Surface Oxidation of Supported,Size-Selected Silver Clusters

We use surface second harmonic generation spectroscopy (s-SHG) to study the oxidation of supported, size-selected silver clusters under ultra-high vacuum conditions. The oxidation reaction of small silver clusters between \(\hbox {Ag}_{9}\) and \(\hbox {Ag}_{55}\) is monitored by means of their localized surface plasmon resonance. We observe a rapid decline of the SH-intensity, as soon as cluster samples are exposed to an oxygen partial pressure of \(5 \times 10^{-6}\) mbar, which is attributed to the formation of silver–oxygen-bonds. The evolution of the SH-intensity under exposure to oxygen shows a double-exponential character for all investigated cluster sizes. Since the oxidation of single crystalline silver surfaces follow single-exponential Langmuir-kinetics, the two independent pathways of SH-intensity loss are attributed to a surface- and an interface-oxidation of supported clusters, respectiveley. For small cluster sizes, a complete loss of the SH intensity is obtained, which suggests the complete oxidation of the clusters. For larger clusters a plasmonic resonance is still observed after oxidation, indicating a residual free-electron density.     

Structural,Energetic, and Magnetic Properties of Ag$$_{}$$Rh$$_{m}$$m and Ag$$_{m}$$mRh$$_{}$$ Clusters with $$n \le 20$$n≤20 and $$m=0,1$$m=0,1

At first, a genetic algorithm in combination with either the parametrized density-functional tight-binding method or a Gupta-potential is used to determine the putative global minimum energy structures of mixed Ag\(_{n-m}\)Rh\(_{m}\) and Ag\(_{m}\)Rh\(_{n-m}\) clusters with \(n\le 20\) and \(m=0,1\). Subsequently, the resulting structures are re-optimized with a first-principles method. The results demonstrate that the exchange of a single silver atom by rhodium leads to compact core-shell-like structures with structural motifs well known from the Lennard-Jones system. For the systems of the present study, AgRh\(_{n-1}\) clusters retain their cube-based structural motif and the silver atoms typically avoid the corner positions within a cube if possible. Population analysis of both cluster systems shows that the total magnetic moment is mainly due to unpaired electrons on the rhodium atoms with a small ferro-magnetic contribution of the silver host in Ag\(_{n-1}\)Rh and virtually no contribution to the total magnetic moment from the single silver atom in AgRh\(_{n-1}\) clusters.     

Magnetic Silicon Fullerenes: Experimental Exploration and Theoretical Insight

The present article summarizes progress in research on silicon clusters with encapsulated metal atoms, and specifically focuses on the recent identification of magnetic silicon fullerenes. Considering that C\(_{20}\) forms the smallest known fullerene, the Si\(_{20}\) cluster is of particular interest in this context. While the pure hollow Si\(_{20}\) cage is unstable due to the lack of \(sp^2\) hybridization, endohedral doping with a range of metal atoms has been considered to be an effective way to stabilize the cage structure. In order to seek out suitable embedded atoms for stabilizing Si\(_{20}\), a broad search has been made across elements with relatively large atomic radius. The rare earth elements have been found to be able to stabilize the Si\(_{20}\) cage in the neutral state by forming R@Si\(_{20}\) fullerene cages. Among these atoms, Eu@Si\(_{20}\) has been reported to yield a stable magnetic silicon fullerene. The central europium atom has a large magnetic moment of nearly 7.0 Bohr magnetons. In addition, based on a stable Eu\(_2\)Si\(_{30}\) tube, a magnetic silicon nanotube has been constructed and discussed. These magnetic silicon fullerenes and nanotubes may have potential applications in the fields of spintronics and high-density magnetic storage.     

