Properties of PAN-TBP extraction chromatographic material

Three production routes of the preparation of a solid extractant based on tributylphosphate (TBP) embedded in the polyacrylonitrile matrix (PAN) have been studied. The method of direct PAN coagulation with TBP was found to be not viable due to the significant TBP solubility in the coagulation bath. The most suitable PAN-TBP solid extractant was prepared by the well-known impregnation method of ready-made neat PAN beads. The kinetics of uranium extraction from 3 mol L^?1 HNO₃, the effect of nitrate and nitric acids concentrations on the value of weight distribution coefficients D _g as well as the uranium “extraction isotherm” were determined for this material. Uranium extraction was rather fast, approximately 1 h was sufficient for the equilibrium achievement. Capacity for the uranium uptake, measured in batch experiments on PAN-TBP for 0.048 mol L^?1 of uranium in 3 mol L^?1 nitric acid, was found to be q = 0.363 mmol g^?1 (58 % of the theoretical capacity). It was concluded that PAN-TBP material behaves like TBP in liquid–liquid extraction. Extraction capacity determined in column experiments was lower (by about 23 %) than expected from the “extraction isotherm” due to the TBP leaching out of the column. The thus prepared material is therefore not very suitable for multicycle extraction and stripping and can be used once, particularly for the analytical purposes.     

UV-assisted degradation of propiconazole in a TiO2 aqueous suspension: identification of transformation products and the reaction pathway using GC/MS

Photocatalytic degradation of propiconazole, a triazole pesticide, in the presence of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) under ultraviolet (UV) illumination was performed in a batch type photocatalytic reactor. A full factorial experimental design technique was used to study the main effects and the interaction effects between operational parameters in the photocatalytic degradation of propiconazole in a batch photo-reactor using the TiO₂ aqueous suspension. The effects of catalyst concentration (0.15–0.4 gL^?1), initial pH (3–9), initial concentration (5–35 mg L^?1) and light conditions were optimised at a reaction time duration of 90 min by keeping area/volume ratio constant at 0.919 cm² mL^?1. Photocatalytic oxidation of propiconazole showed 85% degradation and 76.57% mineralisation under UV light (365 nm/30 Wm^?2) at pH 6.5, initial concentration 25 mg L^?1 and constant temperature (25 ± 1 °C). The Langmuir–Hinshelwood kinetic model has successfully elucidated the effects of the initial concentration on the degradation of propiconazole and the data obtained are consistent with the available kinetic parameters. The photocatalytic transformation products of propiconazole were identified by using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The pathway of degradation obtained from mass spectral analysis shows the breakdown of transformation products into smaller hydrocarbons (m/z 28 and 39).     

Rapid quantification of TBP and TBP degradation product ratios by FTIR-ATR

Tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) is the key complexant within the plutonium and uranium reduction extraction process used to extract uranium and plutonium from used nuclear fuel. During reprocessing TBP degrades to dibutyl phosphate (DBP), butyl acid phosphate (MBP), butanol, and phosphoric acid over time. A method for rapidly monitoring TBP degradation is needed for the support of nuclear forensics. Therefore, a Fourier transform infrared spectrometry-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) technique was developed to determine approximate peak intensity ratios of TBP and its degradation products. The technique was developed by combining variable concentrations of TBP, DBP, and MBP to simulate TBP degradation. This method is achieved by analyzing selected peak positions and peak intensity ratios of TBP and DBP at different stages of degradation. The developed technique was tested on TBP samples degraded with nitric acid. In mock degradation samples, the 1,235 cm^?1 peak position shifts to 1,220 cm^?1 as the concentration of TBP decreases and DBP increases. Peak intensity ratios of TBP positions at 1,279 and 1,020 cm^?1 relative to DBP positions at 909 and 1,003 cm^?1 demonstrate an increasing trend as the concentration of DBP increases. The same peak intensity ratios were used to analyze DBP relative to MBP whereas a decreasing trend is seen with increasing DBP concentrations. The technique developed from this study may be used as a tool to determine TBP degradation in nuclear reprocessing via a rapid FTIR-ATR measurement without gas chromatography analysis.     

