Molecular fine structure and transition dipole moment of NO2 using an external cavity quantum cascade laser

Rotational vibrational fine structure and transition dipole moment of NO₂ is measured using Doppler free saturation spectroscopy with an external grating cavity quantum cascade laser (QCL). The QCL wavelength is calibrated using a 310 cm long internally coupled Fabry–Perot interferometer. We obtain a frequency splitting of 139.68 ± 0.06 MHz (0.0047 cm⁻¹) between the spin doublets (17) of 000 → 001 transition of NO₂. The resolution of the QCL based saturation spectrometer is limited by the QCL linewidth of 3.99 MHz ( 0.00013 cm⁻¹) deduced from the half width of the Lamb dips. The Lamb dip spectroscopy is utilized to obtain a vibrational dipole moment of 0.37 Debye for the (17) transitions.     

Simultaneous determination of chloride, nitrate and sulphate in vegetable samples by single-column ion chromatography

A new ion chromatography method is described for the simultaneous determination of Cl⁻, NO₃⁻ and SO₄²⁻, using a selected eluent 1.3-mM sodium gluconate/1.3-mM borax (pH 8.5). The extraction methods of Cl⁻, NO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻ in vegetables are studied. The determination limits of Cl⁻, NO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻ are 0.17 μg/ml, 0.63 μg/ml and 0.81 μg/ml. The linear ranges are 060 μg/ml, 090 μg/ml and 090 μg/ml. The relative S.D. are <2.5%. The mean recoveries of Cl⁻, NO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻ in vegetables range from 97.0 to 104%.     

Isoconversional kinetics of degradation of polyvinylpyrrolidone used as a matrix for ammonium nitrate stabilization

Thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) has been applied to measure the kinetics of the thermal degradation of virgin polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and a phase stabilized PVP–ammonium nitrate (AN) material. The PVP–AN samples have been prepared by using 20 wt.% of AN and PVP of three different molecular weights. Virgin PVP undergoes a major mass loss in the region 380–550 °C leaving a small amount of nonvolatile residue. The application of an advanced isoconversional method to the respective degradation process demonstrates that its effective activation energy increases from 70 kJ mol⁻¹ to a plateau value at 250–300 kJ mol⁻¹, which is independent of the molecular weight. The PVP–AN materials lose spontaneously 20% of their mass on heating above the glass transition temperature of the PVP matrix (160–180 °C). After the escape of AN, the remaining PVP matrix degrades in the same temperature region as virgin PVP, however, the effective activation energy of this degradation is 150–200 kJ mol⁻¹.     

Electrochemical properties of polyaniline in p-toluene sulfonic acid solution

Polyaniline was deposited potentiodynamically on a stainless steel substrate in the presence of an inorganic acids (sulfuric acid). The electrochemical characterization of the electrode was carried out by means of cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in the organic acids (p-toluene sulfonic acid) solution. The results show that polyaniline has a high specific capacitance of 431.8 F g⁻¹ at 1 mV s⁻¹, high coulombic efficiency of 95.6% at 20 mV s⁻¹, and exhibits a high reversibility. This indicates the promising feasibility of the polyaniline used as an electrochemical capacitor material in the electrolyte of p-toluene sulfonic acid solution especially at high charge–discharge process.     

Vibrational satellite of Na(3d ← 3s) dipole-forbidden transition in Na/CF4 mixture

Excitation spectra of Na fluorescence in mixtures with CF₄ display a new band shifted by the energy of one-vibrational quantum of the IR active ν₃-mode of CF₄ (1281 cm⁻¹) from Na 3d states. This band is attributed to a Na(3s)CF₄(ν₃ = 0) → Na(3d)CF₄(ν₃ = 1) transition and its intensity is explained by coupling with Na(4p)CF₄(v₃ = 0) resonance state which lies  180 cm⁻¹ below in energy. An analogous satellite of the Na 6p state combined with the same vibration and lying close to the Na 7p state is reported and discussed.     

