The principles of bipolar electrochemistry and its electroanalysis applications

The present study reports the wireless technique that generates asymmetric reactivity on the surface of the conducting substrate without any direct electrical connection in the electrolyte solution by inducing external power. In recent years, bipolar electrochemical systems have received special attention that they are used for new kinds of electrochemical applications ranging from electrodeposition to electroanalytical chemistry. Bipolar electrochemistry is a unique technique because of the lack of direct electrical connection to the bipolar electrode. In this perspective article, we first illustrate the concept and history of the bipolar electrochemistry as well as their application based on the open and closed bipolar configuration in different fields.     

Investigation of nanostructural,thermal and magnetic properties of yttrium iron garnet synthesized by mechanochemical method

This paper focuses on the magnetic, structural and thermal properties of mechanically alloyed Y₂O₃/α-Fe₂O₃ mixed powders and investigates the effects of the mechanical milling and heat treatment on the synthesis of yttrium iron garnet from the primary materials. The morphological and structural studies were carried out by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction, respectively. The thermal activities were measured by differential thermal analysis. The magnetic properties were studied by vibrating sample magnetometer. The results showed that high-energy milling does not lead to the garnet formation and even does not decrease the temperature of the garnet formation. Furthermore, the orthoferrite phase can be achieved slightly during the milling process (up to 96 h) and completely by the heat treatment at lower temperatures (850 °C).     

Bubble formation induced by nanosecond laser ablation in water and its diagnosis by optical transmission technique

In this paper, bubble formation and ablation rate in laser ablation of a thin-film aluminum target are studied. The target was an aluminum thin-film coated on a quartz substrate and interacted by a nanosecond Nd:YAG laser beam in ambient air and distilled water. Measuring optical transmission of a He–Ne beam through the ablation region shows that the ablation rate in water is higher than that in ambient air. The results also show that an initial peak appears in the transmission signal which is an evidence for bubble formation in water. Analyzing the data is useful for monitoring the bubble formation in water and relatively estimating the ablation rate.     

Guanidine hydrochloride catalyzed efficient one-pot pseudo five-component synthesis of 4,4′-(arylmethylene)bis(1H-pyrazol-5-ols) in water

The present methodology describes an efficient, environmentally friendly and simple protocol for the synthesis of some 4,4′-(arylmethylene)bis(1H-pyrazol-5-ol) derivatives through a one-pot pseudo-five-component reaction of hydrazine hydrate/phenyl hydrazine, ethyl acetoacetate, and various aromatic aldehydes catalyzed by guanidine hydrochloride. This condensation reaction was performed by tandem Knoevenagel–Michael reaction in water under refluxing conditions giving the title compounds in 82–92% yields. Atom economy, simple operation, easy work-up, using inexpensive organocatalyst, high yields in short times, clean transformation, and environmentally benign are some of the important features of this new protocol.     

Thermodynamic study of interfacial tension between oil and aqueous phases composed of ionic liquids and brine

The first fundamental step in determining the physicochemical properties of an equilibrium system is to determine the activity coefficient of electrolyte and non-electrolyte ions. Based on understanding the importance of activity coefficient in thermodynamic systems in this study, in order to predict interfacial tension between oil and aqueous phases composed of ionic liquids and brine, a modified thermodynamic equation based on concentration and coefficient of activity of ionic liquids is defined. For this study, the Extended UNIQUAC model is desired and its adjustable parameters are optimized with Genetic + PSO algorithm. The modified model has practical features such as investigating the effect of concentrations of salts in the water of oil fields formation on the interfacial tension of the system, investigating the effect of concentrations of various organic compounds such as ionic liquids on the interfacial tension of the system and investigating the interaction energy between organic and inorganic ions. In this study, the optimization of the modified thermodynamic equation to predict the interfacial tension of solutions containing [C₈Py][Cl], [C₁₈Py][Cl], [C₁₂mim][Cl] and [C₁₈mim][Cl] with the presence of brine and distilled water is investigated. Also, the effect of ionic strength of the solution in 32 equilibrium systems on interfacial tension is investigated. According to the optimization results of this study, the design of a computer program can be considered to predict the interfacial tension with the presence of ionic liquids and salts.     

