Interaction of UO2 2+ with sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles: association of phenols to micelles through fluorescence quenching data

Time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence (TRLIF) has been used to study the interaction of uranyl ion with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles in H(3)PO(4) 1 M. The titration curve consists of two curved regions with different slopes, one of them more pronounced at low concentration of SDS and the other, with a less pronounced positive slope at larger [SDS] until a plateau is reached. The fluorescence quenching of uranyl ion by para-substituted phenol compounds was studied by TRLIF and steady-state emission intensity measurements. The results were interpreted in terms of binding of phenolic compounds to the micelle. The binding constant (K(Q)) as well as the entrance and exit rate constants were determined for all the quenchers used.     

A triangle-square equilibrium of metallosupramolecular assemblies based on pd(II) and pt(II) corners and diazadibenzoperylene bridging ligands

Tetraaryloxy-substituted diazadibenzoperylene bridging ligands 1a,b were employed in transition metal-directed self-assembly with Pd(II) and Pt(II) phosphane triflates 2a,b which resulted in complex dynamic equilibria between molecular triangles 3a-d and molecular squares 4a-d in solution. Characterization of the equilibria and assignment of the metallacycles was accomplished by (1)H and (31)P[(1)H] NMR spectroscopy in combination with electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron mass spectrometry (ESI-FTICR-MS). It was found that the equilibria depend on several factors, such as the metal ion (Pd(2+) or Pt(2+)), the solvent, and the steric demand of the phenoxy substituents of the diazadibenzoperylene ligands 1a,b. Introduction of bulky tert-butyl groups in 1b shifts the equilibrium significantly in the direction of the molecular squares. Molecular dynamics simulations of the triangle and square structures revealed critical steric effects and restricted conformational flexibilities of the phosphane and diazadibenzoperylene ligands that help explain the distinct dynamic behavior observed in variable-temperature NMR studies. Concentration-dependent UV/vis and fluorescence spectroscopy revealed the limited stability of the assemblies and confirmed the reversible nature of the dynamic equilibria.     

Mössbauer study of the spatial distribution of the active species in Cs doped Fe2O3-V2O5 catalysts

From a Cs doped Fe₂O₃-V₂O₅ (Fe:V=1.4) catalyst exhibiting an inhomogeneous composition after calcination, three different fractions have been separated by visual inspection. One fraction has been found to consist of mainly α-Fe₂O₃, another one of mainly FeVO₄. The third fraction (S1 in the text) is the catalytically most active fraction containing besides both of the former components an amorphous phase of Fe_xV_yO_z and also the dopant. By combining the results from transmission and conversion electron Mössbauer spectra it has been concluded that the amorphous component is enriched in the surface region of the crystallites of the catalyst. In addition, the formation of a thin surface layer of iron sulfide (Fe_1?xS) on the third fraction has been identified. This sulfide is assumed to be formed during calcination from Cs₂SO₄ used for the preparation of the catalyst.     

Influence of amphiphilic block copolymers on lyotropic liquid crystals in water-oil-surfactant systems

In ternary water-oil-nonionic alkyl polyglycol ether (C(i)E(j)) microemulsions, an increase in efficiency is always accompanied by the formation of a lamellar (L(alpha)) phase. The addition of an amphiphilic block copolymer to the ternary base system increases the efficiency of the microemulsion drastically while suppressing--at least partly--the formation of the L(alpha) phase. However, amphiphilic block copolymers can be used not only to suppress the formation of lyotropic liquid crystals but also for the opposite effect, namely, to induce their formation. To understand to what extent the increase in efficiency is accompanied by the formation of lyotropic liquid crystals, we studied phase diagrams of water-n-alkane-n-alkyl polyglycol ethers (C(i)E(j))-PEPX-PEOY at a constant volume fraction of oil in the water/oil mixture. Using polymers of the poly(ethylene propylene)-copoly(ethylene oxide) type, with M(PEP) = X kg mol(-1) and M(PEO) = Y kg mol(-1), we determined phase diagrams as a function of the polymer concentration, size, and symmetry. Moreover, the influence of a particular polymer mixture was studied, which turned out to be the best system if both a high efficiency and a low tendency to form an L(alpha) phase are needed.     

Simultaneous differential pulse-polarographic determination of CS2 and COS gases and its application in the analysis of dithiocarbamate fungicide residues in foods

The differential pulse-polarographic (DPP) determination of both CS₂ and COS gases, after their absorption in a methanolic piperidine reagent and the subsequent application of this technique to the residue analysis of dithiocarbamate fungicides is described. Rectilinear calibration curves for both CS₂ and COS in the respective regions of 1.5–9.2 and 2.1–12.6 μmol/l were obtained. The DPP method has been successfully applied to the determination of thiram residues on apples after a hot acid hydrolysis of the fruits.     