Solubility Thermodynamics of CyMe$$_{}$$-BTBP in Various Diluents Mixed with TBP

The two organic ligands 6,6′-bis(5,5,8,8-tetramethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrobenzo[1,2,4]triazin-3-yl)[2,2′]bipyridine (CyMe\(_{4}\)-BTBP) and tri-butyl phosphate (TBP) have previously been investigated in different diluents for use within recycling of used nuclear fuel through solvent extraction. The thermodynamic parameters, \(K_{\mathrm{S}}\), \(\Delta C_{p}\), \(\Delta H^{0}\) and \(\Delta S^{0}\), of the CyMe\(_{4}\)-BTBP solubility in three diluents (cyclohexanone, octanol and phenyl trifluoromethyl sulfone) mixed with TBP have been studied at 288, 298 and 308 K, both as pristine solutions and pre-equilibrated with 4 mol\(\cdot \)L\(^{-1}\) nitric acid. In addition, the amount of acid in the organic phase and density change after pre-equilibration have been measured. The solubility of CyMe\(_{4}\)-BTBP increases with an increased temperature in all systems, especially after acid pre-equilibration. This increased CyMe\(_{4}\)-BTBP solubility after pre-equilibration could be explained by acid dissolution into the solvent. Comparing the \(\Delta H^{0}\) and \(\Delta S^{0}\) calculated using \(\Delta C_{p}\) with the same parameters derived from a linear fit indicates temperature independence of all three thermodynamic systems. The change in enthalpy is positive in all solutions.     

Assessing protein–ligand binding modes with computational tools: the case of PDE4B

In a first step in the discovery of novel potent inhibitor structures for the PDE4B family with limited side effects, we present a protocol to rank newly designed molecules through the estimation of their IC\(_{50}\) values. Our protocol is based on reproducing the linear relationship between the logarithm of experimental IC\(_{50}\) values [\(\log\)(IC\(_{50}\))] and their calculated binding free energies (\(\Delta G_\mathrm{binding}\)). From 13 known PDE4B inhibitors, we show here that (1) binding free energies obtained after a docking process by AutoDock are not accurate enough to reproduce this linear relationship; (2) MM-GB/SA post-processing of molecular dynamics (MD) trajectories of the top ranked AutoDock pose improves the linear relationship; (3) by taking into account all representative structures obtained by AutoDock and by averaging MM-GB/SA computations on a series of 40 independent MD trajectories, a linear relationship between \(\log\)(IC\(_{50}\)) and the lowest \(\Delta G_\mathrm{binding}\) is achieved with \(R^2=0.944\).     

Transition-metal dichalcogenide heterostructure solar cells: a numerical study

We evaluate the tunneling short-circuit current density \(J_{TU}\) in a p–i–n solar cell in which the transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructure (\(\hbox {MoS}_2/\hbox {WS}_2\) superlattice) is embedded in the intrinsic i region. The effects of varying well and barrier widths, Fermi energy levels and number of quantum wells in the i region on \(J_{TU}\) are examined. A similar analysis is performed for the thermionic current \(J_{TH}\) that arises due to the escape and recapture of charge carriers between adjacent potential wells in the i-region. The interplay between \(J_{TU}\) and \(J_{TH}\) in the temperature range (300–330 K) is examined. The thermionic current is seen to exceed the tunneling current considerably at temperatures beyond 310 K, a desirable attribute in heterostructure solar cells. This work demonstrates the versatility of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides when utilized as fabrication materials for van der Waals heterostructure solar cells.     

Deposition Morphology and Magnetism of Co,Pt Adatoms and Small CoPt Adclusters on Ni(100) Substrate

Theoretical calculations of Co\(_{n-x}\)Pt\(_x\) (n = 1–3; \(x \le n\)) clusters on Ni(100) surface for their spin and orbital magnetic moments, as well as the magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE), are performed by using the density-functional theory (DFT) method including a self-consistent treatment of spin–orbit coupling (SOC). The results reveal that the ferromagnetic Co atoms in intra Co\(_{n-x}\)Pt\(_x\) adclusters couple ferromagnetically to their underlayer Ni atoms. The predominant inter-interactions between Co adatoms and Ni surface with the partly filled 3d band, together with the secondary intra-interactions between Co adatoms and Pt adatoms with fully filled 5d band, lead to a strongly quenched orbital moment (\(\mu _{\mathrm{{orb}}}^{\mathrm{{Co}}}\) = 0.18–0.14 \(\mu _B\); \(\mu _{\mathrm{{orb}}}^{\mathrm{{Pt}}} \approx \) 0.24–0.19 \(\mu _B\)) but a less quenched spin moment (\(\mu _{\mathrm{{spin}}}^{\mathrm{{Co}}} \approx \) 2.0 \(\mu _B\); \(\mu _{\mathrm{{spin}}}^{\mathrm{{Pt}}} \approx \) 0.35 \( \mu _B\)). The MAEs of CoPt adclusters exhibit a strong dependence on alloying effect rather than size effect, which is direly proportional to SOC strength and orbital moment anisotropy. The oxidations of CoPt clusters always reduce orbital magnetic moments and consequently decrease the corresponding MAEs.     

