Ultra-trace determination of thallium(I) using a nanocomposite consisting of magnetite,halloysite nanotubes and dibenzo-18-crown-6 for preconcentration prior to its quantitation by ET-AAS

A nanocomposite modified with dibenzo-18-crown-6 was synthesized and applied as a new sorbent for the preconcentration of thallium(I) via ultrasound assisted-solid phase extraction. This extraction step was combined with electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry to determine ultra-trace amounts of thallium(I). The nanocomposite was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction spectrometry, field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Under the optimized conditions, a dynamic linear range from 7.0 to 435 ng L^?1, a detection limit of 1.8 ng L^?1 and a quantification limit of 6.0 ng L^?1 were obtained. Also, the intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations for 20.0 ng mL^?1 Tl(I) were calculated as ±4.8% and ±5.1%, respectively. The adsorbent was applied to the determination of thallium(I) in the environmental, biological and standard samples with satisfactory results.

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Graphical abstract A magnetic nanocomposite was synthesized as adsorbent from halloysite nanotubes and a crown ether. Tl(I) ions were extracted selectively and determined by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry.

     

Stoichiometric and catalytic secondary O-atom transfer by Fe(III)-NO2 complexes derived from a planar tetradentate non-heme ligand: reminiscence of heme chemistry

An Fe(III) nitro complex [(bpb)Fe(NO2)(py)] (2) of the tetradentate ligand 1,2-bis(pyridine-2-carboxamido)benzene (H2bpb, H is the dissociable amide proton) has been synthesized via addition of NaNO2 to [(bpb)Fe(py)2](ClO4) (1) in MeCN or DMF. This structurally characterized Fe(III) nitro complex exhibits its nuNO2 at 1384 cm(-1). The reaction of 1 with 2 equiv of Et4NX (X = Cl-, Br-) affords the high-spin complexes (Et4N)[(bpb)Fe(Cl2)] (3) and (Et4N)[(bpb)Fe(Br)2] (4), respectively. The structure of 4 has been determined. The addition of an equimolar amount of Et4NCl, Et4NBr, or Et4NCN to a solution of 2 affords the mixed-ligand complexes (Et4N)[(bpb)Fe(NO2)(Cl)] (5), (Et4N)[(bpb)Fe(NO2)(Br)] (6), and (Et4N)[(bpb)Fe(NO2)(CN)] (7), respectively. These complexes are all low spin with isotropic g values of 2.15. Under anaerobic conditions, the reactions of 5-7 with Ph3P in MeCN afford the five-coordinate {Fe-NO}7 nitrosyl [(bpb)Fe(NO)] (and Ph3PO) via secondary oxygen-atom (O-atom) transfer. The O-atom transfer to Ph3P by 5-7 becomes catalytic in the presence of dioxygen with transfer rates in the range of 1.70-13.59 x 10-3 min(-1). The O-atom transfer rates and turnover numbers (5 > 6 > 7) are reflective of the strength of the axial donors (Cl- > Br- > CN-). The catalytic efficiencies of complexes 5-7 are limited due to formation of the thermodynamic end products [(bpb)Fe(X)2]- (where X = Cl- for 5, Br- for 6, and CN- for 7).     

Spectroscopic characterization and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ab initio</Emphasis> calculations of new diazaphosphole and diazaphosphorinane

Phosphoryl chloride is used as a starting material to synthesize new diazaphosphole, (1) and diazaphosphorinane, (2). The products are characterized by ¹H, ¹³C, ³¹P NMR, and IR spectroscopy. A high value ² J(PNH) = 17.0 Hz, 17.2 Hz is measured for two non-equivalent NH protons of endocyclic nitrogen atoms in compound 1, while it greatly decreases to 4.5 Hz in 2. Also, great amounts are obtained for two ² J(P,C) as well as two ³ J(P,C) in the ¹³C NMR spectrum of 1, but they are zero in 2. Here, the effect of ring strain and ring size on the structural and spectroscopic parameters is observed. The ³¹P NMR spectra reveal that δ(³¹P) of compound 1 is far much more downfield (12.63 ppm) relative to that of compound 2 (−10.39 ppm). Furthermore, ab initio quantum chemical calculations are performed to optimize the structures of these molecules by density functional theory (B3LYP) and Hartree-Fock (HF) methods, using the standard 6−31+G** basis set. The stabilization energies are calculated by the equation ΔE _{stabilization} = E _molecule − ΣE _i , where i = atom. To obtain the atomic hybridizations, NBO computations are made at the B3LYP/6−31+G** level. Also, by NMR calculations the ¹H, ¹³C, ³¹P chemical shifts are obtained and compared with the experimental ones.     