Ultrafast dynamics of heat flow across molecules

An ultrafast flash thermal conductance apparatus is used to study heat flow through aliphatic and aromatic molecules arranged in self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). The apparatus consists of a thin metal film which can be flash-heated by many hundreds of degrees in 1 ps using a femtosecond pulse. Heat flow from the metal surface into the SAM molecules is detected using vibrational sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy. The SAMs studied were alkanethiolates (AT) ranging from C6 to C24, benzenethiolate (BT) and benzylmercaptide (BMT). SFG in the CH-stretch region selectively probes transitions of the terminal methyl groups of AT and the CH moiety at the 4-position of the phenyl ring of BT and BMT (opposite the thiolate-surface bond). The SFG signal is sensitive to temperature-jump induced thermal disorder of the SAM and also to vibrational frequency shifts induced by the changing intramolecular vibrational populations. The SFG probe functions as a thermometer, and this thermometer is 1.5 Å thick with a response time of 1 ps. In the AT chains, a study of the length dependence is used to determine the rate heat flows across the metal–SAM interface and the rate of heat flow through the AT chains. The interface thermal conductance is 220 GW m⁻² s⁻¹. The AT molecular conductance is 50 pW K⁻¹ or 0.3 eV s⁻¹ K⁻¹. Heat flow through the AT chains is ballistic with a velocity of 1 km/s. Heat flow into BMT is slower than in BT because BMT has one additional methylene linker group. The BT and BMT structures evidence a thermally-initiated surface rearrangement occurring in a few tens of picoseconds. These SAMs are strained and the phenyl rings cannot adopt the most stable staggered herringbone structure. After the T-jump, the SAM molecules have enough freedom to relax into more favorable configurations.     

Interaction and photodynamic activity of cationic porphyrin derivatives bearing different patterns of charge distribution with GMP and DNA

The interaction of amphiphilic cationic porphyrins, containing different patterns of meso-substitution by 4-(3-N,N,N-trimethylammoniumpropoxy)phenyl (A) and 4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl (B) groups, with guanosine 5′-monophosphate (GMP) and calf thymus DNA have been studied by optical methods in phosphate buffer solution. The properties of these synthetic porphyrins were compared with those of representative standard of anionic 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-sulphonatophenyl)porphyrin (TPPS₄⁴⁻) and cationic 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-N,N,N-trimethylammonium phenyl)porphyrin (TMAP⁴⁺). Stable complexes with GMP were found for cationic porphyrins, except for monocationic AB₃⁺. The binding constant (K_GMP  10⁴ M⁻¹) follows the order: A₃B³⁺  ABAB²⁺ > A₄⁴⁺  TMAP⁴⁺. Also, interaction with DNA was observed for all evaluated cationic porphyrins. For these related cationic porphyrins, the binding constant (K_DNA  10⁵ M⁻¹) increases with the number of cationic charges. On the other hand, the photodynamic activity of porphyrins was analyzed in solution of GMP and DNA. Monocationic AB₃⁺ is a less effective sensitizer to oxidize GMP in comparison with the other cationic porphyrins, in agreement with the lack of detected interaction with this nucleotide. The electrophoretic analysis of DNA indicates that photocleavage takes place when the samples are exposed to photoexcited tricationic and tetracationic porphyrins. In the presence of sodium azide the DNA decomposition was diminished. Also, reduction in the DNA photocleavage was observed under anoxic condition, indicating that oxygen is essential for DNA photocleavage sensitized by these cationic porphyrins. In addition, an increase in DNA degradation was not observed in deuteriated water. Therefore, an important contribution of type I photoreaction processes could be occurring in the DNA photodamage sensitized by these cationic porphyrins. These results provide a better understanding of the characteristics needed for sensitizers to produce efficient DNA photocleavage.     

Photodegradation of poly(neopentyl isophthalate) part I: Laboratory and outdoor conditions

In this paper the mechanisms of photodegradation of poly(neopentyl isophthalate) (PNI) in laboratory (Suntest XXL+, λ > 300 nm) and outdoor conditions are compared. Changes in the chemical composition were studied with ATR-FTIR, SEC and MALDI-ToF MS. Furthermore, the results were compared with data presented in our previous paper on PNI coatings that were aged in the UVACUBE (λ > 254 nm). Two main aspects of photodegradation of PNI are addressed in the present paper: the influence of different wavelengths and the comparison of laboratory and outdoor exposure regarding the mechanism of degradation. Under short (λ > 254 nm) and long (λ > 300 nm) wavelength irradiation similar products of degradation are formed. However, the presence of short wavelength radiation dramatically accelerates the overall rate of photodegradation of PNI. UV light absorption calculations confirm this experimentally found acceleration. Exposure of PNI in laboratory and outdoor conditions, both with wavelengths λ > 300 nm resulted in similar degradation products in the initial stage of ageing.     

