On‐Surface Synthesis of Graphene Nanoribbons Catalyzed by Ni Atoms

Nanometer‐wide graphene nanoribbons can be synthesized from halogen aromatics through multistep on‐surface reactions, but the catalytic role of extrinsic transition‐metal atoms in these reactions are still to be explored. Here by low‐temperature scanning tunneling microscopy, we investigated the on‐surface synthesis of graphene nanoribbons from 10,10′‐dibromo‐9,9′‐bianthryl precursors in the presence of Ni atoms. Ni atoms not only act as catalysts in debromination and lead to the formation of an organometallic intermediate at 300 K, but also prompt the fusion reaction between graphene nanoribbons at 673 K. Our work demonstrates a more efficient way to fabricate fused graphene nanoribbons.     

Ferricyanide Confined in a Protonated Amine-Functionalized Silica Film on Gold: Application to Electrocatalytic Sensing of Nitrite Ions

An amine-functionalized porous sol–gel silica film was shown to be an effective platform to immobilize small anionic redox mediators of high solubility on solid electrodes by electrostatic interaction. The highly soluble mediator hexacyanoferrate was used as a model. The film was grown and firmly anchored on a gold electrode surface via thiol groups of a self-assembled monolayer of (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane. Film growth and thickness were controlled by electrochemical modulation of pH at the electrode/solution interface in a sol of a hydrolyzed solution of tetraethoxysilane and 3-[2-(2-aminoethylamino)ethylamino]propyltrimethoxysilane by the application of a negative potential to the electrode. Protonation of the amine groups made the amine-functionalized surface useful to immobilize hexacyanoferrate on gold. Thus, the immobilization is pH dependent, being highly effective in strongly acidic medium. Cyclic voltammetry and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the film and to optimize the experimental conditions. The stability of the film was demonstrated by applying the catalytic properties of the hexacyanoferrate containing surface for nitrite sensing using a flow injection analysis (FIA) system. Under the optimized conditions, the sensor exhibited high sensitivity, low detection limit, easy handling, and stability with a linear range from 1.0 to 40.0?µmol?L^?1 and a detection limit of 0.53?µmol?L^?1 based on a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The sensor was successfully applied to nitrite determination in water samples using FIA with excellent recoveries.     

Structure and properties of TentaGel resin beads: Implications for combinatorial library chemistry

Summary In view of the widespread use of TentaGel resin beads for the synthesis of combinatorial libraries, the properties of TentaGel resin have been examined using a combination of confocal laser microscopy and NMR spectroscopy. Evidence is presented that trypsin, a 23.5-kDa enzyme, can penetrate to the core of 90-m TentaGel beads, and that the matrix of such beads permits molecular motion at a similar rate to that in solution. The beads act as a separate gel phase rather than as a porous solid. These conclusions have important implications for the bioassay of on-bead combinatorial chemical libraries.     

Scanning transitiometry for science and industry

Basic principle of scanning transitiometry are presented. The new technique is based on a simultaneous recording of both mechanical and thermal variables of a thermodynamic transition induced by scanning one independent variable (p, T orV) while the other independent variable is being kept constant. Examples are given for applications of the new technique in materials science such as simultaneous determination of _p and k_t as a function of pressure for a crystalline polyethylene at 363 K, simultaneous determination of heat and volume of transition for isothermal fusion of polyethylene at 423 K and for isobaric phase changes in ¯110S5 liquid crystal (4-n-pentyl-phenyl-thiol-4-decycloxybenzoate) at 134.6 MPa. A special attention is paid to the determination of _p for dense liquids, theoretical interpretation of its pressure-temperature behavior and the use of the new technique in verification of equations of state for dense condensed systems.Cooperation and stimulating discussions with Professors J.-P.E. Grolier and U.K. Deiters with respect to the scanning transitiometric technique and equations of state, respectively, are sincerely appreciated.Financial support from the Polish Committee on Scientific Research under grant 7. S204.010.05 is gratefully acknowledged.     

