Analytische Chemie
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Additive Manufacturing provides an important enabling technology for the digital transformation of the economy. As an emerging technology it has seen a remarkable development over the last three decades. Nevertheless, it is far from a broad adoption with several barriers to overcome yet. One of the major challenges is the lack of standards. The critical role of standardization for innovation is generally recognized, still the topic too often has been neglected in strategic roadmapping exercises for emerging technologies. Too little is known about the complex dynamics and interrelations of standardization and innovation. The anticipation of standardization needs and the timely and efficient implementation of standards is challenging. This paper aims at contributing to a better understanding of the role that standards play in the multi-dimensional system of innovation. It analyzes the trajectories of innovation in Additive Manufacturing in a systematic and holistic way, focusing on standardization activities with regard to coordination, stakeholders involved, the timing and types of standards developed. Putting standardization in context of the multi-dimensional innovation system of Additive Manufacturing the research shows where standards can support the diffusion of an emerging technology.
Leaking methane (CH4) from infrastructures, such as pipelines and landfills, is critical for the environment but can also pose a safety risk. To enable a fast detection and localization of these kind of leaks, we developed a novel robotic platform for aerial remote gas sensing. Spectroscopic measurement methods for remote sensing of selected gases lend themselves for use on mini-copters, which offer a number of advantages for inspection and surveillance over traditional methods. No direct contact with the target gas is needed and thus the influence of the aerial platform on the measured gas plume can be kept to a minimum. This allows to overcome one of the major issues with gas-sensitive mini-copters. On the other hand, remote gas sensors, most prominently Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) sensors have been too bulky given the payload and energy restrictions of mini-copters. Here, we present the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Remote Gas Sensing (UAV-REGAS), which combines a novel lightweight TDLAS sensor with a 3-axis aerial stabilization gimbal for aiming on a versatile hexacopter. The proposed system can be deployed in scenarios that cannot be addressed by currently available robots and thus constitutes a significant step forward for the field of Mobile Robot Olfaction (MRO). It enables tomographic reconstruction of gas plumes and a localization of gas sources. We also present first results showing its performance under realistic conditions.
Bacterial biofilms represent a ubiquitous form of microbial life on Earth. Due to an evolved armory of protean biological responses to external stimuli, bacteria are able to adhere to, colonize and thrive on virtually all surfaces, whether natural or synthetic, even in challenging environmental conditions. In addition to significant health risks, biofilms are among the salient contributors to the deterioration of metals and their alloys, thereby causing safety risks for technical equipment. Hence, understanding the interaction mechanisms of electroactive sessile bacteria with metal surfaces is vital for facilitating the development of efficient control strategies and novel anti-fouling surfaces in various industries and technologies.
The present study focusses on a combined spectroelectrochemical approach, melding methods of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and electrochemical techniques, to investigate the chemical characteristics and redox activities of electroactive bacteria during the initial stages of biofilm formation. Gold has been selected as a model substrate due to its inert character, considerably high surface enhancement factor, as well as its capability to allow surface chemistry modifications and substrate polarization in order to precisely control the surface charge. Square wave voltammetry (SWV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) studies have been performed for quantitative determination of flavin concentration and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) has been utilized to study the changes in electrochemical processes within biofilms during different stages of growth. Shewanella sp. have been chosen as microorganisms within this work due to their versatile exoelectrogenic respiratory behavior and their distinct ability to reduce metals via extracellular electron transfer mechanisms involving self-secreted electron shuttle redox molecules such as flavins. To further explicate the process of diffusion of flavins within biofilms, a model system has been developed to simulate the structural features of the bacterial extracellular polymeric substances typically found in biofilms. This has been achieved by creating hydrogel films comprised of calcium-cross-linked alginate. The results demonstrate an interplay of factors contributing to the initial phases of bacterial settlement and biofilm formation as a function of environmental parameters. Furthermore, the results allow insight into the diffusion of flavins, much like they would in a natural biofilm, and how their redox behavior affects the biofilm development.
Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is an analytical technique that
separates analytes based on their electrophoretic mobility with
the use of an applied voltage.
Nanoparticles separation using CE exhibits good separation and
analysis efficiency, especially for nanoparticles smaller than 30
nm. The coupling of CE with inductively coupled plasma mass
spectrometry (ICP-MS) provides the possibility to detect
nanoparticles in the concentration range of nanograms per litre
and enables the simultaneous detection of nanoparticles and its
[1][2] ionic counter parts.
Our objective is to develop a fast and reliable separation method
for differently modified nanoparticles using capillary
electrophoresis.
Inhibition of Herpes Virus by Specific and Non-specific Interactions With Graphene Conjugates
(2017)
Herpes viruses (HSV) are global, host-adapted pathogens that cause a widespread diversity of diseases. The frequency of HSV infections all over the world has amplified over the last years, making it a major concern in the area of public health. Therefore, synthesis of systems that can inhibit development of these viruses is required. Various compounds already have shown inhibition of HSV, but concentration of these inhibitors is relatively high and resistance against those drugs is challenging.
Combination of biological knowledge, about structure of the active site on the surface of HSV that is responsible for inhibition of the pathogen, with the chemistry of graphene results in 2D systems with the ability of specific and nonspecific interactions with HSV. In this work, 2D nanomaterials with picomolar IC50 against HSV are synthesized by conjugation of peptides to the surface of graphene.
2D nanomaterials are characterized by various methods, including XPS, AFM and IR. Biological evaluation showed high potency of synthesized nanomaterials to inhibit HSV and therefore underlined possibility to use such materials in future biomedical applications.
Graphene and its derivatives have recently attracted much attention for sensing and deactivating pathogens. However, mechanism of multivalent interactions at the graphene-pathogen interface are not fully understood. Since different physicochemical parameters of graphene play a role at this interface, control over graphene’s structure is necessary to study the mechanism of these interactions. In this work, zwitterionic graphene nanomaterials (ZGNMs) were synthesized with defined isoelectric points and exposure, in terms of polymer coverage and functionality. Then, the switchable interactions of ZGNMs with E. coli were investigated to study the validity of the generally proposed “trapping” mechanism for inactivating pathogens by functionalized graphene derivatives. The ZGNMs were able to controllably trap and release E. coli by crossing their isoelectric points.
Metal organic frameworks and coordination polymers play an important role in different fields of applications. Moreover, particularly fluorinated metal-organic frameworks (FMOFs) are in the focus of interest during the last years. In most cases, fluorine is implemented using perfluorinated organic linkers at the synthesis, usually performed by solvothermal synthesis. However, only few examples are known so far where fluorine is coordinated directly to the metal cation. Recently, we reported about mechanochemical syntheses and characterization of fluorine-containing coordination polymers of alkaline earth metals by milling M(OH) (M: Ca, Sr, Ba) with fluorinated benzene dicarboxylic acids 2 and we reported about mechanochemical syntheses of alkaline earth metal fluorides with ammonium fluoride. Now we are reporting about a combination of both synthesis routes. That is the first mechanochemical synthesis of coordination polymers where fluorine is coordinated directly to the metal cation.
The Cairo Geniza is an “archive” discovered in the 19th century in Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat, a district in Old Cairo (Egypt), located south of the center of modern Cairo. The giant collection of mostly Jewish documents that vary in genres, languages and writing supports contains a large number of early medieval Hebrew manuscripts, mostly in fragmentary form. The larger part of the Cairo Geniza is stored today in the Cambridge University Library.
The Geniza provides sources for the literary, linguistic, historical studies of the various aspects Jewish life. As the documents attest, at least two Jewish communities co-existed in Fustat up to 11th century: a so-called Babylonian and Palestinian. These communities had different leaders, different traditions and lived independently. The differences seem to manifest themselves also in the paleographical, codicological and some material properties of the manuscripts produced by each community.
My work addresses the ink composition in the documents attributed to the members of these communities. For the determination of the inks type and composition I employ reflectography and µ-XRF spectrometry, respectively. The preliminary typological studies indicate that iron-gall inks were found predominantly in the manuscripts attributed to the Palestinian community.
Accurate measurements of stable isotope abundance ratio variations are often reported using artifact based delta-scales, which rely on suitable isotopic reference materials (iRM) for their realization. For example, variations in the 26Mg/24Mg isotope abundance ratio in natural systems are typically reported as delta26Mg values that represents the relative difference between the 26Mg/24Mg ratio measured in a sample relative to its measurement preferably in an iRM. In the past, such delta26Mg measurements were referenced to NIST SRM 980, the initial zero of the delta26Mg scale. With the development of MC-ICPMS, the detection of small but measurable isotopic differences in different chips of SRM 980 became apparent. It was then replaced by a Mg solution (DSM3), the new zero of the delta26Mg scale. A potential replacement iRM for DSM3 has been developed, ERM-AE143. This iRM has also been measured for its absolute isotope amount ratios1,2 making it traceable to the SI.
The results of an delta26Mg intercomparison experiment include the Mg iRMs SRM 980, IRMM-009, ERM-AE143, AE144, AE145 standards DSM3 and Cambridge-1. The intercomparison involved 5 expert laboratories, consisting of 3 national metrological institutes (BAM, NIST, PTB) and 2 scientific research laboratories (GFZ Potsdam, UBremen).
The iRMs were measured relative to AE143 and cover a range of ≈5 ‰ in delta26Mg. IRMM-009 has the lowest delta26Mg value while DSM3 has the highest, spanning a range in values that covers natural Mg isotope variations. The 2SD reproducibilities of the individual values from the different laboratories range from 0.02 to 0.26 ‰. The mean delta26Mg values, calculated from the laboratory means however show 2SD reproducibilities varing between 0.025 and 0.093 ‰. Propagated measurement uncertainties suggest a standard uncertainty of about 0.1‰ for delta26Mg determinations.
Hepcidin-25 has attracted much attention ever since its discovery in 2001. It is widely recognized that this liver produced peptide hormone plays a major role in the regulation of iron levels in mammals and can reveal important clinical information about several pathological states in patients suffering from iron-related disorders.
With the aim to tackle the current difficulties in hepcidin quantification and improve the status of this promising biomarker in the clinical field, we developed a rapid and robust analytical strategy for the quantification of hepcidin-25 in human samples based on HPLC-MS/MS (QqQ) to be implemented in routine laboratories. The novelty of the method is the use of special HPLC vials to avoid adsorptive losses due to the basic character of the peptide that causes interaction with the silanol groups of the vial’s glass surface. Up to 90% decrease in the MS/MS signal was observed, when commercial HPLC vials were used, while vials treated with 3-(2-aminoethylamino)propylmethyl-dimethoxysilane or 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane, leading to no significant losses in the dynamic range of physiological hepcidin-25 mean serum levels (10-20 µg/L).
Careful analytical validation was performed for determining the reproducibility, repeatability, limit of quantification (0.5 µg/L) and linearity (0.5-40 µg/L) of the method. Serum samples from 9 healthy volunteers were analyzed with a median hepcidin-25 level of 3.3 µg/L, comparable to results reported in the literature.
We developed a rapid and robust HPLC-MS/MS (QqQ) method for the quantification of hepcidin-25, a promising new biomarker in iron metabolism, in human samples. The novelty of the method is the use of special HPLC vials to avoid adsorptive losses due to the basic character of the peptide that causes interaction with the silanol groups of the vial’s glass surface. Up to 90% decrease in the MS/MS signal was observed, when commercial HPLC vials were used, while vials treated with 3-(2-aminoethylamino)propylmethyldimethoxysilane or 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane, leading to no losses in the range of physiological hepcidin-25 mean serum levels (10-20 µg/L).
Due to the demand of monitoring the water quality regarding emerging pollutants, such as drug residues, selective, high-throughput and multi-target analytical methods must be established. On the one hand, the influence of sewage on natural surface waters must be routinely monitored. On the other hand, estimation of removal efficiencies of pollutants, such as drug residues, is in the focus of industrial and public wastewater treatment. Immunoassays, such as ELISA, offer the possibility to be highly sensitive and selective due to the high target affine and specific recognition of antibodies to target molecules. Batch-wise processing in microtiter plates allow the necessary high-throughput, but only a single analyte can be determined within one measurement.
To overcome these disadvantages, we developed a four-plex micro-bead based flow cytometric assay, which is adaptable for the microtiter plate format. The modular and self-prepared bead support consists of polystyrene-core-silica-shell particles. While the polystyrene core is used for encoding, by introducing different amounts of fluorescent dyes, the silica-shell creates a solid-support for the immunoassay: The target analytes, three drugs, carbamazepine, diclofenac and caffeine and the f ecal marker isolithocholic acid are covalently coupled to amino-groups on the surface via NHS-chemistry. A competitive immunoassay is subsequently conducted in a simple mix-and-read procedure. Finally, we could use SAFIA to assess the influent of treated and untreated waste water on the Douro river estuary in Portugal. The results of the analysis are comparable to ELISA. However, measurements could be carried out in 25% the time of analysis.
Mechanaochemistry is an effective method to yield pure compounds within a short reaction time. Mechanochemical C-C bond forming reactions gained increasing interest in the past decade. Among those the Knoevenagel condensation is an important reaction for synthezing a,b-unsaturated compounds. The information on the underlying mechanisms of mechanochemical reactions are scarce. In situ investigations using Raman spectroscopy and synchroton XRD either alone or in combination address this challenge. We present the in situ results of a Knoevenagel condensation with p-nitrobenzaldehyde and malononitrile under neat grinding conditions.
