Preparation and electrochemical behavior of ordered rh adlayers on Pt(100) electrodes

Rhodium adlayers on Pt(100) substrates have been prepared by electrodeposition from dilute Rh(III) acidic solutions. The initially disordered layer is electrochemically annealed by applying a polarization program consisting of high-sweep-rate multicycle sequences between 0.05 and 0.78 V(RHE) in 0.1 M H(2)SO(4). In this way, a pseudomorphic Rh monolayer can be prepared on Pt(100) substrates. The degree of order of the electrochemically annealed layer has been evidenced not only through voltammetric experiments but also by means of scanning tunneling microscopy with atomic resolution for iodine-protected adlayers, which show a c(2 x 2) structure. The electrochemically induced ordering of the Rh adlayer appears to be a consequence of the repeated cycles of adsorption/desorption of H and, especially, oxygenated species. Voltammetry in sulfuric acid solutions permits examination of the energetics of H/anions and OH/O adsorption as a function of the Rh coverage. The first monolayer adsorbs both hydrogen and oxygenated species more strongly than the second one. This can be explained through an electronic effect caused by the underlying Pt(100) substrate.     

New extraction method for the analysis of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates in marine organisms. Pressurized liquid extraction versus Soxhlet extraction

A new method has been developed for the determination of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS) from various marine organisms, and compared with Soxhlet extraction. The technique applied includes the use of pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) for the extraction stage, preconcentration of the samples, purification by solid-phase extraction (SPE) and analysis by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The spiked concentrations were added to the samples (wet mass of the organisms: Solea senegalensis and Ruditapes semidecussatus), which were homogenized and agitated continuously for 25 h. The samples were extracted by pressurized hot solvent extraction using two different extraction temperatures (100 and 150 degrees C) and by traditional Soxhlet extraction. The best recoveries were obtained employing pressurized hot solvent extraction at 100 degrees C and varied in the range from 66.1 to 101.3% with a standard deviation of between 2 and 13. Detection limit was between 5 and 15 microg kg(-1) wet mass using HPLC-fluorescence detection. The analytical method developed in this paper has been applied for LAS determination in samples from a Flow-through exposure system with the objective of measuring the bioconcentration of this surfactant.     

A model of adsorption at liquid-solid interface involving association in the bulk phase

A model of monolayer adsorption of binary liquid mixtures on homogeneous and heterogeneous solid surfaces involving association of one component in the bulk phase is discussed. Suitable model calculations, illustrating association and heterogeneity effects, have been performed according to an equation derived for adsorption excess. This equation has been examined by using the experimental data of adsorption of alcohols from benzene andn-heptane on silica gel.

---

Adsorptionsmodell für die Grenzfläche Feststoff-Flüssigkeit unter Berücksichtigung der Assoziation in der Flüssigkeitsphase

Zusammenfassung Es wird ein Adsorptionsmodell binärer, flüssiger Mischungen an homogenen und heterogenen Oberflächen von Feststoffen unter Beachtung der Assoziation eines der Bestandteile in der Flüssigkeitsphase diskutiert. Mit der aus dem Oberflächenüberschuß abgeleiteten Gleichung wurden entsprechende Modellberechnungen durchgeführt, die die mit Assoziation und Heterogenität verbundenen Effekte illustrieren. Die Gleichung wurde für die experimentellen Daten der Alkoholadsorption aus Benzol undn-Heptan an Kieselgel überprüft.

     

Electronic properties of polyoxometalates: a DFT study of alpha/beta-[XM(12)O(40)](n-) relative stability (M=W, Mo and X a main group element)

