Enthalpy of solution of 1,4-naphthoquinone in CO2 + n-pentane in the critical region of the binary mixture: mechanism of solubility enhancement

The enthalpy of solution (Delta(solv)H(m)) and solubility of 1,4-naphthoquinone in CO(2) + n-pentane were measured at 308.15 K in the critical region of the binary fluid. In order to study the effect of phase behavior of the mixed solvent on Delta(solv)H(m), the experiments were carried out in the supercritical (SC) and subcritical region of the binary solvent. The density of the mixed solvent in different conditions was determined. The isothermal compressibility (K(T)) of the mixed solvent, and the partial molar volume (V(n-pentane)) of n-pentane in the solution were calculated. It was demonstrated that the Delta(solv)H(m) was negative in all conditions. Delta(solv)H(m) is nearly independent of pressure or density in all the solvents in a high-density region, in which compressibility of the solvent is very small; this indicates that the intermolecular interaction between the solvent and the solute is similar to that for liquid solutions. It is very interesting that Delta(solv)H(m) in the mixed SC fluid differs from the Delta(solv)H(m) in mixed subcritical fluids. The absolute value of Delta(solv)H(m) in the mixed SC fluid is close to that in pure SC CO(2) in the high-density region, and is much lower than that in pure SC CO(2) in the low-density region. In the mixed subcritical fluids, the Delta(solv)H(m) is also close to that in the pure CO(2) in the high-density region. However, at the same density, the absolute value of Delta(solv)H(m) in the binary subcritical fluid is larger than that in pure CO(2) in the high-compressible region of the mixed solvent. The main reason for this is that the degree of clustering in the SC solutions is small at the density in which the degree of clustering is large in the subcritical solutions. It can be concluded that solubility enhancement by n-pentane in the mixed SC fluid is entropy driven. In contrast, the solubility enhancement by n-pentane in subcritical fluids is enthalpy driven. The intermolecular interaction in the SC solutions and subcritical solutions can be significantly different even if their densities are the same.     

A collaborative study of four methods of assay of benzylpenicillin

The assay of benzylpenicillin by iodimetric titration, spectrophotometry with a mercury(II) chloride—imidazole reagent, titration with mercury(II) nitrate in acetate buffer solution, and titration with mercury(II) perchlorate in aqueous pyridine solution, was examined in four laboratories. The first two methods were applied to two samples (the third one being the reference sample), the mercury(II) nitrate titration to three, and the mercury(II) perchlorate method to two samples. The four methods gave very similar results, but the purity obtained with the mercury(II) perchlorate method was slightly lower, and this procedure is less desirable because pyridine is used as solvent. There were no great differences in the relative standard deviations of the four methods. The titration with mercury(II) nitrate is preferred because it is an absolute method.     

A study of the composition and properties of the ion-association complex of Rhodamine B with silicomolybdic acid, with a view to its analytical application

The composition of the ion-association complex of Rhodamine B with silicomolybdate has been examined by Job's method and spectrophotometric titration. The ratio of Rhodamine B to silicon in the complex is 4 : 1. The same ratio is obtained by analysis of the crystalline complex. The composition of the complex is identical in aqueous medium, an organic solvent (ethanol) and in the crystalline state (C(28)H(30)N(2)O(3))(4)SiMo(12)O(40)). The complex is stable in the organic solvent and has its absorption maximum at 555 nm and a molar absorptivity of 5 x 10(5) 1.mole(-1)cm(-1). The complex can be advantageously used for the determination of silicon.     