The Influence of Bridge Type on the Activity of Supported Metallocene Catalysts in Ethylene Polymerization简

Ethylene polymerization was carried out by immobilization of rac-ethylenebis(1-indenyl)zirconium dichloride(Et(Ind)2 ZrCl2) and rac-dimethylsilylbis(1-indenyl)zirconium dichloride(Me2 Si(Ind)2 ZrCl2) preactivated with methylaluminoxane(MAO) on calcinated silica at different temperatures. Polymerizations of ethylene were conducted at different temperatures to find the optimized polymerization temperature for maximum activity of the catalyst. The Me2 Si bridge catalyst showed higher activity at the lower polymerization temperature compared to the Et bridge catalyst. The highest catalytic activities were obtained at temperatures about 50 °C and 70 °C for Me2 Si(Ind)2 ZrCl2 /MAO and Et(Ind)2 ZrCl2 /MAO catalysts systems, respectively. Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy results and polymerization activity results confirmed that the best temperature for calcinating silica was about 450 °C for both catalysts systems. The melting points of the produced polyethylene were about 130 °C, which could be attributed to the linear structure of HDPE.     

The effect of glutamic acid side chain on acidity constant of lysine in beta-sheet: A density functional theory study

In this work, the possibility of proton transfer between side chain of lysine and glutamic acid in peptide of Glu^?-Ala-Lys⁺ was demonstrated using density functional theory (DFT). We have shown that the proton transfer takes place between side chain of glutamic and lysine residues through the hydrogen bond formation. The structures of transition state for proton transfer reaction were detected in gas and solution phases. Our kinetic studies show that the proton transfer reaction rate in gas phase is higher than solution phase. The ionization constant (pK _a) value of lysine residue in peptide was estimated 1.039 which is lower than intrinsic pK _a of lysine amino acid.     

Study on In-Situ Compatibilization of the PP/PA6 Blends in Twin Screw Extruders

The in-situ compatibilization of PP/PA6 blend was studied in a twin screw extruder. The maleic anhydride (MA) content, peroxide concentration, shear rate and feeding order were among the variables investigated. Degree of grafting of samples collected prior to feeding of PA6 into the extruder was measured using titration combined with FTIR technique. From the SEM results it was found that the increasing of initial MA concentration led to larger PA particle size which could be related to secondary reactions between excess MA and PA. The melt linear viscoelastic measurements performed on the blend samples and the obtained relaxation time spectra showed shorter form relaxation time and interfacial relaxation time for one-step compatibilized sample compared to the sample prepared by the two-step method with the same degree of grafting. This was attributed to the stronger interfacial interaction of the one-step compatibilized blend samples which could be resulted from greater efficiency of grafting and/or compatibilization. These results were supported by SEM results which showed smaller particle size for the one-step compatibilized samples. It was demonstrated that melt linear viscoelastic measurement could provide a great insight into understanding the compatibilization process in twin screw extruder.     

Microextraction methods for the determination of phthalate esters in liquid samples: A review

1,2‐Benzenedicarboxylic acid esters, commonly referred to as phthalate esters, form a group of compounds that are mainly used as plasticizers in polymers. Because phthalate esters are not chemically bound to the plastics, they can be released easily from products and migrate into the food or water that comes into direct contact. Due to their widespread use, they are considered as ubiquitous environmental pollutants. Phthalate esters are regarded as endocrine disrupting compounds by means of their carcinogenic effect. Phthalate esters can be analyzed by gas chromatography or high‐performance liquid chromatography, however, their sensitivity and selectivity limit their direct use for determination of phthalates at very low level of concentrations exist in environmental samples with complex matrices. Therefore a sample pretreatment prior to their analysis is necessary. In this review, the historical development and overview of sample preparation methodologies have briefly been discussed and a comprehensive application of these methods in combination with different analytical techniques for preconcentration and determination of phthalate esters in various matrices have been summarized. Finally, a critical comparison of the different approaches in terms of enrichment factors achieved, extraction efficiency, precision, selectivity and simplicity of operation is provided.     

A microwave-assisted extraction method combined with magnetic ionic liquid-based dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction for the extraction of chloramine–T from fish samples prior to its determination by high-performance liquid chromatography

In the present work, a combination of microwave-assisted extraction with magnetic ionic liquid–based dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction was developed for the extraction of chloramine–T from fish samples. In this method, the sample was mixed with a hydrochloric acid solution and exposed to microwave irradiations. By doing so, chloramine–T was converted to p–toluenesulfonamide and extracted from the sample into an aqueous phase. Then, a mixture of acetonitrile (as a dispersive solvent) and magnetic ionic liquid (as an extraction solvent) was rapidly injected into the obtained solution. In the following, the magnetic solvent droplets including the extracted analytes were isolated from the aqueous solution in the presence of an external magnetic field and after diluting with acetonitrile injected into high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with a diode array detector. Under the optimum extraction conditions, high extraction recovery (78%), low limits of detection (7.2 ng/g) and quantification (23.9 ng/g), good repeatability (relative standard deviations ≤5.8 and 6.8% for intra– and inter-day precisions, respectively), and wide linear range (23.9–1000 ng/g) were obtained. Finally, various fish samples marketed in Tabriz city (East Azarbaijan, Iran) were analyzed with the suggested method.     

Nonlinear polarization bistability in optical nanowires

Using the full vectorial nonlinear Schr?dinger equations that describe nonlinear processes in isotropic optical nanowires, we show that there exist structural anisotropic nonlinearities that lead to unstable polarization states that exhibit periodic bistable behavior. We analyze and solve the nonlinear equations for continuous waves by means of a Lagrangian formulation and show that the system has bistable states and also kink solitons that are limiting forms of the bistable states.