Insights into molecular chemistry of Chiapas amber using infrared-light microscopy,PIXE/RBS,and sulfur K-edge XANES spectroscopy

Chiapas amber is a natural occurring fossil resin structurally composed of long macromolecule chains with semicrystalline phases associated with both fossil and polymerization process. The most conspicuous characteristic of this fossil polymer is that it preserves ancient organic inclusions. In the present work, PIXE/RBS spectrometry (particle-induced X-ray emission/Rutherford backscattering) were combined with complementary K-edge XANES spectroscopy (X-ray absorption near-edge structure) to identify the amount of sulfur in Chiapas amber. Initially, the amber samples were examined using infrared reflected photomicrography. Amber is transparent to infrared light and so embedded plants and animals are easily visible, showing them in extraordinary detail, as if they were immersed in a water-like solution. The PIXE/RBS data show that the proportion of sulfur in amber is significantly higher than that found in recently formed resins, consistent with the biogeochemical process that transforms the resin into amber during long-term burial in geological deposits. The sulfur K-edge XANES spectra from amber confirm the sulfur abundance and reveal sulfur species in the reduced and intermediate oxidation states in amber. Almost no oxidized sulfur was found, whereas the recent resins show mostly oxidized sulfur fractions. This indicates that labile oxidized sulfur decays during fossilization and resin maturation must occur under conditions of oxygen depletion. The implications of the presence of sulfur in amber for organic preservation is also discussed here. Sulfur compounds work as a polymer additive that promotes intense resin solidification. This restricts the early oxidant-specific biodegradation of the embedded biomatter and, over geological time, provides greater stability against chemical changes.     

Impacts of gold nanoparticle charge and ligand type on surface binding and toxicity to Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria

Although nanomaterials facilitate significant technological advancement in our society, their potential impacts on the environment are yet to be fully understood. In this study, two environmentally relevant bacteria, Shewanella oneidensis and Bacillus subtilis, have been used as model organisms to elucidate the molecular interactions between these bacterial classes and Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) with well-controlled and well-characterized surface chemistries: anionic 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA), cationic 3-mercaptopropylamine (MPNH₂), and the cationic polyelectrolyte poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH). The data demonstrate that cationic, especially polyelectrolyte-wrapped AuNPs, were more toxic to both the Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The levels of toxicity observed were closely related to the percentage of cells with AuNPs associated with the cell surface as measured in situ using flow cytometry. The NP concentration-dependent binding profiles were drastically different for the two bacteria strains, suggesting the critical role of bacterial cell surface chemistry in determining nanoparticle association, and thereby, biological impact.     

Synthesis of Nb2O5·nH2O nanoparticles by water-in-oil microemulsion

Hydrous niobium oxide (Nb₂O₅·nH₂O) nanoparticles had been successfully prepared by water-in-oil microemulsion. They were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal analysis (TG/DTG), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), BET surface area measurement, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The results showed that the nanoparticle was exactly Nb₂O₅·nH₂O with spherical shape. Their BET surface area was 60 m² g⁻¹. XRD results showed that Nb₂O₅·nH₂O nanoparticles with crystallite size in nanometer scale were formed. The crystallinity and crystallity size increased with increasing annealing temperature. TT-phase of Nb₂O₅ was obtained when the sample is annealed at 550 °C.     

ASBR Applied to the Treatment of Biodiesel Production Effluent: Effect of Organic Load and Fill Time on Performance and Methane Production

The effect of organic matter and fill time on anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (5 L, 30°C, 8-h cycles, 50 rpm) efficiency has been analyzed. Organic matter was increased by the influent concentration. Fill times investigated were in the batch mode and fed-batch followed by batch. In the batch mode organic matter removal were 93%, 81%, and 66% for influent concentration of 500, 1,000, and 2,000 mgCOD/L (0.6, 1.29, and 2.44 gCOD/L.d), respectively. At 3,000 mgCOD/L (3.82 gCOD/L.d) operational stability could not be achieved. Removal efficiency was improved by increasing the fill time, and was 85% for the 1,000 mgCOD/L condition and fill times of 2 and 4 h, and 80 and 77% for the 2,000 mgCOD/L condition and fill times of 2 and 4 h, respectively. Hence, gradual feeding seemed to improve and to smooth the profiles of organic matter and volatile acids along the cycle with 78 to 96 NmLCH₄/gCOD.     

