A novel surface molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor (MIECS) for the recognition and detection of phenol was constructed by dispersing a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) film on a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNTs) modified glass carbon electrode (GCE). An adsorption equilibrium of phenol to polyethyleneimine (PEI, grafted to SiO2 nanoparticles) was achieved before molecular imprinting was carried out towards PEI by using phenol as a template and ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDE) as a cross-linker. The MIP was fabricated after the removal of phenol and the etching of SiO2 nanoparticles. The obtained MIP and MIECS were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The sensor exhibited a remarkable enhancement of current response since the charge transfer process was facilitated by the etching of SiO2 nanoparticles and the modification of GCE with MWNTs–COOH. The sensor showed specific recognition ability to phenol rather than other phenolic compounds with an excellent repeatability since the recognition sites were distributed on the surface of the polymer. The linear range of the calibration curve was 1 × 10−8 to 1.8 × 10−6 M with a detection limit of 4.2 × 10−9 M (S/N = 3) when potassium ferricyanide was used as the electrochemically active probe, superior to the other electrochemical sensors reported in the literature. The fabricated sensor exhibited a good performance in the determination of phenol in real samples as well.

A novel Pt/SiC (5%Pt loading) catalyst prepared by an ultrasound promoted impregnation followed by calcination in hydrogen flow is reported. The catalysts reduced at different temperatures were characterized by cyclic voltammetry combined with TEM, XPS and XRD. The electrocatalytic activity was investigated for ethanol electrooxidation. A strong interaction between platinum and silicon carbide was observed, which possibly affects the surface electronic structure of platinum, hence improving the catalytic properties of the catalysts. The Pt/SiC reduced at 723 K shows much higher activity and CO tolerance for ethanol oxidation than that of Pt/C and Pt/SiC reduced at other temperatures. The reported results indicate that SiC is a promising support for platinum-based fuel cell catalysts.Highlights► Pt/SiC catalysts were successfully synthesized for use in ethanol oxidation. ► Pt/SiC catalysts showed improved electrocatalytic properties compared with Pt/C. ► Pt/SiC reduced at 723 K show much higher activity for ethanol oxidation. ► SiC is a promising support for Pt-based fuel cell catalysts.

Three new D–π–A type compounds, each containing one benzothiazole ring as an electron acceptor and one N-ethylcarbazole group as electron donor, were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, NMR, MS and thermogravimetric analysis. The absorption and emission spectra of three compounds were experimentally determined in several solvents and were simultaneously computed using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). The calculated reorganization energy for hole and electron indicates that three compounds are in favor of hole transport than electron transport. The calculated absorption and emission wavelengths are well coincident with the measured data. The calculated lowest-lying absorption spectra can be mainly attributed to intramolecular charge transfer (ICT). And the calculated fluorescence spectra can be mainly described as originating from an excited state with intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) character. The results show that three compounds exhibited excellent thermal stability and high fluorescence quantum yields, indicating their potential applications as excellent optoelectronic material in optical field.Graphical abstractHighlights► Compounds contain one benzothiazole ring as an electron acceptor and one N-ethylcarbazole group as electron donor. ► Compounds exhibit good thermal stability and high fluorescence quantum yields. ► Compounds might be used as fluorescent probe in biological systems. ► Compounds might be used as excellent optoelectronics materials in optical field.

Highly hydrophobic rutile titania-silica nanocomposites were synthesized by an improved hydrolysis co-precipitation method using low-cost sodium metasilicate and titanium oxysulfate (TiOSO4) as precursors, followed sequentially by calcination at 800 °C and modification with trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS). It was found that the resulting TiO2-SiO2 nanocomposites had a Ti/Si molar ratio of 5:1 and exhibited single-phase rutile with a specific surface area of 269 m2 g−1. The addition of acetylacetone (AcAc) during the hydrolysis co-precipitation process played a key role in the growth of well-ordered TiO2-SiO2 crystallites since the hydrolysis rate of TiOSO4 might be retarded due to the complexation of AcAc to the Ti atoms in TiOSO4. The TMCS-modified TiO2-SiO2 nanocomposites exhibited a high root-mean-square (RMS) roughness of 22 nm and good hydrophobicity with a static contact angle of 143.7°, highlighting its potential application as a filler in exterior wall coatings.