Investigation of sulphur compounds in coal tar using monodimensional and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography

Coal is a non renewable fossil fuel, used mainly as a source of electrical energy and in the production of coke. It is subjected to thermal treatment, pyrolysis, which produces coke as a main product, in addition to a condensed liquid by-product, called tar. Tar is a complex mixture of organic compounds which contains different chemical classes, presenting aromatic and sulphur heterocyclic compounds. In general, identification of these compounds requires steps of isolation and fractionation, mainly due to co-elution of these compounds with polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). The objective of this work is to characterize the sulphur compounds present in the coal tar obtained via pyrolysis, using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry detector (GC×GC/TOFMS). Coal samples from the State of Paraná, Brazil were subjected to laboratorial scale pyrolysis. Several experimental conditions were tested, such as sample weight (5, 10 and 15g), heating ramp (10, 25 and 100°C/min) and final temperature (500, 700 and 900°C). Samples were analyzed by one dimensional gas chromatography (1D-GC) coupled to a quadrupole mass spectrometry detector (GC/qMS) and two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry detector (GC×GC/TOFMS). The higher amount of sulphur compounds was obtained at a final temperature of 700°C and a heating ramp of 100°C/min. The main classes observed in the color plot were thiophenes, benzothiophenes and alkylated dibenzothiophenes. GC×GC/TOFMS allowed the identification of the greater number of compounds and the separation of several sulphur compounds from one another. Moreover, separation of sulphur compounds from polyaromatic hydrocarbons and phenols was achieved, which was not possible by 1D-GC. Comparing GC×GC/TOFMS and 1D-GC (SIM mode) also showed that 1D-GC, one of the most employed quantification tools for sulphur compounds, can be misleading for detection, identification and quantification, as the number of isomers of sulphur compounds found was greater than theoretically possible.     

Novel small stable gold nanoparticles bearing fluorescent cysteine-coumarin probes as new metal-modulated chemosensors

Emissive molecular probes based on amino acid moieties are very appealing because of their application as new building blocks in peptide synthesis. Two new bioinspired coumarin probes (L1 and L2) were synthesized and fully characterized by elemental analysis, infrared, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, UV-vis absorption and emission spectroscopy, matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), lifetime measurements, and X-ray crystal diffraction. Their sensing ability toward alkaline earth, transition, and post-transition metal ions (Ca(2+), Zn(2+), Cd(2+), Cu(2+), Ni(2+), Hg(2+), Ag(+), and Al(3+)) and their acid-base behavior (H(+), OH(-)) were explored in absolute ethanol by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. Compound L1 shows a strong complexation constant with the soft metal ions Zn(2+), Cd(2+), and Ag(+). Compound L2 shows a high fluorescence quantum yield, and it could be used as a non-pH-dependent fluorescent biological probe. Very small gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) using compounds L1 and L2 as stabilizers were obtained by using a reductive method and were characterized by UV-vis, light scattering, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Dynamic light scattering and TEM studies show that the formation of small nanoparticles is around 4.27 ± 0.64 nm for L1 and around 2.69 ± 0.96 nm for L2. The new stable Cou@AuNPs behaved as supramolecular chemosensors, which have been selective for the heavy element Hg(2+), with a concomitant change of color from pink to dark red/brown and an increase of size up to 100-fold.     

Green synthesis of colloidal silver nanoparticles using natural rubber latex extracted from Hevea brasiliensis

Colloidal silver nanoparticles were synthesized by an easy green method using thermal treatment of aqueous solutions of silver nitrate and natural rubber latex (NRL) extracted from Hevea brasiliensis. The UV–Vis spectra detected the characteristic surface plasmonic absorption band around 435 nm. Both NRL and AgNO₃ contents in the reaction medium have influence in the Ag nanoparticles formation. Lower AgNO₃ concentration led to decreased particle size. The silver nanoparticles presented diameters ranging from 2 nm to 100 nm and had spherical shape. The selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns indicated that the silver nanoparticles have face centered cubic (fcc) crystalline structure. FTIR spectra suggest that reduction of the silver ions are facilitated by their interaction with the amine groups from ammonia, which is used for conservation of the NRL, whereas the stability of the particles results from cis-isoprene binding onto the surface of nanoparticles. Therefore natural rubber latex extracted from H. brasiliensis can be employed in the preparation of stable aqueous dispersions of silver nanoparticles acting as a dispersing and/or capping agent. Moreover, this work provides a new method for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles that is simple, easy to perform, pollutant free and inexpensive.     

Carbon-13 chemical shifts of some cholinergic neural transmission agents

Carbon-13 chemical shifts have been obtained in the pulse Fourier transform mode on the following cholinergic neural transmission agents: acetylcholine, β-methyl acetylcholine, carbamoyl choline, choline, tetramethylammonium, scopolamine, atropine, methyl atropine, tropine, tropic acid, nicotine, dimethyl phenylpiperazinium, arecoline, oxotremorine and pilocarpine. The effects of structural variations, asymmetric centers and steric interactions on the ¹³C shielding are considered. The observed chemical shifts do not appear to correlate simply with potencies in the cholinergic nervous system.     

