Performance of the spin-flip and multireference methods for bond breaking in hydrocarbons: a benchmark study

Benchmark results for spin-flip (SF) coupled-cluster and multireference (MR) methods for bond-breaking in hydrocarbons are presented. The nonparallelity errors (NPEs), which are defined as an absolute value of the difference between the maximum and minimum values of the errors in the potential energy along bond-breaking curves, are analyzed for (i) the entire range of nuclear distortions from equilibrium to the dissociation limit and (ii) in the intermediate range (2.5-4.5 A), which is the most relevant for kinetics modeling. For methane, the spin-flip and MR results are compared against full configuration interaction (FCI). For the entire potential energy curves, the NPEs for the SF model with single and double substitutions (SF-CCSD) are slightly less than 3 kcal/mol. Inclusion of triple excitations reduces the NPEs to 0.32 kcal/mol. The corresponding NPEs for the MR-CI are less than 1 kcal/mol, while those of multireference perturbation theory are slightly larger (1.2 kcal/mol). The NPEs in the intermediate range are smaller for all of the methods. The largest errors of 0.35 kcal/mol are observed, surprisingly, for a spin-flip approach that includes triple excitations, while MR-CI, CASPT2, and SF-CCSD curves are very close to each other and are within 0.1-0.2 kcal/mol of FCI. For a larger basis set, the difference between MR-CI and CASPT2 is about 0.2 kcal/mol, while SF-CCSD is within 0.4 kcal/mol of MR-CI. For the C-C bond breaking in ethane, the results of the SF-CCSD are within 1 kcal/mol of MR-CI for the entire curve and within 0.4 kcal/mol in the intermediate region. The corresponding NPEs for CASPT2 are 1.8 and 0.4 kcal/mol, respectively. Including the effect of triples by energy-additivity schemes is found to be insignificant for the intermediate region. For the entire range of nuclear separations, sufficiently large basis sets are required to avoid artifacts at small internuclear separations.     

Determination of colorimetric uncertainties in the spectrophotometric measurement of colour

A method for the determination of colorimetric uncertainties has been developed in order to meet the requirements for accreditation by the UK accreditation service (UKAS), which include a statement of uncertainty for all certified quantities. The values of the principal sources of spectrophotometric uncertainty are first determined and are used to calculate corresponding components of colorimetric uncertainty using a simple model. The components of uncertainty analysed are 100% level (diffuse reflectance), photometric non-linearity, dark level and wavelength error. Bandwidth error is not significant for NPL surface colour standards because a small bandwidth is always used.

The gloss trap error and specular beam error are determined and corrected so that only the uncertainties after correction need be considered. These can be treated as components of dark level uncertainty. The uncertainties are determined for the following colour data: x, y, Y, u′, v′, L^*, a^* and b^* for the CIE 10° Standard Observer and the CIE Standard Illuminant D₆₅ for three geometries: specular included, specular excluded and 0°/45°. These are now quoted routinely on NPL certificates for ceramic colour standards, white and black ceramic tile standards and Russian opal standards.     

Theoretical study on the structure and energetics of alkali halide clusters

The structures of alkali halide clusters Na_nF_n, Li_nF_n and Na_nCl_n, and their metal-excess clusters Na_nF_n−1⁺, Li_nF_n−1⁺ and Na_nCl_n−1⁺ were investigated by the ab initio molecular orbital method for cluster sizes from 1 to 14. The magic numbers for the neutral clusters Na_nF_n, Li_nF_n and Na_nCl_n are 4, 6, and 8. The most stable structure for these cluster sizes is a perfect crystallite for Na_nF_n and Na_nCl_n, and a double ring for Li_nF_n. The magic numbers for the metal-excess clusters are 5 and 8, which are near ideal cuboids with (100) facets.     

Molecular beam maser measurements of relaxation cross sections in NH3

Direct measurements of scattering cross sections for NH₃ in well-defined quantum states are made using a molecular beam maser spectrometer. Cross sections are compared for a pure inversion state with those for a coherent superposition state for scattering gases He, Ar, N₂, N₂O, NH₃, CH₃H and CH₃CN. The cross sections are significantly larger for scattering of the pure inversion state by NH₃, CF₃H and CH₃CN than for scattering of the superposition state. The scattering is the same for both states on non-polar gases. These cross sections are related to relaxation parameters describing transitions between rotation and inversion states.     

