Automated at-line solid-phase extraction-gas chromatographic analysis of micropollutants in water using the PrepStation

A fully automated at-line solid-phase extraction-gas chromatography procedure has been developed for the analysis of aqueous samples using the PrepStation. The sample extract is transferred from the sample preparation module to the gas chromatograph via an autosampler vial. With flame-ionization detection, limits of determination (S/N=10) of 0.05–0.13 μg/l were obtained for the analysis of HPLC-grade water when modifying the PrepStation by: (i) increasing the sample volume to 50 ml, (ii) increasing the injection volume up to 50 μl, and (iii) decreasing the desorption volume to 300 μl. The HP autosampler had to be modified to enable the automated “at-once” on-column injection of up to 50 μl of sample extract. The amount of packing material in the original cartridge had to be reduced to effect the decrease of the desorption volume. The total set-up did not require any further optimization after having set up the method once. The analytical characteristics of the organonitrogen and organophosphorus test analytes, i.e. recoveries (typically 75–105%), repeatability (2–8%) and linearity (0.09–3.0 μg/l) were satisfactory. The potential of the system was demonstrated by determining triazines and organophosphorus pesticides in river Rhine water at the 0.6 μg/l level using flame-ionization and mass-selective detection. No practical problems were observed during the analysis of more than 100 river water samples.     

Etude des métastannates de cadmium par spectrographie d'absorption infrarouge entre 5 et 40μ. Solutions solides entre l'oxyde d'étain et Poxyde de cadmium

Résumé Par chauffage à 1000° de mélanges d'oxyde stannique et d'oxyde de cadmium en proportions diverses, comme par déshydratation de précipités mixtes des hydroxydes correspondants, il se forme une série de solutions solides de l'oxyde de cadmium dans l'oxyde d'étain. Elles sont solubles dans l'acide chlorhydrique et présentent un spectre d'absorption infrarouge caractéristique que l'on a comparé avec celui des 2 métastannates de cadmium CdSnO₃, l'un de type ilménite, l'autre de type perovskite.

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Summary By heating various mixture of stannic oxide and cadmium oxide to 1000° C, a series of solid solutions of cadmium oxide in stannic oxide results as is the case when mixed precipitates of the corresponding hydroxides are dehydrated. They are soluble in hydrochloric acid and yield a characteristic infrared absorption spectrum that was compared with that of the two cadmium métastannates CdSnO₃, one of the ilmenite type, the other of the perovskite type.

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Zusammenfassung Erhitzt man verschieden zusammengesetzte Gemische von Zinnoxid und Cadmiumoxid auf 1000° C oder werden Mischfällungen der entsprechenden Hydroxide dehydratisiert, so entsteht eine Reihe fester Lösungen von Cadmiumoxid in Zinnoxid. Sie sind in Salzsäure löslich und zeigen ein charakteristisches Absorptionsspektrum im IR. Dieses wurde mit dem Spektrum zweier Cadmium-Metastannate (CdSnO₃) vom Typus des Ilmenits bzw. Perovskits verglichen.

     

Electromagnetic fission of238U at 600 and 1000 MeV per nucleon

Electromagnetic fission of²³⁸U projectiles at E/A =600 and 1000 MeV was studied with the ALADIN spectrometer at the heavy-ion synchrotron SIS. Seven different targets (Be, C, Al, Cu, In, Au and U) were used. By considering only those fission events where the two charges added up to 92, most of the nuclear interactions were excluded. The nuclear contributions to the measured fission cross sections were determined by extrapolating from beryllium to the heavier targets with the concept of factorization. The obtained cross sections for electromagnetic fission are well reproduced by extended Weizsäcker-Williams calculations which include E1 and E2 excitations. The asymmetry of the fission fragments' charge distribution gives evidence for the excitation of the double giant-dipole resonance in uranium.Communicated by V. Metag     

Low energy excitations in KMnO4 with 1 eV<=ΔE<=10 eV from electron-energy loss spectroscopy

Electron-energy loss spectra of potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) with primary electron energies 25 eV<=E₀<=500 eV show 7 peaks in the energy-loss range 1 eV<=ΔE<=10eV and are successfully analysed with a superposition of 7 independent Gaussians. The intensity of these lines follow roughly a power-law dependence on the primary energy I∝E ₀ ^-α . There are two groups of lines, the first with an exponent α≈0.5, while the lines in the second group decay much stronger with increasingE ₀ corresponding to a value 0.9<=α<=1.3. The 4 lines in the first group are identified as dipole allowed transitions by comparison to recent first principle molecular-orbital calculations for the (MnO₄) molecule by H. Nakai et al. The dipole-allowed excitation spectrum obtained from this analysis agrees very well with these first principle calculations.     

