Soil-leaf transfer of chemical elements for the Atlantic Forest

Soil analysis could improve environmental studies since soil is the main source of chemical elements for plants. In this study, soil samples collected at 0–10 cm depth under tree crown projection were analyzed by INAA. Using the chemical composition of the leaf previously determined, the leaf-soil transfer factors of chemical elements could be estimated for the Atlantic Forest. Despite the variability of the intra-species, the transfer factors were specific for some plant species due to their element accumulation in the leaves. Similar Br-Zn combined transfer factors were obtained for the species grouped according to habitats in relation to their position (understory or dominant species) in the forest canopy.     

Status of chemical elements in Atlantic Forest tree species near an industrial complex

Environmental quality assessment studies have been conducted with tree species largely distributed in the Atlantic Forest. Leaf and soil samples were collected in the conservation unit Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar (PESM) nearby the industrial complex of Cubatão, São Paulo State, Brazil, and analyzed for chemical elements by instrumental neutron activation analysis. Results were compared to background values obtained in the Parque Estadual Carlos Botelho (PECB). The higher As, Fe, Hg and Zn mass fractions in the tree leaves of PESM indicated anthropogenic influence on this conservation unit.     

Surface contamination effects on leaf chemical composition in the Atlantic Forest

Summary The exogenous material that adheres to the leaf surface affects the elemental composition of the plant itself, thereby constituting one of the major error sources in plant analysis. The present work investigated the surface contamination of leaves from the Atlantic Forest. Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) was applied to assess the efficiency of leaf EDTA-washing. Chemical element concentrations were corrected using Sc (soil tracer) since resuspended soil is the main source of contamination in leaves. As a result, EDTA-washing should be used mainly for the evaluation of terrigenous elements, while the Sc-corrected concentrations are considered satisfactory for the other elements.     

Sandwich compounds of second-row elements: A quantum chemical study

The structures and stabilities of a number of neutral and charged sandwich-type boron, carbon, and nitrogen compounds designed based on the cyclophane cage and obeying the “electron octet” rule were studied by the B3LYP/6−311+G** density functional method. The possibility of targeted modification of the electronic structures of such compounds by varying the basal or bridging atomic groups was investigated. Dedicated to Academician O. M. Nefedov on the occasion of his 75th birthday. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 11, pp. 1825–1835, November, 2006.     

Stability of tetraoxides of chemical elements

Published data on the synthesis of eight-valence iridium and some other elements, and also works casting doubt on the fact of preparing iron and some 5f-elements in the oxidation state +8 were analyzed. Supposed methods (nuclear-chemical and pulse radiolysis methods) for Pu(VIII) and Am(VIII) detection and the method of matrix isolation at a temperature of 4–6 K for stabilization of eight-valence in Fe, Pu, and Am were considered.     

On books and chemical elements

The history of the classification of chemical elements is reviewed from the point of view of a bibliophile. The influence that relevant books had on the development of the periodic table and, conversely, how it was incorporated into textbooks, treatises and literary works, with an emphasis on the Spanish bibliography are analyzed in this paper. The reader will also find unexpected connections of the periodic table with the Bible or the architect Buckminster Fuller.     

Thermoelectrics from abundant chemical elements: high-performance nanostructured PbSe-PbS

We report promising thermoelectric properties of the rock salt PbSe-PbS system which consists of chemical elements with high natural abundance. Doping with PbCl(2), excess Pb, and Bi gives n-type behavior without significantly perturbing the cation sublattice. Thus, despite the great extent of dissolution of PbS in PbSe, the transport properties in this system, such as carrier mobilities and power factors, are remarkably similar to those of pristine n-type PbSe in fractions as high as 16%. The unexpected finding is the presence of precipitates ~2-5 nm in size, revealed by transmission electron microscopy, that increase in density with increasing PbS concentration, in contrast to previous reports of the occurrence of a complete solid solution in this system. We report a marked impact of the observed nanostructuring on the lattice thermal conductivity, as highlighted by contrasting the experimental values (~1.3 W/mK) to those predicted by Klemens-Drabble theory at room temperature (~1.6 W/mK). Our thermal conductivity results show that, unlike in PbTe, optical phonon excitations in PbSe-PbS systems contribute to heat transport at all temperatures. We show that figures of merit reaching as high as ~1.2-1.3 at 900 K can be obtained, suggesting that large-scale applications with good conversion efficiencies are possible from systems based on abundant, inexpensive chemical elements.     

