Synthesis, structure and dioxygen reactivity of a bis(micro-iodo)dicopper(I) complex supported by the [N-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-2-hydroxybenzyl)-N,N-di-(2-pyridylmethyl)]amine ligand

The air-sensitive bis(micro-iodo)dicopper(I) complex 1 supported by [N-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-2-hydroxybenzyl)-N,N-di-(2-pyridylmethyl)]amine (L) has been prepared by treating copper(I) iodide with L in anhydrous THF. Compound 1 crystallizes as a dimer in space group C2/c. Each copper(I) center has distorted tetrahedral N2I2 coordination geometry with Cu-N(pyridyl) distances 2.061(3) and 2.063(3) A, Cu-I distances 2.6162(5) and 2.7817(5) and a Cu...Cu distance of 2.9086(8) A. Complex 1 is rapidly oxidized by dioxygen in CH2Cl2 with a 1 : 1 stoichiometry giving the bis(micro-iodo)peroxodicopper(II) complex [Cu(L)(micro-I)]2O2 (2). The reaction of 1 with dioxygen has been characterized by UV-vis, mass spectrometry, EPR and Cu K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy at low temperature (193 K) and above. The mass spectrometry and low temperature EPR measurements suggested an equilibrium between the bis(micro-iodo)peroxodicopper(II) complex 2 and its dimer, namely, the tetranuclear (peroxodicopper(II))2 complex [Cu(L)(micro-I)]4O4 (2'). Complex 2 undergoes an effective oxo-transfer reaction converting PPh3 into O=PPh3 under anaerobic conditions. At sufficiently high concentration of PPh3, the oxygen atom transfer from 2 to PPh3 was followed by the formation of [Cu(PPh3)3I]. The dioxygen reactivity of 1 was compared with that known for other halo(amine)copper(I) dimers.     

Phase biaxiality in nematic liquid crystalline side-chain polymers of various chemical constitutions

In a previous deuterium NMR study conducted on a liquid crystalline (LC) polymer with laterally attached book-shaped molecules as the mesogenic moiety, we have revealed a biaxial nematic phase below the conventional uniaxial nematic phase (Phys. Rev. Lett. 2004, 92, 125501). To elucidate details of its formation, we here report on deuterium NMR experiments that have been conducted on different types of LC side-chain polymers as well as on mixtures with low-molar-mass mesogens. Different parameters that affect the formation of a biaxial nematic phase, such as the geometry of the attachment, the spacer length between the polymer backbone and the mesogenic unit, as well as the polymer dynamics, were investigated. Surprisingly, also polymers with terminally attached mesogens (end-on polymers) are capable of forming biaxial nematic phases if the flexible spacer is short and thus retains a coupling between the polymer backbone and the LC phase. Furthermore, the most important parameter for the formation of a biaxial nematic phase is the dynamics of the polymer backbone, as the addition of a small percentage of low molar mass LC to the biaxial nematic polymer from the original study served to shift both the glass transition and the appearance of detectable biaxiality in a very similar fashion. Plotting different parameters for the investigated systems as a function of T/Tg also reveals the crucial role of the dynamics of the polymer backbone and hence the glass transition.     

Solid-state NMR identification and quantification of newly formed aluminosilicate phases in weathered kaolinite systems

The weathering of a specimen kaolinite clay was studied over the course of 369 d via solid-state 29Si magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and high-field 27Al MAS NMR. The chosen baseline solution conditions (0.05 mol kg-1 of Al, 2 mol kg-1 of Na+, 1 mol kg-1 of NO3-, 1 mol kg-1 of OH-, and pH approximately 13.8) approximate those of solutions leaking from waste tanks at the Hanford Site in Richland, WA. Nonradioactive Cs and Sr cations were added to this synthetic tank waste leachate (STWL) solution at concentrations of 10(-3), 10(-4), and 10(-5) molal (m) to represent their radionuclide counterparts. The transformations of silicon- and aluminum-containing solid phase species were monitored quantitatively by using NMR spectroscopy, with the resulting spectra directly reporting the influence of the initial Cs and Sr on formation and transformation of the neo-formed solids. At the lowest concentration of Cs and Sr employed (10(-5) m in each cation) peaks consistent with the formation of zeolite-like minerals were detected via 29Si and 27Al MAS NMR as early as 33 d. At concentrations of 10(-3) m in each cation, new silicon species are not detected until 93 d, although neophases containing four-coordinate aluminum were detectable at earlier reaction times via 27Al MAS NMR. At the highest magnetic field strengths employed in this NMR study, deconvolutions of resonances detected in the tetrahedral region of the 27Al MAS spectra yielded multiple components, indicating the existence of at least four new aluminum-containing phases. Two of these phases are identified as sodalite and cancrinite through comparison with diffuse-reflectance infrared (DRIFT) spectra and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) results, while a third phase may correlate with a previously detected aluminum-rich chabazite phase. All measurable solid reaction products have been quantified via their 27Al MAS resonances acquired at high magnetic field strengths (17.6 T), and the quantitative nature of the 27Al NMR data shows that cancrinite growth increases while sodalite reaches a steady state with respect to total aluminum in the solid phases. The data also relate the coupling of Cs sorption to the ripening of feldspathoid phases in this heterogeneous system as a function of time, and illustrate the important influence of co-contaminants on the environmental reaction kinetics studied here.     

