Resonance Rayleigh scattering method for direct determination of polyacrylamide in water samples using basic phenothiazine dyes

Binding polyacrylamide (PAM) with some basic phenothiazine dyes such as methylene blue (MB), toluidine blue (TB) or Azure B (AB) etc. can result in a significant enhancement of resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS). The maximum RRS wavelengths (λ_max) appear at 348, 340 and 342 nm for MB, TB, and AB systems, respectively. Accordingly, a new RRS method for the direct determination of PAM at nanogram levels has been established. The optimum conditions of these reactions, the influencing factors have been investigated. The RRS intensity is directly proportional to the concentration of PAM in the range of 0.040–5.0 μg/mL for three systems. The methods exhibit high sensitivities, and the detection limits are 15.9 ng/mL for MB system, 44.0 ng/mL for TB system, and 59.8 ng/mL for AB system. The selectivity of the method is investigated by using MB system owing to the highest sensitivity. Concentrations of PAM in tap water, synthetic water and practical waste water samples are determined satisfactorily. The reaction mechanism and RRS enhancement reasons are discussed.     

Optical properties of flower‐like CdS prepared by a hydrothermal method with SDBS as surfactant

In this article, flower‐like CdS structures have been prepared by a hydrothermal method with SDBS as surfactant. The influences of different experimental conditions on the morphologies, UV‐Vis and fluorescence properties of CdS have been investigated. The performances of CdS have been analyzed by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), ultraviolet‐visible (UV–Vis) and room‐temperature photoluminescence (PL). The XRD result indicates that the flower‐like CdS structures are of hexagonal phase. The FESEM results indicate that the main role of SDBS is to make the CdS crystals assemble together to form the flower‐like structures. The UV–Vis results show CdS has a strong absorption in the ultraviolet region and visible‐light region. The PL results show CdS has two emission peaks, respectively at 461 nm and 553 nm. The growth mechanism for the formation of flower‐like CdS structures is also described.     

Highly Enantioselective Ring‐Opening Reactions of Aziridines with Indole and Its Application in the Building of C3‐Halogenated Pyrroloindolines

A magnesium‐catalyzed asymmetric ring‐opening reaction of aziridine with indole has been realized by employing commercially available chiral ligands. Both of the enantiomers of the ring‐opening product could be obtained with good yields and a high level of enantioselectivity. The corresponding ring‐opening product could be further transformed to various types of enantioenriched C₃‐halogenated‐pyrroloindolines.     

Arylphosphonylation and Arylazidation of Activated Alkenes

Two radical‐mediated processes of activated alkenes, namely arylphosphonylation and arylazidation, are described. The difunctionalization of alkenes by a tandem process that involves radical addition, 1,4‐aryl migration, and desulfonylation generates α‐aryl‐β‐heterofunctionalized amides bearing a quaternary stereocenter when the substituent on the nitrogen atom is an aryl group. Alternatively, heterooxindoles or spirobicycles can be obtained with excellent regioselectivity in the presence of an alkyl substituent on the nitrogen atom.     

Sulfur-Modified Oxygen Vacancies in Iron–Cobalt Oxide Nanosheets: Enabling Extremely High Activity of the Oxygen Evolution Reaction to Achieve the Industrial Water Splitting Benchmark

The oxygen vacancies of defective iron–cobalt oxide (FeCoO_x-Vo) nanosheets are modified by the homogeneously distributed sulfur (S) atoms. S atoms can not only effectively stabilize oxygen vacancies (Vo), but also form the Co−S coordination with Co active site in the Vo, which can modulate the electronic structure of the active site, enabling FeCoO_x-Vo-S to exhibit much superior OER activity. FeCoO_x-Vo-S exhibits a mass activity of 2440.0 A g⁻¹ at 1.5 V vs. RHE in 1.0 m KOH, 25.4 times higher than that of RuO₂. The Tafel slope is as low as 21.0 mV dec⁻¹, indicative of its excellent charge transfer rate. When FeCoO_x-Vo-S (anode catalyst) is paired with the defective CoP₃/Ni₂P (cathode catalyst) for overall water splitting, current densities of as high as 249.0 mA cm⁻² and 406.0 mA cm⁻² at a cell voltage of 2.0 V and 2.3 V, respectively, can be achieved.     

Tailoring A Poly(ether sulfone) Bipolar Membrane: Osmotic-Energy Generator with High Power Density

Osmotic energy, obtained through different concentrations of salt solutions, is recognized as a form of a sustainable energy source. In the past years, membranes derived from asymmetric aromatic compounds have attracted attention because of their low cost and high performance in osmotic energy conversion. The membrane formation process, charging state, functional groups, membrane thickness, and the ion-exchange capacity of the membrane could affect the power generation performance. Among asymmetric membranes, a bipolar membrane could largely promote the ion transport. Here, two polymers with the same poly(ether sulfone) main chain but opposite charges were synthesized to prepare bipolar membranes by a nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) and spin-coating (SC) method. The maximum power density of the bipolar membrane reaches about 6.2 W m⁻² under a 50-fold salinity gradient, and this result can serve as a reference for the design of bipolar membranes for osmotic energy conversion systems.     