Experimental absolute intensities of the 4ν9 and 5ν9 O–H stretching overtones of H2SO4

This work uses cavity ring-down spectroscopy to measure two high vibrational overtones (4ν₉ and 5ν₉) of the O–H stretch in sulfuric acid. The frequencies, bandwidths, and intensities are obtained for these previously unobserved transitions. The atmospheric J-values for the overtone-induced photodissociation are calculated using the experimental cross-sections. Accurate J-values are essential for understanding the formation of the springtime polar sulfate layer by overtone-induced dehydration of H₂SO₄. The results are compared to previous experimental and theoretical studies of sulfuric acid.     

Bulk Free‐Radical Co‐ and Terpolymerization of n‐Butyl Acrylate/2‐Ethylhexyl Acrylate/Methyl Methacrylate

n‐Butyl acrylate (BA), 2‐ethylhexyl acrylate (EHA), and methyl methacrylate (MMA) are commonly used monomers in pressure‐sensitive adhesive formulations. The bulk free‐radical copolymerizations of BA/EHA, MMA/EHA, and BA/MMA are studied at 60 °C to demonstrate the use of copolymer reactivity ratios for the prediction of BA/MMA/EHA terpolymer composition. The reactivity ratios for BA/EHA and MMA/EHA copolymer systems are determined using low conversion experiments; BA/MMA reactivity ratios are already known from the literature. The reactivity ratio estimates for the BA/EHA system are r _BA = 0.994 and r _EHA = 1.621 and the estimates for MMA/EHA are r _MMA = 1.496 and r _EHA = 0.315. High conversion experiments are conducted to validate the reactivity ratios. The copolymer reactivity ratios are shown to predict terpolymer composition of high conversion BA/MMA/EHA experiments.     

Vibrational spectra of zinc halide complexes with trimethylphosphine oxide

The Raman and IR spectra are reported for the complexes ZnCl₂.2TMPO, ZnBr₂.2TMPO and ZnI₂.2TMPO. The observed frequencies for polycrystalline samples are assigned on the basis of a C_3v structure for the TMPO ligand and a C_2y structure for the ZnX₂O₂ skeletal fundamentals. To discuss the coordination effects of TMPO, the ligand vibrations are compared with those of free TMPO and the skeletal vibrations with those of acetonitrile complexes. Using the ratios of G matrix elements and of observed frequencies for symmetric and asymmetric Zn-X stretching modes, the ZnX₂O₂ skeletal structures are found to be tetrahedral.     

High-performance liquid chromatography and thin-layer chromatography for the simultaneous quantitation of rabeprazole and mosapride in pharmaceutical products

Simple, sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and thin-layer chromatography (TLC) methods are developed for the quantitative estimation of rabeprazole and mosapride in their combined pharmaceutical dosage forms. In HPLC, rabeprazole and mosapride are chromatographed using 0.01M 6.5 pH ammonium acetate buffer-methanol-acetonitrile (40:20:40, v/v, pH 5.70+/-0.02) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. In TLC, the mobile phase is ethyl acetate-methanol-benzene (2:0.5:2.5, v/v). Both the drugs are scanned at 276 nm. The retention times of rabeprazole and mosapride are found to be 4.93+/-0.01 and 9.79+/-0.02, respectively. The Rf values of rabeprazole and mosapride are found to be 0.42+/-0.02 and 0.61+/-0.02, respectively. The linearities of rabeprazole and mosapride are in the range of 400-2000 ng/mL and 300-1500 ng/mL, respectively, for HPLC; in TLC, the linearities of rabeprazole and mosapride are in the range of 400-1200 ng/spot and 300-900 ng/spot, respectively. The limit of detection is found to be 97.7 ng/mL for rabeprazole and 97.6 ng/mL for mosapride in HPLC; in TLC the limit of detection is found to be 132.29 ng/spot for rabeprazole and 98.25 ng/spot for mosapride. The proposed methods can be applied to the determination of rabeprazole and mosapride in combined pharmaceutical products.     

Identification of amphetamine isomers by GC/IR/MS

The methods of gas chromatography/Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (GC/FTIR) and gas chromatography/infrared spectroscopy/mass spectrometry (GC/IR/MS) are evaluated for their ability to differentiate side chain isomers of amphetamine. It is found that absorption bands from 3000 to 2850 cm-1 and 900 to 650 cm-1 are most useful for differentiating the alkyl amines, while the bands from 1600 to 900 cm-1 are only useful for differentiating primary amines from the other substituted amines. The combination of GC/IR/MS is superior for differentiating these side chain isomers.     

