Conductance of Dilute Hydrochloric Acid Solutions to 458 K and 1.4 MPa

Electrical conductance measurements were made on dilute solutions of hydrochloric acid to 458 K and 1.4 MPa with a flow instrument. These measurements agree well with those of previous authors. The conductance theory of Fuoss and Hsia as given by Fernandez-Prini (FHFP), was fit to these measurements. It was found that this theory adequately described the present results with a single parameter, the limiting conductance at infinite dilution Λ°(HCl). Within their estimated accuracy, reported literature results of Λ°(HCl) between 264.15 and 579 K and high pressures were found to be represented by a five-parameter equation that was a function of the solvent viscosity, temperature and pressure. This equation along with the FHFP theory permits accurate calculation of the conductance of dilute hydrochloric acid solutions at high temperatures and pressures. Electronic Supplementary Material  The online version of this article () contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Precise Conductance Measurements on Dilute Aqueous Solutions of Sodium and Potassium Hydrogenphosphate and Dihydrogenphosphate

Precise conductance measurements are reported on dilute aqueous solutions of the sodium and potassium salts of orthophosphoric acid at 25 ^∘C. Conductance measurements on solutions of electrolytes such as these phosphate salts that exist in solution as complicated mixtures of ions have previously proved difficult to interpret. To overcome this, a mathematical method has been developed to calculate the concentrations of all the species in the aqueous system M₃PO₄/M₂HPO₄/M₂HPO₄/H₃PO₄ (M = Na or K) over a continuous range of stoichiometries. The Lee–Wheaton conductance equation has been used to interpret the conductance of these multicomponent solutions in terms of the limiting ionic conductances and concentrations of all the ions in the solution. The limiting molar conductances of the ions H₂PO₄ ⁻ and HPO₄ ²⁻ and the ion-pair formation constants of these ions with sodium and potassium ions were determine This work has enabled the accurate determination of solution parameters for the important hydrogenphosphate ions in water and provides an excellent example of the use of an advanced conductance theory in the analysis of the conductance of multicomponent electrolyte systems.     

Conductance behaviour of HCl in water-ethylene glycol, water-diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol-diethylene glycol mixtures

The conductance behaviour of HCl in water-ethylene glycol, water-diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol-diethylene glycol mixtures was investigated in the complete range of solvent compositions of 25°C by applying the three-parameter conductance equation. No appreciable association of the acid was observed in any of the mixed solvents. The large decrease ofΛ ₀ andΛ ₀ η ₀ of the acid in the early and end composition region of the mixed solvents has been attributed to the drastic structural changes brought about by the addition of the organic component in the aqueous solvent mixtures and by the addition of diethylene glycol in the case of ethylene glycol-diethylene glycol mixtures.     

An electroconductivity study on degree of counterion binding or dissociation of a-sulfonatomyristic acid methyl ester micelles in water as a function of temperature

 For a sodium salt of α-sulfonatomyristic acid methyl ester (14SFNa), one of the α-SFMe series surfactants, the differential conductivity (∂κ/∂C) _T , _P vs. square root of concentration (√C) was employed in order to determine not only CMC but also the limiting molar conductance (Λ⁰) and the molar conductance of micellar species (Λ^M). Based on the data of the degree of counterion binding to micelles (β) determined previously at different temperatures ranging 15–50 °C at every 5 °C, the experimental values of the degree of dissociation (ionization) of a micelle (α_EX) were calculated by regarding as α_EX=1−β. The ratio Λ^M/Λ⁰ corresponding to the ratio of slopes below and above CMC in the curve of specific conductivity (κ) vs. concentration (C), which has been often assumed to be the degree of ionization of micelles (α), was compared with the present α_EX. However, the ratio Λ^M/Λ⁰ (=α) was found to have a correlationship with α_EX (=1−β) as α_EX≈0.40×(Λ^M/Λ⁰), or strictly, α_EX=0.40 (Λ^M/Λ⁰)+0.08, indicating that the simple ratio of the slopes below and above CMC in κ vs. C curve is not true for α_EX=1−β. On the other hand, the method proposed by Evans gave a value closer to α_EX compared with the simple ratio. Received: 17 September 1996 Accepted: 8 April 1997     

Structure and Reactivity of the <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">N</Emphasis>-Acetyl-Cysteine Radical Cation and Anion: Does Radical Migration Occur?

