Determination of ammonia based on the electro-oxidation of hydroquinone in dimethylformamide or in the room temperature ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide

The results detail a novel methodology for the electrochemical determination of ammonia based on its interaction with hydroquinone in DMF. It has been shown that ammonia reversibly removes protons from the hydroquinone molecules, thus facilitating the oxidative process with the emergence of a new wave at less positive potentials. The analytical utility of the proposed methodology has been examined with a linear range from 10 to 95 ppm and corresponding limit-of-detection of 4.2 ppm achievable. Finally, the response of hydroquinone in the presence of ammonia has been examined in the room temperature ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluormethylsulfonyl)imide, [EMIM][N(Tf)₂]. Analogous voltammetric waveshapes to that observed in DMF were obtained, thereby confirming the viability of the method in either DMF or [EMIM][N(Tf)₂] as solvent.     

Two-state irreversible thermal denaturation of anionic peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) peroxidase

Detailed differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), steady-state tryptophan fluorescence and far-UV circular dichroism (CD) studies, together with enzymatic assays, were carried out to monitor the thermal stability of anionic peanut peroxidase (aPrx) at pH 3.0. The spectral parameters were seen to be good complements to the highly sensitive but integral method of DSC. Thus, changes in far-UV CD corresponded to changes in the overall secondary structure of the enzyme, while changes in intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence emission corresponded to changes in the tertiary structure of the enzyme. The results, supported with data concerning changes in enzymatic activity with temperature, show that thermally induced transitions for aPrx are irreversible and strongly dependent upon the scan rate, suggesting that denaturation is under kinetic control. It is shown that the process of aPrx denaturation can be interpreted with sufficient accuracy in terms of the simple kinetic scheme, , where k is a first-order kinetic constant that changes with temperature, as given by the Arrhenius equation; N is the native state, and D is the denatured state. On the basis of this model, the parameters of the Arrhenius equation were calculated.     

Resolution of global signals using ratio differential pulse polarograms: Determination of p-nitroaniline and p-nitrotoluene in their mixture

Ratio differential pulse polarograms obtained by dividing the multianalyte and single analyte signals are proposed as a tool for resolution of global signals and quantification of the analytes from a qualitatively known mixture by differential pulse polarography (DPP) and related electroanalytical techniques. The influences of shape and position of the resolving function (DP polarograms of individual analyte) on the efficiency of resolution are discussed on simulated and experimental results. The method is applied for the determination of p-nitroaniline (NA) and p-nitrotoluene (NT) from their mixture in N,N′-dimethylformamide solutions with 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium iodide as supporting electrolyte, using an external calibration diagram and internal standard addition methods. NA and NT give one-electron DP polarographic peaks with 93 mV of peak separation and, therefore, show significant overlapping which depends on the concentration ratio of NA and NT in the mixture. The method is especially suitable for quantification of one analyte in the presence of a large excess of another analyte, because by division the component in excess is removed and the pseudo-ratio DPP of the minor component is clearly revealed in a way which is not possible by deconvolution using polynomial division or deconvolution by Fourier transforms.     

Carbon Nanotubes Based Nanoelectrode Arrays: Fabrication,Evaluation, and Application in Voltammetric Analysis

Fabrication, electrochemical characterization, and applications of low‐site density carbon nanotubes based nanoelectrode arrays (CNTs‐NEAs) are reported in this work. Spin‐coating of an epoxy resin provides a new way to create the electrode passivation layer effectively reducing electrode capacitance and current leakage. Cyclic voltammetry showed the sigmoidal shape curves with low capacitive current and scan‐rate‐independent limiting current. Square‐wave voltammetry showed well‐defined peak shapes in voltammograms of K₃Fe(CN)₆ and 4‐acetamidophenol (acetaminophen) and the peak currents to be proportioned to their concentrations, demonstrating the feasibility for voltammetric analysis of the CNTs‐NEAs. The CNTs‐NEAs were also used successfully for voltammetric detection of trace concentrations of lead(II) at ppb level at first‐time. The CNTs‐NEAs provide an excellent platform for ultra sensitive electrochemical sensors for chemical and biological sensing.     

Chemically Sensitive Field‐Effect Transistors and Chemiresistors: New Materials and Device Structures

Electronic sensor technology remains of widespread and intense interest. There are compelling needs to detect chemical species ranging from small molecules dispersed in the gas phase to complex biopolymers in aqueous solution. This review describes some recent advances in three main areas: chemically sensitive resistors (chemiresistors, CRs) including inorganic and organic based devices, field effect transistors (FETs) with semiconducting layers and/or gates with chemical sensitivity, and sensors based on the differential conductivity of nanotubes and nanowires. Results reported in the last two to three years are emphasized, highlighting some current trends in the development of sensors for applications such as diagnostics, process monitoring, and security.     

