M@B<Subscript>9</Subscript> and M@B<Subscript>10</Subscript> molecular wheels containing planar nona- and deca-coordinate heavy group 11, 12, and 13 metals (M=Ag,Au, Cd,Hg, In,Tl)

A density functional and ab initio theory investigation on M@B₉ and M@B₁₀ molecular wheels containing planar nona- and deca-coordinate heavy group 11, 12 and 13 metals (M=Ag, Au, Cd, Hg, In, Ti) has been performed. These unusual clusters all prove to be true minima on the potential energy surfaces of the systems and σ+π double aromatic in nature. The first two vertical one-electron detachment energies of M@B₁₀⁻ (M=Ag, Au) anions and first two ionization potentials of M@B₉ (M=Ag, Au) and M@B₁₀ (M=Cd, Hg) neutrals were calculated to aid future experiments. The cluster complexes designed in this work may expend the domain of planar hyper-coordinate elements to include heavy group 11, 12, and 13 metals and serve as interesting candidates to be targeted in experiments. Electronic Supplementary Material  Supplementary material is available for this article at and is accessible for authorized users. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 20873117)     

Analysis of viscosity abnormalities of polyelectrolytes in dilute solutions

It was found that the interface effects in viscous capillary flow influenced the process of viscosity measurement greatly,and the abnormal viscosity behaviors of polyelectrolytes as well as neutral polymers in dilute solution region were ascribed to interface effect.According to this theory,we have reviewed the previous viscosity data of derivatives of poly-2- vinylpyridine reported by Maclay and Fuoss first.Then,the abnormal viscosity behaviors of a series of sodium polystyrene sulfonate samples with various molecular weights in dilute aqueous solutions were studied further.The solute adsorption behaviors and structural information of polymers have been discussed carefully.     

Guanidine-based task-specific ionic liquids as catalysts for aza-Michael addition under solvent-free conditions

An efficient and facile protocol for aza-Michael addition of aliphatic and aromatic amines to electron-deficit alkenes using [TMG][Lac] as catalyst under solvent-free conditions was established.     

Self-supported metal sulphide nanocrystals-assembled nanosheets on carbon paper as efficient counter electrodes for quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells

Developing efficient counter electrodes (CEs) and quantum dots made of earth-abundant and non-toxic elements is essential but still challenging for quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). Here, we report a facile strategy to prepare self-supported and robust CoS₂ and NiS nanocrystals-assembled nanosheets directly grown on carbon paper (MSx NS@CP) as efficient counter electrodes for QDSSCs. Such CEs integrate the merits of fast electron transfer from interconnected conductive scaffold, efficient mass transfer from hierarchically vertical nanosheet on 3D open substrate, as well as abundant highly active catalytic sites from metal sulphide nanocrystal units. As a result, QDDSCs based on such CoS₂ NS@CP and NiS NS@CP CEs achieve a PCE of 8.88% and 7.53%, respectively. The detailed analyses suggest that CoS₂ NS@CP has the highest catalytic activity and shows the lowest charger transfer resistance, leading to the highest PCE. These findings may inspire the design and exploration of other self-supported efficient CEs by integrating highly active catalysts onto 3D conductive networks for efficient QDSSCs.     

Octyl-type monolithic columns of 530 microm i.d. for capillary liquid chromatography

A novel monolithic capillary column (530 microm i.d.) was prepared for capillary liquid chromatography (CLC) by in situ copolymerization of octyl methacrylate (MAOE) and ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA) in the presence of a porogen solvent containing 1-propanol, 1,4-butanediol, and water with azobisisobutyronitrile as the initiator. The influences of the contents of the porogen solvent, EDMA and the various concentration ratios of 1-propanol to 1,4-butanediol in the polymerization mixture on the morphology, porosity, globule size, stability and column efficiency were investigated. The morphology and pore size distribution of monolithic capillary columns were characterized by SEM and mercury intrusion porosimetry, respectively. Chromatographic evaluations of the columns were performed under CLC mode. The results showed that good permeability and stability can be obtained under optimal experimental conditions. The separation results of some acid, neutral and basic analytes demonstrated the hydrophobicity and low affinity to basic analytes of the new column. Three metal ions, i.e. Mg(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) were also separated under ion-pair mode on the new monolithic capillary column and the results were acceptable.     

Gap Space Optimization for NO Removal in a Non‐thermal Plasma Discharge

Given the operational constraints of aerospace ground equipments (AGE), the nonthermal plasma discharge (NTPD) has been identified as a promising technology for their NO_x removal. As part of a program to optimize an NTPD system for this particular application, an investigation of the effect of discharge gap spacing on the electrical and chemical processes that occur in NTPDs was initiated. A number of experiments were performed to examine how the gap spacing affects the NO removal efficiency, discharge characteristics, and chemical reactions in a NTPD device. Gap spacings ranging from 0.8 to 4.0 mm were investigated in this study. An optimum gap spacing for NO removal was observed at approximately 2 mm and, based on the experimental data, a physical explanation for the optimum was developed. The experiments, results and conclusions are discusssed in detail in this paper.     

FT-IR and FT-FIR studies of vanadium,molybdenum and tungsten oxides supported on different carriers

In the far IR region at low molybdenum loadings, Mo-SiO₂ catalysts present a pseudomolybdate or a polymolybdate species, while bulk-like MoO₃ appears at loadings close to the geometrical monolayer coverage. W-SiO₂ and V-SiO₂ spectra show bands close to those observed on the corresponding bulk oxides.In the case of TiO₂, Al₂O₃, ZrO₂ supported catalysts, a band is observed near 1000 cm^–1 which is assigned to the Mo=O stretching vibration of coordinatively unsaturated Mo ⁿ⁺ ions showing a stronger interaction with the support than one observed on silica.     

Complexes of vanadyl and uranyl ions with the chelating groups of humic matter

The uranyl and vanadyl complexes formed with salicylic, phthalic and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acids have been studied by potentiometry in order to determine the stability constants of the M(m)L(n) species formed in solution, and the constants for the hydrolysis and polymeric complexes, at 25.0 degrees , in 0.10, 0.40 and 0.70M sodium perchlorate. MINIQUAD was used to process the data to find the best models for the species in solution, and calculate the formation constants. The uranyl-salicylic acid system was also studied by spectrophotometry and the program SQUAD used to process the data obtained. The best models for these systems show that co-ordination of the uranyl ion by carboxylate groups is easier than for the vanadyl ion, whereas the vanadyl ion seems to form more stable complexes with phenolate groups. Both oxo-cations seem to tend to hydrolyse rather than form complexes when the L:M ratios are greater than unity. Although the change in the constants with ionic strength is small, the activity coefficients of the salicylate and phthalate species have been calculated at ionic strengths 0.40 and 0.70M, along with the interaction parameters with Na(+), from the stability constants found for the species ML and H(2)L, according to the Br?nsted-Guggenheim expression.