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2014

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Articles 121 - 150 of 172

Full-Text Articles in Physical Chemistry

Photocatalysis And Grazing-Ion Beam Surface Modifications Of Planar Tio2 Model Systems, Timothy Luttrell Apr 2014

Photocatalysis And Grazing-Ion Beam Surface Modifications Of Planar Tio2 Model Systems, Timothy Luttrell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is related to the understanding of catalytic reactions of metal oxides. For several decades, the surfaces and bulk of materials have been probed to determine additional properties that relate to photocatalytic applications. This investigation furthers these efforts by the (a) modification of a metal oxide surface to isolate known influences of chemical properties and (b) proposing and utilizing a novel methodology for attribution of photocatalytic activity to a discernable influence. For the first effort, by effectively utilizing a known technique for a new application on a metal oxide, such isolations can be made despite unfavorable states. For the …


Investigation Of Isotope Effects Of Ozone As A Function Of Temperature, Daniel J. Mcmahon Apr 2014

Investigation Of Isotope Effects Of Ozone As A Function Of Temperature, Daniel J. Mcmahon

Open Access Theses

Ozone is an important oxidizer in the atmosphere and plays a crucial role as a cleanser, removing various compounds such NOx and SOx. It also is intriguing to those that study stable isotopes as it has a unique signature found in no other oxygen containing molecule. Ozone is observed to fractionate mass independently, which means it does not follow the typical δ 17 O /δ18 O = 0.52 ratio expected for molecules enriched with 17 O and 18 O. The magnitude of ozone's mass independent enrichment has been studied in laboratory experiments and atmospheric observations but its explanation is still …


Reactivity Studies Of Tridhydropyridine Radical Cautions By Using Fourier-Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry And Advancement Of Mass Spectrometric Analysis Of Asphaltenes And Degradation Products, Mohammad Sabir Aqueel Apr 2014

Reactivity Studies Of Tridhydropyridine Radical Cautions By Using Fourier-Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry And Advancement Of Mass Spectrometric Analysis Of Asphaltenes And Degradation Products, Mohammad Sabir Aqueel

Open Access Dissertations

Aromatic organic molecules which have unpaired electrons play an important role in a variety of applications in the fields of organic synthesis, organic magnets, and biological activity of organic compounds. Several studies have been published on σ- type carbon-centered mono- and biradicals. Reactive intermediates with three formally unpaired electrons are known as triradicals. They can be defined as species with three electrons distributed in three degenerate or nearly degenerate orbitals, based on Salem's definition of biradicals from the electronic structure point of view. Very little is known about the reactivity of carbon-centered σ,σ,σ- triradicals due to the complexity of studying …


Capping Amyloid Β‑Sheets Of The Tau-Amyloid Structure Vqivyk With Hexapeptides Designed To Arrest Growth. An Oniom And Density Functional Theory Study, Joshua A. Plumley, Jorge Ali-Torres, Gabor Pohl, J. J. Dannenberg Mar 2014

Capping Amyloid Β‑Sheets Of The Tau-Amyloid Structure Vqivyk With Hexapeptides Designed To Arrest Growth. An Oniom And Density Functional Theory Study, Joshua A. Plumley, Jorge Ali-Torres, Gabor Pohl, J. J. Dannenberg

Publications and Research

We present ONIOM calculations using density functional theory (DFT) as the high and AM1 as the medium level that explore the abilities of different hexapeptide sequences to terminate the growth of a model for the tau-amyloid implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. We delineate and explore several design principles (H-bonding in the side chains, using antiparallel interactions on the growing edge of a parallel sheet, using all-D residues to form rippled interactions at the edge of the sheet, and replacing the H-bond donor N−H’s that inhibit further growth) that can be used individually and in combination to design such peptides that will …


Electrochemical Performance Of Si-C Composites Prepared By Discharge-Plasma Assisted Milling, Yu-Long Chen, Ren-Zong Hu, Hui Liu, Wei Sun, Min Zhu Feb 2014

Electrochemical Performance Of Si-C Composites Prepared By Discharge-Plasma Assisted Milling, Yu-Long Chen, Ren-Zong Hu, Hui Liu, Wei Sun, Min Zhu

