Laser photolysis study of the triplet states of fulvic acids in aqueous solutions

The spectral and kinetic characteristics of short-lived intermediates formed during the photolysis of aqueous and alkaline (0.1 mol l^?1 NaOH) solutions of fulvic acids (FA) were studied by the nanosecond laser photolysis technique. Laser photolysis of FA at 337 nm leads to the formation of short-lived triplet states of FA (³FA) with a quantum yield of about 1% and different relatively long-lived intermediates (with decay rate constants in deoxygenated solutions of 1.8 × 10³–2.1 × 10⁵ and 80–160 s^?1, respectively), which are characterized by absorption spectra with maximums at λ ≤ 400 nm. ³FA are quenched by atmospheric oxygen with rate constants of 5.4 × 10⁸–1.1 × 10⁹ l mol^?1 s^?1. Introduction of phenols into the solutions at concentrations up to 0.1 mol l^?1 has no appreciable effect on the decay kinetics of the detected intermediate products of FA photolysis.     

Laser photolysis study of the triplet states of phthalocyanines on the surface of silica nanoparticles in aqueous solutions

Aluminum and zinc phthalocyanines (AlPc and ZnPc, respectively) adsorbed on the surface of silica nanoparticles (60 nm in diameter) in aqueous solutions have been found to form H-aggregates, which possess characteristic absorption spectra with bands (having a maximum at 640 nm) in a shorter wavelength region with respect to the main Q-band of the monomer (having a maximum at 670 nm). For AlPc on the surface, J-aggregates of two types (long-wavelength bands with maximums at 740 and 770 nm) are also observed. Using nanosecond laser photolysis (with the excitation wavelength of 337 nm) in deoxygenated solutions of AlPc on the surface, the formation of the triplet electronically excited states of J-aggregates has been detected, which are characterized by a broad absorption spectrum in the region of 400–800 nm and a lifetime of 360 μs. No intermediate products have been detected during the photolysis of H-aggregates of ZnPc on the surface.     

A possible contribution to the population of triplet states in electron impact measurements of total cross sections for triplet state excitation

It is proposed that low energy secondary electrons produced in medium energy electron impact experiments may play an important role in the excitation of triplet states even at low sample gas densities. A model calculation is carried out which shows that the population of the 4³S, S³P and 4³D triplet states in He from secondary electron excitation can be comparable to the population of these states by direct excitation at an incident electron energy of 1000 eV and sample gas pressures as low as 10^?3 torr. The model calculations show that the secondary electron mechanism becomes more important as the incident energy increases and that the produced populations are of a similar magnitude for the 3³P and 4³D states which in turn are about a factor of 4 larger than the population found for the 4³S state. The results indicate that the effect of secondary electron excitation in careful experimental measurements of electron impact total triplet state cross sections may have to be considered when incident electron excitation energies in the range of 1 keV or higher are used.     

State of the hydroxide ion in water and aqueous solutions

Conclusion Analysis of these experimental facts leads to the conclusion that in water and aqueous solutions of alkali metal hydroxides it is extremely probable that the hydroxide ion exists in the form H₃O₂ ^–. The marked displacement of the extrapolated chemical shift of the proton of the H₃O₂ ^– ion towards weak fields and the displacement of the frequency of the bending vibrations of the OH bond towards higher frequencies for hydroxide solutions indicate strong hydrogen bonding between the OH^– ion and the H₂O molecule. The comparatively low heat of hydration of the OH^– ion (111 cal/mole) compared with the heat of hydration of the H₊ ion (276 cal/mole) cannot, as has been shown, serve as proof that there is no strong electrostatic bond between the OH^– ion and a water molecule. All the heat of hydration is used up in the formation of this bond; this can be regarded as additional confirmation of the hydrophobic nature of the ion produced. The experimental data on the absolute value of the chemical shift of the proton of the H₃O₂ ^– ion indicate the important role played by the excited state of the proton in this complex. This conclusion agrees with the spectroscopic data.M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University. Translated from Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 12, No. 6, pp. 969–974, November–December, 1971.     

Inclusion complexes of Fe(III) tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin with cyclodextrins in aqueous solutions

In aqueous solutions, inclusion complexation of Fe(III) tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (FeTSPP) with alpha-cyclodextrin (alpha-CD), beta-CD, gamma-CD, and heptakis(2,3,6-tri-O-methyl)-beta-CD (TM-beta-CD) has been examined by means of absorption and induced circular dichroism spectroscopy. FeTSPP has been found to form inclusion complexes with beta-CD, gamma-CD, and TM-beta-CD in pH 3.2 buffers. At pH 10.1, where FeTSPP self-associates to form an oxo-bridged dimer, FeTSPP also forms inclusion complexes with alpha-CD, beta-CD, gamma-CD, and TM-beta-CD. The stoichiometries of the CD-FeTSPP inclusion complexes are 1:1, except for TM-beta-CD in pH 10.1 buffers where its 1:1 inclusion complex associates with TM-beta-CD to form a 2:1 inclusion complex at high TM-beta-CD concentrations. Equilibrium constants of FeTSPP for the formation of the 1:1 inclusion complexes have been evaluated for beta-CD, gamma-CD, and TM-beta-CD. Induced circular dichroism spectra of FeTSPP in alpha-CD and beta-CD solutions exhibit a signal pattern (a negative sign) that is different from those in acidic and basic solutions containing gamma-CD and that in basic solution containing TM-beta-CD, suggesting different inclusion modes towards FeTSPP.     

