Optical sensing of parts per million levels of water in organic solvents using redox-active osmium chromophore-based monolayers

Optical sensing of parts per million (ppm)-levels of H2O (10-300 ppm) in an organic solvent with robust, osmium chromophore-based monolayers is demonstrated. The H2O-induced reduction of the covalently bound osmium(III) complex is fully reversible and can be readily monitored by UV/vis absorption spectroscopy. The thermally robust sensor can be reactivated chemically within 3 min.     

Analysis of nitriles at low parts per million levels by capillary gas chromatography

Two methods have been developed for the determination of trace levels of acetonitrile and propionitrile in light naphthas. One involves clean-up and preconcentration by medium pressure liquid chromatography (MPLC) in which nitriles are concentrated ten-fold while the complex hydrocarbon matris is removed. The concentrated solution is then analyzed by high resolution GC with flame ionization detection. The second method involves direct injection of samples into a capillary GC equipped with chemiluminescence nitrogen detection. The results and repeatability obtained from both methods are comparable. Preconcentration enables identification by GC-MS and simultaneous analysis of other polar species, with no need for selective detectors. Direct analysis is, on the other hand, much less time-consuming and requires less sample.     

Self-assembled poly(imidazole-palladium): highly active, reusable catalyst at parts per million to parts per billion levels

Metalloenzymes are essential proteins with vital activity that promote high-efficiency enzymatic reactions. To ensure catalytic activity, stability, and reusability for safe, nontoxic, sustainable chemistry, and green organic synthesis, it is important to develop metalloenzyme-inspired polymer-supported metal catalysts. Here, we present a highly active, reusable, self-assembled catalyst of poly(imidazole-acrylamide) and palladium species inspired by metalloenzymes and apply our convolution methodology to the preparation of polymeric metal catalysts. Thus, a metalloenzyme-inspired polymeric imidazole Pd catalyst (MEPI-Pd) was readily prepared by the coordinative convolution of (NH(4))(2)PdCl(4) and poly[(N-vinylimidazole)-co-(N-isopropylacrylamide)(5)] in a methanol-water solution at 80 °C for 30 min. SEM observation revealed that MEPI-Pd has a globular-aggregated, self-assembled structure. TEM observation and XPS and EDX analyses indicated that PdCl(2) and Pd(0) nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed in MEPI-Pd. MEPI-Pd was utilized for the allylic arylation/alkenylation/vinylation of allylic esters and carbonates with aryl/alkenylboronic acids, vinylboronic acid esters, and tetraaryl borates. Even 0.8-40 mol ppm Pd of MEPI-Pd efficiently promoted allylic arylation/alkenylation/vinylation in alcohol and/or water with a catalytic turnover number (TON) of 20,000-1,250,000. Furthermore, MEPI-Pd efficiently promoted the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction of a variety of inactivated aryl chlorides as well as aryl bromides and iodides in water with a TON of up to 3,570,000. MEPI-Pd was reused for the allylic arylation and Suzuki-Miyaura reaction of an aryl chloride without loss of catalytic activity.     

Amphiphilic self-assembled polymeric copper catalyst to parts per million levels: click chemistry

Self-assembly of copper sulfate and a poly(imidazole-acrylamide) amphiphile provided a highly active, reusable, globular, solid-phase catalyst for click chemistry. The self-assembled polymeric Cu catalyst was readily prepared from poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N-vinylimidazole) and CuSO(4) via coordinative convolution. The surface of the catalyst was covered with globular particles tens of nanometers in diameter, and those sheetlike composites were layered to build an aggregated structure. Moreover, the imidazole units in the polymeric ligand coordinate to CuSO(4) to give a self-assembled, layered, polymeric copper complex. The insoluble amphiphilic polymeric imidazole Cu catalyst with even 4.5-45 mol ppm drove the Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of a variety of alkynes and organic azides, including the three-component cyclization of a variety of alkynes, organic halides, and sodium azide. The catalytic turnover number and frequency were up to 209000 and 6740 h(-1), respectively. The catalyst was readily reused without loss of catalytic activity to give the corresponding triazoles quantitatively.     

Selective monitoring of parts per million levels of CO by covalently immobilized metal complexes on glass

Optical detection of parts-per-million (ppm) levels of CO by a structurally well-defined monolayer consisting of bimetallic rhodium complexes on glass substrates has been demonstrated.     

Electrode kinetics of amperometric hydrogen sensors for hydrogen detection at low parts per million level

Hydrogen gas detection at low parts per million concentration levels in sensors based on polymer membrane electrolytes and catalytically active electrodes, operating at room temperature, is sensitively dependent on the morphology of the electrode. This effect has been investigated using Nafion^® as polymeric proton-conducting membrane onto which a catalytic electrode was deposited by an in situ impregnation–reduction technique. In this work, Pt was selected as active catalyst for hydrogen oxidation. The deposition conditions were modified to optimise the parameters with regard to the application of the electrode in low-level hydrogen sensors in the 10–1,000 ppm range and to improve the metal utilisation for reduced electrode loading without loss of electrochemical performance. Models of electrode kinetics are proposed and compared with experimental results. Increasing porosity as a result of decreased reductant concentrations was observed by scanning electron microscopy and other surface characterisation methods. The response time of the hydrogen sensor was in the range of 10–30 s and a stable linear current output was observed under short-circuit conditions.     

