Synthesis,UV–Vis and CV properties of a structurally related series of bis(Arylimino)acenaphthenes (Ar‐BIANs)

Herein, we report the synthesis and electrochemical and spectroscopic characterization for a series of six bis(arylimino)acenaphthene, compounds commonly used as ligands in catalysis, polymerization and materials. Low energy absorption bands are the result of an intraligand charge transfer between the aryl groups and the acenaphthene core, and their energies obey a Hammett relationship with respect to substitution on the aryl. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Design and development of a controlled pressure/temperature set‐up for in situ studies of solid–gas processes and reactions in a synchrotron X‐ray powder diffraction station

A novel set‐up has been designed and used for synchrotron radiation X‐ray high‐resolution powder diffraction (SR‐HRPD) in transmission geometry (spinning capillary) for in situ solid–gas reactions and processes in an isobaric and isothermal environment. The pressure and temperature of the sample are controlled from 10^?3 to 1000 mbar and from 80 to 1000 K, respectively. To test the capacities of this novel experimental set‐up, structure deformation in the porous material zeolitic imidazole framework (ZIF‐8) by gas adsorption at cryogenic temperature has been studied under isothermal and isobaric conditions. Direct structure deformations by the adsorption of Ar and N₂ gases have been observed in situ, demonstrating that this set‐up is perfectly suitable for direct structural analysis under in operando conditions. The presented results prove the feasibility of this novel experimental station for the characterization in real time of solid–gas reactions and other solid–gas processes by SR‐HRPD.     

Complex concentration dependence of SERS and UV–Vis absorption of glycine/Ag‐substrates because of glycine‐mediated Ag‐nanostructure modifications

Complex concentration‐dependence of surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and UV–Vis absorption of Ag‐nanoparticles (AgNPs) mixed with Gly has been observed. Surprisingly, with decreasing Gly concentration, a new band in UV–Vis absorption of AgNPs/Gly mixtures is found to red‐shift with increasing intensity, until a turning point at a critical concentration. Further diluting Gly, the new band blue‐shifts with decreasing intensity. Similarly, the SERS intensities of Gly bands at 615 and 905 cm^–1 consistently increase with decreasing Gly concentrations, reaching maxima at the critical concentration. This agrees consistently with the variation in position and intensity of the new developing plasmon absorption band. Interestingly, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed Gly‐induced modifications of AgNPs, including a reassembling and increasing aspect ratio with deceasing Gly concentration. The concentration‐dependent behavior of UV–Vis absorption, SERS, and TEM of AgNPs/Gly mixtures could be due to the complex nature of Gly‐AgNPs interaction depending on the molecular density, as supported by TEM images. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An electrochemical cell with sapphire windows for operando synchrotron X‐ray powder diffraction and spectroscopy studies of high‐power and high‐voltage electrodes for metal‐ion batteries

A new multi‐purpose operando electrochemical cell was designed, constructed and tested on the Swiss–Norwegian Beamlines BM01 and BM31 at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. Single‐crystal sapphire X‐ray windows provide a good signal‐to‐noise ratio, excellent electrochemical contact because of the constant pressure between the electrodes, and perfect electrochemical stability at high potentials due to the inert and non‐conductive nature of sapphire. Examination of the phase transformations in the Li_1–xFe_0.5Mn_0.5PO₄ positive electrode (cathode) material at C/2 and 10C charge and discharge rates, and a study of the valence state of the Ni cations in the Li_1–xNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ cathode material for Li‐ion batteries, revealed the applicability of this novel cell design to diffraction and spectroscopic investigations of high‐power/high‐voltage electrodes for metal‐ion batteries.     

