Erratum to: Determination of metal ion content of beverages and estimation of target hazard quotients: a comparative study

This is a correction to the following paper: Hague T, Petroczi A, Andrews PR, Barker J, Naughton DP: Determination of metal ion content of beverages and estimation of target hazard quotients: a comparative study. Chem Central J 2008, 2:13.     

Electron image series reconstruction of twin interfaces in InP superlattice nanowires

The twin interface structure in twinning superlattice InP nanowires with zincblende structure has been investigated using electron exit wavefunction restoration from focal series images recorded on an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope. By comparing the exit wavefunction phase with simulations from model structures, it was possible to determine the twin structure to be the ortho type with preserved In-P bonding order across the interface. The bending of the thin nanowires away from the intended 110 axis could be estimated locally from the calculated diffraction pattern, and this parameter was successfully taken into account in the simulations.     

Determination of metal ion content of beverages and estimation of target hazard quotients: a comparative study

Background  

Considerable research has been directed towards the roles of metal ions in nutrition with metal ion toxicity attracting particular attention. The aim of this study is to measure the levels of metal ions found in selected beverages (red wine, stout and apple juice) and to determine their potential detrimental effects via calculation of the Target Hazard Quotients (THQ) for 250 mL daily consumption.     

Electron transfer in quantum-dot-sensitized ZnO nanowires: ultrafast time-resolved absorption and terahertz study

Photoinduced electron injection dynamics from CdSe quantum dots to ZnO nanowires is studied by transient absorption and time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy measurements. Ultrafast electron transfer from the CdSe quantum dots to ZnO is proven to be efficient already on a picoseconds time scale (τ = 3-12 ps). The measured kinetics was found to have a two-component character, whose origin is discussed in detail. The obtained results suggest that electrons are injected into ZnO via an intermediate charge transfer state.     

Structure-activity relationship in HC-SCR of NOx by TEM, O2-chemisorption, and EDXS study of Ag/Al2O3

Ag/alumina catalysts with different silver loading (1.28-6 wt %) for lean NO reduction activity were prepared by impregnation and the incipient wetness method. Complementary HRTEM, HAADF, O2-chemisorption, and EDXS studies were applied to investigate the dependence between silver particle size and catalytic activities of the prepared materials. The catalyst with the lowest silver loading (1.28 wt %) was found to be the most active catalyst in terms of reacted NO molecules per mole of silver. On the basis of the HRTEM, HAADF, and O2-chemisorption studies it could be concluded that the mean particle size or particle size distribution of the samples alone could not explain the big difference in the activities. EDXS analyses showed on the other hand that all of the samples were very heterogeneous in terms of particle size distribution, e.g., including both small and very big particles. Furthermore, both metallic silver and mainly hexagonal silver oxide (Ag2O) were found to be present in the samples. Despite the valuable information provided by ex situ characterization of the prepared samples, it needs to be emphasized that establishing a structure-reactivity relationship for this type of catalyst requires in situ characterization.     

Mueller matrix polarimetry for the characterization of complex random medium like biological tissues

The polarization parameters of light scattered from biological tissues contain wealth of morphological and functional information of potential biomedical importance. But, in optically thick turbid media such as tissues, numerous complexities due to multiple scattering and simultaneous occurrences of many polarization events present formidable challenges, in terms of both accurate measurement and unique interpretation of the individual polarimetry characteristics. We have developed and validated an expanded Mueller matrix decomposition approach to overcome this problem. The approach was validated theoretically with a polarization-sensitive Monte Carlo light propagation model and experimentally by recording Mueller matrices from tissue-like complex random medium. In this paper, we discuss our comprehensive turbid polarimetry platform consisting of the experimental polarimetry system, forward Monte Carlo modelling and inverse polar decomposition analysis. Initial biomedical applications of this novel general method for polarimetry analysis in random media are also presented.     

Carbon nitride nanotubulite – densely-packed and well-aligned tubular nanostructures

Tubular carbon nitride (CN_x, x=0.01–0.32) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by d.c. magnetron sputtering. These tubes were grown in a highly packed form perpendicularly on a sodium chloride substrate. Their number density is estimated to be 1×10⁴ per μm² and is constant over macroscopic regions. Sub-nanometer scale chemical mapping shows that the nitrogen to carbon atomic ratio is rather constant across these tubes. This successful synthesis of a nanotubulite – made of a rather compact aggregation of tubular nanoparticles – could facilitate experimental approaches to measure mechanical or electrical transport properties of such nanotubes and to open the way to variable nanotube applications.