Analysis of urban dust (PM<Subscript>2</Subscript>/PM<Subscript>10-2</Subscript>) in Daejeon city by instrumental neutron activation analysis

Summary As part of an air pollution monitoring study, airborne particulate matter (PM₂/PM_10-2) samples were collected from 2000 to 2003 at two sampling sites in an urban region, Daejeon, the middle of Korea. Mass concentrations of both fine and coarse fractions and that of the black carbon in the fine particles were measured using the Gent stacked filter unit sampler and the smoke stain reflectometer, respectively. In the collected samples the concentrations of 24 elements were analyzed using instrumental neutron activation analysis. Monitored data were investigated for their temporal trends under different environmental conditions and their seasonal correlation patterns. Crustal enrichment factors were also estimated to establish the contribution between anthropogenic and crustal origin. Patterns for airborne particle matter (APM) and elemental concentrations, seasonal variation of some marker elements were investigated. The results can be applied for the investigation of further air pollution sources and for the evaluation of air quality.     

Some Comments on the Matter Wave-light Wave Hypothesis

From the de Broglie matter wave hypothesis and Planck’s energy quantization law, and assuming conservation of energy in the absorption of a photon and its consequent conversion to kinetic energy of motion by a material particle initially at rest, one can deduce a simple mathematical relationship between the wavelength λ (or frequency ν), of the photon absorbed by the particle at rest, and the resulting de Broglie matter wave length, λ_D, of the particle with kinetic energy of motion of mv²/2. The relationship so deduced, λ_D∝√λ, suggests that visible wavelengths of light, from about 4000 ?, in the violet, to beyond about 7000 ?, in the red, on absorption by an electron at rest, lead to material electron wavelengths, λ_D, of the order of the size of the electron transfer proteins seen in the photosynthetic reaction centers of photosynthesizing organisms, at about a size of 50–100 ?. In addition to understanding the mechanism of photosynthesis as a material wave mediated phenomenon, further areas of importance of the relations pointed out in this paper are in the design of experiments to gain a deeper understanding of the basic tenets of wave mechanics, and in the use of tunable lasers to probe various properties of material waves, and to precisely control their properties for applications including lithography.     

Heterometallic nickel(II) samarium(III) diethylenetriaminepentaacetate, a starting material for the preparation of samarium nickelate films

A reaction of samarium oxide, nickel oxocarbonate, and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (H₅DTPA) taken in stoichiometric proportions in water gave SmNiDTPA · 10H₂O as a glassy solid. The formation of this heterometallic complex was confirmed by data from elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and X-ray fluorescence analysis. An aqueous solution of the complex was used to deposit SmNiO₃ films onto a single-crystal SrTiO₃(001) substrate. The SmNiO₃ phase in films obtained upon 3-h annealing at 500°C was identified by powder X-ray diffraction. Films deposited from a solution of an equimolar mixture of monometallic samarium and nickel diethylenetriaminepentaacetates contained no samarium nickelate.     

Crown-containing butadienyl dyes 8. Structures and complexation of chromogenic dithia-15(18)-crown-5(6) ethers

The structures of new butadienyl dyes of the benzothiazole series containing the dithia-15-crown-5 (2a) or dithia-18-crown-6 (2b) fragments were established by X-ray diffraction. Complexation of dyes 2a,b with Hg²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, Ag⁺, Zn²⁺, and alkaline-earth cations in aqueous-acetonitrile solutions was studied by spectrophotometry. At a high percentage of water in solutions (P _w ≈ 50%), these dyes have a very low ability to bind Pb²⁺ cations (logK < 2) and virtually do not bind Cd²⁺, Zn²⁺, and alkaline-earth cations. At the same time, these dyes form stable 1: 1 complexes with Hg²⁺ and Ag⁺ cations at all P _w. The stability constants of complexes with the Ag⁺ cation increase with increasing P _w because the free energy of hydration of this cation is much lower than the free energy of solvation in acetonitrile. In the P _w range from 0 to 75%, the stability constants of the complexes of dyes 2a,b with the Hg²⁺ cation are larger than those of the corresponding complexes with the Ag⁺ cation by more than four orders of magnitude. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 90–96, January, 2006.     

Thermal and mechanical properties of PE/organoclay nanocomposites

Polyethylene/montmorillonite clay nanocomposites were obtained via direct melt intercalation. The clay was organically modified with four different types of quaternary ammonium salts. The objective of this work is to study the use of montmorillonite clay in the production of nanocomposites by means on rheological, mechanical and crystallization properties of nanocomposites and to compare to the properties of the matrix and PE/unmodified clay nanocomposites. In general, the tensile test showed that the yield strength and modulus of the nanocomposites are close to the pure PE. Apparently, the mixture with Dodigen salt seems to be more stable than the pure PE and PE/unmodified clay.     