Determination of trace rare earth elements in natural water by electrothermal vaporization ICP-MS with pivaloyltrifluoroacetone as chemical modifier

A novel method based on gaseous compounds introduction into the plasma as their pivaloyltrifluoroacetone (PTA) chelates was developed for electrothermal vaporization inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry determination of trace rare earth elements (REEs) in natural water. The factors affecting formation of the chelates and their vaporization behaviors were studied in detail. Under the optimized conditions, the limits of detection (3σ) of REEs for this method were from 0.20 to 0.91 ng L⁻¹, the relative standard deviations for 0.1 μg L⁻¹ REEs were 2.5–9.1% (n = 9), and the linear ranges of calibration curve for REEs covered at least three orders of magnitude. The proposed method had been applied to the determination of trace REEs in water samples of Yangtze river, Han Shui river and East lake (Wuhan), and the recoveries for the spiked water samples were 93–105%.     

A search for losses of chemical elements during freeze-drying of biological materials

Possible losses of seven chemical elements were investigated in biological tissues during freeze-drying in vacuum. Thyroid glands were taken during post-mortem examination of 23 people died of different diseases. Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) was used to estimate contents of Br, Ca, Cl, I, K, Mg, and Na. The nuclear reator vertical channel with flux density of 1.2·10¹³n·cm^–2·s^–1 was used for neutron irradiation. The analysis was carried out using short-lived radionuclides induced in samples after neutron irradiation. Then thyroids were freeze-dried at below 0 °C in vaccum up to the constant mass (lyophilisation) and then homogenized. Samples of lyophilised and homogenized tissues were again studied by INAA. The lack of difference between the results of the analysis before and after lyophilisation is an evedence of no loss of Br, Ca, Cl, I, K, Mg and Na during freeze-drying of biotissues in vaccum.     

Determination of valuable elements in natural phosphates

Natural phosphates are used on large scale in the fertilizer industry. The usual process of the chemical attack is sulfuric (predominant) and nitric acids. The liquid phosphoric acid phase resulted contains dissolved valuable elements like: uranium and rare earths elements (REEs). Uranium and REEs are recovered in some technologies as valuable products. It is therefore important to know, uranium and REEs content in natural phosphates in view to decide on their recovery. In this paper determinations were carried out to find the uranium and REEs contents. The concentrations involved are low, therefore, it is difficult to find a classical reliable method without incurring important losses, i. e., errors. In this work uranium and REEs were determined by physical methods like: neutron activation analysis (NAA), emission spectroscopy, mass spark spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence. The results obtained were acceptable and intercomparison between various methods was carried out. It was found that most reliable results were given by mass spark spectrometry and activation analysis. The data resulted are in good agreement with uranium and REEs in the green cake (uranium tetrafluoride) and in the REEs concentrate obtained by solvent, extraction from phosphoric acid.     

Speciation of trace elements in natural waters

To identify the role of trace elements in natural waters it is just as important to know the various chemical forms in which they are present as it is to determine their total concentrations.     

