Structural, textural, and electronic properties of a nanosized mesoporous ZnxTi1-xO2-) solid solution prepared by a supercritical drying route

Mesoporous nanosized TiO2 and Zn(x)Ti(1-x)O(2-x) solid solution having a Zn content below 10 mol % with a particles size between 13 and 17 nm are prepared by a template-free sol-gel method followed by high-temperature supercritical drying in 2-propanol. The structural, textural, and electronic properties of the obtained nanomaterials are methodically investigated by using XRD, SEM, TEM, ED, HREM, EDX, ICP-OES, N(2) adsorption-desorption, Raman spectroscopy, and diffuse reflectance UV-vis spectroscopy. It is shown that the proposed synthesis technique leads to the formation of a Zn(x)Ti(1-x)O(2-x) solid solution based on the anatase crystal structure rather than a two-phase sample. High-resolution electron microscopy and electron diffraction indicate that the distribution of zinc atoms over the anatase structure does not lead to a considerable deformation of the crystal structure.     

Electronic structure of saturated hydrocarbons in the semi-empirical equivalent orbital method

The problem of obtaining the matrix elements of Hartree-Fock Hamiltonians for alkanes using the EO method is considered. It has been shown that the data on the electronic structure of diamond together witht ₁/e splitting in the neopentane photoelectron spectrum are helpful to produce such EO method parameter scale which involves even “through space” interactions. In terms of the EO method the photoelectron spectra of propane, butane, isobutane, and neopentane are interpreted. The valence band structure of polyethylene in analytical form is obtained.     

Novel radial oligothienyl silanes

A series of thiophene-based homologues with a silicon core surrounded by mono-, bi-, terthiophene, and their derivatives with alkylsilyl linkages has been prepared using hydrosilylation and Stille coupling methods.     

Bulk versus interfacial aqueous solvation of dicarboxylate dianions

Solvation of dicarboxylate dianions of varying length of the aliphatic chain in water clusters and in extended aqueous slabs was investigated using photoelectron spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. Photoelectron spectra of hydrated succinate, adipate, and tetradecandioic dianions with up to 20 water molecules were obtained. Even-odd effects were observed as a result of the alternate solvation mode of the two negative charges with increasing solvent numbers. The competition between hydrophilic interactions of the charged carboxylate groups and hydrophobic interactions of the aliphatic chain leads to conformation changes in large water clusters containing dicarboxylates bigger than adipate. It also leads to a transition from bulk aqueous solvation of small dicarboxylates to solvation at the water/vapor interface of the larger ones. Whereas oxalate and adipate solvate in the inner parts of the aqueous slab, suberate and longer dicarboxylate dianions have a strong propensity to the surface. This transition also has consequences for the folding of the flexible aliphatic chain and for the structure of aqueous solvation shells around the dianions.     

Phase Equilibria in the Ni–Al–W System at 900°C

Multicomponent Ni-base alloys exhibit good mechanical properties even at elevated temperatures and they are widely used for industrial production of exertion-resistive parts of engines. These properties are mainly determined by the coexistence of a disordered γ matrix with a face centred cubic lattice and cuboidal domains of its ordered γ′ structure. Therefore it is useful to study phase equilibria in Ni-base systems, namely in the regions involving both mentioned phases. One of the conclusions of our recent work on Ni–Al–Cr–W system was a necessity of modification of selected thermodynamic parameters of the ternary Ni–Al–W subsystem in order to achieve a better agreement of our experimental observations with theoretical modelling. This involves new measurements of the microstructure of selected samples of the Ni–Al–W system at 900°C and the comparison of the results with existing literature data in order to confirm our conclusions on higher order system investigated before. It is a first step on the way to an assessment of the Ni–Al–W system, which has not been done before.     

Separation of enantiomers in capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

Contactless conductivity detection is successfully demonstrated for the enantiomeric separation of basic drugs and amino acids in capillary electrophoresis (CE). Derivatization of the compounds or the addition of a visualization agent as for indirect optical detection schemes were not needed. Non-charged chiral selectors were employed, hydroxypropylated cyclodextrin (CD) for the more lipophilic basic drugs and 18-crown-6-tetracarboxylic acid (18C6H4) for the amino acids. Acidic buffer solutions based on lactic or citric acid were used. The detection limits were determined as 0.3 microM for pseudoephedrine as an example of a basic drug and were in the range from 2.5 to 20 microM for the amino acids.     

Single wall carbon nanotubes density of states: comparison of experiment and theory

We study the electronic structure of a variety of single wall carbon nanotubes and report density of states obtained with the Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof (PBE) generalized gradient approximation and hybrid PBE0 approximation of density functional theory using Gaussian orbitals and periodic boundary conditions. PBE gives very good results for metallic tubes but the addition of a portion of exact exchange in the hybrid PBE0 functional worsens the agreement between experiment and theory. On the other hand, the PBE0 hybrid significantly improves the theoretical predictions (compared to PBE) for semiconducting tubes.     