Density Functional Theory and Low-Temperature Matrix Investigations of CO-Loss Photochemistry from [(C<Subscript>5</Subscript>R<Subscript>5</Subscript>)Ru(CO)<Subscript>2</Subscript>]<Subscript>2</Subscript> (R = H,Me) Complexes

The photochemical CO-loss products of the diruthenium complexes [CpRu(CO) ₂]₂ (5; Cp = ⁵-C₅H₅), [Cp*Ru(CO)₂]₂ (5*; Cp* = ⁵-C₅(CH₃)₅) and CpCp*[Ru(CO)₂]₂ (5) have been studied experimentally in low-temperature (96 K) matrices in 3-methylpentane by using IR spectroscopy. It is proposed that all three complexes undergo single-CO-loss chemistry but that the products have different structures. The single-CO-loss product from 5 is proposed to have one bridging and two terminal carbonyl ligands, whereas 5* and 5 generate triply bridged CO-loss products similar to that observed from [CpFe(CO)₂]₂ and [Cp*Fe(CO)₂]₂. Double-CO-loss from 5* and 5* 9 is also apparently observed. Relativistic DFT calculations have been carried out on various isomers of the starting materials and on potential CO-loss products from 5. The calculations suggest that the triply bridged product Cp₂Ru₂(-CO)₃ (6) might have a singlet ground state in contrast to the corresponding diiron complex Cp₂Fe₂(-CO)₃ (3), which has a triplet ground state.     

Mechanism and control of molecular energy flow: a modeling perspective

 Vibrational energy flow in organic molecules occurs by a multiple-time-scale mechanism that can be modeled by a single exponential only in its initial stages. The mechanism is a consequence of the hierarchical structure of the vibrational Hamiltonian, which leads to diffusion of vibrational wavepackets on a manifold with far fewer than the 3N−6 dimensions of the full vibrational state space. The dynamics are controlled by a local density of states, which does not keep increasing with molecular size. In addition, the number of vibrational coordinates severely perturbed during chemical reaction is small, leading to preservation of the hierarchical structure at chemically interesting energies. This regularity opens up the possibility of controlling chemical reactions by controlling the vibrational energy flow. Computationally, laser control of intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution can be modeled by quantum-classical, or by purely quantum-mechanical models of the molecule and control field. Received: 26 July 2002 / Accepted: 30 September 2002 / Published online: 2 December 2002 Electronic Supplementary Material to this paper can be obtained by using the Springer Link server located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00214-002-0394-2. Acknowledgements. This work was supported by NSF grant CHE 9986670. Correspondence to: M. Gruebele e-mail: gruebele@scs.uiuc.edu     

Evaluation of molecular structure in Langmuir monolayers of zinc stearate and zinc 12-hydroxystearate by IR external reflection spectroscopy

 In situ polarized Fourier transform IR external reflection spectra of Langmuir monolayers of zinc stearate and zinc 12-hydroxystearate on a water surface were recorded for various surface areas, and their molecular structures were estimated. In the zinc stearate monolayer, the wavenumbers and the absorbances of the antisymmetric and symmetric methylene stretching bands did not change during monolayer compression, which means that orientational and conformational changes of the hydrocarbon chain did not occur. However, wavenumber changes of the antisymmetric and symmetric carboxylate stretching bands were observed during surface compression. The change in the binding nature of the zinc cation to the carboxylate group was speculated. Moreover, it was elucidated that the structure of the hydrocarbon chain in the zinc 12-hydroxystearate monolayer was different from that in the zinc stearate monolayer. Received: 21 March 2001 Accepted: 6 July 2001     

Kinetics of anation of chromium(III) by L-phenylalanine

Summary The kinetics of anation of chromium(III) species, [Cr(H₂O)₆]⁴⁺ and [Cr(H₂O)₅OH]²⁺, by L-phenylalanine in aqueous acid has been studied spectrophotometrically. Effects of varying [substrate], [ligand], [H⁺], , % ethanol and temperature were investigated. The kinetic data suggest a mechanism where outersphere-associations [between chromium(III) species and phenylalanine in the zwitterionic form] precede anation. Comparison of the results with published data suggest an I_a path for the [Cr(H₂O)₆]³⁺ reaction and I_d path for the [Cr(H₂O)₅OH]²⁺ reaction.     

Theoretical investigation of 1,4-dioxane complexes with water in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">chair</Emphasis> conformation by semiempiric MNDO/PM3 method

The structure and relative stability of 1,4-dioxane-water, (Diox)_n·(H₂O )_m (n = 1, 2, m = 1–6), molecular complexes have been calculated by semiempirical MNDO/PM3 method. A considerable variety of (Diox)_n·(H₂O )_m isomeric structures was stated. The mean energy of O_Diox…H_W-O_W hydrogen bond in (Diox)_n·(H₂O)_m complexes formed by 1,4-dioxane molecules in the chair conformation amounts to ?2.293 ± 0.210 kcal/mol with the average bond length 2.797 0.015 Å.