A review of methods for the chemical characterization of cannabis natural products

Cannabis has garnered a great deal of new attention in the past couple of years in the United States due to the increasing instances of its legalization for recreational use and indications for medicinal benefit. Despite a growing number of laboratories focused on cannabis analysis, the separation science literature pertaining to the determination of cannabis natural products is still in its infancy despite the plant having been utilized by humans for nearly 30 000 years and it being now the most widely used drug worldwide. This is largely attributable to the restrictions associated with cannabis as it is characterized as a schedule 1 drug in the United States. Presented here are reviewed analytical methods for the determination of cannabinoids (primarily) and terpenes (secondarily), the primary natural products of interest in cannabis plants. Focus is placed foremost on analyses from plant extracts and the various instrumentation and techniques that are used, but some coverage is also given to analysis of cannabinoid metabolites found in biological fluids. The goal of this work is to provide a collection of relevant separation science information, upon which the field of cannabis analysis can continue to grow.     

Explaining the effects of T-O-T bond angles on NMR chemical shifts in aluminosilicates: A natural bonding orbital (NBO) and natural chemical shielding (NCS) analysis

It has long been recognized that the 29Si and 27Al NMR chemical shifts for aluminosilicate crystals and glasses correlate to some extent with the T-O-T bond angle (where T is the tetrahedral atom Si or Al). With increasing T-O-T bond angle, the 29Si and 27Al NMR shieldings increase and the shifts thus become more negative. This result has been demonstrated both experimentally and through quantum computations. However, no simple qualitative explanation has ever been given for what appears to be a simple qualitative trend. We here provide such an explanation based upon quantum calculations. We have used high level ab initio NMR shielding calculations, natural bonding orbital (NBO) analysis, and natural chemical shielding (NCS) analysis, performed on model clusters with different T-O-T angles, to obtain an explanation for this trend from an electronic structure point of view. On the basis of both NBO populations and the NCS analysis, the following factors account for the correlation of shift with T-O-T angle: (1) a slight increase in population of the Al-O and Si-O bond orbital electrons and a dramatic change in bond orbital shapes and hybridization (with more s character and less bond bending as the T-O-T angle increases), (2) a movement of one of the lone pairs on O toward the vicinity of the Si or Al as the T-O-T angle increases, and (3) a change in the shielding contribution from the core 2p electrons of Al or Si. The changes in the 17O NMR shift with T-O-T angle are more complex, and the shifts are also more strongly influenced by distant atoms, but some systematic changes in O lone pair contributions can be identified.     

Determination of trace elements by chemical analysis and neutron activation in meteorites of the collection of the viennese museum of natural history

In the present paper a thorough analysis is described of six olivine-hypersthene chondrites, one pyroxene-plagioclase-achondrite, one medium and one coarse octahedrite as well as of an ataxite of high nickel content.For the wet-chemical determination of the main constituents a rapid method of analysis has been developed which has been found to be very suitable. For the final determination of the elements methods based on chelatometric fluorescence titration in ultra-violet light are employed.Also for the trace elements a separation method was developed which, at the present stage, allows the analysis of twelve elements in one operation. This separation technique is applicable after neutron activation and to isotopes with half lives exceeding 24 hours.With 8 FiguresThis paper has been dedicated to Professor Dr.Friedrich Wessely on the occasion of his 70th birthday.     

Bioaccumulation pattern of lanthanides in pteridophytes and magnoliophytes species from Atlantic Forest

The availability of chemical elements for plants is mainly dependent on the nature of the soil and characteristics of each species. The transfer factors of lanthanides from the soil to the tree leaves of the Atlantic Forest, Brazil, were calculated for one fern species (Alsophila sternbergii—Pteridophyta division) and four magnoliophytes species (Bathysa australis, Euterpe edulis, Garcinia gardneriana and Guapira opposita—Magnoliophyta division) obtained in two areas of Serra do Mar State Park and collected in two different seasons. Samples were analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). The soil-to-plant transfer factor (TF = C_plant:C_soil) in magnoliophytes species was correlated to the mass fraction of lanthanides in the soil, described by a exponential model (TF = a.C_soil^−b). Despite the tree fern Alsophila sternbergii presented a hyperaccumulation of lanthanides, this species did not have a significant relationship between TF and mass fraction in soil. Results indicated that plants of Magnoliophyta division selected the input of lanthanides from the soil, while the same was not observed in Alsophila sternbergii.