Superconductivity and magnetism in Ir-doped GdFeAsO

The 5d-transition metal, Ir has successfully been doped at Fe site and induced superconductivity in GdFeAsO at T_c = 18.9 K and ∼20 atom%. The Ir-doping shortened the c-axis length and stretched the a-axis one, which led to enhance the coupling between the FeAs- and SmO-layer, and to weaken the bonding between Fe and As atom. Paramagnetism was observed in all of the samples, which was resulted from the magnetic Gd ion as in the F-doped GdFeAsO. An upper critical field of GdFe_0.8Ir_0.2AsO was extrapolated to around 24 T, much smaller than that of F-doped GdFeAsO owing to a relatively low T_c and small value of dH_c2/dT.     

The role of W doping in response of hydrogen sensors based on MAO titania films

Anatase TiO₂ and W doped TiO₂ films were fabricated by micro-arc oxidation (MAO) on titanium substrates and their hydrogen sensing properties were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the oxide films and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was applied to investigate the gas sensing mechanism. It is found that the conductivity of TiO₂ films varies with the introduction of W dopant. EIS analysis reveals that the grains and especially the grain boundaries are mainly contributed to the hydrogen response and their equivalent circuits could be represented electrochemically by parallel resistor and constant phase element (CPE). The enhanced sensor signal at higher measuring temperature (300 °C) is observed with an optimal doping concentration of W ions (1.81 at.%).     

B/N掺杂对双层石墨烯电子特性影响的第一性原理研究

利用平面波超软赝势方法研究了B/N原子单掺杂和共掺杂对双层石墨烯电子特性的影响.对掺杂双层石墨烯进行结构优化,并计算了能带结构、态密度、分波态密度等.分析表明,层间范德瓦尔斯相互作用对双层石墨烯的电子特性有比较明显的影响;B/N原子单掺杂分别对应p型和n型掺杂,会使掺杂片层的能带平移,使得体系能带结构产生较大分裂;双层掺杂的石墨烯能带结构与掺杂原子的相对位置和距离有关,对电子特性有明显的调控作用.其中特别有意义的是,B/N双层共掺杂在不同位置情况下会得到金属性或禁带宽度约为0.3 eV的半导体能带.     

Simultaneous Differential Pulse Voltammetric Determination of Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim on a Boron‐Doped Diamond Electrode

The performance of hydrogen‐ (HT) and oxygen‐terminated (OT) boron‐doped diamond (BDD) electrodes (electrochemically pretreated) on the simultaneous differential pulse voltammetric determination of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim in pharmaceutical products is presented. Under the optimum analytical experimental conditions, the HT‐BDD electrode presented two well‐defined oxidation peaks at 920 and 1100 mV vs. Ag/AgCl for sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim, respectively. On the other hand, when the OT‐BDD electrode was used, the sulfamethoxazole oxidation current peak was decreased twenty fold. The calculated LOD values for sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim using the HT‐BDD electrode were 3.65 μg L^?1 and 3.92 μg L^?1, respectively. The results obtained in the simultaneous determination of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim in three different commercial formulations were similar to those obtained using a standard HPLC method at 95% confidence level.     

The Fabrication and Characterization of a Nickel Nanoparticle Modified Boron Doped Diamond Electrode for Electrocatalysis of Primary Alcohol Oxidation

We report the fabrication of a Ni nanoparticle modified BDD electrode and its application in the electrocatalysis of primary alcohol electrooxidation. Modification was achieved via electrodeposition from Ni(NO₃)₂ dissolved in sodium acetate solution (pH 5). Characterization of the Ni‐modified BDD (Ni‐BDD) was performed using ex situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) and high resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX). Large nanoparticles of nickel were observed on the BDD surface ranging 5 to 690 nm in height and 0.18 μm^?3 in volume, and an average number density of ca. 13×10⁶ nanoparticles cm^?2 was determined. The large range of sizes suggests progressive rather than instantaneous nucleation and growth. Electrocatalysis of ethanol and glycerol, was conducted in an alkaline medium using an unmodified BDD, Ni‐BDD and a bulk Ni macro electrode. The Ni‐BDD electrode gave the better electrocatalytic performance, with glycerol showing the greatest sensitivity. Linear calibration plots were obtained for the ethanol and glycerol additions over concentration ranges of 2.8–28.0 mM and 23–230 μM respectively. This gave an ethanol limit of detection of 1.7 mM and sensitivity of 0.31 mA/M, and the glycerol a limit of detection of 10.3 μM with a sensitivity of 35 mA/M.     

