Recent Progress on Two-dimensional Electrocatalysis

Due to their unique electronic and structural properties triggered by high atomic utilization and easy surface modification, two-dimensional(2D) materials have prodigious potential in electrocatalysis for energy conversion technology in recent years. In this review, we discuss the recent progress on two-dimensional nanomaterials for electrocatalysis. Five categories including metals, transition metal compounds, non-metal, metal-organic framework and other emerging 2D nanomaterials are successively introduced. Finally, the challenges and future development directions of 2D materials for electrocatalysis are also prospected. We hope this review may be helpful for guiding the design and application of 2D nanomaterials in energy conversion technologies.     

Analysis of trace elements in the fingernails of breast cancer patients using instrumental neutron activation analysis

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - The aim of this study was to find trace elements that increase risk of breast cancer based on the deviation of the concentration of trace elements...     

The combined effect of silanols and the reversed-phase ligand on the retention of positively charged analytes

The nature of the interaction of positively charged analytes with the surface of reversed-phase bonded phases has been investigated as a function of both pH and volume fraction of organic modifier. Studies of the combined effect of both the parameters have been previously reported by us, and the data presented here further demonstrate a multiplicative interaction between pH and the concentration of organic modifier in the mobile phase. Fitting of the data as functions of pH and eluent composition clearly shows that the hydrophobically assisted ion-exchange process dominates over a purely reversed-phase or a pure ion-exchange retention mechanism. The underlying theory is developed in detail, and the mechanism is elucidated using several reversed-phase packings of substantially different character.     

Influence of Light Scattering by Residual Alumina Nanoparticles on the Analysis of Surfactants Adsorption Using Spectroscopy

The adsorption of a surfactant mixture, based on an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate (SDBS) and a nonionic surfactant (Triton X-100, or TX100), on alumina nanoparticles was determined by solution depletion method combined with spectrometric measurement. It is shown that the light scattering, originated from the residual adsorbent alumina particles in the supernatant after centrifugation separation, interferes with the measurements of absorbance of the surfactant molecules, and therefore constitutes an error source for determination of the surfactant concentration in the supernatant by spectrometric means. The intensity of this light scattering, namely the influence of the residual alumina nanoparticles upon the surfactant adsorption, was related to the surfactant adsorption and its equilibrium concentration and varied among a batch. In this paper we report a Kalman filter method in order to eliminate the variational scattering background caused by non-separated residual alumina nanoparticles in each supernatant. This method is of interest as it is simple, easy to carry out and of high precision.     

Syntheses and Crystal Structures of Cadmium Complexes with Thiophenedicarboxylate and Bipyridine‐like Ligands

Two new coordination polymers [Cd(tdc)(bpy)(H₂O)]_n ( 1 ) and [Cd(tdc)(phen)]_n ( 2 ) (H₂tdc = thiophene‐2,5‐dicarboxylic acid, bpy = 2,2′‐bipyridine and phen = 1,10‐phenanthroline) have been synthesized under hydrothermal condition. Their crystal structures have been established by X‐ray single‐crystal diffraction. Complex 1 crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Fdd2 with a = 14.757(7), b = 45.38(2), c = 10.518(5) Å, V = 7044(6) ų, Z = 16; 2 in the monoclinic space group P2₁/c with a = 7.262(1), b = 21.970(2), c = 10.051(1) Å, β = 105.01(1)°, V = 1548.8(2) ų, Z = 4. Both of them are double‐stranded chains and further assembled into three‐dimensional networks by π‐π stacking interactions. 1 and 2 are stable in air, and show blue photoluminescence at 415 nm and 410 nm, respectively.     

Femtosecond time resolved coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy: experiment and modelization of speed memory effects on H2-N2 mixtures in the collision regime

With the aim of temperature diagnostic, femtosecond time-resolved CARS (coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy) is applied to probe H2 in H2-N2 mixtures. In a first part, a Lorentzian profile is used to model the femtosecond CARS response. A difference between the experimental broadening and the expected one is observed in the collision regime. The observed broadening increases strongly in an inhomogeneous way with respect to the perturber concentration. This is of considerable importance for temperature measurements. In a second part, we show that in the collision regime, this inhomogeneous broadening is due to the speed dependence of the collisional parameters and the memory effects of the radiator speed. A new modelization of the time-resolved CARS response taking into account the speed memory effects is presented and applied to the temperature diagnostic in H2-N2 mixtures. The numerical results are in good agreement with experiments.     

Comparative X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic study on the desulfurization of thiophene by Raney nickel and rapidly quenched skeletal nickel

The desulfurization of thiophene on Raney Ni and rapidly quenched skeletal Ni (RQ Ni) has been studied in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The Raney Ni or RQ Ni can be approximated as a hydrogen-preadsorbed polycrystalline Ni-alumina composite. It is found that thiophene molecularly adsorbs on Raney Ni or RQ Ni at 103 K. At 173 K, thiophene on alumina is desorbed, while thiophene in direct contact with the metallic Ni in Raney Ni undergoes C-S bond scission, leading to carbonaceous species most probably in the metallocycle-like configuration and atomic sulfur. On RQ Ni, the temperature for thiophene dissociation is about 100 K higher than that on Raney Ni. The lower reactivity of RQ Ni toward thiophene is tentatively attributed to lattice expansion of Ni crystallites in RQ Ni due to rapid quenching. The existence of alumina and hydrogen may block the further cracking of the metallocycle-like species on Raney Ni and RQ Ni at higher temperatures, which has been the dominant reaction pathway on Ni single crystals. By 473 K, the C 1s peak has disappeared, leaving nickel sulfide on the surface.     

Synthesis and characterization of ionic organotin compounds [R2SnCl2(2-quin)](HNEt3) and crystal structures of [(2,4-Cl2-C6H3CH2)2SnCl2(2-quin)](HNEt3)

Eight ionic organotin compounds [R₂SnCl₂(2-quin)]⁻(HNEt₃)⁺ have been synthesized by reactions of 2-quinH with R₂SnCl₂ (R = PhCH₂1, 2-Cl-C₆H₄CH₂2, 4-Cl-C₆H₄CH₂3, 2-F-C₆H₄CH₂4, 4-F-C₆H₄CH₂5, 4-CN-C₆H₄CH₂6, Ph 7, 2,4-Cl₂-C₆H₃CH₂8) in the presence of organic base NEt₃, and their structures have been characterized by elemental analysis, IR and multinuclear NMR (¹H, ¹³C, ¹¹⁹Sn) spectroscopies. The structure of [(2,4-Cl₂-C₆H₃CH₂)₂SnCl₂(2-quin)]⁻(NEt₃)⁺ (8) has been determined by X-ray diffraction study. Studies show that compound 8 has a monomeric structure with the central tin atom six-coordinate in a distorted octahedral configuration and the nitrogen atoms of the 2-quin ligands are coordinating to the tin atom in all the eight compounds.     

A New Asterosaponin from the Starfish Culcita novaeguineae

A new asterosaponin named novaeguinoside A, along with a known saponin, asteronyl pentaglycoside sulfate, was isolated from the starfish Culcita novaeguineae. The new compound was identitied to be sodium 6α-O-{β-D-fucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-fucopyranosyl-(1→4)-[β-D-quinovopyranosyl-(1→2)]-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→3)-[β-D-quinovopyranosyl}-5α-pregn-9(11)-en-20-one-3β-yl-sulfate by extensive spectral analysis and chemical evidence.