The hydrogen molecule in an arbitrarily oriented magnetic field

Summary The modifications induced by a magnetic field of arbitrary direction and intermediate strength (i.e not larger than 2.35·10⁵ tesla, the ?atomic tesla?) on the lowest singlet and triplet energy states of the hydrogen molecule are studied. Using a linear combination of products of field-modified atomic orbitals, it is found that increasing the field strength the depth of the singlet energy well increases and the equilibrium internuclear distance decreases, yielding more rigid and localized nuclear vibrations. For sufficiently strong fields perpendicular to the internuclear axis, the triplet state exhibits a bonding behaviour. An explanation of the above results is given in terms of the field-modified electronic-charge distributions in the internuclear region. Based on the thesis submitted by S. Basile to the University of Palermo for graduation in Physics.     

Recovery of pyridine from aqueous solution by membrane pervaporation

Three different membranes, based on poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), cation-exchange material and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) respectively, were tudied for the separation of pyridine-water mixtures by pervaporation. The PDMS membrane was preferentially permeable to pyridine and the other two were selective towards water. Three membranes showed different permeation performance, allowing the application of the technique to the separation of feeds of different composition. The temperature profile of the permeability suggests that it is possible to carry out the operation at an elevated temperature in order to achieve high productivity. A combination of the three types of membranes was designed for the production of anhydrous pyridine from dilute pyridine aqueous solution by pervaporation.     

Mass spectrometric identification of a candidate biomarker peptide from the in vitro interaction of epichlorohydrin with red blood cells

The reaction products of epichlorohydrin with human alpha- and beta- globins, obtained through in vitro incubation of these compounds and red blood cells, were determined by using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem mass spectrometry. The alpha-globin was much more reactive than the beta-globin. At low incubation ratios, approximating the order of magnitude of epichlorohydrin concentration as found in workplaces, the only modified peptide still detectable was the 62-90 belonging to the alpha-chain and carrying an incremental mass of 92 u on either His72 or His89. Given that the two peptides co-eluted in a single chromatographic peak during RP-HPLC separation, they could be chosen as suitable biomarkers for quantification in the setting up of a new methodology for the biological monitoring of persons occupationally exposed, replacing currently known procedures.     

Stability boundaries, percolation threshold, and two-phase coexistence for polydisperse fluids of adhesive colloidal particles

We study the polydisperse Baxter model of sticky hard spheres (SHS) in the modified mean spherical approximation (mMSA). This closure is known to be the zero-order approximation C0 of the Percus-Yevick closure in a density expansion. The simplicity of the closure allows a full analytical study of the model. In particular we study stability boundaries, the percolation threshold, and the gas-liquid coexistence curves. Various possible subcases of the model are treated in details. Although the detailed behavior depends upon the particularly chosen case, we find that, in general, polydispersity inhibits instabilities, increases the extent of the nonpercolating phase, and diminishes the size of the gas-liquid coexistence region. We also consider the first-order improvement of the mMSA (C0) closure (C1) and compare the percolation and gas-liquid boundaries for the one-component system with recent Monte Carlo simulations. Our results provide a qualitative understanding of the effect of polydispersity on SHS models and are expected to shed new light on the applicability of SHS models for colloidal mixtures.     

New versatile route to the synthesis of tetrahydro-beta-carbolines and tetrahydro-pyrano[3,4-b]indoles via an intramolecular Michael addition catalyzed by InBr3

A simple multistep synthetic strategy to 4-substituted 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline and 1,3,4,9-tetrahydro-pyrano[3,4-b]indole derivatives starting from commercially available indole 2-carboxylic acid (5) is described. The final intramolecular Michael addition promoted by catalytic amount of InBr(3) (5-10 mol %) provided the expected polycyclic compounds in excellent yields (up to 97%) both in anhydrous organic and aqueous media.     

Electron capture ionization of explosives with a microflow rate particle beam interface

A method for the analysis of four widely used explosives based on reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled to a quadrupole mass spectrometer is presented. A microflow rate particle beam interface was employed that offers simplified operation procedures and improved interfacing performance. A positive role played by the reduced size of the aerosol droplets generated by the microflow rate interface is outlined in this work. Greater vaporization efficiency and negligible thermal decomposition were observed for the selected compounds in the ion source of the mass spectrometer. Electron capture ionization allowed specific and sensitive determination of the analytes. Detection limits that ranged between 60 and 200 pg and had a signal-to-noise ratio of 5:1 were obtained in selected ion monitoring mode after column elution.     

