Adsorption and diffusion of nitrogen, methane and carbon dioxide in aluminophosphate molecular sieve AlPO4-11

The knowledge about the adsorption and diffusion properties (specially about diffusion) of aluminophosphate molecular sieves is very scarce in the literature. These materials offer interesting properties as adsorbents as they have a polar framework and do not contain charge-balancing cations. In this work, the adsorption isotherms of nitrogen, methane and carbon dioxide over an AlPO₄-11 sample synthesized in our laboratories have been measured with a volumetric method at 25, 35, 50 and 65 °C over a pressure range up to 110 kPa. The adsorption capacities of each gas are determined by the strength of interaction with the pore surface (carbon dioxide > methane > nitrogen). The equilibrium selectivity to carbon dioxide is quite high with respect to other adsorbents without cations due to the polarity of the aluminophosphate framework. The adsorption Henry’s law constants and diffusion time constants of nitrogen, methane and carbon dioxide in the synthesized AlPO₄-11 material have been measured from pulse experiments. A pressure swing adsorption (PSA) process for recovering methane from a carbon dioxide/methane mixture (resembling biogas) has been designed using a dynamic model where the measured adsorption equilibrium and kinetic information has been incorporated. The simulation results show that the proposed process could be simpler than other PSA processes for biogas upgrading based on cation-containing molecular sieves such as 13X zeolite, as it can treat the biogas at atmospheric pressure, and it requires a lower pressure ratio, to produce high purity methane with high recovery.     

Metal-Assisted Opening of Intact P4 Tetrahedra

The reactivity of ruthenium and manganese complexes bearing intact white phosphorus in the coordination sphere was investigated towards the low-valent transition-metal species [Cp′′′Co] (Cp′′′=η⁵-C₅H₂-1,2,4-tBu₃) and [L⁰M] (L⁰=CH[CHN(2,6-Me₂C₆H₃)]₂; M=Fe, Co). Remarkably, and irrespective of the metal species, the reaction proceeds by the selective cleavage of two P–P edges and the formation of a square-planar cyclo-P₄ ligand. The reaction products [{CpRu(PPh₃)₂}{CoCp′′′}(μ,η^1:4-P₄)][CF₃SO₃] ( 5 ), [{Cp^BIGMn(CO)₂}₂{CoCp′′′}(μ,η^1:1:4-P₄)] ( 6 ) and [{Cp^BIGMn(CO)₂}₂{ML⁰}(μ,η^1:1:4-P₄)] (Cp^BIG=C₅(C₆H₄nBu)₅; L⁰=CH[CHN(2,6-Me₂C₆H₃)]₂; M=Fe ( 7 a ), Co ( 7 b )), respectively, were fully characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic methods. The electronic structure of the cyclo-P₄ ligand in the complexes 5 – 7 is best described as a π-delocalized P₄²⁻ system, which is further stabilized by two and three metal moieties, respectively. DFT calculations envisaged a potential intermediate in the reaction to form 5 , in which a quasi-butterfly-shaped P₄ moiety bridges the two metals and behaves as an η³-coordinated ligand towards the cobalt center.     

Resonance structure counts in parallelogram-like benzenoids with holes

If a hexacyclic graph G represents a benzenoid, a perfect matching corresponds to a configuration of π-bonds. We present an algorithm for counting the number of configurations of π-bonds for parallelogram-like benzenoids with parallelogram-like holes by counting descending paths in a corresponding rectangular mesh with rectangular holes.     

The effect of thiophene ring substitution position on the properties and electrochemical behaviour of alkyne-dicobaltcarbonylthiophene complexes

A large number of Co₂(CO)_6^- and Co₂(CO)₄(L-L)-substituted alkyne complexes (L-L = dppa and dmpm) have been prepared, characterized and studied by cyclic and square-wave voltammetry. In this paper we report a comparative electrochemical study of 2,5-, 2,4-, 3,4- and 2,3-bis(trimethylsilylethynyl)thiophene dicobalt substituted alkyne complexes, in order to evaluate the extent of the electronic interaction between the “Co₂C₂” redox centres depending on the position of the alkynyl substituent on the thiophene ring.     

Stabilization of lead sulfide nanoparticles by polyamines in aqueous solutions. A structural study of the dispersions

Lead sulfide (PbS) nanoparticles have been synthesized in aqueous solutions by a reaction between inorganic lead salts and sodium sulfide and stabilized using the cationic polyelectrolytes branched poly(ethylenimine) (PEI), poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH), and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA). The structures of the polyamine-stabilized nanoparticle dispersions were examined in detail using UV-vis spectroscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), static and dynamic electrophoretic mobility measurements, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Considerable differences were found between the stabilizing efficiencies of these polyelectrolytes, which cannot be attributed to their charge densities or their persistence lengths. Small monodisperse nanoparticles of PbS with a tight stabilizing shell were consistently found only when PEI was used as a stabilizer even at high pH values, although its charge density is then very low. The excellence of PEI as a stabilizer is mainly due to the extensive branching of the chains and the presence of uncharged secondary and tertiary amine groups, which apparently serve as good anchoring points at the nanoparticle surfaces. None of the polyelectrolytes examined here provide long-term protection of the nanoparticles toward oxidation by air, showing that a need for more complex multipurpose stabilizers exists for aqueous PbS dispersions.     

