Role of plasticizer's dielectric constant on conductivity modification of PEO-NH4F polymer electrolytes

The addition of plasticizer to the polyethylene oxide (PEO)-ammonium fluoride (NH₄F) polymer electrolytes has been found to result in an increase in conductivity value and the magnitude of increase has been found to depend upon the dielectric constant of the plasticizer used. The addition of dimethylacetamide as a plasticizer with dielectric constant (?=37.8) higher than that of PEO (?∼5) results in an increase of conductivity by more than three orders of magnitude whereas the addition of diethylcarbonate as a plasticizer with dielectric constant (?=2.82) lower than that of PEO does not enhance the conductivity of PEO-NH₄F polymer electrolytes. The increase in conductivity has further been found to depend upon the concentration of plasticizer, the concentration of salt in the polymer electrolyte as well as on the dielectric constant value of the plasticizer used. The conductivity modification with the addition of plasticizer has been explained on the basis of dissociation of ion aggregates formed in PEO-NH₄F polymer electrolytes at higher salt concentrations.     

Quantitative determination of taurine in real samples by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with integrated pulsed amperometric detection

As taurine is a very important compound involved in a large number of metabolic processes, it is naturally present in the mammal tissues and is often deliberately added in some foods as a fortifying component. A detailed knowledge of taurine metabolic roles in biological systems can be obtained only if a sensitive, reliable and rapid analytical method is available. This article describes the successful application of high-performance anion-exchange chromatography coupled with integrated pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-IPAD) for taurine determination in egg white and yolk samples, as well extracts of human serum and urine. Applications are shown for determination of taurine in soft drinks and pharmaceutical preparations where the taurine content was evaluated by standard additions. These results were achieved without prior derivatization of taurine.     

MeV Si ions bombardments effects on thermoelectric properties of SiO2/SiO2+Ge nanolayers

The performance of the thermoelectric materials and devices is shown by a dimensionless figure of merit, ZT=S²σT/K, where S is the Seebeck coefficient, σ is the electrical conductivity, T is the absolute temperature and K is the thermal conductivity. ZT can be increased by increasing S, increasing σ, or decreasing K. We have prepared the thermoelectric generator device of SiO₂/SiO₂+Ge multilayer superlattice films using the ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD). The 5 MeV Si ion bombardments have been performed using the AAMU Pelletron ion beam accelerator at five different fluences to make quantum structures (nanodots and/or nanoclusters) in the multilayer superlattice thin films to decrease the cross plane thermal conductivity, increase the cross plane Seebeck coefficient and cross plane electrical conductivity. To characterize the thermoelectric generator devices before and after MeV Si ions bombardments at the different fluences we have measured the cross-plane Seebeck coefficient, the cross-plane electrical conductivity, and the cross-plane thermal conductivity, Raman spectra to get some information about the sample structure and bond structures among the used elements in the superlattice thin film systems.     

A robust spin-coated optical sensing device for rapid determination of predominant metal ions in wastewater streams

The potential of an optical sensing material for determination of metal ions in wastewater streams is presented. The initial results in the development of a chromo-ionophore-based optical sensor for metal ions are detailed. An azo dye species, 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (BrPADAP), together with an ionophore and plasticiser was immobilised in a film of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). Initial investigations using the dye-impregnated sensing film showed a reproducible and reversible response to Pb(II) ions in aqueous solution. The response of this sensing film to Pb(II) at pH 6 was found to be linear in the 0.1-10 mg/L range, with a %RSD of 1.55%. The film can be regenerated by immersion in a low-pH buffer solution. The authors demonstrate how this method shows potential for analysis using once-off sensing probes. The sensing film response for Pb(II) occurs within 30 s.     

Preparation of safe water–lipid mixed electrolytes for application in ion capacitor

Aqueous electrolytes are safe, economic, and environmentally friendly. However, they have a narrow potential window. On the other hand, organic electrolytes exhibit good thermodynamic stability but are inflammable and moisture sensitive. In this study, we prepared water–PEG–lipid ternary electrolytes(TEs). To combine the advantages of water, polyethylene glycol(PEG) and propylene carbonate(PC). The nonflammable mixed electrolytes exhibited a wide potential window of about 2.8 V due to the beneficial effects of PEG and PC. Using these TEs, a lithium manganate–active carbon ion capacitor could be operated at 2.4 V with an energy density of 32 Wh/kg, based on the total active electrode material(current density of 3.3 m A/cm~2). This value was significantly higher than that achieved using an aqueous electrolyte, thereby rationalizing the higher energy density.     

