Optimisation of accurate rutile TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> (110), (100), (101) and (001) surface models from periodic DFT calculations

In this paper, geometric bulk parameters, bulk moduli, energy gaps and relative stabilities of the TiO₂ anatase and rutile phases were determined from periodic DFT calculations. Then, for the rutile phase, structures, relaxations and surface energies of the (110), (100), (101) and (001) faces were computed. The calculated surface energies are consistent with the natural rutile powder composition, even if a dependence on the number of layers of the slab used to model the surface was identified. Internal constraints, consisting in freezing some internal layers of the slab to atomic bulk positions, were thus added to mimic the bulk hardness in order to stabilise the computed surface energies for thinner systems. In parallel, the influence of pseudopotentials was studied and it appears that four valence electrons for titanium atoms are sufficient. The aim of this study was to optimise accurate rutile TiO₂ surface models that will be used in further calculations to investigate water and uranyl ion sorption mechanisms.     

Analysis of NAD(P) and NAD(P)H cofactors by means of imprinted polymers associated with Au surfaces:: A surface plasmon resonance study

Crosslinked films consisting of the acrylamide-acrylamidophenylboronic acid copolymer that are imprinted with recognition sites for β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺), β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate NADP⁺, and their reduced forms (NAD(P)H), are assembled on Au-coated glass supports. The binding of the oxidized cofactors NAD⁺ or NADP⁺ or the reduced cofactors NADH or NADPH to the respective imprinted sites results in the swelling of the polymer films through the uptake of water. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy is employed to follow the binding of the different cofactors to the respective imprinted sites. The imprinted recognition sites reveal selectivity towards the association of the imprinted cofactors. The method enables the analysis of the NAD(P)⁺ and NAD(P)H cofactors in the concentration range of 1×10⁻⁶ to 1×10⁻³ M. The cofactor-imprinted films associated with the Au-coated glass supports act as active interfaces for the characterization of biocatalyzed transformations that involve the cofactor-dependent enzymes. This is exemplified with the characterization of the biocatalyzed oxidation of lactate to pyruvate in the presence of NAD⁺ and lactate dehydrogenase using the NADH-imprinted polymer film.     

Studies on the properties of ionic liquid EMIInCl4

This paper reports that an ionic liquid (IL) has been prepared by directly mixing InCl₃ and 1-methyl-3-ethylimidazolium chloride (EMIC) with molar ratio 1/1 under dry argon atmosphere. The densities, and surface tension of the pure IL were determined at temperature range of 293.15 to 343.15 ± 0.1 K. The volumetric properties and the properties of surface for ionic liquid based on group III were discussed by Glasser's theory and Yang's interstice model.     

Magnetic field effects on the crystal orientation and surface morphology of electrodeposited iron films

The effects of a magnetic field (5 T) on crystal orientation and surface morphology were investigated for iron films electrodeposited in ferrous aqueous solution. XRD measurements for the iron films showed that the preferred orientation parallel to the substrate was determined by the current density and not influenced by the magnetic field. By X-ray pole figure measurements, however, the crystal texture of the iron films electrodeposited at 10 mA cm^–2 and 30 mA cm^–2 was found to be controlled by the magnetic field. That is, the (110) planes were orientated in same direction of the magnetic field vector at angles of 30° and 35° to the direction normal to the substrate plane at 10 mA cm^–2 and 30 mA cm^–2, respectively. When the morphology was observed by SEM, iron grains at 30 mA cm^–2 changed from a triangular pyramid shape at 0 T to a complex star-like shape at 5 T.Presented at the 3rd International Symposium on Electrochemical Processing of Tailored Materials held at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry, 15–20 September 2002, Düsseldorf, Germany     

On the surface modification of microchannels for microcapillary electrophoresis chips

This paper presents systematic investigation of the microchannel surface properties in microCE chips. Three popular materials for microCE chips, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), quartz, and glass, are used. The zeta potentials of these microchannels are calculated by measuring the EOF velocity to evaluate the surface properties after surface modification. The hydrophobic PDMS is usually plasma-treated for microCE applications. In this study, a new method using a high-throughput atmospheric plasma generator is adopted to treat the PDMS surface under atmospheric conditions. In this approach, the cost and time for surface treatment can be significantly reduced compared with the conventional vacuum plasma generator method. Experimental results indicate that new functional groups could be formed on the PDMS surface after treatment, resulting in a change in the surface property. The time-dependent surface property of the plasma-treated PDMS is then measured in terms of the zeta potential. Results show that the surface property will reach a stable condition after 1 h of plasma treatment. For glass CE chips, two new methods for changing the microchannel surface properties are developed. Instead of using complicated and time-consuming chemical silanization procedures for CE channel surface modification, two simple and reliable methods utilizing organic-based spin-on-glass and water-soluble acrylic resin are reported. The proposed method provides a fast batch process for controlling the surface properties of glass-based CE channels. The proposed methods are evaluated using PhiX-174 DNA maker separation. The experimental data show that the surface property is modified and separation efficiency greatly improved. In addition, the long-term stability of both coatings is verified in this study. The methods proposed in this study show potential as an excellent solution for glass-based microCE chip surface modification.     

