Quartz Crystal Microbalance Technique Research Articles

Phase transition study of bathophenanthroline and bathocuproine: A multitechnique approach

The thermal behaviour of bathophenanthroline and bathocuproine has been studied using several techniques, namely, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry. To determine their respective enthalpies of sublimation, vapor pressure measurements were carried out using different methods, such as Knudsen effusion mass loss / mass spectrometry, isothermal thermogravimetry, and a quartz crystal microbalance technique. Furthermore, the enthalpies of sublimation were determined by measuring the heat change of the sublimation process using high-temperature Calvet microcalorimetry.The results obtained in this work allowed the determination of the standard molar enthalpies of sublimation at 298.15 K, for bathophenanthroline and bathocuproine. The values obtained were (183.8 ± 2.2) kJ⋅mol−1 and (206.2 ± 2.8) kJ⋅mol−1, respectively. Additionally, the standard molar enthalpies of fusion were determined to be (30.4 ± 0.4) kJ⋅mol−1 and (26.5 ± 1.6) kJ⋅mol−1 for bathophenanthroline and bathocuproine, respectively. The analysis of the results allows a deeper understanding of the phase transition behavior for these compounds from the condensed phase to the gaseous phase, elucidating molecular decomposition and the inherent intermolecular forces governing the species.

Structure Response of Preadsorbed Saliva Pellicle to the Interaction between Dairy and Saliva Protein.

Using the surface characterization techniques of quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation, atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy, the structure of the salivary pellicle was investigated before and after it was exposed to dairy proteins, including micellar casein, skim milk, whey protein isolate (WPI), and a mixture of skim milk and WPI. We have shown that the hydration, viscoelasticity, and adsorbed proteinaceous mass of a preadsorbed salivary pellicle on a PDMS surface are greatly affected by the type of dairy protein. After interaction with whey protein, the preadsorbed saliva pellicle becomes softer. However, exposure of the saliva pellicle to micellar casein causes the pellicle to partially collapse, which results in a thinner and more rigid surface layer. This structure change correlates with the measured lubrication behavior when the saliva pellicle is exposed to dairy proteins. While previous studies suggest that whey protein is the main component in milk to interact with salivary proteins, our study indicates interactions with casein are more important. The knowledge gained here provides insights into the mechanisms by which different components of dairy foods and beverages contribute to mouthfeel and texture perception, as well as influence oral hygiene.

Downsizing nanoarchitectonics of multilayered MXenes electrocatalysts towards real time ion tracking via EQCM and electrocatalytic applications

Since their discovery, engineering two-dimensional (2D) MXene materials have attracted rapid interest in both energy storage and conversion applications. Among the several techniques being introduced for enhancing material properties, downsizing is one among the interesting approaches. Downsizing involves the deliberate scaling down of active 2D materials, such as MXenes, systematically. Although major studies are focused on the electrochemical applications of single layered MXene flakes, curiosity in evaluating the downsized multilayered MXenes for electrochemical applications motivates this project. Thus, in the current study, the multilayered bulk MXenes are sequentially stepped down to smaller multilayered fragments at definite time intervals, and subsequently the potential of this procured heterogeneous polydispersed solution are evaluated towards electrochemical applications without any further post-treatments. Real time monitoring of lithium-ion exchange in the downsized MXene materials at various time intervals was tracked using the electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance technique, where the downsized MXene system exhibited water-assisted lithium-ion transfer behavior. Increase in mass exchange was found to increase with increase in downsized MXene systems, thus making it very interesting towards ion storage applications. Further, downsized MXene electrocatalyst material delivered the lowest onset potential for hydrogen production among the set of catalysts studied. In short, this study outlines and pioneers some interesting observations regarding both energy storage and catalytic applications of multilayered downsized MXenes, thereby opening up new possibilities for facile, rapid and cost-effective material fabrication approaches.

