An optical fibre pH sensor based on dye doped mesostructured silica

This paper describes the synthesis and optical pH sensing properties of a pH indicator dye activated mesostructured silica coated optical fibre. The pH-sensitive dye bromothymol blue was incorporated into the mesostructure sol precursor and thin films/coatings were used for pH-sensing applications without prior removal of the surfactant. The pH sensitivity range and operating wavelength were analysed by absorption measurements on layer dip-coated on glass slides. The pH sensing properties of coated optical fibre were tested by evanescent wave method. Experiments were carried out by using a series of solutions of known pH. No leaching was observed (except at very high pH) and an excellent reversibility was obtained between pH=2 and 5.     

Adaptive control and synchronization of a coupled dynamo system with uncertain parameters

This paper treats the adaptive control and synchronization of the coupled dynamo system with unknown parameters. Based on the Lyapunov stability technique, an adaptive control laws are derived such that the coupled dynamo system is asymptotically stable and the two identical dynamo systems are asymptotically synchronized. Also the update rules of the unknown parameters are derived. Finally, numerical simulation of the controlled and synchronized systems are presented.     

Pinacol-Pinacolone Rearrangement of 1, 2-Di-(p-methoxyphenyl)-ethane-1, 2-diol and Bis-(4-methoxyphenyl)-acetaldehyde in Acid Media

1, 2-Di-(p-methoxyphenyl)-ethane-1, 2-diol gave in acid media bis-(4-methoxy-phenyl)-acetaldehyde, 4-4′-dimethoxy-deoxybenzoin, and 1, 2-di-(p-methoxyphenyl)-ethylene oxide; their respective yields being influenced by at least 3 factors: (i) the acid, (ii) its concentration, and (iii) the reaction period. Bis-(4-methoxyphenyl)-acetaldehyde rearranged to the deoxybenzoin in boiling sulfuric (50%) or phosphoric (75%) acids (w/w), and to two isomeric 1, 2-diacetoxy-1, 2-di-(p-methoxyphenyl) ethanes when it was heated with acetic anhydride. The mechanisms of these reactions are discussed.     

Direct and simultaneous voltammetric analysis of heavy metals in tap water samples at Assiut city: an approach to improve the analysis time for nickel and cobalt determination at mercury film electrode

Tap water samples (Assiut city, lie in the middle north of upper Egypt, approx. 370 km from Cairo, January-March, 2002) were taken from the eight sampling sites of different locations at Assiut city. The samples are analyzed to determine the total content of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) while nickel and cobalt are determined by a new simple differential pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetry (DPAdSV), using dimethylglyoxime (DMG) as the complexing agent. This method uses sodium sulfite as the supporting electrolyte, which facilitates the removal of oxygen interference without the traditional necessity of purging with inert gas. The effect of various parameters was studied using DPASV (for Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn) and AdSV (for Ni and Co) methods. Subsequently, under the so found experimental conditions, the stability of calibration curves and the detection limits (μg/l) have been determined. The data achieved (for all metals utility) are comparable to those measured by the graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometric (GF-AAS) method. The effects of the interferences between these metal ions have been investigated. Moreover, the effect of storage was discussed and the obtained results were compared favorably with standard official methods. Statistical analysis of the database exhibits applicability and the accuracy of the techniques. The results obtained from the two techniques (Voltammetry and GF-AAS) are in very good agreements in the most tap water samples.     

UV-vis, IR and 1H NMR spectroscopic studies of some mono- and bis-azo-compounds based on 2,7-dihydroxynaphthalene and aniline derivatives

The absorption spectra of mono- and bis-azo-derivatives obtained by coupling the diazonium salts of aromatic amines and 2,7-dihydroxynaphthalene have been studied in six organic solvents. The different absorption bands have been assigned and the effect of solvents on the charge transfer band is also discussed. The diagnostic IR spectral bands and 1H NMR signals are assigned and discussed in relation to molecular structure. Also, semi-empirical molecular orbital calculations using the atom superposition and electron delocalization molecular orbital (ASED-MO) theory have been performed to investigate the molecular and electronic structures of these compounds. According to these calculations, an intramolecular hydrogen bonding is essential for stabilization of such molecules.     