A reaction cell with sample laser heating for in situ soft X‐ray absorption spectroscopy studies under environmental conditions

A miniature (1 ml volume) reaction cell with transparent X‐ray windows and laser heating of the sample has been designed to conduct X‐ray absorption spectroscopy studies of materials in the presence of gases at atmospheric pressures. Heating by laser solves the problems associated with the presence of reactive gases interacting with hot filaments used in resistive heating methods. It also facilitates collection of a small total electron yield signal by eliminating interference with heating current leakage and ground loops. The excellent operation of the cell is demonstrated with examples of CO and H₂ Fischer–Tropsch reactions on Co nanoparticles.     

Effects of interaction between the chelate rings and π‐conjugated systems in fused salphen complexes on UV‐Vis‐NIR spectra

Dinuclear (Zn₂, Ni₂, and NiZn) complexes of fused salphen with acene‐type annelation were synthesized from 3,7‐diformyl‐2,6‐dihydroxynaphthalene. The spectroscopic properties of these complexes were compared with those of their constitutional isomers with phene‐type annelation. The acene‐type complexes exhibited a characteristic absorption band in the near‐infrared region that showed a noticeable solvent effect. Time‐dependent density functional theory calculations suggested that the absorption arose from a π → π* transition localized at the naphthalene ring, which was perturbed by the adjoining chelate rings. Effects of the connection topology in the fused salphen complexes are discussed by comparison with those of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.     

A flow‐through reaction cell for in situ X‐ray diffraction and absorption studies of heterogeneous powder–liquid reactions and phase transformations

A portable powder–liquid high‐corrosion‐resistant reaction cell has been designed to follow in situ reactions by X‐ray powder diffraction (XRD) and X‐ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) techniques. The cell has been conceived to be mounted on the experimental stations for diffraction and absorption of the Spanish CRG SpLine‐BM25 beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. Powder reactants and/or products are kept at a fixed position in a vertical geometry in the X‐ray pathway by a porous membrane, under forced liquid reflux circulation. Owing to the short pathway of the X‐ray beam through the cell, XRD and XAS measurements can be carried out in transmission configuration/mode. In the case of the diffraction technique, data can be collected with either a point detector or a two‐dimensional CCD detector, depending on specific experimental requirements in terms of space or time resolution. Crystallization processes, heterogeneous catalytic processes and several varieties of experiments can be followed by these techniques with this cell. Two experiments were carried out to demonstrate the cell feasibility: the phase transformations of layered titanium phosphates in boiling aqueous solutions of phosphoric acid, and the reaction of copper carbonate and l ‐isoleucine amino acid powders in boiling aqueous solution. In this last case the shrinking of the solid reactants and the formation of Cu(isoleucine)₂ is observed. The crystallization processes and several phase transitions have been observed during the experiments, as well as an unexpected reaction pathway.     

Development of an experimental set‐up for low‐temperature spectroscopic studies of matrix‐isolated molecules and molecular ices using synchrotron radiation

An experimental set‐up for studying photophysics and photochemistry of molecules in an inert gas medium (matrix‐isolated) and in the ice phase at low temperatures has been developed and commissioned at the Photophysics beamline, Indus‐1 synchrotron radiation source. This end‐station uses an in‐house‐developed closed‐cycle cryostat for achieving cryo‐temperatures (～10 K). Synchrotron radiation from the Photophysics beamline is used as the source of UV–VUV photons and the system is equipped with a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer for characterization of the molecular species formed at low temperature. Various individual components of the end‐station like closed‐cycle cryostat, experimental chamber, gas mixing and deposition systems are tested to ascertain that the desired performance criteria are satisfied. The performance of the composite system after integration with the Photophysics beamline is evaluated by recording IR and UV–VUV photoabsorption spectra of sulfur dioxide at low temperatures (10 K), both in the ice phase as well as isolated in argon matrices. Results obtained are in good agreement with earlier literature, thus validating the satisfactory performance of the system. As an off‐shoot of the study, the VUV absorption spectrum of matrix‐isolated SO₂ in argon matrix up to 10.2 eV is reported here for the first time. This experimental end‐station will provide new opportunities to study photon‐induced reactions in molecules of environmental, astrochemical and industrial importance. Details of the design, development and initial experimental results obtained are presented.     