Degradation of anti-rust oil film in a simulated coastal atmosphere: Inhibition mechanism and in-situ monitoring

Anti-rust oils (ARO) are widely used to inhibit atmospheric corrosion of metal structures, but their degradation mechanisms are unclear, particularly in coastal environments. In this work, we first prepared a kind of ARO made of sodium petroleum sulfonate (SPS) and white oil, then coated the ARO on a mild steel plate to investigate its deterioration process beneath saline water droplets by Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and electrochemical mapping techniques. It shows that the SPS concentration is crucial to the ARO inhibition property. When the SPS content is lower than its critical micelle concentration (CMC), saline droplets may intrude the barrier formed by the nonpolar paraffin groups of SPS and then adsorb on the steel surface, resulting in localised corrosion. However, once the SPS content exceeds its CMC, the saline droplets will be emulsified and captured in the oil phase by the reverse micelle effect, thus inhibiting the corrosion of steel substrates. Moreover, the atmospheric corrosion rate of mild steel obeys a power decaying under ARO film. Finally, a capacitive sensor was invented to evaluate the degree of degradation of ARO in situ by dielectric constant measurement.

Saccharin Sodium Coupling Fluorinated Solvent Enabled Stable Interface for High-Voltage Li-Metal Batteries.

Optimizing the electrode/electrolyte interface structure is the key to realizing high-voltage Li-metal batteries (LMBs). Herein, a functional electrolyte is introduced to synergetically regulate the interface layer structures on the high-voltage cathode and the Li-metal anode. Saccharin sodium (NaSH) as a multifunctional electrolyte additive is employed in fluorinated solvent-based electrolyte (FBE) for robust interphase layer construction. On the one hand, combining the results of ex-situ techniques and in-situ electrochemical dissipative quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM-D) technique, it can be seen that the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer constructed by NaSH-coupled fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) on Li-metal anode significantly inhibits the growth of lithium dendrites and improves the cyclic stability of the anode. On the other hand, the experimental results also confirm that the cathode-electrolyte interface (CEI) layer induced by NaSH-coupled FEC effectively protects the active materials of LiCoO2 and improves their structural stability under high-voltage cycling, thus avoiding the material rupture. Moreover, theoretical calculation results show that the addition of NaSH alters the desolvation behavior of Li+ and enhances the transport kinetics of Li+ at the electrode/electrolyte interface. In this contribution, the LiCoO2 ǁLi full cell containing FBE+NaSH results in a high capacity retention of 80% after 530 cycles with a coulombic efficiency of 99.8%.

Role of Surface Terminations for Charge Storage of Ti3C2Tx MXene Electrodes in Aqueous Acidic Electrolyte.

In this study, we used 2-Dimmensionnal Ti3C2 MXene as model materials to understand how the surface groups affect their electrochemical performance. By adjusting the nature of the surface terminations (Cl-, N/O-, and O-) of Ti3C2 MXene through a molten salt approach, we could change the spacing between MXene layers and the level of water confinement, resulting in significant modifications of the electrochemical performance in acidic electrolyte. Using a combination of techniques including in-operando X-ray diffraction and electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) techniques, we found that the presence of confined water results in a drastic transition from an almost electrochemically inactive behavior for Cl-terminated Ti3C2 to an ideally fast pseudocapacitive signature for N,O-terminated Ti3C2 MXene. This experimental work not only demonstrates the strong connection between surface terminations and confined water but also reveals the importance of confined water on the charge storage mechanism and the reaction kinetics in MXene.

Role of Surface Terminations for Charge Storage of Ti3C2Tx MXene Electrodes in Aqueous Acidic Electrolyte

AbstractIn this study, we used 2‐Dimmensionnal Ti3C2 MXene as model materials to understand how the surface groups affect their electrochemical performance. By adjusting the nature of the surface terminations (Cl‐, N/O‐, and O‐) of Ti3C2 MXene through a molten salt approach, we could change the spacing between MXene layers and the level of water confinement, resulting in significant modifications of the electrochemical performance in acidic electrolyte. Using a combination of techniques including in‐operando X‐ray diffraction and electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) techniques, we found that the presence of confined water results in a drastic transition from an almost electrochemically inactive behavior for Cl‐terminated Ti3C2 to an ideally fast pseudocapacitive signature for N,O‐terminated Ti3C2 MXene. This experimental work not only demonstrates the strong connection between surface terminations and confined water but also reveals the importance of confined water on the charge storage mechanism and the reaction kinetics in MXene.

Probe the Dynamic Adsorption and Phase Transition of Underpotential Deposition Processes at Electrode-Electrolyte Interfaces.

Electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (EC-STM) and electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (E-QCM) techniques in combination with DFT calculations have been applied to reveal the static phase and the phase transition of copper underpotential deposition (UPD) on a gold electrode surface. EC-STM demonstrated, for the first time, the direct visualization of the disintegration of (√3 × √3)R30° copper UPD adlayer with coadsorbed SO42- while changing sample potential (ES) toward the redox Pa2/Pc2 peaks, which are associated with the phase transition between the Cu UPD (√3 × √3)R30° phase II and disordered randomly adsorbed phase III. DFT calculations show that SO42- binds via three oxygens to the bridge sites of the copper with sulfate being located directly above the copper vacancy in the (√3 × √3)R30° adlayer, whereas the remaining oxygen of the sulfate points away from the surface. E-QCM measurement of the change of the electric charge due to Cu UPD Faradaic processes, the change of the interfacial mass due to the adsorption and desorption of Cu(II) and SO42-, and the formation and stripping of UPD copper on the gold surface provide complementary information that validates the EC-STM and DFT results. This work demonstrated the advantage of using complementary in situ experimental techniques (E-QCM and EC-STM) combined with simulations to obtain an accurate and complete picture of the dynamic interfacial adsorption and UPD processes at the electrode/electrolyte interface.

2D Germanane‐MXene Heterostructures for Cations Intercalation in Energy Storage Applications

AbstractHeterostructures offer an exceptional possibility of combining individual 2D materials into a new material having altered properties compared to the parent materials. Germanane (GeH) is a 2D material with many favorable properties for energy storage and catalysis, however, its performance is hindered by its low electrical conductivity. To address the low electrochemical performance of GeH, a heterostructure of GeH and Ti3C2Tx is fabricated. The Ti3C2TX is a layered material belonging to the family of MXenes. The resulting heterostructure (GeMXene) at a defined mass ratio of GeH and Ti3C2Tx shows superior capacitive performance that surpasses that of both pristine materials. The effect of the size of cations and anions for intercalation into GeMXene in different aqueous salt solutions is studied. GeMXene allows only cation intercalation, which is evidenced by the gravimetric electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) technique. The capacitive performance of the GeMXene is compared in neutral, acidic, and alkaline electrolytes to determine the best electrochemical performance. This unleashes the potential use of GeMXene heterostructure in different electrolytes for supercapacitors and batteries. This work will pave the way to explore the heterostructures of other 2D materials such as novel MXenes and functionalized germanane for highly energy‐storage efficient systems, and beyond.

Accessibility and Mechanical Stability of Nanoporous Zinc Oxide and Aluminum Oxide Coatings Synthesized via Infiltration of Polymer Templates.

The conformal nanoporous inorganic coatings with accessible pores that are stable under applied thermal and mechanical stresses represent an important class of materials used in the design of sensors, optical coatings, and biomedical systems. Here, we synthesize porous AlOx and ZnO coatings by the sequential infiltration synthesis (SIS) of two types of polymers that enable the design of porous conformal coatings-polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIM) and block co-polymer (BCP) templates. Using quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), we show that alumina precursors infiltrate both polymer templates four times more efficiently than zinc oxide precursors. Using the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technique, we provide a comprehensive study on the room temperature accessibility to water and ethanol of pores in block copolymers (BCPs) and porous polymer templates using polystyrene-block-poly-4-vinyl pyridine (PS75-b-P4VP25) and polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-1), polymer templates modified by swelling, and porous inorganic coatings such as AlOx and ZnO synthesized by SIS using such templates. Importantly, we demonstrate that no structural damage occurs in inorganic nanoporous AlOx and ZnO coatings synthesized via infiltration of the polymer templates during the water freezing/melting cycling tests, suggesting excellent mechanical stability of the coatings, even though the hardness of the inorganic nanoporous coating is affected by the polymer and precursor selections. We show that the hardness of the coatings is further improved by their annealing at 900 °C for 1 h, though for all the cases except ZnO obtained using the BCP template, this annealing has a negligible effect on the porosity of the material, as is confirmed by the consistency in the optical characteristics. These findings unravel new potential for the materials being used across various environment and temperature conditions.

Estimation of photocatalytic activity of TiO[formula omitted] in vacuum using a quartz crystal microbalance technique for space applications

In this study, we investigated the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 immobilized on quartz crystal microbalances (QCMs) in vacuum. The photocatalytic activity under vacuum and atmospheric conditions was evaluated by monitoring the mass change in citric acid using the QCM method. The results revealed that TiO2/QCM successfully removed contaminants in both conditions, with maximum mass removal of ∼2 μg/cm2 in vacuum. This performance indicates the potential of TiO2 for space applications because the maximum mass removal is comparable to the typical requirements for spacecraft. Furthermore, our findings suggest that QCMs serve as an efficient method for quantitatively evaluating photocatalytic activity in vacuum and developing high-performance photocatalytic materials.