Journey toward Teaching Mathematics through Problem Solving

Teaching mathematics through problem solving is a challenge for teachers who learned mathematics by doing exercises. How do teachers develop their own problem solving abilities as well as their abilities to teach mathematics through problem solving? A group of teachers began the journey of learning to teach through problem solving while taking a Teaching Elementary School Mathematics graduate course. This course was designed to engage teachers in problem solving during class meetings and required them to do problem solving action research in their classrooms. Although challenged by the course problem solving work, teachers became more comfortable with the mathematics and recognized the importance of group work while problem solving. As they worked with their students, teachers were more confident in their students' abilities to be successful problem solvers. For some teachers, a strong problem solving foundation was established. For others, the foundation was more tentative.     

Imaging water dissociation on TiO2(110): Evidence for inequivalent geminate OH groups

Identical regions of partially reduced TiO2(110) surfaces with bridge-bonded oxygen vacancy (BBO(V)) concentrations of approximately 10% ML (1 ML = 5.2 x 10(14) cm(-2)) were imaged using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) before and after dosing H2O at ambient temperature (approximately 300 K). Atomically resolved images confirm that H2O adsorbs dissociatively on the BBO(V) sites, producing two hydroxyl species, one positioned at BBO(V) and denoted OH(V) and the other, denoted OH(B), formed by protonation at either of the two nearest-neighbor bridge-bonded oxygen atoms. Hydrogen hopping along the [001] direction is observed at ambient temperature, with a strong preference for OH(B) (approximately 10x) hydrogen motion. This powerful imbalance demonstrates the inequality of OH(V) and OH(B) and suggests differences in their charge and/or binding configuration.     

Human subjects, third parties, and informed consent: a brief historical perspective of developments in the United States

The protection of human subjects in biomedical research has become a source of increasing concern over the past century. During the early days of human experimentation, the human subject was rarely if ever consulted about his or her participation in research because scientists and physicians acted in the traditional paternalistic role with respect to their subjects and patients. However, as options for both researchers and their subjects increased, more attention was focused on the rights and obligations of participants on both sides of the research relationship. Investigators became more aware of the costs and benefits associated with their research programs, and subjects became more curious about the nature of research and what could be reasonably expected from their participation. This paper reviews the evolution of the doctrine of informed consent in biomedical research and the development of rules and guidelines for the conduct of research in the United States, for the benefit of both researchers and their human subjects.     

Study of Experimental Methods for Interface Problems Based on Virtual Testing

The effective properties of fiber reinforced materials depend strongly on the properties of the interface between the phases. In the particular case of glass fiber reinforced thermoplastics, this bonding is inherently weak and needs to be improved, e.g., by addition of compatibilyzers. Reliable experimental setups are needed in order to investigate the effects of such additives on the interface properties. In this contribution, the sensitivity of push out experiments with respect to the microstructure and test setup are examined in order to find such an experimental configuration. (© 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Sulphur and oxygen isotopic characters of dissolved sulphate in groundwater from the Pleistocene aquifer in the southern Jordan Valley (Jericho area,Palestine)

Sulphate and chloride concentrations in the shallow Pleistocene aquifer systems in the lower Jordan valley area indicate a general trend of increasing salinity eastward and southward. This study was conducted in one of the important sub-basins feeding the Pleo–Pleistocene aquifer in the Jericho area in the southern part of the valley using S and O isotopes of dissolved sulphate. The results show that sulphate has mainly two contributions to the groundwater. One is the surface seepage, which is present as a salty leachate form with the positive δ³⁴S_sulphate values of primary gypsum in Lisan and Samara formations, and the second is the upwelling saline water which was in contact with a deep secondary gypsum, aragonites and salty rocks and rose up under heavy abstraction with depleted ³⁴S in sulphate and relatively high sulphate and chloride content. The latest was clearly shown in the Arab Project wells to the east that is undergoing a continuous heavy abstraction. The isotopic signatures of S and O in these wells to the east show that this depleted ³⁴S and highly concentrated sulphate might also indicate a dissolved sulphate originating from pyrite oxidation that results from the interaction with a pyrite-rich aquifer, which can well up with salty water under heavy abstraction and is oxidised in the upper aerobic shallow aquifer.