Binding of environmental pollutants to the corn protein zein studied by high-performance liquid chromatography

The interaction of 16 ring-substituted phenols and anilines with the corn protein zein was studied by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography by preparing silica- and alumina-based stationary phases coated with various concentrations of zein. The relationship between the strength of interaction and the physicochemical parameters of solutes was elucidated by principal component analysis followed by the nonlinear mapping technique. The binding of each phenol and aniline derivative to zein has been demonstrated. It was established that the electrostatical parameters of solutes exert the highest influence on the interaction and the involvement of hydrophobic binding forces is of secondary importance. The binding characteristics of phenol and aniline derivatives were different.     

Homogeneous nucleation of droplets from supersaturated vapor in a closed system

Kinetic equations describing homogeneous nucleation kinetics within standard model are solved numerically under the condition of a constant number of molecules in the considered system. It has consequences to decrease the supersaturation of the supersaturated vapor during the process of the formation of small droplets of a new phase. The decrease of supersaturation occurs in a short time and reaches some value which remains unchanged for a relatively long time (quasistationary regime), especially at lower initial supersaturations. This time interval decreases with increasing value of the initial supersaturation. In the quasistationary regime the nucleation rate reaches its stationary value. At higher initial supersaturation, the rate of formation of nuclei goes to some maximum value corresponding to the stationary nucleation rate and then decreases with time due to the decrease of supersaturation.     

Highly Hydrogenated Graphene through Microwave Exfoliation of Graphite Oxide in Hydrogen Plasma: Towards Electrochemical Applications

Hydrogenated graphenes exhibit a variety of properties with potential applications in devices, ranging from a tunable band gap to fluorescence, ferromagnetism, and the storage of hydrogen. We utilize a one‐step microwave‐irradiation process in hydrogen plasma to create highly hydrogenated graphene from graphite oxides. The procedure serves the dual purposes of deoxygenation and concurrent hydrogenation of the carbon backbone. The effectiveness of the hydrogenation process is investigated on three different graphite oxides (GOs), which are synthesized by using the Staudenmaier, Hofmann, and Hummers methods. A systematic characterization of our hydrogenated graphenes is performed using UV/Vis spectroscopy, SEM, AFM, Raman spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), combustible elemental analysis, and electrical conductivity measurements. The highest hydrogenation extent is observed in hydrogenated graphene produced from the Hummers‐method GO, with a hydrogen content of 19 atomic % in the final product. In terms of the removal of oxygen groups, microwave exfoliation yields graphenes with very similar oxygen contents despite differences in their parent GOs. In addition, we examine the prospective application of hydrogenated graphenes as electrochemical transducers through a cyclic voltammetry (CV) study. The highly hydrogenated graphenes exhibit fast heterogeneous electron‐transfer rates, suggestive of their suitability for electrochemical applications in electrodes, supercapacitors, batteries, and sensors.     

ChemInform Abstract: Structural Properties and Singular Phase Transitions of Metallic Pr0.50Sr0.50CoO3 Cobaltite.

Two successive magnetic transitions of Pr_0.50Sr_0.50CoO₃ contrast with the single ferromagnetic transition in other Ln_0.50Sr_0.50CoO₃ compounds.     

Competition of proton and electron transfers in gas-phase reactions of hydrogen-containing dications CHX2+ (X = F, Cl, Br, I) with atoms, nonpolar and polar molecules

The competition between proton and electron transfer in reactions of mass-selected dications CHX2+ (X = F, Cl, Br, and I) with rare gas atoms (Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe) and selected molecular reagents (N2, O2, CO, H2O, and HCl) is studied in the gas phase. In the ion-molecule reactions of CHX2+ dications with atoms and nonpolar molecules, it is the energy balance of electron transfer that acts as the decisive factor: when the exothermicity of electron transfer exceeds 2 eV, this process predominates at the expense of bond-forming proton transfer. In marked contrast, the reactions between these triatomic dications and polar molecules are governed for the benefit of the thermochemically more favored products resulting from proton transfer.