Ca(AlH4)2, CaAlH5, and CaH2+6LiBH4: Calculated dehydrogenation enthalpy, including zero point energy, and the structure of the phonon spectra

The dehydrogenation enthalpies of Ca(AlH(4))(2), CaAlH(5), and CaH(2)+6LiBH(4) have been calculated using density functional theory calculations at the generalized gradient approximation level. Harmonic phonon zero point energy (ZPE) corrections have been included using Parlinski's direct method. The dehydrogenation of Ca(AlH(4))(2) is exothermic, indicating a metastable hydride. Calculations for CaAlH(5) including ZPE effects indicate that it is not stable enough for a hydrogen storage system operating near ambient conditions. The destabilized combination of LiBH(4) with CaH(2) is a promising system after ZPE-corrected enthalpy calculations. The calculations confirm that including ZPE effects in the harmonic approximation for the dehydrogenation of Ca(AlH(4))(2), CaAlH(5), and CaH(2)+6LiBH(4) has a significant effect on the calculated reaction enthalpy. The contribution of ZPE to the dehydrogenation enthalpies of Ca(AlH(4))(2) and CaAlH(5) calculated by the direct method phonon analysis was compared to that calculated by the frozen-phonon method. The crystal structure of CaAlH(5) is presented in the more useful standard setting of P2(1)c symmetry and the phonon density of states of CaAlH(5), significantly different to other common complex metal hydrides, is rationalized.     

Mg2 FeH6 纳米晶的制备及储氢性能

在室温和氩气气氛下, 以MgH2 和纳米Fe为原料, 采用机械合金化(球磨法)制备了Mg2FeH6纳米晶. 考察了球磨参数(时间、 转速)对产物的影响, 对所制备的Mg2FeH6 纳米晶的组成、 结构和形貌进行了表征, 并对其储氢性能进行了测试. 结果表明, 所制备的Mg2FeH6纳米晶为立方结构, 纯度较高(91.4%), 其晶粒尺寸较小, 约为10~30 nm, 但团聚现象较为严重. Mg2FeH6纳米晶具有较低的活化能和较好的吸放氢动力学性能, 其放氢的脱附焓和脱附熵分别为(-42.8±2) kJ/mol和(-72.0±3) J/(mol·K). 在503 K和6 kPa的氢气压力下, Mg2FeH6纳米晶在70 min内放氢量达到2.5%(质量分数); 在2 MPa的氢气压力下, 上述放氢产物具有较快的起始吸氢速率.     

Sorption of radionuclides on inorganic sorbents

Inorganic sorbents are often used in separation of metals and radionuclides in radioanalytical application and they were also used in technological scale for separation of radionuclides in cleanup of Three Mile Island NPP. Inorganic sorbents become popular in the last years because no problem with organic contamination, there are stable against radiation, sorption efficiency can be tailor made for selective separation of chosen metal. Contrary to the organic sorbents they have usually lower capacity and chemical stability is limited to narrower pH. Nevertheless of some problems, many good properties of inorganic sorbents make them very attractive for sorption study.     

Theoretical study on the M-H···π interactions between metal hydrides and inorganic benzene B3X3H3(X = O,S, Se)

In this work, we conducted ab initio calculations to evaluate the properties of M-H···π interactions between the metal hydrides MH (M?=?Li, Na, MgH, CaH, NiH, CuH, ZnH) and inorganic benzenes B₃X₃H₃ (X?=?O, S, Se). Unlike benzene, inorganic benzene B₃X₃H₃ (X?=?O, S, Se) supports a large area of positive molecular electrostatic potential above and below the molecule, which acts as a Lewis acid and interacts with the H atom of metal hydride. MP2/6–311++G(d, p) results show that these intermolecular interactions exhibit the characteristics of close shell noncovalent interactions. The electrostatic interaction significantly contributes to stabilizing the complexes. The M-H···π interaction’s strength is associated with the property of group VI atom and metal hydride. X’s atomic number decreasing and the H of MH becoming more negative facilitate stronger interaction. Furthermore, the addition of substituent on the B₃O₃Y₃ (Y?=?F, Cl, CN, OH, and CH₃) significantly impacts the π-hole of inorganic benzene and thus modulates these M-H···π interactions. More elongation and blueshift of the MH bonds upon complexation were found for electron-withdrawing substituents. Analysis of σ and π orbital separation indicates that the π-attractor’s position relative to the B atom in the inorganic benzene changes with different substituents. The M-H···π interaction’s strength is primarily dependent on the π-electron density, not σ-electron density.