Highly Sensitive Flow-Injection Chemiluminescence Detection of Carbonyl Compounds in Wine Samples

A modified Trautz–Schorigin reaction, by using tannic acid-H₂O₂ system for the oxidation and determination of two kinds of carbonyl compounds was developed in this paper. It was found that formaldehyde and acetaldehyde could effectively enhance the chemiluminescence signals of tannic acid–H₂O₂ system in alkaline medium. Under optimized conditions, the proposed method has a linear range of 7 × 10^?9–1 × 10^?4 mol L^?1 for formaldehyde and 1 × 10^?8–1 × 10^?4 mol L^?1 for acetaldehyde with detection limits of 9 × 10^?11 and 3 × 10^?10 mol L^?1, respectively. The relative standard deviations for 15 repeated measurements of 1 × 10^?6 mol L^?1 HCHO and CH₃CHO are 1.13% and 1.65%, respectively. Analysis time per sample is 35 seconds. A comparison of results found by the proposed method with those obtained by a standard reference method provided good agreement. The proposed method is simple, rapid, convenient, and sensitive.     

HPLC Method for Monitoring of Degradation Products in Picoplatin Stability Study

An analytical method combining high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detection was developed for an easy and rapid assay determination of the anticancer drug picoplatin (=cis-[Pt(NH₃)(2-methylpyridine)Cl₂]) and its degradation products. An ion exchanger was used as the stationary phase with an aqueous solution of NaH₂PO₄ with pH adjusted to 3.0 with H₃PO₄ as the mobile phase. The calibration curve was linear within the concentration range of 0.10–0.50 g L^?1 (R ² ≥ 0.998). The limit of detection was 0.05 g L^?1 and limit of quantification was 0.09 g L^?1. The developed method was characterized with a high precision (≤6.0%, determined as RSD), an acceptable accuracy (the values of recovery were from intervals 98–103%). The developed method was used for assessing the stability of picoplatin during a stability study.     

Optimized solid phase extraction based on diethyldithiocarbamate-coated Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles followed by ICP-OES for determination of Cd(II) and Ni(II) in rice and water samples

In the present study, application of Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) coated with diethyldithiocarbamate as a solid-phase sorbent for extraction of trace amounts of cadmium (Cd²⁺) and nickel (Ni²⁺) ions by the aid of ultrasound was investigated. The analytes were determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy. Fe₃O₄ MNPs were prepared by solvothermal method and characterized with dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. Response surface methodology was used for optimization of the extraction process and modeling the data. The optimal conditions obtained were as follows: chelating agent, 1.2 g L^?1; pH, 6.13; sonication time, 13 min and Fe₃O₄ MNPs, 10.3 mg. The calibration curves were linear over the concentration range of 1–1,000 μg L^?1 for Cd²⁺ and 2.5–1,000 for Ni²⁺ with the determination coefficients (R ²) of 0.9997 and 0.9995, respectively. The limits of detection were 0.27 μg L^?1 for Cd²⁺ and 0.76 μg L^?1 for Ni²⁺. The relative standard deviations (n = 7, C = 200 μg L^?1) for determination of Cd²⁺ and Ni²⁺ were 2.0 and 2.7 %, respectively. The relative recoveries of the analytes from tap, river and lagoon waters and rice samples at the spiking level of 10 μg L^?1 were obtained in the range of 95–105 %.     

