La détermination rapide du calcium et du magnésium dans l'eau de mer

A rapid method is described for the determination of calcium and magnesium in sea. water. The classical gravimetric methods are very lengthy and are susceptible to errors if used for sea-water. The two alkaline earths are determined by complexometric titration using complexen III (disodium ethylenediaminetetra-acetate) as reagent and two indicators (murexide and ériochrome black T) for the determination of calcium and for the sum of Ca⁺² and Mg⁺² ions. The quantity of magnesium is obtained by difference. While the classical gravimetric methods take at least 24 hours, these two determinations can be effected in 1 hour, giving satisfactory accuracy.     

Extraction of Pb(II), Cd(II), and Hg(II) from aqueous solution by nitrogen and thiol functionality grafted to silica gel measured by calorimetry

The reaction of ethylene sulfide with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane gave a new silylating agent, which was anchored onto a silica surface via the sol–gel procedure. This surface displayed a chelating moiety containing nitrogen and two sulfur basic centers potentially capable of extracting cations from aqueous solutions. The process of metal extraction was followed by a batch method, and fitted to a modified Langmuir equation. The maximum adsorption capacities found were: 2.06 ± 0.01, 3.72 ± 0.02, and 5.14 ± 0.02 mmol g⁻¹ for Pb(II), Cd(II), and Hg(II), respectively. The enthalpies of bending are: −1.16 ± 0.04, −3.60 ± 0.10, and −8.94 ± 0.03 kJ mol⁻¹ for Cd(II), Pb(II), and Hg(II), respectively. The Gibbs free energies of binding agree with the spontaneity of the proposed reactions between cations and basic centers.     

Is the A-ring of sparteine essential for high enantioselectivity in the asymmetric lithiation-substitution of N-Boc-pyrrolidine?

The simplest chiral portion of sparteine, N,N'-dimethyl-2-endo-methylbispidine, was prepared and evaluated in the asymmetric lithiation-substitution of N-Boc-pyrrolidine. The results indicate that the complete A-ring of sparteine is essential for high levels of asymmetric induction. DFT-QSSR analyses of the diamine/Li(+) complexes and DFT calculations of the pertinent i-PrLi/diamine/N-Boc-pyrrolidine complexes are predictive and provide complementary pictures of the stereochemical features critical to this transformation.     

Electrochemical synthesis of Co,Ni, and Zn complexes with 2-Pyrrole-[N-(o-hydroxyphenyl)methylimines]: The crystal structure of 2,2′-Bipyridine bis{2-[(2-pyrrole)methylimino]5-methylphenolato}nickel(II)

The electrochemical oxidation of anodic cobalt, nickel, and zinc in acetonitrile containing both 2-pyrrole-[N-(o-hydroxyphenyl)methylimines] (H₂L) and a bidentate ligand (1, 10-phenanthroline(phen) or 2,2′-bipyridine(bipy)) yielded compounds of general formula M(HL)₂ · phen and M(HL)₂ · bipy (M = Co, Ni, Zn). The crystal structure of 2,2′-bipyridine bis{2-[(2-pyrrole)methylimino]5-methylphenolato}nickel(II) was determined by X-ray diffraction. This compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pccn with a = 19.430(2), b = 28.488(2), c = 17.567(1) Å. The nickel atom has a distorted octahedral geometry, and the pyrrole nitrogen is not coordinated. The IR, ¹H-NMR and UV-visible spectra of the complexes are discussed and related to the structure.     

Self-assembled monolayers on Au microelectrodes

Long chain alkanethiols self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) formed on Au microelectrodes showed higher sensitivity towards defects than the same monolayers on macroelectrodes. The analysis of cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) experiments performed on covered microelectrodes were consistent with the formation of pinholes of about 10 nm in diameter. Moreover, the EIS data exhibited a specific behavior that was interpreted invoking the short circuiting of the pinholes impedance by the surrounding surface of the microelectrode in the high frequency domain, whereas in the low frequencies, the surface covered by the SAM was assume to act as an insulator.     

On the Mechanical Properties of Popgraphene-Based Nanotubes: a Reactive Molecular Dynamics Study

Carbon-based tubular materials have sparked a great interest in future electronics and optoelectronics device applications. In this work, we computationally studied the mechanical properties of nanotubes generated from popgraphene (PopNTs). Popgraphene is a 2D carbon allotrope composed of 5-8-5 rings. We carried out fully atomistic reactive (ReaxFF) molecular dynamics for PopNTs of different chiralities ( and ) and/or diameters and at different temperatures (from 300 up to 1200 K). Results showed that the tubes are thermally stable (at least up to 1200 K). All tubes presented stress/strain curves with a quasi-linear behavior followed by an abrupt drop of stress values. Interestingly, armchair-like PopNTs ( ) can stand a higher strain load before fracturing when contrasted to the zigzag-like ones ( ). Moreover, it was obtained that Young's modulus (Y_Mod) (750–900 GPa) and ultimate strength (σ_US) (120–150 GPa) values are similar to the ones reported for conventional armchair and zigzag carbon nanotubes. Y_Mod values obtained for PopNTs are not significantly temperature-dependent. While the σ_US values for the showed a quasi-linear dependence with the temperature, the exhibited no clear trends.     

Development and validation of a rapid RP‐HPLC method for analysis of (−)‐copalic acid in copaíba oleoresin

The Copaifera species (Leguminoseae) are popularly known as ‘copaíba’ or ‘copaíva’ and are grown in the states of Amazonas, Pará and Ceará in northern Brazil. The oleoresins obtained from these species have been extensively used owing to their pharmacological potential and their application in cosmetic and pharmaceutical preparations. In the present study, the development and validation of a novel, rapid and efficient RP‐HPLC methodology for the analysis of the diterpene (?)‐copalic acid (CA), pointed out as the only chemical marker of the Copaifera genus, are described. The regression equation (Y = 26,707x ? 29,498) was obtained with good linearity (r² = 0.9993) and the limits of quantification and detection were 9.182 and 3.032 µg/mL, respectively. The precision and the accuracy of the method were adequate (lower than 4%). Finally, the validation parameters evaluated were satisfactorily met, so the developed method represents a suitable tool for application in the quality control of such natural products. Further studies aiming to develop analytical methodologies for each Copaifera species using a more representative number of chemical markers should be performed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.