Magnetic field effect on chemical compositions of spherical Fe/Co fine particles synthesized from a gaseous mixture of iron pentacarbonyl and cobalt tricarbonyl nitrosyl

Under UV light irradiation on a gaseous mixture of Fe(CO)₅ and Co(CO)₃NO, both the crystalline deposits with sizes of 5 and 18 μm and the spherical particles with a mean diameter of 0.3 μm were produced. From FT-IR spectra and SEM–EDS analysis, it was suggested that the chemical structure of the crystalline deposits was the one of Fe₂(CO)₉ being modified by involving Fe(CO)Co bond. By decreasing a partial pressure of Fe(CO)₅ to 0.5 Torr in the gaseous mixture, only the spherical aerosol particles could be produced. Chemical composition of the particles was rich in Co species. From the disappearance of bridging CO band in the FT-IR spectra of the particles and the appearance of CO bands coordinated to a metal atom, Fe atom in Fe(CO)₄ was suggested to be coordinated by the O atom in bridging CO bond in Co(CO)Co structure and/or in α-diketone structure which was formed from two CO groups in dicobalt species. Chemical compositions of the crystalline deposits and the spherical particles were influenced differently by the application of a magnetic field. Atomic ratio of Fe to Co atom decreased in the crystalline deposits whereas it increased in the spherical particles with increasing magnetic field up to 5 T. Linearly aggregated particles (i.e., particle wires) as long as 30 μm were produced on the front side of a glass plate placed at the bottom of the irradiation cell.     

Negatively charged micelles directed synthesis of snow-ball flower like superparamagnetic Ni nanoparticles and investigation of their properties

Snow-ball flower like Ni nanoparticles have been synthesized using negatively charged micelles. Negatively charged micelles incorporate the Ni⁺² onto its head group by electrostatic attraction and again a surfactant layer is arranged on positively charged Ni and thus in a repetitive way layer-by-layer a snow-ball flower like structure is formed. After reduction of Ni⁺² to Ni atom by sodium borohydride and hydrated hydrazine the Ni clusters (3 nm) are formed and confined in micelles in snow-ball flower like pattern. The sizes of these nanoflowers are of 30 nm order. The particles are superparamagnetic in nature with blocking temperature about 117 K.     

Solvent effect on the blue shifted weakly H-bound F3 CH…FCD3 complex

Solvent effect on the ν^c frequency of CH stretching vibration of the blue shifted F₃CH…FCD₃ complex has been studied in liquefied N₂, CO, Ar, Kr and Xe. In the case of Xe, the spectroscopic measurements have also been extended to the solid state. It was found that the ν^c position of the complex in the solutions studied lowers with respect to the value in the gas phase. In liquid Xe, characterized by the largest permittivity, this effect reaches its maximum value of −14.5 cm⁻¹. The ν^c frequency begins to grow again just below the freezing point of Xe, where a noticeable (15%) increase of the density of Xe occurs. The experimental results obtained for the liquid phase have been analyzed in the framework of the Onsager-like reaction field model and Polarizable Continuum Model (PCM) implemented into a standard Gaussian 98 Program.     

Gas-phase reactions of halogenated radical carbene anions with sulfur and oxygen containing species

The reactivities of mono- and dihalocarbene anions (CHCl⁻, CHBr⁻, CF₂⁻, CCl₂⁻, and CBrCl⁻) were studied using a tandem flowing afterglow-selected ion flow tube instrument. Reaction rate constants and product branching ratios are reported for the reactions of these carbene anions with six neutral reagents (CS₂, COS, CO₂, O₂, CO, and N₂O). These anions were found to demonstrate diverse chemistry as illustrated by formation of multiple product ions and by the observed reaction trends. The reactions of CHCl⁻ and CHBr⁻ occur with similar efficiencies and reactivity patterns. Substitution of a Cl atom for an H atom to form CCl₂⁻ and CBrCl⁻ decreases the rate constants; these two anions react with similar efficiencies and reactivity trends. The CF₂⁻ anion displays remarkably different reactivity; these differences are discussed in terms of its lower electron binding energy and the effect of the electronegative fluorine substituents. The results presented here are compared to the reactivity of the CH₂⁻ anion, which has previously been reported.     

