Enantiomeric Discrimination by Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering–Chiral Anisotropy of Chiral Nanostructured Gold Films

A surface-enhanced Raman scattering-chiral anisotropy (SERS-ChA) effect is reported that combines chiral discrimination and surface Raman scattering enhancement on chiral nanostructured Au films (CNAFs) equipped in the normal Raman scattering Spectrometer. The CNAFs provided remarkably higher enhancement factors of Raman scattering (EFs) for particular enantiomers, and the SERS intensity was proportional to the enantiomeric excesses (ee) values. Except for molecules with mesomeric species, all of the tested enantiomers exhibited high SERS-ChA asymmetry factors (g), ranging between 1.34 and 1.99 regardless of polarities, sizes, chromophores, concentrations and ee. The effect might be attributed to selective resonance coupling between the induced electric and magnetic dipoles associated with enantiomers and chiral plasmonic modes of CNAFs.     

The origin of lattice instability in bcc tungsten under triaxial loading

Abstract

Stability of ideal bcc tungsten crystal under triaxial tensile loading was explored from first principles using an analysis of both elastic and dynamic stability. The triaxial stress state was considered as a superposition of axial and biaxial transverse stresses. The region of attainable stresses which was delimited using the computed tensile stress maxima was marginally reduced by occurrence of soft phonons in the crystal lattice. While, under purely hydrostatic tension, the crystal was predicted stable up to 48 GPa, greater magnitude of a differential stress reduced the value of a mean (hydrostatic) stress associated with first phonon instabilities to about 35 GPa. This value is rather close to that recently determined in experiment. Computed phonon spectra were successfully verified with the help of atomistic models of microscopic lattice deformation.     

Boundary Regularity of Shear Thickening Flows

This article is concerned with the global regularity of weak solutions to systems describing the flow of shear thickening fluids under the homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition. The extra stress tensor is given by a power law ansatz with shear exponent p≥ 2. We show that, if the data of the problem are smooth enough, the solution u of the steady generalized Stokes problem belongs to W^{1,(np+2-p)/(n-2)}(W){W^{1,(np+2-p)/(n-2)}(\Omega)} . We use the method of tangential translations and reconstruct the regularity in the normal direction from the system, together with anisotropic embedding theorem. Corresponding results for the steady and unsteady generalized Navier–Stokes problem are also formulated.     

The Nature of the Binding of Au, Ag, and Pd to Benzene, Coronene, and Graphene: From Benchmark CCSD(T) Calculations to Plane-Wave DFT Calculations

The adsorption of Ag, Au, and Pd atoms on benzene, coronene, and graphene has been studied using post Hartree-Fock wave function theory (CCSD(T), MP2) and density functional theory (M06-2X, DFT-D3, PBE, vdW-DF) methods. The CCSD(T) benchmark binding energies for benzene-M (M = Pd, Au, Ag) complexes are 19.7, 4.2, and 2.3 kcal/mol, respectively. We found that the nature of binding of the three metals is different: While silver binds predominantly through dispersion interactions, the binding of palladium has a covalent character, and the binding of gold involves a subtle combination of charge transfer and dispersion interactions as well as relativistic effects. We demonstrate that the CCSD(T) benchmark binding energies for benzene-M complexes can be reproduced in plane-wave density functional theory calculations by including a fraction of the exact exchange and a nonempirical van der Waals correction (EE+vdW). Applying the EE+vdW method, we obtained binding energies for the graphene-M (M = Pd, Au, Ag) complexes of 17.4, 5.6, and 4.3 kcal/mol, respectively. The trends in binding energies found for the benzene-M complexes correspond to those in coronene and graphene complexes. DFT methods that use empirical corrections to account for the effects of vdW interactions significantly overestimate binding energies in some of the studied systems.     

On the worst scenario method: Application to a quasilinear elliptic 2D-problem with uncertain coefficients

We apply a theoretical framework for solving a class of worst scenario problems to a problem with a nonlinear partial differential equation. In contrast to the one-dimensional problem investigated by P. Harasim in Appl. Math. 53 (2008), No. 6, 583–598, the two-dimensional problem requires stronger assumptions restricting the admissible set to ensure the monotonicity of the nonlinear operator in the examined state problem, and, as a result, to show the existence and uniqueness of the state solution. The existence of the worst scenario is proved through the convergence of a sequence of approximate worst scenarios. Furthermore, it is shown that the Galerkin approximation of the state solution can be calculated by means of the Kachanov method as the limit of a sequence of solutions to linearized problems.     

Contactless Conductivity Detection in Capillary Electrophoresis Employing Capillaries with Very Low Inner Diameters

The behaviour of a contactless conductivity detector was studied in its application to capillary electrophoresis employing quartz capillaries with inner diameters (i.d.) of 10 to 75 µm. The detector output signal was measured using KCl as the test electrolyte, within a KCl concentration range from 0 to 100 mmol/L, corresponding to specific conductivities from 0 to 1295 mS/m. When using capillaries with high inner diameters, then the signal‐to‐noise ratio is high in electrolytes of low conductivity. On the other hand, the use of capillaries with low i.d. values is useful in separations employing solutions of high conductivities. The advantages of capillaries with small i.d. values, combined with contactless conductivity detection, are demonstrated on separations of mixtures of inorganic ions and on separations of neutral mono‐ and disaccharides.     

