Low-cost nanostructured Fe2O3-based composite catalysts synthesized by mechanical milling for CO oxidation reaction

In this work, the catalytic properties of low-cost nanostructured iron oxide have been improved by the mechanical milling method through combination with copper and cobalt oxide. Synthesized catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transition electron microscopy, and Brunauer–Emmet–Teller techniques. Also, the catalytic activity and stability of the powders for CO oxidation reaction were investigated. Results indicated that the catalytic activity of the powders has significantly improved after mechanical milling. Minimum complete conversion temperatures for Co–Fe and Cu–Fe composite oxide catalysts were around 245 and 275°C, respectively. No decline in the activity of the catalysts was observed during the long-term stability test. Furthermore, catalytic activity of the composite powders, especially Co–Fe improves at subsequent cycles. In general, cycle durability, stability at high temperature and reaction rate of the iron oxide powder has been improved using it as Cu–Fe and Co–Fe oxide composites.     

Absolute measurements of radiation damage in nanometer-thick films

The problem of absolute measurements of radiation damage in films of nanometer thicknesses is addressed. Thin films of DNA (～2-160 nm) are deposited onto glass substrates and irradiated with varying doses of 1.5-keV X-rays under dry N(2) at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. For each different thickness, the damage is assessed by measuring the loss of the supercoiled configuration as a function of incident photon fluence. From the exposure curves, the G-values are deduced, assuming that X-ray photons interacting with DNA deposit all of their energy in the film. The results show that the G-value (i.e. damage per unit of deposited energy) increases with film thickness and reaches a plateau at 30±5 nm. This thickness dependence provides a correction factor to estimate the actual G-value for films with thicknesses <30 nm thickness. Thus, the absolute values of the damage can be compared with that of films of any thickness under different experimental conditions.     

Comparison of different methodologies for integration of molecularly imprinted polymer and electrochemical transducer in order to develop a paraoxon voltammetric sensor

In this work a paraoxon voltammetric sensor was introduced. Different methods for integration of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) and electrochemical transducer were investigated. Three techniques including MIP particles embedding in the carbon paste (CP) (MIP-CP), coupling of MIP with the glassy carbon electrode (GC) surface by using poly epychloro hydrine (PECH) (MIP/PECH-GC) and MIP/graphite mixture thin layer attachment onto the glassy carbon electrode (MIP/Graphite-PECH-GC) were tested. The prepared electrodes were applied for paraoxon measurement by using a three-step procedure including analyte extraction in the electrode, electrode washing and electrochemical measurement of paraoxon. The washing of electrodes, after paraoxon extraction, led to high selectivity of electrode for paraoxon. It was found that MIP-CP electrode had higher response to paraoxon in comparison to other tested electrodes. Besides, the washing process decreased response magnitude of MIP/PECH-GC and MIP/Graphite-PECH-GC but, the response of MIP-CP was not affected considerably by the washing. Parathion was chosen to evaluate the selectivity of MIP based sensors. It was proved that the MIP-CP had better selectivity, wider linear range and lower detection limit in comparison to other tested electrodes. The developed MIP-CP electrode was used as a high selective sensor for paraoxon determination in water and vegetable samples.