Effects of carbon dioxide in breath gas on proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) measurements

PTR-MS is becoming a common method for the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in human breath. Breath gas contains substantial and, particularly for bag samples, highly variable concentrations of water vapour (up to 6.3%) and carbon dioxide (up to 6.5%). The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of carbon dioxide on PTR-MS measurements; such effects can be expected in view of the already well known effects of water vapour. Carbon dioxide caused an increase of the pressure in the PTR-MS drift tube (1% increase for 5% CO₂), and this effect was used to assess the CO₂ concentration of breath gas samples along the way with the analysis of VOCs. Carbon dioxide enhanced the concentration ratio of protonated water clusters (H₃O⁺H₂O) to protonated water (H₃O⁺) in the drift tube. Using the observed increase, being 60% for 5% CO₂, it is estimated that the mobility of water cluster ions in pure CO₂ is almost 65% lower than in air. Carbon dioxide had a significant effect on the mass spectra of the main breath gas components methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, acetone, and isoprene. Carbon dioxide caused a small increase (<10% for 5% CO₂) of the normalised main signals for the non-fragmenting molecules methanol and acetone. The increase can be much higher for the fragmenting VOCs (ethanol, propanol, and isoprene) and was, for 5% CO₂, up to 60% for ethanol. This effect of CO₂ on fragment patterns is mainly a consequence of the increased abundance of protonated water clusters, which undergo softer reactions with VOCs than the hydronium ions. Breath gas samples stored in Teflon bags lost 80% of CO₂ during 3 days, the decrease of VOC signals, however, is mainly attributed to decreasing VOC concentrations and to the loss of humidity from the bags.     

Efficient hydrogen peroxide generation from organic matter in a bioelectrochemical system

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is an important industrial chemical, but its current production methods are highly energy-intensive. This study presents a novel process for the production of H₂O₂ based on the bioelectrochemical oxidation of wastewater organics at an anode coupled to the cathodic reduction of oxygen to H₂O₂. At an applied voltage of 0.5 V, this system was capable of producing 1.9 ± 0.2 kg H₂O₂/m³/day from acetate at an overall efficiency of 83.1 ± 4.8%. As most of the required energy was derived from the acetate, the system had a low energy requirement of 0.93 kWh/kg H₂O₂.     

Molecular structure and conformation of diethylmethylamine determined by gas electron diffraction and vibrational spectroscopy combined with theoretical calculations

We have investigated the molecular structure and conformation of diethylmethylamine, C(4)H₃C(2)H₂N(1)[CH₃]C(3)H₂C(5)H₃, by gas electron diffraction and vibrational spectroscopy with the aid of theoretical calculations. Diffraction data are consistent with a conformational mixture of 35(14)% tt + 27(14)% g⁺t + 20(17)% g⁻t + 18(23)% g⁺g⁺ where the numbers in parentheses denote three times the standard errors (3σ). Normal-coordinate analysis based on B3LYP/6-311+G^** calculations supports the existence of the four conformers. The dihedral angle ₁(C4C2N1C3) (= −₂(C5C3N1C2)) of the tt conformer was 170(4)° whereas the ₁ and ₂ values of the other conformers were fixed at the B3LYP/6-311++G(2df,p) values: 72.4° and −163.3° for the g⁺t, −66.0° and −158.2° for the g⁻t, and 60.3° and 63.5° for the g⁺g⁺. Average values of the structural parameters (r_g/Å and _α/°) with 3σ are: r(N–C) = 1.462(2), r(C–C) = 1.523(3), r(C–H) = 1.113(2), CNC = 111.6(5), NCC = 114.5(5), NCH/CCH_Me = 110.6(5).     

Effect of small amount of poly(ethylene naphthalate) on isothermal crystallization and spherulitic morphology of poly(trimethylene terephthalate)

The effect of a small amount of poly(ethylene naphthalate) (PEN) in its blends with poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) on isothermal melt-crystallization kinetics and spherulitic morphology of the blends was thoroughly investigated. The maximum PEN content in the blends was 9 wt%. Due to the single composition-dependent glass transition temperature (T_g) that was observed for each blend, these blends appeared to be miscible in the amorphous state. After isothermal crystallization from the melt state, the neat PTT and its blends with PEN exhibited either double or triple melting endotherms. The triple endothermic peaks were observed in both the neat PTT and the blends when being crystallized at crystallization temperatures (T_c) of less than or equal to 195 °C. The equilibrium melting temperature () for the neat PTT was determined based on the linear Hoffman–Weeks extrapolative method to be 248 °C. Such values for the blends were found to decrease with the addition and increasing amount of PEN. Both the neat PTT and the blends were isothermally crystallized over the T_c range of 190–205 °C. At a given T_c, the 97PTT/3PEN blend exhibited a half-time of crystallization (t_0.5) value that was lower, while it exhibited reciprocal half-time (), Avrami rate constant (K_A), and spherulitic growth rate (G) values that were greater, than those of the neat PTT. With further increase in the PEN content, the t_0.5 value increased, while the , K_A, and G values decreased. Analysis of the G values based on the Lauritzen–Hoffman's (LH) secondary nucleation theory showed that the neat PTT and the 91PTT/9PEN blend exhibited a regime II→III transition at 194 °C (467.2 K), while no regime transition was observed for the other two blends. The lateral and the fold surface free energies (σ and σ_e) and the work of chain folding (q) for the neat PTT and the blends were 19.4, 30.2–46.3 erg cm⁻², and 2.4–3.6 kcal mol⁻¹, respectively. Lastly, the effect of both the T_c and the PEN content on morphology and texture of the PTT spherulites was also investigated and the results showed that the texture of the spherulites became coarser with increasing T_c and PEN content.     

