Features of Sulfonation of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Congeners

Sulfonation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and their commercial mixture (Trichlorobiphenyl) with oleum has been studied. General sulfonation patterns have been revealed for PCB congeners having no substituents in the ortho positions. The sulfonation of PCBs with chlorine atoms in only one aromatic ring gives exclusively the corresponding polychlorobiphenylmonosulfonic acids. The sulfonation of PCBs with chlorine atoms in both aromatic rings is accompanied by side formation of polychlorodibenzothiophene S,S-dioxides.     

Correlation between electron capture negative chemical ionization mass spectrometric fragmentation and calculated internal energies for polychlorinated biphenyls

Correlationbse tween molecular structure and fragmentation observed in electron capture negative chemical ionization mass spectra (moderator gas = methane) of 49 selected tetrachlorinated, pentachlorinated, and hexachlorinated biphenyls have been investigated by using molecular modeling. The semiempirical general molecular orbital program MOPAC was used to calculate molecular properties for biphenyl and the 209 polychlorinated biphenyls. The mass spectrometric ionization and fragmentation processes were found to be linked to the number of chlorine atoms present on the biphenyl, and to the number of those chlorine atoms in the ortho (2, 2′, 6, and 6′) positions. The intensity of molecular ions increased with the number of chlorine atoms present, but this was counteracted by enhanced fragmentation as the number of ortho position chlorine atoms increased. The molecular parameters that were most closely linked with the number of ortho chlorine atoms were the twist angle between the phenyl rings and the energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO). It is suggested that fragmentation occurs when the energy of the ionizing electron exceeds the energy difference between the LUMO and LlJMO + 1 orbitals.     

Density functional calculation of conformations and potentials of internal rotation in polychlorinated biphenyls

Full geometry optimization for all 209 isomers of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and calculations of internal rotation potentials for 154 isomers have been performed by density functional method B3LYP/6-31G(d, p). Conformations and internal rotation barriers in PCBs were proved to depend on a number of chlorine atoms in ortho-positions and, less, the presence of chlorine atoms in adjacent meta-positions. Subject to the number of chlorine atoms in ortho-and adjacent meta-positions, 209 PCB isomers were classified into 18 groups, within each of them molecules having very close conformations and potentials of internal rotation. It makes possible to evaluate with high accuracy the potential functions of the last 55 PCB molecules for which potential curve calculations have not been made.     

Enantiomer separation of polychlorinated biphenyl atropisomers and polychlorinated biphenyl retention behavior on modified cyclodextrin capillary gas chromatography columns

Seven commercially-available chiral capillary gas chromatography columns containing modified cyclodextrins were evaluated for their ability to separate enantiomers of the 19 stable chiral polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) atropisomers, and for their ability to separate these enantiomers from achiral congeners, necessary for trace environmental analysis of chiral PCBs. The enantiomers of each of the 19 chiral PCBs were at least partially separated on one or more of these columns. Enantiomeric ratios of eleven atropisomers could also be quantified on six columns as they did not coelute with any other congener containing the same number of chlorine atoms, so could be quantified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Analysis of a lake sediment heavily contaminated with PCBs showed enantioselective occurrence of PCB 91, proof positive of enantioselective in situ reductive dechlorination at the sampling site.     

Dipole polarizabilities of germanium clusters

Dipole polarizabilities of Ge_n clusters with 2–25 atoms are calculated using finite field (FF) method within density functional theory. The dipole moments and polarizabilities of clusters are sensitively dependent on the cluster geometries and electronic structures. The clusters with low symmetry and large HOMO–LUMO gap prefer to large dipole moments. The polarizabilities of the Ge_n clusters increase rapidly in the size range of 2–5 atoms and then fluctuate around the bulk value. The larger HOMO–LUMO gap may lead to smaller polarizability. As compared with the compact structure and diamond structure, the prolate cluster structure corresponds to a larger polarizability.     

Extensive study on physicochemical properties of polychlorinated biphenyls in a commercial ion trap mass spectrometer,relevance in analytical and environmental chemistry

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) exist as 209 congeners, consisting of biphenyl molecules, where the number and substitution positions of halogen atoms are known to affect industrial uses, environmental transport mechanisms, distribution, fate, and toxicity. The complexity of the problem requires accurate physicochemical studies of an increasing number of congeners in order to understand the environmental and biological processes at play. This work presents a systematic study on the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of PCBs by quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry. A clear relationship between structure and behavior of PCBs in mass spectrometry experiments has been observed. Overall data demonstrate that di‐ortho congeners show lower thermodynamic stability and higher fragmentation rate than non/mono‐ortho. Congeners follow different fragmentation mechanisms according to the number of chlorine atoms in ortho position of the biphenyl system. Experimental kinetic curves of mono/non‐ortho and di‐ortho congeners show a strong similarity with classical first‐order kinetics curves; in particular, di‐ortho congeners follow a first‐order consecutive reaction, while mono/non‐ortho follow a first‐order parallel reaction. For each studied congener, the kinetic constant of reaction (fragmentation) has been determined. Data support environmental levels and biochemical transformations described in literature. The general picture of the PCB behavior inside a quadrupole ion trap provides the basis for the development of reliable and cost‐effective analytical methods to the determination of ultra‐low level trace of PCB congeners.     