Journal of Electrochemistry

Silicon-carbon (Si-C) composites, with microstructure of multi-scaled Si particles being homogenously dispersed in micro-sized carbon matrix, had been prepared by dielectric barrier discharge plasma assisted two-step milling for the first time. The Si-C composite anode had a discharge capacity of 1259 mAh·g-1 at the first cycle, while the capacity retained 474 and 396 mAh·g-1 after 20 and 100 cycles, respectively. Charge-discharge curves and AC impedance response indicated that both silicon and carbon phases in the composite anode were involved during the lithiation/delithiation reactions and the electron transport resistance in the Si-C composite anode was much lower than that …


Study On Carbon Supported Pd Catalysts Modified By Phosphomolybdic Acid For H2O2 Electrocatalytic Reduction, Li-Mei Sun, Cheng Zhang, Ying-Rong Bao, Hong-Xia Li Feb 2014

Study On Carbon Supported Pd Catalysts Modified By Phosphomolybdic Acid For H2O2 Electrocatalytic Reduction, Li-Mei Sun, Cheng Zhang, Ying-Rong Bao, Hong-Xia Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

The Pd/C catalyst was prepared with the chemical reduction method, and phosphomolybdic acid (PMA) was modified on the Pd/C catalyst using the dipping method. The compositions and structures of the Pd/C and Pd/C modified by phosphomolybdic acid (PMA-Pd/C) catalysts were characterized with X-ray diffraction and Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy analyses. The electrocatalytic activity and stability of the catalysts for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were studied using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The results showed that the phosphomolybdic acid was tightly fixed on the surface of Pd/C catalyst through the chemical interaction. The eletrocatalytic activity of …


Electrochemical Performance Of Limn2O4 In Pyr14Tfsi Containing Electrolyte At 50 OC, Li-Zhen Wang, Xin-Ke Sun, Xu-Zhao Yang, Lin-Sen Zhang, Yong Zhang, Wen-Jing Zhang Feb 2014

Electrochemical Performance Of Limn2O4 In Pyr14Tfsi Containing Electrolyte At 50 OC, Li-Zhen Wang, Xin-Ke Sun, Xu-Zhao Yang, Lin-Sen Zhang, Yong Zhang, Wen-Jing Zhang

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this work, with an aim to improve the performance of spinel lithium manganese and to reduce the safety concern of Li-ion battery system, the effects of N-methyl-N-butylpyrrolidinium bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide (PyR14TFSI) on performance of electrolyte and spinel lithium manganes are studied by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), BTS battery test system, electrochemical work station, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The results indicate that the ionic conductivity of electrolyte is increased with the increase of PyR14TFSI concentration. When the concentration of PyR14TFSI is 2.5% (by mass), the …


Magnesium Deposition-Dissolution Performance Of Ethylenethiourea-Grignard Reagent/Thf Electrolytes, Pei-Wen Bian, Yan-Na Nuli, Qiang Chen, Jun Yang, Jiu-Lin Wang Feb 2014

Magnesium Deposition-Dissolution Performance Of Ethylenethiourea-Grignard Reagent/Thf Electrolytes, Pei-Wen Bian, Yan-Na Nuli, Qiang Chen, Jun Yang, Jiu-Lin Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Three kinds of ethylenethiourea-Grignard reagent/THF electrolytes were prepared by reacting ethylenethiourea with different Grignard reagents such as EtMgBr/THF, PhMgBr/THF and PhMgCl/THF. Cyclic voltammetry tests on Pt disk electrode show that the electrolytes have good performance of magnesium deposition-dissolution as Grignard reagents and higher anodic stabilities than Grignard reagents. The oxidative decomposition potential of ethylenethiourea-PhMgBr/THF on Pt electrode can reach 2.3 V (vs. Mg/Mg2+). The conductivity of ethylenethiourea-PhMgBr/THF electrolyte initially increases and then decreases with the increase of the concentration and reaches to the highest value of 615 μS·cm-1 at 0.9 mol·L-1. The comparison in cyclic …


Preliminary Study On Morphology Controllability Of Electrochemically Prepared Polyaniline By Using Aniline Aimer, Yang Zuo, Kang Shi Feb 2014

Preliminary Study On Morphology Controllability Of Electrochemically Prepared Polyaniline By Using Aniline Aimer, Yang Zuo, Kang Shi

