Effect of ionic additives on the elution of sodium aryl sulfonates in supercritical fluid chromatography

Addition of a small amount of polar solvent (i.e., modifier) to CO2 in packed column supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) has shown major improvements in both polar analyte solubility and interaction of the polar analyte with the stationary phase. Recently, the addition of an ionic component (i.e., additive) to the primary modifier by one of us has been shown to extend even further the application of SFC to polar analytes. In this work, the effect of various ionic additives on the elution of ionic compounds, such as sodium 4-dodecylbenzene sulfonate and sodium 4-octylbenene sulfonate, has been studied. The additives were lithium acetate, ammonium acetate, tetramethylammonium acetate, tetrabutylammonium acetate, and ammonium chloride dissolved in methanol. Three stationary phases with different degrees of deactivation were considered: conventional cyanopropyl, deltabond cyanopropyl, and bare silica. The effect of additive concentration and additive functionality on analyte retention was investigated. Sodium 4-dodecylbenzene sulfonate was successfully eluted using all the additives with good peak shape under isocratic/isobaric/isothermal conditions. Different additives, however, yielded different retention times and in some cases different peak shapes.     

Some azo-dye reagents for the spectrophotometric determination of cadmium

2-[2-(5-Bromopyridyl)azol-4,5-dimethylphenol (BrPDMP) and 2-[2-benzothiazolylazo)-5-dimethylaminophenol (BTADAP) have been synthesised and compared, as reagents for cadmium, with the related dyes BrPADAP and BTDMP. The new dyes both form stable highly coloured 2:1 complexes with cadmium, with molar absorptivities (in o-xylene solution) of 3.8 x 10(4) 1.mole(-1).cm(-1) at 590 nm (BrPDMP) and 4.5 x 10(4) 1.mole(-1).cm(-1) at 600 nm (BTADAP). Cadmium can be determined by extraction under alkaline conditions with a solution of BTADAP in xylene. Beer's law is obeyed up to at least 16 mug of cadmium. A limit of detection of 0.15 mug has been estimated and a coefficient of variation of 3.3% at the 5 mug level was found. The only species which interfere seriously are Co(2+), Ni(2+), and Ca(2+). A 200-fold excess of zinc may be tolerated. The method has been applied to the determination of cadmium in water samples, plant materials and hair. Interferences were overcome by preliminary extraction into Aliquat/carbon tetrachloride. The acid dissociation constant of BTADAP (pK = 9.5) and formation constant of the cadmium-BTADAP complex (log beta = 15.1) have been determined.     

Determination of benzydamine and its N-oxide in biological fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple, sensitive and selective method for the determination of benzydamine in human plasma and urine, and for benzydamine N-oxide in urine, has been developed using high-performance liquid chromatography in the reversed-phase mode. The limit of reliable determination of benzydamine in plasma was 0.5 ng/ml and that in urine 1 ng/ml; the limit of reliable determination of benzydamine N-oxide in urine was 50 ng/ml. The method has been successfully applied to the analysis of these compounds in biological fluids after administration of intravenous and oral doses of benzydamine to human volunteers.     

Femtosecond study of Cu(H(2)O) dynamics

The short-time nuclear dynamics of Cu(H(2)O) is investigated using femtosecond photodetachment-photoionization spectroscopy and time-dependent quantum wave packet calculations. The Cu(H(2)O) dynamics is initiated in the electronic ground state of the complex by electron photodetachment from the Cu(-)(H(2)O) complex, where hydrogen atoms are oriented toward Cu. Several time-resolved resonant multiphoton ionization schemes are used to probe the ensuing reorientation and dissociation. Immediately following photodetachment, the neutral complex is far from its minimum energy geometry and possesses an internal energy comparable to the Cu-H(2)O dissociation energy and undergoes both large-amplitude H(2)O motion and dissociation. Dissociation is observed to occur on three distinct time scales: 0.6, 8, and 100 ps. These results are compared to the results of time-dependent J=0 wave packet calculations, propagating the initial anion vibrational wave functions on the ground-state potential of the neutral complex. An excellent agreement is obtained between the experimental results and the ionization signals derived from the calculated probability amplitudes. Related experiments and calculations are carried out on the Cu(D(2)O) complex, with results very similar to those of Cu(H(2)O).     

Copolymerization behavior of vinylimidazolium salts

Copolymerization studies of cationic monomers have been reported in the literature to yield wide variations in reactivity ratios and Q–e values, depending on the comonomer and the nature of the solvent. In this work are presented the copolymerization characteristics of a variety of vinylimidazolium salts in both water and ethanol solution. From these studies, the effect of solvent polarity, of substitution at the imidazolium 2-position, of the type of counterion, and of the hydrophilic–hydrophobic character of the monomeric salts could be ascertained. The results of the study are consistent with other related investigations, in that solvent polarity and comonomer both strongly affected copolymerization.     

