Sulfonated reduced graphene oxide as a highly efficient catalyst for direct amidation of carboxylic acids with amines using ultrasonic irradiation

Sulfonated reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (rGO-SO₃H) were prepared by grafting sulfonic acid-containing aryl radicals onto chemically reduced graphene oxide (rGO) under sonochemical conditions. rGO-SO₃H catalyst was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). rGO-SO₃H catalyst was successfully applied as a reusable solid acid catalyst for the direct amidation of carboxylic acids with amines into the corresponding amides under ultrasonic irradiation. The direct sonochemical amidation of carboxylic acid takes place under mild conditions affording in good to high yields (56–95%) the corresponding amides in short reaction times.     

A different approach to fabricate nanocrystalline LTB:Cu pellets with thermoluminescence response

In this study, lithium-tetraborate (LTB) was synthesized by three methods of high-temperature solid state, wet and combustion reactions. Copper was added to pure LTB by solution assisted method, to improve the thermoluminescence (TL) properties. The pellets of LTB were produced using pressing and sintering operations at 850 °C. The synthesized LTB pellets, exposed to the gamma radiation of ⁶⁰Co source in the dose range of 5–20Gy and glow curves as well as dose–response diagrams were obtained. Ultimately, the effects of different factors on TL behaviors like dopant, crystallite size and particle morphologies were studied. The results show that between pure samples, LTB which synthesized by combustion method has higher TL sensitivity than those of other methods. However, it was seen a weak glow peak for 5Gy, due to the nanocrystalline structure of LTB. This property led to decrease TL intensity at low-doses and postponed saturation at high-doses. Fading of this sample was also less than others and has relatively better reproducibility. Among LTB:Cu pellets which synthesized by the wet reaction showed the higher TL response than others due to the creation of more traps and luminescence centers and had promising properties in the case of dose response linearity and fading.     

A new Cu(II)-5-(4-sulphophenylazo)-8-aminoquinoline complex used for copper determination in presence of gold and silver in water and mineral samples

In this work, a characterization of reagent chromophere 5-(4-sulphophenylazo)-8-aminoquinoline [SPA] by IR and ¹H RMN was carried out and a pK_a value of 3.55 ± 0.03 was found as well. An 1:2 stoichiometry for the Cu(II)-SPA complex was determined at pH 9 by Job and molar ratio methods. A value of 1.4 × 10¹⁴ for the stability constant was also found. Based on the formation of this complex a new method for the copper determination in presence of gold and silver was developed by derivative spectrophotometry using a previous preconcentration on solid phase. In this method, the analytical measures were executed directly in the solid phase containing the complex. The Cu(II) reacts with the reagent chromophere SPA previously retained in the anionic exchange DEAE Sephadex A25. In this determination, the first derivative at 605 nm was used. The quantification range was between (3.2 ± 0.3 × 10⁻¹) × 10⁻⁸ and (94.4 ± 0.9) × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹ (3.2 ± 0.3 × 10⁻¹) × 10⁻⁸ , and (94.4 ± 0.9) × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹. The repeatability expressed as RSD was between 1.1 and 2.0%. The method was applied successfully for the copper determination in mineral residuals and natural water samples. The results were consistent with those provided by ICP-mass spectrometry.     

Solvent free mechanochemical oxygenation of fullerene under oxygen atmosphere

Oxygenation of fullerene took place under mechanical stressing by a simple vibration mill in an oxygen atmosphere at 1 atm. Milled products were mixtures of poly-oxidized fullerene, C₆₀O_n, containing C-O-C and CO bonds. We observed a concurrent reaction as well, that is, polymerization of C₆₀ and C₆₀O. The average number of oxygen, n, of the overall products obtained by milling for 5 h was 8.6 per molecule of C₆₀. We confirmed generation of singlet oxygen during the present mechanochemical reaction by an ESR spin trapping method. Trapping of ¹O₂ was completely inhibited the oxygenation of fullerene. Formation of ¹O₂ is attributed to the energy transfer from mechanically excited state of fullerene and plays a decisive role on the present oxygenation of fullerene under mechanical stressing in O₂. In contrast, no ¹O₂ was observed by mechanically stressing the conventional photo-sensitizer, rosebengal. The difference in the behavior of C₆₀ and rosebengal is interpreted in terms of molecular deformation, being much easier for a 3D molecule, C₆₀, than a planar molecule, in line with the concept of inverse Jahn-Teller effects.     

