Determination of the leaching of polymeric ion-selective membrane components by stripping voltammetry

This paper focuses on the quantitative determination of the loss of the components from plastic membranes of ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) during contact with aqueous bathing solutions. The leaching processes, which affect the ISE responses, are rarely characterized by independent methods. For this purpose, differential pulse cathodic stripping voltammetry (DP CSV) is used. This method, owing to its high sensitivity, acceptable recovery and accuracy, is a good tool to characterize the kinetics of leakage of the lipophilic salts. Sodium tetraphenylborate (NaTPB) leakage from the PVC-based sodium-selective membrane containing two different plasticizers, o-nitrophenyl octyl ether (o-NPOE) or di(2-ethylhexyl) sebacate (DOS) is presented. Correlation between the rate of leaching of the lipophilic salt and dielectric constants of the plasticizers is observed. The data obtained by DP CSV correlate well with potentiometric and electrochemical impedance responses. The observed outflow of TPB⁻ is associated with decreasing potentiometric sensitivity to sodium and increasing bulk membrane resistance.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">P</Emphasis>-Acylphosphonium salts and their vinyloges — application in synthesis

Review with 101 refs. of progress in synthetic applications and properties of P-acylphosphonium salts including acylation via P-acylphosphonium salts, enantioselective acylation using chiral phosphine ligands, nucleophilic (β)-oniovinylation, and reaction involving vinyloges of P-acylphosphonium salts formed by treatment conjugated alkenoates or alkynoates with phosphines.     

Biosynthesis of methanol from methane by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Methylosinus trichosporium</Emphasis> OB3b

Methanol has recently attracted significant interest in the energetic field. Current technology for the conversion of methane to methanol is based on energy intensive endothermic steam reforming followed by catalytic conversion into methanol. The one-step method performed at very low temperatures (35°C) is methane oxidation to methanol via bacteria. The aim of this work was to examine the role of copper in the one-step methane oxidation to methanol by utilizing whole cells of Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b bacteria. From the results obtained it was found that copper concentration in the medium influences the rate of bacterial biomass growth or methanol production during the process of methane oxidation to methanol. The presented results indicate that the process of methane oxidation to methanol by Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b bacteria is most efficient when the mineral medium contains 1.0 × 10⁻⁶ mol dm⁻³ of copper. Under these conditions, a satisfactory growth of biomass was also achieved. Presented at the 35th International Conference of the Slovak Society of Chemical Engineering, Tatranské Matliare, 26–30 May 2008.     

Voltammetry as a Reference Method in the Preparation Process of Plant Control Material Containing As,Pt and Tl

Voltammetric methods are very suitable and versatile techniques for the simultaneous metal determination in complex matrices after thorough mineralization. In the presented work, voltammetric methods were used as reference methods in the preparation process of control plant material. Determination of As, Pt, Tl and other elements (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) in plant material prepared in our laboratory is described. For quantitative determination of the elements two independent analytical methods were applied. To obtain plant material containing As, Pt and Tl white mustard (Sinapis alba L.) was hydroponically cultivated under controlled conditions in a nutrient solution with addition of As, Pt and Tl salts.     

Nanotube junctions and the genus of multi-tori

Carbon nanotube junctions can be modeled by fullerene spanning or by using some operations on map. They can self-assemble into more complex structures, such as finite or infinite high genera multi-tori. Four junctions of tetrahedral and octahedral symmetry, covered by patches consisting only of hexagons, were designed. Their stability is discussed in terms of total energy, evaluated at Hartree-Fock (HF) level of theory, HOMO-LUMO gap, strain energy, HOMA index of aromaticity and the Kekulé structure count. Vibrational spectra of these junctions are given as well. A new multi-toroidal structure, of octahedral symmetry, is presented for the first time. The study on topology of the multi-tori herein designed revealed the relation of these structures with the genus of their embedding surface.     