Multi‐use high/low‐temperature and pressure compatible portable chamber for in situ grazing‐incidence X‐ray scattering studies

The multipurpose portable ultra‐high‐vacuum‐compatible chamber described in detail in this article has been designed to carry out grazing‐incidence X‐ray scattering techniques on the BM25‐SpLine CRG beamline at the ESRF. The chamber has a cylindrical form, built on a 360° beryllium double‐ended conflate flange (CF) nipple. The main advantage of this chamber design is the wide sample temperature range, which may be varied between 60 and 1000 K. Other advantages of using a cylinder are that the wall thickness is reduced to a minimum value, keeping maximal solid angle accessibility and keeping wall absorption of the incoming X‐ray beam constant. The heat exchanger is a customized compact liquid‐nitrogen (LN2) continuous‐flow cryostat. LN2 is transferred from a storage Dewar through a vacuum‐isolated transfer line to the heat exchanger. The sample is mounted on a molybdenum support on the heat exchanger, which is equipped with a BORALECTRIC heater element. The chamber versatility extends to the operating pressure, ranging from ultra‐high vacuum (<10^?10 mbar) to high pressure (up to 3 × 10³ mbar). In addition, it is equipped with several CF ports to allocate auxiliary components such as capillary gas‐inlet, viewports, leak valves, ion gun, turbo pump, etc., responding to a large variety of experiment requirements. A movable slits set‐up has been foreseen to reduce the background and diffuse scattering produced at the beryllium wall. Diffraction data can be recorded either with a point detector or with a bi‐dimensional CCD detector, or both detectors simultaneously. The system has been designed to carry out a multitude of experiments in a large variety of environments. The system feasibility is demonstrated by showing temperature‐dependence grazing‐incidence X‐ray diffraction and conductivity measurements on a 20 nm‐thick La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃ thin film grown on a SrTiO₃(001) substrate.     

In‐situ and laboratory Raman analysis in the field of cultural heritage: the case of a mural painting

The present work exemplifies, over a mural painting from the 14th century, the advantages of an initial exhaustive research using latest generation hand‐held spectrometers (Raman mainly) in order to perform the characterization of valuable objects of cultural heritage. These in‐situ techniques (meaning on‐site and non‐destructive) are very useful to study the pigments and materials, to identify the nature and causes of some of the main sources of deterioration and to examine past repaints. In addition, the in‐situ measurements are of great importance in the selection of micro‐samples for the laboratory analyses. In this particular case, the combination of these results with the chemical imaging analyses in the laboratory (such as Raman and energy dispersive X‐ray spectrometry imaging) allowed the characterization of the mural painting, including, the identification of all restoration works applied in the past. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vibrational spectroscopy and DFT calculations of di‐amino acid cyclic peptides. Part I: cyclo(Gly‐Gly), cyclo(L‐Ala‐L‐Ala) and cyclo(L‐Ala‐Gly) in the solid state and in aqueous solution

Investigations of the vibrational spectra of cyclo(Gly‐Gly), cyclo(L‐Ala‐L ‐Ala) and cyclo(L ‐Ala‐Gly) are reported. Raman scattering and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of solid‐state and aqueous protonated samples, as well as their corresponding N‐deuterated isotopomers, have been examined. In addition, density functional theory (DFT) (B3‐LYP/cc‐pVDZ) calculations of molecular structures and their associated vibrational modes were carried out. In each case, the calculated structures of lowest energy for the isolated gas‐phase molecules have boat conformations. Assignments have been made for the observed Raman and FTIR vibrational bands of the cyclic di‐amino acid peptides (CDAPs) examined. Raman polarization studies of aqueous phase samples are consistent with C₂ and C₁ symmetries for the six‐membered rings of cyclo(L‐Ala‐L‐Ala) and cyclo(L‐Ala‐Gly), respectively. There is a good correlation between experimental and calculated vibrational bands for the three CDAPs. These data are in keeping with boat conformations for cyclo(L‐Ala‐L‐Ala) and cyclo(L‐Ala‐Gly) molecules, predicted by the ab initio calculations, in both the solid and aqueous solution states. However, Raman spectroscopic results might infer that cyclo(L‐Ala‐Gly) deviates only slightly from planarity in the solid state. The potential energy distributions of the amide I and II modes of a cis‐peptide linkage are shown to be significantly different from those of the trans‐peptides. For example, deuterium shifts have shown that the cis‐amide I vibrations found in cyclo(Gly‐Gly), cyclo(L‐Ala‐L‐Ala), and cyclo(L‐Ala‐Gly) have larger N‐H contributions compared to their trans‐amide counterparts. Compared to trans‐amide II vibrations, cis‐amide II vibrations show a considerable decrease in N H character. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Insight into thermally induced solid‐state polymorphic transformation of sulfathiazole using simultaneous in situ Raman spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry

Pharmaceutical solids exposed to thermal stress during manufacturing processes undergo various phase transformations in bulk drug substances or excipients, resulting in altered dosage form performance. Due to its relatively rapid spectral acquisition rate, as well as the possibility of incorporation into in‐line monitoring, Raman spectroscopy is ideally suited to monitoring the transformation between different solid‐state forms. In this study, we demonstrate that the transition temperature for polymorphs can be estimated from the transformation profiles obtained from real‐time, in situ, simultaneous Raman spectroscopic, and differential scanning calorimetric data. Using this method, we have estimated the transition temperature of the solid‐state transformation of the enantiotropically related sulfathiazole polymorphs III and I. These results suggest that this method is a useful approach to determine transition temperatures in systems that are not amenable to accessing other methods. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental study and calculations of nitric oxide absorption in the γ(0,0) and γ(1,0) bands for strong temperature conditions

Absorption spectra of nitric oxide in the γ(0,0) and γ(1,0) bands have been measured for hard temperature conditions up to 1700 K in order to validate a model for the simulation of these two bands. The good agreement between experiments and calculations (relative errors of 2–5% for the γ(0,0) band and 10–15% for the γ(1,0) band) consolidates the two important assumptions concerning the intermediate Hund's case between (a) and (b) for the X²Π state of the γ(0,0) and γ(1,0) absorption bands and the use of collisional broadening parameters of γ(0,0) to simulate the γ(1,0) band. Using this simulation, a study of the Beer–Lambert law behavior at high temperature has been carried out. With the instrument resolution used for these experiments, it was shown that a correction of the Beer–Lambert law is necessary. To apply this technique for the measurements of NO concentrations inside the combustion chamber of an optical SI engine, a new formulation of the Beer–Lambert law has been introduced, since the modified form proposed in the literature is no longer applicable in the total column range of interest.     

Spectroscopic,structural and theoretical studies of 2‐methyl‐4‐nitroaniline (MNA) crystal. Electronic transitions in IR

Polarized FT‐IR, Raman, neutron scattering (IINS), and UV‐Vis‐NIR spectra of 2‐methyl‐4‐nitroaniline (MNA) crystal plates, powder, and solutions were measured in the 10–50 000 cm⁻¹ range. The FT‐IR spectrum of deuterated MNA (DMNA) in KBr pellet, the Raman spectrum of the DMNA powder as well as the EPR spectrum of the MNA powder were also recorded. Complete assignments of bands to normal vibrations have been proposed. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations of wavenumbers and potential energy distribution (PED) have been performed to strengthen the assignments. The analysis of vibrational and electronic spectra has revealed vibronic couplings in MNA molecules in solutions and in crystals. In the polarized FT‐IR spectra of the crystal five unusually large bands are observed in MIR and NIR regions. Their origin is discussed in terms of N H···O, C H···O, C H···H N hydrogen bonds, intermolecular charge transfers, electrostatic interactions, and ion radicals formation in the crystal. The role of a methyl group introduction to 4‐nitroaniline is analyzed. The crystal structure of MNA at the room temperature was re‐investigated. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

