Uncertainty in Measurements and Chemical Analysis

Standard documents introducing the notion of uncertainty in measurements into the common practice of assessing the results of chemical analysis are considered and criticized.     

Semiclassical study of collision-induced predissociation: Comparison of the Landau-Zener model with the method of analytic continuation

Semiclassical calculations are carried out by two methods for the problem of collision-induced predissociation of electronically excited I₂. The first method is that of surface-hopping with the Landau-Zener model. The second method is similar to surface-hopping, except that analytic continuation of the adiabatic potential energy surfaces replaces the Landau-Zener model. Results of the calculations by the two methods compare favorably with each other and with experiment. The possible advantages of the second method are discussed.Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow.     

Development and publication of work with selective ion-sensitive electrodes

Features concerning development, response, selectivity and applications of selective ion-sensitive electrodes are reviewed. Recommendations are made concerning investigations involving the development and applications of electrodes and attention given to the manner of presenting data for publication.     

Studies on Radical Cations I. Molecular and electronic structure of [3]radialene cation produced by γ-irradiation in condensed phase

γ-Irradiation of tris (methylidene)-cyclopropane (‘[3]radialene’) 1 in a rigid electron scavenging matrix (butylchoride/i-pentane, 1:1) at 77 K leads to formation of its molecular cation 1 ⁺. Slight softening of the matrix by a temperature increase of 3–5 K results in formation of a newly absorbing species, tentatively assigned arising from structrral relaxation of 1 ⁺ by π-bond rotation:      

Nanobiotechnology and its role in the development of new analytical devices

Physical methods of molecule observation and manipulation will prove useful, not only as research tools for investigating biomolecular structure and behavior, but also for the creation of nanostructures. Supramolecular and self-assembling structures are able to generate nanostructures, with many such systems being of biological origin. They form the interface between nanotechnology and biotechnology. Whereas biotechnological processes usually involve populations of cells or molecules, nanotechnological methods operate at the level of individual molecule manipulation. This article considers what advances have been made through cross-fertilisation between nanotechnology and biotechnology to develop for the next millennium new analytical tools at the microscale, using nanostructures as the sensitive part and with the ability to detect individual molecules.     

Studies on the long-term stabilities of the background of radionuclides in inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)

The long-term stabilities of the ICP-MS background of nine radionuclides are studied, of which the signals are partially superimposed by polyatomic interferences or affected from carry-over and memory effects. The background generated by the ICP flame, by two pure waters, and by nitric acid (2% v/v) was investigated in detail. A minimum of 50 measurement points was used for each long-term investigation. The detection limits of the radionuclides of the masses 90 amu (⁹⁰Sr: 30 Bq/mL), 99 amu (⁹⁹Tc: 4 mBq/mL), 238 amu (²³⁸U: 10 nBq/mL), and 244 amu (²⁴⁴Pu: 0.6 Bq/mL) are calculated from the mean standard deviation of the background signals. For all nine radioisotopes, the calculated detection limits are between 0.8 and 6 pg/mL. While the detection limit of the mass 90 amu is blank limited, those of the mass 99 amu and the actinides are totally uneffected by the blank solutions. The detection limits are compared with those given in literature.     

Studies on the chemistry of thieno-anellated O,N- and S,N-containing heterocycles. 2. Synthesis of thieno[2,3-b]diazepine derivatives with potential CNS activity

Thieno-anellated compounds analogous to Clobazam (1) [2] and the nootropic drugs 2 and 3 [3] were synthesized. Thus, nucleophilic substitution on halogenated nitrothiophene derivatives with aniline and reaction with ethyl malonyl chloride gave after cyclisation the thieno[2,3-b]diazepinedione derivatives 7 and 14 . These compounds were methylated to give the thieno-anellated heterocycles 8 and 9 .     

L3/L2 white-line intensity ratios in the electron energy-loss spectra of 3d transition-metal oxides

The L₃/L₂ white-line intensity ratio in transition-metal oxides deviates widely from the statistical value of 2 : 1 but shows interesting systematics. In a series of oxides of a given metal, the ratio reaches a maximum for the d⁵ configuration (e.g. MnO) and a minimum for the d⁰ configuration (e.g. KMnO₄). In a series of monoxides, sesquioxides and dioxides of different metals, the ratio is again a maximum at the d⁵ configuration and decreases as the configuration changes towards d⁰ or d¹⁰. Our results, obtained by electron energy-loss spectroscopy, carried out in an electron microscope, are interpreted on an atomic mechanism involving spin-spin coupling. According to this model, the L₂ transition probability decreases in the progression d⁰ to d⁵ whereas the L₃ transition probability decreases beyond d⁵.     

Optical and electrochemical studies of the underpotential deposition of metals Part I. Thallium deposition on single crystal silver electrodes

The underpotential deposition of thallium on single crystal silver cathodes, orientations 100, 110 and 111, was investigated optically and voltammetrically. Careful chemical polishing of the silver surfaces was necessary to reveal the fine structure on the voltammograms reproducibly. The deposition process for the first monolayer was shown to be the formation of a layer of adsorbed atoms initially, followed by a phase transformation to form a crystal plane by two-dimensional nucleation and growth. The extent of the initial adsorption was related to the number of favourable sites on each crystal face such that the adsorbed layer formed a superlattice. The influence of the substrate structure was seen on the formation of the second thallium monolayer. The formation of this layer also involved adsorption followed by transformation into a crystal plane.