Effect of the surface roughness of conducting polypyrrole thin-film electrodes on the electrocatalytic reduction of nitrobenzene

Conducting polypyrrole (PPy) thin-film electrodes were prepared by the electropolymerization of pyrrole on gold-coated glass plates. Films of various roughnesses were obtained by the variation of the scan rates during electropolymerization. These thin films were modified by doping with 6mM of the dopant NiCl₂. The surface morphology of the films was studied by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM), which suggested films prepared with a high scan rate were rougher in nature than the films produced with a low scan rate. The electrocatalytic reduction of nitrobenzene was carried out with these electrodes with the cyclic voltammetry technique in acetonitrile containing 0.1M HClO₄ as a supporting electrolyte. The various results obtained show that the conducting PPy thin-film electrodes were catalytically active toward the electroreduction process. The modified PPy film electrodes doped with NiCl₂ were more active toward nitrobenzene electroreduction than the PPy film alone. The results indicate that the roughness of the films played a very important role in determining their catalytic activity. The PPy films that were more rough in nature were catalytically more active than the smooth films; this may have been due to the availability of more reactive sites in the case of rough films. The apparent diffusion coefficients of the PPy film electrodes were also calculated. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Experimental evidence of concurrent compositional and structural instabilities leading to ω precipitation in titanium-molybdenum alloys

The ω phase is commonly observed in many commercial β or near-β titanium alloys on rapidly cooling from the single β phase field and also during subsequent isothermal annealing. However, the crystallographic formation mechanism for the ω particles is hitherto unclear/under discussion. The present study primarily focuses on ω precipitation within the β (body-centered cubic (bcc)) matrix of simple model binary titanium-molybdenum (Ti-Mo) alloys. It provides direct experimental evidence of the formation of ω-like embryos from competing compositional and structural instabilities arising in the bcc lattice of Ti-Mo alloys during rapid cooling from the high-temperature single β phase field. The displacive partial collapse of the {1 1 1} planes of the parent bcc structure within compositionally phase-separated regions containing several at.% less of Mo, forming ω-like embryos, has been conclusively shown by coupling aberration-corrected high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy with atom probe tomography observations. Growth and coarsening of these ω-like embryos take place during subsequent isothermal annealing, accompanied with both a completion of the collapse of the {1 1 1} β planes leading to a fully developed ω structure as well as rejection of Mo from these precipitates, resulting in near-equilibrium compositions.     

Comparative topographic study of surface micro‐relief of primary martensite plates in shape memory alloys with different crystalline structures

The surface micro‐reliefs of primary martensite plates, representative for two shape memory alloys (SMAs) with different crystalline structures were compared from qualitative and quantitative point of view by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, respectively. Qualitative evaluations revealed larger widths and heights of the primary plates of ε hexagonal close packed (hcp) martensite, in an Fe‐Mn‐Si‐Cr‐Ni SMA than those of β₂′ orthorhombic (9R) martensite, in a Cu‐Zn‐Al SMA. Quantitative evaluations were based on systematic dimensional measurements of the width and height of primary plate profiles. The measurements were performed on one hundred and twenty five profiles, five on each martensite plate belonging to five typical groups of primary plates, with length above 50 micrometers, of both ε hcp and β₂′ 9R martensites. In order to compare the topographies of the two types of plates a statistical evaluation of the dimensional intervals of width and height of measured plates was performed.     

Microtopography of the eye surface of the crab Carcinus maenas: an atomic force microscope study suggesting a possible antifouling potential

Marine biofouling causes problems for technologies based on the sea, including ships, power plants and marine sensors. Several antifouling techniques have been applied to marine sensors, but most of these methodologies are environmentally unfriendly or ineffective. Bioinspiration, seeking guidance from natural solutions, is a promising approach to antifouling. Here, the eye of the green crab Carcinus maenas was regarded as a marine sensor model and its surface characterized by means of atomic force microscopy. Engineered surface micro- and nanotopography is a new mechanism found to limit biofouling, promising an effective solution with much reduced environmental impact. Besides giving a new insight into the morphology of C. maenas eye and its characterization, our study indicates that the eye surface probably has antifouling/fouling-release potential. Furthermore, the topographical features of the surface may influence the wettability properties of the structure and its interaction with organic molecules. Results indicate that the eye surface micro- and nanotopography may lead to bioinspired solutions to antifouling protection.     