Mechanaochemistry is an effective method to yield pure compounds within a short reaction time. Mechanochemical C-C bond forming reactions gained increasing interest in the past decade. Among those the Knoevenagel condensation is an important reaction for synthezing a,b-unsaturated compounds. The information on the underlying mechanisms of
mechanochemical reactions are scarce. In situ investigations using Raman spectroscopy and synchroton XRD either alone or in combination address this challenge. We present the in situ results of a Knoevenagel condensation with p-nitrobenzaldehyde and malononitrile under neat grinding conditions.
Mechanaochemistry is an effective method to yield pure compounds within a short reaction time. Mechanochemical C-C bond forming reactions gained increasing interest in the past decade. Among those the Knoevenagel condensation is an important reaction for synthezing a,b-unsaturated compounds. The information on the underlying mechanisms of mechanochemical reactions are scarce. In situ investigations using Raman spectroscopy and synchroton XRD either alone or in combination address this challenge. We present the in situ results of a Knoevenagel condensation with p-nitrobenzaldehyde and malononitrile under neat grinding conditions.
The EC recommendation for the definition of nanomaterial [2011/696/EU] requires the quantitative size determination of constituent particles in samples down to 1 nm. Accordingly, a material is a nanomaterial if 50 % or more of the particles are in the size range 1-100 nm. The fact that engineered nanomaterials already exist in many industrial and consumer products challenges the development of measurement methods to reliably identify, characterize and quantify their occurrence as substance and in various matrices.
The EU FP7 NanoDefine project [www.nanodefine.eu] has addressed this challenge by developing a robust, readily implementable and cost-effective measurement strategy to obtain quantitative particle size distributions and to distinguish between nano and non-nano materials according to the EU definition. Based on a comprehensive evaluation of existing methodologies and intra- and inter-lab comparisons, validated measurement methods and instrument calibration procedures have been established to reliably measure the size of particles within 1-100 nm, and beyond, including different shapes, coatings and chemical compositions in industrial materials and consumer products. Case studies prove their applicability for various sectors, including food, pigments and cosmetics.
Main outcome is the establishment of an integrated tiered approach including rapid screening (tier 1) and confirmatory methods (tier 2), and a user manual to guide end-users, such as manufacturers, in selecting appropriate methods. Another main product is the “NanoDefiner” e-Tool allowing the standardised / semi-automated selection of appropriate methods for material classification according to the EU definition. Results also contribute to standardization efforts, such as CEN TC 352 or ISO TC 229.
Accurate measurements of stable isotope abundance ratio variations are often reported using artifact based delta-scales, which rely on suitable isotopic reference materials (iRM) for their realization. For example, variations in the 26Mg/24Mg isotope abundance ratio in natural systems are typically reported as delta26Mg values that represents the relative difference between the 26Mg/24Mg ratio measured in a sample relative to its measurement preferably in an iRM. In the past, such delta26Mg measurements were referenced to NIST SRM 980, the initial zero of the delta26Mg scale. With the development of MC-ICPMS, the detection of small but measurable isotopic differences in different chips of SRM 980 became apparent. It was then replaced by a Mg solution (DSM3), the new zero of the delta26Mg scale. A potential replacement iRM for DSM3 has been developed, ERM-AE143. This iRM has also been measured for its absolute isotope amount ratios1,2 making it traceable to the SI.
The results of an delta26Mg intercomparison experiment include the Mg iRMs SRM 980, IRMM-009, ERM-AE143, AE144, AE145 standards DSM3 and Cambridge-1. The intercomparison involved 5 expert laboratories, consisting of 3 national metrological institutes (BAM, NIST, PTB) and 2 scientific research laboratories (GFZ Potsdam, UBremen).
The iRMs were measured relative to AE143 and cover a range of ≈5 ‰ in delta26Mg. IRMM-009 has the lowest delta26Mg value while DSM3 has the highest, spanning a range in values that covers natural Mg isotope variations. The 2SD reproducibilities of the individual values from the different laboratories range from 0.02 to 0.26 ‰. The mean delta26Mg values, calculated from the laboratory means however show 2SD reproducibilities varing between 0.025 and 0.093 ‰. Propagated measurement uncertainties suggest a standard uncertainty of about 0.1‰ for delta26Mg determinations.
1 JAAS, 2015, 31,179; 2JAAS, 2016, 31, 1440
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) or Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) ? This is a question, nowadays discussed in EM labs of research and industry involved in the characterization and metrology of nanoparticles. The Scanning principle is adapted to TEM, the Transmission mode is adapted to Ultra High Resolution SEM. Can modern SEM replace TEM, reach atomic resolution even without Cs corrector or nm lateral resolution for energydispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX)?
Due to the development of a New Cold Field Emission (NCFE) electron source Hitachi SEMs SU9000 and SU8200 can deliver routinely sub-nm image resolution and EDX mappings at very high count rates and a lateral EDX resolution of a few nm. A TiO2 sample provided by BAM was analysed at 30kV using low kV STEM – simultaneously with the Through-the-lens (TTL) SE detector, the Bright Field transmitted and Dark Field transmitted signals. By this method a pixel precise information of the particles surface using SE, its chemical nature using DF-STEM and its crystalline structure using Bright Field signal is given in one 40sec scan. The advantage of this observation mode compared to Ultra Low Voltage imaging is outlined.
The development of low carbon cements has gained great importance over the last decades. In the effort to limit the carbon content related to its production, cement is often replaced with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). Commonly used SCMs such as fly ash and slag have undergone extensive research, but are currently limited in supply and availability. Among the researched SCMs, calcined clays have proven to be a suitable alternative pozzolan due to their worldwide availability and extremely low calcination temperatures when compared to clinker. This poster presents the results from an ongoing project, aimed at obtaining pozzolans, available in sufficient quantities for Portland-pozzolana cement production in Germany. The poster shows the analyses of seven brick clays from various deposits in central Germany. The chemical and mineral composition of the brick clays was evaluated through inductively coupled plasma – optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DTG). The particle size distribution (PSD) was also evaluated by laser granulometry. The results show that the brick clays contain a substantial amount of kaolinite, illite and smectite minerals, the relative proportions differing significantly between deposits. The suitable calcination temperature range of the clays is also evaluated through TG/DTG analysis to obtain the optimum degree of dehydroxylation from which the bricks clays can be suitable for use as a pozzolan.
A multilayer consisting of two different rotaxanes was investigated with different analytical methods. The rotaxanes can be switched with two different stimuli - chemical and photochemical. XPS indicates that our layer-by-layer approach worked and a layer growth with every deposition step is present. NEXAFS showed that both stimuli cause an increase of the multilayer's preferential orientation.
Process analytical techniques are extremely useful tools for chemical production and manufacture and are of particular interest to the pharmaceutical, food and (petro-) chemical industries.
Today, mainly optical online methods are applied. NMR spectroscopy has a high potential for direct loop process control. Compact NMR instruments based on permanent magnets are robust and relatively inexpensive analysers, which feature advantages like low cost, low maintenance, ease of use, and cryogen-free operation. Instruments for online NMR measurements equipped with a flow-through cell, possessing a good signal-to-noise-ratio, sufficient robustness, and meeting the requirements for integration into industrial plants (i.e., explosion safety and fully automated data analysis) are currently not available off the rack.
A major advantage of NMR spectroscopy is that the method features a high linearity between absolute signal area and sample concentration, which makes it an absolute analytical comparison method which is independent of the matrix. This is an important prerequisite for robust data evaluation strategies within a control concept and reduces the need for extensive maintenance of the evaluation model over the time of operation. Additionally, NMR spectroscopy provides orthogonal, but complimentary physical information to conventional, e.g., optical spectroscopy. It increases the accessible information for technical processes, where aromatic-to-aliphatic conversions or isomerizations occur and conventional methods fail due to only minor changes in functional groups.
As a technically relevant example, the catalytic hydrogenation of 2-butyne-1,4-diol and further pharmaceutical reactions were studied using an online NMR sensor based on a commercially available low-field NMR spectrometer within the framework of the EU project CONSENS (Integrated Control and Sensing).
Mechanochemistry is increasingly used for synthesizing soft matter materials including metal organic compounds and cocrystals. The ever-increasing interest in this method is contrasted by a limited mechanistic understanding of the mechanochemical reactivity and selectivity. Time-resolved in situ investigations of milling reactions provide direct insights in the underlying mechanisms. We recently introduced a setup enabling in situ investigation of mechanochemical reactions using synchrotron XRD combined with Raman spectroscopy. The specific combination allows to study milling processes comprehensively on the level of the molecular and crystalline structure and thus obtaining reliable data for mechanistic studies. In situ Raman spectroscopy coupled with thermography revealed a low temperature increase during milling reactions due to the mechanical impact and clear temperature increases because of the reaction heat.
Based on the data, temperature rises as postulated in the magma plasma and hot spot theory can be excluded for soft matter milling syntheses. Our results indicate that in situ investigation of milling reactions offer a new approach to tune and optimize mechanochemically synthesized compounds.
In this study, series of coatings with the goal of sensitising gold SPR sensors towards CO, NH4, etc. were prepared. To better understand the mechanism behind the sensitizing effect and to enable the targeted production of optimized layers, the wide range of coatings was studied by multiple methods from spectroscopic ellipsometry for their dielectric function, by XPS for chemical composition and SEM, TEM to determine their microscopic structure. The coatings were deposited at inert Ar gas and reactive Ar/O2 gas mixture by RF magnetron sputtering or DC pulsed magnetron sputtering with settable RF bias on the substrates. The plasma processes were monitors by mass spectrometry.
The metal oxide coatings in SPR sensors have to be prepared reproducible with thickness about 5 nm therefore lower deposition rate conditions were advantages.
Ever since increasing a reaction’s yield while shortening the reaction time is the main objective in synthesis optimization. Microwave reactors meet these demands. In literature however their usage is under discussion due to claims of the existence of non-thermal effects resulting from the microwave radiation. Especially for nano-material syntheses it is of crucial importance to be aware of influences on the reaction pathway. Therefore, we compare ultra-small silver nanoparticles with mean radii of 3 nm, synthesized via conventional and microwave heating. We employed a versatile one-pot polyol synthesis of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) stabilized silver nanoparticles, which display superior catalytic properties. No microwave specific effects in terms of particle size distribution characteristics, as derived by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS), are revealed. Due to the microwave reactor’s characteristics of a closed system, syntheses can be carried out at temperatures beyond the solvent’s boiling point. Particle formation was accelerated by a factor of 30 by increasing the reaction temperature from 200 °C to 250 °C. The particle growth process follows a cluster coalescence mechanism. A post-synthetic incubation step at 250 °C induces a further growth of the particles while the size distribution broadens. Thus, utilization of microwave reactors enables an enormous decrease of the reaction time as well as the opportunity of tuning the particles’ size. Possibly, decomposition of the stabilizing ligand at elevated temperatures results in reduced yields. A temperature of 250 °C and a corresponding reaction time of 30 s represent a compromise between short reaction times and high yields.
Silver nanoparticles are one of the most widespread consumer related nanoparticles worldwide. Since the particles show special optical and antibacterial properties they are used for a wide range of applications from biological investigations over medical applications and catalysis. Especially the outstanding question of applicable alternatives for catalysts in diverse reactions can be addressed with the design of versatile system of small silver nanoparticles. In this study we present the synthesis and application of ultra-small silver nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution (R = 3.1 nm, σ = 0.6 nm). The particles are thoroughly characterized by small angle X-ray scattering, dynamic light scattering and UV/Vis spectroscopy. As a representative test reaction the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol was chosen. The particles show a catalytic activity of (436 ± 24) L g-1 s-1, which is two orders of magnitude higher than for other silver particles in the literature. The particles surrounding shell, composed of poly(acrylic acid), provides the particles with a good accessibility for the reactants. Since the catalytic activity strongly depends on the surrounding ligand, the particles shell can also be exchanged by other ligands enabling a tuning of the catalytic activity to a desired value. This shows the high flexibility of this system which can also be applied for other catalytic reactions.
Introduction: Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is an atomic emission analytical technique, wide spreading in laboratories and industries. One way to dramatically increase its analytical results is to deposit metal NPs on the sample surface, resulting in an better version called Nanoparticle Enhanced LIBS (NELIBS). In order to better know and use this technique, the evolution of the plasma has been studied with Tomography.
The recent developments of inovative compact NMR spectrometers are therefore remarkable due to their possible application in process analytical technology (PAT) in an industrial environment without high maintenance requirements. spectroscopic methods, NMR spectroscopy offers some unique features for online reaction monitoring. However, those benefits have not been exploited for PAT applications so far. Within the CONSENS Project, the challenge to adapt a commercially available benchtop NMR spectrometer to the full requirements of an automated chemical production environment was tackled successfully. was provided in an explosion proof housing and involves a compact NMR spectrometer together with an automated data acquisition and evaluation unit, flow control, as well as data communication.
For reaction monitoring using NMR instruments, in particular, after acquisition of the FID the data needs to be corrected in real-time for common effects using automated methods. When it comes to NMR data evaluation under industrial process conditions, the shape of signals can change drastically due to nonlinear effects. However, the structural and quantitative information is still present but needs to be extracted by applying predictive models. Acquired raw spectra were processed with the following tools:
· Phase correction using the Entropy minimization method
· Baseline correction using a low-order Polynomial fit
· Alignment (icoshift) Pure component models based on Pseudo-Voigt functions can be derived via peak fitting of measured pure components or by the use of spin calculations.
