Effect of solution extrusion rate on morphology and performance of polyvinylidene fluoride hollow fiber membranes using polyvinyl pyrrolidone as an additive

<正>Polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF) hollow fiber membranes prepared from spinning solutions with different polyvinyl pyrrolidone(PVP) contents(1%and 5%) at different extrusion rates were obtained by wet/dry phase process keeping all other spinning parameters constant.In spinning these PVDF hollow fibers,dimethylacetamide(DMAc) and PVP were used as a solvent and an additive,respectively.Water was used as the inner coagulant.Dimethylformamide(DMF) and water(30/70) were used as the external coagulant.The performances of membranes were characterized in terms of water flux,solute rejection for the wet membranes.The structure and morphology of PVDF hollow fiber were examined by BET adsorption,dry/wet weight method and scanning electron microscopy(SEM).It is found that the increase in PVP content and extrusion rate of spinning solution can result in the increase of water flux and decrease of solute rejection.The improvements of interconnected porous structure and pore size are induced by shear-thinning behavior of spinning solution at high extrusion rates,which could result in the increase of water flux of hollow fiber membranes.The increase of extrusion rate also leads to the increase of membrane thickness due to the recovery effect of elastic property of polymer chains.     

Electrochemical Elucidation of the Facilitated Ion Transport Across a Bilayer Lipid Membrane in the Presence of Neutral Carrier Compounds

The ion transport facilitated by neutral carrier compounds (valinomycin, nonactin) has been investigated by cyclic voltammetry in the several electrolyte solutions (KF, KCl, KBr, KNO₃, KSCN, KClO₄), and we demonstrated the effect of the counter anions on the facilitated transport of K⁺ from the viewpoint of electroneutrality. Voltammograms for the ion transport were generated at steady state and the current density between W1 and W2, j_W1–W2, increased with the absolute value of the applied membrane potential, E_W1–W2. Then, the magnitude of j_W1–W2 at a certain E_W1–W2 increased with the hydrophobicity of the counter anion. It was proved that the logarithm of |j_W1–W2|at a certain E_W1–W2 is almost proportional to the hydration energy of the counter anion. This indicates that not only K⁺ but also the counter anion distributes into the BLM. Therefore, the magnitude of j_W1–W2 at a certain E_W1–W2 increased with an increase of pH, because the hydroxide ion was served as a counter anion. Based on the variation of the zero‐current potential in case of various asymmetrical ionic compositions, it is found that the amount of cation transport is much larger than that of anion transport.     

The effect of water immersion on short-latency somatosensory evoked potentials in human

Background  

Water immersion therapy is used to treat a variety of cardiovascular, respiratory, and orthopedic conditions. It can also benefit some neurological patients, although little is known about the effects of water immersion on neural activity, including somatosensory processing. To this end, we examined the effect of water immersion on short-latency somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) elicited by median nerve stimuli. Short-latency SEP recordings were obtained for ten healthy male volunteers at rest in or out of water at 30°C. Recordings were obtained from nine scalp electrodes according to the 10-20 system. The right median nerve at the wrist was electrically stimulated with the stimulus duration of 0.2 ms at 3 Hz. The intensity of the stimulus was fixed at approximately three times the sensory threshold.     

Effect of copper (II) ion against elongation behavior of amyloid β fibrils on liposome membranes

The fibril growth behavior of amyloid β protein (Aβ) on cell membranes is relating to the progression of Alzheimer's disease. This growth behavior of Aβ fibrils is sensitively affected by the metal ions, neurotransmitters, or bioreactive substrate. The inhibitory effect of those materials was quantitatively estimated from the viewpoints of “crystal growth”. In a bulk aqueous solution, copper (II) ion showed the strong inhibitory effect on the growth of Aβ fibrils. Meanwhile, the addition of a closed‐phospholipid bilayer membrane (liposome) could reduce the above inhibitory effect of copper (II) ion. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

AFM observation of immobilized self-oscillating polymer

Various types of nanocomponents have been developed to construct a nanodevice or nanomachine. Here, we add a new nanocomponent that has the function of self-oscillation. A thermoresponsive polymer carrying a Ru complex, a catalyst of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction, was synthesized and immobilized on a glass plate. Periodic turbidity changes in the aqueous solution of the polymer were observed, and nanoscale self-oscillation of the immobilized polymer was observed by a scanning probe microscope.     