Lego-like spheres and tori

Given a connected surface \({\mathbb {F}}^2\) with Euler characteristic \(\chi \) and three integers \(b>a\ge 1<k\), an \((\{a,b\};k)\)-\({\mathbb {F}}^2\) is a \({\mathbb {F}}^2\)-embedded graph, having vertices of degree only k and only a- and b-gonal faces. The main case are (geometric) fullerenes (5, 6; 3)-\({\mathbb {S}}^2\). By \(p_a\), \(p_b\) we denote the number of a-gonal, b-gonal faces. Call an \((\{a,b\};k)\)-map lego-admissible if either \(\frac{p_b}{p_a}\), or \(\frac{p_a}{p_b}\) is integer. Call it lego-like if it is either \(ab^f\)-lego map, or \(a^fb\)-lego map, i.e., the face-set is partitioned into \(\min (p_a,p_b)\) isomorphic clusters, legos, consisting either one a-gon and \(f=\frac{p_b}{p_a}\,b\)-gons, or, respectively, \(f=\frac{p_a}{p_b}\,a\)-gons and one b-gon; the case \(f=1\) we denote also by ab. Call a \((\{a,b\};k)\)-map elliptic, parabolic or hyperbolic if the curvature \(\kappa _b=1+\frac{b}{k}-\frac{b}{2}\) of b-gons is positive, zero or negative, respectively. There are 14 lego-like elliptic \((\{a,b\};k)\)-\({\mathbb {S}}^2\) with \((a,b)\ne (1,2)\). No \((\{1,3\};6)\)-\({\mathbb {S}}^2\) is lego-admissible. For other 7 families of parabolic \((\{a,b\};k)\)-\({\mathbb {S}}^2\), each lego-admissible sphere with \(p_a\le p_b\) is \(a^fb\) and an infinity (by Goldberg–Coxeter operation) of \(ab^f\)-spheres exist. The number of hyperbolic \(ab^f\,(\{a,b\};k)\)-\({\mathbb {S}}^2\) with \((a,b)\ne (1,3)\) is finite. Such \(a^f b\)-spheres with \(a\ge 3\) have \((a,k)=(3,4),(3,5),(4,3),(5,3)\) or (3, 3); their number is finite for each b, but infinite for each of 5 cases (a, k). Any lego-admissible \((\{a,b\};k)\)-\({\mathbb {S}}^2\) with \(p_b=2\le a\) is \(a^f b\). We list, explicitly or by parameters, lego-admissible \((\{a,b\};k)\)-maps among: hyperbolic spheres, spheres with \(a\in \{1,2\}\), spheres with \(p_b\in \{2,\frac{p_a}{2}\}\), Goldberg–Coxeter’s spheres and \((\{a,b\};k)\)-tori. We present extensive computer search of lego-like spheres: 7 parabolic (\(p_b\)-dependent) families, basic examples of all 5 hyperbolic \(a^fb\) (b-dependent) families with \(a\ge 3\), and lego-like \((\{a,b\};3)\)-tori.     

