Electrochemical separation of uranium and cerium in molten LiCl–KCl

The electrochemical separation of uranium from cerium in LiCl–KCl eutectic and the electrochemical behavior of Ce(III) were studied. According to the cyclic voltammogram of Ce(III) and the former result of U(III), electrodeposition potential was determined at ?1.65 V (vs Ag/AgCl). The uranium metal was successfully deposited and separated from cerium. The morphology of deposit and cross section of electrode were investigated by SEM, firstly uranium deposit alloys with stainless steel and forms a thin transition layer, and secondly the uranium metal layer grows from the transition layer. The separation factors of uranium/cerium on different recovery ratios were determined through a series of steps. It was found that the content of cerium in the deposit and separation factors declined with increasing the initial concentration of U³⁺ in molten salts; the separation factors remained stable at around 20 in different uranium recovery ratios.     

含环氧基团的聚合物微球固载2,2,6,6-四甲基哌啶氮氧自由基催化剂的制备及其催化分子氧氧化苯甲醇

以甲基丙烯酸缩水甘油酯(GMA)为单体, 以乙二醇二甲基丙烯酸酯(EGDMA)为交联剂, 采用悬浮聚合法制得交联聚甲基丙烯酸缩水甘油酯(CPGMA)微球, 然后以4-羟基-2,2,6,6-四甲基哌啶氮氧自由基(4-OH-TEMPO)为试剂, 使CPGMA微球表面的环氧基团发生开环反应, 从而制得了TEMPO固载化微球TEMPO/CPGMA, 考察了制备条件对固载化反应的影响, 并采用多种方法对微球TEMPO/CPGMA进行了表征. 将微球TEMPO/CPGMA与CuCl组成共催化体系, 用于分子氧氧化苯甲醇, 考察了反应条件对催化体系性能的影响. 结果表明, 以含环氧基团的聚合物微球CPGMA为载体, 通过开环反应, 可成功地实现TEMPO的固载化, 开环反应属S_N2亲核取代反应, 适宜采用溶剂N,N''-二甲基甲酰胺和反应温度85℃. 非均相催化剂TEMPO/CPGMA与助催化剂CuCl构成共催化体系, 在室温、常压O₂条件下可高效地将苯甲醇氧化为苯甲醛, 产物选择性和产率分别为100%和90%. 主催化剂TEMPO与助催化剂CuCl适宜的摩尔比为1:1.2; 主催化剂适宜用量为0.90 g. 此外, TEMPO/CPGMA固体催化剂具有良好的循环使用性能.     

仿生制备有机-无机复合微囊固定化葡萄糖氧化酶

将层层自组装技术与仿生矿化技术相结合,由聚苯乙烯磺酸钠、聚二甲基二烯丙基氯化铵和二氧化硅成功制备(聚苯乙烯磺酸钠-聚二甲基二烯丙基氯化铵)₂-二氧化硅复合微囊.采用扫描电子显微镜、红外光谱和热重对微囊的形貌和化学结构进行了表征.以该复合微囊作为理想载体固定化葡萄糖氧化酶.结果表明,固定于复合微囊中的葡萄糖氧化酶的热稳定性、pH稳定性、操作稳定性得到了提高;在最适条件下,复合微囊固定化葡萄糖氧化酶的酶活回收率为72.85%,米氏常数是游离葡萄糖氧化酶的2.21倍.复合微囊在化学/生物催化、药物/基因传递系统和生物传感器应用方面具有一定的潜能.     

Crosslinked organosiloxane hybrid materials prepared by condensation of silanol and modified silica: Synthesis and characterization

Hybrid materials based on polymethylphenylsiloxane (PMPS) and organic functionalized silica were synthesized via condensation reaction between silanol and alkoxysilyl groups in the presence of quaternary ammonium hydroxide. The structure of prepared materials was investigated by FTIR and NMR, which indicate that the products have incorporated modified silica into the polymer matrix. The prepared hybrid materials show a satisfactory thermal resistance because the initial decomposition of typical product occurred at nearly 100 K higher than that of the pure polymer according to the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results. Differential thermogravimetric analysis (DTGA) data confirm that the thermal degradation of prepared hybrid materials comprises of two steps, of which the first one could be controlled by adjusting the content of silica particles and the ratio of surface groups on the particles. The coating films obtained from hybrid products exhibit good thermal mechanical properties. Therefore, the materials are hoped to be used for the application in thermal resistant coating.     

An algorithm for overlapped chromatogram separation

Non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) is a recently developed method for real time data analysis. In the past it has been used for facial recognition and spectral data analysis. Most of the NMF algorithms do not converge to a stable limit point and uniqueness in results is also a problem in NMF. To improve the convergence, a new NMF algorithm with modified multiplicative update (ML-NMFmse) has been proposed in this work for strongly overlapped and embedded chromatograms separation. To get same results for all the runs, instead of random initialization, three different initialization methods have been used namely, ALS–NMF (robust initialization), NNDSVD based initialization and EFA based initializations. The proposed ML-NMFmse algorithm is applied on the simulated and experimental overlapped chromatograms obtained for acetone and acrolein mixture, using Gas Chromatography–Flame Ionization Detector. Before applying NMF, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to determine number of components in the mixture taken. The result of proposed ML-NMFmse is compared with that of existing Multivariate Curve Resolution-Alternating Least Squares method in optimal conditions for both the algorithms. In the case of embedded chromatogram, the proposed ML-NMFmse with Robust method (ALS-NMF) of initialization performs better than all other methods. For a resolution of severely overlapped chromatograms, the proposed ML-NMFmse with NNDSVD method of initialization outperforms all other methods.     

