Formation of hybrid nano-crystals in organic–inorganic films from a basic sol

Organic–inorganic films containing hybrid nanocrystals have been prepared by sol–gel processing in controlled conditions. We have systematically changed the temperature and the aging time of a precursor sol containing an organically modified alkoxide bearing an epoxy group, 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane, to obtain a controlled crystallization of hybrid layered structures in hybrid films. The precursor sol has been aged at different temperatures, from 5 to 60 °C, and for 1, 2 or 3 days; the films have been deposited from the aged sol and immediately after characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. We have observed that the formation of the hybrid crystals can be obtained only when at least 50% of the epoxies are opened and a larger silica condensation is achieved. These conditions are reached after aging at 60 °C for 1 day, or at longer aging times when the sol is aged at lower temperatures. Transmission electron microscopy and optical polarized images have confirmed the formation of the hybrid crystals.     

Speciation of butyltin compounds in marine sediments with headspace solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography – mass spectrometry

A method for the determination of organotin compounds (monobutyl = MBT, dibutyl = DBT, and tributyltin = TBT) in marine sediments by headspace Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME) has been developed. The analytical procedure involved 1) extraction of TBT, DBT and MBT from sediments with HCl and methanol mixture, 2) in situ derivatization with sodium tetraethylborate and 3) headspace SPME extraction using a fiber coated with poly(dimethylsiloxane). The derivatized organotin compounds were desorbed into the splitless injector and simultaneously analyzed by gas chromatography – mass spectrometry. The analytical method was optimized with respect to derivatization reaction and extraction conditions. The detection limits obtained for MBT, DBT and TBT ranged from 730 to 969 pg/g as Sn dry weight. Linear calibration curves were obtained for all analytes in the range of 30–1000 ng/L as Sn. Analysis of a standard reference sediment (CRM 462) demonstrates the suitability of this method for the determination of butyltin compounds in marine sediments. The application to the determination of TBT, DBT and MBT in a coastal marine sediment is shown.     

Source apportionment of inorganic ions in airborne urban particles from Coruña city (N.W. of Spain) using positive matrix factorization

Water-soluble atmospheric particulate matter was analyzed for pH, conductivity and inorganic ions: Mg(2+), Ca(2+), K(+), Na(+), NH(4)(+), Cl(-), NO(3)(-) and SO(4)(2-) by ion-chromatography. In order to get a deeper insight on the atmospheric data and assess the 'optimal' number of pollution sources, principal component analysis and cluster analysis were applied. After that, the second objective was to apply a recently developed chemometric technique (positive matrix factorization) to perform source apportionment and get ion balances. Four pollution patterns were identified, namely, marine, industrial, urban and building-related source pollutants. Ion balances were also made in a straightforward manner.     

Total and inorganic arsenic in dietary supplements based on herbs, other botanicals and algae—a possible contributor to inorganic arsenic exposure

The content of total and inorganic arsenic was determined in 16 dietary supplements based on herbs, other botanicals and algae purchased on the Danish market. The dietary supplements originated from various regions, including Asia, Europe and USA. The contents of total and inorganic arsenic was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and anion exchange HPLC-ICP-MS, respectively, were in the range of 0.58 to 5.0 mgkg^?1 and 0.03 to 3.2 mg?kg^?1, respectively, with a ratio between inorganic arsenic and total arsenic ranging between 5 and 100 %. Consumption of the recommended dose of the individual dietary supplement would lead to an exposure to inorganic arsenic within the range of 0.07 to 13 μg?day^?1. Such exposure from dietary supplements would in worst case constitute 62.4 % of the range of benchmark dose lower confidence limit values (BMDL₀₁ at 0.3 to 8 μg kg bw^?1 kg^?1 day^?1) put down by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 2009, for cancers of the lung, skin and bladder, as well as skin lesions. Hence, the results demonstrate that consumption of certain dietary supplements could contribute significantly to the dietary exposure to inorganic arsenic at levels close to the toxicological limits established by EFSA.     

Functionalization of mesostructured inorganic–organic and porous inorganic materials

The capability to functionalize the interior channels and/or high internal surface areas of mesostructured inorganic–organic or porous inorganic solids with specific organic or inorganic moieties has dramatically expanded the potential applications for these versatile materials in catalysis, separations, optical and opto-electronic devices, drug delivery, sensors, and energy conversion. Key to the widespread application of these materials are the various synthetic schemes that have been developed to provide control over the types of species incorporated and, more importantly, their distributions within the mesostructured hosts. Furthermore, multiple active species can often be independently incorporated and collectively optimized to yield multifunctional properties that widen application prospects. Several recent developments and examples in this rapidly growing field of materials chemistry and engineering are highlighted and discussed.     

