Compressed CO2-enhanced solubilization of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate in reverse micelles of Triton X-100

We carried out the first study about the effect of a compressed gas on the properties of reverse micellar solutions with ionic liquid (IL) polar cores. And the properties of compressed CO2/cyclohexane/1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([bmim][BF4])/Triton X-100 (TX-100) system were investigated at 288.2, 293.2, 298.2, 308.2 K and different pressures by using phase behavior measurement, small-angle x-ray scattering, and UV-Vis techniques. The concentration of the surfactant in the solution was 0.3 mol/l (M). It was found that compressed CO2 could enhance solubilization of the IL in the reverse micelles considerably at suitable pressures, and formation of the reverse micelles could be controlled easily by pressure. Increase of CO2 pressure resulted in decrease of the micellar sizes at fixed [bmim][BF4]-to-surfactant molar ratios (w), and the size of the reverse micelles increased with the increase of w values. The polarity of the IL cores increased continuously with increasing w value.     

Thermal degradation and flame retardancy of flexible polyvinyl chloride containing solid superacid

The objective of the present article was to study the thermal degradation behavior and flame retardancy of flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) composites containing TiO₂/SO ^2?₄ solid superacid because of its strong catalytic ability for esterification and dehydration. The TiO₂/SO ^2?₄ solid superacid was synthesized by using precipitation immersion method, and its structure was investigated by X-ray diffraction. As expected, the value of limiting oxygen index for PVC/Sb₂O₃/(TiO₂/SO ^2?₄ ) composite was 32.5% and the char yield of PVC/Sb₂O₃/(TiO₂/SO ^2?₄ ) composite was significantly improved compared to neat PVC in thermogravimetry tests. In addition, the peak heat release rate and smoke production rate of PVC/Sb₂O₃/(TiO₂/SO ^2?₄ ) decreased by 14% and 42%, respectively, compared with neat PVC. Moreover, the results of cone calorimetry tests and electron micrograph of char residue showed that the char yield of TiO₂/SO ^2?₄ was enhanced, resulting in a strong char layer structure with outstanding fire retardance cone. In conclusion, the results of this work showed that the addition of solid superacid promoted the decomposition and dehydration of PVC, which formed a compact and continuous char layer on the surface of the material. Hence, the study provides a new perspective for producing composites with excellent flame retardancy and smoke suppression properties of PVC.

     

Direct electrochemistry and enzymatic activity of hemoglobin in positively charged colloid Au nanoparticles and hemoglobin layer-by-layer self-assembly films

Alternate adsorption of positively charged colloid-Au nanoparticles (nano-Au⊕) and negatively charged hemoglobin (Hb) on L-cysteine (L-cys) modified gold electrode resulted in the assembly of {Hb/nano-Au⊕}n layer-by-layer films/L-cys modified gold electrode. The nano-Au⊕ was characterized by transmission electron micrograph (TEM) and microelectrophoresis. The modified electrode interface morphology was characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), atomic force mi- croscopy (AFM), cyclic voltammograms (CV) and chronoamperometry. Direct electron transfer between hemoglobin and gold electrodes was studied, and the apparent Michaelis-Menten constant ( km app) of the modified electrode was evaluated to be 0.10 mmol·L?1. Moreover, the higher activity of proteins in the nano-Au⊕ films could be retained compared with the electropolymerization membrane, since the pro- teins in nano-Au⊕ films retained their near-native structure. Direct electron transfer between hemoglo- bin and electrode and electrochemically catalyzed reduction of hydrogen peroxide on a modified elec- trode was studied, and the linear range was from 2.1×10-8 to 1.2 ×10?3 mol·L-1 (r = 0.994) with a detection limit of 1.1×10-8 mol·L-1 H2O2.     

反相液相色谱中固定相和流动相对柱相比的贡献

依据柱相比的热力学定义和反相液相色谱中溶质的计量置换保留理论(the stoichiometric dispheement heory of solute for retention，SDT-R)，对反相液相色谱中固定相和流动相性质、温度对柱相比的影响进行了研究。结果表明：固定相的种类和配基的疏水性对柱相比影响较大，而流动相中有机溶剂的种类，特别是脂肪酸作为置换剂时，对柱相比的影响更大，而柱相比受温度的影响较小。此外，通过用27种小分子溶质对柱相比的测定，其logI和Z良好的线性关系，进一步证明柱相比是一个与溶质性质无关的常数。     

Balancing kinetic and thermodynamic control: the mechanism of carbocation cyclization by squalene cyclase

Molecular dynamics simulations with a combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical (QM/MM) potential have been carried out to investigate the squalene-to-hopene carbocation cyclization mechanism in squalene-hopene cyclase (SHC). The present study is based on free energy simulations by constructing the free energy surface for the cyclization steps along the reaction pathway. The picture that emerges for the carbocation cyclization cascade is a delicate balance of thermodynamic and kinetic control that ultimately favors the formation of the final hopanoids carbon skeleton. A key finding is that the five- to six-membered ring expansion process is not a viable reaction pathway for either C- or D-ring formation in the cyclization reaction. The only significant intermediate is the A/B-bicyclic cyclohexyl cation (III), from which two asynchronous concerted reaction pathways lead to, respectively, the 6,6,6,5-tetracyclic carbon skeleton and the 6,6,6,6,5-pentacyclic hopanoids. Experimentally, these two products are observed to have 1% and 99% yields, respectively, in the wild-type enzyme. We conclude that the product distribution in the wild-type enzyme is dictated by kinetic control of these two reaction pathways.     

Dithia-crown-annelated tetrathiafulvalene disulfides: synthesis, electrochemistry, self-assembled films, and metal ion recognition

The synthesis and electrochemistry of a series of tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) and dithia-crown-TTF derivatives attached with one or two disulfide group(s) 7a-f are reported. The self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of these TTF disulfides on gold were prepared and characterized by reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy. The SAMs are extremely stable under a wide variety of conditions and over extended periods of time and show remarkable electrochemical stability upon repeated potential scans. SAMs of the crown-TTF disulfides 7c,d,f can recognize alkali metal ions, and the process can be monitored following the electrochemical potential shift of the surface-confined TTF group.     

Single-sweep polarography of the copper(II)-3-hydroxy-1-p-sulphonatophenyl-3-phenyltriazene complex and its analytical applications

A polarographic investigation of the copper-3-hydroxy-1-p-sulphonatophenyl-3-phenyltriazene (HSPT) complex in 0.05 M sodium tetraborate medium is described and a simple and sensitive single-sweep polarographic method for the determination of trace amounts of copper in biological samples is proposed. The complex was shown to be Cu(HSPT)2 with log beta' = 11.38. The polarographic wave is caused by the reduction of copper(II) in the adsorbed complex to copper amalgam on the surface of a mercury electrode. The current peak is directly proportional to the concentration of copper in the range 8.0 x 10(-9)-4.0 x 10(-6) M and the detection limit is 5.0 x 10(-9) M.     

New Host Molecules with Imidazoliums as Functional Arms:Syntheses and Anion Recognition

The bridged tri-imidazoliums 3.3X^--5.3X^-(X^-=PF6^-,Br^-,I^-)and bis-imidazoliums 6.2PF6^- were synthesized by N-quaternization of imidazole derivative 1 in acetonitrile under reflux.UV spectroscopic titration experiments showed that the halide salts and hexafluorophosphate salts of these imidazoliums exhibited good recognition toward anions in water and in acetonitrile,respectively.     

Capillary electrophoresis with amperometric detection of curcumin in Chinese herbal medicine pretreated by solid-phase extraction

In the present study, curcumin from Chinese herbal medicine turmeric was determined by capillary electrophoresis with amperometric detection (CE-AD) pretreated by a self-designed, simple, inexpensive solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge based on the material of tributyl phosphate resin. An average concentration factor of 9 with the recovery of > 80% was achieved when applied to the analysis of curcumin in extracts of tumeric. Under the optimized CE-AD conditions: a running buffer composed of 15 mM phosphate buffer at a pH 9.7, separation voltage at 16 kV, injection for 6 s at 9 kV and detection at 1.20 V, CE-AD with SPE exhibited low detection limit as 3 x 10(-8) mol/l (S/N = 3), high efficiency of 1.0 x 10(5) N, linear range of 7 x 10(-4) -3 x 10(-6) mol/l (r = 0.9986) for curcumin extracted from light petroleum. The method developed resulted in enhancement of the detection sensitivity and reduction of interference from sample matrix in complicated samples and exhibited the potential application for routine analysis, especially in food, because a relatively complete process of sample treatment and analysis was described.     

The intercalation of cetyltrimethylammonium cations into muscovite by a two-step process: II. The intercalation of cetyltrimethylammonium cations into Li-muscovite

The alkylammonium cations were successively intercalated into the interlayer of muscovite. It was achieved by inorganic-organic ion exchange in the hydrothermal reaction of the LiNO₃-treated muscovite with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide solution. One-dimensional Patterson plots and electron density calculations show that hydrated Li⁺ and CTA⁺ cations entered the interlayer of muscovite successively. The CTA⁺-intercalated muscovite was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction and elemental analysis, in conjunction with FTIR, nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray photoelectron spectra, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, etc. The experiments show that organo-muscovite composite with ordered structure has been obtained. The CTA⁺ headgroups are distributed in the interlayer uniformly. However, the arrangement and conformation of CTA⁺ chains are strongly dependent upon the reaction temperature. At lower reaction temperature, the chains of CTA⁺ ions adopt a little more disordered arrangement and have higher gauche/trans conformer ratio, resulting in the disturbance to the interlayer symmetry. Whereas at higher reaction temperature, the sample with paraffin-like arrangement of CTA⁺ chains could be obtained, in which the methylene chains of CTA⁺ adopt a fully stretched, all-trans conformation.