Oscillation of conductance in molecular junctions of carbon ladder compounds

The electrical conductances of dithiolates of polyacene (PA(n)DTs) and polyphenanthrene (PPh(n)DTs), which are typical carbon ladder compounds, are calculated by means of the Landauer formulation combined with density functional theory, where n is the number of benzene rings involved. Surface Green function used in the Landauer formulation is calculated with the Slater-Koster parameters. Attention is turned to the wire-length dependence of the conductances of PA(n)DTs and PPh(n)DTs. The damping of conductance of PA(n)DTs is much smaller than that of PPh(n)DTs because of the small HOMO-LUMO gaps of PA(n)DTs. PA(n)DTs are thus good molecular wires for nanosized electronic devices. Conductance oscillation is found for both molecular wires when n is less than 7. The electrical conductance is enhanced in PA(n)DTs with even-numbered benzene rings, whereas it is enhanced in PPh(n)DTs with odd-numbered benzene rings. The observed conductance oscillation of PA(n)DTs and PPh(n)DTs is due to the oscillation of orbital energy and electron population. Other pi-conjugated oligomers (polyacetylene-DT, oligo(thiophene)-DT, oligo(meso-meso-linked zinc(II) porphyrin-butadiynylene)-DT, oligo(p-phenylethynylene)-DT, and oligo(p-phenylene)-DT) are also studied. In contrast to PA(n)DTs and PPh(n)DTs, the five molecular wires show ordinary exponential decays of conductance.     

Near-infrared spectroscopy of LiNH3: first observation of the electronic spectrum

Electronic spectra of LiNH(3) and its partially and fully deuterated analogues are reported for the first time. The spectra have been recorded in the near-infrared and are consistent with two electronic transitions in close proximity, the ?(2)E-X(2)A(1) and B(2)A(1)-X(2)A(1) systems. Vibrational structure is seen in both systems, with the Li-N-H bending vibration (ν(6)) dominant in the ?(2)E-X(2)A(1) system and the Li-N stretch (ν(3)) in the B(2)A(1)-X(2)A(1) system. The prominence of the 6(0)(1) band in the ?(2)E-X(2)A(1) spectrum is attributed to Herzberg-Teller coupling. The proximity of the B(2)A(1) state, which lies a little more than 200 cm(-1) above the ?(2)E state, is likely to be the primary contributor to this strong vibronic coupling.     

Calculation of the fine structure and intensity of the singlet-triplet transitions in the imidogen radical

The singlet-triplet transition moments are calculated for the NH radical by multiconfiguration self-consistent field (MCSCF) method with a quadratic response (QR) technique. The band systems in the visible region (b(1)Sigma(+)-->X(3)Sigma(-) and a(1)Delta-->X(3)Sigma(-)) of the NH radical are analyzed in comparison with previous ab initio treatments and with the recent experimental data in attempt to solve some discrepancies. The b(1)Sigma(+)-->X(3)Sigma(Omega)(-) transition moments ratio for the two spin sublevels Omega = 1 and Omega=0 of the ground state is well reproduced and the radiative lifetime of the b(1)Sigma(+) state (tau(b)=58 ms) is obtained in a good agreement with the experimental value tau(b)=53((-13)(+17)) ms. The A(3)Pi<--a(1)Delta transition probability is calculated for the first time and found to be in an excellent agreement with the recent optical pumping measurements of the NH radical in a molecular beam, where population transfer from the metastable a(1)Delta state to the ground X(3)Sigma(-) state is achieved. For the a(1)Delta-->X(3)Sigma(-) transition some improvement is achieved in comparison with the previous ab initio results, but the calculated radiative lifetime (tau(a)=3.9 s) is still much lower than the recent measurement provides (tau(a)=12.5 s). The zero field splitting and spin-rotation coupling constants are calculated for the ground state by different methods and advantage of the density functional theory is stressed.     

Quantum chemical calculations of the redox potential of the Pu(VII)/Pu(VIII) couple

The redox potential of the Pu(VII)/Pu(VIII) couple was studied by density functional theory calculations. The spin-orbit effect was corrected at the CASSCF level. The redox potential (relative to the standard hydrogen potential) of the Pu(VII)/Pu(VIII) couple in alkaline solution was found to vary from 4.36 to 1.06 V depending on the number of Pu-O oxo bonds, coordination numbers, and coordination modes. The redox potential drops substantially as the number of Pu-O oxo bonds increases. Pu(VIII) may be synthesized in strong alkaline solution assuming that both Pu(VII) and Pu(VIII) exist in penta-oxo form, Pu (VII)O 5OH (4-) and Pu (VIII)O 5OH (3-), respectively. The Mulliken population of Pu in Pu(VII) and Pu(VIII) complexes are very similar, suggesting that the spin-orbit effect is rather small in Pu(VII) complexes and that when Pu(VII) is oxidized to Pu(VIII) the electron is stripped mainly from the ligand. Consequently, Pu(VIII) is in an unstable oxidation state and easily reduced back to Pu(VII) by the solvent water molecules. In acidic medium, the Pu(VII)/Pu(VIII) redox potential is too high to get the Pu(VIII) valence state.     