碳纤维组合超微园盘电极的伏安特性与理论验证

用12根直径7μm碳纤维均匀胶结在外径1mm、内径0．4mm的有机玻璃毛细管外围，形成组合超微园盘电极。并与Ag/AgCl参比电极和铂丝辅助电极构成复合三电极系统。在K3Pe(CN)6／K4Pe(CN)6和Cd^2 ／KCl溶液体系中，测定了这种复合式的组合超微电极的循环伏安特性和阶梯扫描伏安特性。理论计算与实验曲线一致。该电极系统具有良好的组合超微电极的性能。由于单电极间距离远大于本身直径，扩散场互不干扰，因此，组合超微电极的响应具有加和性。应用这种复合超微电极，测定了工业污水中的镉含量，与普通极谱法测定结果一致。     

Curing kinetics of amine and sodium hydroxide catalyzed phenol-formaldehyde resins

The effect of both formaldehyde content and catalyst type used in the synthesis of several resole type phenolic resins has been studied by using differential scanning calorimetry. In this study Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS), Ozawa-Flynn-Wall (OFW) and Friedman model-free kinetics are applied in order to correlate the dynamic cure behaviour with the mentioned synthesis variables. Strong upward dependency of activation energy on conversion has been detected in all cases up to a maximum value. Lower the formaldehyde content fewer changes in activation energy have been detected, revealing a more homogeneous polymerization. As formaldehyde content increases, stronger variations of energy values have been observed and the maximum value is shifted to lower conversions. By comparing triethylamine and sodium hydroxide catalysts similar behaviour has been observed, with higher energy values and shifting of the maximum in the latter. Friedman approach has been resulted in more convenient and accurate for the energy values determination and KAS method seems useful for the dynamic cure prediction of that type of thermoset.     

On the possibility of an STM-induced dissociative electron transfer

The process of dissociative adsorption of a molecule on an electrode in a system of the type in situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is investigated theoretically. It is shown that, in the case of fully nonadiabatic or partly adiabatic electron transfer, the presence of the tip of STM may either accelerate (or even induce) or decelerate the process of dissociation of the molecule, depending on the sign of the bias voltage. The maximum effect takes place in the case of strong interaction of the molecule with both electrodes (fully adiabatic electron transfer). In this limit, diagrams of kinetic modes, which mark off the boundaries between processes of different types possible in a given system, are constructed.Translated from Elektrokhimiya, Vol. 41, No. 3, 2005, pp. 273–284.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Kuznetsov, Medvedev.     

Dynamics or Stochastic Conductance Switching of Phenylene–Ethynylene Oligomers?

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies of phenylene-ethynylene oligomers inserted in alkanethiolate self assembled monolayers (SAMs) are presented. Spontaneous changes in appearance of bundles of inserted molecules during imaging are observed. The results indicate that the appearance changes are caused by fluctuations of the number of molecules in the bundles, by diffusion and exchange of molecules, in contrast to previous reports which attribute the changes to stochastic conductance switching. The packing density of the SAM around the bundles of inserted molecules influence the fluctuations, as the fluctuations observed at 77 K all take place in bundles inserted at locally less-densely packed SAM areas. At room temperature fluctuations of bundles inserted in well-ordered areas are also observed.     

几种粗糙铂电极上表面拉曼增强效应初探

Good-quality surface enhanced Raman spectra have been obtained from various roughened Pt electrodes using a confocal Raman measuring system. A new equation is presented to estimate the enhancement factor G for the electrodispersed and platinized Pt electrodes in a pyridine+NaClO4 solution. It is shown that the platinum electrodes undergoing the special roughening procedures exhibit a weak SERS effect with an enhancement factor of 10 to 1.2×102, depending on the surface pretreament.     

DSC analysis of the anti-HIV agent loviride as a preformulation tool in the development of hot-melt extrudates

Thermal analysis was performed on the anti-HIV agent loviride in order to test its suitability to be processed using hot-melt extrusion. Temperature characteristic parameters of crystallization were determined to quantify the stability of amorphous loviride. The present study has shown that cooling and heating loviride at different rates influenced its thermal stability. At high cooling rates melted loviride did not crystallize during cooling, and formed a glass that recrystallized during reheating. Very low cooling rates resulted in significant decomposition of the drug. The glass transition temperature was found to increase as a function of increasing heating rates and the activation energy for the transition from the glassy to the super-cooled liquid state was relatively high, indicating good stability of the glass. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.