A study of preferential solvation of N-alkyl pyridinium iodides in mixed solvents containing acetonitrile

The charge transfer (CT) band maximum of N-alkyl pyridinium iodide (NAPI) has been studied as a function of the composition of binary mixed dipolar aprotic solvents. The deviation from linearity of the energy maximum (E₁₂) and the mole fraction (of a component solvent) plot is explained as due to a preferential solvation by the more polar cosolvent in the binary mixture. The extent of preferential solvation has been observed to vary with the composition, the maximum being towards the less-polar end. The role of hydrogen bond donating ability of a solvent in preferential solvation is discussed.     

Effect of the ionic strength of salts on retention and overloading behavior of ionizable compounds in reversed-phase liquid chromatography I. XTerra-C18

The influence of the salt concentration (potassium chloride) on the retention and overloading behavior of the propranolol cation (R'-NH2+ -R) on an XTerra-C18 column, in a methanol:water solution, was investigated. The adsorption isotherm data were first determined by frontal analysis (FA) for a mobile phase without salt (25% methanol, v/v). It was shown that the adsorption energy distribution calculated from these raw adsorption data is bimodal and that the isotherm model that best accounts for these data is the bi-Moreau model. Assuming that the addition of a salt into the mobile phase changes the numerical values of the parameters of the isotherm model, not its mathematical form, we used the inverse method (IM) of chromatography to determine the isotherm with seven salt concentrations in the mobile phase (40% methanol, v/v; 0, 0.002, 0.005, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 M). The saturation capacities of the model increase, q(s,1) by a factor two and q(s,2) by a factor four, with increasing salt concentration in the range studied while the adsorption constant b1 increases four times and b2 decreases four times. Adsorbate-adsorbate interactions vanish in the presence of salt, consistent with results obtained previously on a C18-Kromasil column. Finally, besides the ionic strength of the solution, the size, valence, and nature of the salt ions affect the thermodynamic as well as the mass transfer kinetics of the adsorption mechanism of propranolol on the XTerra column.     

Silver nanoparticles dispersed within amphiphilic star-block copolymers as templates for plasmon band materials

Formation of silver nanoparticles has been developed based on a template technique. Amphiphilic star-block copolymers employed as single molecule template, utilizing the coordination of Ag⁺ ions with carboxyl groups in the core of the star-block copolymer. Silver nanoparticles have been prepared by the addition of chemical reductant, e.g., NaBH₄. The solution of the resultant nanosphere composites showed yellow due to the surface plasmon resonance. These composites were soluble in organic solvents, because hydrophobic corona of the star-block copolymer protected the fabricated silver nanoparticles from aggregation.     

PHOTOEMISSION WITHIN AND BEYOND THE ONE-STEP MODEL

Photoemission in the vacuum ultraviolet photon regime has proved to be an effective tool for the investigation of valence band surface electronic structure. The interpretation cannot be exclusively confined to the valence bands but has to consider cross sections with realistic final states consistently designed within the one-step model. Therefore especially in the surface sensitive photoemission, several effects hide the final goal of deducing the energetic and wavefunction structure together with microscopic potential parameters through a convincing agreement of calculated with measured spectra. The final states band structure is much less well understood than the valence band structure under consideration. The optical potential, which controls the surface sensitivity through the underlying damping mechanisms, widely relies on empirical assumptions. Furthermore, the photon field is not only strongly influenced but in the vicinity of the plasma frequency also deteriorated by the electronic response. In view of high resolution spectroscopy the accuracy of the data interpretation is affected, and in fact, band-mapping methods are no longer valid. Examples of recent calculations to account for these effects are reviewed.     

Comparison between the adsorption behaviors of an organic cation and an organic anion on several reversed-phase liquid chromatography adsorbents

