Sandwich structures at oil-water interfaces under alkaline conditions

Equilibrium liquid crystal (LC) layer on an interface between crude oils and water was observed at high pH. This layer is composed mainly of sodium naphthenates produced in situ at the water/oil interface. Transient LC layer was also evolved at the interface of aqueous phase of sodium hydroxide solutions and oleic phase of naphthenic acid (NA) solutions as result of a chemical reaction between NaOH and NA. This chemical reaction causes transport process resulting in a disturbance of the interface. Optical observation of this interface disturbance reviled that the interface covered with LC shows considerably lower flexibility as compared to LC free interface. The LC layer eventually dissolves in the water phase at low oil-to-water ratio, while at high oil-to-water ratio it can form an equilibrium phase, which spreads spontaneously at the oil-water interface.     

Characterization of iron-silicon thin films by means of electron diffraction and X-ray spectroscopy

Iron-silicon thin films have been characterized by means of analytical transmission electron microscopic methods. Under certain conditions — composition and annealing temperature — these films exhibit thermoelectric behavior. In particular, the morphology and phase formation which results from annealing of these films, and doping with oxygen and nitrogen, are of interest. The thermoelectric phase -FeSi₂ is formed at temperatures above 500°C. This phase is transformed into electrically conducting phases at about 1000°C. A small oxygen content does not influence this crystallization process. If the oxygen content is higher than 15 atom-% the electrically conducting phases exist even at 500°C. The presence of a small nitrogen content inhibits the formation of the -FeSi₂ phase. The development of silicon and iron nitrides is possible.     

Full verification of the liquid exclusion-adsorption chromatography theory using monolithic capillary columns

Capillary electrochromatography (CEC) was used to separate alkyl phenol ethoxylates (APEs) as model diblock copolymers, with monolithic polymers as stationary phases. The order of elution indicate that the two polymer blocks follow distinct chromatographic modes: size-exclusion for the poly(oxyethylene) group and adsorption interaction for the alkyl part. Therefore, our experimental results were compared to the theory describing liquid exclusion-adsorption chromatography (LEAC). They were found in perfect agreement with the theory, which turned to be verified for the first time over the full range of polymer lengths.     

Oxidation of alcohols by transition metal complexes—iv : The rhodium catalysed synthesis of esters from aldehydes and alcohols

Both RhH(CO)PPh₃)₃ and a catalyst made in _situ from RhCl₃·3H₂O, PPh₃ and Na₂CO₃ catalyse the reaction of a range of aldehydes with simple primary alcohols to give esters together with alcohols formed by reduction of the aldehydes. The proportion of ester can be increased by adding an efficient hydrogen acceptor. The reaction can also be used to produce 5- and 7-membered lactones from aromatic dialdehydes. Propan-2-ol and the _{in situ} catalyst reduce some aromatic aldehydes to the corresponding alcohols without concomitant ester formation.     

Complex study of nickel skeleton catalysts: V. Study of novel non-pyrophoric nickel skeleton catalysts by derivatograph

The structure and properties of non-pyrophoric skeleton catalysts prepared from NiSi, NiAlSi, NiMg and NiZn alloys have been studied—apart from other thermal methods—by means of the derivatograph.Our experimental results have contributed to the explanation of the non-pyrophoric behaviour of these catalysts. We demonstrated that the desorption of the hydrogen content in our catalysts is not accompanied by the oxidation of active nickel. This oxidation takes place only at higher temperatures, above 200°C, at a rate proportional to the amount of active nickel.Other constituents of the catalysts (adsorbed water, hydroxide content) were also determined from the experimental data. The outstandingly high Mg(OH)₂ content of the NiMg catalyst indicates that its structure is dissimilar: Mg(OH)₂ also acts as support for the catalyst.     

On the equivalence between the energy and virial routes to the equation of state of hard-sphere fluids

The energy route to the equation of state of hard-sphere fluids is ill defined since the internal energy is just that of an ideal gas, and thus it is independent of density. It is shown that this ambiguity can be avoided by considering a square-shoulder interaction and taking the limit of vanishing shoulder width. The resulting hard-sphere equation of state coincides exactly with the one obtained through the virial route. Therefore, the energy and virial routes to the equation of state of hard-sphere fluids can be considered as equivalent.     

Thermal properties of tetrahydroperparine derivatives

The thermal behaviour of tetrahydroperparine (THP) and its derivatives with various acids has been investigated. The acid is liberated from the formate derivative basically in two steps, while the other aliphatic acids are released quantitatively before the thermal decomposition of the THP molecule. The thermoanalytical curves, electrical conductivity data measured in the molten phase, and infrared spectra prove that while part of the formic acid is hydrogen-bonded the other part is bound ionically in the molecule. It may be assumed that the marked biological activity of the compound can be explained by this difference in the nature of the bonds.     

Periodic hexagonal mesostructured chalcogenides based on platinum and [SnSe4]4- and [SnTe4]4- precursors. Solvent dependence of nanopore and wall organization

Mesostructured chalcogenide-based materials with long-range order and semiconducting properties can be prepared using suitable molecular building blocks, linkage metal ions and surfactant molecules. In this paper we present surfactant templated, open framework platinum tin selenide and telluride materials assembled using K4SnQ4 (Q = Se, Te) salts and K2PtCl4 as precursors and a study of pore and wall organization. We find that materials prepared in water exhibit disordered pore organization, whereas those prepared in formamide are long-range ordered with hexagonal symmetry. In formamide the [SnQ4]4- anions undergo condensation-oligomerization reactions that produce different chalcogenido molecular species, whereas in water the anions remain intact. In addition to solvent, the pore organization and overall quality of the mesostructured materials strongly depend on the surfactant molecules, i.e., chain length and headgroup size. For example, highly ordered mesostructured platinum tin selenides with hexagonal symmetry were obtained using the hydroxyl-functionalized surfactants CnH2n+1N(CH3)(CH2CH2OH)2Br (n = 16, 18, and 20), but when the headgroup was triethylammonium, hexagonal pore order was achieved only for n = 20 and not for n = 16 and 18. The experimental results imply that in order to achieve highly ordered chalcogenide frameworks a single building anionic block might be insufficient. Finally, we also report the first examples of hexagonal mesostructured Pt/Sn/Te materials based on K4SnTe4 as the precursor. The tellurides behave differently for their selenium analogues and have very low energy band gaps, in the range 0.5-0.7 eV.     

Redetermination of the Crystal Structure of the 1,2,4,7-anti-tetramethylbicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-yl cation at 110 K

The structure of the 1,2,4,7-anti-tetramethylbicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-yl cation ( 1 ) was redetermined by X-ray crystal structure analysis of its Sb₂F₁₁ salt at 110 K (P2₁/c, R1 = 5.76%). The most important structural features of 1 are: C(1)? C(2) = 1.409(9), C(1)? C(6) = 1.710(8), and C(2)…C(6) = 2.113(9) Å and C(2)? C(1)? C(6) = 84.7(4)°. These results agree with those obtained earlier by other methods for the rapidly equilibrating, partially s?-delocalized 1,2-dimethylbicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-yl cation ( 2 ). The detailed experimental procedure for the preparation of crystalline 1 · Sb₂F₁₁ and the crystal selection and mounting are described.