Trace determination of organophosphate esters in environmental water samples with an ionogel‐based nanoconfined ionic liquid fiber coating for solid‐phase microextraction with gas chromatography and flame photometric detection

Organophosphate esters, widely used as flame retardants and plasticizers, are regarded as a class of emerging pollutants. In this work, a novel approach was developed for the fabrication of a solid‐phase microextraction fiber by using hybrid silica‐based materials with immobilized ionic liquids with sol–gel technology, and the prepared solid‐phase microextraction fiber was then coupled with gas chromatography and flame photometric detection for the analysis of six organophosphate esters. The high loading of 1‐hexadecyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide was confined within the hybrid network. The developed solid‐phase microextraction fiber possesses a coating thickness of ～35 μm with good thermal stability and long lifetime. The parameters affecting the extraction efficiency such as extraction time, temperature, pH, and ionic strength of the sample solution were optimized. Under the optimized conditions, the limits of detection were in the range of 0.04?0.95 μg L^?1, and the precision of the method assessed with repeatability and reproducibility of (RSD%) ?13 and ?29%, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to determine the six organophosphate esters in three real water samples, with recoveries in the range of 64.8?125.4% at two different spiking concentration levels. As a result, the proposed method demonstrated its potential for application in trace determination of organophosphate esters in actual water samples.     

X-ray diffraction analysis of (Ph2PO)2

The title compound (Ph2PO)2 is analyzed by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The crystals are monoclinic, space group P2(1)/n with a = 9.5112(19) Å, b = 11.161(2) Å, c = 9.5487(19) Å, α = 90°, β = 91.65(3)°, γ = 90°, V = 1013.2(3) ų, Z = 2, F(₀₀₀) = 420, Dc = 1.319 g cm^–3, μ = 0.232 mm^?1, the final R = 0.0818, and wR = 0.2259. A total of 7954 reflections were collected, of which 1758 were independent (R_int = 0.0542). In the crystal packing diagram, intermolecular C—H···O hydrogen bonds stabilize the solid state of the title compound.     

(R)‐12‐Hydroxystearic Acid Hydrazides as Very Efficient Gelators: Diffusion,Partial Thixotropy,and Self‐Healing in Self‐Standing Gels

The gelation properties of derivatives of N‐alkylated (R)‐12‐hydroxystearic acid hydrazide (n‐HSAH, n=0, 2, 6, 10; n is the length of an n‐alkyl chain on the terminal nitrogen atom) in a wide variety of liquids is reported. The n‐HSAH compounds were derived from a naturally occurring alkanoic acid, (R)‐12‐hydroxystearic acid (R‐12HSA), and although they differ from the analogous N‐alkyl (R)‐12‐hydroxystearamides (n‐HSAA) only by the presence of one N?H group, their behavior as gelators is very different. For example, the parent molecule (0‐HSAH) is a supergelator in ethylene glycol, in which it forms self‐standing gels that are self‐healing, partially thixotropic, moldable, and load‐bearing; gels of 0‐HSAA are not self‐standing. 0‐HSAH is structurally the simplest molecular gelator of which we are aware that is capable of forming both self‐standing and partially thixotropic gels. Also, diffusion of the cationic dye erythrosine B and the anionic dye methylene blue in 0‐HSAH/ethylene glycol gel blocks is much slower than the self‐diffusion of ethylene glycol. Polarizing optical microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and FTIR studies revealed that the self‐assembled fibrillar networks (SAFINs) of the gels are crystalline, and that 0‐HSAH molecules may be arranged in a triclinic subcell with bilayer stacking. The SAFINs are stabilized by strong hydrogen‐bonding interactions between the hydrazide groups of adjacent molecules and a perpendicular hydrogen‐bonding network between the pendent hydroxyl groups of 0‐HSAH. The other n‐HSAH (n=2, 6, 10) molecules appear to be arranged in orthorhombic subcells with monolayers and strong hydrogen‐bonding interactions between the hydrazide group of one gelator molecule and the hydroxyl group of a neighboring one. These results show how small structural modifications of structurally simple gelator molecules can be exploited to form gels with novel properties that can lead potentially to valuable applications, such as in drug delivery.     

Valuing inflation-linked death benefits under a stochastic volatility framework

In this paper we construct a framework to price the inflation-linked derivatives with the stochastic inflation rate, the stochastic interest rate, and stochastic risky assets with stochastic volatility. Because of the popularity of the guaranteed minimum death benefit (GMDB) in insurance market, we mainly study two types of GMDBs: the inflation guarantee and the combination guarantee. We consider the guaranteed minimum death benefit as an European option with a random maturity date, the closed-form pricing formulas for the GMDBs are derived by Fourier-based method. Moreover, we give an elaborate sensitivity analysis to explain economical behaviors of our models. The numerical results show that the death benefit of inflation guarantee is slightly overpriced in constant volatility of stock situation.     

