Sonochemical synthesis and electrochemical characterization of α-nickel hydroxide: precursor effects

Sonochemical degradation of urea was employed to synthesize alpha-nickel hydroxide from different nickel salts. Utilization of ultrasound yielded products with properties significantly different than the products obtained by thermal degradation of urea. The effect of intercalating chloride, nitrate, acetate, and sulfate anions on morphology and electrochemical performance was studied. The sulfate-intercalated sample had the smallest interlayer spacing when obtained by the sonochemical method, contradicting all the previous thermal synthesis results. The specific capacitance trend also differed from the literature values, and the value for the sulfate-intercalated sample was larger than that of acetate- and nitrate-intercalated samples. Ultrasonic synthesis increased the specific capacitance of the sulfate-intercalated sample significantly. This sample was also the most reversible and had the highest charge efficiency.     

Surface characterization and radical decay studies of oxygen plasma‐treated PMMA films

Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) films were modified by RF oxygen plasma with various powers applied for different periods, and the effects of these parameters on the surface properties such as hydrophilicity, surface free energy (SFE), chemistry, and topography were investigated by water contact angle, goniometer, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and atomic force microscopy, and the types of the created free radicals and their decay were detected by electron spin resonance spectroscopy (ESR). SFE and contact angle results varied depending on the plasma parameters. Oxygen plasma treatment (100 W–30 min) enhanced the hydrophilicity of PMMA surface as shown by decreasing the water contact angle from 70° to 26°. XPS analysis showed the change in the amounts of the present functionalities as well as formation of new groups as free carbonyl and carbonate groups. The roughness of the surface increased considerably from ~2 nm to ~75 nm after 100 W–30 min oxygen plasma treatment. ESR analysis indicated the introduction of peroxy radicals by oxygen plasma treatment, and the intensity of the radicals increased with increasing the applied power. Significant decrease in radical concentration was observed especially for the samples treated with higher powers when the samples were kept under the atmospheric conditions. As a conclusion, RF plasma, causes changes in the chemical and physical properties of the materials depending on the applied parameters, and can be used for the creation of specific groups or radicals to link or immobilize active molecules onto the surface of a material. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis,characterization, and application of silver nanoparticle‐thiophenol nanocomposite film on the glassy carbon surface

In this study, 4‐thiophenol modified glassy carbon electrode was prepared by the reduction of 4‐diazothiophenol tetrafluoroborate salt. Silver nanoparticles were attached to the thiophenol modified surface to prepare a thiophenol‐silver nanoparticle composite film. 4‐Aminothiopenol molecules were deposited by self‐assembling technique to form multi‐layered nanofilms of TP/SNP/PhNH₂ on glassy carbon substrate. These surfaces were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, reflectance‐absorption infrared spectroscopy, and ellipsometry at each multilayer film growth process. Atomic force microscopic images of GC/TP/SNP/PhNH₂ surfaces were also acquired. The characterization methods show that the amine group containing surface permits the subsequent modification by a variety of coupling reactions for the immobilization of more complex systems. An application of the electrode modification for the determination of uric acid with a significantly lower detection limit is described. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Inorganic arsenic speciation in various water samples with GFAAS using coprecipitation

A simple, economic and sensitive method for selective determination of As(III) and As(V) in water samples is described. The method is based on selective coprecipitation of As(III) with Ce(IV) hydroxide in presence of an ammonia/ammonium buffer at pH 9. The coprecipitant was collected on a 0.45 µm membrane filter, dissolved with 0.5 mL of conc. nitric acid and the solution was completed to 2 or 5 mL with distilled water. As(III) in the final solutions was determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). Under the working condition, As(V) was not coprecipitated. Total inorganic arsenic was determined after the reduction of As(V) to As(III) with NaI. The concentration of As(V) was calculated by the difference of the concentrations obtained by the above determinations. Both the determination of arsenic with GF-AAS in presence of cerium and the coprecipitation of arsenic with Ce(IV) hydroxide were optimised. The suitability of the method for determining inorganic arsenic species was checked by analysis of water samples spiked with 4–20 µg L^?1 each of As(III) and As(V). The preconcentration factor was found to be 75 with quantitative recovery (≥95%). The accuracy of the present method was controlled with a reference method based on TXRF. The relative error was under 5%. The relative standard deviations for the replicate analysis ( n?=?5) ranged from 4.3 to 8.0% for both As(III) and As(V) in the water samples. The limit of detection (3σ) for both As (III) and As(V) were 0.05 µg L^?1. The proposed method produced satisfactory results for the analysis of inorganic arsenic species in drinking water, wastewater and hot spring water samples.     

Evaluation of Pomegranate (Punica Granatum L.) Pulps for the Removal of Copper(II) Ions: Kinetic,Equilibrium, and Desorption Studies

Pomegranate pulp has been used as novel adsorbent for removing Cu(II) ions from aqueous solution. The optimum conditions for removal of Cu(II) ions were found to be pH 5.32, biosorbent dose 0.1 g, contact time 120 minutes, initial concentration 50 mg/L, and temperature 30°C. The kinetic data were well fitted to the pseudo-second-order model. The biosorption process agreed with the Langmuir isotherm model. Maximum monolayer biosorption capacity was 7.30 mg/g. Thermodynamic parameters suggest that the biosorption process is spontaneous and exothermic. Desorption studies were carried out with different desorbing agents.      