Novel binding of beryllium to dicarboxyimidazole-based model compounds and polymers

The ligand 4,5-dicarboxyimidazole (H(2)DCI) and its methyl derivative 1-methyl-4,5-dicarboxyimidazole (H(2)MDCI) have been shown to bind to Be(II) forming a zwitterionic species that has been structurally characterized. A new dicarboxyimidazole-based polymer has been prepared and its Be-binding properties have been studied using NMR ((1)H and (9)Be) and fluorescence spectroscopy; it represents a rare example of beryllium binding to a polymer. Models of the mononuclear and polymeric Be(II)-binding sites have been studied using density functional theory (DFT), and the (9)Be NMR chemical shifts of these model materials have been calculated for the purpose of direct comparison to experimentally observed values. Differences in the binding modes of the mononuclear and polymeric species are discussed.     

Synthesis and characterization of nanoparticulate MnS within the pores of mesoporous silica

Mesoporous silica was loaded with nanoparticulate MnS via a simple post-synthesis treatment. The mesoporous material that still contained surfactant was passivated to prevent MnS formation at the surface. The surfactant was extracted and a novel manganese ethylxanthate was used to impregnate the pore network. This precursor thermally decomposes to yield MnS particles that are smaller or equal to the pore size. The particles exhibit all three common polymorphs. The passivation treatment is most effective at lower loadings because at the highest loadings (SiO₂:MnS molar ratio of 6:1) large particles (>50 nm) form at the exterior of the mesoporous particles. The integrity of the mesoporous network is maintained through the preparation and high order is maintained. The MnS particles exhibit unexpected ferromagnetism at low temperatures. Strong luminescence of these samples is observed and this suggests that they may have a range of important application areas.     

Correlating second harmonic optical responses of single Ag nanoparticles with morphology

Femtosecond laser excited second harmonic (SH) activity from single Ag nanoparticles is reported. A correlation of SH single-particle measurements with high-resolution imaging of particle morphology by TEM was achieved by creating position markers on an optical and electron transparent substrate (Si3N4 thin film, approximately 100 nm). We compared the SH activity of single Ag nanoparticles (nanospheres versus nanorods) and cluster structures (composed of two or multiple particles, e.g., dimers and trimers). The direct correlation of single-particle structures and SH activity, spectral and power dependence, strongly suggests one-photon resonant driven nonlinear oscillator response mechanism.     

A new route to achiral and chiral 1,2-bis(phosphino)ethanes, 1-arsino-2-phosphinoethanes, and 1,3-bis(phosphino)propanes and the molecular structure and catalytic activity of some rhodium(I) complexes derived thereof

A series of unsymmetrical 1,2-bis(phosphino)ethanes R(2)PCH(2)CH(2)PR'(2) and 1-arsino-2-phosphinoethanes R(2)AsCH(2)CH(2)PR'(2) mainly with bulky substituents R and R' were prepared from the cyclic sulfate by stepwise cleavage of the carbon-oxygen bonds by LiPR(2) and LiPR'(2) or LiAsR(2) and LiPR'(2), respectively. Analogously, racemic mixtures of R(2)PCH(2)CH(Me)PPh(2)(R =iPr, Cy ) as well as the enantiomers (R)-, (R)- and (R)-tBu(2)PCH(2)CH(Me)PPh(2)(R)- were obtained from the corresponding unsymmetrical cyclic sulfates and (S)-. On a similar route, the racemates of the 1,3-bis(phosphino)propanes R(2)PCH(2)CH(2)CH(Me)PPh(2)(R =iPr, tBu ), optically pure (R)- and (S,S)-iPr(2)PCH(Me)CH(2)CH(Me)PPh(2)(S,S)- were prepared. The reaction of [[RhCl([small eta](4)-C(8)H(12))](2)] with chelating ligands L-L, where L-L is R(2)PCH(2)P(men)(2)(R =iPr, Ph; men =(1S,2R,5S)-menthyl), Cy(2)AsCH(2)P(men)(2), or (R)-, (R)-, (R)-, (R)- and (S,S)-, in the presence of AgPF(6), gave the complexes [Rh(eta(4)-C(8)H(12))(L-L)]PF(6) which were used as pre-catalysts in the hydrogenation of the methyl ester of alpha-acetamidocinnamic acid (ACM). Depending on L-L, the solvent, the temperature and the pressure of H(2), optical yields of up to 69% ee were achieved. For two of the rhodium complexes, and, the molecular structures were determined by X-ray crystallography.