     

Advances in organic–inorganic hybrid sorbents for the extraction of organic and inorganic pollutants in different types of food and environmental samples

The efficiency of the extraction and removal of pollutants from food and the environment has been an important issue in analytical science. By incorporating inorganic species into an organic matrix, a new material known as an organic–inorganic hybrid material is formed. As it possesses high selectivity, permeability, and mechanical and chemical stabilities, organic–inorganic hybrid materials constitute an emerging research field and have become popular to serve as sorbents in various separaton science methods. Here, we review recent significant advances in analytical solid‐phase extraction employing organic–inorganic composite/nanocomposite sorbents for the extraction of organic and inorganic pollutants from various types of food and environmental matrices. The physicochemical characteristics, extraction properties, and analytical performances of sorbents are discussed; including morphology and surface characteristics, types of functional groups, interaction mechanism, selectivity and sensitivity, accuracy, and regeneration abilities. Organic–inorganic hybrid sorbents combined with extraction techniques are highly promising for sample preparation of various food and environmental matrixes with analytes at trace levels.     

Catalytic effect of nanoparticle 3d-transition metals on hydrogen storage properties in magnesium hydride MgH2 prepared by mechanical milling

We examined the catalytic effect of nanoparticle 3d-transition metals on hydrogen desorption (HD) properties of MgH(2) prepared by mechanical ball milling method. All the MgH(2) composites prepared by adding a small amount of nanoparticle Fe(nano), Co(nano), Ni(nano), and Cu(nano) metals and by ball milling for 2 h showed much better HD properties than the pure ball-milled MgH(2) itself. In particular, the 2 mol % Ni(nano)-doped MgH(2) composite prepared by soft milling for a short milling time of 15 min under a slow milling revolution speed of 200 rpm shows the most superior hydrogen storage properties: A large amount of hydrogen ( approximately 6.5 wt %) is desorbed in the temperature range from 150 to 250 degrees C at a heating rate of 5 degrees C/min under He gas flow with no partial pressure of hydrogen. The EDX micrographs corresponding to Mg and Ni elemental profiles indicated that nanoparticle Ni metals as catalyst homogeneously dispersed on the surface of MgH(2). In addition, it was confirmed that the product revealed good reversible hydriding/dehydriding cycles even at 150 degrees C. The hydrogen desorption kinetics of catalyzed and noncatalyzed MgH(2) could be understood by a modified first-order reaction model, in which the surface condition was taken into account.     

Chemiluminescence of CaH and AIH in the reaction of the metal atoms and formaldehyde

Chemiluminescence from the reaction of calcium and aluminum with various hydrogen containing compounds in a flowing gas system and in a heat pipe oven are described. Red chemiluminescence of CaH was observed in the reaction of calcium, and weak chemiluminescence of AlH was seen in the reaction of aluminum with formaldehyde (H₂CO). It is proposed that a reaction between metal atoms and formaldehyde may be used as a source of diatomic metallic hydrides.     

