Molecular organization in two-dimensional films of liquid crystalline mixtures III. Langmuir films of binary mixtures of liquid crystal materials with terminal CN o r NCS group

Langmuir films of binary mixtures of the following liquid crystal materials: 4-octyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl (8CB) or 4-pentyl-4″-cyano-p-terphenyl (5CT) with 4-(trans-4'-octylcyclohexyl)isothiocyanatobenzene (8CHBT), trans-4-octyl(4′-cyanophenyl)cyclohexane (8PCH) or 4-octyl4′-isothiocyanatobiphenyl (8BT) were investigated. Surface pressure-mean molecular area isotherms were recorded at various mixture compositions. It was found that only liquid crystal materials for which the molecules have a terminal -CN group are able to form a stable monolayer at the air-water interface. Moreover, information about the miscibility or the phase separation of the two components in the mixures was obtained by using the excess area criterion and surface phase rules.     

Investigation of the solubilization of car-emitted Pt,Pd and Rh in street dust and spiked soil samples

A sequential extraction procedure (three-step), proposed by the Standards, Measurements and Testing Programme (formerly BCR) of the European Union, was applied to street dust and spiked soil samples for the determination of PGEs. Analyses were carried out using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results indicate that up to 5% from Pt, 70% from Pd and 14% from Rh are in mobile forms in street dust. The results for the soil samples spiked with crushed catalytic converter are significantly lower indicating that PGEs are oxidised more efficiently in natural conditions. Additionally Pt and Pd bound to humic acids were investigated.     

Assessment of mobility of heavy metals in two soil types by use of column leaching experiments and chemometric evaluation of elution curves

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the mobility of heavy metals (HMs) in two types of soils (acidic forest soil and neutral agricultural soil) by leaching with calcium chloride solution in column experiments. The screening properties of neutral agricultural soil towards pollution by heavy metals (Ni, Cu, Zn and Cd) are approximately 10 times higher than those of acid forest soil. The neutral agricultural soil, polluted artificially by one pore volume (PV) of an HMs solution of concentration 200 mg L^?1, can screen the leaching of these metals over several hundreds of years. The higher apparent desorption rate and per cent desorption of HMs (especially Cd) in acid forest soil indicated a higher potential of intensive migration of the metals across the profile and indicated potential risk of Cd pollution for this type of soil. The latest approach of artificial neural networks to describe transport of HMs in soil has been also evaluated. Using a simple three-layer perceptron topology with three hidden neurons, the experimental data could be simulated. The results suggested that the pH of soil is a major factor controlling the retention of the heavy metals in the soils.     

Cyclodextrin-based polyrotaxanes

In the paper cyclodextrin-based (CD) polyrotaxanes are presented in the aspect of their syntheses and properties allowing various applications. The text consists of four parts, which describe CD-based polyrotaxanes with threads containing poly(ethylene oxide), poly (4,4′-diphenylenevinylene), polyfluorene and other chains. Conclusion shows new trends connected with this theme.     

New bounds in Balog-Szemerédi-Gowers theorem

We prove, in particular, that every finite subset A of an abelian group with the additive energy κ|A|³ contains a set A′ such that |A′|?κ|A| and |A′ ? A′|?κ ^?4|A′|.     

Optimization of capillary isotachophoretic method for determination of major macroelements in blue honeysuckle berries (Lonicera caerulea L.) and related products

A reliable and repeatable isotachophoretic method for the simultaneous determination of K⁺, Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and ammonium in berries of different blue honeysuckle cultivars was developed. The usefulness of the complex-forming equilibria in determining the cations mentioned above was studied. The addition of 7.5 mM 18-crown-6 and 2 mM α-hydroxyisobutyric acid to sulfuric acid enhanced the separation capacity of the leading electrolyte. The terminating electrolyte of 10 mM TRIS buffered to pH 4.30 was chosen as most appropriate for these studies. An ultrasound-assisted procedure for the extraction of macroelements from dried fruit of Lonicera caerulea L. was investigated using response surface methodology. The Box-Behnken experimental design showed the optimal extraction conditions as follows: temperature of 36 °C, extraction time of 42.3 min and solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:800 v/w. Detection limits for the method ranged from 0.030 to 0.097 mg/l with precision expressed by RSD ranging from 1.4 % for Mg to 4.4 % for Na. The results showed that blue honeysuckle berries are a good source of potassium, from 199 to 402 mg/100 g FW, especially ‘Zielona’ and ‘Zojka’ cultivars. The average content of other analytes in these berries was 5.2 mg Na, 24.8 mg Ca, 7.5 mg Mg and 52.0 mg ammonium per 100 g FW. The berry products contained lower amounts of minerals especially Mg and K. However, a glass of freshly squeezed juice can provide almost 20 % of the RDI of potassium. The results obtained using both the developed isotachophoretic method and ion chromatographic procedure did not differ significantly.

Promoted ternary CuO-ZrO2-Al2O3 catalysts for methanol synthesis

Ternary CuO-ZrO₂-Al₂O₃ catalysts promoted by palladium or gold were prepared and tested in CO hydrogenation reaction at 260°C under elevated pressure (4.8 MPa). The promotion effect of palladium or gold addition on the physicochemical and catalytical properties of CuO-ZrO₂-Al₂O₃ catalysts in methanol synthesis (MS) was studied. The catalysts were characterized by BET, XRD, TPR-H₂, TPD-NH₃ methods. The BET results showed that the ternary system CuO-ZrO₂-Al₂O₃ had the largest specific surface area, cumulative pore volume and average pore size in comparison with the promoted catalysts. The yield of methanol can be given through the following sequence: 5%Pd/CuO-ZrO₂-Al₂O₃ > CuO-ZrO₂-Al₂O₃ > 2%Au/CuO-ZrO₂-Al₂O₃. We also found that the presence of gold or palladium on catalyst surface has strong influence on the reaction selectivity. The high selectivity of gold doped ternary catalyst is explained by the gold-oxide interface sites created on the catalyst surface and the acidity of those systems. The higher selectivity to methanol in the case of the palladium catalyst is explained by the spillover effect between Pd and CuO.      

Multi-criteria optimisation of the vibro-isolation properties

The paper deals with a methodology of shaping the vibro-isolation properties of suspensions applied in automotive systems. The developed optimisation procedure allows to find the Pareto-optimal system configuration for the conflicted vibro-isolating criteria. The correctness of proposed methodology is evaluated using the semi active and active systems with optimal controller settings. (© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)