Synthesis and crystallization kinetics of the novel ion exchanger Na<Subscript>4</Subscript>Ti<Subscript>4</Subscript>Si<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>10</Subscript> for cesium removal

Thermodynamics and crystallization kinetics of the hydrothermal synthesis of Na₄Ti₄Si₃O₁₀ (NaTS) were systemically studied by both experiments and model simulation. Experimental results showed that the curve of crystallinity with time was a characteristic signmoid in the shape that indicated the crystallization of Na₄Ti₄Si₃O₁₀ was a typical spontaneous nucleation process on the laboratory scale. Crystallization of NaTS belongs to the liquid-liquid transformation mechanism and the reaction is endothermic (ΔH = 15.3 kJ/mol). A mathematic model of crystallization kinetics was developed to simulate the synthesis of NaTS. Runge-Kutta and simplex methods were adopted to solve the partial differential equations. Model results fitted well with the experimental data and showed that the synthesis process belongs to spontaneous nucleation and crystal growth. Moreover, the very small crystal growth constant (5.6·10⁻⁷) and gel dissolution constant (7.0·10⁻⁷) indicate they are the rate-limiting steps of the whole synthesis process.     

Effects of double substitution on the thermodynamic stabilities of nitrogen radicals

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Nucleation mechanisms and speciation of metal oxide clusters

The self-assembly mechanisms of polyoxometalates (POMs) are still a matter of discussion owing to the difficult task of identifying all the chemical species and reactions involved. We present a new computational methodology that identifies the reaction mechanism for the formation of metal-oxide clusters and provides a speciation model from first-principles and in an automated manner. As a first example, we apply our method to the formation of octamolybdate. In our model, we include variables such as pH, temperature and ionic force because they have a determining effect on driving the reaction to a specific product. Making use of graphs, we set up and solved 2.8 × 10⁵ multi-species chemical equilibrium (MSCE) non-linear equations and found which set of reactions fitted best with the experimental data available. The agreement between computed and experimental speciation diagrams is excellent. Furthermore, we discovered a strong linear dependence between DFT and empirical formation constants, which opens the door for a systematic rescaling.

The self-assembly mechanisms of polyoxometalates (POMs) are still a matter of discussion owing to the difficult task of identifying all the chemical species and reactions involved. The POMSimulator deals with that complexity in an automated manner.     

Influence of ultrasonic field on microcystins produced by bloom-forming algae

Under the background of algae removal and growth inhibition by ultrasonic irradiation, the effects of ultrasonic irradiation on removal of Microcystis, the concentration variation of microcystins (MC) produced by Microcystis in Microcystis suspension, and sonochemical degradation of microcystins in water, were studied in the paper. The results showed that ultrasonic irradiation could efficiently inhibit the growth of Microcystis, and ultrasonic irradiation shorter than 5 min would not introduce the increase of microcystins dissolved in Microcystis suspension simultaneity. Also, microcystins dissolved in Microcystis suspension would not increase as ultrasonic power increasing. Further research showed that microcystins were effectively degraded in ultrasonic fields. After 20 min ultrasonic irradiation at 150 kHz and 30 W, the removal rate of microcystins reached 70%.     

Controlling the cohesion of cement paste

The main source of cohesion in cement paste is the nanoparticles of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H), which are formed upon the dissolution of the original tricalcium silicate (C(3)S). The interaction between highly charged C-S-H particles in the presence of divalent calcium counterions is strongly attractive because of ion-ion correlations and a negligible entropic repulsion. Traditional double-layer theory based on the Poisson-Boltzmann equation becomes qualitatively incorrect in these systems. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations in the framework of the primitive model of electrolyte solution is then an alternative, where ion-ion correlations are properly included. In addition to divalent calcium counterions, commercial Portland cement contains a variety of other ions (sodium, potassium, sulfate, etc.). The influence of high concentrations of these ionic additives as well as pH on the stability of the final concrete construction is investigated through MC simulations in a grand canonical ensemble. The results show that calcium ions have a strong physical affinity (in opposition to specific chemical adsorption) to the negatively charged silicate particles of interest (C-S-H, C(3)S). This gives concrete surprisingly robust properties, and the cement cohesion is unaffected by the addition of a large variety of additives provided that the calcium concentration and the C-S-H surface charge are high enough. This general phenomenon is also semiquantitatively reproduced from a simple analytical model. The simulations also predict that the affinity of divalent counterions for a highly and oppositely charged surface sometimes is high enough to cause a "charge reversal" of the apparent surface charge in agreement with electrophoretic measurements on both C(3)S and C-S-H particles.     

Recent progress in two-photon small molecule fluorescent probes for enzymes

This review aims to provide a summary of the progress in TP small molecule fluorescent probes for enzymes in recent years and displays the main fluorescent mechanisms that have been applied to design probes.     

Band structure studies on crystalline C60, Ca3C60, and Ca5C60

The three-dimensional EHMO crystal orbital calculations for crystalline C₆₀, Ca₃C₆₀, and Ca₅C₆₀ are reported. The ground states of both undoped solid C₆₀ and partially doped Ca₃C₆₀ are found to be insulating with an indirect energy gap of 1.2 and 0.5 eV, respectively. In contrast, Ca₅C₆₀ forms a metallic conducting phase with a set of three half-filled bands crossing the Fermi level, which is found to be located close to a peak of the density of state. The character of crystal orbitals near the Fermi level for both Ca₃C₆₀ and Ca₅C₆₀ is completely carbonlike. In both cases, the Ca atoms are almost fully ionized and C₆₀ molecules form a stable negative charge state with six to 10 additional electrons. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Dynamic light-scattering analysis of the electrostatic interaction of hexahistidine-tagged cytochrome P450 enzyme with semiconductor quantum dots.

Currently, there is great interest in the development of methods suitable for determining the stoichiometry of biomolecules attached to nanoparticles. We describe the use of the dynamic light-scattering technique (DLS) to determine the stoichiometry of the protein cytochrome P450(BSbeta) attached to CdS and CdSe quantum dots (QDs). The enzyme-conjugated QDs have different diffusion characteristics compared to the QD and enzyme precursors, expressed in their size, scattering intensity as well as zeta-potential values. The significant enhancement of the scattering intensity of QDs observed upon conjugation with the P450(BSbeta) due to the refractive-index increment and the systematic variation in zeta potential resulting from charge neutralization of the anionic QDs by the cationic histidine-tagged P450(BSbeta) have been used for stoichiometry determination.     

模式识别—人工神经网络在化学中的若干新应用

本文通过我们应用模式识别－人工神经网络方法预报新化合物、熔盐相图以及复杂化学反应体系的研究，展示应用模式识别－人工神经网络方法与物理化学理论相结合，研究化学现象的可能性和应用价值。     

Determination of hydrogen peroxide in a flow system with microperoxidase as catalyst for the luminol chemiluminescence reaction

Hydrogen peroxide is determined by a chemiluminescence method with a reagent containing 100 μM luminol and 3 μM microperoxidase at pH 10 (carbonate buffer). Microperoxidase is superior to hematin as a catalyst. The method uses an automated flow injection system with a throughput of 2 samples per minute. The log—log calibration plot is linear (slope 1.3) from the detection limit, 3 × 10^-9 M up to 10^-5 M H₂O₂. The background emission is low. Impurities in the carrier stream and from some plastics may cause elevated background unless precautions are taken.