Electrochemical detector at the liquid/liquid and liquid/membrane interface

Electrochemistry at the liquid/liquid and liquid/membrane interface has been developed recently. It can be used for a new kind of electrochemical detector and sensor. Some new aspects of the field in this laboratory are presented.

Study on the self-packing of SnO2 nanoparticles at the air-hydrosol interface and its composite LB films with arachidic acid

SnO2 nanoparticles were found to self-pack at the air-hydrosol interface and form a nanoparticulate film. The self-packed films were observed under a Brewster angle microscope, and investigated by recording the time evolution of surface pressure and pi-A isotherms. The results show that SnO2 nanoparticles take 3 h to form a complete film at the air-hydrosol interface. Composite monolayers of SnO2 and arachidic acid were obtained by spreading arachidic acid onto a fresh hydrosol surface. Composite Y-type LB films were transferred from the air-hydrosol interface onto substrates, and characterized by FTIR, UV-vis, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy and TEM techniques. The results show that the composite films have good structure, with SnO2 nanoparticles uniformly and compactly distributed in the arachidate matrix. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Nonradiative energy transfer study on the interface of compatibilized linear low density polyethylene/poly(methyl methacrylate) blends

Blends of chromophore-labeled LLDPE and chromophore-labeled PMMA compatibilized by block copolymer of hydrogenated polybutadiene and methyl methacrylate (PHB-b-PMMA) were studied by nonradiative energy transfer (NRET) technique. The ratio of fluorescence intensity of the donor at 336 nm and the acceptor at 408 nm (I-D/I-A) decreased with an increase in block copolymer content. At about 8 wt.-% block copolymer content I-D/I-A reached a minimum value, indicating the interdiffusion of LLDPE chains and PMMA chains in the interface is strongest. The influence of temperature on the interdiffusion of polymer chains in the interface was also examined. Samples quenched in liquid nitrogen from 140 degrees C showed lower energy transfer efficiencies than those annealed from 150 degrees C to room temperature.

SAXS measurements of the interface in polyacrylate and epoxy interpenetrating networks with fractal geometry

The interface thickness in two-component interpenetrating polymer networks (IPN) system based on polyacrylate and epoxy were determined using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) in terms of the theory proposed by Ruland. The thickness was found to be nonexistent for the samples at various compositions and synthesized at variable conditions-temperature and initiator concentration. By viewing the system as a two-phase system with a sharp boundary, the roughness of the interface was described by fractal dimension, D, which slightly varies with composition and synthesis condition. Length scales in which surface fractals are proved to be correct exist for each sample and range from 0.02 to 0.4 Angstrom(-1). The interface in the present IPN system was treated as fractal, which reasonably explained the differences between Pored's law and experimental data, and gained an insight into the interaction between different segments on the interface. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Direct visualization of collapse process of porphyrin monolayers and porphyrin exclusion for mixed monolayers at the air-water interface

The collapse process of porphyrin monolayers at the air-water interface was studied by Brewster angle microscopy and by compression-recompression isotherms. It was found that the start of collapse observed by BAM is accordant with that measured by compression-recompression isotherms. The behavior of mixed monolayers was studied also and the results showed that porphyrin islands were excluded from mixed monolayers at 35mN/m.

Bilayer formation of two chiral ferroelectric liquid crystal molecules at the air-water interface

The bilayer formation behavior of two chiral ferroelectric liquid crystal molecules at the air-water interface was studied.

The synthesis of dendrimers bearing alkyl chains and their behavior at air-water interface

A new kind of amphiphilic polyether dendrimer bearing eight alkyl chains at the periphery were synthesized step by step using the convergent method. Their structures were confirmed by FT-IR spectra, H-1 NMR spectra and mass spectra etc. The pi-A isotherms, hysteresis and molecular area-time curves at air water interface were reported. These results showed that they could form stable monolayers at water surface.