Journal of Electrochemistry

Employing of aniline dimer (N-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine, NPD) as the starting monomer, polyaniline was electrochemically synthesized on the surface of glassy carbon electrode in acetonitrile-aqueous mixing solutions(20% by volume)containing 1 mol·L-1 HClO4. Experimental results demonstrated that the polymerization of NPD occurs at the potentials about 0.2 V lower than those of aniline monomer. Furthermore, the resulting polyaniline has higher morphology controllability than those synthesized by using aniline as the stating monomer. The uniform polyaniline nanoparticles (30 nm in diameter), ultralong nanowires (length > 5 μm, 50 nm in diameter) or large area nanosheets (4 μm in length, 2 μm in …


Electrochemical Oxidation Of Ammonium Nitrite In Absorption Solution Of Flue Gas, Yong-Hong Lu, Xiao-Bo Dong, Li-Sha Wang, Yan Liu, Chen-Jian Zhu, Hai-Bo Xu Feb 2014

Electrochemical Oxidation Of Ammonium Nitrite In Absorption Solution Of Flue Gas, Yong-Hong Lu, Xiao-Bo Dong, Li-Sha Wang, Yan Liu, Chen-Jian Zhu, Hai-Bo Xu

Journal of Electrochemistry

In order to make full uses of ammonium nitrite in absorption solution from flue gas simultaneous desulfurization, denitrification and demercurization processes, here the electrochemical oxidation method was used to transform ammonium nitrite into ammonium nitrate. By using polarization curve, cyclic voltammogram and galvanostatic methods, suitable electrode materials were evaluated and chosen. The influence of electrolyte composition was discussed and the appropriate process parameters were obtained. Finally, the effect of electrochemical oxidation was confirmed by chemical analysis method. In 0.05 mol·L-1 NaNO2 + 0.05 mol·L-1 (NH4)2SO4 simulated absorption solution (5 L, pH = …


Preparation Of High Performance Porous Silicon Powders By Etching Al-Si Alloy In Acid Solution For Lithium Ion Battery, Shi-Ji Hao, Chun-Li Li, Kai Zhu, Ping Zhang, Zhi-Yu Jiang Feb 2014

Preparation Of High Performance Porous Silicon Powders By Etching Al-Si Alloy In Acid Solution For Lithium Ion Battery, Shi-Ji Hao, Chun-Li Li, Kai Zhu, Ping Zhang, Zhi-Yu Jiang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Porous silicon powders prepared by etching Al-Si alloy using an acid solution was reported in the first time. The morphology and structure of as-obtained material were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. It was found that the spongy porous silicon powders presented well crystalline structure and consisted of nano-Si particles. The particle size of porous Si powders was about 20 μm, and the specific surface area was 102.7 m2·g-1. The electrochemical properties of porous silicon powders were evaluated as an anode material for lithium ion batteries. The material proportion in the …


Pulse Electrodeposition Of Pd-Ni Alloy Nanoparticles For Electrocatalytic Oxidation Of Formic Acid, Fang-Zu Yang, Jun-Pei Yue, Zhong-Qun Tian, Shao-Min Zhou Feb 2014

Pulse Electrodeposition Of Pd-Ni Alloy Nanoparticles For Electrocatalytic Oxidation Of Formic Acid, Fang-Zu Yang, Jun-Pei Yue, Zhong-Qun Tian, Shao-Min Zhou

Journal of Electrochemistry

The Pd-Ni alloy nanoparticles with nickel atomic contents of 12.0%, 16.4% and 22.6% were successfully electrodeposited from a Pd-Ni alloy electrolyte by square wave pulse plating. The alloy nanoparticles were in the spherical shape with a diameter of 50 ~ 80 nm. As the growth potential of the alloy was negatively shifted, the nickel content of the alloy was increased, and the size of the nanoparticles was almost the same, whereas the number, the degree of crosslinking and the real active area of the nanoparticles were increased. As the nickel content of the alloy nanoparticles increased, the peak current for …


Underpotential Deposition Of Germanium On Au(111) And Pt(111) Surfaces In Ionic Liquids, Xu-Fen Xie, Jia-Wei Yan, Jing-Hong Liang, Ji-Jun Li, Meng Zhang, Bing-Wei Mao Feb 2014

Underpotential Deposition Of Germanium On Au(111) And Pt(111) Surfaces In Ionic Liquids, Xu-Fen Xie, Jia-Wei Yan, Jing-Hong Liang, Ji-Jun Li, Meng Zhang, Bing-Wei Mao

