Digital signal processing for step-scan phase and electrochemical potential double-modulation Fourier transform infrared spectrometry.

Step-scan double-modulation (phase and electrochemical potential) Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry provides both spectroscopic and dynamic information about faradaic reactions. Recently introduced digital signal processing (DSP) can be used, instead of two lock-in amplifiers, for the optical signal demodulation at two modulation frequencies. In order to establish the merits of double-modulation FT-IR spectrometry with DSP, spectro-electrochemical experiments are performed in the attenuated total reflection configuration and with the commonly used ferri/ferrocyanide redox couple.

Ultrathin molecularly imprinted polymer sensors employing enhanced transmission surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy.

An ultrathin novel nanosensor (31.5 +/- 4.1 nm thick in the absence of analytes), employing a molecularly imprinted polymer as a recognition element for cholesterol and gold nanoparticle enhanced transmission surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy for detection, was constructed.

Preparation of cadmium sulfide nanoparticles in self-reproducing reversed micelles.

Octyl octanoate (O-OL) underwent hydrolysis in sodium octanoate (NaOA) reversed micelles in 85:15 = isooctane:octanol (OL) (v/v), containing w = [H2O]/[NaOA] = 40. The products of the hydrolysis, octanoic acid (OA) and octanol (OL), lead to the formation of additional (albeit smaller) reversed micelles; hence the process is considered to be self-reproducing. Self-reproduction was found to be catalyzed by lithium hydroxide, solubilized in the water pools, as well as by hydrogen sulfide, added to the solution of the reversed micelles.

Nanosensors based on responsive polymer brushes and gold nanoparticle enhanced transmission surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy.

Swelling (and shrinking) of poly(2-vinylpyridine), P2VP, polymer brushes, caused by pH changes, could be readily monitored by transmission surface plasmon resonance, T-SPR, spectroscopy. Gold nanoparticles attached to the P2VP polymer brushes dramatically enhanced the pH-induced shift in the T-SPR absorption spectra. (A 50 nm shift of the absorption maximum of the T-SPR spectrum of the supporting gold nanoislands was observed upon changing the pH from 5.

In-situ analysis of stepwise self-assembled 1,6-hexanedithiol multilayers by surface plasmon resonance measurements.

1,6-Hexandithiol (HDT) forms 6.9 +/- 1.0 A thick defect-free monolayers on gold substrates if the solution is purged by argon during the adsorption while long term (> 1000 min) exposure of the substrate to alcoholic HDT results in the stepwise formation of multilayers in the absence of argon purging.

Size quantized formation and self-assembly of gold encased silver nanoparticles.

Mixing aqueous dispersions of thiocyanate ion coated small (< 3.5 nm diameter) gold nanoparticles and EDTA covered larger (> 22 nm diameter) silver nanoparticles, results in the formation of robust gold encased silver nanoparticles; in contrast to using larger (> 11 nm diameter) gold nanoparticles which forms chained structures.