Thermal and magnetic behaviour of 5-chloro-2-nitrobenzoates of Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II)

5-Chloro-2-nitrobenzoates of Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) having formulae Co(C₇H₃O₄NCl)₂·3H₂O, Ni(C₇H₃O₄NCl)₂·3H₂O and Cu(C₇H₃O₄NCl)₂·2H₂O, were obtained as polycrystalline compounds. From the IR spectra analysis of complexes, sodium salt and according to the spectroscopic criteria the carboxylate ions seem bidentate groups. The complexes of Co(II) and Cu(II) lose the water of crystallization in one step at 363–523 K. The Ni(II) complex loses it in two stages in the ranges of 323–378 and 378–523 K, respectively. The compounds follow the Curie–Weiss law. The magnetic moment values experimentally determined change from 4.53 to 4.55 μ_B for Co(II) complex, from 2.34 to 2.97 μ_B for Ni(II) 5-chloro-2-nitrobenzoate and from 1.80 to 1.90 μ_B for Cu(II) complex.     

N-Hydroxyphthalimide in combination with Cu(II), Co(II) or Mn(II) salts as catalytic systems for the oxidation of isopropyl-aromatic hydrocarbons with oxygen

Catalytic systems consisting of N-hydroxyphthalimide in combination with copper(II), cobalt(II) and manganese(II) acetylacetonate, acetate or chloride were applied to the oxidation of cumene with oxygen. The use of these catalytic systems decreases cumyl hydroperoxide selectivity as a result of the decomposition reaction of hydroperoxide to 2-phenyl-2-propanol and acetophenone. It has been demonstrated that the use of N-hydroxyphthalimide in combination with copper salts at 60 °C results in high alcohol content whereas ketone is the major product at 90 °C. The results can be used to develop a method for alcohol or ketone synthesis from other isopropyl-aromatic hydrocarbons.     

Crystal structure of lead(II) acetylacetonate and the structure of the acetylacetone solvated lead(II) ion in solution studied by large-angle X-ray scattering

The crystal structure of bis(acetylacetonato)lead(II) and the structure of the acetylacetone solvated lead(II) ion in solution have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and large-angle X-ray scattering (LAXS), respectively. The acetylacetone is deprotonated and acts as a bidentate anionic ligand (acac-) in the solid Pb(acac)2 compound. The lead(II) ion binds four oxygen atoms strongly in a nearly flat pyramidal configuration with Pb-O bond lengths in the range 2.32-2.37 A, and additionally three oxygens from neighboring complexes at 3.01-3.26 A. Acetylacetone acts as a solvent (Hacac) at dissolution of lead(II) trifluoromethanesulfonate forming a pentasolvate with a mean Pb-O bond distance of 2.724(5) A. The 6s2 lone electron pair on the lead(II) ion becomes stereochemically active in the crystalline acetylacetonate complex, while it is inactive in the solvate in solution. The solution was also analysed using IR and 1H NMR spectroscopy.     

Efficient synthesis of meso-substituted corroles in a H2O-MeOH mixture

New and efficient conditions for the synthesis of meso-substituted corroles were developed. The first step, involving the reaction of aldehydes with pyrrole, was carried out in a water-methanol mixture in the presence of HCl. A relatively narrow distribution of aldehyde-pyrrole oligocondensates was obtained through careful control of their solubility in the reaction medium. After thorough optimization of various reaction parameters (cosolvent, reagent, and acid concentration), high yields of bilanes were obtained. Additionally, the bilane derived from 4-cyanobenzaldehyde was isolated, and the oxidative macrocyclization reaction was performed under various reaction conditions (different solvents, different concentrations, and various oxidants). As a result, triphenylcorrole was obtained in the highest yield (32%) reported to date. The scope and limitations studied showed that this method was particularly efficient for moderately reactive aldehydes and those bearing electron-donating groups (yields 14-27%). Using these conditions, corroles bearing strongly electron-donating groups were obtained for the first time. In addition, it was found that the reaction of unhindered dipyrromethanes with aldehydes under analogous conditions afforded trans-A2B-corroles in very high yields (45-56%; 8-fold higher than previously reported) without scrambling. The fact that scrambling was not observed in this reaction despite a very high HCl concentration (0.3 M) is unprecedented. Detailed studies on the oxidation of bilane, derived from sterically hindered dipyrromethane, allowed us to unequivocally establish that the yield of macrocyclization is insensitive to the concentration. It was found the 1H NMR spectra of corroles in deuterated TFA gave very sharp signals.