Atmospheric pressure plasma treatment on graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition

We demonstrate the surface treatment of graphene using an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) system. The graphene was synthesized by a thermal chemical vapor deposition with methane gas. A Mo foil and a SiO₂ wafer covered by Ni films were employed to synthesize monolayer and mixed-layered graphene, respectively. The home-built APPJ system was ignited using nitrogen gas to functionalize the graphene surface, and we studied the effect of different treatment times and interdistance between the plasma jet and the graphene surface. After the APPJ treatment, the hydrophobic character of graphene surface changed to hydrophilic. We found that the change is due to the formation of functionalities such as hydroxyl and carboxyl groups. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the nitrogen plasma treatment induced charge doping on graphene, and the pyridinic nitrogen component in the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectrum was significantly enhanced. We conclude that the atmospheric pressure plasma treatment enables controlling the graphene properties without introducing surface defects.     

Analysis of aquatic‐phase natural organic matter by optimized LDI‐MS method

The composition and physiochemical properties of aquatic‐phase natural organic matter (NOM) are most important problems for both environmental studies and water industry. Laser desorption/ionization (LDI) mass spectrometry facilitated successful examinations of NOM, as humic and fulvic acids in NOM are readily ionized by the nitrogen laser. In this study, hydrophobic NOMs (HPO NOMs) from river, reservoir and waste water were characterized by this technique. The effect of analytical variables like concentration, solvent composition and laser energy was investigated. The exact masses of small molecular NOM moieties in the range of 200–1200 m/z were determined in reflectron mode. In addition, spectra of post‐source‐decay experiments in this range showed that some compounds from different natural NOMs had the same fragmental ions. In the large mass range of 1200–15 000 Da, macromolecules and their aggregates were found in HPO NOMs from natural waters. Highly humic HPO exhibited mass peaks larger than 8000 Da. On the other hand, the waste water and reservoir water mainly had relatively smaller molecules of about 2000 Da. The LDI‐MS measurements indicated that highly humic river waters were able to form large aggregates and membrane foulants, while the HPO NOMs from waste water and reservoir water were unlikely to form large aggregates. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The development and assessment of high‐throughput mass spectrometry‐based methods for the quantification of a nanoparticle drug delivery agent in cellular lysate

The safe use of lipid‐based drug delivery agents requires fast and sensitive qualitative and quantitative assessment of their cellular interactions. Many mass spectrometry (MS) based analytical platforms can achieve such task with varying capabilities. Therefore, four novel high‐throughput MS‐based quantitative methods were evaluated for the analysis of a small organic gene delivery agent: N,N‐bis(dimethylhexadecyl)‐1,3‐propane‐diammonium dibromide (G16‐3). Analysis utilized MS instruments that detect analytes using low‐resolution tandem MS (MS/MS) analysis (i.e. QTRAP or linear ion trap in this work) or high‐resolution MS analysis (i.e. time of flight (ToF) or Orbitrap). Our results indicate that the validated fast chromatography (FC)‐QTRAP‐MS/MS, FC‐ LTQ‐Orbitrap‐MS, desorption electrospray ionization‐collision‐induced dissociation (CID)‐MS/MS and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization‐ToF/ToF‐MS MS methods were superior in the area of method development and sample analysis time to a previously developed liquid chromatography (LC)‐CID‐MS/MS. To our knowledge, this is the first evaluation of the abilities of five MS‐based quantitative methods that target a single pharmaceutical analyte. Our findings indicate that, in comparison to conventional LC‐CID‐MS/MS, the new MS‐based methods resulted in a (1) substantial reduction in the analysis time, (2) reduction in the time required for method development and (3) production of either superior or comparable quantitative data. The four new high‐throughput MS methods, therefore, were faster, more efficient and less expensive than a conventional LC‐CID‐MS/MS for the quantification of the G16‐3 analyte within tissue culture. When applied to cellular lysate, no significant change in the concentration of G16‐3 gemini surfactant within PAM212 cells was observed between 5 and 53 h, suggesting the absence of any metabolism/excretion from PAM212 cells. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evolution of Actinyl Peroxide Clusters U28 in Dilute Electrolyte Solution: Exploring the Transition from Simple Ions to Macroionic Assemblies

