Application of time-resolved in-situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy in solid-state chemistry

Time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy (TR-XAS) possesses excellent capabilities to reveal quantitative phase composition and average valence together with the evolution of the local structure of a system under dynamic reaction conditions. The work discussed here focused on time-resolved in-situ XAS investigations aiming, first, at understanding structural evolution under dynamic conditions and, second, at revealing properties of the system studied not available from investigations under stationary conditions. Hence, not only was the local structure of a material studied under reaction conditions, but characteristic properties of the reaction, such as reaction intermediates or the kinetics of the reaction, were also elucidated. The solid–gas reactions presented here clearly demonstrate the potential of TR-XAS investigations to extend the suitability of XAS for in-situ studies in solid-state chemistry to investigations under dynamic conditions.     

Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of the Essential Oil of Origanum × dolichosiphon P. H. Davis

The essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation from aerial parts ofOriganum × dolichosiphonP. H. Davis (Lamiaceae), a hybrid ofO. AmanumPost ×O. LaevigatumBoiss., was analyzed by GC/MS. Ninety-five compounds were characterized representing 92% of the oil. The major compounds were bicyclogermacrene (19.9%),-caryophyllene (13.0%), and germacrene D (10.8%). The antimicrobial activity of the oil was also determined     

Relationship between the hydration degree of poly-N-isopropylacrylamide gel and activity of immobilized α-chymotrypsin

The influence of the pH, temperature, and dimethyl sulfoxide concentration on the hydration degree of the poly-N-isopropylacrylamide gel and the activity of -chymotrypsin immobilized into the polymer was studied. The behavior of more hydrophilic preparations based on polyacrylamide and copolymer of acrylamide and acrylic acid was studied for comparison. An increase in both the temperature and dimethyl sulfoxide content decreases the hydration of the poly-N-isopropylacrylamide, which correlates with a decrease in the activity of the immobilized enzyme. The use of substrates with different structures and an irreversible inhibitor proves that the change in the properties of -chymotrypsin immobilized into the poly-N-isopropylacrylamide gel is related to the change in the rate constants of enzymatic reactions. Comparison of all experimental data obtained suggested an opportunity of local interactions between the protein globule and polymeric chains with a change in the hydration degree of poly-N-isopropylacrylamide during its phase transition.     

Individual Cerebral Hemodynamic Response to Caffeine Was Related to Performance on a Newly Developed Stroop Color-Word Task

A modified Stroop color-word task has been developed to activate the prefrontal cortex as a cognitive task and it has been tried to clarify whether change in the cerebral hemodynamics after ingesting caffeine is associated with change in performance on the modified Stroop task in young male subjects. In this modified task, subjects were instructed to quickly select a colored disk on a computer screen in response to an instruction, i.e. “color” or “meaning”, presented simultaneously with one color word at each trial. The color of the presented color word was discordant with the meaning of the word. Relative changes in blood volume and oxygenation in the prefrontal association cortex were measured noninvasively using continuous-wave near-infrared spectroscopy. The results showed that caffeine ingestion decreased blood volume and oxygenated hemoglobin concentration in the brain during the modified Stroop task, and that the individual change in the latter was related to change in performance on the task following caffeine ingestion.     

Optical activity of microemulsion induced by electric field and its tunable behaviors

It has been shown that optical activity can occur in microemulsion under external electric field and rotation angle can also be tuned by the electric field. A set of microemulsions (water/Span80/transformer oil) with different water concentration were prepared and their optical activity was measured with the changes of applied electric field and θ, the angle between the electric vector of the incident linearly polarized light and the external electric field, using an automatic polarimeter. The experiments indicate that when none of the external electric field, water concentration and θ are zero, there is optical activity in microemulsions. For a given concentration, rotation angle ψ increases with electric field, and it firstly increases, passes through a maximum at C = C0,then monotonically decreases as C increases when electric field keeps constant. The relationship between the rotation angle and θ is also obtained. It is thought that the electric field-induced destroy of spatial symmetry of microemulsion is responsible for the optical activity of microemulsion.     