SrF2 nanoparticles can be doped with trivalent earth metal ions such as Eu3+ and Tb3+ to generate materials exhibiting an intensive red or green fluorescence. A CaF2 shell increases intensity, fluorescence lifetie and quantum yield. The chemical composition of the nanoparticle core-shell region is investigated by XPS at different excitation energies corresponding to different information depths.
The influence of the support structure on residual stress and distortion in SLM Inconel 718 parts
(2017)
The effect of support structure and of removal from the base plate on the residual stress state in Selective Laser Melted IN718 parts was studied by means of synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The residual stresses in subsurface region of two elongated prisms in as-built condition and after the cutting from the base plate were determined. One sample was directly built on a base plate and another one on a support structure. Also, the distortion on the top surface due to stress release was measured by contact profilometry. High tensile residual stress values were found, with pronounced stress gradient along the hatching direction. In the sample on support stress redistribution took place after removal of the base plate, as opposed to simple stress relaxation for the sample without support. The sample on support structure showed larger distortion compared to sample without support. We conclude that the use of a support decreases stress values but stress relieving heat treatments are still needed.
Graphene derivatives have shown great promise in the field of pathogen binding and sensing. Due to their diverse applications, they show a variety of activities that range from bacterial adhesion to bacterial resistance. Therefore, domination of the graphene-pathogen interactions is highly relevant for producing 2D platforms with the desired applications. In order to gain control over the interactions between graphene and biosystems, mechanisms should be fully understood. The surface functionality of graphene is one of the most important factors that dominates its interactions with biosystems and pathogens. Covalent functionalization is a robust method through which functionality, chemical structure, and subsequently physicochemical properties of graphene are abundantly manipulated. A critical issue for preparing graphene-based 2D materials with a defined surface structure, however, is controlling the functionalization in terms of number, position, and type of functional groups.
Anomalous surface composition in thin films of a poly(vinyl methyl ether) / polystyrene blend
(2017)
Highly surface-sensitive X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy at HE-SGM beamline revealed in the outermost region (< 2nm) of thin films (15 -65 nm) of PVME/PS blends a relative high amount of PS, whereas in slightly deeper regions PVME was enriched. Such enrichment of PVME in the whole near-surface region was proposed in former investigations based on conventional XPS studies.
Synchrotron X-ray refraction radiography (SXRR) is proven to identify different kinds of defects in Ti-Al6-V4 samples produces by selective laser melting. Namely, these defect types are empty pores and unprocessed powder, which are characteristic to the regions above and below the optimal laser energy density, respectively. Furthermore, SXRR detects small defects below the spatial resolution.
Besides their plasticizing effect, superplasticizers (SPs) are known to retard the hydration of inorganic systems such as cement. Despite their frequent use, the understanding of these highly complex systems is still limited and the relevant parameters, which control the interaction between SPs, and cement components and reaction products are in the focus of ongoing research activities.[1] Optical methods have been successfully used for the analysis and monitoring of the interactions between a broad variety of nanoscale and molecular systems like nanoparticles of various chemical composition and different types of organic ligands or biomolecules. The potential of these methods to study processes at the interface between (hydrated) particles and the fluid phase at a very early stage of concrete formation could reveal possible mechanisms of interaction.
This investigation focuses on the study of organic/inorganic mixtures consisting of cement (CEM) and cement phases (C3S and C3A) in the presence of polycarboxylate ether and organic dyes in aqueous solution (particularly alkali resistant dyes) at a water to powder ratio of 1. Diffuse reflectance as well as steady state and time resolved fluorescence spectroscopy of the above mentioned mixtures were evaluated. Based upon changes of the intensity of the reflectance and fluorescence signal and spectral changes of the dye, acting as optical reporter, a model for the interactions of dye, PCE and cement (including different cement phases) was derived which describes the very first stage of cement hydration.
Analysis of stable isotopes has been used as proof of provenance of mineral and biological samples, to estimate a contamination source and to determine geological processes. This kind of analysis needs high accuracy and precision for reliable conclusions. Currently, stable isotope analysis is dominated by mass spectrometric techniques that are time consuming and expensive. Here we present a fast and low cost alternative for isotope analysis of boron and magnesium: high-resolution continuum source graphite furnace molecular absorption spectrometry (HR-CS-GFMAS). Two stable isotope systems were evaluated separately: boron (10B:11B) and magnesium (24Mg:25Mg:26Mg). Their isotope amount ratios were estimated by monitoring their absorption spectra in-situ generated monohydrides. The molecular absorption spectrum of a XH molecule (X= B or Mg) with n isotopes would be a linear combination of n isotopologue spectra and the amount of each component (isotope) could be calculated by a multivariate regression (n= 2 and 3 for B and Mg respectively). For the analysis of boron certified reference materials (CRM), the band 1→1 for the electronic transition X1Σ+ → A1Π was measured around wavelength 437.1 nm. Since boron has a memory effect in graphite furnaces, a combination of 2 % (v/v) hydrogen gas in argon, 1 % trifluoromethane in argon, an acid solution of calcium chloride and mannitol as chemical modifiers were used during the BH vaporization at 2600 °C. Partial least square regression (PLS) for analysis of samples was applied. For this, a spectral library with different isotope ratios for PLS regression was created. Magnesium does not have memory effect. Therefore, only 2 % of hydrogen in argon as gas modifier during vaporization at 2500 °C was employed for analysis of magnesium CRM. Absorption spectra of MgH for the X2Σ→A2Π electronic transition (band 0→0) were recorded around wavelength 513.45 nm. A similar PLS procedure to the BH was applied. Results for B and Mg CRM are metrologically compatible with those reported by mass spectrometric methods. An accuracy of 0.08 ‰ for B and 0.1 ‰ Mg was obtained as the average deviation from the isotope CRM. Expanded uncertainties with a coverage factor of k = 2 range between 0.10 - 0.40 ‰.
Pollution through emission of toxic gases is of utmost environmental concern, raising the interest in developing reliable gas sensors. Exemplarily, ammonia and its conversion products can provoke considerable damage on human health and ecosystems. Hence, there is a need for reliable and reversible sensor materials to monitor traces of gaseous ammonia in ambient air, which at best can be used on-site for field measurements. Although various types of sensors such as potentiometric, amperometric, and biological sensors are available for detecting trace amounts of gases, fluorescent sensors have gained importance due to several advantages such as high sensitivity, possible miniaturization, as well as potential multiplexing. Herein, we present the development of a sensor material for gaseous ammonia in the lower ppm or even ppb range using optical fluorescence as transduction mechanism due to its intrinsically high sensitivity and high spatial resolution.[1] Therefore, a fluorescent dye, which shows reversible fluorescence enhancement in the presence of the analyte was incorporated into a polymer matrix, the latter to ensure the accumulation of ammonia. To calibrate the designed optical sensor system a gas standard generator was used, producing standard gas mixtures, which comply with the metrological traceability for ammonia gas standards in the desired environmentally relevant measurement range.[2] Beside the development of a highly sensitive, selective, and reversible sensor, the integration of such systems into mobile sensor devices is addressed. Therefore, a prototype of a miniaturized hand-held instrument was developed enabling a straightforward and long-term read-out of the measurement signal.
Variations in the isotope amount composition of some elements like lithium, boron, magnesium, calcium, copper and strontium have been used as proof of provenance of a sample and to describe geological processes. Routinely, isotope compositions are determinate by mass spectrometry; the working horse of the isotope analysis. However, mass spectrometric methods are expensive, time consuming and they require a high qualified analysist.
Here an alternative faster and low cost optical method for isotope ratio determination is proposed: high-resolution continuum source molecular absorption spectrometry (HR-CS-MAS). Stable isotope amount composition of X= Li, B, Mg, Ca, Cu and Sr have been determined by monitoring the absorption spectrum of their monohydride (XH) in graphite furnace HR-CS-MAS. For example, for the three Mg isotopes (24Mg, 25Mg and 26Mg) band (0→0) for the electronic transition X1Σ+ → A1Π was evaluated around wavelength 513.4 nm (Fig. 1). Partial least square regression (PLS) for analysis of samples and reference materials were applied. For this, a spectral library with different isotopes ratios for PLS regression were built. Results are metrological compatible with those reported by mass spectrometric methods.
Pollution through emission of toxic gases is an increasing problem for the environment. It affects similarly agricultural, industrial and urban areas. In future, environmental emissions in ambient air must be monitored at even lower concentrations as nowadays. One environmental relevant compound is ammonia and its conversion product ammonium that have strong negative impact on human health and ecosystems. Most ammonia measurements in ambient air are performed in the range below 1000 nmol·mol-1 and thus there is a need for reliable traceable ammonia gas standards and in addition in situ analytical procedures for monitoring (in ambient air to avoid that thresholds are exceeded). Therefore, the use of reference materials is necessary for development accompanying test or for calibration, e. g. of structure-integrated sensors and mobile multi-gas sensors.
The developed gas standard generator produces gas mixtures that comply with the metrological traceability for ammonia gas standards in the desired environmentally relevant measurement range. The method is based on the permeation of ammonia through a membrane at constant temperature and pressure. The resulting ammonia penetrant gas flow is then mixed with a carrier gas flow to generate a gas standard flow of known concentration. The dynamic rage is enlarged by using a two dilution steps. Depending on the permeation rate, generable molar fractions are possible in the range nmol·mol-1 to a few µmol·mol-1. We present the design of an ammonia gas standard generator and first results of the characterisation of its individual components supporting the uncertainty assessment according to GUM for stable gas concentrations in this range. The relative uncertainty of the generated ammonia gas standard is smaller than 4 % (k = 2).
Homogeneity of dispersed brominated flame retardants (HBCD) in polystyrene by LA-ICP-MS and XRF
(2017)
To investigate the release or migration of flame retardants from polypropylene (PP) and polysytrene (PS) samples with a defined content of flame retardants as additives were prepared and used. Therefore a distinct 1,2,5,6,9,10-hexabromocyclododecane HBCD concentration of 1 wt.% in PS resp. a specified bromodiphenylether (BDE-209) of 0.1 wt.% in PP is defined. For the preparation of the samples granular PP or PS are extruded together with the BFR additives. Even the result of this process may lead to homogenous partitions of the BFR additives. So, the distribution of these additives must be proven before using the samples in an experimental setup for weathering studies. In accordance to the regulation of RoHS (2011/65/EU) , where the use of XRF is recommended for the proof of flame retardants in electronic consumer products, we use this method as a reference to the laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Therefore we present the correlation of these experiments. The experimental setup for the XRF experiment is like a standard addition: in cavities, which are introduced in the sample plates subsequently, solutions of defined concentration of flame retardants are put in there. According to the idea of standard addition, we get an information of the originating mass fraction of flame retardant in each sample and we can monitor the release and migration of these additives during/after the weathering experiments with high precision. An internal standard of HBCD is added as a marker and can be analyzed after the weathering experiment.
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a well established laboratory / borehole method to characterize the storage and transport properties of rocks due to its direct sensitivity to the corresponding pore fluid saturation (water or oil) and pore sizes.
For petrophysical applications there are several different NMR laboratory devices commercially available varying over a wide range of e.g. magnetic field strength / frequency (2 MHz to 30 MHz), applicable measurement protocols (T1, T2, T1-T2, T2-D, etc.) and sample sizes (2.5 cm to 10 cm in diameter). In this work we present NMR measurements, layed out in a round robin like manner, on a set of 20 sandstone samples. We use three different NMR devices containing two standard setups with homogenous magnetic fields (LIAG and RWTH) and one single-sided setup with gradient field (BGR) to measure T1 and T2 relaxation data. In our evaluation we especially focus on the comparison of the individually inverted relaxation time distributions to quantify the differences arising from different laboratory setups. Diverging results can be deduced on the one hand to the inherit differences between homogeneous and gradient fields but on the other hand also due to quality differences between the two homogeneous setups. Additionally, we also examine the influence of the individually chosen inversion parameters (signal processing, distribution sampling points, error weighting, regularization, etc.) to establish a general standardized best practice recommendation for future petrophysical NMR laboratory measurements.
Today, 40 % of the world’s population live in areas with a significant risk of dengue infection. Early and reliable diagnosis of dengue virus (DENV) is essential to provide the patients with the required medical care and prevent spreading of the disease. Conventional methods for DENV diagnosis like PCR and virus isolation can be used in laboratory settings, yet are difficult to implement in point-of-care diagnostics, requiring simple, selective, fast, and sensitive detection schemes. We present here a novel approach for the detection of DENV, via its RNA, with optical read-out that relies on RNA-catalyzed fluorophore transfer onto a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET).
For this RNA assay, peptide nucleic acid (PNA) oligomers were used as highly specific capture and reporter probes. PNA exhibits remarkable affinity towards RNA as well as extremely high chemical and enzymatic stability. The capture probe, which is immobilized on a QD acting as FRET donor, bears a nucleophile at the N-terminus and the reporter probe is modified with an organic dye acting as FRET acceptor. The presence of DENV genomic RNA in the sample triggers a transfer of the dye onto the QD, signaled by FRET between the QD and the dye. A unique advantage of this system is the ability of one RNA molecule to trigger multiple transfer reactions, thereby amplifying the fluorescence signal. This assay together with the exceptional brightness of QDs and outstanding hybridization properties of PNA allows for highly specific and sensitive detection of DENV RNA in the sub-nM range.