Excess volumes of ternary mixtures of N,N-dimethylformamide-diethyl ketone-1-alkanols at 303.15K

Volume changes on mixing of ternary liquid mixtures of N,N-dimethylformamide and diethyl ketone with 1-alkanols have been measured as a function of composition at 303.15 K. The alkanols include 1-propanol, 1-butanol, 1-pentanol and 1-hexanol. The measured V^E values are negative in the mixtures of N,N-dimethylformamide, diethyl ketone and 1-propanol, or 1-butanol. The V^E data exhibits an inversion in sign in the mixture containing 1-pentanol and positive excess volumes are observed in the mixture containing 1-hexanol. The measured data are compared with predicted values based upon empirical relations. The excess volume for the binary mixture of N,N-dimethylformamide with diethyl ketone has been measured over the entire range of composition at 303.15 K. The V^E values are negative for the binary mixture.     

Nonlinear spontaneous oscillations at the liquid/liquid interface produced by surfactant dissolution in the bulk phase

The results of theoretical and experimental studies of spontaneous nonlinear oscillations produced at the liquid/liquid interface by surfactant transfer from a point source situated in one of the bulk phases are presented. The theoretical analysis is based on the direct numerical simulation of the system evolution. The experiments are performed for the heptane/water interface using middle-chain aliphatic alcohols as surfactants. The results for the oil/water interface are compared with the corresponding data obtained for the air/water interface. The presented results allow the conclusion that auto-oscillations at the air/liquid and liquid/liquid interfaces are governed by very similar mechanisms but their characteristics are strongly dependent on the properties of the two contacting media, in particular, on the surfactant partition coefficient.     

Determination of perfluorooctanesulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid in sewage sludge samples using liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A new method is developed for the determination of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in sewage sludge samples. The analytes in sewage sludge samples are extracted by methanol and formic acid, cleaned by C18 solid-phase extraction, then separated, identified and quantitated by liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC–QTOF-MS). A C18 column (150 mm × 2.1 mm, 3.5 μm) with gradient elution of MeOH–H₂O (60:40) containing 5 mmol/L ammonium acetate and MeOH–H₂O (80:20) is used for the chromatographic separation. [M−K]⁻ ions at m/z 498.93 for PFOS and [M−COOH]⁻ ion at m/z 368.97 for PFOA are selected for QTOF-MS in the negative electrospray ionization mode. The detection limits for PFOS and PFOA in sewage sludge samples are 0.5 and 0.8 ng/g, respectively. The spiked recoveries are in the range of 85–114 and 71–98% for PFOS and PFOA, respectively. The proposed method is successfully applied to the analysis of PFOS and PFOA in 16 sewage sludge samples from China. PFOS and PFOA are detected in most sewage sludge samples and the concentrations of PFOS and PFOA are up to 5383 and 4780 ng/g (oven dry weight), respectively.     

Thermodynamics of mixtures with strongly negative deviations from Raoult’s law: Part 5. Excess molar volumes at 298.15 K for 1-alkanols+dipropylamine systems: characterization in terms of the ERAS model

Excess molar volumes, V_m^E, at 298.15 K and atmospheric pressure over the entire composition range for binary mixtures of methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 1-butanol, 1-pentanol, 1-hexanol, 1-heptanol and 1-octanol with dipropylamine are reported from densities measured with a vibrating-tube densimeter. All the excess volumes are large and negative over the whole mole fraction range, indicating strong interactions between unlike molecules, which are more important for the system involving methanol, characterized by the most negative V_m^E. For the remainder mixtures, V_m^E at equimolar composition, is approximately constant. The V_m^E curves are nearly symmetrical.

V_m^E and excess molar enthalpies, H_m^E, of the mixtures studied are consistently described by the ERAS model. The ERAS parameters confirm that the strongest interactions between unlike molecules are encountered in the methanol+dipropylamine system.     