Actinyl peroxide clusters, a unique class of uranyl‐containing nanoclusters discovered in recent years, are crucial intermediates between the (UO₂)²⁺ aqua‐ion monomer and bulk uranyl minerals. Herein, two actinyl polyoxometalate nanoclusters of Cs₁₅[(Ta(O₂)₄)Cs₄K₁₂(UO₂(O₂)_1.5)₂₈] ? 20 H₂O (CsK U₂₈ ) and Na₆K₉[(Ta(O₂)₄)Rb₄Na₁₂(UO₂(O₂)_1.5)₂₈] ? 20 H₂O (RbNa U₂₈ ) were synthesized by incorporating a central Ta(O₂)₄^3? anion that templates a hollow shell of 28 uranyl peroxide polyhedra. When dissolved in aqueous solutions with additional electrolytes, those 1.8 nm‐size macroanions self‐assembled into spherical, hollow, blackberry‐type supramolecular structures, as was characterized by laser‐light scattering (LLS) and TEM techniques. These clusters are the smallest macroions reported to date that form blackberry structures in solution, therefore, can be treated as valuable models for investigating the transition from simple ions to macroions. Kinetic studies showed an unusually long lag phase in the initial self‐assembly process, which is followed by a rapid formation of the blackberry structures in solution. The small cluster size and high surface‐charge density are essential in regulating the supramolecular structure formation, as was shown from the high activation energy barrier of 51.2±2 kJ mol^?1. Different countercations were introduced into the system to investigate the effect of ion binding to the length of the lag phase. The current research provides yet another scale of self‐assembly of uranyl peroxide complexes in aqueous media.     

β-PbO2/TiO2纳米管电极的制备及其电催化降解苯酚

采用阳极氧化法和脉冲电沉积制备出β-PbO2改性TiO2纳米管(β-PbO2/TiO2-NTs)电极,通过扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)和X射线光电子能谱(XPS)等技术手段对制备的β-PbO2/TiO2-NTs电极的表面形貌和结构进行了表征。结果表明,该方法成功地将β-PbO2纳米颗粒分散在TiO2纳米管中,通过电催化降解苯酚评价了β-PbO2/TiO2-NTs电极的电催化活性,实验结果表明,在TiO2-NTs中电沉积β-PbO2提高了电极的电催化活性,对苯酚的降解达到83%。     

Ag/C包覆对Li[Li0.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13]O2电化学性能的影响

运用共沉淀和元素化学沉积相结合的方法,制备出了具有Ag/C包覆层的层状富锂固溶体材料Li [Li0.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13]O2.通过X射线衍射(XRD)、场发射扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)、恒流充放电、循环伏安(CV),电化学阻抗谱(EIS)和X射线能量散射谱(EDS)方法,研究了Ag/C包覆层对Li[Li0.2Mn0.54Ni03Co013]O2电化学性能的影响.结果表明,Ag/C包覆层的厚度约为25 nm,Ag/C包覆在保持了固溶体材料α-NaFeO2六方层状晶体结构的前提下,显著地改善了Li[Li0.0Mn054Ni0.13Co013]O2的电化学性能.在2.0-4.8 V (vs Li/Li+)的电压范围内,首次放电(0.05C)容量由242.6 mAh·g-1提高到272.4 mAh·g-1,库仑效率由67.6％升高到77.4％;在0.2C倍率下,30次循环后,Ag/C包覆的电极材料容量为222.6 mAh·g-1,比未包覆电极材料的容量高出14.45％;包覆后的电极材料在1C下的容量仍为0.05C下的81.3％.循环伏安及电化学交流阻抗谱研究表明,Ag/C包覆层抑制了材料在充放电过程中氧的损失,有效降低了Li[Li02Mn0.54Ni0.13Co013]O2颗粒的界面膜电阻与电化学反应电阻.     

Conformation‐Specific Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy of Cold,Isolated Chiral Molecules

The CD spectroscopy of a chiral compound in solution yields an average CD value derived from all of the conformations of a chiral molecule. By contrast, CD spectroscopy of cold chiral molecules in the gas phase distinguishes specific conformers of a chiral molecule, but the weak CD effect has limited the practical application of this technique. Reported herein is the first resonant two‐photon ionization CD spectra of ephedrines in a supersonic jet using circularly polarized laser pulses, which were generated by synchronizing the oscillation of the photoelastic modulator with the laser firing. The spectra exhibited well‐resolved CD bands which were specific for the conformations and vibrational modes of each enantiomer. The CD signs and magnitudes of the jet‐cooled chiral molecules were very sensitive to their conformations and thus offered crucial information for determining the three‐dimensional structures of chiral species, as conducted in combination with quantum chemical calculations.     

High‐Quality Three‐Dimensional Nanoporous Graphene

We report three‐dimensional (3D) nanoporous graphene with preserved 2D electronic properties, tunable pore sizes, and high electron mobility for electronic applications. The complex 3D network comprised of interconnected graphene retains a 2D coherent electron system of massless Dirac fermions. The transport properties of the nanoporous graphene show a semiconducting behavior and strong pore‐size dependence, together with unique angular independence. The free‐standing, large‐scale nanoporous graphene with 2D electronic properties and high electron mobility holds great promise for practical applications in 3D electronic devices.