Effect of Thiourea Containing Composite Additives on Nickel Electrodeposition in Ammoniacal Solution

Composite additives have an important influence on the process of metal electrodeposition and the quality of a metal deposited layer. In this work, the additive thiourea (TU) was compounded with cetyltrimethyl ammonium chloride (CTAC), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and polyethylene glycol 20,000 (PEG20000), and their effect on the cyclic voltammetric behavior, electrochemical nucleation mechanism, crystallographic orientations and surface morphology of the nickel electrodeposition in ammoniacal solution were experimentally investigated. The results show that the introduction of composite additives resulted in a stronger cathodic polarization and increased the nucleation overpotential (NOP) values significantly, which had an important impact on forming compact and smooth nickel deposits. The chronoamperometry analysis indicated that the reduction in nickel followed the 3D progressive nucleation mechanism in the presence of composite additives at the step potential of −1.16 V and −1.18 V. Smoother and finer nickel films were found using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images as the composite additives were used. X-ray diffraction revealed that all nickel deposit samples had the face-centered cubic structure, and five main crystal planes were displayed by the presence of composite additives in the electrolyte. Furthermore, the diffraction peaks of (111) and (200) crystal planes were slightly shifted toward lower 2θ values when thiourea was used in combination with additive CTAC or PEG20000. These results were beneficial for understanding the mechanisms and facilitating the rational design of additives for metal nickel electrodeposition.

Lattice simulations of inflation

The scalar field theory of cosmological inflation constitutes nowadays one of the preferred scenarios for the physics of the early universe. In this paper we aim at studying the inflationary universe making use of a numerical lattice simulation. Various lattice codes have been written in the last decades and have been extensively used for understating the reheating phase of the universe, but they have never been used to study the inflationary phase itself far from the end of inflation (i.e. about 50 e-folds before the end of inflation). In this paper we use a lattice simulation to reproduce the well-known results of some simple models of single-field inflation, particularly for the scalar field perturbation. The main model that we consider is the standard slow-roll inflation with an harmonic potential for the inflaton field. We explore the technical aspects that need to be accounted for in order to reproduce with precision the nearly scale invariant power spectrum of inflaton perturbations. We also consider the case of a step potential, and show that the simulation is able to correctly reproduce the oscillatory features in the power spectrum of this model. Even if a lattice simulation is not needed in these cases, that are well within the regime of validity of linear perturbation theory, this sets the basis to future work on using lattice simulations to study more complicated models of inflation.

„I dette sataniske Evangelium“

During the Second World War, a few well-educated Greenlanders from the Danish colonies of Godthåb and Holsteinsborg expressed their sympathy for Nazi Germany. However, the background of the political turmoil within the Greenlandic elite remains largely unknown. This article presents the state of research and previously unknown sources on the Nazi riots in Greenland. In a subsequent step, potential motives for the movement will be discussed. So far, researchers have ruled out that Greenlanders were aware of the true nature of National Socialism. Instead, the scattered pro-German activities along Greenland’s West coast have been played down as spontaneous acts of provocation and mere political calculus. In fact, the Nazis’ ideology and war crimes were well known to the Greenlanders. In addition, German polar researchers made friends with Greenlandic journalists, teachers and catechists after the Nazi seizure of power. Last not least, the article will examine how Danish discrimination against Greenlanders contributed to the Greenlandic chauvinism displayed by a few members of the Inuit elite.

DKP equation with smooth barrier

In this paper, we study the Duffin–Kemmer–Petiau (DKP) equation in the presence of a smooth barrier in dimensions space–time (1+1) dimensions. The eigenfunctions are determined in terms of the confluent hypergeometric function [Formula: see text]. The transmission and reflection coefficients are calculated, special cases as a rectangular barrier and step potential are analyzed. A numerical study is presented for the transmission and reflection coefficients graphs for some values of the parameters [Formula: see text] are plotted.

Fast and Sensitive Voltammetric Method for the Determination of Rifampicin on Renewable Amalgam Film Electrode

In this work, a new sensitive voltammetric method for the determination of rifampicin without time-consuming preconcentration is presented. The objective was to develop a simple, fast and sensitive voltammetric procedure for the analysis of rifampicin in pharmaceutical products. The cyclic renewable mercury film silver-based electrode (Hg(Ag)FE) was applied as a working electrode for this purpose. The optimal conditions for the determination of rifampicin were defined, in terms of the composition of supporting electrolyte (including pH) and instrumental parameters (potential and time of deposition, step potential, pulse height). The method was validated resulting in a satisfactory linearity range of 0.4–250.0 µgmL−1; the limits of detection and quantification are 0.12 µgmL−1 and 0.4 µgmL−1, respectively; and the repeatability of the method expressed as RSD is 4.1% (n = 6) with a surface area of 10.9 mm2. The proposed method was successfully applied in the analysis of rifampicin in simple and composed pharmaceutical formulations.

Nimesulide Determination on Carbon Black-Nafion Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode by Means of Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry

Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetric method for Nimesulide (NIM) determination was developed. As a working electrode, glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with carbon black and Nafion (CB-Nafion GCE) was used. All measurements were carried out in 0.1 M acetate buffer (pH 4.6). Conducted experiments allowed to optimize differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) instrumental parameters: sampling and waiting time ts = tw = 10 ms, step potential Es = 4 mV, and pulse amplitude ΔE = 50 mV. The best results were obtained for preconcentration potential and time equal to 400 mV and 20 s, respectively. Limit of detection was calculated and was equal to 0.14 µM for 20-s preconcentration time and 0.06 µM for 40-s preconcentration time. In order to prove the applicability of the developed method, concentration of nimesulide in pharmaceutical products was determined. Calculated recoveries were in the range 94–99%, which indicates that the method might be assumed as accurate. Coefficient of variation was equal to 5.0% (n = 7, NIM concentration 1 µM) Obtained results of NIM determination were in good agreement with the content declared by producers.

Graphene Oxide Electroreduced onto Boron-Doped Diamond and Electrodecorated with Silver (Ag/GO/BDD) Electrode for Tetracycline Detection in Aqueous Solution

A new electrochemical sensor designed by modifying the commercial boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode with graphene oxide (GO) reduced electrochemically and further electrodecorated with silver (Ag), named the Ag/GO/BDD electrode, was selected among a series of the BDD, GOelectroreduced onto BDD (GO/BDD) and silver electrodeposited onto BDD (Ag/BDD) electrodes for the detection of tetracycline (TC) in aqueous solution. The best results regarding the sensitivity of 46.6 µA·µM−1·cm−2 and the lowest limit of detection of 5 nM was achieved using square-wave voltammetry (SWV) operated at the step potential of 5 mV, modulation amplitude of 200 mV and the frequency of 10 Hz in alkaline medium. The application of the alkaline supporting electrolyte-based procedure is limited for water monitoring due to the presence of chloride that interferes with TC detection; however, it can be applied for quantitative determination of pharmaceutical formulations. 0.1 M Na2SO4 supporting electrolyte eliminated chloride interference and can be used for the application of Ag/GO/BDD in practical detection of TC in water.