Ultrasensitive QCM sensor development for monitoring of methyl orange dye in aqueous phase based on novel cross-linked chitosan/PVA/GO/Ce-ZnO nanocomposite film

In this study, chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol (CS/PVA) nanocomposite hydrogels were produced using the solution casting method due to their non-toxic and biocompatible nature. The best composition was chosen and cross-linked with glutaraldehyde, after which a certain amount of graphene oxide nanosheets (GO NS) and cerium doped zinc oxide nanoparticles (Ce-ZnO NPs) were added to develop nanocomposite hydrogel films (NCs). X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), N2 adsorption–desorption isotherm, Raman spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA/DTG) were used to characterize the films. The synthesized composites were also evaluated for sensitivity towards methyl orange (MO) dye based on the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technique at different pH of MO solution. XRD results revealed that all films whether CS film or the blend CS/PVA/GO and CS/PVA/GO/Ce-ZnO films exhibited good crystallinity. The SEM images depicted the surface morphology of films, which clarified the adding effect of GO NS and Ce-ZnO NPs on the surface morphology of CS/PVA films. While the EDS analysis demonstrated the elemental composition of CS/PVA/GO/Ce-ZnO film. In the same context, the TEM images emphasized the results obtained by the SEM examination and showed no phase separation of the polymers. Whereas AFM showed an increase in surface roughness with adding of GO NS, while was decreased in the case of Ce-ZnO NPs addition. Surface area and pore size distribution results revealed significant differences due to the addition of GO NS and Ce-ZnO NPs to the CS/PVA matrix. The chemical structure of all films was investigated using the Raman shift and their thermal behaviours were also analysed. Finally, the results of QCM sensor-based prepared films showed that the inclusion of GO NS and Ce-ZnO NPs boosted the monitoring performance of sensor films towards MO dye. Furthermore, the sensors-based nanocomposite films presented the same monitoring attitude for MO at different pH.

A Porous Nanostructured ZnO Layer for Ultraviolet Sensing with Quartz Crystal Microbalance Technique.

Porous films of metals and metal oxides have gained growing attention as potential materials for use in applications that require large, specific surface areas, such as sensors, supercapacitors, and batteries. In this study, a "black-metal"-like porous Zn-ZnO composite layer was grown by room temperature co-sputtering of Zn metal and ZnO:Ga (3 at/%) ceramic targets. Following deposition, a porous ZnO layer was obtained by a subsequent thermal annealing process at 400 °C in air. The morphology and structural properties of the obtained porous layered objects were analyzed. The porosity and chemical characteristics of the nanostructured ZnO layer obtained with the method herein described make it suitable to be used as a sensitivity-enhancing active layered element in quartz crystal microbalance (QCM)-based ultraviolet (UV) sensors. The prepared resonant ZnO/QCM sensors under UV radiation exhibited maximum shift up to 35 Hz for several "on-off" UV cycles, excellent response, and recovery times of 11 and 12 s, respectively.

Novel ultra-sensitive and highly selective cyanine sensors based on solvent-free microwave synthesis for the detection of trace hypochlorite ions in drinking water

The adoption of chlorine in drinking water disinfection with the determination of residual chlorine in the form of hypochlorite ion (ClO-) is in widespread demand. Several sensors including colorimetric, fluorometric, and electrochemical methods are currently in use, but detection limits and ease of application remain a challenge. In this work, two new cyanine derivatives-based ClO- sensors, that were prepared by solvent-free microwave synthesis, are reported. The two sensors are highly sensitive and selective to ClO-, exhibiting a noticeable color change visible to the naked eye. Additionally, the sensors can detect ClO- without interference from other potential water pollutants, with low detection limits of 7.43 ppb and 0.917 ppb based on absorption performance. When using fluorometric methods, the sensors' detection limits are pushed down to 0.025 ppb and 0.598 ppb for sensors I and II, respectively. The sensors can be loaded with paper strips for field and domestic detection of ClO- in tap water treatment installations. Using the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technique, these sensors showed strong detection sensitivity to ClO-, with detection limits of 0.256 ppm and 0.09 ppm for sensors I and II, respectively. Quantum chemical studies using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis, molecular electrostatic potential (MESP), and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) supported the findings. The sensing mechanism is rationalized in terms of radical cation formation upon ClO- oxidation of cyanine sensors I and II.

