Determination of fluoride in complex liquid matrices by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry with in-furnace oxygen-assisted ashing

A new chemical method is reported for the determination of total fluoride in complex liquids and suspensions, such as fruit juices, urine, serum and blood. It is based on the formation of the A1F radical in a graphite furnace afterin situ oxygen-assisted ashing of the untreated sample. The absorbance of this radical is measured at 227.45 nm. The method is relatively easy to use and provides a low detection limit (14 ng/ml) and reasonable reproducibility (5–10%).     

Flexible square supramolecular rings with hydrogen-bonded bushing in solid-state oxalurate complexes: versatility of the oxalurate ligand in covalent and noncovalent binding

Isotypic pseudooctahedral complexes of Co, Ni, and Cu with two chelating oxalurate ligands and two water molecules, trans-[M(oxalurate)(2)(H(2)O)(2)], have been synthesized and isolated by a novel progressive crystallization technique. Diffraction analyses reveal that the three complexes form isotypic solid-state structures in which the molecular connectivity and complex network of noncovalent interactions are qualitatively identical throughout the series. The oxalurate groups form unbounded chains through two different self-recognition patterns-a typical DA-AD motif and an unusual DDA'-A'DD form (D = hydrogen bond donor, A' = double acceptor). The unsymmetrical oxalurate group possesses the topological properties necessary to form aggregates of higher symmetry, and the "M(oxalurate)(2)" fragments form a rhombic 2-D motif with hydrogen-bonded corners and with hydrogen-bond acceptors directed to the inside of the cyclic aggregate. The 2-D net is stacked to form a channeled 3-D structure, in which the coordinated aqua ligands form the principal interlayer interactions. The slanted channels are occupied by the axial waters and by waters of crystallization, which are hydrogen bonded to the channel walls to form an ordered bushing. The extensive 3-D hydrogen-bonded superstructure is flexible enough to accommodate the distortion produced by the Jahn-Teller effect in the copper compound without requiring a qualitative structural change. The bonds affected by Jahn-Teller distortion in the Cu complex [Cu-O = 2.3788(15) A] are significantly longer than their analogues in the Co and Ni complexes [Co-O = 2.175(2), Ni-O = 2.094(9) A].     

Tetranuclear Pt<Subscript>2</Subscript>Cu<Subscript>2</Subscript> Complex with a Staircase-Shaped Chain Aggregate in the Solid State

The reaction of the tetranuclear cyanide aquo complex [{Pt(CN)₄Cu(bipy)(H₂O)}₂]· 2H₂O with aqueous ammonia produces the new tetranuclear ammino-containing product [{Pt(CN)₄Cu(bipy)(NH₃)}₂] (1), with terminal cyanide groups and with NH₃ coordinated to the Cu atom. The distorted trigonal bipyramidal coordination about copper in 1 differs from the square-pyramidal coordination present in the starting material. The bipyridine ligand in 1 is nearly perpendicular to the tetranuclear core of the molecule, as opposed to its coplanar disposition in the aquo complex. The two platinum atoms of the tetranuclear core in 1 form Pt···Pt interactions of 3. 2390(8) Å with platinum atoms of neighboring molecules, producing an echelon-shaped supramolecular chain held together by staggered (CN)₄Pt···Pt(CN)₄ linkages, an aggregate structure which does not have a precedent in chemistry derived from the Pt(CN)₄ building block.     

Distribution of arsenic species in environmental samples collected in Northern Chile

Gradient ion chromatographic separation coupled with ICP-MS was used to resolve and determine the most common arsenic species in environmental and biological samples of carrots, trout, soil, sediment and river water from Region II of Chile. The carrot and trout samples showed a concentration of 49 and 168 µg g^?1, respectively, of total As. Both concentrations are high considering the basal level. In the carrots, percentage of 45 and 31% of total As were found for As(III) and As(V) species, respectively. In the trout, the higher concentration related to AsB at 39% of the total As. As(III) and DMA were also present in relatively high concentrations. The River Loa and the soil in which the carrots are growing also present very high As(V) concentrations of 100 and 17 µg g^?1, respectively. The ratio between the concentration for the same As species found in the living organisms (carrots and trout) and the environment in which they grow (soil and water) can provide important information about the possible absorption or biotransformation of As species in living beings. As(III) and DMA are the species in which the greatest accumulation occurs with respect to the medium in which they are present, and biotransformation also appears to take place.     

Preparation,spectroscopic and magnetic characterization of Cu(cyclam)M(CN)<Subscript>4</Subscript> complexes exhibiting one-dimensional crystal structures (cyclam = 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane,M = Ni,Pd, Pt)

From the systems Cu(II)–cyclam–[M(CN)₄]^2? (cyclam = 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane; M = Ni, Pd, Pt), three cyanidocomplexes Cu(cyclam)M(CN)₄ [M = Ni (1), Pd (2), Pt (3)] were isolated and characterized by chemical analysis, IR and UV–VIS spectroscopy. The three compounds are isostructural, and their crystal structures are formed by quasi-linear chains exhibiting [–Cu(cyclam)–μ–NC–M(CN)₂–μ–CN–]_n composition. The Cu(II) atoms reside on centres of symmetry and are coordinated in the form of an elongated octahedron with mean equatorial Cu–N bonds of 2.015(12), 2.017(13) and 2.011(11) Å in (1), (2) and (3), respectively, and weakly N-bonded bridging cyanido ligands in the axial positions [2.5321(9) Å in (1), 2.518(2) Å in (2) and 2.549(3) Å in (3)]. Hydrogen bonds of the N–H···N_cyanido···H–N type link neighbouring chains, and a topologically square network of paramagnetic Cu(II) atoms is formed. The magnetic susceptibilities of all three complexes follow the Curie-Weiss law with a weak antiferromagnetic exchange coupling below 5 K.     

Synthesis and mesogenic properties of four series of polyesters derived from dicarboxylic and dihydroxylic aromatic monomers

Some members of four series of polyesters were synthesized by the direct polycondensation of two types of dicarboxylic acids (4,4′-dicarboxy-α,ω-diphenoxyalkanes and 4,4′-dicarboxy-α,ω-dibenzoyloxyalkanes) with two types of bisphenols (4,4′-dihydroxy-α,ω-diphenoxyalkanes and 4,4′-dihydroxy-α,ω-dibenzoyloxyalkanes) using tosyl chloride in pyridine in the presence of N, N-dimethylformamide. The ¹H-NMR spectra of the polymers synthesized showed that these polymers have an ordenated structure. The mesogenic properties of these polymers were studied by optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Many of the polymers show nematic mesomorphism.