The entrainment of air by water jet impinging on a free surface

High-speed cine and video photographs were used to capture the flow patterns of a column of water jet impinging into a pool of water. The impact results in air entrainment into water in the form of a void with no mixing between the water in the jet and the surrounding water. Conservation of fluid momentum shows that the rate of increase of the height of the air void depends on the drag coefficient of the jet front. By neglecting the frictional losses, the application of energy conservation yields an expression that relates the maximum height of the air void with the properties of the water jet.     

Synthesis and characterizations of N,N-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethylaniline derivatives and X-ray crystal structure of palladium (II), platinum (II) complexes

N,N-Bis(diphenylphosphino)ethylaniline compounds, [Ph₂P]₂N-C₆H₄-C₂H₅, with ethyl groups at the ortho- and para-positions have been synthesized. Oxidation of the aminophosphines with hydrogen peroxide, elemental sulfur and selenium gave the corresponding oxides, sulfides and selenides [Ph₂P(E)]₂N-C₆H₄-C₂H₅ (E = O, S, Se). Complexes [MCl₂{(Ph₂P)₂N-C₆H₄-(C₂H₅)}] (M = Pd, Pt) and [Cu{(Ph₂P)₂N-C₆H₄-C₂H₅}₂]PF₆ were obtained by the reaction of N,N-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethylaniline with [MCl₂(COD)] (M = Pd, Pt) and [Cu(MeCN)₄]PF₆. The new compounds were characterized by NMR, IR spectroscopy and microanalysis. In addition, representative solid-state structures of the palladium and platinum complexes were determined using single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses.     

Solution-gated epitaxial graphene as pH sensor

A solution-gate field effect transistor (SGFET) has been fabricated on few-layer graphene (FLG). The ideally polarizable graphene/aqueous electrolyte interface allows the capacitive charging of the surface by hydroxyl (OH-) and hydroxonium ions (H3O+). The conductivity versus gate potential curve exhibits "V" shaped ambipolar transfer characteristics of graphene, with hole and electron mobilities of 3600 cm2/Vs and 2100 cm2/Vs, respectively. The shift of the negative gate potential with pH shows a supra-Nernstian response of 99 meV/pH. Our work points to the potential application of graphene in ultrafast and ultralow noise chemical or biological sensors.     

Layer-by-layer growth of attractive binary colloidal particles

We investigate the two-dimensional (2D) colloidal structures formed by oppositely charged polystyrene monolayers grown layer-by-layer, where the electrostatic forces are recruited to assist in the packing of the layers. Our results show a transition through several 2D-superlattices to more close-packed structures with increasing ionic strength. The observed geometrical packing constraints of the 2D-superlattice structures agree well with the estimated Debye screening length of the electric double layer. By tuning interaction forces between charged colloids, electrostatic interactions could enhance the template-directed self-assembly process to achieve more complex and diverse structures.     

Metal-catalyzed reaction of N-(2-indolyl)methyl, N-bis(trimethylsilyl)methyl diazoamides: an entry into the beta-carboline ring system

The intramolecular metal-catalyzed reaction of N-(2-indolyl)methyl, N-bis(TMS)methyl diazoamides proceeds with high conformational control and chemoselectivity to give cyclopropyl derivatives, which rearrange to beta-carboline products.     

Utilization of spectral vector properties in multivariate chemometrics analysis of hyperspectral infrared imaging data for cellular studies

A suite of numerical techniques was utilized in a concerted fashion for the efficacious multivariate chemometrics analysis of hyperspectral infrared imaging data of exfoliated oral mucosa cells. Based on the vector representation of infrared spectrum a1xnu), spectral vector properties (SVP) are demonstrated to possess underpinning spectral information that was exploited in crucial chemometrics analyses; which include outlier spectra identification, selection for a subset of imaged mid-infrared spectra that contain good oral mucosa cell signals, and, for the first time, obtain major biochemical constituent spectra via the band-target entropy minimization (BTEM) curve resolution algorithm. The relative concentration spatial distribution of the major biochemical constituents observed, namely membrane lipids and various cellular protein structures (alpha-helix, beta-sheet, turns and bends), were subsequently acquired through multi-linear regression and were displayed as chemical contour maps. Amongst the set of numerical algorithms employed, two novel unsupervised clustering algorithms were developed and tested. One is useful for outlier spectra detection, and the other aids the selection of pertinent spatially distributed spectra that possess oral mucosa cell mid-infrared spectra with good signal-to-noise ratio. It is anticipated that this developed numerical suite will serve as an effective multivariate chemometrics protocol for cellular studies and biomedical diagnostics via infrared imaging.     

Toward multifunctional Mo(VI-IV) complexes: cis-dioxomolybdenum(VI) complexes containing hydrogen-bond acceptors or donors

