Theoretical study on the atmospheric formation of sulfur trioxide as the primary agent for acid rain

The reaction mechanism of SO₂ with O₃ on the singlet potential energy surface has been investigated theoretically at the G3MP2B3//B3LYP/6-311+G(3df) level of theory. The reactants are initially associated with adducts IN1(O₂S–OOO) and IN2(OS-cyclic O₄) in a barrier-less process. Subsequently, these adducts undergo isomerization and dissociation processes to produce cis-OSOO + ³O₂, SO₃(C _s ) + ³O₂ and SO₃(D _3h ) + ³O₂ products. The SO₃(D _3h ) + ³O₂ is major product and the cis-OSOO + ³O₂ and SO₃(C _s ) + ³O₂ are minor products. No stable pathway has been found for the formation of trans-OSOO and cyclic-SOOO isomers in the reaction of SO₂ + O₃. For major product, the rate constant of SO₂ + O₃ reaction is 2.30 × 10⁻²³ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹, at room temperature and atmospheric pressure.     

Pseudopotential study of lanthanum and lutetium dimers

Relativistic energy-consistent small-core lanthanide pseudopotentials of the Stuttgart–Bonn variety and extended valence basis sets have been used for the investigation of the dimers La₂ and Lu₂. It was found that the ground states for La₂ and Lu₂ are most likely ¹∑ _g ⁺ (σ _g ²π _u ⁴) and ³∑ _g ⁻ (4f ¹⁴4f ¹⁴σ _g ²σ _u ²π_u ²), respectively. The molecular constants including error bars were derived from multireference configuration interaction as well as coupled-cluster calculations, taking into account corrections for atomic spin–orbit splitting as well as possible basis set superposition errors. The theoretical values for La₂ (R _e=2.70±0.03 ?, D _e=2.31±0.13 eV, ω_e=186±13 cm⁻¹) show good agreement with the experimental binding energy (D _e=2.52±0.22 eV), but the experimental vibrational constant in an Ar matrix (ω_e=236±0.8 cm⁻¹) is significantly higher. For Lu₂ the theoretical values (R _e=3.07±0.03 ?, D _e=1.40±0.12 eV, ω_e=123±1 cm⁻¹) are in overall excellent agreement with experimental data (D _e=1.43±0.34 eV, ω_e=122± 1 cm⁻¹). The electronic structures of La₂ and Lu₂ are compared to those other lanthanide dimers and trends in the series are discussed. Received: 25 March 2002 / Accepted: 2 June 2002 / Published online: 21 August 2002     

Structural and thermodynamic characteristics of ionic associates in vapors over sodium bromide and iodide

Nonempirical methods are used to calculate the geometric parameters, the frequencies of normal vibrations, and thermochemical characteristics of ions existing in saturated vapors over sodium bromide and iodide: Na₂X⁺, NaX₂⁻, Na₃X₂⁺, and Na₂X₃⁻ (X = Br, I). According to the calculations, Na₂X⁺ and NaX₂⁻ triatomic ions have a linear equilibrium configuration of D _∞h symmetry. Pentaatomic ions can exist in the form of three isomers: linear with D _∞h symmetry, planar cyclic with C _2v symmetry, and bipyramidal with D _3h symmetry. At a temperature of ∼1000 K, Na₃X₂⁺ and NaX₃⁻ pentaatomic ions are shown to be present in vapor mainly in the form of linear isomers. The energies and enthalpies of ion molecular reactions with the participation of the above ions are calculated, and the formation enthalpies of the ions are determined, Δ _f H ^o(0 K): 293±2 kJ/mol (Na₂Br⁺), 354±2 kJ/mol (Na₂I⁺), −536±2 kJ/mol (NaBr₂⁻, −458±2 kJ/mol (NaI₂⁻, 24±5 kJ/mol (Na₃Br₂⁺, 143±5 kJ/mol (Na₃I₂⁺, −810±5 kJ/mol (Na₂Br₃⁻, and −675±5 kJ/mol (Na₂I₃⁻.     

