Determination of nicotine in tobacco with second-order spectra data of charge-transfer complex in ethanol–water binary solvents processed by parallel factor analysis

A new spectrophotometric method for the determination of nicotine in mixtures without pre-separation has been proposed. Nicotine could react with 2,4-dinitrophenol through a charge-transfer reaction to form a colored complex. The second-order data from the visible absorption spectra of the complex in a series of ethanol–water binary solvents with various water volume fractions could be expressed as the combination of two bilinear data matrices. With the bilinear model, the second-order spectra data of mixtures containing nicotine and other interferents could be analysed by using second-order calibration algorithms, and the determination of nicotine in the mixtures could be achieved. The algorithm used here was parallel factor analysis. The method has been successfully used to determine nicotine in tobacco samples with satisfactory results.     

Host–guest inclusion complex of β-cyclodextrin and benzoic acid in water–ethanol solvents: spectroscopic and thermodynamic characterization of complex formation

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In this study, an inclusion complex of benzoic acid with β-cyclodextrin (BA-βCD) was obtained from water–ethanol solvents. The yield of...     

Catalytic activity of a supported palladium–benzimidazole complex toward alkene hydrogenation

A polymer anchored palladium complex was synthesized by sequential attachment of benzimidazole and palladium chloride to chloromethylated polystyrene divinyl benzene co-polymer with 6.5 % cross-linking. The product was characterized by XPS, UV–vis. spectrophotometry, FTIR and TGA. Various physico-chemical properties such as bulk density, surface area and swelling behavior in different solvents were also measured. The polymer anchored complex was tested as a catalyst for reduction of olefins. The kinetics of hydrogenation of 1-hexene was studied by varying the temperature, catalyst concentration and substrate concentration. The energy and entropy of activation were evaluated from the kinetic data. The catalyst could be recycled a number of times and no leaching of metal from the catalyst surface was observed.     

Synthesis of decahydropyrrolo[2,1,5-cd]indolizine derivatives through RuCl3/AgOTf induced alkene–alkene and alkene–arene double cycloisomerizations

In the presence of RuCl₃/AgOTf, pyrrolizidine derivative with styrenyl substituents at the 3,5-positions undergo a 6-exo-trig cyclization and subsequent intramolecular Friedel–Crafts reactions to form decahydropyrrolo[2,1,5-cd]indolizine or decahydrocycl[3.2.2]azine derivatives. The cycloisomerization is highly stereoselective. Presence of electron donating groups on the styrenyl substituents inhibits the double cycloisomerization process and results in a trans to cis epimerization instead. No reaction takes place when electron withdrawing groups are present on the styrenyl substituents. Possible mechanisms are proposed for the observed reactions.     

The role of low levels of water in the electrochemical oxidation of α-tocopherol (vitamin E) and other phenols in acetonitrile

The phenol, α-tocopherol, can be electrochemically oxidised in a -2e(-)/-H(+) process to form a diamagnetic cation that is long-lived in dry organic solvents such as acetonitrile and dichloromethane, but in the presence of water quickly reacts to form a hemiketal. Variable scan rate cyclic voltammetry experiments in acetonitrile with carefully controlled amounts of water between 0.010 M-0.6 M were performed in order to determine the rate of reaction of the diamagnetic cation with water. The water content of the solvent was accurately determined by Karl Fischer coulometric titrations and the voltammetric data were modelled using digital simulation techniques. The oxidation peak potential of α-tocopherol measured during cyclic voltammetry experiments was found to shift to less positive potentials as increasing amounts of water (0.01-0.6 M) were added to the acetonitrile, which was interpreted based on hydrogen-bonding interactions between the phenolic hydrogen atom and water. Several other phenols were examined and they displayed similar voltammetric features to α-tocopherol, suggesting that interactions of phenols with trace amounts of water were a common occurrence in acetonitrile. The H-bonding interactions of α-tocopherol with water were also examined via NMR and UV-vis spectroscopies, with the voltammetric and spectroscopic studies extended to include other coordinating solvents (dimethyl sulfoxide and pyridine).     

Infrared spectroscopic studies of hydrogen-bonded complexes of water with oxygen bases—V. The effect of temperature on the OH-stretching bands of water molecules dissolved in some ketones

The infrared spectra, in the OH-stretching region, of H₂O molecules in dilute solution in cyclohexanone and in di-n-propyl ketone have been recorded at a series of temperatures between 15 and 85°C. The observed bands have been resolved into their component absorptions, based on the assignments established earlier, and the effects of temperature on the wavenumbers and their separations, the half-widths and the component intensities have been noted. The results have been interpreted in terms of a shift in the equilibrium between the 1 : 1 and 2 : 1 hydrogen-bonded solvent: water complexes which exist in such solutions.     

