Large-scale separation of metallic and semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes

In the applications of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), it is extremely important to separate semiconducting and metallic SWNTs. Although several methods have been reported for the separation, only low yields have been achieved at great expense. We show a separation method involving a dispersion-centrifugation process in a tetrahydrofuran solution of amine, which makes metallic SWNTs highly concentrated to 87% in a simple way.     

Determination of methylarsenic compounds in airborne particulate matter by gas chromatography with atomic absorption spectrometry

A sensitive method is described for the determination of mono-, di- and tri-methylarsenic compounds in airborne particulate matter by hydride-generation and gas-liquid chromatography with atomic absorption spectrometric detection. Interferences of various species are discussed. Absolute detection limits are 70, 80 and 100 pg As, respectively for the mono-, di- and tri-methylarsenic species. Recoveries of methylarsenic compounds added to airborne particulate matter are almost 100%. An iron/nitrate mixture interfered strongly but this was overcome by adding EDTA.     

Beta-1,3-glucan polysaccharides as novel one-dimensional hosts for DNA/RNA, conjugated polymers and nanoparticles

Beta-1,3-glucan polysaccharides have triple-stranded helical structures whose sense and pitch are comparable to those of polynucleotides. We recently revealed that the beta-1,3-glucans could interact with certain polynucleotides to form triple-stranded and helical macromolecular complexes consisting of two polysaccharide-strands and one polynucleotide-strand. This unique property of the beta-1,3-glucans has made it possible to utilize these polysaccharides as potential carriers for various functional polynucleotides. In particular, cell-uptake efficiency of the resultant polysaccharide/polynucleotide complexes was remarkably enhanced when functional groups recognized in a biological system were introduced as pendent groups. The beta-1,3-glucans can also interact with various one-dimensional architectures, such as single-walled carbon nanotubes, to produce unique nanocomposites, in which the single-walled carbon nanotubes are entrapped within the helical superstructure of beta-1,3-glucans. Various conductive polymers and gold nanoparticles are also entrapped within the helical superstructure in a similar manner. In addition, diacetylene monomers entrapped within the helical superstructure can be photo-polymerized to afford the corresponding poly(diacetylene)-nanofibers with a uniform diameter. These findings indicate that the beta-1,3-glucans are very attractive and useful materials not only in biotechnology but also in nanotechnology. These unique properties of the beta-1,3-glucans undoubtedly originate from their inherent, very strong helix-forming character which has never been observed for other polysaccharides.     

Photo-induced graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate on cellulose

Graft copolymerization initiated by ultraviolet light irradiation at 40°C in a hard glass vessel under nitrogen was examined. The graft copolymerization was observed to occur easily after some induction period without any use of photosensitizer, though it was found the per cent grafting and the grafting efficiency were markedly affected by the quantities of cellulose and monomer. In the system without cellulose, homopolymerization of methyl methacrylate hardly took place, but the use of cellulose caused the formation of homopolymer too, and a grafting efficiency in the range of 60–80% generally resulted. Ferric chloride or sodium anthraquinone-2,7-disulfonate (AQ) acted on the polymerization reaction as photosensitizers to reduce its induction period. Though ferric chloride acted to develop both the per cent grafting and the number of grafts, not the same effects were observed with AQ. Oxalic acid, which was employed with the object of eliminating very small amount of metals contained in cellulose, was found to act favorably in the formation of grafts, much like ferric chloride.     

Heterometallic hexanuclear cluster with an S = 8 spin ground state: MnII[MnII(hfac)2]3[NiII(pao)3]2 (hfac- = hexafluoroacetylacetonate,pao- = pyridine-2-aldoximate)

The heterometallic Mn(II)(4)Ni(II)(2) title compound has been synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography. The compound consists of a Ni-Mn-Ni linear moiety, [[Ni-(mu-NO)(3)](2)-Mn], linked by oximate bridges and three Mn(II) hfac terminal units attached by oximate oxygens in a di-mu-oxo fashion, forming a novel heterometallic cluster: Mn[Mn(hfac)(2)](3)[Ni(pao)(3)](2) (1). Magnetic measurements reveal the antiferromagnetic nature of the oximate pathway between Mn(II) and Ni(II) metal ions, which imposes an unusual high-spin ground state (S = 8) for 1.     

Two Polymorphs of (Anilinium)(18-Crown-6)[Ni(dmit)2]: Structure and Magnetic Properties

Two polymorphs of monovalent [Ni(dmit)₂]⁻ (dmit²⁻=2-thioxo-1,3-dithiole-4,5-dithiolate) crystals A and B, (anilinium)(18-crown-6)[Ni(dmit)₂], were prepared, and the structure and magnetic properties were investigated. In these crystals, the [Ni(dmit)₂]⁻ molecules form dimers, which arranged into chains between the supramolecular cation structure (anilinium)(18-crown-6). In crystal A, supramolecular cation formed a regular stack, inducing ladder structure of [Ni(dmit)₂], whose magnetism had been well fitted by spin ladder equation with the spin gap of Δ=190 K. Crystal B is ca. 3% more densely packed compared to crystal A. Due to the dense packing, supramolecular cation stack is distorted, which prevented the intermolecular interaction between [Ni(dmit)₂]⁻ dimers in direction corresponds to the ladder-leg direction in crystal A. Reflecting the [Ni(dmit)₂]⁻ arrangement, crystal B showed a temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility well reproduced by the singlet-triplet thermal activation model, whose antiferromagnetic exchange interaction (2J) was 140 K.     

