Mass spectrometric and coincidence studies of double photoionization of small molecules

Current and future coincidence techniques in the study of double and multiple ionization by photon impact are reviewed. New results are presented on the formation of Xe⁺, Xe²⁺ and Xe³⁺ in the region of 4d ^?1 ionization and the triple ionization mechanism is discussed. The thresholds for Xe²⁺ and Xe³⁺ are determined as 33.05±0.3 and 64.1±0.3 eV respectively. Triple ionization of a molecule (OCS) followed by fragmentation into three cations is demonstrated for the first time. The formation and charge separation reactions of several molecular double cations are examined by coincidence techniques: intramolecular isotope effects, rearrangement reactions and slow dissociations are shown to occur in triatomic and other small doubly charged molecular ions.     

Neutron diffraction study of the electrochemical passivation of nickel powder

With the aid of the Yamaoka mechanism and a.c. polarographic observables, rate constants for the homogeneous reduction of Co(III)pentammine complexes by Eu(II) are measured. Where comparison is possible, rate parameters obtained by this electrochemical procedure are found to be in good agreement with previous measurements by stopped-flow and pulse radiolysis procedures, with one exception. The order of reactivity for the halopentammineCo(III) complexes is found to follow the sequence RF²⁺>RCl²⁺>RBr²⁺>RI²⁺, where R=Co(III)(NH₃)₅³⁺. This and a pH dependence noted for the RF²⁺ case are suggestive of a predominantly inner sphere reaction pathway.     

Measurement of lead-210, bismuth-210, and polonium-210 in environmental samples

Mathematical equations governing the ratio of²¹⁰Bi/²¹⁰Pb and²¹⁰Po/²¹⁰Pb activities are used to explain the ingrowth of²¹⁰Bi and²¹⁰Po in environmental samples during post collection. Procedures are described for radiochemical separation of²¹⁰Pb,²¹⁰Bi, and²¹⁰Po in a state of radioactive disequilibrium and quantification by alpha- and beta-counting. Also, the special case is considered where²¹⁰Bi is in equilibrium with²¹⁰Pb, but both are in disequilibrium with²¹⁰Po. In this case, the activities of both²¹⁰Pb and²¹⁰Po are computed by measuring²¹⁰Po activity twice, using alpha-counting.     

Preparation of animal tissue samples for the determination of90Sr and actinides

A unique procedure permitting the determination of⁹⁰Sr and actinides in the same protion of sample, with good chemical yields of all analytes, is presented. Animal tissue samples containing bone are ashed, spiked with^{2 3 2}U,^{2 4 2}Pu,^{2 4 3}Am and^{8 5}Sr and solubilized. The actinides and strontium are gathered and separated by a series of coprecipitations with, cerium hydroxide and cerium fluoride. Actinide separation and determination and purification and determination of⁹⁰Sr are accomplished by a combination of several well-known procedures. The laboratory method consistently results in high chemical yields of all the analytes and overcomes interferences from phosphates and calcium.     

Determination of oxygen and carbon impurities in polycrystalline silicon by IR spectrometry

The possibility of using infrared spectrometry for the determination of the total oxygen and carbon impurity in polycrystalline silicon of the natural isotope composition and that enriched with the ²⁸Si isotope was studied for samples synthesized by different methods. The results of determining these impurities by the optical method are compared to those obtained by independent methods of analysis. The conditions of IR spectrometric analysis of the silicon synthesized by deposition from the gas phase are determined. It is shown that, for IR spectrometry, the upper boundaries of the analytical range of oxygen and carbon in polycrystalline silicon are 1 × 10¹⁸ and 2 × 10¹⁸ cm^?3; and the limits of their detection are 8 × 10¹⁵ and 5 × 10¹⁵ cm^?3 at a sample thickness of 0.5 and 0.2 cm, respectively.     