Imidazolium-based ionic liquid derivative/Cu<Superscript>II</Superscript> complexes as efficient catalysts of the lucigenin chemiluminescence system and its application to H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> and glucose detection

The effects of six synthetic imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) on the Cu^II-catalyzed chemiluminescence of lucigenin (Luc-CL) in the pH range 6.0–11 were investigated. Preliminary experiments found that the CL emission was strongly enhanced or inhibited in the presence of the ILs. The degree of enhancement or inhibition of the CL intensity in the presence of each IL was related to the molecular structure of the IL, the medium used, and the pH. The maximum enhancement of the CL intensity was observed at pH 9.0 (amplification factor?=?443). This decrease in the pH at which maximum CL enhancement occurred and the substantial signal amplification of the Luc-CL may be related to a strong interaction between Cu^II and the imidazolium ring of superior ILs at this pH. Additionally, the formation of IL microdomains in semi-aqueous media permitted more solubility of the product yielded by the Luc-CL reaction (N-methylacridone), which could increase the CL intensity. To obtain consistent data on the catalytic efficiency of Cu^II in the presence of various ILs as well as the corresponding CL emission intensities, fluorescence quantum yields (Φ _F) of lucigenin were measured under the same conditions. Comparison of the data pointed to the mechanism that controls the properties of Luc-CL in the presence of the Cu^II/IL complexes. Based on the catalytic effect of the Cu^II/IL complex and the measurement of the enzymatically generated H₂O₂, a novel, simple, and sensitive CL method for determining glucose with a detection limit (LoD) of 6.5 μM was developed. Moreover, this method was satisfactorily applied to the determination of glucose in human serum and urine samples.

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Graphical Abstract The lucigenin chemiluminescence assay for H₂O₂ and glucose using imidazolium–based ionic liquid derivatives/Cu^II complexes as efficient catalysts at pH 9.0

     

Photocatalytic activity of ZrO2 nanoparticles prepared by electrical arc discharge method in water

ZrO₂ nanoparticles were synthesized through arc discharge of zirconium electrodes in deionized (DI) water. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the as prepared nanoparticles indicates formation a mixture of nanocrystalline ZrO₂ monoclinic and tetragonal phase structures. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images illustrate spherical ZrO₂ nanoparticles with 7–30 nm diameter range, which were formed during the discharge process with 10 A arc current. The average particle size was found to increase with the increasing arc current. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis confirms formation of ZrO₂ at the surface of the nanoparticles. Surface area of the sample prepared at 10 A arc current, measured by BET analysis, was 44 m²/g. Photodegradation of Rhodamine B (Rh. B) shows that the prepared samples at lower currents have a higher photocatalytic activity due to larger surface area and smaller particle size.     

Dispersive Liquid‐Liquid Microextraction of Cu(II) Using a Novel Dioxime for Its Highly Sensitive Determination by Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

A dispersive liquid‐liquid microextraction (DLLME) technique was proposed for the enrichment and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometric (GFAAS) determination of Cu²⁺ in water samples. In this method a mixture of 480 μL acetone (disperser solvent) containing 26 μg S,S‐bis(2‐aminobenzyl)‐dithioglyoxime (BAT) ligand and 20 μL carbon tetrachloride (extraction solvent) was rapidly injected by a syringe into 5 mL aqueous sample containing copper ions (analyte). Thereby, a cloudy solution formed. After centrifugation, the fine droplets containing the extracted copper complex were sedimented at the bottom of the conical test tube. This phase was collected by a microsyring and after dilution by methanol, 20 μL of it was injected into the graphite tube of the instrument for analysis. Effects of some parameters on the extraction, such as extraction and disperser solvent type and volume, extraction time, salt concentration, pH and concentration of the chelating agent were optimized. The response surface method was used for optimization of the effective parameters on the extraction recovery. Under these conditions, an enrichment factor of 312 was obtained. The calibration graph was linear in the rage of 2–50 μ L⁻¹ Cu²⁺ with a detection limit of 0.03 μg L⁻¹ and a relative standard deviation (RSD) for five replicate measurements of 3.4% at 20 μg L⁻¹ Cu²⁺. The method was successfully applied to the determination of Cu²⁺ in some spring water samples.     

Numerical study of picosecond soft x-ray enhancement from porous targets irradiated by double laser pulses

Simulations show enhanced free-free and free-bound x-ray emission from laser-produced plasmas for both porous and solid targets irradiated by picosecond laser pulses under different prepulse conditions. The porous targets are modeled as a thick solid substrate over-coated with a thin porous layer. Using porous targets and prepulses shows that x-ray yields can be enhanced significantly over single pulses on solid density targets. The optimum conditions of prepulse and porous layer density are investigated by simulations with a fluid and atomic physics code.