Temperature Dependence of InSb Reflectivity in the Far Infrared: Determination of the Electron Effective Mass

We measured the dependence of the reflectivity of InSb crystals upon temperature in the submillimeter region using monochromatic radiation from an optically pumped far infrared (FIR) laser. The measures allowed us to determine the value of the electron effective mass at low temperatures with radiations of different frequencies. Our measurements extend the results obtained recently on pure crystals with magneto-optical methods to the low temperatures region where only old measures were available.     

Thermal decomposition products of copoly(arylene ether sulfone)s characterized by direct pyrolysis mass spectrometry

Pyrolysis products with mass of up to 850 Da were detected by direct pyrolysis mass spectrometric (DPMS) analysis of a series of copoly(arylene ether sulfone)s (PES-PPO) synthesized by nucleophilic condensation of either 4,4′-dichlorodiphenylsulfone (CDPS) or 4,4′-bis-(4-chlorophenyl sulfonyl) biphenyl (long chain dichloride, LCDC) with different molar ratios of hydroquinone (HQ) or dihydroxydiphenylsulfone (HDPS). Pyrolysis products retaining the repeating units of the initial copolymers were formed at temperatures ranging from 420 °C to 470 °C (near the initial decomposition temperature). At temperatures higher than 450 °C were observed products containing biphenyl units, formed by the elimination process of SO₂ from diphenyl sulfone bridges. Products having biphenyl and dibenzofuran moieties were detected in the mass spectra recorded at temperatures above 550 °C. These units were formed by loss of hydrogen atom from diphenyl ether bridges. Although the EI (18 eV) mass spectra of the pyrolysis products of the samples investigated were very similar, it was found that the relative intensity of some ions reflects the molar composition of the copolymers analysed. Cyclic and linear oligomers with very low molecular mass, present in the crude copolymers, were also detected by DPMS. Thermogravimetric analysis also showed their excellent thermal stability below 400 °C. It indicates that the copolymers yield a char residue of 40-45% at 800 °C, which increases with the PPO mole fraction in the samples.     

The hydration of sodium dehydrocholate micelles

The hydration of micellised sodium dehydrocholate molecules was determined by viscosity measurements. It was found that there are 39 water molecules for each micellised surfactant molecule. About ten water molecules may be attributed to the hydration of the sodium carboxylate group. By assignation of two water molecules to each of the three carbonyl groups, the total hydration of a micellised sodium dehydrocholate molecule was estimated as about 16 water molecules. The remaining 23 water molecules per micellised sodium dehydrocholate molecule may be attributed to water trapped in the structure of micelles.     

The aggregation of sodium dehydrocholate in water

 We used a battery of different methods to study the association in aqueous sodium dehydrocholate (NaDHC) solutions. This salt associates by a stepwise mechanism. Below (9.6 ± 4.2) × 10⁻⁴ mol dm⁻³ there is a molecular solution with some strongly insoluble dehydrocholic acid produced by hydrolysis. Between (9.6 ± 4.2) × 10⁻⁴ and (5.2 ± 2.2) × 10⁻³ mol dm⁻³, an aggregate similar to acid soap (NaDHC.HDHC) appears and its amount and the aggregate's size increase with concentration. At =(2.20 ± 0.85) × 10⁻² mol dm⁻³ the aggregates formed have properties usually associated with true micelles, such as solubilisation of water-insoluble dyes. These aggregates increase in size with concentration and change their shape at 8 × 10⁻² mol dm⁻³, giving nonsymmetrical aggregates. The changes in the solution physicochemical properties at these concentrations may be misinterpreted and this explains the different values of the critical micelle concentration reported in the literature for substances with similar structure, such as bile salts. Received: 14 May 2001 Accepted: 10 August 2001     

A critical comparison of approximation methods and models for equilibrium properties of low-barrier hydrogen bonds

Recent experimental evidence has led to the conclusion that short, strong hydrogen bonds can stabilize transition states of enzyme catalyzed biochemical reactions. Evidence for such hydrogen bonds is the low value of the isotopic fractionation factor, phi, which is defined as the equilibrium constant for the generic reaction, R-H + DOH <--> R-D + HOH, where H is the hydrogen atom participating in the low-barrier hydrogen bond in a molecule R-H. In this work we assess two approximation methods for computing the isotopic fractionation factors for single and multidimensional systems containing a low-barrier hydrogen bond. These methods are WKB and an approach that corrects the classical partition function via a quantum correction factor. We find that the latter approach is universally accurate and applicable in both single and multidimensional systems containing a low-barrier hydrogen bond. We also assess two different models for the coupling of a molecule's low-barrier hydrogen bond to other degrees of freedom, both internal and external to the molecule, and show that each leads to a lowering of the fractionation factor.     

Liquid-Phase Selective Oxidation of Propane on Silica-Supported Nafion Catalysts

The liquid-phase partial oxidation of propane in the presence of the Fen+/H2O2 Fenton system at 70℃ and 1.4 atm on silica supported Nafion catalysts has been investigated. The reaction proceeds via a radical reaction path the efficiency of which is improved by silica-supported Nafion catalysts. Because of the direct relationship between reaction rate and concentration of sulphonic acid sites of Nafion catalysts, it is inferred that the active phase enahnces the kinetics of propane conversion by promoting the rate of active radicals generation.     

New far infrared laser lines from 13CH2F2 and frequency measurements

We report new FIR laser lines from ¹³CH₂F₂ molecules optically pumped by a waveguide CO₂ laser. The increased tunability (300 MHz) with respect to a conventional CO₂ laser allows the pumping of ¹³CH₂F₂ vibrational transitions of large offset. 34 new laser lines have been discovered, ranging from 113.1 m to 491.4 m in wavelength, thus increasing the number of known FIR laser lines from this important molecule to 99. For all the new lines and many (36) of those known previously, precise offset measurements through the transferred Lamb-dip technique were performed. The frequency of six new laser lines was also directly measured by heterodyne detection with known laser lines.     

High performance liquid chromatography assay for alanine amino transferase

Summary An improved method of alanine-amino transferase determination is proposed. The reaction is carried out with alanine and 2-oxoglutarate as substrates and analysis is by HPLC on a reversed-phase chromatographic system using a C₁₈ column and tetrabutylammonium phosphate in phosphate buffer (pH 7.0)-acetonitrile as mobile phase. The enzyme activity was determined by directly following the formation of pyruvic acid without employing any secondary reaction, which is necessary in the spectrophotometric method. The detection limit of pyruvic acid is 10 pmole l^–1 and the standard deviation for the enzymatic activity of standard solutions is 5.4%. Furthermore under the chromatographic conditions selected it is possible to detect the presence of some intermediate species.Work supported by National Research Council of Italy. Presented in part at the First International Symposium on Applications of HPLC in Enzyme Chemistry, Verona, September 1990.