GC-MS ultra trace analysis of dioxins produced through hydrothermal gasification of biowastes

Hydrogen gas and the valuable material hydroxylapatite have successfully been produced from biomass wastes by hydrothermal gasification. However, it was expected that toxic compounds might be produced through the reaction. It was therefore important to clarify whether toxic compounds were synthesized in hydrothermal gasification of biowastes since dioxins are categorized among the most toxic compounds for humans. This is particularly true of biomass wastes containing hetero-atoms in organic matrices. In this study, formation of the dioxins polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and certain dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were examined. Chicken manure and cattle manure were tested as real biowastes for hydrothermal gasification and the produced compounds in the liquid and solid phases were analyzed for detection of dioxins by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The total toxic equivalent quantities (the total TEQ) of dioxins produced by the hydrothermal gasification were found to be much lower than regulation levels in Japan require and therefore the products require no additional post treatments.     

Effects of conformational flexibility of alkyl chains of cations on diffusion of ions in ionic liquids

Molecular dynamics simulations of ionic liquids [1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium (alkyl = ethyl, butyl and hexyl), N-butylpyridinium, N-butyl-N,N,N-trimethylammonium and N-butyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium cations combined with the (CF(3)SO(2))(2)N(-) (TFSA) anion] show that the conformational flexibility of the alkyl chains in the cations is one of the important factors determining the diffusion of ions. Artificial constraint imposed on the internal rotation of alkyl chains significantly decreases the self-diffusion coefficients of cations and anions. The internal rotation of the C-N bond connecting the alkyl chain and the aromatic ring has large effects on the diffusion of ions in imidazolium and pyridinium based ionic liquids. The calculated self-diffusion coefficients of cations and anions decrease 20-40% by imposing the torsional constraint of the C-N bond. On the other hand the torsional constraint of the C-N bond does not largely change the diffusion of ions in the quaternary alkyl ammonium based ionic liquids. The conformational flexibility of the terminal C-C-C-C bond of the alkyl chains has large effects on the diffusion of ions in the quaternary alkyl ammonium based ionic liquids. The influence of the electrostatic interactions and the high density of ionic liquids on the diffusion of ions were studied. The electrostatic interactions have the paramount importance on the slow diffusion of ions in ionic liquids, while the high density of ionic liquids is also responsible for the slow diffusion. The electrostatic interactions and the high density of ionic liquids enhance the effects of the torsional constraint on the diffusion of ions, which suggests that the charge-ordering structure and small free volume originated in the strong electrostatic interactions are the causes of the significant effects of the conformational flexibility on the diffusion of ions in ionic liquids.     

Novel formation of diimidazo[1,2-a:2',1'-c]quinoxaline derivatives and their optical properties

Reaction of 1,2-di(imidazolyl)benzene treated with n-BuLi proceeded to give diimidazo[1,2-a:2',1'-c]quinoxaline in the presence of iodine or Pd(PPh(3))(4). Blue fluorescence was observed from 3,10-diarylated diimidazoquinoxalines with high quantum yield. They were also applied to organic light-emitting devices as emitters, in which the diphenyl derivative emits a nearly pure blue light.     

Adsorbate-localized versus substrate-mediated excitation mechanisms for generation of coherent Cs-Cu stretching vibration at Cu(111)

Coherent Cs-Cu stretching vibration at a Cu(111) surface covered with a full monolayer of Cs is observed by using time-resolved second harmonic generation spectroscopy, and its generation mechanisms and dynamics are simulated theoretically. While the irradiation with ultrafast pulses at both 400 and 800 nm generate the coherent Cs-Cu stretching vibration at a frequency of 1.8 THz (60 cm(-1)), they lead to two distinctively different features: the initial phase and the pump fluence dependence of the initial amplitude of coherent oscillation. At 400 nm excitation, the coherent oscillation is nearly cosine-like with respect to the pump pulse and the initial amplitude increases linearly with pump fluence. In contrast, at 800 nm excitation, the coherent oscillation is sine-like and the amplitude is saturated at high fluence. These features are successfully simulated by assuming that the coherent vibration is generated by two different electronic transitions: substrate d-band excitation at 400 nm and the quasi-resonant excitation between adsorbate-localized bands at 800 nm, i.e., possibly from an alkali-induced quantum well state to an unoccupied state originating in Cs 5d bands or the third image potential state.     