The structure and reactivity of the N-acetyl-cysteine radical cation and anion were studied using ion-molecule reactions, infrared multi-photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The radical cation was generated by first nitrosylating the thiol of N-acetyl-cysteine followed by the homolytic cleavage of the S–NO bond in the gas phase. IRMPD spectroscopy coupled with DFT calculations revealed that for the radical cation the radical migrates from its initial position on the sulfur atom to the α-carbon position, which is 2.5 kJ mol^–1 lower in energy. The radical migration was confirmed by time-resolved ion-molecule reactions. These results are in contrast with our previous study on cysteine methyl ester radical cation (Osburn et al., Chem. Eur. J. 2011 , 17, 873–879) and the study by Sinha et al. for cysteine radical cation (Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2010 , 12, 9794–9800) where the radical was found to stay on the sulfur atom as formed. A similar approach allowed us to form a hydrogen-deficient radical anion of N-acetyl-cysteine, (M – 2H) ^•– . IRMPD studies and ion-molecule reactions performed on the radical anion showed that the radical remains on the sulfur, which is the initial and more stable (by 63.6 kJ mol^–1) position, and does not rearrange.     

Conversion of Parameters Among Variants of Scatchard’s Neutral-Electrolyte Model for Electrolyte Mixtures that Have Different Numbers of Mixing Terms

Various model equations are available for representing the excess Gibbs energy properties (osmotic and activity coefficients) of aqueous and other liquid mixed-electrolyte solutions. Scatchard’s neutral-electrolyte model is among the simplest of these equations for ternary systems and contains terms that represent both symmetrical and asymmetrical deviations from ideal mixing behavior when two single-electrolyte solutions are mixed in different proportions at constant ionic strengths. The usual form of this model allows from zero to six mixing parameters. In this report we present an analytical method for transforming the mixing parameters of neutral-electrolyte-type models with larger numbers of mixing parameters directly to those of models with fewer mixing parameters, without recourse to the source data used for evaluation of the original model parameters. The equations for this parameter conversion are based on an extension to ternary systems of the methodology of Rard and Wijesinghe (J. Chem. Thermodyn. 35:439–473, 2003) and Wijesinghe and Rard (J. Chem. Thermodyn. 37:1196–1218, 2005) that was applied by them to binary systems. It was found that the use of this approach with a constant ionic-strength cutoff of I≤6.2 mol⋅kg⁻¹ (the NaCl solubility limit) yielded parameters for the NaCl+SrCl₂+H₂O and NaCl+MgCl₂+H₂O systems that predicted osmotic coefficients φ in excellent agreement with those calculated using the same sets of parameters whose values were evaluated directly from the source data by least-squares, with root-mean-square differences of RMSE(φ)=0.00006 to 0.00062 for the first system and RMSE(φ)=0.00014 to 0.00042 for the second. If, however, the directly evaluated parameters were based on experimental data where the ionic strength cutoff varied with the ionic-strength fraction, i.e., because they were constrained by isopiestic ionic strengths (MgCl₂+MgSO₄+H₂O) or solubility/oversaturation ionic strengths (NaCl+SrCl₂+H₂O and NaCl+MgCl₂+H₂O), then parameters converted by this approach assuming a constant ionic-strength cutoff yield RMSE(φ) differences about an order of magnitude larger than the previous case. This indicates that for an accurate conversion of model parameters when the source model is constrained with variable ionic strength cutoffs, an extension of the parameter conversion method described herein will be required. However, when the source model parameters are evaluated at a constant ionic strength cuttoff, such as when source isopiestic data are restricted to ionic strengths at or below the solubility limit of the less soluble component, or are Emf measurements that are commonly made at constant ionic strengths, then our method yields accurate converted models. Electronic Supplementary Material  The online version of this article () contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Mesophilic Digestion Kinetics of Manure Slurry

