The development of platinum-rhodium alloy coatings on SS304 using a pulse/direct electrodeposition technique and their application to antibacterial activity

The current research focused on the development of Platinum–Rhodium alloy coating (Pt– Rh) on SS304 and its applications in antibacterial studies. Electrodeposition is considered to be one of the most suitable methods because it enhances the therapeutic effects of noble metals (Pt–Rh alloy). The electrodeposited coating is an economical and time-saving alternative to existing coating methods. The newly developed Pt–Rh coating was investigated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an atomic force microscope (AFM). Using the agar Petri plate and broth culture method, the antibacterial effect of the platinum-rhodium alloy was investigated against Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus saprophytes, Bacillus Subtilis, and Enterococcus faecalis. The Pt–Rh alloy coated samples obtained by Direct current (DC) and Pulse coating (PC 50% and PC 75%) were examined for antibacterial study. The PC 75% Pt–Rh alloy coating exhibits significant antibacterial activity, demonstrating a maximum zone of inhibition while leaving the rest of the coated samples by DC and PC 50% duty cycles. The study also found that when the concentration of Pt–Rh solution rises from 5 μL to 15 μL, so does the antibacterial activity. The findings of the study showed that electrodeposited platinum-rhodium alloy metal ions may be handy bacteriostatic in the coming years.     

Polymer Lamellae as Reaction Intermediates in the Formation of Copper Nanospheres as Evidenced by In Situ X‐ray Studies

The classical nucleation theory (CNT) is the most common theoretical framework used to explain particle formation. However, nucleation is a complex process with reaction pathways which are often not covered by the CNT. Herein, we study the formation mechanism of copper nanospheres using in situ X‐ray absorption and scattering measurements. We reveal that their nucleation involves coordination polymer lamellae as pre‐nucleation structures occupying a local minimum in the reaction energy landscape. Having learned this, we achieved a superior monodispersity for Cu nanospheres of different sizes. This report exemplifies the importance of developing a more realistic picture of the mechanism involved in the formation of inorganic nanoparticles to develop a rational approach to their synthesis.     

Ramanujan-Fourier series and the conjecture D of Hardy and Littlewood

We give a heuristic proof of a conjecture of Hardy and Littlewood concerning the density of prime pairs to which twin primes and Sophie Germain primes are special cases. The method uses the Ramanujan-Fourier series for a modified von Mangoldt function and the Wiener-Khintchine theorem for arithmetical functions. The failing of the heuristic proof is due to the lack of justification of interchange of certain limits. Experimental evidence using computer calculations is provided for the plausibility of the result. We have also shown that our argument can be extended to the m-tuple conjecture of Hardy and Littlewood.     

Ramanujan — Fourier series and a theorem of Ingham

Given two arithmetical functions f, g, we derive, under suitable conditions, asymptotic formulas for the convolution sums ∑ _n≤N f (n) _g (n + h) for a fixed number h. To this end, we develop the theory of Ramanujan expansions for arithmetical functions. Our results give new proofs of some old results of Ingham proved by him in 1927 using different techniques.     

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for surface film analysis in corrosion research

Surface films on metals and alloys often protect them from reaction with the environment, and hence a knowledge of their protective properties and composition could be invaluable for predicting their corrosion behaviour. XPS (x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) could provide a quantitative analysis of the chemical composition, the nature of valence states and elemental distribution within the surface films. The present paper reviews the potential of this technique in corrosion studies. A brief review of the work done on the passivation of iron and iron-chromium alloys and on the inhibition studies on copper base alloys has been given. A few examples of investigations carried out at authors’ laboratory are also included. An attempt has been made to establish a correlation between the compositions of the films formed and corrosion behaviour of carbon steel in 10.5 pH lithium hydroxide solution and of Cu-Ni alloys and sacrificial Al-Zn-Sn alloys in synthetic sea-water.     

Method to obtain C-phycocyanin of high purity

A new approach is made for the purification of C-phycocyanin (C-PC), which is simple and more efficient than existing methods. The proposed method involves two steps: aqueous two phase extraction and ion-exchange chromatography. Crude extract of C-phycocyanin, of purity 1.18, obtained from Spirulina platensis is subjected to aqueous two phase extraction. C-phycocyanin obtained from this process showed a purity of 5.22, which is higher than the reported value till date. In order to explore the possibility of further purification, C-phycocyanin is subjected to ion-exchange chromatography and found that the purity increased from 5.22 to 6.69. The fluorescence, intactness of structure and purity of C-phycocyanin are confirmed using spectrofluorometry, circular dichroism spectra and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel, respectively.     

Electrokinetic demixing of aqueous two-phase polymer/salt systems

Electrokinetic demixing of aqueous two-phase polymer/salt systems is demonstrated, resulting in significant enhancement in demixing rates by about 1-4-fold. The effect of field polarity, field strength, volume ratio, and phase composition on phase demixing has been studied. Further the influence of these parameters on phase demixing could be explained based on the hydrodynamic flow-electroosmotic flow (HEF) model.     

Polymer Lamellae as Reaction Intermediates in the Formation of Copper Nanospheres as Evidenced by In Situ X-ray Studies

The classical nucleation theory (CNT) is the most common theoretical framework used to explain particle formation. However, nucleation is a complex process with reaction pathways which are often not covered by the CNT. Herein, we study the formation mechanism of copper nanospheres using in situ X-ray absorption and scattering measurements. We reveal that their nucleation involves coordination polymer lamellae as pre-nucleation structures occupying a local minimum in the reaction energy landscape. Having learned this, we achieved a superior monodispersity for Cu nanospheres of different sizes. This report exemplifies the importance of developing a more realistic picture of the mechanism involved in the formation of inorganic nanoparticles to develop a rational approach to their synthesis.     

Electrochemical studies on lawsone and its determination in henna (Lawsonia inermis) extract using glassy carbon electrode

The electrochemical behaviour of lawsone at glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was investigated by using cyclic and differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetric (DPASV) techniques. Cyclic voltammetry was used to study the influence of pH on the peak current and peak potential. The Mcllavnie’s buffer of pH 3.0 was selected as a suitable analytical medium in which lawsone exhibited sensitive diffusion controlled redox peaks (vs. Ag/AgCl). The peak current varied linearly with lawsone concentration in the range between 0.60 and 1.40 μM with a detection limit of 6 nM. The applicability of the proposed method was illustrated by the determination of lawsone present in real samples. A mean recovery of lawsone in the leaf of Lawsonia inermis was 99.5% with a relative standard deviation of 1.15%.     

The Discrete Logarithm Problem Over Prime Fields: The Safe Prime Case. The Smart Attack,Non-Canonical Lifts and Logarithmic Derivatives

We connect the discrete logarithm problem over prime fields in the safe prime case to the logarithmic derivative.