Simultaneous Analysis of Sugars and Polyphenols in Tobacco by CZE with Amperometric Detection Based on a Cu2O/MWCNT-COOH Composite Electrode

A composite electrode was fabricated from Cu₂O powder, carboxyl-functionalized multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-COOH), and paraffin oil in the proportions 51:17:32 (w/w). This composite electrode was used for amperometric detection (CZE–AD) in simultaneous capillary zone electrophoretic analysis of chlorogenic acid, rutin, sucrose, glucose, mannose, and fructose in tobacco samples. Under the optimum conditions, the six analytes could be separated in 100 mmol L^?1 NaOH buffer within 30 min. Good linearity was achieved in the range 1 × 10^?7–1 × 10^?4 mol L^?1 for the two polyphenols and 5 × 10^?6–1 × 10^?3 mol L^?1 for the four sugars. The detection limits (S/N = 3) for the polyphenols and sugars were as low as 10^?8 mol L^?1 and 10^?6 mol L^?1, respectively.     

Study of scandium and thorium sorption from uranium leach liquors

Scandium and thorium sorption from simulated uranium leach liquors by phosphorous containing ion exchange resins was studied. Increase of thorium concentration resulted in a decrease of scandium sorption by 26–65%. Tulsion CH 93 resin was chosen for Sc separation from uranium leach liquors. It was shown that 180 g L^?1 Na₂CO₃ allowed for elution 94.1% of Sc and 98.9% of Th in dynamic conditions. Using (NH₄)₂SO₄ (50 g L^?1) + ACBM (180 g L^?1) mixture for primary Sc/Th separation at the resin/eluent ratio of 1:5 resulted in thorium desorption degree as high as 66–69%, whereas scandium loss did not exceed 10%.     

Impact of Nitrate Dose on Toluene Degradation under Denitrifying Condition

In this study, we investigated the impact of nitrate dose on toluene degradation by Pseudomonas putida to elucidate the upper limit of nitrate concentration and whether an optimum ratio of nitrate to toluene concentration exists. Batch microcosm studies were conducted in order to monitor toluene degradation for various ratios (2–20) of nitrate to toluene with nitrate concentrations ranging from 0 to 700 mg?L^?1 for a given toluene concentration of 50 and 25 mg?L^?1 during 4-day (short term) and 14-day (long term) incubation time, respectively. The short-term study revealed that nitrate concentration of 500 mg?L^?1 was toxic to bacteria and the optimum concentration was 300 mg?L^?1 yielding the highest toluene degradation rate (0.083 mg?L^?1?h^?1). In the batch study of long term, toluene degradation was limited to 6 days after which the nitrate at 50 mg?L^?1 was depleted, indicating that nitrate was a necessary electron acceptor. For both batch studies, an optimum ratio of 6 was found yielding the highest toluene degradation rate. This indicates that an appropriate nitrate dose is essential for efficient degradation of toluene when bioremediation of groundwater contaminated with toluene is under consideration.     

Chemiluminescent Determination of Vitamin B12 Using Charge Coupled Device (CCD)

A method was developed for the determination of vitamin B₁₂ based on the enhancement of cobalt (II) on the chemiluminescence (CL) reaction between luminol and percarbonate (powerful source of hydrogen peroxide). The release of cobalt (II) from the vitamin B₁₂ was reached by a simple and fast microwave digestion (20 s microwave digestion time and a mix of nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide). A charge coupled device (CCD) photodetector, directly connected to the cell, coupled with a simple continuous flow system was used to obtain the full spectral characteristics of cobalt (II) catalyzed luminol-percarbonate reaction.

The optima experimental conditions were established: 8.0 m mol L^?1 luminol in a 0.075 mol L^?1 carbonate buffer (pH 10.0) and 0.15 mol L^?1 sodium percarbonate, in addition to others experimental parameters as 0.33 mL s^?1 flow rate and 2 s integration time, were the experimental conditions which proportionate the optimum CL emission intensity. The emission data were best fitted with a second-order calibration graph over the cobalt (II) concentration range from 4.00 to 300 µ g L^?1 (r² = 0.9990), with a detection limit of 0.42 µ g L^?1. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of vitamin B₁₂ in pharmaceuticals.     

