Preparation of hydrophobic and conductive cotton fabrics using multi-wall carbon nanotubes by the sol–gel method

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology - In this paper, a simple method is presented for making a conductive and hydrophobic cotton fabric using a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT). The...     

Periodicity and convergence for xn+1=|xn−xn−1|

Each solution {x_n} of the equation in the title is either eventually periodic with period 3 or else, it converges to zero—which case occurs depends on whether the ratio of the initial values of {x_n} is rational or irrational. Further, the sequence of ratios {x_n/x_n−1} satisfies a first-order difference equation that has periodic orbits of all integer periods except 3. p-cycles for each p≠3 are explicitly determined in terms of the Fibonacci numbers. In spite of the non-existence of period 3, the unique positive fixed point of the first-order equation is shown to be a snap-back repeller so the irrational ratios behave chaotically.     

Coated wire silver-ion selective electrode based on a N,N'-bis(2-thienylmethylene)-1,2-diaminobenzene.

A novel membrane coated platinum-wire electrode (MCPWE) based on N,N'-bis(2-thienylmethylene)-1,2-diaminobenzene (BTMD) for highly selective determination of Ag+ ion has been developed. The influences of membrane composition and pH on the potentiometric responses of electrode were investigated. The potentiometric responses are independent of the pH of the test solution in the range of 5.0 - 9.0. The electrode shows a linear response for Ag+ ion over the concentration range of 1.0 x 10(-60 to 1.0 x 10(-1) M with a lower detection limit of 6.0 x 10(-7) M. The electrode possesses a Nernstian slope of 59.7 mV decade(-1) and a fast response time of < or = 17 s and can be used for at least 2 months without any observable deviation. The proposed electrode displayed very good selectivity for Ag+ ion with respect to NH4+ and alkali, alkaline earth and some common transition metal ions. The practical utility of the electrode has been demonstrated by its use as the indicator electrode in the potentiometric titration of an AgNO3 solution with a NaI solution and in determination of the silver content of a developed radiological film.     

Applications of surfactant-modified clays to synthetic organic chemistry

Two triphase catalysts (SLL) have been developed for organic phase-aqueous phase reactions catalyzed by suitable modified clay (solid phase). These triphase catalysts have been applied to nucleophilic displacement on activated (benzylic) as well as unactivated organic halides and provide a convenient and effective method of preparation of the corresponding products. Other useful transformations to, which these triphase catalysts have been successfully applied are the synthesis of 9,9-dichloro bicyclo[6.1.0]nonane, O-alkylation and C-alkylation of β-naphthol.     

Oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by highly charged polyelectrolyte-grafted silica nanoparticles

Fully sulfonated poly(styrenesulfonate) brushes were grown from the surface of colloidal silica particles and used to prepare stable trichloroethylene-in-water and heptane-in-water Pickering emulsions. These particles were highly charged and colloidally stable in water but could not be dispersed in trichloroethylene or heptane. Both two-phase (emulsion plus neat water) and three-phase (emulsion separating neat oil and water phases) systems were observed, with water-continuous emulsion phases in all cases. Emulsion phases containing as much as 83% (v/v) oil were stable for over six months. Poly(styrenesulfonate)-grafted particles were very efficient emulsifiers; stable emulsion phases were prepared when using as little as 0.04 wt% particles. The emulsifying effectiveness of the poly(styrenesulfonate)-grafted silica particles can be attributed to the hydrophobicity of the vinylic polymer backbone that makes this highly charged polyelectrolyte unusually surface active at the oil/water interface.     

Synthesis, Characterization, Spectroscopy and Study of Antimicrobial Properties of Two New Substituted Trichloroaluminate（Ⅲ） Complexes [AlCl3X]- （X = SCN-, CN-）

The synthesis and characterization of two new aluminate(Ⅲ) complexes with general formula K[AlCl3X] are reported. These compounds derived from aluminate trichloride and related salts. Potassium trichlorothiocyanoaluminate, PCTA, and potassium trichlorocyanatoalu-minate, PCCA, are two new ionic aluminate complexes. They can be easily synthesized in a nearly quantitative yield by using the direct reaction of AlCl3 and KX. The complexes were characterized by physico-chemical and spectroscopic methods. Theoretical calculations have been used for the extraction of structural and spectroscopic data of these new synthesized complexes. The antibacterial activities of such compounds were studied against the Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus Epidermidis, Estreptococo B and Shigella.     