Influence of the central metal on the crystal structures and electronic structures of biferrocene trinuclear complexes

Five metal-bridged biferrocene complexes of the Schiff-base ligand (HL = S-benzyl-N-(ferrocenyl-1-methyl-methylidene)dithiocarbazate) have been studied by single crystal X-ray diffraction and ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. The crystal structures of the complexes show that the central metal ions are tetra-coordinated by two ligands in two modes: the central d⁸ transition metal ions (Ni²⁺, Pd²⁺, and Pt²⁺) are nearly square-planar coordinated and the d¹⁰ transition metal ions (Zn²⁺ and Cd²⁺) are tetrahedrally coordinated. Interestingly, the isomer shifts in ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy are also of two kinds: d⁸ transition metal ions (0.097-0.247 mm/s) and d¹⁰ transition metal ions (0.416-0.435 mm/s).     

Development of a sequential method for the determination of238U,234U,232Th,230Th,228Th,228Ra,226Ra,and210Pb. in environmental samples

A sequential analytical method for the determination of²³⁸U,²³⁴U,²³²Th,²³⁰Th,²²⁸Th,²²⁸Ra,²²⁶Ra and²¹⁰Pb in environmental samples was developed. Uranium and thorium isotopes are first chromatographically sepaaated using tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide (TOPO) supported on silica gel. The uranium isotopes are determined by alpha-spectrometry following extraction with TOPO onto a polymeric membrane. Thorium isotopes are co-precipitated with lanthanum fluoride before counting in an alpha spectrometer. Radium isotopes and²¹⁰Pb are separated by co-precipitation/precipitation with mixed barium/lead sulphate. Radium-226 is determined by gross alpha counting of the final BaSO₄ precipitate and²²⁸Ra by gross beta counting of the same source. Lead-210 is determined through beta counting of its daughter product²¹⁰Bi.     

Activation and properties of Mo=O bonds in Mo/SiO2 catalysts

The existence of the charge transfer excited triplet state [Mo⁵⁺-O^-] produced by UV-irradiation of Mo/SiO₂ catalysts, and its reactivity are evidenced by experiments of photoluminescence, photoinduced metathesis, and photoreduction of CO. Mo⁵⁺ ions can be produced separately by thermal activation and O^- ions by further adsorption of N₂O on those Mo⁵⁺ ions. The latter of which are adsorbed on Mo⁶⁺ ions are found to be more reactive than O^2- of [Mo⁶⁺ =O^2-] bond. They are able either to add a molecule such as CO or C₂H₄, or to abstract hydrogen from H₂, CH₄ or trans-dicyanoethylene, or a CN group form tetracyanoethylene (TCNE). The Mo⁵⁺ ions are able to coordinate gas phase ligands when their coordination sphere possesses vacant sites. This is the case for tetracoordinated Mo⁵⁺ _4c ions arising from reduction of tetrahedral Mo⁶⁺ ions (Eq. (7)). These Mo⁵⁺ _4c ions are similar to those produced by UV-irradiaiion (Eq. (2)). In addition, if the adsorbed molecule has a sufficiently large electron affinity, such as TCNE or O₂, an electron transfer can occur (Eq. (9) and (17)). The [Mo⁵⁺-O^-] bond obtained by thermal activation is more difficult to evidence than that obtained with UV-activation because it is not detectable by EPR. However, the EPR results obtained at low temperature show that the O^- ions adsorbed on Mo/SiO₂ catalysts as well as the [Mo⁵⁺-O^-] excited triplet state obtained by UV-irradiation of 1Mo⁶⁺=O²] interact with methanol (Eq. (16)). They are consistent with the mechanism of methanol oxidation occurring at high temperature (Eq. (4)).     

