Experimental determination and prediction of (solid + liquid) phase equilibria for binary mixtures of aromatic and fatty acids methyl esters

Solid–liquid equilibria for binary mixtures of {methyl stearate (1) + biphenyl (2)}, {methyl stearate (1) + naphthalene (2)}, {methyl palmitate (1) + biphenyl (2)} and {methyl palmitate (1) + naphthalene (2)} were measured using differential scanning calorimeter. Simple eutectic behaviours for these systems were observed. The experimental results were correlated by means of the NRTL, Wilson, UNIQUAC and ideal models. The root-mean-square deviations of the solubility temperatures for all measured data vary from 0.5477 K (for UNIQUAC model) to 7.79 K; the deviations depend on the binary system studied and particular model used. The best solubility correlation was obtained with UNIQUAC model and this observation confirms previous results.     

Single‐Particle Spectroscopy on Large SAPO‐34 Crystals at Work: Methanol‐to‐Olefin versus Ethanol‐to‐Olefin Processes

The formation of hydrocarbon pool (HCP) species during methanol‐to‐olefin (MTO) and ethanol‐to‐olefin (ETO) processes have been studied on individual micron‐sized SAPO‐34 crystals with a combination of in situ UV/Vis, confocal fluorescence, and synchrotron‐based IR microspectroscopic techniques. With in situ UV/Vis microspectroscopy, the intensity changes of the λ=400 nm absorption band, ascribed to polyalkylated benzene (PAB) carbocations, have been monitored and fitted with a first‐order kinetics at low reaction temperatures. The calculated activation energy (E_a) for MTO, approximately 98 kJ mol^?1, shows a strong correlation with the theoretical values for the methylation of aromatics. This provides evidence that methylation reactions are the rate‐determining steps for the formation of PAB. In contrast for ETO, the E_a value is approximately 60 kJ mol^?1, which is comparable to the E_a values for the condensation of light olefins into aromatics. Confocal fluorescence microscopy demonstrates that during MTO the formation of the initial HCP species are concentrated in the outer rim of the SAPO‐34 crystal when the reaction temperature is at 600 K or lower, whereas larger HCP species are gradually formed inwards the crystal at higher temperatures. In the case of ETO, the observed egg‐white distribution of HCP at 509 K suggests that the ETO process is kinetically controlled, whereas the square‐shaped HCP distribution at 650 K is indicative of a diffusion‐controlled process. Finally, synchrotron‐based IR microspectroscopy revealed a higher degree of alkylation for aromatics for MTO as compared to ETO, whereas high reaction temperatures favor dealkylation processes for both the MTO and ETO processes.     

Utilization of stimulated Raman Scattering as secondary pump on hybrid remotely-pump l-band Raman/erbium-doped fiber amplifier

An L-band remotely-pumped erbium-doped fiber amplifier incorporating a secondary pumping scheme utilizing stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) was demonstrated. 1423 nm Raman laser was employed to generate SRS which became the secondary pump source. The amplifier displayed excellent gain of up to 27.3 dB at 1570 nm for −30 dBm input. Noise figures were also kept to a minimum, with the highest figure measured at 11 dB which was influenced by imperfection of the C/L coupler utilized in this architecture. Overall transmission performance was measured as well and demonstrated an encouraging outcome with gain as high as 24 dB while the noise figure was maintained at about 11 dB. The L-band signal amplification was also contributed by the stimulated Raman scattering along the transmission fiber. The outcome of this study emphasized the feasibility of secondary pumping scheme using SRS in L-band gain enhancement.     

Spontaneous H2 Loss through the Interaction of Squaric Acid Derivatives and BeH2

The most stable complexes between squaric acid and its sulfur‐ and selenium‐containing analogues (C₄X₄H₂; X=O, S, Se) with BeY₂ (Y=H, F) were studied by means of the Gaussian 04 (G4) composite ab initio theory. Squaric acid derivatives are predicted to be very strong acids in the gas phase; their acidity increases with the size of the chalcogen, with C₄Se₄H₂ being the strongest acid of the series and stronger than sulfuric acid. The relative stability of the C₄X₄H₂ ? BeY₂ (X=O, S, Se; Y=H, F) complexes changes with the nature of the chalcogen atom; but more importantly, the formation of the C₄X₄H₂ ? BeF₂ complexes results in a substantial acidity enhancement of the squaric moiety owing to the dramatic electron‐density redistribution undergone by the system when the beryllium bond is formed. The most significant consequence of this acidity enhancement is that when BeF₂ is replaced by BeH₂, a spontaneous exergonic loss of H₂ is observed regardless of the nature of the chalcogen atom. This is another clear piece of evidence of the important role that closed‐shell interactions play in the modulation of physicochemical properties of the Lewis acid and/or the Lewis base.     