Mechanism of silver-promoted ligand metathesis in square-planar complexes of d(8) Ions. Kinetics of formation and molecular structures of a trinuclear intermediate [(Me)(N-N)Pt(mu-Cl)Ag(mu-Cl)Pt(N-N)(Me)](+) and its dinuclear evolution product [(Me)(N-N)Pt(mu-Cl)Pt(N-N)(Me)](+) (N-N = ArN=C(Me)C(Me)=NAr,Ar = 2,6-(i-Pr)(2)C(6)H(3))

The silver-assisted ligand metathesis reaction involving a platinum(II) complex of formula [PtClMe(N,N-chelate)] with acetonitrile has been investigated. By using a suitably hindered N,N-chelate, an otherwise hardly detectable trinuclear species has been isolated and characterized through X-ray diffractometry. The trinuclear cation consists of two nearly orthogonal [PtCl(Me)(N,N-chelate)] square-planar units entrapping an Ag(+) cation through the chloride ligands that, acting as bidentate, form a linear AgCl(2) unit with two nonequivalent Ag-Cl bonds. The residual acidity of the silver cation is satisfied by one secondary Ag-Pt interaction [Ag-Pt(1) = 2.82 A] in which the platinum atom acts as a donor. Kinetic studies have demonstrated that the silver assistance operates both through a simple associative step and through a pathway in which the above trinuclear complex is an active intermediate. In a noncoordinating solvent the latter species evolves with AgCl loss and formation of a dinuclear Pt,Pt complex showing a rare single chloride bridge.     

Analytic solutions for Baxter's model of sticky hard sphere fluids within closures different from the Percus-Yevick approximation

We discuss structural and thermodynamical properties of Baxter's adhesive hard sphere model within a class of closures which includes the Percus-Yevick (PY) one. The common feature of all these closures is to have a direct correlation function vanishing beyond a certain range, each closure being identified by a different approximation within the original square-well region. This allows a common analytical solution of the Ornstein-Zernike integral equation, with the cavity function playing a privileged role. A careful analytical treatment of the equation of state is reported. Numerical comparison with Monte Carlo simulations shows that the PY approximation lies between simpler closures, which may yield less accurate predictions but are easily extensible to multicomponent fluids, and more sophisticate closures which give more precise predictions but can hardly be extended to mixtures. In regimes typical for colloidal and protein solutions, however, it is found that the perturbative closures, even when limited to first order, produce satisfactory results.     

On-probe pyrolysis desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) mass spectrometry for the analysis of non-volatile pyrolysis products

An on-probe pyrolyzer has been constructed and interfaced with desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) mass spectrometry (MS) for the rapid analysis of non-volatile pyrolysis products. The detection and analysis of non-volatile pyrolysis products of peptides, proteins and the synthetic polymer poly(ethylene glycol) were demonstrated with this instrument. The on-probe pyrolyzer can be operated off-line or on-line with the DESI source and was interfaced with a tandem MS (MS/MS) instrument, which allowed for structure characterization of the non-volatile pyrolytic products. Advantages of this system are its simplicity and speed of analysis since the pyrolysis is performed in situ on the DESI source probe and hence, it avoids extraction steps and/or the use of matrices (e.g., as in MALDI–MS analyses).     

Can simple enones be useful partners for the catalytic stereoselective alkylation of indoles?

A new catalytic system for the first example of enantioselective Friedel-Crafts-type (FC) addition of indoles to simple enones is described. The use of an equimolar amount of chiral [Al(salen)Cl] and 2,6-lutidine (10 mol %) was found to be effective in promoting the conjugate addition of indoles to (E)-arylcrotyl ketones, furnishing the corresponding beta-indolyl ketones in excellent yield and high enantioselectivity (ee up to 89%). The role of the base was investigated through spectroscopic as well as computational analyses, which suggested that in situ formation of a new chiral (base.[Al(salen)]) complex was operating under our reaction conditions. In particular, a stable cationic [Al(salen)] hexacoordinate trans complex with the additive base and the enone is suggested as being responsible for the stereocontrolled reaction. Finally, detailed monitoring of the reaction course was carried out showing that a conventional FC pathway induced by [Al(salen)Cl] acting as a Lewis acid is operating.