Adsorption of <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-Butanol from Aqueous Solutions on an Sn-Ga Electrode in the Absence of a Metal-Water Chemisorption Interaction

Data on the dependence of the differential capacitance on potential at the Sn-Ga/H₂O interface in 0.05 M solutions of Na₂SO₄ with various additives of n-butanol are obtained by a bridge method at a frequency of 420 Hz and a temperature of 32°C. In the region of potentials studied, the chemisorption interaction (Sn-Ga)-H₂O is completely absent. The adsorption parameters of n-butanol are obtained by a method of a regression analysis of these data. The data obtained are compared with similar data on various hydrophobic electrodes. Shown is that, on the Sn-Ga and Pb-Ga electrodes, whose “electronic” capacitance is similar, the free energies of adsorption of n-butanol are also similar but differ from the adsorption energy on electrodes of Hg, Bi-Ga, and Tl-Ga. The results that are obtained on an Sn-Ga electrode nicely fit a general correlation dependence between the reciprocal value of the electronic capacitance of various electrodes in the absence of a metal-water chemisorption interaction, (C _m ⁻¹ ), and the free energies of adsorption of molecules of n-butanol on these, ΔG _A ⁰ . The dependence of the free energies of adsorption of molecules of n-butanol in the absence of a metal-water chemisorption interaction on the magnitude of the electronic capacitance of the metal confirms the assumption that we had put forth previously that it is necessary to introduce corrections to criteria of hydrophilicity of metals based on a comparison of quantities ΔG _A ⁰ and potentials of cathodic peak of adsorption-desorption E _des, which are expressed in a rational scale. With the obtained correlation relationships taken into account, criteria of hydrophilicity are suggested, which take into account these correlation relationships.__________Translated from Elektrokhimiya, Vol. 41, No. 7, 2005, pp. 884–892.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Emets, Damaskin.     

Effects of strong inter-hydrogen bond dynamical couplings in the polarized IR spectra of adipic acid crystals

This paper presents the results of the re-investigation of polarized IR spectra of adipic acid and of its d₂, d₈ and d₁₀ deuterium derivative crystals. The spectra were measured at 77 K by a transmission method using polarized light for two different crystalline faces. Theoretical analysis concerned linear dichroic effects and H/D isotopic effects observed in the spectra of the hydrogen and deuterium bonds in adipic acid crystals at the frequency ranges of the ν_O–H and the ν_O–D bands. The two-branch fine structure pattern of the ν_O–H and ν_O–D bands and the basic linear dichroic effects characterizing them were ascribed to the vibronic mechanism of vibrational dipole selection rule breaking for IR transitions in centrosymmetric hydrogen bond dimers. It was proved that for isotopically diluted crystalline samples of adipic acid, a non-random distribution of protons and deuterons occurs in the dimers (H/D isotopic “self-organization” effect). This effect results from the dynamical co-operative interactions involving the dimeric hydrogen bonds.     

A Novel Method to Determine DNA by Use of Molecular “Light Switch” of Ru(phen)2(dppz)

A novel fluorimetric method was developed for selective determination of DNA with the molecular “light switch” complex of Ru(phen)₂(dppz)²⁺. The maximum fluorescence intensity was produced in the pH range 9.3–11.5, with the maximum excitation and emission wavelength of 453.0 and 598.0 nm, respectively. Under the optimum conditions, the fluorescence intensity was in proportion to the concentration of DNA. The linear range for calfthymus DNA, salmon sperm DNA, and herring sperm DNA are 0–0.9 μg/mL. The limits of detection for calfthymus DNA, salmon sperm DNA, and herring sperm DNA are 2.0, 1.8, and 5.4 ng/mL, separately. When the proposed method was used to determine DNA in the presence of some coexisting substances, a satisfactory result was obtained.     