Journal of Electrochemistry

The underpotential deposition (UPD) of germanium (Ge) in BMIPF6 ionic liquids on Au(111) and Pt(111) surfaces have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and in-situ scannin tunneling microscopy (STM). The CV results show that there are two reduction peaks related to the electrodeposition of Ge. The first reduction peak appeared in the CV curve may cover the transformation of Ge4+ to Ge2+ and the UPD of Ge. The second reduction peak corresponds to the bulk deposition of Ge. In-situ STM study suggests that the two UPD layers of Ge are formed on Au(111) and Pt(111) surfaces. The …


Synthesis And Electrochemical Properties Of Lico1-XMgXMno4 And Lico1-XAlXMno4 (X= 0, 0.02, 0.05, 0.1) As Positive Materials For Lithium-Ion Batteries, Mei-Ling You, Qing-Song Tong, Xiu-Hua Li, Min Lin, Xing-Kang Huang, Yong Yang Feb 2014

Synthesis And Electrochemical Properties Of Lico1-XMgXMno4 And Lico1-XAlXMno4 (X= 0, 0.02, 0.05, 0.1) As Positive Materials For Lithium-Ion Batteries, Mei-Ling You, Qing-Song Tong, Xiu-Hua Li, Min Lin, Xing-Kang Huang, Yong Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

The Al-doped and Mg-doped LiCoMnO4 materials were synthesized through solid-state reaction. The effects of doping amounts of Mg and Al on the initial capacities, discharge plateaus, and cycle performances were investigated. The morphologies and structures of the as-prepared materials were studied by scanning electron microscopy and powder X-ray diffraction. The results indicate that the as-prepared samples were composed of uniform, well-crystallized particles. The pristine LiCoMnO4 possessed an initial capacity of 87.0 mAh·g-1, while LiCo0.98Mg0.02MnO4 and LiCo0.98Al0.02MnO4 delivered 91.3 and 93.6 mAh·g-1, respectively. The proper …


Passivation Behavior Of Aluminum Alloy During Electrochemical Machining And Its Effects On The Machining Performance, Li-Min Jiang, Wen-Bo Deng, Jun-Long Ying Feb 2014

Passivation Behavior Of Aluminum Alloy During Electrochemical Machining And Its Effects On The Machining Performance, Li-Min Jiang, Wen-Bo Deng, Jun-Long Ying

Journal of Electrochemistry

The passivation behavior of aluminum alloy during electrochemical machining was investigated and discussed. The effects of processing voltage, current density, space of electrodes and electrolyte composition on electrochemical machining performance were explored. The results indicate that the electrochemical machining aluminum alloy in the composite electrolyte system containing NaNO3 and NaF existed passivation phenomenon. Passivation action decreaseed the current efficiency and made it varied greatly with the current density. Also the passivation shifted the interspace characteristic curve of electrode notably to a negative direction. There was not passivation phenomenon in the composite electrolyte system containing the same concentrations of NaCl …


Fabrication And Impedance Performance Of Gradient Lani0.6Fe0.4O3-δ-Gd0.2Ce0.8O2 Composite Cathodes For Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cell, Yang Li, Bo Huang, Meng Yuan, Zhi-Qiu Zhang, Zong-Yao Liu, Xu-Chen Tang, Xin-Jian Zhu Feb 2014

Fabrication And Impedance Performance Of Gradient Lani0.6Fe0.4O3-δ-Gd0.2Ce0.8O2 Composite Cathodes For Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cell, Yang Li, Bo Huang, Meng Yuan, Zhi-Qiu Zhang, Zong-Yao Liu, Xu-Chen Tang, Xin-Jian Zhu

Journal of Electrochemistry

A LNF-GDC composite cathode with a gradual change in the composition between ScSZ electrolyte and LNF cathode was fabricated to reduce the cathode polarization resistance (Rp). The gradual change in composition between ScSZ electrolyte and LNF cathode shows the decreases in the charge transfer resistance (Rct) and gas phase diffusion resistance (Rd). The results revealed that the Rp value, measuring 0.452 Ω·cm2 at 750 °C, was the lowest for LNF-GDC composite cathodes with three layers and gradient changes in composition between ScSZ and LNF (Cathode C),, whereas the Rp value of 70%LNF-30%GDC composite …


Surface Structure And Electrochemical Performance Of Zno Coated Lini1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2, Chang-Wei Liu, Yu Wang, Yu-Zhong Guo, Lu-Lu Dan, Jian-Hua Wang Feb 2014