A simple one-pot procedure for the direct conversion of alcohols into azides using TsIm

A facile and efficient method for one-pot conversion of alcohols into azides using N-(p-toluenesulfonyl)imidazole (TsIm) is described. In this method, alcohols are refluxed with a mixture of NaN₃, TsIm and triethylamine in the presence of catalytic amounts of tetra-n-butylammonium iodide (TBAI) in DMF affording the corresponding alkyl azides in good yields. This methodology is highly efficient for various structurally diverse alcohols with selectivity for ROH: 1° > 2° > 3°.     

Macrocyclic host cyclophosphazenes from aminolysis of N3P3CI6 by bis-(2-ortho-aminophenoxyethyl)ether

Aminolysis of N₃P₃CI₆ by an oxodiamine, bis-(2-ortho-aminophenoxyethyl) ether, has been carried out under various experimental conditions and new products with different architectures have been obtained. The reaction in diethyl ether when using a Na₂CO₃-water interface process gives the mono-BINO as major product. Reaction on Al₂O₃/KOH leads to the spirocyclic compound, while, when the reaction is carried out in toluene in the presence of NEt₃, a mixture of mono- and di-BINO products are obtained. These new products have been characterized by IR, ¹H and ³¹P NMR spectroscopy.      

Copper/Graphene/Clay Nanohybrid: A Highly Efficient Heterogeneous Nanocatalyst for the Synthesis of Novel 1,2,3‐Triazolyl Carboacyclic Nucleosides via ‘Click’ Huisgen 1,3‐Dipolar Cycloaddition

A very mild and highly efficient synthesis of some novel 1H‐1,2,3‐triazolyl carboacyclic nucleosides via a ‘Click’ Huisgen cycloaddition of N‐propargyl nucleobases and azido alcohols using Cu/aminoclay/reduced graphene oxide nanohybrid (Cu/AC/r‐GO nanohybrid) as nanocatalyst is described. The preparation and characterization of Cu/AC/r‐GO nanohybrid are discussed. This catalyst was characterized by X‐ray diffraction, FT‐IR, TEM, and energy‐dispersive analysis of X‐ray techniques. Cu/AC/r‐GO nanohybrid is a stable and highly efficient heterogeneous nanocatalyst that can be easily prepared, used, and restored from the reaction mixture by simple filtration, and reused for many consecutive trials without significant decrease in activity.     

Investigation of viscoelastic focusing of particles and cells in a zigzag microchannel

Microfluidic particle focusing has been a vital prerequisite step in sample preparation for downstream particle separation, counting, detection, or analysis, and has attracted broad applications in biomedical and chemical areas. Besides all the active and passive focusing methods in Newtonian fluids, particle focusing in viscoelastic fluids has been attracting increasing interest because of its advantages induced by intrinsic fluid property. However, to achieve a well-defined focusing position, there is a need to extend channel lengths when focusing micrometer-sized or sub-microsized particles, which would result in the size increase of the microfluidic devices. This work investigated the sheathless viscoelastic focusing of particles and cells in a zigzag microfluidic channel. Benefit from the zigzag structure of the channel, the channel length and the footprint of the device can be reduced without sacrificing the focusing performance. In this work, the viscoelastic focusing, including the focusing of 10 μm polystyrene particles, 5 μm polystyrene particles, 5 μm magnetic particles, white blood cells (WBCs), red blood cells (RBCs), and cancer cells, were all demonstrated. Moreover, magnetophoretic separation of magnetic and nonmagnetic particles after viscoelastic pre-focusing was shown. This focusing technique has the potential to be used in a range of biomedical applications.