Analysis of chemical kinetics at the gas-aqueous interface for submicron aerosols

The effect of kinetics of chemical reactions in the gas-liquid interface between atmospheric gases and reactive solute in dilute aqueous aerosols is analysed in order to see if such processes will affect the overall uptake rate. Accordingly, a parameterization of such heterogeneous reactions was derived, taking into account interfacial reactions. Gibbs surface excess concentration of both reactive compounds and stable compounds leads to higher heterogeneous reaction rates in comparison to aqueous phase bulk reactions. An analytical formulation shows that the surface reactions may be of considerable importance for the uptake process in the case of small liquid aerosols even in the absence of organic film on the surface. In particular, we demonstrate that the uptake rate of atmospheric gas-phase oxidants (such as OH, NO(3) or O(3)) reacting with volatile organic compounds (such as ethanol or methanol) is increased by more than 10% for atmospheric aerosols with diameters lower than 0.1 microm. This effect is in addition intensified in the case of reactions of atmospheric oxidants with liquid aerosols containing organic surfactants, such as semi-volatile organic compounds, i.e., the chemical reactions at the gas-liquid interface may be dominant in the main uptake process for atmospheric submicron aerosols.     

Molecular recognition at the gas-solid interface: a powerful tool for chemical sensing

This tutorial review deals with the design of molecular receptors capable of molecular recognition at the gas-solid interface, to be used as selective layers in gas sensors. The key issue of specific versus nonspecific binding in the solid layer is discussed in terms of cavity inclusion and layer morphology. The combined use of mass spectrometry and crystal structure analysis provide accurate information on type, number, geometry and strength of receptor-analyte interactions in the gas phase and in the solid state. From these data, the gas sensing properties of a given receptor toward a single class of analytes can be anticipated.     

Program Fullerene: A software package for constructing and analyzing structures of regular fullerenes

Fullerene (Version 4.4) is a general purpose open‐source program that can generate any fullerene isomer, perform topological and graph theoretical analysis, as well as calculate a number of physical and chemical properties. The program creates symmetric planar drawings of the fullerene graph and generates accurate molecular 3D geometries by way of force‐field optimization, serving as a good starting point for further quantum theoretical treatments. It includes a number of fullerene‐to‐fullerene transformations, such as Goldberg–Coxeter transforms, Stone–Wales transforms, Endo–Kroto, Yoshida–Fowler, and Brinkmann–Fowler vertex insertions. The program is written in standard Fortran and C++ and can easily be installed in a Linux or UNIX environment. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Mathematical basis of the integral formalism of chemical kinetics. Compact representation of the general solution of the first-order linear differential equation

The standard approach in chemical and photochemical kinetics is to proceed from the kinetic scheme to the corresponding system of first-order differential equations, and then to integrate it, analytically or numerically. An equivalent integral formulation circumventing such system was recently developed on the basis of physical arguments. The mathematical basis of this ansatz is discussed here. A compact representation of the general solution of the linear first-order differential equation is also obtained.     

The chemical structure matrix and a new formalism for the QSPR problem

The notion of the chemical structure matrix (CSM) is introduced. The columns of the CSM represent the numbers of occurrences of different subgraphs in molecular graphs and are treated as vectors in a linear space. Any topological indices and physicochemical properties can also be treated as vectors in the same linear space. The QSPR problem is formally reduced to the search for linear correlations between vectors. A simple procedure for solving the problem is proposed. A novel method for establishing QSAR is outlined. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 1447–1453, September, 2006.     

Direct experimental evidence for a heterogeneous reaction of ozone with bromide at the air-aqueous interface

Recent experimental and theoretical evidence has indicated an enhancement of the heavier halide ions at the air-aqueous interface, relative to their bulk concentrations. This, along with an order of magnitude discrepancy between measured and predicted Br2 production in the reaction of ozone with deliquesced NaBr aerosol, has led to the suggestion that an interface reaction occurs between ozone and bromide. We have used harmine, a beta-carboline alkaloid, as an interface-sensitive fluorescent pH probe in order to measure pH changes associated with the interfacial reaction of ozone and bromide. The rate of pH change depends upon the bulk bromide concentration in a way which is well described by a Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic model. In the presence of octanol at the interface, the rate of pH change tracks the octanol adsorption isotherm, as expected if octanol enhances the concentration of ozone at the surface.     