Polymer nanoparticles (NPs) are of increasing importance for a wide range of applications in the material and life sciences. This includes their use as carriers for dye molecules and drugs, multichromophoric reporters for signal enhancement strategies in optical assays, targeted probes in bioimaging studies, and nanosensors.[1] Application-relevant properties of such NPs include their size, morphology, colloidal stability, and ease of surface functionalization with e.g., sensor molecules and targeting ligands. Many of these features as well as the interaction of NPs with their microenvironment are closely linked to the knowledge of the chemical nature and total number of surface groups as well as the number of surface functionalities accessible for subsequent coupling reactions of differently sized ligands, biomolecules or reporter molecules. This underlines the importance of simple, robust, reliable, and validated methods, which can be employed for the characterization of a broad variety of particle systems independent of their optical properties, i.e., scattering or the presence of encoding dyes.[2]
In this respect, we assessed a variety of conventional and newly developed colorimetric or fluorometric labels for the optical surface group analysis, utilizing e.g., changes in intensity and/or color for signal generation.[3] Moreover, novel cleavable and multimodal reporters were developed which consist of a reactive group, a cleavable linker, and an optically active moiety, chosen to contain also heteroatoms for straightforward method validation by elemental analysis, ICP-OES, ICP-MS or NMR. In contrast to conventional labels measured bound at the particle surface, which can favor signal distortions by scattering and encoding dyes, cleavable reporters can be detected colorimetrically or fluorometrically both attached at the particle surface and after quantitative cleavage of the linker in the transparent supernatant after particle removal e.g., by centrifugation. Here, we present first results obtained for the optical quantification of carboxylic and amino groups on a series of self-made NPs with different types of labels and compare their potential and drawbacks for surface group analysis.
Fluorescence based sensing is a versatile approach for the trace analysis outside of the laboratory, requiring suitable sensor materials and their integration into sensing devices. The versatility of fluorophores as probes, especially in terms of the possibility to tailor their optical as well as their recognition properties by synthetic modifications in a wide range, renders them a superior active component for the preparation of optical sensor devices. Recent works at BAM in this field include, for example, the detection of nerve gas agents, illustrating impressively the aforementioned benefits of fluorophores in optical sensing applications.
In the interdisciplinary approach presented here, we target hazardous gases such as ammonia, benzene, and hydrogen sulfide, next to others, which pose a major threat to human health and environmental safety and for which the availability of a sensitive and reliable detection method is highly desirable.
The dyes presented follow a “turn-on” fluorescence schematic which allows for the selective and sensitive detection of the respective gaseous analyte. The immobilization of the probe in polymeric matrices is then the next step toward the fabrication of a prototype device for molecular sensing.
Monitoring chemical reactions is the key to chemical process control. Today, mainly optical online methods are applied, which are calibration intensive. NMR spectroscopy has a high potential for direct loop process control while exhibiting short set-up times. Compact NMR instruments make NMR spectroscopy accessible in industrial and harsh environments for advanced process monitoring and control.
Within the European Union’s Research Project CONSENS (Integrated CONtrol and SENsing, www.consens-spire.eu) by development and integration of a smart NMR module for process monitoring was designed and delivers online spectra of various reactions. The presented NMR module is provided in an explosion proof housing of 57 x 57 x 85 cm module size and involves a compact spectrometer together with an acquisition unit and a programmable logic controller for automated data preparation (phasing, baseline correction), and evaluation.
For reaction monitoring and process control using NMR instruments after acquisition of the FID the data needs to be corrected in real-time for common effects using fast interfaces and automated methods.
When it comes to NMR data evaluation under industrial process conditions, the shape of signals can change drastically due to nonlinear effects. Additionally, the multiplet structure becomes more dominant because of the comparably low-field strengths which results in overlapping of multiple signals. However, the structural and quantitative information is still present but needs to be extracted by applying predictive models.
We present a range of approaches for the automated spectra analysis moving from statistical approach, (i.e., Partial Least Squares Regression) to physically motivated spectral models (i.e., Indirect Hard Modelling and Quantum Mechanical calculations). By using the benefits of traditional qNMR experiments data analysis models can meet the demands of the PAT community (Process Analytical Technology) regarding low calibration effort/calibration free methods, fast adaptions for new reactants, or derivatives and robust automation schemes.
Leaking methane (CH4) from infrastructures, such as pipelines and landfills, is critical for the environment but can also pose a safety risk. To enable a fast detection and localization of these kind of leaks, we developed a novel robotic platform for aerial remote gas sensing. Spectroscopic measurement methods for remote sensing of selected gases lend themselves for use on mini-copters, which offer a number of advantages for inspection and surveillance over traditional methods. No direct contact with the target gas is needed and thus the influence of the aerial platform on the measured gas plume can be kept to a minimum. This allows to overcome one of the major issues with gas-sensitive mini-copters. On the other hand, remote gas sensors, most prominently Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) sensors have been too bulky given the payload and energy restrictions of mini-copters. Here, we present the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Remote Gas Sensing (UAV-REGAS), which combines a novel lightweight TDLAS sensor with a 3-axis aerial stabilization gimbal for aiming on a versatile hexacopter. The proposed system can be deployed in scenarios that cannot be addressed by currently available robots and thus constitutes a significant step forward for the field of Mobile Robot Olfaction (MRO). It enables tomographic reconstruction of gas plumes and a localization of gas sources. We also present first results showing its performance under realistic conditions.
Innovation is the catalyst for the technology of the future. It is important to develop new and better technologies that can continuously monitor the environmental impact, e.g., for air quality control or emission detection. In the recently at BAM developed Universal Pump Sensor Control (UPSC3) module, different components and sensors are fused. The combination of the individual components makes the UPSC3 module an excellent monitoring and reference system for the development and characterization of gas specific sensors. Measurements over long periods are possible, for mixed gas loads or for certain gas measurements. The system is part of a mobile sensor network of several sensor units, which can also be used as standalone systems.
The motivation and objective of this research is to develop gas sensors based on fluorescence detection with range of ppm / ppb. For this task a reference system is required, which contains volatile organic compound (VOC) sensors for reference data from different scenarios. The integrated multi-sensor unit can measure different gases through the integrated 3-fold VOC sensor, which can be adapted to the addressed scenario. . The system-integrated flow control, with pump and flow sensor, allows the gas molecules to be transported directly to the VOC sensor. The entire measurement is permanently stored on an integrated memory card. If the previously determined limit range is exceeded, an alarm is generated. The system is an important tool towards further developments in the field of gas sensors and is primarily used for the validation of chemically based gas sensors.
Laser ablation with inductively coupled plasma is still more used in life science as biology and biomedicine and the utilization of metals and proteins determination simultaneously is also growing up. We have developed a new strategy of labeling of antibody (it can specific binds to proteins) by nanoparticles and quantum dots which is composed of thousands of atoms and thus increases the sensitivity enormously and of course decreases the Limit of detection, compare to lanthanoids labeling. The ability of successfully tagged antibodies bound to Antigen (protein) was proved by dot blot on membrane imaged by LA-ICP-MS.
LIBS (laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy) is known as a fast and simultaneous multi-element analysis with little or no sample preparation. In the last few years there has been a growing interest in applications of LIBS in the field of agriculture. As part of the National Research Strategy BioEconomy 2030 the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) started an innovation programme called BonaRes. BonaRes consists of ten interdisciplinary research project associations which are dealing with soil as a sustainable resource for the bio-economy. One of these research projects is I4S (intelligence for soil) which has the goal to develop an integrated system for site-specific soil fertility management. This system includes a sensor platform, which contains different sensors, like XRF, VIS-NIR, Gamma and LIBS. The main task of LIBS measurements in this project is the real time determination of the elemental contents of nutrients in soils, like calcium, magnesium, potassium. For this purpose, a special setup has been designed. The sample uptake operates with the help of a rotatable sample plate which circulates with different velocities to simulate the application on the field. To provide a higher intensity and a better reproducibility of the obtained signal, a double-pulse Nd:YAG laser was used. In order to minimize dust formation from the soil during the operation of the laser, a dust removal by suction has been integrated. When using relative methods such as LIBS, a suitable calibration curve is needed for absolute quantification. With the help of 16 certified reference soils, calibration curves for different elements were initially calculated and used for the quantification of seven soil samples from different testing grounds in Germany. The complex matrix of soils, as well as the influence of moisture and grain size in soils makes the absolute quantification by LIBS challenging. To overcome these influences, a calibration curve based on multivariate analysis (partial least square regression) was generated.
Ammonia and its reaction products can cause considerable damage of human health and ecosystems, increasing the necessity for reliable and reversible sensors to monitor traces of gaseous ammonia in ambient air directly on-site or in the field. Although various types of gas sensors are available, fluorescence sensors have gained importance due to advantages such as high sensitivity and facile miniaturization.
Here, we present the development of a sensor material for the detection of gaseous ammonia in the lower ppm to ppb range by incorporation of a fluorescent dye, which shows reversible fluorescence modulations as a function of analyte concentration, into a polymer matrix to ensure the accumulation of ammonia. A gas standard generator producing standard gas mixtures, which comply with the metrological traceability in the desired environmentally relevant measurement range, was used to calibrate the optical sensor system. To integrate the sensor material into a mobile device, a prototype of a hand-held instrument was developed, enabling straightforward data acquisition over a long period.
Simple calibration concept of an online NMR module demonstrated in a modularised production plant
(2017)
Monitoring specific information (such as physico-chemical properties, chemical re-actions, etc.) is the key to chemical process control. Within the CONSENS Project, the challenge to adapt a commercially available benchtop NMR spectrometer to the full requirements of an automated chemical production environment was tack-led. The developed online NMR module was provided in an explosion proof housing and involves a compact 43.5 MHz NMR spectrometer together with an acquisition unit, a programmable logic controller for automated triggering, flow con-trol, as well as data communication.
First results of an aromatic coupling reaction in lab scale showed a general feasibil-ity according to the signal information in the acquired NMR spectra even though with a considerable overlap. Due to the comparatively low field strength of the NMR spectrometer multivariate methods had to be considered for the prediction of con-centration profiles based on spectral data. Typically, for industrial application of those methods, e.g. Partial Least Squares Regression (PLS-R) as well as Indirect Hard Modeling, large amount of calibration data is demanded, which must be ac-quired in time consuming lab-scale experiments and offline analytics. When it comes to changes in raw materials (e.g., varying functional groups, additional stabi-lizing agents) calibration experiments and data evaluation models are developed again. Here we present an approach of automated data analysis tools for low field NMR spectra with minimal calibration effort. The algorithms are based on Indirect Hard Modeling, whereby each component in each mixture spectra can be rep-resented by several flexible peak functions (pure component models). This means, that only pure component NMR spectra are needed to generate a first evaluation model. The flexibility of peak functions in the spectral model can be adjusted via constraints of peak parameters. The area of any pure component model can either be converted to concentrations based on a one-point calibration on raw material concentration or even neat solvent signals. In several cases it has been shown, the IHM works almost independently of the matrix of the real samples. Such a calibration can be repeated daily in the beginning of each process run with minimal time effort. Moreover, additional pure components can be added to the model or even substitut-ed while keeping the previously adjusted peak function constraints. The proposed method exhibited good agreement of resulting concentration data from low field NMR spectra, when compared to an online high field NMR spectrometer as refer-ence instrument.
The overall objective of project Improved traceability chain of nanoparticle size measurements is to improve the traceability chain for nanoparticle size measurements. The main impact will be achieved by manifold contributions to standard documents for CEN/TC 352 “Nanotechnologies”, which directly addresses the research needs of CEN, CENELEC and ETSI mandated by EC to develop standards for methods and reference materials to accurately measure the size and size distribution of nanoparticles. This will take place in collaboration with ISO/TC229 ‘Nanotechnologies’, ISO/TC24/SC4 ‘Particle characterization’ and ISO/TC201 ‘Surface analysis’/ SC9 ‘Scanning probe microscopy’.
Mycotoxins cause a variety of mold-related health risks which makes it necessary to further examine their metabolic pathways in human and other mammals. Beside standard in vitro assays with liver cell microsomes an increasing interest in new and rapid simulation techniques are playing a growing role in mycotoxin research.
Herein, the coupling of electrochemistry with liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (EC/LC/MS) is presented as fast and simple method to investigate the oxidative fate of mycotoxins. For this case study, two food relevant mycotoxins (zearalenone and citrinin) were selected. Experiments were performed by using an electrochemical flow through cell integrated in the flow path of the autosampler of the chromatographic system. The reaction mixture was separated by a RP-C18 column and analyzed by a single quadrupole MS (Figure 1). Oxidation products were generated by applying potentials of 400, 800, 1200 and 1600 mV vs Pd/H2 using a glassy carbon working electrode. Different oxidation reactions like hydroxylation, dehydrogenation and dimerization lead to a diverse product pattern of the investigated mycotoxins.
In a comparative study, electrochemical generated reaction products were compared with metabolites produced by human and rat liver microsomes in vitro. The obtained data show that EC/LC/MS is a versatile and promising tool in mycotoxin research to support metabolic investigations of known and unknown mycotoxins.
Obtaining high quality upconverting nanocrystals with only little crystal defects and hence, a high luminescence, affords a reliable synthesis route. Only this guarantees the reproducibility of the material and its spectroscopic properties required for future application. The fluorolytic sol-gel synthesis appears to be a convenient attempt, as this is a method with only few steps influencing the material properties, which can be well controlled.
Also creating bright upconverting nanocrystals requires a profound understanding of the interplay of photophysical processes like multiphoton absorption, radiative and non-radiative pathways, and energy transfer in the material.