Molecular fractionation in isotactic polypropylene during isothermal crystallization

The nucleation frequency of isotactic polypropylene shows for certain molecular weight distributions during isothermal crystallization a “stepwise” development of the nuclei as a function of time. The resulting curve can be fitted by a superposition of exponential functions assuming a separate nucleation density for each nucleation step. The multimodal nucleation is discussed as a consequence of molecular fractionation effects during crystallization. Received: 23 October 1997 Accepted: 12 May 1998     

The modification of the triple helical structure of gelatin in aqueous solution I. The influence of anionic surfactants,pH-value,and temperature

The modification of the triple helical structure in aqueous gelatin solutions by changing pH and adding alkyl sulphates at 298 K and after rechilling the solution to 283 K was investigated by CD-measurement. At 298 K the triple helical content at the IEP of the gelatin has its maximum value. It is only weakly affected by adding sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDDS) at concentrations <10^–4 M/dm³. The unfolding of the triple helix affected by pH and SDDS is reversible by rechilling the solution. The triple helical content of gelatin solutions decreases at SDDS concentrations higher than 10^–4 M/dm³. In all cases the decrease of the amount of triple helical structure is connected with an increase of the cis-configuration in single chains and leads to chain reversals. At sufficiently high SDDS concentrations-sheets are formed. These changes are thermally irreversible. Sodium decyl sulphate (SDS) has a more minor influence than SDDS except in the range of the c.m.c. of SDS. At sufficiently high SDS concentrations,-turns appear.     

New liquid chromatographic-chemometric approach for the determination of sunset yellow and tartrazine in commercial preparation

A new liquid chromatographic (LC)-chemometric approach was developed for the determination of sunset yellow (SUN) and tartrazine (TAR) in commercial preparations. This approach uses LC and chemometric calibration methods, i.e., classical least-squares (CLS), principal component regression (PCR), and partial-least squares (PLS), simultaneously. The combined LC-chemometric approaches, denoted as LC-CLS, LC-PCR, and LC-PLS, are based on photodiode array (PDA) detection at multiple wavelengths. Optimum chromatographic separation of SUN and TAR with allura red as the internal standard (IS) was obtained by using a Waters Symmetry C18 column, 5 microm, 4.6 x 250 mm, and 0.2 M acetate buffer (pH 5)-acetonitrile-methano-bidistilled water (55 + 20 + 15 + 10, v/v) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.9 mL/min. The LC data sets consisting of the ratios of analyte peak areas to the IS peak area were obtained by using PDA detection at 5 wavelengths (465, 470, 475, 480, and 485 nm). LC-chemometric calibrations for SUN and TAR were separately constructed by using the relationship between the peak-area ratio and the training sets for each colorant. LC-chemometric approaches were tested for different synthetic mixtures containing SUN and TAR in the presence of the IS. These LC-chemometric calibrations were applied to a commercial preparation of the 2 colorants. The experimental results of the LC-chemometric approaches were compared with those obtained by a developed classical LC method using single-wavelength detection.     

On the structural phase transition in rare earth elpasolites

The structural phase transition in two representatives of the rare earth elpasolite fluorides, Rb₂NaHoF₆ and Rb₂NaTmF₆, are studied in detail. The symmetry of the soft mode is determined from Raman spectra, X-ray and neutron powder diffraction data to be ₄ ⁺ . From the temperature dependence of the elastic constants of both compounds, estimates of various phase transition parameters are given, e.g. strain soft mode coupling constant and soft mode frequency. The softening of the elastic constants forT>T _c is explained by the strain coupling to the fluctuations of the soft mode coordinates. The energy of the soft phonon at the zone boundary is estimated from the data and compared with that of K₂ReCl₆. The phase transition mechanisms in rare earth elpasolites and hexahalometallates are discussed.     

Amorphous-amorphous transition in glassy polymers subjected to cold rolling studied by means of positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy

In this study, polycarbonate (PC) and polystyrene (PS) are subjected to plastic deformation by means of cold rolling and the resulting variation of the free volume and its subsequent time evolution after rolling is investigated by means of positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). The value of the long lifetime component that is attributed to the decay of ortho-positronium (tau(o-Ps)) and its intensity (I(o-Ps)) are used to characterize, respectively, the size and the concentration of the free-volume holes. In addition to the PALS experiments, the effect of plastic deformation on the dynamic tensile modulus is investigated. The PALS results show that both for well-aged PC and PS an increase of tau(o-Ps) and a decrease of I(o-Ps) occur upon plastic deformation. During the subsequent aging, tau(o-Ps) tends to return to the value assumed before plastic deformation, while I(o-Ps) remains constant with time. These results corroborate the idea of an amorphous-amorphous transition, rather than that of a "mechanical rejuvenation" as proposed in the past to explain the ability of plastic deformation to reinitiate physical aging. Finally, a linear relation between the size of the free-volume holes and the dynamic tensile modulus is found, which suggests that the stiffness of amorphous glassy polymers is fully determined by their nanoscopic structure.