Optimization of working conditions for polyelectrolyte sorbents

Matters affecting the working stability of polyelectrolyte sorbents are considered. The decrease in retention time during exploitation is found not to relate to desorption of the modifying polymer. It is found that dissociation of surface silanol groups influences significantly the extra retention of ionene on the surface of silica-based sorbents. Sorption of heavy metals and microbial contamination of the sorbent are identified as causes of decreased efficiency of polyectrolyte sorbents. The influence of organic additives on the chromatography behavior of a number of inorganic anions is studied. Finally, exploitational conditions for chromatography polyelectrolyte-containing columns are elaborated, allowing the initial parameters of separation to be maintained for a period of 1.5 months or longer.     

Towards accurate ab initio calculations on the vibrational modes of the alkaline earth metal hydrides

The fundamental modes of the alkaline earth metal hydrides (BeH2, MgH2, CaH2) and their dimers, HX(H)2XH, have been studied by vibrational configuration-interaction calculations based on very accurate potential energy surfaces. Comparison with experimental data obtained from matrix isolation and gas phase measurements is provided and the agreement was found to be excellent for the monomers but poor for the dimers. In addition, many fundamental bands are predicted which have not yet been detected experimentally.     

Magnetic nanomaterials for the removal,separation and preconcentration of organic and inorganic pollutants at trace levels and their practical applications: A review

The presence of organic and inorganic pollutants in nature even in very small concentrations threatens human and other living bodies health and makes it significant to remove, separate and preconcentrate these pollutants. Recently magnetic nano sorbents has been used frequently in the separation and preconcentration of these pollutants. The use of magnetic nano sorbents modified with inorganic and organic species has widespread applications in the solid phase extraction (SPE) studies due to its many unique properties. These modified nano sorbents are preferred due to their advantages such as high adsorption capacities and large surface areas. This review examined different types of magnetic materials such as magnetic carbon-based nano sorbents, inorganic nano sorbents with magnetic properties, magnetized biosorbents, magnetic metal-organic frameworks, and magnetized ionic liquids used in SPE studies. In this study, a comprehensive and systematic review of the separation and preconcentration of analytes such as heavy metal ions, drug active substances, pesticides, dyes, hormone disruptors, etc with SPE methods using magnetic nanomaterials has been revealed. Future aspects and challenges that may be encountered are discussed.     

Identification of destabilized metal hydrides for hydrogen storage using first principles calculations

Hydrides of period 2 and 3 elements are promising candidates for hydrogen storage but typically have heats of reaction that are too high to be of use for fuel cell vehicles. Recent experimental work has focused on destabilizing metal hydrides through alloying with other elements. A very large number of possible destabilized metal hydride reaction schemes exist. The thermodynamic data required to assess the enthalpies of these reactions, however, are not available in many cases. We have used first principles density functional theory calculations to predict the reaction enthalpies for more than 100 destabilization reactions that have not previously been reported. Many of these reactions are predicted not be useful for reversible hydrogen storage, having calculated reaction enthalpies that are either too high or too low. More importantly, our calculations identify five promising reaction schemes that merit experimental study: 3LiNH(2) + 2LiH + Si --> Li(5)N(3)Si + 4H(2), 4LiBH(4) + MgH(2) --> 4LiH + MgB(4) + 7H(2), 7LiBH(4) + MgH(2) --> 7LiH + MgB(7) + 11.5H(2), CaH(2) + 6LiBH(4) --> CaB(6) + 6LiH + 10H(2), and LiNH(2) + MgH(2) --> LiMgN + 2H(2).     

Hydrazine bisalane is a potential compound for chemical hydrogen storage. A theoretical study