Reduction of Cr(VI) Assisted by Sol-Gel Generated Electron-Hole Centers

We report an in-situ harvesting technique of electron-hole (e⁻-h⁺) carriers (e.g., the defect electrons in the O^{2 −} matrix and the self-trapped holes, Si–O⁻–Si) generated during sol-gel processing. In the absence of redox species, the e⁻-h⁺ centers created during room temperature sol-gel polycondensation steps are quickly annihilated and deactivated. However, when Cr(VI) ions are pre-dispersed in sol-gel solutions, the ejected electrons can be effectively harvested for the reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) ions which are encapsulated in the silica gel matrix. The Cr(VI) ions, the possible intermediate oxidation states of chromium ions such as Cr(V) and/or Cr(IV), and the stable Cr(III)-hole complexes in the sol-gel matrix are investigated using uv-visible spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. The chemical stability of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) in sol-gel networks is compared to that in aqueous solutions. The results indicate that the utilization of e⁻-h⁺ carriers generated in the sol-gel can be an effective and selective means for investigating the redox process of Cr(VI) and encapsulating the stable Cr(III) ions in the confined sol-gel environments.     

Spectrum of states in icosahedral structures of the electronic configuration gn (N = 1–7). 1. Invariant expansion for integrals and energies

The energy spectrum of the states that appear in structures of icosahedral (I,I_h symmetry with open electronic shells g^N (dim g = 4; N = 1–7) is reported. The energies are obtained in terms of integral invariants (reduced matrix elements of electron-electron interaction) H^k (g, g). The latter are analogs of the Slater-Condon parameters F^k(l,l) for atoms with the l^N electronic configuration. A similar representation is proposed for the integrals mm’≨’) of electron-electron interaction on the 4-fold degenerate g orbitals in the “standard” representation. The relation between the terms of the g^N(I,I_h) configuration and the parent states of the orthogonal group O⁺(4) is discussed. Translated fromZhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 3–13, January–February, 1997.     

Quasielastic light scattering study of chemically crosslinked gelatin solutions and gels

Quasielastic light scattering measurements are reported for experiments performed on mixtures of gelatin and glutaraldehyde (GA) in the aqueous phase, where the gelatin concentration was fixed at 5 (w/v) and the GA concentration was varied from 1×10⁻⁵ to 1×10⁻³ (w/v). The dynamic structure factor, S(q,t), was deduced from the measured intensity autocorrelation function, g ₂(τ), with appropriate allowance for heterodyning detection in the gel phase. The S(q,t) data could be fitted to S(q,t)=Aexp(−D _f q ² t)+Bexp(−t/τ_c)^β, both in the sol (50 and 60 ^∘C) and gel states (25 and 40 ^∘C). The fast-mode diffusion coefficient, D _f showed almost negligible dependence on the concentration of the crosslinker GA; however, the resultant mesh size, ξ, of the crosslinked network exhibited strong temperature dependence, ξ∼(0.5−χ)^1/5exp(−A/RT) implying shrinkage of the network as the gel phase was approached. The slow-mode relaxation was characterized by the stretched exponential factor exp(−t/τ_c)^β. β was found to be independent of GA concentration but strongly dependent on the temperature as β=β₀+β₁ T+β₂ T ². The slow-mode relaxation time, τ_c, exhibited a maximum GA concentration dependence in the gel phase and at a given temperature we found τ_c(c)=τ₀+τ₁ c+τ₂ c ². Our results agree with the predictions of the Zimm model in the gel case but differ significantly for the sol state. Received: 25 May 1999 /Accepted in revised form: 27 July 1999     

Theoretical study of the structure and stability of the Na2Cl+, NaCl 2? , Na3Cl 2+ , and Na2Cl 3? ions

The geometrical parameters, normal vibration frequencies, and thermochemical characteristics of the Na₂Cl⁺, NaCl ₂ ⁻ , Na₃Cl ₂ ⁺ , and Na₂Cl ₃ ⁻ ions in saturated vapors over sodium chloride were calculated by the ab initio methods including electron correlation. According to calculations, the Na₂Cl⁺ and NaCl ₂ ⁻ triatomic ions have a linear equilibrium D _∞h configuration. The pentaatomic ions can exist in the form of the D _∞h linear isomer, C _2v planar cyclic isomer, or D _3h bipyramidal isomer. At ∼1000 K the Na₃Cl ₂ ⁺ and Na₂Cl ₃ ⁻ ions exist predominantly in the form of the linear isomers. The energies and enthalpies of the ion-molecule reactions involving the above ions were calculated. The formation enthalpy of the ions Δ_f H ⁰(0 K) was determined: 230 ± 2 kJ/mol (Na₂Cl⁺), −96 ± 4 kJ/mol (Na₂Cl ₃ ⁻ ), −616 ± 2 kJ/mol (NaCl ₂ ⁻ ), and −935 ± 4 kJ/mol (Na₂Cl ₃ ⁻ ). Original Russian Text Copyright ? 2007 by T. P. Pogrebnaya, A. M. Pogrebnoi, and L. S. Kudin __________ Translated from Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 48, No. 6, pp. 1053–1061, November–December, 2007.     