Percolation of the organic phase in hybrid organic–inorganic aerogels

The properties (texture, mechanical behaviour, etc.) of hybrid organic–inorganic silica aerogels change dramatically when the concentration of the organic additive is varied from a given value. It has been known for several years that this critical concentration is around 40% of the total weight of silica present in the sample. We have made use of a new structural model to conclude that this concentration of 40% by weight corresponds to the percolation threshold of the organic phase.     

Preparation and characterization of a novel organic–inorganic hybrid nanostructure: application in synthesis of spirocompounds

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Immobilization and heterogenization of acidic/basic groups or organic tags on inorganic supports have found many important applications in recent years. In this...     

SPE HG-AAS method for the determination of inorganic arsenic in rice—results from method validation studies and a survey on rice products

The present paper describes the development, validation and application of a method for inorganic arsenic (iAs) determination in rice samples. The separation of iAs from organoarsenic compounds was done by off-line solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS) detection. This approach was earlier developed for seafood samples (Rasmussen et al., Anal Bioanal Chem 403:2825–2834, 2012) and has in the present work been tailored for rice products and further optimised for a higher sample throughput and a lower detection limit. Water bath heating (90 °C, 60 min) of samples with dilute HNO₃ and H₂O₂ solubilised and oxidised all iAs to arsenate (As^V). Loading of buffered sample extracts (pH 6?±?1) followed by selective elution of arsenate from a strong anion exchange SPE cartridge enabled the selective iAs quantification by HG-AAS, measuring total arsenic (As) in the SPE eluate. The in-house validation gave mean recoveries of 101–106 % for spiked rice samples and in two reference samples. The limit of detection was 0.02 mg kg^?1, and repeatability and intra-laboratory reproducibility were less than 6 and 9 %, respectively. The SPE HG-AAS method produced similar results compared to parallel high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis. The SPE separation step was tested collaboratively, where the laboratories (N?=?10) used either HG-AAS or ICP-MS for iAs determination in a wholemeal rice powder. The trial gave satisfactory results (HorRat value of 1.6) and did not reveal significant difference (t test, p?>?0.05) between HG-AAS and ICP-MS quantification. The iAs concentration in 36 rice samples purchased on the Danish retail market varied (0.03–0.60 mg kg^?1), with the highest concentration found in a red rice sample.      

Radioactivity in coral skeletons and marine sediments collected from the St. Martin’s Island of Bangladesh

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Although the coral island ‘St. Martin’s’ serves as the most attractive place for leisure and tourism, but no data on...     

Synthesis of proton conductive inorganic–organic hybrid membranes from organoalkoxysilane and hydroxyalkylphosphonic acid

Proton conductive inorganic–organic hybrid membranes were synthesized from 3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysiane (GPTMS), phenyltriethoxysilane (PhTES) and hydroxyalkylphosphonic acid. Two kinds of hydroxyalkylphosphonic acids, 1-hydroxyethane-1,1-diphosphonic acid (HEDPA) and hydroxyethanephosphonic acid (HEPA), were incorporated into the membranes as functional molecules for proton conduction. FT-IR and Raman studies revealed the presence of phosphonic acid groups in the hybrid membranes. ¹³C and ²⁹Si NMR confirmed that a three-dimensional siloxane network was formed in the prepared hybrid membrane by hydrolysis and condensation reactions. DTA-TG analysis showed that these membranes were thermally stable up to 200 °C. The HEDPA-based system was found to have higher proton conductivities than the HEPA-based one. The proton conductivities of the hybrid membranes increased with the phosphonic acid content and temperature up to 130 °C. The conductivities of the HEDPA/GPTMS/PhTES membranes = 1/1.6/0.4 were 1.0 × 10⁻¹ and 4.5 × 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹ at 100% relative humidity and non-humidified conditions, respectively, at 130 °C.     

Geochemistry of marine sediments from inner Ría de Vigo (NW Spain)

Two sediment cores were recovered in San Simón Bay (NW Spain) in order to establish sediment accumulation rates by ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs dating and to reconstruct metal pollution history. Sediment composition was determined by X-ray Fluorescence. A main lithogenic origin was shown up. Grain size conditions radionuclide activities and element concentrations. Fine grained sediments concentrate pollutants and showed higher activities. Radionuclide profiles are affected by diagenetic processes and sedimentary disturbances, but a temporal framework could be obtained for the intertidal area, where the anthropogenic inputs of Cu, Pb and Zn started several decades ago.     

