Interfacing poly(p-anisidine) with photosystem I for the fabrication of photoactive composite films

Photosystem I (PSI) is an intrinsically photoactive multi-subunit protein that is found in higher order photosynthetic organisms. PSI is a promising candidate for renewable biohybrid energy applications due to its abundance in nature and its high quantum yield. To utilize PSI's light-responsive properties and to overcome its innate electrically insulating nature, the protein can be paired with a biologically compatible conducting polymer that carries charge at appropriate energy levels, allowing excited PSI electrons to travel within a composite network upon light excitation. Here, a substituted aniline, 4-methoxy-aniline (para-anisidine), is chemically oxidized to synthesize poly(p-anisidine) (PPA) and is interfaced with PSI for the fabrication of PSI-PPA composite films by drop casting. The resulting PPA polymer is characterized in terms of its structure, composition, thermal decomposition, spectroscopic response, morphology, and conductivity. Combining PPA with PSI yields composite films that exhibit photocurrent densities on the order of several μA cm-2 when tested with appropriate mediators in a 3-electrode setup. The composite films also display increased photocurrent output when compared to single-component films of the protein or PPA alone to reveal a synergistic combination of the film components. Tuning film thickness and PSI loading within the PSI-PPA films yields optimal photocurrents for the described system, with ∼2 wt% PSI and intermediate film thicknesses generating the highest photocurrents. More broadly, dilute PSI concentrations show significant importance in achieving high photocurrents in PSI-polymer films.

High Performance of Carbon Monoxide Gas Sensor Based on a Novel PEDOT:PSS/PPA Nanocomposite

In this work, the carbon monoxide (CO) detection property of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate)/poly(p-anisidine) (PEDOT:PSS/PPA) nanocomposite was systematically investigated at room temperature. The PEDOT:PSS/PPA nanocomposite was synthesized by the cost-effective "in situ chemical oxidation polymerization" technique. The electric, optical, spectroscopic, and structural properties of the as-prepared nanomaterials were analyzed with I-V, UV-vis, Raman, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopies. Topological investigations of materials were conducted by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The gas-sensing performance of the PEDOT:PSS/PPA and PEDOT:PSS nanocomposites toward CO gas in the concentration range of 50-300 ppm at room temperature was explored, and their performances were compared. The PEDOT:PSS/PPA sensor shows a perfectly linear response to different concentrations (50-300 ppm) of CO gas (R ² = 0.9885), and the response time and recovery time of the CO gas sensor (100 ppm) can be about 58 and 61 s, respectively, showing high sensitivity to CO gas and rapid response recovery with outstanding stability. Thus, the PEDOT:PSS/PPA-based sensors, with their impressive sensing performance, may give assurance for future high-performance CO-sensing applications.

Mechanistic insights of the degradation of an O-anisidine carcinogenic pollutant initiated by OH radical attack: theoretical investigations

O-Anisidine (O-AND) is one of the amino organic compounds that harm human health, and is considered as a carcinogenic chemical.

Polymers Decorated with Functional Motifs for Mitigation of Steel Corrosion: An Overview

Corrosion is a hazardous phenomenon having a devastating impact on technological and industrial applications, particularly in the oil and gas industries. Therefore, controlling the corrosion of metals is an important activity of technical, economical, environmental, and aesthetical importance in order to save huge expenses in materials, equipment, and structure. The use of corrosion inhibitors is one of the best options for controlling the metallic corrosion in various corrosive media. Numerous problems aroused with the use of inorganic and small molecule organic corrosion inhibitors, and the use of polymeric corrosion inhibitors came into limelight. This review article provides an overview of the recent development of different classes of corrosion inhibitors with special emphasis on different functional motifs of natural, synthetically modified natural, and synthetic polymeric materials. The significance, mechanism, and challenges of using polymeric materials as corrosion inhibitors are also highlighted in the review.

Effect of Nano-SnS and Nano-MoS2 on the Corrosion Protection Performance of the Polyvinylbutyral and Zinc-Rich Polyvinylbutyral Coatings

In this paper, four composite coatings of nano-SnS/polyvinylbutyral (PVB), nano-MoS2/PVB, nano-SnS-Zn/PVB, and nano-MoS2-Zn/PVB were prepared, and their anti-corrosion mechanism was analyzed by experimental and theoretical calculations. The results of the electrochemical experiments show that the effect of nano-MoS2 on the corrosion protection performance of PVB coating is better than that of nano-SnS in 3% NaCl solution, and that the addition of Zn further enhances this effect, which is consistent with the results of weight loss measurements. Furthermore, the observation of the corrosion matrix by the field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) further confirmed the above conclusion. At last, the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation were carried out to investigate the anti-corrosion mechanism of the nanofillers/PVB composites for the copper surface. The results show that both nano-SnS and nano-MoS2 are adsorbed strongly on the copper surface, and the binding energy of nano-MoS2 is larger than that of nano-SnS.