A superconvergent nonconforming mixed finite element method for the Navier–Stokes equations

The superconvergence for a nonconforming mixed finite element approximation of the Navier–Stokes equations is analyzed in this article. The velocity field is approximated by the constrained nonconforming rotated Q₁ (CNRQ₁) element, and the pressure is approximated by the piecewise constant functions. Under some regularity assumptions, the superconvergence estimates for both the velocity in broken H¹‐norm and the pressure in L²‐norm are obtained. Some numerical examples are presented to demonstrate our theoretical results. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 32: 646–660, 2016     

Finite 2-Geodesic Transitive Abelian Cayley Graphs

In this paper, we first give a classification of the family of 2-geodesic transitive abelian Cayley graphs. Let \(\Gamma \) be such a graph which is not 2-arc transitive. It is shown that one of the following holds: (1) \(\Gamma \cong \mathrm{K}_{m[b]}\) for some \(m\ge 3\) and \(b\ge 2\); (2) \(\Gamma \) is a normal Cayley graph of an elementary abelian group; (3) \(\Gamma \) is a cover of Cayley graph \(\Gamma _K\) of an abelian group T / K, where either \(\Gamma _K\) is complete arc transitive or \(\Gamma _K\) is 2-geodesic transitive of girth 3, and A / K acts primitively on \(V(\Gamma _K)\) of type Affine or Product Action. Second, we completely determine the family of 2-geodesic transitive circulants.     

Synthesis and Properties of a Novel FRET-Based Ratiometric Fluorescent Sensor for Cu<Superscript>2+</Superscript>

A novel FRET-based probe LS3 was designed and synthesized. As expected, it exhibited high selectivity and sensitivity for detecting Cu²⁺ over other commonly coexistent metal ions. The detection limit was measured to be 0.0423 μM for Cu²⁺, which can meet the selective requirements for practical application. In addition, the newly synthesized compound 3a/b have potential value of further synthesizing more analogous FRET-based probes.     

Facile and scalable fabrication engineering of fullerenol nanoparticles by improved alkaline-oxidation approach and its antioxidant potential in maize

A feasible in operation, labor-saving and low-cost one-step technology to fabricate fullerenol nanoparticles (FNPs) up to 10 g in laboratory was developed by improved alkaline-oxidation approach using moderately concentrated sodium hydroxide solution as the hydroxylation agent and o-dichlorobenzene as the solvent. This strategy paves the avenue for industrial-scale bulk production of FNPs. The resulted product, [C₆₀(OH)₂₂·8H₂O]_n, were characterized by various measurements including matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, high-resolution ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-Visible spectrophotometer, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic light scattering analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and electron spin resonance spectrometer. Radical scavenging assay in vitro confirmed the high efficiency of water-soluble [C₆₀(OH)₂₂·8H₂O]_n as a novel radical scavenger. Furthermore, [C₆₀(OH)₂₂·8H₂O]_n as an excellent candidate has the potential to serve as the plant defense stimulation agent in maize.

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玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚体中的双孤子相互作用操控

考虑周期性驱动线性势, 利用Darboux变换法解析地研究了玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚体(BEC)中的双孤子相互作用, 得到了S-波散射长度的临界值. 结果表明: 当S-波散射长度高于临界值时, BEC中的两个亮孤子相互吸引并融合; 而当S-波散射长度低于临界值时, 两个亮孤子保持局域稳定. 此外, 在外部势阱的驱动下, 两个稳定的亮孤子产生周期性振荡行为.     

氧族元素对D-A和D-π-A共聚物光吸收谱红移的第一性原理研究

D-A型共聚物作为有机聚合物太阳能电池的电子给体材料近年来引起广泛关注. 本文以苯并二噻吩(BDT)为电子给体单元, 苯并噻二唑(BT)为电子受体单元来模拟D-A共聚体; 并用噻吩环作为π桥, 构造出D-π-A(PBDT-DTBX, X = O, S, Se, Te)结构. 采用第一性原理的密度泛函理论, 系统地计算相应的电子结构和光吸收谱. 比较不同氧族元素和噻吩π-键桥对聚合物光吸收谱的影响. 研究结果表明: D-A共聚体中当X位元素以O, S, Se, T_e 替换时, 其体系的最高占有分子轨道(HOMO)能级变化不大, 最低未占有分子轨道(LUMO)能级逐渐靠近费米能级, 带隙逐渐减小. 在可见光区有两个较强的吸收峰, 随着X位元素原子序数增大, 位于4.0 eV左右的光吸收峰位基本不变, 另一光吸收峰强度明显增大并发生红移. 与D-A结构相比, D-π-A结构的带隙均有所减小, 其中X为Te时带隙最小; 光吸收峰强度随着氧族元素原子序数的增大也明显增大并发生红移. 通过比较光吸收系数和相应态密度, 结果表明, 4.0 eV 左右的光吸收峰主要是BDT单元的贡献, 氧族元素的改变主要影响519.4-703.9 nm范围的光吸收.