The influence of hydroxyl groups on the ultraviolet spectra of substituted aromatic molecules adsorbed on silica surfaces

Infrared and uv spectroscopy have been used to study the interactions of a series of mono and di-substituted benzene molecules on both porous and nonporous high surface area silicas. It is confirmed that the strength of adsorption depends upon the presence and type of surface hydroxyl group but shown that the uv spectral shifts are not necessarily related to bond strength. Thus, when the surface OH groups reduce the effect of the electron donating side groups, stronger hydrogen bonds produce larger blue shifts in π-π* transitions. When n-π* transitions are involved, however, it is a dipole-dipole interaction which determines the magnitude of the red shift and not the strength of the hydrogen bond.     

Mixed-metal oxide aerogels for oxidation of volatile organic compounds

Aerogels of 100% silica, 8 wt% Zr in silica, 5 wt% V in silica and 100% zirconia were synthesized and tested as oxidation catalysts in the temperature range of 300–700°C for destruction of volatile organic compounds. The silica-based aerogels were all amorphous and had surface areas above 600 m²/g after oxidation. The zirconia aerogel was crystalline with a relatively low surface area of 250 m²/g. As catalysts for oxidation (using O₂ in He) of CH₃OH to CO₂, the zirconia aerogel exhibited the highest activity and best selectivity while the silica aerogel exhibited the poorest. Inclusion of Zr at levels as low as 8 wt% into the silica aerogel framework produced activities and selectivities which were very much like the zirconia aerogel. These properties have the impact of producing a Zr based catalyst with high activity, but with thermal stability afforded by Zr–silica mixtures.     

Origin of the lower critical flocculation temperature in polymer colloids stabilized by polydimethylsiloxane

Summary It has recently been reported (6, 7) that poly(methyl methacrylate) particles that are sterically stabilised by polydimethylsiloxane flocculate on cooling when dispersed in short chain n-alkanes. Since the LCFT was reported to be essentially independent of the nature of the dispersion medium, it was postulated (2) that incipient flocculation of these particles was caused by crystallisation of the polydimethysiloxane chains, which would have allowed the attractive van der Waals forces to become operative. This hypothesis has now been confirmed by low temperature X-ray studies.

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Zusammenfassung Von (6, 7) wurde kürzlich mitgeteilt, daß Poly(methylmethacrylat)-Teilchen, die mit Polydimethylsiloxan sterisch stabilisiert sind, in kurzkettigenn-Alkanen als Dispersionsmittel ausflocken. Da die LCFT im wesentlichen unabhängig von der Natur des Dispersionsmediums ist, wurde von (2) angenommen, daß die beginnende Ausflockung dieser Teilchen auf eine Kristallisation der Polydimethylsiloxan-Ketten zurückzuführen ist, bedingt durch die wirkenden van der Waals-Anziehungskräfte. Diese Hypothese wurde nun durch Röntgenuntersuchungen bei tiefer Temperatur bestätigt.

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With 1 figure     

Transient radicals in heterogeneous systems: detection by spin trapping

The application of spin trapping to the detection of transient radicals generated in heterogeneous systems is discussed. The major part of this review focuses on the interaction of light with particles in dispersion and the resultant radicals which are produced. This includes photoactive pigments such as CdS, TiO2, ZnO and phthalocyanine in a variety of solvents as well as micelles, vesicles and microemulsions containing molecules such as phthalocyanine or chlorophyll. The utility of spin trapping in heterogeneous systems which are not a function of illumination (i.e. electrochemical reactions, catalysis and biological systems) is also discussed. It is demonstrated that reaction mechanisms can be better understood by the indirect detection of the radical intermediates which are involved in the various processes. This impacts studies in solar energy utilization, electrophotography, catalysis, electrochemistry, photosynthesis and the disease process.     

A double injection ADSA-CSD methodology for lung surfactant inhibition and reversal studies

