Copper(II)-selective membrane electrodes based on some recently synthesized mixed aza-thioether crowns containing a 1,10-phenanthroline sub-unit

Three different mixed aza-thioether crowns containing a 1,10-phenanthroline sub-unit were investigated to characterize their abilities as copper(II) ion carriers in PVC-membrane electrodes. The electrode based on L1 exhibited a Nernstian response for Cu²⁺ ions over a wide concentration range (2×10⁻¹ to 1×10⁻⁵ M) with a limit of detection of 8.0×10⁻⁶ M (0.5 p.p.m.). The response time of sensor is 15 s, and the membrane can be used for more than 3 months without observing any deviation. The electrode revealed comparatively good selectivities with respect to many alkali, alkaline earth, transition and heavy metal ions, and could be used in a pH range of 2.5–5.5. It was applied to the direct determination and potentiometric titration of the copper(II) ion.     

Optimization of solid-phase microextraction of volatile phenols in water by a polyaniline-coated Pt-fiber using experimental design

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled to gas chromatography (GC) was applied to the extraction of phenol and some of its volatile derivatives in water samples. The SPME fiber consisted of a thin layer of polyaniline, which was electrochemically coated on a fine Pt wire. The stability of the coating was such that it could be used at temperatures as high as 325 °C, without any deterioration. The effects of various parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were studied, simultaneously. From these, optimization of the extraction temperature, extraction time, coating thickness, sample pH, salt concentration and desorption time was carried out by means of a (2^6-2) fractional factorial design. It was found that the effects and interactions of five out of six factors were significant. However, the coating thickness showed a large main effect but an insignificant interaction effect, so it was kept constant. Also, the effect of desorption time was insignificant if sufficient time was allowed for desorption to take place. Therefore, a central composite design (CCD) with four remaining factors, i.e., sample pH, salt concentration, extraction time and sample temperature was performed and a response surface equation was derived. The statistical parameters of the derived model were r = 0.97 and F = 25.3. The optimum conditions were obtained using a grid method. Using the optimum conditions, the method was analytically evaluated. The detection limit, relative standard deviation, linear range and recovery were 1.3-12.8 ng mL⁻¹, 2.2-5.3%, 0.01-5.0 μg mL⁻¹, and 88-103%, respectively. The results showed the suitability of polyaniline-coated fiber in analyzing volatile phenolic compounds in water samples.     

Influence of copper substitution on the interaction of ethylene over iron clusters: a theoretical study

We report the results of density functional theory (DFT) calculations of ethylene adsorption over the most stable pure and bimetallic clusters of Fe(n)Cu(m) (2 ≤ m+n ≤ 4), in two adsorption modes of π and di-σ. Our results show that the quality of interaction of ethylene with iron center in bimetallic clusters of iron-copper is characteristically different from what is found over pure iron. Over the range of our studies for dimers, trimers, and tetramers, whether for π or di-σ mode, alloying iron clusters results in a substantial improvement in adsorption of ethylene over cluster and exhibits a notable increase in binding and interaction energies compared with pure iron clusters. One of the interesting features of this adsorption is that ethylene never orients toward di-σ mode for Cu-Cu or Fe-Cu bonds, and π orientation is strongly preferred. Ethylene adsorption in di-σ coordination is accompanied by the sever restructuring, larger deformation energy, and the larger interaction energy. In the next part, we answer this question of how electronic perturbations induced by copper atoms can enhance the activity of iron toward ethylene. This interpretation is done within the framework of natural bond orbital (NBO) and natural resonance theory (NRT) analyses. Different reaction pathways detected by NRT analysis (donor-acceptor, metallacyclic, and carbanion) reveal interesting aspects of differences between the nature of metal-alkene coordination in bimetallic and purely metallic clusters.     

Speciation and Determination of Trace Amount of Inorganic Arsenic in Water,Environmental and Biological Samples

A new speciation and preconcentration method based on dispersive liquid‐liquid microextraction has been developed for trace amounts of As(III) and As(V) in urine and water samples. At pH 4, As(III) is complexed with ammoniumpyrrolidine dithiocarbamate and extracted into 1‐Hexyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, as an ionic liquid (IL) and As(III) is determined by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometery (ETAAS). Arsenic(V) in the mixing solution containing As(III) and As(V) was reduced by using KI and ascorbic acid in HCl solution and then the procedure was applied to determination of total arsenic. Arsenic(V) was calculated as the difference between the total arsenic content and As(III) content. The effect of various parameters on the recovery of the arsenic ions has been studied. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factor 135 was obtained. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of trace amounts of As(III) and As(V) in water and biological samples.     

Excess molar volumes of binary mixtures of aliphatic alcohols (C1-C5) with Nitromethane over the temperature range 293.15 to 308.15 K: Application of the ERAS model and cubic EOS

Densities were measured for the binary mixtures of methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 1-butanol with nitromethane at temperatures (293.15, 298.15, 303.15 and 308.15) K and for 1-pentanol with nitromethane at temperatures (303.15 and 308.15) K and atmospheric pressure. Densities were determined using a vibrating-tube densimeter. Excess molar volumes as a function of mole fraction were derived, and the computed results were fitted to the Redlich-Kister equation. Excess molar volumes of mixtures studied were consistently described by the ERAS model. Also The Peng-Robinson-Stryjek-Vera (PRSV) equation of state was applied, in combination with simple mixing rules.     