MRDCI study of the low-lying electronic states of PbSi

Electronic states of the PbSi molecule up to 4 eV have been studied by carrying out ab initio based MRDCI calculations which include relativistic effective core potentials (RECPs) of both the atoms. The use of semicore RECPs of Pb produces better dissociation limits than the full-core one. However, the (3)P(0)-(3)P(1) splitting due to Pb is underestimated by about 4000 cm(-1). At least 25 bound electronic states of the Λ-S symmetry are predicted for PbSi. The computed zero-field-splitting in the ground state is about 544 cm(-1). A strong spin-orbit mixing changes the nature of the potential energy curves of many Ω states. The overall splitting among the spin components of A(3)Π is computed to be 4067 cm(-1). However, the largest spin-orbit splitting is reported for the (3)Δ state. A number of spin-allowed and spin-forbidden transitions are predicted. The partial radiative lifetime for the A(3)Π-X(3)Σ(-) transition is of the order of milliseconds. The computed bond energy in the ground state is 1.68 eV, considering the spin-orbit coupling. The vertical ionization energy for the ionization to the X(4)Σ(-) ground state of PbSi(+) is about 6.93 eV computed at the same level of calculations.     

Theoretical analysis of the three-dimensional structure of tetrathiolato iron complexes

The three-dimensional structures of a number of [M(SR)(4)](n-) complexes, where M is a 3d transition metal and R is an alkyl or aryl group, have been analyzed using density functional theory (DFT). Special attention is paid to the Fe(II)/Fe(III) mimics of rubredoxin. The Fe(II) model complex [Fe(SCH(3))(4)](2-) has an equilibrium conformation with D2d symmetry. The DFT energy has been decomposed into contributions for ligand-ligand and metal-ligand interactions. The latter contribution is analyzed with the angular overlap model (AOM) and constitutes the dominant stereospecific interaction in the Fe(II) complex. The sulfur lone-pair electrons exert anisotropic pi interactions on the 3d(6) shell of Fe(II), which are controlled by the torsion angles, omega(i), for the rotations of the S(i)-C(beta) bonds around the Fe-S(i) axes. In contrast, the pi interactions acting on the high-spin 3d(5) shell of Fe(III) are isotropic. As a consequence, the stereochemistry of the Fe(III) complexes is determined by the Coulomb repulsions between the ligands and has S(4) symmetry. The electrostatic repulsions between the lone pairs of the sulfurs are an essential component of the ligand-ligand interaction. The lone-pair repulsions distort the 90 degree angle SFeS' angles (delta + delta(t)) and give rise to a correlation between delta and omega, which is confirmed by crystallographic data. Both the Fe(II) and Fe(III) complexes exhibit structural bistability due to the presence of low-lying equilibrium conformations with S(4) symmetry in which the complex can be trapped by the crystalline host.     

Photolysis of NSAIDs. I. photodegradation products of carprofen determined by LC-ESI-MS

A solution of carprofen in methanol at a concentration of 2.74 x 10(-2) mg/mL is subjected to photoirradiation using a Hanovia 200-W high-pressure Hg lamp for 9 h. In total, seven photodegradation products are separated, and their quasimolecular ions are subsequently determined online using a liquid chromatography (LC)-electrospray ionization (ESI)-mass spectrometry (MS) method. The high-performance LC consists of an Inertsil 5 ODS-80A (2.1- x 150-mm) column. The mobile phase is initially CH(3)CN. NH(4)OAc (20mM in de-ionized H(2)O) is 43:57 (v/v), and after 14 min it is CH(3)CN. NH(4)OAc (20mM in de-ionized H2O) is 54: 46 (v/v). The UV detector was set at 260 nm. The parameters of LC-MS for mass determination involves an atmospheric pressure ionization electron spray interface with a negative mode of polarity (ESI(-)). The chemical structures of the degradants are elucidated based on the mass-to-charge ratio of the quasimolecular ions and the molecular weight changes by comparison with the parent drug (carprofen). The degradation proceeds via an initial dechlorination. A dechlorination or esterification reaction is competed with decarboxylation. This finding is in accordance with our previously reported result of first order photodecomposition kinetics for carprofen.     