The nature of the P–P bond in carbene-stabilized diphosphorus complex

The nature of the P–P bond in the recently synthesized N-heterocyclic carbene-stabilized diphosphorus complex has been investigated by the built-in fragment-oriented approach using DFT calculations. The result leads us to investigate the stabilization of diphosphorus. It is concluded that a weakening factor, which can be engendered through such methods as orbital mixing, antibonding interaction, or ligand–receptor interactions, is the key to stabilize the highly reactive diphosphorus molecule.     

The shear hysteresis in lamellar structure of surfactant–water binary system

We study the shear effect on the lamellar structure of surfactants in water using dissipative particle dynamics simulations. Starting from a lamellar structure without shear flow, we increase the shear rate and then decrease it stepwisely. A weak shear changes the lamellar plane to be parallel to the shear direction though the lamellar normal has no specific direction on the plane normal to the shear direction. By increasing the shear rate, the lamellar normal eventually flips to the vorticity direction regardless of the initial configuration. Lamellar normal would stay along the vorticity direction on decreasing the shear rate. The hysteresis is also found in shear-stress. By varying the shear rate, the time needed to reach the final unique state is significantly shortened compared with that observed with a constant shear rate. We find a correlation between the excess shear-stress and the tilt angle of surfactant in lamellar.     

4 + 4] photodimerization of azaanthracenes in both solution and solid phase controlled by cation-π interactions

Regio- and stereoselective [4 + 4] photodimerization reactions of 1- and 2-azaanthracenes were performed in both methanol solution and solid phases to give anti-HT dimers in high yields. In these reactions, intermolecular cation-π interactions between the pyridinium cation and the benzene ring play a key role in preorientation prior to the photodimerization reactions.     

Suppression of laminar flames of natural gas–oxygen mixtures with complex obstacles

It has been experimentally shown that a complex obstacle consisting of two confusers oriented in opposite directions of a cylindrical vessel completely prevents the propagation of diluted methane – oxygen flames, i.e., the obstacle is the most effective flame arrester; the theoretical predictions are consistent with the experiments.     

Enthalpic interaction coefficients of NaI–alkanediol pairs in methanol and in water

The dissolution enthalpies of NaI in the mixtures of methanol with 1,2-alkanediols (1,2-propanediol, 1,2-butanediol, 1,2-pentanediol) and with ??,??-alkanediols (1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol), as well NaI in the mixtures of water with 1,3-propanediol and 1,2-pentanediol, were determined at 298.15?K. The energetic effect of interactions between the investigated alkanediols and NaI in methanol and in water was calculated using the enthalpic pair interaction coefficients (h _xy ) model. These results along with the other data concerning the NaI?Cnon-electrolyte pairs taken from our earlier reports and from the literature were analyzed with respect to the effect of the non-electrolyte properties on the variations of the h _xy values. The group contributions illustrating the interactions of NaI with selected functional groups in non-electrolyte (alkanediol and alkanol) molecules, namely: CH₂ and OH groups were calculated and discussed.     

Optimized structures and vibration frequencies of the ether–water complex: a DFT and FTIR study

The infrared spectrum of ether was studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in conjunction with the density functional theory (DFT). The optimized structures and vibrational frequencies of the ether·(H₂O) _n (n = 1–3) complexes were obtained at B3LYP/6-31G(d) theory levels. Compared to those of free-form ether, the C–O stretching vibrational frequencies of the ether–water complexes are found to shift to red by up to 39 cm^?1 with an increase in the C–O length of 0.016 Å. Meanwhile, the frequency of the O–H stretching modes of water in the complexes appears significantly redshifted to a varying degree. The DFT calculations suggest that these shifts are caused by the hydrogen bonding between ether and water.     

The role of phosphate released from Na–Al–P glass under repository conditions in speciation and transport of americium

The uptake of natural radioactivity by pasture-grass collected from seven different grasslands of Digor was calculated. The activities of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in pasture-grass were in the range of 21.8 ± 6.3–49.6 ± 13.4, 51.9 ± 13.2–127.7 ± 23.8 and 309.5 ± 33.5–807.3 ± 64.4 Bq kg⁻¹, respectively. The soil to pasture-grass transfer factors were evaluated and determined to be in the range from 0.26 ± 0.13 to 0.69 ± 0.34, 0.64 ± 0.27 to 1.99 ± 0.40 and 0.64 ± 0.014 to 1.40 ± 0.032 for ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K, respectively. The distribution of ²²⁶Ra and ²³²Th in different parts of pasture-grass indicated a decreasing tendency in order of root > stem > leaf. ⁴⁰K mainly accumulated in stem of pasture-grass and is followed by declining trend stem > leaf > root.

