Production of HO2 and O2 by multiple ionization in water radiolysis by swift carbon ions

We present a simulation of liquid water radiolysis by swift carbon ions that explicitly takes into account multiple ionization of water molecules. For high linear energy transfer (LET), this process is not negligible with respect to single ionization. The rearrangement of highly ionized water molecules is consistent with production of atomic oxygen. Multiple ionizations is shown to be responsible for creation of a large amount of radicals and O₂ molecules. The simulated yield reproduces very well direct optical measurements for swift ions with comparable LET. Our simulation for is in also agreement with experiment.     

Pulse radiolysis of 9-anthrylmethylammonium cation in aqueous solution

The reaction of hydrated electron with 9-anthrylmethylammonium cation to form the respective anthracene radical anion in aqueous solution has been studied by the method of pulse radiolysis. The rate constant of the reaction of with is reported. It is demonstrated that the anthracene radical anion is unstable and undergoes further reactions. The spectra of transient intermediates, leading to the final reduction products, are presented.     

Computational study on the kinetics of the reaction between Ca and urea

A computational study, in the framework of statistical kinetic theories, of the reaction of Ca²⁺ with urea has been carried out. The kinetically preferred products are NH₃ + [CaOCNH]²⁺, which are the fifth products in order of stability. The second kinetically preferred products are , followed by [CaNH₃]²⁺+HNCO, whereas the most stable ones, and , appear only in residual quantities. These estimates are in agreement with the experimental evidence and provide a suitable mechanism to understand the competition between Coulomb explosion and neutral loss processes.     

Structural characteristics of formic acid dodecamers,

Exploratory ab initio and density functional theory calculations are used to locate low-energy minima on the potential energy surface of the formic acid dodecamer (HCOOH)₁₂. The lowest-energy structures are folded rings, some with a crown-like structure, stabilized by π–π interactions. There are many more C–HO interactions than in smaller oligomers. Unlike in tetramers and pentamers, ring structures with one or more monomers in the E (cis) conformation are not significant for dodecamers.     

Gas-phase reactivities of charged platinum dimers with ammonia: A combined experimental/theoretical study

Computational and experimental studies of with ammonia are reported. While ammonia is dehydrogenated with either cluster type, the reaction efficiencies are quite different with  = 0.27 for [K. Koszinowski, D. Schröder, H. Schwarz, J. Phys. Chem. A 107 (2003) 4999.] and  = 0.0033 for . DFT-based relativistic calculations are consistent with this distinct behavior, with maximum energies along the reaction path of −13.3 kcal/mol for the cationic and +1.4 kcal/mol for the anionic clusters relative to the reactants. The recently proposed mechanism for the system [D. Xu. X.-Y. Chen, S.-G. Wang, Int, J. Quant. Chem. 107 (2007) 1985.] needs to be modified to account for the experimental findings.     

The temperature dependence of the kinetic isotope effect in the reaction of F atoms with CH4 and CD4

The kinetic isotope effect k_F+CH4/k_F+CD4 has been determined by reacting F atoms with mixtures of CH₄ and CD₄, using a discharge-flow-mass spectrometric technique. Experiments were carried out at four temperatures in the temperature range 183–298 K. The Arrhenius expression corresponding to the results is k_F+CH4/k_F+CD4=(0.99±0.02)×exp[(100±5)/T]. The present results are compared with previous published experimental and theoretical results.     

Linking the loading dependence of the Maxwell–Stefan diffusivity of linear alkanes in zeolites with the thermodynamic correction factor

Molecular dynamics simulations have been carried out to determine the Maxwell–Stefan diffusivity Đ of C1–C4 linear alkanes for a range of molecular loadings, q, in AFI, MOR, MTW, and MFI zeolites. Configurational-Bias Monte Carlo simulations were used to determine the thermodynamic correction factor, Γ ≡ ∂ ln f/∂ ln q. For diffusion in the large 1D pores of AFI, Đ is proportional to 1/Γ. In other zeolite topologies with smaller pore sizes, though such a direct proportionality is not observed, the Đ–q dependence appears to be closely linked to the 1/Γ–q characteristics, especially when the latter exhibits strong inflection.     

The limiting partial molar volume and apparent molar volume of glycylglycine in aqueous KCl solution at 298.15 and 308.15 K

Apparent molar volumes V_Φ of glycylglycine in aqueous KCl solutions have been obtained from densities at 298.15 and 308.15 K measured with a vibrating-tube densimeter. These data have been used to deduce partial molar volumes of transfer from water to different KCl–water mixtures. values are positive. This result arises from the interaction of KCl with the charged centers of glycylglycine. The results show that depends less on temperature. Hydration numbers are calculated from data and are interpreted in terms of various interactions.     

