Additive differential pulse voltammetry,instead of double differential pulse voltammetry

A new electrochemical double pulse potential technique called additive differential pulse voltammetry (ADPV) is proposed. This technique is inspired by the original idea of Birke et al. [Anal. Chem. 53 (1981) 852] of recording two differential pulse (DP) voltammograms and it consists of plotting the sum of these two signals versus the first pulse potential, although in this paper the proposal is to obtain the ADPV signal through just one experiment. ADPV behaves in an identical way to the triple-pulse technique double differential pulse voltammetry (DDPV) for reversible processes when diffusion coefficients are equal for spherical electrodes and for any value of diffusion coefficients in planar electrodes. In the case of reversible electrode processes with amalgamation of reaction product or other more complex processes, ADPV is more advantageous than DDPV. This is due, among other reasons, to the fact that, under these conditions, a double potential step is much simpler to analyse than a triple potential step.     

Modulated differential scanning calorimetry

Modulated-temperature differential scanning calorimetry was used to measure the glass transition temperature,T _g, the heat capacity relaxation in the glassy state and the increment of heat capacity, C_p, in the glass transition region for several polymers. The differential of heat capacity with respect to temperature was used to analyseT _g and C_p simply and accurately. These measurements are not affected by complex thermal histories.     

Excess differential thermodynamic properties

A strategy is described for the systematic generation of a complete set of partial derivatives of the four energy functions from a basis set of five measured properties: V_m, S_m, C_p,m (δV_m/δT)_p and either (δV_m/δp)_T or (δV_m/δp)_s. The same set of equations applies to both pure substances and either real or ideal mixtures.

Examples are given of some excess differential properties of binary mixtures which exhibit unusual sensitivity to changes in composition.     

Modulated differential scanning calorimetry

Modulated DSC^TM (MDSC) is a new, patent-pending extension to conventional DSC which provides information about the reversing and nonreversing characteristics of thermal events, as well as the ability to directly measure heat capacity. This additional information aids interpretation and allows unique insights into the structure and behaviour of materials., A number of examples of its use are described.     

Dielectric differential thermal analysis

Thermodielectric analysis has been used to test some very well-characterized kaolins from Cuban deposits. The samples were analysed by thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectrometry, electron microscopy and chemical analysis.The dielectrical thermograms show that the most evident effect for the hydrated versions is the water peak. The second dielectric effect, at high temperatures, is related to the cationic conductions. A relation involving the K content of the sample was observed.

---

Zusammenfassung Mittels thermodielektrischer Analyse wurden einige gut charakterisierte Kaoline aus kubanischen Lagerstätten untersucht. Die Proben wurden mittels Thermoanalyse (TA), Röntgendiffraktion (XRD), Infrarotspektroskopie (IR), Elektronenmikroskopie (EM) und Elementaranalyse untersucht. Die Dielektrothermogramme zeigen, daß bei den hydratierten Versionen der augenscheinlichste Effekt der Wasserpeak ist. Der zweite dielektrische Effekt bei höheren Temperaturen wird mit der Kationenleitung in Zusammenhang gebracht, wodurch es möglich wird, Informationen über den K-Gehalt der Proben zu erlangen.

---

. (), , , . , . , , , .

     

Dielectrical differential thermal analysis

Sodium faujasites with different Si/Al ratios were studied by means of thermodielectrical method.     

Controlled-potential differential DC polarography

Summary A brief theoretical and experimental study is presented of the polarographic technique in which a constant voltage difference (E) is maintained between two electrodes immersed in the same or identical solutions throughout the potential scan in order to obtain a derivative-like curve of differential current (i) vs. electrode potential (E). A comparison of the curves obtained by this technique with the true first derivative of the polarographic wave, as observed by operational-amplifier computation, is also given.

---

Zusammenfassung Als Teil einer allgemeinen Untersuchung über die Differential-Gleichstrompolarographie mit Potentialkontrolle wird über die E -Methode berichtet, bei der eine konstante Spannungsdifferenz ( E) zwischen zwei Elektroden aufrechterhalten wird, die in dieselbe oder identische Lösungen eintauchen. Die Differenz der beiden Ströme als Funktion des Elektrodenpotentials stellt eine Kurve dar, die stellenweise der wirklichen ersten Ableitung der polarographischen Stufe ähnelt. Ein Vergleich dieser Kurven wird angegeben.

---

---

Dedicated to Prof. Dr. M. von Stackelberg on his 70th birthday.

---

Research sponsored by the U.S.Atomic Energy Commission under contract with the Union Carbide Corporation.     

Dielectric differential thermal analysis

Dithionates (CaS₂O₆·4H₂O, SrS₂O₆·4H₂O, BaS₂O₆·2H₂O, MnS₂O₆·4H₂O, MgS₂O₆·6H₂O, CoS₂O₆·6H₂O, NiS₂O₆·6H₂O, ZnS₂O₆·6H₂O and CuS₂O₆·4H₂O) were subjected to thermodielectric analysis. The thermoanalytical curves show low temperature effects from 60 to 350°. These are related with the dehydration and decomposition of the dithionates, which could be fully correlated with the knowledge of the thermal behavior of these compouds obtained with other thermal methods.     