High electrocatalytic activity of non-noble Ni-Co/graphene catalyst for direct ethanol fuel cells

The electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol is studied on the non-noble catalysts Ni-Co/graphene and Ni/graphene supported on glass carbon electrode (GCE) in alkaline medium. The synthesized materials are characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The elements of Ni-Co/graphene and Ni/graphene catalysts are characterized using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The electrocatalytic properties of Ni-Co/graphene and Ni/graphene for ethanol oxidation are investigated by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and Tafel plot. Compared with Ni/graphene catalyst, Ni-Co/graphene has the higher electroactivity and better stability for ethanol oxidation. The rate constant (k _s) and charge-transfer coefficient (α) are calculated for the electron exchange reaction of the modified GCE. The results indicate that Co addition could promote the oxidation reaction at the Ni/graphene catalyst. Our study demonstrates that the low-cost electrocatalyst Ni-Co/graphene has a great potential for real direct ethanol fuel cells’ application.     

The electronic quenching rates of NO(AΣ, v=0–2)

The electronic quenching rates of NO(A²Σ⁺, v^′=0–2) are measured for the gases He, Ar, Xe, N₂, O₂, CO₂, N₂O, and SF₆. The variations of the fluorescence intensity were measured for the (0,0), (1,0), and (2,0) bands of the γ band system when the quencher gases were added. The quenching rates were determined by using the Stern–Volmer plots with the known radiative lifetimes of the excited states. The electronic quenching rate constants are fast for the group of gases of O₂, CO₂, N₂O, and SF₆, whose quenching rate constants are in the order of 10⁻¹⁰ cm³/s. The quenching rate constants are slow for the group of gases including He, Ar, Xe, and N₂ whose rate constants are in the order of 10⁻¹⁴ cm³/s. For the slow group, the quenching rate constants increase rapidly for v^′=2 compared with those of v^′=0 and 1.

The charge transfer model and collision complex model are used to understand the quenching mechanism. For the fast group which mainly consists of gases with positive electron affinities, the charge transfer model adequately describes the mechanism. For the slow quenching group, a theoretical background is provided by consider the coupling of initial and final states in the complex potential surfaces.     

Photophysics and photochemical dynamics of chlorotoluene molecule

Laser-induced fluorescence spectra of jet-cooled chlorotoluene molecules are reported for the S₁ state. The fluorescence excitation spectrum of m-chlorotoluene shows some low-frequency bands up to 200 cm⁻¹ above the S₁ origin, which are assigned to internal rotational modes of the methyl group. Beyond 300 cm⁻¹ and up to approximately 1500 cm⁻¹ sharp vibrational bands are observed, which are assigned by measurement of the dispersed fluorescence spectrum on excitation of each vibrational band. The vibrational energies of the C---Cl stretching modes for the o-, m- and p-chlorotoluene molecules are 341, 378 and 360 cm⁻¹ respectively in the S₁ state.     

Reactivity of isobutane on zeolites: a first principles study

In this work, ab initio and density functional theory methods are used to study isobutane protolytic cracking, primary hydrogen exchange, tertiary hydrogen exchange, and dehydrogenation reactions catalyzed by zeolites. The reactants, products, and transition-state structures are optimized at the B3LYP/6-31G* level, and the final energies are calculated using the CBS-QB3 composite energy method. The computed activation barriers are 52.3 kcal/mol for cracking, 29.4 kcal/mol for primary hydrogen exchange, 29.9 kcal/mol for tertiary hydrogen exchange, and 59.4 kcal/mol for dehydrogenation. The zeolite acidity effects on the reaction barriers are also investigated by changing the cluster terminal Si-H bond lengths. The analytical expressions between activation barriers and zeolite deprotonation energies for each reaction are proposed so that accurate activation barriers can be obtained when using different zeolites as catalysts.     

RESONANCE RAMAN SPECTRA AND NORMAL MODE DESCRIPTIONS OF A BACTERIOCHLOROPHYLL a MODEL COMPLEX

Abstract— Resonance Raman (RR) spectra are reported for the bacteriochlorophyll a (BChl a) model complex, copper methylbacteriopheophorbide a (CuBPheo a). The spectra are acquired at a number of excitation wavelengths in the Q_y+ Q_x and B regions of the absorption spectrum. The RR data obtained for CuBPheo a are correlated to those previously reported for BChl a. The normal modes of the BChl structure are calculated by using the semiempirical quantum chemistry force field (QCFF/ PI) method of Warshel and Karplus [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 94 ,5612–5625 (1972)]. The vibrational data are used in conjunction with the calculations to obtain a cohesive assignment for the normal modes of BChl a with frequencies between 1100 and 1700 cm^-1. The forms of the normal modes of BChl a are predicted to be different both from those of chlorophyll a and from those of porphyrins.