Novel Binders for Aqueous Electrode Processing of Electrochemical Capacitors.

This work studies the use of epoxy and polyurethane formulations as binders for the aqueous processing of activated carbon (AC) electrodes used as positive and negative electrodes in Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors (EDLCs). The use of amine and carbodiimide as crosslinkers is also evaluated. The mechanical properties of those different binders have been investigated, looking towards aqueous processable and flexible electrodes.

Amplifying Sensing Capabilities: Combining Plasmonic Resonances and Fresnel Reflections through Multivariate Analysis.

Multivariate analysis applied in biosensing greatly improves analytical performance by extracting relevant information or bypassing confounding factors such as nonlinear responses or experimental errors and noise. Plasmonic sensors based on various light coupling mechanisms have shown impressive performance in biosensing by detecting dielectric changes with high sensitivity. In this study, gold nanodiscs are used as metasurface in a Kretschmann setup, and a variety of features from the reflectance curve are used by machine learning to improve sensing performance.

Imidazole-based ionogel as room temperature benzene and formaldehyde sensor.

A room temperature benzene and formaldehyde gas sensor system with an ionogel as sensing material is presented. The sensing layer is fabricated employing poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) polymerized in the presence of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethyl sulfate ionic liquid onto gold interdigitated electrodes. When the ionogel is exposed to increasing formaldehyde concentrations employing N as a carrier gas, a more stable response is observed in comparison to the bare ionic liquid, but no difference in sensitivity occurs.

Engineered protein-based functional nanopatterned materials for bio-optical devices.

The development of new active biocompatible materials and devices is a current need for their implementation in multiple fields, including the fabrication of implantable devices for biomedical applications and sustainable devices for bio-optics and bio-optoelectronics. This paper describes a simple strategy to use designed proteins to develop protein-based functional materials. Using simple proteins as self-assembling building blocks as a platform for the fabrication of new optically active materials takes previous work one step further towards the design of materials with defined structures and functions using naturally occurring protein materials, such as silk.

Ultrathin films of variable polarity and crystallinity obtained from 1,2-polybutadiene nanoparticle dispersions.

Characterization of ultrathin films of different polymer nanoparticles obtained at room temperature via spin-coating of aqueous dispersions and their morphology are described. Very small nanoparticles of semicrystalline 1,2-polybutadiene (PB), noncrystalline poly(1-butene) (PH), and poly(1-butenal) (PHF) were prepared via catalytic emulsion polymerization and subsequent hydrogenation or hydroformylation. The prefabricated nanoparticles were used as building blocks.

Conveniently accessible polymer nanoparticles of adjustable polarity.

The postpolymerization modification by hydroformylation of 1,2-polybutadiene nanoparticles provides access to colloidally stable aqueous dispersions of <20 nm particles. Their polarity can be adjusted via the degree of conversion of double bonds over a broad range. Fluorescence studies illustrate the polarity of the environment experienced by pyrene as a probe molecule.

Triplet exciplexes as energy transfer photosensitisers.

Experimental evidence is provided for the occurrence of triplet-triplet energy transfer from benzoylthiophene-indole exciplexes to naphthalenes with a remarkable stereodifferentiation; chiral recognition is also observed in the decay of the generated naphthalene triplets.

Stereodifferentiation in the formation and decay of the encounter complex in bimolecular electron transfer with photoactivated acceptors.

Experimental evidence has been obtained for the involvement of encounter complexes between both enantiomers of a pi,pi* triplet excited ketone and a chiral phenol or indole. Determination of the pre-equilibrium constants (K(EC)) and the intrinsic decay rate constants (kd) indicates a significant stereodifferentiation in both steps of the quenching process.

Photoreaction between benzoylthiophenes and N-BOC-tryptophan methyl ester.

Drug-induced photoallergy requires as the first step formation of covalent drug-protein photoadducts. One of the key amino acids involved in this process is tryptophan (Trp). In this context, several diaryl ketones, including 2-benzoylthiophene (BT), [2-(5-benzoyl-5-thienyl)]-2-methylpropanoic methyl ester (TPA methyl ester) and 4-(2-thienylcarbonyl)phenyl]-2-methylpropanoic methyl ester (SUP methyl ester) have been irradiated in the presence of N-BOC-(L)-tryptophan methyl ester.

Steady-state and time-resolved studies on the formation of skatolyl radicals photosensitized by 2-benzoylthiophene.

Quenching of the excited triplet state of 2-benzoylthiophene (BT) by 3-methylindole (CH3InH) leads to several neutral radicals resulting from formal hydrogen-atom abstraction. The transient absorption spectra of the BT ketyl radical (BTH) and the N-centered (CH3In) radical are directly detected by laser flash photolysis. From the differences between the spectra in the presence and the absence of oxygen, the C-centered skatolyl radical (CH2InH) is also observed.