Site-specific rate coefficients for reaction of OH with ethanol from 298 to 900 K

The rate coefficients for reactions of OH with ethanol and partially deuterated ethanols have been measured by laser flash photolysis/laser-induced fluorescence over the temperature range 298-523 K and 5-100 Torr of helium bath gas. The rate coefficient, k(1.1), for reaction of OH with C(2)H(5)OH is given by the expression k(1.1) = 1.06 × 10(-22)T(3.58)?exp(1126/T) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1), and the values are in good agreement with previous literature. Site-specific rate coefficients were determined from the measured kinetic isotope effects. Over the temperature region 298-523 K abstraction from the hydroxyl site is a minor channel. The reaction is dominated by abstraction of the α hydrogens (92 ± 8)% at 298 K decreasing to (76 ± 9)% with the balance being abstraction at the β position where the errors are 2σ. At higher temperatures decomposition of the CH(2)CH(2)OH product from β abstraction complicates the kinetics. From 575 to 650 K, biexponential decays were observed, allowing estimates to be made for k(1.1) and the fractional production of CH(2)CH(2)OH. Above 650 K, decomposition of the CH(2)CH(2)OH product was fast on the time scale of the measured kinetics and removal of OH corresponds to reaction at the α and OH sites. The kinetics agree (within ±20%) with previous measurements. Evidence suggests that reaction at the OH site is significant at our higher temperatures: 47-53% at 865 K.     

Optimization of the synthesis of a hyper-crosslinked stationary phases: a new generation of highly efficient, acid-stable hyper-crosslinked materials for HPLC

A new family of hyper-crosslinked (HC) phases was recently developed for use under very aggressive conditions including those encountered in ultra-fast, high-temperature two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2-DLC). This type of stationary phase has improved acid stability compared with the most acid-stable, commercial RPLC phases. Kinetic studies are here reported that allow optimization of reaction time and crosslinking reagent concentrations used to prepare such HC phases. We have determined that the Friedel-Crafts chemistry used to prepare HC phases is nearly complete within about 15 min. Thus, reaction time for each step of the synthesis was greatly reduced from the multihour reactions used previously without sacrificing the stationary phases' acid stability and separation performance. Results from elemental analysis of the finished particles were combined with LC data to provide insights regarding the properties of these HC phases. This new generation of acid stable HC phases, with their attractive chromatographic properties, should be very useful in the separations of bases or biological analytes in acidic media, especially at elevated temperatures.     

Effects of first dimension eluent composition in two-dimensional liquid chromatography

Comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography (LC×LC) has received a great deal of attention during the past few years because of its extraordinary resolving power. The biggest advantage of this technique is that very high peak capacities can be generated in a relatively short time. Numerous approaches to maximize the peak capacity in LC×LC have been employed. In this work we investigate the impact of the first dimension mobile phase on selectivity. LC×LC has several potential advantages over one-dimensional LC (1DLC) in that unconventional solvents, at least in reversed-phase LC, can be used. For example, solvents which strongly adsorb in the UV in the first dimension are not problematic in LC×LC. This so because the UV detector is placed after the second dimensional column, as pulses of the first dimension eluent arrive at the second dimensional column, they elute well before the solutes of interest and therefore do not interfere at all with detection of solute peaks. So far, the most widely used solvents in reversed-phase 1DLC are methanol and acetonitrile. However, the "UV advantage" of 2DLC allows us to employ UV active solvents, such as acetone. We compare their differential selectivities to that of acetonitrile for the separation of 23 indole acetic acids of interest in plant biology. We also apply them to the separation of a maize seed extract, a very complex sample. In both sample sets, mobile phase composition can be an important parameter to increase the orthogonality of the two dimensions and thus, to increase the effective peak capacity of LC×LC.     