Hyphenated mass spectrometric techniques-indispensable tools in clinical and forensic toxicology and in doping control

Hyphenated mass spectrometric techniques, particularly gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS), are indispensable tools in clinical and forensic toxicology and in doping control owing to their high sensitivity and specificity. They are used for screening, library-assisted identification and quantification of drugs, poisons and their metabolites, prerequisites for competent expertise in these fields. In addition, they allow the study of metabolism of new drugs or poisons as a basis for developing screening procedures in biological matrices, most notably in urine, or toxicological risk assessment. Concepts and procedures using GC/MS and LC/MS techniques in the areas of analytical toxicology and the role of mass spectral libraries are presented and discussed in this feature article. Finally, perspectives of their future position are discussed.     

Binuclear Salan borate compounds with three-coordinate boron atoms

A series of binuclear boron compounds supported by Salan(^tBu)H₄ ligands have been prepared. They are of the general formula Salan(^tBu)[B(OR)]₂. The compounds are Salean(^tBu)(BOR)₂ [Salean(^tBu) = (N,N′-ethylenebis(3,5-di-tert-butyl-salicylamine)), R = Me (1), SiMe₃ (4)], Salban(^tBu)(BOR)₂[Salban(^tBu) = (N,N′-butylenebis(3,5-di-tert-butyl-salicylamine)), R = Me (2), SiMe₃ (5)], and Salhan(^tBu)(BOR)₂ [Salhan(^tBu) = (N,N′-hexylenebis(3,5-di-tert-butyl-salicylamine)), R = Me (3)]. All of the compounds were characterized by spectroscopic (¹H NMR, ¹¹B NMR, IR) and physical (mp, EA) techniques. Also, 1, 2 and 4 were structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies.     

Amperometric detection of ultra trace amounts of Hg(I) at the surface boron doped diamond electrode modified with iridium oxide

Iridium oxide (IrOx) films formed electrochemically on the surface boron doped diamond electrode by potential cycling in the range −0.2 to 1.2 V from a saturated solution of alkaline iridium(III) solution. A strongly adherent deposit of iridium oxide is formed after 5–10 potential scans. The properties, stability and electrochemical behavior of iridium oxide layers were investigated by atomic force microscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The boron doped diamond (BDD) electrode modified with electrodeposition of a thin film, exhibited an excellent catalytic activity for oxidation of Hg(I) over a wide pH range. The modified electrode shows excellent analytical performance for Hg(I) amperometric detection. The detection limit, sensitivity, response time and dynamic concentration ranges are 3.2 nM, 77 nA μM⁻¹, 100 ms and 5 nM–5 μM. These analytical parameters compare favorably with those obtained with modern analytical techniques and recently published electrochemical methods.     

A concise synthesis of polyhydroxydihydrochalcones and homoisoflavonoids

A general and single step synthesis of polyhydroxydihydrochalcones from the readily available phenols and dihydrocinnamic acids using BF₃·Et₂O is described. The method allows the synthesis of a wide range of compounds with multiple phenolic hydroxyls and other substituents. These dihydrochalcones are converted into homoisoflavonoids by DMF/PCl₅ and the methodology has been applied to the synthesis of naturally occurring phloretin and 5,7-dihydroxy-3-[(4-hydroxyphenyl)methyl]-4H-chromen-4-one. The antioxidant activity of dihydrochalcones and homoisoflavonoids was determined by superoxide free radical (NBT) and DPPH free radical scavenging methods. Polyhydroxydihydrochalcones 3c, 3f, 3g and homoisoflavonoids 4c, 4f, 4g displayed excellent antioxidant activity.