Investigation of proton conductivity of anhydrous proton exchange membranes prepared via grafting vinyltriazole onto alkaline‐treated PVDF

This work uses a simple “grafting through” approach in the preparation of anhydrous poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)‐g‐PVTri polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs). Alkaline‐treated PVDF was used as a macromolecule in conjunction with vinyltriazole in the graft copolymerization. The obtained polymer was subsequently doped with triflic acid (TA) at different stoichiometric ratios with respect to triazole units and the anhydrous PEMs (PVDF‐g‐PVTri‐(TA)_x) were prepared. All samples were characterized by FTIR and ¹H NMR. The composition of PVDF‐g‐PVTri was determined by energy dispersive spectroscopy. Thermal properties of the membranes were examined by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. The surface roughness and morphology of the membranes were studied using atomic force microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. PVDF‐g‐PVTri‐(TA)₃ (C3‐TA₃) with a degree of grafting of 47.22% showed a maximum proton conductivity of 0.09 S cm^?1 at 150 °C and anhydrous conditions. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 1885–1897     

Quantum dot resonant tunneling FET on graphene

At this paper a field effect transistor based on graphene nanoribbon (GNR) is modeled. Like in most GNR-FETs the GNR is chosen to be semiconductor with a gap, through which the current passes at on state of the device. The regions at the two ends of GNR are highly n-type doped and play the role of metallic reservoirs so called source and drain contacts. Two dielectric layers are placed on top and bottom of the GNR and a metallic gate is located on its top above the channel region. At this paper it is assumed that the gate length is less than the channel length so that the two ends of the channel region are un-gated. As a result of this geometry, the two un-gated regions of channel act as quantum barriers between channel and the contacts. By applying gate voltage, discrete energy levels are generated in channel and resonant tunneling transport occurs via these levels. By solving the NEGF and 3D Poisson equations self consistently, we have obtained electron density, potential profile and current. The current variations with the gate voltage give rise to negative transconductance.     

The role of inequality on effort in tournaments

We study the role of inequality using a tractable tournament model in which contestants with heterogeneous abilities are allocated a reward based on their relative effort. Using the Lorenz order, we focus on the effect of changing the degree of inequality in both the distribution abilities and rewards on the distribution of effort. When the Cumulative Density Function (CDF) of rewards is concave then reducing inequality of abilities increases effort at every rank, including aggregate effort. In general, aggregate effort increases (decreases) if the CDF of rewards has an increasing failure rate (decreasing failure rate). Further, unless the CDF of abilities is highly concave, increasing inequality of rewards always increases aggregate effort. Nonlinearity in the cost function also matters. The effect of changing the degree of inequality in either distribution of abilities or rewards, on aggregate effort, depends on the convexity of the cost function. In sum, our results challenge the current knowledge about the role of inequality in tournaments by showing how the distribution of effort–including aggregate effort–crucially depends on the convexity of the cost function and of the CDF of both rewards and abilities.     

Thermodynamic properties of laburnine in saline and glucose solutions

Laburnine’s dissolution behaviors in glucose and saline solution were studied by a micro-calorimetry method. The measured integral and differential heats of solution were utilized to build equations of the solute and the heat, so that dissolution thermodynamic equations and half-time periods, Δ_sol H _m, Δ_sol G _m, and Δ_sol S _m were obtained. The results show that this study does not only provide a simple method for the determination of the half-life period for a drug but also offer a theoretical reference for the clinical application of laburnine.     

Reactivity of Cyclanols Towards Quinaldinium Fluorochromate Oxidation

The kinetics of oxidation of cyclanols, viz., cyclohexanol, cyclopentanol, cycloheptanol and cyclooctanol by quinaldinium fluorochromate has been studied in aqueous acid medium at 313 K (±0.1 K). The cyclanols were converted to the corresponding cyclic ketones. The order of reaction was found to be one with respect to oxidant and fractional with respect to the substrate and hydrogen ion concentrations. Increase in the percentage of acetic acid increases the rate of reaction. The reaction mixture shows the absence of any free radicals in the reaction, which has ruled out the possibility of a one-electron transfer during the addition of acrylonitrile. The reaction has been studied at four different temperatures and the activation parameters were calculated. From the observed kinetic results a suitable mechanism was proposed. The relative reactivity order was found to be cyclohexanol < cyclopentanol < cycloheptanol < cyclooctanol. This was explained on the basis of I-strain theory.     

Structural Elucidation and Position Identification of Cu(II) ion in Hexaaquazinc(diaquabismalonto)zincate: Single Crystal EPR and Optical Studies

Journal of Cluster Science - Single crystal electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) and UV–Visible (UV–Vis)...     

Biodegradation of Phenol by the Yeast Candida tropicalis: An Investigation by NMR Spectroscopy

The process of phenol biodegradation by the yeast Candida tropicalis NCIM 3556 in aqueous medium was studied by ¹H, ¹³C, and DOSY NMR techniques. Samples at regular intervals were centrifuged to separate the cells, and ¹H spectral data were collected at 400 MHz. Though a gradual decrease in the concentration of phenol was observed, after an incubation period of ~8 h, formation of any intermediate products could not be detected. Experiments carried out with uniformly ¹³C-labeled phenol also failed to detect formation of any carboxylic acid intermediates during degradation. The studies indicated that the phenol was completely degraded to carbon dioxide and water in approximately 20 h. Self-diffusion coefficient measurements showed that the lifetime of phenol in the bound form is too small to impart any change in its diffusion behavior and the intermediates formed are converted to carbon dioxide and water at a very fast rate.     

Three-Phase Partitioning as a Rapid and Easy Method for the Purification and Recovery of Catalase from Sweet Potato Tubers (Solanum tuberosum)

Three-phase partitioning (TPP) was used to purify and recover catalase from potato crude extract. The method consists of ammonium sulfate saturation, t-butanol addition, and adjustment of pH, respectively. The best catalase recovery (262 %) and 14.1-fold purification were seen in the interfacial phase in the presence of 40 % (w/v) ammonium sulfate saturation with 1.0:1.0 crude extract/t-butanol ratio (v/v) at pH 7 in a single step. The sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis of the enzyme showed comparatively purification and protein molecular weight was nearly found to be 56 kDa. This study shows that TPP is a simple, economical, and quick method for the recovering of catalase and can be used for the purification process.