Polarographic waves of tri-n-butyl phosphate and polarographic determination of uranium in the presence of tri-n-butyl phosphate

The results of a study on the polarographic behaviour of TBP and its influence on the determination of uranyl ions is presented. The half-wave potential of the adsorption wave of TBP depends on the concentration of TBP, type of supporting elec trolyte and its concentration. In the presence of TBP the polarographic wave of U(VI) ion is changed. Below 7·10^?5 M TBP the polarographic wave of U(VI) is not affected, between 7·10^?5 and 2·10^?4 M TBP the shape, height and half-wave potential of U(VI) waves are changed and above 2·10^?4 M, up to saturated solution of TBP, the waves of U(VI) do, not change further. The bes supporting electrolytes for the determination of U(VI) are KNO₃ or NaClO₄ in concentrations of 0.1 to 0.5 M, pH 1–2 and TBP concentrations from 3·10^?4 to 1.2·10^?3 M.     

Effect of Organic Loading Rate and Fill Time on the Biohydrogen Production in a Mechanically Stirred AnSBBR Treating Synthetic Sucrose-Based Wastewater

This study investigated the feasibility to produce biohydrogen of a mechanically stirred anaerobic sequencing batch biofilm reactor (AnSBBR) treating sucrose-based synthetic wastewater. The bioreactor performance (30 °C) was evaluated as to the combined effect of fill time (2, 1.5, and 1 h), cycle length (4, 3, and 2 h), influent concentration (3,500 and 5,250 mg chemical oxygen demand (COD)?L^?1) and applied volumetric organic load (AVOL_CT from 9.0 to 27.0 g COD L^?1 d^?1). AVOLs were varied according to influent concentration and cycle length (t _C). The results showed that increasing AVOL_CT resulted in a decrease in sucrose removal from 99 to 86 % and in improvement of molar yield per removed load (MYRL_S.n) from 1.02 mol H₂?mol carbohydrate^?1 at AVOL_CT of 9.0 g COD L^?1 d^?1 to maximum value of 1.48 mol H₂?mol carbohydrate^?1, at AVOL_CT of 18.0 g COD L^?1 d^?1, with subsequent decrease. Increasing AVOL_CT improved the daily molar productivity of hydrogen (MPr) from 15.28 to 49.22 mol H₂?m^?3 d^?1. The highest daily specific molar productivity of hydrogen (SMPr) obtained was 8.71 mol H₂?kg TVS^?1 d^?1 at an AVOL_CT of 18.0 g COD L^?1 d^?1. Decreasing t _C from 4 to 3 h decreased sucrose removal, increased MPr, and improved SMPr. Increasing influent concentration decreased sucrose removal only at t _C of 2 h, improved MYRL_S,n and MPr at all t _C, and also improved SMPr at t _C of 4 and 3 h. Feeding strategy had a significant effect on biohydrogen production; increasing fill time improved sucrose removal, MPr, SMPr, and MYRL_S,n for all investigated AVOL_CT. At all operational conditions, the main intermediate metabolic was acetic acid followed by ethanol, butyric, and propionic acids. Increasing fill time resulted in a decrease in ethanol concentration.     

Poly(2-amino-5-(4-pyridinyl)-1, 3, 4-thiadiazole) film modified electrode for the simultaneous determinations of dopamine, uric acid and nitrite