Keggin heteropolyanions [XM(12)O(40)](n-) have various isomeric structures, alpha and beta being the most common. Conventionally, the alpha structure appears to be the most stable, but calculations carried out at the DFT level for X = P(V), Si(IV), Al(III), As(V), Ge(IV), and Ga(III) and M = W(VI) and Mo(VI) show that this stability depends on several factors, particularly on the nature of the heteroatom (X) and the total charge of the cluster. In this paper, we apply the clathrate model to the Keggin molecule to carry out a fragment-interaction study to elucidate when and why the traditional relative stability of various isomers can be inverted. The fully oxidized anions that have inverted the traditional stability trend in this series are [AlW(12)O(40)](5-) and [GaW(12)O(40)](5-), both of which contain a third-group heteroatom and an overall charge of -5. beta-isomers are always more easily reduced than alpha-isomers. This experimental observation suggests that reduction favors the stability of beta-isomers and one of the most important results of this study is that the alpha/beta inversion is achieved in most cases after the second reduction. The alpha- and beta-isomers may have different properties because the energy of the LUMO, a symmetry-adapted d(xy)-metal orbital, is different.     

Diastereoselective [4+2] annulation of vinyl carbodiimides with N-alkyl imines. Asymmetric synthetic access to the batzelladine alkaloids

A diastereoselective [4+2] annulation of vinyl carbodiimides with chiral N-alkyl imines has been developed to access the stereochemically rich tricyclic core of the batzelladine alkaloids. Its application to the asymmetric synthesis of batzelladine D permitted the use of long-range, directed hydrogenation and stereoselective intramolecular iodoamination as additional key steps to establish the remaining stereocenters within the natural product with excellent stereocontrol.     

Quasi-intramolecular acid–base reactions in aqueous solutions of metal-complexes of basic ligands I. Generalized theoretical considerations on the deammoniation of [ML m ]X n type ammonia complexes

The theoretical investigation on the distribution of chemical species obtainable as a function of the temperature of the aqueous solutions of metal complexes containing a basic ligand, altogether with the solubility relationship of the compounds to be formed, offers a simple means of planning the preparation of various types of complexes, double and single salts of the central metal cation and onium type compounds of protonated ligand of the central ion and the anion.     

Macroporous poly(methyl methacrylate) produced by phase separation during polymerisation in solution

Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) sponges were obtained by polymerization in a solution with monomer/ethanol ratios up to 20:80. The material obtained after the elimination of the solvent present a homogeneous distribution of dispersed pores up to a monomer/ethanol ratio lower than 40:60. For higher ethanol contents in the reacting mixture, the morphology of the sponge corresponds to a network of PMMA microparticles, leaving large empty spaces leading to highly porous structure. The monomer/ethanol ratio during polymerization has a large influence on the porosity, thermal, and mechanical properties of the material and, for large solvent contents, on the size of the polymer microparticles.     

Concentration and clean-up of trace hydrocarbons from atmospheric particulate matter

Summary The aim of this work is to establish the best conditions for concentration and purification steps in the trace analysis of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) from atmospheric particulate matter by gas chromatography-flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) and high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet and fluorescence detection (HPLC-UV-FL). The best results for the more volatile compound were obtained with a combination of rotary evaporation and a stream of nitrogen (near to 100% for aliphatic hydrocarbons and from 70 to 105% for PAH). Two types of solid phase extraction (SPE)cartridges (Supelclean ^tm LC-Silica SPE tubes and Sep-Pak^? Plus silica cartridges) and glass column were examined for the purification and fractionation step. Blank chromatograms of both types of cartridges analysed by GC-FID made this study difficult, because a PSS (programmed split-splitless) injector was employed thereby increasing the sensitivity. This problem was not observed in the HPLC-UV-FL blank chromatograms of these cartridges. Glass columns filled with silica and alumina were chosen because no interference was found in the GC-FID blank chromatograms and the best recoveries in the fractionation of both aliphatic hydrocarbons and PAH were achieved. This is especially important when aliphatic hydrocarbons concentrations are lower than 1 μg mL⁻¹. Finally, the selected conditions were applied to the analysis of hydrocarbons in real atmospheric particulate samples.     

Local mean field models of uniform to nonuniform density fluid-crystal transitions

We investigate the existence of nontranslation invariant (periodic) density profiles, for systems interacting via translation invariant long-range potentials, as minimizers of local mean field free energy functionals. The existence of a second-order transition from a uniform to a nonuniform density at a specified temperature is proven for a class of model systems.