Theoretical kinetic study on the decomposition of 1,5‐diaminotetrazole

1,5‐Daminotetrazole (DAT) is of much interest because of the practical significance and the diversity of characteristics. The study on the decomposition pathway and the kinetics of DAT has been performed based on the quantum chemistry theory. The minimum energy path (MEP) calculation has shown that NH₂N₃ and NH₂CN are the initially detected products of DAT. And the structures of reactant, products and transition state were optimized with MP2 methods using 6‐311G** basis sets, and the energies were refined using CCSD(T)/6‐311G** levels of theory. The calculated rate constants were obtained using the conventional transition‐state theory (TST) and the canonical variational transition‐state theory (CVT) methods. The calculation results indicated that the energy barrier of decomposition reaction is 47.98 kcal mol^?1 and the variational effect is small. In addition, the rate constants and the Arrhenius experience formula of DAT decomposition have been obtained between 200 and 2500 K temperature regions. The fitted three‐parameter expressions calculated using the TST and CVT methods are (TST) and (CVT). This work may provide the theoretical support for further experimental synthesis and testing. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Novel L‐Cysteine Electrochemical Sensor Using Sulfonated Graphene‐poly(3,4‐Ethylenedioxythiophene) Composite Film Decorated with Gold Nanoparticles

By exploiting the electrostatic interaction between positively charged 3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene cation radicals and negatively charged sulfonated graphene (SG) sheets, we prepared a poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)‐sulfonated graphene (SG‐PEDOT) composite film by a one‐step electrochemical process. The composite was further decorated with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and employed as an electrode material for the detection of L ‐cysteine (Cys). The SG‐PEDOT composite film is shown to provide a rough surface for the electrodeposition of AuNPs and to improve substrate accessibility and interaction with Cys. Moreover, the AuNPs‐decorated composite exhibits better electrocatalytic performance than that of a SG‐PEDOT composite only. Under optimum experimental conditions, the amperometric current of the sensor is linearly related to the concentration of Cys in the 0.1 to 382 µM range, and the detection limit is 0.02 µM (at S/N=3). The modified electrode displays favorable selectivity, good stability and high reproducibility. The method was successfully applied to the detection of Cys in spiked human urine.     

Two Hexa-Ni-Substituted AsW9O34 Clusters Functionalized by Organic Ligands

Hydrothermal reactions of trilacunary precursor A-α-AsW₉O₃₄ ^9? polyoxoanions and nickel ions in the presence of ethylenediamine (en = ethylenediamine) led to two new hexa-Ni-substituted Keggin-type tungstoarsenates [Ni₆(μ ₃-OH)₃(en)₃(H₂O)₆(B-α-AsW₉O₃₄)]·6H₂O (1) and [Ni₆(μ ₃-OH)₃(en)₃(H₂O)₆(B-α-AsW₉O₃₄)]·10H₂O (2), which have been characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectra, powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analyses and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Crystal data for 1: hexagonal, R3c, a = b = 20.4379(5) Å, c = 21.5062(6) Å, β = 120º, V = 7779.8 (3) Å³ and Z = 6; for 2: momoclinic, P2₁/c, a = 13.4200(3) Å, b = 19.1428(5) Å, c = 22.8845(9) Å, β = 112.403(3)º, V = 5435.2(3) Å³ and Z = 4. Structural analyses reveal that the [Ni₆(μ ₃-OH)₃(B-α-AsW₉O₃₄)] clusters in 1 and 2 are covalently functionalized by neutral en ligands, in which two similar {Ni₆(μ ₃-OH)₃(en)₃(H₂O)₆}⁹⁺ cores have been observed by our lab. Notably, 1 and 2 represent the highest number of substituted transition metal ions in all known lacunary Keggin-type polyoxotungstoarsenate monomers.     

Syntheses and Crystal Structures of Two New Pentaborates Templated by Transition-Metal Complexes

Two new pentaborates [M(dap)₃][B₅O₆(OH)₄]₂·H₂O (M = Co (1) and Ni (2); dap = 1,2-diaminopropane) have been hydrothermally synthesized. Both structures were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction and further characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, thermogravimetric analysis and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Two compounds are isostructural and consist of isolated pentaborate [B₅O₆(OH)₄]^? anions and [M(dap)₃]²⁺ complex cations. The anionic [B₅O₆(OH)₄]^? groups are linked by extensive hydrogen bonds to form a 3-D supramolecular framework with large channels, in which the transition-metal complex templates are located. The luminescent properties of 1 and 2 were studied, and blue luminescence occurs with an emission maximum at 405 and 408 nm upon excitation at 332 and 328 nm respectively. Crystal data: 1, monoclinic, space group P2₁/c (No. 14), a = 9.7159(5) Å, b = 29.3372(19) Å, c = 11.5121(6) Å, β = 103.286(5)°, V = 3193.6(3) ų, Z = 4; 2, monoclinic, space group P2₁/c, a = 9.7264(4) Å, b = 29.3810(16) Å, c = 11.5185(6) Å, β = 103.249(4)°, V = 3204.0(3) ų, Z = 4.     

