Langmuir-blodgett films of stilbazole complexes of iridium(I) and rhodium(I)

Complexes of 4-alkoxystilbazoles with iridium and rhodium form stable Langmuir layers at the air-water interface even when the alkoxy chain is relatively short (C₅–C₁₂). The surface pressure-area isotherms indicate that condensed molecular monolayers are obtained. The area per molecule of each compound in its monolayer form is typically 0.60 nm², which agrees well with the cross-sectional area of the [Ir(CO)₂CI] or [Rh(CO)₂CI] head group predicated using molecular models. This suggests that the molecules are oriented with the metal moiety close to the water surface and their alkoxystilbazole ‘rod’ protruding from the plane of the water surface. Such floating monolayers have been transferred on to solid substrates such as glass, aluminium (AI₂O₃/AI/Glass) and silicon (SiO₂/Si) at relatively high speed (10 mm min ^?1) to form Y-type LB assemblies. The UV–Visible absorption properties of these materials in solution and LB film form have been studied. LB films of these complexes yield bathochromically shifted spectra relative to the LB film spectrum of the uncomplexed stilbazole. Additionally, these spectra are often broader and hypsochromically shifted relative to their corresponding solution spectra as a result of the close molecular packing within the LB film and the associated dipole–dipole interactions. The electrically polar nature of the molecules described in this paper suggest that they may be suitable candidates for new pyroelectric materials. Thus the pyroelectric coefficient (the rate of change of electric polarisation with respect to temperature) has been measured for a polar multilayer LB film containing an iridium complex. A pyroelectric coefficient of 3.5 μCm^?2K^?1 (at 30 °C) has been measured, which is one of the highest reported valued for an LB film. Additionally, a low dielectric loss of around 0.01 has been found over the frequency range 50 Hz–1 kHz, indicating that such LB films may be usfeul materials for pyroelectric sensors.     

Effects of Ultrasonic Vibration on the Electroinitiated Copolymerisation of Styrene and Isoprene

Copolymerisation of styrene and isoprene by constant potential electrolysis in dichloromethane was achieved at different polymerisation potentials. Effect of ultrasonic vibration on the rate and the yield of polymerisation has been discussed. The composition of the copolymers was found to be affected by the vibration as well as the polymerisation potential (E_pol). At E_pol=+3.30 V we found that r₁=r₂ and mole percents of isoprene and styrene in copolymer were equal to each other. Equality was also observed on reacted monomer concentrations, at that potential, which can be called critical polymerisation potential. At E_pol values above or below the critical polymerisation potential none of the above-mentioned properties were equal. Monomer reactivity ratios were determined by the integrated Lewis-Mayo equation. Ultrasonic vibration as well as polymerisation potential was found to affect reactivity ratios.     

Electroinitiated and radiation-induced polymerisation of epoxycyclohexane

Liquid-state radiation-induced and electroinitiated polymerisations of epoxycyclohexane (ECH) have been investigated. The effect of temperature on the electroinitiated polymerisation rate was also studied. The decrease in monomer concentration during polymerisation was followed by gas chromatographic analysis of electrolysis solutions. The i.r. spectra of the polymers suggested polyether structure. N.m.r. spectra of products indicate that the polymerisation of ECH propagates through the opening of the epoxy rings. Poly(epoxycyclohexane) obtained by both methods are amorphous according to X-ray analyses.     

Purification and characterisation of a polyphenol oxidase from Boletus erythropus and investigation of its catalytic efficiency in selected organic solvents

Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) was purified from Boletus erythropus using a Sepharose 4B-L-tyrosine-p-amino benzoic acid affinity column. Optimum pH and temperature were found to be 8.0 and 20 °C, respectively, using 4-methylcatechol as a substrate. The enzyme was extremely stable between pH 3.0 and 9.0 after 24 h incubation at 4 °C. B. erythropus PPO was also quite stable between 10 and 30 °C after 4 h incubation. The K_m and V_max values were calculated as 2.8 mM and 1430 U/mg protein by Lineweaver–Burk curve, respectively. The enzyme activity was inhibited by sodium metabisulfite, ascorbic acid, sodium azide and benzoic acid. It was seen that the mushroom PPO was an effective biocatalyst in selected organic solvents, such as dichloromethane, dichloroethane and toluene, when catechin was used as a substrate. All data support that B. erythropus has a highly active PPO, possessing similar biochemical and kinetic characteristics to other plant PPOs.     

Effect of whey protein concentrate on phenolic profile and browning of fresh-cut lettuce (Lactuca Sativa)

The in vitro kinetics of lettuce PPO with respect to dissolved oxygen using catechin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and gallic acid has been examined. In-vitro lettuce polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity was determined by measuring the consumption of oxygen during the oxidation reaction. The effect of whey protein concentrate (WPC) was tested on the inhibition of lettuce PPO comparing with ascorbic acid (AA) and cysteine. A competitive model that considered inhibitors was the most appropriate model to explain reaction kinetics. Browning of lettuce was also monitored during storage for 24 h. Addition of WPC prevented loss of lightness in lettuce. Loss of identified phenolic compounds in lettuce was measured during the enzymatic browning process by high-performance liquid chromatography. Degradation of identified phenolic compounds followed first order kinetics during storage. Combination of WPC with cysteine was proposed for the protection of phenolics compounds against PPO-catalysed oxidation.     

Auxiliary equation method for time-fractional differential equations with conformable derivative

In this paper, the auxiliary equation method is applied to obtain analytical solutions of (2 + 1)-dimensional time-fractional Zoomeron equation and the time-fractional third order modified KdV equation in the sense of the conformable fractional derivative. Given equations are converted to the nonlinear ordinary differential equations of integer order; and then, the resulting equations are solved using a novel analytical method called the auxiliary equation method. As a result, some exact solutions for them are successfully established. The exact solutions obtained by the proposed method indicate that the approach is easy to implement and effective.