Sparse and nonnegative sparse D-MORPH regression

An underdetermined linear algebraic equation system \(\mathbf{y}={\varvec{\Phi }}\mathbf{x}\), where \({\varvec{\Phi }}\) is an \(m\times n (m<n)\) rectangular constant matrix with rank \(r\le m\) and \(\mathbf{y}\in \mathrm {Ran}({\varvec{\Phi }})\) (range of \({\varvec{\Phi }})\), has an infinite number of solutions. Diffeomorphic modulation under observable response preserving homotopy (D-MORPH) regression seeks a solution satisfying the extra requirement of minimizing a chosen cost function, \({\mathcal {K}}\). A wide variety of choices of the cost function makes it possible to achieve diverse goals, and hence D-MORPH regression has been successfully applied to solve a range of problems. In this paper, D-MORPH regression is extended to determine a sparse or a nonnegative sparse solution of the vector \(\mathbf{x}\). For this purpose, recursive reweighted least-squares (RRLS) minimization is adopted and modified to construct the cost function \({\mathcal {K}}\) for D-MORPH regression. The advantage of sparse and nonnegative sparse D-MORPH regression is that the matrix \({\varvec{\Phi }}\) does not need to have row-full rank, thereby enabling flexibility to search for sparse solutions \(\mathbf{x}\) with ancillary properties in practical applications. These tools are applied to (a) simulation data for quantum-control-mechanism identification utilizing high dimensional model representation (HDMR) modeling and (b) experimental mass spectral data for determining the composition of an unknown mixture of chemical species.     

Crystallization study of Se<Subscript>86</Subscript>Sb<Subscript>14</Subscript> glass

The present study concerns with high-accuracy determination of crystallization activation energy (\(E_{\text{c}}\)), the frequency factor (\(k_{0}\)), the kinetic exponent (n) for Se₈₆Sb₁₄ glass. Different three methods have been used to investigate the \(E_{\text{c}} \,{\text{and}}\,k_{0 }\) values. It was found that the deduced value of k ₀ based on Kissinger’s method is too small compared with the others. Therefore, it can’t be used to investigate k ₀ value. Where \(E_{\text{c}} \,{\text{and}}\,k_{0}\) values are already known, the overall reaction rate \(k = k_{0 } { \exp }\left( { - E_{\text{c}} /\left( {R \cdot T} \right)} \right)\) at any temperature can be calculated. Now, Avrami’s equation (\(\chi = 1 - { \exp }\left( { - \left( {kt} \right)^{\text{n}} } \right)\)) contains only one unknown which is the kinetic exponent (n). This method enables us to determine n value without any approximations. The values’ crystallization fraction \((\chi_{\text{th}} )\) that theoretically calculated is the same as that experimentally investigated \((\chi_{{{ \exp } .}} )\).     

The Study of Intermolecular Interactions for <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">dl</Emphasis>-Alanine and Glycine in Aqueous <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>(+)-Arabinose Solutions at Different Temperatures and Ambient Pressure,Using the Volumetric Approach

Density measurements are used to calculate the apparent molar volumes V_φ, limiting apparent molar volumes \(V_{\varphi }^{0}\), limiting apparent molar volumes of transfer, \(\Delta_{\text{t}} V_{\varphi }^{0}\), limiting apparent molar expansibilities, \(E_{\varphi }^{0}\), and hydration numbers n_H, for dl-alanine and glycine in aqueous solutions of l(+)-arabinose at T?=?293.15 to 313.15 K. To obtain the limiting apparent molar volume, the V_φ values are extrapolated to zero molality using the linear form of the Redlich–Meyer equation. Also, the limiting apparent molar volumes of transfer, \(\Delta_{\text{t}} V_{\varphi }^{0}\), for the amino acids, from water to aqueous l(+)-arabinose solutions, are calculated from the \(V_{\varphi }^{0}\) values. The limiting apparent molar expansibility, \(E_{\varphi }^{0}\), values have been obtained from the first derivative of limiting apparent molar volumes with respect to temperature. Also the hydration number, n_H, for both amino acids in the ternary solutions are estimated. Possible solute–solvent interactions in the studied ternary systems are discussed.     