Synthesis,Structural Characterization and Properties of Two Strontium Borates Constructed from Oxo Boron Clusters

Two strontium borates Sr₂[B₆O₉(OH)₄] (1) and Sr₂B₅O₉(OH)·H₂O (2), with acentric structures have been synthesized under hydro/solvothermal conditions. Compound 1 is reported for the first time in the strontium borates system, and it crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁ with unit cell parameters a = 6.8445(5) Å, b = 8.7033(6) Å, c = 8.4632(6) Å, β = 100.581(6)°, V = 495.58(6) ų and Z = 2. Its structure consists of unusual borate layers of 3, 11-membered rings, which are interconnected via Sr–O ionic bonds and hydrogen bonds to generate a 3D supramolecular network. Compound 2 is a known strontium borate, crystallizing in the monoclinic space group C ₂ with a = 10.161 (13) Å, b = 7.965(4) Å, c = 6.393(11) Å, β = 128.0(2)°, V = 407.7(14) ų and Z = 2. Second-harmonic generation measurements on the powder samples reveal that 1 and 2 exhibits good SHG efficiency about 1.5 and 2 times that of KDP (KH₂PO₄) powder respectively.     

Protected Amine Labels: A Versatile Molecular Scaffold for Multiplexed Nominal Mass and Sub-Da Isotopologue Quantitative Proteomic Reagents

We assemble a versatile molecular scaffold from simple building blocks to create binary and multiplexed stable isotope reagents for quantitative mass spectrometry. Termed Protected Amine Labels (PAL), these reagents offer multiple analytical figures of merit including, (1) robust targeting of peptide N-termini and lysyl side chains, (2) optimal mass spectrometry ionization efficiency through regeneration of primary amines on labeled peptides, (3) an amino acid-based mass tag that incorporates heavy isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen to ensure matched physicochemical and MS/MS fragmentation behavior among labeled peptides, and (4) a molecularly efficient architecture, in which the majority of hetero-atom centers can be used to synthesize a variety of nominal mass and sub-Da isotopologue stable isotope reagents. We demonstrate the performance of these reagents in well-established strategies whereby up to four channels of peptide isotopomers, each separated by 4 Da, are quantified in MS-level scans with accuracies comparable to current commercial reagents. In addition, we utilize the PAL scaffold to create isotopologue reagents in which labeled peptide analogs differ in mass based on the binding energy in carbon and nitrogen nuclei, thereby allowing quantification based on MS or MS/MS spectra. We demonstrate accurate quantification for reagents that support 6-plex labeling and propose extension of this scheme to 9-channels based on a similar PAL scaffold. Finally, we provide exemplar data that extend the application of isotopologe-based quantification reagents to medium resolution, quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometers.

Nonisothermal kinetics study with advanced isoconversional procedure and DAEM

The precursor of LiNiPO₄ was synthesized by solid-state reaction at low-heating temperature using LiOH·H₂O and NH₄NiPO₄·H₂O as raw materials. LiNiPO₄ was obtained by calcining the precursor. Based on the advanced isoconversional procedure and the distributed activation energy model (DAEM), the activation energies calculated indicated that the thermal process involved two stages which stage II was a kinetically complex process, but stage I was single-step process. The most probable mechanism for the stage I is random nucleation and subsequent growth. DAEM and nonlinear model-fitting method were applied to study the stage II of decomposition process of the precursor. The distributions of activation energy, f(E _a) and values of preexponential factor A of the stage II of the thermal decomposition of precursor were obtained on the basis of DAEM. The results of nonlinear model-fitting method showed the most probable mechanisms of the parallel reactions for stage II are chemical reaction and nucleation.     

Microcalorimetric investigation on antibacterial activity of the peptide from Plutella xylostella

The antibacterial activities of a kind of novel peptide from Plutella xylostella (pxCECA1) on methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) growth were investigated by microcalorimetry. The heat flow power–time curves of MRSA and E. coli growth in the presence of pxCECA1 were recorded using the 3114/3115 Thermal Activity Monitor Air Isothermal Calorimeter based on ampoule mode at 37 °C. Some parameters including growth rate constant k, maximum power output P _max, total heat output Q_t, generation time t _g, growth inhibitory ratio I, and half-inhibitory concentration of the drugs IC₅₀ were obtained to elucidate the antibacterial activity of pxCECA1. The results showed that k, P _max, and Q _t decreased, but I and t _g increased or delayed with the increase in pxCECA1 concentration. The IC₅₀ of pxCECA1 on E. coli was 6.122 μg mL^?1 and MRSA was 7.809 μg mL^?1. It could be concluded that pxCECA1 had stronger inhibitory effect on E. coli than MRSA. In vivo test was simultaneously performed using an E. coli and MRSA infection model to validate the antibacterial activity of pxCECA1. The results revealed that pxCECA1 with broad spectrum antimicrobial activities hopefully represented a class of promising substitute of antimicrobial agents.     

Binder-free activated carbon papers for high-performance electric double-layer capacitors

A binder-free activated carbon paper (ACP) was simply prepared for electric double-layer capacitors by the carbonization of filter paper, followed by heat-air activation at a lower temperature. The electrochemical cells assembled using the as-prepared ACP-470 provides a high specific capacitance of 296.4 F g^?1 at current density of 0.5 A g^?1 and a high rate performance at a current density of 150 A g^?1 with a capacitance of 191.2 F g^?1 and a high cycle ability at 10,000 recycles with 100 % capacitance retention. In addition, the ACP has a lower electrical resistivity and provides an effective energy storage performance with a maximum energy density of 41.2 Wh kg^?1 and a maximum power density of 138.0 kW kg^?1 in a voltage range of 1 V.