Phytochemical Constituents,Antioxidant Activity,and Toxicity Assessment of the Aerial Part Extracts from the Infraspecific Taxa of Matthiola fruticulosa (Brassicaceae) Endemic to Sicily

In a project designed to investigate the specific and infraspecific taxa of Matthiola endemic to Sicily (Italy) as new potential sources of bioactive compounds in this work, the infraspecific taxa of Matthiola fruticulosa were studied, namely, subsp. fruticulosa and subsp. coronopifolia. HPLC–PDA/ESI–MS and SPME–GC/MS analyses of hydroalcoholic extracts obtained from the aerial parts of the two subspecies led to the detection of 51 phenolics and 61 volatile components, highlighting a quite different qualitative–quantitative profile. The antioxidant properties of the extracts were explored through in vitro methods: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), reducing power and Fe²⁺ chelating activity assays. The results of the antioxidant tests showed that the extracts possess a different antioxidant ability: particularly, the extract of M. fruticulosa subsp. fruticulosa exhibited higher radical scavenging activity than that of subsp. coronopifolia (IC₅₀ = 1.25 ± 0.02 mg/mL and 2.86 ± 0.05 mg/mL), which in turn displayed better chelating properties (IC₅₀ = 1.49 ± 0.01 mg/mL and 0.63 ± 0.01 mg/mL). Lastly, Artemia salina lethality bioassay was performed for toxicity assessment. The results of the bioassay showed lack of toxicity against brine shrimp larvae for both extracts. The data presented indicate the infraspecific taxa of M. fruticulosa as new and safe sources of antioxidant compounds.     

氟硅酸化学沉淀法净化萃余酸中的镁

通过二次回归正交设计,实验研究了化学沉淀法净化未经浓缩的革余酸中镁离子的工艺条件,对氟硅酸用量、萃余酸水去除量、反应温度和反应时间四个因子进行了研究。实验结果表明:当氟硅酸用量为95.71g,除水量为80.41g,反应温度为36.02℃,反应时间为45.03min时,可使镁离子去除率达到最佳值,达到生产优等DAP的磷酸要求;实验得到的镁去除率(y)与氟硅酸用量(z_1)、除水量(z_2)、反应温度(z_3)和反应时间(z_4)的模型预测方程为:y= 59.1785-0.541156z_1+0.425071z_2-0.660951z_3-1.635317z_1²+1.768750z_1z_2-6.392974z_22+1.768750z_1z_2-6.392974z_2²+1.011250z_1z_3-0.978750z_2z_3-0.611140z_32+1.011250z_1z_3-0.978750z_2z_3-0.611140z_3²-1.106885z_42-1.106885z_4².     

Colloidal Synthesis and Characterization of Molybdenum Chalcogenide Quantum Dots Using a Two-Source Precursor Pathway for Photovoltaic Applications

The drawbacks of utilizing nonrenewable energy have quickened innovative work on practical sustainable power sources (photovoltaics) because of their provision of a better-preserved decent environment which is free from natural contamination and commotion. Herein, the synthesis, characterization, and application of Mo chalcogenide nanoparticles (NP) as alternative sources in the absorber layer of QDSSCs is discussed. The successful synthesis of the NP was confirmed as the results from the diffractive peaks obtained from XRD which were positive and agreed in comparison with the standard. The diffractive peaks were shown in the planes (100), (002), (100), and (105) for the MoS₂ nanoparticles; (002), (100), (103), and (110) for the MoSe₂ nanoparticles; and (0002), (0004), (103), as well as (0006) for the MoTe₂ nanoparticles. MoSe₂ presented the smallest size of the nanoparticles, followed by MoTe₂ and, lastly, by MoS₂. These results agreed with the results obtained using SEM analysis. For the optical properties of the nanoparticles, UV–Vis and PL were used. The shift of the peaks from the red shift (600 nm) to the blue shift (270–275 nm and 287–289 nm (UV–Vis)) confirmed that the nanoparticles were quantum-confined. The application of the MoX₂ NPs in QDSSCs was performed, with MoSe₂ presenting the greatest PCE of 7.86%, followed by MoTe₂ (6.93%) and, lastly, by MoS₂, with the PCE of 6.05%.     

Long-range chemical interactions in solid-state reactions: effect of an inert Ag interlayer on the formation of L10-FePd in epitaxial Pd(0 0 1)/Ag(0 0 1)/Fe(0 0 1) and Fe(0 0 1)/Ag(0 0 1)/Pd(0 0 1) trilayers

The effect of 0, 0.5, and 1?μm-thick Ag interlayers on the chemical interaction between Pd and Fe in epitaxial Pd(0?0?1)/Ag(0?0?1)/Fe(0?0?1)/MgO(0?0?1) and Fe(0?0?1)/Ag(0?0?1)/Pd(0?0?1)/MgO(0?0?1) trilayers has been studied using X-ray diffraction, ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and magnetic structural measurements. No mixing of Pd and Fe occurs via the chemically inert Ag layer at annealing temperatures up to 400?°C. As the annealing temperature is increased above 400?°C, a solid-state synthesis of an ordered L1₀-FePd phase begins in the Pd(0?0?1)/Ag(0?0?1)/Fe(0?0?1) and Fe(0?0?1)/Ag(0?0?1)/Pd(0?0?1) film trilayers regardless of the thickness of the buffer Ag layer. In all samples, annealing above 500?°C leads to the formation of a disordered Fe_xPd_1?x(0?0?1) phase; however, in samples lacking the Ag layer, the synthesis of Fe_xPd_1?x is preceded by the formation of an ordered L1₂-FePd₃ phase. An analysis of the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results shows that Pd is the dominant moving species in the reaction between Pd and Fe. According to the preliminary results, the 2.2?μm-thick Ag film does not prevent the synthesis of the L1₀-FePd phase and only slightly increases the phase’s initiation temperature. Data showing the ultra-fast transport of Pd atoms via thick inert Ag layers are interpreted as direct evidence of the long-range character of the chemical interaction between Pd and Fe. Thus, in the reaction state, Pd and Fe interact chemically even though the distance between them is about 10⁴ times greater than an ordinary chemical bond length.     