Surface Structure And Electrochemical Performance Of Zno Coated Lini1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2, Chang-Wei Liu, Yu Wang, Yu-Zhong Guo, Lu-Lu Dan, Jian-Hua Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

The surface of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 particles were modified by ZnO. Surface structure and electrochemical properties of the coated materials were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical tests. The results show that a ZnO coating affects the surface composition of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 particles. The surface contents of nickel and manganese increase with the amount of ZnO coating. ZnO can react with LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 and a complex oxide is formed during the heat-treatment at above 400 oC. The …


Preparation Of Pd/Tio2/C Catalyst And Its Electrocatalytic Performance In Basic Solution For Ethanol Oxidation, Qiao-Xia Li, Yi-Chao Yang, Ming-Shuang Liu, Hong-Min Mao, Qun-Jie Xu Feb 2014

Preparation Of Pd/Tio2/C Catalyst And Its Electrocatalytic Performance In Basic Solution For Ethanol Oxidation, Qiao-Xia Li, Yi-Chao Yang, Ming-Shuang Liu, Hong-Min Mao, Qun-Jie Xu

Journal of Electrochemistry

Nanoparticles TiO2 were prepared by hydrothermal method using precursor tetrabutyl titanate. The Pd/TiO2/C catalyst was synthesized by liquid phase reducing method supported on nano TiO2 and Vulcan carbon XC-72. The Pd/TiO2/C catalyst was characterized by XRD, TEM, cyclic voltammetry, and chronopotentiometry. XRD confirmed the face-centered cubic structure of Pd particles, and TEM indicated that Pd particles (size 3 ~ 4 nm) dispersed uniformly on TiO2 and carbon XC-72. The results from cyclic voltammogram and chronopotentiogram showed the higher ethanol oxidation activity and stability of Pd/TiO2/C catalyst (20% Pd) as compared with …


Design And Development Of A Novel Glucose Biosensor Based On The Ferrocene-Functionalized Fe3O4 Nanoparticles/Carbon Nanotubes/Chitosan Nanocomposite Film Modified Electrode, Hua-Ping Peng, Dai-Jun Zha, Wei Chen, Ai-Lin Liu, Xin-Hua Lin Feb 2014

Design And Development Of A Novel Glucose Biosensor Based On The Ferrocene-Functionalized Fe3O4 Nanoparticles/Carbon Nanotubes/Chitosan Nanocomposite Film Modified Electrode, Hua-Ping Peng, Dai-Jun Zha, Wei Chen, Ai-Lin Liu, Xin-Hua Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

A novel platform for the fabrication of glucose biosensor was successfully constructed by entrapping glucose oxidase (GOD) in a ferrocene monocarboxylic acid-aminated Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles conjugate (FMC-AFNPs)/chitosan (CS)/multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) nanocomposite. The formation of FMC-AFNPs could effectively prevent the leakage of ferrocene and retain its electrochemical activity. This GOD/FMC-AFNPs/CS/MWNTs matrix provided a biocompatible microenvironment for retaining the native activity of the immobilized GOD. Moreover, the presence of MWNTs enhanced the charge-transport properties of the composite and facilitated electron transfer between the GOD and the electrode for the electrocatalysis of glucose. Under the optimal conditions the designed …


A New Nonenzymatic Glucose Sensor Based On The Cuo Nanoplatelets, Yan-Cai Li, Fu-Ying Huang, Shun-Xing Li, Jie Chen, Shu-Qing Feng, Fei Wang Feb 2014

A New Nonenzymatic Glucose Sensor Based On The Cuo Nanoplatelets, Yan-Cai Li, Fu-Ying Huang, Shun-Xing Li, Jie Chen, Shu-Qing Feng, Fei Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

The CuO nanoplatelets were synthesized by hydrothermal method. The structure and morphology of the CuO nanoplatelets were characterized by TEM and XRD. A new nonenzymatic glucose sensor was constructed by immobilizing the CuO nanoplatelets on glassy carbon electrode with Nafion. The electrochemical performance of the CuO/Nafion/GCE for the detection of glucose was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and current-time curve. The experiment results showed that the linear dependence of the sensor was 0.01 to 0.3 mmol·L-1 for glucose with a sensitivity of 1783.58 μA·mmol-1·L·cm-2, and the detection limit of the sensor was 0.80 μmol·L-1 (S/N …


Simulations Of Chemical Catalysis, Gregory K. Smith Feb 2014

Simulations Of Chemical Catalysis, Gregory K. Smith

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

This dissertation contains simulations of chemical catalysis in both biological and heterogeneous contexts. A mixture of classical, quantum, and hybrid techniques are applied to explore the energy profiles and compare possible chemical mechanisms both within the context of human and bacterial enzymes, as well as exploring surface reactions on a metal catalyst. A brief summary of each project follows.

