Understanding the Physicoelectrochemical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes: Current State of the Art

Carbon nanotubes receive considerable attention in the area of electrochemistry not only due to their reported structural, mechanical or electronic properties but because they represent the world's smallest electrodes allowing electrochemistry to be performed where other electrode materials cannot penetrate. In this review, we overview recent developments in this area summarizing the fundamental advances in understanding the various factors and parameters that can significantly affect the electrochemical reactivity of carbon nanotubes, which is essential for their continual use and successful implementation in a plethora of areas and applications.     

Pd-catalyzed 5-endo-trig-type cyclization of β,γ-unsaturated carbonyl compounds: an efficient ring closing reaction to give γ-butenolides and 3-pyrrolin-2-ones

The 5-endo-trig-type cyclization has been performed using a Pd-bis(isoxazoline) catalyst. The present cyclization of β,γ-unsaturated carbonyl compounds gave γ-butenolides and 3-pyrrolin-2-ones in good to excellent yields.     

Weyl’s theorem for algebraically wF(p, r, q) operators with p, r?>?0 and q?≥?1

If T (or T*) is an algebraically wF(p, r, q) operator with p, r > 0 and q ≥ 1 acting in an infinite-dimensional separable Hilbert space, then we prove that Weyl’s theorem holds for f(T) for any f ∈ Hol(σ(T)), where Hol(σ(T)) is the set of all analytic functions in an open neighborhood of σ(T). Moreover, if T* is a wF(p, r, q) operator with p, r > 0 and q ≥ 1, then the a-Weyl’s theorem holds for f(T). In addition, if T (or T*) is an algebraically wF(p, r, q) operator with p, r > 0 and q ≥ 1, then we establish the spectral mapping theorems for the Weyl spectrum and for the essential approximate point spectrum of T for any f ∈ Hol(σ(T)), respectively. Finally, we examine the stability of Weyl’s theorem and the a-Weyl’s theorem under commutative perturbations by finite-rank operators.     

Exact solutions and conservation laws of Zakharov-Kuznetsov modified equal width equation with power law nonlinearity

This paper obtains solutions to the Zakharov-Kuznetsov modified equal width equation with power law nonlinearity. The Lie symmetry approach and the simplest equation method are used to obtain these solutions. Moreover, conservation laws are derived for the underlying equation by employing two approaches: the new conservation theorem and the multiplier method.     

Single source molecular precursor routes to lead chalcogenides

The use of single-source molecular precursors for lead chalcogenide thin films by CVD or as nanoparticles by solution methods is reviewed. The potential applications of these materials in solar energy are discussed along with the relative advantages of the various methods.     

Synthetic studies toward C-glucosidic ellagitannins: a biomimetic total synthesis of 5-O-desgalloylepipunicacortein A

C-glucosidic ellagitannins constitute a subclass of bioactive polyphenolic natural products with strong antioxidant properties, as well as promising antitumoral and antiviral activities that are related to their capacity to interact with both functional and structural proteins. To date, most synthetic efforts toward ellagitannins have concerned glucopyranosic species. The development of a synthetic strategy to access C-glucosidic ellagitannins, whose characteristic structural feature includes an atropoisomeric hexahydroxydiphenoyl (HHDP) or a nonahydroxyterphenoyl (NHTP) unit that is linked to an open-chain glucose core by a C-aryl glucosidic bond, is described herein. The total synthesis of the biarylic HHDP-containing 5-O-desgalloylepipunicacortein?A (1?β) was achieved by either using the natural ellagic acid bis-lactone as a precursor of the requested HHDP unit or by implementing an atroposelective intramolecular oxidative biarylic coupling to forge this HHDP unit. Both routes converged in the penultimate step of this synthesis to enable a biomimetic formation of the key C-aryl glucosidic bond in the title compound.     