Analytical utility of coupled transport across a supported liquid membrane Selective preconcentration of zinc

A liquid membrane comprising 5-10% bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl)phosphinic acid in dodecane that is supported between an aqueous sample at pH 4.7-6.0 and a 0.1M HCl receiver results in uphill transport of Zn(II) from the sample into the receiver. With 2 ml of receiver, a 5 cm(2) membrane and 60 min dialysis time, Zn(II) is preconcentrated by a factor of ca. 13 when the initial concentration in the sample is in the range 1.5 x 10(-7)-1.5 x 10(-4)M. The enrichment factor is directly proportional to time up to 30 min since the transport rate of Zn(II) across the membrane is constant over this period. At longer times the flux is slowed as the system begins to approach equilibrium. The presence of other metals such as Cu(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cd(II), Pb(II) and Fe(II) does not change the enrichment factor for Zn(II), even when the interferent is at a concentration high enough for the rate of transport (nmole/min) of the interferent and Zn(II) to be about the same. The flux of Zn(II) was about 40 times that of Cu(II) and 100 times that of Co(II) when their concentrations in the sample were equal. The other metal ions examined are not significantly transported.     

Superbase-Promoted Acylation of Hindered Alcohols

The commercially available nonionic superbase P(MeNCH(2)CH(2))(3)N (1a) is very useful for the acylation of unreactive hindered alcohols as well as acid-sensitive alcohols. The reactions proceed in high yields using an acid anhydride, and 1a can be regenerated in a single step. The relative rates for benzoylation of (+/-)-menthol in C(6)D(6) using conventional acylation reagents and strong nonionic bases are compared. In general, acetylation with 1a is accelerated in the polar solvent CH(3)CN whereas benzoylation is faster in the nonpolar solvent C(6)H(6). The benzoylation intermediate RC(O)P(MeNCH(2)CH(2))(3)N(+) was found to be in equilibrium with 1a, with lower temperatures favoring the intermediate. The relative stabilities of several known acylating intermediates are compared.     

Photoelectron spectroscopy of anilinide and acidity of aniline

The photoelectron spectrum of the anilinide ion has been measured. The spectrum exhibits a vibrational progression of the CCC in-plane bending mode of the anilino radical in its electronic ground state. The observed fundamental frequency is 524 ± 10 cm(-1). The electron affinity (EA) of the radical is determined to be 1.607 ± 0.004 eV. The EA value is combined with the N-H bond dissociation energy of aniline in a negative ion thermochemical cycle to derive the deprotonation enthalpy of aniline at 0 K; Δ(acid)H(0)(PhHN-H) = 1535.4 ± 0.7 kJ mol(-1). Temperature corrections are made to obtain the corresponding value at 298 K and the gas-phase acidity; Δ(acid)H(298)(PhHN-H) = 1540.8 ± 1.0 kJ mol(-1) and Δ(acid)G(298)(PhHN-H) = 1509.2 ± 1.5 kJ mol(-1), respectively. The compatibility of this value in the acidity scale that is currently available is examined by utilizing the acidity of acetaldehyde as a reference.     