Multicycle differential scanning calorimetry

Multicycle Differential Scanning Calorimetry (MCDSC) is a procedure where repeated temperature cycles are executed and the measured data are superimposed for a selected number of cycles. Temperature cycles with a single sample are executed under selected experimental conditions in one of these procedures, namely, the MCDSC_s. The second one, MCDSC_m is a procedure in which every identical temperature cycle starts with a new sample of the same substance of a similar mass. The procedure MCDSC_s using the same sample for a number of cycles is only applicable for substances and materials which are chemically and physically stable under the selected experimental conditions. The application of MCDSC enhances two extremely important qualities of a DSC measurement, namely, the sensitivity and the statistical base, both qualities with respect to the final data elucidated. Another possibility by MCDSC also related to the enhanced sensitivity can lead the discovery of a phenomenon which hitherto has not been observed. The most important result of any MCDSC application is the determination of the mean DSC curve within the temperature interval of interest by superimposing the single curves point by point and by the division of the calorimetric values obtained with the number of scans evaluated. The signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) for the mean curve can be compared with the value determined for one or even for all the single curves measured yielding the improvement factor achieved with a MCDSC measurement. This experimentally determined improvement of the SNR can be compared with the value given on a statistical consideration by Gauss as the square root of the number of cycles evaluated. The main aims of this article are to prove the practical application of the procedure and the efficiency in case of rather small sample masses. Substances were selected with known enthalpy transitions and, in addition, polystyrene was taken for a determination of the data for the glass transition by MCDSC. Rather small sample masses in the order of micrograms as well as the experimental conditions have been selected for the measurements with 4,4′-azoxyanisole and n-hexatriacontane with the expectation to get a value of SNR for the single curves of about unity or even below. Two aims should be achieved with these experiments. First, the multicycle procedures and the data evaluation developed should be capable of establishing, after performing of a certain number of cycles, a mean curve showing an improvement over the SNR with respect to the single curves. Second, we should be able to get a rough estimation of the lower limit of the SNR for a single curve, below the instrumental noise level of the DSC used, necessary to achieve with a MCDSC experiment a mean curve with a clearly visible peak.     

Dielectric differential thermal analysis

The present paper deals with the role of guest molecules in the moleculer sieves systems.     

Modulated differential scanning calorimetry

The Modulated Differential Calorimetry (MDSC) is applied to the determination of the reversibility in the cholesteryl chloride, which presents a cholesteric monotropic phase between the isotropic and crystalline states. The experimental modulation parameters that govern this method i.e. frequency, amplitude and heating/cooling rate, are determined. MDSC curves and complementary thermomicroscopical observations assign melting, crystallization and liquid cholesteric transition as non reversing, and clarification as reversing.     

A differential fluctuation theorem

We derive a nonequilibrium thermodynamics identity (the "differential fluctuation theorem") that connects forward and reverse joint probabilities of nonequilibrium work and of arbitrary generalized coordinates corresponding to states of interest. This identity allows us to estimate the free energy difference between domains of these states. Our results follow from a general symmetry relation between averages over nonequilibrium forward and backward path functions derived by Crooks [Crooks, G. E. Phys. Rev. E 2000, 61, 2361-2366]. We show how several existing nonequilibrium thermodynamic identities can be obtained directly from the differential fluctuation theorem. We devise an approach for measuring conformational free energy differences, and we demonstrate its applicability to the analysis of molecular dynamics simulations by estimating the free energy difference between two conformers of the alanine dipeptide model system. We anticipate that these developments can be applied to the analysis of laboratory experiments.     

Square modulated differential thermal analysis

KMnF₃ and DKDP crystals have been studied around their phase transitions using a conduction calorimetry technique where a long periodical square thermal pulse (0.05 K in amplitude) is superposed to a heating or cooling ramp as low as 0.06 K h⁻¹. Specific heat data obtained in the dissipation and relaxation semiperiods of the square pulse become different inside the phase transition interval. The electromotive force developed by the heat fluxmeters at the end of the relaxation semiperiod (underlying signal) is compared with the DTA trace obtained in a second run with the same temperature ramp but without the modulated perturbation. The comparison between the DTA trace and specific heat data obtained in the first run allows us to determine the value of the latent heat and to obtain information about the kinetic of the phase transition.     

Micellar nucleation differential microemulsion polymerization

Polymer nanoparticles within the range of 2–5 nm with a solid content of more than 13 wt.% and a narrow molecular weight polydispersity (Mw/Mn ∼ 1.1) were for the first time prepared using a micellar nucleation differential microemulsion polymerization system emulsified by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), with SDS/monomer (methyl methacrylate) and SDS/H₂O weight ratios of up to 1:16 and 1:100, respectively. It was found that for benzoyl peroxide (BPO), micellar nucleation is more favorable for the synthesis of smaller polymer nanoparticles than ammonium persulfate (APS) which gives rise to homogeneous nucleation and 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) which involves partially heterogeneous nucleation. In the polymerization process, there exists a critical stability concentration (CSC) of SDS, above which the size of the nanoparticles is to be minimized and stabilized. With an increase in the monomer addition rate, the polymerization system changes from a microemulsion system to an emulsion system. A mechanism was proposed to describe the micellar nucleation process of differential microemulsion polymerization. This study may contribute to the development of fine polymer nanoparticles for drug delivery systems.     

Microfluidic differential resistive pulse sensors

This study demonstrates an on-chip resistive pulse-sensing scheme with a design of symmetric mirror channels, which significantly reduces the noise and achieves better signal-to-noise ratio. Polystyrene particles of different sizes have been detected with the developed sensing scheme and a record low volume ratio of the particle to the sensing channel, or 0.0004%, has been detected with particles of 520 nm in diameter in a sensing aperture of 50x16x20 microm3. This volume ratio is about ten times lower than the lowest volume ratio reported in the literature including that specified for commercial Coulter counters.     

Temperatures in differential scanning calorimetry

A recently described method is used to characterise thermal gradients in a DSC-2 and the results are compared with a conventional temperature calibration. Under certain circumstances the latter may be in error by several degrees with consequent adverse effects on calculated heat capacities. The errors are removed when allowance is made for variations in thermal lag from sample to sample.