Plasmonic properties of silver nanostructures coated with an amorphous silicon-carbon alloy and their applications for sensitive sensing of DNA hybridization

The use of an amorphous silicon-carbon alloy overcoating on silver nanostructures in a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensing platform allows for decreasing the detection limit by an order of magnitude as compared to sensors based on gold nanostructures deposited on glass. In addition, silver based multilayer structures show a distinct plasmonic behaviour as compared to gold based nanostructures, which provides the sensor with an increased short-range sensitivity and a decreased long-range sensitivity.     

Plasma Chemical and Electrical Modeling of a Dielectric Barrier Discharge in Kr–Cl2 Gas Mixtures

This paper reports the study of the Kr–Cl₂ plasma chemistry in terms of the homogenous model of a dielectric barrier discharge and for two kinds of the applied voltage excitation shape. The effect of Cl₂ concentration in the gas mixture, as well as gas pressure and power frequency on the discharge efficiency and the 222 nm photon generation, under typical experimental operating conditions, have been investigated and discussed. Calculations suggest that the overall conversion efficiency from electrical energy to ultraviolet emission in the lamp is in the range of 4.4–12 %, and it will be very affected at high chlorine percentage (>1 %) and high gas pressure (>200 Torr). A comparison between the sinusoidal and the burst excitation waveforms reveals that the burst excitation method provides an enhanced light source performance compared to the sinusoidal wave.     

AM-compactness of positive Dunford-Pettis operators on banach lattices

We characterize Banach lattices on which each positive Dunford-Pettis operator is AM-compact and we give some consequences.     

Cellulose Acetate-g-Polycaprolactone Copolymerization Using Diisocyanate Intermediates and the Effect of Polymer Chain Length on Surface,Thermal, and Antibacterial Properties

The need for biodegradable and biocompatible polymers is growing quickly, particularly in the biomedical and environmental industries. Cellulose acetate, a natural polysaccharide, can be taken from plants and modified with polycaprolactone to improve its characteristics for a number of uses, including biomedical applications and food packaging. Cellulose acetate-g-polycaprolactone was prepared by a three-step reaction: First, polymerization of ε-caprolactone via ring-opening polymerization (ROP) reaction using 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and functionalization of polycaprolactone(PCL) by introducing NCO on the hydroxyl end of the HEMA-PCL using hexamethyl lenediisocyanate(HDI) were carried out. Then, the NCO–HEMA-PCL was grafted onto cellulose acetate (using the “grafting to” method). The polycaprolactone grafted cellulose acetate was confirmed by FTIR, the thermal characteristics of the copolymers were investigated by DSC and TGA, and the hydrophobicity was analyzed via water CA measurement. Introducing NCO-PCL to cellulose acetate increased the thermal stability. The contact angle of the unreacted PCL was higher than that of cellulose acetate-g-PCL, and it increased when the chain length increased. The CA-g-PCL50, CA-g-PCL100, and CA-g-PCL200 showed very high inhibition zones for all three bacteria tested (E. coli, S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa).     

On the class of disjoint limited completely continuous operators

We introduce and study new class of sets (almost L-limited sets). Also, we introduce new concept of property in Banach lattice (almost Gelfand–Phillips property) and we characterize this property using almost L-limited sets. On the other hand, we introduce the class of disjoint limited completely continuous operators which is a largest class than that of limited completely continuous operators, we characterize this class of operators and we study some of its properties.     

Catalytic oxidation of α-pinene by transition metal using t-butyl hydroperoxide and hydrogen peroxide

The allylic oxidation of α-pinene 1 was investigated using various catalytic systems. By a proper choice of the latter, the reaction can be directed toward the selective synthesis of verbenol 2 or verbenone 3. High yield into verbenone was achieved under mild conditions with copper salts as catalysts and t-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as oxidant. On the other hand, when Pd(acac)₂ was used with hydrogen peroxide, verbenol was obtained as the main product.     

Synthesis and characterization of ethylxanthato complexes of zinc(II) with P-donor ligands

Monomeric, five-coordinated bis(ethylxanthato)Zn^II(phosphine) complexes [phosphine = PPh₃, P(o-tolyl)₃, P(CH₂Ph)₃] have been synthesized by addition of the phosphine ligand (1:1 molar ratio) to CH₂Cl₂ solutions of [Zn(S₂COEt)₂]. Bidentate ligands Ph₂PCH₂CH₂PPh₂ (dppe) and Ph₂P(CH₂)₄PPh₂ (dppb) reacted in a 1:2 molar ratio to form dinuclear phosphine-bridged complexes. The Zn—P bonds are very labile and are probably broken in solution. The characterization of all the compounds has been carried out by elemental analyses and spectroscopic methods (i.r. and n.m.r.). The structure of binuclear [(S₂COEt)₂Zn(-dppb)Zn(S₂COEt)₂], determined by X-ray crystallography, shows a distorted trigonal bipyramidal environment for the Zn atoms, formed by two chelating xanthate and a bridging dppb ligand.     

Palladium(0)-catalyzed amination of allylic natural terpenic functionalized olefins

The palladium(0) catalyzed amination of allylic acetates and carbonates derivatives from terpenic olefins was carried out under mild conditions. The reaction offers a very good method for the preparation of allylic amines and thus to provide a useful entry to new functionalized terpenic olefin products. The mechanism involving a formation of p-allyl-palladium intermediate complex is in good agreement with the results obtained with the optically active substrates, as well as via an analysis of the observed regio-and stereoselectivity.