Kinetics and mechanism of “reduced CO2” electrooxidation on electrodispersed platinum in different acid solutions

The electrooxidation of “reduced CO₂” electroadsorbates on electrodispersed platinum electrodes has been investigated in 0.05 M HClO₄, 1 M HClO₄, 0.5 M H₂SO₄ and 1 M H₃PO₄ at 25° C through voltammetry and potential step techniques. The overall reaction comprises three distinguishable processes, namely a first order triggering process, and two second order surface processes. The latter are influenced remarkably by the solution composition (anions). The second order reaction mechanism involves two distinguishable “ reduced CO₂” electroadsorbates which react independently with the OH species formed from H₂O electrooxidation on the bare platinum sites as the reaction proceeds. An interaction term has to be included in the rate equations to account for the experimental results. The mechanistic interpretation accounts for the values of the number of electrons per site ranging from 1 to 2.     

Gamma ionization of Phagicola longa (Trematoda:Heterophyidae) in Mugilidae (pisces) in São Paulo, Brazil

The mullet (Mugilidae) is a fish caught in large quantities in brackish and marine waters of the southern Brazilian coast, which in consequence of its raw consumption as “sashimi”, a typical Japanese dish, has led to ten cases of human infection by Phagicola longa in São Paulo, Brazil. The mullet acts as a second intermediate host for the parasite, as in human heterophysiasis in the Near and Far East. In order to control these infections under commercial storage conditions and in raw consumption, the radiolysis of P. longa was studied in three mullet species-the silver mullet (Mugil curema), the grey mullet (M. platanus) and the “paratipema” (Mugil sp.) - subjected to ionization ranging from 1.0 to 10.0 kGy (2.21 kGy/h). It was observed that 1.0 and 2.0 kGy caused a motility decrease in silver mullet parasites from 100% to 15% and 17%, and that doses of 4.0 and 10.0 kGy caused metacercaria inviability. The parasite motility decreased in the grey mullet treated with doses of 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5 kGy, from 56% to 31%, 9%, 18% and 5%, respectively, 4.0 kGy tending to be the control dose for P. longa. This dose also controls other metacercaria found in the “parati-pema”, without changing the odor, color or appearance of the treated mullet.     

Structural and magnetic properties of “one-dimensional” barium vanadium triselenide

BaVSe₃ has been synthesized and its crystal structure determined at 293(2)°K. The structure was solved in the hexagonal space group P6₃/mmc (D⁴_6h), with a = 6.9990(11) and c = 5.8621(13) Å. Scans (2 Θ) of a polycrystalline sample revealed that BaVSe₃ undergoes a transition to an orthorhombic unit cell (b′ 3^1/2 a, a′ a, c′ c) at 303(5)°K. Magnetic susceptibility measurements between 4 and 300°K indicate that BaVSe₃ is paramagnetic down to 41(1)°K, where magnetic ordering occurs, with a magnetic moment in the ordered phase of 0.2 μ_B per vanadium atom. The orthorhombic lattice distortion may be caused by the “freezing in” of “soft” vibrational modes.     

Self-powdering and nonlinear optical domain structures in ferroelastic β′-Gd2(MoO4)3 crystals formed in glass

Ferroelastic β′-Gd₂(MoO₄)₃, (GMO), crystals are formed through the crystallization of 21.25Gd₂O₃–63.75MoO₃–15B₂O₃ glass (mol%), and two scientific curious phenomena are observed. (1) GMO crystals formed in the crystallization break into small pieces with a triangular prism or pyramid shape having a length of 50–500 μm spontaneously during the crystallizations in the inside of an electric furnace, not during the cooling in air after the crystallization. This phenomenon is called “self-powdering phenomenon during crystallization” in this paper. (2) Each self-powdered GMO crystal grain shows a periodic domain structure with different refractive indices, and a spatially periodic second harmonic generation (SHG) depending on the domain structure is observed. It is proposed from polarized micro-Raman scattering spectra and the azimuthal dependence of second harmonic intensities that GMO crystals are oriented in each crystal grain and the orientation of (MoO₄)²⁻ tetrahedra in GMO crystals changes periodically due to spontaneous strains in ferroelastic GMO crystals.     