A method to identify the collapse of monolayers at the air-water interface

The collapse behaviour of phthalocyanine monolayers at the air-water interface was studied by means of compression-expansion isotherms. Measurements of two cycles of compression-expansion isotherms of copper tetrakis (4'-benzyloxy-4-phenylsulfonylphenoxy) phthalocyanine showed that the difference in the area per molecule at target pressure between the first cycle and the second cycle was dependent on the target pressure. This difference was used to identify the collapse of monolayers at the air-water interface. The transfer behaviour of monolayers at the air-water interface onto a substrate at different target pressures was also studied.

Effective interface of a composite membrane serving as an ideally ultrathin barrier layer

A novel idea relating to the selective barrier layer of a composite membrane is described. The effective interface of the composite membrane could act as a barrier layer which could be controlled to an ideally ultrathin thickness. A new type of polyamide composite membrane was prepared according to this idea, which possessed permeability and chemical resistance more than one magnitude greater than those of ordinary polyamide composite membranes. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.

The application of the MPB4 theory to the interface between between two immiscible electrolyte solutions .4. The differential capacitance of the water/nitrobenzene interface in the presence of 2:2 electrolyte

We have developed a new theoretical model based on the MPB4 theory to calculate the differential capacitance of the interface of 0.05mol/L MgSO4 in water and 0.1mol/L TBATPB in nitrobenzene. Our results coincide with the experimental values very well. It indicates that our model may describe well the structure of ITIES not only in the presence of 1:1 electrolyte but also in the presence of 2:2 electrolyte.

Impedance spectrum measurement in liquid/liquid interface electrochemistry .2. Study on the ion transfer at L/L interface by impedance spectrum technique

In this paper we study the ion transfer across the liquid/liquid interface by impedance spectrum technique in the four - electrode system. We present a method of getting the real interfacial impedance curve from the apparent impedance curve obtained in the four - electrode system. A practical kinetics investigation on the transfer of tetramethylammonium ion at the water/nitrobenzene interface was done with the method to verify the validity of the method. The transfer of tetramethylammonium ion at the W/O interface is really a reversible transfer.

Impedance spectrum measurement in liquid liquid interface electrochemistry .1. Analysis of various kinds of interfacial impedance in the four-electrode system

Applying impedance spectrum technique to liquid/liquid interfacial electrochemistry, we present the theoretical expression of the liquid/liquid interfacial impedance in the four - electrode electrolytic cell measured by alternating current impedance method. The influence of the electrolytic cell parameters and input passage parameters of the impedance apparatus on impedance spectrum curves are theoretically studied.

Study on the Films Forming Process of Nanosized SnO2 Colloid Particles at the Gas-Liquid Interface

The hydrosol of SnO2 nanoparticles are prepared by the method of colloid chemistry. The free piling up process of nanosized SnO2 colloid particles are investigated at the gas-liquid interface by LB and Brewster Angle Microscopy techniques. The result indicates that solid state monolayer and multilayer of SnO2 nanoparticles can be formed at the gas-liquid interface only by aging the sol in air or compressing it without amphiphiles surfactant.

THE APPLICATION OF THE MPB4 THEORY TO THE INTERFACE BETWEEN 2 IMMISCIBLE ELECTROLYTE-SOLUTIONS .2. THE DIFFERENTIAL CAPACITANCE OF THE WATER 1,2-DICHLOROETHANE INTERFACE

The MPB4 theory is used to calculate the differential capacitance of the interface between LiCl in water and TBATPB in 1,2-dichloroethane at electrolyte concentrations of 0.005, 0.01 and 0.02 M. The effects of the ion size and the image force, and the influence of the electrolyte concentration, the surface charge density and the solvent effect on the inner layer potential drop are considered simultaneously. These effects can be ascribed to the ionic penetration into the opposite solution and ion-ion correlations across the interface. Our results are in better agreement with experimental data than those obtained using Gouy-Chapman theory. This indicates that the MPB4 theory may also describe the structure of the water \1,2-dichloroethane interface provided that the influence of the electrolyte concentration, the surface charge density and the solvent effect on the inner layer potential distribution are included in the calculation. Comparison of the theoretical results with those of the water \nitrobenzene interface shows that the structure of the water \1,2-dichloroethane interface is similar to that of the water \nitrobenzene interface, except that in the former case the inner-layer potential drop is much higher and the effects of the image force and the ion size are more pronounced.