Formation and characterization of different ceria/silica composite materials via dispersion of ceria gel or soluble ceria precursors in silica sols

Composite ceria/silica materials of 10 and 20% (w/w) were prepared by calcination, at 650 degrees C for 3 h, of the xerogels obtained by mixing the corresponding amount of a ceria precursor with freshly prepared sols of spherical silica particles (Stober particles) in their mother liquors. Two different ceria precursors were examined in this investigation. The first was a gel produced by the prehydrolysis of cerium(IV) isopropoxide in isopropanol medium, and the second was an aqueous solution of cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate. Different textural and morphological characteristics that developed by calcination were investigated by TGA, FTIR, XRD, SEM, and analyses of N2 adsorption isotherms. The results indicated that ceria dispersion and formation of mesoporous textural composite materials produced by the second precursor, cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate, are better than those produced by the first precursor, prehydrolyzed cerium(IV) isopropoxide. The results are discussed in terms of the effect of precursors and mixing media on nucleation and growth of ceria particles and their protection from sintering on calcination at the test temperature.     

RETRACTED: Coated graphite-epoxy ion-selective electrode for the determination of chromium(III) in oxalic medium

This article has been retracted at the request of the Talanta Editors-in-Chief.Reason: After publication this article was discovered to have been plagiarized from an earlier work by Orlando Fatibello-Filho, Marcos Fernando de Souza Teixeira, Alexandre Zambon Pinto, presented in their paper ‘Coated graphite-epoxy ion-selective electrode for the determination of iron(III) in oxalic medium’, published in Analytical Letters 30 (1997) 417-427.We very much regret this error, and offer our apologies to Professor Fatibello-Filho and his co-workers.J-M. KauffmannG.D. ChristianEditors-in-Chief     

Bridged synthons from tetrabromocyclopropene: studies on the rearrangement of the primary Diels-Alder adduct with 2,5-dimethylfuran

The reaction of tetrabromocyclopropene and furan leads directly to 8-oxabicyclo[3.2.1]octadiene derivatives. It has been proposed that this involves an initial Diels-Alder reaction followed by rearrangement of the primary adduct. We have, for the first time, isolated a primary adduct and established through X-ray crystallographic analysis that the adduct is the product of an exo-selective addition. Kinetic studies suggest the intermediacy of charged intermediates during the rearrangement.     

Sustainable existence of solid mercury (Hg) nanoparticles at room temperature and their applications

Although liquid mercury (Hg) has been known since antiquity, the formation of stable solid nano forms of Hg at room temperature has not been reported so far. Here, for the first time, we report a simple sonochemical route to obtain solid mercury nanoparticles, stabilized by reduced graphene oxide at ambient conditions. The as-formed solid Hg nanoparticles were found to exhibit remarkable rhombohedral morphology and crystallinity at room temperature. Extensive characterization using various physicochemical techniques revealed the unique properties of the solid nanoparticles of Hg compared to its bulk liquid metal phase. Furthermore, the solid nature of the Hg nanoparticles was studied electrochemically, revealing distinctive properties. We believe that solid Hg nanoparticles have the potential for important applications in the fields of electroanalytical chemistry and electrocatalysis.

Formation of the stable solid mercury nanoparticles by acoustic cavitation and their electrochemical activity compared to its bulk liquid metal.     

Reactions of TFDA with ketones. synthesis of difluoromethyl 2,2-difluorocyclopropyl ethers

The sequential reaction of 2 equiv of difluorocarbene (generated from trimethylsilyl fluorosulfonyldifluoroacetate (TFDA) by treatment with catalytic fluoride ion) with a series of electron-rich aromatic ketones and alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones leads to the formation of difluoromethyl 2,2-difluorocyclopropyl ethers in good yield.     

Anodic alumina supported dual-layer microporous silica membranes

We present a new processing scheme for the deposition of microporous, sol–gel derived silica membranes on inexpensive, commercially available anodic alumina (Anodisk™) supports. In a first step, a surfactant-templated mesoporous silica sublayer (pore size 2–6 nm) is deposited on the Anodisk support by dip-coating, in order to provide a smooth transition from the pore size of the support (20 or 100 nm) to that of the membrane (3–4 Å). Subsequently, the microporous gas separation membrane layer is deposited by spin-coating, resulting in a defect-free dual-layer micro-/mesoporous silica membrane exhibiting high permeance and high selectivity for size selective gas separations. For example, in the case of CO₂:N₂ separation, the CO₂ permeance reached 3.0 MPU (1 MPU = 10⁻⁷ mol m⁻² s⁻¹ Pa⁻¹) coupled with a CO₂:N₂ separation factor in excess of 80 at 25 °C. This processing scheme can be utilized for laboratory-scale development of other types of microporous or dense inorganic membranes, taking advantage of the availability, low cost and low permeation resistance of anodic alumina (or other metal oxide) meso- and macroporous supports.     

