Photoinduced electron transport process in electrochemical cell I. Phenomenological description

The process of electron transport plays an essential role in the fundamental phenomena of life like photosynthesis, respiration and vision as well as in photoelectronic devices. However, the molecular mechanisms of the electron way and factors governing the transport rate in such systems are still unclear. Several groups have reported theoretical approaches for searching the mechanisms by using statistical mechanics, coherent dynamics and quantum mechanics. The current density vector inside the semiconducting layer is determined. In this paper we consider the problem of transport of electron promoted in the electrochemical cell constructed of two electrodes with the dye molecules immersed in. We describe the process of electron promotion by refractive light wave on the vacuum–semiconductor boundary as well as on the semiconducting electrode and the dye molecule layer in terms of extended phenomenological electrodynamics formalism. The results of our theoretical model show that such a theoretical approach will give more information on the mechanism of electron transport and will give insight in the determination of some electric features of materials.     

The influence of the salt concentration on the aggregation behavior of viscoelastic detergents

The influence of excess NaCl on the properties of viscoelastic detergent solutions of Cetypyridiniumsalicylate (CPySal) has been studied by static and dynamic light scattering, electric birefringence and rheological measurements. It is obeserved that the rodlike micelles of length L which are present in these solutions and which are responsible for their elastic properties grow in length with the increase of the NaCl concentration. As long as the rods are shorter than their mean distance, their length can be determined from the rheological and electric birefringence measurements. For very small shear fields these solutions behave as Newtonian fluids. The viscosity of the solution increases strongly when the rods begin to overlap. Solutions with overlapping rods are elastic. It is postulated from the results that the cmc_II (the critical concentration above which rods are present) and the length L of the rods are partially determined by the intermicellar interaction energy. It is furthermore postulated that this intermicellar interaction energy has an influence on the polydispersity of the rods and seems to make the rods relatively monodisperse.     

Chemical analysis of rain and snow samples from Chernogolovk/Russia by IC, TXRF and ICP–MS

 Data are reported for a first measurement campaign for a great number of cations (the range of concentrations for main components is given in ng/mL: Na:<70–880; Mg: 12–160; Al:<7–120; K: 200–1600; NH₄ ⁺: 2500–9000; Ca: 300–2500; Fe:<140–1200; Zn: 20–320) and anions (HCOO^-: 100–1800; CH₃COO^-: 400–14500; C₂O^2- ₄: <100–460; NO^- ₂: <20–55; NO^- ₃: 660–9900; SO^2- ₃:<100–1150; SO₄ ^2-: 450–19700; Cl^-: 170–3200) in rain and snow samples of the Chernogolovka region 80 km northeast of the centre of Moscow. These data serve as a first assessment of the situation of the atmosphere in this region. For the determination of fluoride, formate, acetate, nitrite, bromide, nitrate, sulfite, and sulfate by IC, a relevant development of the method was carried out. For some metallic cations, a critical quality control was achieved by parallel measurements with ICP-MS, TXRF, and IC. Furthermore, time resolved measurements were performed for a rain event. Filtration experiments were undertaken to differentiate between the presence of a series of elements and species in liquid or solid state in the collected aqueous samples. Received: 25 July 1996 / Revised: 26 September 1996 / Accepted: 13 October 1996     

Is laser-ablation-ICP-MS an alternative to solution analysis of solid samples?

The basic obstacles for the general use of laser-ablation(LA)-ICP-MS in analytical laboratories are connected with its reproducibility and calibration. A mathematical relation deduced from the correlation function of the analytical signals allows the estimation of the number of craters needed for representative analyses. The procedure was applied to different samples such as manganese crusts and soils. The ion intensities of the major elements in the manganese crusts and nodules were used as internal standards, improving relative standard deviations by factors between 2 and 3. Selected samples of wood and manganese crusts were analyzed by LA-ICP-MS and the results compared with those obtained by solution ICP-MS. The agreement of the values is within the 95% confidence limits. Powdered reference materials and, in the case of wood analysis, cellulose doped with standard solutions were used for the calibration.     

