Gold nanoparticles stabilized by modified halloysite nanotubes for catalytic applications

A highly sustainable prototype of a flow system based on gold nanoparticles (4.2 nm) supported on thiol‐functionalized halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) was developed for catalytic applications. The catalytic performances were evaluated using the reduction of 4‐nitrophenol to 4‐aminophenol as a model system. Under the best experimental conditions (0.0001 mol%, 1.97 × 10^?8 mg of Au nanoparticles), an impressive apparent turnover frequency value up to 2 204 530 h^?1 was achieved and the halloysite‐based catalyst showed full recyclability even after ten cycles. The high catalytic activity confirms the importance of the use of HNTs as support for Au nanoparticles that can exert a synergistic effect both as medium for transfer of electrons from borohydride ions to 4‐nitrophenol and by modulating interfacial electron transfer dynamics. With the application of flow technology, the obtained heterogeneous HNT@Au catalyst was fully recovered and reused for at least one month.     

Second-order advantage with excitation–emission photoinduced fluorimetry for the determination of the antiepileptic carbamazepine in environmental waters

A photochemically induced fluorescence system combined with second-order chemometric analysis for the determination of the anticonvulsant carbamazepine (CBZ) is presented. CBZ is a widely used drug for the treatment of epilepsy and is included in the group of emerging contaminant present in the aquatic environment. CBZ is not fluorescent in solution but can be converted into a fluorescent compound through a photochemical reaction in a strong acid medium. The determination is carried out by measuring excitation–emission photoinduced fluorescence matrices of the products formed upon ultraviolet light irradiation in a laboratory-constructed reactor constituted by two simple 4 W germicidal tubes. Working conditions related to both the reaction medium and the photoreactor geometry are optimized by an experimental design. The developed approach enabled the determination of CBZ at trace levels without the necessity of applying separation steps, and in the presence of uncalibrated interferences which also display photoinduced fluorescence and may be potentially present in the investigated samples. Different second-order algorithms were tested and successful resolution was achieved using multivariate curve resolution-alternating least-squares (MCR-ALS). The study is employed for the discussion of the scopes and yields of each of the applied second-order chemometric tools. The quality of the proposed method is probed through the determination of the studied emerging pollutant in both environmental and drinking water samples. After a pre-concentration step on a C18 membrane using 50.0 mL of real water samples, a prediction relative error of 2% and limits of detection and quantification of 0.2 and 0.6 ng mL⁻¹ were respectively obtained.     

Synthesis of C-C bonded dimeric steroids by olefin metathesis

Five new C-C bonded steroidal homodimers derived from deoxycholic acid, pregnenolone, and progesterone were synthesized by an olefin metathesis reaction assisted by microwave heating. Microwave improved the yield and accelerated the reaction allowing the use of less catalyst with good results (2.5 mol %). Due to the bulky nature of the steroidal skeleton the more favorable E-dimers were formed as the sole or major products depending on the linker length.     

Vibrational spectra and H-bondings in anhydrous and monohydrate α-Zr phosphates

A new FTIR and FT-Raman investigation on α-zirconium phosphate (Zr(HPO₄)₂·H₂O) and its anhydrous form has been performed in order to obtain an affordable assignment of their vibrational spectra as well as to highlight the hydrogen bonding structure formed by the P-OH groups and the intercalated water molecules. To this end the spectral changes induced by both temperature and isotopic exchange were observed on several high-purity grade samples of different morphology especially prepared and well characterized by SEM, RX, DSC and TGA. In particular, it is also presented as a detailed discussion of the results obtained by FTIR-PAS for different sample morphology. The observed spectra have been analyzed and interpreted according to the α-Zr(HPO₄)₂·H₂O crystal structure and H-bond geometry. The obtained results allowed to clarify the mechanism of the α-Zr(HPO₄)₂·H₂O→α-Zr(HPO₄)₂ dehydration process as well as the H-bonding changes involved in the high temperature phase transition of anhydrous α-Zr(HPO₄)₂.     

Global dynamics perspective on macro- to nano-mechanics

Nonlinear Dynamics - In about the last two decades, global nonlinear dynamics has been evolving in a revolutionary way, with the development of sophisticated techniques employing concepts/tools of...     

Synthesis and microbiological properties of novel bis-quaternary ammonium compounds based on 4,4′-oxydiphenol spacer

1. Download : Download high-res image (103KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

     

Molecular level differentiation between end‐capped and intramolecular azofunctional oligo(ε‐caprolactone) positional isomers through liquid chromatography multistage mass spectrometry

End‐capped and intramolecular azofunctional oligocaprolactones were characterized at molecular level by liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI MS) and NMR spectroscopy. The Disperse Red 19 (DR19) azofunctional oligomers, DC, were synthesized by ring‐opening oligomerization of ε‐caprolactone (ε‐CL) initiated by the hydroxyl groups of DR19 azo dye. The reaction products consist of a minor fraction of end‐capped azo functional oligocaprolactone (α‐DC), that is, a single CL arm oligomer, and a major fraction of intramolecular azo functional oligocaprolactone (β‐DC), that is, a two CL arms oligomer. The chromatographic separation was used to discriminate between α‐DC and β‐DC, and the results were confirmed by MS/MS performed on an ESI ion trap instrument. The results supported by accurate mass data obtained for product ions using an ESI quadrupole time of flight instrument demonstrate the qualitative discrimination at the molecular level between intramolecular and end‐capped azofunctional oligoesters isomers through a relatively simple multistage mass spectrometry experiment. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012