Electronic structure calculations suggest that hydrazine bisalane (AlH(3)NH(2)NH(2)AlH(3), alhyzal) is a promising compound for chemical hydrogen storage (CHS). Calculations are carried out using the coupled-cluster theory CCSD(T) with the aug-cc-pVTZ basis set. Potential energy surfaces are constructed to probe the formation of, and hydrogen release from, hydrazine bisalane which is initially formed from the reaction of hydrazine with dialane. Molecular and electronic characteristics of both gauche and trans alhyzal are determined for the first time. The gauche hydrazine bisalane is formed from starting reactants hydrazine + dialane following a movement of an AlH(3) group from AlH(3)AlH(3)NH(2)NH(2) rather than by a direct attachment of a separate AlH(3) group, generated by predissociation of dialane, to AlH(3)NH(2)NH(2). The energy barriers for dehydrogenation processes from gauche and transalhyzal are in the range of 21-28 kcal mol(-1), which are substantially smaller than those of ca. 40 kcal mol(-1) previously determined for the isovalent hydrazine bisborane (bhyzb) system. H(2) release from hydrazine bisalane is thus more favored over that from hydrazine bisborane, making the Al derivative an alternative candidate for CHS.     

Synthesis, structural and hydrogenation properties of Mg-rich MgH2-TiH2 nanocomposites prepared by reactive ball milling under hydrogen gas

MgH(2)-TiH(2) nanocomposites have been obtained by reactive ball milling of elemental powders under 8 MPa of hydrogen pressure. The composites consist of a mixture of β-rutile MgH(2), γ-orthorhombic high pressure MgH(2) and ε-tetragonal TiH(2) phases with nanosized crystallites ranging from 4 to 12 nm. In situ hydrogen absorption curves on milling reveal that nanocomposite formation occurs in less than 50 min through the consecutive synthesis of the TiH(2) and MgH(2) phases. The abrasive and catalytic properties of TiH(2) speed up the formation of the MgH(2) phase. Thermodynamic, kinetic and cycling hydrogenation properties have been determined for the 0.7MgH(2)-0.3TiH(2) composite and compared to nanometric MgH(2). Only the MgH(2) phase desorbs hydrogen reversibly at moderate temperature (523 to 598 K) and pressure (10(-3) to 1 MPa). The presence of TiH(2) does not modify the thermodynamic properties of the Mg/MgH(2) system. However, the MgH(2)-TiH(2) nanocomposite exhibits outstanding kinetic properties and cycling stability. At 573 K, H-sorption takes place in less than 100 s. This is 20 times faster than for a pure nanometric MgH(2) powder. We demonstrate that the TiH(2) phase inhibits grain coarsening of Mg, which allows extended nucleation of the MgH(2) phase in Mg nanoparticles before a continuous and blocking MgH(2) hydride layer is formed. The low crystallinity of the TiH(2) phase and its hydrogenation properties are also compatible with a gateway mechanism for hydrogen transfer from the gas phase to Mg. Mg-rich MgH(2)-TiH(2) nanocomposites are an excellent media for hydrogen storage at moderate temperatures.     

Pnicogen-hydride interaction between FH2X (X = P and As) and HM (M = ZnH, BeH, MgH, Li, and Na)

A pnicogen-hydride interaction has been predicted and characterized in FH(2)P-HM and FH(2)As-HM (M = ZnH, BeH, MgH, Li, and Na) complexes at the MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ level. For the complexes analyzed here, P(As) and HM are treated as a Lewis acid and a Lewis base, respectively. This interaction is moderate or strong since, for the strongest interaction of the FH(2)As-HNa complex, the interaction energy amounts to -24.79 kcal/mol, and the binding distance is equal to about 1.7 ?, much less than the sum of the corresponding van der Waals radii. By comparison with some related systems, it is concluded that the pnicogen-hydride interactions are stronger than dihydrogen bonds and lithium-hydride interactions. This interaction has been analyzed with natural bond orbitals, atoms in molecules, electron localization function, and symmetry adapted perturbation theory methods.     

Synthesis and properties of calcium alanate and two solvent adducts

Several ways to synthesize solvated and desolvated calcium tetrahydroaluminate by wet-chemical and mechanochemical methods are presented. The products were characterized by elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The crystal structure of Ca(AlH(4))(2).4THF was determined. After desolvation, an ultrafine powder was obtained. IR data and the mass balance suggest a compound with the composition Ca(AlH(4))(2), containing tetrahedral [AlH(4)] groups.     