Differential thermal analysis of the Al+20% (Fe-50%B) system

In the present study, aluminium and mechanically alloyed (36 h) Fe/B (50 wt%) are mixed. Al+20 (wt%) Fe/B mixture has been studied by differential thermal analysis to determine the aluminium quantity that is supposed to melt and afterwards does not solidify as it reacts with Fe/B powder. The different areas between endothermic reaction (melting peak) and exothermic reaction (solidification peak) allow in knowing the quantity of aluminium that reacts with Fe/B and the amount of intermetallic phases formed at high temperature. In order to follow the process, compacts were sintered at different temperatures (700, 800, 900, 1000 and 1200 °C), in N₂/10H₂/0.1CH₄ atmosphere. Microstructure was evaluated by image analysis and the results obtained by both techniques are compared.     

利用差异衍生同步分析醛糖和酮糖

建立了一种可同时对醛、酮糖进行精确定性和定量分析的方法。以肌醇作为内标，用80％乙醇超声提取，利用醋酸酐和HMDS＋TMCS（1：3）进行差异衍生，在EI源下用SIM模式进行GC／MS分析。结果表明：11种标准单糖在1—4mg／L范围内线性良好；仪器检出限：醛糖在8．15—22．4μg／L之间；酮糖为2．32μg／L和3．47μg/L；高、中、低3个量的平均回收率在73．0％-95．7％，相对标准偏差在3．1％-10．0％。对枸杞游离单糖进行测定，各单糖含量分别在0．26—368．6mg／g。该方法弥补了以前单糖分析中的缺陷，对既含有醛糖又含有酮糖的样品可同时进行精确的定性定量分析。     

Total luminescence intensity (TLI) offers superior early oxidation detection in unstabilised polyethylene but is no better than FT-IR for stabilised polyolefins

In an earlier study, we have shown that chemiluminescence (CL) and the total luminescence intensity (TLI) method are highly sensitive to oxidation in degradable PE. In this study, stabilised PE and PP were characterised with CL in an inert (TLI) and in an oxygen atmosphere (CL-OIT) and the results were compared to those obtained by the commonly used techniques, FT-IR (carbonyl index (CI)) and thermal analysis (DSC-OIT). PE was aged at a low temperature (80 °C) and PP was aged at temperatures between 60 and 120 °C. Non-Arrhenius behaviour was observed in the oxidation of PP. This showed the importance of aging at a low temperature to obtain realistic results. TLI and CI of stabilised PP and most of the stabilised PE gave comparable results with the same sensitivity for oxidation detection. This was in contrast to our previous results for degradable PE. However, TLI of unstabilised PE showed earlier oxidation detection than CI, which agreed with our earlier results. TLI of PE had a higher sensitivity than CL-OIT, and both TLI and CI of PP were sufficiently sensitive to detect the effect of aging at different temperatures, whereas DSC-OIT was not.     

Dynamic Modelling of Nickel Complexation in Xylem Sap of Quercus ilex: A Voltammetric Study

Holm oak (Quercus ilex) is the dominant tree growing on serpentine soils of northeast Portugal, characterized by elevated soil concentrations of Ni and Mg, combined with low Ca concentrations. Apparently Q. ilex does not suffer from excessive concentrations of Ni in the soil. In this work we report a complexation study of nickel by the relevant ligands present in xylem sap: histidine, aspartic acid, oxalic and citric acids, at 0.10 M ionic strength and pH 5.5. Single and mixed complexes were characterized. To validate the proposed complexation model, diluted solutions of Q. ilex xylem sap were titrated with nickel. All studies were done using square‐wave voltammetry (SWV) at a hanging mercury drop electrode. Due to the dynamic nature of SWV, it is possible to obtain the conditional stability constants of the complexes formed but also to have knowledge on the kinetics of the interconversion of the species present.     

微量热法研究γ-Mo2N催化剂表面氢的微分吸附热

Differential heats of H 2 adsorption on γ-Mo2N catalysts were studied by using microcalorimetry. Samples with high and medium surface areas (90 and 17 m2•g -1 ) present a homogeneous energetic distribution of surface sites, which corresponds with the preferential orientation of their (200) planes. Molybdenum nitride with low surface area (8 m2•g -1 ) displays a heterogeneous energetic distribution of H 2 adsorption sites. The higher initial differential heat of hydrogen adsorption observed for the low surface Mo nitride was attributed to species adsorbed on surface sites associated with the (111) plane.