Electrochemical Investigation of Cytochrome c Immobilized onto Self‐Assembled Monolayer of Captopril

The electrochemical behavior of cytochrome c (cyt‐c) that was electrostatically immobilized onto a self‐assembled monolayer (SAM) of captopril (capt) on a gold electrode has been investigated. Cyclic voltammetry, scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were employed to evaluate the blocking property of the capt SAM. SECM was used to measure the bimolecular electron transfer (ET) kinetics (k_BI) between a solution‐based redox probe and the immobilized protein. In addition, the tunneling ET between the immobilized protein and the underlying gold electrode was calculated. A k_BI value of (5.0±0.6)×10⁸ mol^?1 cm³ s^?1 for the bimolecular ET and a standard tunneling rate constant (k⁰) of 46.4±0.2 s^?1 for the tunneling ET have been obtained.     

Synthesis and Characterization of O,S-Dimethylphosphoramidothioate and N-Acetyl O,S-Dimethylphosphoramidothioate

O,S-Dimethylphosphoramidothioate (methamidophos) and N-acetyl O,S-dimethylphos- phoramidothioate (acephate) were synthesized by new methods to investigate the structure–activity study of acetyl cholinesterase (AChE) inhibition through the parameters of logP, δ ³¹P, and IC₅₀. After their characterization by NMR (³¹P, ³¹P{ ¹H}, ¹³C, and ¹H), IR, and mass spectroscopy, logP and δ ³¹P (³¹P chemical shift in NMR) were used to evaluate lipophilicity and electronical properties. The logP values for methamidophos and acephate were experimentally determined by the GC-shake-flask method, and the ability of the compounds to inhibit human AChE was evaluated by a modified Ellman's assay.

Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Silicon and the Related Elements to view the free supplemental file.     

Hybrid-Density Functional Theory Study and Natural Bond Orbital Interpretation of the Conformational Behavior of 1,3-Dioxanyl, 1,3-Dithianyl,and 1,3-Diselenanyl Carbanions

Abstract

The effective factors on the conformational properties of 1,3-dioxanyl (1), -dithianyl (2), and -diselenanyl (3) carbanions have been investigated by means of the hybrid-density functional theory (DFT) (B3LYP/6-311+G**)-based method and natural bond orbital (NBO) interpretation. The results obtained showed that the axial conformation (i.e., the axial H atom attached to C₂) of carbanion 1 is more stable than its equatorial conformation. Contrary to the carbanion 1, the equatorial conformations of carbanions 2 and 3 are more stable than their corresponding axial conformations. The instability of the axial conformations of carbanions 1–3 increases from carbanion 1 to carbanion 2 but decreases from carbanion 2 to carbanion 3. The NBO analysis showed that the anomeric effect (AE) associated with the electron delocalization increases from carbanion 1 to carbanion 2, but decreases from carbanion 2 to carbanion 3. The calculated total dipole moment values of the axial conformations of carbanions 1–3 are greater than those of their corresponding equatorial conformations, but the calculated total dipole moment difference values between the axial and equatorial conformations decreases from carbanion 1 to carbanion 3. Consequently, the AE associated with the electron delocalization, but not the total dipole moment changes (i.e., Δμ_ax–eq), thus explaining the total energy differences between the axial and equatorial conformations of carbanions 1–3. The correlations between the AE, dipole moments, ΔG_ax–eq, structural parameters, and conformational behaviors of carbanions 1–3 have been investigated.

Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Silicon and the Related Elements to view the free supplemental file.     

Polysulfone/Brij‐58 blend nanofiltration membranes: preparation,morphology and performance

In present research, novel asymmetric polysulfone (PSF) membranes with high hydrophilicity and noticeable rejection of arsenic, as one of the major environmental problems, were prepared from PSF/Brij‐58/NMP (1‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone) system via immersion precipitation. Pure water was used as gelation media. The variation effect of coagulation bath temperature (CBT) and addition of Brij‐58 on morphology, wettabiliy, pure water permeation flux and rejection of As (III) and As (V), as two dominant states of arsenic in the nature, were studied by scanning electron microscopy, contact angle measuring instrument and experimental setup. The results demonstrated that both hydrophilicity and rejection properties of the prepared membranes were significantly enhanced by small addition of Brij‐58 surfactant in the casting solution along with using the lowest level of CBT. Addition of 4 wt. % of Brij‐58 and using cold coagulation bath resulted in the highest rejection of As (V). Initial increase in Brij‐58 concentration, from 0 wt. % to 2 wt. %, resulted in higher rejection of As (III). However, higher Brij‐58 concentrations than 2 wt. % (increase from 2 wt. % to 6 wt. %) led to lower rejection of As (III). Also, it was found out that addition of Brij‐58 in the casting solution along with increasing the CBT resulted in formation of membranes with high permeability and sub‐layer porosity and thin top layer. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An extended compromise ratio model with an application to reservoir flood control operation under an interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy environment

This paper presents a novel multiple attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) model based on the compromise ratio method under an interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy (IVIF) environment. The compromise ratio method under uncertainty is introduced by a group of experts based on the concept that the chosen alternative should be as close as possible to the IVIF-positive-ideal point and as far away from the IVIF-negative-ideal point as possible concurrently. First, an IVIF-weighted geometric averaging (IVIFWGA) operator is employed to aggregate all individual IVIF-decision matrices provided by a group of experts into a collective IVIF-decision matrix. Two new basic IVIF-operations are introduced to handle the evaluation process. Then, an extended collective index in an IVIF environment is proposed to discriminate among alternatives for the evaluation process in terms of subjective and objective information. Finally, to demonstrate the suitability and applicability of the proposed IVIF-MAGDM model, an application example of reservoir flood control operation is given from the recent literature.