Poly(2-amino-5-(4-pyridinyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazole) (PAPT) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was fabricated and used for the simultaneous determinations of dopamine (DA), uric acid (UA) and nitrite (NO₂ ^?) in 0.1 mol?L^?1 phosphate buffer solution (PBS, pH 5.0) by using cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) techniques. The results showed that the PAPT modified GCE (PAPT/GCE) not only exhibited electrocatalytic activities towards the oxidation of DA, UA and NO₂ ^? but also could resolve the overlapped voltammetric signals of DA, UA and NO₂ ^? at bare GCE into three strong and well-defined oxidation peaks with enhanced current responses. The peak potential separations are 130 mV for DA–UA and 380 mV for UA–NO₂ ^? using DPV, which are large enough for the simultaneous determinations of DA, UA and NO₂ ^?. Under the optimal conditions, the anodic peak currents were correspondent linearly to the concentrations of DA, UA and NO₂ ^? in the ranges of 0.95–380 μmol?L^?1, 2.0–1,000 μmol?L^?1 and 2.0–1,200 μmol?L^?1 for DA, UA and NO₂ ^?, respectively. The correlation coefficients were 0.9989, 0.9970 and 0.9968, and the detection limits were 0.2, 0.35 and 0.6 μmol?L^?1 for DA, UA and NO₂ ^?, respectively. In 0.1 mol?L^?1 PBS pH 5.0, the PAPT film exhibited good electrochemical activity, showing a surface-controlled electrode process with the apparent heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (k _s) of 25.9 s^?1 and the charge–transfer coefficient (α) of 0.49, and thus displayed the features of an electrocatalyst. Due to its high sensitivity, good selectivity and stability, the modified electrode had been successfully applied to the determination of analytes in serum and urine samples.     

Molecularly imprinted stir bar sorptive extraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography for trace analysis of naphthalene sulfonates in seawater

In this paper, a novel molecularly imprinted polymer coated stir bar has been used to selectively extract naphthalene sulfonates (NS_s) directly from seawater sample. 1-Naphthalene sulfonic acid (1-NS) was used as template molecule. The effects of different parameters were optimized on the extraction efficiency and the optimum conditions were established as: the absorption and desorption times were fixed, respectively, at 10 and 15 min, stirring speed was 700 rpm, pH was adjusted to 4.1, amount of NaCl was 1 mol L^?1 and extraction process was performed at a temperature of 50 °C. The linear ranges were 2–250 µg L^?1 for 3,6-NDS-1-OH (1-naphthol-3,6-disulfonic acid), 4–250 µg L^?1 for 2-NS (2-naphthalene sulfonate) and 3–250 µg L^?1 for 1-NS. The detection limits were within the range of 0.32–0.95 µg L^?1. Under optimum conditions, the detection limits of the NSs were 0.84, 0.95 and 0.32 µg L^?1 with the enrichment factor of 117-, 41- and 77-fold for 2-NS, 1-NS, and 6-NDS-1-OH, respectively. The repeatability of the method was satisfactory (0.53 ≤ RSD ≤6.0 %, n = 10). The method has been successfully applied for the analysis of trace amounts of three naphthalene sulfonates in seawater of Chabahar Bay.     

Carbon ceramic electrodes modified with mixed oxides SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>/SnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> for determination of levofloxacin

The preparation of a carbon ceramic electrode modified with SnO₂ (CCE/SnO₂) using tin dibutyl diacetate as precursor was optimized by a 2³ factorial design. The factors analyzed were catalyst (HCl), graphite/organic precursor ratio, and inorganic precursor (dibutyltin diacetate). The statistical treatment of the data showed that only the second-order interaction effect, catalyst × inorganic precursor, was significant at 95% confidence level, for the electrochemical response of the system. The obtained material was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (MEV), X-ray diffraction (XRD), RAMAN spectroscopy, XPS spectra, and voltammetric techniques. From the XPS spectra, it was confirmed the formation of the Si–O–Sn bond by the shift in the binding energy values referred to Sn 3d3/2 due to the interaction of Sn with SiOH species. The incorporation of SnO₂ provided an increment of the electrode response for levofloxacin, with Ipa = 147.0 μA for the ECC and Ipa = 228.8 μA for ECC/SnO₂, indicating that SnO₂ when incorporated into the silica network enhances the electron transfer process. Under the optimized working conditions, the peak current increased linearly with the levofloxacin concentration in the range from 6.21×10^?5 to 6.97×10^?4 mol L^?1 with quantification and detection limits of 3.80×10^?5 mol L^?1 (14.07 mg L^?1) and 1.13×10^?5 mol L^?1 (4.18 mg L^?1), respectively.     