Based on steady-state and time resolved luminescence measurements at different excitation power densities, the influence of the lanthanide doping ratio and synthesis parameters such as the annealing process on SrF2-nanocrystals obtained via the fluorolytic sol-gel synthesis was systematically studied.
The ferroelectric ceramic NBT and its solid solutions with barium titanate (BT) are examples for the most promising lead free materials to substitute the dominant Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT). Lead based material should generally be disregarded due to environmental and health reasons. However, there is no class of lead-free piezoelectric materials that can replace PZT entirely. Not only the often inferior ferroelectric properties but also the lack of understanding of the defect chemistry of NBT is still a challenge for the replacement of lead containing piezo-ceramics. Just recently it could be shown by Li et al.[1] that NBT obtains extraordinarily high oxygen ionic conductivity when doped with Mg as acceptor. It was actually expected that doping just leads to a hardening of the ferroelectric properties. However, it became clear that the known defect chemical behavior of PZT cannot be extrapolated to NBT materials. Hence, to gain information on general doping effects a better defect chemical investigation is needed. This is particularly important for the applications with high reliability demands to investigate possible degradation and fatigue mechanisms.
In the present work Time-of-flight-secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) was used in order to observe the influence of different acceptor dopants (Fe, Ni, Al) on the oxygen diffusion in NBT. ToF-SIMS holds the ability to gain a full elemental distribution in a sub-micron resolution and was therefore chosen to provide the essential information on the favorable diffusion paths of oxygen in NBT in dependence of the chosen doping element. 18O was used as a tracer for oxygen as its natural abundance is only 0.2%. The doped NBT samples have been annealed for 5 h at 500°C in a 0.2 bar 18O-tracer atmosphere to be able to detect oxygen ion diffusion. ToF-SIMS investigations were conducted on a ToF-SIMS IV (ION TOF GmbH, Münster, Germany) using a Bi+ primary ion beam (25KeV in collimated burst alignment mode with a beam diameter of ~150 nm) and a Cs+ sputter beam (3KeV).
The results illustrate the different impact of dopants on the diffusion properties which is evidence for a highly non-linear dependence on dopant type and concentration.
1) Li, M., et al., Nature Materials, 2014. 13(1): p. 31-35.
The ferroelectric ceramic NBT and its solid solutions with barium titanate (BT) are examples for the most promising lead free materials to substitute the dominant Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT). Lead based material should generally be disregarded due to environmental and health reasons. However, there is no class of lead-free piezoelectric materials that can replace PZT entirely. Not only the often inferior ferroelectric properties but also the lack of understanding of the defect chemistry of NBT is still a challenge for the replacement of lead containing piezo-ceramics. Just recently it could be shown by Li et al. that NBT obtains extraordinarily high oxygen ionic conductivity when doped with Mg as acceptor. It was actually expected that doping just leads to a hardening of the ferroelectric properties. However, it became clear that the known defect chemical behavior of PZT cannot be extrapolated to NBT materials. Hence, to gain information on general doping effects a better defect chemical investigation is needed. This is particularly important for the applications with high reliability demands to investigate possible degradation and fatigue mechanisms.
In the present work Time-of-flight-secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) was used in order to observe the influence of different acceptor dopants (Fe, Ni, Al) on the oxygen diffusion in NBT. ToF-SIMS holds the ability to gain a full elemental distribution in a sub-micron resolution and was therefore chosen to provide the essential information on the favorable diffusion paths of oxygen in NBT in dependence of the chosen doping element. 18O was used as a tracer for oxygen as its natural abundance is only 0.2%. The doped NBT samples have been annealed for 5 h at 500°C in a 0.2 bar 18O-tracer atmosphere to be able to detect oxygen ion diffusion. ToF-SIMS investigations were conducted on a ToF-SIMS IV (ION TOF GmbH, Münster, Germany) using a Bi+ primary ion beam (25KeV in collimated burst alignment mode with a beam diameter of ~150 nm) and a Cs+ sputter beam (3KeV).
The results illustrate the different impact of dopants on the diffusion properties which is evidence for a highly non-linear dependence on dopant type and concentration.
Chlorpyrifos (CPF), an anticholinesterase organophosphate insecticide, is commonly used to control pests in agricultural sectors. In recent years, it is one of the most frequently detected residues in fruits and vegetables. On the other hand, pesticides including chlorpyrifos undergo extensive abiotic (industrial processes, waste treatments and photodegradations) and/or biotic (metabolism and microbial activities) processes which lead to transformation products (TPs) with different toxicity. Furthermore, lack of representative standards and complexity of transformation mechanisms make monitoring of TPs in real samples difficult.
The aim of this work was to investigate CPF and its TPs in selected food matrices. Representative standards of TPs were synthesized by electrochemistry coupled online to liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (EC/LC/MS) that equipped with a follow-through and/or synthesis cell with boron doped diamond working electrode. The TPs were characterized by LC-MS/MS and high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and used for real sample investigations. Different fruit and spice samples (fortified by TPs standards and blank) were extracted by dispersive solid phase extraction (dSPE) and analyzed by LC-MS/MS.
Recoveries were obtained ranging between 94 – 101% (with matrix effect 85 – 97%). The method limit of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) for CPF were 1.9 and 5.7 µg/kg, respectively. Among investigated samples CPF was detected in fresh lemon, black pepper and fenugreek seed with a content of 104, 31 and 4 µg/kg, respectively. Coriander and cinnamon samples also contained trace levels of CPF (<LOD). Transformation products of CPF mainly diethylthiophosphate (DETP), chlorpyrifos oxon (CPF oxon) and trichloropyridinol (TCP) were detected alongside of the parent compound in different samples. Hence, by synthesizing reference standards using EC/LC/MS we were able to detect the main TPs of CPF in real food samples. The results show that not only parent residues but also monitoring of TPs is vital to ensure future food safety.
Nature has created molecular machines which can perform a variety of different tasks. They exhibit defined operational pathways and order, resulting in directed macroscopic effects. Within the last decades researchers have been developing numerous artificial molecular machines which are so far mostly operating in solution. However, this represents a major obstacle for the generation of a macroscopic output, due to the random orientation of molecules in solution. As a general approach to this problem, interfaces have been used to generate ordered arrays of functional molecules.
Recently, we developed a new class of redox-switchable crown ether/ammonium-based [2]- and [3]rotaxanes which incorporate redox-active tetrathiafulvalene and naphthalene diimide units in their wheels resulting in emergent optoelectronic properties. Electrochemical stimuli influence the interactions between the two macrocycles of [3]rotaxanes and induce conformational changes.
In a proof-of-principle study [2]pseudorotaxanes were deposited on gold surfaces by “click”-reaction to azide-terminated self-assembled monolayers to generate ordered arrays of redox-active rotaxanes on-surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirms the successful deposition of a rotaxane monolayer, though angle-resolved near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS) exhibits poor order of the rotaxanes.
Following, new terpyridine-stoppered rotaxanes will be synthesised opening a pathway for the deposition of [2]- and [3]rotaxanes in a layer-by-layer metal-mediated self-assembly procedure. This approach would allow for a programmed sequence of different rotaxanes in multilayers. Electrochemical on-surface switching will be investigated by angle-resolved NEXAFS spectroscopy, XPS, cyclic voltammetry and UV/Vis spectroscopy.
A more detailed understanding of the electron-transfer between the surface and the different rotaxane layers as well as of the on-surface switching could give rise to potential applications like optoelectric data-storage devices or potential-driven molecular motors.
Deposition of Redox-switchable rotaxanes on surfaces
Nature has created molecular machines which can perform a variety of different tasks. They exhibit defined operational pathways and order, resulting in directed macroscopic effects. Within the last decades researchers have been developing numerous artificial molecular machines which are so far mostly operating in solution. However, this represents a major obstacle for the generation of a macroscopic output, due to the random orientation of molecules in solution. As a general approach to this problem, interfaces have been used to generate ordered arrays of functional molecules.
Recently, we developed a new class of redox-switchable crown ether/ammonium-based [2]- and [3]rotaxanes which incorporate redox-active tetrathiafulvalene and naphthalene diimide units in their wheels resulting in emergent optoelectronic properties. Electrochemical stimuli influence the interactions between the two macrocycles of [3]rotaxanes and induce conformational changes.
In a proof-of-principle study [2]pseudorotaxanes were deposited on gold surfaces by “click”-reaction to azide-terminated self-assembled monolayers to generate ordered arrays of redox-active rotaxanes on-surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirms the successful deposition of a rotaxane monolayer, though angle-resolved near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS) exhibits poor order of the rotaxanes.
Following, new terpyridine-stoppered rotaxanes will be synthesised opening a pathway for the deposition of [2]- and [3]rotaxanes in a layer-by-layer metal-mediated self-assembly procedure. This approach would allow for a programmed sequence of different rotaxanes in multilayers. Electrochemical on-surface switching will be investigated by angle-resolved NEXAFS spectroscopy, XPS, cyclic voltammetry and UV/Vis spectroscopy.
A more detailed understanding of the electron-transfer between the surface and the different rotaxane layers as well as of the on-surface switching could give rise to potential applications like optoelectric data-storage devices or potential-driven molecular motors.
Photothermal imaging is commonly used for the characterization of material properties, the determination of layer thicknesses or the detection of inhomogeneities such as voids or cracks. For this purpose, the solid specimen is externally heated, e.g. by using a light source. The resulting transient heat flows interact with the inner structures of the specimen, which in turn is measured as a transient temperature distribution at the surface.
Novel array-shaped, high-power laser light sources allow to control the heating of the surface arbitrarily, both temporally and spatially. This enables us to shape the heat flows within the material in a very specific way. In a first application, we demonstrate how to apply destructively interfering thermal wave fields in order to detect subsurface defects with a very high sensitivity. A similar technique, although originating from a very different physical domain, is already in use for medical 3D imaging showing the high potential of this approach.
The technique of painting on the reverse side of glass was rediscovered by artists in the 20th and gained especially in Germany strong popularity. Compared to other techniques (e.g. canvas, mural paintings), the paint layers are applied in reverse succession. The paintings are viewed in reflected light, thus revealing an impressive gloss, luminosity, and depth of color. Reverse glass paintings comprise a non-porous glass substrate and multi-layered paint system, hence delamination of the paint layer is the most common disfigurement. Scientific investigation of the material provides important information for appropriate conservation concepts. Transport of the precious and fragile objects to the lab is often not feasible. Therefore, in-situ, non-invasive analysis is necessary to analyze colorants and binders. Based on modern reverse glass paintings, we clarify advantages and limitations of mobile Raman spectroscopy for the identification of colorants. We compare the use of mobile Raman spectroscopy with other methods of our mobile lab (i.e. X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Diffuse Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (DRIFTS).
Due to the demand of monitoring the water quality regarding emerging pollutants, such as drug residues, selective, high-throughput and multi-target analytical methods must be established. On the one hand, the influence of sewage on natural surface waters must be routinely monitored. On the other hand, estimation of removal efficiencies of pollutants, such as drug residues, is in the focus of industrial and public wastewater treatment. Immunoassays, such as ELISA, offer the possibility to be highly sensitive and selective due to the high target affine and specific recognition of antibodies to target molecules. Batch-wise processing in microtiter plates allow the necessary high-throughput, but only a single analyte can be determined within one measurement.
To overcome these disadvantages, we developed a four-plex micro-bead based flow cytometric assay, which is adaptable for the microtiter plate format. The modular and self-prepared bead support consists of polystyrene-core-silica-shell particles. While the polystyrene core is used for encoding, by introducing different amounts of fluorescent dyes, the silica-shell creates a solid-support for the immunoassay: The target analytes, three drugs, carbamazepine, diclofenac and caffeine and the f ecal marker isolithocholic acid are covalently coupled to amino-groups on the surface via NHS-chemistry. A competitive immunoassay is subsequently conducted in a simple mix-and-read procedure. Finally, we could use SAFIA to assess the influent of treated and untreated waste water on the Douro river estuary in Portugal. The results of the analysis are comparable to ELISA. However, measurements could be carried out in 25% the time of analysis.
Coulometric sensors were tested in humidified synthetic air at various gas temperatures. Generated frost point temperature in the gas ranged from -30 °C to -60 °C and were measured by coulometric sensors and in addition by a calibrated dew point hygrometer. The gas temperatures, which were measured by a calibrated Pt100 sensor, were set to -20 °C, 0 °C, 23 °C, 40 °C, 50 °C, and 60 °C during the experiments. Empiric nonlinear functions were calculated between the humidity and the sensor signal. In comparison to the measured signals at 23 °C, the sensor signals were lower at the other gas temperatures. Measurements at 60 °C showed indistinct results due to a great signal noise. The response behavior of the sensors was similar at 23 °C, 40 °C and 50 °C. In contrast to that, the sensors reacted slowly at a gas temperature of -20 °C and 0 °C. In summary, with coulometric sensors it was possible to measure continuously trace humidity with an expanded uncertainty below 2 K.
Anemophilous plants produce pollen grains, which promote allergies. Therefore, pollen are monitored to provide a national information network. Their conventional identification and differentiation is performed by time-consuming microscopic examinations based on the genus-specific pollen morphology. A variety of spectroscopic and spectrometric approaches have been proposed to develop a fast and reliable pollen identification using specific molecular information. Amongst them, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) showed a high potential for the successful investigation of such complex biological samples. Specifically, it was illustrated that MALDI-MS imaging provides a powerful tool to identify pollen grains in pollen mixtures on the basis of ion intensity plots. More recently, the evaluation of the obtained peak patterns from pollen mass spectra with multivariate statistics enables a consistent and rapid identification of the taxonomic relationships. A novel application using conductive tape on the MALDI target simplifies sample preparation and enhanced the quality of the mass spectra. This led to a comprehensive analysis of the MS patterns, which is important when identifying pollen grains from different plant species in mixtures.