Spectrophotometric method for the determination of paraquat in water, grain and plant materials

A sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of paraquat using ascorbic acid (an easily available reducing agent) is described. Paraquat is reduced with ascorbic acid in alkaline solution to give a blue radical ion with an absorbance maximum at 600 nm. Beer's law is obeyed in the range 12-96 micrograms of paraquat in 10 ml of the final solution (1.2-9.6 ppm). The important analytical parameters and the optimum reaction conditions were evaluated. The method was applied successfully to the determination of paraquat in water, grain and plant materials.     

Spectrophotometric method for phosphine residue determination in coriander

Spectrophotometric method for the determination of phosphine (PH₃) residues in coriander has been developed based on the reaction of phosphine with silver nitrate in 2% aqueous isopropanol. The yellow chromophore formed has an absorption maximum at 430 nm and the linear relation between the absorbances at 430 nm and the concentration of PH₃ is obeyed in the range of 0.02 to 0.17 g. The method is sensitive with a detection limit of 0.008 g and can be applied for determination of 0.02 g/g residue in coriander. Recovery of added PH₃ from a closed system ranges from 96 to 101%.     

Automated determination of fluoride ion in the parts per milliard range

Fluoride, down to 2 ppM, has been determined by automated direct potentiometry using a fluoride ion-selective electrode. The method reduces the dilution and contamination effects of TISAB and takes the electrode response-time into consideration. The relative standard deviation for water samples is 1.5-1.8% and the recovery varies from 96 to 107%.     

Spectrophotometric determination of traces of oxygen in water

Winkler's method of determining oxygen in water by titration of the iodine can not be applied with concentrations below 0.03 mg O₂/litre. We studied the spectrophotometric determination of the iodine-starch complex described by bairstow, francis, and wyatt and succeeded in improving its stability by the addition of potassium sulphate. The intensity of the blue colour is very sensitive to variation of temperature. Below 10° C this influence can be neglected. Upwards from 30° C the intensity rapidly decreases. Instead of performing the determination at 10° C we plotted the extinction coefficient of dilute solutions as a function of the iodine concentration for temperatures ranging from 10 to 30° C. With “the aid of this graph the iodine concentration can be found when the extinction coefficient and the temperature of a solution are determined.With this method we can determine oxygen in water in concentrations ranging from 0.005 to 0.4 mg O₂/litre. Duplicates (for water with a low content of oxygen) differ not more than 0.002 mg O2/litre.     

海水中有机污染物的光度法测定

海水中有机污染物在强碱性条件下被KMnO4所氧化。通过对生成物溶液中K2MnO4浓度的光度法测量（λ=430nm）,直接测定海水中有机物含量（以COD表示）。该方法的线性范围为0．40—4．50mg／L（以邻苯二甲酸氢钾＋甲酸钠体系为标准混合物溶液）,测定海水COD的相对标准偏差RSD为8．9％,回收率为90％～114％。     

Spectrophotometric method for the determination of 1,2-propylene glycol

A spectrophotometric method is proposed for the determination of 1,2-propylene glycol. It is based on the ADH/ AlDH catalyzed oxidation of propylene glycol by NAD⁺. The NADH formed is measured at 340 nm. Alcohol dehydrogenase from equine liver was found to be much more effective than that of yeast. No enantiomeric selectivity for s(+) propylene glycol was observed. A linear relation was found in the concentration range from 5 to 50 mg/L. The method achieves a correlation coefficient of r = 0.996 and a relative standard deviation of 1.37%. The limit of quantitation was calculated to 9.6 mg/L. Since the total reaction volume was restricted to 800 μL, only 2.8 units of AlDH and 8 units of ADH were sufficient to develop the final absorption within 30 min. Received: 16 April 1997 / Revised: 19 June 1997 / Accepted: 25 June 1997     

Spectrophotometric method for the determination of 1,2-propylene glycol

A spectrophotometric method is proposed for the determination of 1,2-propylene glycol. It is based on the ADH/ AlDH catalyzed oxidation of propylene glycol by NAD⁺. The NADH formed is measured at 340 nm. Alcohol dehydrogenase from equine liver was found to be much more effective than that of yeast. No enantiomeric selectivity for s(+) propylene glycol was observed. A linear relation was found in the concentration range from 5 to 50 mg/L. The method achieves a correlation coefficient of r = 0.996 and a relative standard deviation of 1.37%. The limit of quantitation was calculated to 9.6 mg/L. Since the total reaction volume was restricted to 800 μL, only 2.8 units of AlDH and 8 units of ADH were sufficient to develop the final absorption within 30 min.