A measure of the error in wave functions

The quantity ? = (Φ||(H ? E)Φ|) gives a measure of the error in the approximate solution, Φ (with corresponding energy expectation value E), to an eigenfunction of the Hamiltonian operator H of the system under consideration; this quantity vanishes for the exact function ψ. In a percentage scale (with 0% error for the exact function and 100% for a reference, approximate function), the error of Φ may be expressed as 100(?/?_r), where ?_r corresponds to the reference function (e.g., obtained with a minimal basis set). This approach eliminates the need of knowing beforehand the exact solution in order to have an estimate of the error of an approximate solution.     

Chemical synthesis and firefly luciferase produced dehydroluciferyl-coenzyme A

Dehydroluciferyl-coenzyme A (L-CoA) was chemically synthesized and characterized by MS, UV-vis spectrometry and RP-HPLC. The identity of the chemically synthesized compound with the one that was produced by firefly luciferase was confirmed. Moreover, the reversibility of the enzymatic conversion of dehydroluciferin ? dehydroluciferyl-adenylate ? L-CoA was also confirmed. The chemical synthesis of L-CoA, described here, may help the clarification of the activator effect of CoA on luciferase bioluminescent assays, in which the enzyme catalyzed formation of L-CoA and the consequent destruction of L-AMP is one of the possible explanations for that effect.     

thermal stability of epoxy systems badge (n=0)/1,2-dch and badge (n=0)/ 1,2-dch/vinylcyclohexene dioxide

The thermal degradation of the epoxy system diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (BADGE n=0)/1,2-diamine cyclohexane (DCH) containing different concentrations of an epoxy reactive diluent was studied by thermogravimetric analysis in order to determine the reaction mechanism of the degradation process and to compare it with the results for the same system without diluent. The value of the activation energy, necessary for this study, was calculated using various integral and differential methods. Values obtained using the different methods were compared to the value obtained by the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa"s method (between 193-240 kJ mol^-1 depending on the diluent concentration) with does not require a knowledge of the nth order reaction mechanism. All the experimental results were compared to master curves in the range of Doyle"s approximation (20-35% of conversion). Analysis of the results suggests that the reaction mechanism could be F₂, F₃, or A₂ type. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Preparation and Crystal Structure of Potassium Iron Hydrogen Phosphate,KFe3(HPO4)2(H2PO4)6 · 4 H2O

Single crystals of potassium iron hydrogen phosphate, KFe₃(HPO₄)₂(H₂PO₄)₆ · 4 H₂O, were prepared hydrothermally by heating a mixture of Fe₂O₃, H₃PO₄ and K₂CO₃ with a small amount of water. It crystallizes monoclinic, space group C2/c (N° 15 Int. Tab.) with Z = 4 and a = 1701(2), b = 960.4(5), c = 1750(1) pm, β = 90.88(7)°. The crystal structure was solved by using 1716 unique reflections F₀ > 4σ(F₀) with a final wR2 value of 0.126 (SHELXL-93). The main feature of the crystal structure are layers formed by PO₄-tetrahedra around the FeO₆-octahedra parallel to (001). K⁺ and H₂O molecules connect these layers. Effective Coordination Numbers (ECoN), Mean Fictive Ionic Radii (MEFIR), Charge Distribution (CHARDI) and the Madelung Part of Lattice Energy (MAPLE) are calculated for the title compound. The existence of hydrogen bonds is confirmed by these calculations.     

TTT Cure Diagram

Curing reactions of the epoxy system consisting of a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (BADGE n=0) and m-xylylenediamine (m-XDA) were studied to calculate time-temperature-transformation (TTT) isothermal cure diagram for this system. Gel times were measured as a function of temperature using solubility test. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to calculate the vitrification times. DSC data show a one-to-one relationship between T _g and fractional conversion, a independent of cure temperature. As a consequence, T _g can be used as a measure of conversion. The activation energy for the polymerization overall reaction was calculated from the gel times obtained using the solubility test (41.5 kJ mol^-1). This value is similar to the results obtained for other similar epoxy systems. Isoconversion contours were calculated by numerical integration of the best fitting kinetic model. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Selective determination of cobalt using polyurethane foam and 2-(2-benzothiazolylazo)-2-p-cresol as a spectrophotometric reagent

The present work describes a selective, rapid and economical method for the determination of cobalt using the 2-(2-benzothiazolylazo)-p-cresol (BTAC) as a spectrophotometric reagent associated with a solid extraction on polyurethane foam. The BTAC reacts with Co(II) in the presence of Triton-X100 surfactant forming a green complex with maximum absorption at 615 nm. The reaction is used for cobalt determination within a pH range of 6.50-7.50, with an apparent molar absorptivity of 1.62 x 10(4) L mol(-1) cm(-1). Beer's Law is obeyed for a concentration of at least 1.60 microg ml(-1). A selective procedure is proposed for cobalt determination in the presence of Fe(II), Hg(II), Zn(II) and Cu(II) up to milligram levels using masking agents. Polyurethane foam is used for the preconcentration and separation of cobalt from thiocyanate media and this procedure is applied to its determination in nickel salts and steel alloys.     

Influence of the thermal degradation on the dielectric properties of a thermoset

The thermal degradation of an epoxy system consisting of a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA, n=0) and m-xylylenediamine (m-XDA) was studied by both thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and dielectric analysis (DEA). It has been checked a deviation of the typical behaviour in the Arrhenius plot expected for this kind of systems, owing to the thermal degradation. Both, structural relaxation time and conductivity values, were represented as a function of the mass loss, that allow a relationship to be obtained between characteristic relaxation time and the degree of degradation at the beginning of the degradation process.     

Physical properties of many-electron atomic systems evaluated from analytical Hartree-Fock functions

The promotion energies, ionization potentials, electron affinities, and orbital electronegativities for the valence states of importance in atoms of the first two rows of the periodic system have been evaluated from analytical Hartree-Fock functions for the corresponding groundstates. The agreement with existing values, determined from experimental data, is very satisfactory.This work has been supported in part by the National Research Council of Canada.     

Elastic Moduli and Activation Energies for an Epoxy/m-XDA System by DMA and DSC

The influence of the resin/diamine ratio on the properties of the system diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (BADGE n=0/m-xylylenediamine) (m-XDA) was studied. Variation of this ratio resulted in significant effects on the cure kinetics and final dynamic mechanical properties of the product material. The study was made in terms of storage modulus (E′), vss modulus (E″) and molecular mass between cross-links (M_c) at different ratios. Two geometries (cylindrical and rectangular) were considered. The influence of temperature was studied through the activation energy (E_a>), which depends on the epoxy/amine ratio and the geometry of the samples. Glass transition temperatures (T_g>) and glass transition temperatures for thermosets with null degree of conversion (T_go>) were determined by DSC. T_g> decreases when amounts of curing agent greatly in excess of the stoichiometric composition were used. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.