New method for removal of spectral interferences for beryllium assay using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

Beryllium (Be) has been used widely in specific areas of nuclear technology. Frequent monitoring of air and possible contaminated surfaces in U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facilities is required to identify potential health risks and to protect U.S. DOE workers from beryllium-contaminated dust. A new method has been developed to rapidly remove spectral interferences prior to beryllium measurement by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) that allows lower detection limits. The ion exchange separation removes uranium (U), plutonium (Pu), thorium (Th), niobium (Nb), vanadium (V), molybdenum (Mo), zirconium (Zr), tungsten (W), iron (Fe), chromium (Cr), cerium (Ce), erbium (Er) and titanium (Ti). A stacked column consisting of Diphonix Resin and TEVA Resin reduces the levels of the spectral interferences so that low level Be measurements can be performed accurately. If necessary, an additional anion exchange separation can be used for further removal of interferences, particularly chromium. The method has been tested using spiked filters, spiked wipe samples and certified reference material (CRM) standards with high levels of interferences added. The method provides very efficient removal of spectral interferences with very good accuracy and precision for beryllium on filters or wipes. This new method offers improvements over other separation methods that have been used by removing large amounts of all the significant spectral interferences with greater simplicity and effectiveness. The effective removal of spectral interferences allows lower method detection limits (MDL) using inductively coupled atomic emission spectrometry. A vacuum box system is employed to reduce analytical time and reduce labor costs.     

Control of the site and potential of reduction and oxidation processes in pi-expanded quinoxalinoporphyrins

Quinoxalino[2,3-b']porphyrins are pi-expanded porphyrins, having a quinoxaline fused to a beta,beta'-pyrrolic position of the porphyrin. They are used as components in systems proposed as 'molecular wires'. Knowledge of their redox properties is of value in the design of electron- or hole-conduction systems. In particular, the location of the charge density in the radical anions of quinoxalinoporphyrins can be modulated by peripheral functionalization. New theoretical treatments of electrochemical potentials are developed that identify the site of reduction in both the anions and the dianions of 33 quinoxalinoporphyrins. These molecules include free-base and metallated macrocycles substituted on the quinoxaline with electron-withdrawing groups (NO2, Cl, Br) and/or electron-donating groups (NH2, OCH3). Spectroelectrochemistry, density-functional theory calculations, and substituent-parameter models are used to verify the analysis. Five distinct patterns are observed for the locations of the first and second reductions; some of these patterns involve delocalized charges. Nitroquinoxalinoporphyrins with the nitro groups at the 5- and 6-quinoxaline positions are found to have quite different properties owing to distortions caused by peri interactions that force the nitro group of the 5-nitro regioisomer out of conjugation. Charge localization on the nitroquinoxaline fragment is found for some molecules, and this is attributed to ion-pairing with the 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium perchlorate electrolyte used, leading to the verified prediction that electron-paramagnetic resonance spectra of these molecules taken without the electrolyte yield delocalized anions. These properties enable the control of conduction through molecular wires synthesised from quinoxalinoporphyrins.     

Porphyrin-naphthodiimide interactions as a structural motif in foldamers and supramolecular assemblies

pi-pi Stacking interactions between electron deficient naphthalenediimides (NDI) and electron-rich porphyrins (POR) leading to charge transfer are shown to be prevalent in linked NDI-POR and POR-NDI-POR structures. For flexibly-linked systems, intramolecular interactions lead to S-shaped foldamers in solution, whereas intermolecular association is predominant in more rigid systems. The foldamer structures can be interrupted by competing aromatic solvents, by six-coordination of metallated porphyrin derivatives, by protonation of the free base porphyrin in non-metallated structures, and in facially sterically hindered porphyrins.     

Monitoring the thermodynamically-controlled formation of diimide-based resin-attached rotaxanes by gel-phase HR MAS 1H NMR spectroscopy

The thermodynamically controlled self-assembly of rotaxane and pseudorotaxane systems consisting of (i) a naphthodiimide thread unit terminated at one end with a pyridine ligand, and covalently linked at the other to a gel-phase polystyrene resin support, (ii) a dinaphtho-crown ether shuttle unit, and (iii) a ruthenium carbonyl metalloporphyrin stopper unit, is investigated by high resolution magic angle spinning proton (HR MAS 1H) NMR spectroscopy. The effects of variable concentration of the solution-phase components, the temperature, and added Li+ and Na+ ions are described, and the limitations of the technique are addressed. The dynamic behaviour is compared directly to the solution-phase analogues, where a bulky stopper group is substituted for the polystyrene resin bead.     

