Dual Fluorometric Detection of Fe3+ and Hg2+ Ions in an Aqueous Medium Using Carbon Quantum Dots as a “Turn-off” Fluorescence Sensor

The present study aimed to develop a carbon dots-based fluorescence (FL) sensor that can detect more than one pollutant simultaneously in the same aqueous solution. The carbon dots-based FL sensor has been prepared by employing a facile hydrothermal method using citric acid and ethylenediamine as precursors. The as-synthesized CDs displayed excellent hydrophilicity, good photostability and blue fluorescence under UV light. They have been used as an efficient “turn-off” FL sensor for dual sensing of Fe³⁺ and Hg²⁺ ions in an aqueous medium with high sensitivity and selectivity through a static quenching mechanism. The lowest limit of detection (LOD) for Fe³⁺ and Hg²⁺ ions was found to be 0.406 µM and 0.934 µM, respectively over the concentration range of 0-50 µM. Therefore, the present work provides an effective strategy to monitor the concentration of Fe³⁺ and Hg²⁺ ions simultaneously in an aqueous medium using environment-friendly CDs.

Graphical Abstract

     

Transport of surface-modified iron nanoparticle in porous media and application to arsenic(III) remediation

The surface-modified iron nanoparticles (S-INP) were synthesized, characterized and tested for the remediation of arsenite (As(III)), a well known toxic groundwater contaminant of concern. The S-INP material was fully dispersed in the aqueous phase with a particle size distribution of 2–10 nm estimated from high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that an Fe(III) oxide surface film was present on S-INP in addition to the bulk zero-valent Fe⁰ oxidation state. Transport of S-INP through porous media packed in 10 cm length column showed particle breakthroughs of 22.1, 47.4 and 60 pore volumes in glass beads, unbaked sand, and baked sand, respectively. Un-modified INP was immobile and aggregated on porous media surfaces in the column inlet area. Results using S-INP pretreated 10 cm sand-packed columns containing ∼2 g of S-INP showed that 100 % of As(III) was removed from influent solutions (flow rate 1.8 mL min⁻¹) containing 0.2, 0.5 and 1.0 mg L⁻¹ As(III) for 9, 7 and 4 days providing 23.3, 20.7 and 10.4 L of arsenic free water, respectively. In addition, it was found that 100% of As(III) in 0.5 mg/L solution (flow rate 1.8 mL min⁻¹) was removed by S-INP pretreated 50 cm sand packed column containing 12 g of S-INP for more than 2.5 months providing 194.4 L of arsenic free water. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) showed S-INP had transformed to elongated, rod-like shaped corrosion product particles after reaction with As(III) in the presence of sand. These results suggest that S-INP has great potential to be used as a mobile, injectable reactive material for in-situ sandy groundwater aquifer treatment of As(III).     

Using the diphosphanyl radical as a potential spin label: effect of motion on the EPR spectrum of an R1(R2)P--PR1 radical

The EPR spectrum of the novel radical Mes*(CH3)P--PMes* (Mes*=2,4,6-(tBu)3C6H2) was measured in the temperature range 100-300 K, and was found to be drastically temperature dependent as a result of the large anisotropy of the 31P hyperfine tensors. Below 180 K, a spectrum of the liquid solution is accurately simulated by calculating the spectral modifications due to slow tumbling of the radical. To achieve this simulation, an algorithm was developed by extending the well-known nitroxide slow-motion simulation technique for the coupling of one electron spin to two nuclear spins. An additional dynamic process responsible for the observed line broadening was found to occur between 180 K and room temperature; this broadening is consistent with an exchange between two conformations. The differences between the isotropic 31P couplings associated with the two conformers are shown to be probably due to an internal rotation about the P--P bond.     

4-(Arylaminothiocarbonyl)-1-(1-o-methoxyphenylcarbamido)-ethylpiperazines as anticonvulsants

Several 4-(arylaminothiocarbonyl)-1-(1-o-methoxyphenylcarbamido)-ethylpiperazines were synthesized and evaluated for their anticonvulsant activity against pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures in mice. The ability of substituted piperazines to inhibit in vitro respiratory activity of rat brain homogenates was also determined to study their structure-activity relationship.     

Freezing temperatures of aqueous solutions of methyl formate and ethyl acetate with a variety of nonelectrolytes. Gibbs energy of interaction of the ester group with other functional groups

Freezing temperatures of dilute aqueous solutions of ethyl acetate and mixtures with myo-inositol, D-mannitol, formamide, 1,3,5-trioxane, 1,4-dioxane, acetamide, hexamethylenetetramine, and methyl formate have been measured. In addition, freezing temperatures of dilute aqueous solutions of methyl formate and mixtures with the above solutes have been measured. From these data, the pairwise molecular Gibbs energies of interaction between the molecules were calculated. Using the additivity principle, the pairwise functional group Gibbs energies of interaction were calculated for ester group interactions with a variety of other functional groups.     

Triisopropoxyniobium(V) and tantalum(V)bis-O,O′-dialkyl dithiophosphates

Summary Triisopropoxy bis(O,O-dialkyl dithiophosphates), (i-PrO)₃M[S₂P(OR)₂]₂ (M = Nb^v, Ta^v; R = n-Pr, i-Pr, i-Bu and Ph) have been prepared by reacting the appropriate triisopropoxymetal(V)dichloride, (i-PrO)₃MCl₂ (1 mol) with sodium/ammonium dialkyl dithiophosphates (2 mols)in THF. The monomeric products which are viscous liquids, soluble in common organic solvents and highly susceptible to hydrolysis, were characterized by i.r. and n.m.r. spectra which indicate a bidentate mode of attachment of dithiophosphato groups to the metal.     

