Local structure and photoluminescent characteristics of Eu<Superscript>3+</Superscript> in ZnO–SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> glasses

The photoluminescence properties of xZnO–(100−x)SiO₂ (x = 0, 5, 10, 20) containing 1% Eu₂O₃ prepared by a sol–gel method were systematically investigated. The results indicated that the relative proportion of f–f transitions to charge transfer (CT) absorption decreased with the increase of ZnO concentration. The intensity of ⁵D₀–⁷F_J transitions of Eu³⁺ ions was enhanced with the increase of ZnO content due to local structure changes and decreased quantities of Eu³⁺ ions clusters. The results of fluorescence line narrow (FLN) spectra indicated that Eu³⁺ ions occupied one site in SiO₂ glass and two sites in ZnO–SiO₂ glasses. The second-order crystal field parameters were calculated. B₂₀ and B₂₂ for site 1 increased with excitation energy, while ones hardly changed for site 2.     

Ruthenium Carbonyl Cluster Complexes with Phenylgermyl Ligands from the Reactions of Ph<Subscript>3</Subscript>GeH with Ru(CO)<Subscript>5</Subscript> and Ru<Subscript>3</Subscript>(CO)<Subscript>12</Subscript>

Four new triphenylgermylruthenium carbonyl compounds HRu(CO)₄GePh₃, 14; Ru(CO)₄(GePh₃)₂, 15; Ru₂(CO)₈(GePh₃)₂, 16; and Ru₃(CO)₉(GePh₃)₃(μ-H)₃, 17 were obtained from the reaction of Ru(CO)₅ with Ph₃GeH in hexane solvent at reflux, 68 °C. The major product 14 was formed by loss of CO from the Ru(CO)₅ and an oxidative addition of the GeH bond of the Ph₃GeH to the metal atom. This six coordinate complex contains one terminal hydrido ligand. Compound 15 is formed from 14 and contains two trans-positioned GePh₃ ligands in the six coordinate complex. Compound 16 contains two Ru(CO)₄(GePh₃) fragments joined by an Ru–Ru single bond. Compound 17 contains a triangular cluster of three ruthenium atoms with three bridging hydrido ligands and one terminal GePh₃ ligand on each metal atom. When heated to 125 °C, 14 was converted to the new triruthenium compound Ru₃(CO)₁₀(μ-GePh₂)₂, 18. Compound 18 consists of a triangular tri-ruthenium cluster with two GePh₂ ligands bridging two different edges of the cluster and one bridging CO ligand. Ru₃(CO)₁₂ was found to react with Ph₃GeH at 97 °C to yield three products: 15, and two new compounds Ru₃(CO)₉(μ-GePh₂)₃, 19 and Ru₂(CO)₆(μ-GePh₂)₂(GePh₃)₂, 20 were obtained. Compound 19 is similar to 18 having a triangular tri-ruthenium cluster but has three bridging GePh₂ ligands, one on each Ru–Ru bond. Compound 20 contains only two ruthenium atoms joined by a single Ru–Ru bond that has two bridging GePh₂ ligands and a terminal GePh₃ ligand on each metal atom. All compounds were characterized by a combination of IR, ¹H NMR, single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. This report is dedicated to Professor Dieter Fenske on the occasion of his 65th birthday for his many pioneering contributions to the chemistry of metal chalcogenide cluster complexes.     

Monthly sea surface temperature records reconstructed by δ<Superscript>18</Superscript>O of reef-building coral in the east of Hainan Island,South China Sea

Stable oxygen isotopic compositions of a coral colony ofPorites lutea obtained on a core allowed the reconstruction of a 56-a (1943–1998) proxy record of the sea surface temperatures. This coral δ¹⁸O data are from the east of Hainan Island water (22°20’N, 110°39’E), South China Sea. The relationship between δ¹⁸O in the skeletal aragonite carbonate and the sea surface temperature (SST) is SST = -5.36 δ¹⁸O_PDB-3.51 (r = 0.73,n = 470), dδ¹⁸O/d(SST) = -0.187?/ °C; and the thermometer was set at monthly resolution. The 56-a (1943–1998) proxy record of the sea surface temperatures reflected the same change trend in the northern part of South China Sea as the air temperature change trend in China.     

2-[3-(Trifluoromethyl)phenyl]furo[3,2-b]pyrroles: synthesis and reactions

The synthesis and reactions of methyl 2-[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-4H-furo[3,2-b]pyrrole-5-carboxylate (1a) are described. Upon reaction with methyl iodide, benzyl chloride, or acetic anhydride, this compound gave N-substituted products 1b-d. By hydrolysis of compounds 1a-c, the corresponding acids 2a-c were formed, or by reaction with hydrazine-hydrate, the corresponding carbohydrazides 3a-c were formed. By heating 2-[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenly]-4H-furo[3,2-b]pyrrole-5-carboxylic acid (2a) in acetic anhydride, 4-acetyl-2-[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]furo[3,2-b]pyrrole (4) was formed. By hydrolysis of 4, 2-[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-4H-furo[3,2-b]pyrrole (5a) was formed, and reactions with methyl iodide or benzyl chloride gave N-substituted products 5b-c. The reaction of 4 with dimethyl butynedioate gave substituted benzo[b]furan 6. Compound 3a reacted with triethyl orthoesters giving 7a-c, which afforded with phosphorus (V) sulphide the corresponding thiones 8a-c. The thiones 8a-c reacted with hydrazine hydrate to form hydrazine derivatives 9a-c. The reaction of triethyl orthoformiate with compounds 9a-c led to furo[2′,3′: 4,5]pyrrolo[1,2-d][1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-f][1,2,4]triazines 10a-c. Hydrazones 11a-c were formed from 3a-c and 5-[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]furan-2-carboxaldehyde. The effect of microwave irradiation on some condensation reactions was compared with “classical” conditions. The results showed that microwave irradiation shortens the reaction time while affording comparable yields.     

