Modification of the electronic properties of zigzag (n = 5–10) and armchair (n = 3, 5) carbon nanotubes by K atom adsorption

The adsorption of the potassium atom onto the surface of (n,0) zigzag nanotube (n = 5–10) and (n,n) armchair nanotubes (n = 3, 5) has been studied by density functional theory. The local density approximation calculation of adsorption energy (E _ads) emphasized on the dependency of E _ads to the diameter and chirality of the nanotube. E _ads decreases when the diameter increases. So the (5,0)-K system has the highest adsorption energy among all structures. Furthermore, a significant change was observed in the electronic properties of potassium-adsorbed single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) and the metallic behavior of the nanotube improved. Therefore, our results showed that such modified SWCNTs can be applied in nanodevices such as transistors.     

Nickel-Zeolite modified carbon paste electrode as electrochemical sensor for hydrogen peroxide

In the present work, nickel-zeolite modified carbon paste electrode (Ni-ZMCPE) was prepared. The electrochemical behaviour of hydrogen peroxide at the surface of modified electrode was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry in 0.1 M NaOH supporting electrolyte. The electrochemical characterization of Ni-ZMCPE exhibits redox behavior of Ni(III)/Ni(II) couple in alkaline medium. It has been shown that Ni-ZMCPE improves efficiency of the modified electrode toward hydrogen peroxide electrooxidation (It wasn’t remarkable different on ZMCPE and CPE in the presence and absence of hydrogen peroxide). Moreover, the effects of various parameters such as effect of different percents of Ni-Z to graphite, effect of pH and hydrogen peroxide concentration on the electrooxidation of hydrogen peroxide as well as stability of the Ni-ZMCPE have also been investigated. Under the selected conditions, the anodic peak current was linearly dependent on the concentration of hydrogen peroxide in the range 0.03–0.1 and 0.3–6 mM with amperometric method. The detection limit (S/N = 3) was also estimated to be 1 μM.     

Methanol electrooxidation on novel modified carbon paste electrodes with supported poly(isonicotinic acid) (sodium dodecyl sulfate)/Ni-Co electrocatalysts

Poly(isonicotinic acid) (PINA) was formed by successive cyclic voltammetry in monomer solution in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) on the surface of a carbon paste electrode (CPE). Ni(II) and Co(II) ions were incorporated into the electrode by immersion of the polymer-modified electrodes in Ni(II) and Co(II) ion solutions in different proportions. After the preparation of modified electrodes, their electrochemical behavior was studied by cyclic voltammetric experiments. Electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol at the surface of the modified electrodes was studied in 1?M NaOH solution. These modified electrodes exhibit high electrocatalytic activity and stability in alkaline solution, showing oxidation peaks at low potentials with high current densities. The electrooxidation of methanol was found to be more efficient on CPE/PINA(SDS)/Ni₈₀Co₂₀ than on CPE/PINA(SDS)/Ni and CPE/PINA(SDS)/Ni₅₀Co₅₀. The effects of various parameters such as scan rates and methanol concentration on the electrooxidation of methanol are also investigated.     

Cu(II) Hexacyanoferrate(III) Modified Carbon Paste Electrode; Application for Electrocatalytic Detection of Nitrite

Copper hexacyanoferrate (CuHCF) film‐modified carbon paste electrode (CPE) has been prepared from various electrolytic aqueous solutions using consecutive cyclic voltammetry. The cyclic voltammograms showed the direct deposition of CuHCF films from the mixing of Cu²⁺ and Fe(CN)₆^3? ions and each time with one of the six cations: H⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, NH₄⁺, Mg²⁺, and Al³⁺. The CuHCF film showed a single redox couple that exhibited a cation effect (Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, and NH₄⁺) and anion effect (Cl^?, NO₃^?, SO₄^2?, ClO₄^?, and BrO₃^?) in the cyclic voltammograms. Voltammetric studies have indicated that in presence of nitrite, the cathodic peak current of CuHCF increases, followed by a decrease in the corresponding anodic current. This indicated that nitrite was reduced by the redox mediator immobilized on the electrode surface via an electrocatalytic mechanism. The process of reduction and its kinetics were investigated by using cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry, chronoamperometry and chronocoulometry techniques. The electrocatalytic ability about 800 mV can be seen. The rate constant of the catalytic reduction of nitrite was found to be 7.9×10⁵ cm³ mol^?1 s^?1. Linearity range obtained was 5×10^?5?8.4×10^?3 by cyclic voltammetry and 8×10^?6?1.3×10^?3 and 4×10^?3?2×10^?2 by differential pulse voltammetry.     

Acetylferrocene Modified Carbon Paste Electrode; A Sensor for Electrocatalytic Determination of Hydrazine

The electrocatalytic oxidation of hydrazine at a carbon paste electrode spiked with acetylferrocene as a mediator was studied by cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry, and chronoamperometry. In contrast to other ferrocenic compounds, acetylferrocene exhibits a chemical irreversible behavior, but it can act as an effective mediator for electrocatalytic oxidation of hydrazine, too. The heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant between acetylferrocene and the electrode substrate (carbon paste) and the diffusion coefficient of spiked acetylferrocene in silicon oil were estimated to be about 3.45×10^?4 cm s^?1 and 4.45×10^?9 cm² s^?1, respectively. It has been found that under the optimum conditions (pH 7.5) the oxidation of hydrazine occurs at a potential of about 228 mV less positive than that of an unmodified carbon paste electrode. The catalytic oxidation peak current of hydrazine was linearly dependent on its concentration and the obtained linear range was 3.09×10^?5 M–1.03×10^?3 M. The detection limit (2σ) has been determined as 2.7×10^?5 M by cyclic voltammetry. Also, the peak current was increased linearly with the concentration of hydrazine in the range of 1×10^?5 M–1×10^?3 M by differential pulse voltammetry with a detection limit of 1×10^?5 M. This catalytic oxidation of hydrazine has been applied as a selective, simple, and precise new method for the determination of hydrazine in water samples.     