Role of reactive oxygen species and effect of solution matrix in trichloroethylene degradation from aqueous solution by zeolite-supported nano iron as percarbonate activator

The role of reactive oxygen species (ROSs) and effect of solution matrix have been investigated for the degradation of trichloroethylene (TCE). Zeolite-supported nano iron (Z-nZVI) was synthesized as an activator to catalyze sodium percarbonate (SPC) with or without hydroxylamine, i.e. as reducing agent (RA). The probe tests confirmed the generation of OH^· and O ₂ ^?· in the Z-nZVI activated SPC system in absence of the RA, while the presence of RA significantly increased the generation of OH^· and O ₂ ^?· radicals. Scavenger tests demonstrated that OH^· was the main ROS responsible for TCE degradation, whereas O ₂ ^?· also participated in TCE degradation. From the solution matrix perspective, the experimental results confirmed significant scavenging effects of Cl^? (1.0, 10.0, and 100 mmol L^?1) and HCO₃ ^? (1.0 and 10.0 mmol L^?1), whereas the scavenging effects were fairly impeded at 100 mmol L^?1 concentration of HCO₃ ^?. On the other hand, a considerable decline in scavenging effect was observed in the presence of RA in tested Cl^? and HCO₃ ^? concentration ranges. In addition, negligible scavenging effects of NO₃ ^? and SO₄ ^2? anions were found in all tested concentrations. The effect of initial solution pH on catalytic activity indicated a significant increase in the TCE degradation in the presence of RA even at higher pH value of 9. The results indicated that the Z-nZVI activated SPC system in presence of RA can effectively degrade chlorinated organic solvents, but it is important to consider the intensive existence of anions in groundwater.     

A Flow Injection Chemiluminescence Method for the Determination of Protein Using Copper(II)-Alizarin Red S Complex as an Efficient Chemiluminescent Probe

A sensitive flow injection chemiluminescence (CL) method is proposed for the determination of bovine serum albumin (BSA) using Copper(II)-Alizarin Red S (ARS) complex as an efficient chemiluminescent probe. The detection is based on the binding of the copper(II)-ARS complex to proteins and the catalytic activity of copper(II)-ARS in the luminol-H₂O₂ CL system. Under the selected conditions, the CL intensity is linear with the concentration of BSA in the range of 5.0 × 10^?11 to 1.0 × 10^?9 mol · L^?1. The detection limit was 2.0 × 10^?11 mol · L^?1. The method is successfully applied to the determination of protein in urine.     

Synthesis and application of polythiophene-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles for preconcentration of ultra-trace levels of cadmium in different real samples followed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

In this research, magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were synthesised by co-precipitation method and modified with polythiophene (PT) to produce Fe₃O₄-PT nanoparticles for preconcentration and determination of cadmium (??) ion followed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The results of FT-IR spectroscopy, EDX analysis and SEM images show that Fe₃O₄-PT nanoparticles were synthesised successfully. Different parameters such as sample pH, amounts of adsorbent, sample volume, extraction time, type and concentration of eluent and desorption time were completely investigated and optimum conditions were selected.

Under the optimum conditions, the calibration curve was linear in the range of 0.01–0.25 µg L^?1 of cadmium (??). The relative standard deviation was 4.7% (n = 7, 0.10 µg L^?1 Cd²⁺) and limit of detection was 3.30 ng L^?1. The accuracy of the proposed method was verified by the analysis of a certified reference material and spike method. Finally, the proposed method was applied for the determination of ultra-trace levels of cadmium (??) in different water and food samples.     

