On-line hyphenation of capillary isoelectric focusing and capillary gel electrophoresis by a dialysis interface

An on-line two-dimensional (2D) capillary electrophoresis (CE) system consisting of capillary isoelectric focusing (CIEF) and capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE) was introduced. To validate this 2D system, a dialysis interface was developed by mounting a hollow fiber on a methacrylate resin plate to hyphenate the two CE modes. The two dimensions of capillary shared a cathode fixated into a reservoir in the methacrylate plate; thus, with three electrodes and only one high-voltage source, a 2D CE framework was successfully established. A practical 2D CIEF-CGE experiment was carried out to deal with a target protein, hemoglobin (Hb). After the Hb variants with different isoelectric points (pIs) were focused in various bands in the first-dimension capillary, they were chemically mobilized one after another and fed to the second-dimension capillary for further separation in polyacrylamide gel. During this procedure, a single CIEF band was separated into several peaks due to different molecular weights. The resulting electrophoregrarn is quite different from that of either CIEF or CGE; therefore, more information about the studied Hb sample can be obtained.

On-line voltammetric monitoring of dissolved Cu and Ni in the Gulf of Cadiz, south-west Spain

Geochemical processes in estuarine and coastal waters often occur on temporally and spatially small scales, resulting in variability of metal speciation and dissolved concentrations. Thus, surveys, which are aimed to improve our understanding of metal behaviour in such systems, benefit from high-resolution, interactive sampling campaigns. The present paper discusses a high-resolution approach to coastal monitoring, with the application of an automated voltammetric metal analyser for on-line measurements of dissolved trace metals in the Gulf of Cadiz, south-west Spain. This coastal sea receives metal-rich inputs from a metalliferous mining area, mainly via the Huelva estuary. On-line measurements of dissolved Cu, Zn, Ni and Co were carried out on-board ship during an eight-day sampling campaign in the study area in June 1997. A pumping system operated continuously underway and provided sampled water from a depth of ca. 4 m. Total dissolved metal concentrations measured on-line in the Gulf of Cadiz ranged between <5 nM Cu (<3 nM Ni) ca. 50 km off-shore and 60–90 nM Cu (5–13 nM Ni) in the vicinity of the Huelva estuary. The survey revealed steep gradients and strong tidal variability in the dissolved metal plume extending from the Huelva estuary into the Gulf of Cadiz. Further on-line measurements were carried out with the automatic metal monitor from the bank of the Odiel estuary over a full tidal cycle, at dissolved metal concentrations in the μM range. The application confirmed the suitability of the automated metal monitor for coastal sampling, and demonstrated its adaptability to a wide range of environmental conditions in the dynamic waters of estuaries and coastal seas. The near-real time acquisition of dissolved metal concentrations at high resolution enabled an interactive sampling campaign and therefore the close investigation of tidal variability in the development of the Huelva estuary metal plume.

An Efficient Nanocrystalline La2O3:Tm3+ Blue Phosphor for Field-Emission Displays with High Color Purity

Nanocrystalline Tm3+-doped La2O3 phosphors were prepared through a Pechini-type sol-gel process. X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, photoluminescence, and cathodoluminescence spectra were utilized to characterize the synthesized phosphors. Under the excitation of UV light (234 nm) and low-voltage electron beams (1-3 kV), the Tm3+-doped La2O3 phosphors show the characteristic emissions of Tm3+(D-1(2), (1)G(4)-F-3(4), H-3(6) transitions).

Rapid synthesis of polyethylenimine-protected Prussian blue nanocubes through a thermal process

Polyethylenimine (PEI)-protected Prussian blue nanocubes have been simply synthesized by heating an acidic mixture of PEI, FeCl3, K3Fe(CN)(6), and KCI. The experiment results presented here demonstrate that the pH of the mixture plays an important role in controlling the shape and composition of the resultant product.

Layer-by-layer assembly of carbon nanotubes and Prussian blue nanoparticles: A potential tool for biosensing devices

A promising method for assembling carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) protected Prussian blue nanoparticles (P-PB) to form three-dimensional (3D) nanostructured films is proposed. The electrostatic interaction, combined with layer-by-layer self-assembly (LBL), between negatively charged CNTs and positively charged P-PB is strong enough to drive the formation of the 3D nanostructured films. Thus, prepared multilayer films were characterized by ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared spectroscopy (UV-vis-NIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV).