The mass renormalization for the translational Brownian motion

The damped harmonic oscillator is modeled as a local mode X with mass m and frequency \(\omega _{0}\) immersed in a phonon bath with spectral density function \(j_{0}(\omega \)). This function behaves as \(\omega ^{s}\, (s= 1,2,3,\ldots )\) when \(\omega \rightarrow 0\). The limit \(\omega _{0} = 0\) represents translational (free) Brownian motion. The earlier work (Hakim and Ambegaokar in Phys Rev A 32:423, 1985) concluded that the so defined limit transition is prohibited for spectral densities with \(s<2\). In the present study we demonstrate that a specially constructed preliminary excitation changing the original bath spectrum as \(j_{0}(\omega ) \rightarrow j(\omega )\) allows for treating the free damped motion of X with no restriction for the initial spectrum dimensionality. This procedure validates the finite mass renormalization (i.e. \(m\rightarrow M\) when \(\omega _{0}\rightarrow 0)\) for the conventional bath spectra with \(s=1,2\). We show that the new spectral density \(j(\omega )\) represents the momentum bilinear interaction between mode X and the environmental modes, whereas the conventional function \(j_{0}(\omega )\) is inherent to the case of bilinear coordinate interaction in terms of the same variables. The translational damping kernel is derived based on the new spectral density.     

Modelling of the NO + CO reaction over inhomogeneous surfaces

A phenomenological model of \(\mathrm {CO}\) oxidation with \(\mathrm {NO}\) reaction proceeding over composite (supported) catalysts is proposed and solved numerically using the finite difference method. The model is based on the coupled system of PDEs subject to nonclassical conjugate conditions at the catalyst-support interface and includes: the bulk diffusion of reactants from a bounded vessel towards the catalyst surface and the bulk one of the reaction products from the surface into the same vessel, adsorption and desorption of particles of reactants, and surface diffusion of adsorbed molecules. The readsorption of the reaction product N\(_2\)O is also taken into account. The influence of the rate constants of the adsorbed particle jumping via the catalyst-support interface and reaction rate constants on the surface reactivity is investigated. It is shown that the turnover rates of the CO and NO into products N\(_2\)O, CO\(_2\), and N\(_2\) are nonmonotonic time functions and depending on values of the kinetic parameters may possess one or two maxima. The N\(_2\)O readsorption in case of the existence of two maxima essentially increases the turnover rates and extends the duration of their high values. The mechanism and conditions for arising of the second maximum is discussed. It is also shown that the variation of the particle jumping rate constants influences differently the size of the jump discontinuity of concentrations of different adsorbates at the catalyst-support interface.     

New Runge–Kutta type symmetric two-step method with optimized characteristics

In this paper and for the first time in the literature, we build a new hybrid symmetric two-step method with the following properties: (1) the new scheme is of symmetric type, (2) the new scheme is of two-step, (3) the new scheme is of five-stages, (4) the new scheme is of twelfth-algebraic order, (5) the new scheme has eliminated the phase-lag and its first, second, third, fourth and fifth derivatives, (6) the new scheme has improved stability characteristics for the general problems, (7) the new scheme is P-stable [with interval of periodicity equal to \(\left( 0, \infty \right) \)] and (8) the new scheme builded based on the following approximations:

• the first stage is approximation on the point \(x_{n-1}\),
• the second stage is approximation on the point \(x_{n-1}\),
• the third stage is approximation on the point \(x_{n-1}\),
• the fourth stage is approximation on the point \(x_{n}\) and finally,
• the fifth stage is approximation on the point \(x_{n+1}\),

For the new builded scheme we give a full numerical analysis (local truncation error and stability analysis). The efficiency of the new builded scheme is examined with the numerical solution of systems of coupled differential equations of the Schrödinger type.

     

A five–stages symmetric method with improved phase properties

In this paper, for the first time in the literature, we introduce a new five–stages symmetric two–step method with improved phase and stability properties. The characteristics of the new non linear two–step method are: (1) it is of symmetric type, (2) it is of two–step finite difference pair, (3) it is of five–stages, (4) it is of twelfth–algebraic order, (5) it has vanished the phase–lag and its first and second derivatives, (6) it has improved stability properties for the general problems, (7) it is a P-stable method since it has an interval of periodicity equal to \(\left( 0, \infty \right) \), (8) for the development of the new scheme, the following approximations are used: (a) an approximation developed on the first layer on the point \(x_{n-1}\), (b) an approximation developed on the second layer on the point \(x_{n-1}\), (c) an approximation developed on the third layer on the point \(x_{n-1}\), (d) an approximation developed on the fourth layer on the point \(x_{n}\) and finally, (e) an approximation developed on the fifth (final) layer on the point \(x_{n+1}\). For the new developed method we give a full theoretical analysis (error and stability analysis). The efficiency of the new five–stages symmetric two–step method is examined by applying it on the numerical solution of systems of coupled differential equations arising from the Schrödinger equation.     