Effect of the porous structure of polymer on the kinetics of Ni<Superscript>2+</Superscript> exchange on hybrid inorganic-organic ionites

Hybrid organic-inorganic ion exchangers are obtained by incorporating amorphous zirconium hydrophosphate into the gel of strong acidic cation exchange resin. Hybrid organic-inorganic ion exchangers are obtained by modifying strong acidic cation exchange resin with amorphous zirconium hydrophosphate. The synthesized materials are studied by standard porometry contact. It is found that raising the inorganic component content to 34 wt % diminishes the microporosity of the samples and simultaneously enhances the of meso- and macropore volume. Experiments establish that modification of a polymer matrix lowers the self-diffusion coefficient of Ni²⁺ from 8.1 × 10⁻¹² to 2.4 × 10⁻¹²–4.1 × 10⁻¹² m² s⁻¹; nevertheless, an inorganic ion exchanger minimizes the inhibitory effect of co-ions on the Ni²⁺ → H⁺ exchange rate. One possible mechanism for of filling of the matrix by with particles of zirconium hydrophosphate is discussed.     

Determination of calcium and magnesium in magnesite by a complexometric method employing co-precipitation of calcium with strontium sulphate

In the classical gravimetric method calcium is precipitated as phosphate along with the magnesium and recovered by adding sulphuric acid and alcohol, then Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ are determined separately by the usual method [1]. In the proposed method calcium is co-precipitated with strontium sulphate and in the filtrate magnesium ions are determined by EDTA. Then calcium is calculated by difference after estimating combined Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ ions [2].     

Possibilities of ED-XRF with radionuclide sources for analysis of plants

A comparative evaluation of the applicability of different radionuclide sources for the determination of toxic elements in plants by ED-XRF is presented.²³⁸Pu or¹⁰⁹Cd are suggested as most suitable single excitation sources in ED-XRF for monitoring investigations. More elements are determined with a combination of⁵⁵F/¹⁰⁹Cd(²³⁸Pu)/²⁴¹Am. The results obtained by radionuclide ED-XRF analysis of different plants show that the method permits the reliable determination of Br, Ca, Fe, K, Mn, Rb, Sr and Zn in plant bioindicators. For toxic elements like As, Cd, Cu Cr, Hg, Ni, Se and Pb the detection limits of the method are not low enough.     

Simultaneous determination of nitrogen and lithium by thermal neutron activation analysis

The determination of lithium and nitrogen in a variety of materials by thermal neutron activation is described. The nuclear reactions used are ¹⁴N(n,p)¹⁴C and ⁶ Li(n,α)³H. Radionuclides. ¹⁴C and ³H for counting are isolated by fusion of the irradiated sample in a vacuum system. Data are presented on lithium and nitrogen concentrations in several terrestrial standards. The new method allows reliable measurements on 10–50-mg samples.     

15N-NMR Spectroscopy. XVIII. Sequence Analysis of Linear Polyureas

Various homo- and copolyureas were prepared either by conversion of diamines with diisocyanates or by heating diamines with N, N'-bisphenoxycarbonyl diamines. The ¹³C-NMR spectra and the natural abundance ¹⁵N-NMR spectra were measured in trifluoroacetic acid. In contrast to polyamides, the carbonyl signals of polyureas are not sensitive to neighboring residue effects, so that ¹³C-NMR spectra are in most cases useless for the sequence analysis of copolyureas. The ¹⁵ N-NMR signals of urea groups are, however, sensitive to the influence of both substituents and thus contain information on the sequence. Structure/ shift-relationships are discussed, and ¹⁵ N-NMR spectra of various copolyureas are presented.     

The determination of radium-226 and radium-228 in soils and plants,using radium-225 as a yield tracer

Recovery of²²⁶Ra in analysis is determined using²²⁵Ra separated by anion exchange from²²⁹Th and²³³U. Radium is coprecipitated with barium, and purified by ion exchange.²²⁶Ra and²¹⁷At (decay product of²²⁵Ra) are measured by α-spectrometry.²²⁸Ra is determined both by β-counting²²⁸Ac and²²⁵Ac separated from²²⁸Ra and²²⁵Ra, and by α-counting its daughters after the decay of²²⁵Ra. Sources for α-spectrometry are prepared by electrodeposition (molecular plating).     