Ion-selective electrode for the determination of trazodone in tablets

A coated wire trazodone-selective electrode based on incorporation of trazodone-tetraphenylborate ion pair in a poly(vinylchloride) coating membrane was constructed. The influences of membrane composition, temperature, pH of the test solution, and foreign ions on the electrode performance were investigated. The electrode showed a Nernstian response over a trazodone concentration range from 1.41 x 10(-5) to 0.89 x 10(-2) M, at 25 degrees C, and was found to be very selective, precise, and usable within the pH range 2.4-9.0. The standard electrode potentials, E degree, were determined at 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 degrees C and used to calculate the isothermal temperature coefficient (dE degree/dT) of the electrode. Temperatures higher than 45 degrees C seriously affected the electrode performance. The electrode was successfully used for potentiometric determination of trazodone hydrochloride both in pure solutions and in pharmaceutical preparations.     

Stabilization of tandem dG-dA base pairs in DNA-hairpins: replacement of the canonical bases by 7-deaza-7-propynylpurines

The stabilizing effect of 7-propynylated 7-deazapurine nucleosides on DNA-hairpins and DNA-duplexes containing d(GA) mismatches was investigated. The corresponding oligonucleotides were synthesized using solid-phase synthesis. For this purpose, the phosphoramidite of 7-deaza-7-propynyl-2'-deoxyadenosine (3c) was prepared. The incorporation of 3c instead of dA into the tandem d(GA) base pair of a DNA-hairpin alters the secondary structure, but has a positive effect on the duplex stability. A complete replacement of the canonical nucleosides of the tandem d(GA) base pair by 3c and 7-deaza-7-propynyl-2'-deoxyguanosine results in a significant base pair stabilization.     

The synthesis and reactivity of a molybdenum (IV) stretched-dihydrogen complex

Reaction of [Mo(NPh)(PMe3)3(o-(Me3SiN)2C6H4)] (1) with molecular hydrogen (ca. 1 atm) at -10 degrees C in toluene-d8 results in the formation of dihydrogen complex [Mo(NPh)(PMe3)2(H2)(o-(Me3SiN)2C6H4)] (2) by 1H and 31P NMR spectroscopy. In solution at -50 degrees C 1 and 2 are present in a 1:3 ratio, respectively. The nature of dihydrogen ligand bonding in 2 was probed by T1 analysis and analysis of the JH-D coupling constant in the deuterium hydride isotopomer of 2 giving H-H distances of 1.18 A and 1.17 A, respectively. When allowed to warm to 30 degrees C, 2 reacts affording [Mo(NPh)(PMe3)3(o-(Me3SiN)(NH)C6H4)] (3) over a 1 h period. The X-ray structures of 1 and 3 are reported.     

Kinetic salt effects in the acid hydrolysis of potassium ethyl malonate in water and in 50% dioxane—Water mixture

The rates of the acid hydrolysis of potassium ethyl malonate in presence of KCl, NaCl, Li₂SO₄ and MgSO₄ in water and in 50% by weight of dioxane—water mixture were measured. The concentration of the added salts covered the range 0–1M. A negative salt effect on the rate of the half-ester hydrolysis was observed. The applicability ofBrønsted's equation was tested and deviations found were explained as due among other reasons, to the operation of an iondipole type of interaction. The correlation between the hydration numbers as well as the radii of the cations of the added electrolytes and the reaction rate were discussed. The activation energy was found to increase with an increase of the concentration of electrolyte due to the relative changes in solvation of the transition state as a result of hydration of the electrolytes added. The thermodynamic properties of the activated complex were calculated and discussed as functions of the salt concentration. A remarkable linear compensation between H and S was found.

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Der kinetische Salz-Effekt bei der sauren Hydrolyse von Kaliumethylmalonat in Wasser und in 50% Dioxan—Wasser

Zusammenfassung Es wurde die Kinetik der Hydrolyse von Kaliumethylmalonat in Gegenwart von KCl, NaCl, Li₂SO₄ und MgSO₄ (jeweils 0–1M) in Wasser und in 50% (w/w) Dioxan—Wasser untersucht. Es wurde ein negativer Salz-Effekt bezüglich der Hydrolysegeschwindigkeit des Halbesters beobachtet. Es werden sowohl Korrelationen zwischen Hydratationszahlen bzw. Ionenradien und der Reaktionsgeschwindigkeit, als auch zwischen Aktivierungsenergie und Elektrolytkonzentration diskutiert. Die thermodynamischen Parameter werden als Funktion der Salzkonzentration untersucht.