微波消解-电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法测定华阳川多金属矿石中铌

华阳川铀铌铅多金属矿石中的金属离子被硅晶核包裹,不易浸出,且铌元素易水解沉淀,这些均给测定样品中铌带来了难题。实验采用氢氟酸、硝酸、酒石酸混酸体系以微波消解法处理样品,以Nb 309.418 nm为分析谱线,建立了电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法测定华阳川铀铌铅多金属矿石中铌的方法。确定微波消解的程序为:0~30 min从室温达到180 ℃,30～60 min从180 ℃到200 ℃,60～90 min鼓风降温。实验表明:铌的质量浓度在0.10～2.00 μg/mL范围内与其发射强度呈线性关系,线性相关系数为0.999 946,方法检出限为0.002%。因样品中主成分二氧化硅绝大部分在样品制备时已和氢氟酸反应生成四氟化硅逸出,而样品溶液中其他共存元素的质量浓度均不大于80 μg/mL,故基体效应可忽略。采用实验方法测定铌质量分数为0.030 2%~0.189%的华阳川多金属矿石样品,6次平行测定结果的相对标准偏差(RSD)为3.1%~3.9%。考虑到铌钽元素通常伴生,元素性质十分相近,且矿性高度相似,所以实验采用有铌认定值的钽矿石标准物质为测定对象,按照实验方法进行测定,测得结果与认定值基本一致。采用国家标准方法GB/T 17415.2—2010和实验方法进行方法对照,结果表明,二者对华阳川多金属矿石样品中铌的测定结果基本一致。     

The Influence of Crystal Habit on the Prediction of Dry Powder Inhalation Formulation Performance Using the Cohesive–Adhesive Force Balance Approach

The aim of this investigation was to study the influence of crystalline habit of active pharmaceutical ingredients on the cohesive–adhesive force balance within model dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulations and the corresponding affect on DPI formulation performance. The cohesive–adhesive balance (CAB) approach to colloid probe atomic force microscopy (AFM) was employed to determine the cohesive and adhesive interactions of micronized budesonide particles against the {102} and {002} faces of budesonide single crystals and crystalline substrates of different sugars (cyclodextrin, lactose, trehalose, raffinose, and xylitol), respectively. These data were used to measure the relative level of cohesion and adhesion via CAB and the possible influence on in vitro performance of a carrier-based DPI formulation. Varying the crystal habit of the drug had a significant effect on the cohesive measurement of micronized budesonide probes, with the cohesive values on the {102} faces being approximately twice that on the {002} crystal faces. However, although different CAB values were measured with the sugars with respect to the crystal faces chosen for the cohesive-based measurement, the overall influence on the rank order of the CAB values was not directly influenced. For these data sets, the CAB gradient indicated that a decrease in the dominance of the adhesive forces led to a concomitant increase in fine particle delivery, reaching a plateau as the cohesive forces became dominant. The study suggested that crystal habit of the primary drug crystals influences the cohesive interactions and the resulting force balance measurements of colloid probe CAB analysis.     

“原子结构”入门知识的教学设计

无机化学中原子结构作为物质结构的入门知识抽象、公式复杂,学生很难适应,难以转变思维模式,严重影响整个物质结构知识、元素化学和后续课程的学习,若从预备知识结合化学史、三种描述方式、多媒体演示几方面进行教学设计,不仅激发学生学习兴趣和自信心,且能事半功倍。     

Electromagnetically induced transparency in a quadratically coupled optomechanical system with an atomic medium

We investigate a quadratically coupled optomechanical cavity system filled with a two-level atomic medium. The output of the cavity field exhibits analogous electromagnetically induced transparency when the optomechanical system interacts with the coupling and probe fields, respectively. We show that the introduction of the atomic medium can enhance the fluctuation of the displacement of the membrane as well as its energy. With the increasing of the atomic number, the dip of the absorption becomes deep.     

活性炭吸附原子吸收光度法测定铅锑精矿中金的含量

通过在铅锑精矿焙烧时加入一定量的氧化锌或氧化钙，使铅锑精矿在灼烧过程中的单质硫、有机质、硫化物、碳充分焙烧，然后采用王水分解矿样，活性炭动态吸附富集金，灰化除碳，王水溶解，原子吸收光度法测定铅锑精矿中金含量，方法快速、准确，同时适用于含碳、硫较高焙烧时易结块的精矿样品。     

Thermoacoustic Emission from Carbon Nanotubes Imaged by Atomic Force Microscopy

The thermoacoustic effect of isolated single‐wall carbon nanotubes aligned between electrodes is experimentally observed for the first time by imaging the emitted acoustic wave using an atomic force microscopy‐based technique specifically developed for the task. The capability of such a technique for single‐point thermoacoustic measurements is first verified on carbon nanotubes layers with two electrodes for injecting alternate electric current. The technique is then demonstrated to allow the acquisition, simultaneously with the topography, of images reflecting the pressure of the acoustic wave at fixed distance from the sample. Such a capability is used to collect images reflecting the amplitude of acoustic waves generated by isolated nanotubes and nanotube bundles by the thermoacoustic effect.