Novel functionalized isocyanate groups polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes/epoxy composites with advanced thermal and moisture resistance properties

AbstractThe rapid development of the electronic packaging industry has necessitated the production of epoxy resin insulation materials with high heat resistance and low water absorption. In this study a new cross‐linking composite composed of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) functionalized with isocyanate groups and epoxy resin (EP) containing phenolic hydroxyl groups. By employing an isocyanate‐hydroxyl process, the cage structure of Ph7POSS with isocyanate functionalization (MP) can be suspended on EP, leading to a significant improvement in the thermal and moisture resistance of the MP/EP composite. Our DSC and TGA studies revealed that the addition of 3% MP to the epoxy resin increased the glass transition temperature by 27.1°C and raised the initial thermal breakdown temperature to 334.5°C. We also utilized a novel quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technique to continuously monitor the moisture resistance of the composite, and our results showed that the composite absorbed only 0.03% of water. Moreover, the porosity and cross‐linking of the POSS molecules further restricted the movement of the polymer chains, thereby reducing the dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the composite. Consequently, the MP‐modified epoxy composites exhibit excellent properties, which suggest promising applications in the field of electronic packaging.

Coupling Uniform Pore Size And Multi‑Chemisorption Sites: Hierarchically Ordered Porous Carbon For Ultra‐Fast And Large Zinc Ion Storage

AbstractConstructing hierarchically ordered macro/meso−microporous structures of carbonaceous cathode with matchable pore size and adequate active sites is significant toward large Zn2+ storage, but remains a formidable challenge. Herein, a new perspective is reported for synthesizing phosphorus and nitrogen dual‐doped hierarchical ordered porous carbon (PN‐HOPC) by eliminating the micropore confinement effect and synchronously introducing multi‐chemisorption sites. The interconnected macropore can effectively facilitate long‐distance mass transfer, and meso−microporous wall can promote accessibility of active sites. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations identify that the P and N co‐doping markedly contributes to the reversible adsorption/desorption of zinc ions and protons. Consequently, the optimized PN‐HOPC exhibits outstanding Zn2+ storage capabilities in terms of high capacity (211.9 mAh g−1), superb energy density (169.5 Wh kg−1), and ultralong lifespan (99.3% retention after 60 000 cycles). Systematic ex situ measurements integrating with in situ Raman spectroscopy and electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) techniques elucidate that the superior electrochemical capability is ascribed to the synergistic effect of the Zn2+, H+, and SO42− co‐adsorption mechanism, as well as invertible chemical adsorption. This study not only provides new insights to design advanced carbon materials toward practical applications but also sheds lights on a deeper understanding of charge storage mechanism for zinc‐ion capacitors (ZICs).

Thin film preparation of polyphenol oxidase enzyme (PPO) and investigation of its organic vapor interaction mechanism

This study investigated spin coated thin films of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzyme as vapor sensor to detect chloroform, acetone, ethyl acetate, isopropyl alcohol and toluene. Thin film of enzyme was produced onto a bio-composite (gelatine chitosan) first layer via 5000 rpm spin speed. The density and the viscosity of the enzyme were 1.2 g ml−1 and 68 mPa.s respectively. UV–visible spectroscopy and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements were carried out to analyze the reproducibility of PPO spun film. It was found that the PPO enzyme can be transferred onto a solid substrate as a solid state thin film form. The sensor films of PPO enzyme were exposed to various volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (chloroform, acetone, ethyl acetate, isopropyl alcohol and toluene) with different fixed concentrations. The sensing responses of PPO thin films versus five vapors were investigated using QCM as the time dependence frequency recording method. The PPO sensor films exhibited high sensitivity and fast responses against all VOCs. But the response rate and magnitude were changed depending on the chemical structure and the molecular size of the analyte vapor. Recorded frequency changes as monitored by QCM technique have been integrated with the Fick’s second law of diffusion to determine the diffusion coefficients of analyte vapors. The results showed that the interaction characteristics between PPO and the analytes can be considered in terms of two main processes which are surface interaction and diffusion. And it was concluded that the formation of these two processes during the interaction depend on the molecular size and functional group of the analytes. These results showed that enzymes can be integrated into vapor sensor system as active layer and are promising for further sensor studies.