Here, we present further developments in MALDI-MS imaging of mixtures of pollen from different plant species. By combining conductive tape sample preparation with MALDI MSI and chemometric analysis, first promising results were obtained. In addition, we discuss the ability of partial least square regression (PLS-R) to identify pollen species based on independent reference spectra and present first results obtained with artificial pollen mixtures. These methods will be used in future online identification of pollen species in natural pollen mixtures.
Anemophilous plants produce pollen grains, which have to be monitored to provide a national information network for persons suffering from an allergy. The current conventional characterization and identification of pollen is performed by time-consuming microscopic examinations based on the genus-specific pollen shape and size. These examinations need proficient researchers, are not statistically validated, and additionally rely on relatively inaccurate observations of the pollination process.
A variety of spectroscopic and spectrometric approaches have been proposed to develop a fast and reliable pollen identification using specific molecular information. Amongst them, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) was recently applied for the rapid investigation of such complex biological samples. The combination of obtained peak patterns from pollen mass spectra and multivariate statistic provide a powerful tool for identifying taxonomic relationships. A novel application based on the use of conductive carbon tape as MALDI target simplified the sample preparation and yielded enhanced the quality of the mass spectra. This led to a sufficient statistical analysis of the MS pattern, which is important when identify pollen grains in natural species mixtures.
Based on this approach, promising results could be obtained by MALDI-TOF MS imaging (MSI) of artificial pollen mixtures followed by multivariate analysis. Of special interest is here the determination of the detection limit (number of pollen grains). Therefore, different pollen grain compositions were investigated for quantitative profiling of each individual pollen species within these complex mixtures. Our results can be used to improve the taxonomic differentiation and identification of pollen species and might be useful for the development of a routine method to identify pollen based on imaging mass spectrometry.
Accurate measurements of stable isotope abundance ratio variations are often reported using artifact based delta-scales, which rely on suitable isotopic reference materials (iRM) for their realization. For example, variations in the 26Mg/24Mg isotope abundance ratio in natural systems are typically reported as delta26Mg values that represents the relative difference between the 26Mg/24Mg ratio measured in a sample relative to its measurement preferably in an iRM. In the past, such delta26Mg measurements were referenced to NIST SRM 980, the initial zero of the delta26Mg scale. With the development of MC-ICPMS, the detection of small but measurable isotopic differences in different chips of SRM 980 became apparent. It was then replaced by a Mg solution (DSM3), the new zero of the delta26Mg scale. A potential replacement iRM for DSM3 has been developed, ERM-AE143. This iRM has also been measured for its absolute isotope amount ratios1,2 making it traceable to the SI.
The results of a delta26Mg intercomparison experiment include the Mg iRMs SRM 980, IRMM-009, ERM-AE143, AE144, AE145 standards DSM3 and Cambridge-1. The intercomparison involved 5 expert laboratories, consisting of 3 national metrological institutes (BAM, NIST, PTB) and 2 scientific research laboratories (GFZ Potsdam, UBremen).
The iRMs were measured relative to AE143 and cover a range of ≈5 ‰ in delta26Mg. IRMM-009 has the lowest delta26Mg value while DSM3 has the highest, spanning a range in values that covers natural Mg isotope variations. The 2SD reproducibilities of the individual values from the different laboratories range from 0.02 to 0.26 ‰. The mean delta26Mg values, calculated from the laboratory means however show 2SD reproducibilities varing between 0.025 and 0.093 ‰. Propagated measurement uncertainties suggest a standard uncertainty of about 0.1‰ for delta26Mg determinations.
1 JAAS, 2015, 31,179; 2JAAS, 2016, 31, 1440
In micro or nano particles development it is important to understand and control the particle structure, as it affects among other things the potential further surface functionalisation/modification possible.
This work shows the capability of resonant mass measurements (RMM) to measure the mass and density of micron sized particles. The technology utilizes a suspended MEMS microchannel resonator, through which individual particles transit across the resonator altering the resonant frequency, which is then detected using an optical-based method. Changes in frequency observed when a particle enters the microchannel resonator are proportional to the buoyant mass of the particle, and can be translated into mass, size or surface area. RMM therefore allows particle concentration to be determined as well as particle mass in a single measurement.
Furthermore, a method for estimating the density distribution of particles from RMM measurements has been developed. This uses the convolution of the buoyant mass distribution of the particles obtained when suspended in different fluids.
By combining the data from the density and mass determinations, small mass shifts arising from applying a coating to a particle can be estimated, and the resulting shell thicknesses calculated. These methods have been applied to silica coated and uncoated polystyrene latex particles.
RMM shows that it can be used to measure, and distinguish between, silica shell thicknesses that are in the order of 10 to 55 nanometres on hybrid micron-sized particles. RMM can also determine the shell density.
Polycrystalline Ni materials with grain sizes less than 100 nm (nano crystalline NC) and with grain sizes in the micrometer range (micro crystalline MC) in form of thin films have become important in many technologies due to their improved physical, chemical and mechanical properties. Usual the mechanical properties of such coatings are described by a Hardness value and a Young´s modulus measured by Instrumented Indentation Testing (IIT).The behavior of such coatings during indentation test is influenced by different size effects having their representative length scale – grain size, coating thickness, length that characterizes the depth dependence of the hardness (Indentation Size Effect ISE). To estimate realistic values for the intrinsic coating Hardness and Young´s modulus all size effects have to be considered.
For this work thin nano crystalline Ni – coatings (average grain size 30 nm) with thickness from 1 μm to 5 μm were electrodeposited on brass substrates. Indentation tests in the continuous stiffness measurement (CSM) mode were provided on as prepared Ni – coatings using a G200 Nanoindentation system (Fa. Keysight). For estimation of the intrinsic hardness of the coatings from composite hardness values calculated from the measured force –displacement curve using the Oliver & Pharr method, the model described by Z.S. Ma [1] was used.
It was found that the experimental data can be well described by the model. The fitted values for the intrinsic hardness and the fitting parameters will be given. The different values of intrinsic hardness and of length characterizing depth dependence of the hardness for different coating thickness are discussed as results of changes in the coating structure because of changes in deposition parameters.
[1] Z.S. Ma, Y.C. Zhou, S.G. Long, C. Lu: On the intrinsic hardness of a metallic film/substrate system: Indentation size and substrate effects. International Journal of Plasticity 34 (2012) 1-11.
This work is supported by European Metrology Program for Innovation and Research (EMPIR)
(JRP 14IND03 Strength – ABLE)
Self-assembly of TiO2 nanoparticles in multiple layers by layer-by-layer deposition has been selected of different deposition procedures usually applied for fabrication of TiO2 thin films with defined and homogeneous thickness on supports of interest for the large-scale applications. The substrates tested were: conductive (FTO) glass, silica glass and titanium alloy. The selected film fabrication technique consists of the deposition of alternating layers of oppositely charged, i.e. functionalized, TiO2 nanoparticle layers with wash steps in between. The controlled assembly of TiO2 nanoparticles on the supports surface requires both a proper functionalization of the supports to promote the adhesion of the TiO2 film to the substrates and proper functionalization of TiO2 nanoparticles to allow attachment to substrate and subsequent reaction between different NP layers. The current study focusses on the analytical control of the functionalization of the substrates with 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS) and glutaraldehyde (GA) by means of surface sensitive methods, XPS, Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) and ToF-SIMS. Chemical composition of surface of functionalized substrates shows differences in the degree and type of modification in dependence on substrate.
Manufacturing of new perovskite layered solar cells with constant high light conversion efficiency over time may be hampered by the loss of efficiency caused by structural and/or chemical alterations of the complex layered system. SEM/EDX combined with XPS were chosen as an appropriate methodical approach to characterize perovskite laboratory cells in depth and at surface, before and after light exposure. The layered perovskite system investigated here is based on glass covered with fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO), followed by thin films of TiO2, ZrO2 and a thick monolithic carbon. TiO2 film is subdivided into a dense layer covered by porous one constituted of nanoparticles (NPs) of truncated bipyramidal shape. This layered system serves as the matrix for the perovskite. EDX spectral maps on cross-sections of specimen have shown that Pb and I are distributed homogeneously throughout the porous layers C, ZrO2 and TiO2. SEM/EDX data show that 20 weeks of ambient daylight did not change significantly the indepth distribution of the elemental composition of Pb and I throughout the entire solar cell system. It was confirmed with EDX that NPs identified in high-resolution SEM micrographs contain mainly Pb and I, indicating these to be the perovskite crystals. However, a compositional and chemical altering began in the near-surface region of the outermost ~10 nm after 2 months of illumination which was observed with XPS.
The synthesis of TiO2 nanoplatelets with fluorine-containing reactants is carried out using Ti (IV) butoxide as precursor and concentrated HF as shape controller, the final product requires a working up in order to eliminate or at least to reduce the amount of residual fluorides, which is realized here by well-defined thermal treatment.
Qualitative investigation of the bulk elemental composition by means of EDX of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) has identified fluorine in case of the as-synthesized samples. EDX spectra of thermally treated products exhibit either a fluorine content close to the limit of detection. The latter holds also true for the reference sample, TiO2 NPs of bipyramidal shape and prepared by a different synthesis route. For differentiation whether fluorine is present in the bulk or at the surface of the TiO2 nanoplatelets, top-surface sensitive AES and ToF-SIMS has been applied. Secondary ions of fluorine are detected in ToF-SIMS spectra of all samples, but could be roughly quantified by measurement of same reference sample as for EDX, namely TiO2 nano-bipyramids. This revealed that the amount of fluorine within1 nm depth beneath the surface is reduced in the thermally treated specimen compared to the raw product down to a content about as low as in the reference sample. AES allows analyzing analysis of the first few nanometers from the top-surface of individual NPs by point analysis. An F KLL peak has been detected at the surface of samples of as-prepared TiO2 nanoplatelets under optimized measurement conditions, but was not detectable after their calcination, which is in agreement with ToF-SIMS results. Moreover, high resolution AES on single TiO2 nanoplatelets elucidated that the surface atomic layers surrounding the TiO2 nanopaltelet contain fluorides before thermal treatment of the NPs.
We report on the design, preparation and application of immobilized Oligonucleotides as biological sensors for dosimetry and protein activity. Oligonucleotides can be custom tailored in terms of sequence and length to the needs of the specific application. The preparation can be scaled from small lab-scales to higher output via spotting technology on various surfaces such as glass, silicon-dioxide or gold. They can be applied for the sensing of DNA-protein interaction and surface-plasmon resonance to detect the influence of cosolutes on the protein activity. This can be applied in the testing of pharmaceutical or cosmsetic applications and incorporated in microfluidic devices. Other important use cases are the usage in dosimetric application where the oligonucleotides are subjected to ionizing radiation. They can directly act as a sensor for biological damage which is detected and quantified by the subsequent hybridization of complementary strands who carry a fluorescence dye. The quantification can be performed by an array scanner or fluorescence microscope. Investigation on a molecular level can be performed with the AFM-IR technique. Applications are calibration of radiation sources and the investigation of interaction of ionizing radiation with biomolecules.
The damage caused by ionizing radiation to biomolecules, especially DNA, is the reason to treat cancer via radiation therapy. A better understanding of the molecular processes and the quantification of the various damaging mechanisms is the prerequisit to develope efficient therapies. Hereby the understanding of the processes involved in the damage to DNA are of key interest due to its central role in reproduction and mutation. Due to the high amount of water in biological tissue, most of the damage is caused by the secondary particles produced by the interaction of the IR with water. Thereby a multitude of species are produced, e.g. kinetic low energy electrons, prehydrated electrons, OH-radicals and ions. The quantification of the contribution to DNA damage of the various species is of interest. Here we present an experimental approach to disentangle their relative DNA strand break yield. Plasmid DNA is irradiated in water with electrons under the presence of different scavengers. With the presented method it will be possible to reveal the relative contributions of OH-radicals, low energy electrons and prehydrated electrons to the DNA single and double strand break yield.
The ambient air quality around residential areas is influenced by industrial objects, including industrial sewage, livestock farming and landfill sites. These sites are generating malodours or toxic gases involving degradation of ambient air quality, which may constitute a risk in human health if maximum emission limits are exceeded. Therefore, appropriate tools allowing detection of harmful or bad odorous, subsequently contributing to a reduction of odour nuisance are greatly needed. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the capability of an electronic nose E-nose to discriminate various gas samples collected from six different sites from the agglomeration of Meknès city corresponding to municipal landfill, in the city at 2 km of landfill, industrial estate wastewater, traffic road, and sheep breeding. The investigations were carried out with an E-nose system based on an array of six-commercial MQ sensors. Further, a pattern recognition technique known as Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Linear Discriminent Analysis (LDA), and Support Vector Machines (SVMs) was implemented to study the discrimination capability of the sensor array. PCA results demonstrate excellent discriminating ability of the dataset with a score of 99.47 %. Additionally, another measurement database containing 12 air atmospheric samples was projected on the previously built PCA model to check the stability of the E-nose. The LDA was applied to the same dataset and showed a good discrimination between the ambient air samples of the six sites. Furthermore, SVMs technique was also used to build a classifier and reached a score of 100 % success rate in the recognition of the analysed samples. The obtained results of six areas demonstrate the increasing interests and the applicability of E-noses for ambient air quality classification of six areas caused by emitted decomposed organic matters.