Anaerobic digestion kinetics study of cow manure was performed at 35°C in bench-scale gas-lift digesters (3.78 l working volume) at eight different volatile solids (VS) loading rates in the range of 1.11–5.87 g l⁻¹ day⁻¹. The digesters produced methane at the rates of 0.44–1.18 l l⁻¹ day⁻¹, and the methane content of the biogas was found to increase with longer hydraulic retention time (HRT). Based on the experimental observations, the ultimate methane yield and the specific methane productivity were estimated to be 0.42 l CH₄ (g VS loaded)^–1 and 0.45 l CH₄ (g VS consumed)^–1, respectively. Total and dissolved chemical oxygen demand (COD) consumptions were calculated to be 59–17% and 78–43% at 24.4–4.6 days HRTs, respectively. Maximum concentration of volatile fatty acids in the effluent was observed as 0.7 g l^–1 at 4.6 days HRT, while it was below detection limit at HRTs longer than 11 days. The observed methane production rate did not compare well with the predictions of Chen and Hashimoto’s [1] and Hill’s [2] models using their recommended kinetic parameters. However, under the studied experimental conditions, the predictions of Chen and Hashimoto’s [1] model compared better to the observed data than that of Hill’s [2] model. The nonlinear regression analysis of the experimental data was performed using a derived methane production rate model, for a completely mixed anaerobic digester, involving Contois kinetics [3] with endogenous decay. The best fit values for the maximum specific growth rate (μ _m) and dimensionless kinetic parameter (K) were estimated as 0.43 day^–1 and 0.89, respectively. The experimental data were found to be within 95% confidence interval of the prediction of the derived methane production rate model with the sum of residual squared error as 0.02.     

The Physical Properties of Aqueous Solutions of the Ionic Liquid [BMIM][BF4]

We report here the systematic study of the effect of concentration on the physical properties of aqueous solutions of the room-temperature ionic liquid [BMIM][BF₄]. The measurements of density, ρ, refractive index △n, viscosity η, specific conductivity κ and surface tension, γ, were made over the whole concentration range. The equivalent conductance Λ _m was calculated. The observed linear variations of density and refractive index with the molar concentration are established as those of an ideal solution. The surface tension varied most rapidly in the dilute region whereas the viscosity changed much more rapidly in the concentrated region. Two regions with different composition dependences were found after the analyses of the relationship between the conductivity and the concentration of [BMIM][BF₄]. A proposed model for a structural change in the mixtures was described. The physical origin of the observed concentration dependence of these properties is discussed. The physical properties of the solutions vary with changes of association between anions and cations and the interaction between [BMIM][BF₄] and water.     

Synthesis and properties of poly(amide–imide)s containing a N-methylcarbazole group

A new dicarboxylic acid monomer containing the N-methylcarbazole and imide structures, 3,6-bis(trimellitimido)-N-methylcarbazole (I), was prepared from the condensation of 3,6-diamino-N-methylcarbazole (c) and trimellitic anhydride. The diamine c was synthesized in three steps starting from the methylation of carbazole, followed by nitration and catalytic hydrazine reduction. A series of N-methylcarbazole-containing poly(amide–imide)s were synthesized by direct polycondensation from the diimide–diacid I with various aromatic diamines. These poly(amide–imide)s had inherent viscosities of 0.66–1.47 dl/g and were readily soluble in a variety of organic solvents, including N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc). Transparent, flexible, and tough films of these polymers could be cast from DMAc solutions, and these films exhibited excellent mechanical strength. The glass-transition temperatures of these poly(amide–imide)s were in the range 317–362 °C. All the poly (amide–imide) did not degrade noticeably below 480 °C in nitrogen, and the 10% weight loss temperatures and char yields at 800 °C were above 520 °C and 60% in nitrogen, respectively, indicating high thermal stability. Received: 8 February 2000/Accepted: 23 March 2000     

Conductivity Studies of <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-Tetrabutylammonium Tetraphenylborate in 3-Pentanone in the Temperature Range from 283.15 to 329.15 K

The molar conductivities (Λ) of solutions of n-tetrabutylammonium tetraphenylborate (NBu₄BPh₄) in 3-pentanone have been measured in the temperature range from 283.15 to 329.15 K. The conductance data have been analyzed using the Lee-Wheaton conductivity equation with the distance parameter (a) set at Bjerrum’s pairing distance, and the limiting molar conductivities (Λ_o) and the association equilibrium constants (K _A) have been derived. The limiting ion conductivities (λ_±^o) have been evaluated according to the method of Krumgalz. The λ₊ ^o values have been compared with λ₊ ^o values calculated from the empirical equation of Gill. The thermodynamic functions, Gibbs energy (Δ G _A ^o), enthalpy (Δ H _A ^o) and entropy (Δ S _A ^o) for the process of ion-pair formation as well as the activation energy of the ionic movement (ΔH ^∗) have been evaluated. The obtained results are discussed in terms of ion-ion and ion-solvent interactions.     