Rhenium complexes of tris(pyrazolyl)methanes and sulfonate derivative

The trioxo [ReO(3){SO(3)C(pz)(3)}] (1) (pz = pyrazolyl) and oxo [ReOCl{SO(3)C(pz)(3)}(PPh(3))]Cl (2) compounds with tris(pyrazolyl)methanesulfonate were obtained by treatment of Re(2)O(7) or [ReOCl(3)(PPh(3))(2)], respectively, with Li[SO(3)C(pz)(3)], whereas [ReCl(3){HC(pz)(3)}] (3), [ReCl(3){HC(3,5-Me(2)pz)(3)}] (4) and [ReCl(4){eta(2)-HC(pz)(3)}] (5) were prepared by reaction of [ReOCl(3)(PPh(3))(2)] (3,4) or [ReCl(4)(NCMe)(2)] (5) with hydrotris(pyrazolyl)methane HC(pz)(3) (3,5) or hydrotris(3,5-dimethyl-1-pyrazolyl)methane HC(3,5-Me(2)pz)(3) (4). [ReO{SO(3)C(pz)(3)}{OC(CH(3))(2)pz}][ReO(4)] 6, with a chelated pyrazolyl-alkoxide, was derived from an unprecedented ketone-pyrazolyl coupling on reaction of crude 1 with acetone. The compounds have been characterized by elemental analyses, IR and NMR spectroscopies, FAB-MS spectrometry and cyclic voltammetry and, in the case of 5 and 6, also by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The electrochemical E(L) Lever parameter has been estimated, for the first time, for the SO(3)C(pz)(3)(-) and oxo ligands allowing the measurement of their electron-donor character and comparison with other ligands. Compounds 1, 2 and 6 appear to be the first tris(pyrazolyl)methanesulfonate complexes of rhenium to be reported.     

Infrared-to-visible frequency upconversion in SrAl2O4 powders containing Er3+ and Yb3+

The phenomenon of frequency upconversion (UC) is observed in Er³⁺:Yb³⁺:SrAl₂O₄ powders prepared by combustion synthesis. Strong UC emission at the green (bands peaked at 521, 538, 547, and 562 nm) and weak UC emission at the red (bands peaked at 659 and 682 nm) corresponding to 4f–4f transitions of Er³⁺ were observed when the samples were irradiated with near-infrared laser excitation at ～980 nm. Saturation of UC emission is observed for concentrations of 1.5 wt.% of Er³⁺ and 1.5 wt.% of Yb³⁺. The green-to-red intensity ratio, on the other hand, increases linearly with Er³⁺ concentration (Er³⁺ concentration varying from 0.5 to 1.5 wt.%) while keeping Yb³⁺ concentration fixed (at 1.5 wt.%). The green UC decay time was measured and Er³⁺–Er³⁺ interaction was suggested as a possible mechanism to explain the luminescence quenching effect observed.     

Cyclohexane‐1,3‐dione as a derivatizing agent for the analysis of aldehydes by micelar electrokinetic chromatography with diode array detection

Aldehydes are important compounds in a large number of samples, especially food and beverages. In this work, for the first time, cyclohexane‐1,3‐dione (CHD) was used as a derivatizing reagent aiming aldehyde (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, and valeraldehyde) analysis by MEKC‐DAD. The optimized separation of the derivates was performed using a voltage program (+20 kV, 0–15 min.; +23 kV, 15–17 min.) at a temperature of 26°C, and using as the running buffer a mixture containing 100 mmol/L of sodium dodecyl sulfate and 29 mmol/L of sodium tetraborate at pH 9.2, with maximum absorbance at 260 nm. CHD was compared with two other derivatizing agents: 3‐methyl‐2‐benzothiazolinone hydrazone and phenylhydrazine‐4‐sulfonic acid. The CHD‐aldehyde derivatives were also characterized by LC‐MS. The calibration curves for all aldehydes had r² above 0.999 and LODs ranged from 0.01 to 0.7 mg/L. The optimized methodology was applied in sugar cane brandy (cachaça) samples successfully. CHD showed to be an alternative derivatization reagent due to its stability, aqueous solubility, high selectivity and sensitivity, reduced impurities, and simple preparation steps.     

Hydroxyapatite micro- and nanoparticles: nucleation and growth mechanisms in the presence of citrate species

Hydroxyapatite (HAP) particles with different morphologies were precipitated from homogeneous calcium/citrate/phosphate solutions at physiological temperature. Small variations of the starting solution pH in the range 7.4相似文献   

Analysis of Kinetic and Operational Parameters in a Structured Model for Acrylic Acid Production through Experimental Design

In biotechnological processes, a great number of factors can influence the income productivity and conversion. Normally, it is not evident which of these factors are the most important and how they interact. In this work, multivariate analysis techniques are used as experimental design coupled to a detailed deterministic model to identify the parameters with the most significant impact on the model to represent well the acrylic acid production process. It is proposed as an alternative process, having sugarcane as feedstock, to the petrochemical-based ones that have significant environmental impacts for their production. To increase the competitiveness of renewable acrylic-acid-based process, it is necessary to find out working conditions near the optimal region, which is not an easy task, as the process is multivariable and non-linear. The mapping of the dynamics of the developed process is made using techniques of factorial design together with the methodology of Plackett–Burman. It is shown that it is possible to increase the process performance by choosing optimized conditions for the reactor operation.