Laser heated pedestal growth of potassium lithium niobate for UV generation

Potassium lithium niobate (KLN) is a nonlinear optical material with a high nonlinearity. It has the potential to improve the performance and reduce the cost of blue and UV lasers. KLN crystals are not commercially viable because growth by traditional techniques is not possible. In an effort to develop commercially viable KLN, single crystals of the material were grown by the laser heated pedestal growth method (LHPG) with compositions of x=0.02, 0.06 and 0.2 following K₃Li_2?xNb_5+xO_15+2x. Noncritical phase matching at 20 °C for previously unreported compositions of x=0.02 and 0.06 was measured at 795 nm and 805 nm, respectively. Overall, the results suggest that single crystal KLN can be used for SHG into the UV region of the spectrum and can be developed into a commercially viable nonlinear optical material.     

Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions of benzyl halides with potassium aryltrifluoroborates

[reaction: see text] The palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of potassium aryltrifluoroborates with benzylic halides occurs in good yield with high functional group tolerance. The increased stability of potassium aryltrifluoroborates compared to other boron coupling partners makes this an effective route to functionalized methylene-linked biaryl systems.     

Transition from concerted to stepwise processes as a function of leaving group ability: density functional theory and experimental study of lyoxide‐promoted cleavages of phosphorothioate and phosphate triesters in water and methanol

The base‐promoted solvolysis of a series of O,O‐dimethyl O‐aryl and O,O‐dimethyl O‐alkyl phosphorothioates (1) as well as O,O‐dimethyl O‐aryl and O,O‐dimethyl O‐alkyl phosphates (2) was studied computationally by density functional theory methods in methanol and water continuum media to determine the transition between concerted and stepwise processes. In addition, an experimental study was undertaken on the solvolysis of these series in basic methanol and water. The computations indicate that the solvolytic mechanism for series 1 involves lyoxide attack anti to the leaving group in a concerted manner with good leaving groups having pK_a^Lg values < 12.3 in methanol and in a stepwise fashion with the formation of a 5‐coordinate thiophosphorane intermediate when the pK_a^Lg > 12.3. A similar transition from concerted to stepwise mechanism occurs with series 2 in methanol as well as with series 1 and 2 in water, although for the aqueous solvolyses with hydroxide nucleophile, the transitions between concerted and stepwise mechanisms occur with better leaving groups than in the case in methanol. The computational data allow the construction of Brønsted plots of log k₂^?OS versus pK_a^Lg in methanol and water, which are compared with the experimental Brønsted plots determined with these series previously and with new data determined in this work. Both the computational and experimental Brønsted data reveal discontinuities in the plots between substrates bearing O‐aryl and O‐alkyl leaving groups, with the gradients of the plots being far steeper than, and non‐collinear with, the O‐aryl leaving groups for solvolysis of the O‐alkyl‐containing substrates. These discontinuities signify that care should be exercised in interpreting breaks in Brønsted plots in terms of changes in rate‐limiting steps that signify the formation of an intermediate during a solvolytic process. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Triggered Functional Dynamics of AsLOV2 by Time-Resolved Electron Paramagnetic Resonance at High Magnetic Fields

We present time-resolved Gd−Gd electron paramagnetic resonance (TiGGER) at 240 GHz for tracking inter-residue distances during a protein's mechanical cycle in the solution state. TiGGER makes use of Gd-sTPATCN spin labels, whose favorable qualities include a spin-7/2 EPR-active center, short linker, narrow intrinsic linewidth, and virtually no anisotropy at high fields (8.6 T) when compared to nitroxide spin labels. Using TiGGER, we determined that upon light activation, the C-terminus and N-terminus of AsLOV2 separate in less than 1 s and relax back to equilibrium with a time constant of approximately 60 s. TiGGER revealed that the light-activated long-range mechanical motion is slowed in the Q513A variant of AsLOV2 and is correlated to the similarly slowed relaxation of the optically excited chromophore as described in recent literature. TiGGER has the potential to valuably complement existing methods for the study of triggered functional dynamics in proteins.     

Breaking Malus’ law: Highly efficient,broadband, and angular robust asymmetric light transmitting metasurface

High efficiency, broad bandwidth, and robust angular tolerance are key considerations in photonic device design. Here, a few‐layer, asymmetric light transmitting metasurface that simultaneously satisfies all the above requirements is reported. The metasurface consists of coupled metallic sheets. It has a measured transmission efficiency of 80%, extinction ratio of 13.8 dB around 1.5 μm, and a full width half maximum bandwidth of 1.7 μm. It is as thin as 290 nm, has good performance tolerance against the angle of incidence and constituent nano‐structure geometry variations. This work demonstrates a practical asymmetric light transmission device with optimal performance for large scale manufacturing.