     

The role of intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds in the formation of β-cyclodextrin head-to-head and head-to-tail dimers. The results of ab initio and semiempirical quantum-chemical calculations

The conformation of a free -cyclodextrin molecule optimized by the MNDO/PM3 quantum-chemical calculations has C₇ symmetry. The right orientation of the interglucose hydrogen bonds in -cyclodextrin, in which the 2-OH groups act as the proton donors and the O atoms of the nearby 3"-OH groups function as the proton acceptors, is advantageous for thermodynamic reasons. The ring of seven H bonds thus formed stabilizes the symmetrical form of -cyclodextrin. The -cyclodextrin head-to-head dimer has D ₇ symmetry and consists of molecules whose 2-OH groups partcipate as proton donors in the formation of fourteen complementary intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The energy of H bonds in the -cyclodextrin monomer and dimer was estimated to be 1.0--1.4 kcal mol^–1. Of the two possible -cyclodextrin dimers, the head-to-tail dimer is more thermodynamically stable. The thermodynamic preference of the right orientation of the inter-glucose H bonds in -cyclodextrin was confirmed by the MP2/6-31G(d,p)//6-31G(d,p) ab initio calculations for maltose (-glucodioside). The maltose molecule with inter-glucose H bonds of the type 2-OHO(3")-H is more stable than the structure with the H-(2)OH-O(3") orientation of H bonds with a difference of 2.7 kcal mol^–1. According to the MNDO/PM3 method, the maltose structure with the right H bond orientation is more stable by 3.1 kcal mol^–1.     

Bubble points of hydrogen chloride–water–isopropanol and hydrogen chloride–water–isopropanol–benzene systems and liquid–liquid equilibria of hydrogen chloride–water–benzene and hydrogen chloride–water–isopropanol–benzene systems

Bubble points of the HCl–water–isopropanol and the HCl–water–isopropanol–benzene systems and liquid–liquid equilibria (LLE) of the HCl–water–benzene and the HCl–water– isopropanol–benzene systems were measured at 25–85°C and 30–70°C, respectively. The electrolyte nonrandom two-liquid model proposed by Chen et al. [C.-C. Chen, H.I. Britt, J.F. Boston, L.B. Evans, AIChE J. 28 (1982) 588–596] can satisfactorily correlate bubble points and liquid–liquid equilibria of the present mixed-solvent electrolyte systems over the entire range of temperature and concentrations using only binary adjustable parameters.     

The role of MgO in the thermal behavior of MgO–silica fume pastes

The compounds of MgO–silica fume (SF) pastes constitute magnesium silicate hydrate (M–S–H) in a new generation of basic castables. However, Mg(OH)₂ is a common reaction product with the formation of M–S–H. This study aims to reduce the formation of Mg(OH)₂ in MgO–SF pastes. In this study, MgO powders were prepared by calcining magnesite at different temperatures and then mixed with SF and water to prepare MgO–SF pastes. The properties of MgO powders were characterized, and the pH values in the pore solutions of MgO–SF pastes were measured. The MgO–SF pastes cured for 90 days were calcined at 500, 700, 900 and 1200 °C, and the microstructure was characterized afterward. The results showed that both the reactivity of MgO powders and the pH value of the pore solution of MgO–SF pastes were diverse, which essentially depended on the grain sizes and the crystalline degree of MgO. Increasing the calcination temperature of MgO was beneficial to reduce the formation of Mg(OH)₂ or even stop it when using MgO calcined at 1450 °C. Enstatite and forsterite formed for all MgO–SF pastes after calcination. However, the microstructure of MgO–SF paste with MgO calcined at 1450 °C was denser than others. MgO–SF pastes were suitable for the new-generation refractory castables. Notably, using MgO calcined at 1450 °C is more appropriate.     

Structure and property of the hydrogen bonding complex between triazines and water

The study of the intermolecular interactions that drive the solvation of six-membered nitrogenated aromatic rings is of particular importance since they are known to constitute key building blocks of pro- teins and nucleotides[1―5]. The investigation of the 1:1 adduct of these molecules with water will be the first step in the understanding of such interactions. These molecules possess two different proton-acceptor sites: the ring π cloud and the lone pairs of electrons on the nitrogen atoms…     

Thermodynamics of inclusion complex formation of hydroxypropylated α- and β-cyclodextrins with aminobenzoic acids in water

Calorimetry, densimetry, ¹H NMR and UV–vis spectroscopy were used to characterize inclusion complex formation of hydroxypropylated α- and β-cyclodextrins with meta- and para-aminobenzoic acids in aqueous solutions at 298.15 K. Formation of more stable inclusion complexes between para-aminobenzoic acid and cyclodextrins was observed. The binding of aminobenzoic acids with hydroxypropyl-α-cyclodextrin was found to be enthalpy-governed owing to the prevalence of van der Waals interactions and possible H-binding. Complex formation of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin with both acids is mainly entropy driven. The increased entropy contribution observed in this case is determined by dehydration of solutes occurring during the revealed deeper insertion of aminobenzoic acids into the cavity of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin. By comparing complex formation of aminobenzoic acids with native and substituted cyclodextrins it was found that the availability of hydroxypropyl groups slightly influenced the thermodynamic parameters and did not change the binding mode or driving forces of interaction.