Electrokinetics in antimicrobial resistance analysis: A review

Infections caused by antimicrobial resistance are a serious problem in the world. Currently, commercial devices for antimicrobial susceptibility testing and resistant bacteria identification are time-consuming. There is an urgent need to develop fast and accurate methods, especially in the process of sample pretreatment. Electrokinetic (EK) is a family of electric-field-based kinetic phenomena of fluid or embedded objects, and EK applications have been found in various fields. In this paper, EK bacteria manipulation, including enrichment and separation, is reviewed. Focus is given to the rapid electric-based minimum inhibitory concentration measurement. The future directions and major challenges in this field are also outlined.     

Mixed-Valence CuI/CuIII Metal–Organic Frameworks with Non-innocent Ligand for Multielectron Transfer

We report two novel three-dimensional copper-benzoquinoid metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), [Cu₄L₃]_n and [Cu₄L₃ ⋅ Cu(iq)₃]_n (LH₄=1,4-dicyano-2,3,5,6-tetrahydroxybenzene, iq=isoquinoline). Spectroscopic techniques and computational studies reveal the unprecedented mixed valency in MOFs, formal Cu(I)/Cu(III). This is the first time that formally Cu(III) species are witnessed in metal–organic extended solids. The coordination between the mixed-valence metal and redox-non-innocent ligand L, which promotes through-bond charge transfer between Cu metal sites, allows better metal-ligand orbital overlap of the d-π conjugation, leading to strong long-range delocalization and semiconducting behavior. Our findings highlight the significance of the unique mixed valency between formal Cu(I) and highly-covalent Cu(III), non-innocent ligand, and pore environments of these bench stable Cu(III)-containing frameworks on multielectron transfer and electrochemical properties.     

Thermo-Kinetic Study of Piperazine Immobilized Silica Surface

In the present study, the degradation process of piperazine (PP) immobilized silica gel (SiPP) is investigated under dynamic conditions. The degradation of SiPP is studied with thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The kinetics of degradation process is analyzed by Kissinger method, Flynn–Wall–Ozawa's (FWO) method, and Deconvolution method. It is found that degradation of SiPP can be described by parallel independent two-portion process model, which includes two processing state of the system (marked by processes 1 and 2), where process 1 and 2 can be attributed to decomposition processes of organic moiety attached on silica surface. The apparent activation energy (E_a) is calculated by Flynn–Wall–Ozawa's (FWO) method and deconvolution method.     

Correction to: Non‑precious transition metal‑based counter electrodes for dye‑sensitized solar cells

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry -     

Ir-Catalyzed Transfer Hydrogenation and Alkylation of Aldehydes and Ketones Using Ethanol as the Hydrogen Source

Bio-derived ethanol is a promising green and sustainable hydrogen-donor solvent. Herein, we have developed Ir-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation of ketones and aldehydes using ethanol as a hydrogen source with amides as simple ligands. Furthermore, the alkylation of ketones and tandem alkylation/transfer hydrogenation of acetophenones is reported with ethanol.     

Non-precious transition metal-based counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - A non-platinum metal catalyst, TiNx-C, was synthesized through the high-pressure pyrolysis method, which was characterized using a transmission electron...