Voltammetric determination of Cr(III) in plating baths containing Cr(III) salts as the main component

The differential pulse single-sweep voltammetric technique with hanging mercury drop electrode was used for the determination of Cr(III). The determination was carried out in 0.2 mol/l sodium acetate as supporting electrolyte. The reduction peak of Cr(III) was recorded at –1.5 V vs. Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The relative standard deviation was 3% for Cr concentrations in the range of 0.4 mol/l. The determination of impurities (Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) in fresh and overworked galvanic baths using anodic stripping voltammetry in the differential pulse mode is also described.     

First-principles study on the electronic structures of iron phthalocyanine monolayer

The electronic band structure and magnetic properties of iron phthalocyanine (FePc) monolayer were investigated by using the first-principles all-electron full-potential linearized augmented plane wave energy band method. It is found that the ferromagnetic FePc monolayer is energetically more stable than the paramagnetic one. The exchange interaction, which splits the majority and minority bands, influences strongly on the electronic structure near the Fermi level (E_F). Magnetic moment of the central Fe atom is calculated to 1.95 μ_B. The range of the positive polarization of Fe site is larger in the out-of-plane than in the in-plane direction. The FePc ligand remains paramagnetic. The presence of states at E_F indicates the metallic character of FePc monolayer both for the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic states. However, the large density of states at E_F of the majority spins in the ferromagnetic state is expected to cause a phase transition to insulating antiferromagnetic state from the metallic ferromagnetic one.     

Computational studies of the interactions between emeraldine and palladium atom

The structural end electronic properties of emeraldine base (EB) dimers interacting with a single Pd atom is investigated within Hartree-Fock with 6-31g(d, p) basis set for non-metal atoms, and 3-21g for Pd. It was found that Pd⁰ might create a stable complex with EB fragments. The influence of the Pd presence on the electronic structure of EB dimers is examined through an analysis of the total density of states and the crystal orbital overlap population (COOP).     

A facile synthesis of 1,1-bis(silyl)ethenes

Symmetrical 1,1-bis(silyl)ethenes have been easily prepared via ruthenium complex-catalyzed silylative coupling cyclization of 1,2-bis(dimethylvinylsiloxy)ethane to give 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-methylene-1,5-dioxa-2,4-disilacycloheptane with excellent selectivity and good yield, followed by its reaction with Grignard reagents. The cyclic product can also be effectively transformed into cyclic carbosiloxane, 2,2,4,4,6,6,8,8-octamethyl-3,7-dimethylene-1,5-dioxa-2,4,6,8-tetrasilacyclooctane.     

Thin-layer chromatography-densitometry and liquid chromatography analysis of alkaloids in leaves of Papaver somniferum under stress conditions

The effect of stress conditions on the concentrations of secondary metabolites were examined during various developmental stages of Papaver somniferum plants. P. somniferum plants were grown in laboratory conditions (Budakalász). The experiment consisted of 22 treatments. Significantly different alkaloid contents can be observed under different stress conditions. In general, the alkaloid contents of plants are very low; therefore, a highly sensitive and reliable method has to be developed for analysis. The amount of alkaloids was measured by 2 separation and detection techniques. Accuracy of the thin-layer chromatography method for quantitative analysis is limited. Without purification of samples the background is too noisy. Column liquid chromatography is a sensitive and relatively inexpensive method that allows precise quantitative determination of the alkaloid content.     

