Effects of lithium on the electronic properties of porous Ge as anode material for batteries

Recently, the need of improvement of energy storage has led to the development of Lithium batteries with porous materials as electrodes. Porous Germanium (pGe) has shown promise for the development of new generation Li-ion batteries due to its excellent electronic, and chemical properties, however, the effect of lithium in its properties has not been studied extensively. In this contribution, the effect of surface and interstitial Li on the electronic properties of pGe was studied using a first-principles density functional theory scheme. The porous structures were modeled by removing columns of atoms in the [001] direction and the surface dangling bonds were passivated with H atoms, and then replaced with Li atoms. Also, the effect of a single interstitial Li in the Ge was analyzed. The transition state and the diffusion barrier of the Li in the Ge structure were studied using a quadratic synchronous transit scheme.     

Electroanalytical Determination of N‐Nitrosamines in Aqueous Solution Using a Boron‐Doped Diamond Electrode

The electrochemical methods cyclic and square‐wave voltammetry were applied to develop an electroanalytical procedure for the determination of N‐nitrosamines (N‐nitrosopyrrolidine, N‐nitrosopiperidine and N‐nitrosodiethylamine) in aqueous solutions. Cyclic voltammetry was used to evaluate the electrochemical behaviors of N‐nitrosamines on boron‐doped diamond electrodes. It was observed an irreversible electrooxidation peak located in approximately 1.8 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) for both N‐nitrosamines. The optimal electrochemical response was obtained using the following square‐wave voltammetry parameters: f=250 Hz, E_sw=50 mV and E_s=2 mV using a Britton–Robinson buffer solution as electrolyte (pH 2). The detection and quantification limits determined for total N‐nitrosamines were 6.0×10^?8 and 2.0×10^?7 mol L^?1, respectively.     

Study of Ground State Interactions of Enantiopure Chiral Quaternary Ammonium Salts and Amides,Nitroalkanes, Nitroalkenes,Esters, Heterocycles,Ketones and Fluoroamides

Chiral phase-transfer catalysis provides high level of enantiocontrol, however no experimental data showed the interaction of catalysts and substrates. ¹H NMR titration was carried out on Cinchona and Maruoka ammonium bromides vs. nitro, carbonyl, heterocycles, and N−F containing compounds. It was found that neutral organic species and quaternary ammonium salts interacted via an ensemble of catalyst ⁺N−C−H and (sp²)C−H, specific for each substrate studied. The correspondent BArF salts interacted with carbonyls via a diverse set of ⁺N−C−H and (sp²)C−H compared to bromides. This data suggests that BArF ammonium salts may display a different enantioselectivity profile. Although not providing quantitative data for the affinity constants, the data reported proofs that chiral ammonium salts coordinate with substrates, prior to transition state, through specific C−H positions in their structures, providing a new rational to rationalize the origin of enantioselectivity in their catalyses.     

Trifluoroacetylation of arylamines using poly-phosphoric acid trimethylsilylester (PPSE)

A new, simple and useful procedure is described for the trifluoroacetylation of arylamines using trifluoroacetic acid and poly-phosphoric acid trimethylsilylester (PPSE) as the condensation agent.     

Synthesis and spectral properties of 2‐[(o‐ and p‐substituted)aminophenyl] ‐3H‐5‐[(o‐ and p‐substituted)phenyl]‐7‐chloro‐1,4‐benzodiazepines

A series of twelve new 2‐[(o‐ and p‐substituted)aminophenyl]‐3H‐5‐[(o‐ and p‐substituted)phenyl]‐7‐chloro‐1,4‐benzodiazepines, which have possible pharmacological properties has been obtained. The synthesis was carried out following six steps. The structure of all products was corroborated by ir, ¹H nmr, ¹³C nmr and ms. In addition for the compound 2‐(o‐chloroaminophenyl)‐3H‐5‐(o‐fluorophenyl)‐7‐chloro‐1,4‐benzodiazepine 7, its structure was confirmed by X‐ray diffraction.     

Morphology and dynamic mechanical properties of epoxy/poly(styrene-co-allylalcohol) blends

Blends based on epoxy resins and a random copolymer, poly(styrene-co-allylalcohol) (PS-co-PA) were studied, analysing the effect of epoxy nature. The epoxy cross-linking reaction was carried out by homopolymerisation, using an imidazole as initiator, and by addition of several amine hardeners. The imidazole acts as initiator of anionic epoxy etherification and as catalyser of epoxy-hydroxyl reaction. Important differences were observed on the network structure and phase behaviour of blends depending on the nature of epoxy matrix. These cause that the blends present different morphologies and different dynamic mechanical properties.     

Detection of hydrogen peroxide produced at a liquid/liquid interface using scanning electrochemical microscopy

Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) was used to monitor in situ hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) produced at a polarized water/1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) interface. The water/DCE interface was formed between a DCE droplet containing decamethylferrocene (DMFc) supported on a solid electrode and an acidic aqueous solution. H₂O₂ was generated by reducing oxygen with DMFc at the water/DCE interface, and was detected with a SECM tip positioned in the vicinity of the interface using a substrate generation/tip collection mode. This work shows unambiguously how the H₂O₂ generation depends on the polarization of the liquid/liquid interface, and how proton-coupled electron transfer reactions can be controlled at liquid/liquid interfaces.