Dual electrochemical microsensor for simultaneous measurements of nitric oxide and oxygen: Fabrication and characterization

A planar-type amperometric dual microsensor was developed for the simultaneous measurement of the nitric oxide (NO) and oxygen (O₂) concentrations. The sensor (overall diameter = 500 μm) consisted of a dual working electrode (WE) containing two platinized platinum microdisks (25 μm diameter, WE1, WE2, distance between two disks > 330 μm) and a Ag/AgCl wire reference electrode covered with an expanded poly(tetrafluoroethylene) gas-permeable membrane. The differentiation and concurrent measurements of NO and O₂ were obtained successfully using two sensing WEs with different applied potentials (+0.75 V for WE1 and −0.4 V for WE2). Cross-talk between WE1 and WE2 was eliminated with an optimized internal solution composition. Linear dynamic range, selectivity, sensitivity, detection limit (<5 nM for NO; <500 nM for O₂), and stability (>50 h) were evaluated.     

Steric effect on construction of Cu(II) complexes with pyridine carboxamide ligands

The structures of three new Cu(II) complexes with pyridine carboxamide ligands (Me₂bpb, 6-Me₂-Mebpb, and 6-Me₂-Me₂bpb) have been determined. 6-Methyl-substituted pyridyl bpb ligands produced dimeric compounds with Cu(II) ions, and weak interactions between dimers can make even polymeric compounds, while bpb ligands without 6-methyl substitution produced monomeric Cu(II) complexes. The large distortion effects of 6-methyl-substitution are shown in Cu(II) complexes with 6-methyl-substituted pyridyl bpb ligands. This result suggests that the steric effect of 6-methyl-substitution plays important role for distortion of the structure, and 6-methyl-substitution can also influence to make polymeric compounds with interactions between Cu(II) ions and neighbor carbonyl oxygen atoms. In addition, the voltammetric behaviors of the Cu complexes were examined and classified into two groups, with/without 6-methyl group. The complexes without 6-methyl group show reversible redox waves at −1.6 V, and the complexes with 6-methyl group do irreversible redox ones at −1.3 V, indicating that the presence of the methyl group of 6-position of the complex makes the reduction of the complexes easier.     

Reduced N-methyl-pyridylethynyl porphyrins exhibit strong near-IR absorptions

Porphines bearing two N-methyl-4-pyridylethynyl substituent reversibly undergo two one-electron reductions at room temperature. The anion radicals and di-anions show diminished visible bands (450 nm and 600–700 nm) and intense absorptions in the 800-nm and 1100-nm region, respectively. Some of the near-IR bands have extinction coefficients greater than 1.5 × 10⁵ M⁻¹ cm⁻¹.     

Adsorption of a double-chain surfactant on an oxide

Adsorption of surfactants on solids is affected by the intermolecular packing in the adsorbed layer besides the driving forces. The adsorption behavior of a double-chain surfactant on silica is studied here along with that of the single-chain one. Comparison of adsorption of these two surfactants is warranted since while the single-chain surfactants form spherical micelles, the double-chain ones form bilayered vesicles in solution. While the adsorption of the single-chain surfactant reaches the plateau in a wide concentration range, the adsorption of the double-chain one increases sharply in a concentration range 10⁻⁵ mol/L up to the plateau. The single chain is found to form 1.5 monolayers under saturation coverage suggesting adsorption with reverse orientation at high concentration. In contrast, the adsorption of the double-chain surfactant under saturation coverage is equivalent to a 0.9 monolayer. Fluorescence tests revealed the hydrophobicity change of the surface with increase in adsorption. However, the hydrophobicity tests show the solid surface to be hydrophilic in this range; the double-chain surfactant is proposed to form a partial bilayer.