A DFT study of hydrogen chemisorption on V (100) surfaces

In this study, hydrogen adsorption on the surface of vanadium at various positions (top, bridge, and central sites) was studied, and the binding energies of hydrogen species adsorbed on vanadium were calculated using density functional theory (DFT) within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The potential of the adsorption of hydrogen on vanadium was examined as a function of both surface coverage and adsorption site. Our results were in excellent agreement with the experimental values reported in the literature. The relative stabilities of hydrogen chemisorption were independent of both the transition metal surface and surface coverage. That is, hydrogen exhibited insignificant selectivity with respect to positions on the metal surface. Our data on H₂/V surface chemisorption revealed that the stablest model for hydrogen adsorption was that on the vertical bridge site. The adsorption energy for this model was lower than for the other sites. However, adsorption on bridge-hydrogen vacancies was strong.     

Preparation and application of the titania sol-gel coated anodized aluminum fibers for headspace solid phase microextraction of aromatic hydrocarbons from water samples

A novel titania sol-gel coating, including tetrabutyl orthototitanat (TBOT) as initial alkoxide, triethanolamine (TEA) as stabilizer, nitric acid as acid catalyst, and polyethylene glycol (PEG, 6000) as binder was prepared for the first time on an anodized aluminium wire and subsequently applied to headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) with gas chromatography flame ionization detection (GC-FID). The analytical characteristics of the proposed porous titania sol-gel derived TBOT/PEG/TEA (41.6:16.0:42.4) fiber were comparable with reported fibers. The extraction temperature, extraction time, effect of salt addition, desorption temperature and desorption time were optimized. Under the optimized conditions and for all BTEX components, the linearity was from 20 to 800 μg L⁻¹, the RSD was below 8.2% and limit of detections (LODs) were between 5.4 and 14.8 μg L⁻¹. The recovery values were from 86.7% to 94.2% in water samples. The proposed HS-SPME-GC-FID method was successfully applied for the analysis of BTEX compounds from petrochemical wastewater samples.     

A helix-forming αβγ-chimeric peptide with catalytic activity: a hybrid peptide ligase

We describe the catalytic activity of the first chimeric ligase containing a foldameric sequence of β- and γ-amino acids. The chimeric backbone provides for the spatial arrangement of all functional groups involved in the formation of the catalytic site to allow efficient catalysis to take place. Our finding indicates significant progress in the field of functionally active artificial motifs.     

Investigation on the dynamics of electron transport and recombination in TiO2 nanotube/nanoparticle composite electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

In this work, we report on fabrication and characterization of dye-sensitized solar cells based on TiO(2) nanotube/nanoparticle (NT/NP) composite electrodes. TiO(2) nanotubes were prepared by anodization of Ti foil in an organic electrolyte. The nanotubes were chemically separated from the foil, ground and added to a TiO(2) nanoparticle paste, from which composite NT/NP electrodes were fabricated. In the composite TiO(2) films the nanotubes existed in bundles with a length of a few micrometres. By optimizing the amount of NT in the paste, dye-sensitized solar cells with an efficiency of 5.6% were obtained, a 10% improvement in comparison to solar cells with pure NP electrodes. By increasing the fraction of NT in the electrode the current density increased by 20% (from 11.1 to 13.3 mA cm(-2)), but the open circuit voltage decreased from 0.78 to 0.73 V. Electron transport, lifetime and extraction studies were performed to investigate this behavior. A higher fraction of NT in the paste led to more and deeper traps in the resulting composite electrodes. Nevertheless, faster electron transport under short-circuit conditions was found with increased NT content, but the electron lifetime was not improved. The electron diffusion length calculated for short-circuit conditions was increased 3-fold in composite electrodes with an optimized NT fraction. The charge collection efficiency was more than 90% over a wide range of light intensities, leading to improved solar cell performance.     

Study of amyloid β-peptide (Aβ12-28-Cys) interactions with Congo red and β-sheet breaker peptides using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

A surface-based approach is presented to study the interactions of Aβ12-28-Cys assembled on gold surfaces with Congo red (CR) and a β-sheet breaker (BSB) peptide. The various aspects of the peptide film have been examined using different electrochemical and surface analytical techniques. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results using redox probes [Fe(CN)(6)](3-/4-) show that Aβ12-28-Cys on gold forms a stable and reproducible blocking film. EIS analysis shows that CR and BSB have different effects on the electrochemical properties of Aβ12-28-Cys films, presumably due to changes in the interactions between the film and CR and BSB. EIS results indicate that in the case of CR film resistance decreases significantly presumably due to better penetration of the solution-based redox probe into the film, whereas in the case of BSB, the film resistance increases. We interpret this difference to BSB being able to interact with the Aβ12-28-Cys on the surface and presumably forming a film that presents a higher resistance for electron transfer from the redox probe to the solution.     

A versatile supported silver for heterogeneously catalysed processes: Synthesis of 3‐Acyloxylindolines solvent‐free conditions

We have found that fibrous nanosilica (KCC‐1) can used as a excellent support for the synthesis of highly sparse nanoparticles and has high surface area that was functionalized with Tetrathia‐azacyclopentadecane (TTACP) groups acting as the strong performers so that the Ag nanoparticles were well‐dispersed without aggregation on the fibers of the KCC‐1 microspheres (KCC‐1/TTACP/Ag). We enthusiasm to report one‐pot synthesis of 3‐Acyloxylindolines for first time from N‐tosyl‐2‐vinylaniline, and benzoic acid in the presence of KCC‐1/TTACP/Ag as a catalyst.     

Optimization of alcohol‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction by experimental design for the rapid determination of fluoxetine in biological samples

A sensitive and rapid method based on alcohol‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by high‐performance liquid chromatography for the determination of fluoxetine in human plasma and urine samples was developed. The effects of six parameters on the extraction recovery were investigated and optimized utilizing Plackett–Burman design and Box–Benken design, respectively. According to the Plackett–Burman design results, the volume of disperser solvent, extraction time, and stirring speed had no effect on the recovery of fluoxetine. The optimized conditions included a mixture of 172 μL of 1‐octanol as extraction solvent and 400 μL of methanol as disperser solvent, pH of 11.3 and 0% w/v of salt in the sample solution. Replicating the experiment in optimized condition for five times, gave the average extraction recoveries equal to 90.15%. The detection limit of fluoxetine in human plasma was obtained 3 ng/mL, and the linearity was in the range of 10–1200 ng/mL. The corresponding values for human urine were 4.2 ng/mL with the linearity range from 10 to 2000 ng/mL. Relative standard deviations for intra and inter day extraction of fluoxetine were less than 7% in five measurements. The developed method was successfully applied for the determination of fluoxetine in human plasma and urine samples.     

Molecular electrocatalysis at soft interfaces

The fundamental aspects of electrochemistry at liquid-liquid interfaces are introduced to present the concept of molecular electrocatalysis. Here, a molecular catalyst is adsorbed at the interface to promote a proton coupled electron transfer reaction such as hydrogen evolution or oxygen reduction using lipophilic electron donors.     

Hydrogen Evolution at Liquid–Liquid Interfaces

Blowing bubbles : Hydrogen evolution by proton reduction with [(C₅Me₅)₂Fe] occurs at a soft interface between water and 1,2‐dichloroethane (DCE). The reaction proceeds by proton transfer assisted by [(C₅Me₅)₂Fe] across the water–DCE interface with subsequent proton reduction in DCE. The interface essentially acts as a proton pump, allowing hydrogen evolution by directly using the aqueous proton.