Blue-light emission of mesoporous SBA-15 covalently bonded with carbazole chromophore

Much attention has been paid to carbazole derivatives for their potential applications as optical materials. For the first time, the blue-light-emitting carbazole chromophore has been covalently bonded to the ordered mesoporous SBA-15 (The resultant hybrid mesoporous materials are denoted as carbazole-SBA-15) by co-condensation of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and prepared compound 3-[N-3-(triethoxyilyl)propyl]ureyl-9-ethyl-carbazole (denoted as carbazole-Si) in the presence of Pluronic P123 surfactant. The results of H-1 NMR and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) reveal that carbazole-Si has been successfully synthesized.

Investigation on charge transfer bands of Ce4+ in Sr2CeO4 blue phosphor

Bulk and nano-materials Sr2CeO4 were prepared by solid-state reaction and sol-gel technique, respectively. Photoluminescence shows that luminescence has the characteristic of a ligand-to-metal charge transfer (CT) emission. Compared with bulk Sr2CeO4, the nano-material exhibits stronger emission intensity, longer decay time, and higher CT excitation energy. Three CT excitation peaks were observed in both bulk and nano samples.

White Electroluminescence from a Star-Like Polymer with an Orange Emissive Core and Four Blue Emissive Arms

A star-like white light-emitting polymer with an orange emissive core and four blue emissive arms is designed and synthesized. White electroluminescence is observed with simultaneous orange emission from the core and blue emission from the arms. A single-layer device based on this polymer emits white light with CIE coordinates of (0.35, 0.39) and a luminous efficiency of 7.06 cd A(-1).

Blue electroluminescent polymers with dopant-host systems and molecular dispersion features: polyfluorene as the deep blue host and 1,8-naphthalimide derivative units as the light blue dopants

We developed a series of highly efficient blue electroluminescent polymers with dopant-host systems and molecular dispersion features by selecting 1,8-naphthalimide derivatives as the light blue emissive dopant units, choosing polyfluorene as the deep blue emissive polymer host and covalently attaching the dopant units to the side chain of the polymer host. The polymers' EL spectra exhibited both deep blue emission from the polymer host and light blue emission from the dopant units because of the energy transfer and charge trapping from the polymer host to the dopant units.

Realization of blue, green and red emission from top-emitting white organic light-emitting diodes with exterior tunable optical films

We developed an approach to realize blue, green and red emission from top-emitting white organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) through depositing exterior tunable optical films on top of the OLEDs. Three primary colors for full color display including blue, green and red emission are achieved by controlling the wavelength-dependent transmittance of the multilayer optical films overlaid on the emissive layer.

Fabrication and electrochemical characterization of electrostatic assembly of polyelectrolyte-functionalized ionic liquid and Prussian blue ultrathin films

Polyelectrolyte-functionalized ionic liquid (PFIL) and Prussian blue (PB) nanoparticles were used to fabricate ultrathin films on the ITO substrate through electrostatic layer-by-layer assembly method. Multilayer growth was examined by UV-vis spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The resulting ITO/(PFIL/PB)n electrode showed two couples of well-defined redox peaks and good electrocatalytical activity towards the reduction of hydrogen peroxide.

Preparation of Prussian blue@Pt nanoparticles/carbon nanotubes composite material for efficient determination of H2O2

In this study, the fabrication of an efficient amperometric hydrogen peroxide sensor with favorable properties is presented. Prussian blue (PB) was catalytically synthesized by Pt nanoparticles (Pt-nano) from ferric ferricyanide aqueous solution to form PB@Pt-nano hybrid, and it was confirmed by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and optical spectra. The electrochemical behavior of PB@Pt-nano was highly improved through its integration with poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) modified carbon nanotubes (PCNTs).

Synthesis and characterization of Prussian blue@platinum nanoparticle hybrids from a mixture solution of platinum nanocatalyst and ferric ferricyanide

In the present study, platinum nanoparticles modified with Prussian blue (PB) have been synthesized by a heterogeneous catalytic reaction. Transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) confirmed the deposition of nanoclusters around the Surfaces of platinum particles, and spectroscopic studies verified that the molecular composition of the nanoclusters was dominantly PB and a minority of platinum ferricyanide. Thus, it was shown that the platinum particles behaved not only as catalysts for the growth of PB, but also as a reactant to generate a PB analogue complex.