Rare gas–iodine complexes in the ion-pair states

Luminescence and luminescence excitation spectra in the vicinity of the optical–optical double resonance transitions to the I₂(, v_f = 8 and 9, J_f ≈ 55) levels have been measured at the bulb conditions for the I₂ + Rg mixtures (Rg = He, Ar, Xe) at the rare gas pressures 2–20 Torr and room temperature. Luminescence attributed to the RgI₂ complexes in the ion-pair states has been observed for the first time. It is argued that the complexes can be formed by direct optical excitation from the complexes or colliding pairs. Besides, the RgI₂ complexes in the ion-pair states can be formed in nonadiabatic internal conversion processes from the one. The complexes have rather long lifetime, especially in the case of Xe, and decay radiatively and nonradiatively forming I₂ molecules in different ion-pair states.     

To what extent are thermodynamic properties of water argon-like?

A new view on the role of H-bonds in water, arising from the principle of corresponding states and Hilbert’s principle is presented. It is shown that the relative values of the H-bond contributions to the fraction volume and the heat of evaporation per molecule do not exceed 5%, although H-bonds are responsible for the non-monotone behavior of the fraction volume. It is established that the average number of H-bonds per molecule everywhere on the vapor–liquid coexistence curve is given by the formula n_H(T) ≈ 4(1 − 0.83t), where and is the critical temperature of water.     

Electrochemical genosensing properties of gold nanoparticle–carbon nanotube hybrid

We have investigated the electrochemical genosensing properties of gold nanoparticle–carbon nanotube hybrid. Thiolated oligonucleotide probes and mercaptohexanol were self-assembled onto the Au–CNT hybrid. The hybridization events of target oligonucleotides are monitored using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and a.c. voltammetry techniques. A redox-active mediator is used to detect the oxidation of guanine residues. The as-fabricated genosensor is able to differentiate between complementary and mismatched hybridizations, relying on the oxidation current of the guanine residues mediated via .     

The 1B1, 1B2, 1A1, 1A2, 3A′(2B2), and 2A1 states of the 1,1-difluoromethane ion studied using multiconfiguration second-order perturbation theory

The 1²B₁(X²B₁), 1²B₂, 1²A₁, 1²A₂, 2²B₂, and 2²A₁ states of the ion were studied using CASPT2 and CASSCF methods. Calculations suggest that one should consider the 3²A′ state instead of 2²B₂. The CASPT2 T₀ calculations predict the energy ordering of 1²B₁(X²B₁), 1²B₂, 1²A₁, 1²A₂, 3²A′, and 2²A₁, which is in line with the experimental results by Pradeep and Shirley. The CASPT2 T₀ values for the 1²B₂, 1²A₂, 3²A′, and 2²A₁ states are close to the experimental values. The F-loss and H-loss dissociation processes were studied at the CASPT2//CASSCF level. The energy levels of low-lying states of are compared.     

Iron complexes of terdentate nitrogen ligands: formation and X-ray structure of three new dicationic complexes

Dicationic iron complexes were obtained upon complexation of the ligands 6,6″-di(p-tolyl)-2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine (L¹) or 2,6-bis-(3-mesitylpyrazol-1-yl)pyridine (L²) with iron dichloride or iron trichloride. They were characterized by X-ray diffraction and FT-IR spectroscopy. Single crystal structure determinations of , and all show six-coordinate metal center. These complexes were obtained from L¹FeCl₂ and L²FeCl₂ during recrystallization attempts. (L¹)₂Fe²⁺ was shown to be a high-spin complex, whereas (L²)₂Fe²⁺ was shown to be low-spin. For , two independent dications of very similar geometry but with distinctive distortion were observed by X-ray analysis.     

Laser pulse control of exciton dynamics in the FMO complex: Polarization shaping versus effects of structural and energetic disorder

Femtosecond laser pulse control of exciton dynamics in biological chromophore complexes is studied theoretically using the optimal control theory specified to open quantum systems. Based on the laser pulse induced formation of an excitonic wave packet the possibility to localize excitation energy at a certain chromophore within a photosynthetic antenna system (FMO complex of green bacteria) is investigated both for linearly polarized and polarization shaped pulses. Results are presented for an ensemble of N energetically disordered and randomly oriented FMO complexes. Here, the optimized control pulse represents a compromise with respect to the solution of the control task for any individual complex of the ensemble. For the case of an ensemble with N=10 members the polarization shaped control pulse leads to a higher control yield compared with a linearly polarized pulse. This difference becomes considerably smaller for an ensemble with N=120 members. The respective optimized pulses are used to drive excitation energy in a different ensemble with MN complexes to simulate the usual experimental condition in solution. For the case with N=120, the relative control yield coincides with the resulting control yield “in solution”, giving a slightly higher control yield for polarization shaped pulses.     