ELISA kit for mustard protein determination: interlaboratory study

An interlaboratory study in 12 laboratories was performed to prove the validation of the ELISA method developed for the quantitative determination of mustard protein in foods. The ELISA kit used for this study is based on rabbit polyclonal antibody. This kit did not produce any false-positive results or cross-reactivity with in-house validation for a broad range of food matrixes with no detectable mustard protein. All participants obtained the Mustard ELISA kit with standard operational procedures, a list of samples, samples, and a protocol for recording test results. The study included 15 food samples and two spiked samples. Seven food matrix samples of zero mustard content and four samples with mustard declared as an ingredient showed mustard protein content lower than that of the first standard (0.42 mg/kg). Four samples with mustard declared as an ingredient revealed mustard protein content above 12.5 mg/kg (the highest standard). The statistical tests (Cochran, Dixon, and Mandel) and analysis of variance were used to evaluate the interlaboratory study results. Repeatability and reproducibility limits, as well as an LOQ (1.8 mg mustard proteins/kg) and LOD (0.5 mg mustard proteins/kg), for the kit were calculated.     

New dinuclear nickel(II) complexes: synthesis, structure, electrochemical, and magnetic properties

The reaction of [NiBr(2)(bpy)(2)] (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) with organic phosphinic acids ArP(O)(OH)H [Ar = Ph, 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl (Mes), 9-anthryl (Ant)] leads to the formation of binuclear nickel(II) complexes with bridging ArP(H)O(2)(-) ligands. Crystal structures of the binuclear complexes [Ni(2)(μ-O(2)P(H)Ar)(2)(bpy)(4)]Br(2) (Ar = Ph, Mes, Ant) have been determined. In each structure, the metal ions have distorted octahedral coordination and are doubly bridged by two arylphosphinato ligands. Magnetic susceptibility measurements have shown that these complexes display strong antiferromagnetic coupling between the two nickel atoms at low temperatures, apparently similar to binuclear nickel(II) complexes with bridging carboxylato ligands. Cyclic voltammetry and in situ EPR spectroelectrochemistry show that these complexes can be electrochemically reduced and oxidized with the formation of Ni(I),Ni(0)/Ni(III) derivatives.     

Comparative study of mono- and dinuclear complexes of late 3d-metal chlorides with N,N-dimethylformamide in the gas phase

Mono- and binuclear complexes of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) with chlorides of the divalent, late 3d metals M = Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn are investigated by means of electrospray ionization (ESI). Specifically, ESI leads to monocations of the type [(DMF)(n)MCl](+) and [(DMF)(n)M(2)Cl(3)](+), of which the species with n = 2 and 3 were selected for in-depth studies. The latter include collision-induced dissociation experiments, gas-phase infrared spectroscopy, and calculations using density functional theory. The mononuclear complexes [(DMF)(n)MCl](+) almost exclusively lose neutral DMF upon collisional activation with the notable exception of the copper complex, for which also a reduction from Cu(II) to Cu(I) concomitant with the release of atomic chlorine is observed. For the dinuclear clusters, there exists a competition between loss of a DMF ligand and cluster degradation via loss of neutral MCl(2) with decreasing cluster stability from cobalt to zinc. For the specific case of [(DMF)(n)ZnCl](+) and [(DMF)(n)Zn(2)Cl(3)](+), ion-mobility mass spectrometry indicates the existence of two isomeric cluster ions in the case of [(DMF)(2)Zn(2)Cl(3)](+) which corroborates parallel theoretical predictions.     

Layered zinc hydroxide salts: delamination, preferred orientation of hydroxide lamellae, and formation of ZnO nanodiscs

Herein, we report our analysis of the surface modification of polystyrene (PS) when treated under ambient conditions with a common biological buffer such as phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or aqueous solutions of the ionic constituents of PBS. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used for the analysis because the resultant spectra are very sensitive to minor changes in the chemical and structural properties of PS films. In addition, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy was applied to characterize the surface modifications of PS. Treatment with PBS resulted in the most significant chemical and structural surface modifications of the PS films, as compared with each of the solutions of the constituents of PBS, which were tested separately. A multistep mechanism for the wet modification of PS is discussed. We postulate that the observed surface modifications are the result of photo-oxidation/reduction, swelling, and conformational changes and re-arrangement of the polymer chain. The resultant surface modifications could be similar to those produced by commonly used dry processes such as plasma treatments and electron, ion or ultraviolet irradiation. We found that the modifications that occurred in PBS were more stable than those initiated by dry processes. The formation of active groups on the surface of PS can be controlled by adsorption of bovine serum albumin or thermal annealing of PS before PBS treatment. This approach provides a simple and efficient method for the surface modification of PS for biomedical applications.