Chloride ion promoted nucleophilic pentafluorophenylation of imines

Nucleophilic addition of the pentafluorophenyl group from (C₆F₅)₃SiF to non-activated imines affording α-C₆F₅-substituted secondary amines in high yield has been described. The reaction proceeds via simultaneous activation of imines and the silane reagent by means of a proton and chloride ion, respectively.     

Liquid chromatographic/electrospray mass spectrometric determination (LC/ESI-MS) of chelerythrine and dihydrochelerythrine in near-critical CO2 extracts from real and spiked plasma samples

Two polar benzo[c]phenanthridine alkaloids, chelerythrine (CHE) and dihydrochelerythrine (DHCHE), were extracted at 35 °C and 10 MPa (15 MPa for real samples) from real and spiked plasma samples with acceptable recoveries (95.1% and 81.0%, respectively) using near-critical CO₂ modified with aqueous (1:1, v/v) methanol. The alkaloids were quantified by a liquid chromatographic/electrospray mass spectrometric (LC/ESI-MS) method on a Zorbax SB-CN column (75 mm × 4.6 mm, 3.5 μm particle size) using methanol (organic phase) and 50 mM ammonium formiate (aqueous phase) as a mobile phase. A linear gradient 0-1 min, isocratic at 60% organic phase (v/v); from 1.0 to 7.0 min, 60-71% organic phase (v/v); from 7.0 to 18.0 min, 71-60% organic phase (v/v) was applied. The limit of detection was 1.22 ng (3.50 pmol) for CHE and 0.95 ng (2.72 pmol) for DHCHE per 1 ml of the sample. The linearity of the calibration curves was satisfactory as indicated by coefficients of determination 0.9979 and 0.9995 for CHE and DHCHE, respectively. Repeatability and intermediate precision (average R.S.D.s) were 1.0-1.5%, accuracy was in the range 99.7-100.3%. Average recovery was 100.1% for both, standard solutions and spiked plasma extracts. Three samples of real rat plasma were extracted and analysed to test the method.     

Excited-state characters and dynamics of [W(CO)(5)(4-cyanopyridine)] and [W(CO)(5)(piperidine)] studied by picosecond time-resolved IR and resonance Raman spectroscopy and DFT calculations: roles of W --> L and W --> CO MLCT and LF excited states revised

The characters, dynamics, and relaxation pathways of low-lying excited states of the complexes [W(CO)(5)L] [L = 4-cyanopyridine (pyCN) and piperidine (pip)] were investigated using theoretical and spectroscopic methods. DFT calculations revealed the delocalized character of chemically and spectroscopicaly relevant molecular orbitals and the presence of a low-lying manifold of CO pi-based unoccupied molecular orbitals. Traditional ligand-field arguments are not applicable. The lowest excited states of [W(CO)(5)(pyCN)] are W --> pyCN MLCT in character. They are closely followed in energy by W --> CO MLCT states. Excitation at 400 or 500 nm populates the (3)MLCT(pyCN) excited state, which was characterized by picosecond time-resolved IR and resonance Raman spectroscopy. Excited-state vibrations were assigned using DFT calculations. The (3)MLCT(pyCN) excited state is initially formed highly excited in low-frequency vibrations which cool with time constants between 1 and 20 ps, depending on the excitation wavelength, solvent, and particular high-frequency nu(CO) or nu(CN) mode. The lowest excited states of [W(CO)(5)(pip)] are W --> CO MLCT, as revealed by TD-DFT interpretation of a nanosecond time-resolved IR spectrum that was measured earlier in a low-temperature glass (Johnson, F. P. A.; George, M. W.; Morrison, S. L.; Turner, J. J. J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun. 1995, 391-393). MLCT(CO) excitation involves transfer of electron density from the W atom and, to a lesser extent, the trans CO to the pi orbitals of the four cis CO ligands. Optical excitation into MLCT(CO) transition of either complex in fluid solution triggers femtosecond dissociation of a W-N bond, producing [W(CO)(5)(solvent)]. It is initially vibrationally excited both in nu(CO) and anharmonicaly coupled low-frequency modes. Vibrational cooling occurs with time constants of 16-22 ps while the intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution from the v = 1 nu(CO) modes is much slower, 160-220 ps. No LF excited states have been found for the complexes studied in a spectroscopically relevant range up to 6-7 eV. It follows that spectroscopy, photophysics, and photochemistry of [W(CO)(5)L] and related complexes are well described by an interplay of close-lying MLCT(L) and MLCT(CO) excited states. The high-lying LF states play only an indirect photochemical role by modifying potential energy curves of MLCT(CO) states, making them dissociative.