Self-assembly of rutile (α-TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>) nanoclusters into nanorods in microemulsions at low temperature and their photocatalytic performance

A novel method – inverse microemulsion has been developed not only for synthesizing low cost TiO₂ nanocrystals but also for the first time making these nanocrystals self-assemble into various nanoparticles at 85°C. By variation of the volume ratios of oil to water in reverse microemulsions, the morphologies of obtained samples turned from nanoclusters to nanospherules, then grew into nanodumbbells, and became nanorods at last. It could be observed by transmission electron microscope (TEM) directly. The resulting materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM). The photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ was tested with photodegradation of Methyl Orange (MO) in water. The catalyst consisting of nanorods showed the highest photocatalytic activity, which is due to its large surface area. Furthermore, the mechanism of self-assembly of TiO₂ nanocrystals was discussed in detail.     

On the relationship between mergers and economic activity: Evidence from an optimised hybrid method

A new approach is developed to examine potential causality between merger activity and industrial production. The proposed method combines an information criterion-based approach to lag optimisation with joint maximum likelihood estimation of an autoregressive distributed lag model and GARCH(1,1) specification. Application to UK data provides significant evidence in support of causality between merger activity and industrial production, a result which has been predicted theoretically in the literature but has not received empirical support in earlier research.     

CdS/TiO2/漂珠复合光催化剂制备及其降解高效氯氰菊酯研究

采用溶胶-凝胶-浸渍法制备了Cds/TiO2/漂珠复合光催化剂,通过SEM,XRD对其结构进行了表征.以高效氯氰菊酯(BEC)杀虫剂的光催化降解为模型反应,研究了CdS/TiO2/漂珠的光催化性能,探讨了影响催化剂活性的因素及采用太阳光作光源处理BEC的可行性.结果表明,CdS/TiO2/漂珠投加量为3 000mg·L-1,初始浓度为45 mg·L-1、初始pH为6.5,通气量为200 mL·min-1时间为60 min,BEC降解率分别为92.1%(125W高压汞灯)和79.3%(5 W紫外灯),采用太阳光照射300 min,BEC降解率可达93.4%.BEC的降解反应遵从L-H动力学模型,测得反应速率常数9.80 mg·(L·min)-1,吸附常数4.36×10-3 L·mg-1.     

Investigation of metal nanoparticles produced by laser ablation and their catalytic activity

Polydiphenylsilylenemethylene (PDPhSM) thin films, which are difficult to fabricate by conventional methods because of their insolubility and high melting point, have been synthesized by using laser-ablated metal nanoparticles for the thermal ring-opening polymerization of 1,1,3,3-tetraphenyl-1,3-disilacyclobutane (TPDC) in this paper. TPDC was first evaporated on silicon substrates and then exposed to metal (Pt, Cu and Ag) nanoparticles deposition by laser ablation prior to heat treatment. The catalytic activity of Pt, Cu and Ag nanoparticles has been studied. The results showed that the mean diameter of Pt nanoparticles was the smallest, Cu nanoparticles the moderate and Ag nanoparticles the biggest, while the polymerization efficiency for Pt nanoparticles was the highest, Cu nanoparticles the moderate and Ag nanoparticles the lowest. In addition, the penetration behaviours of Pt, Cu and Ag nanoparticles into the TPDC monomer films during laser ablation were different due to the particle size or the chemical interaction between metal nanoparticles and TPDC molecules.     

新型钒卤代过氧化物酶模型化合物的合成结构及仿生催化活性

模拟卤代过氧化物酶活性中心钒的配位环境设计合成了新的蝎型聚吡唑硼酸盐钒氧化合物VO(HB(3,5-Me<,2> pz)<,3>)(3,5-Me<,2>pz)(HOOCCH<,2>CH<,2>COO)(1)和VO(HB(3,5-Me<,2>pz)<,3>)(3,5-Me<,2> pz)(C<,5>H<,4>NCOO)(2...