Surface tension and viscosity measurements of liquids with the survismeter: a single instrumental unit

Surface tension (γ) and viscosity (η) data of aqueous solutions of the deoxyadenosine (DOA) and the deoxyribose (DOR) sugars have been measured with the survismeter, a new instrument, along with tetrahydrofuran (THF), dimethylformamide (DMF), acetonitrile and dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO) solvents. The same properties have also been measured with a stalagmometer and a viscosimeter, respectively, which afford the same information, albeit at the expense of a larger amount of chemicals and solvents. We obtain comparatively better accuracy in both kinds of measurements than with conventional methods. Therefore, the survismeter lends itself as a simple and reliable instrument.     

Transformation of macromonomers into ring‐opening polymerization macroinitiators: A detailed initiation efficiency study

In the present study, n‐butyl acrylate macromonomer (BAMM) (M_n = 1900 g mol^?1; PDI = 1.96) has been synthesized via a high‐temperature polymerization process. Subsequently, the olefinic termini of the BAMM have been transformed into a diol via a dihydroxylation process using KMnO₄ as an oxidizing agent. The OH‐terminated macroinitiator pBA(OH)₂ has subsequently been employed for the ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of ε‐caprolactone via various catalytic systems, that is, organo‐(1,5,7‐triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec‐5‐ene), metal (tin(II) 2‐ethylhexanoate), and enzymatic catalysis (Novozym® 435). The obtained pBA‐b‐pCL block copolymers and the initiation efficiency of the BAMM macroinitiator have been investigated via size exclusion chromatography (SEC), electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS) hyphenated with SEC and liquid chromatography at the critical conditions of both poly(ε‐caprolactone) (pCL) and pBA. The in vitro enzyme catalysis (eROP) approach proved to be the most efficient catalysis system due to minor transesterification side reactions during the polymerization process. However, side reactions such as transesterifications occur in each catalytic system and—while they cannot be suppressed—they can be minimized. The species generated during the eROP process include the desired block copolymer pBA‐b‐pCL as main species as well as pCL homopolymer and residual macroinitiator pBA(OH)₂. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Alpha particle and deuteron impactL-shell ionization of Ar,Cu, Ge,Br, Zr and Ag

Alpha particle and deuteron impactL-subshell ionization cross-sections of Ar, Cu, Ge, Br, Zr and Ag have been computed using Vriens’ expressions for ionization cross-section of atoms due to impact of heavy charged particles. The effects of Coulomb deflection of the projectile and increase in binding of the target electron in the presence of projectile have been incorporated. Hartree-Fock velocity distributions for the target electrons have been used in the present calculations. The simple binary encounter approximation model is found to give results which are in satisfactory agreement with those obtained from experiments and from other theories.     

银胶体系中吖啶橙、吡啶共吸附竞争的研究

本文利用光学多道分析仪,着重研究了吖啶橙—银胶—吡啶体系;观察了吖啶橙荧光的两次瞬间增强的时间效应荧光谱;分析了吖啶橙与吡啶在银表面上共吸附竞争以及氯化钾在这一竞争中所起的作用。对于表面与分子间相互作用的这一规律作了初步探讨。     

固相萃取净化-气相色谱-负化学源质谱法测定近岸海洋环境中的甲氧基多溴联苯醚

甲氧基多溴联苯醚（methoxypolybrominated diphenyl ethers, MeO-PBDEs）广泛存在于生物体和海洋环境。以象山海域的生物体和沉积物为样本,采用固相萃取净化-气相色谱-负化学源质谱法,检测了6种MeO-PBDEs,结果显示,当目标分析物浓度为0.1~20.0 μg?L^-1时,线性关系良好（R²>0.999）,检出限为0.13~0.22 μg?kg^-1,定量限为0.42~0.72 μg?kg^-1,实际样品的平均回收率为71.2%~116.2%。MeO-PBDEs的分布状况调查结果显示,藻类样品中仅检出6-MeO-BDE-47,且浓度较低,其他生物体中检出3种MeO-PBDEs,检出率为31.3%,浓度为0.21~2.72 μg?kg^-1。沉积物中无MeO-PBDEs被检出。