Factors that affect quantification of diode array data in comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography using chemometric data analysis

There has been a tremendous increase in research on comprehensive two dimensional LC (LC×LC); however, to date, the central analytical issue, quantification, has received only minimal attention. It is vital to the further development of LC×LC that a greater understanding of the specific factors affecting peak quantification in LC×LC be attained. This work focuses on the following factors: data complexity, retention time shifting, dynamic range issues, chromatographic and spectral peak overlap and difficulties related to background signal removal. The above mentioned factors that affect peak quantification are investigated using fourteen replicate analyses of a urine sample, representing the effects of such factors when analyzing samples in complex matrices. We demonstrate that quantification of LC×LC data is improved following implementation of chemometric techniques that minimized the deleterious effects on quantification due to chromatographically overlapped peaks, retention time shifting and background signal interference. The chemometrically resolved data shows a 2.5-fold increase in precision of quantification over the quantification of the raw data. It is also demonstrated that the method quantifies sixteen peaks that were not visually evident prior to chemometric analysis. The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of these issues on the effectiveness of LC×LC as a technique for the quantitative analysis of complex samples.     

Contributions to reversed-phase column selectivity. I. Steric interaction

In reversed-phase chromatography (RPC), the restricted retention of "bulky" solutes can occur in one of two ways, giving rise to either "shape selectivity" or "steric interaction." Starting with data for 150 solutes and 167 monomeric type-B alkylsilica columns, the present study examines the steric interaction process further and compares it with shape selectivity. The dependence of column hydrophobicity and steric interaction on column properties (ligand length and concentration, pore diameter, end-capping) was determined and compared. The role of the solute in steric interaction was found to be primarily a function of solute molecular length, with longer solutes giving increased steric interaction. We find that there are several distinct differences in the way shape selectivity and steric interaction are affected by separation conditions and the nature of the sample. Of particular interest, steric interaction exhibits a maximum effect for monomeric C(18) columns, and becomes less important for either a C(1) or C(30) column; shape selectivity appears unimportant for monomeric C(1)-C(18) columns at ambient and higher temperatures, but becomes pronounced for C(30) - as well as polymeric columns with ligands ≥C(8). One hypothesis is that shape selectivity involves the presence or creation of cavities within the stationary phase that can accommodate a retained solute (a primarily enthalpic process), while steric interaction mainly makes greater use of spaces that pre-exist the retention of the solute (a primarily entropic process). The related dependence of hydrophobic interaction on column properties was also examined.     

Relationship between selectivity and average resolution in comprehensive two-dimensional separations with spectroscopic detection

The average value of the multivariate selectivity (SEL) of randomly positioned peaks in a multi-component separation is shown to equal the average fraction of peaks that are singlets, as predicted by statistical-overlap theory (SOT). This equality is the basis for proposing a useful metric, specifically the average minimum resolution of nearest-neighbor peaks, for the performance of comprehensive two-dimensional (2D) separations. Furthermore this metric was computed both without ancillary spectroscopic information and with the assistance of such help, specifically multi-wavelength UV-vis spectra, acquired during the separation. Separations are simulated with randomly positioned peaks over wide ranges of total number of peaks, first- and second-dimension peak capacity, dimensionless first-dimension sampling time, and spectral diversity. The specific version of the general multivariate selectivity concept that is used here--identified as SEL--gives the relative precision of quantification when using the PARAFAC (parallel factor analysis) method, a popular curve resolution algorithm. The SEL values of all peaks were calculated, averaged, and compared to the predictions of SOT. In the absence of auxiliary spectral data, the SEL-based average minimum resolution required to separate two peaks in a 2D separation is 0.256, compared to resolution of 0.5 if no chemometric assistance is available. This was found to be valid over a wide range of conditions and is essentially independent of peak crowding. With the assistance of the spectral data, the requisite minimum resolution substantially improves, that is, it decreases, especially when peak crowding is severe. The requisite minimum resolution decreases even further, up to a limit, as the spectral diversity is increased. In contrast, the SEL-based average under-sampling correction factor is virtually independent of the presence of the additional spectral data, and additionally is about the same as calculated with SOT from the average number of maxima in closely analogous simulations. The use of selectivity greatly increases the fraction of peaks that are singlets, relative to the number of singlet maxima, especially when spectral assistance is added. The insensitivity of the under-sampling correction factor to either the use of selectivity or added spectral data simplifies optimization of the corrected peak capacity in on-line comprehensive 2D separations.     