Formation of multifunctional ligands by nucleophilic addition of alcohols and thiols to the alkyne groups in compound C5H5FeC5H4CCSCCH: Reactivity studies

The multifunctional ligands [(Z)-FcCCSC(H)C(H)XR] [X = O, R = Me (2a); X = O, R = Et (2b); X = S, R = Ph (3); X = S, R = C₆F₅ (5)] and [(Z,Z)-Fc(SR)CC(H)SC(H)C(H)SR] [R = Ph (4), C₆F₅ (6)] have been prepared through hydroalkoxylation and hydrothiolation processes of the alkyne groups in the compound FcCCSCCH 1. Reactions between compound 3 and the carbonyl metals Co₂(CO)₈, Os₃(CO)₁₀(NCMe)₂ and Fe₂(CO)₉ have allowed the synthesis of the polynuclear compounds [(Z)-{Co₂(CO)₆}(μ-η²-FcCCSC(H)C(H)SPh)] 9, [(Z)-Os₃(CO)₉(μ-CO){μ₃-η²-FcCCSC(H)C(H)(SPh)}] 10 and [(Z)-{Fe₃(CO)₉}[μ₃,η³-(CCS)-FcCCSC(H)C(H)(SPh)] 11. All the compounds have been characterized by elemental analysis, ¹H and ¹³C{¹H} NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and the crystal structure of compounds [(Z)-FcCCSC(H)C(H)OMe] 2a and [{Co₂(CO)₆}₂(μ-η²:η²-FcCCSCCSiMe₃)] 7 have been solved by X ray diffraction analysis.     

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis for the determination of fluoroquinolone antibiotics in waters

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) was combined for the first time with NACE‐UV for the selective determination of eight fluoroquinolone antibiotics (lomefloxacin, levofloxacin, marbofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, sarafloxacin, enrofloxacin, danofloxacin and difloxacin) in mineral and run‐off waters. Field‐enhanced sample injection was carried out in order to improve the sensitivity, whereas pipemidic acid was used as internal standard. The BGE that provided complete separation of the eight analytes and the internal standard was composed of 3 M acetic acid, 49 mM ammonium acetate in 55:45 v/v methanol:ACN. Optimum DLLME conditions (extraction of 5 mL of water at pH 7.6 with 685 μL of CHCl₃ and 1250 μL of ACN, extractant and disperser solvents, respectively) were achieved by means of experimental design methodology. Calibration curves of the whole method were obtained with correlation coefficients (R) higher than 0.994 in all cases. An accuracy and precision study was carried out at different levels of concentration, finding that there were no significant differences (Student's t‐test) between real and spiked concentrations.     

The isoindazole nucleus as a donor in fullerene-based dyads. Evidence for electron transfer

A series of isoindazole-C(60) dyads 4a-c based on pyrazolino[60]fullerene have been prepared by 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of the nitrile imines, generated in situ from hydrazones 3a-c, to C(60). Molecular orbital calculations for 4b revealed that the electron distribution of the HOMO is located on the isoindazole moiety, while the electron distribution of the LUMO is located on the C(60) moiety. Electrochemical properties of the new dyads 4a-c show a similar electron affinity with respect to C(60). Charge-transfer interactions in the ground state between the isoindazole ring and the fullerene cage are predicted by the molecular orbital calculations and confirmed by electrochemical studies in 4a,b. Steady-state fluorescence emission spectra of dyads 4a-c show that fluorescence intensities in polar benzonitrile solvent decrease with increasing electron-donating ability of the substituent attached on the isoindazole group. This was confirmed by the shortening of fluorescence lifetimes, from which intramolecular charge-separation rates and efficiencies via the excited singlet states of the fullerene moiety were evaluated. The yields of the triplet states in polar solvent decrease with the electron-donating ability, supporting the competitive formation of the charge-separated state with the intersystem crossing from the excited states. Thus, isoindazole[60]fullerene 4b can be considered a molecular switch with an AND logic gate.     

Evaluation of two molecularly imprinted polymers for the solid‐phase extraction of natural,synthetic and mycoestrogens from environmental water samples before liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry

In this work, we have compared the selectivity of two commercial molecularly imprinted polymers (AFFINIMIP®SPE Estrogens and AFFINIMIP®SPE Zearalenone) for the extraction of 12 estrogenic compounds of interest (i.e. 17α‐estradiol, 17β‐estradiol, estrone, hexestrol, 17α‐ethynylestradiol, diethylstibestrol, dienestrol, zearalenone, α‐zearalanol, β‐zearalanol, α‐zearalenol and β‐zearalenol) from different water samples. High‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with ion trap mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization was used for their determination. Results showed that although both molecularly imprinted polymeric cartridges were specifically designed for different groups of analytes (natural estrogens like estradiol in the first case and zearalenone derivatives in the second) they nearly have the same extraction performance (with recovery values in the range 65–101%) for the same analytes in Milli‐Q water because of the cross‐reactivity of the polymer. However, when more complex water samples were analyzed, it was clear that the behavior was different and that the AFFINIMIP®SPE Estrogens showed less cross‐reactivity than the other cartridge. Validation of the proposed methodology with both cartridges revealed that the extraction was reproducible and that the final limits of detection of the proposed method were in the low ng/L range.