Hydrodynamically induced chemical oscillation at a water/nitrobenzene interface

By measuring a time course of interfacial tension and interfacial electrical potential, we successfully observed oscillatory phenomena that were based on alternatively appearing adsorption and desorption processes of anionic surfactant molecules (sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)) at the water/nitrobenzene interface. These oscillation patterns were drastically modified by slightly changing the rate of SDS aqueous solution injection into the water phase. When 10 mM of SDS aqueous solution was injected at a low rate, for example, at less than 1 microl/min, abrupt adsorption was repeatedly followed by slow desorption of DS- ions; in other words, the sequence of the oscillation and relaxation processes was repeated. However, when it was injected at a higher rate, no remarkable periodic phenomenon occurred after the first oscillation. In addition, the rapid adsorption process was observed to be accompanied by a flip motion of the liquid/liquid interface and a flow along the interface. This is caused by a Marangoni convection that is brought about by the generation of heterogeneity of interfacial tension. Furthermore, by estimating the flow speed, it was determined that the faster flow tends to quench the periodic oscillation patterns.     

Processes involved at the chemical interface of a saw chemosensor

An overview is given of interactions occurring at the gas-selective surface (‘chemical interface’) of a SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave) chemosensor. Coordination chemistry as an intermediate between adsorption and chemisorption seems to offer many attractive possibilities in the search for and design of selective and reversible chemical interfaces.Both the surface structure and the bonding of the chemical interface to the sensor are likely to be important with respect to the sensor stability, sensitivity and response time. It is expected that covalently-bonded chemical interfaces should be applied in preference to physically attached or entrapped coatings.     

A generalized Born formalism for heterogeneous dielectric environments: application to the implicit modeling of biological membranes

Reliable computer simulations of complex biological environments such as integral membrane proteins with explicit water and lipid molecules remain a challenging task. We propose a modification of the standard generalized Born theory of homogeneous solvent for modeling the heterogeneous dielectric environments such as lipid/water interfaces. Our model allows the representation of biological membranes in the form of multiple layered dielectric regions with dielectric constants that are different from the solute cavity. The proposed new formalism is shown to predict the electrostatic component of solvation free energy with a relative error of 0.17% compared to exact finite-difference solutions of the Poisson equation for a transmembrane helix test system. Molecular dynamics simulations of melittin and bacteriorhodopsin are carried out and performed over 10 ns and 7 ns of simulation time, respectively. The center of melittin along the membrane normal in these stable simulations is in excellent agreement with the relevant experimental data. Simulations of bacteriorhodopsin started from the experimental structure remained stable and in close agreement with experiment. We also examined the free energy profiles of water and amino acid side chain analogs upon membrane insertion. The results with our implicit membrane model agree well with the experimental transfer free energy data from cyclohexane to water as well as explicit solvent simulations of water and selected side chain analogs.     

Surface activity and orientation of inosine at a mercury/solution interface

Summary A systematic investigation on the adsorption and association of inosine at a hanging mercury drop electrode by phase-sensitive ac voltammetry has been performed. The adsorption equilibrium bas been determined as a function of various parameters such aspH, adsorption potential, adsorption time, and bulk concentration of inosine. It was found that the association of the adsorbed species depends predominantly on the stacking interactions of neutral inosine molecules. Over a wide potential range, inosine exhibits a dilute adsorption characteristic where it is adsorbed with the base flat on the electrode surface. Above a certain threshold value, inosine appears to undergo a surface reorientation and adopts a perpendicular position. The nucleation and growth mechanism is analyzed applying theAvrami equation. Characteristic properties and adsorption parameters of dilute and compact layers of inosine were evaluated from the two-stepFrumkin isotherm and from the potential dependence of adsorption.