Preparation and characterization of silicalite-1 membranes prepared by secondary growth of seeds with different crystal sizes

MFI-type zeolite particles of 0.1–1 μm in diameter were prepared by adjusting tetra-n-propylammonium hydroxide (TPAOH) and water contents in synthesis mixtures. Using those particles as seeds, MFI-type zeolite membranes were prepared on the surface of a porous mullite tube by secondary growth. The membranes were formed as polycrystalline zeolite layers on and inside the porous support, and the membranes were composed of the [h 0 h]-oriented crystallites. The membrane consisting of a-oriented crystallites could be also prepared. However, the a-oriented zeolite layers were not active on the permeation properties of butanes. Rather the size and loaded amount of the seed particles influenced on the permeation properties through the membranes. As a result, the n-C₄H₁₀/i-C₄H₁₀ permselectivity could be increased to 220 by adjusting the size and the loaded amount of particles. These results suggest that the number of loaded particles affects on the permeation properties through the membranes.     

Speciation of mercury in salmon egg cell cytoplasm in relation with metallomics research

Speciation of mercury in salmon egg cell cytoplasm was investigated by surfactant-mediated high-performance liquid chromatography/inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC/ICP-MS), where an ODS (octadecylsilica) column coated with a bile acid derivative, CHAPS (3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)-dimethylammonio]-1-propane sulfonate), was used for species separation. Prior to the speciation analysis, total Hg in the cell cytoplasm was determined by ICP-MS at m/z 202 in a flow injection mode. For the precise measurement, salmon egg cell cytoplasm was diluted five-fold with 0.1 M Tris (Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane)-HNO₃ buffer solution, and the standard addition method was employed. Thus, the total concentration of Hg in cell cytoplasm was estimated to be 12.4 ng g⁻¹ on the wet weight basis. Next, the cell cytoplasm diluted five-fold with 0.1 M Tris-HNO₃ buffer solution was analyzed by surfactant-mediated HPLC with the dual detection system of a UV absorption detector and an ICP-MS instrument. Two peaks corresponding to some proteins and small molecules were mainly observed in those chromatograms. When salmon egg cell cytoplasm was diluted five-fold with 0.01 M Tris buffer solution or pure water, some precipitates appeared probably because of precipitation of hydrophobic proteins in cytoplasm. After the precipitates were eliminated with a membrane filter, the filtrate was subjected to the analysis by surfactant-mediated HPLC/UV/ICP-MS. As a result, the peaks for small molecular species of Hg were clearly observed at the retention time near 4.0 min (corresponding to low-molecular weight zone) in the chromatograms with UV absorption detection as well as with Hg- and S-specific ICP-MS detections. The small molecule bound with Hg was identified as cysteine through the cysteine-spiked experiment. In addition, the protein fraction on the chromatogram obtained by using the CHAPS-coated ODS column was further analyzed by SEC (size exclusion chromatography). Consequently, several protein peaks with molecular weight of 300, 50 and 12 kDa were observed in all the detections of UV absorption, Hg and Se, although two peaks among them were coincident in the case of S. These results indicate that Hg in salmon egg cell cytoplasm binds with proteins containing selenocysteine and/or cysteine residues in proteins.     

Ability of poly(vinyl alcohol) fibers to initiate graft copolymerization

It was noted in a graft copolymerization reaction involving a system of poly(vinyl alcohol) fibers (PVA fibers), methyl methacrylate, and water that fibers oxidized with hydrogen peroxide or sodium hypochlorite or ferric ion-adsorbing fibers effectively initiate the reaction as in the case of cellulose fibers. The initiation reaction of the sample was markedly activated by the presence of a pretreatment with an oxidizing agent at a concentration on the order of 10^?9 mole/l., but the oxidized samples were sharply deactivated by such means as reduction and oximation. Since model initiators for the present system, such as iron(III) acetylacetonate-adsorbing PVA fibers or ferric ion-adsorbing fibres, with the co-existence of acetylacetone were observed to initiate graft copolymerization effectively, it is believed that carbonyl groups in modified PVA fibers could be a major factor for initiating copolymerization through interaction with metallic ions.     

Contrasteric stereochemical dictation of the cyclobutene ring-opening reaction by a vacant boron p orbital

Cyclobutene, having a pinacolatoboryl group at the 3-position, was prepared by the reaction of trimethyl borate with a cyclobutenyl anion, which was generated by reductive lithiation of 3-(phenylselenyl)cyclobutene. Its thermal ring-opening reaction provided (Z)-1-borylbuta-1,3-diene selectively despite the arising steric congestion. The contrasteric behavior was accounted for by assuming an electron-accepting interaction of the vacant boron p orbital with the distorted breaking sigma orbital in the inward transition state.