Microstructural and morphological characterizations of nanocrystalline Ni–Cu–Fe thin films electrodeposited from electrolytes with different Fe ion concentrations

In the current study, ternary Ni–Cu–Fe thin films have been grown from the electrolytes with different Fe ion concentrations onto indium tin oxide coated glass substrates by galvanostatic electrodeposition at ambient temperature. The microstructural, compositional, and morphological properties have been characterized with respect to Fe ion concentration using X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). EDX results indicated that the Fe content within the films increased and Ni and Cu contents decreased as the Fe ion concentration in the electrolyte was increased. From the XRD analysis, it was observed that the films have two separate, Cu-rich and Ni-rich phases. It was also observed that the phase separation becomes weaker with increasing Fe ion concentration. All of the films have face-centered cubic structure and [111] preferred crystallographic orientation. The texture degree of the Ni-rich (111) phase increased with the Fe ion concentration. SEM and AFM measurements revealed that the surface morphology is considerably affected by the Fe ion concentration. The size of the grains formed on the film surface and the surface roughness decreased as the Fe ion concentration within the electrolyte increased.     

Polyaminocarboxylic acids–Ce(IV) redox systems as an initiator in acrylamide polymerization

Acrylamide polymerization by Ce(IV)-polyaminocarboxylic acids, i.e., EDTA, DTPA, EGTA, and NTA, which have strong chelating properties, have been studied at different [H⁺], initiator concentration, and reaction time. Initiation of polymerization proceeds through the formation of the free radical after decarboxylation of the carboxyl group of polyaminocarboxylic acid. Results also indicate that the termination of the polymerization reaction is mainly mutual termination. Decrease of the rate of disappearance of the cerium(IV) is in the order of DTPA ≥ EDTA > NTA > EGTA. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Electropolymerization of N‐hydroxyethylcarbazole on carbon fiber microelectrodes

N‐Hydroxyethylcarbazole (EtOHCz) was electropolymerized on carbon fiber microelectrodes (CFMEs). The polyEtOHCz‐modified CFME was characterized with FTIR‐ATR, scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The polymer/CFME electrode exhibited the capacitive behavior and also good stability up to 2.0 V. The presence of hydoxylic group of the monomer seems to be an advantage on polymerization because of the unpaired electrons of oxygen, which would make ease at first stage for the adsorbtion on carbon fiber. The estimated value of the low‐frequency redox capacitance (C_LF) was found to increase with increasing dc potential. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

On the Enzymatic Formation of Metal Base Pairs with Thiolated and pKa-Perturbed Nucleotides

The formation of artificial metal base pairs is an alluring and versatile method for the functionalization of nucleic acids. Access to DNA functionalized with metal base pairs is granted mainly by solid-phase synthesis. An alternative, yet underexplored method, envisions the installation of metal base pairs through the polymerization of modified nucleoside triphosphates. Herein, we have explored the possibility of using thiolated and pK_a-perturbed nucleotides for the enzymatic construction of artificial metal base pairs. The thiolated nucleotides S2C, S6G, and S4T as well as the fluorinated analogue 5FU are readily incorporated opposite a templating S4T nucleotide through the guidance of metal cations. Multiple incorporation of the modified nucleotides along with polymerase bypass of the unnatural base pairs are also possible under certain conditions. The thiolated nucleotides S4T, S4T, S2C, and S6G were also shown to be compatible with the synthesis of modified, high molecular weight single-stranded (ss)DNA products through TdT-mediated tailing reactions. Thus, sulfur-substitution and pK_a perturbation represent alternative strategies for the design of modified nucleotides compatible with the enzymatic construction of metal base pairs.     

Electrolyte and solvent effects of electrocoated polycarbazole thin films on carbon fiber microelectrodes

Carbazole was electrochemically synthesized on carbon fiber microelectrodes (CFMEs) in different electrolyte and solvent media. The characterization of polycarbazole thin films formed on micron sized carbon fiber electrodes was performed by electrochemical methods (i.e., cyclic voltammetric measurements, solid state conductivity measurements (four point probe), spectrophotometric methods (ultraviolet/visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), ex situ spectroelectrochemistry, fourier transform infrared reflectance spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR)) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The best electrolyte and solvent in regards to yield, conductivity and charge for the electro-grafting was sodium perchlorate in acetonitrile, whose conductivity was 3.60 mS cm⁻¹, had a yield of 89% and had a charge of 5.50C. The effects of scan rate, feed ratio, supporting electrolyte and solvent type on the electropolymerization are discussed.     

Synthesis and electrochemical polymerization of N‐ethylcarbazole‐bis‐3,4‐etyhlenedioxythiophene‐N‐ethylcarbazole comonomer

A new comonomer ECz‐BEDOT‐ECz (EBEE) [ECz: N‐ethylcarbazole‐BEDOT:2,2′‐bis(3,4‐ethyhlenedioxy) thiophene] has been synthesized, characterized, and electropolymerized on Pt and carbon fiber microelectrodes (CFME). The ECz side group of the comonomer plays an important role in determining its physical properties PEBEE and it resembles the behavior of corresponding homopolymer (PECz). PBEDOT was increased by the incorporation of ECz monomer into structure. The environmental stability of PBEDOT was increased by incorporating the ECz unit into the structure. The new comonomer seems prefer to be electrodeposited onto CFME as opposed to Pt. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 795–801, 2007     

Determination of Membrane Protein Fouling by UV Spectroscopy and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy

UV spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used to investigate the properties and performances of ultrafiltration membranes fabricated with different polymers. Membrane performances were studied by means of permeability and bovine serum albumin filtration. UV spectroscopy results showed that bovine serum albumin rejection was lowest in polyvinylidene fluoride membranes, whereas it was highest in polysulfone membranes. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy data revealed that after bovine serum albumin filtration, resistance of the membranes was increased though double layer capacitances were decreased. Performance data of UV spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were in correlation with each other. This study demonstrated that electrochemical impedance spectroscopy can be successfully used in filtration membrane studies.     

The effect of deposition on electrochemical impedance properties of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>/FTO photoanodes

The integration of TiO₂ layers onto a substrate is challenging and limits the application potential of TiO₂. Even though, several studies have been reported to solve this problem by applying various deposition methods, there is still lack of information about how these methods affect the electrochemical and photo-electrochemical properties of resulting electrodes. The TiO₂ layers possessing different morphologies, deposited on the conductive FTO glass by means of various different deposition techniques (dip-coating, electrospinning and electrospraying), were used as photoanode (and working electrode) in the three-compartment electrochemical cell. The TiO₂ electrodes were calcinated at 450 °C and after that all samples revealed the crystallographic form of anatase. Using these three deposition techniques, three different morphologies were obtained. They consisted of a thin TiO₂ nanoparticle layer, TiO₂ nanoparticle/nanofiber layer and TiO₂ nanorod layer, respectively. The crystallinity and surface properties of the calcinated layers were determined by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, FTIR-ATR and SEM analyses. The electrochemical impedance (EIS) and photo-induced properties of photoanodes were studied by electrochemical measurements. The effects of surface morphology and crystal size of nanostructured layers on electrochemical impedance and photo-electrochemical properties were investigated. The electrodes prepared by dip-coating technique showed the best electrochemical impedance and photo-electrochemical results compared to other two types of electrodes. Dip-coating TiO₂ layer possesses the biggest crystal size and lowest charge transfer resistance which result the highest photocurrent density.