Hierarchical enumeration of Kekulé’s benzenes,Ladenburg’s benzenes,Dewar’s benzenes,and benzvalenes by using combined-permutation representations

The group hierarchy for each skeleton of ligancy 6 is formulated to be: point group (PG \({\varvec{G}}_{\sigma }\)) \(\subseteq \) RS-stereoisomeric group (RS-SIG \({\varvec{G}}_{\sigma \widetilde{\sigma }\widehat{I}}\)) \(\subseteq \) stereoisomeric group (SIG \(\widetilde{{\varvec{G}}}_{\sigma \widetilde{\sigma }\widehat{I}}\)) \(\subseteq \) isoskeletomeric group (ISG \(\widetilde{\widetilde{{\varvec{G}}}}_{\sigma \widetilde{\sigma }\widehat{I}}\) = \({\varvec{S}}^{[6]}_{\sigma \widehat{I}}\)), where we start from the PG \({\varvec{G}}_{\sigma }\) = \({\varvec{D}}_{6h}\) for the Kekulé benzene skeleton, from the PG \({\varvec{G}}_{\sigma }\) = \({\varvec{D}}_{3h}\) for the Ladenburg benzene skeleton, from the PG \({\varvec{G}}_{\sigma }\) = \({\varvec{C}}_{2v}\) for the Dewar benzene skeleton, or from the PG \({\varvec{G}}_{\sigma }\) = \({\varvec{C}}_{2v}\) for the benzvalene skeleton. After these groups are constructed as combined-permutation representations, the calculation of the respective cycle indices with chirality fittingness (CI-CFs) and the introduction of ligand-inventory functions are conducted to give generation functions for 3D-based enumerations (for PGs and RS-SIGs) and 2D-based enumerations (for SIGs and ISGs). The enumeration results are discussed by means of isomer-classification diagrams, in which equivalence classes under enantiomerism (for PGs), RS-stereoisomerism (for RS-SIGs), stereoisomerism (for SIGs), and isoskeletomerism (for ISGs) are illustrated schematically. The implicit connotations of the conventional terms “skeletal isomerism”, “positional isomerism”, and “constitutional isomerism” are discussed, where the effects of the concept of isoskeletomerism are emphasized.     

Special function representations of the Poisson kernel on hyperbolic spaces

In this paper we compute explicit formulae for the Poisson kernels on the hyperbolic upper half-space \(\mathbf {H}^{n}\) and the Poincaré unit ball \(\mathbf {D}^{n}\). We first construct an associated Legendre function expression for eigenfunctions of the Laplacian and use superposition principle to get a solution for the Laplace equation on \(\mathbf {H}^{n}\). The Poisson kernel on \(\mathbf {D}^{n}\) is obtained from that on \(\mathbf {H}^{n}\) by letting the hyperbolic distance \(\rho =d(w,w')\) \((w,w'\in \mathbf {H}^{n})\) tend to infinity. These Poisson kernels, apart from being interesting in their own right lead to various identities that seem to be novel in the context of special functions.     

Extending the McClelland formula for total $$\pi $$-electron energy

The McClelland formula, based on the upper bound \(\sqrt{2mn}\), is capable of reproducing over 99.5% of the total \(\pi \)-electron energy (\(E_\pi \)) of a conjugated hydrocarbon, whose molecules possess n carbon atoms and m carbon–carbon bonds. Its weak point is that it predicts equal \(E_\pi \)-values for all isomers. We now show how this failure can be overcome, offering a general strategy for extending McClelland’s formula. By means of one of these extensions, \(E_\pi \) is related with the energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital, and the error of the new formula is diminished by more than \(50\%\) relative to the standard McClelland approximation.     

