Application of the atomic Faraday effect to the trace determination of lead

The atomic Faraday effect has been applied to the trace determination of lead in NBS Orchard Leaves, human blood, and volcanic ashes. Suspensions of powder samples and diluted whole blood are directly pipetted into a graphite tube atomizer. Spectroscopic and practical features are discussed of the atomic Faraday effect of lead. The inherent feature of insensitivity to background scattering makes the present technique suitable for practical analysis. The problem associated with loss of transmitted optical energy caused by non-atomic species was overcome by a correction method. Consequently, the present technique enabled us to perform rapid analyses, gave a detection limit of 5 × 10^?11 g and fair accuracy, at least satisfactory for practical analysis. Some problems arise from residue build-up in the atomizer.     

Miniature load-cell instrumentation for finite-deformation biaxial testing of elastomers

Accuracy of biaxial-test equipment to examine the nonlinear mechanical behavior of thin-sheet specimens of elastomeric materials has been hampered by lack of precise determination of the force distribution along the sides of the specimen. It has been necessary to use an effective width established by approximate means to obtain the stress from the overall force applied along the edges. To avoid this experimental difficulty, individual miniature proof-ring load cells utilizing semiconductor strain gages have been designed and applied to the support hooks for the thin-sheet specimens. Typical results are shown for time-dependent stress distributions for all degrees of biaxiality. An accurate evaluation of the effective specimen width is now possible, a fact which offers improvement in both accuracy and economy for future testing.     

Effect of glycerol and its analogs on polyhydroxyalkanoate biosynthesis by recombinant Ralstonia eutropha: A quantitative structure–activity relationship study of chain transfer agents

Triglycerides such as plant and vegetable oils are desirable feedstock for the fermentative production of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) because the weight yield of PHA from triglycerides is higher than that obtained from sugars. However, glycerol, a multi-hydroxy component of triglyceride, is known to function as a chain transfer (CT) agent in PHA polymerization, resulting in the formation of low-molecular-weight PHA. In this study, we evaluated how glycerol alters the molecular weight of PHA using recombinant Ralstonia eutropha as a practical host for PHA production. We demonstrated that glycerol has the ability to reduce molecular weight of PHA, even as a component of triglyceride. Furthermore, various alcohols that are structurally related to glycerol were examined for their reducing abilities to perform a quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) study. It was found that alcohols with higher hydrophobicity (log P) exhibited higher reducing ability for PHA molecular weight. Glycerol, a less hydrophobic alcohol, was able to reduce PHA molecular weight; however, the efficacy was relatively weak among the examined alcohols.     

Synthesis and properties of rhodium(III) porphyrin cyclic tetramer and cofacial dimer

Rhodium(III) porphyrin complexes, [Rh(4-PyT(3)P)Cl](4) (1) and [Rh(2-PytB(3)P)Cl](2) (2) (4-PyT(3)P = 5-(4-pyridyl)-10,15,20-tritolylporphyrinato dianion, 2-PytB(3)P = 5-(2-pyridyl)-10,15,20-tri(4-tert-butyl)phenylporphyrinato dianion), were self-assembled and characterized by (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and electron spray ionization-mass spectroscopy methods. The spectroscopic results certified that the rhodium porphyrin complexes 1 and 2 have a cyclic tetrameric structure and a cofacial dimeric structure, respectively. The X-ray structure analysis of 1 confirmed the cyclic structure of the complex. The Soret bands of both oligomers were significantly broadened by excitonic interactions between the porphyrin units, compared to those observed for a corresponding analogue of Rh(TTP)(Py)Cl (TTP = 5,10,15,20-tetratolylporphyrinato dianion, Py = pyridine). Stepwise oxidation of the porphyrin rings in the oligomers was observed by cyclic voltammetry. The oligomers 1 and 2 are very stable in solution, and they slowly undergo reactions with pyridine to give corresponding monomer complexes only at high temperatures (approximately 80 degrees C).     

Jet spectroscopy of arylmethyl radicals in the visible region: assignment of low-frequency vibrational modes in diphenylmethyl and chlorodiphenylmethyl radicals

The D(1)-D(0) transitions of diphenylmethyl (DPM) and chlorodiphenylmethyl (CDPM) radicals were studied by laser induced fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy in a supersonic jet. Laser induced fluorescence excitation and dispersed fluorescence (DF) spectra were obtained for DPM and CDPM radicals produced by ArF excimer laser (193 nm) photolyses of their chlorides. With the aid of the density functional theory (DFT) calculation, vibronic bands are assigned by comparing the observed LIF excitation spectra of the jet-cooled radicals with the single vibronic level DF spectra. Low-frequency vibrations of 55 and 53 cm(-1) in the ground and excited states, respectively, are assigned to the symmetric phenyl torsional mode of the DPM radical. The geometries of DPM in the ground and excited states are discussed with regards to observed spectra and DFT calculations. Similarly for the CDPM radical, symmetric phenyl torsional and Ph-C-Ph bending modes are assigned and the halogen-substitution effect in equilibrium geometry is discussed.     

Mössbauer experiment on reentrant spin-glass Cr-Fe alloys

Mössbauer absorption spectra habe been obtained as a function of temperature for Cr_1?xFe_x alloys with x=0.15, 0.18, 0.20, 0.22, 0.25 and 0.30. For the specimens near the critical composition of ferro-antiferromagnetic transition (about 18 at % Fe), abrupt increase of the average hyperfine field was found at the temperature T_f which is far below the ferromagnetic Curie temperature. The observed hyperfine field distribution P(H) consists of two peaks centered around zero and finite hyperfine field (low field peak and high field peak), indicating the coexistence of paramagnetic-like and ferromagnetic moments. Below T_f, the intensity fraction and the maximum position of the high field peak curve increase more rapidly than in the ferromagnetic temperature range, while its halfwidth decreases suddenly. These facts are interpreted as due to the freezing of spins by reentering into the spin-glass phase.     

Chirality-Embedded Nanographenes

The development of chiral nanographenes has mostly been carried out by bottom-up methods and examples of species developed by the post-modification of nanographenes prepared by top-down methods remain limited. We show that the attachment of chiral functional groups onto the edge of nanographenes generates chirality on the surface. X-ray diffraction analysis and DFT calculations indicate that the chirality of the functional groups is transferred to the surface via steric interactions from the chiral center through the five-membered cyclic imide to the nanographene edge. The exciton coupling between the p-bromophenyl groups confirms that the functional groups are arranged on the armchair edges at distances that permit exciton coupling, which provides information about their relative orientation. These pieces of information help to elucidate the edge structure of nanographenes prepared by top-down methods.