Determination of weight distribution ratios of Pa(V) and Np(V) with some extraction chromatography resins and the AG1-X8 resin

Literature data on distribution ratios (D_w) of Np(V) and Pa(V) for the AG1-X8 resin are scarce whereas those related on resin capacity factors (k′) values for TEVA, TRU and U/TEVA resins are absent. Therefore, batch extraction experiments for Pa(V) and Np(V) from HCl and HNO₃ media were realized, at tracer scale, with AG1-X8 and EIChroM resins (TEVA, TRU and U/TEVA). Based on the new D_w and k′ values obtained in this study, a new protocol for Pa/Np separation has been developed leading to a better separation factor of 10⁵ and a chemical yield of 97 ± 3% and 99 ± 1% for Pa and Np, respectively. A separation of ²³¹Pa from uranium matrix was successfully tested.     

Highly rectified ion transport through 2D WSe2/MoS2 bi-layered membranes

Through a two-step vacuum-filtration process, WSe₂ and MoS₂ nanosheets were sequentially deposited onto a polymeric nanoporous support, forming WSe₂/MoS₂ bi-layered heterostructure. Highly rectified ion transport phenomenon is observed through the heterogeneous 2D layered membranes.     

Golf ball-assisted electrospray ionization of mass spectrometry for the determination of trace amino acids in complex samples

During the electrospray ionization (ESI) process, ions move through a heated capillary aperture to be detected on arrival at a mass analyzer. However, the ESI process creates an ion plume, which expands into an ion cloud with an area larger than that of the heated capillary aperture, significantly contributing to an ion loss of 50% due to coulombic repulsion. The use of DC and RF fields to focus ions from the ion source into the vacuum chamber has been proposed in the literature, but the improvement of ion transmission efficiency is limited. To improve ion transmission, in this study we propose a novel method using a home-made golf ball positioned between the ion source and the inlet of the mass analyzer to hydrodynamically focus the ions passing through the golf ball. The ion plume produced by the ESI process passes through the golf ball will reduce the size of the ion cloud then be focused and most of them flowed into the mass analyzer. Therefore, the sensitivity will be improved, the aim of this investigation is to study the enhancing of the signal using golf ball-assisted electrospray ionization liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to determine 20 trace amino acids in complex samples, including tea, urine and serum. The results showed that the analytical performance of the determination of the 20 amino acids in tea, urine and serum samples using the home-made golf ball-assisted ESI source is better than that of a commercial ESI source. The signal intensities of the 20 amino acids were enhanced by factors of 2–2700, 11–2525, and 31–342680 in oolong tea, urine and serum analyses, respectively. The precision of the proposed method ranged from 1–9%, 0.4–9% and 0.4–8% at low, medium and high concentration levels of amino acids, respectively. The home-made golf ball-assisted ESI source effectively increased the signal intensity and enhanced the ion transmission efficiency and is also an easy, convenient and economical device. This technique can be applied to the analysis of trace compounds in complex matrices.     

Ion Product of Pure Water Characterized by Physics-Based Water Model

Pure water has been characterized for nearly a century, by its dissociation into hydronium (H₃O)¹⁺ and hydroxide (HO)^1- ions. As a chemical equilibrium reaction, the equilibrium constant, known as the ion product or the product of the equilibrium concentration of the two ion species, has been extensively measured by chemists over the liquid water temper-ature and pressure range. The experimental data have been nonlinear least-squares fitted to chemical thermodynamic-based equilibrium equations, which have been accepted as the industrial standard for 35 years. In this study, a new and statistical-physics-based water ion product equation is presented, in which, the ions are the positively charged protons and the negatively charged proton-holes or prohols. Nonlinear least squares fits of our equation to the experimental data in the 0-100 ℃ pure liquid water range, give a factor of two better precision than the 35-year industrial standard.     

About different types of water in swollen polyelectrolyte multilayers

The review addresses swelling of polyelectrolyte multilayers in water. Different models for the determination of the water content are compared. It is clearly shown that voids under dry conditions present cavities for water which contribute to the water content of the multilayer in the swollen state. This so-called “void water” does not lead to any changes in thickness but in scattering length density during swelling. The “swelling water” leads to both changes in scattering length density and in thickness. Depending on the preparation conditions like the type polymers, polymer charge density, ionic strength and type of salt the ratio of “void water” differs between 1 and 15 vol.% while the amount of “swelling water” is of several ten's of vol.%.