Flow injection determination of cobalt after its sorption onto polyurethane foam loaded with 2-(2-thiazolylazo)-p-cresol (TAC)

An electrochemically stable monolayer of tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) was obtained for the first time. It was based on the electrostatic attachment of Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) to the benzene sulfonic acid monolayer film, which was covalently bound onto glassy carbon electrode by the electrochemical reduction of diazobenzene sulfonic acid. The surface-confined Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) underwent reversible surface process, and reacted with the coreactant, tripropylamine, to produce electrochemiluminescence. In view of the stability of the electrode, the results strongly suggested that light was emitted from the surface-confined Ru(bpy)(3)(2+), not from the detached Ru(bpy)(3)(2+). The Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) modified electrode was used to the determination of tripropylamine. It showed good linearity in the concentration range from 5 muM to 1 mM with a detection limit of 1 muM (S/N=4). The good stability of the Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) modified electrode also showed that the benzene sulfonic acid monolayer film prepared can be served as an excellent support to construct multilayers.     

A theoretical study on the low-lying excited states of 2,2':5',2'-terthiophene and 2,2':5',2':5',2'-quaterthiophene.

The nature and properties of the low-lying singlet and triplet valence excited states of 2,2':5',2'-terthiophene (terthiophene) and 2,2':5',2':5',2'-quaterthiophene (tetrathiophene) are discussed on the basis of high-level ab initio computations. The spectroscopic features determined experimentally for short alpha-oligothiophenes are rationalised on theoretical grounds. Special attention is devoted to the nonradiative decay process through intersystem crossing (ISC) from the singlet to the triplet manifold, which is known to be relatively less efficient in tetrathiophene. Along the geometry relaxation of the S1 state of terthiophene, the S1 and T2 states become degenerate, which leads to a favourable situation for the occurrence of ISC. The parallel process is expected to be less favoured in tetrathiophene because of the less efficient spin-orbit coupling and the increase of the S1-T2 energy gap.     

Effect of chloride on heavy metal mobility of harbour sediments

To evaluate the environmental impact of polluted sediments, several operationally defined sequential extraction procedures (SEPs) have been described. Salinity has long been recognised as an important variable determining the physicochemical behaviour of heavy metals in marine sediments. Thus, in the present paper, the modified BCR-SEP has been applied to harbour sediments in order to assess to what extent trace metal mobility (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) could be influenced by chloride content in sediments. For this, washed (W) and non-washed (NW) sediments were compared. The relative mobility order observed for the six trace metals studied was not seen to be influenced by the presence of chloride in the sediments, but an increase of mobility was observed for Cd and Zn (the most mobile metals) when chloride was present in the sediments. Characterisation of the sediments and of the pseudo-total metal contents by means of an aqua regia extraction was also assessed.     

Excess magnitudes for the benzene + n-dodecane system at 298.15 and 323.15 K

The vapor pressures for benzene + n-dodecane mixtures have been measured using a static apparatus. Values for the excess Gibbs energy have been calculated using a modified form of Barker's method and fitted to a Padé approximant equation. Selection of the most adequate approximant is made according to objective criteria. The results are compared with those corresponding to other benzene + n-alkane systems. The values for the activity coefficient of benzene at infinite dilution calculated from these data agrees very well with the values obtained by gas-liquid chromatography.     

Analysis by DSC of the drying and sintering processes of alkoxide-derived SiO2–ZrO2 gels

The drying and sintering processes of SiO₂–ZrO₂ alkoxide-derived gels have been studied by means of DSC technique. In the drying process, most part of water and alcohols are removed from the gels. For the SiO₂ gel such elimination occurs at the end of the drying process, however for the ZrO₂ gel this elimination occurs during the whole drying time. An intermediate behavior is observed for the binary system SiO₂–ZrO₂ gels. In the sintering process, the DSC technique allows to determine the elimination of water and alcohols retained within the structure (open or close pores) and the well-known hydroxyl condensation of silica gel between 700° and 800°C is also observed. The ZrO₂ gel shows the final hydroxyl condensation at the heating temperature of 600°C. For the binary SiO₂–ZrO₂ gels, the hydroxyl condensation has been associated to the activation energy needed for the dissociation of silica hydroxyls. This energy decreases with the ZrO₂ concentration in the gel resulting in a sintering treatment of 500°C leading to the entire hydroxyl condensation for the gel with 75% ZrO₂–25% SiO₂.