Hydrolytic cleavage of a DNA-model phosphodiester: a new inorganic–organic hybrid constructed from a Zn-cluster with a polyoxometalate

An inorganic–organic hybrid constructed from a Zn-cluster with a polyoxometalate {[Zn₃Na₂(μ-OH)₂(bpdo)₆(H₂O)₁₆][PW₁₂O₄₀]₂}·(bpdo)₃·C₂H₅OH·2H₂O (bpdo?=?4,4′-bis(pyridine-N-oxide)) (1) has been synthesized by hydrothermal reaction and characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectra, and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The structural analysis indicates that 1 is an S-like complex constructed by [Zn₃Na₂(μ-OH)₂(bpdo)₆(H₂O)₁₆]^6? with two PW₁₂O₄₀ ^3? with water occupying several coordination sites and have the potential to act as labile ligands, allowing for substrate and nucleophile binding. Kinetic experiments for hydrolytic cleavage of the DNA-model phosphodiester bis(p-nitropheny1)phosphate (BNPP) were followed spectrophotometrically for absorbance increase at 400?nm in 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine-1–propane sulfonic acid (EPPS) buffer solution due to the formation of p-nitrophenoxide with 1 at pH 4.0 and 50?°C. UV spectroscopy indicates cleavage of the phosphodiester bond proceeds with pseudo-first-order rate constant 6.7(±0.2)?×?10^?7?s^?1, giving an inorganic phosphate and p-nitrophenol as the final products of hydrolysis. The results demonstrate that 1 exhibits good catalytic activity and reusability for hydrolytic cleavage of BNPP.     

Synthesis and structure of a new polyoxometalate-based inorganic–organic hybrid and application as a chemically bulk-modified electrode

A new Keggin-type polyoxometalate-based inorganic–organic hybrid, [Cu(H₂O)₂(daphen)]₂[SiW₁₂O₄₀]·9H₂O (1) (daphen?=?5,6-diamino-1,10-phenanthroline), was hydrothermally synthesized, and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, fluorescence spectra, and thermal analysis. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that in 1, [SiW₁₂O₄₀]^4? is a tetradentate ligand with its four terminal oxygens coordinating to four Cu(II)–daphen fragments to form a 2D sheet with (4,4) topology. On the basis of the insolubility of 1 in water and common organic solvent and its reversible multielectron redox processes, 1 was used to fabricate a bulk-modified carbon paste electrode (1-CPE) by direct mixing. Electrochemistry indicated that 1-CPE is stable over hundreds of cycles and possessed electrocatalytic activity toward the reduction reactions of nitrite.     

Determination of arsenic species and arsenosugars in marine samples by HPLC–ICP–MS

Arsenic-speciation analysis in marine samples was performed by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ICP–MS detection. Separation of eight arsenic species—As^III, MMA, DMA, As^V, AB, TMAO, AC and TeMAs⁺—was achieved on a C₁₈ column with isocratic elution (pH 3.0), under which conditions As^III and MMA co-eluted. The entire separation was accomplished in 15 min. The HPLC–ICP–MS detection limits for the eight arsenic species were in the range 0.03–0.23 μg L⁻¹ based on 3σ for the blank response (n=5). The precision was calculated to be 2.4–8.0% (RSD) for the eight species. The method was successfully applied to several marine samples, e.g. oysters, fish, shrimps, and marine algae. Low-power microwave digestion was employed for extraction of arsenic from seafood products; ultrasonic extraction was employed for the extraction of arsenic from seaweeds. Separation of arsenosugars was achieved on an anion-exchange column. Concentrations of arsenosugars 2, 3, and 4 in marine algae were in the range 0.18–9.59 μg g⁻¹. This paper was presented at the European Winter Conference 2005     

Geochronology of sediments in the Cananeia-Iguape estuary and in southern continental shelf of Săo Paulo State, Brazil

Instrumental analysis methods for ²¹⁰Pb, ²²⁶Raand ¹³⁷Cs by gamma-spectrometry in sediments, as well as the sedimentationrates in cores collected from Brazilian coastal region are presented. Samplinglocations have covered the Cananeia-Iguape estuary and the continental shelfof southern Sao Paulo State. Values for ²¹⁰Pb ranged from 122.5to 14.3 Bq . kg ^—1 for estuarine sediments and from 195.5to 23.6 Bq . kg –1 at the continental shelf. For ²²⁶Ra thevalues obtained in sediments varied from 15.2 to 2.3 Bq . kg ^—1 in the estuary and from 30.1 to 16.1 Bq . kg ^—1 atthe continental shelf. Sedimentation rates are variable, ranging from 0.53to 0.98 cm . y ^—1 in estuary sediments and from 0.18 to 0.40cm . y ^—1 at the continental shelf.     

