Selective extraction of benzoic acid from landfill leachate by solid-phase extraction and ion-exchange chromatography

In this work a simple method was described for selective extraction of benzoic acid from landfill leachate samples. The samples were submitted to solid-phase extraction (SPE) with XAD-4 resin as the stationary phase and ion-exchange chromatography (IEC) using the ion-exchange resin Amberlyst A-27. The instrumental analysis was performed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MSD). Benzoic acid was isolated, identified and quantified. The extraction process is rapid, simple and of low cost. It was also environmental friendly, that is, it was used a minimum amounts of hazardous organic solvents and produced also minimum quantities of residues.     

Kinetics and mechanism of the reactions of S-2,4-dinitrophenyl 4-substituted thiobenzoates with secondary alicyclic amines

[reaction: see text] The title reactions, in 44 wt % ethanol-water at 25.0 degrees C, exhibit slightly curved Br?nsted-type plots (log kN versus pKa of amines) with slopes beta1 = 0.1-0.44 (at high pKa) and beta2 ca. 0.7 (at low pKa). The magnitude of some of these slopes, together with the fact that the curvature center (pKa(0) = 9.5-10.8) does not change with the electronic effects of the benzoyl substituent, suggests that these reactions are not stepwise, but concerted.     

Molecular-level control of the photoluminescence from PPV nanostructured films

The fabrication of varied molecular architectures in layer-by-layer (LbL) films is exploited to control the photoluminescence (PL) of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) in an unprecedented way. This was achieved by controlling the F?rster energy transfer between PPV layers (donors) and layers of a commercial azodye, Brilliant Yellow (BY) (acceptors). Energy transfer was controlled by inserting spacer layers of inert polymers between PPV and BY layers and by photoaligning the BY molecules via trans-cis-trans isomerization. The PPV/BY LbL films displayed polarized PL whose intensity could be varied almost continuously by changing the time of photoalignment, which was carried out by impinging a linearly polarized laser light simultaneously to the PL experiments. For PPV/BY films with no spacer layers, PL was completely quenched, but its intensity increased with the number of spacing layers. Further increase in PL was obtained by photoaligning the BY molecules perpendicularly to the PPV molecules. This minimizes energy transfer, since F?rster processes are directional, dipole-dependent resonant transfers. Energy transfer is also controlled by imparting a preferential orientation of the PPV chains on PPV/BY LbL films deposited onto flexible Teflon substrates that may be stretched.     

Molybdenum determination in iron matrices by ICP-AES after separation and preconcentration using polyurethane foam

A procedure is proposed for the separation and determination of molybdenum in iron matrices by a batch process. It is based on the solid-phase extraction of the molybdenum(V) ion as thiocyanate complex on polyurethane (PU) foam. The extraction parameters were optimized. Using 0.20 mol L-1 hydrochloric acid, a thiocyanate concentration of 0.10 mol L-1, 100 mg of polyurethane foam and shaking time of 10 min, molybdenum (5-400 micrograms) can be separated and preconcentrated from large amounts of iron (10 mg). Desorption was carried out instantaneously by conc. nitric acid or acetone. Distribution coefficients, sorption capacity of the PU foam and coefficients of variation were also evaluated. The effect of some ions on the separation procedure was assessed. Iron(III) should be reduced to iron(II). The proposed procedure was used to determine molybdenum in standard iron matrices such as steel and pure iron. The achieved results did not show significant differences with certified values.     

Contrasting behavior in azide pyrolyses: an investigation of the thermal decompositions of methyl azidoformate, ethyl azidoformate and 2-azido-N, N-dimethylacetamide by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and matrix isolation infrared spectroscopy