Quartz Crystal Microbalance Method to Measure Nanoparticle-Receptor Interactions and Evaluate Nanoparticle Design Efficiency.

Conjugation of biomolecules on the surface of nanoparticles (NPs) to achieve active targeting is widely investigated within the scientific community. However, while a basic framework of the physicochemical processes underpinning bionanoparticle recognition is now emerging, the precise evaluation of the interactions between engineered NPs and biological targets remains underdeveloped. Here, we show how the adaptation of a method currently used to evaluate molecular ligand-receptor interactions by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) can be used to obtain concrete insights into interactions between different NP architectures and assemblies of receptors. Using a model bionanoparticle grafted with oriented apolipoprotein E (ApoE) fragments, we examine key aspects of bionanoparticle engineering for effective interactions with target receptors. We show that the QCM technique can be used to rapidly measure construct-receptor interactions across biologically relevant exchange times. We contrast random adsorption of the ligand at the surface of the NPs, resulting in no measurable interaction with target receptors, to grafted oriented constructs, which are strongly recognized even at lower graft densities. The effects of other basic parameters impacting the interaction such as ligand graft density, receptor immobilization density, and linker length were also efficiently evaluated with this technique. Dramatic changes in interaction outcomes with subtle alterations in these parameters highlight the general importance of measuring the interactions between engineered NPs and target receptors ex situ early on in the construct development process for the rational design of bionanoparticles.

Sensor application and mathematical modeling of new Zn(II) phthalocyanine containing 26-membered tetraoxadithia macrocycle moieties

A novel phthalonitrile containing 26-member tetraoxadithia macrocycle moiety was synthesized in a multistep reaction sequence. New zinc(II) phthalocyanine was obtained by the cyclomerization reaction of this macrocyclic phthalonitrile. The novel phthalocyanine and the precursor compounds have been characterized by a combination of 1H and 13C NMR, FT-IR, UV–vis, elemental analysis and MALDI-TOF mass spectral data. 26-membered phthalocyanine was used to fabricate multilayered Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) thin films dedicated to investigating the gas sensing properties of these novel phthalocyanine materials. SEM images of the uncoated substrate, 8-layered and 16-layered LB thin films were compared to observe the successfully transferred layer by layer onto the solid substrates. Sensor parameters such as selectivity, reproducibility, thickness effect, recovery and response rates were examined for highly toxic benzene and toluene vapors using the mass sensitive Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) technique. The first time the thickness effect on the gas sensing mechanism for selected material was also investigated. Validation of the experimental measurements of QCM kinetic was implemented using nonlinear autoregressive with exogenous input neural network for modelling using the frequency shift value. Comparison of these frequency shift of artificial neural network with real-experimental data showed the accuracy of the artificial neural network model.

Interaction of Polystyrene Nanoparticles with Supported Lipid Bilayers: Impact of Nanoparticle Size and Protein Corona.

Polystyrene is one of the most widely used plastics. This article reports on the interaction of 50 and 210nm polystyrene nanoparticles (PSNPs) with human serum albumin(HSA) and transferrin (Tf), as well as their effect on supported lipid bilayers (SLBs), using experimental and theoretical approaches. Dynamic light scattering(DLS) and atomic force microscopy(AFM) measurements showthat the increase in diameter for the PSNP-protein bioconjugates depends on nanoparticle size and type of proteins. The circular dichroism(CD) spectroscopy results demonstrate that the proteins preserve their structures when they interact with PSNPs at physiological temperatures. The quartz crystal microbalance(QCM) technique reveals that PSNPs and their bioconjugates show no strong interactions with SLBs. On the contrary, the molecular dynamics simulations(MDS) show that both proteins bind stronglyto the lipid bilayer (SLBs)when compared to their binding to a polystyrene surface model. The interaction is strongly dependent on the protein and lipid bilayer composition. Both the PSNPs and their bioconjugates show no toxicity in human umbilical vein endothelial(HUVEC) cells; however, bare 210nm PSNPs and 50nm PSNP-Tf bioconjugates show an increase in reactive oxygen species production. This study may be relevant for assessing the impact ofplasticson health.