Project 1 — Bacterial Enzyme SpvC

The newly discovered SpvC effector protein from Salmonella typhimurium interferes with the host immune response by dephosphorylating mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) with a β-elimination mechanism. The dynamics of the enzyme substrate complex of the SpvC …


Synthesis, Characterization, And Electrochemical Evaluation Of Novel, Highly Active Catalysts For The Oxygen Reduction Reaction In Alkaline Media, Danae Jacquelyne Davis Feb 2014

Synthesis, Characterization, And Electrochemical Evaluation Of Novel, Highly Active Catalysts For The Oxygen Reduction Reaction In Alkaline Media, Danae Jacquelyne Davis

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are needed for fuel cells and next generation metal-air batteries, as the overall efficiency of these systems is currently limited by cathode kinetics. While Pt and Pt-based alloys demonstrate excellent electrocatalytic activities, their prohibitive cost and rarity ultimately prevents their widespread utilization. Catalyst materials that are highly active, stable, and cost effective are needed. Manganese oxide (α-MnO2) catalysts doped with varying amounts of Cu or Ni were synthesized, characterized, and evaluated for their performance as catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline electrolyte. Cu-α-MnO2 nanowire catalysts consistently attained …


Spectroscopic Studies Of Conformation And Packing In Polythiophenes, Edwards T. Niles Feb 2014

Spectroscopic Studies Of Conformation And Packing In Polythiophenes, Edwards T. Niles

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

This thesis employs variants of spectroscopic techniques to evaluate intermolecular interactions between P3HT chains in solution and in the solid state. Emphasis was put on understanding not only how intermolecular interactions within P3HT chains affect electronic properties, but also to assess changes due to the addition of weak and strong electron acceptors. To this end, optical and magnetic spectroscopies were focused on to correlate observed changes in electronic properties to physical changes in the polymer structure. To assess changes in intermolecular interactions, self-assembly was used to form P3HT nanofibers and were studied using resonance Raman, and transient absorption, and temperature- …


Determining The Function Of Hotdog-Fold Thioesterases, Yajun Wu Feb 2014

Determining The Function Of Hotdog-Fold Thioesterases, Yajun Wu

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

The enzymes that hydrolyze thioesters to the free acids and free thiols are called thioesterases. Based on the different folding strategy, most thioesterases are classified into two superfamiles: the hotdog-fold enzyme superfamily or alpha/beta-fold hydrolase enzyme superfamily. Hotdog-fold thioesterases share high degree similarity in structure which resembles a hotdog'. YigI is one of the last two uncharacterized hotdog-fold thioesterases from E.coli. To study the function of YigI, substrate specificity profile was determined by thioesterase activity assay. YigI possesses a preference for long chain acyl-CoA over shorter chain acyl-CoA. The highest activity was found in catalysis of myristoyl-CoA. By alignment with …


Fabrication And Assembly Of Patchy Particles With Uniform Patches, Zhenping He Feb 2014

Fabrication And Assembly Of Patchy Particles With Uniform Patches, Zhenping He

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Patchy colloidal particles have been widely studied as the self-assembly building blocks to illustrate their potential for forming complex structures. The parameters affecting the final assembly structures include (i) patch size, shape, and number per particle, (ii) their relative positions, and (iii) the surface properties of the patch material. Recent computational studies have highlighted the impact of patch shape on assembly structure; however, there are only a limited number of methods that can provide control over patch shape and size. In this thesis, a template is introduced to the Glancing Angle Vapor Deposition method (GLAD) to create surface anisotropy on …


Chemistry Of 6-Monobrominated Indigo, Mbi, Hiroko Ajiki Feb 2014

Chemistry Of 6-Monobrominated Indigo, Mbi, Hiroko Ajiki

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

6-monobrominated indigo, MBI, is a component of a historically important and the most expensive colorant, Tyrian Purple.

The colorant is remarkably stable under the sun, in the air and after extensive washing with water. The color is still vivid after thousands of years. Even though it has such a high stability, MBI and Tyrian Purple have color changes from purple to blue upon temperature changes. This color change has been known for long to certain people, but the mechanism of the color change was unknown.

