Inorganic polarography in organic solvents-III Analytical applications of metal-acetylacetonate complexes in toluene

Indium and palladium are determined polarographically with a dropping mercury electrode in a toluene phase, following extraction as the acetylacetonates from aqueous solutions containing 2-10 ppm of the metals (or 0.1-0.5 ppm with a greater ratio of sample volume to solvent volume). Of 31 elements examined, only Co(III), Cr(III), Cu(II), Fe(III), In, Mo(VI), Pd and Ti(IV) gave extractable complexes with reduction waves in the available potential range. Specificity for palladium is obtained by extraction at pH 0.5, and for indium at pH 9 m the presence of cyanide and ascorbic acid as masking agents.     

The Bonebrake Theological Seminary: Top-Secret Manhattan Project Site

We discuss the top-secret Manhattan Project site established at the Bonebrake Theological Seminary in 1943 in Dayton, Ohio, where research on polonium and its production was carried out. The polonium produced there was then transported to Los Alamos to be used in a polonium–beryllium neutron source whose purpose was to ignite the plutonium implosion bomb that would be dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945. Our account is based primarily on the recollections of John J. Sopka, research physicist at the Bonebrake laboratory.     

Langmuir — Blodgett deposition of lipid films on hydrogel as a basis for biosensor development

Lipid membranes composed of phosphatidyl choline and cholesterol were interfaced to polyacrylamine hydrogen by Langmuir—Blodgett thin-film deposition. The extent of lipid adsorption to the gel surface was critically dependent on the hydration of the polymer as determined by contact angle measurements. Some electrochemical transducers incorporating the deposited membrane/gel structure responded positively to phloretin and valinomycin. Limitations to the construction of this device are discussed.     

Cyclodextrin catalysis of the smiles rearrangement of 4-nitrophenyl salicylate

α- and β-Cyclodextrins accelerate the Smiles rearrangement of 4-nitrophenyl salicylate which proceeds through the mechanism of intramolecular aromatic nucleophilic substitution. The binding and catalytic rate constants were calculated from the dependences of the observed pseudo-first-order rate constants of the rearrangement reaction on cyclodextrin concentration obtained at various pH values. The catalysis was interpreted in terms of a tighter binding of the anionic, highly delocalized δ-complex intermediate than that of the substrate to cyclodextrins.     

Ferric borate formation in aqueous solution

Potentiometric analyses indicate that previous investigations have overestimated the stability of ferric borate complexes. The FeB(OH) ₄ ²⁺ formation constant result obtained in the present work is_Bβ ₁ ^* = [FeB(OH) ₄ ²⁺ ][H⁺][Fe³⁺]^-1[B(OH)₃]^-1 = (5.4±0.3) x 10^-3 at 25.0°C and 0.7 molal ionic strength. Our result indicates that solution concentrations of FeOH²⁺ and FeB(OH) ₄ ²⁺ are approximately equal in aqueous solution for boric acid concentrations on the order of 0.3 molal. Fe(B(OH)₄) ₂ ⁺ is a minor species in solution compared to FeB(OH)₄ ²⁺ for conditions such that [B(OH)₃][H⁺]^-1≤ 350, and ferric borate complexation is insignificant in solutions such as seawater where [B(OH)₃] ≤ 4× 10^-4 molal.     

The Effect of Auxiliary Nitrogenated Linkers on the Design of New Cadmium-Based Coordination Polymers as Sensors for the Detection of Explosive Materials

Three new cadmium-based coordination polymers, denoted [Cd(hfipbb)(4,4’-bipy)] ( CdPF-1 ), [Cd(hfipbb)(2,2’-bipy)] ( CdPF-2 ), and [Cd(hfipbb)(1,10-phen)] ( CdPF-3 ), have been hydrothermally synthesized by using the well-known V-shaped organic linker 4,4’-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)bis(benzoic acid) (H₂hfipbb), together with different nitrogenated auxiliary linkers. Considering the d¹⁰ configuration of the transition metal selected, the luminescent properties for these CdPF-n materials were explored, finding that materials CdPF-2 and CdPF-3 act as excellent sensors in the detection of explosive nitro aromatic compounds. The photoluminescence properties of CdPF-2 and CdPF-3 revealed that significant and sensitive fluorescence quenching was observed toward NP (nitrophenol) for CdPF-2 and PA (picric acid) for CdPF-3 in MeOH suspensions.