Artículo de publicación ISIMineral magnetite was used as metallic oxide catalysts in the synthesis of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) by Aerosol Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (AACVD). The structural and morphological information of MWCNTs was obtained by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Raman Spectroscopy (RS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The hydrogen storage capacity and the gas adsorption kinetics of the MWCNTs exposed to H-2 at different pressures were determined using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). It was found that the hydrogen adsorption capacity was strongly dependent on the chemical, structural and morphological characteristics of the MWCNTs which, in turn, depend on the proportion of the starting materials (mineral magnetite and zeolite) used for the synthesis by AACVD. However, no a clear correlation was found between each one of these characteristics and the adsorption properties since the sample was affected by gas exposure during the H-2 loading/unloading cycles. The maximum adsorption capacity was 1.76 wt% at 44 Torr of H-2 exposure pressure. The adsorption kinetics was determined by in situ monitoring the QCM resonance frequency. As expected, a faster H-2 adsorption kinetics of the MWCNTs occurred when the sample was exposed to higher H-2 pressures. In general, there are measurable H-2 adsorption between 60 s and 100 s before reaching saturation.Government Research Agency (FONDECYT) of Chile 1150475 11130555 Government Research Agency (CONICYT) of Chile ACT1117 ID14I1012

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Amphibian oocytes have been extensively used for heterologous expression of membrane proteins for studying their biochemical and biophysical properties. So far, Xenopus laevis is the main amphibian used as oocytes source to express aquaglyceroporins in order to assess water and solutes permeability. However, this well-established amphibian model represents a threat to the biodiversity in many countries, especially in those from tropical regions. For that reason, the import of Xenopus laevis is subjected to strict control, which essentially has restricted its use in these regions. Therefore, a wider variety of expression systems for aquaglyceroporins is needed. Rhinella marina is extensively distributed in the Americas and its native range spreads from South America to Texas, US. Here we report the use of Rhinella marina oocytes as an alternative expression system for aquaglyceroporins and demonstrated its suitability to determine the permeability to water and non-ionic solutes. Rhinella marina oocytes were able to functionally express channels from human and the protozoan pathogen Trypanosoma brucei, two very distant organisms on the evolutionary scale. Permeability values obtained from Rhinella marina oocytes expressing members of aquaporin family were similar and comparable to those values reported in the literature for the same channels expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes.

We report the electrosynthesis of a novel semiconductor polymer based on alkyl vinylthiophene derivative in the presence of an ionic liquid (IL). The polymerization was performed under galvanostatic conditions and the polymer was studied as potential donor component of a multilayer heterojunction organic solar cell (OSC). The monomer used was (E)-1,2-di-(3-octyl-2-thienyl) vinylene (OTV) and the IL used for the electropolymerization was 1-octyl-3-methylimidazole hexafluorophosphate C 8 mimPF 6 . Optical properties, stability and morphology of the polymer were analyzed using FT-IR, UV-vis, Raman and XPS spectroscopy. Voltammetry analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX) were also performed on the polymer. The OSC assembled with the polymer of OTV was used as electro donor and C 60 as acceptor. Molybdenum trioxide (MoO 3 ) and bathocuproine (BCP) were used as buffer layer between anode and cathode respectively. I-V curves, in the dark and under AM 1.5 solar simulator were performed to measure its efficiency.

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