Evaluation of particle sizing techniques for implementation of the EC Definition of a nanomaterial
(2017)
Many techniques are available for measuring particle size distribution. For ideal materials (spherical particles, well dispersed) it is possible to evaluate the Performance of these methods. The performance of the analytical instrumentation for the purpose of classifying materials according to EC Definition is unknown. In this work the performance of commercially available particle sizing techniques on representative NanoDefine set of real-world testing materials (RTM) and quality control materials (QCM) for the implementation of the Definition is evaluated.
Electrospray ionization constitutes a promising deposition technique for high-resolution imaging. Particle distribution on TEM grids takes place homogeneously and no losses occur. Suspension must be appropriate (stabilizer may induce artefacts). ESI parameters need to be optimized for each material.
Volume specific surface area (VSSA) by BET: concept and demonstration on industrial materials
(2017)
Volume specific surface area (VSSA) as measured by BET constituites a simple and reliable solution to (most) powders. Porous, coated, polydisperse/multimodal materials are to be treated with care, i.e. doubled by analysis with electron microscopy or more advanced BET analysis (e.g. t-plot)for each material in part.
Qualitative reference materials (RM) cover a wide range of the overall RM market. Proficiency testing providers attract up to a thousand of participants in PT schemes purely oriented on qualitative results. The RM used for these kinds of PT are poorly regulated, nevertheless with a more and more general acceptance of accreditation in the field of RM production and PT provision, there is an ever increasing interest in assessing producers and providers according to rules already well accepted in the field of quantitative analysis.
The basic governing document, ISO 17034:2016, is written in a form that, at least for the overwhelming majority of requirements, may be applied to both qualitative and quantitative RM. However, problems remain. In particular, the expression of uncertainty of a purely qualitative result is still unresolved, and under discussion, the latter now lasting already dozens of years.
Some handles would be needed. In the poster, existing approaches and some pragmatic, new ways to tackle the problem are displayed and discussed.
A scanning transmission x-ray microscopy (STXM) based methodology is introduced for determining the dimensions (shell thickness, core and total diameter) of core-shell nanoparticles which exhibit a strong x-ray absorption contrast and a well-defined interface between core and shell material. A low radiation dosage during data acquisition and, therefore, less x-ray beam induced damage of the sample is achieved by recording STXM images only at two predetermined energies of maximum absorption contrast, instead of recording a stack of images across the whole absorption edge. A model core-shell nanoparticle, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) cores with polystyrene (PS) shell, is used for demonstration. Near edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy confirms the significant difference in x-ray absorption behavior between PTFE and PS. Additionally, due to the insolubility of styrene in PTFE a well-defined interface between particle core and shell is expected. In order to validate the STXM results, both the naked PTFE cores as well as the complete core-shell nanoparticles are examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The introduced STXM based methodology yields particle dimensions in good agreement with the SEM results (deviation equal or less than 10%) and provides additional information such as the position of the particle core which cannot be extracted from a SEM micrograph.
Clinoptilolite is a natural, medium pore size zeolite. It contains a 2-deminsional pore system consisting of oxygen-8- membered and oxygen-10-membered rings. It is one of the most abundant natural zeolites. It is mainly used as ion exchanger and adsorbent for removal of toxic elements and compounds from the environment. Although clinoptilolite is microporous and can be acidified by ion exchange or acid treatment and a potential catalyst, reports on its application in catalysis are limited so far. This contribution deals with modification of a natural zeolite clinoptilolite, and the study of the influence of the textural and acidic properties on the catalytic performance in the acid catalyzed acetalization of bezaldehyde with butandiol-1,3 and the more demanding etherification of glycerol with t-butanol or isomerization of n-hexane. The samples were acidified by via ammonium-ion exchange followed by calcination and acid treatment. Samples were characterized by XRD regarding crystallinity and phase composition, FTIR, and N2-adsorption for porosity. The morphology was studied by TEM images. The acidity was studied by ammonia-TPD measurements and 1H solid state MAS NMR. Structure and structural changes caused by applied modifications were studied by 27Al- and 29Si MAS NMR measurements and TRAPDOR experiments as well as thermal analysis.
The studied natural zeolite tuff contained ca. 90 ma.-% of clinoptilolite. The ion exchange behavior was studied with ammonium nitrate solution and for comparison with HCl solution of similar concentration. The cation exchange was followed by AES. The activation temperature was varied between 400-600°C. The catalytic test was performed e.g. using ca. 0.2 g of the catalyst and ca.10g of the aldehyde or alcohol using toluene as solvent and under reflux. Reaction water was removed via a by-pass. The isomerization of n-hexane was performed in a fall stream reactor at elevated temperature at gas phase. Water vapour saturated air was passed over clinoptilolite samples at elevated temperature for different time.
The ion exchange experiments shows that ca 45% of the cations of clinoptilolite readily exchange with ammonium ions and protons supplied by acid treatment. However, exchange with the acid has a more severe impact on the clinoptilolite structure. More severe treatment times leads to a loss of activity in terms of acetal formation. Sample show all high conversions after 4 h of reaction, but show markedly differences after short reaction times. The presence of acidic protons of medium to strong strength is confirmed by ammonia-TPD and proton NMR measurements. The sample activation causes a partial dealumination as indicated by the appearance of 5- and 6-fold coordinated aluminum. Interestingly, the NMR results give first hints for a relation of the catalytic conversion with the amount of 5-fold coordinated aluminum. The results will be discussed in terms of a collaborative action of Brønsted acid sites and 5-fold coordinated aluminum.
Modified clinoptilpolite is highly active in acid catalyst acetalization of aldehydes, isomerization of n-hexane and etherification of glycerol with t-butanol. Acidic natural clinoptilolite catalysts prepared via ammonium exchange followed by calcination and acid treatment shows a positive influence on acidity and porosity. Modification creates hierarchical micro-nano porosity. The specific surface area varies between ca. 45 m2/g and 257 m2/g.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) are ubiquitous in the indoor air, since they emit from materials used indoors. Investigations of these materials are mostly carried out in test chambers under controlled climatic conditions. Quality control of these test chamber measurements is important but there is a lack of commercially available homogenous reference materials as required for round robin tests or quality assurance of laboratories. The approach of the present study is the impregnation of a supporting material with VOC, which are reproducibly released in measurable chamber air concentrations under standardised test conditions. A polymer made of Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) was chosen as carrier material. It was impregnated with the VOC trimethyl pentanediol isobutyrat (texanol).
We present the first spectroscopic study on a reverse glass painting form the classic modern period (1905-1955). Marianne Uhlenhuth’s painting “Ohne Titel, 1954” shows characteristics like experimental use of colorants and abstract compositions, which are well-established in classic modern art. Compared to stained glass, reverse glass paintings are viewed in reflected light, hence they reveal strong and intense colors. New inorganic pigments, development of synthetic organic pigments and the simultaneous supersession of well-known ancient colorants result in experimental works and remarkable pigment mixtures in this period of time. An in-situ, non-invasive approach was used to study the pigments and binding media. In-situ measurements were carried out using Raman spectroscopy (i-Raman®Plus, Bwtek Inc., 785 nm, 20× objective, resolution 4 cm-1), X-ray fluorescence (Tracer III-SD, Bruker AXS Microanalysis GmbH, 40 kV, 15 μA), VIS spectroscopy (SPM 100, Gretag-Imaging AG) and DRIFTS: Diffuse Reflection-Infrared-Fourier-Transform Spectroscopy (ExoScan, Agilent GmbH, 4000-650 cm-1, 256 scans, resolution 4cm-1). The pigments consist of inorganic as well as organic materials. Phthalocyanin green (PG7, colour index No. 74260), viridian and emerald green were used for the green areas. The yellow parts consist of chrome yellow and cadmium yellow. Pigment Yellow 1 (C.I. 11680) was used for the dark yellow/orange part. Red areas were characterized by the presence of cadmium and selenium (cadmium red) in the XRF spectrum. Ultramarine was detected in the blue parts. Concerning the violet color PR81 (bluish red, C.I. 45160:1) in mixture with PG7 (bluish green) were identified as main components. We want to outline that PR81 was rarely found in paintings. It was only recorded in the palettes of Lucio Fontana and Mary Cassatt before. The dark violet areas consist of Prussian blue and an unknown red (organic) colorant. Brown iron oxide was identified as the brown pigment. Bone black in mixture with black iron oxide were used as black materials and zinc white and titanium white as white pigments. XRF analysis of the metal color yields intense copper, zinc and nickel peaks (intensity ratio 3:3:1), which corresponds to “new silver” alloy. Barite and chalk are the fillers in this painting. Results of DRIFTS spectra show gum sometimes mixed with protein or oil (metal soaps) as binding media. The results point out that reverse glass paintings from the classic modern period are excellent examples to study the evolution of new pigments and their acceptance in artist’s palettes.
Tandem MS experiments allow the fast acquisition of spectral datasets with enormous size and unprecedented content of information. The most commonly used method is undoubtedly collision induced dissociation (CID). The relatively young technical adaptation of CID to modern day Orbitrap experiments needs a higher confinement voltage and has accordingly been named higher-energy collisional dissociation HCD. Despite the name the absolute value of transferred energy per collision in HCD is lower than in CID. Since for many proteins CID and HCD result in comparable fragmentation patterns the two techniques are often treated as interchangeable. This approach is, however, not without pitfalls as other classes of biomolecules often exhibit strongly pronounced fragmentation specificity. As an example, MS/MS experiments on several 4-mer oligonucleotides were conducted employing both collision methods and the results were thoroughly compared. It is apparent that not only the total fragment yield but also the identity of the observed fragments differ significantly between the two methods.
An important aspect of micro or nano particles development is the understanding and control of the particle structure, as it can be determining for particle’s final function, and it affects among other things potential further surface functionalisation/modification.
This work shows the capability of resonant mass measurements (RMM) to measure the mass and density of micron sized particles. The technology utilizes a suspended MEMS microchannel resonator, through which individual particles transit across the resonator altering the resonant frequency, which is then detected using an optical-based method. Changes in frequency observed when a particle enters the microchannel resonator are proportional to the buoyant mass of the particle, and can be translated into mass, size or surface area. RMM therefore allows particle concentration to be determined as well as particle mass in a single measurement.
Furthermore, a method for estimating the density distribution of particles from RMM measurements has been developed. This uses the convolution of the buoyant mass distribution of the particles obtained when suspended in different fluids.
By combining the data from the density and mass determinations, small mass shifts arising from applying a coating to a particle can be estimated, and the resulting shell thicknesses calculated. These methods have been applied to silica coated and uncoated polystyrene latex particles.
RMM shows that it can be used to measure, and distinguish between, silica shell thicknesses that are in the order of 10s of nanometres on hybrid micron-sized particles
Microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs) in combination with surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) provide a way for analyses of complex mixtures. The μPADs can be used for the chromatographic separation of different compounds of mixtures in combination with the separate detection of the analytes in different zones on the paper by SERS. SERS allows to observe analytes directly without labelling in low concentrations in aqueous solutions and to identify them by their spectral fingerprint.
SERS substrates on the μPADs were created by drying standard silver nanoparticle (AgNP) solution on the paper. The microfluidic structure of the μPADs was prepared by wax printing. As a model system, an aqueous solution of the non-fluorescent analyte adenine and two fluorescent dyes tris(2,2’-bipyridyl)dichlororuthenium(II) and sulforhodamine B was tested. The dependency of the SERS signal intensity on the analyte concentration can be fitted using a Langmuir isotherm curve progression. With this approach, a semi-quantitative analysis of the components is possible. The reproducibility and stability of the measurement procedure was tested with several measurements over time, different NP batches, and with different analytes in different concentrations and resulted in an average relative standard deviation of 16 %.
The SERS spectra of the mixture of the model system are dominated by one compound depending on the concentration ratio. For the detection and identification of all components of the mixture, the compounds were therefore separated on the μPADs and measured at different positions. The position of adenine on the μPADs is dependent on the AgNP coverage of the paper. Due to this effect, it possible to detect adenine on a defined point on the μPADs and to get an information on the concentration in a mixture of three components.
The identification of external paint layers on medieval stained glass windows in Lincoln Cathedral is not only of interest for art historians but is also important for the development of conservation proposals. For the gradual reduction and removal of corrosion layers conservators have to take care to preserve any remaining paint layers which are hidden underneath these corrosion and weathering crusts.
X-ray computed tomography (CT) model holds only for THz-TDS reconstruction if minor refraction index differences between the inhomogeneities and the surrounding material matrix exist. A Time Domain SAFT algorithm has been developed to overcome the restrictions. THz time domain measurement on representative sample sets with inherent artefacts were performed to use them for the Image reconstructions. The results will be presented and compared with optical surface images of the used test objects to evaluate the SAFT algorithm in relation to the reconstruction quality.
Luminescence techniques are amongst the most commonly used analytical methods in the life and the material sciences due to their sensitivity and nondestructive character. All photoluminescence signals are, however, affected by wavelength-, polarization- and time-dependent instrument-related effects. Furthermore, substantial challenges to measure absolute luminescence intensities complicate the comparison of data recorded with different instruments and on the same instrument at different times. These problems can be easily resolved with fluorescence standards used for instrument performance validation (IPV) and determination of instrument-to-instrument variations, which allow to measure, quantify, and monitor the wavelength-dependent spectral responsivity for typically used instrument settings. For example, a set of liquid fluorescence standards, the BAM Kit F001-F005, and a ready-to-use glass-based fluorescence standard BAM F-012 developed and certified by BAM enable the characterization of many fluorescence parameters in the UV/vis wavelength range. For the increasingly used near infrared (NIR) region, standards and calibration tools are still very rare. Reliable spectral fluorescence standards and intensity or quantum yield standards are currently not available for the NIR, even though in biology, molecular imaging, and clinical diagnostics fluorescence labels absorbing and emitting in the long wavelength region beyond 650 nm are being increasingly used.