An isothermal equation of state for solids

An isothermal equation of state (EOS) for solids, recently suggested by the authors in the realistic form, V/V₀=f(P), with relative volume as the dependent and the pressure as the independent variable, was shown to have an advantage for some close-packed materials in that it allows B′_∞=(∂B_s/∂P)_s(P→∞) to be fitted, and this is where the usual standard equations fail. In the present study, our EOS is applied to a number of inorganic as well as organic solids, including alloys, glasses, rubbers and plastics; varying widely in their bonding and structural characteristics, as well as in their bulk modulus values. A very good agreement is observed between the data and fits. The results obtained are compared with those from two well-known equations, expressible in the realistic form, proposed by Murnaghan and Luban. Further, the results are also compared with those from the widely used two- and three-parameter EOSs, expressible in the unrealistic form only, P=f(V/V₀), proposed by Birch—and also with those from the EOS model of Keane in which B′_∞ is explicitly expressed as an equation of state parameter. The results obtained from our model compare well to these EOSs. Our EOS, in general, yields the smallest mean-squared deviations between data and fits. The values of B′_∞calculated from our EOS are compared with those from Keane's model. Further, we have studied the variation of B′_∞with temperature using the experimental isotherms of Mo and W at 10 different temperatures ranging from 100 to 1000 K, and observed that the values of B′_∞ yielded by our model and that of Keane vary, as expected, within a narrow range. Furthermore, our EOS is applied to study the stability of the fit parameters with variation in the pressure ranges with reference to the isothermal compression data on Mo and W—and also to study the variation of isothermal bulk modulus with pressure, with reference to the ultrasonic data on NaCl and noted a very good agreement with experiment. In addition, our model is applied, with B₀ and B′₀ constrained to the theoretical values, to the five theoretical isotherms of MgO at 300, 500, 1000, 1500 and 2000 K obtained on the basis of a first principles approach—a good agreement is observed with the predictions, and the values of B′_∞ inferred at different temperatures tend to converge to a constant value.     

Synthesis and screening of aromatase inhibitory activity of substituted C19 steroidal 17-oxime analogs

The synthesis and aromatase inhibitory activity of androst-4-en-, androst-5-en-, 1β,2β-epoxy- and/or androsta-4,6-dien-, 4β,5β-epoxyandrostane-, and 4-substituted androst-4-en-17-oxime derivatives are described. Inhibition activity of synthesized compounds was assessed using aromatase enzyme and [1β-3H]androstenedione as substrate. Most of the compounds displayed similar to or more aromatase inhibitory activity than formestane (74.2%). 4-Chloro-3β-hydroxy-4-androsten-17-one oxime (14, 93.8%) showed the highest activity, while 4-azido-3β-hydroxy-4-androsten-17-one oxime (17, 32.8%) showed the lowest inhibitory activity for aromatase.     

Telluro- and seleno-bridged TiIV-MII (M = Ni,Pd, Pt) heterobimetallic complexes

Summary Heterobimetallic complexes of the types [Cp₂Ti(-EAr)₂-M(dppe)] (ClO₄)₂ [(1)–(4); M, E = Ni, Te (1); Ni, Se (2); Pt, Te (3); Pt, Se (4); Ar = Ph (a), C₆H₄-4-Me (b), C₆H₄-4-OMe (c), C₆H₄-4-OEt (d)] and [Cp₂Ti(-TeAr)₂-MCl ₂] [M = Pd (5), Pt (6)] were obtained by the reactions of Cp₂Ti(EAr)₂ with M(dppe)(ClO₄)₂ and M(PhCN)₂Cl₂, respectively. While (1), (5) and (6) are stable in the solid state as well as in solution, (2)–(4) undergo dissociation to M(dppe)(EAr)₂ and Cp₂Ti(ClO₄)₂ in solution, as shown by multinuclear (³¹P{¹H},¹⁹⁵Pt{¹H}, ¹²⁵Te{¹H}) n.m.r. studies. The reaction of Cp₂Ti(SeAr)₂ with M(PhCN)₂Cl₂, however, leads to the formation of Cp₂TiCl₂ and a polymeric material [M(SeAr)₂] _n .     

Electrode Materials for Desalination of Water via Capacitive Deionization

Recent years have seen the emergence of capacitive deionization (CDI) as a promising desalination technique for converting sea and wastewater into potable water, due to its energy efficiency and eco-friendly nature. However, its low salt removal capacity and parasitic reactions have limited its effectiveness. As a result, the development of porous carbon nanomaterials as electrode materials have been explored, while taking into account of material characteristics such as morphology, wettability, high conductivity, chemical robustness, cyclic stability, specific surface area, and ease of production. To tackle the parasitic reaction issue, membrane capacitive deionization (mCDI) was proposed which utilizes ion-exchange membranes coupled to the electrode. Fabrication techniques along with the experimental parameters used to evaluate the desalination performance of different materials are discussed in this review to provide an overview of improvements made for CDI and mCDI desalination purposes