The effect of organic sorbates on water associated with environmentally important sorbents: estimating and the LFER analysis

The effect of organic sorbates on the water associated with naturally occurring sorbents is of significant interest since it probes the hydration of a sorbate-specific microenvironment and its role in a compound partitioning between various environmental compartments. This effect was described in a thermodynamically strict way by converting the sorption isotherms of organic vapors on variously hydrated sorbents into the derivatives relating the change in the amount of water associated with a sorbent to the change in the amount of an organic sorbate. Further, these derivatives were analyzed by means of the Linear Free Energy Relationship (LFER). The analysis included the sorption data for various organic vapors on such environmentally important sorbents as quartz, metal oxides, calcite, clay minerals and humic acid. From the LFER analysis it followed that (i) organic sorbate polarizability contributions from n- and π-electrons resulted in driving water into the sorbent phase; (ii) the increasing volume of the organic compounds involved expelling water molecules; (iii) the increasing hydrogen-bond acidity and basicity of organic sorbates resulted in expelling water from inorganic surfaces but in enhancing hydration of the humic phase. In contrast to inorganic surfaces, when sorbed on strongly hydrated humic acid, the majority of organic sorbates containing oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur atoms drive water into the sorbent phase. Several molecules of water may need to be cosorbed by a humic sorbent for each sorbed molecule of an organic compound thus supporting the possibility of the concomitant participation of a number of water molecules in organic sorbate–humic matter interactions.     

Evaluation of metal fractions in river sediments and waters: application of chelation chromatography-differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry

The ability of chelation chromatography in combination with differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) to provide a simple, fast and reliable way of dealing with interionic interferences, competitive complexations, re-adsorption of released metal ions and sorption of spiking metal ions by organic/inorganic materials in the complex matrixes of real natural samples has been critically examined. The technique is based on the selective complexation of target metal fractions on some novel sorbents which are polymeric chelating resins doped on stationary supports (Whatman No. 1 paper and silica gel). The usual complications of leaching of the resin and/or the chelating ligand and colloid retention on the sorption bed at any stage of separation were largely obviated with these sorbents under the operational conditions of metal sorption. A detailed study on the application of such sorbents to the differentiation of ionic (free), labile (ionic plus weakly complexed) and bound (strongly complexed) metal fractions present in local river-sediment and water samples was carried out. Chelating resin-impregnated paper (CRIP) and chelating resin-immobilized silica gel column (CRISC) methods of chromatographic separation of analyte trace metals in combination with the follow-up 'standard addition' procedure of the DPASV technique were employed. A modest attempt has been made to formulate a speciation (fractionation) scheme for metal contents present in river-sediments and waters on the basis of selective retention of ionic and labile fractions on complexing resins.     

Adsorption of N,N,N′,N′-Tetraoctyl Diglycolamide on Hypercrosslinked Polysterene from a Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Medium

The work considers for the first time the preparation of sorbents based on hypercrosslinked polysterene (HCP) and chelating agent N,N,N′,N′-tetraoctyl diglycolamide (TODGA) by impregnation in the supercritical (SC) CO₂ medium. Such sorbents can be applied for further isolation and separation of lanthanides, actinides and other metals. They are usually prepared by impregnation in toxic organic solvents (e.g., methanol, dichloromethane). Our study shows that application of SC CO₂ instead of organic solvents can significantly speed up the impregnation, perfom it in one stage and make the process more eco-friendly. At the same time, the obtained sorbents are close in their parameters to the classical ones. This article presents the results of measuring the TODGA adsorption isotherms on two HCP sorbents (MN202 and MN270) on a wide range of SC fluid parameters. Adsorption measurements were carried out using on-line supercritical fluid chromatography and gravimetry. Based on the sorption capacity parameter, MN202 sorbent was selected as the better carrier for TODGA. An impregnation temperature increase within the range 313–343 K in isochoric conditions (ρ = 0.780 g/mL) reduces the maximum of TODGA adsorption from ~0.68 mmol/g to ~0.49 mmol/g.     