The complexes cis-TpiPrMoVIO2(OAr-R) (TpiPr=hydrotris(3-isopropylpyrazol-1-yl)borate, -OAr-R=hydrogen-bonding phenolate derivative) are formed upon reaction of TpiPrMoO2Cl, HOAr-R, and NEt3 in dichloromethane. The orange, diamagnetic, dioxo-Mo(VI) complexes exhibit strong nu(MoO2) IR bands at ca. 935 and 900 cm(-1) and NMR spectra indicative of Cs symmetry. They undergo electrochemically reversible, one-electron reductions at potentials in the range -0.836 to -0.598 V vs SCE; the only exception is the 2-CO2Ph derivative, which exhibits an irreversible reduction at -0.924 V. The complexes display distorted octahedral geometries, with a cis arrangement of terminal oxo ligands and with d(Mo=O)av=1.695 A and angle(MoO2)av=103.2 degrees. The R groups of the 2-CHO and 2-NHCOMe derivatives are directed away from the oxo groups and into a cleft in the TpiPr ligand; these derivatives are characterized by Mo-O-Cipso angles of ca. 131 degrees (conformation 1). The R group(s) in the 2-CO2Me and 2,3-(OMe)2 derivatives lie above the face of the three O-donor atoms (directed away from the TpiPr ligand) and the complexes display Mo-O-Cipso angles of 153.1(2) and 149.7(2) degrees, respectively (conformation 2). Conformations 1 and 2 are both observed in the positionally disordered 2-COMe and 2-COEt derivatives, the two conformers having Mo-O-Cipso angles of 130-140 and >150 degrees, respectively. The 3-COMe and 3-NEt2 derivatives have substituents that project away from the TpiPr ligand and Mo-O-Cipso angles of 134.2(2) and 147.7(2) degrees, respectively. Many of the complexes exhibit fluxional behavior on the NMR time scale, consistent with the rapid interconversion of two conformers in solution.     

Ferrocenoyl pyridine arene ruthenium complexes with anticancer properties: synthesis, structure, electrochemistry, and cytotoxicity

Organometallic ruthenium(II) complexes of general formula [Ru(eta(6)-arene)Cl(2)(NC(5)H(4)OOC-C(5)H(4)FeC(5)H(5))], where arene = C(6)H(6) (1), C(6)H(5)Me (2), p-iPrC(6)H(4)Me (3), and C(6)Me(6) (4), and of general formula [Ru(eta(6)-arene)Cl(2)](2)(NC(5)H(4)OOC-C(5)H(4)FeC(5)H(4)-COOC(5)H(4)N), where arene = p-iPrC(6)H(4)Me (5) and C(6)Me(6) (6), have been synthesized and characterized, the molecular structures of these complexes being confirmed by single-crystal X-ray structure analysis of complex 4 as a representative example. The redox properties and in vitro anticancer activities of complexes 1-6 have been studied. All the compounds are moderately cytotoxic toward the A2780 and A2780cisR (cisplatin-resistant) human ovarian carcinoma cell lines. The diruthenium arene complexes 5 and 6 are about twice as active as their mononuclear analogues 3 and 4. Cyclic voltammetry revealed a good correlation of the RuII/RuIII redox potentials of 1-4 and the number of alkyl substituents in the arene ligand.     

Bacterial cellulose production by Gluconacetobacter sp. PKY5 in a rotary biofilm contactor

A rotary biofilm contactor (RBC) inoculated with Gluconacetobacter sp. RKY5 was used as a bioreactor for improved bacterial cellulose production. The optimal number of disk for bacterial cellulose production was found to be eight, at which bacterial cellulose and cell concentrations were 5.52 and 4.98 g/L. When the aeration rate was maintained at 1.25 vvm, bacterial cellulose and cell concentrations were maximized (5.67 and 5.25 g/L, respectively). The optimal rotation speed of impeller in RBC was 15 rpm. When the culture pH in RBC was not controlled during fermentation, the maximal amount of bacterial cellulose (5.53 g/L) and cells (4.91 g/L) was obtained. Under the optimized culture conditions, bacterial cellulose and cell concentrations in RBC reached to 6.17 and 5.58 g/L, respectively.     

Controllable and repeatable synthesis of thermally stable anatase nanocrystal-silica composites with highly ordered hexagonal mesostructures

In this article, we report a controllable and reproducible approach to prepare highly ordered 2-D hexagonal mesoporous crystalline TiO2-SiO2 nanocomposites with variable Ti/Si ratios (0 to infinity). XRD, TEM, and N2 sorption techniques have been used to systematically investigate the pore wall structure, and thermal stability functioned with the synthetic conditions. The resultant materials are ultra highly stable (over 900 degrees C), have large uniform pore diameters (approximately 6.8 nm), and have high Brunauer-Emmett-Teller specific surface areas (approximately 290 m2/g). These mesostructured TiO2-SiO2 composites were obtained using titanium isopropoxide (TIPO) and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as precursors and triblock copolymer P123 as a template based on the solvent evaporation-induced co-self-assembly process under a large amount of HCl. Our strategy was the synchronous assembly of titanate and silicate oligomers with triblock copolymer P123 by finely tuning the relative humidity of the surrounding atmosphere and evaporation temperature according to the Ti/Si ratio. We added a large amount of acidity to lower condensation and polymerization rates of TIPO and accelerate the rates for TEOS molecules. TEM and XRD measurements clearly show that the titania is made of highly crystalline anatase nanoparticles, which are uniformly embedded in the pore walls to form the "bricked-mortar" frameworks. The amorphous silica acts as a glue linking the TiO2 nanocrystals and improves the thermal stability. As the silica contents increase, the thermal stability of the resulting mesoporous TiO2-SiO2 nanocomposites increases and the size of anatase nanocrystals decreases. Our results show that the unique composite frameworks make the mesostructures overwhelmingly stable; even with high Ti/Si ratios (> or =80/20) the stability of the composites is higher than 900 degrees C. The mesoporous TiO2-SiO2 nanocomposites exhibit excellent photocatalytic activities (which are higher than that for commercial catalyst P25) for the degradation of rhodamine B in aqueous suspension. The excellent photocatalytic activities are ascribed to the bifunctional effect of highly crystallized anatase nanoparticles and high porosity.