Spectrochemical and Thermal Behaviour of the 5-chloro-2-nitrobenzoates of Rare Earth Elements

The conditions of the formation of yttrium and lanthanide 5-chloro-2-nitrobenzoates were studied and their quantitative composition and solubilities in water at 298 K were determined. They are anhydrous or hydrated complexes and their solubilities are of the order of 10-3 mol dm-3. The IR and X-ray spectra for the complexes were recorded. All complexes are crystalline compounds. Their thermal decomposition was studied. It was found that on heating above 523 K the complexes decompose explosively. Therefore their thermal decomposition was carried out in the temperature range 273-523 K. Hydrated complexes lose crystallization water molecules in one step. From the results it appeared that during dehydration process no transformation of nitro group to nitrito took place. Some of physico-chemical properties of rare earth element 5-chloro-2-nitrobenzoates were compared with 2-nitro- and 3-chlorobenzoates of those elements. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Peak alignment of urine NMR spectra using fuzzy warping

Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopic analysis of mixtures has been used extensively for a variety of applications ranging from the analysis of plant extracts, wine, and food to the evaluation of toxicity in animals. For example, NMR analysis of urine samples has been used extensively for biomarker discovery and, more simply, for the construction of classification models of toxicity, disease, and biochemical phenotype. However, NMR spectra of complex mixtures typically show unwanted local peak shifts caused by matrix and instrument variability, which must be compensated for prior to statistical analysis and interpretation of the data. One approach is to align the spectral peaks across the data set. An efficient and fast warping algorithm is required as the signals typically contain ca. 32,000-64,000 data points and there can be several thousand spectra in a data set. As demonstrated in our study, the iterative fuzzy warping algorithm fulfills these requirements and can be used on-line for an alignment of the NMR spectra. Correlation coefficients between the aligned and target spectra are used as the evaluation function for the algorithm, and its performance is compared with those of other published warping methods.     

Magnetic measurements of Fe-Ni-Nb-B and Fe-Co-Mo-Cu-B in the vicinity of the Curie temperature

The study of the transition between ferromagnetic and paramagnetic states has been investigated on selected metallic glass systems based on Fe-Ni-Nb-B and Fe-Co-Mo-Cu-B with T_C close to room temperature. Samples in the form of ribbons were prepared by planar flow casting and magnetostriction in parallel and perpendicular directions and saturation magnetostrictions have been determined on these samples in as-cast states together with hysteresis loops. In addition, a magneto-optic device for dynamic domain observation has been used for observation of domain structure. Magnetostriction measurements using direct method of measurement show the decrease of saturation magnetostriction towards zero upon approaching T_C. In paramagnetic state the field dependencies of magnetostriction in parallel and perpendicular configurations exhibit a linear dependence on the external magnetic field. In the transition region of temperatures the dependencies are a combination of ferromagnetic and paramagnetic field dependencies. The coercivity H_C in the materials investigated exhibits values below 20 A/m. The observed magnetic domains are typical for this class of amorphous alloys. The polarization in paramagnetic state increases gradually with increase in magnetizing field, reflecting the increasing amount of polarized regions.     

Histochemical and Phytochemical Analysis of Lamium album subsp. album L. Corolla: Essential Oil,Triterpenes, and Iridoids

The aim of this study was to conduct a histochemical analysis to localize lipids, terpenes, essential oil, and iridoids in the trichomes of the L. album subsp. album corolla. Morphometric examinations of individual trichome types were performed. Light and scanning electron microscopy techniques were used to show the micromorphology and localization of lipophilic compounds and iridoids in secretory trichomes with the use of histochemical tests. Additionally, the content of essential oil and its components were determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Qualitative analyses of triterpenes carried out using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) coupled with densitometric detection, and the iridoid content expressed as aucubin was examined with spectrophotometric techniques. We showed the presence of iridoids and different lipophilic compounds in papillae and glandular and non-glandular trichomes. On average, the flowers of L. album subsp. album yielded 0.04 mL/kg of essential oil, which was dominated by aldehydes, sesquiterpenes, and alkanes. The extract of the L. album subsp. album corolla contained 1.5 × 10⁻³ ± 4.3 × 10⁻⁴ mg/mL of iridoid aucubin and three triterpenes: oleanolic acid, β-amyrin, and β-amyrin acetate. Aucubin and β-amyrin acetate were detected for the first time. We suggest the use of L. album subsp. album flowers as supplements in human nutrition.