By studying the temperature of the DSC peaks, it is possible to know the temperature at which most part of water and alcohols are leaving the gel, and these results can be used in order to select the corresponding drying or sintering schedules for obtaining a well-fabricated material.     

Synthesis, structure and properties of ruthenium(II) complexes with quinolinedione derivatives as chelate ligands: Crystal structure of [Ru(CO)2Cl2(6-methoxybenzo[g]quinoline-5,10-dione)]

The reaction of the dimer complex [{Ru(CO)₃Cl₂}₂] with the ligands 4,6-dichloroquinoline-5,8-dione and 6-methoxybenzo[g]quinoline-5,10-dione in ethanol solution led to the neutral mononuclear complexes of general formula [Ru(CO)₂Cl₂(κ²-quinolinedione-N,O)]. The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, IR and RMN spectroscopy, and the molecular structure of [Ru(CO)₂Cl₂(6-methoxybenzo[g]quinoline-5,10-dione)] was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The redox chemistry of ligands and complexes was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, and their potential antitumor activity was also evaluated.     

Study of reaction processes by in-line near-infrared spectroscopy in combination with multivariate curve resolution: Esterification of myristic acid with isopropanol

The acid-catalysed esterification of myristic acid with isopropanol was studied by using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) in combination with soft-modeling curve resolution (MCR) methodology with a view to establishing the effect of experimental variables on the reaction kinetics. The reaction was conducted at temperatures above the boiling point of the alcohol, with continuous addition of an isopropanol/water mixture to the reactor. Spectral and concentration profiles were determined by applying soft-modeling curve resolution methodology to a column-wise augmented data matrix containing the spectra for the pure components. MCR profiles were compared with reference values and found to depart from then by less than 3% as %RSE for concentrations and to exhibit correlation above 0.999 for spectra.The reaction kinetics as estimated from the concentration profiles was found to be pseudo-first-order. Also, the pseudo-first-order rate constant was found to depend on the flow-rate of the isopropanol/water mixture and its water content; although the constant decreased with increase in the proportion of water, a content of ca. 15% could be used without important retarding effects on the kinetics. The proposed NIR-MCR method allows the rate constant and the influence of the initial water content to be determined with a view to minimizing consumption of the raw materials and optimizing the experimental conditions.     

Optical response of bimetallic Li x Na8−x (0≦x≦8) and of doped Na8Zn clusters

Total (elastic + inelastic) cross-sections for electron scattering from C, N, O atoms and their simple molecules are studied theoretically. Thee ^–-C, N, O atomic calculations are done in the complex optical potential approach. To study the electron scattering from O₂, N₂, CO, NO, CN, C₂ as well as CO₂, N₂O, NO₂ O₃ targets, we have adopted an additivity rule, wherein the molecular cross-section is an incoherent sum of the cross-sections of the constituent atoms. The cross-sections of C, N & O atoms are presented at incident energiesE _i =10–1000 eV, the molecular cross-sections are presented atE _i =100–1000 eV. The reliability of the additivity rule is discussed against the background of experimental data.     

Voltammetric behavior of zaleplon and its differential pulse polarographic determination in capsules

In this work both the electrochemical behavior and the analysis of the hypnotic pyrazolopyrimidine derivative zaleplon were studied. Zaleplon in ethanol-0.1M Britton Robinson buffer solution (30-70) showed 2 irreversible, well-defined cathodic responses in the pH range of 2-12 using differential pulse polarography (DPP), tast polarography, and cyclic voltammetry. From chronocoulometric studies, it was possible to conclude that one electron was transferred in each reduction peak or wave. For analytical purposes, the DPP technique working at pH 4.5 for peak I was selected, which exhibited adequate repeatability, reproducibility, and selectivity. The recovery was 99.97 +/- 1.52%, and the detection and quantitation limits were 5.13 x 10(-7)M and 1.11 x 10(-6)M, respectively. The DPP method was applied successfully to the individual assay of capsules in order to verify the content uniformity of zaleplon. Treatment of the sample is not required because the excipients do not interfere, the method is not time consuming, and it is less expensive than column liquid chromatography.