Local and blowing‐up solutions for a space‐time fractional evolution system with nonlinearities of exponential growth

Local and blowing‐up solutions for the Cauchy problem for a system of space and time fractional evolution equations with time‐nonlocal nonlinearities of exponential growth are considered. The existence and uniqueness of the local mild solution is assured by the Banach fixed point principle. Then, we establish a blow‐up result by Pokhozhaev capacity method. Finally, under some suitable conditions, an estimate of the life span of blowing‐up solutions is established.     

On local existence and blowup of solutions for a time‐space fractional diffusion equation with exponential nonlinearity

In this paper, we are concerned with local existence and blowup of a unique solution to a time‐space fractional evolution equation with a time nonlocal nonlinearity of exponential growth. At first, we prove the existence and uniqueness of the local solution by the Banach contraction mapping principle. Then, the blowup result of the solution in finite time is established by the test function method with a judicious choice of the test function.     

Ni(+) reactions with aminoacetonitrile, a potential prebiological precursor of glycine

The gas-phase reactions between Ni(+) ((2)D(5/2)) and aminoacetonitrile, a molecule of prebiological interest as possible precursor of glycine, have been investigated by means of mass spectrometry techniques. The mass-analyzed ion kinetic energy (MIKE) spectrum reveals that the adduct ions [NC--CH(2)--NH(2), Ni(+)] spontaneously decompose by loosing HCN, H(2), and H(2)CNH, the loss of hydrogen cyanide being clearly dominant. The structures and bonding characteristics of the aminoacetonitrile-Ni(+) complexes as well as the different stationary points of the corresponding potential energy surface (PES) have been theoretically studied by density functional theory (DFT) calculations carried out at B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level. A cyclic intermediate, in which Ni(+) is bisligated to the cyano and the amino group, plays an important role in the unimolecular reactivity of these ions, because it is the precursor for the observed losses of HCN and H(2)CNH. In all mechanisms associated with the loss of H(2), the metal acts as hydrogen carrier favoring the formation of the H(2) molecule. The estimated bond dissociation energy of aminoacetonitrile-Ni(+) complexes (291 kJ mol(-1)) is larger than those measured for other nitrogen bases such as pyridine or pyrimidine and only slightly smaller than that of adenine.     

Specific hydration effects on oxo-thio triazepine derivatives

The specific hydration of 2,7-dimethyl-1,2,4-triazepine oxo-thio derivatives by one water molecule has been investigated at the B3LYP/6-311++G(3df,2p)//B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level of theory. The existence of different hydrogen bond (HB) donor and acceptor centers in these molecules led to different kinds of hydrogen bonds (CH-O, OH-S, NH-O, OH-N, and OH-O) and different kinds of complexes. Among them, the most stable structures correspond to complexes where the heteroatom X or Y at positions 3 and 5 behaves as HB acceptor and the hydrogen atom associated with the nitrogen atom at position 4 as HB donor. In accordance with previous studies, it has been shown that the thiocarbonyl group forms stronger HBs than the carbonyl group because the sulfur atom is a better HB acceptor than the oxygen one. With the help of the AIM (atoms in molecules) theory and ELF (electron localization function) analysis, it has been shown that, in the case of 3O5O, 3S5O, and 3S5S, the most basic site is the heteroatom at position 3, while in 3O5S species the most basic center is the sulfur atom.     

Accelerating charge transfer in a triphenylamine-subphthalocyanine donor-acceptor system

We have designed, synthesized and probed a dodecafluoro-subphthalocyaninato boron(III) unit, which bears a triphenylamine moiety in its axial position, as a novel electron donor-acceptor system.