Comparison of Different Extraction Techniques of Polychlorinated Biphenyls from Sediments Samples

In this work, problems that may occur during determination of trace levels of polychlorinated biphenyls in sediment samples are described. Main error sources are connected with extraction of analytes prior to final determination.

During model studies, polychlorinated biphenyls have been extracted from sediment reference material (METRANAL 2) with the use of different solvents (dichloromethane, hexsane, and toluene); the process has been enhanced by mechanical shaking or ultrasounds. Seven selected PCBs (PCB 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153, and 180 – according to IUPAC) were determined in extracts samples by GC–MS technique.

During the studies, two calculation methods were applied to determine the amount of analytes introduced to the chromatographic column. The first approach assumes that the recovery of PCBs that contained a small amount of chlorine atoms in the molecule is similar to the recovery of ¹³C₁₂PCB28 standard, whereas compounds with greater number of chlorine atoms in the molecule will be recovered from the sediment similarly to the recovery of ¹³C₁₂PCB180 standard. The second approach assumes that the recovery of PCB 138 and PCB 153 is similar to the average value of ¹³C₁₂PCB28 and ¹³C₁₂PCB180 standards.

In the case of shaking assisted extraction, 55–90% PCB recoveries were achieved when toluene was used as a solvent, while 71–86% recovery was achieved when dichloromethane was used. When hexsane was used as solvent, recovery ranged 43–107%. In the case of ultrasounds assisted extraction, PCB recoveries of 50–108% were achieved when toluene was used as solvent, while 44–101% recovery was achieved when dichloromethane was applied. When hexsane was used as solvent, recovery reached 57–95%.

Studies have also shown that, when applying different isolation techniques and different solvents, the recovery of applied ¹³C₁₂PCB28 and ¹³C₁₂PCB180 standards is different. Recovery of ¹³C₁₂PCB28 standard was from 5% (for hexane tenfold extraction assisted by shaking) to 57% (for toluene tenfold extraction assisted by shaking). However, recovery of ¹³C₁₂PCB180 standard was from 9% (for hexane tenfold extraction assisted by shaking) to 82% (for toluene tenfold extraction assisted by shaking). This is due to the differences of their binding to the sludge matrix. Standard with a greater number of chlorine atoms in the molecule (¹³C₁₂PCB180) is more weakly associated with sediment than ¹³C₁₂PCB28 standard. In order to improve the accuracy of the results obtained, it is necessary to use labeled PCB compounds.     

吲哚并咔唑类衍生物载流子传输性质的理论研究

以密度泛函理论结合跳跃模型, 重点研究了氯原子和烷基链的引入对吲哚并咔唑类衍生物传输性质的影响. 计算结果表明, 与吲哚并[3,2-b]咔唑(1)相比, 氯原子的引入增大了2,8-二氯吲哚并[3,2-b]咔唑(2)和2,8-二氯-5,11-二己基吲哚并[3,2-b]咔唑(3)的最高占据分子轨道(HOMO)的离域程度, 而对最低未被占据分子轨道(LUMO)则无显著贡献, 但明显降低了二者的能级. 上述结果表明, 对于LUMO, 氯原子体现了吸电子效应, 而对于HOMO, 氯原子体现了共轭效应. 烷基链的引入使化合物3的空穴迁移率明显高于化合物1和2, 这主要归因于化合物3具有更加紧密的分子堆积, 尤其在跳跃路径A中, 具有更大的分子间电子耦合和轨道重叠. 同时能带结构的计算结果进一步证明, 氯原子和烷基链的同时引入大大改善了吲哚并咔唑类衍生物的电荷传输性能.     