Thermal stabilities,electronic properties and structures of metformin-metal complexes

The atomic superposition and electron delocalization molecular orbital (ASED-MO) theory was used to calculate structures and relative stabilities of metformin-metal complexes. The relative stabilities and decomposition pathways were discussed in terms of bond order, binding energy and the nature of charge on the central metal atom. The electronic transitions and their energy gaps were also studied. The optimization of the structures shows that the most stable state is distorted from planarity for Co^II and Ni^II complexes.     

Thermal degradation studies of alkyl-imidazolium salts and their application in nanocomposites

Increasing the thermal stability of organically-modified layered silicates is one of the key points in the successful technical application of polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites on the industrial scale. To circumvent the detrimental effect of the lower thermal stability of alkyl ammonium-treated montmorillonite, a series of alkyl-imidazolium molten salts were prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, thermogravimetry (TGA) and thermal desorption mass spectroscopy (TDMS). The effect of counter ion, alkyl chain length and structural isomerism on the thermal stability of the imidazolium salts was investigated. Alkyl-imidazolium-treated montmorillonite clays were prepared by ion exchange of the imidazolium salts with Na-montmorillonite. These organically-modified clays were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), TDMS and thermogravimetry coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TGA-FTIR), and compared to the conventional quaternary alkyl ammonium montmorillonite. Results indicate that the counter ion has an effect on the thermal stability of the imidazolium salts, and that imidazolium salts with PF₆⁻, N(SO₂CF₃)₂⁻ and BF₄⁻ anions are thermally more stable than the halide salts. A relationship was observed between the chain length of the alkyl group and the thermo-oxidative stability; as the chain length increased from propyl, butyl, decyl, hexadecyl, octadecyl to eicosyl, the stability decreased. The results also show that the imidazolium-treated montmorillonite has greater thermal stability compared to the imidazolium halide. Analysis of the decomposition products by FTIR provides an insight about the decomposition products which are water, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons.     

Microdetermination of phosphorus in organic compounds by indirect spectrophotometric reactions

Summary Organo phosphorus compounds are decomposed by closed-flask combustion. The phosphate ions produced are then converted to phosphomolybdic acid and extracted withiso- butyl acetate. The 12molybdate ions associated with each original phosphate ion are spectrophotometrically determined by reactions with alkaline hydrogen peroxide, hydrogen peroxide and benzidine and gallic acid. The colours are measured at 450, 400 and 400nm respectively.

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Zusammenfassung Organische Phosphorverbindungen werden im Schöniger-Kolben mineralisiert. Das Phosphat wird zu Phosphormolybdänsäure umgesetzt, miti-Butylacetat extrahiert und dann spektrophotometrisch bestimmt. Dazu bedient man sich der Reaktionen mit alkalischem Wasserstoffperoxid, mit Wasserstoffperoxid und Benzidin oder mit Gallussäure. Die Messungen erfolgen bei 450 nm im ersten Fall, bei 400 nm im Fall der beiden letztgenannten Farbreaktionen.

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This paper is taken from the Master's Thesis of S. A. I. Thoria.     

In situ assembled ZIF superstructures via an emulsion-free soft-templating approach

Assembling well-defined MOF superstructures remains challenging as it requires easily removable hard templates or readily available immiscible solutions for an emulsion-based soft-template approach. In this work, a single-step emulsion-free soft templating approach is reported to spontaneously prepare hollow ZIF-8 and ZIF-67 colloidosomes with no further purification. These superstructures can load different enzymes regardless of the size and charge with a high encapsulation efficiency of 99%. We envisage that this work will expand the repertoires of MOF superstructures by the judicious selection of precursors and the reaction medium.

An emulsion-free approach for the preparation of hollow ZIF-8 superstructures in a single step is established based on metal sulfate hydrates in methanol.     

Growth properties of the q-Dunkl transform in the space $$L^{p}_{q,\alpha }({\mathbb {R}}_{q},|x|^{2\alpha +1}d_{q}x)$$ L q , α p ( R q , | x | 2 α + 1 d q x )

The Ramanujan Journal - Our aim in this work is to prove an analogue of Titchmarsh’s theorem [19, Theorem 84] and Younis’s theorem [20, Theorem 3.3] on the image under the q-Dunkl...