Metal island coated polymer sensor for direct determination of the volume effect of chaotropic agents

A new optical sensor is presented, based on the analyte reaction resulting in swelling and shrinking of a thin polymer layer. Changing the concentration of ions in a new bisazide photo-cross-linked poly(vinylpyrrolidone) polymer results in a concentration-dependent volume change of the hydrated gel. The volume response of the sensor induced by different ions is fully reversible over more than 250 cycles. The response of the device depends on the type, the charge and the concentration of the ions. The sensor material is part of an optical thin film system which transforms the variations in volume of the polymer into spectral information. The steady state of the sensor response is obtained within 60 s. The response time is mainly limited by the pump rate, the back pressure and the total volume of the system but not by the swelling of the sensor polymer. A comparative study of ion effects has demonstrated a fundamental correlation of the polymer swelling properties with the Hofmeister series of chaotropic agents. Thus it is concluded that the photopolymer, which is solubilized in aqueous solutions by the interaction of its amide structure with the solvent, behaves like the backbone amide structure of proteins.     

Ein Beitrag über Ba3Pt4HgO11: Das erste Erdkalimetall-Oxoplatinat(II,V)/Oxomercurat

A Contribution on Ba₃Pt₄HgO₁₁: The First Alkaline-Earth Oxoplatinate(II,V)/Oxomercurate Single crystals of Ba₃Pt₄HgO₁₁ were prepared by oxygen high pressure technique (4 200–3 600 bar) and investigated by X-ray methods. It crystallizes with hexagonal symmetry, space group D? P6 2c, a = 6.021, c = 17.374 Å, Z = 2. Ba₃Pt₄HgO₁₁ represents a new structure type, showing structural relationships to Ba₂Hg₃Pd₇O₁₄ and to the precious metal 6L-perovskites. The Hg²⁺ ions show dumb-bell like coordination, Pt²⁺ a square-planar surrounding and Pt⁵⁺ face shared double octahedra.     

CdHgO2: Ein Oxomercurat mit Verwandtschaft zur Crednerit-Struktur

CdHgO₂: An Oxomercurate related to the Crednerite Structure Single crystals of CdHgO₂ were prepared by oxygen high pressure technique (600°C, 3900 bar) and investigated by X-ray technique. It crystallizes with monoclinic symmetry, space group C–C2/m; a = 5.933, b = 3.452, c = 5.875 Å, β = 91.26°; Z = 2. The Hg²⁺ ions show dumb-bell like coordination, Cd²⁺ an octahedral one. CdHgO₂ shows strong relationship to the Crednerite structure. The orientation of the O? Hg? O dump-bells to the CdO₆ octahedra layers is discussed with respect to related oxomercurates.     

Fractal dimension,attractors, and the boussinesq approximation in three dimensions

The Boussinesq approximation, where the viscosity depends polynomially on the shear rate, finds more and more frequent use in geological practice. In the paper, this modified Boussinesq approximation is investigated as a dynamical system for which the existence of a global attractor is proved. Finally, a new criterion for estimating the fractal dimension of invariant sets is formulated and its application to the problem under consideration is illustrated.     

High pressure μSR studies

The high pressureSR spectrometer [1] formerly located at CERN has been transferred to theE1-beamline at PSI and put back into operation with only minor modifications. The essential features of the high pressure apparatus are described below. The instrument covers a pressure range up to 0.7 GPa which can be extended to 1.4 GPa depending on the design of the high pressure cell. First measurements at PSI were successfully carried out with a single crystalline sample of Gd metal. New developments in high pressure cell design are presented. They are expected to further improve the signal/background ratio and to extend the pressure range to 1 GPa. One type of cell will allow temperatures above 380 K.This work was supported by the German Federal Minister for Research and Technology (Bundesminister für Forschung und Technologie [BMFT]) under Contract Nr. 03KA2-TUM-4 and 03SE3STU.