Easy Preparation of Liposome@PDA Microspheres for Fast and Highly Efficient Removal of Methylene Blue from Water

Mussel-inspired chemistry was usefully exploited here with the aim of developing a high-efficiency, environmentally friendly material for water remediation. A micro-structured material based on polydopamine (PDA) was obtained by using liposomes as templating agents and was used for the first time as an adsorbent material for the removal of methylene blue (MB) dye from aqueous solutions. Phospholipid liposomes were made by extrusion and coated with PDA by self-polymerization of dopamine under simple and mild conditions. The obtained Liposome@PDA microspheres were characterized by DLS and Zeta potential analysis, TEM microscopy, and FTIR spectroscopy. The effects of pH, temperature, MB concentration, amount of Liposome@PDA, and contact time on the adsorption process were investigated. Results showed that the highest adsorption capacity was obtained in weakly alkaline conditions (pH = 8.0) and that it could reach up to 395.4 mg g⁻¹ at 298 K. In addition, adsorption kinetics showed that the adsorption behavior fits a pseudo-second-order kinetic model well. The equilibrium adsorption data, instead, were well described by Langmuir isotherm. Thermodynamic analysis demonstrated that the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous (ΔG⁰ = −12.55 kJ mol⁻¹, ΔH⁰ = 13.37 kJ mol⁻¹) in the investigated experimental conditions. Finally, the applicability of Liposome@PDA microspheres to model wastewater and the excellent reusability after regeneration by removing MB were demonstrated.     

Optical and electronic properties of fluorene/thiophene/benzothiadiazole pseudorandom copolymers for photovoltaic applications

A new family of 9,9-bisalkylfluorene (F)/thiophene (T)/benzothiadiazole (B) π-conjugated copolymers for organic solar cells is reported. The structure of the reported copolymers is pseudorandom: in turn each F, T, B monomer unit is alternated to the other randomly distributed two units. Voltammetric, UV–visible, and photoluminescence measurements have been carried out to assess the optical and electronic properties of the synthesized materials. The occurring of photoinduced charge transfer towards a fullerene electron acceptor was investigated by photoluminescence quenching and light-induced electron spin resonance experiments. The copolymer having alternating thiophene monomer units and randomly distributed fluorene and benzothiadiazole units exhibits the most promising characteristics; the photophysic study shows that such polymer/fullerene blend could represent a novel and cheaper material to be used as convenient donor–acceptor system for polymer solar cells.     

High-throughput, accurate mass metabolome profiling of cellular extracts by flow injection-time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Direct injection of samples on high-resolving mass spectrometers is an effective way to maximize analytical throughput and yet allow analyte discrimination in complex samples by mass-to-charge ratio. We present a platform of flow injection electrospray-time-of-flight mass spectrometry to profile small molecules in >1400 biological extracts per day at native mass resolution. We comprehensively benchmark the performance with more than 5000 injections of chemically defined standards and Escherichia coli cellular extracts obtained from miniscale cultivations. For at least 90% of tested compounds, we attain a linear response over 3 decades of concentration, interday coefficient of variation of <20%, and a mass accuracy of <0.001 amu. In polar Escherichia coli fractions, we reproducibly detected >1500 distinct ions in each mode. The accurate mass and correlation analysis enabled one to assign with good confidence 400-800 ions to electrospray derivatives of metabolites listed in the genome-wide reconstruction of Escherichia coli metabolism. Hence, we attain a coverage of about one-quarter of the total number of compounds listed in the reconstruction. Finally, we present an exemplary screen with Escherichia coli deletion mutants to show the exquisite capacity of the platform to identify lesions in primary metabolism at high throughputs.     

Cracks and re-entrant corners in functionally graded materials

Functionally graded materials (FGMs) are special composites in which the volume fractions of constituent materials vary gradually, giving continuously graded mechanical properties. The aim of this paper is the evaluation of the strength of structures composed by FGMs incorporating re-entrant corners - tending to the more common crack for vanishing corner angle. The end result is useful in engineering applications predicting the strength of the element corresponding to the unstable brittle crack propagation in such innovative materials. To show the general validity of the method, heterogeneous plates under tension and beam under bending containing re-entrant corners and by varying corner angle, depth and grading of the FGM are considered. Ad hoc performed numerical finite element simulations, by using the FRANC2D code, agree with the theoretical predictions.     

Vacuum-processed polyethylene as a dielectric for low operating voltage organic field effect transistors

We report on the fabrication and performance of vacuum-processed organic field effect transistors utilizing evaporated low-density polyethylene (LD-PE) as a dielectric layer. With C₆₀ as the organic semiconductor, we demonstrate low operating voltage transistors with field effect mobilities in excess of 4 cm²/Vs. Devices with pentacene showed a mobility of 0.16 cm²/Vs. Devices using tyrian Purple as semiconductor show low-voltage ambipolar operation with equal electron and hole mobilities of ～0.3 cm²/Vs. These devices demonstrate low hysteresis and operational stability over at least several months. Grazing-angle infrared spectroscopy of evaporated thin films shows that the structure of the polyethylene is similar to solution-cast films. We report also on the morphological and dielectric properties of these films. Our experiments demonstrate that polyethylene is a stable dielectric supporting both hole and electron channels.