Carbohydrate clustering in aqueous solutions and the dynamics of confined water

We use molecular dynamics simulations to investigate structure and dynamics of fructose aqueous solutions in the 1-5 M concentration range at ambient conditions. We analyze hydration structures, H-bond statistics, and size distribution of H-bonded carbohydrate clusters as functions of concentration. We find that the local tetrahedral order of water is reasonably well-preserved and that the solute tends to appear as scattered "isolated" molecules at low concentrations and as H-bonded clusters for less diluted solutions. The sugar cluster size distribution exhibits a sharp transition to a percolated cluster between 3.5 and 3.8 M. The percolated cluster forms an intertwined network of H-bonded saccharides that imprisons water. For the dynamics, we find good agreement between simulation and available experimental results for the self-diffusion coefficients. Water librational dynamics is little affected by sugar concentration, whereas reorientational relaxation is described by a concentration-independent bulk-like component attributed to noninterfacial water molecules and a slower component (strongly concentration dependent) that arises from interfacial solvent molecules and, hence, depends on the dynamics of the cluster structure itself. Analysis of H-bonding survival probability functions indicates that the formation of carbohydrate clusters upon increasing concentration enhances the H-bond relaxation time and slows down the entire system dynamics. We find that multiexponential or stretched-exponential fits alone cannot describe the H-bond survival probabilities for the entire postlibrational time span of our data (0.1-100 ps), as opposed to a combined stretched-plus-biexponential function, which provides excellent fits. Our results suggest that water dynamics in concentrated fructose solutions resembles in many ways that of protein hydration water.     

Use of water spin-spin relaxation rate to probe the solvation of cyclodextrins in aqueous solutions

1H spin-spin relaxation rate constant, R2, of water was measured by using the Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill sequence in aqueous solutions of native cyclodextrins (alpha, beta, and gamma-CD) and chemically modified CDs in order to probe the structuring of the water surrounding these cyclic carbohydrate molecules. R2 values for water in solutions containing glucose and dextran were also measured for comparison. A two-site model for bonded and free water molecules was used to fit the results for the dependence of R2 on the solute concentrations. The order of relaxation rates for water in aqueous solution at a fixed specific hydroxyl group concentration is glucose>dextran congruent with CDs. No significant difference was observed for R2 of water in solutions containing native CDs, which indicates that the size and nature of the cavity has a small effect on the spin-spin relaxation times of water. The lower relaxation rate for water in CD solutions was attributed to the intramolecular hydrogen bonding formed between the secondary hydroxyl groups that line the rim of the CDs. For comparison, the relaxation rates for water in solutions of two chemically modified CDs were also studied.     

A diffusive anomaly of water in aqueous sodium chloride solutions at low temperatures

Molecular dynamics simulations are presented for the self-diffusion coefficient of water in aqueous sodium chloride solutions. At temperatures above the freezing point of pure water, the self-diffusion coefficient is a monotonically decreasing function of salt concentration. Below the freezing point of pure water, however, the self-diffusion coefficient is a non-monotonic function of salt concentration, showing a maximum at approximately one molal salt. This suggests that sodium chloride, which is considered a structure-making salt at room temperature, becomes a structure-breaking salt at low temperatures. A qualitative understanding of this effect can be obtained by considering the effect of ions on the residence time of water molecules near other water molecules. A consideration of the freezing point depression of aqueous sodium chloride solutions suggests that the self-diffusion coefficient of water in supercooled sodium chloride solutions is always higher than that in pure (supercooled) water at the same temperature.     

Alkyl chain length-dependent viscoelastic properties in aqueous wormlike micellar solutions of anionic gemini surfactants with an azobenzene spacer

A homologue of carboxylate gemini surfactants with an azobenzene spacer and different lengths of the alkyl tails, referred to as C_m(azo)C_m, has been synthesized. All the surfactants formed wormlike micelles at relatively low concentrations without addition of salt. The reason was attributed to the long and rigid characteristic of the azobenzene spacer, which yielded the pseudo volume between the two tails and thus a columnar-like molecular geometry favorable for the formation of wormlike micelles. The results of rheology and FF-TEM measurements showed that the length of the alkyl tails strongly affected the viscoelastic properties of the wormlike micelle solution. With the increase of the alkyl tail length, the solutions evolved from a typically viscous fluid to a strong viscoelastic solution and then to a gel-like state. This was attributed to the different microstates as revealed by scaling law. These solutions behave as polyelectrolyte systems because of their additive-free nature.     