Performance of glucose electrooxidation on Ni–Co composition dispersed on the poly(isonicotinic acid) (SDS) film

Poly(isonicotinic acid) (PINA) film was electrosynthesized on carbon paste electrode (CPE) by using the repeated potential cycling technique in aqueous solution containing isonicotinic acid (INA), sulfuric acid and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Then, nickel and cobalt ions were incorporated by immersion of CPE/PINA prepared in the presence of SDS (CPE/PINA(SDS)) in a solution with different proportions of nickel chloride and cobalt chloride. The electrochemical characterization of mixed hydroxides containing cobalt and nickel at the surface of the modified electrode is presented. The modified electrodes were successfully used in the electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose. Finally, the electrocatalytic oxidation peak currents of glucose exhibited a good linear dependence on concentration, and its quantification can be done easily. The good analytical performance, low cost and straightforward preparation method make this novel electrode material promising for the development of an effective glucose sensor.     

Confined high-pressure chemical deposition of hydrogenated amorphous silicon

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) is one of the most technologically important semiconductors. The challenge in producing it from SiH(4) precursor is to overcome a significant kinetic barrier to decomposition at a low enough temperature to allow for hydrogen incorporation into a deposited film. The use of high precursor concentrations is one possible means to increase reaction rates at low enough temperatures, but in conventional reactors such an approach produces large numbers of homogeneously nucleated particles in the gas phase, rather than the desired heterogeneous deposition on a surface. We report that deposition in confined micro-/nanoreactors overcomes this difficulty, allowing for the use of silane concentrations many orders of magnitude higher than conventionally employed while still realizing well-developed films. a-Si:H micro-/nanowires can be deposited in this way in extreme aspect ratio, small-diameter optical fiber capillary templates. The semiconductor materials deposited have ~0.5 atom% hydrogen with passivated dangling bonds and good electronic properties. They should be suitable for a wide range of photonic and electronic applications such as nonlinear optical fibers and solar cells.     

Full-wave analysis of photonic-crystal structures with multi quantum well active region

In this paper, a semi-classical formulation for modeling photonic-crystal (PC) structures with a four-layer multi quantum well (MQW) active region is presented. The formulation treats the electromagnetic fields as a classical entity, while employing the quantum-mechanically derived rate equations to analyze the active medium. Using the Poynting theorem, we interrelate the two sets of equations, namely the MQW rate equations and Maxwell's equations. The formulation involves the stimulately emitted photon density in the former and a virtual volume current density representing the generated photons in the latter. With the help of this formulation, we then model a PC optical amplifier as well as a PC hexagonal-defect cavity laser and solve the obtained equations after replacing the involved spatial and temporal derivatives by pseudo-spectral and Runge-Kutta's formulations, respectively. The formulation also takes the effect related to gain saturation and frequency broadening into account.     

Conformational flexibility in amidophosphoesters: a CSD analysis completed with two new crystal structures of (C6H5O)2P(O)X [X = NHC7H13 and N(CH2C6H5)2]

The crystal structures of diphenyl (cycloheptylamido)phosphate, C₁₉H₂₄NO₃P or (C₆H₅O)₂P(O)(NHC₇H₁₃), ( I ), and diphenyl (dibenzylamido)phosphate, C₂₆H₂₄NO₃P or (C₆H₅O)₂P(O)[N(CH₂C₆H₅)₂], ( II ), are reported. The NHC₇H₁₃ group in ( I ) provides two significant hydrogen‐donor sites in N—H…O and C—H…O hydrogen bonds, needed for a one‐dimensional hydrogen‐bond pattern along [100] in the crystal, while ( II ), with a (C₆H₅CH₂)₂N moiety, lacks these hydrogen bonds, but its three‐dimensional supramolecular structure is mediated by C—H…π interactions. The conformational behaviour of the phenyl rings in ( I ), ( II ) and analogous structures from the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) were studied in terms of flexibility, volume of the other group attached to phosphorus and packing forces. From this study, synclinal (±sc), anticlinal (±ac) and antiperiplanar (±ap) conformations were found to occur. In the structure of ( II ), there is an intramolecular C_ortho—H…O interaction that imposes a +sc conformation for the phenyl ring involved. For the structures from the CSD, the +sc and ±ap conformations appear to be mainly imposed by similar C_ortho—H…O intramolecular interactions. The large contribution of the C…H/H…C contacts (32.3%) in the two‐dimensional fingerprint plots of ( II ) is a result of the C—H…π interactions. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses exhibit peak temperatures (T_m) at 109 and 81 °C for ( I ) and ( II ), respectively, which agree with the strengths of the intermolecular contacts and the melting points.     

Some notes on the second homology of Leibniz algebras

Some properties of the second homology and cover of Leibniz algebras are established. By constructing a stem cover, the second Leibniz homology and cover of abelian, Heisenberg Lie algebras and cyclic Leibniz algebras are described. Also, for the dimension of a non-cyclic nilpotent Leibniz algebra L, we obtain dim(HL₂(L))≥2.