Self-accumulation of aromatics at the oil-water interface through weak hydrogen bonding

It is well-known that the amphiphilic solutes are surface-active and can accumulate at the oil-water interface. Here, we have investigated the water and a light-oil model interface by using molecular dynamic simulations. It was found that aromatics concentrated in the interfacial region, whereas the other hydrocarbons were uniformly distributed throughout the oil phase. Similar to previous studies, such concentrations were not observed at pure aromatics-water interfaces. We show that the self-accumulation of aromatics at the oil-water interface is driven by differences in the interfacial tension, which is lower for aromatics-water than between the others. The weak hydrogen bonding between the aromatic rings and the water protons provides the mechanism for lowering the interfacial tension.     

Infrared and Raman spectra of silica polymorphs from an ab initio parametrized polarizable force field

The general aim of this study is to test the reliability of polarizable model potentials for the prediction of vibrational (infrared and Raman) spectra in highly anharmonic systems such as high temperature crystalline phases. By using an ab initio parametrized interatomic potential for SiO2 and molecular dynamics simulations, we calculate the infrared and Raman spectra for quartz, cristobalite, and stishovite at various thermodynamic conditions. The model is found to perform very well in the prediction of infrared spectra. Raman peak positions are also reproduced very well by the model; however, Raman intensities calculated by explicitly taking the derivative of the polarizability with respect to the atomic displacements are found to be in poorer agreement than intensities calculated using a parametrized "bond polarizability" model. Calculated spectra for the high temperature beta phases, where the role of dynamical disorder and anharmonicities is predominant, are found to be in excellent agreement with experiments. For the octahedral phases, our simulations are able to reproduce changes in the Raman spectra across the rutile-to-CaCl2 transition around 50 GPa, including the observed phonon softening.     

Unprecedented formation of an acetamidate-bridged dinuclear platinum(II) terpyridyl complex-correlation of luminescence properties with the crystal forms and dimerization studies in solution

An [corrected] acetamidate-bridged dinuclear platinum(ii) terpyridyl complex has been isolated in two crystal forms, a red form and a dark form, with different luminescence properties; electronic absorption, emission and (1)H NMR studies revealed the presence of a dimerization process in the solution state.     

Luminescent phosphine gold(I) thiolates: correlation between crystal structure and photoluminescent properties in [R3PAu{SC(OMe)=NC6H4NO2-4}] (R = Et, Cy, Ph) and [(Ph2P-R-PPh2){AuSC(OMe)=NC6H4NO2-4}2] (R = CH2, (CH2)2, (CH2)3, (CH2)4, Fc)

X-ray crystallography shows the gold atoms in [R3PAu{SC(OMe)=NC6H4NO2-4}] (R = Et, Cy, Ph; 1-3, respectively) and [(Ph2P-R-PPh2){AuSC(OMe)=NC6H4NO2-4}(2)] (R = CH2, (CH2)2, (CH2)3, (CH2)4, Fc; 4-8, respectively) are linearly coordinated by phosphorus and thiolate-sulfur; weak intramolecular Au...O interactions are featured in all structures. The smaller ethyl substituents in 1 allow for supramolecular association via Au...S and Au...Au interactions that are not found in 2 and 3, which contain larger phosphorus-bound Cy and Ph groups, respectively. Intramolecular Au...Au interactions are found in the dppm, dppe, dppp, and Fc structures but not in the dppp analogue, for which an anti conformation was found. The structures have been correlated with the results from photophysical study conducted in the solid state. Thus, photoexcitation of 1-7 with lambda > 350 in the solid state and in solution produces green and blue luminescence, respectively. The spectra in each medium are remarkably similar to each other, and so the emission energy and excitation maxima observed for 1-7 appear to be independent of the nature of the ancillary phosphines, as well as the presence or absence of Au...Au interactions, either intermolecularly or intramolecularly.     

A remark on conservative diffeomorphisms

We show that a stably ergodic diffeomorphism can be $C^1$ approximated by a diffeomorphism having stably non-zero Lyapunov exponents. To cite this article: J. Bochi et al., C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 342 (2006).