Properties of Interface between Platinum Sponge and Solid Electrolyte Na5TbSi4O12in an Oxygen Atmosphere at Moderate Temperatures: Effect of the Platinum Grain Size

The behavior of electrochemical cells Pt(sponge)/Na₅TbSi₄₁₂/Na_0.65Co₂(cell I) and Pt(sponge)/Na₅TbSi₄₁₂/Pt(sponge) (cell II) is studied by, respectively, potentiometric and impedance methods in oxygen and argon atmospheres at 50–300°C. Dependence of potential of cell I on the oxygen concentration is affected by the grain size of platinum sponge and the temperature. At 50–200°C the coarse-grained platinum electrode in contact with solid electrolyte Na₅TbSi₄₁₂ exhibits an oxygen function characterized by the potential-determining reaction ₂(g) + ₂ + 2 = ^– ₂ + ^–. An impedance method shows the triple-phase boundary ₂, Pt(sponge)/Na₅TbSi₄₁₂ to be reversible with respect to oxygen. The reversibility is realized by minority charge carriers in the solid electrolyte, i.e. by oxygen ions.     

Linked crystallites in the conducting topmost layer of polymer bilayer films controlled by temperature: from micro- to nanocrystallites.

Temperature has great impact on the structure and size of the linked crystallites of the conducting topmost layer formed at the surface of a polycarbonate film via the reaction BEDT-TTF+IBr [BEDT-TTF=bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene]. We show that fine temperature control permits formation of a semiconducting topmost layer of alpha'-(BEDT-TTF)(2)(I(x)Br(1-x))(3) crystallites with either micro- or nanometre size, a result that opens a route to miniaturized conducting plastic materials.     

Determining the Mechanism of Formaldehyde Adsorption from an Aqueous Medium on the Basis of the Diffusion Criterion

Adsorption of formaldehyde from an aqueous medium on acid-treated clayey minerals was studied under conditions of natural convection and under stirring of the solution.     

Bifunctional activation of amine-boranes by the W/Pd bimetallic analogs of “frustrated Lewis pairs”

The reaction between basic [(PCP)Pd(H)] (PCP = 2,6-(CH₂P(t-C₄H₉)₂)₂C₆H₄) and acidic [LWH(CO)₃] (L = Cp (1a), Tp (1b); Cp = η⁵-cyclopentadienyl, Tp = κ³-hydridotris(pyrazolyl)borate) leads to the formation of bimolecular complexes [LW(CO)₂(μ-CO)⋯Pd(PCP)] (4a, 4b), which catalyze amine-borane (Me₂NHBH₃, ^tBuNH₂BH₃) dehydrogenation. The combination of variable-temperature (¹H, ³¹P{¹H}, ¹¹B NMR and IR) spectroscopies and computational (ωB97XD/def2-TZVP) studies reveal the formation of an η¹-borane complex [(PCP)Pd(Me₂NHBH₃)]⁺[LW(CO₃)]⁻ (5) in the first step, where a BH bond strongly binds palladium and an amine group is hydrogen-bonded to tungsten. The subsequent intracomplex proton transfer is the rate-determining step, followed by an almost barrierless hydride transfer. Bimetallic species 4 are easily regenerated through hydrogen evolution in the reaction between two hydrides.

Bimetallic complexes [LW(CO)₂(μ-CO)⋯Pd(PCP)] cooperatively activate amine-boranes for their dehydrogenation via N–H proton tunneling at RDS and H₂ evolution from two neutral hydrides.     

Synthesis and properties of new biotin compounds containing hexyltriethylene glycol chain

The synthesis of a new halogenide containing hexyltriethylene glycol chain functionalized with biotin is reported. The general possibility of this linker to use as the building block for biotinylated compounds syntheses is demonstrated. Two biotinylated esters with different properties for useful surface modification and as fluorescence probes for proteins marking were synthesized. The properties of mentioned compounds were investigated by using surface plazmon resonance ellypsometry and fluorescence spectroscopy.     

Sampling and digestion of waste mobile phones printed circuit boards for Cu,Pb, Ni,and Zn determination

Sampling is the most important procedure in arriving at the value of an electronic scrap. Inappropriate sampling makes other procedures, including assaying, valueless, as the sample must really represent the electronic scrap from which it was taken. The aim of this study was to develop the procedure to investigate the composition of heterogeneous printed circuit boards (PCBs) material and to show its applicability as well as its related limitations. The contents of Cu, Pb, Ni, and Zn in PCBs from wasted mobile phones were determined. Mixtures of aqua regia, hydrogen peroxide and hydrofluoric acid were applied to sample digestion. Open and closed vessel wet digestion with or without heating and microwave-assisted one was realized. For these purposes different sample amounts (0.2, 0.4, and 0.5 g) were applied and on the basis of calculated relative standard deviation values (RSD), the precision of repeated the most effective digestion was evaluated. The microwave-assisted wet digestion and mixture of aqua regia and hydrogen peroxide was found as the most effective one of the compared mixtures and applied conditions. A sample amount of 0.5 g was found as the most suitable. RSD values confirm the importance of electronic waste material sample preparation.     

Electrochemical Oxidation of Donepezil and Its Voltammetric Determination at Gold Electrode

The oxidative ability of donepezil, a frequently prescribed drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease is reported for the first time at a gold electrode. It was oxidized by cyclic voltammetry and determined by square wave voltammetry in phosphate buffer electrolyte. Electrochemical degradation of donepezil was carried out by long term potential cycling. The identification and characterization of the major product, isolated by preparative high performance liquid chromatography, was performed by high resolution mass spectrometry and 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Donepezil hydroxy derivative was identified as the major electrochemical oxidation product from donepezil.     

Impact of a box with an elastic bottom on a thin liquid layer

The problem of the impact of a box with an elastic bottom on a thin liquid layer is solved in a planar formulation in the shallow water approximation. Using the method of normal modes, the problem is reduced to a non-linear system of ordinary differential equations, which is solved by the Runge–Kutta method. It is shown that the elasticity of the bottom not only affects all the characteristics quantitatively but also qualitatively.     

Vibrations of a Floating Elastic Plate Due to Periodic Displacements of a Bottom Segment

The problem of the behavior of a floating elastic thin plate under periodic vibrations of a bottom segment is solved using a numerical procedure based on the Wiener-Hopf technique. The effects of the vibration frequency, the position of the vibrating bottom segment, and the fluid depth on the vibration frequencies of the fluid and plate are studied numerically.__________Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 46, No. 5, pp. 166–179, September–October, 2005.