Fish-Bite structure by three-dimensional hydrogen-bond acceptor: IR spectroscopy of pyrrole and N-methylpyrrole binary clusters

The N-H[ellipsis (horizontal)]π hydrogen-bonded (H-bonded) structures of pyrrole (Py) and N-methylpyrrole (NMPy) binary clusters have been studied by IR cavity ringdown spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations. The Py(1)-NMPy(1) cluster has an "L-shape" structure, which is formed by an ordinary H-bond between a N-H donor of Py and a π-electron cloud acceptor of NMPy. The Py(2)-NMPy(1) cluster has a "Cyclic" structure, which is also formed by ordinary N-H[ellipsis (horizontal)]π H-bonds as well as the weak C-H[ellipsis (horizontal)]π H-bond between the methyl CH group and the π cloud acceptor of Py. On the other hand, the Py(1)-NMPy(2) cluster shows an extraordinary structure, in which the single donor NH group is surrounded by a three-dimensional H-bond acceptor formed by two aromatic π electron clouds. We call the Py(1)-NMPy(2) cluster as the "Fish-Bite" structure. The Py(1)-NMPy(2) cluster exhibits a redshifted NH stretch by 157 cm(-1) from the Py monomer, which is larger than 94 cm(-1) of the Py(1)-NMPy(1) cluster. However, both Py(1)-NMPy(1) and Py(1)-NMPy(2) clusters have calculated IR intensities of 169 and 163 km∕mol, respectively. This result indicates that not only the N-H[ellipsis (horizontal)]π H-bonds but also the dipole-dipole interaction between Py and NMPy contributes to the Fish-Bite Py(1)-NMPy(2) cluster formation.     

Theoretical study of dynamic electron-spin-polarization via the doublet-quartet quantum-mixed state (II). Population transfer and magnetic field dependence of the spin polarization

The population transfer to the spin-sublevels of the unique quartet (S = 3/2) high-spin state of the strongly exchange-coupled (SC) radical-triplet pair (for example, an Acceptor-Donor-Radical triad (A-D-R)) via a doublet-quartet quantum-mixed (QM) state is theoretically investigated by a stochastic Liouville equation. In this work, we have treated the loss of the quantum coherence (de-coherence) due to the de-phasing during the population transfer and neglected the effect of other de-coherence mechanisms. The dependences on the magnitude of the exchange coupling or the fine-structure parameter of the QM state are investigated. The dependence on the velocity of the population transfer (by the electron transfer or the energy-transfer) from the QM state to the SC quartet state is also clarified. It is revealed that the de-coherence during the population transfer mainly originates from the fine-structure term of the QM state in the doublet-triplet exchange coupled systems. This de-coherence leads to the unique dynamic electron polarization (DEP) on the high-field spin sublevels of the SC state, which is similar to the unique DEP pattern of the photo-excited triplet states of the reaction centers of photosystems I and II. The magnetic field dependence of the population transfer leading to the populations of the spin-sublevels of the SC states is also calculated. The possibility of the control of energy transport, spin transport and information technology by using the QM state is discussed based on these results. The knowledge obtained in this work is useful in the spin dynamics of any doublet-triplet exchange coupled systems.     

Furanose ring conformations in a 1′-alkynyl C-nucleoside and the dinucleotide

A large-scale synthesis was carried out for alkynyl C-nucleotide oligomers in order to clarify the structural details of the artificial DNA. A liquid-phase synthesis by means of phosphoramidite methodology enabled us to handle ～0.1 g of the DNA oligomers possessing a pseudouracil derivative (T*) as a non-natural nucleobase. ¹H NMR measurements in aqueous media were carried out for the oligomers, succeeded in the accurate assignments of the protons accompanying with determination of the coupling constants (J values). These J values revealed that average conformation of the alkynylribose rings in the DNA was substantially biased toward the S-type conformers (²T₁/E₁/^OT₁). X-ray crystal analysis of the non-natural nucleoside also supported the S-type conformation (²E/²T₁) as seen in natural B-DNA.