Adsorption data of an organic cation (propranololium chloride) and an organic anion (sodium 1-naphthalene sulfonate) were measured by frontal analysis on two RPLC adsorbents, Symmetry-C18 and XTerra-C18, with aqueous solutions of methanol as the mobile phases. The influence of supporting neutral salts on the adsorption behavior of these two ions are compared. The Henry constants are close (H approximately 5). The four sets of isotherm data are all well accounted for using the bi-Moreau model. However, the isotherms of the two ions behave differently at high concentrations. The initial behaviors of all the isotherms are antilangmuirian but remain so in a much wider concentration range for the cation than for the anion, due to its stronger adsorbate-adsorbate interactions on the low-energy adsorption sites. The retention times of both ions increase with increasing concentration of neutral salt in the mobile phase, suggesting the formation of ion-pair complexes, with Cl- for the cation and with Na+ for the anion. The adsorbate-adsorbate interactions vanish in the presence of salt and the bi-Moreau isotherm model tends toward a bi-Langmuir model. Differences in adsorption behavior are also observed between the cation and the anion when bivalent inorganic anions and cations, respectively, are dissolved in the mobile phase. High concentration band profiles of 1-naphthalene sulfonic acid are langmuirian, except in the presence of a trivalent cation, while those of propranolol are antilangmuirian under certain conditions even with uni- or divalent cations.     

Comparison between adsorption isotherm determination techniques and overloaded band profiles on four batches of monolithic columns

The adsorption isotherms of 4-tert.-butyl phenol were measured on four different monolithic columns, using three different techniques, classical frontal analysis (FA), the perturbation on a plateau method (PP) and the recently introduced numerical procedure known as the inverse numerical method (IN). This last approach requires only the recording of a few overloaded profiles and has the potential advantage of affording a dramatic decrease of the amounts of compounds, solvent, and time needed to determine accurate estimates of the coefficients of the isotherm. The reproducibility of the adsorption data measured on the four columns is discussed with reference to the specific techniques used for obtaining these data and to the most suitable equation used for modeling them. The data obtained for the different columns were highly consistent. The inverse numerical approach was confirmed to provide a powerful, accurate, and economic method for measuring single component adsorption data.     

Estimation of the instrumental band broadening contribution to the column elution profiles in open tubular capillary liquid chromatography

In comparison with conventionally packed HPLC columns, from a theoretical point of view, open capillary liquid chromatography (OTLC) systems offer a number of advantages like high plate numbers and short analysis times. On the other hand, drastic changes have to be made to the instrumentation. In particular, the contribution to band broadening by the chromatographic equipment must be considerably reduced. In the present study an OTLC system was developed and evaluated, which yields satisfactory results for 26 μm i. d. columns. The determination of the contribution of the chromatographic equipment to the total band broadening is discussed.     

C36填充单壁碳纳米管的结构和电子性质

The structures and electronic properties for C36 encapsulated in four single-wall armchair carbon nanotubes (C36@(n,n), n=6-9) were calculated using ab initio self-consistent field crystal orbital method based on density functional theory. The calculations show that the interwall spacing between the carbon nanotube and C36 plays an important role in the stabilities of resultant structures. The optimum interwall spacing is about 0.30 nm and the tubes can be considered as inert containers for the encapsulated C36. The Fermi levels and relative position of energy bands also have something to do with the interwall spacing. The shifts of Fermi level and C36-derived electron states modulate the electron properties of these structures. The extra electrons fill the bands of C36@(8,8) with the optimum interwall spacing almost in a rigid-band manner.     

Succession of stacking disorder in hard-sphere crystal under gravity by Monte Carlo simulation

We have performed Monte Carlo simulations of hard spheres under gravity. Vertical boundaries are hard walls, which are well separated with each other. On the other hand, the periodic boundary condition is imposed in the horizontal direction. While we previously reported enhancement of crystallinity as well as crystallization due to gravity, we present here the results that demonstrate the succession of a defect. In case that the crystal formed at the bottom of the system includes kinds of stacking disorders for the (0 0 1) growth, twin band structure develops as mediated by a stacking disorder succeeded in the crystal formed in the fluid region which lies on the bottom crystal. In case that the stacking structure along horizontal direction changes from the (1 1 1) stacking to the (0 0 1) stacking, twin band structure in the (0 0 1) stacking region develops as succeeded in the crystal transformed. The twin band structure also becomes large with its upward growth.     

Band structure of even and ions of odd polyenes

The analysis of experimental data for singlet transitions (E _n) of even polyenes (I), cations (II) and anions (III) of odd polyenes show that for infinite chains E (I)/E (II)=E (I)/E (III) = 2:1. It is shown that the energy gap is equal for the three systems. In cases (II) and (III) there is a level (NBMO) in the gap which is vacant in (II) and occupied in (III). That is why the first optical transition in (II) and (III) depends on the semiwidth of the gap.