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Oberflächenaktivität und Orientierung von Inosin an einer Quecksilber/Lösungs-Grenzfläche

Zusammenfassung Die Adsorption und Assoziation von Inosin an einer Quecksilbertropfelektrode wurde mittels phasensensitiver AC-Voltammetrie systematisch untersucht. Die Abhängigkeit des Adsorptionsgleichgewichts von Parametern wiepH-Wert, Adsorptionspotential, Adsorptionszeit und Inosinkonzentration wurde gemessen. Dabei zeigte sich, daß die Assoziation der adsorbierten Spezies vorwiegend von der Anordnung und den Wechselwirkungen der neutralen Inosinmoleküle abhängt. Inosin bildet über einen weiten Potentialbereich eine dünne Adsorptionsschicht aus, wobei die Base flach auf der Elektrodenoberfläche aufliegt. Ab einem bestimmten Grenzwert der Konzentration tritt eine Reorientierung zu einer senkrechten Anordnung ein. Keimbildung und Wachstumsmechanismus wurden mittels derAvrami-Gleichung analysiert. Eigenschaften und Adsorptionsparameter der verdünnten und der kompakten Inosinschicht konnten aus der zweistufigenFrumkin-Isotherme und aus der Potentialabhängigkeit der Adsorption bestimmt werden.

     

Chemomechanics: chemical kinetics for multiscale phenomena

The purpose of this critical review is to introduce the reader to an increasingly important class of phenomena: enormous changes in rates of simple chemical reactions within macromolecules as they are stretched by interactions with the environment. In these chemomechanical, or mechanochemical, phenomena the effect of the macromolecular environment can be visualized as a spring (harmonic or anharmonic) bridging and pulling apart a pair of atoms of the macromolecule. Being able to predict how the parameters of this spring affect the kinetics of the reactions occurring between the constrained atoms may create revolutionary opportunities for designing new reactions, molecules and materials that would capture large-scale deformations to drive useful chemistry or, conversely, that would propel autonomous micro- and nanomechanical devices by coupling them to the concerted motion of atoms that convert reactants into products. Although chemists have long studied and exploited coupling between molecular strain and reactivity in small molecules, a quantitative understanding of the relationship between large-scale (>50 nm) strain and localized reactivity presents unique conceptual and experimental challenges. Below we discuss both the phenomenology and the interpretive framework of chemomechanical phenomena (102 references).     

Aluminosilicate dissolution kinetics: a general stochastic model

We apply a kinetic model developed for understanding the behavior of crystal dissolution to aluminosilicate dissolution kinetics. Without making any assumptions about specific dissolution mechanisms, the model is a vigorous stochastic exploration of all of the elementary reactions and basic processes involved in dissolution: bond breakage, bond formation, surface diffusion, and departure and arrival of Si- and Al- units. In the stochastic model, the interdependence of these elementary reactions and basic processes is strictly determined by the complicated three-dimensional surface structure in which interconnected Si- and Al- atoms share oxygen atoms. The modeling results are consistent with experimental data in various aspects, such as saturation state dependence of the dissolution rate, aluminum inhibition effects, surface chemistry evolution, anisotropic dissolution, and alteration product. The stochastic model integrates all microscopic information at the atomic scale and elucidates the reasons for the observed kinetic results in experimental studies, improving our fundamental understanding of aluminosilicate dissolution.     