Ionic liquids versus ionic liquid-based surfactants in dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction for determining copper in water by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

This work compares the performance of dispersive liquid–liquid method (DLLME) as a prior step for determining copper by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), when using the ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (C₄MIm-PF₆) or the IL-based surfactant 1-hexadecyl-3-butylimidazolium bromide (C₁₆C₄Im-Br) as extractant solvents. For the water-insoluble C₄MIm-PF₆, the most conventional DLLME mode using acetonitrile as dispersive solvent was employed. For the water-soluble C₁₆C₄Im-Br, the in situ DLLME mode with lithium bis[(trifluoromethane)sulfonyl]imide (Li-NTf₂) as metathesis reagent was employed. In both approaches, some effective parameters such as volumes of extractant and dispersive solvents, concentration of complexing agent, pH of sample solution, salting-out effect and final diluting solvent to ensure compatibility with FAAS, were properly optimised. The optimum conditions for the IL-DLLME method using C₄MIm-PF₆ were: 100 μL of neat C₄MIm-PF₆, 1 mL of acetonitrile, 10 mL of water, no control of pH for environmental waters, NaCl content of 23 g L^?1, diethyl dithiocarbamate (DDTC) as complexing agent at 10 mg L^?1 and final dilution of the micro-droplet with acetonitrile up to 70 µL. The optimum conditions for the in situ IL-DLLME method using C₁₆C₄Im-Br were: 0.8 mL of acetonitrile, 10 mL of water containing C₁₆C₄Im-Br at 25.2 mmol L^?1, final dilution step of the micro-droplet with 200 µL of acetonitrile and remaining conditions as those of C₄MIm-PF₆. The analytical performance of both methods was similar, being slightly better for the IL-DLLME method using C₄MIm-PF₆, with limits of detection (LOD) of 3.3 µg L^?1 (versus 5.1 µg L^?1 when using C₁₆C₄Im-Br), precision values as intraday relative standard deviation (RSD in %) lower than 8.8% (being of 10% for the C₁₆C₄Im-Br method) and an enrichment factor of 54 (being 27 when using C₁₆C₄Im-Br). The DLLME-FAAS method with C₄MIm-PF₆ was used in the analysis of environmental waters with successful performance, with relative recoveries of 110% and 105%, and interday precision with RSD values of 21% and 7.4% for spiked levels of 60 and 160 µg L^?1, respectively. The results obtained when analysing an urban wastewater sample coming from an inter-laboratory exercise was comparable to those obtained for other 93 laboratories. The method was also valid for the determination of Cu²⁺ in presence of foreign ions commonly found in natural waters.     

Synthesis,characterization, and magnetochemical properties of two Mn4 clusters derived from 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde Schiff base ligands

Two tetranuclear manganese complexes, [Mn₄(L¹)₆](ClO₄)₂?2.75H₂O (1) [HL¹ = 4-methyl-2-((pyridin-2-ylmethylene)amino)phenol] and [Mn₄(L²)₄(NO₃)₃(OH)]?pz?3H₂O (2) [HL² = (1H-pyrazol-1-yl)(pyridin-2-yl)methanol, pz = pyrazole], have been synthesized and characterized by IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and magnetic measurements. The structural analysis revealed that the central manganese ion is linked with three apical manganese ions through six phenoxo-bridges creating a Mn₄O₆ core for 1; 2 has a cubane-like topology with the Mn(II) ions and the deprotonated oxygens from L² alternatively occupying vertices. The magnetic studies indicated a weak ferromagnetic coupling interaction (J = 0.48 ± 0.087 cm^?1, g = 2.00, θ = ?0.78 K) for 1 and a weak antiferromagnetic spin-exchange interaction (J₁ = ?0.50 ± 0.075 cm^?1, J₂ = ?0.13 ± 0.082 cm^?1, g = 1.98) between Mn(II) ions for 2. The magnetostructural correlations of the two Mn₄ clusters have been discussed tentatively.