In situ observation of Ni–Mo–S phase formed on NiMo/Al2O3 catalyst sulfided at high pressure by means of Ni and Mo K‐edge EXAFS spectroscopy

To obtain direct evidence of the formation of the Ni–Mo–S phase on NiMo/Al₂O₃ catalysts under high‐pressure hydrodesulfurization conditions, a high‐pressure EXAFS chamber has been constructed and used to investigate the coordination structure of Ni and Mo species on the catalysts sulfided at high pressure. The high‐pressure chamber was designed to have a low dead volume and was equipped with polybenzimidazole X‐ray windows. Ni K‐edge k³χ(k) spectra with high signal‐to‐noise ratio were obtained using this high‐pressure chamber for the NiMo/Al₂O₃ catalyst sulfided at 613 K and 1.1 MPa over a wide k range (39.5–146 nm^?1). The formation of Ni–Mo and Mo–Ni coordination shells was successfully proved by Ni and Mo K‐edge EXAFS measurement using this chamber. Interatomic distances of these coordination shells were almost identical to those calculated from Ni K‐edge EXAFS of NiMo/C catalysts sulfided at atmospheric pressure. These results support the hypothesis that the Ni–Mo–S phase is formed on the Al₂O₃‐supported NiMo catalyst sulfided under high‐pressure hydrodesulfurization conditions.     

Design and application of a high‐temperature microfurnace for an in situ X‐ray diffraction study of phase transformation

Thermal treatment of mineral ores such as ilmenite can initiate phase transformations that could affect their activation or deactivation, subsequently influencing their ability to dissolve in a leaching agent. Most laboratory‐based X‐ray diffraction (XRD) studies were carried out ex situ in which realistic diffraction patterns could not be obtained simultaneously with occurring reactions and were time‐consuming. The availability of synchrotron‐radiation‐based XRD not only allows in situ analysis, but significantly shortens the data recording time. The present study details the design of a robust high‐temperature microfurnace which allows thermal processing of mineral ore samples and the simultaneous collection of high‐resolution synchrotron XRD data. In addition, the application of the manufactured microfurnace for in situ study of phase transformations of ilmenite ore under reducing conditions is demonstrated.     

A reaction cell for time‐resolved in situ XAS studies during wet chemical synthesis: the Cu2(OH)3Cl case

The use of in situ time‐resolved dispersive X‐ray absorption spectroscopy (DXAS) to monitor the formation of Cu₂(OH)₃Cl particles in an aqueous solution is reported. The measurements were performed using a dedicated reaction cell, which enabled the evolution of the Cu K‐edge X‐ray absorption near‐edge spectroscopy to be followed during mild chemical synthesis. The formed Cu₂(OH)₃Cl particles were also characterized by synchrotron‐radiation‐excited X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The influence of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) on the electronic and structural properties of the formed particles was investigated. The results indicate clearly the formation of Cu₂(OH)₃Cl, with or without the use of PVP, which presents very similar crystalline structures in the long‐range order. However, depending on the reaction, dramatic differences were observed by in situ DXAS in the vicinities of the Cu atoms.     

A furnace and environmental cell for the in situ investigation of molten salt electrolysis using high‐energy X‐ray diffraction

This paper describes the design, construction and implementation of a relatively large controlled‐atmosphere cell and furnace arrangement. The purpose of this equipment is to facilitate the in situ characterization of materials used in molten salt electrowinning cells, using high‐energy X‐ray scattering techniques such as synchrotron‐based energy‐dispersive X‐ray diffraction. The applicability of this equipment is demonstrated by quantitative measurements of the phase composition of a model inert anode material, which were taken during an in situ study of an operational Fray–Farthing–Chen Cambridge electrowinning cell, featuring molten CaCl₂ as the electrolyte. The feasibility of adapting the cell design to investigate materials in other high‐temperature environments is also discussed.