“Through-space” nuclear spin–spin couplings in ferrocenyl polyphosphanes and diphosphino cavitands: A new way of gathering structural information in constrained P(III) ligands by NMR

Nuclear magnetic resonance is an invaluable technique for investigating a variety of important issues ranging from the determination of molecular structure to therapeutic medical imaging. In this respect, the indirect nuclear spin–spin coupling involving common nuclei such as ¹H, ¹³C or ³¹P provides, via the J constant, conclusive data for compound characterization in solution. This electron-mediated nuclear spin coupling is usually regarded as being transmitted by covalently bonded magnetic atoms. However, several experimental and theoretical studies, first focused on constrained organofluorides, and more recently devoted to phosphane ligands highlighted the existence of very intense J-couplings operating “through-space”. Herein, the intramolecular “through-space” ³¹P³¹P and ³¹P¹³C couplings are discussed in the light of recent examples found in constrained phosphorus-containing ligands such as phosphinocalixarenes, phosphinocyclodextrins and ferrocenyl phosphanes. The emphasis is put on the origin and transmitting mode of these nonbonded spin–spin couplings as well as on the relevant structural information they provide in solution.     

Electrodeposition of Lu on W and Al electrodes: Electrochemical formation of Lu–Al alloys and oxoacidity reactions of Lu(III) in the eutectic LiCl–KCl

The electrodeposition of lutetium on inert electrodes and the formation of lutetium–aluminium alloys were investigated in the eutectic LiCl–KCl in the temperature range 673–823 K. On a tungsten electrode, the electroreduction of Lu(III) proceeds in a single step and electrocrystalization plays an important role. Experimental current–time transients are in good agreement with theoretical models based on either instantaneous or progressive nucleation with three dimensional growth of the nuclei, depending on the working temperature. The diffusion coefficient of Lu(III) was determined by chronopotentiometry by applying the Sand equation. The activation energy for diffusion was found to be 31.5 ± 1.3 kJ mol⁻¹. Al₃Lu and mixtures of Al₃Lu and Al₂Lu, characterized by XRD analysis and SEM, were obtained from the LiCl–KCl melt containing Lu(III) by potentiostatic electrolysis using an Al electrode. The activity of Lu and the standard Gibbs energies of formation for Al₃Lu were estimated from open-circuit chronopotentiometric measurements. The E–pO²⁻(potential–oxoacidity) diagram for Lu–O stable compounds in LiCl–KCl at 723 K has been constructed by combining theoretical and experimental data. In this way, the apparent standard potential for the Lu(III)/Lu system has been determined by potentiometry. Potentiometric titrations of Lu(III) solutions with oxide donors, using a yttria stabilized zirconia membrane electrode “YSZME” as a pO²⁻ indicator electrode, have shown the stability of LuOCl and Lu₂O₃ in the melt and their solubility products have been determined at 723 K.     

Comparison of chemometric methods for brand classification of cigarettes by near-infrared spectroscopy

The combinations of NIR spectroscopy and three classification algorithms, i.e., multi-class support vector machine (BSVM), k-nearest neighbor (KNN) and soft independent modeling of class analogies (SIMCA), for discriminating different brands of cigarettes, were explored. The influence of the training set size on the relative performance of each algorithm was also investigated. A NIR spectral dataset involving the classification of cigarettes of three brands was used for illustration. Three performance criteria based on “correctly classified rate (CCR)”, i.e., “Average CCR”, “95 percentile of CCR” and “S.D. of CCR”, were defined to compare different algorithms. It was revealed that BSVM is significantly better than KNN or SIMCA in the statistical sense, especially in cases where the training set is relatively small. The results suggest that NIR spectroscopy together with BSVM could be an alternative to traditional methods for discriminating different brands of cigarettes.     