Syntheses and properties of poly (amide–imide)s based on 5,5′-bis[4-(4-trimellitimidophenoxy)phenyl]-hexahydro-4,7-methanoindan and aromatic diamines

 A novel polymer-forming diimide–diacid, 5,5′-bis[4-(4-trimellitimido phenoxy)phenyl]-hexahydro-4,7-methanoindan (II), was prepared by the condensation reaction of 5,5′-bis[4-(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl]-hexahydro-4,7-methanoindan with trimellitic anhydride. A series of novel aromatic poly(amide–imide)s (PAIs) containing polycyclic cardo groups was prepared by the direct polycondensation of II with various aromatic diamines using phosphorylation techniques. The polymers had inherent viscosities between 0.71 and 0.96 dl/g. The polymers were soluble in polar solvents such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and N,N-dimethylformamide, and could be cast from their DMAc solutions into transparent, flexible, and tough films, except for III _a . These films had yield strengths of 85–114 MPa, tensile strengths of 77–102 MPa, an elongation at break of 8–17%, and initial moduli of 2.0–2.7 GPa. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction revealed that the polymers are amorphous. The glass-transition temperatures of the polymers were in the range 242–312 °C. All the PAIs exhibited no appreciable decomposition below 430 °C, and their 10%-weight-loss temperatures were in the range 484–507 °C in nitrogen and 494–515 °C in air. Received: 26 January 1999 Accepted in revised form: 11 May 1999     

Solubility Measurements of Crystalline Cu<Subscript>2</Subscript>O in Aqueous Solution as a Function of Temperature and pH

The equilibrium solubility of crystalline cuprous oxide, cuprite, was measured in liquid water and steam using two flow-through reactors and a conventional batch autoclave. These measurements were carried out from 20 to 400 °C. Different batches of pretreated cuprite were thoroughly characterized prior to and following each set of experiments. Metallic copper beads were added to the inlet end of the reactors and to the solid charge in the autoclave to preserve the Cu(I) oxidation state, although one series of experiments produced some results which were only compatible with CuO(cr) as the solubility limiting phase. Comparison of the solubility data for Cu₂O(cr) in aqueous solution with those from the only available high-temperature dataset (Var’yash, Geochem. Int. 26:80–90, 1989) showed that in near-neutral solutions the new data are lower by about four orders of magnitude at 350 °C. Moreover, the dominant species in solution at temperatures ≥100 °C were found to be only Cu⁺ and Cu(OH)₂^-\mathrm{Cu(OH)}_{2}^{-} with Cu(OH)⁰ occurring over a narrow pH range at ≤75 °C rather than the reverse trend reported previously. Solubility equations were developed as a function of temperature and pH, based on these new results, which showed increased solubility with temperature in acidic and basic solutions. The solubility of Cu₂O(cr) in steam decreased slightly with temperature and as expected increased with increasing pressure to supercritical conditions where limited, compatible data were available in the literature. The solubility at subcritical conditions was on the order of one to several parts per billion, ppb. A simple empirical fit was derived for the solubility in steam as a function of temperature and pressure.     

Standard molar enthalpies and entropies of vaporization for twolow-melting trichlorophenoxy herbicides

The standard sublimation enthalpies of (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)acetonitrile and (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)aniline were determined by isothermal thermogravimetry using the Langmuir equation and by non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry for comparison. The used procedure was previously tested using three reference compounds: benzoic acid, succinic acid and salicylic acid. The results compared to those reported in literature show an excellent agreement for two of the three compounds while the third agrees quite well. For (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)acetonitrile and (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)aniline, the extrapolation of data at 298.15 K were obtained, respectively: Δ_subH°(298 K)={(106±4) and (101±4)} kJ mol^–1. From Clausius Clapeyron equation obtained after the determination of the vaporization constant α′, the following standard sublimation entropies for (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)acetonitrile and (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)aniline equal to Δ_subS°(298 K)=(251 and 237) J K^–1 mol^–1, respectively, were derived, with an error of ±4 J K^–1 mol^–1 equal for the studied herbicides.     