Optical and structural properties of nanocrystalline PbS thin film grown by CBD on Si(1 0 0) substrate

PbS nanocrystalline thin film was prepared by chemical bath deposition on Si(1?0?0) substrate at bath temperatures of 25, 45 and 65 °C. Triethanolamine was added to the aqueous solution, which decreased the grain size and increased the luminescence of the nanocrystalline PbS thin film. PbS nanocrystals were identified using XRD, TEM and AFM. The crystalline size of the PbS film deposited at different bath temperatures was estimated by XRD and TEM to be 7–12 nm. The growth mechanism of the PbS crystallites were described at different bath temperatures. The confinement was reflected in the absorption spectra, photoluminescence excitation and photoluminescence spectra. The luminescence of Si(1?0?0) substrate and PbS nanocrystalline film deposited on Si(1?0?0) were compared, and the results revealed that the PbS nanocrystals altered and notably enhanced the emission features of the Si(1?0?0) substrate. The shifting of the maximum photoluminescence emission wavelength of PbS nanocrystals with a change in bath temperature and the variation in photoluminescent intensity of PbS nanocrystals prepared at 25 °C versus deposition time were investigated. A single-peak fit of a Gaussian function was employed to discern the photoluminescence of PbS on Si(1?0?0) substrate.     

Quasiclassical trajectory theoretical study on the chemical stereodynamics of the O(~1D)+H_2→OH+H reaction and its isotopic variants (HD,D_2)

The quasiclassical trajectory (QCT) method is used to study stereodynamic information about the reaction O ( 1 D) + H 2 →OH + H on the DK (Dobbyn and Knowles) (1 1 A' ) ab initio potential energy surface (PES). A wide scale of collision energy (E c ) from 0.05 eV to 0.5 eV is considered in the dynamic calculations. To reveal the rovibrational excitation effect, calculations at a collision energy of 0.52 eV are carried out for the v = 0 ～ 5, j = 0 and v = 0, j = 0 ～ 15 initial states. The two popularly used polarization-dependent differential cross sections (PDDCSs), dσ 00 /dω t (0, 0) and dσ 20 /dω t (2, 0), and two angular distributions, P(θ r ) and P( r ) are calculated to obtain an insight into the alignment and the orientation of the product molecules. From the calculations, we can obtain that the alignment of the OH product is weaker at high collision energy and becomes stronger with the increase of initial vibrational level, and it is almost insensitive to the initially rotational excitation. Influences of the mass values of isotopes (HD, D 2 ) on the stereodynamics are also shown and discussed. Comparisons between available theoretical results and experimental results are made and discussed.     

Interplay of superconductivity and d-f correlation in CeFeAs_(1-x)P_xO_(1-y)F_y

The recent discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in iron-based pnictides (chalcogenides) not only triggers tremendous enthusiasm in searching for new superconducting materials, but also opens a new avenue to the study of the Kondo physics. CeFeAsO is a parent compound of the 1111-type iron-based superconductors. It shows 3d-antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering below ～ 139 K and 4f-AFM ordering below ～ 4 K. On the other hand, the phosphide CeFePO is a ferromagnetically correlated heavy-fermion (HF) metal with Kondo scale T K ～ 10 K. These properties set up a new platform for research of the interplay among magnetism, Kondo effect, and superconductivity (SC). In this review, we present the recent progress in the study of chemical pressure effect in CeFeAsO 1-y F y (y = 0 and 0.05). This P/As-doping in CeFeAsO serves as an effective controlling parameter which leads to two magnetic critical points, x c1 0.4 and x c2 0.92, associated with suppression of 3d and 4f magnetism, respectively. We also observe a turning point of AFM-FM ordering of Ce 3+ moment at x c3 0.37. The SC is absent in the phase diagram, which is attributed to the destruction to Cooper pair by Ce-FM fluctuations in the vicinity of x c1 . We continue to investigate CeFeAs 1-x P x O 0.95 F 0.05 . With the separation of x c1 and x c3 , this chemical pressure results in a broad SC region 0≤ x ≤ 0.53, while the original HF behavior is driven away by 5% F doping. Different roles of P and F dopings are addressed, and the interplay between SC and Ce-4f magnetism is also discussed.     

Continuous‐wave optical parametric oscillator based infrared spectroscopy for sensitive molecular gas sensing

Over the past 10 years, with the advent of new crystals designs and a new generation of pump lasers, continuous‐wave (cw) optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) have developed into mature monochromatic light sources. Nowadays, cw OPOs can fulfill a wide variety of criteria for sensitive molecular gas sensing. It can access the mid‐infrared wavelength region, where many molecules have their fundamental rotational‐vibrational transitions, with high power. This high power combined with wide wavelength tuning and narrow linewidth creates excellent conditions for sensitive, high‐resolution spectroscopy. OPOs combined with robust methods, such as photoacoustic spectroscopy and cavity‐enhanced spectroscopy, are well suited for field measurements and remote‐sensing applications. The wide tunability of cw OPOs allows detection of larger molecules with broad absorption band structures, and its fast scanning capabilities allow rapid detection of trace gases, the latter is a demand for life‐science applications. After a short introduction about the physical principle of cw OPOs, with its most recent physical developments, this review focuses on sensitive molecular gas sensing with a variety of spectroscopic applications in atmospheric and life sciences.