Tyrian Purple also has recently attracted interests for applications towards semiconducting material due to its …


Analysis Of Localized Diabatic States Beyond The Condon Approximation For Excitation Energy Transfer Processes, Ethan Alguire, Shervin Fatehi, Yihan Shao, Joseph E. Subotnik Jan 2014

Analysis Of Localized Diabatic States Beyond The Condon Approximation For Excitation Energy Transfer Processes, Ethan Alguire, Shervin Fatehi, Yihan Shao, Joseph E. Subotnik

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

In a previous paper [Fatehi, S.; et al. J. Chem. Phys. 2013, 139, 124112], we demonstrated a practical method by which analytic derivative couplings of Boys-localized CIS states can be obtained. In this paper, we now apply that same method to the analysis of triplet–triplet energy transfer systems studied by Closs and collaborators [Closs, G. L.; et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc.1988, 110, 2652]. For the systems examined, we are able to conclude that (i) the derivative coupling in the BoysOV basis is negligible, and (ii) the diabatic coupling will likely change little over the configuration space explored …


Probing Structure For Photophysical Properties Through Synthesis Of Novel Nucleosides, Brittney Jean Rodgers Jan 2014

Probing Structure For Photophysical Properties Through Synthesis Of Novel Nucleosides, Brittney Jean Rodgers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A brief history of nucleosides and their photophysics provides the background information for the discussion of synthesis, photophysics and incorporation of fluorescent nucleotide analogs during enzymatic DNA synthesis. Through the use of nucleoside starting material, it is possible to synthesize a number of modified nucleotides for use as fluorescent probes in biochemical research. Synthetic endeavors into the synthesis of these and related molecules from nucleobase starting materials are also presented. The synthesis of these molecules involved re-development of the synthetic routes to broaden substrate scope by overcoming the changed reactivity resulting from the presence of additional functionality.

While many highly …


Spontaneous Formation Of One-Dimensional Hydrogen Gas Hydrate In Carbon Nanotubes, Wenhui Zhao, Lu Wang, Jaeil Bai, Joseph S. Francisco, Xiao Cheng Zeng Jan 2014

Spontaneous Formation Of One-Dimensional Hydrogen Gas Hydrate In Carbon Nanotubes, Wenhui Zhao, Lu Wang, Jaeil Bai, Joseph S. Francisco, Xiao Cheng Zeng

Xiao Cheng Zeng Publications

We present molecular dynamics simulation evidence of spontaneous formation of quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) hydrogen gas hydrates within single-walled carbon nanotubes (SW-CNTs) of nanometer-sized diameter (1−1.3 nm) near ambient temperature. Contrary to conventional 3D gas hydrates in which the guest molecules are typically contained in individual and isolated cages in the host lattice, the guest H2 molecules in the Q1D gas hydrates are contained within a 1D nanochannel in which the H2 molecules form a molecule wire. In particular, we show that in the (15,0) zigzag SW-CNT, the hexagonal H2 hydrate tends to form, with one H2 molecule …


A Photoelectron Spectroscopy And Ab Initio Study Of The Structures And Chemical Bonding Of The B25 − Cluster, Zachary A Piazza, Ivan H. Popov, Wei-Li Li, Rhitankar Pal, Xiao Cheng Zeng, Alexander I. Boldyrev, Lai-Sheng Wang Jan 2014

A Photoelectron Spectroscopy And Ab Initio Study Of The Structures And Chemical Bonding Of The B25 − Cluster, Zachary A Piazza, Ivan H. Popov, Wei-Li Li, Rhitankar Pal, Xiao Cheng Zeng, Alexander I. Boldyrev, Lai-Sheng Wang

Xiao Cheng Zeng Publications

Photoelectron spectroscopy and ab initio calculations are used to investigate the structures and chemical bonding of the B25 − cluster. Global minimum searches reveal a dense potential energy landscape with 13 quasi-planar structures within 10 kcal/mol at the CCSD(T)/6-311+G(d) level of theory. Three quasi-planar isomers (I, II, and III) are lowest in energy and nearly degenerate at the CCSD(T) level of theory, with II and III being 0.8 and 0.9 kcal/mol higher, respectively, whereas at two density functional levels of theory isomer III is the lowest in energy (8.4 kcal/mol more stable than I at PBE0/6-311+G(2df) level). Comparison with …