Approximation of transient temperatures in complex geometries using fractional derivatives

It is shown that time-dependent temperatures in a transient, conductive system can be approximately modeled by a fractional-order differential equation, the order of which depends on the Biot number. This approximation is particularly suitable for complex shapes for which a first-principles approach is too difficult or computationally time-consuming. Analytical solutions of these equations can be written in terms of the Mittag-Leffler function. The approximation is especially useful if a suitable fractional-order controller is to be designed for the system.     

Acid-base equilibria in organic solvents : Part 2. Cyclic voltammetry in the study of hydrogen-bond formation

The cyclic voltammetric technique is used to study hydrogen-bond formation in some polar organic solvents (S) of electroanalytical interest (1,2-dimethoxy, tetrahydrofuran, dimethylformamide, dimethyl sulphoxide and pyridine). The cathodic shift of the proton reduction caused by stepwise addition of the solvent investigated to a solution of anhydrous perchloric acid in acetonitrile is utilized. The theoretical treatment applied produced evidence that HS⁺ and HS⁺₂ are the only acidic species involved, so that the relevant formation constants can be evaluated. The data obtained mostly compare well with those available in the literature. The features that condition the tendency to hydrogen-bonding and the effect of hydrogen bonding on solvent basicity are discussed.     

Simplex optimization procedure for evaluating equivalence points in sigmoidal and segmented titration curves

The use of the simplex procedure as a non-linear least-squares curve-fitting method is proposed for evaluation of equivalence points in sigmoidal and segmented titration curves. The application of this procedure to theoretical curves affected by different amounts of random noise indicates its effectiveness and accuracy for locating the correct end-point in titrations characterized by very low reaction constants. The relevant results are compared with those obtained by other regression methods as well as by the first-derivative and Gran approaches.     

Peptide backbone folding induced by the C(alpha)-tetrasubstituted cyclic alpha-amino acids 4-amino-1,2-dithiolane-4-carboxylic acid (Adt) and 1-aminocyclopentane-1-carboxylic acid (Ac5c). A joint computational and experimental study

The conformational study of a new group of synthetic peptides containing 4-amino-1,2-dithiolane-4-carboxylic acid (Adt), a cysteine-related achiral residue, has been carried out through a joint application of computational and experimental methodologies. Molecular Dynamics simulations clearly suggest the tendency of this molecule to adopt a gamma-turn conformation in vacuum and help in analyzing the complex and crucial conformational behaviour of the dithiolane ring which appears to preferentially adopt a C(S)-like structure. Electronic structure calculations carried out in solution using the Density Functional Theory also indicate the preservation of the gamma-like folding in apolar solvents and the helix-like one in more polar solvents. A comparison with the achiral 1-aminocycloalkane-1-carboxylic acid (Ac5c) has been carried out using the same computational tools. NMR and IR data on dipeptide derivatives containing the Adt or Ac5c residue show that in chloroform solution all the models prefer a gamma-turn structure, centered at the cyclic residue, stabilized by an intramolecular H-bond, whereas in a more polar solvent, i.e. dimethyl sulfoxide, this folding is not maintained. The experimental conformational studies, extended to N-Boc protected tripeptides, clearly indicate the remarkable tendency of both the five-membered C(alpha)-tetrasubstituted cyclic amino acids Adt and Ac5c to induce the gamma-turn structure also in models able to adopt the beta-bend conformation.     

Wavy graphene sheets from electrochemical sewing of corannulene

The presence of non-hexagonal rings in the honeycomb carbon arrangement of graphene produces rippled graphene layers with valuable chemical and physical properties. In principle, a bottom-up approach to introducing distortion from planarity of a graphene sheet can be achieved by careful insertion of curved polyaromatic hydrocarbons during the growth of the lattice. Corannulene, the archetype of such non-planar polyaromatic hydrocarbons, can act as an ideal wrinkling motif in 2D carbon nanostructures. Herein we report an electrochemical bottom-up method to obtain egg-box shaped nanographene structures through a polycondensation of corannulene that produces a new conducting layered material. Characterization of this new polymeric material by electrochemistry, spectroscopy, electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), scanning probe microscopy, and laser desorption-ionization time of flight mass spectrometry provides strong evidence that the anodic polymerization of corannulene, combined with electrochemically induced oxidative cyclodehydrogenations (Scholl reactions), leads to polycorannulene with a wavy graphene-like structure.

A bottom-up synthesis of wavy graphene structures obtained through an anodic polymerization process, combined with an electrochemically triggered oxidative cyclodehydrogenation, of the bowl-shaped polyaromatic hydrocarbon corannulene.     

An electroactive nickel containing polymeric film obtained by electrochemical reduction of an aryl-nickel derivative

The electrochemical reduction of [Ni(PPh₃)₂(p-C₆H₄Br)Br] in acetonitrile results in a polymeric coating of a nickel-containing poly-p-phenylene, formulated as [-Ni(p-C₆H₄)_n-] (n=6?7) on the basis of elemental analysis, IR, UV, MS and ESCA measurements. This coating is found to undergo a two-electron reversible reduction and a one-electron reversible oxidation with a large potential window (3.6 V), without the polymeric film being destroyed. Moreover, the polymer obtained is shown to be electroactive towards dissolved reactants via permeation or mediated electron transfer, depending on the molecular size of the electroactive species employed.