Ab initio and direct dynamics studies of the reaction of singlet methylene with acetylene and the lifetime of the cyclopropene complex

The energetics of the (1)CH(2) + C(2)H(2) --> H + C(3)H(3) reaction are accurately calculated using an extrapolated coupled-cluster/complete basis set (CBS) method based on the cc-pVDZ, cc-pVTZ, and cc-pVQZ basis sets. The reaction enthalpy (0 K) is predicted to be -20.33 kcal/mol. This reaction has no classical barrier in either the entrance or exit channel. However, there are several stable intermediates-cyclopropene (c-C(3)H(4)), allene (CH(2)CCH(2)), and propyne (CH(3)CCH)-along the minimum energy path. These intermediates with zero-point energy corrections lie below the reactants by 87.11 (c-C(3)H(4)), 109.69 (CH(2)CCH(2)), and 110.78 kcal/mol (CH(3)CCH). The vibrationally adiabatic ground-state (VAG) barrier height for c-C(3)H(4) isomerization to allene is obtained as 45.2 kcal/mol, and to propyne as 37.2 kcal/mol. In addition, the (1)CH(2) + C(2)H(2) reaction is investigated utilizing the dual-level "scaling all correlation" (SAC) ab initio method of Truhlar et al., i.e., the UCCSD(SAC)/cc-pVDZ theory. Results show that the reaction occurs via long-lived complexes. The lifetime of the cyclopropene intermediate is obtained as 3.2 +/- 0.4 ps. It is found that the intermediate propyne can be formed directly from reactants through the insertion of (1)CH(2) into a C-H bond of C(2)H(2). However, compared to the major mechanism in which the propyne is produced through a ring-opening of the cyclopropene complex, this reaction pathway is much less favorable. Finally, the theoretical thermal rate constant exhibits a negative temperature dependence, which is in excellent agreement with the previous results. The temperature dependence is consistent with the earlier RRKM results but weaker than the experimental observations at high temperatures.     

Collective mechanical behavior of multilayer colloidal arrays of hollow nanoparticles

The collective mechanical behavior of multilayer colloidal arrays of hollow silica nanoparticles (HSNP) is explored under spherical nanoindentation through a combination of experimental, numerical, and theoretical approaches. The effective indentation modulus E(ind) is found to decrease with an increasing number of layers in a nonlinear manner. The indentation force versus penetration depth behavior for multilayer hollow particle arrays is predicted by an approximate analytical model based on the spring stiffness of the individual particles and the multipoint, multiparticle interactions as well as force transmission between the layers. The model is in good agreement with experiments and with detailed finite element simulations. The ability to tune the effective indentation modulus, E(ind), of the multilayer arrays by manipulating particle geometry and layering is revealed through the model, where E(ind) = (0.725m(-3/2) + 0.275)E(mon) and E(mon) is the monolayer modulus and m is number of layers. E(ind) is seen to plateau with increasing m to E(ind_plateau) = 0.275E(mon) and E(mon) scales with (t/R)(2), t being the particle shell thickness and R being the particle radius. The scaling law governing the nonlinear decrease in indentation modulus with an increase in layer number (E(ind) scaling with m(-3/2)) is found to be similar to that governing the indentation modulus of thin solid films E(ind_solid) on a stiff substrate (where E(ind_solid) scales with h(-1.4) and also decreases until reaching a plateau value) which also decreases with an increase in film thickness h. However, the mechanisms underlying this trend for the colloidal array are clearly different, where discrete particle-to-particle interactions govern the colloidal array behavior in contrast to the substrate constraint on deformation, which governs the thickness dependence of the continuous thin film indentation modulus.     

Isolation of ammonium-N as 1-sulfonato-iso-indole for measurement of delta15N

The conversion of ammonium (NH(4) (+)) to 1-sulfonato-iso-indole has been examined as a method for natural abundance measurement of delta(15)N of NH(4) (+). The reaction is complete within 2 h and is based on the derivatisation of NH(4) (+) by o-phthaldialdehyde and sodium sulfite at a high pH, 11.2. The product is readily concentrated from dilute solutions by reverse-phase solid-phase extraction (SPE). The method is compound-specific despite partial derivatisation of potentially interfering amino acids, as their derivatives are not extracted by SPE. delta(15)N values of NH(4) (+) in KCL soil extracts can be measured within 48 h by automated continuous-flow IRMS with a precision of 0.23 per thousand (1 SD). Parallel measurements of NH(4) (+) standards of known delta(15)N are made to allow correction for the isotopic dilution by non-sample NH(4) (+). The practicality of this method is demonstrated by measuring the changes in NH(4) (+) concentration and delta(15)N following the addition of urea as a nitrogen source to inorganic N-depleted soil.     

