Correlation between Boron Isotope of Coral Acropora and pH Value of Seawater Surface

A water circulation system with the almost same element composition and socket type was adopted in coral Acropora culture under different seawater pH value conditions and the data of the relationship between boron isotopic compositions of coral and seawater pH value by thermoelectric ionization mass spectrometer were obtained. According to the correlations between α_carb-3 of coral and the pH value of cultured seawater, α_carb-3 was not a constant but related to pH value, indicating that B(OH)₃ also incorporated carbonate. Therefore, the theoretical formula could not be used to calculate the seawater pH value from the δ¹¹B_carb value of the measured marine biological carbonate. The empirical equations obtained experimentally would be an alternative method to calculate the seawater pH value. In addition, the mixed precipitation of CaCO₃ and Mg(OH)₂ was found in aquaculture tanks with high pH value, and the δ¹¹B of the solid was significantly higher than that of cultured seawater. The result indicated that the presence of Mg(OH)₂ had a significant effect on the boron isotope fractionation, which deserved our attention.     

The effect of local electronic interaction on the optical properties of boron–nitride nanotubes

We investigate the behavior of optical absorption of boron–nitride nanotubes (6,0) in the context of Hubbard model at the paramagnetic sector. GW approximation has been implemented in order to make self-energy matrix of electronic system. Afterwards, the real and imaginary parts of transverse dielectric functions have been obtained using linear response theory. The results show that the frequency gap in the optical absorption decreases with Coulomb repulsion strength. Moreover the results show that the local Coulomb interaction leads to the appearance of the excitonic effects in the optical spectrum. Finally the effects of electronic concentration on the frequency behavior of imaginary part of dielectric function have been investigated.     

GGA-based analysis of the metformin adsorption on BN nanotubes

Density functional theory (DFT) studies are done to investigate structural and electronic properties of (5,5) chirality single walls boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) in the armchair model interacting with metformin (MF) on the surface and ends. Our calculations consider the exchange-correlation energies with the Hamprecht–Cohen–Tozer–Handy functional within the generalized gradient approximation (HCTH-GGA) and the double polarized DNP base function. The geometry optimization follows the minimum energy criterion for all six geometries we have considered. Results show that the MF is adsorbed through the groups NH₂–NH at one end of the nanotube. The system polarity is increased which indicates the possible dispersion and solubility. Moreover the interaction between these species induces an increase in the chemical reactivity of the order of 0.42 eV. Meanwhile the solvation in water keeps the semiconductor characteristics of both nanotube and MF. The work function of the BNNT-MF is drastically reduced respect to the pristine system when the BN nanotube is doped at its surface and ends with carbon. This means that the functionalized BN nanotube facilitates conditions to improve field emission.     

Spectrophotometry Determination Of Boron With 4-(P-Sulfophenylazo)-1, 8-Dihydroxynaphthalene

Abstract

4-(p-Sulfophenylazo)-l, 8-dihydroxynaphthalene (SPADN) was synthesized to study as a new reagent for the spectro-photometric determination of boron, measuring its absorbance on addition of boron present as boric acid at pH 8.6. The procedure involved mixing aliquots of the sample, ammonium buffer, EDTA and SPADN solutions. Various exchange equilibrium constants in the ion-association extraction systems of SPADN with zephiramine were also determined.     

Covalent Functionalization of Pristine and Ga-Doped Boron Phosphide Nanotubes with Imidazole

Abstract

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the B3LYP/6–31G* level were performed to investigate covalent functionalization of imidazole on pristine (in gas and H₂O phases) and Ga-doped BPNT models in terms of energetic, geometric, and electronic properties. The results show that imidazole, as a functional group, prefers to be adsorbed via its nitrogen atom on the pristine, Ga_B, and Ga_P nanotube models. The adsorption energy of imidazole on the (6,0) zigzag BPNT in gas and solvent phases is ?0.76 and ?1.11 eV, respectively, and about 0.38 and 0.43 electron are transferred from the imidazole to nanotube in the phases. The presence of a polar solvent increases the electron donor of imidazole molecule. The results show that Ga doping can significantly enhance the adsorption energy of imidazole on the nanotube models to about 95%.

Moreover, the imidazole adsorption on the pristine and Ga-doped BPNT models has not significant changes in the energy gap of the nanotube models and it is slightly changed after covalent functionalization process. This study may provide new insight to the development of functionalized boron phosphide nanotubes for generation of the new hybrid compounds especially in drug delivery systems for virtual applications.     

