Deconvolution of Complex Absorption Spectra Recorded in the Pulse Radiolysis of Aqueous Solutions of 3,5-Dihydroxytolyene

The optical absorption spectra of short-lived species generated in aerated aqueous solutions of 3,5-dihydroxytoluene, a representative of alkylhydroxybenzenes, by the action of single electron beam pulses were recorded. The decay curves recorded at different wavelengths differ from each other, thus suggesting that the transient species react with one another and with water via a complex mechanism and making it possible to discriminate between individual bands characterizing each particular species in the overall spectrum. Two procedures for analyzing complex absorption spectra were employed: (i) with the use of spectra observed at different time delays after the electron pulse and (ii) with deconvolution into a sum of Gaussians.     

Optical Properties and Sizes of Silver Nanoparticles in Micellar Solutions

Sizes of silver nanoparticles prepared by the reduction of silver ions in reverse micelles with solvated electron (radiation-chemical synthesis) and natural pigment quercetin (biochemical synthesis) were determined. The sizes were measured by the dynamic light-scattering technique. Histograms of the micelle size distributions were compared with the absorption spectra of the corresponding solutions of nanoparticles. It was shown that the employed synthesis procedures made it possible to obtain metal particles with the sizes of the order of several nanometers; the changes of optical density in the maximum of nanoparticle absorption band correlated with the changes of the particle content in solution. The results obtained were compared with the data available for silver nanoparticles prepared by the radiation-chemical synthesis in aqueous solution in the presence of stabilizer and by the chemical synthesis in reverse micelles with traditional reducing agents.     

Oxygen effects in aqueous solutions of laccases: Absorption spectra and reactivity

The optical absorption spectra of laccases in aqueous solutions were found to undergo reversible changes in the presence of O₂. It was suggested that dioxygen is coordinated in the active center of the completely oxidized native enzyme. Abnormal behavior of superoxide radical anions upon variation of the laccase concentration was found by pulse radiolysis. Published inIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 8, pp. 1471–1474, August, 2000.     

The optical properties of nanodisperse silica in hydrothermal solutions

The optical properties of aqueous solutions of colloidal silica were studied by photon correlation spectroscopy and spectrophotometry. Photon correlation spectroscopy measurements were taken at a 633 nm wavelength of monochromatic laser radiation. Autocorrelation function and scattered light amplitude plots were constructed, and the mean radii and diffusion coefficients of particles were determined. Spectrophotometric measurements were taken over the electromagnetic radiation wavelength range 200–1000 nm. The positions of optical density maxima were determined. The influence of various factors, including concentration, the size of nanoparticles, temperature, and pH, on the optical properties of aqueous solutions of silica was estimated.     

Formation dynamics of reverse micelles and nanosized effects that accompany chemical reduction of silver nanoparticles in them

Dynamic light scattering has been employed to study the time evolution of a sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate/isooctane/water/quercetin/AgNO₃ system during the formation of reverse micelles (RMs), as well as water solubilization and formation of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) in them. It has been shown that physicochemical processes occurring in the reverse micellar system lead to the formation of light-scattering elements with average sizes of 0.67?2 nm (individual molecules of the surfactant and reductant), 2.5?4.5 nm (“dry” RMs) and 16?20 nm (RMs containing Ag NPs). The synthesis is accompanied by the formation of silver NPs with other sizes in an amount of less than 5%.