Copper(II) ion sensor based on electropolymerized undoped conducting polymers

A solid state copper(II) ion sensor is reported based on the application of electropolymerized undoped (neutral) polycarbazole (PCz) and polyindole (PIn) modified electrodes. The new sensor shows high selectivity to Cu²⁺ ions with a detection limit of 10^–5 M. PCz and PIn are formed respectively by the anodic oxidation of 50 mM carbazole and 5 mM indole monomers in dichloromethane containing 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium perchlorate on a platinum electrode using a single compartment cell. Potentiostatic polymerization of both the monomers are carried out at 1.3 V and 1.0 V vs. Ag/AgCl, respectively. Perchlorate ions were electrochemically removed from the polymer films by applying – 0.2 V vs. Ag/AgCl. Polymer-coated electrodes are incubated in 1 M KCl solution for 8 h followed by incubation in distilled water for 2 h before using as a metal ion sensor. The undoped PCz and PIn electrodes were found to be highly selective and sensitive for Cu²⁺ ions with little selectivity for Pb²⁺ and negligible response towards Ag⁺, Hg²⁺, Cu⁺, Ni²⁺, Co²⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺ or Zn²⁺. Potentiometric responses for Cu²⁺ ions are recorded for both the sensor electrodes together with a double-junction Ag/AgCl reference electrode. Calibration curves for Cu²⁺ are reported for both ion sensors. The polymer-modified electrodes were found to be stable for several weeks. Electronic Publication     

Enhanced selectivity and sensitivity for inorganic anions using an ion-pairing reagent and sample stacking in capillary zone electrophoresis with direct UV detection

In this paper, the use of an ion-pairing reagent to improve the separation selectivity of inorganic anions in CZE was demonstrated by the addition of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAOH) to the electrolyte. The separation of inorganic anions (Cl(-), I(-), Br(-), NO(2)(-), NO(3)(-) and SCN(-)) was performed using co-electroosmotic flow (EOF) with direct UV detection at 185 nm. The parameters affecting the mobility of the tested anions and the EOF such as the electrolyte pH and concentration of TMAOH in the electrolyte were examined to optimise the separation conditions. In addition, sample-stacking techniques were investigated to improve detection sensitivity. Detection sensitivities were improved 5-13-fold using electrokinetic sample stacking. The detection limits ranged from 1-3 micro mol L(-1). Finally, the proposed method was used for the separation of anions in groundwaters.     

Synthesis,characterization and DNA-binding properties of mixed porphyrin–polypyridyl ruthenium(II) complexes

Two mixed porphyrin–polypyridyl Ru^II complexes [Ru(bpy)₂(MPyTPP)Cl]Cl (1) and [Ru(phen)₂(MPyTPP)Cl]Cl ( 2 ) (bpy=2,2-bipyridine; phen=1,10-phenanthroline; MPyTPP=5-monopyridyl-10,15,20–triphenylporphyrin) have been synthesized and characterized by elementary analysis, e.s.–m.s., cyclic voltammetry and u.v.–vis. spectroscopy. The DNA-binding properties of these complexes were investigated by electronic spectra, c.d. spectra and viscosity experiments. The results suggested that both complexes (1) and (2) bind to DNA in an outside binding mode. At the same time, theoretical calculations applying the ab initio and the density functional theory (DFT) methods were also performed, and the results showed that there is no good planarity on the main ligand MPyTPP of these complexes, and there are rather great distortion angles (dihedral angles ca. 72°) between the porphrin ring and each of the 10-, 15-, 20-phenyl groups. This may be the reason why the complexes bind to DNA in an outside mode, instead of an intercalative mode.     

Classical Dynamics of H<Stack><Subscript>2</Subscript><Superscript>+</Superscript></Stack> in an Intense Laser Field by Using the Symplectic Method

The classical dynamics of 1D H₂⁺ in an intense field are discussed. The initial conditions are chosen at random in the field-free case, and then the Hamiltonian canonical equations of H₂⁺ system in the intense laser field are solved numerically by mean of the symplectic method under these initial conditions. The probabilities of survival, dissociation, ionization, and Coulomb explosion of H₂⁺ system in the intense laser field are obtained for different laser intensity based on the classical theory.     

Application of artificial neural networks in multivariable optimization of an on-line microwave FIA system for catalytic kinetic determination of iridium(III)

A new rapid, selective and sensitive on-line microwave flow injection-kinetic method was developed for spectrophotometric determination of micro amounts of Ir(III), based on its catalytic effect on the m-acetylchlorophosphonazo (CPA-mA) and KIO(4) reaction in NaOH media. An on-line microwave oven was employed to accelerate the reaction. The reaction was followed spectrophotometrically by measuring the decrease of the absorbance of CPA-mA at 580 nm. The effect of five variables for the determination of Ir(III) was optimized by means of a multilayer artificial neural network using extended delta-bar-delta (EDBD) algorithms. Under the optimum experimental conditions, Ir(III) could be determined in the range 0.060-0.60 micro gZZZ;mL(-1) with detection limit of 0.02 micro gZZZ;mL(-1) and the sampling frequency of 34 h(-1). The proposed method was applied to the determination of micro amounts of Ir(III) in refined ore and secondary alloy with the recoveries from 91.4% to 109%.