固体氧化物燃料电池Cr毒化La0.8Sr0.2MnO3-δ(LSM)阴极机理

从电化学阻抗谱和阴极极化等方面对Cr毒化La0.8Sr0.2MnO3-δ(LSM)阴极机理进行了研究.     

Thin wetting films from aqueous solutions of surfactants and phospholipid dispersions

The microscopic thin wetting film method was used to study the stability of wetting films from aqueous solution of surfactants and phospholipid dispersions on a solid surface. In the case of tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (C(14)TAB) films the experimental data for the receding contact angle, film lifetime, surface potential at the vapor/solution and solution/silica interface were used to analyze the stability of the studied films. It is shown that with increasing C(14)TAB concentration charge reversal occurs at both (vapor/solution and solution/silica) interfaces, which affects the thin-film stability. The spontaneous rupture of the thin aqueous film was interpreted in terms of the earlier proposed heterocoagulation mechanism. The presence of the mixed cationic/anionic surfactants was found to lower contact angles and suppresses the thin aqueous film rupture, thus inducing longer film lifetime, as compared to the pure amine system. In the case of mixed surfactants hetero-coagulation could arise through the formation of ionic surfactant complexes. The influence of the melting phase-transition temperature T(c) of the dimyristoylphosphatiddylcholine (DMPC) on the stability of thin films from dispersions of DMPC small unilamellar vesicles on a silica surface was studied by measuring the film lifetime and the TPC expansion rate. The stability of thin wetting films formed from dispersions of DMPC small unilamellar vesicles was investigated by the microinterferometric method. The formation of wetting films from diluted dispersions of DMPC multilamellar vesicles was studied in the temperature range 25-32 degrees C. The stability of thin film of lipid vesicles was explained on the basis of hydrophobic interactions. The results obtained show that the stability of wetting films from aqueous solutions of single cationic and mixed cationic-anionic surfactants has electrostatic origin, whereas the stability of the phospholipid film is due to hydrophobic interaction.     

Simultaneous distillation-extraction of high-value volatile compounds from Cistus ladanifer L

The present paper describes a procedure to isolate volatiles from rock-rose (Cistus ladanifer L.) using simultaneous distillation-extraction (SDE). High-value volatile compounds (HVVC) were selected and the influence of the extraction conditions investigated. The effect of the solvent nature and extraction time on SDE efficiency was studied. The best performance was achieved with pentane in 1 h operation. The extraction efficiencies ranged from 65% to 85% and the repeatability varied between 4% and 6% (as a CV%).The C. ladanifer SDE extracts were analysed by headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) followed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID). The HS-SPME sampling conditions such as fiber coating, temperature, ionic strength and exposure time were optimized. The best results were achieved with an 85 μm polyacrylate fiber for a 60 min headspace extraction at 40 °C with 20% (w/v) of NaCl. For optimized conditions the recovery was in average higher than 90% for all compounds and the intermediate precision ranged from 4 to 9% (as CV %). The volatiles α-pinene (22.2 mg g⁻¹ of extract), 2,2,6-trimethylcyclohexanone (6.1 mg g⁻¹ of extract), borneol (3.0 mg g⁻¹ of extract) and bornyl acetate (3.9 mg g⁻¹ of extract) were identified in the SDE extracts obtained from the fresh plant material.     

Patterned co-culture of primary hepatocytes and fibroblasts using polyelectrolyte multilayer templates

This paper describes the formation of patterned cell co-cultures using the layer-by-layer deposition of synthetic ionic polymers and without the aid of adhesive proteins/ligands such as collagen or fibronectin. In this study, we used synthetic polymers, namely poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDAC) and sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) as the polycation and polyanion, respectively, to build the multilayer films. We formed SPS patterns on polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) surfaces either by microcontact printing PDAC onto SPS surfaces or vice-versa. To create patterned co-cultures on PEMs, we capitalize on the preferential attachment and spreading of primary hepatocytes on SPS as opposed to PDAC surfaces. In contrast, fibroblasts readily attached to both PDAC and SPS surfaces, and as a result, we were able to obtain patterned co-cultures of fibroblast and primary hepatocytes on synthetic PEM surfaces. We characterized the morphology and hepatic-specific functions of the patterned cell co-cultures with microscopy and biochemical assays. Our results suggest an alternative approach to fabricating controlled co-cultures with specified cell-cell and cell-surface interactions; this approach provides flexibility in designing cell-specific surfaces for tissue engineering applications.