Spectrophotometric determination of Fe(II) in milligram solid samples

The analytical procedure of determination of Fe(II) in the presence of Fe(III) in milligram samples is proposed. A solid sample is dissolved in hydrochloric acid in argon atmosphere. Subsequently, the pH-value of the solution is fixed and Fe(III) complexed by phosphoric buffer. At the next step Fe(II) is oxidized by -molybdosilicic acid. Finally, the intensity of colouring caused by the reduced form of the acid is measured at the wavelength 770 nm. The proper treatment of the sample during oxidation, and immediately before, is decisive for the accuracy of the analysis. The method was verified by means of the analysis of synthetic magnetite. The theoretical content of Fe(II) was 24.12%, the determined one was 24.02 ± 0.10%. The method was applied to the determination of the homogeneity of an iron catalyst for ammonia synthesis.     

Hilbert functions and Betti numbers in a flat family

Summary This paper is dedicated to the study of Hilbert functions and Betti numbers of the projective varieties in a flat family. We prove that the Hilbert function H(X _y ,n),y Y-a parameter scheme-is lower semicontinuous for any fixed n. In case Y is integral and noetherian we obtain the well-known fact that the set V Y where H(X _y ,n)is maximal for all n's is open and nonempty. We show also that b_i(X _y )-the i- th Betti number of X_y—is upper semicontinuous for y V. The paper contains also a number of results concerning the relations among the various Betti numbers.Member of G.N.S.A.G.A.-C.N.R. Supported in part by M.P.I. (Italian Minstry of Education).     

On distributions of antibaryons in\bar p-Nucleus inelastic collisions

In the framework of the dual parton model we calculate the spectra of secondary antibaryons in \(\bar p\) -nucleus non-annihilation inelastic interactions. We find that the number of antibaryons in the backward hemisphere in the \(\bar p\) -nucleon centre-of-mass frame can grow with the atomic number of the nucleus.     

The thermoelastic behaviour of the orientationally disordered ionic crystals in two dimensions

The anomalous temperature dependence of the elastic constantsc ₁₁ andc ₆₆ and the elastic instability temperatureT _c are obtained in the two-dimensional microscopic model of the alkali cyanides crystals. It has been found, by means of the Michel and Naudts' theory of the translation rotation coupling, that the orientational disorder in the high-temperature phase leads to the critical softening of the shear elastic constantc ₆₆.     

Analytical Detectors Based on Microplasma Spectrometry

Miniaturizing all dimensions of apparatus, such as electronics and computers, is the current trend followed by scientists in various fields. The idea of Lab-on-a-Chip has significantly expanded and found its broad applications in analytical chemistry. Microplasmas can act as a sample excitation source and are the miniaturized versions of full-sized plasmas. These can be created in various forms, such as direct current, microwave induced, capacitively coupled and inductively coupled plasmas. Scaling down the size would reduce the amount of gases, liquids and consumables required, as well as the sample analysis time, which in turn would decrease the operating costs. Therefore, several research groups are involved in the development of microplasmas for utilisation in analytical instruments.     

Silicate Xerogels with Dopant-Induced Chirality

A series of silicate xerogels with entrapped chiral amino acids have been obtained via sol-gel technology. The transparent, glassy samples obtained exhibit chirality in the bulk due to the presence of the entrapped asymmetric molecules. Measurements of the optical activity of the doped xerogel samples revealed that the entrapment did not significantly influence the optical activity observed for liquid solutions of the amino acids. Thus, the sol-gel method enables the preparation of amorphous optical materials exhibiting properties of strictly spatially defined molecular systems. Apart from the obvious optical applications, such porous materials with asymmetric centers might find interesting applications in chiral chemical syntheses and separations.     

Cadmium speciation in Arabidopsis thaliana as a strategy to study metal accumulation system in plants

The strategy to identify cadmium deactivation mechanism in Arabidopsis thaliana has been developed using selective and sensitive hyphenated techniques. Cadmium concentrations, in main parts of the plant, were determined by ICP-MS and total amount was found as 0.43-0.44 μg g⁻¹ in leaves and 3.3-3.4 μg g⁻¹ in roots. Speciation of the metal complexes in cells was investigated by SEC-ICP-MS in order to estimate the accumulation process. Phytochelatins, desglycyl-phytochelatins and phytochelatins homologues lacking the N-terminal γ-linked glutamic acid were extracted from plant and were identified by RPLC-ESI-MS. Two-dimensional chromatography allowed to link the metal complexes separated by SEC with isoforms of phytochelatins analyzed by high resolution RPLC and confirm their significant responsibility for metal accumulation. The potential of the cadmium complexes speciation indicates that obtained results could be reliable source of knowledge to confirm the information coming from the well-known genomic sequence of Arabidopsis and to estimate the role of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase in metabolism of glutathione.     

Thermal decomposition of Cr(III) dithiocarbamates

The thermal stability of chromium(III) complexes with dithiocarbamate acid derivatives was studied. The general formula of these complexes is (RCS₂)₃Cr where: The thermal stability of these complexes was found to depend on the kind ofR and the decomposition occur in several stages.The final product of the decomposition of the complexes in the 20–600 temperature range investigated is chromium sulphide, Cr₂S₃ or with incomplete combusted sulfur atoms.

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Zusammenfassung Die Thermostabilität von Chrom(III)-Komplexen mit sauren Derivaten von Dithiocarbamat wurde untersucht. Die allgemeine Formel dieser Komplexe ist (RCS₂)₃Cr. Es wurde festgestellt, da\ die Thermostabilität dieser Komplexe von der Art von R abhängt und die Zersetzung in mehreren Stufen verläuft.Das Endprodukt der Zersetzung der Komplexe im untersuchten Temperaturbereich von 20 bis 600 ist Chromsulfid, Cr₂S₃, oder solches mit überschüssigem Schwefel.

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Résumé On a étudié la stabilité thermique des complexes du chrome(III) avec les dérivés de l'acide dithiocarbamique. La formule générale de ces complexes est (RCS₂)₃Cr où: On a trouvé que la stabilité thermique de ces complexes dépendait de la nature du radical et que la décomposition se déroulait en plusieurs étapes.Dans l'intervalle de température étudié, de 20 à 600, le produit final de la décomposition des complexes est le sulfure de chrome, Cr₂S₃, éventuellement accompagné de soufre résultant d'une combustion incomplÊte.

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(III) - . — (RCS₂)₃ Cr, , R . 20–600 Cr₂S₃ .

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The autors would like to thank Doc. dr h. J. F. Biernat for valuable discussions.