HPLC-NMR of fatty alcohol ethoxylates

The application of HPLC-NMR for the analysis of a mixture of fatty alcohol ethoxylates (FAEs) is described. The use of the new generation, cryogenically cooled probes is investigated in respect of the sensitivity advantage that they provide. The FAE mixture is separated using liquid chromatography at the critical point of adsorption. The ability of the method to differentiate between the different end groups and the degree of polymerization of the mixture constituents is investigated. Both on-flow and stop-flow HPLC-NMR techniques were used together with two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. The results are compared with those obtained by using an evaporative light scattering detector for the HPLC.     

Non-destructive determination of plutonium in nuclear fuel rods and pellets

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry - A non-destructive method and an experimental set-up are described by which the Pu content in UO2/PuO2 mixed oxide (MOX) pellets and in fuel rods,...     

Insights into the structure of cyclohexane from femtosecond degenerate four-wave mixing spectroscopy and ab initio calculations

In this paper, we report the use of femtosecond time-resolved degenerate four-wave mixing rotationally resolved spectroscopy to obtain very accurate structural information on the symmetric top cyclohexane. Apart from highlighting the versatility of this method in determining accurate structures of large and complex molecules without dipole moment, the present study also details the comparison of the experimentally determined rotational constant B(0) with that obtained from high-level ab initio calculations. The theoretical calculations, which were carried out at both the second-order M?ller-Plesset (MP2) and coupled-cluster with single, double, and perturbative triple substitutions [CCSD(T)] levels of theory, also take into account vibrational averaging effects. A detailed investigation of the vibrational averaging effects reveals that the corrections emerge from only the six highly symmetric A(1g) modes, a justification of which is provided by an analysis of these modes.     

Photoinduced electron transport process in electrochemical cell I. Phenomenological description

The process of electron transport plays an essential role in the fundamental phenomena of life like photosynthesis, respiration and vision as well as in photoelectronic devices. However, the molecular mechanisms of the electron way and factors governing the transport rate in such systems are still unclear. Several groups have reported theoretical approaches for searching the mechanisms by using statistical mechanics, coherent dynamics and quantum mechanics. The current density vector inside the semiconducting layer is determined. In this paper we consider the problem of transport of electron promoted in the electrochemical cell constructed of two electrodes with the dye molecules immersed in. We describe the process of electron promotion by refractive light wave on the vacuum–semiconductor boundary as well as on the semiconducting electrode and the dye molecule layer in terms of extended phenomenological electrodynamics formalism. The results of our theoretical model show that such a theoretical approach will give more information on the mechanism of electron transport and will give insight in the determination of some electric features of materials.     

The CeO(2)(+) Cation: Gas-Phase Reactivity and Electronic Structure

"Bare" CeO(2)(+) ions can be prepared in the gas phase by consecutive oxidation of Ce(+) with O(2) and NO(2). The ability to activate saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons is investigated by use of Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. In the reactions of CeO(2)(+) with linear and branched alkanes C-H bond activation is observed almost exclusively. In contrast, both oxygen-atom transfer and C-H bond activation processes occur when thermalized CeO(2)(+) cations react with simple alkenes and aromatic compounds. C-C bond activation is not observed at all. Insight into the structural and electronic properties of neutral CeO(2) and cationic CeO(2)(+) is provided by means of quasirelativistic density-functional and ab initio pseudopotential calculations. They reveal a (2)Sigma(u)(+) ground state for CeO(2)(+) which is best described as a linear cerium dioxide with a resonating pi bond. Finally, we discuss the influence of oxo ligands on the chemistry of the cationic CeO(n)()(+) (n = 0-2) species toward hydrocarbons.     

Origin of high second- and third-order nonlinear optical response in ammonio/borato diphenylpolyene zwitterions: the remarkable role of polarized aromatic groups

We present a quantum-chemical analysis of the molecular structure and second- and third-order polarizabilities in a series of promising nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophores, the zwitterionic ammonio/borato diphenylpolyenes, R3N+Ph(C=C)nPhB-R3, whose synthesis has been reported recently. The molecular geometries are obtained via MP2/6-31G optimization, while the NLO properties are calculated with the INDO Hamiltonian using the sum-over-states and finite-field real-space methods. The real-space approach allows the direct evaluation of the NLO-active segments of the molecules, while the sum-over-states results illustrate the virtual excitations and charge-transfer pathways that are essential in the NLO response. Both methods highlight the remarkable and unexpected result that it is the strongly polarized phenylene groups that play the key role in generating a high NLO response.     

Insight into the Behaviour of a Lithium Enolate in Solution

(2S,4S)-2-(tert-Butyl)-5-oxo-1,3-dioxolan-4-acetic acid ( 1 ) was dilithiated to the enolate 2 in toluene and THF with lithium diisopropylamide (LiN(i-Pr)₂) under various conditions. Deuteration experiments with 2 showed that two different stable forms of the enolate could be produced, depending on whether the deprotonation of 1 had been carried out in toluene or THF. The generated (i-Pr)₂NH was coordinated to the enolate and, hence, served as a strong lipophilic solvating agent. LiN(i-Pr)₂ could substitute the amine ligands of the two species to a different extent. THF was partially able to displace (i-Pr)₂NH that solvated the species produced in toluene, but the coordination of the amine to the one produced in THF was quantitive. Correlations with given explanations are made.     

Determination of (R)- and (S)-phenprocoumon in human plasma by enantioselective liquid chromatography/electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry

Phenprocoumon is a commonly used oral anticoagulant of the coumarin type, and has found extensive clinical use in the treatment of thrombophlebitis, pulmonary embolism and atrial fibrillation. In the course of a clinical study to investigate the influence of genetic polymorphisms of the CYP2C9 enzyme on phenprocoumon metabolism, we developed a new enantioselective liquid chromatography/electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method to quantify (R)- and (S)-phenprocoumon in human plasma. HPLC separation of the enantiomers was achieved on a Chira-Grom-2 column under isocratic conditions using a water/acetonitrile/formic acid eluent. For detection and quantification a triple-quadrupole MS system was used in the selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. As an internal standard the structurally homologous compound warfarin was chosen. The detector response was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.988-0.999 for (R)-phenprocoumon and 0.989-0.999 for (S)-phenprocoumon in the investigated concentration range between 62.5 and 1000 ng/mL (per enantiomer). The limit of detection (LOD) was 12.5 ng/mL.