β-Lactam antibiotics. Spectroscopy and molecular orbital (MO) calculations: Part I: IR studies of complexation in penicillin-transition metal ion systems and semi-empirical PM3 calculations on simple model compounds

IR studies were preformed to determine possible transition metal ion binding sites of penicillin. the observed changes in spectral position and shape of characteristic IR bands of cloxacillin in the presence of transition metal ions (both in solutions and in the solid state) indicate formation of M–L complexes with engagement of –COO⁻ and/or –CONH– functional groups. The small shift of ν_C=O towards higher frequencies rules out direct M–L interaction via β-lactam carbonyl. PM3 calculations on simple model compounds (substituted formamide, cyclic ketones, lactams and substituted monocyclic β-lactams) have been performed. All structures were fully optimized and the calculated bond lengths, angles, heats of formation and C=O stretching frequencies were discussed to determine the β-lactam binding sites and to explain its susceptibility towards nucleophilic attack (hydrolysis in vitro) and biological activity. The relative changes of calculated values were critically compared with available experimental data and same correlation between structural parameters and in vivo activity was shown.     

Structural Peculiarities of Water Solutions in <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-Alkanols Derived from the Study of Bulk Properties at Different Temperatures

The structural behavior of water microimpurities in n-alkanols (C₁-C₇) is considered by using our and literature data on the bulk properties of infinitely dilute solutions of H₂O in the above organic solvents at 278.15 K, 298.15 K, and 318.15 K. Volume effects of water solution in hypothetical alkanols HOH (pseudowater) and H(CH₂)OH (pseudomethanol) with molar volumes corresponding to volume effects in water and methanol in pure liquid states have been evaluated. The behavior of water in methanol, which is distinct from the behavior of other H₂O—n-alkanol systems, is of configurational nature and is associated with the unique molecular structure of this alcohol (i.e., with the absence of hydrocarbon chains in its molecules) and also with steric peculiarities of the arrangement of solute molecules in the structural matrix of the solvent (so-called “edge effect”).Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by E. V. Ivanov, V. K. Abrosimov, and E. Yu. Lebedeva__________Translated from Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 45, No. 5, pp. 862–869, September–October, 2004.     

Distribution of Co(II) between immiscible phases formed in water + 1-butanol system

Heterogeneous equilibria for the distribution of Co²⁺ between the two layers formed in water + 1-butanol (1-BuOH) system have been investigated at ambient conditions. The study (confined to only 28 °C) reveals an interesting feature of the distribution equilibrium for the system whereby Co²⁺ has been found to exist in both the phases as the same species namely its aqua-complex thus directly demonstrating strong selective solvation of Co²⁺ by the water molecules. Almost constant values of refractive indices and densities were exhibited by the two layers regardless in which ratio the component liquids were mixed together. However, relative volumes of the layers varied smoothly on gradually changing the ratio of the two liquids in the overall “solvent system”. Also the Co²⁺ distribution coefficient (K_D) changed appreciably on going to alcohol-richer “solvent systems” but K_D remained fairly constant on adding different amounts of cobalt dichloride to any given “solvent system”.     

DFT and ab initio potential energy scan and hydrogen bond analysis of N-substituted hydrazino acetamides: Characterization of the “hydrazinoturn” hydrogen bonding pattern

We studied a series of model primary amides in gas phase at the DFT (B3LYP) and HF at 6-31+G/6-31+G** levels of theory in order to shed light on their conformation, structure, and intramolecular hydrogen bonding network. A potential energy scan was performed by rotating around the appropriate bond for each molecule studied in this paper. In this manner, it was possible to show that the amidic group of these model compounds acts as H-bond donor and interacts with two different H-bond acceptors which stabilizes a C₈ pseudocycle, the so called “hydrazinoturn”. This study was addressed theoretically in order to understand the conformation adopted by hydrazino acetamides as model compounds for aza-β³-peptides. We thus investigated the conformational analysis of hydrazinoturns computationally and showed that these systems represent a very stabilizing folding driving force, provided that the neighboring molecular functional groups do not imply other competing hydrogen bonding patterns.     

“In situ” ESR and UV-visible spectroscopic studies of iron phthalocyanine films deposited on gold electrodes

The electrochemical behaviour of iron phthalocyanine (Fe^IIPc) films, supported on gold substrates, was studied in 3.5 M NaOH solution, using cyclic voltammetry and coupled “in situ” ESR and UV-visible spectroscopic techniques. Two types of electron transfer were observed in the potential range from −0.45 to −1.0 V vs. Hg/HgO. According to the “in situ” spectroscopy investigations, these two processes were assigned respectively to electron transfers involving first the ligand ring, and then the centre iron ion.     

