The interaction between the excited sensitizer and the redox couple in a photochemical solar cell is an important factor that can decrease the photon-conversion efficiency. We have now employed C 60 clusters to separate the Ru(bpy) 2 (dcbpy) 2+ (Ru(II) complex) and I 3 -/Icouple to minimize the sensitizer-redox couple interactions. The C 60 -modified electrodes (viz., OTE/SnO 2 /Ru(II)/C 60 and OTE/TiO 2 /Ru(II)/C 60 ) delivered photocurrent with greater efficiency than did the SnO 2 and TiO 2 films modified with only a Ru(II) dye (viz., OTE/SnO 2 / Ru(II) and OTE/TiO 2 /Ru(II)). The luminescence quenching of Ru(II)* by I 3 -, which occurs with a rate constant of 1.9 × 10 10 M -1 s -1 , is suppressed following the deposition of a layer of C 60 clusters. This paper presents a novel concept of employing a redox-active molecular assembly as an electron relay that greatly minimizes the interaction with the excited dye while maintaining the effectiveness of the regeneration cycle.
Films of C60 clusters were electrophoretically deposited on optically transparent electrode surfaces. These C60 films constitute a new class of
carbon electrodes with properties that differ from graphite and diamond electrodes. The electrophoretically deposited C60 cluster film is highly
porous and is quite stable to oxidative potentials. Hence C60 film provides an electrochemical window to carry out oxidation processes. Upon
electrodeposition of platinum particles, these nanostructured carbon films show remarkable activity toward methanol oxidation. The dependence
of methanol oxidation on the amount of platinum and C60 in a half-cell reaction demonstrates the role of fullerene nanoclusters as new form
of carbon support.
Rabbit polyclonal antibodies were generated against norfloxacin, purified, and used as the basis of a direct competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the screening of fluoroquinolones in shrimp. The developed method used a simple ethanol/acetic acid solvent extraction, which resulted in a 1.0-ng-norfloxacin/g limit of detection (based on the analysis of known negative and fortified shrimp samples). Norfloxacin extraction efficiencies were evaluated at two fortification concentrations and were greater than 70%, with an intra-assay variation less than 30%. The assay displayed greater than 10% cross reactivity against enro-, cipro-, sara-, and difloxacin. Incurred and known negative shrimp samples were analyzed and compared to the results obtained from an independent liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric method. All three instances in which fluoroquinolones were present at concentrations near or above the assay limit of detection (1.0 to 17 ng/g) were identified as positive by the newly developed assay, demonstrating the usefulness of this assay as a screening tool.
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