This limitation hampers the reliability and comparability of fluorescence measurements in the NIR and calls for simple fluorescence standards for instrument characterization and for the quantification of fluorescence intensities and efficiencies to improve the comparability of the emission measurements in the NIR. This encouraged us to assess the potential of several NIR-emitting materials as spectral fluorescence standards, thereby extending the BAM Kit from the UV/vis into the NIR up to 950 nm. Moreover, we currently certify quantum yield standards for the UV/vis/NIR to improve the reliability of relative measurements of this spectroscopic key quantity particularly > 650 nm. These tools enable an instrument characterization, signal referencing, quality assurance, traceability, and method validation now also for wavelengths > 650 nm, thereby improving the reliability of fluorescence data in pharmaceutical research, medical and clinical diagnostics, material analysis, and environmental monitoring.
Monitoring chemical reactions is the key to process control. Today, mainly optical online methods are applied, which are calibration intensive. NMR spectroscopy has a high potential for direct loop process control while cutting the calibration and validation needs to an minimum and thus exhibiting short set-up times. Compact NMR instruments make NMR spectroscopy accessible in industrial and harsh environments for advanced process monitoring and control.
Intensified continuous processes are in focus of current research. Flexible (modular) chemical plants can produce different products using the same equipment with short down-times between campaigns and quick introduction of new products to the market. In continuous flow processes online sensor data and tight closed-loop control of the product quality are mandatory. Data analysis techniques are available but currently mostly used for off-line data analysis to detect the causes of variations in the product quality.
This is addressed within the EU’s Research Project CONSENS by the development and integration of a smart NMR module for process monitoring. The presented NMR module is provided in a mobile explosion proof housing and involves a compact spectrometer together with an acquisition unit and a programmable logic controller for automated data preparation (phasing, baseline correction), and evaluation. Such “smart sensors” provide the basis for the future project “Industrie 4.0”, and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), along with current requirements to process control, model based control, or soft sensing. The module transforms the acquired online spectra of various technically relevant reactions to either conventional 4‒20 mA signals as well as WiFi based OPC-UA communication protocols, which enables NMR-based advanced process control and funny discussions with plant managers along with automation and safety engineers.
Assessment and validation of various flow cell designs for quantitative online NMR spectroscopy
(2017)
Compact nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) instruments make NMR spectroscopy and relaxometry accessible in industrial and harsh environments for reaction and process control. Robust field integration of NMR systems have to face explosion protection or integration into process control systems with short set-up times. This paves the way for industrial automation in real process environments.
The design of failsafe, temperature and pressure resistant flow through cells along with their NMR-specific requirements is an essential cornerstone to enter industrial production plants and fulfill explosion safety requirements. NMR-specific requirements aim at full quantitative pre-magnetization and acquisition with maximum sensitivity while reducing sample transfer times and dwell-times. All parameters are individually dependent on the applied NMR instrument. Luckily, an increasing number of applications are reported together with an increasing variety of commercial equipment. However, these contributions have to be reviewed thoroughly.
The performance of sample flow cells commonly used in online analytics and especially for low-field NMR spectroscopy was experimentally and theoretically investigated by 1H-NMR experiments and numerical simulations. Here, we demonstrate and discuss an automated test method to determine the critical parameters of flow through cells for quantitative online NMR spectroscopy. The setup is based on randomized setpoints of flow rates in order to reduce temperature related effects. Five flow cells and tubings were assessed and compared for high-field as well as low-field NMR spectrometers.
For reaction monitoring and process control using NMR instruments, in particular, after acquisition of the FID the data needs to be corrected in real-time for common effects using fast interfaces and automated methods. When it comes to NMR data evaluation under industrial process conditions, the shape of signals can change drastically due to nonlinear effects. Additionally, the multiplet structure becomes more dominant because of the comparably low-field strengths which results in overlapping of multiple signals. However, the structural and quantitative information is still present but needs to be extracted by applying predictive models.
We present a range of approaches for the automated spectra analysis moving from statistical approach, (i.e., Partial Least Squares Regression) to physically motivated spectral models (i.e., Indirect Hard Modeling). By using the benefits of traditional qNMR experiments data analysis models can meet the demands of the PAT community (Process Analytical Technology) regarding low calibration effort/calibration free methods, fast adaptions for new reactants, or derivatives and robust automation schemes.
The exploration of metal phosphonates chemistry has gained great interest during the last decades, because of their structural diversity. Transition metal phosphonates are promising candidates for an application as electrocatalysts in oxygen reduction reactions (ORR). Here, we present the in situ investigation of mechanochemical syntheses of two different manganese phosphonates by synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Nitrilotri(methylenephosphonic acid) and N,N-Bis(phosphonomethyl)glycine were chosen as ligands. The liquid-assisted milling process can be divided into three steps, including an amorphous stage. One of the products has not been obtained by classical solution chemistry before.
These metal phosphonates and/or their derivatives are considered to be active in electrochemical energy conversion. The verification of their applicability is one of the topics of our resent research.
UCST-type thermoresponsive polymers that phase separate from solution upon cooling present a tremendous potential not only in aqueous media where they can be used in drug delivery, diagnostic and microfluidic applications, but also in water/alcohol mixtures, where they can be used for instance in sensing systems for alcohol-soluble drugs. However, only a few thermoresponsive polymers have been reported that present an UCST in a relevant temperature range and “green” solvents such as water or ethanol. In this context, acrylamide-based monomers can be very useful building blocks for designing novel UCST-type polymers because of their hydrophilic nature (with the right side chain) and propensity to form hydrogen bonds.
We want to present our latest results on the copolymer poly(acrylamide-co-acrylonitrile) (P(AAm-co-AN)) that present a UCST in water as well as on two homopolymers based on an acrylamide derivative of 2,6-diaminopyridine, namely poly(N-(6-aminopyridin-2-yl)acrylamide) (PNAPAAm) and poly(N-(6-acetamidopyridin-2-yl)acrylamide) (PNAcAPAAm) that show UCST-type thermoresponsiveness in water/alcohol mixtures.
Our focus for P(AAm-co-AN)) is its aggregation behaviour above and below its phase transition temperature as the size of thermoresponsive polymeric systems is of prime importance for biomedical applications (as size dependent processes take place in the body) and is linked to the optical properties of a material that matter in materials science.
In the case of PNAPAAm and PNAcAPAAm, we focused on the co-solvency/co-non solvency effect on the phase transition temperature in water/alcohol mixture. Indeed, polymers with UCST behavior below 60°C in water/alcohol mixtures are extremely promising for the preparation of “smart” materials for sensing.
Nanoparticles (NPs) have potential applications in medical diagnostics, imaging, drug delivery and other kinds of therapy. Furthermore, studies concerning nanoparticle uptake by cells are important for risk assessment. Size, shape and surface modification of the NPs determine the uptake rate and pathway into the cells, and therefore impact specific cell components and processes. Understanding the different uptake mechanisms and involved processes require sub-cellular resolution to determine, for example, whether the nanoparticles are reaching the nucleus. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is an established quantitative multi-elemental analysis and mapping technique. However, sub-cellular imaging has traditionally been challenging to achieve due to a lack of sensitivity at small laser spots. But now novel laser ablation systems with improved sensitivity and washout time allow imaging at high lateral resolution with spot sizes down to 1 µm.
Here LA-ICP-MS was applied for the imaging of individual fibroblast cells to study the uptake and intracellular processing of metal-containing NPs. To indicate cell morphology the local distribution of naturally occurring elements in cells like P and Zn was measured, too. Our results show that LA-ICP-MS can be used to localise nanoparticle aggregates within cellular compartments. The studied NPs accumulate in the perinuclear region in the course of intracellular processing, but do not enter the cell nucleus. The uptake efficiency depends strongly on the physico-chemical properties of the nanostructures as well as on the incubation conditions like concentration and incubation time. The potential of LA-ICP-MS for analysis at single cell level will be demonstrated.
Mechanaochemistry is an effecthive method to yield pure compounds within a short reaction time. Mechanochemical C-C bond forming reactions gained increasing interest in the past decade. Among those the Knoevenagel condensation is an important reaction for synthezing a,b-unsaturated compounds. The information on the underlying mechanisms of mechanochemical reactions are scarce. In situ investigations using Raman spectroscopy and synchroton XRD either alone or in combination address this challenge. We present the in situ results of a Knoevenagel condensation with p-nitrobenzaldehyde and malononitrile under neat grinding conditions.
Electroplated magnetostrictive actuator layer enabling the external diagnosis of strain sensors
(2017)
Embedded fibre-opticaloptical strain sensors are suitable for structural health monitoring. In order to validate long-term performance (e.g.sensors integrated in airplane wings or wind power turbine blades) an external diagnostics is required.
A strain-detecting region of the optical fibre, the fibre Bragg grating (FBG, is encased by a magnetostrictive layer system serving as actuator. For the validation of the correct sensor function, an external magnetic field introduces mechanical strain resulting in a defined shift of the Bragg wavelength. The layer system is realized by acombined PVD /ECD process optimized regarding magnetostrictive and mechanical properties. The long -term stability of layer adhesion and actuator function has been verified.
1. Introduction
Alumina coatings are one possibility to increase the corrosion resistance, lifetime and application range of thermally loaded steel components, e.g. in modern power plants where the use of the Oxy-fuel technology corrosive fuel gas (H2O-CO2-O2-SO2 at 650 °C) affects the steel parts. In previous investigations the efficacy of protective alumina coatings on steel P 92 under those conditions was demonstrated. A shutdown and re-start of power plants or parts of them causes thermal stresses of the components which can cause detrimental effects like microstructural changes in the steel itself, changes in its oxidation behavior, delamination or microstructural changes in the coating. All those effects can lead to failure of the components, resulting in lifetime reduction.
2. Objectives
As a first step, we concentrate on the influence of thermal cycling tests and observe the impact on the microstructure of the coating and the interface in laboratory air. These investigations will help understanding the processes which occur, show directions of potentially necessary changes of the coating due to improved thermal stress behaviour.
3. Materials & methods
P 92 is a ferritic-martensitic steel, containing 9% Cr which forms protective Cr-oxide-rich scales in dry environments and non-protective ones in water-containing environments. Coupons of P 92, having ground surfaces, were dip-coated via a sol-gel process and subjected to thermal cycling for 500 h (1000 cycles) in laboratory air in a temperature range between room temperature and 660° C. The resulting mass loss was determined by weighing.
Samples for TEM investigations were produced as cross sections normal to the sample surface by FIB preparation (Quanta 3D, (FEI)). The TEM/STEM investigations were performed using a JEM2200FS (JEOL) operated at 200 kV. The microstructure of the coating and the interface after cycling tests was characterized via TEM, HREM, and STEM images, electron diffraction as well as EDX and EFTEM methods.
4. Results
At steep edges in the surface profile the coating was imperfect and cracks have formed during the thermal cycling. Flat surface regions are well-covered. The whole interface region between the steel and the coating shows a dense Cr-oxide-rich zone, which can form protective regions in case of local failure. The Cr-oxide zone is followed by a region of mixed oxides, containing Cr, Mn, Fe, and Al in variable composition, to which a porous δ-Al2O3 zone is joined.
5. Conclusions
• Alumina coatings promote the formation of dense, Cr-rich zones at the interface, which makes the system self-healing.
• These zones are stable during thermal stresses, even in regions with cracked coatings.
• They cause reduction of outward diffusion and mass loss during thermal cycling.
Monitoring chemical reactions is the key to chemical process control. Today, mainly optical online methods are applied, which are calibration intensive. NMR spectroscopy has a high potential for direct loop process control while exhibiting short set-up times. Compact NMR instruments make NMR spectroscopy accessible in industrial and harsh environments for advanced process monitoring and control.
Within the European Union’s Research Project CONSENS (Integrated CONtrol and SENsing by development and integration of a smart NMR module for process monitoring was designed and delivers online spectra of various reactions. The presented NMR module is provided in an explosion proof housing of 57 x 57 x 85 cm module size and involves a compact spectrometer together with an acquisition unit and a programmable logic controller for automated data preparation (phasing, baseline correction), and evaluation.
For reaction monitoring and process control using NMR instruments after acquisition of the FID the data needs to be corrected in real-time for common effects using fast interfaces and automated methods.
When it comes to NMR data evaluation under industrial process conditions, the shape of signals can change drastically due to nonlinear effects. Additionally, the multiplet structure becomes more dominant because of the comparably low-field strengths which results in overlapping of multiple signals. However, the structural and quantitative information is still present but needs to be extracted by applying predictive models.
We present a range of approaches for the automated spectra analysis moving from statistical approach, (i.e., Partial Least Squares Regression) to physically motivated spectral models (i.e., Indirect Hard Modelling and Quantum Mechanical calculations). By using the benefits of traditional qNMR experiments data analysis models can meet the demands of the PAT community (Process Analytical Technology) regarding low calibration effort/calibration free methods, fast adaptions for new reactants, or derivatives and robust automation schemes.