We found that anthraquinone diffuses along a straight line across a flat, highly symmetric Cu111 surface. It can also reversibly attach one or two CO2 molecules as "cargo" and act as a "molecule carrier," thereby transforming the diffusive behavior of the CO2 molecules from isotropic to linear. Density functional theory calculations indicated a substrate-mediated attraction of approximately 0.12 electron volt (eV). Scanning tunneling microscopy revealed individual steps of the molecular complex on its diffusion pathway, with increases of approximately 0.03 and approximately 0.02 eV in the diffusion barrier upon attachment of the first and second CO2 molecule, respectively.

The strength of hydrogen bridge bonds in rows of anthraquinone (AQ) and 9,10-dithioanthracene (DTA) molecules adsorbed at a Cu(111) surface is investigated by means of scanning tunneling microscopy. The temperature-dependent rate of abstraction of molecules from the molecular rows was measured. Evaluation of the results similar to molecular diffusion data indicates an abstraction barrier of 0.13 and 0.16 eV for AQ and DTA, respectively. Given known diffusion barriers, this offers an estimated energy of the O···H−C and S···H−C hydrogen bond of 0.05 and 0.02 eV for AQ and DTA, respectively.

This paper describes an investigation into the properties of a doubly emulsified film incorporated with protein-polysaccharide microcapsules, which serves as a multifunctional food packaging film prepared using common edible materials in place of petroleum--based plastics. The relationships between the microstructural properties and controlled release features of a series of water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) microcapsulated edible films prepared in thermodynamically incompatible conditions were analyzed. The hydrophilic riboflavin (V(B2)) nano-droplets (13-50 nm) dispersed in α-tocopherol (V(E)) oil phase were embedded in whey protein-polysaccharide (WPs) microcapsules with a shell thickness of 20-56 nm. These microcapsules were then integrated in 103 μm thick WPs films. Different polysaccharides, including gum arabic (GA), low-methoxyl pectin (LMP), and κ-carrageenan (KCG), exhibited different in vitro synergistic effects on the ability of both films to effect enteric controlled release of both vitamins. GA, which showed a strong emulsifying ability, also showed better control of V(E) than other polysaccharides, and the highly charged KCG showed better control of V(B2) than GA did.

This study investigates the features of a new type of delivery system prepared by combining a natural outer eggshell membrane (OESM) with emulsified microcapsules. The loading efficiency, controlled release properties, and forming mechanisms of the prepared system were studied. The polysaccharide/protein microcapsules incorporated with vitamin E can be attached to highly cross-linked protein fiber networks of OESM. This attachment could be reinforced more than 2-fold using glutaraldehyde as a cross-linking agent. The combined OESM/microcapsule delivery system significantly exhibited better controlled release properties than the microcapsules alone because of the steric blocking effect. Moreover, the OESM delivery system incorporated with microcapsules formed by pectin/protein as wall material showed more resistance against enzymatic attacks because of the formation of compact aggregates promoted by electrostatic effects.