Reduction of colloidal manganese dioxide by manganese(II)

The reduction of colloidal MnO(2) by Mn(2+) in aqueous HClO(4) has been studied by a spectrophotometric method. The reaction product is Mn(III). The reaction is of first order in both colloidal MnO(2) and H(+), whereas it presents a fractional order (0.58+/-0.02) in Mn(2+). The reaction is retarded by addition of NaClO(4), but is not affected by addition of tert-butanol. The corresponding activation energy is 29.5+/-1.3 kJ mol(-1). The reaction is catalyzed by Na(4)P(2)O(7), and the pyrophosphate-catalyzed reaction is of first order in both colloidal MnO(2) and pyrophosphate and of fractional order (0.64+/-0.01) in Mn(2+), whereas its rate presents a complex dependence on the concentration of H(+). The pyrophosphate-catalyzed reaction is accelerated by addition of both NaClO(4) and tert-butanol. The corresponding activation energy is 49.7+/-3.0 kJ mol(-1). Mechanisms in agreement with the experimental data are proposed for both the parent and the pyrophosphate-catalyzed reactions.     

High resolution spectroscopy of the nu(3) band of DCOOD

The rotation-vibration spectrum of DCOOD has been recorded in the carbonyl stretch (nu(3)) region. Using a standard S-reduced Watson Hamiltonian in the I(r) representation, 225 lines could be fitted to a vibrational-rotational band. A full set of molecular constants was obtained. The nu(3) band is found to be strongly perturbed in the K(a): 1<--1 and K(a): 2<--2 subband. The perturbation is attributed to a Fermi resonance with the 2nu(8) overtone band and Coriolis coupling to a combination band (nu(4)+nu(7)). The band center is determined to be 1725.1218(1) cm(-1) which is more than 10 cm(-1) shifted compared to previous studies.     

Ab initio molecular orbital study of ground and low-lying electronic states of CoCN

The ground and low-lying excited states of CoCN have been studied by ab initio multireference single and double excitation configuration interaction (MR-SDCI) calculations with Davidson's correction Q and Cowan-Griffin's relativistic corrections. The electronic ground state of CoCN is (3)Phi(i) and the equilibrium geometry is linear with bond lengths of r(e)(Co-C)=1.8540 A and r(e)(C-N)=1.1677 A, substantially different from the experimentally derived values of r(0)(Co-C)=1.8827(7) A and r(0)(C-N)=1.1313(10) A. The first excited state is (3)Delta(i), separated from the ground state by 727 cm(-1). Larger dynamical electron correlation energy for the low-spin (3)Phi state than for the high-spin (5)Phi state makes the (3)Phi state to be the ground state, which is discussed in terms of the differences in natural orbitals. A new spin-orbit interaction scheme between the X (3)Phi(i) and 1 (3)Delta(i) states is proposed.     

Determination of silica in silicates by formation of 12-molybdosilicic acid and redox titration of molybdenum(III)

An indirect titrimetric method for the determination of silica in silicates is described. A boron trioxide-lithium carbonate (10:1) mixture is used as flux and the melt is dissolved in an acidic molybdate solution to form 12-molybdosilicic acid. The yellow complex is extracted with methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) and, after removal of the co-extracted molybdate reagent, is decomposed with alkali. The resultant aqueous phase is acidified and passed through a Jones reductor to convert the molybdenum(VI) into molybdenum(III), which is then titrated with potassium permanganate. The method has high precision and accuracy. Phosphorus, titanium, zirconium and vanadium, in amounts that may occur in silicate rocks, do not interfere; at least 5% P(2)O(5), 5% TiO(2), 2% ZrO(2) and 0.5% V(2)O(5) are permissible. Fluorine (at least 2%) can also be tolerated when lithium metaborate is used as flux.