Microstructural properties and local atomic structures of cobalt oxide nanoparticles synthesised by mechanical ball-milling process

In this study, facile preparation of pure and nano-sized cobalt oxides particles was achieved using low-cost mechanical ball-milling synthesis route. Microstructural and morphological properties of synthesised products were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. XRD results indicated that the fabricated samples composed of cubic pure phase CoO and Co₃O₄ nanocrystalline particles with an average crystallite size of 37.2 and 31.8 nm, respectively. TEM images showed that the resulting samples consisted of agglomerates of particles with average diameter of about 37.6 nm for CoO and 31.9 nm for Co₃O₄. Phase purity of the prepared samples was further investigated due to their promising technological applications. Local atomic structure properties of the prepared nanoparticles were probed using synchrotron radiation-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) including X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). EXAFS data analysis further confirmed the formation of single-phase CoO and Co₃O₄ nanoparticles. In addition, structural properties of cobalt oxide nanoparticles were investigated by performing density functional theory calculations at B3LYP/TZVP level and Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics. Theoretical calculations for both prepared samples were found to be consistent with the experimental results derived from EXAFS analysis. Obtained results herein reveals that highly crystalline and pure phase CoO and Co₃O₄ nanoparticles can be synthesised using simple, inexpensive and eco-friendly ball-milling method for renewable energy applications involving fuel cells and water splitting devices.     

Preparation of a 99mTc-labeled graft polymer and its in vitro and in vivo evaluation

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - The aim of this study is the synthesis of a novel 99mTc-labeld graft polymer and the biological evaluation of its in vitro and in vivo properties....     

大麻中3种酚类成分测定专用固相萃取柱的设计与应用

大麻中的主要成分大麻二酚(CBD)、大麻酚(CBN)和Δ9-四氢大麻酚(Δ9-THC)的含量决定了其性质和应用。在液相色谱分析中,由于大麻提取液中含有较多杂质,需要净化。该文基于大麻中CBD、CBN和Δ9-THC的结构特征及样品基质组成,根据中性氧化铝、硅酸镁和石墨化炭黑的不同表面特征,考察了这3种吸附剂对大麻提取液中叶绿素、多糖、高级脂肪酸酯及重金属离子的去除率和对3种大麻酚的回收率,确定了3种吸附剂的用量分别为1.80 g、0.15 g、0.05 g混合装填成的2 g/6 mL小柱为3种大麻酚类化合物测定的专用固相萃取柱。该小柱对大麻乙酸乙酯-甲醇提取液样品中CBD、CBN和Δ9-THC的回收率分别为98.9%, 95.7%和99.2%,对叶黄素、叶绿素a和叶绿素b的去除率分别为96.3%、99.2%和95.5%,对总糖的去除率为98.5%,对脂肪酸甘油酯的去除率为96.9%,对重金属离子的平均去除率为85.4%。优化了色谱分析条件,采用Eclipse Plus C18色谱柱(50 mm×2.1 mm, 1.8 μm),在1%乙酸水溶液-乙腈(30∶70, v/v)流动相条件下等度洗脱,流速为0.5 mL/min,柱温为30 ℃,检测波长为210 nm,进样量为1 μL,在10 min内可完成样品分析。方法学考察表明,在0.5~50 mg/L范围内,CBD、CBN和Δ9-THC的液相色谱峰面积与其质量浓度呈良好的线性关系,相关系数(R²)分别为0.9983、0.9995和0.9981,检出限分别为0.45 μg/L、0.53 μg/L和0.38 μg/L,加标回收率为90.3%~97.0%、93.7%~95.6%、90.8%~96.1%,相对标准偏差(RSD)分别为2.2%~6.1%、4.1%~8.0%、2.4%~4.8%。研究结果表明,该文以中性氧化铝、硅酸镁和石墨化炭黑制作的复合型大麻酚类成分测定专用固相萃取柱在大麻植物中3种酚类化合物的测定中具有净化杂质、防止色谱柱污染的功能。由于大麻不同部位的化学成分存在差异,在后续的研究中,还要进一步考察小柱对其他杂质的去除情况,使得制备的固相萃取小柱更具有普适性。     

MODELING HARVEST SCHEDULING IN MULTIFUNCTIONAL PLANNING OF FORESTS FOR LONGTERM WATER YIELD OPTIMIZATION

In this study, wood production and hydrologic functions of forests were accommodated within a planning procedure for separate working circles (areas dedicated to certain forest functions) that were delineated according to an Ecosystem‐Based Functional Planning approach. Mixed integer goal programming was used as the optimization technique. The timing and scheduling of a maintenance cutting (partial harvest) was the decision variable in the modeling effort, and an original formulation was developed as a multiobjective planning procedure. Four sample planning strategies were developed and model outputs were evaluated according to these strategies. Spatial characteristics of stands were considered, and used to prohibit the regeneration of adjacent stands during the same time period. Because of the positive relationship between qualified water production and standing timber volume in the forest, the model attempts to maximize qualified water production levels by increasing standing volume stocks in the forest through the delay of regeneration activities.     

Silver nanoparticle containing silk fibroin bionanotextiles

Development of new generation bionanotextiles is an important growing field, and they have found applications as wound dressings, bandages, tissue scaffolds, etc. In this study, silver nanoparticle (AgNP) containing silk-based bionanotextiles were fabricated by electrospinning, and processing parameters were optimized and discussed in detail. AgNPs were in situ synthesized within fibroin nanofibers by UV reduction of silver ions to metallic silver. The influence of post-treatments via methanol treatment and glutaraldehyde (GA) vapor exhibited changes in the secondary structure of silk. Methanol treatment increased the tensile properties of fibers due to supported crystalline silk structure, while GA vapor promoted amorphous secondary structure. AgNP containing silk fibroin bionanotextiles had strong antibacterial activity against gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa.