Adsorption of NH3 onto activated carbon prepared from palm shells impregnated with H2SO4

Adsorption of ammonia (NH3) onto activated carbons prepared from palm shells impregnated with sulfuric acid (H2SO4) was investigated. The effects of activation temperature and acid concentration on pore surface area development were studied. The relatively large micropore surface areas of the palm-shell activated carbons prepared by H2SO4 activation suggest their potential applications in gas adsorption. Adsorption experiments at a fixed temperature showed that the amounts of NH3 adsorbed onto the chemically activated carbons, unlike those prepared by CO2 thermal activation, were not solely dependent on the specific pore surface areas of the adsorbents. Further adsorption tests for a wide range of temperatures suggested combined physisorption and chemisorption of NH3. Desorption tests at the same temperature as adsorption and at an elevated temperature were carried out to confirm the occurrence of chemisorption due to the interaction between NH3 and some oxygen functional groups via hydrogen bonding. The surface functional groups on the adsorbent surface were detected by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The amounts of NH3 adsorbed by chemisorption were correlated with the contents of elemental oxygen present in the adsorbents. Mechanisms for chemical activation and adsorption processes are proposed based on the observed phenomena.     

Recognition of single nucleotide polymorphisms using scanning potential hairpin denaturation

Conventional single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assays, which based their detection on the stringency or temperature of the washing buffers, have encountered difficulties to distinguish a single base pair mismatch from a perfect match. In this study, scanning potential hairpin denaturation (SPHD) has been developed to detect SNP in a sensitive and reliable manner. Combined with hairpin oligonucleotide probes, scanning surface electric potential was used to induce a dissociation of double-stranded DNA around a unique "melting potential" (Vm), and it generated a high-contrast SNP recognition signal. A 21 base pair p53 gene segment was used to test this novel method. A single nucleotide mismatch to the hairpin probes caused an average of 400-800 mV difference in melting potential against the perfect match, while the error of this assay was lower than 20 mV. Experiments demonstrated that the hairpin stem was critical to the method. The concept of scanning potential hairpin denaturation could also be used extensively in different areas of nucleotide hybridization based assays.     

Vertically well aligned P-doped ZnO nanowires synthesized on ZnO-Ga/glass templates

Vertically well aligned P-doped ZnO nanowires were prepared on ZnO-Ga/glass templates at 550 degrees C by reactive evaporation without metal catalysts and the nanowires were found to be single crystalline with the würtzite structure, oriented in the c-axis direction; the P-doping shortened the physical lengths of the ZnO nanowires without changing their diameter, and furthermore, the introduction of P atoms resulted in a much weaker and broader ZnO band edge emission.     

Self-assembly of a series of extended architectures based on polyoxometalate clusters and silver coordination complexes

Three unusual compounds based on polyoxometalate building blocks, [(H2O)5Na2(C6NO2H4)(C6NO2H5)3Ag2][Ag2IMo6O24(H2O)4] x 6.25H2O (1), [(H2O)4Na2(C6NO2H5)6Ag3][IMo6O24] x 6H2O (2), and (C6NO2H6)2[(C6NO2H5)2Ag][Cr(OH)6Mo6O18] x 4H2O (3), have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis; IR, XPS, and ESR spectroscopy; TG analysis; and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Compound 1 is constructed from the cationic two-dimensional (2D) coordination polymer sheets which are constituted of [(H2O)5Na2(C6NO2H4)(C6NO2H5)3Ag2]3+ and anionic [Ag2IMo6O24(H2O)4]3- chains as pillars, forming a three-dimensional (3D) supramolecular framework via weak Ag-O interactions. Compound 2 is composed of the well-defined [IMo6O24]5- building blocks, which are linked through trinuclear Ag-pyridine-3-carboxylic acid, [(C6NO2H5)6Ag3]3+, fragments into a one-dimensional (1D) hybrid chain; adjacent chains are further connected by sodium cations to yield a novel 2D network. Compound 3 has a 1D chainlike structure constructed from [Cr(OH)6Mo6O18]3- building blocks and Ag-pyridine-4-carboxylic acid coordination units. The crystal data for these compounds are the following: 1, triclinic, P1, a = 13.280(3) A, b = 13.641(3) A, c = 16.356(3) A, alpha = 89.68(3) degrees, beta = 88.31(3) degrees, gamma = 75.87(3) degrees, Z = 2; 2, triclinic, P1, a = 11.978(2) A, b = 12.008(2) A, c = 13.607(3) A, alpha = 116.14(3) degrees, beta = 108.85(3) degrees, gamma = 93.86(3) degrees, Z = 1; 3, triclinic, P1, a = 10.458(2) A, b = 10.644(2) A, c = 12.295(3) A, alpha = 97.40(3) degrees, beta = 112.38(3) degrees, gamma = 113.59(3) degrees, Z = 1.     

High extraction ability of 1,3-dialkynyl calixarene towards mercury（Ⅱ） ion

The reaction of 1,3-dipropyn-2-yloxycalix[4]arene with mercury(II)acetate could give mercury-containing alkynyl calixarenepolymer.The extraction behavior of 1,3-dipropyn-2-yl-oxycalix[4]arene towards mercury(II)ion was examined.When the moleratio of Hg~(2 )/calixarene was 1:1,the extractive percent can reach to 99.1%,and the extraction capacity was up to 431 mg/g.It couldalso decrease the Hg~(2 )concentration from 5 to 0.85 mg/L,which was only 17%of the national standard of effluent and satisfied thenational standard of drinking water.The extraction process included chemical reaction.     

Waterborne polyurethane assembly multifunctional coating for hydrophobic and antibacterial fabrics

Surface modification of fabrics is a powerful strategy that can endow fabrics with desired effects while keeping the intrinsic properties. Herein, an ordinary strategy, dipping-drying based layer-by-layer self-assembly (LbL) coating, is reported to functionalize fabrics’ surfaces. Firstly, the novel cation waterborne polyurethanes (QAHDPU) and anion waterborne polyurethanes (HDPU) are successfully designed and synthesized. By incorporating targeted molecule, hydantoin diol (HD) and quaternary ammonium salt with long alkyl chain (DOQA), the QAHDPU are antibacterial and hydrophobically functionalized. Taking advantage of strong adhesion, waterborne polyurethanes (WPUs) are physically bonded to surfaces of fabrics to generate durable antibacterial and hydrophobic fabrics. The QAHDPU with long alkyl chain combined with rough and porous fabric surface fabricates hydrophobic fabric surface, which can prevent bacteria from adhering to the fabrics. Furthermore, the coated fabrics present excellent antibacterial properties after chlorination, forming a second barrier against bacteria. The chlorinated coated fabrics, can inactivate 85.0–99.9% of Staphylococcus aureus and 85.0–97.7% of Escherichia coli with contact time of 60 min. The hydrophobic properties of coated fabrics are greatly improved with water contact angles of 122.0°–141.1°. In addition, the proposed method is applicable for a variety of fibers and expected to be used for industrial production.

Graphical abstract

     

Grape tissue-based electrochemical sensor for the determination of hydrogen peroxide

The use of grape tissue as a source of catalase for the determination of hydrogen peroxide is reported. A slice of grape tissue attached to the membrane of a Clark-type oxgen sensor was used to monitor the oxidation of hydrogen peroxide by catalase. At the steady state, the sensor responds linearly to hydrogen peroxide in the concentration range 1 × 10^?5–5 × 10^?4 M. The response time (T₉₀) was of the order of 1 min for this sensor. No interference was observed from ethanol, amino acids, glucose and lactic acid. The long-term stability of the grape tissue sensor was much better than previously reported immobilized enzyme and liver tissue-based hydrogen peroxide sensors.     

Inspection of the reversal of enantiomer migration order in ligand exchange micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

Enantiometers of D,L-phenylalanine were separated by capillary electrophoresis based on the principle of ligand exchange. Copper (II) complex of 4-hydroxy-L-proline was used as chiral selector. The separation and the migration order of D- and L-phenylalanine were strongly affected by adding an anion surfactant sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS). Without SDS in the electrolyte, the separation was also carried out but the resolution was very small. With SDS added into the electrolyte, the resolution decreased with increasing concentration of SDS until 5.0 mM. When the concentration of SDS in the electrolyte was over 5.0 mM, inversion of the migration order of DL-phenylalanine was observed and the resolution was also increased with increasing concentration up to 20 mM. It was interesting to find that the inversion of the migration order took place not only in the enantioscparation but also in the positional isomers. A family of a fluorinated amino acid, o-, m- and p-fluoro-D,L-phenylalanine was separated and the inversion of the migration order is discussed.     

Oxidative Methyl Esterification of Primary Alcohols with Iodine‐Mediated Poly[4‐(Diacetoxyiodo)Styrene]

An operationally simple oxidative methyl esterification of primary alcohols in good yields using an iodine‐mediated poly[4‐(diacetoxyiodo)styrene] in methanol at room temperature is described. The polymeric reagent can be regenerated and reused as an environmentally benign reagent.     

呋喃西林水溶液在光和热作用下的稳定性

The influence of both light and heat on the stability of nitrofurazone aqueous solution was studied. Results show that in either heating experiments or the exposure to light at high temperatures, the degradation rate obeyed zero-order kinetics. The total rate constant ktotal caused by both light and heat can be divided into two parts: ktotal =kdark klight, where kdark and klight are the degradation rate constants caused by heat and light, respectively. The klight can be expressed as klight=Alight*exp(-Ea,light/RT)*E, where E is the illuminance of light, and Alight and Ea,light both are experimental constants. The values of these kinetic parameters were determined based on the experiments in the dark and upon exposure to three different light sources. Results show that the values of Alight and Ea, light varied with the light source. To save time, labor, and drugs, exponential heating experiments were employed and compared with the isothermal experiments. Results indicated that kinetic parameters obtained by exponential heating experiments are comparable to those obtained by isothermal experiments either in the dark or upon exposure to light.