Enthalpies of reaction of calcium chloride and sodium oxalate in an aqueous NaCl solution

The heats of mixing of dilute aqueous solutions of calcium chloride and sodium oxalate with additions of 1–5 wt % NaCl at 298.15 K and the heats of dilution of calcium chloride solutions were measured. Increasing the sodium chloride content in a solution noticeably increases the time of precipitation of calcium oxalate. A fine precipitate of CaC₂O₄ formed in solutions containing 3 and 5 wt % NaCl is difficult to remove from the parts of a calorimeter cell. The enthalpies of precipitation of CaC₂O₄ depend slightly on the content of the “background electrolyte,” whereas the enthalpies of dilution, owing to ion association, significantly decrease in magnitude and become positive in a 5% NaCl solution. The “standard” enthalpy of precipitation in water, determined by extrapolation of the experimental values to the zero concentration of the background electrolyte, differs noticeably from the enthalpy of precipitation in water.     

Electrical Conductance Studies in Aqueous Solutions with Glutamic Ions

Conductivity measurements in dilute aqueous solutions of L-glutamic acid, DL-glutamic acid, sodium-L-glutamate and magnesium-L-glutamate, were performed in the 288.15 to 323.15 K temperature range. The limiting molar conductivities of glutamic anions, λ ^o(HGlu⁻,T) and the dissociation constants of glutamic acid, K ₂(T) were derived by the use of the Debye–Hückel equation for the activity coefficients and the Onsager, and Quint and Viallard conductivity equations.     

Synthesis and physicochemical study of ZSM-5 high-silica zeolite from natural raw materials

ZSM-5 high-silica zeolite was obtained from metakaolinite, Dzhenranchel’sk volcanic ash, and silica gel at T = 150–220°C, pH 9–13, and τ = 48–240 h with the use of an organic structure-forming additive, butanediol-1,4, in an alkaline solution. Optimum conditions for the synthesis of ZSM-5 zeolite were found (T = 200°C, pH 10, τ = 144 h). The catalytic properties of its H-form in vapor-phase esterification of acetic acid (I) with ethanol (II) were studied at 140–180°C and a I: II molar ratio from 1 to 2. Synthesized HZSM-5 showed high activity and selectivity in this reaction.     

Three-propeller-blade-shaped electride: remarkable alkali-metal-doped effect on the first hyperpolarizability

Significant alkali-metal-doped effects on the structure and the first hyperpolarizability (β ₀) of effective multi-nitrogen complexant tris[(2-imidazolyl)methyl]amine (TIMA) are investigated. Three imidazoles of TIMA like three blades of propeller connect with methyls by the C–C single bonds. Because of the three C–C single-bond cooperative rotations, the TIMA behaves with great flexibility, and it is a high-performance multi-nitrogen complexant for the alkali metal doping. Thus, the new complexes A_m-TIMA (A_m = Li, Na, and K) with electride characteristic have diffuse excess electron than the reported electride-type system due to the strong interaction between the complexant TIMA and alkali metal. For the first hyperpolarizability, three engaging electrides A_m-TIMA with the diffuse excess electrons exhibit considerably large β ₀ values using the MP2 (full) method and the β ₀ values of new electrides are greatly larger (3,464–29,705 times) than that (338 au) of TIMA. Surprisingly, the K-TIMA sets a new record β ₀ value to be 1.00 × 10⁷ au which far exceeds than that (3,694–76,978 au) of the reported electride-type system Li@calix[4]pyrrole (J Am Chem Soc 127:10977–10981, 2005) and Li_n−H−(CF₂−CH₂)₃−H (n = 1, 2) (J Am Chem Soc 129:2967–2970, 2007) and 31,123 au of the organometallic system (J Am Chem Soc 121:4047–4053, 1999) Ru(trans-4,4′-diethylaminostyryl-2,2′-bipyridine)₃²⁺, as well as 1.23 × 10⁶ au of the large donor-CNT systems (Nano Lett 8:2814–2818, 2008). Clearly, the alkali-metal-doped effect on the first hyperpolarizability is very dramatic for the high-performance multi-nitrogen complexant TIMA. Considering simple possibility from molecule to material, the β ₀ values of optimized Li-TIMA-dimer and Li-TIMA-tetramer are investigated by BHandHLYP method. Interestingly, results show that the order of β ₀ value is Li-TIMA-monomer < Li-TIMA-dimer < Li-TIMA-tetramer. So the new three-propeller-blade-shaped electrides can be considered as candidates for high-performance nonlinear optical materials.     