Densities,Ultrasonic Velocities,Excess Properties and IR Spectra of Binary Liquid Mixtures of Organic Esters (Ethyl Lactate,Some Organic Carbonates)

Organic esters of carbonic acid {dimethyl carbonate (DMC)/diethyl carbonate (DEC)/propylene carbonate (PC)}, in combination with a lactate ester {ethyl lactate (EL)}, with green chemistry characteristics were chosen for the present study of molecular interactions in binary liquid mixtures. Densities (ρ) and ultrasonic velocities (U) of the pure solvents and liquid mixtures were measured experimentally over the entire composition range at temperatures (303.15, 308.15, 313.15 and 318.15) K and atmospheric pressure. The experimental data was used to calculate thermodynamic and acoustic parameters \( V_{\text{m}}^{\text{E}} \), \( \kappa_{S}^{\text{E}} \), \( L_{\text{f}}^{\text{E}} \), \( \bar{V}_{\text{m,1}}^{{}} \), \( \bar{V}_{\text{m,2}}^{{}} \), \( \bar{V}_{\text{m,1}}^{\text{E}} \), \( \bar{V}_{\text{m,2}}^{\text{E}} \), \( \bar{V}_{ 1}^{\text{E,0}} \) and \( \bar{V}_{ 2}^{\text{E,0}} \) and the excess functions were fitted with the Redlich–Kister polynomial equation to obtain the binary solution coefficients and the standard deviations. It was observed that the values of \( V_{\text{m}}^{\text{E}} \), \( \kappa_{S}^{\text{E}} \) and \( L_{\text{f}}^{\text{E}} \) are positive for the mixtures of (EL + DMC/DEC) and negative for those of (EL + PC) over the entire range of composition and temperature. The positive values of \( V_{\text{m}}^{\text{E}} \), \( \kappa_{S}^{\text{E}} \) and \( L_{\text{f}}^{\text{E}} \) indicate the action of dispersion forces between the component molecules of (EL + DMC/DEC) mixtures whereas negative values for the mixture (EL + PC) suggest the existence of strong specific interactions between the component molecules, probably resulting from chemical and structural contributions. The excess properties have also been analyzed by using the reduced (\( Y^{\text{E}} /x_{1} x_{2} \)) excess function approach and the results are found to be in agreement with those from the corresponding \( Y^{\text{E}} \)(= \( V_{\text{m}}^{\text{E}} \), \( \kappa_{S}^{\text{E}} \) and \( L_{\text{f}}^{\text{E}} \)) values. This is further supported by FTIR spectral analysis.     

Intrinsic ratios of glucose,fructose, glycerol and ethanol <Superscript>13</Superscript>C/<Superscript>12</Superscript>C isotopic ratio determined by HPLC-<Emphasis Type="Italic">co</Emphasis>-IRMS: toward determining constants for wine authentication

High-performance liquid chromatography linked to isotope ratio mass spectrometry (HPLC-co-IRMS) via a Liquiface© interface has been used to simultaneously determine ¹³C isotope ratios of glucose (G), fructose (F), glycerol (Gly) and ethanol (Eth) in sweet and semi-sweet wines. The data has been used the study of wine authenticity. For this purpose, 20 authentic wines from various French production areas and various vintages have been analyzed after dilution in pure water from 20 to 200 times according to sugar content. If the ¹³C isotope ratios vary according to the production area and the vintage, it appears that internal ratios of ¹³C isotope ratios \(\left( {R_{^{13} C} } \right)\) of the four compounds studied can be considered as a constant. Thus, ratios of isotope ratios are found to be 1.00?±?0.04 and 1.02?±?0.08 for \(R_{^{13} C_{G/F} }\) and \(R_{^{13} C_{Gly/Eth} }\), respectively. Moreover, \(R_{^{13} C_{Eth/Sugar} }\) is found to be 1.15?±?0.10 and 1.16?±?0.08 for \(R_{^{13} C_{Gly/Sugar} }\). Additions of glucose, fructose and glycerol to a reference wine show a variation of the \(R_{^{13} C}\) value for a single product addition as low as 2.5 g/L^?1. Eighteen commercial wines and 17 concentrated musts have been analyzed. Three wine samples are suspicious as the \(R_{^{13} C}\) values are out of range indicating a sweetening treatment. Moreover, concentrated must analysis shows that ¹³C isotope ratio can be also used directly to determine the authenticity of the matrix.

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Figure HPLC-co-IRMS chromatogram of a diluted sweet wine.