Uranium in water of the Mulde River

The Mulde River is a left side tributary of the Elbe River and mainly situated in Saxony. The river system consists of the Freiberger Mulde River and the Zwickauer Mulde River, which merge to form the Vereinigte Mulde River. The Zwickauer Mulde River drains the former uranium mining and milling areas in Saxony. This research project was established to quantify the long-term effect of the former uranium mining and milling activities by investigating the content of uranium of the water of the Mulde River. The activity concentration of uranium in samples from the Zwickauer Mulde River is still high compared with the natural background. The values measured in the water of the Vereinigte Mulde River are also elevated, but to a lesser extent due to the dilution effect caused by the merging with the uncontaminated Freiberger Mulde River. Furthermore, the level of contamination of the river water decreased by at least a factor of three as compared to the early 1990s.     

Visual device for pressure measurement using photonic crystal slabs

We propose and demonstrate a visual, all-optical pressure-measuring device composed of a flexible membrane dilating toward a photonic crystal slab. Due to its transparency and capability to be miniaturized, it may be integrated on the inner side of an artificial lens and directly measure the eye's intraocular pressure. Using crossed polarization filters for the readout process, we obtain a contrast enhancement for the circular contact area of the membrane with the photonic crystal slab. We demonstrate that the visible circle increases as a function of pressure.     

Enantioselective synthesis on the solid phase

Organic transformations on substrates which are immobilized on an insoluble, polymeric carrier have found broad application in compound collection synthesis. In contrast to other synthetic methodologies in solid-phase organic synthesis, reactions that afford non-racemic products are strikingly under-represented. Not only does the introduction of stereoinformation on immobilized, achiral starting materials provide enantioenriched products which can be of value for biological testing, but it also opens up new perspectives for accessible structures. This feature article gives an overview of successful enantioselective transformations on a solid support. Critical differences in the corresponding solution-phase protocols are highlighted, and applications to the generation of compound collections are particularly mentioned.     

Stereocomplementary synthesis of a natural product-derived compound collection on a solid phase

Enantiocomplementary allylation of solid phase-bound aldehydes gives rise to a natural product-derived compound collection, including all stereoisomers of cryptocarya diacetate.     

Oxygen Sorption and Desorption Properties of Selected Lanthanum Manganites and Lanthanum Ferrite Manganites

Temperature‐programmed desorption (TPD) with a carrier gas was used to study the oxygen sorption and desorption properties of oxidation catalysts and solid‐oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cathode materials (La_0.85Sr_0.15)_0.95MnO_3+δ (LSM) and La_0.60Sr_0.40Fe_0.80Mn_0.20O_3‐δ (LSFM). The powders were characterized by X‐ray diffractometry, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and BET surface adsorption. Sorbed oxygen could be distinguished from oxygen originating from stoichiometry changes. The results indicated that there is one main site for oxygen sorption/desorption. The amount of sorbed oxygen was monitored over time at different temperatures. Furthermore, through data analysis it was shown that the desorption peak associated with oxygen sorption is described well by second‐order desorption kinetics. This indicates that oxygen molecules dissociate upon adsorption and that the rate‐determining step for the desorption reaction is a recombination of monatomic oxygen. Typical problems with re‐adsorption in this kind of TPD setup were revealed to be insignificant by using simulations. Finally, different key parameters of sorption and desorption were determined, such as desorption activation energies, density of sorption sites, and adsorption and desorption reaction order.     

Solistatinol, a novel phenolic compactin analogue from Penicillium solitum

Solistatinol, a novel phenolic compactin analogue, has been isolated from Penicillium solitum using a UV-guided strategy. The structure and relative stereochemistry were determined by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The absolute stereochemistry was determined by chemical degradation and comparison of CD data with literature data.     

Determination of Arsenic in Drinking Water by Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. An Undergraduate Instrumental Analysis Laboratory

A laboratory exercise, the analysis of arsenic in drinking water by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GFAA), is presented for use in an undergraduate instrumental methods course. The purpose of this GFAA exercise is to expose students to a practical and commonly used application, to provide students with hands-on experience with the instrument, and to reinforce concepts taught in the classroom. Students safely analyze a real-world sample containing an analyte in the parts-per-billion concentration range.     

A Composite of Complex and Chemical Hydrides Yields the First Al‐Based Amidoborane with Improved Hydrogen Storage Properties

The first Al‐based amidoborane Na[Al(NH₂BH₃)₄] was obtained through a mechanochemical treatment of the NaAlH₄–4 AB (AB=NH₃BH₃) composite releasing 4.5 wt % of pure hydrogen. The same amidoborane was also produced upon heating the composite at 70 °C. The crystal structure of Na[Al(NH₂BH₃)₄], elucidated from synchrotron X‐ray powder diffraction and confirmed by DFT calculations, contains the previously unknown tetrahedral ion [Al(NH₂BH₃)₄]^?, with every NH₂BH₃^? ligand coordinated to aluminum through nitrogen atoms. Combination of complex and chemical hydrides in the same compound was possible due to both the lower stability of the Al?H bonds compared to the B?H ones in borohydride, and due to the strong Lewis acidity of Al³⁺. According to the thermogravimetric analysis–differential scanning calorimetry–mass spectrometry (TGA–DSC–MS) studies, Na[Al(NH₂BH₃)₄] releases in two steps 9 wt % of pure hydrogen. As a result of this decomposition, which was also supported by volumetric studies, the formation of NaBH₄ and amorphous product(s) of the surmised composition AlN₄B₃H_(0–3.6) were observed. Furthermore, volumetric experiments have also shown that the final residue can reversibly absorb about 27 % of the released hydrogen at 250 °C and p(H₂)=150 bar. Hydrogen re‐absorption does not regenerate neither Na[Al(NH₂BH₃)₄] nor starting materials, NaAlH₄ and AB, but rather occurs within amorphous product(s). Detailed studies of the latter one(s) can open an avenue for a new family of reversible hydrogen storage materials. Finally, the NaAlH₄–4 AB composite might become a starting point towards a new series of aluminum‐based tetraamidoboranes with improved hydrogen storage properties such as hydrogen storage density, hydrogen purity, and reversibility.     

An unprecedented, reversible coordination mode rearrangement: eta3(B-H) vs.eta1(Sn) stanna-closo-dodecaborate coordination

The synthesis of the ruthenium stanna-closo-dodecaborate complex [Bu(3)MeN](2)[Ru(dppb)(MeCN)(2)(SnB(11)H(11))(2)] by an unprecedented, reversible eta(3)(B-H) to eta(1)(Sn) rearrangement of [Bu(3)MeN](2)[Ru(dppb)(SnB(11)H(11))(2)] is described and the product is characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction.