Moura, C

Abstract The standard molar enthalpies of formation in the gaseous state, at T= 298.15 K, of the 2-cyclopentenone and 3-methyl-2-cyclopentenone were derived from their standard molar energies of combustion and from their standard molar enthalpies of vaporization, obtained from static-bomb combustion calorimetry measurements and high-temperature Calvet microcalorimetry, respectively. The enthalpies of hydrogenation of the two cyclopentenones were derived from their gas-phase enthalpies of formation and the gas-phase enthalpies of formation of the corresponding cycloalkanones. The gas-phase standard molar enthalpy of formation of the compounds studied were also obtained using high level ab initio calculations and are in very good agreement with the experimental ones. In addition, thermochemical parameters associated to 2-cyclopentenone and 3-methyl-2-cyclopentenone transformations were investigated using the G3(MP2)//B3LYP level of theory. The conversions of both compounds to longer chain alkanes were found to be thermodynamically favourable. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd.

Abstract Imprinting chondroitin sulfate (CS)/silica composites with Pb(II) and Cu(II) cations was explored with CS of bovine and different fish species origin. The process was based on the assumption that particular arrangements of the linear CS chains in aqueous solution, induced so as to accommodate cross complexation with the cations, would be embodied into a tridimensional matrix created through an organoalkoxysilane sol-gel scheme. The presence of Cu(II) in the synthesis of the composites did not result in the production of significantly stronger Cu(II)-oriented binding arrangements, and therefore, the imprinting was not successful. Inversely, for Pb(II), the materials obtained exhibited a memory effect for the Pb(II) ions, expressed in the observation of stronger (13%-44%) binding as compared to the nonimprinted counterparts, and increased selectivity (1.5-2 folds) against Cd(II). The imprinting features observed were dependent on the CS source. However, it was not possible to identify, among a set of their properties (carboxylate and sulfate abundance, percent of disulfated units, 4S/6S ratio, and molecular weight), any that correlated directly with the observed imprinting features. The augmented selectivity provided by the cation-imprinting process may be advantageous in areas such as analytical separation, remediation, purification, sensing, and others, particularly in those cases where a certain cation is of special interest within a mixture of them.

Abstract The strategy of combining electroactive polymers and inorganic nanomaterials has been widely explored in recent years in order to improve some of their properties, namely electrocatalysis and electrochromism. This report focuses on a new composite prepared through the electropolymerization of the transition metal complex [Ni(3-Mesalen)], designated as [1] in the presence of WO3 nanoparticles (NPs) and its electrochromic (EC) performance. The WO3 NPs were prepared using tungsten metal powder; their characterization indicated quasi-spherical morphology, high crystallinity and particle sizes in the range 30-40 nm. The nanocomposite WO3@poly[1] films displayed similar electrochemical responses to those of pristine poly[1] films in LiClO4/CH3CN, but higher electroactive surface coverages, an advantage of NPs incorporation in the nanocomposite. The presence of the WO3 NPs in the poly[1] matrix was assessed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electronic microscopy. The nanocomposite presented similar electronic spectra to those of poly[1], indicating that the electronic structure of the pristine film is maintained in the nanocomposite, but exhibited lower e-values for bands associated with charge transfer transitions for high oxidised states, revealing an enhanced stability towards ligand over-oxidation. The WO3@ poly[1] nanocomposite showed more favourable EC properties in LiClO4/CH3CN than the pristine film. For typical coverages ( Gamma = 0.06-0.10 mu mol cm (2)) the composite showed lower switching times (tau = 1.3 - 3.6 s), higher optical contrast (Delta T approximate to 31%, an improvement of ca. 40%) and better colouration efficiencies (in the range eta = 104 - 115 cm(2)C (1), improvement of ca. 13 - 22%).

Abstract We report the electrochromic properties of a polymeric nanocomposite prepared by potentiodynamic deposition of transition-metal complex [Ni(3-Mesalen)], designated as [1], in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) with an average size of 9.7 +/- 1.1 nm. Entrapment of TiO2 NPs in the poly[1] matrix was confirmed by several techniques. The nanocomposite TiO2@poly[1] films showed similar electrochemical responses to the original (nanoparticle-free) poly[1] films, but with higher electroactive surface coverages (G), showing the advantage of the nanocomposite preparation. The results indicated that the electronic structure of poly[1] was retained in the nanocomposite; nonetheless, a lower e value was obtained for the charge-transfer band of the former, revealing superior stability of the nanocomposite for ligand high oxidation states. The TiO2@poly[1] nanocomposite showed interesting color changes, from yellow (reduced state) to green and russet (oxidized states), with enhanced electrochemical stability, demonstrated by a charge loss of only 7.3% over ca. 10?000 redox cycles surpassing the original polymer film stability: the loss of electroactivity is a factor of ca. 2 less than for pristine poly[1]. Furthermore, an enhancement of 16.7% in the optical modulation (Delta OD = 0.48) was also observed for the nanocomposite, confirming the benefit of TiO2 incorporation into the EC properties of the original polymer film.

Abstract An electrochromic nanocomposite based on a nickel-salen polymeric film - poly[Ni(3-Mesalen)], Mesalen = N,N'-bis(3-methylsalicylideneiminate) - and graphene nanoplatelets (GFNPs) with enhanced electrochromic stability was successfully prepared by anodic electropolymerization. Although the electrochemical processes typical of the polymer film were not changed by the presence of graphene, higher electroactive surface coverages could be obtained for nanocomposite films, which suggest the incorporation of GFNPs into the polymeric network. The nanocomposite showed multi-electrochromic behavior, with color changes between yellow (reduced state) and green (oxidized state). The inclusion of GFNPs into the poly[Ni(3-Mesalen)] structure accelerates the switching process, with the response time for green coloration decreasing by 50.7% and for yellow coloration by 60.0%, for films prepared with 30 electropolymerization cycles. In terms of electrochemical stability, after 10,000 electrochemical cycles the loss of charge was 7% for the graphene nanocomposite. The nanocomposite film was used as electrochromic material to assemble a flexible solid-state electrochromic device (ECD), which exhibited an outstanding electrochemical stability - only 3% of charge loss after 15 days of continuous activity.