Experimental and modeling studies of the pressure and temperature dependences of the kinetics and the OH yields in the acetyl + O2 reaction

The acetyl + O(2) reaction has been studied by observing the time dependence of OH by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and by electronic structure/master equation analysis. The experimental OH time profiles were analyzed to obtain the kinetics of the acetyl + O(2) reaction and the relative OH yields over the temperature range of 213-500 K in helium at pressures in the range of 5-600 Torr. More limited measurements were made in N(2) and for CD(3)CO + O(2). The relative OH yields were converted into absolute yields by assuming that the OH yield at zero pressure is unity. Electronic structure calculations of the stationary points of the potential energy surface were used with a master equation analysis to fit the experimental data in He using the high-pressure limiting rate coefficient for the reaction, k(∞)(T), and the energy transfer parameter, (ΔE(d)), as variable parameters. The best-fit parameters obtained are k(∞) = 6.2 × 10(-12) cm(-3) molecule(-1) s(-1), independent of temperature over the experimental range, and (ΔE(d))(He) = 160(T/298?K) cm(-1). The fits in N(2), using the same k(∞)(T), gave (ΔE(d))(N(2)) = 270(T/298?K) cm(-1). The rate coefficients for formation of OH and CH(3)C(O)O(2) are provided in parametrized form, based on modified Troe expressions, from the best-fit master equation calculations, over the pressure and temperature ranges of 1 ≤ p/Torr ≤ 1.5 × 10(5) and 200 ≤ T/K ≤ 1000 for He and N(2) as the bath gas. The minor channels, leading to HO(2) + CH(2)CO and CH(2)C(O)OOH, generally have yields <1% over this range.     

Thermal analysis characterization of PAAm-<Emphasis Type="Italic">co</Emphasis>-MC hydrogels

This paper reports the thermal characterization of polyacrylamide-co-methylcellulose hydrogels and the constituent monomers (acrylamide and methylcellulose). Polymeric materials can be used to produce hydrogels, which can be natural, synthetic, or a mixture. The hydrogels described here were obtained by free radical polymerization, in the presence of N,N′-methylene-bis-acrylamide as a cross-linker agent. Four acrylamide concentrations were used for the synthesis of hydrogels: 3.6, 7.2, 14.7, and 21.7% (w/v). The materials so obtained were analyzed by TG, DTG, DSC, and FT-IR. The TG curves of acrylamide and methylcellulose showed three mass loss events. In DSC curves, the acrylamide exhibited one melting peak at 84.5 °C, and methylcellulose indicated one exothermic event. Nevertheless, acrylamide was considered more stable than methylcellulose. The TG curves of the hydrogels exhibited three mass loss events, and on the DSC curves, three endothermic events were observed. It was verified that the different acrylamide proportions influenced the thermic behavior of hydrogels, and that the authors considered the 7.2% hydrogel a promising drug carrier system. The absorption bands were well defined, confirming the presence of the functional groups in the samples.     

DYNGA: a general purpose QM-MM-MD program. I. Application to water

We present a general purpose QM-MM-MD engine (DYNGA) designed to test alternative hybrid Hamiltonians geared towards the treatment of problems of interest in structural biology including the use of experimental data constraints. In this first presentation we use DYNGA to explore the behaviour of a traditional QM-MM approach in the treatment of the water—water interaction. We find the potential energy hypersurface for the water dimer computed with the HF 4–31G*/TIP3P hybrid Hamiltonian tends to be too flat. We also explore the effect of using traditional QM-MM techniques on proton wires and conclude there is a need for improvement, possibly addressed by using polarizable force fields.     

Generation of attosecond pulses in molecular nitrogen

We investigate the carrier-envelope phase dependence of the total ionization yield for single and double ionization of xenon. We compare our results to theoretical calculations and to the phase dependent asymmetry in photoelectron emission. We observe that the phase dependence of the photoion yields, regardless if single or double ionization, is at least 2-3 orders of magnitude below the photoelectron emission signal. We conclude that total photoionization yields are only very weakly dependent on the carrier envelope phase, and that they are not a useful means for measurement of the phase. It seems possible that the broad bandwidth of few-cycle pulses facilitates multiphoton ionization, which leads to a randomization of strong field ionization phase dependencies. Besides, we observe that the spatial asymmetry in photoelectron emission appears to be useful as an indicator for the laser pulse duration in the few cycle regime.