A Monte Carlo study of proton adsorption at the heterogeneous oxide/electrolyte interface

Adsorption of protons on a heterogeneous solid surface is modeled using the Monte Carlo (MC) simulation method. The surface of an oxide is assumed to consist of adsorption sites with pK assigned according to a quasi-Gaussian distribution. The influence of the electrostatic interactions combined with the energetic heterogeneity of the surface is examined, and the MC results are compared with the predictions of the mean field theory (MFT). It is demonstrated that the heterogeneity affects strongly the shape of the isotherms while it does not change the location of the common intersection point of the isotherms. On the other hand, introduction of repulsive interactions into the system is found to shift the CIP toward lower values of pH. It is also shown that the MFT, in general, describes correctly the behavior of the system. On the contrary the condensation approximation, used to derive relatively simple expressions for the adsorption isotherms, introduces serious errors unless the surface is strongly heterogeneous. Some practical remarks how to eliminate the errors associated both with the MC simulations and with the theory are also presented.     

Determination of initial rates for a general class of chemical reactions: A methodology

The initial rate of any general nth order (n not necessarily integer) chemical reaction can be accurately and easily computed from the slope of a chord joining two points on the progress curve. Expressions for calculating the intermediate concentration corresponding to this initial rate are provided. Examples of the technique applied to second- and third-order reactions as well as an example of a reaction with fractional order (n = 0.6) are given.     

In situ electron paramagnetic resonance: a unique tool for analyzing structure-reactivity relationships in heterogeneous catalysis

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) offers widespread opportunities for monitoring catalytically relevant species that contain unpaired electrons under conditions close to those of heterogeneous catalytic gas and liquid phase reactions. In this tutorial review, after introducing basic theoretical and experimental principles of the technique, selected examples of typical applications are discussed that comprise (1) transition metal ions in paramagnetic valence states such as vanadium, (2) radical anions such as O˙(-) formed on oxide surfaces and (3) electrons in ferromagnetic particles such as nickel as well as in conduction bands of organic conductors such as polyaniline.     

Nonequilibrium thermodynamics formalism for Marcus theory of heterogeneous and self-exchange electron-transfer rate constants

The cross-exchange electron-transfer rate constant expression of Marcus is derived from the Flux-force formalism of non-equilibrium thermodynamics. The relationship governing the Onsager's phenomenological coefficients for cross-exchange and self-exchange electron-transfer processes is deduced. Onsager's phenomenological coefficient pertaining to the Butler-Volmer equation is derived and estimated from the experimental exchange current densities. The correlation between the heterogeneous and the homogeneous electron-transfer rate constants derived by Marcus is analyzed in terms of the corresponding phenomenological coefficients.     

Coupled chemical processes at clay/electrolyte interface: a batch titration study of Na-montmorillonites

The present work addresses the protolytic charge of montmorillonite, which occurs on the broken-bond sites at the particle edges. The purpose is to overcome the general difficulty arising in potentiometric titration due to coupled side reactions, which severely impede the titrant budget (partial dissolution of the clay and of secondary phases, hydrolysis and readsorption of dissolved species, cation exchange). Batch potentiometric titrations were carried out on the montmorillonite fractions extracted from two bentonites (MX80 and SWy2) to quantify their protolytic charge. The effects of equilibration time (24 h and 7 days), pH from 4 to 10, and ionic strength (0.1 and 0.01 mol L(-1)) were extensively studied for the MX80 sample. Quantification of dissolution was achieved by analysis of the equilibrium solutions for dissolved species and by La(3+) exchange of the readsorbed species. The results clearly show that secondary phases such as iron- or silica-rich minerals contribute to the dissolved species, according to the nature of the raw bentonite. Furthermore, readsorption affects significant amounts of dissolved species. The overconsumption of proton/hydroxide due to dissolution, readsorption, and hydrolysis of dissolved species was evaluated using a self-consistent thermodynamic calculation. The ability of such calculation to correct the raw titration curves in order to extract the titrable surface charge of montmorillonite was evaluated by comparison with the continuous titration procedure. Especially in the alkaline domain, correcting the raw batch titration curves for the measured side reactions failed to reproduce the continuous titration curves. These observations demonstrate the limitations of the batch titration method and the superiority of fast, continuous methods for quantifying the dissociable surface charge of clays.