Interaction dipole moment in Rg–Xe (Rg = He, Ne, Ar, and Kr) heterodiatoms from conventional ab initio and density functional theory calculations

We have obtained interaction dipole moment curves for the rare gas heterodiatoms Rg...Xe (Rg = He, Ne, Ar, and Kr) from conventional ab initio and density functional theory calculations with flexible Gaussian-type basis sets. All methods seem to reproduce fairly similar dipole moment curves for all pairs. Our best values for the interaction dipole moment (at the respective experimental equilibrium separation R _e) were obtained at the coupled-cluster theory with single, double, and perturbatively linked triple excitations level of theory: μ_int(RgXe)/eα₀ = − 0.0025(He), − 0.0047(Ne), − 0.0055(Ar), and − 0.0037(Kr). The same trend (in absolute terms) is observed at the MP2 level of theory for the derivative of the dipole moment at R _e, as (dμ_int (RgXe)/dR) _e /e = 0.0043 (He), 0.0082 (Ne), 0.0091 (Ar), and 0.0059 (Kr). Around R _e , μ_int(HeXe) ≡ μ_HeXe varies at the MP2 level of theory as [μ_HeXe(R) − μ_HeXe(R _e)]/ea₀ = 0.0043(R − R _e) − 0.0033(R − R _e)² + 0.0018(R − R _e)³ − 0.0005(R − R _e)⁴.     

Effect of Ionic Strength and Temperature on the Protonation of Oxidized Glutathione

The protonation constants for oxidized glutathione, H _i−1L^(4−i+1)−, K _i ^H=[H _i L⁽⁴⁻ⁱ⁾⁻]/[H _i−1L^(4−i+1)−][H⁺] i=1,2,…,6 have been measured at 5, 25 and 45 °C as a function of the ionic strength (0.1 to 5.4 mol⋅[kg(H₂O)]⁻¹) in NaCl solutions. The effect of ionic strength on the measured protonation constants has been used to determine the thermodynamic values (K _i ^H0) and the enthalpy (ΔH _i ) for the dissociation reaction using the SIT model and Pitzer equations. The SIT (ε) and Pitzer parameters (β ⁽⁰⁾, β ⁽¹⁾ and C) for the dissociation products (L⁴⁻, HL³⁻, H₂L²⁻, H₃L⁻, H₄L, H₅L⁺, H₆L²⁺) have been determined as a function of temperature. These results can be used to examine the effect of ionic strength and temperature on glutathione in aqueous solutions with NaCl as the major component (body fluids, seawater and brines).     

Identification of low molecular vaporizable components in silicone resins using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Silicone resins can be used as polymeric precursors in the production of ceramic materials. Cohydrolysis of mixtures of trimethylchlorosilane, methyldichlorosilane, vinylmethyldichlorosilane and phenyltrichlorosilane leads to the formation of especially suitable polysiloxanes, but also low-molar mass siloxanes are formed as undesired by-products. The structures of these by-products have been elucidated. Vaporizable components of the matrix have been isolated by distillation, separated using gas chromatography and identified by mass spectrometry in EI (electron impact ionization) and CI (chemical ionization with isobutane) mode. The EI mass spectra of the siloxane oligomers with different numbers of Si-H, Si-phenyl and Si-vinyl groups show characteristic fragments like Me₃Si⁺, ViMe₂Si⁺, Vi₂MeSi⁺, PhMe₂Si⁺, and Ph₂MeSi⁺, which give a first indication to the structure, but generally do not show molecular peaks. A reliable determination of the molar mass has been possible considering the CI-ions and CI-fragments [M+1]⁺, [M−1]⁺, [M−27]⁺ and [M−77]⁺, respectively. The compounds M₂D^Ph,OH and M₃T^Ph have been identified as main components of the investigated siloxane mixture. Besides, numerous linear compounds of the type M₂(D^H)n(D^Vi)_m and M₂T^Ph(D^H)_n(D^Vi)_m M as well as cyclic ones of the structure [MT^Ph(D^H)_n(D^Vi)_m] with n, m=0–3 have been indicated. Received: 3 March 1995/Revised: 25 March 1995/Accepted: 3 April 1995