Hydrogen bonding of single acetic acid with water molecules in dilute aqueous solutions

In separation processes, hydrogen bonding has a very significant effect on the efficiency of isolation of acetic acid (HOAc) from HOAc/H₂O mixtures. This intermolecular interaction on aggregates composed of a single HOAc molecule and varying numbers of H₂O molecules has been examined by using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations (AIMD) and quantum chemical calculations (QCC). Thermodynamic data in aqueous solution were obtained through the self-consistent reaction field calculations and the polarizable continuum model. The aggregation free energy of the aggregates in gas phase as well as in aqueous system shows that the 6-membered ring is the most favorable structure in both states. The relative stability of the ring structures inferred from the thermodynamic properties of the QCC is consistent with the ring distributions of the AIMD simulation. The study shows that in dilute aqueous solution of HOAc the more favorable molecular interaction is the hydrogen bonding between HOAc and H₂O molecules, resulting in the separation of acetic acid from the HOAc/H₂O mixtures with more difficulty than usual.     

稀醋酸/水溶液中单个醋酸与水分子的氢键结构

在醋酸/水体系的工业分离中,溶液中的氢键对分离效率有很大影响.本文采用两种第一性原理方法,即从头算分子动力学模拟(AIMD)和量子化学计算(QCC),对由单个醋酸和不同水分子所组成聚合体的氢键相互作用进行了研究,采用极化统一模型和自洽反应场模型计算得到了聚合体在水溶液中的热力学数据.从QCC计算的气相和水溶液中的聚合自由能表明六元环在两种状态下都为最优结构,热力学数据反映出的各种结构的相对稳定性与AIMD模拟的环分布符合得相当一致.研究表明,由于存在醋酸和水分子间的氢键作用,稀醋酸/水溶液中的醋酸分离要比在浓醋酸溶液中困难得多.     

Heterogeneous ice nucleation in aqueous solutions: the role of water activity

Heterogeneous ice nucleation experiments have been performed with four different ice nuclei (IN), namely nonadecanol, silica, silver iodide and Arizona test dust. All IN are either immersed in the droplets or located at the droplets surface. The IN were exposed to various aqueous solutions, which consist of (NH4)2SO4, H2SO4, MgCl2, NaCl, LiCl, Ca(NO3)2, K2CO3, CH3COONa, ethylene glycol, glycerol, malonic acid, PEG300 or a NaCl/malonic acid mixture. Freezing was studied using a differential scanning calorimeter and a cold finger cell. The results show that the heterogeneous ice freezing temperatures decrease with increasing solute concentration; however, the magnitude of this effect is solute dependent. In contrast, when the results are analyzed in terms of the solution water activity a very consistent behavior emerges: heterogeneous ice nucleation temperatures for all four IN converge each onto a single line, irrespective of the nature of the solute. We find that a constant offset with respect to the ice melting point curve, Deltaaw,het, can describe the observed freezing temperatures for each IN. Such a behavior is well-known for homogeneous ice nucleation from supercooled liquid droplets and has led to the development of water-activity-based ice nucleation theory. The large variety of investigated solutes together with different general types of ice nuclei studied (monolayers, ionic crystals, covalently bound network-forming compounds, and a mixture of chemically different crystallites) underlines the general applicability of water-activity-based ice nucleation theory also for heterogeneous ice nucleation in the immersion mode. Finally, the ice nucleation efficiencies of the various IN, as well as the atmospheric implication of the developed parametrization are discussed.     

Dual entropic and enthalpic processes in the lower critical solution temperature phase separation of poly(vinyl methyl ether) aqueous solutions

In the lower critical solution temperature phase separation of poly(vinyl methyl ether) aqueous solutions, the process corresponding to the weakening of the hydrogen bond interaction with increasing temperature is dominant and occurs over the entire concentration region of solutions and over a broad temperature range from 30 to 41°C, giving rise to the energetic enthalpic effect during phase separation, while the conformational change, that is, collapse of the swollen polymer coils, occurs only in the swelling polymer solution when the water concentration is above 38.3 wt %, giving rise to the entropic effect during phase separation. In addition, the entropic process corresponding to the collapse of the polymer coils occurs in a much narrow theta temperature range from 35.5 to 37°C. If the solution is held at a constant temperature for a sufficiently long time, 90% collapse of the polymer coils occurs in only the 0.5 °C temperature region between 35.5 and 36°C. Accordingly, in the enthalpic process, the most dramatic blueshift of the νC‐O bond peak occurs in the temperature range between 35 and 41°C, while this blueshift is only approximately 2 cm^?1 in the temperature range from 30 to 35°C, prior to the collapse of the polymer coils due to the entropic effect. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 323–330