Recent advances on the use of active anodes in environmental electrochemistry

Active anodes, especially those consisting of metal mixed oxides (MMOs) containing Ru and/or Ir oxides, have been applied in the treatment of wastewater, especially when chloride ions are present. Their characteristics continuously drive the study of applications of these materials, be they in the degradation of different organic molecules, the preparation of new electrode materials and in the association of various processes to increase pollutant removal. Thus, this brief review aims to present some of the recent advances in the application of active anode materials in environmental electrochemistry. Focussing on the 2018–2020 period, it is possible to note many applied studies, using commercially available materials, covering a wide range of target pollutants. Still other studies aim to modify the catalyst surfaces to increase the mineralization capacity, and the use of these anodes in the production of free chlorine species to mediate indirect organic reduction is observed.     

Near-Ultraviolet Circular Dichroism and Two-Dimensional Spectroscopy of Polypeptides

A fully quantitative theory of the relationship between protein conformation and optical spectroscopy would facilitate deeper insights into biophysical and simulation studies of protein dynamics and folding. In contrast to intense bands in the far-ultraviolet, near-UV bands are much weaker and have been challenging to compute theoretically. We report some advances in the accuracy of calculations in the near-UV, which were realised through the consideration of the vibrational structure of the electronic transitions of aromatic side chains.     

Current air quality analytics and monitoring: A review

This review summarizes the different tools and concepts that are commonly applied in air quality monitoring. The monitoring of atmosphere is extremely important as the air quality is an important problem for large communities. Main requirements for analytical devices used for monitoring include a long period of autonomic operation and portability. These instruments, however, are often characterized by poor analytical performance. Monitoring networks are the most common tools used for monitoring, so large-scale monitoring programmes are summarized here. Biomonitoring, as a cheap and convenient alternative to traditional sample collection, is becoming more and more popular, although its main drawback is the lack of standard procedures. Telemonitoring is another approach to air monitoring, which offers some interesting opportunities, such as ease of coverage of large or remote areas, constituting a complementary approach to traditional strategies; however, it requires huge costs.     

A Mechanistic Study on the Oxidative Degradation of Dibenzazepine Derivatives by Manganese(III) Complexes in Acidic Sulfate Media

The oxidative degradation of tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) was studied in the presence of a large excess of the oxidizing agent manganese(III) and its reduced form manganese(II) sulfate in acidic media. The products were detected and identified using UV–vis, ESI‐MS, IR, and EPR methods. The mechanism of the reaction was studied for the following two classes of TCA: 10,11‐dihydro‐5H‐dibenz[b, f]azepines and dibenz[b, f]azepines. The oxidative degradation between dibenz[b, f]azepines and the manganese(III) ions resulted in the formation of substituted acridine with the same substituent as in the origin dibenz[b, f]azepine derivative. The pseudo–first‐order rate constants (k_obs) were determined for the degradation process. The dependences of the observed rate constants on the [Mn^III] with a zero intercept were linear. The reaction between 10,11‐dihydro‐5H‐dibenz[b, f]azepines, and the manganese(III) sulfate ion resulted in oxidative dehydrogenation, which proceeded via the formation of the following two intermediates: a free organic radical and a dimer. Further oxidation of the second intermediate led to a positively charged radical dimer as the single final product. Linear dependences of the pseudo–first‐order rate constants (k_obs) on the [Mn^III] with a zero intercept were established for the degradation of 10,11‐dihydro‐5H‐dibenz[b, f]azepines. The observed rate constants were dependent on the [H⁺] and independent of the [TCA] within the excess concentration range of the manganese(III) complexes used in the isolation method. The radical product of the degradation of 10,11‐dihydro‐5H‐dibenz[b, f]azepines was not stable in the aqueous solution and was subsequently transformed to a nonradical dimer in the next slower step. The observed rate constants were independent of the [Mn^III], independent of the [H⁺] and increased slightly with increasing TCA concentrations when TCA was used in excess. The mechanistic consequences of all of these results are discussed.     

Eine Verallgemeinerung der Neumannschen Polynome

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Extending analyticK-subanalytic functions

Letg:U→ℝ (U open in ℝⁿ) be an analytic and K-subanalytic (i. e. definable in ℝ _an ^K , whereK, the field of exponents, is any subfield ofℝ) function. Then the set of points, denoted Σ, whereg does not admit an analytic extension is K-subanalytic andg can be extended analytically to a neighbourhood of Ū\∑. Partially supported by the European RTN Network RAAG (contract no. HPRN-CT-00271)     

Separation of Monovinyl and Divinyl Protochlorophyllides Using C30 Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography Column: Analytical and Preparative Applications

A new, high performance liquid chromatography method has been developed for the separation of monovinyl- and divinyl-protochlorophyllides, using commercially available, C₃₀ reverse phase column and isocratic elution. This method can be used both for analytical applications and preparative scale purification of monovinyl- and divinyl-protochlorophyllides using the same column where submilimolar concentrations of the crude protochlorophyllide extract can be separated in one run. The purity of the obtained protochlorophyllides was demonstrated by spectroscopic methods, as well by the formation of aggregates in toluene.     

Efficient Synthesis of Nitroflavones by Cyclodehydrogenation of 2′-Hydroxychalcones and by the Baker-Venkataraman Method

Summary. Several nitroflavone derivatives were synthesized by cyclodehydrogenation of 2′-hydroxychalcones and by the Baker-Venkataraman approach, starting from 2′-hydroxyacetophenones and benzoic acid derivatives. Nitroflavones synthesised by the first synthetic approach were obtained in better global yields than those obtained by the later method. The structures of all new compounds were elucidated by microanalyses, 1D and 2D NMR, IR, and mass spectroscopic measurements.     

A fading effect in the X-ray diffraction contrast of dislocations

Fringes in the dislocation image in X-ray section topography are shown to fade away partially when unpolarized radiation is used. The fading effect is explained in terms of an analogy with the polarization beat in a wedge crystal. The polarization nature of the phenomenon is confirmed through numerical simulations of the contrast.Dedicated to Professor Dr. Ulrich Bonse on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Application of platinum gauze activated by hydrogen to the adsorption separation of silver traces and their determination by aas or spectrophotometry

A method ("electrosorption") has been developed for separation of silver from copper by its deposition through internal electrolysis with hydrogen adsorbed on a platinum surface. The silver can then be stripped and determined by atomic-absorption spectrometry or the dithizone method. The activation of the platinum surface with adsorbed hydrogen can be achieved either electrolytically or by passing hydrogen gas through the solution in which the platinum is immersed. The method of electrosorption has been successfully applied to determination of trace levels of silver in copper metal.