Due to the difficulty of detecting traces of organic acid mixture in an aqueous sample and the complexity of resolving UV-Vis spectra effectively, a combinatory method based on a self-made radical electric focusing solid phase extraction (REFSPE) device, UV-Vis detection and partial least squares (PLS) calculation is proposed here. In this study, REFSPE was used to enhance the extraction process of analytes between the aqueous phase and the membrane phase to enrich the trace of mixed organic acid efficiently. Then, the analytes, which were eluted from the adsorption film by ethanol with the assistance of an ultrasonic cleaning machine, were detected with UV-Vis spectrophotometry. After that, the PLS method was introduced to solve the problem of overlapping peaks in UV-Vis spectra of mixed substances and to quantify each compound. The linearly dependent coefficients between the predicted value of the model and the actual concentration of the sample were all higher than 0.99. The limit values of detection for benzoic acid, phthalic acid and p-toluene sulfonic acid were found at 9.9 µg/L, 12.2 µg/L and 13.8 µg/L with the relative recovery values between 84.8% and 117.9%. The RSD (n = 20) values of each component are 1.17%, 1.11% and 0.86%, respectively. Therefore, the proposed combined method can determine traces of complex materials in an aqueous sample efficiently and has wonderful potential applications.

Prolonged exposure to UV radiation, and ever-increasing life expectancy, mean that an increasing proportion of the population suffers from clouding of the intraocular lens. Nowadays, the performance of intraocular implantation procedures is commonplace. Unfortunately, with the increasing number of operations, the number of postoperative complications is also increasing. One way to avoid complications may be to use an intraocular implant that has been immersed in a solution containing silver nanoparticles. As part of the study, four selected intraocular implants – that are available on the ophthalmic market – were tested. In order to investigate the effect of silver particles on the optical properties of the implants, tests were carried out using a UV-VIS spectrophotometer. Two series of implants were tested: before and after immersion in a silver solution. The implants were immersed for a period of 7 days. It was found that the presence of silver particles does not have a negative impact on the translucency of the implants.

Rutile-TiO2 nanorod thin films were formed on Ti disks via alkali treatment in NaOH solutions followed by heat treatment at 700°C. Ag nanoparticles were loaded on nanorods using a photo-reduction method to improve the photocatalytic properties of the prepared specimen. The surface characterization and the photo-electrochemical properties of the Ag-loaded TiO2 nanorods were investigated using a field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-Vis spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The TiO2 nanorods obtained after the heat treatment were 80 to 180 nm thick and 1 μm long. The thickness of the nanorods increased with the NaOH concentration. The UV-Vis spectra exhibit a shift in the absorption edge of the Ag-loaded TiO2 to the visible light range and further narrowing of the bandgap. The decrease in the size of the capacitive loops in the EIS spectra showed that the Ag loading effectively improved the photocatalytic activity of the TiO2 nanorods.