Molecular vibrations at a liquid-liquid interface observed by fourth-order Raman spectroscopy

Interface-selective, Raman-based observation of molecular vibrations is demonstrated at a liquid-liquid interface. An aqueous solution of oxazine 170 dye interfaced with hexadecane is irradiated with pump and probe light pulses of 630-nm wavelengths in 17-fs width. The ultrashort pulses are broadened due to group velocity dispersion when traveling through the hexadecane layer. The dispersion is optically corrected to give an optimized instrumental response. The pump pulse induces a vibrational coherence of the dye via impulsive stimulated Raman scattering. The probe pulse generates second-harmonic light at the interface. The efficiency of the generation is modulated as a function of the pump-probe delay by the coherently excited molecules. Fourier transformation of the modulated efficiency presents the frequency spectrum of the vibrations. Five bands are recognized at 534, 557, 593, 619, and 683 cm(-1). The pump-and-probe process induces a fourth-order optical response that is forbidden in a centrosymmetric media. The contribution of an undesired, cascaded optical process is quantitatively considered and excluded.     

Assembly state of catalytic modules as chiral switches in asymmetric Strecker amino acid synthesis

Self-assembled chiral polymetallic complexes often demonstrate novel properties as asymmetric catalysts. We report the three-dimensional structures of two such asymmetric catalysts (crystals A and B) for Strecker alpha,alpha-disubstituted amino acid synthesis. These complexes are constructed via assembly of the same chiral modules derived from d-glucose, but their assembly modes differ. The enantioselectivity in the Strecker reaction was dramatically switched, depending on which assembly mode was used: the catalyst generated in situ whose structure is represented by crystal B, or by crystal A. These findings provide insight into the functional importance of higher-order structures of an artificial catalyst.     

Selective formation of a self-assembling homo or hetero cavitand cage via metal coordination based on thermodynamic or kinetic control

The selective formation of a homo or hetero cavitand cage composed of two molecules of tetra(4-pyridyl)-cavitand (1), tetrakis(4-cyanophenyl)-cavitand (2), or tetrakis(4-pyridylethynyl)-cavitand (3), and four molecules of Pd(dppp)(OTf)(2) (4) or Pt(dppp)(OTf)(2) (5) has been studied. A 1:1:4 mixture of 1 with more steric restriction, 2 with less coordination ability, and 4 or 5 specifically self-assembled into a hetero cavitand cage 6 or 7, respectively. In contrast, a 1:1:4 mixture of 2, 3, and 4 in CDCl(3) at room temperature assembled into the most labile homo cyanophenyl cavitand cage 8 and the most stable homo pyridylethynyl cavitand cage 9 in a 1:1 ratio. Upon heating at 50 degrees C, the thermodynamic equilibrium was shifted to a 1:1:1 mixture of 8, 9, and a hetero cavitand cage 10. When 1 equiv of 3 was added to 8 at room temperature, 8, 9, and 10 were formed initially in a 1:1:3 ratio and finally shifted to a 1:1:1 ratio. In the Pt-system, upon addition of 1 equiv of 3 to homo cyanophenyl cavitand cage 11 in CDCl(3) at room temperature, the ratio of hetero to homo cavitand cage (13/12) initially attained was 8.7 and remained above 5.6 at room temperature. Upon heating at 50 degrees C, 13 was finally converted to 11 and 12. Thus, the selectivity for the self-assembly of the homo or hetero cavitand cage is controlled by the balance between kinetic and thermodynamic stabilities of cages based on a combination of factors such as coordination ability and steric demand of the cavitands.     

Stereoselective preparation of 1-siloxy-1-alkenylcopper species by 1,2-Csp2-to-O silyl migration of acylsilanes

1-Siloxy-1-alkenylcopper species were generated by 1,2-Csp2-to-O silyl migration of the copper enolates of acyltriphenylsilanes. The alkenylcopper species reacted with methyl, benzyl, allylic, and tributylstannyl halides to give geometrically pure (Z)-enol silyl ethers. In the presence of Pd(0) catalyst, the cross-coupling of the alkenyl copper species with aryl and alkenyl iodides also proceeded to give the (Z)-enol silyl ethers with high stereoselectivity.     

Probe microscope observation of platinum atoms deposited on the TiO2(110)-(1 x 1) surface

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) (110) surfaces with Pt adatoms were examined using a noncontact atomic force microscope (NC-AFM) and a Kelvin probe force microscope (KPFM). Topographic images with NC-AFM identify Pt atoms adsorbed at three different sites. These sites are on the Ti atom rows, on the O atom rows, and in O atom vacancies. Most Pt adatoms were observed on Ti atom rows. Successively recorded images show that the Pt adatoms on Ti atom rows (adatoms A) and O atom rows (adatoms C) are mobile while the adatoms in the O atom vacancies (adatoms B) are not. Adatoms A and adatoms B were identified in KPFM images. However, adatoms C were not visualized in KPFM images because they moved quickly or were swept out by the tip. The KPFM measurements reveal that the work function on adatoms A are lower than that on the surrounding (1 x 1) surface by 0.24 eV whereas adatoms B reduced the work function by 0.26 eV. The work function decrease is interpreted with an electric dipole moment directed toward the vacuum, as a result of electron transfer from the adatoms to the TiO2 substrate. In an O atom vacancy, the adatom B is in contact with two Ti atoms and therefore the electron transfer can be enhanced.