjected to a thermal shock is presented. The material parameters are assumed to be continuous functions of the Cartesian coordinates. Laplace-domain fundamental solutions of linear coupled thermoelasticity for infinite, isotropic, homogeneous and linear elastic solids are applied to derive the boundary-domain integral equation formulation. The numerical implementation is performed by using a collocation method for the spatial discretization. Numerical results for the dynamic stress intensity factors are presented and discussed. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Silica gel modified with lumogallion for aluminum determination by spectroscopic methods

Simple, easy to use and selective method of Al(III) sorption-spectroscopic (SS) determination was proposed. For this purpose, silica modified with tridecyloctadecylammonium chloride(SGII) using adsorption technique and glass slide modified with thin silica-poly(dimethyldiallyl-ammonium chloride) (SGI) composite film obtained by sol-gel technique were worked out. It was shown that lumogallion (LG) easily absorbs on SGI and SGII. Obtained sorbents SGIII and SGIV, respectively, were used for aluminum(III) determination by diffuse reflectance and spectrophotometric methods. The ranges of determination were (mg L⁻¹): (0.08-0.54), s_r ≤ 0.13, n = 4 for SGIII and (0.05-2.0), s_r ≤ 0.11, n = 4 for SGIV. The detection limits (blank + 3σ) for aluminum were 70 and 30 μg L⁻¹ using SGIII and SGIV, respectively, where σ is the standard deviation of blank estimation. The accuracy of the developed spectrophotometric method was examined by the determination of standard addition of aluminum in alcohol-free beverages. The relative error did not exceed 9%. SGIII can be regenerated by 0.05 M EDTANa₂H₂ solution and reused. SGIV was shown to be perspective for determination of aluminum in solution in the range of 0.01-0.13 mg L⁻¹ by solid phase luminescent technique.