Analysis of operation mode of reflective twisted nematic liquid crystal display devices with rear film compensation

The rear film compensated reflective twisted nematic liquid crystal display device was studied in normally black and normally white operation conditions using a dynamic parameter space method. The electro-optical responses and reflectance spectra were also studied for different operation modes. A comparison was made between rear film and front film compensated reflective twisted nematic liquid crystal displays. We show that high quality normally white or normally black modes can be obtained by placing the fast axis of a quarter wave plate at 45° or 0° to the input director direction. The viewing angle characteristics of the optimum modes were also studied.     

Surface Performance and Cytocompatibility Evaluation of Acrylic Acid-Mediated Carboxymethyl Chitosan Coating on Poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-hexafluoropropylene)

To improve the biocompatibility of poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-hexafluoropropylene) (FEP) film, a technique based on Ar plasma pretreatment and UV-induced grafting polymerization was used to immobilize carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) on the FEP film surfaces. Initially Ar plasma was used to treat FEP film. Then, plasma treated FEP film was modified via UV-induced grafting polymerization with hydrophilic acrylic acid (AAc) monomer. The following immobilization of CMCS on the FEP-pAAc surface was carried out via an amidation reaction. The change of chemical composition and surface morphology of FEP film were characterized by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Results of water contact angles measurement showed that the hydrophilicity of the surface has improved significantly after surface modification. Furthermore, methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay and cell morphology analysis confirmed that mouse fibroblasts (L929 cells) attachment and proliferation were improved remarkably on the modified FEP surface. These results suggest that CMCS were successfully employed to surface engineering FEP film, and enhanced its cell biocompatibility. The approach presented here may be exploited for surface modification of biomaterials.     

Dynamic Changes in Xylanases and β-1,4-Endoglucanases Secreted by Aspergillus niger An-76 in Response to Hydrolysates of Lignocellulose Polysaccharide

Aspergillus niger is an effective secretor of glycoside hydrolases that facilitate the saprophytic lifestyle of the fungus by degrading plant cell wall polysaccharides. In the present study, a series of dynamic zymography assays were applied to quantify the secreted glycoside hydrolases of A. niger cultured in media containing different carbon sources. Differences in the diversity and concentrations of polysaccharide hydrolysates dynamically regulated the secretion of glycoside hydrolases. The secretion of β-1,4-endoglucanase isozymes was observed to lag at least 24 h behind, rather than coincide with, the secretion of xylanase isozymes. Low concentrations of xylose could induce many endoxylanases (such as Xyn1/XynA, Xyn2, and Xyn3/XynB). High concentrations of xylose could sustain the induction of Xyn2 and Xyn3/XynB but repress Xyn1/XynA (GH10 endoxylanase), which has a broad substrate specificity, and also triggers the low-level secretion of Egl3/EglA, which also has a broad substrate specificity. Mixed polysaccharide hydrolysates sustained the induction of Egl1, whereas the other β-1,4-endoglucanases were sustainably induced by the specific polysaccharide hydrolysates released during the hydrolysis process (such as Egl2 and Egl4). These results indicate that the secretion of glycoside hydrolases may be specifically regulated by the production of polysaccharide hydrolysates released during the process of biomass degradation.     

Carbon Nanotubes-Based Label-Free Affinity Sensors for Environmental Monitoring

Nanostructures, such as nanowires, nanobelts, nanosprings, and nanotubes, are receiving growing interest as transducer elements of bio/chemical sensors as they provide high sensitivity, multiplexing, small size, and portability. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are one such class of nanostructure materials that exhibit superior sensing behavior due to its large-surface carbon atoms that are highly responsive to surface adsorption events. Further, their compatibility with modern microfabrication technologies and facile functionalization with molecular recognition elements make them promising candidates for bio/chemical sensors applications. Here, we review recent results on nanosensors based on SWNTs modified with biological receptors such as aptamers, antibodies, and binding proteins, to develop highly sensitive, selective, rapid, and cost-effective label-free chemiresistor/field-effect transistor nanobiosensors for applications in environmental monitoring.     

Catalytic solid substrate-room temperature phosphorimetry for the determination of trace As(V) based on oxidising reaction between hydrogen peroxide and fullerenol using tween-80 as sensitizer

A new catalytic solid substrate-room temperature phosphorimetry (SS-RTP) for the determination of trace arsenic(V) has been established. It is based on the fact that fullerenol (F-ol) emitted strong and stable room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) on nitric acid cellulose membrane (NCM) substrate. H₂O₂ could oxidise F-ol to cause the quenching of RTP. As(V) could catalyse H₂O₂ to oxidise F-ol and decrease the RTP signal of F-ol sharply. After adding tween-80 in the system, its ΔI _p enhanced 7.7 times compared with the without-tween-80 levels. Under the optimum conditions, the linear dynamic range of this method was 0.016?11.2 ag spot^?1 with a detection limit (LD) of 9.3 zg spot^?1 (corresponding concentration: 2.3 × 10^?17 g mL^?1). This sensitive, simple and selective method has been successfully applied to the determination of trace As(V) in human hair and tea samples. The reaction mechanism for SS-RTP is also discussed.