Graphene and Carbon Nanotube-based Electrochemical Sensing Platforms for Dopamine

Dopamine (DA) is an important neurotransmitter, which is created and released from the central nervous system. It plays a crucial role in human activities, like cognition, emotions, and response to anything. Maladjustment of DA in human blood serum results in different neural diseases, like Parkinson's and Schizophrenia. Consequently, researchers have started working on DA detection in blood serum, which is undoubtedly a hot research area. Electrochemical sensing techniques are more promising to detect DA in real samples. However, utilizing conventional electrodes for selective determination of DA encounters numerous problems due to the coexistence of other materials, such as uric acid and ascorbic acid, which have an oxidation potential close to DA. To overcome such problems, researchers have put their focus on the modification of bare electrodes. The aim of this review is to present recent advances in modifications of most used bare electrodes with carbonaceous materials, especially graphene, its derivatives, and carbon nanotubes, for electrochemical detection of DA. A brief discussion about the mechanistic phenomena at the electrode interface has also been included in this review.     

Adsorption of a cationic water-soluble dye onto cationic Langmuir–Blodgett films via nano clay platelets: An efficient approach to control the H-dimer

This communication reports the successful adsorption of a water-soluble cationic fluorescent dye Acridine Orange (AO) onto Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) films of a cationic amphiphile octadecylamine (ODA) in the presence of nano-clay platelets hectorite. Acridine orange (AO) has been widely used as a stainer for the characterization of biopolymers. But AO has a tendency to form non-florescent H-dimer even in the aqueous solution. Anionic nano-clay platelets hectorite played an important role in controlling the H-dimer formation of AO in the hybrid film. Effects of various parameters in the adsorption process were investigated in detail.     

Hybrid inorganic–organic poly(carborane‐siloxane‐arylacetylene) structural isomers with in‐chain aromatics: Synthesis and properties

Structural isomers of thermo‐oxidatively stable poly(carborane‐siloxane‐arylacetylene) (PCSAA), namely, m‐PCSAA and p‐PCSAA, were synthesized by the reaction of the dimagnesium salts of m‐diethynylbenzene or p‐diethynylbenzene with 1,7‐bis(chlorotetramethyldisiloxyl)‐m‐carborane. The developed polymers have exceptional thermo‐oxidative properties similar to their diacetylene counterpart poly(carborane‐siloxane‐acetylene), PCSA. Thermal treatment of either of the PCSAAs results in a fully crosslinked thermoset by 500 °C resulting from the cycloaddition reactions involving the acetylene and aryl functionalities and subsequent formation of bridging disilylmethylene entities as discerned from Fourier transform infrared, ¹³C and ²⁹Si solid‐state NMR, and XPS studies. X‐ray diffraction analysis revealed that the thermosets obtained from p‐PCSAA possess enhanced crystallinity when compared to that obtained from m‐PCSAA possibly due to more efficient packing interactions of the p‐diethynylbenzene groups during thermoset formation. The presence of the aryl groups in the backbone of the PCSAAs' chains appeared to have enhanced the storage and bulk moduli of their thermosets when compared to the thermoset of PCSA. Dielectric studies of m‐PCSAA and p‐PCSAA revealed segmental relaxation peaks, α, above their glass transition temperatures with p‐PCSAA exhibiting a broader peak with a slower relaxation rate than m‐PCSAA. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.^? J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 2638–2650     

Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Biodegradable Di‐ and Tri‐Block Copolymers Based on Ethylene Carbonate Polymer as Hydrophobic Segment

Synthesis of novel amphiphilic biodegradable block copolymers based on ethylene carbonate is reported in this study. Polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether (MeO‐PEO) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) of varying molar masses are used as macro‐initiator for ring‐opening polymerization of ethylene carbonate in the presence of sodium stannate trihydrate as a heterogeneous transesterification catalyst. Earlier elution of block copolymer from macro‐initiator in size exclusion chromatography (SEC) indicated the successful synthesis of the block copolymers. Ratios of both types of blocks are varied systematically. Liquid chromatography at critical conditions is used for the analysis of the non‐critical individual blocks, and if there are any critical segments that are not attached to the non‐critical block. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the synthesis of ethylene carbonate‐based amphiphilic block copolymers. Chromatographic critical conditions of the ethylene carbonate polymer are also reported for the first time. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 1887–1893     

Effect of transmission fiber and amplifier noise on optical chaos synchronization

Optical chaos propagation has few constraints peculiar to itself which do not become as significant in conventional nonchaotic optical communication. We have investigated the effects of transmission fiber nonlinearities, dispersion and noise of erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) on chaotic signal synchronization in lumped and distributed configuration. It is found that the effects of fiber dispersion can be easily compensated; however, the effects of fiber nonlinearity on chaos cannot be overdone and must be avoided. Three distinct configurations with different combinations of standard telecommunication fiber, dispersion compensation fiber and lumped and distributed EDF for amplification are analysed. The results are compared in terms of sync diagrams and noise figure. The chaos after propagation through distributed amplification performs better as compared to lumped amplification. Also, a new quantitative measure for the calculation of deviation in sync diagram of chaos is introduced.     

Polymeric Three-Dimensional Crystal Structure of a Tributyltin(IV) Derivative with Acetylene Dicarboxylic Acid

Abstract

A novel polymeric complex has been synthesized by refluxing disodium acetylene dicarboxylate with tributyltin chloride in dry methanol. The solid-state structure of the complex has been determined by single-crystal X-ray analysis. The tin(IV) metal exhibits distorted trigonal bipyramidal geometry. Each carboxylate group of the ligand acts in a bidentate fashion, linking adjacent metal atoms to produce polymeric chains, which are cross-linked into a three-dimensional network.