This study was focused on the estimation of the targeted modification of 1,4-DHP core with (1) different alkyl chain lengths at 3,5-ester moieties of 1,4-DHP (C12, C14 and C16); (2) N-substituent at position 1 of 1,4-DHP (N-H or N-CH3); (3) substituents of pyridinium moieties at positions 2 and 6 of 1,4-DHP (H, 4-CN and 3-Ph); (4) substituent at position 4 of 1,4-DHP (phenyl and napthyl) on physicochemical properties of the entire molecules and on the characteristics of the obtained magnetoliposomes formed by them. It was shown that thermal behavior of the tested 1,4-DHP amphiphiles was related to the alkyl chains length, the elongation of which decreased their transition temperatures. The properties of 1,4-DHP amphiphile monolayers and their polar head areas were determined. The packing parameters of amphiphiles were in the 0.43–0.55 range. It was demonstrated that the structure of 1,4-DHPs affected the physicochemical properties of compounds. “Empty” liposomes and magnetoliposomes were prepared from selected 1,4-DHP amphiphiles. It was shown that the variation of alkyl chains length or the change of substituents at positions 4 of 1,4-DHP did not show a significant influence on properties of liposomes.

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The implantation of diamonds with helium ions has become a common method to create hundreds-nanometers-thick near-surface layers of NV centers for high-sensitivity sensing and imaging applications; however, optimal implantation dose and annealing temperature are still a matter of discussion. In this study, we irradiated HPHT diamonds with an initial nitrogen concentration of 100 ppm using different implantation doses of helium ions to create 200-nm thick NV layers. We compare a previously considered optimal implantation dose of ∼1012 He+/cm2 to double and triple doses by measuring fluorescence intensity, contrast, and linewidth of magnetic resonances, as well as longitudinal and transversal relaxation times T1 and T2. From these direct measurements, we also estimate concentrations of P1 and NV centers. In addition, we compare the three diamond samples that underwent three consequent annealing steps to quantify the impact of processing at 1100 ∘C, which follows initial annealing at 800 ∘C. By tripling the implantation dose, we have increased the magnetic sensitivity of our sensors by 28±5%. By projecting our results to higher implantation doses, we demonstrate that it is possible to achieve a further improvement of up to 70%. At the same time, additional annealing steps at 1100 ∘C improve the sensitivity only by 6.6 ± 2.7%.

Ionic liquid/sulphonated poly(ether ether ketone) composite membranes were prepared using following ionic liquids: 1,2,3-trimethylimidazolium dimethylphosphate, 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium dimethylphosphate, 1-dodecyl-3methylimidazolium dimethylphosphate. For each ionic liquid/polymer pair 4 composite membranes were prepared with 10 wt.%, 20 wt.%, 30 wt.%, 40 wt.% ionic liquid content. Membranes were analyzed using strain-stress testing at various elevated temperatures up to 150 °C. Impact of temperature, ionic liquid content in membrane and structure of ionic liquids on mechanical properties of composite membrane were evaluated. It was found that temperature and ionic liquid content had highest impact on mechanical properties of composite membranes.

Carbon dioxide is typically considered to be a byproduct of various industrial processes that should not be released into the environment due to its nature as a harmful greenhouse gas. One of the more promising ways to dispose of it in an economical and environmentally friendly way is by using it as a raw material in electrochemical synthesis reactors. An important part of such reactors is an ion exchange membrane. In this study the influence of ZrO2 content in SPEEK – ZrO2 composite membranes on rate of osmosis trough them was investigated, with the goal of evaluating ZrO2 as an additive for making ion exchange membranes with fine-tuned osmotic permeability.