Orthorhombic–orthorhombic phase transitions in Nd2NiO4+δ (0.067≤δ≤0.224)

Variation of the phases of Nd₂NiO_4+δ with the excess oxygen concentration δ has been examined at room temperature in the range 0.067≤δ≤0.224 using the X-ray powder diffraction technique. The phases observed at room temperature are orthorhombic-I (0.21<δ≤0.224), orthorhombic-IV (0.175<δ≤0.21), orthorhombic-II (0.15<δ≤0.175), orthorhombic-II+quasi-tetragonal-I (0.10<δ≤0.15), and quasi-tetragonal-I (0.067<δ≤0.10).     

The metastable Ni7±xS6, and mixed Ni6±x(S1−ySey)5, phases

The closely related, narrowly non-stoichiometric, metastable as well as thermodynamically stable “phases” in the metal-rich part of the Ni–S phase diagram near the nominal composition Ni_7±xS₆ have been carefully re-investigated via electron diffraction and transmission electron microscope imaging. Two quite distinct polymorphs have been identified, a minority incommensurate interface-modulated polymorph and a (heavily twinned) majority I1a1, a=2a_p, b=2b_p, c=−a_p+c_p superstructure (of an underlying Bmmb, a_p3.3, b_p16.4, c_p11.3 Å parent structure) polymorph. The incommensurate polymorph is shown to be very closely related to the only known polymorph of Ni_6±xSe₅ and is rapidly stabilized to room temperature upon doping of the sulfide compounds with selenium.     

Thermokinetics of the reaction of phenyl glycidyl ether with aniline

The thermokinetic curves in the reaction of phenyl glycidyl ether with aniline were calculated for various compositions of the reaction mixture and temperatures. In addition to the main exothermic effect related to the epoxide ring opening, another exothermic effect of unknown nature was observed. The kinetic data obtained are explained in terms of structural changes caused by the self-aggregation of the reaction product molecules. The “kinetic investigation” approach provides a quantitative analysis of calorimetric data.__________Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 2, pp. 371–375, February, 2005     

Lower Rim Substituted tert-Butyl calix[4]arene (part VII): Ionophoric Properties of Calix[4]arene-crown-6 Derivatives in Plasticized PVC-Membrane Electrodes and in Solution

The synthesis and characterization of p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene-crown-6 derivatives (compounds 2–9) are presented. Their ability to complex alkali, alkaline earth and some “softer” cations was investigated by using these compounds as ionophores in ion-selective membrane electrodes and determining the potentiometric selectivity coefficients and the complex stability constants in the membrane. The selectivities of these compounds depend on the size and nature of the substituents on the distal phenolic oxygens. The complexing properties of the two cone and partial cone conformers of compound 2 in the PVC membrane were compared with those in acetonitrile solution studied by UV absorption spectrophotometry and with alkali metal picrate liquid–liquid extraction.This revised version was published online in July 2005 with a corrected issue number.     

Solvent effect on the blue shifted weakly H-bound F3 CH…FCD3 complex

Solvent effect on the ν^c frequency of CH stretching vibration of the blue shifted F₃CH…FCD₃ complex has been studied in liquefied N₂, CO, Ar, Kr and Xe. In the case of Xe, the spectroscopic measurements have also been extended to the solid state. It was found that the ν^c position of the complex in the solutions studied lowers with respect to the value in the gas phase. In liquid Xe, characterized by the largest permittivity, this effect reaches its maximum value of −14.5 cm⁻¹. The ν^c frequency begins to grow again just below the freezing point of Xe, where a noticeable (15%) increase of the density of Xe occurs. The experimental results obtained for the liquid phase have been analyzed in the framework of the Onsager-like reaction field model and Polarizable Continuum Model (PCM) implemented into a standard Gaussian 98 Program.