This paper presents a continuation of the development of a drop shape method for film studies, ADSA-CSD (Axisymmetric Drop Shape Analysis-Constrained Sessile Drop). ADSA-CSD has certain advantages over conventional methods. The development presented here allows complete exchange of the subphase of a spread or adsorbed film. This feature allows certain studies relevant to lung surfactant research that cannot be readily performed by other means. The key feature of the design is a second capillary into the bulk of the drop to facilitate addition or removal of a secondary liquid. The development will be illustrated through studies concerning lung surfactant inhibition. After forming a sessile drop of a basic lung surfactant preparation, the bulk phase can be removed and exchanged for one containing different inhibitors. Such studies mimic the leakage of plasma and blood proteins into the alveolar spaces altering the surface activity of lung surfactant in a phenomenon called surfactant inhibition. The resistance of the lung surfactant to specific inhibitors can be readily evaluated using the method. The new method is also useful for surfactant reversal studies, i.e. the ability to restore the normal surface activity of an inhibited lung surfactant film by using special additives. Results show a distinctive difference between the inhibition when an inhibitor is mixed with and when it is injected under a preformed surfactant film. None of the inhibitors studied (serum, albumin, fibrinogen, and cholesterol) were able to penetrate a preexisting film formed by the basic preparation (BLES and protasan), while all of them can alter the surface activity of such preparation when mixed with the preparation. Preliminary results show that reversal of serum inhibition can be easily achieved and evaluated using the modified methodology.     

The fragmentation pathways of protonated glycine: A computational study

Numerous studies have demonstrated that protonated aliphatic amino acids, [H2NCHRCO2H + H]+, fragment in the gas phase to form iminium ions, H2N=CHR+. Unfortunately none of these studies have probed the structure of the neutral(s) lost as well as the mechanism of fragmentation. Three main mechanisms have been previously proposed: (1) loss of the combined elements of H2O and CO; (2) loss of dihydroxycarbene (HO)2C: and (3) loss of formic acid, HC(=O)OH. Herein, ab initio and density functional theory calculations have been used to calculate the key reactants, transition states, and products of these and several other competing reaction channels in the fragmentation of protonated glycine. The loss of the combined elements of H2O and CO is thermodynamically and kinetically favored over the alternative formic acid or (HO)2C fragmentation processes.     

Using Distonic Radical Ions to Probe the Chemistry of Key Combustion Intermediates: The Case of the Benzoxyl Radical Anion

The benzoxyl radical is a key intermediate in the combustion of toluene and other aromatic hydrocarbons, yet relatively little experimental work has been performed on this species. Here, a combination of electrospray ionization (ESI), multistage mass spectrometry experiments, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations are used to examine the formation and fragmentation of a benzoxyl (benzyloxyl) distonic radical anion. Excited 4-carboxylatobenzoxyl radical anions were produced via two methods: (1) collision induced dissociation (CID) of the nitrate ester 4-(nitrooxymethyl)benzoate, ^–O₂CC₆H₄CH₂ONO₂, and (2) reaction of ozone with the 4-carboxylatobenzyl radical anion, ^–O₂CC₆H₄CH₂ ^?. In neither case was the stabilized ^–O₂CC₆H₄CH₂O^? radical anion intermediate detected. Instead, dissociation products at m/z 121 and 149 were observed. These products are attributed to benzaldehyde (O₂ ^-CC₆H₄CHO) and benzene (^–O₂CC₆H₅) products from respective loss of H and HCO radicals in the vibrationally excited benzoxyl intermediate. In no experiments was a product at m/z 120 (i.e., ^–O₂CC₆H₄ ^?) detected, corresponding to absence of the commonly assumed phenyl radical + CH₂=O channel. The results reported suggest that distonic ions are useful surrogates for reactive intermediates formed in combustion chemistry.

Decompositions of odd- and even-electron anions derived from deoxy-polyadenylates

Radical anions have been formed via electron transfer from multiply charged 5′-d(AAA)-3′ and 5′-d(AAAA)-3′ anions to CCl₃ ⁺. These ions have been isolated in a quadrupole ion trap operated with helium bath gas at a pressure of 1 mtorr and subjected to resonance excitation (i. e., conventional ion trap collisional activation). Collisional activation of the even-electron species of the same charge state formed directly via electrospray was also performed by using essentially identical conditions. The collisional activation data can be compared directly without ambiguity arising from differences in parent ion internal energies and/or dissociation time frames. Both the odd- and even-electron anions yield extensive sequence-informative fragmentation but show significant differences in the extent of nucleobase loss and in the relative contributions from the various sequence diagnostic dissociation channels. The results of this study indicate that radical anions derived from multiply deprotonated oligo-deoxynucleotides that survive the electron transfer process are stable with respect to fragmentation in the ion trap environment under normal storage conditions and that the unimolecular dissociation behavior of these ions differs from the even-electron anions of the same charge state. These findings suggest, therefore, that odd- and even-electron anions might be used to provide complementary sequence information in cases in which neither ion type provides the full sequence.