Two organic–inorganic hybrid compounds constructed from 12-tungstovanadate and bipyridine

Two rare 12-tungstovanadate-bipyridine inorganic–organic hybrid compounds, [VW₁₂O₄₀] · 2(4,4′-H₂bipy) · 2H₂O (1) and [VW₁₂O₄₀] · 4(2,2′-Hbipy) (2), have been hydrothermally synthesized and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and IR analysis. In 1, a 2-D supramolecular architecture is formed by hydrogen-bonding between [VW₁₂O₄₀]^4? and bipy. Compound 1 shows good activity for photocatalytic reduction of rhodamine B in a liquid–solid system. The electrochemical and electrocatalytic properties of 2-bulk carbon paste electrode modified with 2 were investigated by cyclic voltammetry.     

Four inorganic–organic hybrid complexes built from tetravanadate and macrocyclic oxamide

Four inorganic–organic hybrid compounds, [M₂(CuL)₄(V₄O₁₂)]·2H₂O (M?=?Co (1), Mn (2)), [Mn₂(NiL)₄(V₄O₁₂)]·2H₂O (3), and [Zn₂(CuL)₄(V₄O₁₂)]·2CH₃OH·2H₂O (4) (M′L, H₂L?=?2,3-dioxo-5,6,14,15-dibenzo-1,4,8,12-tetraazacyclo-pentadeca-7,13-dien), have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV, fluorescence spectra, and X-ray diffraction analysis. Single-crystal X-ray analysis reveal that both [V₄O₁₂]^4? and M₂V₄ adapt a chair-like configuration in four structures. The cyclovanadate group [V₄O₁₂]^4? is a tetradentate bridging ligand linking two [M(M′L)₂]²⁺ fragments, producing centroantisymmetric heterometallic hexanuclear [M₂M′₄] complexes. The variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements (2–300?K) of 1 and 2 show weak antiferromagnetic interactions.     

Synthesis,structure and fluorescence of a novel three-dimensional inorganic–organic hybrid polymer constructed from trimetallic clusters and mixed carboxylate ligands

A new inorganic–organic hybrid framework coordination polymer, Cd₃(BDC)_0.5(BTC)₂(DMF)(H₂O)·3DMF·H₃O·H₂O 1, in which two carboxylate ligands, 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid (H₂BDC) and 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid (H₃BTC), coordinate with cadmium ions, has been synthesized under mild conditions and its structure solved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Polymer 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group P2₁/c (No. 14) with a=15.750(3) Å, b=14.501(3) Å, c=19.363(4) Å, β=113.67(3)°, V=4050.4(14) Å³, Z=4, R1=0.0374 and wR2=0.1148. Its structure revealed that the nine vertices of the secondary building units are linked by benzene rings from both H₃BTC and H₂BDC ligands to form a 3D network with 10×10 Å channels along [001] direction. Complex 1 is characterized by inductively coupled plasma analysis, powder XRD, infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. Polymer 1 exhibits intense fluorescence at 358 and 377 nm with λ_excitation=208 nm in the solid state at room temperature.     

δ 15N measurement of organic and inorganic substances by EA-IRMS: a speciation-dependent procedure

Little attention has been paid so far to the influence of the chemical nature of the substance when measuring δ ¹⁵N by elemental analysis (EA)–isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). Although the bulk nitrogen isotope analysis of organic material is not to be questioned, literature from different disciplines using IRMS provides hints that the quantitative conversion of nitrate into nitrogen presents difficulties. We observed abnormal series of δ ¹⁵N values of laboratory standards and nitrates. These unexpected results were shown to be related to the tailing of the nitrogen peak of nitrate-containing compounds. A series of experiments were set up to investigate the cause of this phenomenon, using ammonium nitrate (NH₄NO₃) and potassium nitrate (KNO₃) samples, two organic laboratory standards as well as the international secondary reference materials IAEA-N1, IAEA-N2—two ammonium sulphates [(NH₄)₂SO₄]—and IAEA-NO-3, a potassium nitrate. In experiment 1, we used graphite and vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) as additives to observe if they could enhance the decomposition (combustion) of nitrates. In experiment 2, we tested another elemental analyser configuration including an additional section of reduced copper in order to see whether or not the tailing could originate from an incomplete reduction process. Finally, we modified several parameters of the method and observed their influence on the peak shape, δ ¹⁵N value and nitrogen content in weight percent of nitrogen of the target substances. We found the best results using mere thermal decomposition in helium, under exclusion of any oxygen. We show that the analytical procedure used for organic samples should not be used for nitrates because of their different chemical nature. We present the best performance given one set of sample introduction parameters for the analysis of nitrates, as well as for the ammonium sulphate IAEA-N1 and IAEA-N2 reference materials. We discuss these results considering the thermochemistry of the substances and the analytical technique itself. The results emphasise the difference in chemical nature of inorganic and organic samples, which necessarily involves distinct thermochemistry when analysed by EA-IRMS. Therefore, they should not be processed using the same analytical procedure. This clearly impacts on the way international secondary reference materials should be used for the calibration of organic laboratory standards.