Oxidation of cobalt(II) with air oxygen in aqueous ethylenediamine solutions

Oxidation of aqueous Co(NO₃)₂–ethylenediamine (En) solutions with air oxygen was investigated at 20 °C and pH 5.2–7.0, with and without mechanical stirring, by measuring the Co^II concentration, pH and redox potential on an Au electrode. In most cases, the oxidation rate was proportional to the concentration of CoEn ²⁺ _n (n = 2, 3) complexes, and the influence of the solution pH on the rate of reaction was accounted for by the pH dependence of the Co^II complex distribution. It was found that sulphate inhibits and bromide accelerates the oxidation process. Possible oxidation routes are discussed. The oxidation process is limited to some extent by O₂ transport from the air to the bulk solution.     

Morphological,structural and optical properties of MoO<Subscript>2</Subscript> films electrodeposited on SnO<Subscript>2</Subscript>∣glass plate

MoO₂ films were prepared by electrodeposition under potential controlled conditions from an aqueous alkaline solution of sodium molybdate.     

Competition between order and phase separation in Au-Ni

We have measured and theoretically analyzed the diffuse scattering in the binary alloy system Au-Ni, which has been proposed as a testing ground for theories of alloy phase stability. We found strong evidence that in the alloys Au3Ni and Au3Ni2, fluctuations of both ordering- and clustering-type are competing with each other. Our results resolve a long-standing controversy on the balance of relaxation and mixing energies in this alloy system and explain recent findings of ordering in thin Au-Ni films.     

Role of strain-dependent surface energies in Ge/Si(100) island formation

Formation energies for Ge/Si(100) pyramidal islands are computed combining continuum calculations of strain energy with first-principles-computed strain-dependent surface energies. The strain dependence of surface energy is critically impacted by the presence of strain-induced changes in the Ge {100} surface reconstruction. The appreciable strain dependencies of rebonded-step {105} and dimer-vacancy-line-reconstructed {100} surface energies are estimated to give rise to a significant reduction in the surface contribution to island formation energies.     

Biofuel Cell Based on Anode and Cathode Modified by Glucose Oxidase

A single compartment biofuel cell (BFC) based on an anode and a cathode powered by the same fuel glucose is reported. Glucose oxidase (GOx) from Aspergillus niger was applied as a glucose consuming biocatalyst for both anode and cathode of the BFC. The 5‐amino‐1,10‐phenanthroline modified graphite rod electrode (GRE) with cross‐linked GOx was used as the bioanode, and the GRE with co‐immobilised horseradish peroxidase and GOx was exploited as the biocathode of the BFC. The open‐circuit voltage of the designed BFC exceeded 450 mV and a maximal power density of 3.5 µW/cm² was registered at a cell voltage of 300 mV.     

Electrochemical and structural characterization of sputter-deposited Mg–Nb and Mg–Nb–Al–Zn alloy films

Nanocrystalline Mg–Nb and Mg–Nb–Al–Zn alloy films were deposited by dc magnetron sputtering on glass and quartz substrates in a wide range of niobium concentrations from 6 to 80 at.%. Structural, electrochemical and corrosion properties of the films were studied by X-ray diffraction, dc voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance. Development of body-centred cubic Nb structure in the Mg–Nb alloy matrix yielded the effects of lattice contraction, grain refining and electrochemical passivity. The measurements showed high corrosion resistance of the films in alkaline solutions when niobium content was one third or more. An increased corrosion resistance was achieved by introducing minor amounts of Al (ca. 2 at.%). In particular, such Al effect was pronounced at lower Nb concentrations (20 to 30 at.%). Semiconductor properties of spontaneously formed oxide on Mg–Nb alloy were studied by Mott–Schottky plots, which indicated highly doped n-type oxide structures on Mg–Nb surface. The paper fills some gap in understanding of niobium–magnesium systems, which show potential for applications in hydrogen storage, switchable mirrors and corrosion protection.     

Energetics of cation mixing in urania-ceria solid solutions with stoichiometric oxygen concentrations

Cation mixing energetics in urania-ceria solid solutions with stoichiometric oxygen concentrations (U(1-y)Ce(y)O(2)) have been measured by high-temperature oxide-melt drop-solution calorimetry. Measurements have been performed on eight samples with compositions spanning y = 0.119 to y = 0.815. The measured mixing enthalpies (ΔH(mix)) range from -0.6 ± 3.3 to 3.9 ± 3.0 kJ mol(-1). These values are discussed in the context of results from atomistic modeling which take into consideration the possibility of charge transfer between uranium and cerium cations to form solid solutions with mixed charge states. A comparison between measured and calculated results for ΔH(mix) suggests that such charge transfer takes place to a limited extent in the most concentrated mixtures studied.     

Switching the Inhibitor-Enzyme Recognition Profile via Chimeric Carbonic Anhydrase XII

A key part of the optimization of small molecules in pharmaceutical inhibitor development is to vary the molecular design to enhance complementarity of chemical features of the compound with the positioning of amino acids in the active site of a target enzyme. Typically this involves iterations of synthesis, to modify the compound, and biophysical assay, to assess the outcomes. Selective targeting of the anti-cancer carbonic anhydrase isoform XII (CA XII), this process is challenging because the overall fold is very similar across the twelve CA isoforms. To enhance drug development for CA XII we used a reverse engineering approach where mutation of the key six amino acids in the active site of human CA XII into the CA II isoform was performed to provide a protein chimera (chCA XII) which is amenable to structure-based compound optimization. Through determination of structural detail and affinity measurement of the interaction with over 60 compounds we observed that the compounds that bound CA XII more strongly than CA II, switched their preference and bound more strongly to the engineered chimera, chCA XII, based on CA II, but containing the 6 key amino acids from CA XII, behaved as CA XII in its compound recognition profile. The structures of the compounds in the chimeric active site also resembled those determined for complexes with CA XII, hence validating this protein engineering approach in the development of new inhibitors.     

Ultraviolet photodegradation of folic acid

The vitamin folate is vital for all living creatures. Scientists have suggested that ultraviolet degradation of folate in vivo played a role in the evolution of mankind. In order to better understand the photodegradation of folate, we have provided a spectroscopic study of the ultraviolet photodegradation of aqueous folic acid under aerobic conditions. We found strong indications that the folic acid molecule is cleaved into p-aminobenzoyl-L-glutamic acid and 6-formyl pterin when exposed to ultraviolet radiation. When the irradiation continues, 6-formyl pterin is degraded to pterin-6-carboxylic acid. The photodegradation of folic acid is divided into three phases. In the first phase, the formation of photoproducts follows a zero order rate law. In the second phase the presence of photoproducts sensitizes the degradation of folic acid and the degradation process is accelerated. In the third phase the degradation of 6-formyl pterin to pterin-6-carboxylic acid is the dominating process. This reaction follows a first order rate law. We show that both 6-formyl pterin and pterin-6-carboxylic acid sensitize the photodegradation of folic acid. However, experiments performed in heavy water indicate that generation of singlet oxygen is probably not the explanation for the photosensitizing of folic acid.