Proton control of oxidation and spin state in a series of iron tripodal imidazole complexes

Reaction of iron salts with three tripodal imidazole ligands, H(3)(1), H(3)(2), H(3)(3), formed from the condensation of tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (tren) with 3 equiv of an imidazole carboxaldehyde yielded eight new cationic iron(III) and iron(II), [FeH(3)L](3+or2+), and neutral iron(III), FeL, complexes. All complexes were characterized by EA(CHN), IR, UV, M?ssbauer, mass spectral techniques and cyclic voltammetry. Structures of three of the complexes, Fe(2).3H(2)O (C(18)H(27)FeN(10)O(3), a = b = c = 20.2707(5), cubic, I3d, Z = 16), Fe(3).4.5H(2)O (C(18)H(30)FeN(10)O(4.5), a = 20.9986(10), b = 11.7098(5), c = 19.9405(9), beta = 109.141(1), monoclinic, P2(1)/c), Z = 8), and [FeH(3)(3)](ClO(4))(2).H(2)O (C(18)H(26)Cl(2)FeN(10)O(9), a = 9.4848(4), b = 23.2354(9), c = 12.2048(5), beta = 111.147(1) degrees, monoclinic, P2(1)/n, Z = 4) were determined at 100 K. The structures are similar to one another and feature an octahedral iron with facial coordination of imidazoles and imine nitrogen atoms. The iron(III) complexes of the deprotonated ligands, Fe(1), Fe(2), and Fe(3), are low-spin while the protonated iron(III) cationic complexes, [FeH(3)(1)](ClO(4))(3) and [FeH(3)(2)](ClO(4))(3), are high-spin and spin-crossover, respectively. The iron(II) cationic complexes, [FeH(3)(1)]S(4)O(6), [FeH(3)(2)](ClO(4))(2), [FeH(3)(3)](ClO(4))(2), and [FeH(3)(3)][B(C(6)H(5))(4)](2) exhibit spin-crossover behavior. Cyclic voltammetric measurements on the series of complexes show that complete deprotonation of the ligands produces a negative shift in the Fe(III)/Fe(II) reduction potential of 981 mV on average. Deprotonation in air of either cationic iron(II) or iron(III) complexes, [FeH(3)L](3+or2+), yields the neutral iron(III) complex, FeL. The process is reversible for Fe(3), where protonation of Fe(3) yields [FeH(3)(3)](2+).     

Functions of MgH(2) in hydrogen storage reactions of the 6LiBH(4)-CaH(2) reactive hydride composite

A significant improvement of hydrogen storage properties was achieved by introducing MgH(2) into the 6LiBH(4)-CaH(2) system. It was found that ～8.0 wt% of hydrogen could be reversibly stored in a 6LiBH(4)-CaH(2)-3MgH(2) composite below 400 °C and 100 bar of hydrogen pressure with a stepwise reaction, which is superior to the pristine 6LiBH(4)-CaH(2) and LiBH(4) samples. Upon dehydriding, MgH(2) first decomposed to convert to Mg and liberate hydrogen with an on-set temperature of ～290 °C. Subsequently, LiBH(4) reacted with CaH(2) to form CaB(6) and LiH in addition to further hydrogen release. Hydrogen desorption from the 6LiBH(4)-CaH(2)-3MgH(2) composite finished at ～430 °C in non-isothermal model, a 160 °C reduction relative to the 6LiBH(4)-CaH(2) sample. JMA analyses revealed that hydrogen desorption was a diffusion-controlled reaction rather than an interface reaction-controlled process. The newly produced Mg of the first-step dehydrogenation possibly acts as the heterogeneous nucleation center of the resultant products of the second-step dehydrogenation, which diminishes the energy barrier and facilitates nucleation and growth, consequently reducing the operating temperature and improving the kinetics of hydrogen storage.