Equations of state for pure and mixture square-well fluids. II. Equations of state

New coordination number models for square-well (SW) fluids are incorporated with the generalized van der Waals partition function to develop equations of state for both pure and mixture SW fluids. The equations of state have been extensively tested with the Monte Carlo simulation data, of which three sets (18 data points) for the pure SW fluids are produced in this work. The results show that, without any parameters, our model reasonably describes not only the PVT behaviors but also the second and third virial coefficients of the model fluids. In addition, a comprehensive comparison has been made between our models and the other equations of state derived from the Lee-Chao and Lee-Sandler coordination number correlations.     

Nonspecific medium effects versus specific group positioning in the antibody and albumin catalysis of the base-promoted ring-opening reactions of benzisoxazoles

The mechanisms by which solvents, antibodies, and albumins influence the rates of base-catalyzed reactions of benzisoxazoles have been explored theoretically. New experimental data on substituent effects and rates of reactions in several solvents, in an antibody, and in an albumin are reported. Quantum mechanical calculations were carried out for the reactions in water and acetonitrile, and docking of the transition state into a homology model of antibody 34E4 and an X-ray structure of human serum albumin was accomplished. A microenvironment made up of catalytic polar groups (glutamate in antibody 34E4 and lysine in human serum albumin) surrounded by relatively nonpolar groups is present in both catalytic proteins.     

Control of mesoporous structure of aerogels derived from cresol-formaldehyde

Polycondensation of a cresol mixture (C(m)) with formaldehyde (F) in basic aqueous solutions leads to formation of highly cross-linked C(m)F aquagels that can be supercritically dried with carbon dioxide to form organic C(m)F aerogels. Aerogels synthesized with different catalyst contents and reactant concentrations are characterized by low-temperature nitrogen adsorption. The present experimental results suggest that the C(m)F aerogels are typical mesoporous materials and have almost no micropores in bulk. The microstructure of the organic C(m)F aerogels can be controlled and tailored effectively by varying synthesis conditions during the initial sol-gel process. C(m)F organic aerogels with specific surface area as high as 627 m(2)/g and corresponding pore volume 2.06 ml/g have been obtained with a dominant pore size of 30 nm. C(m)F organic aerogels with peaky pore size distributions concentrated at 11 nm have also been prepared.