The effect of solvents and organic acids on the p-doping behaviors of poly(3′,4′-Ethylenedioxy-2,2′:5′,2″-terthiophene)

Poly(3??,4??-Ethylenedioxy-2,2??:5??,2??-terthiophene) was synthesized by chemical oxidative polymerization of 3??,4??-Ethylenedioxy-2,2??:5??,2??-terthiophene using FeCl₃ as an oxidant. The resulting polymer was characterized by FTIR and ¹H NMR. p-doping behaviors of substituted polyterthiophene with different organic sulfonic acids (methanesulfonic acid, p-toluene sulfonic acid, and ??-naphthalene sulfonic acid) in different solvents (CH₃CN, CHCl₃, THF and DMF) were studied by UV-VIS spectroscopy. The results from structural characterizations showed that the ??,????-bonding predominates in polyterthiophene. The spectroscopic changes in UV-VIS showed that ??-naphthalene sulfonic acid was an efficient doping acid for polymer while varying the solvents. Meanwhile, CH₃CN showed a high efficiency for p-doping of polyterthiophene while varying the doping acids.     

Determination of phthalate esters in cow milk samples using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled with gas chromatography followed by flame ionization and mass spectrometric detection

A simple and economic method for the analysis of phthalate esters, dimethyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, di-iso-butyl phthalate, di-n-butyl phthalate, and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate in cow milk samples by means of gas chromatography-flame ionization detection and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry has been developed. In this work, NaCl and ACN were added to 5 mL of the milk sample as the salting out agent and extraction solvent, respectively. After manual shaking, the mixture was centrifuged. In the presence of NaCl, a two-phase system was formed: upper phase - acetonitrile containing phthalate esters -and lower phase - aqueous phase containing soluble compounds and the precipitated proteins. After the extraction of phthalate esters from milk, a portion of supernatant phase (acetonitrile) was removed, mixed with 1,2-dibromoethane at microliter level and injected by syringe into NaCl solution. After the extraction of the selected phthalate esters into 1,2-dibromoethane, phase separation was performed by centrifugation and the enriched analytes in the sedimented phase were determined by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Under the optimum extraction conditions, low limits of detection and quantification between 1.5-3 and 2.5-11 ng/mL, respectively was observed. Enrichment factors were in the range of 397-499. The relative standard deviations for the extraction of 100 ng/mL of each phthalate ester were in the range of 3-4% (n = 6). Finally, some milk samples were successfully analyzed using the proposed method and two analytes, di-n-butyl phthalate and di-2-ethylhyxel phthalate, were determined in them in nanogram per milliliter level.     

Separation mechanism of chiral impurities, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, found in amphetamine-type substances using achiral modifiers in the gas phase

A new mechanism is proposed that describes the gas-phase separation of chiral molecules found in amphetamine-type substances (ATS) by the use of high-resolution ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). Straight-chain achiral alcohols of increasing carbon chain length, from methanol to n-octanol, are used as drift gas modifiers in IMS to highlight the mechanism proposed for gas-phase separations of these chiral molecules. The results suggest the possibility of using these achiral modifiers to separate the chiral molecules (R,S) and (S,R)-ephedrine and (S,S) and (R,R)-pseudoephedrine which contain an internal hydroxyl group at the first chiral center and an amino group at the other chiral center. Ionization was achieved with an electrospray source, the ions were introduced into an IMS with a resolving power of 80, and the resulting ion clusters were characterized with a coupled quadrupole mass spectrometer detector. A complementary computational study conducted at the density functional B3LYP/6-31g level of theory for the electronic structure of the analyte–modifier clusters was also performed, and showed either “bridged” or “independent” binding. The combined experimental and simulation data support the proposed mechanism for gas-phase chiral separations using achiral modifiers in the gas phase, thus enhancing the potential to conduct fast chiral separations with relative ease and efficiency.     

Structural and optical properties of electrohydrodynamically atomized TiO2 nanostructured thin films

In this paper, we report an alternate technique for the deposition of nanostructured TiO₂ thin films using the electrohydrodynamic atomization (EHDA) technique using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a stabilizer. The required parameters for achieving uniform TiO₂ films using EHDA are also discussed in detail. X-ray diffraction results confirm that the TiO₂ films were oriented in the anatase phase. Scanning electron microscope studies revealed the uniform deposition of the TiO₂. The purity of the films is characterized by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), confirming the presence of Ti–O bonding in the films without any organic residue. The optical properties of the TiO₂ films were measured by UV-visible spectroscopy, which shows that the transparency of the films is nearly 85% in the visible region. The current–voltage (I–V) curve of the TiO₂ thin films shows a nearly linear behavior with 45 mΩ?cm of electrical resistivity. These results suggest that TiO₂ thin films deposited via the EHDA method possess promising applications in optoelectronic devices.