Phenol-formaldehyde resin route to the synthesis of several iron group transition metal phosphides

Abstract

A series of iron, cobalt and nickel metal phosphides of chemical formula Fe_xP, Co₂P and Ni₂P with high specific surface areas of 331.1, 294.2 and 228.0 m² g^?1, respectively, was firstly synthesized by phenol-formaldehyde resin route. It was found that the as-prepared Co₂P and Ni₂P samples synthesized using phenol-formaldehyde resin as a carbon source showed much higher BET surface areas than those prepared using other carbon sources reported before, including cinnamic strong alkali anion exchange resin, p-phenylenediamine and hexamethylenetetramine. This phenol-formaldehyde resin route was proved to be as universal as traditional H₂ reduction method.     

Optical absorption of zigzag single walled boron nitride nanotubes in axial magnetic field

We have investigated the effect of axial magnetic field on the band structure, dipole matrix elements and absorption spectrum in different energy ranges, using tight binding approximation. It is found that magnetic field breaks the degeneracy in the band structure and creates new allowed transitions in the dipole matrix which leads to creation of new peaks in the absorption spectrum. It is found that, unlike to CNTs which show metallic–semiconductor transition, the BNNTs remain semiconductor in any magnetic field strength. By calculation the diameter dependence of peak positions, we found that the positions of three first peaks in the lower energy region (E <5.3 eV) are proportional to n⁻². In the middle energy region (7 < E < 7.5 eV) all (n, 0) zigzag BNNTs, with even and odd nanotube index, have two distinct peaks in the absence of magnetic field which these peaks may be used to identify zigzag BNNTs from other tube chiralities. For odd (even) tubes, in the middle energy region, applying the magnetic field leads to splitting of these two peaks into three (five) distinct peaks.     

Voltammetric Determination of Boric Acid Using the Ternary Complexation System with Salicylaldehyde and H‐Acid

A square‐wave voltammetric method for the determination of boric acid in water has been described based on the new understanding of the electrochemical behavior of boric acid‐Azomethine H complexation. Salicylaldehyde and H‐acid were used as the starting materials of boric acid‐Azomethine H complex and their concentrations were optimized for boric acid determination in water. A glassy carbon electrode, instead of a conventional mercury electrode, was used in the measurement. The detection limit of the proposed method was 0.10 mg B dm^?3. The proposed method was successfully used for boric acid determination in the water from a seawater desalination RO plant.     

Electrochemical Oxidation of Ibuprofen and Its Voltammetric Determination at a Boron‐Doped Diamond Electrode

The electrochemical oxidation of ibuprofen at a boron‐doped diamond electrode (BDDE) and its voltammetric determination is reported for the first time. A well‐defined oxidation peak was observed at around 1.6 V in 0.1 mol L^?1 H₂SO₄ solution with 10 % (v/v) ethanol at the BDDE surface activated by either cathodic or anodic pretreatments. A differential‐pulse voltammetric method for the determination of ibuprofen in pharmaceutical formulations was optimized with a detection limit of 5 µmol L^?1 and compared with the British Pharmacopeia method.     

Novel B,O-chelated fluorescent probe for nitric oxide imaging in Raw 264.7 macrophages and onion tissues

A novel fluorescent probe based on B,O-chelated dipyrromethene chromophore in far-visible and near-infrared spectral region (600–900 nm), boron chelated 8-(3,4-diaminophenyl)-3,5-bis(2-hydroxyphenyl)-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indancene (BOPB), has been first developed for nitric oxide (NO) imaging. BOPB, a turn-on fluorescent probe, can react with NO rapidly under physiological condition. The reaction product of BOPB with NO, BOPB-T, emits bright red fluorescence at 643 nm when excited at 622 nm. Meanwhile, BOPB-T displays high fluorescent quantum yield of 0.21 and good photostability. The selectivity for NO over other reactive oxygen/nitrogen species and ascorbic acid has been investigated and BOPB has good specificity for the detection of NO. MTT assay shows that the toxicity of BOPB (below 10 μM) to living cells can be neglected. Based on these investigations, BOPB has been used for NO imaging in Raw 264.7 cells and onion tissues. Meanwhile, mechanical injury to onion tissues results in a brighter fluorescence around the wound, which indicates that more NO has been produced in plant tissues in response to external stimuli. Our studies illustrate that BOPB has advantages of high sensitivity, low background interference and little photo damage on fluorescence imaging of NO.