The thermal decompositions of methyl azidoformate (N3COOMe), ethyl azidoformate (N3COOEt) and 2-azido-N,N-dimethylacetamide (N3CH2CONMe2) have been studied by matrix isolation infrared spectroscopy and real-time ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. N2 appears as an initial pyrolysis product in all systems, and the principal interest lies in the fate of the accompanying organic fragment. For methyl azidoformate, four accompanying products were observed: HNCO, H2CO, CH2NH and CO2, and these are believed to arise as a result of two competing decomposition routes of a four-membered cyclic intermediate. Ethyl azidoformate pyrolysis yields four corresponding products: HNCO, MeCHO, MeCHNH and CO2, together with the five-membered-ring compound 2-oxazolidone. In contrast, the initial pyrolysis of 2-azido-N,N-dimethyl acetamide, yields the novel imine intermediate Me2NCOCH=NH, which subsequently decomposes into dimethyl formamide (HCONMe2), CO, Me2NH and HCN. This intermediate was detected by matrix isolation IR spectroscopy, and its identity confirmed both by a molecular orbital calculation of its IR spectrum, and by the temperature dependence and distribution of products in the PES and IR studies. Mechanisms are proposed for the formation and decomposition of all the products observed in these three systems, based on the experimental evidence and the results of supporting molecular orbital calculations.     

Biogenetically inspired enantioselective approach to Indolo[2,3-a]- and benzo[a]quinolizidine alkaloids from a synthetic equivalent of secologanin

[reaction: see text] Racemic oxodiester 1 undergoes stereoselective cyclocondensation with (S)-tryptophanol, (S)-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)alaninol, or the corresponding amino acids, in a process involving a tandem dynamic kinetic resolution/desymmetrization of diastereotopic groups, to give bicyclic lactams, which are cyclized to substituted indolo[2,3-a]- and benzo[a]quinolizidines.     

Molecular orbital calculations on transition metal clusters

Transition metal clusters have been subject of experimental and theoretical interest due to their catalytic activity, as well as their unusual physical properties. Semi-empirical extended Hückel molecular orbital calculations are presented for a series of small metal clusters with nuclearity ranging from 3 to 6. Naked and carbonylated clusters of Fe, Ru, and Os are studied. The charge transfer between ligands shell and metal core is found to be a function of nuclearity, CO coordination and the chemical species forming the bare cluster. The observed magnetic properties of these systems are discussed in terms of their electronic structure and CO-metal charge transfer.     

Preliminary investigation of the application of on-line membrane extraction of trifluoroacetic acid as an aid to improvement of negative ion electrospray mass spectrometry data

We have recently investigated the biodegradation of a number of acidic aromatic compounds that give excellent chromatography using trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) based HPLC methods. Unfortunately HPLC methods using TFA are not usually compatible with detection by negative ion mass spectrometry as TFA suppresses ionisation of the analyte during the electrospray process. We present a preliminary investigation of the use of an anion-exchange micro-membrane suppressor to remove TFA on-line post column with the aim of improvement of mass spectral data using an aromatic acid as an example, Thus LC-MS using a TFA based HPLC method with negative ion mass spectral detection is shown to be possible with good sensitivity.     

Oxorhenium(V) Complexes with Thiosemicarbazones

Neutral oxorhenium(V) complexes with thiosemicarbazones derived from 2‐pyridine formamide, HL¹, are formed when [ReOCl₃(PPh₃)₂] reacts with equimolar amounts of the ligands. Reduction of the metal and the formation of rhenium(III) complexes of the composition [Re(L¹)₂]⁺ occurs when an excess of thiosemicarbazones is used and the reaction is performed in boiling toluene for a prolonged period of time. The thiosemicarbazones deprotonate and act as tridentate ligands as has been confirmed by an X‐ray structure of [ReOCl₂(L^1b)], where HL^1b is 2‐pyridineformamide‐N(4)‐ethylthiosemicarbazone and the ligand occupies the equatorial coordination sphere of the complex together with one of the chloro ligands.     

Exact solution of the Boltzmann equation in the homogeneous color conductivity problem

An exact solution of the Boltzmann equation for a binary mixture of colored Maxwell molecules is found. The solution corresponds to a nonequilibrium homogeneous steady state created by a nonconservative external force. Explicit expressions for the moments of the distribution function are obtained. By using information theory, an approximate velocity distribution function is constructed, which is exact in the limits of small and large field strengths. Comparison is made between the exact energy flux and the one obtained from the information theory distribution.