NMR structural aspects of the chemistry of V, Mo, W polyoxometalates

The results of structural investigations of vanadium, molybdenum, and tungsten polyoxoanions (PA) by ¹⁷O, ⁵¹V, ⁹⁵Mo, ¹⁸³W, and heteroatom NMR are generalized in this review. NMR spectroscopy possibilities to determine the structure of PA are discussed. NMR data on PA of different structures compositions nuclei are demonstrated.     

Carbon-13 NMR spectroscopy of hop bitter substances

The ¹³C NMR spectra of the most important hop bitter substances are analysed. All individual carbon atoms are assigned, except the oxygen bonded sp² carbon atoms. Most assignments are made partly by comparison with analogous compounds and partly by reference to literature data. Cross-correlations with the ¹H NMR shifts are made for two main products and confirm the correctness of the assignments. All data are in agreement with the known structures.     

Insights from the Adsorption of Halide Ions on Graphene Materials

Graphene has recently found applications in a wide range of fields. Density functional calculations show that halide ions can be adsorbed on pristine graphene, but only F^? has an appreciable binding energy (?97.0 kJ mol^?1). Graphene materials, which are mainly electron donors, can be made strong electron acceptors by edge functionalization with F atoms. The binding strengths of halide ions are greatly enhanced by edge functionalization and show direct proportionality with the degree of functionalization Θ and increased charge transfer. In contrast, the adsorption strengths of metal ions on pristine graphene are clearly superior to those of halide ions but decline substantially with increasing degree of edge functionalization, and for Θ=100 %, the binding energies of ?95.7, ?44.8, and ?25.9 kJ mol^?1 that are calculated for Li⁺, Na⁺, and K⁺, respectively, are obviously inferior to that of F^? (?186.3 kJ mol^?1). Thus, the electronic properties of graphene are fundamentally regulated by edge functionalization, and the preferential adsorption of certain metal ions or anions can be facilely realized by choice of an appropriate degree of functionalization. Adsorbed metal ions and anions behave differently on gradual addition of water molecules, and their binding strengths remain substantial when graphene materials are in the pristine and highly edge functionalized states, respectively.     

1H and 13C NMR study of the structure of α-lithio thiacylohexane 1-oxides: A planar metallated carbon

The lithiospecies deriving from the cis and trans 4-t-butyl thiacyclohexane 1-oxides are studied by ¹H and ¹³C NMR. Their structure is discussed mainly by examination of H-H and ^y13C-H coupling constants. Pyramidal α-sulfinyl carbanions are definitely rejected on the basis of these NMR data and half-chair structures with a planar metallated carbon are proposed.     

Effect of protonation exothermicity on the reaction of gaseous Brønsted acids with halobenzene derivatives

The protonation of haloaromatics by [N₂H]⁺ and [CO₂H]⁺ has been studied by chemical ionization mass spectrometry. In general, the fragmentation reactions following protonation by [CO₂H]⁺ are similar to those observed following protonation by [CH₅]⁺, while the fragmentation reactions induced by protonation by [N₂H]⁺ are intermediate between those observed on reaction with [CH₅]⁺ and with [H₃]⁺. These results are consistent with the conclusion that the fragmentation mode is determined by the protonation exothermicity since the proton affinity of CO₂ is the same as that of CH₄ while the proton affinity of N₂ is intermediate between that of CH₄ and H₂.     

Electrochemical studies of nitroprusside in the presence of copper(II): formation of Cu(I) reduced nitroprusside species

Cu²⁺ is reduced in the presence of nitroprusside to form two Cu(I) reduced nitroprusside species at about +0.050 V (pH 7.6). These species are reduced further at about −0.60 V. The two species are formed by an EC mechanism, and the species are believed to be [Cu^IFe(CN)₄NO]⁻, which predominates in acidic solution, and [Cu^IFe(CN)₅NO]²⁻, which predominates in alkaline solution. These conclusions are supported by cyclic voltammetric and bulk electrolysis/coulometric experiments.