Detection of caffeine and its main metabolites for early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease using micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

Caffeine (CA) is a common xanthine alkaloid found in tea leaves, coffee beans, and other natural plants, and is the most widely used psychotropic substance in the world. Accumulating evidence suggests that low plasma levels of CA and its metabolites may serve as reliable diagnostic markers for early Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. In this study, we demonstrated a new MEKC method for determining CA and its three main downstream metabolites, paraxanthine (PX), theobromine (TB), and theophylline (TP), in human plasma. Plasma samples were collected, and analyzed using MEKC, after SPE. The running buffer was composed of 35 mM phosphate, pH of 10.5, and 25 mM SDS. The separation voltage was 15 kV and the detection wavelength was at 210 nm. Under the optimum conditions, four distinct analytes were completely separated and detected in less than 12 min. Method limits of detection were as low as 7.5 ng/mL for CA, 5.0 ng/mL for TB, and 4.0 ng/mL for both PX and TP. The recoveries were between 88.0% and 105.9%. This method was successfully applied to 27 human plasma samples. The results indicate that the plasma concentrations of the four analytes are significantly lower in patients with early PD than in control subjects (p < 0.05). The area under curve was improved to 0.839 when CA and its three main metabolites were included, suggesting that MEKC testing of CA, TP, TB, and PX may serve as a potential method for early diagnosis of PD.     

Metal-reinforced sulfonic-acid-modified zirconia for the removal of trace olefins from aromatics

Metal-reinforced sulfonic-acid-modified zirconia catalysts were successfully prepared and used to remove trace olefins from aromatics in a fixed-bed reactor. Catalysts were characterized by ICP-OES, N₂ adsorption–desorption, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and pyridine-FTIR spectroscopy. Different metals and calcination temperatures had great influence on the catalytic activity. Alumina-reinforced sulfated zirconia exhibited outstanding catalytic performance, stable regeneration activity, and giant surface area, and are promising in industrial catalysis. TGA showed that the decomposition of methyl could be attributed to Brønsted acid sites, and pyridine-FTIR spectroscopy proved the weak Brønsted sites on these synthesized metal-reinforced sulfated zirconia. Also, a relation between the reaction rate and weak Brønsted acid density is proposed.     

Dicyclohepta[ijkl,uvwx]rubicene with Two Pentagons and Two Heptagons as a Stable and Planar Non-benzenoid Nanographene

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with hexagons/pentagons or hexagons/heptagons have been intensively investigated in recent years, but those with simultaneous presence of hexagons, pentagons and heptagons remain rare. In this paper, we report dicyclohepta[ijkl,uvwx]rubicene ( DHR ), a non-benzenoid isomer of dibenzo[bc,kl]coronene with two pentagons and two heptagons. We developed an efficient and scalable synthetic method for DHR by using Scholl reaction and dehydrogenation. Crystal structure of DHR shows that the benzenoid rings, two pentagons and two heptagons are coplanar. The bond lengths analysis and the ICSS(1)zz and LOL-π calculations indicate that the incorporation of two formal azulene moieties has an effect on the conjugated structure. The π-electrons of benzenoid and pentagon rings are more delocalized. Cyclic voltammetry studies indicate that DHR shows multiple oxidation and reduction potentials. Interestingly, DHR exhibits unusual S₀ to S₂ absorption and abnormal anti-Kasha S₂ to S₀ emission. Moreover, crystals of DHR exhibit semiconducting behaviour with hole mobility up to 0.082 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹.     

Stabilities,Electronic Structures,and Bonding Properties of Iron Complexes (E1E2)Fe(CO)2(CNArTripp2)2 (E1E2=BF,CO, N2, CN−, or NO+)**

The coordination of 10-electron diatomic ligands (BF, CO N₂) to iron complexes Fe(CO)₂(CNAr^Tripp2)₂ [Ar^Tripp2=2,6-(2,4,6-(iso-propyl)₃C₆H₂)₂C₆H₃] have been realized in experiments very recently (Science, 2019 , 363, 1203–1205). Herein, the stability, electronic structures, and bonding properties of (E₁E₂)Fe-(CO)₂(CNAr^Tripp2)₂ (E₁E₂=BF, CO, N₂, CN⁻, NO⁺) were studied using density functional (DFT) calculations. The ground state of all those molecules is singlet and the calculated geometries are in excellent agreement with the experimental values. The natural bond orbital analysis revealed that Fe is negatively charged while E₁ possesses positive charges. By employing the energy decomposition analysis, the bonding nature of the E₂E₁–Fe(CO)₂(CNAr^Tripp2)₂ bond was disclosed to be the classic dative bond E₂E₁→Fe(CO)₂(CNAr^Tripp2)₂ rather than the electron-sharing double bond. More interestingly, the bonding strength between BF and Fe(CO)₂(CNAr^Tripp2)₂ is much stronger than that between CO (or N₂) and Fe(CO)₂(CNAr^Tripp2)₂, which is ascribed to the better σ-donation and π back-donations. However, the orbital interactions in CN⁻→Fe(CO)₂(CNAr^Tripp2)₂ and NO⁺→Fe(CO)₂(CNAr^Tripp2)₂ mainly come from σ-donation and π back-donation, respectively. The different contributions from σ donation and π donation for different ligands can be well explained by using the energy levels of E₁E₂ and Fe(CO)₂(CNAr^Tripp2)₂ fragments.