Three-dimensional quantitative structure-property relationship (3D-QSPR) models for prediction of thermodynamic properties of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs): enthalpy of vaporization

Three-dimensional Quantitative Structure-Property Relationship (QSPR) models have been derived using Comparative Molecular Field Analysis (CoMFA) to correlate the vaporization enthalpies of a representative set of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at 298.15 K with their CoMFA-calculated physicochemical properties. Various alignment schemes, such as inertial, as is, and atom fit, were employed in this study. The CoMFA models were also developed using different partial charge formalisms, namely, electrostatic potential (ESP) charges and Gasteiger-Marsili (GM) charges. The most predictive model for vaporization enthalpy (Delta(vap)H(m)(298.15 K)), with atom fit alignment and Gasteiger-Marsili charges, yielded r2 values 0.852 (cross-validated) and 0.996 (conventional). The vaporization enthalpies of PCBs increased with the number of chlorine atoms and were found to be larger for the meta- and para-substituted isomers. This model was used to predict Delta(vap)H(m)(298.15 K) of the entire set of 209 PCB congeners.     

气相色谱法测定禽蛋中微量有机氯农药及多氯联苯的残留

建立了以正己烷振荡提取，以及PCB2和PCB209为内标的快速检测禽蛋中微量有机氯污染物的气相色谱法。与传统的索氏提取法相比，在保证足够的准确度，精确度和灵敏度的前提下，具有前处理简单，测试成本低，标本用量少的特点。而且可同时测定有机氯农药和典型的多氯联苯类化合物的残留，特别适于检测食品中的微量有机污染物。用该方法测试的结果表明，标准全蛋粉添加ng/g级待测物时，各种待测物的回收率为84．31％－116．77％（3次测定平均值）；相对标准偏差为6％－18％（7次测定平均值）；最低检出量为0.07ng/g-0.35ng/g。中国部分城市市售鸡蛋中的有机氯农药以p,p'-DDE的检出量最高，p,p'-DDT次之；多氯联苯的检出量很低，大多数样品中多氯联苯的总检出量低于10ng/g。在所检出的多氯联苯中，绝大部分为含氯低的（氯原子数为3－5）的氯化物。     

Determination of polychlorinated biphenyls by liquid chromatography–atmospheric pressure photoionization–mass spectrometry

This study presents the atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) of high‐chlorinated (five or more chlorine atoms) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) using toluene as dopant, after liquid chromatographic separation. Mass spectra of PCB 101, 118, 138, 153, 180, 199, 206 and 209 were recorded by using liquid chromatography‐APPI‐tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐APPI‐MS/MS) in negative ion full scan mode. Intense peaks appeared at m/z that correspond to [M ? Cl + O]^? ions, where M is the analyte molecule. Furthermore, a detailed strategy, which includes designs of experiments, for the development and optimization of LC‐APPI‐MS/MS methods is described. Following this strategy, a sensitive and accurate method with low instrumental limits of detection, ranging from 0.29 pg for PCB 209 to 8.3 pg for PCB 101 on column, was developed. For the separation of the analytes, a Waters XSELECT HSS T3 (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 2.5 µm) column was used with methanol/water as elution system. This method was applied for the determination of the above PCBs in water samples (surface water, tap water and treated wastewater). For the extraction of PCBs from water samples, a simple liquid–liquid extraction with dichloromethane was used. Method limits of quantification, ranged from 4.8 ng l^?1, for PCB 199, to 9.4 ng l^?1, for PCB 180, and the recoveries ranged from 73%, for PCB 101, to 96%, for PCB 199. The estimated analytical figures were appropriate for trace analysis of high‐chlorinated PCBs in real samples. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Intramolecular "Aryl-metal chelate ring" pi,pi-interactions as structural evidence for metalloaromaticity in (aromatic alpha,alpha'-diimine)-copper(II) chelates: molecular and crystal structure of aqua(1,10-phenanthroline)(2-benzylmalonato)copper(II) three-hydrate

By reaction of Cu(2)CO(3)(OH)(2), 2-benzylmalonic acid (H(2)Bzmal), and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen), [Cu(Bzmal)(phen)(H(2)O)] x 3H(2)O (compound 1) has been obtained and characterized by thermal, spectral, magnetic, and X-ray diffraction methods. The molecular structure of 1 is remarkably similar to that of [Cu(Bzmal)(bipy)(H(2)O)] x 2H(2)O (compound 2, bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine). In both complexes, the aryl(Bzmal) ring produces an unexpected pi,pi-stacking interaction with the Cu(II)-(aromatic alpha,alpha'-diimine) chelate ring, at an average distance d(pi)(-)(pi) of 3.40 A, involving roughly parallel and smoothly slipped rings. This insight is discussed as new structural evidence for metalloaromaticity of Cu(II)-(aromatic alpha,alpha'-diimine) chelate rings. Interestingly, 1 recognizes itself by a weak intermolecular pi,pi-stacking interaction between aryl(Bzmal) ligands to give pairs of complex molecules. In contrast, there is an intermolecular pyridyl-pyridyl pi,pi-stacking interaction also forming pairs of complex molecules in 2.