Sodium and Calcium Laurylamidomethylsulfate: Aqueous Micellar Phases, Their Properties, and a Precipitate of Vesicles

A new anionic surfactant (M-LAMS) that is capable of forming intermolecular hydrogen bonds was investigated. Inverse solubilities of Na and Ca salts were found. Critical micelle concentration and aggregation behavior were determined by surface tension, light scattering, electric birefringence, and SANS measurements. It is found that the Na salt forms globular micelles while the Ca salt forms rodlike micelles. The phase behavior of the micellar solutions with increasing cosurfactant concentration was also studied. It is observed that 100 mM Na-LAMS solutions in the presence of 100 mM CaCl(2) undergo several phase transformations with increasing n-hexanol concentration. We found not only the expected micellar L(1) phase and a lamellar phase at concentrations quite low for this kind of system, but also a novel phase: At a cosurfactant/surfactant ratio x(C) of 1.2 a white precipitate is formed at the bottom of the sample. With increasing ratio x(C) the precipitate dissolves into a liquid crystalline L(alpha) phase that at x(C)=3.2 is transformed into an L(3) or sponge phase. Investigation by FF-TEM, light microscopy, and SANS shows that the precipitate consists of agglomerated polydisperse multilamellar vesicles. The vesicles consist of densely packed bilayers that contain little water. The bilayer thickness is about 20 ? and independent of its composition whereas the interlamellar distance is strikingly linked to concentrations of cosurfactant (surfactant/cosurfactant ratio) and electrolyte. With increasing cosurfactant content, the bilayers become less rigid and resulting thermal undulations force the membranes apart and weaken their interactions until a common L(alpha) phase is formed. This transition is an example of a bonding-nonbonding transition of membranes. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

High regio-, chemo-, and stereoselectivity via low-temperature 4 + 3 cycloadditions. Convergent synthesis of multifunctionalized vinylmetals (M = Si, Sn) and S-vinyl benzenecarbothioates

A series of enantiomerically pure 8-oxabicyclo[3.2.1]oct-6-en-3-ones functionalized in the unsaturated two-carbon bridge has been prepared by the title reaction. Carbocation reactivity has been fined-tuned at -95 degrees C and adjusted to diene nucleophilicity. Conventional electrophilic substitution of 3-silylated and 3-stannylated furan is suppressed in favor of the rapid 4 + 3 cycloaddition mode. In the case of cycloadduct 13A, stereoselectivity (17:1) is perfectly matched to regioselectivity (17:1). High stereoselection as well as unprecedented regioselection and chemoselection is attributed to the low-temperature cycloaddition protocol and the design of chiral auxiliary and tether.     

Electron-deficient bonding in rhomboid rings

The bonding environment of boron is usually thought about in terms of localized 2c-2e/3c-2e bonding (as in diborane) or completely delocalized polyhedral bonding (as in B(12)H(12)(2)(-)). Recently, a number of boron compounds having a rhomboidal B(4) framework have been synthesized; these show an amazing variation in their skeletal electron count, one that cannot be interpreted in familiar ways. In this report, we systematically explore the origin of the range of electron counts in these compounds. We find that four skeletal MOs are primarily responsible for keeping the B(4) skeleton together. As a subunit in a macropolyhedral environment, termed rhombo-B(4), such an arrangement of B atoms deviates from Wade's rule by three electron pairs (if treated as a distorted arachno system derived from B(6)H(6)(2)(-)). Aided by this analysis, we examine the nature of bonding in Na(3)B(20), where the rhombo-B(4) unit forms linear chains fusing closo-B(7) units. Theory suggests that this structure requires one more electron per formula unit for optimal bonding. Finally, we study the nature of bonding in beta-SiB(3), where silicon atoms also adopt the rhomboid framework.     

Biosynthesis of 4-methylproline in cyanobacteria: cloning of nosE and nosF genes and biochemical characterization of the encoded dehydrogenase and reductase activities

The biosynthesis of the unusual amino acid 4-methylproline in the Nostoc genus of cyanobacteria was investigated on the genetic and enzymatic level. Two genes involved in the biosynthesis were cloned and the corresponding enzymes, a zinc-dependent long-chain dehydrogenase and a Delta(1)-pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid (P5C) reductase homologue, were overexpressed in Escherichia coli and biochemically characterized. Putative substrates were synthesized to test enzyme substrate specificities, and deuterium labeling studies were carried out to reveal the stereospecificities of the enzymatic reactions with respect to the substrates as well as to the coenzymes.