Determination of carbonate in the presence of hydroxide : Part I. Analysis of first-derivative potentiometric curves

Mathematical consideration of the course of neutralization of a solution containing a moles of a strong base (e.g. sodium hydroxide) and a moles of a salt of a weak dibasic acid (e.g. sodium carbonate) with a strong acid (e.g. hydrochloric acid) shows that the first derivative of the titration curve should contain three maxima. The first, corresponding to neutralization of most of the hydroxide, is small (with height proportional to a^{$\text{1}\text{2}$}), displaced slightly from the equivalence point, and disappears for a less than 0.01 mol l^-1. The second corresponds to the conversion of most of the CO₃^2- to HCO₃^- and its height is almost independent of a. The third corresponds to the conversion of HCO₃^- to H₂CO₃, with height proportional to a^{$\text{1}\text{2}$}. The two minima are independent of a and of the dissociation constants of the weak acid. These conclusions were examined experimentally and were extended to the titration of hydroxide contaminated with a small amount of carbonate.     

Determination of the Wiener molecular branching index for the general tree

The many applications of the distance matrix, D(G), and the Wiener branching index, W(G), in chemistry are briefly outlined. W(G) is defined as one half the sum of all the entries in D(G). A recursion formula is developed enabling W(G) to be evaluated for any molecule whose graph G exists in the form of a tree. This formula, which represents the first general recursion formula for trees of any kind, is valid irrespective of the valence of the vertices of G or of the degree of branching in G. Several closed expressions giving W(G) for special classes of tree molecules are derived from the general formula. One illustrative worked example is also presented. Finally, it is shown how the presence of an arbitrary number of heteroatoms in tree-like molecules can readily be accommodated within our general formula by appropriately weighting the vertices and edges of G.     

Unified gas and supercritical fluid chromatography on 50 μm i.d. Columns

A unified approach to sequential gas and supercritical fluid Chromatography using 50 μm i.d. open tubular columns is described. Sample introduction is performed by means of a rotary injection valve. In order that linear velocities can be optimized independently, a second rotary valve in the chromatographic oven is used to direct the flow of column eluate to the flame ionization detector through either fused silica tubing in GC, or a frit restrictor in SFC. Applications of sequential GC-SFC on a 50 μm i.d. open tubular column are demonstrated, and comparisons made between sequential GC-SFC on 50 and 100 μm i.d. columns.     

Influence of structural changes on the ion selectivities of magnesium ionophores based on malonic acid diamides

In an investigation of octamethylene bis(malonic acid diamides) and their selectivities for magnesium, it was found that presence of secondary amides within the particular ionophore played a considerable role in the enhancement of magnesium selectivity. Similar effects in other ionophores, i.e. tris(malonic acid diamides), were thus systematically looked at with the help of selectivity measurements with the hope of optimizing the number of secondary and tertiary amides so as to improve the magnesium selectivity. The syntheses of several investigated tris(malonic acid diamide) isologues are equally reported.Deceased in November 1992     

Visible and near-IR luminescence via energy transfer in rare earth doped mesoporous titania thin films with nanocrystalline walls

Selected photoluminescence in the wavelength range of 600-1540 nm is generated by energy transfer from a light-gathering mesostructured host lattice to an appropriate rare earth ion. The mesoporous titania thin films, which have a well-ordered pore structure and two-phase walls made of amorphous titania and TiO₂ nanocrystallites, were doped with up to 8 mol% lanthanide ions, and the ordered structure of the material was preserved. Exciting the titania in its band gap results in energy transfer and it is possible to observe photoluminescence from the crystal field states of the rare earth ions. This process is successful for certain rare earth ions (Sm³⁺, Eu³⁺, Yb³⁺, Nd³⁺, Er³⁺) and not for others (Tb³⁺, Tm³⁺). A mechanism has been proposed to explain this phenomenon, which involves energy transfer through surface states on titania nanocrystals to matching electronic states on the rare earth ions.     

Micromethod for the analysis of the four commonly used antiepileptic drugs using a jet tube column

We describe a simple method for the determination of phenobarbital, diphenylhydantoin, carbamazepine, and primidone in serum, by use of gas-liquid chromatography with temperature programming. The methylated derivatives of these anticonvulsants were well resolved, as was 5-(p-methylphenyl)-5-phenylhydantoin, the internal standard. In this procedure we used the jet tube for separation of the drug from the serum. The proposed procedure requires only 100 μl of serum and can be done in less than 30 min. The lower limit of detection for each of the drugs is 0.5 mg/liter. Analytical recoveries of drug from serum were excellent and peak height and concentration were linearly related up to twice the toxic concentration for serum.     

Experimental measurement and prediction of hydrate forming conditions in the nitrogen-propane-water system

Experimental data on initial hydrate formation conditions have been obtained for the nitrogen-propane-water system in the L₁HG, L₁L₂H, and L₁L₂HG regions, where L₁ is the water rich liquid phase, L₂ is the hydrocarbon rich liquid phase, H is the hydrate and the G is the vapor phase. The measurements covered a range of temperatures from about 275 to 293 K and pressures from about 0.3 to 17.0 MPa. The concentrations covered for the L₁HG region extended from 0.94 to 75.0 mole percent propane in the gas phase, and for the L₁L₂H region they extended from 83.1 to 99.0 mole percent in the condensed liquid phase. Four-phase measurements were made at concentrations of propane from 18.1 to 71.1 mole percent in the gas phase.The experimental data were used to find a fitted binary interaction parameter for predicting hydrate formation in systems containing nitrogen and propane.