Theoretical study of the reactivity of 4d transition metal ions with N2O

The reactions of 4d transition metal ions (except Tc and Cd) with N₂O on two potential energy surfaces, producing the metal oxide ion and N₂, are studied by means of density functional theory. The results indicate that the lowest energy path corresponds to the coordination of N₂O followed by the insertion of M⁺ into the N–O bond. The reaction mechanism between 4d transition metal ions and N₂O is an insertion–elimination mechanism. All products are formed in exothermic processes. The potential energy curve crossings, which dramatically affect reaction mechanisms, are discussed in detail.     

A simple method for predicting the frequency of the infrared inactive carbonyl stretching mode in LM(CO)5 molecules with C4V symmetry

The paper presents a new method for predicting the frequency of the b₁ mode, which is infrared-inactive, in complexes of the type LM(CO)₅ belonging to C_4V point group. The method was based on the relation λ₃=λ₄+[(1−δ/δ)](λ₁−λ₂), where δ=(λ₁−λ₂)/(λ₁−λ₂+λ₃−λ₄), λ₁, λ₂, λ₃ and λ₄ are the λ parameters of the , , b₁ and e modes, respectively. For a large numbers of complexes of the type LM(CO)₅ the average value of δ was found to be 0.80, with a standard deviation of 0.02. With the use of average value of δ, the frequencies of b₁ mode were estimated. The result obtained indicated that there exists a rather good fit between observed and calculated frequencies, with a mean error of 2.7 cm⁻¹. In addition, it was shown that the δ parameter can be used as a criterion of the correct band assignment for the complexes understudy.     

Excess molar enthalpies for binary mixtures of trimethyl phosphate with alkanols {CH3(CH2)nOH, n = 0–3} at 298.15 K

The excess molar enthalpies () for the binary mixtures of trimethyl phosphate (TMP) with alkanols {CH₃(CH₂)_nOH, n = 0–3} have been measured with an isothermal calorimeter at 298.15 K and atmospheric pressure. The values are positive for all the mixtures over the whole composition range. The values increase in the order methanol < ethanol < 1-propanol < 1-butanol. The experimental results have been correlated with the Redlich–Kister equation.     

Long-term prediction of compressive creep development in expanded polystyrene

The results obtained in investigating the creep of expanded polystyrene (EPS) boards under compressive stress are presented. Power and exponential equations were used for describing creep compliance. It was found that the curves of creep compliance approximated by both equations adequately represent the research results, taking into account the scatter of the experimental data. Based on the calculation and empirical estimate of long-term creep of EPS under compressive stress σ_c=(0.25–0.45)σ_10%, its creep compliance was determined for a period of 10 years in the future. The dependence of on the density of polystyrene boards and the value of long-term compressive stress σ_c was established. The expected values of creep strain development in expanded polystyrene boards EPS 80–EPS 250 under constant compressive stress σ_c=(0.25–0.45)σ_10% are presented for the prediction period of 10 years. To obtain the expected creep values for any other period of time in the interval of 5T50 years, the values of should be multiplied by the empirical coefficient .     

Theoretical studies on fluorescence of phenol and 1-naphthol in both acid and alkali solutions

The molecular structures of the ground state and the first singlet excited state for , C₆H₅OH, C₆H₅O⁻, , C₁₀H₇OH and C₁₀H₇O⁻, the forms of phenol and 1-naphthol in acid and alkali solutions, were optimized by ab initio HF and configuration interaction with singlet excitations (CIS) method, respectively. Their fluorescent spectra were obtained by the time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) using the B3LYP method with the 6-31+G (d) basis set. The frontier molecular orbital characteristics, fluorescent spectrum and proton affinities had been analyzed systematically in order to study different fluorescence of phenol and 1-naphthol in acid and alkali solutions. It was found that C₆H₅OH and are the main forms of phenol in acid solution, but C₆H₅O⁻ in alkali solution; C₁₀H₇OH and C₁₀H₇O⁻ are the main forms of 1-naphthol in alkali solution, but in acid solution. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Ionization of carbon disulfide/ozone mixtures in atmospheric gases

An ionic route to the CS₂ degradation was studied by mass spectrometric and theoretical methods. Ionized mixtures containing carbon disulfide and ozone prove an effective source of ions, formed by remarkable molecular reorganization and open to further reactions with ozone and surrounding species. Both the O-transfer and dissociative oxidation processes, typical of the O₃ reactivity in ionized mixtures, were observed.