Electrochemistry and detection of dopamine at a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) electrode modified with ferrocene and cobaltocene

Ionics - Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) modified with ferrocene carboxylic acid (FC1), ferrocene (FC2), and cobaltocene (CC) is introduced as a sensor electrode. FC or CC was...     

Nano Carbon Doped Polyacrylamide Gel Electrolytes for High Performance Supercapacitors

Novel polyacrylamide gel electrolytes (PGEs) doped with nano carbons with enhanced electrochemical, thermal, and mechanical properties are presented. Carboxylated carbon nanotubes (fCNTs), graphene oxide sheets (GO), and the hybrid of fCNT/GO were embedded in the PGEs to serve as supercapacitor (SC) electrolytes. Thermal stability of the unmodified PGE increased with the addition of the nano carbons which led to lower capacitance degradation and longer cycling life of the SCs. The fCNT/GO-PGE showed the best thermal stability, which was 50% higher than original PGE. Viscoelastic properties of PGEs were also improved with the incorporation of GO and fCNT/GO. Oxygen-containing functional groups in GO and fCNT/GO hydrogen bonded with the polymer chains and improved the elasticity of PGEs. The fCNT-PGE demonstrated a slightly lower viscous strain uninform distribution of CNTs in the polymer matrix and the defects formed within. Furthermore, ion diffusion between GO layers was enhanced in fCNT/GO-PGE because fCNT decreased the aggregation of GO sheets and improved the ion channels, increasing the gel ionic conductivity from 41 to 132 mS cm⁻¹. Finally, MnO₂-based supercapacitors using PGE, fCNT-PGE, GO-PGE, and fCNT/GO-PGE electrolytes were fabricated with the electrode-specific capacitance measured to be 39.5, 65.5, 77.6, and 83.3 F·g⁻¹, respectively. This research demonstrates the effectiveness of nano carbons as dopants in polymer gel electrolytes for property enhancements.     

Synthesis and Evaluation of Some Uracil Nucleosides as Promising Anti-Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Agents

Since herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection is so widespread, several antiviral drugs have been developed to treat it, among which are uracil nucleosides. However, there are major problems with the current medications such as severe side-effects and drug resistance. Here we present some newly synthesized cyclic and acyclic uracil nucleosides that showed very promising activity against HSV-1 compared to acyclovir.     

Perron Transforms

We generalize Zariski's Perron transforms to obtain a proof of local uniformization of an arbitrary singular variety of characteristic zero along a valuation of arbitrary rank. Furthermore, we resolve the centers of all the composite valuations as well as the prime ideals of infinite value.     

Influence of gamma radiation and magnetic resonance imaging radiation on micro-structure,hardness and electrochemical corrosion behavior of Co‒Cr-based dental alloy

The effects of therapeutic gamma radiation at 10, 20 and 30 kGy and magnetic resonance imaging radiation from a 1.5 T MR scanner on the micro-structure, electrochemical corrosion behavior and micro-hardness of commercial dental Magnum H50 (Co=64%, Cr=29%, Mo=6.5%) alloy have been investigated. The corrosion rate, corrosion resistance, corrosion potential and corrosion current density values of the alloy treated with 0.5 M HCl vary due to gamma and magnetic resonance imaging radiation. At 30 kGy, the corrosion resistance of Magnum H50 reaches a minimum value and the corrosion rate obtains a maximum value. The Vickers hardness value of the Magnum H50 alloy decreases after both gamma and magnetic resonance imaging radiation.     

A chiral Mn(IV) complex and its supramolecular assembly: Synthesis, characterization and properties

The open air reaction of the chiral Schiff base ligand H₂L, prepared by the condensation of L-phenylalaninol and 5-bromosalicylaldehyde, with Mn^II(CH₃COO)₂.4H₂O yielded dark brown complex [Mn^IV L₂]·0·5 DMF (1). Compound 1 was characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV-visible, CD and EPR spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and room temperature magnetic moment determination. Single-crystal X-ray analysis revealed that compound 1 crystallises in the monoclinicP2 ₁ space group with six mononuclear [Mn^IV L₂] units in the asymmetric unit along with three solvent DMF molecules. In the crystal structure, each Mn(IV) complex, acting as the building unit, undergoes supramolecular linking through C-H...0 bonds leading to an intricate hydrogen bonding network.     

A Keggin Polyoxometalate Shows Water Oxidation Activity at Neutral pH: POM@ZIF‐8, an Efficient and Robust Electrocatalyst

Keggin‐type polyoxometalate anions [XM₁₂O₄₀]^n? are versatile, as their applications in interdisciplinary areas show. The Keggin anion [CoW₁₂O₄₀]^6? turns into an efficient and robust electrocatalyst upon its confinement in the well‐defined void space of ZIF‐8, a metal–organic framework (MOF). [H₆CoW₁₂O₄₀]@ZIF‐8 is so stable to water oxidation that it retains its initial activity even after 1000 catalytic cycles. The catalyst has a turnover frequency (TOF) of 10.8 mol O₂(mol Co)^?1 s^?1, one of the highest TOFs for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution at neutral pH. Controlled experiments rule out the chances of formation and participation of CoO_x in this electrocatalyic water oxidation.     

A capacitated firm’s pricing strategies for strategic consumers with different search costs

This paper studies pricing strategies of a seller with budget constraints facing two types of strategic consumers with different search costs, and proposes three pricing strategies to motivate all consumers to visit his shop. These are the basic price strategy, differentiated compensation strategy and an improved differentiated compensation strategy. Based on the rational expectations paradigm, we characterize the rational expectations equilibrium in the game and propose a basic pricing strategy. In order to address the interplay between price and demand, we further propose a differentiated compensation strategy to improve the basic model. We then compare the differentiated compensation strategy to the basic pricing strategy when both are feasible. We find that selection of the optimal strategy is independent of composition of consumers but is dependent on the seller’s budget level and the difference between the two search costs. If the budget is large enough and the difference between the search costs is small enough, a differentiated compensation strategy can further improve the seller’s profitability. In addition to these findings, we first propose an improved differentiated compensation strategy to further enhance the firm’s profit. We find that the optimal strategy is to implement the improved differentiated compensation strategy when all three strategies are feasible. Interestingly, the firm may benefit from paying a high compensation to the consumers.