Production and Characterization of Polyclonal and Monoclonal Abs Against the RNA-Binding Protein QKI

RNA-binding protein QKI, a member of the Signal Transduction and Activation of RNA family, is found to be essential in the blood vessel development and postnatal myelination in central nervous system (Woo et al., Oncogene 28:1176–1186, 2009; Lu et al., Nucleic Acids Res 31(15):4616–4624, 2003; Bohnsack et al., Genesis 44(2):93–104, 2006). However, its wide expression pattern suggests other fundamental roles in vivo (Kondo et al., Mamm Genome 10(7):662–669, 1999). To facilitate the understanding of QKI function in various systems, we prepared the polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies against QKI. To obtain the antigen, recombinant His-tagged QKI was expressed in Escherichia coli and highly purified by Ni²⁺-chelated column combined with hydrophobic and ion exchange methods. Following three types of immunizations with different adjuvants, including Freund’s, PAGE gel, and nitrocellulose membrane, only the antiserum produced with Freund’s adjuvant is effective for Western blot detection. Several McAb clones are able to recognize both endogenous and over-expressed QKI with high affinity in Western blot and immunofluorescence. The specificity of Ab was validated as weakening, and no specific signals were observed in cells with QKI knocking down. Immunohistochemistry analysis further showed positive staining of QKI in kidney where QKI mRNA was abundantly expressed, ensuring the wide applications of the QKI Abs in the ongoing mechanistic studies.     

The association of sodium cholate in NaCl and urea solutions

The association of sodium cholate, SC in NaCl and urea solutions at 25 °C has been investigated using laser light scattering and conductivity techniques. The light scattering results show that the mean translational diffusion coefficient, ¯D _h decreases as SC and/or NaCl increase and SC forms secondary aggregates in solutions of high ionic strengths.The addition of urea decreases the equivalent conductance, _eq of SC and a further lowering of _eq occurs as urea concentration increases. This effect becomes more pronounced when urea is substituted by an alkyl group and an additional decrease in _eq is found with increasing alkyl chain and/or concentration. The present results provide the evidence that SC associates progressiveley and ureas decrease the hydrophobic interactions between the solvent and SC monomer resulting in less association in solutions.     

Physicochemical characterization of a novel surfactant peptide containing an arginine cation and laurate anion

 A novel surfactant peptide consisting of an arginine cation with laurate anion has been synthesized, purified and characterized. The critical micellar concentration (cmc) of peptide in aqueous solutions has been determined using spectroscopic techniques and is found to increase from 0.06 to 0.11 mM with increasing temperature (15–45 °C). Cmc is also determined in the presence of salts like NaCl, KCl and sodium acetate and it is found that these electrolytes hinder aggregation with a significant increase in the case of sodium acetate. The aggregation number of the surfactant peptide has been determined using fluorescence quenching measurements and is observed to decrease from 14 to 6 with increasing temperature (15–45 °C). The standard free energy change (ΔG ⁰ _m) and standard enthalpy change (ΔH ⁰ _m) of the peptide aggregate are found to be negative with a small positive value for standard entropy change (ΔS ⁰ _m). The peptide aggregate seems to undergo phase transition above 50 °C as observed from UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. From pyrene binding studies, it is shown that the interior dielectric constant increases from 5.08 at 34 °C to 8.77 at 50 °C and further decreases with increase in temperature indicating a phase change at 50 °C. Also, the ratio of excimer intensity to monomer intensity, which is a measure of microviscosity of the aggregate, decreases with increase in temperature with a change at 50 °C indicating a phase change. Received: 14 February 1997 Accepted: 13 August 1997